After a tough battle at the Cerulean City Gym, Summer was able to prevail over Misty's Staryu and Starmie, winning her the Cascade Badge. Because of some issues in Saffron City, Summer has to take the Underground Path to get to Vermillion City. While trying a new "training" session with her Pokémon, Summer meets the gentleman who took care of Flower when she was a wild Pokémon. While helping the man with his adoption house, three evil-looking Trainers want to destroy his hard work. Will Summer and Flower be able to stop them?

Chapter 14: The Bulbasaur Adoption House

"So…tell me how this is related to training?" I asked, unsure of my Pokémon's request.

"Simple, Ms. Summer!" Errol happily shouted while Blaze enlarged my bike and Lightning took out my helmet. "We shall analyse our speed and reflexes as you pedal down this slope!"

I looked down the slightly steep hill. There were five hedges and a small brown building with a large pasture. I also saw green and blue dots at the bottom of the hill.

"What are you two doing at the bottom?" I shouted to the easily recognizable dots: Flower and Swirls.

"We're the lifesavers if you fly like a Pidgey, dudette!" Swirls shouted.

"We're doing the reflex test Errol suggested," Flower said meekly. Errol flew over to make sure everything was okay. "Are you sure this is safe, Errol?"

"Positive!" Errol confidently shouted. "After all, I, Mr. Blaze, and Ms. Lightning shall travel near Ms. Summer's bicycle, ensuring her safety whilst observing the progress of our speed!"

"You do know that I'm not good with riding a bike, right?" I asked, trying to avoid this dangerous situation.

"Come on Summer!" Blaze encouraged. "We really do want to test our skills!"

"Plus," Lightning added. "We really want to see a human riding a bike." She offered me the red helmet.

I smiled and sighed. I put on the helmet and adjusted it. "Hand me the bike, Blaze." He smiled and pushed it to me. I slowly climbed over it, sweating a little.

Okay, hopefully I won't die… I need to trust that they'll save me if I come to that situation."

"All right, here we go!" I shouted, trying to erase my fear.

I started my bike and moved downhill. Blaze, Lightning, and Errol quickly went ahead of me. I was about to note their new speed when the hedge appeared in front of me. I pushed my bike back, jumping over the ledge.

That wasn't so bad…wait, there's four more!

I jumped the second one with ease, making feel like I can do better.

I pedaled faster, gaining a lot of speed so I can jump over two hedges. I tried to push the bike back again, but this time, I did it too late. The bike hit the third hedge and I flew over the two hedges.

As I was moving through the sky, all I could think of was, Save me, save me, save me!

Suddenly, I was caught in a Water Gun. Two vines then wrapped around my waist and gently lowered me near the building. Once my feet touched the ground, I laid down and was ecstatic that was over.

Everyone ran over to me except for Flower, who retrieved the undamaged bike. She then joined the others, and everyone was worried that I would be angry at them. Errol quickly landed and bowed apologetically. I smiled and said, "I'm not mad at you guys. All of you are really improving. And you saved me. That's all that matters. Thanks, you guys."

They all hugged me, and I gratefully hugged them back.

"Bulbasaur, is that you?" a deep male voice asked behind us. We all turned around and saw a large Bulbasaur curiously looked at Flower.

Flower rubbed her head with her vine and said, "Yeah, it's me, Sunny. And it's Flower now."

"Flower, do you know this Bulbasaur?" I asked her. She nodded and was about to answer when an elderly man came out of the building. He looked like he was around 60, which a green fedora, brown shirt, and purple pants. He had white hair and a short white beard tinged with green streaks.

"What's all the commotion, Sunny?" he asked his trusty partner. He then saw Flower and smiled. "It seems that Bulbasaur has come back to visit."

"How do you know, Flower, sir?" I asked politely.

"Oh, she has a nickname, now? Well, she's one of the residents, or should I say former resident, of this establishment. Oh, I'm sorry for not introducing myself. I am Anthony, founder of the Bulbasaur Adoption House."

"I'm Summer, and these are my Pokémon." After the introductions, I asked, "What is the Bulbasaur Adoption House?"

