Chapter 8: The Starter/Abandoned arc
As was becoming normal, thick, dense forest surrounded us in every direction. Sunlight poured in between the leaves above and there were dozens of little streams that we passed along our way. There were places where the grass grew thigh high and more than a few little dips and valleys that snuck up on us.
Walking around it was easy to feel like the only people in the world. There was no path paved by the people before us, or any evidence that there had been any people at all.
No path…Hmm…
“Ash, do you know where we’re going?” I spoke up.
“Vermilion city, of course!” He answered over his shoulder.
“Right, but, are you sure this is the right way?” I asked.
“See, Ash? Even Sarah knows this can’t be right!” Misty snapped. “You’ve gone and gotten us lost!”
“What makes you think we’re lost?” He challenged her.
“Listen up, knucklehead! When you don’t know where you are or what direction you’re going in, then you. Are. Lost!” She yelled at him.
“You’re the one who suggested this shortcut!” He tried arguing.
“No, I didn’t!” Brock, Flora and I sighed on the sidelines.
“Alright, that’s enough, kids!” Brock clapped his hands twice. “Let’s sit down and have a brief rest. Hopefully that’ll cool your tempers.”
I sat down on a free patch of grass. It was a beautiful forest and all but I would’ve liked to know we were going the right way.
“Hey, look over there!” Misty whispered urgently. She pointed at a little stream where an Oddish was getting a drink of water. It hadn’t noticed us yet.
"Oddish, this Pokémon is typically found roaming the forest, scattering Pollen as it walks around." Dexter informs us.
“I'll catch it” Ash stood up with a pokeball in hand.
“Hold it!” Misty stood in front of Ash.
“What for?”
“Because I'm gonna catch that Pokémon.” Misty declared.
“Wait, what? Why!?” Flora squawked in confusion while Ash nodded in agreement.
“Because we found it around the water, and water is my specialty.” Explained Misty.
“Wha? Buh. Oddish isn’t a water type pokemon, Oddish is a grass type!” Flora threw up her arms in exasperation.
“Aww, it’s a grass type?” Misty groaned. “I was hoping it was a water type. I would’ve liked to catch it.”
“But I still can!” Ash grinned excitedly. “Butterfree, I choose you!”
“Free!” Butterfree fluttered in place.
“That reminds me.” I turned towards Flora. “Why do Gym Leaders and you specialize in one type of pokemon?”
“Oh that’s easy. Gym Leaders are kinda limited to climate and geography. Take for example Blaine over on Cinnabar Island and Mr. Moore over in Lavaridge Town. The guys live right by some volcanoes, thus they have an easier time finding fire type pokemon. And it makes breeding, training and grooming easier to deal with since you only need a narrow set of specialized gear to handle a team of the same type.” Flora gave a light hearted lecture.
“What’s—?” I heard Ash gasp in shock. “A Bulbasaur!”
At that statement I turned to see a Bulbasaur standing in between Oddish and Butterfree.
“Bulbasaur: Considered a Starter pokemon in Kanto, this pokemon bears a large seed on its back from birth. Scientists are divided on whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. They are also known to be difficult to catch in the wild.”
“A Bulbasaur would be a way better catch than an Oddish!” Ash decided. “Butterfree, use Sleep Powder!”
Bulbasaur took one look at the approaching cloud of blue powder and sucked in a great big breath. I thought at first that Bulbasaur just planned to hold its breath but then it blew out all the air in one big gust. The powder was washed back to Butterfree, who dizzily drifted to the ground.
“Oh no, hang in there, Butterfree!” Ash urged it to stay awake. Bulbasaur wasn’t going to wait for Butterfree to recover though. It launched a strong Tackle attack that put Butterfree down.
While we were distracted by Butterfree’s defeat, Bulbasaur and the Oddish both took off into the forest. Within seconds we’d lost sight of them completely.
“Oh, darn it!” Ash slumped. “I wanted to catch it!”
“There will be other opportunities, Ash.” I tried patting him on the back.
Flora looked like she had something to say before Ash bounced back.
“You’re right! C’mon, let’s chase after it!”
“Ah, hold on!” I made sure my backpack was fastened properly before taking off after him.
“Hey look, a bridge!” Brock spotted it first. It was a swinging rope bridge suspended over a chasm with a rushing river at the bottom. Not something I really wanted to fall into.
“Heh, I’ll bet there’s tons of Bulbasaur in this forest.” Ash snickered to himself as he led us across.
“Ah, geez.” I began making my way gingerly across. The bridge didn’t look to be in good repair. It was the first sign of anything man-made in this forest and I couldn’t help but wonder when it was made.
With good reason, as it turned out. We were a little more than halfway across when one of the supporting lines suddenly snapped. Ash and Flora got a grip on the bridge itself and Misty grabbed him.
I…didn’t grab anything.
“AAAAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!” I screamed the whole way down. I can’t swim! I can’t swim! I can’t swim!
“SARAH!” My name was the last thing I heard before I hit the water.
The cold shocked all the air right out of me. The current was the only reason I was able to find the surface, but it was strong and there was nothing for me to grab hold of.
“Sarah!” Someone screamed my name again.
“Gah! Help!” I coughed, flailing my arms and hoping one of the others could see me. I lost balance and slipped under the water again. I tried kicking my legs but my clothes and bag were weighing me down.
An arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me to the surface.
“I’ve got you, Sarah! I’ve got you!”
“B-Brock?” My teeth chattered.
“I’m here! Grab hold of me and kick your legs, like this.” I could feel him pumping his own legs. Where mine had been a panicked spasm his motions were smooth and with a wider range of motion. I noticed immediately that it was a lot easier to keep my head above water using his method.
“The current’s too fast to fight, we have to wait and hope it slows down!” He yelled over the pounding rapids.
With a friend, it was easier to push down the fear. I just had to trust that Brock would keep me safe.
“Oh my! Grab hold!” My eyes were blurred by all the water but I thought I could make out a woman standing on the river bank. Brock reached out and caught her hand before we could be swept past her.
“Take Sarah first!” Brock used his free hand to give me a boost. The woman nearly lost her hold on Brock’s arm, but I twisted around and caught his other hand to help haul him out of the water too.
“My goodness, are you two alright?” Once I wiped my eyes I could see she was a young woman. Long blue hair done in a braid, I couldn’t see it that well from the front, and comfortable overalls.
“Yes, thanks to you.” Brock sighed, his face tinted red.
“We really appreciate the help, ma’am.” I turned towards Brock. “And Brock, thanks for saving me from drowning.”
