Here I am, back yet again.
The story seems to be going along great for me, as I'm having a blast writing it. Not much of a following, but that's ok. At least I've got two people who seem to like it, so that's something.
Anyways, I don't own Pokémon, and here's Chapter 5.
Chapter 5: Scizor and the Beedrill
It had been about two hours since the trio and their Pokémon had left Viridian City, and they had just settled down for a short break. Stephen, Machop, and Charmander leaned up against the tree, snacking on energy bars the teen had pulled out of his pack. Chikorita laid not that far away from Charmander, silently enjoying the brilliant mid-day sun. Totodile was sprawled out on the ground, extremely tired from all the physical activity he had to do. Peter sat on the ground next to his Pokémon while Ethan went behind a tree to relieve himself. As they sat there quietly resting, Peter pulled out a map and looked it over.
"According to the map, we're going to have to pass through Viridian Forest to reach Pewter City. That should be interesting." Stephen nodded, and then rested his head back against the tree, closing his eyes.
"Yeah, I guess so. Maybe you and Ethan will catch your first Pokémon there?" Peter looked down at Totodile, patting his tired friend on the head.
"Yeah, maybe we will. What do you say, Totodile?" The blue croc looked up at his trainer, nodding his head earnestly.
"Dile!" Ethan walked returned from his bathroom break, his face showing what a relief an empty bladder could be.
"Ah, that felt so good." Stephen opened his eyes as Ethan spoke, a small smile spreading across his face.
"I have no doubt about that. Few things feel as good in the world as taking a piss when you really have to go." Peter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Not that I don't agree, because I do, but do we have to talk about urinating? There's got to be something slightly more appropriate we can talk about." Ethan and Stephen exchanged glances and shrugged.
"Fine, Peter. Since it looks like everybody's rested and ready to go, I guess we should get going. Agreed?" Everyone gave their affirmation, and shortly there after the group was off again.
…..
Twenty minutes later saw the trio of teens and their Pokémon arriving at the beginning of Viridian Forest. Lush green trees stretched on as far as the eye could see, providing a wonderful amount of shade for those using the path. Stephen breathed in deeply, enjoying the smell of the forest air.
"Boy, the air sure is nice here." commented Stephen as the boys continued their march along the path. "The trees sure do help keep it clean and cool." Peter nodded his consent as he replied.
"Yeah, it sure does. Not to mention the fact that the shade feels immaculate after walking under the hot sun for so long." Totodile nodded his head frantically in support of his trainer's words, the Pokemon's enthusiasm having returned now that the group wasn't constantly being beat on by the sun. Chikorita, on the other hand, didn't share the blue croc's opinion.
"Chikachika chikorita rita chika." Ethan looked down at his grass type, trying hard not to smile at her.
"Yes, Chikorita, we understand that, as a grass type, you enjoy the sun. But I think you're the only one here who isn't glad for a little shade." Huffing, Chikorita turned her attention to Charmander, a hopeful expression on her face as she spoke.
"Ritarita?" Charmander was taken aback by the sudden question, blushing slightly as Chikorita continued to stare at him. The fire lizard reached back and scratched his head, grinning embarrassedly and giving Chikorita a thumbs up.
"Char char mander char." Chikorita offered the embarrassed lizard a small smile at these words, turning back to Ethan with a knowing expression on her face.
"Chika chikorita rita chika!" Ethan rolled his eyes at his Pokemon, turning away from her as he replied.
"Well excuse me! So there's one other person here that enjoyed the sun! Yeesh!" Chikorita smiled smugly as she walked alongside her trainer, seemingly content that she had won the argument. Stephen looked down at Charmander, trying hard not to smile when he noticed that the normally orange Pokemon's face was now scarlet. The blonde teen was just about to advise his friend to go and talk to Chikorita, but a rustling in the bushes a few yards ahead cut him off. The group looked over at the bushes, an uncomfortable silence falling over the group as they waited. Feeling the need to do something, Stephen cleared his throat and then called out:
"Uh, hello? Is there anybody there?" In answer to his question, something crawled out from the bush. It heavily resembled a large caterpillar; its segmented body was mainly green with a yellowish stomach. On its head it had two very large eyes and what very closely resembled a slingshot. Intrigued, Stephen pulled out his Pokedex and pointed at the new arrival.
"Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon. Caterpie has a voracious appetite. It can devour leaves bigger than its body right before your eyes. From its antenna, this Pokémon releases a terrifically strong odor." Closing and putting the device away, Stephen looked over at Ethan and Peter, not sure what they should do. Responding to Stephen's unasked question, Peter knelt down on the ground in front of the Caterpie, putting on a friendly smile as he spoke.
"Hey there, Caterpie. How are you doing?" The green bug looked up at Peter, a smile spreading across its face.
"Pie." Totodile walked over, smiling at the new Pokemon.
"Diledile Totodile?" Caterpie looked over to Totodile, and then gestured to the bush it was in.
"Caterpie piepie cater." Totodile looked around the bush to find that the caterpillar wasn't lying. The hungry little bug had been munching away at the bush, and had already consumed the entire back half, causing Totodile to gawk visibly. Stephen walked over to the caterpillar, looking around as he did so.
"Does he live around here? I don't like the idea of such a little guy being out in the forest all alone. It could be dangerous." Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound caused the boys to stop talking. The Caterpie began to whimper, inching forward to hide behind Peter's leg, Totodile hiding behind the other one. Ethan and Chikorita looked one way down the path, Stephen and his Pokemon looking the other. Out of nowhere four large Pokemon appeared, two to each side of the path. They were best described as giant bees with large lances on their forelegs. Ethan gulped loudly.
"Krap, those are Beedrill. And they look really pissed." Stephen nodded, taking a step back towards Peter.
"I remember Prof. Oak once telling me that Beedrill are extremely territorial. Do you think we're too close to a nest of theirs?" Even though he couldn't see it, Stephen could tell that Ethan had shrugged.
"I don't know, but it's certainly possible. Whatever the reason, having four angry Beedrill on our hands isn't going to be easy. They're stingers are incredibly poisonous, not to mention that Beedrill themselves are wicked fast. I don't know how we'll pull this off if they're here to fight." The last had just left Ethan's lips when the four Beedrill attacked. As the attacking Pokemon closed in, Stephen and Ethan called out orders.
"Charmander, use Ember to slow their charge! Machop, try and land a solid blow without using your injured hand!"
"Chikorita, hit them with Razor Leaf!" The Pokemon responded to their respective trainer's orders immediately. The flame on Charmander's tail burned bright as the fire type unleashed a ball of flame at the two Beedrill on his side. Due to the speed at which they were flying, only one of the large bugs was able to veer out of the way. The unlucky one took the blast head on, lost control of its flight due to the pain, and crashed into a tree, effectively knocking itself out. The one that had managed to dodge the flame turned to Machop, who was trying to land a clean blow. However, its injured hand encumbered the normally agile Pokemon, and Beedrill was only too willing to take advantage of that.
Chikorita's battle was going about as well as Machop's. The Razor Leaf the grass type had started the battle off with had done near to nothing, grass types moves basically pointless against the poison and bug type Beedrill. However, neither Chikorita nor her trainer was ready to give up yet.
"Alright, Chikorita, hit one of them with Tackle!"
"Chika!" The grass type rushed towards the closest Beedrill, lowering her head and drilling it hard in the mid-section. But while the attack had stopped one of the Beedrill, the other one had slipped past and was now upon Peter. Only it didn't seem interested in Peter at all. Rather, it was thrusting at the boy's legs, trying to hit the Caterpie. Something clicked in Stephen's mind when he quickly glanced back and noticed this.
"Peter, these Beedrill are after that Caterpie! Don't let them get it." Nodding his understanding, Peter called out an order to Totodile.
"Totodile, use Bite on Beedrill!" The blue croc responded immediately, leaping out from behind Peter and biting the large bee in the middle of its back, landing in a position where it would be safe from the bee's stingers. Beedrill grunted in pain as the blue croc bit down on its back. Taking off, the large bug attempted to shake Totodile off its back, spinning and changing directions rapidly. Totodile was just about to loose its grip when Peter yelled out a new command.
