Pokemon - To Catch Them All - Viridian Forest

Story by soni050 on SoFurry

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#2 of Pokemon - To Catch Them All

Leo heads to Viridian Forest, what new encounters await him?


Living at home had many benefits compared to when travelling on the road, I always had a comfy bed, warm and toasty when it was cold outside. Soon, I would learn the difficulties of living as a trainer.

My Rotom Phone alerted me to wake up with an alarm, but as per usual, I ignored it and attempted to sleep in. I wasn't much of a morning person, I preferred to sleep in and wake up late. However, my Pokemon soon swarmed the room, before realising that their trainer was still asleep when he should be waking up and catching more Pokemon.

The Pokemon then hatched a plan, wake up their trainer, Pidgey flew over and landed right where my face was and began gently pecking trying to force me to wake up, however, I just pulled the covers up hoping that Pidgey would give up and I could continue sleeping for a few more hours. Pidgey huffed in annoyance before I felt a heavier lump land on my bed and knew it was likely Squirtle. I was proven correct when a stream of water splashed onto my face, immediately waking me up, "okay, you all win, I'm awake." I said as I shuffled slowly to the bathroom to do my morning routine.

Squirtle, Rattata, Pidgey, Bellsprout and Oddish were rather happy at what they deemed to be a win for them against their trainer. When I headed downstairs, I prepared the Pokemon's breakfast and had my own breakfast prepared as well. "Leo, looks like your Pokemon are doing a good job at getting you to wake up." Mum said as she chuckled in amusement as I laughed dryly agreeing with her.

After we all had breakfast mum asked me, "so what are you planning on doing today?" I hummed in thought, "I want to head north through Route 2 and the Viridian Forest and catch some more Pokemon." My mum thought about those locations and made a comment, "that would take you to Pewter City." I nodded, Pewter City was home to a gym, but at the moment I wasn't really sure whether I wanted to challenge gyms. My main priority was completing the Pokedex.

At that I packed up grabbing everything I needed and headed out through Viridian City, though I did make a stop at the Pokemart to buy some more Pokeballs as I was running low on them thanks to all of my catches yesterday.

As I was exploring around the city, I remembered a small Route, Route 22, there may be some new Pokemon which I could catch, heading to the west I explored around the route, noticing the lake that seemed to be in the middle of the route, unfortunately I didn't have a fishing rod and couldn't catch any Water Pokemon at the moment. On land however, the Rotom phone had informed me that I could catch Nidoran male and female here. Male Nidoran evolved into Nidorino and then Nidoking meanwhile, female Nidoran evolved into Nidorina and Nidoqueen.

Exploring I released Pidgey and asked if he could help me find any Nidoran of either gender. Immediately Pidgey flew around and began searching for the Pokemon. On the ground Rattata searched with me and together we all searched through the grass. Before Pidgey returned me Rattata and Squirtle managed to find a Nidoran Male which was my first catch opportunity. "Squirtle ready to go?" I asked and Squirtle nodded his head, "Squirtle Water Gun!" I exclaimed and Squirtle fired a stream of Water directly towards the now alert male Nidoran who dodged.

Nidoran glared at his attacker and fired several Poison Stings right towards Squirtle, knowing that Squirtle could be poisoned if any of those moves hit him. "Squirtle use Withdraw!" Luckily, by ducking back into his shell, the Poison Sting bounced right off Squirtle, who emerged smiling confidently. Nidoran charged forward using Peck, "Squirtle counter using Tackle!" At that Squirtle and Nidoran were locked together, however, Squirtle was able to push Nidoran back, "follow it up with Water Gun" Since Squirtle was expecting the command, he fired and managed to hit Nidoran knocking him down.

"Pokeball go!" At that I threw the Pokeball and watched as it shook three times before clicking confirming the capture. Rotom updated the Pokedex for me, "Nidoran Male has been registered to your Pokedex, Nidoran the Poison Pin Pokemon, a Poison Type Pokemon. The horn on a male Nidoran's forehead contains a powerful poison. This is a very cautious Pokemon, always straining with its large ears."

