Chapter 9
Kanto Starters
A day after the team left Pokemon Tech, the were on their way to Vermilion City for Ash and Red's next gym battle, against the electric type gym leader.
Since the Ketchum brothers love to get stronger, they were having a battle with Pikachu going against Charmander. The boys wanted to see who's starter was stronger and how well they trained them. Pikachu may have the higher power level, but as Professor Oak told the team 'Power levels are a joke'. So they wanted to see who's the stronger starter.
"Ready, Pikachu?" asked Ash to his partner. "Of course, Ash. Let show them that these more great starter Pokemon than grass, fire, and water types!" replied the electric Pokemon.
"Don't expect us to make this easy, we'll make sure that you get a run for your money!" warned Red. "Most trainers pick Charmanders for their starters because we're the coolest, and I'm about to show you why!" Charmander called out to Pikachu.
Soon, the battle begun and the brothers and Pokemon planned on going all out. "Pikachu, Quick Attack" said Ash, Pikachu began to run up to Charmander at high speed. "Charmander, use Growl" said Red, when Pikachu was close enough Charmander opened his mouth and roared out loud cancelling out the Quick Attack.
"Now use Scratch" called Red, Charmander had Scratch Pikachu so hard, it sended the mouse Pokemon flying back Ash and he crashed into the ground. "Pikachu!" called Ash in worry, but his partner quickly got up again. "I'm fine Ash, just tell me what's next" asked the electric mouse. "Thunderbolt" said Ash, Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt and fired it at Charmander. "Dodge it!" called Red, Charmander avoided to attack just in time for Red to give him the next order. "Mega Punch" said Red, Charmander began to run up with his fist glowing white ready to hit Pikachu, but Ash knew what to do to counter it. "Quick Attack" he called, Pikachu ran up quickly at Charmander and his head collieded with the Mega Punch. Both attacks proved to be strong, but the power of Pikachu's Quick Attack was a bit stronger and sended the lizard Pokemon flying but smashing his head into his opponent's chest.
"Charmander was alright, but he was getting tired and could keep up for much longer. Red had to find a way to end this and soon.
"Ember" he called, Charmander shot a small flame at Pikachu hoping the it would hit but Ash told Pikachu to dodge and the Ember failed. "Mega Punch, again" said Red, the lizard Pokemon began to use his fist again, but Ash called the same attack from before. "Quick Attack" he said, Pikachu ran up to Charmander again and like before his head collieded with the Mega Punch. Both Pokemon proved to be strong in the attacks, but both of them couldn't take it anymore and both Pikachu and Charmander were sened flying back towards their trainers. When they hit the ground they both fanited and that made this battle a tie.
"Pikachu/Charmander!" called the brothers as they ran up to see of their starters were alright. Both the mouse and lizard Pokemon were fine after a position and were happy with how strong they have become.
"You and Charmander were great Red, you guys have ready been pushing yourselves lately" said Ash. "Thanks Ash, you and Pikachu have been working hard too, if we keep this up then we'll be ready for the Vermillion gym in a few days" replied Red to his brother.
Over at the table that the team was sitting at for lunch, everyone saw the whole battle and were amazed that how good Ash and Red have become in training. Leaf had her eye on Red and found him being confident very cute and blushed at the thought of it.
"So, any idea on when your going to tell him" said Misty, who was sitting across from Leaf. "I'm planning on trying when he and I are in the right place to do it" she informed her red haired friend. "So when the atmosphere feels right?" guess Misty. "Right" replied Leaf.
When lunch was ready, the brothers and their Pokemon returned to the table to eat, and restore their energy.
"You guys have really been pushing yourselfs lately" said Leaf
"Thanks, Leaf. We want to be ready for when we take on the Vermillion gym leader" replied Red
"So we're training extra hard this time!" said Ash
"Well, just don't train too hard or you'll end up fainting like your Pokemon as well" giggled Leaf. She was always the type of girl who likes to tease her friends in a nice way, now that she's traveling with her crush, thing are going to get real.
"Yeah, real funny Leaf" replied Red with a broad face
The team started to eat lunch, it was a really nice day outside and everything was very peaceful.
However, the team was being watched by two wild Pokemon, who were making sure those humans stay away from their home.
The Pokemon were enjoying their meals as well, and they all agreed that Brock's cooking was truly a work of tasty art.
While eating, Pikachu noticed that some near by the bushes, they were shaking. "Hey guys, did you see that, the bushes are shaking" he warned his friends.
"It must be a Pokemon or lost trainer" guessed Pidgeotto
"Well whoever it is they're not going to have a piece of my food!" warned Sandshrew as he began to eat faster.
everyone else just sweatdropped at Sandshrew's actions him thinking his food will be taken.
The trainers continued to eat their food in on the table peacefully, without any distractions. until Ash noticed the bushes were shaking as well.
"Hey guys, did you see that?" he said
"See what, Ash?" asked Brock
Ash pointed at the bushes moving near by in the forest, "Those bushes are shaking. Maybe it's a Pokemon!" he said with excitement
"I wonder which one?" asked Red
His question was soon answered, two little Bulbasaurs came out from hiding and looked at the team with cold glances.
"Wild Bulbasaurs?" said a confused Brock
"What are Bulbasaurs doing in the wild, they aren't wild Pokemon, they're support to be given away to new trainers" explained Brock
"Well, even if Bulbasaurs aren't wild Pokemon, I'm still going to catch one!" announced Ash
"I'm getting one too, no way are we going to waste the chance to catch a wild Bulbasaur!" said Red
"Hey Pidgeotto, you up for this?" asked Ash to his bird Pokemon
"What about you Charmander, want a go?" asked Red
"Sounds fun Ash, I was getting bored anyway!" replied Pidgeotto
"You bet Red, I'm all fired up!" said Charmander
The Pokemon went up to their trainers, ready for battle and a new team member for each of the two Ketchum trainers.
"Use Quick Attack!" called Ash, Pidgeotto flew at one of the grass Pokemon at high speed and was being surrounded by white aura.
Bulbasaur quickly dodged the attack and started to use Vine Whip on the bird Pokemon, Pidgeotto was getting hit really quickly and was really having some trouble.
"Quick, Pidgeotto use Sand Attack!" called Ash, the bird Pokemon smashed her wings against the ground to cause a bit of sand to fly up and stop Bulbasaur from attacking.
With Bulbasaur's eyes covered in sand, the others could attack now,and Red could use that chance.
"Charmander, use Scratch!" he called, the little lizard Pokemon was about to land the attack, but the other Bulbasaur came in front of his friend and used Growl to cannel out the Scratch.
Now that Charmander's attack was canneled, Bulbasaur used Vine Whip to slap the little fire starter away.
"Pidgeotto, help out Charmander with Quick Attack!" called Ash, doing as she was told, Pidgeotto began to fly at the other Bulbasaur while being surrounded by white aura, but the Bulbasaur that she was fighting before used Vine Whip again and wrapped it around her legs to keep her from leaving. Pidgeotto tried as hard as she could, but it Bulbasaur was too strong for her, however he did let go so that she was sent flying straight towards Charmander and crashed into him, giving the Bulbasaurs a chance to escape into the bushes.
"Aw, they're gone" said Ash
"So much for catching wild starters, we could have used them on our team!" replied Red
While the Ketchum brothers returned to their seats to finish lunch, their Pokemon when back towards the others so that they could finish their lunch as well.
"I can believe that you guys got beaten by a grass type when you clearly had the type advantage, that was priceless!" laughed Pidgey
"Alright, we get it, we loss to grass types but it's not like you would be strong enough to take them either since I'm your evolved from" replied Pidgeotto
"She has a point you know" said Beedrill
"Would you guys stop fighting, I'm trying to enjoy this wonderful meal!" complained Sandshrew
Everyone once again, sweatdropped at Sandshrew's complain, this guy really likes Brock's cooking.
