Omega: I'm sorry, but what the heck is that title?

Ohirume: Misfit Abandoned Glasses Squirtles.

Omega: …you feel good about that? Because that is just wrong, on so many levels.

Ohirume: *sigh* I know.

I don't own Pokémon of Ben 10 and for a good reason.

.

.

Rise of the M.A.G.S.

.

Ash told everyone the good news. Nurse Joy smiled brightly, Brock and Misty congratulated him on the new catch, and Soot cocked her head upon realizing something.

She looked at Ash, "Dad, how many Pokémon do we have with us right now?"

Ash raised a brow, "Well there's you, Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Clefairy, Bulbasaur" Ash paused "…and Charmander." He blinked, "I have 7 Pokémon with me."

Misty blinked in confusion, "I thought the normal party limit was 6."

Ash nodded, just as confused, "It is." He pulled all the pokéballs off this belt and enlarged them: none of them were locked. He pulled out his Pokédex and checked his party. His entire team was listed along with 3 empty slots.

Ash stared at the screen in shock.

Pikachu looked over, "We have 10 slots?"

Soot blinked in surprise, "I'm sorry, what?"

Brock looked down at her, "What is it?"

Soot looked up at Brock, Misty, and Nurse Joy, "Dad, apparently, has a party limit of … 10."

"B-but that doesn't make any sense!" Ash stuttered, "The party limit is hard set for all trainers! The only way to change it is to-" Ash paused. His pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, "Professor Oak increased my limit without telling me."

Misty raised a brow, "Shouldn't you be happy about that?"

Ash sighed, "I guess. I just wish he told me."

.

**Time Skip**

With Charmander now on the team, our heroes continued on their way to Vermillion City. And for once, they weren't lost. But that would make things too easy.

Ash noticed a covered pit trap in front of them, 'Ugh.' He raised a hand, "Hold on guys."

Brock looked ahead, "What is it?"

Ash sighed, "Just watch." He brought out the claws on his left and pointed at the ground in front of them with his pinky. The claw shot off his finger and broke open the trap.

Misty flinched, "Woah!"

Soot stared, "We didn't take a wrong turn and end up near Melanie's place again, right?"

Five squirtles wearing sunglasses jumped out of the bushes and glared at Ash.

The one with the pointed glasses pointed at Ash, "Hey! You ruined our prank!"

Soot growled, "Prank?! That's a freaking hole! Why the heck would you do this?"

One of the other Squirtles pointed at Ash, "Because it's what their kind deserve!"

Pikachu raised a brow, "When you say 'their kind,' do you mean trainers or humans?"

Squirtle was about to respond but was interrupted by an approaching siren.

Point-shades Squirtle flinched, "Run!" The group of Water-types scurried into the bushes.

Officer Jenny pulled up on her bike and scowled, "Crag, they got away." She turned to the group, "Are you guys okay?"

Brock walked forward and took Jenny's hand, "I am now that you're here."

Misty grabbed Brock's ear and pulled, "Nice try, Brock." She let go

Brock pouted as he rubbed his ear.

Misty looked back at the cop, "Do you know what's going on with those squirtles?"

Jenny nodded, "Follow me to the police station. I'll explain everything there." She sped off back towards town.

Soot sweat dropped, "She does know that most of us can't move that fast, right?"

.

*Town

The group made it to the police station. Brock and Misty were breathing heavily.

Ash sweat dropped, "You guys know we didn't have to run, right?"

Misty glared, "Shut *huff* it."

Ash chuckled. He looked over at Jenny, "So what's with the Squirtle Squad?"

Jenny blinked, "You've heard of them?"

Ash raised an eyebrow, "We … just met them."

The cop shook her head, "No. I mean-" she sighed, "never mind. They're a group of Squirtles who were abandoned by their trainers."

Soot's groaned, "Freaking, Arceus! What is it with people and abandoning starter Pokémon?!"

Jenny stared at Soot, "Huh, I owe my cousin an apology."

Soot raised a brow, "What?"

"My cousin in Cerulean City." She responded, "I laughed at her when she told me she met a talking mightyena." She chuckled nervously.

Jenny shook it off, "Anyway, the Squirtle Squad has been causing trouble all around town. I've been trying to bring them in, but they always get away." She frowned, "Although, I can't help but feel a little bad for them."

Pikachu frowned, "Why do trainers do this?! We aren't just some playing you can throw away!" the mouse flinched and looked at Ash, "Of course, I didn't mean you."

