Ch 4: Viridian forest
Ash and Serena reached the end of route 2 and came upon the entrance to the Viridian forest.
"Here we are the Viridian forest." Ash said. The forest was thick with trees, and had a few grassy mountains nearby.
"It could take us a few days to get through the forest." Ash said.
"That's fine, this looks like a good place to start training Charla." Serena said. As the two walked through the forest Ash started thinking about his first gym battle coming up in Pewter city.
If he remembered right, the gym was a rock type gym. Despite both Pikachu and Charizard having a disadvantage against rock types, Ash knew that after the Kalos league, and 3 years in the NPC, Charizard and Pikachu had beaten plenty of rock types, ones stronger that even a gym leaders.
However, it made Ash think about what Daniel said. He had told Ash and Gary that they could only take two of their current pokemon with them for a reason. He wanted them to catch new pokemon.
Perhaps it was because he wanted them to have another chance of starting a journey. A chance to be like a fresh trainer all over again. The more Ash thought about it , the more he remembered starting his first journey back in Kalos 5 years ago.
The sense of life and freedom. Being able to journey through an entire region, build himself up as a trainer and have the experience of a lifetime. Now he had the chance to do it again.
Through their aura connection, Serena could feel how alive and galvanized Ash felt.
"You're certainly in a good mood. What's got you so excited?" Serena asked.
"Why shouldn't I be, we're on another journey through another region. We have the chance to have all the great experiences we had 5 years ago." Ash said.
"I suppose that's true." Serena said.
"You know what, I'm going to catch the next pokemon I see!" Ash shouted.
"Pika." Pikachu was also glad to see Ash so excited for the new journey. Moments later they heard something moving ahead of them. They saw a small green caterpillar pokemon move out of a push.
"What pokemon is that?" Serena said opening her pokedex.
"Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. Caterpie uses the suction cups on its feet to climb trees and feed on its favorite leaves."
"Huh, it's kind of cute." Serena said.
"I'm going to catch it." Ash said. Pikachu leapt down and sparked his cheeks as he smiled, ready to battle.
"Uh Ash, maybe Pikachu shouldn't battle him." Serena said realizing how weak the Caterpie would be compared to Pikachu. Ash and Pikachu both sweat dropped as they realized Serena was right.
If Ash had Pikachu attack Caterpie he could really hurt him, but he certainly couldn't have Charizard battle him.
"Maybe I'll just throw a pokeball." Ash said. He took out an empty pokeball and walked closer to the Caterpie.
"Alright I'm going to catch you!" Ash shouted. The small Caterpie turned his head and saw Ash.
"Pokeball go!" Ash shouted as he hurled the pokeball forward. The pokeball soared through the air and hit the Caterpie.
He was sent inside the pokeball as it shook and flashed. Less than a minute later, the pokeball stopped indicating that Caterpie was caught.
"Alright I caught a Caterpie!" Ash shouted.
"Pika!" Pikachu said sounding excited.
"Nice work Ash, that was the easiest catch I've ever seen." Serena said.
"Alright, let's introduce Caterpie to the rest of the family." Ash said as he walked over and picked up the pokeball.
"Caterpie come on out." Ash said as he let his new Caterpie out. The small worm pokemon came out and looked around at Ash, Pikachu, and Serena.
"Pe." It said.
"Hello Caterpie, my name's Ash, this is Pikachu and Serena." Ash said.
"Pe?" Caterpie said sounding confused. Pikachu stepped forward and explained a bit of what was going on.
"Pe?" Caterpie said still a bit confused having just met Ash and the others.
"Alright now to open up an aura connection." Ash said. He knelt down and placed his hands around Caterpie's head.
Ash then took a deep breath and opened up his aura to Caterpie's. At the same time Caterpie's aura became open to Ash. During this time, Caterpie was able to see Ash for who he was, and what kind of person he was.
Caterpie also felt his own potential raising. He felt empowered , like he could grow to be the most powerful Butterfree ever.
"Pe!" he shouted.
"Connection opened." Ash said. His new Caterpie rubbed his head against Ash's arms.
"I think he likes you." Serena said.
"You should meet the other pokemon we have with us." Ash said as he took out Charizard's pokeball and let him out.
Serena let out Absol and Charla as well.
"Guys this is Caterpie. Caterpie, this is Charizard, Absol, and Charla." Ash said.
"Grauu.".
"Sol."
"Char."
"Pe." Caterpie said. Moments later the group heard a someone screaming out in terror.
"Did you hear that?" Serena asked. They heard the scream again and realized it sounded familiar.
"Come on let's go." Ash said. Pikachu and Caterpie climbed onto Ash's shoulders as Serena picked up Charla. The group quickly made their way through the forest until Ash felt a familiar aura.
As they got closer, the voice got more recognizable as well. As they came around another tree they saw 3 Caterpie in front of none other than Misty. Who was on the ground cowering in front of a tree.
