AN: Apologies for taking a while with this chapter. Past few months have been a bit hectic.

Chapter Three: In the Shadows of Viridian Forest
Part I

It was the following morning. Viridian City was still covered in a faint shroud of darkness, but the sun was just starting to show itself over the distant peaks of Mt. Moon to light up the streets.

I had a table at the Pokémon Center's cafe, sitting all on my lonesome for breakfast. Chocolate chip waffles with a side of bacon. Sure, it's not the healthiest thing out there but… well, one of the good things about my little adventure is that Mom isn't around to criticize my choice in food. It's also all on her dime, too. That's a bonus.

Everyone around me was quite lively. A lot of Trainers were just starting their day, going out on their own little adventures. A few others had been out all night and were just getting ready to end their day. But most of them had their Pokémon out and about, all happy and excited and ready to take on any and all challenges. Sometimes I wish I had that kind of fight in me, but that's a fight I know I would lose.

Like yesterday.

I spun Gideon's PokéBall around on the table like a top. Watched it go around and around and around. Yesterday had been one long and unending train wreck. Everything from Mom sticking me with this stupid research project, to becoming the Trainer of a Rhyhorn that was as lazy and unmotivated as me, to having that battle against Blue.

And that battle… I didn't want to battle. I didn't want to look like an loser in front of everyone. But stupid old Katori just had to buckle under all that pressure. And then… I just couldn't do anything. I didn't know what I was doing. And Gideon… he got hurt. All because of me.

I hadn't talked to him. Not since then. Hadn't even let him out of his PokéBall. What was I supposed to say? Sorry for letting you get your butt kicked? Sorry that I can't do anything right? Sorry I'm such a useless Trainer?

I know I never wanted a Pokémon. Especially some dumb old Rhyhorn. But… I still felt bad for him. I used to think that I got stuck with him but… now I think that he got stuck with me. And that's just not fair to him.

But then, right as I was starting to enjoy wallowing in my little pity party, this little breakfast of solitude and sadness was interrupted by the one person I didn't want to see.

"Hey there, Little K." Blue slid an empty chair out from my table and took a seat. He had a cup of steaming coffee in one hand, and his usual smile on his face. "Having a good morning?"

My eyes could've burned holes in him. "What are you doing here?"

"Drinking coffee."

"Do you have to do it right there?"

"The seat was empty."

"Yeah… because I want to be alone."

"Oh come on," said Blue. "We're friends, right? And friends hang out with each other." He took a slow sip of his drink. "Besides… I just wanted to check in on ya. I thought you looked a little bit upset yesterday."

"Gee, you noticed?"

"I'm very observant."

Eyeroll. "Yeah, I'm fine," I sharply snapped. "At least… I am now." I leaned back in my chair, staring the spiky brunette boy down, waiting. "… well?"

"Well what?"

"I'm waiting."

"Oh." Blue took a sip of his coffee. "For what?"

"An apology."

"Oh." Blue took another sip of his coffee. "For what?"

"You know."

"The battle?" He set his mug down. "Why? I challenged you. You accepted. I won. All fair and square."

"Yeah, well… I didn't want to battle," I replied. "I thought I made that pretty clear."

"You could've said no."

"I did."

"You still went through with it."

"Well… everyone was staring at me and cheering me on and…"

"And that's my fault… how?"

"Well… uh… because you…" Okay okay, fine. So maybe it's not entirely his fault – he wasn't the one that pressured me into battling, but like… he still put me in the position to be pressured into battling. So he's still partially to blame, right? "Because it just is."

"Katori." Blue crossed his arms. "I've know you for… what? Five or six years now? You've always been like this. You get all caught up on the little things. You lost a battle. So what? It's all done and over with… just let it go."

"That's… not the problem."

"Then what is?"

I didn't answer. Not out loud. But I guess his eyes must've followed mine and landed on the PokéBall sitting on the table.

"Oh." said Blue. "Your Pokémon…"

"I just… didn't know what to do." My voice was weak, barely a whisper. "Gideon… he got beat up and tossed aside. And it's all my fault and he's gonna hate me."

"It takes a lot more than one battle to lose all your trust with a Pokémon."

"I don't think we had any trust to begin with."

