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@Charles Legend @Mia Blaze
Episode 83: Doin' What Comes Natu-rally!
"How much further until lunch?" Ash sighed. "I'm getting hungry..."
"We shouldn't be too far away from a town, so we should be getting lunch here momentarily." Brock assured Ash as the group rounded a bend in the road.
"I'm just happy that Hana became a Bayleef." Misty smiled, changing the subject. "You have to hand it to Lyra for being brave, though."
Ash was about to reply when he heard a female voice in the distance. After motioning for his friends to follow him, he crawled into the grass, where he spotted a brown haired girl talking talking with a small round green bird with tiny red and yellow wings. But as he got closer, the girl gasped, and told the small bird "Come on, Naughty."
Piqued, Ash read up on the bird Pokemon in the girl's arms:
"Natu, the tiny bird Pokemon. It usually forages for food on the ground but may, on rare occasions, hop onto branches to peck at shoots."
"Wonder why that girl called the Natu 'Naughty' when it didn't do anything wrong." Ash mused as he watched the girl run off.
"Maybe that's the Natu's name." Misty suggested as the group returned to the road.
"Not the name I would pick for a Natu, but okay." Ash mused.
---------
Festival tents, booths, and streamers met the group when they arrived in town. "A festival!!!" Ash gasped.
"That, and you have a shot for your blue Lore Stripe." Misty grinned at Brock as the group passed a signpost that said 'Lore Stage on Festival Stage @ 3 PM'.
"If you guys will wait a second, I'll go check in for that." Brock assured the others before locating the check in booth near the stage in question.
"I'm gonna go sample some of the tasty fried goodness!" Ash wasted no time in getting in line for a corn dog.
"Ooh, good idea!" Misty hurried over to a funnel cake stand.
Brock, meanwhile, smiled when he returned to find Ash savoring a fresh corn dog and Misty indulging in a chocolate drizzled funnel cake. "Couldn't wait for lunch, could you?"
"Corn dog?" Ash offered Brock a corn dog. "You get two for 500 credits, and the one I just finished really filled me up."
"Don't mind if I do." Brock smiled as he took the other corn dog and bit into it with a crunch.
As the group strolled down the streets of the festival, they took a moment to admire the rides and other attractions. A Machoke effortlessly snapped a chain on a stage nearby a roller coaster, while a crowd laughed at an Exeggutor making goofy faces. Misty smiled as a juggling Cubone delighted some children, while hundreds more people lined up to try their luck winning Pokemon dolls and other prizes on the midway.
"Before you is the humble Natu, a Psychic and Flying type Pokemon that can see the future." a man began, piquing the group's interest. "Offer a coin, and the Natu will tell you what is to come in your future!"
"Here you go!" a little girl called as she hurried to the booth and gave the Natu a silver coin with a moon design on it. The crowd watched as the Natu hopped to a pool of water and dipped its wings in it; then hopped across three rocks in a triangle; rang a bell hanging over a box, then its eyes glowed blue as it took a piece of paper in its beak and presented it to the man.
"Hm...the Natu sees that you will become a fine musician when you get older, and your songs will touch the hearts of millions." the man announced to some applause.
"Mama, you hear that? I'm gonna be an idol when I grow up!" the girl smiled as she showed her mother the fortune.
"Keep practicing the piano like you do every day, and you will!" the mother smiled.
In the brush overlooking the fortune telling booth, Kamon watched as a boy gave the Natu a coin. I was gonna find Wonder Boy and challenge him, but since this is a Pokémon exhibition, why not swipe the Pokémon?
---------
As Misty approached the fortunetelling booth some time later, she recognized the girl from before at the booth. "Um...b-before you..." she stammered.
"Is the humble Natu..." the man whispered.
"...is the humble Natu, a Psychic and Flying type Pokemon that..." the girl stammered before freezing in horror again.
"Can see the future..." the man reminded her again.
Finally, overcome with nervousness, the girl ran off, tears of embarrassment streaming down her face. "Hey, wait!" Misty called, the others not far behind her.
---------
The gang caught up to the girl some time later in a park. "There she is..." Ash mused, pointing her out staring at the ground from a bench.
The girl gasped as the group approached. "Hey, it's okay." Misty assured the girl. "We're not gonna hurt you."
