Pokemon - Solo's Strange Journey

The stroll out of civilization continues.

Pain shoots through my nerd legs with every step, but I press on despite it. My very first foray into the wilderness.

The wilderness of Sinnoh comes in many biomes but around Twinleaf Town it only consists of vast meadows, tall grasses and scattered, light forests, all illuminated by the bright blue sky that was visible wherever I stepped.

It is perfect spring weather and the past days haven't been too cold at all despite being in Sinnoh. Most of the time I can even get away without even wearing a scarf. Only nights and mornings are bitter cold.

I step through one of these vast meadows right now. The grass is tall and lush and a brisk breeze blows through it. Blades rustle and sweet, flowery smells waft to my nostrils. A few trees provide some shade.

There are noticeably fewer pokemon around than in the town.

Still, everything is so peaceful and I felt a wave of contentment wash over me, causing me to stand for a few moments to take in the beauty of my surroundings.

A few pokemon are watching me intently and I watch them in return.

In the sky are two Starly, fighting for dominance, perhaps? The first truly wild pokemon I have ever seen!

But their fighting isn't impressive at all. On TV and in the practice matches I saw, the beaks and wings would be glowing whenever they attacked. But these guys? They are either so weak that the type energy isn't showing at all or they aren't even hitting each other seriously.

They look more like mundane animals.

Well, the Starly are also not evolved yet. Unlike the Staraptor I'd see in pokemon matches.

Those are massive and intimidating and whenever they attacked I could feel the pressure of every hit on my skin!

Dad Staraptor is really powerful too. But he never lets me do anything with any of his pokemon.

Unless he practices with them, they are kept strictly in their pokeballs.

Moms pokemon are outside their balls often but they never battle and her team is just a bunch of coordinator pokemon, so they are boring by default.

Only girls would ever want to have anything to do with pokemon coordinators.

The fight has been going on for a few minutes and I roll the premier ball in my hand. Thinking.

They are a little weak but I could still catch the winner of that fight!

The sun is starting to go down soon, I won't get another chance like that today!

But are they too weak? I never watched battles with pokemon in their base evolution before. Unless the pokemon can't evolve at all, but everyone knows those are stronger.

For all I know these Starly could be tough for their level and they are a lot more aggressive than the pokemon in our garden...

By the time I could make up my mind, the Starly had already decided to end their fight in a draw and both just flew off in opposite directions, leaving me behind. Standing in the middle of a meadow with my ball in my hand.

They were too weak anyway. I'm sure of it.

---

"Man, I'm bored."

I've been walking around for hours already even though it feels like days! By the position of the sun, I can tell I'm walking north. And in a little while nightfall will begin.

There has been nothing but friendly pokemon since the Starly fight.

And even those sightings have been going down. The pokemon are already going to sleep and that's why I'm not seeing them anymore.

My Devon Corp Water Filter ™ is still empty and I should find my own spot to camp for the night soon.

From camping books, I understand that I should always secure my access to water and luckily I know that there is a shallow river - more like a creek? - nearby that feeds into the lake which my friends and I usually hang out at.

I know it's somewhere west from here. So that's where I go. Past countless flowers that begin to close their buds for the night. Past a few pokemon that remember the need to go to sleep at my sight and run to their burrows.

I'm starting to think that our parents lied about the dangers in the wilderness...

Nothing happens until I spot a line of trees and shrubbery. A wild Sentret stands on his tail and greets me with a wave before scurrying away. Was that distress in his eyes?

No matter how often I see that, it's still so cute whenever pokemon act like humans!

But he looked so weak. Finding a tough pokemon might take a little longer than I thought.

I get closer to the line of trees and leave the endless expanse of meadows behind me. The closer I get, the louder the soothing splashing sounds of a creek becomes on the other side of the thicket.

This will be my goal for today. Getting some water. Then making camp. All that's left is to fight myself through the shrubbery and I can take a nice, long drink--

Star! Splash

Huh? Starly cries? Is there another Starly fighting at the creek? I push myself halfway through the bush so I can see what's going on.