"Look, Little K," Blue slurped down the last of his coffee. "You gotta stop being so hard on yourself. You lost one battle. Who cares? Just… forget it."

"That's your best advice? Just forget it about?"

"I mean, yeah," shrugged Blue. "Life's easier when you just forget about the things that bother you."

"… sometimes I envy how simple-minded you are."

"I'm gonna choose to take that as a compliment," said Blue, standing up. "Take my advice… just keep on keepin' on. You and your Pokémon… the more you work at it, the better things will get. It'll all work out alright."

"You really think so?"

"Of course." He turned and took a few steps away from the table, then looked back over his shoulder. "What I'm trying to say is… you're gonna be okay, Little K." And then he walked off into the cafe.

Little K is gonna be okay? It doesn't feel like it. But… maybe he's right. There's nothing I can do about that battle now. What's the point in stressing over it? As for Gideon… Pewter City is just through the Viridian Forest. Could be there by the end of the day. And once I get there… my little adventure is done. I don't know what that means for Gideon. Maybe Oak will take him back and give him to an actually capable Trainer. Or that Gym Leader – he likes Rock-Type Pokémon right? Maybe he'd take in Gideon.

Or… maybe he has to stay with me now. Though I don't think either of us would want that.

But I guess, in the meantime, there's no reason that I can't try to make things work between us… right? It might make this last little stretch of adventure a bit less stressful.

I picked up Gideon's PokéBall. It was all nice and polished, and I could see my reflection in the red top cover. My hair was still a mess, my glasses slightly askew, but I was able to give myself a little smile. A forced smile, but a smile nonetheless.

You're alright, Katori. Your Pokémon is alright, and everything's gonna be alright.

I hope.

"What'cha looking at?" Blue had silently returned, this time with two jelly donuts, one in each hand.

"Oh… um. Nothing."

He held one of the donuts out to me. "Want one?"

"Nah, I already ate." I put the PokéBall back into my pocket and started quickly gathering my things throwing my bag over my shoulder and plopping my cap atop my head. "And I'm leaving."

"Oh… where are you running off to this early?"

"Viridian Forest, I guess," I replied, sucking down the last little bit of soda in my glass. I'd hate letting a perfectly good drink go to waste. "Gotta go through there to get to Pewter City."

"Pewter City?" Blue's eyes brightened and he took a huge bite out of donut."That's where I'm going too," he mumbled through a mouthful of pastry, dripping some of the filling onto his hand. "Need a plus one?"

"Who… you?"

"Well, yeah." He said through chews. "If we're going in the same direction, why not?" He swallowed and then wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Besides, Viridian Forest is a rough place. Lots of wild Pokémon that are very territorial. You'll need someone like me if you want to make it through."

"Why?" I folded my arms. "You think I can't take care of myself?"

"After that battle… no."

"Oh yeah, well…" Well, I can't really argue with that. Sure, we had a little morale pep-talk and I don't feel as depressingly hopeless, but I assume my Trainerly skills are still severely lacking. If Blue's gonna do all the heavy lifting though… then I'm fine with reaping the benefits without doing anything. Work smarter, not harder. And not at all, if you get the chance. "Okay sure, whatever. Let's go."

I started out of the cafe, but then quickly backpedaled. "And I am gonna take this." I snatched the other donut out of his hand and took a big bite. Super sugary, but that just means that it's super good. "Now come on. I wanna get to Pewter City before nightfall."

Blue shoved the rest the rest of his donut down his throat. "Right behind ya, Little K."

Viridian Forest is… well, it's a forest. There's a lot of trees. Yeah yeah, I know. Very descriptive, Katori. It's almost like you're there, right?

The forest was a vast maze of trees that split Route 2 in half. Grass and dead, dried up old leaves covered the ground, pushed aside from the tangled mess of dirt paths snaking between shrubs and trees, marking the routes that countless people and Pokémon had traveled.

And that's where we were. Walking down one of those paths. We had been traveling for a while now – it was nearly midday with the sun shining directly overhead. Not that you could actually tell. The branches of the taller trees had all grown together and intertwined, making a thick canopy overhead that blocked out most light.

"So…" I said, shattering the silence that shrouded us. "How exactly did you get roped into teaching at that Trainer school?"

