ALL NOVEL Chapter 40
After finding someone online who was willing to accept a two-hundred thousand pokedollar payment to create him a website, finishing the other two contracts; for breeding and for daycare, and collecting all of his pokemon, any of Joyce’s who wanted to join for what he had in store, and some of the wild pokemon who wandered over to see what was up, Ethan had started his true first training session to prepare his pokemon for what was in store.
Out in the training field, Ethan stood with Joyce as he called out orders to both his pokemon, her pokemon, an Oddish, Gloom, Gogoat, Growlithe, Blitzle, Dunsparce, and both Marils, who were lined up in front of them in three disorganized rows. The only pokemon who wasn’t wild that didn’t join was Smeargle, who was on egg duty, which he was taking very seriously.
Joyce was cackling, clutching her stomach in pain from sore muscles earned from said cackling, and generally not helping out with the whole training regime Ethan had spent a solid five minutes thinking about.
“Slide to the left!” Ethan shouted.
“♫ Tot! ♫”
“Slide to the right!”
“♫ Tot! ♫”
“Crisscross!”
“♫ Tot! Tot! ♫”
“Crisscross!”
“♫ Tot! Tot! ♫”
“Cha-cha real smooth!”
“♫ Cha-Cha! Chatooot! ♫”
Ethan watched with a pleased smile as the wide assortment of pokemon in front of him broke into their own individual made up on the spot dances. Gogoat did a wiggle starting from his head, down to his tail. The Oddish and Gloom went back to their roots, doing a Rain Dance-like twirl, causing their leaves the rustle. Bliztle did happy hops side to side as she also spun in a circle, her mane sparkling with built up electricity, Shuckle flailed his limbs and he rocked his shell from side to side, having a lot more fun than he thought he would and Dunsparce followed his lead, attempting to do the same but with his wings flailing instead of limbs.
Pachirisu was grabbed by Joyce’s Pikachu, forced into being a dance partner as she hopped up and down happily. Chansey calmly and gently bounced side to side, Floette floated as she spun in circles, and Wigglytuff dropped onto the ground and started to roll around. The two Marill grabbed each other's hands as they bounced on their tails together—returning to their roots of Azurill.
Growlithe, the ball of energy that he was, abandoned his spot and sprinted with the zoomies in a giant circle around the group. During the last ‘Cha-cha real smooth’ Growlithe was a little late when returning to his spot, so Ethan thought that he was trying to sprint as fast as possible in a race to circle them all three times before rushing back before the very serious, absolutely not-fun training could continue.
And the pokemon who was most enjoying this training, Chatot, flared out her wings and did a shimmy from side to side, reminding Ethan of some of the weird mating dances of birds from Earth.
Chatot was having an absolute blast, calling out her name and singing along to the commands.
There were a few reasons Ethan chose this method of training. One, like his tutoring, he tried to make it a game that the pokemon would enjoy. Two, having his pokemon learn to take commands was one of the basics to battling. If your pokemon didn’t listen to you, like Ash’s Charizard from the anime, then they weren’t ready to battle. And three, watching pokemon have fun was one of the best parts of being in the world of pokemon. For those that grew up surrounded by pokemon this might just seem silly, but for Ethan, these were the things that made this world special.
“Let’s go to work!” Ethan yelled, ending the dancing. He gave them all a second or two to ready themselves, before he continued.
“To the left!”
“♫ Tot! ♫”
“Take it back now y’all. Right foot lets stomp!”
“♫ Tot! ♫”
“Left foot lets stomp!”
“♫ Tot! ♫”
“Two hops this time!”
“♫ Tot! Tot!♫”
“Two hops!”
“♫ Tot! Tot!♫”
“Slide to the right!”
“♫ Tot! ♫”
“Five hops this time!”
“♫ Tot! Tot! Tot! Tot! Tot!♫”
“Cha-cha real smooth!” As the pokemon went back into their dances, Ethan slid over to Joyce, who had tears in her eyes from either the stomach pain from being unable to stop laughing, or from the joy (Pun intended) of seeing the pokemon have fun during their training.
“It may look silly, but you have to admit that this works. If I learned anything during my life, if you have fun while doing something, it makes learning easier.”
“Oh! I have no doubt that it will work, but this is pure gold. Please tell me you have other plans for training. I’ll cancel work and come over if they aren’t ready! At least record it for me!” Joyce stopped laughing, turning to face Ethan with a smile mixed with a pleading look.
“Alright everyone! Let’s take a break! Go ahead and grab some water, some berries, whatever you need. We’ll continue another time!”
They’d been training for only around ten minutes, but ten minutes of following orders and dancing sure worked up a sweat. All the pokemon broke off into pairs or small groups and chatted with one another as they wandered off to find some berries, grab a drink, or in the case of Chatot, fly over to her bird bath to bathe.
Ethan took a seat onto the ground, not afraid of getting a little dirty as he’d been way dirtier in the past. The rural life he’d been living had caused him a great amount of freedom. Joyce had just calmed down and waved her pokemon off to have some fun. She took one look at Ethan sitting on the dirt, then shrugged and did the same.
“You have something great here Ethan.” She said as she brushed her pink hair behind her ear and watched the pokemon rush through the field of berry trees, aiming to find their favorites.
