Chapter - 12

"When does my Eevee learn Hyper Beam?" Matthew asked.

"What?" Michael responded, stunned he would even get such a

question.

"Should I groom my Eevee every day to let it's fur grow out?"

Addison asked.

"Well-"

"Which Pokémon is the most powerful?" Ryan eagerly asked his

cousin.

"ONE AT A TIME!" Michael yelled, prompting the three to quiet

themselves. Seeing their timid expressions, he sighed. "Sorry. I don't

think I'm cut out for this whole 'teaching' thing. I'll do the best I can to

let you three go out into the world without being completely dense."

He turned to Matthew. "Your Eevee will never learn Hyper Beam.

That's a move only fully evolved Pokémon and Dragon Pokémon

can learn." He then faced Addison. "Piper Pines usually grooms her

Pokémon twice a day, once at morning and once at night." Lastly, he

turned to Ryan. "The most powerful Pokémon is the one who has the

deepest bond with its trainer. So, technically, a Pikachu can be just

as powerful as a Dragonite."

"But what about-" the three all began to ask, but Michael cut them

off.

"As much as I would like to answer every last question you three

have" Michael explained, "all four of us are on a relatively tight

schedule. So, while I will teach you some things, the rest you guys

are gonna have to learn on your own." He turned towards the small

field of grass near where they were standing. "Now, of all the things

that trainers do with their Pokémon, the two most common are

Catching Wild Pokémon and Battling other Pokémon."

"Can we catch another trainer's Pokémon?" Matthew asked.

"No" Michael told his cousin. "I'm pretty sure you got taught as a little

boy that stealing is against the law."

"Oh" Matthew responded, lowering his head.

"Wild Pokémon, however, are fair game." He glanced out of the

corner of his eye and saw a long brown and vanilla colored creature

dart in and out of the grass in zig zagged patterns. "Ah, perfect. A

Zigzagoon." He turned towards the kids. "Now, there are two ways

you can catch a Pokémon in the wild. One, is by simply lobbing a

Poké Ball at them. If you're lucky, you'll catch it. Otherwise, you'll

have to battle the Pokémon with your own and wear it down." He

turned towards the Zigzagoon and pulled a Poké Ball out of his

pocket. He lobbed the Poké Ball at the Zigzagoon and it snared the

Pokémon immediately. The Zigzagoon didn't react in time and thus

disappeared within the ball. Ryan was about to cheer, but Michael

stopped him.

"But you said-"

"Not yet" Michael explained. "Poké Balls aren't guaranteed catches."

The four waited until the Poké Ball wiggled three times and then

finally secured the capture. "There you go." He took the Poké Ball

into his hand and turned towards the others. "It's that easy. Choose

which way will work the best for you and make the catch. Now, who

wants to go first?"

Matthew rushed in front. "I'll do it."

"By all means, Matt" Michael told his cousin. "Look for a Pokémon in

the grass." Matthew scanned the whole meadow for a Pokémon to

appear, but none seemed to be showing themselves. The boy was

about to give up his chance when another bipedal Pokémon walked

out into the field and looked directly at him. The Pokemon seemed

raring for a fight.

"Look at this guy! He's pretty tough."

"A Tyrogue?" Michael asked aloud. "Well, it's a start. Matt, you're

up." He handed his cousin a Pokemon Ball. "Make sure your throw is

on the money, or else it may run off."

Matthew took the Poké Ball and glared at the Tyrogue. "Okay,

Tyrogue, prepare to be caught." He hurled the Poké Ball at the Wild

Pokémon, who simply punched the ball back towards Matthew at

double the speed. The ball hit Matthew in the head and he fell to the

ground.

Michael burst out into laughter. "I think that one's a little too tough for

you, buddy."

Ryan and Addison joined in on the laughter. "Yeah" Matthew's

brother warned him. "Maybe you should damage it first."

Embarrassed and frustrated, Matthew grabbed another Pokémon

Ball from his pocket. "Alright, fine then. You asked for it, Tyrogue.

Go, Eevee!" He hurled the Poké Ball forward and his Eevee sprung

out of it. Without waiting for his trainer's instructions, the Eevee

tackled the Tyrogue and pinned it on the ground. The Fighting Type

Pokémon struggled to free itself, but couldn't move the Eevee off of

it. Once more, Matthew picked up the empty Pokémon Ball and

hurled it at the Tyrogue. As if it knew what his trainer was going to

do, the Eevee jumped off of the pinned Tyrogue and watched as the

Pokémon Ball snared it and within three wiggles, the Tyrogue was

secured.

Matthew picked up his second captured Pokémon and turned

towards the others. "Easy."

Michael nodded. "Good work, Matt. Tyrogue is a tricky Pokémon,

though. They say that when it evolves, it eventually becomes

whatever's strengths in battle are. Raise it well.

Matthew gave his cousin a thumbs up. "No problem."

Michael turned his attention to Addison. "How about you next,

Addy?"

Addison thought for a moment and then turned to Ryan. "You let me

pick my Eevee out first. I'll let you get the next Wild Pokémon. Sound

fair?"

Ryan was surprised. "Really? Thanks Addy. You're the best."

Michael eyed Ryan. "Remember, you may need to send your Eevee

out to battle a Pokémon first."

Ryan placed his Eevee on the ground in front of him. "Go on, buddy.

Try and sniff out a Pokémon."

The Eevee at first looked puzzled, but turned and began to crawl

around in the grass. As he vanished into the grass, a small shadow

flew above their heads. A small Flying Pokémon with brown colored

feathers landed and began to shake it's feathers.

"There's one" Ryan called out.

"A Pidgey" Michael remarked. "Good luck pinning it down." He

offered the boy a Poké Ball, as he had his brother. But the moment

Ryan took the ball in his hands, the Pidgey squawked loudly and

dove into the bushes. The Flying Pokémon was now in full pursuit of

Ryan's Eevee. The Eevee frantically ran out of the grass and

towards his trainer. Desperate to save his Eevee, Ryan hurled the

Poké Ball at the attacking Pidgey. The Pidgey tried to dodge the

throw, but it was easily plucked from the air and snared. As the Poke

Ball wiggled, Eevee emerged from his hiding place in Ryan's

shadows. When the Poké Ball finally stopped and secured Ryan his

Pidgey, Michael looked over the Eevee. "I guess battling isn't this

one's forte."

The Eevee looked sheepishly up at Ryan. Ryan scooped the Eevee

into his arms. "Maybe he is. Maybe he just needs to learn what it

means to battle."

"You may be waiting for a while with that one" Matthew snickered.

"Nevertheless" Michael interrupted, handing Ryan his captured

Pidgey's Poké Ball, "it's still a successful catch. Well done, Ryan.

Take good care of this one, Ryan. Pidgeys can be fiercely loyal to

Pokémon Trainers who take care of them."

"I will" Ryan proclaimed. "I promise."

"I guess it's my turn" Addison chimed in, taking a Poké Ball from

Michael and walking past the boys and looking out into the field. She

waited patiently for a minute before throwing the Poké Ball in a

direction and snagging a Pokémon as if she were a pro at it. She

turned back to the boys, who's jaws may as well have been on the

ground.

"Wow" Ryan said, too flabbergasted to say anything else of

substance.

"She's amazing" Matthew said admiringly.

"Her father is the Safari Zone Warden" Michael reminded the twins.

"I expected nothing less from you, Addy. What did you catch?"

"It was this weird purple ball" Addison explained. "I think I've seen

them at my Dad's work."

"Weird purple ball?" Michael repeated, thinking to himself. "Weird

purple-wait, did it have antennae?"

"I think so" she replied.