Chapter 52: Squashing Some Bugs! (I)

"You all certainly seemed to have some fun the night prior.", A voice called out to the trio, who were in the process of taking their tent down. They had planned to pitch a tent closer toward the forest's opening deep within. After a windy path, they would come to such an area. This would allow the trio to potentially catch some rare Pokemon.

Ricky wanted that Pikachu, and potentially a Heracross. Considering that he now had Mankey, he wasn't too big on catching Heracross anymore. But he is hopeful Serena and Lillie will walk out with Scyther and Pinsir. It would be up to them on who decided on which of those two Pokemon to catch.

Unexpectedly, the trio was greeted with a figure, likely a wanderer going through Viridian Forest, just like them. Seeing as the tent was mostly folded now, Ricky shifted his gaze to this new arrival. Was this person a Pokemon Trainer? Seeing the somewhat out of place attire this person was wearing, he was second-guessing that. This person looked equivalent to that of a Samurai. It was a man, not the boy he was expecting to see.

Ricky recalled that a Samurai-like figure challenged Ash while he was inside Viridian Forest. This person would use his Metapod vs Ash's Metapod, only to have a stand-off of who was the better one. Traditionally, Metapod could not attack unless one was lucky enough to catch a rare-enough Caterpie like Ricky did, which knew all the moves a Caterpie could learn. Down the generations, Caterpie began to learn more and more Moves, it wasn't just limited to Tackle and String Shot anymore.

But if one was unlucky, a Pokemon Trainer would catch a Metapod before training it properly, and thus, only leads to learning Harden. That Harden vs Harden battle was funny, to say the least. It led the match nowhere, though.

Ricky was wondering if the trio would encounter this individual. He came strutting into their campsite, or the remains of what it was, anyway. If there was one thing to point out, it was that this Samurai-looking man wasn't a kid that Ash met. He had aged significantly. Ricky mused at the thought and wondered if this was that God's doing. He was brought into a version of the Pokemon World where Trainers under the age of fifteen can't venture off in a Pokemon Journey. He carried a certain weight to him.

"Wow, is that a real sword?", Serena questioned, greeting the new arrival. If there was one thing to say, it seemed this man was out of date. Or perhaps he simply liked to dress this way.

"Sure is. I don't normally use it every day, only when I get attacked in a swarm of Bug-type Pokemon. You'd be surprised with how dangerous Viridian Forest can get. Especially if you're a sole wanderer like me. It's a good thing you three are travelling as a group. It poses less of a threat.", The Samurai answered.

"I can see that. Thank you for your worry, but Ricky has taken some self-defense lessons, so if we do find ourselves in a pinch, I'm sure we'll wiggle our way out of it.", Lillie responded.

"What Lillie said, but seeing those Pokeballs around your waist, I take it you are a fellow Pokemon Trainer like we are?", Ricky asked the Samurai.

"That's right. I have come to seek out a challenge. I wander this forest to challenge new faces. I haven't come across you three before. I accept any type of format. Single, Double, Triple, or even a Rotation Battle! Hell, even you three can fight me all at once!", The Samurai said, smirking.

"You're quite cocky eh? I'm sure you've defeated many unsuspecting newbies, and we're in the same boat as them. We've just started our adventure. This should be a good challenge. How about a Double Battle? Serena, Lillie the two of you can team up together to take this guy down.", Ricky suggested.

"A Double Battle, huh? I've read most Gym Battles focus on doing Single Battles, but I bet there are some Pokemon Gyms out there that don't follow this standard format. This could be good practice for us.", Lillie nodded, acknowledging Ricky's suggestion.

"Let's wrap up our packing first. We just need to put away our tent. Thankfully we're in an open clearing with only a tree or two at most. We don't need to wander far to have our battle.", Serena responded.

"Take all the preparation you need. I shall wait.", The Samurai said.

