A few days had gone by since their last adventure. The new charmanders had gotten used to their trainers. Ash was leading the group like always, with Misty and Brock right behind. Michelle and Selene were even further back talking to Luke, Lottie, and Nero. Their conversation stopped suddenly when Selene heard yells. Ash, Brock, Misty and Pikachu had all fallen down into yet another perfect hole.
"What the heck is with the holes we find?" Michelle asked,"They are always perfectly circular!"
Selene shook her head and sighed. "Team Rocket must REALLY take their time on these holes."
Michelle nodded before carefully walking to the edge of the hole. She leaned over and called down to them. "Are you guys ok down there?"
"Yes, we are fine, but I can't believe we fell into ANOTHER hole!" Misty complained in annoyance.
"Ow, I landed on my head!" Brock muttered.
"You aren't dead right?' Selene asked as she called down to him.
"No, why?" He responded.
"Then you're ok," Selene responded.
"He could have a concussion," Michelle said to Selene before calling down. "Brock, you don't feel dizzy or nauseous right?" She asked.
"Right," He replied.
Michelle rolled her eyes,"Ok, you are fine."
As the rest of their traveling group looked down at the trio, they were starting to stand up. Ash was rubbing his back.
"This must have been a prank," Brock said in thought.
"Who would have done such a thing?" Misty asked. Though her question was soon answered when five squirtles wearing sunglasses started to surround the hole with the rest of the group. They were laughing. Ash spotted that four had circle shades and the one and presumably the leader wore a fancier triangle shaped shade.
Selene blinked as she looked at the squirtle pokemon. "Squirtles?" She asked in thought.
Misty placed her hands on her hips. "Why would you do a thing like this?" She asked the squirtles. Ash wanted to get up, so Brock and Misty helped him get to the top. The group of squirtles backed up as he reached the edge. Selene and Michelle went over to help get Ash up and soon Brock and Misty were out of the hole as well. Before either side could do anything, sirens were heard in the distance. The group of squirtles bolted out of there before Officer Jenny came to stop by the group.
She looked at them and asked, "Is everything ok here? Is anybody hurt?"
"We're fine officer, but thanks for asking," Michelle said with a wave of her hand.
"It was just a strange group of squirtles, that's all," Selene said
"The people around here call them the Squirtle Squad," Officer Jenny said.
"I've never heard of a pokemon gang before," Misty said as she thought aloud.
"You'd be surprised Misty," Michelle said before looking back at the officer.
"They're a bunch of squirtles that were deserted by their just run wild and play tricks on the whole town. It's really quite sad, because if they had somebody to care about them, they wouldn't have turned out to be as bad as they are now," Jenny said with a sigh.
"It makes sense if you think about it," Michelle said gaining the attention from the group, "It's kind of like kids who were neglected and abandoned themselves. They feel like they aren't wanted and will do anything to gain back that feeling." Selene and Jenny nodded respectively. Brock and Misty was in thought. Ash just barely nodded. Luke nodded before making his way to Michelle before giving her a side hug.
After a bit, Jenny had to go and do something else so she left them to their own doing. They had wandered off before settling a small camp by the river. Brock and Ash were laying down while Misty was fishing by the riverbed. Selene had gone over to watch her as she did so. Lottie and Nero were playing tag in the background, their laughter filling the air. Michelle and Luke were meditating by the riverbed as they both try to hone their powers a bit.
A sudden small bubbling that surrounded misty's buoy had caught the young red-head's attention and she said, "I think I got something." Out from the water, one of the squirtles they had seen earlier used a water gun on Misty, Ash, Brock and Selene. The sudden noises got the attention of Charlotte and Nero and they headed towards them to see if they were okay. Michelle opened one eye before staring incredulously at the squirtle. The squirtle just laughed.
"I'm soaked…." Misty whimpered. Pikachu had enough with the attitude of this pokemon, so he stomped forward and tried to use Thunderbolt. Squirtle had dodged it but it shocked the four people around him.
"Pikachu turn it off!" Michelle said as she was making her way over. Akiko was agreeing as she sat on her shoulder.
Pikachu sighed before stopping and glaring at the round glasses of the water-type. His laughter irritating the group. The squirtle had jumped up onto land as he prepared himself for a small showdown. Seeing the opportunity, Ash looked to Pikachu and said,"Thunderbolt!" He nodded to him before aiming at the turtle. The pokemon laughed one more time before charging forward and going into his shell to use the move Rapid Spin. It caught Pikachu off guard and the mouse was sent flying back and into a tree. Ash was going to go and grab his little buddy but soon found himself being tied up by the other three round-glasses squirtles. Brock and Misty had already been wrapped up while their attention was one the battle
Charlotte and Nero tried to charge in but the leader of the Squirtle gang tricked them into going into one of his traps and down a hole they went. Selene quickly went to try and help the two before being pushed over and into the hole as well, she let out a yelp.