Ash chuckled and pet the Electric-type, "Don't worry, Pikachu. I know what you meant."

Jenny stared at Ash and blinked, "What?"

Misty flinched and ran over, "Oh, nothing. Say, would there happen to be a good fishing spot around here?" she said, trying to change the subject.

Jenny nodded, "There's a river that runs next to the town."

Brock grabbed Ash's arm, "Great, we'll head there now."

The pair rushed Ash out the door. Soot blinked and looked back at the cop, "Good luck with the Squirtle Squad." She hurried out the door to catch up with the others.

.

*River

Everyone was enjoying themselves down by the river. Misty was fishing, Brock was setting up a picnic blanket, and Ash lying down with his Pokémon around him. Pidgeotto and Butterfree were in a tree, Charmander, Pikachu, and Clefairy were lying on Ash's side, and Soot was sunbathing alongside Bulbasaur.

"What's a cousin?" Clefairy asked randomly.

Soot looked over at the Fairy-type, "What?"

"A cousin. Officer Jenny said she had one in Cerulean."

Ash looked over, "It's the child of your parent's sibling." Clefairy stared at him in confusion. Ash chuckled, "Right, sorry. The, um, hatchling of your meema's sibling."

Brock looked over at them.

"Oh." Clefairy responded, "So who's Officer Jenny's cousin?"

Soot raised a brow, "The Jenny we met in Cerulean."

Clefairy's eyes widened, "Wait! That wasn't the same human?!"

Ash chuckled.

Misty looked over from her fishing spot, "What's so funny?"

"It's Clefairy." Ash called back, "She just found out that the Jenny we met wasn't the same one from Cerulean city."

Brock walked over, "But what about all that other stuff."

Ash raised an eyebrow, "Were you eavesdropping?"

Brock chuckled nervously, "I overheard it mostly. You said things like hatchling and, uh, mem-a?"

Ash chuckled, "Meema. It's what Pokémon call their parents. Hatchling is what Pokémon call their children. Sibling means exactly what you think it means."

"Really?" Brock pulled out a notepad, "What else is there? Do Pokémon have other special names for family members? Do they call their mothers and fathers different things like humans do? Do-"

Ash raised his hands, "Woah, hold it! You're going a bit fast there. Why do you want to know all this anyway?"

Brock sat down, "I'm working towards becoming a breeder, remember? If I can learn about stuff like this, it'll probably help in the long run. So, could you please help?"

Ash smiled, "Sure. Give me a second." Ash put a hand to his chin, "For the first two questions, you'll to be more specific. Pokémon call both of their parents meemas, regardless of gender. If they need to tell them apart, they refer to them as male meema and female meema."

Brock quickly wrote down the information. He paused, "If that true, then why does Soot call you 'dad' instead of 'meema'?"

"Preference." Soot called back, "I like the word."

Brock continued his questioning, "What about grandparents or cousins?"

Ash smiled, "Elder-meema and nothing. Pokémon don't have a term for cousin. That's actually part of what Clefairy was asking about earlier. The main description is 'hatchling of a meema's sibling.' Same thing goes for aunt and uncle." Brock continued writing.

Misty raised a brow, "Where did you learn all of this?"

Soot chuckled, "Where do ya think? This information is engraved into a Pokémon's instincts." she stopped upon realizing something, "Come to think of it, why didn't you ask me any of this a while ago?"

"That's-" Brock paused when he considered this, "That's a very good question."

Misty felt a tug on the fishing pole, "Hey, I got something!"

The others looked over in interest. Ash grimaced when a familiar blue shaped appeared out of the water. He grabbed Charmander and shielded him right as a Water Gun fired out the water. Everyone else got soaked.

The squirtle, one of the rounded shades ones, laughed, "Hah! Gotcha!"

Ash turned around, still holding Charmander, and glared, "We have a Fire-type with a life-flame with us! What do you think would have happened if you hit him?!"

Pikachu glared and readied a Thunderbolt.

Ash noticed and grimaced, "Pikachu, don't!"

Pikachu stopped and looked at Ash, "What?"

Ash glared back at the turtle, "We just got soaked. If you fire a Thunderbolt, it'll hit all of us."

"Ya traina's right, mousy."

Soot growled as turned to face Meowth, "You again!"

Bulbasaur glared, "You're one of the one's who attacked the village."

Misty joined the glaring, "What are you doing here, Meowth?! And where are the other two?!"

Meowth chuckled, "My human servants are runnin errands."

