Chapter 9: Here Comes the Squirtle Squad
Hello and welcome back once again. It's finally the episode that was supposed to happen a LONG time ago. Screw life for pushing this chapter back about an entire month. But it is here, it took long enough. Plus I will be somewhat working on a new, unrelated, project. It's not Pokémon, nor is it the continuation of Beast Wars. Instead I am considering making a brand new Transformers universe, but that shouldn't affect this story at all. Hopefully.
So with that out of the way, let's start Chapter 9: Here Comes the Squirtle Squad!
We return to our story with Ash, Pikachu, Lillie, Brock and Serena. It is getting dark outside as they had decided to set up camp for the night. They had been walking quite a bit for several hours up to that point. They knew that they needed a rest.
The group had only set their bags down on the ground for the moment. They had decided to set up camp in a nice clearing. Enough for a few tents, a controlled campfire, a table and some supplies.
Brock was in charge of sorting the table and supplies out for a dinner. Ash went off, with Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto and Charmander to get suitable wood for a campfire. Lillie, Serena and even Pikachu were setting the gang's tents up, though of course Lillie kept away from the electric mouse for her own sake.
As they were busy together, Serena asks her friend "Are you sure you don't mind sharing a tent with me?" as she watches for Lillie's reaction.
Looking up from her peg, for the tent, she responds "I'm certain. Besides it's not the first time we've shared a bed. We're close and respect one another's boundaries. It's no big deal, as long as you don't plan on having Pikachu with us" as she smiles to her close friend.
The electric type's ears perk up at this as he looks over, tilting his head to the side. He asks "Pika?" something like 'Yes?' I guess.
Serena, smiling, responds "That's good to hear then Lillie. Just let me know if you become uncomfortable of course. Also, did you say something to Ash?" as she looks now curiously as she had noticed some off behaviours about him.
Alarmed, Lillie asks "What do you mean?" as her eyes had some panic. However due to the rising darkness, she was kind of safe from revealing too much from her features.
Looking off to the direction Ash had went, Serena comments "Ever since that Institute, and more specifically that battle with Giselle, it's like he's being cautious and attentive towards me. You didn't say anything did you?"
Letting out a deep sigh, Lillie tells her "Not necessarily. He was wondering why you seemed different after he was… more or less gushing at that photo. Well he didn't know that that was the cause, so I implied that maybe you were jealous" as she trails off towards the end of her sentence.
Serena, now looking back at the other blonde, asks "You were trying to help I imagine?" but really it comes off as more of a statement.
Lillie is silent as she thinks to herself 'I wish I could tell both Ash and Serena these weird feelings'
Taking her silence as confirmation, Serena then asks "Why would you do that?"
Before Lillie can continue, they hear approaching footsteps. They assume that it is Ash.
Lillie turns to Ash and says "Hey Ash, were you able to get some firewood?"
A cough comes from 'Ash' as a female voice answers "I'm afraid that I'm not your friend. I'm Officer Jenny"
Embarrassed, Lillie's cheeks go a deep red as she retreats into her shell.
Serena, moving over to her friend, responds "Hello Officer, is there a problem here?" as she looks over to the now in view, in uniform, female.
The much older female then tells them "Oh no, well yous aren't causing any problems but you should be aware that there is a rag tag group of wild Squirtle have been causing trouble around here. They've ruined one of the nearby towns, terrorised trainers and travellers, and have just been an inconvenience to anyone passing through"
Brock, having overheard this, comes over and says "Thank you for the warning Officer Jenny" then turns all weird as he offers out his hand to her as he continues "Now, would you like to go for a long, night walk with me?" now he probably meant this in a sweet gesture, however it only comes across as creepy. Then out of nowhere, Serena's Poliwag escapes from his Pokéball and kicks the teenager's shin hard. This causes Brock to fall down, gripping his shin in pain. Brock then mutters a "Or maybe, I'll be sleeping with the fishes"
Pikachu, and the girls grimaced at this as the little water type managed to cause some damage.
Lillie then comments "But Poliwag isn't a fish?" then turns to Serena and asks "When did you get Poliwag back?"
