Chapter 41 : Route 2

January 10th, 8am, Viridian City North Exit.

Three figures could be seen at the north exit of Viridian City. There was also a police station stationed there monitoring the flow of people. They could currently be seen standing in line with a few others before them, waiting to enter Route 2.

They appeared all packed and ready for another stretch of their journey. One of the three was a rather tall tan man with two girls by his side. Anticipation could be seen in their eyes.

"You two didn't miss anything, did you?"

"Nope! We made sure of that. Exploring Viridian City was pretty fun. Thankfully we have that storage bag of yours so we don't need to log it around."

"I can agree with that. This is the way to Route 2 right? I saw it's a pretty short route that leads into the Viridian Forest. That's where we will likely spend the most of our time.", Lillie asked.

"That's right. We actually do have another route that's currently open to us if you guys want to make a quick detour."

"Now that you mention it, I did see a path leading off to the west while we had our date. Doesn't that lead directly into the gate of the Kanto League?", Serena asked as well.

"It does, but it also contains a rather short route, just like Route 2, which is Route 22. It has a few scattered bushes and trees off to the side of the road that leads to the gate of the League. Unless you're looking for a specific Pokemon, Trainers usually skip it."

"I see. Then from the way you're wording that, we don't need enter Route 22?"

"I don't think so. It's mostly home to some group of Mankey and Nidoran. I do think you should catch a Nidoran, Lillie. We'll be able to encounter more of them on Route 2."

"Hmm, if I am to partake in the Gyms, I do need to start considering who I should start using. Pewter Gym uses Rock types right?"

"It does. You may have Snowy, but among our next encounters, Nidoran will do you well. Perhaps a grass type too if we find them in Viridian Forest."

"I see. And don't Nidoran have two different alterations? They do different things depending on its gender?"

"Yeah. If I would prefer one for you, it'd be a female Nidoran. They have a much lighter pale coat compared to the male counterpart."

"Got it. I'll be on the lookout for one. It's a good thing you gave us some Pokeballs to use."

"Right? I'll be on the lookout for once we enter the forest. I'm looking to catch a couple myself."

"Same here. We'll have some good training too."

Hearing that, the two nodded at me. Before we knew it, the line advanced. We were next in line before a Officer Jenny stopped us.

"Are you three looking to exit Viridian City?", Officer Jenny asked.

"We are. We three are Trainers looking to enter Viridian Forest."

"Trainers, huh? Quite a few have left for Viridian Forest today. Please pass me your IDs and I'll get you checked out."

"Here you go," I said, complying with her. Serena and Lillie also passed theirs too. Officer Jenny showed a surprised look after finding out who we were. It seems this was a different Officer Jenny than from the south exit.

"Your IDs check out. Have a safe journey, Professor. Beware of knocking into trees while inside Viridian Forest. You may stir up a nest of Kakuna and get attacked by Beedrill. I advise you three stay on the main path till you arrive at Pewter City."

"Thank you for the warning, Officer Jenny.", Lillie smiled. We also gave her a gesture and officially left Viridian City. We had entered Route 2 and the city slowly vanished behind us.

Route 2 was pretty simplistic. It was a straight path and we could even see the building not to far away that led into Viridian Forest. Off to the right one could spot hills that got taller with more trees around. At the tip of that was a cave of sorts. This was known as Diglett's Cave, which was an underground system that connected all the way to Vermillion City. However, what our current target was the massive forest that was slowly approaching our view.

As we got an hour or so into walking, we passed by a couple Trainers along the way. The trip itself only will last around another three hours. Yet something came in to stop us. It wasn't a wiggle or a shake from the tall grass nearby, it actually a came from the sky.

A cute pink creature started to dart toward us at a fast pace. Feeling this, I turned up toward the sky. Serena and Lillie became confused but they too saw a figure in the sky zoom toward them.

"Mew!", Mew yelled out happily, and arrived in front of me. It swerved around in circles for a bit, before it plopped onto my shoulder. I reached out my hand and placed it on Mew's head, rubbing it.

"Haha, it's good to see you, buddy. Have you been having fun?"

"Mew.", Mew answered as if it answered me. Serena and Lillie finally shook away there shock and walked up to me. "Mew?", Mew asked, tilting its head a bit at the two.

"This is Mew...isn't it?", Lillie asked, surprised.

"Oooh, it really is Mew again. It's only been a couple times since I first saw you but it's good to see you again.", Serena smiled.

