Chapter 50: Charmander vs Caterpie!

"Come on out, Charmander!", Ricky said, tossing his ball upward.

"Char!", Charmander popped out. His eyes landed on the small and weak-looking bug before him. Charmander's initial excitement began to die down. Caterpie even did a cute gesture, acting as if it didn't want to be attacked. Yet, that was just from Caterpie's initial appearance. It felt pressured, and suddenly started to form white thread over its stub of where a mouth would be.

"It's going to use String Shot, Charmander. Dodge it, and then blast it away with Ember!", Ricky announced. Caterpie's tiny legs remained still, and it finished forming its String Shot.

"Reee!", Caterpie responded. Its silky and smooth-like threads shot out with rapid pace, trying to hit Charmander dead on. It was like trapping prey inside a spider's web. It was very sticky, and once encased, very hard to get out of. In the games, String Shot lowered one's speed. In the anime, it was worse. It halted a Pokemon's movement greatly. It was like encapsulating one in an entire cocoon.

Thankfully, Charmander dodged it right on time. His body shifted to the side. Thankfully Ricky was out of the way. This wasn't like the games where Pokemon Trainers weren't affected during a Pokemon's battling. During unlucky situations, Ricky could find himself in a tight spot! Just like how Ash's Pikachu often electrified Ash out of annoyance!

The grass nearby Ricky started to turn white, quickly. Each grassy strand grew thick. Ricky's eyes remained serious, thanking that he wasn't in the direct line of fire. At the same time, Charmander opened his mouth wide and a small jet of flames shot out from his throat. These little streams blasted Caterpie head on, sizzling Caterpie's body.

"Ree....", Caterpie groaned, feeling its entire boy ignited in flames. It was considered one of the weakest Pokemon alongside Pidgey and other beginner-type Pokemon found early on in the Kanto Region. Not many actively targeted them. Just with a single strike of Charmander's Ember, the flames ensued.

Caterpie's body collapsed into the thick grass, and was knocked out. Even with just a single Ember, Charmander still displayed a fierce fiery display of power.

"Good work, Charmander.", Ricky said, feeling happy that Charmander dispatched the Caterpie quickly, and effortlessly. Ricky felt proud that his Charmander had already come this far. Even though Charmander has only gone through a few battles compared to Serena's and Lillie's Pokemon, Charmander felt a sense of pride, and determination.

Charmander seemed to glow with an inner fire deep inside, letting it expand rapidly, and outward. This flame rippled throughout his body, surging with newfound strength. With a look of determination shooting back at his trainer, Charmander's body suddenly began to glow! The entire atmosphere around Charmander underwent a sudden change!

"Charmander's evolving...", Lillie uttered, feeling happy for Ricky. Serena was also happy to witness a third evolution. And this was just the beginning. They would catch many, many more pokemon and evolve them, just like how they evolved their starting Pokemon!

The evolution glow stayed bright for a good moment, and Charmander's figure almost doubled in size. His tail burned brighter, and its body elongated. While not as tall as Ricky, he was still big. It only lasted mere moments before the evolution was complete. Standing before the trio was now a stronger Pokemon, more muscular. His flame was lit like a bonfire. Of course, this new Pokemon was the middle evolution, Charmeleon.

"Char.", Charmeleon responded, crossing his arms over each other, trying to act cool.

"Heh. You did well. I'll continue to put you to the test. Be ready for a good challenge against Brock.", Ricky said. Charmeleon only nodded his head, waiting to be recalled back into his Pokeball. After getting sucked in by a red glow, Ricky's Charmeleon vanished from sight. Now, his eyes landed on the fainted Caterpie before them. It wasn't entirely burnt into a crisp, but it was still pretty badly injured.

"I could heal Caterpie back up, but Gramps is looking to acquire all Pokemon Data. I'm sure he has Caterpie's Data already, but it never hurts to get it registered into our Pokedex. If I feel like it, I'll release Caterpie back into the wild.", Ricky decided.

"Yeah. We don't have to own every single Pokemon we come across. We could trade them away, or if they don't suit our styles. I don't think it'll feel all that bad, considering they won't have close bonds with us, compared to how much we've bonded already.", Serena replied with a nod of her head.

"But on the other hand, we could keep them in the digital space. We could also create some habitat back at Professor Oak's ranch, letting them roam free there. There are plenty of Professors who allow their trainers to do such a thing, right?", Lillie questioned.

"There sure is. There's even a lab out in Vermillion City that I'll introduce the two of you to. It's run by a Pokemon Professor there. He doesn't hand out as many starting Pokemon as Gramps does, but it does allow a second entry into the Kanto Region. Many visitors from other regions enter Vermillion City through cruises. It's a nice place. The guy's name is Professor Cerise. You two remember Goh, right?", Ricky asked the two.