The cat snapped and three lassos shot out of the bushes. Brock and Misty got tied up, but Ash ducked under the rope targeting him.

Soot glared, "Your gonna pay for that Scratch Cat!" Soot was about to charge but was struck by a Toxic followed by Poison Sting. She yelped and fell to her side.

Ash looked at her in shock, "Soot!"

The rest of the Squirtle Squad appeared out the bushed holding the ropes. Ash's Pokémon all started charging attacks.

"Not so fast!" Meowth and Ekans were next Soot. Ekans was charging an attack, "One wrong move and the Righty-leg-a gets it!"

Ash flinched, "Guys, stop!" The Pokémon stared in shock but complied.

Meowth smirked, 'I knew it. The Phantom Pokémon's weakness is it's kid.'

Soot grimaced, "D-don't listen to-"

"Quiet, you!" Meowth shouted. He turned to look at Ash, "Return ya Pokémon an come with us or else ya pup gets anotha Poison Sting! Pikachu and Clefairy can stay out, but dey get roped too!"

Ash glared furiously but pulled out his pokéballs, "Return." Everyone but Pikachu and Clefairy returned to their pokéballs. Ash got down on his knees and put his hands behind his head. Pikachu and Clefairy grimaced but did the same. Brock and Misty stared at Ash in shock.

Meowth smirked and turned to the Squirtle that missed Ash, "Tie em up." Squirtle nodded and made his way over to Ash. He tied the boy up without him struggling. Pikachu and Clefairy were tied up by the leader.

Pikachu glared at Squirtle, "Hope you're proud of yourself."

Squirtle frowned but shook it off, "Quiet, slave."

Meowth smirked, "Alright, now march!"

.

*Squirtle Squad Cave

Ash, Brock, and Misty ended up tied to a rock. Pikachu and Clefairy were tied back-to-back and forced to sit next to them. Soot laid against the wall with Ekans standing over her. She was panting heavily from the poison.

Meowth smirked, "Alright, I'm da Pokémon in charge here! You all are gonna wait here until my human servants get back!"

Ash didn't respond. He was looking over at Soot in concern.

"Squirtle Squad, listen!" Misty called out, "Meowth is lying to you! He's part of Team Rocket and is just using you to do his dirty work!"

One of the squirtle pointed, "As if we'd believe a trainer!"

Soot started coughing. Ash grimaced, "Fine, you caught us! Now give Soot the antidote already!"

Meowth smirked, "Now why would we do dat?" the Squirtle Squad looked at him in surprise, "If we heal her, den she'll just attack us."

Ash glared, "Then put her in a cage or tie her up!" Ash's friends looked at him in shock, "I don't care, just stop making my hatchling suffer!" he started tearing up, "please."

Ash's friends and the Water-types all looked at him in pity.

The leader put a paw on Meowth's shoulder, "We never agreed to hurting a Pokémon like this. Do what he says and heal her already."

Meowth looked at Ash slyly, "Still not gonna happen, twoip. Besides we don't have an antidote."

Ash glared again, "Then let me go get one! Town isn't that far away!"

Meowth laughed, "Yeah, right! How do we know you'll come-"

Ash shifted to intimidate. "Don't you dare!" Ash yelled in absolute fury, "Don't you dare think that I would EVER abandon Soot!"

Everyone in the cave stared at Ash in shock.

Meowth started trembling, 'F-freaking Yvel! I knew the Phantom would be tough but-' the cat shook it off and pointed at the leader squirtle, "Fine, but he's goin' with ya." Squirtle snapped out of it.

Ash's eyes returned to normal and he nodded, "Deal."

One of the squirtle untied him.

Ash immediately ran over to Soot. Ekans tries to stop him, but Ash's glare said otherwise.

He crouched down in front of her, "Soot! Soot, say something!"

She coughed and looked up at him. She smiled weakly, "hey dad."

Ash smiled and hugged her, "I promise you'll be better soon."

The Squad looked at him in surprise. "Why does he care so much?" one of them asked.

Ash put Soot down gently and pet her, "I'll be back soon. Just hang tight."

Soot chuckled and started coughing again, "Just don't take too long."

Ash nodded and turned to glare at the leader, "We're heading to the town. Now!"

Squirtle nodded, "Fine. But you better try anything funny."

Meowth spoke up, "He said ta be back by noon tomorrow or else the red head gets her hair dyed purple."

"What?!" Misty shouted.

