Today's chapter reviewer, surfingpikachu05: You really liked it? That last chapter was pretty much the tone of some of Fire Red (it's taking a while, I know... it might be a long time until that's updated) and a certain later portion of this story. There'll be more angsty stuff later, don't worry. For now...
VS Caterpie and Metapod
Leaf walked down the Viridian street that would take her out of town with mixed feelings. Here she was, setting off on the journey she'd always wanted... but now she really was leaving, and all she felt was guilt...
"Oof!" While lost in thought, she'd bumped into some old guy drinking a mocha. Making sure it wasn't spilling, he set it down and then...
"You must be a trainer!" Leaf noticed with slight concern that he was almost finished with his (rather large) drink. She tried to sidestep him, but it was no use as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, then, do I have the gadget for you! It's a Teachy TV!" He shoved a heavy, portable TV into her arms, and she fell down from the thing's weight. He seemed completely unfazed, bending over to talk to her. "You press that button there and it helps you with battling stuff! No need to thank me for it!" With that, he grabbed his mocha and set off, singing Aratanaru Chikai off-key as he went. Leaf got up slowly, dragging the Teachy TV up with her.
"You're not welcome..."
Leaf made it to Route Two, made sure that nobody was looking, and promptly dropped the TV Tutor in the grass, accidentally beaning a Caterpie on the head. Noticing that she had a Pokeball, she shrugged and captured the Worm Pokemon without much of a struggle, putting it with her other Pokemon.
After some thought- it had been at least thirty minutes since the fight, they had to be concious by now- she released Bulbasaur and Clefairy. Sure enough, they were awake... but on further examination, weren't quite ready for battle. Viridian had a Pokemon Center, but there was the chance that the Gym Leader from before would be around... and who knew what he would do when he saw her? She would have to press on and hope that they became healthier as she went. Sighing, she recalled them and walked toward the guardhouse that seperated Route Two from Viridian Forest.
---
The first thing Leaf noticed when she entered the guardhouse was the fact that there was no guard; there was a sign that notified her that he would be back in five minutes. The next was a tiny Pokemon that slightly resembled a Pikachu, except that it was smaller and its ears were much larger in comparison to its body than a Pikachu's. It stared up at Leaf curiously, the red circles on its cheeks sparking with electricity...
"Peach!" The Pokemon looked over at the brown-haired girl who had called its name. She scooped it up in her arms, lovingly scolding it. "I told you not to run off, and look what you did! I was worried sick about you... but running off and trying to Thunderbolt people?! I oughta- YEOWCH!" The Pokemon had given its trainer a small shock, slightly charring her blue skirt (which looked exactly like Leaf's pink one, except for the color) and white blouse. When she recovered, she finally noticed Leaf. "Oh, I'm sorry! My name's Lacielle."
Leaf blinked. Trying not to sound rude, she said, "Uh... what kind of-"
"-Name is Lacielle?" The girl in question laughed. "Don't worry, I get that a lot. I don't know what my parents were thinking when they named me... Everyone calls me Lass, though," she said, grinning.
Leaf smiled back. "My name's Leaf. Nice to meet you!" Looking back down at Peach- she had never heard of a Pokemon like that before- she asked, "So... what kind of Pokemon is that?"
"It's a Pichu! I found it in the Viridian Forest a few weeks ago. Not many people even know they exist, it seems... but it's kinda free-spirited, if you know what I mean. It obeys my commands in battle, though, and that's all I can ask for." The (slightly one-sided) conversation soon turned to other things, and a few minutes later, Lass got back on track, continuing, "Anyway... you're going through the forest too, right?" A nod from Leaf. "Well then," she said, just as cheerful as always, "why don't we go together? It can't hurt..." Another nod from Leaf. Lass looked back at something over Leaf's shoulder. She then told the other girl, "You go on ahead. Don't worry- I know this place pretty well..." A giggle. "I think."
