Where am I? That question bubbled up in the mind of thirteen-year-old Ash Ketchum as he found himself floating in a dark void. The new trainer from Pallet was in a daze, his mind struggling to piece together where he was and how he'd gotten there.
He recalled setting out after obtaining his Pikachu from Professor Oak. The Electric Mouse Pokémon hadn't exactly been fond of him for some reason, but Professor Oak had assured him that they would get along well. It was a rough start, to say the least.
As he left the gates of Pallet with Pikachu in tow, he could only think to himself how things weren't going as he'd expected they would upon becoming a Trainer. He expected a loyal pokémon who'd be his friend and do as he said. Together they'd go and beat the Gym, enter the league, and then defeat the Champion to become a Pokémon Master. Even though he and Pikachu got along well now, after a very close-call, things still hadn't been as smooth as he thought they would be.
For one, he still owed Misty a bike and it wasn't a cheap one either. It'd apparently been a professional sports bike from a Bike Shop in Cerulean City, which she took him to after their Gym Match to show him the exact model Pikachu had fried when he'd started gloating about getting the badge from her sisters. Let's just say he hoped that by the time that he got back around to Viridian City that Nurse Joy could fix it as thanks for stopping Team Rocket from stealing the pokémon there.
Right, Team Rocket… His memories stirred upon recalling they'd been hounding them since that day. Since that run in with Team Rocket, they'd been showing up as he traveled until now, even now trying to capture—Pikachu!
His memory snapped back in full when recalled that horrid scene. The wild Goldeen had struck him with its horn violently after the Squirtle Squad had captured them, leaving him wounded and easy prey for Team Rocket to steal. Even now he was lying in that cave, injured and waiting for him to come back with a Super Potion before Noon. Ash's eyes snapped open with a sense of urgency and he sat up—
"Ow!"
—only for a girl's voice to cry out as pain blossomed anew the moment something hard hit his head, leaving him wincing and clutching the spot. He figured he must've hit someone and opened his mouth to apologize on reflex, unclenching his eyes and turning his gaze to the source of the sound…
Only for his voice to falter when he spotted the familiar feminine form sitting on the edge of the bed, bent over and holding her forehead in the palm of her hands. "Gina… is that you or am I dreaming?"
Ash was briefly stunned as he tried to recall how long it had been since they'd last seen each other. It had taken him about two weeks to get to Pewter City with Pikachu, then Mount Moon to Cerulean had taken a few days. After that he'd gotten a bit lost and it'd been around two weeks since they'd left to find Vermillion City.
Brunette hair shifted to reveal a familiar set of black eyes that told him that it wasn't a dream before she sat upright and grumbled while rubbing her forehead. "If this is your idea of greeting someone in a dream, I'd hate to see what your nightmares look like."
"Sorry about that," he said before taking in the sight of his surroundings. They were in what looked to be a simple room as morning light spilled in through the blinds. Wait, morning light? "OH NO!"
Gina jumped at the sudden scream Ash let out as he flung aside the bedsheets and stood up. "What's wrong now?"
"I was supposed to be bringing back a Super Potion last night to help Pikachu," Ash said. "I can't believe I slept through until morning when he needed me."
Gina guiltily looked away at that before turning her attention to her bag, sitting on the stand next to his hat. "Well, it's fairly early in the morning so the store probably isn't open. But I can spare one of mine since this place is too small to have a dedicated Pokémon Center."
"Really?" Ash looked so relieved at that it made her feel even worse about knocking him out, even if it was an accident. "That'd be a big help!"
"Great, then we'll call it even," Gina told him before going over to her bag and pulling out one of her newly bought Super Potions… which promptly he snatched from her grasp, along with his hat from the nightstand, and then charged for the door. "Hey!"
"Sorry, but it's an emergency!" Ash told her as he put on his hat, ran out of the door, and rolled her bike off the rack it was on. "I'll pay you back for it when I get back with the others!"
Whatever guilt she felt was waylaid by a sense of confusion and urgency as he jumped on her bike and prepared to leave her behind. Since Gina Oak wasn't going to let that happen, she ran out of the door as he took off and jumped to land squarely on the cargo-carrier above the rear wheel as he began pedaling. She nearly fell off until she grabbed onto Ash, leaving her pressed perilously close and clutching him to remain in place. "Ash, what's the big idea stealing my bike!?"
