CHAPTER III: The Beast of A Million Vines

The buildings became scarcer the close the two became to the Viridian Forest, the woods that would confuse and turn you around if you weren't careful, but was also full of amazing and unique bug Pokémon. They may begin as seemingly useless shells, but from within always emerged something unique and beautiful. Arashi found the evolution process of bug Pokémon more than fascinating, although, she decided her three Pokémon would do for now. She didn't want to waste all of her pokéballs on the first city.

Finally, after a brisk walk in the morning air, the two reached the gates. They were tall wooden spectacles of pure art. The gates obviously did not close or function as a barrier, still, they were large and well carven; and on a sign hanging loosely off the left side of the gate read: "Viridian Forest". The trees went deep into the Forest and became thick, it had to be dark in there, Arashi shivered a bit as she looked in, her eyes trying her best to follow the path. Quinton noticed her disturbed expressions and responded, "It's not so bad. I was always told to stick to the path, then you'll make it out." He shrugged, the Porygon floated around him and cooed, "Krinkie!"

"So you and your Porygon are in agreement huh?" Arashi asked raising an eyebrow.

"We are a team." Quinton spoke softly, her black spiky bangs creating shade over his green eyes.

Arashi nodded with a sigh, "Glad to see you're both in agreement…" she sighed before pulling at her fingerless gloves making sure they were tightly wrapped around her wrists. She pushed onward, entering the woods, the hot sun vanishing behind the thick lustrous brush of the trees. Cool, moist air immediately hit her as it filled her lungs, "Mmm… crispy." She said to herself with a small chuckle.

~~~x~~x~~x~~~

"AHHHHHH!" Arashi's loud shriek of frustration sent the Caterpie running for a place to hide, Pidgey flew into the air, scattering away, "This forest goes on forever!" Arashi fell to her knees, "When does it end oh please! Tell me it ends!" she turned to Quinton, her eyes large and shimmering with the tears of exhaustion.

Quinton picked up the map, "Uh…" there was nothing but a dot which was labeled entrance and a squiggly line "path" drawn through the paper.

Arashi looked at it, "Who drew this? A four year old."

"Well…maybe we can turn upside down and uh…if we squint perhaps-"

Arashi knocked the map out of his hand, "Absolutely useless." She sighed, "They should rename this to the Lost Woods."

"But there's no music playing." Quinton pointed out.

Straying from the distant woods, a high pitched sound of a motor traveled to their ears. It became louder and louder until Arashi turned around to the sound and was coated in mud by tires sliding to a halt on the wet trail.

"Hey! What's your problem, Bu-" Arashi stopped as she wiped the mud from her eyes and looked up to see NV behind the wheel of a go cart, his chin held high as he sat relaxed in the seat holding the wheel loosely in his hands, his tanned skin glowing a warm gold in the sun light, his sandy brown hair spiked up in a stylish fashion. Arashi clenched her fists and snapped, "NV!"

"Yo, Arashsnot! How do you like my ride?" NV grinned antagonistically as he leaned to his side where Arashi stood, a thick coating of mud over her bright summer clothes.

"How did you get that?"

"Pays to have money, don't it?" NV asked raising his eyebrows mockingly as he kicked back in the driver's seat of the green go cart.

"You're hilarious." Arashi scowled.

"I've caught 5 Pokémon already! How many have you caught?" NV asked leaning toward her again.

At that, Arashi became quite and unsure of herself thinking about that one feisty Rattata she had struggled to catch. She lowered her head and spoke softly and unsurely, "Uh… well… one." She blushed.

"One? Oh man!" NV was sent into a fit of laughter at her expense, "What did you catch?"

"A… a Rattata."

"Rattata! A Rat!" NV's laughter became even more deviously jolly, "This is great!"

"Well my Rattata is not like any other Rattata! It's a top Rattata!" she lied, yelling out of embarrassment, "And she's going to get me through the Pokémon league you'll see!"

NV stopped laughing at the last thing she said, he squinted his large golden eyes unsure of the level of seriousness in Arashi's last statement, "Let me see her then." He waved a hand nonchalantly.

"What?" Arashi drew her hands in nervously.

"Let me see your Rattata."

Reluctantly, Arashi reached the pouch on her belt and pulled out Rattata's pokéball. She pressed the enlarger and it grew in size within her small hand. She tossed the ball and red light emitted as it opened. Before Arashi even could see Rattata appear, sharp teeth sunk into her arm, "Ahh!" she screamed as she began to shake it to get away from the pain. Once the red light vanished, the Rattata was clamped onto Arashi's arm, "Rattata! What are you doing? Get off! I caught you! I'm your friend!"

"Friend! Ha! Pokémon are not friends. They are tools that build us up to our success, why do you think we're top of the food chain?" NV laughed, "No wonder your Rattata hates you. You haven't established yourself as dominant."

Arashi continued to try to get Rattata off, "Please, please, I'm your friend, Rattata no!" she grabbed her tail and began to pull, the whole time Eevee jumped up and down squeezing frantically in a panic. Porygon joined in only adding to the frenzy.

NV raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to Quinton, "Who is this? Your little computer nerd boyfriend?"

Finally Arashi pulled Rattata off and put her back in the pokéball, red indents on her arm where Rattata bit her, "Boyfriend?" she called shoving the pokéball back into her pouch, "No!"

"Well I guess part of that statement is true… 2/3rds perhaps." Quinton said placing a finger to his delicate chin, "I am a computer lover, one they call a nerd, I am Arashi's friend, but I am not the kind of friend of which you imply."