There are two Starly attacking something in the water.

The water is too murky to see...

Star!

Oh my Arceus! It's really a pokemon battle! Starly's wing is actually glowing this time! How cool is that! That must be Wing Attack!

Holy Arceus! This is a real life, wild pokemon battle! And it looks like on TV this time too!

Awesome! I will catch one of these Starly for sure.

Splash

He punts a Goldeen right out of the water and up into the air! Man, this is so exhilarating, I can barely keep myself hidden!

Ly!

Oh shit! The second Starly, she just hit Goldeen with a Quick Attack.

Booo! 2v1 isn't a fair fight!

Taking the brunt of the hit, Goldeen flies off course and bounces on the bank of the stream, a little closer to me.

Ouch, the poor bloodied Goldeen is stranded and her eyes are swirly.

Goldeen is KO. The Starly win.

That was so cool! I can't believe I managed to find an actual pokemon battle today. It was just like the practice battles of the parents in Twinleaf Town! I wonder which of these Starly will want to join my team--

Star!

Huh? The first Starly charges Wing Attack again... but Goldeen is already knocked out?

Thump

No way... he struck Goldeen again. How could you! The fight's already over!

Oh Arceus... There is so much blood coming out of Goldeen's mouth now. That doesn't look right.

The second Starly flies up to Goldreen's face... What now? Why can't I tear my eyes away? I don't want to see it--

Pluck

He... he ate Goldeen's eye. No... Please stop...

Thump

Another Wing Attack... Arceus, make it stop...

---

Narrator-POV:

But our hero's prayers went unheard.

Instead, both Starly join in on the feast, plucking and pecking at the Goldeen's flesh.

The pair continues their relentless assault.

Using Wing Attack to rip through the tougher scales and scattering the innards around themselves. They dig through the carcass to get to the juicy, tender meat hidden inside.

It's a grotesque sight, but one that they seem to relish. Blood drips from their beaks as they devour the poor creature.

Our hero watches on in horror, unable to move or to look away from the gruesome scene.

His young, impressionable mind, memorizing the images in unnatural detail forever.

He slowly sinks to his knees, subconsciously hiding himself better in the underbrush. His eyes are wide and tears leak from their corners.

This was not what he expected from a real-life pokemon battle.

He never thought about what happens after a battle. On TV, pokemon just faint and then the battle is over after all.

This is something entirely different. Something primal and savage. Something he never saw before because nature documentaries do not exist in the friendly world of pokemon.

In the back of his mind Swole finally understood what his parents' lectures were all about.

They kept droning on and on. Wild pokemon are ruthless and murderous. But Swole has never listened before.

"How could these cute pokemon possibly be brutal savages? They help mom in the garden and play with us in Twinleaf Town." Is what Swole thought when he was a child.

But now, nothing is going through Swole's mind as he watches the pair of Starly continue their gory meal. Ripping, tearing and smashing through the corpse.

After a while they take to the air once again, leaving behind the bloody remains of Goldeen.

Despite their fishy appearance, Goldeen are still warm blooded pokemon and all that blood has left a large pool on the creek's bank.

Goldeen scales are left scattered around the carcass and bones and guts are tossed all over the place. Some are half eaten.

Swole is fixated on the scene.

Somewhere in his head, a tiny voice tells him to drink and make camp, as the sun continues its descent. The cold is starting to seep in, he needs a camp or risk freezing to death.

But the voice falls on deaf ears.

His mind replays the images of gore. The torn apart Goldeen.

As the sun sets behind the horizon these images are burned into his eyes forever.

And the sounds of tiny Starly feet splashing through puddles of blood echo in his ears forever.

And the smell of pokemon blood, stuck inside his nose forever.

The feeling of dread. Of being the next meal. Seared into his mind.

---

The moon rises higher and Swole Solo still kneels in the bush. His bloodshot eyes are wide open and stare at the Goldeen remains.

Eventually, he passes out. 

