New Beginnings - A Pokemon Slice of Life. [OC/Isekai/Move Tutor/Breeder] - Chapter 43

“One more time Shuckle! Then, you’re free to collect the berries!” Ethan shouted with cupped hands, as Shuckle gave him a resolute nod.

They were just finishing up their training, and for Shuckle, it was him using Power Split against Chansey. Chansey was one of the weakest physically attacking pokemon, so Ethan was hoping that Shuckle could get a feel for how strong an opponent was when he used to the move. The wider range of experience he had, the better he could judge how much stronger he got, and how much weaker his foe became.

Two small white orbs exited the pokemon, with Chansey’s being a slightly larger than Shuckles. Both orbs rocketed toward one another, colliding and combining into two equally sized orbs, which re-entered each pokemon. Chansey barely noticed the difference and was more than happy to clap in support of Shuckle’s successful move.

“Great job buddy! Remember, no-matter how weak you are when it comes to dealing damage, this move will even the odds. You have the potential to be the strongest pokemon in the world, you just need to believe in yourself like I believe in you. Now, go have fun with your berries.”

“Shuuuuckle!” Without wasting any time, Shuckle left to head toward the berry fields. He’d been waiting all day to collect the berries, and with Ethan mentioning trying different types of berries for his juice, Shuckle was on a mission.

Looking over to Chansey, Ethan gave her a smile. “Thank you for your help. He’s still very scared of battles.”

“Chansey!” Chansey waved away his thanks, then waddled over and walked down the cobblestone path back toward his home.

“♫ Chaa-tooot! ♫” Chatot fluttered her way down from the sky, landing into the center of the training field with her metronome in her beak. She placed it down, then pushed the pendulum, causing it to tick.

Ethan sighed but gave her a smile. “Alright, singing time. You wanted a new song?”

“♫ Chaa-toooooooooooooot! ♫”

Ethan took a seat onto the ground and patted his lap. Chatot eagerly hopped over and hopped into it. He idly stroked her feathers as he thought about a new song for her to enjoy. She loved music, which wasn’t a surprise, but she was hankering for something new. She’d been getting better at the Star Spangled Banner, but working on one song wasn’t the best way to train. She needed to adapt.

As he looked at his eager, colorful bird’s blue feathers, a song came to mind.

Although Ethan wasn’t the best at singing, he wasn’t terrible—he was strictly average. There also wasn’t a need to feel embarrassed around his pokemon. So, Ethan stared into the bright blue sky as she started his rendition of Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. It would have been better if he had a ukulele or guitar, and even better if he knew how to play them, but he worked with what he had, and that was his voice.

As he sang, Ethan’s thoughts drifted back to earlier in the day, where some of his dreams did come true. Then, they traveled back farther to when he was alone in the forest. At the time, he didn’t think that appearing here was much of a blessing. Now? Now, he was happy to have appeared here. It truly was a dream come true. Who would say no to appearing in the world of pokemon?

Right after Ethan had started singing, having gotten lost in the moment, Chatot had stilled. Her excited tail swinging, which was in tune with the metronome, stopped. Chatot ceased wiggling and moving—everything. She just stared. Unbeknownst to Ethan, she gazed up at him from within his lap and just listened. Being a pokemon about music, she could hear the emotion in this song, and she began to understand a little bit more about her trainer.

When he finished, he was still gazing up into the sky, watching the clouds pass by. Then, he felt Chatot shove her head into his chest and wrap her wings around his waist, giving him a hug. He wrapped an arm around her and gave her a squeeze in return. “Work on that song. Remember, you don’t have to use my voice. You have a voice of your own somewhere. You just have to find it.”

“Ted?”
“Teddi?”

Tearing his gaze away from the sky, Ethan saw that he had inadvertently gotten an audience. Both Teddiursa stood by their mom’s feet, paws cutely stuck into the mouth as they looked on with tilted heads. Ursaring stood unmoving, but stared calculatingly at Ethan.

“Well, this is awkward. Hello there.” Ethan said as he rose from the ground holding Chatot in his arms. “Perfect timing, actually.” Ethan whispered to Chatot, then she pecked his cheek and flew off toward his home.

Ethan looked in askance at the two Teddiursa, a raised eyebrow and a grin growing on his face. “Well? Where’s my hug?”

The two Teddiursa let loose ferociously cute ‘rawrs’ as they charged forward and tackled him to the ground. They, like always, rooted around in his pockets for any hidden berry treats, finding them tucked away in their usual spots, then squealed as Ethan grabbed them both with one arm each, and wrestled with them.

Ursaring snorted, then plomped herself down onto the ground, watching them play, but also scanning their surroundings. Ethan caught her scanning about and uttered out his reassurance with a mouthful of Teddiursa fur in the way. “Only one person is on the ranch, and I guarantee they are not a threat. It’s safe.”

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After a minute of wrestling, with Ethan losing the handicap wrestling match, Ursaring stood abruptly, shock clear on her face. “Urs!”

Both Teddiursa quickly abandoned Ethan’s side, rushing to their mother and standing behind her.

Nurse Joy walked out from between two of his berry trees with a smile on her face. Not one ounce of fear was shown as she walked up to Ethan. Chatot was on her shoulder, and Pikachu rested on her head, one eye peeking open, keeping an eye on Ursaring.

Ethan got up from the ground, wiping the dirt off his clothes as Nurse Joy arrived by his side. She looked at Ursaring, whose face was still showing shock. “I think that answers my question. She knows who I am, or who my family is. She had a trainer.”

This knowledge didn’t really affect the way Ethan saw Ursaring. It only answered why the pokeball had been smashed and why she was so protective over her children. “And? She was someone’s pokemon once upon a time. That doesn’t change much, right?”

