Chapter 687: Elite Four Agatha’s Warning
Wrong path?
When Terrance came back to his senses, the elderly woman’s figure had already vanished, and Terrance could see the direction of the exit.
But the scene he had just experienced made Terrance certain that it wasn’t an illusion.
"Why would Elite Four Agatha show up here... and what did she mean by that?"
Terrance wore a puzzled expression. She had watched his battle with Leo and then concluded that he was on the wrong path?
The "top-tier" she mentioned should be the level the Elite Four belongs to.
Even so, Agatha’s cryptic warning still left Terrance somewhat confused.
Because of time constraints, Terrance didn’t dwell too much on it and continued with the agenda of the parent-teacher meeting.
After the school-wide assembly ended, Terrance attended the class meeting as Rina’s parent.
Because he had made an appearance earlier, Terrance became the center of attention among the parents in Rina’s class. Everyone came over to greet him and threw in a few compliments for Rina.
Hearing so many people praise her, Rina couldn’t help but show a delighted expression.
Seeing this, Terrance reached out and gently rubbed her head. Rina immediately came to her senses, understanding Terrance’s message, and didn’t let herself get too caught up in the polite compliments of the parents.
Even in another world, the agenda of a parent-teacher meeting wasn’t much different from what Terrance remembered: from welcoming to reports to vision for the future. Because it was the first school year, many problems had arisen among the new students at the police academy. These issues needed to be communicated to the guardians, and some students had problems serious enough to make police academy life unsuitable for them. Whether they would continue studying here depended on the further choices of the parents and students.
However, these issues had little to do with Terrance. Although Rina was best in general knowledge courses and Pokémon courses, she was still somewhere in the middle, not a poor student. More importantly, her enthusiasm for becoming part of the International Police had grown even stronger after Terrance attended this meeting. This change left Terrance unsure whether his visit had a good or bad influence.
"Forget it. As long as Rina’s happy, that’s what matters," Terrance sighed inwardly.
This parent-teacher meeting turned out to be bumpier than Terrance had imagined. Perhaps if he hadn’t come to Acapulco, none of this would have happened.
Still, Rina seemed very satisfied with the meeting. To her, it was a very good experience.
"You’re on long leave a week from now, right?" Terrance asked.
"Mm." Rina nodded.
"I might have to travel far away a week from now, so Sister Kotoko will come pick you up then," Terrance instructed.
"Ah..." Hearing this, Rina puffed her cheeks in protest. "Fine."
"Good girl." Terrance rubbed Rina’s head again and said, "I still have some matters to discuss with Teacher Shiraishi. Before you start school again, I should be able to return to Fallarbor Town. Take care of yourself these next few days."
When the meeting ended, Rina also knew Terrance had to leave. She was reluctant, but Terrance had no choice. An exhibition match and Altaria awaited him in Kalos.
Before leaving, Terrance found Teacher Shiraishi to inquire about Agatha. However, Shiraishi was also unaware if Agatha had come to Cerulean Police Academy.
With no other option, Terrance, through Teacher Shiraishi, tracked down the associate vice principal he had met earlier and finally obtained the information he wanted.
Agatha had indeed been to Cerulean Police Academy, but by now, she had long since left. Obtaining this result, Terrance thought back to Agatha’s warning to him and fell silent.
Has he really gone down the wrong path? Was she saying that there was still a large gap between himself and an Elite Four?
...
...
After finishing up his matters in Kanto and bidding farewell to Rina, Terrance planned to return to Hoenn.
There were still some issues at the Gym that needed handling, and after that, it would be time for him to head to Kalos to meet Diantha for the exhibition match.
But during his return to Hoenn, Terrance kept pondering over Agatha’s words.
As the birthplace of the Pokémon League, the Kanto Region’s Elite Four had always been widely recognized for their strength. Agatha, the most senior member of Kanto’s Elite Four, had left a warning that weighed heavily on Terrance’s mind.
Yet she seemed unwilling to spell it out, leaving the question for Terrance to figure out himself.
"If you want to truly enter the top tier, then you’ve gone down the wrong path...."
Terrance turned the phrase over and over in his mind. He had always believed he had already stepped into the top level. Agatha’s impression of his strength would still be from that public Grand Festival, and she hadn’t seen his progress since then. Even so, Terrance couldn’t shake the feeling that things were not so simple.
Was he... really lacking something?
Whether it was his victory in a 3-on-3 battle against the former Elite Four Leo, or his win in a 1-on-1 match against Kalos’s current Elite Four Wikstrom, Terrance had a clear sense of his own strength.
Perhaps in a full 6-on-6 battle he couldn’t yet match the Elite Four, but in formats like 1-on-1 or 2-on-2, he still had a chance to win.
That was the source of Terrance’s confidence. To have grown to this level in just five years, he had already lost sight of where to push next.
In a short time, making great progress was unrealistic. No matter the profession or field, the further you go, the harder it becomes to improve. This was an unchanging truth.
Raising a new team and trying a different approach was one of Terrance’s ideas, but even that was a somewhat aimless move.
So because of Agatha’s single sentence, Terrance suddenly felt lost.
Thinking back on his journey—from starting out as a Breeder, to using Coordinator as a stepping stone, to now being a renowned Trainer capable of battling Elite Four members, he had already surpassed most people.
By achieving this, Terrance had long since fulfilled the purpose of his travels. Whether as an excellent Breeder, Coordinator, or Trainer, he had succeeded. Everyone at the Old Green House had also gone on to live the lives they dreamed of. Then... what about him?
Should he just keep studying deeper in these three fields to make himself more perfect?
"Or maybe... try a new field, like... an Elite Four position?" Terrance looked up at the sky, but quickly shook his head. He felt that until he could fully grasp the meaning of Agatha’s warning, he wasn’t qualified to challenge for an Elite Four seat.
"If earlier battling Miss Diantha wasn’t all that necessary, then now, if I want to solve this doubt, fighting her is something I can’t skip." Terrance let out a sigh.
Diantha, as Kalos’s Champion, was certainly his senior in terms of both experience and strength. Perhaps by having a battle with her, he might be able to find some issues he was not aware of.
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