Heading east from Pewter City, Morgan traveled through a grassy road that laid near the mountainside. According to the map the road was called Route 3 and it drew a slightly curved line connecting Pewter to Mt. Moon in the east. In the middle, it split into two ways.
The first would take you north following the mountain and then east again, which was the faster path. The longer option went south, and then east. The perk of this one, though, would mean that you reach a settlement sooner. There was a town in that direction if there was a need for healing or refilling your supplies.
Large rocks scattered about on the side, and sparse groups of trees provide shade for travelers. It was more of a field, really, rather than woodlands. Tall grasses and bushes everywhere you looked.
The sound of winds and wild creatures coming from all around. Add the cool weather, and it almost felt relaxing. Morgan wasn't sure what he expected when he was preparing for his journey, but this was certainly a nice start to it.
Moon, who was out of his PokeBall, was walking beside him. He alerted Morgan to a shaking bush nearby. They stopped right there to observe, wary of something possibly hostile.
Then came out a small rodent Pokémon. It had purple fur with a cream-colored face, paws, and underbelly. The most notable feature was its large teeth, which could chew through almost anything. The Rattata took one look at them, before chittering away.
Well, that was that then. He was really hoping that it was going to be more exciting. When they were on their way again, Morgan said, "Hey, Moon. It just occurred to me. Do you know what we need right now?"
Moon replied, "Cu?"
"Exactly," he said. "We need more battle experience. Training is good and all, but I don't think that it's the same as the real thing."
To stand against an opponent with real stake, making adjustments on the fly, adrenaline surging through your system. Now that's more to his style.
Now that they were in the wilderness, they should take every chance they get to bolster their progress. "So if you see another Pokemon, just challenge them to a fight."
Moon readily agreed to that order. He took it with full attention, his head turned everywhere there were noises. They did encountered Pokemon like Nidoran, Sentret, Rattata, and Wurmple. But none take their offering of aggression. Morgan even tried to throw pebbles at a Pidgey, to no avail. They rather chose to flee or ignore him instead.
Morgan went complaining to no one, "Is there nobody who appreciates a good fight anymore? I really don't understand."
They kept looking until the flapping of wings coming from the mountainside and a droning noise assaulted their ears. It was caused by a swarm of Zubats. Morgan was surprised, he thought that the Pokemon species was nocturnal. He didn't know that they also came out at daylight.
He became aware of the fact that Moon was pulling his pants, "Oh, you're right. Run!"
It's their turn now to flee. Moon was just a little Cubone, he definitely couldn't win against that many Zubats. So they ran. The swarm drove them off the road. But they're lucky enough not to get chased for very long. When the situation was deemed safe, they stopped to collect their breath. Morgan looked around and realized he didn't know where they were. The place seemed unfamiliar and he didn't remember how to get back.
Morgan asked Moon if he remembered, but no, he didn't either.
But it wasn't all bad, though. On the bright side, as they were searching for it, they found something else. A tree dotted with blue round fruits. It was an oran tree, with ripe oran berries. What a lucky break. Morgan decided to pick some of it for his bag.
"Come help me gather the berry," he said, climbing the tree. He'd removed his shoes and unclipped the PokeBall from his belt to make it easier. He left it in the ground with Moon who didn't know how to climb.
Instead he helped by catching the fruit and putting it in the bag. Morgan came down when it was almost full. He didn't want to overfill it and risked a spill. Or forbid, getting the fruit all squashed inside.
After that, the search continued. They finally stumble upon the road as the light gets low on the horizon. Morgan chose that place to make their camp for the night.
Morgan did have a small tent packed with all his other belongings, but because it wasn't raining he didn't bring it out. Taking shelter under a tree, he built a small fire with his matches. Dinner was prepackaged food, and the oran berries. After that, they go to sleep. The bag served as good enough padding for his head for him to get comfortable. The trainer lay on his back, while his Pokemon used his stomach as a pillow.
And so went their first day.
He didn't dream, and time marched on. The night passed by uneventfully. He was unconscious for several long hours. Until noises right by his ears forced Morgan to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he got a face to face with something resembling a black mask-like pattern surrounding a pair of brown eyes.
