RESCUE
A Pokemon Fan Fiction
The Beginners Arc – Chapter 3: Dumb and Angry and Drunk, oh my!
Principle 1: "Catch"!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: A series of dashes is a move from tutor to tutor for this particular chapter. The three bandmates are being taught in totally difference places. Breaks in scene are my usual ~*~*~*~*~. Just thought I'd clarify.
"Alright!" Morty boomed, one hand on his hip while the other stood on his cane. "Tell me what you children know about Pokemon Training!"
"... Well," Chris said. "Trainers are people who-"
"I said to tell me what you know about -training-, nitwit. Not -trainers-."
"But wouldn't-"
"No, it wouldn't! Do you really not know?" Morty demanded, and before he got an answer, he sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you."
He lifted up a single finger.
"The three basic principles of Pokemon Training are as follows..."
–- - - - - - - - - --–
Whitney lifted up a single finger, thrusting it in front of her and grinning at Emily. "Deary, the first principle is 'Catch'. Every trainer needs to know how to catch a Pokemon!"
–- - - - - - - - - --–
Morty pulled up a second finger. "The second principle is 'Raise'. How do you expect to be a good trainer without knowing how to raise your team? Raising is divided into three subcategories."
–- - - - - - - - - --–
"Caretaking," Whitney said. "Of course, you need to know how to take care of them! Trainers are responsible for the health 'n' happiness of their Pokemon. Trainers are expected to feed them, groom them, get them checkups at Pokemon Centers, and give them love and affection. Some trainers think that abusing Pokemon will make them stronger – I don't believe this and you shouldn't either. "
–- - - - - - - - - --–
"Building Strength and Skill," Morty continued. "Just caretaking is fine if your plan is to raise Pokemon. But if you want to raise -battling- Pokemon, you need to learn how to make them physically stronger and making them more adept at battling."
–- - - - - - - - - --–
"And finally, Evolving. Most Pokemon go through at least one dramatic change in form, where they'll look different physically, grow stronger and learn new things easier – or perhaps harder, in some cases," Whitney said. "Now, the third principle is..."
–- - - - - - - - - --–
"Obviously, -Battle-! You can have one of the others on their own, or combined, without this, but you can't have this without the other two. Remember that! A battle is a determination of the other two area's effectiveness – whether you treat your Pokemon right, and how well you train it, depends on how well you'll battle! Get it?"
–- - - - - - - - - --–
"Got it?"
–- - - - - - - - - --–
"Good," Morty nodded toward the two boys as they nodded back. "Now, we're going to be going over these three principles in bare detail first off. Then we'll be working on them in more detail. Got it?"
The boys nodded again. "Got'cha," Scooter said.
"So then, what do you think the first thing we'll be working on is?" Morty asked.
"'Catch'," Chris responded.
"Yep. And how do you think we'll be training you on this?"
–- - - - - - - - - --–
"... Uhm, probably making us catch something in a controlled environment," Emily said. "Right?"
"Very very wrong, deary.~" Whitney said, a sly grin plastered on her lips.
"Then..."
–- - - - - - - - - --–
"Got it, sir..." Chris said, gulping. He was oddly nervous for this – he had never done anything even remotely close. He also found it funny... he wasn't afraid to sing in front of a crowd of thousands, but he was afraid to go out and catch a Pokemon.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Emily was the first one to get out of the house, a Pokeball provided by Whitney in hand. She gulped in breathe and walked off toward the neighboring Route, east of the city. It wasn't that long a walk, at the longest half an hour... she would be there quick.
And she was. She admired the beauty of the area... it was full of lush patches of grass, a tan sort of soil, and a wide blue lake directly in front of her: to her right, a forest, large and green trees dotting the landscape, while to her left, a large mass of black-ish rock stood. A cave. She shuddered, not at all wanting to head into such a dark and dank place.
"Alright, Emily..." she murmured, tipping up her hat so she could see a little better. "Time to find yourself a Pokemon..."
She walked over to a nearby patch of grass a couple feet wide, about as tall as up to her waist. She waded through it for quite a while before she finally accidentally kicked something – she watched as a purple blur flashed by her, and she shrieked in surprise.
It was an Ekans, and it had escaped. She was almost thankful for it... the snake Pokemon always sort of gave her the creeps. She let loose a sigh of relief and continued to look through it to find herself the Pokemon she deemed right to battle and catch.