"No! Stay away from me!" She shouted.
"Misty?" Ash and Serena both said in confusion. Misty turned and saw the two a few feet away from her.
"You two, please help me!" Misty shouted.
"What? How are you possibly in danger?" Serena asked.
"How? Just look, they're coming towards me!" Misty shouted. Ash , Serena, and their pokemon looked back at the 3 Caterpie in front of Misty.
"The Caterpies?" Ash asked.
"Yes! I hate bug pokemon, they're so gross and disgusting." Misty said.
"Pe." Caterpie said sounding a bit offended.
"That's not a very nice thing to say Misty. Bug pokemon are just as wonderful as any other type of pokemon. Why I just caught this Caterpie." Ash said.
"Oh no another one! Please just make them go away!" Misty shouted. Ash and Serena sighed.
"Caterpie, can you please ask them to leave Misty alone." Ash said. Caterpie certainly did't like the way this girl thought of bug pokemon, but he was willing to do it for Ash. After Ash let him down, Caterpie slowly moved over to the other 3 Caterpie.
"Pe." he said. The other 3 Caterpie turned around and began to move away from Misty.
"There, you see they're gone." Ash said. Misty was still shaking as Ash's Caterpie was still in front of her.
"Are you serious?" Serena said upon seeing this. Caterpie gave an irritated expression at Misty before moving back towards Ash.
"Misty what are you doing here anyway?" Ash asked.
"Well I was on my way home when I was ambushed by those horrible Caterpie." Misty said.
"Horrible Caterpie." Ash said as he and his Caterpie gave slightly irritated expressions.
"So you've been here ever since?" Serena asked.
"Yes, hey since you guys don't seem afraid of bug types do you mind if I travel with you until we get out of the forest?" Misty asked.
"Serena?" Ash asked.
"I don't mind." Serena said.
"You can come , but you have to start being nice to my Caterpie." Ash said. Misty looked at Ash's Caterpie and took a deep breath.
"Alright fine." She said as she got up. The 3 continued moving through the Viridian forest for another hour before they stopped at a clearing free of trees.
"This looks like a good place to do some training." Ash said.
"Good idea, I would like to start training Charla." Serena said. Misty sat down on a rock as Serena and Ash stepped into the open area as Charla and Caterpie stood next to them.
"Alright time to see what you've got Caterpie. Show me you're best String shot." Ash said. Caterpie raised his mouth and shot a thick beam of sticky silk at Pikachu.
Pikachu smiled as he dodged the attack with little effort.
"Keep trying." Ash said.
"Pe!" Caterpie shouted as he continued to do unleash String shot. Again and again Pikachu dodged the attacks with ease. Ash didn't expect Caterpie to land any of the String shots, in fact he knew it would be weeks before Pikachu would have to use his true effort to avoid Caterpie's attacks.
Still, Ash was trying to get Caterpie good at using consistent attacks. He continued this for another 40 minutes.
"Alright that's enough Caterpie. Pikachu knock some rocks into the air, Caterpie use String shot on them." Ash said.
Pikachu smashed a large rock with Iron tail , smashing it into smaller rocks before knocking a few into the air. Caterpie raised his head and blasted at the rocks. To Caterpie's delight, he was able to hit all 3 rocks. Thanks to his now open aura connection with Ash, Caterpie's skills were able to grow at a faster rate.
"Alright now let's try out tackle. Pikachu knock some rocks at Caterpie, Caterpie tackle those rocks."
"Pika chu!" Pikachu shouted as he smashed the rocks at Caterpie, one at a time. As the rocks flew at Caterpie, he lunged forward and tackled them one by one. As this went on, Pikachu started knocking bigger ones at Caterpie.
As that happened, tackling the rocks got harder for the worm pokemon. Despite this he kept giving everything he had and kept knocking the rocks back.
"Great work Caterpie." Ash said. While Ash and Pikachu trained Caterpie, Serena and Charizard were training Charla. As much as Serena wanted to start working on a routine her and Charla could do, she knew she had to strengthen Charla's abilities and moves if she wanted to perform at her best.
"Alright Charla show me your best scratch on that rock." Serena said.
"Char!" Charla shouted as she ran forward and began scratching the rock for nearly a minute without even making a mark on it.
"Char." She said sounding disappointed.
"Charizard I know you don't know many moves that involve your claws, but do you think you could help her?" Serena asked. Charizard wasn't an expert on claw attacks, but he still used his claws in Air slash, and had faced off against Red's Charizard plenty of times.
"Grauu." Charizard said as he came over to her. He demonstrated as he brought his arms back further that Charla had, and came in at a better angle with better motion. He slashed across the rock making a very large scratch mark that nearly tore the rock apart.
Charla's eyes widened as she saw Him bring his arm back and stand over the rock in his proud fashion.
"Char." Charla said as she blushed a little.
