CHAPTER 599: PREPARATION

All 17 events of the joint Coordinator and Trainer Super Grand Festival concluded, and the number of people who advanced surprised everyone. Originally, there were 17 available finalists spots, but they were monopolized by just six individuals. While people were amazed, they couldn’t help but admire the strength of four of those six in particular.

Aside from Fantina and Fujiki, who each won a single event, the other four individuals each claimed multiple victories.

Wallace won 5 events, Terrance 4, Leo 3, and Albus 3!

In terms of total wins, Coordinators held an overwhelming advantage, which made some people realize that Coordinators truly excel in certain areas.

But after all, the entertainment events were just appetizers. Most people understood that the upcoming battle segment was the main course.

Using the traditional battle format, these six finalists would now face off against each other. Compared to the entertainment events, many people saw this as the real deal.

Only the result of actual battles could truly reflect value.

....

Mossdeep City.

Terrance looked at Altaria, which was surrounded by a faint aura, and smiled with satisfaction as he felt the overwhelming presence it exuded.

Now, two days had passed since the Dragon-type event. Altaria had finally completed the process of being granted a totem aura. Over the past few days, including the free time between the Normal-type and Dragon-type event, Terrance had been running back and forth, managing both the totem aura granting process and staying involved in the events. It had completely worn him out.

But seeing that Altaria now possessed a totem aura just like Arcanine, Terrance felt that all his hard work over these past few days had been totally worth it.

"How does it feel?" Terrance asked, looking at Altaria.

Terrance had been raising Altaria for five years. Even without understanding Pokémon speech, he could grasp most of what Altaria was trying to express through its expressions and movements.

In this new state, Altaria had improved significantly in terms of strength, speed, and physical durability, especially the latter. Altaria felt that it had become noticeably tougher and more resilient.

Watching Altaria’s gestures, Terrance understood what it meant. It was saying that it could now better withstand opponents’ attacks.

"Rotom Pokédex, record this."

"Finally, it’s my turn to appear, Roto~~!" The Rotom Pokédex had been bored out of its mind while Terrance was busy with the events.

"It hasn’t even been that long..." Terrance looked helplessly at the Rotom Pokédex and said, "Alright, after this event, if there’s a chance, I’ll take you on a trip as compensation."

"A trip?? That’s awesome, Roto~~!" Upon hearing Terrance’s promise, the Rotom Pokédex smiled and then recorded the current state of the Totem Altaria.

The totem aura had brought an overall enhancement to Altaria’s stats, with a particularly strong boost to its physical durability.

This was the second time Terrance had granted a Pokémon a totem aura, as of now, he is still a novice in researching the aura and hasn’t fully grasped it yet.

At least for now, Terrance had noticed one issue: the effects of the totem aura on Altaria and Arcanine were different.

On Arcanine’s side, Terrance had studied it for a longer time. Compared to the changes in Altaria, Terrance was clearer about the changes that the totem aura has caused on Arcanine.

For Arcanine, the primary impact of the totem aura wasn’t enhanced physical durability like with Altaria, but rather a boost in offensive power.

After releasing its totem aura, Arcanine’s offensive power had increased significantly, far more noticeable than the improvements in other aspects.

"Could it be that the effects of the totem aura vary depending on the Pokémon?" Terrance thought to himself. This second experience of granting a totem aura had already led him to many new discoveries.

However, Terrance was deeply moved by Altaria’s changes.

In his view, the totem aura and Alola’s Z-Moves actually belong to the same system; both powers originate from the mysterious object known as the "Sparkling Stone." The difference lies in their application: the Z-Move releases that power all at once in a burst, while the totem aura enhances all of a Pokémon’s stats. The former creates instantaneous combat strength, while the latter results in sustained combat strength.

It’s hard to say which method of using the Sparkling Stone is better, because in different battle environments, both can serve different purposes.

"In a 3-vs-3 battle..." Terrance looked at Altaria again. "You might be facing a fierce battle coming up."

The battle segment would be conducted as 3-on-3 matches. Terrance speculated that the most likely opponent he would face was Albus.

Altaria, was the trump card he prepared for Albus, the ace that must be kept to deal with Darkrai.

As for how to deal with his Lucario, although Terrance felt a lot of pressure, he had already come up with partial countermeasures. Mainly, after six months of rigorous training, the overall strength of his Pokémon had improved significantly. Mismagius, Arcanine were vastly stronger compared to six months ago. From this perspective, other than Lucario and Darkrai, the rest of Albus’s Pokémon might be the breakthrough point for him.

To prepare for the upcoming battle, Terrance had made thorough preparations, getting Altaria, Arcanine, and Mismagius into peak condition.

.....

Meanwhile.

Sinnoh’s film industry giant, Takagi Film Company, made an important decision.

Takagi Film Company, the overload of the Sinnoh region’s film industry and also one of the shareholders of the Contest Committee, holds an unmatched influence in the film sectors of the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn mainlands.

Raoul Contesta, one of the persons in charge of this festival, furrowed his brows after hearing the higher-ups’ orders, clearly weighed down with concern.

"What should we do?" Sukizo and Raoul Contesta entered a room together.

"What else can we do..."

Raoul Contesta sighed. "After forwarding Miss Glacia’s recommendation, it was quickly approved. Prioritizing the Coordinator’s victory over the appeal of the battles, there’s no denying that it makes sense... but..."

Wallace vs. Leo, Terrance vs. Albus, Fantina vs. Fujiki.

That was the original plan. However, as unexpected developments continued to emerge throughout the events, in order to serve the main purpose of the festival, the match-ups had to be adjusted accordingly.

So it was later changed to Wallace vs. Albus, Terrance vs. Fujiki, and Fantina vs. Leo.

This meant giving up the opportunity to pit Wallace against the former Elite Four in order to ensure both Wallace and Terrance would win.

Out of the three matches, as long as two showcased brilliant victories, the festival would be deemed a success.

However, there were more variables than Raoul Contesta had anticipated. Fantina, as Sinnoh’s most popular actress at the moment, clearly wasn’t someone the Takagi Film Company wanted to put in a match with a completely predictable outcome.

"Have Terrance battle Leo?!" Sukizo was also puzzled by this arrangement.

Although Fujiki had not displayed any particularly strong strength, given Terrance’s strength, fighting her should have been the most reliable choice.

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