"Pokémon Endless Journey - Volume 1: Red, Green, Blue and Yellow - The First Legend"

Chapter 4 – Mischievous Blue:

Red exited the Poké Center once again in the same day. He was still thinking about the odd remark the Nurse ended the conversation with, but that didn't matter at the moment. He decided to let his Pokémon out of the Poké Balls and have them follow him around instead, in order to catch some air and stretch their legs after being healed.

"Guys, great job on the battle against Brock." Red congratulate, petting them both at the same time. Bulbasaur and Weedle replied almost identically, happily accepting the compliment.

Red took out the Boulder Badge and looked at it with happiness once more. "Let's celebrate, guys. How about an early, big dinner?"

"Bulba!"

"Weedle!"

"Alright, it's settled!" Red and the two little Pokémon ran to the Poké Mart in order to buy food before going back to the Poké Center and sleep before starting the following day. However, Red noticed how when he searched for his wallet, he couldn't find it. "What the…? I had it just a while ago."

"Squirtle-Squirt!"

"Hey!" Red yelled. "Follow that Squirtle!" Followed by his Pokémon, Red chased the Water-type, which didn't run fast enough to get off of their sight, but managed to reach her Trainer before being caught.

Red stopped on his tracks, beholding the girl that had the same height as him, neat brown hair, evenly distributed on either side and with bangs running on the sides of her face, bright blue eyes, thin lips, and a black dress with a short skirt as an attire.

Red, following the meaning of his name, began to blush. Girls of his age weren't the most prominent kind of people in Pallet Tow, and being a rather beautiful one on top of that, it was a natural reaction.

"Yes?"

"U-Umm…"

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur used one of his vines to shake Red's shoulder, makin him wake up from the trance.

"T-That Squirtle is yours?"

"Why yes, she is? Uh?" The girl finally noticed the wallet her Pokémon carried. "Squirtle!"

"Squuiiir…" The yell scared the little Pokémon.

"How many times have I told you to not get caught in case you steal someone's money?!"

Red, Bulbasaur and Weedle almost fell to the side. "Seriously…?"

The girl took the wallet and handed it back to Red. "She's still inexperienced in this kind of stuff, sorry."

"It's okay, I suppose…" Red accepted the wallet back and saved it in his pocket. But despite what happened, Red decided to take an approach. "I'm Red. And you?"

"My name is Blue. Nice to meet you. Hm?" She took a look at the Pokémon by his side. "That's a Bulbasaur, isn't it?"

"Hm? Yeah." Much to his surprise, Blue drew out of her pocket a deep blue Pokédex and aimed it at Bulbasaur, gaining some information on the Pokémon. But before Red could question why she possessed one, he decided to do the same to the Squirtle by her side.

'Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. Its shell is not just for protection. Its rounded shape and the grooves on its surface minimize resistance in water, enabling Squirtle to swim at high speeds.'

Red started to think about the situation. "A Pokédex and a Squirtle… Did she…?"

"Hey, Red, would you like to do something fun?"

"Fun?"

"Let's make a bet."

"A bet?"

"We battle. And the winner gets 1500 Pokéns from the loser. What do you say?"

Red was taken aback at first but then brough a palm to his face. "She's a gold digger, isn't she…?"

Standing on opposite sides of a small field they found to be deserted nearby.

"Let's make this a single round double battle, alright?"

"Fine by me." Red agreed to Blue's conditions. His Bulbasaur and Weedle were already ready, while Blue only had Squirtle in front of her.

"Let's go, Caterpie!" Blue threw in her only other Pokémon to the battlefield, which stood by Squirtle's side.

"Caterpie!"

"A Caterpie? Now that I think of, I've been facing them all day, but I haven't used the Pokédex on one of them."

'Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. Its voracious appetite compels it to devour leaves bigger than itself without hesitation. It releases a terribly strong odor from its antennae. It is covered with a green skin. When it grows, it sheds the skin, covers itself with silk, and becomes a cocoon.'

"Ready?"

"Whenever you are."

"Is that so?" Blue smirked. "Squirtle, Bubble!"

"Squirt!" Squirtle blew out of her mouth a little swarm of clear bubbles towards both of her opponents.

"Bulbasaur, cut them up with the use of Razor Leaf!"

"Bulba!" firing multiple razor sharp leaves, Bubble became useless.

"Caterpie, String Shot!"

"Weedle, block it with your own String Shot!"

The two Bug-Types released a stream of white silk from their mouths, but they tangled up together, linking them.

"Weedle, pull her in!"

"Wee!" Being a strong Pokémon Weedle twisted his body around, pulling Caterpie with a brusque motion.

"Cateeeeer!"

"Oh no! Squirtle, don't let her go!"

Catching the bug with both hands, Squirtle stopped the bug from being taken away. Caterpie broke the tread on her own, and so did Weedle when he realized that it was useless to keep on pulling.

"Tackle!"

Both Trainers yelled in unison. Bulbasaur and Squirtle ran up to one another and clashed their heads against each other, in an attempt to show dominance over the other.

"Bug Bite!"

