Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Just a quick answer to one or two reviewers that inquired: yes, I will be doing the movies. I'm not sure if I might skip over a few but I'm sure I will do most of if not all of them.
Ash ran as quickly as she could to the boulder from before, Pikachu on her shoulder, glad that her shoes were the special kind that were no slide in treacherous terrain. She gasped and grit her teeth when she came upon the boulder and saw some spearow take the opportunity of easy prey.
"Pikachu, thundershock!" Ash cried and Pikachu complied quickly, jumping off and letting the attack fly, his precision dead on as he only let out three streams of electricity to hit the three attacking birds and chasing them off. Ash was proud that their training had paid off but decided to celebrate later as she climbed the ledge quickly and stripped off her raincoat to shield the poor charmander.
"The flame on its tail is almost out," Ash muttered worriedly. Pikachu jumped on Ash's already soaked shoulder as she hurriedly finished wrapping Charmander up carefully. "Pikachu, I need you to hold my hat over his flame so it doesn't go out. Can you do that?" Ash asked as she took off her hat and held it over the flame. She needed both hands to carry Charmander back after all. Pikachu nodded in determination.
"Pika!" Ash smiled warmly at him, though it was strained.
"Thanks buddy," the moment didn't last long as a strong wind started up along with the heavy downpour and Ash nearly flew to the Pokemon Center with her precious cargo, trying her hardest not to jostle the injured pokemon in her arms too much.
"Don't give up, Charmander, you can make it," Ash encouraged gently throughout the run back as it shivered against her.
By the time Ash burst through the doors, she was panting heavily and looked ready to keel over, Pikachu looking at her and her bundle worriedly. Brock, Misty, and Nurse Joy immediately ran over to help her, a Chansey already having prepared a stretcher since Brock and Misty had explained the situation.
"Your friends told me the situation when they told me to call Jenny. We have the emergency room all set up for him," Nurse Joy assured as they carefully placed him on the stretcher. "I'll do what I can so you just dry yourself up and rest," Nurse Joy gently ordered before carting Charmander off. Misty put a large fluffy towel over Ash's shoulders and handed her a cup of hot tea.
"No need for you to get sick too," Misty said softly as Pikachu pulled the towel over his trainer's head and began rubbing her hair dry, her other pokemon having surrounded her, worried for their trainer as well.
"Sorry to worry you guys," she murmured, touched by all their concern. She looked around the dark, empty room.
"Damien and his goons are locked up in one of the rooms," Brock answered her unasked question. "After Nurse Joy was told of the situation and Officer Jenny was informed over the phone, Jenny told us to lock them up until she could get there which wouldn't be until after the storm settled, but with just our statements alone, they'll be arrested for alleged pokemon abuse, abandonment, and aiding and abetting criminal actions. How did you know all that was law?" Brock asked in awe and respect. Ash shrugged as she hastily dried her hair and began gently drying Pikachu with the dryer part of it, Pikachu cooing in appreciation.
"My dream is to be a pokemon master. Of course I looked up all the laws regarding pokemon," Ash answered simply.
Waiting in front of the emergency room for the red light above the door to turn off was torture, but the three waited there regardless, Ash pacing back and forth before resting on the bench and starting up again a few minutes later when she couldn't sit still. All of them were relieved when the light went off and Nurse Joy steeped out. She noticed them and gave them a reassuring smile, giving them a peace sign as well. All of them smiled at that and approached the door quietly.
"Charmander is recovering. It should be fine by morning," she said as the three peaked inside, all glad to see the flame on his tail back to a healthy size, but they all seemed to notice something else that was strange.
"Hey, doesn't Charmander's coat seem lighter to you?" Misty asked.
"Yeah, you're right. It looks more golden than orange like before, but it was hard to tell with how dirty it was. What do you think, Ash?" Brock questioned. Ash's eyes had widened when she noticed his coat as she sure as hell knew that the original charmander wasn't a shiny pokemon, but she tried to get over it quickly as she assumed this was just another thing that had changed when she was born instead of the original Ash.
"That's a shiny charmander," Ash whispered in awe. She was picturing how amazing and intimidating he would look as a charizard with the drastic color change.
"Shiny charmander?" Misty asked.
"A shiny pokemon is basically just a specific pokemon with a color variation from the norm of its species. The difference in coloration can vary from species to species. They're extremely rare and therefore valuable, but I'm not surprised that Damien didn't see his value and I'm glad he didn't." Ash said.
"Why didn't he?" Misty asked.
"Shiny pokemon isn't a term that's used or even known in the Kanto region save for a few professors. I guess just not many shiny pokemon show up around Kanto or at least they don't get a lot of attention," Ash answered.
"So a shiny charmander has a golden coat rather than an auburn one?" Brock questioned, ever the breeder. Ash nodded.
"A shiny charmeleon also has the same golden coloration. The drastic variation comes when it evolves into a charizard," Ash replied.
"What coloring does a shiny charizard have?" Brock asked, curious.
"Dark charcoal grey with a light grey underbelly and red wings rather than the usual turquoise," Ash answered, smiling at Brock and Misty's shocked faces when she stated the major color change. She couldn't wait to see their faces when he actually evolved. Ash's smile waned a little as she turned to Nurse Joy with a serious question.
"Do you have a file on his condition before getting treated?" Ash asked her. Nurse Joy also gained a serious expression and nodded.
"Yes. I made a special effort to make sure it was as detailed as possible and anything that could have caused it. I'll be more than glad to hand it over to Officer Jenny when she arrives," Nurse joy stated in the hardest tone any of them had ever heard a Joy speak in. Ash nodded and smiled at her gratefully, reassured.
Ash woke early the next morning to check on Charmander, wanting to be reassured that he was okay, but she gasped in shock when she peaked into the room and saw that his bed was empty. The window was open and the curtains were fluttering in the wind, a concerned Nurse Joy was standing by the bed with her arms crossed. Ash sighed worriedly.
"It probably went back to that rock to wait for Damien," Ash stated sadly.
"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for him if he doesn't realize Damien abandoned him on his own," Nurse Joy lamented.
Ash and company reluctantly left for Vermillion city, Ash's thoughts still on that Charmander. Unfortunately, because Ash was distracted she didn't see the discoloration of the dirt on the path and how it seemed slightly more raised than the dirt around it. That was of course when the ground gave beneath them and they fell into a pitfall. Ash gasped awake from her dazed, semi-conscious state when she heard a cry of help come from Pikachu above ground and attempted to claw her way up the pit with little success.
"Pikachu!" Ash called up worriedly. Her only response was Jesse's cackling.
"Hello again! Thank you so much for dropping in on us," she taunted from where the trio stood staring down at them, Pikachu trapped in what looked like a semi transparent rubber ball.
"Don't worry. Pikachu is safe with us. We won't lose it like you did," James taunted next.
"Chu~," Pikachu whined sadly, his ears drooping.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out.
"Let's get outta here," Meowth said, the first to step out of sight.
"Charmander!" Ash brightened when she heard the familiar call, pausing from her motion to grab Bulbasaur's pokeball at her belt.
"What is that thing?" Jesse questioned
"Char, char-mander!" He replied.
"Ha, it's saying you better give Pikachu back to those guys right now!" Meowth translated.
"It's got to be kidding," Jesse remarked.
"Now step aside you insolent little fire-bug. We don't have enough time to play with you," James added.
"Team Rocket plays rough, so get movin'!" Meowth finished up.
"Chaaaar!" Ash gaped up at the opening when she heard the sudden roar after a strange, short silence, staring at the inferno that flew over the opening of the pitfall, heartened to know that Team Rocket was definitely hit by that all over. Ash snickered when she saw Team Rocket leap over the pitfall and run off.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" She heard their fading voices cry in the distance.
"Thanks for the help, Charmander," Ash praised as she snuggled Pikachu close to her, cooing at him and loving how Pikachu rubbed his cheek against hers in return, cooing back. "How would you like to come with us?" She offered after letting Pikachu climb onto his usual perch of her shoulder. "I'm afraid you trainer won't be coming back for you...or even be a trainer for much longer," Ash informed. Charmander tilted his head curiously at that and Pikachu chattered at him, Ash thought informing him of everything that had transpired. Charmander looked sad at first but then angry at other parts and eventually looked determined.
"Char, charmander!" He called, looking straight at Ash.
"I think he's willing to take your offer, Ash," Brock said. Ash smiled and took out an empty pokeball.
"Then welcome to the team, Charmander," Ash said warmly as she tossed the pokeball to him gently, her smile widening when Charmander jumped towards it enthusiastically, smiling as well. Ash held the pokeball gingerly in her hand when it returned to her.
"Well, Ash looks like you've got a new pokemon and a new friend," Misty said. Ash kissed the top of the pokeball still smiling.
"Yeah."
Pikachu yawned cutely as the group walked, earning a short snuggle and scratch behind the ears from Ash.
"Cha~" Pikachu cooed in joy, making Ash giggle before she returned to humming, in a great mood from recently acquiring two of the three starters. She paused in the road suddenly as she stared at a certain part of the ground, pursing her lips. Misty and Brock walked ahead, but looked back.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Brock questioned.
"Ah, guys, wait-!" But Ash's warning was too late as the spot she had just been looking at gave in under their weight and had them falling into yet another pitfall.
"No! Not another hole!" Misty complained.
"Ow! I landed on my head!" Brock exclaimed. Ash peaked down into the whole, trying to contain her laughter at their predicament.
"Pfft...are you guys okay?" Ash asked, her lips wobbling in her effort not to grin.
"It must be a prank," Brock said instead.
"Someone has a bad sense of humor," Misty added, making Ash bite her lip not to respond 'guilty,' but she could no longer hold back her laughter at their problem, shocked into stopping when she heard the laughter of five squirtle join her, all of them wearing round blue sunglasses save for one wearing 'cool' black sunglasses, obviously the leader.
"Hey, who are you? I'm the only one allowed to laugh at them," Ash scolded.
"Yeah! We could have been hurt!" Misty shouted up at them before she realized what Ash had said. "Hey wait a second!" The squirtles only laughed even more.
"Misty's right, dangerous practical jokes are nothing to laugh about. You could have at least softened the bottom with loose dirt!" Ash scolded.
"Pi-ka-chu," Pikachu nodded in agreement as Misty and Brock climbed out of the whole, Ash helping them up. The squirtle only continued to laugh mockingly at them. Ash flipped open her pokedex just to have the information filled in.
"Squirtle: this tiny turtle pokemon draws its long neck into its shell to launch incredible water attacks with amazing range and accuracy. The blasts can be quite powerful.
"Why don't we teach these jerks a lesson Pikachu?" Ash asked her partner who nodded and jumped off her shoulder charging.
"Pi-ka-chu~!" He called as he let loose a thundershock straight at their leader, only for one of the followers to jump in front and take the hit instead. It fell over soon after.
"Squirtle squirtle!" The leader said urgently to it before turning to glare at Pikachu who only gave them a smug look. "Squirtle," he ground out.
"Pi-ka, pika," Pikachu replied in a cocky voice.
"Squirtle," he retorted, though he looked nervous as they faced off. Ash could practically hear the western face off music in the background as they stared each other down. Ash quietly took out a camera and secretly took a silent picture of the absolutely adorable scene. She was definitely adding that one to her album when she got all her film developed. Sirens started to sound in the distance as she put away her camera and made the leader squirtle break eye contact first, looking to his followers.
"Squirtle! Squirtle squirtle!" He barked out.
"Squirtle!" The other three chorused as they picked up their fallen comrade and ran off at an impressive speed. Pikachu stared at them as they disappeared in the distance, tilting his head curiously.
"Pika-chu?" He questioned.
"Well, that was strange," Ash surmised, their attention turning behind them to the motorcycle Jenny that skidded to a halt a few feet away from them.
"Are you guys alright? Has anyone been hurt here?" She questioned in concern.
"Officer Jenny!" Ash greeted with a smile.
"Huh? Have we met before?" She asked. "Your face doesn't look familiar."
"I don't think we have then, but we met a different officer Jenny back in Viridian City," Ash replied.
"Oh, you mean one of the other Jennys, my cousins!" She said.
"Cousins?" Misty queried.
