A flock of Pidgey was flying across the slightly misty sky of the viridian Forest. Behind them stood a vast mountain, draped in a scarf of mist.

In the trees, Caterpie and Metapod hung from the branches. One Pidgey chirped, another responded, and together they sang in chorus.

“Sniiiiffff,” Ash said, taking a deep breath of the fresh smell of money.

“10,000 Pokédollars. It was a good idea to train after all, wasn’t it?” he said, addressing the Pokédex.

Dex (the Pokédex) didn’t respond; it just watched him, joyfully counting his hard-earned money and chuckling like a hen calling its chicks. He was so absorbed in his task that he sometimes didn’t pay attention to what was in front of or even behind him, when suddenly…

“Hey you, yeah you, the little kid. Hey, are you listening? Hey, wait… wait.”

Ash pretended not to hear, actually ignoring the voice completely. There were kids everywhere in this forest. Who knew which one this voice was really directed at? Thus, Ash continued on his way as naturally as possible.

The Pokédex, however, was intrigued. It began to search for the source of the voice, this call.

It hovered over Ash’s shoulder and started scanning the surroundings. According to its sensors, the voice seemed to be coming from the tall grass on their left. It spotted something or someone quickly pushing the grass aside to make a path.

“Hey you, the kid with the big head topped with a red cap, I’m talking to you,” the voice called out again, this time sounding closer.

Ash stopped, his face in the shadows, head slightly lowered. Dex didn’t need its sensors to notice the vein throbbing at his temple. It was swelling so much that it was impossible to miss.

Ash closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try to calm down (he didn’t succeed). He turned around and, lifting his head, saw a man emerging from the bush. He was out of breath as if he had run the distance from Ash. His hands were resting on his knees, and he was breathing heavily.

“Huff… huff… you’re just in time… huff… I busted my ass to get to this shitty forest… huff huff Afff… all this for what? For a shitty photo with a shitty Pokémon doing shitty stuff… hufff huff… oh damn… huff… my side cramp, it’s back… damn Professor Oak…” the young man said, punctuated by deep breaths, one hand on his knee and the other on his side.

Ash and Dex (the Pokédex) exchanged a look of confusion, their brows furrowed, mouths almost open as if to say something, but nothing came out except a heavy, tense silence.

Then, almost simultaneously, they looked away, fixing their gaze once again on the young man in front of them.

The young man straightened up but was still breathing heavily, although his condition was starting to improve (for a reporter, he lacked endurance).

“Huff… what was I saying again?… Oh yeah, damn professor, all this for Pokémon photos, in their natural environment.” He started laughing softly, then the laughter turned into nervous laughter.

“... their natural environment… what a joke. Does he even know what a Pokémon’s natural environment looks like? Do you realize I had to climb steep mountains, cross insurmountable ravines, lava torrents, and poisoned swamps?” He paused, looked up, and glanced around. Somewhere, this forest was also a natural environment for Pokémon, and if you ignored the repeated ambushes from trainers and wild Pokémon, this place was far more welcoming than those he had been to before.

The young man snapped out of his contemplation and then began to scream, his face buried in his hands. This guy was completely unstable, and Ash knew it.

“(High-pitched scream) Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah, damn it, I need to do something, let it out, it has to come out, it has to come out,” he kept repeating. He started to fidget like a madman in front of a stunned and silent Ash. What could he do? Well, nothing.

“You weren’t going to escape it. Anyway, it doesn’t matter, you’re going to be very useful to me, kid. How about a Pokémon battle?”

Immediately, the young man threw his Pokéball to summon his Pokémon.

“Go!... thing! Uh… what’s its name again? Uh… oh yeah, go Rattata!”

Completely shocked, Ash didn’t move. Stunned, he kept his mouth open, wondering, damn, are all Pokémon trainers crazy?

Rattata, the young man’s Pokémon, was fidgeting nervously. It seemed just as excited as its trainer (like trainer, like Pokémon), who, now that Ash looked at him more closely, appeared to have not slept for days. His hair was disheveled, his shirt had noticeable sweat stains under the armpits, one side hanging out of his pants, and the collar was completely wrinkled.

Rattata is a Pokémon looking like a rat with a violet and pale white body. It can gnaw on anything with its two teeth. When you see one, there are certainly 40 more around. It has two whiskers that provide more stability to make it faster; either to attack…

The Pokédex stopped immediately as soon as it met Ash’s gaze. Ash was giving it a cold look that clearly told it to stop immediately; it was really not the right time for that.

