Chapter 15

When Greta slowly opened her eyes, she felt the great headache. The bitter cold licked her whole body. Greta attempted to cover her arms around her chest to protect herself from the cold, but she realized that she could not move her arms.

“What is going on?” Greta became restive. She checked around herself, but she was unable to see anything. It was the night time, and her arms, as well as her legs, were tied to a tree. Since it was the night time, Greta could not tell where she was. But she was sure that she was still in Viridian Forest, as this place was particularly colder.

Greta checked around her, but her angle could not be expanded much. The ropes that tied her to the tree were really tight. Her arms were even hurting.

“Are you awake, Greta?” She heard. Greta attempted to look around her to see the owner of the voice, but it was impossible. She was familiar with the voice, however, due to the different accent the owner was using.

“Where are you, Eusine?” Greta asked. She struggled to get through the ropes, but it did not help.

“Behind you.” Eusine said. “We are tied to the same tree. But I can’t move a muscle. The ropes are so tight.” Greta nodded despite Eusine did not see that.

“You are right.” Greta said. “Same for me.” Then she asked the question that she was not sure if she would like to know the answer. “Do you know how we ended up here?” She asked.

“What do you remember last?” Eusine responded with another question. Greta thought through it. What would she remember last indeed?

“I remember we were in Viridian Forest... I mean, that Parasect appeared with a pack. Right?” Greta wanted to be sure. “Do you remember anything else?”

“Nope.” Eusine answered shortly. “Pretty much the same thing. That means the Parasect pact brought us out here, and tied to the trees.”

“Then, we must be still in Viridian Forest.” Greta said. “Those creatures can’t carry us a long distance. Not to mention, I am very* cold.”

“I was thinking the same.” Eusine said. “If only I could reach to Haunter’s Ultra Ball. He could deal with the whole pack, but also save us from this place.”

Greta checked around to see her bag. The bag was a bit far away from her, standing on the grasses. “If I reach to my bag, I can call out my Pokémon.” She said. She tried to reach her leg to the bag, but the distance was just slightly long to be reached.

“Can you see my backpack?” Eusine asked. Greta looked around, and saw his backpack lying a bit farther away. “I can.” Greta said. Right at that moment, the bushes began to rustle.

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A Parasect came forth, but that was a different one than the Parasect declared war in the first place. The Parasect walked through Greta fast. It made sense at the moment. The Parasect pack was behind a revenge and could not let go. When she came close enough, Greta attempted to have a conversation. She wanted to tell that they had gone too far, and it was not necessary to make it that big deal, but before she got a chance to say anything, Parasect used a spore move. The only thing Greta could do was scream before being paralyzed.

“What happened Greta?” Eusine responded. He was worried about her and himself. But Greta did not say anything. Eusine could not understand until Parasect stood in front of him and used the same move.

“That’s Stun Spore.” Eusine thought. “We will be paralyzed, and won’t be able to speak for the first hour, but then our bodies will slowly cure themselves.” Then he felt his muscles relaxed and he just closed his eyes.

For the next couple of hours, Greta or Eusine never attempted to talk to each other, instead they waited for the spore’s effect to go down. It was almost like an unspoken agreement between each other. In the meantime, three Parasect kept watch on the two to prevent in case Greta or Eusine attempted to escape or anything else crazy.

As the time passed, Greta and Eusine found themselves at the later hours of the night. Greta felt like all the energy she had was being drawn from her toes. She wished to take a painkiller. Also, she had not eaten anything all day long. A piece of bread and a bottle of water could be just fine for her. Weirdly enough, whenever she or Eusine tried to get some sleep, one of the Parasect would appear before them and wake them up by using another Scratch on their bodies. In a moment, Greta came too close to cry. “I can’t take this pain anymore, Eusine...” She said softly. She always thought it would be the best for her to prepare to the worst, but she never imagined something like this.

“I don’t get what they want from us.” She said. “If they want to hurt us, why don’t they do it already? If they want us to do something, why don’t they ask now? I just want to go back, be with my Pokémon, find Red...”

“You will.” Eusine said. “Of course, they keep us here for some reason. Maybe this is just not the time. Hang in there, Greta. We will make it.”

