Viridian City's Pokemon Center was absolutely packed, being that it was the first night of the Indigo Season, it made sense that it took about twenty minutes for Ash to get to the PC booth after waiting in line.

The sun had just gone down as Ash reached the inner city, and while it took maybe a few more minutes to find the Pokémon Center, Ash was in before 8 o'clock.

The Pokémon Center in Viridian City was equipped with ten full PC booths, something that was rare in other cities due to the cost of said booths, but for now, it helped Ash get to a booth faster.

Walking by the last user who looked to have been a veteran trainer, Ash got to the rightmost PC. Pushing his Pokedex into the dedicated slot for ID purposes, Ash came to a screen for the available options on that PC.

The Indigo Database was the top left icon, its green icon matched the symbol on Ash's hat. This hosted all trainer pages registered for the Indigo League, how to sign up for the league, and the rules for Gym battles. It was more useful at the start and end of the season than something you would check daily.

The top right was the Personal Information Collection, or P.I.C. for short. This symbol when clicked on hosted access to your bank, your certificates, registrations, and of course, your trainer level. Your trainer level also hosted a variety of communications, an example being to your Professor and or the licensed Gym leader of your city.

The bottom left was a Video Phone. Charging 50 P, you could call anybody that was in the database, though it was becoming less useful with the release of the recent PokeGear.

Finally, the bottom right was a browser, usually city specific as local businesses used it for advertisements.

Ash quickly got on the P.I.C., and a quick scan revealed the measly 1500 P he started his journey within his account, and he moved on to report his capture.

A simple Capture Report later, Ash tried to call his mother but seemed to have missed her. She did have an early day, but the loss of 50 P still stung, so Ash was slightly irritated.

Closing down his accounts and sliding out his Pokedex, Ash walked over to Nurse Joy that was handling the counter. A small wait later and Ash was able to talk to the pink-haired nurse.

"Where can I sign up for the Indigo League?"

"Here is the sign-up paperwork, it must be turned into an Indigo League-approved Pokemon Center. Is there anything else you need young man?" The nurse responded by grabbing a packet below the counter and sliding it across to Ash. The nurse seemed to have a smile permanently attached, something that Ash thought was a little odd.

Grabbing the packet, Ash was about to respond with a no on needing anything else. That was until he remembered that he needed a room to sleep in. 'It would be nice to sleep in a bed before heading out tomorrow' Ash thought.

"Oh, is there a room available by any chance?" Ash asked while rubbing the back of his neck.

"There is, you will have to check out by noon tomorrow at the latest, and you may not stay at the same Pokemon Center two days in a row." The nurse recited something that seemed to come up almost every hour for her more than likely.

"No problem, thank you, Nurse Joy." Ash took the key that she had pulled out, grabbing hold of that and the sign-up packet, Ash walked into the back of the center.

A quick walk took him to what seemed to be one of the last rooms, all of them set up like dormitories you would find in some of the richer trainer schools. Room 47, almost at the end of the hallway before the emergency exit.

Unlocking the door, Ash heard a beep in the room, opening the door revealed a bunk bed against the far wall and a desk with a chair in front of it. With a door to the bathroom on the left. The room was strictly 10 by 10, which was much bigger than Ash thought it would be.

Sitting down at the desk, Ash opened up the packet. It looked to be about twenty pages long, but mostly just an agreement for any liabilities that might arise during his training as well as some rules and regulations for the League itself.

Something of note was how the League dealt with Pokémon deaths during a League-approved match. Most of the latter half of the packet was dedicated to the events and possible legalities of the death of a Pokémon.

Quickly signing where proper, skimming the legal text, and noting down his identity, Ash was done with the packet in less than ten minutes.

Grabbing both of his filled PokeBalls, Ash released Bulbasaur into the room, before going into the bathroom and turning on the bathtub. Letting the water fill until it was almost full, Ash checked that the water was cool to the touch. He then released his newly caught Magikarp into the water.

Bulbasaur had followed his trainer into the bathroom to see the release of the splashing fish and watched how Ash giggled as the water splashed against him.

