The morning sunrise just barely peaked through the towering oak trees of Ilex Forest as I began my trek. My body was moving quickly across the ground while being crouched low, hands clutching my trusty Catcher’s Net, eyes darting around for dangers in every direction. This was all learned behavior, skills built up over years of hunting my chosen quarry.
*Snap*
I heard the breaking of a twig not far from me and came to a sudden stop, whirling around in the direction it came from. Could it already be? I’d only been in the forest for a few minutes.
“Target spotted” I whispered to myself as I viewed the Pokemon I search for during every trip into the forest, laying just 20 feet away. I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips and my heart started to beat with anticipation.
Its body was segmented into ever smaller yellow balls, with equally spherical, red, nub-like feet attached to all but the first. The first and last ball-segment each had a matching stinger, with the first also bearing a round red nose that obscured a tiny mouth, all topped with dark beady eyes. Weedle.
I quickly discerned that it had not yet taken notice of me and so began to move, as slowly and silently as possible, to circle it so that I could approach from behind. The Weedle was busy chewing on a leaf attached to the twig that it snapped so my approach continued unnoticed. The closer I got the more time seemed to slow, my senses heightened for a brief moment, and I took in every detail that I could.
‘The grass is still quite wet from the morning dew, an incorrect takeoff could make me slip. A Hoothoot is cooing 3 trees to the left, I’m probably stealing it’s prey so I'll need to flee as soon as possible after making the catch. The stinger is primed for an upward strike and has a slight tilt to the right; a swing from the left is going to be the hardest to counter.’
Lastly: ‘That leaf is almost gone, I have to do this now!’
The sudden need for action broke me out of my thoughts and my hands tightened their grip on my net. I launched into a sprint, careful to keep my traction, and wound back my net to the left side. The Weedle heard my approach and just as its stinger started to turn directions I let my net fly and heard a *Whooosh* as it glided through the air. At the moment of contact I tilted my net upwards into a scooping motion as the Weedle’s eyes went wide and it fell in.
I kept the opening pointed upwards as I slung my net over my back and continued running but adjusted my direction back towards Azalea Town, confident that the Weedle was ill prepared to make the climb out. I just barely began to hear the nearby Hoothoot’s coos take an angry turn before I was out of there.
Catcher’s Nets were made from apricorn, the same miracle fruit that made the original pokeball. According to my best friend, Maizie, objects made out of apricorns were larger on the inside than on the outside. Though no one can explain exactly why that was the case, people had been exploiting that fact for years to be able to carry and contain pokemon. The inside of my net was actually about 50 feet deep. I also did not feel any additional weight, though if I had more than a few Weedle in there it started to register, but still not by much.
I quickly made my way out of Ilex Forest, much earlier than usual, and returned back home.
x-x
The calming air of Azalea Town washed over me as I passed the check point separating the town from Ilex Forest, the ashy smell of the Charcoal House instantly identifiable on the wind. Another catch successful and without having to face down an actual threat! I raced past my neighbors, the Gantetsus, and headed toward my home.
The house I, and my dad, grew up in was of modest size but was placed on a large plot of farm land. It, like many buildings in Johto, was hundreds of years old and was built using some very archaic methods, but home was home. Even with a leaky roof, a hundred floorboards of varying creakiness, and a style that would look better in a black and white film than in living color.
Grandpa used to grow Oran on our farmland but as Goldenrod refined its shipping routes, bigger companies were able to undercut him. Dad was on a journey to see if he had what it took to make it to the Indigo Conference when Grandpa called it quits and closed the farm. He returned home and with his starter, a Beedrill named Beatrice, converted the farm to a Beedrill farm; Bee’s Honey had now been a local favorite for almost 20 years.
“Mom, Dad, I’ve got a catch already!” I yelled into the house as I opened the door. I heard some confused murmurs and then my dad came barreling down the stairs. His tall and wide frame came into view and he held an embarrassed hand up to his mouth.
“Terry, its barely been an hour, you mean to tell me that our new resident is already here?” He said, false worry in his voice. “I’ve barely had time to clean!” he grinned at me, eyes eagerly staring at the net slung over my shoulder.
“Somehow, I don’t think this one will care much for any mess you might have back there” I laughed as I motioned to him hand the net. He backed away holding up his hands.
“Give me a minute boy, let me get my suit on!” he called as he started moving back towards the stairs, then stopped for a moment as if he suddenly remembered something, peeking back at me. “Really though, great job Terry. Starting to think catching Weedles might be too easy for you…” he trailed off, breaking eye contact.
