"Yow~~"
Ordinary Zorua typically had cunning and crafty eyes, but this little cub had a timid, cowering appearance.
Sieg tried to show a kind expression. "Nice to meet you. Welcome to my team, Zorua!"
Before Sieg could react, upon hearing these words, Zorua's entire coat bristled. It immediately scrambled into a corner, as if it had seen something terrifying.
"Yow yow yow~~~"
Sieg couldn't help but facepalm, thinking internally, "Is it really this timid?"
Sieg is prepared to switch Zorua to a different Poké Ball. As a future core member of his team, how could it possibly stay in a regular Poké Ball?
A Luxury Ball was absolutely necessary!
Sieg was just about to pull out a Poké Ball to recall and switch it, but Zorua maintained its standoffish demeanor. When a red beam shot out, Zorua dodged it with a quick leap.
"Damn, those reflexes are impressive! Looks like it has talent after all." Sieg felt pleasantly surprised.
The Poké Ball in Sieg's hand shot out another recall beam, but Zorua once again nimbly avoided it, slapping its short tail forcefully against the bed and bouncing around on the spacious mattress.
"Yow yow yow~~"
Zorua called out cheerfully, as if treating this as a game.
"Hey! This fella's really good at dodging."
Ultimately, Zorua couldn't escape its fate of being caught. Sieg grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it straight off the bed.
"Yow~"
Zorua gave up resisting, letting out a pitiful cry as it curled its body up, revealing only its blue-green eyes like gemstones.
Those big, bright eyes blinked repeatedly.
"Alright, alright, I'm doing this for your own good. You won't have to sleep in that cramped room anymore. I'm upgrading you to a luxury mansion!"
Sieg spoke earnestly to this "little fox."
After switching Zorua's residence to a Luxury Ball, Sieg naturally pulled out his Pokédex and attached the minimized Luxury Ball to its back.
"Beep beep beep~~~."
"Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokémon. It transforms into the appearance of opponents to startle them and often disguises itself as a silent child."
"Level: 5, Gender: Male, Type: Dark, Ability: Illusion, Height: 0.7 meters, Weight: 13 kilograms, Excellent potential, exceptionally outstanding energy control, exceptionally outstanding neural reaction speed."
"Known moves: Scratch, Leer, Pursuit, Fake Tears, Torment, Hone Claws
Egg moves: Sucker Punch, Dark Pulse, Extrasensory."
After reading the Pokédex data, Sieg's expression was indescribably satisfied. This Zorua perfectly filled a gap in his current team.
The lack of special attacks!
Although Zorua's final evolution, Zoroark, could go the mixed attacker route, after all, its Special Attack base stat reached 120 while its Physical Attack wasn't low either at 105.
But even the Pokédex evaluation stated "exceptionally outstanding energy control," so it was undoubtedly better suited to specialize in Special Attack.
Zoroark's signature move, "Night Daze," was a special attack, and according to current Pokémon world research, this was Zoroark's exclusive move. (Excluding the currently unknown legendary Pokémon Lunala to humans)
Sieg put Zorua down, looking at this timid little fox before him. His heart filled with affection, and he couldn't help but scoop it into his arms and thoroughly cuddle it.
"Hehe, Zorua, you're going to be a major player on my team in the future!"
A flash of exasperation crossed Zorua's fox-cunning eyes. Why did this new trainer seem a bit too enthusiastic? Though it thought this internally.
On the surface, Zorua still maintained that timid expression, even using Fake Tears to forcibly squeeze out two teardrops.
It was a naturally gifted actor!
"Yow yow~~"
"Ah~ Zorua, are you so hungry you're drooling?" Seeing the dampness on his clothes, Sieg couldn't help but exclaim.
Team Rocket's special training grounds.
"Zorua, if you keep running from battle like this, how can you possibly get stronger? Don't you want to evolve into a majestic Zoroark?"
Having just joined the team half a day ago, Sieg couldn't wait to drag Zorua to Team Rocket's training grounds for a skill demonstration.
And right now, he was trying to motivate the newly recruited Zorua.
Sieg actually had very high expectations for Zorua, not just because of his fondness for Dark-type Pokémon, but also due to memories of a movie from his previous life, which gave him an inherent goodwill toward this Pokémon.
If Zorua could evolve into Zoroark, it would absolutely become one of his most capable fighters!
But unfortunately, things seemed to be going contrary to his wishes.
This Zorua apparently wasn't enthusiastic about fighting and had no particular desire to grow stronger.
Perhaps its only redeeming quality was its fast reaction speed?
During lunch, before the food was even placed on the tableplate, while the Pokéblock was still airborne, it was intercepted by Zorua's short little paws.
In the blink of an eye, it was stuffed straight into its mouth. These incredibly practiced movements left Sieg gaping.
"Geez, you're even greedier than Umbreon when she was still a little Evee!!" That was Sieg's exclamation at the time.
Zorua's fox ears drooped, appearing somewhat dejected. Its fluffy ears trembled slightly, and its eyes were moist and bright, like two crystalline sapphires radiating innocent and charming light.
As if tears would well up at any moment.
This pitiful appearance naturally evoked sympathy, making one want to hold it tightly.
But after half a day of interaction, Sieg understood that this guy wasn't at all like the timid creature it appeared to be at their first meeting; it was a cunning actor.
"Alright, alright, stop using Fake Tears already!"
Sieg waved his hand, feeling rather speechless.
Finally, after promising three beginner Dark-type Pokéblocks plus ten chocolate bars, Zorua immediately changed its expression, revealing that sly, cunning look.
"Yow yow yow~~"
Zorua's body, which had been slumped on the ground, immediately stood up. It extended its fluffy little paws, putting on a begging pose for food.
"What, you're saying you want to inspect the goods first?!"
Sieg pulled out a pre-prepared chocolate bar from his spatial equipment with an odd expression. This was also one of his specially made treats, Umbreon's favorite dessert.
It included a small amount of Dark-type materials and some spices to enhance the flavor.
Zorua actually acted as if genuinely afraid Sieg might deceive it, tapping and knocking on the chocolate bar, sniffing its scent, and finally taking a small bite. Only after confirming it was genuine did it nod with satisfaction.
Seeing this humanized behavior, Sieg could only marvel once again at the power of the Illusion ability.
Having just passed its infancy stage, it was already imitating human actions. Who knew how long it would take before Zorua could transform into a human appearance?
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Hey there, just wanted to thank you for reading this story, and I hope you have lots of fun with it. I just wanted to announce that for every 10 reviews, and for every 150 powerstones, I will drop bonus chapters^^