Last round (2-in-1)

"My name is Scott. I'm currently on my way back. I should arrive in LaRousse City in about two days, and the special training will officially start three days later. If you haven't reached the Battle Tower yet, please hurry."

It was a bulk text message. Terrance glanced at it and then put away his communicator.

"Two days, huh..."

"That's enough."

After finishing what he was doing, Terrance noted that Growlithe was still recovering. The next day, following the rules, Terrance registered the three Pokémon he would use in the battle: Altaria, Mismagius, and Beautifly.

As this was the most important round of battles to advance from the Beginner Area to the High-level Area, it received a lot of attention. The entire floor of the battle area would only hold this round of battles.

For regular rounds, all eight arenas would be used simultaneously in a battle area. However, for the final round, the other battle arenas would be cleared, and the main arena would be used for the ultimate showdown.

"Terrance, you'll be facing your final match on the second floor. You're quite lucky," the staff member said.

"Why?" Terrance asked.

"There are a total of seven floors in the Beginner Area, with fifty-six battle arenas, and each floor is connected."

Terrance nodded, as he already knew this.

"The second floor isn't too far back. Any audience on the lower floor who want to move up to the higher floor will almost certainly pass through here. As the only battle on this floor it's sure to attract a lot of spectators."

"Also, some promotion needs to be done before the battle. A lot of people will be watching, so please be prepared mentally and make sure to rest well for the battle."

In the preparation and rest room, Terrance waited while the Battle Tower did some promotion for this round of battles. He also thought about the prizes he could exchange for his thirty-five consecutive wins.

"Bright Powder, Silver Powder—I have just enough for a small portion..."

"It is far from sufficient for the Dragon Fang, and I'll need to achieve winning streaks in the High-level Area for the Macho Brace. But Salamence's Bloody Wing...I can just exchange for one portion. Should I do it?"

"There are too few things I can exchange." Terrance shook his head. Achieving consecutive wins to advance from the Beginner Area to the High-level Area did allow him to exchange for quite a few items. Even rare treasures like Bright Powder, Silver Powder, and Bloody Wing, which are usually hard to come by, could be exchanged. These items could significantly enhance a Pokémon's strength, but Terrance had too many Pokémon he wanted to strengthen.

If he focused all his resources on Beautifly, he could make good use of these thirty-five consecutive wins. But when given a choice, Terrance found himself in a dilemma.

Dismissing this thought, Terrance focused on the upcoming battle. Just then, someone else contacted him.

"It's Albert."

They had parted ways after their desert trip, and Albert was already a Trainer in the High-level Area. Due to the Battle Tower's promotion of this round, Albert was surprised to hear Terrance's name.

"Hey, Terrance, you came to the Battle Tower and didn't even tell me?" Terrance smiled, realizing he had forgotten. It seemed that Albert and Murasakibara had already returned to the Battle Tower and were now in the High-level Area, which makes them his 'senior'.

"I see." During his chat with Albert, Terrance gained a new understanding of the High-level Area, which also cleared up one of his doubts.

The consecutive wins in the Beginner Area were easier than expected. In just over a week, Terrance had achieved 28 consecutive wins, almost without encountering any strong opponents, which surprised him.

After listening to Albert's explanation, Terrance realized it made sense. There are usually many people at the Battle Tower, but recently, more than ten skilled Trainers suddenly emerged in the Beginner Area, causing a sudden change in the Beginner Area's usual style.

The situation in the Beginner Area had even reached the High-level Area, causing a bit of envy there.

Typically, the same group of people regularly engaged in "blocking the challengers", but now, with so many Trainers capable of consecutive wins, the chances of encountering a strong "blocker" had significantly decreased.

Additionally, there was a tradition in the Beginner Area where those aiming to advance to the High-level Area would occasionally "snipe" other challengers during their breaks to make some extra money. This, in a way, made advancing to the High-level Area even more challenging.

However, Terrance knew that the Trainers who suddenly appeared recently were likely invited by Mr. Scott. Their participation in the battles, especially as challengers, was certainly for the same purpose as his own: to showcase themselves as hinted by Mr. Scott.

Consecutive wins was the first criteria Mr. Scott is using to evaluate their value before training begins. Naturally, these Trainers, including Terrance, were all pursuing consecutive wins for various reasons. This left them with little time to focus on others. With time being tight, their Pokémon were already exhausted from their own challenges, so they had no time to meddle in others' affairs. They had no choice but to focus entirely on their own "challanges."

