Hello everyone! It's a new week, so that means another new chapter of the story! This one is pretty short, unfortunately, because I had to split it up from the next chapter since two very important things happen in both and I wanted to keep them seperate. If this was an actual show, however, it would probably all be in one episode :P

Last time: Aiden and Michelle have their very first battle: against one another! While Michelle has the advantage over Aiden's Squirtle by using Pichu, both Pokemon are simoultaenously knocked out, both by the same attack, since Pichu suffers recoil damage from her own thunder shock! After being gifted his father's prized Pokemon League hat from when he started his own journey, Aiden along with his sister depart for their journey, leaving behind a very upset Misty and Elizabeth and a determined Ash to hold them all together.

Chapter Three: Viridian Forest! Michelle Catches a Pokemon!

"Aiden, wait!"

The raven haired boy spun around to look at his sister. Her emerald eyes were full of fear, her normally fiery red hair darkened by the shade provided by the mass amounts of trees that created the Viridian Forest.

"You're so slow," Aiden groaned.

"I am not," Michelle retorted, her eyes narrowing at the accusation, "I just don't like this forest is all! I feel like a bug Pokémon is gonna' jump out at me any minute! You know this place is full of 'em."

Like her mother, Michelle was deathly afraid of bug Pokémon, and screamed at the tops of her lungs every time she caught sight of one. She thought they were gross, icky, scary, slimy…you name it. Michelle just couldn't stand even the thought of a bug type.

"No bug Pokémon is gonna' come for you," Aiden rolled his eyes, "and if one does, you have Pichu to attack 'em."

"Pichu!" Pichu piped up proudly from Michelle's shoulder.

"Thanks, Pichu," Michelle smiled at the little mouse Pokémon. Just then, a rustling noise came from one of the tall trees, frightening Michelle and piquing Aiden's curiosity.

"What was that?" Aiden wondered aloud.

"I bet it's a Beedrill!" Michelle cried and grabbed Aiden's shoulders, trying to hide behind the boy, "or some other creepy, crawly bug…"

"What is with you?" Aiden sighed.

"You know what's with me; I'm scared of bugs!" Michelle stormed.

The rustling became louder and more constant. Aiden growled a little, and Michelle winced. When the rustling reached its loudest, a figure came flying out of the thick leaves, causing Aiden to jump back, and Michelle to scream.

"Free!"

Aiden looked up cautiously, and once he saw what it was, he straightened himself out.

"Calm down, Shelly," Aiden crossed his arms, "it's just a Butterfree."

Michelle slowly raised her head and caught sight of the butterfly Pokémon, floating innocently up by the leaves. Reaching into her light blue bag, Michelle retrieved her pokedex, which perfectly matched her bag in color. She raised the machine to Butterfree, and it read out:

Butterfree, the butterfly Pokémon. Its collects honey with the fine hairs that cover its legs.

"I've got to catch it!" Michelle gasped.

"What!" Aiden bellowed, "you realize that's a bug right? All of a sudden you're not afraid of them?"

"Of course I'm afraid of bug types! Do you not remember me freaking out before?" Sighing, Michelle put a smile on her face and explained airily, "I'm not afraid of Butterfree, though! They're so pretty, not creepy, and besides, they helped me as a little girl."

"Helped you?"

"Yes."

"I don't remember any Butterfree helping you when you were younger."

Butterfree flapped its wings and landed on the ground, where it stood patiently. Realizing it wasn't going anywhere; Michelle gave a confident smile and said, "Well, let me enlighten you…"

XXX

Little Michelle loved playing outside. Except for when a bug Pokémon tried to get near her. Then she would start screaming, which led to her father running to her, worried. When he saw it was simply a bug Pokémon several feet away from her, he would laugh and say, "oh Shelly. It's not gonna' hurt you. It just wants to say hi!"

And Michelle's response was always the same: "no! It's GROSS!"

One specific day, however, Michelle was in the backyard, playing with a bouncy ball. She loved to throw it around, pretending it was a poke ball.

"Gyrados, I choose you!" Michelle threw the ball with all her might. It hit the ground and bounced wildly, causing Michelle to sigh, "if only it was a real poke ball."

The ball continued to bounce, and soon it was flying into the forest space that started in the backyard.

"Oh no!" Michelle cried, "Come back!"

She began to run after the ball, but stopped herself. Her parents had always been very clear with both her and Aiden that they were never to go into the forest without them.

It'll just take a minute, Michelle thought to herself, I just need to get my ball. And with that, Michelle ran into the clearing.

Walking through the woods, Michelle shivered a little. She was just four years old, and she knew running off into the forest without her parents was wrong. So Michelle picked up her pace to a little run. Soon enough, she found her ball sitting still in a clearing, and it caused Michelle to beam with assurance.

"There you are!" She skipped forward and took the ball into her hands. Michelle began to march back, but her newfound confidence quickly faded when she realized she wasn't entirely sure of where she was.

"Uh oh," Michelle whispered to herself. She turned her head left to right, and back to the left, quickly and in a panicked mode. Whimpering, Michelle threw herself down on the ground and started to cry.

What if I never get home? Michelle thought to herself, Mommy and Daddy will be really, really upset…I didn't listen to them and now I'll never see them again!

As she wailed hopelessly, a rather small Butterfree appeared from one of the trees that stood tall over the little girl. It set its large red eyes on Michelle and raised its antennae.

"Free! Free!" Butterfree trilled as it flew down towards the girl. It floated in front of her, tilting its head in curiousty. Michelle was too busy crying to notice the butterfly Pokémon. Still somewhat confused, the little Butterfree tapped the top of Michelle's head with its right foot.

Michelle's crying stopped a little, and she raised her head slowly. Seeing the Butterfree floating in her face, the little red head screamed and fell back.

