Chapter 3: A Trainer's Catch
Route 4,
Kalos,
3 AFC,
It had been an hour after she had finally begun her journey alone throughout the Kalos region and Bonnie was well on her way from the exit of Lumiose City, her home where she had left to make her family proud.
The young girl was full of energy after her emotional departure from her home, walking along the dirt route surrounded by lush forests, on her way to Santalune City for her first Gym Battle. She was with her backpack slumped to her back, filled with the inventory needed for her upcoming battles and catches.
Her Pokemon, Dedenne was curled up and sleeping well on top of her fedora, snoring silently like a Snubull after a well-eaten meal. Ever since it made itself at home in Bonnie old satchel, he seemed to have developed a distaste for being kept in a Poke Ball much like his senior figure Pikachu. Of course, Bonnie never minded, for Pokemon can develop many different tastes for how they wish to be kept or trained, so in the case of Dedenne and Pikachu, out of a Poke Ball is considered a lifestyle.
The pair made their way through the dense forest with the day still bright.
"Hrrrghh…" However, her first time alone was not without its complications. She was already halfway through the route to the next city, where she hoped to find a Pokemon Centre for her to catch her breath. Her legs were already in a sorry state; the muscles now losing hold as she started to slow down, desiring a good rest.
Without anyone else to grumble to for a stop, she found no problem resting under a tree, lying down against the bark while taking in breaths. Dedenne, however, was still asleep on top of her hat. Even long after he was kept under Bonnie's care, his sleepy habits remained. Hopefully, he would not end up sleeping on the job at the wrong time like the old days.
"I know walking all the way to Santalune City is going to be a real tiring experience, but this… is ridiculous!" She groaned in exhaustion, massaging her legs to relieve her stressed out limbs. "At least I made it halfway through the route."
"Dede Dene…" Dedenne drowsily squeaked, but Bonnie knew that by how he sounded, it was most likely a joke at her.
"Hmph. I know I've stopped like several times in the city alone, Dedenne." She crossed her arms. "You don't have to rub it in like that."
"Dene." The little Pokemon woke up from his slumber and crawled back down to his Trainer's lap.
"How would you like it when I get you down on your feet to the ground and walk all the way?"
"Dene." Despite Bonnie's attempt to make a point, Dedenne chirped joyfully. Bonnie, now wanting to argue, just rested her head down in defeat.
"Of course, you'd be climbing up a tree so I wouldn't catch you." Bonnie then grabbed for Dedenne and looked at him with a smile, sighing at her predicament. "Maybe I'm not really used to walking out on my own yet. Ash and Serena certainly had no problem walking along, and even Clemont could pull his overgrown bag of junk and make an entire route with no problem. Though he was always a bad runner when we needed to sprint." She giggled at her brother's weakness for long distance runs.
Finally taking yet another break before continuing her trek to Santalune City, Bonnie could lean her head against the tree, breathing in deeply. Dedenne curled up into a ball and slept off again on Bonnie's lap, peacefully snoring away.
While the Trainer breathed in and out, she closed her eyes and let her mind take over as she drifted into a small nap.
In her dreams, she was seen walking into a large stadium, showered by cheers of the crowd and confetti fluttering down on her and Dedenne. She waved back in triumph as she walked to the battlefield to meet her final opponent; her one final step into beating the Kalos League and fulfilling her goals.
As she took her place on one end of the field, she looked to her opposite side, watching as a figure emerged from out of the shadows. Once it was brought to the light, there she saw that her final opponent was none other than Ash Ketchum, with his Pikachu on his shoulder. The two role models smiled proudly at the eager Trainer, with Ash pulling out a Poke Ball from his pocket.
Bonnie responded by doing the same to deploy her Pokemon to battle. The two Trainers stared at each other with fiery eyes as they prepared to make the biggest battle in their times as Trainers.
With one strong throw, Bonnie tossed her Poke Ball out for battle. Ash did the same and launched his Poke Ball out to his front.
Bonnie was about to begin her battle, when suddenly…
"Huh?" Ash's Poke Ball, instead of hitting the ground, was getting closer and closer to her. It all happened in slow-motion as the Poke Ball was about to reach even nearer to her. Bonnie was not able to catch the ball fast enough but tried to dodge anyway. However, it was too late. The ball was just about to hit her face and…
THUMP!
"OW!" Bonnie leapt up from the massive force thrown at her, opening her eyes from her dream and crashed back down on the ground. Dedenne, who had been sleeping the whole time, was still snoozing even as Bonnie crept up from the hit to the face.
Bonnie, now well aroused from her slumber, rubbed her face frustratingly, trying to release herself from her distress of having her face slammed. While doing so, she had her eyes closed again as her hand rubbed up and down her forehead. Thus, the girl was quick to blame one little suspect, unaware that the rodent was still asleep on her lap.
"Okay?!" she screamed angrily. "What's the big idea, Dedenne?! I let you sleep on my lap for a few minutes and you have to-?! Huh?" Once she opened her eyes, all she could see of her little partner was that she was sound asleep, surprisingly undisturbed by Bonnie's outburst.
It was then that Bonnie remembered Dedenne's own sleeping habits. He would not even move an inch once he was asleep, unless he was awoken by anyone or when food was being smelled at. Being mischievous and going around throwing stuff at unsuspected victims was just not Dedenne's style.
"Okay…" Bonnie was now from utterly frustrated to downright confused. "If you didn't hit me with… whatever was crashed on my head, then what-?"
THUD!
"Drgh!" From out of nowhere, another hit to her head. By now, Bonnie saw that, on the floor, she could see what looked like a couple of tiny berry seeds on the ground. One of the seeds shook around slightly before stopping altogether. The shaking was enough for Bonnie to recognize that the very objects that hit her were those little seeds. "Where in the world?"
Bonnie tried looking up at the trees to see if there were any Pokemon pulling a prank on her. Then, again, Bonnie was hit to the cheek by another seed. After being slightly blind-sided, she picked up to where the seed came from. The downward angle of the drop indicated to her that it definitely came from the trees above her.
She raised her head even more and there, up on the branches, she found the culprit to her troubles.
Perched up on a branch, she saw a brown bird with yellowish-white feathers stuck to its underbelly, followed by a black scythe-shaped patch around each of its eyes.
Bonnie immediately recognized what type of Pokemon the rascal happened to be. A very common sight in Kalos as there was never a day that went by for Bonnie without catching these Pokemon fluttering high in the sky.
"A Pidgey!" Despite the Pokemon's mischief, Bonnie's face brightened up at the sight of the bird Pokemon. She then buried through her pocket and pulled out the black PokeDex she was given to by Professor Sycamore not too long ago.
With the press of a button, she scanned the Pokemon, pointing it at Pidgey. In an instant, the device then opened up, split in two with a holographic screen in the middle which featured a picture of the Pokemon. The PokeDex then read out the details about it with a robotic female voice.
"Pidgey. The Tiny Bird Pokemon. A common sight in almost every region in the world. It flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand."
The device closed back and turned off. Bonnie returned the PokeDex in her pocket and looked up upon the Pidgey in her sights. The Pokemon flapped its wings while staring at Bonnie with a look that could frighten a Scatterbug. Bonnie obviously knew that the Pidgey was intimidating her and it meant business should Bonnie come any closer, willing to defend its territory. Then again, if the PokeDex had given her any hints, the Pidgey would just fly away and leave them alone.
However, Bonnie was not going to let it go. She was going to capture it! Turning her hat around as a sign of determination, she grinned.
"Alright, Pidgey." She clenched her fists for that extra boost of power. "Get ready to become the first catch of Bonnie's grand party of victory! Dedenne!" She then called her Pokemon to arms. "Go get 'em!"
She turned around to look at Dedenne. Unfortunately, to her dismay. Dedenne was still fast asleep on the ground where she once was.
"Dedenne!" She called for Dedenne again, and yet still no response. Fed up, Bonnie walked towards him with a pout of her cheeks. She then bent down all the way to Dedenne's level, shaking him up with her hands.
"Hey. Wake up!" Once again, Bonnie bawled. "We've got our first Pokemon to catch." Desperately trying to wake Dedenne up, she even nuzzled him with her cheeks in the hopes that his electricity would shock her up so he could feel the surge as well.
BBZZZTTT!
"YEEOOWWW!" Shocked as planned, Bonnie ended up becoming burnt with soot all over her and her hair puffed up like a really messy afro. Shaking herself up, Bonnie looked to her Dedenne, wondering if the shock woke him up.
She saw Dedenne… still snoozing.
"Oh! Come on!" She moaned. She could not believe the luck she was having. Of all the times to be getting the chance to catch her very first Pokemon, her own Starter was sleeping off, just as she feared a little while earlier.
THUD!
