Pokémon: Naturals
By: Akeno
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, U-Haul, or anything else protected by law that may appear in this fanfiction.
Author's Note: This story appears entirely in third person view, with limited omniscience on Terry (main character, Brendan with a different name). The basic story line comes from the Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire games, and I draw as little as I can from the Pokémon TV show. I hate the TV show. Names in this story will differ from names in the games ever so slightly, I've made the Pokémon battles a little more violent, and describe them graphically, and I've increased the distance between Hoenn's towns greatly. So it takes a few days to get to Oldale Town. Because of the greater distance between places, I've also changed the places where some major events take place. It wouldn't make sense to go battle May on route 103 if it would take days to get there. Character ages have been changed; May and Terry are both fourteen. Also note that this story is being published at the same time as my Harvest Moon fanfiction, entitled 'Friends of Mineral Town: The Beginning'. Please enjoy!
Chapter 1: The Journey Begins
Terry was angry. He was angry at many things. First, he was angry that his stupid father had forced him to move from Johto to Hoenn. Second, he was angry that his father never let him have a Pokémon of his own; not even a Magikarp. And lastly, he was angry at his mother for making him ride in the back of their U-Haul truck.
"'Keep all the boxes safe,' she says," he grumbled to himself, "'There are fragile things inside of them,' she says. Like the Machokes are going to care if the stuff is fragile!" he said loudly, hoping his mother could hear him in the cab of the truck. She couldn't, so he frowned, slammed his back against one of the towers of boxes, and sat down. Unfortunately, slamming the boxes made them wobble, and when he sat down, the top one fell on his head.
"Dang it! First the stupid drive takes forever, then we move to some tiny town in the middle of nowhere, instead of Petalburg where Dad actually works, and now a stupid box falls on my freakin' head! I wish I had a freakin' Pokémon!" He rubbed his head and began pacing inside the truck, even though there was a large sign on the left wall that said, 'No standing up while the truck is in motion.' He didn't really believe anything would happen. A few hours later, he found that he was wrong.
SCREEECH! The truck stopped, and Terry flew to the front of the truck, smashing his head on the wall. It hurt, and he groaned in pain. Some of the boxes fell, and he got a strange satisfaction from hearing something glass inside one of the boxes breaking. After a little while, the door to the back of the truck opened, and two Machokes jumped in. Terry was dumbstruck. They were so big…and they picked up the towers of boxes like they were all empty. He snapped out of it though, when he heard his mother's shrill voice.
"Terry! Come on out! We have to get ready!" He sighed, rubbed his head from where the box hit him and he hit the wall. It was still sore, but he knew better than to tell his mother. He jumped out of the truck and followed his mother to their house. Before he walked in, though, he took a look around their new home, Littleroot Town. It was small; very small. Fifty, maybe sixty houses in all, a large building off in the distance; the entire town was surrounded by a thick forest, which probably didn't allow for much expansion if forest Pokémon lived in it. His mother turned around and saw him checking out the town.
"Like it? It's our new home! Professor Birch, your father's friend, lives right next door to us, but spends most of his time at the big building over there." She ushered him inside, where the large Machokes were busy unpacking. "Terry, you should go check out your room. Oh, and here," she said, while handing him a blue wall clock, "Your dad bought you this to commemorate our move! It's all set up, so you should go hang it in you bedroom. Check to see if you like your bedroom, and maybe take a nap. It's the room right at the end of the hallway." Terry nodded and went upstairs. His room was nice. It had a rug, a bed, a PC, and a TV with his GameCube hooked up to it. He put his wall clock on the wall, went to his PC and withdrew the one potion he had in it, put it in his backpack, and yawned. Looking at the clock, it said 3:04 PM; but he had been in the back off a moving truck for hours. A nap would do him good. He took off his clothes and backpack, climbed into bed, and fell asleep.