Anthony smiled and said, "Come with me, Summer. I'll show you."

Sunny opened the door to the building and Anthony guided us inside.

The house was filled with diverse houseplants, 20 small pens with a Bulbasaur each, a small living area with a kitchen, and stairs leading up to the second floor. The upstairs had four doors, most likely rooms and bathrooms. Flower ran to every area, excited to be back. I let everyone explore with Flower and sat at the wooden table in the living area with Anthony and Sunny.

After giving me a glass of water, Anthony explained, "The Bulbasaur Adoption House is for Bulbasaur who have been abandoned by their Trainers. You see, most Trainers who started with them release them after defeating Misty."

He sighed and added, "Those Trainers wanted stronger Pokémon and believed Bulbasaur were too weak to fulfill their wishes. I happened to witness Sunny here being released by his Trainer. It was so heartbreaking… he wanted to keep traveling with that arrogant boy, but he kicked him aside like he was trash. After I took Sunny in and healed him, I decided to run an adoption house to help them find caring Trainers."

Anthony then looked at my Pokémon exploring the house and smiled. He said, "Flower looks really happy being with you and your Pokémon. I'm glad she finally found a Trainer."

I teared up a little at the sad story and compliment. I thanked him and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Anthony thought about me offer and said, "Actually, if you don't mind." He looked at a Bulbasaur calendar on the wall.

I glanced at it and saw tomorrow's date was circled.

"I'm having an adoption event tomorrow," he said.

"Oh, what do you do for the adoptions?"

Sunny, my volunteers, and I set up tents and decorate the field where the Bulbasaur are free to roam. That way, potential adopters can explore and meet each Bulbasaur in their natural habitat. Although I have most of the items ready, I'm pretty short on volunteers."

He frowned and continued, "The volunteers from Saffron City can't come because of the city closure, and the volunteers from Cerulean City are busy."

"Why don't my Pokémon and I help? I know a bit about adoption events."

Anthony smiled and said, "Thank you, Summer. As compensation, please feel free to stay for the night. It's the least I can do."

I thanked him for his generosity, gathered my Pokémon, and told them what was happening.

Anthony said, "Why don't you, Lightning, Swirls, and Errol clean the house while I, Sunny, Flower, and Blaze get the decorations? The cleaning supplies are in the kitchen."

As the four went upstairs, we divided the chores and started to work. Errol went outside to clean the house, Swirls watered the indoor plants, and Lightning and I cleaned the floor, living area, and watered the plants. After a few hours, we were all done.

Anthony came down and was impressed. He complimented, "What a wonderful job! The house hasn't been this clean in a long time!" After beaming at the praise, we helped Anthony and Sunny separate decorations for inside and outside the house. After that, we let the Bulbasaur out of their pens. Anthony and I gently gave each of them baths and identification ribbons.

These Bulbasaur are so happy despite their abandonment. I hope all of them find good Trainers.

Anthony noticed the sun was setting and said, "Let's make everyone dinner. I'm sure we'll all hungry from the hard work."

I nodded and helped put the Bulbasaur back into their pens. Luckily, Anthony had the XL Pokémon food maker, which made four times as much food compared to mine. I added some of my Berries for flavor, and in 15 minutes, all the food was properly prepared. After giving the Pokémon the delicious food, Anthony cooked some sautéed vegetables and baked potatoes.

"I hope the adoption will go well," Anthony said, staring at the stars from the kitchen window.

"I'm sure it will." I paused, then asked him. "If it's okay, how did Flower come here?"

Flower perked up when she heard my question. I looked at her and asked, "Is it okay if I know, Flower?"

"I feel it's best if Flower told you herself, "Anthony responded. "Why don't I clean up in here? Go ahead, Summer."

I nodded and said, "Okay, thanks again for letting us stay here for the night. Come on, everyone." We went upstairs to the room Anthony prepared for us. It was snug, but perfect for one guest and five Pokémon.

After getting ready for bed, we all gathered around Flower, who was hesitant to tell her past. Errol hopped to her and reassured, "Do not worry, Ms. Flower. It would be best for you to tell us. It will make you feel much better."

