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Once again, I was surprised to watch the Ultra Ball snap shut after rolling for a bit. I had to wonder if that Tynamo was a special case, though I didn't wonder this aloud as I didn't want to jinx myself. Instead, I pulled some items out of my bag - this time, intending to lure a certain type of Pokemon toward me.

This wouldn't be as simple as I'd like, however, as Flittle latched on to the bait and honey the second it laid eyes on it. "Hey, no. Not for you. Let go," I told her, but it was to no avail. I had to pick her up and try to pull one of the baits out of her beak, and I had to put all of my upper body strength into it because she was desperate "I SAID DROP IT, MARTHA!" I grunted as I put everything into tearing the bait away from Flittle, only for it to finally let go and give me a hurt look. I started to feel bad, but I shook that off. "Nope. I'm sticking with it. That's your name, now. And if you want food, I will happily feed you. AFTER we're done, and ONLY IF you behave. Got it?" I asked sternly. She frowned as best as she could with a beak, but she nodded. "Good. Now sit still until a Pokemon shows up," I told her as I sat her back down on the ground.

[Bait + Honey: 25-50, 33 and 45 are now Gible.]

[Chargestone Cave]

...yes! I grabbed Gible's ball the second it stopped shaking and jumped for joy. With this, I only needed two more Pokemon to get a proper competitive team going! As elated as I was, I almost missed the sound of Martha's chirping. Turning to face her, I saw her standing atop the pile looking expectantly. "Yes, you'll get fed, but not with this. We've got better food at home, I promise.

As it turned out, though, Gible wasn't the only nearby Pokemon attracted by the treats.

(wrong number again, sorry)

((That's what I thought.))

[Chargestone Cave]

This time, I recognized the Pokemon that showed up, if only because Absinthe had one. It was a Pawmi, and unlike the weird Voltorb, it was more interested in the scraps than Martha, herself. She was still adamant about nobody getting to eat until she did, however, as she charged forth into a Pluck that struck the Pawmi's cheek. This got the Pikachu knockoff's attention, causing it to fire off a Thunder Shock that Martha easily ran past. This time, she got behind the Pawmi before screaming out an Uproar, but Pawmi must have been made of sterner stuff, because it didn't faint from that. Instead, it took advantage of the close range to trap Martha in a Nuzzling bear hug. I could see the signs of paralysis seizing up Martha's tiny muscles, but she managed to knock the Pawmi off of her with Psybeam before using her speed to give it another knock with Quick Attack.

With Pawmi fainted, I called Martha back to her ball. She'd been through enough, and deserved not only a treat but some rest after what she'd been through.

As I started to sit about, waiting on something else to show up, I started to notice that Arctibax was fidgeting to itself, annoyed. “Are you bored?” I asked. The icy dragon merely looked up at me as it rocked back and forth in place. “Come to think about it, you haven’t been all too thrilled since I captured you a little while back ago. You…really got a bit of animosity that you’ve been keeping bottled up, haven’t you?” That got a slight growl out of Arctibax. “Well, how about we talk. Get it off your chest, huh? We’re not doing a whole hell of a lot other than waiting on something interesting to show.” Arctibax only turned his head away from me, not really in any sort of mood. “…well, for what’s its worth, I like having you around. When I heard about your species line, I got really interested. There’s nothing like you that I am aware of where I am from. The only other icy dragon I am aware of is a legendary Pokémon that’s said to hang around Unova.”

“Brah brraahahr.”

“Nothing but getting beat up-oh it hasn’t been that bad. Sure that was what happened when I captured you, but it hadn’t been that bad since. I’m…still trying to learn about you. Its been rough for a little bit…what little time we had back in the Snagem training room then follow that up with a few battles up to Larry, that gym leader which…well…that was a gym leader, so I should have probably better readied for that one.” I said. “We won in the end though. You’ve been on your own for practically ever, haven’t you? You hadn’t really had to work with a team until I captured you, haven’t you?”

“Braharah.” Arctibax said, still not looking at me.

“You don’t like the idea of taking orders, never had to until now. Look, I told you back in the Snagem training room, I didn’t do this out of any sort of malice. I know the insinuations from your position, effectively being robbed from a home and all, practically upended your life. But I chose you; I’d like for you to help me. We’re all equal partners in this and I won’t intentionally steer you wrong if I can help it, and in turn? I can help you further yourself. I understand you got another stage of evolution ahead of you one of these days. Something called a Baxcaliber? I think you will make a fine one.” I said, rubbing the Arctibax’s head a bit. “But between me still trying to figure you out and your own fighting being a bit rough, some of which being your sudden evolving in a desperate attempt to stop me from capturing you, probably isn’t doing you any favors. You’re still not used to your form.” Arctibax would look down at himself for a second. “I want to help you with that. Can you depend on me for that? Will you trust me with that?” I asked. Arctibax was stuck mulling over the words, pensive. “I will admit that things will be weird for you, you not being used to any sort of structure like that, but when you see what it does, I believe you’ll be happy with it.”

Arctibax would go lift his head up to look at me but then look over towards the bait pile. “Brah?”