"Alright, alright, I know you are excited, but I need you to hold still Magikarp, got to get that dirt off of you." Ash had grabbed a small white towel that was left hanging in the room, probably the norm for most Pokemon Centers.

Ash scrubbed at the red scales of Magikarp, the fish became still in relaxation as the rubbing continued. The once clear water became cloudy as minutes passed. Standing to rinse the towel in the sink, Ash spoke out to Magikarp.

"I'm going to drain the tub to get some more clean water Magikarp." Ash returned the fish, pulled the tub plug, and rinsed the dirty towel in the sink while he waited.

Bulbasaur had planted himself near the door, laying on his stomach as he watched his trainer.

Plugging the tub again, Ash filled the tub to a similar water level as before. Releasing Magikarp again with a splash showed how clean the fish was in comparison to earlier. Her red scales seemed to glow in the water, not good to hide from predators, but still a showcase that care can make Pokémon look nice.

"Alright, I'm going to leave you in here for the night, then we'll take off first thing in the morning," Ash told his Magikarp, with the fish splashing in confirmation.

Walking out of the room, Ash gathered up his pajamas from his bag, folding his worn shorts into the front pocket, the other clothes were left on the only chair in the room for tomorrow's use.

Ash had only been in bed for a few minutes when he started snoring. Bulbasaur watched his tired trainer spread out in the bed before going back to talk to his new teammate. They talked deep into the night, though most of the words came from Bulbasaur with quiet splashes being the regular response.


The morning had come quickly, so fast that Ash was not ready to meet it as early as he would have wanted. Waking up right before the deadline to turn in his room key, Ash was in a rush.

Ash put on the clothes he laid out the night before, the same outfit, with the only difference being the color of the t-shirt. A dark cyan was replaced with a deep dark red, though it was definitely brighter than the cyan he had on the day before.

Having dropped off the packet for the Indigo League sign-up, and leaving the key with the same nurse as the night before, Ash walked through Viridian City as fast as he could. The sun had already reached the peak of the day, leaving only half a dozen hours of daylight left.

Where Ash was going, he was going to need those precious daylight hours.

Viridian Forest rested north of Viridian City, or at least that is what a map would show you, in actuality, the forest spanned miles upon miles in multiple directions, with even the east side of Viridian City being technically a part of the forest.

Ash managed to make it to the little path north that represented the start of Viridian Forest, though he still had a few miles before the proper start of the forest.

While he would have liked to release Bulbasaur for this part of the journey, Ash was already behind in the day and would need to make up some time with his longer legs.

Ash trekked through the path with determination, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of danger. Viridian Forest was notorious for being home to many wild and dangerous Pokémon. Ash knew that he had to be careful if he wanted to make it through the forest ahead unscathed.

The sun beat down on Ash's back as he walked past where the path ended, and where the forest truly began, the grass overtaking the paved dirt.

Even just a few steps in, it was easy to see how people could get lost. Trees at every turn, foliage covering the ground, and even the sun was blocked out mostly due to the trees canopies.

Just a few minutes of walking already revealed plenty of wild Pokémon, a few Caterpie, a wild Pidgey here and there, and even the odd Metapod all populated the outskirts of the forest.

Ash wanted to get deeper into the forest before catching anything, mostly due to the limited number of Poké Balls he had.

Deeper Ash walked, ignoring the smattering of bug Pokémon. Yet, the forest changed as he walked. The trees grew larger with more foliage, and a thicker canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight that was left in the day.

The thick moss and ferns below his feet made it harder to walk without stepping on them, and eventually, Ash grew used to the sounds his steps were making.

Yet, as he continued to walk, Ash noticed something different. A rustle of a leaf above him and an odd shaking of a tree branch attracted his attention.

Reaching for his Pokédex, Ash pointed it towards the tree and was met with the information that he had stumbled upon a Weedle. "Weedle, the Hairy Bug, Often found in forests, eating leaves. It has a sharp venomous stinger on its head." The Pokedex beeped out.

