Chapter 23

With the woods finally at their backs, this meant the departure of tall trees. But with their absence, it also meant the absence of the comforting shade that their leaves and branches provided. And now the high-noon sun beat down on them without mercy. It was a horrible, dry heat that seemed to dissolve even the saliva from Ash's mouth. Their water supply had run out yesterday, but the only thing that kept them going was the fact that Azalea Town was quite within reach.

Unfortunately, they still had to make it across the final stretch of Route 33.

Not only was the sun's rays robbing the earth of all the moisture in the air, but it was also draining their energy. It was a heavy feeling that felt as though gravity itself was pushing down on them, and they couldn't even spare enough water in their body to sweat.

"Look at those plants," Gary commented, his voice sounding raspy and dry as his throat. "They're all dried up and wilted." Ash's eyes looked to his right and saw the only greenery in the area was shriveled up and brown with the start of decay. It was the only bit of life in the dry ground, but it looked as though it only had days to live.

"So am I..." Ash quipped quietly. But seeing the withered plants brought his wandering mind to the Chikorita on his shoulder, and he perked up at the thought. The Grass-type Pokémon was laying sprawled out without a bit of energy, and its leaf drooped heavily like their arms did at their sides. "Chikorita, it's too hot for you to be out in this heat." The Leaf Pokémon didn't even have the energy to protest, and he took out its Poké Ball and held it up to its forehead. "Return." Chikorita was converted into red energy, and drawn inside the ball. "Ugh, I need water... Or I'm gonna shrivel up too..."

Just then, an idea flashed through his brain, lighting up his face for the first time since they left the forest. "Hey, I know!" He hastily reached for a Poké Ball on his belt and pressed the button on its face to make it grow in his hand. Instead of throwing it, he simply held up the Poké Ball, and it opened in his hand. The ball released a beam of plasma onto the ground which formed together into his Blastoise.

"Blastoise!" it groaned as it appeared.

"Okay Blastoise, use your Hydro Pump!" Blastoise hesitated upon hearing the command, and its small eyes glanced around to see no opponent to use the Water-type attack on, and when it saw the eagerness in its Trainer's face, it produced its cannons and aimed them at him before letting out a spray of water from them.

"Ash-" Gary tried to warn, but it was too late, and the water took Ash off his feet and sent him flying backwards until he hit a large boulder resting on the side of the path.

"Blast.. toise! Blastoise?" the starter Pokémon gasped, its blue face turning a faint shade of indigo from a blush creeping up its shell and settling on its nose.

o 0 o

While painful, the spray of water was enough to soak Ash's clothes and bring a pep back into his step. This gave them the energy to continue forward through Route 33, and before they knew it, they reached a wooden bridge which led them over a dry and wide ravine. "I don't believe it," Gary stated, stopping on the middle of the bridge with his eyes looking into his guidebook.

"What?" Ash asked curiously.

"According to the guidebook, this is supposed to be a river." Ash gasped in shock and peered over the railing. The ground was cracked and dry as a bone, and looked as though it hadn't seen a drop of water in months. "But if this is the river, then Azalea Town is right there!"

This brought a smile to Ash's face, and the dry riverbed was immediately forgotten as his head whipped up to the path ahead. The path started to be more green as it progressed, and the beginnings of civilization could be seen. "Great! Let's get to the Gym right away!"

"Wait a second, Ash," Gary interrupted. "We have to deliver the GS Ball."

"That can wait 'til later," he replied with his hands on his hips and a shrug on his shoulder.

"We can go to the Gym later. Grandpa has been waiting for us to bring it to Kurt."

"We can do it after we go to the Gym! I want to go and win another Badge right now!"

"And what makes you think you'd even win? I can't wait around for you to lose a million times!"

"What was that?! I won't lose!"

As they argued, glaring eyes grew closer and closer until their angry faces were inches apart. Sparks of frustration danced between, but they both knew neither would give in. Finally, they separated, crossing their arms and sticking their noses in the air. "Fine. If you're gonna act like a big baby, I'm just gonna go to Kurt's on my own," Gary decided. Walking along the planks of the bridge with a hint of a heavy footfall, he crossed the bridge, fully determined to leave Ash behind.

"Fine! I don't need you anyway!" Ash spat back. The Pallet Town Trainer grumbled lightly under his breath as he pulled his backpack straps higher on his shoulder in an attempt to leave.

