The morning sun rose over Route 7, casting long shadows across the winding path that stretched between the rolling hills and patches of tall grass. Alex and Drake had set off early, eager to make progress toward Saffron City. But as they traveled, Alex found his attention split between the route ahead and the newest addition to his team: Abra.
He had managed to catch the elusive Psychic-type Pokémon the day before, a major victory for any trainer, but the real challenge had begun once Abra was officially part of his team. Integrating a new Pokémon into a battle-ready unit was never easy, and with Abra's well-known preference for sleeping most of the time—and teleporting at the first sign of trouble—Alex was quickly learning that this wouldn't be a simple task.
"Abra… use Confusion!" Alex called out, his voice edged with frustration.
Abra floated lazily in the air, its arms crossed and eyes closed as usual. Despite Alex's command, the small, yellow Pokémon didn't move, its telekinetic powers lying dormant. It continued to drift, completely unconcerned with the world around it.
"Abra…?" Alex repeated, though his voice trailed off. He already knew what was happening. Abra, as expected, was asleep.
Drake snickered from a few feet away, sitting on a rock as he watched the scene unfold. "It's not exactly what you had in mind when you caught it, huh?" he teased, though there was no malice in his tone. "That Abra doesn't even care about battling."
Alex sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he recalled Sparkyx to his Poké Ball after an uneventful training session. "I knew Abra would be tough to train, but I didn't think it would be this hard. All it wants to do is sleep, and when it's not sleeping, it's teleporting out of battle. I can't even get it to focus for a few minutes."
Drake stood up, walking over to where Abra floated lazily in the air. "Yeah, Psychic-types can be tricky, especially one like Abra. It's more interested in meditating than fighting. You're going to have to figure out how to motivate it."
Alex watched Abra with a mixture of frustration and curiosity. He had seen Psychic-types in battle before, and they were known for their incredible potential, but getting that potential to emerge was a different story. Abra, in particular, was notorious for its elusiveness. It only knew how to teleport when caught in the wild, and evolving it into Kadabra required patience and strategy.
Alex knew he had to find a way to connect with Abra, but traditional training methods clearly weren't working. Every time he tried to issue a command or start a battle, Abra either ignored him completely or simply teleported away, retreating to some other part of the route to nap in the shade of a tree. This approach wasn't going to cut it.
Drake crossed his arms, watching as Abra slowly drifted down to the ground, curling up and slipping into another peaceful sleep. "Maybe you're going about this the wrong way," he said after a moment of thought. "I mean, Abra's a Psychic-type, right? It's not like training a normal Pokémon. Maybe you need to think more… I don't know, mentally?"
Alex blinked, considering Drake's words. "Mentally?"
"Yeah," Drake continued, nodding to himself. "You know, Psychic-types use their minds more than anything. Maybe instead of pushing Abra to battle, you should focus on its mental abilities first. Let it ease into things instead of forcing it to fight."
It made sense. Psychic-types weren't like physical fighters, who relied on raw strength or speed. They tapped into mental power, using psychic energy to control the battlefield. Pushing Abra into battles might only make it more resistant to training if it wasn't ready. If Alex wanted to unlock its potential, he needed to approach the situation differently.
"That's actually not a bad idea," Alex admitted, feeling a spark of inspiration. "Maybe if I stop trying to rush Abra into battling and start working on building trust, we'll get somewhere. It's clearly not ready to fight yet, but that doesn't mean it won't be in the future."
Drake grinned, pleased with himself. "Hey, I have good ideas sometimes."
Alex chuckled, glancing at Abra again. The small Psychic-type was curled up, its breathing steady as it rested. If he wanted to train Abra, he needed to start by understanding its nature—how it thought, how it felt, and what it needed to unlock its power.
"All right," Alex said decisively. "Let's change things up. No more pushing Abra into battle. We're going to focus on connecting with it first, getting it to trust me, and then we'll see if it's ready to start using its abilities."
With that new plan in mind, Alex called Abra back into its Poké Ball for now. The Pokémon didn't resist or react, simply disappearing into the ball with a flash of red light. There was no frustration from the situation anymore, just a quiet determination to work with the Pokémon on its terms.
Drake walked beside Alex as they continued down the path on Route 7, the quiet of the afternoon settling in around them. "So, what's the plan for today? If you're not doing battle training with Abra, what's next?"
"I think I'm going to try something different," Alex said. "Instead of forcing battles, I'm going to focus on spending more time with Abra outside of battle. Let it get used to being with me, get used to the team. Maybe once it trusts me more, it'll be more open to using its powers in battle."
Drake nodded. "Sounds like a solid idea. I'll keep an eye out for wild Pokémon while you're doing that. Maybe I'll get lucky and find something good for my team."
As they walked, the path wound through patches of tall grass and clusters of trees, the occasional rustle of a wild Pokémon in the bushes breaking the stillness. Alex took a deep breath, feeling the calm of the environment around him. It was the perfect place to work with Abra—quiet, peaceful, and far from any distractions.
After walking for a bit longer, Alex found a small clearing by the edge of the route. He motioned for Drake to go ahead without him for a while, deciding this would be a good spot to work with Abra.
"I'll catch up with you in a bit," Alex said. "I'm going to spend some time with Abra here."
"All right," Drake replied, waving as he continued down the path. "Good luck!"
Once Drake was out of sight, Alex sat down in the clearing, taking a moment to enjoy the stillness. Then, he pulled Abra's Poké Ball from his belt and released the Psychic-type into the open air.
Abra appeared in a flash of light, floating just a few inches above the ground, its eyes closed as always. It hovered for a moment before gently lowering itself to the ground, immediately curling up to sleep.
"Hey, Abra," Alex said softly, not wanting to disturb it too suddenly. "I know you're not into battling yet, but I thought maybe we could spend some time together. You don't have to fight, just… relax. Get used to being around me."
Abra didn't respond, but it didn't teleport away either. It stayed curled up on the ground, its breathing steady, but there was no sign that it was paying attention to him. Alex took that as a small victory—it hadn't run.
For the next hour, Alex sat quietly in the clearing, occasionally speaking to Abra in a calm, low voice. He talked about the journey so far, his team, the battles they had faced. He even talked about his own thoughts and worries, hoping that by sharing his feelings, Abra might feel more comfortable with him. Every now and then, he would glance over at the Psychic-type, checking to see if it was reacting to his presence.
At one point, Abra opened one eye slightly, its gaze settling on Alex for a brief moment before closing again. It was a small sign, but it was something—a step toward building trust.
"That's it," Alex said quietly, smiling to himself. "We'll take it slow. No pressure."
As the day continued, Alex and Abra spent more time together in the clearing, the bond between them slowly starting to form. Abra remained quiet and sleepy for most of the time, but Alex could feel the distance between them shrinking, even if only a little.
Eventually, as the sun began to dip lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the clearing, Alex stood up, stretching his legs. He called Abra back into its Poké Ball, feeling a sense of accomplishment. They hadn't battled, but that wasn't the point today. It was about building trust, and Alex was confident they had taken a step in the right direction.
"Tomorrow," Alex whispered to the Poké Ball, "we'll keep working on it. We'll figure this out together."
With a smile on his face, Alex set off to catch up with Drake, ready for whatever challenges lay ahead on their journey to Saffron City.
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