Morgan jerked himself up to a sitting position, and dislodged Moon by doing so. He had caught a Zigzagoon with its hand inside his bag. The Pokemon itself seemed surprised too. Its bristly, cream and brown striped fur stood on end.
Zigzagoon then bolted right away, bringing with it the bounty that it had already secured on its hands and mouth.
He yelled, "Hey, that's my berries."
Morgan hurriedly packed up and threw some dirt into the remnant of his fire, just in case. Then he and Moon chased after the thief a few minutes later.
The sun was halfway to its zenith, so it was not that hard to spot the distinct zigzag footprints. It took them through bushes, over a creek, and fallen logs. Until they met the end of the trail at a random clearing.
The Zigzagoon had situated itself into quite a predicament. An Ekans was currently wrapped around it, choking it to death. The stolen berries were strewn all around them.
Having noticed Morgan and Moon coming, the purple serpentine Pokémon gave them an angry glare.
"Woah," he said, stopping on his track.
Ekans detached its jaw so wide, and hissed. The yellow tail that it had rattle loudly. Morgan had to admit that it intimidated him a bit, that body gesture was very effective to give an impression that it was dangerous. He had to find a way to incorporate that to his fighting strategy, he thought. But wait, this could become a great opportunity for him actually.
He asked it, "Do you want to fight, little Ekans?"
Moon with no hesitation planted himself in front of Morgan, letting out a Growl. Ekans, on the other side, let go of the limp Zigzagoon and slithered closer.
Alright, let them come to you. It was a success. And now just wait for the results.
"Moon, Bone Club when it is in range."
As if knowing what the move does, Ekans avoid it so smoothly. The bone just barely able to scratch its scale. It used Wrap then, trying to squeeze the life out of Moon. It forced a cry of pain from the Cubone. Ekans unhinged its jaw again, its fang glinting in the light. Moon had his arms free, so he shoved his weapon into the coming Bite.
"Bite it back," ordered Morgan.
That one wasn't a proper move, Cubone didn't actually learn that move set. But the skull that they wore didn't cover below the snout, so they could eat. And bite enemies if they're happen to be near his mouth.
Moon targeted the neck, and draw the first blood. Ekans shook with annoyance, then throw and toss him away. Morgan guessed that it had enough, because now the purple serpent were headed toward him.
Morgan called out, "Moon!"
Moon fling his weapon and this time he didn't miss. The bone hit Ekans in the head and delayed it long enough that Moon could close the distance to pick up the bone and
Moon targeted the neck and drew the first blood. Ekans shook with annoyance, then threw and tossed him away. Morgan guessed that it had enough because now the purple serpent was headed toward him.
Morgan called out, "Moon!"
Moon flung his weapon and this time he didn't miss. The bone hit Ekans in the head and delayed it long enough that Moon could close the distance to pick up the bone and rejoin the fight.
Frustrated, Ekans spray Acid attack on him. But poison didn't work so well on Ground-type. Moon could just ignore the liquid.
"Bone Club again," he said.
Moon used it back to back, overwhelming the Ekans until he knocked it out. Seeing that, Morgan approached the winner.
He rummaged around in his bag until he found a bottle of Potion. It was the leftover from when Liam was training him. He had used it sparingly after he got it to conserve the content for as long as possible. And now he used the last of it to heal his Pokemon.
"Good job," he said, praising Moon.
Although shy, Moon seemed receptive toward the compliment. He looked satisfied.
Morgan then gathered what he could from the healthy and unbruised berries and left the rest. He didn't care to check if the Zigzagoon was truly dead or just playing at it.
After that whole altercation, they managed to trace their steps back onto the road and resume their journey. There was nothing to hurry about, so they walked slowly. Taking a moment to enjoy nature, the flowing breeze, and the smell of fading morning dew.
Morgan took this time as a chance to have a discussion about what kind of things he and Moon could learn from the recent battle.
----------------------------------------
Route 3, as mentioned before, forked in the middle. The reason for this was unknown to Morgan. But there happens to be a big boulder parked just in front of the split.
Someone who looked like his age was laying on his back at the very top, soaking the sun rays while munching on a leek. He had a PokeBall on him. That was really weird. Morgan was then caught staring by the boy.
"What, never seen a leek before?" The red-headed boy asked sarcastically. "It's a vegetable."