NV looked bored and oddly more calm and at ease, "Whatever." He replied coolly, "Smell you later, Arashsnot! Next time you see me, I'll have a badge!" he placed his foot on the petal and zoomed off ripping up more mud as he drove, bug Pokémon fleeing away from the damaging tires.

"What a jerk, he doesn't even care about the bug Pokémon… I bet he views him as weak. I'll show him! My Rattata will be awesome!" Arashi rubbed her arm, "When she… uh stops biting me."

"That guy seemed nice." Quinton said as he politely picked up Eevee and handed her to Arashi.

Arashi embraced her in her arms, the fuzzy fox Pokémon rubbing sweetly against her cheek before climbing onto her shoulder.

"I can't let NV get that badge before me! He's going to be so ahead, I have to beat him to the Pokémon league and win." Arashi spoke with determination, "How much longer until we get out of this forest?" Arashi asked leaning toward Quinton.

"Well…" he pulled out the map again, "I'd say just about half way."

Arashi blinked silently for a second, "Why?" she threw her fists in the air.

"I used my poképad and found a more accurate map. Surely we'll make it by tomorrow morning." Quinton held the fancy technology in his hand.

"Wait!" Arashi pressed her finger on the screen, it rippled under her touch, "We can cut through the trees here and then rejoin the path at the end and avoid all of these turns!"

"But…" Quinton scrolled down, "It says to always stick to the path no matter what."

"Quinton…" Arashi brushed the ash brown bangs out of her face before placing her hands on her hips and giving a mischievous grin, "You don't know me well enough yet… I don't exactly make a habit of following the rules." She repositioned her back pack straps and called out before sprinting off the trail to the trees, "Come on!"

Quinton reluctantly followed as both made their way into the brush squeezing in between the trees. "See!" Arashi called excitedly, "Two people can fit between here just fine." She made her way into the thick brush of the forest floor, lifting her legs high careful not to get her feet caught. Quinton took precautions as well, all though he steps were more than awkward,

"At the rate at which we must walk through this, I have a feeling we are not making it out of here as fast as the path."

Arashi didn't respond and kept going, she knew she could get through it fast as she began to pull ahead of Quinton, 'No, at the rate we WERE going, NV would have been in Cerulean City by the time we made it out. I cannot let that happen. You don't get to be such a jerk and the best at everything, not while I'm around.'

Just as she completed her thought, a loud crack was heard coming from the trees around, Arashi froze and bent her knees, lowering her stance as she looked around for an intruder, or perhaps she was the intruder. Quinton was still coming up behind, 'For someone so small your speed is incredible," Porygon was panting as he floated beside him.

Sticking out her arm Arashi gave a quick hush with her lips as she turned toward him. Eevee froze as well, her large ears twitching with anticipation, her brown eyes shimmering with curiosity as she watched Arashi, her trainer, so she would know her next move. Arashi turned back around listening and waiting for further movement… nothing. Finally, with a sigh of relief, she turned to Quinton, "Whew… guess there was really noth-" Before she could finish her sentence, a blue-green vines yanked Arashi off her feet and hoisted her into the air upside down, her pokéballs falling from her belt pouch and into the thick brush below, "Ahhh!" she screamed as curled up and grabbed at the vine wrapped tightly around her ankle. Eevee was in a panic, jumping up and snapping at the vines, she couldn't jump high enough. She took a few steps back and then sprinted up a tree and jumped toward Arashi after pushing off the trunk of the tree. Opening her mouth she prepared to snap down when another vine of the same solid color whipped Eevee from the side and she was sent hurdling to the ground. "Eevee, no!" she called frantically as she struggled to crawl out of the vine's tight grasp.

She vanished in the trees. In an instant she was gone and the forest was still. Quinton remained quiet as he watched for her, "Arashi!" he called out, his voice wavering slightly, "Porygon," he turned to his Pokémon, "We have to find her! Quick! Search through the trees!"

Arashi felt the wind blow around her as the vine pulled her closer to a black midst of vines. She opened her eyes and looked straight into the large red eyes as she saw the creature. It stood tall above the ground but far from the top of the trees, it's entire body consisted of the bluish green vines, some thicker than the others, it's face was shrouded in shadows and as it watched her, Arashi could feel it's energy and it's thoughts and emotions running through her. Whatever it was, it was scared and smart… and lonely. It put her down on the tangled forest floor and moved deeper into the mass of trees that was the restricted woods of Viridian Forest. Stick to the path. Arashi watched it for a while before turning around and running back to Quinton.

"You're okay!" Quinton called as she broke through the trees, "Oh goodness! I was very confused. What was that thing?"

"I…" Arashi turned around for a second before facing Quinton again, "I don't know… but it didn't want to hurt me."

"Well that's good… do you think it was a Pokémon?"

Arashi shrugged as she picked up her bag and snuggled Eevee in her arms, "Maybe." Eevee licked her cheek, "If it is I want to come back when I've become stronger… and battle with it, then maybe I will understand more about it."

"Perhaps this is why we should have stuck to the path." Quinton suggested.

"Come now, Quint. Would that journey have been half as cool if we would have?" Arashi turned to the clearing, she saw the path and the light of the exit, "There's our way out! Looks like we saved some time after all eh?" she hit his shoulder, him flinching under the blow, "Come on!" she began sprinting to the exit; I'm ready to get my first badge! And nothing is going to stop me. Pewter City, here I come!