I was quickly interrupted when Pidgey returned and was being followed by a Nidoran female, which seemed rather lucky. Since Squirtle had already battled, I decided to give Rattata a chance at battling. "Rattata ready to battle?" I asked and Rattata glared gnashing his teeth together in a threatening posture. The Nidoran female returned with her own threatening posture. "Rotom what moves does Rattata know?" I asked before beginning the battle.

"Rattata knows, Tackle, Tail Whip, Focus Energy and Quick Attack." I was quite impressed, those moves were well rounded. "Alright Rattata use Tackle!" At that Rattata barrelled towards Nidoran who dodged with some quick reflexes. "So we need to be faster then, use Quick Attack instead!" Rattata moved faster than I could track, confusing Nidoran with his lightning quick movements. He feinted to the left and then struck Nidoran to the right.

Nidoran managed to use Scratch and knocked Rattata a distance away before, he managed to shake off the attack. "Use Quick Attack once more!" I commanded, Rattata charged towards Rattata again feinting to avoid any attacks. Nidoran fired some Poison Stings which all missed. At that Rattata hit Nidoran with Quick Attack allowing me to throw a Pokeball.

One shake, two, three and capture confirmed. "Nidoran female has been registered to your Pokedex, Nidoran, the Poison Pin Pokemon, a Poison Type Pokemon. Females are more sensitive to smells than males. While foraging, they'll use their whiskers to check wind direction and stay downwind of predators." Rotom gave me the index on my newest capture. However, when I went to retrieve the Pokeball, it was transported to the laboratory since I'd now caught officially seven Pokemon.

"You have an incoming call from Professor Oak!" Rotom told me and so I quickly answered, "Professor Oak?" I asked curiously, "yes Leo, I forgot to mention, on your Rotom Phone, you can switch around your Pokemon using the Pokemon Box, a device created so that trainers with multiple Pokemon can organise their parties as they please. Now you don't have to contact me or any other professors on your journey to switch around your Pokemon." I was grateful to that advice, "if you have any questions, make sure to ask your Rotom Phone, they'll be able to show you how to swap around your Pokemon whenever you'd like."

For the moment I decided to continue training the Pokemon I currently owned, Squirtle had been doing great, Rattata and Pidgey were slowly catching up. I had noticed that there were a couple of trainers around and decided to battle them with my Bellsprout, Oddish and Nidoran Male. After all, if I wanted to catch every Pokemon, I'd need to evolve the Pokemon I catch as well.

The first trainer, I challenged also had a Rattata, so I decided to use Bellsprout and a quick check revealed that Bellsprout knew the moves, Vine Whip, Growth and Wrap. "Bellsprout use Wrap on Rattata!" Rattata bumbled around dodging Bellsprouts attempts of catching it before retaliating with a Tackle. Bellsprout tried to dodge, but naturally wasn't the fastest Pokemon I'd seen. "Bellsprout when Rattata approaches catch it using Vine Whip." I decided to play the patient game when using Bellsprout, my usual strategy when catching Pokemon was going all out, but battling trainers was different. It was more challenging and required strategy as well.

"Rattata, since they're not attacking, use Tackle again!" The trainer commanded his Rattata who charged straight towards Bellsprout. However, that was what me and Bellsprout were waiting for and as such Bellsprout used Vine Whip to catch Rattata and throw it repeatedly down to the ground. The trainer panicked, trying to get Rattata to escape, but the battle was soon over as Bellsprout's Vine Whip finished the match.

I continued battling around the route, against wild Pokemon and trainers, with all my Pokemon, even swapping them around like Professor Oak had mentioned. The Pokemon Box system was extremely easy to use, Nidoran male and female, were quite happy to be with one another as well. Temporarily I deposited Bellsprout and kept both Nidoran.

As I was exploring, I was interrupted by a Spearow flying downward directly into my path. "So it wants a battle huh?" I said more to myself, knowing that Spearow had quite the temperament in comparison to Pidgey. However, since Spearow could fly, battling Spearow with Pidgey would be the best and safest bet. "Come out Pidgey" when Pidgey was released he flew into the air and was followed by Spearow.

