Natalie walked along the river, as her Sentret, Keiko, bounced beside her. Stopping, she sat on the ground to take of her sandals. She loved her sandals, but they often gave her callouses on her feet, making it somewhat painful to walk. Slipping her feet into the cool water of the stream, she took off her backpack and put her shoes in it. "I guess I can go without my shoes until I get to a town..." she said to herself. "I'm only walking on grass, so it wouldn't hurt." Keiko jumped onto her shoulder and squealed. Natalie laughed; then stood up and kept walking.

Ahh, what a pretty day. The sun was shining, the brook was babbling. Totally serene.

Sitting on a sun-bathed rock just around the corner, you saw a man. He was perched on it cross-legged, and he was holding a Safelure™ fishing rod (guaranteed not to hurt the Pokemon!) in his arms. Next to him, a Mudkip (presumably his pet) snoozed. And in a bucket beside him, a couple fish Pokemon, his daily catch, splashed noisily.

So, yeah, serene. Maybe you shouldn't disturb him-- he's obviously very absorbed in his job. Perhaps, though, you could see if you couldn't buy one of those fishes from him, or at least earn your Sentret some experience by challenging him to a battle. So what do you say?

Natalie thought for a moment. It would be good to get some battle experience. And that Mudkip looked like a pushover. Keiko could beat it easily. Finally deciding on it, she walked up to the man. "Um, excuse me, sir." she said nervously. "I'm a new trainer, and I was wondering if you could battle my Sentret?" She sweatdropped, smiling awkwardly. It wasn't the best way to ask for a battle, but at least she asked.

It was a moment before the man heard you. His head snapped back and he turned to you with an awkward look on his face. So much for concentration! He had been dozing off!

"Oh a... battle?" he asked. "Well, the fish ain't been bitin' for a while now, so I guess Heavydrop and I can spare some time for a quick match."

Beside him, the Mudkip looked up with interest in its eyes. It obviously wasn't a Pokemon used to battle, but who knew?

Keiko gave a little squeal of joy and climbed onto Natalie's head. "Great!" Natalie said. "Get ready for your first battle, Keiko!" she told her Sentret. This should be easy... she thought to herself.

Lv 7

HeavyDrop, apparently still a bit drowsy from the warm day, arched his back the way a cat would (considerably less gracefully of course, considering he is a four-legged fish) and trotted over to face you. Interest glittered in his eyes. Although the Mudkip was a bit plump, as is typical for a Pokemon not generally used to battling, he had considerably more mass compared to Keiko and probably the upper hand in age, too.

"Um, try not to hurt him too much," the fisherman requested. "He's not really... used to this, as you can tell, and I need him to subdue the fish sometimes when I catch them."

Huh. So the Mudkip had some battle experience, even if it wasn't exactly the same. Clearly, this would be a tough forst match for Keiko-- you would have to think quickly in order to best this foe!

Keiko jumped off of Natalie and prepared for the battle. "Sen!" she trilled, eager for her trainer to tell her which move to use.

Alright. Natalie thought to herself, instantly deciding which move to use. At the fisherman's request, she decided she wouldn't go too hard on HeavyDrop, and chose the weakest of Keiko's moves.

"Keiko, use Tackle!" she commanded her Sentret.

Keiko dashed ahead the second she heard her name, and attempted to Tackle the sleepy-looking Mudkip.