Nebula had made a full recovery after a few hours of stasis in her Poke Ball. Ash was very grateful for how useful the devices could be, lifesavers for Trainers everywhere.

It was often understated too. Stereotypically, they were most known for carrying your teammates around with you during travels. This was most certainly true, however, it was far from their only use.

Poke Balls were a marvel of technology among the Pokemon world. The stasis was perfect for giving Pokemon rest, which Nebula had most certainly benefited from.

Her wing and head were now no longer in pain. She was no longer out of breath. Ash smiled at her as she sat next to Pikachu, happily picking away at her food after Ash had finally finished setting up camp.

They had traveled just a little bit longer before stopping, Valiant choosing to tag along instead of staying inside of his Poke Ball. Pikachu had been pleased with the company. It made sense, given that Nebula had spent almost the entire day inside of hers. Now, the mouse wasn't the only Pokemon currently out and about.

After setting up camp, Ash had taken it upon himself to release Nebula so that he and Pikachu could both introduce her to Valiant. The young bird had been pretty neutral about the meeting, but certainly not opposed to it. It gave Ash hope for a healthy dynamic between the trio as they continued onward towards Pewter City.

And, most importantly, out of Viridian Forest for good and free to enjoy civilization once more, as a bonus.

As Pikachu and Nebula sat on a tree stump together as per usual, Valiant had taken it upon himself to eat by Ash's side, to the boy's not unwelcome surprise.

Much like Pikachu, Valiant didn't seem overly interested in the food, but Ash had promised the young Ralts that he would go out and find food more suitable to his tastes once they had reached Pewter. For now, the Ralts was still content with what was available, and ate without complaints, albeit not very fast. Only Nebula finished her food as quickly as she did, the young bird delighted with what was provided and unable to savor it, simply opting to scarf all of it down. It was amusing. At least she was happy.

Pikachu was silently eating, occasionally sparing Nebula a glance or two. Once or twice, his eyes wandered over to Valiant as the Ralts continued to eat by Ash's side, the young Trainer focusing on his own meal.

The Trainer thought back to what the Pokedex had told him about Valiant. His ability was Telepathy. It was pretty useful to have, since Pokemon with it could minimally read the thoughts and actions of their opponents. Really skilled Pokemon with the Telepathy ability could get a basic reading on the emotions and thought processes of others, which was inevitably very useful in battle.

Although he tried to think of ways that it could be utilized in battle, Ash found himself overcome by that same feeling as last night. The feeling that he was being watched. It had made it hard to sleep last night, and Ash had hoped it would go away tonight.

But he had already had a feeling it wouldn't.

Looking over to Valiant, Ash could see the young Ralts shivering a bit. No doubt, the Pokemon's natural talent at sensing emotions, combined with his Telepathy ability, had made it easy for his to sense the same presence that had been weighing on Ash all this time.

"Are you scared?" he asked carefully.

The Ralts looked up from his food and stared at his new Trainer. Ash emphasized with his newest partner's slow nod.

What was watching them?

What was making him feel this way so suddenly?

The young boy found himself looking around nervously, eying his surroundings very carefully. He found nothing.

But he felt it.

But he felt what exactly?

/

Kimberly returned to her camp, the moon high over her head, and the trees surrounding from each direction. There was nothing but confidence in her now. Everything was now in place for tomorrow. It was just a matter of waiting it out.

She found Feral awaiting her at her cabin, leaning against her door with crossed arms. He perked up at her presence, allowing his arms to fall to his sides as he approached her.

Giving a salute, he asked "Well? What's the plan for tomorrow?"

Kimberly's arms crossed confidently across her chest. "I have spoken to the one who observes the forest, Feral. This issue will be resolved tomorrow morning."

"Okay, so what's the plan? It's been a while since we've had an intruder last this long on our turf."

"Tomorrow, the observer is going to rile up a group of Beedrill that the intruder and his Pokemon will inevitably be passing by on their path. They will drive all of them out." The leader's tone of voice was cool headed and confident, even more so than before. Her meeting with the observer had reinvigorated her spirit, revitalizing her soul and leaving her ready to start anew.

Feral's fingers scratched the back of his head as he responded to the revelation. "But… won't that kill them?"

"Nonsense." Her cool tone of voice drifted in the air as a light breeze blew against the strands of her hair. "This particular group of Beedrill is quite docile compared to the usual members of their species. Even when in a panic, they will simply take to chasing all of our intruders out of here." She shrugged, her tone simple. "You're the patrol advisor, so you probably know which ones I am talking about."

Feral nodded, the breeze blowing against his hair too. "That I do. But, can we be absolutely sure they will be there when the swarm starts?"

"Of course. The observer knows everything. He sees, hears, and feels everything that goes on within here. He is this forest." Kimberly tilted her head upwards, ever so slightly, just enough to get a minor view of the sky, the bright stars almost perfectly surrounding the moon. "He'll know exactly where they are going, and exactly when they are going to be there. Everything is under control."

"Oh, yes, that is true. So what do we do for now?"

"We will inform most of our scouts to return to camp. Those who don't will need to take up their usual hiding spots in order to avoid getting caught up in the middle of things. Once this is all over, they will be able to report the results."

Feral nodded, once again saluting to his leader. "I will proceed with spreading the word immediately."

/

Ash and his group rose early.

Now that they had officially been in Viridian Forest for more than half of a week, the young rookie was sincerely hoping that there was some light at the end of the tunnel. Was it wishful thinking? Sure the forest was huge, but he and his team had been making pretty good pace with each day.

Currently, everyone on his team was out and about. Nebula flying overhead, Pikachu on his shoulder, and Valiant walking alongside him. Once again, the path was less than desirable, leading to Pikachu hitching another ride, but the tree branches weren't as low hanging this time, leaving Nebula free to do whatever she pleased, and Valiant insisted on walking regardless of the path ahead.

And so far, no Bug Catchers were in sight.