"Oh Ashy-boy," Gary said in a sing-song way that annoyed Ash to his core.

"What now?!" The boy's head whipped around to see Gary reading a sign that was posted at the edge of the bridge closest to Azalea.

"'Due to the continuing drought, water conservation measures must be taken. All schools, public buildings, and the Azalea Town Pokémon Gym are closed until further notice.'" Ash's face quickly melted from one of anger to disappointment, and as Gary finished reading, his head hung with an additional feeling of shame.

"Well, like I said, the important thing to do is to get the GS Ball to Kurt right away..."

o 0 o

The further they got into Azalea, the more they realized that it definitely had a lot of history embedded in the walls. Old fashion houses dotted the land and though there were some styles of human evolution in the form of more modern buildings, it was clear that the people of Azalea embraced their history. But there was one thing that Ash just couldn't take it eyes off of as they made their way toward the center of town.

There were signs everywhere that Ash had never seen before in a town. It was a black diamond-shaped sign that featured a pink silhouette over a yellow exclamation mark. "Hey Gary, what's the deal with all these signs?" he finally asked aloud. "I keep seeing the same ones all over the place."

"That's a Slowpoke if I'm not mistaken," Gary observed, and looked up ahead. "But the Slowpoke just aren't on the signs. Look." As the path continued to the center of town, there were many familiar pink Pokémon that were sprawled out everywhere: Slowpoke. Some were laying over the walls lining the streets like towels out to dry, while others were lounging on the ground lazily, either propped up against a tree or building, or just plain sprawled out on the dirt path.

They continued their trek, with the Slowpoke only increasing in numbers, they reached the market part of the town. And while it was normal for the townsfolk to see the Slowpoke as simple background noise, it was simply astonishing for Ash and Gary. The Dopey Pokémon lay staring vacantly and wallowing in the heat across booths, under tables, on roofs, and more, and the citizens just went about their day acting as though the Water and Psychic Pokémon were not there. "I've never seen this many Slowpoke in one place before," stated Gary, staring at a Slowpoke that was slowly munching on a fruit it had stolen from a fruit and vegetable vendor while the employee continued reading the newspaper in his hand without even looking up.

"Neither have I," Ash agreed. "I wonder what all of them are doing here." A fleshy lump under his foot snapped him out of his stupor. A gasp escaped his throat, and the Pokémon Trainer looked down to see a Slowpoke's tail underneath his shoe. Of course, attached to it was a Slowpoke sprawled out on the road and its head in the shade being cast by one of the nearby buildings. The dark haired boy flinched back with a cry of shock. "Ah! Excuse me! I'm sorry I stepped on you, Slowpoke, but I didn't see 'ya lying there." The Slowpoke didn't respond, or even acknowledge the fact that Ash and Gary were standing there, so the two shrugged and continued down their path. "What's the story with this place?"

"I'd like to know why there are so many Slowpoke here," Gary agreed.

Though the crunching of the dirt beneath their feet, Ash heard a moan come from behind him, and he turned around to see the Slowpoke had pulled itself up into a sitting position and was cradling its tail where Ash had stepped on it. "Slow..."

"H-hey, what's the matter?"

"They say it takes a Slowpoke's brain five seconds to register pain," Gary told him. "My guess is it's just now starting to feel the pain from when you stepped on its tail."

For the first time since they had arrived in the city, one of the townsfolk looked at the Slowpoke. It was a little boy, and he studied the Slowpoke rocking back and forth whilst holding its tail, and then his eyes looked at the newcomers. Instantly, he put two and two together, and his eyebrows furrowed over his eyes. "Hey, that kid hurt a Slowpoke!" Instantly, both the customers in the market and the employees lifted their heads, and donned the same defensive look the kid wore and soon began to gather slowly.

"Oh yeah? What'd he do?"

"Did he punch it?"

"Kick it?"

"Did he bite it?"

"I-I didn't do any of that stuff!" Ash defended, waving his hands like there was a foul odor in the air by his nose. "I just stepped on its tail by accident!"

"He's lying!"

"Yeah, that Slowpoke's hurt!"

"We can't let him get away with hurting a Slowpoke!"

"Criminals! That's what they are! They're criminals!"

"Yeah, let's teach them a lesson!"

