All right, here we have the first of many rival battles to come! That's right, to keep up with both the anime and games, I'm going to actually HAVE Gary meet up with Ash and Starfire and battle one of them... I know that's not how it was done in the anime, but I always thought the rival battles were always fun in the games, so... yeah, Gary's STILL going to be a constant rival and butthole (which, if you know the anime, you KNOW he'll grow out of that), but for now, enemies have been made... you'll see as you read the chapter!

"Gary…" Ash said with a steely glare towards his rival, who was just standing there, just tossing a Poke Ball in the air with a cocky demeanor to him.

"Nice to see you too." Gary said, looking straight at the young man.

"What are you still doing in Viridian City? I figured you'd be driving off miles ahead of me by now, thanks to your little sport car." Ash frowned as he crossed his arms.

Gary blinked twice, before frowning. "About that… apparently, you can't have your chauffeur drive through a route that has tall grass with Pokemon in it… a stupid law, but what can you do? Keh, not like I needed it anyway. I needed the exercise anyway, catching various Pokemon that I saw… speaking of which, I already caught like a few dozen Pokemon. How about you?"

Ash narrowed his eyes towards Gary, his brow furrowing. The brown haired spiky haired boy noted Ash's look as he looked towards the Pikachu on his side and rolled his eyes. "Figures. Only made it to the city on your first night, and you didn't even catch a single Pokemon? You didn't even MAKE it out of the first town? Sheesh, what type of a rookie are you?"

"W-well…" Ash stammered, before shaking his head. "What about you? You're still here!"

"Yeah… I stopped at a mart, and some guy who knew gramps forced me to deliver a package, so I had to go back through Route 1! I had to spend the night back in Pallet because Viridian's always goes through this curfew due to gangsters and Pokemon thieves running around." Gary explained.

"Soooo…" Ash paused, before smirking. "I was still ahead of you."

Gary jumped, before narrowing his eyes. "Only because I had to double back! But I'm determined to make up more ground once more… and fast, I heard there's this newbie fifth trainer that somehow came in late in the game."

"Newbie… fifth trainer?" Ash blinked twice, looking a bit clueless as he turned back to Starfire, who had been settling down next to Clefairy the whole time.

"Yeah, gramps said she came in late in the game last night, and got her Pokedex and everything. Technically, I don't know WHY she would do that, considering the Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle were gone from his lab… and seeing that Pikachu of yours, I know that rat's just a spare…" Gary pointed out.

Pikachu's cheeks began to spark as he looked up. "What was that now?"

It was at that moment, Gary had finally taken notice of the girl right behind Ash. "Oh, and who is this?"

Starfire looked up and gave a smile. "Hello there, friend. You must be Friend Ash's… rival."

Gary blinked twice as he looked over at Ash. "Friend Ash?"

The boy in in the blue jacket just shrugged as Starfire continued, "I am known as Starfire, the p-"

She then felt a kick from Clefairy, causing the beautiful girl to yelp as she looked down with a hurt expression, before realizing what she was saying. However, Gary looked up in curiosity. "What were you going to say?"

"Uh, well… nothing very important, it's just I am new here in this Kanto region and-" Starfire said as she gave an embarrassed blush.

"You were going to say something that started with a P." Gary frowned as he crossed his arms. "Tell me, you wouldn't happen to be… a POKEMON TRAINER?!"

"Y-yes…" Starfire swiftly nodded, feeling a little relieved as Clefairy just gave a small sigh.

Gary paused, before smirking as he looked at her. "Red hair… wearing mostly purple… Clefairy for a starter… ah ha! So, Gramps wasn't exaggerating. You ARE that new late trainer I heard so much about."

"Uh, yes, I certainly am." Starfire said as she noted Gary walking around and checking her out a bit… maybe a little TOO closely. Normally, she would be fine at being stared at, but something about the spiky haired boy's stares didn't… sit right with her.

"You don't look ten…" Gary noted.

"I was… very late into the game." Starfire said. "And you're never too old to go out to go on the journey and collect the Pokemon, right?"

Gary raised an eyebrow at Starfire's constant uses of 'the' in her sentences, but shrugged. "Ehhh, I guess I AM overthinking it. I have heard of a young teenager that entered into the Pokemon journeying business as well, so… guess I can't call the kettle black. Anyway, I'm Gary Oak…"

Gary was about to extend his hand for a handshake, when he stopped short and lowered his eyelids in annoyance. "Which gramps should REMEMBER that's my name, and not show FAVORITISM TOWARDS OTHER TRAINERS!"

