Pokémon: A New Journey
By: AU Pokémon Project
Pokemon and all related characters are the intellectual Property of Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, and The Pokemon Company. All original characters are the property of the AU Pokemon Project Team.
Chapter Two: A Walk Through the Woods
After receiving his Pokémon, Arod sets his sights on the next step in his Pokémon journey. Traveling alongside his new friends, Yamato Ketchum, the son of famed Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum, and Ai, a young girl, Arod prepares to enter the Viridian Forest.
"It's creepy in here." Ai broke the silence.
"I'm used to it." Arod repiled. "I used to come here when I was little."
"How long do you think it'll take us to get through here?" Yamato glanced around, looking for more Pokémon.
"With any luck, we'll get through by the end of the day." Arod reported. "I wouldn't count on it, though." Pika straightened on Arod's shoulder. "What is it, Pika?" Growlithe started to growl softly.
Ai drew closer to her Pokémon, trying to calm it down. "There's nothing out there, Growlithe. Settle down." Growlithe growled louder.
Yamato looked at the two alert Pokémon. "Something's upsetting them, Arod. What do you think it could be?"
"Only one way to find out." Arod replied. "Pika, lead us to the problem." Pika jumped off of Arod's shoulder and headed into the bushes along the path, followed by Growlithe. "Come on, guys. Let's follow them." Yamato, Arod and Ai ran after the Pokémon. Twigs snapped as their clothing brushed against them. Arod spotted Pika and Growlithe and skidded to a stop, only to be plowed over as Ai and Yamato failed to stop in time to avoid him.
"Ouch. Shouldn't you have stopped before you hit me?" Yamato snapped at Ai.
"It's not my fault."
"Will you two shut up?" Arod whispered. "Take a look over there." Arod pointed. Yamato and Ai looked in the direction Arod was pointing and spotted a large group of wild Pikachu in the small distance.
Ai's eyes shined. "It's a bunch of Pikachu! They're so cute." She readied a Poké Ball. "I'm gonna catch one." Arod reached out and held her back grabbing her shoulder. "What's the meaning of this?"
Arod shook his head hinting to how Pika was reacting to the wild Pikachu. "Take a closer look." Yamato and Ai stared at him. "Oh, right. I forgot about that. Stay here. I'll be right back." Arod crawled toward the gathered Pikachu carefully.
"Are you insane?" Ai tried to yell in a whisper. She and Yamato watched as Arod crawled. When Arod reached the group of Pikachu, one of them jumped onto his shoulder. Arod motioned behind him to the other two, telling them to carefully walk up.
As they approached, they saw Arod surrounded by several Pikachus. He noticed them and nodded. "Don't worry. They won't hurt you, unless you decide to try to catch them. I thought I recognized the mark on this one." Arod rested his hand on the one sitting in front of him. "I tended to an injury it had a few years ago."
Yamato reached over to pet it, but pulled his hand back instantly when it glared at him. "I think it's got an attitude problem." He looked around. "We should get moving, though. We wanna be out of this forest before nightfall, after all." Arod nodded and stands.
"See you later, little buddy." Pika waved to the other Pikachu as the group left.
"Pikachu pika pi! Pika pika!" ~I'm glad you stopped that crazy girl. Yamato is right, though.~ Arod nodded his agreement. He hid his smile at Pika's description of Ai. Ai was unique, that was for sure, but he wouldn't go so far as to say she was crazy.
"What's he saying, Arod?" Ai asked raising an eyebrow in question.
"Oh, he's just saying good-bye to the others." Arod lied. There was no way he was going to tell her the truth. "Anyway, we barely made any headway into this forest.. We should keep moving, unless you'd rather spend the night in the middle of the Viridian Forest."
"No, thank you. I'm good." Ai quickly stated. "This would be so much faster with my bike," She muttered while the trio walked along the dirt path.
Yamato sighed. "Seriously, we get it. Your bike is trashed, boo hoo. Now will you stop complaining? I can't hear the silence with all of your yapping, let alone hear myself think."
