Viridian Forest II - …And the First Pokémon

Slate had caught Scyther but that was only the immediate problem fixed. Unfortunately, he had six new problems that he would have to deal with.

First, his primary means of protection was destroyed by his brawl with Scyther. While he would be able to replace the bow when he arrived in Pewter City, first he would have to arrive in Pewter City. If he weren't in the situation himself, Slate might have laughed at the misfortune.

Secondly, his backpack was slashed and torn and many of the items inside were damaged. Most of it was no longer usable for their original function but there was one bit of silver lining. His first aid kit was roughed up but intact, which was fortunate as he had somehow missed Scyther slashing his leg at some point. Which was important because his third issue was blood loss.

He immediately pulled out scraps of clothing and wrapped them around his leg. Tying it off, he dug around inside his first aid kit, pulling some antiseptic spray, bandages, and sterilized needle and thread out. Slate then gritted his teeth as he began cleaning the wound.

To distract himself, he tried to focus on the next few problems he would have to solve. His map and compass were destroyed, leaving him stranded in the middle of the Viridian Forest. He did know that so long as he went north, a direction he could easily determine due to the setting sun, he would hit either Pewter or the mountains which he could follow to find the city. A crude solution but the best he could do at this time.

Slate's next problem was that he was surrounded by Wild Pokémon and he only had a knife to defend himself. The knife and the physical height and weight he had would be enough to deter most of the Pokémon that would attack him but it would do nothing against larger threats. That would require extra help that he might be able to get from his final problem.

Slate needed to find out the temperament of Scyther, and quickly, so he could see if he could trust it sooner rather than later. Scythers were powerful fighters but Slate's knowledge on them was rather sparse as he thought they were further south, near Fuschia City. The Scyther, and the Swarm it was with, obviously proved that false.

He grit his teeth as he began to stitch his wound. The scar it would inevitably leave behind would be ugly but as far as he could tell it was only skin deep, the muscle underneath was intact. That didn't stop it from hurting any less though.

Curious chittering began to surround Slate and he tried to suture his wound faster. His fingers were slick with blood and each pierce and tug on his flesh almost made him flinch but he pushed past it. He could react later when he was out of danger.

A Rattata poked its head through a bush, sniffing at the blood scented air. Slate snarled at it, causing it to quickly flee, but he could hear more in the bushes. He forced himself up and limped to a nearby tree, leaning on it even as his leg screamed in agony. He released Scyther from the Poké Ball and the bushes fell silent.

Scyther appeared in a flash of light and quickly focused on him. Its eyes flicked down to his blood soaked leg before eyeing the knife in his hand with a considering look. Slate flicked it, allowing the setting sun to hit it and flash to ensure he had its attention.

"If you're going to attack me, do it. Because if you attack me later I will not make your death quick." Slate flicked the knife again to emphasize his point. "Decide now."

The pair stared at one another as the sun fell below the treeline, casting long shadows across their faces. Sweat trickled down the back of Slate's neck, the awareness that the Pokémon before him was more than capable of killing him at the forefront of his mind. Time lost its meaning as the duo pitted will against will.

Scyther made its choice and stepped forward.

Scyther sank into an unmistakable bow, kneeling on one knee before Slate, its scythes turned down and away from him. Its wings were stretched far as they could, exposing themselves fully to any blow Slate might wish to inflict upon it while it lowered its head, baring its neck to make it easier for him to slash it, so should he choose.

Slate did none of those things. "Rise," Slate ordered, his grip of his knife loosening slightly.

Scyther did so and stood in a strangely relaxed yet focused manner, eyes locking onto Slate before surveying its surroundings. It chittered at Slate after a moment.

"Yeah. We're surrounded. I need you to do three things, Scyther. First, cut a branch as long as I am tall and as thick as my arm. Secondly, watch my back while I salvage what I can from my backpack. And finally, kill any Pokémon that tries to attack us."

Scyther nodded and turned to analyze the trees. While it did so, Slate limped back to his backpack and began to salvage what he could, keeping an eye on his new Pokémon all the while. It was already cutting its way through a small horde of scavenger Pokémon while it searched for the branch Slate needed to make a walking stick.