Soon, it seemed as though the whole market was flooding in front of them, and all of them had angry, hateful eyes all glaring directly at Ash and Gary. The two sank back as the crowd quickly turned into an angry mob, both of them afraid to even breathe. "Let's get 'em!" a young man at the front shouted, and that was all that they needed to turn on their heels and run.

"What's... going... on... here?!" Ash cried through steady breaths as he ran as his life depended on it.

"I don't think now's the time to ask that question!" Gary replied loudly, throwing a glance over his shoulder to see the angry mob slowly keeping up with them.

"Hey you kids, get back here! Where do you think you're going?!"

Running faster than exhaustion could keep up, the pair of Pallet Town Trainers weaved up and down random streets in an attempt to lose the Slowpoke-worshipping riot. But they stayed hot on their trail until they ended up in some random park. There were a quaint little sitting area surrounded by dehydrating bushes and plants, and in the middle was a water fountain that featured a Slowpoke at the top. Its mouth was open and there should have been water coming out of it and into the fountain, but there was none both coming out and in the base of it.

Neither of them paid any attention to their surroundings, and only focused on filling their burning lungs with air. This was the first time they had a head-start in front of the mob and they would take advantage of every second of it. "They're gonna be right behind us in a second," Gary said after managing to steady his breathing enough to talk. "We better find some place to hide fast." Just then, they heard a strange sound that almost mimicked air leaving a balloon. They looked up at the corner of the bushes where the noise had originated from, and saw a single white paw peeking over the foliage, waving to grab their attention. "What in the world?"

As Gary said this, a face leaned over, and it looked straight at them – it was a Slowpoke, albeit one that was on the larger side. "Another one?" Ash asked rhetorically with a cocked eyebrow. Much to their surprise, the Slowpoke held out its other hand and extended it past the bushes. In its grip was a Slowpoke costume.

"You put these on! Quick!" the giant Slowpoke said in a hushed voice, but as it spoke, its mouth didn't move.

"It couldn't have talked!" Ash sputtered.

"Hurry and put these costumes on!" the Slowpoke urged, continuing to gesture the disguise in its hand. "I'll explain later!" Ash and Gary exchanged raised eyebrows as they telepathically exchanged thoughts of wonder, but the approaching mass of voices that grew louder with each passing second told them the mob was making their way toward them. This quickly made the decision for them.

"Let's do it," Ash decided, and Gary followed him into the bushes. Quickly throwing the pair of costumes that the giant Slowpoke was handing them over their own clothes, they realized that the Slowpoke wasn't a Slowpoke at all, but a man wearing a costume much like the one he had given them. And, in fact, there was a second one with him as well.

"Hurry," the smaller of the two men beseeched, and hurried out and sat against the water fountain. "Act natural."

"Guess we just gotta... act like a Slowpoke," Ash whispered to Gary, and they followed the two men out. Sitting on their butts with their legs sprawled out, Ash did his best to be as quiet as he could while the citizens of Azalea flooded the area. They didn't even look at the four sitting against the fountain, and Ash knew that they had blended into the background by hiding in plain sight.

"Hey, they're gone!"

"Where'd they go?"

"That's weird; those kids are fast!"

"Should we keep looking for them?"

"Nah, it's too hot; I think we scared them away."

"Yeah, they won't show their faces around here again."

"C'mon, let's get out of here."

"Yeah, punk kids."

The four costumed Slowpoke all sat completely still and quiet, not even looking to see if the townsfolk were completely departed. The mouth of the Slowpoke was the part of the costume that Ash could see out of, but he still didn't dare to move until it was completely safe. Once a good deal of silence had fell upon them, Ash and Gary let out a sigh of relief and threw the head of the Slowpoke costumes back like they were hoods. "Thanks, mister! These costumes saved us!"

"Looks like you're still getting into trouble after all this time, eh Ash?" The voice came from the other man in the Slowpoke costume, and though it was muffled, it was very familiar to Ash. The boy's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to get a closer look at him, but didn't need to look too hard, as the taller man threw off the head to reveal himself. Underneath was a teenager with spiky brown hair and tanned skin, and instantly a gasp widened his mouth and eyes.

"Brock!" Ash exclaimed, his eyebrows shooting to his forehead.

"Brock?" Gary mimicked, blinking as he was unable to believe his eyes.