"Alrig ht give it a try." Serena said. Charla took a deep breath before she raised her arm and came in like Charizard had.
This time she was able to make a decent sized scratch mark.
"There you go. Alright let's try your Flamethrower. Absol can you make some targets for her." Serena said.
Absol unleashed a rock tomb into the air. Charla aimed her head at the nearest rock and unleashed a jet of fire.
The force of the fire was a bit too much for Charla, and made her loose balance. As a result she fell backwards as fire flew right past Serena and Absol, nearly hitting them.
Serena and Absol jumped back as the fire flew past them.
"Char." Charla said sweat dropping.
"Ok we need to work on your balance." Serena said as she walked over to Charla and helped her up.
"Fenniken had this problem too. She learned Flamethrower a bit sooner than most Fenniken do. You need to work on your footing and stance. Having that will allow your flamethrower to be more accurate." Serena said.
Charizard nodded as he firmly planted his feet on the ground and dug his foot claws into the dirt. He then arched his head back as the flame on his tail grew larger and unleashed a colossal jet of fire so massive that it made Misty very hot, even though she was several yards away.
"Alright did you get a good look at that Charla?" Serena asked.
"Char." Charla said as she lowered her head away from Charizard a blushed a little more.
"Alright try it out, just like him." Serena said. Charla noticed that Absol backed up a little before using rock tomb.
Charla sweat dropped, but noticed Serena didn't back up. Serena wanted to show Charla that she trusted her and she had confidence in her.
Charla took a deep breath as she planted her feet firmly on the ground and dug her claws into the dirt. Her tail flame grew larger as she opened her mouth and unleashed a jet of fire. The Flamethrower flew through the air and hot the rock Absol threw up dead on.
"Alright you did it Charla." Serena said.
"Char!" Charla shouted sounding very excited.
"Grauu." Charizard growled nodding.
"Well I have to say, you two train your pokemon well. You can't be first time trainers." Misty said.
"We're not, I've competed in the Kalos league, and spent 3 years in the NPC. Serena has competed in 3 grand Festivals and holds the rank of Grand duchess." Ash said.
"Wait what? You're an NPC trainer and you're a Grand Duchess." Misty said very amazed.
"That's right." Serena said.
"Well that explains, your pokemons' skills." Misty said. Moments later after Pikachu knocked another rock at Caterpie, the small worm pokemon smashed into it with tackle harder than any other one he had before.
Ash and the others looked as the rock was hurled through the air and out of sight.
"Wow great Tackle Caterpie." Ash said.
"Pe!" Caterpie said excited. Moments later they heard a sqwuak nearby.
"Did you hear that?" Ash asked. Moments later a large raptor-like avian Pokémon came flying at Caterpie. It was covered with brown feathers, and had a cream-colored face and underside. It had a crest of pinkish-red feathers on its head and black, angular markings behind its eyes. The plumage of its tail had alternating red and yellow feathers with ragged tips. Its beak and legs were pink, and it had powerful, sharp talons.
"What is that?" Serena asked as she opened her pokedex.
"Pidgeotto the Bird pokemon. An evolved form of the Pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be dangerous. Approach with extreme caution."
Ash noticed a bump on the Pidgeotto's head and realized why it was so mad. The rock Caterpie had launched must have hit him.
"Caterpie look out!" Ash shouted. Caterpie tried to move , but the Pidgeotto was too fast and hurled Caterpie back with tackle.
"Caterpie!" Ash shouted.
"Pe!" Caterpie grunted as he hit the ground.
"Pika Thunder!" Ash started before Caterpie got up.
"Pe!" he shouted. Ash could tell from his aura connection to Caterpie, that he wanted to fight Pidgeotto himself.
"Caterpie are you sure, he has a type advantage against you and he will be a higher level." Ash said via aura message.
"Pe!" Caterpie shouted as he glared at Pidgeotto.
"Ott!" Pidgeotto sqwuaked as he flew in at Caterpie and tried to tackle him. Ash knew that Caterpie wasn't fast enough to avoid the speedy Pidgeotto, so he'd have to work with what he had.
"Caterpie use String shot on his wing." Ash said.
"Pe!" Caterpie shouted as he aimed and unleashed a web of silk through the air and entangled Pidgeotto's right wing. Caterpie was pleased to see all the practicing he had done with Ash had really paid off.
With the silk on his wing, it made it hard for Pidgeotto to move his right wing and he missed Caterpie.
"Tackle!" Ash shouted. As Pidgeotto flew over the small bug pokemon, he leapt up and tackled Pidgeotto just like he had been tackling the rocks.
Pidgeotto was surprised at how hard the small green worm hit him.
"Good job Caterpie." Ash said. The Pidgeotto came back at Caterpie.
"String shot!" Ash shouted. Caterpie aimed and unleashed another String shot that went around the Pidgeotto's other wing and changed his flight path , making him miss Caterpie once again.