"Like I said, it's an emergency!" Ash kept picking up speed. It may have been a year or so since the last time they'd rode like this before Gina stopped letting him do so, but the muscle memory was still there so he didn't have any trouble with the additional weight. "My Pikachu needs this Super Potion!"
"We could have done that in the room!" she pointed out, under the assumption that the pokémon in question was inside of one of his balls. Then she realized that in her haste she left her bag behind and only had her own pokémon and Pokédex on her.
"He's not with me," Ash explained. "He's stuck in a cave further away from town with the other friends I was traveling with!"
Friends? She had more questions, obviously, but he was so fixated on cycling that he didn't seem to hear her until they abruptly came to a stop at what looked to be a rope bridge. It had collapsed recently from the look of it.
He slammed the bottom of his fist against the bike's handle. "Darn it!"
"Hey!" Gina snapped at that, causing him to recoil his hand. But upon seeing the pained expression on his face, obvious with worry towards his pokémon and these friends of his he chose to travel with over her, she forcibly breathed out a heavy sigh to calm herself. "I get you're worried, but still."
"… I need to get across here to get to the cave," Ash told her after a moment. "The gap's too big to jump though, and I don't think Bulbasaur can send his vines that far out and support my weight."
A Bulbasaur? She was sure her Grandfather had given that one away already, but if he had managed to get another it would be a good choice since even among the domesticated Starters they tended to be among the most well-behaved and loyal pokémon. But pushing that thought aside she offered a solution as she reached for her own Poké Balls. "If that's the case we just need a point where the river is shallow enough for us to cross then, right?"
Before he even finished nodding, Gina had tossed the ball into the air and released her Spearow. It clicked in Ash's mind then what she was getting at and he reached for his own flying pokémon. "Good idea! Come out and help!"
To her surprise, Ash's pokémon had been a Pidgeotto that took the skies with a flap of its wings. But then her Spearow cawed at the Bird Pokémon violently and then attempted to nip at its wings, causing the Pidgeotto's feathers to rustle agitatedly in response. She clapped her hands together as hard as she could to grab her own pokémon's attention before it picked a fight. "Stop it this instant!"
The Spearow's sharp gaze turned onto her. "Row?"
"You're not fighting that Pidgeotto," she explained. "There's a cave on the other side of this ravine. I want you to find it and then a path that we can cross since the bridge is out. Come back when you're done, and you'll get a treat to go with breakfast."
"Pidgeotto, you head south and do the same," Ash chimed in. "While you're at it, keep an eye out for Team Rocket or their balloon. They're involved in all of this."
Spearow gave a terse nod as Pidgeotto let out an affirmative sound before the two avian pokémon gave one another a withering glare. It was clear that they weren't fond of one another despite having just met. But they obeyed and flew off in their respective directions, leaving the two trainers from Pallet alone for the moment with their thoughts until the two birds returned.
Gina broke the silence by asking, "So, how did you wind up in this situation?"
"…We'd just came along this way yesterday when we fell into a pitfall trap dug by a group of Squirtle," he began, before explaining that they were all abandoned by their Trainers and so they went around causing trouble and pulling pranks for locals. Then a group of pokémon thieves known as Team Rocket convinced them that it'd be funny to pull a trick that wound up with his Pikachu getting hurt by a wild Goldeen. They apparently only let him go to get help on the condition he made it back before Noon or else they'd do something really bad.
His urgency made a little more sense now and made Gina feel a bit worse as she tried to reason out how bad things could be. "Well, Starter Pokémon are domesticated from birth in breeding centers, so they don't have the exact same survival experience that Wild Pokémon do. While that makes it easier for them to build a bond with new Trainers and become loyal, it also means that if they were suddenly abandoned then they'd react a lot worse to it than a wild pokémon who was recently caught. Those pranks are probably their way of getting food to survive but also some measure of affirmation from people like those they abandoned—I can't see them really doing anything too bad or hurtful to your pokémon or friends."
