The person who sent the message was Master Victor. When Terrance established his Gym, Master Victor promised to give him a gift. However, because Master Victor was conducting important research far away in the Alola region, he couldn’t spare the time. The reason for notifying Terrance was that the gift Master Victor intended to give him was a Pokémon Egg.
The hatching of a Pokémon Egg is not usually a meticulous process. However, Master Victor is a meticulous person and believed that the best environment for the Pokémon Egg to hatch was in Alola. Otherwise, it could bring some negative effects, which might be harmful to the growth of the hatched Pokémon.
“A Pokémon Egg?”
Terrance was puzzled. Master Victor hadn’t mentioned what kind of Pokémon Egg it was, but it likely wasn’t an ordinary Pokémon. Moreover, since Master Victor was so particular about the egg’s hatching process and even wanted Terrance to personally witness its hatching, it was clear that he had high expectations for this Pokémon.
However, Terrance couldn’t quite figure out Master Victor’s intentions in gifting the Pokémon Egg…. even going so far as to have him travel from Hoenn to Alola. Could a Pokémon Egg really be that important?
Regardless of Terrance’s speculations, the trip to Alola was confirmed. He booked a flight to Alola for the next day, and Terrance had to ride Altaria through the night to reach the airport.
Ula’ula Island, the largest island in the Alola region, is home to the most steep and coldest mountain in Alola—
Mount Lanakila.
After declining the Aether Foundation’s invitation to stay, Master Victor arrived on Ula’ula Island, where Mount Lanakila is located. He believed this was the best environment for the Pokémon Egg in his possession to hatch.
Malie City, a city on Ula’ula Island was where Master Victor placed the Pokémon Egg in a hotel. There, he took out a special book.
It contained information about Ultra Beasts and Ultra Wormholes that he had compiled while assisting the Aether Foundation in their research.
“The boy I had high hopes for in the past has grown to such heights. It’s time to make a decision.”
Master Victor flipped through a few pages. His research in Alola had delayed him for two years, and Terrance’s rapid growth exceeded his expectations. As he grew older, Victor’s desire to pass on his knowledge became stronger.
…
…
“Ayan, let’s temporarily close the Gym for now. I’ll leave the task of explaining to you.”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me,” Ayan readily agreed.
Terrance felt quite helpless; closing the Gym temporarily on the second day after its opening was probably a first.
However, he should be able to return quickly—it wouldn’t take too long.
Since Scarlet and Ayan currently don’t have a Trainer license, they couldn’t act as substitute Gym Leader for Terrance. During his absence, he planned to have them apply for it.
It’s now very easy to apply for a Trainer license, and even ordinary families can afford it. The previous one-time payment system was replaced with a tax payment scheme.
Any League citizen who is at least ten years old, passes the Trainer physical exam, pays taxes annually on time, and owns at least one Pokémon, they can become a Trainer.
In Terrance’s view, it is reasonable to pay taxes, as the basic facilities provided for the convenience of Trainers in various cities are not free of charge.
Compared to the previous method of becoming a Trainer, this policy is more humane. By paying tax for one year and traveling for a year, if someone finds they’re not suited to being a Trainer, giving up the Trainer license by stopping tax payments isn’t as devastating.
However, the biggest challenge for most people is acquiring their first Pokémon as a Trainer, which is not easy.
Other than applying to the League, receiving it as a gift from someone, or capturing one yourself, there don’t seem to be any other options.
For the kids at the Old Green House, becoming Trainers is naturally much easier. Not only do they not need to worry about Starter Pokémon, but they also enjoy tax benefits. This is because all of them can be registered as Gym apprentices under Fallarbor Gym. With this identity, it’s incredibly easy for non-Trainers to apply to become Trainers. Moreover, the Gym’s annual recommendation quota allows for a certain period of tax exemption.
“Also, you can temporarily stop training the Little Beautifly and others. As for the Chimera Leaf seeds, don’t plant them for now—wait until I come back.”
“If they don’t want to stay inside their Poké Balls, you can let them rest in the Gym’s rear garden. However, keep an eye on them—there are certain plants they shouldn’t overeat. I’ll tell you which ones in a moment.”
In fact, these little bugs’ training had already stopped two months ago.
They only did warm-up exercises to keep their bodies from becoming rusty and to avoid losing touch with battling. Over the past four months, aside from the already-evolved Little Beautifly, Dustox, Butterfree, Beedrill, and Vivillon, Surskit had also successfully evolved into Masquerain. As for Pineco and Spinarak, they too naturally evolved without any surprises.
“I understand,” Ayan nodded repeatedly.
Terrance thought of a few more things that needed to be entrusted to others. He hadn’t suppressed the evolution speed of these little bugs; with sufficient nutrition, their evolution happened naturally. However, this was just the most basic evolution. In terms of strength, they were probably on par with the main Pokémon of ordinary Trainers who had trained for one or two years. The most challenging aspect, however, was actually their coordination skills.
Without the strength of someone in the top ten of a League Conference, trying to suppress these little bugs with just strength was nothing more than a dream.
Terrance had not trained the destructive power of their moves, focusing entirely on coordination-based training. Even so, Fallarbor Gym’s standing should still be considered middle-level among Hoenn’s Gyms. If Terrance had also trained the destructive power of their moves, the Gym’s difficulty level would likely rise to a nightmare-level.
“One last thing: during this time, I’ll leave Beautifly at Fallarbor Gym. If anyone causes trouble while I’m away, deal with it alongside Beautifly. If you still can’t resolve it, then go seek help from Officer Jenny,” Terrance said.
Although Terrance estimated that this trip to Alola wouldn’t take too long, if an impatient challenger started causing trouble because they couldn’t wait for the Gym to reopen, it would still be a headache.
“With Beautifly around, anyone who dares to make trouble will definitely leave crying!” Ayan chuckled.
Beautifly’s strength made it an unbeatable opponent for Trainers coming to challenge the Gym.
“This can’t be helped. Since you don’t have a Trainer license, you can’t act as the substitute Gym Leader, and any Badges issued wouldn’t be legally valid. If no one checks, you might get away with it, but if discovered, it would lower the Gym’s rating. Fallarbor Gym has just been established, so it’s better not to take that risk.”
After making all the preparations, Terrance said goodbye to everyone at the Old Green House and headed directly to the city where the airport was located, bringing Altaria and four other Pokémon with him.
Traveling to Alola is not like going to Kanto or Sinnoh; Alola is too far away. Only by plane could Terrance reach there in a short amount of time.
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