"Haha, I just thought your pose was too cute! I really wasn't making fun of you!"
Seeing that Xiaoyun was a tiny bit embarrassed, the thoughtful Dawn spoke up to ease the awkward atmosphere, using her words to prove that he really had looked cool just now.
"By the way, Xiaoyun, why did you catch that Ursaring?
"I think this Ursaring looks pretty hot-tempered, not the sort to obediently do as it's told."
"It's fine. I have my ways. Just watch me get it under control."
Xiaoyun spoke with complete confidence. Could a mere bear really turn the world upside down? He opened Ursaring's Poké Ball in his hand.
"Come out, Ursaring."
"Roar."
The moment Ursaring saw Xiaoyun, the one who had caught it, its whole mood soured. Strictly speaking, Xiaoyun had already defeated it, making it his Pokémon.
But the process had been far too humiliating. It didn't want to acknowledge Xiaoyun now, either, and crossed its arms to show that it wasn't giving him the time of day.
"Yo, big bear. You look pretty unconvinced."
Seeing the bear's disdainful expression, Xiaoyun understood that, although he had defeated Ursaring, its hot-tempered nature meant it wouldn't be easy to command. So he decided to have a word with it.
"Roar." (That's right, I'm not convinced.) →_→
"Then let me ask you: did I defeat you head-on?"
Xiaoyun posed his first soul-searching question.
"Roar." (I... suppose so.)
Ursaring nodded very reluctantly. Disgusting as the tactics had been, it had indeed lost.
"Then did I ambush you?"
Xiaoyun posed his second soul-searching question.
"Roar." (N... no.)
Ursaring's expression softened a little, and it shook its head.
"Did I gang up on you?"
"Roar." (You... didn't do that either.)
Even Ursaring's voice grew quieter as it shook its head again.
"Then you're convinced now, right? Can you be my Pokémon?"
Xiaoyun felt that his words had already reached Ursaring's soul and thought there shouldn't be any problems now.
"Roar." (No.)
Although Ursaring thought Xiaoyun had a point, why would he stop being the perfectly content king of the forest just to work himself to death as a Trainer's Pokémon? Wasn't his own tree hollow good enough? Orcs would never be slaves!!
"Fine, fine, fine. That defiant streak is exactly what I admire about you."
"Looks like you won't submit unless I use something on you. Heh heh heh."
Seeing Ursaring refuse to give him any face, Xiaoyun decided to bring out his trump card and show him who was the boss of this household. He couldn't help feeling the urge to turn into Protector Yun in the way he spoke.
"Roar?" ⊙﹏⊙
Ursaring shuddered. Xiaoyun's laugh sent a chill down its spine, and it wondered whether this human had some sort of perverted fetish. It was even starting to feel like submitting to Xiaoyun.
"Um, Xiaoyun, abusing Pokémon is against the law. Even if Ursaring won't listen, we can't treat it like that."
Hearing Xiaoyun laugh like an emissary of the Hall of Souls, Dawn thought he intended to forcibly subdue Ursaring through violence and spoke up, unable to bear it.
"Huh? What are you saying? What kind of accusation is that?"
Xiaoyun couldn't let that slide. He was an upstanding young man of the modern age. How could he ever abuse Pokémon? That would be far too tasteless.
"Nothing of the sort. With such a 'cute' bear, I could hardly pamper it enough. Besides, am I someone who abuses Pokémon?" Xiaoyun turned to Dawn and explained with a serious expression.
"Ah... then, Xiaoyun, why did you suddenly laugh so strangely just now?" Hearing Xiaoyun's words, Dawn felt relieved. She had thought he might do something impulsive because Ursaring wouldn't obey.
"Ah, that. Just got carried away, got carried away. Don't worry about the details."
Xiaoyun reined himself in as well. It was his fault for losing control just now. He had almost exposed... pah, almost made Dawn misunderstand.
"Big bear, I'll ask you one last time. Will you submit and become my Pokémon?"
Looking at Ursaring, the kindhearted Xiaoyun decided to give the big bear one last chance. After all, he didn't want things to go that far, either.
"Roar..."
Ursaring was actually willing already. Xiaoyun clearly hadn't done anything just now, yet his laughter alone had frightened it a little. Still, it "bravely" shook its head.
"To think things would still come to this. In that case, look here!!"
Xiaoyun pulled can after can of Pokémon food from his backpack, opened one, and set it in front of Ursaring. "No need to look. These are all yours."
"Roar?" (For realsies?)
When had Ursaring ever seen anything like this? Its eyes became as innocent as a college student's. Smelling the aroma of the Pokémon food, it pointed at itself in disbelief, as though asking, "These are all for me?"
"Of course. This is the latest Pokémon food, the kind Trainers everywhere are scrambling to buy. If you come with me, not only will all this be yours, I'll also give you special Normal-type Pokéblocks every day. Well? Are you willing now?"
Seeing Ursaring stunned by his trump card, Xiaoyun couldn't help lamenting that a bear was ultimately just a bear, with such limited horizons. In the end, their relationship had still become one of mutual benefit...
So he pulled out an even bigger trump card, Pokéblocks, and launched another attack on Ursaring.
"Roar."
Ursaring nodded vigorously, practically drooling. He was truly willing now, grumbling that Xiaoyun should have said earlier that meals were included. Otherwise, it would have agreed right away instead of being put through all that anxiety.
"Then eat up. You must be hungry, too. This is all yours."
Seeing that Ursaring had agreed to become his Pokémon, Xiaoyun smiled and tossed all the Pokémon food in his hands over to him.
"Roar."
Ursaring really was hungry. It caught the food and took a bite, its eyes instantly lighting up. Then it began wolfing down great mouthfuls.
"Slow down, big bear. There's more if it isn't enough."
Watching Ursaring feast, Xiaoyun prepared to give it some more. If he ran out of this stuff, he could just stock up once they reached a city.
"Roar~" ✪ω✪.
There's! More! If! It! Isn't! Enough!
Good heavens, what wonderful words. Ursaring's eyes seemed to shine. It had found itself a rich backer!
No wonder those Pokémon were all happy to be caught by Trainers. This saved them more than a decade of detours.
"Has Ursaring been hungry for a long time? It loves eating so much. But it doesn't look fierce at all when it eats. It even looks a little cute."
Seeing Xiaoyun win Ursaring over with food, Dawn felt it wasn't so frightening anymore. She walked up and boldly stroked its head as she spoke.
"Roar!"
Ursaring's first instinct was to resist. He was, after all, the mighty overlord of the forest. How could he let someone pat his head?
But the food in its mouth made it suppress its nature and lose itself. In the end, it even wagged the short tail on its rear quite naturally.
"That... was way too fast a change in status."
The corner of Xiaoyun's mouth twitched as well. This fellow had been so unyielding just now, with such a staunch, upright look, yet it had adapted to its new status pretty quickly.