FactoriesFarAway
Youngster
- 71
- Posts
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- Years
- she/her
- UK
- Seen Mar 2, 2025
I decided to write a fan-fiction based on my bug monotype challenge, obviously with some embellishments and drama to make it more interesting. I just really have grown to like the bug type in doing that challenge and I feel I needed to represent my character's growth and journey in some way, and a fan-fiction felt ideal.
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Chapter 1 - The Elderly Professor's Request
I always lived in the lush green town of Viridian. As much as I loved it here and adored the quaintness it had to offer, I longed to know what was beyond this town. Beyond this region, even. The only thing holding me back, was everyone around me telling me I was wrong. It nibbled on every inch of my confidence.
Growing up in Viridian, I spent my youth playing in the forest. My mother was constantly terrified I'd get lost or get stung by a Weedle, and she'd throw a tantrum if I ever brought a bug Pokemon back home. But I couldn't help but grow attached to them, nonetheless. There was just something about them, that they were so often overlooked or seen as worthless because they're weak and vulnerable. There were other bug-catching kids in my area who played with and battled bugs for fun, but I saw more in them than that. I felt they had potential to be amazing creatures. Maybe not Caterpie or Weedle, but beyond the constraints of this small town. I knew in my heart, out there, there had to be powerful bugs capable of slaying dragons and all kinds of feats no one in this town could ever dream of.
Besides, no matter how weak Caterpie and Weedle are, I still loved them with all my heart. As soon as I got my first Pokeballs, they were the only two Pokemon I caught out of my potential party of 6, and I kept them with me as pets much to my mother's dismay, until that one fateful encounter.
I was playing in the woods with my Pokemon one afternoon, when a spiky haired boy came up to me. "You're never going to get anywhere with such weak Pokemon, why don't you catch something actually good?" he spoke to me.
"I-I'm not really a Pokemon trainer. These are my friends and pets." I shyly responded.
"Pathetic," He spat, "What use are Pokemon if you're not going to battle with them?"
"I-I'd be perfectly capable at battling if I tried, thank you very much!" I hastily replied without much thought. It's true that I wanted to be a trainer, but I wasn't sure how, and I'd never tried before.
The boy smirked. "Then why don't you show me what you're capable of. Go, Charmander!"
Welp. I knew that I was going to be in bad position as soon as I said that, but this was a particularly terrible one. I'd seen trainers coming in and out of Pallet Town with this fire-breathing lizard, destroying every bug in its path, but I had to at least try after my cocky words.
"Go, Weedle!" I called, sending out the toxic worm Pokemon.
"Ember." The boy ordered his Pokemon smugly. The Pokemon spat a flame out of its mouth, burning my worm to smithereens.
"This is cruel. Stop." I pleaded.
The boy chuckled, "You were the one who wanted this. So you better send out that other worm of yours." I reluctantly sent out my Caterpie, who unfortunately met the same fate.
"I hope this proves to you that your bugs are a dime a dozen and you're no different from any of these lame bug catchers here. Call your Pokemon friends or pets all you want, but it doesn't change that." He turned his back on me and walked away, calling his Pokemon back to its ball. "Smell ya later, loser."
I rushed my Pokemon to the Pokemon Center, and it was upon giving them my Pokemon to be healed that I met him. Behind me was an elderly man in a lab coat.
"I saw that battle, young lady," The man spoke to me, "You-"
I sighed, interrupting him, "I was pathetic, just like he said. You don't have to tell me too."
"No. I was going to say you shouldn't listen to him. That's my grandson, and he's just as naïve and inexperienced as you are. You should use whatever Pokemon you want. As a Pokemon professor, I can tell you right now that every Pokemon and every type has potential, you just need to go and find it." The man said to me, oddly being stern and caring at the same time.
"You really think so?" I questioned.
"Yes I do, and I also think you have the capacity to become an amazing trainer, whether or not you choose to continue raising Caterpie or Weedle, or whether you move on to something else altogether, and you shouldn't let what everyone else thinks get you down. In fact, I have a deal for you."
"Oh?"
"Yes. If you successfully beat the gym leader of Pewter City, the next town over from here, and obtain the Boulder Badge, I'll entrust you with something of mine. Just come back to my lab in Pallet once you're done." He smiled at me, then headed out of the Pokemon Center door.
I'd heard of gym leaders and the gym challenge, but I'd never ventured out of this town. I didn't want to worry my mum, and admittedly I was scared what was beyond here myself. But I feel this was the first time where I felt I had to leave here, and couldn't just continue wishing and longing instead. Pewter City's gym leader though, what was he going to be like?