Pikachu glared, "He's lying, Ash! Squirtle said not to try anything funny."

Meowth raised a brow, 'Why would he say that? Should he be able to understand Squirtle anyway?'

Ash nodded, "Fine. I'll be back in time."

He ran towards the town with Squirtle close behind him. Everyone watched as the pair disappeared into the distance.

Meowth turned to look at Pikachu, "What was dat about?"

Brock raised a brow, "What?"

Meowth glared at Brock, "Not you!" he looked at Pikachu again, "You. You told ya traina what Squirtle said."

"It was a reflex." Pikachu looked away, "I've people lie to my friends before."

One of the squirtle chuckled, "Friend? A trainer can't be your friend. You're just his slave!"

Clefairy glared, "That's not true! Ash is one of the nicest and most caring trainers ever! He cares about us a lot!"

Meowth smiled slyly, "Den why did he leave ya hear with us?"

Misty glared at the cat, "If you didn't notice, you poisoned Soot."

Brock followed, "Ash raised her and sees her a his dau- his hatchling. He told you himself."

The remaining squirtle frowned and looked at the heavily breathing canine.

Meowth grimaced, 'I'm losing them! Jessie and James better not be slacking off'

He went back to smirking, "Doesn't change da fact dat da twoips on a time limit. Noon tomorrow, rememba?"

Misty chuckled, "You don't Ash that well, do you?"

.

*Ash and Squirtle

Ash had to stop constantly to let the Tiny Turtle Pokémon catch up.

Ash grimaced, 'At this rate, it might actually take until tomorrow.' He walked over and reached down, "Do you want me to carry you?"

Squirtle glared and batted the hand away.

Ash sighed, "I'm just trying to help." He frowned sadly, "Soot's hurting and this is only way I can help."

Squirtle stopped glaring, "Why do you care? She's just another one of your slaves."

Ash sighed again, "I can't understand you. Not without Soot."

Squirtle scoffed, "So that's it, she's just a translator to you."

Ash glared in response to the tone, "Hey, I don't-" he took a deep breath, "Forget it, let's just keep moving." Ash continued towards the town.

Squirtle followed. He glanced up at the trainer and thought back to the cave, 'Why does he care so much about a Pokémon? And why did he call her 'hatchling?' I thought humans used different words.'

They came up to an old rope bridge spanning a ravine.

Ash's deadpanned, "Another rope bridge. Really?" he sighed and looked down at Squirtle, "Step carefully."

The duo started walking across the bridge. The ropes started to unravel once they were halfway across.

Ash's eye twitched, "I am officially swearing off rope bridges."

Ash grabbed Squirtle as they plummeted to the river below.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ash poked his head out of the water and looked around, "Huh, the water's not moving that fast."

He pulled Squirtle above the water. The turtle was shivering in fear, and his glasses were gone.

Ash blinked, "Hey, where'd your glasses go?"

"What?!" Squirtle snapped out of it and checked his head and his shell. He started freaking out, "No no no no! Please tell me I didn't lose them."

Ash frowned at the distraught Water-type. He looked around, swam to a wall with a small ledge, and put Squirtle on it.

Squirtle looked at Ash in confusion, "What are you-"

"Wait here." Ash interrupted, "I'll get your glasses. The current's slow, so they couldn't have gone far." He took a deep breath and submerged.

After a minute, Squirtle got worried, 'Can humans hold breath for this long?'

Two more minutes passed. 'Okay, something cannot be right!'

Five minutes later. Squirtle glared at the water, "That trainer left me! He probably swam off and is laughing about how he tricked some 'stupid squirtle' into trusting him! I cannot believe I actually agreed to this! And to make it worse, my shades are-"

Ash took a deep breath as he reemerged. Squirtle stared at him in shock. He looked over at Squirtle and grinned goofily as he brought up the pointed shades, "Got 'em."

Squirtle immediately snapped out of it and happily took back his shades, "Thanks. I honestly thought you left."

Ash chuckled, "Still can't understand ya, buddy."

.

**Time Skip**

The store came into view. There was a sign on top that said 'SHOP'.

Ash sweat dropped, "They really wanted it to be easy to find, didn't they?"

Squirtle snickered.

Ash chuckled, "Come one, let's head-" Ash's eyes widened when he heard voices inside.

He grabbed Squirtle and ran to the alleyway next to Shop and covered the turtle's mouth.

Squirtle managed to push the hand away, "Hey, what's-"

Ash shushed the turtle, "listen." He whispered.