While the Pokemon continued to eat, Ash and Red returned to the table to finish lunch, they were really disappointed that they didn't catch those Bulbasaurs.
"Can up guys, maybe you'll catch the next Pokemon we run in to!" encouraged Leaf, they both looked up at her and started to smile. "Your right Leaf, we shouldn't let one little loss bother us, we'll just train harder next time!" said Red.
Leaf smiled as soon as Red and Ash did, she felt great that she cheered up her best friend/crush, "Besides, I could always help you guys train your Bulbasaurs if you get one!" she laughed.
Everyone soon started to continue eating lunch. The rest of the meal was normal and peaceful, so nothing much happened.
"Ok guys, lets pack it up and keep going!" said Ash, he wanted to get back on track so that he and the others could get to Vermillion City soon.
Everyone started to pack up their things, the dishes were being cleaned by Brock and Misty, the the Pokemon food bowl were being picked up by Red and Leaf, and Ash with the help of the Pokemon was folding the table cloth.
Once everything was packed up, the team started to depart from the clearing.
"So Brock, which way now?" asked Misty
"The map says that there's this bridge that we need to cross!" he replied
"Sounds simple enough" said Leaf
The team continued walking through the forest until they found the bridge that Brock told them about. It didn't look like the safest bridge to walk on, but it was the only one to be seen.
"You think there might be another bridge?" asked a nervous Leaf
"If there was, it would have said so on the map!" replied Brock. He showed everyone the map so that they could see for there selfs, everyone looked and there was only one bridge on the map, where was the one they were standing right across. That meant they needed to cross the unsafe bridge which they were trying not to.
"Let's just cross it really fast and we'll be on the other side in not time!" said Pikachu
"Maybe your right little buddy, if we hurry then we'll be on the other side soon" said Ash to the team
Everyone knew that this was the only bridge they could see, that meant it must be the only way across. They all agreed to cross it and hopped that they would make it across.
The trainers started to walk slowly and carfully to make sure that they didn't fall. The bridge did not look safe at all, it didn't even feel safe to walking, everyone was having a hard time walking across it. The longer the were taking to get to the other side the higher they felt. What was worst was that a gust of wind started to shake the bridge a little bit, this made walking across harder and most of the team was a bit too scared to keep going.
"I-I really don't like this!" said Misty who was really nervous about the wind shaking the bridge. "We'll make it, we just need to keep going!" said Brock as he continued to walk in the losses boards of the bridge. The trainers keep on walking carefully across the unstable bridge until they started to reach the other side.
A really big gust of wind however, caused the bridge to shake so hard that it snapped. Everyone yelled in alarm as they were surprised by the change of footing, the bridge fell down to the sides of the rock wall it was hanging from, with the trainers hanging on from the remaining parts of the bridge.
The trainers held on as tight as they could to avoid falling into the river below them. They soon started to climb up the bridge like a ladder to reach the top, one by one the trainers kept climbing to the top of the hanging bridge.
"We're almost at the top guys, just keep climbing!" encouraged Ash from the top, he was able to get to the top to help his friends reach there safely.
Each team member started to climb to the top one by one, until Brock was the last one left. He was having a hard time climbing up to everyone else, his hands were started to loss their grip on the rope as they got more sweaty by the second. Ash saw that his friend was struggling to get up and quickly hatched a plan. He called out Pidgeotto to help lift Brock up to the of the rocky wall.
"Guys, I can't hold on for much..longer!" warned Brock. The others were worried about how he was going to make it up to them.
"Jump on Pidgeotto, you'll be able to ride her up to us!" called Ash.
Knowing that his friend was right, Brock quickly let go of the rope and used his feet to push himself to Pidgeotto, he was just about to make it when a strong gust of wind pushed Pidgeotto back a bit which caused her to miss Brock.
"NNNOOOOOO!" yelled everyone as they watched their friend fall into the stream of water below them. When he hit the bottom of the water, he soon got back up over the water level of the river as it carried him down stream.
"Pidgeotto, follow him as fastas you can!" said Ash
"You got it Ash!" replied Pidgeotto, as she started to follow Brock down the river as fast as she could.
"Let's go after him, maybe we can catch up!" suggested Leaf. Everyone wasted no time and started running down to river to go find Brock to see if he was alright. They just hoped that they could find him.
(30 Minutes Later)
The team was still looking for both Brock and Pidgeotto to see if they're alright. They managed to make it down to the river where Brock fell into, but there was no sign of him or Pidgeotto anywhere, but what was worse was that trouble was on its way.
Whlie walking around to see any sign of where Brock or Pidgeotto could be, Ash fell into a hidden hole in the ground. "AHH?!" he yelled when he and Pikachu fell in. The others quickly came over to see what happened, "You ok Ash?" Red asked his brother, "Yeah, I'm fine" replied Ash.
Red and Leaf both gave Ash their hand to grab so that he could climb out, he grabbed them both as they started to pull him out of the hole. Once he was out, he dusted himself off and thanked his friends, "Thanks for the help guys" he said, "No problem, now let's keep searching for Brock and Pidgeotto!" replied Misty.
The trainers continued to look for they friends, but this it was Misty who fell into a hole trap, only this one was much deeper than the one Ash fell in earlier. "Ok, when I find the guy who dug those holes, he's going to be super sorry that I fell into one of them!" yelled Misty in anger. The team looked down at Misty in the hole and realized the they couldn't reach her, but Leaf had an idea.
"Come on out, Bulbasaur!" she said as she called out her starter. Bulbasaur was happy to see her trainer again so soon. Leaf explained that she and her friends need Vine Whip to help get Misty out of the hole, not needing to be told twice, Bulbasaur used her vines to grab Misty and pull her up From the hole. Soon, Misty was back up with the rest of her friends. "Thanks Leaf, and you too Bulbasaur" said Misty, Bulbasaur smiled and soon was returned to her Pokeball.
"This is getting ridiculous, all those holes are keeping us from finding Brock" complained Ash.
"We better be more careful, otherwise we'll get trapped again" said Red
The rest of the team agreed and started to walk more carefully to find their friends. They watched where they stepped to make sure the they didn't set off anymore traps, but luck was not on their side. Ash tripped another trap that was set up, but this time instead of a hole, the trap was a net that pulled them up and was tied up to a tree. Now the trainers were hanging from the tree, stuck in a net.
"Come on!" said Ash in frustration "Now that we're all stuck in this one, we'll never find Brock like this!"
"I just hope I'll be alright" said Leaf
"Don't worry Leaf, Brock has his Pokemon to keep him safe, just like we do!" said Red to calm her down
Leaf blushed at how encourageing Red was to her, she always liked it when he said something to make her feel better.
"So...any ideas on how we're going to get out of this?" asked Ash
"Hey, maybe I could chew the rope until it drops us!" suggested Pikachu
"Sounds good, go for it Pikachu!" cheered Ash
Pikachu started to find a place to start chewing so that he could he himself and the others out quickly. He found a good spot and started to chew with his teeth, it was hard and the rope tasted awful, but he kept on chewing. Soon after about two minutes, he couldn't take it anymore and started to quit.
"Sorry guys, but it's not working, plus the rope taste gross" said Pikachu
"It's ok buddy, I guess we'll have to wait until somebody finds us" said Ash
"But we don't know how long that could take, it could to hours, or maybe even days!" said a worried Misty
"Ahoy there!" called a voice from the bushes, the team was pure silence when they heard that voice
"...or maybe a few seconds" said Misty, adding into what she said earlier
The bushes started the shake, which meant that whoever the group heard was near. Once the human showed himself, it turned out to be Brock. "Brock!" said everyone in surprise and relief that he was ok. "Looks like you could use some help" he said, he got the team down from the net with a hunting knife to cut them free. "Thanks!" said Misty. "What happened to you?" asked Leaf. Brock started to explain that after he was sent down the river, Ash's Pidgeotto was able to get enough strength to pull him out and they both got rescued by a beautiful girl that was near by. "Pidgeotto is at her cabin right now, I'll introduce you to her!" he said as he lead them to what the girl's cabin was.
