The Wind of Beginnings

"Goodness, child, I really can't figure you out..."

After a silence, Grandma Oran sighed again, her thoughts returning to the day she had taken Terrance in. Terrance came from Cerulean City in the Kanto region. His parents had died in an accident when he was six, and without the minimum means of support, he had soon found himself all alone. Even with the League's subsidies, he had struggled to live a normal life.

Oran had happened to be passing through Kanto at the time. After obtaining Terrance's consent, she had applied to the League and completed a series of formalities to take him in under the orphanage's care.

Terrance was neither the first child like him at Qinggu House, nor would he be the last.

But Terrance was certainly the most unusual child Oran had ever met.

From his initial silence and reclusiveness to his later maturity, composure, and consideration for others, it was hard to believe he was only six. Even Oran was astonished by his almost fanatical devotion to books. She found that Terrance could become absorbed in dry, tedious knowledge that no other child his age would willingly touch, and even analyze it clearly and with relish!

He was serious, meticulous, and mature. Sometimes Oran almost forgot that Terrance was an orphan she had taken in too, when in fact he was helping her look after the other children.

"Meeting you was our good fortune too." Looking at Terrance's bright, intent eyes, Grandma Oran hardly knew whether to laugh or cry. She had no idea what the child thought about all day. What childlike innocence did he have left? Sometimes, seeing how focused Terrance was, Grandma Oran even felt a trace of fear. This child was so unusual that he gave her a sense of unreality.

"I'm sorry..." Terrance murmured, unsure how to continue the conversation.

No matter what, he would not change his decision to leave Qinggu House!

After a long silence, Grandma Oran looked at Beautifly. "I came here to tell you to take this child with you." Gazing gently at Beautifly, Grandma Oran sighed. "It's grown up too."

Terrance froze at her words.

Take Beautifly with him?

The thought had crossed Terrance's mind, but Beautifly was also a member of Qinggu House. Although Terrance was the one who mainly cared for it, everyone here had put their own effort into looking after it.

In other words, Beautifly was not Terrance's Pokémon.

In fact, no one had ever caught Beautifly.

And Grandma Oran had always paid for all of Beautifly's food!

"Let it stay and keep the children company."

Terrance shook his head and refused.

Taking Beautifly with him would certainly give him an advantage on his journey, but that would be far too irresponsible.

After all, Beautifly was not his personal property.

Every member of Qinggu House had put their own effort into caring for Beautifly.

"I knew you'd say that, but the children have all agreed. They want Beautifly to go with you and see the world outside too."

Grandma Oran spoke as though she had anticipated Terrance's answer.

"Take this."

Grandma Oran patted Terrance on the shoulder and handed him something-

"This is... a Poké Ball?"

The Poké Ball was pure white. Terrance looked at it carefully, and his fist tightened slightly.

The children's names were scrawled all over the pure white Poké Ball.

"I won this at a Pokémon Contest when I was young. It's a Cherish Ball. It works just like a Poké Ball, but now it also holds the children's support for you. Come on, child, use it to catch Beautifly. We'll feel much more at ease if the two of you go out into the world together."

Terrance stared at the Cherish Ball, his mouth opening slightly. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.

Holding the Cherish Ball in his hand, Terrance felt its weight and warmth!

The silence did not last long. Finally, Terrance looked at Grandma Oran and said, "I understand."

"Leave this child to me. If it agrees to become my Pokémon, I'll take it with me to fulfill the children's dreams," Terrance said to Grandma Oran with a resolute nod.

Then Terrance turned his gaze to Beautifly, circling in the air, and watched it.

It was more like he was asking it a question.

"Coo~"

At that moment, Beautifly seemed to understand everything that was happening. Seeing Terrance's invitation, it didn't hesitate at all and immediately let out a cheerful cry.

Terrance had cared for it so attentively and kept it company, tended to it through every evolution, and shared the hardships of training with it. Though the training had been strict and demanding, how could it forget the sweat they had shed together?

Becoming Terrance's Pokémon had always been Beautifly's wish too!

"Congratulations," Grandma Oran said with a smile. Even at her age, she couldn't help feeling a little sad at a moment like this.

"Thank you, all of you," Terrance said, his voice lonely, as he gripped the Cherish Ball tightly.

The smile still on her face, Grandma Oran looked at Terrance and couldn't help finding him a little amusing. What a strange child.

The Poké Ball's pure white color marked the beginning of Terrance's dream.

Feeling the breeze blowing through the window, Terrance looked at Beautifly, his thoughts drifting back to the past.

Back then, Terrance and Beautifly had greeted the morning light and practiced moves together.

In the sunlight, Beautifly's String Shot had looked like a sea of silk, forming a great web. Electricity had spread across it with a crackle.

This had been the process by which Terrance and Beautifly had worked hard to upgrade String Shot into Electroweb, following Grandma Oran's suggestion.

The special training had taken Terrance a great deal of effort. Ever since Beautifly was a Wurmple, he had deliberately trained it to keep its String Shot from falling into disuse.

In Terrance's view, String Shot could be tremendously useful if applied properly.

So, besides the special training, Terrance had always made an effort to supplement Wurmple's diet with protein. He had also often gone into the forest alone to pick Chilan Berries, which could increase the amount of silk it produced and make the silk tougher.

The flesh and leaves of Chilan Berries were Bug-type Pokémon's favorite food. After Terrance prepared the berries, they could also provide Beautifly with better nutrition.

After months of joint effort by Terrance and the others, Beautifly's String Shot had improved greatly and gained good electrical conductivity. Finally, with the help of Cheri Berries and its unique powder, Beautifly had mastered Electroweb.

That was the greatest achievement Terrance and Beautifly had gained during their year together.

Besides that, Beautifly's excellent ability to sense air currents, its precise control over wind speed, and its Silver Wind filled with various kinds of powder were all the results of Terrance and Beautifly's joint efforts.

Beautifly might not have been outstanding in strength, but when it came to using moves, it was an excellent contestant, a little one born especially for Pokémon Contests.

For it carried the Pokémon Contest dreams of all the children at Qinggu House, and Grandma Oran's experience had also been the greatest help in its growth.

The breeze blew again, bringing Terrance back to his senses. He knew this was the wind of beginnings, seeing him off.