Attack of the Squirtle Squad

With ease, Butterfree dodged the vines and headed straight for Bulbasaur with a bug bite attack. Before Butterfree could land a hit on Bulbasaur, the dual grass and poison type erected an emerald shield in front of himself. Butterfree ended up slamming into the shield.

"Are you okay Butterfree?" Ash called out. Butterfree regained himself and nodded an affirmative towards Ash.

"Use gust."

Butterfree flapped his wings, causing a gust of wind to be swept towards Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur dodged the attack before responding with razor leaf. Butterfree was able to evade it, but could not evade the vine whip that slammed into it and sent it flying. Butterfree was able to recover itself and waited for Ash's nedt command.

"Use confusion."

Butterfree used the psychic attack that ended up scoring a direct hit on Bulbasaur, and also confusing him. Bulbasaur was confused, but before Ash could capitalize on the confusion, Bulbasaur whipped himself with vine whip, snapping itself out of confusion.

"That is one smart Bulbasaur. Butterfree use stun spore."

Butterfree flapped his wings as he sent yellow spores at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur grinned before sending the spores back with petal dance. Butterfree instinctively flew out of the reach of both stun spore and petal dance, but was slammed by Bulbasaur's power whip.

"Butterfree!" Ash shouted.

Butterfree slowly flew up and eyed a grinning Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur proceeded to taunt Butterfree into attacking by using his vines to make the "come get me" gesture.

"Don't let him get to you Butterfree. Use silver wind."

Butterfree flapped his wings so fast that he summoned twin pair of winds that were stronger than gust. They slammed into Bulbasaur and sent the grass type sailing through the air, before landing on the ground, hard. Butterfree took on a red glow as all his stats were increased.

Bulbasaur got up with a growl, feeling a little bit of pain from the super-effective move. Bulbasaur used vine whip to slam the ground, launching himself at Butterfree.

"Meet him with wing attack."

Butterfree shot off towards Bulbasaur, intent on slamming him with his wings. Butterfree collided with Bulbasaur but before they broke contact, Bulbasaur used sleep powder and Butterfree inhaled it.

On inhaling the powder, Buttefree dozed off. Ash could only yell for Butterfree to wake up as Bulbasaur unleashed a barrage of vine whip attacks. After the relentless assault from Bulbasaur, Butterfree began to stir. As Bulbasaur saw this, he resumed his attack.

After landing a single hit on Butterfree, Bulbasaur began to glow, but it stopped its attack to fight the glow. Ash saw this as an opening.

"Butterfree use psybeam."

The beam of psychic energy slammed into a preoccupied Bulbasaur and sent him sailing through the air.

"Catch him with string shot and finish with wing attack."

Before Bulbasaur could recover from the psybeam attack, he was covered with a strong web from Butterfree and was tossed into the air. Butterfree mustered up the last of its energy and launched itself at Bulbasaur, delivering a powerful wing attack to the face of Bulbasaur. Before impact, Bulbasaur had released a cloud of purple powder that Butterfree inhaled. The power behind the wing attack sent Bulbasaur crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

Butterfree was soon covered in a purple glow indicating that he was poisoned. Using those attacks in a row had taken a huge toll on Butterfree and he was left weakened. He flew down to Ash and the others before he was enveloped with a purple glow. The poison kicked in and Butterfree's world became dark. He was knocked out.

Ash hurriedly caught him before he could hit the ground.

Ash and all his pokémon were now back at the house. Melanie had healed both Bulbasaur and Butterfree of most of their injuries. They were now awake. Ash was slightly disappointed at the outcome of the match. Yes, Butterfree won, but it was only because Bulbasaur had lost focus on the glow. He knew that if Bulbasaur had focused on Butterfree, he would have won the battle. He kept on using vine whip for a reason. He was toying with Butterfree. He could have used a move like power whip or leaf storm to end the match quickly. Ash assumed that glow to be evolution, but he wasn't sure.

"They're okay now," Ash heard Melanie say.

"Huh?"

"Butterfree and Bulbasaur. A little rest and they should be back to full strength."

"Okay. Thanks."

"No problem."

"Umm... Melanie."

"Yes Ash."

"How old is Bulbasaur?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but he should be older than six months. When he first came to the village, it was about six months ago. He was battered and bruised, and I nursed him back to health."

"Then that means it must have been evolution," Ash muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, it's just that during our battle, he was fighting against a glow that I presumed to be evolution."

Ash heard Melanie sigh. "You see," she started. "Bulbasaur has had a problem with evolving. I don't know why he doesn't want to evolve. He has been battling with it for months now and I don't understand why?"

"Don't worry Melanie," Ash said to the sad girl. "I promise to get through to Bulbasaur."

Melanie looked at Ash who now had fire in his eyes. She smiled slightly as she hugged the raven-haired trainer. "Thanks Ash."

Ash was back outside with all his pokémon. It was about noon now and they had all eaten breakfast. Ash was pretty full himself after eating four whole plates, and that was him restraining himself. He knew that if he wanted to truly eat like he did at home, he might drain Melanie of nearly all her resources.

"Hey Bulbasaur. Can I talk with you for a sec."

"Bul?" Bulbasaur asked.

"Don't worry. You'll figure it out in a sec.'

"Bulba, bulba, saur, saur."

"You'll get used to it. I was born like this."

Bulbasaur trodded over to Ash and sat himself down near Ash's pokémon.

"Bulbasaur. I won't be able to help you if you don't tell me what's wrong. I'm not an enemy and I'll like to help you get over your fear of humans."

"Bulbasaur."

"Humans aren't bad. Sure there are a lot of bad humans out there, but not as many as the good ones. I've dealt with a similar case of abandonment too and that is this."