"Tackle!" Ash shouted. As Pidgeotto flew over him, Caterpie once again tackled the large bird as hard as he could.
"That's it Caterpie!" Serena shouted.
"Pika !" Pikachu shouted. Even Misty, who hated bugs, had to admit that Caterpie was battling very well.
The Pidgeotto was now very mad, he raised his talons and ripped the silk off his wings before flying back in at Caterpie. Before Caterpie could even think of using String attack, the Pidgeotto flapped his wings and created a powerful gust that hit and hurled Caterpie back.
"Pe!" Caterpie grunted as he was hurled back with the super effective attack.
"Oh no." Serena said.
"Ott!" Pidgeotto sqwuaked as he came in to use tackle.
"Caterpie use String shot!" Ash shouted. Despite his pain, Caterpie felt strength as he felt Ash's aura beside him. He got up and unleashed his biggest String shot yet.
"Pe!" He roared as he completely entangled Pigeotto's chest in silk then pulled him down, causing the bird to crash into the dirt.
"Tackle!" Ash shouted. Caterpie leapt forward as Pidgeotto continued to move across the ground , and smashed into the bird's chest with Tackle, hurling Pidgeotto back again.
"Ott!" Pidgeotto sqwuaked in pain.
Ash took out another pokeball.
"Pokeball go!" He shouted as he hurled the empty pokeball forward. Misty and the others , except Pikachu, were surprised when they saw Ash do this. The pokeball hit Pidgeotto and sent him inside.
Ash and the others watched closely as the pokeball shook and flashed before stopping.
"Alright I caught a Pidgeotto!" Ash shouted.
"Pe!" Caterpie shouted, proud of his victory over a pokemon he was weak against. Moments later Caterpie started to glow.
"He's evolving, already." Ash said as the others looked on in equal amazement. When the glowing was done, Caterpie had transformed into a large green Chrysalis with an eye on the side.
"Woah, what is he now?" Serena asked.
"Metapod, Caterpie's next stage. It has encased its body in a hard shell. This specimen reached this stage faster than any previously discovered Pokémon of this variety.".
"Alright he evolved already!" Ash shouted.
"Congratulations Ash, you've got two new pokemon and one's already evolved." Serena said. The more she thought about it, the more Serena realized that she too should try and catch new pokemon. Especially now that she she would have a chance to see many pokemon she had never seen before.
Several minutes later Serena started to make dinner as Ash knelt down in front of his new Pidgeotto and opened up an aura connection between them. After Ash was finished, Pidgeotto was able to see Ash for who he truly way, and his own true potential was opened.
"Ott!" Pidgeotto sqwuaked as he leapt up onto Ash's shoulder and rubbed his head against Ash's.
"Welcome to the family." Ash said. He then got up and took out the pokemon food before giving each of the pokemon a bowl of it. Misty had let out her own pokemon to give them their dinner.
Ash and Serena saw Misty had a Goldeen, a Staryu, and a Starmie. Ash and Serena already knew about Staryu, but they hadn't seen Goldeen or Starmie.
After feeding their pokemon, Ash and Misty set up the table while Serena finished up the stew.
"Alright it's done." Serena said. Serena poured some stew into Ash's bowl, then Misty's. After filling her own, she sat down beside Ash.
"So Misty are those 3 your only pokemon?" Serena asked.
"I have a few more back home." Misty said.
"What kind of trainer are you?" Ash asked.
"I'm a water type trainer. I just love water pokemon, they're beauty, their power, they're simply the best." Misty said.
Upon hearing this, Ash's and Serena's pokemon turned to Misty with slightly offended looks. Ash and Serena sweat dropped, Misty sometimes didn't realize what she said was hurtful.
"So you want to become a water type master." Serena said.
"Not just a master I hope to be the greatest water type trainer in the world!" Misty almost shouted.
"So what are you guys doing with yourselves?" Misty asked.
"Well I'm competing in the Indigo league." Ash said.
"Really, what made you want to come back to regular leagues?" Misty asked.
"It's kind of a long story, but my long term goal is to become part of the elite 4." Ash said.
"Really, the elite four." Misty said.
"Yes." Ash said.
"What about you Serena?" Misty asked.
"I'm planning on competing in Pokemon Showcase." Serena said.
"Oh I love showcases. I remember seeing lots of them as a little girl." Misty said. After finishing dinner, the group decided to make camp for the night.
Misty zipped up her tent tight, not wanting any bug types to get in. Ash laid his head back against the pillow as Serena rested beside him with her head on his chest. Pikachu was resting on the pillow above Ash's head.
After the long day they had, it only took them a minute or two to fall asleep. Elsewhere in the woods, 4 dark figures dragged 2 young tied up trainers towards a wooden cabin. They brought them inside and placed them by another 3 tied up trainers.
"Ma'm we have another 2."
"Excellent, we've had good hunting. Let's keep it up."
The following morning, Ash and the others got up before giving their pokemon breakfast.
