Pokemon : An Unexpected Journey

Austin was humming to himself as Pikachu trudged along behind him. Pikachu still wasn’t comfortable sitting on his shoulder yet, and honestly, Austin didn’t mind. It had only been a day since that whole Team Rocket encounter, and he wanted nothing more than to get out of this damn forest.

But every step Austin took felt like he was going in circles.

Am I lost? he wondered, trying not to panic. He thought, this was the part of the anime where that samurai trainer shows up, right? How did Ash handle Samurai? Improvise. Yeah, I’ll improvise.

Austin shook his head, a small laugh escaping his lips. Ash and I are more alike than I thought… but that won’t work for Brock. His thoughts drifted to what lay ahead. Should he even compete in the League? Was there a point if he wasn’t planning to stay here?

He frowned, the idea gnawing at him. His main goal was to figure out how the hell to get back to his real body. But I probably won’t figure this out until Cyrus summons Dialga and Palkia in the Sinnoh arc... That’s ages away! I’ll need to get stronger if I want to survive that long. Following the storyline might be the best way to do that.

Austin was so deep in thought that he almost didn’t notice the light-brown caterpillar with pink suction cup feet wriggling along the path in front of him. Its little stinger glistened on its forehead.

“Weedle…” he muttered, recognizing it immediately from the anime. Ash tried to catch one of these, didn’t he?

This was perfect. Weedle could be the sixth member of his team. Austin smirked, feeling a strange surge of excitement. “Alright, Pikachu, let’s—” He turned around to see Pikachu pretending to be asleep. Austin sighed. “…Right. Forgot he did that.”

Pikachu wasn’t interested, so Austin figured Caterpie could use the experience. Pulling out Caterpie’s Pokéball, he sent him out. The Weedle turned, eyes widening slightly as it spotted Caterpie. Austin didn’t give it time to react.

“String Shot, then Tackle!” he called. Caterpie obeyed without hesitation, shooting a thick string to wrap around Weedle before tackling it to the ground. Austin's grin widened as Weedle struggled against the sticky web. This was going too well.

He reached for a Pokéball, but just as he was about to throw it, a voice interrupted him. “Greetings. Am I addressing the Pokémon Trainer from Pallet?”

“Hold that thought,” Austin muttered, not bothering to look behind him as he tossed the Pokéball. It shook once… twice… Yes! The ball clicked, confirming the capture.

Austin had a full team now.

“Alright,” he said with a grin, Caterpie squirming happily toward him. He bent down to pick up Weedle’s Pokéball and then finally turned to face the voice behind him. Sure enough, it was the Samurai trainer from the anime.

“Sorry about that,” Austin said, wondering why Samurai hadn’t attacked him with his sword while he was busy catching Weedle. “Yeah, I’m from Pallet.”

“I have found you at last,” Samurai said, pulling out his sword and swinging it at Austin.

Austin's heart jumped, and he instinctively backed up before remembering the sword was fake. Right, no danger here. But still, could you not?!

“I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!” Samurai declared.

Austin smirked, the excitement of a fight rising in him. “Alright, I accept.” This would be a good chance to see how well his team would do. “But, uh… word of advice?”

Samurai raised an eyebrow.

“You might wanna be careful with how you challenge people,” Austin said, gesturing to the sword. “Not everyone will take it as lightly as I did.”

Samurai blinked, then sheepishly put the sword away. “You make a good point.”

With that, Samurai tossed a Pokéball. “Pinsir, go!” he called, and out came a massive, brown stag beetle-like Pokémon with huge pincers clashing menacingly above its head.

Austin suppressed a shudder. Seeing a Pinsir up close in real life? Not as cool as he imagined. More like really creepy.

“Spearow, take the field!” Austin called, deciding to switch things up a bit. Spearow shot out of the ball with a defiant cry, his eyes narrowing at Pinsir.

Okay, I’ve got the type advantage, and I haven’t had time to train Caterpie as much… I’ll stick with Spearow for now. Let’s do this.

“Pinsir, Tackle it!” Samurai ordered.

“Spearow, to the sky!” Austin called out as Spearow flapped his wings, taking off quickly. Pinsir’s Tackle missed by inches as it glared up at the bird. Perfect. I’ll keep Spearow in the air, hit and run tactics.

“Pinsir, use Harden!” Samurai commanded, and Pinsir’s body glowed, increasing its defense.

Harden won’t help against super-effective moves. “Peck, Spearow!” Austin shouted. Spearow swooped down, jabbing Pinsir with rapid pecks before flying back out of reach. But Pinsir was tougher than it looked. It glared, its pincers snapping angrily.

Samurai’s next words chilled Austin to the bone. “Pinsir, use Seismic Toss!”

“Wait, WHAT?!” Austin yelped as Pinsir leaped into the air, grabbing Spearow with its pincers. In one smooth motion, it spun around and slammed Spearow into the ground with a brutal thud. Austin's heart dropped. “Spearow!”

Spearow struggled to get back on his feet, his wings shaking as he tried to push himself up. Pinsir loomed over him, ready to finish him off.

Come on, think! Fury Attack wouldn’t be enough, and Leer would just be countered with another Harden. Austin had to try something else.

“Focus Energy!” Austin called, hoping for a critical hit. Spearow began to glow, focusing all his remaining energy.

“Finish it with Tackle!” Samurai ordered.

Austin clenched his fists, waiting for the right moment. Come on, wait for it… Pinsir charged, getting closer by the second. Now!

“Spearow, use your talons to jump back!” Austin shouted, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Then use the tree to spring forward with Peck!”

Spearow barely avoided the Tackle, kicking off a nearby tree and launching himself straight into Pinsir. His beak slammed into the beetle, knocking it over. The massive bug didn’t get back up.

Samurai’s eyes widened. “Pinsir!”

Austin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as he returned Spearow. He’d done enough for now.

“You’ve fought well,” Samurai admitted, pulling out his second Pokéball. “But you won’t win against my next Pokémon.”

Austin crossed his arms, already knowing what was coming. “Bring it.”

Out came a green cocoon-like Pokémon. “Metapod,” Samurai said proudly.

Austin nearly laughed. “A Metapod?”

Samurai smirked. “Do you fear him?”

“Not in the slightest.” Austin sent Rattata out, who gave him a look that said, ‘Really?’

“Quick Attack!” Austin called before Samurai could even react. Rattata shot forward, slamming into Metapod with lightning speed. The cocoon Pokémon cried out as it was knocked out almost immediately.

Samurai looked dumbfounded as he returned Metapod. “Well… you are a worthy opponent,” he admitted with a sigh. “I was hoping my Metapod would evolve in that battle.”

“You’re trying to get a Butterfree?” Austin asked, curious as Caterpie wiggled up to his shoulder, the battle now over.

Samurai’s eyes sparkled. “Yeah, it’s my dream to become a strong Bug-type Trainer. Ever since I saw an Elite Four member from Sinnoh with a team of Bug Pokémon.”

Aaron. The name clicked in Austin's head, and he nodded.

Samurai grinned. “Exactly! But all I have right now are Pinsir and Metapod.”

“Speaking of Pinsir,” Austin said, “where’d you get yours?”

“It was a gift from my father,” Samurai answered. Before Austin could say anything else, a scream echoed through the forest, interrupting their conversation.