Chapter 10

Felix, Daisy, and Pikachu traversed through the tall grass at the northwest corner of Viridian Forest. Sweat dampened their faces and stained their armpits as the mugginess of the forest wore them down. It had been about an hour and there had been no sign of the Bug Catchers in the forest.

Suddenly, the sound of something rummaging in the trees made the trio turn swiftly to the left. Felix and Pikachu made eye contact as Pikachu leapt onto all fours in battle position, his tail pointing straight upward. Felix gave him a nod as Pikachu crept toward the trees. Daisy sent out her female Nidoran from her Pokeball.

Pikachu entered the trees. Felix and Daisy heard the sound of electricity and a cry of pain.

"Sammy, is that you?" Felix called.

"Stand down!" commanded a voice from the trees. Out of the brush emerged Sammy the Bug Catcher with his hand in the air, followed by four more boys wearing the same outfit. Sammy's hair stood on its ends and looked like he was recovering from brief, yet intense discomfort. He looked up and smiled. "Felix from Pallet Town! You've returned!"

"Hi, Sammy," said Felix. "I need your help."

"Let's set up camp, and you can tell me all about it."

Felix, Daisy, and the Bug Catchers set up their tents and started a campfire. The seven of them sat on logs around the fire, roasting marshmallows. Felix and Daisy related to the Bug Catchers everything that happened after arriving in Pewter City.

"You trust Brock? I've met him briefly. He can be intense. He could be a member of Team Rocket," said Sammy.

"I trust him," said Felix. "He seemed genuinely frustrated about Team Rocket."

"So Team Rocket is as close as Mt. Moon…" Sammy trailed off in thought.

"I'm going to take them on there, but I need to get past Brock."

"Ah yes. So how can I help you?" asked Sammy.

Felix raised his head up from staring at the fire and looked Sammy in the eye. "I need to train with you. I need to get Pikachu stronger and maybe get a second Pokemon."

Sammy looked down. He thought for a moment. "Bug types aren't known for their strength against Rock types. However, bug types grow quickly. There is a Pokemon here in the forest that, once fully evolved, learns a mysterious power that can bypass Brock's high defenses."

"What is it?" asked Daisy.

"Butterfree. Bug types grow quickly. Caterpie fully evolves at a low level. Once it becomes a Butterfree, it learns a move called Confusion. It is a special attack that will mess with a Pokemon's mind. If you are fast enough, you can make quick work of Brock," said Sammy before taking a bite of his treat.

"That could work, Felix," said Daisy. "That'll help you be at least competitive!"

Felix looked down. "Alright. Where do I find one?"

"I recommend catching a Caterpie and evolving it from scratch," said Sammy. "You can find Caterpie everywhere. Just get up and wander in the grass."

Without a word, Felix stood up and walked out of the light of the fire. Pikachu turned and looked, then quickly followed.

"Pika, Pika!" cried Pikachu.

"What is it, Pikachu?" mumbled Felix with his head down. His hands were in his pockets and the brim of his hat was down. He was unexpectedly chilly now that night had fallen and he was away from the fire.

Just as Pikachu was about to respond, a Caterpie emerged from the grass.

"Pikachu, Thundershock," Felix commanded softly.

Pikachu jumped in front of Felix, but instead of sending the static of his cheeks hurling toward Caterpie, he turned toward his trainer and began to squeak.

"Piiiika piiiii," exclaimed Pikachu.

"Pikachu, what are you doing?"

"Pika! Pikachuuuu."

"Are you being defiant again?" said Felix without expression.

"Pika Pika Pikachu!" cried Pikachu, pointing to himself.

"Do– do you want me to train you? Do you not want me to catch this Caterpie?" asked Felix.

"Pika!" squeaked Pikachu, nodding.

"Alright! You don't have to tell me twice!" exclaimed Felix.

Pikachu leapt onto Felix's shoulder. They gave each other a high-five and headed back to camp.

"It will be Pikachu and Pikachu alone that will defeat Brock's Pokemon. We have six days starting tomorrow," Felix said to the camp, walking past the fire and crawling into his tent. "Rest up. Training will be rigorous." And with that, Felix zipped up the entrance of his tent.

"Harden, Metapod!"

Caterpie's evolved form, Metapod, was a crescent shaped green cocoon.

"My Caterpie evolved into a Metapod not long before you returned to the forest," said Sammy. "Metapod's hard exterior will imitate that of Brock's Rock Pokemon. We will have Pikachu practice against mine and many wild Metapod."

Felix nodded.

"You are prohibited from using Electric attacks, as they have no effect on Geodude and Onix."

Pikachu used Quick Attack on Sammy's Metapod.

"The goal is to train Pikachu to learn the moves Double Team and Slam. Your strategy will be to make it as difficult as possible for Brock to hit you, while Pikachu does damage using a hard hitting physical move. Quick Attack just won't cut it," continued Sammy.

Pikachu continued to hit Metapod as hard as he could until Metapod faints.

"You can always use my Nidoran, Felix. She knows Double Kick, a Fighting move that does well against Rock," Daisy chimed in.

"No, thank you, Daisy. I prefer to win using my own Pokemon," said Felix.

All day, Felix and Pikachu trained. Felix would throw a rock at Metapod nests to alert them so that they had a chance to use Harden before Pikachu attacked them. Pikachu attacked over and over, whittling down Metapod's health. At night, Pikachu would collapse next to Felix's sleeping bag, cuddling up to him, exhausted from the physical exertion hours on end.

Finally, on the sixth day, Pikachu was ready to show what it could do. Anthony, the Bug Catcher from another patrol that guided Felix and Daisy a week ago, sent out his newly evolved Metapods, along with the Metapods from his patrol and Sammy's. Pikachu was surrounded by Metapods all using Harden to maximize their defense. Pikachu used Double Team to create the illusion that there were more than one of him. As the Metapods tried to decide which Pikachu to attack, the real Pikachu picked them off one by one using the powerful move, Slam. Within seconds, all of the Metapods were lying on the ground, fainted from Pikachu's brute physical force.

"You're ready," smiled Sammy.

Felix nodded, and extended his arm toward Sammy. The two of them shook hands.

"Thank you," said Felix.

Felix, Daisy, and Pikachu stayed one last night in Viridian Forest, before they headed back up to Pewter City, where the fate of their journey was to finally be decided.