"Thanks.", Ricky said, thanking the weird-looking man. Then again, this was the Pokemon World. There were bound to be weirdos like him. Still, he was allowing the trio to finish their packing so they could begin their second day inside Viridian Forest.

Some time had passed. As they had their Pokedex, they could tell the time. They woke up at 7AM, enjoyed some breakfast, and took an hour to pack after that. It was 9AM now, and they had their first battle in sight inside Viridian Forest!

Now, the trio was at a big enough clearing that was the same size of a normal battle field. Viridian Forest big enough to have these clearings!

"By the way, I don't think we've heard your name. The two that will be challenging you today are Serena and Lillie. I'm Ricky. We just ventured off from Pallet Town, the old fashioned way.", Ricky questioned the Samurai.

"The name's Ken. If you three really did sprout up from Pallet Town, I take it you visited Professor Oak's Lab. This shall be interesting. I pegged you to be complete beginners, but you've seen your fair share of battling already. How do you think you'll fair against these two?", Ken said, introducing himself. As he asked that, he grabbed two of his Pokeballs, tossing them outward.

The makeshift battlefield was completely open. A single tree or two could be seen off to the right side, while taller trees stretched around them. The morning sun grew more intense, and filtered its sunlight through the dense leaves. It caused a bright enough look to let this battle happen.

The first of two Pokemon to come out immediately brandished two large scythe-like arms. They looked extremely sharp. A constant buzzing sound struck the two girls' ears, with its wings flapping in a constant motion.

"Scy!", Scyther exclaimed, appearing fierce.

With another flash of red light, they were greeted with a big thud. Two large pincers struck toward them, also appearing fierce.

"Pinsir.", Pinsir cooly said. Unlike the rapid motions Scyther was currently doing darting around the battlefield, Pinsir remained cool and powerful. It simply brandished its two large pincers, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"A Scyther and Pinsir, huh?", Serena uttered. She shifted her eyes toward Lillie, and the two nodded their heads.

"It doesn't matter if we win or lose this, this will serve as a good experience for our upcoming Gym Battle.", Lillie said, giving their side a boost of confidence. Without holding back, she reached toward the strap of her bag, as Serena reached toward her bracelet. Each one of these was their own Trainer Belt of design.

"Let's do this, Wartortle.", Serena said, tossing her ball out.

"I can say the same. Come on out, Ivysaur.", Lillie added in. She also tossed her ball outward. Two red glows escaped from them, and revealed their respective first-stage evolution Pokemon. They started out as basic Pokemon like Squirtle and Bulbasaur, but now they have evolved. Their second-stage evolutions would be Blastoise and Venusaur!

Ricky wanted to enter this battle as a potential Triple Battle, but he held off and decided to be the judge for it instead. He wandered off to the side of the battle field, giving each side enough space.

"I didn't think I'd see Kanto's first-stage starting Pokemon here in Viridian Forest. You've trained them well already.", Ken mused, keeping a decisive look in his eyes.

"Hehe. We aren't slouches when it comes to training our Pokemon. We might have just recently begun our journey, but we'll give it everything we got.", Serena responded. Her gaze turned serious.

"Hmm-hm.", Lillie also said with a nod of her head.

"Wartortle.", Wartortle said.

"Ivy.", Ivysaur also replied, showing confidence in his eyes.

"Is that right? Then I'll leave the first moves to you two.", Ken replied with a smirk.

Seeing a Scyther and Pinsir before him, Ken likely had the strength to back-up that challenging gaze in his eyes. Ricky wasn't sure if Serena and Lillie would win here, but they're mostly doing this for the experience. It's good to give them a hard battle before Brock. Gym Leaders held much more experience than a typical Pokemon Trainer did. They knew the ins and outs of their Pokemon!

Both sides were now ready. Ricky spoke out, signaling the start of the battle!

"This will be a two-on-two Double Battle. Whoever is the first to knock out both of their opposing Pokemon will be declared the winner.", Ricky stated.

Their battle with Ken the Samurai has begun!