“No problem, Sarah. We’ll definitely teach you to swim soon.” He promised me.
“I’m glad you’re both alright.” The woman smiled. “My name is Melanie, and you are?”
“I’m Brock, Brock Harrison, and this is my friend, Sarah.” Brock babbled, scratching the back of his head. And was that…? He was blushing!
“Uh, hi.” I waved lamely. Quick, think of something to say! “Um, I’m glad to see there are people in this forest after all! Do you live here?”
“Oh, well.” She looked down, fidgeting with her hands. “I’m the only person who lives around here. Why don’t I show you around? It’ll give you a chance to dry off.” She suggested.
“That sounds great!” Brock accepted quickly. “And please, if there’s anything we can do to repay you for saving us?”
“No, no, I really don’t need any thanks!” She refused politely and stood up. “Please, follow me.”
She bent down to retrieve a basket of freshly picked herbs and started leading us down a small foot trail. Not what I’d consider a proper path but it was easy to follow.
“You live out here? All alone?” Brock asked with some concern.
“Oh, I’m not alone.” Melanie smiled. “Alright, we’re here! Welcome to my little village.”
There was one building, a friendly looking cabin by a pond. Bowls were scattered throughout the yard and there was a neat and rather large garden in the back. What really caught our attention though was the pokemon.
“Oh wow!” I gasped, delighted. Oddish, Staryu, Parasect, Rattata, Butterfree, Weepinbell, all the different kinds of pokemon you’d expect to see in a forest like this! They ran around playing with each other out in the open. When they saw us they immediately began circling Melanie, welcoming her home. Melanie was starting to remind me of a blue haired Fluttershy, just not as shy.
“Settle down, settle down!” She laughed, clearly at home with all her friends.
“Are they all yours?” Brock asked, kneeling down to allow a curious rattata to sniff his palm.
“They aren’t mine, but I take care of them.” Melanie smiled sadly. “Sometimes pokemon end up hurt or abandoned, and then they come here. I try to nurse them back to health so they can return to the wild.”
“You’re very good at it.” Brock whistled. “These pokemon look fit and healthy.”
“Yes.” She sighed slightly.
“Um, Melanie?” I started tentatively. “I’m sorry to ask since you’ve already helped us so much, but when we fell into the river we were separated from our friends, Ash Misty and Flora. Do you have any idea how we could find them?”
“Oh dear.” Melanie looked concerned. “They might’ve gotten caught in one of the traps!”
“Traps?” We echoed.
“The pokemon make them.” She explained tiredly. “You see, while they’re here they don’t want to battle or be captured, so they do their best to make sure humans stay away. So they build traps around the area. The traps aren’t really dangerous, but your friends might be stuck for a while if they fall into one.”
“Then we’ll have to go and rescue them, just as you rescued us!” Brock declared.
“They might be following the river trying to find us.” I suggested nervously. At the very least it gave us a place to start looking.
“Wait here a moment, I’ll send Bulbasaur with you.” Melanie told us.
“Did she say Bulbasaur?” Brock gaped. Melanie walked inside her cabin and a minute later she walked out. I couldn’t be positive but I was almost sure it was the same Bulbasaur that Ash had wanted to capture.
“Bulbasaur will lead you to your friends.” Melanie sounded so pleased by that. Bulbasaur didn’t look very happy though.
Well, it did lead us to Ash, Misty and Flora. We found them in a net hanging from a tree. As we walked back to Melanie’s cabin we explained what had happened and what Melanie was doing out here. They seemed impressed by everything Melanie had done so far. Ash even apologized to the Oddish he’d tried capturing earlier.
Bulbasaur wasn’t happy about us still being here though. At one point it even tried pushing Ash to leave. Bulbasaur was the leader of this little village and their guardian, and if all these pokemon had been injured and abandoned by their trainers, then yeah, I could see why it might be protective against humans. It’s kind of sad.
Maybe more would’ve happened but that was when Team Rocket made their regularly scheduled appearance.
“Prepare for trouble!”
“And make it double!”
“To protect the world from devastation!”
“To unite all people within our nation!”
“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”
“To extend our reach to the stars above!”
“Jessie!”
“James!”
“Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!”
“Surrender now, or prepare to fight!”
“Meowth, that’s right!”
They had some kind of huge machine attached to half a dozen balloons. A vacuum like the one from Cerulean city. Where did they keep getting this stuff? There weren’t any stores to rob all the way out here.
“Everybody get inside!” Brock shouted, directing us all to the cabin. I bent down and took two Rattata in hand before they could be pulled into the air. Anything not nailed down was flying up towards the hose and that included the pokemon.
“Oh no, Oddish!” Misty screamed. Over my shoulder I saw the little grass type being pulled into the air. It would’ve been sucked down the vacuum’s hose if Bulbasaur hadn’t caught it using Vine Whip.
The winds were strong enough that even Bulbasaur was struggling to stay on its feet. Ash ran out and began helping, keeping Bulbasaur from losing its footing.
“We’re all safe in here.” Melanie sighed with relief, locking the door for good measure.
“Wait, Bulbasaur!” Ash got the rest of us to look over. Bulbasaur was using a vine to pull open a roof access panel and was climbing up the ladder as fast as it could. “It’s going to the roof!”
“It must be planning to attack Team Rocket!” Misty realized.
“Not alone it’s not!” I scowled, reaching for Spearow’s pokeball. Ash and I made it to the front door at the same time and we both released our flying pokemon.
“Spearow, use Whirlwind!” I yelled over the wind.
“Pidgeotto, you too!” Ash shouted beside me.
Our pokemon beat their wings as hard as they could. It didn’t take long for their winds to clash with the vacuum’s winds. The air currents twisted up and formed a raging tornado and since the vacuum was sucking and our pokemon were blowing the tornado went straight for Team Rocket.
“We did it!” Ash whooped and cheered.
“Great job, Spearow. I think you’ve gotten a lot stronger lately.” I offered my arm as a perch.
“Spear, spearow, row.” He preened smugly.
“Are they really gone?” Melanie asked shakily, shielding the doorway with her own body.
“Yep. Pidgeotto and Spearow sent them flying!” Ash bragged. “It’s safe now. You can all come out.”
The pokemon all darted out, running around our feet as they celebrated. It was hard to believe these pokemon had ever been injured; They looked so healthy and energetic.
And that turned out to be a problem.
“This village is well protected thanks to Bulbasaur.” Ash remarked. With good reason. Bulbasaur had used Vine Whip against the vacuum’s hose which was probably the only reason Spearow and Pidgeotto hadn’t been sucked down its gullet.
