"Um... what's going on here?"
At the mention of Mawile, Steven's expression became even more helpless.
"This girl is exactly how she looks... she's a... uh... little love-struck one. I found her in a pile of minerals; she was the strongest Pokémon in that area. At first, I wanted Aggron and the others to have a good fight with her, but in the end..." Steven stopped halfway through his sentence.
What he wanted to say next, Cain had already guessed.
There had been no battle at all. The moment Mawile saw Steven, she went from being the fierce ruler of the region to becoming that little fangirl, and had followed him ever since.
That was why, upon seeing an attractive guy like Cain, she showed an even more infatuated expression.
Cain could only be left speechless at the idea of conquering a Champion-level Pokémon with nothing but looks.
Could this be the legendary privilege of handsome men?
Cain glanced sideways at Mawile again. She seemed to have noticed his earlier expression; now she lowered her head shyly, yet couldn't help sneaking glances at Cain and Steven from time to time. The corner of Cain's eye twitched once more.
Pokémon: Mawile (Purple)
Gender: Female
Level: 82
Types: Steel + Fairy
Ability: Sheer Force
Held Item: None
Egg Moves: Ice Fang, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Misty Terrain
Basic Moves: Play Rough, Iron Head, Taunt, Growl, Fairy Wind, Astonish, Fake Tears, Bite, Sweet Scent, Vise Grip, Feint Attack, Baton Pass, Crunch, Iron Defense, Sucker Punch, Stockpile, Swallow, Spit Up
Learned Moves: Icy Wind, Stealth Rock, Snatch, Snore, Knock Off, Super Fang, Magnet Rise, Laser Focus, Thunder Punch, Last Resort, Pain Split, Foul Play
TM Moves: None
Upon seeing Mawile's data, Cain's eyes lit up.
This Mawile was truly an exceptional Pokémon. The ability Sheer Force, the egg move Misty Terrain, combined with the "three fangs" and a wide variety of moves with additional effects, plus the move Baton Pass that Mawile could naturally learn... if the move Swords Dance were added, the possible strategies would multiply enormously.
Whether relying on the ability Sheer Force together with Swords Dance to deal damage, or on the combination of Swords Dance, Baton Pass, and Misty Terrain to create tactics, everything was extremely viable.
Aside from the slight disadvantage in her innate base stats, in terms of ability and move pool, Mawile was excellent.
Most importantly, Mawile could also Mega Evolve. After Mega Evolution, her base stats would no longer be a disadvantage, and her ability would become fixed: Huge Power!
With this ability, when using physical attacks, the power of her moves doubled—something truly terrifying.
If combined with Swords Dance, she would become a weapon of mass destruction, and against Dragon-type Pokémon, an absolute nemesis.
Misty Terrain + the Huge Power ability + the move Play Rough—even this basic combination was something an ordinary Dragon-type Pokémon could not withstand, and moreover, Play Rough also had a certain chance to lower the opponent's Attack.
While Cain was looking at Mawile with shining eyes, Mawile was also secretly looking at him. Their gazes met for barely a tenth of a second, and she lowered her head even more in embarrassment.
Her heart was pounding like a startled deer.
Ah, so handsome! Another handsome guy at this level! How am I supposed to choose?
He's looking at me! He's looking at me! Is he looking at me? And he's even smiling, with sparkling eyes! So embarrassing...
I feel like I'm going to fall in love. Two handsome guys at the same time... how am I supposed to choose?
I've fallen in love!
At that moment, Mawile's heart was like an ocean in the middle of a storm, with raging waves.
And beside Cain, Gardevoir had been discreetly observing Mawile the whole time. She understood that Mawile would be attracted to Cain, but such exaggerated behavior was simply an embarrassment for female Pokémon.
"You still haven't captured her?" Cain asked in surprise.
Steven's expression became a bit awkward. Although Mawile had been by his side for quite some time and had protected him on numerous occasions, the truth was that he still hadn't captured her.
This gave Cain a sense of "freeloading." Who would have thought Steven was that kind of person?
Enjoying the benefits without giving her an "official title," keeping her as a wild Pokémon.
Even if she was a bit love-struck, she was still an extraordinary Pokémon, and Cain admitted that he was tempted.
With a Mawile like this, Cain suspected he could completely crush the "legendary" Dragon-type Champion, Lance.
"What's wrong? Don't you like her? We're talking about a Champion-level Pokémon, Steel and Fairy type. Haven't you always been complaining that you lack the means to deal with Dragon-type Pokémon? Now a Mawile with the Sheer Force ability is placed right in front of you, and you're still not convinced?"
"I'll say this responsibly: the potential of this Mawile hasn't been fully developed yet. Her growth limit is very high, not inferior to your Aggron," Cain said with an expression of 'hating iron for not becoming steel.'
Although Cain was genuinely interested in Mawile, after all, she was a Pokémon accompanying Steven; Cain wasn't that kind of person.
Moreover, Cain had many ways to deal with Dragon-type Pokémon: Florges, the increasingly powerful Diancie and Magearna, and even the entire Togekiss clan he had recently subdued all had enormous potential. Not to mention Gardevoir, who had accompanied him all this time and, after Mega Evolution, was even more effective against Dragon-type Pokémon than Mawile.
"It's not that..." Steven waved his hands awkwardly.
Cain looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
"Ahem... first, her level is too high. Second... it's just that... she's a bit too clingy."
"Ahem..." Cain was left speechless by those reasons and couldn't help but tease him. "A Pokémon this strong that accepts her trainer so easily... if you don't want her, then I'll take her."
Cain adopted an expression of "if you really don't want her, I'll take her," and surprisingly, that actually worked.
In reality, Steven felt that Mawile's level was too high and that she wasn't a Pokémon he had raised from scratch, so it was difficult for him to control her.
After all, almost all of Steven's Pokémon had been trained by him from the very beginning, and the synchronization between Pokémon and trainer was extremely high.
But what he had forgotten was that the bond between Pokémon and trainer is also gradually accumulated through affinity.
This Mawile, from the very moment they met, had already maxed out her affinity value. As long as Steven accepted her sincerely, the bond between the two could be established very quickly.
"Alright!" Steven's eyes immediately became firm. "Since I've decided, I won't change my mind so easily."
Moreover, when it came to little love-struck fans, Steven had plenty of experience. Not like Cain, who had only been handsome for a short time and was already feeling somewhat overwhelmed after encountering a couple of enthusiastic admirers. Steven, on the other hand, had been handsome from childhood until now.
Wandering freely among a sea of flowers without being stained by even a single petal—that was what people meant when referring to him.
He took a Luxury Ball out of his pocket. With the resources of someone like Steven, an ordinary Poké Ball would never appear in his pocket.
Mawile didn't know that, at the very moment she was being infatuated, Cain and Steven had already made a decision for her, deciding who her final owner would be.
When Mawile saw Steven approach with the Luxury Ball, she still hadn't reacted. But the instant she was returned to the Poké Ball, she finally understood.
She was going to become Steven's Pokémon!!
What a pity that today she had met another handsome guy who even gave her suggestive looks.
Goodbye, newly arrived handsome guy! I have an owner now!
(End of chapter)