Hey guys, TheDoctor1998 here with another chapter. Cinder just caught her Weedle last chapter, and now it's time to continue her trek through Viridian Forest. Now, on with the show!
XXXXXXXX
Misty shuddered at the fact that her new companion turned out to be a bug lover. "Just keep those things away from me, will ya?"
Cinder smirked. "You're not afraid of two itty bitty Bug Types, are you?" Purposely pushing her new Weedle's Pokéball in Misty's face as Caterpie crawled onto Cinder's shoulder.
"Bugs get me all bugged out! Even in a Pokéball…" Misty said the last part quietly. "Just keep them away!"
Cinder smiled and started petting Caterpie. "I don't mind if they're bugs or not, a Pokémon's a Pokémon."
"Ugh, I guess it takes a worm to love a worm." The orange haired girl said in disgust.
"Ha ha, that was so funny I almost forgot to laugh." Cinder deadpanned before smiling. "Weedle, you're sticking with us."
Misty stiffened. "Does that mean…?"
"Weedle, come out my friend!" Cinder exclaimed while tossing Weedle's Pokéball, releasing her new capture.
Misty didn't want to stick around though. It was already difficult enough to be near Cinder with one bug on the girl's shoulder, and she'd be damned if she stayed close while another was near. Before Weedle finished materializing, Misty had already run away and hid behind a tree at least a dozen meters away.
Cinder tsked. "C'mon Misty, there's nothing to be scared of." She then bowed down to Weedle. "Do you want to climb on my shoulder?"
"Wee." Weedle nodded, and climbed up her new trainer's limb.
Caterpie, however, had a different idea. "Cater!" He exclaimed in joy upon seeing another new friend, running towards her at full speed, momentarily forgetting what she'd already said about bugs before.
"AAHHHHH!" Misty yelled in fear when the Bug Type ran towards her, shivering in sheer terror as he rubbed his head against her leg.
Cinder smiled at the action of her first capture. "Aww, Caterpie likes you Misty."
Misty fell to her knees in fear. "Get this disgusting bug away from me!" Caterpie only came closer though. "Please don't come any closer to me!" She exclaimed while quickly crawling backwards.
Cinder frowned again. "You think Caterpie's disgusting?" She asked as Weedle tried to hide in her hair.
Caterpie didn't like this at all, and started looking down in sadness as Pikachu was trying to cheer him up.
"I know!" Misty said as she picked Pikachu up. "You'll be friends with those creepy bugs, and I'll be friends with Pikachu!"
Cinder, knowing her starter well enough, knew what was going to happen. And knowing that she was already too late to stop it, she didn't even bother warning Misty as Pikachu zapped the girl.
"OW!" Misty instinctively let go, even though the little bolt of lightning that hit her was only strong enough to cause some pain. When she recovered, she saw Caterpie looking at her with eyes that would've been cute, had he not been a bug. "Put that slimy thing back in its Pokéball! Bugs are one of the three most disgusting things in the world!"
Cinder crossed her arms. "Aside from you, what's the other one?"
The orange haired girl glared at her companion. "Carrots, peppers and bugs! Everybody's got something they don't like, and I don't like bugs!"
"Oh yeah? Well, I happen to like all those things. What I don't like is the way you're hurting the feelings of my Pokémon with your silly fear of bugs!" Cinder retorted as Weedle hid fully behind her.
Misty only turned her head away in stubbornness, unwilling to even see that she was at fault.
Cinder reached down towards Pikachu and Caterpie. "Here guys, climb on. Misty won't bother you guys anymore."
"What do you mean?" Misty asked as all of Cinder's Pokémon rode on her, Pikachu and Weedle on a shoulder each while Caterpie put himself on her head.
Cinder didn't even acknowledge the girl that she was almost willing to call a friend. "We'll just go without the bitch." She then started walking away, pretending that Misty didn't even exist.
Misty, despite herself, couldn't help but feel regretful. Sure, those Bug Types were disgusting Bug Types, but a part of her felt like her actions just cost her a friend.
XXXXXXXX
Some time after the fight between the two former traveling companions, Cinder was still walking towards Pewter City with her Pokémon on her shoulders and head.
Unbeknownst to Cinder, Misty was still following her, trying to stay out of sight. Pikachu eventually noticed though, and tried to get his partner's attention. "Pika pi."
"What's the matter, Pikachu?" Cinder asked, following Pikachu's gaze. She quickly saw a familiar Aura darting behind the Aura of a tree, and frowned in annoyance. "Why are you following us?"
Misty stepped away from the tree. "My bike, I'm still holding you responsible for that!"
Cinder crossed her arms. "I've got your number, I'll call you when I've got the money to pay you back. You don't need to follow me around."