“Yes.” Melanie agreed with a melancholy smile. “Ash, don’t you think Bulbasaur would make a good addition to your team?”
“Yeah, that’d be amazing!” His eyes drifted off a bit, likely imagining the scenario.
“Then please.” Melanie picked up Bulbasaur in her arms. “Take Bulbasaur with you.”
“Huh? But…what will happen to the village without Bulbasaur to protect it?” His eyes went wide.
“It’s true that Bulbasaur is a great protector, maybe even too great.” She petted Bulbasaur’s head. “You see, the pokemon here feel so safe that they never want to leave, even after they recover. Healing pokemon is my passion, but I know my job isn’t done until they return to where they came from so they can start families or meet good trainers who will treat them well and help them grow stronger.”
“And this village is too small for Bulbasaur. If it stays here I’m afraid it won’t grow any stronger.” She continued sadly. “So please take it with you. I promise it won’t be a burden.”
“Bul-Bulba!” Bulbasaur interrupted, staring Ash straight in the eyes.
“What’s that?” He blinked, thinking something over before his eyes lit up. “Oh, I get it! Before you decide to come with me, you want to have a battle, is that right?”
“Bulba!” Bulbasaur nodded seriously.
“Then okay! Pikachu and I will battle you!” Ash straightened up.
We cleared some space so the match could begin. Pikachu vs. Bulbasaur. Ash sent Pikachu forward quickly, but Bulbasaur was ready and used Vine Whip to herd Pikachu into position for a full on Tackle. It was a harsh move that knocked Pikachu head over tails!
“Pikachu, get up and try again!” Ash called.
“Pika, pi-kaa!” He shot off, this time managing to deliver his own Tackle to send Bulbasaur stumbling back.
“BulbaSAUR!” His vines shot out and wrapped around Pikachu’s middle. With that grip it was easy for Bulbasaur to shake him around.
“Thunderbolt!” But the vines also provided direct conduits for Pikachu’s electricity.
“Alright! Now go, pokeball!” We all watched the pokeball arc through the air, homing in on the nearest wild pokemon. Bulbasaur was sucked in and the button flashed red, shaking back and forth as Bulbasaur tried to free itself.
Once, twice, three times, success! The pokeball sealed shut!
“I caught a Bulbasaur!” Ash jumped in the air and pulled off a victory pose. He ran up to claim the pokeball and spent a moment just basking in his victory before releasing Bulbasaur again.
“Sa-Saur?” Bulbasaur appeared confused for a moment.
“I figured I’d let you say goodbye to all your friends before we go.” Ash offered an explanation. Bulbasaur was clearly touched by this. I thought I even saw tears glistening in its eyes before it turned towards the other pokemon and started speaking to them, rapid fire. A list of instructions and warnings?
“Today’s been a good day.” Misty walked up beside me.
Getting lost, falling into a river with Brock, fighting Team Rocket, a lot had happened today.
“Yeah,” I beamed.
Melanie was able to point us in the right direction, but that still left a lot of ground to cover.
By nightfall I finally had a chance to talk to Flora about the bridge.
“I thought you and Gardevoir were supposed to be watching over me.”
Flora couldn’t help but cringe.
“Yeah, I’m not sure about Gardevoir, but I’m…I’m not that great a swimmer.” Flora admitted.
I just stared at her.
“I mean, sure I can swim, but that doesn’t mean I’m lifeguard material ya know?” She shrugged.
“Then what was the point of you traveling with us?” I couldn’t help but snark.
“Hey! I was only sent after you when you went into Viridian Forest, and so far I’m the only one here.”
“The only one?” I raised my eyebrow as Flora flushed.
The fact that Flora wasn’t the only one working for Discord was suspicious. The fact that someone was even working for Discord in the first place should have set off alarm bells in my head, but I barely had time to think about it when she first dropped that she might know my name as she was leaving, and when a mob of Beedrill chased us in Viridian Forest and when she help train Bulbasaur to learn Bullet Seed. When she showed up in Cerulean City…I guess I wanted to be as far away from the city as Misty did.
“Well, there was supposed to be a trainer or two who would have shown up at Mt. Moon, but…” Flora trailed off. “They would probably have made off with the Moon Stone.”
“What!?”
“And that’s why they weren’t sent.” Flora finished with a shrug. “In all honesty, I’m probably going to be replaced in Vermillion City.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! We’ve been looking for Vermillion city for ten whole days now!” Misty screamed to the high heavens.
“Misty, don’t shout like that! You’re scaring away all the pokemon!” Ash scolded her, peering through his binoculars. “Not that there’s much other than Spearow here.” He added with a grumble.
“Uh, Misty? There’s a bug on your—” Brock was cut off by Misty screaming and jumping onto the stump, waving her arms and legs to dislodge whatever bug type had crawled on her.
“Where is it? Where is it? Is it still on me?” She checked herself over.
“Oh, oops, my mistake. It was just some grass.” Brock held up a large weed.
“UGH! I’m sick of these stupid forests!” Misty screamed.
“Well, Route 24 goes straight to Vermillion city.” Ash told us. He had the map up over his face and he turned it around to show us.
“Really? And does this path lead to Route 24?” Misty smiled hopefully.
“By my calculations it does.” He answered proudly.
“Er.” I winced and gently took the map from him. He’d scribbled his calculations all over it, writing estimates of how far we’d traveled every day, ignoring the legend key at the bottom.
He was in the right ballpark if I was reading this right. And there was a Pokemon Center marked nearby. This path branched out a few times but it was almost a direct shot to the Pokemon Center.
“Alright then, let’s go!” Misty was all gung-ho and eager to get going. I didn’t blame her. I was longing for a real bed myself. “Gah!”
“Misty?” We all rushed towards her. Just a little down the path, just out of sight from our chosen stopping point, was a massive boulder that the path curved around. And on top of that boulder was…
“A Charmander!” Ash grinned.
“Wow, you don’t see many of these in the wild.” Brock scratched his head. “And actually, this one doesn’t look like its doing well.”
No, it didn’t. It looked cut up and bruised, even through the scales. Some scales had flaked off, leaving exposed patches of skin.
“…I’m going to catch it, then we can take it to a Pokemon Center.” Ash decided.
“I don’t think this Charmander could fight right now!” Flora shouted from…behind a tree. “Look at its tail flame!”
“Its tail flame?” Seeking an answer to Flora’s statement, he pulled out his pokedex.
“Charmander: The Fire-Type Kanto Starter Pokemon. This pokemon’s tail flame is directly tied to its life force. If the flame goes out, the Charmander will die.” Dexter’s usual neutral tone only highlighted the seriousness of the situation.