Ash stepped forward to address the girl. "I'm Ash, and these are my companions Misty..." Misty waved hello. "...and Brock." Brock waved hello.
"My name's McKenzie, and this is Naughty." the girl replied as her Natu hopped on her lap. "I really wanted to participate in the Lore Stage and help my dad with his fortune telling act, but every time i get on a stage of any type, I get really nervous."
"Well, we all play music, and Brock plays music and tells stories professionally." Ash explained. "And we get nervous too. But we tell ourselves the audience wants us to do well, go out onstage, and play."
"Any suggestions to not be nervous?" McKenzie asked.
"I could tell you many different ways to ease nerves, but what works for me may not necessarily work for you." Brock cautioned. "Knowing and practicing your material helps the most, but some things that generally work for most people include relaxation techniques, eating a Nanab Berry before they go onstage, and listening to motivating music."
"Another thing we could try is using a mask to create a character to do the fortune telling act." Misty suggested. "If you focus on performing the script in character, you'll have less time to worry about the audience."
A smile formed on McKenzie's face. "What a great idea! I think I have a mask we could use..."
---------
"Before you is the humble Natu, a Psychic and Flying type Pokemon that can see the future." McKenzie--now wearing a Wooper mask--announced to the crowd later that afternoon.
"Where? I don't see a Natu..." a boy protested. McKenzie froze--Naughty was gone!
She turned around to look for Naughty, but when the crowd spotted Naughty clinging on McKenzie's back, they burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" McKenzie asked, oblivious to Naughty's antics.
Nearby, Ash facepalmed as McKenzie continued to fruitlessly look for Naughty, the crowd roaring with laughter all the while. "I think our next lesson should be the concept of 'the show must go on'..."
Just then, a flash bomb dropped on the ground with a loud pop and a bright flash, startling many in the crowd. With the crowd distracted, Kamon slunk from the brush and started taking as many Pokemon as he could carry. That pop should lure Wonder Boy here... he smirked as he hurried off with all the Pokemon... except for Tintri!
---------
"Is everyone okay?" Ash asked the crowd as the townsfolk frantically searched the festival grounds for their Pokemon.
"Brock's consoling McKenzie, I'm going back to my team of searchers." Misty reported before hurrying to rejoin a group searching by the midway.
Just then, one of the Machokes from before lumbered up to the crowds of searchers. [Hey--if you're wondering where the other Pokemon went, that red haired punk over there got them all!] he reported, pointing out Kamon dashing down the path with a massive net in tow.
Ash heaved a Poke Ball skyward. "Aina, use Karate Chop to cut the net!"
[HIII-YA!] Aina dashed up to the net and effortlessly cut the bag open, sending the captive Pokemon hurrying back to their owners.
"But what about Naughty?" McKenzie asked Ash, pointing out Naughty in Kamon's arms.
"This Natu's mine now, Wonder Boy!" Kamon taunted. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"
"Oh yeah?" Ash shot back. "Tintri, use Thunderbolt!"
[HAAAAAAAHHHH!!!] Tintri fired a volley of Thunderbolts, forcing Kamon to drop Naughty as he went crashing to the ground.
"Nice work." Misty smiled as Kamon fled, allowing McKenzie to reunite with Naughty.
[All in a day's work!] Tintri grinned.
---------
"You know, I think I may be able to do the fortune-telling act and compete in the Lore Stage after all." McKenzie smiled as she, Naughty, and the group arrived at a school. "Without the mask."
"This was why we brought you here--so you could practice both the fortune telling act and your story for the Lore Stage." Misty explained as the group signed in and received guest passes. "The principal loved the idea, so she allowed us the use of the gym, since the auditorium is being cleaned at the moment."
Once the children had gathered in the gym, and McKenzie was set up, she started the spiel with the trio looking on. "Before you is the humble Natu, a Psychic and Flying type Pokemon that can see the future."
The kids cheered as she made a grand gesture to Naughty. "Offer a coin, and the Natu will tell you what is to come in your future!"
"Will I be a pro athlete?" a boy asked as he offered Naughty a coin.
The group smiled as Naughty accepted the coin, hopped to a pool of water and dipped his wings in it; then hopped across three rocks in a triangle; rang a bell hanging over a box, then his eyes glowed blue as he took a piece of paper in his beak and presented it to the boy.
"The Natu sees that you will indeed become a pro athlete, and will make history in your chosen sport!" McKenzie smiled.