"Hey, how you doing there, Gary!"

"What do you mean 'how are you doing'? What are you doing here in Azalea Town?"

"Yeah, you loved Valencia Island!" Ash added. "It seemed like you were gonna stay there forever!"

"I thought you were gonna learn more about Pokémon!"

"And help take care of those kids."

"And research Pokémon alongside Professor Ivy." Suddenly, Brock's happy demeanor changed. A strange fog almost seemed to surround him, and the three watched as he suddenly collapsed onto the ground on his side.

"Ugh... that name... Uh..." he moaned, and curled up into a fetal position.

"Hey Brock... what's wrong?" Ash questioned.

"I don't want to talk about it..." Brock muttered quietly but sternly, not even turning to face his friend.

Ash sent a sour face at Gary, and then looked back at the Pokémon Breeder. "Did Professor Ivy do-" But as soon as the name came out of Ash's mouth, Brock began to writhe in pain as though he had been hit with a Thunderbolt attack. "I... just said-" Once again, Brock was zapped with the invisible electricity. "What happened?!"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Brock snapped.

"What a strange guy..." Gary murmured, letting out a sigh.

"You... okay, Brock?" Ash asked delicately.

"No."

"Will you... at least tell us how you got to Azalea Town?" the dark-haired Trainer prodded. After a moment or two, Brock recovered, and he managed to pull himself up into a seated position.

"Well, after I left... I left... You know-"

"Professor Ivy's lab?" Gary finished, but then instantly slapped a hand over his mouth. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done, and Brock was face-deep in the bushes with his face tucked into his knees.

"Okay, we get it, Brock! We won't bring it up anymore!" Ash screamed. "Just tell us how you got here!"

The screaming got Brock to pull himself back together, and he joined the group of three once again. "Well, I went to Pallet Town to see where you were, and Professor Oak told me that you and Gary went to the Johto region to deliver the GS Ball to Kurt. So, I knew that if I traveled straight here, I'd run into you eventually."

"So, what, you've just been hanging out here?" Gary inquired with skepticism.

"No. Actually, I've been giving Kurt a hand at his workshop!" Once again, Ash and Gary gasped in sync.

"You know where Kurt is?!"

"I'm right here," the smaller man in the Slowpoke costume spoke up. Pulling the head up, the last of the group finally revealed themselves. A short man with long gray hair that was slicked back from both style and sweat, he greeted the pair with a small smile. "It's good to meet you, Ash. I've heard quite a bit about you from Brock here."

Ash and Gary couldn't believe their luck. Out of the whole town of people, they just happened to be saved by Brock and – most of all, the one they were looking for – Kurt. There was no mistake that it was him. From the gray hair, to the salt-and-pepper eyebrows, to the crooked nose that looked as though it had been broken once before, they recognized him from the picture that Professor Oak had showed them. "Kurt, we have something that we'd like for you to take a look at," Gary told him.

"I'd love to help, but this isn't a good time," he replied. "You see, I'm trying to find a Slowpoke."

"Have you tried the market place?" Gary chortled. "Those people go nuts if you look at a Slowpoke the wrong way."

"The people here in Azalea Town treat Slowpoke like gold," the man explained. "That's why they got so angry with you."

"Why are they so important?" Ash questioned.

"A long time ago – almost four hundred years – there was a drought in Azalea Town, just like this one," Kurt began. "Day after day, week after week, the sun beat down without a drop of rain. Soon the fields started drying up, and the crops started dying. The situation seemed hopeless.

"Then one day, from out of nowhere, a Slowpoke appeared. The people looked up, and the Slowpoke gave a great big yawn. And as soon as that Slowpoke yawned, the skies clouded over and the heavens opened up! The crops came back to life; the town was saved, and the people rejoiced! Ever since that day, the people of Azalea Town have treated all Slowpoke with great honor and respect."

"Wow; now I see why they're such a big deal here," Ash said with a small smile curling his mouth.

"That's an interesting story and all, but it doesn't explain why you're dressed up like a Slowpoke," Gary pointed out.

"There's a very good reason for it, young man. It's so I don't frighten the Slowpoke when I go to the Slowpoke Well."

"The Slowpoke Well?" Ash and Gary parroted at the same time, and Kurt nodded.