Ash was most certainly on guard, though. That battle with the Venonat had certainly been a wake up call for him. Not only was it much more difficult than any of the previous battles with the group, but Nebula's injuries, for as temporary as they had been, were still fresh in his mind.

He couldn't be careless like that anymore. He wanted his team to trust him, which meant not doing anything stupid that would get them hurt.

He hadn't gotten over the Spearow incident just yet, and he certainly wouldn't be getting over the Venonat battle anytime soon, either.

With that vow to not repeat past mistakes, Ash marched on ahead, wanting to inspire morale within his team.

Until he heard the noise.

It was hard to place it. It was hard to describe it. Some sort of buzzing sound? And there were a lot of them…

And they were getting closer…

His survival instincts were telling him to turn around.

Good thing he did.

"GAH!" he cried out and stumbled off of his feet. A startled Pikachu jumped off of his shoulders and landed safely on the ground, using his tail to balance himself, sticking up in the nearby dirt as he landed directly on his tail and balanced on it. Ash felt gravity suddenly overtake him at the same time. He winced in pain as his butt collided with the ground, but that was nothing compared to the terror he felt from what was approaching them.

It was a Beedrill swarm.

/

Running.

That was the only thought his mind could produce at the moment.

There was no time to return his teammates. Instead, he had simply scooped Valiant up in his arms and took off in a bolt. The young Ralts wasn't nearly as fast as Pikachu or Nebula, who were both ahead of Ash at the moment, Pikachu forgetting all about his disdain for the path ahead as he immediately broke into a run on all fours, while Nebula had gone from a simple glide to a desperate flight for survival as the Beedrill closed in on them. The adrenaline was pumping through his very veins, giving him energy he didn't even know he had. He was moving even faster than he was when the Spearow had attacked.

To look behind him felt like too much of a risk. He had to dedicate every fiber of his being to making sure that they stayed ahead of the Beedril. Pikachu and Nebula seemed to be doing just fine. He wondered how much they were exerting themselves.

Ash's physical capabilities had never been anything very impressive. Nothing any better than the average boy of his age. Oh, but sure, Gary was a pretty great runner, just like how he was a pretty great climber, or sports player, but Ash? Average at best. Even with the adrenaline pumping through him, Ash could already hear his body screaming in defiance. Even with the added adrenaline flowing through his veins, and providing him with newfound strength and resolve, it still wasn't enough to drown out the pain in his muscles, which left his brain screaming at him to stop.

Not even fear was enough to cloud the pain. Even with his self preservation completely maxed out, involuntarily or not his body still wanted to stop moving. Because running away was torture. Running away like this was tortue.

Humans weren't built like Pokemon, but Ash still knew for certain that man would be perfectly capable of running like this for much longer than he was. Especially when their lives were on the line. So why couldn't he? Why was the very movement of his muscles torturing him? Was he really that weak? Not even fit enough to properly run for his life?

Ash was afraid to stop. Afraid of losing the adrenaline, most likely the one thing that even kept his body functioning at this point. But of course, he couldn't afford to stop anyway. But even slowing down would run the risk of losing his resolve.

Even so, he could feel his legs, his whole body, straining even further. There was only so much more of this that he could take-

Then it happened.

From the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw Nebula fly past him. The young bird had gotten tired of retreating, turning around to meet the Beedrill head on.

"N-Nebula!" Ash just barely forced out as his body began running out of breath for his lungs to produce. "NOO-GAH!" he tried to turn around to look at the bird Pokemon, but ended up tripping over his own two feet as a result. Fatigue overcame him as he tumbled into the dirt, Valiant screaming as the young Ralts was sent flying. Ash couldn't see what happened to him as he rolled around upon impact, his body moving on its own from the momentum of his run and his fall, his lungs trying but failing to gasp for air.

As he lay on his back, his lungs finally gasping and sucking in as much air as possible as he was now no longer in motion, Nebula hovered in front of the incoming Beedrill swarm, flapping her wings furiously as she tried to create the biggest Whirlwind possible.

Pikachu had stopped running upon hearing the commotion, turning to see Nebula and her defiant stand. He called out to her, but was quick to notice Ash and Valiant.

Valiant was rubbing his sore head as he struggled to get up. A few meters away, Ash was laying in the dirt, clearly out of breath and overcome with exhaustion. Pikachu had no idea who to check on first, but since Valiant was closest to him he prioritized the Ralts. Ash was much further away from either of them.

The Whirlwind collided with the fast approaching Beedrill swarm, and the effect was immediate. The violent wind pushed against the aggressive attackers, the Beedrill struggling against it.

The swarm wasn't as big as most, with not many Beedrill as expected making it up. There were still quite a lot of them, however. Nebula was dangerously outnumbered.

A few Beedrill struggled against the wind more than others, however. Some were slowly blown away. Others were held firmly in place, not able to progress any further, but still too strong for the wind to affect them in any other way. Others, however, were still slowly approaching, still struggling just like the others, but also slowly pushing against the wind. The Starly glared at her advancers, continuing to pour more and more effort into her last, desperate attack.

Pikachu knelt down and helped Valiant up, one paw on the Ralts's belly and another on his back. His eyes filled with concern, and although he couldn't see Valiant's, he would have seen gratitude if he did. The young Ralts rubbed his sore head, and Pikachu's eyes narrowed sadly as his newest companion whimpered in pain.

Looking over to Ash, Pikachu saw the boy slowly sitting up. That was relieving, but Nebula's situation certainly wasn't making the young mouse feel any better.

Ash looked up and saw Nebula's struggle against the Beedrill swarm. A part of him gazed in awe at the sight of his bird companion standing up to the fierce threat for everyone else's sake. However, most of him looked on in horror as Nebula clearly began to fall victim to fatigue herself.

Feeling her strength wavering, nebula glowered in frustration, the flapping of her wings becoming slower and less intense. More Beedrill were advancing now, no longer held in place by the advancing wind. Those that were already advancing now began to do so faster, their resistance against the wind increasing as the strength of the wind simultaneously decreased. It was a war of attrition, and Nebula was tiring out much faster than any of her opponents.

