Well...

The Pokémon Center was pretty much ruined...

But all the Pokémon were safe...That was good.

We were now on our way through the Viridian Forest.

Misty screamed and leaned on Ash with her eyes closed, frightened.

"What's the matter?"

"Look! Over there!" Misty squealed.

Ash and I turned and spotted a green Pokémon.

"Oh...Cool! It's a Caterpie! It's one of the Bug Pokémon!"

Real ingenious, Ash.

I looked on at the bug with wide eyes.

Perhaps I would get a new companion? It looked friendly.

Misty still had her eyes squinted closed. "Even if it is a Pokémon, bugs are disgusting! And I don't like them! Do something!" She trembled.

"All right. Stand back!"

"Chu?" What was he doing now?

He got out a Pokéball and enlarged it.

"This one's a piece of cake," he stated.

The Caterpie looked at him.

He reversed his red, white, and black cap and yelled, "Pokéball, go!"

"Caterpie! You're mine!" he threw the ball, and it swirled through the air towards it.

I gave a mental sigh; even I knew that you were supposed to weaken a Pokémon before attempting to capture it!

But somehow his dumb luck came through for him, and with a "Raaah!" the Caterpie was sucked into the ball.

After what seemed like five hundred twitches, the ball finally stopped moving.

Ash had managed to catch it.

Sometimes he surprised me.

"Mmmm. Mmmm." Ash started to scare me by making weird noises with a very strange look on his face. Normality came upon him once again (or as normal as he got, anyway), and he shouted, "I did it!"

He ran over to the ball and picked it up. "Hah ha! I did it!" Ash held it up for the world to see. "I got Caterpie!" He ran over and held it up to his face with a pinched excited expression on his face. "I did it all by myself! I caught my first Pokémon!" He started sprinting randomly around. "This is the first step on my way to becoming the number one Pokémon Master in the whole world!"

Ash grabbed Misty by the arm and started dancing around with her laughing while she protested and claimed she was getting sick.

I was just watching them, and I was becoming sick. They spun around.

And around.

And around.

As Ash said something about nothing stopping him, I slumped to the ground, dizzy.

Misty finally got away, "Ash, you're acting like a unh—"

She broke off as Ash held his Pokéball in front of her face, "Look! Inside this ball is the very first Pokémon I ever caught in my whole entire life!"

"Great!" she didn't sound too enthusiastic. "Just keep it away from me, will ya?"

"You're not afraid of an itty bitty Caterpie in a Pokéball, are you?" He shoved it in front of her face.

What do you think? Sheesh.

I almost felt sorry for her.

Misty shook her head in fear, "Bugs get me all bugged out!"

She covered her nose and mouth, "...Even when they're in a Pokéball..." She exploded, "Just keep it away!" Misty turned around haughtily.

Ash couldn't seem to understand her, "I like bugs, even if they're not in Pokéballs."

Me too! What was wrong with little harmless bugs?

Ash looked down, contented. "It must be great for Caterpie inside the Pokéball, all cute and comfortable inside there." He nuzzled it. "I love my new little Pokémon."

"I guess it takes a worm to love a worm," Misty sneered.

"Very funny," Ash replied dryly.

I was still lying on the ground, my eyes spinning, dazed.

Ash finally noticed me, "Pikachu!"

I snapped out of it, "Pi. Chu!" I stood up.

Ash squatted next to me, holding out the ball. "We've got a new friend!"

I sniffed it. I was satisfied. "Pika!" I showed my joy by standing up on one leg and holding one of my arms up.

"Oh, Pikachu! I'm glad you like it!" He stood, "Aaand, from now on we'll catch a whole bunch of new friends!" Ash looked at the ball. "Caterpie, you're stickin' with us."

"Unh!" Misty turned her head, and started shaking. "Does...that...mean...?"

"Caterpie, come out! Ha!"

Misty started running away squealing.

Caterpie came out in a beam of red light.

"Err?"

Misty peeked out from behind a tree.