It took the two a moment to register what Ricky asked them, but Serena's eyes lit up.

"Oh I remember him! He kept going on and on about trying to encounter a Mew. His luck wasn't quite as good as yours, hehe.", Serena recalled what happened during the summer camp she visited. She remembered a black-haired boy seeking adventure after adventure trying to find Mew, who had made Professor Oak's ranch its home, but to no avail. Ricky's group successfully encountered Mew in place of Goh.

"I remember him too. Quite an outgoing person. Now that I think about it, he did say he lived in Vermillion City. I'm guessing it's at the lab?", Lilie questioned.

"Nah. Goh is friends with Professor Cerise's daughter, Chloe. They're residents of Vermillion City, but they don't stay at the lab. We can greet 'em once we reach there. It'll be fun!", Ricky said.

Nodding their heads, their attention landed back on the Caterpie. Ricky tossed a Pokeball at it, and Caterpie was engulfed in a red glow.

Wiggle. Wiggle. Wiggle. Ding!

"Caterpie's Data has been added into your Pokedex.", Ricky's Pokedex spoke, filling in one more spot on the Kanto Region. Seeing as Ricky had six Pokemon, the Pokeball suddenly digitized, becoming pixels right before their very eyes. It was then zapped away, entering the digitized Pokemon Storage space.

"Cool. Glad to see how that works!", Serena happily said.

"Pretty effortlessly too. Our storage spaces have quite the amount of space inside the Pokedex. We can store hundreds of Pokemon inside. I'm still for the idea of letting them roam around in an open space in a habitat somewhere. Professor Cerise's lab is getting more and more interesting.", Lillie responded.

"We'll cross the bridge when we get there. I'll heal up Caterpie later, and see what it wants to do. I don't have much interest in raising one, so it might just sit around for the time being. I can at least let Caterpie mingle with our other Pokemon from time to time.", Ricky said.

Nodding their heads, their attention was now drawn toward the rest of the path ahead of them. It eventually stretched leftward, but there was a good spot with scattered trees, and the grass wasn't terribly thick like the left path was. Ricky didn't see any sort of signs of a Pikcahu popping out to play, nor any other stronger Bug-type Pokemon.

For now, they shifted their interest and wanted to set up a base camp as soon as possible. Once that is settled, they could worry about making dinner next, and spending some time with their Pokemon. The trio has only had most of them for a couple days at most, minus their first Pokemon.

Picking out a good spot, there were no other Pokemon Trainers around. Wild Pidgey and Spearow chirped as the sun began to dip below the horizon. A warm and sunny glow streaked across the entire forest, creating a beautiful sunset. Remembering what they have decided on earlier, Lillie and Serena worked together to pitch a giant tent up. It was a shame their Pokemon weren't super tall yet, otherwise they could help out. Instead, most of their Pokemon were just lounging around, and trying not to stray too far.

This was Viridian Forest, after all. Lurking around was far more dangerous than wandering around in a city. One wrong turn, and one could find themselves surrounded by a flock of Spearow, or swarmed by powerful Bug-type Pokemon!

A constant rustling of leaves could be heard, soothing the ongoing atmosphere, making it enjoyable. Other distant calls of Pokemon could be heard in the far distance, filling the gaps in the air surrounding them. It was almost a perfect setting to enjoy a campfire in the trio's first evening here in Viridian Forest.

As the two girls set up the tent, Ricky felt a sense of satisfaction, recalling his Charmander evolving. He felt successful, and was hopeful of what was to be thrown at him in the coming future. The forest offered up its first challenge, and Ricky knew there would be a lot more opportunities. They were waiting for the trio to strike!

Ricky didn't remain idle, and began unpacking his own things. Item Pouches were very convenient. He got his cooking station all ready, and placed several rocks together, and ignited a fire with Charmeleon's assistance. With the fire now lit, Ricky laid out a large blanket, and got to cooking a delicious meal. He also had to prepare food for all of their Pokemon. That was one challenge a Pokemon Trainer had to face. Satisfying their Pokemon's stomachs!

The sun's descent was slowing down, hiding away. The orange glow began to dissipate, and the two wrapped up their duties. A large tent could now be seen pitched, and they even inflated a bed inside. And of course, the trio would have some "fun" they would share themselves. They were quite an active harem, and doing the deed outside excited Ricky.

That would be saved for later, though. They had a full meal to enjoy first!

Before they realized it, they were all chatting away, happily enjoying each other's time, and spent more time with their Pokemon!

Late night came soon after!