Morgan ignored the tone and said, "Are you a trainer, too?"
"Obviously," he said. "What do you want?"
"Fight me."
As far as Morgan knows, that's what trainers do, right? When they found another one, they looked each other in the eyes and then had a clash to test their mettle. But the boy, he refused to comply.
"No, I'm busy."
"Busy doing what?"
"Something," he said. But when Morgan stared at him skeptically, he elaborated further. "It's none of your business. But if you really want to know, I'm on a hunt."
"Well, you are not doing it right now, right?"
"Just go away, man. Before I take offense to your nagging."
"We could make it a bet," Morgan offered.
The boy thought it over, "How much do you have?"
Morgan had about thirty dollars in his pocket. He said, "Fifteen dollars."
"Make it twenty, and it might be worth wasting my time."
"Sure."
The boy jumped down and said, "I want you to know the name of the hunter who will beat you. Etch the words Simon Collins to your psyche."
Simon launched a PokeBall and said, "Chase, teach them some respect."
A canine Pokemon appeared. Its body was primarily gray with a black face and throat, paws, and belly. Its eyes were red with yellow sclerae, and it had a red nose. The Poochyena, it Howled to make its presence known.
Moon was already in the field, ever ready, he hit his helmet skull several times. It went thunk, thunk, thunk. Then he let out those hollow-sounding Growl. That was their own version of intimidation.
Simon called out, "Tackle it."
The Poochyena was fast. It was upon Moon in the next moment. The move impacted with a crack, then it dragged him down to the ground.
"Get out of there," said Morgan urgently.
Moon twisted around till he was free, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the next attack.
"Use Bite!"
Poochyena bite Moon's right arm. He grimaced in pain. But Morgan didn't let go of any chance and said, "Headbutt."
Regular head met Cubone's armored one. Chase yelped, and more importantly, Moon was able to extract his arm from its teeth.
And now, "Bone Club."
Moon swung his weapon down in retaliation. He was sure to make it hurt too.
"Create some distance," said Simon. "Assure yourself, then lower its defense."
Chase ran back and then turned around to face Moon. It catches its breath, then glares at him. Moon felt the move but didn't back down.
"Now, finish it!"
Poochyena went to use Tackle again, but Morgan was expecting it. He briefly debated what to do and then decided with, "Dodge, then wait for my order."
Moon eyed the charge with full focus, and at just the right moment, he sidestepped it. Morgan shouted, "Headbutt again."
He leaped head first toward Chase, it hit and made it fall on its side. Moon approached with the intent to end the fight with a last Bone Club. But the thing was, Chase wasn't willing to just surrender. The Poochyena slowly got back up and Simon told it to Bite back.
The crunch was loud, and now Moon couldn't wield his right hand because of it. It was trapped inside Poochyena's mouth.
Morgan saw that, and he will never give up either. He said, "Punch it instead."
With the lack of his usual weapon, Moon used his other fist to pummel his opponent to the ground. When the dust settled, Chase was out for the count.
Simon returned his Pokemon and paid the amount that he owed.
"Here's your money," he said, looking a little pissed by the loss. He walked away with a sour expression.
Morgan and Moon watched him as he disappeared around the bend. Then suddenly, Cubone passed out himself. The damage that he had taken apparently was too much for him.
"Oh, no," said Morgan. They were out of Potion. With no other option, he returned Moon to his PokeBall and headed toward the nearest settlement. Which was in the opposite direction from where Simon went.
Now in a hurry, he ran and ran for almost half an hour. He only slowed down when he couldn't keep up the pace anymore. He never was that athletic. With his legs aching and out of breath, he arrived at Sable City. He passed through the gate, which had a filigree depicting a Psyduck pointing at a falling fiery object, with people looking up at the warning.
It also said, 'Welcome to the City that survived a meteor'.
He asked around for a Pokemon Center. As a licensed trainer, he was entitled to free healing, and a room if any was available there.
When he finally arrived at the site, he went straight to the Nurse Joy at the front desk. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center," she said. "How can we help you?"
Morgan told her that his Pokemon needed healing. He handed over his PokeBall, and while that was being taken care of, he was directed toward an unoccupied room. He took a shower and was out as soon as his head touched the bed.