xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Floccesy Town, 7:00 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Waking up, Keats shifted his body off the couch within the living room of Alders home as he yawned loudly, wearing only his boxers and a T-shirt. Looking over at the table, he looked at Rotoms phone casing and proceeded to grab it.
"Rotom, you awake?" Keats said tiredly as he lifted up Rotom.
"Yeah? What izzzz-" Rotom said until suddenly the Pokémons face had disappeared, and a buzzer begun to blare loudly.
"Ahhh!" Keats screamed as the phone form of Rotom had activated an alarm at extremely high volume, causing him to drop Rotom. "Will you knock it off?! That's tearing a hole through my ear!" He shouted as he fell to the floor while covering his ears.
"It's the alarm you azzzzked me to set because Alder wanted to train with you!" Rotom said as its face returned on the phone before shifting back to the alarm while it still rang through the living room.
"Just turn it off before I get Pineco to blow up this house!" Keats screamed towards Rotom as it began to float in the air.
"Shutting off, zzzzt." Rotom said as it turned off the phone alarm, finally allowing Keats to breathe a sigh of relief as he uncovered his ears.
"Ugh, that was awful... Why would you have your alarm set that high?!" Keats said as he stood up.
"An alarm is meant to awaken someone and the bezzzzt course of action would be to have it at max sound." Rotom explained.
"Yeah, to "wake someone up." Not tear their earlobes into chunks of skin!" Keats exclaimed loudly as he pulled on his own ears.
"Actually, the human ear is made primarily of cartilage covered by a layer of skin. The earlobe itself is made of-" Rotom said it displayed an article of anatomy on its screen before getting cut off by Keats.
"I don't give a Miltanks udder! Shut up!" Keats shouted as he walked over to his bags on the other side of the room and started to grab his clothes.
"Fine then, calm down, zzzzt." Rotom said as its face returned to the phone screen as Keats was now dressed in his travelling attire.
"Whatever... It's too damn early for this and I can't even eat breakfast..." Keats complained while shaking his head.
"You do need to train, zzzzt." Rotom said as Keats just sighed.
"Yeah, yeah, don't tell me twice." Keats said. "You've already told me seven times already..." He thought with annoyance. "Guess we'll head outside and wait for Alder..." Keats said as he looked at Rotom.
"Zzzzounds good." Rotom said as the floating phone Pokémon followed him to the sliding door that leads to the outside farmland.
"Hopefully Alders training won't hit me too hard- what the?!" Keats said towards Rotom as they went outside before they noticed a surprising sight.
With their eyes swirling around to signify their unconscious state, multiple Mareep, Patrat, Venipede and Drillbur were knocked out while their still conscious fellow Pokémon looked at them with worried expressions.
"All the Pokémon are out cold, zzzzt!" Rotom exclaimed.
"Oh no, it's just like last spring all over again!" Keats said in shock as he walked forward and approached the Pokémon.
"What happened last spring?" Rotom said with curiosity.
"Last spring, Marie and Aldin had a bit of an issue with a bunch of Ursaring from the nearby woods that got on the Next Level Ranch, and they started attacking all the Pokémon overnight. We'd wake up in the morning to find the Pokémon knocked out and then Marie would come harping at me acting like "I should have been on guard duty" since my trailer is next to the woods." Keats said as he described a story from the past.
"What happened next, zzzzt?" Rotom asked as they completely ignored the Pokémon looking at their injured friends.
"Oh, my sister took one of her Pokémon and handled it really easily be finding where the Ursaring were hanging around. Her entire team is ridiculously tough and-" Keats said until he was cut off by the sound of the screen door to the home opening as Alder came outside, stunned.
"What on earth?!" Alder shouted in disbelief.
"It wasn't me!" Keats screamed as he raised his hands.
"What?!" Alder said as he quickly walked past Keats.
"I woke up and found them like this! I didn't see any Ursaring and I was asleep! Rotom was blaring loudly and-" Keats said, rambling in a way that seemed like he was trying to clear his name from doubt.
"I know already about the alarms! You could hear Rotom from all the way in the Hoenn region!" Alder exclaimed in a serious tone.
