Chapter Four: In the Shadows of Viridian Forest

Part II

The horde of giant killer bees held fast in the air, with all of their stingers and spears and other pointy body parts aimed directly at me. Their wings buzzed with a dreadful droning, their mandibles squeaked out with horrid chirps, and their buggy eyes were just… really creepy.

My eyes darted around, looking for any opening… any path of escape. But no, the Beedrill completely surrounded me. My fists slowly balled up. Uh-oh.

Then my brain just… locked up. Fight or flight instincts? I don't have those. I just freeze up.

"Breeee…" The large Beedrill slowly hovered forward, leaning its ugly insect head toward me. The brutal scar running through its left eye was even more ugly up close. It leveled one of its stingers at my head. "Zreee?"

I don't know what that means. "Look I'm… I'm s-sorry," I said, cautiously putting my shaking hands up, staring almost cross-eyed at the venomous lance mere inches from my nose. A small glint of poison dripped off. "I didn't- I don't m-mean any h-harm. I-I just w-wanted to… I was j-just looking…"

"Driilll…" muttered the giant wasp, leaning in even closer. Close enough that I could see all of the lumps and bumps of its compound eyes. Ugh. "Zzzreell?"

"Y-you can have your t-tree." I took a very slow, very calculated, very non-hostile step back. "I'll j-just be g-going. It's all f-fine…"

"Zreee!" A dull-green aura lit up the Beedrill's arms, and it slashed out.

The X-Scissor attack didn't strike me directly, but it was strong enough that a huge blast of wind and energy hit me head-on, knocking me flat on my butt with a loud "Waauugh!"

"Katori!" Blue shouted out as he finally jumped out from his hiding spot. "Hey, leave her alone!"

All of the furious Beedrill snapped toward him, thankfully drawing their attention away from me. A few carefully approached my spiky-haired friend, sizing him up.

But that didn't seem to bother Blue at all. One of his PokéBalls was already in the air. "Pidgey! Let's go!"

"Pii-gee!" The tiny bird Pokémon appeared in mid-air and quickly took in the situation. Completely surrounded, completely outnumbered, and almost completely hopeless. But the brave little pigeon showed no fear, letting loose a shrill "Gee-pii!"

"I need some strong Gust attacks, now!" Blue ordered. "Give 'em all you've got!"

"Gee!" Pidgey wings began to glow as it flapped as hard as it could, whipping up heavy blasts of wind.

The surging waves of air ripped past me, tearing Dad's old baseball cap off my head. I tried to grab it, but it flew out of reach and sailed farther away towards the bees.

The Beedrill themselves were having a bit of a harder time. Most were thrown around in the air and forced to the ground by the strong winds from Pidgey's attack. "Zrreee!" cried the lead Beedrill, digging its stingers into the ground to withstand the gusts. "Breee-drii!" But the commands went unanswered as the other Beedrill had been scattered around their big tree, struggling to regain their flight.

"Get out of there, Katori!" called Blue, as he pulled out a second PokéBall. "Just run!"

He didn't need to tell me twice.

My body went into full autopilot, scrambling back to my feet and bolting. I didn't think, I just moved.

Everything after that point… it was all a blur. Running past Blue, then back on the forest's dirt path, and following that trail as far as I could. I didn't know where it went or which way I should go, but I did know that I couldn't stop.

The dirt road twisted through the thick woods, wrapping between trees and rocks. And I kept going, putting as much distance between me and those Beedrill as I could. A fork in the road came up, and I went to the left without a second thought. Another fork, this time I went right. Third fork, to the right again, then left and left again, then another right. There was no reason or pattern in those choices – just which branching path I saw first, I'd run that way. Anything to get away.

Minutes felt like seconds as I ran farther and farther away, deeper and deeper into the woods. My lungs fought for every breath, my legs burned with every step, and my body was drenched in sweat from the summer heat, the physical exertion, and the fear. I slowed my pace so I wouldn't collapse from exhaustion, but there was no time for a break.

