Viridian Forest.

I wasn’t thrilled about being here. I’ve had a really bad phobia of insects, Pokemon or not, ever since back in preschool when I went to the bathroom and ran into a wild Beedrill. How a Beedrill got in the bathroom, I’ll never know, but it did, and I was terrified by it.

Plus, all I had was a Mankey with me. Fighting type Pokemon don’t have too many good moves to beat Bug types. We were at a disadvantage, here.

For the smallest second I thought of Charmander. As a Fire type, it had a huge advantage to beat Bug types. What Charmander? I thought angrily. I don’t own a Charmander. Never have. I shook my head and turned to Mankey. “Well, Mankey, here goes nothing.”

Mankey was hanging from my back, his arms around my neck. Swiftly, he leaped off of me and into the trees, relieving me of his weight. He stared at me as he jumped and up down on a branch excitedly, waiting to follow me.

With a smile, my eyes scanned the forest as we walked, hoping to get out as soon as possible.

Mankey swung on the tree vines after me, happy as ever, sticking close by.

“Hey, Mankey,” I said softly but clearly to him, my eyes on the ground as I squinted against the sun streaming through the tree branches and leaves, dotting the area like tiny flashlights and poking at my face.

Mankey glanced at me as he stood on a tree branch, waiting for me to get a little distance ahead of him before he proceeded swinging.

“I had a bad experience when I was younger with a Bug Pokemon, so I’m really not very fond of them. I want to get out of this forest as soon as possible, so, what do you say we try to keep an eye out and avoid them?”

Mankey grunted in agreement.

We moved slowly to not disturb any Bug Pokemon, but swiftly enough to get around quickly. The instant we saw it, both me and my Pokemon froze.

A tree covered in Kakuna! From the bottom of the trunk to the high tops of the branches, Kakuna were everywhere! None of them were moving. They all were just looking ahead in silence.

I knew just what this Pokemon was. Pulling out my Pokedex, I scanned them anyway.

Kakuna. The Cocoon Pokemon. The evolved form of Weedle. This Pokemon is nearly incapable of moving at all. However, in some cases, they can extend a poison bard to attack enemies. This is middle stage for Weedle before evolving into the highly dangerous Beedrill.

Turning to Mankey, I put one finger to my lips and motioned for him to slowly keep moving, away from the tree. We crept along and once we were a safe distance away, I stopped.

My goal. My promise to catch them all. All one thousand Pokemon. I promised my mom I would. I had to.

“Mankey, we have to go back,” I told him sternly.

Mankey stared at me for a moment, then happily hopped up and down on the branch he was on in agreement.

Something suddenly fell out from the tree! Right before my feet landed a Weedle!

“Oh, wow! Look, Mankey!” Whipping out my Pokedex, I scanned Weedle.

Weedle. The Hairy Bug Pokemon. They eat mainly leaves everyday in preparation for their evolution. Though slow moving, they use the sharp stinger on their heads masterfully.

I hated this Bug with a passion, but I had to capture it. “Mankey, go!”

Mankey flew from the treetops and landed in front of the Weedle.

Weedle backed up a little, stood up and arched its back, and then it leaped forward, stinger aimed at Mankey!

“Mankey, move!”

Mankey dodged just in time, keeping its eyes on Weedle.

Weedle turned for another Poison Sting attack.

“Mankey, dodge again! Then use your Fury Swipes!” I ordered.

Mankey moved swiftly and then hit the Bug with a flurry of swipes from his paws, knocking the Bug into the distance a few feet away.

“Mankey, use Leer!”

Mankey’s eyes glowed red and Weedle started to back away, whining.

Leer attack lowers the opponent’s Defense stat, so any following physical attack was going to deal a lot more damage.

“Karate Chop, now!”

Mankey flew forward with a strong chop of his hand and Weedle flew through the air, crying out until it hit a tree trunk.

My hand dug through my pocket and came out with a tiny red and white ball. I pressed the button of the object which caused it to grow in size and gave it a quick squeeze before tossing it at the poisonous Weedle. “Poke Ball, go!”

Weedle squealed as the Poke Ball bounced off of it and then opened in midair.

A red beam flew out from the Poke Ball and hit Weedle, turning the Pokemon into red energy and sucking it inside. The ball closed and hit the ground, the center button of the ball a sharp red as it shook hard.

The Poke Ball continued shaking.

Shaking.

Shaking.

Ping!

The red glow from the button faded to white.

Weedle was captured!

I walked over to the Poke Ball and hesitantly picked it up. It was still gross to me that a Weedle was inside. “You did great, Mankey!” I told him, beaming proudly. “Our first caught Pokemon.”

Mankey jumped up and down with pleased screeches and grunts.

