Chapter 3: Forest (Part 3)

Bobby stayed with them that night, and the next morning, the first thing he did was teach them how to find food that was actually socially acceptable to eat.

"See this? This is a Berry tree. There are lots of trees like this with different Berries, and they're all edible. You don't even have to climb the tree to get them if you have a Pokemon that knows Headbutt. Here, I'll show you."

He sent out one of his Pokemon, a rhinoceros-looking beast with rock-like plates covering its body.

"Rhyhorn, Headbutt!"

The Rhyhorn charged at the tree and slammed its head into the trunk. Several pink fruits came tumbling down. Along with a green spider-looking Pokemon.

Lena let out a shriek.

"…Oh right, sometimes Bug Pokemon fall out too, so watch out for that."

Bobby's Rhyhorn swiftly headbutted the bug away.

Next, they sat in camp eating the pink Berries for breakfast while Bobby gave them a quick rundown on Pokémon types and their various strengths and weaknesses. Then he gave them all three Pokeballs each. Lena didn't know how much these things cost, but she suspected it was quite generous of him.

She turned a Pokeball over in her hand. "This is fascinating technology. How does it store them? Does it shrink them? What happens to them while they're in there? Are they aware of what happens outside? Is it comfortable?"

"Look, don't think too hard about it, okay? Just know it's a safe environment for them."

"Can they transport humans too?"

"That…I don't really know. I don't think there are laws against it, so knock yourself out if you want to try?"

Lena put a hand to her chin, giving it serious thought.

"So today, let's all try to catch at least one Pokemon. I can lend you all one of my own Pokémon to help, if you want."

"Nah, I think we'll be okay," Raiden shrugged. "We've caught plenty on our own already."

"Yeah, how do you think we ate so many?" Kurena added.

"…On second thought, I don't think I want to leave my Pokémon in your care," Bobby shuddered.

"But what about Lena?" Anju said. "I think that might be hard on her."

"O-Oh, you don't have to worry about me," Lena said unconvincingly. "I'll manage."

Bobby considered her for a moment. "…If it's you, I don't mind. Sure, I'll help."

Shin frowned. He didn't like where this was going. "I have a Pokémon too. I can help."

"Do you know how to fight with it though?"

"…" He truly had no idea. How did one fight with a ghost? But he wasn't about to admit that.

Bobby sighed. "Okay, you come along too. I'm not an expert on Ghost types, but I can guess at some attacks Duskull might know. We can practice battling while we're at it."

They split up into two groups: Raiden, Anju, Theo, and Kurena in one group, and Shin, Lena, and Bobby in the other.

Raiden's group headed out, trekking through the forest looking for any Pokemon that caught their eye.

"That one!" Kurena said first. "With the pretty red color. I like it."

She pointed at a small bird Pokemon that sat perched on a nearby tree branch. Indeed, its head sported a brilliant reddish-orange plumage.

"Right, let's get that one for Kurena. You know the drill. Split up, surround it, create a diversion."

"Easy peasy."

As they approached, the bird noticed their presence and began letting out beautiful chirps and rustling its tail feathers warily. Then it attacked.

"Whoa!" Theo ducked as it swooped down on him. "This thing's aggressive!"

"Kurena, get in position!"

"On it!"

The bird was speedy, flying from one person to another, trying to peck them in turn. They had their makeshift spears with them, but it was all they could do just to fend it off.

And then, seemingly having had enough, the bird opened its beak and spat out a small burst of flame. Anju took cover behind a tree, narrowly dodging it.

"Wow, it spews fire!" Kurena laughed. "That's neat!"

"Keep your distance!" Raiden ordered. "Don't want to get hit by these!"

He, Theo, and Anju quickly backed away, giving the bird more space. It hovered in the air, glaring down at them, deciding who to attack next. But before it could…

A large rock struck it square in the back, knocking it out of the air. The bird fell to the ground with a cry.

Kurena whooped and jumped down from the tree where she had been hidden. She jogged over to the fallen Pokemon where it lay twitching in the grass.

"I heard that Flying types are weak against Rock. Seems effective, all right!" She crouched in front of it, Pokeball in hand. "Looks like I win."

At the same time, Shin's group also wandered through the forest.

"Let's see, if you don't like Bug type Pokemon, then we can probably find you a Grass or Flying type around here." Bobby looked around and then pointed. "Like that one."

Lena turned to see what looked like a cotton puff with beady orange eyes and wing-like leaves on the sides of its body, floating about in a clearing.

"Oh, it's cute!"

Bobby took a handheld device from his pocket and pointed it at the Pokemon. "Here's what it says on my Pokédex. Cottonee, the Cotton Puff Pokemon. A Grass/Fairy type. They go wherever the wind takes them. They feel more at ease in a group and tend to stick to others they find. To protect itself, it shoots cotton from its body that can be used to stuff pillows and beds. …How about it?"