But my body disagreed. Sharp pain pulsed through my wobbly jelly legs, they buckled and I dropped to my knees then fell flat on my face. My heart was thumping out of my chest, the world was still spinning, and my stomach turned. I managed to roll over onto my back so I wouldn't suck in a mouthful of dirt with each heaving gasp.

I don't see any of the Beedrill around so… maybe a short break won't hurt.

Slowly my breathing returned to normal, my heart had calmed down, and my brain had regained control of the situation and processed everything that had happened over the past few… I guess it's been a few minutes. I don't know… everything had happened so fast.

Those Beedrill… they were gonna kill me. Or… were they gonna kill me? I don't really know. They didn't exactly roll out the red carpet. And I don't even wanna think about what would've happened if Blue… uh-oh.

I crawled to my knees and turned back the way I came. "Blue!" My voice bounced off the trees and echoed into the sky. Everything fell quiet again, and I listened.

Several moments passed. No response.

"Blue! Can you hear me!?"

Still nothing.

I must have run farther than I thought.

Stupid Katori. Stupid stupid stupid Katori. Invading a bunch of dangerous Pokémons' home and then running away like a coward to save your own skin? You're pathetic. And then leaving your own friend behind in danger? Stupid useless Katori.

No no no. I thumped the side of my head. No whining, Katori. Not right now.

Blue's a strong Trainer, I rationalized. He care take care of himself. Still… I should go back, right? I mean, I wouldn't be of any help. But what if he needed Gideon? It's my fault this whole thing happened, so I gotta at least look like I tried to fix it.

I stood up and brushed the dirt and mud off of me. Mustering up my most heroic and courageous voice, I called out into the forest; "Hang on, Blue! Katori to rescue!"

Then my legs completely gave out, knocking me flat on my face again. "Guurrgh… stupid jelly legs."

After a few more minutes of rest, my stupid jelly legs had recovered enough to start making my way back. My overworked and under-utilized muscles cried out with every single step, but I had finally regained my ambulatory mobility.

I limped and shuffled down the forest path and came to another fork in the road. I stared down the left path, and then down the right, and that's when I made a rather unfortunate discovery.

I was completely lost.

"Great," I mumbled under my breath. "Today just never ends."

Honestly, I shouldn't even be surprised. I have a lot of experience getting lost. Heck, I don't even know my way around Pallet Town and I've lived there my whole life.

Unfortunately, I'm not too well-versed in how to deal with being lost. Like that time when I was eleven and I got separated from Mom in the Celadon Department Store. And I cried. I was probably too old to cry at that point. But the store was huge, I didn't know where I was, I was surrounded by complete strangers, and I was really alone and really scared. And then when Mom found me, she scolded me for running off and I cried even more.

Dad then gave me a huge lecture on what to do if I was ever lost again. Of course, I was busy still crying to actually take in anything he said. But I doubt it would be helpful anyway. A department store is practically the polar opposite of the tangled spaghetti web of paths and roads that makes up Viridian Forest.

So... what should I do? Think, Katori, think. What would Pyro-Knight Katori do in this situation? Well, she'd probably burn a path right though the middle of the forest and smite any man, woman, or monster that stood in her way.

Okay, that's probably not the right answer here.

No, no… be realistic, Katori. I might not have the mastery of flame and blade as a Pyro-Knight, but I can have the heart and spirit of one! To pick a direction and stay to the path, unafraid and willing to face anything that comes my way!

...right?

My eyes darted between each path before me, scanning every small detail. But then the forest seemed to get darker, the trees seemed to be getting taller, and every noise getting louder. And I felt like I was getting smaller and smaller. That heart and spirit quickly drained away, and a gnawing in my stomach brought me right back to eleven-years-old in the department store.

I'm alone. And I'm scared.

No one's ever gonna find me in this huge forest. Not for years and years and years. And when they do all they'll find is a pile of bones left behind by a scared little kid that left her friend for dead but still couldn't even save her own skin.