"I'm trying to find one Slowpoke in particular, and I'm hoping that it is in the Slowpoke Well at the edge of town. This particular one is the leader of the other Slowpoke, and the others tend to do what it does."

"Like 'Simon Says'?" Ash questioned.

"Kinda," Brock replied with a nod.

"If I can get that one Slowpoke to yawn, then the rest of them might as well. And it will put an end to this drought," Kurt explained.

"No offense, sir, but I've read multiple books regarding Slowpoke, and I've never once heard of anything scientific proven that to be accurate," Gary said with an air of disbelief.

"You're free to believe whatever you want to believe, young man," the old man said with a shrug. "But getting rain back in this town is the only way our society is ever going to function again. And I'm not going back to my workshop until I find that Slowpoke."

"Then we'll help you and Brock!" Ash proposed, standing up and wearing a big smile on his face. "Besides, it looks like the Gym won't open back up until it rains out, too." The four of them agreed with Ash's reasoning, and together, they all took off in the direction of the Slowpoke Well.

o 0 o

Unsurprisingly, the entrance to the Slowpoke Well featured a well pump that was in the shape of a Slowpoke. Much like the one in the town's park, this too had an open mouth where water would be produced through, but the well was dry as a bone. "The entrance is in the back against the cliffside," Kurt told them, and led them down to an open maw that would swallow them into darkness. Soon, their footfalls were echoing as they made their way deeper and deeper into the earth. The further they got from the surface, the more moisture gathered in the air until it felt heavy on their lungs. It was especially difficult being in the bulky Slowpoke costumes, but Kurt insisted on the group wearing them so as to not startle the Slowpoke. According to Kurt, very few travel into the well itself, considering it a sacred area only for Slowpoke's eyes.

Speaking of eyes, it seemed like no matter how deep into the well they got, their eyes had a hard time adjusting. But of course, this made sense, as the only natural light was coming in from outside, which had long since became a dot behind them. Finally, they reached flat land at last. The air was thick with moisture, and the sound of dripping sounded from various spots, but only shapes and shadows of rocks were barely visible, only looking more darker in comparison to their surroundings.

Ash's foot caught on a rock that was jutting out, and he fell forward, only to be caught by the former Pewter Gym Leader. "Thanks, Brock," he thanked, pulling himself upward. "I can't see anything in here."

"Leave that to me," Gary stated, and a shifting could be heard in the darkness. "Hoothoot, come on out!" The cave lit up for a fraction of a second as the Poké Ball containing Gary's Owl Pokémon appeared, and suddenly, Ash felt a weight on his shoulder before a sharp beak jabbed at his head.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Ash cried, his voice echoing from all over, to which Kurt quickly shushed him.

"We're not supposed to be in here," he reminded him, and Ash instantly threw his costumed hands over his mouth, though involuntary tears of pain leaked out from the inner corners of his eyes.

"Hoothoot, give us some light," Gary told it. Hoothoot cooed and soon, its eyes began to glow brightly, cutting a pair of beams through the darkness. Slowly, Hoothoot began to scan the cave, and at that point, a bunch of shimmering rubies glowed, reflecting the red light of Hoothoot's eyes.

Ash's heart leapt into his throat and he flinched back, almost tripping on the rock that had forced him to the ground once again. "W-what are those things...!"

"Look closely, Ash," Brock told him, and once the Normal and Flying Pokémon slowed its movement, Ash could see the so-called red lights were actually just eye balls reflecting Hoothoot's own Flash attack. The eyes were almost... dopey looking, and at that moment, Ash realized what it was.

"They're Slowpoke!" he realized. There were dozens of them under here as well, and they were all sprawled out on rocks, and the commotion that the four had caused with their arrival grabbed their attention. Vacant, dazed looks glanced in their general direction, but none of the Slowpoke seemed annoyed at their guests.

"Look, there's a lake in here," Gary mused. The water past the Slowpoke glittered in Hoothoot's light, but it didn't look very big at all. In fact, dried algae on the rocks around them showed where the water level normally sat, and sufficed to say the water wasn't anywhere near it.

"How can we tell which one is the leader?" Brock asked Kurt.

"The leader should be the one that's on the highest part of the well," the Poké Ball expert answered, his eyes lifting to the high part.

"Hoothoot, point your light up near the top of the cave," Gary told his Pokémon from its position on his arm.