"That? Eh, Gramps used to teach there." Blue shrugged, his signature smirk crossing his face. He was a couple of yards ahead, acting as our scout… I guess. "Sometimes I would help him. We'd always end off with a battle. A little show for the students… something like that."

"Really? I never really pictured the Professor as a Trainer."

"He's not. Not anymore, at least," said Blue. "But back in the day… he was one of the best. Undefeated. Well… almost undefeated." He stopped walking, staring off into the woods. At first I thought I might've crossed a line or brought up some bad family history, but then he pointed off into the trees. "Look at that."

"What?" I peered off into the forest, eyes darting from one thing to another. Nothing seemed out of place. "I don't see anything."

"Shh!" He snapped his finger to his lips. "You're gonna scare it off."

"Scare what off?"

"There… look right there."

Oh. I see it now. There was a small clearing several meters off the path. And in that clearing was a large fallen tree. And on that large fallen tree was a Pokémon. A squat yellow rodent with long ears, red cheek pouches, and a zig-zag tail.

Yup, you guessed correctly. Everyone knows that I'm talking about a Pikachu. And I like Pikachu. My dad has one, but I didn't get to play with it too much when I was younger. He was worried that I might get zapped or something.

"Come on, let's get closer." Blue crouched down and began slowly moving toward the Pokémon, taking each and every step carefully, avoiding crunchy leaves and dry twigs. "Watch your step," he said. And I did, making sure to follow his steps exactly. We made our way up to the edge of the clearing, where we took cover behind a nearby bush.

The Pikachu had its back to us, oblivious to our presence as it moved across the tree, sniffing with its tiny little nose all along the branches and picking at the moss with its tiny little paws. And before you ask, yes. Pikachu are just as adorable in the wild as they are with a Trainer.

Blue pulled out a PokéBall. "I'm gonna catch it."

"What? Why?"

"I have to."

"Again… why?"

"Because Red has one."

"So?"

"I can't let him have one and not me."

"Geez… what's with you always having to one-up Red?

"It's called a friendly rivalry, Little K. One I intend to win."

I shoved his PokéBall down. "Well, cool your jets," I whispered back, quietly pulling my notebook out of my bag. My only entry so far was my unflattering review of Rhyhorn, so I should probably take some notes on a Pokémon that I actually liked. And I've got to make it sounds somewhat convincing. "Give me a few minutes, then she's all yours."

"Okay… wait. She?"

"Yeah, look at the tip of the tail. That little notch – only female Pikachu have that."

"… oh. Huh."

Then I started writing;

Pikachu is a small, yellow, mouse-like Electric-Type Pokémon. Male and female Pikachu can be differentiated by the end of their tails; the tip of the male Pikachu's tail is flat, while females have a heart-shaped notch. Their habitat appears to be in forests, though they have been known to live around urban areas with high amounts of electricity.

"Wait, really?" Blue was peeking over my shoulder.

"Yeah, my dad caught his Pikachu near an old power plant."

"… oh," he replied quietly, leaning back against a tree stump. But he missed the stump and fell on his butt. One of his shoes kicked up some crispy leaves. "Oops."

The Pikachu instantly hunched up and stuck its tail straight into the air. It sat there unmoving, and we sat behind our bush… also unmoving. The world's most boring standoff. The Pokémon's red cheek pouches began to spark, and its tail twitched around gently, moving around in a circle. Could its tail sense stuff? It doesn't seem to know we're here.

After a few tense moments, the Pikachu relaxed and went back to scavenging along the tree branches.

"That was close," Blue quietly let out the breath he'd been holding. "Sorry."

This time I put my finger to my lips. We already had one close call, I'm not gonna let him blow it. I went back to my notebook.

Pikachu store their electricity in their cheek pouches, and can discharge it to protect itself from predators. It's also possible that its tail can be used like an antenna, reading electric energy in the air to detect predators and avoid danger.

"Are you done now?"

I don't think Blue understands the meaning of the word patience. Figuratively and literally. That dude always copied my vocabulary homework. "Yeah yeah, I guess."

My notes weren't the most lengthy or detailed. No science awards coming out of those sentences. But they should be more than enough to cheese this research project. And… okay, fine. I had smiled a bit to myself. It actually can be fun to take notes on a Pokémon that you like.

"Then it's my time to shine." Blue brought out his empty PokéBall in one hand. He held his other hand out to me.