Speaking to Pokémon was always an interesting experience for anyone. Wild Pokémon could somehow understand human speech even if they or their parents were never around humans in the first place. A large number of scientists, researchers, and companies contributed to a standing bounty in search of an answer to explain how this was possible, reaching a healthy sum over the years due to no concrete evidence being found.

Regardless, it meant Slate wasn't entirely unable to communicate with his new Scyther. It did mean that his questions would have to be simple until he could gauge how intelligent Scyther was.

That night when they finally made camp after several painful hours of walking, Slate couldn't help but rest uneasily. Scyther had flown to a nearby tree, perching itself within the branches and fading away until only its face was visible. Even as the fire died down and the only light he had was from the moon, Slate slept fitfully due to the pain in his leg and the wariness of Scyther in his mind.

When dawn finally broke Slate had only managed several naps due to his paranoia. Scyther, on the other hand, fell from the tree looking refreshed and calm. It chittered at Slate in an inquisitive way and he tried to puzzle out its meaning.

"You want to know where we're going?" he asked. It shook its head and gestured at Slate with a scythe, causing his blood to race. A moment later it stopped as he realized its query. "I'm fine. I didn't get much sleep because of the leg."

Scyther seemed to croon at that, as if it were apologizing. Slate shook himself and the thought from his head and focused on breaking down camp, covering the ashes of the fire with dirt. As he did he spoke to Scyther.

"My name is Slate. I'm a Pokémon Trainer and I've just started my Journey. I have two goals for that, Scyther, one far more easy than the other. The first is that I'm looking for my Starter as she's been lost for years. But she and I left marks for each other before, leading to us. Look."

Slate carved a rough Torchic footprint in the dirt with a stick. The left toe was shorter than it should be while the right one was longer. "We left marks like this. We drew lines to indicate directions and circles if it meant a place to sleep or areas to avoid. Like this."

Slate drew a line between the left and middle toes, with a circle at the end of it. "Have you seen any marks like this?"

Scyther shuffled its wings as it stepped closer to look at the lines. Slate eyed the scythes warily but his caution was unneeded; Scyther quickly stood up and shook itself. Disappointed but not surprised, Slate continued.

"That is my hard goal for my Journey. Eventually I will find her but I don't know when, where or how long it will take. But the second goal, the easy one in comparison, is to do something that no one has ever done before."

Slate chuckled as he packed the few remaining belongings he had into a makeshift pack of scraps and rope. "A Mastery is considered the pinnacle for most Trainers and not unduly so. It's a long and difficult path and for every Trainer it's different. But I want to go beyond that, I want to be a Generalist Master."

"I want to understand all of them, all of the Types, all of the Pokémon. To be able to walk across any Region with impunity, to be able to communicate with Pokémon everywhere, understand their struggles and lives. To offer my protection to those who need aid, my guidance to those who are lost. To spread knowledge."

Slate trailed off, lost in thought. To his surprise Scyther gently nudged him with one scythe and he found himself smiling. "I will make you strong. I will help you explore your power, learn from the greatest and worst of our foes so we can push you past the limits so many claim Pokémon have. I will make you the standard for Scythers, nay Bug-Types, everywhere. And you will help me understand."

Scyther screeched, throwing its scythes to the sky. The forest around them returned the screech from dozens of Pokémon but Slate only looked at his Scyther. "Let's go, Scyther."

It was both easier and more difficult to move through the forest with Scyther walking by his side. Easy in the sense that Scyther's mere presence ensured most of the local Wild Pokémon avoided them. None of them would put up any sort of match against Scyther. The rare few that still had the daring to challenge Slate and his Pokémon quickly met their end at the edge of Scyther's scythes.

Yet it was those moments where the hike became difficult. Less than twenty-four hours ago, Scyther had been trying to kill Slate. And here it was following his orders, protecting him from danger.

Slate did not trust easily. The dangers growing up, from Wild Pokémon especially, ensured that. But he was not ignorant of quick allies, the assistance Caterpie granted him was one such example. But he had never allied with someone who had been trying to kill him the previous day. It was unsettling, to say the least.

However, as the hours passed and Slate limped along, he was reminded of the time he spent with his Starter. They had done this before, numerous times, defeating their foes and limping home to nurse their wounds. Slate felt a pang of loss in his chest, missing his Starter with every step.

