In the early daylight, the trees of Viridian Forest seemed much less ominous.

The sounds of the forest, however, were the same as before. Perhaps in larger numbers, as more of the inhabitants were awake at this time. Even after the night's many implications of death, life went on.

"This place is beautiful, isn't it?"

It really was, Bulbasaur had to admit. Even if it held nothing but bad memories for him. Memories that Marty didn't seem to share. He didn't even know that he had said almost the same thing last night...

Those were the first words he had said in a while, Bulbasaur noticed. For the past thirty minutes or so, all he had heard was the sounds of nature, interrupted every so often by the mechanical voice of the device that Marty was holding as tightly as if it was his last lifeline.

In some ways, it was. His trainer was far less confident now. He had apparently been doing a great deal of studying before he embarked on his journey, and that knowledge had to be largely forgotten now. The Pokédex endeavored to compensate, explaining most of the area around them, the purpose of the many bottled liquids and supplies he carried, and identifying whatever creatures remained within range long enough before they scurried away.

"Huh. There's one. Want to go after it?"

Bulbasaur glanced away from his trainer to see the lone Beedrill gazing silently at them.


Beedrill, the poison bee Pokémon. It uses its large stingers to incapacitate its food.

Marty pocketed the Pokédex and looked down at Bulbasaur with a smile. "Ready to do this?" After Bulbasaur's previous wins, it was almost not a question anymore.

Bulbasaur nodded with a smile and ran toward the hovering insect. It didn't react visibly to his approach.

"Let's try your Vine Whip", Marty said. Bulbasaur obeyed, extending his vines to strike at his opponent.

He was too slow. The Beedrill fired some kind of sticky substance from its abdomen before he could finish. The substance coated his body, and the force of the impact caused it to adhere to the ground.

"C'mon, Bulbasaur! Shake it off!"

"Leave."

That admonition came from the Beedrill, Bulbasaur noted. He was backing away slowly, not breaking eye contact with him or his trainer.

He shook off the adhesive and began to pursue the insect deeper into the forest, leaving the path behind. In hindsight, he couldn't remember why he had done that. To finish the battle? To get revenge? Was he just being foolish?

No matter what the reason, it was indeed foolish. Though he only realized this when three more Beedrills joined the first one, preparing their stingers...


Once again, Bulbasaur used his Vine Whip.

"Huh? What?" Marty could only react in confusion as Bulbasaur tightly bound his arm with the vines. Seconds later, he found himself half running, half being dragged by his Pokémon along the path, away from the still-silent Beedrill.

About a minute later, Bulbasaur finally slowed down. The other Pokémon was no longer in sight.

Marty rubbed his arm in discomfort as Bulbasaur retracted his vines. "What was that about? You don't feel ready to fight?"

Bulbasaur continued to breathe heavily, shaking slightly. That was too close, he thought. He wasn't about to start making the same mistakes again. Not this time.

"...uh... okay." The human looked down the path. "I guess... there's gotta be something easier here. Maybe..."

The Pokédex sounded again, describing the physical properties of a Metapod with its mechanical voice. Bulbasaur didn't pay attention. He was too busy looking at the trees around him, checking for any more signs of an ambush.


"This... this can't be right."

Bulbasaur looked up at him as he continued to chew away at his meal. Marty's eyes remained glued to the Pokédex.

"Uh... I think... you're supposed to be fighting some of these guys, right? To get stronger, or to weaken them so I can throw one of these balls at them?" He looked at his Pokémon. "You haven't gone after any of them."

He wanted to. Honestly, he did. But... how could he? None of them showed any interest in battling him. And the last time he had hunted one down... was that Beedrill... when...

...but... if he didn't battle... he wasn't training. If he wanted Marty to be a trainer, he would need to change that.

...and still...

Before he could finish questioning himself, Bulbasaur saw motion out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look, and found something small and green crawling through the high grass to the side of the path. A Caterpie.

It would have to do. He abandoned his meal and quickly ran in its direction. Marty could catch up later.

The Caterpie heard his approach, and started crawling through the taller grass in the opposite direction. At its pace, this was a fruitless effort.

Bulbasaur moved closer. "I want to battle."

The caterpillar didn't respond, continuing its unsteady retreat.

"Please battle me."

It started to head for the nearest tree. Possibly to climb out of range, Bulbasaur considered.

His tone became frustrated. "How am I..."

"Do you want it or not?"

Bulbasaur stopped at the sound of the new voice. It was high-pitched, much like the cry of a bird. He was unable to locate the speaker, though. "I want it, but..."

"Are you taking it?"

He shook his head in no particular direction. "It doesn't want..."

"Then move."