"Nice job, Totodile. Now, let go and hit it with Water Gun." The blue croc opened its mouth, slipped off Beedrill's back, and began to fall back towards Earth. As the large insect noticed this, it began to chase after the falling Pokemon. It was then that Totodile opened its mouth and shot a blast of water at the oncoming Beedrill, catching it full in the face. Totodile landed clumsily next to Peter, breathing hard from all the physical exertion. Meanwhile, the Water Gun, while damaging, seemed to have only ticked the Beedrill of. As the large bee bore down on the now tired Totodile and with Stephen and Ethan's Pokemon currently caught up in their own battles, things didn't look good. But as the Beedrill pulled back one of its stingers for a strike, something flashed out from the forest.
"Zor!" The Beedrill didn't even have time to react before a glowing claw smashed into the side of its face, knocking it out cold. Before Peter had time to figure out what had hit the Beedrill, the mysterious arrival flashed off in a blur of movement towards Ethan and Chikorita. Sensing movement behind her, the grass type had just turned her head when the stranger rushed past her and struck the Beedrill Chikorita had been fighting with a powerful blow to its mid-section, which sent it flying back into a tree and neatly knocking it unconscious. But as the new arrival turned around, it stopped in its tracks. Its next target, the Beedrill that Machop had been battling, lay unconscious at the feet of Charmander, its body slightly blacker than it used to be.
"What is that Pokemon?" asked Peter, finally able to get a good look at it now that it had stopped moving. It had a hard, almost steel-like, red exoskeleton; with two large pincers for hands that each had what appeared to be fake eyes. Curious, Stephen pulled out his Pokedex again and pointed it at the strange arrival.
"Scizor, the Pincer Pokemon. This Pokémon's pincers, which contain steel, can crush any hard object it gets a hold of into bits." Stephen closed the Pokedex and put it away, looking at the new arrival curiously.
"Wow, did you guys see that? That Scizor completely destroyed those two Beedrill." Ethan nodded, continuing to stare at the Scizor as Stephen, Peter, and their Pokemon walked over to him and Chikorita. The Caterpie that had been hiding behind Peter's leg peeked out, letting out a little cheer when it saw the Scizor.
"Piepie Caterpie!" The Scizor looked down as the caterpillar crawled towards it, a stern expression its face. When Caterpie noticed this, it stopped in its tracks and stared at the ground, much like a child would.
"Scizor zor zor scizor!" The Scizor seemed to be scolding the Caterpie, much like a mother would a child. And, Stephen realized, the Scizor was in fact female, as the abdomen on this one was much larger than a male's would be. The Caterpie seemed to be trying to melt into the ground. The sight of the saddened Caterpie seemed to calm down the Scizor, a motherly expression replacing the stern look she had had on. Bending down, the Scizor picked up the Caterpie and rocked it back and forth, bringing a smile back to the caterpillar's face. Ethan looked back to his companions, a confused expression on his face.
"What was all that about?" Peter shrugged, but Stephen had a thoughtful expression on his face.
"As far as I can tell, Scizor was scolding Caterpie from going to far away from the grove, even though it knew it was dangerous." Scizor looked up as Stephen was speaking, suspicion spreading over its face.
"Scizor?" The group looked over at the red Pokemon, a slight unease settling over the group.
"Do you think she thinks we're here to hurt that Caterpie too?" asked Ethan. Stephen shrugged, but didn't dismiss the idea as a possibility.
"Charmander, tell Scizor we're not here to hurt Caterpie. In fact, we protected it." Charamander nodded and began to approach Scizor, but stopped in his tracks when the red Pokemon growled threateningly. Charmander looked over to Chikorita.
"Char char Charmander?" Chikorita smiled at Charmander, understanding that a fire type wouldn't be as accepted by a Steel and Bug type as a grass type would. Walking up to Scizor, Chikorita put a friendly smile on her face.
"Chikachika rita Chika." Scizor looked skeptically at Chikorita, but Caterpie nodded its head in affirmation of her words.
"Piepie Caterpie!" The green caterpillar looked over at Totodile and Peter, smiling gratefully. Peter and his blue Pokemon smiled happily.