Human voices started emanating from Shop, "And even meaner." "Listen up! We want all the flash powder you've got!" "And a large roll of dental floss!"

Ash sweat dropped, 'dental floss?'

Squirtle frowned, 'Aren't those Meowth's servants?'

"W-what do you need them for?" Someone in the shop asked.

"You want to get rid of the Squirtle Squad, don't you?!"

Squirtle's eyes widened behind the shades.

Jessie continued, "The flash powder will scare them out of town! The floss is for our teeth."

Ash grimaced, 'Crag! So, this was their plan.'

Squirtle stared at the alleyway in shock, 'We-we trusted him!' he clenched his teeth, 'When I get my paws on that cat, I'll-'

There thoughts were interrupted when Jessie and James emerged from the store. James was carrying the box of flash powder and Jessie was aiming a bazooka.

"Farewell." She fired.

Ash's eyes widened when he heard screams coming from the store. These were followed by confused murmurs.

"Are these flower petals?" a woman in the store asked.

Ash facepalmed, "Of course they would have a Petal Dance bazooka." He said in an annoyed whispered.

Ash and Squirtle saw the Meowth balloon fly off.

Ash put Squirtle down, "Stay here. I'll get the antidote."

Squirtle was about to protest.

"Soot takes priority." Ash said, cutting Squirtle off, "We'll head straight back after I get a cure."

Squirtle grimaced but nodded, "Make it fast."

Ash smiled and ran out of the alleyway and into the store, "I need an anti- Woah!" He was greeted with four guns aimed directly at him.

Ash gulped, "L-look, I'm not-"

"Quiet!" A gray-haired man, presumably the owner, shouted, "Officer Jenny will be here for you any moment!"

Ash frowned, "I'm not with Team Rocket."

"And why should we believe you?!" A woman asked.

A man next to her joined in, "You're probably just waiting for us to lower our guard!"

Ash grimaced, 'they're too freaked out. What am I supposed to-'

"What's going on here?!" Everyone looked as Officer Jenny walked through the door. She noticed Ash, "Huh? What are you doing here?"

Everyone else in the room lowered their firearms in surprise.

"You know this boy?" the owner asked.

Jenny looked at him and nodded, "He ran into the Squirtle Squad earlier today." She turned back to Ash, "Hey, I thought you and your friends went down the river. Speaking of which, where are they?"

Ash frowned, "Officer Jenny, I'm sorry, but I can't chat right now." He looked at the gray-haired man, "You're the owner, right?"

The man rubbed the back of head nervously and put down the rifle, "Yes and I'm sorry about what happened a moment ago. Whatever you need, it'll be on the house."

Ash smiled, "Thank you. All I need is something that cures poison."

The old man nodded, "Coming right up." He walked into back and came out a moment later, holding a yellow spray bottle, "Here you are, sir."

Ash took the bottle and nodded, "Thank you." He rushed out the door.

He ran into the alleyway, grabbed Squirtle, and ran out of town as fast as he could. Squirtle had to hold on to his glasses due to the wind. Ash heard a motorcycle and stopped as Officer Jenny pulled up.

She took off her helmet, "Okay, 1: Wow you are fast! 2: Why are you in such a hurry?" she paused when she noticed Squirtle in his arms, "3: Why do you have him with you?"

Ash sighed, "The people who attacked that store tricked the Squirtle Squad and are about kidnap my friends. My Mightyena got poisoned by them, hence the antidote. And I need to get back there. Now!" He blinked in surprise when Jenny put a helmet on his head.

Jenny smiled, "Well, what are you waiting for? Hop in."

Ash frowned and gave the helmet back to her, "I'm sorry, but that won't work. The bridge is out. Your motorcycle can't make it across that."

Jenny blinked, "But you said you were in a hurry."

"I am." Ash nodded and ran off; kicking up a cloud of dust.

Jenny coughed as the dust cleared. She looked in direction that Ash went, "Woah." She put her helmet back on and sped after him.

.

*Ash

Squirtle grimaced, "Slow down! The bridge is right there!"

Ash didn't slow down, "Squirtle I need my hands! Hold on to my shirt!" He moved Squirtle to the collar of his shirt and moved the antidote to his mouth to hold it.

The Tiny Turtle Pokémon grabbed shirt and held tight. He grimaced, "Wait! You're not actually about to jump, right?!"

Ash reached the edge of the ravine and did exactly what Squirtle feared the most. He sailed across the ravine, but-

"We're not gonna make it!"

