Disclaimer – I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters. This is purely a work of fan fiction and will not be used for monetary gains.
Note – This story mostly takes place in the Kanto and Johto regions, but includes Pokémon from all regions and generations. I have taken inspiration from the anime and game and will be taking quite a few liberties with battle mechanics.
I hope you enjoy it.
The Real Wildling
Part 3 – An Encounter in the Woods
In general, Dale was a very brave boy. As a small boy he was already wrestling Machop and catching and riding Ponyta. But, as he stared at a cozy Ranger's cabin nestled between pine trees, covered in autumn leaves he suddenly felt afraid. To him the one room house was something completely alien. And, even though he longed to look inside it, the fear of what he might discover kept him frozen in place.
Bulbasaur roared softly and nudged Dale with his head, urging him to swallow his fear and look inside the house. Dale touched his friend's bulb as if trying to draw some of the Pokémon's confidence into himself. It worked. He squared his shoulders and slowly walked over to the cabin.
Dale wasn't sure what to do next. River had told him that people lived inside houses, but he didn't tell him how houses work. Dale had no idea how to get inside the house, or how to get the people to come out.
"Hello," he called as he came near the house. It was a word River had taught him, a greeting of some sort. But, nothing happened. Even after Dale shouted "hello" again and a few other words that he remembered River using.
He scrounged up his courage and walked closer to the house. After all, it didn't seem to be doing anything threatening. He peered in through one of the open eyes.
It was dark inside the house. The only light came in through the eyes at the front of the house. The inside of the house was filled with things. There were large and small belongings stacked neatly all over the single room. But, to Dale's dismay, there were no people. Disappointed, he sunk down onto the ground and sat down with his back against the house and closed his eyes.
Dale must have been very tired from his long day of walking, because when he opened his eyes again it was already very dark. Through the treetops he could see a few stars blinking in the black night sky.
His stomach rumbled and he realized that he was very hungry. He was about to go looking for food when he noticed a pile of nuts and berries lying in front of him. His Pokémon friends, who were all curled up fast asleep around him, must have gone foraging while he had been napping. Dale gratefully ate some of the food, took a deep drink from the water bottle River had given him, and also went back to sleep.
The first thing Dale did when he woke up the next morning was to peer through the eyes of the house again. Everything was exactly as it had been the previous night, and there was still no sight of people. This in itself didn't surprise him much. He was sure one of the Pokémon would have warned him if someone had gone into the house. Still, it was pretty disappointing that after so many days of walking he still hadn't run into anyone else. Maybe, he thought, there just weren't as many people out there as he had once been told.
It was only after eating breakfast and taking his last few sips of water that Dale noticed Growlithe was gone. This in itself was not surprising. The Pokémon was extremely independent and loved to explore. But, Dale couldn't help feeling worried. They were in a strange forest with many unknowns. There was no telling what could happen to Growlithe alone in the woods.
Just as Dale and the other Pokémon were about to set out to look for Growlithe they heard a loud shout and a panicked roar from somewhere in the woods behind the wooden house.
Dale didn't need to say anything to his friends. Both Machop and Bulbasaur ran along beside him while Spearow flew on ahead through the trees to look for Growlithe. Seconds later, Spearow sped back between the pines. She flapped frantically in front of Dale's face and screeched that Growlithe was in trouble.
Dale leapt over roots, dodged around trees, and broke through bushes. He didn't care as thorns and branches caught on his jacket. He didn't feel his belongings banging against his ribs. He barely even noticed as his foot caught on a rock and he stumbled. He merely righted himself and kept running. All that mattered was getting to Growlithe.
Shortly he and his friends came upon a clearing. There was Growlithe. The Pokémon was clearly injured and looked ready to collapse. Across from him stood an unknown Pokémon shooting bursts of water at Growlithe that the fire Pokémon was barely able to dodge. It was blue with ears that looked like small wings, a tail that looked like a cloud, and an orange shell on its back. Behind it stood a person.