She got up from the fortunetelling table and started her planned tale for the Lore Stage. "Once a Combusken was scratching for food when he accidentally swallowed a bean. Try as he might, he just couldn't swallow the bean. So he laid down on the ground, in hopes the new position would help the bean along..."
---------
"...On the third day the queen came to Todd disguised as a huntress, saying she wanted a Buneary to serve a guest for dinner." Brock continued the tale he was weaving some time later. "Todd agreed--if the huntress would tiptoe in a circle while looking up at the sky and clucking like a Combusken."
Even McKenzie laughed as she pictured the ridiculous scene in her mind. "The queen was unsure, and knew people would think she'd gone nuts, but did what Todd asked of her anyway." Brock went on. "But at the end of the day, when he used the whistle to call back the Bunearies..."
Ash played the Zelda whistle theme again for effect, to giggles from the children in the crowd. "...even the one Todd gave away came hopping back." Brock smiled before he concluded "When the king heard of how clever Todd was, and how Princess Andrea seemed to like him, he concluded Todd was the best choice, and the two of them were soon married. When it came time for Todd to ascend the throne, he ruled with the same wisdom and cunning as he did when he herded the Bunearies."
Applause rang across the carnival grounds as Brock and Ash both took a bow, but when the scores of the participants appeared as bars on the scoreboard, McKenzie's bar narrowly edged Brock's to reach the top, signaling she had won the Lore Stripe! "I can't believe it...McKenzie managed to beat you?" Misty was surprised as the judges pinned an orange stripe to McKenzie's shirt.
"She truly earned it after all that happened today." Brock smiled. "I respect the judges' decision."
He quickly found McKenzie in the crowd with her parents some moments later. "Oh!" McKenzie gasped. "I just wanted to thank you guys for being so nice, and showing me how to be confident."
"Well, I came to offer my heartiest congratulations to you and Naughty, even though I lost." Brock replied. "You more than earned that Lore Stripe."
"Thank you..." McKenzie ran and hugged Brock. "Will you guys come back and perform for the carnival next year?"
"We'll try, okay?" Brock smiled as the new friends shared their embrace against the setting sun...
To Be Continued...
Episode 83: Doin' What Comes Natu-rally!
"How much further until lunch?" Ash sighed. "I'm getting hungry..."
"We shouldn't be too far away from a town, so we should be getting lunch here momentarily." Brock assured Ash as the group rounded a bend in the road.
"I'm just happy that Hana became a Bayleef." Misty smiled, changing the subject. "You have to hand it to Lyra for being brave, though."
Ash was about to reply when he heard a female voice in the distance. After motioning for his friends to follow him, he crawled into the grass, where he spotted a brown haired girl talking talking with a small round green bird with tiny red and yellow wings. But as he got closer, the girl gasped, and told the small bird "Come on, Naughty."
Piqued, Ash read up on the bird Pokemon in the girl's arms:
"Natu, the tiny bird Pokemon. It usually forages for food on the ground but may, on rare occasions, hop onto branches to peck at shoots."
"Wonder why that girl called the Natu 'Naughty' when it didn't do anything wrong." Ash mused as he watched the girl run off.
"Maybe that's the Natu's name." Misty suggested as the group returned to the road.
"Not the name I would pick for a Natu, but okay." Ash mused.
---------
Festival tents, booths, and streamers met the group when they arrived in town. "A festival!!!" Ash gasped.
"That, and you have a shot for your blue Lore Stripe." Misty grinned at Brock as the group passed a signpost that said 'Lore Stage on Festival Stage @ 3 PM'.
"If you guys will wait a second, I'll go check in for that." Brock assured the others before locating the check in booth near the stage in question.
"I'm gonna go sample some of the tasty fried goodness!" Ash wasted no time in getting in line for a corn dog.
"Ooh, good idea!" Misty hurried over to a funnel cake stand.
Brock, meanwhile, smiled when he returned to find Ash savoring a fresh corn dog and Misty indulging in a chocolate drizzled funnel cake. "Couldn't wait for lunch, could you?"
"Corn dog?" Ash offered Brock a corn dog. "You get two for 500 credits, and the one I just finished really filled me up."
"Don't mind if I do." Brock smiled as he took the other corn dog and bit into it with a crunch.
