New Beginnings – A Pokemon Slice of Life. [OC/Isekai/Move Tutor/Breeder]

The next morning, as Ethan finished up feeding his family and friends breakfast, Max made his way up the cobblestone path with Smeargle by his side. It was still early in the morning, but Max had quite a distance to travel if he wanted to make it to Eterna City or Floaroma town. Leaving early was probably for the best.

Ethan sat on the steps of his home and used the grooming kit he’d bought in the Eterna City Pokemart to tend to Chatot’s feathers, talons, and beak, as he waited for them to make their way up the path. The grooming kit was pretty simple and easy to use. He’d have to buy more for many other types of pokemon in the future.

Chatot flew up and landed on the roof as Max and Smeargle finally arrived. Ethan stood and gave them both a nod in greeting.

Max looked at Smeargle for a few solemn seconds before he sighed and grabbed a Great ball from his waist and held it out towards Ethan. When Ethan tried to take the ball from Max’s hand, Max didn’t let go. With a look of absolute focus and a tone of utter seriousness, Max said, “Take care of him.” Before finally releasing his iron grip, letting the Great ball go.

“I will. Feel free to come back with Teleport and check on him wherever you want.” Ethan said as he clipped the Great ball onto his belt.

Max knelt and spoke quietly to Smeargle, saying their final goodbyes to one another, before they gave each other a long, heartfelt hug. Once finished, Smeargle walked over and stood next to Ethan, hugging his orange-tipped tail to his chest as tears welled in his eyes. Max's throat tightened at the scene, and he had to swallow a lump of emotion. His lips parted as if he was about to say something, but he silently turned around and retreated down the cobblestone path without a word.

They watched him leave until he turned the bend, leaving their sight. Smeargle wiped his eyes clear of tears, then nodded as he turned to Ethan with expectation.

Ethan smiled and patted the dog-like pokemon on his head. “You can stay here until you decide what you want to do. Do you want me to ask some friends about taking you in? Do you want to be a battler?”

Smeargle shrugged, and Ethan shrugged along with him. “Take your time. You can stay as long as you need. I’d appreciate it if you could help out during your stay, but I’m not sure what moves you know. Want to show me some?”

“Smeargle!”

With a nod, Smeargle agreed and started walking off toward the training field, wanting to showcase what he could do. Ethan gave him a reassuring smile. “Hold up. We have time. I want to introduce you to my pokemon. You’ll be seeing each other a lot, so it’s best to do introductions.”

Hearing her cue, Chatot swept down through the air and landed on the ground next to Smeargle. She hopped forward, tilted her head, then sang out a welcoming tune.

“♫ Chaa-tooot! ♫”

“Smeargle-Smear.”

Smeargle walked around Chatot, gazing appreciatively at her colorful feathers with inquisitive eyes. As they talked to one another, Ethan walked off toward Shuckle’s hole and beckoned him out to say hello. “Shuckle! Come on up and say hello to Smeargle. He’s going to stay with us for a while.”

“Shuuu?”

It took a good twenty seconds, but eventually a sleepy Shuckle exited his hole. It appeared the little guy had decided to take a nap after breakfast. He blearily gazed around as he let loose a wide yawn, letting out a tiny “Shuuu” as he did so.

He traveled over to where Chatot and Smeargle were chatting without any of the hesitancy or wariness he’d shown in the past. Ethan smiled at Shuckle’s newfound confidence and trust. Helping him learn Power Split was the correct decision. He didn’t like seeing his pokemon afraid, and if a little bit of training was needed to make them feel more at ease, he was more than willing to do so. They wouldn’t be strong enough to tackle any of the higher leveled gyms, but they could hold their own. Hopefully.

As Shuckle introduced himself and joined into the conversation, Ethan scanned around to see if he could spot Pachirisu. He might have already gone exploring into the forest. The boundless ball of energy hardly took breaks. Ethan cupped his hands and yelled out as loud as he could. “Pachirisu! Chatot is in your spot!”

The three pokemon looked toward him in surprise at his sudden yell, and Chatot gave an indignant squawk at the lies spouted. Ethan silently apologized as he waited for the inevitable. It took well over thirty seconds, but the moment eventually came.

“PACHIIIIIIIII!!!”

