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One morning, the Trainer was hiding in the hedges, waiting for Pokémon to appear. They had been giving it their all, desperately trying to get stronger, but lately, they hadn’t been winning their matches. In other words, they were in a slump, and trying to get out of the slump only made them more anxious. They used an Incense, hoping to encounter a strong Pokémon. It was then that it happened.
All of a sudden, they felt a heavy weight on their back, which made them jump, hitting their head on a branch. “Yowch!” they exclaimed, and when they did, whatever was on their back flinched and withdrew. Frantically turning around, they saw a light green body, a red stomach, and glimmering eyes—a wild Larvitar was standing in front of them.
Larvitar isn’t a Pokémon that shows itself that often. Not to mention that if you train it, it can become very strong. This was the perfect chance—the Trainer just had to catch it. They mustered all the confidence and motivation they had and threw a Poké Ball. The ball made contact, but Larvitar popped right out! Judging from the way it was leering at the Trainer, it was obviously wary and high-strung.
“Then why?” the Trainer wondered as they threw the Poké Ball and failed. “Why did it approach me at all?”
They recalled the sequence of events. Larvitar’s weight was focused on their bag…the bag that was still open because they had pulled out the Incense and hadn’t closed it afterward. Maybe Larvitar didn’t intend to approach the Trainer, but it was attracted to what was inside the bag. In that case, that would mean that this Larvitar...
“You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
The Trainer had heard that Larvitar requires an enormous amount of food in order to grow. When it’s underground, it eats soil, and this Larvitar must have come up from the ground earlier than others. Not to mention, it approached a human even though it was showing such cautiousness. It must be awfully hungry.
The Trainer reached into their bag and pulled out the single Golden Razz Berry within. They had won this Golden Razz Berry after winning a Raid Battle, and this shining trophy was precious to the Trainer. They had kept it in their bag, thinking it would be a waste to use it—even though it wasn’t as if their victory would disappear along with the Berry.
The Trainer hesitated. They felt like they would be getting rid of a good-luck charm. But they decided that this was the time to use it, and handed the Golden Razz Berry to Larvitar.
“I can’t promise you’ll like it, but here. You can eat this.”
The Trainer had to admit that their voice was lacking in confidence. They had become vulnerable, without any tricks or bravado, and Larvitar continued to leer at them. Those several seconds felt like an eternity. Then, one step after another, Larvitar approached the Trainer and locked eyes. The Trainer nodded to reassure Larvitar that it would be OK, and Larvitar finally reached out to take the Berry and took a bite with its small mouth.
Larvitar looked up and narrowed its eyes again. The Trainer’s brain froze for a moment until they realized: Larvitar was smiling. It was such a subtle and modest smile. In the cold morning, the Trainer felt somewhere deep inside them warm up. Before they realized what they were doing, they had brought up their camera to take a picture before Larvitar finished eating. After that, the Trainer felt a weight off their shoulders.
“Hahaha, this is what I should have done from the beginning.”
They now had a picture of the Golden Razz Berry. Everything this Trainer considered precious was all here in this picture, and they felt like they were finally able to stop clinging to a past victory. Now that that weight was off their chest, their stomach growled. That’s right—they hadn’t eaten breakfast. They asked Larvitar if it would like to eat with them, and Larvitar waddled over to latch onto their leg.
“Ow ow ow! You’re heavy!” They had forgotten...their chest may have become lighter, but Larvitar was still heavy! The Trainer’s yelp was heard echoing through the field.
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