It didn’t take too long for his Pawniard to dash off into the bushes up ahead—only to suddenly come running back in his direction, as if terrified by something.

“What? What is it?” Lars asked his companion, worried that the dual-type might’ve seen or encountered something that she didn’t want to run into. The dual-type, on the other hand, kept on pointing to where she’d come from, and for a few moments Lars saw nothing. Then—

Something popped out of the bushes, and while it looked like a fox, there was something…he couldn’t quite place on it. Quickly taking out his Pokédex, he then read the information flashed on the screen before very nearly dropping it—it was a Fennekin! While he still couldn’t tell which gender was which, he knew that this was one of the ‘mons on his ‘to acquire’ list, and he then looked down at the Pawniard, who was shaking like a leaf.

“What’s the matter?” he asked again, before the Fire-type suddenly shot a vortex of flames forward. It wasn’t until he’d spotted the Fire Spin did he realize what his Pawniard was afraid of—it was fire.

“Hey, I know you’re scared,” he began, watching as the incoming vortex of flame began making its way towards her. “But… how can you get stronger and prove yourself to ‘him’ if you’re like this?”

At the mention of ‘him’, his Pawniard then shoved her body into his leg, before suddenly screeching out of embarrassment. “Turn your attention back to the battle, you’re about to get toasted,” he added a few moments later, getting out of the way as the Fire Spin attack then dissipated—before the Fennekin then rocketed forward with a Flame Charge attack.

“Well, then! Show me what you have,” he said, watching as the Pawniard then faced down the incoming little ‘comet’ before a sound he thought he’d only hear once in his entire life caught him off-guard again. Lars quickly covered his ears as a Metal Sound ripped through the clearing, catching the Fire-type off-guard and making it stop for a few moments. “Go! You got it off-guard, let’s make this quick! Don’t be afraid!”

The Pawniard then charged forward, baring its blade-arms in a Metal Claw attack; before it managed to score a direct hit on the surprised Fennekin. Caught off-guard, the Fire-type then used Psybeam, only for the attack to bounce off harmlessly the dual-type. Whoops.

“Take advantage of that! Your typing protects you from Psychic-type attacks! But be careful of the flames!” Lars called out, as the dual-type then used Metal Claw again, slashing as fast as she could before pulling off the most frightening snarl she could plant on her face. The Scary Face caught the Fire-type off-guard once more, before it launched a point-blank Fire Spin to its face.

Howling in pain, the Pawniard then brought its blade arms up to defend herself, before Lars understood what she was planning. “Oh. Oh… I get it… take the hit and then flip it back, use your Assurance next!” he added a few moments later; and after the most terrifying fifteen seconds of the Pawniard’s life, then used the Dark-type attack and smacked the Fennekin upside the head with the negative energy she’d released.

“Alright! Chase after it with Metal Claw again! Go!” he continued, watching as the dual-type then followed it down before slashing and slicing away at the Fire-type, hearing it yelp before it smacked rather hard into a rocky outcrop and had passed out due to the impact. It was at this point the Pawniard stopped fighting, having sighted the place where she’d left her sharpening rock behind—and Lars could only blink in surprise before remembering what they were also looking for.

At the same time, he dropped one of his remaining Safari balls onto the Fennekin, watching as it was absorbed into the flash of red light before hitting the ground…