Out from behind a tree, Meowth came out and said, "You're not going to Squirtle out of this one."
Selene sighed before calling out from the hole, "That was a horrible pun!"
"Who asked you!" Meowth snarled he was distracted, Michelle, Akiko and Luke had hid. He made sure that the trio in the hole weren't going to escape. "I'm the pokemon in charge here," he said to the ones down below. The squirtles were tying up the others by a nearby tree. "Just wait till my human pets get back!" He laughed
"Don't believe in that Meowth!" Selene called from down in the hole. "He's only using you to do their dirty work!" She was trying to convince the squirtles. The leader was pondering what she was saying.
"Quiet!" Meowth said as he tried to scratch down at the girl but it didn't scratch even a hair off her head. He then turned to the squirtles. "Who are you going to believe? A simple human or a fellow pokemon?" The squirtles nodded in approval, all but the leader, he just stared at the Meowth.
Brock had been looking at Pikachu who was now in a cage a bit away from them. "Guys, Pikachu is in bad shape."
"What?" Ash said in worry as he looked over to his little buddy.
"We got to do something," Misty said as she frowned at the situation.
"We got to help him before it's too late," Brock said with a sigh. "Either getting him to a Pokemon Center, or at least using a Super Potion."
"We can't get Nurse Joy since we're tied up and we don't have a Super Potion," Ash said in thought.
"We're out of Super Potions! We used them earlier when we were helping a bunch of Pokemon! We were planning on getting more at the store we saw in town," Lottie called out from the hole.
Ash bit his lip before looking at the group of Squirtles, "Please let me out so I can go and buy some for Pikachu. I'm begging you," He said "I'll come back, I promise!"
Squirtle mumbled something and Meowth translated it, "He said promises are cheap"
"Please trust me," Ash said before a few tears came out and landed on the ground below.
The head Squirtle looked at Ash, then to Pikachu. It let out a sigh before ordering his minions to release Ash, though made sure the other two couldn't get away. He then started to order things.
"The Squirtle says, if you are not here by noon tomorrow, the red-headed girl gets her hair dyed purple!"
"You Mangy little flea trap!" Misty screamed as she tried to get him. "When I get out of this, your tail is going to be wrapped around-"
"Misty, don't worry. I'll be back ok?" Ash said before looking at her. Misty nodded reluctantly before he darted towards the town. Along the way he had hit a few snags, like tripping over a rock and falling off a broken bridge into a river. He would feel a bit sore as a Goldeen attacked him. He had stumbled his way out of the river with the help of a floating stick and made his way into town.
Ash blinked as he spotted Luke leaning on a nearby building with Akiko on his shoulder. Michelle was in front of him pacing back and forth. They were trying to come up with a rescue plan. "So this is where you guys went," He said as he hobbled over.
"Ash!" Michelle said before darting over and started to check him out to see if anything needed to be worked on. No broken bones, just a few cuts here and there and wet as a Goldeen. "Are you ok?" She asked as she finally went to be face to face with him.
"Yes, but no time to say what happened. I need to get a Super Potion. Pikachu isn't doing too well and is locked up. We ran out of Super Potions and I convinced the Squirtles that I would get the Potion and bring it back by noon tomorrow. If I don't, Misty's hair is going to get dyed purple."
Michelle couldn't say another word before a commotion was heard at the front of a nearby store. Two familiar figures came bustling out with a big bag of stolen goods. Ash said, "It's Team Rocket!"
Michelle turned to Ash and said,"We got to get the Super Potion and get back before they do." The two then headed into the same store to try and buy the potion.
"Super Potion Please!" Ash said before quickly raising his hands into the air. "Don't shoot! We're not part of Team Rocket!"
"Are you people insane! He's a kid, why the heck would you aim a gun at a kid! Does he look like he was dressed up like those idiots!" Michelle scolded them. The group bit their lips and got them at least five pairs with no charge. The two didn't have time to say thank you when Officer Jenny barged through the doors.
"Where did they go?" She asked the group.
Michelle looked at her. "We can take you," She said as she motioned Ash and her to follow. Luke and Akiko were right on their tails as Jenny hopped onto her bike. Ash was riding with the officer, while Michelle was running alongside it and guiding them to where they needed to go.
"Step on it!" Ash said. Jenny nodded but had to step on her breaks as her usual route of crossing the rickety bridge had been destroyed.
"Are you kidding me?" Michelle muttered.
"We can't go this way, but I know another way," She said as she turned her bike around and headed in a different direction. It wasn't long before they got a giant rock formation and right in front was a hole big enough for Ash and Michelle to slip in.
"You two can slip in, while I can't fit through," Jenny said.
Michelle had already heard from Luke through telepathy that he was going to meet them at the camp. Ash then slipped in first, then Michelle went after him. Ash looked over to Michelle when they were able to go into a slightly bigger tunnel. "It's a bit dark in here, but Charmander should do the trick," He said. He took out a pokeball and released his Charmander. The young fire type smiled and waved his tail a bit happily.
