"Altaria doesn't trigger Earthquake, rather it induces vibrations in rocks. Compared to the traditional Earthquake move, its power is much weaker. The ability to cause vibrations in rocks also stems from familiarity with them!"
"As a Pokémon of the Fortree Gym, battling in the Rocky and Sky terrain daily, it naturally understands the terrain well. This explains its ability to induce vibrations in the rocks with its cry. The material of the arena and the material of those Flying Type Pokémon statues I saw on my way here seem to be related. It appears that these rocks are a symbol of Fortree City, and even Fortree Gym."
"This tactic of vibrating the rock terrain is likely a test prepared by Gym Leader Hana to challenge Trainers. To achieve this effect, Altaria required practice with rocks for a long time. In this regard, it's quite similar to the "Erase" technique."
Even without the Mirror Move, it can induce vibrations with it's not-so-powerful cry. This certainly isn't something that can be explained in a few words, meaning that even without relying on Mirror Move, similar results can be achieved through persistent effort.
But Mirror Move is definitely the right direction. Normally, no one would show their moves for Terrance to practice with. So, are there other factors that can affect Altaria's calculation of "energy frequencies" of the moves?
After devising the Erase Technique, Terrance had been diligently following his own plan, believing the technique to be perfected and it would only be a matter of time to validate its effectiveness.
However, seeing Hana's Altaria induce vibrations in inanimate objects using the same cry, gave Terrance a new idea.
"After all, rocks are geological bodies formed by the gathering of rock-forming minerals in a certain structure...and moves are composed of different elemental energies. Though they may appear different, the concept remains unchanged."
"If I were Hana, how would I make Altaria quickly understand these rocks and master the vibration technique?!" Terrance pondered. "Playing with rocks, sleeping on rocks, flying over rocks, and even having every battle in a rocky terrain. It is only by this can Altaria fully understand the rocks, sense the connection with them, and use sound to cause simple 'vibrations'."
"Ah... it's the environment! The environment is important. I was too focused on exposing Altaria to a wider range of moves, hoping it would learn through trial and error, but I neglected to provide it with an environment conducive to sensing the energy of these moves."
"Fortree Gym's Altaria can see rocks anytime, anywhere, sense them, and use rocky terrain to practice. The efficiency certainly can't be compared to the Erase skill attempted time and again."
"Altaria suddenly being able to 'Erase' Hydro Pump is probably due to the damp weather near Fortree City, which allowed Altaria to familiarize itself with water energy. With prolonged exposure and training in such an environment rich in water energy, Altaria's training of Erase Technique became much more effective. No wonder the calculation speed of the Flamethrower move is the slowest, it turns out it is also influenced by the environment," speculated Terrance.
"If it's indeed because of the perennial rainy weather near Fortree City that it can increase Altaria's 'affinity' for certain moves, then if I go to a volcano, maybe Altaria can more easily perceive 'Flamethrower'?"
"Or if I go to an icy glacier, perhaps it can perceive 'Ice Beam'..."
"No...then what about moves like Hyper Beam... Shadow Ball?" Terrance scratched his head, then sighed. "Well, regardless of whether it's correct or not, I have to try."
*****************
Three days ago, at the Weather Institute.
Professor Lucci and a group of researchers were gathered around a machine with knitted brows. As a green light flashed, their expressions immediately changed.
"Have you extracted it?" Steven asked.
"No, the energy structure of the meteorite is very stable. Normal extraction is impossible. If the intensity is increased, the meteorite may get damaged...No matter how you see it, the destruction of the meteorite is not a good outcome," Professor Lucci said.
Steven nodded. If the meteorite were to be destroyed, its energy, lacking a vessel, would directly dissipate into the air.
There have been attempts to extract the evolution energy from evolutionary stones, using dozens of them to raise a powerful Pokémon, but it didn't work.
If the stable structure of such an energy vessel were to be disrupted, the energy dissipating would be a minor issue. In fact, it could even lead to a massive explosion. Moreover, the meteorite was borrowed from Terrance; they couldn't afford to gamble with it.
"Is there no other way?" a researcher asked.
"No..." As a green light created a path on the device, Professor Lucci's tightly furrowed brow relaxed. "It seems there's a breakthrough."
"The structure of the meteorite has been replicated. Quickly bring the energy analyzer!"
"Ah, yes."
Having witnessed the Flying Type Earthquake at Fortree Gym, Terrance directly returned to the Weather Institute.
He isn't planning on letting Altaria copy the opponent. Earthquake move wasn't suited for Altaria, and even if it learned it, it wouldn't be very useful. It would be better to spend that training time further refining "Erase".
Back at the Weather Institute, Terrance was surprised to find no unusual weather changes outside the laboratory today.
"Mr. Terrance, is it?" A laboratory assistant spotted Terrance and approached him. "There's been a crucial breakthrough in the research on the meteorite. Everyone's incredibly busy at the moment..."
Here's the gist: three days ago, researchers observed an energy path within the meteorite. After simulations, they discovered astonishing results.
"Then, I'll go visit Castform." After a brief conversation, Terrance hurried off to find Castform.
Though it had only been a week since they parted, following the training of the Weather Institute's seniors, Castform should have learned some new things.
Climate Simulation Laboratory.
After searching around, Terrance eventually arrived here. He saw a dozen Castforms playing in the snow.
Upon seeing Terrance, Castform immediately stopped playing, pretending to be aloof as it stood beside a snowman.
"Come back, Castform." Pretending not to notice, Terrance called out to Castform and retrieved it with a Safari Ball.
Next, he needed to find out what Castform had gained during this time to better plan its future training regimen.
Also, when he went to Fortree City, Terrance bought an Ultra Ball for Castform. Compared to the Safari Ball, which was of similar quality to mass-produced Poké Balls, the Ultra Ball would significantly improve the quality of Castform's rest.
Apart from that, he had nothing but ordinary Poké Balls with him to deal with various situations. If he wants to catch a Pokémon, regular Poké Balls would suffice. As for better Poké Balls, he'll wait until after capturing the Pokémon and then prepare something more cost-effective based on the species of Pokémon.
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