Pre-Chapter Author Notes: Well, the first two chapters are done so far, and I'm sorry about not updating sooner. I've been busy with school and such and I wasn't even sure if I could even pick this thing up again. Then I actually ran into this at around 3:30 AM and said to myself, "Well, might as well pick it up and read it over." For some kind of weird reason, I find reading my own writing to be more interesting than reading my textbooks. Anyways, reading it over really gave me a drive for me to start working on this. Anyways, now this is how the chapters are really going to look like from this point on, so you'll get used to this format and length if you continue reading. So, anyways, that's just about it.

And next is this disclaimer: I do NOT own the rights to Pokémon or any of its possible marketable ideas, which include anything that has appeared in the anime, manga, or video games. In realization of this fact, anyone who is reading this fanfic is given utmost confidence that the story is not being written for any kind of monetary interest and is independent of the canon Pokémon continuity (although the continuity will have an importance in the story itself). However, despite the fact that the good majority of the things in this story is not my own, the four trainers and filler characters are of my own creation and are (hopefully *crosses fingers*) protected by creative licensing. In addition to this, whatever main, recurring, or one-shot characters there are in the story are not mine, but are also protected under this disclaimer. I'm using them with permission by the owners and will list them at the end of this disclaimer as well as the end of the chapter before the Post-Chapter notes.

Characters for Chapter 2: Ren Suzuki (Episode 1-Present, Main character); Xth Form Keyblader

Megumi Suzuki (Episode 1-Present, Recurring character); Xth Form Keyblader

Buzzy Grover (Episode 2, Possible recurring character); Xth Form Keyblader

Anyways, here's where the real reading starts! Enjoy it, please!

Recap: Last episode, Ren Suzuki began on his journey in the world of Pokémon with a little bit of a scare. Team Rocket attacked the laboratory and tried to steal all of the Pokémon. But, Ren and the other three new trainers were able to fend them off. During this situation, he met Hiromi, one of his new rivals. Because Eevee didn't want to go into the pokéball, it ended up running away from Ren and through trying to get it back, he got to know both Rebecca and Joey, the remaining pair of new Pokémon trainers. With Eevee by his side, Ren bid farewell to Pallet Town and his mother, Megumi, and began moving in the direction of Viridian City.

Episode 3: Like Finding a Needle in a Haystack

At this moment, Ren is now walking alongside a river, something that he noticed on his way to Viridian City. Heading his way upstream, he is accompanied by just the sounds of his and Eevee's footsteps, and the rushing of the water. It is almost going to be sundown soon and Ren is contemplating either setting up shop for the night while he can still be able to see, or try to push the limits of time that he has: after all, he believes that it won't be too dark before he is able to get to Viridian City. Ren looks down to Eevee and notices that Eevee still has a strut in its stride and lets out a small laugh. Knowing that it is all or nothing now, Ren quickly takes off, with Eevee blinking a couple of times before it takes off in the direction that Ren is going in. He ends up jumping over some bushes and ducking under some low-hanging branches before he looks to see a long stretch of upward-slanting land. Ren then simply looks at Eevee, which begins running in the direction that Ren believes is the direction of Viridian City. Ren lets out a soft sigh before he fixes up his bag.

"Wait up," Ren says softly before he begins running as well, heading towards the peak of the small mountain that he seems to be climbing up. After a little while, he notices that the sun is almost all the way down but now, he is at flat land and looks straight ahead to see the slowly-brightening up lights of Viridian City. "Viridian City, huh?" he says to himself before Eevee begins to rub against Ren's leg. Ren then quickly moves, making Eevee stumble a little bit, before Ren says, "Let's go to the Pokémon Center."

---

At this moment in time, Ren is now in the Pokémon Center, on one of the phones for him to call home. He then hears the phone ring a couple of times before he hears someone pick up on the other line and sees Megumi's face on the screen. And she seems to have just come out of the shower right when the call was made. "Now, who may this be…?" she asks before she looks and catches sight of Ren. "Ah! Renny! So, you've remembered to call mommy, huh?" Ren lets out a soft sigh before Megumi puts on a little pout. "Aw… You don't like calling me mommy? Hey, how about I show you some fan service? I bet you'll be happy then-"

"No," Ren says bluntly. "It's unhealthy."