Ash pulled out his claws and dug into the side of the opposing wall.

Squirtle stared at Ash hands in shock, "What the?!"

Ash looked up, 'Good, we're higher up than I expected.'

He retracted the four claws on his left, reached higher, brought the claws out again, and dug into the wall. He followed with the five on his right and gained altitude. He had to repeat this process 8 times before reaching the top.

Ash got back to his feet, pulled the bottle out of his mouth, and started spitting.

He grimaced, "Welp, now I know, dust tastes horrible."

Squirtle stared at Ash; his wide eyes hidden behind the sunglasses, "W-what the Yvel are you?"

Ash chuckled, already guessing the question, and looked at Squirtle "I'm Ashton Satoshi Ketchum. The Phantom Child's meema."

Squirtle wasn't sure how to respond to that.

Jenny pulled up on the other side of the bridge, "How did you get over there?!"

Ash smiled back at her, "Trade secret!" He ran off towards the cave again.

After a few more minute, Ash finally saw the cave entrance ahead of him.

Ash smirked, "We're almost there!" 'Thanks goodness. I'm nearing my limit.'

Squirtle looked ahead and smiled, 'Finally. Now I can expose that fraud and save the others.'

Ash slowed down as he reached the entrance. When he got close enough to see inside, he found that the cave was vacant. Ash grimaced and picked his pace back up.

He stopped at the entrance with a skid and grimaced, "What?! Where are they?!"

Squirtle grimaced too, "Squad, where are you?! If this is joke, then knock it off!"

"Ash?" Ash jerked around to see Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Clefairy, the Squirtle Squad, Ekans, and Meowth walking out of a bush. Brock was carrying Soot.

"Soot!" Ash ran over to Brock.

She opened her eyes and smiled, "hey. You got the stuff, right?"

"Right here" Ash pulled up the spray bottle, "Thank you, Brock. Go ahead and put her down."

Brock nodded and laid her down gently. Ash immediately got to work with the spray, "Hold still."

Squirtle pointed at Meowth and frowned, "You lied to us!"

Meowth flinched, "O-oh come on. You're really gonna believe dat human instead of ya fellow Pokémon, are ya?"

Squirtle removed his glasses, exposing his glare, "Then tell me why your 'servants' robbed the shop in town! They said they were gonna scare us off!"

The rest of the squad glared at Meowth.

Meowth started trembling. He turned to the snake, "Ekans, sting da mutt!"

"You don't know when to give up, do you?" Meowth grimaced and turned to see Soot on her feet again.

She looked at Ekans and smirked, "Just try it coils." She shifted to her inherent eyes and grinned like a maniac, "It'll only make my revenge all the sweeter."

Ekans flinched and backed up.

Meowth stared in shock. He perked up when an explosion went off, "Alright, finally!"

Team Rocket's balloon floated above them with a ladder hanging from it. Ash grimaced when he noticed two small objects falling from it.

Ash brought out his left claws and used his right to aim the arm, "Take cover!" He fired from his ring and middle fingers and the bombs exploded violently in the air.

Meowth capitalized and hurried up the ladder with Ekans in tow.

Jessie and James threw more bombs.

Ash glared, "They're not letting up!" He looked to his side, "Soot, are you ready?"

She looked up at him, eyes still red, and smirked, "Do you even have to ask?"

Ash pulled the zipper on her back and crossed his arms as the strings attacked. Ash smirked, "Soot, Marionetter!"

The Squirtle Squad looked over to see Soot running straight towards them, on her hind legs. She stopped and looked up at the approaching explosives.

She smirked, "Let's dance."

Ash moved his hands and Soot sprang up towards the bombs. She spun around, knocked them away, and hit them with Shadow Ball. They exploded in the air.

Team Rocket didn't seem to notice. They just kept unloading explosives. Soot and Ash didn't let up.

The squirtles stared in shock, "Woah!" "Insane!" "What kind of attack is that?"

"Everyone, get to the cave!" Ash called out, "Soot and I will hold them off!"

Soot landed next to him and turned to look at them, "We'll be fine, guys!"

She ran off to catch a bomb and toss it back into the air. It exploded high above her.

Brock nodded, "Come on!"

He ran towards the cave. Most of the others followed.

Squirtle stared at the scene in complete shock, 'Th-this is a Phantom Child?!'

One of the bombs was heading straight for him. Soot ran through and tackled him out of the way as it exploded on the ground.

Squirtle looked at her in surprise, "You saved me?!"

