Brayden was very angry.

It had been a week since his victory at the Pewter Gym, but he had yet to make it to Cerulean City.

The reason? Mt. Moon.

The largest mountain in the Kanto region is also one of the largest caves in the world. It was Brayden's only path to Cerulean City. But… "Every time we try to pass through this stupid cave, the Zubat swarm us and chase us out! I can't stand it anymore!" He screamed in outrage. "But THIS time, we're making it through, thanks to these Repels!"

Yesterday…

Brayden trekked across Route 3 once again, hoping he would have better luck getting through Mt. Moon. But before he knew it, a young girl named Robin had challenged him to a battle.

"Go, Jigglypuff!" What looked a pink bouncy ball with big blue eyes burst out of Robin's Poké Ball. "Jiggly!" it cried.

"What a strange Pokémon," Brayden said out loud. Robin and Jigglypuff felt insulted by this. "Jigglypuff's not strange, it's cute!" Robin yelled at Brayden. "Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff chimed in.

Brayden ignored them and pulled out the Pokédex. "What does the Pokédex say about it?"

"Jigglypuff. The Balloon Pokémon. A Normal type. It captivates foes with its huge, round eyes, then lulls them to sleep with a soothing melody."

Brayden winced. The last time he fell victim to a sleep inducing move, he had been utterly helpless. No way would it be smart to fight this opponent on the ground. So… "Pidgey, I choose you!" Brayden exclaimed. "Pidgey!" the Tiny Bird Pokémon screeched.

"Okay, Pidgey, use Sand-Attack!" Brayden commanded. Pidgey kicked a heap of dirt into Jigglypuff's large eyes, cutting its accuracy. "Hey, that's not fair!" Robin complained. "Jigglypuff, use Disable!"

A flash from Jigglypuff's eyes shined. But nothing else seemed to happen. "Uhhh… what did that do, exactly?" Brayden asked.

"Sand-Attack has been Disabled, meaning you can't use it for a while!" Robin teased, sticking out her tongue.

"So what?" Brayden responded. "I'm not the type to just use status moves over and over. Now, Pidgey, use Gust!" Pidgey screeched, and with a few flaps of its wings, the sharp winds kicked up and struck Jigglypuff.

"We're not done yet!" Robin said defiantly. "Jigglypuff, Pound!"

Jigglypuff jumped into air and tried to smack Pidgey while it was flying, but missed. "Try it again!" Robin said impatiently. Another leap into the air, and this time Jigglypuff's Pound landed, dropping Pidgey to the ground.

"Uh-oh!" Brayden shouted. He knew what was coming next! Would he and Pidgey be able to react accordingly? "Jigglypuff, show them the power of your adorable Sing!" Robin cheered. "Jigg-ly Puff, Jigg-lyyy, Puff." Jigglypuff sang. A musical note soared from its mouth towards Pidgey. Brayden called out to the Flying type. "Pidgey, get moving!" Pidgey got up and flew back into the air seconds before the note reached him, and the note fizzled out. "No way!" Robin cried out in disbelief.

"YES! Now, Pidgey! Quick Attack!" Pidgey screeched as it crashed into Jigglypuff at high speed. The Balloon Pokémon toppled over, knocked out. "Jiggly…"

Pidgey flew back to Brayden and landed on his shoulder. "Great job, Pidgey!" Brayden praised the Tiny Bird. Pidgey chirped happily as Brayden recalled him to his Poké Ball. Robin sighed as she did the same with her Jigglypuff.

"Wow, you're good," she said to Brayden.

Brayden grinned, then remembered what he had been failing to do all week. "I may be good at battles, but the wild Pokémon in Mt. Moon have been making a fool out of me the last few days. I just can't seem to get through to Cerulean City."

Robin stared at him with a stupefied look on her face. "What?" Brayden asked in exasperation.

"You know…if you're having trouble with wild Pokémon, you can just buy Repels at the Poké Mart to keep them away," she said. "You DO know what Repel IS, right?" Robin asked.

Brayden said nothing as went back inside the mountain cave.

Today…

Obviously, that last attempt didn't go well, so this morning Brayden left the Route 3 Pokémon Center and returned to the Pewter City Poké Mart to buy some Repels. As the cashier explained, Repel is a spray that, when used, keeps wild Pokémon away from you for a while. Practically required to get through a place like Mt Moon.

"It wasn't nice of Brock to not tell me how dangerous that cave is," Brayden said to himself as he reached the entrance to the cave. He took a Repel from his backpack and sprayed himself with it. "HA! Let's see those darn Zubat chase me off NOW!" Brayden exclaimed.

As he stepped inside the cave, Brayden had another idea. "They say that not all Pokémon will be kept away, so…" He held up two of his Poké Balls. "Squirtle, Mankey, come on out!"

"Squirtle Squirtle!"

"Mankey!"

They both looked at Brayden. "Guys, today's the day we finally make it through Mt Moon! I bought some Repels to keep the Zubat away! But if we get ambushed by a Rock-type Pokémon, I need you two to take care of them." he explained. "Got it?"

"Squirt Squirtle!" Squirtle gave Brayden a salute.

"Man, Key!" Mankey did a short hop and a backflip.

As they continued into the cave, the Repels began to wear off one by one. They came across three Geodude and a Sandshrew, but Squirtle and Mankey promptly chased each of them off. After each encounter, Brayden used another Repel.

As the fifth Repel wore off, they found a Paras, a Bug and Grass type. Brayden called out Pidgey to dispatch the Mushroom Pokémon. Finally, they saw light coming from the end of the tunnel.

