Rise of a Champion Chapter Three:
Ash yawned for a second as he looked around his room drearily. It was early in the day and the young boy wasn't a morning person. Beside him the small growls of his partner, Larvitar, could be heard as he stirred on the edge of Ash's bed.
"Ughhh. Larvitar what time is it?..." Ash moaned as he rubbed his eyes to try and get rid of some of the sleep.
"Larvi-Tarr..." The Pokemon groaned back as it wriggled slightly. With a groan of annoyance, Ash looked at the alarm clock and his eyes shot open with worry present in them.
"LARVITAR WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!" Ash shouted as he bolted out of his bed and into the nearby bathroom. The rock skin Pokemon lying on the end of his bed shot up with its eyes wide open as it looked around.
Today was a big day for the both of them. Today they started their journey.
*CRASH* *BANG*
Ash stumbled out of the nearby bathroom fully dressed. His hair was still wet from the rushed shower he just had and his T-Shirt was on back-to-front.
"Let's get downstairs Larvitar!" Ash shouted as he rushed down to the kitchen. The small rock type shouted its name excitedly as it rushed down the stairs after its trainer... Only to trip on the first step due to its stubby legs and fall the rest f the way down.
"Larvi- Tar..."
"Morning Ash," Delia Ketchum said with a cheery voice as her son rushed into the room. Ash shouted back a 'good morning' whilst trying to scarf down his breakfast. Larvitar had slowly walked into the room soon after and began to happily eat on a bowl of Pokemon food left out by Ash's mother.
*COUGH* *COUGH*
Ash choked slightly as he wolfed down his food, his body unable to handle the rapid intake. His mother merely smiled at her son as he recovered.
"Ash calm down! You can't go to Professor Oak's lab if you're in the hospital choking!"
The raven-haired boy jumped up from the table and grabbed a travelling backpack that he had left on the table last night.
His mother had told him that it was the same backpack that his father had used when he first travelled around Kanto. Like most other trainer backpacks it was light, elastic, and had multiple compartments for everything he would need on his journey.
"Make sure you come back here and say goodbye before you leave Ash! I'll make sure that there's nothing you've left behind whilst you're at the lab," Delia said with a smile as Ash raced off.
"Thanks Mom, I'll see you later!"
Ash smiled and nodded at her, the excitement killing any words he might have said. The boy started to run off towards the lab, Larvitar hot on his feet. As he trekked through the small town he smiled and waved goodbye to some of the people who wished him good luck in his journey. Pallet was generally known as a small town so everyone knew that Ash along with a couple of others would be starting their journey today.
In record time at all the trainer and Pokemon pair were at the large white building near the edge of town. From where the lab was they could make out the volcano situated on Cinnabar Island, which was spewing ash.
Ash noticed three other kids standing outside the doors nearby and walked up to them and greeted them.
"You're late Ashy-boy," Gary said with a smirk, which cause the raven-haired boy to mock glare at him, eliciting laughs from the other two there.
"You two never change," a brown haired girl laughed. Gary began to laugh to soon after.
"Old habits die hard Leaf," the brown-haired boy quipped playfully. The four talked for a while before the Professor walked out of the lab. The four trainers rushed forward as the old man featured for them to follow him into his lab. They followed the Professor past various parts of his lab before they were guided into a small room with three pokeballs laying on a table.
The Professor stood next to the table and smiled reassuringly and greeted them all by name, making the two trainer who hadn't been here before relax slightly. Ash felt Larvitar gently leaning against his leg, most likely tired from the running they had to do to get there.
The aged Professor began to address them all, showing them the pokeballs he had laid out in front of them.
"The pokeball to the left here is Bulbasaur, a grass type. The pokeball in the centre is Charmander, a fire type and the poke ball on the right is Squirtle, a water type. Each of them have their strengths and weaknesses but a skilled trainer use any of them very well."
Gary took a step back and released his Squirtle, which stood proudly next to him. The two new trainers looked at the Pokemon in awe before the Professor's grandson spoke.
"Since me and Ash-boy have already got Pokemon you guys go ahead."
Leaf and the other trainer nodded in confirmation as Ash walked backwards to stand with Gary, Larvitar at his heels.
Leaf walked forward and picked up the pokeball to the left and threw it, releasing the Pokemon inside. A small, green, dinosaur-looking Pokemon appeared in a flash of light and calmly began to inspect its surroundings. Leaf smiled and started to pet it and hold it in her arms.
The other trainer tentatively walked towards the pokeball in the middle and released the Pokemon inside as well.
An orange, lizard-looking Pokemon appeared in a flash of light this time and curled up into a ball, yawning lazily. The other new trainer walked over and cautiously began petting it as it laid on the floor and lazily looked up at him.
"Now that everyone has a starter Pokemon could you please return them and come over here," Professor Oak asked as he pocketed the remaining pokeball left on the table and walked over to another desk.
The four trainer followed the elderly Professor as he tipped a large bag upside down, allowing four small, red computers to tumble out of it. Holding one up the Professor began to talk
"This is one of my latest inventions known as the Pokedex. It only recently got completed and since then it has been distributed all over Kanto. The Pokedex can give you any information on what Pokemon you come across: from what it's types are to what moves it can learn along with potential moves."
The new trainers widened their eyes in surprise at what the small computer could do. For its size the Pokedex could do so much. The Professor continued to reveal other features for a while and they all listened intently. When they scanned a Pokemon it would give them a basic idea as to what it could do but in order to find out more about it.
"Now that you all know what these can do I suggest that you get ready to travel on the road. Ash, Gary I need to borrow you both for a second.
The two mentioned trainers stayed behind whilst the others left, leaving them alone with the old Professor.
"I just wanted to let you both know that the Pokedex is the final project that both your parents took a part in. Without Res or Blue's help I wouldn't have been able to finish these Pokedex."
Ash's eyes lit up whilst Gary's narrowed and he started to walk away.
"As if I need his help anyway..."
Professor Oak sighed as he watched his grandson leave the lab before turning to Ash
"Ash I also wanted you to know that your father would be proud of you starting your journey," the old man did with a smile. Ash smiled back as he bent down and picked up the Rock Skin Pokemon leaning on his leg.
"Thanks Professor, I'll look out for Gary on the road as well," Ash replied as he turned away.
Professor Oak smiled as he watched the trainer and Pokemon leave.
"Both you and Gary are going to go far Ash..."
The old man turned around and walked over to desk in the corner of the room. Lying on the desk was a phone which said it was currently engaged, having been in a call for the past twenty minutes.
"Did you both hear that?" The Professor asked as he looked at the phone. A sigh could be heard as well as a "mhmm" of confirmation as two people answered.
"Gary still seems to hold my departure against me..." One voice sighed as the Professor frowned, not that it was visible to the other two.
"Having a father disappear on you to undertake training isn't always the best way to keep up a strong father-son relationship Blue."
The old man received a grunt of acknowledgement in return.
"As if you're one to talk, not to mention we're out here training to solve your little experi-"
"Enough Blue," the other voice ordered as the two fell silent.
"I just want to say thanks for saying to him what I couldn't," the voice said sombrely.
"Anytime Red, I think it's time that both of you return to Kanto soon, it's time for us to act," the Professor confirmed.
"With Pidgeot I could get back to Kanto in a week or two," Blue confirmed.
