The crunchy texture, the rich aroma, and the sweetness of high-grade berries mixed within...
Paras's eyes suddenly widened.
It began to devour the food in large gulps, completely forgetting its fear from a moment ago.
Roy watched Paras eat, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
When Paras finished the last piece of pokéblock and raised its head to lick its lips, Roy reached out and gently stroked the mushrooms on its back.
Paras's body stiffened for a moment.
But soon, it relaxed.
Because this human's touch was very light and gentle, as if he were afraid of hurting it. Moreover, that comfortable sensation was once again being transmitted from his palm.
Kiyomi stood behind them, seeing Roy's hand touching Paras's mushrooms, and Paras didn't even run—it actually squinted its eyes?
She was completely stunned.
"It... it's letting him touch it?"
Kiyomi's voice was so shocked it lost its tone.
She had raised Paras for so long; she naturally knew that the mushrooms were its most sensitive part. Usually, let alone touching them, it would warily curl up if anyone even got close.
And now.
A human it had met for the first time.
Was touching Paras's mushrooms.
And Paras was squinting its eyes with pleasure.
Kiyomi felt like all her years of raising it had been in vain, while simultaneously realizing just how powerful Roy truly was.
While scratching Paras's mushrooms, Roy pulled another pokéblock from his pocket and held it to its mouth.
Paras opened its mouth to Bite it, chewing with a crunching sound.
Only after it swallowed did Roy speak.
"Little guy, I want to ask you something."
Paras raised its head, its round eyes looking at him.
Through Aura, Roy didn't need language to communicate with it. However, to let Kiyomi hear the conversation, he still chose to speak aloud.
"Why are you afraid to fight?"
Hearing the word "fight," Paras's body visibly trembled.
The pokéblock in its mouth suddenly lost its flavor; it pulled its head back and tried to retreat.
Roy's hand didn't let go, continuing to stroke its mushrooms with that perfect pressure, while his Aura wrapped around it like a warm blanket.
"Don't be afraid."
"I'm just asking."
"If you don't tell me, I can't help you, right?"
Paras lifted its eyelids and peeked at Roy.
This human's gaze was very gentle, without any sign of impatience, and he didn't show any expression of disgust because of its cowardice.
It hesitated for a long while.
Then, it began to mutter and chirp.
Through Aura, Roy understood its meaning.
"You're saying you saw a passing Trainer brutally beat a wild Pokemon before?"
Paras nodded, fear still lingering in its eyes.
"That day... that day I was lying in the grass sunbathing..."
It described the scene intermittently.
A Trainer with a Primeape had passed by this hillside. The Primeape saw a wild Rattata in the grass and rushed up to give it a savage beating without a second thought. The Rattata squealed in pain and finally fled covered in wounds. That Trainer stood by laughing loudly, saying the Primeape did a great job.
Paras had been hiding in the grass at the time and saw the whole process clearly.
Since then, it felt that fighting was a terrifying thing.
"You're afraid you'll be beaten like that too?"
Paras nodded frantically.
Roy understood now.
This was a typical case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Paras already had a gentle and introverted personality, and witnessing such a violent scene had left it with a psychological shadow.
"Is there anything else?"
Paras chirped some more.
Its ability to express itself wasn't very strong, but between intuition and the Aura, Roy understood the general idea.
This Paras had been defeated several times in a row by Bug-type Pokemon smaller than itself.
So it felt that if it couldn't even beat tiny bugs, it definitely couldn't beat anyone.
"Any other reasons?"
Paras fell silent for a moment.
Then its voice became even smaller.
Roy listened intently for a long time before he understood what it was saying.
"You're afraid that if you lose, you'll make Kiyomi lose face?"
Paras looked at Roy, then turned to look at Kiyomi standing in the distance.
"Master is very good to me..."
"She gives me delicious food every day..."
"She scratches my itches..."
"But I'm too weak... if I go to fight, I'll definitely lose..."
"If I lose... Master won't like me anymore..."
It spoke softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.
After hearing this, Roy sighed in his heart.
This little guy had quite a few issues.
First, a psychological shadow regarding combat.
Second, a lack of self-confidence.
Third, and most crucially, it cared too much about Kiyomi's feelings and was afraid of disappointing its master, so it simply didn't dare to try.
