On the eighteenth floor, Terrance and the others did not stay long before continuing onward.
After reaching the nineteenth floor, the vanguard gained a new member in addition to the Frogadier-Togetic duo: the Mawile Terrance had just captured.
When Mawile first came out, Togetic took a strong dislike to it, and as they moved forward, this situation not only failed to improve but grew even more intense.
If not for the gap in strength, Terrance had no doubt that Togetic would have already rushed over and beaten Mawile up.
If it had been any other Pokémon, Terrance would have tried to advise it, but when it came to Togetic, that thought quickly faded.
“Togepi’s bad habits haven’t changed at all…” Terrance thought to himself as he secretly glanced at Togetic.
Forget it… this was a good thing too. If Togetic treated Mawile as a target to surpass, that wasn’t bad. After all, it had never been this invested in catching up to stronger Pokémon like Altaria.
As for Frogadier, it went with the flow. Whatever Togetic and Terrance said, it listened, too lazy to think for itself.
Up to now, Togetic had never been bathed in Fairy Aura. Even after it evolved, Terrance had not been in a hurry. He planned to first find a top-quality Shiny Stone. As for the process of unlocking its potential, he intended to make plans either shortly before Togetic evolved again or after its evolution.
For now, the priority was having Togetic focus most of its energy on the move “Metronome.” Potential stimulation and Fairy-type training could be done at any time. By comparison, letting Togetic divide its attention too much right now would not be beneficial.
As for Frogadier, through real combat experience, it has already tapped into its own instincts, possessing the qualities of a “ninja.” Special ops assassin and special ops spy are the main summaries of a ninja. Compared to Gallade, Frogadier’s evolved form, Greninja, would possess far greater versatility and would develop into a completely different style. At present, Terrance had not yet incorporated the move “Camouflage” into Frogadier’s training regimen. Otherwise, it would fit the definition of a “ninja” even more closely.
Besides that, Terrance also wanted Frogadier to learn Rain move from Castform. If the necessary resources were provided, reaching the top tier would not be difficult for it.
To build a stronger foundation, Terrance planned to subject Frogadier to specialized ninja training next.
Just as Gallade had once learned iaido, Frogadier would also learn ninja techniques suited to itself.
“The inheritance of ninjas… If I remember correctly, there used to be a ninja village in the Kalos region, though it has declined for far too long. Besides that, Koga of Fuchsia Gym, Indigo League’s Elite Four candidate, is also a ninja.”
“Forget it, forget it. Collecting basic reference materials will be enough. With Rotom Pokédex around, using Frogadier’s Ability, moves, and battle style to deduce a path unique to us is the proper way forward.”
With Rotom Pokédex serving as such a powerful cheat, Terrance naturally had no interest in copying someone else’s training route.
As they continued their journey and training, Frogadier and Togetic fully adapted to their new forms, and their strength increased considerably.
Meanwhile, after leaving the eighteenth floor, Mawile began displaying its ferocious nature again on the nineteenth and twentieth floor. It no longer showed the slightest trace of the docility it had displayed before Altaria. The Pokémon on those two floors were beaten so badly that they started questioning their lives.
In truth, as long as it was not facing an entire group, Mawile’s strength already ranked among the very best in the Super-ancient Pyramid. There were almost no Pokémon with greater individual combat power than it.
After bringing Jillian to the top floor, the two of them retraced their steps and returned the way they had come, marking the end of this expedition to the Super-ancient Pyramid.
Before Terrance left, Jillian sincerely extended an invitation and told him a piece of news that piqued his interest.
The annual Star Festival of Seven Stars City was about to begin. When the time came, Seven Stars City’s special altar would connect with the power of the stars in the sky, creating an exceptionally beautiful spectacle.
“If Elite Four Terrance is interested in the Star Festival, please be sure to visit Wind Fist Style Dojo when the time comes,” Jillian said.
“If I have the opportunity.” Terrance smiled slightly, but his attention was focused on the Star Festival she had described. “What do you mean by connecting with the power of the stars?”
“It’s an ancient altar that has existed in Seven Stars City since ancient times. I think it was built by ancient people… As for connecting with the power of the stars, it seems to rely on the power of Pokémon.”
“Cosmic Power?”
“Yes, that’s the move.”
An altar that connected with the power of the stars through Cosmic Power… another piece of ancient wisdom?
Terrance shook his head inwardly and did not dwell on it. If the opportunity arose, he would look into it then. Right now, he was somewhat sensitive to anything related to stars, because during his analysis with Rotom Pokédex, they had determined that most of the Fairy energy on this planet was radiated from the moon.
If the moon’s power could be utilized, then perhaps Altaria could become even stronger…
…
…
Terrance’s trip to the Super-ancient Pyramid yielded three gains.
The first was a Cherrim with top-tier vocal talent. Terrance had no intention of raising this Pokémon as a main Pokemon and instead viewed it as a member of the “Pokémon Diva Idol Project.” However, Cherrim’s Ability was exceptionally well suited for Sunny Day. In addition to voice training, Terrance wanted to leave it with some Ability-focused training assignments. If so, it might end up playing an unforeseen role in the future.
The second was the century-old Power Herbs he had unexpectedly obtained from the Super-ancient Pyramid. Terrance planned to study them carefully after returning. If this amount of Power Herb could significantly increase Altaria’s strength, then no matter the cost, he would continue acquiring more through every possible means. Alternatively, he would start from scratch, cultivate herbs himself, and then hire the League’s exclusive Grass-type Pokémon to accelerate their growth.
The third was Mawile. After Rotom Pokédex finished analyzing and recording all of its data, Terrance planned to use Fairy Aura to stimulate its deeper potential. At the same time, he and Rotom Pokédex would work out how to integrate it into the Fairy Army. Even if it could not become an independent core member, it still needed to provide the greatest possible tactical value.
After bidding farewell to Jillian and Mr. Yoshi, Terrance returned to Fallarbor Town and began putting these plans into action.
Then, in the blink of an eye, it was time for the lecture he was scheduled to conduct with Professor Birch.
Littleroot Town.
A town that can’t be shaded any hue.
Here, the building in the southern part of town was Professor Birch’s Laboratory. Some aspiring Pokémon Trainers about to begin their journeys could come here and choose Treecko, Torchic, or Mudkip from Professor Birch as their Starter Pokémon.
Upon arriving, Terrance saw the round-bellied, friendly-looking Pokémon researcher and immediately greeted him enthusiastically. As the representative researcher of the Hoenn region, Professor Birch held considerable status in academic circles. Since this was the first time the two had met, they quickly exchanged a series of polite courtesies.
“Hahaha, Elite Four Terrance, my laboratory is rather simple, please forgive me.”
Professor Birch specialized in researching Pokémon habitats in the Hoenn region, and has a laboratory that feels quite close to nature. Terrance naturally did not mind and quickly returned the courtesy.
Then Professor Birch suddenly thought of something interesting and spoke up.
“Oh, right. A rookie Trainer is coming today to choose a Pokémon. Elite Four Terrance, would you like to guess her identity? You might find it interesting.”
“Here’s a hint, she’s related to Mr. Norman.”
You can read ahead upto 65 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon.