The first things Tootie saw when she headed into the Viridian Forest were miles of trees and acres of fauna. Tootie was sure there would be at least one Pokemon living here, however; this was a forest, after all. Tootie walked through the forest, turning her head this way and that as she listened to the chirps of the bird and bug Pokemon living around her.
"Alright, I have a Bulbasaur, a Pidgey, a Rattata, and a Caterpie," Tootie told herself. "But maybe I can find some different Pokemon here..."
Just then, crawling in one of the trees, Tootie saw a beige-colored Pokemon that looked like a bug. It looked different from her Caterpie, however; this bug had little red spheres where its legs would be, a large red nose, beady eyes and a sharp-looking object on its head, as well as another sharp-looking object on the end of its back.
"Hey, what's that?" Tootie wanted to know. She pulled out her Pokedex and opened it up, causing it to display an image of the Pokemon.
"Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokemon," said the Pokedex. "This Pokemon is commonly found in forests and uses the poison stinger on its head to protect itself. If one of your Pokemon is hit by its Poison Sting, it will be poisoned."
"Poison...?" Tootie's eyes widened and pupils shrunk in dawning comprehension. "You mean, it's dangerous?" She looked up at the Weedle, which was beginning to make its way down the tree it was in. "I don't think I want one of those to poison my Pokemon..."
She put away her Pokedex and stayed where she was, trying not to let the Weedle notice her. It didn't, however; it simply crawled away. Tootie took a deep breath and sighed with relief.
"That was close. But now that I'm here..." She reached into her pocket and pulled out one of her Poke Balls. "I might as well prepare myself for when another one of those show up."
She pushed the button on the Poke Ball, and then threw it at the ground.
"Come out, Bulbasaur!"
The Poke Ball opened, and a flash of light emerged and settled onto the ground. When it subsided, Bulbasaur stood, looking ready to battle.
"Bulbasaur!"
"Bulbasaur," Tootie told her Pokemon, "if you see any wild Pokemon - Pokemon that we don't have - I'd like you to protect us from them. Okay?"
"Bulba." The Bulbasaur nodded in understanding. Tootie smiled and bent down to pet the top of its head.
"Good boy. And besides..." When she stood up, she looked up at the sky. It was beginning to turn a light orange shade. "It's starting to get late. I think it's time I called it a night."
Tootie pulled out her other three Poke Balls, pressed the button on each of them, and then threw each of them to send her Pokemon out. Rattata came out first, then Pidgey, and finally Caterpie.
"Guys, it's almost time for us to get our rest," Tootie told them. "It's been a long day for all of us, especially me. How about we choose this forest to spend the night?"
All of the Pokemon thought about what she said, and then nodded individually. Tootie smiled at them, and then pet the tops of their heads gently, one by one.
"This is the only the start of our adventure, guys," said Tootie. "We're gonna need our rest if we want to go as far as we can." As she finished petting her Caterpie, she yawned into her hand. "I think I brought a sleeping bag here. I'll just use that."
She put down her backpack, zipped it open and reached into it. After about a second, she felt what she was looking for and pulled it out: a large sleeping bag with a blue and pink cover. She lay it out on the ground, making sure she wasn't putting it over anything sharp or hard that had been there. Satisfied, Tootie changed into her pajamas - she was lucky to have brought a pair identical to the ones she woke up in this morning - and then crawled into her sleeping bag. She looked up at the sky, watching as it turned from orange to dark blue. The stars appeared and twinkled above her. Tootie took a deep breath and sighed in contentment.
"I don't know about you, but this has to be the best birthday I've ever had," Tootie said to herself. "Because I have four new Pokemon friends to protect me and keep me company. I can only imagine what adventures we'll find ourselves in..."
She gently pulled her glasses off of her face, folded them up and placed them in one of the outside pockets of her backpack. She zipped it up, and closed her eyes - but not without wishing each of her Pokemon goodnight.
"Good night, Pidgey. Good night, Rattata. Good night, Caterpie. And good night, Bulbasaur."
As she drifted off to sleep, the first three of her Pokemon she bid goodnight to fell asleep as well. But Bulbasaur quietly crawled over to Tootie until it was right next to her head, then lay down and closed its eyes as well. Throughout the entire night, Tootie and her Pokemon could hear crickets chirping all around them.
After a long time, Tootie could hear the birds begin to sing. The crickets had stopped chirping at this point, and the sky was beginning to change from dark blue to a much lighter shade. She slowly opened her eyes, and then reached up to rub them gently with her fists. Then she reached over to her backpack, zipped one of the outside pockets open and pulled out her glasses. She unfolded them and placed them over her eyes, then looked down beside her. Her Bulbasaur was still sleeping, as were her Pidgey, Rattata and Caterpie.
