Out of the Ash, Chapter 5: Into the Woods

"Gotcha!"

Nidoran was caught!

"Do you want to give a nickname to Nidoran?" Misty asked Ash.

"Hmm." He looked at the little purple creature, who gazed at him through the Poké Ball.  "He looks like an Arthur."

Ash and Misty had been training for over a week now, and Ash felt it was finally time to face his first gym.  However, finding the Viridian City Gym closed indefinitely, the duo decided their next destination would be Pewter City.  By traveling north on Route 2, they would be able to make it there in about a day.

Ash tucked Arthur the Nidoran's ball onto his belt, nestled beside a stronger Poliwag and Fearow.  Pikachu dusted himself off after the battle that had just transpired.

"We'd better get moving, Ash.  The road splits just up ahead.  We'll need to take the right fork in order to make it by sundown."

"What happens if we take the left road?"

"That way goes through Viridian Forest.  It's filled with..." Misty looked away.  "Nothing.  It's filled with nothing."

Ash was shocked.  "You were going to say Pokémon!  If there are more Pokémon in there, we should go left.  The better to take on a Gym with!"

"No, trust me, you don't want to go in there."

Ash didn't trust her, but he followed her down the right road anyway.  Maybe she was right.  Maybe there will be something too dangerous in there for him to handle.  But that just made him want to go into the forest even more.  He was so wrapped up in the possibilities of the forest that he bumped into Misty who had stopped in her tracks.

A giant tree was growing right in the middle of the path, and high walls on each side of the road suggested that there was no way around it.

"But, that's impossible!" Misty shouted.  "I was just here a month ago.  There is no way a tree could have grown so fast in that time!"

"I guess that means we'll have to take the forest!" Ash excitedly said.  He grabbed her hand and began to drag her back to the other road.

"Stop!  We can't go in there.  There are dangerous Pokémon in there!"

"And I'm a dangerous Pokémon trainer.  What's the worst that could happen?"

*          *          *

Almost immediately, the sunlight decreased as Ash and Misty made their way through the trees.  Signs of autumn were just starting to show, peppering the green leaves with read and orange flakes.  Misty stayed close to Ash while Pikachu ran around excitedly, sniffing each tree as they passed.

"See, Pikachu likes it in here.  What's there to worry about?" Ash said.

"Th-that!" Misty pointed across the path at a tiny green figure crawling along the ground.

"Um, that's a Caterpie, Misty.  They can't hurt you.  Is that what all of this is about?"

"Look, I just don't like bugs, okay?  Let's just keep walking and maybe it won't see us."

"No way, I'm going to catch it!"  And so he did, with minimal effort.  It only took one Poké Ball and the Caterpie was caught.  He held his victory up to Misty.  "Aww, isn't it cute?"

"Yeecchh!" Misty batted the ball out of his hand and it rolled down the path a little bit.

"What are you doing?  You'll make me lose it!"  Ash picked up the Caterpie.  "Aww look, now it's all dizzy.  I'll let it out so it has a chance to recover."  And so he did.  He placed the dazed Caterpie on his shoulder and continued to taunt Misty some more.  "This forest will be a cake walk!"

Behind a nearby tree, a shadowed figure watched and waited.

"Put it away, Ash!  I don't want to see it!"

"Quit shouting!  You're giving me a headache!"

"I'll give you more than that if you don't put that worm away!"

Ash quickly turned to respond (probably to say something like, how could she hurt him if she wouldn't even come near him), but he caught notice of the figure in the trees.  It quickly disappeared.

"Hey, somebody's following us." Ash moved toward the spot where it had been.  "Hey, come out here!  If you're a Pokémon, I won't hurt you, but if you're a trainer, I challenge you to a battle!"

"A challenge, you say?" A small boy appeared from amongst the trees.  He carried a large net and despite being dressed in normal attire, was also wearing a plastic samurai outfit.  "You dare challenge the great Midori?!"

"Oh, it's just a kid.  Go home, little boy.  I thought you were a Pokémon trainer."

Midori stomped his foot.  "I am SO a trainer!  Look, I even have a Pokémon!  Weedle, go!"  He sent out a yellow worm with a pink nose and a stinger on its head.

"Pssh, that's your great Pokémon?  Okay.  Watch this Misty, I'll show you how scary bugs can be.  Caterpie, go!"  Caterpie hopped off Ash's shoulder.