And again, another seed spat at her. Bonnie could turn furiously and see the naughty little bird grinning at her.
Nevertheless, Bonnie would not let that get in the way. This was her one chance to catch her first Pokemon. Even if it was a common Pidgey, she persisted, remembering that Ash, for each region he had travelled in before, caught a Flying-Type to add to his team, and they all evolved into powerful soaring machines.
Determination burning up inside, Bonnie fished for one of the five Poke Balls she had, picking up one and enlarged it.
"Okay, Pidgey. Battle or no battle. You'll be mine for the taking!" She flashed out her Poke Ball, aiming right for the Pidgey. The bird stared intensely at the Trainer, hostilities rising. The nerve of this mere human thinking it could catch it without a fight.
Bonnie, although she did not directly understand the Pokemon's exact thoughts, would take the chance, adjusting her fedora again before winding up for the shot.
Finally, using up all her energy, she swung her arm right out, flinging the Poke Ball right towards the Pidgey's direction.
"Poke Ball, GO!" The sphere spun right out of Bonnie's grasp and flew towards the wild Pokemon.
BASH!
Then, it collided with the Pokemon, slightly knocking its head, and opened up, zapping the bird with a red energy beam before sucking it into the ball. The sphere then landed on the ground.
Bonnie now had to wait. She stared directly into the ball as it shook, signalling the caught Pidgey's defiance in resisting its capture. At the same time, the middle button glowed red as it tipped to the side for a while.
Then, just when Bonnie thought it was all over in her favour, the ball suddenly burst back open, releasing the bird Pokemon in a white bolt of light. The light faded and Pidgey's physical form was restored. Free from its near capture, the bird spread its wings out and flew back to the safety of the trees.
"Oh man!" Bonnie was overcome by disappointment and failure all at once. Her first attempt of her first catch was another defeat. Then, Bonnie could have sworn she heard her PokeDex activating on its own.
"To capture a Pokemon, it is widely recommended to weaken it down to a certain point of near incapacity."
"Yeah, that would have been real nice…" She lowered her head in defeat, and then stared at a certain mouse who could have been more of a help to catching that Pidgey. "If somebody wasn't such a slacker…"
Dedenne was still sleeping soundly against a tree. As much as Bonnie would want to try again to wake him up, however, she had other concerns right about now.
"Krow! Krow! Krow!" Bonnie gritted her teeth at the sound of laughter coming from the Pidgey up above. Was this Pidgey being territorial, or was it just fooling around?
"There has to be another way to catch that darn Pidgey." She put her mind to it and walked around to come up with a brilliant idea to catch the Pokemon without Dedenne's help for now.
Then, when she looked at the backpack she had left down next to the tree where Dedenne was sleeping at, something popped in her head.
"That's it!" She then hurried to her bag and picked out a can of Pokemon food meant for Bonnie and then, struggled to pull out a large sheet of a blanket. A colourful one at that. Filled with cute Pokemon on it, Bonnie was feeling a little hesitant about having it being used to trap that Pidgey.
"I guess this will have to do." Eventually, she gave in and folded it up so it could be picked up. She sure was hell-bent on catching that Pokemon enough to sacrifice her pretty blanket. Regardless, she also collected enough Pokemon food from the can and snuck up to the tree Pidgey was on. She could see that the bird Pokemon was cleaning its wing from its lucky escape. Grinning, she quickly pinched the food into small bits and crumbs and sprinkled it below the tree. Hurrying back behind her tree, she peeked over, waiting for the Pidgey to take the bait.
After a few minutes of stalking, Bonnie's patience had paid off. After finishing its cleaning, Pidgey caught sight of something below on the ground. It then flapped its wings and landed down there and began pecking the ground. The bird had taken the bait. And now, it was time for the trap to be sprung.
Moving closer while the Pidgey was feasting on the minute crumbs, Bonnie snuck up from behind the tree and tip-toed towards the unsuspecting Pokemon, creeping up to it.
"That's it… Easy…" Bonnie made sure that her speed was extra slow, while also ensuring that her steps went unheard.
Then, once in range, she stopped and prepared to open up her blanket and pounce right at it. Whispering to herself, she counted down…
"One…"
"Two…"
"GOTCHA!" Without warning she leapt on top of it, with her blanket being wide open. She threw herself down and trapped the bird in the large sheet. The Pidgey could not fly away from the huge blanket as Bonnie quickly wrapped him up with her hands.
Bonnie struggled as the Pidgey attempted to peck its way out of the blanket, but did not budge. Her hold was like a real Vice Grip.
"Now, I gotta… Ech! Hold on to it… and then tire it out…!"
But then, out of the blue, Bonnie felt herself being lighter than normal. The next thing she knew it, she was floating up in the air, with the blanket being pushed right up with her. Underneath it, a whirlwind of dirt and sand spun right up, elevating the poor girl all the way up in the air.
"WHHOOAAA!"
Eventually, the wind died down and the Trainer landed on her behind. Back on the rocky ground, Bonnie rubbed the pain sustained from the fall while her blanket draped right above her. Attempt number two was yet another failure.
Coughing up the dust she had accidentally swallowed from the wind, she then hastily removed herself from the blanket. Thankfully, the blanket was not at all torn or punctured with holes or scratch marks, but there was dirt and sand stuck to the otherwise comfy sheet.
"Great, now I have to take this to wash." Then, Bonnie heard her PokeDex
"Caution is advised. If a Pidgey is disturbed, it can ferociously strike back with its wings and its talons." hands to her hips, Bonnie sighed with sass, not content with her second failure.
"Now you tell me…" She mocked the PokeDex as she picked up and folded and rolled up the blanket, putting it back into her bag. She was about to go get the Pokemon food she used as bait.
"Huh?" However, the food seemed to have picked up a rather gluttonous guest. There, Bonnie walked over to the can and found the orange ball of fur that was munching up the food like a Munchlax in a picnic. She took the furball away and saw that it was none other than her own Dedenne, wide awake and definitely hungry.
"Dene!" He happily called to its Trainer. But Bonnie was far from happy.
"Errgh! I'm such an idiot. I should've used the food to wake up Dedenne instead of wasting it on that Pidgey." She groaned, having just realized her mistake.
Bonnie took her time to calm down, breathing in and out while letting the stress flow away from her body. After being calmed, she then sighed, wondering if she'll ever catch a Pokemon at this rate.
Then again, she looked at her Dedenne, who burped from its feast, and immediately, the frown on her face turned upside-down.
"Alright. Alright, Bonnie. Relax." Bonnie mentally assured to herself. "If that bird ever shows up to make my day, Dedenne is now wide awake and we'll be ready for it!"
She bent down and picked up Dedenne again, bringing him up to her face.
"Sorry about the rude wake-up call, Dedenne." She sheepishly giggled. "I was just so close to catching a Pidgey."
"Dedenne…" The mouse Pokemon let out a cry of apology, regretting its decision to sleep off. Bonnie just laughed it out.
"Hey, don't blame yourself. Now that you're awake, I would like you to help me out and battle it! What do you say?" She raised Dedenne up to her fedora and the Pokemon scurried up and stood up with his hand up and ready to go.
"Dedenne!" With both friends now fired up and ready, Bonnie picked up her bag and resumed her hunt. Thought she could always go on elsewhere to find another Pidgey, she felt this one could be worth the catch. It was a feisty little Pidgey, no doubt, but if Bonnie could successfully make it her own, then that Pidgey's strength would be her own advantage.
If all else fails, then she'll have to go on out without it. Perhaps more exciting and less hostile Pokemon could turn up somehow…
Bonnie made her move, away from the path of the route and proceeded to enter the thick wild grass grown almost up to her waist.
Thank goodness she was taller now. Going through the tall grass back in the old days was like walking through a miniature forest, where it would be a little scarier should any Pokemon pop out. Now, she was a full-fledged Trainer where the surprise of a Pokemon jumping out to fight her was to be an exciting moment, not to mention an opportunity to add one to her team.
As she rummaged through the grass, she slowly looked around, hoping to find that annoying little Pidgey. She was certain that the direction she was going was the same as where Pidgey would have went. Her eyes scanned the tall grass and the high branches, just looking out for the bird Pokemon, or perhaps any other Pokemon that might prove to be useful.
Minutes have passed, but no sign of the Pidgey or other Pokemon. Just Bonnie and Dedenne having their hands full pushing away the thick blades of grass as Bonnie walked on.
Then, finally, Bonnie stopped to hear something, hushing Dedenne just in case. Listening in closely, she could hear the faint sounds of sharp tapping on the ground. Could it be…?
"Found you, you little rascal…" Bonnie whispered to herself.
"Dene…" added Dedenne. The girl then snuck up even slower, bending down while following the sounds of the tapping. As she honed in on the sounds, they got clearer and clearer. Bonnie's heart was beating faster from the suspense of the catch.
