Here's a fun little writing exercise I like to do
https://randompokemon.com/Generate two Pokémon. No, no, don't press the button again, what you get the first time is what you're stuck with. You're not done until you come up with an idea involving those two—it could be their character dynamic, or a story prompt based off of what kind of roles you think those types of Pokémon would fill—doesn't have to be anything in specific, but you have to come up with /something/, even if it takes you half a damn hour of staring at it. Bulbapedia is your friend here! Look through the Biology and Pokédex entry sections for both of your rolls, you might find something that surprises you (did you know that Cufant dig with the tip of their trunk like a shovel? great for treasure hunter types!)
Pic related is what I came up with back when I did it for the first time (forgive how slapped-together it is, it was just a message to a friend), and is also why you absolutely do not get to reroll even if you feel like you got a shitty, unworkable pair at first.
Not sure if I still want to keep the leeching XP explanation since it sounds too game-y, but "carrying Pupitar around until he just, like, matures" sounds dumber... I mostly write PMD, but there's no reason it can't be done as a mainline prompt either. Get something like Psyduck and Furfrou? Maybe Psyduck was the young trainer's partnermon but then they catch a Furfrou, and Psyduck is jealous of all the attention it gets because it's so fussy and high-maintanence, or something like that. The point is just to stretch out your writing muscles and get yourself thinking creatively, with Pokémon you wouldn't normally use. I always end up having a lot of fun doing it, and some of my rolls ended up being fleshed out in my notes into actual story outlines I intend to write one day, though I've been too busy with my current story (and real life) to get to them just yet.