(3 Minutes Later)
After walk through a few bushes in the forest, the team finally arrived at the cabin that Brock told them about. The bird in the sky saw the team and raced down to see them.
"Ash, guys, I'm up here!" called Pidgeotto
"Pidgeotto! I'm so glad your alright" said Ash as he patted her head
"Glad to see that your alright too!" said Piakchu
Ash then returned her to her Pokeball for safe keeping. He and the others started to look around at the place, the cabin that Brock mention was huge cabin, and there were a lot of Pokemon there and they all looked in tip-top condition. Suddenly a girl with blue hair came up to them and saw Brock."Are those your friends?" she asked, "Yes, they are" he answered.
"Guys, I like you to meet Melanie!" Brock introdued, he explained that Melanie was the one who takes care of the Pokemon in the wild if they're either injured or abandoned. "Oh, that's really nice of you" said Misty "So Melanie is like a Pokemon doctor and her cabin is the Pokemon center" she guessed. "Not exactly," said Brock, "It's more like a health spa, where the Pokemon can relax and stay for a bit".
Red soon started to get a bit suspicious about something, "Excuse me, but do you know what those traps and holes out there in the forest are about?" he asked.
Melanie explained that she had set up those traps, the holes, the nets, and the broken bridge, were to keep Pokemon trainers from finding the cabin and catching Pokemon, not just trainers, but thieves and poachers as well. The team understood her thinking and forgave her for the traps.
Red however was still thinking about if those traps would work against people like Team Rocket, 'I hope those traps really can keep them out' he thought.
(12 Minutes Later)
The team was now inside the cabin helping Melanie with the Pokemon that were staying for now. Misty was brushing the leaves of an Oddish, Red and Leaf were tending two Rattatas, Brock was helping Melanie tend a Paras and Weepinbell, and Ash was tending a Staryu.
While tending the Staryu, Ash suddenly got tackled in to back, he turned around and he saw one of the Bulbasaura that he and Red battled earlier. "Ow, what was that for?" asked Ash. Just then Red got pushed in to back as well, he turned around and saw the other Bulbasaur from earlier, "What was that for?" he asked. The two Bulbasaurs started to growl at everyone, they wanted the trainers to leave to cabin and the Pokemon alone.
"I'm very sorry about this" said Melanie as she was holding the Bulbasaurs back, "You see, these Bulbasaurs don't trust humans other than me, they were abandoned by their trainers and ended up here, since than they never trusted humans, except for me" she explained. The team understood what the Bulbasaurs have been through, being abandoned by someone that you trusted can make you loss trust in anyone again.
"You know, a trainer who would abandon a Pokemon like you two isn't too smart" said Red while giving a smile. The Bulbasaurs looked at him with curiosity, "He's right, Pokemon who care about their friends, are Pokemon worth keeping if they care about others!" added Ash. Both of the Bulbasaurs looked at the Ketchum brothers and could see that what they're saying is true.
Pikachu then ran down Ash's shoulder to talk with the two Kanto grass starters. "They're telling the truth, I didn't trust humans ether until Ash asked me to be his starter, if he didn't care for me than he would force me into my Pokeball when he knows I don't like it. Why do you think he let's me ride on his shoulder!" said Pikachu. He then climbed back up Ash's shoulder to relex and enjoy the ride, while the Bulbasaurs were left to think about what the electric mouse said to them.
"Maybe he's right, not all humans are bad, so maybe we can learn to trust them again!" said one of the Bulbasaurs
"Well, those two kids with the hats are kinda of nice, maybe we can!" replied the other.
The two started to think about what it would be like to have trainers that would care about them, unlike their last trainers.
Their thoughts were interrupted by a mysterious shadow flying over the grass outside, this did not go unnoticed by Leaf.
"Hey guys, do you see a strange shadow outside?" she asked
The others looked out the window and they too saw the shadow.
"Let's go outside and see what it is!" suggested Ash. The others agreed with him as they got up and ran outside with the Pokemon to investigate.
When they got outside, they looked up at to what is causing the shadow. It was a balloon shaped like a giant Meowth head. It was Team Rocket, and were planning to steal all the Pokemon in the village.
"Who are they?" asked Melanie with a worried expression
"They're Team Rocket, bad guys who like to steal people's Pokemon!" replied Leaf
"What are you doing?" shouted Brock
"What do you think twerp, stealing all those Pokemon for ourselves!" said Jessie
Meowth then pressed a button on the balloon and out of the basket came a giant vacuum that began to suck up the Pokemon into it. The team was struggling to keep themse from being sucked up into the vacuum, as the held on tight to the grass.
Leaf was having the hardest time holding her grip because she was the closest to the vacuum. Just when she was about to loss her grip, Red grabbed her hand and pulled her closer towards him. "Don't worry Leaf, I got you!" he said. The brown haired girl was happy and blushing because her crush was holding her hand to keep her from being captured.
"Let's get inside!" called Ash, as he held on to Pikachu. Everyone was able to get inside the cabin safely, but Team Rocket wasn't going to leave any time soon.
"We have to stop them!" said Misty
"But how?" asked Brock
Leaf took out a Pokeball and said, "Battle, that's how!". She went outside and released Bulbasaur, "Ok Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed!" she said.
Bulbasaur fired a seed from her bulb on her back and it landed on the balloon, that caused it to open up and have vines wrap around the balloon.
"Hey! What's the big idea twerp!" called Jessie in anger
Before Leaf could give another order, the Bulbasaurs from before got up on the roof of the cabin and started using Vine Whip on the vacuum to tie it into a knot. When they were done, Ash came out to finish the job. "Thunderbolt!" he yelled, Pikachu launched a huge volt of electricity towards the balloon, which caused it to explode and sent Team Rocket flying into the sky. "We're blasting off again!" they yelled until they were gone.
Now that it was safe, everyone came out to see if their friends were alright. "We're fine, thanks to the Bulbasaurs!" said Ash. Everyone was glad that Team Rocket was gone, and that the Bulbasaurs were able to help.
Then, something amazing happened, Leaf's Bulbasaur started to glow white and increase in size. When it stopped, her bulb was now pink and had leafs surrounding it. "Bulbasaur, you evoloved!" said Leaf, as she used her Pokedex to scan her newly evolved starter.
Ivysaur
The Seed Pokemon
When the bulb on its back grows large, it appears to lose the ability to stand on its hind legs.
"Wow, Leaf you and Bulbasaur must have done some hard training to get him to evolve this fast on our journey, great job!" said Red
Leaf just smiled and blushed at the same time, she was starting to improve Red just like she wanted to.
(10 Minutes Later)
The trainers were getting ready to leave soon and continue on their way to Vermillion City. But they were soon stopped by the Bulbasaurs, "Why don't you want us to leave?" asked Misty.
The two grass starters looked at the Ketchum brother and waited for them to realize what they wanted.
"I think that they want to get with you guys" said Melanie. The Bulbasaurs nodded in response. this surprised the team, the Bulbasaurs really wanted to go with them. But, they were alright with it, especially Ash and Red, it's not every day you catch a starter Pokemon in the wild.
Ash was going to catch one of the Bulbasaurs first, he and Pikachu stood across from one of them and were ready to fight.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" said Ash. Pikachu fire a stream of electricity at Bulbasaur, it was so powerful that it paralyled he grass starter.
"That's our chance. Go Pokeball!" Ash called as he threw a Pokeball at the grass starter. When it hit, Bulbasaur was send inside it, it then started to shake a little, and then 'ding' he was caught.
"Alright, we caught a Bulbasaur!" called Ash in excitment.
"Congratulations Ash, now you one of the Kanto starters!" said Brock.
"Now it's my turn, you ready?" Red asked The remaining Bulbasaur.
"Bulba" it replied, saying the it was good to go.
Now he and Charmander were standing across from Bulbasaur, ready to capture him, Red know that he needed to plan his attacks well if he want Bulbasaur to get caught.