Ai paused and stood still while the other two boys kept walking forward. They could see the hurt in her eyes. "If you two really don't want me here, I'll leave."
"It's not that. You're just scaring away the wild Pokémon," Arod said, scanning the grass for a Pokémon. A few minutes earlier he had seen a Rattata but it had scurried off too quickly.
Ai sighed and dug her hands into her pockets as they walked. "Growlithe and I are going to run ahead. Come on, boy!" Smiling, the two sprinted ahead.
"God I thought she'd never leave," Yamato muttered, keeping his eyes on the sky.
"She's just so talkative..." Arod sighed, pulling his hat down tighter.
"She's such a girl," Yamato laughed. "We could always ditch her." Yamato pointed out. Arod just stared at him with annoyance before staring back at the ground. "Eh, I was just joking..."
"I owe her a bike. Besides, she's a good trainer," Arod muttered, not wanting to have this conversation.
"Come on out Bulbasaur," Yamato tossed the Poké Ball ahead, letting Bulbasaur stretch his legs. "Should be a little easier to catch 'em with you out and ready, bud."
Arod paused, hearing something moving in the leaves. He looked on the floor, but he couldn't quite see what was causing the rustling. "Lets check it out, Pika." The little yellow Pokémon hopped off of Arod's shoulder and scurried ahead. Arod followed closely behind into the brush.
"Don't get lost!" Yamato called from behind, content with looking for his own Pokémon. Arod continued further into the green, barely able to see the yellow tail sticking out of the ivy. "Use Thunder Wave!" Arod called, noticing that Pika was starting to get a little ahead of him. The last thing he wanted was for his Pikachu to get lost or wind up in a fight alone.
"PIKA!" A light yellow wave rose from the ground and spread forward over the ivy. He could feel the panic of the small creature as he got closer to it, probably terrified from the paralysis. Reaching down into the grass expecting a Rattatta, his hand pulled back as he felt his hand hit feathers.
"Now why are you hopping around here, little guy?" Arod reached down and cupped the small Pidgey. The bird bit down on his hand and Arod quickly dropped it. "Use scratch, Pika." Pika sprinted in front of the Pidgey and swung its claws. The small bird only twitched in response, still held by the thunder wave. Arod pulled an empty Poké Ball out from the side pocket of his bag and tossed it at the Pidgey. After a hesitant few seconds, the Pidgey was captured. "Yes! Great job, Pika," Arod clipped the Poké Ball to his belt as Pika climbed back up onto his shoulder.
"Pika pi?" ~Where are we?~ As Arod looked around, realizing that he was well off of the path where he had left Yamato, Pika climbed on top of his head to get a better view of their surroundings.
"Well, at least we're together," Arod pointed out, walking in a random direction.
"Pika pi."
"Yeah. I know you think this is the wrong way, but don't worry about it. I'm sure we'll meet up with Yamato and Ai soon."
"What are we missing, Bulbasaur?" Yamato asked, turning his cap backwards as if that would make a Pokémon appear. It had been about fifteen minutes when he decided to walk farther down the path. There wasn't any sense in waiting around; he had Pokémon of his own to catch. He and Bulbasaur had been leisurely strolling for the past twenty minutes and hadn't seen a single Pokémon. "I bet it's because I'm on this path. If I go into the forest, I'm sure to find something," he sighed, tucking his hands into his vest as he ventured off of the path.
Bulbasaur loyally followed behind. Looking down at the ground he could only see the top of Bulbasaur's bulb, but he didn't see any other Pokémon. "Ugh, where are-" he was cut short by a wild Pidgey swooping down into view. His smile quickly faded as the bird nabbed his red hat right off his head.
"You've got to be kidding me," he sighed, trying to keep the bird within his sights. "Hop on Bulbasaur," the grass type wrapped its vines on Yamato's back, causing Bulbasaur to cling to him like a backpack. "Darn it!" Yamato stepped in a puddle and stumbled, filling his shoe with water and losing sight of the Pidgey at the same time. "Can't be too far ahead," he muttered, going into a full out sprint.