The person was clothed in a second skin, just as River had once been. But, this person was clearly much different from River. First of all, she was much younger than River, and she was a female. River would have called her a girl. She was shorter than Dale and thinner. She had brown hair that was tied back behind her head, an oval face, and a pair of intense blue eyes.
The girl was clearly directing the attacks of the Pokémon and with her vision and its strength Growlithe didn't stand a chance. Suddenly her arm went down to her side and it came up holding one of the round stones River had called a Poke ball. She whipped back her arm and through the ball at Growlithe.
Before it could even come near Growlithe, Dale burst into the clearing. He smacked the ball out of the air with the back of his hand and stood protectively in front of Growlithe. At the same time Spearow flew over his shoulder. She sped right for the blue Pokémon and furiously pecked at its head. She dodged this way and that as it tried to retaliate and kept up a relentless attack. Bulbasaur and Machop also cleared the tree line and started flanking the duo in a menacing way.
The other person didn't miss a beat. She shouted something to her Pokémon, which withdrew into its shell rendering Spearow's attacks useless. Then her hand went down to her side again and the next moment she threw two Poke balls into the air.
"Arbok, Lickitung, go!" she shouted. Dale barely understood what she was saying, but he watched in amazement as a giant purple snake and a pink blob of a Pokémon appeared out of the balls in a red flash.
Machop had a large branch in his hands. He swung it at the pink Pokémon. But, at a command from the female, the pink Pokémon's impossibly long tongue shot out and ripped the branch out of Machop's hands. Then it whipped its glistening tongue around and licked Machop's face. The tough fighter shivered and then fell to his knees. He looked as if he was struggling to move.
Bulbasaur wasn't faring much better. The snake was fast and managed to dodge each whip from Bulbasaur's vines. When the grass Pokémon sent a flurry of razor sharp leaves at the snake it spat a stream of acid that dissolved the leaves into dust. Then it suddenly lunged forward and wrapped its body around Bulbasaur, immobilizing him and squeezing the life out of him.
Dale watched as his friends were immobilized one by one. But, unlike the girl, he didn't hide behind Pokémon. He dropped some of the berries from breakfast in front of Growlithe, and then with a roar of fury he ran into the battle.
First, he went for the pink Pokémon. He picked up the branch that it had tossed aside. Before the Pokémon could lash out its tongue at Machop again, he smashed the branch into the side of its head. He hit it two more times, beating it back and giving Machop a chance to shake of the paralysis.
When Machop jumped back into the fight, he launched himself at the snake. He grabbed the great purple monster's tail and yanked it backwards. The snake was strong, but Dale had been wrestling Kangaskhan since he was just a toddler. His muscles bulged and with a great amount of effort he managed to rip the Pokémon off Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur immediately charged back into the battle.
Willow stared openmouthed at the scene in front of her. She was on the verge of adding a Growlithe to her collection when a group of wild Pokémon and a very wild looking boy erupted from the woods. Though stronger than usual, her Pokemon was more than a match for the wild ones. But then the boy, with no regard for his own safety, jumped into the battle himself. And with his help, the wild Pokémon were actually beating back hers.
The whole thing was completely inexplicable. Her Pokedex was telling her that none of these Pokémon belonged to a trainer. But they were fighting in complete unison with the boy as if they had been by his side for years.
Willow knew she had to do something. She only had three Pokémon on her and the boy wasn't fighting fair. It looked like the Growlithe was recovering too. If she didn't think fast her Pokémon were in serious trouble.
"Stop!" Willow yelled. She pulled out her Poke balls, recalled her Pokémon, and held up her hands in a sign of defeat. The wild boy and Pokémon looked like they might attack her instead, but then the boy made some very strange sounds. The group started backing away slowly till they were standing on the other side of the clearing from her. Clearly exhausted, the boy sat back on his heels and regarded her with a look filled with curiosity and mistrust.
The End of Part 3