However, the third problem was actually the easiest to solve.
Because from his previous conversations with Kiyomi, Roy already had a general idea of what kind of person she was.
She wasn't the type of Trainer who pursued pure combat power.
She treated Pokemon as companions, as family. Whether her Pokemon were strong or weak, she would care for them equally.
This was evident from the fact that she had raised Paras for several years, knowing it was timid and afraid to fight, yet never once looked down on it and was still trying to find ways to help.
So Paras's worry that "Master won't like me" was entirely its own imagination scaring itself.
The main issue now was to build up the little guy's confidence.
Once Roy thought it through, he had a plan.
"Little guy, you say you can't beat those bugs, right?"
Paras nodded.
Roy began to bluff with a serious face.
"Sometimes being powerful isn't as simple as it looks on the surface, you know?"
Paras tilted its head, not quite understanding his meaning.
Roy held up a finger, his tone carrying a convincing certainty.
"Don't be fooled by some Pokemon whose skills look flashy."
"Spitting fire, releasing electricity—it looks fancy and the visual effects are maxed out."
"In reality, those skills don't actually have much power."
Paras blinked twice.
"Also, you're actually very strong. I've seen countless Pokemon, and I can tell at a glance that you're a one-in-a-million genius."
"Think back carefully. When you were defeated by Caterpie last time, was it because you weren't in good condition or something?"
Paras froze for a moment, then began to reminisce.
That day... that day it seemed... indeed...
It remembered that morning, the fodder Kiyomi prepared for it had been mostly snatched away by several wild Pidgey. It had only eaten a little bit of wild grass that didn't taste very good, and then its stomach felt a bit uncomfortable...
Paras chirped this out.
Roy slapped his thigh.
"Exactly!"
"That's it!"
"It must have been a problem with that wild grass!"
"Who knows where that grass grew? Maybe it was contaminated with something bad. After eating that, could your condition possibly be good? If your condition is bad, how could you possibly beat a Caterpie?"
Hearing him say this, Paras felt it made sense.
That day it really had only eaten a little grass, its stomach was uncomfortable, and it had no strength at all when fighting...
"In a normal state, you could definitely beat a Caterpie."
Roy's tone was categorical and beyond doubt.
"Do you know why?"
Paras shook its head.
"Because you have a great foundation."
Roy reached out and poked the mushrooms on Paras's back. The mushrooms were deep in color, plump and firm—clearly grown from long-term consumption of special feed.
"Look at these mushrooms: the color, the shape, the fullness. Have you ever seen such beautiful mushrooms on another Paras?"
Paras couldn't see its own mushrooms, but it was already dazed by Roy's praise.
"Paras that can grow mushrooms like these are all one-in-a-million chosen ones."
Roy patted Paras's head, his tone full of certain approval.
"You have huge potential hidden in your body; you just don't know it yet."
"Losing last time was purely because that rotten grass ruined you."
"Today is different."
Roy pulled another handful of the delicious treats from his pocket.
"Come, eat more of these today."
"After eating these, your strength will absolutely explode."
Paras opened its mouth to Bite, crunching and chewing.
"Full now?"
Paras licked its lips and nodded.
It felt full of energy now, much stronger than before.
"Good."
Roy stood up and pointed to the Pikachu lying on the grass in the distance.
"See that Pikachu over there?"
Paras followed his finger.
Pikachu was rolling a berry on its belly for fun, its golden fur shimmering in the sunlight, ears twitching occasionally, looking quite leisurely.
"That Pikachu is nicknamed the Bug-Slayer."
Roy's tone became mysterious.
Paras pricked up its ears.
"It punches Caterpie and kicks Weedle."
"It fought its way from Viridian Forest all the way to the Wild Area without even blinking."
"Every Bug-type Pokemon in the Kanto region trembles at the mention of its name."
Paras's eyes widened.
This yellow fellow with pointy ears... was that powerful?
"Today you're full and in peak condition."
Roy knelt down and leaned close to Paras's ear, his voice lowered as if sharing a secret.
"In a moment, go and have a battle with it."
"If you beat it, it's equivalent to beating every bug out there."
"In the future, any Caterpie, Weedle, or Beedrill will have to take a detour when they see you."
