Chapter 4

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Once inside the forest, it felt darker and more crowded than the one they had been chased through. The trees were so thickly rooted that they were put through an entire labyrinth of thorns and bushes. Tristan knocked his head into something hanging down from the treetops and jumped back. The thing turned slowly and Kaiba readied himself for something to attack.

"Don't worry about this little thing, it's just a Metapod. They're practically harmless." Brock said with a laugh. Kaiba straightened and glanced around the area. Now that he knew what to look for, he noticed they littered the tops of the trees. Tristan glared at the thing and moved around it, not looking where he was going and bumping onto another. He cursed, swatting at the thing and it swung around, angrily buzzing at him.

"What... what's that?" Serenity asked, somewhat in a daze. Everyone turned and saw the glittering of dust falling around her and moving towards them. They looked up and saw several giant butterflies, the source of the dust.

"Those are Butterfree! The evolved form of the Metapods! We need to get out of here." Brock shouted, reaching forward to grab Serenity's arm, but the second he touched her she fell, unconscious. He began to tire himself, falling under the sleep powder of the Butterfree above him. Tristan ran in as well, against Kaiba's call for him not to, and began to slow and tire with the rest of them. Kaiba took a step back, trying to assess the situation without succumbing to the toxin.

"They're bugs... Get them Spearow." Kaiba said, turning to the small bird. It immediately took flight, swooping and pecking at the Butterfree. It seemed to be doing some real damage, but the bugs outnumbered the bird and overpowered it. He debated the risk of setting the forest aflame by using his Charmander, but in this labyrinth, he and the others might never make it out alive. Suddenly a huge gust of wind rustled through the trees. Kaiba had to hold onto a branch to brace himself, catching his Spearow before it could be carried away in the wind.

Out of nowhere the small bird Serenity had helped bolted through the trees, flapping it's wings at incredible speeds and causing a huge gust, blowing away the bugs and the toxins they carried. Once the area was free of the attackers the bird flew down, landing on the waking Serenity's arm and cooing at her.

"Ugh... did... did you do this?" She asked, finally conscious as the others began to stir. The little bird fluttered happily and nuzzled her as she stroked it gently then turned to the others.

"Heh, seems like that little Pidgy is stronger than it looks." Brock said reaching out to pet it, but getting pecked in return. "Looks like it's defensive of you too." He said, pulling his hand back and rubbing it.

"Pidgy, Is that what you're called? How cute." She said, lifting the little one.

"Look, we can sit around here and wait for them to come back or we can move on and regroup with the rest of us." Kaiba pointed out. Serenity and the others rose and moved to him. The little Pidgy stayed on her shoulder, refusing to let anyone or thing else touch her except Ember. As they emerged from the forest, they could see only a small field between them and a town.

"This is Pewter City. My home town. I know I live a little out of the way, but this is where my gym is. There's also a research center on the northern edge of town, but it's more of a museum now. They focus on extinct species." Kaiba glanced towards the larger building to the north, but turned away. He wasn't interested in the past of this world. Only on how to get stronger in it so he could get out of it.

"Brock, because you know the area, would you be able to ask around to see if our friends have been through here?" Serenity asked hopefully while the others looked on.

"Sure thing. Let's stop by my gym. Forrest should be there." He said, walking to the north east of town. Once inside Brock greeted his junior trainer and moved on to his younger brother.

"Hey, I was just going to talk to you..." Forrest said sadly.

"What's the matter?" Brock asked him, concern clear in his voice.

"Well, you know those people you wanted us to look out for?" Forrest started. Brock nodded him on and he continued. "Well, they just left. I tried to get them to wait, but they were chasing some guys from Team Rocket!" Serenity, Tristan, and Kaiba all glanced between each other, then back to the two brothers in front of them. "Also... You were gone and one of them wanted to challenge the gym... I... I accepted. I'm sorry Brock, I lost." Brock gave a sympathetic smile to him and patted his head.

