บท 34: Disgust

After getting everyone cleaned up and fed, we finally set out to reach Pewter city today.

Though the girls tried to take things slow for my sake, even trying to get me to ride on Tropius' back or be carried by Exeggutor, I repeatedly told them that I was fine, and that the sooner we reached the city the sooner I could get some proper treatment. So we hurried along at my pace, and while my chest did sting a bit from the movement, it was nothing like yesterday.

Another plus was the notable lack of Beedrill attacking us every few minutes, which I took to mean that their hive was running dangerously low on scouts and such to send out like they were before. I certainly wasn't going to complain, as it meant we were able to travel unmolested through the forest, and I was even able to let Combee out to explore and collect pollen to make honey.

Also out with us was Riolu, Charmander, Piplup, and Combusken, who was constantly pestering Riolu about training and teaching her some moves, much to Piplup's chagrin. The tiny blue penguin would then lambast Combusken for bugging Riolu, only for the flaming chicken to mock her for her still being in the 'baby' stage.

Needless to say the girls and I were quite entertained by the two's bickering with an exasperated Riolu caught between them, which continued clear up until it was almost time for us to stop for lunch.

*beep beep!*

My Pokenav suddenly started going off, along with the three girl's as we all pulled them out to see what was going on. The moment we flipped them open though, a reporters face appeared on the screen as she said,

"This just in! To all trainers in Pewter and Viridian city areas, we have just received word from the Ranger base here in Kanto that a hive of Combee being led by an Alpha Vespiquen has been spotted in Viridian forest.

"In response to their presence, the Beedrill hive has mobilized its forces to combat them, resulting in a large scale turf war. One Ranger who had been passing through the forest caught this footage yesterday."

As the reporter finished speaking we then saw the same video I had taken yesterday, cut and edited to shorten it, but it still showed the major points of the battle. The clash between Combee and Beedrill, Vespiquen entering the fray, the second wave of Beedrill accompanied by ten of their own Alphas, and finally the fall of Vespiquen before the Beedrill began turning towards the camera menacingly.

The screen went back to the reporter who continued,

"According to the Ranger base, the Ranger who caught this footage was injured by one of the participants of the battle, but thanks to first aid given to them by their traveling companions they are fine. Meanwhile the Union would like to warn anyone entering the forest that even if the invading Combee and Vespiquen were eliminated, the Beedrill of Viridian may remain exceptionally aggressive for a while yet. As such they recommend caution for anyone entering the forest for the next several days. That concludes this report."

"Humph!" May pouted as the screens went dark, before she stated irritably, "They could've at least mentioned you by name instead just as some faceless Ranger!"

With Dawn and even Misty both nodding in agreement, I just smiled wryly and continued walking as I replied, "I actually prefer it this way. Firstly I don't care for becoming famous, since it'll just make things harder for me in the future, and secondly now I don't have to worry my mom watching that report and immediately knowing I got hurt, especially this early into my journey."

I could practically feel the girls rolling their eyes at the back of my head as I continued walking, making me chuckle wryly at them.

We continued walking for a bit through the forest while also looking for a nice place to stop for lunch, when the rustling of a nearby bush caught our attention.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Misty screamed in fear, though it wasn't too strange a reaction since all any of the rest of us thought at first was a return of the Beedrill. As I sensed the aura coming from the bush though, I flashed a small smile.

"It's ok." I told the girls, right as a small yellow and black figure leapt out of the bush in front of us.

"Chu?" The tiny Pichu asked while cocking its head to the side curiously, making the girls go from fear to swooning in a heartbeat.

"Awwwwwww! It's so cute!" Dawn gushed over the little Pichu.

"Chu Chu!" Pichu exclaimed as it noticed May readying a pokeball.

"Imma catch it!" She declared, unwillingly scaring Pichu with the intense aura radiating from her body.

"Uh, May?" I said, trying to draw her attention to how she was acting.

"Just a second Ace.... I'm about to get it." She said while ignoring me.

When I heard that I just shrugged in resignation, and decided to let this scene play out as May lunged at the timid little Pichu suddenly.

"GOTCHA!"

"CHU!"

May and Pichu both cried as the latter leapt away from the former with its superior agility.

"Come back here!" May commanded as the quick Pichu darted away, ignoring her entirely even as she chased after it.

Soon the little mouse-like Pokemon darted into a another bush for cover, which was where May threw her pokeball as she tried to catch it.

Gotcha now!" She exclaimed victoriously, her smirk widening as the pokeball hit something in the bush, and sucked it inside.

For a moment no one said anything as we all watched the pokeball wiggle back and forth, before it finally settled with a small 'ding'.

"YES!" May cried out in victory before picking up the pokeball and holding it over her head.

"I caught Pichu!" She exclaimed as we caught up to her, and both Misty and Dawn went to give their congratulations.

"Good job May!"

"I'm surprised you managed to get it."

"Chu Chu?"

"Yes yes, I caught myself a Pichu!" She exclaimed once again, apparently pleased with herself while I just watched on humorously.

"Pi pi Chu!"

"Yes it was a good catch!" May replied, before she and the other two stopped to think who it was she was answering.

Slowly they all turned upwards towards the branch of a tree overhead, and sitting there was the same little Pichu she'd been trying to catch.

"Huh?" May uttered as we watched her try to process what she was seeing.

"Chu?" Pichu asked out of equal curiosity.

"..."

Slowly, May looked back and forth between at the pokeball in her hand as she seemingly tried to register something, before eventually looking up at us and asking in a small voice, "What did I catch?"

I had to fight from laughing at May's expression as she contemplated releasing whatever it was she'd caught from the pokeball, only to reluctantly press the button since she'd have to eventually anyways.