Flower sighed, then nodded. She said, "My former trainer's name was Natalie. She was a pretty girl with brown hair. She and I met at Professor Oak's lab, where she started on her journey a year ago. We were very close, and we made new friends along the way."

"When we arrived in Cerulean City, these boys were teasing her about choosing me, the weakest of the starters. She tried to defend me, but they kept mocking her. I've never seen her so upset. The next day, she brought me here and asked Anthony to take care of me. I tried to go back to her, but she yelled at me to stay with Anthony. I didn't understand what was going on that time. But, now I know why. She knew Anthony would help me find a new Trainer for me. And I did."

She smiled at us and said, "I visited Bill since he occasionally volunteers at the Adoption House and has knowledge about good Trainers. Whenever I walk to Bill's and back, I tried to follow his advice and looked for a Trainer I felt a strong connection with. I've walked that path so many times and could never find anyone. When I was trying to find someone to help Bill, I thought my cries for help will get attention, but no one came. Until I met you, Summer. When I saw how much you cared about saving Bill and worked so hard to get him back, I knew I found the right Trainer. And your friends really care about you. I'm glad we met, Summer."

I petted her head and whispered, "I'm glad too. Thanks for telling us, Flower. I know it must be hard."

Flower smiled again and said, "Actually, it doesn't hurt as much now. Errol's right."

Errol hooted happily and everyone else hugged their newest member.

I looked at the clock on the wall and said, "We should all get some sleep. We need to wake up early." Everyone nodded, and we quickly fell asleep.

While dreaming of what happens inside a Pokéball, I felt a light tapping on my shoulder. I groggily woke up and asked, "Is it 6 already?"

"Summer! You need to get up!" Lightning shouted, pushing my shoulder.

"Why, what happened?" I looked at my Pokégear and saw it was 3am. The house and outside were still dark, but the moon shone some light into the room.

I saw Flower was very upset. I immediately became alert and asked, "What's wrong, Flower?"

"Something's wrong outside. I heard Anthony leave, but he hasn't come back yet."

I became worried. "Let's go downstairs and see what's going on."

Flower, Lightning, and I tiptoed around the sleeping Blaze, Errol, and Swirls and left the room. When we got downstairs, I saw all the Bulbasaur in the pens were gone.

This is bad! What should I do?

All of a sudden, a sharp cry pierced the night. We froze in fear, knowing that the cry came from outside.

My other three Pokémon quickly climbed down the stairs.

"Is everything okay?" Blaze asked, concerned.

"I guess we'll go see. Errol, lead us outside to where Anthony!"

"Yes, Ms. Summer!" I opened the door, and he immediately flew to the pasture. The rest of us followed him and were shocked at what we saw next.

Three boys were forcing the scared Bulbasaur into a corner of the pasture while Anthony laid on the ground a few yards away. Sunny tried to see if his friend was okay, but he didn't move. Errol landed next to his head and scanned him.

Once we reached the adoption owner, Errol said, "Mr. Anthony is not in any serious pain."

Anthony stirred, looked at us and whispered, "Please help the Bulbasaur, Summer…"

How could one man's dedication be threatened by those who don't know him?! I know what I have to do.

"Errol, Blaze. Take Anthony and Sunny into the house and make sure he's okay." Both Pokémon nodded and carefully helped the injured man and his Bulbasaur into the house.

"Hey!" I angrily shouted at the boys. "Leave those Bulbasaur alone!"

The boys saw us and laughed. The oldest boy, who looked 13, was wearing a blue shirt and jeans. He touched a dark blue orb on the brim of his blue cap and mocked, "Bulbasaur should never exist because they're weak. They're only good for Trainers who don't know any better."

"That's not true!" I argued.

The other two boys, who wore red and green shirts, said in unison, "Tell her, brother. Why don't we show her why?"

The oldest chuckled evilly and nodded. The three boys sent out their Pokémon: a red lizard bigger than a Charmander, a Pidgeotto, and a Spearow.

I scanned the Fire-type with Pokédex, and it said [Charmeleon, the Flame Pokémon and the evolved form of Charmander. Without pity, its sharp claws destroy foes. If it encounters a strong enemy, it becomes agitated, and the flame on its tail flares with a bluish white color .]

