Author's Note:
Song Credit: Shake Your Bon Bon by Ricky Martin
Chapter 10 – Here Comes The Squirtle Squad
A few more days passed as Ash and the gang were walking along the road with Ash skipping along to his heart's content. Luthor, Katie and Rhonda were dancing and shuffling their feet in a rhythmic motion while singing loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I'm a desperado… underneath your window… I see your silhouette, are you my Juliet? I feel a mad connection with your body!" Rhonda bellowed.
"Shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon!" Rhonda, Katie and Luthor chorused while embracing each other and kicking up their legs.
"I want to be your lover… your only latin lover…" Luthor crooned while dancing in front of Shirley and wagging his eyebrows suggestively, prompting Shirley to stare at him with a confused yet flustered expression. "We'll go around the world in a day… Don't say no, no. Shake it my way! Oh, shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon, shake your bon-bon!"
"Take it from the top, homies!" Luthor yelled as he then grabbed Shirley and whisked her away as he began to spin and waltz her around with Rhonda, Yuki, Katie and Jasmine circling around them while still kicking up their legs.
Hola, Amiga
Hola, Amiga
You're my temple
Of desire
Hola, Amiga
Hola, Amiga
Let my spirit
Take you higher
We'll go around
The world in a day
Don't say no, no
Shake it my w…
Just then the ground suddenly gave way as everyone screamed and they all fell into a deep hole.
"No, not another hole!" Misty groaned.
"Ow! I landed on my head!" Brock yelped in pain.
"Somebody call 999!" Rhonda bellowed.
Everyone then got up to their feet and surveyed their surroundings as Ash was rubbing his behind sorely.
"It must be a prank," Brock growled.
"Someone has a bad sense of humor," Misty mused.
"Who would play such a rotten trick?" Ash scowled as he glanced up at the sky above him.
Just then a group of Squirtles with sunglasses appeared as they all peered down while laughing and snickering at them. One of them had unusual triangular sunglasses whereas the rest of the gang had on round sunglasses, which signified him as the leader.
"Who are you?" Brock demanded.
"What's so funny? We could have been hurt!" Misty scowled.
The Squirtles continued laughing and jeering at them before disappearing from sight.
"What a bunch of jerks," Shirley growled irascibly.
"Ah, dangerous practical jokes are nothing to laugh about," Ash groaned exasperatedly as he and his friends emerged out of the hole.
The Squirtle gang laughed and cackled derisively in response as Ash then took out his Pokedex in order to get a reading on the latest Pokemon.
"Squirtle… this tiny turtle Pokemon draws its long neck into its shell to launch incredible water attacks with amazing range and accuracy. The blasts can be quite powerful."
"With my very own Squirtle, Gary will never beat me!" Ash declared boldly. "Go, Pikachu!"
Pikachu then charged right at the Squirtle leader as he then unleashed a Thundershock attack.
"Pikachu!"
However, one of the other Squirtles jumped in the way in order to protect its leader and got hit by the full blast of the electric attack. The Squirtle leader then gazed worriedly at its fallen teammate as it glared at Pikachu. Squirtle and Pikachu then faced each other off as they proceeded to have a Mexican standoff.
"Look at that. The Pokemon version of the classic Mexican standoff," Rhonda commented wryly.
Just then, police sirens rang in the air as the Squirtle leader signaled for its friends to leave. The rest of the Squirtle squad then raced away down the road while carrying away their injured comrade.
"Well that was pretty weird," Katie mumbled.
"Yeah," Yuki nodded.
It was then that a loud shriek rang in the air as Officer Jenny suddenly arrived on a motorcycle.
"Are you guys all right? Has anyone been hurt here?" Officer Jenny questioned everyone anxiously.
"Officer Jenny!" Ash exclaimed as he walked over to Officer Jenny.
"Huh? Have we met before?" Officer Jenny asked with a quizzical and puzzled expression. "Your face doesn't look familiar."
"We met you back in Viridian City, remember?" Ash quipped.
"And we also met you back in Pewter City when Team Rocket robbed that store to steal that humongous vacuum!" Luthor added.
"Oh, you mean those other Jennys, my cousins," Officer Jenny said as she soon realized what Ash and Luthor were talking about.
"Cousin?" Ash gawked in confusion.
"My cousins are all police officers," Officer Jenny explained. "All of us look identical, plus we're all named Jenny."
She even showed a picture of all of the Jennys posed together for the camera, with nearly all of the Jennys sitting with their legs crossed and their hands placed on their knees with only one Jenny on the upper far right corner saluting.