"Sounds good to me." Lena didn't want to be picky, and she was glad this Pokemon seemed to have a gentle disposition at least.

"Then let's try to catch it." Bobby nodded to Shin. "Send out your Pokemon."

Shin tossed his Pokeball onto the ground and Undertaker popped out, facing the Cottonee.

"Now we have to order an attack. Let's see…does it know Hypnosis?"

A pause. Undertaker didn't do anything.

"Night Shade?"

Undertaker still didn't move.

"Lick?"

Undertaker glanced back, as if to say 'Does it look like I have a tongue?'

"Uhh, Confuse Ray?"

And finally Undertaker did something. Its eye sent out a beam of red light at the Cottonee. As soon as the beam made contact, the Cottonee began acting erratically, twirling in circles and sending little cotton balls flying.

"Yes! Now it's confused. How about an offensive attack, like…Astonish?"

Undertaker raised its arms and apparently made a scary face, because the Cottonee let out a scream and fell to the ground.

Shin watched this incredulously. "You call this a 'battle'…?"

The Cottonee seemed too confused to get back in the air now, hopping about in a panic.

"Now's our chance!" Bobby turned to Lena. "You're up, miss. Try throwing a Pokeball at it!"

"Okay!" Lena stepped up, brandishing her ball. "Pokeball, go!"

She threw it.

The ball sailed in a different direction, way off its mark.

"Huh?" Lena blurted.

She heard someone snort.

Meanwhile, the Cottonee finally snapped out of its confusion. It flew away, expelling more cotton puffs in its wake.

Undertaker slowly turned around to stare at Lena, as if to say 'Are you kidding me?'

Dejected, Lena looked back to see Shin turned away and Bobby with his hand over his mouth, both of their shoulders shaking in silent laughter.

"M-Maybe you should practice your aiming first," Bobby managed to say.

Her shoulders fell. "Yes, I suppose I should…"

Theo's Pokemon was caught in much the same manner as Kurena's. It was a small flying squirrel-looking creature, with yellow sacs on its cheeks. It also shot electricity at them as it glided around, which wasn't fun to deal with, but Theo thought it would prove useful.

They gathered around him, looking at the Pokeball in his hand.

"So what are you naming it?"

Theo shrugged. "Do I have to?"

Kurena's hand shot up. "I know! Name it Flying Fox!"

"What? But it's a squirrel. It's clearly a flying squirrel."

"Flying Fox has a nice ring to it," Anju giggled.

"Right? It totally fits!"

"But it's a squirrel…"

In the end, despite Theo's complaints, the name Flying Fox stuck.

Back at the campsite, Lena practiced throwing her Pokeball at a tree. Bobby had suggested she try hitting the same tree trunk three times in a row before she attempted to catch a Pokemon again. It wasn't going great. Even if she did manage to hit the tree, she couldn't do it consistently. And her arm was growing tired.

It frustrated her. Why, oh why, had she never played a single sport while growing up? Oh right, because she skipped grades, didn't have many friends, and her mother thought it was beneath her. But she never imagined it would come back to bite her like this.

A rustling of undergrowth heralded Raiden's group's return to camp. "Hey, we're back!"

"Already?!" Lena exclaimed. "You were only away for a few hours!"

"Yeah, it was pretty easy once we caught my Flamey," Kurena said proudly.

"Kurena's can shoot fire and mine can shoot electricity, so catching Anju and Raiden's Pokemon was a piece of cake."

Lena pouted. "No fair…"

"Speaking of which, Lena," Anju said, holding up a Pokeball. "I want to show you something."

She released her newly caught Pokémon— a butterfly with a purple body and white wings, about the size of a human child.

"Oh, how lovely!" Lena said with admiration.

Anju smiled. "I thought you might be okay with this kind of Bug Pokemon. I'm glad I was right."

Lena laughed sheepishly, but she was a little happy that Anju had caught it with her in mind. "What are you naming it?"

"I was thinking Lace Wings."

"That's perfect!"

Meanwhile, Raiden walked over to Shin and Bobby, who were training with Undertaker nearby.

"Hey, I finally caught one of those deer things."

"A Deerling?" Bobby asked.

"I guess." Raiden gave his Pokeball a dubious look. "I noticed it's got a flower on its head and it smells really grassy. So is it a plant or an animal?"

"It's a Normal/Grass type, so...both…?"

"So it'd be a steak and a salad?"

"DON'T EAT IT."

As for a nickname, Raiden didn't bother coming up with one for his new companion. But as he kept calling it "deer thing," eventually Deerthing stuck.

