Terrance didn’t have much for breakfast after waking up. Instead, he began preparing for his Pokémon’s training early in the morning.
Examiner Joy also rose early. Her task was to observe Terrance’s every move and document anything noteworthy.
Terrance’s behavior reflected his “style,” “personality,” and “character.” After all, some Gym Trainers were known for their eccentricities, creating bizarre rules for their Gyms that often led to complaints from the challengers.
For example, Cyllage City’s Gym Leader Grant required challengers to “climb walls,” which left many Trainers speechless.
Understanding a Gym Leader better is one of the goals of this evaluation.
This is how the League prevents people with overly extreme personalities from becoming Gym Leaders. However, things like “climbing walls” or “climbing mountains” are still within acceptable limits.
“Altaria, complete Dragon Dance once and then fly a lap around the island to map out its general terrain.”
Terrance’s first task: “Keep the effects of Dragon Dance active. Additionally, if any Pokémon attack you, feel free to counterattack.”
Terrance wants to let Altaria participate in actual combat. Compared to other Pokémon, Altaria’s fundamentals can be considered very solid, so the strengthening effect brought by intense battles will be even better.
With a cry, Altaria soared into the sky. Lucy watched in surprise. “He’s just letting Altaria leave like that? Isn’t he worried about that group of Sneasel coming back?”
Right after, Terrance called out his Arcanine. The Macho Brace wasn’t on him—it had been with Arcanine for about six months, and its effects were finally showing. Only when measured in terms of “years” could the true benefits of this device be observed.
In terms of strength, speed, and muscle coordination, Arcanine had made significantly greater progress than through conventional training.
“Extreme Speed, Flare Blitz…” Though these two moves, reliant on physique, were strong, Terrance wasn’t satisfied. Arcanine would always end up injured after a battle, which was not a good habit. Terrance wanted it to fight in a more normal way, so he had been encouraging it to train moves like “Fire Blast” and “Flamethrower”. While these weren’t as instinctive to Arcanine as Extreme Speed and Flare Blitz, thanks to excellent training, its execution of these moves was quite impressive compared to other Pokémon.
Additionally, there was the “Outrage” training that Terrance had been monitoring closely!
When Arcanine could perfectly control Outrage through sheer willpower, that would mark the completion of this stage of training, and its strength will once again advance another level.
“I feel that as Arcanine’s physique improves, learning Wild Charge isn’t far off. After all the targeted training at the academy and the changes in its diet, it’s only a matter of time. But controlling Outrage mainly relies on Arcanine’s willpower, and this is something even most Dragon-type Pokémon struggle with. Can Arcanine really pull it off?”
Terrance watched as Arcanine continued its Outrage training and shook his head. Willpower… Come to think of it, not fearing pain and loving to Tackle is also a kind of willpower, isn’t it? I hope Arcanine can create a miracle.
Terrance’s task for Beautifly was relatively straightforward: refine its mastery of existing techniques and moves, and learn how to teach them to other Pokémon. The goal was to transform Beautifly into a “teacher.” While executing and understanding moves might be easy, comprehending them well enough to teach others effectively was far more challenging. This required Beautifly to deepen its understanding of its techniques and moves. Terrance was essentially looking for an “instructor” for his future Bug-Type Gym.
“Mismagius and Castform staying by my side will be enough,” Terrance said as he dispersed his Pokémon. Altaria was sent to fly around the island, while Arcanine and Beautifly trained together. Beautifly also acted as a supervisor to ensure Arcanine didn’t lose control during training. Meanwhile, Terrance, accompanied by Mismagius and Castform, left the area under Lucy’s astonished gaze.
“Looks like he doesn’t plan to sit still in one place for a whole week,” Examiner Joy observed. Once Terrance had assigned tasks to most of his Pokémon, it became clear that he wouldn’t spend the next seven days in the same conventional manner as past examinees.
His approach seemed to treat the entire island as a trial ground for training, battling, honing, and improving himself.
That was precisely Terrance’s intent. “Lost Region,” can also be translated as the Danger Zone where humans have yet to set foot. Although D-Level Lost Region’s danger level is the least, this is equivalent to a standard classification based on an entire human habitat such as a “town” or “city,” rather than the individual strength of a Trainer.
To put it bluntly, if a human village were established on this island, its residents would never experience a dull moment in their life.
This natural trial ground offered countless opportunities for battles. Even if one doesn’t want to fight, trouble will actively seek you out.
Terrance didn’t know how powerful the true overlord of this island was, but as long as he didn’t act too recklessly, he shouldn’t get into serious trouble. At least, he wasn’t afraid of the Spearow flock or the Sneasel group.
As Lucy observed and recorded, Terrance ventured into the unknown regions of the island with Mismagius and Castform.
He had to prepare medicine for his Pokémon to recover stamina and cure status conditions. Resources on this island were extremely scarce, and herbs and Berries that can restore stamina were especially rare. Terrance knew it was impossible to find any without owners, so he could only steal them from other Pokémon.
“One reason for coming out this time is to plunder resources, and the second is, Mismagius, I want you to use the new illusion skill in actual combat.”
Since Mismagius had become more adept at manipulating “Flash” and “Darkness,” Terrance had grown fond of its simple yet highly practical “five senses” illusion skills. This time, the Illusionary Space created by Mismagius is somewhat simpler than simulating battle scenarios or conjuring fears in people’s minds, but it is also a bit more complex than “Flash” and “Darkness.”
Terrance gave it a rough name: Spinning World.
It simulates factors like “weightlessness,” “extreme gravity,” “reverse orientation,” and “spatial disorder” to create an illusionary space that throws opponents into chaos. Once inside, most Pokémon would immediately succumb to panic, unable to coordinate their bodies or even walk, let alone accurately use their moves.
The idea was inspired by the fantasy novels Terrance had read in the past. Compared to things like light and darkness, concepts like ‘space’ and ‘time’ are undoubtedly more incredible.
The Spinning World skill aimed to disrupt opponents’ spatial awareness.
Castform floated nearby, yawning as it listened to Terrance explain this strange concept to Mismagius. Though it didn’t understand it, it seems pretty awesome.
Of course, Terrance wouldn’t let it slack off. Compared to his other Pokémon, its training regimen had always been the easiest—simply holding four strange stones and gradually adapting. However, its strength hadn’t progressed quickly as a result.
“Starting today, I will begin training you specifically for snowy conditions.”
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