At the same time, Orange Archipelago, on a certain resort island.
A young man of eighteen or nineteen lay leisurely on the beach. His face bore an unmistakable sickly pallor, and he also had very unusual hair.
A head of pure white hair; whether it was natural or acquired later, no one knew.
Terrance had no idea that Albus, who had originally been bedridden in a hospital in Sootopolis City, had already regained his ability to move. Although he was still somewhat weak, after being nourished by the Life Water, Albus had gradually regained some vitality.
“This… this is what life should be like,” Albus murmured as he looked at the sunlight, sighing inwardly. It truly was better to be alive than dead.
At the very least… if you’re alive, you can still come to a place like this to enjoy the sun, the beach, and the sea.
Having lost control over his Aura abilities, Albus still intended to become a Trainer. He had not forgotten his dream, and in order to catch up to Terrance, he had even made a special item.
This item was a glove, inlaid with peculiar ores, allowing him to temporarily activate Aura power through the glove’s power.
“Even if you advise me not to continue using Aura power, with the gap between us growing wider and wider, how can I possibly give up this advantage?” Albus thought to himself. There was no need to think about it. He knew that during the time he was unconscious, Terrance must have improved rapidly. If he wanted to catch up to this rival, Albus had no choice but to pick up the power of Aura again.
Although he had created the Aura glove that could temporarily activate Aura, Albus no longer dared to abuse Aura as he had in the past. Unless it was an extremely important battle, he would not bring out Aura power. After all, his physical condition was now far inferior to that of a normal person; even using Aura normally placed a certain burden on his body.
What saddened Albus was this: could it be that the Aura techniques he had developed would end up being lost to time?
Just as Albus was feeling helpless, his eyes suddenly widened as he sensed a strange energy fluctuation coming from afar…
Although he had lost his Aura power, as a former outstanding Aura wielder, Albus was certain he hadn’t misjudged it… This was an extremely special Aura. Its scale was inferior to his own, yet it possessed a quality that he himself did not have!
“A genius capable of cultivating Aura power.” After sensing this person’s Aura, Albus tried to get up, but in his haste, he forgot that his body was still weak… and ended up hurting himself.
“Ow, ow, ow! Hey, Fujiki, hurry over and give me a hand.”
Albus shouted anxiously, completely ignoring the distant, cold, and helpless look on Fujiki’s face.
“What’s wrong?” After helping Albus up, Fujiki looked at him in confusion. Why was he so excited?
“We’ll talk later. Come with me.” Naturally, Albus wanted to find that person with the special Aura. If he could help the other party develop their Aura power, perhaps he could use that Aura to help his own body recover.
Thinking of this, Albus grew even more excited.
He had already decided that he would later challenge the Ever Grande Conference in the Hoenn region, then advance into the Champion League to compete for an Elite Four position. In Albus’s eyes, those battles would all be nothing more than warm-up matches. If he wanted to grow strong quickly, he could only rely on his familiar old method: constant battling.
“Just wait, Terrance. When I reach the Elite Four, that will be when I face you again,” Albus thought.
Now, having seen another opportunity to restore his Aura, his confidence grew even stronger. After walking for a while, Albus finally saw the person with the special Aura: a boy just over ten years old, wearing a cap marked with a Poké Ball, with a Pikachu perched on his shoulder…
…
…
“You’re planning to challenge for an Elite Four position?” Hearing Terrance’s words, Raoul Contesta fell silent for a long time before reacting. Even so, he still found it hard to digest. He couldn’t understand why Terrance had suddenly changed his mind.
“If nothing unexpected happens… it’s just that I’m hesitating right now. Between Kanto and Hoenn, which region’s Champion League should I challenge?”
“Hoenn!” Raoul Contesta sprang to his feet, slamming both hands on the table as he leaned forward, his expression solemn. “If you challenge the Hoenn Champion League, just as you said, if you and Wallace compete together for the Champion position, then the chances of success will undoubtedly be much higher.”
“Even if other factions within the League want to block your rise, they won’t be able to stop two people at once. That way, the pressure on each of you will be reduced. Of course, in the end, it may also lead to one outcome, that the two of you end up competing on the same stage.”
“Is that so…” Terrance pondered for a moment before saying, “Competing on the same stage as Wallace is something I’ve longed for ever since before I made my debut. It’s just that I knew my strength wasn’t enough back then, so I never initiated the challenge. If I can compete alongside him when the time comes, that wouldn’t be a bad choice.”
Wallace was a prodigious talent Terrance had encountered back when he took the Junior Breeder exam. His figure, as well as Master Victor’s evaluation of him, had always been etched into Terrance’s memory, serving as one of the driving forces behind Terrance’s constant self-improvement.
“No… this is actually a very critical issue.” Raoul Contesta suddenly fell silent. “If you and Wallace face off, there will inevitably be a winner and a loser, and the impact of losing…”
To be honest, Raoul Contesta wasn’t optimistic about Terrance defeating Wallace. Although Terrance had improved greatly, compared to a genius like Wallace, he still felt that Terrance was lacking by quite a margin.
If Terrance were to lose in something as important as a Champion challenge, Raoul feared it would affect him deeply. Moreover, in such a competition, no matter whether it was Terrance or Wallace who lost, they would both become the focus of public opinion and face immense pressure. This was nothing like a small competition.
“I know what you’re worried about. Don’t worry, I’m not that fragile.” Terrance said with a smile.
“When do you plan to challenge?”
“Within a year.”
“If that’s the case, Contest Committee can help clear away some obstacles for you, allowing you to compete normally. I think that if you can secure an Elite Four position, then once Steven retires, our Contest Committee will gain even more influence. When Wallace goes on to challenge the Champion League after that, the two of you can compete together for that position. No matter who wins, it’s a good outcome. Even if you lose, you and Wallace would still both be members of the Elite Four!” Raoul Contesta said.
Such a future made Raoul Contesta extremely excited. If the Contest Committee could help two Coordinators in becoming Elite Four, and perhaps even see one of them become the Hoenn Champion, then within twenty years, the Contest Committee had the potential to become one of the giants within the Pokémon League.
“I’ll think it over,” Terrance said thoughtfully.
It seemed that Wallace intended to wait until Steven retired before challenging the Champion League, while he himself might start one or two years earlier. Terrance didn’t know whether he should feel happy or regretful; after all, it meant one less formidable opponent on the road to challenging the Elite Four position.
Of course, if Terrance were to learn that Albus also planned to challenge for an Elite Four position, he would be delighted. In Terrance’s view, the Elite Four Challenge Competition and the Champion challenge were already the most exciting tournaments he could take part in. If such events lacked competition, wouldn’t they be far too boring?
“Compared to that, we should focus on the upcoming Grand Festival first,” Terrance said.
“True,” Raoul Contesta laughed. He was extremely curious about how strong Terrance had become that he dared to entertain the idea of challenging for an Elite Four position.
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