He then turned his head towards Ash with a slight glare, who just jumped as he asked, "What did I do?"

Gary shook his head. "S-sorry. Just a little heat in my head that I often let slip out. I usually just conceal them by battling, of course…"

It was at that moment Gary stopped as he looked between Ash and Starfire, before giving a frown. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me? You must REALLY not be from around here if the best you can do is hang out with Ashy boy here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked as he narrowed his eyes towards Gary.

"Quiet, Ash. The mature people are talking." Gary said, causing Ash to steam up in anger. Gary chuckled as he turned to Starfire. "You know, you don't HAVE to hang with that guy. Seeing that you're a new trainer, maybe you'd like to accompany me on MY quest? Since you say you're a late bloomer in Pokemon training, I can help you learn the basics… after all, what good is a person who only has ONE Pokemon in his party? After all, you don't want to make friends with someone who's terrible at what he wants to do. So, how about it… Starfire, was it? A strange name for a good-looking lady like you, but I think we could make it work."

Gary offered his hand to Starfire, but the red haired woman didn't take it as she looked over to him, a frown on her face as she noted that this young man was belittling the first person she had met.

"I am already being helped by someone in getting used to this place, thank you." Starfire said with a cold tone in her voice… a tone she never thought would be present, but it had appeared. "And maybe you should be a little more RESPECTFUL to my REAL friend here."

"Real friend?" Gary said in a shocked voice, before turning to Ash. "You mean Ashy boy? Please, he's a LOSER."

"I can hear you, you know!" Ash called out in anger.

Starfire literally GROWLED upon hearing that as she narrowed her green eyes at Gary. "You wouldn't be thinking that if you heard about what he DID last night…"

Gary blinked twice, wondering what she was talking about, before shutting his eyes and scoffing. "Keh, fine. You know what? I see I'm clearly wasting my time… unless, of course, you're interested in a battle?"

Ash, hearing that, perked up as he looked over towards Pikachu. "I'm up for a challenge! Pikachu, are you ready to-"

"I'm not speaking with YOU, Ashy Boy." Gary frowned, his eyes still locked on Starfire.

The girl immediately went up in the air for a moment, though quickly landed back down, so to Gary, it would look like a jump. "A battle… with me? Uh, I'm not exactly up to date on battling-"

"Ah, then you're good and fresh meat." Gary smirked as he held up two Poke Balls. "Come on, then. My Pokemon team against yours… which, from what I see, consists of a little girly Pokemon!"

"GIRLY?!" Clefairy narrowed her eyes before jumping up and looking up at Starfire. "Star, let me battle! I'll handle that cocky brat's Pokemon and give him a MASSIVE wake-up call!"

Starfire looked up to Gary with a frown. "So… it is the challenge you want?"

Gary blinked twice, before groaning. "Goodness, you really MUST be a foreigner… Kalos? No, maybe Alola, your skin fits right with that area… but that still doesn't explain your strange accent… oh, maybe that Paldea region. I did hear that they had schools specifically for Pokemon learning. Are you a student from Paldea? Just asking out of-"

He shook his head. "Never mind! Yes, I'm challenging you to a Pokemon Battle!"

Starfire narrowed her eyes as she got up. "Very well, I will accept your challenge of the battling of the Pokemon!"

"All right then!" Gary laughed as he looked at his two Poke Balls. "This'll be simple! I'll get rid of your little fairy in two seconds flat! …plus, I really need to get everything back on track after being forced to deliver Gramps's dumb package…" Gary muttered to himself.

"Wait! Star, tag me in!" Ash said as both she and Gary turned to him. "I've known Gary for quite a while, and I've yet to fight him! Let me do this one, you're still new to battling, after all!"

Gary blinked twice, relieved that nobody heard the remark, but only gave a snicker. "That's adorable, Ash. Thinking you can best me, especially since… oh, I don't know, you woke up late and only got a Pikachu to your end?"

"It's okay, Ash. I'll fight him. He insulted your integrity, and I will do what I can to make sure it is defended." Starfire said as she held up her hand, reassuring Ash.

Ash frowned, not liking that he was being denied a battle, but one look at Starfire's eyes, and he understood that she needed to do this. "Well… all right. But be careful. And… and don't try any surprises, all right?"

"Surprises?" Gary asked in confusion as he turned to Ash. "What do you mean?"

"Uhhh… nothing to concern yourself over." Ash said nervously.