Once she got real close, a head popped up. It was just a silhouette, but Bonnie could barely see the unmistakable pointy tip at the front of its mouth that was a beak.
"And here's our shot." Bonnie got ready to rise from the grass and strike the Pokemon. This time, she would have Dedenne settle things the proper way.
At her signal, Bonnie soon stood up with the Pidgey on her sights. And then, the time was right…
Bonnie struck!
"Dedenne! Use Thundershock!"
"Dede… NNEEEE!" The mouse jumped up from Bonnie's hat and fired its bolt of electricity towards its target. The electric strike bolted within the speed of light and successfully hit its mark.
"RRREEAARRR!"
Just when Bonnie was about to celebrate though, she was suddenly stunned to hear the unfamiliar caw from the Pidgey. At least it was a Pidgey, right…?
Then, after the creature was shocked, Bonnie ducked back down, trying to get a better view of the Pidgey she shot. She closed the distance and finally caught of the Pokemon. The only problem was…
It wasn't a Pidgey… Not even close…
"Uh-oh…"
A small glimmer shone from the sharp eyes of this new Pokemon, glaring right towards Bonnie and Dedenne with a powerful look of anger and intent to kill.
"Dene…?" Dedenne shook its Trainer, shaken from the chilly look.
"Uh… Dedenne…" Bonnie called. "I… think we should…"
"KRAWWW!" From out of the grass, a wild bird Pokemon with an even sharper beak and rougher feathers, cawed with rage, setting its sights on the Pokemon Trainer and Dedenne who were foolish enough to ruin its day.
"RUN!" Panicked by the horrifying call of a lone Spearow, Bonnie and Dedenne made their escape, running for their lives as the Spearow kept on flapping and cawing.
The worst thing was that when there is one Spearow, then not far away, a whole flock would not be too far away.
And that's what happened. Soon, the chase was joined by tens of Spearow, darting themselves up from the grass or burst from the trees; all converging as one flock heading right for Bonnie and Dedenne.
The girl ran for dear life as she rushed through the wild grass. Dedenne held on to her shoulder for fear that being on her hat would send him to become a nice little snack for the angry Pokemon behind them.
"Yikes! This is so not… how I planned… to catch a Pokemon!"
After a few dreadful minutes, all was calm again. The Spearow had already ascended far into the sky. Down on the ground, a very large tree became the safety bunker for a couple of troublemakers of the forest.
"Are… they gone?" Bonnie, panting hard from all of that running, peaked out of the hole of the tree trunk in which she managed to jump in to avoid detection.
"Dede." Dedenne too came from under his Trainer's hat, peeping out to look around as well.
They both looked all over the area to spot for any remaining dangers. The two of them sighed in utter relief, seeing no sign of the Spearow anywhere.
"Good. They're gone."
BASH!
"WAAAHH!" But her entry into her safe spot was in fact a home invasion. A very grumpy Zigzagoon gave the girl a nasty Headbutt at her, ejecting the girl out of the hole.
Bonnie made a rough landing on the ground, apparently feeling a little more pain that originally felt during her fall from Pidgey's Gust. She then turned around to look at the hole to find the Zigzagoon barking at her before running back into its home.
Sighing once again, Bonnie and Dedenne were feeling really unlucky with their trek. And it was only Route 4 so far.
"This is going to be a really long day…" complained Bonnie. After being gusted at by a Pidgey and being chased around by an angry mob of Spearow, it had been a really disappointing day, minus the exit from Lumiose City of course.
"Dene!" Bonnie looked up with her eyes to catch Dedenne looking down on her from her fedora. He gave her the sweet smile that always cheered Bonnie up.
Smiling with new hope, Bonnie began to understand what Dedenne was trying to say.
"You're right, Dedenne." said Bonnie. "There's no point giving up now."
"Dedenne!" The Pokemon then came down as Bonnie nuzzled at him again.
BZZZZTTTT!
"YYIIIKKKEESSS!" The shock from Dedenne's antenna whiskers gave Bonnie yet another electrifying sensation as she then was covered in soot again.
"Erghh… I really gotta watch out for your whiskers…"
"Denenene…" The mouse snickered at his own antics. Shaking again, Bonnie put Dedenne back on her fedora, and the two were finally off to resume their journey. Who needed a Pidgey anyway? There was a whole world full of more Pokemon to catch and train. Why should a mere Pidgey get in her way?
"Come on. Let's get out of this place." Bonnie started off her trek with a confident stride, raising her feet high and mighty.
But then…
"Uhhh… if we can find the path again…"
In the midst of the chaos, the poor Trainer had gotten herself lost within the forest.
She was now deep within a thick forest with very little direction on how to leave. Bonnie was easily getting frustrated after spending what felt like an hour wandering around the forest.
If only the Town Map she had would allow her to zoom in on her location, but unfortunately, there was no such feature. All it could read was that she was on Route 4.
"Great." groaned Bonnie. "First I get bullied by a Pidgey, then we both get chased by a flock of carnivorous Spearow. And then, I had my butt kicked by a Zigzagoon. What's next, being bitten in the feet by scurrying Rattata? Or being robbed by a Pancham or two? Why can't I just meet up with something as cute as a Bidoof? Or a Shinx like my brother did?"
Complaint after complaint, the girl and her Pokemon continued to navigate through the forest with little luck. Dedenne too had grown tired of the lack of progress. Picking up from his feet, he jumped off Bonnie's hat and proceeded to run up a tree.
"Dedenne?!" Bonnie cried. "Where are you-?" Then, she remembered yet another forgotten fact. "Ohhh! I can't believe I forgot! You can climb up the trees and find a way out of here!"
"Dene!" The Pokemon confirmed from a branch, earning cheers from the lost girl.
"Woohoo! We're finally getting out of… Wait a minute." Despite an early jump for joy, Bonnie then turned to stare inquisitively at Dedenne. "Why didn't you just do that earlier?"
"De!" The Pokemon, not willing to make excuses, hurried up to the top of the tree, leaving behind a baffled Bonnie.
"That Dedenne. He can be such a Slaking sometimes." The Trainer too refused to complain any longer and stood against the tree while waiting for Dedenne to locate a way out of the forest.
Dedenne climbed up the tree, leaping from branch to branch while reaching for the top. As he made it to the top of the tree, he could get a clear view of the whole forest. He looked all around to find the same dirt path they were at before they got lost.
Just then, when he looked to the right, Dedenne found something else. Up in the air, he could see four black dots in the sky, flying around like a swarm of Beedrill, constantly zooming in all directions in dizzying speeds.
Then, the dots then became bigger and they took form as winged creatures, with a lone flyer being chased by three others behind it. Within a much clearer line of sight, Dedenne managed to identify the Pokemon flying above.
Being on the ground, however, Bonnie could only see what happened through the opening of the trees above her. In a blink of an eye, she saw a swift silhouette swiping past her sight, followed by the three other fast movers chasing it down.
"What was that?!" She wished she could find out what exactly was going on, but Dedenne was able to see the whole spectacle unfold.
From Dedenne's point of view, a sort of dogfight was happening between three small sparrow-like Fletchling and a lone Pidgey. The smaller birds made spinning barrel rolls and sped towards the Pidgey like flying drills. The Pidgey boosted itself up just in time to dodge the Drill Pecks as the darting Fletchling zoomed right under it.
The trio of birds stopped spinning, turned around to face Pidgey, and floated in the air to launch another attack at it.
Pidgey then bobbed its head forward and instead of a common attack, puckered its beak and spat out tiny pellets at the three birds, shooting them out like a machine gun with rapid speed.
The Fletchling successfully manoeuvred over and through all of the seeds, performing flying somersaults to avoid being pelleted.
The Pidgey fired its last seed before retreating back to refill some ammo, aiming to swoop down below and disappear into the trees. But it wouldn't get the chance to even find another berry. The Fletchling pursued the Pidgey down into the forest and burst through the leaves.
"Whoa!" Soon, Bonnie was finally able to witness the debacle happening before her very eyes. Unfortunately, it was both a shocking and gloomy moment as Pidgey crashed to the ground, visibly in pain.
The bird laid down on the ground, shaking in agony but still managed to get back up to its feet. It still stumbled forward, earning much from Bonnie who was watching the poor Pokemon.
"Oh no…" Hands covering her mouth, Bonnie could not even utter a word.
Suddenly, the tree shook wildly again, with three shadowy figures crashing down on the party. Bonnie then saw the figures revealing themselves as three Fletchling.
The looks on their faces gave the girl a little bit of the chills. Furrowed eyes and somewhat a smirk on each of their beaks, they stared down on the battered Pidgey, waiting to do harm.
