A/N: Sorry about the delay, been a bit side tracked with other things, but want to let you guys know this is the last chapter of Viridian Forest.
The next chapter will be a transition chapter from any finish business in Viridian Forest to when Liam reaches Pewter City Gym.
Also I'll be making another post which will have ideas of some stories with a short summary of what I plan on doing in the future after I reach 100 chapters and I hope for some sort of feedback on those and would like to thank everyone patient.
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— Liam POV —
"It seems we're getting close to the cause of all this."
Samurai and I were following Weedle as she led us to a part of the forest where people probably rarely ventured.
"It seems you're right, Liam. Now, what's our plan once we get there?"
Samurai looked at me as we continued following Weedle. I thought about it for a moment. Well, the plan was actually pretty simple.
"It's simple, really. Once we get there, I'll come up with a plan after we see what's going on. Agreed?"
Samurai nodded as Weedle stopped in front of a thicket of bushes blocking our path. Just as we stopped, we heard the sound of a bird overhead and saw a large shadow pass over us.
I returned Weedle to her Poké Ball as Samurai whispered to me.
"Liam, look! Beyond these bushes, there's a large truck. I can see the Weedle inside, along with two guys wearing black outfits with an R on them."
When I peeked through the bushes in the direction he was pointing, I saw the Weedle and the people who were undoubtedly members of Team Rocket.
"Okay, now that we know who we're dealing with, here's the p—"
Before I could finish, Samurai jumped out of the bushes to confront them.
-----
"It's him!"
Both grunts looked at me with shocked expressions, which confused me.
The older one pressed his palm against his face in annoyance.
"Damn! This has to be our worst day. First Noir, and now the kid he mentioned! Oi, Axel! Get the truck ready to go while I buy us some time!"
The younger Team Rocket grunt, whose name was Axel, looked annoyed by the older man's words. From what I could tell, they'd probably been having a bad day.
"Sir, let me handle them. I can take on two amateurs."
This guy was cocky, but I still had to be careful because we had no idea what Pokémon they had with them.
I glanced at Samurai and realized he understood what I had in mind. He threw a Poké Ball.
"Go, Pinsir! Use Vice Grip and destroy those cages!"
A bipedal, brown Bug-type Pokémon with two large horns on its head emerged from the Poké Ball and immediately lunged toward the cages.
"No, you don't! Magnemite, stop that Pinsir with Thunder Shock!"
The older Team Rocket grunt threw his Poké Ball, releasing a metallic, spherical Pokémon with a horseshoe-shaped magnet on either side of its body.
"Courage! Use Rollout on Magnemite!"
Before Magnemite could release its Thunder Shock, Courage knocked its aim off course, causing the attack to hit a tree instead.
"Nice going, Courage!"
"Scrhch!"
Both Courage and I turned toward Pinsir after hearing a loud impact. We saw that it had been sent flying backward by a Rhyhorn.
"Pinsir, are you okay?!"
Samurai immediately rushed over to check on Pinsir after it took a hard hit from Rhyhorn.
Courage and I then turned toward Rhyhorn, or more specifically, its trainer, Axel.
"Like I said, Joe, Noir was wrong! I can take them both on with Rhyhorn. But it's still funny how that kid's Wimpod knocked your Magnemite's attack off course."
Joe wore an annoyed expression as Axel continued boasting. He immediately focused his attention on finishing off Samurai's Pinsir with Magnemite.
"No, you don't! Rattata, go! Use Quick Attack!"
I immediately threw another Poké Ball, and Rattata responded to my command, taking down Joe's Magnemite and knocking it unconscious.
Joe looked utterly bewildered by what had just happened.
"Magnemite! Damn you, kid! Go, Primeape!"
I glanced back toward Samurai. He and Pinsir still seemed capable of fighting, but I understood that these guys weren't like Jessie, James, and Meowth, who rarely called for backup.
I needed to think carefully and remain cautious when dealing with criminal organizations like Team Rocket. There was always a chance they could call for reinforcements.
Then, an idea struck me.
"Samurai! You and Pinsir go free the Weedle. Leave these two to me!"
"All right! Leave it to me, Liam!"
As I watched Samurai and Pinsir head toward the caged Weedle again, Joe ordered his Primeape to go after Pinsir.
Before he could launch an attack, I had Rattata use Quick Attack.
Joe seemed increasingly frustrated with my Rattata.
"Damn brat! Hey, Axel! A little help here!"
"You can't handle a simple Rattata yourself?"
"There's something strange about this Rattata! It's abnormally fast compared to any other Rattata I've seen before! Now come help me take this guy down before Noir comes back!"
*Noir? I wonder who they mean. Maybe it's the person riding the Pokémon whose shadow passed overhead earlier. Either way, this isn't good. The battle has been pretty loud.*
I needed to finish this battle quickly with Courage and Rattata.
"Rattata, focus on Primeape! Outmaneuver it to drain its stamina, then use Bite! Courage, use Aqua Jet on Rhyhorn!"
Both Pokémon listened to my commands as the two grunts focused on their opponents.
"Primeape, use Fury Swipes on that Rattata!"
"Rhyhorn, use Horn Attack! Squash that bug!"
As both sides continued battling, we heard a sound coming from the direction of the cages.
When I looked over, I saw that Samurai and Pinsir had finally freed all the Weedle.