"Hoo-hoo!" it replied, and craned its body and slowly began to move from right to left while the others looked for any sign of the pink Pokémon.

"There! That's the one!" Kurt barked, pointing a hand skyward. Hoothoot froze, and all of them looked up at a lone Slowpoke that was sitting on its backside and arms at its side. It wasn't looking at them, and seemed to be staring vacantly at the darkness before it.

"Perfect! Now we just have to make it yawn!" Ash grinned. "But, how are we gonna do that?"

"You know, they say yawns are pretty contagious; one of us could climb up there and yawn at it," Brock suggested. "That's what Kurt and I were going to do before we ran into you two."

"Why don't you all just stand back and let Gary Oak take care of this," the auburn-haired Trainer said, and looked at his Hoothoot. "Hoothoot, we're gonna hypnotize it with Hypnosis. That'll get it to yawn."

"Hoo-hoo!" The Pokémon agreed, and the flapping of its wings could be heard bouncing off the walls of the spacious cave. It was easy to tell where Gary's Pokémon was, as it was still lighting the way with its Flash attack.

Finally, it perched in front of the Slowpoke and its eyes began to glow red. Slowpoke stared off in the cave's darkness, barely noticing Hoothoot's arrival, and they all waited with bated breath to see if the plan would work. Finally, Slowpoke's eyes began to glow red as well, showing the connection had been made.

"Hoothoot did it!" Ash cheered with a celebratory wave of his arm.

"Let's see if it will work," Gary stated. All four pairs of eyes were glued onto the Slowpoke to see its next move, even as Hoothoot backtracked onto its Trainer's shoulder. Just then, the Dopey Pokémon opened its mouth and let out a loud call.

"Pooooooookkkkeeeeeeee," it moaned loudly. It didn't quite sound like a yawn, but before any of them could vocalize this, their heads whipped around when they saw movement around them. The other Slowpoke were raising their heads, reacting to the call and giving ones of their own.

"Poke."

"Poke!"

"Poke..."

"Slowpoke..."

And as organized as Ash had ever seen any Slowpoke move, they all began to slowly saunter past Ash, Gary, Brock, and Kurt. "The rest of the Slowpoke are on the move!" Ash stated, quickly moving out of the way so as to not get caught up in the river of pink Pokémon.

"Where are they going?" Gary asked.

"I'm not sure," Kurt answered.

"Looks like all of them are heading for the outside," Brock observed, watching as the river slowly began making their way toward the mouth that the group of four had walked down just moments before. They followed after them, running as fast as they could to see where the Slowpoke were heading, and though they finally reached sunlight and fresh air, they didn't have any time to enjoy it. They rushed out as fast and as far as they could and peered up to where the line of Slowpoke were moving up the cliffside.

The four all let out gasps as they saw the Slowpoke lining up along the plateau that overlooked the entrance to the Slowpoke Well. "What are they doing?" Brock questioned rhetorically, but Kurt responded anyway.

"I'm not certain, but it may be something they've before."

"Did the Hypnosis attack not work?" Gary asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Completely in sync with each other, the Slowpoke slowly sat down as a unit and pulled themselves up so they were all sitting on their backsides, same as the leader had been before. "Could it really... be...?" Ash said in a hushed tone as they all stared into the vacancy with their beady black eyes.

"We'll see any second now..." Kurt murmured just as quietly.

At long last, the moment that they all had been waiting for happened. Starting with the Slowpoke all the way to the right, the Water and Psychic Pokémon opened its mouth wide, and let out a big yawn. It started an instant chain reaction, and one by one, the other Slowpoke did the same, traveling down the line to the left. It was truly a sight to behold that was beyond comprehension, but what was even moreso, was the fact that the clouds started to pull in, and they looked dark and heavy. Soon, the sun disappeared behind them, and a thick gray sheet of cotton was spread over the once-blue sky. "Storm clouds!" Ash gasped, barely audible over the boom of thunder that echoed from the forest.

No sooner did the words come out of his mouth, did the black-haired boy feel a drop of cold rain on his face. His eyebrows raised slightly, and soon, rain began to downpour over them, almost coming down in sheets. "It's true!" Kurt breathed. "They are rain-makers!"