Almost another half hour passed, and her legs were getting tired, until they accidentally thunked against the rough hide of some creature. She looked down to see, in what she could see, a small blue creature rolling out from a curled up formation, a long blue snout attached to the face which held absolutely adorable eyes.
She jumped back and immediately tossed forward her own Pokeball. A bright red beam of energy burst forward and she let loose a sigh of exhaustion; here was her chance.
"...py?" the creature inquired, standing up and looking at the Oddish that materialized from the red light then at Emily. "Py phan phan!"
"Odddd..." Oddish responded.
"Oddish! Attack it once!" Emily commanded, and so the Pokemon would do, the blue creature glowing a light shade of green alongside Oddish, An Absorb Attack. Emily allowed herself a smile... things were going smoothly so far.
The blue creature merely stood there, a bit of a dazed look in its eyes.
"... Alright, uhm, try that again Oddish!" Emily said. Once again, the blue creature glowed a light shade of green and Oddish did too, as energy was transferred from one subject to the other. The creature continued to stand there, and even wobbled a little.
Emily hit the release switch on the empty Pokeball and tossed it forward, where it hit the creature on the head and sucked it inside with a beam of red light, then fell on the ground and shut tight. There was no attempt made to escape; it sat there in the Pokeball, immediately caught.
Emily picked up the ball as she felt a sense of amazing accomplishment. It was hers. She now had a Pokemon... albeit one that was looking out to be a very lazy, carefree Pokemon, but a Pokemon she had caught on her own.
She sighed, returned Oddish and stuck both balls into her pockets. Then she simply walked off.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chris was the next one to get out, and he wasn't quite sure what to do. He stepped outside the house and thrust his hands in his pockets, a cap just low enough over his eyes to conceal them but high enough so he could see, and began to walk. He had no particular destination, but he walked, allowing the wind to take him to where he was supposed to be.
It turned out to be a strategy that worked.
Ecruteak could very well be considered a "retirement city"; not officially, though, as the only officially recognized one was Agate Village in Orre. But this did not mean that it was a quiet one... far from it, in fact. It was quite a busy little city these days, full of all sorts of businesses for the old folk and their children or grandchildren. Various restaraunts of low costs, carts full of fruit, flower stands, the Kimono Girls show – Chris remembered seeing them on television once in a biography, and found them a lot uglier in their older age than in their younger days – and of course, various trainer facilities such as the centers or Marts.
He sighed, walking toward a fruit stand and pulling some money out of his pocket. He figured he may as well have something to snack on while figuring just what to do.
"Hey, ya stupid lil' mongrel, get away from the stand! I ain't lettin' ya do this -again-, so ya- HEY!"
Chris glanced up and saw just what was going on. Near the cart was a cackling purple creature, floating just above it, one of his pincers snapping fiercely, the other holding a few berries, and a stinger jabbing forcefully at the heavyset man behind the stand. The man jumped back and the purple creature cackled.
"... And here's your idea, Chris," he muttered. He thrust his money back down into his pocket and pulled out a small red and white orb. He pressed the silver button in the center and the orb expanded, releasing a bright red light that materialized into the small, plump creature called Cubone.
"... A Pokemon Trainer!" the Cart Manager cried. "Good! Help me out here, I'll give ya anything ya ask for! Just help!"
Chris nodded. "Alright," he said. "Let's attack it, Cubone! Knock those berries away!"
Cubone leaped up and tossed the bone in his hand forward, and Chris watched in amazement as the bone zoomed toward the creature's pincer-hand and knocked into it, all but one berry being knocked out onto the cart.
The Pokemon glared angrily at Cubone and rushed toward him, only to get hit by a returning bone. Chris nodded slowly: he just remembered the Bonemerang attack. Cubone caught the bone and held it in front of him, his body at an angle. Chris had to admit, that was a pretty badass little Pokemon. He grinned and continued to watch his Pokemon do its magic.
After recovering from the second strike, the purple-pincer Pokemon whose name still evaded Chris
rushed forward again, stinger extended and jabbing toward Cubone. Cubone lifted up his bone and used it as a guard against the attack.
"Attack again, Cubone!" Chris said. He really only had basic knowledge of battles – he didn't know many attack names, so telling Cubone to "attack" was the best he could do.