Eyes still wide awake but mind and body overburdened by the day's events. The hours of walking, the moments of carnage.

The cold of the night rapidly creeps in and attacks his legs and body relentlessly, but he is too far off in the realm of nightmares to notice.

He sleeps through the night. Instinctively not moving a single muscle the whole time.

Only when the rays of the morning sun hits his eyes directly, does he startle awake again. 

His body is in agony. 

His glazed over eyes refocus with adrenaline. 

Searching for where the corpse should be, but it is gone. Only blood stained dirt remains. Some wild pokemon must have eaten the scraps and dragged the cadaver away while he slept soundly.

He shivers. 

The cold bit through his clothes and seeped into every bone of his body. His feet and legs are frozen stiff. 

Any movement results in excruciating pain in his legs.

He shivers again, but not from his frozen body, but from fright. 

For the first time in this young hero's life, he feels truly terrified. Not a visit to the local haunted house; But a visceral fear for his life.

"This is the wilderness..." He thinks. Too scared to even mutter. "I want to go home." He soundlessly sobs to himself. 

But his body does not move.

The young hero has never seen the brutality of the world that lies hidden beyond civilization. 

Outside of cities, towns and the mapped-out routes between them. Away from the protection of professional pokemon trainers. 

His parents have tried to teach him the dangers of the wilderness but it always fell on deaf ears. Now, their teachings resound in his mind with renewed vigor.

"Without your own pokemon, you don't stand a chance" - "Stay away from the tall grass" - "Some are bloodthirsty" - "Pokemon can be dangerous" - "Never underestimate a wild pokemon" - "Always be ready to flee" - "They are unpredictable" - "Stay away from wild Teddiursa"

His parents' voices sound out in his mind at random. All their teachings make sense to him now.

"This is not like on TV. Wild pokemon are dangerous." He lets out his desperate muttering for the gods to hear his pain.

"... I--... I get it now. A lab raised pokemon could never protect me from these monsters. I could die long before my starter pokemon becomes strong enough to win against them... This is why father wants me to get a strong pokemon." 

He swallows dryly. "If I had been here with a pokemon from our garden, it would have been our blood staining the ground..."

"I could give up..." The frightened hero reconsiders his options. "I could wait a few more years and just become some office worker..."

A terribly boring option.

"No way... Fuck that."

In this world, being a pokemon trainer is the greatest dream for almost every child. But most do not have the luxury of becoming one. 

You need connections or money just to start off.

A single pokeball costs 200₽ after all. And the cheapest berries will set you back for 15₽. 

If you have neither money nor connections, people would even turn to criminal organizations to fulfill their dreams.

Our young hero has both connections and money. 

He knows he has the possibility to fulfill every child's dream. And he will not simply give up on that.

"I could get a weak pokemon and just stay on the routes..." He considers his next option. "Shit. I don't even have this option. My father might drag me back into the wilderness if I turn up with a weak pokemon... And I won't become a pokemon champion with that attitude either." 

So he gives up on his second option as well.

A child is an impressionable being and a father that keeps pushing his child to become the best; That is the father of a child who will never falter in his goals. 

Swole Solo would rather die than become second best. His father made sure to nail that drive into his head during his childhood.

"I can't get a weak pokemon. I need to become a champion." 

The hero weakly tries to pump himself up again. 

"I need a strong partner to protect me from these savages. I need a strong partner to become the Sinnoh Champion. I need a brutal pokemon that will stay by my side against any danger."

"I need a partner, like those Starly!"

Sudden shivers run up his back and bile starts rising at the thought of what those Starly did yesterday.

What they would have done to him if they spotted him. 

"NO! No... I will never get a Starly. I will never get a Starly! These things are disgusting, cowardly and cruel. A loser's choice."

---

Swole moves his hand into his pocket and gently touches the smooth pokeball inside.

Every movement is like pins and needles being stuck into his frozen feet. "I only have one way forward. I know that now. I need the strongest pokemon I can find. And I need to capture it with a single attempt."