There was a sound of rushing wind coming from Bulbasaur's side. Moving by reflex alone, he managed to hop away in time to see a reasonably large Pidgeotto dive toward the insect. Its approach struck true, and the Caterpie was sent flying a short distance. It landed and failed to rise.

Bulbasaur could only gape in shock. "I said it didn't want to fight!"

The Pidgeotto came into view again, this time using its talons to land directly next to the Caterpie. With a quick move of its head, its beak snapped up the prone insect, and soon the bird was enjoying its fresh meal.

It wasn't completely distracted, though, as it proved when it took off again with bug in mouth just in time to dodge the incoming vine whips. As he retracted them, Bulbasaur angrily watched it alight on a branch out of his reach and gaze down directly at him.

It finished swallowing its dinner and spoke again. "I have never met Pokémon who wanted to be eaten." And with that, it spread its wings and took off again.

As Bulbasaur continued to stare silently at the empty tree branch, Marty walked up behind him. "Uh... don't worry about it. If you keep trying, you'll get one. You just need to be... quicker, right?"

No, the Pokémon thought. Speed had nothing to do with it. The Pidgeotto got the Caterpie because it was ruthless. It wouldn't take no for an answer. If it limited itself to the prey that wanted to be devoured... it would starve to death.

It was a predator. So was he. That really was what it meant to be trained, wasn't it? He could only become stronger at the expense of others.

He wished there were more trained Pokémon to battle. At least they had trainers who could make sure that each battle wasn't their last...

"Look. There's another... uh... worm thing. Try that one."

Bulbasaur looked up at Marty and followed his line of sight to find a yellowish worm crawling in the distance.

Weedle, the hairy bug Pokémon, the Pokédex helpfully said. It subsists on a diet of leaves and fends off predators with its poisonous stinger.

Poisonous stinger, Bulbasaur noted immediately. He should probably steer clear of this one, too. At least until Marty got his hands on some more...

...no. He was here to train. He had to stop putting it off. He had to start acting like a battler again. The less he thought about the consequences, the better. He extended his vine whips, preparing to...

"Wait. No." Marty glanced back at the Pokédex, then back at Bulbasaur. "If it's a bug, grass isn't that good against it... right?"

Bulbasaur nodded, retracted his vines, and charged directly at the Weedle. His approach was noisy, and the worm noticed. It crawled slightly to the side and laid flat against the ground, leaving its stinger pointed in Bulbasaur's direction.

Good strategy, the grass Pokémon thought. He continued past it, turned quickly, and tackled the bug from behind. The momentum sent the Weedle rolling along the woodland floor, coming to a stop as it struck a tree's root.

It screamed in pain.

Bulbasaur stopped in his tracks.

Marty started walking toward the bug with a small hint of a smile on his face. "Good job", he said to his Pokémon. "Looks like you got the hang of this."

"Why did you hit me?" the Weedle cried, trying to roll itself back to an upright position. It failed. "Please don't hit me again! Go away! Please!"

The human did not understand its words. He pulled out one of his Pokéballs and tossed it at the insect. The orb opened, and the form of the Weedle was soon held within its frame as it closed around it. There was very little struggling, and seconds later, the Pokéball audibly signaled Marty's first successful catch.

The ball flew back to his hand, where he caught it with little effort. He held it tightly and looked down at his Bulbasaur again. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Bulbasaur hadn't moved at all. He had been too busy staring into space, thinking...

He came to a decision. He turned to look up at his master. "Let it out", he said quietly.

Naturally, Marty was unable to understand his words. However, he was perceptive enough to notice that his Pokémon's reaction was not the one he would have expected after a victory. "What's wrong?"

"Let it out", Bulbasaur repeated in a louder voice, emphasizing it by tapping the Pokéball with his vines.

Actions spoke louder than words. Marty looked at the Pokéball, shrugged, and tossed it to the ground. The ball opened and released its contents, which quickly reformed into a still-injured Weedle.

It spoke again. "W... what's going on? I'm scared... it hurts..."

"Potion", Bulbasaur said immediately. He didn't even wait for an attempt at recognition before he vine-tapped the bag on Marty's back.

"Hey, don't... wait. My bag... you want something from it..." Marty looked at the Weedle again. "A potion, maybe?"

Bulbasaur nodded and smiled, and Marty wasted no time finding one of his vials and administering it to the Weedle. Shortly afterward, it was hard to tell that it had been attacked in the first place.

Aside from its demeanor. "Why did you hit me?" it asked sadly.

