Isaiah and Carly made their way to the Pokémon Center in order to get their Pokémon healed up. After they handed the nurse their Pokémon, the two took a seat and sighed as Isaiah decided to use the opportunity to learn more about the newest addition to his team. The two were chatting about their recent experience before a man quickly entered the Pokémon Center. He looked around and when his eyes landed on the pair, he smirked and quickly approached them. "Excuse me. You two seem to be rather interested in Pokémon. Am I right?" he asked. Carly shivered seeing the man. "Creepy..." she thought. Isaiah tilted his head before responding. "Of course! We're both massive fans of Pokémon!" he said casually. "He's not creeped out?!" Carly thought. The man laughed before looking around. He then leaned in and whispered to them.

"Well then, you're not gonna want to pass up this opportunity. Because I have a Pokémon with me that is of the highest quality! Unfortunately, I'm unable to continue caring for it, so I was hoping that one of you fine Trainers would mind terribly taking it off my hands." the guy whispered. "Really? Why can't you take care of it anymore?" Isaiah asked. "Eh?! W-Well..." the man said before calling out the Pokémon. It looked like a red fish, and it was flopping around. "I'm going to be traveling to a new area soon and unfortunately, I was told this Magikarp wouldn't be able to join me. As much as it pains me, visiting this new area is a necessity, so I have no choice but to part with it. So, would you like to take this sweet offer of only five hundred Pokédollars for one of the greatest Pokémon of all time?" the man said. "You've gotta be kidding me! There's no way anyone would believe that fairy tale! Much less pay money in order to take it away from you!" Carly said.

...

"Magikarp: The Fish Pokémon. It is virtually worthless in terms of both power and speed. It is the most weak and pathetic Pokémon in the world." Isaiah's Pokédex said as he and Carly continued on their journey after retrieving their Pokémon. "Wow, Pokédex, tell me how you really feel, why don't you?" Isaiah said. "It should use an entry like that on you after you idiotically spent five hundred dollars on that Pokémon!" Carly said before whacking him on the head. "Ow! Hey, cut me some slack! I couldn't just leave the poor thing alone like that!" Isaiah said. "Well, IT didn't seem to like YOU all that much." Carly pointed out. Those words stabbed through Isaiah, and he pouted. Unfortunately, Magikarp wound up not wanting to join Isaiah, and by then the original owner was long gone, so they ultimately found a riverbed that Magikarp was comfortable in and released it. "Well, that's just how it is, unfortunately..." Isaiah said with a sigh before he smiled brightly. "But I know there are loads more Pokémon that would love the opportunity to travel with me! Just you wait! Watch out, Mt. Moon! Because Isaiah is on a mission!" Isaiah said before taking off towards the entrance. "Hey! Isaiah, wait up!" Carly called out as she followed.

As they ran, the two overheard someone talking. "Team Rocket attacks Cerulean citizens..." a man said before sighing, while Carly froze in her tracks. "It seems like even a single day can't go by without Team Rocket being in the news for one reason or another." the man said. "Team Rocket?" Isaiah asked, approaching the man, who looked over at the duo. "Yes. Have you not heard about them?" the man asked. "No sir. Never." Isaiah answered. "They're a criminal organization... They go around committing various crimes, even going so far as to steal other people's Pokémon, in the name of their twisted little game..." Carly said coldly, prompting Isaiah and the man to look at her. "You... say that like you've experienced their crimes firsthand." Isaiah pointed out. "W-What?! N-No no no! I've just heard a lot about them on the news! A-Anyways, why don't we hurry to Mt. Moon?!" Carly said as she grabbed Isaiah's hand and pulled him behind her. "Ah! Hey, slow down! Why are you suddenly in such a rush?!" Isaiah asked; however, he wouldn't get a response.

Once the duo entered the mountain, the duo was met with a long cave that stretched out in multiple directions. "Woah... This place is huge!" Isaiah said excitedly, deciding to forget about the Team Rocket thing for now. "I've heard that Mt. Moon is difficult to travel through without climbing gear. The only way to get through on foot is through the various caves scattered throughout the mountain." Carly said. "Sounds like a great place to explore and catch some new Pokémon! Let's go check it out!" Isaiah said before taking off again. "Hey, wait! We should stick together, or we could get lost!" Carly said before following. After a little exploration and battles, Isaiah managed to level up his team, specifically Nidoran and Mankey, getting the former to level 15, now the same level as Charmander, and the latter to level 16, one level higher. Carly's Pokémon also reached level 15, aside from her Nidoran, Rachel, who had reached level 14. On top of that, Isaiah managed to catch a couple new Pokémon. "Zubat: The Bat Pokémon. It has no eyes. Instead, it relies on its ultrasonic cries for echo location to flit about in darkness. Geodude: The Rock Pokémon. Its round form makes it easy to pick up. Some people have used them to hurl at each other in a snowball fight. Paras: The Mushroom Pokémon. Growing out of the bug's back are mushrooms called tochukaso. The mushrooms grow with the bug host." Isaiah's Pokédex said.

