Natsu's Training Session

As Natsu leaves Petalburg, he notices that Professor Birch is grinning, and before he can do anything, he begins to talk.


"Well, it's good to see that your new Pokémon likes you quite a bit for just starting, but we should start with the basics. For one thing, in the wilderness and routes, you can find many Pokémon and trainers, but here, you don't really find that many trainers to start with. However, the fact is that with your own Pokémon it's much safer. Once you get off the regular path, there are plenty of Pokémon to find. Granted, in the past few years thanks to immigration from other regions, there are Pokémon from other regions around here, but it doesn't matter, i'll explain that later. The first thing you need to know is how to battle. You see, when a trainer challenges another trainer to a Pokémon battle, it's common courtesy, unless in extreme circumstances to accept their challenge. Granted, I haven't done this in a while, and my kid is a bit better at this, but at any rate i'm ready if you are- I'll show you the basics of battling before I explain, so prepare yourself!

Grinning, he quickly adds.

"And don't worry about injuries, I've got enough items to heal your Pokémon afterward as well."

Either way, Natsu and Takumi stare readily at the PokéBall as it was released, and as a Pokémon is released, Birch grins as he shouts.

"Alright then, Whismur, let's go!"

As the pink, cross-eyed normal type appears on the field, Birch simply grins before continuing.

"Well, since you are new, I'll start off with the first move. Alright then Whismur, start off small, Howl, then Pound that Mudkip!"

Things start off quickly as Whismur begins to Howl in eagerness for a battle to come. The problem for Takumi was that being so young, the Mudkip was a bit intimidated, and because of this, Whismur had finished his attack by the time Takumi had Tackled him painfully. Not one to give up, Whismur takes its chance, so with its confidence raised and as Takumi trying to back up, he slams into him with a Pound, slamming the Mudkip quite a far distance, but not into the trees. At any rate, Whismur grins, before easily dodging the Tackle from Takumi.

"Well, not a bad start Natsu, but so you know my Whismur is a bit injured, an incident when it was in the egg weakened its hearing ability, so its Soundproofing is not as good as normal... wait, why did I tell you that?"

As Birch facepalms, the Pokémon stare off. Takumi looks quite beaten to start with, but he's still ready to go, while Whismur's taken less damage, but used slightly more energy. Birch calmly waits for your move as does Whismur...

"Well, I was wondering about that as well Natsu, but regardless we aren't done yet- Whismur, Astonish to stop that Growl, then Pound!"

Takumi prepares to Growl menacingly, and even gets it going, but it doesn't stop Whismur much, as while it manages to nullify the boost from Howl, the confidence factor is there, and Astonish slams into Takumi, dealing solid damage. Continuing with this strategem, Whismur prepares to Pound Takumi, but the Mudkip is quick, and sidestepping the blow, before retaliating with another Tackle, dealing more damage to his opponent.

The two grin at each other, and it seems that Takumi is somewhat better off healthwise than his foe, but Whismur does look a bit more energetic as Birch takes this for his moment.

"Now, Whismur, quickly Smokescreen, then start up a Double Team!"

Things get dangerous as inexplicably, Whismur begins to launch dark smoke from its mouth... what will you do?

Takumi tries to concentrate as the Smokescreen looms omniously, but as it coughs and gasps, it still can sense that Whismur is in front of him. So with a grimace he charges through... and finds that he flies through a copy of some sort, the Whismur vanishing before his eyes. At any rate, Takumi tries to Growl angrily, but he is a bit unsure, as the smoke continues behind him, and chuckles of some sort ring from the unknown.

Either way, Takumi seems a bit unsure as to where Whismur is, but at any rate he used some energy, but took no damage, but while Whismur similarily came out unscathed, it seems that the panting heard from the smoke is sounding much more audible than before. Natsu is a bit surprised at Birch's grin, as he calls out.

"Your move Natsu."

But over in the distance growls are heard, and so is some buzzing- I wonder what that could mean?...

"hah, I like a trainer that thinks on his feet, but you've fallen for out trap- Now Whismur, you can hear it far better than it can hear you, so let's reward it, Howl to disorient it, then knock it and that Smokescreen away with Hyper Voice!"

Things seemed a bit more serious as Birch had a slightly maniac glint in his eye, perhaps he was getting too much into the battle, but that didn't stop Whismur, as it and its copies Howl eagerly, and the attack boost and confidence return to them, Either way, Takumi wasn't backing down, and hearing one, he charges into the fog with a Tackle. Unfortunately, he misses, hitting a clone. He doesn't give up, as he retreats out of the smoke, and after a few hurried seconds of waiting, he hears something and charges in again with a Tackle. However, to your horror, you see a pink form fly out of the smoke, untouched, and Whismur grins before opening its mouth wide and blasting a Hyper Voice straight down, the sound waves and energy destroying the smoke, and dealing a heavy hit to Takumi, who's pushed flat by the blast. Birch grimaces awkwardly, as Takumi looks badly beaten as Whismur lands, but still the Mudkip stands, panting heavily, as is his opponet. It's clear that Whismur has a health lead now, but Takumi has the energy lead. Regardless, Takumi looks as if he could barely stand, but Whismur looks pretty good overall. However, those roars are getting closer, and as Birch orders again you think on what you can do to turn this into a victory.

"Whismur, catch your breath a bit, but finish it up with a couple more Pounds!"

Things go well, as the winded Whismur can do little to block the Tackle that Takumi launches itself in. And it slams into a tree, giving the Mudkip some room to run its magic, and by magic I mean the intimidating Growl that it sends back at the Whismur. Unfortunately, this one doesn't seem to work too well, as Whismur is just too filled with bloodlust to stop, as it closes the distance in surprising speed, using an Uppercutting Pound to launch Takumi into the air, before in a fancy motion, slams the Mudkip away with a second, and final Pound, the power behind it slamming Takumi into a tree, and the familiar swirl eyes envelop the Mudkip as Whismur pants exhaustedly.

