"Finally here."
After crossing a complex mountain range and seeing the massive walls, Terrance squinted and adjusted his collar.
"That wasn't easy."
Entering Mt. Coronet from the direction of Canalave City, if not for Altaria flying up a few times to scout the path, Terrance might not have found the correct route so quickly.
It was already dark when he reached the academy's entrance, where a Pokémon stopped him.
"Staraptor, huh?" Terrance greeted it, saying, "Do you still remember me?"
This Staraptor belonged to the academy and was responsible for patrolling the outskirts. It had met Terrance before.
After taking a closer look at him, Staraptor seemed to recognize Terrance and nodded, granting him permission to enter.
Once inside, Terrance passed by a small building that functioned as a reception office. To his surprise, the person on duty was someone familiar. Noticing the puzzled look on the other's face, Terrance greeted with a wave, marking the second greeting he had exchanged since entering the academy.
"Teacher Issac? Long time no see..."
Terrance smiled warmly. The man before him was none other than Issac, one of the academy's teachers and father of Candice, the current Gym Leader of Snowpoint Gym.
"Are you... Terrance?!"
Teacher Issac rubbed his eyes in disbelief as he recognized the person standing in front of him before bursting into a tirade, "Are you still a student? You've been on leave for more than a year!"
"Well..." Terrance replied, "It was all unexpected, Teacher Issac."
With a sigh, Issac said, "So, it's you, kid. I thought you were one of the new students arriving this year."
"Oh? Is it that time of year again?" Terrance asked, intrigued.
"This year, we've got even fewer students—only three. Not even enough to fill a class," Issac shook his head. "Looks like we'll have to do some reforms."
"Is that so..." Terrance nodded. Before he had left, the number of students enrolling into the academy had already been decreasing each year. Now, they couldn't even form a full class, signaling that they really have to go through reforms.
"Alright, you should go on in." Issac waved his hand. "Oh, and come see me tomorrow. I want to check if you've neglected your training during your year off."
Terrance grinned. "I'll definitely surprise you."
...
...
Clack, clack, clack.
When Terrance arrived at the dormitory building, it was already late, so he only contacted Akon to get the key and didn't visit anyone else.
The room had already been tidied up by Akon. Terrance was tired from the long day. Although he had slept in the car for a while, he still hadn't rested enough. Not long after lying down, he drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Terrance was woken up by Akon. After a quick wash, his first stop was to visit Teacher Forrest.
Teacher Forrest was Terrance's homeroom teacher for the Breeder Class, responsible for overseeing his graduation. To apply for graduation, Terrance had to get the application form from him.
The requirement for graduating from the Breeder Class was obtaining the Junior Breeder license, which Terrance had already met when he first enrolled. So, it was just a formality.
"You're applying for graduation?"
Upon finding Teacher Forrest, Terrance was immediately scolded for not yet obtaining the Intermediate Breeder license. After that, Forrest fell into deep thought over Terrance's request.
"Technically, you've been at Crown Academy for over three years now. Applying for graduation at this point is understandable, but since you've been away for over a year, even if your Breeder skills haven't improved, I assume you've captured some new Pokémon?" Forrest asked.
"New Pokémon…" Terrance scratched his head. Aside from Castform, not really.
"What I mean is, you've definitely improved as a Trainer, right? After all, you were trained by that bas*ard Julian for quite some time, so you couldn't have slacked off in that department, could you?"
"Yeah." Terrance nodded, feeling confident about the growth of his Pokémon.
"That's good then! In that case, why not go test your strength in one of the academy's trial grounds before applying for graduation? I remember you used to frequently go to the trial grounds of Trainer and Coordinator Class and rack up credits..." As Forrest finished speaking, Terrance's eyes widened.
Of course! Old people are really wiser—why hadn't he thought of this sooner? He could totally earn some extra rewards before graduating!
Over the past year:
Beautifly reached the pinnacle of the Pokémon Contest.
Swablu evolved into Altaria, and fought against veteran Gym Leaders, Legendary Pokémon, Steven, and dominated the Hoenn's Battle Tower.
Misdreavus evolved perfectly into Mismagius with a Dusk Stone after absorbing dual energies in Lavender Town, creating a new illusion skill, and mastering Lucky Chant, resulting in a massive power boost.
Growlithe, using a high-purity Fire Stone and aided by Bloody Wing, activated Outrage, and with the Macho Brace, it perfected Extreme Speed and Flare Blitz moves, greatly enhancing its physique.
As for the newly caught Castform, it fused with the energy of rare Dragonair's Dragon Orb, and while holding Mystic Water and Damp Rock, pushed its Rainy Day ability to unimaginable levels. It could even suppress Legendary Pokémon Regirock's Sandstorm move in the desert—a truly miraculous feat.
In one year, Terrance's strength had grown significantly.
It was important to note that Terrance's previous trial records at the academy were set when most of his Pokémon "hadn't even evolved".
Forrest had no idea what kind of impact his reminder would have on the trial grounds of Crown Academy. Seeing Terrance suddenly burst into a silly grin, Forrest was momentarily confused.
"Oh, by the way, that Ralts... no, I should say Gallade, is currently guarding the Tower of Despair."
"I already heard about that," Terrance said, unsure of how to feel; he had already heard it from Akon yesterday.
Upon hearing that Terrance was returning, Gallade had voluntarily challenged the academy's trial ground, the Tower of Despair.
Gallade now belonged to the academy. Since its strength met the standard, it is allowed to guard the Tower of Despair.
Speaking of the Tower of Despair, it was considered the academy's most difficult trial ground. In theory, it had one hundred floors, with each floor guarded by a Pokémon—some from students, some from teachers, and others from the academy itself. These were among the strongest and most prestigious one hundred Pokémon. [TN: I previously used level, will be using floor from now on.]
However, this number was more of a symbolic figure, as there weren't actually that many Pokémon guarding the tower.
A year ago, Terrance only had Beautifly, a single Pokémon, who could barely challenge the Tower of Despair with its "technique".
Unless you were a student in the Graduation Class, it was best not to even think about challenging that place. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of time and a hit to your confidence. The tower was designed as a trial for the most exceptionally talented students.
The Tower of Despair was also the trial ground that Terrance had explored the least. Just like its name, for most students, challenging the tower could only be described as despairing.
"No one would have thought that the Gallade, who could only use Teleport, would successfully challenge the Tower of Despair with just Slash move..." Forrest shook his head.
"I've made up my mind. I'll apply for graduation in half a month," Terrance said after some thought. "Thank you for the reminder."
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