The grass Pokémon tried to keep himself from feeling guilty. "You were an easy target. Anyone in this forest could have attacked you." He looked at the surrounding trees. "You are too young to travel alone." Even if the two Pokémon were close to the same age, he didn't think this was hypocritical. Marty qualified as supervision.

"I..." The Weedle looked depressed. "I can't find my family. Have you seen them?"

"You're lost?" Bulbasaur tried to remember. He hadn't seen any other Weedles around. This one wasn't traveling in any particular direction when he found him. So he wouldn't...

...was he really going to help this child get home? He had his own road to travel with his trainer. He would be fighting far more Pokémon before the end, and many of them may have also strayed from their loved ones. And...

...Marty just caught his first wild Pokémon. He didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Is it feeling better?" the human asked.

Bulbasaur glanced at him, and then faced the timid insect again. "I have a proposal", he said. "That boy and I are headed north. You should come with us. If we come across your family, you can tell me. If we don't..." He paused to think about what he wanted to say. "...we'll gladly let you join us instead."

The Weedle looked around the forest one more time. "...I think I can do that, okay." It looked directly at Bulbasaur's eyes. "You aren't going to hit me again, are you?"

"Try to understand. He's a trainer. I battle." He took a closer look at the Weedle. "What attacks do you know?"


"String shots and poison stings", Marty muttered as he looked up from his Pokédex. "And no strong physical attacks."

"Do I have to fight?" Weedle asked Bulbasaur. "I might get in the way..."

Bulbasaur looked at Marty. "We should let him decide. He's the trainer. He knows more about your kind than I do."

The human closed the Pokédex and pocketed it. "It needs to get tougher, and fast. Let's try this." He knelt down to look at the Weedle. "I'll put you in first. You do one of your moves... I'll tell you which one... and then I'll swap Bulbasaur in for you. That way, you'll get your training and you won't be stuck having to beat them yourself."

He turned to Bulbasaur. "That's okay with you, right? I think... we were here before, right? You've already become stronger, and I think you could beat anything here easily." He glanced at the insect. "This is for Weedle's sake, okay?"

Bulbasaur nodded. "Okay."

Weedle blinked. "Can he tell what you said?" it asked.

"Probably not", Bulbasaur admitted. "I think he's good at reading body language, though. If he can pick up on my tone of voice, even better." He smiled. "Spend some time with him, and I'm sure you can get him to understand you, too."

Before Weedle could say anything else, it was recalled into his Pokéball. Marty placed it on his belt and gestured to Bulbasaur. "It'll be safer in there. If we get attacked again, you can survive it, right?"

Maybe, Bulbasaur considered.


"Are you okay?"

Bulbasaur wasn't sure. The retreating Beedrills hadn't been interested in rendering him dead or unconscious. Once Marty had blocked them from finishing the fight, they must have decided against doing so.

He had still taken a hit, though. He could still feel it: an open wound on his back, precariously close to his bud.

Marty found it quickly. "A Beedrill's poison sting. That's not a very strong attack, is it?" He paused for a moment in thought. "Even if you're a Grass type..."

Bulbasaur had to admit it. He was still standing. Marty's quick thinking had ended the fight before it could get ugly.

"...you don't need a potion. We'll save them. Unless..." He pulled out his Pokédex and held it in Bulbasaur's direction. "I think we'd better check for poison."


Marty wasn't mistaken about his injury. Bulbasaur had retained most of his strength after the battle. After all, he had managed to drag his trainer all the way back to Viridian.

His fears didn't come to pass, anyway. The group had made it to the next town without severe injury. Weedle hadn't reported seeing any of his family along the way, not that Bulbasaur had seen any Weedles himself, and he was starting to grow accustomed to battling.

At least, for most of the trip. For the last fifteen minutes, he had been reluctant to come out of his Pokéball. Bulbasaur wasn't sure why.

"Okay, let's see..." Marty knelt down and checked Bulbasaur for injuries. "You're not injured... neither is the Weedle. Okay. That gym here... we'll head in right now. If we win, great. If we don't, we go to the... center place and figure out what we need to do to win next time. Either way, we rest afterward. Okay?"

"Okay", he replied. Hopefully he had trained enough. He'd never seen a gym before, and had no idea just what kind of challenge awaited him inside.


"The battle will be two-on-two." The other human in the room was a tall man with dark skin, black hair and a calm expression on his face. "Begin."

Bulbasaur prepared to walk forward, but stopped when he saw Marty gesturing at him to stay behind. He obeyed, remaining passive as his trainer took the Pokéball from his belt and cast it into the middle of the unusual pattern that had been drawn upon the building's floor.

Nothing happened.

"Is there a problem?" the other trainer asked.

"Uh... I hope not", Marty replied. He took a few steps forward and knelt down by the Pokéball's side. "Come on out. It's okay."

