Looking at Troy's departing back, Terrance felt a bit emotional.
The other's experiences were very similar to his own, but compared to himself, Troy lacked far too much preparation.
Even when Terrance had already raised a fairly capable Beautifly at that time, and on top of that relied on more than twenty years of life experience and study from his previous life to self-teach breeding knowledge for four years, he still didn't have the confidence to step directly into the Trainer field. Instead, he used the professions of Breeder and Coordinator as stepping stones, transforming himself step by step.
The other wanted to become a Trainer directly, but just the problem of resources alone would be difficult to solve. When countless other big and small problems accumulated together, it could be truly despairing.
That was why Terrance had suggested the other improve his own value and foundation; rather than wasting time, it would be better to first lay the groundwork. After all, compared to five years ago, the conditions now were much better than when Terrance had first set out.
After Troy left, Terrance continued the special training with Vulpix, preparing for the Pokémon Contest to be held outside Pewter City three days later.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. With the Pewter Contest about to begin, Terrance packed up his things and started walking toward the venue.
As a Coordinator whose fame now rivaled Wallace's, Terrance's movements naturally drew a lot of attention.
Outside the Pewter Contest venue, media had already gathered upon hearing the news. A female reporter holding a microphone was interviewing a Coordinator who was competing.
"Hello sir, may I ask if you're also a contestant in this Pokémon Contest?"
"That's right."
"Then what do you think about Mr. Terrance participating in this Pokémon Contest?"
The young man being interviewed gave a wry smile and said, "With an opponent like that, I think every contestant will have a headache."
Other than people who didn't know Terrance, whichever Coordinator the media interviewed wore a dispirited expression, though, of course, there were also thrilled Coordinators.
Some of these people felt that with Terrance participating, they had no hope of winning the championship; others felt it was a great honor to stand on the same stage as Terrance. Because their reasons for competing were different, many Coordinators had different views of Terrance.
As a public figure, Terrance didn't wait in the lobby but first met with Mr. Raoul Contesta.
Although busy with matters concerning Pokémon Contests in several regions, the higher-ups of the Contest Committee also gave a certain level of attention to any Contest in which Terrance participated.
"Let's skip the pleasantries. You should have great confidence in winning, right?" Raoul Contesta said with a smile.
"Of course I'll do my utmost to win," Terrance replied.
After obtaining the title of Top Coordinator and then undergoing more than two years of buildup, Terrance had gained new insights into Pokémon Contests.
Compared to two years ago, not only had Terrance's strength improved, but in terms of coordination, he was now highly skilled in his use of moves and techniques.
At the opening ceremony of the Pokémon Contest, after watching from backstage, Terrance became the first contestant to appear on stage.
Under the anticipation of countless spectators, as many contestants clenched their fists, Terrance slowly walked out from the passageway.
The aura he exuded upon stepping onto the stage was like that of a final boss, making all the contestants tense up, waiting for his performance.
"Mr. Terrance… I remember he's the hero who resolved that Acapulco incident, right? I didn't expect him to also be a Top Coordinator." Pewter City's Nurse Joy's eyes were full of curiosity.
"That's someone Nurse Joy should really keep her eyes on. After lying dormant for two years, I believe Terrance's progress will definitely be astonishing,"
Raoul Contesta said with a smile as he looked at Terrance stepping onto the stage.
As the first contestant to appear, and a hot favorite for the championship, many people were curious about what kind of Pokémon Terrance would send out.
Would it be the Beautifly that had helped him become a Top Coordinator?
As the words "Begin!" fell from the Kanto Region's Pokémon Contest announcer Lilian's mouth, Terrance sent out a Pokémon never before revealed to the public — an Alolan Vulpix.
In the eyes of people in Kanto, Vulpix was a Fire-type Pokémon, its body also leaning toward orange colour, a Fire-type color.
But as the beam of light shot out from Terrance's Poké Ball, under a dance of ice-snow patterns filling the air, a Vulpix whose body was pure white as snow and whose eyes were like amber stepped onto the stage.
An Alolan Vulpix appeared on the Pokémon Contest stage, its appearance completely shattering the audience's ingrained impression and leaving a deep mark in their memories.
"Contestant Terrance has sent out a Vulpix from the Alola Region. Because of the differences in its living environment, the Vulpix there is an Ice-type Pokémon and differs somewhat from the Vulpix we're familiar with," Lilian quickly explained.
At first, the audience speculated in all sorts of ways, full of confusion, but as Lilian explained, they gradually came to understand.
Seeing this kind of Vulpix for the first time made many people extremely curious.
Terrance quickly met the audience's expectations. As a seasoned participant in Pokémon Contests, he had won every one of the seven Contests he had entered, so naturally there would be no major mishaps here.
With Vulpix's every move, Terrance perfectly demonstrated the ability of a Top Coordinator.
The very first move Vulpix used was Blizzard. Through Blizzard, it rapidly lowered the stage's temperature, and then immediately summoned Hail weather.
The Blizzard on the stage roared, unleashing its frenzied power on everything it could touch, transforming from a torrent of wind into a tornado. At the same time, snowflakes like chunks of ice howled as they were swept up by the gale, quickly blanketing the entire stage and suddenly cutting off the audience's view of Vulpix and Terrance.
On a Pokémon Contest stage meant to showcase a Pokémon's charm, letting the Pokémon disappear from the audience's sight is a taboo. But neither the judges nor the other contestants believed Terrance would make such a low-level mistake. Sure enough, the Blizzard instantly dissipated, and the intent behind Vulpix opening with Blizzard was immediately grasped by the three judges.
Under the cover of Blizzard, the Hail weather merged perfectly with the Blizzard. Vulpix expertly used the Hail and air current techniques it had learned, and without anyone noticing, it combined all the power of the Blizzard and Hail weather to create an ice moon that looked like a mirror.
The moon-like ice mirror covered the entire stage, giving the audience a huge shock.
Yet, the three judges were not shocked by this beautiful performance. If Terrance were a rookie just starting out, this level of control would be enough to call him a once-in-a-decade prodigy.
But as a Coordinator who rivaled Master Wallace, Raoul Contesta and the others believed there would be further developments to come.
"Vulpix, show yourself," Under everyone's gaze, Terrance commanded, continuing to give orders.
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