"Careful, Ash.  Weedles are a lot worse than Caterpies!"

"How bad can it be?"

The little samurai ordered an attack.  "Weedle, Poison Sting!"  The bug lunged forward and pricked the Caterpie.  Caterpie recoiled and ran back toward Ash.

"No, don't run away!  Fight back!  Use Tackle!"  Caterpie turned around but it suddenly slowed to a crawl and barely had enough energy to make it back to Weedle.

"What's happening?" asked Ash.

"Haha, that's my Weedle's poison!  It's slowly killing your Caterpie.  Never underestimate the power of a samurai!"

Ash sighed.  "Fine, Caterpie, come back!"  He placed the Caterpie on its shoulder.  "Go, Fearow!"

Fearow burst forth, screeching!

"H-hey!  That's not fair!" shouted Midori.  "I only have one Pokémon!"

Before Ash could apologize, Fearow pecked at the Weedle until it fainted.  "Sorry, sorry!  I forgot.  Fearow, come back!"

But Fearow didn't listen, and instead sought a new prize, the weakened Caterpie on Ash's shoulder.  It flew up high, swooped down and grabbed the Caterpie, flying off into the distance.

"Ack! Come back!" Ash ran off after his Pokémon as Midori yelled after him.  "This isn't over, Ash!  You will face the wrath of Midori the Bug Catcher!"

Ash ran quickly through the forest, off the path, as he tried to catch up to Fearow.  All the while, Misty and Pikachu ran alongside him.  At last, they found that the Fearow had met up with another bird, and the two were fighting over the Caterpie.

"Hey, shoo, stop that!  Fearow, return!" While Fearow was distracted, Ash managed to recall it back into its ball.  Unfortunately, that allowed the new bird to escape.

"Pikachu, ThunderShock that bird!" Pikachu jumped into action and managed to hit the airborne creature before it got too far.  Ash sent out an empty Poké Ball to capture it and as it disappeared into the capsule, Caterpie began to fall from a great height.

"Misty, catch it!"  And she did.  Involuntarily.  On her head.

*          *          *

Having wandered so far off the path, Ash and Misty were forced to set up camp for the night.  Around the campfire, Ash administered an Antidote to the Caterpie while Misty checked his Pokédex.  It appeared he had caught a Pidgeotto earlier, a rare sight in the Viridian Forest.  After placing Caterpie back into its ball, Ash made sure to spread the distance between his Pokémon, as he couldn't trust Fearow or Pidgeotto to be near each other or Caterpie.

"I'm sorry, Caterpie.  I didn't mean to put you in such danger." Caterpie let out a low whistle from its ball.

"Not to harp on a sore situation, but what are we going to do in the morning?  How will we get out of here?" Misty asked.

Ash climbed into his sleeping bag without answering.  He didn't have one.  As Misty put out the remaining embers of the fire, Ash thought he saw the shadow of Midori again, standing in the distance. And that just made his head hurt.

*          *          *

"I think that Midori kid is following us."

"What are you talking about?"

It was the next morning, and Ash and Misty still hadn't found their way to the main path.

"I saw him last night, at our campsite."

"Um, you were probably dreaming.  I'm sure that kid went home."

"I'm not as sure as you are..." Ash held out his hand to stop Misty and pointed across the clearing, where Midori stood, mask lowered, weapon drawn.

"Let us complete our challenge.  Since you fought with two, so shall I bring out my second.  Go Caterpie!" And Midori sent out a Caterpie.

Ash was amused.  "Seriously?  You expect to beat me with that?"

"Of course.  You have already chosen your battlers.  You cannot handle your Fearow and your own Caterpie is too weak.  Make your choice."

He had Ash right where he wanted him.  Fortunately, the Antidote had done wonders for his own Caterpie, so Ash sent out his green caterpillar.  However, it was clear that Midori's Caterpie was much faster at getting its Tackles to connect.  So Ash relied on a String Shot to slow down the opponent.  The numerous String Shots encased Midori's Caterpie so tightly that it began to tremble.

"What's happening?" Ash asked.

"Ah, the silk of a Caterpie is used to help it transform into its pupa stage.  You've just helped my Caterpie evolve into a Metapod." And Midori was right.  No longer did there stand a small worm, but a large, rigid pod had taken its place.

"Haha, now you can't move!"

