Walking through Viridian Forest for a second time, Ash took in the sight. He never really had the time during his first journey to take in the sight since he was both rushing to get Pikachu to a Pokémon Center and he was with Misty, the latter screaming every time she saw a Bug-type.
Ketchum had to be alert, considering the numerous times he had encountered a certain dangerous Bug/Poison-type every time. But personally, that was a Pokémon on his wanted list.
This time, he hoped he wouldn't be interrupted.
Ash opted to bring a few Pokémon out so they would help him plus get some training. Hence why at his side, Quilava and Snivy were at his feet, Pikachu on his usual place on his shoulder, and Rowlet -surprisingly awake- was flying around.
Before Ash went on his expedition or round up, Professor Oak managed to allow Ash to carry more than Pokémon in his party. Due to his exploits of criminal groups, placement as Alola's Champion, Orange Island victor, and Battle Frontier conqueror, the boy was able to hold up to a limit of eighteen Pokémon. He was still legally required to use six Pokémon in official battles.
In his party currently, he had Pikachu -obviously-, Scraggy, Noivern, Unfezant, Quilava, Snivy, Rowlet, and eleven others. (In time, his team will be in rotation) Pidgeot, Fearow, and Rattata have been sent back to Oak's lab for the time being.
Strolling along, he made sure that Quilava didn't ignite his flames too hot and cause a forest fire. Snivy kept her eyes peeled, her senses in check. Rowlet was aimlessly flying around, partially looking for a snack while heeding his trainer's warnings of not flying off too far.
Continuing his trek through the forest, Ash began to reminisce about his first time here.
Misty's fear of bugs.
Getting into his first trainer battle.
Swarmed by Beedrill.
And his first two captures.
Thinking about his first ever capture made Ash nearly well up inside. It was also his first released Pokémon as he wanted him to be happy. And Ash possibly knew that he would never see him again. During his time in the Delcore Islands, he encountered the same scenario albeit he didn't capture that one. But alas, he wasn't one to stand in the way of a Pokémon's happiness.
*KSH*
Ash and his Pokémon jumped back from a blade of a samurai dressed teenager.
"Darn it! I missed!" the teenager cursed to himself.
"Hey! What's your problem!?" Ash yelled as his Pokémon roared in agreement.
"Well, perhaps you should know better than to walk around Viridian Forest aimlessly," the samurai scoffed before withdrawing his blade.
Ash couldn't help but put his hand to his chest to calm his racing heart. It was like the last time he was here…
'Wait a minute,' Ash thought before exclaiming, "It's you!"
"Hmmm," the samurai said, "Do I know you?"
"Yes! It's me, Ash!" the Alolan Champion replied.
"Ash? Ash, Ash, Ash…" the bug catcher thought aloud before a lightbulb went off in his head. "Ah! I remember you! You and the shrieking maiden!"
Ash sweat-dropped at Misty being referred to as the 'shrieking maiden.' Given where they were, he couldn't blame him.
"So? You have come for our rematch, have you not?" the samurai inquired.
Ash thought back to their previous battle. Granted they were interrupted with the Beedrill swarm and how he had to save his own Pokémon. So that made Ash grin, "I don't see why not?"
"Excellent! We shall have a three-on-three!" the samurai declared.
"Yeah!" Ash agreed before getting an idea, "Hey! If I win, can you help me out with something?"
The samurai went into thought before shrugging, "I don't see why not. But you will be losing this battle."
Ash simply smirked, "Oh, you have no idea." He was a new trainer back then but now, he is a skilled trainer.
As the trainers left, they didn't notice a Weedle crawling down from a tree. Curious, the Hairy Bug Pokémon scurried after them.
Finding a clear field, the two trainers drew their first Pokéballs.
"Ledian, let's make a buzz!" The samurai said. The Five Star Pokémon appeared, throwing a few air punches with his fists. "Led!"
Ash pointed forward, "Rowlet, I choose you!" From the trees, the Grass Quill Pokémon balked, looking around before flying and hooted at his opponent.
"Ledian, start with Silver Wind!" The Bug/Flying-type swiped two of his hands across, sending a silvery powdered wind towards the owl starter.
"Hit it with a Razor Leaf!" The Grass Quill Pokémon fired several sharp leaves that pierced the Silver Wind and struck the ladybug. Not doing much damage, Ledian brushed off his chest, wanting a real challenge.
"It seems you don't have much strength with your Pokémon," the samurai mocked before commanding, "Mach Punch!"
