Chapter 39

Luck wasn't usually on their side on their journey through the Kanto region, so when things that were good usually happened, it was a pleasant surprise. This time, upon stopping in a town, they found not a Gym or a Pokémon Center, but a carnival. A Pokémon Trainer's work was never done, but it wouldn't hurt to take a break every once in a while.

A smile spread from ear to ear spread across their faces as they looked around at their surroundings. For Ash, it was the energy, the wonderful-smelling food, and the many-colored tents all put up. But for Brock, it was the beautiful girls in skimpy outfits that were walking by as part of the parade they happened across, throwing confetti into the air and letting it rain down over the dirt roads. "Look at all of those beautiful girls!" he moaned with a red blush settling on his face.

"All right!" Ash stated, unable to hold back his excitement any longer. "Let's show these people how to really party!" Running to the local booth, they both bought frilly tuxedos to blend in with the rest of the party-goers. Ash's was bright orange with a frilly chest piece and matching bowler hat, and Brock's was white with pink frills on the arms and legs. It took a lot of their money, but they would just live frugally for a while. "Let's boogie!"

"Yahoo!" After all, what was money when it came with a lot of fun? And with big smiles on their faces, they joined in the crowd of dancing strangers.

o 0 o

Not being much of a ride person, Ash and Brock explored the carnival and having the time of their lives. The food was expensive, so it bummed Ash out to know he could only get one thing, and he wanted to save that for the magic show that was coming up. He and Brock played a multitude of games, and even visited the petting zoo where people could interact with a variety of Pokémon, including Ponyta, Oddish, Venusaur, and Dodrio. The kids really seemed to enjoy it, and it brought a big smile to Ash's face to see how many little kids loved Pokémon.

After some time passed, the time came for the magic show, and with a small box of overflowing popcorn in hand, he and Brock walked into the dimly-lit tent, and despite all the advertisements, there weren't a whole lot of people as well. Aside from the portly magician wearing a green overcoat up on stage and Ash and Brock, there were only four other people sitting in the chairs.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming! Allow me to introduce myself; I am Melvin, the Magician Magnificent!" The response was dead quiet. Ash and Brock exchanged concerned looks in the darkness as they found their seats, and Brock took the popcorn and began to munch on it as the show began.

"C'mon, hurry it up!" one of the very few audience members shouted, and the magician hastily shook his hands to calm them down.

"Yes, yes, of course! Thank you for your patience. Please allow me to present my magical Pokémon, Exeggcute." As he gestured to a table beside him, a Pokémon that looked like a cluster of eggs all jumped up onto the table and grinned out at the audience.

"Exeggcute!"

The sight of the new Pokémon brought a smile to Ash's face, and he chuckled as he pulled out his Pokédex to scan it. "Exeggcute?!"

"Exeggcute, an Egg Pokémon. Although it resembles an egg, it is known to be more closely related to the seed of a plant."

The magician held out his hands, and the six Exeggcute jumped into his hands before bouncing and rotating from one hand to the other like a pinwheel. "Now it's time for some Exeggcute juggling."

"This is magic?" Ash questioned quietly with a cocked eyebrow as he observed the act. He wasn't the only one who felt this way, as the loud onlooker for before also yelled.

"We don't want juggling!"

"Boring!" Brock called between bites of his popcorn.

"We wanna see some real magic!" another audience member cried as the Exeggcute bounced back to their table.

"Yeah, do a trick, will 'ya?"

Melvin waved his hands to the tiny audience in another attempt to get them to settle down. "Hold on, the best part is coming up. My Pokémon and I are gonna do some great magic tricks now which will surmaze and apprise you." Once again, Ash and Brock traded glances, unable to believe they paid money to see this joke of an act.

Just then, all but one spotlight died down, beaming on top of the magician as he stepped up onto a platform. He held out his magician's staff and closed his eyes as a drum-roll sounded in the back. He looked as if he were concentrating greatly. Beside him, his Exeggcute hopped in place excitedly, and chanted quietly to bring up the tension. Now the audience was silent as they waited in anticipation for Melvin's next trick. After seeming to build up the tension long enough, Melvin's eyes flashed open and he extended the head of the cane out toward the audience.

"Raging fire!" he declared, and a small puff of flame that looked similar to a lighter spark came out of the top, but the smoke that followed was more impressive. Everyone in the audience fell off their seats and the magician's embarrassed blush seemed to be illuminated by the spotlight.

"That was pathetic!"

"You're the worst!"