"Eat up guys, we'll be doing some hard training today. " Ash said. His new Pidgeotto had a fierce appetite and quickly ate up his food. Charla was eating the special fire type food that Serena had made for her.
"So how do you plan on training with Metapod now that he's in his chrysalis form?" Serena asked.
"I certainly can't work on his speed, but since I caught him as a Carterpie and taught him tackle and String shot, he should still be able to use them now that he's a method so we can still practice those moves. " Ash said.
"Well Charla and I still have plenty of work to do." Serena said.
"Charizard can still help you as much as you need." Ash said.
"Thanks Ash, Charizard. Having him to help will certainly go a long way." Serena said. After breakfast Ash got up and went over to his pokemon to train. As he walked by a bush
a young man leapt out of the bush with a sword in hand.
"What the!?" Misty shouted.
"Ash!" Serena shouted.
Luckily for Ash, his heightened senses altered him to the young man with the sword before hand, he quickly turned and brought his right hand up before letting out his right hidden blade. The hidden blade blocked the sword and knocked it aside before Ash grabbed the young man's left wrist and twisted it against its joint.
The young man was hurled to the ground as Ash stood over him and brought his other hidden blade over his throat.
"No! Please don't kill me!" The young man shouted. He looked a few years younger than Ash with black eyes and light skin. He wore a sleeveless samurai armor top and samurai helmet with a bug net on his back and his sword now laying a few feet away.
"Who are you, why did you come at me with a sword!?" Ash shouted.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't going to kill you just try to make you talk." The boy said.
"Make me talk?" Ash said.
"Talk about what?" Serena asked.
"If you were the one who's been taking my friends?" He said.
"What?" Ash said.
"My name is Ty , my friends call me the Samurai trainer. Two days ago we can here to catch some bug type pokemon. That was until yesterday morning when three of my friends went missing. The rest of us went looking for them, but when I came back the rest of my friends were all gone too. I couldn't find anyone else here, so I thought maybe you took them.".
"Why would we have them?" Misty asked.
"I don't know, I'm just really worried about them." Ash got up as the Samurai trainer also got up.
"So if you didn't take them then you must just be a trainer then."
"Yes I am." Ash said.
"Then how about a battle." The Samurai trainer asked.
"What about your friends?" Ash asked.
"Well we can't break the trainer's rule of a battle when their eyes meet."
Ash sighed.
"Alright fine, Pidgeotto and Metapod could use some practice anyway." Ash said. Serena and Misty were both weirded out by this trainer. He came out of no where, pulled a sword on Ash, and now challenged him to a battle. Needless to say, they really wanted to see Ash trounce him.
"Alright go Pinsir!" Ty shouted as he threw a pokeball forward.
A large bug pokemon came out with a dull brown body and a large pair of gray, spiky pincers on top of its head. In its mouth were many long, flat teeth arranged horizontally. Its legs were short and thick while its arms were long and thin, and each limb ended with three grey limbs and abdomen were divided into segments. Its eyes were simple, but usually appear angry.
"Oh no another bug." Misty said as she backed up.
"What pokemon is that?" Serena asked as she opened her pokedex.
"Pinsir. This fearsome Pokémon uses its powerful claws to put the squeeze on its opponents."
"Alright Pidgeotto I choose you!" Ash said as his Pigeotto flew forward and above him.
"Let's begin with a Vice grip." Ty said. His Pinsir ran forward and snapped his mighty head jaws at Pidgeoto.
"Pidgeotto use Gust!" Ash shouted.
"Ott!" Pidgeotto shouted as he flapped his wings and smashed Pinsir with a powerful gust of wind that hurled him back.
"Now use tackle!" Ash shouted. Pidgeotto flew in and smashed into Pinsir's stomach, knocking him onto his back.
Ash saw Pinsir's eyes were swirly as he lay on the ground unconscious.
"Well, I guess Pinsir's unable to battle." Misty said surprised at how easily he was knocked out.
"Well, good work out there Pidgeotto, come on back so Metapod can have a try." Ash said. Pidgeotto flew back as Metapod slowly moved himself forward.
"Alright I know just who to send out. Go Metapod!" Ty shouted as he let out his own Metapod.
"Two Metapods? This should be exciting." Misty said sarcastically.
"Alright now prepare to face the ultimate power of my Metapod. He is an unstoppable force like nothing else on this world. Now use Tackle!" Ty shouted. The Metapod slowly moved towards at a rather unimpressive speed.
Ash and the others sweat dropped after hearing what Ty ordered.
"Metapod use String shot." Ash said. Metapod blasted the other Metapod with a thick beam of silk that firmly locked him in place.
"Now he can't escape." Ash said.
"Oh no." Ty said.
"Tackle." Ash said. Metapod moved forward and smashed himself into Ty's Metapod, hurling him out of the silk trap and back towards his trainer. When the Metapod hit the ground his eye was swirly.
