Ch 2 Professor Oak
Ash sighed as he stared at Professor Oak's lab at the bottom of the hill. Upon learning that he wanted to be a Pokemon trainer Lance contacted Oak and he agreed to teach Ash some things. Now to get back home he figured being a Pokemon trainer would be the best. But to do so he needed to first complete a test and then get his license. He would be tested on his general knowledge of Pokemon and survival and first aid. Sadly, enough people die while going on their Pokemon journey that this has to be a thing in the first place. He wasn't sure what was going to happen when he got back home but by that time he might be way older. Perhaps his appearance would change so much that no one would recognize him. He might also have a complete mastery of the Gomu Gomu no mi as well.
"Might as well get this over with" Ash said to himself as he walked up the stairs. Eventually, he got to the top and rang the doorbell as he arrived.
"Coming" He heard a voice yell inside. Ash heard footsteps arriving at the door and then a click and the door started to slowly open. The door doesn't open all the way but just enough for an older man with greying hair and a white lab coat.
"Hello, may I inquire as to your name?" Professor Oak asked.
"My name is Ash Ketchum?" Ash answered.
"Ah, Ash welcome my name is Professor Oak. Lance tells me you want to be a Pokemon trainer" Oak says.
"Yes," Ash promptly answers.
"Well then it's rare for him to do this but I guess we will see if you have what it takes, follow me" Oak motions for Ash to follow him inside as he fully opens the door for Ash.
"Why do you say that about Lance?" Ash asks.
"Because many see him as the next champion of Kanto" Oak explains.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ash was even more confused.
"Do you even know what being a champion means?" Oak asked.
"I'm a foreigner where Pokemon battles are illegal" Ash defends himself.
"Ah I see well being a Pokemon champion means they are the best Pokemon trainer in the entire region," Oak says.
"Oh, and he's the best?" Ash asked.
"Not yet but he will be" Oak responded while opening a door.
"So tell me Ash what do you know about Pokemon?" Oak decided to test Ash a bit.
"Not much to be honest" Ash answered.
"Yet you want to be a Pokemon trainer?" Oak asked in disbelief.
"Well that's why I'm here now, so I can learn about Pokemon and that gives me the chance to study and prepare" Ash defended himself.
"Hmm, so you acknowledge your lack of knowledge of Pokemon. Thus you seek help to expand your knowledge of Pokemon correct?" Oak thought out loud.
"Yes, I'm not stupid to ignore my shortcomings hence why I came to learn" Ash confirmed Oak's thoughts about all of this.
"Very well then, but first let me ask you if you have a place to stay?" Oak asked.
"Yes I do" Ash answered.
"All right time to start with the basics then follow me" Oak then led Ash to the large outdoor area located at the back of his lab.
"So the first thing we need to do is learn about Pokemon types. Now listen to this very closely as you need to learn this. But every Pokemon has a specific type whether it be water, fire, grass, flying, etc. Now each type is strong against some, neutral against others, and weak against the rest. Let me provide you with an example" Oak reached for his pocket pulled out a Pokeball and released a Raichu.
"This is Raichu, he is an electric type, and as such it is strong against water and flying types, but not that effective against other electric types, grass, and dragon types. Finally, it will not deal any damage against ground types." Oak explained.
"So does that mean Raichu will always lose against a ground type?" Ash asked.
"Not necessarily, just because Raichu is an electric type doesn't mean that it is only able to learn electric type moves." Oak countered.
"What do you mean by that?" Ash asked.
"Well, Raichu here can learn moves like dig and iron tail which are ground and steel-type moves respectfully." Oak clarified.
"Ah that makes sense but this Raichu would take more damage if he or she was hit by a ground-type move right?" Ash asked.
"Yes, but Raichu will do just as much damage to the ground type pokemon" Oak pointed out.
"But by going that logic the ground-type Pokemon has more moves to use than Raichu" Ash countered.
"That is true which is why trainers have to be able to think on their feet. You can have a strategy beforehand but as soon you enter a battle it can go all screwy" Oak said.
"True hence why you must always have some sort of backup plan" Ash pointed out.
"Yes having a backup plan is good and all but you can't plan for everything," Oak said.
"Then you just have to wing it" Ash conceded.
"True sometimes you just need to have plain old good luck on your side" Oak sighed.
"Well, that was an interesting conversation" Ash decided to move the conversation along.
"Yes, I can see why Lance told me about you" Oak smiled.
"So where do we go from here?" Ash asked.
"Well, it seems that you have a grasp on Pokemon types and they can be used to counter other types. Now it's time to move on caring for them" Oak led Ash to some Pokemon grazing in the open field.
"What am I going to do?" Ash asked.
"Listen," Oak said.
"Now listen as a Pokemon trainer you will be traveling around Kanto and might not be near any towns or cities. Thus you must always have medical supplies on hand. That way you will be minor injuries" Oak explained.
"What about major injuries?" Ash asked.
"Well, the best thing to do about that is return the Pokemon to its Pokeball," Oak said.
"Why?" Ash asked.
"Because when a Pokemon enters a Pokeball they enter a kind of stasis, any injuries sustained are for the lack of a better word paused." Professor Oak explained.
"This buys you time to get your Pokemon medical attention then" Ahs realized.
"Yep, however, you can only have as many supplies as you can afford" Oak pointed out.
"So how do Pokemon trainers make money then?" Ash asked.
"Well, the only way is to work temporary jobs. If you're good enough the league will approach you with a job offer then you can get a salary. However, the vast majority of trainers get washed after their first year. The league would rather avoid wasting money on people who won't go anywhere in their Pokemon career" Oak sighed.
"Makes sense since the league is investing in you. You have to prove that you're able to take the pressure. Those that can't probably won't make it past the first gym" Ash said.
"Third gym" Oak corrected.
"Huh?" Ash said.
"The third gym is where most trainers just give up and go home" Oak shrugged.
"Who is the third gym leader?" Ash asked.
"Lt Surge and don't underestimate him, he's a war vet along with his Pokemon. They leave trainers destroyed mentally and their Pokemon black and blue" Oak warned.
"Don't worry complacency is the biggest enemy of all" Ash knew that many warriors from his home grew complacent after gaining powerful devil fruits. Those who did end up dying in 2 years from others who sought the power that their fruit granted. It ended up being a piece of common knowledge that you never think of yourself as all-powerful and unbeatable. There is always someone stronger than you out there and the moment you meet them you're life is forfeit.
Now back home it was considered first come first serve when it came to finding a devil fruit. If you found one it was yours to eat, but the rich never really seemed to figure that out. They would hire devil fruit hunters to find a particular devil fruit and would then complain when the devil fruit hunter would deat the devil fruit that they were hired to find. Then there were the elite Royal Guard, warriors whose sacred duty was to protect the kingdom from harm. They were the strongest in the entire country and were considered one-man armies. If you encountered one then you either surrendered or fled. Those who stayed and fought died in less than a minute. But they never grew complacent, they kept training and improving themselves. It was like what his dad always said: "There is always a bigger fish".
"Let's be honest here, some of these kids are totally naive and have no idea how the world actually works. Heck, they don't even fully grasp the concept of an ecosystem and how predators and prey interact with each other." Ash shrugged.
"You're totally right in that some of these kids are just not cut out for the job," Oak said this while looking sad.
"That's the way the world works, life ain't fair, and complaining about it won't change anything" Ash replied in a neutral tone.
"You're right, as much as I would love to continue this discussion I suppose we better get back to what we were doing" Oak smiled.
"You're darn right" Ash smiled back.