"J-just one more try!" Melvin protested, flailing his arms and clearing his throat as they all pulled back up to their seats.

Waving his cane once again, a stream of fire like a flamethrower shot out and illuminated the tent. For the first time since the show began, both Ash and Brock gasped in amazement. An even bigger smile spread across Melvin's face, and he pointed his cane in different directions. "Fire! Fire! And fire!" But he seemed to be so excited that his trick actually worked that he wasn't paying attention to where the flames were going, and audience members had to duck under their seats to avoid getting burnt. Even Ash and Brock tucked their heads and let out cries as a stream of fire shot over their heads, with the latter dropping his popcorn in the process. "I can't believe it! It never worked before! Fire!" He sent one last powerful stream of fire into the air, but this time, it caught the sprinkler system above, which activated it and made the others go off in response. Alarms went off and water rained down over them, soaking their new outfits and making their hair cling to their face, while the other people in the audience let out cries of annoyance.

As Ash and Brock rose up from their crouched positions now that the coast was clear, they could see how angry the other customers were. "I want my money back!" one of the audience members yelled.

"You're the worst!" All at once, everyone in the audience – aside from the traveling Trainers – began to throw their trash up onto the stage. Melvin skillfully dodged being pelted with experience, as if this had happened before, and everyone in the audience started to walk away.

"Wait! Don't go! The best part is just about to start-" he began to protest, but the last thing that Ash and Brock saw before they exited the tent was Melvin being hit square in the face with a glass bottle and being knocked off the stage.

Now soaked to the bone and their money supply mostly gone, Ash and Brock decided it was time for them to leave the carnival and continue their Pokémon journey. It was a good break with a sour note at the end, but Ash was at least thankful he got to see a new Pokémon in the process.

o 0 o

Their journey since leaving the Fuchsia Gym had been a less-than-fruitful one, and the stop at the next village, Mossgreen Village, was no exception. The quaint little town could hardly be called that, as it was nestled deep in the forest and only featured houses that were spotted here and there. Ash and Brock stood up on a ledge that overlooked the small community and the gardens that grew here, deciding whether or not to stop or not.

"There's no use stopping here if they don't have a Gym," Ash stated after adjusting the brim of his hat.

"We don't have any choice," Brock protested, and when Ash turned to his friend, he saw the Pokémon Breeder was shaking an empty bag with a medical cross on the front of it. "We have a big problem: check out our Potion and Antidote bag." A frown curled Ash's mouth, but Brock dismissed it with a small grin of his own and put the empty bag back in his backpack. "I'd say this is a good time to stock up on supplies."

Well, since they had to stop anyway, Ash's mind immediately, of course, went to food, and he smiled up at his traveling companion. "I'm dying for a cheeseburger!" he added, and Brock nodded.

"C'mon, let's go." With that decided they headed into the road that led them down the path to the entrance of the village.

o 0 o

They stopped for a quick bite to eat at the local restaurant, and with their bellies full, asked the worker at the restaurant if there was a shop that sold medicinal supplies for Pokémon. Thankfully, there was, and following her directions, they were led to a small shop just at the edge of the village. The shop was practically in the forest itself, and was barely two floors, but it fit in with the rest of the village.

Walking in through the tarp that served as the entrance, they walked past a curtain into a dark shop that was creepy beyond imagination. Several medicine bottles laid about, each of them containing some type of potion with a plant or unknown root soaking in it. "Is anybody home?" Ash asked loudly, and he had to squint his eyes to see anything at all in the shop. "Hello?" They were drawn toward the back of the shop where the sound of scraping could be heard, and when they made their way to the back corner, they could see an old woman in baggy, rag-like clothing over body and head. She had a yagen in her hand that she was using to make a green paste. "Excuse me? We'd like to buy some Potions and Antidotes, please."

The old woman snickered and looked at them, though the shadow from her hood covered over her eyes. "Got some snake-root that will cure insomnia and grow hair on your nose and tongue," she said, and held up dried-up plants.

"Uh, does it come in a no-hair formula?" Brock asked nervously as both of them reeled back in slight disgust, but then another woman came in with a basket tucked under her arm, and she frowned at the old woman as she walked up beside Ash.

"Grandma! I asked you before not to frighten the customers!"

"I didn't mean to scare anyone," the shop-keeper defended, but the smile on her face said otherwise.

"I know, but we're here to help Trainers with our miracle potions, not scare them away," the girl reasoned with her free hand out. Ash gasped, but before he could say anything, Brock quickly jumped in front of him and gave the girl with the pigtail buns a dashing smile.