"My cousins are all police officers. All of us look identical plus all of us are named Jenny!" She showed them a picture of nine Jennys together.
"Talk about family resemblance," Misty stated. "At least they remember all their names."
"That pokemon gang calls itself the Squirtle Squad," Jenny said from where she sat behind her desk. She ad taken us back to her station.
"Squirtle Squad?" Misty repeated. "I've never heard of a pokemon gang."
"They're all squirtles who were deserted by their pokemon trainers," Jenny continued.
"Deserted," Ash said, her face falling into a frown. She was seriously starting to dislike the words 'deserted' and 'abandoned.'
"They don't have a trainer so they just run wild and play tricks on the whole town!" Jenny explained. "It's really kind of sad because if they had somebody to care about them, they wouldn't be as bad as they are! It's a real shame," Officer Jenny lamented.
"I caught something!" Misty exclaimed, making Ash sit up from where she was resting on the grassy bank. She stiffened when a squirtle with round sunglasses popped its head out and proceeded to drench them all with a water gun. "I'm soaked!"
"Same here," Ash replied dryly. Pikachu shook himself off quickly and leapt forward.
"Pika!" He growled, his cheeks giving off voltage, but Ash was quick to stop him.
"Wait, Pikachu! Wet clothes conduct electricity!" Ash shouted in alarm. Pikachu stopped at that and gave his partner and her two frightened companions a sheepish look.
"Pi-ka," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with one paw. The squirtle laughed and hopped out of the water onto the road.
"That's enough of your mischief. Pikachu go!" Ash called. Pikachu charged, but so did the squirtle, withdrawing into its shell and spinning in the air, knocking Pikachu into the air and into the river. "Pikachu!" A goldeen jumped out of the water and dove back in from a distance.
"Oh! It's a goldeen!" Misty called. "Watch out for its horn!" Misty warned. Pikachu popped up a moment later, shaking the water from his head, looking around in confusion.
"Pika, pi? Pika pika."
"Hurry, Pikachu! Get out of the water!" Ash cried. Pikachu took the urging and hurriedly began swimming to shore, but the goldeen was gaining quickly. "Faster!" Ash urged desperately. "Pikachu!" Ash called in concern when the goldeen used a horn attack and thrust him into the air. She ran towards him and slid down the grassy bank, making it in time to catch her injured pokemon. She was about to examine him but was caught off guard when a rope suddenly found itself around her arms and waist, making Pikachu roll off her as she was pulled up. "No! Pikachu!" She turned to glare at the squirtle that had tied her and her companions up, spinning quickly until the three were tied against each other. The leader squirtle laughed from where he was standing at the forest edge. Another horribly familiar laughed joined him and out walked Meowth from behind a tree.
"You're not gonna squirtle out of this one!" He taunted and Ash vaguely wondered if that was supposed to be a play on 'squirm your way.' She couldn't tell.
"It's Meowth!" Misty called.
"I'm the pokemon in charge here! Just wait 'til my human pets get back!" Meowth bragged at them, the trio tied to a stone inside the cave they were brought to. "Nye, nye, nye-nye, nye~" Meowth taunted in a sing song voice as he wagged his tail in front of Ash's face. Ash growled and retaliated by reaching her head out and biting his tail, hard. Ash smirked in satisfaction when he leapt up and yelped in pain, spitting out the fur that made it into her mouth and looking to the squad.
"Don't believe him, squirtles! Meowth is a huge liar! Those humans aren't Meowth's pets! Team Rocket's just trying to trick you into doing their dirty work. Their whole job comprises of stealing and poaching strong and valuable pokemon!" Ash warned them.
"Squirtle?" The lead squirtle inquired, tilting his head slightly.
"Quiet human!" Ash barely managed to dodge Meowth's deep scratch to her face, satisfied to see him bite back another yowl of pain from where his claws scraped against solid rock and turned to the squirtle, his face composed already. Truly the best among liars. "Who are you gonna believe, this human or a fellow pokemon?" Meowth asked.
"Squirtle!" Four of them nodded in unison, obviously taking Meowth's side.
"Squirtle squirtle!" The one with raised hands enthused.
