A/N: Before I start I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all those who have followed, favourited and/or reviewed this story. Getting those notifications telling me that new people have followed and favourited and reading all the positive feedback in the reviews section is a great feeling and gets me motivated to keep on writing. So thanks to all you readers who make stories like these possible!

Chapter Three

Matt Erikson

I brushed back my long brown hair from my forehead and took a long sip from my water bottle and then offered Pikachu a sip too. The little electric Pokemon gratefully lapped up several gulps from the bottle's cap into which I poured his water. We had been for several hours now and had finally decided to break for lunch just off the main pathway from Pallet Town to Viridian City. I had picked up a small bag of Pokemon food at the Pallet Town Poké Mart for Pikachu, half of which he had wolfed down when we stopped to eat. For a small Pokemon, he was incredibly hungry. I silently hoped that he would grow and develop properly and not just get fat from eating so much.

By my estimates, we were likely just over halfway from Pallet to Viridian. The clerk at the Poké Mart had assured me that Viridian was only a day's walk away and so far we seem to be on track to make it there by evening. I packed up my supplies and called Pikachu over so we could get back on the road. The two of us set off once again, heading due north down the well-travelled pathway through the sweltering midday heat of the sunny summer day. The tens of thousands of trainers who had passed through this way had worn the grass pathway down to a mere dirt road that was a sandy brown color. Pikachu followed at my heel, walking along on two legs, taking in its new surroundings.

All around us great trees towered over our heads, branches full of healthy green leaves. Tall bushes and greenery grew unkempt along either side of the worn pathway, small colourful flowers poking their heads out here and there. We encountered a group of Spearow digging at what appeared to be some berries up ahead in the middle of the road. I was anxious to learn more about Pikachu's battling ability, so we decided to try and engage these wild Flying-Type Pokemon in battle. My excitement faded quickly, however, as Pikachu's Thundershock attack did little more than startle the Spearow who flew off quickly.

"Don't worry Pikachu", I said to the disappointed Pokemon. "You just need some practice, that's all."

We continued our walking, pressing forward without encountering another Pokemon for over an hour. I spotted a large wooden sign up ahead, just off the side of the path, and jogged towards it. Pikachu had to run on all fours behind me to keep up. I leaned over with my hands on my knees to catch my breath as I read the faded sign.

VIRIDIAN CITY 5KM

"Alright, Pikachu", I said to my partner. "Shouldn't be much longer now."

"Pi Pika!" the little Pokemon agreed happily.

I grabbed my water bottle and took a quick sip. The sun was slowly starting to descend over the lush green tree tops. We probably had another two or three hours before it started to get dark out- likely more than enough time to reach Viridian. Pikachu and I began our walk once again, picking up the pace a little. Pikachu had to follow me on four legs to keep up but didn't seem to be getting overworked. The little Electric Pokemon was not all that powerful yet but it was clear he possessed a good amount of speed. I smiled down at my partner who smiled back up at me. In time Pikachu would become strong, I could feel it.

A sudden shriek broke me out of my thoughts and I scanned the sides of the path for its source. About fifteen feet ahead of me a purple snake-like Pokemon shot out of the bushes to the right of the path.

'An Ekans', I realized

The Pokemon let out a shriek identical to the one I had heard moments earlier. Pikachu and I slowed to a stop as a red haired figure jumped out of the bushes after the Ekans and turned to face us.

The red haired boy smirked. He was clearly a few inches taller than me and looked to be a year or two older as well. His long red hair was parted down the center and looked as though it hadn't been washed in several days. He squinted at me with a furrowed brow, his dark eyes piercing me from across the space that divided us. He was dressed in an unzipped, red leather jacket with a black t-shirt underneath. His dark brown khakis were caked in dirt and covered with grass stains. I spotted several Poke Balls clipped to his belt.

"Hey there!" I called to him. "I guess you're a trainer too, huh?"

The boy gave a dry laugh. His voice was whiny, yet still had a corrosive edge to it.

"Ha! Nice guess smart guy", he shouted back. I frowned at him. I'd known this guy for thirty seconds and he'd already begun to rub me the wrong way.

"So what's the deal buddy? We gonna battle or what?" he called.

"Uh..." I glanced down at Pikachu who looked up at me nervously. "What do you think buddy?"

"Hey! Are you guys chickening out or are we gonna battle?" the boy yelled impatiently. I spun around to face him.

"Calm down dude, what's your problem?" I shot back. Pikachu stepped in front of me, an angry scowl on his small face. Clearly he wasn't impressed at being called a coward.

"Alright, let's get this battle started!" the red haired boy yelled. His Ekans reared its head up in the air and hissed in approval. "Ekans, go! Use Wrap!"

Ekans hissed again and came slithering towards Pikachu with surprising speed. I took a deep breath and tried to focus.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" I called. Pikachu jumped nimbly out of the way as Ekans threw itself towards Pikachu. "Try a Thundershock!" The little Electric Pokemon clenched his body in concentration and small sparks danced across his bright red cheeks. Several small bolts of electricity flew towards Ekans and hit the Poison Pokemon in the midsection. The Snake Pokemon shook them off easily, little more than annoyed by the attack. I cursed under my breath and Pikachu let out a small cry of frustration and disappointment.

"Are you kidding? That's all your little Pikachu can do?" The red haired boy began to laugh almost hysterically. "I guess we can wrap this one up in a hurry, Ekans." Ekans coiled itself up and hissed at Pikachu.