"Nope, but Metapod can Harden!" Midori's Metapod let out a bright sheen as it stiffened.  Ash ordered his Caterpie to Tackle, but it just glanced off the Metapod's hard shell.

Sensing a disadvantage, Red switched to his Pidgeotto (since Fearow was unreliable) and ordered it to Gust.  The wind blew Metapod away, with Midori chasing after it, yelling at Ash for cheating again with an extra Pokémon.

"Great," said Misty.  "Now we can't ask him how to get out of this forest."

*          *          *

A couple more days had passed.  Ash and Misty hadn't seen any other sign of an exit to a forest or Midori.  Occasionally, Ash thought he would see the shadow, but when he called out, nothing responded.  Misty couldn't stand another day in the forest.  The number of bug Pokemon had increased, and the duo had to move carefully through a nest of sleeping Beedrills.  Although they had stopped talking to one another, Ash could sense Misty's resentment.

It's not my fault we're trapped here, though Ash.  If that kid can find his way through the forest, any one can.  We're just unlucky at the moment, that's all.

The sun was setting yet again, and Misty stood closer to Ash for warmth.  It was getting colder at night and neither had adequately packed for the change in weather.  As they brushed arms, Misty quickly made eye contact with Ash, then looked away and grabbed her elbow.  She looked as if she was about to say something, but she was pre-interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

The Team Rocket members from Viridian City had suddenly appeared on large stump, striking flamboyant poses.  Ash did not want to deal with this, on top of everything else he had been through.

"Shh!" he whispered. "There are Beedrill nearby."

They ignored him. "To protect the world from devastation." The Beedrill began to stir. "To unite all people within our nation." The Beedrill woke up.  "To denounce the evils of truth and love."  The Beedrill flapped their wings.  "To extend our reach to the stars above."  The Beedrill took off.  "Jessie!" "James!" And now the Beedrill were in full attack mode.

Team Rocket couldn't finish their introduction.  Ash and Misty had to hightail it as fast as they could.  They had lost the criminals, and didn't have time to figure out what exactly their intention had been.  Fortunately, they came across a small cabin and barricaded themselves inside.

Ash immediately crashed onto the ground and clutched his head.  Another splitting headache had hit him and his ears started ringing.  He thought he could hear a voice.  "You're not ready.  You're not worthy."  Ash pulled at his hair and let out an enraged grunt.  "Stop! Stop following us Midori!"

"Um, Ash, that's not Midori!" In the dim light cast by her flashlight, Misty uncovered a tall, slender figure.  It gave off a small purple glow and had disproportionate limbs and facial features, almost feline in its nature.  It wasn't moving its lips, but Ash could still hear it.

"You're not ready.  We're not ready," it said.  "You must leave."

The creature prepared a large energy beam and directed it towards Ash.  Ash instinctively threw out a ball and it connected with the beam.  A minor explosion shook the cabin and as the flash cleared, Ash saw a Metapod perched in front of him.  His Caterpie had evolved and defended him against the blast!

The creature frowned and quickly dove at Metapod and the trainers.  Misty was frightened.  She dropped to her knees and crawled backwards.  Eventually she put her hand on something hard and smooth.  She turned to see what she had grabbed and met a face full of razor sharp teeth.  A brown creature with two large spiked horns and a sideways-gaping mouth peered down at her.  This was the scariest bug she had ever seen.

"Be gone, foul creature!" shouted Midori, who stood behind the large bug.  Apparently he was talking to the cat-like being.  "Pinsir! Vicegrip!"  The bug ran at full speed towards the mysterious figure, who disappeared in a flash of purple light.  The room fell silent.  Ash's headache went away.

"Something has riled up the Beedrill," Midori said, looking out the window.  "We can finish our battle once they leave, now that I've caught a third bug."

"What was that thing?" Ash asked, ignoring the boy's challenge.  "Where are we?"

"This is my cabin.  And you brought that Pokémon in here with you.  I thought it was yours."

"It wasn't like any Pokémon I'd ever seen," Misty said.  "It felt...evil."  She turned to face away from where the creature had stood and met eyes with Pinsir.  She shrieked.  "Please, I've had enough scary Pokémon for one lifetime.  Just put that thing away!"

Midori complied and recalled Pinsir.  He decided to hold off on the battle until the morning.  But Ash wasn't in the mood for battling anymore.

He had to get out of the woods.  He had to find that creature.  He had to show that he was worthy.