Serena tells her "Back when we were at the Pokémon Tech Institute, I used my Pokédex to transfer him over" she then returns Poliwag to his ball then places it with her bag.
Fairly quickly, as if nothing had happened, Brock was back setting the stuff he needed up.
Serena asks Jenny, "So why are there several wild Squirtle in this area? Don't they have owners?"
Jenny then tells her "Well there are six of them, they all used to have their own respective trainers but were all abandoned or released. So since they have no trainer and they resent us, they play pranks and the like towards anyone they encounter"
Serena then tells the officer "We'll be careful while we're here. Thank you for the warning" and with that the uniformed lady leaves the group.
Lillie then asks "Do you think those Squirtle could cause us a problem?" as she looks worriedly towards her friend.
Thinking momentarily, Serena answers "I'm not sure Lillie. I just hope Ash hurries up and gets back here, especially since that would be a Pokémon Ash would go for" as she then turns to Pikachu and says "Hey Pikachu, maybe it would be a good idea for you to go looking for Ash and to warn him"
Lillie then adds in "What if I go with Pikachu as well? We're mostly going to be okay and should be easy to find Ash" as she looks towards Serena, a hopeful expression upon her face.
Thinking carefully, Serena asks "Are you sure? You usually don't want to be alone with or around Pokémon, what's different now?"
Lillie tells her "I just want to take a little walk and it would be quicker if Pikachu and I were looking for Ash"
Serena, while giving her a grin, tells her "Then go on and find him, and I'm proud of you Lillie"
Lillie makes sure to grab her bag, and Serena made sure to give her Charmander, Butterfree and Pidgeotto's Pokéballs, in the event that she may need assistance. With that, Lillie and Pikachu went off looking for their buddy. She had left Nebby bag at the campsite as she didn't believe that she would need it in her short walk. Plus she had Pikachu with her.
As the girl and the electric type are walking, they make sure to keep an eye and an ear out for the boy. Now they weren't worried, just wondering why he and the grass type had been taking longer than they should have been.
Lillie is thinking to herself 'What is taking them anyways? I guess I am kinda glad since it let me take a walk and have some little time to myself. Well and Pikachu. But despite my fears of Pokémon I suppose he's okay. As long as he keeps a nice, short distance from myself I guess'
Deciding to try and put herself out there, Lillie asks Pikachu "What do you think he's doing this time? Think he's being silly again?" as she lets out a small, almost unnoticeable smile towards her companion for the moment.
The electric type shrugs his shoulders in response. But no seriously, do Pikachu have shoulders? With a short Pi as well. So nothing much. Since she didn't get too close to her friend's Pokémon she didn't quite understand what they were saying when they spoke. Maybe in time she would.
Up ahead, they begin to hear the faint calls of a male's voice.
Lillie says "Pikachu, stop for a moment, and listen" as they both come to a halt and listen closely.
A nearby voice calling out "Somebody! Help me please!"
They both recognize the voice and its owner immediately and sprint off to find the owner of the voice. Of course it was the person that they had been looking for. Right? Why of course it is.
After several more moments of them rushing through the woods, they hear that the voice is very much nearby. As they both scan their surroundings, they see a small pile of branches together off the right side of the main path. The girl and mouse go over to the aforementioned pile and their eyes widen as near to it, is a trap pit.
Lillie, as fear encompasses her, approaches the hole as she calls out "Ash? Are you down there?" and as she awaits his response, her concern only grows leaps and bounds.
Panicked, Lillie is thinking to herself 'Well if he isn't down there, then where could he be? Did those criminals Team Rocket come back? Did a wild Pokémon attack him? What if he's injured? Will I be able to help him? What if I have to deal with the wild Pokémon myself' and as she does this, she's going into a state of disarray as she overthinks all of the bad stuff that could happen.
She then hears a cough coming from inside of the trap hole. She leans over, the edge, further and sees faintly the outline of a boy and his grass type Bulbasaur.
He calls up to her "Hey Lillie. Is that you?" as he struggles to raise his head up towards her.