“Try throwing a pokeball.” Brock suggested. Now we were all worried about the Charmander.
“Right. Go, pokeball!” Ash pulled a free one out and let it fly. It arced through the air towards its target and we waited for it to open and pull Charmander inside. But it never opened.
“Huh? What the?” Ash caught the returning pokeball, eyes darting between it and the pokemon.
“That reaction means this isn’t a wild pokemon!” Flora shouted from her position behind the tree.
“You mean it has a trainer?” I looked around the clearing. Where was the trainer? If my pokemon was in this bad a shape I’d be sprinting for the nearest Pokemon Center.
“Piikaa, Chu!” Pikachu jumped from Ash’s shoulder and started scaling the boulder. At the top he started talking to the Charmander. Poor Charmander’s voice was weak and tired, barely audible to us on the ground.
“Pikachu, did it tell you what’s up?” We all knelt down to be more on Pikachu’s level.
“Pika pika, pikabi!” Pikachu mimicked someone adjusting a necktie.
“A tie?” Brock guessed.
“Maybe, a man!” Ash guessed. Pikachu smiled and began motioning putting something away, all the time chattering away in pokemon language.
“Ash, do you know what Pikachu is saying?” Misty frowned.
“I think so. He’s saying that Charmander is waiting here for someone.” Ash translated.
“Pikachu!” Pikachu nodded.
“Then, I guess we should leave it here for its trainer!” Flora ran past us before pointing towards the sky. “It’s going to start raining real soon!”
I looked up and saw the clouds rolling in. It had been cloudy when we set off that morning and true to Flora’s observation it was threatening rain now.
None of us looked happy at the thought of leaving Charmander in that condition or being rained on.
Decidedly, I rolled my bag off my shoulders and dug through it for the umbrella stored inside. It was a plain black one that I’d had since I first woke up, but it was easily replaced.
“Hey, Charmander? Take this.” I unfolded the umbrella and expanded it, showing the fire type how it worked. “It’ll keep you dry until your trainer comes back, okay?”
“Ch-Char.” It nodded, taking the umbrella from me.
“That was a nice thing you did.” Brock smiled at me as I rejoined them.
“We’d better hurry and find that Pokemon Center if we don’t want to get soaked.” Misty told us.
“Yeah, let’s go!” Ash took off running. A beat later we were all trying to keep up with Flora and Ash.
The Pokemon Center was half a mile away. The rain started just before it came into view and it came down hard. In seconds we were soaked. We probably brought in enough water to fill a pond when we stumbled through the doors.
“Phew, we made it.” Ash sighed, happily wringing out his hat.
“Brr, let’s get something warm to eat while we dry off.” Misty suggested. It was too late for lunch to be served but there were snacks in the lobby. One of the machines poured out coffee and hot cocoa and we all got a cup to warm us up.
I heard Brock sigh and saw him staring distantly out the window. The rain pounded down hard enough that we could barely see the other side of the road.
“Still worried about the Charmander?” I asked him gently.
“Yeah.” He admitted. “I just hope its trainer got back to it already.”
“Whoa, Damien, you’re amazing!” We all looked over at another table. I instantly recognized Damien from Professor Oak’s laboratory. He was leaning back with a pile of pokeballs on the table in front of him that all the other trainers were admiring.
“Whoa, he’s got a lot of pokemon.” Ash remarked. At the other table the trainers continued to praise Damien’s collection.
“He’s probably not registered for the League.” Flora hummed absent mindedly.
“What do you mean, Flora?” Ash looked at her.
“A League trainer is only permitted to carry six pokemon, any other pokemon caught are either sent to the place where you first got your pokemon or have their pokeball sealed shut until you transfer one of the other six, it depends on the region.” She explained. “So, say you caught seven pokemon? That seventh pokemon would be automatically teleported to Professor Oak’s lab since that’s where you first got Pikachu. As for Damien…” Flora shrugged. “Those pokeballs are either empty, sealed shut or, as I said earlier, he ain’t registered for the League.”
“Yeah, I used to have a Charmander.” I think we all straightened up when we heard that. “But it was too weak! It couldn’t even beat a Bellsprout!”
“You don’t think?” Ash looked distressed.
“So what’cha do with it?” One of the trainers asked. I was really interested in hearing that answer too.
“Eh, I left it on a rock on the way here and told it to wait there and I’d come back for it. And it believed me!” He boasted. Like there was anything to boast about. Like he hadn’t just admitted to abandoning his loyal pokemon!
I was mad, but Brock? He was furious. And he stood up and stalked over to that poor excuse for a trainer to let him know it.
“Go. Get. It.” He snarled, grabbing Damien by the collar.
“Wha?” Damien tried to pull back which only resulted in Brock shaking him.
“I said go get it! Your Charmander, that poor pokemon you lied to! It’s still waiting on that rock in the rain and if its tail flame goes out, it’ll die!”
“And? Why should I care?” That piece of scum sniffed arrogantly. “It’s survival of the fittest and if that Charmander doesn’t survive, then well it wasn’t the fittest.”
“Then give us Charmander’s pokeball!” I stomped over to him. “We met the Charmander earlier and couldn’t catch it because it’s still registered as one of your pokemon. So hand it over!”
“And why should I?” He shoved himself away from Brock and grabbed a pokeball from the pile.
Oh if it was a fight he wanted he was going to be in for such a burn.
“You’d better not mess with Damien! He’ll cream ya!” One of the other unimportant trainers warned us.
“I’ve fought bigger and badder things than a glorified toddler throwing a temper tantrum because his toy wasn’t as bright and shiny as he wanted.” I snarled at them.
“Break it up! Break it up!” Nurse Joy ran over and jumped between us. “There will be no fighting in this Pokemon Center.”
“Feh, like I’d waste my time fighting a bunch of losers.” Damien huffed, grabbing his pokeballs. I noticed though that his ears were burning.
“You kids shouldn’t get involved with that bunch.” Nurse Joy looked us over. “They’ve got a bit of a bad reputation around here.”
“Wow, she’s pretty.” Brock shot Flora a quick look before continuing on as she waved him on. “Definitely the prettiest Nurse Joy I’ve ever seen.”
“What are you talking about? She looks just like all the other Nurse Joys.” Misty frowned.
“Yeah, it’s a Joy-ful world.” Ash rolled his eyes. “More importantly, Sarah, I’ve never heard you talk like that before.”
It took me a moment to figure out what he meant.
