As the battle calmed I slowly rose to my feet, the roots no longer entangling them to keep me from moving, while also remaining conscious of the weight perched atop my head.
"Cebi?" The figure asked as I slowly stood, and I could see May gaping at me while her Rotom drone continued filming as well.
"Its nice to meet you too." I said to the figure, who lifted up off of my head and hovered in the air before me so that I could see it clearly for the first time.
With a small green body, large blue eyes, and a pair of antennae, it was as if an onion had sprouted wings and decided to fly. But, there was an air of mystique about it.
"Celebi~!" It cried happily, before flying to Altaria and seemingly healing her of the poisoning, and then turning around and 'talking' to the Beedrill.
"Is that what I think it is...?" May uttered as she approached me slowly.
"Yep. That, is a Celebi." I confirmed to her, ignoring the rapid fire notifications coming from our phones as I did so, as the chat seemingly lost it's mind at the appearance of a Legendary pokemon.
(A.N. before anyone tries to correct me, when I googled the difference between Legendary and Mythical pokemon the answer I got was that the Mythical pokemon are those who aren't acquired in the base game, and are only accessed through the events. Since there wouldn't be such a distinction in the world itself, then there is no real reason to separate the two categories.)
"!!!"
May however seemed to only JUST remember them, and turned towards the drone seriously.
"This is amazing! Right here behind me, you can see that we are in the presence of of the very elusive Celebi, Guardian of the Forest!" May whispered excitedly to her viewers. "Celebi sightings are extremely rare, to the point that many still contend the idea of their mere existence! As far as I am aware, no one has ever caught a Celebi on tape until now! However, the sighting of one is said to be the indication of a bright and shining future!"
As May went on about Celebi, I thought about WHY their mere existence was still so contended. The fact that they could freely travel through time.
When the pokemon in question could transition through time whenever people go looking for it, it became incredibly difficult to prove even their mere existence. Let alone anything about them as a species. Most knowledge of Celebi today probably came from heresay, legends and rumors.
I watched Celebi 'talk' to the queen Beedrill for a couple minutes, possibly chastising her by the way her body was drooping, before the Legendary then turned back to me.
"Cebe!" It declared while approaching me, before taking a seat on my shoulder.
"Hello again." I greeted Celebi while holding a finger up it, which it grasped with both of it's hands to shake.
"Celebebi, be!" It replied happily, though I couldn't understand anything it was saying.
Celebi seemed to realize this, and quickly leapt off my shoulder so that it was hovering right in front of me.
"Cebe." It said slowly, grasping either side of my face with it's hands, before placing it's forehead against my own.
Suddenly I found myself moving through the forest, flying, feeling the vibrance of life around me as I did so. The forest itself bent to my will as I flew, trees bending and reshaping themselves, branches twisting, fruit ripening regardless of season.
At the same time, all of those who called the forest home respected and paid tribute to me as I passed them. The Butterfree, Victreebell, Vileplume, Pikachu, Pidgeot, Fearow, even the Beedrill as I entered their hives to interact with them.
I wasn't part of the forest. I WAS the forest, and it was a part of me.
"Haaa!"
I gasped as I found myself back in my own body suddenly, Celebi floating directly in front of me with a wide smile on it's face. No. Not 'it'. HER.
"Thank you for showing me that." I told her with absolute sincerity.
"Bebe~!" Celebi cried in return, and I understood her.
You're welcome.
That was what she had said.
I don't know how or why, but Celebi had granted me the ability to understand what a pokemon was saying. Or at least what she was saying.
I quickly confirmed it was the former as the queen Beedrill trilled quietly behind Celebi.
"Beedrill drill, bee bee..."
Translation: Why were we the ones scolded when we were just defending ourselves from the humans who were attacking us?
I blinked while staring at them curiously, wondering if I had just imagined it.
"Beedrill...."
Translation: Why is that human staring at us?
Apparently I wasn't imagining it.
I slowly approached the Beedrill queen, making the others tense up as they prepared to defend her, before saying, "I'm sorry that we entered your territory, but we didn't come here to attack you. We were just filming for May's show."
"""..."""