Then, they struck! Pidgey braced itself for impact, shielding its face with its wings. However, the Fletchling flying towards it just zoomed past it without even doing as much as a scratch.
When Pidgey opened its eyes, it could feel that there was no pain at all. Unfortunately, the breeze of wind it just felt meant a more terrible outcome. It heard the tweeting of those menacing Fletchling coming from behind it and when it turned its head around, its fears were confirmed.
It was too late to do anything as Pidgey hopped helplessly to a hole on a tree, bent on fighting those trespassing rats for birds to the end. Just as it was reaching the base of the tree, the three birds raced from out of the hole and flew off, leaving a baffled Pidgey behind.
They stopped halfway and turned around, revealing the motives behind their little raid on the Pokemon. In their beaks, each carried a stick with purple or red berries hanging from the branches. They then hummed with the berries in their mouths, seemingly taunting the Pidgey.
Pidgey was visibly enraged by the outcome and sought to attack again. Cawing madly, it then tried to fly towards them.
From the angry expressions displayed by the bigger bird, Bonnie could actually tell what was going on.
"Those Fletchling…" she quietly mused before raising her voice in disbelief. "They're thieves! Stealing berries from that Pidgey's home! That's so low!"
Bonnie's yells went unheard as the Pidgey took flight and flashed in a bright white light; a Quick Attack to be precise. However, even a lightning-fast rush could not stop the Fletchling from separating from their formation and just missed the Pidgey when it was right at them.
The speeding bird just flew right passed them. Its eyes then widened, stunned by how it was unable to even use Quick Attack to deal some damage to the conniving Fletchling. Its troubles, however, were about to get worse.
It looked out at front and saw that it was heading right for a tree. Pidgey tried to stop, desperately trying to drag its body back to slow itself down before it could pummel into the wood.
Sadly, the bird was just too fast. Try as it might, there was just no stopping it from ending up being collided into the hard bark, face first.
"Oohhh…" Bonnie squirmed as hard as she could, almost feeling the powerful pain that Pidgey sustained from the crash. Pity overcame her as she placed a hand over her chest, worried over the Pidgey.
The bird landed painfully on the ground. After a while, Bonnie watched and wondered if the Pidgey would rise up from its fall. Alas, there was no response. Pidgey had fainted.
Bonnie then heard the screeching calls of the annoying gangsters from above her. Looking up, she could see the birds just cackling away at the Pidgey's misfortune. She really felt like teaching those bullies a lesson, fists balled and teeth gritted.
Even if she did do something, the Fletchling had decided that it was time to bolt. With their stolen loot, the punks made one last set of insulting chirps at their downed foe before fluttering off and above the trees.
At once, the thieves were gone. Nowhere to be found and taking Pidgey's rightful food with them.
"Oh man…" Bonnie could only stare at the sky, suddenly feeling sorry for the Pidgey who was slumped to the ground, down for the count. She then walked towards the downed Pokemon and picked it up, cradling it. She looked down at the weakened state of the Pidgey with its eyes closed and almost little energy to even wake up. "Oh no, Pidgey."
Then, its eyes did open after a small struggle. It looked up to find the face of the Pokemon Trainer who had been disturbing its peace. It then spurted up from Bonnie's hold, flying above her before delivering a painful Peck to Bonnie's head.
"OOWWW!" Bonnie screamed in pain as the Pidgey darted away from her and sped straight into the hole it called home, not willing to come out afterwards.
Bonnie, on the other hand, rubbed her head from the strike she had taken.
"Man… that Pidgey sure has an attitude." When she got up, she then heard the soft tapping sounds of her Pokemon, Dedenne's footsteps heading for her. The little mouse ran up to Bonnie and decided to tell her the things he saw up in the air.
All the while, Dedenne was explaining to Bonnie through sign language, imitating the whole dogfight he had witnessed.
Bonnie watched closely as she saw Dedenne go through with his acting. As Dedenne carried on with his 'conversation', he made imitations of the Pokemon he saw and even made movements mimicking the action scenes.
First, he bent his body down, which was not much considering his bloated stomach. Once it started moving his arms around like wings, however, Bonnie could easily make out a bird with that form.
Then, when Dedenne used that pose and flew around making angry noises, his Trainer instantly knew that the Pokemon was referring to the hectic fight that was happening right in front of her.
Next, Dedenne then reached for a berry somewhere nearby and then ate the whole thing in his mouth. He then looked towards a safe spot elsewhere and spat the seed out. All while still doing the bird pose. After that, he was done, looking at Bonnie as normal.
Bonnie put the pieces of the puzzle together, adding the Pidgey's unfortunate battle with the spitting of the seeds. Immediately as she linked the two together, that was when she knew what was going on.
"A Pidgey spitting seeds, huh?"
"Dene." The Pokemon nodded, cheering for his Trainer for getting the correct answer. Bonnie grinned at the confirmation of Dedenne's answer, added with the thought of a certain Pidgey in her mind.
"That could only mean one thing. That's the same Pidgey that attacked me earlier." Bonnie's head was now filled with the memories of her uneasy encounter with the Pokemon earlier. Admittedly, the Trainer was now feeling urge of catching the Pokemon again, now that she had the rascal in her sights.
However, after everything that had happened in front of her very eyes, she knew that there was something a little more to this Pidgey's attitude than it seemed. She soon developed a new outlook on the situation, and a changed heart.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we should help that Pidgey." Dedenne looked up at his Trainer, confused by her new resolve.
"Ne?"
"Those Fletchling just took those berries from it like a bunch of thieves. The least we can do is help." It would sound like interfering with nature, but after what she did to ruin Pidgey's day, Bonnie felt like she could make it up for it. As a Trainer, she believed that it was her right to help out a Pokemon in distress, even if it was due to natural reasons.
She approached the tree where Pidgey was still in, eager to talk to the poor Pokemon. Unfortunately, what she was getting into would become a repeat of her not-so peaceful encounter of the Pidgey earlier.
"Hey. Pidgey?!"
Once again, when coming up to Pidgey, Bonnie was met with a shower of seeds being shot at her. Shielding herself and Dedenne, Bonnie tried to walk blindly as they were being pelleted.
"Hey! What was that for?!" She called out to Pidgey, but the firing continued, becoming a source of irritation for the girl. "Sheesh. It's no wonder you don't have neighbours!"
"Dene!" Dedenne agreed.
"Look! We just want to talk! OW!" Unfortunately, when bonnie tried to look and meet the Pidgey face-to-face, she was hit to the eye! The seed knocked her left eye, leaving an irritating sting that repelled Bonnie back a few feet from the tree.
"Drrgh…" She rubbed her eye, groaning at the Pidget showing her obvious annoyance towards the bird Pokemon's antics.
"Dene, Dedenne!" Dedenne was now unsure if Bonnie could ever reach out to Pidgey, trying to convince her that she should just leave Pidgey alone and focus on finding their way out of the forest. If it didn't want their help, then there was no point continuing to fight for it.
Bonnie, however, refused to give in. Dedicated to the end, she was going to gain this Pidgey's trust no matter what. This was her way of becoming a great Trainer, even to wild Pokemon.
"No, Dedenne. I'm not going to give up. If it means being hit by seeds, I'm going to make sure I help this poor Pokemon!" She stomped her foot to fire her up and then walked on. The seeds continued to fly, hitting her up like cannon fodder.
After being shot at repeatedly, Bonnie was able to make it close to the hole. Just when she reached for the opening, the Pidgey then burst out from its home and gave Bonnie one nasty headbutt to her stomach, sending her back to square one.
"Dene!" Dedenne fell from his Trainer, running back to her and shaking her to see if she was alright. Bonnie stood up, feeling the pain settle after Pidgey attacked. But she then grabbed her hat, which had also fallen from the blow, and slapped it on her head.
She was going to give it her all, not wanting to even give up for a second. She continued her pursuit, only to be met with more seeds, and subsequently, more headbutts. Despite the amount of force pushed against her, Bonnie would still go on. This Pidgey will get its food back, no matter what happened.
Dusk came as the sun set down to allow night to take over. It had been an hour since Bonnie started pushing through against Pidgey's unrelenting strikes.
Now, all seemed quiet. Pidgey was no longer attacking, even as Bonnie settled down in front of the hole within the firing range. Bonnie was now on the ground, lying from all the bashes and shots she had received from this rather defensive Pokemon.
"Phew…" Bonnie, now exhausted after an hour of resisting Pidgey's attacks, sighed out her exhaustion. Dedenne was standing just next to her. He was forced to watch as his Trainer kept moving on and getting hit until she had no more energy to go on.
However, Bonnie only stopped just moments after, by some luck, Pidgey had stopped as well. It would seem that by a split second or moment, Bonnie had practically won the fight, but now she was too tired to move for now, resulting to herself lying down on the ground.