Now that his mind is back on track and the adrenaline is running out, he finally addresses the agony he is in.

A sob escapes his throat but he remains focused on what he can do now.

"This will be a lot harder than I thought..."

He empties his backpack and pockets and bites through the pain for the moment. The last item he adds to the pile being the premier ball.

A look fall on the pokeball and another sob escapes him. "I wanted to capture one of the Starly... But I couldn't even move! I'm too weak!"

Arrayed before him in the shade of the shrub he hides himself in, is everything he owns right now.

A shovel, some rope, an empty water filter, an unused pokeball, a history book, food and some berries. He notices the water filter and remembers his forgotten need for water.

He tries to swallow but his mouth is too dry now.

Next, he looks around and inspects the thicket, the creek on one side, the barely visible meadow on the other, and the glaring sun high in the sky, directly overhead.

"It's midday already? But I woke up just a moment ago!"

Startled, he remembers where he is and that he was letting his emotions out loud the whole time. Quickly, he covers his mouth with his hands.

He looks around again, this time scanning for pokemon that could have heard him.

But he finds none.

Then the equipment before him is inspected one by one; At last Swole spots the survival food and returns it to the bag. "I don't really feel like eating..."

His eyes wander back to the berry case and he remembers his teachings. "I can heal my legs with an Aspear Berry."

He mutters before taking out a yellow berry with blue circles on it and taking a big bite out of it.

Immediately his face contorts into itself. "So sour!" Causing his face to look like a certain lemon-eating cartoon character from a popular TV show.

But nonetheless, warmth spreads all over his body and washes away the pain in his legs and toes.

The frozen limbs are healed almost instantly and he moans in sweet pain relief.

The juice of an Aspear Berry can heal a completely frozen-over pokemon in a matter of seconds. Healing only the legs, will take only a single bite of the sour fruit. The rest of the berry is returned back into the case.

Our thrifty hero knows the price of a single berry and he will not let the leftovers go to waste by tossing it or by eating it when not in need of the thawing effects.

The only thing left is to treat his general soreness. After all, a weak, untrained body cannot go on long hikes every day.

With that in mind, he takes out a blue Oran Berry. He carefully bites into it and contorts his face in disgust.

Despite looking rather tasty, the Oran Berry is a very disgusting fruit to humans. They are too spicy, too bitter and too sour. In addition to the disgusting mix of flavors, the flesh is also dry. Like eating compressed flour, rather than a juicy berry.

But after swallowing the repulsive piece, the effect is almost instant.

Yesterday's soreness of his forced march is gone and he feels fitter than ever. At least his body does.

A single bite of Oran Berry was enough to completely soothe his sore muscles. So once again the remains are returned to the berry case and he stashed it away in the backpack.

He looks further at his items and the history book is instantly dismissed as useless, and returned to the backpack as well.

The shovel is scrutinized next.

"Wild pokemon have been sneaking right past me last night. I can not sleep out in the open or I might get killed in my sleep."

He pondered for a few minutes until a thought struck him.

The school went over the Kanto-Johto wars ad infinitum, and he remembers a technique used in the most recent one.

"One book has mentioned soldiers digging foxholes in the ground to encamp themselves in when there wasn't enough time for trenches. I can cover that with branches and leaves to stay camouflaged. Frostbite on my feet might get worse but I can easily treat that with a bite of Aspear Berry! I'm a genius!"

He shouts before yet again remembering where he is. "I'm fucking stupid. Stop shouting dumb-ass."

Next up are the ropes. "What can I do with them... besides combining them with a tree and then giving up..." He ponders.

And then he ponders some more.

"I need to use everything I have. I can't let any opportunities go to waste..."

And he continues to ponder even more, until he spots the shovel again.

"Camouflage." Another brilliant idea forms itself in our resourceful hero's mind. "I can take the branches from a shrub and bind them to myself. The creek is surrounded by thickets. It would be the perfect ghillie suit for this environment."

He begins to collect bushy branches and binds them all over his body. His mother's lessons in knot binding have finally become useful.

