Disclaimer: Blu Rose does not own the Pokémon series. She only owns her characters and this fic.

X-X-X

The Odd Bug Out

"This is so great! Traveling with Black and White, it feels like old times!" Bianca said with a smile.

"It does feel kind of nostalgic, doesn't it?" Black chimed in. "Just like back home."

"No, it's not," I grumbled, still upset and exhausted after the last series of events I had been through. Not even Tiny's nuzzling up against my cheek made me feel better.

Black and Bianca stared at me in confusion, the latter asking, "What do you mean, White?"

"Can you not see something wrong with the group of people here?" I spoke flatly, still looking ahead.

"…Oh! You mean Cheren!" The blonde suddenly exclaimed.

"Oh, right! Well, sucks to be him," my twin said with a shrug.

"I'm not talking about who's missing! I'm talking about the fact that we're still here, lost in a forest with no idea of where the heck we're going!"

"We might be able to find our way out if you ask a Pokémon," Black suggested.

I cast him a withering glare. "You're…kidding. After last night, what makes you think I'm willing to trust any wild Pokémon to give me directions, let alone not kill me?!" A rustling sound in the bushes made me forget about the issue and instinctively treat Black and Bianca like human shields. "What was that?" I asked warily.

Just then, Bianca's eyes lit up. "Ahhh~! Could it beeee~?" Be what? Be what?! A Sewaddle quickly wriggled out of the bushes. I continued to stare at the bug Pokémon while Bianca stared at in awe. "Eeeee! It's adorable! What is it?"

"It's a Sewaddle," Black explained. "They make their own clothes out of leaves."

"Awww, that's so cute!"

"…I'm gonna catch it!" Both Black and Bianca spoke at the same time. They then looked at each other in confusion. "What?"

"No way, Black! I wanna catch that adorable little Sewaddle!" Said the blonde.

"But it's part Grass type—it'd be a great addition to my team," said Black.

"Guys, we don't have time to worry about catching Pokémon. Remember? Lost in a forest? Possibly for the rest of our lives?" I tried to interject.

Of course, Black and Bianca were too enamored with the Sewaddle to pay him any mind. They both took out their Poké Balls and released Valentine and Tepig with the intention of battling not each other, but the bug Pokémon in front of them. The Sewaddle's beady black eyes fell on Valentine and it began to sweat. "Buh…BIIIIRRRRD!" The bug screamed before it ran down the path far faster than what I thought a Bug type could.

"Come back! Let's go, Valentine!" Black exclaimed before he ran off, his Pidove flying out in front of him.

"After that Sewaddle, Tepig!" Bianca and her Tepig were the next to run off.

I remained in place, refusing to move. Eventually, they would see how ridiculous they were acting over a Sewaddle, of all things! The forest was crawling with them! Geez, the thought made me scare myself… I continued to wait for several minutes. Eventually, I began to yawn. I leaned against a tree, but I soon wound up sitting on the ground and closing my tired eyes.

"Mommy? Mommy? Chuuu…?" I cracked an eye open and looked at Tiny, who was pawing at my face.

"Mommy's gonna rest her eyes for a little while, okay?" I yawned again before closing my eyes once more, ready to get the rest I couldn't get last night.

X-X-X

A small yellow mouse-like creature stood in front of me on its hind legs, only slightly taller because of its black-tipped ears. "This is Pikachu. Can you say Pikachu?"

"Choooo…" I crawled a little closer to the Pikachu and began to play with its ears and tails while it flinched each time. I never noticed how uncomfortable it was, though, because I was so into feeling its fur and exploring its shape. "Peee…kaaa…"

Eventually, a pair of larger hands took my own hands off of Pikachu. "Uh-uh. Be gentle. Pikachu doesn't like it when you do things like that to it."

The Pikachu stared at me in annoyance before it eventually calmed down. It suddenly placed its paws on my cheeks and began rubbing them. I imitated it and started to rub its own cheeks, cooing at the warmth of the electric sacs on its cheeks. "Ah…!" It then got on all fours and started to walk around me. Every time it passed in front of me, I would pet its back until it finally rolled over on its back, ears twitching. I rubbed its stomach for a while before I started hugging it.

"Do you like Pikachu?"

"Pee-ka-chooo!"