With a small sigh of relief, Lillie answers "Yeah it's me Ash. Are you okay down there?"
Ash, rather confused and disorientated, asks her "Why did you come looking for me? Where's Misty and Brock? Why are you here?" as he seems incoherent.
Lillie thinks to herself 'Misty and Brock? He should know that Misty stayed in Cerulean after their battle and why didn't he mention Serena? Is he hurt?'
She then asks him "Did you hit your head Ash?" as her voice seems jittery.
Checking for any immediate signs of injury, Ash responds "I think I did when Saur and I fell in this pit. Maybe Team Socket made it" as he again is speaking nonsense. While sure, Team Rocket could be responsible, when has he ever called Bulbasaur, 'Saur'. Also he said 'Socket'.
Lillie, thinking back to earlier, tells him "No, it is likely the work of the Squirtle Squad. They've been playing tricks on trainers and passersby for a long while now. They could be near here now"
As the boy tries to clear his mind, he asks "Are they being told to do so by their trainers?" as he still feels dizzy.
With a frown, Lillie tells him "No, they are six wild Squirtle whom were thrown away by their old trainers for whatever reason. I guess the Squirtle resent people as a result of what had happened to them before?"
Ash, with a solemn look, responds "So more Pokémon abandoned by irresponsible and horrible trainers? Why does that sound familiar?"
At this, Pikachu thinks to himself 'That's right, I had been abandoned as well by my old owner… right?'
Lillie tells him sadly "Because you saved your Charmander from a very much similar type of trainer only a short while ago Ash" then considers the obvious as she tells him "But for now, that's not important. We need to get you out of that hole Ash"
Ash then tries once again to climb out of the pit but of course to no avail. It had a decent slope to it which prevented him from easily escaping his trap. Then he realised something else, which he had not noticed in his impaired state. There was some strange rock attached to the vinery that his foot is caught on. He kneels down and grabs ahold of the rock as he rubs his hand over it.
Lillie, watching this, then asks "What is that you've got there Ash?"
Eyes narrowed, and frustrated as he can't make any details out, Ash tells her "I'm not sure. It seems like a strange rock with a pattern on the top of it"
Lillie, deciding that this was mainly a distraction, instructs him "Then put it in your bag for now. For now, we need to focus on getting you out of that pit trap" as she looks to the electric type as she tries to determine how to help her friend out.
Ash then puts the rock into his backpack for the moment, then zips said bag back up. Then asks her "So how do you think we'll be able to get me out of here?"
Lillie then looks towards Bulbasaur and comes up with a clever idea. She orders "Return Bulbasaur to his Pokéball and throw it up to me"
Ash, despite his confusion, takes out the grass type's Pokéball and says "Okay, return Bulbasaur" as he aimed the ball at the grass type. Then a red beam erupted and encased the plant dinosaur and retreated into the sphere. The boy then using what strength he had, threw it up towards the blonde. She failed to catch the ball! However Pikachu grabbed it at the edge, at the last minute. Just barely.
Lillie tells Pikachu "Great job Pikachu, thank you" but struggled to approach the electric type. Seeing this, Pikachu approaches her and then places the red and white ball on the floor before stepping off to the side. Lillie smiles and tells him "I appreciate that Pikachu" then picks up the starter Pokémon's Pokéball.
Staring at the ball, she thinks to herself 'I can do this. I just have to send him out and tell him what to do. Right?' as she wish she didn't have to do this but knew she needed to help her friend out.
She threw the ball to the ground as she orders "Go Bulbasaur!" as out comes the Bulb Pokémon. Pikachu then repeats his respectful moves as he rolls the ball towards her. She picks it up carefully. She then tells Bulbasaur to use its vines to grip onto Ash's hands, with a vine in each hand. Using this, Ash tries to climb the pit wall, to no result. He falls back down as Bulbasaur isn't strong enough nor has the leverage to pull him effectively.
Lillie, realising that his bag was likely a hindrance, tells him "Put your bag on the ground Ash. That way Bulbasaur can lift it up"
With that the boy, once more, took off his ruck sack and places it down. Then he says "Good idea Lillie. Should lighten the load for now. That was really smart of you"
This leads to a light blush to reach her cheeks as the grass type used its vines to lift the bag up and then carefully places it on the ground near to Lillie.