Ledian blurred forward, socking Rowlet with a glowing white fist. The attack made the owl fly back but he was able to right himself and hoot in defiance.
"Trust me!" Ash retorted, "All my Pokémon are strong! Rowlet, Seed Bomb!" The Alolan Grass starter chirped and spewed several explosive seeds that bombarded the Five Star Pokémon.
"Now Brave Bird!" Rowlet flew with a fiery blue aura and slammed directly into Ledian, the Bug/Flying type now in pain. Rowlet flew back, sparking with recoil.
The samurai was surprised that the owl knew such attacks but shook off his surprise and countered, "Use Ice Punch!"
Ledian shook off the super effective attack and rushed with an icy coat around one of his fists. He punched the bird, the Ice-type move doing major damage to the Grass/Flying-type. Rowlet spiraled towards the ground and barely managed to get up. The Grass Quill began to glare at the Five Star Pokémon who seemed to be gloating over him.
"Led~."
Rowlet chirped at the cheapshot and managed to get up.
"Ice Punch again!" the samurai smirked, knowing this fight was already over.
"Feather Dance!" Rowlet's feathers fizzled before exiting and creating a copy that Ledian punched instead. "Now, Brave Bird!" Rowlet flew away and came back with his blue aura. He nailed the Five Star Pokémon, defeating him.
The samurai was surprised and returned his team member with a few words of praise, "I admit, I wasn't expecting your Pokémon to have such strong moves in that form. It was my mistake for underestimating you."
Ash smiled before returning Rowlet to his Pokéball. "Goes to show that I have improved."
"Indeed," the samurai said. "Now for my next Pokémon! Kricketune!" The Cricket Pokémon appeared with a smaller mustache, strumming her scythes together, "Tune~"
Ash thought about something before looking at his next battle, "Quilava, let's go!" The Volcano Pokémon ran towards the fight and ignited his flames, "Lava!"
Ketchum had to be careful with his Fire-type moves since he was in a forest. So he made the first move, "Use Rollout!" Quilava jumped forward, curling into a ball, and rolled towards the musical Bug-type.
"Protect!" Kricketune made a green shield that Protected her from Quilava's attack. Upon impact of the shield, the Volcano Pokémon leapt back and was partially dazed.
"Bug Buzz!" The Bug-type brought her scythes together and fired red soundwaves that irritated the Fire-type.
Ash grit his teeth and then figured a way to fight back, "Aerial Ace!"
Quilava, straining through the soundwaves, charged with white energy around his body. He nailed the Kricketune in her chest and canceled the Bug Buzz. "Double Kick!" While close, the Volcano Pokémon landed a two-kick combo on the Cricket Pokémon.
"Hidden Power!" Kricketune strummed her scythes together, creating green orbs. She fired them and they struck Quilava on the spot.
"Qui!" The Johto Fire-starter cried out in pain. Ash was taken aback by the super-effective Hidden Power before calling out. "Quilava! Are you okay?"
Shakily, Quilava managed to stand to his feet. His head and spine flared up before there was a faint gleam in his eyes which flashed yellow and caught Kricketune in a series of golden rings.
"That's Extrasensory!" Ash recognized. He remembered reading that Cyndaquil's line could learn that move.
"Lava!" The Volcano Pokémon said before slamming the Cricket Pokémon to the earth. Kricketune managed to get to her feet.
"Alright, Swords Dance to Night Slash!" the samurai ordered. Kricketune strummed a tune, swords manifested and clashed before she gained a red aura. Her scythes grew long and darkened before she rushed in.
Ash made a split-second decision, "Meet it with Flame Wheel!" The Volcano Pokémon curled into a ball and charged in ablaze. He met the enhanced Night Slash with the Flame Wheel at a stalemate.
Ash was secretly impressed with Samurai, not expecting the Bug-type user to have matched his own Pokémon's strength, even with type advantage.
"Glad to see that those days at the Viridian City Battle Club had paid off," Samurai said, partially catching Ash's attention, "Break away and use Fury Cutter!"
The Cricket Pokémon managed to deflect Quilava's assault and slashed with red, glowing scythes repeatedly. "Qui! Qui! Qui!"
"Double Kick!" In the middle of the sixth slash, the Johto Fire-type starter managed to land another two-hit combo, providing some distance.
"Alright, Hidden Power once more!" Kricketune generated green orbs and fired them again.