“I agree, maybe you should let me try catching something else?” I retorted.
“Why would you need to do that?” my mother asked, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, popping her head out from behind Dad who winced at her words. Her tall purple hair was more visible than her face as her short legs left her mostly obscured by his rotund form. “Bee’s Honey Farm is always going to need new Beedrill, you’re an important part of the family business.”
“I know, but Maizie is gonna battle Bugsy next week and if she wins she’s gonna leave!” I said, with more emotion than intended leaking in. Dad took this moment to sneak away, feeling a familiar argument coming on, and went back to moving up the stairs. Mom shifted to a sympathetic expression and walked closer to me, her bright violet eyes coming into view.
“You shouldn’t go on your journey just because your friend is” she warned.
“I’m not Mom, I really want this, I’ve been studying bug types for practically my whole life and I love them. I’m fascinated by them, and I want to see them used right.” I declared trying to keep my back straight and my matching eyes locked onto hers.
“I hope you don’t go around town saying that, Bugsy is a well respected Gym Leader” Mom scolded
“Yes, yes, Bugsy is strong, I hear the visiting trainers every year and do you know what they say? ‘He is strong, for a bug user.’” I counter. “Everyone knows that he’s one of the easier Gym Leaders, even with experience he’s only ever hit a certain level.” This was, frankly, just me repeating something I read in a trainer forum, but I agreed with it! Mom, however, immediately scoffed.
“You have no idea what you’re even talking about, you’ve never trained a Pokemon, you’ve never battled before, and you don’t seem to be mentioning fighting Bugsy with Maizie, just joining her for the journey?” she said, her expression shifting from one of annoyance to a more taunting look.
“I want to fight him last.” I murmured.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because if I can beat him at his strongest, at the end of my journey, then I’ll know I’m the strongest bug user in Johto” I stated, my confidence returning. “And then I’ll use what I’ve learned at the Indigo Conference and show the world the real power of Bug Types.”
Mom chuckled and leaned in to give me a light hug, almost whispering “I know you have dreams, honey, I do. I’m just scared for you. You know Ilex well, but the world is dangerous. The league used to say 10 was old enough to start your journey, now they say 15 is okay, but what if they are wrong? What if you get hurt?” Her voice cracked slightly at the end.
“I won't mislead you, there’s always going to be some risk, but I know how to mitigate risk in the wild” I started. “Trust me, I’m the last person to stupidly get chased by a flock of Spearow, not again!”
“It’s the fact that it’s happened at all that scares me, you didn't even bring your bag this morning!” She raised her voice a bit again, pointing to the couch where my bag lay undisturbed since I had packed it the night before. “If you had gotten stung by that Weedle earlier you could have died out there!”
The realization made me shudder before I did a light facepalm. “Okay you’re right, that was dumb, but that’s my point. I’ve made all of my dumb early trainer mistakes here rather than on the road.” I continued. “And I promise to never forget my bag again, I was rushing this morning because Maizie taught her Slowpoke a new move. Obviously safety should be more important than that. Lesson learned.
But I don’t think my experience should be discounted. I’m not some kid fresh out of trainer school being handed a starter and told ‘Good luck!’ Do you know how many Weedle I’ve caught?” I paused, giving her a second, but no answer came. “I do. 167. I know how to approach Pokemon and I know how to not die.” I finished, my confidence brimming.
Her eyes flashed doubt and then pride as I spoke but she stayed quiet for a long moment, eyes closed. When she reopened them, the fire from her days as a trainer returned for a moment. “Fine. Prove that your experience means something. The strength of the Beedrill line should not be doubted, true. However, I want you to catch something undeniably stronger than a Weedle. If you can catch something that impresses me within the next week then I will allow you to join your friend.”
“Really?” I hadn’t expected this turn of events at all, usually this discussion ended with a kurt 'You're not ready.’ “Thank you Mom! Seriously. I’ll bring home a pokemon so strong, they’ll call it overkill for the first Gym!” I cheered.
It was at this moment that my dad came clambering down in his “Beedrill Suit” which was a full suit of plate armor. The only suit that could hope to withstand a Beedrill sting. He reached out a steel-clad hand towards my net.
“I’m ready for that catch, son, and I look forward to seeing your next one. I have no doubt it’ll be one to remember” his eyes gleamed through the visor as he jostled my black hair. He then turned and walked off stiffly towards the back door. While Dad was busy integrating my latest catch I decided to go hang out with Maizie for a little while to strategize for the coming week.