"Don't mention it, Caterpie. I'm just glad that Beedrill didn't get to you."
"Dile!" Scizor placed Caterpie back on the ground and turned to the group, bowing its head.
"Scizor zor." Stephen smiled and waved the words of thanks away.
"Don't even worry about it, Scizor. Helping Caterpie was the only option as far as we were concerned. Right, guys?" Ethan nodded as Peter replied.
"Yeah, it was no trouble. I can't stand people who pick on those who are weaker than them, and Pokemon are no exception." The Scizor looked up, a friendly smile now on its face. But as Scizor opened her mouth to speak, a loud buzzing sound cut her off. Ethan gulped as he said:
"I think those Beedrill were just a scout group. That's probably their reinforcements coming now. We should get out of here while we can." Responding to Ethan's words, Scizor scooped up Caterpie, motioned for the group to follow her, and took off into the forest. Not wishing to fight anymore Beedrill if it could be helped, the boys and their Pokemon followed quickly, leaving the path deserted, except for the four unconscious Beedrill, that is.
…..
Five minutes later, the group broke out of the forest into a clearing, causing the trio of teens to stop and stare.
"Wow…" was all that Stephen could manage. There were dozens of Caterpie in the grove, munching happily on any leaves they could find. But what really amazed the boys was the other Pokemon there. There were countless numbers of Metapod, all in various stages of their evolution. Also situated in the grove were several Butterfree, though not as may as there should have been. The boys watched as many of the Caterpie rushed over to Scizor, all of them looking extremely happy to see her. Smiling, the red Pokemon put down the Caterpie she was holding and smiled at the exuberant youngster, patting them on their heads and sending them on their way. When the Caterpie had gone back to eating or playing, an elderly Butterfree came over to Scizor.
"Freefree Butterfree?" Scizor looked at the old Pokemon, bowing her head respectfully.
"Scizor zorzor Scizor." The Butterfree got a grave expression its face after Scizor had spoken.
"I think that that Butterfree is the leader of this group." Ethan whispered out of the side of his mouth. The Butterfree looked over at the trio and there Pokemon now. Nodding his head at them, he turned back to Scizor and asked:
"Free Butterfree?" Scizor nodded and gestured to the group.
"Zor Scizor Scizor zor." Butterfree smiled and nodded, looking back over to the boys its gaze settled on Stephen. Closing its eyes, the Butterfree's body began to glow. Suddenly, Stephen heard a voice whispering in his mind.
Hello, human. I am the leader of this grove. I thank you and your friends for saving young Caterpie from those Beedrill. Stephen jumped at the words in his head, turning to his friends.
"Do you guys hear that?" Ethan looked at the blonde teen strangely.
"Hear what, Stephen?" Stephen scratched his head, looking back to the old Butterfree, who still had its eyes closed. An idea came to him. "I think…I think that old Butterfree is talking to me telepathically." Ethan's eyes widened at this, but Peter nodded his head.
"Yes, that makes sense. Butterfree have psychic abilities, so I guess it's possible. This is an amazing discovery. What's it saying?"
"It thanked us for saving Caterpie from the Beedrill." Peter and Ethan smiled, turning back to the butterfly.
"It was no trouble, Butterfree. We were happy to help." The voice returned to Stephen's mind.
It does an old heart good to see such kindness in others. And it is because of this selflessness that I feel bad about making a request from you three. Stephen blinked at the last part.
"A request? What of?" As the voice began to reply, a sudden commotion caused the group to turn. Charmander, who had apparently been trying to say hello to the young Caterpie, was currently being harassed by a trio of younger Butterfree. As the elder Butterfree turned towards the commotion, Stephen discovered that the psychic link was still active.
"You three, cut that out! That Charmander is a guest of honor here." The largest of the three Butterfree turned towards the older Pokemon, and as it spoke, Stephen realized he could understand the other Butterfree as well.
"But father, he is a fire tail! Have you forgotten it was one much like him that destroyed our previous home?" The older Butterfree responded, visibly fighting to keep anger out of his voice.
"How could I forget, my son? We lost your dear mother in that blaze! Do you think I could forget that?" The younger butterfly was considerably humbled at that.
