I do not own pokemon, or any characters in this story, save Natsu, Note, and Minami. This story is purely fictional.

"Dad! What happened?" Brendan rushed over to the tree that Professor Birch was stuck in. A poochyena stood at the base of the trunk, snarling viciously. A boy with light brown hair that came to his shoulders had climbed even higher than the professor did. "Wait here! I'll go get my pokemon!" he shouted.

"No! Wait, Bre-" The professor stopped in midsentence once his son dissapeared out of sight. "My bag has pokeballs..."

The boy groaned, "How long do you think it'll take him to run there and back?"

The professor gave him a worried look, "I don't think this tiny tree can hold the both of us much longer. HELP! Note-kun! Keep shouting, maybe someone else will come sooner."

"Hel-, wait, hey! Kid, no! Don't poke him!" Note shouted frantically. Natsu had been there the entire time and was about to jab the poochyena in the tail with a long branch she'd found somewhere. The poochyena, startled by the sound of the branch being dropped, spun around and began chasing Natsu.

"Kid! In the bag on the ground are a few pokeballs! Throw one to open it and use the pokedexes-the small red device-to read its attacks! Hurry!" shouted the professor. The poochyena had soon grown bored of the chase and returned to guarding the tree before either of them had time to scurry down. Natsu nodded and unzipped the bag, searching its pockets before pulling out a great ball.

The professor's eyes flashed in alarm, "No, wait, not that one!" Too late. The red beam hit the ground and materialized into a small, blue animal with orange cheeks. The small pokemon began to wail at its unfamilar surroundings and a wave of water crashed down, soaking everything in front of it, including Professor Birch and Note. Natsu stood behind the mudkip, having circled around it as soon as she saw the wave and was holding a pokedex, stunned. "Su-sugoi..."

The professor and Note began coughing out water and even though the unintentional Surf attack hit them too, the poochyena was gone, swept away. The two quickly climbed down, shaking their heads. "Child, I'm thankful for the rescue, but you've just taken up a huge burden there...What's your name?"

"K-kurogane Natsu," she stuttered, still clutching the pokedex tightly. "I-I just moved to Littleroot..."

"Ah, you're the new neighbor," commented Professor Birch.

Brendan finally reappeared, out of breath and holding a pokeball, 'I-I got the-" He looked up and groaned, "Oh no, the mudkip, don't tell me-"

"Yeah," sighed Note. "The new kid opened it."

"Natsu-chan, this isn't a good place to discuss your new, um, problem. Follow me to my lab." Professor Birch nodded, "Take the mudkip too" He slung his bag over his shoulder and handed the great ball to Natsu.

--

Birch sighed and set down the bag, pulling out chairs for Natsu, Note and Brendan. "Note-kun and Brendan-kun should already know what has happened. Natsu-chan, as you may or may not know, the pokemon sitting besides you is known as a Mudkip. This one is a newborn, and your the first person it's seen since birth, so from here on, you'll be its trainer and you'll have to act like his mother. Here's the complicated bit. That mudkip, is the child of a rogue swampert that has been frequenting this area for the past year. We recently sent it to Ever Grande city, hoping one of the trainers there might be able to tame the swampert, or train it, then set it free again. What we did not know was that it was a female."

He sighed, "The egg of the mudkip was found around a week later by Note. We confirmed that it would hatch relatively soon, before it could reach its mother, and we planned on Note being the first to see it, since he found it. Note then would travel to Ever Grande City and return the mudkip while trying to raise it as best as he could during the time in between. Unfortunately, Note-kun was called back to Petalburg by his father for a little while and the egg hatched during that time. We managed to catch it in a pokeball before it opened its eyes. I was running to Oldale, hoping to meet him there, but as he arrived, a pack of poochyena ambushed us and chased us up a tree, leaving one behind as a guard. That's where you and Brendan-kun come in, Natsu-chan. I'm afraid you'll have to take over Note's duties. Of course, he'll accompany you and help any way he can."

Natsu sat silently, staring at the professor with a determined look, as if she was still processing the information, then cried out quietly, "Oh!"

"But, Natsu's not even a trainer yet! Natsu's just moved to Hoenn from Kanto! Natsu's only heard about you and the pokemon here...Natsu don't even know him! " Natsu pointed to Note.

Note put his hands up, "Hey, hey, who's 'him'? My name is Note okay?"

Professor Birch smiled sheepishly, "I know it's a bit too much to ask of you, but think of the poor mudkip. Ripped away from his real mother, then abandoned by his foster parent? I'd send Brendan with you since you two know each other a little, but he's just started out as a trainer recently too, unlike Note who has been battling ever since he was able to speak and call out attacks. His experience will help you greatly."

Again, Natsu waited for a few moments before replying, "Shou,"

"What?"

"His name will be Shou."

--

"Augh, geez, this is some mess you've gotten us into kid," said Note.

"It wasn't Natsu's fault. Note-kun was the one who failed to win against poochyena." countered Natsu. She left the lab with the mudkip in her arms and began heading home.

"By the way, where do you live? Even though Littleroot's kinda small, I still get lost sometimes."

Natsu pointed at the tiny purpley-tan house. It was hard to notice with all the trees and bushed planted around it. Only a trail of stone steps marked the way through the greenery to the door.

"Hm? You live in that old thing. I've been here occasionally to play with Brendan when we were kids, but no one's lived in here for years. You might want to consider cleaning up the yard. If the grass grows too tall, pokemon will start hiding in it. Causes hygiene and food problems. Hurry and pack enough for you and Shou. We'll be leaving at day break tomorrow. I'll stay with the Birches tonight. We'll stop by Oldale first, so you can buy food and potions at the Pokemart. I left my pokemon at the center there too."

Natsu nodded, "Natsu knows. Natsu will be out before you will."

Note grinned at the challenge, "We'll see about that..." He waited outside at the gate until Natsu closed the door before heading over the house at the other side of town and meeting Brendan at the door.

Brendan tried a half-hearted attempt at a whistle, then asked, "So, what do you think? Are you going to last having to travel with someone else?"

Note shrugged, "To tell you the truth, I'm still not entirely comfortable with this arrangement, but it's easier than trying to escape the fan club at home."

The other boy grinned as he opened the door, "I used to be jealous that you had girls following you when we were little, but now, I wouldn't give anything in the world for it. Is it really that bad?"

"Wanna try? I can't even get out of the house without being tackled."