"What?"

"Rhyhorn."

"Again… what?"

"Lemme borrow your Rhyhorn."

"Why?"

"It's a Ground-Type. Pikachu's electricity won't affect it."

"Oh. Well, he doesn't listen to me. I doubt he'd listen to you."

"Let me try."

I pulled Gideon's PokéBall out but… I dunno. I still hadn't let him out since the battle last night. He could be feeling angry or sad or... okay, he's probably tired. He's always tired. But if he was mad at me… just handing him off to another Trainer's not a good idea, right? And if that Trainer is Blue… double yikes.

"Katori?"

"Sorry, sorry. Here." I handed Gideon to Blue. Maybe my Pokémon deserves to have a competent Trainer at the helm at least once. "Just.. don't get him hurt."

He gently took the PokéBall. "I won't."

Then Blue burst into the clearing, stepping on every twig and kicking up all the dry leaves. "Rhyhorn! Front and center!" My little rock monster appeared in a flash of light, and followed up with a loud, bellowing roar. The silence had been completely shattered into a thousand pieces, and then all those little pieces had been shattered again.

"Pika?" The startled Pikachu jumped back several feet, compeltely caught off-guard by the sudden outbusrt. "Pika!" But it quickly regained its composure, yellow lightning crackling out of its cheeks and along its body as it switched into fight mode. "Chuuu!"

"Hrrn!" Gideon roared out, leaning forward into his battle pose. Then he looked back and saw Blue. "Rhhrn? Hrrn!" The Rhyhorn dropped his stance, his head swinging around frantically. "Rhy!" He was looking around anywhere and everywhere, searching for... is he looking for me?

"Hey, it's… it's okay," I said, rising from the bush. "I'm right here."

Gideon's panicked face eased when he locked eyes with me. "Hrrn?"

"Blue's gonna borrow you for a battle so… just do what he says. Okay?"

"Rhrrn." Gideon nodded, and turned his attention back to the battle.

Surprisingly, the Pikachu hadn't taken this opportunity to flee. It was still perched up on the fallen tree, electricity coursing along its fur. "Pika-pi!" It hunched down, ready to make its move. It almost seemed like it actually wanted to battle.

And Blue was right there to give it that battle. "Rhyhorn! Show 'em what you've got!" He punched the air. "Hit it with a Smack Down!"

"Rhrrn!" Gideon quickly reared back, summoning up a gently glowing rock from the ground. "Raaggh!" He fired the jagged stone toward his opponent.

But the yellow mouse was quick. It jumped up high into the air, avoiding the fast-moving rock as it crashed into a tree and broke apart, kicking up a cloud of dust. "Pikaa!" Pikachu's electricity traveled back into its tail, and it whirled around mid-fall. "Chuuu!" It flung a ball of yellow lightning at Gideon.

"Hold fast, Rhyhorn!" commanded Blue, unfazed by the attack.

Gideon held his ground. The ball of electricity seemed to shift trajectory slightly while in the air, being drawn into my Rhyhorn's horn. The Electro Ball weakly fizzled out on contact with the spike on Gideon's head. My Pokémon appeared completely unharmed.

"Lightning Rod, huh?" Blue noted, with his smirk. "Makes this a lot easier." He dramatically swept his arm out, commanding another attack. "Smack Down again! Lead your shot!"

"Rhrrn!" Gideon launched another rock, this one aimed right in the path of the Pikachu's descent. The glowing stone sailed through the air, spinning rapidly until-

"Pii-kah!"

It was a direct hit, slamming the Pikachu back into a nearby tree. Hard. "Chuu…" the little yellow rodent slid down along the bark and hit the ground.

But Blue wasn't done, apparently. "Alright, now use Tackle! Hit it while it's down!"

"Hrrn!" Gideon lowered his head, leveling his horn at his target. And he charged forward, surprisingly fast for a creature with heavy stone armor. "Raah!" He collided with the Pikachu with a heavy crash, swinging his horn into the rodent and sending it airborne.

"Piii…" Pikachu landed in a heap in the center of the clearing. "Kah…" It struggled to get up, but its legs were weak and shaky, and it couldn't push itself upright.