The Beedrill all just stared at me with what I assumed to be disbelief, while May had also gone silent behind me. I could only assume the camera was pointed at me now, but I focused on the Beedrill.
"Beedrill drill?"
Translation: Is this human talking to us?
"Yes, I am talking to you." I replied, making them all jerk in shock.
The hive collectively stared at me momentarily, seemingly studying me, before the queen eventually nodded at me once in acknowledgement, and they all turned back towards their hive.
"Cebe~!"
Celebi stated proudly while sitting on my head once again, making herself comfortable while grabbing onto my hair to hold herself steady.
"Ready to head back?" I asked while turning towards May, who was still staring at me and Celebi in awe.
"Yeah..." She murmured, before switching completely as she turned back towards the camera. "Alright folks! Time to end things here! But I'll see you all next time on May's Expeditions!"
"Bebe~!" Celebi cried in agreement from atop my head, apparently going along with May's bit before the camera was turned off, and her stream ended.
...
"So can you really understand pokemon now?" May asked curiously as we hurriedly made our way back to camp.
"Kinda. Its not like an actual translation, but I know what it is they're trying to say." I told her while looking down at Charmeleon, who was marching proudly beside us while both Pidgeotto and Spearow flew overhead.
"That's amazing... I'm sure the professor and my dad are both going to be SOOO jealous~!" May practically whistled gleefully.
"Bebe." Celebi stated from atop my head, basically saying 'that's right'.
"And that's not even considering Celebi." May added while looking up at her.
"About that..." I uttered worriedly. "Should we be worried about her? I mean, we DID broadcast the fact that she's here all over the world. It's only a matter of time before someone like Team Rocket decides to try and come for her." I told May worriedly.
"It'll be fine." May said while waving her hand dismissively.
"Its pretty much a widely regarded fact that any thick forests that seem untamable house a Celebi. Viridian forest, Ilex forest, Petalburg woods and so on. Rather than expose her, it would be more accurate to just say that we found the guardian of this forest. Or that she found us."
"I suppose..." I said as we returned to the path, and then had a short walk back to our camp. And as May promised, nothing was out of place when we got back. Except maybe Camerupt moving into a more comfortable position to sleep.
"I'm going to go do some editing." May told me as she made her way to the second, smaller, tent, leaving me alone with Celebi and Charmeleon.
"Want to meet some more of my pokemon?" I asked her.
"Be be!" She declared happily, and I quickly swapped several of my pokemon out. Now, aside from Charmeleon, I also had Caterpie, Oddish, Ekans and both of my Weedle with me.
I called out all of them except for one of my Weedle, letting them all play once they got over the shock of Charmeleon's evolution, which he was VERY proud of. With them all distracted, I open Etrade on my phone to see that I had a response from Tommy.
~~~
Yes please! I would LOVE a Weedle! Do you have any idea what you would want for it?
~~~
Undeneath the question was a list of the pokemon he had available, which all looked interesting, but I could only pick one.
I immediately dismissed Venipede, as I already have three poison types, as well as Kerrablast and Shelmet since it would be impossible to evolve either of them without the other. That left Durant, Dwebble, Sewaddle, and Joltik.
Of the four of them, I considered Durant, Dwebble and Joltik more than Sewaddle since I already have a grass type, and might get another before leaving Viridian forest. The other three however also had the steel, rock and electric types respectively. So it was more of a matter of which type I needed for my team.
Finally, I sent Tommy a reply that I already had his Weedle, and what I wanted in return for it.
~~~
Ok! Let's make the trade!
~~~
With his immediate confirmation, I activated the trade mode on my phone and pressed the bottom antenna against the pokeball in my hand. The ball was immediately enveloped in a flash of light before I felt a new weight settle in my hand, and then the light died down to reveal a net ball instead of the regular pokeball.
"Gather round everyone!" I called out to the pokemon, who all gathered in front of me curiously along with Celebi. "I have someone I want you all to meet." I told them, before activating the net ball.
"Tik?" Chittered the pokemon it produced anxiously, a tiny Joltik.
~~~
Joltik- The Attaching pokemon
Joltik are unable to produce their own electricity, so they will cling to larger wandering pokemon and store the static produced by their bodies for later. This electricity is then stored in a pouch.