"If you didn't destroy it in the first place I would've been out of here by now!"
"That doesn't explain why you're still following me around like a fucking stalker."
"I'm not following you, this just happens to be the fastest way through the woods!"
"Fine." Cinder said, turning around to walk again. "Do whatever you want, just leave me the hell alone."
"That's exactly what I'm doing!" Misty yelled, continuing to follow the new trainer at a distance.
XXXXXXXX
The two girls kept walking through the forest, taking some pit stops along the way, but never coming closer to each other than 6 meters. This went on the entire day, with them only taking an actual stop in the evening to enjoy their respective meals while setting up their sleeping gear.
Cinder was sitting near an open fire with her Pokémon, wearing nothing but her bathrobe, her cane leaning on her tent. She would've enjoyed it if it wasn't for the person sitting on the other side of the trunk she was sitting next to.
"What's with the cane?" Misty asked, wondering why she had it.
"If you must know, I'm blind." Cinder said bluntly, not seeing any reason to beat around the bush.
"What?!" Misty said in surprise and some shock. "But, you recognized me earlier when I tried to hide. How did you do that?"
"Aura." Cinder replied, not being in a mood to talk to the other girl.
Misty blinked. "Well, if you can use Aura to see, why do you need the cane?"
Cinder sighed. "To put it simply, I can only see something that's alive. Humans, Pokémon, animals, plants, those I can see and recognize." She then patted the stump between them. "But dead things like this stump, or something that wasn't ever alive like a rock, those are basically invisible to me."
"Hmm." Misty knew about the existence of Aura users, like Cinder apparently is, but unlike with psychics, she knew little about how it worked. And the only reason she knows about psychics is because they're, while still rare, a lot more common than Aura users.
"Welp," Cinder started getting into her tent. "I'm going to bed. Don't let the bedbugs bite." Then she zipped her tent up, giving herself some privacy while she slept. She did, however, leave it open slightly if her Pokémon wanted to get in.
Cinder's Pokémon were all sitting on the stump, gazing at the night sky, chatting with each other. Well, Pikachu and Caterpie were chatting, while Weedle was just shyly mumbling towards herself.
"Cater, Pie Pie!" Caterpie was talking, saying to his new teammates that it was his dream to fly, and that he was going to evolve into a Butterfree as fast as possible.
"Pika." Pikachu responded, saying that he was going to try and avoid evolution, trying to become as strong as possible as he was. That being said, if he could fly as a Raichu he would consider it.
"Wee?" Weedle asked Pikachu why he'd evolved into a Pikachu to begin with, if he was so against the concept.
"Pika Pi." He replied, saying that he wasn't against the concept of evolution as a whole, and that evolving through a strong bond seemed far more natural then to just touch a rock to trigger the transformation.
"Wee…" Weedle mumbled, saying that while she isn't opposed to evolution, she's not going to rush it. That being said, she was looking forward to being able to fly.
"Cata…" Caterpie replied, saying that it would be nice. He then looked towards the sleeping Misty, looking down in sadness. "Pie?..." He asked why she didn't like him.
"Pika Pika." Pikachu shook his head, saying that some humans are just like that.
"Weedle?!" Weedle exclaimed in fear, asking if Cinder could be like that.
"Chu Chu." The Electric Type shook his head again, saying that Cinder isn't like that at all. Maybe to humans, but he also said that she's got some very good reasons for that.
"Weeee." The Poison Type yawned, saying that she's going to sleep while crawling into her trainer's tent, Pikachu quickly following.
Caterpie on the other hand decided to stay up a bit, watching the stars.
XXXXXXXX
The next morning arrived, and the group of humans and Pokémon were blissfully resting. At some point, well after the sun rose, Misty started waking up. When she opened her eyes, she saw something that caused a massive shot of adrenaline to appear in her body. Caterpie, sleeping right in front of her. "AAAAHHHHHH!"
Cinder and her Pokémon were instantly woken up by the shrill cream of their reluctant companion, with the heterochromatic girl rushing out of her tent. "What's going on?!"
"Why is this thing sleeping so close to me?!" Misty yelled, standing as far from Caterpie as she could.
Cinder frowned. "He's just friendly, Misty."
"If that thing wants to be my friend it can stop bugging me already!" The redhead shrieked. "Just put those awful bugs in their Pokéballs already!"
Caterpie and Weedle started crying, the former slowly and dejectedly crawling towards Cinder's tent.
"This! This is why I don't like humans!" Cinder snarled as her bug went into her tent and touched its Luxury Ball, returning himself. "Apologize, now."
Misty only huffed and looked away.
