Chapter 38: Bulbasaur vs Pidgey

The grass was already reaching up to Serena's ankles. She even heard the rushing water of the river not too far away. To the northeast was Viridian City. A large and endless city with skyscrapers shooting up tall could be seen. They eventually will be heading there after the trio makes their way through the rest of Route 1. Just by spending a good hour running through the hills alone, they were already over halfway through it.

It was 1PM now, and the sun was beginning its descent for the day.

Still, Serena's eyes weren't resting on Viridian City. Instead she saw Ricky currently observing Lillie. Lillie was standing before him, and Bulbasaur could be seen in front of Lillie, inside the grass. It was currently in a battle stance!

Beyond that stood a little bird. It was no bigger than two or three feet, and was overall, pretty small. It was mostly white and brown. This Pokemon was Pidgey, which was said to be the easiest Pokemon to fight against for beginning trainers.

It was clear to Serena that Lillie had initiated her first battle! She knew not to disturb Lillie, so she just quietly approached Ricky from the side.

"You can do this, Lillie. Bulbasaur, take aim at Pidgey and hit it with Toxic! It should have a harder time moving around if it's poisoned.", Lillie said, issuing her first move.

"Bulba!", Bulbasaur responded. A sticky and gooey purple substance began to form inside Bulbasaur's mouth, only to form a stream of poison. Bulbasaur swiftly shot it out, aiming straight at Pidgey.

"Coo?", Pidgey questioned, unsure of the purple toxic blast shooting right at it. Unfortunately for Pidgey, it couldn't even flap its wings to try and fly away, before it felt its body get blasted by Toxic.

"Coo!", Pidgey tried to respond, only to feel its energy start to rapidly drain. This wasn't the video games, so there were no turn counters to wait for poison to tick. A sign appeared over Pidgey's face that the poison landed successfully, and it was having a harder time moving around. Still Pidgey successfully stood up again, and started flapping its wings.

Wind-type energy began to form around both wings, forming a much larger blast of wind.

"So you're using Gust. In that case, use Vine Whip to jump up, and continue sucking its stamina away with Leech Seed!", Lillie issued her second move.

'Toxic and Leech Seed is a pretty nasty combo. Good on Lillie for going through with that.', Ricky mused. And Bulbasaur was even listening to Lillie's commands!

Bulbasaur did what Lillie commanded, and the two buds around Bulbasaur suddenly extended outward. Wooosh! It suddenly turned into two long vines!

"Bulba!", Bulbasaur exclaimed. Bulbasaur acted quickly. The little flower-like buds on each side of Bulbasaur's body suddenly started to extend outward. They weren't flowers, but vines! Bulbasaur often kept his vines tucked inside his body until it was time to attack, or use them to swing around. In this case, Bulbasaur's two vines launched forward. Using the momentum, Bulbasaur struck the grass beneath him.

Lillie saw Bulbasaur leap into the air, narrowly avoiding Gust! In quick succession, the seed on Bulbasaur's back began to glow, only to launch a grassy-like seed directly at Pidgey.

"Coo?", Pidgey tried to question, seeing the seed rapidly fly his way. It used up a lot of energy, and was suddenly struck by more toxins, causing Pidgey to collapse. Swirls of energy spun around Pidgey as damage from Toxic began to pile up.

Seeing unable to flee, the seed suddenly expanded all around Pidgey, creating its own vines around it. The Leech Seed started to grow red, showing that it was successful. Little bits of energy began to swirl around Pidgey, sapping even more of its health away!

Pidgey was essentially unable to move at this point!

"Now's the time to throw a Pokeball, Lillie. You immobilized Pidgey!", Ricky urged, happy at the battle's result.

"Right!", Lillie responded. "Thankfully Professor Oak gave us some starting Pokeballs. We didn't have to go directly to Viridian City.", Lillie continued. She was thankful that as the trio departed, Professor Oak passed them six red Pokeballs each. That was what Trainers normally received when they headed out. They just didn't receive their Pokedex with this, as they already have one!

Unlike Ricky though, Lillie only had her single bag she was carrying around her waist. It wasn't an Item Pouch, just a normal carrying bag. She would be shopping for one once they reach Viridian City. But her bag was big enough to store these Pokeballs.

Quickly reaching inside her back, she grabbed one of her six available Pokeballs. Pressing its button, it enlarged in her hand.

"Pokeball, go!", Lillie yelled. Ricky scratched his cheek hearing Lillie said that. He'll need to remind that she doesn't need to say this every time she catches it. Ash did in the anime, but it wasn't required to catch Pokemon.

Still, Lillie's motions were fluid and smooth, she tossed the Pokeball right at Pidgey, which could no longer move. It struggled to stay conscious, refusing to get knocked out. It had its health sapped away by quite a bit now!