Warm drops formed in the corners of my eyes. But… no. No no no. I quickly wiped the tears away. "You're a big girl now, Katori," I told myself. "Big girls don't cry."

Gah, I'm so pathetic.

Alright, deep breath Katori. You can figure this out. You gotta weigh your options here.

Much to my chagrin – I just learned that word the other day and wish I had a better chance to use it – my options didn't seem too promising.

I could go and try to find help but… I would just get even more lost, wouldn't I?

Calling for help was out of the question – I left my bag and my PokéGear with Blue and all the bees. I could start shouting but… I don't really want to to draw a lot of attention to myself in a forest full of giant murder bees.

I could just stay here and wait for the rescue. If Blue still has my stuff, he could take it to the police, and they could get one of their Arcanine to follow the scent right to me. Well… unless Blue was murdered by the giant murder bees, that is.

So I can't stay here, but I can't go for help. I can't call for help either… I'm right back to square one.

Ugh. What a wonderful mess I've gotten myself into. "Stupid forest." I kicked at the dirt. "Stupid murder bees." I kicked a fallen tree branch. "Stupid rock." I kicked a rock.

Wait… Gideon.

My hand flew to my pocket, and quickly found the small spherical object – Gideon's PokéBall. I'm not sure how much help he's gonna be, but I'm not doing much good on my own, now am I?

"Wake up, Gideon!" I shouted as I threw the PokéBall. "I got a job for ya!"

My Rhyhorn appeared, and took in his surroundings. "Grrnnmph," he said, not impressed.

"So um… guess what?"

"Hrrnnmph?"

"We're kinda lost."

He blinked. "Rhhhnn." Still not impressed.

"I was hoping that… ya know… you could help."

"Hhrnngh." Gideon then curled up and closed his eyes, settling in for a nap.

"You're a real man of action."

"Rhrrnn." He started snoring.

Honestly, I didn't know what I was expecting.

I folded my arms and sighed. "Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Rhhmph."

"You hate me, don't you?"

Gideon cracked open an eye. "Hrrn?"

"Look, I'm a terrible Trainer, you and I both know it." I sat down on an old log and propped my elbows on my knees and rested my chin in my hands. "But still… would it hurt to do what I say at least once or twice?"

He closed his eyes again. "Ghhrrmph."

"Not even when we're lost?"

"Hrrmph."

"Gah, you're so... useless."

Now that woke him up.

"Rhhrrrmph!?" he shot to his feet, turning to glare at me. "Hrrn!"

"What?"

He stamped his foot. "Rhhyynnn!"

"Oh, you're mad I called you useless?"

"Grnnmph!"

"Well, you are!" I was so fed up with everything that I just kinda blurted it out before thinking. But that's not to say I didn't mean it. "I'm useless, but you're useless-er!"

"Hrrnnmph!"

"Oh, don't 'hrnnmph' me!" I snapped back. "I'm so sick of your attitude!"

Grnnmph!"

"You're either ignoring me or blowing sand in my face! And that's all you're good for – blowing sand!" I stood up so I would be taller than Gideon. "And who wants a Pokémon like that? No one! Absolutely no one! Not me! Not anyone! If I had a choice, I certainly would not have picked you!"

"Hrrnn…" Gideon looked away and took a step back. "Rhyyhrrn?"

I felt kinda bad for snapping at him, but… well, if he wasn't such a pain in the rear then maybe I would have had to. I just let out a breath and turned away.

"Ghrrnmph," the Rhyhorn snorted, and started walking away.

"Gideon?"

He then broke into a sprint and tore down the forest path, kicking up dust with each thumping footstep as he picked up speed.

I grabbed his PokéBall, but he was already out of sight. For a lump of rock, he can really move fast.

"Wait… Gideon!"

But my call went unanswered.

"Gideon, please! I… I'm…"

The thumping footsteps were getting farther and farther away.

"Stupid Katori," I muttered. "You always ruin everything." Then I chased after my Pokémon.