For some reason, Greta trusted Eusine. She would trust in him for anything he said.

The Parasect that kept the watch lost the attention on Greta and Eusine after hours. They lied on the grasses and enjoyed the cold breeze going through in the dark of the night. Greta and Eusine were so tired, hungry and thirsty that no one bothered to talk. The effect of the spore had passed almost entirely, but it would not mean anything. They were tied so tight that they were almost in the effect of the spore all the time. Greta stopped struggling through the rope, as the more she did, the more her hands hurt.

Taking advantage of the situation, once again Greta tried to reach her bag. The distance was so close that it pissed Greta off much more than it would piss her off if it was too far away. She knew she only needed a bit more of something to reach there. Suddenly, an idea popped up in her head. She took off one of her shoes, and controlled the shoe by using her foot. She finally reached to the fastener of her bag.

Her heart was beating so hard that it was almost going to explode. She slowly, but decidedly, pulled her bag towards herself. If, by any chance, she missed the fastener, she could not get there again. After pulling it for slightly less than a meter, she finally had the full control on it. She pulled the bag close enough to pull out anything she needed.

She dug the inside of the bag by using her foot. Eventually, she grabbed a Poké Ball and took it out. That was Nidoran’s Poké Ball.

“Just what I need!” She thought. Her heartbeats felt like they could be heard by miles away. Greta pushed the button on the Poké Ball with her foot, and the Pokémon came out of it. Nidoran was sleeping. She needed a moment to wake up and pull herself together.

“Nidoran, wake up!” Greta whispered. Nidoran opened her eyes, and looked at her trainer. Nidoran was shocked to see it out of nowhere, and struggled to believe the truthiness of the moment. Greta was tied to a tree with ropes, it was a cold night time, and she was about to be requested to do something.

“Be quiet, Nidoran!” Greta said softly. “Please, bite the ropes and free me. Can you do that?”

Nidoran nodded her head, ran to the rope and began to gnaw the ropes. The ties were so tight that Nidoran sometimes hurt Greta’s wrists. Greta decided to ignore all the pain, as it was the best solution at the moment. The whole time, the only thing she could think of was, How I ended up in a place like this?*

Greta was distracted when she heard a rustle by the bushes. “Parasect are coming!” Eusine said quickly. Greta turned her head to Nidoran as much as possible, and softly spoke to her. “Hide yourself, Nidoran.” She said. “Parasect won’t let you do anything.”

Nidoran stopped gnawing the rope. She turned her back and ran to the bushes, until the rope tangled her feet and dropped her to the ground. She tried to pull herself together, get rid of the rope and hide behind the bushes. But as she tried to do all of them at once, she failed horribly. It took only seconds for Parasect to spot her. Outraged, the Parasect leading the other two quickly walked through her and pushed her to the front.

“Don’t hurt her!” Greta said. She tried to sound as calm as possible, but watching her Pokémon hurt while she is tied up like that would be the worst thing to happen to her. Parasect did not harm Nidoran, instead he pushed her closer to the Poké Ball, and put his claws on it.

“Do you want her to go in her Poké Ball?” Greta asked. Parasect nodded his head. Greta felt relieved as soon as she got that Parasect had no intention to hurt Nidoran. “She will.” Greta said calmly. Then, she turned to her Pokémon. “Go in your Poké Ball, Nidoran.” She said softly. But Nidoran insisted on not going back. She could not leave her beloved trainer out there like that when she needed her.

“I will figure out a way, Nidoran.” Greta said. “But if you don’t go in your Poké Ball, they will harm you for no reason. Please, rest in your Poké Ball, and be there when I truly need you. Can you do that for me?”

Eusine was indeed impressed by how Greta handled with the situation. Nidoran, despite she did not want to do that even a bit, nodded her head and pushed the button on her Poké Ball before it absorbed the Pokémon inside of itself. Greta felt better as Nidoran disappeared and made sure she would be safe.

