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

Slowly opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling of his small cozy room, Ethan took a deep breath as he took in the start of a new day. The rustling of leaves and the oncoming chill of the autumn wind was the first indication that things had started to change. Some for the better, some for the worst.

Today marked a week since his… meltdown. His mental health had improved. Acknowledging the past and what was to come had caused a sense of acceptance to take hold in his heart. He would still be sad, probably for the rest of his life, but instead of a sucking void of grief, it was a dull reminder of what was.

After releasing a sigh, Ethan rolled out of bed, did his morning routine, then prepared breakfast for his new family. With the sounds of pots, pans, and sloshing water, most of the pokemon had woken already, but some he’d have to go fetch—Like Shuckle, who was now alone in his den. The first to greet him, like most mornings, was Munchlax. The rotund ball of dark blue fur was always up and ready for his morning meal, and during this past week he’d mixed in with the ongoings of the ranch seamlessly.

Ethan spared the gluten a glance and a smile as he prepared breakfast. “Go ahead and wake Shuckle while I cook. I’ll slip you an extra berry for a reward.”

‘Extra berry’ was all the incentive Munchlax needed for most things, so with a cheerful nod and deceptively quick hustle, he was out the door with a mission.

Then, not a second later, two blips of Teleport announced the arrival of the next pair of pokemon. The ever regal Ralts and her newly acquired best friend Smeargle. The two had, unsurprisingly, gotten along like two peas in a pod. For Smeargle, finishing up his Sketch of Teleport had been a massive weight lifted from his shoulders. Apparently, when Smeargle decided to learn a move from Sketch, he was unable to learn another until he finished. So, for the past however many weeks or months, he’d been stuck. The gentle artist had never smiled much, but nowadays, he was a bundle of happiness and contentment.

Ralts hadn’t instantly noticed Smeargle for the fine pokemon that he was, a connoisseur of fine arts, but given her proclivities she’d attached herself to his hip—mostly bothering him for paintings of herself… but Ethan wasn’t going to judge. They both won out on the exchange.

The little psychic plopped herself down onto the table as she patiently waited for her food and Smeargle joined his side to help prepare breakfast for everyone. Ethan ran a hand over the artist's beret-like head and continued onwards, thinking about the future.

This was the last free-day they had before an important guest was due to arrive. On his website, he had a section for contacting his ‘business’. Really, it was just his email and phone number. A few days earlier, someone reached out about something he hadn’t shared with anybody but Nurse Joy—His Oddish. The man in question was making a long trip just to come and inspect the budding weeds and make sure that they turned out hearty and healthy.

As Ethan blended some berries, a dim, looming shadow and a large thunk caused him to sigh as he turned to face the nearby window. Covering the pane of glass was the splayed form of Pachirisu. His narrowed eyes and puffy yellow cheeks squished against the window with a glare. Ethan took a step away, held his hands out placatingly, then spun in a circle. Pachirisu’s already narrowed eyes turned into squints as he inspected Ethan head to toe. “She’s sitting on the table.” Ethan scoffed as he went back to cooking.

His first friend had not taken kindly to seeing Ralts teleport onto his right shoulder earlier in the week. Since Ethan hadn’t told the little psychic to move immediately, he’d been in Pachirisu’s bad graces. While he knew that Pachirisu and Chatot took his right shoulder spot with some seriousness, it had apparently spiraled out of control.

Pachirisu, still unsure if Ethan had apparently betrayed him again by relinquishing his shoulder for a ride, awkwardly peeled off the glass window and slid down out of view. Then, a second later, his face shot back up and plastered itself onto the glass once again with a glare, double checking to see if anything changed since he left.

The sound of the open door and pattering of feet announced Munchlax’s arrival from his mighty quest. He held Shuckle into the air like a prized possession as he cheered. “Munch-Munch-Munch!”

“Shuuuu!” Shuckle squealed with glee as he flailed his yellow limbs, joining in on the fun.