"Great, so first we have all of the multiple random Nurse Joys in this region and now we have all of those multiple random Officer Jennys in nearly every city we've been to so far," Jasmine growled irritably with her arms crossed and a scoff.
"Talk about family resemblance," Ash quipped.
"At least they remember all their names!" Misty laughed sheepishly.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
A short time later, the gang was inside the police station as Officer Jenny was sitting at her desk while typing something on the computer.
"That Pokemon gang calls itself the Squirtle Squad," Officer Jenny explained.
"Squirtle Squad?" Ash quipped.
"I've never heard of a Pokemon gang," Misty retorted briskly.
"They're all Squirtles who were deserted by their Pokemon trainers," Officer Jenny replied.
"Why am I beginning to notice a pattern here?" Rhonda muttered to herself while rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Deserted?" Ash's face fell as he looked at Officer Jenny ruefully.
"They don't have a trainer, so they just run wild and play tricks on the whole town," Officer Jenny continued.
"Hey, that ain't cool, yo," Luthor retorted with narrowed eyes and his arms crossed tightly.
"It's really kind of sad because if they'd had somebody to care about them, they wouldn't have turned out to be as bad as they are. It's a real shame," Officer Jenny sighed as Ash couldn't help but feel bad for the Squirtle Squad.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket was hiding behind a pair of bushes as they were spying on Ash and his team while they were still talking to Officer Jenny.
"There! I see them! The little brats. And Pikachu's with them," Jessie sneered curtly.
"Do you see a restaurant? I'm really starving here," Meowth griped.
"But no more pizza!" James cackled as Jessie smacked him and Meowth on their faces with a white fan.
"I'm sick of pizza every meal!" James scowled petulantly, his face marked red from where Jessie had struck him.
"You'll never eat again if you mess up this mission!" Jessie scowled while shooting a threatening glare at her partner.
"Can we order Chinese food?" James asked innocently, appearing to ignore what Jessie had said before.
"Or maybe some tacos?" Meowth added.
Jessie then let out a sharp growl as she smacked Meowth and James swiftly in their faces again with the white fan, panting and gasping heavily with furious rage.
"Am I the only member of this team who thinks world domination is more important than what's for lunch? Now, let's focus ourselves on what really matters and that's how we're going to capture Pikachu!"
Just as she says this, however, she was suddenly interrupted by a loud growl from her stomach as she laughed sheepishly.
"Heh, now my stomach says it's time to eat," she said as she then took out a large picnic basket.
"Yes!" James exclaimed while pumping up his fist excitedly.
"Yay, yeah! We're going to have a picnic!" Meowth cheered.
Just then they had a sinking feeling that someone was watching them and they turned around to see the Squirtle Squad surrounding them.
"You guys got a problem?" Jessie scoffed curtly.
"Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirtle," the Squirtle leader babbled with a haughty, confident smirk.
"Meowth, what's it saying?" James asked Meowth quizzically.
"I think it said, 'Give us your food or else!'" Meowth replied while turning to face James and Jessie.
"You're threatening us?" Jessie retorted incredulously. "We're Team Rocket. We threaten!"
"Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirtle," the Squirtle leader babbled with an even more confident smirk with its sunglasses gleaming in the light.
"Let's show these little creeps," Jessie declared while holding her Poke Ball as she prepared to battle the Squirtle gang.
"I'm game," James agreed while also holding out his Poke Ball.
But just as they were about to summon their Pokemon, the ground suddenly gave way and collapsed as they fell into a hole with a loud scream.
A short time later, the Squirtle Squad had sat down to feast on Team Rocket's food as the Squirtle leader gobbled greedily on a jelly donut. Another Squirtle munched on a sandwich while another Squirtle gulped down on a can of lemonade.
"Oh, no! They're eating all the jelly donuts and éclairs!" Jessie wailed as she and James were tied to a tree and Meowth was also hanging from a tree branch with roped wrapped around his body.
"They're drinking all the lemonade!" James panicked fearfully.
"This is cruel and unusual!" Meowth protested while thrashing and kicking in the air.
The Squirtles continued to munch on their food while conversing amongst themselves.
"Those aren't Squirtles. They're piggles!" Jessie growled in disgust and revulsion.
"They're starting on the sandwiches," James sniffled with tears rolling down his face. "We've got to do something!"
"Oh wait!" Jessie exclaimed as she soon had an idea and she turned her attention to the Squirtle Squad. "You Squirtles, how'd you like to do a little job for us?"
The Squirtles then stopped eating and stared at her quizzically with puzzled yet suspicious faces as Jessie continued with a wry and conniving smirk.