"And now's my chance!" Blue threw his empty Pokémon in his usual backhanded style, whipping around and hitting the defeated Pikachu right in the forehead. In a flash of blue light, the Pokémon was sucked in to the ball. The capsule hit the ground, the center button glowing a bright red.

The capsule wriggled around on the ground, shaking once… then twice… a third time… and then…

The PokéBall snapped shut, the red light gently pulsing blue before fading out.

And just like that, the Pikachu had been caught.

"That was… something." I had seen people catch Pokémon on TV before, but this was the first time I'd ever had a front row seat. Everyone had built it up as some big, momentous feat. But this just seemed so different. More up close and personal. And a little bit too… "Is it really that easy?"

Blue retrieved his Pokémon, and held the PokéBall up. A glint of sunlight bounced off the red metal top. "Easy? That wasn't easy," he replied with a huge grin. "I'm just that good, ya know. One of the best."

"Oh… yeah." That dude lives in ego city.

"Your Rhyhorn is awesome, by the way." Blue gave Gideon a gentle pat on the head. "Quite strong, and certainly capable of holding its own. Might have to get one myself after a performance like that."

"Grrn!" the Rhyhorn happily growled, his rocky face beaming from side to side. "Rhy!"

"I'm surprised he actually did what you told him."

Blue shrugged. "Eh, all it takes is calm and confidence. A Pokémon is only as strong as its Trainer, after all. Gotta let 'em know that you have what it takes to lead them in a fight."

I guess that figures. Gideon doesn't have an attitude problem. He has a Trainer problem. Mainly that his current Trainer is just terrible and is holding him back. Gideon would be much better off without me. Urgh. Why did I have to get myself wrapped up with all this?

"You good, Little K?"

"Huh?"

"You kinda zoned out on me."

"Oh." I shook my head and forced a smile. "No, I'm fine."

"Oh… okay." It didn't sound like he believed me. "Thanks for letting me borrow this guy," He tossed Gideon's PokéBall back to me. I fumbled it a bit, but to my credit, I did catch it. "Now come on. Pewter City is waiting for us!"

We were back to walking in silence. Blue had been riding high about catching a new Pokémon, constantly talking about it and strategies to catch wild Pokémon or something like that, but I hadn't really been paying attention. I had just kinda zoned him out again until he stopped talking.

Gideon had been following us for a little bit, but well… would you believe it if I said that a Pokémon made of heavy stone plates and posessed short stubby legs would have some problems keeping up with us on this rough and uneven forest path? So he went back into his ball.

And I started down into his PokéBall, feeling the cold metal in my palm. Blue's battle against that Pikachu kept playing in my head, over and over again. And I always came to the same conclusion.

Gideon is a capable Pokémon, and he needs… no he deserves a Trainer. A real Trainer. Someone who can bring out the best in him. Unleash his full potential. And that's certainly not me. Blue, on the other hand… I shrunk the ball down and closed my hand around it. Maybe I'll leave Gideon with Blue when I quit this journey. He'd be much happier that way.

"So, tell me… what's bringing you to Pewter City?" he asked as he turned back to face me, now walking backwards. "Challenging the Gym Leader there?"

"No." I pocketed Gideon's PokéBall. "Why would I do that?"

"For the Gym Badge. Duh," Blue replied, somehow managing to step over a tree root without even looking. I kinda wish he'd have fallen and busted his butt. "Getting eight badges gets you into the Indigo Plateau's Summer League. That's why everyone wants to battle them."

"Everyone but me," I said, folding my arms. I don't want to battle the Gym Leaders. I couldn't care less about Gyms and badges and Pokémon Leagues and whatever. "Nope, this girl is never going to battle again."

"Oh… so you're more into the research thing?"

"Eh… not really."

"Oh… then what are you gonna do in Pewter City?"

I just shrugged a reply. "I dunno. Rent a room, eat food, sleep, then go home."

"Home?" Blue frowned, still walking backwards. Then he stumbled over a rock, but regained his balance. I'll take what I can get. "You're going home already?"

"Hopefully."

"Why?"

"In all the years you've known me, have I ever expressed any interest in a journey?"

"Then why did you… Ah, right. Your mother."

"Yup, she's making me. I told you that yesterday." Technically I did agree to this, but he doesn't need to know that, now does he?