"Use Poison Sting, go!" Ekans lunged at Pikachu, purple stingers flying from its mouth.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" I shouted. Pikachu jumped out of the way of the attack and scampered along the edge of the path with Ekans still trailing it. Pikachu cried out and crashed to the ground as several of Ekans' poison stingers hit him squarely in the back.

"Pikachu, no!"

"Wrap it up Ekans!" the boy yelled. Ekans pounced on Pikachu who was still down, wrapping my Pokemon up in its coils. Pikachu struggled to free itself from Ekans' grip to no avail. The Snake Pokemon tossed Pikachu across the dirt road and the Electric Pokemon crashed into the side of a large oak tree. My Pokemon struggled to move on the ground, clearly defeated.

"No, Pikachu!" I yelled. Without hesitating I started sprinting towards my Pokemon. "This battle is over!" I couldn't tell if the other Trainer had even heard me but I kept on running. I was only a few feet away from Pikachu when I heard his voice.

"Ekans, finish this with Slam!"

My heart leapt into my throat as I dove in front of Pikachu. Almost instantly, I could feel Ekans slam head-first into my left shoulder. I cried out in pain as I crashed to the ground next to Pikachu. When I opened my eyes, I found my Pokemon staring back at me with a look of horror and disbelief, his small blue eyes full of fear. I propped myself up on my right elbow, trying to keep my weight off my throbbing left shoulder. Ekans sat just a few feet away, looking ready to pounce at its owner's command. I looked over at the red haired boy who was grinning devilishly at Pikachu and I lying on the ground.

"Are you out of your mind?!" I shouted, my voice hoarse. The boy adjusted his leather jacket and for the first time I noticed something unusual about his shirt. It wasn't purely black as I originally assumed, but there was a large red letter R across it.

"What the... Who are you?" I asked quietly, still in considerable pain.

The boy laughed darkly as he strode over to where Pikachu and I lay.

"Well now that I've defeated you I guess there's no harm in telling you who I am", he smirked, sweeping loose hair away from his face. "The name's Curtis. I'm a member of Team Rocket, only an entry level position but whatever." He gave a dry laugh and patted his Ekans on the head.

"Normally I'd take your Pokemon but I wouldn't want such a puny little Pikachu", Curtis sneered.

"Take my Pokemon?" I asked in alarm. "What are you talking about?"

"It's the Team Rocket way", Curtis replied simply. "We're out to catch the strongest Pokemon in the world by whatever means necessary; poaching, stealing, whatever."

"That's disgusting", I spat. "You have no right to steal another Trainer's Pokemon." Out of the corner of my eye I could see Pikachu get back on his feet and face Curtis.

"Oh please." Curtis makes a noise somewhere between a cough and a laugh. "We're done here."

All of a sudden, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark. Golden sparks of electricity danced across his face and along the ground between us and Curtis. Curtis hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure as to what to do. I knew I had to take advantage of this brief hesitation and ordered Pikachu to attack, dearly hoping he would be able to pull it off.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!" I shouted. My Pokemon clenched his body and with a loud yell released an incredible blast of electricity across the entire clearing.

"What the-!" Curtis dove to the ground and covered his head as forks of electricity flew through the air towards anything that moved. A huge blast connected with Ekans who had been coiled up behind Curtis, sending it flying across the path with crash. Pikachu finally relaxed and the Thundershock attack dissipated, leaving several nearby trees and bushes scorched and blackened. My Electric-Type Pokemon collapsed on the ground completely exhausted. I pulled myself up to my knees and scooped up my tired Pokemon in my arms.

"That was amazing, Pikachu", I told my Pokemon softly. "You take a good rest; I'll get us to a Pokemon Center as fast as I can."

I turned my head as I heard Curtis walking across the pathway towards his injured Pokemon. He pulled out a Poké Ball and recalled his Ekans in a flash of red light. I glanced from the exhausted Pokemon in my arms to the red haired member of Team Rocket standing several feet away from me.

"I may not know much about this Team Rocket but I know what they're doing is wrong", I spoke up. "I'm going to stop you from stealing Pokemon from innocent people, I promise you that."

Curtis snorted and turned around to look at me.

"I guess we'll have to see about that", he replied quietly. With that, he turned and sprinted back into the woods. It wasn't long before the sound of his footsteps faded into the distance.

I staggered to my feet, my shoulder still in a decent amount of pain from Ekans' attack. I walked slowly over to my bag and used my good arm to sling it over my shoulders.

"We'll be in Viridian City soon Pikachu, I promise." The little Pokemon opened his eyes and tried to manage a smile. With Pikachu still cradled in my arms, I turned and begin to once again walk down the path towards Viridian City.

Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, this one contained the first battle scene and I'm interested to know what you think! Writing Pokemon battles can be tricky but I think this one turned out pretty decent.

In response to reviews:

XxXLullabyXxXBluesXxX- Glad you enjoyed the chapter, I hope you'll find the rest just as interesting!

Something dictionary related- I totally see why you would be concerned about this being a copy of Ash's journey, with the whole arriving late and getting a Pikachu who doesn't like his Poke Ball thing, but I assure you it will be a very original story from here on out.

Iceman99- Glad you're enjoying the story so far! Thanks for the positive feedback!

And thanks again to all those who have followed, favourited and just simply viewed this story!

Till next chapter,

-Kingpredator125