CHAPTER 4

At first light the next morning, Megan and Clefairy awoke to find that Frost and Cyndaquil had gone off again to find Pokémon. Perhaps even to train the Pidgey Frost managed to capture. So, until they returned, she and Clefairy decided to make some breakfast.

They had a loaf of bread slathered in honey, with each drinking at least a quart of Miltank Milk. Clefairy wanted to eat what they had left, but Megan knew it would be more courteous to save some for Frost and Cyndaquil. Who were now exploring the deeper parts of the forest.

"Cyndaquil, keep it quiet, I think I hear something," Frost pointed ahead towards a thicket. Cyndaquil moved in as quietly as he could to see what it was. As he moved past the bush, he could see on the other side, was a Caterpie. She was very slow, almost as if it was sick. Frost came up behind, curious to see what Cyndaquil had found.

Frost could see that the Caterpie was hurt, so he gently picked it up and gave it some water. When he lifted her up, he could see a cut on her belly. Deep enough to cause serious pain, but not so deep that she was involved in a losing fight. Frost ripped off a piece of his pants leg and wrapped it around Caterpie to make a bandage.

They headed back to the make shift camp site where Megan and Clefairy were getting things ready to leave. "Megan," Frost found her, and showed her the injured Pokémon. "This Caterpie needs help,"

"I'm no Pokémon nurse, where's the nearest Pokémon canter?" Megan asked, she reached inside her bag for the map. "The nearest one is in Terreburg City, but it's over six miles away," She set her map down and began to think. She knew the bandage would stop the bleeding, and he cut would heal over time, but the Caterpie needed care. Megan began to search her bag, hoping she had brought some medications with her.

She only had antidotes and awakenings, nothing to help wounds. So she and Cyndaquil went around the edge of the forest. Every trainer, regardless of experience level, should be knowledgeable of the healing powers of certain herbs and berries. Berries of course being very easy to find, herbs are a bit trickier. Still, as a child who dreamed of being a Pokémon nurse, she knew this would be the perfect opportunity to gain experience in that field.

While exploring the borders, Cyndaquil found a small bush with periwinkle flowers on it. He got Megan, hoping it would help. Megan identified the flower as Diliweed. Diliweed is a very potent type of healing herb that is used to heal burns and cuts. Megan picked a dozen of the peddles and took them back to the Caterpie.

"What is that stuff?" Frost asked [pointing to the flowers.

"It's Diliweed, it can help the wound," Megan tore up the flowers and put them in water, placing it over the fire. "In a few minutes, the water will mix with the plants, then, Caterpie can sit in it for a while,"

"All she has to do is sit in it?" Frost picked up the Caterpie, who was whimpering in pain. Frost began to wonder where the wound had come from, but was more concerned about healing it than the origins. Caterpie struggled to get into the water, and there it stayed for almost two hours.

Frost and Megan prayed that the Diliweed would help the Pokémon. They both know that an injured Pokémon could easily fall victim to a predator. Even more so, a small and slow Pokémon like Caterpie. With any luck, Caterpie would be all healed up. For a moment, Frost even considered catching it, however, the capturing of an already badly wounded Pokémon is not a fair and reasonable catch.

Frost looked at Caterpie for what seems like forever. Cyndaquil went over to keep her company, they seemed to hit it off okay. Within a few hours, Frost lifted up the Caterpie out of the hot water, and looked at its belly. Her wound was almost completely healed, but a scar still remained.

Caterpie was feeling much better and very happy. "Well Caterpie, you're all healed up, I guess you best be off," Frost set her down to leave, but she didn't. Caterpie stayed behind. "Don't you want to go? Unless…you would like to accompany us," Caterpie nodded and crawled over to Cyndaquil and Clefairy. The both of them seemed to be very fond of Caterpie, and she was sure to return their sentiments.

"Well, I guess, you and I could be good friends," Frost reached into his bag and pulled out a Pokéball. He tossed it and it hit the ground. The ball opened and sucked Caterpie into it. Caterpie did not struggle to break free, and Frost had managed to find a new ally. Hopefully a better one than his Pidgey.

After that, he and Megan were back on the road once again. "You see that hill over there?" Megan pointed off in the distance. Frost could see it.

"Yeah, what about it?" Frost asked.

"Terreburg is on the other side, that's less than two miles away, we'll be there in about an hour after we reach the top," Frost and Cyndaquil exchanged looks, both were in a flurry of excitement. In that city, was the first gym Frost would challenge. All he had to do was win. However, he knew he was not prepared.

"Megan, wait we need to stop again," Frost said, Megan stopped and looked at Frost.

"Why, do we need to stop again, we already lost a few hours because of the Caterpie, we can stop now,"

"But Megan, I have to prepare for the gym challenge," Frost whined.