"You're a great trainer. If they beat you, they might have even beaten me too. Did you give them a badge?" The boy nodded slowly, unable to meet his brothers gaze. "Good. You're a good kid. don't be so down on yourself. This is our family's gym. We all run it. If they beat you, they earned the badge." He said before standing and looking to the trio. "If they just left you might want to go after them. I'm going to stay here with my brother. I cant travel to far, being the gym leader, but what I can do is give you a map." He said, moving to the wall of the gym and pulling off a large map of the area. He rolled it up and handed it to them, bidding them farewell.

They were instructed that their friends went down route three towards Mount Moon, which the map pointed out was directly west outside of town. The wild pokemon in that area were much more difficult to deal with than the ones in the forest. It was disheartening for the group, but they continued on. Kaiba was determined to strengthen his pokemon, and his pokemon, also seemingly eager to fight, happily obeyed. Tristan became a bit competitive, seeing Serenity wowed by Kaiba's immediate talent and skill with the pokemon, and began training his, hoping to eventually beat Kaiba and woo Serenity. It made the trip a bit longer than they would have liked, but eventually they came to the foot of a large mountain with a large cave at the base.

They could see a Pokemon center off to the side and decided to rest a bit, wondering if they really had to enter the cave. They asked around the pokecenter if anyone had seen their friends and were informed that they did in fact enter the cave, still in chasing off the 'Team Rocket' members. Once inside, the cave wasn't as scary as Serenity had thought it would be. There was enough sunlight glittering through the cracks in the mountains to dimly light the cave. All they had to worry about now was the pokemon hiding in the rocks.

Kaiba and Serenity let out their Charmanders, utilizing the fire from their tails as they traveled through darker sections of mountain. Small pokemon with stone skin in the shape of boulders with arms littered the cave floors. Kaiba was determined to learn how to defeat his pokemon's weaknesses and ordered his Charmander and Spearow to attack. The Spearow circled above, doing negligible damage as it swooped down and pecked the rock while his Charmander scratched and clawed at it. The pokemon hoisted a rock twice the size of itself and launched it across the cavern, knocking the Spearow out of the air.

It then turned it's attention on the Charmander. The fiery lizard dodged back and forth, the rocks narrowly missing it, then lunged forward, headbutting it. The rock pokemon rolled back while the poor Charmander reeled in pain. The rock turned on Kaiba, throwing a boulder at him this time. He dodged the projectile and it shattered against the wall behind him. The pokemon moved closer to the cavern walls and began pounding on them in a rhythmic fashion.

"What is it doing?" Tristan asked, looking to Serenity as Kaiba collected his pokemon. Before anyone could answer a deep rumbling came from the earth around them. Eight, maybe ten more of those creatures came from all around them, circling them and trapping them. Tristan called out his Pinsir and Mankey and Serenity pulled out her Pidgy to join her Charmander. Immediately the Mankey got to work, chopping and kicking the small boulders, but was still too weak to defend itself. The Pidgy and Ember distracted their enemies and took hits for Mankey so it could do it's thing.

The small rocks slowly withered their pokemon's strength, slowing them and making them easier targets. Pidgy was the first to fall unconscious, worrying Serenity and forcing her to recall the small bird.

"It's too dangerous, We cant hold them off!" Serenity cried, running up to Ember and holding the semi conscious lizard. Her pleas reached the others as they looked to their wounded pokemon, but they weren't the only ones to notice her. The enemy pokemon hurled a round of stones in their direction as Tristan leaped out of the way, leaving nothing between the rocks and Serenity. She rose, trying to get out of the way but it was too late. She watched in horror as the stones hurtled through the air towards her. All she could do now was close her eyes and let out a scream while clinging to Ember.

"Ugh!" She heard grunt over her as rocks collided with flesh. She opened her eyes and looked up at a wincing Kaiba as he braced himself against the wall behind her and shielded her from the assault. The rocks finally stopped and Kaiba was able to focus on her now. "Be more careful." He instructed, leveling her with a glare before turning to face the rock pokemon. His Charmander stood before him, eager to try against it's weakness again.