After about ten minutes he still hadn't caught up to the winged thief. Panting, he knelt down to retie his tennis shoe. "That was my favorite hat, Bulbasaur. I can't believe I let it get away." Bulbasaur unlatched from his back and walked next to Yamato who was now angry at both himself and at the Pokémon. "Getting my hat stolen by a Pokémon is something that would happen to an amateur. Only stupider thing that I could do at this point is fight a Pidgeotto with a Caterpie." Yamato's arm got scratched by some stray thorns. "Oww. This is just lovely. If I knew this day was going to be like this, I would've stay in bed." he grumbled, continuing to walk in the one direction.
Hearing something above him, Yamato looked up and saw the form of a bird in the sky. He started running after it at breakneck speed, craning his neck trying not to lose it this time. He pushed through the branches all the while looking up at the bird in the sky. Placing his right foot down, it didn't sit right. Yamato leaned back, realizing what he had done.
The rocks shifted under his feet at the ledge and he fell forward head first. His blue eyes widened as he reached out only to grasp air. He was only falling for a second, but the ground was rushing up as if it would swallow him. Screaming in terror, he didn't even notice the pressure until the yank nearly pulled his leg out of its socket.
"Holy, what the-" Looking up Yamato could see his loyal Bulbasaur struggling at the edge with a vine wrapped firmly around his leg. The Pokémon slowly lowered him to the ground, which he was half tempted to kiss. "Bulbasaur, return," Yamato sighed, "at least one of us looks before we leap." He slipped the Poké Ball back onto his belt. Running his hands through his hair, Yamato looked around. He was now about fifteen feet below where he had been before, and it didn't really look like a part of the forest. There were barely any trees, basically an open meadow. "Well, least I can do is get some training in," Yamato smiled and stretched out his back. "Chimchar, lets get some work done." The little monkey popped out.
"Chimchar?"
"Use Ember, that tree will be your tar-" he paused seeing a Pidgey overhead, "Hit that Pidgey, Chimchar." Chimchar's second attempt was a direct hit, knocking Pidgey out of the sky. "Now, Chimchar. Use Scratch," With a surprising speed Chimchar caught the Pidgey before it could get back in the air, rendering it nearly unconscious. "Now's my chance," he smirked, grabbing a Poké Ball. He threw it at the Pidgey and after a few moments it was successfully captured.
"Glad to see my falling down here had some advantages," he joked, picking up the Poké Ball. "Least now I have a flying type to add to my- wait a moment." Yamato looked around on the ground frantically. "My hat, where is my hat? Don't tell me it got burned when you used ember." He groaned. "That was my favorite hat..." Yamato paused when Chimchar tugged on his shirt. "Don't worry about it, you did good though. Amazing speed, but your aim needs a bit of work. We should get back to training."
Arod stopped. "We might as well rest here." He released his newly caught Pidgey from its Poké Ball. The bird hopped over to Arod. "Let's see what the problem is, shall we?" Arod examined Pidgey, and noticed the odd angle its wing was at. "Looks like a dislocated wing. Shouldn't be too hard to fix that." Arod calmed the bird and jerked sharply. There was a sharp crack, and the Pidgey whimpered softly as its wing was reset.
"Pika pika." ~It should be alright now.~ Pika said as he climbed back onto Arod's shoulder. The Pidgey spread it's wings and lifted off. Arod took out Pidgey's Poké Ball and hit the release catch.
"You're free now, Pidgey." The Pidgey called a farewell as it took off. "I'm sure it'll be okay. We better get moving if we want to meet with the others. I hope they're not lost." Arod continued forward. As he brushed against a tree, he felt something hit his other shoulder and roll off. He turned to see a Caterpie lying on its back. "A Caterpie." He opened his Pokedex. "Let's see what the Pokedex has to say."
"Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. Its short feet are tipped with suction pads that enable it to tirelessly climb slopes and walls. It can release a horrible stench to protect itself from enemies."