Uh oh.

Caterpie spotted her.

"There's nothing to be scared of." Ash put down his arm in front of his new Pokémon. "Come on, climb up on my shoulder."

The Caterpie gave an affirmative: "Err-uh."

It started to climb but saw Misty again. "Err?" It reared into the air, "Cat-ter!" It raced over to Misty.

Ash and I looked on in confusion, and Misty in horror.

"Hey, Caterpie come back!" Ash ordered after it.

That poor thing was gonna have its heart broken.

Misty screamed.

Caterpie purred and rubbed its head against Misty's leg.

"Hey, Misty. Caterpie really likes you." Ash and I had moved closer. "Isn't that cute?"

Misty was on the ground, "Get this disgusting bug away from me!"

Hey! That's not fair.

He's not disgusting, he just wants attention.

I gave an inward sigh.

Caterpie would have to learn a hard life lesson.

"Please don't— ...come any closer to me!" Misty scrambled away.

"What? You think Caterpie's disgusting?" Ash sounded surprised.

Caterpie looked dejected.

It's okay lil' fellow!

I went over to him and tapped my paw on his second section/neck in comfort, "Pika pika." She'll get over it. Don't worry.

It didn't seem to believe me.

"I know!" Misty picked me up. "You be friends with that creepy bug, and I'll be friends with Pikachu."

"Pikachu only likes me," Ash stated proudly, "—and zaps anyone who tries to—" He cut off. "Huh?"

Misty might be mean to the poor little bug, but I liked the way she was rubbing my head. "Pika...Chu..." Ah, paradise.

"Err...Pikachu...," Ash started to threaten.

Caterpie appeared to have its feelings hurt, and its eyes welled up with tears.

"It's so gross!" Misty tilted her head back, "Ash! Put that slimy thing back in the Pokéball! Bugs are one of the three most disgusting things in the world!"

Ash stepped forward, "Aside from you, what are the other disgusting things?"

"Very funny. Carrots! Peppers!" Misty got a random mallet from somewhere, "...And bugs!" Her face got bigger, "Everybody has something they don't like, and I don't like bugs!"

"Yeah?" Ash peeled down his bottom eyelids. "Well, I like carrots and peppers and bugs. What I don't like is the way you're hurting Caterpie's feelings with your silly fear of bugs!"

Misty looked away stubbornly, and I watched Ash curiously as he got to one knee. "I don't think you're disgusting at all, Caterpie." He held down his arm again. "Come on, climb up on my shoulder."

"Er?" it looked at me.

"Chu, chu." I nodded in encouragement.

"You're not gonna scare Misty anymore."

Caterpie climbed up, making little noises. It looked back at Misty and me.

"What do you mean, he won't scare me?"

"We'll go on without her," Ash stated.

Wait for me!

"Chu!" I cried, hopping out of Misty's lap to follow my trainer.

"Oh yeah? I'll show you!"

"Pi?"

We can't just leave her...

I pointed behind us. "Pika pi."

"What's the problem, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika-chu!" I pointed again.

"Huh?" Misty was behind us, but she saw Ash looking and hid behind a tree.

"What are you following us for?" Ash demanded.

"My-my bike! I'm holding you responsible for my bike!" she reached for an excuse.

"When are you gonna get over that dumb old bike?"

"For your information, Mr. Pokémon Master, you're the dumb one because if you hadn't destroyed it in the first place, I could have ridden out of here by now!" Misty yelled at him.

Ash was as aggravated as she was, "I told you I'd make good on your bike one day! And if I'm so dumb, how come you're still following me?"

"I'm not following you. This just happens to be the fastest way through the woods!"

"Fine. Do whatever you want." Ash began walking away. I stood still for a moment.

"That's exactly what I'm doing!"

"Pi? Pi?" I wasn't sure what to do.

Why must they fight?

"Cha," I was confused and sad about what exactly to do.

I knew I had an obligation to my trainer, so I reluctantly followed him.