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That night when they made camp Slate fell asleep instantly. And when he woke up the next day, cold but alive, he trusted Scyther a little more.

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Thirteen days.

Slate and Scyther hiked through Viridian Forest for thirteen days. Four days into their trek a storm hit the forest, forcing them to wait it out for two more days, but Slate and Scyther managed to find shelter in a small cave with half a dozen Metapods staring at them. After the first day, Slate thought the unblinking gazes were worse than the storm and seriously considered trying to hike through the storm. Fortunately, he wasn't that stupid.

Three days after the storm Scyther and Slate were startled by the sudden appearance of an Abra before them. Even as Scyther tried to hit the sudden interloper, the Abra Teleported away, leaving Slate blinking in shock and Scyther hissing in confusion. A day later the Abra appeared again, when they were making camp, and stole some of the berries Slate had collected along the way. This time Scyther was successful in hitting it with a glancing blow and it vanished, never to reappear again.

When Slate and Scyther finally found themselves exiting the treeline at the base of a large and rocky mountain, he stood there with no small amount of surprise. He hadn't noticed that the mountains that always loomed in the distance were now right in front of him. He began to chuckle.

"Do you always stand in the middle of nowhere and laugh to yourself?" a woman asked from Slate's left. He whirled around, his hand pulling his knife out in an instant. "Whoa there! Take it easy, Trainer."

The woman was a Ranger, that much Slate could tell, and sitting comfortably against a tree. The Ranger uniform was standard and something he was well familiar with, as did any Trainer with two brain cells to rub together. However, something about the woman niggled at the back of Slate's mind, telling him that he knew her from somewhere, but he couldn't remember where.

Slate returned his knife to his belt. Beside him, he noted that his Scyther raised itself from the low crouch it was in, although its gaze never left the tree the Ranger sat against. "Hello," Slate said. Maggie would know if he wasn't polite.

"Hello," the Ranger replied with a smile. "It's nice to see a sensible Trainer prepared for the dangers of the wild. I've already had to rescue three idiots from a Beedrill nest. I'm Ranger Holly."

"Trainer Slate." Internally, Slate shuddered at the thought of wandering into a Beedrill nest. Scyther had helped him fend off a few of their ilk although they were always quick to leave soon after so they wouldn't draw others.

He looked around and noted that other than Ranger Holly, there wasn't anything noteworthy in the surrounding area. He turned back to her. "I don't suppose you know which way Pewter City is, do you?"

Ranger Holly raised her eyebrows before nodding behind Slate. "About two hours walk that way. You're a long way from civilization, Trainer. Where's the rest of your Caravan?"

Slate shrugged. "No idea. I was separated from them thirteen days ago. It's just been me and Scyther ever since."

That earned him an impressed look. "You spent almost two weeks in Viridian Forest with just a Scyther? Color me impressed. Your Scyther must be pretty well trained. You came from Viridian, right? Are you a One-Badge Trainer?"

Slate shook his head. "I caught Scyther thirteen days ago. And I haven't fought any Gym Leaders yet. Or anyone else for that matter. I need to get to a Pokémon Center to do some research on what moves Scythers can learn."

Ranger Holly stared at him in silence. She opened her mouth twice to speak but clicked it shut each time. Finally she spoke. "You caught a Wild Scyther and then hiked with it for two weeks through the wilderness without knowing any of its moves?"

"Scyther slashed my leg before I caught it but it's healing nicely," Slate explained, holding out his leg. Even though his pants were brown, the material was covered in dried blood. "We came to an agreement after the first night and it mostly just slashes stuff and they leave us alone."

"Right. Well you're not dead so you must have done something right." Ranger Holly muttered something under her breath that Slate didn't catch. "I'm going to radio this in, then I'll escort you to Pewter. Do you need food?"

Slate declined and sat down to wait with his walking stick across his knees. Scyther approached him from the side and stood over him, almost protectively, as it stared up into the leaves of Ranger Holly's tree. Slate followed its gaze and tried to look deeper into shadowed branches. A glint of silver caught his eye and he swore as he lunged to his feet.

"Skarmory!" Slate shouted, pulling his knife out. Scyther placed its body in front of Slate's and raised its scythes in a threatening manner. The Skarmory dove from the tree and landed with a thunk before them, screeching angrily.