"Pidgey use Gust!" Pidgey began flapping his wings and sending gusts of wind straight towards Spearow, who managed to ride the wind and dodge the attacks effortlessly. "I guess against a Flying Type, I need more than just power, I need strategy as well. Pidgey use Tackle instead." At that Pidgey and Spearow clashed in mid air, Spearow countered by using Peck. Both moves seemed to do decent damage and put the two in quite the stalemate.

"Pidgey use Tackle once again!" I commanded and watched as Spearow also used Tackle, however, I was prepared this time, "Pidgey dodge then strike!" At that Pidgey ascended over Spearow before descending and hitting Spearow with Tackle, sending Spearow plummeting to the ground.

"Pokeball go!" At that I watched as the Pokeball shook, once, twice and three times before the capture was confirmed. "Spearow has been registered to your Pokedex. Spearow the Tiny Bird Pokemon, a Normal and Flying Type. It's reckless nature leads it to stand up to others, even large Pokemon, if it needs to protect it's territory."

I decided to swap Spearow and Oddish around, if only because my next location was filled with Bug Pokemon and Flying Types were super effective against Bug Types. Spearow and Pidgey both enjoyed competing with each other, flying around the route always nearby for when I needed them. After thoroughly searching I found that I had caught every Pokemon I possibly could.

Returning to Viridian City, I headed north instead and decided on which Pokemon would be accompanying me through the Viridian Forest. After some deliberation, I decided on bringing, Squirtle, Pidgey, Spearow, Nidoran male and female and finally Rattata.

Heading north I went through Route 2, which led towards Viridian Forest, exploring the route, I quickly found a two new Bug Pokemon to catch, that being Caterpie and Weedle. Caterpie was the first to be found, unsurprisingly, I wasn't the one who found it, that was Pidgey, who had been observing where I was and spotted a new Pokemon for me to catch.

Pidgey's Gust made short work of the Caterpie and a Pokeball caught the Caterpie quite easily. "Caterpie has been registered to your Pokedex, Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon, a Bug Type. For protection, it releases a horrible stench from the antenna on its head to drive away enemies."

Similarly, Spearow had found a Weedle not too far away from where Caterpie was found, "Spearow use Peck!" Spearow's Peck defeated Weedle easily thanks to type advantages. At that I threw a Pokeball and caught Weedle as well, "Weedle has been registered to your Pokedex, Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokemon, a Bug and Poison Type. Beware of the sharp stinger on its head. It hides in grass and bushes where it eats leaves."

At that I felt for the beginning of my journey I was making steady progress, but by no means, was I anywhere near finished, I had caught only Squirtle, Rattata, Pidgey, Bellsprout, Oddish, Nidoran male and female, Spearow, Caterpie and Weedle. That made in total, 10 registered Pokemon to my Pokedex.

Entering Viridian Forest, I noticed that the amount of trees darkened the forest, creating areas, where sun shined briefly, but night could soon descend. Pokemon were plentiful in the forest as I looked around. I saw bug catchers exploring the forest searching for the majority of Bug Pokemon that could be found here.

Knowing I had already caught Caterpie and Weedle, I didn't believe there were many Pokemon avaliable in the forest, that I hadn't already seen and captured. "Rotom, what Pokemon live here?" I asked curiously, to which Rotom displayed in image of every Pokemon that could be found in Viridian Forest. "These Pokemon inhabit the area."

As I had expected, the only new ones were the evolved forms of Caterpie and Weedle, those being Metapod and Kakuna respectively, however, I was quite surprised to see that Pikachu's had been seen rarely in the forest. I also was intrigued at the rumours I had heard, some trainers had recently been seeing the starter Pokemon Bulbasaur somewhere around Viridian Forest. If I could somehow find it that would be a great capture.

While exploring the forest, I was challenged by many Bug catchers, however, both Pidgey and Spearow made swift work off them, getting more powerful in the process. I remember the toughest trainer had a Bug Type, that wasn't even in Viridian Forest, a Pinsir. Pidgey was my choice and a few Gusts, were able to defeat the Pinsir, but it was by far the toughest battle inside Viridian Forest.

I'd also been training my recent captures, that being Caterpie and Weedle, since both only knew String Shot and Tackle, or Poison Sting for Weedle, until they pretty much evolved. A bug catcher, challenged me and I thought it was a convenient way to train Caterpie first. "Caterpie come on out!" At that Caterpie appeared, seemingly interested in the battle.

