Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.
Note: I am English, so some of the wording, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.
Chapter Four
Viridian Forest. Red had heard of it before, the acres of land consisting of thick trees, covered eternally in green, the home of lots of Pokémon, the first major step in his journey (apart from actually starting his journey, of course).
He had already been traversing the forest for a couple of hours, fending off various Bug Pokémon with Charmander: Caterpie, a green, wormlike Pokémon; its evolution, Metapod, a green, crescent-shaped cocoon; Weedle, a brown worm with a round, purplish nose; its evolution, Kakuna, a rather spiky-looking, yellow cocoon with sharp, black eyes. There were more Pokémon Red spotted in the distance, but these were the only ones he was close enough to record with his Pokédex.
"I hope we get through this place soon, buddy," Red said to Charmander, keeping it out of its Poké Ball just in case another Weedle tried to snipe him from above. "I want to get our first Badge already."
The fact that the first Gym Badge Red could earn was in a place called Pewter City was irksome to him. There was a perfectly good Gym in Viridian, one where he was positive that he and Charmander would emerge victorious. If only the Gym Leader was there. He stood outside the Gym for near enough three hours before an elderly gentleman informed him that the Leader had not been seen there in weeks. Needless to say, Red was a bit miffed.
Red's trainers snapped twigs and leaves crunched beneath them. It was nice and cool in Viridian Forest, the subtle breeze caressing his cheeks as he marched through the trees. It was dark, the canopy making a fair task of hindering the sun's job of bringing light to this almost alien world, only the narrowest streams of light making it through.
They had not met a single human yet, but considering the size of Viridian Forest, it was not a surprise. But little did they know, that was soon about to change…
"Hey, kid!" someone called out suddenly. Well, more like someones, because at that moment two people caught sight of Red and Charmander from different directions and darted forth, a Poké Ball in each of their hands. One was a boy wearing shorts, a white vest, and a straw hat, and in his hand he carried a net; the other was a girl dressed in a green skirt and a blouse with a ribbon attached to the front.
Charmander took a step back and looked to Red for reassurance. Red bent down and placed a hand on its scaly head.
The two Trainers reached Red and promptly saw each other for the first time.
"No, no, no," the boy said. "Our eyes met first." He pointed to himself and then at Red. "We have to battle."
"Yes, that is the rule," the girl said, in an upper-class manner of speaking. "Which means I'll be the one to battle him."
Red and Charmander exchanged bemused glances as the argument escalated.
"Have you ever heard of 'ladies first'?" the girl demanded to know.
"Have you ever heard of 'equal treatment'?" the boy shot back.
"Why are you being so stubborn?"
"Why are you being so stubborn?"
Red groaned and shook his head. "Er… excuse me…"
The boy and girl rounded on him. "What?"
"Why don't you guys flip a coin? I don't mind who I battle first – I just want to do it."
The boy and girl backed away from each other and nodded their heads slowly, as though realising that an argument such as the one they just had the pleasure of being in could be solved so easily.
The girl pulled a coin out from her skirt pocket. "Heads or tails?" she asked the boy.
"Heads," came the instant reply.
It was heads.
"Well, fair's fair, I guess," the girl sighed. She turned to Red. "Good idea… um… what's your name?"
"My name's Red," Red said, shaking her hand. "And this here's Charmander. We're both from Pallet Town."
"I'm Joana," the girl said. "From Mintale Town. Nice to meet you, Red."
"And I'm Rick, from Pewter City," the boy said, puffing out his chest. "I'm a Bug Catcher."
Rick dashed to a clearing and brandished a Poké Ball once more. "Now, Red. I'm going to show you how powerful Bug-types are. Get ready."
"Sure thing," Red called back. He turned to Charmander. "You ready?"
Charmander clenched its little first and growled.
Red and Rick stood at opposite ends of the clearing as Joana took her role as referee. "Have you guys agreed on the pay-out for the winner?" They had not, but they discussed it quickly and came to an agreement. "This will be a one-on-one battle, no time limit. Now, choose your Pokémon."
"Let's go, Caterpie!" Rick shouted, throwing out the Poké Ball. The green worm appeared in a burst of light. It did not look too formidable.
"Charmander, I choose you," Red said, and the little lizard jumped forth, the fire on the end of its tail dancing. It stared down Caterpie.
"Battle begin!" Joana declared.
"Caterpie, start off with a String Shot!" Rick ordered.
From beneath Caterpie's osmeterium, where its mouth might have been, it ejected a stream of fluid at Charmander. Fortunately, just as Caterpie fired its attack, Red had already ordered Charmander to dodge, which it did with great poise and agility.
"Charmander, use Scratch!"
"Counter it with Tackle!"
The two Pokémon collided with each other, Charmander's claws raking Caterpie's segmented body, and Caterpie's head catching Charmander in the stomach. They both recoiled, but Caterpie flopped harder to the earthy floor.
Red grinned. It was over already. Now for the attack Charmander had learned while fending off the myriad Bug-types in this forest. "End with Ember!"