Isaiah walked through the cave with a downcast look on his face after his new catches decided not to travel alongside him. "Um... Isaiah? Are you alright?" Carly asked. "Not really... I don't get why so many of the Pokémon we've run into are so adamant against traveling with me... Maybe you were right and there's something that makes me unlikable to them..." Isaiah said dejectedly. Carly's expression changed a little in response. "Isaiah..." Carly said as she stretched out a hand towards him, placing it on his shoulder. "Listen... I..." Carly said before Isaiah spoke up. "I think we should focus on finding the exit now. I think we've done all we can." Isaiah said, moving ahead of her a bit. Carly looked at him, feeling bad for making him think there was something wrong with him, when she spotted another Pokémon out of the corner of her eye. It was a pink Pokémon with small horns and small wings on its back. It was one unfamiliar to her.

"Woah. Hey there, little one." Carly said, kneeling down. The Pokémon quickly hurried to her side, jumping into her arms. "Woah! Aww, aren't you friendly?" Carly said happily as she turned to face Isaiah. "Hey, Isaiah! There's another Pokémon-" Carly said as she looked to show Isaiah her discovery, only to see that he was gone. "...Isaiah?" Carly called out as she looked around. "Oh no..." Carly said to herself. Her fears only grew worse when a voice called out. "Hey! Stop right there!" the voice said. Carly looked to see a man wearing an all-black outfit, with a large R on the center of their shirt, running towards her. "Hand over that Pokémon!" the man said, raising a Pokéball and threw it, releasing a Pokémon and sending it on the attack.

"Owww... That's what I get for walking without looking where I was going..." Isaiah said, lying on the ground after falling down a hole he didn't see. He opened his eyes and looked around as he slowly got to his feet. He looked up to see the hole he fell down. "Looks like I'm further down in the mountain." Isaiah said to himself before calling out. "Hey! Carly! Can you hear me?!" No response. Nor was there any sign of Carly. "...Guess not." Isaiah said to himself before trying to make his way back up to the level he was on before. But that didn't fare well, either. Isaiah sighed. "No choice. I'll just have to hope we meet up again further in." Isaiah said to himself before he started walking. As he traversed the new area, he soon saw what looked to be a man in the distance, a large number of Pokémon around him. "Maybe they know a way out of here." Isaiah said as he quickly approached the man. "Excuse m-" Isaiah said, but before he could finish the sentence, he noticed that the Pokémon around the man were frantically running from him.

"Get back here! You won't get away from me!" the man yelled as he chased the Pokémon. Upon getting closer, Isaiah could see that the man was wearing an all-black outfit, with a big red R on the shirt, similar to the man Carly saw, unbeknownst to him. "Hey! What are you doing?!" Isaiah said as he hurried over, getting between the man and the Pokémon. "What the-?! Get out of my way, kid! This is none of your business!" the man said. "You're chasing innocent Pokémon for no reason! Can't you see that they're terrified?!" Isaiah retorted. "What they should be scared of is what will happen if they keep running from a member of Team Rocket!" the man said. "Team... Rocket?" Isaiah asked before his expression immediately changed. "So, you're a member of the criminal organization? Does that mean you're trying to catch these Pokémon in the name of your twisted little game?" Isaiah asked. "So, our reputation proceeds us. Glad you seem to understand the situation. Now are you going to get out of my way willingly, or will I have to move you by force?!" the member yelled, releasing a new Pokémon. It was a purple snake with yellow accents on its belly and a rattle at the end. Isaiah was silent as he raised his Pokéball. "I think I'll let my Pokémon answer for me! Charmander, game on!" Isaiah declared as he released his partner, who glared at the new opponents. "Your tyranny ends here!" Isaiah yelled.