"Uh, my name's Brock. Are you the owner of this Pokémon pharmacy?"

"Yes, with my grandma," the girl replied, and Ash's face melted into one of annoyance as he knew what was coming next.

"I'm interested in Pokémon potions. If you're not doing anything tonight, maybe we could have dinner tonight and talk about them." The girl looked at the pair and thought with a finger touching her cheek mindlessly, but then she pointed it back at them.

"Are the two of you Pokémon Trainers?"

The smile on Brock's face disappeared when his offer was completely disregarded. "Uh, well..."

"Instead of dinner, how about a Pokémon battle!" she challenged. This time, it was Ash that jumped in front of Brock excitedly, and he raised his hand as if he were asking a teacher a question.

"Okay! You can battle with me!"

"That's great!" the girl said with her grin widening. "We can battle out back!" She gave her basket of plants and herbs to her grandmother, and the three of them exited the way they had entered, but the green-haired girl brought them behind the shop. "Thank you for agreeing to battle with me. My name's Cassandra."

"You've already met Brock, and my name's Ash," the Pokémon Trainer introduced, and they all made space in the grass big enough for a battlefield. The girl nodded and took out a Poké Ball before holding it toward the ground. The ball opened up, and from the light that spilled out from the center, a Paras came out and looked at them.

"Paras, paras, paras," it cooed, and then sunk back with a worried look.

"This Paras will be your opponent."

"Uh, Paras?" Ash asked rhetorically, and scanned the red beetle-like Pokémon with Dexter.

"Paras, the Mushroom Pokémon. Rare mushrooms grow on its back." Strangely enough, when Ash clicked the front of his Pokédex shut, the Paras let out a shocked cry and scuttled behind its Trainer's leg.

"Paras! You can't give up already!" she said to it in a soothing voice.

"Seems like your Pokémon doesn't want to battle us..." Ash commented with a cocked eyebrow.

"You're right," Cassandra replied sadly. "I'd love for Paras to evolve into a Parasect very soon, but it's too cowardly to battle."

"The best way for Pokémon to evolve is by winning battles," Brock agreed with crossed arms. "The more battles they win, the quicker they evolve."

"And I have to have Parasect's mushroom."

"Why do you need Parasect's mushroom?" Ash and Brock asked simultaneously. Cassandra pet her Pokémon on the top of its head as she explained to them.

"You see, after Paras evolves, I'll use its mushroom to make a new potion made especially for Pokémon! And I'll use the new potion to help Pokémon all over the world!" Ash smiled at how Cassandra talked about her dream, and finally, he and Brock exchanged a nod and he held out his own Poké Ball.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" After calling out, the ball opened in his palm, and a flash of light spilled out at his feet, eventually forming into his Grass Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur!" it uttered, and looked at its opponent with its red eyes. This only intimidated it more, and Paras yelped and tried to further hide behind its Trainer.

"Just this once, since it's for a good cause, we're gonna let Paras win, okay?" Ash instructed Bulbasaur, kneeling down and whispering it to the Seed Pokémon. Bulbasaur seemed taken slightly aback, but when it glanced back at the cowardly Paras, it nodded in agreement and trotted forward.

"Good luck, Paras! All the Pokémon in the world are counting on you!" Cassandra encouraged her Pokémon, and the Mushroom Pokémon gave a defeated sigh of its name before scuttling forward in front of Bulbasaur. The two Pokémon stood feet apart from each other, with Paras avoiding Bulbasaur's gaze while the Grass Pokémon looked with a mask-like face.

"Bulbasaur, Vine-" Ash began through habit, but then suddenly caught himself and looked back at Brock as a nervous look crossed his face. "Uh, I mean... Vine Whip might be overdoing it..."

"Look! Paras is making the first move!" Brock declared. Without an order from its Trainer, Paras took the initiative and shook the mushrooms on its back. A shimmering golden power came out from them and wafted towards Bulbasaur. Since it had more experience battling, Bulbasaur didn't even need an order to jump over the Stun Spore.

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!" Ash called again, and hesitated as he had just moments ago before clearing his throat. "Uhh, maybe just a little poke?" Bulbasaur sent a nervous look Ash's way, and as it landed off to the side, one of its vines shot out from underneath the bulb on its back. It shot like a rocket at Paras, and when the Mushroom Pokémon flinched at the oncoming strike, Bulbasaur stopped centimeters away from Paras's forehead and jabbed it with the tip of the vine. But even this simple poke made Paras roll onto its back like it had been hit with a powerful blow, and it slumped in defeat. Cassandra gave a gasp at seeing her Pokémon defeated, and Ash immediately slapped his palm against his face. "Oh, no..."

