Here's Chapter 4!
Disclaimer - I would be lucky to own Pokemon.
Adrian wasn't sure what had woken him. A glance at the clock told him that it was roughly 7:30 in the morning, and looking around the room told him that his Pokémon were still in the same places they had been when he'd fallen asleep. Vee was still snuggled closely against his side, the silver-furred Pokémon's chest gently rising and falling with each gentle breath. Aeris was asleep on the back of the desk chair, head tucked under its wing, and the two Nidoran he'd befriended (Nurse Joy had discharged the Nidoran shortly after the Team Rocket attack, and since they were both going to be members of his team Adrian had decided they should be in the same room with him and his other Pokémon overnight) were snuggled up next to Nibbler in the small cave made by his jacket on the same chair. Yawning and stretching, he swung his legs over the other side of the bed from Vee and stood, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he entered the small adjoining bathroom. Exiting a few moments later, eyes clear of any remaining sleepiness, he crossed the small room and sat down on the bed beside Vee, gently stroking the small Eevee. "C'mon, Vee. We'd best get moving".
"Eevee…"
Adrian smiled and stood, taking his Pokeballs from the desk once again before recalling both Aeris and Nibbler. Shrugging on his jacket as he looked down at the two sleeping Nidoran, he took a few moments to consider what he was going to nickname them before he took two empty Pokeballs from his belt. Crouching down in front of the chair, he gently woke the two Pokémon. "Hey. We've got to get going, so if you guys are gonna come with us, I'm gonna need to catch you both. I've been trying to come up with names for the two of you as well, what do you think of your nicknames being Khonsu and Amara?"
As both of the two Pokémon nodded in agreement, Adrian held out the two Pokeballs, gently tapping them against the creatures.
-A few hours later-
It was late morning when Adrian and Vee stepped into the forest. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy formed by the trees several feet above their heads, creating spots of pure light wherever it fell on the forest floor, and the branches swayed as if caught by an invisible breeze, caused by the movements of the Pokémon that played in them. Adrian spent several minutes admiring the scenery quietly before nodding to his partner. "Let's go, Vee".
"Eevee!"
Before the pair could go much further into the forest, a gentle rustling from the nearby grass caught Adrian's attention. His fingers dropped down to the five Pokeballs nestled at his belt, running across them to stop on one of the two containing his newest team members, and pulled it from his belt, holding it warily in his hand. "Vee".
The silver Eevee looked up at its Trainer questioningly. Adrian shook his head. "Let's let Khonsu try this one".
He threw the Pokeball, which burst open in a flash of energy, releasing the small rabbit-like Pokémon. As the Nidoran landed neatly on the ground in front of him, Adrian smiled, eager to see exactly what his new ally was capable of and hopefully add another new Pokémon to his team. "Khonsu, let's flush that Pokémon out! Poison Sting!"
The Nidoran nodded and opened its mouth, shooting multiple purple darts into the grass. Adrian waited with bated breath to see what would emerge, and soon his patience was rewarded as a yellow mouse-like Pokémon burst from the grass, landing opposite Khonsu. "A Pikachu! Alright, Khonsu, let's try and weaken it so we can add it to our team! Peck!"
The Nidoran 's horn glowed a brilliant white as it charged at the Pikachu with great force, slamming into it and knocking it back several steps. Adrian nodded. "Great! Now, Poison Sting!"
Multiple purple darts of energy shot from Khonsu's mouth, striking the Pikachu directly. Adrian smiled slightly. "Looks like that was more effective".
The mouse Pokémon clenched its fists tightly and yellow sparks began to fly from its cheeks. "That's got to be Thunder Shock… Khonsu! Let's try Peck one more time!"
The Nidoran nodded and charged at the wild Pikachu with the horn on its head glowing a brilliant white, slamming into it with full force just as Pikachu released a powerful bolt of electricity. Both Khonsu and Pikachu were sent tumbling by the impact, though Khonsu hopped nimbly to its feet, glaring at the small yellow mouse Pokémon.
Adrian reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball, readying it as he watched the Pikachu carefully. The small mouse struggled to its feet, sparks flying from its cheeks as it stared warily at Adrian. Adrian held out the Pokeball. "That's a strong Thunder Shock for your level. You've got a lot of power, Pikachu. I'd like to help bring that power out".
"Pika…"
As the Pikachu hesitated, Adrian shifted, crouching down so that he was almost at the Pokémon's level. "Come with us?"
The slightest nod of the creature's head was all Adrian needed. He threw the Pokeball as gently as he could, watching as it gently tapped the yellow mouse Pokémon on the side before it opened, absorbing the Pikachu into it in a ball of energy. The ball shut and fell to the ground, and Adrian caught his breath as it shook from side to side, the button in the middle glowing red multiple times before finally dimming as the Pokeball stopped moving. "Yes!"
Adrian punched the air in delight as he knelt to pick up the Pokeball containing the newest addition to his team. "Khonsu did well" he said simply, Vee nodding happily in agreement.
Pausing to consider something, Adrian tapped the button on the Pokeball he'd just picked up, causing his new Pikachu to appear in front of them in a flash of light. The little yellow mouse looked up at its Trainer, confused. "Pika?"