"Ty's Metapod is unable to battle. The winner is Ash." Misty said.
"Great job Metapod." Ash said.
"Aww, it wasn't even close." Ty said as he returned his Metapod.
"Alright now tell us more about your friends." Serena said.
"Right, why did I have to battle?" Ty said. Moments later Ash's heightened senses warned him that there were people moving around them.
"Look out!" Ash shouted. Two rocket grunts leapt out from behind trees with electric batons raised and Zubats beside them.
"Flamethrower!" Ash shouted as he unleashed a burst of aura. The two grunts were hurled back by the aura as Charizard opened his mouth and blasted the Zubats with fire.
Another two grunts rushed out with another 2 Zubat beside them.
"PIkachu Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted as he came forward with his hidden blades out. He sliced the two grunts' electric batons in half before smashing his foot into the first grunt's calf , making him lurch back before Ash smashed his elbow across his face.
The second grunt tried to punch Ash, only to have Ash block it with his forearm and knee the man in the stomach , then the face.
At the same time Pikachu filled the two Zubat with electricity , hurling them into the ground.
"Team rocket, they're probably the ones who took your friends." Serena said.
"Indeed we were." An all to familiar voice said. Ash and the others turned as a woman stepped out. She was wearing a rocket officers uniform and had had long green hair tied into long pigtails , and green eyes.
"Isabel of Infestation!" Ash and Serena shouted.
"Well well well, look who came all the way from Kalos to see me. I heard from Jessie and James that you twerps were back. Now it looks like I get the pleasure of taking care of you myself." She said.
"Uh guys, who is she?" Misty asked.
"She's a team rocket officer." Ash said.
"So you kidnapped my friends!" Ty shouted.
"That's right, we thought they might have decent pokemon worth stealing. However, they were just as weak as yours. Still I'm sure your pokemon will be worth something." Isabel said as she smiled.
"No Isabel, we're taking you in." Ash said as he held his hidden blades out.
"Ha ha ha! Fool you're in my environment, surrounded by my lovelies." Isabel said.
Ash and the others could hear a very loud buzzing sound coming closer to them.
"What is that?" Misty asked. Isabel raised her arms as dozens of Beedrill flew around her and the rest of the group.
"Ahh!" Misty screamed as she hid behind Ash and Serena.
"Kill them!" Isabel shouted as her Beedrill swarmed around them.
"Charizard use Inferno!" Ash shouted. Ash created an aura barrier around all of them as Charizard opened his mouth and unleashed an ocean of fire around them. The fire engulfed several of the Beedrill as they came in, knocking 8 out.
"Now what?" Ty asked.
"There are too many Beedrill, we'll need to run." Ash said. He returned his pokemon as Serena and Misty did the same.
"Break through!" Isabel shouted. As the fire faded, two Beedrill flew forward and slashed Ash across the arm with their pincers, just before he could return Metapod.
"Ash!" Serena shouted. Ash clutched his arm as he saw another 2 Beedrill pick up his Metapod.
"Metapod!" Ash shouted. He tried to go after them , but Serena grabbed him.
"Ash you're hurt, we need to run!" Serena shouted. Ash couldn't leave Metapod, but he couldn't help him if he stayed. Ash grit his teeth as he ran off with the others.
"After them my lovelies." Isabel said as she took the Metapod from the Beedrill, and watched them fly after the group.
Ash and the others ran as fast as they could away from the Beedrill.
"They're getting closer!" Misty shouted.
"Pikachu Thunder!" Ash shouted.
"Pika Chu!" Pikachu shouted as he unleashed a bolt of lighting that flew down and knocked out 5 of the Beedrill.
Despite this, the swarm continued coming at them.
"Guys I'm getting tired." Ty said.
"You want to stop?" Misty asked. Ty turned around and saw the Beedrill coming.
"Ahh!" Ty shouted as he continued running.
"Pikachu Thunder!" Ash shouted.
"Chu!" Pikachu shouted as he knocked out another 5 Beedrill. After those Beedrill were knocked out, the rest lost sight of the group.
Misty and Ty were trying to catch their breath as Ash and Sere kept watch for the Beedrill.
"How are you two not out of breath?" Misty asked as she held her knees.
"We're run much father than that." Serena said.
"We need a place to hide." Ty said.
"Hey how about that cabin?" Serena asked as she saw it a few yards away.
"A cabin?" Ty said.
"Who cares, let's go!" Misty shouted. The group walked over to the cabin , but the door was locked.
"Now what?" Misty asked.
"Ok here's what we do, we jimmy the lock bit by bit , then we." Ty started before Ash slammed his shoulder into he door, breaking it open.
"Ok that works too." Ty said. The group walked inside before Ash shut the door behind them.
As Serena looked around she saw 5 young men around Ty's age unconscious and tied up.
"Hey who are they?" Serena asked.