The rain was coming down by the gallon, and before they knew it, it had gathered up to their ankles, and the group knew if they didn't get out of the way soon, they would be washed away by a flood. The three hoisted the older man of the group up onto the roof of the Slowpoke-shaped fountain, and pulled themselves up next to safely observe what was going on. The rainwater quickly washed over the area that had once been dry as a bone, giving sweet relief to the dried up dirt, and as it pooled, it poured down the entryway into the well itself and into the cavern.

This heavy rain lasted for fifteen minutes at the most, and it was enough to make the Slowpoke costumes stick uncomfortably to their bodies, but once they were fully soaked, the dark storm clouds parted just as quickly as they showed up. Now that they were drenched down to the bone, the hot, humid sun felt like a warm towel after a cool dip in the pool.

Once they climbed down onto the soggy soil beneath their shoes, the four all looked up at the Slowpoke. They were all soaked just as much, but didn't seem to be fazed by it in the slightest, and they all just stared blankly as though nothing had even happened. "Slowpoke..." they all moaned simultaneously.

"Do you guys really think it was the Slowpoke yawning that made it start to rain?" Brock questioned.

"I'm not quite sure..." Gary murmured with a curled finger rubbing against his chin.

"I definitely think so!" Ash replied with an innocent smile as he looked up at the beautiful rainbow that appeared above the Slowpoke Well.

"The world of Pokémon is filled with mysteries," Kurt said. "And this is one of the most mysterious."

o 0 o

Though it hadn't rained for very long, the people of Azalea were rejoicing immensely. The river at the edge of town was flowing steadily, the crops that were once wilted had come back to life and sparkled with dew in the afternoon sun. The fountain which they had once hid behind was pumping water once again, and many of the town's Slowpoke residence were happily basking in the refreshing water.

"The townspeople are happy, and so are the Slowpoke!" Brock said with a smile on his face as he watched a Slowpoke sit quietly under the water that was pumping out of the Slowpoke statue's mouth.

"Yes, and it's all thanks to you," Kurt added, looking at them all. "You're our new heroes!"

"We're glad to help!" Ash replied sheepishly, rubbing a hand behind his head.

"And everyone knows now that stepping on that Slowpoke was just an accident. Say, maybe you'd like to go for a little tour of the town!"

"Maybe later, Kurt," Gary replied. "But for now, I'd like to talk with you about that favor."

Ash:

Party:

Blastoise (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Skull Bash, Dig, Hydro Pump, BubbleBeam

Bulbasaur (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Tackle

Heracross (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Horn Attack, Leer, Take Down, Fury Attack

Chikorita (Poké Ball)

Moves: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Vine Whip

Cyndaquil (Poké Ball)

Moves: Flamethrower, Tackle

At Professor Oak's Lab:

Tauros (Safari Ball) x2 (m)

Moves: Fissure, Horn Attack, Take Down

Kingler (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Water Gun, Bubble, Crabhammer, Hyper Beam

Muk (Poké Ball)

Moves: Poison Gas, Sludge Bomb

Primeape (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Thrash, Mega Kick, Scratch, Seismic Toss

Pidgeotto (Poké Ball) (f)

Moves: Gust, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Double-Edge

Stantler (Poké Ball)

Moves: Hypnosis

Training at Charicific Valley:

Charizard (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Skull Bash, Slash

Kanto Badges:

Boulder Badge

Cascade Badge

Thunder Badge

Marsh Badge

Rainbow Badge

Soul Badge

Volcano Badge

Earth Badge

Diamond Badge

Indigo League Rank: Top 4

Johto Badges:

Zephyr Badge

Gary:

Party:

Venusaur (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Mega Drain

Arcanine (Poké Ball)

Moves: Take Down, Fire Spin, Fire Blast, Flamethrower

Nidoqueen (Poké Ball) (f)

Moves: Rock Smash, Hyper Beam, Mega Punch, Double Kick

Nidoking (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Horn Attack, Earthquake, Tackle

Pinsir (Poké Ball)

Moves: Fury Attack, ViceGrip, Harden, Seismic Toss

Hoothoot (Poké Ball)

Moves: Foresight, Peck, Flash, Hypnosis

At Professor Oak's Lab:

200+ Pokémon

Kanto Badges:

Boulder Badge

Cascade Badge

Rainbow Badge

Seven unknown Badges

Indigo League Rank: Winner

Johto Badges:

Zephyr Badge