When Terry woke up, the sun was shining bright. He got up, put on his clothes and backpack, and rubbed his eyes. The wall clock said 3:08 PM, but he knew he had slept more than four minutes, which could only mean he had been out for at least a day. He walked slowly down the hall and down the stairs, when he heard his mother yelling at him.
"Terry! Terry! Come quick!" He mumbled to himself something about people yelling too loud, but hurried downstairs. His mother was in front of the TV set waving frantically at him. He ran to her side and saw a woman in a blue suit with a microphone.
"We brought you this report from outside of the Petalburg Gym. All Hoenn would like to welcome our newest gym leader, Norman, and his family, who are staying in Littleroot Town! Thank you, and good day!"
Terry's mom frowned. "Well. They were interviewing your dad, but I guess we missed him. Sorry dear. Anyway, you must feel refreshed! You slept an entire day! You should go introduce yourself to Professor Birch." Terry nodded and walked outside. He turned to the house next to his, shoved his hands in his pockets, and began walking towards it. In front of the house, he raised his hands and knocked on the door. After awhile the door opened, and a middle-aged woman was looking down at him.
"Hello. Who might you be?" she asked kindly.
"Terry Yamato. I'm Norman Yamato's son," he said.
"Oh yes! My husband said that Norman was moving in yesterday. Well. Why don't you go introduce yourself to May? She's upstairs in her room." He nodded and walked sullenly up the stairs. It wasn't too hard to find May's room; the door had a pink sign on it that said, 'May's Room!' in bright letters. He knocked softly.
"Come on in!" It was a girl's voice. It was cheery and friendly. He opened the door softly. Despite the pink sign on the room's door, the room wasn't at all like Terry expected. It looked very plain; not a stereotypical girl's room at all. In fact, it looked just like Terry's, with the exception of a small Treecko doll in the middle of the floor. A girl, who he guessed was May, was at the PC. If he was a little more emotional, he might have blushed. She was cute; and her outfit didn't hurt her at all.
"All right! Pokémon log updated, Pokémon fully healed and…done!" She smiled, stood up, and stretched. Then, she saw him.
"Oh! Hi! Who are you? I'm May Birch!" She stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you!" Terry frowned, but took her hand and shook it.
"I'm Terry Yamato. Norman's son." He let go of her hand, and stayed silent, not knowing what to do next. May, however, didn't seem to notice his silence; probably because she kept talking.
"Wow! A real gym leader's son? That must be cool! I don't really want to be a gym leader; I'd rather just be a trainer. But being a gym leader's son must be fun! I heard you didn't have a Pokémon, but if you're lucky, maybe you can get one from my dad!" She fell silent for a second, but kept looking at his hair. She obviously had a question, and Terry knew what it was; but he was tired of people asking him, so he decided not to say anything. Finally, she asked it. "Is your hair naturally white?"
"I dye it," he said simply. She giggled.
"It's pretty cool. Oh! I completely forgot! I have to go help my dad catch some Pokémon!" She picked up her backpack, and Terry took it as his sign to leave. While May ran down the stairs, he walked slowly down them. After waving goodbye to Mrs. Birch, he walked outside and sighed. He didn't want to go home yet; if he was going to spend the rest of his life in Littleroot Town, he might as well get acquainted with it. After walking around a bit, he was downright bored. The Johto Region had been exciting and fun; Hoenn just showed all the signs of reeking. He was just about to give up when he found a little path outside of the town. He smiled and began walking down it. After awhile, he became bored again. He sighed and began walking back when he heard a cry.
"Help! Please, somebody help me! Please!" Terry frowned, adjusted his backpack, and began running in the direction the cry came from. After awhile, he came upon a startling sight. A large man, late-thirties probably, was holding a stick with his back against a tree. A small, dog-like Pokémon, which Terry recognized as a Poochyena, was growling at him. The large man looked up at Terry and shouted.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Terry Yamato!" Terry replied, while trying to figure out how he could help this man.
