Name Translations:

Sato – Ash

Lila – Anabel

Kasumi – Misty

Kojiro – James

Musashi – Jessie

-:-

The Poké Ball flew through the air and hit its mark on the Caterpie's head. The device then opened and with a flash of red light, Caterpie was now inside the Poké Ball. The suspense was thick as the round object shook as the Pokémon within tried to escape. Fortunately for Sato, the Poké Ball gave off a small ping, signifying that the catch was a success.

"Yatta! I caught my first Pokémon!" exclaimed Sato as he went and picked up the Poké Ball.

"Congratulations, Sato-kun," smiled Lila. She was happy that Sato was able to catch Caterpie. Kasumi on the other hand, not so much.

"I can't believe you actually caught that thing!" shuddered Kasumi.

"So? The thrill of catching a new Pokémon, its like I'm in Heaven!" declared Sato, fawning over his new Pokémon.

"Yeah, well your Heaven is my Hell," muttered the tomboy.

"Ah, you're just jealous that I caught a Pokémon and you didn't," said Sato, giving her a deadpan look. He then went over to Pikachu. "Look Pikachu, we have a new friend."

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Hmm, I think we should get to know Caterpie a little better!"

"Y-You don't mean…" shuddered Kasumi, a look of fear in her eyes.

"Come on out, Caterpie!" yelled Sato, throwing the Poké Ball into the air.

In a flash of white light, the Worm Pokémon sat in front of Sato, Lila, and Pikachu. Kasumi took this opportunity to run as far as she could and hid behind a tree.

"I don't think Kasumi really likes Caterpie, Sato-kun," observed Lila.

"She's just going to have to get used to him then. I'm not getting rid of him," grumbled Sato. He then turned to the Bug-type and reached his hand out. "Come here Caterpie."

Caterpie looked at the hand with curiosity. He then turned his vision to where Kasumi was and squirmed as fast as he could over to her. She let out terrifying shriek as Caterpie rubbed up against her leg.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeek!"

"Looks like Caterpie really likes you, Kasumi," grinned Sato, enjoying her discomfort a little. He then grew concerned for Caterpie as the Bug-type became sad when Kasumi backed away.

"Kasumi! You made Caterpie sad!" scolded Lila.

"I don't care! Keep that thing away from me!" yelled the tomboy, still shaking in fear.

"Pika…" said Pikachu, trying to comfort his new friend. The Electric-type was then lifted off the ground by Kasumi and placed in her lap.

"How about this, Sato? You keep the bug and I can have Pikachu," said Kasumi as she petted the Mouse Pokémon.

"Like hell you will!" yelled Sato.

Pikachu took this as a chance to jump out of Kasumi's arms and onto Lila's shoulder. The lavender-haired girl let out a few giggles at Pikachu's actions. Kasumi let out a sigh, but it got caught in her throat as she noticed Caterpie right in her face.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeek!"

"Come on, Kasumi. Caterpie isn't that scary," sighed Sato.

"If there's three things I hate more than anything else in the world its…"

*BAM*

"Carrots!"

*SMASH*

"Peppers!"

*WHAM*

"And Bugs!" finished Kasumi, panting and holding a large mallet in her hands as Caterpie spun in the air from being hit. Sato and Lila stared at her with widened-eyed surprise.

'Where the hell did she get that mallet?' questioned Sato in his mind.

'She's scary,' thought Lila.

"Look, I don't care if you like bugs or not, but don't take it out on Caterpie!" yelled Sato angrily at the way Kasumi was treating his Pokémon. He was again reached his hand out to the Bug-type. "Come here, Caterpie."

"Cater."

The Bug-type then crawled up Sato's arm and rested on his shoulder. Sato gave a soft chuckle and then he, Lila, and Pikachu started to walk off leaving Kasumi behind.

A few minutes later…

"Pikapi!"

"Hmm, what is it, Pikachu?" asked Sato, turning to his starter. He and Lila then looked to where Pikachu was pointing to see Kasumi following them not far behind. Sato then yelled at her as she hid behind a tree, "Why are you following us?"

"Because you still owe me for the bike you destroyed and I will make sure you do!" yelled back Kasumi as she came out of hiding.

"Grr, there's nothing I can say or do to get rid of you, is there?" growled Sato.

"Not unless you give me a new bike or the money for it now," replied the tomboy.

