Pokémon Hyper Deluxe: Cherry Red and Neon Green Versions

Chapter 4 "There's Something Bugging Me About This Place"

Written by Reginald Cosmic

Narrator: On her journey to becoming the Indigo League Champion, Alexis continues through the tricky Viridian Forest in hope of challenging the Pewter City Gym Leader. Now that she's journeyed deeper into the forest, she will soon find that there are many obstacles in her way.

Having finished her picnic with her party, Alexis said, "All right, guys, breakfast is over. It's time to head towards the north end of the forest. Get back into your Pokeballs." Alexis recalled everyone except her Pikachu nicknamed Tokyo.

"Tokyo, that means you too. Come on now, please get in the ball." Reluctantly, Tokyo obeyed and allowed itself to be recalled into the Pokeball.

Alexis began exploring more of the forest beyond just the southernmost portion. She started finding items lying on the ground, and she decided that they were "finders, keepers."

…

Alexis found herself walking quite a way north, staying out of the tall grass for the moment. Soon enough, she made eye contact with another trainer. It was a young Bug Catcher, a hobbyist Pokémon Trainer in the area.

"Hey! You have Pokémon!" said the But Catcher. "Come on! Let's battle 'em!"

"All right, but I won't go easy on you," she said.

The two of them then made room for the battle.

"My name's Rick, and I'm from Viridian City. I'm confident in my Bug Pokémon."

"I'm Alexis Huron from Pallet Town, and I'm on my journey to becoming the champion!"

Bug Catcher Rick, as a simple hobbyist, got a bit nervous upon hearing this, "All right." He sent out his first Pokémon. "Go, Weedle!"

"Go, Tokyo!" Alexis sent her Pikachu out to battle the Bug/Poison-type Pokemon Weedle.

"Tokyo, use Thundershock," said Alexis.

Tokyo/Pikachu used Thundershock, but it didn't do too much damage.

"That thing's fast," said Rick in surprise. "Weedle, use String Shot,"

The enemy Weedle used string shot, an attack that does not deal damage but does wrap the foe in sticky webbing, to lower Tokyo/Pikachu's speed.

"Pikachu, use another thundershock," yelled Alexis.

"Use poison sting, Weedle."

The Weedle shot out a glob of poison at Tokyo/Pikachu. It didn't deal much damage, but the attack poisoned Tokyo/Pikachu.

"Oh, dear," said Alexis.

Tokyo/Pikachu then attacked with its Thundershock. It still didn't do much damage, but the enemy Weedle was now at half its health.

Tokyo/Pikachu was hurt just a bit by the poison.

"That's gonna be a problem," said Alexis. "Tokyo, get back," said Alexis as she recalled her Pikachu to his Pokeball. "Thank you."

Alexis got out the Pokéball containing her next Pokemon for this battle. "Go, Venice!"

Venice/Squirtle was sent out next. It was happy to be in a trainer battle.

"Weedle, use String Shot again," said the Bug Catcher.

Venice/Squirtle's speed fell.

"Venice, use Bubble."

Venice/Squirtle, being so much stronger and experienced than the foe, naturally moved first with its attack of water bubbles.

The enemy Weedle fainted and was recalled.

Squirtle stuck its tongue out at the trainer before it. Alexis began to recall Venice/Squirtle, "All right, Venice, that's enough showing off."

Bug Catcher Rick pondered, "All right, I only got one other Pokemon with me today."

Alexis and Rick threw their Pokeballs at the same time.

"Go, Honolulu," said Alexis.

"Go, Caterpie," said Rick. "Wow, I didn't know you had bugs on your team. Hey, can I get a picture with my camera?"

Alexis paused for a moment and thought about it. "Sure," she replied.

"This one looks really nice," the young boy said before he photographed it. "It looks like it's pretty experienced."

"Yeah, I wanted to catch one with a lot of experience. I'm doing Professor Oak a favor."

"Oh, yeah, you said you were from Pallet Town, where the Pokémon Professor lives. That makes sense.

Alexis continued, "He wants me to fill out a high-tech encyclopedia called a PokéDex, so I want to get my Weedle and Caterpie to evolve into Kakuna and Metapod and then Beedrill and Butterfree."

"That makes sense," said the boy. "Say, what's a Beedrill?"

Alexis mistook this for a low-effort joke and laughed. "… You're serious?"

Alexis and Bug Catcher Rick continued their battle.

"Caterpie, use …"

Before Rick could give a command, Alexis recalled Honolulu. "That's enough. I just want the experience." Alexis then sent out her Spearow. "Go, Seattle!"

"Is that a flying-type?" asked Rick.

"Yes, a normal/flying-type actually" said Alexis.

"Oh…" said Rick. He then said in a normal indoor speaking voice, "Caterpie, use uhhhh. Rick tried to feign confidence and yelled, "Stop it with string shot."

Rick's Caterpie begrudgingly used String Shot to lower Seattle/Spearow's speed.

"All right, Seattle, use Peck," commanded Alexis.

Seattle/Spearow used Peck and finished off Caterpie with one attack.