"We'll make it down the mountain by tomorrow and set off soon," Red added as a harsh gust of wind blew past them, making the Professor move away from the phone as the sound became too loud.
"Just be careful, Mount Silver isn't the nicest place to traverse at this time of year," the Professor shouted as the two hung up, leaving him on a dead line.
"Stay safe both of you..."
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"So you ready to move out Ashy-boy?" Gary smirked as he walked toward the Route 1 gate. Ash merely shook his head as he walked back towards town.
"In going to go say goodbye to my Mom first, then I'll head out."
Gary gave a smile, one without his usual cockiness as he walked off, releasing his Squirtle as he did so. Holding his hand up high Gary said a few parting words.
"Stay safe Ash."
The raven-haired trainer smiled as he too turned around.
"You too Gary."
Ash made his way back through Pallet Town towards his house and let himself in. His Mom was waiting for him, a small smile on her face.
"Spare clothes?"
"Packed them."
"Food for you and your Pokemon?"
"You helped me pack it yesterday M-"
"What about a town map?"
"It's all packed-"
Almost as soon as he has answered Ash was pulled into a bone-crushing huh by his mother.
"Stay safe Ash," she whispered. Ash could see her eyes watering as she gave him a smile and gestured towards the door.
"I'll be here if you ever need anything so be sure to come home every now and again!"
Ash waved his mother goodbye and as she shut the door behind him. After he had walked out of sight he sprinted towards the gate for Route 1.
His journey had only just begun.
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Ash held his long-time friend in his arms and the rock type yawned tiredly. Larvitar had tried to keep up but rock-types weren't generally known for their speed so when the Larvitar had started to tire Ash decided to pick him up. It wouldn't do them any good if the Rock Skin Pokemon was tired for a battle.
They'd came across a couple of Caterpie and a few Rattata but nothing had so far peaked his interest as something that Ash would want to catch.
The trainer continued to trek through the wilderness for a while, holding his closest friend in his arms as he did so.
Ash jumped slightly as he felt his Pokedex vibrate in his pocket. As he pulled it out and opened the small computer a warning alert flashed across the screen.
According to the Pokedex, a flock of Spearow was currently in the area attacking trainers. The Pokedex rated each alert on a scale, with red being an extreme danger whilst green meant it was only a low risk. Considering the Pokedex rated it as a green risk Ash wasn't too fazed by it.
As soon as Ash put away his Pokedex a loud rustle could be heard from a nearby bush. The trainer and Pokemon froze in their tracks as they heard it, Larvitar now fully awake and alert in his arms.
"What do you reckon it was Larvitar?" Ash whispered as he let the Rock Skin Pokemon down to the ground. Almost instantly the Pokemon tried to make itself as big as possible and started to plod around in the ground.
Ash held back a laugh as he watched the rock type try to convey his thoughts.
"I don't think it's that big..." Ash whispered as a small Pokemon popped out of the bush. It was a small, brown avian Pokemon with a cream coloured face and underside. A small pinkish beak pecked at the ground, searching for berries and other goods.
"A Pidgey!" Ash shouted as Larvitar leapt from his arms. The small flying type looked at the two in shock before preparing itself for a battle.
"Larvitar you ready?" Ash shouted as the rock type got into a battle stance.
"Larvitar!" It shouted in confirmation, dragging one of its feet across the ground. Ash grinned as he listened to his starter before his face became more calculating, already planning moves out in his head.
"Alright Larvitar! Let's start this off with a bite!" Ash shouted as the rock type lunged forward, his teeth glowing with dark energy. The dark type move connected and the Pidgey cried out in pain as it was struck. The small flying type soon retaliated, throwing small tornados of wind at the Larvitar.
"Larvitar, take it," Ash said calmly as the rock type braced itself. Flying types generally relied on fast and nimble attacks that built up damage over time. Rock types had hide that was generally very thick so the small attacks were unable to do much damage at all.
The gust attack hit Larvitar head on, who barely flinched as it connected. After a while the winds died down, revealing the Pidgey who was coming in close for a tackle attack.
"Larvitar use Iron Head!" Ash shouted as the Pidgey came closer. Larvitar's blunt spike in the top of its head glowed before going a metallic silver colour. The Rock Skin Pokemon head-butted the flying type, who cried in pain again.
The Pidgey fell to the floor and laid there for a while, before shakily rising to its feet. Ash raised an eyebrow at the bird in surprise. It's sheer will to not give in was incredible, standing up after receiving an attack that should have knocked it out.
"Larvitar stop for a second," Ash muttered as he walked in front of his Pokemon. The Rock Skin Pokemon's eyes widened in surprise before it slowly walked up to his Trainer's side.
Crouching down on his knees, Ash reached into his backpack and retrieved a small blue berry; and Oran berry.
"Here you go," Ash said as he smiled and offered the berry to the bird. The Pidgey looked at him in surprise and pecked at the Oran berry in his hand. After a while Ash used his other hand to let the small bird, which cooed at the interaction.
"You're pretty tough aren't you," Ash said as he retrieved his Pokedex and scanned the bird, who peered at the device in curiosity.
"Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. A common sight in forests and woods, it kicks up sand at ground level to blind opponents.
Pidgey is a flying and normal type Pokemon.
This Pidgey is female and has the ability: Tangled Feet."
"So you're a girl?" Ash asked out loud, recieving a coo in response from the small bird. Ash fished around in his backpack in a second before retrieving a pokeball from it. He showed it to the Pidgey who looked at it with confusion.
"You're really strong Pidgey and I want you to travel with me, if you're interested then just touch the button on the centre of the ball.
The small bird clicked its beak twice before pressing it against the small button. A bright red light engulfed the Pidgey, drawing it into the pokeball. The ball shook once... Twice... And then three times before it made a clicking sound, indicating a successful capture. With a smile, Ash picked up the pokeball and clipped it onto the belt at his waist.
"Welcome to the team Pidgey," Ash said as Larvitar shouted in happiness. After another flash of bright red light, Pidgey appeared again, looking around in confusion. After spotting Ash, it started to flap its wings, landing on his shoulder.
The three of them, the two Pokemon and trainer, walked through the route, looking for more Pokemon. To their dismay there were no others that particularly stood out, only a couple of Rattata and a lone Ekans, which slithered away as soon as they came near.
The area quickly grew dark, leaving the three unable to see through the pitch black.
With a sigh, Ash mentally kicked himself for never asking anyone how to set up a camp whilst out in the wilderness. It was starting to look like their first night would be very uncomfortable.
The trainer and his Pokemon continued in for a while before finding a suitable clearing. The area was fairly shielded from the elements, meaning they wouldn't have to worry about rain or high winds and it was out the way so hopefully they would avoid trouble.
Larvitar walked around the camp, gathering small pieces of drift wood from the clearing to create a fire. Pidgey sat to a side, pecking at a small bowl of Pokemon food Ash had laid out for the bird Pokemon. Larvitar soon came over and started to tuck into his own food.
Ash meanwhile, had retrieved a lighter out of his backpack and started to light the pile of logs Larvitar had gathered.
The three finished eating and started to take drinks of water, tired from the day of travelling. Pidgey started to coo, indicating it wanted to go to sleep, so Ash returned it to its pokeball to rest. Larvitar simply curled up beside Ash's sleeping bag, ready to sleep through the night.