"Ash, Pikachu's in bad shape," Brock said. She looked over to where her partner was knocked out in a cage.
"You've got to do something!" Misty urged.
"We've got to heal Pikachu with super potion before it's too late!" Brock continued.
"We don't have any super potion," Ash replied absently as she stared at her panting Pikachu, having trouble breathing.
"A shop in town sells some," Brock answered. Ash huffed in exasperation and looked at the squirtles pleadingly.
"Squirtle, please let me go into town. I have to get Pikachu a super potion before he gets worse!" Ash begged. The squirtle only shook his head.
"Squirtle squirtle squirtle squirtle!" He replied as he shook his head no.
"They know you humans are just trying to get away!" Meowth translated.
"I won't abandon Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Trust me, as soon as I buy the medicine, I'll come right back, I promise!" Ash pleaded.
"Squirtle," he responded gruffly.
"Squirtle says promises are cheap!" Meowth translated.
"I'm begging you!" Ash said shakily, tears forming in her eyes. "Please, let me help my Pikachu," she cried, lowering her head as the tears fell, her shoulders shaking.
Ash rubbed her eyes quickly once they let her go, sniffling. "Squirtle squirtle, squirtle squirtle," the leader pointed at me.
"Da squirtle says if you're not back here by noon tomorrow, the red-headed girl gets her hair died purple!" Meowth announced.
"Hey!" Meowth barely avoided her kick. "Why you mangy little flea trap! Once I get out of here, I'm gonna wrap your tail around-" Misty ranted, but Ash stopped her.
"Misty, don't worry. I'll be back, alright?" Ash interrupted with a sweatdrop. She stopped and nodded at me, completely assured. "I'll be back as soon as I can!" Ash called over her shoulder as she ran out as fast as she could.
"Of course, of course there's a dangerous looking bridge," Ash muttered angrily to herself as she tread the bridge as quickly and carefully as possible, breaking four planks she tested by the time she reached the other side. By the time she got to the abandoned looking western style town, she was worn out and struggling to catch her breath. She growled when she had to jump back before the door could slam in her face. She was ready to curse out whoever did it but clamped her mouth shut and stayed silent when she saw it was Gary. She did NOT want to deal with him right now so she quickly and quietly slipped into the shop to avoid him.
Ash grumbled to herself as she hurriedly left a thank you note at the store counter. Yesterday when she was about to leave after buying the super potion, the shop owner stopped her and insisted she stay and rest for the night because she 'looked terrible' and seemed like she 'would collapse any minute.' Ash really did try to protest, but the old woman would hear none of it.
"...wanna get rid of the squirtle squad don't you?" A familiar voice sounded from the building next door, catching Ash's attention. "The flash powder will scare them out of town!" Jesse explained. "The floss is for our teeth," she added softly, and Ash figured she didn't want to know. She ran out when she saw the Meowth hot air balloon.
"I have to get back before them!" Ash said urgently, about to take off running when Officer Jenny came screeching up on her motorcycle.
"Need a ride? You can explain it to me on the way!" She said, making Ash smile in relief.
"Step on it, Officer Jenny! I need to get back before noon!" Ash explained.
"Just hang on Ash!" She exclaimed over the engine, only to gasp and screech to a halt when she saw the fallen bridge. It must have collapsed sometime after Ash crossed it. She was just glad she wasn't on it when it happened. "A dead end," Jenny murmured before taking off to the right.
"Here's the secret entrance to the cave!" Jenny exclaimed when she led Ash to it.
"There's not much room," Ash said.
"The passageway's too narrow for an adult, but maybe you can squeeze through," Jenny replied.
"I'll do it," Ash stated with determination before crouching to go in.
"Be careful, Ash," Jenny cautioned.
"Ah, getting too dark for me to see," Ash muttered as she reached for her belt. She clipped off a pokeball and held it out. "Come on out Charmander," Ash called.
"Char, char!" Charmander greeted happily.
"Charmander, could you lead the way, please?" Ash asked.
"Charmander, char!" He agreed readily, turning and marching forward. They finally reached a dead end and Ash saw some light coming through cracks around a stone and decided to try to push it out, succeeding after some effort and letting light stream through.
