5 A fool's dream

For this long journey ahead, Terrance had prepared an ample amount of food and water. On the first day, he only managed to cover about ten kilometers before it got dark.

One reason was that the road was difficult to traverse, and the other was that his body couldn't withstand prolonged physical activity.

Whenever he felt tired, he would take a short rest, and when he felt hungry, he would eat Berries or dried rations to satisfy his hunger. Fortunately, he had Beautifly accompanying him, so he didn't feel too lonely. In case they encountered any dangerous situations, Beautifly could take care of them to some extent.

Terrance's goal was Slateport City, a large city that was the closest to Fallarbor Town. However, even so, it would take him about a week to reach there on foot.

Terrance wants to go to Lilycove City first to participate in the Breeder's examination. However, although Lilycove City was also in Hoenn region, it was too far away from Terrance's current location. If he were to travel on foot, it would take him several months, and besides, it was impossible for Terrance to cross the ocean on foot.

Therefore, he had no choice but to go to the harbor in Slateport City.

Taking a ship was the fastest way for him to reach Lilycove City.

Traveling by foot was tedious, especially in the wilderness where you could face unpredictable weather and unknown dangers that could strike at any time. However, Terrance managed to overcome all of it.

As someone without Trainer qualification, he couldn't even stay at a Pokémon Center when he reached a populated area. As for a hotel, his meager savings didn't allow him to afford one.

These are all prepared for the Breeder Examination, and Terrance couldn't afford to waste any of it.

"Glug, glug."

Passing by a lakeside, Terrance took out his water pouch and took a few sips of water, hastily quenching his thirst.

"Hehe." Wiping off the water droplets lingering on the corners of his mouth, Terrance smiled. After several days of travel, he was finally getting close to Slateport City.

During his first long journey away from home, Terrance had some difficulties adapting, but fortunately, he managed to overcome it all, and now he has become accustomed to this feeling.

Along the way, Terrance would occasionally pick some brightly colored wild fruits. It wasn't to allay hunger; rather, these things could be processed and had certain benefits for specific Pokémon. With proper preparation, he could sell them for a small amount of money, which was very important to Terrance.

The so-called Breeders, apart from working at the Day Care, would generally also engage in such activities.

Flap, flap...

Suddenly, a few Taillows flew over and launched an attack towards Beautifly perched on Terrance's shoulder. Terrance had become used to such occurrences as Taillow and Wurmple were natural enemies. Even if Wurmple has evolved, this situation would remain unchanged.

If these two Pokémon were in different factions, like the current situation, war is likely to occur. It was only when both of them are captured and guided by a Trainer that their relationship could improve to some extent.

The four Taillows had sharp beaks shimmering with white light as they flew towards Beautifly and Terrance. They were using Peck attack, a basic move. Without much thought, Terrance instructed Beautifly to defend.

Beautifly unleashed a Silver Wind infused with Stun Spore, halting the four Taillow in their tracks. The difference in their levels was too great. Looking at the Taillows struggling to flap their wings, Terrance and Beautifly didn't stay any longer; they immediately left the scene.

Taillow doesn't know the meaning of backing down. If Terrance and Beautifly had stayed, they would have faced unrelenting attacks from them.

"Well done, Beautifly."

Terrance quickly ran to a nearby fork in the path and praised Beautifly. Beautifly had been a great help to him during these days, especially with its move String Shot, which had helped Terrance overcome numerous predicaments.

"Hu hu~"

Gently making a sound, Beautifly seemed pleased with Terrance's praise.

"Let's keep moving forward." Dusting off his clothes, Terrance sensed that Slateport City was not far away. To be honest, he really wanted to have a hearty meal. It didn't have to be anything fancy; warm and satisfying food would be more than enough.

After nibbling on dry rations and Berries for several days, Terrance had grown weary of them. This made him regret not bringing cooking utensils along.

...

"How strange, why is there an Electrike here..."

Suddenly, a small dog-like Pokémon appeared in Terrance's field of vision. Its body was predominantly green, with a yellow mark on its face. It was clearly Electrike.

Looking at the bewildered Electrike, Terrance shook his head. Electrike was considered a rare Pokémon, and its evolved form, Manectric, was also impressive. However, with Terrance's current financial situation, he couldn't afford to take care of a second Pokémon.

Besides, he didn't have any spare Poké Balls at the moment.

So, he was just slightly surprised by Electrike's appearance. But he didn't regret it. His own circumstances meant that he couldn't capture too many Pokémon. He simply couldn't take care of each one properly with his current situation.

Great potential and easy to care for, these were the two criteria for Terrance when capturing Pokémon.

Terrance wants to achieve great things. It was not enough for him to possess exceptional knowledge alone; his Pokémons also needed to possess formidable strength. Otherwise, how could he help everyone in the Old Green House pursue their own dreams?

Making everyone in Old Green House have the right to choose their own paths was Terrance's greatest wish. He already considered the Old Green House as his family, and he didn't want everyone there to live their lives aimlessly.

However, Terrance was well aware that it was easier said than done. It was ten times, or even more difficult than sustaining the Old Green House orphanage. Providing better conditions for so many children was far from easy.

Terrance was no longer the naive person he once was when he arrived. Normally, obtaining the Trainer qualification alone required an expenditure of 100,000 yen, a sum that could be used by Old Green House for a long period of time. [TN: Here the author used currency as yuan, but I will use yen as the currency since it's similar to currency in pokemon world.]

Moreover, these were just the basic expenses. The costs associated with acquiring starter Pokémon, maintaining and caring for the Pokémon, as well as covering the expenses of treating them, all required money.

Hence, even families with relatively good financial situation, would hesitate to support multiple children in becoming Trainers and boldly pursuing their dreams.

But Terrance was determined to work hard for it. Old Green House was the fruit of Grandma Arlan's painstaking efforts, and Terrance had always respected the elderly woman who took care of him in every way possible.

So, the Old Green House had always been cherished by Terrance. Moreover, in his eyes, his dream wasn't just a fool's dream.

Terrance just wanted to give himself a goal, a motivation.

Every time he thought of his responsibilities, Terrance would sigh deeply, then remember the protagonists in the novels he had read. Each of them appeared unburdened and free, which makes him envious.

"Even if it's a fool's dream, in this journey called life, we must give it our all, right, Beautifly?"

As Terrance detoured around the Electrike and walked along the forest trail, he gazed at the sunlight in the sky with a smile. He firmly believed that without a definite goal in life, there is no point in living. That's why, even if it seemed impossible to others, he still wanted to give it a try.

"Hu?" Beautifly, fluttering by his side, made a puzzled sound, not understanding what Terrance was talking about. This made Terrance burst into laughter.