"Charmander, use Growl!" called Red. Charmander roared out loud so that Bulbasaur wouldn't be able to attack afterwards.
"Not use Scratch repeatedly until you land a few hits!" he ordered. Charmander was now using his claws to land a hit on Bulbasaur who just kept on dodging. After about 30 seconds, Bulbasaur was starting to get tired and was hit by Scratch a few times.
"Nows our chance. Go Pokeball!" Red called. When it hit Bulbasaur, he got sucked in and the Pokeball started to shake. It lasted for a few more seconds, until 'ding' Bulbasaur was caught.
"Yes, we caught a Bulbasaur!" called Red.
"Great work guys, now the three of us have the grass starters!" said Leaf.
"This will be fun!" said Red.
(2 Minutes Later)
The team had spend the last few minutes having the Bulbasaurs say goodbye to their friend, and having Ash and Red bond with them so that they could now talk to them in normal English.
The Bulbasaurs were spurred that their new trainers could have the ability to talk to Pokemon, but they found it really cool. Now the team is saying goodbye to Melanie.
"Thank you all so much for all that you done for us today!" said Melanie. "Bulb!" said one of the Bulbasaurs. "I hope you two have fun with Ash and Red, and thanks for always keeping us safe!" said Melanie, wishing her friends good luck. Brock then walked up to her and said, "Uh Melanie, I've been thinking that maybe I should stay around and help you take care of the village!". Everyone sighed at Brock's decision, he only wanted to be near her because she was pretty. "Thanks Brock, but you have a lot of adventures with you friends that you still haven't been on, so you need to go with them!" she replied. "Oh, yeah your right!" Brock said.
The team then started to bid farewell to Melanie and the Pokemon, wishing her luck on the village. While she wished them luck on their journey. The Bulbasaurs were walking with the trainers for a bit before going into their Pokeball.
"I'm going to miss Melanie and the others" said Ash's Bulbasaur.
"I'm going to miss them too, pal!" replied Red's Bulbasaur.
Ash and Red hear the conversation both their new team members and decided that he need to cheer them up. "Don't worry guys, we promise that we'll make new memories and new adventures, that way we'll be good friends as well!" said Ash. "And we'll come back here sometime in the future to see her and your friends again, promise!" said Red.
The Bulbasaurs smiled at their new trainers, not only could they understand them, but they care about them, they knew that they made the right choice to go with them.
Brock had an upset face because he couldn't stay with Melanie, but he did want to continue traveling with his friends. But, his face reaction was now gone unknown by Misty.
"So, what did Melanie said when you first met her this morning, did she kiss you?" Misty teased.
"What, you mush be mistaken, that didn't happen!" replied Brock with a red face.
The Pallet town trainers and Bulbasaurs watch the two gym leaders have a one sided conversation. They laguhed at how Brock's face was getting redder the the minute.
"Specking of kiss, when do you think that you'll kiss a girl Red?" asked Leaf, she wanted to bring up the subject to hear Red's answer and see what he was going to say.
"Uh, well, maybe when a girl lets me know that she wants to go out with me, I guess" he replied nervously. This question was really random for him.
He ignored the question and continued to watch the conversation between the gym leaders.
Now our heroes have gotten two new friends and both Ash and Red have gotten the grass starter of Kanto, Bulbasaur. Puls, Leaf's Bulbasaur evolved into Ivysaur. Now that they got new members to the team, they need to get back on track to Vermilion City, so that the Ketchum brothers can get their third gym badge for the Indigo League, more adventures are to come as the journey continues.
The team of Pallet Town trainers and gym leaders are having trouble finding their way back onto Route 24 because they gone off track. Now they were in the middle of the forest with no knowledge of how to return to Route 24.
"I can't believe that we got lost so easily, thanks a lot Brock!" complained Misty.
"How is it my fault?" he asked.
"Instead of looking at the map, you were looking at magazines of pretty girl. That's how it's your fault." replied the red hair gym leader.
Brock blushed and knew that Misty was right, he couldn't help himself when it comes to looking a pretty ladies.
"Maybe we should find a Pokemon center and ask for directions that." suggested Leaf. The team agreed with that idea and started to think on where they would find a Pokemon center.
The team started to look around to find a path that would lead them to a Pokemon center, and it wasn't going so good. Until Pikachu saw a rock up a head and an orange 'something' on it!
"Hey Ash, look at that!" said Pikachu, pointing to the rock.
"What is that?" asked the trainer.
"Let's get the others a go see" suggested the mouse Pokemon.
Ash called everyone to where he was standing and showed the to the rock with the orange 'thing' on it. When they got closer, it turned out to be a Charmander.
"What's a Charmander doing out in the middle of a rock?" asked Misty.
"Beats me" replied Brock.
Ash took out his Pokedex and scanned the little fire type.
Charmander
The Lizard Pokemon
The flame on the tip of its tail makes a sound as it burns. You can only hear it in quiet places.
"Wow, this little must be lost or something?" Ash guessed.
"Let me try and talk to him!" suggested Pikachu. He got down from Ash's shoulder and climbed the rock until he met the little fire type on it.
"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing on this rock alone?" he asked.
"My trainer said that he needed to take care of something important and that I need to wait, until he comes back, so I'm waiting for him." answered the little fire lizard.
"Alright then!" replied Pikachu as he jumped off the rock and was met by his friends.
"What did he said little buddy?" Ash asked his parther.
"His trainer told him to stay there while he goes and does something important, he's waiting until he comes back." answered Pikachu.
"Why would a trainer leave their Pokemon here for something important, can't he just keep it inside it's Pokeball?" asked Brock.
"I'm sure there must have been a reason for this" said Red "maybe we should find a Pokemon center and rest up for now!"
The trainers set off to find the Pokemon to get a bit of rest. "So long, Charmander!" called Ash.
"Char!" replied the fire starter of Kanto, as he continued to wait for his trainer.
(2 Minutes Later)
The team had now found the Pokemon center that they were looking for and headed inside. The center was made of wood and liked really nice. They were glad that they were about to get here in time, because it then started to rain outside.
They gave their Pokemon to Nurse Joy to look at to see if they were healthy, of course Brock tried to flirt with her again, but like always Misty pulled him by the ear and dragged him away.
After about two minutes, Nurse Joy gave the trainers their Pokemon back. Now, they could all have lunch together.
The trainers were now eating their lunch at a table, with their Pokemon on the floor eating from their bowls. Everyone was enjoying their lunch. Well, except Ash, he was still worried about the Charmander they met earlier.
Leaf noticed her friend's face and knew something of up. "Hey Ash, are you alright, you don't seem like yourself?" she asked, causing the rest of the team to look at him.
"I'm just worried about that little Charmander we met earlier, I'm starting to think that his still out there in the rain!" he replied.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that Charmander's trainer has him by now and is keeping him nice and dry!" encouraged Leaf.
"She's right Ash, his trainer should know that we don't do well in rain, so he or she must have come back for him by now!" said Red's Charmander.
Ash thought for a moment and realized that his friends were right, he shouldn't worry because the trainer must have the little fire starter in its Pokeball right now, nice a dry, so he started to relax and continue to eat peacefully. But it was soon short lived.
A bit of laughter interrupted their thoughts. A blue haired boy that was dressed as a cowboy was laughing along with six others boys that were with him. They were looking at the Pokeball he had and it liked like there was about 10 Pokeballs on the table in front of him.
"You're the man, Damian!" said a boy with brown hair.
"Hey, didn't you have a Charmander with you?" asked another boy.
"Yeah, I used to, but that thing was so weak that it couldn't beat a bug or grass type." laughed Damian.
The trainers looked at Damian crossly, they did not how he was talking about his Pokemon.
"I don't like that guy, laughing and calling his Pokemon weak" said Leaf.
"All Pokemon start out weak when they're caught, it's the trainer's job to train them to become stronger" explained Brock.
