What should I do?
Terrance cleared his throat. It wouldn't be right to ignore it, so he had no choice but to answer the call.
As expected, the moment he picked it up, he was met with a dissatisfied shout from the other side.
"Captain, what's the meaning of this? The two of us haven't done anything yet, why is the mission already over?"
On the other end, Lan sounded aggrieved. The situation now was like spending money on a game, gearing up and getting pumped to play, only for the servers to suddenly shut down.
Jade Joy and Lan Jenny were in a terrible mood. In their minds, the so-called difficult mission should've been much more complicated. After all, aside from demonstrating their basic skills, they felt like they hadn't actually done anything at all, leaving them with a feeling that it was rather anti-climactic.
For these two hot-blooded International Police rookies, this feeling was hard to bear.
Terrance could only feel helpless in the face of their complaints. He'd never met anyone upset over a job being too easy. Clearing his throat again, he could only explain:
"No, it's actually the opposite. You two have helped me a lot."
As for the reward, Terrance had already transferred it to the International Police. He believed the two of them should be receiving it soon, if they hadn't already.
After Terrance finished speaking, there was a moment of silence from the other end, and then Lan's voice came through again, but she was quickly interrupted by Terrance.
"All right, I understand how you feel. But to me, you really did help me a lot. Even if the mission wasn't quite what you imagined, honestly, I'm very grateful to you."
"If there's a chance next time, I hope we can work together again."
Terrance scratched his head. But as soon as he said this, the other side, whether they had figured it out or for some other reason, seemed to gradually accept Terrance's explanation.
But Terrance still felt something was off… Did he just hear cheers from the other side of the phone?
"All right then, Captain Terrance, if there's a chance to work together next time, you mustn't forget the two of us!"
"Definitely."
Seeing they were satisfied, Terrance breathed a sigh of relief. As for whether there would be another chance to work together, Terrance had no idea, but it was best to agree for now.
With that issue resolved, Terrance went to the Pokémon Center to leave a message for Ash and the others. Once they arrived at a certain Pokémon Center, Terrance would be able to contact them.
Terrance waited at the Pokémon Center for less than a day before Ash called back, which meant Ash and his group had already arrived at a Pokémon Center on some island and received Terrance's message.
"Brother Terrance?"
Getting Terrance's message, Ash was very surprised. When he called back, he immediately shared his ranking in the Indigo Plateau Conference with joy.
"Yeah, top 8. I already know, congratulations." On his side of the video, Terrance laughed heartily, and then brought up another topic: "By the way, Ash, do you remember that I once said if you made it to the top 8 at the Indigo Plateau Conference, I'd give you a special gift?"
"A special gift… Of course I remember!!!" Hearing that, Ash paused to think for a moment, then his eyes lit up.
"You definitely forgot… Only remembered after I reminded you," Terrance thought helplessly to himself, but out loud he said, "So, do you want to know what that special gift is?"
"Of course I do!!" Ash got excited right away.
"A Light Ball. It's a kind of bead-like item. Have you ever heard of it?" Terrance asked.
On the other end, Ash was stunned for a moment and turned to Misty and Brock for help.
"Light Ball?" Brock frowned and shook his head.
"I don't know either," Misty thought for a moment and said.
Seeing that his two companions didn't know either, Ash scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "Brother Terrance, what is a Light Ball?"
"Before that, Ash, let me ask you a question. Your Pikachu doesn't want to evolve, right?" Terrance didn't explain what a Light Ball was immediately, but instead brought up Ash and Pikachu's situation.
"Yes, Pikachu doesn't want to evolve, so I want it to get stronger in its current form." Ash nodded.
"Hmm… While I don't deny that it's possible to get stronger without evolving, there's no doubt that evolution is a shortcut to power." Terrance said.
Hearing this, Ash, Brock, and Misty had no way to refute it. That was just the reality; almost every Trainer agreed with this idea.
Even though there were exceptions, it wasn't enough to prove otherwise.
But soon, Terrance shifted the conversation: "You and Pikachu want to get stronger. If you don't evolve, you'll have to put in a lot more effort. The special gift I want to give you is a way for Pikachu to become just as strong without evolving."
"The boost it gives Pikachu won't be any less than using a Thunder Stone!!"
Ash, Brock, and Misty were initially confused about what Terrance was getting at, but when he said that, they finally understood; especially Ash, whose eyes immediately lit up.
"Light Ball can make Pikachu stronger?"
Although he respected his Pokémon's choices, at heart, Ash was still a Trainer who wanted his Pokémon to become stronger and reach greater heights. His decision to seek out Bruno for the secret to getting stronger in order to achieve good results at the Indigo Plateau Conference was clear evidence of Ash's thirst for greater power.
Now that Terrance said there was a way for Pikachu to get stronger without evolving, how could Ash sit still?
"Brother Terrance, is it true?" Ash asked excitedly again.
Seeing Ash take the bait, Terrance smiled mysteriously. "Rather than saying it's a way to become stronger, it's more of a challenge. Ash, are you and Pikachu willing to accept a challenge?"
"It's very difficult to use the Light Ball to make Pikachu stronger."
"Of course! Pikachu and I can complete any challenge!!" When it came to challenges, Ash had a mysterious confidence.
"All right, you're in the Orange Archipelago right now, aren't you?" Terrance asked.
"Yes, we're still with Professor Ivy here and haven't left yet, but we're planning to challenge the Orange League next…"
"Pewter City. I'll wait for you in Pewter City. This process of getting stronger requires the help of Researcher Nero in Pewter City. He's an expert in Electric-type Pokémon. If you and Pikachu can complete this challenge, I'm sure you'll be able to win the Orange League easily," said Terrance.
"Go to Pewter City?"
Ash was taken aback and looked back at his two companions. With today's developed transportation, getting back to Pewter City wouldn't even take two days if they hurried. After consulting with Brock and Misty, Ash quickly made up his mind.
In order to make Pikachu stronger without evolution, Ash didn't want to miss this opportunity!
"Okay, Brother Terrance, we'll head to Pewter City right away. You must wait for me!" Ash said.
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