Route 2

With a map unfolded in my hands I plot my next move, showing it to Joule I point to where we’re headed.

+ So with the gyms in these places I guess if we go around like this we can cover the region as fast as possible.

So if we go in circles we’ll eventually find the human you’re looking for?

+ I guess… do you have a better plan?

You could just forget about him. Is he really that important?

+ Important enough! Though I think I’m the only one looking for him, nobody else seems to care.

Who is he to you anyway?

+ He’s–

Hey, shut up over there, will ya! You’re scaring off all the tasty Caterpie!

Startled by the outburst I throw a pokéball at the Pidgey but it kicks up a gust and blows the ball back at me.

Like that’ll work on me!

You know you’re supposed to weaken them first if you really want to capture them…

+ Oh right. Go Nile!

I let Nile out of his pokéball, he leaps out and like instinct he faces up to the wild Pidgey.

+ Tackle it!

Roger that!

Pidgey wafts a gust at Nile, barely knocking him off course as he slams face first into the bird.

You’re pretty tough, boy!

+ Pokéball go!

Poké-what?

Before she knows it, the Pidgey is in the pokéball.

Did you just say “Pokéball go”?

+ I heard some schoolkids in Viridian saying it. Is that not how it’s supposed to go?

Ugh. (So lame!) No you just throw the ball, okay?

Viridian Forest

As we progress forward I notice it suddenly got a lot darker, looking up I notice a thick tree canopy.

Great, places like this are crawling with bugs. We sometimes call these places Dungeons because the Pokémon who live in these places tend to be tough… and jerks.

+ It doesn’t look that bad…

There’s a bug already!

Huh?

+ But it looks so harmless…

Oh, a human? I thought you’d be scarier.

+ Go Meryl!

Fine you caught me fair and square, wait what did you call me?

+ Use gust!

Oh boy, a Caterpie! You are a nice trainer! Time to chow down!

Meryl flaps her wings, sending a gust that knocks the Caterpie into a nearby tree. Meryl takes flight and prepares to swoop at it.

What did I do to you? Arceus save me! Someone help!

I throw a pokéball and Caterpie seemingly leaps inside it.

Hey! I was gonna eat that!

+ We’ll get some food later.

Is it safe to come out now?

The bird’s back in it’s ball. Also the human gave you a name.

I have a name?

+ Hello Naomi, I’m Cally and this is Joule.

Hi! So does this mean I get to see the world?

+ Kinda, yeah.

You’ll need to get stronger if you want to go far, though.

Okay, when do I start training?

Right now.

We spend the afternoon battling the various bugs in the forest. Occasionally I’d spray a potion on Naomi. Potions are quite amazing, you can see scratches and bruises vanish, but it doesn’t work on humans for some reason. I scratched my arm on a branch by accident so I thought I’d try a potion on myself, it did nothing but sting a lot, it still feels like my arm is a little bit on fire.

Naomi has started to get the hang of using tackle, she just managed to send a Weedle flying out of sight.

I feel funny…

You didn’t get yourself poisoned, did you?

I… I…

+ What’s wrong?

Woah~~!

+ What’s happening?

She’s evolving.

Mrph! Mm mrgh!

+ Naomi? Are you okay?

Mm hm!

She’s fine.

+ She’s… different.

That’s what happens when a Pokémon evolves. Their appearance changes, quite often their personality changes too.

+ I thought evolution takes longer than that.

Bugs evolve quicker, a lot of grass types evolve fairly quickly too.

+ Do all Pokémon evolve? Will you ever evolve?

No, and hell no! Raichu are dicks!

Mph mrm?

We continue onwards, battling more wild bugs along the way. Meryl seems to not like battling Weedles, apparently they don’t taste nearly as nice as Caterpies.

Eventually we reach a small clearing and I can see the way out of the forest.

Hey guy, wanna battle?

+ Uh, okay.

Go Caterpie!

+ Go Naomi!

This Caterpie was unlike others I’d seen before, so agile, darting around the clearing and bashing Naomi with a series of tackle attacks. Naomi toughens her hide, baring the brunt of the attacks.

+ String shot!

Naomi rapidly fires silk strings at Caterpie, eventually catching it off guard and sticking it to a nearby tree stump.

+ Tackle!

Naomi shifts her weight forwards and somehow darts across the clering, slamming into the stricken Caterpie and knocking it out cold.

Oh man! That’s one tough Metapod!

Mm mrm!

Here we go again.

Hrmm!

+ Oh?

Free! I’m free! And I can fly! I can fly!

+ Oh wow!

Congratulations!