X-X-X

I woke up and stretched. My short nap made me feel energized and a lot more comfortable than before, but my dream left me upset. I groaned and rested the back of my head against the tree trunk. "I don't wanna think about those two, so why am I…?" I then noticed that something was wrong. Tiny wasn't anywhere in my sight. "Tiny?!" The Pichu then came out from behind the tree, holding a berry he probably picked up from the ground. I felt relief…until I realized that we were alone. I got up and looked in the direction that the others had run off in. "They really left me behind, huh? Those jerks…!" I looked down at Tiny, who continued eating his berry. "Guess we have to go find them."

X-X-X

We started walking for several minutes before I stopped to take off my hat and fan myself. "Geez, how far did they run? It's been minutes and I haven't caught up to them yet!" I slumped over with a sigh. Times like this made me wish I had an Xtransceiver—or any sort of means of communication.

"Heeeelp!" A voice shouted out. "Help meeeee!" I looked around in a panic, not sure where the voice was coming from until I looked up. Above my head on a tree branch was a pair of Pokémon. One was a Pidove that was a bit bigger than Black's. The other was the source of the pathetic-sounding voice: a small red, bug Pokémon that was tied to the branch with what looked like string. Its yellow eyes were wide with fear and the antennae on its head and tail were twitching wildly.

I pulled out my Pokédex to check info on it. "Venipede, the Centipede Pokémon. Bug/Poison type. It discovers what is going on around it by using the feelers on its head and tail. Its bite injects a potent poison that can paralyze large bird Pokémon that try to prey on it." I gulped. "A Puh…Poison type?" Poison types were some of the most dangerous of Pokémon to a human being! With some, all it takes is a poke or a scratch to send someone to the hospital!"

"Heeeeelp!" The Venipede continued crying out, struggling against the string in vain.

"Mommy!" Tiny cried out, waving his paws frantically. "Friend! Help friend!"

"What?! No, Mommy won't do that! It's a poisonous creature, Tiny! And a Venipede at that! I heard they're quite aggressive!" Although the way this particular Venipede was sobbing as he was being pecked at by the Pidove made it seem as harmful as a Magikarp. "This is the cycle of life. Birds eat bugs—Pokémon eat other Pokémon. We can't change that, gruesome as it seems." I tried to ignore the Venipede's sobbing. "Besides, if we stop this, we'd be starving that Pidove."

"Oh, spare me, Mr. Pidove! I don't want to be eaten!" The Venipede pleaded with the Tranquill, having given up and escaping of its own power.

"You're in no position to be asking for pardons," the Pidove said, ruffling its feathers a bit.

"Won't you have mercy on a poor little bug like me?" The bug Pokémon sobbed.

"Why should I have mercy on a Venipede? Besides, I've never tasted one of you guys before. And this is the easiest meal I've ever caught!"

"Mommy…!" I looked down at Tiny, who was staring up at me with large, teary eyes.

Well… Now I feel like trash just for wanting to let nature run its course. "Alright, alright! We'll help the poisonous and life-threatening Pokémon!" I exclaimed. "Tiny," I pointed up at the Pidove. "Use Thunder Shock on that Pidove!"

"Ch-ch-ch-CHUUUUUUU!" The Pichu unleashed a bolt of lightning towards the Pidove. It gave a squawk of pain before it fell off the branch and landed on the ground before us. I took a few steps back as the bird Pokémon got on its feet, its feathers literally and figuratively ruffled after being attacked. It reacted by flapping its wings and unleashing a gust of wind strong enough to knock Tiny down onto his back.

"Use Thunder Wave to stop it!" I called out over the wind. Tiny got on all fours and reared his back. Electricity crackled around him before it fired out and ensnared the Pidove, paralyzing it and stopping it from creating anymore wind. "Now use another Thunder Shock!" Another bolt of lightning hit the Pidove and caused it to slump on the ground.

"Ugh…! F-forget it! Venipede aren't worth this sort of trouble…!" The Pidove complained before it ran off into the bushes, too injured to fly.

"Well, that was a battle," I said with a sighed as I bent down to look at Tiny. "You okay? Hmm… A little mussed up, but nothing too bad. You are so troublesome, y'know that? That Pidove could've pecked the flesh from my bones or something…" The Pichu ignored my mood and chirped happily over his victory.