Ash showed him a holographic picture of him and a Charmander.

"Bul?"

"This is Charmander last year. Not my Charmander, but one we rescued from been abandoned by his trainer. He's now a Charizard at the Charicific Valley. This was his trainer Damian," Ash said as he showed him another picture of a boy. The boy was handcuffed and was been escorted by Growlithe.

"That's him after we reported the case of Charmander's abandonment to the League. The league has people for this kind of stuff, so you don't have to go ahead attacking humans. If the League gets word of this, Melanie will get in trouble. The Pokémon will be sent into confinement, and you could be put down."

"Bul, ba, saur."

"Of course it's true. I'm the Pokémon Master's son. I know this stuff. And I can help you get over your fear and learn to trust humans. But, only if you help me. I won the battle, so it's only fair you listen to me," Ash told him.

"Bulba," Bulbasaur said as he cast his head downwards.

"That reminds me. Why are you fighting your evolution?" Ash asked.

"Bulba, bulbasaur. Bulba, bulba, saur, saur. Ba, saur saur. Bulbasaur, bul-ba. Bulbasaur, bulba, saur, saurbulba."

"That's wrong Bulbasaur. Evolution is a natural process and fighting it for long is not healthy for a growing pokémon such as yourself. Every pokémon, excluding those that can't evolve, has a set time for it to move on to its next stage of growth. Forget about your previous trainer. He abandoned you because you didn't want to evolve yet. Forced evolution isn't a good thing, same goes for preventing evolution. Even everstones have precautions in their usage. Don't fight your evolution. Let it happen naturally." Bulbasaur was looking at Ash deeply, and saw the sadness and anger in his heart.

"Your previous trainer was a fool for abandoning you just because you didn't want to evolve. If I had a pokémon as strong as you, I would do anything to make sure they stay with me. Heck, if you weren't fighting against your evolution, you would have defeated Butterfree, and doing so means that you can defeat most of my team by yourself. I promise to help you guys out in the Village and help you get over your hatred towards humans till I live the village. So, better get used to me 'cause you'll be seeing more of me everyday."

Ash got up and turned towards his pokémon. "No one should attack Bulbasaur. He has won my trust as a valiant fighter. I don't know how long we may spend here but, I do know that we are going to assist the village. But before that, let's train." They all cheered and gave their various cries. He led his pokémon to a section of the village to begin their training.

Bulbasaur walked over to where they were training and observed them. This kid barely knew him, but he was able to feel his pain, suffering and anger.

Ash had the same thing on his mind. While talking to Bulbasaur, he had felt his pain and his anger. What was it called again,... Empathy. The ability to feel and share another creature's feelings. The pokémon that were noted to be able to do these were the psychic types. And now he, a human just felt what a pokémon that was not even his felt. He made a mental note to ask Gary about it since he was psychic.

Throughout the day, Ash and his pokémon worked on various areas they needed improvement.

Ash had Eevee work on iron tail and started teaching her the powerful ghost move, shadow ball. Eevee had definitely improved in learning iron tail, though it was not yet near mastered. She was also quick to grasp the knowledge of using shadow ball. She was pretty solid in speed and stamina, so Ash had her working on her attack by having her run through all her moves over and over.

He had also been thinking of separating their training into various parts of the week. Sundays would be for attack and power training. Mondays were for defense and resistance training. Tuesdays were for speed and stamina training. Wednesdays were for accuracy training. Thursdays would be for general training. Friday would before sparring matches and Saturday, a day of rest. He would start this practice first thing on Sunday.

Cleffa had worked on Zen headbutt, and Ash could see the psychic energy on her head clearly. Ash had her work on increasing her speed by having her do laps with weights for her size attached to her. She also worked on her defense by having Eevee attack her with shadow ball. Since she had no defensive moves, Ash had her learn magic coat to compensate for that. The technique involved the user gathering a sufficient amount of psychic energy to coat the body and then using it to repel special attacks of pokémon. Their current focus was on Cleffa sufficiently gathering enough psychic energy. By the end of the day, she had gotten the glow down to the front part of her body, but the back was still a problem, and they would tackle it.

Ash had Tyrunt work on his speed and the power of his attacks. Defense wasn't a major problem in the Tyrunt-line, so Ash paid little attention to it, compared to his speed. Tyrunt also did some stamina training by running laps around the training area. Ash had him practice earthquake more. The attack was still not producing enough destructive power. By the time the day had rolled over, Tyrunt's earthquake could cause a small tremor that was enough to send Ash to the ground and keep him there for some seconds.

Ash had Scizor work on his stamina and speed. Due to his evolution, his stamina had reduced due to all the weight he had to carry around. He had him do laps around the training ground until he was unable to continue. After Scizor regained consciousness, Ash had him work on iron spear slash over and over again. The end results were pretty good. Scizor no longer passed out after using the attack.

Ash didn't have Beedrill learn any move, instead he had her work on her defense by sparring with Butterfree. He instructed Butterfree to attack her while she tanked the hits. If she couldn't continue anymore, she was to dodge the attack. Ash also had her work on her attacks by running all her moves back to back until she was unable to continue.

Butterfree worked on his defense and his attack power by sparring with Beedrill. The end results were pretty good. Ash later had him work on psybeam, silver wind and wing attack. Those were the attacks he had not yet gotten a hang of yet. By the end of the day, Butterfree's usage of all three moves had increased drastically, almost like they were almost mastered.

Next was the charming electric type Volt. Ash had the electric type work on his defense by having him receive Tyrunt's earthquake attack. Volt went rounds taking all of the earthquake attacks and any time he fainted, Ash would revive him. Later on, Volt practiced karate chop and unlocked the egg move, Cross chop, though Ash didn't know. Ash had him work on Cross chop, alongside thunderbolt, Thunderspeed and maneuvering in the air with sky launch. Ash would say the training paid off.

