"New discovery?"
Hearing this, Terrance's face lit up with delight. He hadn't expected Researcher Nero to be so capable.
It had been less than a day since he'd handed over the Light Ball.
"Researcher Terrance, this little thing you gave me is quite something."
Holding the Light Ball, Nero wore a mysterious expression. "Don't be fooled by how little electricity it holds, it's astonishingly effective. If my research is correct, it's an item that can amplify a Pokémon's strength."
"That's certainly possible," Terrance nodded.
"Have you already figured out the mechanism behind that amplification?"
"Haha, have you forgotten my identity? I'm a researcher who specializes in Electric-type Pokémon! In my research, I've identified ten distinct electrical characteristics among Electric-type Pokémon. Although the electricity inside this Light Ball doesn't match any of them, I've discovered through comparison that..."
"What did you find?" Terrance asked.
"It has a fusion property. This is an incomplete form of electricity. It must combine with another kind of lightning power to take effect." Nero's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "If my hypothesis is correct, when two types of lightning power merge, they form a kind of lightning that violently stimulates a creature's life force. In other words, if a Pokémon that commands power of lightning could merge with this Light Ball, its physical capabilities would rise to an absolutely terrifying level."
"Lightning that stimulates life force?" Terrance showed a look of surprise.
"Yes, this could be considered another kind of evolution, a process of complete transformation." Nero said with admiration. "Just how such a miraculous Light Ball came into existence is beyond me. Unfortunately, there's too little electricity inside. I'd guess large Electric-type Pokémon wouldn't be able to fuse with it."
"Researcher Nero, could a non–Electric-type Pokémon that wields lightning power merge with the electricity inside it?" Terrance voiced his doubt.
"There's a very high risk, but I can't deny the possibility." Nero thought for a moment and said.
The first Pokémon that came to Terrance's mind was Castform. If Castform could merge with this mysterious Light Ball, its strength would surely increase dramatically.
After Terrance shared that idea, Researcher Nero expressed his willingness to assist in the research.
"You've helped me so much, I really don't know how to thank you…" Nero had poured considerable effort into researching the Light Ball, making Terrance feel a bit embarrassed.
"It's just a minor matter, just having the chance to study this item has already left me deeply satisfied. By the way…" Nero said, "Of course, if you don't mind, once we figure out the effects of the Light Ball, would it be alright if I published the findings? Naturally, we'd be co-researchers, I wouldn't take credit away from you."
"What credit? Haha," Terrance laughed. Other than providing the Light Ball, he hadn't really contributed much. He wouldn't be so shameless as to claim the honor.
Besides, compared to the fame that came from research achievements, Terrance cared far more about whether the Light Ball's practical value could benefit him. After all, he already had plenty of honors to his name; one more wouldn't make much difference.
…
…
During the cooperative research on the Light Ball, Terrance also planned to take some time to buy a few materials—
The materials for concocting Toxic.
About four hundred years ago, a ninja invented Toxic that nearly all Pokémon could learn. Using its special toxicity, he became the most terrifying assassin of his era. In the present day, that same ninja is remembered as the unparalleled Master of the Poison type.
Unfortunately, that ninja ultimately couldn't escape the punishment of fate. After a failed mission, he lost his life, and the secret technique of Toxic fell into the hands of outsiders. For reasons unknown, the Toxic secret technique spread across later generations, and many forces and individuals eventually obtained its formula.
It was also at that time, due to humans mass-producing it, Toxic was mastered by certain Pokémon, becoming integrated into their genes as an inherited racial trait, and allowing their offspring to naturally master this terrifyingly potent Toxic as they grew.
However, as eras passed, the poisonous nature of Toxic was long since deciphered. Nowadays, the readily available Antidotes sold on the market can easily neutralize its effects. Toxic no longer holds the fearsome prestige it once did centuries ago.
"Although that ninja created the great poison known as Toxic, his research on it, limited by the era and by time, was never fully completed," Terrance thought to himself with regret.
That ninja was one of the rare geniuses in history who, through sheer human talent, granted new moves to Pokémon.
His talent left an indelible impact on the development of the Poison-type field for generations to come. His death at such an early age remains a lasting regret for nearly every modern Poison-type Trainer. If he had lived longer, Toxic might have evolved into something entirely new.
Though that brilliant ninja had died, Toxic continued to be studied by later generations.
Its tremendous adaptability was what made Toxic so powerful, nearly every Pokémon could learn it, and it could almost perfectly merge with all forms of poison. This was Toxic's greatest strength, and future research would continue to build upon that trait.
"If Gallade wants to master Poison Jab, it must first have its own poison. Letting it learn Toxic first, then train in Poison Jab afterward, is undoubtedly the best approach."
This was precisely Terrance's plan. Moreover, he already had a rather promising idea for how to prepare this specific form of Toxic.
If Gallade were to learn Toxic, it would not be the basic Toxic poison. Toxic's adaptability allowed endless variation, and Terrance needed to consider how to make the move as beneficial as possible for Gallade.
Terrance quickly made his decision.
Paralyzing poison.
A poison that could slow an opponent's reaction speed. Combined with Gallade's Teleport attacks, it would allow Gallade's combat style to reach its full potential, making it nearly impossible for enemies to defend against.
Speaking of paralysis, Terrance thought of moves such as Stun Spore, Thunder Wave, Glare, and Freeze Shock. After some thought, he decided once more to develop a Toxic variant centered around freezing paralysis.
That is, a Paralyzing poison infused with the power of frost.
This would further expand the offensive reach of the Poison type.
"In all the existing formulas, no one's ever tried to train in this direction?" Terrance looked through the data and was surprised to find that no one had pursued this path to develop a new variant of Toxic, leaving Terrance slightly troubled.
It seemed he'd have to start from scratch and do it himself, which would undoubtedly add another heavy task to his workload.
"Forget it. I'll put this project aside for now. Let's first have Gallade learn the standard version of Toxic."
Closing the Rotom Pokédex's data interface, Terrance put on some clothes and prepared to head out.
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