"You can't wait till we get there to train?" Megan crossed her arms, she and Frost both knew he has had plenty of time to train, but hasn't utilized any of it very well.

"Fine, you have ten minutes," Megan huffed, growing very impatient. She and Clefairy sat down to rest, and Clefairy took a quick nap, for she was very tired. In the meantime, Frost let out his Pokémon. Caterpie came out first, and Pidgey afterwards. Without even a moment's hesitation, Pidgey looked at Caterpie and began chasing her. She nearly got her too, but Cyndaquil shot Pidgeys right wing, and she fell.

"Pidgey! Knock it off, she's a friend," Frost yelled at Pidgey, but the bird paid no attention and began another pursuit. She had Caterpie in the clutches of her talon until Frost sucked her back into her ball. Caterpie had hidden behind a rock and was too scared to come out.

"Caterpie, you can come out now, Pidgeys gone. I promise its safe." Frost did his best to comfort her, and with a little hesitation, she came out. Frost knew it would be better to train one at a time. So he placed her across from Cyndaquil. He knew that Caterpie was inexperienced and going easy on it was the best way for it to gain confidence.

"Now, Cyndaquil I want you to tackle Caterpie, and Caterpie when he does, you roll out of the way and get him with your string shot attack, got it?" Caterpie nodded and prepared for Cyndaquil attack. Quick as he could, Cyndaquil charged, and Caterpie bounced out of the way with mere moments to spare. In fact, Cyndaquil was quite surprised by her agility and speed, if not impressed.

When she turned around, she spat her webbing, and covered Cyndaquil in a hurry. Then stopped to wait for further instructions. "Good job Caterpie, you okay Cyndaquil?" Cyndaquil nodded and pulled the webs off. "Okay, Caterpie, I want you to charge at Cyndaquil, and Cyndaquil is going to make a smokescreen so he can escape."

Caterpie charged with all her might, and Cyndaquil puffed a thick layer of smoke. Caterpie ran right past him and he escaped. Caterpie was confused at first, but managed to find her way out as well. "Caterpie, tackle him!" Frost commanded. She obeyed and hit Cyndaquil with surprising force for such a small organism. Cyndaquil stumbled back and fell down. Caterpie was very pleased by her performance.

"Okay, Caterpie, that's enough for now," Frost returned her to her Pokéball, the he threw out Pidgeys. Pidgey sat there on the ground and did not move. Nor did she acknowledge Frost or Cyndaquil at all. "Pidgey, are you ready to battle?" Pidgey did not respond, instead, she sat down and ignored him. "Pidgey, you have to do as I say," Pidgey gave no response. To Frost, it was abundantly clear that Pidgey did not view him as a worthy trainer.

Frost sucked her back in to the Pokéball, knowing he would not get anywhere with her for the time being. Megan watched with sympathy, and she tried to hide a bit of laughter. For someone who dreams of being a Pokémon master, he was doing a poor job of training a simple Pidgey. Megan, though a respectful person, could not help but find this concept funny.

Finally, they were once again on their way, and reached the top of the hill. Together, they looked out and saw Terreburg City. Frost guessed that it was less than two miles away. With not another moment they could afford to lose, the bolted towards the city. Running as fast as their legs would allow, they eventually reached the city limits.

"We did it Frost, we made it. Now don't you feel better having achieved something?" Megan joked.

"There is no time limit to being a Pokémon master, it's my destiny. So no matter what happens, I'm going to be a Pokémon master," Frost looked at Cyndaquil, who smiled and rubbed against him.

"There is a time limit actually, the official Pokémon league championship competition begins in less than a year, and you have to get eight badges before then." Megan reminded him. He knew what he had to do, and did not want Megan to think he would let his ego get the better of him.

At about noon, they began searching for the Pokémon center. Usually where one is found, a gym should be nearby. "According to this map," Megan read, "The Pokémon center should just be at the corner of this street," They looked around and finally saw it, hidden behind a group of trees.

When they got inside, the two of them had their Pokémon healed. When Caterpie came out, Frost was surprised to see the scar had been removed. Nurse Joy, who was running the Pokémon Center, was very kind and offered both of them a hot meal. "I hope that you enjoy your stay in Terreburg City, if there is anything I can do to help, just let me know,"

"Actually there is," Frost said, as he set down his mug of cola. "Can you direct me to the Pokémon gym?"

"Why yes I can," Nurse Joy smiled. "It's only a block away, but I'm afraid the gym is closed now, you'll have to wait till tomorrow before it opens," Nurse Joy pointed to the clock, it was already half past seven. Frost had not realized how long they had already been in Terreburg and did not think too fondly of having to wait even longer for his first official battle.