"That's why you guys are call Pokemon 'trainers', you train us to be stronger!" replied Sandshrew.
"So if it was that weak then what did ya do with it?" asked another boy.
"I left it on some rock in the forest, I said that I had to do something important and told him to wait on a rock and that I come back for it, but I'm not after how weak it was." laughed Damian, "It's probably still there waiting for me in this rain!"
When the team of trainers heard what he said, they were furious. That trainer had lied to his Pokemon and left it all alone on a rock, the same Charmander that they met behind was the one that this kid abandoned.
"I can't believe that guy, treating his Pokemon like trash!" growled Misty in anger.
"He shouldn't be a Pokemon trainer if he's going to treat his Pokemon like that!" said Leaf with a high level of anger.
"Wait a minute, did he say...RAIN!" Ash yelled. He started to remember something that he learned from Professor Oak when he was little.
(Flashback: 6 Years Ago)
4 Year old Ash was at Professor Oak's lab to play with the Pokemon, he was having a good time. Then, while sitting on a table he was look at a poster that had Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle on it.
He was thinking about which he was going to choose when he becomes a trainer in the next 6 years. But, then he had a question.
"Hey Professor! Can I ask you something?" Ash asked.
"Of course Ash, what is it?" Professor Oak replied.
"What happens to the fire on a Charmander's tail if it goes out?" asked the young boy.
"Hmm, good question." said the Professor, "Well, from what I heard from other Pokemon Professors and trainers, most people say that the Charmander will die if the flame in it's tail goes out" he answered.
(Present)
Ash was scared out of his mind on thinking what was going to happen to that Charmander, he thought it might he left to find a safer spot, but he was told to wait on the rock, so there was a chance that it was still there.
"That guy is so dead!" said Brock. He was about to got up from his seat and walk over to Damian, but Ash ran over to a hook that had a rain coat his size and told his friends, "You guys tell Nurse Joy what happened, I'm going to save Charmander!"
"Right!" said Red.
"Pidgeotto, I what you to came with me just in case!" Ash told his flying type.
"Got it Ash, let's go!" she said.
The two of them ran outside into the rain to save the little fire starter before it was too late, while the others ran over to Nurse Joy to explain the problem that had just happened. They hopped that Ash and Pidgeotto could make it in time.
(With Charmander)
The little fire starter was still on the rock in the rain, he was holding a leaf over his tail to kept the flame on and burning. The little lizard Pokemon was getting weaker and weaker as his flame grew smaller, he was hopping that Damian would get here soon, but that wasn't going to happen. To make matters worst, he was being attacked by Spearows for no reason and was losing more health because of it.
The rain was pouring, the Spearows were attacking, his flame was growing smaller, things were looking bad for Charmander, he thought that everything was over, until he heard a voice.
"Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack on the Spearows!" it said.
A Pidgeotto zoomed towards the Spearows and knocked them out of the way.
"Why don't you guys pick on someone in a better condition, while not in the rain!" she said angrily.
Charmander looked up and saw Pidgeotto's trainer, it was Ash. He was run with a rain coat and and umbrella over his head, when he got to Charmander he held the umbrella over him and told him to come to the Pokemon center with him.
"Charmander you'll be safe there I promise just came with me, please!" Ash said.
Charmander started to heitate, Daiman told him to stay on the rock, and he wanted to do that and wait for his trainer.
"Listen, you wouldn't last too much longer in this weather, let us help you!" said Pidgeotto.
Charmander knew that there were right, he could come back after they help him. So he nodded his head and let Ash pick him up. The trainer and the Pidgeotto raced off to the Pokemon center to get help.
(3 Minutes Later)
Red, Leaf, Misty, Brock, the Pokemon, and Nurse Joy, were waiting for Ash and Pidgeotto to return from the rain. They were all really worried about Ash, they thought that he didn't make it in time and that the little fire starter was gone for ever. But soon, Ash busted through the door with Pidgeotto on his shoulder and Charmander in his arms.
Everyone was glad to see that Ash and Pidgeotto made it in time, they could see the flame on Charmander's tail still burning which was good, but it was very slow and it looked like it could go out any minute now.
Ash handed Charmander over to Nurse Joy so that she could help the little fire type. She ran into the back room to get started, while the trainers sat down at their table and helped Ash and Pidgeotto dry off.
"You did a great thing Ash!" said Brock.
"I could let a Pokemon die, even if its not my business!" he replied.
"You ok Pidgeotto?" asked Butterfree.
"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just glad that me and Ash got there in time!" she said.
Pikachu looked over at Red's Charmander and saw a sad face, he decided to see if his friend was alright.
"Hey, are you ok Charmander?" asked Pikachu.
"I'm fine, just worried about my fellow Charmander" he replied.
"It's ok, I'm sure that Nurse Joy will have him better soon!" Pikachu encouraged his friend.
"I understand why your upset, he was treated really badly by his trainer" said Beedrill, joining the conversation.
"That guy shouldn't be a trainer if his going to treat his Pokemon like that!" said Pidgey.
"I agree with you on that buddy" said Red.
"Speaking of which, where is Damian?" asked Ash.
"He left some time ago while you were gone!" Leaf answered.
"My guess is that he's sleeping in a room without a care on what happened to Charmander" Red growled with anger.
"We understand how Charmander might be feeling, we were abandoned by our old trainers too, until Ash and Red took us in!" said Red's Bulbasaur, mentioning Ash's Bulbasaur with him.
"I wonder if we should check on him now?" said Misty.
"Maybe it's too early to check on Charmander just yet, we should wait until morning" suggested Brock.
The trainers decided to sleep in the couch in the fire place tonight, so that they could see Charmander quicker when they wake up. They return their Pokemon, except Pikachu, and got comfy on the couch to sleep.
After about twelve minutes or so everyone was asleep, except for Leaf because she wanted to try something.
She really likes Red and want to step up her game with him, so while he was sleeping she moved over a little to get closer to him, then she layed her head on his shoulder. She thought his shoulder felt soft as a pillow and stayed like this for the rest of the night.
'Goodnight Red' she thought as she fell asleep along with the rest of the team.
(The Next Day)
Leaf was the first to wake up and quickly moved her head from his shoulder so no one would suspect a thing.
After a bit time, Everyone started to wake up and get some breakfast before checking on Charmander. They hopped that he would be alright after what he had been through yesterday.
Once they were done, they headed to the back to check on Charmander. He was doing just fine by the looks of it.
Soon Nurse Joy came and told them good news. "Charmander is going to be alright, his fire will be burning at normal temperature in 30 minutes!" said told the team.
They were glad that little Charmander was going to be alright, but then Ash asked another question, "What about Damian?" he asked.
"Don't worried, he's going to get what he deserves in given time, I promise you that!" answered Nurse Joy
The team was glad to hear that, but that was not what Ash really meant. What he meant at Charmander didn't hear what they heard Damian say about him, so if Charmander doesn't know that meant his still a bit loyal to him.
Ash didn't want anything bad to happen to a little fire starter after what he's been through last night. He couldn't help but just keep worrying.
(30 Minutes Later)
Charmander was now all better and was back his feet. He was getting off of the bed in the back room off the Pokemon center and was walking out into the main room where the trainers are waiting for him.
"Glad to see that your ok, Charmander!" said Ash.
"Char!" replied the little fire type.
"He says, thanks for saving me last night" translated Pikachu. Since Charmander didn't belong to Ash, he can't make a bond with him with his blue energy. And since Ash can't do that, he can't understand Pokemon.
Charmander then started to walk out of the Pokemon center and outside. This confused the team very much and they wondered where he was going.
'I think I know' thought Ash.
The trainers followed Charmander out of the Pokemon center and saw where he was heading, the same rock from yesterday.
Ash was right about Charmander still being loyal to Damian, he knew this would happen and the team know that they had to do something about it.
They ran up to Charmander and told him to listen to them.
"Charmander listen, there's something you need to know!" said Leaf.
