Chapter 7: No More Mr Nice Guy

"Alright, Caterpie, let's just rest up here in this cave until the end of the night and we'll try to make our way out of here at daybreak." She was asleep, so she probably didn't hear me, but that didn't stop me spouting out my plans for tomorrow. I had packed away all my things into my backpack already, I was definitely ready to see the back of this forest.

I had only woken up a few minutes ago myself, awoken to the sound of thunder outside. The weather had taken a turn for the worst (again), it was pouring with rain and every so often the earth would rumble to the sound of thunder. Thank goodness I was in this cave. If I was out there in those conditions I would hate to think of what would happen to me. As if on cue, the sky lit up as lightning spread throughout the sky above the treetops.

I whistled. "My, my, it's a good job we found this cave, isn't it, Caterpie? The weather around here seems to change at the drop of a hat!"

She twisted in her sleep. I had removed the sleeping bag that was wrapped around the Pokémon to see how her burns were doing. She was now resting on a nest of leaves I had built for her. A bed she could eat… who wouldn't like that? Her burns were looking a little better, not quite as healed as I would have liked though. Or maybe I was just being overly cautious like Eden says.

Speaking of Eden, she had disappeared. When I woke up, she and all of her belongings were nowhere to be found. I guess she had moved on like she said she was going to. I hoped she was ok, travelling in this weather at night could be deadly.

Wait… I hoped she was ok? I sat down next to Caterpie with the realisation that I was actually starting to like that girl. Yeah, she was arrogant, but if I had had her kind of luck I probably would have thrown my weight around a little as well. Still, it was a bit weird that she left without even saying goodbye.

I stayed in that cave for hours, just watching my Pokémon. Watching her little body expand a little as she breathed. What was I thinking sending such an inexperienced bug out against a trained Fire type? If Caterpie doesn't get better I'll never forgive myself.

The weather never let up, not for a second. It was still raining heavily, and the entrance of the cave was almost pitch black. I couldn't really tell what time it was. We must be coming to close to morning by now but there was no change in the dark sky above Viridian Forest. As a crash of lighting blazed throughout the forest I tentatively stepped closer to the mouth of the cave and watched as rain came pouring down harder than I had ever seen it. The whole forest illuminated as lightning flashed from the sky and the rumble of thunder followed it. Wow, that one was close.

"Well, it's not looking good out there, is it Caterpie." Yet another flash of lightning and a crash of thunder following. I turned back around to sit by my Pokémon, "At least we are safe in here. We can't get struck by lightning inside this cave." Then again, with my luck…

As I sat down I saw my Pokémon move, just a little. The small bug wriggled a bit on the little nest of leaves I had made for her. "Caterpie! Hey, are you awake?" I heard a strangled cry come from her as she turned her head and looked towards me. Hello.

"I'm sorry, Caterpie, you mustn't feel very good, huh?" She didn't answer, of course. That didn't stop me from yammering on. "I'm so sorry, it-it was all my fault. I was stupid, I never should have put you in such danger. I don't deserve such a brave Pokémon like you." I just sat staring into my Caterpie's eyes for the longest time. Her eyes never left mine. "But please, I'll do everything I can to make you feel better. I won't rest until you have made a full recovery. The Full Heal should help you with your burns, and in a little while I'll use one of the Potions on you. According to the instructions you can't use both at the same time, something about mixing chemicals, apparently." Yeah, I had read the instructions. You can't just use these things willy-nilly, you know. "That should help you with the pain as well. As soon as morning hits, I'm going to find a way out of this forest and get you to a Pokémon Centre. They'll know what to do. They'll make you all better. Assuming the weather lets up, obviously."

With my focus entirely on Caterpie I was shocked when I heard a cry from behind me and I turned to the entrance of the cave to see the silhouette of a large man come stumbling into the cave. He was hunched over with his arms clutched around his chest. He was soaking wet, he must have been in the heavy rain for a long time. I moved closer to him. "Wow, hey, you ok?"

The man saw me and shouted "MOVE!" as he stormed right past me, knocking me over with his shoulder and barrelled deeper into the cave. He was dripping wet, my once dry cave was now getting covered in puddles of water just like outside. The guy's long black leather trench coat was shining with all the water that was on it, his once spikey hair now flattened down with all the rain water. I got back up to my feet and checked on Caterpie to see if he hadn't been disturbed by the man's loud entrance.