Joyce stared at Ursaring unflinchingly and with a stale smile. “No. I suppose not. I’ll need to make some calls. That’s about it.”

The weird vibe suffusing his training ground was getting slightly uncomfortable, so Ethan quickly changed topics. “Well, Ursaring, Nurse Joy is the one who’s going to check over your Teddiursa and have them registered to me. She can make sure they’re in tip-top shape. You okay with that?”

Ursaring’s face morphed from shock, to frustration, to sadness, then to acceptance. Which, in and of itself, was concerning. Momma bear nodded slowly, shoving the two Teddiursa forward with a gruff murmur. Both of the two teddy bear pokemon looked unsure, looking from their mom to Ethan, then to Joyce, but with some encouraging smiles sent their way, they sheepishly walked forward.

Joyce grabbed each of them by the hand, then started to walk back to Ethan’s home. He could hear her whispering encouragement and compliments to them as they walked away, but both of the Teddiursa looked over their shoulders to look at Ethan and Ursaring.

Once they were out of sight, Ethan sighed and walked over to Ursaring. He wrapped an arm around her, giving her a one-armed hug. She seemed off put by the sudden intimate touch, judging by her shimmy, but Ethan’s very direct question caused those feelings to evaporate. “Did you love your old trainer?”

In the wake of his question, all that remained was silence. After a few seconds, Ursaring gave him a simple, terse nod.

“They’re not with us anymore, are they?” Ethan said softly, giving her a squeeze around the waist.

He didn’t receive an answer, so he continued. “That’s the only reason I can think of. You wouldn’t have loved them otherwise. I don’t know who they were, but they loved you as well. I know this, because I love my pokemon. If I were to leave them, or they would leave me, the one thing that would not be in question is the love and bond we had.”

Ethan stood there with his arm wrapped around one of the strongest pokemon he’d ever met, but he knew he wasn’t in danger. Over the past year, he’d come to know Ursaring. She never showed too much emotion towards him, other than indifference, but the emotions she showed every single waking moment of her life was care, love, and protection—for her children.

“You know, you could stay at the ranch with me. Teddiura could play with the pokemon around here. You could be a part of this place.” Ethan said, again, not receiving an answer.

Ursaring slowly shifted her eyes down toward Ethan, as she stood a head taller than him, and he looked up, staring into her eyes to show he was serious. “I’d trust you around my pokemon.”

Without taking her eyes off Ethan, Ursaring lowered her hand, grabbing Ethan’s and took it off her waist. She turned, then walked off back into the forest without a word.

It didn’t take a genius to know she’d be back for her kids, but maybe she needed a little alone time. This definitely wasn’t how she expected her day to go, but Ethan felt like she needed to hear his offer. He’d be more than happy with Usraring staying around. For one, he’d get to spend time with both Teddiursa, and she’d also be some much needed muscle in case the worst came to pass.

Being the alpha pokemon of this part of the Eterna Forest must have some weight, and if she left, another pokemon would take her place. She had a lot to think about, but he hoped she would stay around.

Ethan made his way back home, finding Joyce outside on his patio with both Teddiursa. She was doing some simple tests, feeling around their muscles and looking into their mouths. Both of the Teddiursa didn’t seem to particularly enjoy the treatment, but they weren’t too bothered about it. They were ready to get this over with and go play around the ranch.

As Ethan approached, both of the teddi’s squirmed in anticipation for more playtime. Nurse Joy sighed with a smile, and gave him an exasperated look. Ethan walked up onto the patio and rubbed their heads. “Your mom went into the forest to take care of something. She’ll be back later. So, until she returns… playtime!”

“Tedddddd!”
“TEEEEED!”

Both of the Teddiursa scrambled off his patio, one chasing the other, as they sprinted, rammed, and tackled one another. Pachirisu surged forth, from out of the Oddish, and joined in with a mighty battlecry! A grin spread on his face as tiny surges of electricity jolted from his yellow cheeks. “Paaaaaaach!

This wasn’t the first time Pachirisu had joined in on the fun, but it had been a long time since he felt the need or been around. Ethan walked back inside his home with Joyce, leaving the pokemon to play.

Sitting at his kitchen table, Smeargle held a snoozing Emolga in his lap as he used the laptop. Ethan blinked rapidly, not expecting the pokemon to be capable of the feat, but he didn’t have much time to think as Smeargle hurriedly waved him over. The painter pokemon smiled as he turned the laptop around, showing several pages of an online store filled with art supplies. The total price of the basket being about the cost of a single tutoring session—fifty thousand pokedollars. It had paints, brushes, canvas, and other tools known for painting.

“Uhh. That’s pretty expensive, and we don’t exactly get shipping here.” Ethan tried to let down the painter easy, but Smeargle shook his head and pointed into the living room.

Hung up on the wall, next to the couch, a near perfect snapshot of Ethan holding Emolga in his arms. Around the sides of the painting, all of his pokemon stood watching on. Smeargle looked smug, then pointed to the laptop once again, as if saying ‘payment is due’.

Ethan closed his eyes and pinched his nose. “I’ll tell you what. If you finish learning Teleport, I’ll buy all of this for you. That way, we can actually go and get them. You’ve been to Eterna City before, right?”

Smeargle nodded happily, then pointed questionably toward Nurse Joy, who sat on the couch petting her Pikachu. “Joyce, do any of your pokemon know Teleport?”

“Cleffy does, why?”

“Smeargle needs to Sketch some more to learn it.”

Nurse Joy shrugged. “Go ask her to help out, don’t ask me.”

Ethan looked at Smeargle. “You heard her. Go make a deal with someone else now.”