Pokémon Court

Outside Fallarbor Town.

Terrance walked alongside a man and a woman dressed in Inspector uniform, telling them about Fallarbor Town.

“Nice little town,” While walking, Aida looked around with admiration and eventually made a comment.

“Is the Gym going to be established here?” he mused briefly.

Earlier, during Terrance’s conversation with them, he had mentioned it.

Lucy Joy also glanced at Terrance, seemingly puzzled. After all, from what they had seen while walking through Fallarbor Town, there didn’t seem to be any open space suitable for building a Gym.

The one good location had already been taken by the Pokémon Contest Hall.

Terrance responded, “Yes, I’ve already decided on the Gym’s location…”

He wasn’t too concerned about this matter. After consulting with everyone from the Old Green House, they agreed to rebuild the Old Green House.

The Old Green House occupied a large plot of land but wasn’t being utilized effectively. If it were demolished and rebuilt, there would be plenty of space for a Gym. Additionally, the original look of the Old Green House could be preserved behind the Gym.

As for the future Pokémon Center, that could be built by modifying the farmland nearby.

“We’re here.”

Although Aida and Lucy Joy already knew about Terrance’s background, they were still surprised to see the building before them. It was hard to believe that Terrance had grown up in an orphanage.

Compared to Trainers who were born talented or had privileged backgrounds, someone like Terrance impressed them even more.

Leading the two into the Old Green House, Terrance served them local specialty fruits and beverages that he had prepared in advance. Smiling, he said, “Apologies if the hospitality isn’t up to standard.”

Aida and Lucy Joy didn’t stand on ceremony. Even though they were here on “official business”, they had interacted with Terrance numerous times and were familiar with each other’s personalities.

Moreover, in their eyes… it was only a matter of time before Terrance officially became a Gym Leader.

“This is delicious,” Lucy Joy exclaimed after downing a glass of juice in one gulp, visibly surprised.

How to describe it…? Aida, after downing it, also gave the drink a surprised look.

Smooth and sweet?

And the color—it was truly mouthwatering.

“It’s homemade, 100% pure fruit juice,” Terrance said with a smile. Every household in Fallarbor Town makes this, though its production is too limited to be widely promoted. The taste is good, but if you drink it regularly, it can get a bit boring.

At least for Terrance, after drinking it for four years, the juice felt no different from plain boiled water.

But when it came to hosting outsiders, this fruit juice was undoubtedly a great choice.

The two had arrived travel-worn, and jumping straight into the main topic would’ve been too dull. Instead, the three of them started with casual conversation, avoiding any immediate discussion about the assessment.

Especially since Terrance spent so much time writing his Gym proposal, it actually allowed the two of them a rare opportunity to take a break. They even thanked Terrance with a smile for this.

As for Terrance’s battle with Phoebe, neither of them brought it up. After all, it had been an unofficial and hardly convincing match. Talking about it once or twice was fine, but continuously using it as a way to praise Terrance would have been excessive.

“It’s getting late,” Aida said, putting down a fruit pit and wiping his mouth.

Lucy Joy’s mouth twitched slightly, surprised to discover the true nature of Inspector Aida for the first time.

Terrance chuckled good-naturedly and said, “That’s true. You must have seen the data I submitted, right? How are you going to evaluate it?”

“First, it will be the six Pokémon, followed by battle based on the Gym’s evaluation standards,” Lucy Joy said flatly.

However, this was mostly a formality, something both Lucy Joy and Aida understood well.

From the perspective of raising Pokémon, it was clear that Terrance could manage his Pokémon just fine—especially since Bug Types were relatively easy to raise.

And testing the coordination skills of a Top Coordinator like Terrance? With their level of expertise, even Lucy Joy and Aida would find it a challenging task.

Regardless of the outcome, though, the evaluation process was necessary. The Gym Trainer’s assessment process needed to be submitted to the League for archival purposes.

“Understood,” Terrance nodded.

“Let’s head to the forest then.”

Since Fallarbor Town lacked suitable battle locations, the only option for a more open area was the outskirts of Fallarbor Woods.

The forest?

Lucy Joy and Aida glanced at Terrance as he stood up. After confirming his suggestion, they let him take the lead. Being a resident of Fallarbor Town, Terrance naturally knew the area far better than they did.

“The next phase of the assessment is to select the Gym’s location.”

Following Terrance, both Inspectors were thinking of other matters. If it weren’t for the need to check out the proposed Gym location, they wouldn’t have come all the way here themselves.

However, the Gym’s location had to be in a town with a Pokémon Center. Since Fallarbor Town didn’t have one yet, applying for one would take additional time.

Factoring in the time needed for the Gym’s construction, the entire process might take two or three months—six months at most.

The outskirts of Fallarbor Woods were already quite a distance from Fallarbor Town. This area was rarely visited by the locals but the Trainers passing through the town enjoyed venturing into such places.

That day, the outskirts of Fallarbor Woods was not empty.

A Trainer was commanding a Vileplume, seemingly engaged in some kind of special training. The Vileplume was performing Petal Dance while mixing pollen into the attack, looking incredibly fierce!

“Kotoko?” Terrance was surprised, not expecting to see her here.

Well… it made sense. If Kotoko was a Trainer, the only real options for training in the area were Mt. Chimney and Fallarbor Woods.

At the same time, Kotoko noticed the three of them. Her gaze lingered on Terrance for two seconds before shifting to the attire of the two people behind him. Her pupils contracted, and her heartbeat quickened.

Inspectors.

Instinctively, Kotoko wanted to flee, but she quickly steadied herself, forcing her expression to remain neutral. Internally, however, a storm of emotions was raging.

Why are there Inspectors in Fallarbor Town? Not just one, but two—and one of them was even from the Joy Family!

Are they here to arrest me? Kotoko dismissed the thought almost immediately. That’s impossible. She pushed aside the wave of negative thoughts and approached the group, convincing herself that this must be a coincidence.

“Terrance? What are you doing here? And who are these two?…” she asked, looking toward the two people behind him.

“Oh, they’re Inspector Lucy Joy and Aida,” Terrance introduced immediately, but at this moment, both Inspectors simultaneously noticed something amiss… It was faint, but the Trainer seemed nervous?

Or perhaps she was a bit repulsed by them? Or maybe even hostile?!

Lucy Joy and Aida were no rookies. They had carried out numerous missions, some extremely dangerous ones included. Although Kotoko had done a good job of suppressing her emotions, a subtle slip still gave her away.

Still, since the Trainer appeared to be an acquaintance of Terrance, the two of them simply smiled politely and didn’t press further.

Kotoko, on the other hand, had no intention of lingering. After a brief exchange, she quickly found an excuse and left.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

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