The man was crouch down, he threw his large backpack to the side and whatever he was holding in his arms he placed down gently onto the floor. "Hey! Be careful where you throw your things, my Pokémon is-" Oh… I was silenced when I realised I had seen this guy before.

The man turned to face me and he recognised me as well. He was the one who stole the Scyther from me. He gave me a cocky grin. "Ah, look who it is." He wiped his hand down his face and shook his head like a dog, trying to get rid of the water. He took a quick look around the cave before turning back to me. "Alright, you get out, I need this cave for myself."

Get out? "What? No, I can't leave."

"Yes, you can. Get out."

Was he serious? "No, no way. My Caterpie needs this shelter."

He rolled his eyes. "Caterpie? Oh c'mon, they're dime a dozen around here. Just leave it alone and go catch another one. No one cares about such Pokémon. Now get out."

I'm going nowhere. I wouldn't let him bully me again! "No, I'm staying here. And so is my Caterpie until I know she's ok. I was here first, so you should get out."

He laughed, "Nah, I need to shelter myself, and for much more important reasons that a useless little Caterpie." He turned around to look at the object he placed on the ground. Another flash of lightning lit out the cave and I saw exactly what he was looking at, what he was protecting. I had never seen something like it before. Not in person at least.

"A Pokémon Egg?" I had taken a few steps forward without even realising it. "Where did you get that? Did you find it in the forest?"

He took a step in front of the egg protectively. "Hey, you get back! Don't even look at this thing. It's mine. I found it in some nest about a mile back. This is my rarest find yet!" Given how out of breathe he was he must have ran all the way here. How did he even know there was a cave here? He must have gotten lucky. Everybody has luck but me, it seems.

"You stole an egg from a nest?" Surely that goes against a morale code? "That's not right, what about its mother?"

"Mother? Ha. If she cared so much she would have put up more of a fight."

"What? You forcefully took it?"

"Just be quiet, will you? Mummy didn't have a chance against me. Damn, my new Scyther is deadly…" He looked so proud of himself.

I backed up instantly, suddenly feeling nervous about sharing this space with him. This guy was crazy. Did he just say his Scyther, the Scyther I nearly caught, was a killer? Or was that a joke? Or a… threat?

"Umm, ok, look. I'm not gonna leave the cave. I can't. I'll let you stay since it will protect that Pokémon but you need to understand I need to protect my Pokémon as well."

He wasn't listening. He wasn't even acknowledging me anymore. Just staring down at the egg. He picked it back up, "I need somewhere soft where I can let it rest without getting damaged."

I tried to help him, "Maybe you could-"

He cut me off. "I'm gonna have to go out into the forest again and get something soft I can rest this on, leaves maybe. I know there is a stream pretty close by, maybe there is something near that…" He wasn't listening to me. He seemed to be in a world of his own. He was just walking around and around talking to himself.

First sign of insanity, that is.

I gave up trying to help him and I just sat back down next to my Caterpie as he agitatedly wandered around the cave, apparently looking for some soft leaves inside the cave he could rest the egg on. He wasn't going to find any, I had gotten them all earlier and Caterpie was resting on them.

I looked at this guy and tried to figure him out. What did he need with an egg? He had a proper Starter Pokémon in Bulbasaur, he had my Scyther, and given that he was at least 20 years old, it's possible he could have a whole horde of Pokémon to fall back on. So what did he need with an egg? He really didn't seem like he had the patience to raise a Pokémon from birth. I guess he was just being selfish. Gotta catch 'em all, right?

I'm probably not going to try and catch them all, I'm going to be honest, it sounds like a lot of work! I still haven't even figured out Caterpie…

"Hey, I told you to get out."

I was shocked out of my reverie. "I can't leave." I stubbornly stayed where I was sat and closed my eyes.

He walked menacingly towards me. "Oh? Listen, kid. Are you going to enter the Indigo League Conference?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"Of course you are. Look, I am the next Kanto League Champion. I know how cliché that sounds and I know everybody say that. But in my case, it is true. I have been training 13 years for this very conference, nobody in this entire region can hold a torch to me. Now, this cave is mine. You're going to leave. Or I'm going to make you leave."

