At LaRousse Airport, a group of young boys and girls, all wearing the same team uniform, disembarked from the plane. One of them, a bald boy, slowly took off his hat and looked around.
“This place looks even more bustling than our Castelia City…” Kaveh rubbed his bald head and said to the four people behind him, “Remember to be polite now that we’re in someone else’s territory.”
“Stop babbling. The boss already mentioned that.”
A black-haired boy picked his nose with a bored expression.
These five were Trainers from the Castelia Club in Unova’s Castelia City. Following them, a man in a suit and another Trainer in a team uniform also got off the plane. The man in the suit took a deep breath of air and said, “This is what I admire about Hoenn—no matter how advanced the technology is, the air here is still so fresh.”
“I wonder how strong the Frontier Club’s Trainers are,” a blonde twin-tailed girl said expectantly.
“Heh…there’s no need to be hopeful or worry. From what I know, Frontier Club didn’t even have any signed members under 15 years old before…In such a short time, even if that fatty Scott found some people at the last moment, I don’t believe he could find Trainers stronger than you guys,” the man in the suit said, originally calm, but the moment Scott was mentioned, he gritted his teeth in anger and said hatefully.
“This time, I’m going to teach him a lesson. Last time, he used that Brandon to humiliate me, but this time, I’ll get my revenge!”
After taking a deep breath, the man in the suit returned to his usual calm demeanor. The five Trainers shrugged, clearly used to the mood swings of their club’s boss. It was normal for him to get this way whenever Scott was mentioned.
They couldn’t help but wonder what kind of grudge could make their usually polite boss so angry…
“It’s okay, we have Kaveh… I believe no one can beat Kaveh,” the only fair-skinned boy said with a smile. The others quickly agreed, looking at the bald boy with evident confidence in his abilities.
“Of course!” The man in the suit laughed and said, “I’ve already contacted that fatty. Someone will be here to pick us up soon.”
The seven of them waited, and before long, Scott, dressed in a blue shirt and large shorts, arrived with Hogan. As soon as they met, Scott confidently said, “Morde, this time you’re definitely going to lose, for real!”
“Still spouting nonsense, Scott. You haven’t changed at all!” the man in the suit, Morde, replied.
“Are these the Trainers you brought? They look decent, but compared to our Trainers, they’re still a bit lacking.”
“Lacking? What a joke. If I lose, I’ll wear your clothes back to Unova!”
“No need! Just remember our bet!”
Morde and Scott continued to bicker for a while, with no one else interrupting. It wasn’t until they had their fill of arguing that they both burst out laughing.
“I’ve already booked rooms for you. As for the battle, we’ll start once your Trainers have adjusted to the environment here,” Scott said, “So, you can’t use the excuse of not being acclimatized.”
“That won’t happen.” Morde turned his head away, then asked suspiciously, “By the way, didn’t you bring your Trainers?”
He glanced at Hogan’s attire and age, knowing this person couldn’t be one of the Trainers they’d face. Hogan was likely an experienced member of the club, like the one next to him, there to lead and provide guidance.
“They just finished a tough training session and are resting.” Scott chuckled, shaking his finger with a mysterious look.
“It would be useless.” Morde glanced at Kaveh, equally confident.
…
Terrance lay on the bed, staring intently at the notes he had compiled.
Three weeks had passed since the initial selection of the five slots.
Finally, the five candidates were confirmed half a month ago.
Terrance, Shiro, Ethan, Troy, and Saki!
Saki was the only female among the eleven Trainers who made it through. Initially, she didn’t stand out much, but during the half a month time limit, she secured one of the five spots with a Pokémon she had never used before.
That Pokémon was incredibly strong, and it played a crucial role in helping her crush the other. So….the Trainer named Yami was destined to lose.
It could be said that with one powerful Pokémon, she secured her place among the top five.
The other four also faced various challenges, but their positions never changed, which shows that Hogan had a good eye. The five Trainers he selected managed to hold onto their spots.
“Ah, that felt great,” Terrance said as he stretched. After the final candidates were confirmed, the five of them underwent a new round of special training. It is said to be the most intense and stressful training that every member of the club had to go through before an official competition.
It can elevate the participants’ mental state and reflexes to their peak, and also push the Pokémon’s stamina and battle awareness to perfection.
After the grueling training, both the Trainers and their Pokémon enjoyed an unprecedented luxurious meal, full of nutritional supplements. Terrance had initially worried that the stark contrast between the diet and the intense training might cause some adverse reactions. But after a day’s rest, he felt more energized and in better condition than ever.
It seems that the methods developed by professionals do have their merits.
Out of the eleven Trainers, six didn’t make the cut. Terrance had battled all six and, as expected, won.
Moreover, Terrance believed that his Pokémon hadn’t even displayed their full potential.
The others had more or less similar experiences to Terrance.
Having defeated only one person, the Trainers who didn’t make the cut were undoubtedly unwilling to accept it. So, over the past half month, almost everyone had battled against those six at least once.
The only real surprise was when Saki defeated Yami and took his spot.
“Pika pika pika pika, pika pika pika chu~~”
Terrance’s new ringtone went off, and he took out his communicator. The battle time had been set for two days later. Seeing the exact time, Terrance finally felt relieved—it would soon be over.
What awaited him next was the final Pokémon Contest and the Grand Festival.
…
Two days later.
In a private battle arena on the first floor of the High-level Area of Battle Tower, the seven members of Frontier Club arrived early.
Soon after, Terrance looked toward the corridor, where a team dressed in blue uniforms entered.
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