He watched as Cubone then grabbed the stinger of the purple Pokemon and brought it down to the ground. Its pincer squished through the one berry it had, its yellow skin breaking and blue juices flowing out. The Pokemon thrust the berry into its mouth and chewed, before breaking free of Cubone's grip and floating back up again.
"He ate a Sitrus!" the Cart Manager said. "It's probably got some restored vitality..."
Chris nodded. "Got it! Cubone, attack it again!"
Cubone didn't listen. Instead, he tossed his bone into the air for a moment and began a barbaric pounding of his own stomach, beating it like a drum. After a few moments, his body was quivering and it reached up to catch it.
"... What the heck was that, Cubone?" Chris asked.
The Mart Manager clarified it for him. "C'mon, trainer! Know your own Pokemon's attacks – that was a Belly Drum! Gives more power in exchange for some vitality!"
"... Right."
The UFP – unidentified flying Pokemon – rushed forward and lifted back one of its pincers, and it burst into a black aura. The black-aura covered claw sliced across Cubone's stomach, leaving a small cut that instantly spilled a small amount of blood.
Cubone was panting, now. But he lifted up his bone and tossed it forward to what Chris assumed to be another Bonemerang attack. He was wrong. The bone simply thwacked against the rough hide of the purple Pokemon's head and knocked it to the ground. Cubone ran forward and caught the bone, before lowering it onto the Pokemon's stomach, smashing it forcefully downward.
Chris, at this point, recalled Cubone and removed an empty Pokeball from his pocket. He pressed the silver switch in the center then tossed it toward the dazed purple creature, and watched as a red beam of light sucked it inside then snapped the ball shut. It hit the ground with a thud and began to roll around.
"You did it! You beat the little mongrel! Thanks, trainer, thank ya so much!" the Cart Manager said happily. "What can I ever do 'ta repay ya?!"
Chris ignored him, picking up the now still Pokeball. He cared little for rewards: for some odd reason, the sense of pride in this work, this new Pokemon he could call his own, was enough payment for him. He stuck both Pokeballs into his pocket and walked away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Scooter was the last one to get out, having spent a bit of time before leaving to allow himself some bonding time with his mother and father – it had been at least three years since he last bothered to go see them, and he dearly regretted it.
But now he was out of the house and working toward ideas of where to go and just what to do. He decided to simply walk around and explore Ecruteak some while thinking... and when he did, he came across a building made in an old-world fashion, very well resembling an old temple compared to modern day buildings. A sign hung outside advertised the Kimono Girls: Scooter smiled slightly and pulled some money out of his pocket, and walked inside.
"A disturbance? Alright, I'll send security to check it out," he heard immediately as he stepped in. He looked around the small, tan, wooden area to see a man behind a desk, a phone in his hand. The man was tall and a bit on the skinny side, and his face was as pale as if he had just seen a ghost. "Wait, what do you mean security can't do anything about it? It's just a dumb Pokemon!"
Scooter stepped forward toward the desk and extended his hand with the fee in it toward the man. The man pointed toward the back, not accepting the toll – in the back, a sign read...
HOURS
MONDAY-FRIDAY: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
SATURDAY: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
SUNDAY: CLOSED
It was a Saturday. He looked at the digital clock on the wall above the sign, and saw it was 4: 55. He sighed, and realized that he was too late to see a show... it was a bit of a disappointment. He intended to watch and calm himself, allowing himself to think more clearly. But he supposed he could do something else – then it hit him.
He thrust his hand into his pocket and removed Eevee's Pokeball.
"Couldn't help but overhear you need some help," he said with a grin.
The man behind the desk flashed a smile, and spoke into the phone. "Jack, think I've managed to find us a saviour. Thanks." He thrust the phone into the receiver, and nodded toward Chris.
"What'll it take ya to help us out here?" he asked.
Scooter had already thought that out beforehand. He figured it would be a nice treat to see such a calming show, so he simply said, "Free passes. Three people of my choice, to see a show tomorrow."
"Hell, guy, you got it. That's easy enough," the man said. "So, the problem is a Pokemon. Yeah. It's a psychic type, so it can talk to us, and boy's it screamin'... we haven't gotten the chance to look close, but that's because he's totally trashing the place. Oddly enough, it's the cafeteria it's trashing... we think it got into the sake and he's drunk..."
The place was a school now, Scooter remembered. It did shows for the public, and behind closed doors tutored young women in the arts: a Coordinator's school.