"Damian abandoned you on that rock, he lied to you about coming back for you and left you there because he doesn't care about you" explained Brock.
Charmander wasn't buying this, he didn't think what they were saying was truth. So Ash told him what he heard last night.
"Charmander, last night before I went out to get you, I heard Damian say that he lied to you about coming back. He called you weak and said that you couldn't be a bug type, so he left you on that rock" Ash explained.
Charmander took a moment to think and he remembers that he and Damian did battle a few trainers with bug type Pokemon and he lost, after that Damian wasn't too happy about losing with a type adventage.
Charmander realized that they were right and that Damian wasn't coming back for him, he was all alone now and didn't have a trainer that would want him because he can even win with a type advantage.
Pikachu ran down from Ash's shoulder and put his hand and Charmander's shoulder, "Hey I know, how about we trainer you to become stronger, we'll be able to help you a lot!" he suggested.
Everyone liked that idea, they would surely be able to help Charmander out and with all of them working together, this like guy would be really strong.
"Char, Char-mander!" said the little fire starter.
(1 Hour Later)
For the last hour, the trainers have been training Charmander to become strong and a better battler. And the results of an hour were amazing.
This Charmander knows Scratch, Ember, and Skull Bash, he still hasn't learned a fourth move yet, but with the training he might soon.
Ash was in charge of training Charmander and it went really well. First they had Charmander work on Scratch by using it on rocks, grass, and trees. After that they tried his Ember by training with Red's Charmander. And after that, they had Charmander use Skull Bash with Pidgeotto's Quick Attack and they kept it up for about 15 minutes.
"Wow Charmander, you've really gotten strong!" said Ash.
"He's right, with your strength, you won't be losing any battles for a while now!" said Red.
This made Charmander really happy, he was stronger than he was before and his new friends helped him out a lot. He raised his head up into the sky and cheered, but while cheering, he shot a jet of fire out of his mouth.
The trainers were amazed on what just happened. A little Charmander shot a huge jet of fire from his mouth.
"That was Flamethrower!" said Misty.
"But how can a Charmander know how to use Flamethrower, to do that he needs to be at level 38 and he would be a Charizard by then?" explained Leaf.
"Well, we all know that power levels are a joke, but your right Leaf, how can he know Flamethrower so early?" asked Ash.
Brock reached into his backpack and pulled out the book with all the information about the Pokemon from Kanto, he looked through the pages until he found the answer to Ash and Leaf's question.
"The book says that Charmander does learn Flamethrower at level 38, but it also says that for a Pokemon to evolve then need three things. They need training, battle experience, and have to want to evolve. If all three are not used or capable, then the Pokemon will still in it's current form until they have all three!" explained Brock as he put the book back in his bag.
"So if all three are not available then the Pokemon will same as it is!" said Leaf, making sure she gets it.
"I'm guessing that Damian never trained you, right Charmander?" asked Ash.
The little fire starter nodded his head to answer Ash's question.
"Well, now that you've been trained you'll be able to get a whole lot stronger now!" said Ash.
"I agree" said a new voice. From behind the team. They looked behind them and saw someone that they were not happy to see, Damian!
"It's you again!" said Ash in an unhappy voice. He was not very happy to see that trainer that had almost make Charmander cost his life by lying to him.
"What do you want, Damian?" asked Brock with a voice of anger. None that the trainers or Pokemon were happy to see him.
"I've come to collect Charmander." he said.
"What!" said Red, "What do you mean you came to collect him, yesterday we overheard your conversation and you say that you abandoned him!" he said.
"And because of that he's gotten a lot stronger, so now I'm back for him like I promise him" he said.
Everyone was really mad at Damian for what he said, he think that abandoning Pokemon makes them stronger, and he thinks that he did all the work while they were the ones training Charmander.
"Alright Charmander, come on back!" said Damian. He threw a Pokeball at the fire type to have him go inside, but instead, Charmander smacked it away with his tail. The Pokeball went right back to Damian, but it hit him in the face, causing him to fall off his feet.
"Ahh, what was that for?" asked Damian, a bit annoyed.
"Char, char!" said the fire starter.
"I don't think he wants to go with you, not after how you treated him." said Ash.
"What do you mean, he's just a Pokemon, they don't say no!" replied Damian. He threw the Pokeball again, but like before, Charmander smacked it away.
"Your wrong!" said Red, "Pokemon can feel things, and can said no if they want to, that's what's happening right now!" he told Damian, as Charmander looked away from Damian with a 'huff'.
Damian was getting really angry, he wanted Charmander to come back to him so that he could use him to win more battles. The team was right, he didn't deserve to be a Pokemon trainer if all he cared about was winning, plus he was too lazy to even train Charmander in the first place.
"Charmander, I'am your trainer, and you have to listen to me, I'am ordering you to comeback, now!" he growled.
His only response was Charmander blowing a raspberry at him. Now Damian had enough of it, he was about to take a Pokeball out and try again, but a voice called out and caught everyone's attention.
"Hold it right there!" it said.
They all looked to see who it was and it turned out it was Officer Jenney. She had a mad face, which meant that something made her upset, everyone was confused on why she was angry, but Damian decided to use it to get his way.
"Officer Jenney, thanks for coming, I like to report that those thefts had just stolen my Charmander!" he smiled. If he could get the trainers in trouble, then he could take Charmander back.
"WHAT!" yelled to trainers. He they were really scared now, because they had no proof that they actually saved Charmander, they couldn't just said that Damian was responsible and expect her to believe them like that.
Damian smiled at his idea and thought that everything will be alright. He was right, things were going to be ok, but not for him.
While he wasn't looking, he felt something metal wrap around his hands, he looked to see and he saw himself being handcuffed.
"What!" he said in disbelief.
"Don't think that you can trick me" said Jenney, "You're the real problem here, I got a call from Nurse Joy about a trainer name Damian that abandoned a Charmander in the rain, she also told me about the trainers that saved him. Not only that, but I heard stories about you abandoning more Pokemon before and this call is the last straw!" she said.
The team was surprised at what Jenney said about Damian abandoning more Pokemon before. They felt really sorry for all the Pokemon that were treated badly by him and were glad that Officer Jenny was here.
"Not only are you going to jail, but your completely band from being a Pokemon trainer!" she declared.
"WHAT!" yelled Damian in disbelief.
"Wait, I won't do it again, I promise!" he said, trying to get out of the mess he got himself into, but it wasn't going to work.
"You left a Charmander out in the rain, you have sealed your fate in prison for a long time!" said Officer Jenney.
She dragged him over to her police motorcycle by the arm to keep him from getting away, then she took all of his Pokeballs with his Pokemon inside. she looked at the team and said, "I trust you kids to get these over to Nurse Joy safely!".
The team took a few of the Pokeballs and promised Officer Jenney that they would get them to Nurse Joy safely and unharmed. She was happy to see that those Pokemon would be delivered safely and with respect. Now that the Pokemon were in good hands, she walked by to her police bike, pushed Damian in broad in the side car, and drove away to the nearest police station to report Damian so that he could learn a long lesson on respecting Pokemon for a long time.
(3 Minutes Later)
The team had brought the Pokemon over to Nurse Joy and told her that it be best that she keeps them for a while and make sure that they're alright. She agreed with that idea, so that she could take care of any injures they got while being stuck to serve Damian. She also told them that yet would be given to trainers that would actually care for them, this made the team glad that the Pokemon will get trainers that will respect them and be treated right.
"Isn't that great Charmander, you'll get a trainer that is going to treat you right!" said Ash.
"Char" he said shaking his head back and forward saying 'no'
This surprised the trainers a lot, did Charmander not want a new trainer?
"What's wrong Charmander, don't you want a new trainer?" asked Ash.
His response was the little fire starter hugging his leg and and rubbing his head against it saying, "Char, Charmander"
"I think Charmander wants you to be his new trainer, Ash!" said Leaf.
