Why does my manectric refuse to listen to commands? To clarify, yes, he was traded to me and I do only have 3 gym badges. As soon as we get into battle, he suddenly does his own thing and thinks his decisions are better than mine, but other than that, we get along great and it’s almost like we’ve never been apart. What causes this?

This behavior tends to present itself in stronger pokémon, which in turn are typically pokémon that have been with a single trainer for a long while. As such, when one finds itself traded to a completely new trainer—especially if they haven’t been given much of a warning and definitely if the trainer is a complete stranger—it can be difficult for that pokémon to adjust. Even if the two of you get along great socially, on the battlefield, it’s a different story, as the act of battling is far more demanding than simply socializing. For you to battle effectively, the two of you need to be in sync. Your trust in each other must be at its peak, and that’s not something that can simply happen. Imagine, if you will, attempting to work with a complete stranger on an extremely delicate and important project. You may want to be nice to the stranger outside of that situation, but inside, you need to know that your partner knows what they’re doing. Disobeying orders is your manectric’s way of saying he’s not entirely sure you do—not to put too fine a point on it, of course.

That having been said, the solution to this conundrum is rather simple: build your relationship with your manectric. Work together with him off the battlefield and treat him as well as you can. Allow him to watch you battle using other members of your team so he can understand the way you work. Most importantly, understand that it may take time for your manectric to build up enough trust in you to let you command him during battle. He is, after all, working through the fact that his last trainer had left him—in his eyes, anyway.