"Pokemon will need to come to the creek to get water, same as me. But they won't be able to see me at all."

With a ghillie suit that is very far from perfect our hero continues with the next item. "Last but not least, the water filter."

Swole stares at the depressingly empty water filter.

Then he stares at the creek.

Which is very much out in the open.

Where anything could see him.

But his throat is parched.

Once again, he has no choice.

---

Swole-POV:

I can do it. I only need to make a few steps past the bush and I can get water. I really need some. My mouth has been bone dry for hours. My head has been aching too... Signs of dehydration.

But the water is all the way out there...

... 

Come on! Just do it! Stop acting like a scared child!

I slowly creep out of the bush. 

Nothing has attacked me yet. 

I slowly creep across the rocky bank. 

My body is crouched as low as possible and I'm indistinguishable from any regular shrub.

Narrator: In fact, it was very easy to see a person sneaking along the riverbank. Anything with eyes would have seen a human with a weak disguise. It just so happens that nothing was around to see it.

My disguise is perfect. That I can reach the water without being attacked, is proof of that. 

I quickly fill the water filter ™ up but that's when I notice a glaring issue... The sun... It's reflecting... Off my hands.

Am I really that pale? 

Stop wasting time boy! Start acting! 

I dig up some mud from between the rocks and rub it into my hands and face. 

Quickly, before the monsters see me!

...

Whew. Perfectly stealthy again. 

Now back to the trees before the monsters question why a random, single bush rustles out in the open on its own.

Slowly but surely I creep back across... 

And oh my Arceus. I did it. 

Hidden in the treeline again, I can finally take a deep breath and enjoy my hard earned quest rewards. 

I went through blood, sweat and tears but I managed to get water! Sweet, cold, freshly filtered water. 

How it finally wettens my oh-so parched throat! The amazing liquid capable of lifting up my spirits and strengthening my soul!

... 

I really did it, huh? I can do this, can't I? I think that I have the skills necessary to catch myself a powerful partner. With the pokeball in my pocket-- 

... Where is it?! Where did I leave my Arceus damned pokeball!

I look around the bushes with freshly renewed panic until I see the beautiful, pearly white marvel that is my very own premier ball.

It's on the ground, right where I stupidly left it. 

Next time I leave any place, I will make sure to leave nothing behind.

I pick it back up and think again about what I need to do next. 

I can't go south towards the swimming lake because those pokemon are too weak to capture, and I can't leave the creek because I need water. 

And I can't stay here because I don't know how long I could end up waiting before I spot another pokemon.

The only way forward is north along the creek. Further into the danger but also towards a stronger partner pokemon.

I also know that Starly is not an option. These monsters are disgusting and cowardly. 

And I can't get a fish pokemon either. They wouldn't be able to protect me on the land. 

I can't catch a weak pokemon and I can't overpower a strong one, so I need to convince a pokemon to stay with me... 

My only hope is to find a pokemon battle, wait for it to end and offer the winner... berries. 

Shit. That's really the only thing I can offer.

Berries are cool, I guess. I'm sure some pokemon will accept the bribery. 

Bribery will get you everywhere! 

... Or was it nowhere?

Anyway, in summary step one: Sneak north until dusk, then dig a hole and sleep in it.

Step two: Keep my eyes and ears peeled for any pokemon battles. I need to watch as many as I can to find a strong and willing partner.

Step three: Find the toughest little monster around and bribe it into slavery.

... No wait. That sounds a little too difficult.

The real step three: Find the strongest pokemon around and offer it free food and healing in exchange to be my first partner on the way to the Platinum League.

There! That sounds like a plan! Let's go with this instead!

---

Narrator-POV:

With a solid strategy in mind our hero sets out on his mission. 

Will he make his first step towards becoming the champion? 

Or will all his efforts be wasted when he gets brutally ripped apart by a Bidoof for a stupid mistake?

Let's wait and find out!

...

And waiting we do a lot. 