I let my parents know I’d be next door for a bit and went over to the Gantetsus’ house. While my home was old theirs was downright ancient, being built when the family came South to Johto from Sinnoh. As I knocked on the rotting wood, a familiar old man answered the door, Maizie’s grandpa Kurt. Kurt was well known throughout Johto for being one of the last of a dying breed of pokeball artisans who still handmade pokeballs. The man wore a simultaneously stern and friendly expression and, as always, a loose fitting martial artist’s gi.
“Hello Terry” Kurt spoke evenly and gave a light bow, which I returned in kind. “You are quite early today, I hope that my granddaughter has not given you reason to shirk your responsibilities to your family. I know that she can get very excited about her pokemon’s progress” he raised an eyebrow and increased the intensity of his gaze.
“Of course not sir, I simply completed my responsibilities as soon as possible, so that I could see that progress for myself” I answered, sure to not bring Kurt’s ire onto me. Ho-oh knows I didn’t want him to think I was a bad influence on his precious granddaughter. While Kurt had a hard exterior, anyone who had seen him interact with Maizie knew she was the apple of his eye. My response seemed to suffice as Kurt gave a small nod and tilted his neck to motion me into the house.
Maizie was in her room, whittling away at an apricorn by her work desk when I walked in, her Slowpoke, Sunday, sleeping next to her. Her reddish brown hair was tied into her trademark intricate pig tails that gave the appearance of a bow, seemingly defying gravity to stay out of her face while she leaned down, working. “Maizie pause whatever insane pokeball you invented this week, we have an emergency situation!” I cried as I rushed into her room, bursting at the seems to inform her about my mom’s challenge.
“For your information, the partyball’s strobing effect is a game changer as a dual use capture and distraction device!” she declared, the small multicolored apricorn glittering in the light as she turned it. “But what’s got you so revved up?” she grinned. “Get a new PB on the size of today’s Weedle?”
“First of all, I challenge anyone to find a Weedle heavier than 14.3lbs, that thing evolved the next day, and was abnormally large to begin with!” I reminded her. Dad even thought it might be an Alpha pokemon, but with evolution and a more consistent diet it proved to just be a glutinous specimen. I quickly recounted my morning so far to Maizie.
“YES!!!” Maizie shrieked when I got to Mom’s stipulations. Sunday’s eyes flew open at her outburst, but the ever tired Slowpoke quickly realized there was no danger.
“Poke.” he admonished, and resealed his eyes.
“Sorry Sunday, I know it's nap time.” she gave a light pat on the head to the bulbous pink creature and turned back to me. “Why are you still here? Get in Ilex and catch a bug big enough to drown your house in Sticky Webs so that she’ll want you gone! You have the perfect chance!” she cried, quieter than before and only half joking.
“That’s why I’m here actually, I wanted to go over my options with you. I have big dreams and all but she was right, I’ve never trained a pokemon and I’ve definitely never battled with one before. I know you aren’t the most well researched in Bugs but if we look at my options together I might avoid getting something I can’t handle.” I explained as I opened the browser in my phone to see recently spotted species in Ilex and pulled out my field notes from catching excursions. We then spent a few hours going back and forth about every Bug type pokemon seen in Ilex in the last few months.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“Heracross?” I bring up at some point, hope in my voice.
“You sure you wanna make the jump from swinging your net at a little Weedle to something as tall as you are?” she chided
“Heracross are usually below five feet, I’ll have you know I’m now five foot three... and a half!” I countered, knowing she definitely still had a few inches on me.
“Terry, Terry, Terry” she shook her head and waved a finger with a grin. “Don’t you know that only people who are insecure about their height say ‘and a half’”? Maizie teasingly poked me in the ribs while continuing “The point stands, those bastards are big, and I don't wanna see your remains after you get gored by a megahorn.” The way her blue eyes shimmered at that line made me not entirely sure if I believed her.
“Okay, okay, point taken, I’ll work up to a Heracross in the future” I concede. “People think one guy saw a Larvesta?” I read from a forum post confusedly. “No way one of the rarest bugs in the world was abandoned in Ilex, right?” I questioned, letting a bit of hope seep into my voice.
“That post was 18 days ago Terry, if there ever was a Larvesta in Ilex then it was snatched up by some elite trainer who teleported there within hours of the post going up” she answered, swatting down my hopes. “Actually the more I read, the more I see this is bullshit anyway” Her eyes danced across the post on my phone. “All the poster said was that they saw a strange little bug light a bush on fire and everyone jumped on it with ‘Larvesta Confirmed!!’ there are other Fire/Bugs, right?”