I stood up to him. "No. Your bullying worked when you stole MY Scyther but not now. You can brag all you want but I need this shelter for my Pokémon and I will not be intimidated by you."

He ran his hands through his once spikey wet hair and stared me dead in the eyes. "No? This isn't a choice you can make, this isn't like a movie or a video game where you stand up to the big bad guys and get justice. No this is real life. And in real life, the good guys finish last. So get out! Get out of this cave. Now!"

"I'm going nowhere." I wasn't going to give up like I did with the Scyther. I couldn't. I was never going to be a Pokémon Master if I didn't stand up for myself.

He was getting agitated. "Oh my god, really, kid? Is this really the hill you want to die on?"

I crossed my arms defiantly. "You're all talk. You are not the big bad guy you think you are."

He seemed to calm down. "Ok, then." He was rubbing his forehead like he had a headache. Was I getting to him? Then he looked over to my Caterpie. And my show of defiance quickly slipped away.

He ran over to the nest and straight punt kicked my Caterpie out of the cave! Her little body flew right out of the mouth of the cave and into the heavy rainfall.

"Hey!" I ran after Caterpie instantly.

No, no, no, this wasn't happening. Please let her be ok, she has been through enough. I instantly ran out of the cave after her. I couldn't find her at first, I was frantic! But I soon heard a cry of pain, she had fallen into a bush about 20 feet from the entrance of the cave. I ran and crouch down right next to her. "Caterpie! Please, please, wake up! Are you ok?"

I felt a projectile hit my back as I was bent over tending to my Pokémon. The guy, I didn't even know his name, had thrown my backpack right out of the cave and tried to hit me with it.

He had kicked an innocent Pokémon for no reason. He cause physical pain to my Caterpie. How could anybody do such a thing?

The rain fell down like I was standing under a waterfall, there was no letting up, and no hiding place. My clothes were soaked through to the skin within seconds. The sky was a million shades of grey and thunder once again boomed throughout the forest and there was nowhere to run. Wind whistled though the trees as I quickly shouldered my backpack and picked up my Pokémon as gentle as I could and tried to get her far away from the cave. That man was a danger to Caterpie and I wasn't going to let my pride come before her health again. I had to get away and find protection for us.

But there was no save heaven this time. The wind howled and the rain lashed harder and stronger than I had ever seen or felt in my life. I was blindly running through the trees in the forest, looking for anywhere that could shelter us from the torrential downpour. But there was nowhere. Everywhere I tried to hide was just met with even more rainwater battering down on us. I tried to duck under bushes and tree trunks but they were no use. I was carrying my Pokémon in my arms, holding her like you would hold a baby. Hunched over, trying to protect her from the heavy torrent pounding down on us.

I soon realised that I was never going to be able to protect us both from this weather. I was too big, there would be no shelter big enough to protect me. But she was small. Not quite thinking clearly I placed her on the floor as gently as I could, and I did my best to protect her. I got down on all fours right there in the middle of the trail and used my body to shelter her from the rain.

I could feel the rain pelting down on my back but my body was protecting her. My hair brained plan was actually protecting her a little. She was underneath me and I was getting the worst of it. It was at this time that Caterpie woke up. "You're awake! My god, Caterpie, you are so strong!" She looked terrified. A flash of lightning lit up the forest and the thunder rumbled right afterward. She screeched in terror. "Hey, hey, don't be scared, Caterpie." She looked up to see my face beaming down on her. My body was doing a relatively successful job of keeping her out of the elements. I was protecting her. It was what Pokémon Trainers did, they protected their Pokémon at all costs. "Don't be scared. I can protect you." I grimaced as the rain battered down harder on my back. "I'll protect you!"

And she saw. She saw how I was protecting her. She took one more look into my eyes. And then she burst into light.

