A/N: Sorry for the wait.

Cody's Pokémon Adventure

Chapter 4

Cody awoke early the next morning, long before Harold got up. The fire had gone out and there was a somber silence throughout the forest as the first rays of the sun peaked through the trees. Cody's back was sore from sleeping in the grass in a sleeping bag rather than a bed. As he felt his back pop he reminded himself that this would be a regular occurrence and that he would get used to it.

His thoughts returned to Lindsay. Where was she? He was worried about her and hoped Harold would be able to help him find her. But he knew before the bug trainer would even try Cody would have to defeat him in a Pokémon match.

He looked at his two Pokémon and frowned. The Viridian Forest really needs a Pokémon Center in it, he thought to himself. Neither of his Pokémon were at full strength. Bulbasaur wasn't doing too bad but his Rattata was on its last leg. He regretted not capturing more Pokémon earlier.

But there was nothing for it; he would have to make due. Remembering the potion he bought back in Viridian City, Cody came up with a plan. First he let Bulbasaur out of its pokeball. Next he sprayed the grass Pokémon with his one potion to return it to full health. "That's the best I can do." he sighed. I only hope Harold can't back up his claims.

Twenty minutes later Harold came around. The bug trainer almost seemed to have forgotten that Cody had spent the night at his campsite. "Cody…right?"

The brunette nodded. "Are you ready for our Pokémon battle?"

Harold's stomach grumbled in protest. "Got any breakfast?"

Lindsay woke up scared.

She had hoped that getting separated from Cody and lost in a forest full of bug Pokémon was nothing more than a nightmare. Realizing this wasn't the case she went back to being frantically afraid. The Viridian forest wasn't as scary in the morning as it was at night, but the more time passed the most Lindsay worried she'd never get out.

She hadn't brought much food with her but the little she had was eaten the night before. Her stomach growled angrily at her wanting to be fed. For once she had to learn to ignore it. Getting to her feet she began to walk. Both of her legs were sore from yesterday so she decided not to run unless she really had to.

"Cody?" she called out into the forest. "Cody?" This was Lindsay's only plan: keep walking until Cody finds her and hope he would eventually hear her voice. Her beloved Jigglypuff was kept safe in her pokeball and the blonde didn't want to take it out unless she really needed the Pokémon's help.

Lindsay walked for about an hour and in that time she didn't see anyone at all. The blonde had little experience navigating her way through forests and so she missed all the little signs that may have told her where to go. All that time she had been calling out for Cody, her voice had become hoarse. What she needed was some water to drink, but her water bottle was empty.

Luckily she wasn't too far from a stream. The sound of running water was something she did recognize. Heading toward it she ran in one direction for a few minutes before spotting a small stream ahead of her. "Water!" she called out quietly. Her throat was still sore.

She ran over. When she was only a few feet from the stream she tripped over something and fell face first into the water. "Oww…" she sputtered. Her face, arms, and top were now completely soaked. "What the heck?" Lindsay pulled herself to her feet, groaning as she did and noticing her elbows were cut.

A lone Kakuna was lying sideways on the ground right where she had tripped. It was clear this was what had knocked her into the stream. Suddenly all of Lindsay's stress and fears turned to anger and frustration.

"Grrr!" she balled her hands up into fists and walked over. "You stupid bug Pokémon! I hate you!" and with that she pulled her right leg back before kicking the Kakuna straight into the air. "I hate you all!" She stomped her foot on the ground angrily.

The Kakuna landed a few feet away next to a tree. After it landed both of its eyes lit up for a brief second. The sound of buzzing could be heard from the tree overhead. Lindsay herself heard it a few seconds later. "What the…? Oh no…" she whimpered as the buzzing started to come from all the nearby trees.

As if summoned by some unheard siren, a swarm of Beedrill appeared out of the trees. There were almost half a dozen per tree and they all seemed to show up at the same time. Lindsay knew little of Pokémon facial expressions, but even she could tell they looked angry. There was a brief moment where neither human nor Pokémon moved.

"Ahhh!" Lindsay screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran from the swarm of Beedrill. She ran as fast as her long legs could take her in those cowboy boots. The swarm followed closely behind as the blonde pushed past tree, shrub and rock. Her life was in danger and for once that was all she was concerned with.

