Chapter 33: If You Don’t Love, Please Don’t Hurt
(First update!! New book seeking collection, seeking flowers!)
“I… I didn’t hurt it… .”
Seeing Ash release the Caterpie, Misty immediately tensed up again, but she was a bit flustered after Ash's words, so she muttered with her hands behind her back.
“Pokémon also have feelings, you can’t talk to them like that.” Ash looked at the Caterpie in front of him and said calmly.
The Caterpie, having just been caught and still a bit dazed, looked up at Ash slightly when it heard Ash's words, its round black eyes trembling slightly as if touched.
“Caterpie, please give me your guidance from now on! I'm really sorry about what just happened!”
Ash closed his eyes slightly, trying to connect his power with the Caterpie. The surroundings seemed to turn into a pitch-black space, leaving only him and the Pokémon in this space.
A red light gently flowed into Caterpie's body from the hand resting on its head, gradually establishing a connection.
Mao Mao~~~
After a while, Ash opened his eyes, and the Caterpie also chirped in response to Ash.
Actually, Ash had already asked Pikachu to go easy on it. Caterpie, at this level, was relatively easy to catch, and because it didn’t use Thunder Shock, Caterpie wasn’t badly hurt.
“I’m Ash, this is Pikachu, and that's Misty. We’ll all be partners from now on!” Ash looked at the Caterpie and responded, smiling as he introduced Pikachu and Misty to it.
Caterpie seemed to like Misty when it looked at her, but when Ash mentioned her and the Caterpie saw her looking over, Misty’s face immediately showed a fearful expression, and she took a few steps back, still looking scared.
Mao Mao~~
The Caterpie looked a bit disappointed, drooping its head in dejection. Seeing this, Misty felt a little reluctant, but she still couldn’t get over her inner barrier.
“Don’t worry, just keep working hard, and I believe that one day, everyone will like you.”
Ash gently stroked Caterpie’s head and comforted it, taking out a healing spray from his backpack. These were prepared before their departure, and now, Ash was much more thoughtful than in the anime.
Ciss ciss ciss!!!
He lightly sprayed the healing spray on the spot where the Caterpie had been hit, and then gently massaged its injury. The Caterpie rubbed against Ash’s hand in enjoyment.
Looking at this scene, Misty, though afraid of Bug-types, found it heartwarming, and her fear lessened.
“Ash is right, even if you don't love it, don’t hurt it.” Misty encouraged herself in her heart.
“Alright, go back into your Poké Ball and rest!” After treating Caterpie’s injury, Ash touched its head again, then took out a Poké Ball and lightly tapped its head on the red Y-shaped horn, sending it back in.
“Let’s go!” After taking care of everything, Ash packed his backpack and then signaled to Misty to continue their journey.
Misty followed behind Ash, glancing at him from time to time. After hesitating for a while, she lowered her head, a bit embarrassed, and said:
“Ash, are you angry?”
“Huh? No, I know, everyone has things they like and things they don’t.”
“You’re afraid of Caterpie, but you shouldn’t be afraid of Butterfree, right? You dislike it now, but when it evolves into a Butterfree, won’t you become someone who judges by appearance?”
Ash didn’t mind. Actually, after catching it, he wanted to keep Caterpie outside for a while to build their bond, but he also knew that would make Misty uncomfortable.
Everyone has things they’re afraid of, and Ash could understand that. In the anime, Misty’s attitude towards Caterpie was definitely wrong. When Caterpie evolved into Butterfree, Misty suddenly changed her attitude, which made people even more annoyed.
But she was just a 10-year-old girl after all, and he could understand.
“Well, I’m sorry! Don’t be mad at me anymore.” Misty, listening, also felt a little wronged, pouting and admitting her mistake.
“Don’t tell me, you should tell Caterpie… but it's alright, take your time, we’ll talk about it when you’re not so afraid of it!”
Misty’s attitude towards Caterpie in the anime was wrong, but Ash’s straight-man behavior was equally wrong.
In the anime, he didn’t bother to understand Misty’s fear of bugs, forcing her to accept Caterpie immediately. That was also wrong. So, both Misty and Ash were essentially two children having a childish fight.
But now, his soul was that of an adult, and adults should do mature things. He should let her accept it gradually, and he didn’t force her to accept it right away, seeing as she was admitting her mistake.
Misty felt a slight sigh of relief after hearing this. She could try to accept it, but she was still a little worried that Ash would make her accept it right away.
“I know!” She could sense that Ash was giving her time to adapt, thinking in her heart that this guy was really considerate. She cutely stuck out her tongue and responded playfully.
Ash just smiled helplessly and said nothing. They continued to move forward, and Misty didn’t seem as afraid of suddenly encountering Bug-type Pokémon anymore.
After catching Caterpie, they continued on. Ash was also familiar with the route through Viridian Forest, heading north all the way.
But the Viridian Forest, compared to the jungle of Route 1, was on a completely different scale. Even if you knew the route, it would still take several days to get out of it.
They continued walking until they reached the heart of the forest, and the sky began to dim. Although the Viridian Forest itself was dark, you could still feel the night coming. Ash found a river and set up camp.
“Ash, is this firewood enough?” Ash was responsible for setting up the tent, while Misty was responsible for gathering firewood.
“Enough! I’ll start a fire, you can rest for a while.”
Ash let Misty rest first, then went to the firewood himself and started a fire. Soon, the fire was going, and the surrounding area began to brighten. In this kind of forest, firelight can bring a sense of security.
“Everyone come out!” After finishing, Ash released Caterpie and the Magikarp. The Magikarp landed in the river, while Caterpie landed by the campfire.
He was against keeping Pokémon in their Poké Balls all the time. As everyone knows, free-range Pokémon are the strongest.