Kneeling down beside her Pokémon, Cassandra placed her hands gently on Paras and helped it back up onto its right-side. "How will Paras gain any experience?" she asked as Bulbasaur looked at the Pokémon it had defeated nervously. Its Trainer also didn't have an answer, and simply scratched his head through his cap.

"Uh, this is a tough one... What am I supposed to do now?"

"Look up Paras's type, and we'll just choose a weaker opponent!" Brock suggested.

"Good idea," Ash agreed, and pulled out Dexter once more.

"Paras has qualities of both Bug and Grass Pokémon," it told them, and Ash smirked with the answer.

"Right! A Water type!" Recalling Bulbasaur into its Poké Ball, he quickly replaced it with another one from his belt. "Wartortle, I choose you!" The Poké Ball bounced off the ground a couple times before it opened, and Wartortle gave a cry as it formed from the light inside.

"Wartortle!"

"Hey, that Wartortle is a Water-type!" Cassandra said, the sight of Wartortle lighting up her face. "Maybe you can win, Paras!"

"Paras..." her Pokémon moaned, slowly pulling itself up shakily on its legs.

"Wartortle, use your BubbleBeam," Ash whispered in his starter Pokémon's ear. "But just enough to spritz the mushroom's a little." Wartortle looked back at its Trainer with a similar look that Bulbasaur had given him earlier, but nevertheless, it turned back to Paras and took in a small breath before blowing a single bubble out at Paras. The bubble drifted toward the Bug and Grass Pokémon while Paras looked at it with its eyes crossing more and more, and finally, the bubble popped in its face, and Paras rolled over in defeat.

"Oh! Are you hurt?" Cassandra asked her Pokémon, scooping it up into her arms, and her Pokémon moaned as it blinked and looked sadly up at her. As before, she flipped it around and put it back on its feet. "Please give it one more try?" Wartortle looked embarrassed and hurt that it accidentally defeated Paras, and rubbed the back of its head similar to how its Trainer did.

"Wartortle..."

Ash shook his head dismissively and held out its Poké Ball. "Wartortle, return." Once his Pokémon was back inside its Poké Ball, Ash thought about the Pokémon on his team – Bulbasaur and Wartortle were able to beat it, and they were Grass and Water-types. The only other type he had that Paras was strong against was a Fighting-type in Mankey. Retrieving the Pig Monkey's Poké Ball, he held it up in the air. "I'm not gonna give up until Paras has evolved into Parasect! I choose you... Mankey!" The metal sphere made an audible sound as it hit the dirt and opened up. Mankey appeared from the brilliant flash of light with a squeal, and sniffed as it looked at its opponent. "Your turn, Mankey! Go easy on it!"

Though its eyes were squints, Mankey turned fully back to its Trainer and scratched its head with its paw from the unusual order. "Man?" it questioned. Paras, seeing its opportunity, scurried over to Mankey and jabbed its pointed front pincer down onto Mankey's tail. Mankey leapt into the air from pain, and when it landed, its face was downward, and it stood incredibly still. Ash's eyes widened into saucers, and neither he nor Brock dared to make a move as they tried to gauge how Mankey would react.

In an attempt to cool down the situation, Ash nervously swallowed the lump that had built up in his throat and chuckled loudly. "Hey, good job, Paras! You did great-" He suddenly cut himself off when he could hear huffing coming from his Pokémon. Looking down at his feet, Mankey's red eyes were visible and bloodshot, and it was huffing as though it had just run a marathon. Some inches behind it, Paras had raised its pincer in the air, thinking that it had actually won the fight. It turned around and looked happily up at its Trainer.

"Parrrrasss!" it cooed, but then a shadow fell over it, and its pupils instantly dilated. "Paras...?" it murmured as it turned around. Looking down at it with a face of pure anger, Mankey and Paras locked eyes.

"It's okay! Hang in there!" Cassandra encouraged, but suddenly, Mankey let out an ear-splitting shriek and launched itself at Paras. The Mushroom Pokémon cried out and tried to get away, but it was soon entangled in Mankey's Thrash attack. Cassandra yelped in horror and threw her hands over her mouth as if trying to keep a scream in the back of her throat, while across from her, Ash hurried over to his Pokémon.