"Excuse me?" I looked up at the Venipede, still tied to the branch overhead. "Um… If you don't mind, could you please get me down?"

I gulped, still wary about helping a Pokémon like that. "Um… Okay!" I shouted up to it before quickly muttering, "Too bad I have no idea how to do that… I haven't climbed a tree in ages…" I looked down at Tiny. "Could you climb up there?"

Tiny cocked his head to the side and gave me a look of confusion before he ran up to the tree. He rearing his back, he jumped onto the tree and began to climb with nimbleness I didn't really expect of a baby Pokémon. When he made his way across the branch to the Venipede, he began chewing through the string. Eventually, the string slackened and the Venipede fell off, landing on its back on the ground. "Yaaaay! Tiny help!" The Pichu clapped and cheered while the semi-conscious Venipede moaned. I stared with wide eyes at the scene before me.

X-X-X

A short while after being sprayed with some potion, the Venipede was fully conscious and twitching his feelers. "Um…thank you so much for saving me, Miss Human!"

"You're welcome." I was still wary enough to stay several inches away from the poisonous critter, and to my relief, it didn't notice what I was doing. "So, uh…how'd you get stuck up there? Bird Pokémon can't make string to tie people up…can they?" Sweet gods up above, I hope not.

"Oh, my friends were just playing a game with me!" What sort of game involves tying people up?! "Speaking of which, I have to go home now. Bye!" And then the Venipede began to crawl away from me.

"Uh, yeah. Bye. …Phew!" I gave a breath of relief as I crouched down, my heart racing after that encounter. Things could've turned out differently…in a bad end sort of way.

"Aren't we going to go with him?" I looked up at the sound of a familiar voice. I jumped at the sight of Panacea, Eve and Shion standing in front of me.

"What the—! Why are you guys out here? I didn't call you!"

"You can't blame us for being worried after hearing cry so much last night," said Panacea, placing her paws together. "It always seems as if you're getting into trouble, Miss White."

"I do not!"

"Why didn't you try to catch that Venipede?" Shion questioned. "It had to have been weak from what it had been through."

"That would've been wrong!" Not that I care about things like honor in a wild Pokémon battle, but it'd be unfair to catch it after it was almost eaten by a Pidove.

"That guy could get attacked again!" Eve spoke up. "I mean…he's a harmless little buggie! He could get picked off by another bird! Or worse...!" I glared half-heartedly at the Eevee. Eve was starting to remind me of Black: she liked getting me into predicaments. And even worse, just like him…she managed to convince me. I'm a pushover to human and Pokémon alike.

"Hey, Venipede!" I called out as I stood up. The bug Pokémon stopped in its tracks and turned around to face me. "Why…don't we follow you home?"

The Venipede's antennae twitched. "Why…?"

"D-don't get upset!" I suddenly exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, not wanting to make it angry. "We just…wanna make sure you don't get attacked by another bird Pokémon! Really…"

The Venipede stared at us in silence. "I dunno… Mama says that humans will try to catch me and take me away from the forest forever if I'm not careful." Your mama must've been talking to N.

"I-I won't do that! Really! If I did, then I would've caught you while you were still tied up! We just…wanna make sure you get home safe."

"Uhhh… Okay! Follow me!" The Venipede exclaimed before it turned around and resumed crawling away, the five of us following from behind. And we were probably moving even further away from Black and Bianca. Great…

X-X-X

We were still walking minutes later. It was late morning and, surprisingly, several Pidove and Tranquill had tried to eat Venipede. After a while, they stopped attacking. Maybe word got around fast about Tiny shocking anything that came close to eating the poisonous critter.

"How much farther is it from where you live?" I asked.

"Not too far, human lady."

"Call me White." No sooner had I said that did I feel the force of something tackling into me. I fell over with a cry and felt something heavy on top of me. I turned my head to look up at the culprit. A tall, human-sized Pokémon with a round yellow head, most of its body dressed in what seemed to be leaves, and long sharp claws that resembled half-eaten leaves. The Pokémon glared down at me darkly and raised its claws. Naturally, my reaction was to scream. "AAAAAAAHHHH!"