Her mind thought back to just a few days ago. She had been beaten by Ash and Pikachu. Despite the fight that she had put up, they had prevailed, leaving her to be a part of their team after being caught. She had cooperated with them, accepting defeat, and given them a chance despite everything. Her opinion of them, however, had not yet been fully formed.

Pikachu had reached out to her that night, however, and the young Starly remembered her conversation with the mouse underneath the moon. It was… odd… opening up to the very creature that had caused her capture in the first place, but… Pikachu himself had even worked up the courage to talk with her despite their initial interaction being that of a battle.

And she had to admit, the mouse was quite impressive too. Not only had he beaten her, but he had also beaten that Pinsir, who certainly looked intimidating. He and Ash made a good team. And he would always eat next to her at mealtime, even sharing his food with her at one point, knowing that she liked the food better than he did. And after Valiant had joined the group, nothing had changed. He was still keeping her company, while Ash helped to ease in their new teammate. His sudden attempt to ride her had certainly been annoying, but he hadn't pulled anything else like that since. But he had, however, put time into interacting with her whenever he could. Even with how they had first met on that day.

Ash, to his credit, had provided her with good food, and didn't even confine her to her Poke Ball all the time when she didn't want it. He had expressed genuine concern for her after injuring herself against that Venonat yesterday, and had immediately gotten to work tending to her. He was also quite smart, which had helped her and Pikachu win their more challenging battles that required more than just smacking the opponent away.

Plus, unlike her and Pikachu, he actually had a goal in life, even if it sounded absurd. Become the strongest Trainer? Reach some big tournament in less than a year? It was preposterous!

So why did she… suddenly find herself intrigued by such a goal? Wondering if she had what it takes to do such a thing?

She had never felt that way before. She had never cared about how strong she was. So then, why did she now?

Why had these two individuals, this Trainer that had captured her, and his lightning shooting mouse companion, constantly enter her mind?

It was as though her indifference had started to... was it fading, perhaps?

And so too, was her fatigue.

As she suddenly remembered that she wasn't the only one in danger at the moment!

Her eyes lit up. Now bright red. Her body began to glow with an outline of the same color.

Ash's horror was replaced with shock, and then with intrigue, followed by confusion, as he witnessed what was happening to Nebula. Behind him, Pikachu and Valiant were both on their feet, the mouse still supporting the Ralts in his arms. Pikachu's eyes were wide with awe. Valiant's, although not visible, with shock.

The flapping of her wings intensified. First to its original level. And then beyond. The wind kicked up again. First at its former strength. And then, suddenly, at something far greater.

The Beedrill struggled. But they couldn't for long.

Ash, Pikachu, and Valiant watched in magnificent, jaw-slacked awe as their young bird companion sent the entire swarm flying over the horizon.

Trees were swaying in the intense gust that Nebula had created. Leaves were flying off the branches. Bushes were uprooted.

And then, as the threat disappeared off into the distance, Nebula's flapping slowed, and then ceased.

Ash felt a second surge of adrenaline flowing through him as the Starly fell out of the air. Diving to catch her, he felt relief course through his soul as she landed safely in his arms, and he maintained his grip on her even as he landed body first into the dirt with a thud.

He was filthy now. But he didn't care. Nebula was safe.

And so were they.

He did his best to ignore the pain in his lungs as he sat up on the ground, gently laying Nebula down on her back into the dirt. He looked down at the bird Pokemon as she panted in exhaustion.

Whatever had just happened had understandably taken a lot out of her.

"Nebula…" he said, trying to fight off his sense of speechlessness. "What was that?'

Nebula forced out a confused chirp. She was just as surprised as Ash and the others were. She really did not know.

And neither did Pikachu or Valiant, as the pair slowly made their way to their other two companions.

Valiant leaned against Ash's side as Pikachu knelt down in front of Nebula. A relieved smile spread across his face as Nebula locked eyes with him, and the small bird Pokemon returned the expression with one of her own.

"...Reckless…" all eyes turned to Ash as his eyes lit up in realization. "Your ability… it must have activated involuntarily because of the adrenaline! It saved us! You saved us, Nebula!"

Nebula, despite her fatigue, felt some elation overcoming her exhaustion. Nevertheless, she stayed on the ground. As Ash rose to his feet and patted Valiant's head in concern, she locked eyes with Pikachu again. Her beak remained in a smile, as he returned her expression with a cheerful grin that she would soon grow to perpetually adore.

Her yellow companion… no, her friend.

/

The group got some much needed reprieve afterwards.

With Ash carrying Nebula and Valiant in his arms, they eventually found a clearing, Pikachu trotting along by his side.

A small cabin stood in the center of the clearing, although it seemed to be vacant. Ash immediately rushed to it.

He wasn't sure how much rest they would need, but they would definitely be needing it nonetheless. Arriving at the cabin, he set his two teammates down and took off his backpack, rummaging through it.

First thing was first, he needed to heal them, and he needed some water.

Taking out a bottle of water for himself, he applied a potion to Valiant, the only one who had gotten hurt during the incident. Pikachu had come out of it unscathed, and, looking over Nebula, Ash realized that she wasn't injured and was merely tired.

The involuntary activation of her Reckless ability had left her completely spent, bringing about all of the inner reserves of her strength. Such reserves existed to prevent her from getting tired out too easily, as it did with all Pokemon, but, thanks to Reckless, she had used it up all at once. Not to mention that she may have already been beginning to feel tired beforehand, given how hard she was fighting.

The ability was definitely a double-edged sword. Sacrificing all sense of self-preservation in exchange for raw power. By letting loose all of your energy at once, while being much less weary of an opponent's attacks, or even the very idea of taking damage. The increase in physical capabilities and overall prowess in general was astronomical, but the drawbacks were inevitably just as much so.