"I'm going to bring Carnell out to help,' Michelle said as the other Charmander appeared beside his
"Can you two help us light our way? We need to hurry though," Ash said before the two Charmanders nodded and started to walk. It wasn't long before they came to the entrance of the cave. There he spotted Misty and Brock out of their ropes. Brock was holding Pikachu in his arms. Selene, Nero and Lottie were gathering around them. Ash's Charmander was put away, but Carnell was staying behind with Michelle so that she wasn't spotted.
"I have the Super Potion," Ash said as he made his way over to Brock and started to spray it on Pikachu. "You guys ok?" He asked.
Brock nodded before looking at the laughing group of Squirtles, "The Squirtle Squad was bluffing."
Selene chuckled,"They only like to cause pranks and nothing more than that," She said as she leaned on Nero. Lottie nodded and smiled as she waved at the group.
A blast was heard from nearby the caves as a Meowth balloon came into sight. "It's Team Rocket!" Lottie said with a huff.
"Quick Meowth! Grab Pikachu and climb the ladder! We'll get that Pichu later!" Jessie said as she and James threw smoke bombs down to the group. A ladder was soon seen being thrown out from the basket. The Meowth laughed before darting towards Brock who was holding PIkachu. As he tried to grab him from his hands, he yowled in pain as Akiko shocked him from the back.
"You little rat!" Meowth snarled as he turned to look towards the small Pichu. As he looked over, Luke was standing over her.
"She's not a rat, she's a mouse." Luke said telepathically to Meowth with a stone cold glare. Meowth gulped as he started to back up. He quickly grabbed Pikachu and Akiko before scampering up the ladder.
"Into the cave!" Called Ash as he tried to herd everyone into the cave. Jessie and James were throwing the rest of their bombs out the side of the basket. Smoke rose up as Ash heard the call of the lead Squirtle. He turned around to see that he was on his back. Michelle and the rest were already in the cave. Ash quickly darted towards the Squirtle and covered him as more bombs fell around them.
"Ash!" Everyone yelled from within the cave.
Ash coughed as the dust settled, "You ok Squirtle?" He asked as more bombs were coming. The Squirtle quickly picked up Ash in a bout of strength. Luke quickly went to their aid and made a barrier around them as the three of them darted towards the others.
Team Rocket was looking over the damage they have done and started to laugh. "No more Squirtle Squad, the town will give us medals," Jessie said with a grin.
"I don't think so," Ash said as he was now standing on the ridge above the cave entrance. Luke was standing next to him as well as Michelle and Carnell. The Squirtle was staring angrily at the trio.
"I WANT my Akiko back,"Michelle hissed as her fingers started to clench into fists.
"Weren't they…" Jessie began.
"Didn't they,' James continued.
"How'd they…" Meowth finished.
"Squirtle, Water Gun!" Ash said as he pointed at the balloon.
"Carnell, Ember!" Michelle said.
Luke was powering up for an Aura Sphere. Once the other two were done charging, all three had launched their attacks at the balloon. The water gun had pierced one hole into the cheap material. It shook the balloon enough for Meowth to let go of Pikachu. The Ember attacked had pierced another hole and it started to move around a bit more as they dropped Akiko. Luke launched the Aura Sphere and it hit it to where they were blasting off. He had jumped and quickly grabbed the two mouse pokemon as the trio were now out of sight.
"Pi. Pichu! (Thanks, Luke!)" Akiko said as she hugged the Lucario. Pikachu nodded before darting towards and tackling Ash to the ground.
"Akiko!" Michelle said as she went to scoop up the little one. They were having a fond moment before Selene let out a yell.
"Guys, Watch out!" Selene said as she pointed towards the billowing wall of flames that was caused by Team Rocket's actions.
"Team Rocket!" Misty snarled before hearing the tires of a motorcycle. She turned to see Officer Jenny stopping behind them.
"If it keeps burning, the whole town can end up in smoke," She said in worry.
"Don't worry, I got an idea," Ash said before turning and looking down at the squirtle squad. "If you really work together, you can combine your Water Guns to put out the fire." The group of squirtles nodded before getting to work. It wasn't long before the fires had died out.
"That was great you guys!" Lottie said happily. "You should all be firefighters!"
"That's not a bad idea,"Officer Jenny said before smiling at the group. "How about you all become our local firefighters." The squirtles all cheered, but the leader was looking at Ash.
Ash sees the expression before hopping down and towards the water type. "What's wrong Squirtle?" He asked.
The Squirtle took off his glasses before running to him and hugging him. "I believe, he wants to join you," Selene said as she watches from afar.
"That was obvious,' Michelle pointed out.
Ash looked down and smiled," You really want to? Welcome to our family," He said before spinning him around that made the squirtle and the rest laugh happily. The other squirtles started to gather around the two. The leader nodded before waving goodbye to his friends.