Psyduck had worked on his speed and his stamina. He had stamina, but not fast enough. Ash had him work on ice chop. The training was for him to work on forming the ice directly from his hand and using a cross chop. Psyduck had trouble and has yet to form the ice directly, so Ash had him work on ice beam for the mean time to increase his ice reserves. Psyduck had also worked on the power behind his muddy water attack and he had also nearly mastered the move.

Blaze had worked on reinforced dragon pulse. After Ash had seen him use the attack during their previous battle, he had liked the attack. Ash had him work on fuelling the dragon pulse with flames directly from his hands, instead of forming the sphere and spewing flamethrower down on it. It had taken a lot of work but Blaze was able to gradually get the flames to the sphere, but the technique was far from been mastered. Blaze had also worked on fire blast and iron tail.

Ash was not left out of the training. He had done laps around the area and worked on his aura powers. He had practiced using his aura sight and increasing it's range slightly. He had also worked on his aura manifestation and his aura sense, increasing them beyond the normal.

At the end of the training, Ash was pretty happy with the results they had. They went back to the cottage and had a nice meal with Gary and the others. After eating, Ash and the others went to bed after the hectic day they had just had.

A Week Later

About a week had passed. Ash and the others were now ready to leave the Village. Over the past week they had helped Melanie around the Village all the while training their pokémon. They had helped her develop the remote Village to something better than it was before. They had also helped train the various pokémon living in the Village. Melanie was happy about the turnout of events. Ash and the gang had also helped Melanie get in contact with the League and the Village had been licensed as a sanctuary for abandoned pokémon. It was officially named the 'Hidden Village.' Ash knew that the occupants of the Village would slowly increase with time since the League now knew of her efforts.

The Village was now equipped with technology to assist Melanie in her day to day activities. She would now be able to give out any pokémon to any trainer the pokémon wants to go with. It was also during this past week that they got to see Melanie's pokémon team. Her team consisted of scout pokémon and pokémon that look after the Village, and they were not kept in pokéballs but allowed to roam Kanto in search of lost and abandoned pokémon.

Her scout team, the team she sent out to search for pokémon that were injured, lost or abandoned, consisted of a Pidgeot. Next was the Ogre Darner Pokémon, Yanmega. The Tender pokémon, Milotic. The Brutal pokémon, Sharpedo. The Embrace pokémon, Gardevoir and the Blade pokémon Gallade. The team she kept with her in the Village were her Venusaur, and obviously her starter. The Nurturing pokémon, Leavanny. The Garden pokémon, Florges. The Herb pokémon, Meganium. The Bouquet pokémon, Roserade. The Fresh Snow pokémon, Glaceon, and the Astral Body pokémon, Gothitelle.

During this period, Ash had gotten to know each and everyone of Melanie's pokémon, alongside Gary, Leaf and Misty. Melanie told them first hand how strong she had been when she was still a battling trainer. She had also revealed to them the reason why all her pokémon were Scouts and Nurturers. Ash, been the battle that he had always been, challenged her to a battle. Obviously, she steamrolled Ash and his team with only Venusaur. They were now standing outside with Melanie and her Venusaur.

Gary also had great news on his part. Wartortle was now a Blastoise. So only Blaze was left out.

"So... I guess this is where we part ways," Ash started.

"Yeah," they all said with sad sighs.

"Well Ash," Melanie started. "It has been quite fun with you guys around, but I guess it's time for you to continue your journeys."

"Yeah, I guess so," Ash said. The others also wore sad looks on their faces.

"No need to be sad about it. We'll all meet sometime in the future, won't we?" she asked and they all nodded. "And of course you'll all come visit when you have the time."

"Of course we will," Misty responded.

"Guess this is it," Ash said as he and the others got ready to go.

"Bulbasaur!" came a loud voice. They all turned back to see the dual grass and poison type running towards them.

"Bulba, saur, saur, basaur," Bulbasaur said as he reached them.

"Wait. You want to come with me?" Ash asked. Bulbasaur nodded as he tapped Ash with his vine.

"Are you sure about this? What about Melanie and the other pokémon?"

"Don't worry Ash. I think it's best that Bulbasaur goes with you. In the past week that you've stayed here, he has warmed up to you, and I think you'll be the best trainer for him."

Ash smiled as he looked at Bulbasaur. "You really want to come with me?"

"Bulba, Bulbasaur."

"Alright then, pokéball go!" Ash said as he threw a friend ball at Bulbasaur. The ball hit and Bulbasaur was sucked inside in a red beam. The ball closed and dinged immediately, signifying the capture. Ash released Bulbasaur as soon as he was caught.

"Alright then. See you soon Melanie," Ash said. They all said their goodbyes and soon left the sanctuary.

Ash and the gang have been on the road for several hours now. They were all getting tired and decided to stop for rest. They had all just finished eating and were now busy training and bonding with their pokémon.

"Hey guys," Ash said to his pokémon. "There may be an upset in power due to the arrival of Bulbasaur, so we're are going to have a little Elite's test. Elite's test would be held once every month, and this is gonna be our first one."

He heard various various cries of agreement.

"Let's begin. The first test is to see who has the most destructive and focused power, so use your most powerful and refined moves. Eevee won't take part yet because she doesn't have any move of that calibre yet. Going first would be Cleffa."

Cleffa stepped forward as she prepared to use the only move she had with a bit of power. She steadied herself as her head began to glow blue. After it had reached a sufficient amount, she charged a tree, and the impact caused a small crater in it.

"Nice work Cleffa, though it still needs more work."