"My friends!" Ty shouted as he ran over to them. It was then Ash noticed a team rocket grunt asleep in a char leaning against the wall with an electric baton in his hand.
"This must be Isabel's hideout here." Ash said. He walked over to the grunt and slammed his forearm into the man's throat, easily knocking him out.
"Guys wake up, come on." Ty said. After another minute he got up.
"What's wrong with them, they're still breathing." Ty said.
"Isabel and her grunts must have drugged them or something." Serena said.
"Well what do we do now?" Misty asked.
"I have to rescue Metapod." Ash said.
"How, she has an army of Beedrill out there." Misty said.
"You know, if my father were here he'd suggest we fight like guerrillas." Serena said.
"Guerrillas?" Misty and Ty asked.
"Yeah, we go out there and knock out the Beedrill in groups of like 5 at a time. We slowly wear away at Isabel's numbers until she only has a few left." Serena said.
"Wow that's a really good idea Serena." Ash said.
"Thanks." Serena said blushing a little. Misty noticed this.
"Why are you blushing, you're already dating him." Misty asked.
"So." Serena said.
"Ok So let's split up and try to divide the Beedrill to a manageable level." Ash said.
"You knocked out both me pokemon." Ty said.
"Then stay here and watch your friends." Ash said.
"Right , I'll protect them." Ty said as he raised his sword.
"Alright be careful out there guys." Ash said as he and let Charizard back out.
"We will." Serena said as she let out Charla and Absol and walked off in another direction.
Misty let out her Starmie and Staryu before waling in another direction.
In another section of the Viridian forest, 12 Beedrill were searching around for Ash and the others.
"Looking for us." Ash said. The Beedrill turned around to see Ash and his Pokemon.
The Beedrill rushed at them with their pincers up.
"Thunder and Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.
"Pika chu!" Pikachu shouted as he unleashed Thunder and blasted 6 of the Beedrill at the same time Charizard opened his mouth and engulfed the other 6 Beedrill with fire.
Moments later the 12 Beedrill dropped to the ground unconscious. Elsewhere in the forest another 8 Beedrill were searching the woods.
"Now!" Serena shouted. Absol leapt out and slashed two of the Beedrill with night slash, knocking them out.
"Rock tomb and Flamethrower!" Serena shouted as the other 6 Beedrill turned towards them.
"Char!" Charla shouted as she opened her mouth and blasted two of the Beedrill with a jet of fire, knocking them out.
Absol unleashed a barrage of rocks that smashed the remaining 4 into the ground.
"Yes, 8 down." Serena said.
"Char."
"Sol."
Elsewhere 10 Beedrill were scouring an area for anyone in the group.
"Hey bugs over here!" Misty shouted. The 10 Beedrill quickly flew at her with their pincers raised.
"Psychic and Psybeam." Misty shouted. Her Starmie and Staryu's center crystals began to glow violet as they blasted the 10 Beedrill with Psychic energy. The Beedrill were hurled into each other and smashed into the ground before fainting.
"Alright, we got them." Misty said. Several minutes later the group met back up by the cabin.
"There you guys are, any luck?" Ash asked.
"Yes, between the two of us we knocked out 18 Beedrill." Serena said.
"Excellent, we knocked out 12. That means we reduced Isabel's swarm by 30 Beedrill." Ash said.
"Well we knocked out about 8 during the first fight, and another 10 on the run. All together we've knocked out 48 Beedrill. Her swarm must be exhausted by now. We should go after her." Serena said.
"How do we find her?" Misty said.
"If she still has Metapod, then I can track him through his aura." Ash said. He took a deep breath and tried to sense the area for Metapod's aura.
It took him a minute, but he found it.
"Gotcha." Ash said. Several minutes later Serena and Misty were hiding in a bush as they saw Isabel with 2 grunts in front of her.
"Ma'am we can't find them." One said.
"Hmm, it doesn't matter I still have his Metapod, knowing how much that brat loves his pokemon he'll come back for him." Isabel said.
Moments later Ash leapt out of a tree branch and slammed his palms into the back of the grunt's necks , knocking them out as he slammed them into the ground. At the same time Pikachu leapt down and blasted the two Zubat with electricity , knocking them out as well.
"Well look who's here." Isabel said as Ash got up. Serena and Misty came out of the bush and came up beside him.
"Where's my Metapod!" Ash shouted. Isabel smiled as a Beedrill flew up behind her with Metapod in his pinchers.
"Give it up Isabel, all your grunts are beaten, and we've exhausted your swarm of Beedrill!" Serena shouted. Isabel smiled before the group heard more buzzing.
"Oh no." Misty said. The group saw at least 40 more Beedrill come out from the trees and surround them.
"How many dam Beedrill do you have?" Ash asked.
"Enough, now prepare to die." Isabel said as her Beedrill swarmed in towards them.
"Inferno! Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.
"Flamethrower! Rock tomb!" Serena shouted.