It became much harder for Greta and Eusine to keep awake in the later hours. They were exhausted. Every time Greta was forced to stay up, she felt like her energy of life was being drawn by someone. She had desires such as getting to know more about Pokémon, but Parasect would remain as a phobia after that point. She could not hold it anymore. Suddenly, she began to cry. First, she was careful to keep it silent. But after seconds, it was impossible to do that. She just cried as she wished, not thinking about literally anything. Eusine thought of saying something to calm her down, but even he could not end up with anything. Instead, he only let Greta out what she had inside. It was a stressful night for everyone, definitely. Eusine knew it.

While Greta was still crying, one of the Parasect walked through her. This time, it was not for any harm, but compassion. Parasect showed a cherry to Greta. He was shaking it in the air. Greta was not sure what Parasect was up to.

“What are you trying to do?” She asked curiously. She forgot about crying already. Parasect rolled the cherry between his claws. Eventually, he gave it to Greta, put it too close to her mouth.

“Are you trying to give it to me?” Greta asked, surprised. She expected Parasect to do many things to her, but giving food after hours and hours of starving and thirst, present of a nice fruit was definitely not on the list.

“Thank you...” Greta said softly, while she ate the little cherry. It was not venomous or bitter. It was just a simple, nice fruit. Greta could not help it, but smiled at Parasect. Parasect had the same reaction to her.

“What is going on?” Eusine asked. When his question came through her ears and brain, Greta suddenly returned to the real world. She was then* shocked and got a chance to realize how unexpected move it was from Parasect.

“Parasect just gave me a food, Eusine...” Greta said. Eusine suddenly yelled. He sounded worried for sure. “Do not eat anything they give to you, Greta! I mean it!”

“But it’s too late, Eusine...” Greta said again. She was so calm that she sounded almost numb. “...and don’t worry, please... Nothing is going to happen...”

The only reason she was speaking that motionless was because she felt love and care in Parasect’s hypnotized, empty eyes. Even the fact of Pokédex that Parasect are completely under the control of their mushrooms, they still had their brains. They were still able to think, question and respond. But they were unable to put it in action for most of the time. Greta was not aware of how weird it was at the time, but she felt the same compassion and sadness for Parasect as he felt for her.

“I wish you could be yourself, Parasect...” She said with the same motionless tone. “You are better than this.”

But suddenly, a noise distracted everyone. It came from behind Greta, from the direction at which Eusine was looking. Parasect quickly left Greta, walked through grasses and met the other two Parasect. All the Parasect and Eusine were carefully watching the trees. They were so silent that Eusine knew for sure Parasect were expecting something bad to happen. The silence was broken when Greta spoke.

“What is happening over there?” She said. Unlike before, Greta was so worried. Her voice was even louder than ever. Eusine’s silence made her even more worried. “Talk to me!” She said.

“I am trying to figure out, Greta.” Eusine said. Something bad was about to happen, but Eusine had no idea what it was. Not knowing what to expect made Eusine even more pissed off.

All of a sudden, the sound of buzzing came closer to them. Eusine was afraid to face it, but he exactly knew what was to come. He attempted to cover his face with his hands, but because they were tied, he only could keep moving his face all around. In the meantime, Parasect got ready to protect themselves. They showed their sharp claws to the darkness. The other Parasect appeared from the bushes, and gathered around.

“Eusine...” Greta said again. She was desperately expecting a news that was not that bad*. But her hope for it to come true decreased every second.

“I think, Greta...” Eusine said. He took a moment to say it out loud, but he was finally ready. “...We are under attack of a pack of wild Beedrill.”

“But we didn’t do anything ever since, did we?!” Greta shouted out. Her voice was so loud that it disturbed all the Pokémon around. One of the Parasect came closer to her and used Stun Spore on her. Greta was once again in the effect of being paralyzed.

When Beedrill pack appeared from the trees in the darkness of the night, they gathered around Parasect and attacked them. Each Parasect had at least three Beedrill to deal with. Not only Parasect’s Slash move was unreachable to the Pokémon floating in the air, but also, they were extremely weak to Beedrill’s direct hits of Twineedle.

