"Growl! Growl! Growl!"
Growlithe barked excitedly, bouncing around in front of Trapinch, who stood motionless, staring blankly in confusion.
"Trapinch? Trapinch?" Shiro called out a few times, but the Pokémon didn't respond. It simply looked dazed, as if its mind were somewhere else.
'Hmm…'
Shiro noticed Trapinch wasn't acting like he expected. It didn't seem aggressive at all. If anything, it looked… docile. Or rather, slow and a bit dull.
Seeing this, he pulled out a box of Ground-type Pokéblocks from his bag and placed it gently in front of Trapinch.
Feeding was the first step to forming a bond with a Pokémon.
Trapinch blinked at the box, then sniffed the air. A rich, savory scent drifted to its nose, and without thinking too much, it dug in. After days of hunger, it had no room to be picky.
While the Ground-type was munching away, Shiro took the chance to gently pat its oversized head. Corvisquire on his shoulder tensed up, worried the big-jawed baby would suddenly snap.
But it didn't. It barely reacted, too focused on eating to care.
A few minutes later, it finished the food, then lifted its head and stared blankly at Shiro and the other Pokémon gathered around.
"Traap..."
It let out a soft, uncertain cry.
"Growl! Growl!"
Growlithe ran up beside it right away, tail wagging, eager to get the new team member to play.
Shiro rubbed his chin, thinking about how he could train a Pokémon like this. Then he looked at the cheerful Growlithe and an idea suddenly came to him.
"Let's have a battle. Trapinch versus Corvisquire."
"Coorv!"
The bird Pokémon let out a sharp cry and flew up, landing in front of Trapinch. Its fierce eyes locked onto its opponent, ready to fight.
"Traaapinch?"
Trapinch looked around, bewildered, not understanding what was happening. Only when the other Pokémon quietly backed away and cleared the center of the large training room, leaving just it and Corvisquire in the middle, did Trapinch start to realize—they were about to fight.
Corvisquire was level 33, the same as Trapinch. But it was a Flying-type, which meant it was immune to Ground-type moves. For Trapinch, who mostly used Ground-type attacks and had a heavy body with no mobility, it was the worst kind of matchup.
Trapinch raised its head and looked at Corvisquire flying overhead. It seemed to sense this too and slowly began to back away.
For a wild Pokémon, the best way to handle an unbeatable enemy was to run. Fast. Find a safe little den and wait for the danger to pass.
Unfortunately, there was nowhere for Trapinch to hide here. The training room was spacious, but not that big. As Corvisquire closed in from above, the Ground-type backed into a corner and stopped.
"Trapinch!" Shiro called out firmly. "Do you want to eat food like that every day? Then fight. Even if you lose, it's okay. We've got ways to heal you!"
Trapinch hesitated, eyes darting toward the empty food box. Hunger flared again in its belly. The taste of the Pokéblocks lingered, and the memory overpowered its fear.
After all, to live, you need to eat. And only after eating can you stay alive.
"Traaapiiinch!"
With a sudden burst of resolve, Trapinch puffed itself up and took a few determined steps forward, letting out a loud cry.
"Squiiire!"
Corvisquire saw its opponent no longer retreating and immediately responded with an even sharper cry. With a casual flap of its wings, it unleashed five long, razor-sharp blades of wind.
"Trapinch, Protect!" Shiro's voice echoed in Trapinch's ears just in time.
The Ground-type flinched for a brief moment. It didn't really know how to deal with the flying bird, so it could only follow what the human said. Just as the pale blades of air reached its face, it raised a shimmering green shield.
The Protect barrier clashed with the wind blades, producing a series of sharp metallic clangs. Inside the shield, Trapinch lowered its head, clearly frightened by the attack.
"Use Mud-Slap!" Shiro called out again.
At the same time, Corvisquire let out another shrill cry and flapped its wings with power, stirring up a strong wind. It had used Tailwind to boost its own speed.
Hearing the next command, Trapinch understood it had no choice. It couldn't beat Corvisquire, and following the human's voice was the only path forward.
Dark brown mud quickly began to form around it, growing from tiny globs into big chunks. Soon, over a dozen mud balls floated in the air circling Trapinch.
The Ground-type was fairly practiced with Mud-Slap. The mud bullets fired all at once, like a deep brown net cast toward the airborne Corvisquire.
But the Flying-type was simply too fast. It didn't even need to use a move—just a slight shift of its wings, and it glided out of the attack's path. To a high-speed flyer like it, those muddy projectiles felt like slow, clumsy balls thrown by a child: too much space between them, and almost no chance of hitting the mark.
'Perfect,' Shiro nodded slightly in approval.
He hadn't started this battle expecting either side to defeat the other. What he really wanted was for Trapinch to start shedding its wild habits, learning to follow a rainer's commands and grow unafraid of battle.
Corvisquire clearly understood his intent. It held back and didn't end the fight too quickly or harshly.
"Trapinch, use Sandstorm!" Shiro shouted.
This time, the Pokémon showed no hesitation. It already knew it stood no chance against its opponent. And so far, the human's commands hadn't gotten it killed. Simply following orders seemed like the safest path through this ordeal.
Trapinch lifted its forelegs, and a warm, earthy light shimmered from the ground-type energy it summoned. With one firm stomp, the energy condensed into grains of sand and began to swirl around it.
In the previously empty training room, a sandstorm kicked up.
Shiro raised a hand to shield his mouth and nose, noting that Trapinch had used the storm to obscure itself slightly.
Surrounded by familiar sand, it relaxed a little. Instinctively, it crept toward the edge of the room. But before it could take more than a few steps, a stronger gust blew from the other side, scattering the sandstorm and piling most of the swirling grit off to one side of the room.
Soon, the visibility returned. A thick layer of sand, nearly half a meter high, had gathered near the corner wall, and the training room was open and clear again.
Corvisquire's piercing gaze immediately locked onto Trapinch.
"Trap..."
Trapinch didn't dare make eye contact. Looking around nervously, it quietly shuffled over to the one Pokémon that seemed friendly—Growlithe.
It settled beside the dog, pretending to be just another spectator.
"Woof!"
Growlithe didn't care about the battle at all. When it saw Ground-type come over on its own, it happily assumed the newcomer was trying to make friends. It bumped its warm head against Trapinch's.
"Traap..."
Realizing it might not have to keep fighting, Trapinch resisted the urge to chomp down on Growlithe's fluffy head.
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