"There are these ten kids with a Pikachu. Our boss would be most appreciative if you helped us capture them. He'd make it worth your while."
One of the Squirtles just turned away from her while waving its hand dismissively at her.
"What did Squirtle answer?" James asked.
"The Squirtle said, 'Forget it. We know humans can't be trusted.'" Meowth answered.
"So make them trust us!" James shot back angrily with a vicious snarl.
"Hmm, that won't be easy but I'll see what I can do," Meowth replied slyly.
He then turned to face the Squirtle Squad.
"Squirtle, both of these humans belong to Meowth!"
"Huh, 'belong to?'" James gasped in an appalled and mortified voice.
"They'll never trust you two. You've got 'liar' written all over you. Just let me handle this!" Meowth explained to them empathetically.
"Ugh, oh, you little…" James growled irately while wriggling and squirming in his restraints, eager to give Meowth a piece of his mind.
"These humans are my pets. I trained them but they're pretty stupid," Meowth continued to address the Squirtles.
The Squirtle leader then tilted its head quizzically at Meowth's words, not quite understanding what he was getting at.
"Don't ever raise your voice to me again, you bad human!" Meowth yelled as he then began slapping James furiously in the face with his feet.
"Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirtle," Squirtle nodded in approval at Meowth's words.
It then gestured towards Meowth and one of the other Squirtles nodded before it sauntered over to where Meowth was so it could let him down from the tree.
Meowth laughed triumphantly as he watched the Squirtle lower him down gradually from the tree branch before landing safely on the ground.
"See, you guys can trust me!" Meowth bragged confidentially as the Squirtle leader freed him from his rope restraints.
A short time later, Meowth was hanging out with the Squirtle Squad while munching on a jelly donut.
"Meowth, what about us? Untie us too!" Jessie whined in protest.
"I want a donut!" James wailed petulantly.
"Be quiet," Meowth hissed softly as he then climbed on top of James and Jessie before alighting himself on their shoulders. "We got to keep up this act till the Squirtles trust me and that's going to take a little time!"
He then popped the jelly donut into his mouth and chewed on it thoroughly, earning disgusted and irate glares and scowls from both James and Jessie.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
Meanwhile, Ash and his friends were relaxing out on the side of a hill as Misty was fishing for water Pokemon in the lake. Misty's attention was then suddenly piqued as she saw some bubbles appear on the surface, not knowing that a Squirtle was poking its head out.
"I caught something!" Misty exclaimed while holding the fishing rod.
Ash then suddenly sat up from his lying position as he glanced over to see what Misty had caught.
However, Squirtle popped out of the water and blasted everyone with a full burst of water before laughing and chuckling mischievously.
"I'm soaked," Misty whimpered, completely drenched.
"Me too," Ash whined, also soaked completely wet.
Pikachu then shook himself dry furiously before scampering down to the bottom of the hill as he then released a huge shock of electricity. However, he somehow managed to shock and electrocute everyone else around him.
"Knock it off, Pikachu!" Ash wailed as he was seizing and convulsing uncontrollably from the electric shocks he was receiving.
Then as soon as the electric shock faded away, everyone collapsed onto their backs, stunned and frazzled.
"Wet clothes conduct electricity," Brock groaned weakly.
The Squirtle leader then chuckled derisively before leaping out of the water and landing on solid ground.
"I've had enough of your pranks, Squirtle! Pikachu, it's out of the water now!" Ash snarled furiously.
Pikachu then charged at Squirtle as he prepared to attack it. Squirtle then leaped into the air and retreated into its shell as it was spinning wildly in the air. Ash gasped in surprise as it knocked Pikachu away and he then fell right into the water.
"Oh, Pikachu!" Ash cried in a panicked voice.
Just then a Goldeen leaped right out of the water as it appeared to be heading straight for Pikachu.
"Oh, it's a Goldeen!" Misty exclaimed in a fearful and apprehensive voice. "Watch out for its horn!"
Pikachu then emerged out of the water while shaking his head as he appeared to be completely unaware that Goldeen was advancing quickly towards him.
"Swim to shore, Pikachu! Hurry up!" Ash yelled.
Pikachu then frantically paddled back to shore as quickly as he could as Goldeen was in hot pursuit of him.
"Faster! Faster!" Ash hollered.
Pikachu then continued to swim as quickly as he could, but then he was suddenly overcome by a huge blast of water shooting up in the air as it was impaled by the Goldeen. The heroes then gasped out in shock and horror as Pikachu tumbled through the air and then landed face first on the ground.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried as he saw Pikachu lying motionlessly on the ground.