The leaf-covered Pokémon was attacked by a spray of water and a bolt of electricity from behind. Both seemed to do nothing but annoy the Pokémon as it turned its head to glare at the Pichu and Oshawott. It retaliated by spitting out some white gunk at them, which ensnared them in an instant cocoon that only their heads poked out of. Eve growled before she leapt forward and began to bite the taller Pokémon on one of its arms while Panacea began slapping it on its back. The yellow Pokémon managed to shake off Eve and Panacea as well before turning its attention back to me. I honestly couldn't do anything but stare, my body unresponsive to the mental demands to cry out, faint and hope that this was all just a nightmare.

"Mama, stoooop! Don't hurt my friends!" The Venipede cried out.

I cried out as the Pokémon stabbed one of its sharp claws downward. I closed my eyes, hoping for a peaceful a death as I could get. When I didn't feel any stinging pain—or anything, for that matter—I opened an eye. The Pokémon's sharp claw had been stabbed in the ground next to my head, making cracks in the ground. It looked at the Venipede and spoke, its voice sounding like a grown woman's, "Your friend?"

"She saved me from a bird! She's nice, Mama!"

"Really? Oh…" The Pokémon looked down at me while I was still quaking in fear. After a few seconds, it gave a lilting laugh. "Oh-ho-ho my! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" Motherly instinct kicked in at the time." It then got off of me and pranced over to the Venipede, picked him up and began smothering him with kisses.

I sat up and stared in shock as my Pokémon came around me—in Tiny and Shion's case, they crawled towards me. Panacea began looking me over, trying to find something wrong, but smiled when she realized I was okay—physically speaking. The Audino began stroking my hair. "There, there, Miss White. It's okay. She was being defensive is all..."

"How…rude! Attacking us out of the blue and then brushing it off like that!" Shion grunted as she rolled over, trying to break free of the cocoon she was in.

"Mommyyyy!" Tiny whined.

Panacea held a paw to her cheek. "Mothers can truly be frightening when it comes to their offspring. Although…they don't look too much alike."

"Maybe that's his evolution!" The Eevee chirped up.

"R-really?! Such a change… He doesn't even have leaves!" The Oshawott gasped.

"Look it up, White! Look it up in your dex-thingie!"

At the Pokémon's insistence, I took out the Pokédex and scanned the tall Pokémon, who was now hugging her son. "Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokémon. Bug/Grass type. The final form of Sewaddle. When it sees a small Pokémon, it weaves clothing for it from leaves, using the cutters on its arms and silk it makes from its String Shot."

"I…I was beaten by someone whose skill is making clothes…" Shion gave a sigh of discontent and rolled along the ground, looking discouraged.

"A Sewaddle is one of those bugs covered in leaves, isn't it?" Eve asked. "That kinda looks like a Leavanny, but Venipede…doesn't."

I checked the Pokédex again. "Venipede is a totally different species of Pokémon from Sewaddle." I'm no expert on Pokémon genetics and what not, but a female Pokémon can only make Pokémon of their own kind. I lowered the Pokédex and jumped when I realized that the Leavanny was now staring at me, its kind expression doing nothing to make me less wary after what happened. Luckily, it turned its attention back on the Venipede in her.

"How on earth were you even caught by a bird? Weren't you supposed to be with your…other friends?"

"Um… W-we got separated." I arched an eyebrow. He said it was his friends that tied him up in the first place.

"And what happened to your nice new clothes?"

"A bird pecked them off."

"Oh, well… I'll have to make you some brand new ones! Come on! Let's go home!" His mother spoke cheerfully before jumping into the trees and disappearing like some leafy ninja.

"Hey! She didn't even thank us!" Eve complained.

"It was a bit rude, but… No. I can't think of any reason why she couldn't thank us. Or at least apologize," Panacea said with a pout. "Then again, she doesn't know that Miss White can understand her, so she probably thought just going away was nice."

"Who cares? I'm glad Venipede's back with his mom and I'm happy she just didn't kill me," I said as I got to my feet. "C'mon, let's go and find Black and Bianca."

X-X-X

Black and Bianca just had to run off after that stupid Sewaddle. Because of their eagerness to catch that stupid bug, I was without human companions, lost in a big forest filled with all sorts of dangerous killer Pokémon lurking in wait, anxious to tear me in half…and my Pokémon were treating this like it was a nature walk.

