Seeing that Terrance wasn't completely clueless, Old Man Akino suddenly lost interest. Trainers who occasionally stepped in like this were not uncommon, and it wasn't a big deal. It just so happened that he encountered one and thought he could kill some time out of boredom.
However, it seemed he hit a wall. The other party didn't fall for it and instead analyzed things logically, leaving him speechless.
"Heh heh..." Akino laughed dryly, "You're a naughty one, huh!"
Terrance feigned innocence as he recalled Beautifly, planning to leave Petalburg Woods.
"Wait... you've been in Petalburg Woods for a while now, haven't you?" Old Man Akino suddenly asked.
"Uh... that's right." Terrance replied.
He looked at his clothes and shrugged. The way he looked, anyone could tell.
Old Man Akino continued, "Since you've been here for so long, are you interested in staying a bit longer?"
After speaking, he looked up at the sky and said in a deep voice, "It's almost the season when the Wurmple all evolve together. In no more than three days, the Taillow flock will retreat, and the surviving Wurmple, who have accumulated enough energy, will evolve in succession through two stages."
"Three more days?" Terrance asked in surprise.
The old man nodded, wanting to see what was the extent of Terrance' abilities. It had taken him decades in Petalburg Woods to figure out the migration and evolution patterns of the Wurmple and Taillow during this season. He didn't believe Terrance knew this as well.
Terrance really didn't know…but he may not know of the exact timing, he did have a decent understanding of Wurmple's habits.
"Sure." Terrance agreed immediately. By then, hundreds of Silcoon and Cascoon would evolve simultaneously due to some special reason, a rare sight.
Terrance mainly wanted Mismagius to see it. Watching such a magnificent scene and simulating it would be great training.
"You really have a good eye, haha." The old man said. This kind of situation wasn't something every Trainer could encounter easily. Experiencing it could enhance a Trainer's mindset and perspective. However, what he didn't know was that Terrance had already witnessed the large-scale evolution of Nosepass.
The old man gave Terrance a simple welcome. During this period, he was the Ranger on duty for Petalburg Woods. The workload wasn't too heavy, so his days were generally quite relaxed.
"Here... take this." As they waited for Silcoon and Cascoon to emerge, and with the Taillow flock about to retreat in large numbers, Terrance stopped worrying about healing Wurmple. Old Man Akino settled him in and didn't let him stay idle. He took out a fishing rod and handed it to Terrance, and he took one for himself as well.
"Come, fish with me for a while." Old Man Akino said.
Terrance looked puzzled, "Fishing? I don't know how."
In both his past and present lives, he has never had any fishing experience...Moreover, he believes that this activity has nothing to do with him at all.
"Fishing is also a form of training for a Trainer. I'll teach you." Old Man Akino said slowly, "Otherwise, simply waiting around will be too boring."
Terrance wanted to say it wasn't boring; he still needed to train his Pokémon. But seeing the old man already holding a fishing rod, he figured he might as well accompany him for a while.
But he couldn't help but wonder, "How can fishing be training?"
He'd heard of Trainers who trained through battles, through travel experiences, through studying knowledge and through training their strength, but fishing...
Terrance calmed down. Although he didn't understand fishing, he knew there were certain steps. He wasn't in a hurry and, with the old man, found a small lake, took a wooden stool, and sat down.
After a while, the old man had already caught a Magikarp, but he released it again.
After sitting for a while longer, Terrance's fishing rod finally moved, but when he reeled it in... the prey had already escaped.
Terrance didn't get discouraged, but after several more attempts, he still hadn't caught anything, and even he couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated.
"Heh heh..." Old Man Akino chuckled at this but didn't say anything. Terrance could only continue fishing. This continued for dozens of attempts. The old man had already caught many Magikarp and Barboach, releasing them again. As for Terrance... he still had zero catches.
During this process, Terrance was initially impatient with this new activity. But remembering Old Man Akino's words, he realized he was being too hasty. He then slowly calmed down and continued fishing earnestly, one attempt at a time.
By dusk, Terrance still had no success. He waved his hand in resignation, and only then did Old Man Akino speak, "The hook on this fishing rod is specially treated to avoid harming the prey. However, it also significantly increases the difficulty of catching anything. Without a few months of fishing experience, you can't expect to catch something every time."
Terrance had suspected as much. "So, this training is about testing patience, right?"
"That's part of it," Old Man Akino said. "It seems you've realized this and done well. But there's another aspect, which is reaction and judgment."
"Only with all three can you successfully catch the prey."
Terrance had no words. He considered his reaction and judgment skills to be decent, but the fact remained that he hadn't caught anything.
This was different from a Trainer's reactions and judgments in battles, but since he hadn't succeeded, he let the old man say whatever he wanted.
From then on, whenever he had time, Terrance would fish with the old man. On the third day, a large number of Taillow flew out of the forest, migrating in another direction. Terrance put down his fishing rod, knowing it was time.
The large-scale emergence of Beautifly and Dustox was just around the corner.
The next morning, Old Man Akino led Terrance to a hidden place where numerous Silcoon and Cascoon were gathered, at least several hundred. This was probably the spot in Petalburg Woods with the highest concentration of Silcoon and Cascoon.
But to Terrance's surprise, there were already three people there.
A man in a deep red jacket stood there, flanked by a boy and a girl.
"Mr. Norman?"
Old Man Akino walked over and said with some surprise, "This is a rare guest."
Mr. Norman saw Akino and smiled, "I promised to bring the kids to see this."
Akino chuckled and looked at Mr. Norman's two children, thinking they had a bright future ahead. After all, their father was known as the most powerful Trainer in Hoenn. Moreover, in the Hoenn League rankings, he was second only to the Elite Four.
If one of the Elite Four were to retire, Mr. Norman would likely take their place. However, Mr. Norman wasn't very interested in the Elite Four's duties. After all, he now had two children and couldn't easily undertake the dangerous tasks of an Elite Four member.
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