~~~
I scanned the tiny Joltik, a male, as he met my other pokemon with notable anxiety. They were all curious about him though, as none of them would have ever even encountered one of his kind before since they couldn't be found anywhere in Kanto.
"Cebebe, be!" Celebi said as she greeted Joltik, making him feel more welcome to the group.
I watched them for a moment before my phone began to ring, heralding a call from the professor.
"Hey professor." I said as I answered the call.
"Noah, did you and May really find a celebi?!" The professor immediately demanded with wild eyes.
"See for yourself." I replied, turning the phone so that the professor could see Celebi as she played with my pokemon.
"Oh my Mew..." The professor uttered in disbelief.
"Right? She's a hoot." I told him with a smirk.
"She?"
"Yeah, Celebi is a girl." I confirmed.
"Amazing... I thought they were genderless. Do you know if ALL Celebi are considered female, or just that one?"
"I don't know."
"How about her weight? Height? Abilities?"
"Professor!" I said, cutting him off as he started rambling. "I don't know any of that. I could ask if she would be willing to let me check, but I don't really want to push her right now."
"Right... I'm sorry Noah, this is just a big chance for us considering how little is known about Celebi." The professor said, actually looking embarrassed as he did so.
"I mean, I COULD try and catch her, but I think she would whoop our asses if I did so." I told him wryly.
"Bebe!" Celebi suddenly chimed in agreement my shoulder, before looking at my phone curiously.
"Well hello there." The professor immediately said when he saw Celebi.
"Bi!" She said while waving back at him in greeting.
"You truly are a beautiful pokemon." The professor gushed.
"Bebe, be be be." Celebi said while acting shyly at the praise.
"You know, I have dedicated my life to studying pokemon. I don't suppose I can convince you to let Noah catch you so we can learn more about you?" The professor suddenly suggested.
"Bi?" Celebi asked while tilting her head questioningly.
"She doesn't understand what you're talking about professor." I told him.
"Is that so? Well, Celebi, letting Noah catch you would mean that you would get to travel with him, May, and all of their pokemon as they explore the world. And when they can't keep you with them, then you could stay here at my lab, with me and the rest of their pokemon. You would have plenty of company." The professor explained to her.
"Cebe..." Celebi said with a slight frown, before she suddenly disappeared entirely.
"Professor!" I exclaimed irritably once it was apparent that Celebi had truly left.
"That... I.... I'm sorry Noah... I guess I scared her off..." The professor said with genuine sadness in his voice.
"Yeah well, a simple no would have sufficed from her as well. Its not like I was going to try and force her." I said while sitting down on one of the logs surrounding the fire pit, lamenting the lost opportunity to spend time with a Legendary pokemon.
***
Over the next three days that May and I continued through the forest Celebi never returned, making me feel as if the professor scared her off for good as we got closer and closer to the northern boundary before Pewter city.
Aside from missing Celebi, not much happened over those three days as we almost failed to encounter any new pokemon. All I managed to catch was a lone Bellsprout, while I was also able to train both Caterpie and Weedle to the point of evolving them into Metapod and Kakuna respectively. Hopefully, getting them to evolve into Butterfree and Beedrill wasn't too far off.
"We should reach the edge of the forest by nightfall." May said as she studied the map on her phone.
"We gonna make camp once we get there, or push through until Pewter?" I asked her while glancing upwards for any signs of Spearow or Pidgeotto. I sent both of them out to see if either could spy any more pokemon before we leave the forest.
"I'd say let's make camp. We don't need to push ourselves that much. Plus we can take the time tomorrow to check out Diglett cave." May replied while pointing the location out on the map, which was juts barely southeast of Pewter city.
"Speaking of, which way do you want to go when we leave the city?" I asked her while pointing out the two different routes. "We could either go through Mt. Moon to Cerulean, or we can go through Diglett cave and come out near Vermillion."
"Oooooooo.... Choices, choices..." May muttered as she debated with herself over the route.
"Its not like we need to decide right now. Let's think it over whn we make camp." I said as a feathery bullet shot through the trees at us.