"FOOLISH MORTALS," a voice boomed in their heads. "I WILL FIND YOUR ELIXIR AND DEVOUR IT ALL FOR MYSELF! IT IS MINE! AND WITH IT, I WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!!! BUA..HA...HA..HA! HAHA!"
"... Either that or batshit insane," the man said, and Scooter stifled a laugh. Within a couple of seconds, they arrived at the door of the cafeteria. The man stepped back and Scooter pushed open the door... his eyes widened.
Dust floated in the air, clouding the majority of the room – but what was visible was completely and totally destroyed. Wood splinters were everywhere, a red substance ran on the ground – not light enough to be blood, probably some odd juice – and the walls had small holes in them.
Scooter ran through and tossed his Pokeball forward. It was then he realized...
… the destruction was just limited to the doorway. He slapped a palm against his forehead and slid it down as if it were to delete all of his woes. Eevee pranced around on the ground next to him.
"WHO HAS ARRIVED IN MY LAIR?" the voice boomed again. "I WILL BE FORCED TO REMOVE THEM!"
Whatever this creature was, it sounded intimidating, he had to admit. He tensed up as he heard the sounds of heavy footfall on creaky wooden floors. He braced himself to fight one hell of a challenger, and hater of doorways.
He nearly burst out into laughter when he saw the culprit.
It was a small pink creature, a glazed over look in its eyes. Obviously drunk off of the sake stored in the Cafeteria for the shows. It was on all fours with a tail tipped in white – Scooter, having a bit of knowledge on Pokemon due to his parents, recognized it immediately as a Slowpoke.
"IT IS YOU, HMM? I WILL... I WILL... what'm I doing again?"
This time, Scooter -did- burst into laughter.
"FOOLISH MORTAL! YOU DARE LAUGH AT YOUR GOD? I WILL... MAKE YOU... uhm.. SUFFER!"
Instantly, Scooter felt a light thud against his ribs. A psychic push. He tensed up again and looked down to Eevee, who was continuing to prance around playfully.
"Eevee! I'm gonna need you to headbutt that thing! Be careful!" Scooter said.
Eevee stopped his prancing and instead moved forward in leaps and bounds, and collided head first into the pink creature. Slowpoke didn't seem effected by the attack, and in turn opened its mouth and spewed forth a blast of water. A Water Gun attack.
Eevee was hit and skidded backward, shaking off its fur a few seconds later.
"... Can take and dish some hits, apparently-"
"OH GOD THE PAIN," the Slowpoke screamed at him mentally.
"... Oh … 'kay …" Scooter whispered. "Eevee, headbutt it again, then get away from it!"
Eevee did so, slamming his head into the pink flesh and then leaping over him and over to where he couldn't be hit. A couple seconds pass before another sign of pain from the Slowpoke. This time, it collapsed onto the ground, groaning slightly.
Scooter pulled a Pokeball provided to him by his father and pressed the release switch, tossing the enlarged ball at Slowpoke and watching as it conked him on the head, sucked him into the ball by a flash of red light, then shut tightly and hit the ground.
No struggle was made. The Pokemon was his.
Scooter walked over to it, picked it up and grinned. He returned Eevee, then stuck both balls into his pockets, stuck his hands in with them and began to walk back toward the house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The three new trainers now sat in the living room of the Allison home, all of their Pokemon released, each one cautiously clinging to their trainers – except for the three caught that day.
Gligar, as Morty identified the Pokemon, sat perched on top of a book shelf.
Phanpy sat there in a ball in the middle of the floor, fast asleep.
Slowpoke wasn't even out. Scooter was afraid to release him.
"... Gligar, Phanpy and Slowpoke, huh," Morty spoke because Whitney had gone into a fit of giggles at Scooter's story. She was still recovering. "Interesting enough. Well then – get some sleep, kids. We'll be starting on Principles 2 and 3 tomorrow."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Notes: Wow. I actually intended for Scooter to get Gligar and Chris to get Slowpoke – I just screwed up and typed up the scene with SCOOTER using Cubone. See the problem there? Yeah, I just didn't feel like going back to edit the entire scene to deal with Eevee, so I just switched 'em. I kinda like it better this way anyways now that I think about it.
A fun chapter to write! I hope you guys enjoy it! Please don't hesitate to drop in a review.
