The environment of the Super-ancient Pyramid indeed made Terrance feel pressure. Compared to the Lost Regions he had entered before, the killing intent here was even stronger. The Pokémon were extremely hostile toward outsiders; any slightly aggressive Pokémon would directly launch an attack on Terrance's group.
Terrance had no doubt that if all the Pokémon from the Super-ancient Pyramid were released into a city, even a major first-tier city—without several Top Trainers stationed there, it would immediately become a scene of unimaginable suffering.
The Pokémon here, rather than fitting the cute name "Pokémon," were more suited to what ancient humans once called them—
Magical Creatures!
In the end, even Terrance himself didn't know how long it took him to cross the first floor and ascend to the second.
Compared to the first floor, the second floor was even more dangerous. The former focused on paralysis, while the latter was filled with poison. Compared to paralysis, Poison-type moves were clearly far more terrifying.
The second floor was practically a hell of poison. Gulpin, Roselia, Butterfree, Seviper, Skarmory, Ludicolo, Crobat, Gengar—what made it most troublesome was that this place didn't only contain Poison-type Pokémon. There were also Pokémon of other types living here, completely ruining Terrance's plan to rely on type advantage to push through. However, without a doubt, all of these Pokémon had mastered terrifying poisons.
Crossing the second floor took Terrance even longer than the first. During that time, Gardevoir's Confusion barrier was eroded several times, forming cracks. A single Pokémon wouldn't pose any threat to Terrance's group, but the Pokémon here all lived in groups and could perfectly utilize the terrain. That was the most troublesome part.
After only five days, Terrance left the Super-ancient Pyramid.
When he came out, his hair was already a mess, and his clothes had been torn apart by Pokémon on the eighth floor. There was even a light scratch on the back of his hand.
On his first exploration, Terrance stopped at the eighth floor.
"Five days, what floor did you reach?"
The old man Yoshi, who was guarding the Super-ancient Pyramid in place of Mr. Brandon, asked with a smile.
"The eighth floor. My Gardevoir was seriously injured, so I wanted to withdraw and adjust my lineup," Terrance replied.
This time, he had brought six Pokémon: Gardevoir, Mismagius, Altaria, Beautifly, Ninetales, and Gallade. His main goal was to familiarize himself with the layout of the Super-ancient Pyramid, making it easier to plan future training. He had no intention of reaching the top right away.
As for the Pokémon that had been constantly by Terrance's side during this trip, they were Gardevoir and Mismagius. Using these Pokémon, Terrance had explored the first seven floors relatively smoothly, but on the eighth floor, they faced a fierce battle. Gardevoir was injured at that time while protecting Terrance.
Considering the injuries of his Pokémon, as well as the importance of Gardevoir's Confusion barrier in protecting him, Terrance had no choice but to leave. Moreover, his next Champion League battle was approaching.
"The eighth floor? I remember when Brandon first entered, he also came back from that floor dejected. But he looked far worse than you; every one of his Pokémon was seriously injured, and he nearly died inside when he returned," Yoshi said, revealing a knowing, rather eerie smile.
The eighth floor was a trap of a place—not because the Pokémon there were much stronger than those on the previous floors.
Rather, all the Pokémon on this floor could use moves like "Destiny Bond," "Self-Destruct," or "Explosion." Facing such a suicidal level, Terrance immediately chose to retreat after Gardevoir was severely injured. He had no intention of clashing head-on with these insane Pokémon and planned to find another way to break through next time.
"I'll be back. That's enough for this time, and it seems I didn't prepare enough supplies either," Terrance said helplessly, patting his flattened backpack.
The scorching environment of the third floor had consumed more than half of his water. The Pokémon there all specialized in flames, and the temperature was so high it was practically uninhabitable. On the fourth floor, the Pokémon's moves were even more bizarre. There, Gardevoir's Confusion barrier was almost useless. Terrance had to release Altaria and Gallade to force his way through, which kept him from being in danger for too long.
The fifth floor was relatively easy, with all Pokémon having the Levitate Ability. The sixth floor, however, caused Terrance considerable trouble—the Pokémon there possessed special abilities that could prevent them from leaving. As long as those Pokémon wanted to keep them there, Terrance and his team had no choice but to fight, which cost them a great deal of time and stamina.
The seventh floor was a frozen world. Without Altaria's Flame of Life and Gardevoir's Confusion barrier to help him resist the cold, Terrance, as a Trainer, might have already frozen to death there. The temperature was colder than any snow mountain he had ever visited, completely opposite to the third floor.
Then came the eighth floor. Constant encounters with Pokémon using "Explosion," "Self-Destruct," or groups of them casting "Destiny Bond" made it extremely dangerous. Even though Terrance was cautious, Gardevoir and Beautifly were still heavily injured while protecting him. In the end, Terrance could only rely on Gallade's Teleport and Altaria's overwhelming strength to halt their advance and quickly retreat the way they came.
"Not bad at all. No Trainer has ever successfully explored the Super-ancient Pyramid on their first attempt. The environment inside is far too complex, anyone would need multiple attempts to understand it. Even Brandon needed four full explorations before he finally reached the top, constantly trying new team compositions and preparing different supplies along the way, so don't be discouraged," the old man Yoshi said with a slight smile.
"Thank you."
Terrance nodded, then immediately contacted assistant Sharan. He wasn't discouraged. In fact, he felt somewhat excited. As a training ground for Elite Four–level Trainers, this place truly lived up to its reputation.
Not long after, Sharan arrived on the island by helicopter. When she saw Terrance in such a disheveled state, she immediately grew worried.
"It's fine. I just want to rest properly now," Terrance waved his hand. Over the past five days, he had barely rested at all. If not for Mismagius helping him forcibly fall asleep and recover, his stamina wouldn't have allowed him to climb from scratch to the eighth floor in just five days.
"O-Okay!" Sharan nodded vigorously.
After returning this time, there were only three days left until the next Champion League match. Naturally, Terrance had no time to revisit the Super-ancient Pyramid. In Fallarbor Town, he began summarizing the terrain and danger areas of the first eight floors. The map booklet provided by Mr. Brandon only showed general directions without any detailed divisions. Otherwise, Terrance wouldn't have had such a difficult time progressing.
However, this also gave Terrance's Pokémon excellent training results. At the very least, after five days, the coordination between Mismagius and Gardevoir had become much more refined. Gardevoir's combined use of Misty Terrain and psychic power, as well as Mismagius's reverse illusion skill training, had achieved remarkable results. All these benefits were gained through real combat.
With the optimal route from this exploration, Terrance believed that next time, crossing the first eight floors wouldn't be nearly as troublesome, allowing him to conserve a lot of stamina.
As for reaching the twenty-first floor and conquering it, Terrance wasn't particularly interested. His main goal was to personally investigate the specific conditions of all the floors and then find the best place for training.
For Terrance, who regularly participated in the Champion League while continuously exploring and fighting within the Super-ancient Pyramid, time passed quickly… and before he knew it, it was time for his most important Champion League battle.
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