I’d just trash talked that piece of scum, and I’m still insulting him. I mean, he doesn’t deserve any respect but I’ve never gone off on someone like that before.
“AH! The Charmander!” Brock gasped, jolting out of his stupor.
“We’ve got to help it!” He ran to his bag and pulled out a raincoat. The rest of us did the same, although I saw Flora hesitate for a second, and we all ran out the door into the storm.
The road was getting slick with mud and the wind cut through our coats like they weren’t even there. None of us complained. There was a pokemon in trouble and in this kind of storm I wasn’t sure how much good my umbrella could do.
We ran as fast as we could and made it to the rock in time to see a small flock of Spearow attacking the Charmander. Their talons raked through my umbrella, filling it with holes and eventually knocking it out of Charmander’s grip entirely.
“Alright, that’s enough! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!” Ash cried.
Pikachu was standing close to us and with all the rain? Being shocked for the second time was actually worse than the first. My muscles spasmed and locked tight. There was a sharp pain in my shoulder where I was sure I’d pulled a muscle seizing up like that.
“That’s…great, Pika…chu.” Ash coughed weakly. “Next time, not so…close, okay?”
“Pii kaa.” Pikachu apologized.
“It’s tail flame is almost out!” Brock whipped off his raincoat and wrapped it around the Charmander. “We have to hurry.”
“I’ll make sure its tail doesn’t go out.” Ash took off his own coat and used it to shield Charmander’s tail from the wind and rain. Every time the direction of the wind changed, Ash adjusted the coat to better protect the fire.
It was another slippery, hazardous run back to the Pokemon Center. Misty, Flora and I ran ahead, making sure the boys knew where all the slipperiest places were to avoid them. We were panting for breath by the time we got back to the Pokemon Center. That was almost a full mile at a dead sprint, and Brock had been lugging around a thirty-forty pound pokemon in his arms the whole time too.
“My goodness, what happened to you five?” Nurse Joy gasped as we scrambled to get inside.
“This Charmander needs help, desperately.” Brock was a little more coherent.
Nurse Joy took one look at Charmander’s tail and gasped, whirling around to direct orders to her Chansey. We followed her, Brock only letting Charmander go when it was time to put it on a gurney and rush it into the surgery room.
That left us waiting. We’re still waiting now. The others were waiting by the door but I came back out to the lobby.
Damien’s not here anymore. It’s late enough that the curfew has kicked in and all the doors and windows are locked but he’s not listed in the registry as staying the night. I’d probably get in trouble for looking at the registry without permission. I don’t know what I would have done if Damien did turn out to still be here.
Maybe show him what properly trained pokemon can accomplish.
Pop
“Vee?”
In a flash of light Eevee was there, worryingly looking up at me and around for any threats.
“It’s okay, there’s no one around to fight.” I reassured him.
“Vee? Eve, eevee!” Eevee climbed onto my shoulder and nuzzled my neck. “Eevee Eevee! Vee?”
“Are you asking me what’s wrong?” I hiccuped. “Well, we met this Charmander earlier today.” I told him everything. Meeting Charmander, meeting Damien.
“The Charmander is still in surgery and we don’t know yet if it will be okay.” I finished. “That’s why I’m so upset, I guess. I just keep imagining it happening to you. I’d never abandon you, but if something ever happened and you came close to dying? I’d be heartbroken.”
“Vee.” He pressed himself closer to me. His fur was warm and eyes bright and flaring with life.
“Sarah!” Misty came running down the hall. I had a single heartbeat of panic before I saw the great, big smile on her face. “Charmander’s going to be okay!”
“That’s great!” My cheeks ached from smiling so hard.
“C’mon!” She laughed, already running back down the hall.
“Eevee, do you want to come with me?” I asked the pokemon on my shoulder.
“Eevee!” He smiled and nodded. I didn’t bother putting him down. It was just faster to carry him.
“It’s resting now, but Nurse Joy says it will be fine in the morning.” Brock told me as we came in. He paused for a moment then made a little ‘oh’ sound. “You left the waiting room because Charmander made you think of your pokemon?”
“Um, yeah.” I looked at my feet.
“Wait, that’s why you left?” Ash’s eyes went wide.
“I’d just…” I gulped. “I’d be devastated if anything happened to my Charmander, so…”
“But everything’s gonna be fine now.” Ash patted me on the back. “ Charmander will be fine and nothing bad’s gonna happen to our pokemon.”
“Mhm, thanks Ash.” Still, I petted Eevee one more time before I returned him to his pokeball.
This Pokemon Center was on the smaller side and didn’t have as many rooms for visitors, so we camped out in the lobby. Nurse Joy was very apologetic about it but she couldn’t go waking up the other trainers to ask them to move for us. The rooms were first come, first served.
We didn’t mind. The couches were comfortable after ten days of sleeping outside.
“Guys, wake up! Wake up!” The very first thing I heard in the morning was Brock yelling at us. I was startled badly enough that I reached for my first pokeball and summoned Eevee.
“Wha? Who’re we fighting?” I slurred, blinking at the bright sunlight I was only now noticing.
“It’s Charmander!” Brock had no patience for my sleepy head tendencies. “Charmander’s disappeared from the ER!”
“What?” We gasped. Tossing aside our blankets, we ran to the recovery room where Charmander had been resting. The big, open windows and fresh breeze told us all we needed to know. Nurse Joy was staring out the window with her hands clasped over her chest.
“It just left?” Misty said in shock.
“I don’t understand. Didn’t it understand that we cared about it?” Brock asked the room.
Surprisingly, it was Ash who answered.
“Of course it did, Brock. But it’s still loyal to Damien, so it had to leave.” He looked down at Pikachu in his arms. “He’s probably gone back to the rock to wait for him.”
“That poor thing.” Nurse Joy closed her eyes.
“Welp, nothing we can do.” Flora shrugged. “Can’t force Charmander to forget about Damien.”
“We saved its life.” I reminded Brock. “And now that it’s recovered it’ll be able to fight off other pokemon and take care of itself just fine. Charmander wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t strong.”
“Yeah…Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He made a visible effort to appear confident.
No one had much of an appetite at breakfast, not even Ash. We left the Pokemon Center with none of us feeling better but with no better idea of what to do.
Misty, at least, took it upon herself to cheer us all up.
“Alright!” She clapped her hands. “Nurse Joy said this path leads straight to Route 24! We’ll be in Vermillion city before you know it! There’s a gym battle for you, Ash. And Sarah? You can bet I’m definitely teaching you to swim when we get there!”
“Looking forward to it.” I grimaced. It would be nice to not need saving in the water.
