“Alright, it’s time to take notes,” Terrance instructed Rina as he glanced at Wurmple.
“Wurmple can evolve into either branches, Silcoon-Beautifly or Cascoon-Dustox.”
Rina hesitated before lifting her head. “I know that…”
“Write it down anyway!” Terrance sighed, covering his face. His main goal was to teach Rina some knowledge about Bug-type Pokémon, or rather, to summarize a few things. Ultimately, he wanted to hand off the responsibility of managing the Gym to someone else… because staying at the Gym all the time would drive him crazy.
“Alright, how do I write ‘Cas’?”
“….”
Terrance told her to jot things down in a way that she could understand, then calmly continued, “Wurmple has two abilities, both of which stem from individual differences.”
“Shield Dust: Some Wurmple can easily secrete dust from their bodies. This Shield Dust has a ‘protective effect’ on Wurmple, and can counteract certain Ability or Status Condition effects.”
“Run Away: This ability is triggered by habit or personality. If Wurmple gets frightened, its strong will to escape makes it hard to stop.”
“Got it?”
“Mhm, mhm.” Rina placed her notebook on a tree trunk and scribbled furiously.
Looking at the Wurmple still munching on leaves, Terrance paused on introducing Wurmple’s evolutions and instead began talking about its diet.
“Most Wurmple only know three moves: Tackle, String Shot, and Poison Sting. Their diet not only supports their growth but also plays a role in enhancing these moves.”
These were basic Breeder concepts. If you wanted to raise a Pokémon well, you couldn’t overlook such details. Terrance had never looked down on such knowledge; it had been incredibly helpful in training his own Wurmple.
“Tackle is closely related to Wurmple’s overall growth.”
“String Shot—the quality of the silk they produce depends on the food they consume. Wurmple that feed mostly on regular leaves produce poor quality silk that breaks easily and produce too many impurities when burned. However, if their diet is rich in protein, the silk becomes tougher. If they frequently feed on tree sap, their silk becomes stickier…”
Terrance immediately listed the different development directions for various types of silk and finally concluded, “In short, the initial direction is crucial for a Pokémon’s training. In fact, to successfully nurture a Pokémon, one must also invest effort into its diet.”
Snap!
Rina turned her head too quickly, giving Terrance an incomprehensible, awestruck look.
“Whether it’s fire resistance, water resistance, or conductivity, those are all properties of silk. Generally, it’s sufficient to train only one property. Having multiple properties coexist can result in one being jack-of-all-trades, but master of none.”
While he was raising Beautifly, he had focused on developing the silk’s conductivity property to support the move “Electroweb.”
As for the main direction, it was, of course, to ensure the main quality of the silk, like its toughness.
But in the Gym, Terrance could freely raise Pokémon with their own unique traits to face a variety of challengers.
“Wurmple produces very little venom, primarily derived from tree sap. The nutrients from leaves alone aren’t enough to produce much poison. That’s why they only use Poison Sting when defending themselves from enemies.”
“Newborn Wurmple can’t eat tree sap. Only when the sharp spikes on their tails form and harden can they peel bark to access the sap.”
“Brother Terrance, that Wurmple is leaving…” Rina suddenly said.
Terrance nodded. It seemed the Wurmple had noticed them, because it immediately stopped eating and scurried up the tree trunk.
“Wurmple’s feet have suction pads, so even on glass, they won’t slip.”
“…” Rina.
She shook her aching wrist, somewhat regretting coming out with Terrance.
“That Wurmple from earlier is an example of one with poor growth. In Hoenn, you can tell a Wurmple’s growth condition by its color, though external factors can have a big influence, which I won’t go into detail here. But for that Wurmple, you could tell from the length of the spikes on its tail and head. A well-developed Wurmple will have two evenly sized tail spikes, and the spike on its head should be about one-third the length of the red antenna on its head. If it’s too short or too long, it can affect Wurmple’s balance. Those with poor balance often can’t escape predators and rarely make it to evolution.”
“Got that?”
Uwaaah!! Brother Terrance, please spare me!!
Rina was close to tears.
…
…
Just the knowledge about a single Wurmple could fill several pages. Before, she hadn’t really grasped it, but now Rina finally understood how amazing Terrance truly was.
“So this is… what it means to be a Breeder…” Following behind him, Rina was deeply impressed by Terrance’s knowledge.
She had always known that Terrance becoming a Top Coordinator was impressive, but now it felt completely justified.
With this level of knowledge, if someone like Terrance couldn’t succeed, who could possibly become a Top Coordinator?!
In fact, Terrance already had the skills of an Intermediate Breeder. He just missed the exam this year, and now he’d have to wait until next year to retake it.
But unfortunately, he was extremely busy at the moment and didn’t have time to study, which left him feeling quite helpless.
“What if I could find my own path and become a Senior Breeder all in one go?!”
Terrance was startled by his own thoughts. Senior Breeder’s exam was different from the Junior or Intermediate one. It is applied for by the Breeder themselves and could be taken at any time. However, the exam focuses on the Breeder’s specific expertise in a particular field.
This could be in food, raising, habits, Ability research, or any other aspect. As long as a Breeder’s understanding far surpassed that of an Intermediate Breeder in one field, and they had made unique innovations, they could be recognized as a Senior Breeder.
“With my Top Coordinator status and possibly becoming a Gym Leader, the Intermediate Breeder title wouldn’t be that important anymore—just a nice bonus,” Terrance mused silently.
After all, knowledge was his own, and titles were just proof of that.
“But if I can showcase my expertise and advance to Senior Breeder the same year I become an Intermediate Breeder, it wouldn’t just be a simple bonus—it would be…”
A truly stunning achievement.
A Junior Breeder can be considered to have some research experience; an Intermediate Breeder is a seasoned expert in raising a Pokémon. But a Senior Breeder? That’s an authority in a particular field, a specialist.
As for a Top-level Breeder? That’s a master, on par with the Elite Four in fame, or even better in certain fields—at least when it comes to making money.
“If I don’t have the time, I should at least perfect my training concepts and forge my own path. If I can do that, I might become a Senior Breeder in one go… Senior Breeder in the same year!” Terrance thought to himself.
He then looked at his returning Mismagius and pulled Rina closer with a smile. “Looks like Mismagius has found the Wurmple habitat. Let’s go. I’ve got more to teach you.”
Rina was on the verge of tears.
[Author: As for whether Beautifly can learn Electroweb, according to the 52Poké Wiki, it can be learned via “Move Tutor”, so that’s the standard used in this story.]
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