Chapter 2 – No Safety Net

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." -Bilbo Baggins (J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings)

We awoke at the break of sunrise, the four of us rookies eager to set out on our first mission. Ariana, being a lively person in general, caught our infectious excitement and called us together. "Alright team, all ready? Let's set out! First stop, and the worst leg of our journey, is the two-day trip through Ilex Forest."

We made our way through the park south of Goldenrod, and entered the guard station located on the edge of the forest, and after proving we were registered trainers with our Pokédex, we were allowed through. The danger level of Ilex Forest was considered low enough that any registered trainer could pass through, regardless of the number of gym badges he has. Even so, the guard on duty bid us to be careful, as all wild Pokémon lands held potential dangers.

The sun had already risen when we had entered the guard station, but upon exiting the other side, we wouldn't have noticed. Huge trees all around us in every direction wove and intersected each other, creating a thick canopy of branches and leaves above us that blocked out all direct sunlight. Even so, the roof of foliage glowed a faint green from the light it absorbed from outside, allowing us just enough visibility to navigate. At least here at the start of the forest, there was a single, cleared out path indicating where we ought to go, and we all proceeded down it.

"I can barely see a thing," Bruno complained. "Oh, well. Ariana, Han, you guys are always night owls. Are you feeling right at home?"

I shrugged. "Eh, it's not a big deal. I can see well enough, and Ariana has even better keener eyes in the dark than I do. You want to navigate?"

I looked over, and noticed Ariana did not look her normal, cool self. She was wary, and her eyes shifted back and forth in every direction at the thick vegetation around us. "I hate this place," she muttered. "No, I think it's best if Han leads. I've never been a fan of forests or enclosed spaces, and this seems to be the worst of both worlds. And worst of all is, AAAGH!"

Ariana yelped, leaping backwards as small blur dropped from the branches above and fell in our midst. We looked down to see a somewhat dazed Caterpie, trying to recover its bearings after its fall. "Bugs! I hate bugs!" Ariana finished.

I looked at the rather harmless little creature, then back up the canopy and all around. "Let's keep a few Pokémon out to serve as watchmen and guards," I suggested. "I can't spot Pokémon from a distance in this light, but I'm sure they're everywhere. Caterpie aren't going cause us much harm, but if we get caught by the pointy end of a falling Weedle, we're going to be in for a bad time."

"I agree, but first, I call this one!" Avery chirped. "Go, Pidgey! Tackle the Caterpie."

We all watched as the Pidgey body checked its natural pray, knocking it back a few feet and causing it to crawl away in fear. "Not so fast!" Avery called, throwing out a Pokéball. It was a direct hit, and to no one's surprise, the Caterpie stayed in the ball.

"Really?" Bruno asked. "We each have an allowance of two Pokéballs for this mission, and you blow one on the first Caterpie you see? And people say I'm impulsive."

"Oh, shut it. I now have eternal bragging rights for being the first of us to ever catch a Pokémon," Avery retorted with a smug smile.

"What? Don't my eggs count?" I commented lightheartedly.

"They haven't hatched yet, so nope," Avery rebutted. "I'm shaping up to the best trainer of our rookie class, it looks like. Soon I'll have a veritable army consisting of Pidgeot, Butterfree, and an unknown egg Pokémon. World, beware!"

Alfredo laughed at her dramatics. "Hey, I thought I would get the first Pokémon here?"

"Don't worry," said Bruno. "You'll get the first worthwhile Pokémon. Hopefully we'll run into something better than a Weedle or Caterpie in here."

During the friendly banter, I walked over to Ariana. "You alright? It's just a Caterpie."

"I. Hate. Bugs." Ariana repeated. "This place is the worst. Let's just get going again. The sooner we get out, the better."

"Agreed," I said, sending out my Rattata. "Hey, Stuart. Keep an eye out for any bugs, alright? If you see any, let me know."

The others followed suit, and soon Stuart was joined by Aron and Ariana's Murkrow. Pidgey was still out and about, and Alfredo didn't want to release his Magicarp in the midst of the forest, for obvious reasons.

