4. Gaining new Experiences

"Thanks for healing up my Pokémon." Danny took the 3 Pokéballs out of Nurse Joy's hands. "I'm glad I could help." She answers. While waving goodbye, Danny left the Pokémon centre, where he met up with Richard.

"I bought ourselves a map." He said proudly. "Great, just give it to me and we will be fine." Richard looked at Danny. "No way, you always get lost. You even get lost in the bathroom." "That is not true, the light was down and I had my eyes closed, that's all." Danny said ashamed, but suddenly, something skipped through his memory.

"The light was down and I had my eyes closed." It was at a day that Richard was staying at Danny's place for the weekend. Nothing strange, except for the fact that it happened in the real world. "Don't think about it, it has been almost a week now, I don't think I will be returning any time soon."

"What's wrong." "Nothing. I just thought off something, you can take the map." Danny said. Richard sighed in relieve. "Thanks, otherwise we would end up in Vermillion." He laughed, especially when he saw Danny turning red. "Just joking, come on. Time to get on the road again, and remember, the first Pokémon we'll find will be mine."

Later

"So this is Viridian Forest, full of creepy Pokémon, hah, I only saw Weedle and Caterpie." Danny said. "I think those are considered as the creepy Pokémon." Richard answered. "Compare them to that Gastly of a few days ago, and I would say they are cute." Richard looked strangely at Danny. "Cute?" "Comparing to Gastly. Comparing to Charmander or Kakuna they are still kind a creepy." Richard wanted to smack his head against a tree. "Kakuna is a evolved Weedle, remember?" "O yeah, right." Danny started to get red again. They could argue the entire day, if it wasn't for the weird looking kid with a weird net.

"I challenge you to a battle." He screamed. Danny looked around. "Agreed. Charmander, I choose you!" "You, you can't use Charmander." "Why not?" "Because it's a Fire-type and my Caterpie and Metapod are Bug-type. It just isn't fair."

Danny and Richard started laughing. "You should thought of it before challenging me. "But my dad told me only Pikachu trainers came by here, so I wouldn't have to do too much." The kid answered shyly.

"Are we going to battle or not?" "O-okay. Go, Caterpie. Use your Tackle attack." "Charmander, use Scratch." The prints of Charmander's nails became red on Caterpie's skin. "Caterpie, use Tackle again." "Charmander, Scratch." The same outcome, Charmander hit, Caterpie flinched, and fainted this time as well.

"Caterpie return, go Metapod. Use Harden." "Charmander, Ember." To keep it short, Harden didn't did a thing. Unfortunately for the Bug Catcher, Ember did. "Metapod, Harden again." "Really, I though you went for victory?" Danny said sarcastic. "But Metapod only knows Harden." The kid said sadly.

Danny remembered something else. "It only knows Teleport!?" He remembered how terrible he felt when he found out he couldn't really use Abra for battle. "Then I forfeit." Danny said. "W-What?" Richard and the kid said together. "Why?" "Because I won't harm your Pokémon when it can't fight back. Consider this as a victory. Come on Charmander." Charmander walked towards it's trainer.

"Metapod, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have you fighting like this." The Metapod looked up at his trainer, who almost started to cry. "Don't take it yourself too hard, you are just starting right?" "Y-yes."

"Anthony! Where are you?" the bug catcher, Anthony, looked back. "That's is my dad. I have to go. Bye and thanks for the battle." "Wait, can you tell us the directions to get to Pewter city?!" Danny asked. "Don't bother, he is gone." Richard answered. "Maybe, if we walk in that direction, we might be able to get in Pewter before nightfall." Danny responded.

Two hours later

"Where are we now! According to the map, we should stand in the middle of Pewter City, but this is only forest!" "Maybe plants took over Pewter City?" "Really funny Richard." Danny said. "Let me see that map." Richard said. Danny handed it over, with an angry look in its eyes. Richard took the map, and started to laugh. "What's so funny?" Danny asked angrily. "Well, this isn't the map of Kanto, it is a treasure map, made by us when we were little. Remember?"

"I remember that, but… We made that in real life as well, this is insane. How is that possible? Maybe my dream took over some realistic things as well."

"Yeah, I remember." Danny said to Richard. "Where is the real map, because we can't get out of this forest without it." "Wait a minute, when we talked about the bathroom, I gave you the map." Danny said. Richard looked up, and started laughing slowly. "Ah, that's right. My bad. I'm sorry." Danny started to laugh. "But where is it." It should be somewhere here."

On the same moment, they heard a noise coming out of the bushes. "What's that?" Richard turned around, and stopped looking. "I better be prepared, Go Charmander!" Charmander came out, first localize, then focused on the noise. Out of the bushes came a little Sandshrew, looking curious up to them. "What's that for kind of Pokémon?" Danny asked, already entered it on his Pokédex:

Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon. Sandshrew hates moisture and lives in holes it digs in dry places. It protects itself by curling into a ball.