Adrian knelt, gently stroking his hand over its head, being sure to scratch behind the Pikachu's ears. "You're going to need a nickname, buddy. How about… Kai?"
"Pika!" the Pikachu nodded happily, causing Adrian to smile.
"Good. Now hold still, I'm just going to spray you with a Potion to heal your wounds. This may sting briefly".
He reached into his bag and pulled out one of the Potions he'd bought at the Pokémon Center the day before, gently spraying it over the wounds that Khonsu's horn, as well as the needles of energy created by the Nidoran 's Poison Sting attack, had inflicted. Though he was very gentle with his actions, and he kept each spray short, he was still aware of Kai grimacing in pain and clenching and unclenching its tiny fists as he worked. Shortly afterwards, he tucked the bottle away, recalling the Pikachu into its Pokeball. "Come on, Vee. We'd better keep moving".
The two made their way through Viridian Forest as quickly as possible, but they were soon spotted by a boy with a net. "Hey! Trainer!"
Adrian glanced at him, and the boy held up a Pokeball. "I challenge you!"
Adrian's fingers brushed against the Pokeballs on his belt. He's probably going to choose a Bug Pokémon. Aeris would be the obvious choice here, since Flying types are strong against Bugs. "Go, Caterpie!"
A Caterpie? Really? "Go, Aeris!"
Adrian grabbed his Pidgey's Pokeball from his belt and threw it, releasing the small bird Pokémon. Despite the clear type disadvantage, the Bug Catcher had an eager smile on his face. "Caterpie, let's start things off! Tackle!"
May as well get this over with quickly, I guess. "Aeris, Gust!"
Eager to obey its Trainer and finish the battle as quickly as possible, Aeris started flapping its wings rapidly, the resulting wind forming a tornado that slammed into its opponent, sending it backwards into the tree behind the Bug Catcher. The worm Pokémon lay still for a couple of minutes, before opening its eyes and getting back to its feet. Well, you've got to admire its spirit I suppose. Getting up even when faced with a foe that has the type of advantage takes a lot of guts. "This is almost embarrassing… Aeris, finish it with Tackle!"
Aeris slammed into the Caterpie with great force, sending it crashing into the tree again, where it fell unconscious to the ground. "Looks like Caterpie is unable to battle!"
The Bug Catcher nodded, recalling his fainted Pokémon. "Well, you won fair and square. Here's your prize money".
Adrian nodded blankly, tucking the money safely into his pocket. Right. I'd forgotten being paid for winning a battle was an actual thing that happened. "That was a good battle".
With Vee following right behind him, he turned and walked away from the Trainer, making his way through the forest further until near the building that marked the exit from the forest to Pewter City, where another rustle in the grass caught his attention. Immediately, Aeris' Pokeball was in Adrian's hand, and the bird Pokémon was in the air. "Aeris, Tackle".
The Tiny Bird Pokémon obeyed instantly, diving at the patch of grass where the rustling had been coming from, slamming directly into whatever had been hiding. As it flew back to land in front of Adrian, Adrian pulled one of his spare Pokeballs from his belt, waiting to see what the Pokémon was going to be. "Caterpie!"
The unmistakable form of the worm Pokémon emerged from the grass, and Adrian threw the Pokeball immediately. The Pokeball smacked gently into the Caterpie's head, sucking it into the red and white ball in a beam of energy. The ball settled to the ground, wiggling back and forth as the button pulsed red several times, before slowly settling as the light faded with a quiet clicking sound. As Adrian smiled to himself and went to pick the Pokeball up, the ball immediately vanished in a flash of energy, leaving Adrian confused for a moment before remembering why that had happened. "Oh right. I can only have six Pokémon useable in my party at any one time…"
His Pokedex chimed quietly and Adrian pulled it from his pocket, glancing at the screen to see the Pokedex entry for his new Caterpie pop up, followed by a question. 'Do you wish to give a nickname to Caterpie?'
Adrian smiled thoughtfully before typing in an answer. 'Jade'.
The words 'nickname accepted' flashed across the screen, and Adrian tucked both his Pokedex and the Pokeball containing his newest companion away before turning back to the exit and walking into the building that separated him from Pewter City.
Adrian's current team and their levels:
Eevee (Vee) - Level 15. Knows Covet, Sand Attack, Tackle, and Quick Attack.
Pidgey (Aeris) - Level 6. Knows Tackle, Sand Attack, and Gust.
Rattata (Nibbler) - Level 3. Knows Tackle and Tail Whip.
Nidoran (Khonsu) - Level 5. Knows Leer, Poison Sting, Peck.
Nidoran (Amara) - Level 5. Knows Growl, Poison Sting, Scratch
Pikachu (Kai) - Level 6. Knows Growl, Tail Whip, and Thunder Shock.
-Caught but not part of the team-
Caterpie (Jade) - Level 6. Knows Tackle and String Shot.
New Pokedex entries:
Pikachu - When Pikachu meet, they'll touch their tails together and exchange electricity through them as a form of greeting.
Caterpie - Its short feet are tipped with suction pads that enable it to tirelessly climb slopes and walls.