What they didn't know was that they were being watched. Technically by more than just one group. Well, it's confusing.
By the bush line is a group of five Squirtles, four of whom with round sunglasses, the presumed leader has different attire to their compatriots. The presumed leader's glasses were flatter, which looked like two attached right-angle triangles. They are observing the actions of Lillie, Ash, Bulbasaur and Pikachu.
Whereas the other group was watching our gang but also spying upon the aforementioned water types.
The male asks "So should we make a move and steal those Squirtle and the girl's strange Pokémon?"
The female, while narrowing her eyes in concentration tells him "No not yet. The twerp may be stuck, but they may alert the others to our location"
The shortest tells them "Well, we oughta keep an ear out for 'em. Misty, Brock and Serena could be nearby" as he plays silently with one of his whiskers.
The female tells them "Just remember that when we do make our move, we need to get what Pokémon we can and then bolt out of here"
The male comments "Well yes Jessie and Meowth, we were told by the boss to keep a low profile until 'Operation: The S.S. Anne'. But I'm sure he would be interested in some rare Pokémon" he says grinning.
Lillie then tells him "Thanks Ash. But we aren't out of trouble yet" with that she comes up with a glaringly obvious idea. She takes out a Pokéball as it was 'marked' as Pidgeotto's ball, and brings out said flying type.
Ash, blinking in confusion, asks "Why did you bring out Pidgeotto?"
Lillie, with a small grin, tells him "Well, if Bulbasaur is having trouble lifting you, then I thought…" however her sentence is cut short.
At the mention of him having 'trouble', Bulbasaur narrowed his eyes and tries once again. This time he shot out four vines from his bulb and almost immediately grabs ahold of Ash. This time, he manages to pick him up. But clearly is struggling. Just as Ash was about to be freed from his prison, Bulbasaur starts to lose his grip and starts being dragged towards the pit!
Pikachu rushes over and tries to help by pulling Bulbasaur from behind. Pidgeotto does the same by lightly using his talons to grip the grass type. But even that wasn't enough to help.
Panicked, Lillie thinks to herself 'They're trying their best but they aren't going to be able to do it. I need to help. I know I can!' then says to herself "I can do this" as she moves quickly to Bulbasaur, and despite her hesitance, also grabs onto the Bulb Pokémon in an attempt to help lift Ash up to safety.
Of course this wasn't her favourite idea, and it didn't change her outlook on Pokémon. But right now, she NEEDED to help her friend out. That's all that mattered to her. Helping Ash, just like he had done several times in the past for her.
(Flashback, Past Tense, no POV)
Lillie had gone near the outskirts of Pallet Town, in order to get some time to herself. She had been struggling at the time with trying to fit in. She didn't have many friends. Literally just Ash and Serena.
She thought to herself, 'I'm basically alone. Of course I have Serena and Ash… but they only put up with me because they feel bad for me. Right? That's what Damien told me before'
Then the blonde, says aloud "Maybe he is right. Maybe I am just a burden to everyone around me. Maybe everyone's lives would be 'better' if I just left and never came back"
Then she had heard a young female's voice from behind her, as the owner said "Lillie?"
The shy female, recognising the voice, doesn't respond to her. She was too upset to want to talk to someone at the time.
The approaching female walks closer to her and, with a look of worry, carefully places her hand on her right shoulder. She asks gently "Lillie? Come on let's go back to the house. Don't let people like him hurt you" as she watches her friend with a longing look.
Lillie, without looking towards her, muttered out a whisper "Why should I even bother? I was abandoned as a child and dropped off by Ash's house a few years ago. What's even the point in me being here still?" as her gaze had remained fixated on the view before her. A relatively 'small' expanse of woods stood there in front of them, as they overlooked Route 1.
