After returning to Fallarbor Town, Terrance's life once again entered a brief period of calm.
However, that calm didn't last long before he received a strange message.
The place it was sent from was unknown, but the signature at the end was of his master - Master Victor.
The message mainly conveyed two pieces of information.
First, Master Victor said that he was going to take part in a top-secret experiment and might not appear again for several years, so Terrance shouldn't bother looking for him.
Second, Master Victor told Terrance the location where his important research results were stored, asking Terrance to retrieve them when he had the time and continue the research.
These two points made Terrance frown deeply. This was far too abnormal. What could be so urgent that it couldn't be said face to face, and had to be delivered in such a mysterious way?
This didn't feel like a simple message at all, but more like…
"What on earth is going on?"
Terrance immediately tried to contact Master Victor, but to no avail. He tried other ways, even asking around a lot of people, but still couldn't reach him.
With a heavy heart, Terrance went to the address Master Victor had given and collected several notebooks.
The handwriting in these notebooks was not very clear, showing that they hadn't been organized recently. The main content of the notes consisted of major research findings and directions in the field of genetics, which Terrance couldn't fully understand yet, since he hadn't even mastered the basics of genetics.
Even so, Terrance realized that these were likely all of Master Victor's life's work. Why would he hand over all his research results in such a hurry to a disciple who hadn't even learned the basics, asking him to continue the research?
"What kind of top-secret experiment is this?" Terrance was full of doubt; it felt like a farewell before death.
For something to make Master Victor, a master of genetics, abandon his primary research and dump it on Terrance, that experiment must hold an enormous allure for him.
For some reason, Ralts suddenly came to Terrance's mind.
"A Pokémon experiment?" That Ralts's extraordinary talent was still causing its strength to skyrocket explosively. Its rate of improvement was so fast that even Terrance, a Breeder, was afraid — afraid it might harm Ralts's growth in the future.
As for this Ralts's origins, Master Victor had always been vague and Terrance hadn't pressed him about it. But now an ominous guess surfaced in Terrance's mind.
"Could it be that Master really has been doing Pokémon experiments?" Thinking of Ralts's emotional defects, Terrance shook his head hard. He couldn't think that way. Most Pokémon experiments were illegal, and as a Top Breeder, Master Victor shouldn't be acting so recklessly.
Yet, when combining Ralts's situation with Master Victor's strange behavior, Terrance still felt unsettled.
…
…
After returning to Fallarbor Town, Terrance agonized over the matter of Master Victor for a long time.
However, something joyful happened recently as well.
This event finally gave Terrance's heavy heart a bit of relief.
Traveling overnight to Sootopolis City, Terrance met Albus, who had woken up.
At this point, Albus's hair was completely white. Although his face still looked youthful, he gave off the impression of someone with one foot in the grave.
Even though the life water had restored Albus's vitality, some aftereffects were unavoidable.
"Still can't move?" Terrance asked.
"Don't have much strength," Albus gave a dry cough from his hospital bed, a faint bitter smile on his lips.
"Didn't think it'd be you who saved me in the end. I thought I was a goner."
"Good that you know," Terrance said helplessly. Albus had been unconscious for half a year, and in that half year, so much had changed…
"Hurry up and recover. I've already gone even farther ahead. Don't fall behind me when the time comes."
Terrance thought for a moment and said. During the festival, the two of them had been about equal in strength. Albus, with his two powerful partners Darkrai and Lucario, had even been a bit stronger. But after half a year, Terrance's strength had undergone an earth-shaking change.
Not only had his Altaria reached near-Champion level, but Beautifly, Gallade, Arcanine, Castform, and Mismagius had all made tremendous progress as well. Having wasted half a year, Albus really had been left far behind, just as Terrance said.
"My Aura power is gone." As soon as Terrance finished speaking, Albus didn't rush to spout nonsense like he usually did. Instead, he uncomfortably extended his hand, looking somewhat emotional.
"Gone?!" Terrance showed a puzzled expression.
Isn't Aura a power that everyone possesses?
"Uh… to be precise, I've lost the ability to control Aura. This time, I guess you could say I'll compete with you on the same level."
Albus then smiled. He didn't seem dejected about losing his Aura power. Instead, he challenged Terrance from a different perspective.
"When I can get out of bed and walk again, let's have another battle."
When Albus finished speaking, Terrance fell silent. Equal footing?
Clenching his right hand which had the Fairy Mark, Terrance didn't know what to say. Even if Albus had Aura power, with the meditation method and the Fairy Mark, Terrance's extraordinary abilities were no weaker than Albus now.
"Can't you train to get it back?" Terrance asked.
"Probably not, huh? I'll try again after I've recovered. Maybe with some items I can again stimulate the Aura power." Albus suddenly looked eager.
"Stop!" Terrance called him back. "Forget it. Losing Aura power might not be a bad thing. Although the Hoenn League might be disappointed, I'm afraid you'd just abuse it like before. If that happens again, no one will be able to save you, and Fujiki would be heartbroken too."
"I wouldn't dare anymore." Albus gave a bitter smile. How could he still dare to abuse Aura? Before, it was out of desperation, and later he simply gave up, but now that he had barely escaped with his life, he certainly didn't want to die.
All those thoughts of not caring about death had vanished. After regaining his life, Albus felt he'd become "afraid of death."
Only after dying once did he realize how precious life really was.
"Not only do I not dare anymore, I'm going to live well. After all, my dream is to become the strongest Trainer." Albus smiled.
"That's quite the lofty goal. Your goal reminds me of someone."
"Who?"
"A rookie Trainer named Ash. Don't underestimate him just because he's a rookie. If you want to become the strongest Trainer, I think he'll be your biggest threat in the future." Terrance chuckled and directly "sold out" Ash.
As for whether Ash would really become a Pokémon Master and keep growing, Terrance didn't know. But since the original story had given Ash that dream, Ash should be able to achieve it.
"When did you start praising a rookie Trainer like that? Is he really that strong?" Albus was surprised. It was the first time he'd seen Terrance hold someone else, especially a junior, in such high regard.
"You'll know when you meet him."
As the two talked, time slowly passed…
After staying in Sootopolis City for another two days, Terrance bid farewell to the recovering Albus and, at Mr. Raoul Contesta's invitation, set off for the Kanto Region.
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