Shin and Bobby decided to wrap up their training around evening. They had figured out all of Undertaker's attacks by now, so Shin could battle on his own, though it was so far removed from his own fighting style that it still struck him as strange.

It was at this point that Shin realized Lena was missing. She was no longer by the tree that she had been practicing on and she wasn't at camp either.

He looked around frantically. "Lena?" he called.

A nearby bush rustled.

"Shin! Shin! Look, I caught one!" Lena emerged, holding a struggling blue plant creature in her arms. She had dirt and grass stains on her clothes, as if she'd been wrestling the poor creature on the ground, but she looked very proud of herself.

Shin briefly wondered what had gotten into her all of a sudden. Perhaps she was feeling left out and got impatient? He probably shouldn't have laughed at her earlier…

"Hurry, throw a Pokeball at it!" Lena said, struggling to maintain a grip

Chiding himself inwardly, Shin took a Pokeball from his pocket. "Okay, try to hold it still."

Seeing this, the creature struggled even more, nearly wriggling out of Lena's arms. "Hey! Calm down! We're not going to hurt y—"

Poof. The creature let out a cloud of white powder from the leaves on its head. Lena started coughing.

"Wha— Lena!" Shin dashed forward. He ripped the oversized grape out of her arms and chucked it back into the woods, just as Lena's eyes rolled back in her head. "Lena?!"

She passed out. He managed to catch her before she fell to the ground. "LENA!"

Shin panicked. She was still breathing, but no matter how much he called her name or shook her, she lay limp and unresponsive in his arms. He felt her pulse. It felt weak.

No. No no no no. He couldn't lose her. They'd only just met in person. He couldn't lose her, not again.

"Shit!"

He ran back to camp with Lena in his arms. "Bobby! Bobby, help!"

"Hm?" Bobby turned.

"She tried to catch a Grass Pokemon by herself, but it let out some kind of powder, and she won't wake up—"

"Whoa, hey, calm down. Let me see her."

Shin laid Lena gently down on the ground. Bobby quickly inspected her before nodding to himself.

"Looks like she's been hit with a Sleep Powder."

"What does that mean? Will she survive?!"

"Yeah, it just put her to sleep. Want me to give her an Awakening?"

"I don't care what it is, just help her!"

Bobby dug around in his backpack and pulled out a small spray bottle. He sprayed the medicine in Lena's face.

After a moment, she stirred and let out a small moan.

"Lena?"

"What happened…?" she said groggily, her eyelids fluttering open.

Shin let out a big sigh of relief. "...Thank god. I thought she'd been poisoned."

"Oh, they spew poison too," Bobby said matter-of-factly.

In a flash, Shin's eyes were on him, wide in alarm.

Bobby drew back a little in fear. "Uh, but we have antidotes for it, so it's not really a big deal. Well, unless you're in the middle of nowhere without antidotes. Then you might be screwed."

"How many do you have on you?" Shin asked very seriously.

"...Five, I think."

"I'll buy all you have."

"With what money, dude?"

"..." Shin fell silent, sulking.

Bobby sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll give you a couple. And I'll throw in some Potions too. Just because your girlfriend looks really accident-prone."

Shin did a double take. "...She's not my girlfriend."

"Sure, dude. Sure."

Lena wanted to sink into the earth and disappear.

Yes, she had gotten impatient. She was the only one without a Pokemon now, and it made her feel incompetent in front of her subordinates. Why couldn't she catch a Pokemon like they did, with or without a Pokeball? And so, when a Pokemon emerged from the ground before her eyes, she'd leapt at the opportunity.

What a fool she was. Now she looked even more pathetic. And for it to all happen in front of Shin, of all people?

Not only had it been deeply embarrassing, she was filled with shame and guilt for the way she'd man-handled that poor Pokemon. Of course it would attack her. It had every right.

In truth, that wasn't how she wanted to catch a Pokémon. She'd tried doing it by force because Bobby said that's how it was done here. But what she really wanted to do…was like what Shin had done. To ask for consent, and have the Pokémon join willingly. It might be difficult, or it might be impossible in most cases, but she wanted to give it a try.

And so she set out again the next morning. Bobby was helping the others train today, so he let her borrow his Pokedex. Shin, however, insisted on accompanying her from the start, perhaps still worried after what happened yesterday. This made her want to curl up in shame again, but she also had to admit she found his presence reassuring.

They walked through the woods for hours. During this, they encountered several different Pokemon, but this time Lena wasn't looking for just any Pokemon. It had to be one that was on her wavelength; one that she could get along with.

When they heard the sound of trickling water, they followed it to what turned out to be a pool of crystal clear water. A natural spring. Here, they stopped to get a drink.

But as Lena scooped her hands into the pool, Shin nudged her. He gestured toward the opposite bank.

