A New Partner

"Star!"

Starly cried out in pain as Seviper whipped him several meters away.

He struggled to steady himself and keep from falling out of the sky.

He could still fight, but he had taken a solid hit.

"This isn't looking good!"

"I need to find a way to help Starly take that snake down."

As the situation worsened, Bai Shi frowned and searched for a solution.

"Hiss!"

Seviper wasn't finished after knocking Starly away. It opened its enormous jaws and lunged again.

Starly beat his wings hard, sending out a powerful gust of air.

He tried to drive the oncoming Seviper back.

But even that couldn't shake Seviper's determination to get revenge.

Seviper pushed straight through the gust and kept coming.

In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Starly.

Starly could already smell the foul breath pouring from its mouth.

"Starly, use Quick Attack!"

Bai Shi shouted just in time.

At his warning, Starly snapped out of it and burst forward at top speed.

He narrowly dodged Seviper's Poison Fang.

Seviper refused to let up. It raised its tail and lashed out at Starly.

Starly climbed sharply, putting distance between them again and leaving Seviper's strike short.

"Starly, make it turn around!"

An idea flashed through Bai Shi's mind. He set the Dunsparce he was holding on the ground.

With a hand free, he pulled a handful of red powder from his backpack.

Then he put on his goggles and gave Starly a new command.

"Star!"

Starly didn't quite understand what Bai Shi had in mind, but he trusted his Trainer.

Following Bai Shi's instructions, he led Seviper in a circle.

Seviper ended up facing Bai Shi again.

"Have a faceful of chili powder!"

The instant Seviper turned, Bai Shi held his breath and flung the red powder at it.

The pungent chili powder coated Seviper's face.

Some of it even got into its eyes.

Its vision was badly impaired.

The fierce pain in its eyes also forced Seviper to abandon its attack on Starly.

That gave Bai Shi and Starly a chance to strike back.

"Now, Starly! Use Quick Attack!"

Bai Shi seized the opening and shouted.

Starly became a streak of white light and slammed into Seviper.

Thud!

Seviper, already thrashing from the chili powder in its face, fell to the ground.

But after struggling for a moment, it got back up.

"Starly, use Wing Attack!"

Bai Shi showed no mercy and ordered Starly to keep attacking.

Starly spread his wings, swooped in, and struck Seviper's head.

"Hiss!"

This time, Seviper couldn't hold out any longer.

It collapsed and lay motionless.

"Phew. Finally got it!"

Bai Shi let out a breath, and the tension slowly drained from his body.

"Starly, use Gust!"

To be safe, Bai Shi had Starly hit it with one more Gust.

Seviper took the full force of the attack and still didn't move.

Only then did Bai Shi finally lower his guard.

"Star!" (I gave you a chance, and you blew it! Come on, get up if you can!)

Starly flew over Seviper's head and patted it with a wing, flaunting his victory.

The sight stunned Dunsparce so thoroughly that he forgot to run.

He could hardly believe that the powerful Seviper had ended up like this.

How had someone as small as Starly pulled it off?

"Dun..."

As Starly's Trainer, Bai Shi naturally caught Dunsparce's attention.

Dunsparce hoped Bai Shi could give him the answer he wanted.

"Hello, Dunsparce. I'm Bai Shi, Starly's Trainer."

"Would you like to become my partner, just like him?"

Noticing Dunsparce watching him, Bai Shi seized the moment and invited him to join them.

"Dun..."

At Bai Shi's invitation, Dunsparce couldn't help recalling Starly's battle with Seviper.

If he accepted, might he one day become a Pokémon like Starly?

The thought of facing powerful Pokémon himself stirred something in Dunsparce.

He was tired of being the coward he had been.

Maybe it was time to change.

"Dun..."

After a long hesitation, Dunsparce made what might have been the boldest decision of his life. He nodded to Bai Shi.

He was willing to become Bai Shi's partner.

Beyond his desire to change, Bai Shi's earlier rescue had left a deep impression on Dunsparce.

It made him believe he could have a bright new future with Bai Shi.

"Welcome aboard, Dunsparce. I'm looking forward to working with you!"

When Dunsparce nodded, a delighted smile spread across Bai Shi's face.

He was thrilled to have a new member on the team.

"Star!" (Stick with me, and I'll look out for you!)

Starly flew over to Dunsparce.

Playing the part of the team's senior member, he patted Dunsparce with a wing in encouragement.

"Dun!" (Okay, okay!)

Dunsparce nodded hurriedly, terrified he might end up like Seviper.

He really is timid. But compared with Starly, maybe that makes them a good match in their own way.

Some training should help him a lot.

Once they're ready, having one out in the open and the other in the shadows should greatly improve my chances of surviving in the wild.

Watching the two Pokémon's "friendly" exchange, Bai Shi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot about you!"

Remembering something, Bai Shi turned his gaze to Seviper.

As he recalled, Seviper's two fangs could fetch a good price.

He had regretted letting Seviper escape last time.

This time, Bai Shi had no intention of letting that happen again.

He picked up a stone from the ground.

He planned to knock out both of Seviper's fangs.

As for catching Seviper, Bai Shi hadn't even considered it.

He didn't think he was strong enough to keep such a vicious snake under control.

Rather than catch a Seviper that might prove dangerously unpredictable,

he preferred to focus on raising Starly and Dunsparce.

Bzzzt!

To be safe, Bai Shi took out his Stun Baton and gave Seviper another jolt.

Once he was sure it wasn't playing unconscious, he used the stone to knock out its fangs.

Then he took his new partner and quickly headed back to the Pokémon Center.