Ash climbed into the sleeping bag he laid out, throwing dirt on the fire to extinguish it. As he climbed into his sleeping bag he noticed the Rock Skin Pokemon shivering slightly. With a small smile the trainer lifted the small Pokemon up and pulled it into his sleeping bag, hearing Larvitar sigh at the warmth. Ash for the first time felt fear as he realised how much sleeping in the wilderness frightened him. His fears were quickly quelled as he looked at the small rock type next to him. If there was any trouble, he was sure that either Larvitar or Pidgey would be able to handle it.
The two started to fall asleep, allowing the darkness of the wilderness to soothe them into their slumber.
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Ash groaned as he stretched his sore muscles, wincing as the sun's harsh overhead rays hit his eyes.
To his side, Larvitar was curled up, although it's eyes were wide open, showing it was awake. Ash grumbled as he tried to go to sleep, only to be prodded by Larvitar and its blunt spike.
"Alright, alright I'm up," Ash groaned as he gently pushed the rock type away in order to avoid getting prodded again. The raven-haired boy sighed as he got up and started to pack away his sleeping bag.
Ash froze as he looked over at his bag, which was slowly being dragged away by a small piece of string attached to it, leading to the undergrowth. With a growl, the trainer released his newly acquired Pidgey, who looked at the bag in confusion.
"Go scout it out Pidgey," Ash said as he watched the bird hop forward curiously. Noticing the small string attached to the bag, the bird started to pull at it, grabbing it in its beak. The string started to stretch and it wasn't long before-
*SNAP*
It broke...
A small green creature tumbled out of the undergrowth, squeaking angrily at them. Ash sweat-dropped as he realised he was faced with an angry Caterpie. The bug type continued to squeak at them for a while before it realised that it was standing next to a Pidgey, one of its top predators.
With a squeak of fear, the Caterpie dived back into the undergrowth, causing Ash to laugh out loud at the antics.
After around half an hour, Ash was ready to set off, having packed his bags and rolled up his sleeping bag. Looking at his two Pokemon, Ash started to set off.
"Pidgey, fly overhead and practice some aerial manoeuvres, Larvitar today you need to walk we're going to start building up some stamina," Ash said as the two Pokemon shouted in agreement.
The three made their way through the route for a while, looking for any wild Pokemon or trainers to battle.
Eventually they found one, a boy, known as Joey, who was most likely only just older than Ash himself with his Rattata.
Ash chose to use his Pidgey, wanting the newly acquired flying type to gain more experience before they went much further. Larvitar already had battling experience, having been by Ash's side since he had first found the rock type.
The Pidgey stood in front of Ash, her eyes narrowed dangerously at the Rattata in front of him.
"Rattata use quick attack!" The trainer shouted as he watched the purple rat sprint forward, white light gathering up behind it as it ran at an intense speed.
"Pidgey into the air and roll to dodge it!" Ash shouted as the bird started to flap its wings. The Tiny Bird Pokemon narrowly dodged as it sloppily dived out of the wave. Ash winced at the technique shown. It looked like they would need a lot more practice when it came to moving through the air.
"Now counter with a gust attack!" Ash shouted as Pidgey flapped its wings even faster, creating small tornados which battered the Rattata.
"Follow it up with a quick attack!" Ash shouted as the Pidgey sped forward, its wings glowing with white light as it built up speed. However just before it made contact the purple rat dodged the attack.
"This Rattata is going to need a lot more firepower to take it down..." Ash muttered out loud. Pidgey cooed as it flew overhead before squawking in pain as the Rattata's jaws clamped around its body.
"Shake it off Pidgey, scratch it!" Ash shouted as the bird raked its claws across the Rattata's face, making it squeak in pain before falling to the floor.
"Now finish it with another quick attack!" Ash shouted. Almost immediately the Tiny Bird Pokemon was coated in the familiar white light of quick attack. The opponent's Pokemon was to dazed from its fall to react as the flying type crashed into it.
The Rattata cried out in pain as in slide across the ground a couple of times before collapsing; unconscious.
Ash cheered a couple of times as Pidgey did some victory laps in the air around him. Joey walked over with an annoyed look in his face as he held out a wad of cash in his hand.
"Here you go, your winnings," he said as he sighed. Ash looked at the money in confusion.
"Winnings?" Ash asked in curiosity as he looked at the boy in confusion.
"Didn't you know? For every Poke dollar you make over $1000 you have to give away ten percent every time you lose. It's the league's new way to encourage trainers to get stronger."
Ash looked at the money for a second before pocketing it. Judging from the amount given to him it looked to be around $100.
"Thanks?" Ash said in confusion as the boy walked away, returning his Rattata as he did so.
"Well then," Ash said out loud as Pidgey cocked its head to the side, confused. With a small smile the trainer allowed the flying type to return to the air, allowing it to practice its manoeuvres in the air.
Ash continued down the route, occasionally battling trainers. Ash won the majority of his battles with Pidgey, allowing the bird to get the previous experience it needed. After the Tiny Bird started to tire, Ash returned it and allowed Larvitar to take over. The baby pseudo-legendary crushed its opponents easily, allowing for much tougher wins compared to when battling with Pidgey.
After a while it started to go dark again so Ash decided to set up camp again. After releasing both of his Pokemon and retrieving some potions from his bag. After untwisting the cap Ash sprayed some of the medicine onto his Pokemon's wounds, listening to their sighs of relief as their cuts and bites were treated.
Ash sat down fifteen minutes later on his sleeping bag as he got a fire roaring once again, holding a map in his hands. According to his town map the closest gym was in Viridian city, which was where he was heading.
With a content sigh the new trainer extinguished the fire and returned his Pidgey before pulling Larvitar close to him one again as the night got colder once again.
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Ash frowned as he walked through the last stretch of Route 1. For the next two closest gyms, Ash didn't really have anything against them. Whilst his Larvitar had Iron Head, which would be effective against the second gym they faced there was very little he had to combat both rock and ground types. Pidgey, whilst he could hold his own against regular ground types due to being able to dodge most of their moves based on the ground, a large amount of ground types also had a secondary rock typing, meaning they could most likely dish out more damage than Pidgey could input. Not to mention Larvitar was weak to ground type moves due to being part rock type.
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Ash woke up to the sound of thunder overhead and rain hitting the leaves of the trees above him. Larvitar had huddled into his side as closely as possible, most likely to avoid the rain. Ash groaned as he stretched in his sleeping bag, trying to avoid the rain as much as possible.
Grabbing one of the Pokeballs around his waist, Ash recalled Larvitar into his pokeball. With a sigh, the younger trainer wiggled further under the tree in his sleeping bag, waiting for the worst of the rain to stop.
The boy sat under the tree for hours, waiting for the rain to stop until it lessened to a slight drizzle. Realising this was most likely as good as the weather was going to get, Ash sighed and began to get ready to leave.
Hastily rolling his sleeping back up, Ash noticed a small segmented body hanging out of the nearby undergrowth. With a yell of surprise, Ash leapt backwards as a toxic stinger was sent in his direction, easily embedding itself 5 inches into a nearby tree.
The segmented body began to move, revealing a red nose and small beady black eyes which glared at the trainer angrily.
"Weedle," the Pokemon hissed as it reared up backwards. Ash leapt backwards, landing in his backside, in order to avoid another toxic stinger sent in his direction.