"And this is a Rawst berry. The longer and curlier the leaves are, the more bitter it tastes," Panacea explained as she held up a bluish-green berry that resembled a strawberry. "You use these to heal burns. The flowers their bushes make upon blooming are also quite lovely."

"Raaawssst," Tiny drawled his pronunciation.

"I see. That's good to know just in case of an accident," Shion said with a nod.

"Can I eat it?" Eve asked.

"You can eat it or you can use the juice to soak the wound in," said Panacea.

"No, I mean can I eat that berry? Like, right now?" The Eevee asked with large, pleading eyes.

It didn't work on the Audino, though, who frowned. "No. You'll only spit it out like all the other berries I've given you."

"I promise I'll swallow it!"

"It isn't ripe yet, anyway. Better to plant it so it makes more for the local wildlife." Panacea bent over and began to bury the Rawst berry in the dirt while Eve whined pitifully.

"I'm glad you guys are enjoying this little excursion. Because I'm not," I spoke flatly, finally drawing my Pokémon's attention. "It's almost noon! And for all I know, Black and Bianca are in the belly of some ferocious Pokémon!" I exclaimed. My raised voice seemed to cause something to rustle nearby, which made me flinch. I felt my eyes began to water as I slumped over. "I just wanna get out of here and never go into another forest ever again!" More rustling noises made me spin around to look at the source, seconds before a pink blur knocked me over and began run around in circles before me.

"AAAAAAHHHH! Get it off, get it off, GET IT OFF!" The blur cried before it ran headfirst into a tree. The blur, now unconscious, slid down. It turned out to be a Deerling with a pink and yellow coat.

"What kind of Pokémon is this?" Eve asked as she and the others circled around it.

"It's a Deerling," Shion stated. "It looks weird, though. Its fur is all pink!"

"Deerling are Normal/Grass type Pokémon," I began, "whose fur changes at the beginning of every season. This one's got a spring coat right now."

"I see…" The Oshawott looked back at me. "You should catch it, White!"

"Wh-what?!"

"It's already unconscious! And while I'd rather a fight, this is technically fair game, isn't it?"

"Yeah, catch it!" Eve exclaimed.

"Catch! Catch!" Tiny parroted as he threw his paws up into the air.

Panacea gave the three of them a disapproving stare that made them start sweating. "Where are your manners?! This poor thing hurt itself!"

I wasn't really looking at the four Pokémon as I stared at the unconscious Deerling. "What's that on its back?" It looked like…a Venipede. "It couldn't be… No. Could it…?"

The Venipede stirred and looked right at me. "Oh! It's the nice human lady again! Hello!" I resisted the urge to slap myself in the face. "Um… Could you please help me out?"

X-X-X

The same Venipede from before. It was the same Venipede standing in front of us. He looked rather cheerful for someone who had been hitching a ride on an upset Deerling. "Thank you so much for saving me again, miss human lady!"

"I told you that my name is White. Now, what were you doing harassing that Deerling? As soon as we got you off, it ran away."

"I dunno. One second I was with my friends, and the next, I woke up on top of a Deerling." His friends, huh? Where were they when he needed help, anyway? "Anyway, I'll be going home now." He started turning around to leave through the bushes.

"W-wait! Don't you want us to come with you?" I asked, feeling more concerned for a wild Pokémon than I really should've. I mean, the guy's had two incidents with other Pokémon in one day. Now I know what Bianca's father feels like when she acts particularly klutzy.

Just like last time, Venipede brightened up. "Okay! Mama says we should never go through the forest alone, in case we get attacked. That's why I always go somewhere with my friends."

"Yeah. Your friends. So…what exactly do you do with your friends?" I asked as we walked through the bushes. Were his friends the ones who tied him to a branch and another Pokémon's head? If so, then what jerks! And people keep saying there are no bad Pokémon...

"We…w-we…um…" Venipede stuttered, like he was struggling to come up with something. I wasn't the only one who was staring at him in confusion.

"Ooh, do you play games?" Eve spoke up, saving the Venipede from being put on the spot. "Do you play tag?"

"What's tag?" Venipede asked, sounding mildly interested.

The Eevee gave an overly dramatic gasp. "You've never played tag before?!" She soon calmed down and started to explain, "If you're 'It', you have to chase after us until you touch one of us. The one you touch is 'It' and has to touch somebody else to not be 'It'! Got it?"