"Thank you, uh, by any chance do you know of any places we could stay, like a hotel or something?" Frost wondered, after several days of sleeping in a bad, he was anxious to spend the night in a soft and cozy bed.

"Well, I suppose you could stay here, we have rooms in the back for trainers, if that's okay?" Nurse Joy directed them to the back. Frost and Cyndaquil took the bed nearest to the door. Megan and Clefairy laid down right away and went to sleep. Frost however, was too excited to sleep, so he and Cyndaquil ran out to find a good place to practice.

They found a nice open area by the park, and got set up. Frost knew that, as much as he didn't want to, he would have to handle Pidgey. So he threw her out first. When she came out, she looked around. Frost walked up to her, but she did her best to ignore him. "Pidgey, you are going to have to do what I say," Pidgey looked at him. "Can you just try and obey?" Pidgey flew up in to the air, and pecked his head, the flew up even higher and perched up on the branch of a tree.

Frost spent a half hour calling to her, demanding that she come down at once. However, Pidgeys will was far too strong. With no luck in sight, he called Pidgey back to her Pokéball. He could not understand why Pidgey did not want to listen to him. Caterpie and Cyndaquil were all obedient and loyal, but this Pidgey, was very stubborn. For now, he would focus on strengthening his Caterpie.

Together, Cyndaquil and Caterpie trained with Frost till nearly midnight. Caterpie was feeling much more confident in battle, and Cyndaquil could freeze over objects in a hurry. During an exercise break, Caterpie was jumping from a swing seat to a nearby table. Thanks to her excellent vision, she could make out where it was, even in the dark.

It was the very witching hour of night, before Frost and Cyndaquil made their way back to the Pokémon Center. Terreburg was a very friendly looking place during the day, but with only the moonlight illuminating the roads, Frost and Cyndaquil could not help but feel nervous. The trees were over casting them, blocking out a good portion of the moon light. "I don't like being out this late Cyndaquil," He whispered. "Especially in a place that I am unfamiliar with." Cyndaquil looked around and could not see anything.

Before long, they saw a single light off in the distance, a closer observation revealed it to be a lamp post. Frost was beginning to worry, they had not yet returned to the Pokémon Center, and should have been there by now. They could not find it, and were beginning to panic. What if they are lost until the sun comes up? He needed rest, and more time to prepare for his battle at the gym.

One would think that there would be more lights to guide their way. However, and unbeknownst to Frost, the power station for the city, was undergoing certain events that do not come into our story yet. For now, Frost was running around and looking for the center, now fully engulfed in fear. His nerves did not calm however, when he thought he heard noises. In reality, it was nothing, but Frost was too afraid to think rationally.

Poor Frost and Cyndaquil were lost. Lost in an unfamiliar area, in an unfamiliar town in the middle of night. A true pity indeed, because they had passed the Pokémon Center a total of four times, but they were too afraid to notice. Really, the dark can have a foreboding appearance about it, even if there is nothing to worry about. "Cyndaquil, we need help. Let's…well, now that I think about it, we haven't seen anybody"

It must have been almost three, before Frost found his way back, thanks to the town map in his bag. He had forgotten about it entirely, and decided that he deserved to be lost that long due to his incompetence. Still, he made it back, and snuck in, careful to not wake Megan up.

He woke up at about quarter to ten, Megan, Clefairy, and Cyndaquil were eating breakfast. They had eggs, and waffles slathered in syrup, and greasy delicious bacon strips. Frost ate almost two helpings of each and got his things ready for the gym challenge that awaited him. Nurse Joy came in, who was caring for a sick Meditite.

"Frost, if your waiting for the gym, it opens in about ten minutes, so you can go in there early before the majority of trainers flood the place,"

"Thanks for the advice, Megan, do you want to come?" He asked. Megan was setting her dishes in the sink.

"No thanks, Clefairy and I are going to look around and see what's what, I understand you did quite a bit of exploring last night," She and Nurse Joy laughed, but Frost was not finding this funny. He knew that neither of them were with him. If they got lost, they wouldn't be laughing, however, because of the big day he had ahead of him, he paid no mind to it. Instead he groaned, trying to stay focused and decided to eat a little more food for an extra energy boost. He ate a few more eggs and then headed out with Cyndaquil on his shoulder. When he arrived, there were already a small group of trainers heading in.

As he approached the front door, he gave Cyndaquil a look. "Cyndaquil, this is going to be out first battle, and the first battle that we will have that counts. So you and Caterpie are going to have to try your very best, okay?" Cyndaquil nodded. "I'm not going to use Pidgey, so the fate of my first badge is in your hands," With that said, he took a gulp and opened the door. He put his foot in and continued on, and only stopped when he heard the door close behind him.

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