"Spearow, row!" Spearow declared as he perched himself in a tree, pointing to a place off the trail with one of his wings as he did so.
"Did he find something?" May asked while looking up from her phone.
"Yep. Let's go!" I said while sweeping her up into a princess carry, which May eagerly wrapped her arms around my neck as I hurried through the brush with Spearow leading the way.
I was dodging trees and bushes for several minutes as I hurried through the forest with May in my arms, before I started to hear the sounds of combat in the distance that prompted me to increase my pace. Soon we arrived at a small clearing with a single tree in the middle, a tree with branches that were heavy with fruit, and where two pokemon were battling for over it.
The first was covered in a brown carapace with two large pincers sticking up from it's head that were covered in spikes. The second was covered in a light green carapace, while a pair of wings beat to keep it floating right above the ground and the dual scythes that took the place of it's hands gleamed menacingly.
"Pinsir!"
"Scyther!"
Both pokemon cried out defiantly as their bodies visibly tensed, before the Scyther shot forward so quickly that it became a blur as it attacked the Pinsir.
"No way! A real terf battle!" May exclaimed as she quickly got down from my arms, and pulled out her phone to record the battle as it took place.
At first glance the Scyther appeared to be winning as it repeatedly delivered blow after blow to Pinsir, though if one looked closely then they would see the Pinsir holding it's own as it deflected each attack with the pincers atop it's head.
"I want them both." I stated firmly, my desire emphasized by my lack of luck for the last several days.
"I won't say you can't, but it is usually considered bad manners to swoop in and capture a pokemon that's been weakened by someone else, even another pokemon." May told me in warning. But it wasn't as if I would be punished for catching them after their battle or anything. It was just more along the lines of bad taste to do so.
"Alright then, let's do this." I said while stepping forward and waving at Spearow to follow me.
"Hey! You two!" I yelled out.
"Sir?"
"Scythe?"
Both pokemon halted in place and turned towards me with thuggish looks, as if DARING me to interfere with their battle.
"Yeah, you two! This here is MY tree!" I yelled to them.
"Pinsir?!"
"Scyther?!"
They both cried at my declaration, looking at one another before seemingly coming to an agreement as they turned towards me in synchronized movements.
"Scyther scythe scythe ther!" Scyther yelled at me, basically saying to clear out before they hurt me.
"I don't think so. The berries here look good." I replied cockily, as Spearow swooped out of the sky to land before me.
"Spearow!" He cried while glaring at both of them.
"Help him out, Poliwhirl!" I declared while sending out a second pokeball, which opened to reveal the larger of my two tadpoles.
"Poli!" Poliwhirl declared as he faced the two opponents as well.
Spearow, you take on Pinsir, and Poliwhirl can take on Scyther." I told the two of them as we all prepared to battle.
"Scythe!"
Scyther cried as it shot right at Poliwhirl, barely giving either of us time to even react before it's scythes hit him.
"Poli!" Poliwhirl cried in alarm, and my own eyes widened as I saw a small cut form on Poliwhirl's skin despite the oils covering him.
"Use Bubble Beam!" I hurriedly ordered him before Scyther could make it's second attack.
"Whirl!" Poliwhirl cried in affirmation as he sprayed a powerful blast of bubbles that filled the area. Not only did this attack hit Scyther, but it also sapped it's speed from it as the bubbles obstructed it's movement ad stuck to it.
On the other side...
"SpeaROW ROW ROW ROW!"
Spearow was repeatedly attacking Pinsir as he flew around it as quickly as possible, making use of the move peck repeatedly before flying out of Pinsir's reach. The bug type meanwhile was bracing against each attack patiently, before trying to either retaliate or catch Spearow with it's large pincers.
"Spearow! When you dive down this time, spin like a drill when you use Peck to try and get through Pinsir's defense!" I ordered him, before turning my attention to the other side of the battle. "Poliwhirl, use Hypnosis!"
"Poliwhirl!" The tadpole yelled in response, and I had to look away as the spiral pattern on his belly began pulsing to lull those who looked at it into a slumber.
"Spearow!"
Instead, I focused on Spearow as he shot out of the sky like a feathery bullet, his beak glowing with power before he tilted his wings and began to spiral right at Pinsir.