Cleffa nodded as she went to stand by the others. Ash motioned for the next pokémon, Tyrunt to step forward. Tyrunt took his spot in front of them. He took his time to focus on his move. Earthquake would have been his best bet, but he was not as good with it as with dragon breath. He opened his mouth to release a stream of emerald draconic energy at a nearby tree. Mid-travel, the dragon attack took the form of a dragon and charred the tree at the middle. After some time, the tree broke. Tyrunt cut off power to the breath attack as he turned to look at Ash.

"Still needs more work, but you're getting there," Ash said as he scratched Tyrunt just under the jaw. Ash motioned for the next. Scizor took a stance in front of Ash. He had been practicing how to fly with all his weight throughout the past week, and it had paid up. He took a leap into the air as he shot off with claws glowing white. He did a fast loop before disappearing. He appeared a second later and slammed into a tree, then another, and another, until the number of trees destroyed were about four.

"Nice job Scizor. That was an amazing aerial ace." Scizor nodded proudly as he stood by the others, all awaiting the next candidate.

"Beedrill, you're up."

Beedrill shot off and took on a battle stance. She didn't waste time to release the huge glob of poison at the nearest tree, burning it due to the corrosive nature of sludge bomb.

"Nice. Definitely some improvement in sludge bomb," Ash said as he gestured for her to get back. "Butterfree!"

The Butterfly Pokémon flew in front of Ash and began flapping his wings. The result were two pair of crescent wind, each glowing silver, bursting from the wings and slamming into trees, removing about three of them.

"You always surprise me Butterfree," Ash said as he pat him on the head. "Volt. Show us what you're made of."

Volt ran up and stood in front of the others. He revved his hands as he smirked. He was about to show Ash and the rest the fruit of the past week's training. He revved his hands one more time as his right hand shone white.

"Why not use thunderbolt instead of karate chop?" Ash asked.

Volt said nothing, but instead his left hand shone white also as he crossed them in front of his chest.

"Is that-?" Ash started but couldn't finish as Volt shot off with impressive speed at the nearest tree.

Nearing the tree, Volt jumped forward and swiped his hands outward to slam the tree. The impact caused Volt to break through the tree and pass through. He fell mid-flight and slammed the ground, causing a crater.

The result shocked all members of Ash's team at the growth of one of it's smallest members.

"Volt, wow! I didn't know that you'd learnt cross chop," Ash said.

"That's me. I'm full of surprises." At the exact moment, Volt released a small volt of electricity at them, shocking everyone.

"Volt!" Ash screamed at the shock as the Electric Pokémon snickered. Blaze, been the elder and all, smacked Volt on the head before puffing out a cloud of smoke.

"Next is Psyduck," Ash said after recovering from the shock.

The Duck Pokémon walked up and took a stance in front of them. He twitched a little due to the small shock he just received. Ash knew the exact move that Psyduck was about to use.

"Hey Blaze. Can you use protect to cover us from Psyduck's move."

"Of course," Blaze said as he set his hands in front of him and let the green barrier form. Just then, Psyduck had slammed his hand into the ground, causing mud to erupt towards the trees. The move slammed into Blaze's protect, but the Charmeleon shrugged it off with ease.

When the move died down, about seven trees had been destroyed around about. Ash smiled at the result, and the others knew what had happened. Psyduck had beaten all of them, and all that was left was to beat Bulbasaur.

"Think you can top that?" Ash asked the Seed Pokémon.

"Of course," Bulbasaur responded as he stepped forward. He looked into the sky as he released a bright yellow orb, something Ash recognised as sunny day. Bulbasaur's bulb soon began to glow a bright yellow. After reaching a certain intensity, Bulbasaur bent his bulb and fired a bright yellow beam of light. The beam tore through the trees like a knife through butter, destroying nine of them before fading away.

As the trees fell, Psyduck fell backwards. He had been beaten and his title taken away from him.

"That was amazing Bulbasaur," Ash said as the dual grass and poison type jumped to hug him. Ash caught him in the air with joy as they all rejoiced. All except one.

"Hey Bulbasaur," Ash said as he pointed at a sulking Psyduck. Bulbasaur nodded and went to meet his fellow teammate.

"Hey kiddo," Bulbasaur said as he sat beside Psyduck.

"Congratulations," Psyduck mumbled after some seconds of silence between the two.

"Thanks. What's the matter?" Bulbasaur asked.

"Nothing. It's just that I worked hard and was awarded the Elite position of strength, but you, you just beat me by just a few trees. It's not fair."

"Why do you say it's not fair? I say it's fair. We both trained hard for this moment, but there's one thing you forgot. And that is that I am the older and more experienced one out of all of us. I have almost equal experience with Blaze. So what are you gonna do about it?"

"I-I don't know," Psyduck slowly mumbled out."

"Well you have two options. Either keep on sulking or you get up and take on the next challenge and have a say as one of the best in the team."

Psyduck smiled as he looked up at Bulbasaur. "I'll do it," he said as he got up and walked back with Bulbasaur back to the others.

Later that evening...

Night had fallen, and all the Elites had been chosen. Blaze for experience, Bulbasaur for strength. Scizor for defense. Volt for speed. Psyduck for all roundness. Butterfree for accuracy. That is the current standing of Ash's team.

They were all gathered around the fire pit, all their tents and each one in their own tents. Ash was on the floor with all his pokémon sprawled around him. Volt on his chest. Bulbasaur by his head. Blaze by his side. Psyduck close to his feet. Scizor by his other side. Butterfree and Beedrill by his head. Eevee and Cleffa beneath his leg. Tyrunt by his head. They were all sound asleep, after the various activities of the day.

Splash!

Ash jolted up from bed, launching Volt from atop his chest. All his pokémon too woke up.

"What's up Ash?" Blaze asked.