Below me I could see my little bug changing before my eyes. Within the light, her form changed. Her small body expanded and grew in length. Her new elongated frame was about as big as my midsection now as her soft skin became covered in a thick harder shell. She had new large eyes which seemed sort of dazed, I had seen pictures of Metapods before and I seem to remember their eyes always looked a little weird. She did have reason to be dazed here though. The bright light started to fade and I could see my bug's new form in all her glory. Her new shiny hard green shell had completely healed all of Caterpie's injuries. "Wow."

I must have caught her attention as she started to look back at me with those big eyes and glanced around at all the rain pelting down around us. And the she started to protect me. From her mouth (I think it was a mouth) she started to spin her silky web. I wasn't quite sure what she was doing at first, the web was spinning around and around my body.

"Caterpie, what are you doing?" Metapod… I meant Metapod.

"Meta..." A low moan came out of her as she continued it spin the web. The silk was weaving up and over my hunched over body. It was going around and around my body and hers. The web was quite sticky at first but within seconds it started to tighten and grew hard and strong. Just like her own new body. A cocoon. That's what she was doing. She was building a cocoon. A cocoon around both of us. Protecting us from the monsoon.

"Metapod, you're saving us."

That she did. The new cocoon she kept spinning was growing stronger and stronger. I could hear the rain pounding down against the outer shell but not once was the defence ever penetrated. I wasn't sure how much of what Metapod did was instinct or if she really was trying to protect me but it worked. It worked and I couldn't have been more grateful.

Metapod - Master Defender.

We were in that cocoon for quite a while. Eventually the sound of pounding rain started to die down. I tried to ask Metapod if she could take down the cocoon but when I looked down on her she just seemed exhausted so I took matters into my own hands and tried to stand up and break through the layers of hard sticky web. I did manage to break through it. With difficulty, granted, but I eventually shed the web. It was still raining, but compared to how it was a few hours ago, I couldn't bring myself to complain. My clothes wear soaked through to the skin, I was freezing! There was no way I was getting through this without the flu in my immediate future.

After we had gotten out of the cocoon I checked Metapod on the Pokédex. What she did was not out of the ordinary for her, apparently. It was Metapod's primary function. Defence. I had tried my best to protect her the rain storm, and in turn she protected me the way her new shell protects her.

"Are you alright, Metapod?" Her big eyes were drooping heavily, and her hard shiny body was dripping with wetness. Sweat? Do bugs sweat? "I don't know how to thank you. You saved us both. You don't know how much that means to me."

She didn't reply. She could barely keep her eyes open. She looked so tired. God knows how she kept the barrier up for however long we were under there.

It had held the heavy rain away, and now I could see the sun was peeking through grey clouds in the sky. The whole forest had a dampness in the air and it looked like it was early in the morning now. Great. I had survived another day! I am sure one day on this journey with go by without a crisis. One day…

"Alright, Metapod, I'm going to get us out of here now. I have had enough of stumbling around in this forest. I'm going to get you to a Pokémon Centre. Your performance since I caught you has gone beyond my wildest dreams. And I want you to know how much I appreciate it."

That was my first priority. To get Metapod help…

Well, it my second priority.

The big guy. The big bad in the cave. He had to pay. I wasn't going to let him get away with what his did to me. To Caterpie. I couldn't. I just couldn't let the bully's actions slide. He had humiliated me. Twice now. He put me and my Pokémon in danger. And I wasn't going to let that go.

I was not going to let myself be walked over like that ever again. I will not be the hunted anymore. I will be the hunter.

So I returned Metapod to her Poké Ball and made my way back. Back to the cave.

It took me a while. In the confusion last night I wasn't exactly sure of my path. But I didn't give up. It took a long time. A few hours I'd say, it was still morning, but the sun was riding a lot higher in the sky.

And then I found the cave.

And I saw my tormentor. The bully. He was still in the cave. He was still using MY fire and his egg was sitting on the nest that I had built for Caterpie. I stood from afar. Hiding behind the trees. Watching him. Waiting for the right opportunity. I scouted the area as best I could. I found exactly what I was hoping for. A flowing stream. The stream he had mentioned. It wasn't exactly close to the cave, but it was well within walking distance.