I guess I should introduce Weedle officially to the team, I considered. With a deep breath, my hand with the Poke Ball in it extended, “Weedle, come out!”

The Poke Ball opened and sent out a white beam that hit the ground and took form. When the light disappeared, Weedle was visible. “Wee.” It looked up at me.

Mankey walked over to it and started grunting and sniffing it, hopping around it in circles.

Inhaling deeping, I hesitantly kneeled down to Weedle, and our eyes met. “Hi,” I smiled nervously at the gross creature. “My name is Gary and this is my Pokemon, Mankey. You put up quite a good fight, but now, you’re on my team. Our goal is to continue to grow stronger and take over the Pokemon world. How do you feel about traveling with us and helping us on our journey?”

Weedle cocked its head at me. It seemed a bit confused, but then it cried out happily and nodded. Right after that, it started to crawl on my leg!!!

“AAAHHH!!!” I screamed and leaped to my feet, kicking out my leg the Bug was on.

Weedle flew off my leg and hit the ground, its eyes closed.

“Sorry, Weedle! I just... need some space,” I managed.

Mankey leaped at me, taking me by surprise, and he hung from my neck with his arms, nearly toppling me instantly.

Weedle looked at us, first in surprise, and then its eyes started to water and it cried very loudly for such a small insect.

“Wait, Weedle, you don’t understand!” I pleaded.

Weedle cried harder and crawled away, faster than I expected it to.

I started after it until I heard the noise that made me freeze. Something was close. A buzz? Yes. An undeniable buzz. But it couldn’t be… “Weedle!” I looked for it, but it was gone! “Damn it! Weedle, where are you?” I was getting angry, but mainly because I had a bad feeling about what that buzz might be. I didn’t have to wait much longer to find out exactly what was producing the sound.

An entire swarm of Beedrill burst through the trees, buzzing furiously and glaring down at Mankey and I! The enormous bees with stingers the size of my head on their arms and end of their bodies. The most terrifying Pokemon of them all, to me.

“Mankey, return!” I recalled Mankey inside of his Poke Ball and ran as the bees swarmed at me. Diving into trees, ducking, and doing every frantic maneuver I could to escape the deadly swarm was futile, and I knew it.

This was their forest. There was nowhere for me to hide.

I found myself in a huge clearing, where I saw something that filled me with hope. A cabin! But an instant later, my heart sunk. It looked deserted and ready to collapse on itself, as if nobody had been in the place in years! And it was filled with enormous holes, like… a swarm of Beedrill had attacked it!

Had other stupid, loud Trainers like me been around this forest, screaming and ticking off the vicious Pokemon? Had they run into this cabin for safety, back when it wasn’t a destroyed mess? Did they get out alive?

Will I?

I ran up to the cabin and turned to my opponents. There was no place for me to escape. Maybe this Pokemon Trainer life really isn’t for me, I realized.

“Butterfree, Sleep Powder, now!”

An enormous Butterfly Pokemon appeared from the sky and flew high above us all, a blue powder sprinkling from its wings. The powder fell around the swarm of Beedrill who all began to drop.

I looked from the Pokemon toward the voice that commanded the Bug and saw her.

She had a frown on her face and looked to be about my age or just older. “Are you more retarded than a Slowpoke or are you out here with a deathwish?” She spoke with a very deep southern accent.

“Huh??” I was dumbfounded. “I-”

“-am stupid?” she interrupted. “Yes, quite so. Running around Viridian Forest like a dimwit, making noise and such. You idiot!”

I had no idea what to say.

“Next time, you’re on your own.” Her face got even nastier. “Get on out of here! To Viridian or Pewter or wherever you’re headed. It’s getting late. And don’t let me catch you ‘round these parts again, you understand me?”

Her accent was so pleasant, even though she was yelling at me. Her brown hair was in one long braid and wrapped behind her head and down and around her neck, sitting on her left shoulder. She was very pretty, but clearly had issues.

I don’t go around starting issues with deadly Pokemon for fun.

Her Butterfree flew over and landed on her right shoulder, and I took out my Pokedex.

Butterfree. The Butterfly Pokemon. Caterpie’s final stage after evolving into Metapod. This Pokemon’s wings are covered in multiple types of dust that are released in battle to cause multiple effects on its opponents.

I swept the Pokedex over to the now sleeping Beedrill.

Beedrill. The Poison Bee Pokemon. This Pokemon is extremely dangerous. Approaching it is not recommended. They often attack in large swarms, but even alone, it will take on any opponent.

“You sure are a noob of a Trainer,” the girl said to me with a sneer. She rolled her eyes as she turned to walk away.

“Hey, wait!” I called after her. “Who are you, anyway? How’d you even know I was out here?”

