A dull ache, all over my body.
That was the first thing I noticed as I woke up, the dull ache that covered my body, accompanied by several smaller stinging aches that clustered at the bottom of my feet. But then again, what else can you expect when you try playing tug-o-war with a helicopter? Or when that same helicopter drags your bare feet across a rooftop covered in broken glass?
Even after being treated by a Nurse Joy last night, I could still feel the pain on most of my body. But I quickly forgot about it as I realized what else was off in my bed.
"Good morning." May said as I stirred, snuggling up against me even more than she had been before.
"Morning." I replied, the other part of what happened last night replaying in my head. Namely, my first kiss, as well as several more, with May after I saved her from Team Rocket.
"How are you feeling?" May asked as she trailed her fingers across my bare chest, as I had slept shirtless.
"Sore, but otherwise alright." I told her truthfully.
"Well, there's not much I can do to change that..." May said slowly, before throwing back the covers and swinging herself on top of me. "But I can distract you from it~!"
In an instant, her mouth was on mine yet again as she passionately kissed me, passion that I eagerly reciprocated as I placed my hands on her hips. I don't know why, but kissing May felt like some long time fantasy that was finally being fulfilled. Perhaps it was a part of why everything around me seemed so familiar?
I didn't put too much thought towards that though, as I focused on kissing May with as much enthusiasm as she showed me.
"You know..." She gasped after breaking contact to allow the both of us some air. "I had this whole plan that I was going to use to try and make you my boyfriend."
"Oh really?" I asked, with a sly smile, my hands slowly shifting to cup her ass instead of her hips.
"Yeah. But then we met Leaf and Misty, so I thought I would have to move fast to make my mark." May said, sitting up and rolling her hips atop me slowly.
"Is that so?"
"Hmm... But I don't care about that anymore." She said while leaning back down to put a kiss on my lips again.
We stayed that like this for several more minutes, kissing lovingly while my hands fondled her butt, and May traced her fingers up and down my chest and stomach. Then I looped my thumbs into the waistband of her shorts, preparing to lower them.
"Not yet." May gasped, sitting back up while moving to stop my hands.
"No?" I asked, feeling a little disappointed.
"Not yet." May clarified, giving me another kiss. "I want to, SO much. But good things come to those who wait. When we get to Pewter city though..."
May let her words hang in the air as she ground her butt on my waist seductively.
"You're not gonna make this easy on me, are you?" I asked her.
"Nope~!" May replied cheerily, before delivering the knockout punch as she proceeded to peel her nightshirt off all at once, revealing her perfect breasts.
"!!!"
I'm pretty sure I was gaping like an idiot, especially if the satisfied look May was giving me was any indication.
"Hmph!" May smirked victoriously, as she climbed off of my bed, her shirt still in her hand as she swung it over her shoulder. I could only watch helplessly as she sashayed to her bag, then to the bathroom to presumably change.
"This girl... I swear she's gonna be the death of me." I swore helplessly while trying to dowse the fire may ignited within me.
I quickly dressed while also changing the bandages for the cuts I got last night, thankfully they just needed some new band-aids, and looked as if they were already starting to close. By the time I finished putting new band-aids on and dressed, May exited the bathroom looking positively prim and proper.
"Are you ready?" She asked, as if she hadn't practically tortured me first thing.
"Just waiting on you." I replied as I made my way to the door.
We left the room and made our way down the hall until we reached the reception area, where we found quite the crawd gathered.
"I promise you all, we will be looking into the attack last night to ensure that nothing like it happens again. That being said, I wish to express my most sincere thanks to the League trainers who stood up against the villainous Rockets that threatened everyone and their pokemon within the Pokemon Center." Lance said to a group of cameras and reporters right in the middle of the reception area, while several trainers watched on around them.
May and I joined them as Lance gave a few more closing statements, before the interview was over and the reporters began to cut their feeds and pack up.
"I find it interesting..." Lance began as he approached us once his interview was finished. "That the first night after you leave Pallet town, Team Rocket attacks the very same Pokemon Center you stopped at." He said while looking at me pointedly.