"Sheesh." moaned Bonnie. "What a blast…" She tiredly uttered, but at the same time, sounding like she enjoyed her little struggle, after knowing that she noticed the Pokemon's stop to its shooting.
Minutes after she had stumbled to the ground, she got up, dusting the dirt and sand off her clothes, and walked on to her opponent's home.
Cautiously, she kept on walking, expecting at least to see more seeds coming in at her. But where she walked to the point the bullets and Pidgey itself would be thrust upon her, there was no such action. Only more silence.
After a few steps, Bonnie was convinced that Pidgey was now also out of breath. Taking faster steps with a much calmer stride, the girl then reached for the hole, climbing up to see if the Pokemon had conceded. The hollow room was big enough for her to allow her whole body to get into without difficulty.
When she looked into the hole, there she saw. Pidgey was now being seated in a nest made up of branches, leaves and sticks. It was breathing heavily, supposedly finally exhausted from its attacks at Bonnie.
Boonie now had more of a reason to climb up and approach the Pidgey. The Pokemon noticed her intrusion and stared at her with a defensive look.
"Krrr…" Pidgey looked at Bonnie, still stern about seeing her. However, Bonnie went over to it, with her face completely the opposite.
"I see you're out of ammunition." She sat down in front of the Pokemon, holding no grudge against it. All the same, Pidgey still refused to speak to her, looking away from her.
"Come on, Pidgey. Can't you just hear me out for a teeny weeny minute?" insisted Bonnie, clasping her hands together while pleading to Pidgey to see reason with her attempt to talk to it.
No matter how much Bonnie tried, Pidgey was not going to give in. Hours ago, this nuisance of a human was just being the most annoying brat it had met, trying to catch it with the most ridiculous way possible. Just how would she know what a Pokemon feels?
"I… I'm sorry." Then, ironically, it felt a heartfelt apology coming from her? In disbelief, it looked at Bonnie. "I mean it! I'm really… REALLY sorry."
Bonnie poured out her heart's content and talked to Pidgey. Showing the truth behind her words and her admiration for Pidgey's strength, she continued to let Pidgey know that she was not willing to hold anymore grudges.
"Do you know why I was so keen on catching you? Because you seem to be a pretty strong fella!" The first words seemed to have reached Pidgey, prompting it to actually listen.
Bonnie's voice was then changed to be added with a little bit of guilt mixed in.
"Believe me. You really made me pull my Gogoat when you started shooting me with seeds back there." "But then when I tried to trap you with the blanket, I knew that you had a lot of potential. That's really why I wanted to catch you…"
"And then I saw you taking on those Fletchling there, now I began to understand that you were just defending your home and your food."
Now, Pidgey was hearing things. She was really saying that she was feeling sorry for it. But at the same time, there was some negativity in there to make it suggest that Bonnie was showing more pity than real sorrow.
Bonnie then took off her hat and gave it the most confident face.
"Which is why I wanna help you!" Pidgey was now more surprised than it was before.
"Hear me out when I say it, but you, Pidgey, are a good Pokemon." She spoke with sincerity, with Pidgey listening on with interest. "You just need some friends to scratch your back. Just let me and Dedenne help you take on those Fletchling and get your food back. Plus, with those Fletchling gone, you'll be able to roam this forest all you want."
Pidgey thought for a moment if Bonnie was speaking the truth. It felt like Bonnie was being actually willing to help it, but was not certain if she would keep her word about letting it roam the forest. It was getting a little jumpy with her decision, for it would present an opportunity for Bonnie to catch it again, breaking all good will.
"Last but not least, consider this my little way of making it up to you for messing with 'ya." But Bonnie's last part of her request was another eye-opener. Now, she was saying that she wanted to fix up all bad blood between them.
This was a very curious turn of events as Pidgey wanted to think about this more. Finally, after some thought, it looked at Bonnie.
"So what do you say? Deal?" Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask for a bit of help. Hopefully, it would stay that way. If this human would do anything stupid, it would be really, really pissed. It would show no mercy once Bonnie would pull off a trick.
With the threat of the three Fletchling and the possibility of Bonnie's deception etched in its mind, Pidgey decided to let this human assist. Then, if its suspicions were keen, then it would not hesitate to do justice.
"Great! Then, first thing in the morning, we shall teach those bullies not to mess with you!" Bonnie cheered.
"Dene!" added the mouse Pokemon with her.
"Pidgey." The bird Pokemon simply nodded. Bonnie noticed the neutral gesture it was giving. She was really expecting a much more positive attitude from the Pidgey. However, as long as it was not firing any seeds or anything, she was definitely fine with it.
"Well, it's getting late. I'll leave you to your sleep." Finally, after a much needed talk, Bonnie decided it was time to get some rest. Tomorrow was going to be another wild day.
She jumped off the hole and back on the ground. Unknown to her, however, Dedenne jumped off her hat and stayed in the hole. He walked over to Pidgey, who was curious with Dedenne's presence.
Dedenne then reached out for Pidgey and chirped up a few words, letting it know that Bonnie was the nicest girl he had ever met, and when she makes a declaration to help a Pokemon in need, she would not give up on her word.
Pidgey looked at Dedenne, wondering again if this little Pokemon, who it noticed was sticking to the girl like glue, was right.
Without much else to say, Dedenne jumped out of the hole to join his beloved Trainer.
Pidgey then returned to its nest and prepared for the night. This was one strange day for it, but it knew that tomorrow would be when it would all play out.
Finally, the darkness of night loomed in the forest.
A tired Bonnie was now at her bag, looking for something to prepare for her bedtime. She then took out a small circular electronic device with a circular panel on it and a red button on the side.
Pressing on that button, she then tossed it to an empty patch of grass and the small device soon blew into a large tent, fully ready all without much of hard work. Bonnie had her hands to her hips after witnessing the device's successful outcome.
"Ah… Always good to have an inventor as your brother." she said to herself. "That is, if you know which one of his inventions does work…"
Bonnie was already changed to her sleepwear; a simple pink T-shirt and pink pajama pants, while her hair was all, with the ponytail gone and now loose down freely.
Being alone while travelling definitely made it easier for her to change clothes, without having to worry about any unwanted attention. Of course, none of her friends had ever shamed her or anything whens he seven, but she was now feeling a little more comfortable knowing that she did not have to worry about any prying eyes, accident or otherwise…
She readied herself for bed, taking out her sleeping bag and placing it in her tent. Stretching her arms out, she then entered the tent, tucked herself in her sleeping bag and nested Dedenne down next to her in his own sleeping bag.
"Night, Pidgey!" She then called out to the bird Pokemon in its hole, but she knew that it was probably sleeping. Even if it wasn't, it probably wouldn't care less anyway.
She nestled into her comfortable sleeping bag like a Caterpie in a Metapod. She moved her head to the side for a comfier position.
"Wow, Dedenne. Our first night out in the woods… alone." It's already been one hard day and it was only the first of her journey so far. Bonnie imagined just how much more complicated the rest of the journey would be.
"Dedenne Ne?" Dedenne asked, wondering if Bonnie was scared. The girl understood its Pokemon's question when it would have guessed from her spooked expression.
"Oh… I'm not scared." She brightly smiled…
WWWRRAWWW!
"EEK!" …but a sudden wail, possibly from another wild Pokemon, made her skin crawl. Dedenne also jumped at the howling noise.
"Okay, maybe a little creeped out. But we gotta get used to it somehow." She then got back to her sleeping position, with many wonders swimming around her head. Day one was just the start of her journey, with so much more the world would offer in the future.
"Dene…" Dedenne agreed, but its eyes were already shut and the Pokemon dozed off the second it finished voicing out its agreement.
"Hmmm…" Bonnie giggled, though she too was feeling drowsy herself. Closing her eyes, she prepared for her own sleep. "Maybe surviving in these woods in my journey can help me understand on how to catch Pokemon better. I'd get to feel one with nature."
FLETCHLING FLETCH FLECT-!
Unfortunately, the Pokemon already one with nature had some other plans. A wild chorus of a group of Fletchling echoed through the night, causing a real ruckus that stirred Bonnie from her sleep.
Presumably, these must have been the same Fletchling that made a fool out of Pidgey earlier that day. Annoyed, Bonnie covered her eyes, face tensed at the uncoordinated calls. Could Fletchling have the knowledge to use Screech or something? Bonnie could not care less. These birds were certainly going to have it tomorrow.
"Nature blows…" She sighed before slamming the hood of the sleeping bag down on her ear in an attempt to block out the irritating Fletchling calls.
After ten uncourteous minutes, all was silent again. Bonnie found comfort in the peaceful soundless night, but she knew those Fletchling could come back to keep her up again.
"Just you wait, you little troublemakers…" She vowed. "Both Pidgey and I will settle the score, once and for all."