Lillie's friend, moves to stand next to her, says "Because you are wanted here Lillie. There are unfortunately people like him in the world. It doesn't make what they say 'okay', and we shouldn't just 'let it happen' but sometimes we just have to be the better person and not let them hurt us. I know it's not that easy but we need to remember that we are all wanted, as long as we are good people, we will always be loved in at least someone's life" as she wraps her left arm against Lillie's right shoulder. Then moves her own right hand to Lillie's right wrist as she rubs her gently.
Her flinch, almost unnoticeable, responds "But who would ever 'love' me? My own parents seemingly abandoned me with Nebby. If my own parents didn't love me… then who…" but she is quickly cut off by her friend.
The honey-blonde female tells her with a tone of both seriousness but also full of love, "I love you Lillie. You're a really BIG part of my life. What they gave up, in you, is something that I have come to appreciate. Due to the fact that they gave you up, I got to have my best friend and I wouldn't replace you for anything in the world" as she speaks from the heart.
Smiling, and blushing, a little, Lillie tells her "I guess you're right Serena. But…" and is once more cut off sharply.
Not by her companion this time. But this time by the squawk of a nearby bird. They both turn to see a wild Spearow glaring down at them fiercely with two others by its side. A trio of angry looking flying types.
A ways away, a duo of boys are out helping to look for Lillie also. They had known each other since they were younger and always did seem to have a 'sibling' rivalry of sorts.
They had found a random Pokéball while out looking for the girl.
The brown-haired boy tells the other "Look take the ball. I have a few from Gramps, in the event that something could happen"
The raven-haired boy responds "Gary, as much as I would want to do that, you know I need to earn it the proper way" as he tries to bargain with his rival. In a weird way.
Gary, rolling his eyes, tells him "Fine Ashy boy rock, paper, scissors it is" as they prepare themselves for the game.
They both hold out their hands in front of them, while holding their right wrist in their left palms. They counted to five as they raised and dropped their arms in tune to the count. At the count of five, they both drew rock. They went again. Paper. Rock. Rock. Scissors. Rock. Paper.
Then due to this constant clashes in draws, Gary picked the ball up as he held it out to Ash again "Just take it"
Ash pushed his hand, and offer, away which caused Gary to drop the ball hard. As it had been slapped away, it hit a tree they were near and then slammed into the hard ground. The ricochet and impact seemed to have snapped the ball in half. Or split it in half. They each pick up a single half each that had landed by them.
Before anything else can happen, they see a group of Spearow converged upon the hill of Pallet Town.
Eyes widened in realisation, Ash exclaims "That's where Serena went to look for Lillie!" as he ran off towards the hill. Gary realising that they may need his assistance rushed after him to try and help.
As they had ran to where they assumed Serena and/ or Lillie could have been, they ran past several Pidgey, Sandshrew, Rattata and Mankey. But they weren't there for a scenic walk. They needed to hurry up.
Upon seeing the danger that they had been in, Serena took her arms off of Lillie's own arms and stood directly in front of her as she glared up at the vicious Pokémon. She commanded Lillie, "Keep behind me Lillie. I won't let them hurt you! I will handle this" but even as she said that, she was terrified of what the Spearow could do. Although the only reason she held her ground was to protect, her, Lillie from the flock.
The presumed leader shot forward and aimed a Peck at them. The girls dodged it fairly well. Well they dodged that one well. The other two flew at them and Serena once again protected Lillie from their strikes. She winced in pain as the birds hit glancing blows on her arms and back. But she didn't make a move to protect herself. She had been covering Lillie as a human shield.
Lillie told her "Serena! You need to get away… protect yourself" as she was shook in fear. She knew that this was a precarious situation. As far as she knew, no one had known where the girls were.
With a hardened expression, Serena grunted as she responded "No, I won't! I can't let them hurt you. I won't let them hurt you" as she felt small amounts of blood trickle down her back. She assumed, and was correct, that her top and skirt were torn from the assault of the normal types.
Just as the two lesser Spearow seemed to back off, their leader took aim at Serena. It dove right at the back of her head. Now her hair had been parted near the back, due to the attack and her position, so when it impacted, the lead Spearow literally had ripped off a portion of her hair. The zone of that hair loss was the back of the skull just above where her neck skeleton would connect to her skull.