The two had become quick friends after Munchlax quickly learned that Shuckle was the one and only guardian of berries. Ethan pretended to look the other way when he found his berry bud sneaking Munchlax some extra berries throughout the day. The over-eater was filling the void Dunsparce had left behind, and Ethan couldn’t bring himself to stop smiling when he spotted them out in the fields.

“♫ Chaa-tooot! ♫” Chatot fluttered into the open door with a song, then righted herself onto the table next to Ralts, who murmured her name a few times in greeting.

The two of them had also grown closer. Similar to the situation with Smeargle and Shuckle, the whimsical artist and the maestro of berries, Chatot was the melodious musical muse. It was rare, but he could sometimes hear the little psychic singing up on his roof with Chatot. While Chatot was using human-words, Ralts just said her name over and over again. It made him curious, and he wondered if Ralts was translating the words one for one or not.

After Ethan fed the pokemon and himself, he clapped to alert everyone around the table. With all eyes on him, Ethan laid out his plans for the day. “So! Today is a big day. Today, I am taking a small trip to Eterna City. This means I will be gone for a few hours.”

Ethan slid his gaze around the table, taking in the reactions. Shuckle looked like someone had told him the world was ending, Smeargle was already in on the plan, Chatot tilted her head, Pachirisu, who had joined them earlier looked worried, and the rest looked on in confusion.

“I am allowed to take six of you with me. One of them will be Smeargle, as he is the one Teleporting me there, and the second will be Ralts as I have promised to watch over her. The other four slots… Well, who wants to come and see a human city?” Ethan said with a wry smile as he witnessed the explosion of poke-speak erupt around him.

After a solid fifteen minutes of rapturous discussion, it was decided that the group that coming along for his much needed shopping spree would be Smearlge, Ralts, Pachirisu, Emolga, who was still in her pokeball, Shuckle, and Chatot. Munchlax wanted to come, but as he wasn’t officially his pokemon, he was going to be hard to keep an eye on. Ralts also wasn’t his pokemon, but having her ride along on his left shoulder wouldn’t be too big of an issue, and she dearly wanted to visit ‘The lands of humans; a realm both fragile and fleeting, where ambition dances with folly beneath the shadow of time.’ Whatever that meant.

After quickly making sure that his packages of online orders were waiting for him at the Pokemon Center, letting Ursaring know that she was in charge and on guard duty, and making sure that the left behind pokemon were going to be okay, Ethan stood on his Patio with a belt full of pokeballs and an eager Smeargle and grinning Ralts.

He raised a hand and cupped Ralts head to make sure she wasn’t going to fly off his shoulder mid teleport, then held Smeargle’s hand. “Let’s not waste any time. Smeargle, Teleport!”

Ethan’s vision shrank down into pinpoints as the vicious swirls of colors overtook his eyes. He was squished, twirled, stretched, then hit by an enormous, throbbing headache as he appeared in front of a very familiar Pokemon Center.

While the aftereffects of teleporting weren't as bad as it was previously, when he had been saved by the rangers, it was still a terrible decision to teleport right after breakfast….

After spewing on the grass alongside Smeargle, much to Ralts and some of the nearby passerby’s disdain and pity, Ethan stood up and dusted himself and Smeargle off. “Okay. Long distance still sucks.”

They had, of course, done some trial teleports around the ranch, but distance made the slightly discomforting experience a living hell.

“On the bright side, we can pick up all of your painting supplies. You earned it. Are you going to be okay for a return trip?”

Smeargle used his tail as a napkin to wipe his face then gave Ethan a shaky thumbs up.

“Return for now, take a rest, you earned it,” Ethan said, before unclipping Smeargle’s Great Ball and returning him.

As he closed his eyes and took a few steady breaths, Ralts spoke in his mind. “This… This is a much larger place than anticipated.”

Mildly shocked by her lack of decorated speech, Ethan glanced to his shoulder to find Ralts enthralled. She gazed upon the people going about their day, the towering buildings of the city, and the pokemon walking alongside their trainers from beneath her bang-like head. From his vantage point, he could see her eyes clearly—They were pinkish-red. She excitedly tugged on his hair as she pointed frantically ahead, a large smile on her face. “Look! Look!”