"Huh." He turned back around, now walking normally, and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I really thought you liked doing research."

Just what gave him that idea? Oh wait… why am I asking you? "Just what gave you that idea?"

"Well… you did," Blue answered. "I saw you… when you were taking notes on the Pikachu. Seemed like you enjoyed it. Even had that goofy smile of yours."

"My smile is adorable, not goofy," I corrected. "But… okay okay, yeah. I don't mind the note-taking part or the research project or all that. It's just… what's after that…"

"… what's after that?"

"My loss of self," I muttered in reply. "If I complete this research project, then Mom's just gonna turn around and ship me off to the Canalave University. I'll be stuck in the archaeology track until I either flunk out and disappoint everyone or graduate and get stuck working with Mom in the field."

"That doesn't sound so bad. I mean, I like working with Gramps."

We're not talking about you, Blue. We're talking about me here. "Yeah well… I hate archaeology. I hate all the dirt and rocks and fossils. And if that's how I have to spend the rest of my life… I might as well just throw myself off a cliff right now."

"… oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"So, then… What do you want?"

"To go home."

"No, like... out of life and all that."

"Oh, um…" It's a question that had crossed my mind on a daily basis. The answer had yet to make its debut appearance however. "I dunno… just something that's not archaeology."

"Your own thing, then?"

"Something like that," I said. "Mom's a famous archaeologist, Dad's a famous Pokéathlete. And if I'm destined to be famous too… I don't want to it to be as Kimiko's daughter. Or Phineas' daughter. I just… want to be Katori."

"Any idea what you want to be known for?"

"I… don't really know." I mean, becoming the top PokéScape player would be nice. Of course, I'm not gonna admit that out loud. Though there is something that's been floating around in my mind for a while. "Well… when I was younger, my mom used to tell me the story of how she discovered and revived the fossil Pokémon Kabuto. And she was just so excited for it and… I guess I always thought it would be cool if I could make a discovery like that. Like a new Pokémon form or evolution… or even an entirely new Pokémon species."

"A new species of Pokémon? That's a tall order."

"Yeah… it's never gonna happen. Just been something I used to think about when I was a kid."

"I never said it would be impossible. I don't think you can do it from home, though."

"Well… yeah, not from home." I folded my arms. Does this guy ever shut his big yap? "I just wanna relax for the rest of the summer. I'll figure out all this discovery stuff later."

"No time like the present, Little K."

"Meh… later's good enough."

"Aw, come on." Blue motioned around at the forest. "You're already out and about. With your own Pokémon and on a mission to research a lot of other Pokémon. If you really want to find something of your own… this is the time to actually do it."

He might be right, but like… no. I want my air-conditioned room, I want my computer, and I want my nice comfy bed. I want to go home. "Well, yeah but-"

"No buts," he interrupted. "Opportunities like this don't just drop out of the sky on a whim. You gotta make the most of them."

"Yeah… like this opportunity has been a real load of fun."

"I don't think you should throw in the towel. Not yet, at least."

"Why?"

"Because I'm your friend, and friends are supposed to be encouraging, right?"

"No, like… why do you care so much about this?"

"Because…" he paused for a moment, slightly hesitating. "Katori, you're just too…"

I put my hands on my hips. "I'm just too what?"

"Just… no. Forget it."

Nope. He's not getting off the hook that easy. "If you've got something to say, then just say it."

"Katori, just… never mind."

"Blue," I snapped back. "Just spit it out."

He sighed. Loudly. I just glared back at him. He adverted his gaze.

"Fine," he finally said. "The truth is… you're always complaining about your mom, and sometimes I'm just worried that you'll end up like mine."

Blue's mom? I furrowed my brow. Now that I think about it… in all the time that I've known him, I don't think I've ever seen his mom, or heard her mentioned, or… anything like that. And I really don't know why. "I've never met your mom."

"Well… that makes two of us."

Oh. Guess that's why.

"What I was telling you earlier, about Gramps being a strong Trainer," he went on, keeping his focus on the trail ahead of us. "He was the first Champion of Indigo Plateau, and he held that title for a decade. Everyone knew his name. He was a bit of a national icon back in the day."

I just kept following him, dead quiet. Walking and talking seems to be a bit of a theme today.