The angry battle cry of Pachirisu warned Ethan of the incoming fur rocket before it slammed into his head. Pachirisu scrambled across his face, righting himself on his shoulder with haste as he turned to glare at Chatot. Before any argument could start, Ethan came clean. “Sorry, I lied. I just needed to get your attention. Come over and say hello to Smeargle. He’ll be with us for the foreseeable future, and I want him to feel comfortable.”

Pachirisu looked disgusted at Ethan’s blatant manipulation, but seeing another pokemon to become friends with brightened his mood. Ethan watched all his pokemon chat as they got to know Smeargle. As the conversation came to a lull, he jumped in. “Did you eat breakfast already, Smeargle? If not, I can whip something up for you.”

Smeargle waved off the idea, flinging his tail about with the gesture, but Shuckle saw his opportunity. Shuckle grabbed a Sitrus berry from inside his shell and held it out with a charming smile. Unable to resist the super effective move from the young pokemon, Smeargle gladly grabbed the offered treat and plopped it into his mouth.

“Okay! Now let’s go and see what you’re capable of.” Ethan led the way toward the training field, and all of his pokemon followed along, wanting to see what the new resident could do.

When they arrived at the training field, which was mostly just a flat dirt surface with concrete lining the sides, there was a surprise waiting for them.

Smeargle ran ahead at the familiar set of items left behind and started sorting through everything as Ethan slowly walked to catch up. Seeing what was laid before him, Ethan had to give it to Max. This was a fitting goodbye present.

Easels, paints, brushes, blank canvas—All of Smeargle’s painting supplies were left in a small pile in the dead center of the training field. On the top of the pile of goods, was a sealed letter. Smeargle grabbed it and opened it up, but turned to Ethan to hand it over.

Ethan grabbed the letter and skimmed the contents, before looking back to Smeargle, who waited anxiously, hand clutching his tail as he shifted from side to side. Ethan mentally facepalmed as he realized Smeargle couldn’t read, and was expecting him to read the letter for him.

“Let’s see here…” Ethan started, before reading aloud.

“Smeargle, while our time together was short, I cherished every moment we spent together. I’m sorry that I wasn’t good enough as a trainer to make your unique skill set work, and for being selfish in my own goals. Please, do not think that you are lesser than the rest of the team. Separating was not your fault.

I know how much you love to paint, and I’m sorry that you didn’t get to paint as much as you liked while we traveled on our journey. I hope that you enjoy your time on Ethan’s ranch, and that you find a new sense of purpose during your stay. I’ve left something special within these items. Something I know you loved.

I will come visit when I find the opportunity, and I’ll show you many pictures of us conquering the rest of the gyms, and regale our mighty triumphs over other strong trainers.

Thank you for not hating me for my decision to separate, but I need to prove myself. I need to win. You could have been the best of us, but we just didn’t have the time...

If Ethan treats you poorly, I’ll beat up Cynthia myself.

~ Your friend, Max Reclant.

Ethan lowered the letter as Smeargle looked to the ground, releasing sniffles and short barks of “Sme-Smear…”

Pachirisu wrapped his fluffy tail around the dog-painter pokemon and chittered to cheer him up.

“♫ Chaa-tooot! ♫ Chaa-tooooot! ♫ Chaa-toooooooooot! ♫ Chaa-tooooooooooooot! ♫”

Chatot sang an upbeat birdsong in an attempt to do the same. Shuckle looked between them all, confused and worried, not fully understanding what was or had happened.

Once Smeargle calmed down, he ruffled through the pile of art supplies until he found the special item left behind by Max. Seeing it, even Ethan felt a heart wrenching ache.

Smeargle held a picture in his hands, one he had obviously painted in the past. It was a full team of pokemon, and their human trainer.

Max was kneeling with an enormous smile as he draped his hands over the shoulders of Gardevoir and Salazzle. Vaporeon sat with a regalness on the left, and Lopunny was mid karate kick on the right, a blazing fire of motivation clearly depicted in her eyes in the artwork. The backdrop was the outside of a Pokemon Center, and they all looked healthy, happy, and cheerful at a recent success.

Smeargle just stared at the artwork for a solid minute with warring emotions before Ethan felt the need to speak. “Would you like to hang that up in my home? Everyone who enters can admire it, and you will see it every day.”