"Damn you…" growled Sato. He turned back to continue on his way, Lila not far behind. That brought up another question in Sato's mind. "Lila?"

"Hai, Sato-kun?"

"How come you're following me too?"

"Ah, gomen, Sato-kun!" gasped Lila. "I'll leave if you want."

"You don't have to leave, Lila. Hell, you're definitely better company than Kasumi," muttered Sato so Kasumi wouldn't overhear. "I was just curious."

"Ano, I was hoping you'd let me travel with you, Sato-kun. Honestly, I don't really feel comfortable traveling by myself. Please, may I continue traveling with you?" asked Lila, looking at Sato with her lavender eyes. Sato just gave her a small smile and answered without hesitation.

"Sure."

"Arigatou, Sato-kun!" exclaimed Lila, wrapping her arms around Sato's neck, giving him a hug.

"Lila! Air!"

"Ah! Gomen, Sato-kun," apologized Lila as she let him go, her face a faint red from the blushing.

Neither noticed the annoyed look on Kasumi's face.

-:-

It was now night and the three trainers had set up "camp" for the night. The fire that Sato got started illuminated the campsite. It was also to keep wild Pokémon away while the group slept.

"Today was pretty productive, don't you think, Pikachu? Caterpie?" asked Sato, laying down his blue sleeping bag next to a large tree stump, which was being used as a resting spot for his Pokémon.

"Pika!"

"Cater!"

"I still think you should get rid of that bug," said Kasumi, who was positioned on the other side of the stump.

"Grr, no one asked for your thoughts!" yelled Sato. A lavender sleeping bag was then laid next to his. He turned to his right. "Lila?"

"May I sleep next to you for tonight, Sato-kun?" asked Lila. She then whispered, "Kasumi scares me a little and I feel safer with you."

"…Sure, I guess. I don't see a problem with that. Good night, Lila," said Sato, settling in his sleeping bag.

"Good night, Sato-kun," smiled Lila as she did the same. In no time at all, the three humans were asleep.

Pikachu and Caterpie took this time to get to know each other. In their own language, they spoke of their dreams. Caterpie told Pikachu that his greatest dream was to evolve into a Butterfree one day. Pikachu assured him that he'd achieve that dream. He just had to believe.

-:-

The next morning came and the light from the sun shone upon the three trainers. Kasumi was the first to stir. She groggily opened her eyes, but they then shot open when she saw what was right in front of her face. Some time in the night, Caterpie decided to sleep next to Kasumi. The tomboy did the only thing she could…

"Eeeeeeeeeeeek!"

…She screamed.

The loud noise jolted Sato, Lila, and Pikachu from their slumber as they looked for what made the noise. They then saw that it was just Kasumi, cowering from Caterpie.

"Damn it, Kasumi," grumbled Sato. "Can't you at least try to get along with Caterpie?"

"Never! It's a disgusting little creature and I don't ever want to see it again!"

They say words cut deep and unfortunately for Caterpie, the wounds were too much. Saddened and depressed, the little Bug-type crawled back to his Poké Ball, which was on the stump, and flashed back inside.

"Kasumi! How could you be so cruel to Caterpie like that?" questioned Lila with a glare directed at the tomboy. The effect wasn't all that great though seeing as how this was Lila, but it did seem to work.

Just as Kasumi was about to apologize, something swooped passed everyone and landed a few feet away. It appeared to be a tan bird-like Pokémon with pink feathers on its head that made it look like it had hair. Sato brought out his Pokédex to get some information on the new Pokémon.

Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokémon and evolved form of Pidgey. It renders its prey immobile using well-developed claws, then carries the prey more then 60 miles to its nest. However high it flies, it is able to distinguish the movements of its prey with its outstanding vision.

"Sweet! I'm definitely going to catch this Pokémon!" declared Sato, grabbing an empty Poké Ball from his belt.

Sato threw the ball at Pidgeotto while it was eating a worm, but the Flying-type just batted it away with its wing.

"Nani?" questioned a confused Sato.

"Baka," muttered Kasumi.

"Sato-kun, I think you need to weaken Pidgeotto first," explained Lila.

"But I caught Caterpie no problem," said Sato.

"That's because Caterpie is a weakling as it is!" said Kasumi.

"Grr, I'll show you that he's not a weakling!" yelled Sato.

Without thinking, Sato threw Caterpie's Poké Ball to have the Bug-type battle against Pidgeotto. Lila, Pikachu, and Kasumi were in shock by this move and after a few seconds, Sato realized what he did himself.