"Um… No."

"Good! You're it!" Eve exclaimed, not really listening to Venipede as she ran off giggling.

"It! It!" Tiny chanted as he ran after Eve.

"Pfft! How childish!" Shion said with a frown. After a few seconds, she looked at Venipede, and then ran off.

"Seriously?! First my friends abandon me, now my own Pokémon?!" I shouted. I gave a sigh of annoyance. "This must be what motherhood is like for all species…" I suddenly felt something tapping my boot and looked down to see Venipede lightly touching me with his feelers.

"You're it! Hee-hee-hee!" The bug Pokémon laughed as he ran off in the same direction as the others. Panacea followed behind him without a word.

"But I don't wanna play—! Oh, fine!" I muttered as I picked up the pace and jogged after the group of Pokémon. "Now isn't the time to play games! If I wind up running into something dangerous while doing this, it'll be your fault!" Eventually, I caught up. It wasn't an accomplishment, though, because they weren't even moving. It looked like they had been stopped by a group of three Pokémon. Two Sewaddles and a Pokémon I didn't really recognize. It was big, round and yellow, wrapped up in a blanket of leaves in a way that made it look like one of those agoraphobes on TV. The Pokédex identified it as a Swadloon, Sewaddle's evolved form.

"OW! Watch it, you… Oh, it's you," the Swadloon muttered as its frown became more pronounced somehow.

"Hey, guys! These are some new friends I met today," Venipede told the other bugs cheerfully, not noticing the looks of exasperation they were giving him.

"Congratulations! You've met some guys who look as weird as you are."

"Yeah~!" The Sewaddle added in a taunting tone.

"Who are you calling 'weird'?! I'm normal in type and appearance!" Eve growled as she swiped her paws in the air, trying to threaten the bugs.

"I've never seen anything as weird as the three of you," the Swadloon added. Eve started to grow and in response, the bug spat some white gunk in her face.

"AAAHHH! Help! Help! I can't see!" She whimpered as she tried to take it off herself. The Swadloon and Sewaddle started laughing as Tiny tried to help her take it off, only to get his paws stuck. Shion sprayed some water at the Eevee's face, soaking her and Tiny while washing away the gunk at the same time. This just made the bug Pokémon laugh even harder.

"Oh, man! You weirdoes are so funny!" The Swadloon continued laughing.

Eventually, I was annoyed enough to not be afraid of them. "Ugh, will you knock it off already?! You're ticking me off!" I shouted, stomping my foot in irritation. The Swadloon and Sewaddles stared up at me with wide eyes.

"HUMAN!" They all screamed before they spat some gunk at my face, blinding. "Let's get outta here!" I heard them screaming as I fell over in my attempts to take the gunk off of my face. After a while, I was able to get it all off. I sat up and saw that the leaf-covered jerks were gone as well, and so was Venipede.

Tiny jumped onto my shoulder and rubbed his cheek against mine. "Mommy okay?"

"Mm-hm. Although I'm kinda worried about Venipede. Where'd he go?" I asked. I really was too worried over some wild Pokémon.

"He went off with those jerks he called his friends," Eve said with a frown.

"They can't possibly be his friends…can they?" Shion asked. "He doesn't exactly seem like them."

Panacea just stared at me. Her sad eyes and the little pout she wore made me sigh. I had a feeling she was thinking the same thing I was. "…Can't just leave him alone with guys like that…" I muttered to myself as I got on my feet. With a sigh, I adjusted my cap. "Let's go find him. If he's alone with those guys, he might wind up getting stuck to something else."

X-X-X

After several minutes spent searching through the bushes, we saw Venipede and his 'friends' up on a tree branch.

"Um… Wh-what you did back there…wasn't nice. You should go apologize, or they'll stay mad at you. Please?" Venipede asked meekly.

"Why should I, wimpy?" The Swadloon asked.

"Yeah~?" The Sewaddles chorused.

"Because…they're my friends? And if you do, we can all be friends?"

The Swadloon stifled a laugh only once before it burst out laughing, "Hahaha! Friends?! As if!" The Swadloon exclaimed. "Like anyone would wanna be friends with someone as weird as you."

"Yeah~!" The Sewaddles chorused.