She stopped, but didn’t turn back to face me. “You’re in the middle of the infamous Viridian Forest screaming and causing a commotion. I only naturally came to see what the fuss was. I was on my way out of here myself. A bunch of Beedrill fly past me and I come to see some idiot getting chased by them. Who I am is none of your business. Where are you from, kid?”

“I’m from Pallet Town,” I replied. “You?”

“Again, none of your business,” she said snottily. “Go back to Pallet. If you keep on like this you’re gonna end up dead.”

“I have to get to Pewter City,” I explained. “I have a really bad fear of insects, so I kind of-”

She laughed shrilly, looking back at me. “Afraid of bugs?? And you come straight to Viridian Forest??” She laughed again.

“Well, how else am I supposed to get to Pewter City?” I asked angrily. “And besides, my goal is to become a Pokemon Master. I can’t just avoid my fears if I want to master all Pokemon.”

She burst out laughing once more. “Kid, if you’re afraid of bugs, you need to go right back to Pallet. Now! There are much worse things out there than weak little Bug Pokemon.” She let out another string of laughter.

“Hey, Bugs aren’t weak!” I argued. “They can be strong! Every Pokemon has its place!” I was starting to get angry.

“Bugs are the weakest of all Pokemon.” She squinted at me. “I hate the things.”

I stared at her Butterfree, who stared back at me. Butterfree was a Bug and Flying type Pokemon.

“Don’t stare at my Butterfree like that,” she growled and actually took a step forward.

My heart skipped a sharp beat.

“Bug Pokemon are weak. They can battle alright, but in the end, for everything a Bug can do, there is always something that can do the job better.”

Her attitude was only getting me more impatient with her. Maybe she just didn’t know better. She could just be speaking from ignorance. It is true that Bugs aren’t the best Pokemon type out there, but they could more than pull through in combat when used right. She walked away from me again and I let her.

I better get out of here before the Beedrill wake up, I remembered, and looked to the threat I had managed to avoid, but then also remembered my Weedle. I need to find it. Somehow. I crept past the Beedrill as silently, carefully, slowly yet urgently, as I could. Once past them, I walked like normal, not knowing where I was going or where I was, but at the moment, my only concern was finding my Weedle. I had hurt its feelings. I wanted to call out for my Weedle but I didn’t want to start another swarm riot again, so I stayed quiet. Maybe Mankey can make this search a little easier, I wondered, and stopped and grabbed his Poke Ball to send him out.

Mankey danced with delight around my feet, freed from his Poke Ball.

“Mankey,” I whispered after kneeling down to him, causing him to stop in front of me and listen. “I lost Weedle back there, so please, can you help me locate it? Quietly?”

Mankey grunted quietly and took to the treetops. He sniffed the air and began swinging from branches.

I followed behind, running as carefully as I could.

Mankey moved with great speed from tree to tree, getting far ahead of me. He then jumped and landed on his feet, stopping in front of something.

When I caught up to the monkey, I gasped happily at the sight of the Weedle in front of him! “Weedle,” I said quietly. “I’m so sorry-”

Mankey shook his head at me hard.

“Huh?”

Mankey grunted at Weedle.

Weedle stared from Mankey, to me, and back to Mankey. “Weeeeedlllllle!” It then slithered off through the trees.

“Mankey?” I asked him.

Mankey just shook his head before jumping into the treetops again and looked around.

I guess that wasn’t my Weedle, I assumed.

Mankey started swinging again, leaving me to chase after him. Before long, Mankey had landed before another tiny creature that, as I got closer, I recognized as another Weedle. My Mankey talked to the Bug for a while, the Weedle responding back in turn, and finally, Mankey looked up to me and nodded excitedly.

Weedle had its head down, looking sad.

This must be my Weedle, I knew. I took a step closer and sat next to it. “Weedle, I’m so glad I found you. I’ve been looking hard for you all this time with Mankey. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings earlier. You see, I kind of have a really bad fear of insects. When I was a little kid, I ran into a Beedrill and I was terrified. That experience with a Bug type stuck with me and kind of has me shaken over insects in general. I know a lot of people are afraid of Bug types. It must be hard for you to naturally look and be one way and have others be so afraid of you. But you know that isn’t your fault, right?”

Weedle let out a low, weak cry.

“Please, forgive me for how I acted earlier, Weedle,” I begged. “I really want to be your friend. That’s why I’m here! I want us to be close. When I left for my Pokemon journey, I made a promise to my mom that I would capture every Pokemon in the world. Did you know that there are practically, like, a thousand different kinds Pokemon in existence?”

Weedle finally looked up to me, a look of awe in its eyes.