"Gah, why'd I do that?"

Pidgeotto started to chase after Caterpie, hunger in its eyes. Sato quickly took out Caterpie's Poké Ball and returned the Worm Pokémon. The beam from the device was faster than Pidgeotto and reached Caterpie first, making Pidgeotto crash into the tree that was behind Caterpie.

"Pikachu, you're up! Use Thundershock!"

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu launched his electric attack at Pidgeotto, zapping it while it was in the air and trapping it.

"Go Poké Ball!"

Sato threw the empty Poké Ball again and this time, Pidgeotto went inside. Like with Caterpie's capture, the Poké Ball shook and then pinged. Pidgeotto was caught.

"Yatta! I caught Pidgeotto!"

"You got lucky that time," said Kasumi. "How could you be so stupid as to send out Caterpie?"

"Its your fault in the first place!" yelled Sato. "If you hadn't kept making fun of Caterpie, I wouldn't have put him in a battle where he was at a type disadvantage!"

Sato would have kept ranting, but he calmed down a little when Lila put her hand on his arm.

Just then the small group heard laughing. Looking up the road they saw three figures. Getting a better look, it turned out that it was Team Rocket.

"What are you three doing here?" questioned Sato, putting his arms behind his head. It was obvious that he really didn't see the three villains as a threat.

"We're here for that Pikachu, of course," said Musashi.

"Especially since its such a rare unusual Pokémon," added Kojiro.

"Stop giving out our secrets, nya!" yelled Meowth as he scratched both of Kojiro and Musashi's faces.

"Rare and unusual? Pikachu?" questioned Sato. Lila and Kasumi also wondered how Pikachu was so special.

"After are last encounter, we were surprised by how powerful your Pikachu was, even though he is at the current level he is, nya," explained Meowth after he finished scratching his two partners. "That's why we're here to take your Pikachu, nya!"

*WHAM*

"Baka feline! You're the one giving are secrets away!" yelled Musashi as she stomped on the Scratch Cat Pokémon.

"Keep your big mouth shut!" added Kojiro, also stomping on Meowth.

"…Do they honestly think they should be taken seriously?" asked Sato, turning to his travel companions.

"You should take us seriously, little boy," said Musashi.

She and Kojiro then sent out Ekans and Koffing, ready to battle.

"Oi, you can't send out two Pokémon at once! That's against the rules!" yelled Sato.

"Hate to tell you this, little boy, but we don't play by the rules," smirked Musashi.

"Sato, if they want to play dirty, then play dirty right back!" stated Kasumi.

"The hell I will! I wouldn't be able to call myself a trainer if I didn't go by the rules," said Sato.

"Tough luck for you then, kid. Koffing, use Sludge!" ordered Kojiro.

"Koff Koffing!"

Following his trainer's order, the Poison Gas Pokémon inhaled deeply and then spat out a glob of sludge at Pikachu. The foul smelling attack hit Pikachu right in the eyes, blinding him to where he couldn't battle.

"Pikachu!" yelled the three children.

Sato picked up Pikachu, who was trying to get the sludge out of his eyes, and handed him to Lila.

"Keep an eye on him, please?"

"Of course, Sato-kun."

Sato then turned back to Team Rocket with a look of anger and determination in his eyes.

"You three are going to pay!"

Sato grabbed hold of Pidgeotto's Poké Ball and sent out the Bird Pokémon to battle the two Poison-types.

"Ekans! Bite that bird!" ordered Musashi.

"Pidgeotto! Use Gust to counter!"

The Snake Pokémon dodged out of the way as soon as Pidgeotto sent out a gust of wind from his wings. Koffing used this chance to get behind the Flying-type.

"Use Smog, Koffing!" ordered Kojiro.

"Use Quick Attack to get out of the way, Pidgeotto!"

Koffing released the smog from his mouth, hoping to poison his opponent, but Pidgeotto was able to doge thanks to his speed.

"Continue with Sludge!"

The Poison-type switched attacks, making Pidgeotto dodge continuously. Because of this Pidgeotto was backed towards the ground where Ekans burst from underground in a sneak attack.

"Pidgeotto! Take to the air!"

"That won't do you any good, little boy!" laughed Musashi.

Unfortunately, this was true. Both Ekans and Koffing followed Pidgeotto into the air were about to attack. Luckily, the Bird Pokémon got out of the way and the two Poison-types crashed into each other instead.