"...Is my alarm really too loud, zzzzt? Maybe I should go into my factory settingzzzz and-" Rotom said until Alder spoke up.
"I can't believe this. This is too much!" Alder said in a troubled tone.
"...Soooo does this mean the training is off or no?" Keats said sheepishly as Alder and Rotom looked at him.
"I know who did this." Alder said with his arms crossed. "And it looks like it's gotten impatient with me." He said as he walked over and picked up a Drillbur and held it in his arms.
'"It?"' Keats said with a raised eyebrow.
"I mentioned yesterday that a wild Pokémon had caused the stampede of my Mareep." Alder said as he looked around and noticed his wooden fence was damaged once again, causing Alder to sigh in frustration. "But it looks like it has taken it a step too far..." He said while rubbing his forehead.
"A single Pokémon did this much damage?" Keats questioned. "Hope it wasn't a Stunfisk..." He thought with a worried expression forming.
"To be precise, a Timburr..." Alder said as he put down the injured Drillbur.
"A what?" Keats said as he turned towards the Rotom phone for help as it switched to the Pokédex and flashed an image of a small brown mole-like creature with red veins on its body and carrying a log.
'"Timburr, the Muscular Pokémon. A Fighting type. It fights by swinging a squared rod of wood around. It gets close to evolving when it can handle the lumber without any difficulty."' Rotom said as it read off the Dex entry.
"It carries a log around... Is that legal?" Keats asked towards Alder, who raised an eyebrow. "It's carrying around a weapon. I've never seen a Pokémon do that." He continued.
"...Are you really this unaware of the Pokémon world?" Alder said. "Haven't you ever seen a Cubone or a Farfetch'd? They carry around bones and leek stalks." He said as Keats grew concerned.
"...Vegetables can count as weapons to Pokémon?" Keats said with a disturbed expression.
"A Pokémon known as Tropius can grow bananazzzz off their necks." Rotom said towards Keats as its screen flashed an image of a green and brown giraffe-like Pokémon with leaf-like wings.
"...How does that-" Keats continued to question before Alder cut him off.
"Look, the questioning has to stop. We're getting off topic from the matter at hand." Alder said with a serious tone as he regained back Keats' attention. "Timburr has gone too far this time..." He said with a frustrated expression.
'"This time?"' Keats replied.
"For the past few days, a Timburr has been stepping into the town and trying to pick a fight with me and my Pokémon. Knowing my former champion status, I think it's trying to test its mettle against a challenging opponent... But I've been largely ignoring it." Alder said as he walked over to one of the injured Mareep to check on it.
"Fighting types naturally want to seek out opponents to challenge. The zzzztronger, the better." Rotom explained.
"And I've been avoiding any kind of confrontation with it... But all this just to request a challenge..." Alder reiterated until he turned his head. "We got company..." The former champion said as Keats and Rotom looked over to the sight of a small figure approaching them.
Walking through the hole in the fence was a certain Pokémon that they had been talking about. A small mole-like creature with red veins and carrying a squared wooden log over its shoulder with a combative expression on its face.
"Tim-timburr!" Timburr explained as he pointed a finger from his freehand towards Alder.
"So instead of wanting us to find you, you grew impatient." Alder said towards Timburr as Keats and Rotom looked on.
"...I feel like a third wheel here..." Keats thought as he looked at the log carrying Pokémon.
"Timburr! Timburr!" Timburr exclaimed as it stomped its feet in an angered manner.
"Why's it so mad?" Keats asked as it begun to glare at him.
"It wants to battle me, but I kept declining it." Alder said as he reached for a Pokéball.
"Well... This is a bit of a conundrum at the same time as my training..." Keats said as he scratched the back of his head before Alder stopped reaching for his Pokéball and turned towards the inexperienced adult trainer.
"Timmmmm..." Timburr growled as it slammed one end of its squared log into the dirt.
"Actually..." Alder said as a smirk formed on his face as he turned back towards the wild Fighting type. "Timburr, you want a battle with me, correct?" He said as Timburr raised an eye.
"Timburr!" Timburr exclaimed with a nod.
"Alright then!... But not just yet." Alder said with his hands on his hips and a smile as Timburr and Keats made a surprised expression.