“And probably many more,” I continued. “I promised my mom I would catch them all. And that includes you. But, I also promised to be a Pokemon Master. That means more than just catching Pokemon. That means making friends and bonding with them, too. Understanding them, respecting them, and earning their respect.”

Weedle was listening intently. Or so it seemed.

“Weedle, please, allow me to work with you and I will do everything to understand and know the great Pokemon you are and together, we’ll be best friends, too! Please, Weedle. Give me another chance. Give me time. Let’s try to do this together. I welcome you to stay with my team. Join up with me and Mankey. Let’s go on the road to becoming the greatest the world has ever seen. Will you travel with me, Weedle?”

Weedle’s eyes watered before it started bouncing up and down in the air joyfully.

I smiled. Sure, I found this Pokemon to be a disgusting, gross, and completely creepy Bug, but it was my friend. My Pokemon. And, in a way, I kind of liked it. “Thank you, Weedle,” I told it happily as I stood up. “Well, Mankey, Weedle is back!”

Mankey leaped as high as it could with delight, screaming loudly.

“SSSHHHH!!” I raised a finger to my lips.

Mankey quieted down immediately and stood still.

“Let’s just get out of this forest,” I said nervously, looking around us. “I’ve had about enough of it here. Mankey, can you find the original path we were on before those Beedrill attacked us?”

Mankey climbed a tree and stood on the branches high up, looking around. He jumped from his spot and into another tree’s branches.

“Come on, Weedle.” I almost ran after Mankey, but after a couple of steps, I stopped and looked back.

Weedle was crawling through the grass in that disturbing manner that bugs maneuver, which gives me the shivers. It also wasn’t moving very quickly at all.

“Um…” Sighing, I held out its Poke Ball. “Return!” I returned Weedle back and ran after Mankey.

As we got through the forest, I noticed the sky above. The sun was still out when we met that girl with the Butterfree. But now, it was setting. It would be dark in no time at all.

I began to get worried. “Mankey!” I called.

Mankey stopped swinging, hanging from a branch by one hand.

“Mankey, are you sure you know where we are?”

Mankey looked around sharply, and then turned to me and gave me a few feeble grunts.

I had a bad feeling he didn’t know where we were. “Great,” I muttered. “Wait, Weedle would know this forest!” I held out Weedle’s Poke Ball, sending out the Bug again. “Weedle, please. How do we get out of here?”

Weedle moved in a small circle, observing what was around it. Our eyes met again. “Weeeeedle!” it said. Then it just stared at me.

I stared back.

It sat completely still.

I blinked a couple of times expectantly.

It didn’t budge.

I inhaled uncomfortably.

I heard what sounded like a Hoothoot in the distance.

“Weeeedle!” Weedle repeated.

Great. It doesn’t seem to have any idea of where we are, either, I realized in dismay, my shoulders slumped. “Thanks anyway, Weedle,” I huffed and looked away. “Now what?”

Mankey was still looking around in the trees for a way out.

“I’m getting hungry.” Me and Mankey hadn’t eaten all day. I had bought some Pokemon food from the Poke Mart located in the Pokemon Center back in Viridian City. “Mankey, time to eat.”

Mankey leaped from his spot and landed next to me, hopping up and down in circles around me.

I opened the bag of Pokemon food I had and poured it into a little bowl I had also purchased.

Mankey hungrily dove into the bowl.

I laughed a bit and took a piece of food from the bag. “You want?” I offered the food to Weedle.

Weedle sniffed it and shook its head. It crawled up a tree and began snacking on leaves.

Of course, I nodded. The Pokedex said it did that. Cheaper on my quickly emptying pockets, I guess. I grabbed one of the snacks my mom left for me, a bag of chips, and ate greedily.

Our time to enjoy a long overdue feasting was interrupted when we all heard the grass rustle and looked in the same direction.

Who is that? I wondered. I couldn’t see anything.

The rustling returned.

“Who’s there?” I shouted. “Girl with that Butterfree? Is it you?”

No response.

I stood up. “Who are you?” My palm instantly slapped my forehead. Gotta shut up!! Unless I want more Beedrill swarms.

Mankey started sniffing the air. Growling, he leaped in front of me.

“Mankey?” I looked down to him. “What’s wrong? Who is it?”

The rustling in the trees grew louder. Closer.

Mankey growled louder. His eyes were furious.

Who could this be? I wondered. I found out right after my thought ended.

A Charmander stepped into the clearing, holding its tail. It seemed to be trying not to set the grass around it on fire.

A Charmander.

No. My Charmander. This Charmander had to be mine. The way Mankey was reacting to it, and the fact that Charmander don’t just show up in the Viridian Forest, proved it. They’re more mountain dwelling Pokemon than anything.

My Charmander.

Here in Viridian Forest.

Looking up at me.

But, why?