Within Mirage Kingdom, Steven and Terrance looked up at the mirage suspended in the sky, feeling some admiration for the wisdom of the ancients.
“Are you confident?” Steven asked.
“There’s no doubt that behind it lies a massive treasure trove, but how much value can be developed from it is still unknown,” Terrance said. “However, according to the agreement, the benefits Mirage Kingdom can obtain are closely tied to the degree to which the paradise is developed. No matter how things progress, they won’t suffer a loss, at any rate. If I really can create a powerful Fairy Army, then honestly, even paying a little more would be worth it.”
“Still, I don’t quite understand,” Steven nodded.
“Mm…” Terrance naturally knew what Steven did not understand.
Even League Champions and some veteran Elite Four did not expand their foundations as urgently as Terrance did. This time, in order to obtain the development rights to Togepi Paradise in Mirage Kingdom, Terrance had paid a considerable price.
When the benefits allocated to Mirage Kingdom came due, the vast majority of them would be carved out of Terrance’s own share.
“It’s worth it.” Terrance grinned. The threats of Team Magma and Team Aqua, Olympia’s prophecy, Xerneas’s warning, and the great war in Hoenn region caused by Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre in the parallel timeline—all of these were things that required strength to face.
Putting aside everything else, as long as he could deal with Team Magma and Team Aqua, that alone would be more useful than anything.
The merits of an Elite Four were no cheap thing.
Besides that, Terrance had his own plans. He did not intend to sit in the position of Elite Four for the rest of his life, or even for several decades, so he naturally wanted to squeeze out the benefits that the title of Elite Four could bring him as quickly as possible.
When the time came and his wings had fully grown, even if he took off the Elite Four medal, as long as his foundation was deep enough, he would no longer have to worry about this and that.
“All right.” Steven rubbed his head and stopped worrying about Terrance’s aggressive approach. In his view, Terrance’s sense of crisis was a bit too strong.
“Speaking of which, you don’t plan to take part in this season’s Champion Challenge?”
As they chatted, Steven suddenly grew curious about Terrance’s current strength and could not help asking.
Glacia, Phoebe, and Sidney, the three Elite Four, had not challenged for the position of Champion in a very long time. As for Terrance, this newly appointed Elite Four, Steven had yet to truly go all out against him.
“I have no such plan for the time being,” Terrance said bluntly. “At the very least, let me warm the Elite Four seat first. After I’ve had enough of experiencing what it feels like to be an Elite Four, it won’t be too late to become Champion.”
“You’re certainly not modest.” Steven smiled faintly and said, “All right, then. I’ll wait for the day you feel like challenging me.”
……
Mirage Kingdom officially joined the Hoenn League, becoming one of its member countries. At the same time as its status changed, the Mirage royal family did not forget to place greater importance on Togepi Paradise.
From here on, this place would be an important trump card determining what status Mirage could ultimately reach. They could not afford to be careless; it had to be heavily protected.
From now on, this place was no longer the exclusive possession of Mirage Kingdom. The Fairy Elite Four Terrance was also one of its major owners.
The date for the official development of Togepi Paradise was set for half a month later. During this half month, the managers of the Togepi Temple and the Mirage royal family still needed to spend some time consulting the ancient texts, organizing the secrets of Togepi Paradise in greater detail, analyzing them, and striving to make the first development absolutely foolproof.
“Has Elite Four Terrance already left?”
After Terrance left, the current king of Mirage Kingdom looked toward the Togepi Temple and said, “What did he say before he left?”
“Nothing much… He only left behind his Togekiss and another Pokémon.”
“And when he left, he seemed to be worried about something…”
Princess Sara shook her head, somewhat puzzled.
“Even until the end, that matter still…” The king hesitated, then stopped.
Princess Sara’s expression immediately turned gloomy, and she continued shaking her head. Most members of the royal family hoped she could form a connection with Terrance, but after many hints, Princess Sara also understood. Terrance’s ambitions did not lie here. The two of them were destined to be people from different worlds, and with her alone, she could not bind Terrance to Mirage Kingdom’s side.
“What a pity. Sigh.” The king of Mirage sighed. Terrance was so young and promising, but unfortunately, Mirage Kingdom did not have that good fortune. If Terrance had come to the kingdom five years earlier and met Princess Sara, the two of them might not have failed to become a fine tale. But then again, at that time, the Mirage royal family probably would not have taken an ordinary Trainer like Terrance seriously at all.
After all, no one could predict the future.
“Sara, go and prepare for the authorization ceremony next. It’s time to hand this country over to you as well.”
“Yes.”
……
At the same time, the Fallarbor Contest in Fallarbor Town was nearing its end. May from Petalburg City successfully advanced to the finals, and after a fierce battle, obtained the first Ribbon since her debut.
“Mr. Norman’s daughter has entered the field of coordination and chosen to participate in Pokémon Contests. I wonder if it’s just a passing fancy…” On the judging platform, Mr. Raoul Contesta sighed inwardly. If Mr. Norman’s daughter could become a Top Coordinator and continue developing in this field, then it would certainly bring many benefits to the Pokémon Contest faction.
“That Beautifly of hers reminds me of the current Contest Master Terrance. What about you, Sukizo?”
“Yes indeed. I imagine she should be going to challenge Fallarbor Gym next,” Sukizo said with a smile.
After May won this Fallarbor Contest and obtained the Fallarbor Ribbon, Terrance also left Mirage Kingdom and returned to Fallarbor Town.
Terrance was deeply worried along the way. He had placed Togekiss in Togepi Paradise mainly because he wanted it to use the remaining power there to stabilize its condition, but Terrance was very worried that Togekiss would take this chance to turn Togepi Paradise upside down. Even though he had left Frogadier there as well, he still was not entirely at ease.
“Forget it. This is a test too.”
Togekiss had never been a Pokémon that gave Terrance peace of mind. It was even more unsolvable than Misdreavus had been back then. However, although Togekiss had repeatedly tried to break away from Terrance in the past, Terrance believed that it no longer had that thought now. Togekiss had already realized what Terrance had done for it. After all, Pokémon with hearts that were completely rotten were few and far between. Although Togekiss had a nasty personality, after spending so much time with Terrance, it could still distinguish between right and wrong on major issues. At the very least, in the Super-ancient Pyramid, during their training, Terrance had deliberately reduced the protective measures around himself, and under those circumstances, Togekiss had saved him more than once.
This was also the main reason Terrance trusted Togekiss.
Since those Togepi were close to Togekiss, leaving Togekiss behind first to get closer to them was not a problem. Terrance was mainly afraid that Togekiss would lead that group of Togepi into becoming “Toge-punks.”
“Togepi Paradise is a paradise nurtured by the spiritual energy of kind hearts, and the Togepi there also grew up in that kind of environment. I refuse to believe that Togekiss can really ignore all that spiritual energy and even lead those Togepi astray!” Terrance refused to believe it. While worrying, he was also looking forward to it, hoping that Togepi Paradise could bring Togekiss onto the right path… If it succeeded, then he would have far fewer headaches in the future.
The reason Terrance was rushing back to Fallarbor Town at this moment was that Fallarbor Gym would welcome two challengers today, two people whom Terrance regarded with great importance: Ash and May.
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