At the same time, the Team Rocket member that Carly encountered released and attacked with a Sandshrew before Carly had time to react. The attack hit her, and she screamed as she was sent flying, hitting the ground hard and dropping the Pokémon she was holding. "Now then. Enough games, Clefairy. It's time you come with me." the Team Rocket member said as he and Sandshrew approached the Pokémon, glaring at it. That, however, turned out to be a mistake as Carly used the opportunity to send out a Pokémon of her own. "T-Tanjiro, use Water Gun on Sandshrew!" Carly declared as Squirtle came out and immediately followed Carly's command, firing a stream of water at the Sandshrew and sending it flying and knocking it out. "What?!" the Team Rocket member said before looking at Carly, who slowly rose to her feet, looking furious. "If you think... I'm going to let you harm that Pokémon or me... YOU'RE SORELY MISTAKEN!" Carly yelled. The grunt merely glared at her before returning Sandshrew to its Pokéball, as Clefairy hurried behind Carly again.

"Then you've chosen death. Rattata, teach them a lesson!" the grunt yelled as he called out another Pokémon. "Use Quick Attack!" the grunt yelled. "Stand your ground and use Water Gun!" Carly declared. Rattata quickly charged at Squirtle, not giving it time to react as it connected with attack head on, but Squirtle stood its ground and pushed Rattata back before firing its attack, sending it flying as easily as it did Sandshrew. However, Rattata managed to get back up, but it was barely standing at that point. "Don't you dare lose to those two weaklings! Use Quick Attack!" the grunt declared. Rattata was hesitant, but followed its trainer's command, charging at Squirtle again. "Finish this with Tackle!" Carly yelled. Squirtle didn't hesitate to charge at its opponent head on and the two attacks collided, but Squirtle easily overpowered the Rattata, sending it flying once more, only this time, it stayed down, knocked out. The grunt growled and returned Rattata. "This still isn't over! This one's next!" the grunt declared.

"Ekans, use Wrap!" the grunt that stood against Isaiah yelled as the purple snake slithered over to Charmander, wrapping its body around Charmander and tightening its grip on it. Charmander winced a little but stood strong. "You've got this, Charmander! Use Ember!" Isaiah called out. Charmander immediately fired embers from its mouth, striking the Ekans, but it still had no intention of letting go. In fact, it merely tightened its grip on Charmander further. Charmander let out a small, pained cry from the attack. Isaiah grits his teeth a little. "Wrap is hurting Charmander over time... It'll suffer if I don't free it!" Isaiah thought. "That's right! Make that Pokémon suffer for daring to get in Team Rocket's way!" the grunt yelled. This got a furious reaction from both Isaiah and Charmander. "What was that...? I don't think I heard you right." Isaiah said coldly to the grunt, getting a somewhat surprised reaction from both the grunt and Ekans.

Squirtle and the other grunt's final Pokémon, a Zubat, were now going head-to-head, trading blows with each other. "You're not going to win this! I'll make sure that the both of you stay out of Team Rocket's way forever! Like you should've done the moment you betrayed us!" the grunt yelled, getting a reaction from Carly and Squirtle. "Betrayed you...? You have the nerve to say that I betrayed you?!" Carly said, glaring at the grunt.

"You're seriously getting a THRILL out of making Pokémon suffer?! WHAT KIND OF HEARTLESS MONSTER ARE YOU TO EVEN ENTERTAIN THAT TERRIBLE IDEA?!" Isaiah yelled at his opponent.

"I never even wanted to BE on this stupid team! You steal Pokémon, lock them up, sell them, you even EXPERIMENT ON THEM!" Carly yelled at her opponent.

"IF YOU THINK THAT'S SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF, THEN YOU'RE THE TYPE OF PERSON I WILL NEVER FORGIVE! AND I REFUSE TO LOSE TO SOMEONE THAT WILL MAKE INNOCENT CREATURES SUFFER!" both Isaiah and Carly yelled at their respective opponents.

Charmander's and Squirtle's eyes glistened before they each let out a battle cry and started to glow, grabbing the attention of both their trainers and their opponents. Charmander and Squirtle suddenly started to grow, their forms changing as they did. Isaiah's opponent watched in horror as Ekans' grip on Charmander loosened as it changed. When the glowing faded, the two Pokémon let out another battle cry, but it sounded different. Charmander was now taller, a darker shade of red, and had a small horn on the top of its head. It also had a more serious expression on its face. Squirtle was also a little taller and had a more serious expression, and was now a darker shade of blue, with wing-like ears and its tail taking on a more wave-like design. "It can't be!" the grunts yelled. "That's new! What happened to them?!" Isaiah and Carly said.

Isaiah then heard his Pokédex go off and looked at the information. "Charmeleon: The Flame Pokémon. And the evolved form of Charmander. It lashes about with its tail to knock down its foe. It then tears up the fallen opponent with sharp claws." his Pokédex said. "Evolved form... so then, Charmander evolved! That's so cool!" Isaiah said.

