"Can you give me the Icium Z?"
Baimu crouched before the enormous Alolan Sandshrew leader and stated his request outright.
The old saying held true.
When talking to Wild Pokémon, it was best not to beat around the bush, even with an interpreter present.
The Giant Sandshrew blinked its dark eyes and shook its head at once.
"Sandshrew!"
"..."
He had expected a refusal, but half a minute ago, this whole group of white Sandshrew had been trembling before Aggron and Tyranitar. Now their leader had the nerve to refuse him.
Well.
They had been pretty brave in the original story, too.
"Hah..."
Baimu breathed out a cloud of mist. "Then what will it take for you to give me the Icium Z?"
"Sandshrew..."
The Giant Sandshrew glanced back at its clan, took a step away, and raised both claws in a threatening pose. "Shrew!!"
The Porygon Phone explained as Baimu looked on in confusion. "It wants to fight you."
"A battle? Sure—"
"It wants to fight you."
The Porygon Phone repeated itself, cutting him off before he could call Gengar over. Its tone was utterly serious.
The Giant Sandshrew nodded quickly.
What?
Who was supposed to fight the Sandshrew?
Me?
Baimu was baffled. He looked just like the little demon ordered by the Nine-Headed Insect to get rid of Sun Wukong.
"That's right."
The Porygon Phone confirmed it a third time. "It says this is a fight between leaders!"
What kind of leader fight is that?!
He looked at the earnest Giant Sandshrew, too speechless even to wonder anymore.
Shiny Gengar and Aggron exchanged glances.
Plenty of Wild Pokémon attacked trainers without warning, but this was the first one to formally challenge a trainer to a fight!
Aggron looked intrigued and discreetly signaled to the Porygon Phone and Gengar.