"Are you trying to imply something?" I asked him while narrowing my eyes.
"Just stating an observation. After all, this IS the first time that Team Rocket blatantly attacked a Pokemon Center." Lance said plainly. And while I couldn't really argue his logic, that didn't mean I liked being regarded with suspicion.
"Now now Lance. From what I heard, this young man is nothing short of a hero." Drawled a voice that seemed to drip with honey, and made every single hair on my body stand up on end. I half expected that the hair on my head wasn't even curled anymore.
"Giovanni." Lance said while greeting the newcomer, and my entire body tensed.
He wore a suit that appeared perfectly tailored to his body, which it probably was. His dark hair was cut incredibly short, and matched his eyes that radiated no warmth, despite the smile on his face. Instead, they seemed to regard everything around him coldly and analytically.
"Its Noah, correct? Not only the young man to kept those despicable Rockets from escaping last night, but also the one who fell from the sky several days ago." Giovanni said as he held out a hand.
"That's right..." I answered slowly, refusing to take the offered hand.
"I see..." Giovanni said as he slowly retracted his ignored hand, before turning back to Lance. "Lance, shall we discuss increasing our defences against these criminals? I regret that I was not in Viridian last night to prevent this travesty, and to make it up, I have several Gym trainers that I am willing to donate to the League as a task force to combat these reprobates."
I watched as Lance and Giovanni walked away together, discissing how to better protect the Kanto and Johto regions from the threat that Team Rocket posed.
"What was that about?" May asked while glancing between me and Giovanni.
"I don't know. But just being near Giovanni made my skin crawl. I don't trust him. Not in the slightest." I told her, while also debating sending a message to the professor stating the same.
"Don't trust who?" Misty asked as she suddenly appeared, along with both Leaf and Ash.
"Giovanni." I answered while greeting the former two. "Something about him tells me he can't be trusted."
"Ridiculous. Giovanni is a Gym Leader, a high ranking member of the League, AND a respected buisnessman throughout the Kanto and Johto region. He even conducts international business all across the world." Misty stated as if it were obvious. But I couldn't help but notice that even she seemed hesitant when she said that.
"Are you saying that NONE of the Gym Leaders could be involved in anything nefarious?" I asked her while cocking a brow.
"Well....no." Misty eventually relented.
"They said something about that last night!" Leaf immediately piped up. "The reason they took Misty was to use her to make the Gym Leader of Cerulean city do what they wanted, and they implied that there were others working with them."
"Really? Any indication who?" I asked her.
"No..."
"That sucks." I said while shaking my head, before turning towards Ash.
"Sorry about that. You must be Ash." I said while offering my hand to him.
"That's right! I'm Ash Ketchum!" Ash said as he eagerly introduced himself and accepted my offered hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Noah." I said, introducing myself as well.
"Pikachu~!" The small pokemon at his feet declared, climbing up Ash's body to sit on his shoulder as it held out a small paw towards me.
"I remember you, though you're a bit bigger than you were yesterday." I said while giving Pikachu my finger to shake.
"Chu!" Pikachu chirped happily, it's cheeks crackling with electricity.
"So where are you guys headed next?" Misty asked as we all headed towards the door.
"Viridian forest for a few days, then Pewter city." I told her, as May also wanted to spend some time in the forest to film content for May's Expeditions.
"Well WE'RE going straight to Pewter city for a Gym battle!" Ash declared excitedly, while Misty narrowed her eyes at him.
"And don't forget that you have to pay me back for all of my stuff that you destroyed." She growled at him angrily, prompting Ash to adopt a sheepish, er, Mareepish expression.
"What about you, Leaf?" I asked the other girl curiously.
"I'm gonna stick around for a bit, try to earn some money!" She stated while rubbing her fingers together. "I hear you can usually find Meowth around the cities, so maybe I'll find myself some of them as well."
I cocked a brow at Leaf since Meowth were usually known for two things, money and stealing. At least Leaf had the decency to make herself look innocent of what I suspected she had planned for them.