But Lindsay knew she couldn't keep up the pace for very long. She had been tired to begin with. Thanks to the feeling of mortal terror she could sprint for a few minutes but that time was almost up and she hadn't outrun the Beedrill. If anything, the bug Pokémon had nearly caught up to her. Tears filled her eyes as she wondered briefly what would become of her.

Just then she heard a human voice call out to her. "Hey! Over here!" Lindsay's eyes searched frantically for the voice before she realized it came from someone a good thirty feet in front of her. This person had been hard to make out thanks to their height and green clothing. Lindsay ran straight for the person without a second thought.

"Go Abra!"

As Lindsay got closer she watched the stranger throw a pokeball and out came a strange, small Pokémon that sat on the ground with its eyes closed. Lindsay didn't know why the Pokémon had been called out but she was less than ten feet from the stranger now.

"Take my hand!"

Lindsay could now tell by appearance and the sound of their voice that this person was a girl. She stretched out her hand and clasped the other girl's hand as soon as she could. The second she did the stranger cried out. "Abra use teleport!"

Suddenly both girls and the Abra had completely disappeared. Seconds later the swarm of Beedrill reached the location where they had last been but found no trace of them. They searched high and low but eventually gave up when it became obvious their search was fruitless.

"Are you done yet?" Cody asked impatiently.

He had given Harold a grape flavored fruit pie to eat as breakfast and had spent the last ten minutes waiting for him to finish it. "Yes," Harold finally answered crushing the wrapper into a ball and sticking it in his pocket.

"I don't mean to rush you, but I really need to find my friend." Cody reminded the bug Pokémon trainer.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You still have to beat me first."

"I know," Cody said. "Is there any way you'd agree to a one on one battle?"

"You're that worried huh?" Harold wiped his nose with his hand. "Maybe this girl isn't imaginary after all."

"Well that, and I only have one healthy Pokémon I can use."

"Only one?" Harold looked disappointed. "What, did you already lose to all the bug Pokémon trainers?"

"No, but I only have two Pokémon and the other one isn't that strong." he answered.

"Wait, how long have you been a trainer?" Harold asked suspiciously.

Cody sighed. "Only a few days."

"Oh so you're a newbie huh?" Harold shrugged. "Yeah, alright. I guess I'll go easy on you and have a one on one battle."

"Great," Cody pulled out his pokeball. "Go Bulbasaur!" he tossed the ball into the air and out came his grass Pokémon. It called out a greeting in its own language.

"A Bulbasaur huh?" Harold searched through his bag before pulling out his own pokeball. "Time to show off our mad skills Butterfree!" he tossed the pokeball out and a flying bug Pokémon appeared. The Butterfree seemed rather excited to see Harold.

"Okay Butterfree, this won't take long. Hit him with confusion!"

Butterfree unleashed a psychic blast that knocked Bulbasaur off its feet. Cody's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Harold to start off with a strong attack like confusion. As Bulbasaur struggled to its feet Cody knew he'd have to do the same if he wanted to win. "Bulbasaur use leech seed!"

"Bulbasaur!" Tiny seeds began to shoot out of the pod on Bulbasaur's back. They shot straight up into the air and onto Butterfree. The seeds clung onto the Pokémon's skin and stayed there.

"Butterfree use tackle!"

"Bulbasaur dodge it!" Butterfree flew down at a rapid speed and swung its body at Bulbasaur. But Cody had called out his attack just in time so the grass Pokémon leapt out of the way. "Now you use tackle!"

With Butterfree still coming out of its dive it was easy for Bulbasaur to slam right into it. The attack didn't appear to have done all that much damage but as Butterfree attempted to get back up into the air its body shuddered for a moment as the seeds on its body sucked out its energy. The energy was then transferred by a green light into Bulbasaur; healing it slightly.

"Not bad." Harold acknowledged. "Butterfree use string shot!" White webbing shot out of the bug Pokémon's mouth covering Bulbasaur.

"Try and tackle it again Bulbasaur!"