Not to mention, the Ability was practically guaranteed to activate when using recoil moves like Double-Edge. Since moves like those already forgo self-preservation in favor of raw power, just merely using them was inviting the Reckless ability to activate and take hold, even if only for that one attack.

Normally, it took a great amount of skill and practice in order to be able to successfully call on the ability at will. The fact that Nebula had called upon the ability involuntarily was likely a direct result of her sheer adrenaline rush kicking things into overdrive, trying to repel the threat by any means necessary. Ash found it rather ironic that it was ultimately self-preservation that had led to the activation of an ability that deliberately forgoes such a thing.

It was almost like she no longer cared about self-preservation. Like she was fighting for something else entirely.

Once they reached Pewter, he hoped that he and Nebula would be able to train to activate the ability at will. But that was hardly what he was thinking about right now.

He was still gasping for air as he chugged down his water bottle. Even as the relief of tasting water in his thirsty mouth and throat overcame him, he still felt the fatigue and discomfort from the running. And he was still thirsty. Suddenly, the water must have gone down the wrong pipe, and he found himself coughing up a storm.

Gathering his bearings, he looked between his three teammates and took out another water battle. "Do any of you want one? Nebula, you might need it the most."

He wasn't sure how long they stayed at the cabin, but they needed a break. Nebula was returned to her Poke Ball after being convinced to drink some water by Ash and Pikachu, while Pikachu and Valiant, who were in better shape after Ash had healed the Ralts, remained outside, conversing with one another as an exhausted Ash leaned against the cabin. The young Trainer still wanted to clear some more ground today, but for now, all that he could think about was, above all else, how much that he wanted to rest up. They would stay here for at least a few hours. Gather their bearings. Then they could hit the road again when they were ready and set to go on again.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

/

A few hours to catch his breath had actually done wonders for Ash and his psyche. It was reinvigorating. It had taken a while, with Ash spending much of his break either gasping for breath or still feeling the fatigue in his chest and lungs, but in the end, the reprieve had proved invaluable.

Ash vowed to improve his stamina the first chance he got as he strolled through the forest, Pikachu walking beside him on one side, and Valiant on the other. Nebula, who, much like Ash himself, was now fully rejuvenated and out of her Poke Ball, was flying overhead once again, sticking closer than usual and occasionally sparing a fond glance at the others.

The section of the forest that they were currently traveling through was slightly more open than most, with some of the trees parting to reveal the slowly turning orange sky of the sunset. It would be dusk soon, and they would have to set up camp.

But for now, Ash just wanted to get some final advancements in. If they couldn't leave the forest by tonight, then hopefully by tomorrow night.

Unfortunately, there was still one more encounter left before they could close out the day.

Instead of bursting out of the bushes, they came down from the trees.

Numerous Bug Catchers descended in front of the group, and apart from the one who tripped and fell upon landing, they actually seemed pretty intimidating doing it.

They had just entered an open area of the forest, where the path was much wider. Perfect for a battle, Ash realized. Gowling, Pikachu stepped forward as his cheeks began sparking, while Nebula landed slightly behind him at his side. Valiant stayed by Ash's side, and the boy glared a the Bug Catchers. There were more of them this time.

"Enough." Ash perked up at the new voice. It was female, and, even more so than the orange haired boy, sounded very cool headed and stoic.

In the back of the Bug Catchers, Kimberly stepped out from behind a large tree, her teal hair gently moving as she advanced. Her emerald eyes were fixated into a glare. Not an angry one, but a determined one nonetheless. Behind her, Feral emerged from behind yet another tree, syncing his own steps perfectly with hers.

One Bug Catcher stepped forward and spoke up, pointing a finger at Ash with a joyful guffaw.

"You thought you could humiliate all of us on our own turf, huh? Well the Big Net is here to show you what happens when you-"

"Enough." all words and movements from the Bug Catchers ceased as the leader raised a single hand, making her way to the front of the group and locking eyes with Ash. Feral was somewhat by her side, but still remained behind her.

Ash felt… uncomfortable under this girl's gaze. Her emerald eyes were fierce, yet calm. A weird kind of serenity, of tranquility, that still managed to be intimidating.

He heard a noise down at his feet. To his surprise, he looked down to see Valiant positively shaking at the sight of this newcomer, not taking his eyes off of the bug catcher leader as he immediately fled behind Ash, clinging to his legs in terror.

That certainly got Ash curious. Why was Valiant so scared of her? What was it about this new Bug Catcher that struck such fear into him?

Feral's arms were crossed professionally around his chest, while Kimberly's remained at her sides. When she spoke, her voice was so… cool headed. A confidence radiating from her that he could never even hope to match.

If she wasn't a Bug Catcher, Ash would have found the voice quite pretty. Her face certainly was. And those eyes…

But it barely even took a moment to dismiss that thought. These Bug Catchers were a bunch of delinquents that had made their lives a crapshow for the past few days. And most likely done the same to many other trainers as well. He hoped that Janine had fared a lot better than him although he was significantly less worried about Gary.

"You are… quite resilient, intruder from Pallet Town. Thanks to you, I had to reduce our mercenary's payment plan."

Ash's brow raised at that statement. Was she talking about the samurai kid? Then this was…

"So, you're in charge." he said matter of factly. He did his best to sound professional. To sound imposing. To rival her. To match her presentation. To make the conversation seem equal.

Problem was, he knew he hadn't managed. Was his voice shaking? He couldn't tell. He couldn't look weak in front of her. If this was their leader, then he had to look tough.

She crossed her arms in an action that matched that of Feral's. "What do you think?"

'Just give me a straight answer already, damnit!'

Valiant's fearful moaning increased in volume. Ash spared the young Ralts a glance and frowned curiously. Just what was it about this girl that terrified him so much?

She took a single step forward with each foot, although Feral remained in place. "Most trainers don't stay on our turf for this long. But you've quite literally been traveling through the very middle of the forest ever since you started. Are you antagonizing us?"