Technically this was an entirely different move known as Drill Peck, which was a lot more powerful than a regular Peck. But the risk was a lot higher as well since there was a chance that Spearow would be unable to perform the move properly, which would also give Pinsir the opening it had been waiting for.
"SPEAROOOOOOOOOOW!"
With a voice filled with his determination, I watched as Spearow drove his drill-like beak right into Pinsir as it used Harden, turning their clash into a contest of unstoppable force versus immovable object.
For a moment neither pokemon moved as they contested with one another, before the glow began to spread from Spearow's beak to the rest of his body.
"Nice!" I yelled excitedly at the sign of evolution, even as Spearow grew MUCH larger before my eyes. Both his beak and his neck extended by several lengths, while his body grew, and grew, and GREW.
I saw Pinsir's eyes widen in alarm and maybe a bit of fear as Spearow evolved into fearow, before it was sent flying back by the sudden increase in strength.
"FEAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"
The Beak pokemon yelled out victoriously, his wings spread wide to intimidate Pinsir even more. But apparently Fearow wasn't going to stop there.
I watched as a sphere of power gathered in front of Fearow's beak, condensing until he launched it at Pinsir with a flash of light that turned into a rush of flames, then a bolt of lightning, and finally a flash of frost.
"Tri Attack..." I uttered with a wide smile, even as Fearow returned to my side with a singular flap of his wings.
"Fear!" He declared, pointing with his beak at Pinsir, who was now unconscious.
"Good job. How'd you know Tri Attack?" I asked after praising his work.
"Fearow fear, row!" He declared proudly, stating that he was just that good.
"Really? Are you sure it's not because your father or mother fucked a Dodrio?" I asked him, earning myself a slap from one of his wings.
I laughed while ducking out of the way of more wing slaps, chancing a look towards Poliwhirl and Scyther to see their battle had ended as well. Poliwhirl had taken a few bad hits from the scythes, but now his own opponent was currently slumped on the ground, slumbering after being subjected to the power of Hypnosis.
"Another two for one~!" I whistled while pulling out a couple pokeballs, and tapping them to Scyther and Pinsir in turn.
~~~
Pinsir- The Stag Beetle pokemon
Pinsir all have a pair of large horns on their heads that are covered in thorny protrusions. Once caught in these horns, it become impossible for prey to escape.
~~~
Scyther- The Mantis pokemon
This pokemon employs blazing speed to enhance the lethality of the twin scythes on it's forearms. These scythes are so sharp and deadly, that they can even cut through thick logs like they are butter.
~~~
I was grinning widely as I read the entries for both Pinsir and Scyther, the former of which was capable of Mega Evolution, while the latter would once it evolved in Scizor.
"Ready for some berry picking?" May asked once the coast was clear, a pair of baskets already in her hands. And just like our first day in the forest, we quickly stripped the tree bare of all the berries before returning to the path as we exited the forest.
It was nearly dark when we reached the very edge of the forest, so May and I quickly set up our camp before she started working on dinner, and I had Pinsir and Scyther help me with the firewood.
"You sure you got that?" I asked the newly captured pokemon.
"Pinsir!" She cried in affirmation, even as she carried a large log in her horns without any discernable effort.
"Alright, put it down here." I said while pointing to a empty patch of grass.
"Sir." She replied, dropping the log. I then called out Scyther for the next part.
"Wanna cut this up for us?" I asked him.
"Scythe." He replied with a sinister grin. A flash of movement later, and the log fell apart into perfectly cut and split pieces for a fire.
"Nice~!" I whistled while picking several of them up to start said fire.
"Those two sure are a big help." May said from her portable kitchen.
"That they are." I said in agreement, thinking of how to thank them.
"Hey May." I called out to her.
"Yeah?"
"How much is a Pokeblock maker?" I asked curiously.
"They aren't too expensive. Devon corp makes most of their money for them through the ingredients needed to make Pokeblocks aside from the berries." May explained as she came over and pulled up the site for me to look at.