Immediately the Pokemon within was ejected as it formed before us, and the form it took made me want to laugh even more as it became a green caterpillar looking Pokemon.

"Pi pi!" The little Caterpie exclaimed happily when it saw its new trainer, apparently happy that it had been caught.

May meanwhile had gone as white as a ghost as her entire body became rigid, until the little Caterpie approached her and tried to crawl up her leg.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" May shrieked as she moved to kick the Caterpie away, before I quickly formed an aura barrier around her foot to keep her from doing so.

"What are you doing May!?" I demanded angrily, shocking all three of the girls since they had never heard me use such a tone.

"I-I..."

"That Caterpie has done nothing to you! It was happy to have a trainer and you responded by trying to kick it?!"

"I-I-I....." May sputtered as I glared at her angrily, before looking down at her feet to avoid my gaze, only to be met with Caterpie's watery eyes that practically screamed 'you don't want me?'

"I-I'm sorry...." May uttered quietly in a choked voice.

"Are you saying that to me, or Caterpie?" I demanded in a harsh tone, making May flinch before she focused on Caterpie at her feet.

Though it took her a second to steel her nerves, May eventually knelt down to look directly at the little green Pokemon, and said to it,

"I'm sorry I tried to kick you Caterpie..."

"Pi pi!" Caterpie cried out as it accepted May's apology, prompting her to look at me for a translation.

"He said its ok, you just need to keep him to make up for it."

Though she smiled in relief at first, May's smile became cramped when I mentioned her keeping the little Caterpie.

She then glanced back and forth between myself and the Caterpie, who's eyes were shining as if to express his desire for May to keep him, even now. Eventually she closed her eyes and sighed deeply, during which I noticed her aura become calmer before she opened her eyes, and hesitantly said,

"Ok then.... I'll keep you..."

"Pi pi!" Caterpie cried out happily as he tried getting closer to May, making she shudder from disgust, but she didn't shy away or try to kick him again.

Nodding in approval, I stepped forward and knelt down beside May before gently taking her hand in my own. I felt her tense under my grip as I extended her hand out slowly towards her new Pokemon, but she didn't rip it away even when I gently placed her hand on Caterpie's forehead, and slowly moved it back and forth.

"..."

Caterpie made an odd trilling noise of contentment as May stroked it, and as the seconds passed I also felt the tension leaving her body before I slowly took my hand away from hers. And even without me continuing the contact, May continued rubbing Caterpie's head before eventually saying with a slightly nervous tone,

"I-I guess you aren't THAT bad..."

"Pi pi!" Caterpie declared, as if to say 'that's right!'

Dawn giggled from the scene while I similarly chuckled, my earlier anger gone entirely. Glancing around though, I then said to everyone,

"How about having our lunch here so we can hurry up and be on our way?"

The girls readily agreed since everyone was getting hungry, if the soft rumble I suddenly heard from Misty was any indication. So we rolled out a blanket and let out the Pokemon who could join us, before pulling out the ingredients needed for our light meal. Namely different types of sandwiches or sandwich-like combos.

We especially tried several things with our newly gathered honey since we had more than enough to, though I kept Riolu and Treecko away from it so they wouldn't get sticky again. And as we ate I noticed the tiny Pichu that was still in the tree watching us curiously, even more so when we opened the honey and it's sweet scent wafted up to it.

While I fed Combee a few spoonfuls of honey since it was all she'd eat, I also watched as the Pichu slowly made its way down the tree, before lightly hopping onto May's head.

The girl froze at the sudden weight she felt on her head, before Pichu jumped down from there onto her leg as it looked up at her expectantly.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"Chu Chu!" Pichu said while nodding in affirmation. So, May tore off a piece of toast that Charmander had toasted for us and was slathered with honey, before offering it to the little Pichu, who sniffed it curiously before accepting a bite of the toast.

"Chu Chu!" Pichu cried out in enjoyment as it ate the rest of the offered toast, before looking up at May with expectations for more.

"Here's some more." May said as she offered the rest of the slice of toast, which Pichu readily scarfed down while getting crumbs and honey all over its little paws and mouth.

"Now look at the mess you made!" May exclaimed as she pulled out a wipe, and began wiping the Pichu down expertly.

Though Caterpie watched this scene wistfully, I nudged him with my foot before quietly muttering,

"Give it time. May is scared of bugs, but if you're patient she'll warm up to you as well."

"Pie?" Caterpie asked hopefully, to which I nodded in affirmation. But, to help him acclimate to the group until then, I also pointed Caterpie to to the side where he saw Dawn's Silcoon sitting there in the sun.

Caterpie was instantly smitten as he hurried over there to try and talk her up, making me smile warmly at the scene until something else caught my attention.

I hurriedly grabbed one of the Pokeballs on my belt and activated it, sucking Charmander into it all of a sudden and alarming everyone else.

"What's that about Ace?" Misty demanded as I murmured an apology to Charmander, before I explained to them,

"There's someone coming."

The girls immediately understood why I acted the way I did, since we had all agreed to mainly keep Charmander a secret due to his 'unique' appearance. Even though the aura I felt wasn't at all malicious or threatening in any way, people would most likely talk if they had seen a pure white Charmander.

And a couple minutes after I put Charmander away, the bushes near us rustled before a man emerged from them dressed in thick samurai style armor. Needless to say the girls and I stared at the man in shock for a moment, as it wasn't everyday you saw a man dressed as a samurai, while he looked over us and our Pokemon before grinning as he said,

"I thought I heard voices in this direction! Any of you folks up for a Pokemon battle?"

While the girls were still staring at his unusual getup, I stood from my seated position as I answered him,

"I think the better question is 'are you ready to lose'?"

(A.N. Sorry for the delay and short chapter. I've been busy playing Legacy in my spare time, and got sucked into reading another over the last week.)