Gideon might've been unnaturally fast for a chunk of living boulder but, on the upside, he was pretty easy to track through the woods. The Pokémon himself was nowhere to be seen, but his heavy and bulky body left behind deep footprints and tore a wide and very obvious trail through the dead leaves.

I was stumbling along, following each tell-tale sign of my Rhyhorn. He was sticking to the path for the most part, especially the parts that were just one long straight shot. Occasionally he went off road, usually at the end of aforementioned straight path. Like he had trouble turning or something.

"Gideon!" My voice was getting hoarse, my throat sore from calling his name so much. "Gideon, please come back! Where are you?"

My search for the missing Rhyhorn continued for the next ten minutes. Then fifteen. Twenty. Felt a lot longer than that with all the thoughts running through my head.

What if I can't ever find him again? What would I tell Professor Oak? Gah, he trusted me with a Pokémon and I blew it only a day later!

It's your fault, Katori. All your fault. You've barely had him a full day and he's already run away from you. You're right; you're a horrible Trainer. You got him hurt in a battle, and now you've hurt his feelings and scared him away. Your fault, Katori.

Shut up, shut up, shut up.

But finally, I spotted the runaway Pokémon. Gideon was sitting at a dead end in the path, calmly and quietly. And he wasn't alone. There was someone with him.

A young man – maybe mid-to-late twenties – tall with spiky brown hair and a strong and confident face. He was wearing a dark jacket with drab green and orange highlights, and baggy gray pants with large pockets. The guy looked kinda familiar. I didn't know who he was, but the feeling that I should kept nagging at me.

The stranger was right up close with Gideon, patting the Pokémon on the head and talking to him. Gideon was quiet and calm, and certainly wasn't ignoring the guy. Guess he saves that only for me.

I took one slow and cautious step toward them, but stopped. Gideon was smiling and nuzzling his head into the man's hand. And the man looked happy too, smiling right back as he kept petting the Rhyhorn. Like the two of them were meant to be Trainer and Pokémon.

And maybe... they were meant to be.

I pulled out Gideon's PokéBall. My face stared back at me from the smooth metal casing, and it was not a pretty sight. Dirt and grass stains covered my clothes and my skin, There was even a leaf hanging out of my hair. I looked terrible. I was terrible.

And I don't care anymore. I'm tired of caring. If Gideon really hates me that much then… fine. So be it.

I loosened my grip on the PokéBall. It rolled out of my hand and dropped to the ground.

Then turned my back and walked away.

"Excuse me, miss," called the man, "Is this your Pokémon?"

"Oh, um…" I whipped around. "Yeah I… uh no, I'm… uh, yeah."

"Well, you don't need to worry," he said. "Your Rhyhorn is right here, safe and sound."

"Rnnmph," added Gideon, intently staring at me. "Hrrnmph."

"I found him alone and panicking," the man went on, giving my Pokémon a fond pat on the head. "He was tearing up the ground and smashing into trees… really freaking out." The area around them was a bit of a mess. The forest floor had been kicked up and tossed around, and some of the trees had large gashes in the shape of a Rhyhorn horn. A few smaller trees had been knocked down completely.

"But I was able to calm him down." The man knelt down next to Gideon and locked eyes with the Pokémon. "I told him that his Trainer really cared about him, and would be along to find him any minute."

"Nrrnmph."

The man looked over to me. "You do care about your Pokémon, right?"

"I… uh, yeah." We might be at odds, but that doesn't mean I want anything bad to happen to him. And even after everything that stupid Rhyhorn's put me through… "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Well, if we're just guessing," said the man as he stood up, warm smile crossing his face. "I'm guessing you do too. You wouldn't have come looking for him if you didn't."

"Um… yeah."

"So… what exactly happened? How'd you two get separated?"

"It's my fault," I admitted, lowering my head. "I... might've said something that upset him. And then he just… kinda ran away."

The man just chuckled lightly. "You two… you're new partners, aren't you?"

"That obvious?"