As the group strolled down the streets of the festival, they took a moment to admire the rides and other attractions. A Machoke effortlessly snapped a chain on a stage nearby a roller coaster, while a crowd laughed at an Exeggutor making goofy faces. Misty smiled as a juggling Cubone delighted some children, while hundreds more people lined up to try their luck winning Pokemon dolls and other prizes on the midway.
"Before you is the humble Natu, a Psychic and Flying type Pokemon that can see the future." a man began, piquing the group's interest. "Offer a coin, and the Natu will tell you what is to come in your future!"
"Here you go!" a little girl called as she hurried to the booth and gave the Natu a silver coin with a moon design on it. The crowd watched as the Natu hopped to a pool of water and dipped its wings in it; then hopped across three rocks in a triangle; rang a bell hanging over a box, then its eyes glowed blue as it took a piece of paper in its beak and presented it to the man.
"Hm...the Natu sees that you will become a fine musician when you get older, and your songs will touch the hearts of millions." the man announced to some applause.
"Mama, you hear that? I'm gonna be an idol when I grow up!" the girl smiled as she showed her mother the fortune.
"Keep practicing the piano like you do every day, and you will!" the mother smiled.
In the brush overlooking the fortune telling booth, Kamon watched as a boy gave the Natu a coin. I was gonna find Wonder Boy and challenge him, but since this is a Pokémon exhibition, why not swipe the Pokémon?
---------
As Misty approached the fortunetelling booth some time later, she recognized the girl from before at the booth. "Um...b-before you..." she stammered.
"Is the humble Natu..." the man whispered.
"...is the humble Natu, a Psychic and Flying type Pokemon that..." the girl stammered before freezing in horror again.
"Can see the future..." the man reminded her again.
Finally, overcome with nervousness, the girl ran off, tears of embarrassment streaming down her face. "Hey, wait!" Misty called, the others not far behind her.
---------
The gang caught up to the girl some time later in a park. "There she is..." Ash mused, pointing her out staring at the ground from a bench.
The girl gasped as the group approached. "Hey, it's okay." Misty assured the girl. "We're not gonna hurt you."
Ash stepped forward to address the girl. "I'm Ash, and these are my companions Misty..." Misty waved hello. "...and Brock." Brock waved hello.
"My name's McKenzie, and this is Naughty." the girl replied as her Natu hopped on her lap. "I really wanted to participate in the Lore Stage and help my dad with his fortune telling act, but every time i get on a stage of any type, I get really nervous."
"Well, we all play music, and Brock plays music and tells stories professionally." Ash explained. "And we get nervous too. But we tell ourselves the audience wants us to do well, go out onstage, and play."
"Any suggestions to not be nervous?" McKenzie asked.
"I could tell you many different ways to ease nerves, but what works for me may not necessarily work for you." Brock cautioned. "Knowing and practicing your material helps the most, but some things that generally work for most people include relaxation techniques, eating a Nanab Berry before they go onstage, and listening to motivating music."
"Another thing we could try is using a mask to create a character to do the fortune telling act." Misty suggested. "If you focus on performing the script in character, you'll have less time to worry about the audience."
A smile formed on McKenzie's face. "What a great idea! I think I have a mask we could use..."
---------
"Before you is the humble Natu, a Psychic and Flying type Pokemon that can see the future." McKenzie--now wearing a Wooper mask--announced to the crowd later that afternoon.
"Where? I don't see a Natu..." a boy protested. McKenzie froze--Naughty was gone!
She turned around to look for Naughty, but when the crowd spotted Naughty clinging on McKenzie's back, they burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" McKenzie asked, oblivious to Naughty's antics.
Nearby, Ash facepalmed as McKenzie continued to fruitlessly look for Naughty, the crowd roaring with laughter all the while. "I think our next lesson should be the concept of 'the show must go on'..."
Just then, a flash bomb dropped on the ground with a loud pop and a bright flash, startling many in the crowd. With the crowd distracted, Kamon slunk from the brush and started taking as many Pokemon as he could carry. That pop should lure Wonder Boy here... he smirked as he hurried off with all the Pokemon... except for Tintri!
---------
"Is everyone okay?" Ash asked the crowd as the townsfolk frantically searched the festival grounds for their Pokemon.
"Brock's consoling McKenzie, I'm going back to my team of searchers." Misty reported before hurrying to rejoin a group searching by the midway.