"Well, that dose make sense, since Ash was the one who saved his life!" answered Red.
"Well, I'm ok with it too!" said Ash. He took out an empty Pokeball and let Charmander touch it, once he did the fire type was sent inside the Pokeball and started to shake inside until 'ding' he was caught.
"Yeah, I caught a Charmander!" called Ash as he raised the Pokeball in the air.
"Yeah, new team member!" called out Pikachu.
The trainer looked down at his new capture and thought, 'Don't worry Charmander, I'm nothing like Damian and I'll take better care of you than he did!'
Everyone was glad that Ash had captured Charmander, because they know that Ash will take good care of him. Red however, was a bit jealous of his twin brother for having a level 38 Charmander with a powerful attack, he knows that power levels are fake, but he still wished that his was as strong as Ash's Charmander. But, Red cares for all his Pokemon and will help his Charmander to become as strong as Ash's Charmander.
Now both of the Ketchum brothers have a Charmander and Bulbasaur, they are getting better at trainer their Pokemon a lot, they just hoped that they're training will be enough for their next gym battle.
(3 Minutes Later)
After asking Nurse Joy for directions back to Route 24, they team was now walking down the path to their destination. "Ok from now on, we're going to have everyone except Brock tell us where to go" said Misty.
"What, why?" asked the rock type gym leader.
"Because your the one who got us lost in the first place by not looking at the map!" she answered.
"But, if we hadn't gotten lost, then we would have never met Charmander and he wouldn't be here because no one saved him!" said Red looking at his brother.
"Plus, a new team member is always welcome!" said Pikachu as he was riding his trainer's shoulder like always.
"Well, I guess that's true!" replied Misty as she put that night behind her.
So now that Ash has a new team member with him and our heroes are back on track, they continue their journey to Vermillion city and the Pokemon league. So maybe getting lost with your friends isn't so bad after all, but let's be honest, getting found with your friends is way better. As their journey continues.
It was a day since Ash captured Charmander and things have been going pretty well with his training with his Pokemon. Right now the team was on the side of the path doing some training with their Pokemon.
Ash and Charmander were now going to bond together, he told Charmander about his power to have a special bond with his Pokemon that involves blue energy to will allow him to speak with his Pokemon in a normal English conversation.
This made little Charmander excited that he'll be able to talk with his trainer normally like he was a human.
The two of them got started. Ash put his on Charmander's head and started to bond let a pulse of blue energy from on his hand and let it enter Charmander's mind. In there, Ash saw many of Charmander's memorizes during his time with Damian, and some of them were not pretty. Putting those thought away, Ash then let his emotions on how he felt about being Charmander's new trainer enter Charmander's head.
Ash felt happy, glad, relieved, and satisfied. He then let those emotions into Charmander's head.
Now it was Charmander's turn, he let his emotions of Ash being his new trainer enter through Ash's hand. Charmander felt happy, glad, joy, hope, and friendship. He then let the emotions enter the trainers hand.
The two were now done and were ready to see the results.
"That felt kinda stranger, Ash" said Charmander.
Ash smiled, "I always dose, but it feels good to know that we can talk to each other now!"
"You understood me?" asked the fire starter in belief on what happened, did his trainer just speak back like he understood what he was saying to him?
"Yup, I understood you buddy!" replied Ash.
"This is so cool!" said the little fire starter as he started to jump up and down in excitement, not many Pokemon get a trainer that can talk with Pokemon hlike Ash and Red, he felt so lucky.
(30 Minutes Later)
The trainers had kept their training up for a while and the results were great. Pikachu had increase his speed on Quick Attack, the power of his Thunderbolt, and how fast he could do Tail Whip.
Leaf's Ivysaur and the Bulbasaurs were had the Charmanders, Pidgey, and Pidgeotto, use fire and flying type moves on them so that they could get use to them if Ash or Red would need them to battle fire or flying types in the future.
The Charmanders had Misty us her Staryu and Starmie do water type moves on them to get use to them if Ash or Red needed them for a battle against water Pokemon.
Pikachu used Thunderbolt on Pidgeotto and Pidgey, Brock's Onix used rock type moves on the Charmanders and Pikachu, Cleable had battled the others to get her moves stronger, etc.
Now they were back on track and were heading to a town in front of them. Suddenly, they felt the ground underneath them sink, then they all fell in, "AHH!?" they screamed as they fell in.
Everyone landed in the hole painfully on their backs, well, not everyone. Red landed on his butt and was able to catch Leaf before she hit the ground. when he caught her, he held her in bride style. The two looked at each other and blushed, but they smiled at the same time.
"Thanks, Red!" said Leaf as she got down on the dirt.
"Y-You're welcome" he replied.
It was clear that the two trainers were starting to grow an attraction for each other. but they'll talk about that another time, because now they were stuck at the bottom of a hole in the road.
"Ok, whoever dug this hole is going to be sorry that we fell in it" shouted Misty. She was really angry by the looks of it, seeing her like this scared the rest of the team and reminded them not to get her angry. Her question was answered by five heads who appeared over the hole and started to laugh. "Hey, that wasn't funny, we could have been hurt" called Leaf. The pranksters just laughed again.
Everyone started to get on each others shoulders to get high and out the hole. Ash, Red, and Pikachu were able to make it out and see who the pranksters were, they were Squirtles!
The two brothers took out their Pokedex and scanned the Squirltes.
Squirlte
The Tiny Pokemon
Shoots water at prey while in the water. Withdraws into its shell when in danger.
"I can't believe it Red, first Bulbasaur, then Charmander, and now Squirlte!, we've met all the Kanto starters in the wild, how lucky are we?" asked Ash with a smile on his face.
"Super lucky!" replied Red.
"Hey guys, your not going to believe who they are, its a bunch of Squirltes!" called Red.
"Squirltes?" said Leaf, Misty, and Brock together.
"Yeah, we'll help you up so you can see!" called Ash.
Just as they were about to help their friends out, a sound of a siren was heard coming and it caused the Squirltes to run away. It was Officer Jenney on her police bike. "Are you kids hurt?" she asked.
"No, we're fine. But can you help us get our friends out of this hole?" asked Red.
"Sure!" she replied. She got a rope from her bike and lowered it so that the team could climb out, they all thanked her, ans of course Brock tried to thank her by offering to take her out, but like always was pulled away by Misty.
"Thanks, Officer Jenney!" said Leaf.
"You're welcome, I'm guessing that you got prank by the Squirlte Squad" she said.
"Is that who those Squirtles are?" asked Brock.
"Yes, come with me to the police station and I'll tell you more!" she offered. The team followed Officer Jenney to the police station in the town in front of them to tell them about the Squirtle Squad. Once they got there, she showed them pictures of the Squirtle Squad on a computer and told them about how they started out as normal Squirtles with trainers, but then were abandoned by them because they weren't strong enough for the trainers. Since the Squirtles were sad, they were starting to blame humans and trainer, now they go around stealing and pranking humans to have fun and take out their frustration on humans.
It's really sad, I know if they had good trainers who would care for them, then they wouldn't be like this!" said Officer Jenney.
(5 Minutes Later)
The five heroes were now exiting the police station. They all felt sad about the Squirtle Squad's behavior because of how their old trainers treated them, they have heard and seen a lot of sad backstories on their journey about Pokemon being abandoned by their old trainers, there were starting to think on why couldn't trainers just love and care for their Pokemon instead of caring about wining battles.
"When I was still a wild Pokemon, I heard many stories about mean and rude trainers, and that many me dislike humans, but I'm glad that I got someone like you Ash!" said Pikachu, rubbing his cheek against Ash's face.
Ash smiled at his best friend riding on his shoulder, "Thanks buddy, I'm glad that I chose you as my starter." he said, "But there's just so many heartlees trainers out there who only care about using Pokemon to get what they want!" he complained.
"I know, why can't their just think more about their Pokemon and work how to train them properly instead of being more focused on winning, those kinds of people don't deserve to be trainers!" said Red with furry.