"Huh?" Keats mumbled in response.
"Because this young man wants to battle you first!" Alder said as he pointed towards Keats.
"Timburr?" Timburr said with confusion.
"...Double "huh?"' Keats mumbled again, wide-eyed. "Whoa, whoa, hold up old-timer." He said as he grabbed Alder by the back of his poncho and pulled him aside. "What are you doing?!" Keats asked with a frantic tone.
"You are gonna fight Timburr in my place with your Pokémon." Alder said with a confident smile.
"I kinda figured that out by the choice of words... But why me!? It's after you!" Keats said with an exasperated expression.
"Indeed, but like I said yesterday, I'm supposed to teach you a few pointers on how to battle." Alder explained before pointing to Timburr. "This will be your training. Avoid using "Self-Destruct."' He said.
"Timburr! Timburr!" Timburr angrily exclaimed as it stomped its feet once more in protest.
"Now, now. Timburr, I'll face you in a battle... But you have to beat my "protege" here first because he's never going to get on his feet without proper practice against a "strong" opponent." Alder said in a persuasive tone as he looked at Timburr once more. "Obviously from the damage you caused, you're obviously a tough Pokémon." He said as he pointed his hands in the direction of some of the injured Pokémon on the ranch, who cowered fearfully from the angered glares of Timburr as it thought over Alders words.
"Tiiiimm... Timburr!" Timburr said in a tone that appeared to agree with Alder as it looked at Keats, preparing for battle with the confused new trainer.
"...Oh, this is not good..." Keats said aloud as Rotom floated over.
"It's what you need to do, zzzzt." Rotom said as Keats took a heavy breath.
"I don't know about this..." Keats said nervously as he stepped forward. "Guess... We battle?" He continued as he reached into his pocket and pulled out Pinecos Pokéball. "Pineco! You're on call!" Keats exclaimed as he called out Pineco.
"Pineco!" Keats' Pineco exclaimed as she appeared from her ball.
Timburr looked on with a rough expression as it readied the log for a fight as Pineco furrowed her brows to prepare for combat as well. In response, Alder stood behind Keats with the Rotom phone floating next to him as Keats swallowed spit in nervousness.
"Timburr!" Timburr shouted as its body begun to glow with a red aura.
"Pineco, use "Tackle" attack!" Keats exclaimed as Pineco proceeded to hop towards Timburr.
"Piiiine-co!" Pineco said as she jumped at Timburr and slammed her pinecone-shaped body against Timburr.
As Pineco knocked into Timburr, very little damage could be seen as the mole-like Pokemon took the hit as Pineco backed up from Timburr as it lifted up its log.
"Oh no! Dodge it!" Keats exclaimed as Timburr proceeded to swing its log in a downward angle and Pineco hopped out of the way in response, leaving an indent in the ground.
"Keats!" Alder said loudly as Keats looked back. "What were those moves Timburr just used?" He questioned.
"Uhhh... I don't know?" Keats replied as Alder looked at him.
"First move it used was "Focus Energy." It's a move that allows Timburr to increase its chance for critical hits." Alder explained.
"Then the second move was "Zzzzlam." Rotom said, explaining the next move.
'"Zzzzlam?"' Keats said with confusion.
"No, it's just "Slam."' Alder said, correcting Rotom for Keats to understand better. "Also pay attention." The former champion continued as Keats turned his head back.
"Ah!" Keats muttered as he looked back at Pineco and Timburr continuing to battle.
"Timburrrr!" Timburr exclaimed once more as it attempted to use "Slam" with its log once more.
"Pineco! Use "Protect!"' Keats ordered as Pineco covered herself in a barrier to shield itself.
Bashing the lumber against Pinecos barrier, the strength of Timburrs slam caused Pineco to fly backwards close to Keats from the raw power as she rolled onto her side. Shifting her body, Pineco stood upright once again.
"The only useful moves Pineco knows are "Tackle" and "Protect." If I use "Self-Destruct," she'll knock herself out just to beat Timburr..." Keats thought as he looked on.
"Timburrrr!" Timburr shouted as it slammed its log into the ground and proceeded to rush at Pineco, its right-hand glowing orange.