"The issue is Team Rocket," Ash pointed out. "I don't know where they went, but if I don't get back soon then Pikachu and the others might be in trouble—"
"Row!" A squawk interrupted his words as Spearow flew back towards them with its short wings, lowering itself closer to the ground before remaining aloft in front of Gina.
"You find a path for us?" she asked. The Tiny Bird Pokémon nodded in acknowledgement. "Good job. That just leaves the other one."
No sooner than she got the words out Pidgeotto cawed as it descended from the air, swooping in low before perching itself onto Ash's arm as he held it out. "Otoo!"
"Did you see Team Rocket's Balloon?" He asked, receiving a shake of the head from the Bird Pokémon. He took it as good news before he returned the Pidgeotto back into its ball. "Then we still have some time. Come on!"
With Spearow taking the lead, Ash worked the wheels of the bike at a breakneck speed down the path while weaving between the trees far faster that Gina would have liked. She ended up bracing against him, swallowing her own urge to cry out for him to slow down until he abruptly hitting on the brakes. She ended up slamming her chest into his broad back entirely, having been knocked from the carrier-seat into the bike seat with him.
Her elevated heartbeat spiked for a moment before she decided they were too close and then pulled back to see they'd come to a stop in front of a curved rockface that elevated higher into the air, with a large opening in it. It was deep enough that they couldn't see further back into it, but air was flowing through. "It's a bit dark. We could end up stumbling or getting lost if there's more than one path…"
To that, Ash pulled out a second ball and from it a Charmander emerged, its flaming tail flickering as it stared up at Ash with a smile. He crouched down and gently patted it on the head. "Hey, Charmander. Feel like helping us out by leading the way?"
It let out an adorable sound before rushing ahead, tail happily swaying while Gina looked on in confusion before asking, "Ash, which pokémon did Gramps give you?"
"Pikachu," he answered while following his Charmander. "Why?"
"Then how did you get a Charmander and a Bulbasaur?" Those two, along with Squirtle, were awfully rare in Kanto. In fact, aside from a few scattered ones that may have had eggs with wild pokémon or maybe a few colonies, they weren't easily found. Yet, between here and Pallet Town, he'd gotten two of the other Starters?
Ash looked to her, before glancing at his Charmander that was ahead of them, and then leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Charmander's last trainer abandoned him for being too weak. And Bulbasaur was at a village full of abandoned pokémon."
There was a pause as it took her a full moment to process that. Then her brows furrowed steeply, and a scowl marred her face as she said, in a demanding voice, "…Explain. Now."
Her voice came out loud enough that it reverberated, causing the happy Charmander to peer back towards them and incline its head inquisitively. "Char?"
"Nothing's wrong, Charmander," Ash said, holding up a hand and waving for it to continue forward. He then turned to Gina again and held up a finger. "I'll explain later. Promise."
A rumble bubbled up in her throat, but she didn't press further. Even though she wanted to. His words had roused her anger. Not at him, of course, but the fact that two of his pokémon were apparently abandoned Starter Pokémon—not Wild Pokémon, but Starter Pokémon.
Starter Pokémon were raised in secret breeding grounds after being hatched by Pokémon Breeders. That meant they were domesticated from birth to be easy for new Trainers to handle, used to people and largely docile around them. Some of their survival instincts were lost as a result, meaning most of them couldn't easily adapt to living out in the wild because of that.
Like a lost child being dropped in a location where they weren't raised and without guidance, they'd wait for their Trainer to return. If they never did, then if they got lucky maybe someone else would look after them or they might be adopted by a different species. Depending on the personality of the pokémon in question, they might even adapt by going semi-feral, develop behavioral problems, or a distrust of humans.
No one who does that has a right to be a Trainer, Gina thought to herself. Being a Trainer was a responsibility. If they didn't at least have the decency to turn over ownership of a pokémon to a Pokémon Center or Caretaker because they no longer wanted to take care of it, they shouldn't have even made the attempt to train a pokémon to begin with.
"Char. Char." Soft noises from the Lizard Pokémon grabbed her attention as it pointed towards a dead-end. Or at least where the path came to an end. There was still light and the whistle of a breeze coming from cracks ahead of it.
