The trees whistled as a gentle breeze swept through Viridian Forest. It was welcoming, like he's being happily invited into the forest, one that's eager to teach.
High in the sky, the sunshine came down, the clouds politely staying out of its way. It was the perfect day for an adventure. The trees wiggled with life. Pokémon have recognised the pattern, they know new trainers will come wandering around.
The Pidgey in the tree, the Rattata hiding in the bushes, he can see a Pachirisu smiling mischievously watching the path he's on.
"Well, that's not suspicious at all."
Grabbing an Oran Berry, Don threw it to the Pokémon that accepted the offering happily. The Pachirisu jumped down, and started running away, pausing for a second to make sure Don followed him. The Pachirisu took him around certain areas, cutting through the trees to avoid the normal path that was most definitely trapped.
Pachirisu looked back at him. Those eyes swelled. Little teardrops appeared under them as Pachirisu looked up at him adorably.
"Hehe, don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Don said. The Pokémon doing a flip onto the branches smiling at his words.
"Pachirisu," jumping away, waving goodbye to Don.
Seeing the Pokémon run off, Don decided that he's spent enough time alone. He wanted to take a moment at the start of his journey to soak it all in. Now he wants to share everything with his team.
Three pokéballs opened up, Heracross came out, and assessed the surroundings. Seeing no threat, he relaxed and looked over at the other two. Eevee was hopping around in excitement, jumping up and down trees, Heracross and Don. Litwick was a lot calmer, but curious about the forest and all its wonders.
Footsteps, over time, wore the trail, denting the dirt. Don followed the path, keeping a close eye on his Poryphone. At a certain point, he needs to leave the beaten path and wander off. Eevee was running ahead, sniffing flowers. Heracross walked beside him, enjoying the forest while Litwick sat on his shoulder looking at his phone, more interested in that than the surroundings.
Don could see the evidence of Pokémon battles around him, an unnatural ditch, a patch of mud, marks against the trees. There's been a lot of battles around here lately.
From the bushes, a trainer emerged, a short kid with a straw hat and a bug catching net.
"Hey you, I challenge you to a battle!" He said, gripping a pokéball. He was confident and clear until he looked up and saw Heracross.
"Eeeeeee, A HERACROSS!" the kid squealed, running up to the Pokémon inspecting him. "His armour is nice and tuff, look at that majestic horn, those fabulous eyes that- woah!" Heracross's wings emerged as it flew over the strange kid and to the other side of Don.
"So… Pokémon battle?" Don asked, slightly confused.
"Ahh, yes, a Pokémon battle, unfortunately I have nothing strong enough for your Heracross."
"Don't worry about it,"
"Thank you, go Wurmple," he tossed the pokéball he was holding onto into the air and out from it came a pink-looking caterpillar with a yellow horn and two yellow back stingers.
"Litwick, wanna have a go, buddy?" Don asked. Litwick sitting on his shoulder cheered and jumped off, landing between Don and the enemy Wurmple.
"Be careful, Wurmple. That's a fire type. Use poison sting to maintain your distance," Wurmple unleashed little purple barbs of poison flying at Litwick.
"Minimize and dodge it then return fire with ember," Litwick shrank, weaving out the way, letting the poison barbs fly right past her. Don backpedaled, standing slightly to the side to not get hit. From the flame on top of her, small embers floated around the flame before launching at the Wurmple.
"String shot, get out of there."
Wurmple shot out a white thread that stuck to a tree branch and Wurmple swung, but it was a little too late. One ember hit Wurmple, but the little bug barely flinched, still moving despite the obvious damage it took.
"String shot, make sure it can't move,"
The Wurmple charged, moving forward as fast as it could while launching strings at Litwick, who dodged out the way of most of them. Wurmple shifted its aim. Don didn't know if it was on purpose or by accident, but it shot a web to the floor and Litwick landed on it. The Wurmple looked at Litwick smugly; a savage light filled its eyes like a hunter ready to end their prey.
"Quick Bug Bite,"
"Quick use ember on the ground,"
Litwick's candle flame shoots burning pieces towards the ground, making an explosion. The smoke didn't clear; Wurmple pushed it aside, its mouth glowing. Its eyes held the determination of a Pokemon ready to give it their all.
"Astonish,"
Litwick smirked, her face contorting into a horrible sight, her eyes and mouth stretched becoming long ovals and she let out a horrible scream that made Wurmple flinch. The ferocious bug turned into a terrified crying mess, looking at Litwick's face. The Wurmple landed right in front of Litwick, unable to follow through on the attack.
"Now Ember,"
"Dodge!"
Wurmple tried its best to move, but right in front of Litwick there was no way it could dodge. The Embers flew right into Wurmple, sending it flying, landing on the ground by its trainer with swirling eyes.
The bug catcher looked down. He brought out his pokéball, returning the fallen Pokémon. "Dang, come on back, Wurmple. You did amazing," he said, looking at the pokéball.
Heracross and Eevee ran up to Litwick, grabbing her and holding her high while cheering. Don laughed, joining them.
"Three cheers for Litwick,"
"Heracross"
"Eevee"
"Your team seems close," the bug catcher said. He observed the victory cheers, Heracross dancing while Holding Litwick high and Eevee jumping around him. Litwick looked so proud standing on top of Heracross, her little arms waving at an imaginary crowd.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Don said. He held out his hand and the bug catcher shook it.
