Rotom Pokédex's words sent Terrance into deep thought.
However, the news about Master Lorelei and Master Agatha retiring was still just a rumor and couldn't be confirmed yet, so there was no need to get overly excited too early.
He, Terrance, was not someone who liked to take advantage of things! Terrance thought to himself.
But, thinking about it, he was born in Kanto, his parents were both from Kanto, so becoming an Elite Four member of the Indigo League wasn't out of the question.
And as a Gym Leader in the Hoenn region, having grown up in Hoenn and with close ties to the Hoenn League, becoming a member of the Hoenn Elite Four was also a possibility.
Looking at it this way, Terrance really could have the opportunity to choose between two regions.
Although the decision-making structure of each region's League might differ, they all belonged to the overarching Pokémon League and were closely connected, part of the same faction. Families like the Joys and the Jennys could be found throughout many regions, and even in places where the League hadn't been established, their presence was still seen.
Terrance recalled that one of Hoenn's Elite Four, Master Glacia, wasn't from Hoenn. She directly earned her Elite Four seat by challenging her way through The Ever Grande Conference and the Champion League.
Still, Master Glacia's background likely wasn't simple. Without a faction supporting her, it wouldn't be easy to seize the honor of becoming an Elite Four.
Terrance had discussed this with Master Victor before. Generally speaking, the Elite Four positions were posts contested by various League factions. Within the League, both the Elite Four and the Champion had a certain amount of voting power over League decisions, making them semi-authoritative figures with significant influence. Although public tournaments like the Champion League were established, the entire procedure and mechanisms of these competitions were fully controlled by the League.
The Champion League's system was complicated and highly random, yet still within the bounds of the overarching rules. After a battle, a Trainer might rest for a week before their next match, but sometimes they could be scheduled for daily battles, fighting consecutively.
This complex system had been set up since the Champion League's inception, precisely so there would be room for "human tempering."
If an ordinary person with no background wanted to challenge their way to the position of Elite Four, unless they had strength that far surpassed all rivals, they would have to join a League faction.
Otherwise, any rule change could subject them to something like a gauntlet battle—maybe not two matches in a single day, but definitely with less-than-adequate rest time. During such a period, their main Pokémon's injuries might not even have fully healed yet.
That's why Elite Four seats have always been positions competed for by League factions and member countries.
Of course, there have been Trainers in history who earned the honor of Elite Four purely through their own strength after grueling trials, but during their run through the Champion League, they would definitely receive countless invitations from various factions. Most would choose one that suited them during this process, or even after becoming an Elite Four, they'd align with a side for better resources. This was simply how things went.
Terrance, of course, didn't need to worry about this. Since the start of his career, he had already become deeply entangled with many factions.
For example, Ash: as he's grown, he's already been marked as someone under Professor Oak, backed by the academic community led by Professor Oak himself. Professor Oak holds a pivotal position in academia, serving as a special lecturer at Celadon University, the academic center of Kanto, and has mentored many researchers of Professor level, who are now scattered across various academic fields.
Even someone as naive as Ash inevitably got labeled as part of a faction while growing up, so it was even more impossible that Terrance would have no connections at all. For Trainers like them, coming from ordinary backgrounds, it was truly difficult to rise up without anyone's support.
Take Terrance, for example. Just being Master Victor's disciple already involved him with many different powers.
First, there was the Breeder Association, which is an important member of the Pokémon League, and Master Victor is one of the association's vice presidents.
Furthermore, both Master Victor and Terrance came from Crown Academy. Crown Academy has close cooperative ties with the Breeder Association and is also one of the investors in Pokémon Contests. The interest group formed around the Pokémon Contest is itself an important member of the Pokémon League.
Entities like the Breeder Association and Pokémon Contests, which are spread across various regions, are League members with significant influence. In reality, however, the majority of the League's members have little influence. For example, in Kanto and Hoenn, there are still a few small countries that preserve ancient customs. Most of these countries are member states of the Pokémon League, but because many of them remain detached from modern society, their influence falls far short of that of the Pokémon Contest interest group or the Breeder Association.
So, the waters here were extremely murky.
It's impossible to say Terrance's growth was unaffected by external forces. If he'd fought all alone, he wouldn't have achieved nearly as much as he has now.
For instance, the Contest Committee provided a lot of support for Terrance's Gym and the development of Fallarbor Town, though only some shareholders supported Terrance. Pokémon Contest has many investors, but the major shareholders are still the Pokémon Fan Club, Devon Corporation, the Breeder Association, and so on...
"Ever since Master Victor left Team Rocket, he hasn't really shown much interest in my Trainer side... instead, he's told me a lot," Terrance frowned.
"Previously, Master was worried that if I took the Elite Four position just for the sake of honor, I'd waste a lot of time on unnecessary tasks... But I don't really care about the honor that comes with being an Elite Four. What I'm curious about are the secrets Elite Four can access, and those special places they can enter." Terrance's fascination with the Elite Four role came from this. Even though he'd only gotten a little information from Steven, it was enough to spark his curiosity.
Now, after being influenced by people like Elite Four Agatha, it was hard for Terrance not to be tempted...
"I'm only sixteen years old, and I have potentially a hundred years ahead of me to do as I please, why should I hesitate now?" Terrance began convincing himself. If he followed his heart and tried, maybe he'd regret it for a while if it didn't work out, but if he never tried, he might regret it for a lifetime. Terrance understood this well.
Those coveted positions that so many factions competed over must have something unique about them, besides just real authority. Even a super-rich heir like Steven was tempted... and for Steven, it definitely wasn't the fame or benefits of being Champion that interested him. After all, as the heir to Devon Corporation, who couldn't he mingle with?
"But... Steven seems to be vaguely considering retirement, too?" Terrance recalled his conversations with Steven and felt things were even more complicated. After all, Steven had only just become Champion not long ago. Retiring already would be a joke, wouldn't it?...
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