“Actually there's only one other line that I know of and though it's not quite as rare, it is still pretty hard to find and even further away than Unova” I pondered.
“Moving on, apparently the League is offering a 500 pokedollar bounty to people who catch Pineco in Ilex, to try to curb the population a bit. Could be two birds one stone” Maizie hummed. Now that was a thought. Pineco were usually only dangerous if you disturbed the tree that they called home, often exploding on both pokemon and people who go shaking the wrong branch. Lately I had been noticing them more often in the forest, but thought nothing of it. They weren’t insanely strong but they did gain the Steel type upon evolution, and were definitely a step up in power from Weedle. Plus, extra funds to start my journey definitely wouldn’t hurt.
“If I can get it to evolve before we hit Goldenrod then it will be great for Whitney, who will be my first gym challenge. I think we have a winner here!” I declared, throwing my hands into the air, flush with excitement all over again. The next morning I would go to Ilex Forest to begin my hunt, with Maizie’s gym battle being a week from today that would give me six days to find my catch.
x-x
The hunt was not going well. Oh, sure, finding a Pineco was an easy enough task but I clearly underestimated the stories about their penchant for Self-Destruct. Things started easy enough. About an hour after coming to the forest, after narrowly avoiding a cast of Paras, I spotted my first attempt. The Pineco was hanging from a well worn branch, about 10 feet off the ground, and appeared to be asleep. Its body, a pile of thick folded blue scales but for two closed slits laying between the top sets, didn’t stir.
With my skinny but long arms I was confident I could easily reach it and swipe it up before it even woke up. I gripped my net and put myself in a ready stance. The familiar feeling of the hunt welled up within me, as I took stock of my surroundings.
‘There are no other Pokemon near us. Pineco’s usual tactic is to drop down and Self-Destruct upon reaching the ground, if I can aim the net in its fall zone the attack will be neutralized! The wind is blowing north so I’ll need to aim a little further out than my instincts tell me.’ A plan formulated almost instantly, and I reached a hand for my bag, silently pulling out a small stone.
‘Now just toss the rock at the tree and be ready for when it drops, this is easy, Pineco are no harder than a Weedle’ I tried to convince myself, fear creeping into my first catch in months. ‘If you miss, that Self-Destruct might kill you.’ My hands began to sweat, the net feeling heavier than before. Before I could break myself out of it, I heard a noise coming from behind me. It was a hiss, somewhere between an Ekans warning an approaching threat and a piece of meat hitting a heated frying pan.
“SHIT!” I loudly whisper, the noise startling me. Immediately I whirl around and let out an amazed gasp as I see the creature that interrupted. It was a red Bug with a small, surprisingly flat body. The creature had a patch of brown of its back and each of the segments that made up its body had a yellow ring on the under side. These rings visibly radiated heat, as did the two whiskers of flame protruding from its tiny mouth.
“Sizzlipede?! In Ilex?!” I shouted, not able to contain my excitement. My thoughts shifted as I met the Sizzlipede’s eyes, each of us challenging the other. This hadn’t been the plan but who was I to ignore good fortune? I reoriented my grip on my net. ‘Surely the only Sizzlipede in Johto would be impressive?’ I began to try to form a plan off of what little I could remember about them, but my thoughts were interrupted once again by a *Thunk* as something hit the ground behind me.
‘I can’t believe I forgot about the Pineco!’ I broke into a run as I realized what was about to happen. But it was too late. A bright flash of light enveloped me and a burning sensation hit my entire back side. *BOOOM* A moment later I heard an exhausted “Piiiiine” in the distance as the pokemon lost consciousness.
Pain radiated from every limb as I took stock of my current situation. I wasn’t dead, which was great news. I was, however, absolutely covered in burns. Though, upon closer inspection, not too bad of burns, all likely first degree. ‘A Burn Heal, Potion, some rest and I’ll be all set’ I thought as I reached into my bag. I heard a skittering in the distance and remembered that Ariados liked to hunt Pineco after they Self-Destruct. With them being completely immobilized, Pineco were easy prey.
So I gathered myself and ran like hell until I felt I was a safe enough distance to take a break. A half hour later I was sitting in a clearing letting my medicines do their work and eating some pre-packed sandwiches.