Now there was a reaction. The sphere opened, and its inhabitant emerged.

...it wasn't Weedle. This Pokémon, while just as yellow, did not have any visible legs, stingers, or even a face aside from two large, dark eyes.

"Huh?" Marty went immediately for his Pokédex.

Kakuna, the cocoon Pokémon. Its hard shell renders itself nearly immobile, but protects the creature as it prepares for the next stage of evolution.

"...okaaay", Marty finished. "I didn't expect that."

"Not a good sign", the other trainer pointed out. "You should always ensure that your Pokémon is prepared before engaging in battle." He took one of his own Pokéballs out and threw it forward. "Geodude, you start."

Bulbasaur could only watch curiously as the floating two-armed rock approached the motionless cocoon's position. After all, he understood the rules. He would not be able to step in until Marty removed the Kakuna and signaled him.

"Okay... uh... Kakuna..." Marty sounded indecisive as he kept his eyes on his Pokédex. "Start with... uh... Harden?"

The Kakuna responded, its body shining slightly and gaining some strength. It was hardly an attack, but...

"That may not be enough to withstand rock-type moves", his opponent said. "Rock Throw!"

Geodude produced a boulder, slightly smaller than its own form, and tossed it at the Kakuna. It was not enough to crush the insect within, but its shell was visibly damaged.

"No..." Marty said quietly as he winced. "Please... can't you do anything? I... I don't want you to..."

"Let's end this quickly. Tackle!" The Geodude raised one of its arms and charged directly at the weakened cocoon.

"...no..."

"Do something!" Bulbasaur shouted. "Dodge! Use your stinger! Anything!"

The Kakuna must have heard him. As the Geodude continued its trajectory, it rolled slightly in its direction. While it couldn't achieve any significant velocity, it was able to extend a stinger from its head and point it in the direction of the approaching boulder.

The two collided.

The Kakuna rolled backward to a stop beside his trainer, visibly unconscious. The Geodude bounced easily, and then floated backward in preparation for Marty's next choice of Pokémon.

"There wasn't much you could have done", the other trainer said. "Even that sting only does minor damage to a rock-type."

Marty sighed, shook his head, and recalled the Kakuna into his Pokéball. "I'm sorry. I'll never do that to you again. I promise." He gestured to Bulbasaur. "Your turn."

Trying to ignore his fear of what had just happened to the Kakuna, Bulbasaur hesitantly stepped forward to face the floating boulder.

The opposing trainer spoke immediately. "Tackle!" Geodude once again charged forward, this time at the plant Pokémon.

"Tackle it back!" Marty shouted. Bulbasaur understood, running forward and trying to strike back with his head.

The two collided, and both fell.

Geodude was the first to rise. Behind it, the trainer shook his head. "Not a good idea. Rock Pokémon can withstand such attacks easily." He pointed. "Rock Throw, now."

Bulbasaur tried to stand quickly. It took him a moment, but he succeeded. As he regained his bearings, he saw the Geodude lobbing yet another boulder at him.

It landed to his left. He jumped in surprise at the noisy impact, turned to see the rock come to a sliding halt, and then looked back at his opponent to see that it was floating more unsteadily than before.

The other trainer's expression shifted slightly. "...poisoned. It seems that sting worked for you after all."

Marty smiled. "Right! This is our chance! Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur nodded and struck the Geodude with them as quickly as he could before it could recover.

He didn't need to worry. A few vine strikes, and the Geodude had already collapsed upon the floor. Immediately afterward, it was recalled to the Pokéball in the opposing trainer's hand. Without another word, he sent out the next Pokéball. As its inhabitant emerged, Bulbasaur looked up to meet its eye.

And up. And up.

The rocky snake looked down upon him with an expression of curiosity and disdain.

"Let's get the first hit this time!" Marty shouted. "Vine Whip!" Bulbasaur repeated his ranged attack, sending his vines at the giant creature before...


It was almost half a minute before Bulbasaur was finally able to reorient himself.

Marty was standing behind him. In front of him, the visibly surprised trainer of this gym. And on all sides, blocking almost his entire view of either of them, was the rock snake lying flat upon the ground.

Unconscious.

"Challenger wins", the gym leader said in a tone of voice that suggested that he didn't want to be saying those words.

The form of the rock snake disappeared as it was recalled, and Bulbasaur was once again disoriented as he found himself being picked up by Marty. "Way to go!"

"Listen to me", the gym leader said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object. "This badge is proof that you have defeated me. You will need seven more of these to reach the Pokémon League." He took a deep breath. "But I worry that you may not be up to the task."