Ash growled. "Me? You're the ones who set up pit traps, ambushes, hired some lunatic to come after trainers, and caught my friend in a rope trap!" he gestured down to Valiant, who remained whimpering as his eyes refused to leave the leader.

Kimberly sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, before relocking her gaze with Ash's. "You were warned to turn back, and chose not to."

Ash gritted his teeth. Damn himself for not having any sense of direction. Had he taken any detours, his trip either would have lasted far longer, or he would've been forever lost. He bet Janine and Gary were both perfectly capable of finding their way around the forest, but sadly he wasn't them.

"What excuse does that give you to do what you did? If you have left us alone we could have passed here peacefully."

"Would you let just anyone venture into your backyard, intruder?"

Ash's brow furrowed. "This forest isn't yours-"

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. This forest belongs to me. To all of us. And to us alone." she spread her arms out, but maintained her stoic expression as she tilted her head upwards, ever so slightly. "Viridian Forest is property of the Bug Catchers. And anyone else who crosses us is a trespasser who must compensate."

Ash took a slight step back in surprise, careful not to catch Valiant by surprise as the young Ralts continued to lean against his leg. This girl was crazy! She may have acted stoic, but at the end of the day, she spoke the same delusioned nonsense as the rest of them; just far more elegantly.

"Why do you waste your time causing trouble for people like this? You've practically made this your life."

"This forest is my life." Kimberly rebuked. She spared a split second to glance at her arm, which was rolled up into a sleeve quite neatly, before returning to Ash's own eyes. Everytime their eyes met, Ash found himself flinching, hoping the reaction hadn't been outwardly noticeable "My family is here. Viridian Forest is all that matters to me now." she stretched out her hand. "You have questioned our authority over the forest with your constant resistance. Nothing that we have tried has worked, so I'm dealing with you the old fashioned way."

"You'll battle me?" Valiant's fearful moaning had thankfully ceased for the time being, but he still remained just as scared as ever, as Pikachu and Nebula both took up fighting stances.

"It's quite simple, really." Kimberly's cool tone never left her voice. "If you beat my partner, I'll reward you by telling you how to get to Pewter, the fastest route." Ash perked up at that. "But if I win, and I will, I won't give you any directions, you will be escorted outside of our turf and have to navigate the forest by yourselves." She pointed a thumb to herself. "Otherwise, you could always just join us and use your strength to help train the rookies at our fort."

"That won't happen." Ash responded a bit too quickly.

"I see." she prepared herself. "Well then, it matters not. Either way, you will be leaving our turf tonight. Bug Catchers, formation!"

All bug catchers, barring Feral, scattered and parted. Instead of being directly behind their leader, they moved to the sides of the makeshift battlefield. To the outskirts. They were practically outlining the place.

With Feral following behind her, Kimberly turned around and made her way to the far side of the battlefield. As the duo stopped, she took a single step forward with a Poke Ball in hand.

Out of the bright flash of light emerged a purple moth that Ash, after a few quick seconds of pondering, recognized from a pamphlet detailing certain extoic Pokemon.

"I am Kimberly, the Big Net of the Bug Catchers, and I hereby challenge you." she spoke cooly, pointing forward at Ash and his team. "Dustox, prepare for battle."

The Dustox hovered over to the center of the battlefield, awaiting its opponent.

After a few seconds of consideration, Ash knelt down in front of Pikachu and Nebula.

"Pikachu," he spoke calmly, locking eyes with his Starter, trying to remain confident. "You've got this, right?"

With a determined glare, Pikachu nodded, returning Ash's gaze with his own. Hearing a chirp from behind him, the starter turned to see Nebula giving him a serious look. The mouse locked eyes with the Starly next, as she raised an encouraging wing to the electric rodent.

There was… camaraderie between them as Pikachu made his way onto the battlefield.

Cheeks sparking, voice growling, Pikachu's glaring eyes locked with that of his opponent, his gaze trying to pierce through Dustox in intimidation, even though it wasn't.

With no time wasted, Kimberly gave the first order. "Gust, Dustox!"

Dustox began flapping its wings vigorously, but unlike with Nebula, something different happened.

Gust was a very similar move to Whirlwind, but Ash immediately realized that Dustox was using it in a very different way than Nebula had used her move. It was concentrated. Rather than a gust of wind that spread throughout the battlefield, it was condensed into a single blast of wind, aimed directly at Pikachu like an attack. All of the force behind the wind was focused on a single target, which most likely did wonders for the move's offensive potential.

It occurred to Ash that Dustox must have trained quite a lot in order to gain such control and mastery over this technique. Could Nebula do the same?

Pikachu bolted out of the way with Quick Attack, quickly turning to charge at the moth head on, only for Dustox to fly upwards in evasion as Pikachu leapt into the air to try and slam into it. As Pikachu evaded the attack, the Gust slammed into the ground, where Pikachu once was just moments before, creating a small explosion of dirt.

There was definitely a lot of concentrated force behind that technique.

"Psybeam, Dustox!"

Pikachu tried to avoid the rainbow-colored beam that shot from the moth's eyes, but Dustox must have predicted how he'd dodge. As Pikachu moved out of the way, he had actually charged right into the beam's path, rather than away from it.

Nebula and Valiant both let out concerned cries as Pikachu tumbled onto the ground, his fur collecting dirt particles as he rolled across the battlefield. Finally regaining his bearings, Pikachu quickly found himself back on all fours again, sliding backwards from the force of the attack, his gaze glaring back up at the menacing Dustox.

Ash was worried now. Just how had Dustox predicted where Pikachu would move?

Shaking off the blow, Pikachu rushed forward again, gathering electricity in his cheeks as he fired off a Thunder Shock. Avoiding the blast, Dustox allowed a large series of poison needles to escape from its mouth, and Ash immediately recognized the technique as a Poison Sting.