Just then, one of the Machokes from before lumbered up to the crowds of searchers. [Hey--if you're wondering where the other Pokemon went, that red haired punk over there got them all!] he reported, pointing out Kamon dashing down the path with a massive net in tow.
Ash heaved a Poke Ball skyward. "Aina, use Karate Chop to cut the net!"
[HIII-YA!] Aina dashed up to the net and effortlessly cut the bag open, sending the captive Pokemon hurrying back to their owners.
"But what about Naughty?" McKenzie asked Ash, pointing out Naughty in Kamon's arms.
"This Natu's mine now, Wonder Boy!" Kamon taunted. "And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"
"Oh yeah?" Ash shot back. "Tintri, use Thunderbolt!"
[HAAAAAAAHHHH!!!] Tintri fired a volley of Thunderbolts, forcing Kamon to drop Naughty as he went crashing to the ground.
"Nice work." Misty smiled as Kamon fled, allowing McKenzie to reunite with Naughty.
[All in a day's work!] Tintri grinned.
---------
"You know, I think I may be able to do the fortune-telling act and compete in the Lore Stage after all." McKenzie smiled as she, Naughty, and the group arrived at a school. "Without the mask."
"This was why we brought you here--so you could practice both the fortune telling act and your story for the Lore Stage." Misty explained as the group signed in and received guest passes. "The principal loved the idea, so she allowed us the use of the gym, since the auditorium is being cleaned at the moment."
Once the children had gathered in the gym, and McKenzie was set up, she started the spiel with the trio looking on. "Before you is the humble Natu, a Psychic and Flying type Pokemon that can see the future."
The kids cheered as she made a grand gesture to Naughty. "Offer a coin, and the Natu will tell you what is to come in your future!"
"Will I be a pro athlete?" a boy asked as he offered Naughty a coin.
The group smiled as Naughty accepted the coin, hopped to a pool of water and dipped his wings in it; then hopped across three rocks in a triangle; rang a bell hanging over a box, then his eyes glowed blue as he took a piece of paper in his beak and presented it to the boy.
"The Natu sees that you will indeed become a pro athlete, and will make history in your chosen sport!" McKenzie smiled.
She got up from the fortunetelling table and started her planned tale for the Lore Stage. "Once a Combusken was scratching for food when he accidentally swallowed a bean. Try as he might, he just couldn't swallow the bean. So he laid down on the ground, in hopes the new position would help the bean along..."
---------
"...On the third day the queen came to Todd disguised as a huntress, saying she wanted a Buneary to serve a guest for dinner." Brock continued the tale he was weaving some time later. "Todd agreed--if the huntress would tiptoe in a circle while looking up at the sky and clucking like a Combusken."
Even McKenzie laughed as she pictured the ridiculous scene in her mind. "The queen was unsure, and knew people would think she'd gone nuts, but did what Todd asked of her anyway." Brock went on. "But at the end of the day, when he used the whistle to call back the Bunearies..."
Ash played the Zelda whistle theme again for effect, to giggles from the children in the crowd. "...even the one Todd gave away came hopping back." Brock smiled before he concluded "When the king heard of how clever Todd was, and how Princess Andrea seemed to like him, he concluded Todd was the best choice, and the two of them were soon married. When it came time for Todd to ascend the throne, he ruled with the same wisdom and cunning as he did when he herded the Bunearies."
Applause rang across the carnival grounds as Brock and Ash both took a bow, but when the scores of the participants appeared as bars on the scoreboard, McKenzie's bar narrowly edged Brock's to reach the top, signaling she had won the Lore Stripe! "I can't believe it...McKenzie managed to beat you?" Misty was surprised as the judges pinned an orange stripe to McKenzie's shirt.
"She truly earned it after all that happened today." Brock smiled. "I respect the judges' decision."
He quickly found McKenzie in the crowd with her parents some moments later. "Oh!" McKenzie gasped. "I just wanted to thank you guys for being so nice, and showing me how to be confident."
"Well, I came to offer my heartiest congratulations to you and Naughty, even though I lost." Brock replied. "You more than earned that Lore Stripe."
"Thank you..." McKenzie ran and hugged Brock. "Will you guys come back and perform for the carnival next year?"
"We'll try, okay?" Brock smiled as the new friends shared their embrace against the setting sun...
To Be Continued...