With a slow and gentle nod, Smeargle handed the picture off to Ethan, who held it awkwardly. He didn’t have a fancy storage bag like Max did, so he would need to take this bundle of supplies back home the old-fashioned way.

“Let’s take everything back to the house and then we’ll see what you can do, Smeargle.”

Ethan bent over to grab some more things to carry, but Smeargle patted his arm to get him to stop. Smeargle swiped his eyes to clear his tears and then swished his tail through the air like a wand. His brown eyes and orange tail began to glow with a faint purple energy. In half a second, every item stacked up on the training field was painted in an identical purple hue. They shook and vibrated before gently floating up into the air.

Smeargle pointed his tail back toward Ethan’s house, and the items began floating at a leisurely pace off toward their destination.

The unexpected use of the move Psychic left Ethan, Pachirisu, Shuckle, and Chatot speechless, their mouths hanging open in disbelief. Ethan was the first to calm himself, as he flashed Smeargle a brilliant smile and patted his head. “Well then! I guess Gardevoir taught you a thing or two, didn’t she?”

With another jolt of surprise, Chatot spoke up, mimicking his own voice. “He.”

“Oh, sorry. I guess he taught you the move,” Ethan corrected.

Smeargle nodded with a smile as he continued focusing on transferring the pile of art supplies across his ranch. They walked along, following the floating mass, until they touched down gently on Ethan’s patio.

Ethan crossed his arms, mightily impressed at the skillful display Psychic. “That move alone is already more than useful. I’m excited to see what else you can do. Once we’re done, you can pick out a spot to hang your painting.”

As the next hour passed, Ethan observed Smeargle showing off his moves. Surprisingly, Smeargle didn’t know too many moves, but the ones he did know? They were definitely strong. He showcased Psychic, Flamethrower, Scald, Stomp, Agility, Baton Pass, and Work-Up.

It took a while, as each of the more powerful moves, such as Psychic, Scald, and Flamethrower, drained a lot of energy from Smeargle. Ethan wanted to see all of the potential uses and applications, such as the strength, staying power, and how he could manipulate the moves. However, the most unique move was Baton Pass.

Ethan didn’t really consider the effects the move would have in a real-life scenario, as he never used the move when he played the game, but upon further review, it was definitely very useful. Smeargle would use Work-Up, to boost both its Attack and Special attack, then use Baton Pass to return himself into his pokeball without any input from Ethan.

The Great ball at his hip unclipped itself, floated into the air and sucked him in, then dropped right onto the ground. In its former place in the air, a small foggy white cloud floated. When Ethan tested out the effects by returning and then releasing Chatot, the white fog sucked itself into the pokeball while it was midair, stuffing Chatot with the previous buffs.

While buff transferring was all well and good, Ethan was more interested in the returning effect. Knowing that his family could return themselves into their balls when they were in danger without any of his input was something he wanted dearly, and he vowed that he would teach all of his pokemon Baton Pass if they were able.

When Ethan asked Smeargle about what moves he was in the process of Sketching, a very long game of charades began. Ethan assumed that the move was from one of Max’s pokemon, and he was correct, but going through the entire list of moves each of those four pokemon knew off the top of his head? That took a long time. But, with enough trial and error, he found out that Smeargle was closest to learning Teleport.

Next time the Gardevoir family came around, he’d need to ask for a favor.

Right as they were wrapping up, a minor disturbance could be heard coming from the entrance of his ranch. As Ethan looked over toward the sounds, he saw a group of trainers burst through the foliage, rushing forward while competing with one another in a desperate race.

Ethan stood frozen as he watched them sprint up his cobblestone path, right past him in their hurry, and onwards toward his home.

“What in the….” Ethan murmured as a young girl, heaving ragged breaths, noticed him.

She pointed a finger at him and shouted out. “You! Are you Ethan Reed?!”

“Uhh… Yes?” Ethan said, as his pokemon circled around him protectively.

The girl grinned and did a fist bump as she slid her eyes toward the other five sprinting trainers. “Perfect! I’d like to have some of my pokemon tutored! I’ll give you two-hundred thousand pokedollars if you can work on my Aipom before any of their pokemon!”

Ethan stared blankly at the teen as his mind tried to process what the hell was happening.

With all of his infinite wisdom, the only thing he managed to say was. “What…?”