Eusine watched the war between the two in a shock. He knew the Pokémon in nature could be naturally enemies, and they may end up having battles against each other, but that was one of the rare times he saw one of those tough battles in person. Parasect were doing their best to protect themselves, while Beedrill had almost all the advantage over them. Their Twineedle attack occasionally poisoned the Parasect, which made them step back at times.

“Greta...” Eusine said. “This is interesting. Parasect pack knew that Beedrill would come up to battle them soon or later.”

“How is this interesting?” Greta asked. She was lost in the view of all the Pokémon battling.

“They kept a watch on us, they waited for them at the same time. I am not sure what is exactly going on, but there is something fishy going on. They did not let us sleep for a particular reason, I believe.”

“Whatever it is, we have to find a way to get out of this place, Eusine!” Greta said. “I don’t want to be attacked by those wild Pokémon on my face.”

“Just stand still and don’t get much attention on yourself.” Eusine said. “Even better if we don’t speak at all for a while.”

“Okay...” Greta answered softly. She was careful to not move even a muscle, although it was too hard for her to move either way. She tried to watch the battle between the two sides at first, but then she came to conclusion that her small heart could not take it anymore. She closed her eyes, turned her head and pretended she was trying to sleep.

Eventually, Parasect were too close to lose the battle for good. Eusine realized that Beedrill got even more outnumbered over the time, and most of Parasect were poisoned, stepped back or walked away. Only a bunch of Parasect were trying, but even they seemed to be desperate about it.

The leader of the Parasect pack, the one who attacked Greta and Eusine walked through Greta and Eusine. Both trainers looked at the Pokémon on the grasses, desperately looking at them. Parasect quickly grabbed the trainers’ bags and brought them closer. He then took the Poké Balls and put them on the ground. Eusine and Greta were looking at their Poké Balls.

Parasect put his claw on one of Poké Ball’s button. He was trying to say something, apparently. Greta tried to figure it out, but she could not get the point.

“What do you want from our Pokémon?” She asked. “I won’t let you hurt them! Do you understand me? If you do anything to my Pokémon, I swear, once I get out of those ropes, I will make you pay for it!”

“Greta...” Eusine said softly. “If I am not mistaken, Parasect wants our Pokémon to fight for them.” He said. Parasect looked at Eusine, and nodded his head. Eusine was right. Parasect needed their trained Pokémon to fight for them. But the question was, would Greta and Eusine agree with it?

Before they had a chance to say anything, the bushes rumbled once again, and suddenly people appeared before them.

Greta cried out with the hope in her heart. “Please sir, help us!” She said. “Those Pokémon tied us here, we can’t do anything! Please, help us!”

Eusine suddenly snarled. “Shout it, Greta!” He said. He sounded so angry and determined that Greta was startled. What did I do wrong*, she thought. She only wanted to free themselves, and the people could do it. But Eusine knew something.

A man with a dark skin in a red suit was talking to the others. It was clear that the man was the leader of the others. “Collect them all!” He ordered. All the other people gathered around Parasect and they began to inject needles on the mushrooms of Parasect. In the meantime, the man in the red suit was watching around with his Pokémon.

“This is the most fertile area to collect those spores, Exeggutor.” He said with a pleasant smile on his face. At that very moment, it hit Eusine like a thunder. He solved the whole situation, what exactly was going on, why they were kept there all day, and were not allowed to sleep.

“Listen to me, Greta.” Eusine said softly. He was trying to not gather attention on him. He tried to speak as silent as possible. Greta gave ear to him, solely.

“Those people are poachers.” Eusine began to explain. “They have been after Parasect for a while now, because Parasect somehow knew that they were going to be attacked tonight. The poachers work with the Beedrill pack. Since Parasect and Beedrill are already enemies, if Parasect disappear, their home range could be only extended. Which is why, they are working for each other.”

“What are they poaching exactly?” Greta asked.

“The spores on Parasect.” Eusine said. “They have a healing effect in medicines. Therefore, the medicine companies collect the spores from Parasect for essential medicines. These guys are probably selling the spores in black market for enormous prices.”

“This is horrible!” Greta could only respond.

“I believe, the Parasect did not come after us for any revenge intention. They needed trainers to cover their back for them, which is why they captured us here. So, when the time comes, we could use our Pokémon to protect them.”