*Level Gained for Takumi!*

Natsu runs over to Takumi, who seems to be awake already, but it staggers to its feet, tired and dizzy. Sighing, Natsu picks up Mudkip as Professor Birch runs over with a Revive and Full Restore, and before you know it, Takumi is back to his friendly, somewhat active self.

"Well, sorry about that, but I've had Whismur for a very long time- he was one of my first Pokémon, back when i was a normal trainer like you. But either way, we should get back to the la-"

a collision rings out, and Whismur, so exhausted from its earlier fight is blown back, unconcious before it hits the ground, before Birch and Natsu stare at its attacker. A Rattata grins before vanishing again, it's next Quick Attack slamming into Birch before either you or Takumi can respond. Either way, with surprising strength, Takumi leaps from your arms, ready to fight this new threat...

Rattata looks curiously at its new opponent, and even more so as it begins to glow with a bright light, as the energy from the TM entered it. Not feeling safe, Rattata takes initiative, and flashes in with a Tackle, slamming into Takumi, who slides back a bit, grimacing from the hit. However, the Mudkip stands strong, Growling angrily at Rattata, who doesn't really notice, sure it's attack drops a bit, but confident from its finishing off of Whismur, he charges at Takumi eagerly, vanishing with Quick Attack. However, Takumi was waiting, and Slaps some Mud forward, which doesn't slow down Rattata much, but causes it to turn its head, which causes him to miss a bit, not hitting Takumi with the full blow. Rattata grimaces in pain, as it finds it hard to see, but either way, it doesn't quit at all, waiting to see what Natsu and Takumi would do next. This one seems to be smart, and full of energy, but its eyes were still smarting from the dirt as it tries to see its opponent... Meanwhile, unlike before, Takumi seems oddly calm, as if he knows something about the move he just learned. It could be part of the learning process, but who knows?

Rattata wasn't stupid, and he quickly turns his head, and begins to Tail Whip the Mud Slap away. It doesnt' really stop the damage, but it does keep the dirt from its eyes. Takumi also charges in with a Tackle, and turned around like that, Rattata can't stop it in time, and takes a strong hit. However, it takes the opportunity to Bite down hard on Takumi's er, fin, and flips itself into the air, using the Mudkip as a springboard. Feeling kind of mean, it dives right back down with a Quick Attack, slamming into Takumi painfully. However, it doesn't seem to do anything else, panting for a bit before he charges back at the Mudkip with another Quick Attack... What will Natsu do?

Takumi looks kind of injured, but it's still far more energetic than the fading Rattata, which looks to have slowed down a bit this time...

A bit slow, Rattata sees the orb of water, and tries to finish its attack, not knowing what was going on, but similarily to its earlier beating, Takumi had learned the advantages from attacking up close, and as it finishes its attack, he quickly slams it down upon the Rattata, just as it leaped at him to attack. The water engulfs both, but as Takumi stands up, it is not hurt, in fact he looks even fresher as he charges in for the kill, the drenched Rattata too slow to dodge the attack. Fully in control, Takumi grins, as with a twist of its head, sends Rattata flying with a final Tackle. The rat hits the ground, the fight nearly knocked out of it, and as it slowly struggles to its feet, Natsu feels something bounce off of his head. Natsu stares down to see a red and white ball next to his feet, just as Professor Birch begins to shout at him.

"Dammit, Natsu- throw that PokéBall quickly before the Rattata recovers, do it now!"

Professor Birch, now recovered, and without Whismur had tossed a PokéBall at Natsu, pointing at the Rattata before finishing his shout. Picking up the PokéBall, Natsu tries to decide what to do with it before Rattata recovers. Better hurry, it's getting up pretty fast...

Rattata yelps before the ball slams into his side, and as Professor Birch and Natsu watch, it begins to shake. once, twice, and then on the third time, it appears that Rattata struggles for a while, but it finally finishes, as Professor Birch gets up with a smile.

"Well Natsu, it appears that you've caught that Rattata, and it belongs to you. Now, I was going to take you back to the lab to finish some papers, but between the two of us, you passed this test with flying colors. At any rate, I think it's clear that you're ready for your journey, so here's the 2000 PokéDollars that each trainer gets, and 5 more PokéBalls for your trouble. However, here's your pokedex- but I'm happy to show you how to use it. Natsu watches as Professor Birch presses some buttons, and then the mechanical voice rings out.

"Pokemon Scanned, Species, Rattata, Gender, Male, Level, 5. Ability: Guts. Attacks: Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Bite'

As the machine grows quiet, Birch explains.

"You see, this Pokedex is different, because it can give you some statistics. It can locate Pokémon from a limited radius as well as to indicate things such as gender and level. But the issue was that it's an advanced feature. Now, it shouldn't take us long to get to Oldale Town, but there's something you should know- I've noticed that you seem to be a capable trainer, but I think that a certain daughter of mine needs a good battle, goodness knows the same thing happens to her that happened to you, but at any rate, I believe that she's in Route 103. There are a few Pokémon there that don't exist here, and there is some water... but either way, thanks for your help."

Spraying yet one final Full Restore on Takumi and Rattata, Birch leaves while grinning, confident as he continues back to his lab.

*Proceed to Oldale Town if you wish, or you can explore to find more Pokémon and to train as well.*

Natsu Acquired 2000 PokéDollars, 5 PokéBalls and a Rattata.