One minute we’re walking, just starting to shake off our melancholy. The next? The ground vanishes from under us and we start falling.
It was a sharp drop to the bottom. I landed on my pokeballs and I’m lucky none of them got damaged.
“Who put this hole here?” Ash groaned, hissing as he sat up.
“Oof.” I grunted when his elbow accidentally hit my side.
“My back.” Flora groaned underneath us.
“Aha! Prepare for trouble!” Oh no.
“And make it double!” Not them.
“To protect the world from devastation!” Not again, please!
Just like at Pokemon Technical, I tuned out Team Rocket’s motto.
“Team Rocket, don’t you ever give up?” Ash shook his fist at them.
“Pikapi!” I tensed, looking up.
Pikachu wasn’t in the hole with us.
Pikachu was facing Team Rocket alone.
“CHUUU!” That was the sound of a Thunderbolt. But there was no explosion, no fading cries as Team Rocket blasted off.
“Silly Pikachu, rubber doesn’t conduct electricity!” What was going on up there?
“You’re coming with us now!” I could hear Meowth’s smug smirk.
“Pika!” Pikachu sounded startled, frightened.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” Ash scrambled to his feet, heedless of who might be under them as he tried to climb up the sides.
“Ash, wait!” I got up a little more carefully. “Flora, do you think you can lift me and Ash on your hands and knees?”
“Yeah?” Flora managed to position herself before I stepped onto her back.
“Good. Ash.” I turned to Ash with my fingers laced together to act as a step ladder. “I’ll boost you.”
“Thanks, Sarah!” He put one foot forward. I did my best to heave him up high enough for him to reach the top of the hole while Flora remind steady underneath us.
“Hey, what’s that Charmander want?”
Charmander what?
“It says you should give Pikachu back to those guys or else.” Meowth translated. Ash had his arms over the side and was struggling to pull himself up until Brock came in to give him a better boost.
“Or else what?” Or else turned out to be Flamethrower and whatever they were using against Pikachu’s attacks clearly wasn’t as effective against heat.
“TEAM ROCKET’S BLASTING OFF AGAAAAIIIINNNN!”
Ash got over the top and called back to us that Pikachu was okay, Charmander had saved him. Brock gave Misty and I a boost and then we worked together to bring him up out of the hole while Flora climbed up.
“Charmander, that was amazing!” Ash praised it.
“You really saved us back there.” Brock nodded proudly.
“Hey, Charmander? How would you like to come with us?” Ash bent down and extended his hand. “Your old trainer is—!”
“Has been looking for you everywhere, Charmander!” My hand went down to my belt as we all turned to see Damien coming up behind us.
“Damien, you bragged about abandoning Charmander!” Ash yelled.
“Good thing I did. It toughened it up. And I didn’t even have to put in the time and effort to raise it myself.” He smirked like that was something to be happy about. A bonus. “I wasn’t going to come back but then I saw what it was capable of.”
“You jerk, raising a pokemon is the best part of being a trainer.” Brock scowled.
“Feh, shows what you know. Raising a pokemon’s the most boring part.” He rustled through his pockets and pulled out a pokeball. “Now return, Charmander.”
“Chrr, CHAR!” Rather than allow himself to be returned, Charmander swung his tail and knocked it right back into Damien’s face.
“Why, you!” He pulled out more pokeballs. “I’ll show you!”
“Try it.” I released my own pokemon. Beside me, Ash, Misty, and Brock did the same. Suddenly facing our own pokemon, Damien looked a lot less sure of himself.
“Char, char char!” Charmander stepped in front of us and unleashed another Flamethrower. I could tell it wasn’t very strong but it didn’t have to be against a human. It was enough to singe his hair, maybe a few first degree burns. He ran off screaming, leaving just one pokeball abandoned on the ground.
“Oh!” I quickly plucked it out of the ground and checked it.
“Is that Charmander’s pokeball?” Ash asked me.
“Yup.” And with a vicious grin, I dropped it on the ground and stomped on it. It cracked apart beneath my shoe, splintering into a dozen pieces and releasing Charmander. Now there was nothing left tying him down.
We all returned our pokemon and that left us to decide what to do with Charmander.
“You catch it, Ash.” Brock made the decision.
“Huh? But…you worked so hard to save it.” Ash looked flummoxed.
“You kept its tail from going out, you deserve the credit as much as I do.” Brock protested. “Besides, I know you’ll train Charmander to be a great pokemon.”
“Alright, I will!” Ash grinned down at Charmander. “What do you say, Charmander?” He held out an empty pokeball.
“Looks like you got a new pokemon and a new friend all in one.” Misty commented.
“Ehehehe, I got a Charmander!” He cheered.
“Yay.” Flora sighed.
And then it was back on the road to Vermilion city.
The ground caved in under us. This time I had the dubious fortune of landing on Ash and Misty but that was balanced by Brock landing on top of me. As for Flora?
“Why?” Flora groaned from underneath all of us.
“If this is Team Rocket again I swear.” I huffed, trying to find a way to get up without hurting anyone. It took quite a bit of maneuvering before we could all sit up.
“Squirtle squirt.” That, thankfully, did not sound like the Team Rocket motto.
“Squirtles?” Ash blinked in surprise.
“A whole school of them!” Misty gasped in delight.
Five little squirtles, all wearing shades. One of them had a larger, angular pair of shades that marked it apart from the others. I wagered that one was the leader.
And they were laughing at us.
“Hey, what’s the big idea! Somebody could’ve gotten hurt!” Ash scolded them. That only made them laugh harder, one even turned and wagged its tail at us.
“Here Sarah, let me give you a boost.” Brock patted my shoulder.
“Uh, right.” I stepped into his hand and reached for the lip of the hole. With a little effort I was able to pull myself up. The squirtles all backed up but continued their mockery, more of them wagging their tails at me while their leader stood with its hands on its hips.
“Alright Misty, you next.” Brock boosted her up and I helped her climb out. Then Flora climbed out on her own as me and Misty pulled Ash out and we all worked together to pull Brock from the hole.
“You dirty tricksters!” Ash fumed, shaking his fist at the squirtles. “I’ll show you! Pikachu!”
“Pii-ka!” Pikachu launched forward with an electrical attack. Not quite a Thunderbolt but not far removed either. He was aiming for the leader, but one of the other squirtles jumped in the way instead.
“Squirtle squirt Squirtle!” The leader cried, handing its injured friend over to the others before pointing at Pikachu. “Squirtle!”
“Pika Pikachu!” Pikachu’s cheeks sparked.