Pikachu leapt over the attack and tried to strike at his opponent with Iron Tail, but Dustox was too fast and swerved out of the way. As Pikachu landed, the bug catcher leader gave her next order.

"Tackle!"

Before Pikachu could react, Dustox flew headfirst into the young mouse's side. Pikachu cried out as he abruptly flew forward, and soon his other side slammed into a nearby tree trunk. Slowly getting up, the rodent painfully clutched both of his aching sides; one from the tree trunk, and the other from where Dustox had slammed into him.

Lying on his back, the electric type attempted to get to his feet, only to be interrupted by a large string that suddenly wrapped around his tail. Using String Shot, Dustox pulled the screaming mouse backwards, dragging him across the dirt as the fur on Pikachu's back collected even more dirt as a result.

Ash snarled in frustration, a nervous sensation creeping into his chest. She was making them her playthings! They'd never win at this rate…

They had to fight back.

"Quick Attack!" he shouted. "Pull back the other way!"

Pikachu tried to flip himself over, eventually succeeding as he struggled to dig his paws into the dirt, desperately scrambling his two front paws in an effort to hold himself down and prevent the large moth from dragging him even further. He let out desperate shrieks as he did so, as his opponent continued to pull against him, eager to quell his resistance.

Feral turned to Kimberly, his fixation on the battle briefly broken. "He's desperate. I think you've got him soon if this keeps up."

The stoic girl nodded slowly, but kept her eyes on the moth and the mouse as the tug of war continued, Pikachu still trying to regain his footing as Dustox dragged him, but now being dragged much more slowly as he desperately attempted to put up a fight.

"Things will end soon." she tilted her head up towards Dustox. "Poison Sting!"

With Pikachu struggling against the string, Dustox fired off the needles yet again. Suddenly, Pikachu finally found his footing, and successfully used Quick Attack. He ran away from the needles, pulling Dustox along with him. But the large moth Pokemon quickly regained its bearings and struggled against Pikachu's resistance, slowly pulling the mouse back as Pikachu once again found himself struggling to maintain his balance.

Ash clenched his fists. Pikachu was fighting hard, and they couldn't let that go to waste.

"Come one, Pikachu! You can do it!"

From behind him, he could hear Valiant letting out cries of encouragement, while Nebula's chirps were the noisiest that he'd ever heard from her before, the small bird Pokemon pumping her wing high in the air as her voice called out with great volume.

Pikachu eventually found his footing again and resisted Dustox's mighty pull. For what felt like a few minutes, the two of them went back and forth, before Pikachu finally barreled forward, the full force of his Quick Attack finally overcoming Dustox as the moth Pokemon was abruptly sent flying in Pikachu's direction.

Ash pumped his fist up. This was their chance. "Iron Tail!"

Instinctively boosting his speed with Quick Attack, Pikachu immediately changed directions, sliding backwards across the dirt as he planted his paws firmly into the ground, right before propelling himself forward with the speed he could muster to increase the force behind the blow, aiming his attack right at Dustox.

BAM!

The metallic tail slammed into Dustox's front, sending the large moth Pokemon flying back first into a nearby tree trunk with a loud cry of pain. The momentum from being forced to fly right into the Iron Tail had almost certainly worsened the blow for their opponent. As Dustox fell to the ground, it let out a mighty flap of its wings to regain its bearings, briefly hovering above the ground for a moment before rising back up and into the air.

Kimberly was undeterred, however. "Rapid fire Psybeam!"

Despite the pain from the blow, the Dustox was quite durable. Ignoring the small bruise on its front, it began firing a series of multicolored beams at Ash's young mouse companion, Pikachu scrambling out of the way to dodge.

The beams were… aimed carefully. Everytime Pikachu dodged in one direction, he would immediately have to dodge in the opposite direction. Closed off, going from side to side, unable to do anything else.

How long could Dustox keep this up before tiring out? How long could Pikachu keep this up before tiring out or losing his balance?

The Psybeams created small explosions of dirt each time they connected with the ground.

Ash gritted his teeth. No time to counterattack. Pikachu was just playing right into the Dustox's little dance, with no other choice.

What… did they do?

This girl was the leader of the most despicable group of people that he had ever met. Even more so than Gary and his friends. Her group was unbearable in every sense of the word. But she was good.

"I usually think back to my Conference win when considering that stuff. That final match was pretty brutal at times, but whenever my team and I were placed in an undesirable position, we always found a way out. And then struck back with ten times the force. It was how we won." Karen's voice from an interview just prior to the League Rush, when asked about what it was like to overcome seemingly hopeless situations, suddenly entered his mind.

Finally, the slowly tiring out Pikachu dodged just a little bit too slowly. The dirt explosion from the Psybeam that he had just narrowly avoided created a small shockwave, just barely enough to knock the mouse off balance, and Ash gasped as his electric companion tumbled around in the dirt.

"Silver Wind!"

It was like Gust, but the wind was glowing a bright, shiny glow. The concentrated blast of wind slammed headfirst into Pikachu, sending the screaming mouse flying backwards from the mighty impact.

Nebula shrieked out in horror as Pikachu slammed head first into a tree trunk, landing on his side, blood leaking out from the bruised cut on his head.

Was it… over?

Pikachu was trying to get up, while Dustox was trying to gather its bearings. Kimberly confidently stood still, arms crossed across her chest, while Feral looked on silently.

The Bug Catchers cheered.

Pikachu struggled to his feet, but was forced to lean back first against the tree trunk even as he finally, successfully stood up, clutching the painful cut on the top of his head with a single paw. Tears began leaking from his eyes as he gritted his teeth in pain.

Ash's gaze went to the ground as he desperately tried to think of something, anything, that could potentially turn this around for them.

What to do? Do they quit? Pikachu certainly didn't seem to want to.

Pikachu pushed himself off of the tree trunk as Nebula's concerned cries traveled across the battlefield and into his ears. Ash could hear Valiant letting out some encouraging shouts of his own from behind him.

