When he received a prophecy that he would rule until pokemon led humans into battle, the tyrannical Shogun of Johto took it as divine sanction for his cruelty. Torture, massacre, and slavery became the order of the day, and even his advisors soon learned to fear for their lives, yet fear of his wrath kept the public in check. He was cruel even to pokemon, dismissing the thought of them leading an army as absurd. When he found a Chikorita absorbing sunlight in the palace grounds, he thought nothing of personally drop-kicking it away; all things considered, he was being lenient.
A street protest was scheduled that day in the town square. It was nothing especially major – a little unrest, a few brave heroes who took another of the shogun's many abuses as an excuse to get themselves killed by the army. When the Chikorita wandered into the square, the soldiers thought it to be a lost pokemon and did not pay it any mind; as the species was practically extinct, they knew little about what it could do. A soothing aroma soon wafted through the city, drawing pokemon from their pokeballs and towards the site of the protest. The crowd grew dramatically, trainers apologizing for their lost pokemon and confused soldiers waving them on, until the crowd's size gave them courage.
When he received word of this, the shogun raced to the town square, emptying the rest of the barracks to bring himself an army capable of crushing the protests. The Chikorita ceased emitting its sweet scent and sent a razor leaf the shogun's way. With the pokemon disoriented from the sweet scent, the trainers charged, the army joined them, the shogun was slain, and Johto was freed. (At least until the next tyrant came around.)