Leaf couldn't help feeling slightly overwhelmed by Lass's chattering, but, hey, she seemed to know what she was talking about. "Um... okay..."
Lass, busy looking over Leaf's shoulder, snapped back to attention at the other girl's words. "Right! Hurry up now, ya don't have all day! Go! Go! Go!"
Leaf walked out of the guardhouse and into Viridian Forest. She wasn't two steps away when a loud explosion was heard from inside. Something told her that it was better Lass than herself...
"Uh... hi." For the second time that day, her thoughts were interrupted. This was caused by a boy about her age, wearing a red baseball cap. A breeze rustled his brown hair and red-and-white vest, from which the sleeves of a black T-shirt protruded. He was kneeling on one blue jean-clad knee, searching. On his feet were strange, expensive-looking shoes. His face was smiling at her in a typical lost-new-trainer way (tons of them had asked her for directions before), but his amber eyes were distressed. "Have you seen a Metapod or a Pikachu around here? I've been looking for a while, but all I can find are Weedle and Kakuna."
Leaf looked down at him quizzically. "You can find Metapod everywhere. As for Pikachu, just give it a little time, and one'll turn up..."
Some of the distress traveled to his face. "I have to get them today! It's really, really important!"
"I'll help! It's okay!" Leaf said reassuringly. The boy's smile reappeared, this time traveling up to his eyes. Leaf began, "Well, Metapod is green, right?" This was getting off to a bad start... Quickly, she added, "And it usually sticks to trees. So, all we have to do is search the trees in here," she said, tapping on one nearby for reference, "and we should have a Metapod!" A few minutes of searching, and...
"Finally!" The boy had found a Metapod on a tree, and he quickly sent out a Rattata. "Super Fang!" Rattata sank its sharp teeth into Metapod, and it dropped off the tree, severely injured. The boy tossed a Super Ball at it, and the Cocoon Pokemon didn't even struggle as it was captured. The boy pocketed it. "Now, all we need is the Pikachu." He took out a small, corked vial filled with pink powder. Noticing Leaf behind him, he explained, "It's a Sweet Scent. Just like the attack, except stronger... if this doesn't bring out a Pikachu, nothing will." He uncorked it, and a strong, pleasant smell began to fill the area.
"Whoa!" Leaf was shocked for good reason- what had to be every wild Pokemon in the forest was coming in their direction! She saw a black-and-yellow ear among the sea of bugs, and released Bulbasaur. Thankfully, it was back to full health, and plucked Pikachu out of the crowd with its Vine Whip. The boy seemed more interested in Bulbasaur than Pikachu now, though. He quickly caught Pikachu, then pocketed the Super Ball containing it.
"Thanks for your help... but, where'd you get Oa- that Bulbasaur?"
"I know this sounds kind of crazy, but... it fell off a cliff when I was coming home from the grocery store."
He gasped. "Then that's-" He was interrupted by Lass's reappearance. As she cheerfully kicked bugs left and right to clear a path, she said, "Hey there, Leaf! Looks like you've gotten yourself a boyfriend!" As Leaf blushed, the other girl continued, "Wow, we're almost to the end of the forest! You sure did walk fast! Now, let's get on out of here!" With that, she walked toward the guardhouse at the end of the forest. Leaf turned around to say goodbye to the boy...
He was gone. Realizing that Lass was almost out of the forest, Leaf ran to catch up to her. Another long conversation began, and soon Leaf forgot about the boy entirely...
---
Whew, this chapter's finally finished! I was having a lot of trouble with the first paragraph, and that held the whole thing up. As you might have noticed, I'm now putting the --- both between different places (instead of having people be in one place in one paragraph and then having them magically be somewhere else next one) and between the chapter and the author talk at the end of the chapter.
On Lass, our heroine's new traveling companion, there's a lot more to her than meets the eye... if you don't like her, don't worry, she won't stay forever. Oh, and those who have read the chapter of the other story that I have up (second chapter's almost done, seriously!) will recognize the boy in Viridian Forest.