"…ear tha…?" Gina thought she could hear over the soft popping of flames coming from the Charmander as Ash pushed against the rock with all his strength until it dislodged, and surprised pokémon noises gave way to a male's voice. "It's Ash!"
"Brock!" Ash called out. "How are Pikachu and Misty!?"
"We're fine, mostly," A girl's voice called out, a fact that seemed to cause Ash to look a touch too relieved as far as Gina was concerned. "What took you so long?"
"The bridge collapsed and washed me downstream," he said. "But you're both free now and your hair's fine?"
"I convinced them to let us out to look after Pikachu on the condition that I'd make breakfast," the male voice said. "The sleep did him some good, but the Super Potion—"
"I've got it," Ash said, climbing through as Charmander followed. "Misty, use it on him quick!"
Gina was the last to come through the hole, whereupon she came across the sight of two humans and five Squirtle sitting around eating. The guy who they were talking to she recognized as being Brock of Pewter City's Gym, the first Gym Leader she'd beaten not too long ago. Why he was here with Ash was the first question that came to her mind, but she pushed it back as her attention fell onto the other girl Gina didn't recognize. She was gently stroking the fur of Ash's Pikachu as it laid on her lap while she sprayed the Super Potion on it, alleviating its pained slumber and easing the labored breaths coming out of its tiny mouth.
"Didn' think ya'd be back already," Gina heard a fourth voice say, but she could have sworn there were the only three other people here. Her eyes spanned the room until she came across a Meowth that was sitting on a large rock across from the room. "And ya brought another twerp with ya?"
Gina blinked slowly a few times. Then she rubbed her forehead for a few moments. "Ash, you must've hit me harder in the head than I thought, because I swear I heard that Meowth talk just now."
"No, he does that," Ash said tersely, rising to his feet and scowling angrily. She couldn't help but think it didn't really suit him. "Speaking of which, Charmander, use Em—"
Brock held up a hand to stop him. "No fighting during Breakfast."
"But he's with Team Rocket!" Ash pointed out, to which Brock inclined his head towards the bale of Squirtle that were eyeing them warily. Something unspoken passed between them, causing a grumble to bubble up in Ash's throat before he recalled Charmander into its ball. "Fine."
The Meowth let out an audible sigh of relief as he patted his paw against his chest… only to let out a yelp in surprise when Gina popped up awfully close in front of him. "What's the big idea!?"
"You're really talking…" she muttered, her tone a mix of amazement and wonder as she pulled out her Pokédex. "Even Pokémon on the higher-end of the I.Q. or psychic scale can't do it vocally, but instead through something akin to telepathy. You must be a one-of-a kind pokémon for someone to have taught you how to speak so clearly!"
"Finally, someone realizes my worth!" Meowth nodded his head to the compliment with a grin that stretched wide and his arms crossed. "But ya got something a bit wrong. No one taught me to do anything—I taught myself."
"Gina, don't waste your time with him," Ash told her, now holding his Pikachu that was awake and healthy once more. He then turned to one of the Squirtle who had a set of pointed glasses. "Squirtle Squad, you really need to stop listening to him. You can't trust anything he says."
"It's the humans you can trust," Meowth abruptly shot back towards to the Squirtle Squad. "Ya've had your breakfast, so tie 'em back up until my human pets get back. Then we can take 'em far away from here!"
The Squirtle with pointed glasses made an inquiring sound, gesturing towards the exit. "Squirtle, squirt?"
"If ya just let 'em leave, ya think they won't just tell da people in town and have 'em come to drive ya outta here?" Meowth answer in response to whatever the Squirtle said, pointing to the hole that Ash and Gina came through. "Remember, dey know where ya base is and even came in through a secret entrance! Who's to say dat Officer Jenny isn't on the way now to spoil ya fun?"
All of the Squirtle tensed at that and began chattering among one another in their own language before they turned on the group of Trainers, reaching for rope that they had nearby and preparing to surround them. "Squirtle, squir…"
"Easy now," Misty said in as calm a voice as she could. "We didn't try to run away, Ash came back on time, and Brock even made you all food like he promised. We kept our word every single time, because we don't want to hurt any of you."
The Squirtle all looked among themselves at that, hesitating. One of the Squirtle with round glasses made an inquiring sound towards the one with pointed glasses, who was obviously the leader when she thought about it. It rubbed its head in thought, as if considering what to do.