Megumi then pouts more. "Even though you're my son on paper, you do know that it wouldn't be incest at all, right? There's no genetics between us, after all," she says with a small smirk on her face. "Just joking. I'm not looking for small guys, after all." Ren lets out yet another sigh as Megumi looks at Ren with a straight face. "So, how's Eevee? And where are you right now, anyways?"

"Eevee's fine. Just tired," Ren says simply as he looks down at Eevee, just trying to make sure it hasn't run off on him yet. It is actually eating some Pokémon food right now, thanks to the Nurse Joy in this Pokémon Center. "And we're in Viridian City right now."

Megumi nods in agreement before she smiles. "Well, that's nice. But, man! Viridian City! You've gone so far over the course of just a few hours," she says as she looks at Ren kindly. "I guess you really don't need mommy's help anymore. You're a big boy, now! You can go and use the potty by yourself and everything."

"It's not like you had me when I couldn't do that…" Ren mutters indignantly to himself.

"Anyways, Renny, it's late so you should get to sleeping! I will still want you to enforce your curfew! No staying up late, okay?" Megumi says with an authoritative tone, while she wags her finger at the screen. "So, good night, Ren! Sweet dreams!"

Ren lets out a soft sigh before he scratches his head. "Sure, you too, Megumi." Both sides then proceed to hang up the phone before he looks down to Eevee, who is now done with its food and is looking up at him. "Kind of eccentric…" he says simply, referring to Megumi.

"Eev," Eevee says, agreeing with Ren.

"So, let's go to sleep, Eevee," Ren says. "We're going to head for the Viridian Gym first thing tomorrow so, we'll need our sleep."

---

Ren and Eevee are now in front of the Viridian Pokémon Gym with a slightly sullen look on both of their faces. Apparently, the Viridian Gym's leader has recently retired and thusly, there is no Pokémon Gym leader. Thusly, Ren and Eevee simply let out a sigh. It is their bad luck that seems to cause these kinds of things. Ren, having lost some of his own confidence, ends up walking back to the Pokémon Center, knowing that he has no means for him to get a gym battle in today. He then approaches the Nurse Joy at the counter and asks, "Do you have any idea where the nearest gym is?"

Nurse Joy blinks a couple of times before she nods in agreement, knowing what Ren is saying. "Oh, so you want to go to Pewter?" she asks. This makes Ren's mind begin to work. Pewter City? Now that Ren mentions it, it did sound somewhat familiar. If he remembers correctly, he would need to go through the Viridian Forest in order for him to go there. As soon as Nurse Joy takes out her own personal map, she looks around for a little bit before she points down on it. "Yep. That's where it is. It's not a lot of route travelling, but you'll have to travel through Viridian Forest."

"Thank you," Ren says before he spins on his heel and begins moving in the direction of the exit. He is able to hear Nurse Joy mention her wishes of him staying safe before the sliding door closes behind him. Now outside of the Pokémon Center, he looks to the way that he entered Viridian and turns on his heel. After all, Viridian Forest will be easy to reach, just as long as he just simply stays on the main road. As he continues walking, he begins to hear frantic footsteps behind him before he hears someone say, 'Hey! Out of the way!' Ren, believing that the person is speaking to him, he steps out of the way and Eevee follows. That allows the person go past them. Ren notices that he has a large net. That somewhat sticks out in his mind, but he decides to wipe it off of his mind and continues walking towards the city limits.

Soon, he arrives at the city limits and looking out into the forest, he begins to worry about him possibly getting separated from Eevee without knowing it. He then proceeds to look down at Eevee, who just simply looks up at him, before both of them decide to enter the forest together. As soon as they enter, Ren can swear that he can simply cut the tension in this place with a knife. It's always just the waiting for when they are going to be attacked, something that he would rather not have to deal with, but something that he will probably not have a choice with. Then, as soon as he gets further into the forest, he begins to hear footsteps and halts his walking, alerting Eevee to stop as well.

