However, the world-shattering destruction they had imagined did not occur, nor did lightning strike down from the sky. When countless living beings finally reacted, all they felt was an unparalleled cold descending upon them.
Just when all the Pokémon believed that thunder would bring about the end of the world, the truth was quite different. After that clap of thunder, endless cold rapidly condensed along with the falling rain. A Blizzard of immense power rose up, turning this small patch of desert into a domain of ice and snow almost instantly.
Crack!
The sound of spreading frost rang out. Regirock had no chance to resist before it was frozen to the ground. Using Rain Dance as a catalyst, Castform and Ninetales had jointly created an incredibly terrifying Blizzard. As the power of frost spread outward, countless Pokémon that had been watching the battle scattered in panic. In this scorching desert, the bone-piercing cold felt no less than the arrival of doomsday.
"So cold—!"
As a gust of icy wind brushed their cheeks, the four adventurers stared at their reddened hands and spoke in alarm.
Witnessing such a horrifying scene, they almost forgot to breathe. That immensely powerful Regirock had been defeated in an instant?!!
Who was that Trainer?
Looking at the ruins and land sealed in ice, and at the sky filled with swirling cold air, the four fell silent. Then, as the sound of shattering frost rang out, Regirock quickly broke free from the ice. But by this point it had already lost the will to fight. In the desert, with its back against ruins made entirely of rock, it feared no living thing. Yet once everything had turned to ice and the surrounding rocks it relied on to restore its stamina were gone, Regirock knew it was no match. It immediately burrowed underground and fled in panic.
"That Regirock might know the location of the Mirage Ruins," Terrance said thoughtfully as he looked in the direction Regirock had fled. The second time he had encountered Regirock had been inside the Mirage Ruins.
However, he had no intention of chasing it now. Nor had he intended to keep Regirock here, otherwise he would not have given it the chance to break free from the ice.
"Time to leave."
Terrance glanced at the Pokémon that were dispersing in all directions and at the stunned adventurers in the distance. After shaking his head slightly, he recalled most of his Pokémon. Next, he needed to conduct a thorough examination of Tyranitar.
After Terrance left, a while later, the few adventurers who noticed that nothing else was happening finally dared to walk forward. Feeling the lingering cold in the air, they found it hard to imagine that only minutes ago this place had been a desert area scorched by the sun and filled with rising heat.
"I'm starting to think I somehow ended up on a snowy mountain," the female Trainer said in disbelief. "Who was that person? Could it have been Elite Four Glacia?"
"How could that be… that was clearly a man." The man with white-framed glasses carefully studied the footage captured by the video camera, a puzzled expression appearing on his face. "But it's hard to see clearly. The Trainer's appearance seems to be covered by some mysterious power. Maybe he didn't want to reveal his identity."
"In that case, let's delete the photos we took of him."
They exchanged glances and came to the same decision.
…
…
Terrance returned to the Pokémon Center in Mauville City and entrusted Tyranitar to Nurse Joy, asking her to use professional equipment to help him examine it.
During this time, Terrance began investigating the origin of the stone from deep underground. Although Tyranitar had not shown any abnormalities so far, Terrance did not believe that stone could be something ordinary.
Unfortunately, even after searching through most of the data on the Pokémon Center's public computer, he could not find any ore resembling that stone.
"Three hours have passed. Tyranitar should have recovered by now."
Shutting down the computer in disappointment, Terrance sighed and headed downstairs. Just as he passed a video call terminal, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Mr. Brandon, do you know what we saw in the desert this time?! It was Regirock! I remember you seemed very interested in that Regirock."
"Mr. Brandon, long time no see. I'm Dika, the one who challenged the Battle Pyramid last time."
In front of a video call device, the four people crowded closely together, excitedly speaking to the man in a dark green exploration suit on the screen.
"Oh, it's you all." Brandon thought for a moment and remembered them. They had only contacted his assistant's communication line. If they hadn't mentioned Regirock, it would have been unlikely that they could immediately reach someone as busy as him.
"What you said is true? Regirock… it has appeared in that desert again?"
"Yes, and not only that, we also took many photos of Regirock."
Hearing their conversation, Brandon pondered for a moment. But in the next instant, through the video, he saw someone who greatly surprised him.
What surprised him even more was that this person smiled slightly and walked over.
"Mr. Brandon, I didn't expect to see you making a call here." Terrance walked over with a smile. When he saw Mr. Brandon through the video earlier, he had already sensed that the origin of that stone might finally be clarified.
Mr. Brandon had conducted extremely in-depth research on the Hoenn Desert.
By asking him, perhaps he could obtain some unexpected discoveries.
"Terrance." Mr. Brandon also smiled. "Perhaps now I should call you Master Terrance."
"You're a senior, please don't tease me like that." Terrance showed a helpless expression. Mr. Brandon's strength ranked among the best even among Top Trainers, so Terrance naturally didn't dare act arrogantly.
Terrance's sudden appearance slightly startled the four adventurers who were speaking with Mr. Brandon, and they turned to look at him.
"Master?"
Being called "Master" by Mr. Brandon carried considerable weight.
"So young." The moment they saw Terrance, they realized he was even younger than themselves. After observing him more carefully, the man with white-framed glasses suddenly noticed something and exclaimed, "Master Terrance… could you be the Gym Leader of Fallarbor Gym?"
"I am. Nice to meet you." Terrance smiled warmly. "You were the ones watching when I was battling Regirock, right?"
If Terrance's identity had merely surprised them before, his words now completely stunned them. The aftermath of that battle still lingered vividly in their minds. Now that the person himself had appeared, the four of them showed expressions of utter shock.
"You… you…" The petite female Trainer patted her chest and stammered.
"Don't be so nervous. I'm not going to eat anyone," Terrance said helplessly. "By the way, I'd like to say a few words to Mr. Brandon. Could I borrow a bit of your call time… please?"
Desert. Regirock. Battle.
Just those few simple words made Brandon, on the other side of the video call, curious as he looked seriously at Terrance.
****Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 65 chapters on my pa*reon.