"Ya've already been burned by da words of humans once before," Meowth reminded them. "Ya wanna go through that again?"
Gina, who was still impressed by the fact that the Meowth was talking, found herself starting to see why Ash dislike it. Because even with the glasses masking their faces, she could tell by how their arms dropped and heads angled towards the ground, they really had been hurt by their abandonment. And Meowth was exploiting it to manipulate them into doing something they clearly didn't want to.
"Before you do something you might regret, let me introduce someone first," she said, grabbing their collective attention as she reached for a Poké Ball and enlarged it. "Come out and say hello."
The ball popped open and her Starter Pokémon came out. She was a bit larger than the Squirtle due to evolving but she wore a placid smile on her face as she met with more of her kind and greeted them with a slight wave and a somewhat nervous, "War."
There was a moment of tense silence as Gina's Wartortle emerged and greeted the pre-evolved forms of her species, who all stood silent and still in her presence. Almost as if they'd been paralyzed. Then one of the round glasses Squirtle stepped forward with a berry that it pulled out of nowhere and held it out to her. "Squirtle!"
"Squirtle, squirt!" Another interjected, pushing that one out of the way before it presented her with what looked to be a can of Lemonade. Then another one tackled that one out of the way and held up a Poké Doll for her. Then a fourth one smacked that one out of the way with its tail before it kneeled and held up a Silk Scarf between its two tiny paws to present it to her.
Then the fighting began they started arguing with one another in their native tongue while the others watched on. The lead Squirtle with the pointed glasses was left holding a paw to its head and slowly shook it before inhaling deeply and then letting out a shout. "SQUIRTLE!"
The others immediately stopped fighting and scrambled off to the side, standing still as the leader approached Gina's Wartortle. He, as Gina was reasonably sure of now, then rubbed the back of his head as he apologized on behalf of his squad. Her own pokémon waved it off as she scratched her cheek at all the attention.
"She's the pokémon that I choose to begin my journey with," Gina began, kneeling down next to her so that she was eye-level with them. "It hasn't been very long, but she's become very important to me. So when Ash told me about what happened to all of you, I was really upset because every time I think about it I think about what it'd be like for her if I were to leave her behind."
The lead Squirtle's lips pursed thin at that.
"I can't pretend to understand what the people who abandoned you were thinking, but I can guess what it must've felt like for you," Gina continued. "You only did what you were told, yet your Trainers left you behind. And that hurt all of you because you were raised being told that whoever chose you to be their partner would always be there for you, right?"
Minor mumblings spread among the other Squirtle standing off to the side, their tones subtle but filled with sadness. They were told while being raised that whoever took them in would care for them and there would be a bond like no other. Yet here they were, abandoned and betrayed.
"I know it must've felt like you only had each other, and that's why to survive you began taking from the local people and passing Trainers. You still feel some resentment too, and that's why you play pranks as well. You don't try to hurt others, but it's how you get their attention since you thought no one else cared about you, right?"
One of them started sniffling and made sad sounds as he brushed his eyes beneath his glasses, causing two of the others to pat him on the back. If they wanted to truly be alone, they could easily go somewhere else and live away from people. But as much as they may have resented the humans who abandoned them, they still longed to be around them.
Ash, who'd stayed silent until now, stepped forward and crouched down as well in front of the leader of the squad. "When you dropped us in that pit, I was upset until Officer Jenny told us about you and pleaded with us not to be mad. I think she did it because she cares a lot about all of you as well and wants you all to be safe too from anyone who might decide to do something harsh."
"She's probably been doing the same for the townsfolk as well whenever you all cause trouble for them," Brock added, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. "Even though you take food and cause mischief, has she really tried to bring any of you in or capturing you like a normal Trainer would?"
The group looked to each other before collectively shaking their heads.
"We know what happened to all of you was terrible," Misty chimed in last. "But please don't give up on people. Not all of us are bad like the ones who abandoned you."
"Don't tell me ya fallin' for dis slop!?" Meowth said the moment he noticed all of them beginning to actually consider it. "They're just lyin' to ya."
