The new Gym format was finalized, and Terrance went to look for Kotoko again.
He could first help Kotoko obtain Trainer identity by making her a Gym apprentice, then further promote her to the position of Assistant Gym Leader. Her main tasks would simply be assisting Terrance in carrying out the first type of standard Gym Battle and being responsible for guiding and registering challengers for the second mode.
Speaking of which, the difficulty of the job wasn’t high, and Terrance wouldn’t let her work for free either. He would reasonably allocate some of the Gym’s shared resources for her to use in training her Pokémon.
In fact, Kotoko would only need to conduct at most one to two battles per day to fulfill her Gym Leader duties—it was practically a guaranteed win-win deal.
If the position were made public, it was likely that many Trainers would compete for it.
Terrance could tell that Kotoko hesitated for a long time before finally making a decision.
When she did, she seemed relieved, as if she had just set down a heavy burden.
“Thank you…”
Kotoko expressed her gratitude.
“No need to thank me.” Terrance shook his head.
To Terrance, this was a trivial matter. Having Kotoko take on this position benefited him as well. While for Kotoko, Terrance’s help was like giving her new hope, allowing her to step out of Team Nightmare’s shadow, from Terrance’s perspective, it can also save him from a lot of unnecessary trouble and formalities.
After all, he knew Kotoko well, and she was also a native of Fallarbor Town. Her foundation as a Trainer wasn’t weak either. With just a few days of training under Terrance’s guidance, she would be ready for the job.
“Alright then, I have two Gym Battles coming up, and I’ll be busy with Gym Battles for the next few days as well. If you have time, come watch,” Terrance said after some thought.
“I remember you have a Beedrill, right?”
“Yeah… I have three Pokémon in total: Beedrill, Sandslash, and Vileplume,” Kotoko replied.
“Did you bring all of them out from Nightmare Island?” Terrance asked.
“Sandslash and Beedrill are from there, but I caught Vileplume later,” Kotoko answered.
“I see…” Terrance showed a thoughtful expression. “If Sandslash and Beedrill came from Nightmare Island, they probably rarely received treatment after battles, right?”
Kotoko was slightly stunned but nodded. “That’s true. However, there’s a type of herb on Nightmare Island that can help alleviate injuries. Although its effect is weak, it can accelerate recovery. Most people relied on it to get through.”
“Also, because of this experience, Sandslash and Beedrill have developed much stronger recovery abilities. Is there a problem?”
“Of course there is—a big one!” Terrance said. Sandslash might be fine, but for Beedrill, having gone through such crude injury treatment, it’s really not easy to have survived until now after so many battles.
“In a few days, I’ll take you to the Pokémon Center to get your two Pokémon checked. Until then, stop their training and see if they have any hidden injuries from the past,” Terrance said.
The recovery herb Kotoko mentioned was likely one of the ingredients used in Potions. This type of herb is much more common than Berries, reproduces extremely quickly, and isn’t particularly valuable. Its effects were weak when used alone, relying on time to alleviate injuries rather than providing the instant recovery that Potions could.
Even minor injuries would take several hours to heal.
Relying solely on this to survive years of battles… Behind their impressive strength, their bodies were likely already riddled with hidden injuries. Even Potions cannot completely remove the lingering effects of battle—they still required treatment at a Pokémon Center. And this herb was only an ingredient in Potions, not the Potion itself.
“This…” Kotoko was stunned.
“Don’t be fooled by how strong they look now. When your Pokémon get older, you’ll realize just how bad their condition really is,” Terrance said slowly. Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he asked, “Do you know what Pokémon Albus and Fujiki have?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“I’m just curious. Just tell me what species they have.”
“Albus… He has a Lucario… and also a Beedrill, as well as a Linoone…” Kotoko recalled.
After hearing her answer, Terrance revealed a ‘just as expected’ expression.
The Pokémon Albus and Fujiki carried now were, just as they had said themselves, not the ones they had originally raised.
“Were they released? Or… did they die?”
Terrance fell silent for a moment, then said to Kotoko, “Alright, I understand now. Come to the Gym later.”
…
…
After Kotoko made her decision, Terrance also prepared to take the next step by submitting an application.
After all, there was no telling how long the approval process would take. If he could apply in advance, he might as well do so.
However, before that, Terrance originally planned to contact Mr. Raoul Contesta, but after thinking it over, he decided against it.
Unless he encountered difficulties, it was best to avoid reaching out to him for now.
After all, the festival that Contesta mentioned has not yet taken place, and Terrance had not yet demonstrated enough value. Repeatedly asking for favors, even if Raoul Contesta thinks highly of him, it would still put him in an awkward position.
“But… if during that festival, I can pull off something big… like having Altaria undergo Mega Evolution…”
“But… if Mega Evolution were to be revealed to the public now, would it cause any negative consequences?” Terrance once again fell into deep thought.
If only the Pokémon League would officially announce the existence of Mega Evolution to the Trainer community soon—then he could use it openly without worry.
After all, if he were the one to expose something others were deliberately keeping secret, he might end up making enemies.
“That festival should be happening soon, right? It’s already been a year…”
Terrance didn’t dwell on the thought for long before something else caught his attention.
Master Victor had returned—and he had brought with him the basic meditation method for psychic power.
It had only been three days, yet Master Victor had already found it. His efficiency was truly impressive.
“This is the meditation method I found for you. It was compiled by an experienced psychic user specifically for ordinary people to practice. It’s designed for those with no prior foundation but strong willpower.”
Master Victor handed him a booklet, likely a copy, consisting of only a few pages. With Master Victor’s explanation, Terrance gained a general understanding.
The meditation method itself was simple, but much of the text in the booklet consisted of tips and notes on important aspects to be mindful of during meditating.
“According to the training method described here, as explained by the other party, if someone has decent talent, they should see noticeable improvement in their mental strength within a month. After three years of training, they should be able to refine their mental strength and condense it into a single thread of psychic power.”
“Three years… just for a single thread?” Terrance smiled bitterly.
“That’s right—just one thread. This is for someone with at least some talent. If a person has a strong affinity for psychic power, after three to five years of training, they should be able to bend a spoon with full concentration,” Master Victor relayed, recounting the conversation he had with the other party.
“That’s way too long.” And that level of psychic power was practically useless. Terrance was speechless.
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