I stood watching him for a while. He didn't really do much. He had changed into a new set of clothes. They didn't really look all that different from the old ones her was wearing. Black jeans and a black hoodie. He was sat around the fire. His old clothes were still drenched and lay flat on a rock by the fire. One thing I did notice was that he never once let out any of his Pokémon. It was quite a lonely stay in that cave with the weather thundering outside. Why not let you Pokémon out and get a bit of company? Don't know why I was surprised. He really didn't seem like that kind of trainer.

I was about to give up on my quest for revenge. Sitting there behind a tree trunk I realised how strangely I was acting. Stalking another guy. That wasn't me. What had this journey turned me into? I was just a polite, ordinary guy from Frodomar City. I had stumbled at the first few hurdles on my Pokémon journey and I was already acting like a crazy nutcase! I held Metapod's Poké Ball in both my hands and stared at it. She needed medical attention. And I was sat behind a tree in the rain on a senseless crusade just because my feeling had gotten hurt. I just couldn't be childish like this anymore. Metapod needed me, she depended on me.

I got up. I set her Poké Ball back onto my belt and tried to figure out what the best way out of here was. Of course I had no idea, I figured north was the best bet. I took one last look at the cave and began to make my way north.

And then I did a double take.

He was gone. He wasn't in the cave.

I quickly scanned across the cave wall and saw him. He was heading leisurely down a beaten pathway towards the stream. The opportunity I was waiting for. I was waiting all morning for him to leave the cave. So I could attack…

Putting all of the soul searching I had done just minutes ago to the side, I snuck inside the cave as soon as he was out of sight. My cave. I knew I wouldn't have very long. He could be back at any minute. Honestly I wasn't even sure what I was going to do. I just needed to do something. Hurt him. Hinder him somehow. Set him back like he set me back. It was no more than he deserved, right?

I quickly scanned around the cave. He had left everything in here. His clothes, his backpack was set against the wall. Maybe I could hide them? Or destroy them?

I kicked out the fire. Good luck getting that started again without a Charmander. Ha! No, no, that wasn't enough. He humiliated me. Made me feel like a weak, pathetic nobody. No, I needed to hurt him. Make him feel as useless as I felt.

My whole body was tingling. The thought that he could be back in any minute and catch me in the act. It was so dangerous. So rash. I never did things like this. Honest! Is this what Pokémon journeys turn people in to? It had only been a few days and I was already breaking the law.

I kept searching around the cave. Rooting through his belongings. Then I found something big. His Poké Ball belt. Just lying there under his backpack. I couldn't really believe it. I thought he had taken his Pokémon to the stream to get them some water. Why would he leave them here? The belt had 5 of 6 slots already taken. Five Pokémon and an egg. Impressive. He didn't deserve them though. He didn't deserve anything! I knew I didn't have it in me to take all of those Pokémon for myself. But if he really cared about his Pokémon he wouldn't have left them unattended. No, that would be very irresponsible.

And then my eyes fell onto the egg. The apple of his eye. The jewel in his crown.

I slowly descended down onto the egg. Onto the nest that I had built. My mind was racing. A Pokémon egg. A real live Pokémon egg. He could never raise a Pokémon from a baby. He wasn't caring, he wasn't parental. This Pokémon would be better off without him. It would be better for the Pokémon to have a different trainer.

A different trainer like… Me.

I quickly checked outside the cave to see if he was coming. The rain was starting to stop completely now and the sun was a lot brighter than it was before. But he was nowhere to be seen. It didn't take this long to go to the stream and back. What on earth was he doing? I cast all thoughts to the side and picked up the Pokémon egg as carefully as I could and held it in my arms. Not unlike the way I was holding Caterpie in the rain last night.

Then I ran.

I ran out of the cave as fast as I could. Ran into the obscurity of the forest.

I crossed the line. I was way over the line and I knew it. But I just didn't care. I wanted to hurt him. Looking back, stealing that egg was probably the act that turned it all around. The day I stopped being the wimpy little kid and became a defiant Pokémon Trainer. The day I started fighting back! From then on I wasn't going to let all the complications on this journey get the better of me. I wasn't going to drown against insurmountable odds. I was going to take matters into my own hand and fight!

It was the first time I broke the law. It wouldn't be the last.

It was an act of revenge. A stupid, reckless act.

How was I supposed to know the Pokémon inside that egg would change my life?

TO BE CONTINUED…