Gary frowned, before giving a cough. "All right, then, Ash, if you really want to be part of the match, you can spectate it, if you'd like. Seems to be the only good thing you can do."

Ash growled in anger, but complied as he sat down on the bench, with Gary nodding as he started to get a good distance. He turned, only to see Starfire still standing in the same position. "Hey, aren't you going to move?!"

"Huh?" Starfire asked in confusion.

Gary blinked twice, before groaning as he held his head. "Okay, I don't know if you're from Kalos, Alola, Paldea or what, but it is known that trainers are to get at least a good foot distance so that their Pokemon can have a LITTLE more room to fight. That's basically how it works, it's Pokemon 101."

"O-oh!" Starfire giggled nervously before walking backwards to get a good distance, before she stopped. "How's this?"

"Fine, fine." Gary smirked as he pulled out his first Poke Ball. "Let's start the battle! I choose you… SPEAROW!"

Immediately, the Poke Ball was thrown as a very familiar red bird poked out of it, chirping as it looked up, ready to fly over to its opponents.

Ash tensed up a bit as he looked over towards Pikachu, who looked a bit wary of the bird that came out of Gary's Poke Ball, hiding behind Ash for safekeeping.

"Ugh, Spearow… it just had to be SPEAROW, didn't it?" Pikachu said to himself, still shaking nervously.

Ash noted the scared look on his mouse's face as he tried to pat him on the head. "It's okay… just take a deep breath…"

Pikachu followed his friend's advice, though in his mind, he was on the verge of a panic attack.

As the Spearow looked up, it squawked in fear as it immediately saw Starfire, as she was about to send out Clefairy.

"Ha! A Spearow? You may have taken a few dozen of those out yesterday, but just watch me in action, Star!" Clefairy said as she readied herself. "Heads up, I know the moves Pound, Growl, Charm and Dazzling-"

Spearow immediately screeched out and flew backwards towards Gary, hiding behind his new trainer as it was trying to peck at him.

"Hey! OW! OW! You're not supposed to do that! I caught you! STOP! OW!" Gary growled as he felt the bird pecking at him furiously. "You're sup- ow! -supposed to- ow! -listen! OW! OW!"

All this time, Starfire and Clefairy could only watch in confusion, as Clefairy blinked. "Well, I didn't think I'd be a menacing presence THIS early! Awesome!"

Starfire paused, before yelping as she realized that this Spearow may have been from the same flock that tried to attack Ash and Pikachu on their first meeting… the one she… scared off with her powers. She gave a nervous chuckle and blush, realizing the truth.

Ash, on the other hand, just gave a big grin as he was laughing, falling down on the ground. Pikachu would have laughed too, if the immediate fear of Spearow didn't take a hold of him.

By that time, Gary had just grabbed for Spearow's Poke Ball and held it towards the pecking and flying bird. "AH! OH! SPEAROW, RETURN! OW! OW! AH!"

At that, a red beam engulfed Spearow, and as the bird disappeared into the ball, the face turned from panic to sweet relief. Gary groaned as he tried to recover from the strange attack, before glaring at Ash, who was still laughing. "Oh, so you think this is funny, Ashy boy?"

Ash gave a light chuckle as he went back to his seat. "Guess YOU'RE just as novice of a trainer as you let on!"

"Shut up! That Spearow was acting obedient this morning when I caught it. I don't know why it did that." Gary said, before frowning, before picking up his other Poke Ball. "No matter. I wanted to see it face off against your starter anyway."

Ash immediately went into attention as he looked curiously. At least he was finally getting to see what Gary had chosen for his starter Pokemon, at the very least.

Gary chuckled as he pushed a button on the Poke Ball, making it bigger, before throwing it in the air. "I choose you… SQUIRTLE!"

The Poke Ball opened up as a blue turtle creature in a brown shell came out, landing on the ground and wagging its tail cutely.

"Awwww… that is so adorable!" Starfire said as her eyes widened in cuteness, before pulling out her Pokedex to look at a picture of the cute Pokemon before her.

"Squirtle. The Tiny Turtle Pokemon. Its shell is soft immediately after it's born. And in no time, the shell has become resilient enough that a prodding finger will bounce right off it." The Pokedex explained as the abilities "Torrent or Rain Dish" appeared under the picture, along with the starting moveset, "Tackle, Tail Whip, Bubble and Withdraw".

Gary smirked as he noted Starfire's Pokedex. "Sooo… I see my old man whipped you up a Pokedex too. Not like it'll help you anyway… now to start the battle proper! Squirtle, Bubble!"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle happily obliged as it took a deep breath and started to blow a big bubble as it started to fly towards Clefairy.

