In the animation, Pokémon often possess extraordinarily high intelligence.
Rather than saying their lively expressions and behaviors are anthropomorphic, it's more accurate to say they inherently have these emotions. The notion of anthropomorphism is just humans giving themselves undue credit.
From Mawile ignoring people, it seems that this creature is indeed not easy to get along with.
It likely hasn't figured out its own situation yet.
But Baimu wouldn't blame it. After all, Mawile left its long-time habitat because of Baimu's choices, so a bit of temper is understandable.
Inside the room.
Mawile looked rather disdainfully at the various pieces of furniture, examined them repeatedly, and then ran to the sofa, propped itself up with a pillow, sat down, and placed its small hands on its knees.
"Chido~"
It lowered its eyes and slightly opened its small mouth.
"...What does this mean?" Baimu looked at Lairon and Chansey, unable to understand.
The former had a slightly strange expression, while the latter enthusiastically ran to the kitchen, brought out a glass of cold water, and handed it smilingly to Mawile.
Mawile glanced at it, not particularly satisfied, yet still nodded and took it, sipping slowly.
"Alright, so it's thirsty and wants a drink."
Baimu dragged a chair from the side and sat down at a distance neither too close nor too far from Mawile, "It's indeed a bit hot outside, so let's chat inside."
Mawile raised its eyelids slightly, still not responding, merely extending its hand to pass the water glass out.
Chansey happily took it, naturally assuming the role of a servant.
Baimu helplessly patted its head, saying to Mawile, "You can always ignore me, but friendly communication can enhance our future cooperation... Maybe you think that if you just keep your mouth shut, I'll send you back.
"But I'm sorry to tell you, that's impossible."
He pointed to a map hung in the living room, "This is Pyrite Town, countless kilometers away from where you originally lived, with no trees or water in between, only rocks and yellow sand.
"And your Trainer has entrusted you to me, also telling me some of your detailed situations. In other words, you no longer have a place there—if you're not understanding, I can repeat this a few times."
"Chido!"
Suddenly, Mawile opened its eyes, shook its head fiercely, and the dark jaws snapped open and lunged towards Baimu!
"Gudu!"
Lairon cried out and wanted to jump in and tackle, but Baimu stopped it in advance with one hand.
The big jaws did not bite Baimu's head, only expanded to the maximum in front of him, revealing their crimson interior filled with evenly distributed sharp teeth.
"You're not an intimidating trait, after all."
Baimu calmly smiled, having never been timid; after receiving Miniskirt's fighting memories last night, he became even bolder.
Mawile's little tricks were insufficient to scare him.
Seeing its usual foolproof move fail, Mawile turned its head back, lowered its head, and pouted with anger.
"Chido!"
"Alright, back to business, let's talk about the conditions. You can't possibly be uninterested in what you'll eat and where you'll live in the future."
Baimu did not rashly reach out to touch its head.
Mawile's experience was very different from Lairon's and Chansey's, so a similar method to build a relationship wasn't feasible. Expecting it to get close on the first day was unrealistic.
In fact, he could see that beneath Mawile's facade of indifference lurked some panic and fear.
This is quite understandable.
A pampered individual suddenly leaving a familiar environment and coming to an unfamiliar place, meeting unfamiliar people, and even fighting for an unfamiliar trainer.
It's not easy even for an adult, let alone a Pokémon, to quickly adapt.
Thus, part of its prickly behavior now is a protective measure.
Of course, whether the method is foolish is another question.
Regardless, people do work from their present level of understanding, incapable of acting beyond their knowledge base.
Mawile's resistance might seem ridiculous to Baimu, but it might be serious in its intent, thinking this is the best approach.
"Do you want anything?"
Baimu maintained a calm smile, "For instance... a princess bed? Cute little pillows? Oh, and this is your doll, right?"
He pulled out a stuffed doll from a box brought by Flop, and upon seeing this, Mawile immediately hopped off the sofa to snatch it and hugged it tightly.
Having the doll in hand, Mawile visibly relaxed and no longer avoided Baimu's gaze.
When their eyes met.
He confirmed that this creature's earlier impoliteness was due to its nervousness, as its gaze now held a hint of exploration.
"So what do you want? Can you tell me?"
Baimu patiently asked again.
——
Noon.
Mawile returned to the Luxury Ball.
Baimu looked at the shopping list in his hand and exchanged glances with Lairon and Chansey, "Anything you want? We might as well buy it all together later."
Both shook their heads.
The present is not the past; when he desperately needed Chansey's help, he impatiently made demands.
Fortunately, Chansey was understanding and agreed to help him.
If Mawile were the one appearing at that moment, the negotiations certainly wouldn't have gone so smoothly; he probably would have spent the whole week persuading Mawile to do something.
No rush, one step at a time.
No harm in waiting a little longer.
Baimu returned the two Pokémon to their balls, ready to head out and purchase the items on the list.
Some things could be bought from surface stores, while others required a visit to the Underground City.
After the procurement, he would naturally head to literacy classes.
He glanced again at the medical report, which detailed Mawile's various attributes.
[Pokémon: Mawile]
[Attribute: Steel + Fairy]
[Gender: Female]
[Height: 71cm / Weight: 15kg]
[Trait: Forceful]
[Level: 45]
[Moves: Fairy Wind / Bite / Frighten / Surprise Strike]
[Shattering Bite / Iron Wall / Rush / Enhanced Fist / Electromagnetic Levitation]
[Iron Head / Charging / Swallow / Frozen Fist / Thunder Fist]
A base level of 45 plus fourteen moves could fetch a good price in the Underground City.
The only downside might be its low Species Value, but within the animation context, a low Species Value isn't a major concern, as any Pokémon can perform well with proper nurturing.
Of course, Baimu chose Mawile not only for its unique strengths but also because it can undergo mega evolution.
Perhaps in the Ore Region, the concept of super evolution is unheard of.
In reality, super evolution is not so coveted that champions and celestial kings desperately seek it, and even random trainers in XY have Super and Key Stones.
By the Sun and Moon stage, every Gym Trainer in Kanto had one, and even Rocket Team's subordinates possessed them.
So although it's currently a bit distant, Baimu believed he would eventually obtain a Key Stone and Mawile's Evolution Stone, as well as Aggron's Evolution Stone.
If need be, finding a way to travel to the Super Island in the XY region to obtain Super Stones is an option.
After all, it's free.