My opponent used a Metapod, which was the evolved form of Caterpie however, unless he had evolved his Caterpie, then that Metapod would unfortunately for him, only know one move, that wouldn't do any damage to Caterpie.

"Metapod use Harden!" The bug catcher instructed his Metapod, who blinked, before hardening his body, raising his defence slightly. However, when we battled, he continually used Harden, using no other attacking moves. This made me confident that Caterpie would easily be able to win the battle. "Caterpie, repeatedly use Tackle!" At that Caterpie slowly used Tackle, whittling Metapod down, while his trainer seemingly seemed oblivious to the disaster that would eventually befall him.

Eventually though, Caterpie claimed his win and as a result for his efforts, he began glowing a bright blue, I gasped in awe, realising that Caterpie was undergoing an evolution. The first evolution I'd ever seen as a trainer. I can't possibly describe the feeling of seeing one of your beloved Pokemon evolve. Eventually the glow faded and Caterpie had evolved into Metapod. Rotom updated the Pokedex for me. "Metapod the Cocoon Pokemon, a Bug Type. It is waiting for the moment to evolve. At this stage it can only harden, so it remains motionless to avoid attacks."

I was ecstatic and rushed over to Metapod and lifted him up, at the moment though Metapod couldn't really return any feelings of happiness, since he currently was a cocoon and would need to evolve further in order to be released from his constraints. Knowing that it wouldn't take long for Metapod to evolve, I continued to battling Bug trainers and managed to win each and every battle with just Metapod.

One trainer, was different, he had a Pidgey, "Pidgey use Peck on Metapod go!" At that his Pidgey flew straight toward Metapod, but since Metapod knew more than just Harden I felt confident we could have a fighting chance against the type disadvantage. "Metapod, wrap Pidgey in a String Shot!" I instructed Metapod who released a volley of sticky thread catching the Pidgey by the wings. As a result the Pidgey was unable to fly and was therefore grounded, but not helpless at all.

"Pidgey use Peck!" The trainer commanded and Pidgey awkwardly walked towards Metapod who waited patiently for my instructions. "Metapod, counter that with Tackle!" At that Metapod moved slowly towards Pidgey and managed to use Tackle while Pidgey also used Peck. Maybe it was exhaustion or pure luck, but the Pidgey collapsed and Metapod was therefore the winner against a Flying Type.

So soon after evolving, Metapod once again, glowed a bright blue and began evolving once again. This wasn't a complete surprise since Bug Pokemon naturally grow stronger quicker than most other types. Metapod soon lost the cocoon shape and became a beautiful Butterfree. "Butterfree has been registered to your Pokedex, Butterfree the Butterfly Pokemon, a Bug and Flying Type. In battle, it flaps its wings at great speed to release highly toxic dust into the air." As a result of evolving Butterfree had learned a wide variety of moves, Supersonic, Confusion, Poison Powder and Stun Spore.

Happy at evolving Butterfree flew over to me hovering around my head before landing gently there, I assumed he wanted to stay outside and watch as I continued training, this time with his fellow Bug Pokemon Weedle. Weedle looked enviously at Butterfree, but was happy at being provided the opportunity to evolve into his final evolved form as well.

Weedle struggled at first, I assumed his former battling style and mine weren't compatible in the beginning, but since we were bonding and spending time with one another we would soon assimilate with one another's styles. Weedle battled to his hearts content winning his battles with some struggles along the way. We were approached by a lass, who sent out a Rattata, she must of been training against the multitude of Bug Pokemon in the forest.

"Rattata use Tackle on Weedle!" The girl instructed her Rattata who charged towards Weedle, who reflexively reared his horn up to try and jab the approaching threat, "Weedle Poison Sting!" I countered, hoping that Weedle's position would prevent the Rattata from being able to hit Weedle without being hurt in the process. Luckily, that happened, upon seeing the approaching Poison Sting, Rattata changed direction and attacked from the side. The move was blocked by Weedle, who knew what the sly Rattata was planning.

