Thanks for the 100 favorites! And happy Halloween! Sorry for the long update.
Ash felt his stomach grumble from the appetite that he had worked up from the battle with Team Rocket and fleeing from the Beedrill. Sure, it had only been about two and a half hours since they had breakfast, but he needed nourishment since he was a growing boy, after all. He positioned his back against a nearby tree and sat down onto the foliage-covered ground and his Pokemon went to his side, concerned about the well-being of their master.
"Ash, are you okay, buddy?" asked Erika who got down on her knees and directed her vision to his. He was looking down blankly into the ground, losing focus of what was going on in the surroundings for the time being. The blue-haired girl knew that he was okay, but wondered why he lost stamina all the sudden. It was not that warm out today, so it couldn't be from the weather.
"I didn't sleep well last night, and I'm hungry," pointed out Ash as he rubbed his stomach. Scyther lay down on his stomach and "roosted", as if he was in a nest next to his master. Dratini had her head on Ash's knees and was looking straight up at him.
"Why do we have to go through this forest to get to Pewter City? Why?" asked Ash somewhat rhetorically as he was losing his patience. "I hate getting lost in this natural maze! I feel like I'm gonna go crazy if I have to stare at these trees any more!"
"Well, there are other routes to get to Pewter City, but they are far longer," stated Erika as she put a hand on his shoulder. "We've only been in the forest for about three hours. Why do you feel like you're going to go insane?"
"I guess it's because I'm a bit claustrophobic and with the trees being so close together and partially blocking out the sky...it feels like it's swallowing me up. I'm used to be in open places, like the area around Pallet Town. I don't hate forests, it's just that the vegetation here is too densely distributed and not giving me enough space!" He sighed after finishing that long statement.
"I'm deeply sorry to hear that, Ash, but I'm sure we can reach Pewter City tomorrow evening," said Erika with a tone of confidence. She could relate to Ash's fear of claustrophobia; she hated being at high elevations since she had a fear of falling. She continued speaking: "I mean, we technically can go to Pewter City some other route, but-this is the shortest way from our current location. I'm sorry to tell you that."
"Like what?" asked Ash interested. He couldn't believe that there were no other shorter ways to arrive at the city where he would obtain his first badge.
"What do you mean 'like what'?" asked Erika as she tilted her head a bit confused by his sudden comment.
"What other routes could we take to get to Pewter City? Isn't there a train or something?"
"Well, it would be an ultra tedious procedure, but Viridian Forest is the most straightforward route to Pewter City," started Erika. "I mean, you could go back to Pallet Town and catch a ferry that goes to Viridian. From there, you could go through Diglett's cave, which, coincidentally, leads right to the southern limits outside of Pewter City, but outside of Viridian Forest."
Ash rubbed his head then Dratini's. "I mean, can't we go around the forest, by any means?"questioned Ash.
"No, there are mountains that off limits to the general population; they are used for Pokemon research and weather observation, and anyone caught without any authentication will arrested; but since you are so young, they would probably release you to your parents since you probably didn't know."
"Well, when you give me those options, I guess I have no option to press forward," stated Ash. "But I'm still hungry; what do we have for food?"
"I can go gather some berries for lunch and dinner and tomorrow's breakfast," assured Erika as she stood back up. "I'll be back soon; I know what berries have good source of protein and vitamins to help you get back on your feet again!" Within a second, she nipped out of the view of Ash and no longer was visible.
"I feel weak for feeling dependent," stated Ash as he rubbed Dratini's head lovingly, causing her to close her eyes affectionately. The little dragon did not like the way her trainer was beating himself over something he did not have control over, so she knew she had to reassure him that everything was going to be okay.
"It isn't your fault your foot got cut, Ash," she said as she wagged her teal tail a little. "If you were a burden, she would probably tell you, or have already left."
"Yeah, but I wonder what Erika's goals are," thought Ash a bit worried. "I mean, I feel guilty to a degree that's she using her time to help me when she could be fulfilling her own dreams." He scoffed and turned his head away from the little dragon Pokemon. "I should get a second opinion; besides, I'm sure he will want lunch soon. Come on out, Riolu!"