But Butterfree easily avoided Bulbasaur's tackle. Harold didn't miss a beat. "Use poison powder!" Butterfree began to beat its wings faster and faster and soon a purple-colored substance appeared in the air. It seemed to have come out of its wings. It enveloped Bulbasaur before disappearing seconds later. But Cody could tell that Bulbasaur was sick with poison.

Bulbasaur shuddered as the poison ate into its health points. Immediately after some of Butterfree's health was transferred to Bulbasaur thanks to leech seed. While this was helpful, Cody knew it wouldn't be enough. Harold was hitting him hard and the poison was doing away all of the good from leech seed.

"Bulbasaur use vine whip!" Cody called out. A green vine came out of either side of Bulbasaur and grew in length till it was at least four feet. It then snapped at Butterfree knocking it back and doing sizable damage.

"Use string shot again Butterfree," Harold told his Pokémon. "Then hit it with another tackle!" Butterfree once again shot string shot out of its mouth and coated Bulbasaur in another layer of the sticky substance. It then shot down and tackled the grass Pokémon again.

But Cody made no move to have Bulbasaur avoid the attack or run away. He waited till it was over to move. "Use vine whip again!" The two long vines shot out of Bulbasaur and knocked it to the ground.

"What the-?" Underneath his glasses Harold's eyes grew wide. He hadn't realized that Bulbasaur's vine whip wasn't slowed down by string shot. Only now did he realize it wouldn't affect it as long as the vines weren't out when he used string shot. "Pretty good for a newb." Just then Bulbasaur shuddered as the poison hit again and Butterfree once again lost health points that transferred to its opponent. Harold was getting frustrated. "Just hit it with confusion again! Gosh!"

Butterfree shot another psychic blast that hit Bulbasaur hard. "Just keep using vine whip!" Cody told his Pokémon. He knew Butterfree was too fast to hit with anything else. Once again the whips came out and damaged Butterfree.

"Confusion!" Harold cried out again.

Cody knew his Bulbasaur was on its last leg. "Vine whip again! But this time bring it down to your level!"

This time Bulbasaur's vine whip grabbed Butterfree rather than hitting it, and slammed it down right in front of the grass Pokémon. The second it hit the ground Cody called out his next attack. "Now tackle it!"

Bulbasaur's tackle attack was quite slow, but since Butterfree was right in front of it there was no time for the bug Pokémon to get back in the air. It hit the ground once more and did not get back up.

"Knock out," Cody sighed in relief and fell to his knees. "I win."

"Gosh I can't believe I lost. And after everything I learned at Magic Steve's bug Pokémon camp." Harold sighed and recalled his Pokémon. "Good work anyway Butterfree."

"Great job out there Bulbasaur," Cody said recalling his Pokémon to its pokeball. He then turned to Harold and held out his hand. "Good battle Harold. You almost beat me."

"Yeah," Harold shook the outstretched hand. "It was kinda fun wasn't it? I'm sorta bummed my awesome bug Pokémon lost to a beginner though."

"Well…there's always next time?" Cody suggested in a strange backwards kind of optimism. Harold then handed him an antidote to cure Bulbasaur of its poison. Cody used quickly then turned back to Harold. "Anyway, you can help me find Lindsay now and get out of this forest?"

Harold readjusted his glasses. "Alright, I am a man of honor and a man of honor would never go back on his word." After a short search through his backpack he pulled out a different pokeball. "I would've preferred to use Butterfree for this, but since you knocked him out I'll have to make due."

He tossed open the pokeball. "Go Beedrill!" The yellow Pokémon that frequented this forest came out and circled Harold. "Beedrill will go looking for your friend." he told Cody. "You just have to describe her first."

Cody understood and began to describe Lindsay's physical appearance and clothing to Harold's Pokémon. Once he was finished Harold gave the order. "Alright Beedrill I need you to search for that girl alright?" Beedrill buzzed. "When you've spotted her come find us, but don't come back to camp. We won't be here when you get back."

Beedrill then flew off to search the forest. Cody turned to look at Harold once it was gone. "We're leaving?"

"The only way I know to find your friend is to have my Pokémon search for her." Harold explained. "But while it's doing that I'm going to take you back to the path. That way even if Beedrill can't find your friend you at least won't be lost."