"Intercept with Swift!" This time, Quilava fired a series of stars that shot down the orbs, creating an explosion.
Unbeknownst to them, two things were occurring in the background.
The Weedle from before had followed them and was currently watching the battle. She was impressed with how the red cap boy was battling. It made her want to be stronger.
And the explosion caught the attention of another Pokémon. One damaged and searching for help.
"Let's end this! Quilava, Smokescreen!" The Volcano Pokémon expelled thick, black smoke. This obscured Samurai and Kricketune's vision.
"Be on guard, Kricketune!" the Samurai ordered and the instrumental bug nodded her head, scythes out.
She waited for a while, keeping her eyes peeled for any movement. Shifting her head back and forth, the Cricket Pokémon began to wonder where her opponent was.
Then she was caught in a series of golden rings before getting pulled in and was rammed with a Flame Wheel, taking her out of the battle.
"Kricketune!" Samurai cried before returning his fallen teammate while the smoke disappeared and saw Quilava and Ash.
"Well, you managed to get me down to my final Pokémon," Samurai remarked, "If I recall, last time we had a Metapod battle that got us nowhere and my Pinsir defeated your Pidgeotto in one blow."
"I had just caught Pidgeotto so she was damaged from our battle and the Metapod battle… was not my best choice," Ash reluctantly informed, remembering how they just Hardened constantly instead of attacking.
"I see," the Samurai said before pulling out his final Pokéball, "But, you have yet to face my strongest! Go-"
"FREE!"
The cry halted the trainer's battle, Snivy and Quilava readied for an attack before seeing a Butterfree flutter before them. Ash and Pikachu had a look of shock when they saw a certain yellow scarf.
But their eyes soon laid on Butterfree's entire body. The butterfly had scratch marks and a faint purple tint on his blue nose.
Ash and Samurai ran over to the Butterfly Pokémon, noticing the poison status on the Kanto butterfly. The Bug-type user reached for one of his compartments and pulled out a Pecha Berry, instantly feeding the butterfly to cure the poison coursing through his system.
"This Butterfree should be fine," the Samurai reassured Ash, "I have seen him here many times with his mate."
"Butterfree," Ash muttered, worried for the Bug-type's well-being, before realizing what Samurai had said, "Wait, would his mate happen to be a pink Butterfree?"
"Yes," the Samurai said with a hint of surprise, "How do you know such a thing?"
"This used to be my Butterfree," Ash revealed.
"He was?!" the Samurai exclaimed, "But why did you release him?"
"It was Butterfree mating season," Ketchum explained, "He fell in love with the pink Butterfree so I let him be happy. It was one of my toughest things to do on my first journey."
"Oh, I see," the Samurai relented. He understood the Butterfree mating season since he had released his own not too long ago. "Come on, we should head to my cottage."
From a distance, Weedle knew how the Butterfree got poisoned and had a look of determination in her eyes. Spewing a stream of silk, the Hairy Bug Pokémon swung away.
Butterfree's eyes slowly began to open and the first thing he saw was a wooden roof. Looking around, the butterfly noticed two humans and another Pokémon sitting away.
Getting up slowly, Butterfree was able to focus better with and distinguish the two humans. When he saw one, his eyes widened and rushed to greet his old trainer.
Ash laughed when the Butterfly Pokémon nuzzled him, "I missed you too, Butterfree!" Pikachu got his own share from the Bug/Flying-type which made the latter surprised to see his old teammate as well.
"Hey, Butterfree," Ash started, "Do you remember what happened? And where is your mate?"
The butterfly began doing a series of movements, explaining his tale and how he got hurt. After the display, Ash realized what had happened.
"It was the Beedrill again, wasn't it?"
A nod was all the trainer got, before he clenched his fist. Ash remembered how the Beedrilsl stole Butterfree when he was a Metapod during his first adventure and went back for him. And now the same bees had stolen Butterfree's mate. Oddly, he felt like it was deja vu.
"Those Beedrills are still as dangerous as ever," the Samurai informed.
"I'm not letting those Beedrills just keep Butterfree's mate!" Ash shot back. And with determination, Ash and Pikachu left the cottage as Butterfree fluttered weakly behind. The Samurai shook his head before coming along, trying to keep the Pallet Town kid safe.
Through the forest, the quartet eventually came across the tree where the Kakuna live. And a small pink color could be seen.
Ash carefully analyzed a possible attack plan. He would have thought about Butterfree using Sleep Powder -if he still knew that- but given the butterfly's current state, that was not an option. He doubts Samurai had any powder moves on his team. So, he needed a different plan.