At the mention of Pidgey, though, Bonnie suddenly had to wonder how Pidgey was doing after its wacky fight with the Fletchling and herself.
"I wonder how Pidgey's doing." Arousing from her sleep and out of her sleeping bag, Bonnie exited the tent, leaving behind her Dedenne to sleep off. She looked back for a little while, just wondering how Dedenne was sleeping through the whole ruckus.
The girl made her way to the tree, climbing up the hole and peering in to find Pidgey, still in its nest, sleeping.
Bonnie smiled, watching the Pokemon getting some deserved rest from the troubles of the day.
"Hmmm…" A thought came to her head. She knew from her talk with Pidgey that the Pokemon was having some doubts just from looking at its neutral expression. She really wanted to help, but with a Pidgey who was not willing to cooperate even the slightest bit, tomorrow's rematch with the Fletchling would not be one to feel accomplish from, and she wanted both her and Pidgey to feel good about the battle.
Thus, she had an idea.
Pidgey's eyes were closed the whole time, but the pain and humiliation it had taken during the day was making its sleep an uncomfortable one.
Suddenly, it heard a small thud, enough for it to wake up and look.
"Krow?" Pidgey found what was in front of it. On the floor, there were full-sized Pokemon food pellets laid there. Curious, Pidgey looked out the hole of its tree and saw a human hand hanging on it. When it slipped away, Pidgey rose from its feet and skipped towards the hole to follow it.
It then peeked out of the hole and saw the human girl it had met earlier entering her little dwelling.
It found itself in a really strange position. It felt a rather tingly sensation in its heart when it looked at the food, but at the same time, its body was also feeling really warm. It felt like Pidgey was actually… touched.
Why would this human girl, who probably became the most annoying human it had ever seen, suddenly come forward to help it with its problems? It could not understand the change of heart that she had expressed, for why would a human be willing to help a wild Pokemon when, a while ago, she tried to capture it?
With the warm feeling still fresh in its blood, Pidgey hopped to the end of the room and back to its nest, leaving the food still lying there, but the warm feeling made it decide to eat it for breakfast the next morning.
As it slept back, Pidgey was now having second thoughts about this new alliance with the human. At first, it accepted mainly just because it wanted those blasted Fletchling out of its home and nothing more.
Now, there was something more than that…
It was now the first morning Bonnie had in the wild on her journey. It would have been the perfect time to rise and feel the fresh air. Well, that was only true for Dedenne.
Waking up on his own, Dedenne walked out of the tent and did the breathing himself. He took in the fresh air and huffed out in a refreshing exhale.
However, he did not seem to find its Trainer anywhere. That was when he knew that Bonnie was not awake. Three years under her care, he knew most of Bonnie's habits, and had developed many ways to go around these habits. Its favourite trick; that was about to happen right now for occasions like this.
It ran back to the tent and found Bonnie, still knocked out. She was now sleeping facing upwards, snoring from her comfortable sleep. Bonnie may have been a well behaved little girl with a touch of beauty in her taste, but when it came to sleeping, she can be one heck of a sleeper.
Dedenne knew it was time to work out his little scheme. He approached the still sleeping Trainer and, with the most conniving look on his face, sparked up his cheeks and…
BBRRZZZTT!
"YOOOOWWWWWW!" And a nice Thundershock lit the entire tent in a brilliant flash of yellow light.
Inside, Bonnie was being shocked with the rudest awakening anyone had ever experienced. Having an Electric-type Pokemon as your alarm clock may have been the worst idea any Trainer could have, and Bonnie learnt it the hard way.
"Aaaahhhh…" Bonnie woke up in a real cranky way. "Dedenne… Why do you continue to make a terrible wake-up call…?"
"Dene!" Dedenne greeted Bonnie good morning, cheerful in its call as if nothing had happened.
"Bonnie shook off the ash from the electric shock and got up.
She applied the same perfume that she would always use. She was on a Pokemon journey, so that meant days without a proper bath. Thus, Bonnie took with her the perfume to at least add some fragrance to block out any bad odour that she might give off, planning on walking the journey through until she could find a Pokemon Centre to rest and have a nice shower in between her adventures, though a lake or river could prove to be an alternative.
Nevertheless, Bonnie got to change back to her normal clothes and put on her favourite hat. She then looked for Dedenne and let him climb on top of her shoulder again.
To start the day, Bonnie would go to the hole and call upon the Pidgey to ready itself for its fight against the Fletchling.
"Pidgey."
"Huh?" Suddenly, the two friends a low call from a bird Pokemon coming from behind them. They turned around and saw the caller of the voice.
"Pidgey?" There stood the Pidgey, already wide awake and looking ready for some action. It also did something that Bonnie could have sworn was something out of its character.
It was actually smiling at them. Could this be a sign of a change of heart? Bonnie bent down to be sure of Pidgey's resolve, but without telling anyone, she also wanted to see if Pidgey was willing to follow her as an ally.
"So, are you ready to take the fight to the enemy?" She asked with a fist shown to Pidgey. Then, for the first time, Pidgey gave a nod and with a positive, battle-ready attitude, to Bonnie's delight.
"Then let's do this!"
"De Dedenne!"
The alliance strengthened, the three warriors were well on their way to challenge the Fletchling. Pidgey led the way for it knew where those thieves would live in, after having much experience with them.
Eventually, the trio were now at the place, where the Fletchling were up in the tree, probably ready to plan out another raid on Pidgey. They stood under the residence, prepared to make one more fight and settle the competition once and for all.
"PIDGEY!" The bird Pokemon called out. At once, the three Fletchling soared in the air and made a graceful landing, like a bunch of show-offs. Arrogant and proud, they pointed their wings up in poses.
"You lot sure are confident…" Bonnie whispered. "But it doesn't matter! 'Cos we're going to leave this Pidgey alone!"
Bonnie's declaration instantly earned some irritating laughter from the group; the Fletchling rolling on the floor laughing. The Trainer's cheeks bloated, annoyed by their unamusing chortles. Apparently, Pidgey was growing tired of their laughter as well as it hopped up for battle.
Bonnie then ignored the still laughing trio and headed over to Pidgey to plan out her strategy.
Although she was confident that she would teach these Fletchling a lesson, Bonnie was not so sure if her plan would work. She would be able to pull off the strategy flawlessly, even as a beginner. But in order to do so, Pidgey must be a hundred percent on this. However, it was how she wanted Pidgey to carry out the battle that made her have her doubts.
Nevertheless, she had to try. Bending down to Pidgey's level and whispering to the Pokemon, she told it of her plan.
"Listen, Pidgey. If you want to battle them, then you'll have to hear me out."
Pidgey agreed, poking out its ear to listen to Bonnie.
"Alright. Here's the thing. I know you're a great battler and all. But if you're going to outsmart and outgun those thieves, then you'll need my guidance to help you out." Pidgey then widened its eyes, knowing what Bonnie was possibly inclining. "That means, for just this once, I want you to follow my every command."
It knew it. Bonnie was going to direct it to battle, as if Pidgey was her own Pokemon. It was all too good to be true. It turned around, eyes closed, refusing to listen to Bonnie even further.
"Oh no… Not again." Bonnie had her head down, shocked by Pidgey's returning attitude problem. She was not about to give up though. "Pidgey. I know you don't like the idea of being my Pokemon, but for your sake, I want to help you overcome the Fletchling and have your home to yourself."
Pidgey thought about Bonnie's words again. The girl wanted to battle those Fletchling by making him follow her orders, which made it assume that she would be up to her tricks again.
"We really care about you, Pidgey. That's why we want to help. A Pokemon should never be bullied like this."
But then, it remembered back when Bonnie gave it those Pokemon food that night. Touched as it was, the warm feeling coming back to it now gave Pidgey some new optimism. If Bonnie really cared for it, then she'll have to prove it. Maybe for once, it will allow her to command it.
"Pidge!" Pidgey turned back to Bonnie and nodded firmly, bringing back Bonnie's cheers.
"Alright! Then follow my lead." Pidgey stepped forward, awaiting Bonnie's command, ready or not. It was time to get used to listening to a human, for its home and its food; not to mention a good night's sleep for a change.
"Time for Fletchling to move out of this place!" Bonnie declared. The Fletchling had stopped chuckling like mad men and lined up in a straight line, staring down at Pidgey.
Bonnie was getting more excited by the moment. This was to be her first real battle against a wild Pokemon, let alone three at the same time. What it made strange was that the Pokemon she was using was not even hers. Not even anyone else's. Pidgey was a pure wild Pokemon, and she'll be sure to make it stay that way for its sake.
Regardless, Pidgey was still going to allow Bonnie to lead it to battle. It stood forth and the Fletchling did the same. Bonnie got ready to command from behind.