Cody frowned. He didn't like the idea of not finding Lindsay, but knew of no other way to find her besides combing the entire forest. He decided to go along with it for now. If he didn't find Lindsay before reaching the path he'd have to come up with another plan; with or without Harold's help.

Lindsay blinked. She felt very confused as she looked around at her surroundings. She appeared to still be in Viridian forest, but the trees were all wrong. She didn't remember being anywhere near the path and was quite sure a swarm of angry Beedrill's had been chasing her only moments before. Whatever part of the forest she was in now was quiet and serene.

"Are you alright?" A soft voice asked her.

Lindsay looked up to see the stranger standing above her. Now that she wasn't running for her life, the blonde got a better look at her. The girl was significantly shorter than Lindsay, but they both blonde hair. The difference was this new girl's blonde hair was much lighter in color. Her skin was also very pale. She wore a forest green sweater over what looked like a blue blouse, along with a black skirt, purple leggings and black shoes. Overall this girl had a very mysterious, ethereal feeling to her that Lindsay was not familiar with.

"W-Where are we?" she asked. "What happened to all the bug Pokémon?"

"Don't worry, you're perfectly safe." the girl answered. "I had my Abra teleport us to a different part of the forest. There's at least a mile between us and those Beedrill. I wonder what upset them so…" She seemed to get lost in her head for a minute before returning to the present. "Oh I'm Dawn by the way. What's your name?"

"I'm L-Lindsay…" the blonde barely got out before she started to sob.

"Oh my," Dawn bent down to Lindsay's level. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize how purple your aura is. You must be very upset about something. What's wrong?"

"I'm lost!" Lindsay cried out. "And I can't find Cody!"

Sympathy swept through Dawn at the sight of tears running down Lindsay's face. "Oh it's okay, don't cry. I know these woods like the back of my hand. I'm sure I can help you get out." she paused briefly. "But who is Cody?"

"Cody is my friend," Lindsay answered. "He came with me into the forest but I got scared and ran off and then I couldn't find him again!" she sobbed. "And now I'm tired and hungry and I want to take a shower!"

Dawn didn't quite know what to say to that. Instead she took Lindsay's hand and helped her to her feet. Then she reached up and wiped Lindsay's eyes. "No more crying okay? I'm going to help you."

Surprisingly, Lindsay nodded and ceased her crying. Dawn recalled Abra, and then lead Lindsay over to the path. They began to follow it east. "Pewter City is still quite a ways away. We won't reach it for another couple of hours but as long as we stay on the path we'll both be alright."

"What about Cody?" Lindsay brought back up. It seemed she would not stop asking until she got her answer.

"I don't know where he is," Dawn answered absentmindedly. "Is this friend of yours a Pokémon trainer?"

"Oh yeah," Lindsay nodded as if she had just remembered this. "He's new, but I think he's already pretty good."

Dawn nodded. "Now would you say this boy is around the same intelligence level as you, or higher?"

"Huh?"

"…is Cody smarter than you?"

"Oh, yeah!" Lindsay nodded. "He's like…really smart!"

"Well than you shouldn't have anything to worry about." Dawn assured her. "If he's smarter than you, I'm sure he's on the path and we'll find him eventually."

Hearing this made Lindsay feel better. She felt like she could trust Dawn for some reason; even if she didn't understand the smaller girl. "Thank you Dusk. I'm so glad you found me when you did."

Dawn frowned when she heard Lindsay get her name wrong but chose not to correct her. "It's alright Lindsay, I'm happy to help. Also if I didn't help you I worry what other damage you would cause to the forest and all the Pokémon…" she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing…"

They kept walking along the path. They went undisturbed for over an hour until Dawn spotted something heading their way up in the sky. She raised her hand over her eyes to block out the sun. A Pokémon was flying toward them. Dawn stopped walking and waited. "What is it?" Lindsay asked.

A few seconds later it came into view. It was a Beedrill and it was headed straight for them. "Oh no!" Lindsay ducked and hid behind Dawn with both hands over her head. "They found me! How did they find me?"

"Calm yourself Lindsay." Dawn spoke softly. "This Beedrill means us no harm." The bug Pokémon in question stopped flying right in front of Dawn and buzzed at her. Lindsay watched as her new companion actually seemed to be listening to the Pokémon as if she could understand it. Every so often she would nod or say some word of agreement.