"Interesting..." I muttered while scrolling through the different models. Unfortunately, while I had earned a bit more money from catching Bellsprout, Scyther and Pinsir, it wasn't enough for my own Pokeblock maker. Looks like I'll have to use the ones available at Pokemon Centers while saving up for it.
"Sorry guys, looks like this will have to do for now." I said while pulling some of the berries we picked earlier out of my bag.
"Pinsir."
"Scyther."
They said while accepting them gratefully.
As the two of them enjoyed their berries, I called out the rest of my pokemon on hand, Charmeleon, Joltik, Metapod and Kakuna, to try and get some training in before we had our dinner.
"Alright, watch Joltik closely." I told Metapod and Kakuna, as the tiny arachnid sprayed webbing onto one of the nearby trees. Unlike a usual String Shot though, this one was electrified since it was the move Electroweb instead.
"Kakuna!"
"Metapod!"
Both of the Cocoon pokemon cried as they tried to replicate the move, but to no avail since they were only able to produce a regular String Shot.
"Its alright. Just keep trying." I said to reassure them, before turning my attention to Charmeleon, Scyther and Pinsir, who were comparing their claws, scythes and horns respectively.
"Scyther, scythe!" Scyther declared as he demonstrated how to use the move Slash.
"Char..." Charmeleon growled as he tried to replicate the movments with his own claws on a rock.
I watched as he practiced over and over on the rock, his claws bouncing off it repeatedly with a noise that made me flinch, until they started to glow.
"CHAR!" Charmeleon roared savagely as he swung one last time, before his claws left deep gouges in the surface of the rock.
"Good job buddy." I said while patting him on the head.
"Char char~!" He growled back with a pleased smile, before repeating the move on the rock several times to make sure he got it down.
We kept training like this for a little bit, while I also tested Scyther and Pinsir to see what they were capable of, until May called out to us from the kitchen.
"Dinner's ready~!" She declared, bringing an end to our training as all of us went to eat. And since we made camp so late, it was a quick and easy dinner of eggs with biscuits with berry jelly.
"Thank you, May." I told her as I began shoveling eggs into my mouth.
"Don't mention it." May said as she ate too, before freezing suddenly.
"What's wrong?" I asked while picking up one of my biscuits, only for it to be snatched out of my hand.
"Cebebi." Said the thief, before they proceeded to sit on my head while munching on the biscuit.
"Celebi?" I asked in surprise while glancing up.
"Bebe." She replied in affirmation.
"I'm surprised you came to see us off. I thought the professor ran you off." I said while lifting her up off of my head, before putting her on my lap so we could actually talk face to face.
"Cebebi, bi bi bi, Celebi!" She stated while eating the rest of the biscuit, before grabbing the second one from my plate.
"What did she say?" May asked curiously.
"Just that she left because she had something to do. She didn't say what though." I told her before looking at Celebi curiously.
The little Legendary however just focused on eating until she finished that biscuit as well, before holding up her hand dramatically.
Time itself distorted directly above her hand, before a spherical object materialized that she held out to me even as I gaped in disbelief.
"A-are you for real?" I asked while staring at the object.
"Cebebi." She stated while nodding in affirmation, before handing it off to me.
"Noah, is that what I think it is?" May asked with just as much awe on her face as I felt.
"I think so." I answered while accepting Celebi's gift, an egg. And if my guess was right, this wasn't just any egg, but a Celebi egg.
"Why would you give me this?" I asked her with both gratitude and concern.
"Cebebi, be. Celebi ce cebe li, bebe." She explained, before I translated to May.
"Apparently Celebi was intrigued by the offer the professor made to her the other day, but she can't accept since she can't leave the forest. So she went to find an egg that isn't bound to a forest yet for me, one that would be able to travel the world like they wouldn't normally be able to."
"That's amazing!" May exclaimed excitedly as she came over to look at the egg, which was light green with leafy patterns of dark green.
"Yeah, I can't believe it..." I uttered in awe while looking at the egg.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked Celebi curiously.
"Bebe. Cebebi, Celebi." She stated firmly, saying that she trusted me since I didn't feel like a normal human. I don't know why, but something about that kinda bugged me.
Regardless, I was glad she hadn't been run off, and even trusted me with something like this.