After avoiding the media and the Coordinators who wanted to get closer to him, Terrance said goodbye to Mr. Raoul Contesta and the others, then went back to the hotel to collect his belongings.
Winning first place at the Pewter Contest and completing the initial version of Little Vulpix's Ice Moon combo move, the next step was to hone its control over ice energy through one battle after another, accumulating the foundation for its evolution.
At Mr. Raoul Contesta's invitation, Terrance planned to participate in the Cinnabar Island Pokémon Contest.
However, since the contest was still a month away, Terrance intended to fly there directly and spend the time training Vulpix and the others.
"Um…"
On the streets of Pewter City, Terrance had just left the hotel and was about to depart the city when a voice called out to him.
A boy of about ten years old, dressed in an ordinary worker's uniform, was standing on a chair wiping the glass of the shop front.
Catching sight of Terrance by chance, Troy froze slightly and spoke up: "You're the one from three days ago…"
Seeing Troy, Terrance also remembered. This was the boy he had met three days ago, the one with a Weedle who didn't have a Trainer license.
"After hearing your advice, I decided to wait a while before traveling. Right now I'm working part-time at this shop." Quickly jumping down from the chair, Troy came over to Terrance.
Terrance was quite surprised that Troy had actually listened to his advice. After all, he was just an outsider, and even he hadn't thought Troy would take his advice to heart.
"How can you be sure what I said was right?" Terrance asked with a smile.
"Well…" Troy scratched his head in embarrassment: "At first I didn't listen and wanted to try my luck at the Pewter Gym, but I ran into some setbacks."
"If setbacks can make you wake up in time, then it's not too late." Terrance nodded. "Since that's the case, do you already have a clear plan?"
"Please wait a moment." Hearing Terrance's question, Troy's eyes lit up. He put down his tools and ran into the shop.
Terrance rubbed his chin. Had he asked too much?
Troy quickly came back out of the shop, holding a worn notebook and a drink in his hands.
"This one's on me. Thank you for your guidance." Handing over the drink, Troy grinned and then opened the notebook. "I thought over your advice for a whole day and came to a conclusion."
"If I want to become an excellent Trainer, with my current situation I have no real advantages. So I can only work on what most ordinary Trainers lack."
"What?" Holding the drink, Terrance was momentarily stunned, beginning to feel curious.
"I'm one of the few people in my village who's had basic schooling. Normally, the common knowledge taught in basic education is enough to handle some everyday Pokémon, but to become an excellent Trainer, that alone isn't enough. You suggested I increase my value and foundation before becoming a Trainer. I thought about it, and the knowledge of the Breeder profession is very suitable for me to study right now." Troy's eyes blazed with determination. "Breeding knowledge complements the Trainer's profession. If I can apply what I learn about breeding well, it'll definitely help me a lot in becoming a Trainer."
Interesting…
His idea coincided with Terrance's own original path. Terrance smiled faintly. "But in that case, you might have to spend years studying breeding knowledge."
Troy shook his head. "I'm not planning to study it so comprehensively. I'm going to start with breeding knowledge for Bug Types. That way I can quickly put what I've learned into practice. Please take a look, this is what I've been thinking about these past two days."
Taking the notebook the other handed over, Terrance suddenly noticed the scars on the boy's hand from the corner of his eye and said, "Your hand…"
"A small cut, nothing serious." Troy smiled and waved it off. He'd scratched himself while picking fresh leaves for Weedle near Viridian Forest and hadn't really paid it much attention.
"Although I haven't started formally studying breeding knowledge yet, I did think of something based on what I learned from basic education. After Weedle evolves into Kakuna, it can't eat anymore, and only endure hunger while waiting to evolve. So I thought, if Kakuna can't replenish its energy, then it's best not to let it battle. Battles would definitely drain a lot of its stamina and affect its potential after evolution. This is one of the reasons I've settled down for now."
"And to make sure Kakuna has enough nutrition to last until it evolves, Weedle's meals at this stage must be good. It also shouldn't evolve too hastily. I came here to work part-time precisely to earn some extra money to nourish Weedle."
Troy himself felt surprised. These basic facts he'd learned early on, but he'd never paid them much attention. Even when he first set out on his journey, he didn't have any concrete breeding plan for Weedle. But after Terrance's one remark, and then suffering a setback at Pewter Gym, it was as if a light had switched on in his head. He started to think deeply and enjoyed pondering over previously established common knowledge and expanding upon it.
Based on the textbook fact that Kakuna cannot eat, Troy formulated his next plan.
"Not bad at all." Terrance read every word, closed the notebook, and was genuinely surprised at the change in the boy. From a reckless, unplanned Bug Catcher to someone who could think for himself and formulate a breeding plan. Had all this happened in just three days?
"Then, senior, that means my breeding direction isn't wrong, right?!" Troy asked excitedly.
Handing the notebook back, Terrance nodded and was just about to answer when a granny came out of the shop, waving a feather duster and shouting at Troy, "You little brat, slacking off already on your first day of work? Get back to your work!!"
"Coming, Granny Ronnie." Troy's face fell. He gave Terrance an apologetic look. "Senior, I have to get back to work."
"Do you want to become stronger?" Terrance asked, watching Troy's helpless expression.
"Ah?" Troy froze. "What do you mean?"
"Don't you want to become a well-known Trainer?" Terrance's lips curved upward. "I'll give you a challenge. Dare to accept it?"
"I accept!!" Troy answered at once. Although he didn't fully understand Terrance's meaning, he had the feeling that if he missed this chance, he would definitely regret it.
"If you can earn Pewter Gym's recognition and obtain the Boulder Badge within two months, you can come find me. I'll give you a chance to become stronger." Terrance looked at Troy seriously.
"But I don't even have a Trainer identity yet. I can't challenge Pewter Gym," Troy said in surprise.
"You don't need to worry about that," Terrance replied. Right now, the Gym Leader of Pewter Gym should still be Brock's father. As long as Terrance gave Brock a heads-up, there shouldn't be any problem. Two months, with only a Beedrill, to earn the recognition of a Rock-type Gym Leader—this was an extremely difficult challenge. But precisely because it was hard, Terrance gave it as a test.
A chance to become stronger promised by Hoenn's Bug-type Gym Leader. Without real skill, you could forget about taking it.
Although Troy was still very inexperienced, Terrance unexpectedly saw a spark of potential in him. Perhaps Troy really could create a miracle for him to see. If that time came, Terrance wouldn't mind personally taking in Fallarbor Gym's first apprentice and guiding him to become stronger.
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