As we continued down the path, there were several other encounters with various common bug Pokémon, but none as startling as the first. Murkrow stayed perched on Ariana's shoulder, keeping a keen eye on the canopy above us, while our other three Pokémon guards walked in a triangle around us. Occasionally Pidgey or Rattata would leap into the bushes and reemerge with the remains of a Caterpie or Weedle, or Aron would charge into battle and smash a Metapod or Kakuna into a tree with a headbutt. It was effective, but rather gross to see the insides of the cocoon Pokémon get splattered in such a manner.

We came to our first split in the path that afternoon. Thankfully, both trails were clearly marked, and we chose the path that led more directly to Azalea Town. It was impossible to judge the time by our environment, but Ariana warned us that when night fell, the forest would become pitch black, and we ought to set up our camp with time to spare accordingly.

So around five o'clock, though we figured we had two or three hours of daylight left, we decided to make camp. We chose a small clearing next to a lake, and Bruno and I gathered firewood while Alfredo and the girls set up the camp. It didn't take long, but by the time we had gathered enough, they had a firepit prepared and our sleeping bags rolled out. Ariana's Houndoom lit the kindling we had brought back. Soon we had settled in with a comfortable sense of comradery that I figured must come naturally when traveling through wildlands together, even those as mild as Ilex Forest. We heated up some canned food supplies, and enjoyed as a good of a meal as one could expect when outside the luxuries of civilization.

Before settling in for the night, Alfredo wanted to let his Magicarp get some exercise, so little Stuart and I accompanied him to the lake. It's hard to tell what a Magicarp is thinking, if it's even capable of thought beyond survival instinct, so I don't know if it was happy. But I figured it must at least be comfortable to be in an environment natural to its species for a little while.

However, the new addition to the lake must have aroused the interest of some nearby denizens, because a few little Poliwags soon swam up to the surface to investigate. "Hey, Alfredo, do you want one?" I asked. "I'd say a Poliwag is worth catching, so you got first dibs."

"Sure!" he agreed. "But there isn't much we can do to weaken them from the shore. Stay here for a minute, and don't let Stuart scare them away. I want to try something."

He walked down to edge of the lake and called out to his Magicarp, who obediently swam closer to shore. A trio of Poliwag followed, and when they got near, Alfredo pulled a container of fish food out of jacket pocket. First, he threw some to Magicarp, who eagerly ate it up, then held out a hand with some more food to the Poliwags. They looked hesitant, but one worked up the courage to come nearer, and eventually got close enough to suck some of the flaky fish food right off of Alfredo's hand.

"That's right, little guy," Alfredo said encouragingly. "Hey, do you want to travel with me? There's plenty more where that came from, so you won't have to worry about going hungry. I do plan on battling though, so if you don't want to fight, you'll be better off staying here. If you're willing, I'd be glad to take you in. What do you say?" He held out a Pokéball in his other hand.

To my amazement, the Poliwag looked at Alfredo for a minute, then hopped in the air happily and headbutted the Pokéball, initiating the capture process. Alfredo was equally delighted when the red light flashed and the Pokéball made its signature ding of success.

Pokémon were generally intelligent, and could largely understand what their trainers instructed them to do. But what Alfredo had just done was special. That Poliwag seemed to instantly understand his words and intentions. I was impressed.

"Nicely done, man," I congratulated. "You're like, the Pokémon Whisperer or something. I don't think I've ever heard of someone talking a Pokémon into catching itself."

Alfredo grinned sheepishly. "Well, it's not like Magicarp could have done much to weaken it, if I went with the traditional capture method. I'm just glad this way worked. I've always loved water Pokémon. My dad was a sailor, you know, so I guess his love for the sea and water Pokémon got passed down to me."

He recalled Magicarp and we headed back to camp. Alfredo excitedly let the others know of his newest addition to the team, and after a bit of cleanup, we got ready to sleep for the night. Now that each of us had a Pokémon capable of fighting on land, we set up a guard rotation of two-hour segments, with Alfredo eager to take the first shift. Ariana would go second, I would go third, then Bruno, and Avery would take the last. As if on the cue, the sun must have set in the outer world, for the eerie green glow of the canopy above went out completely, and we were left with only our campfire for light. We had enough firewood to make it through the night, so everyone but Alfredo tucked into their sleeping bags, and I quickly fell asleep.

I was awoken a few hours later by Ariana, informing me it was my shift. I sent out Stuart as she recalled her Murkrow. I found a good spot to sit on a fallen tree close to the camp, while Stuart monitored the camp on the other side of the fire. Ariana sat down next to me.

