On this day, Terrance traveled from Mauville City to Petalburg Woods. Along the way, he passed through Verdanturf Town's Rusturf Tunnel and then went straight through Rustboro City before entering Petalburg Woods. Terrance had taken this route at least twice before. He was somewhat frustrated by the location of the Pokémon Contest; Petalburg City was the easiest place for him to reach. The other location, unless he took a boat, is too far to walk to before the contest ended.
After entering Petalburg Woods from Rustboro City's entrance, the surroundings immediately turned dark. Petalburg Woods was larger than Fallarbor Woods, and the paths were more difficult to traverse. Coupled with the dark environment, it was a route few Trainers liked to take.
"Ahh!" Terrance was startled, feeling he had stepped on something. He took out a flashlight and shone it into the bushes, then his face turned dark.
"Paralyze Heal?" Terrance picked it up with two fingers. Judging by the packaging, this bottle of Paralyze Heal hadn't been used yet, but because he stepped on it, the medicine inside had already been squeezed out.
"It's useless—" he muttered with a look of disdain, tossing it back on the ground. It was clear that some careless Trainer had lost it in the dark environment.
"Mismagiusss~~" Terrance called out Mismagius, stroked his chin with one hand, and pondered, "In this kind of environment, your eyesight is the best. While paying attention to the surroundings, also check the ground for any 'valuable items'..."
"Oh right, it would be good to let out Growlithe too, its nose is quite keen."
A flash of white light.
"Arwooo—"
Bang!
Terrance assumed a defensive stance, squatting low to brace against the impact.
"Cough..." He shook his numb arm and glanced at the discarded Paralyze Heal, his eye twitching slightly.
"Remember...don't randomly eat things you find on the ground." He instructed Growlithe. With that, the man, the dog, and the ghost continued forward.
Along the way, Growlithe was full of fighting spirit, even wanting to battle a Shroomish it spotted. Terrance was startled and quickly stopped it, worried that Growlithe might accidentally breathe out a fireball, which would have been a disaster for Terrance.
In response, Growlithe shook its head and nudged Castform's Poké Ball.
"Are you saying...even if a fire breaks out, Castform can use Rain Dance to extinguish it?" Terrance asked, his face turning dark.
"Arf~~" Growlithe nodded.
"No means no." Terrance said firmly, which made Growlithe unhappy. It quickly indicated it would only use Tackle, so Terrance reluctantly let it go.
But to Terrence's further frustration, Growlithe's reckless behavior yielded no results, instead it got itself covered in spores. The little guy had dashed into Shroomish's habitat and, without hesitation, let out a howl, scaring the Shroomish into scattering.
As they fled, the Shroomish released spores to fend off their pursuer. To make matters worse, Growlithe recklessly charged into the cloud of spores, prompting an exasperated Terrance to have Mismagius retrieve it.
When Growlithe returned, it was as if it was drunk, lying dazed on the ground. Terrance had no choice but to administer potion to heal it, then returned it to its Poké Ball, abandoning the thought of finding 'valuable items'.
"Mismagiusss~~" Terrance and Mismagius continued onward. Without Growlithe, their pace quickened, but before they exited the forest, Mismagius began to issue a warning.
Terrance's brow furrowed, and he and Mismagius quickly hid behind a tree. It wasn't long before over a dozen Wurmple came scurrying over in a panic.
"What is this..."
Each of the Wurmple was severely injured. If not treated soon, their lives could be in danger. Terrance released Beautifly to investigate the situation.
Soon, Beautifly returned and communicated with Mismagius, who nodded and relayed the information to Terrance through an illusion.
The source of the problem was competition in the wilderness. Every month, a flock of Taillow would fly to Petalburg Woods to hunt. The Wurmple were their primary targets. These injured Wurmple were the lucky ones that managed to escape the Taillow's claws.
However, even those who successfully escaped were badly injured.
Terrance sighed and shook his head, instructing Mismagius and Beautifly to prepare to leave.
This was the normal law of the wild, and he had no reason or right to intervene.
But to Terrance's surprise, Beautifly agitatedly blocked his path, pleading with him.
"Buzz~~" Beautifly circled a few times, expressing its inability to stand by idly. Terrance fell silent.
"No."
"Just by yourself, you can't handle a flock of Taillow. Even if I intervened and drove them away, fewer Wurmple would survive in the long run."
Beautifly landed dejectedly on the ground. It had once been chased by Taillow before escaping to the Old Green House. Seeing this situation once again…it was understandably distressing.
"Sigh!" Seeing Beautifly looking downcast, Terrance sighed and said, "Although I can't let you drive away the Taillow, I can help heal the injured Wurmple to ease their suffering. Whether they can completely escape the Taillow will be up to their own fate."
Understanding Beautifly's feelings, Terrance felt helpless. The best he could do was help these injured Wurmple who managed to escape the Taillow once.
"Buzz~~" Beautifly lifted its head, eyes full of hope, and nodded, regaining its spirit.
Taking a deep breath, Terrance took out his backpack and said, "To help heal the Wurmple, the Potions we have won't be enough. There are Oran Berries in Petalburg Woods. I'll leave the task of gathering them to you. As for how many Wurmple we can help... we'll just do our best."
Beautifly nodded and flew off.
It understood that blind assistance could cause more harm. Giving those severely injured Wurmple a second chance was the only thing Terrance and Beautifly could do without disrupting the laws of the wild.
Of course, given the vastness of Petalburg Woods, Terrance couldn't save many of the severely injured Wurmple. He mainly wanted to soothe the gentle heart of Beautifly.
Thus, Beautifly searched for Oran Berries and injured Wurmple while Terrance processed the berries into a paste suitable for the Wurmple to absorb. Working together, they moved through Petalburg Woods.
Terrance didn't rush to leave. He and Beautifly had set a time and they would naturally leave at that time, and Beautifly understood this…..
Returning to 'wild' lifestyle after a long time, Terrance stayed temporarily in Petalburg Woods with Beautifly while training Mismagius' moves.
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