The leader of the Squirtle Squad only sniffed before shaking his head. Then he turned around so that no one was looking at him and brushed his eyes with one paw as Gina's Wartortle set hers on his shoulder. However, the sound of an explosion that was nearly instantly followed by the cave rumbling, left them staggering as dust and pebbles began to fall from the ceiling.
"What was that?" Ash asked as another explosion rocked the cave.
Brock pointed to the entrance. "It came from outside. Let's check it out."
Everyone vacated the cavern at the threat of a collapse to see what was causing the explosion. From overhead black powder bombs began to rain down, igniting and scattering flames over the surrounding flora as they blew chunks out of the base. And the source was a balloon shaped like a Meowth's head.
"To protect the world from devastation," said a woman with long, magenta hair that had a serpentine appeal as it flowed down her back.
"To unite all people within our nation," followed a man with short, lavender hair as he held a rose in one hand.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love, to extend our reach to the stars above," they continued in unison before introducing themselves as Jessie and James as they pulled out another pair of bombs. "And now that that's out of the way, Squirtle Squad it's time for you to pay—bombs away!"
"Cut it out, Team Rocket!" Ash shouted as the bombs detonated with force that ripped the stone apart and flames that lapped at the greenery with relentless hunger. "You're destroying the Squirtle Squad's home!"
As the flames began to spread and their home was being demolished, the Squirtle Squad immediately turned towards Meowth. The lies he'd told had all but been exposed now that his betrayal was made clear. Glaring from behind their glasses as he began to fidget, they all bristled and seethed towards him with visible anger.
"A-A little help here!" the Scratch Cat Pokémon shouted up to the Balloon. "Now!"
"It would seem that Twerps have added another to their number and Meowth is in a bit of a bind," James said, staring down at Gina. "Perhaps we should give her a warm welcome before we make our escape?"
"It would be rude not to, but only after we get what we came for," Jessie agreed, before tossing down a rope ladder. "Grab Pikachu, Meowth!"
Meowth lunged for Ash and Pikachu, claws extended. But before they could land a powerful Water Gun from the lead Squirtle slammed into the Scratch Cat Pokémon hard enough that he lost breath before he was sent flying into a nearby tree. He slumped down and let out a groan of pain. "Oww.…"
"Thanks, Squirtle!" Ash told him, to which it only gave a nod before heading towards Meowth with clinched fists. But then Ash looked up and noticed that Team Rocket had tossed a pair of bombs towards Squirtle to protect Meowth. Instinct beat out thought as Ash set Pikachu down and rushed forward to tackle Squirtle as the bombs went off, obscuring them both from view as the plume of smoke and the spouting earth drowned out their voices.
"ASH!" Gina shouted, one voice among many as she, Ash's friends, and the Squirtle Squad watched with held breath and racing hearts as the smoke cleared to reveal the pair lying on the ground and just on the outskirts of the blast radius. Gina bristled with fury before pointing towards the Balloon. "Wartortle, take them out!"
Her Wartortle let out as strong a Water Gun as she could muster, the tightly packed stream of water slamming into the bottom of the Balloon's basket. It hit like a sledgehammer, punching through it before hitting the balloon itself and causing the entire thing to rupture. It sent the remnants of the basket and the two onboard falling off behind the cavern—around where Ash and Gina had entered—before an explosion went off.
Of course, that was a secondary thought to Gina as she rushed over towards Ash and Squirtle, only beaten out by a fleeting yellow set of fur as Pikachu quickly crossed the distance and rocked him with its tiny arms while calling out, "Pikapi! Pikapi!"
"I... I'm okay…" Ash's said, even as the dirt covering his body slid down and his bones themselves shook. He may have avoided the worst of the blast but that didn't mean it hadn't been a close thing from how his body shook as he struggled to get back up. "Squirtle, you okay?"
The leader of the squad nodded as he got back up with barely a scratch compared to Ash. He'd shielded the Tiny Turtle Pokémon with his own body. "Squirtle…"
"Good," Ash breathed out a sigh of relief before looking towards the tree where Meowth had been. The Scratch Cat Pokémon was nowhere to be seen. "Wait, where's Meowth?"
"Forget him, we have to put out the fire or it'll continue to spread at this rate!" Brock pointed out before he called out his Geodude. "Geodude, use Sand Attack and start smothering the flames!"