"Well, here we go. Charmander, I choose you." Arod threw the Poké Ball, releasing the lizard. "Charmander, Scratch attack." Charmander rushed forward and knocked the Caterpie over. "Alright. Poké Ball, go." The Poké Ball hit Caterpie square and drew the Pokémon inside. The Ball shook for a few seconds, then the red light on the Ball dimmed. "Yes! I caught Caterpie."
"Huh, trust a weakling to catch a weakling." Arod turned to find the owner of the voice staring at him and chuckling. It was a boy with short black hair, wearing a red shirt, brown jacket, blue jeans, and a red and green hat. On his back was a green backpack. This was Arod's rival, Kaoru. Every since they met, they had always competed in everything. "How many Pokémon have you caught?"
"Why should I tell you?" Arod retorted. "That's my business. Pokémon deserve to be treated with respect."
Kaoru held up a Poké Ball. "Fine, then let's battle. We'll see how much respect your Pokémon will have for you after I beat you." Kaoru threw the Ball. "Pidgey, go." The Poké Ball opened, releasing the bird.
"Go, Charmander." Charmander ran at Kaoru's Pidgey.
"Pidgey, whirlwind." The bird flapped its wings rapidly, causing a build up of air around Arod's Charmander, throwing it into a tree. The lizard got to its feet shakily.
"Ember, Charmander." The Pokémon released fire at the Pidgey, enveloping it. The Pidgey fell to the ground, exhausted. Kaoru returned it to its Poké Ball.
"Fine. Squirtle, it's your turn. Bubble that Charmander." A small turtle appeared from the Poké Ball, and sent a stream of bubbles toward the lizard, which was caused it to fall down.
"Return, Charmander. Pika, thundershock." Pika leaped from Arod's shoulder and sent electric power coursing to the Squirtle. The electricity stunned it.
"This isn't over, Arod! Return, Squirtle." The Squirtle was returned to it's Poké Ball. "Beedrill!" The Beedrill appeared from it's Poké Ball.
"Pika, return." Arod called. "Caterpie, show your strength." Arod's new Pokémon appeared amidst the scattered.
"You're going to face me, with that?!" Kaoru laughed. "Beedrill, twinneedle attack."
"Caterpie, string shot." Caterpie reared and shot its silk, right into the charging Beedrill. The Beedrill, blinded, flew right into a tree, and was knocked unconscious.
"What?" Kaoru growled. "Beedrill, return. I won't forget this, Arod Ishikawa. This isn't over between us." Kaoru disappeared into the bushes.
"Well, that was easy. Way to go, Caterpie." The bug turned its head to Arod before starting to glow. "It's evolving!" Arod and Pika watched as Caterpie changed shape. As the light faded, Arod stared at a different Pokémon. He flipped open the Pokedex.
"Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon. It's encased in a hard body while it waits to evolve into Butterfree."
"Metapod, return!" Arod returned his new Metapod to its Poké Ball. "Come on, Pika. Let's see if we can't find the others." Arod sets off into the forest, hoping to find Yamato and Ai again.
"Hmm, I wonder where the boys ran off to Growlithe," Ai said while stretching. She had followed Growlithe off of the path and found a large stream. With the tall grass, trees, and water, it seemed like the perfect place to find different types of Pokémon.
Patting Growlithe on the head she unzipped her red bag and pulled out a small stick about the length of her hand. Unfolding it and locking the bits, it turned into a fishing rod. Sitting down at the riverbank; Growlithe sat down beside her. Patting his fluffy head she smiled, "You're more patient then I am." After waiting a few minutes without a nibble Ai sighed, leaned back, and pulled her purple headband down over her eyes. "A short snooze never hurt anyone," she muttered, letting the warmth of the sun send her off to sleep.
