The Forest Lodge
"Why isn't she texting back?"
Jet was pacing. It was two in the afternoon on the day they were set to leave, and Natalie was nowhere to be found. Brian sat on Jet's bed playing Tetris on his phone.
"I told you, Jet," Brian scoffed impatiently, "She's probably having second thoughts because of what happened last night. Your bus leaves in two hours and she hasn't called or texted? She's gone, man. You blew it."
Jet stopped pacing and looked down at his phone again; knowing damn well that if Natalie had tried to contact him he would have felt it vibrate. Brian was both impressed and amused by Jet's account of how the host's blanket ended up covered in puke.
Jet, however, was far less amused. He was thoroughly convinced that he should not have left the party. Perhaps that's why she wasn't calling? Had he offended her?
After a half hour of pacing and venting, Jet had to say goodbye to Brian.
"Dude," Brian began, "Are you sure you don't want to come with me? We'll get to Cerulean faster my way. Besides, the Viridian forest is full of weak bug Pokémon. And Natalie isn't comin-"
"I'll wait for her." Said Jet, "Thanks anyway, though."
Brian smiled and shook his head, "You whipped, my brother. I love you, bro."
Jet laughed and said, "I love you, too. Have fun."
And with that, Brian left the room. Jet felt a sudden sense of loneliness. Brian was moving on, Amy was left behind, and Natalie had stood him up. Jet pulled the ultraball from his belt and smiled. "As long as I have you, I'll be just fine."
Deciding it best to rest his eyes for a bit before he left to catch his bus, Jet set an alarm and lay down.
XXX
Knock, Knock, knock, knock. Jet sat up instantly, his heart beating in his chest. "Jesus, what the fuck?" Knock, knock, knock, knock. Jet went over to the door and opened it, and saw Natalie standing in the hall.
"The umm," Natalie looked slightly timid for some reason, "The receptionist said you hadn't checked out yet."
Jet just stared at her. She came back! She hadn't stood him up after all! His face split into a wide smile.
Seeing Jet smile seemed to relieve Natalie for some reason, because she smiled as well. Jet's phone suddenly went off on the night stand.
"It's just my alarm," he said, "Come in."
She walked in the threshold as Jet went to turn off the alarm. She then sat on the bed and dropped her bag. Jet looked over at Natalie and saw her staring at him with those big, gorgeous eyes.
"I got to…" Jet reached in his bag and grabbed his tooth brush, "I'll be right back."
Natalie waited on the bed while Jet went to brush his teeth and wash up. She called into the bathroom, "You're probably wondering why I didn't call you back this morning."
She heard the brushing stop for a second, and then continue. Looking down at her feet, she continued talking, "To be honest I wasn't a hundred percent sure if I was still going to go with you. It's not like I don't like you. I do, a lot actually. But you see, that's part of the problem."
She heard Jet spit before he asked, "What do you mean?"
Natalie continued, "It's just all kind of moving pretty fast is all. I just met you, and we're about to go traveling together? And last night, when we-"
She paused when Jet walked out of the bathroom and stared at her. Blushing, Natalie kept talking, "I just got out of a relationship with this older guy who… Well, let's just say he really did some damage when he cheated on me. I was in the woods with Eevee blowing off steam when I met you and I just…"
Jet smiled and said, "You don't want to rush into anything, I get it."
Natalie blushed and turned away. Jet was surprised to see her look so… shy. It felt strange but, at the same time, he was relieved that he wasn't intimidated by her anymore. Jet put his hand on her cheek and said, "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."
She looked up at him and he said, "I'd really like you to come with me, though."
Natalie smiled and said, "Yeah, that won't be awkward."
Jet shrugged, "It's only awkward if we make it awkward. So… what do you say?"
Natalie sighed and rolled her eyes, "I got a bag packed don't I? Let's get moving, Poindexter."
"Aaaand, she's back." Jet said as he opened the door.
XXX
Three hours later they were riding down route two in a bus. Neither had really said much to the other, but they did glance at each other every so often. Yup, Jet thought to himself, this is awkward. Natalie tapped Jet and said, "We have to get off at this stop and continue on foot."
Jet raised his eyebrows and said, "What? Why?"
Natalie said, "Because, this bus goes around the Viridian Forest and straight to Pewter. Wasn't your plan to go through the forest to get some training in?"
Jet nodded, "Oh yeah."
When they got off the bus, the followed a dirt road that led North-West to the Viridian forest. Natalie pointed to the distant tree line and said "We go up this road about two miles and we'll end up at this place called the Forest Lodge at the very edge of the woods. Me and my dad use to stay there."
"Two miles!" Jet exclaimed, "Are you serious?"
Natalie smacked Jet on the back of his head, "Are you a trainer or not? What do you think we are going to be doing on this trip? Riding motorcycles everywhere? You better be ready to do some walking, kid, and a lot of it."
Jet rubbed the back of his head and glared at Natalie, who seemed to enjoy his irritation. They then set off for the Forest Lodge, and the promise of dinner with a warm bed. After about ten minutes of walking they passed a pond. In the pond was a…
"A Psyduck, good shit!" Jet pointed to the yellow-billed Pokémon waddling out of the water.
Natalie looked at it and said, "Dibs."
Jet, who was about to reach for his Charmander, grimaced and said, "Go ahead. Let's see what you've got."
Natalie smiled and sent out her Eevee. "Let's get him, boy!"
