He had watched Beautifly grow from a weak little Wurmple, so Chisana knew exactly what Beautifly was capable of. But, this little guy actually performed on the final stage of the Grand Festival, which he still found hard to believe.
Everything was too surreal.
“Is this all thanks to Brother Terrance’s training?” Chisana murmured to himself.
“So, what are your new thoughts about Zubat?” Terrance asked.
“New thoughts…” Chisana fell silent, his face turning red from holding back frustration. He now understands the disparity between them. He truly had no idea on how to raise Zubat—he had simply been happy with training it to change the shape of one move, however Terrance’s words shattered his illusion. If he kept going like this, he wouldn’t even qualify for the Grand Festival, let alone become a Top Coordinator like Terrance.
“Brother Terrance’s training concept for Beautifly is to leverage its strengths to compensate for its weaknesses….Should Zubat be trained the same way?”
“What are Zubat’s strengths… and its weaknesses? Is it its attack power?”
Chisana was on the verge of losing his mind. Although he had studied about Zubat seriously after becoming friends with one, creating a whole training concept for it was still too difficult for him.
Terrance looked at Chisana calmly. This was something Chisana needed to figure out for himself. He could only guide him, not force-feed him a training concept. That would only hinder his growth. If it were anyone else, Terrance wouldn’t care as much. But he didn’t want Chisana to lose the joy of raising Pokémon. If Chisana could take this step, there was no reason he and Zubat couldn’t obtain the honor of becoming a Top Coordinator.
“Don’t rush it. Creating a training concept doesn’t happen overnight. For now, focus on mastering the basic diet I taught you for Zubat. I’ll prepare more detailed information about Zubat, Golbat, Crobat, and Supersonic for you. At that time, it wouldn’t be late for you to start working on your own training concept.”
Seeing Chisana’s “my brain is about to explode” expression, Terrance chuckled.
Raising Pokémon is something that, once you get the hang of it, every Trainer develops their own style. But the beginning is always the hardest. If Terrance hadn’t been an “early bloomer” and started thinking about this early on, he probably would have been just like Chisana is now at that age. Most Trainers and Pokémon miss out on their best growth period because of this. Of course, this also reflects a Trainer’s “talent.”
“But things are different now. Chisana has someone to guide him, so he can avoid many unnecessary mistakes,” Terrance thought.
…
Ayan had returned. As soon as he heard that Terrance was back at the Old Green House, he immediately dropped everything and rushed over.
After three days, even little Rina finally let go of her ‘tsundereness’ and returned to being her usual clingy self.
For the past three days, breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Old Green House were all prepared by Terrance. Everyone had missed his food, which, while not particularly delicious, was still nostalgic.
“Brother Terrance, are you going to be on TV?” Taiga asked with his mouth full, wolfing down his dinner.
“Probably. Myu and I discussed some endorsement deals with a few companies, and we have reached a tentative agreement,” Terrance said with a smile. He and Myu hadn’t asked for much and had left a good impression on the companies. Both sides were happy with the negotiations, and the money Terrance was about to earn was more than he had ever held in his life.
Fame really was a useful thing.
“Does that mean… you’re leaving again?” Taiga’s hands stopped, swallowing his food before speaking.
At that moment, Rina’s gaze locked onto Terrance, and everyone else turned to look at him as well.
Terrance let out a helpless smile and said, “Yes, but I’ll stay here for a while longer. I need to meet with each company in person for the endorsement and portrait usage rights and sign contracts—that’s one reason.”
“And then there’s the matter of the Gym. I need to start preparing for that, too. I can’t delay for too long.”
To apply to establish a Gym, Terrance would first have to return to the academy, apply for graduation, and submit a formal request to the academy. Only then could he proceed with the process.
So, he was destined not to stay long at the Old Green House.
“But things are different now. I have a phone, so we can stay in touch whenever we want.” Terrance smiled. “Grandma Arlan, the Old Green House doesn’t have a video phone, right? Maybe once the endorsement money comes in, we can buy one?”
“No need for that. The Old Green House can afford something like that now,” Grandma Arlan laughed. “We didn’t buy a phone before because it wasn’t necessary, and it wasn’t worth wasting the money. But things are different now. You are all grown up. You can’t stay here forever, so it’s time to get each of you your own phone.”
“Just leave it to me,” Terrance shook his head with a smile. For the current Old Green House, equipping each child with a phone and installing a video phone would be a huge financial burden, even if it’s the most basic one.
“Let’s put that aside for now. I’ve already found a specialized Referee training school for Ayan and Scarlet. It’s on Kale Island, not too far from here,” Terrance said.
“I haven’t decided yet…” Ayan looked a little lost, while Scarlet seemed to be looking forward to it. Becoming a professional referee for a Gym—and maybe even acting as a Substitute Gym Leader one day—was much more prestigious than the part-time jobs he’d been doing in the city.
“How about this? Let Scarlet go for training first, and Ayan, you can join later when you’re ready,” Terrance suggested.
“Ayan, why don’t you want to go?” Scarlet asked, puzzled.
Ayan was silent for a moment before sighing, “It’s Machop, my partner at the construction site… I can’t bear to leave it.”
“The Machop technically belongs to the construction site. If I leave, it’ll be paired with someone else. I…”
Terrance was taken aback. “I’m sorry, Ayan. I hadn’t thought about that. Can’t Machop go with you?”
Ayan shook his head. “Probably not. While I’m close with Machop, its food is still provided by the construction site. Even though the boss assigned Machop to me, it’s just a work partnership…”
Saying this, he sighed deeply, clearly reluctant to part with Machop, his partner on the job.
Terrance fell silent, realizing the dilemma. But staying at the construction site for life, earning a hard-earned living doing the toughest, most grueling work… He looked at Ayan, meeting his gaze.
“Do you enjoy this job?” Terrance asked.
“I… don’t know, but I really enjoy the time spent with Machop,” Ayan hesitated and said helplessly, unsure of what to say. Despite feeling exhausted after every shift, he still felt the need to put on a brave front.
Terrance didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How had he not noticed this about Ayan before? It seemed like the future he had planned for everyone wasn’t exactly what they all wanted.
“Alright then, let’s have Scarlet go for training first. As for you and Machop, we’ll see if something changes in the future.”
Ayan nodded firmly, and everyone returned to eating.
But the peace didn’t last long. Suddenly, Chisana seemed to choke, coughing violently with a look of pure agony on his face. Only after gulping down a large glass of water did he feel better.
“You’re so stupid.” Rina and Myu rolled their eyes at him and said mercilessly.
“I’m not!! Brother Terrance, I just realized how to train Zubat!”
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