Then, the duo was distracted by the sound of flapping wings. A bird Pokémon, looking like a large Pidgey, swooped down into the grass and started picking out and eating some worms. When Cinder pointed her head towards the bird, her Pokédex activated.
"Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokémon and the evolved form of Pidgey. A Normal/Flying Type.
Abilities: Keen Eye and Tangled Feet
Hidden Ability: Big Pecks
Entry: This Pokémon often claims a sprawling territory of over 100 kilometers which it defends fiercely by circling through it throughout the day, and its nest is usually at the center of this territory. It has an amazing vision that allows it to locate prey and enemies alike.
Evolves from: Pidgey when strong enough"
Pidgeotto looked over to the girl, having heard a noise. She was feeling extremely hungry, just having gone through a fierce battle with a flock of angry Spearow. Then, she saw Weedle. In her crazed and near starving state, she imagined her fellow Pokémon to be a large worm, and attacked.
"WEEE!" Weedle cried out, running for her life as the crazed Pokémon attacked her.
"Pika-" Cinder started, calling for help from her friend, before being cut off by Caterpie releasing himself.
Caterpie heard the cries for help from his new teammate, and jumped out of his Pokéball to see if he could help. When he locked eyes with the somewhat feral Pokémon attacking Weedle, he knew he made a mistake.
Pidgeotto, however, only saw new prey, and attacked the green worm. "Pidgeo!"
Cinder didn't hesitate. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu immediately shot out a bolt of electricity at the Flying Type, who screamed in pain from the super effective attack.
Pidgeotto dropped down to the ground, paralyzed by the Thunderbolt and on the brink of passing out. "Pidge…"
Cinder grabbed one of the Heal Balls on her belt, intending to see what was wrong with this seemingly feral Pidgeotto before either releasing her or putting her on her team. "Heal Ball, go!"
The Pokéball bounced off Pidgeotto, sucking her inside. It wiggled, the bird inside struggling to get out. Then it stopped with a ding.
Cinder smiled and picked the Heal Ball up. "I'm sorry I caught you against your will, but I hope we can be friends when you get better."
"At least it's not another bug." Misty muttered.
"Would you stop it already?" Cinder glared. "You still haven't apologized to my friends."
Before Misty could retort, a woman's laugh reached their ears. "Ahahahahah!"
A male voice came next. "So, we meet again."
The two girls stiffened, recognizing the Team Rocket members who attacked them in Viridian City.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
Cinder facepalmed. "Not these guys again."
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
An awkward silence hung in the air before Cinder broke it. "...So, are you going to do that every time, or-"
"Quiet little girl." Jessie interrupted. "We're not here to listen to you, we're here for that Pikachu."
"Hand over that Pikachu." James smugly said.
"You bozos are not getting him." Cinder snarled.
Jessie smirked. "Your compliance is not a factor."
James continued. "We're only looking for the best and rarest, after all."
Meowth stepped forward. "Your Pikachu's power is impressive to say the least, I really got a charge last time we met. It's far stronger than a Pikachu should be."
Jessie finished their tirade. "Just make things easy on yourself, and give us that Pikachu."
"Forget it you hag!" Cinder yelled.
"HAG?! Ekans, strangle that brat!" Jessie threw her Pokéball, releasing Ekans and prompting James to do the same for Koffing.
Normally speaking, Cinder would've been just fine playing fair and do a double battle. But for these three she had a different idea. "Pikachu, Caterpie, Weedle, come out my friends!" She yelled, throwing the two Luxury Balls and signaling Pikachu to enter the battle. She would've done the same for Pidgeotto, but it was too risky at this moment.
Team Rocket was simply laughing at Cinder's choice for backup. "Let's get the bug spray!" Jessie managed to exclaim in between her laughs, while signaling with her hand for the Pokémon to attack.
"Sludge!" James said, done laughing.
At his master's command, Koffing shot some sludge into Pikachu's eyes, not wanting to get shocked again.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, cursing the Poison Type.
"Hey, watch your mouth!" Meowth yelled in indignation.
Cinder growled, having noticed that Pikachu was rubbing at his eyes. "Caterpie, String Shot to block Koffing's holes! Weedle, String Shot to wrap around Ekans' head!"
The Bug Types did as told. Caterpie ran around Koffing, careful not to get hit, and kept shooting his String Shot to seal up the various holes. Weedle did the same thing with Ekans, making sure he couldn't open his mouth or even look around.
The Poison Types weren't dealing well with the String Shots. Koffing, being unable to expel his gasses, started dropping down to the ground. While the gasses themselves were lighter than air, the build up that was forced within him caused the gas to become denser, ultimately making Koffing too heavy to float. Ekans on the other hand was simply blinded, unable to direct himself.
"Tackle Koffing into Ekans!" Cinder instructed.