"Larvitar!" Ash shouted as he released the Rock Skin Pokemon, who started to look around frantically for its target. The Weedle shot another round of poison stingers at Larvitar, which the Rock Skin Pokemon either dodged or allowed to bounce off of his rock hard skin.
"Use Iron Head!" Ash shouted as Larvitar's blunt spike became as hard as metal, allowing Larvitar to ram into the aggressive Pokemon and send it sprawling across the floor.
As he was doing so, Ash had whipped out his Pokedex and started to scan the Weedle.
"Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokemon. It's poison stinger is known to be very powerful, the venom is known to be fatal to humans. It eats its body weight in leaves each day in order to get ready to evolve.
Weedle is a bug and poison Pokemon.
This Weedle is: Male."
"So it's a bug and poison type," Ash muttered as he watched Larvitar dodge another wave of stingers.
After a while the Weedle began to tire, shooting less and less stingers at a slower pace, making it much easier for Larvitar to dodge them. Seeing an opening arise, Ash shouted a new command.
"Use Iron Head again, but avoid its stinger!"
Larvitar built up momentum, the blunt spike on the end of its head once again glowing a metallic silver. As Larvitar crashed into the Weedle the bug type cried out in pain as it was sent flying into a nearby tree.
Quickly grabbing a pokeball, Ash flung the red capsule at the downed Pokemon, which disappeared in a flash of red light. The ball rocked once... Twice...
And the Weedle broke free.
The small bug slithered away with wide eyes as it realised how close it had come to being caught.
Ash sighed as he picked up the pokeball he had thrown, the hinge on it now broken and rendered useless for another attempt. With annoyed grunt he flung the destroyed pokeball into the wilderness.
"Larvitar..." The Rock Skin Pokemon sighed as it held its head low. Ash gave the rock type a small smile and scratched it gently on the back of its head, making the Pokemon sigh in happiness.
"We'll get him next time ok buddy?" Ash said with a warm smile. Larvitar smiled and gave a cheer if confirmation.
After a couple of minutes, Ash got to work on clearing up his campsite, using Larvitar to destroy any waste he saw.
The calm pace quickly turned into one of haste as the easily recognisable call of a Spearow flock could be heard coming their way.
"Larvitar return, we need to move," Ash shouted as the rock type was engulfed in bright red light and returned to his pokeball.
Ash broke into a sprint as he made it further down Route 1 towards Viridian city, the flock's beating wings frighteningly close behind him.
Sneaking a peak behind him, Ash started to push himself harder as he saw some of the Spearow behind him with their sharp talons outstretched. Spearow were notoriously known for being territorial creatures, meaning Ash's only hope was to run past the invisible barrier that marked their land and pray they didn't follow.
However, his lead didn't last long, as the raven-haired trainer tripped on a stray rock in the path. His foot fell beneath him, leaving the trainer with a mouthful of dirt as he hit the floor.
The trainer groaned in pain as he got to his feet, the Spearow circling overhead squawking in anger.
Without hesitation, Ash released his Larvitar, who growled at the birds.
"Sandstorm Larvitar!"
The surrounding area became engulfed I sand as Larvitar allowed the small particles to expel from his body.
The aggressive birds above them squawked in anger as the sand obscured their view of their targets.
"SQUAWK!"
One of the Spearow tried to take a lucky shot at the rock type within the cloud of sand, dive bombing, and only narrowing missing Larvitar, as it crashed into the ground with a sickening crack.
The sandstorm didn't last for long as the rain from the thunderstorm above started to intensify, leaving the area merely dusty as most of the sand was dragged to the ground.
Ash looked around and noticed that at least a dozen Spearow were left, still circling angrily above them. One of the tried to attack the trainer as it swooped overhead, only to be sent to the ground as Larvitar drove its blunt spike into the bird's soft body.
Whilst they had taken down two of the bird Pokemon, more were beginning to take their place. After a moment a slightly louder squawk sounded over the others and a larger bird appeared. It had a large, drill-like beak and a small head compared to its massive body size.
"A Fearow..." Ash said in both awe and fear as the bird started to swoop towards them, its wings glowing a metallic colour indicating it using a steel wing.
Larvitar tried to dodge the move but it's hard, heavy hide made it difficult to dodge, allowing the large bird to scrape at it with the super effective move.
Larvitar fell to the ground with a strangled cry, clearly unconscious from the hard blow. Ash winced as he watched the Pokemon roll across the ground.
However, the Fearow wasn't done yet. After watching the small rock type roll across the floor it turned around and true to attack again, it's claws outstretched and ready to tear into the Larvitar's tough hide.
Ash saw this and dived in front of the small Pokemon, having no time to return the injured rock type. The trainer braced himself for the large bird Pokemon's attack, cradling his injured partner in his arms.
Ash waited for the inevitable feeling of their talons sinking into his back... But it never came.
Ash hesitated as he smelt the recognise able scent of ozone in the air, indicating lightning. Slowly, the trainer lifted his head up and was shocked at what he saw.
In front of Ash was a small rodent, whose cheeks were sparking with electricity; a Pikachu.
The small rodent let loose another bolt of electricity, which arced through the air before coming into contact with another of the aggressive flying types, which squawked before plummeting to the ground, its body crackling with electricity.
Ash watched the small mouse, which shook its body slightly as electricity arced across its fur.
"A Pikachu?" Ash said out loud, gaining the attention of the electric mouse. The rodent looked at the trainer curiously, cocking its head to the side, before scampering away into the nearby undergrowth.
Ash stared at the undergrowth where the electric mouse had disappeared before looking at Larvitar in his arms.
The Spearow and Fearow twitched slightly as electricity still courses through their burnt bodies, swirls in their eyes evident. Ash slowly got to his feet, brushing his hair slightly with his hand in order to try and get some of the dust out of it, before slowly walking one step at a time down the dirt path towards Viridian. Pulling out his pokeball, the trainer returned the Rock Skin Pokemon before setting off.
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It took Ash around another hour before he could see the outline of Viridian city. After another 30minutes or so Ash had made it to the bustling city; sweat, dirty and tired.
The new trainer's first stop was to visit the Pokemon Centre in order to help his injured Larvitar. Ash hadn't let him out of his pokeball since the incident but he knew the small pseudo-legend wasn't in good shape after taking that hit from the Fearow.
After dropping both his Pokemon off at the Pokemon Centre with Nurse Joy, Ash sat down on a chair in the waiting room and began to explore his Pokedex.
One of the features mentioned by Professor Oak was that it could provide tutorials on how to teach Pokemon moves to use in battle. Ash fiddled around with the device for a while trying to figure out how to work it.
*CLUNK* *WHIR*
The Pokedex started to make odd noises as Ash pressed a button on the side of the device. Soon after the screen began to light up and the Pokedex spoke in its robotic voice.
"Welcome to the Pokedex move database. Please scan or search the Pokemon you wish to teach."
Ash selected a Pidgey and it brought up three categories: Egg Moves, Standard Moves and Tutor Moves.
Unsure of what tutor moves were, Ash selected a small question mark button I the bottom left corner of the screen.
"Tutor moves are moves which can only be taught to Pokemon through excessive training. These may require the help of specialists to learn.