"Thanks Charmander," Ash said.
"Charmander!" He enthused before Ash called him back. She expertly leapt through the small opening, her eyes widening when she saw the cave was empty.
"They're gone!" She looked at the empty cage. "Pikachu!" Ash called as she ran out of the cave. "Misty! Brock!" She ran out of the cave and was relieved when she saw Misty and Brock to her left, Brock holding Pikachu. "You guys!" She rummaged through her pocket as she ran to Brock who kneeled at her approach to gently put down Pikachu, Ash and Misty doing the same as Ash began to carefully apply the super potion, wasting no time. "I see you're still a red-head, Misty," Ash said casually as she looked over Pikachu in concern.
"Yup," Misty replied cheerily.
"The Squirtle Squad was bluffing," Brock said.
"They play tricks, but they'd never change a girl's natural hair color," Misty finished. The squirtle only laughed at that. A blast in the distance captured everyone's attention, but Ash didn't bother looking away from Pikachu.
"That blast was definitely Team Rocket," she announced.
"To protect the world from devastation," Jesse started, their hot air balloon lowering slightly.
"To unite all peoples within our nation," James continued, both of them holding lit cherry bombs in their hands.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love. To extend our reach to the stars above!" They said in unison.
"Jesse!"
"James!"
"Squirtle squad, it's payback time for insulting Team Rocket!" Jesse proclaimed.
"Bombs away," the two declared as they finally dropped the bombs in their hands, only hitting some cliff side and sparse forestry. Ash immediately knew that one was going to start a forest fire.
"Meowth! Carry Pikachu up the ladder!" Jesse commanded as she threw down a rope and wood ladder from the air balloon.
"And the rest of you are in for a real blast," James joked, making Ash resist the urge to roll her eyes, noting they had two more lit cherry bombs in their hands.
"Meowth!" Ash looked down at the rising ladder in shock when she saw Pikachu under Meowth's arm, looking back to the spot where she thought he was laying behind her.
"Pikachu!" That sneaky no good-Ash ranted in her mind as she cried out to Pikachu in concern. He still wasn't fully healed! They all raised their arms to protect themselves from the debris when Team Rocket dropped two more cherry bombs. "Quick, run to the cave for cover!" Ash instructed, all of them swift to comply.
"Squirtle!" Ash stopped just before she could go into the cave and turned back to see that the leader squirtle had fallen on its back. "Squirtle!" He cried in distress.
"Squirtle!" Ash called in similar distress.
"Squirt-le-" he grunted, trying in vain to rock to his feet. Ash sprinted for him as she saw Team Rocket drop two more bombs, diving to shield him with her body just before the bombs could hit the ground near them.
"AH! Ash!" Misty shouted in concern. Ash winced once the ground stopped shaking and looked at the squirtle under her in concern.
"Are you alright, Squirtle?" She asked softly.
"Squirtle..." he replied in a shaky tone.
"Here come two more!" Misty yelled in warning, not that Ash could heed it. The debris that hit her left her body shaking and numb.
"Run for it, Squirtle. Don't worry about me," Ash murmured, giving a shaky smile. Ash yelped in surprise when Squirtle suddenly picked her up with a mighty cry, tears flowing down his face. "Wah! Squirtle!" She shouted, startled.
"Squirtle!" He cried. "Squirtle, squirtle squirtle, squirtle squirtle!" He chattered as he dodged the bombs and leapt to the cave entrance, the bomb he just dodged behind them propelling them forward.
"Look out!" Misty cautioned as she and the others held out their arms to catch the two, all of them grunting as they landed in a heap on the floor.
"No more squirtle squad! The towns gonna give us medals and make us heroes!" Jesse crowed.
"Not so fast!" Ash proclaimed from the cliff face.
"Who said that?!" Jesse shouted as they looked to the source, seeing Ash and Squirtle standing side by side.
"Weren't they-, Didn't they-, How did they-" the terrible trio said in unison.
"Squirtle, water gun attack, now!" Ash encouraged.
"Squirtle!" He nodded in agreement, shooting a hole in their balloon with his precise aim and making James drop Pikachu when the basket they were in jarred. Ash ran down the steep cliff face and crouched before making a high leap in the air, catching Pikachu safely in her arms.