Before I set off, I stopped back at home to get my things, and spoke to my mum, "Hey, I'm going to go train in Viridian Forest. I met with a man, uhm, a professor from Pallet Town, and he said he'd give me something if I beat the Pewter City gym leader."
"Oh, honey, that's great but…" My mum paused, and had an unsure look on her face, "Y-you're going to catch another Pokemon before you do it, right? You can get Mankey around here."
"Uh, no, why?" I looked at her puzzled.
She sighed and bit her lip, "The leader of Pewter is a ro—Actually, you know what, I'll let you see for yourself. Experiencing is always better than being told."
"Oh, okay then?" Confused, I walked out of the house, looking for people to battle to start off my day.
My mum tossed me a packed lunch through the door, "At least eat if you're going to be playing out all day." She smiled at me warmly as I walked off.
There were a lot of kids in the forest up for bug-on-bug battles, which mostly consisted of just Tackles and Poison Stings, and after an afternoon of battling, I noticed some odd behaviour from my Caterpie. She shone brightly, glowing beneath the shade of the deep green trees. I saw her shift form to a more rigid state, before the glowing stopped. Caterpie was no longer Caterpie, but rather another Pokemon I'd seen amongst the forest, Metapod. Whilst I knew Caterpie evolved into Metapod, I'd never seen an evolution with my own eyes until now.
I immediately noticed something strange about my Metapod in particular though. Every other Metapod I'd seen owned by a bug catcher in these parts didn't know Tackle, or rather, I never saw them using it, but upon command, just like it did when it was a Caterpie, it would Tackle as I said.
After asking around, it seemed most bug catchers caught wild Metapod, whom for some reason couldn't use or learn to tackle. Only ones raised as a Caterpie could. This gave me an inherent advantage over all my bug catcher friends – my Pokemon had both stronger stats and the ability to attack.
Later in the evening, my Weedle evolved into his secondary form, Kakuna, and he was similar to Metapod in a lot of ways – stiff rigged body, and could attack despite other Kakuna's inability to. I figured it was odd for two Pokemon to evolve on the same day, but I didn't question it, and instead headed home with plans to take on the gym trainer tomorrow.
After a great night's sleep, I made my way towards Pewter City, saying goodbye to my mother on the way out of the house. Admittedly, I wasn't entirely sure how to get to Pewter, but I'd heard it wasn't far. The forest was a winding path, but with the help of some of the other children giving directions, I found the place in the matter of half an hour or so.
Stepping into Pewter for the first time was when the realisation that there was so many wonderful things beyond what I knew in my humble home town truly kicked in. The aesthetics of Pewter were entirely different to what I was used to, with rocky mountainous scenery surrounding the area. At the same time, the place wasn't without familiarity. It had a Pokemon Center and a Mart, much like my home town, and the architecture wasn't much, if any, different to what I was used to. I looked around and didn't find the gym, but instead, a huge building. This building was bigger than anything I'd ever seen, and I stared at it with eyes wide open until I felt a tap on my shoulder.
A young boy around my age in a cap and shorts was behind me, "I can see you're pretty mesmerised by this. This is the museum. We can look around together if you like? I've seen it a million times but... it's always better with other people." He grinned at me with his eyes closed.
"And you are…?" I asked him.
"Oh, I'm Calvin, but most people around these parts call me 'that youngster over there'." He laughed to himself. "I'm a Pokemon trainer, what about you?"
"Same, but I'm kind of a newbie." I shyly tried to laugh along with him, "I'm Amelia, and I'm a bug type trainer."
"Ah, it's not like I'm experienced or anything. It's just me and my Spearow, but I'm happy that way." Hearing Calvin say that really made me think for a second. This was such a different perspective from the boy yesterday. Could any Pokemon be your friend and ally in battle, no matter how weak they're perceived by everyone else?
I smiled at Calvin. "You know what, I'll take you up on your offer. Let's look through the Museum together."
Inside the Museum was all kinds of Pokemon-related artifacts. Fossils of long extinct Pokemon, special space rocks that evolved others. It made me wonder if I'd ever discover these kinds of things myself. There was an exhibit on the Lunar Landing too, but… I didn't see myself going to the moon any time soon. The content of this museum was like a whole other world I'd never experienced. My life in Viridian was so sheltered comparatively.
"Hey, so, do you know where the gym is?" I asked Calvin as we left the museum together.