The Swadloon suddenly tackled Venipede hard enough to make him lose his balance and fall off. He curled up into a ball and landed in front of us. The leaf-covered bugs continued laughing while the Venipede curled up into a ball. At that point, my blood started to boil. Any sort of fear I should've had was overwhelmed by anger. I raised my leg and kicked my foot against the tree trunk out of frustration. "HEY!" The bug Pokémon looked down at me, but this time their eyes reflected annoyance instead of fear. They spat out some more of that sticky gunk down at me, but they missed. "Just because you don't like him doesn't mean you can just shove him off like that! He could get hurt!"

"Who cares?" The Swadloon asked.

"You should care! There's not liking someone and there's just…being a bully!" Panacea said as she wagged a finger at the trio. "You should all be ashamed of yourself!"

"Mommy?" I looked down at Tiny and Eve, who were poking Venipede's unmoving body.

"He's not moving, White. Is he…y'know?" The Eevee whimpered.

I gulped. "Dead?" I don't know why I felt so cold at that moment. Pokémon died all the time in the while, but… He didn't do anything to deserve what happened to him. All he wanted was to make friends.

Tiny's ears twitched and he suddenly sat up straight. He lowered his head down to Venipede's curled up body and blinked before raising his head. "Friend sad?"

"Huh?"

"Friend sad," Tiny said with a pout.

Panacea leaned down and placed one of her feelers against the curled up bug Pokémon. "It sounds like he's crying, Miss White."

I arched an eyebrow and, against my better judgment, picked up the Venipede's curled up form and held him up to my ear. It was muffled, but I could hear him crying. At least he wasn't dead, thank goodness. "Venipede? Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything, are you?" All I heard were muffles I could barely hear. "What?"

"I'll never make friends… Nobody likes me… I may as well…stay like this for the rest…of my life…!" He continued crying.

"H-hey now! That's not true! I like you! We all like you! We're your friends!"

"But you're not bugs! Just…a human and…some other weird things…!"

"So? Friends don't have to be exactly like you. We may not be bug Pokémon, but we're nicer to you than those jerks you keep trying to be friendly with."

"But…I want to be…like everyone else…"

I sighed and bit the inside of my cheek. "Not everyone in this world will want to be your friend. Some people won't like you because you're different from how they think you should be. They may even pick on you for it. But there are people right here who like you just the way you are."

The crying stopped. "You really want to be my friends?"

"Of course! Right, guys?"

"Yeah!" Eve and Shion exclaimed.

"Friends! Friends~!" Tiny sang, hopping in place.

Venipede suddenly uncurled and crawled along my arm. I froze and resisted the urge to scream as he climbed up my arm excitedly. "Really?"

"Uh-huh… C-could you please get off of my arm? I'm…ticklish," I lied.

"Oh, brother. What a bunch of wussies!" The Swadloon groaned from on the branch with the Sewaddles. In seconds, they were all pushed off of the branch by the blast of a Water Gun attack and landed in the bushes.

I looked down at Shion, who looked unashamed. "They deserved that. Everyone here agrees, right?"

I shifted my gaze from the Oshawott to the Venipede. "Let's get you back to your mom, okay?"

X-X-X

After we went back to the Leavanny, I told her about what had happened. All the while, she looked on the brink of tears. "Awww… My poor baby…!" She cried, rubbing her claws against each other. "But you realize your new friends can't stay here forever, do you?"

Venipede's feelers twitched. "What do you mean?"

"Humans and the Pokémon who travel with them are always passing by. They never stay. Eventually, they're going to leave."

Venipede's eyes began to water. "But…but…they're my friends! They have to stay!"

"You can't force them to stay if they don't want to. But…if you want to…you could go with them," his mother spoke sadly.

"Huh?"

"It's like…a rite of passage. Challenge the human to combat, and if she defeats you, she has the right to put you into one of those little ball thingies that they carry around. Thus is how relationships between all species are fostered…or so I've been told."

I arched an eyebrow. "Wait, wait, wait. You want me to have a Pokémon battle with Venipede and catch him?" It all sounded too good to be true. "I would think you…wouldn't want him to leave."

"Let's face it: even though I've raised him to be a good little buggy, those who aren't afraid of him at first glance pick on him. He can't be happy here. But as much as I love him, I know my sweet, precious little baby could never survive outside of the forest on his own!" The Leavanny explained. "That's where you come in! See how useful you are?"