Looking closer, Ash realized that the Weedle was actually stuck, its stinger was dug deep in the bark of the thick tree while it flailed around shaking the branch. The efforts of the bug seemed pointless as the stinger didn't budge from its location. The tree was huge, so Ash felt he could take a closer look.

Grabbing a hold of the tree, Ash tried to climb the tree. Ash managed to get a few steps up the trunk, before sliding back and falling on his head.

"Ow!" Ash couldn't help but exclaim, but the fall didn't deter him, as he tried again to climb the tree. This time, step after step seemed solid.

His arms started to ache trying to hold himself to the tree, and for a second Ash thought he would fall again, but the shaking of the branch pushed him forward and he managed to get the branch right next to the one holding the Weedle.

Suddenly the Weedle flailed more, the shaking of the tree becoming more intense. So much so, that purple fluid started to build up at the base of its stinger.

"Whoa, hold on, hold on, I'm trying to help you Weedle." Ash tried to placate the Pokémon. The shaking was making it harder for him to hold himself to the tree.

This obviously didn't work, as the bug kept at its maniac movement. More purple fluid started to form, some even dripping onto the bark.

Ash reached over to try and calm the bug down but almost went overboard instead due to the shaking.

"Wait, wait!" Ash said as he pulled his hand back.

The Weedle stopped moving, its head turning to look at Ash. The bug's eyes seemed almost sad, a realization of its situation suddenly washing over it.

Ash stared into the bug's eyes for a few seconds before finally being able to reach out and help the bug.

The Weedle stayed still as Ash tried his best to pull and maneuver the bug out of its predicament, yet after several minutes, nothing seemed to work.

"Man, you sure got deep into this tree," Ash exclaimed as he looked over what to do. The Weedle chirped sadly as a response, the purple fluid at this point seemed to be dripping off the branch.

Looking at the fluid, Ash got an idea. 'Weedle is a poison type, that makes sense for the fluid that is building up, but it isn't piercing the bark deep enough for Weedle to get free.'

Ash seemed at a loss for a second, but then Ash remembered what Weedles was famous for.

'Wait, Poison Sting! This move can be used as a melee strike by the Weedle evolutionary line, but other Pokémon use it more as a ranged attack. Ranged attacks usually have a recoil to be able to launch the attack a decent distance!'

"Weedle, I need you to use Poison Sting, but instead of a melee strike, try launching the energy forward," Ash explained to the poison type.

The Weedle seemed to get it, as immediately, it exclaimed its name, and a slight purple hue formed around the bug.

"Weedle!" The bug seemed to scream out, as the slight bit of the stinger that was seeable glowed purple. It then seemed to shoot forward, but then recoil back, seemingly going nowhere.

"Weeeeee." The Weedle cried, feeling that it had made zero progress.

Ash climbed carefully over, and with the Weedle so depressed, it didn't even bother Ash as the trainer looked closer at the situation. The wood around the stinger looked slightly chipped and seemed almost. . . decaying. While recoil may not be the answer, the typing of the move might be.

"Weedle, your Poison Sting managed to chip the wood, it will take a bit, but you should be able to get free." Ash tried to cheer up the crying bug.

Weedle stopped crying to listen, then with hopeful eyes tried to use Poison Sting again. And again. And again. Over and over, until the sun started to set.

The sun's setting light brought a chill breeze, the shadows of the evening giving one last minute of peace before the night.

A few hours ago, Ash had climbed down and released Bulbasaur after letting Weedle know he wouldn't be leaving. Bulbasaur tried using its meager skill set to help the bug, but even the grass type couldn't help the trapped bug type.

The Weedle kept at it, even as Ash decided to train with Bulbasaur for a couple hours as there was nothing they could do to help. While Ash hated kind of ignoring the bug's plight to train, he ran out of ideas a while ago, and heck, who knows if training might lead to the solution?

So, while Weedle tried Poison Stinging its way to freedom, Ash had Bulbasaur work on Leech Seed. A grass-type move that could be quite devastating in longer battles and led to grass-types getting used to grass-type energy. Or that's what the Pokedex said about the move.