The bugs again followed their trainer, and used a combined and directed Tackle on Koffing, causing him to be launched straight into Ekans' wrapped up face.
James dropped the flower in his mouth in surprise. "Beaten by a pair of Bug Types?" He muttered.
Jessie growled. "That really bugs me."
Meowth sighed, stepping up and unsheathing his claws. "Do I have to do everything myself?"
Caterpie and Weedle were having none of that. Weedle sprayed his legs together with a String Shot, preventing him from moving while Caterpie used his String Shot to bind Meowth's arms to his torso.
Jessie, knowing that they were beaten, hurriedly returned Ekans and grabbed Meowth. "It's time Team Rocket blasted off."
"You may have won this round, but we'll be back!" James yelled, running away with Jessie after he'd returned Koffing.
Cinder picked up her bugs. "I'm so proud of you guys!" She started snuggling them.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled in joy, having managed to get Koffing's gunk out of his eyes.
"Wow, I guess they're stronger than they look." Misty said with a smile.
Cinder noticed the shift in Misty's tone. "So, are you ready to apologize to them now?"
Misty sighed. "I'm… I'm sorry, you two. I've got a massive bug phobia, so Pokémon like you just scare me. I shouldn't have taken it out on you guys." She then gave the two Bug Types a smile. "I can't promise something like this won't happen again, but I'll try to be better. Just know, it's not your fault, it's mine."
Then, Caterpie started glowing, changing his shape. When the glow subsided, a green cocoon larger than Caterpie was previously stood in his place, which triggered Cinder's Pokédex.
"Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon and the evolved form of Caterpie. A Bug Type.
Ability: Shed Skin
Hidden Ability: N/A
Entry: This Pokémon's soft body is protected by an outer shell, which is said to be as hard as steel. It generally remains motionless while it prepares for its evolution.
Evolves from: Caterpie when strong enough"
"Congratulations Metapod!" Cinder yelled in joy, picking him up again and spinning around.
Both Pikachu and Weedle were circling around their trainer and teammate now, being happy that he was one step closer to his dream.
Misty smiled, seeing the sheer amount of love that the girl has for her Pokémon. "Congratulations."
Cinder then looked over to Misty. "You know Misty, you're not so bad for a human." She then made a sly grin. "Even with that little fear of bugs."
"Oh, ha ha." Misty said, slightly annoyed. "Let's just get dressed, pack up and get out of this forest as soon as possible.
"Sure." Cinder replied. "Let me just check on Pidgeotto first, okay? I want to make sure she's alright." She then walked away from Misty, grabbed the Heal Ball and released the bird.
"Pidgeo!" Pidgeotto cried out, feeling stronger than before, but still hungry and lacking energy. She was about to attack the bugs again, but then saw an open can of Pokémon food and started attacking that instead.
"Ohhh, you were just hungry." Cinder realized, remembering that Pokémon tend to get a little wild when underfed, "Just eat up as much as you'd like." She said with a smile.
"Geot?" Pidgeotto tilted her head, having regained her senses after her feast.
Cinder patted the bird. "So, are you okay now?" When Pidgeotto nodded, she continued. "Okay then. Sorry I caught you by the way, I noticed something was wrong and tried to help how I could."
Pidgeotto nuzzled Cinder's belly, showing gratitude for her help.
Cinder smiled, then breathed in. "Do you want to travel with me?"
"Otto!" Pidgeotto cried, nodding.
"Alright then." She said with a smile. "I will swap out your Pokéball for a Luxury Ball, if you don't mind?" She then grabbed the Heal Ball, returned Pidgeotto, did a total release with that ball and re-captured the Flying Type with a Luxury Ball. She then turned to Misty. "Alright, I'm ready to go."
Misty eyed the blind girl. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She indicated towards Cinder, still dressed in her bathrobe.
"Oh yea." Cinder chuckled, embarrassed about being caught up in the moment. She then dressed back up, and started putting her things into her bag. Once she was done, she returned her Pokémon, and the two girls decided to walk further along the path once again.
XXXXXXXX
Pokémon Seen: 18
Pokémon Caught: 6
Cinder's Pokémon: Pikachu (M), Metapod (M), Weedle (F), Pidgeotto (F)
XXXXXXXX
Welp, that's another one done. I decided to make the capture of Pidgeotto a bit different to justify Cinder catching her without consent, while also turning the battle from just Ekans and Koffing vs Caterpie to a double battle with Weedle in it.
Also, I've decided to make Weedle evolve a little slower than Metapod, as she doesn't dream of flying as badly as he does. That's not to say she's opposed to evolving or flying, but she's not gonna try her absolute hardest to do it as fast as possible.
TheDoctor1998 here, signing out.