Cue training montage

[blade_psychic]

[Video]

[Hey look, it's a pompadour on your screen, followed a close-up eyeball as Kuwabara tries to figure out if this is working or not. Finally, he pulls it back a bit, and you get to see his face, with an entertained grin.]

Hey, everyone! This thing is pretty cool, heheh! I'm Kazuma Kuwabara, and I'm the worst punk at Union University! But that's not what this is about. I was just wondering, does anyone know how to get a pokemon to fight? I mean I'm not gonna force him into fights or anything, but he's scared of pretty much everything, so I wanna teach him how to fight, so maybe he won't be as scared, y'know?

[Action]

If you're wandering the streets between towers in the Residential District, you might see something strange - a teenager trying to get his own pokemon to attack him.

"C'mon, Eikichi, just hit me with whatever you've got. I promise it won't hurt me, I'm way too tough. I bet it won't even be that strong, you little wimp!"

The poor pokemon he's yelling at is an Espurr that's just staring passively at him. It might be a statue if it didn't blink periodically. It would be almost impossible for most people to tell how it feels about this, but someone that could sense emotions would feel that it's scared and anxious - not of the trainer, but pretty much everything and everyone else.

Comments

[video]

[indy_wannabe]

Wait why is the "worst punk in Union" asking us how to teach his Pokemon how to fight?

[blade_psychic]

Because I'm usually the one doing the fighting, duh! It's not like I want to beat him up, I just want him to try to fight back.

[indy_wannabe]

I don't think you're prepared for that responsibility.

[Says the kid probably not much older than Kuwabara, if at all]

[Action]

[flowerofsendai]

"Um?"

A young woman, her arms filled with groceries, stops to watch, a strange expression on her face as Kuwabara goads his Espurr.

[blade_psychic]

"Just a scratch, or a... whatever you can do, just... huh?"

Eikichi sees the woman first, and turns to look at her, then Kuwabara notices.

"...yeah, what? I'm in the middle of some very important training here."

[flowerofsendai]

Sakura blinks a few times, "Sorry," She starts, clutching her things closer, the sword at her side shifting slightly, "I didn't mean to interrupt you. But it's not a very good idea to try to fight in the middle of the street..." Really, there was a lot of things wrong with what she assumed was going on here, but it was none of her business. "You'll get in trouble with the Guard."

[Action]

[for_realsies]

"Hey, is this guy bothering you?"

...Imogen has walked past the strange redhead with the cool hair to talk to the Espurr. She looks a bit roughed up, but no worse than a long day of training.

[blade_psychic]

Completely missing the hint, Kuwabara just shrugs and says, "yeah, kinda. I just want him to try, y'know?"

Eikichi, on the other hand, knows this girl is staring right at him and talking to him and begins to tremble nervously.

[for_realsies]

"Wasn't talking to you." And with that Imogen has dismissed the thug.

She put on her best 'I'm no threat' face with her hands up in a disarmed manner, "I know you can't read my mind and that freaks you out, but I promise I'm really nice."

[Voice] as she has not upgraded

[makeitquick]

You just just sockin' em?

[blade_psychic]

W-what? No, I don't wanna hurt him!!

[makeitquick]

Wouldn't that toughen 'em up? Usually things hit back when they're hit.

Action

[all_onis_are_true]

...

[Oh hey, it's the Pokemon-impaired kid again. This time he seems to be carrying around an egg with him. The other Pokemon are gone, presumably at the habitat, but Takuro is with him as always.]

He does not seem to want to do it.

[blade_psychic]

[Kuwabara grins and waves when he sees this kid. He actually seemed alright, if a little too serious]

Well, sometimes you gotta do something you don't want to. Especially when it's for your own good. It's part of being a man.

[all_onis_are_true]

[Hiroshi finds himself wondering if part of being a "man" also involves having a nervous breakdown. Admittedly, this would mean Hiroshi passed the manliness threshold a few years back.]

Isn't there a more piecemeal approach you could take to this? Like Poke-therapy, or something.

[Takuro wanders over to Eikichi and waves a paw in front of his face.]

[Video]

[wolvenmemory]

Not sure teaching him how to fight is the best solution.

You narrow down what he's actually scared of? "Everything" isn't going to help you figure out much.

[blade_psychic]

[Congratulations, you're our millionth caller! You win a long, drawn-out groan.]

What's with you people? I keep having to explain this. He's scared of almost everyone, people and pokemon. He doesn't like being stuck inside all the time, but then he's scared when we go outside. I try and tell him I'll protect him, but even then he's afraid. And it took a long time for him to just warm up to me.

So unless he's gonna be happy living inside a box in a locked room in a dungeon somewhere, and I'm pretty sure he's not, I'm gonna have to find some way of helping him be less afraid besides getting rid of everyone in the city.

[wolvenmemory]

So you think trying to make him fight right off is the best solution if that's scared of everything? You going to push someone who's afraid of water into the deep end first thing too?

[video]

[reborn_love]

Mister Kuwabara...

[Elly crosses her arms and looms at the camera. It doesn't work quite as well as it should.]

...I don't think you should refer to yourself as a punk, for starters!

[blade_psychic]

Oh yeah? And just what's wrong with that, when it's true?

[reborn_love]

Punks are mean, rough people who pick on others. I'm sure you're better than that, especially if you don't want to make your Pokémon fight.

Video

[somnambulatory]

Do you know why he's so scared of everything? That's where I'd start.

Re: Video

[blade_psychic]

Well, uh, I don't know why exactly, but he being bullied pretty badly when I found him, and he's been scared as long as I've known him. He's mostly scared of people and pokemon, so I guess he must have been bullied a lot before then.

[voice]

[antiseptic]

Perhaps you ought to consider another approach. You know what they say: fear can be a powerful motivator.

[kaidont]

What's wrong with him?

[Look who was on his way to his own training. A curious Flabébé is tailing behind him, and edges closer to investigate the Espurr]