What must have been twenty or so minutes later the rod jerking out of her hands awakened her. Diving forward she was able to keep her hands on it, but when she pulled back on the rod, suddenly the string snapped. "How does Mom do this all day? It's so infuriating," Ai threw the fishing rod. "Ugh," she sat back down contemplated what to do next. Growlithe trotted up to her with the fishing rod in his mouth, looking ever so pleased with himself. "I didn't quite mean for this to be a game of fetch, but it's probably a better use of this thing anyways," she sighed and folded the fishing rod back up. "I'll buy more string when we hit Pewter city, I guess."
Growlithe whined and wedged his head under her hand. Patting his fur she smiled, "No worries, there are plenty of Pokémon in here, even if they aren't water types. And I need to make sure I keep a well balanced team anyways."
A Pokémon swooped down, nearly hitting Ai in the back of the head. "Hey, wait, what the?" Ai noticed the bird Pokémon was carrying something in its talons. "Growlithe, use bite. Stop that bird." Ai bolted after the bird and towards the trees. Growlithe ran ahead and jumped off a tree to gain the height to bite down on the red hat.
Pulling both the hat and Pidgey down it was tug-of-war between the two. "Let go of that, it doesn't belong to you," Ai knew that red cap had to be Yamato's. Ai swung her bag, forcing the bird to let go. The bird quickly flew away, and Growlithe held up to red cap to Ai. "A little dirty, but better then nothing," she smiled, "Good boy." Ai leaned down and scratched Growlithe behind the ears, the dog rolled onto his back so that Ai could scratch his tummy. Hearing a rustle in the leaves Growlithe instantly rolled over and crouched into position, growling all the while. "Hey, you get more than your fair share. Go Weedle," Ai let out the bug Pokémon.
Hearing the rustling, Weedle seemed to back away. "Let's see what we have here, Weedle use string shot." Hesitating for a moment Weedle used string shot. A Rattata jumped out of the bushes and used quick attack before Weedle could even react. "Poison sting," Weedle lunged forward and stung Rattata with its horn. The small purple rat stepped back before tackling Weedle. "Weedle, use poison sting one last time," Weedle rushed forward. Rattata was hit full force and fell back passed out. Ai grabbed an empty Poké Ball from her bag and threw it at the Pokémon. The ball moved as if Rattata might escape, but after a few seconds it stopped.
"Awesome job Weedle, you just got us a Rattata!" she smiled, laying on the ground and cuddling the Weedle. Growlithe barked lightly and nudged the Poké Ball. "Yeah, probably shouldn't forget this thing, huh?" she laughed, picking up the Poké Ball and latching it onto her belt.
"Well, I guess we should go find the boys before it gets too late," Ai placed Weedle on Growlithes head and made sure that she had collected everything.
"Aww, you two look so cute like that, lets get going," Ai smiled, practically skipping back towards the path.
"I caught a Rattata, I caught a Rattata, I've got a Growlie Weedle Psyduck and now a Rattata," she sang with Growlithe trotting faithfully behind her. "Arod! Yamato! Boys!" she shouted, realizing it must have been well over an hour since she'd last seen them. "Oh god I hope they didn't get into trouble... Can you find them Growlithe?" The fiery dog stuck his nose to the ground and sniffed the dirt path. "Hey, that's back towards Viridian," Ai pointed out, following behind Growlithe. After maybe five minutes Growlithe turned to the right and went off of the path.
Ai followed diligently, noticing that the sky was starting to turn orange. "We need to hurry Growlithe. I don't think we should be separated when night falls." Growlithe paused and stared back at Ai. "The boys don't have a loyal Pokémon to keep them safe like I do, you know." With that Growlithe continued moving forward.
Ai shook her head and smirked, following Growlithe farther into the forest. Growlithe paused and Ai bumped into him. "This is a dead end..." Growlithe just continued walking to the side. Slowly the ridge lowered until finally Ai found herself in a meadow. Growlithe then let out a loud roar and dashed forward. "Growlithe, wait!" Ai screamed running after him.
Yamato and Piplup paused, hearing a loud roar. It was still light enough for him to see, but he couldn't see any Pokémon. Then he saw the head of Growlithe above the grass, with Weedle sitting on top. "Yamato, I found you," Ai shouted, rushing forward.
