"It's a long story, but basically..."
After listening to Leo's description, Owen understood the situation. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry because the girl seeking help from the Psychology Club had a background very similar to his own.
The girl's name was Chloe, and her starter Pokémon was a Sentret.
The problem she faced was quite common: her Sentret was terrified of battling, rejected training, and had even developed a psychological phobia of combat.
With actual training classes scheduled to begin next week, Chloe was panicking. In its current state, Sentret wouldn't be able to participate at all.
"She was too embarrassed to go straight to a teacher, but since I have a good reputation in class, she came to me..." Leo explained. "It shouldn't be a problem, right? I remember the recruitment posters said we help Pokémon with psychological issues..."
"Of course it's not a problem. We can definitely help with this," Owen said with a smile. It was their first commission—why wouldn't they take it?
Besides, helping a classmate was a great way to deepen his understanding of other Pokémon. A qualified trainer couldn't just focus on their own partner.
Eevee had once harbored a similar mindset; due to the negative impact of the Anticipation ability on her personality, she had been very uncomfortable with training.
However, through Owen's sincerity, Eevee had successfully overcome it.
Of course, Sentret's reasons were likely different. Owen recalled that Sentret were naturally very wary, almost to the point of being "neurotic."
In the wild, it was their habit to stand on their tails to scout the surroundings, letting out a loud cry to warn their kin the moment they detected anything unusual.
From this behavior alone, it was clear that Sentret weren't exactly a warrior race.
Satisfied with Owen's answer, Leo headed back. During the break, Owen filled Lynnea in on the situation. The three of them reached a consensus: they would meet after school to help Chloe and her Sentret.
The morning flew by. At noon, Leo led a delicate-looking girl into the club room. Owen and Lynnea greeted Chloe with such enthusiasm that she felt a bit overwhelmed.
"Don't worry, you've come to the right place. Even if we can't solve it ourselves, we can ask Mr. Lee for guidance," Owen said warmly.
Before his senior year, Owen's role in the Psychology Club had mostly been running errands and assisting. This was his first time personally helping a student solve a problem, and he was eager to get started.
"Thank you so much." Seeing that they were all her peers, Chloe quickly relaxed. That was the benefit of dealing with classmates; once the initial ice was broken, the awkwardness vanished. If she had to face a teacher directly, she definitely would have been a nervous wreck.
"President, what's our move?" Since a client was present, Leo didn't dare call Owen "Boss"—it sounded too silly and chuunibyou. Instead, he opted for the more formal "President."
"Yeah, President, what should we do?" Lynnea added, equally excited. She was never one to pass up an opportunity to be helpful.
Owen looked composed and turned to Chloe. "Let me start with two questions."
Chloe nodded.
"Since Sentret hatched, has it experienced any training or battling?"
"Um... no. I thought it was still too young, so I never pushed it."
"And how did you spend your time together over the summer?"
"I took very good care of it... and..." Chloe struggled to explain. Because the newborn Sentret was so adorable, she had essentially raised it like a house pet.
It lacked for nothing, and she couldn't bear to see it work hard. She spent her days cuddling it like a kitten. Forget battling—the poor thing had never even had a scrape or a bruise.
Chloe had intended to wait for school to start so Sentret could train alongside other students' Pokémon, but she hadn't realized that her pampering had backfired. She had spoiled it.
"I think I see the problem," Owen said. This was a classic case of overindulgence. If it were any other Pokémon, it might be fine, but Sentret—much like Eevee—didn't have a naturally aggressive temperament.
The period right after hatching is the best time to shape a Pokémon's personality, and Chloe had missed that window, causing Sentret to become even more timid and shy.
"And, I have a plan," Owen explained the situation and offered his insight. "When dealing with a Pokémon that fears battle, the best method is to build its confidence. We need to make it realize that it isn't as weak as it thinks it is."
"Build its confidence?" "Make it realize it isn't weak?" "What do you mean?" Chloe, Lynnea, and Leo asked in unison.
"Exactly what it sounds like. We have Sentret battle as much as possible. But the key is: Sentret must win. Only then will it learn to enjoy battling. To change its nature, we must first make it feel invincible. Understand?" Owen said seriously.
The four of them headed to the public battle courts in Fairview. Finding an empty spot, Owen and Chloe stood opposite each other.
"Come out, Sentret!" Chloe took a deep breath and released her Pokémon.
Sentret was a small Pokémon with an oval-shaped brown body. It looked incredibly cute and, frankly, not very intimidating. Similarly, Eevee perched on Owen's shoulder didn't look like much of a threat either.
"Over to you," Owen whispered, nodding to Eevee.
Eevee hopped down from his shoulder with practiced ease. She then put on a masterpiece of a "taunting face" and began to provoke Sentret.
Eevee: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Eevee: Come at me, bro.
Sentret's brow furrowed. It looked at Eevee with annoyance—this Eevee was being so rude! However, due to its nature, Sentret didn't lash out. Instead, it shrank back, looking like it wanted to hide behind Chloe.
Leo and Lynnea sighed. This Sentret is really hopeless. Even they wanted to punch Eevee for making that face, how could Sentret just take it? But... where did Eevee learn to switch expressions that fast?
Facing their questioning glares, Owen remained silent. He couldn't exactly say she'd taught herself while watching TV.
And so, Eevee continued to mock Sentret while slowly encroaching on its space, letting Sentret's anger build. Even with Chloe's encouragement, Sentret remained timid, with no intention of fighting back.
Owen couldn't let this continue. If they kept this up, Sentret would only become more averse to battle. He gave Eevee the command: Quick Attack.
Suddenly, Eevee lunged at Sentret. The sudden movement terrified the little scout. Sentret instinctively thrust out its short claws to shield itself and squeezed its eyes shut in fear.
It was a clumsy Scratch—if you could even call it that. Owen, Lynnea, and Leo all noticed the power behind it was... negligible.
The chances of this Sentret winning a real battle were almost zero. Even a Caterpie could probably defeat it with String Shot.
Against Eevee's actual combat strength, it should have been a blowout. But that didn't happen.
When Eevee collided with it, Sentret felt no pain. It cautiously opened its eyes and found that Eevee had "slammed" directly into the claws it had held out.
Sentret's claws were buried in Eevee's brown fur, and Eevee wore an expression of agonizing pain.
"Vee...!" Eevee let out a pained whimper and even managed to squeeze out two real tears. Her body suddenly lost its balance, her paws scrambled against the ground as she stumbled back, and then—thud—she collapsed and "fainted" dead away.
Sentret stood there, dazed. It looked down at its own claws in disbelief.
Am I... actually this strong?
Because Eevee's acting was so realistic, if this were a video game, a white light saying EXP +99 probably would have appeared over Sentret's head.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: [email protected]/Master_Studios677
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.