So that's a Charmeleon. I really need to be careful how I stop them.

The boy in the green shirt shouted, "Spearow, hit those weak Grass-types with Wing Attack!" Before I could issue a command, the bird charged through all the Bulbasaur. The severely injured ones shouted a cry that was painful to my ears.

The red-shirt boy then shouted, "Pidgeotto, finished them with Peck!"

"That's enough! Lightning, stop those Flying-types with Thundershock!" I commanded, knowing I have to take control.

"With pleasure." Lightning easily charged her attack and released it, knocking out both of them while they tried to escape the super effective attack.

The younger boys returned their fallen Pokémon and looked to their older brother anxiously. Flower then tried to lead the Bulbasaur away from their aggressors.

The oldest became angry at the turn of events and yelled at me, "Stay out of our way! Charmeleon, trap those Bulbasaur!"

Charemleon nodded and immediately shot a stream of fire that circle around the Grass-types. Flower was able to jump out, but the rest were trapped in the ring of fire.

Thinking quickly, I commanded, "Swirls, extinguish that fire!"

"Oh no you don't!" the oldest boy angrily shouted. "Charmeleon, use Slash on Poliwag!"

Charmeleon quickly dashed and jumped in front of Swirls. His right claws turned white, and he was about to hit Swirls. Although Swirls and I couldn't react in time, Flower did.

She grabbed Charmeleon's arm with her vine and growled, "Don't you dare hurt them!" She threw Charmeleon back, but he quickly recovered and had a small smile on his face.

"Charmeleon, take out that weakling with Flamethrower!" The Pokémon took a deep breath and exhaled a strong stream of fire at Flower.

"Swirls, counter with Water Gun!" The two attacks collided, but the fire overpowered the water and knocked Swirls back.

"Dudette, they're tough," Swirls noted, panting.

I looked at my Pokémon's conditions and thought hard.

I don't think Swirls can continue, and Lightning's still not strong enough to hurt Charmeleon. Should I get Blaze to come?

Then Flower snapped me out of my thoughts. "Summer, let me battle. I know I have the type disadvantage, but I have to protect my friends!"

I saw her determination and nodded. "Yes, let's work together. Swirls, Lightning, stop those flames and help the Bulbasaur escape." The two nodded and immediately ran to the Bulbasaur.

"So, you're going to use that weakling against a Charmeleon?" the boy said snickering. "Brothers, stop those Pokémon while I deal with these two." They nodded and tried to stop Swirls and Lightning.

"Ladies, first," he said, complete with a mocking bow.

What a jerk… "Flower, use Vine Whip!"

"Charmeleon, dodge then use Slash!"

His partner nodded and jumped up, avoiding the fast-moving vines. He then roared and lengthened his right claw.

Smiling at the opportunity, I commanded, "Flower, use Sleep Powder!"

She smiled as well, and shot out the white powder. Her opponent couldn't help but breathe in the powder and immediately fell asleep.

"NO! Charmeleon, wake up!" But his Pokémon didn't respond.

"Flower, Vine Whip again!" She sent out two vines and grabbed Charmeleon's arms. She then lifted him up and threw him to the ground, knocking him out.

The dark blue orb suddenly fell from the boy's hat and smashed onto the ground. The boy rubbed his head and asked, "What's going on?"

He then saw his brothers and asked, "Dewey, Louie! What are you doing?"

The two looked confused but ran to their brother. "I don't know, Huey," the boy in the red shirt said. The three then looked at me with confused looks.

That's strange. They stopped being aggressive when that orb broke. What's going on?

"Hey," Huey asked. "Do you know what's going on?" I then filled them in on what happened over the last two hours.

The three then immediately bowed in apology. Huey apologized, "I'm so sorry we did this, Summer. You too, Bulbasaur."

I accepted the apology and asked, "Do you remember what happened before this?"

Dewey said, "We were walking around Cerulean City when a young woman with black hair asked us to help her at her house."

"Yeah," Louie added. "Once with got there, we smelled some kind of sleeping gas. I don't remember much since then."