At once, the battle had begun.
"Okay, Pidgey. I know a Pokemon Trainer who used to have all sorts of Flying-types, and I've been learning from him ever since. So, listen to me, and we'll get through this."
Pidgey acknowledged Bonnie. After hearing Bonnie used to follow someone who trained Flying-types like itself, it really knew it had to listen to her more.
"Okay! Let's start this battle with a Tackle!" Bonnie gave her first order, remembering the moves she had scanned from her PokeDex, though the data she was given were only predicted moves from what average Pidgey would normally use at their state. Since Pidgey was not her Pokemon, it would have to do.
Luckily, Pidgey complied and started the battle with a Tackle, charging at the Fletchling. However, the three smaller birds dodged the attack by flying up in the air, letting Pidgey miss the attack.
It was their turn to attack. They all adjusted themselves to dive down at Pidgey and made their move; their beaks brightening up.
"That's a real Pecking order!" Bonnie yelled. "Dodge it! Fly out of there!"
The three birds struck down at Pidgey's location, but listening to Bonnie, the target flew away just in the nick of time as the three birds speared their beaks into the ground.
"That was close." Bonnie swept off a tear from her forehead after getting herself tense from the suspense. "Okay, Pidgey. Retaliation! Use Sand-Attack!"
Pidgey then flew back towards the Fletchling before swiping the sand down below it. The sand rushed towards the Fletchling and hit them. Their eyes were blinded when grains of dirt and sand got into them, stinging them in the process.
"Right! When they're blinded, they're completely unable to hit Pidgey properly." Bonnie said to herself. Confidence built up, Bonnie got ready for another attack. "Quick! Use Peck!"
Pidgey flew back and powered up its beak before charging at them with its attack. It hit the three of them simultaneously by drilling its attack right through them. The Fletchling were thrown off from the hard attack, landing down hard on the ground.
"Nice hit, Pidgey!" Pidgey heard Bonnie giving it a nice compliment, touching it just a little.
The Fletchling returned to battle positions. The trio then flew up again and formed a circle. Altogether, they raised their wings up and fluttered them back and forth while charging their bodies up, creating a triple Quick Attack three times the power of an ordinary attack. The combination of attacks pushed Pidgey all the way, throwing it down to the ground.
"Oh no!" Bonnie screamed. Pummeled to the ground, Pidgey struggled to stand back up. It did get up, and its focus on the battle was somehow strengthened. Could it have something to do with Bonnie's guidance and concern?
Upon hearing the snickering and laughing of the Fletchling, Pidgey's heart began to blaze even hotter than before.
"Great! You're on your feet again! Let's go for another Tackle!" Pidgey listened in and fired itself up with a Tackle. The bird then tried to take on one of the Fletchling, but the tiny Robin Pokemon dodged the attack.
The miss left Pidgey vulnerable enough for another Fletchling to deliver a Tackle of its own, hitting Pidgey again.
"Drats." uttered Bonnie. "They let Pidgey pick one off and let another get him when he was exposed." She had to admit; those Fletchling had some real teamwork going on here. But this made them a triple threat that proved to be more difficult than expected.
Bonnie reverted her attention to Pidgey, who was being Pecked off by the Fletchling. Shaking her head after being distracted by her unintentional praise of the opponents, she got back to the battle.
"Pidgey! Fly out of there!"
However, there was no escape. Pidgey was getting pecked and bashed at multiple times, and all attacks happened each second, pinning Pidgey up and making it unable to move anywhere.
"Oh no… If I don't find a way to break the cycle, Pidgey is a sitting duck… or bird… Drgh! What am I thinking?! I have to get it out of there!"
Bonnie now had to think of a way to free Pidgey from its suppressed state. She had to think first though. For every second she used up, Pidgey was getting weaker and weaker. Seeing the poor Pokemon in that state was making Bonnie even more distressed.
It was just like her battle with Clemont the day before. The feeling of seeing a Pokemon getting hurt because of her inability to command it was sinking into her really badly, with the girl now getting depressed by repeating the incident.
"Dene!" Then, Bonnie snapped out of her depressed state and heard Dedenne's cry to her. She turned to him and saw a serious face glaring at her.
"Dene! De Dedenne!" Her Pokemon kept on squeaking out on her, slapping her with some sense into her head. He reminded Bonnie of the words that her idol always said to her and her friends.
With Dedenne being able to communicate with his long-time partner and caretaker, the Trainer picked up what her Pokemon was saying to her.
Bonnie remembered the words and made her own spirits high again when she thought the words out for herself.
"Alright! Never give up!" Bonnie shouted at the top of her voice, regaining her lost confidence. Now, it was time to rescue Pidgey from its battered position.
She watched the Pokemon getting hit more and more, while also monitoring the Fletchling and studying their moves. Then, after a close analysis…
"That's it!" Bonnie had an idea. "Pidgey! On my signal, make a dive for it! Just hold on a little longer!"
Pidgey, despite being hit on and on, could hear Bonnie from afar, baffled at what Bonnie was telling it to do.
"Just trust me! It will work!" Bonnie's voice reached out with full confidence. Pidgey felt it as it was being bashed about, prompting it to trust her again, but was still unsure if the plan would work.
Even so, it persevered, letting the Fletchling continuingly hit it and withstanding the pain more. It did its best to hold on, waiting for Bonnie to give out the command.
Bonnie bided her time, watching out for an opening in the Fletchling's attack pattern. Her plan was to wait for the right time for Pidgey to make a swift move and finally escape the barrage of attacks.
Pidgey continued to resist, taking more hits and waiting for Bonnie to shout out her word. All was at stake here. If it lost now, then it would also lose its reputation, its home and most of all, its trust in Bonnie.
Then, after more hits, Bonnie concentrated even harder, focusing more on her timing. And then, she sounded off.
"There! Dive!" Pidgey's eyes opened after being closed from its pain. It heard Bonnie calling out to it and within an instant, it pushed itself all the way and swooped down as soon as the last Fletchling finished up attacking. Pidgey flew off with a burst of remarkable speed away from the danger catching the Fletchling off guard.
"You did it!" Bonnie leapt up in joy, followed by Dedenne.
"Dene!"
With the battle now back in full form, Pidgey flew back and landed in front of Bonnie. It shook in pain since it was repeatedly attacked by the Fletchlings' beaks, while Bonnie's poorly timed depression was also to blame. Then, all of those problems were soon forgotten when Bonnie pulled off a well-timed command and all it did was follow.
After such a long day of dissing the Trainer, it now found new respect in her, actually commending Bonnie for her skills. However, Pidgey knew that there something more than respect for Bonnie. All the time it fought the Fletchling, Bonnie actually displayed a good amount of care for it. No one had ever shown that much devotion for it and now, there was someone who did just that, and it came in the form of a human girl, who was originally bent on catching it.
Maybe there was a good reason in her desire to catch it after all?
"Okay! Let's finish this up!" Bonnie made ready for another move. First, she waited for the Fletchling to have their shot at Pidgey. They flew in a straight line, with one behind the other, and swooped down towards Pidgey.
The Little Bird Pokemon became alarmed by their pencil-like formation as they threatened to spear it. However, Bonnie did not say a word. She was simply keeping track of her time as the Fletchling came closer.
Then, when in range, Bonnie yelled out another command.
"Now! Use Sand Attack!"
Pidgey swiped its feet and kicked up a great heap of sand at the Fletchling. The cloud hit the lead Fletchling at front, blinding it and stinging its eyes. The effects of the attack left it unable to predict when it would hit the ground. The other two behind were helpless at helping or preventing the lead Fletchling from free-falling to the ground, nor were they able to break free in time from how close they were from the ground. Finally, all hell broke loose.
A mighty crash landing, leaving behind a dust cloud as big as a Snorlax.
The three Fletchling collided into the ground and were left unable to move. They were all huddled up in a stack, shaken by the impact of their crash.
The Fletchling were out of energy, and it was time for Pidgey to finish this match once and for all.
"Okay, Pidgey!" Bonnie began. "Finish off with a Tackle. All the way down!"
Pidgey soared into the air before stopping to face its downed enemies. Then, at Bonnie's command, the bird dived down with all its might and made one final Tackle on top of the pile of Fletchling.
And then, another huge dust cloud. Bonnie watched the cloud get bigger and bigger, while wondering if the battle was over. She waited for a few seconds to find out if Pidgey was able to come out victorious.
Then, a black figure darted from out of the dust, flying high as Bonnie caught sight of it. It sped by and landed on the ground in front of her. Upon seeing the figure taking form, Bonnie's worrying frown became a smile. She looked at the crater that was formed afterwards, finding the three gangster birds now fainted.
"Yes! We did it!" She cheered as loud as she could when she saw Pidgey landing safely after clobbering the Fletchling group with its Tackle.