'"Karate Chop," a Fighting type move." Alder said as Timburr ran up to Pineco with a glowing sideways chop.
"Pi-Pineco! Use "Protect!"' Keats exclaimed as Pineco formed its barrier once more.
With its chop, Timburr smacked against the side of Pineco as the barrier broke from the strike.
"Piiiine!" Pineco screamed in pain as she went flying, bouncing off the ground several times before landing in the dirt.
"Pineco!" Keats said in surprise.
"Fighting types are strong against Bug types like Pineco. As well, "Protect" only works so often. More you use it, the less effective it is." Alder said with a serious tone before Keats turned back to look at him with an aggravated expression.
"You could've told me that before pushing me to battle!" Keats exclaimed in frustration. "How the heck am I going to win this without just using "Self-Destruct!?"' He thought as he struggled to think of an idea of what to do.
"Can't you give him a hint, zzzzt?" Rotom asked towards Alder.
"He can only get better through experience, not just me telling him everything." Alder said in response.
"Kinda wish you did, you annoying old coot." Keats thought with a twitch in his eye. "Pineco! Use "Tackle," one more time!" He ordered as Pineco got back up and lunged at Timburr once more.
Shifting to the side, Timburr dodged Pinecos "Tackle" attack as Pineco fell face first into the dirt. Rushing back to its squared log, Timburr picked it back up and ran at Pineco once more in attempt to use "Slam" once again.
"Pineco! Dodge!" Keats ordered as Pineco rolled away from another downward "Slam" by Timburr.
"Timburr!" Timburr barked loudly.
"Pineco..." Pineco muttered as she got back upright.
"I only managed one hit on it so far..." Keats thought as he remained focus on the battle.
"Another thing to know, Keats." Alder said with his arms folded as Keats listened. "A Pokémon in a weakened state is always when you should throw a Pokéball." He explained.
"A... Pokéball..." Keats said to himself as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an empty Pokéball.
As Timburr lifted up the log again for another "Slam" attack, Keats attempted to intervene by throwing a Pokéball at Timburr but accidently forgot to press the button for capture as he threw it at the Fighting type. Pelting Timburr in the back of the skull, the mole-like Pokémon dropped its log on the ground as it rubbed the back of its head as it turned to look at Keats.
"...You forgot to press the button to capture Timburr." Alder said as he looked on with a surprised expression.
"I..." Keats mumbled in embarrassment.
"Timburr!" Timburr exclaimed in aggravation as it looked at Keats in frustration.
"...An opportunity!" Keats thought as he quickly spoke up. "Pineco! Now! "Tackle!"' He ordered as Pineco jumped at Timburr, bashing into the Fighting types head and knocking it onto its chest.
"That will work in a situation with a wild Pokémon but in a traditional battle with a normal trainer, that certainly won't work as a strategy." Alder said loud enough for Keats to hear.
"Yeah well, that's a lesson for another time!" Keats shouted in frustration.
"Tiiimm..." Timburr grumbled angrily as it got back up before turning back to look at Pineco, several feet away.
"Piiiine..." Pineco muttered as it looked on.
"If you want to catch Timburr, you'll need to weaken it more, zzzzt." Rotom said from afar.
"I know, I know..." Keats mumbled in annoyance as he continued to struggle with the battle.
"Another lesson." Alder said as he spoke up.
"Greaaaattt..." Keats muttered in frustration.
"After certain periods, Pokémon can learn new moves and forget old ones." Alder said as Keats raised any eyebrow.
"...How?" Keats questioned.
"Experience." Alder replied bluntly.
"Oh, like that helps in this situation- huh?" Keats said as he looked on and noticed Pinecos body was glowing a bright green.
"Oh no, she's going to use "Zzzzelf-Destruct!"' Rotom exclaimed in worry.
"But I didn't tell her to do that! Wait... Normally she turns white when she blows up." Keats said in surprise.
"If it's not going to explode, then what else could it be?" Alder said in a confident tone.
"She's..." Keats said, unsure.
As her body glowed, Pineco jumped into the air and then spun in place. As she spun, needles of green energy begun to shoot out of her body in mass quantities. Catching Timburr by surprise, it put up its log to shield itself to block the energy needles as some of the needles hit its body in some areas.