"Liam, we did it! Come on, Weedle! You're free now!"
The Weedle immediately began moving out of the cages and running back into the forest.
The look on Joe's face was one of pure horror, while Axel looked as though he couldn't believe what was happening.
"No! All those days of work capturing them, wasted! The boss... and Noir aren't going to be pleased about this! Axel, we need to retreat!"
"Retreat?! Joe, are you kidding me? I'm not going to fail my first assignment because of some kid who uses a cowardly bug and a rodent!"
Well, that was a first. Normally, grunts seemed willing to fight to the end. At least, that's how it usually worked in the games and anime. Though, to be fair, that was mostly the Team Rocket trio, who always seemed to lose anyway.
Joe was cautious about their situation, but that didn't bode well for me. They could return after we left and try again. And now that the Weedle had returned to the forest, it was only a matter of time before a swarm of Beedrill appeared.
"Sorry, but that's not going to happen! You're both going down! Rattata, use Focus Energy, then Quick Attack on Primeape! Courage, let's finish this! Use Aqua Jet on Rhyhorn once more!"
Before Joe could issue another command, my Rattata moved too quickly for Primeape to react and knocked it unconscious.
"Rhyhorn, use Horn Attack again!"
Courage and Rhyhorn charged straight at each other, but I had faith that Courage would win because he was my partner.
"Courage, don't let him push you back! Finish it!"
"Scrhch!"
Hearing my shout, Courage pushed Rhyhorn back and finally landed a critical hit, sending it flying directly toward Axel and knocking both him and Rhyhorn unconscious.
Rattata and Courage then came over to hug me in celebration of our victory. I embraced them both in return.
"Nice going, guys! Now, let's take these two to the Po—"
Before I could finish that sentence, a loud buzzing sound came from behind Samurai and me.
We were too late.
"This is bad, Liam. The Weedle have already alerted the Beedrill, and this is by far the biggest swarm I've ever seen!"
I could only chuckle at Samurai's words.
"You're not wrong. This might be every Beedrill that inhabits Viridian Forest. But I have a plan that will hopefully save us."
Courage and Rattata were ready to fight, but I had them fall back. The last thing we wanted was to appear threatening to the Beedrill, who had already been agitated for the past few days.
I took out Weedle's Poké Ball and released her.
"Weedle, come on out!"
When Weedle emerged, she looked at the swarm and then at me, wondering what was happening.
"Weedle, can you persuade them not to attack us? Tell them we were only trying to save their friends."
Weedle nodded and began trying to communicate with the swarm. From the looks of it, she was working really hard to convince them not to attack us, and it seemed to be working.
I hoped.
-----
"Hey, Axel, you up?"
"I am. Keep your voice down, or do you want them coming after us?"
"This is why you shouldn't get so cocky when battling someone's Pokémon just because they look weak. Never underestimate your opponent, kid. That's the only advice I'll give you. Now, let's head to the truck and hightail it out of here before they come for us."
"U-U-Uh, Joe! Look over there!"
"Look where—?! Run!"
-----
Samurai and I sighed in relief as the Beedrill chased after the two grunts instead of us.
I looked at Weedle and thanked her for saving us.
"Hey, Weedle, since we've saved your friends, would you still like to travel with us?"
"Scrph?"
Some people might find this dumb or insane, but I had only caught Weedle to help us save the other Weedle and calm the Beedrill down. I didn't want to separate a Pokémon from its friends.
I know that, in the anime, everything seems fine and dandy, but this is the real world. I need to put a Pokémon's feelings first and consider whether it truly wants to travel with me.
Rattata was a different story. He had been ready to join me on my journey across Kanto after Courage defeated him.
"Scrph!"
Weedle jumped onto me, having made her decision. I could only smile as the others cheered.
"Thank you, Weedle! I promise we'll have lots of fun together."
"Scrph."
-----
After the incident, we made our way to Samurai's cabin to rest before I set off again.
Of course, I could only sigh because I hadn't managed to catch a Bulbasaur.
"Is something the matter, Liam?"
"Not really, Samurai. I'm just sad I wasn't able to catch a Bulbasaur here."
"Oh. If you want to catch one, I believe there's one in the center of Viridian Forest. It hangs around a pond."
My jaw dropped when I heard him say that.
After days of searching every bush, patch of tall grass, burrow, watering hole, sunlit spot, and large cluster of plants, there had been a Bulbasaur in the center of the forest all along?!
"That's great! Thanks for the information, Samurai!"
"Wait!"
Before I could step out the door and head toward the center of Viridian Forest, I turned around and looked at Samurai, who had called out to me.
"What's the matter, Samurai?"
"I just wanted to let you know that this Bulbasaur only comes out to the pond at certain intervals, when there's enough sunlight for it to bask near the water."
I understood what Samurai meant. Bulbasaur needed sunlight to help the seed on its back obtain nutrients, which it supplied to the animal part of its body. In return, the animal part needed to eat to provide nutrients to the plant.
That meant it would be best to go when the sunlight was strongest. Since the sun was already setting, it would be wiser to leave early in the morning and wait until midday.
"Thanks for the information, Samurai. I hope you don't mind if we stay the night."
Samurai nodded and agreed to my request.
All I knew was that tomorrow, once I caught Bulbasaur, I'd be heading straight to Pewter City to earn my first Gym Badge.