Even so, in the end, Terrance still decided to head to Nightmare Island first with Albus Fujiki.
Before asking the two of them whether it was necessary to go to Saffron City, Terrance found Mr. Sam’s contact information and had a conversation with him first.
If an ordinary person tried to contact Mr. Sam, he might not pay much attention, but Terrance had already been introduced to him through Professor Oak. And Professor Oak was the foremost authority in the field of Pokémon research—so even though Mr. Sam was a psychic, he had to show some respect.
What’s more, Terrance was now a Gym Leader, a position of significance, unlike two years ago when he was just a naïve boy fresh out of the academy.
“I didn’t expect that… Even at the quickest pace, it would still take a month. Looks like I was too impatient.” Terrance shook his head.
Terrance originally thought that the “quick” in “mental strength quickly reaching its limit” meant it would happen in “an instant” or “a day,” but he didn’t expect the answer to be so frustrating.
Well… Even if it was a shortcut, it shouldn’t be too exaggerated. After all, the fact that humans could even wield mysterious powers like psychic power was already incredible. And even if the time could be shortened, based on the conditions mentioned by Sam, it might still not be possible to achieve at the moment.
Ever since Saffron Gym had been taken over by Sabrina, it had stopped accepting psychic apprentices. The materials that can be used to help psychic apprentices quickly reach the limits of their mental strength hadn’t been collected in the past few years either.
If he had the chance, he would check the Gym to see if anything was left, but Mr. Sam told Terrance not to get his hopes up too much…
With that, Terrance could only express his thanks before turning his focus back to Nightmare Island.
Even if Saffron Gym still had some materials, a month of training was too long—Terrance didn’t want to wait any longer. He planned to head straight to Nightmare Island with Albus and Fujiki.
Nightmare Island was relatively close to the Sinnoh mainland, but without a boat, the three of them could only go via by riding Flying-type Pokémon.
For Flying-type Pokémon, Terrance had Altaria, while Albus and Fujiki could ride Aerodactyl. However, their departure point had to be somewhere closer to Nightmare Island.
Otherwise, flying from Fallarbor Town to Nightmare Island would be nothing short of suicidal…
“Let’s take a ship to Sinnoh first!”
Albus suggested. Nightmare Island was located north of the Fiore region, and Sinnoh was the closest mainland to Fiore…
To get to the Fiore region first, they had to go to a special port in Sinnoh—since that was the only place with ships heading to Fiore.
After all, the Fiore region was not under the jurisdiction of the Pokémon League. Hoenn was also quite far from there, and the remote Fiore region didn’t have anything that would attract Hoenn’s shipping merchants to establish a regular route.
“I’ll take care of booking the S.S. Ticket. You and Fujiki get ready—we’re setting off early tomorrow morning,” Terrance said.
“No problem, I’ve been waiting for this day,” Albus said in high spirits.
Terrance had asked Albus if they should invite one or two more strong Trainers to come along, but Albus refused.
“I know Darkrai’s strength better than anyone. My Lucario can’t handle it alone, but with your Mega Altaria, it’ll be enough. If Darkrai is still there, that cave won’t be able to support too many people going in,” Albus was quite worried.
“Besides, this is something between me, Fujiki, and Darkrai. I don’t want too many people knowing about it. And your Mega Altaria… it’s not exactly something you want to expose, right? Even if we find someone we can really trust, would they truly be the right choice?”
Terrance thought over Albus’s words and then gave up on the idea of inviting more people.
During this time, Coordinators from various places had been arriving one after another in Fallarbor Town, drawn by the upcoming Pokémon Contest to be held here.
Chisana would also be returning to Fallarbor Town to participate in the Fallarbor Contest, but it seemed that Terrance would have to miss it. To travel to Nightmare Island, he decided to bring Altaria, Gallade, Mismagius, and Castform with him.
Meanwhile, Beautifly and Arcanine would stay behind at Fallarbor Gym to handle any unexpected situations.
The next day.
The three of them boarded a ship bound for Sinnoh, taking some time to travel from Hoenn to Sinnoh.
After disembarking, they arrived at a relatively desolate area, where Terrance and Albus called out Altaria and Aerodactyl.
“We need to go to Sunyshore City. The fastest way is to ride flying Pokémon. I know a shortcut that goes through the wilderness,” Albus said.
Altaria was undoubtedly an extremely rare Pokémon, and Aerodactyl even more so. It was an overlord from ancient times, and even today, the number of Aerodactyl in Trainers’ possession was probably fewer than ten.
Most Trainers didn’t even know what this Pokémon was.
Riding on Altaria, Terrance, along with Albus and Fujiki, who were on Aerodactyl, began to traverse the wilderness at high speed toward Sunyshore City.
“Oh my god, what is that?”
“Altaria? And what’s that other Pokémon?”
“My Piplup… it looks scared.”
Flying over the wilderness, in order to prevent harassment from other Flying-type Pokémon, Altaria and Aerodactyl fully unleashed their aura. Their high-speed flight, combined with the overwhelming aura that could suppress countless Pokémon, left many Trainers who were travelling in awe.
The Pokémon around these Trainers instinctively showed wariness… and even retreating in fear when they saw Altaria and Aerodactyl fly past, as if they had been intimidated by their sheer aura.
“Ever since Altaria underwent Mega Evolution, it seems to have gained even more elegance and charisma…” Terrance thought as he sat on Altaria’s back.
“Hey, a lot of Trainers have been looking up at us along the way,” Albus said with a grin.
“Careful not to choke on the air,” Terrance replied.
“Don’t worry, I’m used to it.” Albus lowered his head, seemingly curious about the commotion they were causing below. It wasn’t just the Trainers on their journey—even many wild Pokémon scattered in a panic, as if a predator had arrived.
Aerodactyl itself was a top-tier ancient predator, so it wasn’t surprising that weaker Pokémon were reacting this way.
However, just when the three of them thought they could reach Sunyshore City smoothly, they were suddenly intercepted by a Flamethrower.
A pillar of fire shot up into the sky. Even though Altaria and Aerodactyl were flying at a considerable height, they were still forced to stop.
This was a mountainous area. After being blocked by the Flamethrower, the three of them were momentarily stunned, and their Pokémon halted as well, trying to assess the situation.
“Looks like there’s a Trainer.”
“Ignore them, just leave,” Terrance said.
“Alright,” Albus agreed, indifferent.
With that, they signaled their Pokémon to continue flying—but just as they moved… another Flamethrower shot up into the sky.
“Who the hell is that?”
This time, not only Albus and Fujiki, but even Terrance was angry. He was determined to see who kept blocking them again and again.
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