"I hate this place," she reiterated for the hundredth time. "I couldn't sleep at all during Alfredo's shift, and I'm feeling extra antsy now after spending the last two hours on high alert for stupid Caterpie and Weedle."

"You're welcome to chill with me during my shift. It will make the time pass quicker for the both of us. At least we only have to spend one night here- we should be out by tomorrow evening if all goes well."

Ariana nodded. "Yeah, I don't think I could endure more than one night in this – AAGH!"

As Ariana screeched, I world around and saw a little purple fur ball had fallen into her lap. In its own shock and confusion, the little Venonat let out a shrill screech and sneezed out a puff of Stun Spores, which hit Ariana point blank as she reached for a Pokéball. The effects were instantaneous, and Ariana's body went rigid as she fell backwards off the tree trunk, in my direction. The disproportionately large red-eyes of the bug Pokémon glowed dimly in the dark, striking a demonic figure silhouetted by our campfire behind it. It took one look at me, then dug its little fangs into Ariana's shoulder, sucking her blood with a Leech Life. Ariana's eyes were wide with horror, but she couldn't even scream, let alone move.

"No!" I shouted, and quickly cleared the distance between us, delivering a solid kick to the Venonat's center of mass. The little fuzz ball went flying, but the rough removal of its teeth from Ariana's shoulder left two deep tears in her skin.

I looked across at our camp, and saw flashes of white as my companions realized the danger. Stuart, I noticed, had torn across the camp and sunk its teeth into the Venonat I had kicked. But it wasn't the only one. Several other shadowy creatures were closing in on our camp, presumably responding to the first Venonat's call of distress.

I picked up Ariana and dashed back to the others, setting her down in the middle of camp. The four of us remaining trainers each took a side of the camp, and Stuart rushed over to my side. He was covered in some green slime that must have been come from the inside of the Venonat, and he had a couple shallow puncture wounds on his own body as well. He had finished off his target, but had not come out unscathed.

Avery's Pidgey had already shredded one of the Venonat on her side with its beak and talons, and looked to be relatively unharmed. There was another immobilized Venonat covered in String Shot, though I didn't take the time to look for her little Caterpie. Alfredo's Poliwag was being beaten up by two Venonat, unable to hold its own against the creatures on dry land. Bruno had his Aron chasing down a fleeing Venonat on his side, a second one lying unconscious and trampled in its wake. Overall, things were looking manageable.

Then I heard a light flutter, and my heart dropped as I looked up. Two Venomoth were descending from the covering, ready to assist and defend their little swarm of Venonat.

"Avery, look up!" I called. "Set Pidgey on them. Stuart, go help Poliwag!"

Both Avery and my Rattata followed my instructions quickly, and I looked back down to see two more Venonat coming from my direction. Fantastic.

Trusting my team behind me, I pulled out my utility knife. It was not designed primarily for combat, but it could get the job done. The six-inch blade reflected the flickering fire light, but the incoming Venonat were not deterred.

I dropped into a combat stance as they approached, ready to parry a leaping Leech Life. To my surprise, one of the Venonat sent a Supersonic wave at me, scoring a direct hit and dropping me to one knee in disorientation. Then they leaped.

My head was pounding and my vision was blurred, but I could make out the two flying purple blurs enough to stick my arms defensively and fall backwards. I was able to land a lucky kick on one, momentarily preventing a two on one, but the other latched firmly onto my forearm. Unluckily for demonic blood sucking parasite, it was not the arm holding the knife. Despite the burning pain and the increased dizziness I felt as blood was forcefully sucked from my veins, I was able to focus enough to drive the knife into the fuzzy mass of my assailant. The Venonat screeched in pain as I felt its fangs being ripped from my arm, and I quickly pulled out my knife and drove it back in for a second blow. The bug didn't make another noise, and fell off my arm to the ground with soft thud.

Adrenaline pumping, I rolled back into a defensive crouch with my arms and knife held out in front of me, quickly trying to regain my senses, only to notice a faint blue essence start to cover my arms. In my dizzy, adrenaline laced stupor, I had no clue what the hell was going on until the blue light seemed to solidify, and I got thrown several feet away from camp. I landed hard on my back, which did no favors to my raging headache and blurry vision. "Confusion," I thought to myself, belatedly realizing what had happened to me. "The little demon spawn knows Confusion."