"Staryu, Starmie, you help too!" Misty commanded as she sent her own pair of pokémon out. The two Star Shape Pokémon threw themselves over the flames and proceeded to let out sprays of water as they spun around, creating a makeshift rain-shower to try and limit the range of the flames.
"Wartortle, you as well." Gina added. The Turtle Pokémon nodded once before she wadded over and inhaled deeply before spraying out a dense stream of bubbles. The Bubblebeam blanketed where it landed as well to help keep everything from catching aflame and contain it from spreading.
"Squirtle, Squirtle!" The lead Squirtle shouted out towards his squad, pointing towards the flames. The others rallied at the command and then began to spray down the worst of the flames as well before they could swallow up the woodlands even more.
"Keep it up!" Ash said, his attention on the others as they combatted the flames and smoke rose into the air until he noticed Pikachu on high alert with his tail raised and on all fours. "What's wrong, buddy?"
Pikachu's eyes seemed to skim the ground. His ears twitched and his cheeks sparking with electricity before he suddenly turned towards Gina, whose focus was on her own pokémon, and let loose a Thunder Shock. The bolt struck behind her right as a purple blur lunged from a bush, maw agape as it made to bite Gina, leaving it to let out a shriek of pain as the voltage coursed through it before it hit the ground and shuddered as tendrils of electricity threaded it.
The lightning and shriek caused Gina to take several steps back as Team Rocket emerged from the nearby bush as well. They were covered in dirt and light burn marks from their own explosives catching them upon landing on the other side of the cavern. Meowth was with them as well, claws brandished.
"That was uncalled for, don't you think?" James said in a humorless tone as a pokémon with another dopey smile floated next to him. "Do you know much it costs to replace an entire balloon?"
"You attacked us first and tried to burn down the forest!" Gina pointed out as she reached for one of her pokémon while Wartortle continued to tend to the flames. "I've got no sympathy for you!"
"And we won't show you any mercy either!" Jessie declared as Ash, Pikachu, and the leader of the Squirtle Squad came to her side. "Attack!"
The Snake Pokémon hissed before opening its maw and letting loose a spray of violet-tinged energy woven into needles. The Poison Sting attack cut through the air towards the group, only for Squirtle to unleash a spread of Bubbles that intercepted them. The needles and bubbles both dispersed on impact with each other, clearing a path. Pikachu used it to dart forward while electricity danced over his body before he sent a second Thunder Shock streaking towards the serpent.
Ekans, having already had one taste of electricity for the morning, threw itself out of the way as the electricity scorched the ground black where it landed. Pikachu's electric pouches sparked as he prepared another shot before his ears twitched. Then he spotted Koffing floating off the side with its cheeks swollen, barely giving him enough time to dodge the Sludge being spat at him.
"I'll use a Poison-type too and even the odds," Gina decided as she tossed her pokémon of choice out. "Nidorina, Double Kick on that Koffing now!"
The ball burst open and light speared out into the shape of the Poison Pin Pokémon, her piercing red eyes affixed on the battlefield. The moment she spotted the Poison Gas Pokémon, she darted forward on all fours before lunging with her hindlegs aglow and slamming them both into it. The floating gasbag hit the ground and bounced off, left spinning midair until it righted itself in time to see her follow-up as she swung her claws and struck it like a volleyball—spiking it right back into its trainer and bowling him over.
"Ow!" James groaned. "That pokémon… packs quite a punch…"
"Quit lying on the job al—AHHH!" Jessie's complaining was cut short as her own pokémon slammed into her, its body charred black and smoldering from where another well-placed Thunder Shock had struck home. "Ekans… we need to work on your diet…"
As for the last of the trio, white claws flashed as Meowth himself engaged Squirtle. He took wild swings, pathetic attempts to cut the Tiny Turtle Pokémon who dodged them with a measure of effort before he spun around so that a particularly heavy swing was aimed directly at his shell. The extended claws shattered, leaving only broken and shortened nails as Meowth wailed. "Gahhhh!"
