The next day.
Mismagius, who had been disguised as Carter, sent good news. Although they received punishment, they were reassigned to another branch.
It seemed that because the original Carter had shown good potential, he was still given the position of captain.
Hearing this news, Terrance finally felt at ease. After entrusting the task of communicating with Mismagius to Jade Joy, Terrance returned to the laboratory, intending to leave.
"Leaving already?"
Nero's eyes were red; not from sadness over Terrance's departure, but simply because his eyes were sore from day and night research.
"Yeah. Uh, what happened to your hair?" Terrance asked awkwardly, looking at Nero's messy, afro hairstyle.
"It got like this during an experiment," Nero said, scratching his hair vigorously before quickly adding, "I won't go over everything again, but if you're planning to give that Light Ball to someone, make sure they don't attempt fusion recklessly."
"What's wrong?" Terrance was taken aback.
"After putting the two Light Balls I traded for into research, I've already had a half-successful case."
"It succeeded?!" Terrance was astonished.
"Yeah. Out of five different Electric-type Pokémon, only Pikachu succeeded," Nero said, his eyes gleaming. "Pikachu seems to be the Pokémon most compatible with a Light Ball. However, even though the electrical energy inside the Light Ball isn't that much, an ordinary Pikachu simply can't withstand the intense stimulation during the electrical fusion process. Forget using it to enhance vitality and power, the challenge is surviving the fusion without being injured."
"Your Pikachu…"
"It's already been sent to Nurse Joy. The Light Ball was separated, it was a failed fusion." Nero shook his head, sounding regretful.
"You're planning to give the Light Ball to a Pikachu too, right? That's a dangerous thing to do. You should think it over again. Or better yet, wait until I've perfected the research, then I'll contact you, and you can bring it here so that I can assist with the fusion." Nero advised.
"So it's that dangerous…" Terrance frowned, then suddenly froze as a realization struck him.
It was just like when Altaria tried to fuse with the Flame of Life!
When Altaria mimicked Entei's flame, the Flame of Life, it had always been stuck at the point of fusing the flames with life energy.
Terrance and Altaria had tried many methods to merge the two types of energy.
For example, wrapping the life energy with the power of fire, or covering the power of fire with life energy, but every attempt ended in failure. The stronger energy would instantly consume the weaker one completely.
And when they tried to make the two energies reach an equilibrium point, the situation became even worse—the interacting energies exploded into a violent force that injured Altaria. If not for Altaria's extraordinary physique, it probably would've needed treatment just like Nero's Pikachu.
The situation with Altaria's failed Flame of Life fusion was strikingly similar to what Nero had described about Pikachu's failed Light Ball fusion. This only strengthened Terrance's determination to witness a successful Light Ball fusion himself.
Weighing the risks, Terrance decided to postpone his plan to give the Light Ball to Ash. After all, he had promised to give Ash a gift only if Ash reached the top eight in the Indigo Plateau Conference, and that was still a long way off. There were plenty of other options for now.
Still, Terrance felt that Ash's Pikachu was somehow different from others. During his time mentoring the future Ash, Pikachu had already shown tremendous potential. The electric energy within its body was several times that of an ordinary Pikachu. Maybe… just maybe, the Light Ball and Ash's Pikachu truly were a perfect match.
If the fusion could succeed, it would also be helpful to Terrance's research on the Flame of Life.
"Then I'll be counting on you," Terrance said to Nero. The electrical fusion stimulating the vitality to enhance strength was related to Altaria's Flame of Life fusion, which was a serious matter!
"No trouble at all," Nero replied with a nod.
After expressing his thanks, Terrance left Pewter City and began heading east, embarking on a frenzy of challenges in the Pokémon Contests across the Kanto Region.
The Celadon Contest, the Saffron Contest, the Cinnabar Contest…
And finally, the Viridian Contest.
…
…
A month later, Terrance had challenged four cities' Pokémon Contests, winning every one of them with Little Vulpix.
And not just ordinary victories; each was an emphatic win. In pursuit of the perfect harmony between performance and battle for the Pokémon Contests, Terrance had subjected Little Vulpix to an intense and meticulous month-long special training regimen to refine its coordination to the extreme.
"This is your Ribbon."
At the closing ceremony of the Viridian Contest, Lilian handed Terrance the Ribbon, then leaned close to his ear and whispered softly:
"Mr. Terrance, you've already collected five Ribbons. That means you're planning to enter the Grand Festival next, right?"
"Well, that's undecided," Terrance said with a smile.
"Oh, come on~" Lilian pouted before quickly resuming her announcer persona, lifting the microphone to continue hosting the closing ceremony.
Terrance's rate of participation in Pokémon Contests had been incredibly high. Within just one month, he had swept through the entire Kanto Region. The techniques he displayed in the five contests were so dazzling that other Coordinators began feverishly imitating them.
Vulpix was practically born for coordination, and as it grew, it gradually demonstrated coordination skills rivaling those of Beautifly, becoming Terrance's other representative Pokémon in contests.
At the same time, because of Terrance, countless people began traveling to the Alola region, just to catch an Alolan Vulpix of their own.
"It's time to evolve."
Even as the crowd cheered his name, Terrance remained calm inside, having made up his mind to let Vulpix evolve.
Vulpix could be said to be the earliest Pokémon outside of his main team, and its foundation was incredibly strong. After evolution, its power would skyrocket dramatically!
A part of Terrance's team battle system was about to take shape.
But before that, right after the closing ceremony of the Viridian Contest, Terrance had something else to take care of first.
Just moments ago, the boy named Troy had contacted him...
"Exactly two months… has he already earned Pewter Gym's recognition?"
Terrance almost forgot about that kid. He hadn't expected that the Bug Catcher he'd casually given a few tips to would actually manage to earn the acknowledgement of Pewter Gym Leader Flint, Brock's father, in just two months—with a Pokémon like Weedle, no less.
"That's quite a miracle."
After the Viridian Contest closing ceremony, Terrance used his abundant experience to skillfully avoid the crowd and quietly slipped away alone, heading toward Viridian Forest.
Upon reaching the forest's outskirts, Terrance saw Troy waiting for him, still dressed like a Bug Catcher, and smiled faintly.
Interesting! He was curious to see just what kind of ability this boy possessed to have earned the approval of a Rock-type Gym Leader with a Beedrill.
****Please support on pat*eon for extra chapters; there is date to date subscription enabled on patreon. [There is a 7-day trial version availabe on patreon.]
https://www.pat*eon.com/dmtranslations
You can read ahead upto 65 chapters on my pa*reon.