Ash lazily threw the ball about a yard to the side and the little aura canine made his appearance with a backflip before landing on the ground. "Rio!" he said joyfully.
"Riolu, I wanna hear your opinion on this score; do you think that my faltering is a burden to Erika?" questioned the raven-haired trainer, wanting an honest answer from the little bipedal Pokemon.
"Personally, I think you are impeding her from reaching her goal, whatever it might be," started Riolu as he scratched his chin as he contemplated heavily on the gravity of the matter that was clearing bothering Ash. "I mean, she said she was searching for rare Pokemon; I also believe that her selfless devotion to helping you recover reflects her true intentions. She hasn't complained at all about getting back to searching for Pokemon, so I conclude that if she is not experiencing any lost from helping you, you aren't a burden."
Ash smiled at the Pokemon who had just finished speaking elegantly. "Thank you, thank you both." He brought the two Pokemon to his chest and hugged them, feeling the cool sliminess of Dratini's body and the warm fur of Riolu's chest against him. The little aura Pokemon turned his head and his icy nose brushed against Ash's cheek. "That tickles!" giggled Ash, causing both the Pokemon to wag their tails. Scyther, who was lying next to the three of them, woke up when he caught the aroma of berries. Ash saw that Erika was approaching with a ton of berries cradled in her arms and that there was a cloth bag filled with what presumed to be more. The bag was tied in a knot around her wrist so she could carry it since her arms were already well occupied.
"Look whose back with those good looking berries," teased Ash as Erika looked down and saw the rainbow variation of berries in her arms. She chuckled and placed the berries on several napkins she had in her pocket from the Pokemon center.
"So what type of berries did you find?" asked Ash curiously as he looked at the assorted berries that were lying in front of them.
"A bluk berry," she said as she pointed to what looked like a real blackberry, "a rawst berry, which is very similar to a strawberry, but it cures burns, some Oran and Cheri berries, Chesto berries for curing sleep, Sitrus berries, and Pecha berries for curing poison, since there are bugs that use poison moves. Enjoy!"
Erika, Ash, and all the other Pokemon grabbed a berry and began munching. Ash took a bluk berry and took a bite. hungry and not wanting to wait another minute without food. The violet colored berry entered his mouth and he chewed it, getting all the flavors. It was very sweet but left a dry aftertaste in his throat. He took some water he had in a bottle and drank some, replenishing the moisture in his mouth.
"What do these bluk berries do?" asked Ash. "All the other ones heal status ailments, so what does this berry do?"
"Nothing, but it does stain your mouth black," pointed out Erika. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a compact she used to apply makeup. Ash looked at his mouth and laughed, luckily without spitting any seeds out or gagging on them.
"Feel any better?" she added as she put away the small mirror back into the pocket.
"From what?" asked Ash as he whiped his arm with the sleeve of his shirt and took a sip of water.
"You said you were feeling hungry, so I thought that may have been the reason why you were so angry about being in this hungry, perharps," she suggested as she began to wrap up the berries in the cloth sack. Dratini, Riolu, and Scyther had all eaten an Oran berry; they had eaten some not to long ago, so they felt it was unnecessary to indulge further in the sweet products from the trees.
"Yeah, I'm better now, but I wish we could get to Pewter City as soon as possible," commented Ash as he put the water back into his back pack. He stood up and held on to the crutches for support as he began to walk northbound; he knew it was north because he knew that based on the position of the sun on the time of the day, he could determine which direction north would be.
Erika stood up and Ash withdrew Riolu and Scyther back into their Pokeballs. Ash asked Dratini if she wanted to go inside of her ball and she decided that yes, she would, by shaking her head. Even though this would be only the second time she went into her ball, she wanted a breif nap after fighting Scyther and Team Rocket from earlier.
Short Chapter, but I wanted to get an update: I'll make sure they reach Pewter City next chapter at the end (hopefully!)