‘I have no idea where that Sizzlipede ran off to’ I realized, now that the rush of everything that had happened was finally wearing off. ‘Should I search for it or stick with the more reliably easy catch of Pineco?’ I pondered, not sure of what my course of actions should be. I couldn’t waste the whole week searching for one specimen in the entirety of Ilex Forest, the likelihood of finding it again being quite low, but the prize of such a rare bug for this part of the world was too alluring. I resolved to keep looking for the centipede pokemon, but to try to catch any Pineco I found along the way.
I had already cleared camping out in Ilex for the week with my parents, so I spent the rest of the day investigating the area around my clearing. While I saw quite a few members of the Beedrill and Butterfree lines, I was unable to find any more Pineco and that Sizzlipede seemed to be long gone. I set up camp in my clearing and kept a fire going to ward off any Zubat that might come out at night, falling asleep under the stars.
The next day, unfortunately, would go much like the first. I found 3 Pineco over the course of the day and failed to catch all of them, you see trainers are not generally supposed to catch unconscious pokemon. Pokemon caught while unconscious could kill their trainers upon release, or go into shock upon gaining consciousness in a pokeball that they did not willingly submit to and could not break out of. This was a problem because it is shockingly easy to make a Pineco make itself unconscious.
The first saw me coming a mile away and dropped itself into a Self-Destruct much too early, luckily no pain involved there. The second, however, was picked up by a Pidgeotto while I was slowly climbing its tree. “Pidge” It cooed at me mockingly, seemingly believing it had stolen my prey. But then the telltale flash of light came and for a brief second the Pidgeotto and I made eye contact, my own intense fear reflected back in its eyes and *BOOOM* we were caught in my second (and definitely not last) Pineco explosion of the week.
After treating my wounds once again, I was back out for the third in the late afternoon. This time, during my approach, a trainer with 2 pokeballs on his belt wandered up and shouted “Look out for that Pineco!” pointing up at the tree, causing it to drop and pop once again. Neither of us were close enough to get hurt but it soured me so much that I just walked away huffing without saying anything to him, the remainder of the day a complete wash as the sun was going down soon.
x-x
For the entirety of days 3, 4, and 5 it rained. I really tried to make the best of it, but with the ground essentially turning to mud by mid day 3, the reduced visibility, and what I could only assume was an oncoming cold I completely failed to make any headway. One thing I did get better at was estimating the fall of a Pineco. I got hit by 4 more explosions over the course of those days, but I was able to predict the fall point of a Pineco within a few inches by the end.
On the morning of day 6, my final opportunity to catch a pokemon before Maizie’s Gym match, the sun was bright in the sky, breaking through the trees of Ilex in a surprisingly strong way, though it may have just felt that way after 3 days of rain. It took until the early afternoon to find the only Pineco I would find that day. It was hanging from a high branch, about 25 feet in the air, in a massive Cheri Tree.
The Pineco was greedily going to town on the berries when I spotted it. ‘Good, its distracted, the stone drop trick will work here again.’ I readied a small rock in my hand and gathered information on my surroundings. ‘The ground is still soaked, not having to move to make the catch would be best’ I slowly put myself into position under the Pineco, trying to figure out exactly where it would fall from its current position without drawing attention to myself.
The only other pokemon nearby was a Farfetch’d that seemed to be pecking at the ground with its beak, which I promptly ignored. ‘It’s time. Nothing is going to stop you from getting this Pineco and then you’ll be able to see all of Johto with your best friend. You will not fail here.’ I tried to psych myself up as I decided on the perfect position to stand, my many failures so far weighing on me. ‘It just needs to fall in.’
I let the rock fly from my hand, it hit the branch right next to the Pineco causing it to bellow in surprise and immediately start to fall. I saw its armored blue body sail through the air, and I knew it, I had it this time. ‘It’s over, this Pineco is going to be my starter.’ As the thought crosses my mind I saw the Farfetch’d in the distance lift its head, finally consuming whatever it was pecking on the ground. A flat red body a few feet in length dangled from its beak.
The Pineco fell into my net, body glowing as it was about to Self-Destruct and I didn’t even think about my next choice. I just acted. Before the required 3 seconds for the net to register a Pokemon as mine passed, I braced myself and threw the head of my net forward towards the Farfetch’d with all of my might. The Pineco flew back out of the net and soared through the air, with a new trajectory. I saw the Farfetch’d’s eyes go wide as an exploding Pineco rushed into its face and *BOOOOOM*.