"Yeah, it's just around the corner, I can take you. But bear in mind, Brock is tough! I've never beaten him." He said, grabbing my hand and leading me in a direction.
Just down the walkway, it was there. This wasn't my first time seeing a gym, as there was one in my town, but I was always told it was abandoned, so this would be my first time actually entering one.
"I'll leave you here then," The youngster smiled at me with his cheesy grin, "I'll be on route 3 if you ever want to battle." We both waved farewell, and I took a deep breath as I stepped into the gym.
Immediately, the fluorescent gym lights shone upon my entrance. It was almost painful how bright they were. Upon a pedestal at the end of the room, stood an olive-skinned young adult in cargo pants and a jacket. His brunette hair stood on ends as if he'd been electrified by a Pikachu, and his bushy eyebrows looked bizarre above his small eyes.
"I'm Brock, gym leader of Pewter City," he spoke in a somewhat deep, rough voice. "Are you another gym challenger?"
"Y-yes…" I tried to respond, timid as I was.
"The rules are simple. I have two Pokemon. You can use as many as you want out of your 6 potential party members. If you knock out both of my Pokemon, you win, and receive my Boulder Badge and my TM. If I beat yours, you lose. No gimmicks allowed, you have to beat me fair and square to obtain this badge. Are you ready to start?"
"Uhm, I think so." I muttered despite my clear nervousness.
Brock smirked, and sent out a Pokemon I'd never seen before. A rock with arms. Nothing like that was available around the Viridian area, to my knowledge. "Go, Geodude! And your Pokemon of choice, young lady?"
"Go, Metapod!" Calling her name, I threw my Pokeball onto the field. I swear I saw Brock slightly roll his eyes at me when I did.
I quickly realise that upon commanding my Metapod to Tackle, she… was barely hurting his Pokemon.
"You do realise my Geodude, a rock Pokemon, resists Tackle, a normal type move, right?" Brock questioned.
"Uhm, no…" Covering my face in embarrassment, I spat out a reply as fast as I could, "I'm new to this."
Brock smiled a clearly sympathetic, but forced smile, "Look, I've seen dozens of trainers just like you stumble in here making the same mistake. I'm not going to punish you by knocking out all of your Pokemon. Just… Leave, and don't come back until you know how to deal with my Pokemon. Ask around, train up. But you're not ready yet."
Despite knowing Brock was right, I had to hold back tears. I wasn't going to let this hold me back though, and whilst it was getting late, and I needed to head back home, I knew better things would come of tomorrow.
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Chapter 1 - The Elderly Professor's Request
I always lived in the lush green town of Viridian. As much as I loved it here and adored the quaintness it had to offer, I longed to know what was beyond this town. Beyond this region, even. The only thing holding me back, was everyone around me telling me I was wrong. It nibbled on every inch of my confidence.
Growing up in Viridian, I spent my youth playing in the forest. My mother was constantly terrified I'd get lost or get stung by a Weedle, and she'd throw a tantrum if I ever brought a bug Pokemon back home. But I couldn't help but grow attached to them, nonetheless. There was just something about them, that they were so often overlooked or seen as worthless because they're weak and vulnerable. There were other bug-catching kids in my area who played with and battled bugs for fun, but I saw more in them than that. I felt they had potential to be amazing creatures. Maybe not Caterpie or Weedle, but beyond the constraints of this small town. I knew in my heart, out there, there had to be powerful bugs capable of slaying dragons and all kinds of feats no one in this town could ever dream of.
Besides, no matter how weak Caterpie and Weedle are, I still loved them with all my heart. As soon as I got my first Pokeballs, they were the only two Pokemon I caught out of my potential party of 6, and I kept them with me as pets much to my mother's dismay, until that one fateful encounter.
I was playing in the woods with my Pokemon one afternoon, when a spiky haired boy came up to me. "You're never going to get anywhere with such weak Pokemon, why don't you catch something actually good?" he spoke to me.
"I-I'm not really a Pokemon trainer. These are my friends and pets." I shyly responded.
"Pathetic," He spat, "What use are Pokemon if you're not going to battle with them?"
"I-I'd be perfectly capable at battling if I tried, thank you very much!" I hastily replied without much thought. It's true that I wanted to be a trainer, but I wasn't sure how, and I'd never tried before.
The boy smirked. "Then why don't you show me what you're capable of. Go, Charmander!"
Welp. I knew that I was going to be in bad position as soon as I said that, but this was a particularly terrible one. I'd seen trainers coming in and out of Pallet Town with this fire-breathing lizard, destroying every bug in its path, but I had to at least try after my cocky words.