"Norman's son? Good! I'm Professor Birch! Please! See that bag over there?" Professor Birch pointed at bag thrown haphazardly off to a side. Terry nodded. "There are some Pokémon in there! Pick one and help me!" Terry ran over to the bag, shoved his hand inside, and picked a Poké Ball. Then, he threw the Poké Ball at the Poochyena. It hit the Poochyena on the head, bounced off, and opened. Out flew a Torchic. The Torchic chirped a bit, obviously waiting for its instructions. The Poochyena, however, needed no such instructions. He charged at the unsuspecting Torchic, and used the Tackle attack on him, slamming him into the ground. Terry winced.
"Prof. Birch, what do I do?" He yelled as the Poochyena backed up for another attack. Prof. Birch looked at him.
"Try an attack! Try Scratch!" The Professor suggested. Terry nodded.
"Torchic! Scratch attack him!" The Torchic chirped in agreement and charged at the Poochyena with his talons outstretched. The Poochyena, however, evaded easily, and slammed Torchic into a tree with a sickening thud. Terry winced again.
"Torchic! Keep using Scratch on him!" Torchic ran in to attack the Poochyena, but each time the Poochyena evaded and slammed Torchic down. Each time, Torchic fell with a thud. I got to him. The pressure. The yelps of pain as Torchic took each blow without giving up. Professor Birch yelling suggestions to him. Terry fell to his knees and bent over. He felt sick. He couldn't take it. And then, suddenly, instantly, he could. He looked up. The feeling of sickness was gone. His head felt as if it was on fire. The Poochyena's movements were slow and jerky, while his Torchic's were smooth and sleek. He stood up, and knew what to do.
"Torchic. Front flip over the Poochyena and kick him from behind." Terry's voice had an air of coldness; he wasn't himself anymore. He was calculating, and had total confidence that his order would work. Torchic flipped easily over the Poochyena, and while he was startled, landed a swift, strong kick to his back. The Poochyena fell forward, but didn't give up. He turned around and ran toward Torchic, and at the last moment, jumped up, preparing to attack from above, with teeth bared and claws extended. But this new turn of events didn't stop Terry.
"Duck and run beneath him; then Scratch." Torchic obeyed, and the Poochyena whimpered. The Poochyena was obviously angry. He ran forward and ducked down, biting hard on Torchic's leg. Torchic yelped in pain, as the blood came freely from the wound on his leg. Terry didn't flinch this time; instead he ran up and gave Torchic the potion Terry had put in his backpack. As Torchic drank it down, the wound on his leg began to heal, and once the potion was empty, Torchic could stand. Terry turned just as the Poochyena came running again. He must have thought that what worked one time would work again. He was wrong.
"Torchic. Forget elegant flairs, jump up and Scratch the Poochyena's face." Torchic did it, and the Poochyena yelped as blood trickled down his face. He whimpered, but got back up and came charging again.
"Jump to the side and slam your beak into his flank," Terry ordered. He was done playing games with the Poochyena. He would finish it off. The Poochyena would give up, or he would not fight for a long time. The Poochyena fell on its back as the blood matted his fur. He tried to growl, but couldn't. The pain would only allow for a small, frightened whimper. The Poochyena pulled himself to his feet, and limped away, whimpering every few feet. Terry bent down and picked up Torchic's Poké Ball.
"Torchic. You did a good job." He clicked the Poké Ball's large white button, and the Torchic was sucked back inside the Poké Ball. Terry looked at the Poké Ball with a good feeling. And then, it all went away. His head was no longer on fire; it was cold with sweat. Time seemed to slow down, and he felt sick again. He fell to the ground, and could hear Prof. Birch's voice, but it sounded slow and distant. Just before he fainted, he threw up.
When he woke up later, he was in a white room. Professor Birch was sitting in the corner sipping some tea. Terry sat up. He felt strange; or good. It was strange because he knew he had just thrown up and fainted, and he knew he should feel sick to some degree; but he didn't. He felt perfectly normal.