"Shh..." Ash whispered to them as his eyes glowed blue. He took a look around and saw five creatures of the same size circling their clearing. "Show yourselves! I know you're out there."

The noise woke the others up.

"What's going on?" Misty asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"We're surrounded by five pokémon," Ash explained simply.

"Urgh...," Gary groaned. "And I was just getting to the good part."

"Of what?" Ash asked.

"My dream," he responded.

"You really are a fool, you know that," Ash said to him.

"Hmm. You're just jealous because I won the League in my dream and you came in second," Gary retorted.

"Like hell's that gonna happen," Ash responded with a smirk.

"Why you-"

"I thought you just said we were surrounded," Leaf interrupted.

Ash smiled as Gary stopped in his tracks, but his face soon took on a serious look. "Yeah. Five pokémon, all on different angles like some kind of ambush."

Just then, torrents of water from five separate sides came flying above the group. They met at the center and merged, before coming down in a large volume, soaking all of them and their things.

"Aah!" Misty and Leaf both screamed as they were drenched with water. Their water pokémon loved it, but it severely irritated and affected their fire, rock and ground types. After the water dried down, Ash took a look around, only to discover that they were gone. He growled in anger as their intended sleep filled night would be spent in drying their belongings and their pokémon, not excluding themselves.

The Next Morning...

Ash and the gang had recovered from their night assault from the five pokémon Ash strongly suspects to be Squirtle. They had finally made it to their next stop. One that separates them from Vermillion City. After passing through this city, the only destination ahead would be to their next Gym battle.

"We've finally arrived!" Ash announced as he pumped his fist into the air. "Our next stop before Vermillion City."

"Yeah," Gary said as he gave Ash a loud pat on the back.

"But doesn't the town seem too quiet to you," Leaf pointed out.

"Yeah," Misty responded. "There's not a single soul outside."

"Hello! Anyone here!" Ash shouted, but no response.

Soon, they started hearing the rumbling of an engine. They looked to the side to see an Officer Jenny on her Patrol Bike. She stopped a few feet in front of them.

"Hello Officer Jenny," they said to her.

"Hello. By any chance are you trainers?" She asked.

"Yep," Ash responded. "Official Pokémon League licensed trainers," Ash said as he held up his pokédex showing his Trainer I.D. The others also showed her theirs.

"Then I'm in luck because this town has a little pokémon problem," she said. "Follow me to the station and I'll brief you guys on the situation."

It took some minutes for them to reach the station. She took them to her office to have a private discussion.

"A pokémon problem you can't handle?" Misty asked as soon as Officer Jenny sat down.

"In a way," she said as she scratched behind her neck. "Five Squirtle have been causing trouble for this town for almost nine months now."

All five of them gasped. "They must have been the ones that attacked us last night," Leaf revealed.

"Really? Anyways, I've tried capturing them but they always flee before I can actually release my pokémon. It appears that these Squirtle may have been abandoned by their trainers and they now want to take out their anger and frustration on this town."

"If I may ask Officer Jenny, what exactly have these Squirtle done?"

"Thank Arceus they haven't done anything too serious. They occasionally rain down water on the town in excess, cause pitfalls for people to fall in, and rarely they take berries from the shops."

"Just that," Ash said as he laughed slightly.

"What's so funny young man?" Officer Jenny asked with slight irritation.

"Don't be mad Officer Jenny, it's just that I know what is wrong with the Squirtle. It's the exact case that happened with Gary's Squirtle when it was still younger, right Gary?" Gary nodded. "And I also know how to get them out of that current state."

"I hope you don't mind sharing this with us?" Officer Jenny asked.

"It's simple really. Squirtle are very proud pokémon. If you abandon one, it would feel it is not strong or needed enough and it will begin to crave attention, by destroying things and causing slight havoc and chaos. Let's go outside and I will settle things with the Squirtle."

Soon, they had gone outside and Ash had released Blaze.

"Hey Blaze. How about you help me correct a little error in someone's ways?"

"Always happy to help Ash," Blaze said with a maniac grin.

"Hey guys," Ash called out to the others. "Have your pokémon out just in case things get nasty."

"No problem there," Gary said as he released Blast. Leaf released Saur and Misty released Staryu.

Ash's eyes glowed blue as he took a deep breath. He spoke some seconds later, "Hey Squirtle Squad. I know you can hear me. My name is Ash Satoshi Ketchum from Pallet Town, and I challenge your leader to a battle. If I win, he lets me capture him, and you leave the Townspeople alone, but if I lose, you can do whatever you want with me and everyone in this town, no limits."

"What is he saying?" Officer Jenny questioned and was about to stop Ash but was stopped by Gary.

"Officer Jenny. I trust Ash with the whole of my heart just as he trusts me. He knows what he is doing. Just stand back and watch him work. Trust me, it isn't going to be like anything you've ever seen."

Officer Jenny halted and continued to watch.

"What do you say Squirtle? Or are you too chicken to accept my challenge. I guess it seems the Squirtle Squad are all talk and no action. If ever you do crawl out of that shell of yours, I'll be waiting at Town square. Come and face me."

"That ought to draw them out," Ash said as his voice returned back to normal.

"It's only a matter of time now," Leaf said.

A few moments later five small figures could be seen approaching Town square in the distance. As they came closerz they could all make out the shape to be that of the Squirtle. The quintet marched and stopped a few feet from Ash and the others. The thing about this group of Squirtle was that they were all wearing round black shades, with one of them having pointed shades. Ash assumed him to be the leader.

"So. You had the guts to honour my challenge. I hope you are ready?"

"Squirtle, squirt, squir-tle."

"Alright then. He's all yours Blaze."