"Alright then, goodbye!" Dawn said as the Beedrill had apparently finished speaking to her. It flew off back in the direction it came. Lindsay stood back up and looked at Dawn with a strange look on her face.

"Can you talk to bug Pokémon or something?" she asked. "Cause that would be really weird."

Dawn decided to ignore this question. "I have good news Lindsay. I believe you'll be reunited with your friend Cody very soon."

"Really?" Lindsay's eyes lit up excitedly.

The smaller girl nodded. "That Beedrill was sent out by a trainer looking to find you. I don't know who this trainer is, but according to the Beedrill your friend Cody is with him and trying to find you."

"That's great news!" the dumber girl clapped her hands together. She stayed silent for a minute as she thought it over. "Now what do we do?"

"Now we wait. And we walk."

"More walking? Ughh…"

Elsewhere Cody and Harold were making their way through the forest with excellent speed. Harold seemed to know what he was doing and with him in the lead they successfully avoided walking in circles. "How far are we from the path?" Cody suddenly asked. Neither of them had spoken in a while so the sound briefly startled Harold.

"Umm…not far." he answered. "I wonder where Beedrill is? How long does it take to find a person? Gosh."

Harold kept walking for a good thirty seconds before he realized Cody was no longer behind him. Turning around he couldn't see his companion at all. He began to freak out wondering what had happened when Cody walked back into Harold's line of sight. "What are you doing? Where'd you go?"

"Harold come over here." Cody motioned him over with his hand.

"Why?"

"Just…come on! I think I found an injured Pokémon."

This caught Harold's attention and he jogged over. Cody raised his hand and pointed with his index finger to the left. Both boys pushed past a small shrub to find a small yellow Pokémon lying on its side unconscious. It looked hurt as if it had recently been in a fight with another Pokémon.

"It's a Pikachu," Harold whispered. "And it's injured."

"I wonder what did this to it?" Cody looked down at the small Pokémon with pity. "Poor guy…"

"We should get it to a Pokémon center." Harold told Cody. He then checked his pockets. "Crud! I'm all out of pokeballs."

"I have some." Cody offered.

"Do you? Good, then capture that Pikachu."

"You want me to capture it?" Cody asked surprised.

Harold nodded. "If you capture it, it'll stay safe in your pokeball until we can get it to the Pokémon center."

"Then we better hurry," Cody said pulling out an empty pokeball. He tossed it at the Pikachu right away. It didn't resist at all and almost immediately the capture was complete. He picked it up and then opened his Pokedex near the ball. "Pikachu: the mouse Pokémon. When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity can build and cause lightning storms."

"We should go." Harold stated. Cody nodded and the two headed back to their original path. They didn't walk for five minutes before Harold's Beedrill made its return. "Awesome!" Harold said excitedly. "I think Beedrill found your friend."

"Really? That's great!" Cody shared his enthusiasm. "Now we just have to follow it back to them right?"

Harold nodded. "Lead the way Beedrill." The bug Pokémon immediately flew off at a pace the two boys could follow in the same direction Harold had been taking them.

They made their way through the forest for half an hour until finally they came across the path. "Ha! I knew we were close. Had Beedrill not shown up I would've led us here." Harold congratulated himself.

"Do you know where on the path we are?" Cody asked looking from one side to the next. "Or which way leads to Pewter City?"

"Of course. Pewter City is that way." he pointed to the left. "We're only about two hours away from here." The redhead spotted his Beedrill heading the opposite way down the path. "But it looks like your friend is the other way."

"Wait…you mean she's on the path?" Cody asked surprised. When Harold nodded he looked relieved. "Well that's good. I didn't expect her to find her way back, but it's a good thing she did."

"Let's go." Both boys followed the bug Pokémon along the path. They jogged at a quick pace hoping to get there faster.

An hour later both groups spotted each other. Cody and Harold had turned a corner following Beedrill to find Lindsay and Dawn a mere thirty feet away. "Lindsay!" the brunette called out as he spotted the blonde.

