Pokemon Adventure: New Adventure

At 7 years old, Zen wasn't much different from the six-year-old he had been a few months ago, except for one thing. He had trained every single day. Running, collecting plants, battling wild Pokémon, he had done it all.

But as he sat on the grass of Viridian Park, watching Weedle wriggle playfully in the dirt, a thought crossed his mind.

"Why is Weedle still so small?"

He tilted his head, deep in thought. Bug-types were supposed to be easy and fast to train, right? They evolved quickly, at least, that's what he had heard from older trainers. But somehow, despite all the training, Weedle hadn't evolved yet.

Was he doing something wrong?

Zen sighed, reaching out to poke Weedle, who chirped happily and rolled onto his back.

---

Yesterday, Zen had taken a big step forward. He had asked Miss Clara, the caretaker of the orphanage, for permission to enter Viridian Forest.

To his surprise, she had agreed, but only on one condition:

Zen needed a trainer to accompany him.

Which brought up another problem.

"The only trainer I know is that old man… but I haven't seen him in months," Zen muttered.

He had searched around Viridian City but hadn't caught a single glimpse of the old man anywhere. Was he traveling? Did he move? Zen had no idea.

For now, he had no choice but to continue his usual training routine.

Today's plan? The same as every other day.

Zen stood up, stretching his legs before picking up Weedle and placing him on his shoulder.

"We're doing the full run around Viridian City today," Zen told Weedle.

Weedle chirped in response, rubbing against Zen's cheek.

The first time Zen had attempted this? He and Weedle had been so exhausted they couldn't move the next day. But now, after months of practice, Zen's stamina had improved. Weedle had gotten stronger too.

As they ran, Zen kept an eye on the ground, picking up every single plant he found along the way. His old habit of collecting poisonous plants hadn't faded.

But after some research, he had come to a surprising conclusion.

Most of these "poisonous plants" weren't even dangerous.

Apparently, in Pokémon tournaments, trainers weren't allowed to let their Pokémon consume these plants, not because they were dangerous, but because they could boost Pokémon strength in weird ways.

"Maybe they don't want people using them like drugs or something," Zen thought, tossing a leaf in the air.

He didn't really care about tournament rules. He just wanted Weedle to get stronger.

Despite not evolving, Weedle had definitely improved.

His bite was strong enough to snap a small twig in two.

His String Shot was tougher, no longer snapping in the wind like before.

His Poison Sting had become so strong, it could knock out most Pokémon he encountered, mainly Caterpie and the occasional Metapod.

But honestly… what else could he expect?

Here in Viridian City, the only wild Pokémon were Caterpie. The stronger Pokémon? They were kept out of the city by trainers. If there weren't trainers protecting Viridian City, the place would have probably been called Viridian Forest 2.0 by now.

After a few hours of running and walking, Zen and Weedle arrived at Viridian Park once again.

Zen flopped onto the grass, completely exhausted, while Weedle climbed off his shoulder, rolling around happily.

Zen let out a tired laugh, watching his Pokémon play.

They had come a long way, but there was still a longer road ahead.

For now?

They were going to rest. But then..

"Hey, you!"

Zen turned his head and saw a kid—well, a kid who looked older than him. Maybe eight? Nine? Whatever.

The boy walked over with a smug grin.

"Battle me!" he said confidently.

Zen blinked. "Huh?"

"Let's battle," the kid repeated. "You're a bug trainer, right?"

Zen squinted at him. Bug trainer? Did he just assume that because he had a Weedle?

He wasn't wrong, but still.

"Nah, I'm good." Zen waved his hand lazily. "I just ran around the whole city. I wanna rest."

But the boy refused to back down.

"Come on! Fight me!"

Zen sighed. Why was this kid so annoying?

Then the boy suddenly said—

"If you win, I'll give you money."

Zen froze.

Money?

His eyes sparkled.

Zen had always wanted to go to the Poké Mart, but he never had any money. The orphanage gave him free housing, free food, what kind of shameless kid would he be if he asked Miss Clara for money?

But if he could win some money…

Zen grinned.

"Alright, let's battle."

The boy smirked and threw a Poké Ball into the air.

"Go, Diglett!"

A small brown Pokémon popped out of the ground.

Zen's eyes widened.

This was the first time he had ever seen a Diglett in real life. He had read about them in books, but they looked so… tiny.

He glanced at Weedle, who was still sitting on the grass.

"Go, Weedle." Zen placed his Pokémon on the ground.

Weedle chirped and faced Diglett, ready to fight.

"Let's do this!"

The battle began!

Diglett moved first!

Diglett used Scratch! It moved quickly, slashing at Weedle's side.

Weedle took the hit, but Zen wasn't worried. "String Shot!" Weedle shot out sticky silk, wrapping around Diglett's body.

The opponent gritted his teeth. "Diglett, use Growl!"

Diglett let out a low growl, stoping Weedle's who going for next attack .

Zen frowned. This wasn't good. "Weedle, Bug Bite!"

Weedle return to its sense and quickly lunged forward and bit Diglett's head, but it didn't do much damage.

The other kid grinned. "Dig, now!" Diglett burrowed underground, disappearing!

Zen's eyes widened. Now he was in trouble. HE had no idea where Diglett was.

He looked around, searching for movement. Then...

Behind Weedle, the ground started to shift slightly.

Zen's eyes narrowed.

The boy pointed. "Now, Diglett, Tackle!"

The ground burst open, and Diglett shot out, aiming straight for Weedle!

Zen smirked.

"Weedle, Tackle—NOW!"

Before Diglett could fully emerge, Weedle spun around and SMASHED Diglett's head with his tail!

BOOM!

Diglett crashed back onto the ground, dazed and defeated.

Silence.

"WHAT?!" The boy screamed.

"I win." Zen grinned, picking up Weedle.

The boy gritted his teeth, pulled out a small pouch, and shoved it into Zen's hand.

"Here! 100 Pokédollars!" Then he ran away crying with diglett in his hand, before Zen could even ask his name.

Zen stared at the money in his hand. Finaly he rich. Well not that rich but he have money now.

"...That was easy."

Then he grinned.

"Weedle, we're going to the Poké Mart!"

Weedle chirped excitedly and climbed onto Zen's shoulder.

Their next stop?

Shopping..