"So it looks like it'll be a while until we can all meet up again. Since that's the case, maybe I'll make a chatroom with all of us in it so we can keep up with one another easier." I offered while pulling out my phone, creating said chatroom, and then sending them all invites. I also sent one to Gary, cause why not?
"Sweet!"
"Sounds good to me."
"Sure."
Ash, Leaf and Misty all replied as they immediately joined, followed by Gary as he immediately posted a comment on it that he only did so to show us all what a REAL trainer is like.
"I can also let you guys know when I'm about to go live or post a new video, if anyone is interested." May said as she too joined.
"If you want to check out any of the Kanto or Johto beaches or diving spots, let me know. My family has connections to all of them, so I can hook you up AND show you where all the good spots are!" Misty immediately offered, prompting a quick, hushed, conversation between her and May.
"So Noah, is your goal to become a pokemon master too?" Ash asked as he approached me, his eyes gleaming with what I recognized as a desire to do battle.
"Not quite, though I suppose I would have to be one to accomplish my goal." I told him.
"Noah is out to capture at least one of EVERY single pokemon in the world." Leaf explained to Ash for me.
"Really?! Then that makes two of us, cause I'm going to catch and train them all, and then become the greatest trainer in the entire world!" Ash declared passionately.
"Pi Pikachu!"
"Really? So how many have yu caught so far?" I asked Ash, already knowing the answer even before he looked down at the ground Mareepishly.
"None..."
"Really? I already caught five yesterday." I told him, and Ash's eyes widened as he looked at me incredulously.
"No way!"
"Yep. I caught a Rattata, Pidgey, Ekans, Magikarp and Spearow." I told him, also pulling up the Pokedex app on my phone to show him the most recent entries.
"Gah! I have to get going to catch up, RIGHT NOW!" Ash declared as he took off, grabbing Misty's arm as he did so.
"WAIT!" Misty cried out as Ash dragged her away.
"No time for waiting! Let's go!" Ash declared passionately.
"Grrr... I'LL CALL YOU!" Misty yelled back to me, right before the two of them rounded a corner and disappeared.
"She'll call me?" I repeated curiously, watching the place where they disappeared before looking at May. "Any idea what that's about?"
"I don't know..." May said coyly. "Maybe Misty wants to thank you for saving her too last night."
"Oh yeah! I also need to thank you for saving Bulby for me!" Leaf exclaimed, before surprising me by kissing my cheek.
I noticed May's attitude do a complete flip as she nearly rounded on Leaf, only for the girl to run off while calling back behind her, "Remember Noah, if you get tired of May, I'll take you on as your manager!"
I could only shake my head at Leaf's comment, even before she did a skip that caused her skirt to flare up, flashing me her teal colored panites before she too disappeared.
"That girl, I swear!" May huffed beside me as we stood in front of the Pokemon Center, before she turned towards me suddenly. "Shall we go?"
"Let's." I answered, and we both took off as we headed north, towards Viridian forest.
We ended up making a few stops along the way as we headed out of Viridian city, first to a small cafe for breakfast, then to a Pokemart to stock up on supplies, like potions and pokeballs, and then finally a grocery outlet to stock up on food. I was surprised to learn our bags had pockets that could store and preserve food just as well, if not better, than a refridgerator and freezer.
"So what can you tell me about Viridian forest?" I asked May as we finally made our way out of town, only to crest a hill that allowed us to see a sprawling expanse of forest in the distance that almost looked like a jungle, and spread out in every direction.
"Apparently Viridian forest is one of the largest wild areas in the entire Kanto region, stretching all the way to the coast in the east, to the mountains making up the Indigo Plateau tens of miles to the west." May started as she read from a brochure she picked up at the Pokemart. "While also home to several other types of pokemon, the vast majority of the pokemon population within is bug type pokemon, mainly those of the Weedle line."
"Because of the True Alpha living within it?" I asked, recalling one of my discussions with professor Oak.