"At last! Through that exit is Route 4! We're finally getting to Cerulean City, guys!" Brayden exclaimed happily. Squirtle, Mankey and Pidgey joined in the cheers, but they had overlooked something very important.

Brayden had used his last Repel.

And they had just made a very loud noise that echoed throughout the cave.

They had just realized their mistake when the terrible sound of Bat Pokémon echoed back to them. All the Zubat in the cave knew where they were and were coming!

"Oh no! RUN!" Brayden screamed as he ran for the exit. His Pokémon followed suit. Almost immediately, the Zubat appeared behind them. With a frightening screech, they unleashed an Air Cutter attack! The blades of wind barely missed Brayden, and he and the other kept running. But they came to an abrupt halt when they heard the sound of a Poké Ball opening.

"Metapod?"

The four turned around and saw the horrible sight of an enormous Zubat swarm surrounding Metapod. The Air Cutter had sliced Metapod's Poké Ball off of Brayden's belt!

"No! Leave Metapod alone!" Brayden cried as he rushed back to grab Metapod's Poké Ball. But the Zubat blocked his path. They were all completely surrounded! At this rate, they would all have the life drained out of them by Zubat's Leech Life!

Squirtle looked up and saw another Bat Pokémon. "SQUIRTLE!" he cried out in fear as he pointed at it. Brayden's eyes shot upward, and he saw it. A large Pokémon that resembled Zubat, but with eyes and bigger wings.

Brayden held up the Pokédex, but couldn't hear it over the awful din of flapping wings and Zubat screeching. But the screen told him all he needed to know.

"Golbat, the evolved form of Zubat!" Brayden read.

It appeared to be the leader of this horde of Zubat. Perhaps if they defeated it, the Zubat would leave.

"SQUIRTLE! RAPID SPIN! PIDGEY, QUICK ATTACK!" Brayden screamed over the Zubat.

Squirtle tucked into his shell and zoomed into the air towards Golbat, and Pidgey blasted towards it at greater speed. But Golbat dodged them both with ease, then retaliated with Air Cutter, sending Squirtle and Pidgey crashing back to the cave floor.

"No! It's too fast!" Brayden cried in despair. This couldn't be happening! He had only just begun his journey, and now these accursed bats were going to bring it to a premature end. And they were going to start by offing his poor Metapod.

The knowledge that he had let his Pokémon down brought Brayden to tears. "I'M SO SORRY, EVERYONE! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" He cried in anguish as he fell to his knees.

Metapod heard his Trainer through all the noise. As a Zubat sank its teeth into him, he felt determination fill his body. With an angry look at the Zubat, he shouted defiantly: "META!"

At that moment, Metapod began to glow. His body began to change, and the Zubat released him in shock. All the Zubat stopped screeching. The bright light shot through the cave, and everyone's attention was on its source. "Metapod…?" Brayden uttered in awe.

Finally, the light subsided, and a powerful Gust knocked away the wall of Zubat blocking Brayden's view.

Metapod was gone. In his place was a larger Pokémon with beautiful wings. It had tiny hands and large toeless feet, and two large compound eyes. "Freeeeee!" It said.

Brayden and Squirtle were overjoyed, and Mankey, Pidgey and the Zubat were shocked. "Metapod evolved into Butterfree!" Brayden exclaimed. "Squirtle!" Squirtle cheered.

Golbat screeched at the Zubat to continue their assault, but Butterfree had had enough. His eyes glowed blue, and one of the Zubat screeched in pain before being helplessly flung into the crowd of Zubat, smacking all of them in succession.

"What move is that?" Brayden wondered as he checked the Pokédex. "Confusion. A Psychic type move. May cause confusion. Psychic type moves are super effective against Poison types such as Zubat."

The Zubat horde were now scared of Butterfree, so they flew off. Yes! Now all that remained was Golbat. The Bat Pokémon was outraged that its minions had fled from battle. "GOL! BAT!" It screeched angrily at them as they disappeared into the cave.

It turned to look at Brayden and his Pokémon, its already tiny eyes squinted in anger. "So, what's it gonna be, Golbat? Are you gonna be smart and back off, or do we have to teach you a lesson?" Brayden asked the Poison type. Golbat didn't hesitate to respond. It flew towards Butterfree at high speed, screeching fiercely as it launched another Air Cutter. "GOLBAT!"

Butterfree dodged the Air Cutter gracefully. "Fine then!" Brayden shouted. "Now you're gonna pay for all the crap you put us through! Butterfree, Confusion!"

"Free!" Again, Butterfree's eyes glowed, and Golbat screeched in pain as the psychic waves struck it, then it was smashed hard into the cave floor. Dazed, it slowly got to its feet and hopped away.

Brayden sighed in relief. As he and his Pokémon finally stepped outside onto Route 4, he embraced Butterfree. "Butterfree, you were amazing back there! You saved our lives! Thank you!"

Squirtle, Mankey and Pidgey also happily thanked Butterfree.

"Squirtle!"

"Mankey, Mankey!"

"Pidgey!"

The Butterfly Pokémon shed tears of joy as it returned Brayden's hug. "Free, Butterfree!"

It had been a harrowing experience, but they had at last conquered Mt Moon. As the friends headed towards Cerulean City, they believed the worst was behind them.

Unfortunately, another trial was awaiting them in the city.

And it wasn't the Gym Leader.

On a cliff just outside the city limits, a familiar boy with spiky brown hair spotted our hero. "Ha! Took ya long enough, kid." He sneered.

Author's Note: Well, that was unforgettable experience! Brayden may have escaped Mt Moon with his newly evolved Butterfree, but the battles waiting for him in Cerulean City will test him sorely! Next Time: The Second Battle With Blue! Another Evolution?!