"Bug! Bug!" She yelped.

"Free?" Butterfree flew closer to Michelle.

"No!" Michelle waved her arms, "go away! I don't like bugs!"

Butterfree didn't seem to care, and continued to get closer, until it landed on the floor and snuggled next to Michelle.

"Free," it mumbled contently.

"Huh?" Michelle stopped flailing and looked at the butterfly. Smiling, she giggled a little and said, "oh, well you're kind of nice. I guess you're pretty too."

Butterfree looked at Michelle and nodded, causing her to laugh. Suddenly, Michelle got an idea.

"Hey, I'm lost. I ran out here to get my ball, but now I can't remember how to get back home. Could you help me?"

Butterfree thought for a moment, but soon its eyes lit up and it shot up towards the sky.

"Free! Free!" It trilled again. Follow me!

"Okay," Michelle sniffed. Butterfree began to fly forward and Michelle hurriedly skipped behind. It took only a few minutes for Butterfree to find the edge of the forest, and once there, Michelle bounced up and down.

"Oh, Butterfree, thank you!" Michelle beamed, "now my Mommy and Daddy won't be worried! They might be angry though…so I won't say anything!"

"Free! Free!" Butterfree trilled. And just like that, the butterfly Pokémon went zooming back into the forest, Michelle watching with eyes full of admiration.

XXX

"Pretty impressive," Aiden smirked.

"Ever since that moment, I knew when I became a Pokémon trainer, I'd train a Butterfree," Michelle put her hands on her hips.

"Pichu!" Pichu jumped off Michelle's shoulder and stood in front of Butterfree, releasing some electric from its cheeks.

"Alright!" Aiden jumped up, "Pichu is challenging Butterfree!"

"Free!" Butterfree flew back up, narrowing its large red eyes.

"Let's do it!" Michelle grinned, "Pichu, use thunder shock!"

"Pi…chu!" Pichu lept forward emphatically, shooting off bright yellow electricity. It was a direct hit.

"Free!" Butterfree cried as it glowed from the attack. It faltered a little, but flew back up quickly, where it preceded to flap its wings wildly, creating a strong wind.

"Butterfree is using gust!" Aiden called out.

The quick flow of wind had no problem throwing little Pichu back with force. Wrapping its little paws around bunches of grass, Pichu winced and tried not to get blown away. Eventually, the gust stopped, and Pichu picked itself up.

"Way to go Pichu!" Michelle cheered, "Now let's try charm!"

Pichu's brown eyes began to sparkle, and it blew a kiss, sending out a shower of pink hearts, which Butterfree effectively dodged.

"Pi!" Pichu cried.

Butterfree moved forward, and flapping its wings again, although more gently this time, releasing a wave of amber colored dust.

"Michelle, that's stun spore!" Aiden gasped, "Look out!"

"Pichu, dodge it!" Michelle threw out her hand.

"Chu!" Pichu just jumped out of the way of the powder, landing clumsily on its paws, panting heavily.

"Pichu's tired," Michelle sighed, "we gotta' finish this."

Pichu turned around to look at its trainer. Michelle gave Pichu a confused look, but the baby mouse Pokémon gave a confident nod, eyes full of determination.

"You're sure?" Michelle asked.

"Pi!" Pichu flicked its ears.

"Alright," Michelle gave a sly smile before ordering, "Pichu! Thunder shock!"

"Pi…chu!" Pichu let off a shocking amount of thunder. Both Michelle and Aiden's eyes grew wide. The thunder hit Butterfree just as quickly as before, but this time the strength of it was too much for the butterfly Pokémon, and it went spiraling to the ground.

"Here's my chance," Michelle withdrew a red and white sphere and threw it, "poke ball, go!"

The ball hit the unconscious Pokémon and gathered it up in a red light. Landing back on the ground, the poke ball twitched continuously. Aiden watched intently, and Pichu looked ready to collapse.

"This has got to work," Michelle breathed, "Pichu is way too tired to fight anymore."

The group stood in silence for a few more seconds. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the poke ball stood still and became surrounded by a flurry of sparkles. That was that.

"We…we did it!" Michelle jumped. She hurried over to the poke ball and gathered it up in her hands, "look what we did Pichu! We caught ourselves a Pokémon!"

"Pi!" Pichu squeaked.

"Alright!" Michelle held up the poke ball triumphantly, "I caught a Butterfree!"

"Pi pichu!" Pichu held up a paw, but then fainted.

"Pichu!" Michelle cried.

"I can't believe that little thing has so much power," Aiden chuckled a little, "incredible."

"Yeah," Michelle picked up Pichu, "but we don't have time to be amazed right now, Aiden. We need to get Pichu to a Pokémon Center, and fast!"

Aiden finally realized that the little electric type in his sister's arms was unconscious, not at all moving, and breathing very slowly.

"Pichu doesn't look too good," Aiden agreed.

"Where's the nearest Pokémon Center?" Michelle fretted. She was terrified that Pichu was severely hurt and would never wake up. After all, she had never dealt with something like this before, and didn't know what to expect.

"I think it's in Viridian City," Aiden thought aloud. "And this is Viridian Forest, so it can't be too far from here. All we have to do is get out of the forest."

"So let's go!" Michelle ran past Aiden.

"Michelle, wait!" Aiden cried, racing after his sister.

As her feet pounded against the dirt floor of the forest, Michelle could hear her heart pounding away in her ears, and her blood racing through her body as adrenaline took over her entire being.

Just hold on Pichu, Michelle thought sadly to herself as she looked down at the badly injured baby mouse, I'm going to get you help if it's the last thing I ever do!

So Pichu is badly injured (too much battling for such a little thing!) which leaves Michelle and Aiden racing for the Pokemon Center in Viridian City. Will they get there on time?

Find out next time!