"Let's battle again sometime,"
"Sure,"
Just like that, the bug catcher was off, and Don started walking as well. Heracross trailed behind him with Litwick in his palms and Eevee decided now to take a place on his shoulder.
They headed forwards on the trail waiting for a turning point. Heracross started teaching Litwick some of his own tricks in battle. Unfortunately, Litwick doesn't have the manoeuvrability to make use of his tactics just yet.
Don could finally see it right in front of him, surrounded by vibrant warm trees as the path curved right, leading followers to Pewter City. Don stepped forwards and veered off to the left instead.
Through the trees and into the forest.
His phone beeped a notification telling him he's off the trail and a map showing him where to go. He turned it off and looked forward, his Pokémon following him.
The ground was more shaded; the trees made a canopy that only let a little light come through, leaving the forest with leaf-sized sunbeams that reached the ground. Don walked through one, feeling a brief heat of the sun on him. He could hear the grass crumple under his shoes louder than Heracross or Eevee's steps. The Pokémon stared at him; they felt stronger than the wild Pokémon from the trail.
Don looked up the amount of leaves making the canopy was getting smaller, but the leaves themselves were getting bigger. Don could see a few that have fallen to the ground; he could comfortably fit inside the leaf if he wanted to. Eevee already wrapped herself up in one. It looked like she was in a dress made for people, not Eevee.
"Is this your way of telling me you want to be a Leafeon?" Don asked. Eevee tilted her head and closed her eyes, considering it for a moment, thinking about everything they researched on Leafeon. Eventually she shook her head, telling him no, and walked to Heracross and Litwick to show off her new outfit.
Don chuckled, watching Heracross look confused at the oversized leaf and Litwick jump on top of Eevee, who was happy to give her a ride.
Looking up at the canopy, Don noticed something off, a flash of light green with the dark green. Paying closer attention, he felt the breeze come by again. The leaves rustled and he could see them in small clusters hidden by the large leaves. Groups of Metapod hide in the leaves, some of them look ready to evolve. Don took out his camera taking a picture of the Metapod.
Don walked over to his Pokémon, patting them for a second and pointing up, waiting a little to let them see what he did. "We should head out. When they evolve, there's a solid chance they'll release all the new powder moves they learn," Don said, walking to their destination once again.
He brought out his notebook, documenting his findings. Then he got to write about the differences he noticed between this part of the forest and the commonly taken trail.
"Heracross!"
Heracross suddenly stopped him. He put his arm out and stopped everyone. He started sniffing the air. Don tried to do the same but only got the earthly outdoors smell. Heracross led them to the left slightly.
Following Heracross, they find honey spilled everywhere, covering the trees and ground with a sweet golden. Heracross's eyes widened, but Don held him back, seeing more than just the honey. He saw the two Pokémon who fought for it.
Scyther held out its massive blades threateningly and growled. The opposing Pinsir growled back, its mouth stretching out showing bits of honey on him, its horns clear of honey pointing towards Scyther's blades.
The Pokémon charged at each other, blades meeting horns as they both tried to out strength the other. Pinsir pushed the Scyther back, but fell into its trap. The Scyther moved to the side, its blades went lower, under the Pinsir's horns where the Pinsir charged straight towards. Tye blades glowed and Scyther landed a Fury Cutter sending the Pinsir flying back. There was a strange glow on the Pinsir.
Scyther flew towards the downed Pinsir, its Fury Cutter even stronger now slamming into its back. Fury Cutter, a move that gets stronger each time it hits consecutively dealing more damage now.
"Pinsir!"
It cried out, and the Scyther went in for another attack, its scythes flowing stronger than before. Eevee almost went in, but Don caught her. "I wouldn't count Pinsir out just yet," he whispered to her.
Scyther went in for the finishing blow, its face glowing with glee. Pinsir looked smug as Scyther flew closer and it released its stored power. Pinsir was using Bide to take Scyther's hits and return the power back to him. From Pinsir, an overwhelming amount of energy and power glowed white, engulfing the Scyther in a sphere.
Don held onto Litwick and Eevee, holding them close to his chest, making sure they didn't get blinded by Bide.
When the light show died down and Don could see again, he could see Scyther and Pinsir on the floor struggling to get up. But they both pushed themselves onto their feet, ready to fight again despite how damaged they were.
After seeing them not give up when they clearly should, Don felt like he had to step in. Walking out from the bush he was hiding in, Don and his Pokémon went into the battlefield.
"That was a good battle, but maybe you should end it here."
Scyther and Pinsir looked at each other, then at Don, then back at each other, then at Don. They switched instantly, joining forces and attacking Don, but Heracross was ready.
Boy of his hands tensed, glowing with Heracross's fighting power. His Brick Break meets the Scyther's Fury Cutter and the Pinsir's Bug Bite. The two Pokémon, despite being powerful, still struggled to hold their own against Don's partner.
Heracross sent them flying, then his own wings burst out and Heracross moved faster than he threw them, moving behind the two Pokémon, hitting them in the face with Brick break and slamming them both into the ground where they stayed with swirls in their eyes.
"Well, that's one way to stop a fight."
AN: Sorry this took so long. This chapter was more difficult to make.