Looking ahead, a fit woman around his age and a Gardevoir walked down the street. Ethan smiled at her excitement and complete change of attitude. “You’ll see a lot of pokemon out and about.”

Suddenly, the Gardevoir’s head whipped toward him, startling its trainer. Ralts waved energetically as the Gardevoir’s wide and surprised eyes crinkled into one of joy. The Gardevoir gave Ralts a wave before pointing towards them for its trainers' benefit. Ethan gave the woman a sheepish wave as realization dawned on her face. She gave Ralts a little wave before continuing off on their way.

After letting Ralts observe around for another minute, he turned and walked towards the entrance to the Pokemon Center. “Well, let's go inside and pick up our stuff. We can also surprise Nurse Joy.”

Inside was just as it was many moons before. People stood in lines, sat at the numerous PC’s around the lobby, and wandered about. Ralts took everything in with ever-growing curiosity as he waited his turn in the queue. Once it was his turn, he asked the non-joy receptionist to let Joyce Joy know that he had arrived. After a minute, Joyce burst through the nearby doorway with an utterly surprised smile. “Ethan! What are you doing here!? And who is this?”

Ethan grinned as his surprise visit turned out to be an actual surprise. With his packages being stored here, he was worried that she would have gotten a heads up. “Smeargle learned Teleport. I’m here to pick up some much needed items and to surprise you. This is Ralts, I’m watching over her for a while and since I was leaving, she had to come along.”

Ralts looked Nurse Joy up and down one time before nodding with her hand cupping her chin. Her pinkish-red eyes flared purple, and Joyce’s smile became forced. “Well, she’s certainly sophisticated.”

“That she is,” Ethan walked over to stand off to the side to not hold up the line. “Do you happen to know where packages are stored for pickup?”

After a quick walk through the back of the Pokemon Center, Joyce led Ethan and Ralts to a storage room filled with boxes and bags. The floor was sanctioned off into squares with tape, indicating that each square was for separate purchases. After a quick gander, Joyce patted a smaller pile of boxes. “This one’s for you. I’m glad you stopped by, but I have an unruly Primeape which needs a stern talking too. Keep in touch!”

Ethan watched with a strained smile as Joyce speed walked out of the room, leaving them alone with their goods. He didn’t know much about Mankey’s and Primeapes, but getting one to accept healing sounded like a pain.

After tearing through a few of his boxes, he found the item he was looking for. Even though it cost nearly half of his funds, a brilliantly white Silph Co storage bag was going to be a blessing for future purchases. It wasn’t the cheapest of the bunch, but it was very close to it. After storing his other items, the main ones being a small Poke ball safe, Smeargle’s art supplies, a wide array of seeds from other regions, a nice vest which would hold more than enough pokeballs for his needs, Ethan slunk out of the Pokemon Center and made his way towards where he remembered the PokeMart was located. After entering inside, he filled up his small trolley with a wide assortment of different grooming kits. Ralts asked questions about what each of the items they passed were, and he did his best to answer to the best of his abilities.

At the counter, Ethan cringed as he spoke to the well-dressed cashier. He had made up his mind during this past week, and now it was time to seal the deal. “I’d like all of this and twenty-seven Poke balls please.”

The cashier didn’t even blink an eye or drop his small welcoming smile as he began counting pokeballs on top of the glass countertop for Ethan. These purchases would drop his account to next to nothing, but Ethan was committed. He wanted these grooming kits to be a perk for those pokemon who stayed at his ranch and an enticing incentive for trainers to pick him over the others. The pokeballs were for personal use and for the selling of pokemon in the future. He had a score of Oddish ready, and he was sure at least one of them would like to go out on a journey.

As he left the store, Ralts asked yet another question. “Why is that Glameow glaring at you?”

A memory of a harsh Sand-Attack flashed before his eyes. Before his desperate deeds could be announced through telepathy, Ethan stormed off down the street.