Pikachu's teammates were still cheering him on. And so would he.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out. The mouse turned his attention towards his new trainer. "It's not over yet! You can still do this! We can still do this!" Nebula and Valiant both cried out the affirmative.

Feral sighed. "Too stubborn, they are. Guess that explains why they gave us so much trouble."

Kimberly lowered her crossed arms from her chest and onto her sides. Pointing forward, she glared ahead at the battlefield with unmatched intensity. "It matters not. This is going to be over now. Dustox! Finish this up!"

"Pikachu! Run around the battlefield using Quick Attack! Don't advance yet! Keep your distance!" A last minute strategy born from either desperation or creativity. Whichever one it was, Ash had no idea.

Ignoring the pain as best he could, Pikachu bolted around the makeshift battlefield as the blood trailed down his head.

The bug catcher leader continued pointing forward, her index finger trailing the mouse. "Poison Sting, Dustox! Aim for the cut on Pikachu's head!"

Dozens upon dozens of purple needles assaulted the battlefield as Dustox chased the dashing mouse, Pikachu just barely being able to avoid each of them.

Zigzagging across the battlefield, Pikachu took in Nebula's encouragement, Ash's encouragement, Valiant's encouragement.

It all empowered him.

Before, he was the small one among Pokemon that were constantly aggressive. He was powerless against him. And then he had been transported to the Lab to be a Starter Pokemon. Clefable was nice, but Ash was demanding. Gary was awful. Squirtle had beaten him up and left him humiliated and bruised. The mouse couldn't imagine anything worse.

Then he and Ash continued to bicker. And then the Spearow incident happened.

But something had… changed then.

Ash's sorrow, and desire to protect him. They had all been new to him. And then at the Pokémon Center, when those obnoxious Team Rocket goons had attacked, he had taken a leap of faith against the Meowth, trusting in Ash's judgment against a Pokemon that was trying to kill him. And it had all paid off in the end.

Ever since then, Ash had shown nothing but dedication, and a sincere promise to become stronger. Along with a request for a fresh start.

Nebula allowed him to eat next to her every night, even listening to him when he had wanted to talk, and now she had saved all of them from that terrifying Beedrill swarm.

He wanted to make friends for once. To be strong enough to protect himself. To no longer be helpless and weak against aggressors.

These past few days, while horrid because of the forest and the Bug Catchers, had shown him that that might actually be possible. He just needed to stick with his trainer. Stick with his team.

And win this fight.

"Pikachu! Charge up Thunder Shock! But don't fire just yet!"

Kimberly. "What are you up to?"

Pikachu complied, confused by the order, but trusting in his trainer's judgment once again. It was a struggle, due to the pain, and the effort that it took to maintain Quick Attack. But soon, the electricity was flowing perfectly through his cheeks.

"Charge forward, Pikachu!"

Pikachu abruptly rushed Dustox, who, despite being surprised by the sudden attack, flew out of the way.

But Ash was already prepared.

"Fire! NOW!"

The Thunder Shock sizzled out of Pikachu's body as he flew past Dustox. The close proximity allowed the lightning bolt to strike the moth head on, the large moth screaming in pain as the electricity assaulted his body.

"WHAT?!" Kimberly gasped in awe. Feral gritted his teeth from behind her.

"Gain some distance!" Ash was pressing on the momentum now. The opposing Dustox was still covered in static, struggling to remain afloat after the painful, point-blank shock. It was time to end this. "Try using Spark and Iron Tail at once! Build up speed with Quick Attack and finish Dustox off!"

"Psybeam, Dustox!" Kimberly was quick to respond.

But Pikachu avoided the final attack and complied to his trainer's orders. Thanks to the electricity from Thunder Shock, Dustox had been having a harder time getting the attack out as quickly as before.

Pikachu surrounded himself with the electricity of Spark as he continued to run forward. At the same time, however, the metallic energy of Iron Tail covered his tail.

"Try combining the attacks!" Ash called out.

Briefly, Pikachu looked back at his Trainer with a nod, before turning his attention back to his opponent.

"Go! Now!"

Rushing forward, Pikachu barreled on over towards Dustox. As he sped across the battlefield, dirt was kicked up in his wake. The electricity from Spark, initially surrounding his body, began to gather around at his tail. Soon, the Iron Tail was crackling with lightning, channeled by Pikachu's now metallic tail.

A combined attack that had been born from either desperation, determination, or creativity. Even years later, Ash would never be able to truthfully guess which one that it was. Because even then, not even he knew. And neither did his team.

As he approached Dustox, Pikachu let out a mighty battle cry, ready to finish this once and for all. Aiming right for the bruise that Dustox had received from the previous Iron Tail.

The impact was deafening, and spread across the battlefield. Dirt nearby began to fly around from the massive shockwave that was being produced by Pikachu's final attack.

And Dustox was sent sailing towards a nearby tree trunk with a loud scream. Another powerful impact occurred as it slammed into that tree. A large dent was left on the trunk as Dustox fell to the ground with a thud, landing on its side and rolling ever so slightly until it was laying down on its back. It stated there, motionless and bruised from the battle.

It did not get up.

The adrenaline wore off as Pikachu collapsed towards the dirt, catching himself in his paws. As the Bug Catchers' shocked gasps filled the area, their leader returned her Dustox with a red beam of light.

Pressing the Poke Ball against her cheek, she let out a sigh.

"You were extraordinary, thank you." she spoke softly, but never lost her cool tone, even then.

The commentary from the Bug Catcher Gang began to fill the air.

"The Big Net's been beaten!"

"But how?"

"He must have cheated!"

Ash grimaced.

Even now, even far from home, whenever he did something impressive, it was always considered cheating.

His gaze shifted over to Pikachu, panting on the ground, desperately trying to catch his breath. As Nebula made her way over to the small mouse, Ash saw her wrap her wing behind his back, pulling him up and leaning the mouse against her side for support.