"It's always a bit rough between a Trainer and their Pokémon when they're first starting out," he replied. "I deal with a lot of rookies; I've seen it a lot. They don't really know how what their role as a Trainer is. That it's not just about battles and glory. That you have to build trust and understanding between you and your Pokémon. Work on that and – no matter what your goal is – you will overcome any obstacle that stands in your path."

"I… don't know about that."

"Well I do," said the stranger, without hesitation. "Whatever problem you maybe having, as long as you're willing to stick by your Pokémon, you can resolve it."

The problem is… I'm the problem. And I don't think that's something some mushy inspirational speech can fix.

"I've got important things to take care of, so I won't take up any more of your time." The man gave Gideon one final pat on the head. "Take good care of your Trainer, okay?"

"Rhnnmph." replied Gideon.

The man turned back to me. "And if you need any help raising your Rhyhorn, come find me in Pewter City." He pulled a business card out of his jacket and held it out to me. "Rock-Types are my specialty, after all."

I took the card. It had the address and business hours for… the Pewter City Gym? "Wait… so you're-"

"The Gym Leader?" His smile beamed. "That's right! Brock's my name, and Rock-Type Pokémon are my game!"

"Oh, cool." I've never seen a Gym Leader before. At least not in person. Maybe I saw him on TV or something. "I'm, uh… I'm Katori."

"Oh! Kimiko's daughter, right?"

Gah, does the whole world know? "Yeah…" I deadpanned in reply. "Kimiko's daughter."

"It's nice to finally meet you in person," said Brock. "Your mother talks about you a lot."

"You know her?"

"I've helped her with some of her fossil work in the Pewter Museum. Rock-Type stuff and all that. She's really excited that you're into archaeology just as much as she is."

"Yeah." I bit my lip. "She sure is."

"Anyway, I've really got to be going. Ya know, Gym business. Take care, you guys!" Brock said as he gave a little wave and walked off into the forest. He didn't even follow the path, he just went right off through the bushes and shrubs into no man's land. "And tell your mother I said hi!" And with that, he disappeared into the trees.

I stuffed his card into my pocket. Cool guy. Still not going to a Pokémon Gym.

"Hrrnn."

And now for this guy. I sat on my knees in front of Gideon so we'd be at eye level. "So… um..."

"Rhhnmph..."

"Look, I know I got upset. I know I said some mean stuff and… I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Things just really aren't going my way, and I got super-frustrated. It wasn't fair to take it all out on you." He's only a small part of the frustration, after all.

"Grmph."

"But you… you can't just run off like that and leave me all on my own. I was… was…"

"Grrnh?"

"I was worried, okay? Worried about you. I didn't want you… getting hurt again." The image of him laying there after our battling with Blue is burned into my mind. He looked so weak, so defeated… "That battle we had yesterday… I never want to see you like that again."

"...Hhnnh."

"That's why you need a good Trainer. Someone's who's good, and strong, and smart, and… Someone who just isn't me. Isn't that what you want?"

"Hrnn-hrnmph." That didn't sound like a yes.

"You don't actually want me, do you?"

"Rhrrrnh." That did.

"But… why?"

"Grraanh rrnmph."

"I don't know what that means."

Gideon lowered his head, and the knocked his PokéBall over to me with his horn. It bounced off of my knee. "Grrnmph."

I don't speak Rhyhorn, but somehow I knew exactly what he was saying. He had made his choice, and now it was my turn.

Would he actually be happy with me? Would I actually be happy with him? I know I wouldn't be unhappy at least. A Pokémon that sleeps all day and eats plants and dirt would be easy to care for once I'm back home, too. And I told myself earlier that if could make it work, I should. So…

"Fine," I said. "Fine." I slowly picked up his PokéBall. "If that's what you really want, then…" I let out a heavy sigh, and gave my Pokémon a big warm smile. "Gideon, I choose you."

It was a cheesy line, sure. But that didn't seem to bother Gideon.

"Hrrngh!"