"If you think that a mere evolution is going to win you this battle, you're wrong! Don't let up, Ekans!" the grunt said. "Charmeleon, let's show them how much stronger you've gotten! Use Metal Claw and get out of that Wrap!" Isaiah called out. Charmeleon threw its arm out, easily freeing it from the Wrap before its claws, before its claws turned to steel. Charmeleon glared at Ekans, who looked at it with a terrified expression, before Charmeleon used the move, uppercutting the Ekans and sending it flying into the wall. This caused the floor above to rumble and break down, which was unfortunate due to Carly having her battle in the same area. "Woah! What in the- AAAAH!" Carly screamed, the grunt doing the same as they fell to the same level that Isaiah was on. "Carly!" Isaiah said before hurrying over, noticing her new blue ally as it grabbed her and threw her towards Isaiah, who caught her with ease. "Isaiah! Thanks for the save!" Carly said as she sighed of relief. "No problem." Isaiah said with a smile as he set her down.

"Now let's finish this battle! Tanjiro, use Water Gun!" Carly yelled. Her new partner didn't hesitate to show off its new power, firing a stream of water that was much more powerful than before at Zubat, striking it and sending it flying. It crashed into the wall, also unconscious. After that, the two grunts returned their Pokémon to their Pokéballs begrudgingly. "This isn't over, kid! Just you wait!" the grunt said before taking off. "And you, girly! Your Pokémon evolving was the only thing that saved you, but don't think that it'll protect you forever! You'll be sorry!" the other grunt said before following. "Evolution? So that's why Squirtle looks so different! It evolved too!" Isaiah said as he raised his Pokédex to it. "Wartortle: The Turtle Pokémon. And the evolved form of Squirtle. It often hides in water to stalk unwary prey. For fast swimming it moves its ears to maintain balance." His Pokédex said.

"Wartortle, huh?" Isaiah said. "Doesn't matter to me! Tanjiro is still Tanjiro! Right, buddy? Oh, who's the bestest Pokémon? You are! Yes, you are!" Carly said excitedly as she hugged and nuzzled Wartortle. Isaiah chuckled and pet Charmeleon. "Awesome work, buddy. Thank you. Return and rest up for a bit." Isaiah said before returning Charmeleon to its Pokéball. "What was that? It looked like Charmander." Carly said. "That was Charmeleon. Just like your Squirtle, my Charmander evolved." Isaiah said. "Really?! That's great! And it's awesome that they both evolved dealing with those Team Rocket goons!" Carly said. "Yeah... I just hope that that was the only time we'll see them." Isaiah said before approaching the Pokémon the grunts were chasing and kneeling down. "Are you all alright?" Isaiah asked. The Pokémon all responded happily. Isaiah smiled. "I'm glad. Hopefully, those guys won't bother you anymore." Isaiah said.

"Wait, what about that pink one I saw?!" Carly asked, looking around, but it was nowhere to be seen. Isaiah tilted his head. "Pink one?" Isaiah asked. "Yeah. There was a pink Pokémon that I protected, and I don't think you caught one yet, so I wanted to show it to you. I thought it might've wanted to join you." Carly said. "You... were looking for new Pokémon that wanted to be with me? Why?" Isaiah asked. "Well... because I clearly upset you when I made you feel like you were the problem. I was hoping to apologize by introducing you to a new Pokémon that might've wanted to be with you." Carly said sheepishly. Isaiah was silent for a moment before he smiled, going up to and giving her a head pat, which caused her cheeks to become a little red. "Thanks, Carly. But I'm okay now. Really." he said before looking at the Pokémon he helped. "I was so focused on adding Pokémon to my team that I forgot that I could still be friends with them, even if I didn't catch them. Protecting the Pokémon here with Charmeleon helped me remember that." Isaiah said. Carly was silent for a moment. "Still... I'm sorry." Carly finally said.

Isaiah chuckled and decided to play along. "Apology accepted. You can make it up to me by treating me to dinner once we're out of here." Isaiah said in a teasing tone. "What?! As if!" Carly replied, pouting. "Too late, it's already been decided!" Isaiah said before he ran off, laughing. "Hey! Get back here! This isn't over!" Carly shouted before following after him. Unbeknownst to either of them, however, there was a familiar pink Pokémon hiding nearby, watching the girl that had protected it, and it started to follow from a distance as well. And in the opposite direction, there was a person with multicolored hair watching as well. "...Hm..." they said before they started tailing the duo as well.

To be continued...