"I see you're awake," Professor Birch said calmly. He seemed to want to say something, so Terry kept quiet. "I bet you're wondering why you don't feel sick; after all, you just threw up a few hours ago." Terry nodded. "Well, there is a reason for that." Professor Birch was quiet for a moment. "You see, you aren't sick. You weren't sick, and hopefully you won't be sick in the future. In the last four years, the worst sickness you've had was the common cold, and that wasn't even too serious. In short, your recent display of vomit had nothing to do with any illness." Terry frowned. That was good to know, but it didn't really answer anything. "You see, the reason why you threw up, was because of the Pokémon battle earlier this afternoon." Now Terry was worried. Did this mean he was allergic to Pokémon? Would he never get a Pokémon to play with? "Tell me Terry. Did you experience anything…strange during your battle with the wild Poochyena?" Terry thought back.
"Well, now that you mention it. I felt like my head was on fire. Also, the Poochyena was moving very slowly and jerkily; and the Torchic was moving quickly and smoothly," Terry replied. That was out of the ordinary, but he didn't know why it was such a big deal. "Oh, and I felt like everything I told Torchic to do was going to work." Professor Birch nodded.
"That proves it." He was quiet for awhile again, and Terry wished that he would get to the point. "You are not a normal Pokémon Trainer," Prof. Birch said simply. And then he sipped his tea again. Terry couldn't believe it. That's it? He thought. That's all? 'You are not a normal Pokémon Trainer'? What is that? Professor Birch stood up, obviously for an added effect. "You are a Natural." Terry frowned, not knowing what that meant. "You see, normal Pokémon Trainers think about their battles. They are always changing strategies, always uncertain. They never know if their attacks will work or not. They are always spending late nights checking books and their Pokédex for new information of different Pokémons' attack patterns. You are not like that. You were confident. Even though you hadn't ever fought a Pokémon battle before, you knew you could win. You are a natural Pokémon Trainer. You are a Natural." He paused to let Terry soak this new information in. After what he deemed a satisfactory pause, he continued. "Your strategies work. You can connect with your Pokémon. You have the ability to subconsciously know what will win Pokémon Battles. Naturals are rare. They are born, not made. You could be a Natural your entire life and not realize it; because most Naturals don't feel any different when they battle. You will find that the opponents Pokémon's movements won't always seem jerky; the Poochyena's movements were jerky only because it was weak. And your head will continue to feel hot for awhile, but you will get used to that as well, even to the point where you don't notice it anymore. This, however, does not mean you are not strong. You are a Natural, and because you are, the have abilities that normal Pokémon Trainers can only dream of attaining. You see, you were not born to fight Pokémon Battles; you were born to win Pokémon Battles." Terry became excited.
"Does this mean…does this mean that I'll never lose a Pokémon Battle?" Terry felt almost faint. If he could never lose…he could be champion of the Pokémon League!
"No. As you will remember, the wild Poochyena did manage to bite Torchic's leg; and before that he was slamming Torchic around. You will lose; but not often. You have the potential to go places. You have the potential to get to the Pokémon League." Professor Birch caught the gleam in Terry's eye. "I'm not saying you'll be champion though; many people who reach the League are Naturals as well. And just because you have great potential doesn't mean that you're any better or any stronger than normal Pokémon Trainers; after all, Norman has given away his fair share of Gym Badges to normal Pokémon Trainers." Terry couldn't believe his ears.
"My dad…is a Natural?" he managed to say.
"Yes. Of course, being a Natural isn't hereditary, so he didn't know if you would have the ability. Now, I've had a chat with Norman and your mother while you were out cold, and they both agree that your vomiting directly following your match with the wild Poochyena is due to the fact that you had not experienced such power before. They also agree that you should not waste this talent that you have. They think that if you're a Natural, you should make the best of it. So, if you so desire, you may join the Pokémon League."