“I think this is the time.” Greta said. “But what will we do now? Do you think we should let our Pokémon fight for them?”

“I think that would be the right thing to do.” Eusine said. “I was mad at Parasect for everything they have done to us, but they were desperate. They had to use something to save their lives. If Parasect can’t synthesise spore in time, they would die. And in this season of the year, they can’t do that. It is the spring time that they are able to synthesise quickly, and that is the only time of the year that companies are allowed to collect spore from Parasect.”

The leader of the Parasect pack came closer to them. Greta and Eusine nodded their heads. “We will help you, Parasect.” Greta said. All of a sudden, Parasect used his claw to cut off the ropes. Greta and Eusine were freed once again.

Greta chafed her wrists. They were numb after long hours, but she knew she should had been thankful that they were still attached to her body.

She quickly grabbed the Poké Balls on the ground, and threw them to call out her Pokémon. “Nidoran, Caterpie, come out!” She said. In the meantime, Eusine grabbed his Poké Ball and threw it. “Haunter, it’s your turn too!” He said.

The three Pokémon appeared on the ground. But the leader of the poachers appeared with his Pokémon before them.

“What is your deal?” He asked. He did not sound any pleasant.

“We won’t let you abuse Parasect like that!” Greta responded. Eusine was standing right next to her.

The poacher could not help but laugh. “You, two naïve trainers, are going to stop a professional poacher Gabor?” He kept laughing. His Pokémon Exeggutor joined him. Greta scanned the Pokémon by using her Pokédex.

Greta did not lose any second. “Nidoran, use Double Kick!” She ordered. Nidoran ran to the giant body of the Pokémon. But before she made her move, Gabor stepped forward and ordered counter attack.

“Deal with her, Psychic!” He said. Exeggutor’s weirdly smiling heads suddenly had glowing pink eyes. Then Exeggutor controlled Nidoran’s body, as he turned her back and pushed to a tree. Nidoran hit the body of the tree so hard that her nose began to bleed.

“Nidoran!” Greta responded as she ran to her Pokémon.

Eusine stepped forward. “Enough already.” He said and turned to his Haunter. “Use Hypnosis!” He ordered.

Haunter’s eyes glowed pink in the same way as he started to use his move. Gabor laughed once again. “Are you trying to deal with me by using Psychic type move? I am expert at Psychic types, how dare you?!”

Suddenly the laugh turned into an anger. “Your ghost type Pokémon has no chance before mine! Exeggutor, use Psychic again!” He ordered. Exeggutor repeated the same move and threw Haunter in the air. Haunter hit the ground but he was super effected. Eusine had no chance but to call his Pokémon back.

Gabor laughed once again. “It is funny that you truly consider you could deal with me. My life has passed dealing with much tougher trainers ever since!”

“This battle is not over yet, Gabor.” Greta said. Eusine knew for sure that he never saw Greta that angry, even when she was tied to the tree.

“I won’t tolerate anyone who hurts my Pokémon.” Greta said emphatically. Caterpie was standing before her trainer. Gabor clearly found it funny that Greta believed that she could defeat the giant Exeggutor by using Caterpie.

“Is this your best weapon now?” Gabor asked. “A tiny, incapable Caterpie?”

“To think about it, Gabor, Caterpie is a Bug type Pokémon, which is strong against Psychic type moves. You can’t hurt her as you hurt Nidoran or Haunter.”

“Let’s give it a try!” Gabor said. “Exeggutor, use Psychic!”

“String Shot, Caterpie!” Greta quickly responded. As Exeggutor’s eyes glowed, Caterpie threw a body of string towards him. The strings covered all the ground and Exeggutor’s legs, which distracted him and caused the move to miss.

“Tackle now!” Greta said right after. Caterpie ran to her opponent and used Tackle on him. Exeggutor stumbled, but stood still.

“Fine, I will play in your style!” Gabor responded. “Use Stomp now!” He ordered then. Exeggutor ran to Caterpie, but Greta knew she had the advantage to attack first.

“Tackle once more!” She said.