"Wait, stop!" Ranger Holly shouted. She held up both hands as she stepped next to the Skarmory. "He's mine!"

Slowly her words registered in Slate's mind and when they did, he put his knife away. He gently but firmly pushed Scyther's arms down, nudging it to the side to get it to relax. Yet Skarmory's eyes remained fixated on Slate's Scyther, which kept everything tense.

Ranger Holly was quick to explain. "We were patrolling along the mountain-forest border. We were just resting his wings before we continued on. It's alright, he's friendly," she claimed.

Slate let out a shaky breath. "Alright. Sorry, Ranger. And I'm sorry, Skarmory. I didn't mean to interrupt your rest, I've just had conflicting interactions with your species. Many interactions." Slate shuddered.

Skarmory finally stopped sizing up Scyther and crooned at Slate, bringing a smile to his face. "Sounds like a story there," Ranger Holly said as she gestured to her Skarmory. He vanished back into the tree.

Slate shrugged. "A few. On one hand a Skarmory rescued me once even though I didn't realize it at the time. On the other hand, a different Skarmory tried to kill me several times and it only stopped because it got attacked by something else."

Ranger Holly nodded. "That would do it. Well, you don't need to worry about him, he's a big old softy. Loves kids, hates poachers, and steals my blankets."

An angry squawk from above made Slate laugh. Ranger Holly finished with her radio and turned to him. "Good news! My relief will be here in half an hour and I'll guide you to Pewter City after that. That sound good?" she asked.

Slate nodded. "I'm ready to get out of the wilderness and into a nice clean Pokémon Center. And out of these clothes," he said with a wince. As Scyther had unfortunately damaged the other clothing in his back, Slate had been forced to cannibalize them into a handful of patched but serviceable clothes. They were very eye-catching because of this although they might start a trend in Kalos if anyone there ever saw them.

The Ranger eyed the horizon critically before turning to Slate. "How about a Pokémon Battle to pass the time? Give you some experience before Pewter."

Slate nodded eagerly. "That would be great, thanks!"

Ranger Holly whistled and Skarmory landed before her with a thud. "Ready to battle, buddy?" she asked. Skarmory shrieked before turning and facing Slate.

Slate smiled and pointed at Skarmory. "Let's battle, Scyther!"

It should be noted that up until this point Slate had been relying on Scyther to fend off any Wild Pokémon too dangerous to ignore. And since the best way to do this was to strike with lethal intent, Scyther defaulted to the tried and true method of threat elimination: Scyther tried to kill it.

Unfortunately for Scyther, Skarmory was part Steel-Type so his metallic carapace absorbed the hit without issue. Skarmory wasn't one to allow an attack go unanswered however. He slashed his wings at Scyther, forcing Slate's Pokémon to hop back lest it take too much damage from the razor sharp wings.

"Usually we wait until someone shouts 'begin', kid!" Ranger Holly shouted over the slice of steel through the air. "Although good initiative, sometimes you don't have to."

"Thanks! Sorry about Scyther, we're still working on commands," Slate shouted back. "Hey!"

Skarmory had taken the moment to leap forward, hitting Scyther with its wings once more. Scyther wasn't able to dodge this time and took the blow directly, sending it tumbling backward. Across from Slate, Ranger Holly smirked.

"You have to stay on top of the match, Slate! Talking is all well and good but you're here to battle! Iron Tail, Skarmory!"

"Dodge and hit it back, Scyther!" Slate shouted.

A second is a long time. A beat of a heart, a blink of an eye. So much can happen in a second. But in a Pokémon Battle, a second is far too short for most commands to be heard, processed, and followed through.

By the time Scyther heard Slate's command, Skarmory was already on it. By the time Scyther processed the command, Skarmory's Iron Tail already hit it. And by the time Scyther thought about hitting back at its much closer opponent, Skarmory was already far out of reach. Had Slate blinked he would have missed it.

"You have to do better than that!" Holly shouted.

Slate's eyes narrowed. "Dig down and throw dirt up!" Slate shouted.

Scyther obeyed, digging its scythes into the ground and tearing great chunks of dirt and sand up. It fell around Scyther as a dust cloud as it dug and dug, filling the air and blocking it from sight.