The young Trainer could not stop the smile that spread across his lips.

As mouse and bird exchanged looks, and smiles, the sound of footsteps stole Ash's attention as Kimberly and Feral approached him, stopping a few feet away. Behind them, the rest of the Bug Catchers gathered.

"I… don't know what to say… honestly." her cool tone of voice was only slightly compromised as she locked eyes with him yet again. "Dustox has brilliant aim, thanks to his Compound Eyes ability. And yet… not even that was enough today."

Ash had felt Valiant clinging to him even more tightly as the cool-headed girl had approached, but reached down to pat the young Ralts's head in comfort. Valiant eased up just a little bit, but still remained wary.

"You lost." said Ash blankly, his tone slightly more confident than before. It had been a hard-fought battle, but with the combination of Pikachu's tenacity and the rest of his team's cheering, it had all ended in success. "You'll keep your end of the deal now, right?"

Nebula looked up at the group, eying them carefully along with Pikachu.

She crossed her arms with a sigh. "I have not forgotten the terms of our battle, intruder, but first…" to Ash's surprise, she dug into her pocket and pulled out a very notably large amount of cash. Reaching out her hand, she said "This is for you."

Ash took the money and stashed it away, eying the Bug Catcher leader carefully.

"Now, then." She pointed forward in a different direction. "The path that you are going down now will still take you another two or three days or so to get to Pewter City. Going this way, you'll be there in about a day or so."

Ash raised a brow. "You sure about that?"

"Nobody is a better expert on this forest than I. Except for one particular being." Ash was confused by the reply, but didn't press.

Kimberly crossed her arms. "Now then, your end of the bargain is to leave. The rest of the Bug Catchers will not harass you anymore, so don't come back here."

Ash inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at that.

The leader looked between Ash's teammates. "You have a strong Trainer."

"Ashy boy would never make it as a Trainer. He wouldn't even throw a Poke Ball right anyway.'' The compliment clashed with the memory of Gary's voice.

Ash didn't let his guard down, but still took the time to respond. "Your Dustox was pretty strong too."

"I know," she said coolly. "But I'm too busy to converse anymore. Just get out of my forest."

Nodding, Ash turned to Pikachu. "How are you holding up?"

The mouse was still being supported by Nebula, but tried to give Ash a thumbs up.

Kimberly turned to her crew as she spoke up. "Bug Catchers! We're leaving!"

As they followed her out of the forest, Feral lingered behind slightly. Turning to Ash, he locked eyes with him briefly.

"I'll admit you were stronger than us, intruder, but don't let that go to your head. Next time, I will be prepared."

He was gone after that.

Ash watched the Bug Catchers leave with some conflicted thoughts as they disappeared into the darkness of the forest. By now, the sky above was completely orange, and it would be dusk soon.

Most of them were annoying, obnoxious, and not nearly as strong as they had hyped themselves up to be, but Ash knew that the same couldn't be said for all of them. Their leader and the orange haired boy had both proven themselves to be quite formidable, at the very least.

Turning his full attention onto his team, Ash kneeled down.

Placing a gentle hand on Pikachu's head, but being careful to avoid the bruise, Ash locked eyes with his Starter. "You were amazing, Pikachu, like always."

Pikachu blushed a little bit at that, as Nebula smiled at him brightly. Ash looked between Nebula and Valiant next, and spoke to them.

"You two as well," he said. "Nebula, Valiant, thanks for cheering him on so much."

Valiant was calming down a bit now that bug catchers were gone, and smiled shyly at the comment. Nebula beamed proudly.

/

The group had started down the path before setting up camp for the night.

Ash had tended to Pikachu's wounds, with Nebula refusing to leave the young mouse's side until he was back on his feet and good as normal again.

Valiant still stuck by Ash's side at dinner during camp, while Pikachu and Nebula ate together as usual. Ash's assumption was that the mouse and bird duo were discussing the battle from earlier.

They had risen early the next morning to get a head start. The bug catcher leader had been true to her word: None from their group antagonized them for the whole day. It was just a free, quiet day of nonstop walking. Valiant was still nervous about something, but the thought of leaving the forest seemed to increase his morale. Pikachu ran ahead a little bit, with Nebula flying overhead as per usual.

And as the sun began to set, Ash could notice the trees parting. It was the opposite of when they had entered the forest.

And by the time that the moon and stars were high in the sky, they found themselves a beautiful scene as the vegetation began to give way for a much more clear path.

And Ash could feel the tears of joy welling up in his eyes at the sight of Pewter City.

The forest towered over them from behind, as they overlooked the city, the path ahead of them going downwards in order to reach it. Nebula was perched upon a rock as the group looked over the buildings in the very near distance.

They were just on the outskirts of both Pewter City and Viridian Forest. Those down there, in the city, could probably see the tall trees up above because of just how close that the two places were.

"We… made it everybody." Ash wiped the tears away as he pumped his fists up. "Alright! No more Viridian Forest!"

The Pokemon cheered along with him.

"Our first Gym Battle is down there everyone! And so is civilization! Let's get to the Pokemon Center quickly!"

Pikachu hopped up onto the rock next to Nebula as the two exchanged excited cries. Suddenly, they both took off, Pikachu bolting down the path while Nebula flew on after him, both of them yelling and chirping excitedly, as if they were trying to race each other to the Pokemon Center.

Ash gasped. "Hey, wait up you two!" he looked down towards Valiant. 'We better go catch up to them fast!" Not wanting to be left behind, the two of them dashed down after their two companions.

As the group closed in on Pewter City nearby, Ash Ketchum's first week as a Pokemon trainer came to an end.

It wasn't a week that he or his teammates would ever forget anytime soon, either. Before, a simple duo consisting of an ordinary human boy and a single Pikachu had been what entered the forest. However, six days worth of traveling had caused that same duo to grow into a group of four.

And with the many trials and hardships that had been faced from within the forest, this same group had officially taken its first steps to becoming a family.