Among these opponents, those on the same level as Gallade were extremely rare. However, what Gallade was mainly focusing on was not simply achieving victory, but honing methods to land a one-hit knockout with the least force, the fastest speed, and the most stable trajectory.
So, under its deliberate restraining of its power, almost every battle in the later stages was evenly matched.
When undergoing the "Splitting Waterfall" special training, Gallade had already matured in controlling its power. Now, it could wield it with ease, and after hundreds of battles while restraining its powers, its control had risen to yet another level.
"Duke Terrance, there really are no suitable opponents left for you in the Battle Chateau."
Butler Turner, looking at Terrance who had just walked out of the hall after issuing a challenge and receiving no response, spoke bitterly.
This young man was too terrifying. After staying in the Battle Chateau for merely half a month, he had already advanced to the rank of Duke, a situation practically unheard of.
If it weren't for the fact that Duke-level Trainers in the Battle Chateau were incredibly rare, he even suspected that this Lord Terrance could earn the title of Grand Duke!
Moreover, he had never seen anyone like Terrance. Despite having such strength, he insisted on staying in the Battle Chateau. While many seasoned Trainers did come and go here, not a single one treated this place as a site for grinding.
For Trainers in the Kalos region, battles in the Battle Chateau were more of an experience, a leisure activity.
Regretting his earlier words, Butler Turner now viewed receiving a battle maniac like Terrance not as the Chateau's honor, but a disaster…
"No opponents left to battle, huh…" Terrance looked out the window with a helpless look in his eyes.
Starting from the title of Baron, Terrance had fought several battles each day. In fact, if he wanted to, he could fight ten Barons in a single day and then advance to Viscount.
However, as his rank rose, the number of opponents he could encounter at the Marquis level became extremely few. His smooth promotion was due in large part to Butler Turner.
If it weren't for the invitations sent by Turner to Trainers holding the Marquis title within the Battle Chateau..
There really wouldn't have been enough Marquises for Terrance to defeat and advance to Duke.
"There are even fewer Dukes in the Battle Chateau. Though I've already sent out battle invitations to them, not a single response has come back," Turner said with a bitter smile. After all, not everyone had the time to linger in the Battle Chateau, and for Trainers at the Duke level, their time was even more precious.
So even with Terrance newly promoted to Duke, it didn't attract any Trainers to challenge him.
"Lord Turner, Lord Turner! A Duke-ranked Knight has responded to the invitation!" At this moment, a maid from the Battle Chateau suddenly ran over.
"Oh? Really?" Turner said in surprise.
Upon hearing this, Terrance immediately dismissed his plan to leave the Battle Chateau. Having just advanced to Duke, he also wanted to try battling a Duke-level Trainer.
At this level, there was a good chance someone was qualified to face Gallade at full power.
"Um… the challenger is… Elite Four, Wikstrom," the maid said nervously.
Elite Four, Wikstrom.
Hearing that name, Terrance was slightly taken aback.
Wikstrom, the Steel-type Elite Four from the Kalos region?
Looks like he'd hooked a big fish.
"So it's him…" Turner said in surprise. "If I recall correctly, Lord Wikstrom only needs one more battle to be promoted to Grand Duke. But I also remember he hasn't been to the Battle Chateau in over a year. What made him take the invitation today, I wonder."
The maid shook her head.
"Let me battle Elite Four Wikstrom," Terrance said. "He's already accepted the invitation, hasn't he?"
Turner nodded and said, "Lord Terrance, Lord Wikstrom is extremely strong. Although he didn't advance as quickly as you, he has maintained an undefeated record to reach his current rank."
The knight-style battles of the Battle Chateau are a unique form of combat in Kalos, so Terrance wasn't surprised that even Elite Four members participated.
However, those top-tier Trainers couldn't possibly be as "fierce" as Terrance. They might occasionally visit the Battle Chateau for a couple of days of leisure, experience a battle or two, and that would be the extent of their engagement.
Coming to the Battle Chateau with the goal of tempering his main Pokémon was, truth be told, a choice Terrance made out of helplessness.
In a short period of time, he couldn't find another place like the Battle Chateau that offered the opportunity to go through a large number of battles within a short period of time.
"Alright." Terrance nodded.
Immediately afterward, Terrance began waiting for a concrete update. An hour later, he received information from a battle maid that Wikstrom would arrive at the Battle Chateau in two days.
"Two days, huh?" Terrance touched his chin. From the moment he set the 30-day challenge plan, up until today, it could be considered fully completed.
Beautifly had mastered two top-level techniques, greatly increasing its power. Arcanine, through the flame armor training equipment and a newly modified diet, was continuously growing in size and explosive power. Its strength had improved significantly over the past month. Mismagius had thoroughly consolidated its new power, easily executing illusion skills and signature moves in the battles, and its energy control had reached a level of near-perfection. Castform's power of rain and ice have steadily grown stronger while comprehending the weather-based secret techniques. Its destructive potential was unquestionable. As for Gallade, although the "Ten Forms of Iaido" were only recently summarized over the past half-month and it hasn't yet mastered their application, this still marks another leap in its insight. Paired with Teleport, the current Gallade would be an absolute nightmare for any Pokémon to face.
With a team like this, Terrance now had the confidence to compete against Top Trainers, even though—
His chances of losing were still highly predictable.
However, once Altaria returned, Terrance could be considered a Top Trainer in the true sense.
Though he might still lack combat experience and knowledge, calling him a rookie just entering the top-tier ranks would be entirely fair.
The threshold of an Elite Four in any region was likely around the level of Terrance's current strength.
But no Elite Four member in any region would only have six main Pokémon like Terrance. Whether it was a second team, backup Pokémon, or those specifically trained to cover team weaknesses, Top Trainers always had sufficient preparations. In this regard, Terrance was still lacking due to his relatively short development period.
Terrance had already decided: once he returned to Hoenn from Kalos, he would begin training his second team.
"Is that the battle maniac Terrance?" As Terrance walked out of the Battle Chateau, he often overheard other Trainers discussing him.
Terrance paid no attention to these remarks. To better prepare for his battle with Elite Four Wikstrom, he headed to the Pokémon Center to contact Fallarbor Gym.
He requested that the "Galladite" stored at the Gym be sent to him.
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