Two hours later.
Terrance was starting to regret it.
Even though Jessica claimed she was more familiar with this mountain range than her own father, Terrance hadn't forgotten what others at the Pokémon Center had said about her.
Guiding the way for the people only to get lost, picking out stones only to end up choosing a fake one.
As fate would have it, Terrance ran into a similar situation; she wanted to guide him. After thinking it over, he accepted, since capturing a Carbink was the real goal. If he could capture a suitable Carbink, he wouldn't mind paying a bit of a reward.
But Terrance had been too optimistic. Ever since he started wandering the mountains under Jessica's guidance, not only had he not found a Carbink colony, he hadn't even seen a single lone Carbink.
When searching on his own, he had at least encountered two lone Carbink, but with Jessica leading him around this mountain range…
Nothing. Not even one.
A row of black lines appeared on Terrance's forehead, and at last he said helplessly, "Say…"
"Um… Mr. Terrance, I feel like we're almost there. I usually see wild Carbink around here," Jessica said earnestly.
Left with no choice, Terrance had to keep following her. Although the route seemed a little off, the main direction and the progress marked on the map recorded by the Rotom Pokédex weren't too different. If it weren't for that thought keeping him patient, Terrance would have walked off long ago.
"I found another cave, Roto!!"
Just as Terrance took out a bottle and gulped a few mouthfuls of water, the Rotom Pokédex suddenly spotted something and flew quickly toward a cave.
"That cave probably doesn't have Carbink," Jessica judged.
But in the next moment, the Rotom Pokédex, who had darted ahead, cried out in pain.
"Be careful!" Terrance shouted.
"But I didn't see anything, Roto!" The Rotom Pokédex clutched its head, eyes watery as it looked around in confusion.
"Mismagius, did you sense anything?" Terrance asked.
At his words, the Mismagius that had been concealed nearby revealed itself, shaking its head in puzzlement. But as Terrance and Mismagius approached the spot where the Rotom Pokédex had just been struck, Mismagius suddenly formed a Mystical Fire and hurled it forward.
In the next instant, the flames exploded, scattering through the air as though they had struck something solid. Seeing this, Terrance ordered Mismagius to sweep with Magical Leaf. Countless Magical Leaf sliced forward, seemingly striking something, and as the cutting continued, rays of light began to disperse.
"Stealth Rock," Terrance said in surprise.
Move Stealth Rock: countless stones float in the air, interfering with and damaging enemies.
Terrance didn't know how long these Stealth Rocks had been floating here, but judging from the damage they dealt, they weren't very powerful. Still, they had their merits. Stealth Rock was hidden extremely well. Even Mismagius hadn't detected them until it examined them from close proximity.
"Mr. Terrance…" Jessica said blankly.
"Carbinks are inside," Terrance replied. Even though Jessica had just said there was little chance of Carbinks being here, there was no way he was going to believe her nonsense again.
This girl definitely had some kind of special aura, the kind that existed just to mess up other people's plans—a walking debuff.
After destroying the Stealth Rock, Mismagius led the way, and Terrance followed right behind, heading straight into the cave. But when they arrived, the ground was already riddled with seven large holes. It seemed the group of Carbink had noticed the commotion from the Stealth Rock's destruction and had fled.
"Interesting," Terrance said calmly. The lone Carbink he'd encountered before hadn't shown such strong vigilance. He had to meet this group of Carbink no matter what.
"Gallade." Quickly summoning Gallade, Terrance placed a hand on its shoulder. Gallade closed its eyes, sensing the tremors through the ground along the trails of the holes, trying to determine which direction the Carbink had escaped.
Behind him, Jessica rushed up, panting as she looked at Terrance standing still. She had just opened her mouth to speak when Terrance suddenly vanished, leaving her stunned for a long moment before she came back to her senses.
At the same time, seven Carbink cautiously emerged from underground. After checking their surroundings and letting out a sigh of relief, they prepared to look for another cave suitable for resting.
But just then, several figures appeared in front of them. Terrance looked at the Pokémon with a big grin and greeted them.
To help convey Terrance's intentions, the Rotom Pokédex flew out and joined him in trying to soothe the timid Carbink.
"Car~bink!!"
However, the Carbink didn't seem to believe Terrance or the Rotom Pokédex. Among the seven, the smallest Carbink stepped forward and cried out angrily.
Terrance fixed his gaze on it, waiting for the Rotom Pokédex to translate.
"No, we don't intend to capture you and turn you into art pieces," the Rotom Pokédex explained.
"Carbink!! Carbink!!" The small Carbink didn't even listen. It instantly conjured a Rock Throw and hurled it at them. Immediately after, it raised several barriers to shield the rest of the Carbink so they could escape.
Facing the attack, Terrance wasn't afraid. Gallade stepped forward, and with barely a motion resembling drawing a blade, left behind a white arc in the air that cleaved the Rock Throw in two, sending the fragments flying off in opposite directions.
"I see." Watching the Carbink's reaction, Terrance quickly pieced together the situation. He tossed out Ralts's Poké Ball, and with Confusion, Ralts restrained one Carbink that was trying to flee, pulling it over to his side.
With one of them being pulled back, the Carbink that had just erected Light Screen and Reflect, seemingly the leader of the group, suddenly turned back mid-escape, using its psychic energy to try and reclaim its companion.
But the next moment, a shadow fell, and Gallade appeared at its side, taking it captive.
"All right, Carbink, stop attacking," Terrance said.
"Why don't you become my partner?"
Though his approach was forceful, Terrance genuinely liked this Carbink. If he wasn't mistaken, the one who had laid those Stealth Rocks outside the cave was also this Carbink. As the leader of the group, it was clearly special.
"Car~bink!!"
"It says to release its companion," the Rotom Pokédex translated.
Terrance shrugged and, without hesitation, did as asked. The Confusion dissipated, and the Carbink Ralts had dragged over quickly returned to its companions' side.
This decisive action surprised the leader Carbink, who called out twice more.
"Asking what my purpose is…"
This Carbink was smarter than Terrance expected. Knowing that if it continued to flee, its companions would still be left behind, it chose to negotiate directly with him instead. Communicating with such an intelligent Pokémon saved Terrance a lot of trouble. With the Rotom Pokédex acting as translator, Terrance shared his intentions.
Terrance extended an invitation, hoping Carbink would join him and become one of his Pokémon. It was a very common request. Most Trainers, when encountering wild Pokémon, would try inviting them before resorting to battle.
Since this Carbink seemed to hold a leader's role and had a unique personality, Terrance abandoned the idea of capturing it through battle.
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