Lindsay looked up to see Cody waving at her. "Cody!" Her tiredness forgotten, she quickly ran forward and enveloped the smaller boy in a hug. "Oh Cody! I was so scared when I lost you! I thought I was going to be trapped in this forest forever!" she said squeezing him between her breasts.

"I missed you too Lindsay," Cody said the moment she let him go and he was able to breathe again. "Hey," something occurred to him. "You finally got my name right!"

"I did?" Lindsay blinked. "Oh hey I did! Yay me!" Just then she spotted Harold. "Who's that guy? Is he one of those bug catcher guys?"

"This is Harold," Cody introduced the redhead. "I found him when I was looking for you last night. He actually helped me find you. And yes, he does use bug Pokémon."

Harold took Lindsay's right hand and kissed it. "It's nice to meet you, my lady. I'm glad to see your well and not imaginary like I thought. You're just as pretty as Cody described."

"Oh well thanks Henry," Lindsay replied. "It's nice to meet you too. And this is my new friend Dusk." she indicated Dawn who was standing beside her with both arms behind her back. "She saved my life and helped me find the path."

"It's Dawn actually," the shorter girl said as she shook both Cody and Harold's hands.

"It's nice to meet you," Cody said. "And thank you for saving Lindsay. I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

Dawn shrugged. "She wasn't that bad."

Lindsay began poking Cody to get his attention. "Cody can we leave now? I want out of this forest already!"

"Yeah, I don't want to stay here any longer either." he answered her. "We found an injured Pikachu and need to get it to a Pokémon center quickly." He showed her the pokeball he was carrying it in.

"You found an injured Pokémon in this forest?" Dawn asked. When Cody nodded she took the pokeball from him and put her hand over the top of it. "Oh you poor thing. I bet it was Team Rocket that did this."

"Team Rocket? Who are they?" Harold asked.

"Aren't they a group of Pokémon thieves?" Cody thought back to the conversation he overheard back at the PokeMart.

"That's right. And two nights ago they made their way through this forest." Dawn explained. "I tried to warn as many Pokémon as I could to avoid them at all costs, but there wasn't time to warn them all. It seems this little one may have gotten in their way."

"Well Team Rocket or not, we should hurry to the Pokémon Center." Cody took the pokeball back.

The four of them set off once again for Pewter City. They followed the path which, according to Harold, would get them there in only a few hours. The walk was mostly uneventful. They managed to avoid any Pokémon trainers they came across, but this was partially because there was so few left. While they walked the four talked amongst themselves learning different things about each other.

By late afternoon they had made it to the edge of Viridian Forest. They could all see the end of the trees just ahead. "We made it!" The four ran until they reached the end of the forest. They looked down and could see Pewter City below them. From their high position they could make out all the different building and could even spot the Pewter Gym.

Lindsay fell to her knees. "Oh thank God. We're free!"

Cody turned to Harold and Dawn. "Thank you both so much. I'm not sure we would've made it out of there without your help."

"It was no trouble." Dawn said.

"I was just fulfilling our agreement." Harold stated.

"Will you be coming with us, or are you going back to the forest?" Cody asked with mild interest.

"I'm coming," Harold said. "At least for a little while. I want to make sure that Pikachu is alright. Plus I really need to restock my supplies."

But Dawn shook her head. "I'm afraid this is where we must part. I am needed back in the forest for now."

"Aww Dusk!" Lindsay frowned. The look on her face was filled with disappointment. "Don't leave! I'm going to miss you."

Dawn smiled. "Don't worry, I get the feeling we'll see each other again. I won't stay in this forest forever, but for now I must listen to mother earth."

"Goodbye, and thanks for everything!" Cody waved.

"See you later."

"Goodbye!"

Dawn slowly walked backwards into the forest. A few seconds later she seemed to have disappeared into its depths, but all three of them heard her call out. "Goodbye my friends."

"That girl was weird." Harold said sticking a finger up his nose.

"We should go." Cody then noticed Lindsay was sitting on the ground again. "Lindsay?"

"I'm tired." she put on her best puppy-dog face. "Will you carry me? Please?"

And that's how Cody found himself walking to Pewter City attempting to carrying a girl much taller than himself on his back.

A/N: Thanks for reading, and as always reviews are appreciated.