'Something's here… A pokémon?' Ren thinks to himself as the footsteps only seem to get closer and closer towards him. Then, something leaps out of the bushes, making Ren fall back a little bit before he notices a net and blinks a couple of times. Then, in a flash, the net is now around his head. "Eh?" escapes out of Ren's mouth before he looks around him and sees a person standing nearby, their eyes closed so they can't see what is going on. He is wearing a large hat, most likely to block the sun's rays, and a short-sleeved green shirt. He is also wearing brown-colored pants, which Ren can barely notice dirt stains on them. The one thing that makes Ren completely aware as to how active the male has been is his sneakers, something that he notices was originally white before all of the dirt and mud came onto it. Done analyzing the person, Ren turns his attention to the situation at hand. "Excuse me," Ren says simply, not sure as to what else he could say in this situation. That is enough to get the person to open his eyes and realize his mistake. He quickly jerks the net in an attempt to get the net off of Ren. And it succeed as well, it's just that Ren feels almost as if he tried to snap his neck as well.

"I'm sorry!" the male yells out frantically as Ren blinks a couple of times.

---

Ren now has sat down and listened to the person's story, something that he really couldn't help but do, considering. "So, Buzzy's your name," he says simply.

"Yep, and I'm a bug pokémon fan," Buzzy says, putting a small smile on his face. In Ren's head, the only thing that really registers to him is that he is a bug fanatic. "The one that I really want to catch right now, though, is a Butterfree." Ren blinks a couple of times, somewhat confused as to what is going on. Why does he want to catch specifically a Buterrfree? "Well, anyways, do you feel like helping me a little bit?" Ren blinks once again, somewhat confused. "It will probably take you through the forest if you help me. Just call me a travelling companion. Anyways, for a rookie like you, it would be easier to have me around for the sake of being like a big brother figure. Right?" He then quickly gets up before Ren has a chance to say anything, then proceeds further into the forest. "Let's go, Ren! It's nice to have a compatriot in my search for the Butterfree!"

Ren blinks a couple of times before he says, "But, I never mentioned anything…" As Buzzy begins to disappear from sight, Ren decides that he just can't simply ignore him and lets out a sigh. He then quickly gets up and with Eevee on his heels, he begins running in Buzzy's direction. "Just wait up…" he mutters to himself. By the time he turns the corner, he sees Buzzy hunched over and focused on something in front of him. Ren opens his mouth to say something, but then just closes his mouth and hunches over with him. Buzzy then nods in agreement before he puts up his right hand, all five fingers extended. As he continues to look at the rustling grass, he counts down the seconds on his fingers.

When the number of fingers reaches one, he whispers, "And… go!" As soon as Buzzy takes off, Ren tries to hold him back, but the momentum of his swift movement is enough for him to break out his grip almost instantly. "Can't be afraid to pursue pokémon, Ren!"

"But, that's not a pokémon, though…" he mutters to himself before he remembers one thing. It sure was rather big for a pokémon in this forest. But, anyways, Buzzy approaches the pokémon even further before he moves through another bush and thinks two things to himself: first, that Ren should try to speak up more. And second, he wonders how hard a girl's smack really is.

---

"Ow…" comes out of Buzzy's mouth as Ren rubs the back of his head. At this moment in time, he is tending to his small wound from getting slapped silly by a girl, around their age, wearing nothing but a towel. "How was I supposed to know that she just finished taking a bath in the river?! And you saw her too. Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I could really only see a shadow," Ren says simply. 'It's not like I could see it properly, hovered down in that bush. Even more so, why is it my fault?'

"Eev EeveeEev," Eevee states, looking up at Ren, as Ren lets out a soft sigh.

Buzzy then quickly gets up before he clenches his fist. "Okay! I don't care about how, but we are definitely going to nab us a Butterfree! No matter what it takes!" Ren blinks a couple of times, surprised with the male's determination and also dismayed by the fact that he seems to attract people like this. Buzzy then takes off in a random direction before Ren gets up, with Eevee by his side, and takes off after him. After all, this feels somewhat familiar to what was happening about ten or twenty minutes or so ago.

---

It is late into the night and Ren, Buzzy, and Eevee have decided to calm down for the day and have set up camp. The two ate their dinner, just a couple of sandwiches a couple of minutes ago and are now looking up towards the sky. Buzzy, letting out a soft sigh, says, "Man, getting your starting pokémon is really tough. There always seem to be something standing in your way, like other people or other pokémon. Well, a Butterfree's strong. It'll definitely be fine once I nab it."

