New Gym Trainer

"Finally, something decent."

Looking at the area destroyed by Hail, Terrance grinned.

Beside him, Castform nodded proudly, seemingly very satisfied with the effect of its move.

"The next phase is to achieve this level of Hail's power without using Rain Dance."

As soon as Terrance finished speaking, Castform's expression immediately changed.

"Are you done?"

Just as Terrance bent down to pick a Balm Mushroom, a female voice came from behind.

"Yeah, but some of the Balm Mushrooms got damaged. Still, there's enough for one meal," Terrance replied nonchalantly.

"By the way, Examiner Joy, is the helicopter coming to pick us up this afternoon?"

"Yes, get ready. Next, you'll head to Ever Grande City for the next phase of your assessment," Lucy Joy said.

As Terrance packed the Balm Mushroom into his backpack, he added, "So, that means… this 'actual combat' assessment went well, right?"

Terrance chuckled. After spending seven days here, the so-called 'actual combat' assessment hadn't been much of a challenge. It was eating the subpar food for 7 days that Terrance found the most unbearable.

Lucy Joy didn't reply.

After learning that the assessment was nearly over, Terrance put aside everything else, and according to the information that Altaria had scouted, he came to a Shroomish colony, intending to have one good meal on the island.

Faced with dozens of Shroomish, Terrance had no intention of fighting them head-on. Instead, he had Castform launch a surprise attack. A combination of heavy rain and Hail, followed by Mismagius' finishing move, allowed Terrance to snatch the Balm Mushroom right under the Shroomish's noses.

Lucy Joy glanced at Terrance's eager expression and turned away instinctively. The "barbecue" Terrance had cooked before looked so unappetizing that she felt even compressed food was ten thousand times more delicious than his "burnt vegetables."

For Terrance, though, being able to fill his stomach was enough at that time. But after several days of eating the same thing, he wanted a change in taste.

The Balm Mushroom, an extremely rare ingredient, tasted amazing even when eaten raw. It was leagues ahead of the wild vegetables Terrance had eaten before.

However, Balm Mushrooms only grew in the habitats of Shroomish, and they were scarce.

"Why not just wait until we leave and eat at a proper restaurant?" Lucy Joy asked, puzzled by Terrance's insistence on finding the Balm Mushroom.

"It doesn't taste the same," Terrance replied, shaking his head.

She wouldn't understand. Balm Mushrooms were the most delicious thing Terrance had ever tasted during his time at the Old Green House. Back then, he and Beautifly would venture into Fallarbor Woods to pick them together.

Because of their rarity and short maturation period, eating Balm Mushrooms was something the children at the Old Green House always looked forward to.

It was a unique taste, and while Terrance lacked proper cooking tools at the moment, he just wanted to relive those moments.

"Alright, we can head back now," Terrance said.

Over the past few days, Examiner Joy had initially observed Terrance from a distance, recording his performance. The purpose of this was to avoid interfering with Terrance's display of personal skills. But in the last two days, Lucy Joy realized it was pointless to keep her distance. In their seven days on the island, they'd only encountered danger once, and Terrance had reacted even faster than she did.

That made it clear to Lucy Joy that this assessment was just a formality for Terrance.

If he doesn't provoke the four top-level groups on the island, this D-Level Lost Region would pose no threat to Terrance. Fortunately, Terrance had no plans to act recklessly either.

From the performance Lucy Joy recorded, it was already certain that Terrance would pass the seven-day assessment. The only thing that still puzzled her was Terrance's identity.

Lucy Joy, who hailed from Kanto, had no idea when Hoenn had produced such a talented individual.

Then there was another question… Throughout the entire time, she hadn't seen Terrance use a sixth Pokémon. The number of Pokémon he deployed remained consistently at five.

In that moment, Terrance became more mysterious in her eyes.

Over the seven days, Terrance's gains were minimal. Aside from Mismagius learning the "Spinning World" illusion skill from scratch and Castform focusing on refining "Rainy Weather transforming into Snowy Weather" ability, there were no other significant developments. [TN: I have been using Rainy Day all this time, will be changing it to Rainy Weather.]

Even for Mismagius and Castform, this was more about familiarizing themselves with these processes than achieving any major breakthrough.

Back in the cave, as Terrance prepared his meal, he pondered about the next assessment.

"The next phase of assessment should involve going to one of the Hoenn Gyms and serving as an 'intern Gym Leader' for a period. The results will depend on your performance during that time."

"Which Gym will it be?" Terrance wondered. But before he could think further, Arcanine let out a roar. Before the helicopter arrived, the Sneasels were back.

Lucy Joy looked helpless, while Terrance stood up with interest and said, "Before we leave, let's bid them farewell and return this place to them."

...

...

Rogge City, located in the eastern part of Hoenn, is known as the "City of Medicine."

This city is home to two of Hoenn's largest pharmaceutical companies and numerous pharmaceutical factories.

Besides that, Rogge Gym is also a major landmark of Rogge City. Specializing in Normal-type Pokémon, the Gym's original evaluation philosophy emphasized "fundamentals," testing the basic skills of Trainers. It mostly catered to rookie Trainers. However, in recent days, some minor incidents have occurred at Rogge Gym.

A Gym apprentice awkwardly explained the situation to a group of Trainers, but they were visibly unhappy and insistent on having a Gym battle.

"We scheduled our appointments yesterday! Now you're saying the Gym Trainer isn't here? How can you do this?" a chubby boy said angrily.

Rogge Gym. It's common knowledge that Gym battles here are just a formality. Badges are essentially handed out for free. Securing a slot among the many Trainers vying for a challenge was considered a stroke of luck.

Being suddenly denied the chance to battle would naturally leave anyone feeling disgruntled, especially since no satisfactory reason was given.

"Did something happen to Mr. Shin? It's okay, we can wait for him," a girl in a short skirt said.

The Gym apprentice wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, unsure of how to respond. How could he explain that the Gym Leader had been taken away by the League's inspector this morning?

The chubby boy was not reconciled to it. He had even spent a small "fee" to secure an early challenge slot.

"I'm really sorry. Please come back tomorrow…" the apprentice said helplessly, hoping to delay it as much as possible.

Just then, a man in an inspector's uniform appeared from somewhere, patting the apprentice on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. Someone will be here soon to temporarily replace Gym Leader Shin for the Gym battles."

"As for you all, please return this afternoon. There will be a new Gym Trainer available by then."

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