Eating Humble Pie

"Zangoose was clearly a Pokémon with a mind of its own, and stubborn to a fault."

"Trying to talk it around would be next to impossible."

"Only something more forceful would make it listen to me."

After some thought, Bai Shi decided to change Zangoose's opinion of him through battle.

He had already chosen its opponent: Staravia.

Ever since Zangoose joined the team, Staravia had taken a dislike to it.

Only Bai Shi's presence had kept them from clashing again.

But the tension between them remained.

One day, it might suddenly boil over.

And there was no telling what would happen then.

Better to let the pressure out than keep it bottled up.

He might as well take this chance to let them fight it out openly.

Once Staravia had vented its frustration, things would be fine.

As for the winner, Bai Shi favored Staravia.

As long as it kept its cool, it could stay out of reach and wear down Zangoose, which had no ranged moves.

"Staravia!" (Leave it to me, Bai Shi. Watch me teach it a lesson!)

When Staravia heard Bai Shi's plan, it was overjoyed. It thumped its chest with its wings and made its promise.

Its Pokémon Trainer really was on its side.

Just when it wanted to put Zangoose in its place, Bai Shi had handed it the chance.

To repay Bai Shi for "favoring" it, Staravia had to win.

"Zangoose!" (Hmph. I can take that bird down easily!)

Zangoose was even less inclined to refuse.

It would show Bai Shi through action that he was wrong.

The way it fought now was already the best way.

With their own motives in mind, the two Pokémon quickly came to an agreement.

Each would prove itself to Bai Shi by winning the battle.

As soon as the battle began, Zangoose bared its teeth and lunged eagerly at Staravia.

It raised a claw gleaming white, aiming to subdue Staravia in one strike.

After so long at Bai Shi's side, Staravia had learned from him the importance of keeping its distance.

It did not counterattack the moment Zangoose came at it.

Instead, it beat its wings and climbed high into the air, quickly putting space between them and leaving Zangoose's attack short.

Then, from above, it beat its wings and sent a powerful current of air toward Zangoose on the ground.

Zangoose had to cross its arms in front of itself to withstand Staravia's Gust.

Seizing its chance, Staravia dove and used Aerial Ace, hurtling toward Zangoose at astonishing speed.

Zangoose refused to back down. It met the oncoming Staravia with Slash.

Thud!

A dull impact rang out, and both Pokémon flew backward.

Clearly, both had taken a solid hit in that exchange.

The injury only made Zangoose angrier. Its scarlet eyes blazed with murderous intent.

The instant it regained its footing, it raised an arm, used Crush Claw, and charged Staravia again.

Staravia shook its head and grew a little more clear-headed.

It realized it had little advantage in close combat.

So it chose not to trade blows with the enraged Zangoose.

As Zangoose bore down on it, Staravia split into a flurry of afterimages and dodged the attack.

Unable to tell which was real, Zangoose lashed out wildly at every afterimage.

Staravia appeared behind Zangoose and used Gust again, dealing it another blow.

Then, before Zangoose could retaliate, it climbed rapidly and opened the distance once more.

It gave Zangoose no chance to land a hit.

"Staravia really is dependable when it faces an evenly matched opponent."

Watching from the sidelines as the stand-in referee, Bai Shi could not help nodding.

Zangoose had no intention of taking the beating lying down.

It drove off the ground with both legs and leaped into the air, its claw flashing brilliant white as it slashed at Staravia.

But Staravia burst forward and easily dodged Zangoose's swift strike.

Having missed, Zangoose could only land again, seething with frustration.

"Staravia!" (Heh. Know who's boss now?)

Seeing Zangoose's sour expression, Staravia, certain of victory, laughed without mercy.

It had realized that as long as it stayed airborne and avoided close combat, Zangoose could do nothing to it.

"Zangoose!" (Hiding in the sky? Come down and fight me if you dare!)

Staravia's mockery sent Zangoose into a fury.

It wanted to tear that bird's beak apart, but it could do nothing.

It leaped upward several times in a row and still could not get near Staravia.

Instead, Staravia humiliated it with another Gust.

"Zangoose..." (If only I had some way to hit it...)

Zangoose stared up at Staravia and thought bitterly.

It could not help remembering the training Bai Shi had arranged for it.

If it had actually followed his instructions, would things have turned out differently?

At that thought, Zangoose's fighting spirit sank even lower.

"That's enough. The battle ends here!"

Bai Shi saw that he had achieved his goal and called a halt to the match.

After all, he wanted Zangoose to see where it stood, not destroy its confidence.

Zangoose accepted that it had lost. It hung its head and raised no objection.

Seeing how much Zangoose had settled down, Staravia nodded in satisfaction. It had no interest in arguing over the final result.

From that day on, the two Pokémon had not completely put their differences aside, but the hostility between them eased considerably.

They no longer gave the impression that they might start fighting at any moment.

Zangoose also stopped slacking off in training and began taking it seriously.

By using training methods that had worked for the other Pokémon,

Zangoose soon made progress. As Bai Shi had hoped, it learned Agility.

The move greatly improved Zangoose's mobility.

To test the results, Bai Shi arranged another battle with Staravia.

Though Zangoose fought with all it had, it still could not defeat Staravia.

Even so, its overall performance was far better than in their first battle.

It gave Staravia plenty of trouble despite its aerial advantage.

Having seen the benefits for itself, Zangoose began to trust Bai Shi.

It believed it could grow stronger under his guidance.

That marked Zangoose's official place on Bai Shi's team.