Eevee took a fighting stance in front of the Psyduck, who seemed thoroughly unaware of the presence of new enemies within his territory. Natalie called, "Hit him with Head butt!"
Eevee ran at the unsuspecting Psyduck and hit him with a powerful but to the head. Jet, who had been on the receiving end of that attack during his first encounter with Eevee, said, "You shouldn't have done that."
Natalie rolled her eyes, "Why not?"
Jet watched the Psyduck fall to the ground and clutch his head. "Because he might get a headache."
Natalie looked at Jet and said, "So what?"
Jet simply pointed at the Psyduck, who had gotten up and started running in circles, screaming its head off. Eevee hesitated on his next attack, choosing instead to watch the Psyduck's strange behavior. The Psyduck stopped running and clenched its head while letting out a loud cry.
Natalie seemed as disturbed as Eevee was by this behavior, but none the less called out, "Finish him off with Quick-attack!"
Eevee ran at Psyduck but was stopped dead in its tracks. Natalie gasped as Eevee was lifted in the air by the Psyduck. Eevee began to scream in pain. Natalie turned to Jet and said, "What's going on?"
Jet frowned and said, "It looks like Psyduck is using a combination of Telekinesis and Confusion. The former of which allows Psyduck to move objects with his mind. The latter of which constricts the brain, hurting and disorienting its opponent."
"What?" Natalie exclaimed, "I thought Psyduck couldn't control his psychic powers!"
Eevee began rising in the air and slamming into the ground rapidly.
Jet said, "Its powers get stronger when it gets a headache! Just because it can't control its powers doesn't mean its powers aren't dangerous! You should call your Pokémon back!"
Natalie nodded and recalled Eevee. Psyduck began pacing again while screaming and clutching his head. Jet was about to send out Sora, but Natalie already sent her Eevee back out. Jet smiled.
"I get it," he said, "You put Eevee in his Pokeball to get him away from Psyduck's attack so you can send him back out at a safe distance away from his attacks."
Natalie smiled, "Pretty smart, huh?"
Jet nodded and said, "But how do you plan on attacking?"
Natalie turned and asked Eevee, "Are you still good to fight?" Eevee nodded, though visibly shaken. Natalie said, "Right then, let's see how good those attacks are if he can't find you! Use Sand attack!"
Eevee kicked up a big sand cloud in front of the Psyduck. Natalie said, "Now use Dig!"
Eevee dug underground. Jet watched as the Psyduck continued to pace and winced when Eevee attacked from underground. No sooner than when the attack made contact, Natalie yelled, "Back underground and do it again!"
Jet was amazed by how fast Eevee got back underground, especially considering he wasn't even a ground type Pokémon. Psyduck got up and started to yell again. And yet again, Eevee delivered another blow. This time, Psyduck didn't look like it was getting up.
Natalie threw a pokeball, and watched with bated breath as the Psyduck was sucked in. It rolled around four times, until there was a metallic click, showing that Psyduck was caught.
Natalie looked dumbstruck. "I caught it?" When Jet nodded, she let out a loud, "Wooooo! I caught it!"
Eevee picked up the Pokeball in his mouth and proudly trotted over to his master. She picked her little Eevee up and gave it a big kiss on top of its head. "You fucked shit up today, yes you did! Mommy's so proud of you!"
Jet laughed, and Natalie scoffed, "What's so funny? I don't see your weak ass Pokémon taking out any real opponents!"
Jet thought that was a bit below the belt, but he let it slide anyway. Natalie shrank her pokeball and said, "I've never been one for naming Pokémon, but in this one's case I'll make an exception."
Jet was surprised, "Really? What are you going to name it?"
Natalie smiled and said, "I'm thinking Psycho sounds appropriate!"
Fifteen minutes later, they finally arrived at the Forrest Lodge. It looked like one of those Bread and Breakfasts Jet had seen on TV. Jet was surprised by how many cars were out front of the Lodge. "Is it honeymoon season or something?"
Natalie shrugged and they entered the building.
In the lobby was scores of young trainers, most of which were wearing green jackets with black spider silhouettes on the back. "Bug Catchers." Jet said in an undertone to Natalie.
Natalie raised her eyebrows, "What is this, a geek convention? You'd probably fit right in."
Jet shrugged and said, "I know there are a lot of Bug Catchers in this area, but why are they congregating in a place like this?"
Natalie giggled and said, "Anyone ever tell you that you use too many big words?"
Jet was about to respond when a tall, skinny kid interrupted, "You here for the contest?"
Natalie shook her head and Jet asked, "What contest?"
The boy pointed to a table where several nerdy looking adults wearing green jackets were overseeing a sign up roster. "The Viridian Forest Bug Catching contest! It's the first time a contest of its kind was ever held in the Kanto."
Natalie raised her eyebrows, "A bug contest? Seriously?"
"Ohhh," said Jet, "Like the one they hold every year in the Johto right?"
The boy smiled, "Yup! You get one week to find a strong bug Pokémon in the forest. At the contests end, the one with the best Pokémon wins a special TM!"
Natalie looked up at the word TM. "What kind of TM?"
The boy shrugged, "Dunno, but there's a fifty dollar entrance fee if you're not a member of the Johto/Kanto Bug Catcher's Association."
Jet immediately went over to the sign up table. To his surprise, he was followed by Natalie.
"I didn't think you would be into this kind of thing."
Natalie sighed, "I'm really not, but that TM could be useful. If not, I can always sell it."
Jet smiled, "Well good luck beating me!"