These two factors reduced the chances of encountering high-level Trainers, which is why Terrance's twenty-eight consecutive wins felt relatively easy. Normally, advancing to the High-level Area without a tough battle would be impossible.

The unique circumstances created this opportunity, allowing Terrance to reach the final round in just over a week. He has to admit, he was quite lucky.

Since he had another match coming up, Terrance didn't chat with Albert for long before receiving a notification from the staff member to head to the battle area.

"Troy, what do you think his chances of winning are?" Beginner Area, on the second floor, spectators and some Trainers had gathered to watch. Among them, people who knew each other began discussing Terrance.

"Not sure, but he's probably like us, also invited by Mr. Scott."

"But what about you, Yami? You've only fought one round so far. You're taking it pretty easy, aren't you?"

The boy named Yami yawned and replied nonchalantly, "You think everyone is like this Terrance, finishing four rounds of battles in just one week? That's nearly 30 matches—it's exhausting."

"Heh, working so hard now won't do much good. What really matters is performing in front of the 'leader.' But seriously, if I could join the Frontier Club, my mom would be over the moon. She was totally against me becoming a Trainer at first, thinking I'd just be a 'freeloader'."

Troy rolled his eyes in disdain. At that moment, a boy with short, golden-brown hair walked up to the arena, and the crowd's chatter quieted down.

"Terrance is here." Someone who had seen Terrance's previous battles recognized him and spoke up.

"So that's Terrance? He's younger than I expected."

"Looks like he really was invited by Mr. Scott. Heh, do you think if I applied to challenge now, I might get matched with this battle?"

"Go ahead and try, but don't say I didn't warn you. If you lose, it'll be embarrassing, and you won't leave a good impression on Mr. Scott either."

It wasn't just Troy and Yami who had been invited by Mr. Scott—other Trainers who knew each other and had also been invited by him started to gather and joke around as well.

Judging by Terrance's age, it seemed he was also one of them. However, what impressed them was Terrance's vigorous stamina. He battled almost every one or two days, resting briefly before jumping back in. This made them admire him even more.

More importantly, what's remarkable is that he managed to maintain his winning streak despite this frequency.

******

"My opponent hasn't arrived yet?" Terrance walked up to the arena and glanced around at the crowd. There were indeed more people than usual.

Terrance waited calmly for the battle to begin, undisturbed by the surrounding chatter, until a Trainer in a cowboy outfit walked onto the arena. The surroundings fell silent again.

"I will be the referee for this round. The first match is: Terrance and Fang."

A staff member walked to the referee's position and announced through a loudspeaker.

"Terrance will send out his Pokémon first. Both sides can freely switch Pokémon during the battle. The first side to lose three Pokémon will be declared the loser. The match officially begins now!"

As soon as the command was given, Terrance threw out a Poké Ball.

"Beautifly, you're up."

Following a light breeze, Beautifly entered the arena. Most people didn't understand the purpose of this breeze, but for Beautifly, creating an environment filled with air currents can give it a significant advantage.

By controlling the air currents on the battlefield, Beautifly could already be said to have won half the battle.

"Beautifly, huh..." Terrance's opponent, Fang, sighed in relief. Based on the previous four rounds, Terrance usually chose either Growlithe or Beautifly to pair with Mismagius and Altaria.

Compared to Growlithe, Fang preferred facing Beautifly. Growlithe's fighting style was too intense— even if he won, it wouldn't be easy. Fang's goal in battling Terrance wasn't to drain Terrance's Pokémon of their stamina, but to defeat Terrance.

Engaging in a meaningless exchange of stamina and injuries with Growlithe... that wasn't part of his plan.

"Since it's Beautifly, then I've decided— Magmar, it's your turn!"

"Pff, pff!"

Magmar flew onto the arena, standing tall as it exhaled hot air, giving Beautifly a disdainful glance.

Terrance remained silent. This was the final battle, and to be cautious, he had to change his strategy.

Making a mistake previously was one thing since there were still many more opportunities, but having made it to the final step of the fifth round, Terrance couldn't tolerate it if he were to fail here.