"No!" said Rick. "Caterpie can't hack it!"

Alexis recalled her Pokemon, but she noticed one of her Pokeballs glowing. Caterpie popped out of its Pokeball and glowed a bit. "Wow, my first Pokemon evolution," said Alexis.

Caterpie continued to glow. It began to glow solid white, then it morphed into the Pokémon Metapod.

Alexis walked up to Rick to accept her prize money and said, "That was a great battle!"

"Shhhhhh," said Rick, "you're scaring the bugs away. Another time, all right?"

Alexis lowered her voice, "Sorry, I was excited. Say, did someone named Zach come through here?"

"Another time, all right?" said Rick.

Alexis then used an antidote on her Pikachu to cure it of poisoning.

"Oh, I almost forgot: the PokéDex entry!"

Rick in the background was very annoyed. "Does this girl ever shut up?" he said out of ear shot.

"Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon. Even though it is encased in a sturdy shell, the body inside is tender. It can't withstand a harsh attack. The shell covering this Pokémon's body is as hard as an iron slab."

Alexis went and continued training her Pikachu, Metapod, and Weedle.

…

After a lot more training, she passed by another young Bug Catcher, one sporting a little acoustic guitar.

"Yo!" said the Bug Catcher. "You can't jam out if you're a Pokémon trainer."

"Excuse me?" asked Alexis.

"I'm Bug Catcher Doug, and I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

"Oh, is that all?" said Alexis, "All right, I accept your challenge."

They made room for battle, and Alexis said, "I'm Alexis from Pallet Town, and I'm ready for battle."

"I'm Doug … from Pewter City… and I'm ready for battle too," said Dough. "Check it out, I can summon bug Pokémon to fight for me with this guitar." He attempted to summon them with an A Major chord, but nothing happened. He was not happy that the three wild Pokemon he trained with the guitar had wandered off to never be seen again. "Haha, no I can't," he said trying to save face, "I was just joking."

"Hmm," said Alexis confused.

"Weedle, go!" said Doug.

"Go, Tokyo," said Alexis.

"Weedle, use—"

Tokyo then returned to its Pokeball. "All right, that's enough," said Alexis. "Go, Seattle."

"Uh," said the Bug Catcher, distraught at the sight of a bird, "use… uh, Poison Sting?"

Weedle lobbed Poison Sting at Spearow, but thankfully, Seattle/Spearow did not get poisoned.

"Phew," said Alexis. Alexis yelled, "Spearow, hit 'em with Peck!"

Seattle/Spearow knocked Weedle out with Peck.

Doug recalled Weedle. "Go, Kakuna," said Doug.

"Go, Paris," said Alexis. Paris/Rattata was sent out.

"Paras?!" Doug stopped in surprise, "Where? Where?"

"No, Paris, as in…" Alexis started to explain, "actually, forget it. Rattata, use Quick Attack."

"Kakuna, use Harden," said Bug Catcher Doug.

Kakuna used Harden. Its defense rose.

This led to an odd stalemate where Paris/Rattata's Quick Attack did less and less damage as the Kakuna used harden three more times. Finally, Rattata scored a critical hit and knocked out Kakuna.

"That was great, Rattata," said Alexis, "You deserve a rest." Alexis recalled Paris/Rattata.

Both trainers sent out their Weedle next.

"Hey, that's a pretty good looking Weedle," said Doug.

"Did you seriously catch three Weedle?" asked Alexis.

"No, dummy, I caught two Weedle and a Kakuna," answered Doug.

"Yeah, but…" Alexis stopped and got distracted by the thought. "All right, Weedle, get back. Go, Venice!"

"Is that a Squirtle?"

Within less than a minute, Weedle was knocked down and out on the ground. Bug Catcher Doug got 84 Pokémon Dollars in change ready and mumbled, "I really wish I had those other Pokémon now…"

Alexis then found another of her Pokémon evolving. "Wow, busy day," said Alexis. Weedle glowed bright and evolved into Kakuna.

Alexis checked the new information. The PokeDex spoke, "Kakuna, the Cocoon Pokémon. Almost incapable of moving, this Pokémon can only harden its shell to protect itself when it is in danger. However, on the inside, it is extremely busy as it prepares for its coming evolution. This is evident from how hot the shell becomes to the touch."

"This totally stinks," said Doug. "My Pokémon all lost, and yours evolved. I'm going to catch stronger ones."

"Did a trainer named Zach come by here," asked Alexis.

"Yeah, that kid had a Bulbasaur and the Viridian City gym badge. His Pidgey made short work of my team."

…

Alexis walked up to a bug catcher out of the way of the path to Pewter City. She said, "Hello, do you like Pokémon battling?"

Bug Catcher Anthony of Pewter City replied, "I might be little, but I won't like it if you go easy on me."

…

Bug Catcher Anthony upon losing responded, "Enjoy your prize money, miss…"

…

Alexis soon ran into a bug catcher staring at the northern-most border of Viridian Forest. "I wonder what that guy's doing?" she said as she stared from a distance.

