"So Ash, what's the plan for the rest of the day?" Casey asked, trying to keep a chipper mood.
"Nothing much, I've already got my Pokemon selected and registered for my fight against Ritchie so now all I have to do is wait for them to get here." Ash said, setting food down for his Pokemon.
"Hold on, let's see." Casey said, looking at Ash's Pokemon. "Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Houndoom, where's Kingler?"
"Sent him back to Professor Oak's while he gets the others ready as well." Ash said. "My match with Ritchie isn't until tomorrow so I figured I'd get them in the morning."
"And what about this other Pokemon you're waiting for, surely you didn't just call for Charizard to fly here on his own, did you?" Molly asked a bit concerned.
"Of course not. It's a different Pokemon." Ash said plainly.
"Pi." Pikachu said, his ears picking up.
"Is that, a motorcycle?" Casey asked, hearing the engine revving.
"Hey Ash!" Officer Jenny exclaimed, as she rode over to the group.
"Officer Jenny, I'm glad you could make it." Ash said, running up with Pikachu and Bulbasaur as Squirtle hopped out of the sidecar, rejoining his old friends.
"Of course, when you said you wanted Squirtle's help we had to make sure he had a proper trip." Officer Jenny said, handing Ash back his Pokeball.
"Have you been keeping the other Squirtle in line since we last saw you Squirtle?" Ash asked.
"Squirt!" Squirtle said with a salute, before jumping into his trainers arms.
"It's good to see you too Squirtle." Ash said, hugging his first water type.
"Somebody stop that thief!" A trainer called out.
"Thief?" Officer Jenny said on alert as Ash set Squirtle down, the water type grabbing his sunglasses, but in a moment they were gone.
"What in the?!" Ash asked, looking over to see another Pokemon now wearing them. "Who's that Pokemon?" Ash asked, pulling out his Pokedex.
'Sneasel, the Sharp Claw Pokemon. A dark and ice type. It's paws conceal sharp claws. If attacked, it extends the claws and startles the enemy.' Ash's Pokedex explained.
"Squirt!" Squirtle exclaimed angrily at his sunglasses being stolen.
"Sne Sne Sne." The Sneasel taunted.
"Houndoom use Flamethrower!" A new voice called out, the group, including Ash's Houndoom turned to see another trainer run up, sending a stream of flames at the Sneasel, the dark type running off quickly.
"Is that your Pokemon?" Molly asked.
"No, that Sneasel has been causing trouble all competition though, and I plan on ending that." The boy said. "I'm Harrison by the way."
"I'm Ash, and these are Molly and Casey." Ash said. "How can we help?"
"We've been tracking their scent, but it's hard to keep up and attack." Harrison said.
"Well what if me and my Houndoom helped, that Sneasel took my Squirtle's sunglasses and we need to get them back!" Ash said.
"Add in my Growlithe and we'd have a triple threat against that thief." Officer Jenny said.
"Alright then Houndoom, track that Sneasel down using Squirtle's scent!" Ash said.
Ash's Houndoom went over to Squirtle, sniffing the water type before letting out a bark, showing it had the scent, picking up Squirtle as Bulbasaur and Pikachu got on, the group racing forward.
"Hey wait up!" Ash called out, leading the other trainers after his Pokemon.
The group followed Ash's and Harrison's Houndooms as they led the way out of the trainer village.
"Wait, I have a question, what will happen if you two are caught battling?" Molly asked in concern.
"The ruling only concerns trainer against trainer battling, fighting wild Pokemon or training moves are completely within the rules." Harrison said.
"So Harrison are you also competing then?" Ash asked.
"I am, I won both of my matches for the semifinals already." Harrison said.
"You already qualify for the final rounds?!" Casey asked.
"Considering how these battles go, at least a handful of trainers will have both of their fights, either guaranteeing their progression to the next round, or even guaranteeing they won't have a chance." Ash pointed out.
"How about you Ash?" Harrison asked.
"I tied my first match, so I need to win my next match if I want to stand a chance in progressing further." Ash said, before pausing. "Our Houndoom have stopped, the Sneasel must be nearby."
"Squirt!" Squirtle exclaimed, hopping off of Ash's Houndoom and running forward.
"Squirtle wait up!" Ash said, knowing that while the water type had a good reason, it wasn't good to run off.
By the time Ash caught up to Squirtle, he was already locked in battle with the Sneasel.
"Squirtle use Skull Bash!" Ash called out.
"Houndoom use Headbutt!" Harrison called.
The two Pokemon slammed into Sneasel, sending it tumbling back as the glasses fell off of his head.
"Squirtle!" Squirtle cheered, running and putting them on.
"Alright, let's finish this." Harrison said, grabbing a Pokeball. "Pokeball go!"
The Pokeball flew at Sneasel, hitting the still recovering dark type as they were absorbed in a red light.
'ding, ding, ding'
"So, is that just it then?" Casey asked.
"Just about, I'm guessing Sneasel hid it's loot around here so we should at least take it back to the other trainers." Harrison said, finding the pile of stolen items.
"And what about Sneasel?" Ash asked.
"I'll train them, there's no such thing as an actually bad Pokemon, just one that needs some guidance." Harrison said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right, I know a thing or two about that too." Ash said, looking at his Squirtle.
"And Ash, I hope to see you on the battlefield, the way you and your Pokemon are in such sync, I'd love to see how we match up." Harrison said, extending his hand.
"Sounds good to me." Ash said, shaking Harrison's hand.