"Then along came my mom. And everything thought she'd be a strong Trainer, just like Gramps. And she tried to follow in his footsteps, but… she couldn't battle her way out of a cardboard box. At least that's what I've been told. Everyone expected so much of her… the pressure just got to her. And that's how the Oak legacy died."

"Oh." That's all I knew to say to that. "I… didn't know."

Blue turned around to face me, but he was wearing a big smile. "It's okay. Just spread your wings and fly, Little K. Follow your own path. Now, while you still have this chance. Can you promise me that?"

"Um…" I don't like to make promises. It's hard to keep them. "I… I guess I can do that."

"Cool. That's all I ask."

And that's certainly asking a lot of me.

Then we were back to the whole walking in silence thing. I know, I know, not the most riveting part of an adventure, but it's the part that happens a whole lot. It's not all battles and spotlights and glamour and all that junk. There's a lot of walking the walk, and occasionally talking the talk. But mostly the walking part. We'd done so much walking the walk at this point, I swear we could've made it to Pewter City and back by now. Either Viridian Forest is a heck of a maze or we're just going in circles.

But the part that was killing me was the awkwardness. And normally I'm used to it – awkward is my middle name after all – but this was different. Blue and I could usually get along pretty well, but after he gave his whole mom speech, few words had been spoken between us.

So I was looking for anything and everything to make the situation a bit more relaxed and like it was before. Of course, being in a dense forest doesn't really help with that. There's nothing but trees and rocks and trees and leaves and trees and… oh hey, that's a big tree.

And what a big tree it was. Not in terms of height, though. It had a wide trunk with thin branches poking out, clusters of leaves at the end. But that's not the interesting part about it. No, there's a bunch of little yellow-shelled Pokémon tucked among the branches. Dozens of them, maybe over a hundred total, all hanging from branches or clinging to the stout trunk.

"Hey, check it out."

"Huh?" Blue followed my line of sight. "Oh… the Kakuna?"

"Yeah." I slipped my bag off and fished out my notebook. "I'm gonna a closer look."

"Why?"

"Ya know." I tapped my notebook. It would be an easy entry, right? Kakuna don't do much.

"I don't know if that's a good idea…"

"I'll be fine."

"Are you-"

"I'm sure."

I slowly approached the big tree, darting between the smaller trees for a bit of cover. Kinda felt like I was in a movie. Secret Agent Katori, on a mission to investigate an evil organization of Kakana that were plotting to take over the world. How could some Kakuna achieve world domination without thumbs? I don't know. That's why I have to use my super-spy skills to find out.

Oh, who am I kidding? My life is not that interesting. Sneaking around was hurting my knees anyway.

So I just stood up and walked right over to the tree. Kakuna are harmless enough if you keep your distance… at least I think. And even if they evolved right now, they'd just be a cute Butterfree. Flittering around with their pretty wings and adorable large eyes… that'd be nice to see.

"Little K, I don't think you should be there," Blue was keeping his distance, calling out quietly from the safety of another tree. "Come on… let's get out of here."

"What? Why?" I snapped back. "You got to catch a Pikachu. Can't I have a small detour of my own?"

"Katori…"

"Can you relax for once?" He's really testing my patience right now, and I raised my voice. "I told you… I'll be fine!"

And then there was some rustling from the leaves of the giant tree. And, rather worryingly, an ominous buzzing sound followed.

I slowly looked up to the tree and… oh. It's Metapod that evolves into Butterfree. Riiight. And Kakuna evolve into…

Several Beedrill dropped from the tree, catching themselves in the air as their wings started beating. There were quite a few of the giant bees, like ten of them. And they were all staring right at me with their big red eyes.

"Zzzrrilll!" One Beedrill was much larger than the rest, its body covered in scratches and a scar across its eye. That's the big boss, I guess.

"Drree!" the leader bee angrily cried out, raising its giant sharp arm-stingers toward me, and a small drop of venom fell from the tip. "Zzzree!" The rest of the Beedrill followed their leader, aiming their pointy lances right at my skull, then swinging their butts up to point that stinger at me too.

I turned to run, but three Beedrill quickly flew into my path. A wall of the giant killer wasps surrounded me on all sides. There was nowhere to run, there was nowhere to hide. There was only the droning buzz of insect wings and pointy poisonous bees.

Which is never a good thing.