Soot rolled her eyes, "I may still be a little mad at you, but we're not letting you get hurt."

Squirtle was touched, "Thank you."

Soot chuckled as she stood back up, "Don't thank me. I'm not in control of myself right now."

She sped off and kicked away a bomb that was approaching Ash.

Ash looked over at Squirtle, "Hurry! Get to the cave." He moved his hands again and Soot knocked away two more bombs. She landed behind him; they stood back-to-back.

Ash smirked, "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

Soot rolled her eyes and smirked, "Don't call me sweetie."

.

*Cave

Everyone just watched as Soot attacked the raining explosives.

Misty smirked, "Wow! Look at them go!"

Brock sighed, "Way to rub it in."

Squirtle looked up at them, "What?! You know what this is?!"

"It's called Marionetter." Pikachu replied.

Clefairy joined in, "It's this super powerful thing that Ash and miss Soot can do! Ash controls her with those purple strings on his fingers and she can do all kinds of things!"

One of the squirtle flinched, "Wait! The trainer is controlling her?!"

Pikachu sighed, "It's not what you're thinking. Ash may be controlling her body but not her mind. If she didn't like this, we'd hear about by now. Besides, Ash isn't going to let anything happen to his hatchling."

Everyone jumped when Soot ran into the cave carrying Ash in her arms.

Soot deadpanned, "Isn't this a bit degrading, dad?" Ash moved and she put him down.

Ash stood back up and chuckled, "Sorry. I used most of my stamina getting back here."

"Ash, what are you doing?!" Misty cried out in alarm, "What about the bombs?!"

Soot smirked, "Calm down, they ran out." She looked out the entrance of the cave, "Also, I don't think they noticed what dad and I were doing." She turned to face Squirtle, "Does this place have another exit?"

.

*Team Rocket

The Rocketrio looked over the edge of the basket. The clearing and cave were empty.

"Alright, we got them!" Jessie cheered.

Meowth followed, "No more Squirtle Squad!"

James frowned, "But we didn't get the twerp or Righty-leg-a."

Meowth sweat dropped, "Uh, sorry James. I already used dat one."

"What?!" James whined, "But I came up with it!"

"Forget about the name!" Jessie shouted. He smirked, "Besides, we can worry about them later. For now, let's head back to town. We'll be awarded as heroes!"

"So, you're just assuming they forgot about the store you robbed?" The three of them flinched and turned to see Soot crouching on the edge of the basket. Squirtle and Pikachu were on her shoulders, glaring at them.

Soot smirked, "What's up?"

Team Rocket stared in shock.

Jessie: "Weren't you-"

James: "Didn't you-"

Meowth: "How did you-"

Soot pointed a Shadow Ball at them, "Secret tunnel."

Soot fired her sphere, Pikachu used Thunderbolt, and Squirtle used Water Gun. The collective attacks caused the balloon to explode and the idiots to fly off into the distance.

"We're blasting off again!"

The three Pokémon plummeted to the ground. Soot landed on her back with the two smaller Pokémon in her arms.

Squirtle grimaced, "Freaking Yvel! Are you alright?!"

Soot looked at him and smiled, "Yeah, I'm good."

Pikachu grabbed Squirtles paw, "Come on." He pulled the turtle off the dog allowing her to spring back onto the hind legs.

Squirtle stared, "How are you- We just fell out of a hot air balloon!"

Soot snickered, "Yeah, I don't feel pain while I'm like this." She quickly grabbed the two of them and blinked in surprise, "I guess this is happening."

She ran off back over to Ash and the others, "Dad, what going-" She stopped talking when she noticed the massive forest fire, "Oh."

"Yeah." Ash frowned and moved twitched his fingers. Soot dropped Pikachu and Squirtle.

Officer Jenny pulled up a moment later. Her jaw dropped when she saw the blaze, "What the Yvel happened here?!" she looked at the Squirtle Squad and grimaced, "Y-you don't mean that-"

"It wasn't them." Ash interrupted, "Team Rocket did this." He looked back at the fire, "We need to act fast. Misty, we need Staryu and Starmie. Brock, Geodude and Onix; have them use sand-based moves."

"We're helping too!" The lead Squirtle called out, "Most of this is our fault anyway! We have to make up for it!" His squad nodded.

Soot smiled, "Thanks. The turtles said they'll help."

Ash smiled too, "Sounds good."

The gym leaders released their Pokémon. The crowd of Water-type and Rock-type Pokémon stood in front of the inferno; ready to strike.

