So i cast off from viridian city, mankey and deluge in tow. I put warturtle at the top slot- due to my recent troubles, i plan to blow up every Weedle in my way that I cant run from. Oh, yes- I did raise sqirtle to lv 18 before heading here, so it evolved. Mankey is now lv 11, and has karate chop, so its usable now too. I choose the most direct path through the forest, praying that warturtle blows up every Kakuna and Weedle in my way. It does. I find myself at the forests end with a now lv 19 warturtle, and my pokemon haven't taken any damage. Lucky me! I walk outside ( i STILL don't have running shoes) and rest up in pewter city's pokemon center. I think I'm ready for Brock.