"Gotcha!" She landed on her knee, grunting as the force winded her a bit.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The trio cried as they became a speck in the distance. Ash stared at the full on inferno in concern.
"A fire!" Brock called as he and the others came upon them. "The blast must have set it off!"
"If it keeps burning, the whole town could go up in smoke!" Jenny shouted in concern from where she screeched to a halt behind them.
"Don't worry, Jenny, I've got an idea," Ash turned to her with a reassuring smile, making her look at Ash curiously. Ash turned to the squirtle squad. "Listen, if you guys work together and combine your water guns, you could put out the fire," Ash suggested. The five smiled and nodded, organizing quickly and making swift work of suppressing and snuffing out the start of the forest fire, the others looking on in amazement.
"And so, we gratefully award this certificate to the Squirtle Squad!" Jenny announced happily as she crouched to hand the paper to the leader, who accepted it gracefully, the townspeople cheering and clapping on the sidelines. "Thank you for saving our town from the fire!" Ash watched, elated, as the townspeople put on black and white fire fighter uniform robes on the squirtle who looked very pleased with them. Ash took pictures of the cute scene. "Because of your skill and bravery, we proudly appoint you the town firefighters!" Jenny proclaimed.
"Squirtle!" The leader crossed his arms and Ash took one more picture of the organized and assembled Squirtle Squad firefighters.
Ash smiled as she watched Pikachu skip along the path, happy that he was all better again. "Hey Ash, that squirtle is following us," Misty said, capturing Ash's attention.
"Squirtle! Squirtle~!" He called out to them, making them stop and look back to see the leader of the squirtle squad without his uniform, but still wearing his cool shades.
"Would you like to come along with us, Squirtle?" Ash invited with a warm smile.
"Squirtle!" He enthused, taking off his shades and revealing sparkling red eyes, obviously excited at the prospect. Ash laughed and kneeled down, holding her arms open, as Squirtle ran to her. "Squirtle squirtle squirtle, squirtle~" he exclaimed as he jumped into her arms.
"Welcome to the team, Squirtle!" Ash greeted happily.
"Squirtle," he replied in satisfaction.
"Guess we've got a new pokemon!" Ash enthused.
"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu agreed wholeheartedly.
"You're so lucky, Ash!" Misty jokingly whined, making Ash laugh, Squirtle joining in.
AN: Ash's party thus far-
Pikachu(male), known moves: thundershock, thunderbolt, tackle, quick attack, double team, growl, tail whip
Pidgeotto(male), known moves: tackle, sand-attack, gust, quick attack, whirlwind, wing attack
Butterfree(male), known moves: string shot, harden, confusion, poison powder, stun spore, sleep powder, gust, psychic, supersonic
Bulbasaur(male), known moves: tackle, growl, vine whip, razor leaf, leech seed, poison powder, sleep powder, sweet scent, take down
Charmander(shiny, male), known moves: scratch, growl, ember, smoke screen, slash, flamethrower
Squirtle(male), known moves: tackle, tail whip, bubble, withdraw, water gun, bite, skull bash
Pokemon with Professor Oak(Pokemon caught between chapters or off screen)-
Clefairy(female), known moves: pound, growl, sing, double slap, metronome
Weedle(female), known moves: poison sting, string shot
Rattata(male), known moves: tackle, tail whip, quick attack, bite, crunch
Spearow(female), known moves: peck, growl, leer, fury attack, drill peck
Paras(male), known moves: scratch, stun spore, poison powder, leech life, aroma therapy
Poliwag(male), known moves: bubble, hypnosis, water gun, double slap, bubble beam
Magikarp(male), known moves: splash, tackle
Goldeen(female), known moves: peck, tail whip, supersonic, horn attack, flail, fury attack, horn drill
Yes, Charmander is shiny in this story. I decided that if Ash was different and a few things changed why not make Charmander shiny? Especially because the term isn't known until many regions later so they aren't really sought after at this point, just different. Also, Squirtle has finally joined so now Ash has his full starting party!
Anyways, as always, thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. Reviews are much appreciated.