"Psychic! Psybeam!" Misty shouted. Their pokemon launched their attacks as the Beedrill Swarm came in at them.
Several of the Beedrill were knocked out, but several made it through and used Furry attack.
"Ahh!" Misty shouted as she was hit by a few pinchers.
"Dam it." Serena grunted as she was also hit.
Ash grit his teeth as he tried to keep the Beedrill away with aura as they hit him with their pinchers.
Meanwhile, Metapod could only watch in horror as his friends were mercilessly swarmed by the Beedrill.
"Ha, I should have tried this back in Kalos." Isabel said. Metapod tried to reach out to Ash through their connection to try and tell him to hold on. But Ash and the others were just trying to stay alive.
Metapod gave everything he had to try and give Ash strength, but when he finally did he felt his own strength rise. The Beedrill looked down as he saw Metapod glowing. Several moments later Metapod's shell cracked and split as another pokemon came out.
It was an anthropomorphic butterfly with a purple body with 4 light blue legs. He had two black antenna , a light blue snout with two fangs underneath, and large red compounded eyes. His wings were white with black accents.
"Free!" he shouted as he blasted the Beedrill in front of him with Gust, hurling him into a tree before being knocked unconscious.
"What?" Isabel said as she watched the Butterfly flap his wings and spray her swarm of Beedrill with a thick wind of stun spores, paralyzing at least a dozen of them.
After the 12 paralyzed Beedrill dropped to the ground, Pikachu and the other Pokemon finally had a little relief and blasted another 10 Beedrill out of the air with their attacks.
Ash and the others looked up to see the purple Butterfly , flying above them.
"Is that?" Misty asked. Serena opened her pokedex.
"Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon. Butterfree is the evolved form of Metapod. The scales covering its wings help it to shed water."
"Metapod evolved to save us." Ash said.
"No! Get them!" Isabel shouted. The remaining Beedrill tried to swarm the group , but now they also had Butterfree above them using Gust as well. Ash turned to Isabel and rushed at her before blasting her with a burst of aura.
Isabel was hurled back a few feet and scowled at Ash as she got up and pulled out a pair of large combat knives.
Ash let his hidden blades out and blocked Isabel's first strike with his right blade. He then came forward with his left as Isabel tried to block it with her other knife. Ash held the knife in place with his hidden blade and forced his first forward, punching Isabel in the face.
Isabel lurched back as pain raked across her face. She scowled at Ash again as she ran forward and lunged at him with both knives. Ash blocked the knives with his hidden blades and delivered a powerful kick to her calf , making her lurch back before smashing his elbow across her face.
Isabel coughed up a little blood and screamed as she ran at Ash one more time. Ash took one step forward and blocked both knives with his hidden blades before hurling both his fists into her face, breaking Isabel's nose. She stumbled backward and fell onto the ground , dropping her knives as she held her nose.
She looked back up as Ash and the others and saw the last of her Beedrill swarm drop to the ground.
"You lose." Ash said.
"You twerps are going to regret this. 5 years ago we were in Kalos, now you're in our home turf. If you think you can do this to us and get away with it, you're wrong. Team rocket is going to take you down." Isabel shouted.
She got up and sprinted away as fast as she could. Ash considered pursuing her, but he knew he had to make sure the others were ok. He walked back as Serena and Misty got up.
"Are you two ok?" Ash asked.
"A bit sore, but ok." Serena said.
"It was horrible, those bugs were all over me." Misty said.
"Pikachu, Charizard, are you guys ok?" Ash asked.
"Pika!".
"Grauu." Pikachu and Charizard said smiling. Both had been through far worse than even that.
"Char."
"Sol." Charla and Absol said as they tried to shake off the pain.
"Butterfree you were amazing, you evolved just in time and paralyzed 12 of them." Ash said.
"Free!" Butterfree said as he landed on Ash's shoulder and rubbed his head with his head.
"We should probably tell Ty that it's all clear." Serena said. A few minutes later they were outside the cabin where Ty and his now awake friends were standing with the rocket grunts tied up.
"Thank you for all your help, we'll make sure the police take this men away." Ty said.
"Don't stay here too long, she could come back with more men." Ash said.
"Alright, by the say we should battle again some day." Ty said.
"We should." Ash said.
"Next time I won't be beaten so easily." Ty said.
Ash and the others turned and continued down through the forest towards Pewter city.
Author's note
Alright I hope you guys like the chapter cause I'm very happy with it.
I can tell you that Serena will be catching her next pokemon very soon, if you were wondering about that
Also many of the chapters in this story follow the anime episodes, I will have chapters that don't follow the anime such as well the groups female traveling companion joins them. Yes it's not Misty.
In this story Ash will catch all of the pokemon he caught from Kanto , and more. Except a Charmander, for obvious reasons.
Someone asked if Cassidy and Butch are in this story. I do plan on introducing them.
So until next time, please review, comment, suggest, or ask