The Pokeball took aim, and successfully hit Pidgey's body, encapsulating it with a red glow. The Pokeball then landed back onto the grass. It began to wiggle.

Wiggle. Wiggle. Wiggle. Ding!

"Pidgey's information has been registered into your Pokedex.", Lillie's Pokedex suddenly said, signaling that Pidgey was caught.

"Yay!", Lillie happily responded, seeing her first battle go smoothly. She ran up to the caught Pidgey, and took a hold of her new Pokemon.

"That battle was pretty quick, but this was a Pidgey. I'm just glad it didn't fly away!", Lillie continued to say.

"That was a great battle. It's almost like you were a Trainer before this!", Serena said. She was happy for Lillie. Ricky was happy for Lillie's first battle too.

"Yeah, you did well. You didn't hesitate or stutter one bit. I think you can take Brock on like this as-is.", Ricky responded, nodding his head in confirmation.

"You think so? Already aspiring to challenge a Gym is a bit much...", Lillie questioned, still doubtful.

"Many folks hesitate to do what you just did, so don't sell yourself short, Lillie. I'm satisfied with what you've shown me. Create some battle strategies that you'll think are good, and you should challenge Brock, no sweat!", Ricky said, trying to encourage Lillie.

"Well, alright. But this does mean I now have five Pokemon compared to you two, hehe.", Lillie giggled, still holding her new Pokemon in her hand. "They get digitized once we have six Pokemon, right? They'll appear directly in our storage space?", Lillie questioned. She wasn't sure how it went, but there were lots of upgrades with how Pokemon Storage worked now.

Whenever Trainers acquire new Pokeballs, regardless of the type of Pokeball, they get directly synced with one's Pokedex. Whenever the capture happens, it will automatically read a Trainer's acquired count, and if it was over the threshold, it would enter the digitized space. It allowed Trainers to recall every Pokemon they ever caught. If Trainers wanted to do more complex box space management, they could still do that at PCs. In this day and age, Trainers were much more mobile and outgoing. Upgrading the tech went along with that.

Ricky was glad this change exists in this Pokemon World he was brought to. He didn't have to solely rely on going to a Pokemon Center every single time he needed to withdraw Pokemon.

"That's right. We can manage all of our Pokemon through our Pokedex directly. I'll show you two how to use it once we reach that point. We still need to focus on catching some Pokemon. And speaking of that, do you two want to do it the long way?", Ricky questioned.

"The long way?", Serena asked, wondering what Ricky was referring to.

"Finding the right Pokemon. If you keep encountering the same Pokemon over and over again, the chances of finding a much better one of that Pokemon significantly increases. It's easier to find shiny Pokemon this way, and get access to rarer abilities and moves. Doing so you can even find Pokemon with egg moves!", Ricky exclaimed. Of course, he was referring to the chain method. This was most commonly displayed in the two Let's Go games. One could easily chain Pokemon all day long to find the right Pokemon they were looking for.

There were also outbreaks, which was another method. Ricky wasn't sure if he would find an outbreak this early on. So it might be better to do the chain method.

"Well, as long as it doesn't hinder our overall journey, then I don't see why not. If it means getting stronger and more powerful Pokemon, then that'd definitely benefit us in the long run.", Serena responded, nodding her head.

"Are you thinking of doing that once we reach Viridian Forest? We can encounter pretty rare Pokemon there, right? I think you mentioned we can potentially find our respective Charmander and Bulbasaur. You were looking to catch a Pikachu too?", Lillie questioned, trying to recall what Ricky had brought up before about his plans for Viridian Forest.

"Yeah. I want to capture a rare Lightningrod Pikatchu. There's even a more rare version of it holding a Light Ball! It would be good if you can get your Charmander and Bulbasaur with some good egg moves. I hear there's even Scyther in Viridian Forest too. We could luck out and go on a catching spree.", Ricky explained.

"That sounds like a solid plan. We'll head to Viridian City, check in with the Pokemon Center, do some shopping, enjoy a night out, rest up, and head straight inside the forest! Ash is still in his last couple of months at Indigo Academy and we shouldn't disturb him. We should all pay a visit at the Academy on our way back.", Serena suggested.

"Good point. Then we'll skip that place for now, and continue on into Viridian Forest. Any objections Lillie?", Ricky asked.

"None from me. I want to get to know Pidgey some more, as with my other Pokemon!", Lillie happily responded.

"I think we can say the same for all of our new Pokemon, haha!", Ricky replied with a laugh.

Hearing that, the trio exchanged a good laugh, as they all had plans to develop closer bonds with their Pokemon. Doing so will make batting easier, and that was part of a Trainer's journey!

With a new goal now set, the trio swiftly moved through the rest of Route 1. It wasn't an exciting route, but Lillie got to experience a taste of her first battle. They arrived back at Viridian City before they realized it!