"Maybe it never saw a human before, because this isn't our habitat!" "According to the Pokédex, it isn't his or hers either. Hear what it says about its habitat:

Sandshrew mostly live in mountain area. They can sometimes be seen in dry plains or open fields.

"It must have wondered off by himself, but the closest mountain is Mt. Moon, and that is still miles away from here." Richard kneeled down by the little Sandshrew. "Are you lost little fellow?" The Sandshrew got a scared look in his eyes, and bit Richard in his nose. "Auuu!" Danny started to laugh.

"What's so funny." Richard said, still petting his now red turning nose. "You, you are funny. You should have known that a little Pokémon like that, which is far away from home, wouldn't be happy with your face so close by. Even I am not always happy to see you face, and I know you. But excuse me, I have to capture this Pokémon. Charmander go!"

"Wait!" Richard shouted. "Why? It is there, so why don't catch it?" "Because, you said after you caught Abra, that the first Pokémon we would come across, would be my catch." "Okay, you may catch it, although I don't understand why you want a Pokémon in your party which tried to eat your nose" Danny sighted. "That is something we will work on, right Sandshrew? Wait, where is it?"

During the argument, the Sandshrew had ran away. "Sandshrew, wait a minute. Where are you going?" Richard went after the Sandshrew, followed by Danny and Charmander. When they got to the bushes, they saw an open field, and in the middle of it was Sandshrew.

"There you are, Danny look, this is a great place to take a rest." "You're right. Especially since we don't know where we have to go." Danny looked at Richard. "I got it the first time, no reason to rub it in." Richard went over to Sandshrew. "Now don't be scared, we want to be your friends, we won't hurt you." Richard petted the little Sandshrew on its head, surprisingly without the Pokémon biting again. "Now we will let out some more Pokémon, but don't be afraid, they won't hurt you."

"Kakuna, Abra, come on, join the party" "You to Squirtle, come on out." And so Sandshrew was facing four Pokémon. Squirtle looked at it curiously, Kakuna didn't did anything, but laying, Abra already fell asleep, and Charmander, who already saw Sandshrew, was more interested in the food.

"I hope you enjoy it, because it is the best I can make with the less supplies we have left." Richard said, after packing out the food, and he started cooking. "Do you need some help?" Danny asked. "That would be great, if I remember it well you are quite the cook as well."

"That's another thing this version of my life has in common with the reality, I love to cook."

In the meantime, the Pokémon went playing. Squirtle tried to play with Sandshrew, but Sandshrew was sitting at the edge of the area, then Squirtle held his shoulders, for so far a Pokémon can do, and went over to Charmander, who always wanted to play.

Danny laughed as he saw Charmander tackled Squirtle, his laugh however froze when he saw Kakuna, and he walked over to it. "Hey buddy, how are you doing?" He asked, but Kakuna did not gave any sign of recognition.

"What happened to Weedle, that makes him so angry with me?" Danny asked himself out loud. "It has nothing to do with you, Kakuna's aren't such big talkers, it will probably go better with communication when it evolves again." Richard answered. "By the way, I thought you would help me with our lunch. "I know, but it bothers me that Kakuna doesn't seem to have any fun, and that it looks like it doesn't like me anymore." "It still does, only it isn't visible." Richard said reassuring.

While laying the final hand to the cooking, Danny kept looking at Kakuna, which didn't did anything. "I wish he gave me a sign, something ,that he still likes me." Danny thought. "Who, Danny, go easy with the salt please, we don't have too much water left." Richard pulled the salt jar out of Danny's hands. "You know what, if you gather the Pokémon, I will finish this." Danny nodded, and walked away.

Squirtle and Charmander had wandered off a little, but where directly back when Danny called them, Sandshrew, still a little shy, wasn't against some food either. Even Abra woke up, just in time to get some food. Only Kakuna stayed where it was, and didn't move. "Kakuna, you'll need to eat." And again, Danny got completely ignored." Charmander had started on the small bread Richard had giving him, firing it up with its tail. Squirtle and Abra did the same, firing the bread up with the warmth of Charmander's tail.

"You can have toast as well if you'd like." Richard said to Sandshrew, which quickly nodded. "Here you go." He said. "Danny do you want toast to. Danny?" Danny was again in his memories, thinking about the last battle with Weedle.

"Maybe I pushed it too hard, it might have not been ready to evolve. What have I done?"

"Danny, hello, do we have contact?" "Uh, yes, I would like some toast." Richard looked at him. "Still thinking about Kakuna?" "Yeah, maybe it wasn't ready to evolve yet." Richard handed over the toast. "Thanks. Could that be it? That it just wanted to remain a Weedle a little longer?" Richard started thinking. "I don't know. Maybe it just needs some time?" Danny smiled. "Maybe that's it." Charmander and Abra both looked at their trainer, as if they felt Danny wasn't feeling alright. He patted them on their heads. "I'm fine guys, go eat your toast."