The short day passes and our hero only makes a meager distance and thus, not a single pokemon was seen. 

Occasionally some pokemon in the far distance shout out but they are too far away and only result in stressing Swole's nerves out further. 

All too soon dusk arrives and, just as planned, he digs his hole for the night. Just deep enough to sit in without his head sticking out.

"I wish I had a sleeping bag." 

It is soon covered in branches and leaves and the exhausted hero is rewarded with a deep and restful slumber in his cold and tiny hole. 

At least as deep and restful as sleeping in a squat position can be.

Perhaps a larger hole would be better?

...

...

...

Night passes slowly and when the first rays of sunshine creep past the horizon our hero wakes up for another day in paradise.

The camouflage, hiding a sleeping hole in the thicket, parts and like a Butterfree emerges the mighty hero: Swole Solo!

"Fuck. Me." He swears. "My feet are frozen again. And I couldn't sleep because of the nightmares."

... Perhaps sleep finds our hero a little easier after another round of hiking?

Rubbing his tired eyes Swole repeats his newest morning ritual, of eating berries to keep his body going. "Is it my imagination or does it taste even worse today..." He wonders out loud. 

His stomach growls and despite the images of Goldeen corpses still fresh on his mind, he squats back in his hole and eats a hearty breakfast: Beef jerky and hard-tack. 

After almost breaking his teeth out on the survival biscuits, our intelligent hero settles on soaking it in water and eating it while traveling further north.

He manages to make a good distance today before hearing the ever recognizable sounds of two pokemon battling each other. 

"Star!" He hears. "Oof!" Comes in reply. 

"Another Starly?" 

The hero is dreading to see another flock of Starly, "But their target could end up winning." 

And so he slowly, carefully creeps along the edge of the underbrush, into the view of the battlefield.

Our hero prepares himself to be traumatized yet again and then he pushes the last branch out of his sight.

In the air, circling its target is a Staravia. Twice as tall and four times as strong as a mere Starly.

On the ground the victim. 

A Bidoof. "Oh no." Bidoof is on the ground and he has just finished Defense Curl. 

Looking closely Swole spots a few tears of pain escaping his eyes. 

"Come on Bidoof, use Rollout or Headbutt..." Swole whispers to himself. He knows his chances are slim. 

And he also knows Bidoof's best chance is to make a final stand.

But Bidoof prepares yet another Defense Curl instead. Swole averts his eyes already understanding what is going to happen next.

"Via!" The Staravia challenges her opponent again. She charges up with light blue glowing energy around her body and disappears from sight. 

Only to reappear immediately right above Bidoof and she smashes with full speed into him. The plump mouse pokemon lets out his final "Oof".

Bidoof is KO. Staravia wins.

Remembering his own promise of never wanting anything to do with Starly, Swole's shaking hands clasp into fists. "Nothing to capture here." He thinks.

His eyes close and a fresh tear is rolling down his cheek. The hero knows that the Staravia will take her spoils now.

With another battle cry, "Ravi!" She charges more flying type energy in her wings and strikes yet again.

Swole startles at the sound it made and opens his eyes on instinct. Only to quickly cover his mouth to keep his breakfast at bay.

The dead Bidoof lies on the ground. Bisected. Another image of death and gore burns itself into our hero's mind as Staravia picks up one half in her talons and flies off with it.

With nothing left to capture our young hero sulks off further north, suppressing more tears from leaving his eyes.

Eventually, another day comes to an end. 

Another hole is dug. 

"One of these is going to be my grave..." 

Another depressing thought enters our hero's mind.

And another nightmare plagued sleep follows soon after.

---

But the third day is going to be different.

When the morning sunshine breaks through the light canopy of the thicket, a different bundle of sunshine happens to rise from a tiny hole at the same time.

"Fuck. Me." He swears. Again. Each day begins to look like the last.

His eyes are bloodshot yet again from another hardly restful night.

Swole prepares his morning ritual, again. This time finishing up the Aspear Berry to feel just a little more warmth this morning.