I picked up the broken orb and asked, "Do you know what this is, Huey?"

The oldest shook his head and said, "No, this is the first time I've seen that."

This must have been put on while they were asleep. I should hold on to this and give them to Anthony.

"Well, thanks for telling me this," I said. "I should go check on Anthony."

"The Bulbasaur Adoption House owner?" Huey asked. After I nodded, he told his brothers, "We should apologize to him too. This is his property, and we hurt him without knowing."

All of us, people and Pokémon, headed into the house to talk to Anthony.

Meanwhile, three people dressed in black watched the whole situation from the safety of the dense trees. "Darn it!" Boulder shouted, almost throwing his binoculars to the ground. "We were so close!"

Raven gritted her teeth and said, "The experiment would've been successful if sweetie hadn't shown up!"

The green-haired man calmed them down and reassured, "At least the orb works on those close to the wearer. That's all we needed to know."

Raven reluctantly nodded. "Should we head back to base?"

The green-haired man nodded. Boulder and Raven jumped down the trees and quietly walked away from the scene.

You are quite the interesting Trainer, Summer. I look forward to destroying you the next time we meet. The man snickered, then followed his comrades.

"I see," Anthony calmly said as he held an ice pack to his head. The brothers and I were in the kitchen while my Pokémon made sure the Bulbasaur were okay.

"So you see, sir," Huey nervously said, "on behalf of me and my brothers, I apologize for our actions." He and brothers bowed deeply to the injured man.

I thought Anthony would be angry at them, but he smiled. He kindly said, "You three don't have to apologize. You were not yourselves, so there's no blame."

"Are you sure?" Huey asked, still upset over what happened. "At least let us help you at the adoption house for a month. We did cause damage to your facility."

"Well," Anthony said, stroking his chin. "I guess that's okay. Will you three be willing to help out at the adoption event later today?"

The three boys were ecstatic and eagerly nodded.

Anthony chuckled and said, "All right, feel free to stay here until I need help."

"Thank you," the boys said in unison. Sunny then led them upstairs.

Once we were alone, Anthony had tears in his eyes. "I have to thank you, Summer. If you didn't help, not only would I not have the adoption event, but I wouldn't have this building anymore."

I blushed and said, "It's no problem at all. I'm just glad I can here this place. It needs to be here for Bulbasaur."

Anthony slowly got up and said, "Since those boys will be helping me, feel free to rest and leave whenever you are ready."

I bowed in thanks and took a quick nap with my Pokémon. And by quick, I meant 5 hours.

I groggily woke up and saw my Pokémon looking out the window. I joined them and saw the large number of people looking at the Bulbasaur. It made me happy to see how many were being adopted. Seeing that our work was done, I packed up and went downstairs.

Once I got downstairs, I saw the brothers cleaning up the building. I waved goodbye to them and headed outside. I saw Anthony and Sunny staring at the empty field.

He saw me approaching and dreamily said, "This is the first time I've seen the place empty since I started."

"It must a relief."

"Yes, but it's also a little sad. I'll miss all of them, but I know more will be coming."

He then knelt down to Flower and said, "Take care, Flower." Flower hugged Anthony and Sunny goodbye.

Anthony got up and said, "Good luck Summer, and come back anytime."

"Thanks, Anthony! Bye!" After waving for a few minutes, we headed into the Underground Path and continued our way to Vermillion City.

Pokémon: Blaze (Combusken): Brave Nature, moves: Quick Attack, Double Kick, Flamethrower, Focus Energy

Errol (Hoothoot): Rash Nature, moves: Tackle, Growl, Hypnosis, Peck

Swirls (Poliwag): Relaxed Nature, moves: Bubble, Hypnosis, Water Gun, Doubleslap

Lightning (Pichu): Adamant Nature, moves: Thundershock, Charm, Iron Tail

Flower (Bulbasaur): Gentle Nature, moves: Tackle, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Sleep Powder

Questions for the Chapter:

What do you think of Flower's back-story?

What's Team Rocket experimenting with the orb?

Would you want to see Natalie in a future chapter?