Serena screamed out in pain as she had felt the hair snatched off of her head brutally. She didn't move her clenched fists to her presumed bald spot for several reasons. She didn't want to believe that the creature had stolen something she treasured. She didn't want to leave her hands open for further assault. And she couldn't leave Lillie open for any of this abuse. She was going to protect Lillie even if it caused her severe pain.
Just as the Spearow squawked loudly and seemingly readied itself to attack again, both girls had felt a rush of air fly above their heads. Confused, Serena looked up to see Ash as he had grappled with the flying type. He held the bird to the ground.
Now none of them believed in hurting Pokémon. The four of them would never usually hurt a Pokémon. But, in that moment, Ash struck the Spearow in anger. He had seen what the Spearow had done to his friends as he had ran to them. But even despite his pace and desperation he wasn't able to stop the Spearow from having ripped the hair from his friend.
In an effort for self-preservation, Spearow pecked at Ash's cheek and left a cut there. This stunned Ash as he moved off of Spearow to prevent further injuries to himself.
The Spearow got back up and took flight again. The flying type would remember the future trainer. Should he ever return to Route 1, Ash would pay. The flying type ordered for the other two to focus an all-out assault on the children.
Before that could happen, an arc of fire was blasted from behind the children and just barely missed the lead flying type. But it did what it needed to. It spooked them. Well it did impact one of the lesser Spearow, which lead to it dropping to the ground. Using one of his aforementioned Pokéballs, Gary threw it at the dropped Spearow and engulfed it. The ball would then shake several times before it dinged as a successful capture.
This scared the leader and its underling to soar off, less they suffer the same fate of being captured.
Gary had thanked his companion Pokémon, Growlithe. The fire type was a quadrupedal canine Pokémon. It had orange fur with black stripes along its back and legs. The fur on its muzzle, chest, belly and tail were beige, as is an additional tuft of fur on the top of its head. Growlithe's coat had been noticeably longer on its chest and tail. It had grey eyes, a black nose, and large, round and triangular ears with beige interiors. Its forepaws had two visible claws, while its hind paws had three toes each.
Ash ran over to Lillie and Serena to check on them both. Gary had told Growlithe to stand by and protect the trio as he ran off to get help for Serena's injuries.
Now that the threats had been dealt with, Serena slowly and carefully lifted herself up off of Lillie. Shaking, from fear, Lillie lifts her head and looks to her now injured friend whom was bleeding from her back, head, neck, arms and legs. She watched as Serena was breathing raggedly as she loomed over her.
Serena had weakly asked "Are you okay down there Lil?" as she managed out a small smile to her friend.
Lillie started crying as she had gently run her hand over Serena's cheek as she asked "Why did you bother protecting me Serena? You're all hurt now" as she stares into her eyes.
Letting out a weak laugh, Serena told her "Because you're my best friend Lillie" as she gave a small smile.
Ash, crouched down, says to them "That was very brave and awesome of you Serena. And Lillie, please come to us from now on. No need to be alone just because of people like him"
(End of Flashback, no POV, present day)
With the help of Lillie, the Pokémon managed to help get Ash to safety. He landed fairly decently once he had been lifted and climbed out of the pit hole.
Upon seeing what his friend had done, in order to help him, Ash leaped against her as he enveloped her into a hug. Though due to his strength and slight height difference, plus the girl not expecting it, that resulted in him 'tackling' her to the ground onto her back. This sends all the wind out of the blonde's sails.
He then tells her "Lillie! You did it! You were able to touch a Pokémon, I'm so proud of you" as he hugged her tighter.
Gasping somewhat, for air, Lillie responds "I only did what I needed to to help you out Ash. But would you mind giving me some space please?" as she winces from discomfort.
Ash quickly lifts himself up and then offers his hand to Lillie as he jokingly says "Milady"
Taken aback, Lillie accepts his hand as he helps to lift her back to her feet. She then asks "Did you badly hit your head? You're being a gentleman now?" as she raises an eyebrow.