“Oh, hey, your Pokédex talks, that's not common. And it flies too, that's really original,” said the young man, suddenly curious.

“Uh… yeah… it flies… it’s really original, as you say,” Ash replied nervously.

“Yeah, anyway, that’s not important, but… Rattata, use… uh… use… what’s it called again? Oh, whatever, use TACKLE.”

Rattata braced itself on its little legs and charged furiously at Pidgey, which Ash had just called onto the field in haste. Pidgey was hit by the attack and its HP was now reduced by half.

“Oh, okay… return, Pidgey. I think it’s time to take it easy,” said Ash, staring at the young man. “I don’t really want you to go up against this… guy.” He recalled Pidgey into its Pokéball and called out Charmander instead.

“Go, Charmander, let’s finish this as quickly as possible and get out of here.”

“Oh, another Pokémon? Come on, show me what you’ve got, big-headed kid,” said the young man with visible amusement on his face.

“Go, Charmander, burn it up, use EMBER.”

Rattata took a fierce burst of flames right in the face. It collapsed but was not out of the fight yet; it still had 3 HP left.

“Ohhh, good, good, you’re doing quite well. It’ll feel great when I’ve smashed your face and your Pokémon’s face in,” he resumed laughing as before and then took a potion out of one of his pockets.

“Here, drink this,” he said, handing the potion to Rattata. The next moment, Rattata’s injuries were healed, and its HP was restored, though not fully.

“Rattata, use uh… I don’t know… TAIL WHIP maybe.” The Pokémon turned around and began to wag its tail, showing its rear end to Ash and Charmander, who both looked at it uncomfortably. Apparently, this Pokémon was as disturbed as its owner.

Rattata used TAIL WHIP. 
Charmander’s defense was lowered.

Ash looked back and forth between the Pokémon and the trainer, troubled. Anyway, he could see that the trainer didn’t care; he just wanted to blow off steam.

“Alright, Charmander, it doesn’t seem to have learned its lesson. Once more, use EMBER.” Charmander complied; the attack was swift, and this time, the Pokémon didn’t get up again.

“Alright, well played. It’s your turn now… go on, thing, let’s go.”

The young man threw his Pokéball again. It opened with a flash of light, and a level 12 Spearow appeared.

Ash was taken by surprise. He took a step back, staring at the creature. It was the first time he had seen such a behemoth. It was a Flying-type Pokémon like Pidgey, but it was basically a wilder version of Pidgey, with wings twice as large. The Pokémon was staring at Ash with its sharp, penetrating eyes.

“Small and fast, Spearow is a bird with a sullen look and a very unpleasant personality. It is utterly cowardly and lives with its peers in clans of about thirty members. They attack various Pokémon in their territory and passing Trainers,” said the Pokédex, breaking the heavy silence. Strangely, this time Ash did not interrupt it.

“Impressive, right? I found it not far from here. The local kids and I had a great time, and they even served as training partners. Look how strong it is now,” said the young man, smiling with a sinister aura emanating from him.

“Don’t mind the earlier duel. This time, I’m going to get a bit more serious,” said the young man, pausing and turning to address his Pokémon. “Spearow, use LEER.”

Spearow stood tall on its large, clawed legs, its gaze still fixed on Ash and Charmander. Charmander and Spearow were engaged in a battle of stares.

Ash noticed a strange, purplish glow in Spearow's right eye; it was an ominous light.

The next moment, a faint violet halo formed above Charmander’s head.

Spearow used LEER. 
Charmander’s defense was lowered.

“It’s okay,” Ash said to reassure Charmander, and also to reassure himself.

“Charmander, go ahead, use EMBER,” Ash shouted. The next moment, the young man’s Spearow collapsed sideways on the ground with a third of its HP missing.

Ash watched as Spearow slowly got up and shook its head to recover from its injuries. It didn’t seem to have suffered much damage.

“Spearow, again, hurry up and use another LEER,” the young man shouted furiously.

Ash didn’t like the way this trainer treated his Pokémon. Sure, the previous trainers they had met were just as annoying, but at least they had some respect for their companions; this one didn’t. So Ash wasn’t going to hold back.

