The first change occurred when the Fairy energy absorbed by Carbink manifested on its body in the form of a pink glow. It was at that moment that Terrance realized Carbink might have the potential to further mutate into Diancie.
The second change, however, was a transformation that occurred in the Rock-type moves Carbink used!
Holding a stone created by Carbink, Terrance frowned and called over the Rotom Pokédex to examine it.
"The structure of the stone has undergone significant changes. The external force causing these structural changes is likely Fairy energy," Rotom Pokédex reported to Terrance after its analysis.
"I suspected as much. Just like with Carbink's initial transformation, this stone also has a tinge of pink," Terrance said.
"Car~bink…" Carbink called out in confusion.
"You're probably gradually gaining the ability to create diamonds," Terrance judged. Diancie's signature move, Diamond Storm, is an attack that uses a storm of diamonds to deal damage. With Carbink undergoing these two changes, it's becoming more and more like Diancie.
After so much hard work, Carbink had finally started to transform toward Diancie both in its body and in its moves. This made Terrance all the more excited.
It seemed the day Carbink would completely mutate was not far off.
"Car~bink!" After hearing Terrance and Rotom Pokédex's assessment, Carbink spun around happily, feeling its efforts over these days had not been in vain.
At present, Altaria had mastered the Flame of Life and Carbink had undergone its second transformation. It could be said that this past month had been quite fruitful. After considering for a moment, Terrance decided to bid farewell to old man Blaine.
In a certain room at Cinnabar Gym, Blaine brewed a cup of hot tea, discussing his experience in raising Fire-type Pokémon with Terrance before he left.
"It's a pity your Altaria doesn't have the Fire type. Otherwise, the power of Flame of Life would be even stronger," Blaine said with regret, then added, "But even without the Fire type, your Altaria has mastered the Flame of Life. It's already more like a Fire-type than most Fire-types."
"Type is just a man-made definition anyway. Aren't there plenty of cases where Pokémon's types have changed? There are too many factors at play," Terrance replied with a smile and shake of his head. Not only the change from Normal type to Fairy type, but academic circles have also discovered many Pokémon whose types have changed due to environmental differences.
The Alolan forms, in fact, are the hottest research topic in the academic field of type changes.
"That's true. Since you're leaving, I won't try to keep you," Blaine said.
Moltres still hadn't returned, which left Blaine rather helpless; otherwise, he could have let Moltres experience the Flame of Life in advance. Now that Terrance was leaving, it was uncertain how long it would be before that could happen.
Terrance nodded, and finally thanked Blaine for his hospitality these past days.
After leaving Cinnabar Gym, Terrance planned to head to Saffron City, where this year's Kanto Grand Festival would be held.
He had already secured five Ribbons in overwhelming fashion with Vulpix, and he was absolutely determined to win the Grand Festival.
Having already dominated the Pokémon Contests in Hoenn, with the arrival of Kanto's Grand Festival, Terrance was ready to continue his journey of conquest.
Cinnabar Island port. After buying an S.S. Ticket to Fuchsia City, Terrance frowned, faintly sensing that someone was sneakily following him...
This wasn't the first time he'd had this feeling. It had already been happening for about a week. But even when Kirlia used Confusion to scan, nothing was discovered, so Terrance was helpless.
"No matter if I'm being followed or not, I'll know once I get on the boat."
Terrance smiled slightly and didn't pay it much mind. Before leaving, he planned to have a good meal. Cinnabar Island was also a tourist spot, with plenty of local delicacies. During his month-long stay, Terrance had grown fond of a particular restaurant. He'd eaten there for a month without getting tired of it, and now, about to leave, he was actually a little reluctant.
After arriving at the restaurant, Terrance called a waiter to order, but before he even had a chance to warm his seat, two people came over, looking at him with some surprise.
"Excuse me..."
Hearing the voice, Terrance looked up and saw two familiar young women. He quickly recalled who they were.
"I remember…you two are... the challengers from Cinnabar Gym before, right?"
During the critical period when Terrance's Altaria was fusing the Flame of Life, these two challengers entered the Cinnabar Gym and witnessed Altaria's self-initiated evolution and the entire process of mastering the Flame of Life.
The day after the Flame of Life was completed, Terrance didn't go to Cinnabar Gym because he was sorting out data, so he didn't see the two challenge again. Now, seeing them approach him, Terrance was a bit confused. He shouldn't have any connection to them.
"Yes, I'm Yukiko, and this is my younger sister, Kiriko." The older sister, a light-blue ponytailed girl named Yukiko, spoke curiously: "Are you also a Trainer? Was that Pokémon before Altaria?"
"And what was up with that flame?" Kiriko also looked curious.
Hearing their questions, Terrance helplessly took a sip of complimentary warm water and said, "It was indeed Altaria. As for the rest, I have nothing to say."
Naturally, he wouldn't go around advertising things like self-Mega Evolution or the Flame of Life, so he really had no interest in explaining these things to two strangers. But what surprised him was... the two quickly changed the subject.
"What's this...?" Terrance saw the check placed on the table and gave a strange smile.
"A check from Kanto Bank."
"That's right." Yukiko nodded seriously. "The two of us want to hire a powerful Trainer to help with something. As for the payment, we guarantee you'll be satisfied."
"Let's hear it," Terrance said.
"We know the location of a piece of Never-Melt Ice that dates back many years. Our goal is to obtain it," Yukiko explained.
"Never-Melt Ice?" Terrance was taken aback. This was a special item that could enhance the power of Ice-type moves. Terrance had also collected some while researching Snowy Weather, but they were mostly artificially created; none were described as having "age."
As for naturally occurring Never-Melt Ice, it had basically all been collected long ago. It was rarely found in the wild anymore.
"Yes, that Never-Melt Ice is possessed by some very powerful Ice-type Pokémon, but with your Altaria's flames, you should be able to handle them," Kiriko said.
Terrance declined the invitation. He wasn't short of money at the moment, though he was a bit interested in Never-Melt Ice. Either way, cooperation between them wasn't going to happen.
"Sorry, I'm not interested." As his meal happened to arrive, Terrance finally smiled and refused the two.
Seeing Terrance immediately start eating without another word, Yukiko and Kiriko looked at each other and could only shake their heads helplessly.
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