"Sentret..."
Chloe was stunned.
It actually won. Even though the process looked somewhat accidental, Sentret seemed to believe it was a genuine victory.
Right now, Sentret was staring at its own claws with a look of pure surprise. Then, it turned toward Chloe, puffing out its chest to show off its triumph.
"This actually works?" Chloe's understanding of the world was shattered in an instant.
The President of the Psychology Club had simply coordinated a staged performance with Eevee to trick Sentret, and the little scout was already starting to enjoy the thrill of victory.
Meanwhile, Owen's expression shifted instantly. Under Sentret's gaze, he ran to Eevee's side with a look of panicked desperation and knelt down.
"Eevee! Are you okay? Eevee, speak to me!"
"Vee..."
Eevee slowly opened one eye and gave Owen a subtle wink.
Owen looked up at Chloe and Sentret with a tragic, heroic expression. "Your Sentret is too strong! But we won't admit defeat! Don't leave after school today—I'll be waiting at the gates. We're going to have a rematch!"
Chloe froze, not yet having caught up to the script, but Sentret was ahead of her. It let out a sharp cry and looked at Eevee with newfound confidence.
"Da-qiu!"
The transformation from "timid mouse" to "invincible warrior" was so fast that Chloe found it hard to process.
Once the battle ended, Chloe recalled Sentret. Eevee hopped back onto Owen's shoulder, letting out a sleepy yawn.
By now, Lynnea and Leo were completely sold. Chloe, still in disbelief at the change in her partner, asked, "Is that really all it takes?"
"No, we're not done yet," Owen said. "This level of confidence is fragile. We need Sentret to gain more victories to build a solid foundation.
Whether it's a human or a Pokémon, once they've tasted the sweetness of victory, no one wants to go back to losing. It's a simple psychological principle."
Owen spoke with absolute conviction.
Every Pokémon has fighting genes; every move they have is a survival skill honed through evolution. No matter how small the Pokémon, they are the result of natural selection.
All they needed to do was make Sentret psychologically enjoy the process. This was a technique Owen had observed from his seniors and Mr. Lee.
Mastering these methods would prevent many "communication errors" with future Pokémon.
Owen asked, "Chloe, is there anything Sentret particularly likes?"
"It loves fruit... especially blueberries," she replied.
"Go buy some. Use them as a reward for its victories tonight," Owen instructed.
Chloe and the others understood the intent, but one individual—or rather, one Pokémon—sensed something was off. Eevee tilted her head, feeling as though this "routine" was eerily familiar.
"Leo, Lynnea, you two are helping tonight as well. Skip the afternoon calisthenics. Eevee will give Munchlax and Growlithe some training."
"Training for what?"
"An actor's self-Training," Owen said.
The Psychology Club didn't charge for their services, but Chloe insisted on treating them to lunch as a thank-you. Owen used the time to give her further advice on how to handle Sentret moving forward.
"After a string of victories, Sentret will fall in love with the feeling. You need to strike while the iron is hot—appeal to its emotions, use logic, and entice it with rewards.
Give it a tangible goal. That way, it will start to crave training. Even if it faces a setback later, it won't be a problem because it'll want to get back to winning."
Chloe was deeply grateful. Without Owen and Eevee, she didn't know when her Sentret would have ever changed.
Lynnea and Leo followed Owen, learning a great deal. They summarized his method into one word: Finessing. They were finessing Sentret out of its shell.
During the afternoon break, the trio slipped away to the club room. After a brief tutorial from Eevee, Munchlax and Growlithe began to understand what a "professional supporting actor" looked like. They had a difficult task tonight: they had to find a way to lose to that Sentret.
It sounded simple, but it was actually highly technical. Munchlax and Growlithe weren't nearly as talented as Eevee.
Their "death scenes" were incredibly overacted. Munchlax was the worst—after pretending to faint, it actually just fell asleep on the spot.
"No matter how I look at it, Eevee is still the best," Lynnea remarked while working with Growlithe. Who would have thought that a champion-level Eevee could go down like a cheap soccer player taking a dive?
Owen waved it off. "This is basic stuff. Eevee is still a student; she hasn't reached the peak of acting yet.
The real legend is a certain Pikachu I know—sometimes it destroys gods, sometimes it loses to a starter Snivy. Combat is just a play, and it all depends on the acting."
"Keep your expression natural, Growlithe!" "After the match, drop the 'tough guy' look." "Leo, wake up, Munchlax! Let's go again!" "Don't underestimate this training.
In a real battle, acting is vital. If you can fake being injured or exhausted convincingly enough to make an opponent careless, that's top-tier tactics."
As Owen talked himself hoarse, Eevee shook her head. Not every Pokémon is a genius like me.
After school, the four gathered again.
This time, Sentret defeated Eevee for a second time. Its state was much better; it actually kept its eyes open during the attack.
Afterward, Growlithe and Munchlax also "unavoidably" fell to Sentret's might.
Because the other two were such poor actors, the battles actually looked quite intense. Owen and the others were sweating—if Growlithe had accidentally used too much force, the poor Sentret would have been a goner.
Fortunately, despite some close calls, the three matches ended perfectly. A newborn Pokémon's mind is malleable; after tasting so much "sweetness" and being further finessed by Chloe and Owen, Sentret was a changed creature.
On the court, Sentret stood tall on its long tail, striking a victory pose and chirping with pure excitement.
Owen stretched. Everything was on track. Now he could go home and continue working on his paper.
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