Paras looked at Pikachu, then at Roy, its eyes filled with both eager anticipation and lingering timidity.
That Pikachu... really did look like a tough character...
Me fighting it... is it really okay?
"No problem."
Roy seemed to Detect its thoughts and reached out to pat its mushroom.
"You've eaten high-quality pokéblocks; you're full of energy now. That Pikachu may be famous, but you're no pushover either."
"Look at this shell of yours, how hard it is."
"Look at these claws, how sharp they are."
"And look at these mushrooms. I'm telling you, if the medicinal properties within these mushrooms were unleashed, the power would absolutely scare it to death."
Paras was starting to feel a bit light-headed from his words.
It looked down at its claws.
They... really did seem quite sharp?
And the mushrooms it couldn't see... were they really that amazing?
"Believe in yourself."
Roy looked into Paras's eyes, his tone serious.
"And believe in me."
"If I say you can win, you can win."
Paras met his gaze for a few seconds.
In this human's eyes, there wasn't a trace of doubt or hesitation. It was as if in his eyes, Paras winning against Pikachu was a matter of course, something that didn't need to be questioned at all.
This absolute confidence was transmitted to Paras's heart through Aura.
Paras took a deep breath.
Then it nodded vigorously.
"Good, let's go."
Roy stood up and led Paras toward Pikachu.
In the distance, Pikachu was rolling the berry from the left side of its belly to the right when it suddenly saw its master walking toward it with that mushroom-crab.
It tilted its head, looking completely confused.
What was Master chirping about with that mushroom-crab just now?
Was he praising me?
It must be, otherwise why would he keep pointing over here?
Thinking this, Pikachu tossed the berry aside, sat up straight, puffed out its chest, and tried to look as spirited as possible.
Since Master is praising me, I have to look the part.
Paras was startled by Pikachu's sudden change and instinctively took half a step back.
But Roy's hand pressed against its back, steadily blocking its retreat.
"Don't be afraid."
"After eating those pokéblocks, you're not the same as you were a moment ago."
Roy's voice was soft but steady.
"Go up and try."
"Beat it, and you'll be the Bug-Slayer."
Paras swallowed hard.
It looked at the poised Pikachu, then at Roy's determined eyes.
Finally, it took a deep breath and took the first step forward.
Having settled Paras, Roy walked back toward Kiyomi and the others.
"How is it?"
Kiyomi asked eagerly.
Roy briefly recounted what Paras had just said.
After hearing it, Kiyomi's expression first froze, then turned into an indescribable heartache.
"It... it's actually been worried about this?"
She looked at Paras in the distance.
"Silly child, how could I possibly stop liking you just because you lose a battle?"
Misty watched from the side and clicked her tongue: "Miss Kiyomi, your Paras has quite the imagination. Not liking it if it loses? Where did it even learn such an idea?"
Delia shook her head: "It might be because Kiyomi is too good to it that it has these thoughts. The more you care, the more you fear losing it."
Misty thought about it and felt Delia's words made sense.
Roy glanced at her.
"Precisely because you're so good to it, it was too embarrassed to tell you."
"The better you are to it, the less it wants to disappoint you. The more it fears disappointing you, the less it dares to try. And the less it tries, the more it feels it's no good."
"It's a vicious cycle."
Kiyomi bit her lip, watching Paras standing on the grass, legs shaking with nervousness yet still forcing itself to face Pikachu.
"Then... what should I do now?"
"In a moment, I'll have it battle my Pokemon."
"After it wins, you cheer for it."
"Then take the opportunity to tell it that even if it really loses one day, you won't stop liking it."
"You must look it in the eyes when you say those words."
Kiyomi nodded vigorously, etching Roy's words into her heart.
Then she remembered something and asked worriedly: "But... my Paras isn't that strong, and your Pikachu has already earned six badges... this difference in strength..."
Roy smiled confidently and said: "Kiyomi, don't worry."
"I, besides being a Trainer, have another identity."
Kiyomi blinked: "What identity?"
"A director."
"A director?"
"Yes, a director."
Roy pointed to Pikachu standing on the grass.
"Especially this Pikachu—it's a Best Actor!"
With that, he shouted to the Pikachu on the grass, his voice full of vigor.
"Pikachu! Prepare for battle!"