Weedle and Caterpie did the same as their partners, with the Hairy Bug making the stinger at the end of his tail glow bright yellow and use it as a weapon, while the Worm's antennae glow in the same color and became sharper. Using their extensions as weapons, the bugs struggled.

"Bulbasaur, Weedle, jump back!"

Red's command made the battle to cease. Blue's Pokémon copied the movements, as they awaited for the next order.

"Water Gun, Squirtle!"

"Squirt!" Firing a stream of water from her mouth, Squirtle aimed at Weedle.

"Weedle, String Shot on Bulbasaur!"

"What?!"

Weedle obeyed and fired a thread of white silk, which tied around Bulbasaur's bulb and he then pulled himself towards Bulbasaur, dodging the stream with ease.

Blue was amazed. "Wow. Clever use of the String Shot."

"Thanks."

"Mind if I give it a try?" Red was taken aback. "Squirtle, Rapid Spin!"

The Tiny Turtle ran forward and then jumped while retracting her head, tail and limbs into her shell, which began to spin and hover towards Weedle.

"Poison Sting!"

Weedle's horn began to glow bright purple and he used it to pierce Squirtle, sending her back at Blue.

"Caterpie, use String Shot on Squirtle and send her back forward! Shell Boomerang!"

Caterpie fired a stream of white silk at the spinning Squirtle and twisted her body around, sending the turtle back against Bulbasaur and Weedle.

"Bulbasaur, Solar Beam!"

"That Bulbasaur knows Solar Beam?!"

Taking in the solar energy from the setting sun, Bulbasaur prepared the attack, and Weedle was going to make sure that it fired, but the Squirtle was far too fast. The attack landed with great force on Bulbasaur, setting Squirtle free from the threads.

"Bul!"

"Squirtle, Caterpie, Tackle on Squirtle! Quick!" Fearing the possible loss of the battle, Blue took the only approach she thought to be effective. Caterpie and Squirtle both ran up to Squirtle and tackled him with their bodies, but just before their united strengths knocked him out, the beam was fired from his bulb, the attack landing on Squirtle perfectly.

"Bulba!"

"Squirtle!"

The two Pokémon fainted and were withdrawn. Tension rose between the Trainers.

"Weedle, Poison Sting!"

"Caterpie, Tackle!"

The two Pokémon head-butted each other before being pushed back and glare at each other. Red and Blue were enjoying the battle, despite both being surprised by each other's strength, but suddenly, a glowing light radiated from both of their Pokémon.

"What the…?"

Both Weedle and Caterpie began changing their shape, ending up as a completely different species.

"Kakuna."

"Metapod."

Red and Blue were quick to draw out their Pokédexes.

'Kakuna, the Cocoon Pokémon. Although it is a cocoon, it can move a little. It can extend its poison barb if it is attacked. From this form, it will grow into an adult. As its body becomes softer, the external shell hardens.'

'Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon. It prepares for evolution by hardening its shell as much as possible to protect its soft body. It quietly endures hardships while awaiting evolution.'

"They evolved…"

"Well, what now?" Blue asked, somewhat annoyed. "They can't move all that much."

"Well, we could still try." Red laughed awkwardly. "Kakuna, Poison Sting!"

Kakuna jumped forward and drew out two stingers from his body, making them glow purple.

"Tackle!"

Metapod jumped forward and collided with Kakuna. However, it was easy to tell that they barely made any damage to each other.

"Umm…"

"I think we'll call this a tie." Blue sighed, while withdrawing Metapod. "It would be stupid to make two cocoons fight each other. It would take an eternity."

"I suppose…" Red withdrew Kakuna and laughed awkwardly once more. "It was a cool battle though."

"I agree. Well, I must go now. See you around, Red!" Blue marched off towards the outskirts of the city, leaving Red alone to wonder if anything had been stolen without his notice. His wallet, his Pokédex, his Badge, and his Poké Balls were still with him. Maybe it was just his imagination.

But he knew that he would cross paths with her once more, sooner or later.

Pokémon of the Day:

Squirtle – Squirtle's shell is a useful tool. It can withdraw into the shell for protection or for sleeping, and its grooved, rounded shape helps to reduce water resistance when this Pokémon swims. Squirtle can spray foamy water from its mouth with great accuracy. Squirtle is scarce in the wild, although it can be found around small ponds and lakes.

Caterpie - Caterpie will shed its skin many times before finally cocooning itself in thick silk. It can also spit this silk in order to entangle foes. It has a voracious appetite that causes it to eat leaves larger than itself. It primarily feeds on vegetation, such as tree leaves.

Metapod - While this shell is said to be as hard as steel, a sudden, powerful impact could cause its tender body to pop out, leaving it completely exposed. Metapod generally remains motionless, preparing its soft innards for evolution inside its hard shell. If an enemy discovers Metapod, it is unable to do anything other than harden its outer shell. Metapod lives in forests.

Kakuna - When it comes close to evolving, its body gives off heat that makes it warm to the touch. Kakuna remains virtually immobile and waits for evolution often hanging from tree branches by long strands of silk. When attacked, however, it can extend its poison barbs. Kakuna nests in forests and misty wooded areas.