Ranger Holly disappeared from view. "Skarmory is a Steel-Type, Slate! A little dirt and sand isn't going to faze him!"

Slate smiled. That wasn't the plan.

"Use the dust to hide your movements! Strike when you hear the metal approaching!" Slate shouted.

A moment later Slate could hear Scyther's cry as it swung its scythe. A small scratch echoed through the air, signifying a hit. Slate's smile grew into a grin.

"Continue with the dust! Again!"

"Blow it away, Skarmory," Ranger Holly shouted.

Great gusts of wind picked up, sweeping the dust and dirt away before Scyther could add more to it. Across the clearing Slate could see Holly smirking at him. "End it!" she shouted.

Skarmory fell through the air like a silver bullet, pointed at Scyther's tired and exhausted form. He hit Scyther, driving both Pokémon to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust, blinding them for a moment. Slowly the wind picked up and carried it away.

Scyther lay on the ground knocked out and Skarmory stood over Slate's Pokémon, wings stretched above it proudly. The only mark that showed it had battled was a single, thin scratch across its side from where Scyther had hit it.

"You actually landed a hit," Ranger Holly said as she stepped closer to her Pokémon. She nudged it off Scyther and examined the Skarmory's damaged armor. "He'll spend hours fretting about this until he polishes it out."

Skarmory screeched at his Trainer and flapped his wings aggressively at her. Slate said nothing as he knelt beside Scyther and analyzed its injuries. Other than some scrapes it had picked up on its carapace from where Skarmory had hit it, Scyther was in one piece but drained of energy. He returned his Scyther so it could rest safely in its Poké Ball.

Slate jumped as Ranger Holly's hand found his shoulder. "Hey, you did good! You landed a hit! That's more than most first-timers do. And your trick with the dust was a good one, I've never seen a Scyther use something similar to a Sand Attack before."

Slate nodded but couldn't help but be upset his first real Pokémon Battle ended in his loss. "I never realized how quick paced a Pokémon Battle was. I mean, I've watched them like everyone else, but it's far different being the one on the field instead of the stands."

Ranger Holly nodded seriously before grinning at him. "But exhilarating right?"

He grinned. "Yeah but now I've got the shakes," he said, holding up his hand. It was shaking ever so slightly as his body reacted to the Pokémon Battle.

"Yeah, that'll happen for a while, or after particularly intense battles. The adrenaline and shock and everything. You'll get used to it," she said with a dismissive hand wave. Her hand was as steady as a rock.

"Any advice, Ranger?" Slate asked. She tapped her lip in thought.

"Keep doing stuff like the sand thing. It won't always work but a little bit of creativity goes a long way. A lot of creativity will take you anywhere in the world. You probably can't afford the Pokéenergy Mapping right?"

Slate grimaced. "No, I'll have to figure out Scyther's moves through research and trial and error."

Ranger Holly nodded. "Yeah, if I had the money to spend on the Mapping for even one Pokémon, I'd be able to buy a Pokédex."

They laughed. The Pokédex and Pokéenergy Mapping were far too new and expensive for any average Trainer to purchase. There were rumors that Trainers who were granted Junior Field Researcher titles under a Professor received them for free but no one was certain, especially with how difficult it was to get one of those coveted positions. The Regional Starter as a signing bonus was also nice.

A speck of black appeared on the horizon and steadily became larger. It grew into a large Fearow that landed with a gust of wind, nearly knocking Slate over. Another Ranger, a man with pale eyes, hopped off and greeted them.

"Hey, Rick," Ranger Holly said. "Mind taking over my post so I can escort this Trainer to Pewter?"

Ranger Rick nodded. "Sure but you'll owe me one."

Ranger Holly rolled her eyes. "Let's go, Slate. We've got a long walk ahead of us."

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Time Tracker:

Days passed in Chapter: 13

Total Days: 21

Trainer Card:

Name: Slate

Occupation: Trainer

Ambitions:

To find his long lost Starter

To become a Generalist Master, a Master of all Types

Badges: None

Trophies: None

Carry Limit: 1/1

Key items: Walking Stick

Pokémon: 1

Name: Scyther (?)

Type: Bug/Flying

Potential Moves: ?

Core Moves: ?