Tootie smiled and stepped out of her sleeping bag as gently as she could. Without anyone watching, she changed from her pajamas into her regular clothes. By the time she'd gotten her socks and shoes on, the sun had begun to shine all throughout the forest. The rays of the sunlight made their way into her Pokemon's faces, and one by one, they began to wake up.
Pidgey simply opened its eyes and yawned, as did Caterpie. Bulbasaur, however, opened its eyes and stood up to stretch its arms and legs out, while Rattata rubbed one of its eyes with its front paw before it stood up.
"Good morning, guys," Tootie told her companions with a warm smile. "It's the start of a brand new day."
She walked over to her Bulbasaur, bent over and petted the top of its head gently. Bulbasaur smiled in response. Just after she'd stood back up, however, she heard a tiny voice.
"Pika?"
Tootie turned her head to the source of the voice, only to see a little Pokemon that had come close to her. This Pokemon looked a bit like a mouse, but it was yellow in color, had red cheeks, black tips on its ears, and a tail that was shaped like a lightning bolt. Tootie couldn't recognize the Pokemon, but it looked quite cute, to the point that it made her smile. Tootie pulled out her Pokedex and opened it up, causing it to display an image of the Pokemon.
"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. It fires electricity from its cheeks when it is scared, angry or excited."
"Well, it is pretty cute. Not to mention it looks like it could be useful," Tootie commented. She closed her Pokedex and put away, then looked down at her Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, you ready?"
Bulbasaur nodded, then turned toward the Pikachu with a determined expression on its face. The Pikachu looked at it in curiosity.
"Bulbasaur, use your Tackle attack!" Tootie commanded.
Bulbasaur ran toward the Pikachu, picking up speed with in seconds. When the Pikachu realized what it was in for, it winced in fear and ran out of the way. But it was just a bit too late; the Bulbasaur leapt at it, then collided with its face, knocking it to the ground.
With a hopeful smile, Tootie reached into her pocket and pulled out an empty Poke Ball. She pushed the button on it so it became its normal size.
But Pikachu stood back up, looking angry as it rubbed its face with its paw. Then it stared deeply into the Bulbasaur's eyes, causing him to wince and sweat a bit. Tootie's smile quickly disappeared as the stare intimidated her. Before she could comment, the Pikachu fired some sparks from its cheeks, followed by a bit of lightning.
"Piiii..." The Pikachu tilted its neck back, its hands clenched in front of it. "Kaaaaaa...!"
Tootie's expression turned to a look of surprise, followed by more fear. She quickly placed her Poke Ball back into her pocket, then ducked out of the way, her hands over her glasses. All of her remaining Pokemon - with the exception of Bulbasaur - also ducked out of the way before the Pikachu exploded, screaming the last part of its name as it did so.
"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"
Massive amounts of lightning shot out of its cheeks as its cry echoed all throughout the forest. The lightning hit Bulbasaur, who screamed and twitched around uncontrollably with its eyes wide open. Finally, Pikachu ran out of electricity and stood where it was, looking at the Bulbasaur. He was now covered in black ash from the massive shock.
Now that it had given the Grass-type Pokemon a taste of his own medicine, Pikachu dusted its paws off and ran away on four legs.
Tootie stood back up, rubbing her head as she did so. Her hair was a little frazzled from some of the electricity, but her pigtails were otherwise intact. None of her Pokemon were shocked, either, although they were a bit traumatized.
"Ugh... what just happened...?" Tootie wondered. She turned back to see that the Pikachu had fled - but more importantly, she saw Bulbasaur, still covered with soot, as he fell over and groaned in pain. Tootie covered her mouth with both hands as she gasped in horror. "BULBASAUR!"
She ran over to him and picked him up, turning his face towards her. His eyes were half open but didn't look at her.
"Oh, my goodness! You look terrible! Are you okay?!" Tootie wanted to know.
But Bulbasaur responded with a feeble, barely audible, "Bulba..."
"Oh, no... Why didn't I know that Pikachu would do that?! We gotta get you to a Pokemon Center!"
Tootie gently put him down, then pulled out her Pokemon's Poke Balls and recalled each of her Pokemon. Her Pidgey went in first, then her Rattata, and lastly her Caterpie. She placed all of the Poke Balls in her pocket, then picked up her Bulbasaur and began to make her way through the Viridian Forest. She held him tightly in her arms, trying to protect him from any other Pokemon that wandered by or looked at her.
It took a few minutes, but finally she came across a sign that read, "Now Approaching Pewter City." Tootie sighed to herself in relief and ran past the sign, ignoring any looks that any people may have given her in the process. She didn't care about them; she needed to get to the Pokemon Center and save Bulbasaur, one way or another.