The small lizard lunged forward, bringing it's claw down on the rock, and amazingly, breaking through. It continued in this manner, removing threat after threat. Kaiba smiled down at the little one as it finished up.

"Serenity, are you ok?" Tristan asked, grabbing her hand and trying to get her attention. Her eyes never wavered from Kaiba's form as he turned back to her, hearing the inquiry and wondering what her answer would be.

"I'm fine... Thanks to Kaiba. Are... Are you alright?" He stared at her for a moment then sighed.

"I'd be better if I had someone competent traveling with me." Serenity turned away, unable to face him any longer. She hated being so weak. Someone was always saving her or protecting her. She was sick of it.

With Kaiba's Charmander's new found ability, they were able to move through the rest of the cave easily. They searched every last crack in the tunnels, making sure their friends weren't lost inside. Once they emerged from the cave, they could see the next town just a little ways away. Before they could even get to the town, they saw a girl sitting alone and decided to ask if she had seen heir friends.

"I'm sorry, but I've seen every person who's entered Cerulean City, and I haven't seen your friends."

"Maybe you just weren't paying attention." Kaiba narrowed his gaze on her, but astonishingly enough, the girl puffed herself up and met the glare, offering him one of her own.

"Are you telling me I cant do a simple task like watching the cave? Because that's all I've been doing for the last week and a half. Why don't you crawl back in there until you learn some manners." She said, ready for a fight. Serenity pushed her way in front of Kaiba, trying to halt the altercation.

"No, of course not. See, we're new around here, and we were separated from our friends. He's just really worried about his little brother. They don't like being apart." The girls eyes softened and she looked over Kaiba, who was upset that Serenity had barged into their conversation and had the nerve to speak on his account.

"Oh... So you just want to make sure your friends are alright?" The girl asked and Serenity nodded.

"My big brother is with them too." She added, making the girl give her a sympathetic look.

"I guess I can help you out a bit. My name's Misty. If you want, I can escort you around in Mt. Moon. My water type pokemon can easily take out those rock heads in there." She said, energetically gripping a pokeball. Kaiba wasn't exactly thrilled, but decided to allow her to help. She was more knowledgeable about the area, and he was interested in seeing what kind of power she harnessed.

They moved back into the tunnels and began their exploration. Misty called one of her pokemon to walk with them. It was in the shape of a star with a bright gem in the center. She called it 'Staryu'. They watched as it used a high pressure beam of water from it's top point and easily fended off the rock type pokemon.

"So, Water type pokemon huh?" Tristan asked, also curious about them.

"Yup. It's a family tradition, besides, water pokemon are some of the prettiest pokemon, I mean, just look at my Staryu." She knelt, polishing the gem at it's center. It was kind of pretty. "My sisters are better than me... but that's not for long. I'm training so I can continue my family's duties at our Gym... and show my sisters a thing or two."

"Does everyone own a gym?" Kaiba asked, rolling his eyes. He assumed the water pokemon would be great against his Charmander, and his Spearow was still too weak to really fight on it's own right now. He was beginning to wonder if he could find a gym where he would be the stronger type.

"Well, the families that run the gym pretty much protect the town and are a big part of the community. We're their protectors. I watch this road, while my sisters each watch the roads north, south and east of the city. That way, if anything bad happens, we've seen all strange pokemon and people coming and going." Serenity looked at the girl in wonder. She was so young and already taking care of herself and standing up to even Kaiba. This girl, at least six years her youth, was twice the woman she hoped to be. She just had everything together and that's what Serenity wanted more than anything.

Maybe all she needed was a challenge and this world... was full of them.

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So, another update. I like how this story is going so far, and I'm happy it's coming out how I imagined it. I posted a picture inspired from this fic on my deviant art account (kehkansklover) But just a warning, it contains spoilers. There's a full link in my profile to my account. Let me know what you guys think so far. I love the reviews!

Read, Review, Enjoy~Love!