"Are you saying..." Terrance's heart skipped a beat as he thought of something.
"Exactly, it's my daughter, Sabrina. She's the most incredible genius in our family's history. She awakened powerful psychic powers at birth," Mr. Sam said.
"Now, her psychic power has far surpassed mine. With her help, Ralts can surely evolve successfully."
"But..." Mr. Sam sighed.
"Even as her father, she rarely listens to me."
"Is there a reason for this?" Terrance quickly asked. No matter what, Ralts' evolution was the top priority.
"The reason lies in Sabrina's psychic power. She awakened powerful psychic power and became deeply lost in it. Her personality twisted during constant psychic power training, and she now has a dual personality."
"In one bad personality, Sabrina is capable of doing anything, including turning people into dolls with psychic power..."
"..." Terrance.
"The other personality is somewhat better, and only during that time I dare to meet her. However, even then, Sabrina is not an easy person to get along with."
"..." Terrance.
"If you want her help, conventional methods may not work," Mr. Sam helplessly shook his head.
"I've thought about it, and even if I, her biological father, were to go and ask for her help, it would be useless."
'Wow, how did you become a father like this!'
Terrance continued to listen calmly.
"With Sabrina's personality, emotional conversations are not very effective. I don't think that would sway her. Besides that, you could try challenging Saffron Gym. Instead of using Badge as a stake, use Ralts' evolution as a stake for the Gym Battle. Given Sabrina's pride….she shouldn't refuse."
Terrance understood, "If I defeat Sabrina, she might help me?"
"In theory, there's a chance," Mr. Sam said.
"..." Terrance considered for a moment, "Alright then, let me challenge Saffron Gym."
"But I don't think you can defeat Sabrina," Mr. Sam added.
"..." Terrance replied, "Uncle, what do you have in mind?"
"Are you planning to challenge Sabrina with that Ghost-type Pokémon..." Mr. Sam looked toward the empty air, even though there was nothing there.
"Can you see Misdreavus?" Terrance was slightly surprised.
Sam nodded, "For us Psychics, the time spent dealing with Ghost-type Pokémon is not shorter than Psychic-type Pokémon. Dealing with Ghost-type Pokémon is also one of the methods we are most proficient in."
"Although your Misdreavus seems well-trained and defeating Sabrina's Pokémon is possible, she will use her psychic power to strengthen her Pokémon in battle. You'll be essentially fighting against two Pokémon, and the chances of winning are too low. The terror of Sabrina's psychic power, only I understand."
"For Sabrina, she still maintains some principles as a Gym Leader, upholding her duty to train Trainers. However, if you challenge the Gym under different conditions, Sabrina probably won't go easy."
Terrance, hearing this, began to doubt if it was so exaggerated.
"Have you ever seen someone turn another person into a doll?"
"..." Terrance.
"No matter what, I must resolve Ralts' situation, even if there's just a slim chance. Besides, I believe in Misdreavus' strength," Terrance said.
"You've misunderstood. It's not that I doubt your strength, but Trainers on the road are..." Mr. Sam paused.
"...very unlikely to defeat Sabrina."
Terrance's eyelid twitched, thinking the other might quote some classic line. "Anyway, if I don't even try, I won't be able to forgive myself." [TN: I don't know what quote the author is talking about here. If you know you can tell me.]
"Sigh... I knew you'd make that decision. Speaking of which, I, as a father, am quite a failure. Sabrina turning out like this, her mother and I are somewhat to blame," Mr. Sam said. "Still, as I mentioned before, when Sabrina gets serious, her true strength is formidable. I suggest you consider improving Misdreavus' strength before challenging her."
"Improve Misdreavus' strength?" Terrance pondered. "In the short term, evolution might be the only path."
"Misdreavusss~~~" Upon hearing the word evolution, the little Misdreavus appeared, playfully nuzzling Terrance.
"This little one has been eager to evolve. Probably the most impatient among my Pokémon," Terrance thought for a moment. "Thank you for your advice, Mr. Sam. I will consider your words, and I'll be back in a few days."
"As for Misdreavus, I remember it needs something called a Dusk Stone to evolve, right?" Mr. Sam asked.
"Yes, that's correct. I'll go look for one," Terrance said. He didn't have hopes for a high-quality Dusk Stone. Dusk Stones themselves were rarer than the ordinary Fire, Water, or Thunder evolutionary stones. If he keeps looking for high-quality ones, Misdreavus might never evolve.
"Are you planning to search for a Dusk Stone?" Sam said, "I feel bad for not being able to help you, but I can at least point you in the right direction."
"What?"
"Do you know how many Gyms there are in Saffron City?" Mr. Sam asked.
Terrance opened his fingers, then realized there was no need, "One, right?"
Saffron City, Saffron Gym, is there a problem?
"Wrong, wrong, wrong, completely wrong. As the largest city in Kanto, how could Saffron City have only one Gym?" Mr. Sam said.
"Huh?" Terrance was dumbfounded.
"Besides our Saffron Gym, Saffron City also has a Fighting Gym, whose Gym Leader is Kiyo!"
"However, in the early years, in the competition for the official title of the Saffron City Gym, this Gym lost to Sabrina. As a result, it fell into decline, and Kiyo lost his status as Gym Leader."
"Just recently, after winning the second place in a Kanto-Johto martial arts competition, Kiyo challenged Sabrina again, but he lost once more. Disheartened, Kiyo finally made a decision to temporarily close the Fighting Gym and go to Mt. Mortar in Johto for hellish training, aiming to reclaim his place."
"Before Kiyo intends to close the Gym, to make sure he would always remember this incident, he has decided to offer his private collection, competition rewards, and two Pokémon he trained in the Dojo as rewards to Trainers who have always supported the Fighting Gym."
"I remember in his announced collection, there is a Dusk Stone. If you want to challenge Sabrina, you can go challenge Kiyo at the Fighting Gym. It's a closing match that concerns the Gym's reputation, and he won't go easy on anyone. It's also his final training before leaving. You can test your strength. If you can't even defeat Kiyo, then forget about Sabrina." Sam explained.
"Fighting Gym?" Terrance nodded. "I'll go take a look."
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