Following the three people as they set off, Terrance felt an unusual sense of relaxation. The Grand Festival had been like a heavy stone pressing on his heart, constantly driving him to work hard towards collecting Ribbons. If Terrance were to participate in several Pokémon Contests all at once, even if he won them all, he would undoubtedly feel exhausted.
This exhaustion would be detrimental to Terrance's participation in the Grand Festival and his battles against other skilled Coordinators. However, after receiving the invitation from the trio, Terrance decided to temporarily set aside thoughts of Pokémon Contests and focus on the matter of Regirock, which significantly relaxed his mind.
"Yeah... If I collect all five Ribbons in one go, both my body and mind would surely become weary."
"It would also be hard for the audience who support me to see each of my performances... Participating in Pokémon Contests at intervals allows me to relax in between and gives my Pokémon time to prepare for the next Contest. It also lets people know my upcoming plans, giving them enough time to prepare... Any way I look at it, this approach has more advantages than disadvantages."
"Winning three contests quickly and then resting for half a year until the Grand Festival? That's not suitable... Frequent participation would reduce the audience's anticipation towards me, and disappearing for too long would make them forget about me. I still have three Ribbons left; it's not wise to collect them too quickly. The appearance of Ishi and the others reminded me of this," Terrance thought to himself.
---
LaRousse City.
Upon arriving, Terrance and his companions found a place to stay and collapsed onto their beds. The journey from Lilycove City to LaRousse City hadn't been long, but a small mishap along the way meant they arrived late at night. Even though Terrance was in pretty good shape, he couldn't resist the urge to sleep.
The next morning, after they had recovered their energy, Maki started contacting the other two people.
"Most Trainers are traveling right now, so finding a skilled Trainer isn't easy. But in LaRousse City, it is quite simple," Ishi explained to Terrance.
"It's because of the Battle Tower, right?" Terrance asked.
Ishi nodded. "That's right, the Battle Tower."
LaRousse City is Hoenn's main hub for technological research, and its level of technological advancement is the highest in Hoenn. The city is located at the confluence of two rivers in northern Hoenn, situated on an island. It features a large park, a Battle Tower, and a commercial district. You can reach the city via a monorail that circles the island, and there is also a bridge to the north of the island.
Besides Terrance, the Adventure Team had found the other two Trainers in LaRousse City's Battle Tower.
"The Holy Land for Hoenn's Trainers." Terrance's last impression of the Battle Tower was when he was carefully researching the characteristics of various regions of Hoenn at the Weather Institute.
The Battle Tower had captured Terrance's interest back then.
This Battle Tower is similar to the Crown Academy's Tower of Despair and the student battle zones, but it doesn't have the feature of climbing levels. Instead, it exclusively offers single battles, with challenges divided into beginner and advanced areas.
Each round consists of 7 battles, with no breaks, no changing Pokémon, and no use of medicines allowed in between battles.
In other words, to win, a Trainer must defeat all seven other Trainers challenging the Battle Tower in a single run.
"Both of them are rookie Trainers who achieved a winning streak of 35 battles, qualifying them for the advanced area," Arvin explained. "Reaching the advanced area standard... even if they participated in the Ever Grande Conference, they would likely achieve excellent results."
Terrance glanced over and saw the enormous Battle Tower through the technologically advanced city. It was tall and magnificent.
"I remember wanting to challenge the Battle Tower back then," Terrance thought.
He wanted Altaria to perfect its "Erase" technique by continuously battling different Trainers at the Battle Tower, exposing Altaria to a variety of moves and leaving a lasting impression of those moves in its mind.
"After the Grand Festival, I'll bring Altaria to challenge the Battle Tower, experience various moves, and then head to nature-rich areas to fully perfect the Erase Technique!"
"It took two years to develop the Erase Technique's prototype. So, now should spend another two years perfecting it! The goal is to make the Erase Technique a natural instinct for Altaria. Only then can this technique surpass other moves; otherwise, it's just a technique with limited use."
The Battle Tower allows for continuous challenges. Successfully completing 5 rounds, or achieving a 35-win streak, qualifies a trainer to advance to the advanced area.
Moreover, according to Terrance's understanding, it seems that as the winning streak increases, different rewards are also given out here.
However, Terrance's goal wasn't the rewards. What he sought were diverse battle opportunities. With Hoenn's largest gathering of Trainers, Altaria could constantly engage in battles, experiencing different moves to perfect the Erase Technique. This was undoubtedly a great place for Altaria to gain experience.
Deliberate losses to encounter more diverse moves was their main goal.
"They're here," Maki said.
Two young men, around twenty years old, one with slightly dark skin and the other wearing an earring, introduced themselves as Albert and Murasakibara.
During the introductions, both of them focused on Terrance. While they were familiar with each other, being regulars at the Battle Tower, they were doubtful about the much younger-looking Terrance.
However, being invited by Maki and the others, they refrained from saying much. Terrance noticed their surprise but simply smiled, indicating that his strength would be proven in due time.
"Alright, everyone's here," Ishi said.
"It's not too late. Let's set off as soon as possible and try to reach Mauville City early."
Mauville City is the closest major city to the Hoenn Desert. They could use it as a transit hub for rest and resupply before setting off to Route 111 and entering the Hoenn Desert.
"Just the three of us?" The earring-wearing Trainer suddenly asked. "We're going to look for a Legendary Pokémon and even battle it. Isn't that too few people?"
"Legendary Pokémon... shouldn't be easy to deal with, right?" The dark-skinned Albert also looked serious. "I've heard that Hoenn's Frontier Brain, Mr. Brandon the Pyramid King, has the Regi Trio... and that battle..."
"Yeah——" the earring-wearing Trainer continued. After learning they were going to challenge Regirock, they had researched information on this Legendary Pokémon.
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