Spearow's attack hit Charmander but didn’t take away any HP.

Now it was Charmander’s turn to retaliate, and he was going all out. Once again, Charmander used his signature move, and like last time, Spearow collapsed but was far from out of the fight; it still had about half of its HP left.

“Oh oh, nice, nice, you’re doing quite well, you know. I’m starting to get into the game here,” said the young man, taking a deep breath. “But it’s not enough, I don’t have enough. I need to smash you to feel better.”

He turned to Spearow, pointing at it. “No more playing around. Spearow, show them your trump card, use FURY ATTACK!” The Pokémon began to flap its wings in place, stirring up dust and sand. Ash had to shield his face with his hand to protect himself from the grains of sand.

The Pokémon continued to flap its wings, faster and faster. There was now a kind of dust screen enveloping it. Then, suddenly, with a swift motion, it sliced through the air with its right wing, launching a barrage of spikes directly at Charmander.

The spikes hit Charmander squarely. It staggered but, with great strength and determination, managed to stay upright.

“It’s not over,” declared the young man. “You managed to withstand this barrage, but will you handle the next one?”

Ash, who had rushed to his Pokémon’s side, turned abruptly toward Spearow. A great anxiety was visible in his eyes, which gradually turned into helplessness when he saw another barrage of spikes speeding toward Charmander, who collapsed this time with more than half of its HP gone. Due to Spearow's previous attacks, Charmander had lost a lot of defense points.

“Nooo, Charmander, hang in there, buddy, it’s going to be okay,” he said, kneeling beside him. “Here, take this,” he added, using a potion on his companion. The potion worked remarkably well, as in an instant, Charmander got back up, as did Ash, who now looked at the young trainer with a dark, angry glare.

“I won’t forgive you. You’re going to feel my wrath and the black flames of Charmander. Go, Charmander, his Spearow is almost done for, go ahead, finish him off,” Ash shouted energetically.

The battle was close, with each Pokémon suffering considerable damage. Ash, focusing, analyzed the movements of the agile bird. It was strong and powerful, but its trainer was careless, as if he were absent; there was no logic in his attacks, as if he didn’t really care about winning. Ash awaited his next mistake, an opening he could exploit. It didn’t take long, and when instead of launching a good FURY ATTACK, the young man used GROWL, Ash seized the opportunity. He had already noticed that Spearow was suffering from burns due to Charmander’s flame attacks.

“Charmander, we’re almost there, it’s already on the brink, let’s finish it off.” With a quick and clever combination, Charmander managed to land the final blow on Spearow, securing the victory for Ash.

Despite his defeat, the trainer seemed completely uninterested. It was clear that this guy didn’t care about Pokémon battles, Ash thought as he watched him.

The young man recalled his Pokémon into its Pokéball, put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out some money, about 400 Pokédollars, which he handed to Ash. Ash took it reluctantly, wondering if he should accept the money, but he did so anyway.

The young man turned on his heel and was about to leave when Ash interrupted him.

“Wait, I don’t know what you’re doing or why you’re doing it, and in the end, who am I to judge you, but,” Ash said, pausing, lowering his head, and clenching his fists. “Know that the next time I see you, I’ll beat you and take everything you have. Someone like you who doesn’t respect their companions doesn’t deserve to be called a Trainer.”

The young man stared at him silently, his eyes half-closed; it looked like he was asleep. He seemed calmer now. He smiled slightly and continued on his way without saying anything, as if nothing had happened.

“You did what needed to be done, xxPokemonSlayerxx,” said the Pokédex, approaching him.

“Maybe, but you know, I can’t even imagine what I would have done if he had taken that battle seriously. That guy is strong, and so are his Pokémon.”

He continued to stare at the spot where the young man had been a few seconds earlier, then looked up at the sky. Is this the kind of encounter I should expect? Such strong opponents? Becoming a Pokémon Trainer isn’t that simple, he thought.

“Humm? xxPokemonSlayerxx? Are you okay?” asked the Pokédex, worried about him.

Ash continued to stare at the sky, then turned his gaze back to the Pokédex and smiled. “Yes, I’m fine, no need to worry. And stop calling me xxPokemonSlayerxx all the time. My name is Ash; call me Ash.”

“Okay, very well, Ash.”

“Well, the viridian Forest was nice, but all this humidity isn’t for me. Let’s head to Pewter City now.”