Water vs. Electric, I anticipated a quick fight. I knew how strong Pikachu was and the lead Squirtle clearly did too, judging by the stiff way it held itself in front of its friends.
The battle would’ve been short, bright, and maybe a little brutal if Officer Jenny hadn’t arrived then. At the first hint of sirens the squirtles all took off, carrying their stunned comrade, while Flora jumped into the hole.
“Well, that happened.” Ash frowned, disappointed he hadn’t gotten his battle.
“Hey, are you kids alright? Was anyone hurt?” Officer Jenny pulled up alongside us.
“No, officer, we’re okay.” Misty answered her. “A little bruised maybe.”
“I’m glad none of you were seriously injured.” She sighed with relief.
“What was with those squirtles just now? They ran off as soon as they heard you coming.” Brock asked. Did his cheeks look a little flushed just now? And he was holding himself very stiffly.
“People call them the Squirtle Squad, they’re pokemon vandals, always causing trouble in this town.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why not come with me to the police station? My presence should convince the Squirtle Squad not to bother you again.” She offered kindly.
“Thanks, we really appreciate it.” Ash accepted for us. “And can you tell us more about the Squirtle Squad?”
“Sure thing.” She walked her motorcycle and led us to the police station.
“The Squirtle Squad have been running riot for weeks now. They paint graffiti, steal food from the markets, throw laundry off the lines, trample gardens, and just recently they’ve started digging holes like the one you lot fell into.” She explained. “And they’ve all got one thing in common.”
“What’s that?” Brock asked, curious.
“They were all abandoned here by their trainers.” Officer Jenny informed us sadly.
“Abandoned?” We repeated. It was just…just…
What is wrong with all these people that they just abandon their pokemon so often? First the hidden village with Bulbasaur and the other pokemon, then Charmander, and now these Squirtles!
“That’s awful!” Ash raised his voice. “Why would they do that?”
“I don’t understand it myself.” Officer Jenny admitted. “I can’t even imagine ever leaving my Growlithe behind.”
She did tell us that they were all properly released, so they were all catchable, but since they went everywhere as a group they were hard to beat. She advised us to be careful of more pitfalls and told us where the Squirtle Squad usually hang out, just in case any of us wanted to catch one.
“Well, Ash? Do you want to catch one?” Misty asked as we came to a stream. We made ourselves comfortable on the bank and Misty pulled out a rod since, as she reminded us, squirtles were water pokemon.
“Definitely!” Ash clenched his fists. “I could tell that their leader was pretty strong. I’d love to have it on my team!”
“What about you, Misty? They are water pokemon after all.” Brock pointed out.
“Hmm,” She thought it over, flicking her rod over the water. “You know, not this time. Squirtle don’t really interest me.” She decided.
“Well they interest me! With a Squirtle on my team I’d beat Gary, no sweat!” Ash was practically vibrating with excitement.
“Oh yeah, he did choose a Squirtle.” I remembered. I hope he’s treating it well, I didn’t get the best impression of him but he didn’t strike me as a piece of scum.
“Hey, I think I caught something!” Misty cried out, just as Flora was about to say something. We all sat up to see what she’d pull out. At first all we saw was a round, blue head. Then we saw the round shades.
“It’s one of the Squirtle Squad!” Ash realized.
“SQUIRTLE!” It drenched us all with a low powered Water Gun.
“Why…you!” Ash coughed, spitting out half a gallon of water. “Pikachu, Thunder Shock attack!”
“Pika-CHUU!” My muscles all seized up and cramped.
“StOoOoOp PiKaChUuUuU!” Ash was barely able to speak while the rest of us could do nothing but wait for Pikachu to stop.
“Pikapi.” Pikachu scratched the back of its head.
“Water…conducts…electricity.” Brock moaned.
“Oowww.” I whimpered.
“Why?” Flora moaned.
“Squirtle squirt squirtle!” Oh joy, the whole gang was here to laugh at us.
“SQUIRT!” One of them fired a Water Gun before we could recover and knocked Pikachu into the stream.
“Pikachu, swim for shore!” Ash rose to his feet. We all tried to do the same. How did he shake off the shock so quickly? All my muscles felt like limp noodles.
“Pi pi pi pi pi!” It was a little sad to see an electric type was a better swimmer than me. “CHU!” Something underwater struck Pikachu and sent him flying up onto the bank.
“Oh no, Pikachu!” Ash tried to run towards his pokemon but the Squirtle Squad had other ideas. They threw lassos around us and circled us faster than we could keep up. In moments we were wrapped up and helpless. This was going a step beyond pitfall traps.
“Squirtle.” The leader smirked, nodding to its friends.
“Good work, Squirtle.” Meowth stepped out from behind the trees.
“Wha? Meowth!” Ash growled. “You did something to trick the Squirtle Squad into working for you, didn’t you?”
“Trick? Me? Why, I’d never!” Meowth lied. “Leave it to a human to try to muddy the issue.”
We couldn’t convince the Squirtle Squad that Team Rocket was bad news. They trusted a pokemon’s word over ours and Meowth could spin a convincing yarn when he wanted to. They took us directly to their hideout. The path was steep with a rickety old bridge. The whole time I was crossing I felt like it was only a matter of time before we fell in. Gotta say, it was relieving to reach the other side, even when they took us into a cave and tied us to a rock.
“Cha…chaa…” Pikachu whined from inside its cage.
“Pikachu’s badly hurt. It needs a Super Potion.” Brock grimaced.
“Do we have any of those?” Ash looked at us.
“Um, no.” I had poke-medicine, but nothing as strong as a Super Potion and there was no Pokemon Center in town either.
“There’s a store in town that sells them. I noticed it earlier.” Brock told us.
“Wait, really?” Ash turned to the pokemon. “Squirtle Squad, please, you have to let me go buy medicine for Pikachu!”
“Squirtle squirtle squirt!” The leader scoffed.
“The Squirtle says ‘please, I know what humans are like. If we let you go, you’ll just run away.’” Meowth translated for us.
“Please, I promise I won’t run away! I’ll buy the medicine and come straight back!” Ash tried to bargain.
“Squirtle Squad, the rest of us will stay here as your hostages.” I offered, ignoring the squawk of surprise from Flora. “Ash is our friend and he’d never abandon us or Pikachu, he will come back but Pikachu might not survive without that medicine!”
“Please, Squirtle Squad, I’m begging you.” Ash bowed his head. I was on Misty’s other side, but I could hear him stifling tears.
“…Squirtle.” The leader sighed. With a gesture, it directed one of the other squirtles to untie Ash.
“Wait a minute! You’re really gonna take that chance?” Meowth tried to derail things.
