A Twist of Fate

Having learned his lesson from being hunted by a swarm of Beedrill, Bai Shi was much more cautious when catching his second Pokémon.

After carefully researching the area around the Pokémon Center, he had several fairly clear targets in mind.

"According to Nurse Joy, Ghost-type Pokémon often appear in the nearby forest."

"Among them are Pokémon like Gastly and Duskull."

"However, most Ghost-type Pokémon are elusive."

"Not only are they difficult to catch, but they're also quite dangerous."

"With my current strength, it's better not to try, just to be safe."

"Besides that, the most common Pokémon in the forest are Grass-type and Bug-type Pokémon."

"If all else fails, I can choose one of them to catch."

After thinking it over, Bai Shi still decided to focus on common-type Pokémon.

As for Pokémon of types like Ghost and Psychic—

If I get one, I'm lucky. If I don't, it's fate. There's no need to force it.

"I only hope this trip goes smoothly and doesn't run into as many twists and turns as before."

With that thought in mind, Bai Shi left the Pokémon Center and returned to the wilderness.

"Huh, a Buneary!"

Perhaps his luck today was pretty good.

Not long after entering the forest, Bai Shi found something worthwhile.

A brown, rabbit-like Pokémon appeared within his field of vision.

When Bai Shi spotted it, it was completely off guard.

It was hopping around on a relatively open patch of grass.

"Buneary is a Normal-type Pokémon. Its evolved form, Lopunny, can even undergo Mega Evolution, so it has considerable potential."

Information about Buneary quickly flashed through Bai Shi's mind.

Although this Pokémon wasn't the Bug type or Grass type he had planned to catch,

it was still an acceptable choice for Bai Shi.

"Buneary has a much gentler temper than Beedrill."

"Even if the capture fails, it won't be life-threatening."

"At worst, I'll just get beaten up by it."

"This is a chance that won't come again. I'll give it a try first!"

Seeing that Buneary was about to slip out of sight, Bai Shi made up his mind.

"Go, Starly! Use Quick Attack!"

Upon receiving Bai Shi's command, Starly, which had been waiting for the order, immediately shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

It turned into a streak of white light and launched a Sucker Punch at Buneary's back.

"Whoosh~"

Buneary's ears suddenly twitched as it heard the rush of air from behind.

The habits it had developed from surviving in the wild made it leap to the side instinctively.

It kicked off hard with both legs and dodged Starly's sudden attack.

"Starly~" (Th-That's impossible!)

Seeing this, Starly couldn't help widening its eyes. For a moment, it couldn't believe that its sure-hit attack had been dodged.

But Buneary, having recovered from the shock, didn't care about that.

Burning with fury, it launched a counterattack against the Starly that had attacked it.

It swung one of its upright ears and used Pound, lashing it viciously across Starly's body.

"Starly~" (Urgh, that hurts!)

Sent flying by the blow, Starly struggled to regain its balance and keep from falling to the ground.

"This Buneary won't be easy to deal with!"

"Starly, fly up!"

Bai Shi shouted at Starly with a deeply furrowed brow.

Its strength had clearly exceeded his expectations somewhat.

Catching it wouldn't be easy.

Bai Shi was already prepared for a prolonged battle.

Therefore, he immediately had Starly widen the distance between them, denying Buneary any chance to use Close Combat.

"Starly~" (I was careless just now. Let's try again!)

Following Bai Shi's reminder, Starly quickly rose into the air and temporarily escaped Buneary's attack range.

"Starly, use Gust!"

After putting some distance between Starly and Buneary, Bai Shi had Starly launch another attack.

Starly flapped its wings hard, sending a powerful gust of wind toward Buneary.

This forced Buneary to switch from attacking to defending.

Taking advantage of its ability to fly, Starly gained a brief advantage.

It continuously used Gust, dealing considerable damage to Buneary.

"Now, Starly! Use Quick Attack!"

Seizing the opportunity, Bai Shi shouted to Starly.

Hearing him, Starly suddenly accelerated, shot in front of Buneary, and knocked it onto the ground.

"Go, Poké Ball!"

Bai Shi's eyes lit up. He immediately took out a Poké Ball and threw it at Buneary.

However, he hadn't expected Buneary to still have energy left.

Facing the incoming Poké Ball, it quickly rose and swung its ears, batting it away.

The Poké Ball Bai Shi had thrown traced a beautiful arc through the air before finally landing in a patch of grass.

By the time Bai Shi took out another Poké Ball, Buneary had already fled.

In no time, it vanished without a trace.

"..."

Bai Shi and Starly were left standing there, staring at each other in silence for a long while.

"Sigh, it still got away."

Bai Shi came back to his senses, shook his head helplessly, and spoke with regret.

He could only accept the reality that the capture had failed.

"Starly~" (Damn it, get back here!)

Starly, meanwhile, was furious and wanted to chase Buneary down.

Fortunately, Bai Shi stopped it in the nick of time.

Seriously, if Starly went after Buneary, what would Bai Shi do?

Without a Pokémon to protect him, he would be little more than meat on a chopping block in the wilderness.

"Starly, help me find that Poké Ball that got knocked away!"

To distract Starly, Bai Shi spoke to it.

Having spent a long time with Bai Shi, Starly knew that he was rather frugal and didn't suspect anything.

Soon, it suppressed its urge to go and cause trouble for that rabbit.

It earnestly helped Bai Shi search for the Poké Ball that had fallen into the grass.

"Right now, Starly is still lacking a move capable of delivering the decisive blow."

"Otherwise, that Buneary definitely wouldn't have had a chance to escape."

"Later, I can think of a way to teach Starly a move like Aerial Ace."

While Starly searched for the ball nearby, Bai Shi began reviewing the battle they had just fought.

"Starly~" (Bai Shi, your ball!)

Just as Bai Shi was thinking about how to teach Starly a new move, it had already completed its task.

Using its claws, it carried the Poké Ball back to Bai Shi.

"Thank you, Starly! Let's—"

Bai Shi took the Poké Ball and expressed his gratitude to Starly.

He was just about to go with it in search of a new target to catch.

However, he discovered that there was already a Pokémon inside the Poké Ball in his hand.

This unexpected "catch" left Bai Shi, who had been completely unprepared for it, frozen on the spot.