Egg moves are moves which can only be taught to Pokemon who have the potential to learn the moves due to being bred with the ability. To find out if your Pokemon has the potential to learn specific moves, please scan them using the Pokedex.
Standard moves are moves which can be taught to all of the species. These are generally much easier for a Pokemon to learn compared to Tutor moves or Egg moves."
Ash looked at the Pokedex in awe. The sheer quantity of moves each Pokemon could learn was outstanding. After a while Ash selected standard moves for Pidgey and was bombarded with a list of moves.
"Hmm let's see... Pidgey already knows how to use quick attack and gust so... I guess the next step up would be to teach it twister?" Ash said out loud to no one in particular as he selected the move.
"Twister:
This is a dragon type move which allows a Pokemon to create small twisters infused with draconic energy. These can then be sent at opponents to do damage and potentially make them flinch."
Ash read the description for a second before clicking on a video tutorial. Having a dragon type move could be beneficial currently as not a lot of Pokemon in the surrounding areas resisted it, meaning at the very least it could deal neutral damage to whatever it was fighting.
The video gave Ash a short clip of a trainer getting a Pidgeot, the final evolved form of Pidgey, to perform the move one step at a time. Once he was confident he knew how it would work Ash stowed away his Pokedex and walked over to the counter where Nurse Joy was now sitting.
"Excuse me Nurse Joy, are my Pokemon healed now?" Ash inquired politely, getting a small smile in return from the woman.
"Yes you're Pokemon have been are back into their prime condition, if you have any other needs please come again," the Nurse replied as she handed Ash back his two Pokeballs.
Ash made to move away from the desk before he paused and moved back.
"Nurse, could you also deposit this money into my bank account?" Ash asked as he handed her a large wad of cash that he had won from battling trainers. The nurse simply nodded as she took the cash and placed it inside a machine. A couple of seconds later Ash's Pokedex whirred to life in his pocket.
"Deposit received," the Pokedex whirred as Ash flipped it open and check his account balance.
$3600
After battling all of the trainers he had come across on the Route, Ash had built up a surprisingly large stack of cash. Considering the prices of some goods in the Pokemarts though it wasn't anything to be proud of as of yet.
After a while Ash decided to release his Pokemon. Two bright flashes of light dispersed as Pidgey and Larvitar were released from their pokeballs in prime condition. Larvitar happily bounced up into his trainer's arms whilst Pidgey flew into his shoulder and started to rub its beak against his hair.
However, the two Pokemon were both too honest for the trainer, sending Ash tumbling backwards laughing.
"Alright you two, I was just thinking we could get some training in before the day is over."
The two Pokemon shouted in agreement as Ash pulled out his Pokedex and began to scan them, seeing if the two had any strong Egg moves.
Ash scanned Larvitar first, seeing as the Rock Skin Pokemon had been with him the longest.
"Larvitar, the Rock Skin Pokemon," the Pokedex began before Ash got bored and fast forwarded the information until it got to Egg moves.
"This Larvitar has the Egg Moves: Iron head, outrage, stealth rock and dragon dance."
Ash looked at his starter in shock. Larvitar was already able to use two of its Egg moves without any previous training, which was an amazing feat.
Ash quickly scanned through the other moves available to Larvitar, looking for something that caught his eye.
After a while, Ash stopped on the Standard moves section where he had found a move which could be useful.
Rock slide.
The move was known to have a good amount of power behind it and it seemed relatively easy to teach the Rock Skin Pokemon after watching a couple of tutorials.
"Alright Larvitar you're going to be learning how to use the move rock slide," Ash told the Pokemon, causing it to nod its head in understanding. Ash knelt down beside the small Pokemon and began to show it the video tutorials he had depicting a Graveller using the move slowly and portraying each step carefully.
"Think you've got it buddy?" Ash asked, getting a shout and a nod from the Pokemon in return. Larvitar hunched over, trying to replicate the technique shown to him in the video.
After a while the Rock Skin Pokemon had managed to summon a small Boulder, which was one of the beginning steps to the technique. Satisfied the rock type was making good progress, Ash moved on and began to scan Pidgey, having already picked out a move for the flying type to learn.
"Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokemon...
...Pidgey has the Egg Moves: Air slash, brave bird and steel wing."
Ash looked at the small bird in front of
him in surprise, who in turn cocked her head out of curiosity.
"Damn," Ash whistled as he looked over the moves again. Brave bird was known for being easily one of the strongest flying type moves known whilst both air slash and steel wing were seen as strong long range and close quarters techniques respectively.
"And Pidgey, you're going to be learning how to use twister, which is a dragon type move," Ash began and he knelt down and allowed the small bird to hop into one of his legs so it could see his Pokedex. The video once again showed the Pidgeot going through each step of the move and then the final effect, which uprooted some trees in the background of the short clip.
Ash turned to look at Pidgey to see if she had gotten the technique but he noticed the small bird's eyes were wide with awe at its final evolution. Ash chuckled to himself before speaking out loud.
"Reckon you've got that girl?"
The Pidgey didn't respond for another moment or two before it turned towards its trainer and nodded in confirmation.
The Tiny Bird Pokemon immediately got to work, trying to form twisters in a similar to how it would form a gust attack.
Ash flitted between both Pidgey and Larvitar, trying to help them wherever possible. Both Pokemon began to tire quickly into the day, making their trainer realise that he needed them to work on stamina at a later date.
After an hour or two of practice the three of them decided to call it quits for the day, booking a room in the Pokecentre to stay in overnight. By tomorrow with any luck they would be able to book a gym battle at the Viridian gym and then onwards to Viridian forest.
To the side of the battlefield a small pair of beady eyes watched the two Pokemon and their trainer with anger.
He'd nearly been caught and that meant weakness; and his species didn't show weakness. Weakness meant being eaten by predators such as that Pidgey or even bigger Pokemon.
Weedle mentally scowled as it crawled away and back into the undergrowth. Admittedly it hurt him to know that after all of the training he had set himself, two Pokemon, one of which was only just caught by him judging by its still wild tendencies, would've been easily able to overpower him.
Slinking away even further a stray thought crossed its head that the bug thought never would.
"What if he got taught by that trainer?
...
...
...
Ash sighed as he climbed into the bed at the Pokemon Centre that night, carrying both Pidgey and Larvitar in his arms. The two had completely tired themselves out but in the end they had managed to learn the new moves and refine them slightly. It'd be a while until they completely mastered them but it was a start
Ash gently place down his Larvitar on his bed before gently shaking Pidgey to let her know where to sleep. The bird gave a soft coo before tiredly gliding over to a lone perch in the corner of the room.
Ash groaned as he climbed into the bed next to Larvitar, the small pseudo-legend was out cold after its intense training. It had managed to complete rock slide fairly quickly but after that Ash had started to make it do some stamina based exercises, completely tiring him out.
It was also a small workout for their trainer, who had to dodge their stray attacks in order to avoid string crushed by a boulder or blown away by a ferocious twister.
With a yawn Ash felt the familiar blackness of sleep take over him, the last thing he felt was Larvitar's comforting warm hide beside him.
...
...
...
"What! it's closed!" Ash shouted out loud as he looked at the notice on the front of the gym door. Apparently, according to the notice on the door, the gym leader was currently away and unable to take gym battles until further notice. With a sigh, Ash walked away and over to the nearby Pokemart.