“Squirtle Squirtle squirt!” From the way the leader pointed at Pikachu, I got the feeling it was saying something like ‘it could be that pikachu’s only chance!’
“Squirt Squirt Squirtle.” The leader faced Ash.
“Aarrghh, The Squirtle says ‘You had better get back before noon tomorrow or we’re shaving the girls heads.’” Meowth hissed.
“What? Shave?” Misty screamed, appalled. “Ash, you had better get back here on time!” She scowled threateningly.
“I will, I promise.” Ash nodded. A moment later he was gone, taking off at a dead sprint in his rush to get back to town. Meanwhile outside I knew the sun was beginning to set.
“…This is going to take a while, isn’t it?” Flora sighed, slumping in her bonds.
“Looks like.” Brock nodded with a sigh.
Between them, I wished I’d gone to the bathroom before we got captured.
We were tied to that rock until long after nightfall. Meowth started looking nervous when nightfall came and went without his team showing up. For our part, we tried to doze in our ropes. It wasn’t the most comfortable position. Thankfully, the Squirtle Squad did give us a bathroom break, though they also ended up stealing the food from our bags and leaving us with nothing.
It was a long, uncomfortable night. Morning dawned hot and bright and the rocks were no comfier than before. Meowth took to pacing, clearly wondering what was keeping the rest of Team Rocket so long. Hopefully they got themselves arrested by Officer Jenny.
It was getting closer to noon, around ten in the morning, when the Squirtle Squad shook themselves off and started untying us.
“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Meowth protested.
“Squirtle Squirtle.” One of them shrugged.
“But…But what about shaving the girls if the twerp doesn’t get back in time? You’re just letting’em go?” He squawked.
“Squirtle squirt squirt Squirtle.” A second one nodded.
“What? You say you was bluffing?” Meowth jumped back in shock.
“Well Meowth, unlike you I guess they’re still good pokemon.” Misty stuck her tongue out at him.
Meowth couldn’t stop them without blowing his cover. And one Meowth against five Squirtle? That was a sure bet.
“Oh, poor Pikachu.” Misty lifted him carefully.
“We should wait outside. If we tried to head back to town now we might miss Ash on the way.” Brock reasoned. We gathered our things and went out into the sunlight together to keep an eye out for Ash’s return.
We weren’t outside long before we heard rocks shifting inside the cave.
“Pikachu? Oh no. Misty? Sarah? Flora?” Ash came sliding from out of the cave.
How? Was there a back entrance?
“Squirtle Squad, what did you do to my friends?” He demanded angrily.
“We’re over here you idiot!” Derided Flora
“Misty! Sarah! Flora! You’ve all still got your hair!” He laughed.
“Of course, the Squirtle Squad was just bluffing, they wouldn’t really do something to hurt someone.” Misty winked. “More importantly, did you get the medicine?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it right here.” He pulled the potion out of his vest. “Let’s spray it on Pikachu fast.”
Pikachu’s wounds looked a lot better after the first spray. By time we finished the whole bottle Pikachu looked none the worse for wear. And now that he wasn’t in so much pain he’d be able to rest better.
It was a nice, heartwarming moment before Team Rocket had to go and spoil it with their flash bombs.
“Team Rocket!” Ash whirled on them.
“Prepare for trouble,”
“And make it double!”
“To protect the world from devastation!”
“To unite all people within our nation!”
“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”
“To extend our reach to the stars above!”
“Jessie!”
“James!”
“Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!”
“Surrender now or prepare to fight!”
“Meowth, that’s right!” Meowth darted past us, swiping Pikachu from Misty’s lap.
“Give me back my Pikachu!” Ash started to run after him but James and Jessie dropped more bombs from above.
“Quick, everybody inside!” Brock grabbed me and Misty by the arms and hauled us back to the cave.
“Squirtle!” We looked back to see the lead Squirtle had been knocked on its back by the force of the explosion. And a Squirtle on its back was totally helpless.
“Squirtle, I’m coming!” Ash yelled, running out into the bomb field. He shielded Squirtle with his own body. The bombs knocked loose whole clouds of dust and debris, obscuring our vision. We waited breathlessly to see if our friend made it out okay.
“I see him!” Misty gasped.
He was bruised and battered and his clothes were torn, but he was okay.
Ash was able to stand up after he’d caught his breath and he didn’t waste any time in going back to the secret entrance he’d used before. There was a part of this small entrance that continued straight and another part that went up, towards the top of the mountain. Ash took that one and we followed him. At the pace we were going it was only a minute before we surfaced nearly on level with Team Rocket’s air balloon.
“How did they?” Jessie screamed when she saw us.
“Squirtle, use Water Gun attack!” Ash pointed at the balloon.
“Spearow, catch Pikachu!” I threw my own pokemon out there. Spearow and Pikachu were close in size but all I really needed was to keep Pikachu from hitting the ground. Spearow was able to slow their descent and the three of us up on the cliff slid down to meet them.
“Pikapi!” Pikachu was awake and happy to see Ash again.
“Pikachu!” Ash pulled him into a hug.
“Good work, Spearow.” I held out my arm for him to roost on.
“Are you kids alright?” Officer Jenny was coming around the mountain. “I’m sorry I took so long, it was hard to find a path around without the bridge.” She looked up behind us. “Oh no!”
There was now a raging forest fire behind us. The wind at our backs was pushing the inferno towards the town.
“If we don’t think of something fast the whole town will go up in smoke!” Officer Jenny jumped off her bike.
“I’ve got an idea.” Ash perked up. “Squirtle Squad, if you all use your Water Gun together then you’ll be able to beat this fire no problem!”
“Squirtle squirt!” The leader nodded. It waved its arm at its friends and they all sucked in a big breath before unleashing their attacks.
“Wow, just look at them go.” Officer Jenny whistled. “They’ll have this fire licked in no time.”
Sure enough, the fire went out before it could reach the town. We found the townspeople had done their best to evacuate and organize a firefighting party, but it was clear they were under equipped for that kind of undertaking. That’s what gave Officer Jenny the idea to fold the Squirtle Squad into the town by publicly thanking them from stopping the fire and naming them the new town firefighters.
We left town glad that the Squirtle Squad weren’t bitter towards humans anymore. It was the best thing we could’ve hoped for really. But it didn’t feel like a surprise when the lead Squirtle followed us down the road and Ash ‘caught’ it. Honestly, I was expecting it.
That brings Ash up to a full team. We’re not far from Vermilion city either. His next gym badge and my first swimming lesson. I guess I should probably buy a swimsuit.
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