Blaze stepped forward as he flexed his claws and stared at his opponent who stared back. Blaze liked this Squirtle. He had guts, but guts wasn't enough. Blaze shot a flamethrower into the sky to challenge Squirtle. Squirtle responded with a water gun to Blaze's face. Blaze dodged it but he was pissed. This Squirtle was going down. Blaze shot off like a rocket at Squirtle, but he was no fool. His plan was to draw out Squirtle and Squirtle fell for it.

Squirtle shot a water gun at Blaze but the fire type dodged by moving left and began circling Squirtle. Squirtle smirked as he withdrew himself into his shell and used water gun. Blaze instinctively threw up a protect to prevent the attack from slamming into him. As the water gun collided with the barrier, Blaze felt its power and was a bit taken aback. Squirtle soon became shrouded in water as he charged Blaze. Blaze met the aqua jet attack head on dragon pulse. The dragon move slammed into Squirtle and launched him backwards. Squirtle righted himself in the air and used aura sphere. Blaze's hands took on a metallic sheen as he swiped at the sphere, splitting it, only for Squirtle to slam into him with rapid spin. Blaze was launched backwards a bit but he recovered quickly. Squirtle slammed his hand into the ground, releasing an eruption of muddy water at Blaze. Blaze jumped up with a dragon pulse and used a flamethrower to propel himself towards Squirtle. Nearing Squirtle, he gave him a thunder punch to the head. The impact knocked Squirtle into the ground. Blaze jumped back for Squirtle to get back up. Squirtle brought both hands together as he prepared a water pulse attack. Blaze copied the same movement as he prepared to use reinforced dragon pulse. Both attacks collided but Blaze's tore through and slammed into Squirtle and sent him flying into a pole before he slumped to the ground. Blaze snorted smoke at his opponent's defeat.

Squirtle staggered slowly to his feet as his eyes glowed blue and he became shrouded in water.

'Torrent,' Ash thought to himself. 'No holding back now.'

Squirtle shot a water gun more powerful than the previous ones. Blaze moved away quickly before coming at Squirtle with fists sparking with electricity. Squirtle remained motionless before his hands glowed a bright bluish white. Focus punch and thunder punch clashed in an explosion of sparks. Blaze jumped back before blasting Squirtle with flamethrower, but Squirtle was able to use rapid spin to get inside the flames and head for Blaze. Blaze smirked as he slammed Squirtle to the ground with iron tail, creating a crater. He propelled himself once more with flamethrower and as he began his descent, he began charging fire blast. Nearing the ground, Blaze released the orb of fire that later took on the kanji for big. It slammed into Squirtle and charred the entire place, creating an even bigger crater. Squirtle was knocked out on impact.

Ash smiled. "You did-" he couldn't complete his sentence as Blaze became covered in a white glow. Ash watched intently as the temperature increased as the sun began burning brightly. A pair of wings sprouted from Blaze's back as he grew in height. His tail length increased and the tail flame became bigger. His single horn split into two larger ones. The ground beneath him shook as the Charizard was fully formed. He shot a flamethrower into the air. It was far more powerful than it was when he was a Charmeleon. Ash walked up to the now taller Blaze and hugged him from the side. Blaze put one arm over Ash as he roared into the sky.

Ash took a step back to observe him better. "How do you feel buddy?"

"Stronger," Blaze replied as he opened his wings to reveal a wingspan of about nine feet from tip to tip. He instinctively flexed the muscles and took off to the skies. He staggered a lot in the air while trying to get a hang of the wings. He eventually got it down and began practicing. Ash was full of joy. His starter had just evolved. He turned his attention to the downed Squirtle and caught him in a friend ball. He released a second later after registering his capture and revived him.

Squirtle opened his eyes and saw Ash. His eyes slowly drooped, realizing that he just lost the battle.

"That was an amazing battle Squirtle, but a deal is a deal."

"I know," Squirtle said sadly before turning his attention to the now sobbing Squirtle Squad. "What about them?"

Ash looked at the rest members before turning to Officer Jenny. "Officer Jenny. Concerning the rest of the Squirtle Squad?"

"They are free to go, and thank you for saving the town. I assure you that we will settle you."

"That is of a later concern Officer Jenny, the major priority now is the Squirtle Squad. I've caught their leader now, so they're currently goalless."

"And how does that pertain to me in particular?"

"Their major goal was to be wanted or to gather attention. With their leader gone, that goal is now dead. They have no driving force. I was thinking that the Town take care of the Squirtle."

"But why? They haven't done anything to help town, have they?"

"Is that so?" Ash said with a mischievous grin. He looked at Blade who was currently flying and instructed him to accidentally shoot embers on the town, via their Aura Link. Aura Link was something he had been working on. It lets the user contact someone who he/she has had a very close bond with via Aura, if they are within range.

Blaze nodded as he accidentally stumbled, releasing embers all over the area and setting things on fire.

"Oh no!" Officer Jenny shouted. At that moment, the Townspeople who were hiding in the comfort of their homes began running outside to put out the fire.

"Squirtle," Ash said. "Instruct your guys to help put out the fire."

Eager to help, Squirtle ran to his Squad mates and told them what to do. They all nodded at the task and did their best to help put out the fires. At first, the people were scared, but after seeing that the Squirtle were trying to help them, they were even more eager.

"You see Officer Jenny. The Squirtle aren't half bad," Ash said.

"Well-" she started but was cut off.

"They could even be this Towns very own Fire Squad."

"You'll just have to feed them and train them. It's not that hard," Gary said.

"Please," Leaf added.

"Urgh...Fine then. I'll see what I can do."