"Go, Weedle!" I called, sending out the toxic worm Pokemon.
"Ember." The boy ordered his Pokemon smugly. The Pokemon spat a flame out of its mouth, burning my worm to smithereens.
"This is cruel. Stop." I pleaded.
The boy chuckled, "You were the one who wanted this. So you better send out that other worm of yours." I reluctantly sent out my Caterpie, who unfortunately met the same fate.
"I hope this proves to you that your bugs are a dime a dozen and you're no different from any of these lame bug catchers here. Call your Pokemon friends or pets all you want, but it doesn't change that." He turned his back on me and walked away, calling his Pokemon back to its ball. "Smell ya later, loser."
I rushed my Pokemon to the Pokemon Center, and it was upon giving them my Pokemon to be healed that I met him. Behind me was an elderly man in a lab coat.
"I saw that battle, young lady," The man spoke to me, "You-"
I sighed, interrupting him, "I was pathetic, just like he said. You don't have to tell me too."
"No. I was going to say you shouldn't listen to him. That's my grandson, and he's just as naïve and inexperienced as you are. You should use whatever Pokemon you want. As a Pokemon professor, I can tell you right now that every Pokemon and every type has potential, you just need to go and find it." The man said to me, oddly being stern and caring at the same time.
"You really think so?" I questioned.
"Yes I do, and I also think you have the capacity to become an amazing trainer, whether or not you choose to continue raising Caterpie or Weedle, or whether you move on to something else altogether, and you shouldn't let what everyone else thinks get you down. In fact, I have a deal for you."
"Oh?"
"Yes. If you successfully beat the gym leader of Pewter City, the next town over from here, and obtain the Boulder Badge, I'll entrust you with something of mine. Just come back to my lab in Pallet once you're done." He smiled at me, then headed out of the Pokemon Center door.
I'd heard of gym leaders and the gym challenge, but I'd never ventured out of this town. I didn't want to worry my mum, and admittedly I was scared what was beyond here myself. But I feel this was the first time where I felt I had to leave here, and couldn't just continue wishing and longing instead. Pewter City's gym leader though, what was he going to be like?
Before I set off, I stopped back at home to get my things, and spoke to my mum, "Hey, I'm going to go train in Viridian Forest. I met with a man, uhm, a professor from Pallet Town, and he said he'd give me something if I beat the Pewter City gym leader."
"Oh, honey, that's great but…" My mum paused, and had an unsure look on her face, "Y-you're going to catch another Pokemon before you do it, right? You can get Mankey around here."
"Uh, no, why?" I looked at her puzzled.
She sighed and bit her lip, "The leader of Pewter is a ro—Actually, you know what, I'll let you see for yourself. Experiencing is always better than being told."
"Oh, okay then?" Confused, I walked out of the house, looking for people to battle to start off my day.
My mum tossed me a packed lunch through the door, "At least eat if you're going to be playing out all day." She smiled at me warmly as I walked off.
There were a lot of kids in the forest up for bug-on-bug battles, which mostly consisted of just Tackles and Poison Stings, and after an afternoon of battling, I noticed some odd behaviour from my Caterpie. She shone brightly, glowing beneath the shade of the deep green trees. I saw her shift form to a more rigid state, before the glowing stopped. Caterpie was no longer Caterpie, but rather another Pokemon I'd seen amongst the forest, Metapod. Whilst I knew Caterpie evolved into Metapod, I'd never seen an evolution with my own eyes until now.
I immediately noticed something strange about my Metapod in particular though. Every other Metapod I'd seen owned by a bug catcher in these parts didn't know Tackle, or rather, I never saw them using it, but upon command, just like it did when it was a Caterpie, it would Tackle as I said.
After asking around, it seemed most bug catchers caught wild Metapod, whom for some reason couldn't use or learn to tackle. Only ones raised as a Caterpie could. This gave me an inherent advantage over all my bug catcher friends – my Pokemon had both stronger stats and the ability to attack.
Later in the evening, my Weedle evolved into his secondary form, Kakuna, and he was similar to Metapod in a lot of ways – stiff rigged body, and could attack despite other Kakuna's inability to. I figured it was odd for two Pokemon to evolve on the same day, but I didn't question it, and instead headed home with plans to take on the gym trainer tomorrow.
After a great night's sleep, I made my way towards Pewter City, saying goodbye to my mother on the way out of the house. Admittedly, I wasn't entirely sure how to get to Pewter, but I'd heard it wasn't far. The forest was a winding path, but with the help of some of the other children giving directions, I found the place in the matter of half an hour or so.