"But…but…I don't wanna harm my new friends!" Venipede cried.

"Sometimes we have to harm the ones we love, darling," his mother told him. "Besides, it's not like you're going to kill them…I hope." Why did she say that? She didn't have to say that! "Now go out there and defend yourself like Mama taught you!"

"Okay…"

I backed away from Venipede so we'd have enough space to fight. I looked down at my Pokémon. None of the Pokémon I had were particularly effective against Venipede type-wise, so… "Eve, you're up!"

"Yay!" Eve bounced forward before settling down in front of Venipede.

Venipede did its best to imitate a growl before charging forward. "Alright! Let's get things started with Tail Whip!"

"Hmhmhm~!" The Eevee turned around and began to shake her tail in a rhythmic fashion. Eventually, Venipede stopped running and stare at the tail in fascination.

"Now use Tackle!" Eve turned around and charged the Venipede, striking him with her head. It must've hit a tender spot because it was able to send Venipede flying back, and he landed on his back. "Once again, tackle him!" She lowered her head again and started to charge just as Venipede curled up into a ball. His body shone as soon as Eve's head hit it and sent her flying back. Then he rolled towards her quickly and knocked Eve down just as she was starting to get back on her feet.

"He hit me! I thought he was too wimpy to fight back!" The Eevee complained as Venipede uncurled and began to bounce in place.

"Counter with Quick Attack!"

Eve suddenly darted forward quickly, only visible as a light brown blur, and struck Venipede headfirst before he could curl up again. He landed on his back once more and curled up again before rolling towards Eve again.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!"

The Eevee once again dashed forward, jumping over the rolling Venipede and landing on her feet running. She did a U-turn and ran into the Venipede headfirst from behind, sending him flying past my head and into a tree. He fell to the ground and uncurled, dazed and partially conscious. I reached into my bag and pulled out an empty Poké Ball. I threw it at Venipede, and in a flash of light, it opened up and took him inside. After a few seconds of shaking, the ball stopped and clicked. I ran up to the ball and picked it up, releasing Venipede.

"You okay?" I asked him, feeling a bad about having to be rough with him.

"I feel…dizzy…" Leavanny suddenly picked him up from behind and started smothering him with butterfly kisses once more. "Did I do good, Mama?"

"Mwah! Wonderful! Mwah! Excellent! My little boy is ready to go out there without his mama. It's a little saddening, but it's for the better." She gave him once last kiss before setting him back on the ground. "Have fun, dear!" It was amazing how she made it sound like her son was going on a little get-together with friends and not leaving home forever.

"You must be tired. Why don't you take a rest in here?" I suggested before returning him into his Poké Ball. I slipped it back into the bag and pulled out the others' balls. How I knew which ball belonged to who, I have no idea. I just might be getting better at this. I recalled Shion and Panacea, leaving only Eve. "You, too. You worked hard, so rest up."

"But I'm not tired!" She lied. She was obviously lying because she looked unsteady on her feet.

"No complaining! Now it's time to rest," I said as I returned the pouting Eevee into her ball and slipped it back into my bag. "I'll try my best to take care of Venipede, ma'am," I tried to assure her.

"You had better. Or else I'll find you!" Leavanny threatened me. I felt fear grip me, but it wasn't the usual fear linked to dangerous Pokémon. It was the fear of incurring the wrath of an upset mother.

"Uh… D-d-don't worry! Your son's safe with m-me!" I stuttered with a nervous smile as I slowly backed away. Then I finally lost my cool and ran off while sputtering, "Okay! Bye!" with Tiny holding onto my vest for dear life.

X-X-X

Several minutes later, after I felt like I was safe from Leavanny's wrath, I bent over trying to catch my breath. Tiny patted my cheek to get my attention. "Okay?"

"Okay…" I panted. "Well, for all the trouble we've went through, we've got a new friend, right?"

"Friend!" The Pichu exclaimed with a nod.

"On the other hand…we still don't know where the heck the others are… In fact, we're probably far, far away from wherever they are…" I slumped over and sighed. "Ugh… I just wanna get out of this forest…!"

X-X-X

Review for the sake of Blu and Pichu!