When he received Mr. Raoul Contesta's invitation to participate in the Pokémon Contest, Terrance didn't hesitate, because he was already planning to make Pokémon Contests the focus of his training journey.
Just like Wallace and other Top Coordinators, he would dominate Pokémon Contests across multiple regions!
However, this time the Pokémon Terrance would be using in the contests would mainly be new ones, especially Little Vulpix.
Just as Beautifly had been his mainstay before, this time Ice Vulpix would be his representative Pokémon for the Pokémon Contest journey.
Its control over ice would gradually mature through repeated practice in Pokémon Contests.
As for Carbink, Ralts, and Larvitar, Terrance didn't need them to take part in Pokémon Contests too often; just one or two experiences would be enough.
After arriving in the Kanto Region, Terrance headed to the nearby Pewter City.
This would be the first stop of Terrance's Kanto Region Pokémon Contest challenge. Compared to the Hoenn and Sinnoh region, the Pokémon Contests in the Kanto and Johto region were still less developed and not widely recognized. It was precisely because of this that Mr. Raoul Contesta had invited Terrance—currently the second brightest rising star among Coordinators—to participate in Kanto's Pokémon Contests, hoping to use Terrance's popularity to boost the development of Pokémon Contests in Kanto.
Once people learned that Terrance would be competing in this time's Grand Festival of Kanto region, it was believed that quite a few Coordinators would come for the chance to challenge him.
At that time, with the increase in participant numbers and the rise in competition level, the Pokémon Contests in Kanto would receive wider recognition, and this in turn would continue to drive the development of the entire Pokémon Contest scene.
"The contest is three days from now. Before that, I need to put Little Vulpix through some special training. Although its coordination skills are excellent, compared to relying on improvisation, it's safer to rehearse in advance…"
After notifying Mr. Raoul Contesta of his arrival in Pewter City, Terrance checked into the hotel arranged for him.
Next, he brought Little Vulpix to the area near Viridian Forest, planning to conduct special training.
This time, Terrance had brought six Pokémon to the Kanto Region—a standard Trainer setup.
The Poké Ball hanging around his neck contained Altaria, while the five Poké Balls on his waist held Vulpix, Larvitar, Carbink, Beautifly, and Castform respectively.
Even his Rotom Pokédex had been left behind in Fallarbor Town, tasked with assisting Mismagius and Arcanine in their training.
Ralts, meanwhile, was training Teleport with Gallade at Mt. Chimney. According to Gallade, it wouldn't be long before Ralts could turn all of Gallade's experience with Teleport into its own.
"Go."
Finding an open space, Terrance let the Vulpix resting on his shoulder jump down and said, "Warm up on your own first; special training will start soon."
By "warm up," he meant having Vulpix run through the moves it had already learned several times in a row to get into condition.
Little Vulpix's warm-up was also quite interesting. As it used its various signature moves, it came up with plenty of creative flourishes of its own.
For example, wrapping Ice Shard with Icy Wind, then breathing out Mist to merge with it, then leaping up and using Iron Tail to smash the Ice Shards into pieces, making the shimmering ice light adorn the wind of white mist.
Or, creating a large block of ice with Ice Beam, then detonating it with Blizzard, and through clever control turning all the ice and snow into Powder Snow, laying a white layer over the ground and creating an icy terrain.
While Little Vulpix was warming up, Terrance suddenly lifted his head, sensing movement from the direction of the forest. Someone seemed to be approaching.
"Excuse me, are you a Trainer?"
A boy wearing a straw hat, carrying a bug-catching cage and holding a bug net, emerged from the grass. He looked at the Vulpix showing off its moves and at Terrance beside it, and immediately showed an expression of eager anticipation.
The boy was wearing a green short-sleeved shirt and brown shorts, but his clothes were already tattered and patched countless times. With Terrance's experienced eye, he judged that this boy's living conditions might be even worse than his own back in the Old Green House days.
"And you are?" Terrance's glance inadvertently fell on the Poké Ball at the boy's waist, and he suddenly understood.
"Could it be that you want to battle?" Terrance then said with a smile.
"Yes, that's right. I'm Troy from Whitewood Village. This will be my very first battle as a Trainer. Please teach me." The boy bowed nervously.
Whitewood Village…
Terrance thought for a moment but had no impression. It was probably a small nearby village.
But… looking at the boy, Terrance didn't know whether to accept the battle or not. After thinking it over, he said, "All right, let's have a match."
Troy nodded, held his Poké Ball with both hands, then earnestly tossed it out with one hand.
That solemn, serious attitude instantly made Terrance curious.
"Weedle, huh…" Seeing the small segmented, yellowish-brown bug, Terrance didn't want to discourage the boy, but this truly was a completely meaningless battle.
"You just said this will be your first battle as a Trainer?" Terrance asked.
"Yes. Next, I plan to apply to become an apprentice at the Pewter Gym, obtain Trainer identity, and then make Whitewood Village's name resound throughout the world." At this point, Troy's tone shifted slightly, his words filled with powerful conviction.
So he's not even a Trainer yet…
But wanting to apply as a Gym apprentice with this level of ability was far from enough. A Gym wasn't a charity, and besides, there were already too many children at Pewter Gym; it was unlikely they'd take on extra apprentices. Looking at this boy with such a big dream, Terrance took a deep breath.
"In that case, let me see where your confidence lies."
"Vulpix." Terrance called softly, and Vulpix had already stepped up in front of Weedle, looking calmly at its opponent.
"You go first." Terrance extended his hand in a gesture of invitation.
"Okay." Troy nodded. "Weedle, use Poison Sting!"
A purple Poison Sting shot toward Little Vulpix. But without even needing Terrance's command, such a slow attack was easily dodged as Little Vulpix just tilted its body slightly.
"Baby-Doll Eyes." Terrance said evenly. As the command was given, Little Vulpix's eyes emitted a strange light, a gaze that seemed to pierce the heart. The moment Weedle met Vulpix's eyes, it couldn't withstand the immense psychic power within Baby-Doll Eyes and fainted immediately—scared unconscious by what was technically a status move.
The battle ended faster than Troy had imagined. He bit his lip, seeming unwilling to accept the result, but the reality was right in front of him.
"Weedle will wake up in a moment; it hasn't been harmed." Terrance hesitated slightly, then said, "But if you want to apply as an apprentice in this state, you'd better go back home. I don't believe any Gym would take in a Trainer this weak. Rather than rushing out too soon to chase your dream, it's better to first improve your own value and foundation."
Hearing Terrance's advice, Troy froze for a moment, then bowed again. "Thank you for your guidance."
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