Alexis walked up to the boy and said, "Hey, what's up?"

"Did you know some Pokémon evolve?"

Soon enough, the boy was ready for a battle. "I'm Bug Catcher Charlie of Pewter, and I raise cocoons. Go, Metapod!"

Alexis sent out her Metapod, "Go, Honolulu."

"Who the heck names their Metapod Honolulu?! Can that thing even use Harden?"

Alexis replied, "Sure, it just learned it. Metapod, use Harden."

Honolulu/Metapod used Harden, which raised its physical defense.

"Metapod, don't let that chump and her loser Metapod outdo you. Use Harden."

Alexis soon found herself in a contest to see whose Metapod could reach peak hardness.

…

"Honolulu, keep going with Harden," she said as Honolulu/Metapod used Harden a sixth time.

"Metapod, harden twice as hard," said Charlie as his Metapod raised its defense once more.

Both Metapod were now flexing four times their usual physical defense by virtue of having raise their defense by six stages.

Honolulu/Metapod used Harden once more, but its defense wouldn't go higher. "Oh, whoops, I got carried away."

"Metapod, use Harden," said Charlie. Nothing changed. "Hey, what gives?! Are you cheating?"

Alexis said, "I actually forgot Pokémon have a finite limit of how much they can raise their stats with moves. Both our Metapod raised its stats six times, so both their defense's are up six stages. It can't go higher."

"You just made that up!" said Charlie.

"Whatever," said Alexis as she recalled Honolulu.

"Huh?" Charlie stopped in surprise at this information.

"Get ready. Go, Pikachu!"

The Pokeball anticlimactically opened up with a note attached. "I got tierd of your aimless shannoniggans and went out four some Poker with the boys. Be back soon! Love, Tokyo."

By this point, Tokyo the Pikachu had wandered 30 meters (about 33 yards) west and was playing Poker with some other Pikachu. Tokyo laid down a full house of three queens and two eights and grabbed the pot of electrified Pecha berries.

Alexis yelled, "Pikachu, get over here right now!"

Tokyo showed up to the battle with its Pecha berries.

Alexis responded, "Yeah, nice haul there. They're all burnt and useless! Get in there and use thundershock."

"Ha!" said Charlie. "Did somebody forget about my Metapod's defenses."

Pikachu used thundershock and knocked out the enemy Metapod with a critical hit.

"What? Impossible!" yelled.

Alexis explained "Harden only raised Metapod's physical defense. Its special defense was unaffected, so Pikachu had no problem defeating it."

"Oh, no…" said Charlie with dark spots under his eyes all at once.

…

Charlie ended up losing the battle with his Kakuna and his other Metapod, but he handed over part of his allowance as prize money. "Bug Pokemon evolve quickly. They're a lot of fun!" he remarked.

Just then, Honolulu's Pokeball started to glow again, and the Metapod popped out of its ball.

"Oh, wow, it's already reaching its final form!" said Alexis.

Honolulu did indeed evolve into Butterfree in front of Alexis and Charlie's eyes, and as a bonus, Butterfree learns Confusion.

Alexis checked her PokeDex again.

"Butterfree, the butterfly Pokémon. In battle, it flaps its wings at great speed to release highly toxic dust into the air. The wings are protected by rain-repellent dust. As a result, this Pokémon can fly about even in rain."

"Well, the sun's beginning to set," said Alexis, "I best be on my way."

Alexis began running through the forest through the zigzagging path to the northern exit of Viridian Forest, but she was stopped by another trainer.

"Hey! Why the hurry? What's the rush?" he called.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there," said Alexis.

They soon got ready for battle.
"I won't lose! Get ready for the wrath of Sammy from Pewter City."

Alexis then said, "Sure, I'm Alexis from Pallet Town. Here goes nothing!"

Alexis sent out Butterfree against Bug Catcher Sammy's only Pokémon: a relatively experienced Weedle (which he had stopped form evolving).

Sammy saw the writing on the wall. He paused. "Just get it over with!"

Honolulu the Butterfree used the psychic-type move Confusion against Weedle. A small ball of psychic energy assaulted Weedle for Super Effective damage.

After handing over some prize money, Sammy responded, "Sometimes you can find stuff on the ground. It's normally fair game for trainers to take such things, but can you maybe help me find the pecha berries I dropped. I had a whole punch of them."

Alexis got a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, I really must be going."

Alexis continued north and exited Viridian Forest.

"Wow, Pewter City…" said Alexis a bit surprised to see that it was larger than she expected. "All right, first gym badge, here I come!"

Narrator: Alexis has gotten a taste of what it's like to battle other Pokémon Trainers. Hopefully she can keep this winning streak up. Will she succeed against the Gym Leader of Pewter City. Find out next time!

Author's Notes: Well, I've started publishing stories in 2025. I apologize for not getting this chapter out sooner. I wanted to have it and Ch 5 ready for the end of 2024, but I got a little distracted in December. Thanks for reading the story thus far. Please consider leaving a review. Stay safe out there, guys.