But then he and the others were stopped right in their tracks as they were suddenly caught in lassoes.
"What the hell?!" Rhonda shrieked.
"Ugh, they got us!" Ash exclaimed as he and the others turned around to see the Squirtles holding them by the ropes.
"Squirtle," the Squirtle leader smirked triumphantly as the other Squirtles proceeded to tie up the heroes together.
The Squirtle leader continued to laugh and chuckle triumphantly as Meowth then stepped out from behind a tree.
"You're not going to Squirtle out of this one!" he cackled haughtily.
"It's Meowth!" Misty gasped in amazement.
"Meowth?" Ash growled irately.
A short time later, the heroes were held hostage in a small cave while tied securely to a rock as Meowth and some of the other Squirtles were standing on rock platforms.
"I'm the Pokemon in charge here. Just wait till my human pets get back!" Meowth declared with an arrogant smirk.
He then started to poke Ash's face playfully with his tail.
"Na-na-na-na!"
Ash then growled and bit on Meowth's tail, causing him to cry out in agonizing pain.
"You won't get away with this, you son of a bitch!" Rhonda snarled indignantly.
"Don't believe him, Squirtles. Meowth's a big liar," Ash insisted empathetically. "Those humans aren't Meowth's pets. Team Rocket's trying to trick you all into doing their dirty work."
"Squirtle," Squirtle shrugged.
"Quiet, human!" Meowth hissed sharply as he then slashed Ash and Rhonda deeply in their faces with his claws before turning around to address the Squirtles while wagging his finger. "Who are you going to believe, this human or a fellow Pokemon?"
The Squirtles then nodded and babbled in agreement while gazing up at Meowth in full attention.
"Ow, my face!" Rhonda whined while scrunching up her face in agony and squeezing her eyes shut with soft whimpers.
"Ash, Pikachu's in bad shape," Brock whispered to Ash urgently as he took a quick look at Pikachu, who was lying unconscious in a small cage.
"Huh?" Ash quipped with a wide-eyed expression.
"We've got to do something!" Misty cried desperately.
"We've got to heal Pikachu with a super potion before it's too late," Brock added.
"But we don't have any super potion. What can we do?" Ash inquired in an anxious and nervous voice.
"A shop in town sells it," Brock replied.
"A shop?" Ash groaned in a dismayed voice as he then quickly turned to face the Squirtle Squad. "Squirtle Squad, please, you've got to let me go into town. If I don't get the medicine, Pikachu's in a lot of trouble!"
The Squirtle leader just shook its head, not willing to listen to Ash.
"They know you humans are just trying to get away!" Meowth scoffed disdainfully.
"Trust me. I won't run away," Ash pleaded. "As soon as I buy the medicine, I'll come back. I promise!"
"Squirtle."
"Squirtle says promises are cheap," Meowth replied.
"I'm begging you. Please trust me," Ash begged as tears began to well up in his eyes and his voice broke with raw emotion.
The Squirtle leader just said nothing as it turned its attention to a sleeping Pikachu, who was wheezing and gasping softly.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
It wasn't long before the Squirtle Squad finally agreed to free Ash and send him on his merry way as they untied him and Ash was standing in front of them.
"Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirtle," Squirtle chimed while wagging its paw admonishingly.
"The Squirtle says that if you're not back here by noon tomorrow, the red-headed girl gets her hair dyed purple!" Meowth informed Ash while pointing right at Misty.
"Purple! Why you mangy flea trap!" Misty snarled at Meowth irascibly at the suggestion as Meowth gawked in horror. "When I get out of this, I'm going to wrap your tail…!"
"Misty, don't worry. I'll be back, okay?" Ash reassured her calmly.
Misty then stopped and nodded at Ash understandingly before he turned around and dashed right out of the cave.
"So long! Be back in a flash!"
"Good luck," Misty whispered softly with a worried expression.
Even if that kid does make it back, we'll all be long gone, Meowth thought with a conniving and scheming smirk on his face as he let out a soft evil chuckle.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
Meanwhile, Ash was frantically racing down the hill as he was trying to get to his planned destination before sundown.
Just hold on a little longer, Pikachu! I'll get you that super potion!
However, he accidentally stepped on a rock as he then tripped and fell on the ground. Ash then struggled to get up to his feet as the memory of Pikachu lying unconscious in the cage flashed in his mind.
"I got to keep going. Pikachu needs me to get that medicine," Ash muttered to himself with deep resolve and determination.
A short time later, Ash came across a rickety old bridge as he quickly noticed that there were some holes in them. He then gulped nervously as he prepared to make an attempt to cross it.