The heavy rock monster then leaned forward and nuzzled me. Not repeatedly, just one singular nuzzle. And I had to move my head out of the way so he wouldn't stab me in the face with his horn. I wasn't really used to affection from a Pokémon, so it was a bit awkward. I returned the favor with a few pats. It was a nice moment.

Then Gideon broke wind.

"Okay, moment's over." I stood up again. "Let's get out of here."

"Rhrnnmph," agreed Gideon.

And that's when I remembered something important. "Oh right… we're still lost, aren't we?"

"Grnnmph."

"… wonderful."

"Gee? Pii-gee!" There was a rustling in the tree branches above, and a small mass of fluffy feathers flew down through the treetops. "Pii! Gee-gee!" cried the Pidgey, as if it were excited to see us.

The bird looked exactly like a normal Pidgey, but also felt somewhat familiar… somehow. "Hey, you're Blue's Pidgey, right?" I asked.

"Gee-pii!" it nodded.

And that's when I remembered something even more important.

"Wait… Blue! Is he okay? He's not hurt, is he?"

"Pii-dee!" chirped the Pidgey, shaking its head.

Finally some good news, I guess. "Can you take us to him?"

"Pii-gee!" the bird started flying down the path, then turned and motioned for us to follow. "Gee-gee!"

"And just when I thought we were done running," I muttered, turning to my Pokémon.

"Grrnnpmh."

The Pidgey thankfully led us to the edge of Viridian Forest and, even more thankfully, right to Blue. He was sitting on a rock right by the forest's exit, and looked completely unharmed. No cuts, no scrapes, no giant stingers poking out of him. Every single strand of his spiky hair seemed to be perfectly in place.

"Blue!" I called out, running over to my friend as a huge wave of relief washed over me. "Good to see you're still in one piece."

"What? You think I couldn't handle a couple of Beedrill?" Blue smirked back. "Oh please, Little K. You're looking at the future Champion of the Kanto Region. A few Beedrill aren't going to slow me down."

Unfortunately, he ego also seems perfectly intact.

"Nah, those Beedrill weren't really that bad," Blue went on. "Seemed more focused on defending the Kakuna than attacking me. A couple of Pidgey's Gusts to disorientate them and I was able to slip away without a scratch."

"That's good to hear. I was kinda fearing the worst."

"Well, you shouldn't have." Blue smirk faded to a frown as eyed me up and down. "You… look terrible. You go rolling around in the dirt or something?"

"Something like that."

"And you've got a leaf-"

"I know, I know. Shut up." I pulled the leaf out of my hair.

"… you okay?"

"Yeah, just… had way too much fun being lost."

"Oh." He shrugged. "Everyone one gets lost sometimes, Little K. But hey... you found your way, yeah?"

I shot a glance over to Gideon. He smiled at me. "Yeah… I guess I did."

Blue stood up and stretched. "Oh! By the way… I grabbed these for you." He reached behind the rock and pulled out-

"My bag!" I practically yanked my backpack out of his hands. It had a lot of dirt dusted over it, but that was easily brushed off. Everything seemed to be inside too. Clothes, snacks, research notebook, PokéGear, PokéDex. I breathed a sigh of relief as I pulled it over my shoulders. It would really stink if my stuff had been forever lost to the bees. "What about my-"

"Got that too," replied Blue, as he put my baseball cap back on my head. "Ready to go, Little K? Pewter City is dead-ahead."

From the forest's edge, I could see the northern stretch of Route 2. And further beyond that, nestled between the mountains and hills and forests was the skyline of a large city. Cloaked in a warm orange blanket of light from the setting sun, the lights and the cars lit up the late-evening sky – a lighthouse in a sea of dark forests and trees.

Pewter City.

One final stretch, Katori. One final stretch and you're home-free. Literally. This little adventure is almost over.

I looked to my Pokémon. "Gideon?"

"Rhrnnmph!" Sounds like he's good to go.

"Yeah," I told Blue. "We're ready."

"Then away we go." Blue took the lead onto Route 2.

And I followed, taking the final steps of my journey.