Soot smirked, "Alright, let's do this!"

.

*One non-climactic firefighting scene later

Officer Jenny stood in front of the police station with the Squirtle Squad in front of her. A crowd of the townsfolk and Ash's group stood in front of them.

"And so." Jenny announced, "We gratefully award this certificate to the Squirtle Squad." She handed the certificate to them, "Thank you for saving our town from the fire. What's more, we proudly appoint you the town firefighters."

The town applauded.

Later, Ash and the others made their way out of town. Soot was still in Marionetter state for some reason and walking beside Ash.

Soot pouted, "Dad, why didn't you let me help?!"

Ash sighed, "Soot, fire still affects you even if you don't feel it."

"Yeah, but I heal fast." Soot grumbled.

Ash frowned and moved his hands. Soot moved in front of him and pulled him into a hug. Pikachu and Clefairy were knocked off Ash's shoulders.

Ash hugged her back, "It's because I didn't want you to get hurt. I hated seeing you like that in the cave."

Soot raised a brow, "Dad, I fell out of hot air balloon and landed on my back."

Ash smirked, "That's different. Physical damage doesn't mean anything during Marionetter."

Soot rolled her eyes, "You're such a dad." She chuckled softly, "Is this hug the only reason I'm still using Marionetter?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Soot smiled, "Yeah, but I like it."

Brock and Misty couldn't help but smile at the scene. Clefairy smiled brightly and was about to run over to join in.

Pikachu noticed and stopped her. "Let's give them a minute." The mouse whispered.

Soot noticed something approaching and blinked, "What the?"

"Huh?" Ash pulled Soot out of the hug and turned to look. He raised a brow, "Squirtle?"

The Water-type was running towards the group, "Hey, wait for me!"

Soot raised a brow, "He wants us to wait."

They decided to wait. Ash used this time to deactivate Marionetter.

Squirtle caught up and breathed heavily, "I want *huff* to come *huff* with you."

Soot stared in shock, "Are you kidding me, right now?"

Squirtle frowned and looked at her, "Listen, I get that your still mad at me, but-"

"It's not that." Soot sighed, "I'm just trying to comprehend the fact that one of all three Kanto starter Pokémon wants to join our team. Especially when the professor was, allegedly, out of said starters when we went to get one."

Misty blinked, "That's- huh. That is kinda weird."

Brock scratched the side of his head, "I guess we're just lucky?"

Ash blinked, "You really want to join us? What about your team?"

Squirtle smiled and took off his glasses, "They already know. I left one of them in charge for while I'm gone."

Soot relayed the message. Ash raised a brow, "But, why? I'd really like having you on my team, but I thought you didn't like trainers."

Squirtle chuckled and put his shades in his shell, "What can I say, ya grew on me." He looked at the other Pokémon, "Not to mention, your sla-" he shook his head, "your other Pokémon actually see you as a friend. Gotta admit, that'd be a nice change from that hag who threw me out."

Soot smiled and relayed the message; deciding to leave out the slip up.

Ash smiled too, pulled out a Pokéball, enlarged it, and held it out.

Squirtle smiled, walked over and hit it. Another easy catch.

Soot laughed and shook her head, "Welp, now we have a full set of starters."

.

*Later; dinner

The humans sat down at the unfolded collapsible table and ate. The Pokémon all sat off to the side; eating as well. There was a bit of trouble when the others recognized Squirtle, but Ash vouching for him reassured them all. Or at least, enough for them to stop glaring while they ate.

Squirtle looked at Soot, "So what were those Rocket guys talking about with that 'Righty-leg-a' thing?"

Soot sighed, "Mightyena. Those three always mess up the name of my-" she paused when she realized something, "Wait a second. 'I already used that one' 'I came up with-'" she growled as her eye started twitching, "THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT ON PURPOSE!"

.

.

Omega: Hey, what's going on with Yukiro?

Ohirume: He still hasn't recovered from his time-out.

Omega: Where did you send him?

Ohirume: A place that was mentioned in an old episode of Jimmy Neutron. Mime world.

Seishin: Mimes mimes mimes mimes mimes mimes

mimes Q 6x15 mimes mimes mimes mimes mimes

mimes mimes mimes mimes AGT Tape Face mimes

mimes mimes mimes mimes mimes mimes mimes

Omega: Should we do something?

Seishin: NOTHING BUT MIMES!

Ohirume: Nah. He'll be fine.