I looked back towards the camp, the only source of light in the forest for as far as I could see. There was a lot of noise and blurry motion, too much to make out and interpret in my current addled state. They were in a predicament of their own, facing off against two Venomoth and who knows how many remaining Venonat. They didn't have the resources to help me at the moment. I idly noted that if I got thrown too far, I would be completely in the dark. I wouldn't stand a chance against the Venonat crawling around in the forest if I couldn't see them.

I crawled back up to a kneeling position, not daring to try to stand after the mental beating I had taken. On the bright side, the Supersonic was wearing off. On the downside, I had lost a significant volume of blood in the short span of that Leech Life, and had hit the ground pretty hard after being psychically flung through the air.

I could see the little fuzz ball that I had initially kicked away cautiously approaching me. Hopefully it only had enough energy for that initial Confusion, or this was going to turn real ugly, real soon. To my relative relief, I didn't start glowing blue again, but once it got within ten paces of me, it shook its body and sneezed out a Stun Spore, sending the paralyzing agents into the air from all over its body.

I dove behind a nearby tree, taking advantage of the fact that the spores had to float through the air to get to me. Ariana had been literally holding the Venonat in her lap when she got blasted, but ten feet of distance was room enough for me to get behind cover when there were so many trees to hide behind.

I considered my options. I could try to throw my knife at it, but with my current dizziness, there was a low probability that I would score a hit. I could stay put and wait for the Venonat to come to me. That wasn't a bad option, as my focus and vision were recovering with every minute that passed. But that would prolong the time that I left my friends to their own devices against two Venomoth, and I desperately wanted to lend assistance, even if it was just by commanding Stuart. Besides, waiting on Venonat to come to me wouldn't give me that much of a tactical advantage compared to the alternative, which involved me going to it. I made my decision. I would make a charge.

I turned the corner around the tree and broke for the Venonat as fast I could I move. It was six steps away from me. I took two steps before it noticed me, but on my third it reacted. Its eyes glowed blue, but instead of completely covering me in psychic energy, this attack targeted only my right arm, the one carrying the knife. I felt my arm go completely limp, the knife dropping from my unresponsive fingers. I started to stumble due to a loss of balance, but managed to keep my feet under me. Disable, I thought to myself. Too late to change course now. I took two more steps after recovering from my stumble and delivered the hardest kick I could muster to the oversized bug and sent it flying square into a tree trunk a few feet away. As it tried to recover, I continue sprinting and made a running jump, tucking my legs beneath me and driving both knees into the insect's body with all my weight and momentum behind it. The little insect popped like a balloon as my weight bore into it, sending slimy goop everywhere. Especially on me.

The Venonat's body was squishy, but my knees ached from slamming into the tree trunk and ground after smashing through its body. The smell was rancid, and I was covered in bug guts from the waist down, with splatter marks running in streaks over the rest of me. I wobbled to my feet, and quickly limped back towards the camp to see how my friends were faring.

I got back just in time to see the final standoff. Alfredo was on knees holding his ribs with his right arm, his left dangling uselessly with blood dripping off his fingertips. But he was still alive, and conscious enough to react if need be. Beside him lay his Poliwag, unmoving. Avery was tending to her injured Pidgey, and I noticed a shredded Venomoth corpse not far away. Bruno was the only one who looked relatively unscathed, Aron panting from exertion beside him, but still in fighting shape. There were no Venonat in sight. However, there was still one Venomoth hovering in the air, flapping a little erratically due to a slash in its wing. Ariana was still lying in the midst of camp, unmoving. Her body hadn't been moved from where I originally laid her down, which I took as a good sign. And trembling next her, little puncture wounds on all sides of its body, was little Stuart. Two Venonat lay on the ground near him, with large holes ripped out of their carcasses. He was giving his best effort to defend the immobile Ariana, but there obviously wasn't much left in the tank.

I rushed over to them first. Scooping up the Rattata. "Good boy, Stuart," I murmured, cradling his beaten and bloody body. "You did good, you did so good." Stuart let out a hiss of acknowledgement and passed out. I reached for a Pokéball in a panic and recalled him, and to my relief the red targeting laser reacted and returned Stuart to his ball. He was in critical condition, but he wasn't dead yet.