She had achieved her first ever victory. She spun around in pure joy as she held Dedenne in her arms, who also cheered for Bonnie's win.
Back with the Fletchling, Pidgey took a good look at them while giving off a look that could kill. The trio, weakened to the core, looked up at their opponent
"FLETCH!" The birds lost their arrogance and now, overcome with cowardice, zoomed away for their lives, flying away from the forest and to wherever they may never see this Pidgey again.
With the intruders now gone, Pidgey gave off a victorious huff, telling the birds to never come back. The tough Pokemon was able to free itself and its home from the wrath of these mischievous monsters.
Bonnie ran over to Pidgey with excitement, wanting to congratulate the Pokemon for its victory against its tormentors. Bending down to meet it face-to-face, the girl grinned.
"That was a great battle!" She congratulated the Pokemon, raising her fist to show her appreciation for the Pokemon's absolute strength, as well as its obedience to listen to Bonnie, despite not being her own Pokemon.
After all that Bonnie did to allow its success in combat, Pidgey gave Bonnie a smirk, maintaining its tough personality while appreciating the girl's commitment to help it through its problems.
Maybe working with such an experienced Trainer wouldn't be such a bad idea after all? Wait, why did it just think that?
Shrugging off its thoughts, Pidgey then flew off back to its home, leaving Bonnie and Dedenne behind.
"Wow…" Bonnie sighed in admiration of Pidgey's strength in battle. Just how things would have been if she had caught? It would have been a force to be reckoned with, and it was only a Pidgey.
Unfortunately, Bonnie had to accept the reality of nature's will. She only agreed to help Pidgey find some peace and quiet. Nothing more, nothing less. Reluctantly, she acknowledged Pidgey's right to remain a wild Pokemon. It was the least she could do after messing with it.
"Dene?" She felt her right sock being pulled at, catching sight of her Dedenne at her foot. The little guy must have seen Bonnie's frown from her thoughts and wondered if she was doing fine.
"It's nothing, Dedenne." She sweetly smiled at him, although Dedenne knew that her expression was a little forced. "Pidgey's just a tremendous Pokemon. I can only wish we could do more battles together." She picked up Dedenne and raised him to her face level. "But a deal's a deal." The two partners smiled in understanding.
Dedenne reached for Bonnie's fedora before the two walked back to the campsite to pack up and headed for the road.
The area was finally clear of the camp that Bonnie and Dedenne resided in the night before. The girl chucked in her sleeping bag into her backpack, pushing down the rolled up bag with great force. After a tiring struggle, she breathed out exhaustedly. After packing in the tent device last, she zipped up the bag and dusted her hands.
Dedenne hopped up on top of her again, satisfied that his Trainer was finally ready to leave. Now, all he had to worry about now was to help Bonnie again with their trek back on the road.
The two were ready to leave and resume their journey. Suddenly, they were called upon by a low chirp coming from behind them. Turning to respond, Bonnie saw Pidgey on the ground, looking up to her gratefully.
Bonnie smiled back, returning to Pidgey and kneeling down to give it one last goodbye before it could finally live in peace.
"Looks like you can finally rule this patch of the forest without any more enemies to make. Feel free to fly around and eat as many berries as you want!"
Pidgey remained quiet, unable to respond to Bonnie's sentence, almost feeling like it needed to say something to her.
"And sorry for ruining your day yesterday." Bonnie rubbed the back of head embarrassingly. With all hostilities over, Bonnie and Dedenne were about to leave off. "Well, it's been fun. Goodbye!"
"Dedenne!"
After waving at Pidgey, the two were walking away from Pidgey, off back on their way to Santalune City.
"Pidgey!"
All of a sudden, Bonnie was again called upon by the Pidgey behind her. Coming back to it, the girl saw Pidgey skipping on its feet, heading towards her.
"Huh?" Bonnie called. "What is it, Pidgey?"
Pidgey continued to move up until it was at Bonnie's feet. Then, in a most unexpected way, it came for her leg… and nuzzled on it.
Could it be…? Was it following her simply because…?
"Wait, so you want to come with us?" asked a surprised Bonnie. Pidgey nodded, adding up to the revelation. She smiled, estactic that Pidgey, after all the chaos it had been through with her, had decided to come along for the ride. "But why? Don't you want to stay here?"
However, Bonnie's question seemed to have shocked Pidgey, apparently offended by it. Bonnie, on the other hand, meant no offense at all. She was simply surprised by the fact that Pidgey was willing to come.
"Don't get me wrong. I was just wondering what made you change your mind." She knelt down to face it. "So, if you really want to come with me, then I would love to have you in my team!"
"Pidge?" Pidgey was back to being glad.
Back before this decision, it used to think Bonnie was just another bratty human just eager to abuse its power or make it some pet or something. Clearly, after showing it what she could do, Pidgey now acknowledged Bonnie as a competent Trainer, who cared for it as if it was her Pokemon. Now, it wanted to be exactly that. As part of her team.
Bonnie could hardly stop herself from squealing joyously. With a powerful flyer on her side, she would be able to take on many challenges. More importantly though, it was her chance to connect with a brand new Pokemon, bonding with it, and helping it grow to become even stronger than before.
"Okay!" Bonnie played with her hat, taking it off and putting back on as a display of pride and exerting fun into the moment. "Pidgey, you're my-!"
"Oh wait…" The moment was abruptly interrupted by a forgetful Bonnie. "Oops, I forgot!" Dedenne and Pidgey fell backwards, baffled that the Trainer had forgotten one important step. "I'm supposed to catch you in a Poke Ball before I make you my own."
Back to the moment with Pidgey, she pulled out her Poke Ball without hesitance. She then looked at Pidgey while the Pokemon did the same to her, assuring each other that there will be a bond that shall help them rival others.
"Okay, here goes!" Swinging her arm, she repeated the process that was badly unsuccessful before. "Poke Ball, go!"
The ball flew and hit Pidgey again, although this time, the Pokemon willingly accepted the hit as the ball opened up and catching it within.
The ball closed and landed down on the floor. Again, it shook up and the button flashed red. However, instead of an unwanted struggle, the Pidgey must had been trying to adjust itself to its new home, whatever it looked like in there.
After a few seconds, the same amount taken for Pidgey to release itself previously, the ball finally stopped with the button stopped flashing and an audible ding was heard.
An Excited Bonnie walked on over triumphantly and picked up her first new Pokemon catch. Holding the ball with pride, she raised it to the air and cheered on, congratulating herself for a job well done.
"Pidgey! You're my first catch!"
"De Dedenne!"
After the celebrations, Bonnie looked at her Poke Ball again, thinking about the new memories she would later make with Pidgey, and also all the other types of Pokemon she could find.
"I can't wait! There's going to be many more Pokemon out there! Waiting for me to train them hard and make our way to the Pokemon League!"
"Dene!" With Dedenne on her side as well, Bonnie was now one more Pokemon stronger. She was now so confident she could burst up in the sky and come back down like a meteor. A Draco Meteor.
Finally, after catching Pidgey, she could focus on getting out of the forest, and she exactly what to do. Tossing Pidgey's Poke Ball, she deployed her new ally.
The Pokemon appeared right in front of her, ready to obey her first command as its official Trainer.
"Okay, Pidgey. As your first assignment, we would be so happy if you'd lead the way out of the forest for us." At Bonnie's will, Pidgey acknowledged, taking it to the sky and prepared to lead Bonnie back on course.
With Pidgey in the air, Bonnie and Dedenne were well on their way, tailing the bird as it showed them the way. Their way to Santalune City and Bonnie's first Gym Battle.
At last! Bonnie has successfully captured a Pidgey as her first catch to her team. Can she train it enough to face Viola at Santalune City? Find out as the journey continues!
A/N~ Chapter 3, fin!
I decided to make Bonnie's unsuccessful catching of Pidgey similar to Ash's attempt to capture the Pidgey seen from the very first episode of the anime, as well as his fateful encounter with the Spearow, albeit with much less drama and more comedy.
I originally wanted Bonnie to catch a Fletchling like Ash did, but then I wanted to let her journey be as unique as possible, so I changed things up a bit.
I'm in the process of writing Bonnie's eventual battle with Viola, and I really want to make it big enough for the whole chapter. However, I am currently updating my other fanfiction stories as well, so don't expect a speedy update here. So, wish me luck!
Special thanks to Marcellasnow231, MerlockVonBaron, xBrokenwing, Dutchess Frost, JustFire45, LadyNyx and princelotor81 for liking or following up on my story!
And now, to respond to this story's first reviewer!
Marcellasnow231: That's a really good idea, but right now, I'm not really sure about giving Bonnie any Alolan Pokemon as of now, so I will consider the options Thanks for the feedback too