"Just don't look down," he muttered to himself.
However, as he was walking through the bridge, his foot suddenly gave way as one of the boards fell apart with his foot stuck in the hole and Ash grabbed onto the railings desperately.
He then let out a deep sigh and got up to his feet as he resumed his trek through the bridge while creeping slowly yet carefully on the right side. But then once again the board gave way as Ash fell through and nearly tumbled right into the water; however, he was able to stop his fall right in the nick of time by grabbing onto the railing.
"Man, that was close!" Ash sighed in relief as he was hanging precariously over the river while still clinging to the railing.
But just as he says this, the bridge completely collapsed and fell apart as Ash took a terrifying plunge right into the water and disappeared. Moments later, he leaped right out of the water with a blood-curling scream as he was poked from behind by a Goldeen.
After what seemed like an eternity, Ash finally arrived in town as he was walking slowly through the streets while leaning against a large stick like a crutch. Many of the buildings appeared to resemble a lot like the old fashioned Western saloons back in the Wild West days. It wasn't long before Ash came across a shop.
"That's it. That's the place!" he exclaimed with a beaming, relieved face.
He then walked over to the door and was about to grab the door to open it when it suddenly swung right open and knocked him away, slamming him right towards the wall. Unbeknownst to him, Gary Oak was leaving the store as he walked right out the door.
"I beg your pardon…" Ash groaned weakly as he then collapsed onto the ground and was out like a light.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
Several hours later, night fell as the gang was still trapped and held hostage in the cave.
"Pikachu, don't give up," Brock urged as Pikachu continued to wheeze and gasp softly in his sleep.
"Ash will be back with the medicine soon. Just hold on!" Misty pleaded.
Where are Jessie and James already? Meowth frowned as he glanced around worriedly.
TLSTLSTLSTLS
The next morning, Ash was still lying unconscious in front of the shop as a loud voice hollered inside the building.
"All right, freeze!" Jessie snarled while holding a bazooka over her shoulder.
The patrons gasped and froze in shock and horror as all eyes fell on the dastardly duo.
"These are ice packs we're gunning, I mean ice guns we're packing!" James declared with a malicious smirk.
"It's Team Rocket!" one of the townspeople exclaimed.
"Cool! We're just like those supervillains in the comic books, except better looking," Jessie proclaimed in a giddy and excited voice.
"And even meaner!" James added.
As Jessie continued to talk, Ash was finally coming to as he heard the sound of her voice ringing in his ears.
"Listen up! We want all the flash powder you've got!"
"And a large roll of dental floss!" James quipped.
"What do you need them for?" one of the townspeople retorted sharply.
"You want to get rid of the Squirtle Squad, don't you?" Jessie demanded. "The flash powder will scare them right out of town! The floss is for our teeth!"
"The Squirtle Squad!" Ash gasped in horror, realizing what Team Rocket was really up to.
"Ciao for now," James smirked evilly as he and Jessie stepped out of the store, with Jessie still holding the bazooka and James carrying a crate box in his hands.
"Farewell," Jessie smirked evilly as she then fired her bazooka into the store and the entire building soon filled up with heavy white smoke.
"Stop! Hold it right there!" a female voice bellowed as Rebecca and her team quickly dashed towards Team Rocket in order to stop them but they managed to get away before the smoke completely dissipated.
"Look! It's snowing!" one of the townspeople yelled as he saw that pink confetti was now raining down inside the store.
Rebecca and her team then stepped into the store as they surveyed the commotion that was unfolding right before them.
"Jesus," Marni muttered underneath her breath.
"Dammit, they got away," Rebecca growled irascibly with a shake of her head.
Ash then glanced up to see Team Rocket floating away in their Meowth-designed hot air balloon.
"It's Team Rocket! I've got to get back before they get Pikachu!" Ash groaned in a desperate and frantic voice.
He then realized that he still needed to get the super potion as he quickly dashed into the store.
"Super potion, please!" he yelled but then he quickly froze as he saw several rifles pointed right at his head.
"Oh, no, I don't need a new gun!"
"Put down your weapons right this instant!" Rebecca ordered as she and her team also pointed their weapons at the townspeople. "We don't wish to make a scene here."
"W-Who are you?" one of the townspeople stammered nervously with the rifle shaking and trembling violently in his hands.
"We're the Inter-dimensional Defense Agency and we have reason to believe that Team Rocket may be involved in Team Legacy's disappearance," Rebecca answered.
"Don't shoot me, please. I'm not…" Ash begged while holding up his hands defensively.