"Mew!", Mew replied happily. Without waiting for me to answer, it escaped my hand and swerved around a bit more, before it settled itself down right on top of Serena's head.

"H-Hey!", Serena yelled out, being a bit flustered as she saw this. Mew only let out its giggle in response. I couldn't help but laugh again.

"Haha, don't be like that. Having Mew do this just means it trusts you now, Serena. You weren't there back at Summer Camp when I originally caught him since you joined our group a day later. Mew has only revealed itself to you recently."

"That is true...And I was really shocked back then. But I guess you really do let Mew do its own thing, huh?", Serena said, looking up at Mew on her head.

"That's about right.", I replied to her.

After Serena said that I saw her reach her hands at Mew, who ended up dodging them. Mew floated up from her head before it made its way back to my shoulder.

"Thankfully Mew only reveals itself to those it wants to know Mew's presence. With that said, are you looking to travel with us for a while, or was there something else?", I asked Mew.

"Mew. Mew.", Mew replied back as if it was trying to answer me again. I then saw it float up a bit, only for turn around. We saw it look back at Viridian City, looking back at a specific area. If one could follow its line of sight all the way, they could see Mew looking right at Viridian Gym.

"Are you trying to saying to say there's something back at Viridian City?"

"Mew!", Mew answered happily.

"What could be back there that could attract Mew's attention?"

'Don't tell me...', I began to say to myself, thinking of what just happened a couple days ago. It only happened once, and I tried to shrug it off then, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I decided to bring it up.

"Mew, did you feel something a couple days ago? I did end up hearing a voice back then but no one else heard it so I thought I was just hearing things."

"Mew, Mew!", Mew answered happily. Just that alone confirmed my doubt.

"Are you saying you heard something, Itsuki? Where was that exactly?", Lillie asked, confused.

"It was near the Viridian Gym.", I answered her. 'And if I had to guess...that very well could have been Mewtwo. Don't tell me, Mewtwo is awakening?', I thought to myself.

I then looked up only to see Mew swerve around some more in the air, obviously in a happy mood.

"I see, should we head back to investigate?"

"Nah. If it's who I think it is we may have an encounter later.", I said to Lillie and Serena, who nodded their heads. I then spoke out to Mew.

"Mew, I advise you not head back there for now. It could lead into trouble. We'll be heading the opposite way so you can follow us."

"Mew.", Mew answered as if it acknowledged me.

And with that said, Mew quickly vanished from sight, going back into the skies above and started to look for something new to play with.

We decided to continue walking. After another hour passed, we saw the entrance to Viridian Forest not too far away and we would arrive at it in another hour or two. We saw more Trainers along the way but disregarded them.

Into the third hour, we came across a rather large open tall grass patch, of which we decided to stop. It was time for Lillie to catch a female Nidoran. I was thinking about catching a male one, but decided against it.

Thankfully the females were mild and Lillie was able to bait one out. She didn't even need to use Snowy to battle it, before tossing a Pokeball at Nidoran. We waited around until we found a good one.

Wiggle. Wiggle. Wiggle. Ding.

Nidoran was caught, and Lillie had successfully captured her first Pokemon. Retrieving her Pokeball, Lillie smiled and came back. I brought out my Pokedex and gave her a reading.

"Nidoran, female. Female Nidoran are quite small and docile. However, it can protect itself with a small poisonous horn when attacked. It has a barb on it that can secrete a powerful poison and when enraged, it releases a horrible toxin from this horn."

Nidoran

Level: 7

Gender: Female

Moves: Scratch, Growl, Tail whip, Poison Fang, Counter, Water Pulse, Reflect, Hone Claws

Ability: Hustle

31 IVs in ATK, SP ATK, SPD

As we saw this dex entry, we were all surprised. Lillie became really happy seeing such a diverse move pool right off the bat. She was still worried about Brock, but now her worry was answered.

I can't wait to see what more Pokemon we could catch in Viridian City. It's time for me to catch a Weedle and Lillie a Caterpie!

With that thought, in the fourth hour, we arrived in the entrance building and saw several Trainers gathered around, taking breaks from their exploration. We waved hello and officially entered Viridian Forest.

By the way, I didn't forget to analyze the TM I got from that Fearow either. It turned out to be Aerial Ace! It was time to teach it to Spearow and have him gain some experience here in the forest.

*

Don't forget to drop those Power Stones!