Ren then glances over to Buzzy, surprised at what he just said. "So, you're trying to become a Pokémon Trainer?" Buzzy then nods in agreement, his head still tilted towards the sky. Buzzy sighs before Ren blinks a couple of times.

"Hey, Ren," Buzzy begins to say. "How is it like to be a Pokémon Trainer? Is it hard or easy? And what about having to get badges and things like that…"

"You ask that but…" Ren says somewhat dejectedly. He then looks over to Eevee, who is beginning to drift off to sleep. He then begins to pet Eevee on its back, alerting it for the moment before it simply smiles and closes its eyes. Even more so, though, Ren continues to pet it. "It's hard. And yet, it's easy."

"What do you mean by that?" Buzzy asks somewhat inquisitively.

"No idea," Ren simply responds. Hearing this, Buzzy blinks a couple of times. "But, I have a friend."

"To help you?" Buzzy asks.

"Eevee," Ren says matter-of-factly. Buzzy blinks a couple of times once again, looking down at the ground. He begins to wonder if he was trying to approach this all wrong in the beginning , something that he'll admit was bad.

"Maybe… I was wrong," Buzzy mutters. Ren turns to Buzzy, almost as if he was thinking that he was addressing him. Buzzy notices this and says, "Nothing. Nothing at all. We should go to sleep. We should be able to get out of this place around tomorrow or so. I should be able to find one by then as well." Buzzy then gets into his sleeping bag before he yawns and says, "Good night, Ren. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

Ren nods in agreement, although a little bit confused. "Same to you," he says simply before he moves to put dirt on the fire. As soon as the fire is smothered, he gets into his sleeping bag, glances over to Eevee, who is sleeping right next to him, and mutters, "Night to you, too." With that, he closes his eyes and goes to sleep.

---

Waking up the next day, Ren, Buzzy, and Eevee decide to continue into the forest earlier than they originally planned. After all, as it is summer, the sun rises earlier than it usually does and with all of the photosynthesis going on with the sun out, it could be easier for them to find bug pokemon: thusly, a Butterfree. Of course, that's what they think. Soon after a couple of hours, the group of three stop to grab a drink of water. After all, it is, after all, humid. "There has to be a better method in order for us to do this," Buzzy says to himself. He then looks over to see something hanging on a tree: a weird one-horned pokémon. It seems to be doing something to the tree, possibly getting sap from it. Ren blinks a couple of times before his eyes widen. There's no way that this could be what he thinks it is.

He quickly takes out his pokédex and points it at the pokémon. "Heracross, the Single Horn Pokémon," the pokédex begins. "Though gentle and docile, Heracross possesses great strength and power, their favorite food is the sap from leafy trees."

"I thought so," Ren says.

Buzzy then widens his eyes. "It was said that Heracross may migrate into Kanto because of the connection between the two regions," he says excitedly. "To see one in person is amazing, though. I never thought that I would see one in person. So, if that Heracross can get the sap from that tree, then the Butterfree will come and try to get some as well."

"Let's camp out here," Ren says simply, something that Buzzy has a similar resolution with and nods to.

---

And so, they wait. The Heracross has begun to break into the tree, something that seems to take a little while. All the while, the Heracross is being watched: by a person with binoculars. He lets out a small laugh before he says, "After that failure in Pallet Town, that guy hasn't even bothered to resurface. That means that my best chance for me is to get this pokémon and give it to the Boss. While it is getting the sap still, I should strike at it." The person then takes out a pokéball before he releases it. "Go, Ekans!" he yells out, tossing it in the air and alerting Ren and Buzzy. "Now, use Wrap on it!" Then, the Ekans wraps itself around the Heracross, holding it still in place as Buzzy and Ren look up at it, stunned at that fact. The person then hops out of the tree as Heracross and Ekans go into a struggle for control: Ekans to keep Heracross binded and Heracross to get free.

Ren then looks over to the person before he says, "Same outfit… Are you Team Rocket?"

"What's it to you?" the person asks. He then smirks before he looks up at his Ekans. And then, he notices one thing: the Heracross is winning the struggle to get out of Wrap. "What are you doing?! That doesn't look as strong as you! Stop slacking off!"