"Stop!" a female voice yelled as Officer Jenny burst into the store and shielded Ash protectively. "Drop those weapons! He's not with Team Rocket!"
She then turned to face Rebecca and her team as she eyed them suspiciously. "Although I'd like to know what you people are doing here."
"I'm Rebecca Petrie and these are my fellow agents Marni Kostas, Damian Hawthorne, Jason Forsythe and Avis Brown," Rebecca answered as she gestured to Marni, Agent Hawthorne, Agent Forsythe and a slender, attractive, young African American woman with short, curly brown hair and dark brown eyes. "We are the Inter-dimensional Defense Agency and we have reason to believe that Team Rocket may be involved in Team Legacy's disappearance."
"I know where they are! Follow me!" Ash retorted urgently as he beckoned them to follow him out of the store. "I need to get this potion to my Pikachu!"
TLSTLSTLSTLS
A short time later, Ash, Rebecca and the others were riding on a motorcycle with Officer Jenny at the helm as they were racing back to the cave.
"Step on it, Jenny! I got to get there by noon!" Ash ordered.
"Just hang on, Ash!" Officer Jenny yelled as she kept on driving.
Just then she slammed onto the brakes and stopped abruptly as she soon noticed that the bridge was out.
"Wow, I wonder what happened to that bridge?" Avis mused.
"A dead end," Officer Jenny grumbled as she took a sharp left and soon headed in a different direction as she tried to find a way to reach the other side.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket was floating over the woods as James and Jessie were preparing to unleash their artillery.
"These flash blasts will scare the shells off the Squirtle Squad," James chuckled evilly.
"And in the confusion, we'll snatch Pikachu!" Jessie cackled deviously.
Meanwhile, Ash, Officer Jenny and the gang were standing in front of the cave entrance, which appeared to be very small and narrow.
"Here's a secret entrance to the cave," Officer Jenny said as she peered inside the cave.
"Gee, there's not much room," Ash quipped as he also took a look inside the entrance with great concern in his eyes.
"The passageway's too narrow for an adult but maybe you can squeeze in," Officer Jenny suggested.
"Well, that sucks," Agent Hawthorne sighed dejectedly while hanging his head in resignation.
"Don't worry, Damian; we'll find another way in," Marni reassured him with a confident smirk.
"I can do it!" Ash cheered determinedly.
"Be careful, Ash!" Officer Jenny whispered softly as Ash slipped right into the entrance as he began to creep slowly through the narrow and winding cavern walls.
Then as Ash ventured deeper into the passageway, he noticed that it was extremely difficult for him to find his way through because of how pitch black dark it was.
"It's too dark to see in here," he muttered to himself as he soon got an idea. "Hey, I know!"
He then took out a Poke Ball and aimed it as he prepared to summon a Pokemon.
"Charmander, I choose you!"
A white beam of light illuminated the passageway as Charmander emerged from the Poke Ball.
"Char! Char!"
"Charmander, lead the way!" Ash commanded.
"Charmander!" Charmander nodded as he then turned around and led Ash through the narrow passageway.
It wasn't long before Ash found a loose boulder stuck in the cave wall as he pushed on it and managed to dislodge it, shoving it out of the way.
Ash then jumped through a hole and landed back in the same area where he had last seen his friends. However, he was shocked to discover that they had all inexplicably vanished!
"They're all gone!" he exclaimed in horror. "Pikachu! Misty!"
He then rushed out of the cave and went over to confront Meowth and the Squirtle Squad.
"What've you done? I told you I'd be back by noon and I am!" he snarled furiously. "What did you do with my friends!"
"Don't worry, Ash; we're fine," Katie reassured him with a smile.
"Ash, we're right here," Misty quipped as Ash turned around to see that Misty and the others were standing right behind him with Brock cradling Pikachu in his arms.
Moments later, Rebecca and her team raced out of the cave as Rebecca stopped to catch her breath.
"Aunt Rebecca?" Rhonda gasped in astonishment and disbelief. "What are you doing here? How did you manage to find us?"
"We received a signal that Mitchell sent to us via his Wayfinder device and we managed to trace his signal all the way out here," Marni explained.
"We also got intel that Team Rocket was planning to break into a store in a nearby town and we decided to try to apprehend them first in the hopes that they would give us a lead that would help us find out where you guys were," Avis added.
"Cousin Avis? Is that you?" Shirley gasped in surprise as she slowly walked over to where Avis was.
"You know her?!" Katie gawked in astonishment and disbelief at her.
"Yeah, she's my much older cousin from America," Shirley explained. "Last I heard from my folks was that she got some cushy job in the government. I didn't realize it would be with those people though."