Caterpie ran to Exeggutor as he ran to her. When they met in the middle, Caterpie aimed on Exeggutor’s stomach, and used Tackle. Exeggutor was super effected, as he felt the pain on his stomach and stopped running.

“That’s a direct hit!” Eusine said. “Keep it going, Greta!”

Greta stepped forward. “Another Tackle!” She ordered. Caterpie used Tackle on Exeggutor’s stomach with body and soul. The move hit directly and hard enough to knock out the Pokémon.

“What is this about?!” Gabor responded. “How could a tiny, weak Pokémon such as Caterpie defeats my well trained, strong Pokémon?”

“This is not all about size and power, Gabor.” Eusine said. “It is also about the belief and purpose. It was a matter of honour for Caterpie to defeat your Pokémon after all your disdain for her.”

“That’s nonsense!” Gabor said. “It was just luck! You wouldn’t have the same odds for a second time, and you know that!”

That result gave all the Parasect hope and belief that they could truly come through whatever it was over them. Parasect found the courage and power to attack all the Beedrill and poachers. Greta showed the Parasect to Caterpie. “That is all because of you, Caterpie.” She said. Caterpie was proud of her job. Suddenly, she began to glow bright. Greta scared and stepped back.

“What is this about?” She asked, watching her shocked. Eusine put his hand on Greta’s shoulder with a gentle smile on his face. “She is evolving.” He said.

After seconds, Caterpie’s body became hard as a stone, as she surrendered to transform into a cocoon. Once her evolution process was completed, she stopped glowing and lied on the ground in her new form. Greta was witnessing an evolution for the first time. She almost cried.

“That’s a Metapod.” Eusine said while Greta scanned the Pokémon with her Pokédex.

Greta could not say or do anything. She just looked at the Pokédex for a while, then looked at her Pokémon, her first evolved Pokémon. Her eyes were almost sparkling with proud.

The Parasect pack, even those who were poisoned, were battling the Beedrill pack. They were resisting and struggling for their spores. The poachers used their most powerful Pokémon to stop the pack, but Parasect were so determined that even the poachers and their Pokémon had to step back.

Greta hugged Metapod and carefully watched after her to prevent any damage. In the meantime, the poachers were forced to call their Pokémon back. Gabor was so outraged that he tried to use his Exeggutor to attack other Pokémon, but Exeggutor was already out of energy. Beedrill were startled by Parasect as they never saw this species that aggressive. Eventually, all the poachers and the Beedrill pack stepped back, withdrew from the battle and fled.

“They did it!” Eusine said. “Parasect are safe now!” He did not expect that, but Eusine was happy for them. However, even though they won the battle, the Parasect pack was damaged very seriously. Most of them were poisoned, tired and fainted.

Greta turned her back and saw the sunrise. She thought it was probably one of the rare points in the forest which would allow someone to see the sunrise, as all the trees were covering the forest all around. The first blue lights of the sun reflected on Greta’s eyes, as she stared at the horizon and enjoyed the moment. But then, Eusine interrupted the short peaceful moment of her.

“I have an idea, Greta.” He said. “You stay here and prepare antidote as much as you can. I will grab one and take it to Redwald and Eevee. But you prepare more for the Parasect. As soon as I find Redwald and Eevee, and take them back here, we will deal with the pack. Can you do that?”

Greta thought a long sleep would be the only thing she could do at the time, but she could not leave the pack like that and sleep. She had no choice but to accept what Eusine asked for. She looked at Metapod once more. “You give me the courage to stand it all...” She said softly with a smile on her face. Metapod could not respond it in any possible way. The only thing she could do was stare at her trainer. But Greta knew when the time comes, she would witness the proud and happiness on her Pokémon’s face.

Humans

 * Greta Parker
 * Eusine Hunter
 * Redwald Walker (mentioned)
 * Gabor
 * Other Poachers

Pokémon

 * (mentioned)
 * Gabor's Exeggutor
 * Wild Parasect (pack)
 * Wild Beedrill (pack)
 * Other Poachers' Pokémon
 * Wild Parasect (pack)
 * Wild Beedrill (pack)
 * Other Poachers' Pokémon