Lavender Town, outside the Pokémon Tower, anyone coming to pay their respect or sightseeing would notice a strange youngster outside the tower. He had put up a tent and was living outside the "Ghost Tower," appearing incredibly relaxed and content, making people question the state of his mind.
Terrance insists that he is innocent. He is simply putting on a show of being "fearless." If he lived outside the Pokémon Tower on purpose and still showed fear and panic all day long, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing?
A pigtailed little girl approached Terrance with her thumb in her mouth, staring with round, large eyes and asked in a childish voice, "Big brother, what are you doing here?"
Terrance glanced over with a sinister smile, "Of course, I'm playing with a ghost. Look... its tongue has already licked your hair... Boo!"
"Waaaah!" The little girl began crying. Terrance quickly pulled out a lollipop, comforting the frightened girl and giving a stern lecture to the spooky Misdreavus.
"I told you!! Stop scaring people! Is the 'fear' here not enough for you?" Terrance patted his forehead, feeling helpless about Little Misdreavus.
"Misdreavusss~~~" Little Misdreavus innocently cried out.
Habits ingrained couldn't be changed overnight.
Although it may be invisible to this human Terrance' eyes, Misdreavus could see Lavender Town's energies slowly flowing towards Pokémon Tower. The tower acted like a suction cup, continuously absorbing this nutritious energy.
As outsiders, Terrance and Little Misdreavus moved cautiously, not daring to disturb the tower's original inhabitants. They lived here, gradually siphoning off the "fear" to serve as nourishment for Little Misdreavus.
"How long will it take for you to be full?" Terrance observed Little Misdreavus. It had been absorbing fear in the "Haunted House," for a long time, making Terrance struggle to estimate its limits. Witnessing once again how Little Misdreavus absorbed fear through Absorb, Terrance was unsure about its appetite.
"Misdreavusss~~" Little Misdreavus purred in contentment. The unique taste of "fear" from Lavender Town and the Haunted House each have their own charm. The novel taste made it feel as if it was in paradise, somewhat intoxicated yet unwilling for it to end so quickly.
"Burp..." Little Misdreavus rubbed against the tent, wearing a dazed expression. It caused Terrance to look at it with disdain, keeping his distance from it.
"Here is the snack after the meal, it will help you digest energy. Don't forget to eat..." Although Terrance was exasperated with Little Misdreavus, it was, after all, his own child, and he took care of all aspects.
After placing the specially made yogurt on the side, Terrance left for Lavender Town's Pokémon Center.
After Swablu evolved, Altaria's strength exceeded Terrance's expectations, and he was still uncertain about the battle rules at Saffron Gym. If it wasn't a one-on-one battle, Altaria would be a powerful asset.
Simultaneously, Terrance recorded Altaria's slight individual differences and transmitted them via the internet to his classmate in the far-away Sinnoh, Akon.
Regarding Pokémon' individual differences, his powerful computational abilities might be of help. The other party was also interested in such matters, and through him, he could also access some data. Compared to directly communicating with the teacher, it was more relaxing to ask a classmate for help. Anyway, it wasn't urgent.
However, when Terrance contacted Akon, the latter sent him an email.
"This is a research paper completed two days after your departure, led by Professor Birch of the Hoenn region, three doctors, seven professors, and many assistants. It's about Pokémon's 'unique talents,' and after summarizing, it has been given a new term: Ability."
"It temporarily summarizes the 'unique talents' of common Pokémon in regions such as Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, etc. Take a look when you have time; it might help with your training."
"I heard that this 'Ability' thing is already prepared to be included in the new generation of the Pokédex..."
When Terrance received this email, the term "Ability" had already ignited a new storm among the Trainer community.
Not every Trainer could discover their Pokémon's "unique talents" and utilize them in battles. With these systematized "Abilities" becoming widespread, it is undoubtedly a blessing for the vast Trainer community.
There are quite a few novice Trainers who lack basic information about their own Pokémon. Concepts like "Ability" were even more obscure before being systematized. Only experienced elite Trainers who have spent a long time bonding with their Pokémon possess the knowledge to understand and utilize these abilities deeply. They have formed a tacit partnership with their Pokémon after a thorough understanding of each other.
As a Breeder, Terrance naturally knew his Pokémon's "unique talents." However, after receiving this research paper, he eagerly flipped through it, searching for information about his Pokémon.
"Beautifly, possess the Ability, Swarm?"
"Swarm, the lower its health, the more powerful Bug-type moves become..."
"It does make some sense."
"Swablu... Natural Cure, after being recalled by a Poké Ball, there is a high chance of healing status conditions on its own due to exposure to special waves..."
Terrance tapped the table with his hand, lost in thought. On the surface, his Swablu and this Ability seemed to have nothing in common.
Two years of experience has allowed him and Swablu to face many situations together. Still, Terrance really didn't have the impression that Swablu could heal status conditions on its own after being recalled into a Poké Ball.
"Shouldn't each Pokémon have more than one Ability?" Terrance became more and more certain of this speculation. It made sense; with such a large workload and varying individual differences among Pokémon, researching in detail wasn't a simple task.
Perhaps it would take decades of effort to achieve perfection, but when it comes to Pokémon, these incredible creatures, who's to say that their next breakthrough isn't beyond our current understanding?
Understanding restricted by inherent information would inevitably be torn apart mercilessly time and time again.
Maintaining an attitude of exploration and facing the unknown with awe at all times is what a qualified researcher should do.
Terrance also looked up Growlithe's Ability, which was Intimidate. It had a chance to intimidate the opponent, making them recoil and lowering their attack power.
"This point... does seem somewhat like its personality," Terrance chuckled.
As for Misdreavus, and many other Ghost-type Pokémon, Terrance found that this seemed to be a common Ability among Ghost-type Pokémon: Levitate.
Levitate: Float above the ground.
This seemed to be a "unique talent" possessed by many Ghost-type Pokémon. Although not Flying-type Pokémon, they could float, avoiding injuries from Ground-type moves like Earthquake, making it a very good Ability.
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