Pokémon Court-Chapter 512: Pokémon Contest’s special guest

"Yes! In order to become a Top Coordinator, how could I pass up such a great opportunity? Besides... the winner of Fallarbor Ribbon gets to battle you on the Battle Stage, Brother Terrance. Facing off against you in front of a huge audience and so many Coordinators..." Chisana's eyes lit up. "And it won't be a performance-style battle, but a real battle. I've wanted to compete against you on a real stage for so long!"

"This will be the best test of everything I've gained from my travels over the past year!"

"A brat is still just a brat..." Terrance cast him a sidelong glance. "If you want to challenge me, you'll have to make it to the very end. And during the evaluation, I won't be going easy on you."

"Of course I'll make it to the end!" Chisana declared confidently.

...

"There are quite a few promising people in this time's Fallarbor Contest..."

Terrance's sharp gaze scanned the area from the second floor, where he spotted a familiar face.

It was unclear whether the person had come specifically because of him, but they certainly shared a unique connection.

Sora.

A rookie Coordinator Terrance had encountered during his first Pokémon Contest in the Hoenn region. Back then, he had given Sora guidance using the battle, effectively serving as a mentor of sorts to her.

"This is getting interesting. A year has passed—I wonder how much she has grown."

...

Not lingering there for too long, Terrance returned to the Old Green House, preparing to train some of his Pokémon.

Back at the Old Green House, Terrance instinctively picked up his phone, only to find that the message he had been expecting had not arrived.

Dark Paulownia Wood.

Its surface was pitch-black, with a rough texture.

Terrance had received only limited information about the material of the dream device from Teacher Teresa—just its name and some of its properties.

To this day, no one knows the exact conditions under which this material forms. It is always found in a fully formed state.

There is a legend that claims Dark Paulownia Wood is the remnant of a Shiftry's body after death, preserved through certain special means. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Though Terrance wasn't particularly convinced by this theory, it still seemed the most credible compared to the others.

Dark Paulownia Wood is one of the most resilient known materials. However, it has not been widely used due to its extreme difficulty in processing, its lack of known sources, and its rarity.

Additionally, Dark Paulownia Wood has a significant side effect—it can erode the soul...

When Terrance received this information, he frowned. In his previous life, the concept of a soul either didn't exist or couldn't be proven. But in this world, souls undeniably existed.

Some Ghost-type Pokémon grow by consuming human souls. Some can even pull a person's soul out of their body!

Moreover, this world has a "spirit world" that remains largely unexplored by humans.

Besides this, there were other pieces of information about Dark Paulownia Wood, though Terrance didn't find them as important.

He had speculated that Darkrai's illness might be related to Dark Paulownia Wood, but he wasn't certain. He had no idea whether Albus had found the root cause of Darkrai's condition. However, just in case, Terrance had found a way to relay everything he knew about Dark Paulownia Wood to Albus. Yet, there had been no response.

Terrance was starting to wonder if the contact information Albus had left him was even real.

Pushing the matter aside for now, Terrance used his training time to review his speech for the next day...

Since he would be appearing as a public figure, his behavior and demeanor must be sufficiently courteous, and it's best to avoid making any mistakes.

It was worth mentioning that the winner of the Fallarbor Contest this time would get to battle Terrance—who was both a special guest and a judge—on the Battle Stage as the closing event. This was the most coveted part of the competition.

If someone could defeat Terrance on the Battle Stage, they would become famous overnight.

Given Terrance's current reputation in Hoenn, truly defeating him—even in a Pokémon Contest—would be an achievement no less prestigious than earning the title of Top Coordinator.

For some Coordinators, defeating Terrance before obtaining the title of Top Coordinator would be an invaluable boost to their future careers.

The next day.

Terrance arrived at the Pokémon Contest Hall early in the morning and met the two other judges for the contest.

"Nurse Joy... Mr. Fuego, good morning," Terrance greeted them.

"A pleasure to meet you." Fuego smiled and shook hands with Terrance.

Nurse Joy was already acquainted with Terrance, so the two simply exchanged nods.

"There are so many outstanding contestants in the Fallarbor Contest this time, it's really something to look forward to~," Fuego sighed in admiration. "I've seen the list of participants, and there are quite a few excellent Coordinators who have already made quite a name for themselves."

"It seems that the opportunity to battle a Top Coordinator... is quite tempting," Fuego said with a smile as he looked at Terrance.

"Heh... I'm also very happy to see so many talented Coordinators," Terrance replied with a smile.

The three of them chatted casually for a while and discussed some of the upcoming judging matters. Then, Nurse Joy suddenly spoke up.

"It's almost time."

"Mm, let's go then."

"Let's go."

...

As the Announcer Vivian took the microphone and stepped onto the stage...

The Pokémon Contest Hall was already packed with a full audience!

"Hello, everyone!! I'm your announcer, Vivian. The grand Pokémon Contest, the Fallarbor Contest, will be kicking off once again today!!"

"Over the past few iterations of the Fallarbor Contest, those who have been following this new contest closely must have noticed its growth. That's right—today, the Fallarbor Contest is taking another big step forward! A Top Coordinator who hails from Fallarbor Town and the current Fallarbor Gym's Gym Leader, Mr. Terrance, is serving as our special guest this time and will be one of the judges for our contestants!!"

Swish!

The stage lights instantly turned toward the judges' table, focusing on Terrance.

Terrance stood up, smiling as he greeted the audience.

"Now, allow me to introduce the three judges to everyone."

"First, as we just mentioned, Mr. Terrance!"

Feeling the weight of the audience's attention, Terrance couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. This was a completely different experience from competing.

However, his past experiences proved useful—at the very least, he managed to keep himself composed and avoided making a fool of himself.

"..." Following the script he had prepared beforehand, Terrance smoothly delivered his short speech. As the hall erupted in applause, he let out a quiet sigh of relief and sat back down.

"So that's Terrance, huh? He's so young—he doesn't even look 20, does he?" In the audience, people began whispering among themselves.

Today, Terrance was dressed in formal attire, and his mature demeanor made him appear a few years older than he actually was.

"Not even 20? From what I've heard, Terrance isn't even 15 yet..." someone murmured.

While the announcer continued enthusiastically introducing the judges on stage, the audience's attention was entirely focused on the young judge—Terrance!

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