Ren bites his lip before he looks up at the pair. He can't do anything with Eevee: it's too high up and there's no real way that Eevee can hit Ekans without hitting Heracross. "Keep on trying, Heracross!" Buzzy's voice rings out before Ren looks back at him. "You're strong, you know that! Don't stop trying! Break out of it!" As soon as the Heracross hears the encouragement, it lets out a determined 'Hera,' before it keeps on pushing further and further out. As soon as it finds an opening, it slips out and begins to fly. It then proceeds to hit Ekans with its horn, hitting it into the tree. "Nice attack, Heracross!"

"Shut up!" the Team Rocket member yells out. "Koffing! Shut this guy up!" He then quickly throws a pokéball at the group, landing in front of them before a Koffing emerges from it and moves towards Buzzy.

"Eevee! Use tackle!" Ren yells out before Eevee charges towards the Koffing and hits into it from behind, making it lose its bearings for a moment. Ren then glances over to the Team Rocket member and says, "Cheap move."

"Sticks and stones, kid," the Team Rocket member responds.

"If you want to catch a pokémon, try to encourage your own first. After all, power isn't everything. It's the bond that matters," Buzzy says as the Heracross lands right next to him. "Ren, let's mop him up!" Buzzy then looks over to the Heracross and asks, "Is that okay with you?"

"Hera," the Heracross responds before it charges towards the Koffing.

"Got it," Ren says simply. "Eevee! Tackle on the Ekans!" Eevee then charges towards the Ekans and hits it with a solid tackle, sending it into the Team Rocket member. Then, Heracross rams Koffing into his stomach, sending him back a couple of inches. "Now, together!" Eevee and Heracross then proceed towards the Team Rocket member. Having been able to regain his bearings, he notices the incoming danger and sucks his teeth.

"I'll remember this…" he mutters before he releases a smoke bomb in the area and as soon as it clears, all traces of him are already gone.

Eevee lets out a satisfied sigh before it runs back to Ren. "Nice job, Eevee," Ren says simply as Buzzy walks over to Heracross.

"Thank you, Heracross. I-" Buzzy begins before he looks up to catch sight of a Butterfree, in all of its glory, heading to the newly carved tree by Heracross. Heracross, somewhat getting the idea, begins to get ready to go. Buzzy blinks a couple of times, seeing the Butterfree at the tree and then looks over to Heracross. Like he said before, he wanted a Butterfree and now he has it. Because the Heracross had a lot to do with it, he is willing to at least say thank you. "Heracross! I-" he begins once again. He then remembers what he just said to the Team Rocket member. The bond is what matters, after all. He then looks back to the Butterfree and notices that another Butterfree has landed nearby. Considering how close they are, Buzzy assumes that she is the other Butterfree's mate. He the lets out a small laugh before he says, "Bonds are important. Even to pokémon." Buzzy then directs his attention back to Heracross before he says, "Heracross, will you please be my pokémon partner? I'm new and everything… But, I promise to treat you well!" Heracross blinks a couple of times before it nods in agreement.

"Hera, Heracross," the pokémon responds before Buzzy puts on a smile on his face. "Thank you, Heracross! My name's Buzzy! Happy to be working with you!" Buzzy then extends his hand to Heracross, a gesture that Heracross returns awkwardly before Buzzy puts his arm around it like his best friend. He then waves over to Ren before he says, "Hey! Ren! Meet my new partner!"

Ren blinks a couple of times before he looks down to Eevee. "Works, huh?" he asks his partner. Eevee then nods in agreement before the two of them move in the direction of the newly found pair of pokémon and trainer.

---

"Now, if you continue on this road, this should take you out of the forest in a day at the latest," Buzzy says. It's around noon time and after eating lunch together, the pair decide to go their separate ways: Buzzy to Pallet Town and Ren on his way to Pewter City. "Of course, it is a straight shot, so it should be fine."

Ren nods in agreement before he looks over to Heracross, who is enjoying the sap on another tree. 'It's probably going to be more tedious for him to go through the forest with that than anything else,' he thinks to himself. He then looks over to Buzzy before he says, "Take care," he says simply, not sure what else he could say to him.

"Same to you, Ren," Buzzy says. He then turns around and begins to walk back. He then looks back to Ren and says, "Hey, promise me that you'll get to the Pokémon League. I want to battle against you someday, when we're both strong enough."