"I didn't know that you had cousins," Yuki retorted quizzically at her.
"Yeah, I have plenty of cousins from both sides of the pond," Shirley replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "Mainly from my mother's side of the family."
The Squirtle Squad then surrounded Ash as they began clamoring at him excitedly yet impatiently.
"Where's the super potion for Pikachu?" Misty asked.
"Oh, uh… here!" Ash stammered sheepishly as he then reached into his vest pocket and took out a super potion before handing it over to Misty.
"Hurry! Let's spray it on Pikachu!" Misty yelled as Brock then lowered down on the ground while still holding Pikachu in his arms.
Misty then got down to Brock's face level as she proceeded to spray some potion on Pikachu's back.
"So, Misty, your hair isn't purple," Ash commented as he watched Misty continue to spray the super potion on Pikachu.
"Nope! I'm still a redhead!" Misty glanced over at him with a bright smile.
"The Squirtle Squad was bluffing," Brock informed Ash empathetically.
"They play tricks but they'd never change a girl's natural hair color!" Misty retorted with a confident smile.
"I'm surprised that you actually came back here on time," Rhonda retorted sardonically. "I figured that you were going to screw up this task just like you screw up everything else on this journey so far."
"Well, I don't play around when my Pikachu's life is on the line, you know!" Ash snapped back at Rhonda while holding up his clenched fist threateningly. "And you of all people should realize that!"
"Jeez, take it easy, dude. Goddamn," Rhonda retorted while holding up her hands defensively.
The Squirtle Squad chuckled light-heartedly at Misty's comment.
Just then, an eruption occurred as Ash and his friends turned around to see what was happening.
"That blast! It's Team Rocket!" Ash yelled.
"By the authority of the IDA, I order you people to stand down!" Rebecca bellowed as she and her team all drew out their weapons and they saw Team Rocket's hot air balloon floating right towards them.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie," Jessie smirked.
"James," James grinned as he and Jessie were both holding flash bombs in their hands.
"Squirtle Squad, it's payback time for insulting Team Rocket. Bombs away!" Jessie declared as they soon dropped the bombs into the air and they exploded and detonated on the side of a hill.
"Shit. Now what do we do?" Marni's face paled as she soon became filled with fear and panic.
"Get ready and brace for an attack," Rebecca ordered.
Marni and Avis nodded understandingly as they both flanked on either side of Rebecca.
"Meowth, carry Pikachu up the ladder!" Jessie ordered as she dropped down a ladder from the hot air balloon.
"And the rest of you are in for a real blast. Get it?" James snickered.
"Meowth," Meowth purred as he was now clinging onto the ladder with Pikachu snugly under his arm.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in horror as another explosion soon detonated, sending rocks and all kinds of debris flying with the ground shaking and rocking violently.
Rebecca and her team then quickly stepped away while shielding themselves with their arms in order to avoid being hit.
"Quick, run for cover! Head for the cave!" Ash yelled.
"Hurry!" Misty cried as the heroes all headed right for the cave and dashed inside.
However, just as he was about to head inside with the rest of the team, Ash suddenly stopped upon hearing the Squirtle leader's voice as he swerved around to see Squirtle rocking on its shell upside down while struggling to get back on its feet.
"Squirtle!"
Then just as Jessie and James dropped more flash bombs, Ash jumped into the air as he dove right for Squirtle.
"Here I come!" he bellowed as he landed right on top of the Squirtle leader and shielded it just as the bombs landed and detonated all around him.
"Ash!" Misty screamed as the others looked on at the situation with horror and consternation.
After a few moments, the smoke quickly cleared away as Ash stirred with a soft groan and gazed down at the Squirtle leader weakly.
"Hey, Squirtle, are you okay?"
"Squirtle," the Squirtle whispered feebly.
"Here come two more!" Misty hollered as Jessie and James dropped two more bombs from their hot air balloon.
"Save yourself, Squirtle. Run for it!" Ash groaned as he still lay on the ground weakly.
The Squirtle leader then stared at Ash with determined resolve before it suddenly got up and lifted Ash right into the air with both of its hands.
"Whoa, it's super strong!" Katie breathed in awe.
"That's amazing!" Shirley whispered in amazement.
The Squirtle leader then proceeded to swiftly dodge and evade the bomb blasts as it quickly carried Ash away before leaping right into the air towards the direction of the cave.
"Look out!" Misty yelled as Ash and the Squirtle leader both fell right into the cave entrance.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket was still in their hot air balloon as they now noticed that there was a small fire in a small part of the woods and there were a few holes in the ground.