Stepping into Pewter for the first time was when the realisation that there was so many wonderful things beyond what I knew in my humble home town truly kicked in. The aesthetics of Pewter were entirely different to what I was used to, with rocky mountainous scenery surrounding the area. At the same time, the place wasn't without familiarity. It had a Pokemon Center and a Mart, much like my home town, and the architecture wasn't much, if any, different to what I was used to. I looked around and didn't find the gym, but instead, a huge building. This building was bigger than anything I'd ever seen, and I stared at it with eyes wide open until I felt a tap on my shoulder.
A young boy around my age in a cap and shorts was behind me, "I can see you're pretty mesmerised by this. This is the museum. We can look around together if you like? I've seen it a million times but... it's always better with other people." He grinned at me with his eyes closed.
"And you are…?" I asked him.
"Oh, I'm Calvin, but most people around these parts call me 'that youngster over there'." He laughed to himself. "I'm a Pokemon trainer, what about you?"
"Same, but I'm kind of a newbie." I shyly tried to laugh along with him, "I'm Amelia, and I'm a bug type trainer."
"Ah, it's not like I'm experienced or anything. It's just me and my Spearow, but I'm happy that way." Hearing Calvin say that really made me think for a second. This was such a different perspective from the boy yesterday. Could any Pokemon be your friend and ally in battle, no matter how weak they're perceived by everyone else?
I smiled at Calvin. "You know what, I'll take you up on your offer. Let's look through the Museum together."
Inside the Museum was all kinds of Pokemon-related artifacts. Fossils of long extinct Pokemon, special space rocks that evolved others. It made me wonder if I'd ever discover these kinds of things myself. There was an exhibit on the Lunar Landing too, but… I didn't see myself going to the moon any time soon. The content of this museum was like a whole other world I'd never experienced. My life in Viridian was so sheltered comparatively.
"Hey, so, do you know where the gym is?" I asked Calvin as we left the museum together.
"Yeah, it's just around the corner, I can take you. But bear in mind, Brock is tough! I've never beaten him." He said, grabbing my hand and leading me in a direction.
Just down the walkway, it was there. This wasn't my first time seeing a gym, as there was one in my town, but I was always told it was abandoned, so this would be my first time actually entering one.
"I'll leave you here then," The youngster smiled at me with his cheesy grin, "I'll be on route 3 if you ever want to battle." We both waved farewell, and I took a deep breath as I stepped into the gym.
Immediately, the fluorescent gym lights shone upon my entrance. It was almost painful how bright they were. Upon a pedestal at the end of the room, stood an olive-skinned young adult in cargo pants and a jacket. His brunette hair stood on ends as if he'd been electrified by a Pikachu, and his bushy eyebrows looked bizarre above his small eyes.
"I'm Brock, gym leader of Pewter City," he spoke in a somewhat deep, rough voice. "Are you another gym challenger?"
"Y-yes…" I tried to respond, timid as I was.
"The rules are simple. I have two Pokemon. You can use as many as you want out of your 6 potential party members. If you knock out both of my Pokemon, you win, and receive my Boulder Badge and my TM. If I beat yours, you lose. No gimmicks allowed, you have to beat me fair and square to obtain this badge. Are you ready to start?"
"Uhm, I think so." I muttered despite my clear nervousness.
Brock smirked, and sent out a Pokemon I'd never seen before. A rock with arms. Nothing like that was available around the Viridian area, to my knowledge. "Go, Geodude! And your Pokemon of choice, young lady?"
"Go, Metapod!" Calling her name, I threw my Pokeball onto the field. I swear I saw Brock slightly roll his eyes at me when I did.
I quickly realise that upon commanding my Metapod to Tackle, she… was barely hurting his Pokemon.
"You do realise my Geodude, a rock Pokemon, resists Tackle, a normal type move, right?" Brock questioned.
"Uhm, no…" Covering my face in embarrassment, I spat out a reply as fast as I could, "I'm new to this."
Brock smiled a clearly sympathetic, but forced smile, "Look, I've seen dozens of trainers just like you stumble in here making the same mistake. I'm not going to punish you by knocking out all of your Pokemon. Just… Leave, and don't come back until you know how to deal with my Pokemon. Ask around, train up. But you're not ready yet."
Despite knowing Brock was right, I had to hold back tears. I wasn't going to let this hold me back though, and whilst it was getting late, and I needed to head back home, I knew better things would come of tomorrow.
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