Inside the Pokemart, Ash was greeted by a friendly store clerk, who guided the raven-haired boy over to a digital machine, which acted as a catalogue of what he could buy. Ash plugged his Pokedex into an empty slot on the machine, allowing it to access his data. A frown appeared across the young trainer's face as he read a notification that appeared across the machine saying he had no badges.
Different stock was available to trainers with more badges, meaning that the more gyms Ash faced the more goods he would be able to purchase. Being able to only purchase the basics for now didn't really boost the new trainer's mood though.
"Professor Oak had access everything," Ash muttered as he brought himself a set of 10 pokeballs for $2000 along with some basic potions and antidotes, mentally cringing as he looked at his new balance.
$350
To say money didn't go far in Kanto was an understatement, considering necessities such as pokeballs were around $200 each. This meant that Ash would have to be careful with his money, at least until started to battle more experienced trainers where the winnings would be substantially more.
After picketing his new goods and leaving, Ash started to venture through the city of Viridian, taking in some of its amazing views as he did so.
"Come here you pesky Weedle!"
Ash froze as he heard someone shout out. Running in the direction of the voice, Ash noticed an old man facing off a Weedle. The bug Pokemon hissed as soon as he saw Ash.
"Is that the same Weedle from Route 1?" Ash asked out loud as the bug fired a toxic stinger at him, causing the trainer to duck as it hit the tree behind him with a loud *THUNK*.
"Yup same Weedle," Ash said as he sweat dropped at the bug. The old man, however, paid no attention to this as he threw a pokeball at the bug type. However, the bug type was more than prepared as it used its long body to smack the ball away, comically hitting the man in the face.
From the sheer force of the returned pokeball, the old man fell to the floor, groaning and clutching his face. The Weedle simply looked away and stared at Ash, hissing before disappearing again into the undergrowth surrounding the path.
"And I thought I had him..." The old man said as he slowly got to his feet. Ash looked at the man and sweat-dropped again.
"If I couldn't catch t even after battling it there would've been no way just chucking a regular pokeball at it would've worked."
The old man suddenly noticed Ash as he walked over.
"Hey there! Do you want to learn how to catch Pokemon!" The old man asked as a senile smile appeared on his face. Ash smiled back hesitantly.
"He's asking me if I want tips after that..."
Ash shook his head and politely told the man that he already knew how to catch Pokemon, noticing the look of disappointment on his face. After a while Ash excused himself and continued to walk up the path towards Viridian forest.
Along the way the Pokemon trainer noticed someone sitting by the gate to Viridian forest.
"Hey Gary!" Ash shouted as he walked towards his close friend and rival. The brown haired trainer smirked as he walked over to Ash.
"Hey Ashy-boy, how's it going?" Gary smirked as he met his rival. Ash sighed and gave him a smirk on his own.
"Never change do you Gary."
"You'd miss me if I did."
Ash actually burst out in laughter at Gary's retort, the brown haired boy joining him soon after.
"So how long have you been here?" Ash asked, looking at Gary. He noticed that the pokeball that hung around Gary's neck, his Squirtle, was chipped slightly; indicating the two had experienced some wild encounters of their own.
"About a day, I just wanted to explore Route 22 before I headed off into the forest, there wasn't really much over there apart from a couple of Spearow and a Mankey."
Ash thought about this for a second. He didn't see the point in catching a Spearow, considering he currently had Pidgey with him. Mankey was tempting for a second, with its sheer speed which outclassed many other fighting types, but they were known to be exceptionally aggressive, something which Ash didn't feel he was just about ready for yet.
"Meh, I think I'll have to pass on them," Ash replied. Gary simply shrugged.
"Suit yourself I guess, I've already caught a couple of Pokemon myself."
Ash grinned at this, listening to Gary throw out his subtle invitation to a battle.
"And you want to test them out right?" Ash said whilst smirking. Gary laughed at the raven-haired trainer's reaction.
"You know me too well. Alright, there's a battlefield nearby, we'll go there."
Ash followed his close friend and rival through the streets of Viridian, weaving in and out of people as he did so. Eventually the two came across a battlefield which had all but been demolished.
Large cracks ran through the battleground, effectively turning the area into a mess of rubble. You could see the area was recently used as some areas still had large puddles in them, most likely indicating a water type had battle there.
"How many Pokemon did you catch on Route 1 Ash?" Gary asked as he looked across the battlefield.
"Just one."
Gary nodded in understanding as he looked around the battlefield, trying to form a strategy.
"How about we make this a two on two battle then? Considering I only caught one Pokemon as well."
Ash's eyes lit up in surprise at this. He had expected Gary to have caught a lot more Pokemon then he had stated, considering the boy had always said he wanted to catch all the Pokemon when they were younger.
"Alright, I guess we both throw at the same time, you can have first move," Ash said as he stood back, pulling a pokeball off of his belt and expanding it to its full size.
Both nodded at each other, their faces becoming calculating as they threw the red orbs across the field.
Both orbs released their contained Pokemon in a flash of white light as two birds could be heard cooing across the field.
"So you caught a Pidgey too Gary," Ash said in surprise.
"This guy was special so I figured I would add it to my team. Now Pidgey start it off with a quick attack!" Gary shouted as his Pokemon glowed with a white light as dashed towards Ash's Pidgey at an unbelievable speed.
"It's so fast..." Ash thought as he tried to think of a counter.
"Pidgey spin to the side and use gust to make it tougher for it to fly!"
Ash's Pidgey cooed as it did a barrel roll to the side, allowing its opponent to narrowly miss the flying type. The bird then turned around and started to flap its wings rapidly, sending large gusts of wind at Gary's own Pidgey, making it difficult for it to stay airborne.
"Pidgey, fly above the winds and tackle Ash's Pidgey!" Gary shouted frantically. The small brown bird flew above the ferocious gusts caused by its opponent and dive-bombed at its opponent.
Realising Pidgey would be unable to dodge, Ash thought of a reasonable counter.
"Pidgey use growl and try to weaken the attack before it hits you!" Ash shouted hastily. His Pidgey started to growl as Gary's own flying type came closer.
Growl was a move mainly used by beginner Pokemon to try and disrupt their foe's concentration, usually decreasing the power of their attacks. However, Ash was amazing as Gary's own Pidgey glowed in a crimson light and continued without fail. The attack hit Ash's Pidgey head on, temporarily dazing it in the air.
"How?" Ash said out loud, watching Gary smirk in the process.
"I told you this a Pidgey was special. It's got the ability Big Pecks, meaning that it's attacks can't be disrupted no matter what. It's Pidgey's hidden ability," Gary stated with a smile.
Ash growled in anger at this. Hidden abilities were seen to be difficult to find, hence why they were called hidden abilities.
"Trust you to find a Pokemon with a hidden ability..." Ash muttered as he looked at the bird in amazement.
"Pidgey, give it all you've got with a twister, try and deplete its stamina!" Ash shouted as his own Pidgey flew higher in the air and started to flap its wings as if it was preparing a gust attack.
This time, however, the winds were much more ferocious as the air was willed with draconic energy. Gary's own Pidgey was buffeted by the strong winds, taking heavy damage from flying debris inside the twister.
"Pidgey use quick attack to escape!" Gary shouted.
"Not so fast, hit it with a quick attack of your own before it gets the chance Pidgey!"