Officer Jenny left them as she went to talk with the Mayor concerning the Squirtle Squad. Ash and the gang went to find the Pokémon Center and healed up their pokémon while also making a call to home. Ash had told Professor Oak about Blaze's evolution and his newest capture, with Professor Oak congratulating him on getting all the Kanto Starters.

Later that day, the Mayor had called a Conference and had officially inducted the Squirtle Squad as the Town's Firefighters. Ash's Squirtle was happy for his Squad and they parted ways with plans on meeting each other in the future.

Another person that was super excited was Ash. He was filled with joy at his Starter's evolution. He was currently on top the Charizard and they were both soaring ahead of the others. Blaze now radiated more power with his evolution into Charizard and it also marked a step in their journey to be the best.

Some Hours Later

"Finally. We are here," Leaf said as she overlooked Vermillion City. "Hey guys, step on it."

"You wouldn't have had to wait for us if you had not ran," Gary said as he, Ash and Misty arrived.

"Vermillion City. The home of my third gym badge and gym battle," Ash said as he pumped his fist into the air.

"Don't forget me," Gary said also.

"You can both forget about your gym battles today. You can challenge Lt. Surge tomorrow. For now let's focus on getting our rooms at the Pokémon Center. I've been on the ground far too long. I miss the comfort of a warm, soft bed."

"Fine," both Gary and Ash said in defeat.

It didn't take them long to find the Pokémon Center and get registered for two rooms. Gary and Ash would share one while Leaf and Misty would share the other. As they entered their room, Ash immediately fell on one of the beds.

"I'm exhausted," he said as he removed his shoes and lay belly up on the bed. Gary also did the same.

"Hey Gary."

"Yeah."

"I've been meaning to ask. What happened to your fossil?"

"Oh that. It's with Daisy. I gave it to her as a birthday gift. It was a Lileep."

"Oh. Anyways you're challenging Surge tomorrow too."

"Yeah. The sooner we get those S.S. Anne tickets, the better."

"Yeah, you're right. There's a contest coming up next week. Chances are that we would see Serena sooner than we think."

"Oh yeah. Your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ash retorted as he sat up and brought out his Dratini egg and began polishing it.

"There's no denying that you like her."

"I guess so. I don't know. Yes," Ash said in defeat.

"Then it's settled."

"I don't know. What about you Mr. Green."

"Don't you dare say it."

"I don't need to say it, you just need to know that you like Leaf."

"Oh. You'll pay for this Ash."

"You started it," Ash said as he dropped the egg and lay back down.

"Damn you Ash."

"Goodnight Gare-bear."

"I'm not in the mood."

"You are. See you in the morning." And there was silence.

The Next Morning

Morning came fast for the gang, and after the normal activities of the morning, they began their march to the Gym. Reaching the Gym doors, they saw two huge guys dressed in black suits and they seemed to give off the appearance of Bouncers.

"Excuse me," Ash said.

"What do you want kid?" One of them asked.

"We are here to challenge the Gym Leader," Gary said.

The two guys looked to each other before bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Ash asked, feeling slightly irritated.

"You don't expect us to believe that four puny kids like you are here to challenge the Gym leader. What did you bring, a pair of Rattata."

Ash's mind immediately wondered off to earlier this morning when a girl had ran to the Pokémon Center saying that her Rattata had been injured in a Gym battle.

"So the rumours are true," Ash said. "You say four puny kids, but it seems to me you guys are scared and that's why you don't want to let us in."

"And why would we be scared of you?" One asked.

"Scared we might beat your previous Lt. Surge," Gary responded.

"Not in Hell."

"Then if you aren't scared let us in," Ash said.

"It's your funeral. Hey Lt. Surge!" One called out as he gestured for them to come in. "We've got another set of victims."

Soon, footsteps could be heard as a large hulking man wearing a white vest and camouflaged pants. He had yellow spiky hair and wore black boots.

"Well, well," he said in a very deep voice. "I hope you guys didn't bring any Rattata. I'm getting tired of crushing the little guys."

He looked over Ash and noticed Misty. "If it isn't the last Waterflower of the Cerulean Gym. Seems to me that you are with them."

"Good morning Lt. Surge."

"Which one of you is my Challenger today."

"The both of us," Ash and Gary said.

"And you are?"

"Ash Satoshi Ketchum from Pallet Town."

"Gary Oak from Pallet Town."

"The son of the Master himself, and the son of our prestigious champion. I hope you both won't disappoint. At least I can say this would be an interesting match. Who is going first?"

"I will," Gary said as he stepped forward.

"Hope you won't disappoint. Right this way to the field."

The field was essentially a normal field of dirt. It was made that way to help in the speedy movements of electric types.

"This is gonna be a three-on-three battle between the Challenger Gary Oak from Pallet Town and the Lightning American Lt. Surge. The battle will be over when three pokémon from one side are unable to battle. Substitutions are not allowed. Gym leader release your pokémon."

"So you've earned two gym badges. Go Pikachu."

Out of Lt. Surge's pokéball came the Mouse Pokémon. Its cheeks sparked with electricity, showing that it was ready for a fight.

"Pikachu huh. Go Nidorino."

Out of Gary's friend ball came his Nidorino.

"Challenger had the first move. Pikachu vs. Nidorino begin."

"Use poison sting."

"Dodge and close in with quick attack."

Nidorino fired the poisonous stings at Pikachu, but it easily blurred away with superior speed.

"Use electro ball."

"Dodge with double team and close in with drill run."

Nidorino quickly cloned itself as they began closing in on Pikachu. Just then Pikachu fired the electro ball, but it hit a copy instead, and the others kept on charging

"Use thunderbolt."

Pikachu released the powerful electric attack and wiped out all the copies, but the original was not there. Suddenly the ground beneath Pikachu cracked and Nidorino burst out with force, slamming his horn into Pikachu's jaw and sending the mouse flying.