There stood a small plant Pokemon. It had a green bulb-shaped head with a white face, beady brown eyes, and three leaves sprouting from the top of its head. Its body had five stubs, which seemed to function as its arms and legs. As they watched, it tilted its head from side to side while gazing at its own reflection in the water.

Lena pointed Bobby's Pokedex at the Pokemon and read the text that popped up.

"Petilil, the Bulb Pokemon. A Grass type. Prefers clean water and soil, so it tends to live in areas that are good for growing plants. The leaves on its head are very bitter, but can be used for medicinal purposes and grow back even if they fall out."

"Is this the one?" Shin whispered to her.

Lena watched the Pokemon carefully. There was something about it that felt familiar. It didn't look unhappy, but…it seemed restless?

"Maybe."

Shin took out his Pokeball. But Lena shook her head. "Please. Let me handle this."

He frowned. Still, he didn't stop her as she got up to approach the Pokemon. He just trailed behind, close enough that he could still act if needed.

Lena moved slowly, hoping not to scare the Petilil away. She crept to its side and knelt on the bank beside it. If the Petilil noticed her presence, it didn't seem to care, still gazing at the water.

Lena cleared her throat.

"Hello," she said. "My name is Vladilena Milize. How are you?"

The Petilil glanced up at her. It bowed its head slightly; its version of a greeting, perhaps? So far, so good.

Lena gestured to the spring.

"This water is very beautiful, isn't it? So clean."

She cringed inwardly at her attempt at small talk, but the Petilil didn't seem to mind. It trilled happily in reply, as if saying, 'Yes, it is!'

After that, they just sat in companionable silence for a while, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. Lena smiled, gaining confidence. They were getting along! This might just work. But the hardest part was still to come.

She took a deep breath, then turned to face the Petilil, finally breaking the silence.

"Um. I know this is sudden, and we've only just met, but…would you like to go on a journey with me?"

The Petilil blinked up at her in surprise.

"You see, I've found myself lost in this world, and I'd like to go back to mine, but I need help. …Would you be willing to help me?"

It was as awkward as could be, but the Petilil was still listening, so she soldiered on.

"I know it would mean leaving this place, with this beautiful water, but I can show you new places too, with more clean water. A-And I can help you become stronger. I admit, I'm a novice at training Pokemon, but I do have experience leading people, so I promise that I'll do my best!"

Was any of this getting across? Did it even understand what she was saying?

The Petilil continued gazing up at her in contemplation, before finally smiling. Well, it didn't seem to have a mouth, but its eyes were certainly smiling. It let out a little trill.

Lena's heart leapt. "Um, does that mean? You'd be willing to come with me?"

She took out a Pokeball and placed it on the ground between them, so it would understand the full implications of their agreement. The Petilil examined the ball closely, then reached out one of its arm stubs and touched it.

The Pokeball snapped open and sucked the Petilil in.

Lena waited with bated breath.

The ball wriggled once. Twice. Then became still.

She had successfully caught a Pokemon.

"Shin!" Overjoyed, Lena held up the ball to show him. "Look, I did it! Just like you!"

Shin, who had been watching while leaning against a nearby tree, gave her a gentle smile and nodded. "You did."

He came to sit beside her. "But I wouldn't expect that it will go that well all the time. I think you may have just found a very good-natured Pokémon."

"Yes, probably." Lena looked at the Pokeball in her hands. "I know we have to hurry and find a way home, so I can't afford to be so picky. If I have to use force next time, I will. But at least for this first one…I wanted to start out with mutual understanding. A true partnership."

She glanced at him, a little self-conscious. "Is that…foolish, do you think? Conceited? I'm not sure it even understood what I was saying. I certainly couldn't understand what it was saying."

"I think your feelings came across," Shin said, gazing at the spring. "You have that way about you, Lena. You're sincere. As transparent as this clear water."

Lena blushed. His words made her feel happy and awkward at the same time. "Transparent, huh?"

"…I'm sorry. I didn't mean that in a bad way." Now it was Shin's turn to look awkward. "I just meant…I think it's fine to do it the way you want. That's how you saved us. That's how you survived this far."

Lena smiled. "Then I suppose I'll keep on doing that." She caressed the Pokeball housing the Petilil— her new partner.

Later, on the way back to their campsite, Shin asked, "So are you naming it anything?"

"Yes! I was just thinking of a nickname actually. Since it's a Petilil, I think I will call it PT for short. Spelled P-e-t-t-y."

Shin stopped and gave her a long stare. "…You really have no taste for names."

Lena pouted.

And so ended their fourth day in the Pokemon world. Tomorrow, they planned to leave this forest once and for all, to visit the nearest town, capture more Pokemon, and find a way home. With even more adventures (and misadventures) on the way.