"Weedle!"
The small cry caused the quartet to see a Weedle, waving her tail as if she had a plan.
"A lone Weedle? That's uncommon," Samurai mused.
"Maybe it has a plan?" Ash said with uncertainty. He remembered the last time he came across a Weedle in Viridian Forest and it wasn't pleasant.
The Weedle gestured to Pikachu and quickly scurried up the tree, before the Mouse Pokémon followed carefully behind her. They reached the branch where the pink Butterfree was and saw her condition. It wasn't too bad, just a few bruises herself but still didn't look like she could fight herself.
The brown caterpillar fired a concentrated stream of silk, covering the pink butterfree, before having Pikachu help with gently pushing her down the tree. Ash managed to catch her and sighed with relief as his former Butterfree came over and nuzzled against her, glad she was safe
Unfortunately the moment of relief wasn't long as the buzzing of the Poison Bee swarm could be heard. "BBBZZZZZZ!"
Ash, Samurai and the Pokémon turned to the swarm with the leader Beedrill pointing his needles threateningly. Ash grit his teeth, knowing he was possibly outmatched but refused to give in.
"Snivy, Quilava, Rowlet!" The three chosen Pokémon appeared and cried out as they met the swarm. "Keep them off our tails!" Ash ordered and hurried to the Pokémon Center so the pink Butterfree could get a proper treatment. They all nodded and ran with their trainer while keeping the stray Beedrills away.
"Pinsir, aid them!" Samurai said, sending out the Stag Beetle Pokémon. Pinsir landed, his pincers clashing for intimidation. A few Beedrills swerved to deal with the brown beetle and received a Stone Edge.
Ash hurried as fast as he could, Beedrills chasing him and his Pokémon nonstop. One Beedrill was preparing to fire a Pin Missile but Quilava fired several Swift stars that interrupted its process. Snivy whipped up a Leaf Storm that pushed the bees back and Rowlet fired some Seed Bombs that covered their escape. Even the wild Weedle was helping out by using Electroweb which snared a couple Beedrills, impressing Ash but he continued to run. Butterfree managed to keep up and fired Psybeam to keep the Beedrills at bay.
Eventually, he made it to Viridian City, leaving the swarm as they began to lose interest, and entered the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy saw the condition the pink Butterfree was in and immediately went to work.
A few more minutes later, Ash rested. Butterfree was watching through the glass, having gone through a quicker method of healing. Snivy, Rowlet, and Quilava also received treatment, and surprisingly Weedle stayed with Ash, next to Pikachu who was snoozing. Samurai waited alongside Ash, having needed his Bug-types a chance to rest as well. He returned Pinsir after ditching the swarm.
Nurse Joy exited the room where she delivered the news, "Butterfree will be just fine. She will need an overnight rest."
The trainers and Pokémon let out breaths of relief before booking a night at the Pokémon Center.
It was morning and Ash headed downstairs to check on the pink Butterfree. When he went to see the room, he noticed that she was gone.
"Oh, are you looking for the Butterfree?" Nurse Joy asked as she approached Ash who replied with a nod. "She was with the Butterfree and Weedle you came in with this morning. They should still be out there," the nurse informed.
The Alolan Champion thanked her for the info before heading to see the butterflies and caterpillar. The second he was outside, he saw the duo chattering amongst themselves with Weedle nibbling on a leaf.
When the insects saw Ash, they hovered or hopped over in Weedle's case. "I'm glad you guys are alright. Guess it's time for you to go back to the wild."
To his surprise, the insects shook their heads. "What? You guys don't want to go back to the wild?"
The trio of Bug-types nodded their hands before gesturing to the Pokéballs. It didn't take Ash long to understand what they meant, "Y-you want to travel with me again, Butterfree?"
"Free!" his first Bug-type cried. His mate chattered in agreement as Weedle wagged her tail happily.
"You guys too?" Ash didn't know what to think. But he tuned that out later and cracked a smile, "Well then… Who am I to deny a Pokémon's wish?" He took three Pokéballs out and the captures were instant.
Picking them up, Ash's smile continued to grow as he got more Bug-types on his team. He wanted to catch a Beedrill line so he was glad that the Weedle he got was on his team now.
To the corner of his eye, he saw a building he thought was only found in Unova: the Battle Club.
And Ash then went to visit the building as he knew it would be beneficial.