"Did you seriously forget everything that happened last night?" Misty asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Ash gave an innocent shrug. "The second my head hit the pillow last night, I was out like a light. Right, Pikachu?"
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded vigorously, backing up his partner's story.
"That's impossible... there were definitely two of you last night. And one of them knew a crazy-strong Extreme Speed!" Misty wasn't letting it go. She leaned in, scrutinizing his face.
"You're seeing things. There's only ever been one Pikachu." Ash sighed. Is she always like this in the morning?
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded again, looking very much like his master's voice of reason.
Misty: "..." She ruffled her hair in frustration. Maybe I really was just exhausted. Even Pikachu is denying it. Did I get so worked up over my bike turning into 'salted fish' that I started hallucinating?
Or is this rookie playing dumb? Misty frowned. Something didn't add up. She decided to enter "Silent Observation Mode."
The Entrance to Viridian Forest
To reach Pewter City, one had to cut through Viridian Forest. The place was a haven for low-level Bug-type Pokémon—not particularly dangerous, making it the perfect training ground for beginners.
As they approached the tree line, they spotted a teenager standing guard. Straw hat, shorts, tank top, and a primitive butterfly net strapped to his back—the quintessential Bug Catcher uniform.
"Hey there! Name's Kogoro. I'm about to head into the forest for some serious training."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Ash—" Before he could finish, Misty let out a blood-curdling shriek and dove behind him.
"Bugs! Bugs! Buuuuugs!" Fear of creepy-crawlies was, after all, a classic trait.
Ash looked down at Kogoro's feet. A green Caterpie sat there, its big, round eyes blinking innocently at the world.
Pokédex: "Beep... Caterpie. A common Bug-type Pokémon. Mostly useless. Contains six times the protein of a Tauros."
"A Caterpie? But why is yours so... chunky?" Ash asked, licking his lips subconsciously.
Back in Pallet Town, the woods were crawling with Caterpie. He was used to them being about the size of a forearm, but this one was thicker than his bắp tay. The protein count on this thing had to be at least sixteen times a Tauros!
"Heh, of course! I've meticulously raised this Caterpie myself!" Kogoro puffed out his chest with pride.
Misty peeked out from behind Ash. "Don't Caterpie usually evolve in a few days? Yours looks like..."
"Three years!" Kogoro patted the Caterpie's head. "For three years, we've put every ounce of effort into suppressing its evolution. That's how it got this big and sturdy!"
"Wait, you can stop them from evolving?" Ash was bewildered. To him, you eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're tired, and evolve when you have enough experience. Why would anyone hold back?
Seeing Ash's "educational gap" showing again, Misty took the opportunity to show off, all while keeping a close eye on his reaction. "There are basically three ways to stop evolution. One: the Pokémon uses its own willpower. Two: a held item called an Everstone. Three: the Trainer presses the B-button on the Pokédex. Don't tell me you didn't know that?"
"Don't talk down to me! Of course I knew that!" Ash lied through his teeth, his face flushing. Wait, that piece of junk has a B-button function other than reading weird flavor text?
But evolution makes you stronger, cooler, and bigger. Why stop it? For a guy, 'bigger' is always better!
"Hừm... should I tell them?" Seeing their curiosity, Kogoro hesitated before leaning in for a whisper. "Keep this between us, okay? Legend has it that if you train a Caterpie to its absolute max level without letting it evolve, it awakens an ancient Dragon bloodline. When it finally evolves then, it doesn't become a Butterfree. It becomes the legendary, invincible Dragon-type: Rayquaza!"
Kogoro whipped out a crude sketch of Rayquaza. Even as a drawing, it looked terrifyingly powerful. Upon closer inspection, the green color, the body shape, and the patterns did look a bit like a Caterpie.
Ash & Misty: "!!!"
Red: "?"
Red, currently inhabiting the "Soul Space" within Ash, felt a shock so great his spirit nearly flickered out.
"Heh heh, my best friend told me that secret. He said in his hometown, the Hoenn region, everyone raises Caterpie like this. Rayquazas are all over the streets there; everyone gets to ride a Great Dragon through the sky." Kogoro laughed heartily.
Ash & Misty: "!!!"
Red: "..." Kid, I strongly suggest you block that 'friend' on all platforms immediately.
"Anyway, enough talk. I've got training to do!" Kogoro and his fat Caterpie marched into the forest, leaving behind a trail of boisterous, confident laughter. "One day, I'll ride my Rayquaza and rule Kanto! The world's strongest Trainer! Hahaha!!"
"So Caterpie has the blood of a Dragon! That's incredible!"
Ash was sold. He slapped his hands together, determined to catch one right now and sit on it for three years.
"Ash, I feel like something is wrong here..." Misty wasn't a total noob; she realized that Bug Catcher had been catastrophically pranked by his friend. That was the kind of friend you buried in a shallow grave.
"How could it be wrong? He had proof!"
Pokédex: "Beep... A distinct possibility."
With the Pokédex's "support," Ash charged into the woods. Machines didn't lie, and Professor Oak had told him to trust the device.
Squelch, squelch...
Near the entrance, he spotted a Caterpie munching on a leaf. It looked adorable and gormless.
"The real deal! I can see the 'Dragon Spirit' in it from here!" Without a second thought, Ash chucked a Pokéball.
Click! The Caterpie didn't even bother to dodge. It was sucked inside, and after three wobbles, the ball fell silent. Success!
Ash hoisted the ball high and let out a Snarl: "Hahaha! I caught a Rayquaza!!"
Misty & Red: "..."
"Misty, I feel a fire in my soul! I feel like I'm already becoming a Pokémon Master!" Ash was beaming, holding that Pokéball like he was holding the future itself.
Misty & Red: "..." Note to self: I need to secretly pry the B-button off that Pokédex before a promising Trainer turns into a total moron.
As they delved deeper into the forest, Misty clung to Ash's back, shivering at the sound of buzzing wings. Along the way, Ash managed to catch a Pidgeotto—a solid addition to the team.
At nightfall, they lit a campfire to ward off the Bug-types. Not every bug was as chill as a Caterpie. Beedrills, for instance, were aggressive, carried Toxic stingers, and were the stuff of nightmares for rookies.
Once Ash fell into a deep sleep, Red took over the controls.
"Seems like this wasn't a one-time thing." Red looked at his hands, tugged his hat low, and smirked. He liked the feeling. Seeing Pikachu and Caterpie "chatting" on a log in their own language, he didn't disturb them, opting instead to watch the moon.
"Wonder how Blue and Green are doing back home?"
Near Pewter City, Mt. Moon
On a cliffside, a teenager with spiky brown hair sat alone by a campfire. Beside him was a powerful-looking Wartortle. Strangely, despite being alone, he was muttering to himself as if answering a question.
"You're asking who my eternal rival is?"
Gary Oak paused. The first name that popped into his head was Ash, but he immediately shook it off with a scoff of pure contempt.
"A guy who can't even show up to his own journey on time? How could he be a rival to the Great Gary Oak? I am the champion. I have no rivals!"