Back to the route

"Pi.. Pi.." (Wake up.. You are so lazy..) 

"Let me sleep a bit more Pidgey." Ayan could hardly open his eyes. There was no class today as after excursion one day is given to the students to rest. But Pidgey wasn't ready to listen as she had gotten bored and wanted to go out and have fun. 

After much pecking on his head, Ayan finally woke up. He went to the kitchen to get himself some coffee as his Pokémon had annoyed him a but too much. At kitchen, he was welcomed by Oddish who jumped into his embrace. Ayan loved the sweet little Oddish and petter her. 

After having his coffee, he told mom that he would be going out for a bit and walk around the whole city. Ayan always had this habit of walking around the city alone and taking in the sights, and this habit continued in this life too. 

So his mother didn't find it weird that Ayan would do this, but did ask of how his excursion went and he went on to give a vague recollection. As Ayan was ready to go out, Leavanny came and made a small hat for him, as the sun was out and he might needed protection from the sun's strong heat. 

Ayan thanked Leavanny and came out with Pidgey in tow. He didn't go down the elevator but instead too the stairs and instead of going down he went up. The stairs were the only place where there was no cameras. After seeing multiple times that there was nobody, he vanished from there and came to the game world. 

Though Pidgey had woken him up, it didn't mean that he wasn't enthusiastic about his return to the game world. He had met Celebi, and though Celebi was a peace loving Pokemon, but it made Ayan realize how powerless he was. He wasn't sure why Celebi, such a rare Pokémon would even come to see him. Maybe Celebi smelled the aura of space time on him and wanted to see him. 

Whatever be the case. He needed to be strong fast. After coming to the game world, Pidgey was thrilled and flew up and then Ayan decided to call Gyarados. 

The familiar shimmer of light sparked through the Poké Ball as Ayan released Gyarados into the nearby river. The massive serpent-like Pokémon erupted from the water with a loud splash, sending waves rippling out to the banks. Gyarados let out a deep roar, but the moment his eyes landed on Ayan, they softened.

"I figured you might be hungry," Ayan said with a small smirk and tossed him several fortified Poke cubes he'd crafted back in the city. Gyarados devoured them eagerly and then nudged Ayan gently, as if to say thank you. He patted the fake dragon's head.

"All right, big guy. Ready to fly?"

Gyarados roared in approval, lowering himself so Ayan could climb on. With Pidgey trailing close behind, they lifted off into the sky, cutting through the morning clouds like a comet.

The world beneath them was a blur of green and grey—patches of towns, scattered roads, and pockets of wild areas. They soared past the grasslands leading toward Route 22, but as they approached the blocked mountain pass, Ayan knew better than to push ahead. The checkpoint to the Indigo Plateau—home to the Elite Four.

"I'm not ready for you guys yet," Ayan murmured, turning Gyarados in a sweeping arc back toward the east. "Let's keep our heads down for now."

They flew above Viridian City, the town bustling as usual, and made a smooth descent just past its southern gate. With one last glide, they dipped into the dense tree line of the Viridian Forest.

Ayan instantly regretted it.

The canopy above was thick, barely letting the light filter through. Trees stretched up like ancient sentinels, their branches tangled into an unwelcoming maze. The ground below was uneven, littered with roots and overgrowth. More importantly—there were no clear signs, no directional markers, and no obvious path forward.

"This place is a damn labyrinth…" Ayan muttered, already sensing how long it might take to find an exit. His PokeDex was failing to show him the route and all he could do was play the Sinnoh and Hoenn sounds around. Buzzing, rustling, cries of Pokémon just out of sight. If there was ever a place to level up and explore wild battles, this was it.

The deeper Ayan ventured into the Viridian Forest, the more he realized how little the world cared for structure. The paths vanished behind dense overgrowth, and the PokeDex maps were next to useless—reduced to blinking question marks and spinning load symbols. The air was damp, buzzing with energy and noise. Somewhere nearby, a Butterfree fluttered past in the distance, its glittering wings catching slivers of sunlight filtering through the dense canopy.

He moved cautiously, keeping his ears sharp for rustling grass or sudden motion.

"Let's start light," Ayan murmured, plucking a Poké Ball from his belt. "Cyndaquil, come on out."

The small fire-type blinked into the forest clearing with a soft chirp. His flame flared to life, casting a warm glow in the dim, green-tinted shadows. Not even five minutes into their walk, a sharp hiss split the air.

A Weedle dropped from a branch overhead, its needle poised, eyes gleaming with primal instinct.

"Cyndaquil, Fire spin!"

Cyndaquil rolled over with fire burning in its body and it hit the Pokémon, catching the Weedle mid-lunge. It writhed, squealed, and collapsed to the ground, fainted. 

Another rustle—then two buzzing blurs flew out from the brush.

A pair of Beedrill.

"Okay, that's an escalation."

"Shinx, you're up! Thunder Shock on the one to the left! Cyndaquil, smoke the other!""

Cyndaquil blew a cloud of Smokescreen that confused the forward-charging Beedrill, making it veer off course. Meanwhile, Shinx's body crackled with sparks as he let out a web of paralyzing electricity that stunned the second Beedrill mid-flight. It dropped to the forest floor with a hard thud.