Chapter 26: Viridian Forest

Viridian Forest.

Known for being the house of Kanto Bug-types, it was one of the most visited places by new trainers. Not only were Bug-types easier to catch, but they were also weak, thus perfect opponents.

"Horsea, use [Smokescreen] to hide."

The Water-horse Pokémon spat out a thick cloud of smoke from its mouth surrounding the nearby area.

"Preeee!"

Pidgey, who was Nessa's opponent, immediately used [Gust] to blow away all the smoke. However, Nessa was already prepared.

"[Water Gun]."

Horsea shot a fully powered torrent of water at the Flying-type, who stopped using [Gust] and dodged the attack.

"Preeeeee!"

The bird flew even higher to escape the range of [Water Gun] with an annoyed look as it was the fifth time this had happened. Every time he tried to get close, its opponent would hide in the [Smokescreen], and if it tried to get rid of it with [Gust], a [Water Gun] would be shot its way.

"Horsea, [Smokescreen], once again."

Nessa looked at the bird flying in the sky. They had been in a battle for the last ten minutes, with no one taking the upper hand. She had met this Pidgey yesterday and had her eyes on it. Not only was the Pidgey stronger than its general species, but it also had a great move pool. Alas, it was not making good use of it.

As the battle continued, Pidgey looked down, trying to find its target. The black smoke made it hard on its eye, but the bird did not give up. It narrowed its large eyes and focused on the black smoke; its gaze focused on the small figure hiding within the [Smokescreen]. Its ability, Keen Eyes, gave it fearsome ocular skills, but the Flying-type was trying to avoid a direct confrontation.

"Preee!"

Having enough of this hide-and-seek, Pidgey kept its eyes on the Horsea and dived in with a [Quick Attack]

"Got you!" Nessa watched as the Pidgey dived down at its fastest speed. "Let's see the results of our training. Horsea, use [Ice Beam]."

Nessa was playing the game of patience with her opponent; the Pidgey had finally lost it's cool and decided to do a head-on confrontation.

Horsea immediately opened its mouth and gathered as much Ice-type energy as possible before firing it at the Pidgey.

"Hor...Seaaaaa!"

"Pree?"

The Flying-type watch as an [Ice Beam] came out of the thick smoke. It tried to dodge, but it was too late, and the [Ice Beam] landed directly on its body.

Boom

The super-effective [Ice Beam] made the Pidgey wince in pain as it dropped down from the sky.

"Horsea, finish this with a [Water Gun]."

The Pidgey had not recovered from the [Ice Beam] when Horsea attacked again. The [Water Gun] hit the falling Pidgey and had it slam into a nearby tree. The bird was unconscious.

"Go, Pokeball!"

Nessa immediately threw one of her Pokeballs at the unconscious Pokemon, which landed right at the Pidgey's head before it absorbed the bird inside.

The girl clenched her hands into a fist as she eyed the Pokeball, slightly shaking.

*Wiggle*

*Wiggle*

*Ding*

"YES!" Nessa punched up in excitement before walking to the Pokeball. "Horsea!" She turned toward her partner. "We caught our second team member."

"Horsea!" The Water-horse Pokémon jumped into Nessa's arms, celebrating the victory.

"Let's check what our new team member looks like."

-0-

[Pidgey

Gender: Female

Ability: Keen Eyes

Innate Moves: Agility, Tailwind, Brave Bird, Air Cutter

Moves: Gust, Tackle (B), Quick Attack (B)

TM: None]

-0-

"That's a great moveset. If it had learned all those moves to Beginner-stage, our chances of winning would have been pitiful."

"Sea Sea."

The sea-horse Pokémon knew how difficult the match would have been if its opponent had been fully trained. However, it did not mean it was afraid.

"Horsea!"

It let out a battle cry showing its spirit. Being Nessa's first Pokémon meant it would be the leader of her future team. How could it let new members be stronger than it?

"Let's check up on Aeron."

Nessa didn't immediately release Pidgey as it could attack her as soon as it was out of the Pokeball. Pokémon caught in the wild was hard to tame and thus were more likely to disobey their trainer.

Horsea and her trainer walked through the dense Viridian Forest. They had come quite far from their camp while chasing the Pidgey, and it took them about ten minutes before they could hear the sounds of their travelling partners.

"Axe Axew!"

"Woof."

"Keep it up, Growlithe."

Nessa walked into the clearing they were camping at and was greeted by the sight of Axew training his tail with a rock tied to it. Occasionally, its small tail would light up in a metallic glow before it quickly died down. She saw an orange puppy training with Aeron some distance from the Dragon.

"Are you teaching it, [Tackle]?" Nessa walked toward Aeron with a smile while Horsea made a beeline for Axew and shot a weak [Bubble Beam] at its friend.

"Sesese."

"Xew!"

The two immediately started brawling with each other.

"Hmm?" Aeron looked toward the girl walking toward him. "Back already? How did it go?"

A Pidgey had come to their camp while they were having breakfast, and Nessa had run after it. He could hear the occasional sounds of battle; he was already anticipating her arrival after they had died.

"What do you think?" Nessa took out a Pokeball and flexed it to Aeron. "It was challenging, but we did it. Horsea is not the best in land battles."

Aeron nodded in understanding before he saw an orange fluff jump at him from the side.

"Not so fast." He smiled and immediately dodged to a side, making the orange puppy miss its target. "Okay, let's rest for now."

"Woof Woof."

"We will continue your training, don't worry." Aeron picked up the sulking orange puppy, who immediately became happy after a few head pats.

"Woof!"

