>>39176847Pokemon crave a human partnership subconsciously. They could have evolved (not the game mechanic) to be codependent due to a lack of fighting skill, with the trainer being able to think more tactically and use better moves with their outside perspective.
A pokemon has to make at least somewhat of a conscious decision to stay in a ball when it feels the trainer is worth sticking with, usually through a show-of-force in battle or persistence in catching attempts. The pokemon tells the trainer "I'm with you now", and like a dog, the pokemonquickly grows to love the trainer unconditionally. This means even when the pokemon is a fucker like Ash's Charizard was when he first got it, or when they are outright abused like Ikari's Mienshao, they don't fuck off or seriously injure their trainer because the catching process is a symbolic process and causes an emotional connection.
