"When does my Eevee learn Hyper Beam?" Matthew asked.
"What?" Michael responded, stunned he would even get such a
question.
"Should I groom my Eevee every day to let it's fur grow out?"
Addison asked.
"Well-"
"Which Pokémon is the most powerful?" Ryan eagerly asked his
cousin.
"ONE AT A TIME!" Michael yelled, prompting the three to quiet
themselves. Seeing their timid expressions, he sighed. "Sorry. I don't
think I'm cut out for this whole 'teaching' thing. I'll do the best I can to
let you three go out into the world without being completely dense."
He turned to Matthew. "Your Eevee will never learn Hyper Beam.
That's a move only fully evolved Pokémon and Dragon Pokémon
can learn." He then faced Addison. "Piper Pines usually grooms her
Pokémon twice a day, once at morning and once at night." Lastly, he
turned to Ryan. "The most powerful Pokémon is the one who has the
deepest bond with its trainer. So, technically, a Pikachu can be just
as powerful as a Dragonite."
"But what about-" the three all began to ask, but Michael cut them
off.
"As much as I would like to answer every last question you three
have" Michael explained, "all four of us are on a relatively tight
schedule. So, while I will teach you some things, the rest you guys
are gonna have to learn on your own." He turned towards the small
field of grass near where they were standing. "Now, of all the things
that trainers do with their Pokémon, the two most common are
Catching Wild Pokémon and Battling other Pokémon."
"Can we catch another trainer's Pokémon?" Matthew asked.
"No" Michael told his cousin. "I'm pretty sure you got taught as a little
boy that stealing is against the law."
"Oh" Matthew responded, lowering his head.
"Wild Pokémon, however, are fair game." He glanced out of the
corner of his eye and saw a long brown and vanilla colored creature
dart in and out of the grass in zig zagged patterns. "Ah, perfect. A
Zigzagoon." He turned towards the kids. "Now, there are two ways
you can catch a Pokémon in the wild. One, is by simply lobbing a
Poké Ball at them. If you're lucky, you'll catch it. Otherwise, you'll
have to battle the Pokémon with your own and wear it down." He
turned towards the Zigzagoon and pulled a Poké Ball out of his
pocket. He lobbed the Poké Ball at the Zigzagoon and it snared the
Pokémon immediately. The Zigzagoon didn't react in time and thus
disappeared within the ball. Ryan was about to cheer, but Michael
stopped him.
"But you said-"
"Not yet" Michael explained. "Poké Balls aren't guaranteed catches."
The four waited until the Poké Ball wiggled three times and then
finally secured the capture. "There you go." He took the Poké Ball
into his hand and turned towards the others. "It's that easy. Choose
which way will work the best for you and make the catch. Now, who
wants to go first?"
Matthew rushed in front. "I'll do it."
"By all means, Matt" Michael told his cousin. "Look for a Pokémon in
the grass." Matthew scanned the whole meadow for a Pokémon to
appear, but none seemed to be showing themselves. The boy was
about to give up his chance when another bipedal Pokémon walked
out into the field and looked directly at him. The Pokemon seemed
raring for a fight.
"Look at this guy! He's pretty tough."
"A Tyrogue?" Michael asked aloud. "Well, it's a start. Matt, you're
up." He handed his cousin a Pokemon Ball. "Make sure your throw is
on the money, or else it may run off."
Matthew took the Poké Ball and glared at the Tyrogue. "Okay,
Tyrogue, prepare to be caught." He hurled the Poké Ball at the Wild
Pokémon, who simply punched the ball back towards Matthew at
double the speed. The ball hit Matthew in the head and he fell to the
ground.
Michael burst out into laughter. "I think that one's a little too tough for
you, buddy."
Ryan and Addison joined in on the laughter. "Yeah" Matthew's
brother warned him. "Maybe you should damage it first."
Embarrassed and frustrated, Matthew grabbed another Pokémon
Ball from his pocket. "Alright, fine then. You asked for it, Tyrogue.
Go, Eevee!" He hurled the Poké Ball forward and his Eevee sprung
out of it. Without waiting for his trainer's instructions, the Eevee
tackled the Tyrogue and pinned it on the ground. The Fighting Type
Pokémon struggled to free itself, but couldn't move the Eevee off of
it. Once more, Matthew picked up the empty Pokémon Ball and
hurled it at the Tyrogue. As if it knew what his trainer was going to
do, the Eevee jumped off of the pinned Tyrogue and watched as the
Pokémon Ball snared it and within three wiggles, the Tyrogue was
secured.
Matthew picked up his second captured Pokémon and turned
towards the others. "Easy."
Michael nodded. "Good work, Matt. Tyrogue is a tricky Pokémon,
though. They say that when it evolves, it eventually becomes
whatever's strengths in battle are. Raise it well.
Matthew gave his cousin a thumbs up. "No problem."
Michael turned his attention to Addison. "How about you next,
Addy?"
Addison thought for a moment and then turned to Ryan. "You let me
pick my Eevee out first. I'll let you get the next Wild Pokémon. Sound
fair?"
Ryan was surprised. "Really? Thanks Addy. You're the best."
Michael eyed Ryan. "Remember, you may need to send your Eevee
out to battle a Pokémon first."
Ryan placed his Eevee on the ground in front of him. "Go on, buddy.
Try and sniff out a Pokémon."
The Eevee at first looked puzzled, but turned and began to crawl
around in the grass. As he vanished into the grass, a small shadow
flew above their heads. A small Flying Pokémon with brown colored
feathers landed and began to shake it's feathers.
"There's one" Ryan called out.
"A Pidgey" Michael remarked. "Good luck pinning it down." He
offered the boy a Poké Ball, as he had his brother. But the moment
Ryan took the ball in his hands, the Pidgey squawked loudly and
dove into the bushes. The Flying Pokémon was now in full pursuit of
Ryan's Eevee. The Eevee frantically ran out of the grass and
towards his trainer. Desperate to save his Eevee, Ryan hurled the
Poké Ball at the attacking Pidgey. The Pidgey tried to dodge the
throw, but it was easily plucked from the air and snared. As the Poke
Ball wiggled, Eevee emerged from his hiding place in Ryan's
shadows. When the Poké Ball finally stopped and secured Ryan his
Pidgey, Michael looked over the Eevee. "I guess battling isn't this
one's forte."
The Eevee looked sheepishly up at Ryan. Ryan scooped the Eevee
into his arms. "Maybe he is. Maybe he just needs to learn what it
means to battle."
"You may be waiting for a while with that one" Matthew snickered.
"Nevertheless" Michael interrupted, handing Ryan his captured
Pidgey's Poké Ball, "it's still a successful catch. Well done, Ryan.
Take good care of this one, Ryan. Pidgeys can be fiercely loyal to
Pokémon Trainers who take care of them."
"I will" Ryan proclaimed. "I promise."
"I guess it's my turn" Addison chimed in, taking a Poké Ball from
Michael and walking past the boys and looking out into the field. She
waited patiently for a minute before throwing the Poké Ball in a
direction and snagging a Pokémon as if she were a pro at it. She
turned back to the boys, who's jaws may as well have been on the
ground.
"Wow" Ryan said, too flabbergasted to say anything else of
substance.
"She's amazing" Matthew said admiringly.
"Her father is the Safari Zone Warden" Michael reminded the twins.
"I expected nothing less from you, Addy. What did you catch?"
"It was this weird purple ball" Addison explained. "I think I've seen
them at my Dad's work."
"Weird purple ball?" Michael repeated, thinking to himself. "Weird
purple-wait, did it have antennae?"
"I think so" she replied.