"No, Stop, Mankey!" he yelled, plucking the Pig Monkey Pokémon off the ground and into the air. The Fighting-type Pokémon thrashed in his grip, attempting to break free of its Trainer to continue to attack Paras. Before Cassandra could kneel down to make sure her Paras was okay, the cowardly Bug-type jumped to its feet and hurried off into the woods with tears of fear streaming down its face.

"Paras! Wait!" Cassandra called after Paras, but it was too late, and her Pokémon disappeared into the bushes. At that moment, Mankey's flailing managed to land a hit, and the back of its heel dug into Ash's eye socket. When the Pallet Town Trainer cried and his grip let up slightly, Mankey managed to pry free from him and dashed off into the woods after Paras. With nothing to hold onto, Ash let out a groan and fell onto his back with his eye throbbing and beginning to darken already.

"Ash! We have to go after Mankey!" Brock told him, already beginning to run into the woods after them. "You know as well as I do that once Mankey begins to Thrash, there's no stopping it until it's calmed down."

"You're right! Let's get going," Ash agreed, peeling himself off the grass, and the three of them hurried after where Mankey and Paras had disappeared to. "I'm sorry, Cassandra – I wasn't looking to beat it." But Cassandra shook her head as his apology and gave him a sad smile.

"It's my fault for challenging you to a Pokémon battle..."

"I forgot how short of a temper Mankey had; all I wanted was for Paras to evolve."

"Don't worry about that right now," Brock told him. "We need to find Paras and Mankey. They could be anywhere in the forest."

"I know my way around from collecting all sorts of herbs for our potions," Cassandra told the pair. Though her eyes reflected worry, she was trying to stay strong. "I'll lead the way."

o 0 o

It wasn't too hard to figure out the direction that Paras and its pursuer had gone. All they had to do was follow the trail of damaged trees and beaten bushes that Mankey hadn't let stand in its way. They all seemed to fear the worst, and with it being Ash's Pokémon, he couldn't let his feelings of guilt eat away at him. "I'm really sorry..." Ash apologized again as he moved a broken branch aside that was hanging by a splinter from the small tree beside him. "This is all my fault."

"No Ash. It's not you," she replied. "Poor Paras doesn't have any confidence in its abilities." Ash fell silent – he wasn't completely convinced still, and Brock, wanting to cut the tension, changed the subject with a smile.

"So, uh, what about this potion? What's it supposed to do?" Cassandra could see what he was doing, and smiled sweetly at him.

"I'm trying to come up with a miracle potion; one that will not only restore defensive powers, but its attack power, concentration, and its determination as well! And make it smarter, too."

"You're trying to make a smart potion?!" Ash repeated, unable to believe the miracles of science.

"I want all Pokémon to grow and stay healthy!" she said, and her smile vanished once again. "That's why I need Paras to realize how important it is and to believe in itself."

Their conversation ended when they heard a shriek up ahead, and everyone instantly perked up and hurried their pace. Finally, they reached a clearing at the main path just beyond town, and Cassandra gasped. "It's Paras!" she exclaimed, pointing up in a tree. Mankey had cornered Paras on a tree branch, and it was huffing angrily as it slowly stepped toward the frightened Mushroom Pokémon with its paws in the air and ready to strike. Paras was slowly stepping back, but it reached the end of the branch, and if it stepped back and farther, it would fall off to the ground below.

"Mankey! Stop it!" Ash yelled. The sound of its Trainer tore Mankey's attention away from Paras, and when it did, Paras lowered its body and held one of its pincers over its closed eyes before it jabbed the other free pincer forward. The point of it landed right in Mankey's stomach, and all of the air was knocked out of its lungs as its eyes widened to the size of saucers. The strike was so powerful that Mankey was lifted off its feet and fell over the side of the branch it and Paras had been balancing on, and it fell to the ground in a heap with a thud.

Paras blinked in shock, and looked confused when it saw that Mankey wasn't directly in front of it anymore, and it peered down to see Mankey laying on its back knocked out. "Paras! You did it! I don't believe it!" Cassandra cheered. Its pupils were still dots of shock as Paras jumped off the branch and landed on its feet gracefully on the ground. It poked at Mankey with its pincer, and when the Pokémon didn't move, Paras glanced at the group with big round eyes.

"Paras?" it questioned, and then suddenly, its body began to glow an azure white. Cassandra was the first to gasp, and Ash and Brock soon followed. Its form began to grow bigger, and as it did, the mushrooms on its back grew larger and larger as well until they combined into one. Soon, the glow faded, and a new Pokémon with crab-like claws and a huge mushroom making up its entire body took Paras's place. "Para-sect." Cassandra seemed to be at a loss for words, but the silent breath of air that rushed out of her smiling mouth showed her elation.