His muscles have recovered thanks to the help of Oran Berry and Swole rubs fresh dirt into his face and hands to stay camouflaged before starting another day in the untamed wilderness around Twinleaf Town.

"This better be the very best starter pokemon anyone has ever gotten..." Grumbles our grumpy hero as he trudges further north.

It looks like he is not a morning person.

...

...

...

"Shel." Around evening, another battle cry catches the interest of our hero. There is an accompanying sound that he can not really identify.

It almost sounded like piano notes but that can not be it. Swole is certain that he is in the middle of nowhere. "There wouldn't be pianos around. Obviously." He thinks.

After some crawling around, Swole sees the fight from below a bush at the edge of the creek's bank. On one side of the natural arena is a pink, slug-like pokemon: Shellos.

"I thought Shellos were blue?" Swole whispers.

The books he read have shown them only in blue. "Maybe a gender difference? Maybe female Shellos are pink?" He mutters to no one in particular.

On the other side of the battlefield is a Kricketot. A knee-high bug versus a knee-high slug. Swole stares and waits for something to happen.

And he waits some more. "What are they doing? Nothing is happening..."

But suddenly, Shellos is surrounded in green light and a few cuts on her body slowly close themselves up.

"Recover! That's amazing! I should catch that Shellos." Swole says to himself almost too loudly.

He has learned to keep his voice low in the wild. Even his excited shouting was tamed since he entered it.

He is incredibly relieved to find such an amazing pokemon on just his third day. His gut feeling tells him that Shellos is very far in the lead in the fight right now.

"Just one or two Aqua Gun or Water Pulse... But what is Kricketot doing? He's just standing there with a slight white glow around him."

Suddenly, Kricketot stumbles and the glow fades as if he had taken some kind of hit just now.

"Huh? Is he sick?" Swole voices his concern with a whisper.

But for Shellos that stumble was like a gong signaling the start of the real fight. Or perhaps the start of her dinner?

A thick spout of water races out of Shellos and hits Kricketot with a resounding Boom!

The water pressure tosses Kricketot away. Sounds, similar to dissonant piano notes, come from his hollow body.

His eyes turn to swirls.

Kricketot is KO. Shellos wins.

"And that was a Water Gun... Kricketot must have been using Bide but it failed. Pokemon fights are so amazing." While Swole softly mutters to himself in amazement, he fails to notice that Shellos has already glided across the ground to Kricketot's unconscious body and ate it whole.

Shellos inflated to twice her original size and started to slowly slither away again.

The distracted hero finally remembers his original goal of bribing the winner of one of these fights.

He quickly gathers up all his courage and stumbles out of the thicket.

"Shellos! Wait!" He shouts and Shellos stays for a moment.

She looks back at him.

Swole takes just one look into her expressive eyes and immediately understands that Shellos has no interest in eating him too.

The backpack is quickly lifted off his back and a Sitrus Berry is pulled out of the berry case within.

"How about some berries Shellos? A strong fighter like you could grow big and strong with some quality berries and a quality trainer like me!"

He did it. He managed to give his best sales pitch to a strong, wild pokemon.

But Shellos simply looks down at herself, remembers that she is neither hungry nor hurt at all and slithers away, without sending the human even a second glance.

"Rejected by a slug. Damn."

With slumped shoulders our unpopular hero makes his way north again.

"At least she didn't eat me." Is what the reject-hero tries to console himself with.

He makes a little more distance before finishing his hike for today and starting to dig yet another hole.

"I could use some of the rope for a rainy day..."

Yet another depressing thought enters our hero's mind.

And yet another nightmare plagued sleep follows soon after.

---

The past 3 days have not been too kind to our brave hero but perhaps today everything changes?

As they say, fourth time's the charm!

If Swole hurries up today and catches his pokemon, then he will still be able to return home and train for trainer school for weeks. He would arrive as the new star of the school. Maybe a girl would finally notice him too?

And so another night passes and the sun rises above the horizon once again. Its rays piercing through the thicket and the hero rises to greet the day.