Clefairy could only blink twice before frowning and stepping to the side as the bubble continued to float past.

Gary just stood there, stammering as he held his head. "Oh good gracious… Squirtle, do you have Water Gun learned, at least?"

Squirtle just turned his head towards Gary and tilted his head in confusion. Gary looked a bit angry, before closing his eyes and trying to take a deep breath. "Patience, Gary, the more Squirtle does Bubble, the more it eventually gets to Water Gun… I'll get it out of-"

"DAZZLING GLEAM!" Clefairy shouted as a sparkling aura started to circle around her, before waving out her arms as it unleashed right on Squirtle, causing the turtle Pokemon to yelp as it got thrown from a distance.

"Wh- hey!" Gary frowned as he turned to Starfire with a frown. "That was rather unprovoked of your Clefairy, wasn't it? I didn't even hear you yell an attack!"

"Am I supposed to?" Starfire asked, looking confused. "Clefairy here seems to be capable of calling her own attacks."

"What? You're supposed to- Captured Pokemon can't use their own moves unless ordered to. It just makes it look like you poorly trained your Clefairy!" Gary shouted out.

"Poorly trained? HA! Don't make me laugh! I'm perfectly trained! Capable, in fact!" Clefairy said as she beat her chest with a confident look on her face.

Pikachu could only peek out at the Clefairy as he cocked his head at the smirking pink Pokemon. The yellow mouse Pokemon couldn't quite place it, but outside of the dangerous situation, there was something about her… style that intrigued her.

"Well, tell your Clefairy to calm down a bit!" Gary shouted in anger.

"Can't dish it, Gary?" Ash called out with a smirk.

"Shut it, Ashy Boy!" Gary shut his eyes in annoyance.

Starfire gave a sigh before giving a cough. "Clefairy, maybe ease up on the talk and let me command you?"

"Aw, come on, Star! You're just seeing me in action! You know you don't need to call out attacks like this!" Clefairy laughed

"I know, but it seems to be the rules of the game… so maybe just say your moves and I'll try to repeat them?" Starfire requested.

Clefairy seemed to ponder that for a minute. However, as the two were talking, Gary just stood there, flabbergasted as he looked at the conversation between Starfire and Clefairy, as he only heard Starfire repeating Clefairy's name over and over.

"Uhhhhh… what am I looking at here?" Gary asked before turning to Ash, who seemed a bit more intrigued in Starfire's conversation with Clefairy.

"I'm not entirely sure myself, but she seems to have a way with words." Ash shrugged as he looked at her, honestly impressed that Starfire was using Clefairy's language to placate the pink Pokemon.

Gary shut his eyes in annoyance. "Why do I have a bad feeling that I was just TRYING to recruit a SECOND Ash into the group…"

Soon, Starfire gave a nod towards Clefairy as Clefairy gave a wink. Starfire then stood straight as she nodded, "Okay, I got her under control!"

"Y-you do?" Gary asked, before frowning. "Whatever… let's see if you can top this! Squirtle, charge forward and use Tackle!"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle gave a nod before rushing forward.

"Clefairy, dodge and-" Starfire started.

"I'm going for a pound on the head! Who's with me!" Clefairy raised her arm.

"Pound!" Starfire finished calling.

With that, Clefairy piroutted out of the way of Squirtle's incoming charge and landed its small fist on Squirtle's head, causing the tiny turtle Pokemon to yelp as it rubbed its head.

"Squirtle, Withdraw and Bubble!" Gary shouted out.

Squirtle immediately obeyed as it went into its shells and started to blow bubbles from it as it started to lift itself up higher.

"Oh no you don't! Star, say Metronome!" Clefairy smirked as she raised her hands.

"Uh… Metronome!" Starfire called out.

Gary blinked twice. "Metro-what now?"

Clefairy smirked as she waved her arms as she called to mind a move she remembered seeing the other day. "Ah ha! SKY UPPERCUT!"

With that, Clefairy leapt up in the air and pushed Squirtle's shell on the underside, causing the turtle's head, arms and legs to come out as the turtle squealed in pain.

"Um, use the Dazzling Gleam attack!" Starfire called out, trying to remember what she saw Clefairy do earlier.

"Don't say any more!" Clefairy grinned before a fairy-like aura surrounded her once more.

Gary, seeing the attack about to activate once more, yelped as he called out, "Squirtle, try to dodge!"