As Marty took the badge, he continued. "Plant types like your Bulbasaur are perfectly suited for battling rock and ground Pokémon. You could have easily won this battle in two hits. And in the end, that's exactly what happened." He shook his head. "Few of your other actions were suitable for a gym battle. If you hope to ever earn another badge, you need to improve greatly. Familiarize yourself with your Pokémon. Learn their strengths and weaknesses, and go into battle with a strategy. If you fail to do this, you will never reach the League. Do you understand?"

Marty looked hurt for a moment, but then recovered. "I understand." He smiled. "Thanks for the advice. Don't worry. I promise I'll get better." He looked down at his Bulbasaur. "Come on. We need to get W... Kakuna to the Center, right?"


"You don't need to worry", the nurse said. "He's doing fine. In fact, we're ready to release him to you."

Marty breathed a sigh of relief, as did Bulbasaur. "Is this... um... will he still be able to evolve?"

As another employee brought out the Kakuna, the nurse examined it. "I don't see why not. His body wasn't crushed. I'd say..."

She stopped suddenly, reaching out her hand and feeling the surface of the shell. "Well... we're just in time. I think he's about to break the shell right now."

In a matter of seconds, what was formerly a touching reunion had become a public spectacle, as everyone in the room came forward to watch the insect slowly emerge from its cocoon. Marty picked up Bulbasaur and held him so he would have a better view.

A stinger emerged, followed by another. As the insect emerged, it became apparent that these were the ends of its arms. Its wings extended from its back as it slid out smoothly, and then flapped experimentally a few times. Its striped body slid out next, revealing a third stinger on its abdomen, with a pair of legs on each side providing the final push that brought the Pokémon completely out of its shell.

The nurse smiled at Marty, eyes closed. "Congratulations, sir. Your Kakuna has evolved into a..."

Her last words were drowned out by Marty's Pokédex. Beedrill, the poison bee Pokémon. It uses its large stingers to incapacitate its food.

Said Beedrill flapped its wings a few more times, and then it left the ground unsteadily. Seconds later, it was finding its new airborne stance more comfortable. He turned to look at Marty and Bulbasaur. "Hey! Look at me! I can fly now!"

Bulbasaur's vines instinctively wrapped around Marty's arm as he jumped free from his grip and started tugging impatiently.

Marty looked at him in a confused manner. "Do we need to go somewhere?" A moment later, he shrugged and followed, pausing briefly to thank the nurse again on the way out.


"I'm sorry", the Beedrill said as they traveled quickly down the hall toward the room Marty would be using that night. "I wanted to fight, but..."

Bulbasaur didn't reply.

"I know... you wanted me to help." He shook his head. "It's okay now, right? I don't evolve again, do I?"

Still no reply. Marty made a turn, and they followed.

"I think I got a new move, too. I'll learn more, too. And I'll train! I'm not weak! Really!"

Marty came to a stop and began to unlock the door on his left.

"Please! I'm sorry! Say something to me!"

Bulbasaur turned to face him. "You were looking for your family. They're all Beedrills, correct?"

The Beedrill nodded. "That's right. But we didn't see them..."

"They live south of where we met. We went the wrong way to find them."

"Oh."

The door opened, and Marty entered. Beedrill prepared to follow, only to be blocked by Bulbasaur.

The plant Pokémon tried to smile. "With your new wings, you can fly back easily. I'm sure you'll find them again."

The bug Pokémon started to nod, and then stopped. "You're letting me go?"

"That's right. I promised we would."

"Oh." The bee looked back down the hall. "I don't mind staying, really..."

"They must be worried about you."

"Are you sure? They let the others go when they evolve..."

Bulbasaur's voice became more impatient. "I thought you hated getting hurt."

"I did. But... I'm getting better, right? If I..."

Bulbasaur interrupted. "This isn't the place for you. You need to find your own path."

"Please? Give me a little more time to decide?"

"No. I can't."

The Beedrill looked inside the room. Marty had already gone into the shower area. "But... can I at least stay here tonight? It's late."

Bulbasaur used his vines to push Beedrill away. "No. Get going."

"Can't I even say goodbye to him?"

Bulbasaur finally lost his patience. "No! Stay away from him!" And without another pause, he struck the door with a vine, causing it to slam in the Beedrill's face.

He turned around to look at the room. It was a simple room, with one bed and a window view of this town's gym, as well as another attached room with the shower. The light was still on; Marty must have still been in there.

There was a tapping sound at the door. "Is something wrong?" the muffled voice of the Beedrill said from the opposite side.

He ignored him. He would go away eventually, he thought. At least, he hoped he would...

Here is to fear
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