I look over towards the bait pile and stared in confusion yet again. I sat up and stared for a minute as something started to partake in the bait. “…is that a…Sandshrew? In a place full of snow and ice?” I stared confused at Arctibax for a second then took out my SNAG to look something up. I had the feeling that it had to be some sort of variant of some kind, but not one that I have heard of as of yet. Upon getting the data, it all started to click. “Steel and Ice? Ooooh…you’re Alolan…” I silently said. “Just like Ninetales…” Thoughts rattled in my mind; a temptation started to overcome me. “I really shouldn’t…I really shouldn’t…I really shouldn’t…” I silently chanted to myself. That was going to put me with another Pokémon that I would need to go out of my way to try to train when I already had set myself training the six I had with me now, Arctibax included. But I already wasted a fair bit of bait and honey just trying to get something interesting to come of it…where I probably should have just simply just walked around if I was wanting to make this a mere training exercise for Arctibax. Hindsight was a b*****d. “You know, screw it. I can’t let this one walk. How about we get some practice in, huh?” I then asked Arctibax. Arctibax was a little reluctant but then stood up. “Get to it.”

I had to admit, the steel typing on this thing does make me a little leery. For as all I knew, this Alolan Sandshrew probably had a Metal Claw attack ready to have at it with anything, which would probably make it a bit of a pain to deal with in the likes of this biome if it was loaded with many ice types as I assume it is. But hopefully it won’t be too bad. Well, snack time is over… “Arctibax, use Dragon Claw!” I shouted. As Arctibax rushed for the Sandshrew, the Sandshrew perked up then looked back towards the Arctibax making a hard beeline for it. Immediately, the Sandshrew didn’t ball up like its ground type cousins would. Instead, it pressed hard onto the ground and turtled up. Arctibax slashed hard with its fiery draconian claws and it slashed it hard as he could. “That’s a weird way to go about that. Is that supposed to be its Defense Curl? Not…that much of a curl…though, these Sandshrew do look a bit thicker now that I think about it. Maybe it can’t curl up as well…no fat joke intended…but God, Arctibax is wailing away on him, and he’s hardly scratching it. That icy shell is practically plate armor.” I said, somewhat impressed at it. Suddenly that temptation started to feel like justification.

As Arctibax tried to rear back and strike at the Sandshrew once again, Sandshrew got out of its turtle state and almost like a viper, swiped at Arctibax with his own claws. Arctibax reeled back as the Sandshrew retaliated, at first with Scratches, but then its own claws glowed silver and then gave one hard slash. The Metal Claw attack that I was worried about. “Crap! Arctibax! Back off!” Wincing a bit, the Arctibax scrambled about to reposition. “Alright, lets try to n** this one in the bud…” I said. “Try Brick Break.”

Arctibax would rush in again, ready to crack the icy shell of the Sandshrew, but Sandshrew wouldn’t give the dragon the time of day. Immediately, the Sandshrew dove into the snow and frosted dirt and started to dig into it, quickly tunneling in and was completely gone by the time Arctibax managed to get to where it once was. “Well at least somethings stay the same. Just hang tight, Arctibax! If he wants to fight, he’ll be back up.” Though I had to admit, this was a bit harder. Usually I would be seeing shifting dirt and stuff of the like. But the snow and whatnot was actually making this difficult to seeing where he would come up. I couldn’t really even sense the Sandshrew for that matter, making it all the harder. It was a moment before the Sandshrew practically shot up out of the dirt and snow. As soon as Arctibax turned around to see it, the Sandshrew drove itself into Arctibax full force.

“Arctibax, are you alright!?” I asked

“Braah.” The dragon replied back. The attack wasn’t kosher, but it could keep going.

“Arctibax! Try Bite!” I shouted. I had to admit the more that I went along, I may have screwed Arctibax a bit, and probably not going to go over too hot with the dragon given his issues earlier. Short of Brick Break, my options were fairly limited. The Dragon attacks he had weren’t going to do much, and the ice attacks Arctibax had were borderline useless against this Sandshrew. Anything else were going to range from negligible to moderate at best, leaving me to realize I might need to figure out what else Arctibax can possibly learn, and hope that he didn’t need to evolve to do so in the interim.

Arctibax pounced on the Sandshrew, Dark power imbued his fangs and he bit down. That dark power started to do its work, but it still wasn’t enough. His overall defenses were just too up there. “Yea, I think at this point its Brick Break or bust.” I said. Case in point, the Sandshrew had turtled back up for only a second only to press up and toss Arctibax off of him. “…why does he keep turtling then striking like that. I already figured he can’t curl, why…wait…” Was it really that simple? Normally with regular Sandshrew, they would fully curl up, allowing their hard outer shell to fend off some attacks. Granted, it wasn’t as armored like this one is, but it did the job, but it did so for one reason. Its front side was considerably softer. Alolan ones can’t really curl up, not only because of its shape, but its shell was in fact armor. It was stiff. Rigid. He couldn’t be flexible or movable like he needed to. But the purpose was all the same. To protect its front. And because he’s effectively a walking tank, perhaps its own strength perhaps grew proportionally. Making it a legitimate threat to predators and prey alike. Provided that it could protect its front in the process. Okay…new plan…