However, Squirtle seemed a bit too dazed at this moment in time to register Gary's command. As a matter of fact, the pink Pokemon's Dazzling Gleam had activated, blinding the turtle as it fell to the ground, unable to continue the battle.

Ash, watching this, laughed as he got up. "Way to go, Star! You and Clefairy actually did it!"

"We have?" Starfire asked before noting the unconscious turtle as Gary looked a little shocked at this.

Gary blinked twice, before frowning as he pulled out his Poke Ball. "Hmph. You just lucked out, is all…"

As Gary returned Squirtle, Ash ran over and hugged Starfire, causing her to get surprised as she looked down. "Great job, Star!"

"Why… th-thank you, Ash." Starfire said, feeling a blush coming on as she looked down at the young man and smiled.

Gary could only watch the display with an eyeroll. "Please, Ash, if it were anybody else who'd beat me, you'd be congratulating them!"

Starfire frowned as she looked over to Gary. "After everything, and you still have not learned the lesson of friendship?"

"Friendship?" Gary asked as he rolled his eyes.

Ash frowned a bit as he crossed his arms. "Please, like Gary would even KNOW about friendship."

"Well, whatever." Gary frowned as he put away his Poke Balls. "Even if you have beaten me now, just you wait. If we meet again, I'd like a rematch… and I'll be back with a better team! Then, we'll just SEE who's the best!"

He then turned to Ash as he shook his head, "And like I said before, if you think you have any chance in the Pokemon League, you better get going and get badges. Because that's what I'M gonna do! So quite dawdling and get a move on!"

With that, Gary turned around and walked away, causing Ash to frown as he glared at the disappearing form of his rival before him. Starfire looked towards Ash in concern as she put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Ash looked up at her as he slightly calmed down.

"Don't worry about him, Ash. He still does not understand that you are more than what you seem." Starfire said, giving the young boy a smile.

"How can you still have so much confidence in me? I didn't even do the fight with Gary, you did." Ash frowned.

"Maybe so, but…" Starfire sighed. "I know you still have a lot to learn… and so do I… yes, I think I'm beginning to understand how the battle of the Pokemon works, but it would be better if we just learned about it… together?"

"Take it from me!" Clefairy smirked as she approached Ash and Starfire, with Pikachu, now a little calmer, approaching not too far behind. "Even though I'm doing a lot of the work, what Starfire did is admirable. Plus, Gary has yet to understand that this girl is AWESOME and can fight on her own!"

"Come on, Ash!" Pikachu grinned as he jumped up on his friend's shoulder. "Have a little more faith in yourself."

Ash paused slightly, thinking about it, before giving a smile. "If you really think I can… okay!"

"Joy!" Starfire giggled in glee as she stood up. "Sooo… if we're going to be Pokemon Masters… how do we start?"

Ash gave a smirk as he got up. "Though Gary IS a little mean, he is right… if I'm going to do well as a Pokemon Master, we have to get gym badges, but the main question is… where do we first go?"

Starfire paused as she looked at the poster at the lamppost again, and noticed some words. "Hey, Ash, I found a message."

"Huh?" Ash blinked as he looked up and read the message. "'You can do the gyms in any order, BUT it is warned that the Viridian City Gym Leader is a Ground Type specialist, so best be sure to prepare yourself before anything else.'" The young boy's eyes lit up. "A gym in Viridian… then we'll start there first and foremost!"

"Great!" Starfire smiled as she picked up Clefairy. "Then let's get going!"

Ash grinned as he and Starfire, alongside their Pokemon, started to head out on their journey to the first gym… they could hardly wait to see what battle awaits-

"CLOSED?! FOR RENOVATIONS?!"

Ash just stood in front of the gym's doors as a blue haired man in a black uniform stood by the door and looked towards the two people and their Pokemon before them.

"Sorry, kid, but our Gym Leader is busy with a little activity of his own at the time, AND the Gym is getting rebuilt from the inside. I'm afraid he's not in at the moment." The blue haired man explained.

"You've got to be kidding me, right?!" Ash frowned in frustration. "You mean, the Gym Leader's not even HERE right now?!"

"As I've explained, he's currently off on a business meeting, and he'll be back, but gym renovations are going to take a LONG while." The blue haired man explained.

"Well… did he not hire the substitute OR is there another place he is at where we can battle him?" Starfire asked out of curiosity.

"I could tell you where he is, but you'd have to travel to another country, and it doesn't look like you have enough badges to travel." The blue haired man said. "If you really want to get your first badge, I recommend going through Viridian Forest and going to Pewter City's gym. It's a Rock Type gym, but if you can get some good Pokemon in the Forest, you might have a chance."