"Ai, what are you doing over here?"
"Someone has gotta keep you two boys in line, where's Arod?"
"Good question, I haven't seen him for a couple hours I think."
"Oh yeah, before I forget," Ai reached into her red duffel bag and pulled out Yamato's hat.
"What the, how did you? Thanks," he grabbed the cap and dusted it off before putting it back on grinning that he had his hat back patting it like a good friend.
"Had to chase down a Pidgey for that thing, put up a good fight too."
"Thanks Ai,"
"Piplup." Piplup chirped in the background.
"Aww, aren't you a cutie," Ai leaned down and patted the top of Piplup's head. "We should find Arod before it gets dark." Yamato nodded, and turned to climb up the ridge. He stopped as he noticed a light at the top of the ridge.
"I could swear I heard Ai and Yamato over here, Pika."
Ai called out. "Arod! We're down here!" The light moved slightly, revealing Arod and Pika staring down at them. "We're coming up." A few minutes later, Ai and Yamato had reached the top of the ridge.
"We'd better hurry. It's after dark." Arod said. "We better set up camp here. We'll start at first light tomorrow." Arod set his pack down and pulled out a can. He pulled the top off and set it on the ground. "Charmander, Pika. Eat up." The two Pokémon started to eat happily.
Yamato glanced at them. "What is that stuff?"
"Brock's Special Pokéchow. Guaranteed to perk Pokémon up." Arod replied. Ai pulled out an identical can for Growlithe. Arod sat near his Pokémon, and fell asleep with a hand on Pika. Shortly after, Ai and Yamato followed.
Arod woke to find the sky orange. He glanced over at his friends, who were still asleep. Pika woke with a little cry and stared at Arod sleepily.
"Pika pi." ~I'm tired.~
"Charmander return." The Pokémon returned to its Poké Ball. Arod patted Pika on the head. "We need to get going. Ai, Yamato, wake up time."
"Give me five more minutes, Mom." Ai's sleepy voice rose up.
"I don't wanna go to school today, Dad." Yamato said, still half-asleep.
"Guys, you're sleeping in the middle of a forest. Wake up!" This shout jolted the two awake. "I've never met anyone as lazy as you guys." Arod sighed. "We need to get out of this forest today." The group packed their bags, and headed back to the path. They walked for a few hours.
"Are we almost there?" Ai wondered. Suddenly, the three of them fell into a hole.
"Ow." Arod said. "How'd a hole get here?"
A voice laughed. "Prepare for trouble."
"And make it double." A second voice said.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie."
"James."
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light."
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."
Arod groaned. "Not these guys again."
Jessie appeared over the edge, holding a net containing Pika. "We'll just take this as revenge you little twerps teach you to mess with us. Bye bye, now."
Arod called out. "Pika, thundershock." Pika's thundershock failed, though.
James appeared. "We're smarter than that." Both disappeared from view, and Arod began to climb the walls of the pit. He reached the top to see Team Rocket floating away in a balloon.
"Give me Pika back!" Arod started to chase after them. Team Rocket just laughed at him, not noticing the Pidgey approaching the balloon until it ripped a hole through, and rolled down, snatching the net holding Pika. It flew back toward Arod, who instinctively knew that it was the same one he had helped. While this was going on, the balloon spiraled out of sight.
The Pidgey landed by Arod, releasing the net and freeing Pika, who climbed onto Arod's shoulder again. Arod turned to the Pidgey. "Thank you, Pidgey." The bird cooed a little, and Arod reached for a Poké Ball, the same one he used before. "You want to come with me?" The bird nodded, and pecked the Ball, which opened and enclosed the bird inside. Arod picked the Ball up.
Yamato called back to the others. "Hey, look! I can see Pewter City from here." Ai and Arod hurried up to Yamato. In the distance, they could see the buildings of Pewter City.
With new Pokémon in their hands, Arod, Ai, and Yamato have finally passed through the Viridian Forest. With Pewter City in sight, our friends realize they have just passed another challenge on their Pokémon journey.