Building Confidence

"Come on out, Starly, Dunsparce!"

Bai Shi threw two Poké Balls, releasing both of his Pokémon.

He wanted more time with his newly caught Dunsparce so they could grow closer.

For the past few days, Bai Shi had stayed at the Pokémon Center instead of moving on.

By now, he had earned Dunsparce's initial trust.

Dunsparce, in turn, was gradually getting used to Bai Shi as his trainer.

The more time they spent together, the closer they became.

Bai Shi had also gained a general understanding of his new partner.

To his surprise, Dunsparce knew quite a few moves.

He knew three in total: Defense Curl, Mud-Slap, and Dig.

That was two more than Starly had known when Bai Shi first caught him.

It was a welcome surprise.

Bai Shi couldn't help expecting more from Dunsparce.

But Dunsparce's performance afterward was less than ideal.

At first, Bai Shi gave him only basic physical training.

He had Dunsparce run alongside him.

Dunsparce worked hard and completed that part of the training.

He also followed Bai Shi's commands.

But when it came to practice battles, his performance was astonishing for all the wrong reasons.

One flap of Starly's wings sent Dunsparce fleeing in terror.

He hid underground and let Starly attack without fighting back.

Bai Shi shouted until his throat was raw, but Dunsparce wouldn't budge.

It took a long time before Dunsparce finally poked his head out again.

Seeing how shaken he was, Bai Shi couldn't bring himself to scold him. All he could do was encourage him.

Unwilling to give up, Bai Shi tried several more times, but he still couldn't stir Dunsparce's fighting spirit.

His practice battles never got off the ground.

Finding a way to overcome Dunsparce's fear became Bai Shi's top priority.

Otherwise, no matter how well Dunsparce trained, he would be of little use in battle.

Bai Shi racked his brains over the problem.

Judging by how he trains, I can tell Dunsparce wants to get stronger.

But as soon as it's time to battle, his first instinct is still to run away.

Besides his personality, his lack of strength and confidence must be part of it.

I can start there. If I find him an easy opponent, he can build some confidence.

Once he gets a taste of victory, things should improve a lot.

After thinking it through, Bai Shi came up with a plan.

At first, he wanted Starly to go a little easy on Dunsparce.

Unfortunately, Starly rejected the idea.

Starly considered himself the leader of the team. How could he agree to lose to a newcomer?

Left with no choice, Bai Shi went back into the forest.

He hoped to find a suitable opponent for Dunsparce in the wild.

In the end, Bai Shi picked a Kakuna from among the Wild Pokémon.

"Come on, Dunsparce! I know you can beat him!"

Before the battle, Bai Shi offered Dunsparce some encouragement.

He had already checked the surrounding area.

There was only one Pokémon nearby: a Metapod.

And Starly was keeping watch from the sky.

That made another encounter like the Beedrill swarm's pursuit unlikely.

Even if Dunsparce slipped up, he wouldn't get hurt too badly.

"Dunsparce..." (He looks so scary!)

The Metapod hung motionless from a tree, yet Dunsparce still couldn't bring himself to look straight at him. He shrank back nervously.

He hesitated to make another move, afraid of disturbing him.

"Come on, Dunsparce! I know you can beat him!"

Seeing Dunsparce hesitate, Bai Shi kept encouraging him.

"Dunsparce..." (You can't see me! You can't see me!)

Bai Shi's encouragement finally gave Dunsparce a little courage. He repeated the words silently to himself.

He hopped forward, closing the distance to Metapod.

Of course, after that single hop, Dunsparce stopped.

His heart pounding, he watched Metapod for any movement.

Only when Metapod made no move to attack did Dunsparce advance again.

Metapod noticed Dunsparce, but with his limited mobility, he could only watch him approach.

"Dunsparce, use Mud-Slap!"

Once Dunsparce was in range, Bai Shi tried giving him a command.

"Dunsparce!" (I'm coming for you!)

Metapod's silence had made Dunsparce considerably braver.

At Bai Shi's command, Dunsparce hesitated for a long time before finally resolving to use Mud-Slap.

He sent several clumps of mud flying toward Metapod.

Many missed, but a few struck Metapod's body.

The hits knocked Metapod out of the tree.

"Dunsparce!" (I hit him? I hit him!)

Overjoyed at knocking his opponent down, Dunsparce shouted in his mind.

"Dunsparce, use Mud-Slap again!"

Seeing this, Bai Shi told Dunsparce to keep attacking.

This time, Dunsparce was far more decisive.

He used Mud-Slap much faster than before.

Several more clumps of mud flew toward Metapod.

Metapod used Harden to withstand the attack.

But even with his defense raised, he kept taking hits.

That gave Dunsparce an enormous boost in confidence.

After that, Bai Shi didn't even need to give commands. Dunsparce used moves on his own.

He treated Metapod like a target and attacked relentlessly.

Dunsparce stopped only when Bai Shi called him off.

"Dunsparce?" (It's over already?)

For a moment, Dunsparce couldn't quite believe it.

He had never experienced such a wonderful feeling.

"Phew. Looks like my plan worked pretty well!"

Seeing Dunsparce's eager expression, Bai Shi breathed a sigh of relief.

That battle had given Dunsparce confidence.

Now he just needed to hold on to it.

Then it wouldn't be long before Dunsparce could battle normally.

"Well done, Dunsparce!"

"I'm proud of you!"

Bai Shi stroked Dunsparce and praised him freely.

"Starly!" (Not bad! Not bad! You've got a bit of my flair!)

Starly, who had watched the battle from the air, flew over to Dunsparce and offered encouragement like a senior teammate.

He hoped Dunsparce would soon become strong enough to back him up.

"Dunsparce!" (I... I'll keep trying!)

Thrilled by Bai Shi's and Starly's praise, Dunsparce nodded vigorously.

He was no longer as afraid of battling other Pokémon as he had been.

He even began looking forward to his next opponent.