Squirtle smirked as he immediately spun around, smacking him in the face with his tail before letting loose a Water Gun that slammed into Meowth full force. The Scratch Cat Pokémon's body was violently thrown back until it slammed right into Jessie and James and their pokémon, bundling them all together in a wet and sopping pile.
"Finish it with a Thunderbolt, Pikachu!" Ash ordered. Dense electricity wreathed the Electric Mouse Pokémon before it sent the building voltage towards Team Rocket, the scent of ozone filling the air. The electricity sparked and ignited the gases of the Koffing, creating a blast that sent them all skywards until they were a glimmer in the distance. "If we ever see them again, it'll be soon."
"You make it sound like you run into them nearly every day," Gina said while gently brushing her Nidorina's head before sending her back into her ball.
"Almost," he said before turning his attention back to the fire. The flames were about finished now thanks to concentrated effort from the collective group when the roar of a motorcycle and whirring of a siren reached their ears a few moments before an Officer Jenny burst onto the scene.
"I saw the smoke from the town. Is everyone alright?" she asked while skidding to a stop and putting her foot down to support the bike's weight. Once Ash gave her a quick summary of what happened she breathed out a sigh of relief before looking down at the bale of Squirtle and smiling gently. "I'm so glad you're all safe."
The group of Squirtle all looked bashful at that, no doubt experiencing a myriad of emotions considering the events of the day.
"They made it out alright, but I don't think it'll be safe for them to stay here from now on," Brock said as he inspected the cave. "Those explosions have compromised the structure of cavern. It'd probably be better to collapse it with Onix now before it gives out at some point while someone is inside of it."
"But then where will they go?" Misty asked.
To that, Officer Jenny smiled after she took in their surroundings. "I actually have a suggestion, if you're willing to listen?"
The Squirtle Squad muttered among one another before their leader nodded. "Squirtle. Squirtle?"
[-oOo-]
A few hours Gina watched as Officer Jenny bequeathed the Squirtle Squad with a certificate to go along with their new jackets as they were declared the Town's fire fighters. She had her suspicions that the officer had been planning this for some time as a way of helping the stray Tiny Turtle Pokémon from how quickly and smoothly things were going. And she had to admit it was a clever compromise in the grand scheme of things.
They were naturally organized and capable of dealing with flames due to their typing, so it meant they'd always be useful and needed. If they felt they were being respected then they'd slack up on being mischievous as well, since they were now officially a part of the town rather than outcasts. They'd be beloved instead of abandoned and would have a purpose.
Gina was happy for them. Really, she was. The fact that she was scowling off to the side wasn't their fault so much as it was Team Rocket's as she hovered over the remnants of her bicycle, mangled metal and twisted bits being all that was left.
"There's no feasible way for me to salvage this and I can't ask Gramps for a new one either," she said with a sigh while her Wartortle looked on apologetically. The attack that sent their balloon crashing on the other side of the cavern had ended up landing on her bike and setting off all of the explosives they had stored on it. Gina gave her a gentle pat on the head and a strained smile. "Guess we'll be walking the rest of our trip, huh?"
"…Say, Gina..." She turned at hearing her name being called to see that Ash was standing there, along with the leader of the Squirtle Squad. "Would you… like to come with us?"
"You mean with your friends?" She looked down to the Tiny Turtle Pokémon next him. "And you're bringing him along too?"
He nodded. "Squirtle wanted to come with us, and I figured I should invite you along too since you don't have your bike. It is partly our fault since if I hadn't taken it then it wouldn't have been wrecked by Team Rocket."
"Well, I guess it can't hurt to travel together for a while," Gina said with feigned indifference, hiding the fact that she was actually pretty glad because of the same pride that stopped her from asking him the last time. "But that doesn't mean I'll let you slow me down, Ash. If you can't keep up, then I'll leave you behind."
"That's my line," he said, lips pulled back into a challenging smile as he extended a hand to shake. "Think you can keep up with us?"
She nodded and shook his hand. It was an action mirrored by their pokémon to solidify the decision and declaration. Even if they were going to be traveling companions from now on, that didn't change how things stood between them. They were still rivals that shared in the same dream of becoming a pokémon master by winning the league, defeating the Elite Four, and besting the Champion in battle.
But maybe—just maybe—traveling together would make things more interesting along the way.