"No more Squirtle Squad!" Jessie cackled as she, James and Meowth examined their handiwork with triumphant smiles on their faces. "The town's going to give us medals and we'll be heroes!"
"Not so fast!" Ash yelled.
"Who said that?" Jessie growled irritably.
James and Meowth gawked with questioning and confused faces as they soon realized that Ash and the Squirtle leader were alive and well and appeared to be completely unharmed.
"Weren't they…?" Jessie stammered.
"Didn't they…?" James gasped incredulously.
"How did they…?" Meowth demanded.
"Squirtle! Water Gun attack, now!" Ash ordered.
The Squirtle leader then nodded before he turned to face the hot air balloon and shot out a huge, powerful blast of water at it. The water blast then ripped a hole in the balloon, causing it to rapidly lose air and sway and rock uncontrollably. Team Rocket then struggled to hang on as the balloon continued to let out air and Meowth lost his grip on Pikachu as Pikachu fell right out of the hot air balloon.
"Come back here!" James bellowed as Pikachu tumbled straight to the ground.
Ash then quickly raced down the hill as he leaped out into the air and caught Pikachu right in the nick of time before landing on the ground.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Team Rocket bellowed as the balloon flailed and thrashed wildly in the air before they disappeared right into the horizon.
Meanwhile, Ash and the gang rushed out of the cave as they soon noticed that the woods above them was now set ablaze and was continuing to rage furiously.
"A fire! The blasts must have set it off!" Brock exclaimed.
"If it keeps burning, the whole town could go up in smoke!" Officer Jenny hollered as she sped right into the scene.
"Then we got to make sure we contain the fire by any means necessary!" Katie cried.
"Don't worry, Jenny. I got an idea," Ash reassured her confidentially.
"Oh," Officer Jenny whispered softly.
"Listen, if you Squirtles work together, you can combine your water guns to put out the fire!" Ash instructed the Squirtle Squad.
"And I can even summon my Wartortle to help you!" Katie added with a bright grin.
The Squirtles then nodded as they turned to the raging fire and began shooting water at it from their mouths.
"Waldo, go!" Katie yelled as she summoned Waldo from her Poke Ball.
"Wartortle…" Waldo growled softly.
"Waldo, use Water Pulse on that fire!" Katie hollered as Waldo nodded and then shot out a large volley of thin rings of water at the flickering flames.
Then after what seemed like an eternity, the flames were finally out and the fire had been successfully dealt with.
"We did it!" Katie cheered enthusiastically. "We put out the fire!"
TLSTLSTLSTLS
"And so we gratefully award this certificate to the Squirtle Squad," Officer Jenny announced as she handed over an official document to the Squirtle Squad and also rewarded them with their very own black and white jackets. "Thank you for saving our town from the fire. Because of your skill and bravery, we proudly appoint you the town firefighters!"
"Squirtle!" The Squirtle leader cheered with its arms crossed proudly as it and the rest of the Squirtle Squad posed heroically.
Meanwhile, Ash and his friends were walking along a desolate road as they were heading for the next town.
"Your parents are worried sick about you, you know," Rebecca informed Rhonda gently in a stern, authoritative voice. "They want you back home straightaway."
"But we can't leave yet, Aunt Rebecca!" Rhonda protested defiantly. "We need to help Ash achieve his dream to be a Pokemon Master. And I need to try to beat this region's Pokemon League. I only got two badges so far."
"All right then, if you insist," Rebecca sighed with a reluctant nod. "Even if I wanted to take you guys back home right now, we still have unfinished business here anyway. I have a feeling that the Super League of Villains and Team Rocket are planning something. Whatever it is, I can't really say."
"I do know that they have this weird obsession with Ash's Pikachu and they have been trying to get their hands on it ever since we first encountered them in Viridian City," Rhonda informed her.
"You don't say…" Rebecca mused while rubbing her chin curiously.
"Hey, Ash, that Squirtle is following us!" Misty said to Ash.
Ash and his friends suddenly stopped as they turned around to see the Squirtle leader approaching them.
"Would you like to come along with us, Squirtle?" Ash asked.
Squirtle beamed happily as it finally removed its sunglasses, revealing its red eyes. Ash then laughed softly as Squirtle raced over to Ash and jumped right into his arms.
"Welcome to the team, Squirtle!" Ash announced.
"Squirtle!" Squirtle babbled happily.
"Guess I caught a new Pokemon!" Ash chuckled.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered happily.
"Caught? What do you mean, caught?" Misty scoffed.
"Oh, what's the difference?" Ash snapped at Misty brusquely. "It's on our side now!"