Chapter 5

"Stay strong, Fiona!"

Leaf's anxiousness permeated her words.

"Bellsprout!"

The wild Pokemon sent another wave of Razor Leaf toward the poisoned

Flabebe.

Somehow, the little fairy managed to get out of the red zone, but she was constantly losing strength. Poison was a Fairy's weakness.

"Fiona, Fairy Wind!"

Aizen frowned when he saw Leaf do the same mistake again.

The attack hit the bell Pokemon, but this one was determined to not give up. With Fairy attacks being only half as effective against Poison Type, the wild Pokémon was at an advantage.

"May I help her?" Anira worriedly asked.

"It is her battle, Anira." Aizen sighed. "She must go through this on her own. We will help her after it's over."

The two of them continued watching the battle and kept their guards up to interfere if more wild pokemon appear in this clearing.

Leaf was racking her brains to come up with a solution. All the moves that Flabebe knew were revolving in her head. It was a bad match-up from the start. A Poison and Grass Pokemon against a Fairy.

"Bellsprout!"

A blue shimmering miasma erupted from the Pokemon.

She was grateful that it was not another Poison Powder, but soon it clicked to her what it was. It was Sleep Powder.

"Dodge, and instantly Wish!"

Flabebe managed to evade the oncoming wave of miasma and chanted as she used her Wish. The little Fairy's body shined a little, and the effect of Poison Powder lessened, relieving her of some pain.

"Good!" Leaf heaved a sigh of relief. "Hurry up and use Lucky Chant!"

The Fairy managed to complete her chant in time, and the oncoming wave of Razor Leaf missed her.

Lucky Chant was a gamble. She was not sure how many more attacks of Bellsprout would miss their target, but this was an opportunity that she needed.

"Fairy Wind!"

"Again!"

"Once more!"

....

Their battle played out for another two moves before Bellsprout fell unconscious. The gamble paid off, and miraculously, Bellsprout missed more than five attacks due to the Lucky Chant.

"Yay!" Leaf pumped her fist in the air, but colour drained from her face when she saw Fiona drop down and faint as well.

"Fiona!" She ran up to her Pokemon with tears pouring out of her eyes.

"She will be fine." Anira called out Blissey. "Leaf, hurry up and catch Bellsprout!"

Her reminder brought Leaf out of her trance. She pulled off an empty Luxury Ball on her belt and activated it before throwing it in the unconscious Pokemon's direction.

The ball adjusted its trajectory as soon as it discovered a wild pokemon near it. It tapped on the Bellsprout's head, enveloping it in a red light and caging it inside.

Leaf waited with bated breath with each blink of the Pokeball.

"Ping!"

Her shoulders slumped in relief and she took a deep breath. It was her first Pokemon catch. A very special moment.

It was a Pokemon that she wanted, but she did not feel overwhelmed with joy at it. How could she? Her Pokémon had suffered consequences because of her mistakes.

"Do you realise your mistakes?" Aizen walked up to her and patted her head.

Leaf nodded her head.

"I was over-confident."

"And?"

"I should have taken precautions against Poison Powder."

"You wouldn't have seen it coming. That Bellsprout is very sly. Good Catch." Aizen smiled at her. "And your other mistakes?"

"I should have used Lucky Chant from the start. Both Fairy Wind and Vine Whip were Moves that were half effective against Bellsprout. I could have landed considerable damage regardless of it if I got lucky."

"Lucky Chant is a gamble. You never know how many moves the opponent would miss after the first one. But that is not all. You still haven't told me the major mistake you made." Aizen sternly looked at her.

Leaf fidgeted under his gaze, but she could not come up with the mistake that he was referring to.

"What was the only advantage Fiona had over the Bellsprout?"

It finally clicked to her and she embarrassedly lowered her head.

"Bellsprout tend to stay in one place when they are battling and move minimally. Wild pokemon do not have a Trainer to help them control the battle, be their third eye, and guide them. Flabebe did not have that restriction." He explained to her. "The best way to approach the battle was to drag it out. Play Dodge and Tag with it. Drain it of all its energy. Fiona would have outlasted Bellsprout in the end because of her Wish in that battle. And she wouldn't have suffered as much as she did."

Leaf kept her head lowered and tears brimmed in her eyes.

"I am sorry..." She whispered but was cut off.

"Bebe.."

A cute voice called out to her and she ran off to her pokemon that had woken up.

"Bliss has healed her of the Poison. She is completely fine, but she needs rest." Anira calmly told her.

"Mhm.." Leaf gratefully nodded her head to Blissey before planting a kiss on Fiona and calling her inside her Pokeball. "Rest well. I am proud of you." She whispered to it.

Aizen tapped her shoulder and gave her Bellsprout's Pokeball.

"Scan it." He patted her head when she accepted it.

Leaf nodded to him and eagerly scanned the Pokeball.

"Bellsprout, The Poison-Grass Pokemon. Bellsprout is a plant-like Pokémon. The body is a thin brown root and stem system. Bellsprout has two root-like legs. It has two leaves on each side. Its head is yellow and shaped like a bulb, the tip is coloured pink, and it has the smallest amount of dirt on its feet."

"All Bellsprout have the ability Chlorophyll."

"This Bellsprout is Male."

"Moves Known: Wrap, Vine Whip, Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, and Razor Leaf."

"Good Catch!" Anira was impressed.

"Thank you!" She was happy that everything turned out well in the end. She made a promise to herself to grow stronger as a Trainer so that she could save her Pokemon from unnecessary risks.

"This clearing is relatively safe. Let's call it a day and camp here." Aizen looked at the dusky sky and decided. Now that they had a new Pokémon on the team, they could stay a couple of days in the Forest to focus only on the training.

"Kyaaaa!!!!"

The sudden scream startled all of them. It was loud enough to disturb the peace of the Forest. They could already hear the buzzing of the annoyed Beedrill. Someone must have stepped inside their Nest and disturbed their rest.

"Let's go!"

Aizen darted toward the direction the scream came from. Anira and Leaf were right behind him.

He sent waves of Psychic Power in all directions to ward off the approaching wild pokemon, but there were already some angry pokemon engaged in battles.

The trio heard a crackling of electricity as they made it to another clearing where a young boy and girl were surrounded by a nest of Beedrill. An angry Pikachu was trying its best to intimidate the Beedrill, but it was not going to help. They could see two Beedrill unconscious, and the nest was not going to run off without a battle.

Aizen quickly went over his options. There were too many Beedrill for that Pikachu to manage. Even if Eevee helped, it could be dangerous.

"Anira, wrap Leaf."

He exchanged a glance with his little sister and as soon as she nodded, he sent a powerful blast of his Psychic Power.

"Begone!" He growled.

Other than the Trio, everyone including the Bredrill, the two youngsters, and the Pikachu fainted.

Leaf looked at what had transpired in front of her in sheer awe. She never thought that Aizen's Psychic Power was so strong.

Her eyes landed on the duo that they had just saved. And when she took a closer look at the fainted boy, she frowned.

"Ash..."