Pokémon Court

Sootopolis City, a café.

Terrance, Albus, and Fujiki sat together, the atmosphere a bit strange.

After a long silence, Terrance asked: "Darkrai—has it recovered?"

"It has." Albus loosened his collar and pulled out a Poké Ball from it: "But its condition still isn't great. It'll need a bit more treatment."

"Still, for a regular battle, as long as it stays conscious, there's no problem."

Terrance didn't ask what method Albus and the others had used to help Darkrai recover. Instead, he looked at Albus and asked, "Your hair… and your complexion—what's going on?"

"Oh, that?" Albus laughed. "Probably just fatigue, hahaha."

"But anyway, Terrance, are you planning to participate in this festival too?"

"Too?" Terrance raised an eyebrow. "You're participating?"

Albus and Fujiki exchanged a glance, then turned to Terrance and said, "Not just me—Fujiki's participating as well."

Terrance looked at Fujiki, and, seeing her nod as well, felt inexplicably annoyed.

"Looks like I've got two more tough opponents to worry about… But I guess it's fine—neither of you has that many Pokémon." Terrance scratched his cheek. Seeing their confused expression, he went on to explain the information he had.

There were 17 different events. For people like Fujiki and Albus, who each had only two or three Pokémon, even though they were undeniably strong, they wouldn't have a huge impact on the whole festival.

That said, setting aside the 17 entertainment events and focusing just on battles—Albus's Lucario, if up against an average Coordinator, would probably be unbeatable… except if it is Wallace and Terrance himself.

Though he already had a guess, Terrance still asked the two, "Hey, tell me—you're not planning to participate as Coordinators, right?"

Seeing the strange looks on their faces, Terrance immediately realized he'd asked a pointless question. For this festival, each participant would receive an identity card. There were two types of cards: one representing Coordinators, and the other representing traditional Trainers.

Depending on which identity card was received, participants will be divided into different sides for the competition during the event.

That, too, was one of the charms of this Super Festival.

So, it was only after learning that Albus and Fujiki would also be participating that Terrance made that kind of face. With the strength the two of them possessed, they were definitely at Champion League level. As for Albus—when paired with his Lucario, he could even go toe-to-toe with the main lineup of certain Elite Four members. The overall strength of Coordinators wasn't that high, so facing opponents like them would likely end up disastrous.

Looking at Albus, Terrance was suddenly struck by a thought and blurted out, "Wait… You're not planning to use Darkrai too, are you?"

Albus paused, then chuckled. "If there's an event focused on Dark-type Pokémon, why not?"

Terrance fell silent, silently feeling relieved that he didn't have any Dark-type Pokémon—at least he wouldn't have to compete against Albus in that particular event. Darkrai was even stronger than Lucario. Lucario… Darkrai… With those two Pokémon in Albus's hands, he practically became the final boss for all the Coordinators trying to clear the event.

"Scared, aren't you?" Albus shamelessly slapped the table and burst into laughter when he saw Terrance go quiet.

"Scared your sister," Terrance replied, speechless.

"Act your age," Fujiki said, taking a sip of her coffee and giving the two a look.

"Ahem… scared?" Terrance gave Albus a sidelong glance. "If you still see me as the same person I was six months ago… you're going to lose. Badly."

"And have you not been following the Champion title defense match in the Kalos region?" Terrance gently set his cup back on the table.

"Mega Evolution?" Albus looked at Terrance and said, "It's not like I haven't battled your Mega Altaria before. Anyway, whether it's you, Wallace, or all the other participating Trainers—you're all on my list to defeat…"

"So let's just say… let's give it our all."

Albus lifted his coffee cup, his reflection shimmering on the surface.

…

"There's… not much time left. I wonder if I'll be able to hold out until the end of this festival," Albus said, watching Terrance's departing figure with a helpless expression.

"These two weeks… do you really have to participate in this festival?" Fujiki asked softly.

"There's a good chance that, within these two weeks, I might find a way to extend your life."

"Forget it. No more struggling. Didn't we already waste enough time on my issues when we were supposed to be finding a way to help Darkrai?" Albus shook his head. "I've lived long enough anyway. This is the price I have to pay…"

"This festival is drawing attention from four different regions. If I can make a big impression—say, by defeating Terrance, or that Wallace—my name should spread far and wide, right?" Albus stroked his chin. Just imagining people associating his name with the label "a truly formidable Trainer" made him smile with satisfaction.

"Let's go," Fujiki called out to him.

…

After learning that Albus would be participating in the festival, a heavy feeling settled in Terrance's heart.

During a conversation with Mr. Raoul Contesta, Terrance confirmed that this was a festival aimed at the youth level and would not feature Trainers with skills comparable to top-tier competitors.

Aside from the Coordinator representative Wallace… the Trainer side wasn't supposed to feature anyone particularly powerful.

But without a doubt, Albus possessed the kind of strength that could break the game's rules, whether through Lucario or Darkrai.

"A variable has appeared…" Terrance thought as he returned to his hotel room, already imagining the expressions of Raoul Contesta and the other Contest Committee members when they saw Albus's strength firsthand.

At the same time, it served as a wake-up call for Terrance: since a variable like Albus could appear, wasn't it also possible for other exceptionally strong Trainers with rule-breaking power to show up as well.

This wasn't something the Contest Committee could control.

On the Coordinators' side, relying solely on him and Wallace, can they really steal the spotlight from the Trainers?

"I wonder what other top Coordinators might be attending the festival…"

Terrance fell into deep thought—what was originally just a precautionary measure now seemed like something he would truly have to carry out.

Maybe they wouldn't be necessary for the initial 17 events, but Terrance, who had come to understand the true nature of the festival, knew for certain that in the end, there would be a showdown between standout Coordinators and Trainers!

Only by using traditional Trainer methods to make Coordinators surpass Trainers in battle can the status of Pokémon Contests be truly cemented!

But if that were the case… even though Terrance had plenty of trump cards, if there were two Trainers on the level of Albus on the opposing side, things wouldn't be so safe for the Coordinators.

If they didn't establish a clear, overwhelming advantage, then the whole festival would be meaningless.

"It's just a Sparkling Stone. Give me one week, and I can have Altaria master the Totem Aura!"

Totem Aura, Mini Z-Moves, Mega Evolution—Terrance was confident he could suppress even Darkrai and Lucario at full power!

Having made up his mind, Terrance immediately contacted his assistant during this period, Sharan… there were some things he needed her to handle.

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