Gary's own Pidgey glowed in a white light as it tried to use the increased speed to get out of the damaging dragon type move. However, Ash's Pidgey seemingly beat its opponent too it as it struggled with the strong winds and the two collided mid-air.
A large thud could be heard as one of the birds collapsed to the ground, unconscious. With a small tut, Gary retrieve his pokeball and pointed it at the downed bird.
"Good job Pidgey, you nearly had him."
Ash smiled as his own Pidgey glided to the floor, clearly tired from its battle. Ash held up his own Pokeball and retrieved the tired Tiny Bird Pokemon.
"You did great Pidgey, have a good rest," Ash said as he recalled the battle between the two birds. He noticed a few flaws in their battle and immediately thought of a plan of as to how he could improve for next time.
Gary pulled on the pokeball around his neck and threw it at the ground, releasing his Squirtle. Ash similarly retrieved the other pokeball from his belt, releasing Larvitar from his own pokeball.
"Just like old times 'ey Ashy-boy," Gary said with a smirk. Ash gave him a smile of his own as he looked at the Tiny Turtle Pokemon across the battlefield. It had a determined look across its face and its sheer was covered with small minute scratches, showing it had been in a lot of battles recently.
"Ready Larvitar?" Ash asked, merely getting a growl in response from the rock type.
"Your move Ash," Gary said as he got Squirtle to move into a battle stance.
"Alright Larvitar! Kick this off with an iron head!" Ash shouted as Larvitar surged forward, the blunt spike in his head glowing a metallic silver once again.
"Dodge it using aqua jet and then water gun!" Gary shouted.
His Squirtle instantly responded to his commands, ducking into his shell and firing high pressured volumes of water out of some of its shell, propelling it to the side and out of the way of Larvitar's attack.
The rock type stumbled after missing its target, allowing the turtle to hit it with a super effective water gun attack. Larvitar cried in pain as water seeped into its skin, weighing it down considerably.
"Larvitar, go at it again with bite, get ready to counter if you need to!" Ash shouted as he silently cursed his stupidity. He should've seen that Gary would've dodged.
"Repeat and soak it Squirtle," Gary said with a smirk. The Tiny Turtle dodged once again but as it went to fire off another water gun the water type was smacked in the face with multiple boulders, sending it backwards as it cried in pain.
"Squirtle!" Gary shouted as the Pokemon tried to get up and shook on its legs.
"Finish it Larvitar! Get in close and use an iron head!" Ash shouted as his Larvitar tiredly surged forward. Squirtle tried to fire a water gun at its advancing opponent but it was too exhausted, meaning it could only pull off a pitiful excuse for an attack. The turtle gave a smirk of its own, similar to its trainer's, as it was hit by the powerful steel type attack; content with the battle it had.
"Squirtle!" Gary shouted again as he ran over to the unconscious turtle on the battlefield. Larvitar gave a smile of its own as it collapsed onto its backside, too tired to stand. Ash walked over and picked up the rock type, grunting slightly at the added weight of the water trapped inside its hide. In an hour or two the water would hopefully drain away, allowing the Pokemon to go back to normal.
Both trainers met in the middle of the battlefield, shaking hands as they looked at each other. Both realised how far each of them had come over the short period of time.
"Well done Ash, you battled well," Gary said as he opened his backpack to retrieve some potions. Ash gratefully accepted one, which he used to treat his Pokemon. After a while all four Pokemon were in Fisk shape once again.
"So I guess I'll see you around Gary," Ash said as he looked at his friend. The brown haired boy nodded as he walked off in the direction of the Viridian forest.
"Yeah see you soon Ash," Gary said, forgoing his usual nickname for his friend. However, before he could get any further away, the trainer stopped and turned around to face Ash.
"Also I don't know if you remember, but I saw that purple-haired boy we met back at Gramp's summer camp. Apparently his brother is facing these new battle facilities around the region."
Ash's face lit up in recognition as he thought about the boy he had thought with the turtle-like grass Pokemon.
"Thanks for the heads up, see ya Gary," Ash said as the boy continued to walk after delivering his information.
...
...
...
"When is this forest going to end!" Ash shouted out loud as he forced his way through another part of the Viridian forest.
The trainer had been attempting to make his way through the dense vegetation for the past couple of hours and he wasn't getting as far through as he had originally hoped.
He'd also battled a large amount of trainers in the forest, mainly the group of trainers that labelled themselves as 'bug catchers'.
Bug catchers were trainers who tried to catch the easily available bug types present in the forest and attempted to make them into fighters.
Ash's Larvitar and Pidgey made short work of their Pokemon, showing they weren't doing a terribly amazing job at it. Most seemed to have Pokemon such as Caterpie and Metapod, Pokemon who were weak to moves such as Pidgey's gust and Larvitar's rock slide.
Ash had considered trying to teach his Pokemon new moves but he figured that for now it'd be more worthwhile for them to work on their stamina, allowing them to last longer in tougher battles. The two Pokemon had ended the day knackered.
Ash continued walking through the darkening forest for several minutes before he heard a loud cry in the distance.
Ash sprinted off through the forest, towards the cries of pain. Bursting through the clearing, Ash noticed a lone Pokemon lying on its side with a large gash across its body which was bleeding heavily.
The Pokemon was vaguely dinosaur looking, with blue skin, and it had a large bulb on its back which helped Ash indicate it as a Bulbasaur. Ash raced over with haste as he looked around for whatever could have done this.
With a burst of red light, Ash released his Pidgey and Larvitar, putting his Pokemon on sentry duty as he went over to help the injured grass type.
Uncapping a potion, he had retrieved from his bag, Ash began to spray the medicine over the large wound, making the starter Pokemon groan with relief evident in its cry.
After a while the wound began to lose its redness and the bleeding started to slow, indicating the potion was working. After a while the Bulbasaur began to move again, energy returning to its body as it tried to get onto its front once again.
Ash gently helped the small dinosaur back onto its feet, allowing the grass type some room as it got used to walking once again.
Rummaging through his backpack again, Ash retrieved an Oran berry, which the Seed Pokemon happily munched on; gaining back a large amount of its lost energy.
After a while the Bulbasaur was running around, back on its feet and bounding around the clearing.
Satisfied that the Bulbasaur was going to be ok, Ash got up and turned around to leave. However, as he went to leave the small grass type tapped on his shoulder with a long vine.
"Huh?" Ash said as he turned around the face the small dinosaur. Using its vines, the dinosaur pointed another direction and then using the vines to drag the trainer in that direction.
"H-Hey wait! I need to be travelling north-"
Ash stopped talking soon after. Whilst he was being dragged along gently by the grass type he had activated his Pokedex, which showed him that Bulbasaur was indeed correct and it was taking him north.
"Hehe my bad," Ash said as he sheepishly rubbed his head.
Behind him, his two Pokemon he had released sweat dropped at their trainer.
"Lar-Larvitar," the Rock Skin Pokemon muttered as it held a hand up to its head in embarrassment.
"Pid-gey," Pidgey said as she hid her head behind one of her wings.
"I'm not that bad with directions right?" Ash said out loud whilst laughing nervously. After a while of no reply Ash spoke up again nervously.
"Guys?"
...
...
...
-Time Skip -
It had been a week since Ash had first entered the forest and each day passed in a fairly similar matter to the first. They would make their way through the forest with Bulbasaur as their guide.