Charmander opened its mouth wide and fired fiery sparks at the poor bug at bullet speed. Caterpie let out a cry and promptly curled up, knocked out. It was an easy decision for Joana to make.
"Caterpie is unable to battle. Charmander is the winner. The victory goes to Red."
"Yeah, good job, Charmander!" Red cheered, picking Charmander up and spinning it around; Charmander waved its arms and legs in delight. "You were awesome!"
Rick recalled Caterpie to its Poké Ball and marched up to Red. "Good job," he said, patting him on the shoulder. "You've got type advantages down, so that's a good place to start if you want to be a great battler."
He paid what he owed to Red from the battle and Joana then took her place at one end of the clearing. Rick repeated what Joana had said as the referee and at once it was a battle between Charmander and Rattata, a purple rat with long, white whiskers and large teeth, a Normal-type.
It was a far trickier battle than compared to the Caterpie, the type advantage from before notwithstanding. It was quicker for one. Charmander's Scratch never got close to its mark, and Rattata's Quick Attack meant Ember always missed, and it kept getting struck too.
Red gritted his teeth. Pokémon battling was all about skill. Well, about luck and knowledge too, but let's not delve too far into that just yet. He only needed to catch that Rattata off-guard. Even for a single second would be marvellous.
He thought over Charmander's attacks. Scratch, Ember, Growl, and… what was the other one? Ah yes, Leer. Status moves. Moves that did not do direct damage, if any at all, but could still change the tide of a battle. Charmander's Growl against the Pikachu came back to him.
"Okay, Charmander," Red called. "Use Growl."
At once, Charmander… well, growled, the soundwaves travelling through the air far and wide, connecting with Rattata. It shook its head, ridding itself of the cobwebs the Growl caused.
"Keep using Quick Attack!" Joana ordered.
"Keep it up with the Growling, buddy!" Red shouted.
Rattata continuously rammed itself into Charmander at high speeds, into the stomach, the back, the sides, again and again, as Charmander screamed its lungs out. But each successive hit was doing less, Charmander taking them with ease. Soon, Rattata's legs wobbled as it found itself unable to keep up Quick Attacks, and it was breathing heavily.
Joana smiled a rueful smile. "Lowering Rattata's Attack to nothing. How droll."
But the battle was not over yet. "Charmander, Leer."
Charmander's face darkened and it narrowed its eyes at Rattata, who shivered and took a step back.
"Now, Scratch."
"Hit back with Bite."
Rattata leapt at Charmander, its fearsome teeth seeking to chomp into some succulent Charmander flesh. But Charmander's claws caught Rattata in the face, knocking the rodent back the way it came.
Now. For one last attack. "Ember!"
Like with Rick's Caterpie, Joana's Rattata fell to the fiery technique, its eyes half open and drifting between the worlds of consciousness and unconsciousness.
That was that. Two victories in a row for Red. With the same Pokémon too! He picked up Charmander, who had fallen on its rear, its shoulders rising and falling with its deep, ragged breathing.
"Good job, buddy," Red said softly. "I'm proud of you."
He pulled out Charmander's Poké Ball, clicked the button, and the fire lizard was gone in a flash of red.
But he did not hook it back to his belt, not immediately. He stared at it, and his brow furrowed. He had won these two battles, sure, but another Pokémon would take the weight off Charmander's shoulders; obviously, he was not going travel the entirety of Kanto with only one Pokémon. Even just one other friend would do wonders for their team.
"Er… Red?"
Red started and looked up into the eyes of Joana. "Huh? Sorry? What's up?"
"It's nothing," she said. "You were just spacing out there."
"Anyway," Rick said, waving his net excitedly, "I'm headed back to Pewter, and I think you must be too if you're heading through Viridian Forest. We can go toge –"
A faint rustling cut him off. The rustling grew louder.
And louder.
And LOUDER.
And from some bushes hidden around the base of a large tree popped out a tiny, yellow Pokémon with red cheeks and a lightning tail.
"A Pikachu!" Red exclaimed. "It's like the one I saw in Viridian City."
Since Pokémon of the same species look almost exactly the same (barring age, gender, environmental, etc. differences), Red's statement was rather obvious and not a surprise.
However, this particular Pikachu caught sight of Red and beheld him with a look so dark that Red would have surely been sent to the Legendary Pokémon Arceus with its potency.
"Why is that Pikachu glaring at you, Red?" Joana asked.
"I… I don't know," Red said, shaking his head. Then it dawned on him straight away. "Aw man, is that really the same Pikachu?"
As if to confirm it, the Pikachu stuck its tongue out and waved its rear end at him.
"Great," Red said, grinning, swinging his hat backwards. "I was hoping to meet you again, Pikachu." His grin widened. "You're going to be my first capture."
The Pikachu rolled its eyes and darted back into the bushes. Red, with the quickest of goodbyes to Joana and Rick, disappeared after it, heading even further into the gargantuan Forest of Viridian.