"Alright Bulbasaur, let's give Leech Seed one last attempt before we get to bed." As Ash spoke, Weedle's attempts to break free could be heard in the background.

The grass-type seemed to glow a slight green hue as a seed shot from the bulb on its back. The seed hit a tree, but then exploded into tiny vines that encircled the tree. Whereas in previous attempts the vines didn't hold to the tree, this time it worked correctly.

"Yes! Nice job Bulbasaur, tomorrow, we'll focus on getting the charge time of the move lower and getting it to full power." Bulbasaur nodded his head, feeling the past couple of hours of work catch up to him. The grass-type went to lay down a couple feet away from the loud thudding the Weedle was making.

Ash then made a clear area to lay his sleeping bag downright next to the tree Weedle was at. The sun was getting really low, to the point where it would be pitch dark soon. Resting his cap inside of his bag, Ash got in his sleeping bag as the remaining light faded from existence.

Sleep claimed Ash first, then the stuck Weedle, and finally the protecting Bulbasaur.


"Bulba!"

The sound caused Ash to bolt up inside of his sleeping bag. This proved to be a mistake as Ash tripped over himself and faceplanted into the dirt. Getting out of the bag as quickly as he could, Ash stood up to see Bulbasaur fighting off a huge Pokémon. Sunlight had penetrated the small clearing a couple hours previously and obviously, the forest had woken up long before Ash.

Grabbing at his Pokedex, Ash scanned the Pokémon. "Parasect, the Mushroom Pokémon, A host-parasite pair in which the parasite mushroom has taken over the host bug. Prefers damp places." During the info blurb, Ash noticed the threat level being massively higher than anything he has come across and scanned. Threat level 29 was something that most trainers didn't find until far later into their adventure.

The Parasect took the time to attack Bulbasaur, its claws glowing solid white as it lunged forward. "Bulba!" Bulbasaur cried out as he barely dodged the lunge.

The mushroom creature kept the lunge going, harshly slamming into the ground, yet no sound was made from the Parasect.

Ash wasn't really sure what to do, this. . . thing, it seemed immune to pain and was easily stronger than Bulbasaur.

A passing thought going through Ash's head was too simply run away, but then he heard the struggling of the Weedle still stuck in the tree.

There was no way he could leave the Weedle alone with this thing, but what could he do?

Ash had Bulbasaur keep dodging the Parasect, hitting several trees and causing damage to itself. Bulbasaur's dodging was impressive, taking full advantage of his small size and using every available nook that was available.

Then, it happened.

As the Parasect was about to strike at Bulbasaur again, Ash yelled out for Bulbasaur to move, and with lightning speed, Bulbasaur did just that. The tiny Pokémon jumped to the side as the Parasect came crashing into the tree where Weedle was stuck.

Unlike before, Parasect completely destroyed the bottom of the tree, bulldozing forward through the wood and carrying itself deep into the bushes.

The tree fell back into the clearing, wood splintering everywhere as Ash worried for the Weedle. Then, Ash heard the sound of the Weedle crying out, and the sharp sound of the wood breaking.

The Weedle crawled out, bruised and scratched, but seemed fine overall.

Too bad that trait was shared by the Parasect.

zzzzzzz

A subtle buzz echoed throughout the surrounding forest, and with it brought the return of the Parasect, except it was heavily marked by its earlier aggression. Scratches were prevalent on the mushroom body, and if it were a normal Pokémon, it would have already fainted.

"Bulbasaur, catch it with your Leech Seed!" Ash yelled out.

The grass type was quick on the draw, immediately launching a glowing seed at the Mushroom Pokemon, at the point of impact, thin vines encircled Parasect and started sucking energy.

Bulbasaur started to glow with a slight green color, though his attack wouldn't be unanswered.

Parasect ripped some of the vines off, not enough to be free, but enough to move unimpeded, then it charged forward at the starter.