"What? Yes! Yes, please sir!" Terry almost yelled. Was this really happening? Was he joining the Hoenn League? Professor Birch smiled.
"Norman believed you would respond that way. Alright," he said, pulling out a Poké Ball and a Pokédex. "This is your Pokédex. It will give you information on all Pokémon you have seen or caught; including height, weight, social behavior, attacks; whatever you could possibly want to know. But not on Pokémon you haven't seen yet. This Poké Ball contains Torchic; to be more specific, the Torchic you fought with today. Seeing how you already have battle experience with him, I believe he will make an excellent partner." Terry took the Pokédex and Poké Ball in his hands. Professor Birch nodded. "Now, please wait here while I submit you to the Pokémon League." Terry nodded absentmindedly and turned on the Pokédex while Professor Birch left. A small screen lit up with a scroll down list of all the Pokémon he had seen/caught. He looked up Torchic and read the article out loud.
"Torchic is a small, orange Pokémon. It is of the fire type, but, due to its bird-like appearance, can also attack like a bird. But, while it maintains the ability of flying-type moves for its entire evolutionary path, when it does evolve, it begins to look less like a bird and more like a fighter, which may account for its fighting-type moves. The Torchic is small, and loves to be taken care of. If you treat it well, it can become very strong. It is also one of the three choices for new Hoenn Trainers, the other two being Mudkip and Treecko, water- and grass-types respectively."
"Fascinating device, isn't it?" Terry looked up and saw Professor Birch standing in the doorway. "A professor in the Kanto Region, Professor Oak, invented them. Well, you are now officially in the Pokémon League's databases. You are a Hoenn Pokémon Trainer now!" Terry could hardly contain his excitement. He got out of the bed and stretched, then put his Pokédex in his pocket and put away the Poké Ball which contained Torchic.
"What to I do now? Should I go to Oldale Town?" Terry asked.
"No…not yet. I want you to do a little favor for me. You see, my kid, May, is a Pokémon Trainer; a normal one. And, although I know you're just starting out, and you don't really know how to use your skills as a Natural…I'd like you to battle her. It'd be a great experience for both you and her." Terry nodded in agreement and followed Professor Birch down a few winding hallways, wondering where they were going. Suddenly, they came to a large, steel door. Prof. Birch put his hand on a little pad, and it was scanned.
"Personnel recognized. Professor Birch. Please have a nice day." Professor Birch smiled as the door hissed open. Terry stared at what was on the other side in amazement. It was a large, green field. It was obviously a stadium, but the entire thing was covered in grass. An artificial wind was blowing. Terry couldn't believe it.
"Welcome to the Pokémon Laboratory Stadium. All the latest technology; we installed it a few years ago, and May comes here to practice," Professor Birch said. Terry nodded. Professor Birch smiled. "I see you like it. Well, I'll be over there watching the outcome of this little encounter," he said, pointing at a bench over at one side of the stadium. Terry looked around and saw May, standing on the other side of the field and smiling. She was looking very good, Terry noticed, cuter than when he saw her in her room, but he pushed that thought away. He had just become a new Pokémon Trainer; he had to win this fight to prove that he could take on the Elite Four themselves. His hand reached for the Poké Ball at his side.
"Well, hello Terry! You know, I was here when you were still out cold. My dad told me that you're a Natural; not only that, but that your starter Pokémon is a Torchic. Well, mine is a Treecko. Grass-type, you know, so you'll have the advantage. And you're a Natural; but I don't care! If anything, this'll be an interesting match. I just hope we can still be friends after I beat you!" Her hand went to her side, and she threw her Poké Ball out. "Go! Treecko! Knock him dead!" Terry smiled.
"Sure, May. We can be friends. That is, if you still want to be friends; because I'm not going to lose!" he said, his hand grabbing the Poké Ball and throwing it with conviction. "Go, Torchic! We can do this!"