While Arctibax scrambled back to his feet, the Alolan Sandshrew started to rush for Arctibax, its claws starting to shine bright once again, intent to drive a Metal Claw into Arctibax. “Arctibax, use Take Down!” Arctibax started to rush in and the two went to came to blows. Arctibax dove right into the Sandshrew as the Metal Claw came down. Arctibax howled out as the two attacks clashed, the damage racking for Arctibax severely. Sandshrew, hardly taking as much. Unfortunately for the Sandshrew, The Take Down had a different purpose. Arctibax took down the Sandshrew, pinning the shrew under him, pinning him, front side up. “Gotcha…Arctibax! Brick Break!” With a hard wail, the Sandshrew’s eyes went wide as Arctibax pulled a claw back then drove it right into the Sandshrew’s soft belly. “And that, Arctibax, is why we plan stuff out a little bit. Though I will admit, that was pretty crude of a plan.” I said.

I soon realize I couldn’t celebrate just yet. While that Brick Break did an immense amount of damage, it wasn’t enough to put the fight out of this Sandshrew. It was writhing but then it started to struggle under Arctibax and managed to kick the dragon off of him. The Alolan Sandshrew rolled back over then started to Dig furiously in the snow. Arctibax hopped up and tried to grab the Sandshrew as it dug and fight as it could, it broke out of the dragon’s grip. “Blast it. Hardy little b*****d, isn’t he?” Being honest, I was kind of hoping that reckless stunt would have cinched it for Arctibax and I. Arctibax would stand back, trying to look around in the snow for any sign of an emerging Sandshrew. Truthfully, even if Arctibax could point him out, I didn’t want to try to do that Take Down stunt again. I don’t think Arctibax could handle it. “Arctibax, focus! This isn’t over yet! Try Focus Energy!” I said. Arctibax would start pumping itself up, trying to work itself up. He knew that whatever he was bound to try next, it needed to count.

The Sandshrew shot out of the ground again, launching itself at Arctibax. Arctibax got slammed into and taken to the ground, the Sandshrew now having the Arctibax under him, proceeding to scratch away with a furious Fury Swipes upon Arctibax. “Arctibax! Try to get it off of you! Try Dragonbreath!” I shouted. As the Sandshrew furiously scratched away, Arctibax tried to wiggle out a bit then unleashed another harsh plume of Dragonbreath upon the Sandshrew. It managed to make the Sandshrew reel back a second, and in that moment of hesitation, the Arctibax kicked the Sandshrew off of him. As Arctibax scrambled back for verticality, Sandshrew went to pursue, but then found itself seizing up suddenly. “…?” I watched as the Sandshrew struggled, confused why it couldn’t move even a foot forward. “…paralysis? Perfect! Arctibax! Brick Break it!”

Arctibax didn’t even need to be told twice. He ran after the Sandshrew and pounced on it once again, making it go belly side up. Once again, the Arctibax then reared back and drove its claw hard into the Sandshrew. This time, the Alolan Sandshrew didn’t have the fight it did just a minute ago. “Alright, Arctibax, back up! I’ll see if I can’t take care of this.” I said, taking out a Great Ball from my pack and gave it a toss at the Sandshrew. The Great Ball ensnared the Sandshrew and the ball would go to shake…

Once again, the ball pops open. "Are you kidding me? I rarely end up find a Pokemon stubborn like that. Usually its the chase that's the issue." I said. The Sandshrew, realizing it wasn't going to get away that easily turned back around then started to fire a Swift flurry at both Arctibax and I. I end up standing my ground as did Arctibax, but with Arctibax hurting already, he wasn't going to take much more. "Arctibax, try another Bite attack while I am trying to get another ball out." I said. Arctibax rushed in, and pounced on the Sandshrew, another Dark-infused Bite that came down on the armored shell of the Sandshrew. The power, piercing through, though not enough to put it in life threatening territory. Apparently I had underestimated just how much fight this thing still had. I would pull out another ball, this time, a higher grade one. A Timer Ball. "Alright you, try to break out of this one! Back up, Arctibax!" I shouted, giving the Timer Ball a toss at the Sandshrew. The ball would ensnare the Sandshrew once again and as the ball landed on the ground, once again, the ball furiously shook.

[Costal Biome]

Crystal would look through her supplies, making sure she had everything she needed for this. It wasn’t even for a day, but she wanted to make sure she was prepared for this. Various Pokeballs, some Honey, some Bait. And maybe some healing items just in case things didn’t go well for them. Once she was sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, she would bring out a Pokeball and release the Pokemon inside, a small Litten. Said feline would yawn and stretch, before lazily looking up at his trainer. “Lit?”

“You’re going to be putting in some work today, little one. Come here Cassidy.” Crystal put him on her shoulder and gave him a few scratches behind his ears, the little fire cat blinking before yawning again. With a chuckle from the Litten’s trainer, the pair would take off, looking around for whatever Pokemon they could find.