With some strategy, Rattata managed to win, but not an easy win that's for sure. Weedle continued battling, having a decent time whenever we were up against any Metapod or Kakuna even their prior forms. With some wins up his belt, Weedle began glowing that familiar blue, signalling he was evolving. Weedle, soon became familiar to Metapod, in that Kakuna was now a cocoon as well.

Rotom updated the Pokedex for me as well, "Kakuna has been registered to your Pokedex. Kakuna the Cocoon Pokemon, a Bug and Poison Pokemon. Kakuna remains virtually immobile as it clings to a tree. However, on the inside its extremely busy as it prepares for its coming evolution. This is evident from how hot the shell becomes to touch."

Kakuna once again resembled Metapod, that both Pokemon became the cocoon Pokemon and remained virtually immobile while they patiently awaited there final evolution. Exploring around the hidden areas around the forest, I thought I was imagining things, but was surprised when I saw a Bulbasaur running through the forest. At first I had assumed that it had a trainer and had gotten lost, but that sounded unlikely.

Immediately I followed the Bulbasaur which rushed through the forest, seemingly unaware that I was following. Holding Kakuna in hand, with Squirtle and Butterfree following in toe. Eventually, we came across a large clearing, where the Bulbasaur turned to face me. I couldn't quite understand how exactly a Bulbasaur was in the wild. I had believed that they were extremely rare and only really bred for trainers.

"Kakuna, ready to battle?" I asked and gently placed him down to face off against the starter Pokemon. Bulbasaur started by using Vine Whip, luckily even though it was likely stronger than my Kakuna, it wouldn't do much damage at all. "Kakuna use Harden!" Immediately Kakuna hardened his body and the Vine Whip's bounced off his shell, seemingly doing no visible damage as I had predicted.

Bulbasaur withdrew his vines, now understanding that he needed a different strategy. Bulbasaur then used Growth and powered up, a smart move that's for sure. "Kakuna use Poison Sting!" Kakuna fired the Poison Stings, but Bulbasaur once again used Vine Whip and whacked the Poison Stings away. I gritted my teeth, knowing that Bulbasaur was likely going to be a very tough catch.

Kakuna keep using Poison Sting!" At that Kakuna fired a repeated wave of Poison Stings, while Bulbasaur continued to deflect them using Vine Whip, however, my ultimate aim was hoping that Bulbasaur would grow tired and the Poison Stings would eventually overpower the exhausted Bulbasaur. It seemed as though that was a likely possibility as Bulbasaur, was sometimes struck by the Poison Sting, before narrowly blocking the others.

"Stop using Poison Sting, use Tackle instead!" At that Bulbasaur, also charged forward using Tackle, with more momentum than Kakuna. When the two Pokemon clashed together, they glared at each other and I imagined that if Kakuna had teeth he would be gritting them in annoyance at the battle. As Bulbasaur began pushing Kakuna back, he seemed more confident that he would win, however, nobody expected this battle to be what unlocked Kakuna's evolution.

I knew he was close to evolving so seeing the blue glow, wasn't surprising. However, it sure was to Bulbasaur, who backed away and watched as Kakuna changed shape. Emerging from the cocoon appeared a Beedrill, buzzing around happily at the fact he had evolved. Rotom updated the Pokedex, "Beedrill has been registered to your Pokedex. Beedrill the Poison Bee Pokemon, a Bug and Poison type, It has three poisonous stingers on it's forelegs and tail. They are used to jab its enemy repeatedly."

Bulbasaur hadn't given up and used Vine Whip once again, "Beedrill dodge that!" At that Beedrill flew around dodging Bulbasaur's attempts to catch him. "Now use Fury Attack!" At that Beedrill dove over the Vine Whip before jabbing Bulbasaur repeatedly. Eventually, Bulbasaur collapsed down to the ground, before feebly attempting to stand back up. Taking a chance I threw a Pokeball and watched at the Pokeball shook once, then twice before the Bulbasaur broke free.

Bulbasaur smirked at me and Beedrill before he gestured for Beedrill to try again. "Use another Fury Attack Beedrill!" At that Bulbasaur used Vine Whip and managed to catch Beedrill, throwing it down to the ground, before releasing it. From the smoke, Beedrill rose once again and darted towards Bulbasaur. "This should finish it Beedrill use, Twineedle!"