I noticed the Venomoth turn his attention to me and Ariana. Bruno and Avery were both in good enough condition to defend their selves. Ariana and I apparently made a much more appealing target, and I had left my knife on the battleground of my previous fight. The Pokémon fluttered back and forth a bit, seeming to gather its balance as it prepared to swoop in for the kill.

Bruno was not having it. "No ranged moves, Aron? Well then, watch and learn." He stooped down and picked up hefty rock about the size of a Pokéball. "This is called Rock Throw."

He took aim and hurled the stone at the fluttering bug. It was a good throw. Bruno was an athlete, and he picked a good rock for throwing. But it just wasn't a perfect throw. The Venonat, noticing Bruno's movement, had time to take evasive measures as the rock left his hand. It was close. Really close. But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and this was neither.

The Venonat seemed to lose its balance again as the rock whizzed by him, but recovered. This time, it turned towards Bruno and started glowing with blue energy.

"Ah, that was going to be a lot cooler in my head…" Bruno trailed off. He put his arms up just in time as a Psybeam slammed into him, throwing him backwards and slamming him into the ground. "Damn, that one hurt," he muttered, gingerly maneuvering to his hands and knees. Aron rushed over and stood in front of him defensively, determined to prevent further harm from coming to his trainer.

We were in desperate straits. Avery had recalled her Pidgey and now held her knife at the ready. Aron was our last Pokémon standing, and he had no way to hit the Venomoth out of the air. The Venomoth turned its attention back towards Ariana and me, and started glowing blue again. I did my best to crawl over Ariana to shield her from the blast, and looked up to stare death in the face.

Just as the blue energy focused and fired, a flash of white exploded beneath me, and Ariana's Murkrow leapt into the trajectory of the incoming Psybeam. It shook it off like it was nothing more than a gentle breeze, and took off like a bullet for the Venomoth. It wasn't even a fight. The Murkrow tore the Venomoth apart in a matter of seconds, before returning our side and taking up a defensive stance, lest any other enemies appear to threaten its master.

After recovering from the shock of looking death in the face and not, in fact, dying, I looked at Ariana. It was hardly noticeable, but there was the slightest hint of a smirk pulling at her lips. I looked at her hands and saw one loosely grasping a Pokéball, fingers twitching just slightly. She must have regained enough motor control to hit the release button, and just in time. Bruno rushed over to check on us, while Avery rushed over to check over Alfredo's wounds.

"Dude, did you have to wade through a pool of Grimer to get here?" Bruno asked, observing the Venonat innards coating my lower half. "I thought this forest was supposed to be a cake walk. What the hell just happened?"

"I don't know," I answered. "Maybe we just got unlucky. A Venonat fell from the canopy onto Ariana's lap, and hit her with a point-blank Stun Spore before she could release a Pokémon. Maybe the rest of the swarm thought we were attacking. Regardless, we should report this to the guard station when we get back. They should warn future travelers about what happened, maybe even send a couple Rangers out here for patrols for a bit."

Bruno nodded. "Hey, how about you take Aron and go wash up in the lake. Murkrow and I will watch over Ariana. Maybe Avery and Alfredo will want to go with you too."

"Sounds good, we can swap stories after. C'mon, Aron."

I went and found my knife first, then we all took turns washing off the gore of the night's battle and applying first aid to each other's wounds. Alfredo and I had the worst of it; one of the bugs had latched onto his upper arm and clung there until Poliwag forcefully tackled it off. It saved Alfredo, but the incisions left behind were not pretty. Additionally, he had taken a tackle straight to his gut, leaving his ribs tender but not broken. Bruno, tough as nails, was able to shake off the Psybeam he had taken in a matter of minutes, and it left no visible damage on him. Avery was the only one to escape completely unscathed, having used her speed to dodge attacks until her Pokémon could assist. None of our Pokémon had died either, but Stuart was still in bad shape and had to get to the Pokémon Center.

By the time we were done cleaning ourselves up, it was nearly dawn. It would be a hard day travel after the long night and lack of sleep, but no one wanted to spend another night in the forest. When the sun rose and the canopy started glowing with green light, Ariana could speak again, though she wasn't ready to walk on her own.

"You kids did good," she muttered, fighting the effects of the paralysis. "I never should have returned Murkrow, but I didn't expect an invasion of the Venonat line. Everyone pulled through. Now let's get the hell out of this forest."

We couldn't agree more.