"Fuck. Me." He swears. Yet again. 

Once again his very sour mood is not helped by the sour Aspear Berry. The disgusting Oran Berry and the stale breakfast only make it worse.

The ever sour hero sluggishly packs up and leaves, hoping to Arceus to get his starter pokemon soon.

But Arceus does not hear his prayers. Or ignored them. 

Because the days pass and the increasingly depressed hero marches on in a funk. 

Waking up more and more tired, getting more and more sick of the taste of Aspear and Oran Berry.

But also getting more and more calloused to the brutality of the wild world of pokemon.

On the bright side, his body is getting fitter and fitter every day too, thanks to hours of hiking and due to his strict diet of healthy berries, lean protein and hard to digest carbs.

He has also lost the last vestiges of body fat, turning him spindle-thin, like some kind of gangly ghoul.

Another thing he is getting used to, is to listen to the shouts and cries of wild pokemon. 

He has watched so many Starly hunt in their groups, that he has learned to tell what sounds they make when they find a new prey, when they use a Wing Attack or Quick Attack and he learned the patterns they use in their unfair fighting style.

Unfair, but effective. 

In the many pokemon fights Swole has watched, not once did a single pokemon beat the teamwork of the cowardly creatures. 

One Starly would distract and then the other punishes their prey as a perfect duo team. 

Rattata are similar. They would overwhelm their target with hordes of five. Even a stronger target would stand no chance against their relentless assault.

Some bug pokemon would wait for an unsuspecting pokemon to wander into their nets, then pelter it from above with poison attacks. He almost stepped into one of these traps but noticed in time due to his constant vigilance and paranoia.

The young hero might not notice it now, but the hardships he lives through these days are giving him the lessons he needs to become truly great some day.

His will may falter on some mornings. Sometimes he just wants to give up and go home; But his desire to become a champion reigns supreme.

...

...

...

And so the days rush past him in a blur for almost two weeks. On the 14th day of his journey - when our young hero was at his very lowest... He gave up his initial strategy.

The words of his father jumped to his mind: "I brawled with him." 

Our hero has spent that day thinking about what pokemon he could ever beat up in a fair fight. 

And as luck would have it, near sunset, he finds a Bidoof!

He is fat, hunched over something in the distance. 

While watching him from the safety of the thicket Swole worked up his courage to challenge him to a battle.

Slowly, but with plenty of determination Swole made his way out of the thicket and closer to Bidoof. 

... Until he saw what Bidoof was hunched over. Rattata corpses. 

A whole horde of dead Rattata. At least 5. 

Swole was unable to count properly because of the distance and because some of them were ripped into pieces while others had already been mostly eaten.

He freezes in the middle of his step. Blood drains out of his face together with all the collected courage. 

In our hero's mind, this should not have happened. Ever. 

A Bidoof, the most pudgy, useless and weakest pokemon, right after Magikarp, should not be munching on bones like they were fries.

Slowly he steps back. He was sure that he did not make any noise but Bidoof had noticed something. 

He stops chewing a Rattata leg and slowly waddles around on his fat, stumpy, little legs.

Swole sees his blood covered snout and freezes up completely.

The empty gaze in Bidoof's eyes examines the bushes of the thicket.

Searching for even more food but he does not find anything. Bidoof brushes the distraction off his slow mind and continues his disturbing feast.

Swole stays frozen. What Swole saw were not the eyes of a cute, little, widdle Bidoof. 

Those were the eyes of a seasoned murderer. How many innocent pokemon did this creature devour? Judging by how fat Bidoof was, too many.

The hero spent the 14th evening listening to the sounds of bones being crushed by a chubby Bidoof. 

"Fighting pokemon on my own was a dumb idea anyway." Thought the hero to himself as Bidoof bites through another Rattata leg. "... I didn't want a Bidoof in my team either."

Only after nightfall did Bidoof finally fall asleep in the middle of the gore and our hero spent that whole night running as far away from Bidoof as possible.