Chapter 12: Touching the Caterpie  

"Um... I just need to close my eyes and do nothing else?" Mia asked nervously.

"Relax. Just do as I say—close your eyes tightly and leave the rest to me. I promise you won't be afraid of them anymore," Gary reassured her, noticing her unease. He gently patted her shoulder to signal that everything would be fine if she followed his instructions.

Hearing Gary's confident tone, Mia didn't say anything more. She took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.

Once she had her eyes shut, Gary took her hand.

"Why are you holding my hand? Are you trying to take advantage of me?!" Mia exclaimed, startled.

"What are you talking about? I'm helping you overcome your fear of Caterpie! Don't scare me like that; you almost gave me a heart attack!" Gary replied, startled by Mia's sudden outburst.

"Do you really need to hold my hand to help me get over my fear of Caterpie? Do you think I'm stupid?" Mia asked, still skeptical, as she opened her eyes and glared at him.

"Seriously, Mia? You've closed your eyes—how do you expect to walk properly if I don't hold your hand?" Gary said, looking at her with a mix of exasperation and amusement.

After hearing this, Mia paused for a moment before saying, "Even so..." and then she closed her eyes again. Seeing this, Gary took her hand again and led her in a specific direction. This time, Mia didn't say anything, but she still trembled slightly when Gary grabbed her hand.

After walking for about half an hour, Gary stopped. In front of them, a green Caterpie was crawling along the ground.

"Why did you stop?" Mia asked, sensing that Gary had halted.

"I've found something to help with your problem, so I stopped. Remember what I said—no matter what happens, don't open your eyes. If you do, I won't be responsible for what happens," Gary warned as he began to walk again, but this time at a much slower pace.

After a few more minutes, Gary stopped again. The green Caterpie was now right in front of them.

"Raise your other hand," Gary instructed Mia.

Mia did as she was told and raised her other hand. Seeing this, Gary guided her hand to gently stroke the back of the Caterpie, moving it back and forth.

Feeling the soft and cool texture on her hand, Mia trembled violently and almost opened her eyes. However, she remembered Gary's instructions and resisted the urge.

"What is this? It feels soft and kind of nice," Mia said curiously after a while.

"Go ahead, open your eyes and take a look. But be prepared," Gary replied with a smile.

"Hmm?" Mia hesitated, but then she thought about the texture she had just felt. Hearing Gary's warning to be prepared, she started to piece things together. "Could it be...?" she began, her suspicion growing.

"You guessed it—you've been touching what you think," Gary confirmed.

Mia's body suddenly stiffened as she realized what she had been touching. She tried to pull her hand away, but Gary held it firmly.

"Gary! This was your plan?!" Mia shouted, glaring at him as she opened her eyes.

Perhaps startled by her sudden anger, the green Caterpie quickly sped up and disappeared in an instant.

"Don't get upset. Think about how you felt when you touched the Caterpie—were you afraid?" Gary asked calmly, looking at Mia.

"I wasn't afraid, and I even felt a bit happy... but that's not the point! Is this really the method you think will help me overcome my fear of Caterpie?" Mia admitted. Though she wasn't scared, she was still dissatisfied with Gary's approach.

"I couldn't think of any other way. Your fear of Caterpie is clearly psychological. Directly confronting it by touching one is the best way to solve it," Gary said, spreading his hands helplessly.

"But you shouldn't have just made me touch the Caterpie—it's too risky! What if it made things worse instead of better?" Mia argued, still somewhat dissatisfied but understanding that Gary had a point. Her problem was psychological, and facing her fear head-on was indeed the most effective method.

"I didn't think about that, and I apologize. It was my mistake. But in the end, it worked, right? You managed to overcome your fear. Can we move on now?" Gary smiled, apologizing sincerely.

Mia stayed silent for a moment. She had initially wanted to scold Gary further, but seeing his apology, she felt too embarrassed to continue. She waved her hand dismissively, "Forget it. At least the result was good. Let's get going."

With that, she turned around to start packing up. Watching her leave, Gary patted his chest and muttered, "Good thing I apologized quickly; otherwise, she would have been really mad at me."

As they continued on their journey, they encountered several Pokémon, most of them as common as Caterpie. However, along the way, Charmander leveled up to level 5, which made Gary very pleased.

"We've been walking for a while. Let's take a break. We're not going to get out of Viridian Forest anytime soon, so what do you think?" Mia asked, wiping the sweat off her face.

"Sounds good. Let's rest and grab something to eat. You sit here and relax—I'll go find some food," Gary agreed, looking around before nodding. He then asked Mia to sit down and rest while he went to gather food.