Later in the afternoon

"I think it is time to continue our journey, I can't wait to beat the Pewter City Gym Leader." Danny said, feeling a little better thanks to the toast. "The toast and oatmeal really tasted delicious." "Thanks, I hoped it was nice." "Sure was, the Pokémon look like they enjoyed it as well." Charmander made a happy noise to confirm. Danny stood up, and stretched. "This sitting on the ground isn't good for my bones." "Quit whining, you're not an elderly." Danny started to laugh. "I won't get that old if I keep eating my lunch on the cold ground." Richard laughed as well. He took the map he just found in his bag.

"If we follow this road." He pointed to his right." We should walk straight into Pewter City."

Suddenly, Charmander turned around, facing the bushes at Danny's left. Danny looked down. "What's wrong buddy?" Charmander kept looking specifically at one big tree, which was bigger than any of the other trees around them. Squirtle, Abra and Sandshrew came up as well. "Something is wrong, they can feel it." Richard said, pointing at the Pokémon. Just at that moment, a flog of Beedrill flew out of that tree, and they didn't looked happy.

Danny froze for a second, then he realized they were in quite some danger, and he turned around. "Come on, we need to get as fast as possible away from those Beedrill, any options?" He looked at Richard, who started packing their stuff. "Ehm, just run and look where we end?" "Sounds like a good plan to me. I'll get Kakuna." Danny ran back to get it, and lifted it in his arms. "Kakuna, hold still." Kakuna jumped out of Danny's arms. "Come on, it isn't the time to play games." Danny said, as he picked Kakuna back up. It jumped just as fast out of Danny's arms again.

The others were already further into the forest, but stopped when they saw Danny wasn't following. Charmander ran back, and stopped by his trainer. The three where now in the middle of the open field, only metres away from the flog of Beedrill. Danny tried to get Kakuna again, but it moved away from him. "Kakuna, I'm sorry if I did anything wrong, but we need to get out of here." He screamed. Charmander growled in agreement.

"Danny!" Richard stood at the edge of the field, together with Squirtle and Sandshrew, Abra was already on his way towards Danny as well. "Kakuna won't come along." And then, when the Beedrill where merely inches away, Kakuna started to shine brightly.

Danny and the other Pokémon stepped backwards. "Kakuna…" Danny whispered. It looked like Kakuna tore open. The light let the Beedrill back down. "Danny, what's happening." Richard screamed, as he ran towards his friend. "I think….. I think Kakuna is evolving!"

And that indeed was truth, the light now lifted up in the sky, and the Kakuna shell had disappeared, and a Beedrill had appeared above Danny's head. "Wow, a Beedrill." The buzzing from the wild Beedrill was getting closer again.

"We are too close, we'll never make it." Richard said. "Then let's fight them." Danny answered. He looked at Richard, who nodded resolute. "Let's do it."

"Charmander, Ember. Abra use Psychic and Beedrill, you use your Fury Attack." "Squirtle use Water Gun." The first line of Beedrills got hit, but another line moved forward, and another line got in second position. "It are just too many." Richard said. "Same attacks as last time." Both commanded. Another line of Beedrill backed down. "For every Beedrill we take down, two others come up." Danny said hopeless.

Sandshrew came unexpected forward, and stood next to Squirtle. "Richard look." "It looks like we have another fighter on our team." "Okay everyone, same attacks." Sandshrew curled up, and started to roll. "Charmander, can you use your tail to get Sandshrew in the air?" Danny asked. Charmander nodded, and used an improvised Tail slam on Sandshrew, which got it in mid-air. Once their Sandshrew did some damage. "Beedrill, get in there and give Sandshrew back cover." Beedrill nodded, and flew up.

"It looks like it's going to work." Richard smiled. Sandshrew and Beedrill took one after another Beedrill to the ground, the remaining where hit by either Ember, Psychic or Water Gun. One smart Beedrill decided to call it a day, and flew back to the big tree, more Beedrills followed, until only one remain: Danny's Beedrill.

"That was quite the battle." Danny smiled. "But we did it." He kneeled down, and hugged Charmander, Beedrill and Abra. "You three were great." "You two as well." Richard said, hugging Squirtle and Sandshrew, who wasn't afraid anymore, and hugged happily back.

"Sandshrew, I have been thinking." Richard said, "Would you like to tag along with Squirtle and me?" Danny looked at Sandshrew, trying to get an early opinion, but even the fled Beedrill could see the smile that was growing on Sandshrew's face. So did Richard.

"I take that as a yes." He pulled out a Pokéball out of his pocket, and laid it before Sandshrew, who happily touched the central pattern, and got sucked up by a red light, straight into the Pokéball. It directly clicked as confirmation of the capture.

"Sandshrew, welcome to the team." Richard said, as he let Sandshrew out of its Pokéball. "Now let's go." They walked the route the map said, and within an hour the group had arrived at the edge of Pewter city, strengthened by two (new) Pokémon.