"Did you release it yet?" He turned toward Nessa, who walked over and opened her arms for the Growlithe. The orange puppy immediately jumped into her arms and nudged its head into her chest.

"You are the best doggo ever." Nessa tickled the orange puppy before she stroked its soft fur. She looked at Aeron and replied. "Horsea was a bit tired, and I did not want the Pidgey to attack us and not have a backup."

"Let's meet your new member once everyone is fully rested." Aeron looked toward Axew and Horsea fighting each other; he shook his head and sighed. "They are at it again."

"They can't live a moment without being at each other's throats. Oi., wait..." Growlithe jumped out of her arms before he ran toward the two Pokémon. He immediately ran circles around them while wagging its tale. "Growlithe seems happy to watch them fight."

"It just wants to play with both of them." Aeron looked at the three Pokémon who were now playing tag with each other. "Poor Horsea."

The sea-horse Pokémon was not the best for running on land; thus, it was always chasing after the other two.

"How was your training?" asked Nessa.

"I am making Axew train its tail. The next move I want it to learn is [Iron Tail]. I thought maybe tying a heavy rock to its tail would help." Aeron looked at Axew, who was running around with a rock tied to its tail and then at the orange puppy. "As for Growlithe, it's been just over a week since he was born. Even though he is out of Baby-stage, I don't want to push it much. It has learned [Tackle] but still hasn't trained the move to Beginner-stage. We are close, though."

It was the group's tenth day in Viridian Forest. They had left the next day Growlithe was born and had been camping here for the last few days. Over these days, not only had they trained their moves but also fought many battles with wild Pokémon.

Aeron took out his Pokedex and scanned his two Pokémon; Nessa came closer to him as she checked the stats of Axew and Growlithe.

-0-

[Axew

Gender: Male

Type: Dragon

Ability: Mold Breaker

Innate Moves: Night Slash (B), Iron Tail, Sword Dance, Dragon Dance

Moves: Outrage, Scratch (B), Dragon Claw (B), Leer (B), Scary Face (B)

TMs: Protect (B)]

-

[Growlithe

Gender: Male

Type: Fire

Ability: Intimidate

Innate Moves: Morning Sun, Flare Blitz, Heat Wave, Crunch

Moves: Tackle

TMs: N/A]

-0-

"Show me the move set of Pidgey," Aeron asked, and Nessa immediately scanned the Pokeball bringing up its stats. "That's...one heck of a Pidgey."

"I lucked out. Hopefully, it won't cause much trouble."

"Let's find out."

"Right now?"

"You would be surprised."

Aeron called the three Pokémon playing with each other, and Nessa nodded before throwing Pidgey's Pokeball into the air.

"Preee!"

The Flying-type appeared before the group before it flew and landed on Nessa's head.

"Huh?" The girl was surprised how the Pidgey was not trying to run away.

"Pree." The tiny bird Pokémon shrugged its wings.

"Pidgey line is quite docile, and as long as you defeat them in a fair battle, they will acknowledge you as their trainer." Aeron patted the bird's head and ruffled its feathers. "Had it been a Spearow, it would have been a different story."

Nessa nodded before taking out a health potion from her backpack. "Let's heal your injuries."

"Pree."

The bird Pokémon flew off her head and landed on the ground while Nessa carefully applied potion to her injuries. "Welcome to the team." She patted its head, and the Pidgey did not refuse her care.

"Sea. Horsea."

"Pree."

"Axew!"

"Woof."

The Pokémon introduced each other while the trainers discussed their next action.

"How long are we staying in this forest?" Nessa asked. She knew Aeron wanted a Bug-type Pokémon in his roster.

"Until I find..."

Kyaaa~

Aeron paused and turned his head toward a particular direction. "You hear that?"

"Loud and clear." Nessa looked in the same direction before she commanded. "Guys, get ready for battle. Pidgey scout for us, and Horsea, get ready to engage."

"Axe, take the frontline, and Growlithe, no running around."

"Preeeee!"

The Flying-type took into the air while Horsea charged her [Bubble Beam], ready to launch it anytime while Axew's claws were covered in draconic energy.

The sudden scream was loud enough to disturb the peace of the whole Viridian Forest, startled all of them, and they could hear the buzzing of Beedrills wings. Someone had most likely stepped into their nest knowingly or unknowingly.

"Let's go."

Aeron darted toward the direction scream came from, followed by the rest.

BOOM

An explosion shook the ground, and the group could easily tell it was the work of a Pokémon battle.

"Almost there."

They made it to another clearing where a group of Beedrill surrounded an unconscious orange-haired trainer while a Wartortle tried its best to intimidate the Bug-types. However, Aeron and Nessa saw five unconscious Beedrills some distance from them. There was no way these angry Beedrills would walk away without a fight.

"War. Wartortle"

The Turtle Pokémon gathered Water-type Energy in its mouth before it launched a jet of water at the Beedrill charging at them. However, the Pokémon knew it was fighting a losing battle, but it did not abandon its unconscious trainer and swore to protect her.

"Axew, [Dragon Claw]."

"Horsea, use [Ice Beam], and Pidgey, use [Quick Attack]."

-------------------------End of Chapter-------------------------

Author's Note:

- I was debating whether I should add Misty as a travelling partner and ask you about it. But then I thought otherwise. If I keep asking for the reader's opinions, the story will change from how I planned it, which is not good. I will also only enjoy it if I write how I want. So, I will take suggestions from here on, but the story WILL go my way. People can like or hate it; I will write it my way.

- Thank you for supporting me so far! It means a lot to me.

- Have a wonderful day, you all.

- Peace!