Terrance's Arcanine had completed the initial phase of its giant form training. Its size was now more than sixty percent larger than the average of its species, making it a true behemoth.
Inside that massive body was searing flames and explosive power. During the giant form training, Arcanine's food intake and nutritional absorption were several times higher than before, which was the main reason it could sustain such rapid growth.
"Arcanine, it…" Rina looked on in surprise.
"Is this even an Arcanine anymore?!"
It wasn't just the students who were puzzled; even the two teachers were at a loss.
Yet faced with everyone's shock, Terrance had no intention of explaining. He simply began explaining the International Police's training system—
Near evening, after class ended, Terrance was stopped by Teacher Shiraishi, who had another person standing beside him—a middle-aged man in a suit with brown hair.
"Hello, Mr. Terrance. I'm the vice principal of Cerulean Police Academy. Would you be interested in serving as the parent representative at tomorrow's meeting?"
"I've already heard about what happened in Acapulco. You're not only the hero of Acapulco but also a role model for our police force. Having you as the parent representative at this moment would have a very positive impact on the students. What do you think?" the vice principal requested.
The Pokémon attack of Acapulco not only shocked the world, but it also had an especially profound impact in the region. With the League continuously improving laws concerning Pokémon and defense systems of human cities becoming increasingly robust, incidents of Pokémon attacking cities and causing major damage had become rare.
But a single case of mutated evolution made this rare event happen again.
Terrance, as the person involved and the Trainer who drove away the Tentacool, was now at the center of public opinion. His approach, mixing force with understanding of Pokémon, was widely praised online. Thus, having Terrance appear as the parent representative at Cerulean Police Academy's parent meeting carried extraordinary significance.
"I'll think about it," Terrance replied.
The original parent representative was supposed to be a teacher at the academy whose child studied here, but with the timing of the Acapulco incident, Terrance had become the ideal choice.
While Terrance was considering, the academy presented him with many specific benefits of doing so.
"So that's how it is. It's not just the academy's idea but also the result of various interests at play?"
After looking through a few proposed plans, Terrance smirked slightly. They wanted to package him as a hero, a heroic Trainer who protects human habitats and ordinary people.
In this era of large-scale Trainer registration, the League urgently needed more Trainers of such qualities to emerge.
Now the requirements to register as a Trainer were far lower than when Terrance first began his journey, but with the benefits came certain obligations, such as responding to summons and defending against crises when needed.
Terrance's experience in Acapulco perfectly matched the kind of image the League wanted to promote among Trainers.
The invitation Terrance had received was to "accidentally" reveal his thoughts at the academy's parent-teacher meeting the next day to influence the Trainer community. By doing so, he could gain both reputation and benefits, becoming an even more influential, heroic Trainer.
"You expect me to read this?" Terrance looked completely uninterested. He hated these sales-pitch-like speeches the most.
"Forget it. I'll agree to be the parent representative, and I'll give a speech, but I'll decide the content myself."
In the end, Terrance didn't completely refuse; he simply rejected their prepared speech.
Those speeches, sounding like brainwashing slogans, felt utterly fake to him. To expect him to recite them,Terrance couldn't bring himself to do it.
When he searched his heart, Terrance felt that he had not yet attained the noble character of the hero that they wished to portray. This was the main reason for his refusal. He only wanted to be himself, and do things within his own capabilities, nothing more.
Terrance's insistence left the other side feeling rather helpless. They could not force him, and in the end, if they wanted Terrance to attend and give a speech, they would have to follow his terms.
The next day, the parent-teacher meeting was held as scheduled.
This time's parent-teacher meeting was divided into two parts. One was for the entire school, emphasizing important matters, and would be recorded. The other was organized by class, mainly focused on student's personal assessment scores and daily performance.
Due to his special status, Terrance did not go through the same entrance process as the other parents.
At the same time, a bigwig Trainer arrived at Cerulean Police Academy.
Although this was originally just a small parent-teacher meeting at a police academy—an interactive event that wouldn't normally make headlines—it had become somewhat special because one of the key figures in the Acapulco incident was attending.
In one corner, an elderly woman with ash-gold hair, led by an old man, watched Terrance ascend the stage. Looking at Terrance, who was facing thousands of students, parents, and teachers without a trace of nervousness, she said, "Terrance…the Trainer who stepped forward during the Acapulco incident."
"Mm." The old man nodded. "Another Trainer with extraordinary potential, though it's a pity he missed a good chance to be 'packaged.'"
The elderly woman's black pupils looked toward the stage and she sighed. "That's the advantage of youth."
"As a public figure, if he gave the speech prepared by the League and let it circulate, it could influence many new-generation Trainers to embrace a sense of heroism. That would help promote the overall development of Trainers. But it seems this child doesn't like influencing others in that way." Listening to Terrance's clear and straightforward speech, which revealed his own beliefs, the old man shook his head.
"Standing in the spotlight isn't always beneficial. His choice isn't wrong," the elderly woman said with a faint smile, leaning on her cane.
Terrance's speech was entirely true to his heart, delivered from the perspective of Rina's parent. Although, under the academy's guidance, he inevitably touched on the Acapulco incident, Terrance did not exaggerate anything. This perfunctory speech left quite a few people feeling helpless.
The corridor leading outside from the stage was not too dark. After saying everything he wanted to express to Rina, Terrance quietly walked toward the exit.
His only purpose in standing on that stage was to use such a formal occasion to instill in Rina a correct yet simple mindset. As for everyone else, they were irrelevant. Terrance was still uneasy about Rina's wish to join the International Police, but he could only choose to support her and give her the greatest help possible.
"Is the exit not here yet?" Terrance suddenly felt the corridor seemed too long, and strangely different from when he came in.
Did he really get lost in such a short corridor?
"Fallarbor Gym's Gym Leader, Terrance…" Suddenly, an elderly woman in a purple robe appeared ahead. Seeing her, Terrance's face stiffened.
"You're an interesting Trainer. I watched your battle with Leo before. I'm here mainly to give you a reminder: if you want to truly enter the top tier, then you've gone down the wrong path."
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