"Of course not, father. I-I know you would never forget mother. But this fire type-"
"This fire type was not responsible for that!" The village leader said, cutting his son off. "Your mother would be ashamed if she was here to see you holding that disaster against somebody who just put his life on the line for one of our own." By this time, the son had lost its will to argue. Considerably humbled, the young Pokemon bowed his head.
"Forgive me, father. I spoke in anger." Turning back to Charmander, the butterfly bowed his head again. "And I ask you for forgiveness as well, flame tail." Charmander waved it off.
"Char char." So the psychic link only lets me understand Butterfree, huh? Stephen's train of thought was interrupted by Ethan clearing his throat.
"Uh, Stephen? Care to tell us what happened?" Blinking, Stephen remembered that Peter and Ethan didn't have the link that he had. Quickly recovering, Stephen told his friends all that had happened. After mentally digesting this new information, Ethan said:
"So, what's this request he has or us?" The voice returned to Stephen's mind.
Yes, my request. But before I can ask it of you, I believe you should hear the story leading to it. I would appreciate it if you would tell it to your friends as I do. You see… And so the old Pokemon began his tale, stopping periodically so Stephen could bring Peter and Ethan up to speed. The Pokemon in this grove hadn't lived here until this year. They had inhabited a different grove to the east of this one for as long as the old butterfly could remember. That is, until one Pokemon had burnt down the grove. In the blaze, both the old Butterfree's mate and the grove were lost.
"That's terrible!" Peter exclaimed after Stephen had relayed this information to his friends.
"Chikacika!" Ethan's grass type Pokemon agreed. Stephen looked over at her and had to force himself not to smile. Without realizing it, Chikorita had snuggled up to Charmander for comfort during the sad tale, making the fire type blush profusely. Machop snickered at his embarrassed teammate.
Yes, it saddens me every time I think about it. Still, I have my son to remind me of her. That helps me get by. The Butterfree told of how the group had migrated in search of an appropriate grove. Finding this one abandoned was like a gift from above. Or, it had at the time. Not long after there arrival, a hive of Beedrill had come here. Apparently, the Pokemon had used this grove before, but had moved on to allow the foliage to grow back.
I suggested that we share the grove, the old Butterfree said in Stephen's mind, but the Beedrill would have none of it. They demanded that we leave and find a new place. I tried to explain to them how unreasonable this was, but they just wouldn't listen. When they resorted to violence, we were forced to respond in kind. We held our own for awhile, but they had an advantage in numbers. When it seemed we would have to give in, Scizor here lent us a hand. At the mention of her name, Scizor smiled and waved.
She has acted as our guardian for awhile now, providing a defense for our young that the few of us that are old enough to fight couldn't provide much longer. However, her services are close to being not needed. If you hadn't noticed, many of the Metapod here are close to evolving. And it was true, the boys realized as they looked around the grove. In act, many of the Metapod looked like they would evolve by tonight. And suddenly it made sense to Stephen.
"Your request…I'm guessing you're going to ask us to help Scizor defend the grove. Am I right?" The Butterfree looked down at the ground, his expression grave.
I understand if you don't want to get involved in this. I wouldn't ask if we didn't really need your help. But nobody will think less of you if you want- Stephen cut the old Pokemon off.
"Yeah, I would think less of myself. You can count me in. What about you guys?" The response was unanimous.
"Wouldn't be anywhere else!"
"Just tell us what to do!"
"Chop!"
"Diledile!"
"Chika!"
"Char!" Startled by the Charmander's voice so close to her, Chikorita realized what she had been doing. Blushing, Chikorita ran back to Ethan, leaving Charmander both relieved and disappointed. Stephen smiled at his friends, and then turned back to Butterfree.
I can not thank you enough for you kindness. Stephen waved it away.
"No thanks necessary. How much time do you think we have until they get here?" A loud buzzing sound drifted into the grove, answering his question.
"They're here."
…..
Well, there's my first cliffhanger of the story.
How did this chapter work for you? If you have anything to say, anything at all, there's a small and largely unused review button at the bottom of the page.
Anyways, thanks for reading this, hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!