Releasing her hand, he responds "I don't think I hurt my head that much. I'm just being polite anyways" as he shrugs.
As they are both calmed down, Ash takes his bag and Pokéballs, then returns all of them except Pikachu of course.
Ash then asks for clarification, as he questions "You mentioned those wild Squirtle before right?"
Lillie then tells him "Yes I did. Why… let me guess, you want to capture one of them?" as she looks at him dumbfounded.
He had just been trapped in a pit, presumably made by that rag tag gang of Squirtle, but now he wants to capture them. A kind gesture for sure, however a foolish one given the circumstances.
As the two were walking back, they happened across a small river. Noticing that Ash, and her own, clothes were dirty from the mud, she asks "Should we try to clean some of the dirt off of our skin and our clothes before we head back?"
Peering down at his shoes, trousers and arms, he sees what she means. He then tells her "That sounds like a great idea Lillie, let's do this and then we can collect some of that wood and head back to the camp"
With that the children and Pikachu stop at the aforementioned pool of water. Which, once again, they were being followed at a distance. The group of shelled starter Pokémon was on their tail as they planned out a strategy.
As they reach the river, Ash takes out a small blanket and places it carefully on the ground for the two of them to sit down on. They then sit down slowly on said blanket as to avoid disturbing their resting place.
Deciding to be helpful, Lillie offers him "If you take off your shoes, I'll wash them while you handle your hands and arms"
Smiling, as he takes off his shoes, Ash says "Thanks Lillie. That's very kind of you"
Gently Lillie, using a sponge from Ash's bag, starts to clean his shoes but careful not to get the inside of them soaked as to avoid stinking them out. Well stinking them any more than Ash's feet did anyway.
Lillie, with a raised eyebrow, suggests "Maybe you should wash your feet and socks more often. These smell quite a bit"
As his cheeks blush deeply Ash, while looking away, says "I always wash Lillie. I don't know what you're talking about" as he stutters slightly as sweet runs down his face. He tries not to make any sudden movements as he doesn't want her to realise that he wasn't being too truthful right now.
Before she can continue, they hear a shout coming from the direction of their friends. It was Serena! Instantly Ash grabs ahold of his shoes and slips them on and pulls the blanket up after Lillie had moved. Then he says "That was Serena!" he turns to Pikachu and says "Pikachu go back to the camp ahead of us. We'll follow behind"
Nodding, the electric type rushes off to the others.
He then turns to Lillie and tells her "We need to go and help them. They could have been attacked. And with that group of Squirtle around, we can't trust that it's nothing" as they are jogging after his Pikachu.
Lillie, with a deep sense of fear, asks him "Do you think they may have hurt her?" as she had to mentally stop herself from fidgeting or running her hands through her hair. She had to stay focused on keeping up with Ash, which way they were going, any obstacles and the fact of the matter was that she wasn't athletic in the slightest. This meant that what she was currently doing was difficult and almost painful for her to exert such energy. She was breathing ruggedly as she forced herself to continue moving forwards despite the struggle that she is experiencing currently as they push on with everything that they can muster.
As they approach the clearing, they hear Pikachu aggressively yelling at something. They could only assume that it would be the same reason that Serena had yelled out shortly before as well. They picked up their pace as they use what little energy that they had left to get to the camp.
Once they enter the clearing to the camp, they come across a somewhat expected sight but it still catches them off guard.
A group of Squirtle stand in the clearing as they seem to have Serena and Brock hostage. They had them in one part of the camp against a tree where they couldn't do too much. Whereas Pikachu was grounded to the… ground as the presumed leader towers over their friend.
Now I am going to end this here. Next chapter will focus on the past of the Squirtle squad, their story, the point of their capture and then the second half will feature Bill and his set up. That part will go differently from the anime. Mainly because it is to build to later plot points. I am sorry that this half chapter took a month to update but I've had a lot happen since the last chapter. My mental health has been acting up, I've been trying to help my best friend and mum with their own mental health, had my birthday on October 6th, met up with my best friend for the first time in nearly two years. It's been a lot. But I'll try and get this next chapter up as soon as possible.