Trials of a Champion - Kanto [Pokemon x OC]

4 The Caterpie of the Day

It only took a few hours to enter the forest. Being gigantic, I relied heavily on the map. "It's a pretty intimidating forest judging by the size. All we have to do is keep heading north and we should be in Pewter City in just a day or two." I put the map away.

"We should catch some Pokémon while we're here. Some training wouldn't hurt either if we have time."

I remembered to stay on the lookout for any new Pokémon. Shinx pranced beside me, keeping an eye on the surrounding flora. "What kinds live in this forest anyways?"

My Pokédex helped with that question, answering with, "In Viridian Forest, a Trainer can find many Bug-type Pokémon."

"It's like the Pokédex has a voice recognition program. That's pretty handy." Shinx agreed with a bark. "Let's see. We should look for one of those Bug-types. Keep a sharp eye peeled for any—" Shinx cried up at me and pointed over to the trees off the path a little.

A little caterpillar came crawling out on a branch.

"That must be one of the Bug-types the Pokédex was talking about!" I shouted.

My Pokédex scanned the Pokémon. "Caterpie the Worm Pokémon. Caterpie uses the suction cups on its feet to climb trees and feed on its favorite leaves. It's easy to catch, and it grows quickly, making it one of the top choices for beginning Pokémon Trainers."

"It looks a little different from the picture on the Pokédex." I looked at the green Caterpie picture and back to the orange worm in front of us. "Ah, who cares? Let's get it."

We snuck up as close as we could to Caterpie. "Okay Shinx, here's what we're going to do," I began. However, Shinx got excited and jumped out from behind a bush, preparing to zap Caterpie with an attack. "No, wait, Shinx! I didn't say go—!" Grabbing Shinx to stop him, I got hit with a particularly powerful Shock Wave.

Caterpie cried out and used String Shot. Shinx dodged the attack by jumping out of my arms. The sticky web instead wrapped around my body, pinning my arms down. I figured Shinx could still handle the rest. "Try another one!" A second Shock Wave stunned Caterpie, long enough for me to break free of the String Shot. "Now use Spark!" Shinx climbed up the tree and scored a direct hit with Spark, knocking Caterpie onto the ground. "This is it! Go Poké Ball!" The ball pulled Caterpie inside and started rattling.

The Poké Ball kept on rattling. Once. Twice. Three times. After my failed attempt to catch a Pidgey, Rattata, and Spearow, and then a Nidoran, I expected Caterpie to pop out too. It never did. I heard a click as the red light on the Poké Ball faded away. "Did we do it?" The shock hit me so hard I fell to my knees.

Shinx retrieved the Poké Ball. "Yes!! I did it!" I nearly burst from the excitement, running around in circles doing a happy dance. "I caught Caterpie! I caught my first Pokémon! This is the first step on my way to becoming the Pokémon World Champion!"

After a few more victory dances, I knelt down beside my Shinx. "It's all thanks to you that we were able to get a new friend. What do you think?" I held out Caterpie's Poké Ball. Shinx sniffed it and then jumped for joy. "Oh, Shinx, I'm glad you like it. From now on, we'll catch a whole bunch of new friends."

I took Caterpie's Poké Ball and threw it into the air. "Come out and say hi!"

Popping out of the ball, Caterpie stood on the ground facing us. I knelt down to be at eye level with her. "Hi, Caterpie. I'm Rosa, and this is Shinx. Welcome to the team." She nodded her head and wriggled around. I laughed. "Then I guess there's no question on your excitement level. Do you want to climb onto my shoulder?" I held out my hand. She nodded her head and quickly crawled up my arm. "Comfortable?" She agreed. "Okay, so let's see if we can find anymore Pokémon."