"It really evolved!" Brock commented, and Ash took out his Pokédex to scan the new Pokémon.

"Parasect, the Mushroom Pokémon. It battles using poison spheres that spread from the mushroom canopy on its back."

"We're all proud of you, Parasect!" Ash complimented it as he put away his Pokédex, and Cassandra fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her new Pokémon.

"I never doubted you! Great job, Parasect!" she cheered. But in all the commotion, they had all forgotten about Mankey, and the Pig Monkey Pokémon pulled itself off the ground and rubbed its head before huffing in anger and locking eyes with Parasect while sizing it up. Cassandra, while still on her knees, shuffled in front of her Pokémon and opened her arms protectively in front of her newly-evolved Pokémon and shielding it from Mankey. "Parasect, stay back!"

But with Parasect's evolution came a newfound confidence, and the Bug and Grass Pokémon uttered a cry and ducked underneath its Trainer's arm before giving a battle cry. "Para... sect!" Just then, a yellow powder came spilling out from under the mushroom and above its milky eyes, and before Mankey knew it, it was breathing in the mysterious powder. Mankey sniffed for a moment before its eyes started to drift close. It staggered around for a moment before falling onto its back, completely asleep.

"What's that?" Ash asked, surprised that the attack was able to stop Mankey in one strike.

"It's Parasect's special attack. It's using Spore attack," Brock responded.

"That's amazing! One spray..."

"If Parasect's Spore attack is that effective, it'll definitely make a powerful potion," the Pokémon Breeder muttered with a finger curled around his chin. The coast was finally clear, and with a sense of relief, Ash pulled out Mankey's Poké Ball and held it forward.

"Mankey, return, now!" The recall beam had no trouble hitting the unconscious Pokémon, and sucked it inside without another sound. "Next time when Mankey wakes up, it'll be fine."

"Thanks for helping me, Parasect," the potion-maker thanked her Pokémon, stroking the front of its mushroom gently. "I knew I'd be able to count on you."

"Parasect," it responded, and she once again embraced her Pokémon.

"Now it's my turn to help. I'm going to make my miracle potion and help improve all the Pokémon in the world!"

"Parasect!"

o 0 o

The group headed back to Cassandra's shop, where she filled up their Potion and Antidote bag free of charge for helping her Parasect evolve. They, of course, protested, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. Finally, with their backpacks on their backs and ready to head out onto the road again, Cassandra, her grandmother, and Parasect were seeing them off.

"I'm sorry we caused so much trouble for you all," Cassandra apologized with her handed folded in front of her body.

"Well, losing on purpose is the toughest thing we've ever done," Ash chuckled in response, scratching the back of his head nervously as he did.

"You'll keep on losing if you don't bring up your skill level," Cassandra's grandmother scolded with a wicked smile on her face. "I watched your battle with that unstable Mankey."

"You promised to be nice, Grandma," the green-haired girl scolded lightly, and the old woman only chuckled in response.

"Let us know when you've finished your potion, Cassandra," Brock interjected with a smile. "I'll be your first customer!" And with that, they turned around to leave town.

"See 'ya later!" Ash called over his shoulder as they began to walk.

"Thanks again! Good luck on your journey, everyone!"

"Good-bye! Good luck!"

-end-

Ash:

Party:

Wartortle (Poké Ball)

Moves: Skull Bash, Dig, Hydro Pump, BubbleBeam

Pidgeotto (Poké Ball)

Moves: Gust, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Wing Attack

Bulbasaur (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Leech Seed

Charmander (Poké Ball)

Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Skull Bash, Ember

Tauros (Safari Ball)

Moves:

Mankey (Poké Ball)

Moves: Thrash, Mega Kick, Scratch, Seismic Toss

At Professor Oak's Lab:

Muk (Poké Ball)

Moves:

Tauros (Safari Ball)

Moves:

Krabby (Poké Ball)

Moves: ViceGrip

Badges:

Boulder Badge

Cascade Badge

Thunder Badge

Marsh Badge

Rainbow Badge

Soul Badge

Brock:

Party:

Onix (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig

Geodude (Poké Ball)

Moves: Seismic Toss, Tackle

Zubat (Poké Ball)

Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic

Psyduck (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tail Whip, Water Gun, Disable, Confusion

Vulpix (Poké Ball)

Moves: Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Agility