Beedrill used his stingers on his forelegs and jabbed Bulbasaur. Once again Bulbasaur collapsed and I threw another Pokeball. I watched as the ball shook once, twice and three times before signalling that Bulbasaur had been captured. Rotom happily updated the index for me. "Bulbasaur has been registered to your Pokedex. Bulbasaur the Seed Pokemon, a Grass and Poison Type. While it is young, it uses the nutrients that are stored on its back to grow."

Almost immediately I was surrounded by cheering Pokemon, Beedrill and Butterfree both flew around my head happily, while Squirtle cheered in my arms as I knelt down and grabbed Bulbasaur's Pokeball releasing it. "It's nice to meet you Bulbasaur, my names Leo and these are some of my Pokemon." Bulbasaur smiled before extending his vines towards me, then Beedrill, Butterfree and Squirtle. Each time, the Pokemon attempted to replicate a handshake as a way of introducing themselves.

It sure seemed as though Bulbasaur was happy to have been caught, it just surprised me that he was a wild Pokemon, I hadn't believed that Bulbasaur were even found in Viridian Forest. I also checked to see Bulbasaur's known moves. those being, Vine Whip, Growth, Tackle and finally, Leech Seed.

For the meantime, I returned Butterfree and Beedrill to their Pokeballs and did some reorganising of the party. For the meantime, I had Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgey, Spearow, Butterfree and Beedrill on the team. Squirtle was my starter and placing him away from me seemed almost wrong. Bulbasaur I wanted to forge a strong connection with, Spearow and Pidgey would be great against any Bug Pokemon that would dare attack us. Buttefree and Beedrill had only just evolved so giving them some free time would be great for them.

Following the trail, I managed to return to where I was before I had followed Bulbasaur and was excited to see a Pikachu had been observing me, upon realising it had been seen, the Pikachu jumped out from the bushes and began sparking. I judged that Bulbasaur even though a recent capture, against a Pikachu, he would have the best chance of winning. Besides my other Pokemon, minus Beedrill were all weak to electric attacks.

"Bulbasaur, this will be our first battle together, lets give it our best shot" At that Bulbasaur smiled and charged towards Pikachu who dodged at lightning speed, even shocking me. Pikachu laughed at that and launched a small Thunder Shock but Bulbasaur managed to withstand the attack. "That's quite fast, alright Bulbasaur use Vine Whip and slow that Pikachu down!" At that Bulbasaur extended his vines and attempted to grab the Pikachu who used the terrain to his advantage. He ducked and dodged around the vines, but seemed to become overconfident. In his attempts to avoid Vine Whip, he tripped over some tree root and Bulbasaur quickly took his chance and grabbed Pikachu.

Pikachu however. had a perfect opportunity and unleashed a second Thunder Shock and since he was directly connected to Bulbasaur the attack did even more damage, even though it wasn't very effective. Bulbasaur released Pikachu, but I soon noticed a secondary problem. Bulbasaur had been paralysed by Thunder Shock, it would lower his speed and could even make him immobile as well.

"Bulbasaur try and regain some energy, use Leech Seed" I hoped that it would work and luckily for us, Leech Seed grabbed Pikachu and began draining its energy and transferred that energy back to Bulbasaur, who seemed revitalised. "Now use Tackle." The paralysis slowed down Bulbasaur but he managed to bash into Pikachu who slumped downwards. Seeing the opportunity I threw a Pokeball and watched as the capture was complete.

"Pikachu has been registered to your Pokedex, Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon, an Electric Type. When Pikachu meet, they'll touch their tails together and exchange ekectrcity through them as a form of greeting." Pikachu was my first Electric Type and definitely a good one as well. Checking his moves, I saw he knew, Thunder Shock, Double Team, Thunder Wave and Charm.

For the next few hours, I continued training all my Pokemon exchanging them through the box, meaning every one of my Pokemon gained valuable experience. Checking my Pokedex I was pleasantly surprised at seeing I had registered a total of 15 Pokemon to my Pokedex, that of course was still rather small, but for the beginning of my journey that was wonderful.