"They don't say that in the brochure. But then again, I doubt the League would allow anyone to blatantly publish where a True Alpha is located. However I would say that's a good reason, as the True Alpha Beedrill would make the forest an ideal location for all bug type pokemon, not just Weedle. The problem is that there are several hives located within the forest that house hundreds of Beedrill, which are notorious for attacking humans. Thankfully they marked the locations of the hives on the map, so it should be easy for us to avoid them."
"So the chance of anyone walking out of this forest without catching a Weedle, Kakuna or Beedrill should be zilch." I said as we slowly approached the entrance of the forest.
"If you WANT to catch one, then yeah. I have Beautifly though, so I don't necessarily need to catch another bug type." May pointed out.
"Right. But at the very least, Ash, Gary and I should be able to catch one." I replied, already excited just for the chance.
May and I continued discussing Viridian forest as we slowly approached it, discussing which route we wanted to take through it and the timeline we wanted to aim for. Apparently there were several routes that led through the forest from north to south, and almost all of them had areas that were regularly maintained by League trainers as campsites for travelers. Only, aside from the foliage being cleared away enough for a few tents, having a few fire pits, and signs designating them as such, they did nothing else to maintain the area.
Eventually May and I decided on a route that followed a river from a few miles into the forest. Not only would we have an assured water source throughout our entire trip, but we were practically guarenteed to run into more pokemon as they approached the river to drink.
Soon enough, we arrived at the entrance to Viridian forest.
"Wow..." I uttered at the dense wall of foliage before us, which stretched endlessly to the left and right, all the way from the mountains to the coast. Meanwhile the road, which we had been traveling on until now, ended almost immediately after entering the forest as several paths branched away from it in every direction. And a short ways off of the road, there was checkpoint that functioned as a rest area for those preparing to enter the forest.
"Alright, the path we're looking for is called Tanegla's Track." May said while checking the map once more, and I quickly found the sign that led us to it. Apparently, the path was called that because it followed the river, which was blue and winding like a Tangela's vine.
"Apparently the first campsite is about ten miles in. We should be able to make it there before nightfall." I told May as I read the information on the sign. We already decided that we'll stay the night at each campsite along the way, even if there was enough time in the day to reach the next one. That way we could thoroughly explore each area as we go along.
"Any idea which path Ash and Misty ended up on?" May asked as we started down it, prompting me to pull out my phone and send the tomboy ginger a message asking her.
"..."
"She has no idea." I told May incredulously after getting her reply.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah... Apparently Ash hurried them down a random path without even looking at them. Neither of them know which one they're on, and wont until they reach the first campsite."
"I actually feel really sorry for Misty." May said while shaking her head.
"You and me both. But at least she was able to get some replacement supplies delivered to the Pokemon Center this morning. Apparently she got a new bag, sleeping bag, and basic supplies to tide her over until Ash pays her back. Of course, she gave him the receipt and added it to what he owes her." I said while reading the rest of the message, and then the next one Misty sent me. Apparently she REALLY needed to vent after spending the morning stuck with Ash.
After sending a message back offering her my condolences, I put the phone away and grabbed one of my pokeballs.
"Come on out!" I declared, calling Charmander out to join May and I.
"Char!" He declared happily as he appeared, looking around the forest with interest.
"Any pokemon try to attack us, and we'll be counting on you to deal with them. Got it buddy?" I asked him, and Charmander gave me a wide smile.
"Know what, you come out too, Beautifly!" May declared, before a beautiful butterfly appeared beside us.
"Fly?" It uttered in confusion, before looking around and seeing where we were.
"Fly, fly fly!" It declared happily as it flitted around the path, looking everywhere while keeping up with us.
"Petalburg forest was just like this place, so I figured Beautifly would appreciate it here." May explained.
"Looks like you were right." I told her with a smile. But then, some of the grass right off the path began to rustle.
"Pie?"
From the tall grass, came a small green caterpillar with red antenna.
"Oh! A Caterpie!" May exclaimed, while a smile broke out on my face.
"Alright! Our first catch of the day!" I declared while pulling out a pokeball. Then, while the bug type was still surprised from our appearance, I threw the pokeball at it.