So this time, he decided not to follow the usual battle strategy where each Pokémon gets a chance to shine!

Besides, this Magmar has no right to look down on Beautifly~

A truly powerful Magmar would relax in magma, standing on the ground doing nothing yet radiating a temperature comparable to raging flames. Its gaze would be as bright as flames, almost like a demon emerging from the magma.

But Fang's Magmar was a typical "domesticated" Pokémon, far from what a Magmar was supposed to be. Although it was strong due to its outstanding species, Terrance didn't see it as a threat.

"Beautifly, dodge it."

Pfff!

A pillar of fire shot out, sweeping across the stage as Beautifly danced nimbly around the flames, causing Fang to clench his fist. Watching was one thing, but facing Beautifly in battle— a Pokémon so adept at dodging— was incredibly frustrating.

"Fire Spin!!"

Neither Flamethrower or Fire Blast could affect Beautifly. Fang was utterly helpless against Beautifly's agile dodging methods. He was confident that if Magmar's flames hit Beautifly, victory would be his, but things weren't going according to his plan.

Whoosh~~ A whirlwind mixed with flames swirled violently towards Beautifly, and even the crowd below the arena could feel the scorching heatwave.

Terrance kept having Beautifly dodge without launching any attacks, which left many people puzzled. Now, with the menacing Fire Spin closing in, everyone was eager to see how Terrance would handle the situation.

"Wuu~" Feeling the waves of heat and warmth, Beautifly, on the other side of the arena, let out a cry. At this moment, Terrance smiled.

"That's enough. Beautifly, go for it."

With the Fire Spin coming straight at it, Beautifly finally stopped dodging and used its first offensive move. It flapped its wings, unleashing a silver whirlwind that left the crowd with their mouths agape.

"What is he thinking? How can that small whirlwind resist Fire Spin?!"

If Magmar's Fire Spin was like a hurricane mixed with flames, then Beautifly's Silver Wind seemed like nothing more than a breeze from a fan, causing many to look with widened eyes.

But the astonishing sight continued. The crowd had expected this "reckless" move from Beautifly to cost Terrance one of his Pokémon, but to their surprise, the silver whirlwind penetrated the Fire Spin, causing the vortex to come to a halt before shattering amidst an explosion. Flames scattered in all directions as the air currents on the arena seemed to be violently disrupted. The serpents were flung outward by the explosion's force, while Beautifly gracefully resumed its flight, calmly dodging the flames until the chaos subsided. "Now, Stun Spore."

As the flames shattered and Magmar let out a howl, Beautifly, hovering in the air, casually flapped its wings a few times. Countless yellow-green spores began drifting down with the air currents, spreading across the entire arena.

"Normally, Beautifly would need more time to set up, familiarizing itself with the arena's air current patterns. But that Fire Spin turned out to be a gift, instantly turning the surroundings into warm currents," Terrance thought to himself. By sensing the air currents and disrupting the Fire Spin's structure, Beautifly made the flames lose their support, causing the move to fail on its own. The vortex broke apart, and the resulting shockwaves provided the perfect opportunity for Beautifly to spread Stun Spore across the entire arena.

In the audience, several Trainers started to discuss the situation.

"Why not just use Stun Spore from the start?"

"Are you dumb? The opponent wouldn't just sit back and let you use Stun Spore—they'd definitely stop you."

"Then why use it after the Fire Spin?"

"Uh... I don't know."

Terrance observed the arena, fully aware of Beautifly's mastery of air currents. If Beautifly had tried to spread Stun Spore across the arena by relying solely on its own generated air currents, it would have been difficult, requiring a long setup to fully grasp and utilize the changes in the patterns of the air currents.

Moreover…..Magmar wouldn't just stand by idly. A Pokémon of Magmar's size could easily change the wind direction by taking flight. But after the flames of Fire Spin shattered and hit the ground, the rising warm air currents now covered the entire arena. At this point, the Stun Spore can effectively restrict Magmar's movements— even if it took flight, there would be nowhere to dodge.

In the next moment, with the help of the rising air currents and Stun Spore, Beautifly had no trouble targeting Magmar. Two turns later, Magmar, hampered by Beautifly's interference, was caught in the flowing air currents mixed with Stun Spore. During this time, it had no chance to clear away these obstacles, resulting in slow reaction and uncoordinated movements.

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