Every now and again they would face a trainer in a Pokemon battle. Most of them were 'bug catchers' who were easily defeated by Larvitar and Pidgey with their super effective moves and good type match ups.
They even occasionally met a trainer who had more variation to their team, using the occasional fire type or in one situation an Abra, which teleported around the forest, making it difficult to hit.
Once the forest started to get darker they would set up a camp in a clearing, with Ash letting his Pokemon rest beside him in order to warn them about any threats lurking nearby. Bulbasaur, always stayed awake, usually searching around the area until he found a clearing where it could stare at the sky. Ash had watched it for a couple of nights, the Bulbasaur simply sat there, reminiscing over something. After the first couple of nights Ash had decided to simply let it be.
After a while the four of them noticed the forest becoming thinner, indicating that they were getting towards the edge of the forest.
"Bulba!" The small grass type shouted as they reached a clearing, indicating something was wrong.
"What is it?" Ash asked as he looked at the Seed Pokemon. Almost immediately Bulbasaur glared at a small bush on the edge of the undergrowth. Ash stared at the bush for a second and was about to walk away when the bush started to shake madly.
*HISS*
Ash shivered as heard the hissing coming from the bush. Slowly, the familiar long body of Weedle crawled out of the bush, it's stinger dripping with venom.
"So you still want to fight..." Ash murmured as he grabbed a Pokeball from his belt. Flinging the red orb in the direction of the bug Pokemon, releasing Larvitar from the pokeball. The Rock Skin Pokemon looked around for a second before glaring at the Weedle.
"Larvitar, hit it with a rock slide," Ash shouted as Larvitar started to summon large boulders in the air above both it and its opponent.
The rocks which fell above Larvitar were brutally kicked or punched in the direction of the Hairy Bug Pokemon by the rock type, using its stubby arms and legs to its advantage.
However, the Weedle didn't go down easily, using its lithe body to dodge around the boulders sent at it with surprising grace. After realising the attack wasn't going to work, Larvitar stopped the attack.
After a moment the bug type hissed and released dozens of poisonous stingers at the Rock Skin Pokemon, who dodged with surprising agility for such a heavy Pokemon.
"Alright try to get in close and use bite!" Ash shouted as dark energy began to build up inside Larvitar's mouth, forming razor sharp teeth made up of dark energy.
The rock type lunged at the Weedle, clamping its jaws around the small serpentine body. Weedle cried out in pain as it took the full force of the attack, swiping its tail across Larvitar's tough hide in an attempt to penetrate it. However, it had no such luck and was force to ensure until its opponent released it and carefully jumped backwards.
Luckily for the Weedle, being a bug type meant that it didn't take as much damage from a dark based move.
"Alright Larvitar, finish it up with an iron head!" Ash shouted as Larvitar charged forward one more time. Its blunt spike took on the familiar metallic colour as it was rammed into the Weedle, making it cry out in pain before rolling along the floor, unconscious.
Ash had readied a pokeball in his hand once again, which he threw at the downed bug Pokemon. Instantly the Hairy Bug Pokemon was sucked into the Pokeball which rocked from side to side as it tried to escape.
It rocked once... Then twice... Before the Weedle broke out again. However, before it could run away again, two vines came and entangled the bug, preventing it from escaping. After a couple of seconds, a light powder wafted in front of the Weedle, making it fall unconscious.
Ash shot Bulbasaur a grateful look as he threw another pokeball at the Weedle, who was unable to fight back after being put to sleep by Bulbasaur. The button on the Pokeball glowed a bright red before fading away, showing a successful capture.
"Yes!" Ash shouted as he held up the pokeball triumphantly, Larvitar by his side cheering enthusiastically.
"We caught a Weedle!"
...
...
...
Whilst the battle between Larvitar and Weedle was going on the small bug type began to notice small things about its opponent.
It had watched both the rock-looking Pokemon and the bird Pokemon over the past week in the forest, studying them out of curiosity and watching in wonder as they grew at exponential rates.
For a fleeting second the Weedle thought that maybe the trainer could help to get stronger before the adrenaline began to pump again as it dodged more boulders from the rock-looking Pokemon.
As soon as its opponent got in close the bug type knew it had no chance, only being able to use its stingers which had so far proved to be ineffective against its opponent. A fleeting thought crossed its mind in the midst of battle once again as he thought of the power the trainer could offer him, bringing out his full potential like what had happened with its opponent.
As it was struck by the first pokeball fear began to flash across its mind. What if the trainer abandoned him? Or worse, what if he abused him?
The fear in its mind forced it to act, making it free itself from the pokeball. The Weedle went to run again but before it could it felt some large vines grip its body, preventing it from escaping. Twisting around, the bug type looked on in surprise as he noticed it was in fact the green Pokemon holding him in place.
"Why?" Weedle thought to itself as it studied the grass type. The bug knew it wasn't part of the human's team and yet it was still helping it catch him.
What was so special about this human?
Weedle felt itself slipping into unconsciousness, something which it surprisingly welcomed. As the world around it started to fade into blackness the small bug type felt itself get struck by another pokeball.
The Weedle felt its body being turned into red light as it was sucked into the red ball the trainer had thrown.
Maybe being caught wouldn't be so bad after all.
...
...
...
Ash sighed in relief as he picked up the pokeball which held the newly caught Weedle. It had evaded him for weeks but after some time he had finally managed to catch it. As the trainer scanned the pokeball in his hand with his Pokedex something appeared which made the trainer laugh.
"Of course the Weedle would have the ability run away, especially after all of the grief it gave me trying to capture it," Ash laughed to himself as he clipped the ball to his belt.
"This Weedle knows the moves: Poison sting and string shot."
Ash notes the limited move pool and frowned. He didn't have a lot to work with here. However, as he recalled the small bug's persistent attitude towards its goal he smiled, knowing he had just gotten himself a hard working team member.
After a while, Ash could see only a few stray tress surrounding him. Civilisation was in reach and the trainer was eager to be able to shower and change from his dirty, outdoor clothes into more comfortable wear and eat all he could.
None of Ash's Pokemon were particularly thrilled with being stuck in the forest for so long either, having to deal with the large quantities of bug Pokemon every day. Not to mention that none of them naturally lived in a forest, making them slightly uncomfortable within the trees to begin with.
As they reached the very edge of the clearing Bulbasaur, who was leading Ash through the forest still, stopped walking causing the trainer to almost bump into it.
The two stood in silence for a while before the Seed Pokemon turned around to face the trainer, it's eyes shining with determination.
"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" It shouted as it pawed at the ground with one of its front legs. Ash looked at the Pokemon in confusion before the Pokemon started to stamp its feet.
The trainer yelped as one of the grass type's vines smacked the side of his bag, allowing a single pokeball to fall to the ground.
Ash looked at the ball for a second before realisation spread across his face. Bulbasaur, however, showed no outward reaction as it stared at the red orb.
Then. Slowly it nudged the button on the centre of the ball with its face, causing it to be engulfed in red light and sucked into the ball. The ball didn't even rock as the red light faded, indicating a successful capture.
Ash smiled as he picked up the pokeball and looked at it. Slowly pocketing the ball he turned around and started to walk towards the flashing lights of Pewter city which gleamed in the light of the setting sun.
"Welcome to the team... Bulbasaur."
- End of Chapter -