"Yeah, so far all the Pokemon that we met that were abandoned were the three Kanto starters, and then Ash and Red took them in!" said Brock with a smile, knowing that his friends will take good care of the Pokemon.
What Brock just said gave Red an idea, "Hey, your right Brock, Ash and I did get two of the Kanto starters, we both got Bulbasaurs, Ash got a Charmander like me, so why don't we go and get the Squirtles, that way we'll both have all three Kanto starters and some of the Squirtles will have trainers that will respect them!" he suggested.
The rest of the team thought that was a great idea, not only will both Red and Ash have the full set of starters, but them the Squirtle Squad will have caring trainers that will look after them, then they won't be pranking everyone in town anymore.
"Um excuse me." said a voice behind them. they turned around and saw a boy, who looked to be about the same age as Brock.
"My name is Michael and I heard that you're planning to catch the Squirtle Squad" he said.
"I'm guessing you what to catch one of them as well, right?" guessed Leaf.
"Yes, the truth is I know some of the Squirtles" he replied, "I saw them being deserted by their old trainers and heard them complain about how the Squirtles weren't strong enough for them" explained Michael.
"That's awful!" said Misty.
"I really can't believe that there are so many lazy and impatient trainers out there that only care about power!" said Ash.
"And because of what their old trainers did to them, they don't trust me when I try to ask them if I could be only of their new trainers" said Michael.
"Don't worry Michael, I'm sure that if we try to talk to them again then maybe they could at least give us a chance" encouraged Ash.
The team along with Michael went off to find the Squirtle Squad and see if they could get them to come with them and start to trust humans again, it was a long shot, but they won't give up before they even try.
(10 Minutes Later)
The team and Michael found the Squirtle Squad in a lake outside the town having fun in the water. They decided to walk slowly so that the Squirtles don't run away, they started moving slowly so that they could get close enough.
"Squirltes, with want to talk to you!" called out Ash.
This caught the Squirtles attention, they looked over at the trainers and decided to get them to leave. The five Squirtles got into a row and shot Water Gun at the trainers.
"I don't thinks so!" said Pikachu. He jumped off Ash's shoulder and got in front of the team so that he could shoot Thunderbolt at the in coming Water Guns, he fired electricity to the water attack and cancelled it out.
"Thanks buddy!" said Ash.
"No problem!" replied the electric mouse Pokemon.
"Look Squirtles, we don't want to fight you, we came here to talk" Ash announced.
The Squirtles didn't like humans, but decided to listen just this once, "We heard your story about what happened to you because your trainers thought you weren't good enough for them, but we think that your awesome and want to help you get better trainers than your old ones, just let us help you" reasoned Ash. Before the Squirtles could replied to Ash, Michael stepped up. "Listen Squirtles, I know what your trainers did was wrong, but I will never betray you or leave you. Come with us and we'll give you a new home with us forever" said Michael. He held out his hand and waited for response.
The Squirtle Squad started to talk to each other and then came to a decision. the leader looked up of the Squirtle Squad looked up at Ash and said, "Squirtle, squrt, squrt!"
"What did he say Pikachu?" asked Ash.
"He said that if you can defeat him and catch him in a battle, then he'll let you be his trainer!" answered Pikachu.
"Alright then, let's do this!" he said, accepting the challenge.
Ash and the leader of the Squirtle Squad stood across from each other to get this battle started. Ash was sure that he could win this and was going to use a Pokemon that doesn't have t type advantage to battle Squirtle.
He took out a Pokeball and called, "Butterfree, I choose you!"
Out came the butterfly Pokemon ready for action.
Squirtle took the first move and used Water Gun, he shot a jet of water at Butterfree in the air. But Ash was ready for this, "Dodge it!" he called. Butterfree avoided the attack just in time to start the next one. "Use Confusion!" said Ash. Butterfree's eyes turned purple all started to lift Squirtle into the air while he was surrounded by blue aura. Squirtle tried to broken free, but it was no use he was stuck floating in the air and was receiving damage while doing so. Then Butterfree tossed him backwards and had him crash in his head.
Squirtle got up from the attack and started to run up to Butterfree, when he was close enough he smashed his head into Bytterfree, which meant that he used Skull Bash. Butterfree was sent back a bit and then crashed into the ground.
"Are you ok Butterfree?" asked Ash.
"Don't worry Ash, I'm fine!" He replied as he started to fly up again.
Squirtle started to used Bubble and was now shooting little bubbles at Butterfree. The little bug type was starting to dodge as fast as he can, avoiding as many Bubble attacks as quickly as they came to him.
"You ready to end this Butterfree?" asked Ash
You bet I'am!" answered the bug Pokemon as he then did the strangest thing, he started to scream at Squirtle that it caused the water starter to cover his ear on how loud the noise was.
"Guys, I think that Butterfree just learned Supersonic!" said Brock.
"Wow, that's great!" said Ash. He also see an opportunity to catch Squirtle on that he was of guard, he took out a Pokeball and threw it as the tiny turtle Pokemon, "Pokeball, Go!" he called. Once it hit Squirtle, he was sent inside and it started to shake a bit. It shoke once, twice, three times, four times, 'ding' he was caught.
"Oh yeah, I caught a Squirtle!" said Ash as he picked up the Pokeball and raised it in the air.
Everyone congratulated Ash on his capture and and on having Butterfree learn a new move. Now that Ash had caught Squirtle, he released him from the Pokeball to talk with him.
"Well Squirtle, I caught you, but if you don't want me to be your trainer then I'll just let you go if that's what you want!" he said. This surprised Squirtle a lot, he told Ash that if he could him that he could be his new trainer, but now his letting him decide if he wants to go or not? This made Squirtle realized that he and the other Squirtles were wrong about humans, not all humans are bad like their old trainers, they just needed to find the right trainer to be with.
The Squirtle Squad all looked at each other and started to talk about going with trainers again. After talking for about 3 minutes, the Squirtles looked up at the trainers and then jumped into their arms.
The leader of the Squirtle Squad jumped into Ash's arms, one jumped into Red's arms, one jumped into Misty's arms, and the last two jumped into Michael's arms. The Squirtles have now found new trainers, ones that will care for them and respect them properly. They were all ready happy now!
"Yes, I finally have a Squirtle, two Squirtles!" cheered Michael. The rest of the team was happy for Michael and that they have their own water types now. That meant that both Ash and Red had all three of the Kanto starters with them. they became really happy with their captures and promised to take good care of them, unlike their old trainers.
(5 Minutes Later)
Ash and Red had just finished their special bond with their new Squirtles, now they can talk to them normally in human English. This made the Squirtles very happy that they could now talk with their new trainers.
Misty's Squirtle was a bit jealous since Misty couldn't do that with her, but you in some you loss some, at least he had a new trainer.
Now that all that was over, the team was ready to head off to Vermillion city again. Michael and his two Squirtles wished them good luck on their journey, as the team started to walk out of town. It has been a very exciting week for the team of Pokemon trainers as they met new people, and the Ketchum brother now have all three of the Kanto starter with them. They were going to train really how for the next gym battle in Vermillion city so that they can earn their next Pokemon league gym badge and get one step closer to becoming Pokemon masters. More exciting adventures await as the journey continues.
To Be Continued...
More information
Ash's Pokemon:
Pikachu (Level 30), Pidgeotto (Level 25), Butterfree (Level 18), Bulbasaur (Level 9), Charmander (Level 38), Squirtle (Level 13)
Red's Pokemon:
Charmander (Level 14), Pidgey (Level 15), Beedrill (Level 17), Sandshrew (Level 19), Bulbasaur (Level 9), Squirtle (Level 13)
Leaf's Pokemon:
Ivyasur (Level 19), Clefable (Level 13)
Misty's Pokemon:
Staryu (Level 27), Starmie (Level 26)
Brock's Pokemon
Geodude: (Level 13), Onix (Level 19)
79003car, saying 'see ya next time!'