“Stay the hell away from that Sizzlipede! He’s mine!” I yelled before the smoke had even cleared. My heart was pounding ‘What did i just do? I had it, the Pineco was in my net.’ But then I could see the fainted Farfetch’d holding an equally fainted Sizzlipede, the whiskers of flame almost completely dead from the days of rain. ‘It was weakened from days in the rain without shelter, it's not like this pokemon has others that will protect it, there are no other Sizzlipede in Ilex. It would have faced that storm alone and, after barely surviving that, a bird was the last thing it was prepared for.’
I scooped the Sizzlipede into my hands, the only warmth I felt coming from the yellow rings on its underside, they reminded me of a stove. I stepped over the other two fallen pokemon, wishing them luck with the Ariados and took off. ‘I’ll try to talk to it after I heal it up, I know I haven't officially caught it but maybe we can work something out.’ The journey back to camp was uneventful and once we were in a safe spot I laid the pokemon down and began pulling out some potions.
Its injuries were luckily not that bad, so it took about 2 potions before the Sizzlipede was mostly healed, but the bug remained unconscious for the moment. I got to work setting up a fire, then prepared some meat for myself and my hopeful ally. By the time I was bringing the seared meat to plates I heard a familiar hiss behind me.
“Sizzzz” it stares at the meat, mouth agape behind it’s flaming whiskers.
“Hey there! I’m Terry, do you remember me?” I asked the fiery little creature, giving it a small wave while doing so. It finally made eye contact with me and tilted its head low, giving me a small bow likely in thanks for saving it from being eaten. The bug then got up on its spike-like feet and walked closer to both me and the fire.
“Pede?” It’s eyes were back on the plates of meat next to the fire.
“Oh that, just some meat, did you want some?” I baited the pokemon.
“Sizz! Sizz!” the bug nodded eagerly so I picked up the plate with a smaller portion on it gave it to Sizzlipede. It ate voraciously and for the moment the conversation seemed to be over so I ate too, watching the bug enjoy a meal nearly half of it’s own weight. I had heard that Fire pokemon preferred cooked food and so far it seemed to be working. But soon we were both done and we locked eyes once again.
“So, Sizzlipede, do you want to stay in Ilex? I know this isn’t your original home but you’ve been here for at least a few weeks.” I asked as an opening, trying to see if I could convince it to stick around.
“Pede...Sizzlipede?” it answered in the negative at first but then seemed confused, almost as if it was saying ‘No, but what else am I supposed to do?’
“Well, if you don’t want to stay here, I have another option for you, would you like to be my partner?” Sizzlipede held its stare, seemingly wanting to hear more. “Together we can see all of Johto and maybe even more beyond, hunting the strongest bugs in the world to join our team. I’m in Ilex Forest right now because I want to catch the strongest Bug pokemon that I can to start my journey, and from what I’ve seen, nothing in this forest has as much potential as you.”
“Sizz?” the bug replied flatly, it didn’t believe my assertion, many bugs felt weak because that was how the world treated them. Some trainer may even have abandoned Sizzlipede here, unable to see past that perceived weakness. Bug pokemon were some of the most commonly released pokemon in the world. Many trainers caught them early in their journey only to release them later for “stronger” pokemon to get the focus of their efforts.
“Yes, seriously, for whatever reason you got dumped in a corner of the world that you don’t belong in, but still managed to survive for weeks in that foreign land!” I argued. “You survived a 3 day storm as a Fire pokemon, with no shelter! There’s not a single pokemon here that i would rather have and today is my last day to catch a pokemon. It’s decision time, either you join me and we see the world or we are both stuck here.”
“Sizzzzz…Sizzzzz” the pokemon seemed to be thinking hard about this decision, so I played one more card to sweeten the deal.
“Oh and of course we would be having meat at least once a week.” I promised, pointing back towards the plates.
“Pede.” The Sizzlipede bowed once again, but held it this time, swearing fealty to me in exchange for regular treats of meat. Maybe it wasn't the most glamorous of reasons for my first pokemon to join me, but this was only the beginning, from here on out who knows what we would find together?
“One more thing” I said to Sizzlipede as we laid under the stars for my final night in Ilex. “You need a name, you are a boy right?”
“Pede, Pede.” the creature nodded twice, giving me an expectant look.
“From today on, you will be known as Stovetop, the strongest Sizzlipede in Johto!” I declared, pointing up to the sky. He seemed to like it as he nodded once more and then coiled himself around my arm to go to sleep, the warmth feeling nice against me as I drifted off.