Ren blinks a couple of times before a small smile creeps onto his face. "Sure, when that time comes," he says simply before he turns on his heel and begins walking down the road. Over the course of this adventure of theirs', he has made a new friend and has given rise to a new rival. 'Can't wait for it.' As he continues down the road, Eevee by his side, he notices a moving rock in one of the grass patches nearby. Ren takes out his pokédex by instinct and points it at the moving rock.

"Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. Geodude has incredibly high defensive power, making it virtually resistant to any physical attacks."

Ren blinks a couple of times before he looks over to Eevee and then rushes over to the Geodude. However, before he is able to even do anything, he hears someone yell out, "Stop right there! That's my brother's pokémon! You can't take it!" As soon as he looks in the direction of a bush, he notices a girl hop out of it. Ren can't help but blink as the girl says, "I'm sorry, for confusing you like that. But, that's the Pewter gym leader's pokémon."

Oh, that makes sense to Ren… Wait, this is the Pewter Gym's Leader's pokémon? He then looks over to the girl before he says, "Oh." He then spins on his heel and begins to walk away.

"So, who are you? Are you a new trainer?" the girl asks, prompting Ren to turn around and simply nod in agreement to her first question. "Oh, really?! Cool! My name's Yolanda! I'm a Pokémon Coordinator! Nice to meet you!"

"Right…" Ren mutters to himself. So, what has he gotten himself into now?

---

Next Episode: With a stroke of luck, Ren runs into the sister of Forrest, the Pewter City gym leader, Yolanda. While travelling with her the rest of the way, Ren learns that Yolinda is trying to catch a person who is committing thefts by hypnotizing them and then stealing from them. When the person aims to steal from Ren as well, the Poliwag infiltrates Ren and Yolinda's camp. But, when it sees how nice Ren and Eevee are together, it begins to get second thoughts… Next time: A Hypnotic Spell

Characters for Chapter 2: Ren Suzuki (Episode 1-Present, Main character); Xth Form Keyblader

Megumi Suzuki (Episode 1-Present, Recurring character); Xth Form Keyblader

Buzzy Grover (Episode 2, Possible recurring character); Xth Form Keyblader

Post-Chapter Author Notes: Nothing really to mention. I just hope that everyone will be willing to give me a little bit of reviews with this! I want reviews so, at least this way, I can be told if I really stink or if there is something I need working with. Oh, and I'm also asking again for new trainers! If you feel interested, here's the profile again:

Name: (Simple, right? There's no restriction on names, just as long as I can actually type them correctly without using too much memory.)

Age: (Generally, gym leaders are usually at least a few years older than the new pokémon trainers but could be much older as well. If you're requesting a trainer, then they have the restriction of being ten years old.)

Gender: (Male or female. Can't be anymore direct with that, I think.)

Hometown: (It could be from any one of the possible four regions.)

Appearance: (Just for the sake of me being able to breathe more life into the character itself, I need to let people know what the person looks like. This is also where you let me know about anything that really stands out about the character, like Ren's white hair and Joey's headphones.)

Personality: (This is probably the most important thing in the profile, as it helps me understand how well they would interact with the characters within the fanfic. Along with this, this also lets me know how I should display the character while they are in battle. Is your character the kind of person who is creative and comes up with new variations of attacks? Or are they more calculating and finds or creates weak points to attack their opponent? Let me know.)

History: (This is optional and will only need to be done if the character is chosen to become a recurring or regular character. In here, you can mention everything about your character's background: including what regions they have participated in and how they ended up in Kanto if they are from a different region.)

Pokemon: (Six described pokemon maximum, although you can let me know about those they have captured but are not with them. Described means that the pokémon's species, possible nickname, and attacks are mentioned. For the earlier gym leaders, the amount of pokémon that you can have in your party is limited to two or three and can only have one evolved pokemon, just as long as it has evolved before level twenty. Meanwhile, the later gym leaders can use four or five pokemon, with two or three evolved forms being allowed. Viridian City's gym leader is the only gym leader that is allowed to have six pokemon in their party, but is still restricted to the same evolution rules as the later gym leaders. No legendaries on any circumstances, though.)

Profession: (This is just so I can know without a doubt what your character's meant to be. This also means that they could be Coordinators, Trainers, Rangers, or Gym Leaders for right now.)

Remember that it would better if you sent it in a Private Message. Thank you! And look forward to Chapter 4!