"And there's the new move." Alder said confidently.
"What was that?!" Keats exclaimed.
'"Pin Missile," a Bug type move that launches multiple small damage needlezzzz." Rotom explained as it flashed a video of the move being used.
"The only downside is that it's a Bug type move so it's not very effective against a Fighting type like Timburr." Alder said.
"Good enough for me!" Keats exclaimed happily. "Pineco! Use "Pin Missile" one more time!" He said as he reached into his pocket and grabbed another Pokéball.
Jumping into the air once again, Pineco spun with a green aura as green energy needles shot out of her once more as Timburr dodged the energy needles by placing its log upright to block the needles and jumped onto the tip of the log. Leaping into the air higher than Pineco, Timburr used "Karate Chop" once again as it smacked Pineco with a glowing orange right hand, causing her to go flying into the ground, leaving a crater.
"Timburr." Timburr said with a smirk as it landed on its feet and picked up its log once more.
Approaching Keats' downed Pineco, Timburr lifted up the log overhead once again to prepare for another "Slam" attack. As it was about to crush the Bug type and end the battle once and for all, Keats threw another Pokéball at Timburr once again, correctly this time.
"Tim? Tiiiim!" Timburr exclaimed in confusion before getting smacked with the Pokéball and was sucked inside.
With the ball hitting the ground, it proceeded to shake and rattle as the button blinked. Looking onward, the group watched anxiously as Keats' Pineco struggled to get back upright. With one more rattle, the ball finally stopped shaking and Timburr was caught.
"We... We did it!" Keats exclaimed in happiness as he screamed in a celebratory manner as Rotom floated over to him.
"You did it! Timburr is now regizzzztered to your Pokédex!" Rotom said as he picked up Timburrs Pokéball.
"Holy mother of crap! I actually caught a Pokémon!" Keats said loudly.
"First time is always special." Alder said as he approached the floating screen and chubby trainer.
"Here. I-I know this little thing wanted to fight you, so it only feels right I-" Keats said as he stretched his arm out with the Pokéball to Alder until he put his hand up.
"This is your victory, you earned it. Timburr is yours to keep." Alder said towards the surprised Keats. "Now you might want to check on your other Pokémon." He said as he pointed at Pineco.
"Oh right, sorry! Pineco!" Keats said as he rushed towards Pineco and picked up the injured Bug type.
"Pineco..." Pineco said in a tired tone as Keats held her in his arms.
"You did an awesome job..." Keats said towards Pineco as he took out her Pokéball and returned back inside it as Alder looked at the rest of the Pokémon on the farm.
"I'm sorry to not be the one who stopped Timburr from doing that to you but you're all safe now!" Alder said to the farm Pokémon.
"What a day... Zzzzt." Rotom said.
"You're telling me..." Keats said as he pulled out both of the Pokéballs he had for Pineco and Timburr.
"Now you've had your first taste of how to battle." Alder said towards Keats. "Next step, to battle trainers." He said as he pulled out a purple and white spray bottle with a Pokéball symbol on it.
"What's that?" Keats questioned.
"A bit of Potion. It can be uzzzzed to heal injured Pokemon." Rotom explained.
"First, I'll heal Timburr and Pineco. Then, I'll show you what it's like to battle a trainer." Alder said with serious eyes and a smile as he pulled out a pair of Pokéballs as Keats sweated slightly.
"I nearly had a bit of a stroke just having that battle I just did... Can I take a break?" Keats said nervously.
"Nah." Alder replied as Keats swallowed spit.
"...Is my journey ever gonna get to where I need it to be?" Keats thought anxiously.
...Holy hell? The writer is back? Well, I'll be damned, this is- huh? I just got a memo here... "No recap, just tell people; "I am sorry for taking forever. We're back after months of life shit and ideas forming."' Oh... Okay then. Welcome back folks!
Keats' Pokemon:
1. Pineco. Gender: Female, Ability: Sturdy, Moveset: "Tackle," "Self-Destruct," "Protect," "Pin Missile."
2. Timburr. Gender: Male, Ability: Guts, Moveset: "Focus Energy," "Slam," "Karate Chop," "Scary Face."