"Quick, get out of the way, it isn't slowing down!" Ash saw the charge start with staggering speed, he couldn't help but call out even if it wouldn't be helpful.

Bulbasaur tried to turn out of the way, but was clipped by the Take Down attack. It caused a nasty bruise to instantly form on Bulbasaur's side. Luckily the healing from Leech Seed seemed to lessen the pain. It didn't matter as the grass starter seemed to struggle to stand up.

That's when Parasect turned around and charged again.

Ash was about to return Bulbasaur and make a run for it, until suddenly purple needles shot at Parasect, intercepting its charge. Ash turned and saw Weedle firing Poison Stings at the Parasect with the ranged version, something that was a rarity among the Weedle evolutionary line.

The ranged attack didn't defeat the Bug/Grass type, but it slowed it down enough for Bulbasaur to dive out of the way.

Parasect continued on, hitting another tree, yet it seemed to bounce back and charge quickly at Bulbasaur. It was gaining speed as time progressed.

There was no time for a call from Ash, at least not enough time for Bulbasaur to do anything.

"Intercept Pinsir!" A voice called out from behind Ash and was answered by a solid body appearing between Parasect and Bulbasaur. Ash glanced behind himself to see a young kid the same age as him, wearing some weird armor.

The brown body took the Take Down with very little struggle. Though, even with a sturdy body, it was easy to see that the move had caused some pain.

"Seismic Toss him away." The voice called again, and Ash watched as the Parasect was picked up by two smallish limbs.

Parasect struggled in the claws, squirming almost unnaturally as it tried to get back to the ground. The Pinsir then threw Parasect as far as it could deeper into the forest. Considering the earlier damage, it should be enough to knock out the Parasect.

"We need to get out of here, a Beedrill swarm is on its way, and that Parasect isn't quite done with us." The kid said as he returned his Pinsir. The kid seemed to orient himself facing North East, before walking away from the clearing at a hurried pace.

Ash followed the example returning Bulbasaur, but before he could follow the strange kid. He remembered Weedle still needed to be tended to.

Going over to the fallen tree, Ash saw Weedle marked from the previous encounter, scratches in its yellow body. The Weedle looked up at Ash and chirped with excitement that brought a smile to Ash's face.

Leaning down Ash rubbed the back of Weedle's head, being careful to avoid the stinger. The soft chirp that followed proved that Weedle enjoyed it.

Maybe it was the chirp, or maybe it was the situation that had transpired, but suddenly Weedle started to glow, white spilling into every corner of the clearing.

The generic bug-like shape turned inward, then exploded outward, covering itself in hardened plates. Ash could feel the heat from such a change, and as the white faded from his view, he saw that Weedle was no more.

Pulling his Pokedex from where he stashed it earlier, Ash pointed it at the newly evolved Pokémon. Kakuna watched, seemingly interested in the device.

"Kakuna, the Cocoon Pokémon, Able to move only slightly. When endangered, it may stick out its stinger and poison its enemy." Was the blurb from the Pokedex. A smile spilled onto Ash's face, knowing that he got to witness an evolution, knowing that Weedle had gotten stronger.

zzzzzz

A softer buzz than before echoed out into the clearing, so Ash took the time to get ready to leave, but before that, he asked a simple question.

"Do you want to go on a journey, Kakuna?"

A soft chirp said it all for the trainer and both Pokemon and trainer smiled, or Kakuna tried to smile. Kind of hard to tell from Ash's point of view. All he knew was that he had made another friend.


AN: Back in the country, and that means back to writing.

This was originally written with the next chapter as a single chapter, which is why the ending is serviceable, but not anything great. This also lost a whole scene involving Bulbasaur and Ash as I felt it didn't fit. We'll be finishing up Viridian Forest next chapter. I'll be editing chapter one slightly when I post chapter three, mostly cause of a few errors and a few connecting lines that I need to make.

No promises on updates, as I got surprised by what happened at the end of May, but it should be this week if everything goes well.

Also, thank you Runeberg for the review, I do have plans for both the starting Charmander and Pikachu, but you'll have to wait and see.