"Well… do you know when your Gym Leader will be back?" Ash asked.

"Sorry, I don't have all the answers. Now, run along. And don't worry, I'm sure the Gym Leader will let you know when it'll open again." The blue haired man smirked. "Believe me, it'll be worth the hassle."

Ash looked down in disappointment, but gave a nod. "All right, we'll be back."

"We will see you again soon, sir." Starfire said as she and Ash turned around, their Pokemon bounding behind them as they started to walk off.

"Maybe a little sooner than you think…" The blue haired man nodded as he waited until they were fully out of sight. The blue haired man groaned as he pulled off the blue wig, revealing a tuft of purple hair underneath. "Sheesh, it was getting hot in that wig…"

After that, the purple haired man in black pulled out a walkie talkie as he held it close to his mouth. "Giovanni, sir, this is Petrel speaking. That girl you described this morning? She came by with the boy you were talking about earlier. I had to send them on their way, like you requested if they came together."

"No worries, Petrel. You did your job." Giovanni said with a sigh. "Besides, I didn't think it would be THIS easy. Anyway, I have another job for both you AND Proton. I'm already giving Proton the tools, but it's going to be YOUR job to tail these two through the Viridian Forest."

"Got it." Petrel nodded, before pausing. "Although, sir, if I may be so bold to ask… why are you interested in those two?"

"Ohhhh… I have specific reasons." Giovanni stated. "And if I'm correct in one of my assumptions… well, that's a story for ANOTHER time… for now, though, meet up with Proton in the back of the building, and get ready!"

"RIGHT!" Petrel nodded as he put the walkie-talkie back in his pocket and started to run around to the side of the building, giving a sigh. "For all the work I'm doing, this better be worth it…"

Entering out of Viridian City, going a bit through Route 2 AND deep into the Viridian Forest, Ash gave a grumble as he looked down in disappointment. "How do you like that, huh? Here I am, excited to fight the Gym Leader of that town, and he's not even here! He could have at least ordered a substitute."

"I supposed it cannot be helped." Starfire looked down. "I guess leaders of the gym would be busy with their own schedule. After all, they do have their lives."

"Still…" Ash sighed, before giving a shrug. "Oh well, that just gives me more motivation to continue through my journey! And hopefully, Pewter's Gym will just make this great…"

"It would also make the wait for the Viridian Gym Leader the more worth it." Starfire smiled.

"You said it!" Ash smiled before turning his head… and stopping short. "Oh my gosh! Star, look!"

"Huh?" Starfire blinked as she turned her head to see a green worm slithering over, before looking up towards the two humans in curiosity. Clefairy and Pikachu were looking at it as well as Starfire asked, "What is this adorable looking creature?"

"Oh, that's just Caterpie!" Ash grinned as Starfire pulled out her Pokedex. "That's one of the many bug Pokemon that live in Viridian Forest… and a perfect first capture!"

"Caterpie. The worm Pokemon. It releases a stench from its red antennae to repel enemies." Starfire's Pokedex explained as the abilities "Shield Dust and Run Away" appeared under the picture, with the starting moveset, "Tackle and String Shot".

"It is still so adorable!" Starfire smiled as she looked it over. "Awww, so cute!"

Ash smirked as he pulled out one of his Poke Balls. "I already laid eyes on it. I'm catching it."

Starfire, hearing that, frowned as she pulled out one of her own empty Poke Balls. "No, I want it! It just looks too adorable to me!"

"Oh yeah?" Ash frowned.

"Yeah." Starfire narrowed her eyes towards the boy.

"Oh boy…" Clefairy groaned as she noted the angry look of her trainer and Ash's eyes.

"Two trainers butting heads in an attempt to catch a Pokemon they want… this is NOT going to get old fast." Pikachu groaned as he held his head.

Ash and Starfire narrowed their eyes in determination as they locked their eyes on the Bug Pokemon before them. They readied their balls… and before anybody could react, but Ash and Starfire threw the balls right at the Caterpie…

And only one managed to get a successful catch.

And that's it for the time being! Out of Viridian City and into Viridian Forest, and Ash and Starfire are going to be having a small Pokemon catching competition next time! How will that fare, ESPECIALLY when something strange and mysterious suddenly appears out of the woods... something malevolent! And in the meantime, we turn our story back to Blackfire, who comes face to face with ANOTHER problem of her own... Until next time.