“I know. It’s not as good as it could be, but I’m working on it. Slowly but surely. I want this to be a place all pokemon can enjoy. Whether that be during their short stay here away from their trainers. I want this to be a place pokemon can come and live with me and help out in creating a safe haven. A lost pokemon, an old retired battler, a baby who knows nothing of the cruelty of life, all of them will have a place, and I will welcome them with open—hopefully ready arms.” Ethan said, letting his thoughts flow freely, knowing that Nurse Joy wouldn’t disparage his dreams.
Joyce patted Ethan’s shoulder. “I hope you succeed.”
“I do too.”
—--------------------------------------
The next day, as Ethan was preparing breakfast for everyone, he heard the panicked, fearful shout of Shuckle from the cellar. Immediately, Ethan dropped what he was doing and hastily flipped open the wooden cover for the cellar, finding Shuckle—who was in his shell, Dunsparce , who pushed Shuckle out of the opening as he was blocking the entrance to defend him, and another, wild pokemon.
Ethan couldn’t make out the details of the mystery pokemon in his cellar, only that it wasn’t small, roughly the size of Shuckle’s den hole, and had a very dark blue fur coat. Ethan waited for the mystery pokemon to make any moves, hoping that it was either friendly or would scamper off and retreat at being caught, but the only sound that greeted him was a soft snore.
Dunsparce, who had begun flapping his white wings in a threat display, tilted his head and cautiously slithered forward, inching closer and closer to the apparently slumbering pokemon. Dunsparce poked it with its tail, causing the slumbering pokemon to move a hand over to scratch the prodded part of its body in its sleep.
Finding that the situation wasn’t completely out of control, Ethan ran over to the counter, grabbed his phone, came back over to the cellar door, then used the phone's flashlight to light up the interior.
When he could finally see the mystery pokemon, Ethan was pretty sure he knew this pokemon. Its humanoid appearance, rotund and chubby body, and dark blue fur with patches of tan were pretty unique. Ethan snapped a photo, and used the PocketDex to confirm if this was what he thought it was. If so, this was a very rare pokemon, and one that would have probably found his ranch sooner rather than later.
Munchlax - The Big Eater Pokemon: Munchlax is constantly on the hunt for food, storing anything edible it finds in its fur, often forgetting that it stored anything at all. Its enormous appetite drives it to eat nearly anything, often swallowing whole items without chewing. Despite its gluttonous nature, Munchlax can go for days without food by relying on its stored reserves. When it finds something particularly delicious, it savors every bite, showing surprising patience. Munchlax is known for its friendly and carefree demeanor, making it a beloved companion for many trainers.
POKEMON LEAGUE ALERT: Munchlax is in the top 5 percentile of difficult to care for pokemon. If you are looking to capture a Munchlax, seek professional advice regarding the care of this pokemon. You should be prepared for the enormous amount of food required to sustain Munchlax and its eventual evolution into Snorlax. Munchlax alone can consume its weight in food daily, and this appetite only grows once it evolves. Munchlax can be overfed, and the signs of overfeeding are difficult to notice. While it's essential to have a well-stocked supply of food to keep it healthy, happy, and satisfied. Planning and budgeting for its dietary needs is crucial for anyone considering raising this pokemon.
Ethan lowered his phone and thinned his lips looking at the Munchlax who was currently enjoying a food coma. Scanning around the rest of the cellar showed that the claims of Munchlax eating it’s weight in food wasn’t unwarranted, as the shelves and wooden crates that had been filled to the brim were nearly empty. The little guy or gal had itself a feast. “Dunsparce, let it be for now. Shuckle, it’s not going to hurt you. It’s sleeping. Do you want to go into your ball?”
“Shuuuuuu.” Shuckle whined, causing Ethan to sigh and return Shuckle into his pokeball. He looked to Dunsparce, who watched the sleeping pokemon with confusion. “Watch over Munchlax for a minute, I have to wake up Nurse Joy. We need her expertise.”
“Dun-dun-duuuuun!”
“Yeah, I know. I’m dreading it too.”
Ethan made his way to the guest room, where Nurse Joy, Smeargle, and Growlithe were staying, and knocked three times loudly. After some rustling, the door cracked open an inch, revealing Smeargle who gazed up at Ethan with sleepy eyes. “Can you wake up, Joyce for me? It’s important.”
Smeargle looked back over his shoulder, then gave Ethan a slight nod before closing the door. After waiting a solid minute, The door hastily swung open, revealing a grumpy Nurse Joy. “What in Arceus’ name would you need me for at six in the morning.”
Ethan gave her a deadpan stare, shrugged, and came out with it. “There’s a Munchlax in my cellar.”
Nurse Joy gave Ethan what must have been an exact replica of the ‘Blinking White Guy’ meme from earth. She was caught so unaware by that statement, that her grumpiness faded away instantly. “There’s a what?”
“There’s a Munchlax in my cellar. As you’re the closest thing I can think of to a pokemon professional, and given the fact that you were about thirty feet away from me, I decided to call on your expertise. So, what do I do?” Ethan said, completely backtracking on his ‘don’t be a bother’ question spree.
Joyce, still in her pajamas, which were unsurprisingly bright pink, glided past him and speed walked straight to the cellars trapdoor. She grabbed Ethan’s phone from the countertop and shined the light down into the cellar, then placed it back down on the counter without tearing her gaze away from the hole. “There’s a Munchlax in your cellar.”
“That’s correct…”
“It’s way too early for this. Wake me up in two—three hours.” Joyce turned, walked right by Ethan while rubbing her eyes, and closed the door to the guest room behind her.
“Well… I guess I’m on watch duty…”