"Pidgeotto, return!" called Sato, holding out the Poké Ball. Pidgeotto was safely returned.

"What now, kid?" questioned Kojiro. "Have anything else up your sleeve?"

"Grr…" growled Sato. He then held up the Poké Ball of the only other Pokémon he had who could still battle.

"Sato-kun, you can't!" cried Lila.

"Baka! You don't honestly think he can help, do you?" questioned Kasumi.

"I have no other choice," said Sato. He then whispered to the Poké Ball, "I know you're still tired from earlier, but I need you to give it your all. I know you can do this."

Sato then threw the Poké Ball, sending out Caterpie, who was breathing pretty heavily. Team Rocket could only look on as if Sato had grown a second head. They then burst out laughing.

"You think that little pipsqueak can beat us?" laughed Kojiro.

"He must be crazy to think a weakling Pokémon like that can win!" laughed Musashi. "Attack!"

Ekans and Koffing charged forward, ready to crush the now scared Bug-type.

"Grr, use String Shot, quickly!" called Sato.

"Cater!"

Lifting his head, Caterpie started to spray the two Poison-types with a silky thread-like substance from his mouth. The thread completely engulfed Koffing, making the floating Pokémon fall to the ground. As for Ekans, the thread covered just his head.

"Now use Tackle, Caterpie!"

With as much speed and power his little body could muster, Caterpie slammed into the fallen Koffing, making said Poison-type slam into Ekans. This made both Poison-types fly back pass Team Rocket, who looked on in shock.

"Beaten…by a Caterpie?" asked Kojiro in disbelief.

"Time for me to show you how it's done, nya!" declared Meowth, stepping forward to battle Caterpie.

Meowth didn't get far as Caterpie then started to spray him with String Shot. It didn't take long for the Normal-type to look like mummy. Musashi and Kojiro quickly came over, grabbed hold of the mummified feline, and ran off.

"You haven't seen the last of us!" they yelled as they ran. "We will be back!"

"Like that scares us, nyeh!" yelled back Kasumi, sticking her tongue out.

"We won? Yatta! We won!" exclaimed Sato. Caterpie was also celebrating his first victory. Sato then brought the little Bug-type into his arms.

"Congratulations, Sato-kun!" exclaimed Lila.

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Hmm, maybe I was wrong about Caterpie," said Kasumi. "I guess he wasn't as weak as I thought."

"Well, if that's the case, why don't you two become friends?" asked Sato, holding out Caterpie for Misty to pet.

Kasumi flinched at the thought of touching any bug, but decided to swallow her pride and get this over with. She hesitantly reached her hand out to pet Caterpie when the Worm Pokémon released a small fountain of thread, scaring Kasumi.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeek!"

"Caterpie?" questioned Sato, watching as the thread was covering Caterpie.

"I think he's evolving, Sato-kun!" exclaimed Lila.

"Nani?"

When the fountain died down, in place of Caterpie was a green cocoon-like Pokémon in the shape similar to a crescent moon. Sato brought out his Pokédex for information.

Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon and evolved form of Caterpie. It stays motionless in its shell, which contains a soft and weak body, as it prepares for evolution by hardening its shell as much as possible for protection.

"Cool! Way to go, Metapod!" congratulated to Sato. Despite the bored looking expression in his eyes, Metapod was also happy. He was one step closer to achieving his dream.

While Sato, Lila, and Pikachu were busy with Metapod, Kasumi was of to the side doing a little thinking.

'Maybe I should lighten up on him for a while. He does seem to know what he's doing, even though he's still a novice.'

Her thoughts then ended when she noticed Metapod right next to her face.

"Eek!"

"Come on, Kasumi. You were about to make friends with Metapod," stated Sato.

"No! Get it away from me!" cried Kasumi.

"Ah, you're no fun," said Sato, putting Metapod in his backpack. "Come on! We've still got more of the forest to explore before we head to Pewter City!"

Sato then ran off with Lila and Pikachu right behind him.

"Wait for us, Sato-kun!"

"Slow down!" yelled Kasumi, following after.

What surprises further await Sato and his friends in the forest?

TO BE CONTINUED…

-:-

The Pokédex entries are a combination of both "HeartGold" and "SoulSilver" entries.

The titles of all the chapters will be named after the Japanese versions of the episode it was based on.