"So you've come, Vigoroth."
Vance smiled and greeted it warmly.
To the Vigoroth, that smile was no better than the sight of a ghost.
Without a moment's hesitation it turned tail and ran. Cunning humans — to go and deceive an honest Pokémon like it.
"Leaving? I don't think so."
A force came down and cut off its escape. The Vigoroth found that its body would not move, thrashed hard, and only after considerable effort tore itself free.
The instant it was loose it dropped into a fighting stance, every muscle drawn tight, its strength gathered and held back, its eyes fixed nervously on Vance.
"No need to be nervous, Vigoroth. I don't mean you any harm."
Vance said it soothingly at the sight of it, and took a small step forward.
"Don't you come any closer!"
The Vigoroth looked terrified as it shouted it.
Vance stopped where he was and gestured for it to relax.
"Your aptitude is excellent, Vigoroth. You'll go a long way. Come and be my Pokémon — I'm certain I can make you stronger."
Vance said it sincerely, and let the feeling behind it carry across to the Vigoroth through his psychic power.
*Huh. This two-legged beast wants to catch me? Doesn't sound like a bad deal, actually. Pity. I long for freedom without a rope on it — that's the youth I want for myself.*
The Vigoroth felt how sincere Vance was, but the life it had led so far left it unwilling to be caught just like that.
The Pokémon that got themselves caught were pathetically weak, spending all day trailing around after a Trainer. A Vigoroth like it, with a broad future ahead of it, naturally wanted no part of that.
*This two-legged beast just has a bit of presence to him, that's all. I shook that grip off after one good struggle. All I have to do is run for it and I'll make it.*
The Vigoroth's mind worked fast, and soon it had a plan.
Its face softened, its body loosened, and it cupped one fist in the other toward Vance in salute.
It would wait for Vance to let his power drop, throw up a cloud of dust, add a Focus Blast for good measure, and slip away clean.
The Vigoroth threw everything it had into mustering that strange energy inside it, and felt itself a good deal faster for it.
"Hahaha! Stupid two-legged beast, as if the great Vigoroth would ever be caught by you. Byeee!"
Amid the uproar and the rolling dust, the Vigoroth was already several hundred metres away.
"Good. You have my attention now."
Recalling the Gyarados, Vance moved fast and caught up with the Vigoroth in no time. Power surged through him, he swung an arm across, and an enormous mass of energy shaped like an open palm came down.
"Whump—"
A crater in the shape of a giant handprint opened in the ground. The Vigoroth hauled itself out with an effort, only to find one thick tree trunk after another in front of it, closing in to pen it inside.
"Boom—"
It had barely broken out when a huge fist glowing a hazy blue filled its vision.
"Thud—"
The ground shook, and when the dust settled the Vigoroth lay flat on its back with its eyes spinning, out of the fight.
A Poké Ball flew out and drew it in. The ball rocked gently a few times, and then came a "Clunk—". Caught.
The Poké Ball floated over to Vance, and he took it in his hand.
"Still nothing like winning a Pokémon over by virtue. Talking nicely gets you nowhere."
Vance said it to himself. He had not intended to handle this personally, and in the end he had had to after all.
The Vigoroth was worth the trouble, though. It was outstanding, and well worth raising.
"It was after the food earlier, wasn't it."
Vance thought back. He had watched the Vigoroth from the moment it appeared to the moment it went down.
He took out his medicines, treated the Gyarados and the Vigoroth, and then left.
............
Sizzle, sizzle—
The meat sizzled over the coals. A bead of hot fat slid slowly along the grain of it, dripped into the embers, and sent up a thicker curl of smoke and a smell to make your mouth water.
"That smells incredible."
The Vigoroth came round groggily into that smell, and its stomach growled at it.
*I'm starving. What is that? I'm taking the lot in a minute — hang on, no. I think that two-legged beast knocked me out.*
The Vigoroth jolted and came fully awake.
"You're awake, Vigoroth."
Vance said it with a small laugh, brushing seasoning onto the meat over the fire, the firelight making him look gentler than ever.
Whatever it was he was brushing on, the meat smelled better for it.
Beside him, the Gyarados was demolishing an entire roast sheep at frankly alarming speed.
"Eat first."
While the Vigoroth was still at a loss, half a roast sheep arrived in front of it, and the smell of it set its stomach rumbling and its mouth watering harder.
"Hmph. I, Vigoroth, would sooner die than eat your food."
The Vigoroth wiped the drool off the corner of its mouth and said it stoutly.
"Hsss— is this Vigoroth's will really that strong?"
The Gyarados did not break its rhythm for a moment, but its eyes went to the Vigoroth in disbelief.
Even Vance was surprised. Then he smiled slightly, cut open the roast in front of it, and exposed the energy cubes inside.
This was no ordinary roast. He had prepared it carefully, with energy cubes worked into the meat, so that it had both flavour and nourishment.
The exposed energy cubes drew the Vigoroth's eyes, and the hunger in its body climbed without limit.
Its body was telling it that this was exactly what it needed: eat, and it would not go hungry, and it would grow.
"Heh." Vance produced something that looked like a berry, cut it open and let the juice run over the meat, and the smell grew thicker still.
It was the berry the Vigoroth line loved best, a memory written into their DNA.
Sure enough, the Vigoroth moved. It went through the food in front of it the way a gale goes through dead leaves.
Vance laughed, cut it another portion and set it down in front of it.
The Vigoroth finished that in no time, took the meat Vance handed over, and set to again, fast enough now to rival the Gyarados.
Seeing that, the Gyarados could not help speeding up, shovelling it in faster still. Eat fast and you got more; eat slowly and there would be less.
And so everything Vance had cooked was dealt with.
"Hurrp— that was good."
The Vigoroth lay on the ground with its belly round and tight.
"Have some berry juice."
Vance held out a cup of berry juice the Gyarados had chilled. The Vigoroth hesitated a moment, then reached out and took it.
*Running with this two-legged beast might not be so bad after all.*
thought the Vigoroth.
Its stomach was stuffed. It had not been this full in a long time, and it had never eaten anything this good or this nourishing either; the stuff kept hunger off better than anything it had ever stolen.
*Do I choose to be caught, or do I choose to be caught? No — no, Vigoroth, where is your backbone? Freedom is what you long for! But this is so good. Go with this two-legged beast and I'd never have to go looking for food again.*
The Vigoroth was torn.