"Well what do you know. Kid's got guts."

"It's a combo I've been working on with Nidorino by having him use drill run to tunnel under the ground."

"Smart move kid, and not only that, you've poisoned Pikachu."

Gary looked up to see a purple glow around Pikachu, thanks to poison point ability. "Nidorino horn attack."

Nidorino began charging Pikachu.

"Iron tail."

Pikachu's tail attained a metallic sheen as it ran at Nidorino. Horn attack and iron tail clashed in a stalemate. As they both pulled back, Gary barked a command.

"Venoshock!"

Nidorino shot the blob of poison at Pikachu scoring a direct hit and dealing severe damage.

"Taking advantage of Pikachu's speed huh," Surge said.

"Yep. Nidorino drill run."

"Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu tried to use thunderbolt but poison kicked in slowing it down enough for Nidorino to land the drill run. The attack knocked Pikachu out.

"Pikachu is unable to battle. Nidorino wins. Gym Leader send out your pokémon."

"Go Magneton."

Out if Surge's pokéball came the Magnet Pokémon.

"Magneton vs. Nidorino begin."

"Get in close."

"Drill run."

Magneton closed in on Nidorino who was using drill run.

"Supersonic."

Magneton halted immediately and used the sound based move. It scored a direct hit, confusing Nidorino. The poison type staggered before slamming his face to the ground.

"Zap Cannon!"

"No, Nidorino snap out of it."

Magneton fired the powerful cannon of pure electricity at Nidirino, sending it flying into the psychic barriers were it slumped down to the ground, paralysed.

"I'm surprised that this didn't end in one shot, so I apologise for your Nidorino."

"No! Get up!" Gary barked.

"Magnet bomb."

The steel type move knocked out Nidirino almost quickly. There was no way for Nidirino to avoid it because Magnet bomb never misses.

"Nidorino is unable to battle. Magneton wins. Challenger send out your next pokémon."

"Come on out Growlithe."

"Going for type advantage kid. You'll need it."

"Growlithe vs. Magneton begin."

"Fire spin."

"Dodge and magnet bomb."

After dodging the fire spin, Magneton shot the inescapable bomb of magnet at Growlithe.

"Flamethrower, burn it away."

Growlithe released the torrent of flames from his mouth, burning away the entire attack and continuing towards Magneton.

"Dodge and zap cannon."

Magneton dodged the flamethrower before shooting the powerful orb of electricity.

"Dodge with flame wheel."

At the last second, Growlithe became surrounded in a wheel of fire as he dodged the electric attack and rammed Magneton.

"Nice. Now fire spin."

Growlithe released the vortex of flames from his mouth, trapping Magneton in it and doing damage.

"Magneton! Break out of there with spark."

From inside the vortex of flames, Magneton's body lit up with electricity as he threw it at Growlithe.

"Counter with heat wave."

Growlithe opened his mouth and released an orange red breath of flames at the spark. The attack cancelled out the spark and slammed into Magneton.

"Follow up with fire fang."

Growlithe ran at Magneton and using his greater size, he picked it up with his flaming mouth and shaked Magneton like a rag doll, dealing damage.

"Magneton! Use spark."

"Throw it and flame spin."

Before Magneton could spark up, Growlithe launched it into the air and jumped back. A vortex of flames shot out from Growlithe's mouth and surrounded Magneton and halting spark. A torrent of flames was soon seen in the fire spin, heading straight for Magneton. The combined fire spin and flamethrower created an explosion that knocked Magneton out.

"Magneton is unable to battle. Growlithe wins. Gym leader send out your final pokémon."

"You've done good kid. I should have known you weren't like those other trainers with Rattata. You actually know how to battle."

"Thanks Lt. Surge."

"However, it's time for brutality. Bring your best 'cause you'll need it against him. Go Manectric."

Surge launched a pokéball into the air and white light shot out from it. As the light condensed, it took the form of a wolf-like pokémon with blue body. It had spiky yellow mane on its body and red eyes. Its tail was also bent at an angle facing up. It growled and stretched as it was released from his pokéball. Its eyes tensed as it saw Growlithe.

'Manectric huh. They aren't known for strength but their speed is a major pain. And of course, this is a Gym leader's pokémon. Growlithe is also tired from using flame spin. I should proceed with caution.'

"Manectric vs. Growlithe begin."

Some moments passed and Surge hadn't made a single move.

'Why hasn't he given a command?' Gary questioned in his mind.

"I just thought of a way to make this battle more interesting."

"Huh?"

"If you land a single hit on Manectric, you win the battle."

"Seriously? I'm in," Gary said. 'For him to say this, it means that either his Manectric is really strong or he has an ace up his sleeves.'

"Manectric electro ball."

"Dodge."

Manectric tensed his legs as he shot off faster than Gary could make out. 'Its fast.'

Manectric appeared a second later with the electro ball fully formed and shot it at Growlithe so fast that the pup couldn't even move an inch. The attack slammed into Growlithe and launched him into the psychic barrier.

Up in the Bleachers

Ash was watching that battle with critical eyes and was a bit shocked at the speed of movement and attack that Manectric possessed. It was even more surprising because this was the pokémon a Gym leader was allowed to use to challenge two badge trainers. This was the power of a Gym leader.

Back at the Field

Growlithe slowly got up battered and bruised. Electro ball increased in power the faster the use was in comparison to the target. Given the difference between Manectric's and Growlithe's speed, electro ball surely packed a wallop.

"Growlithe use flame wheel."

Growlithe became shrouded in a wheel of flames as he charged Manectric.

"End this Manectric. Charge Growlithe and dodge. Finish up with thunder."

Manectric growled in pleasure as it charged Growlithe. Nearing the pup, it dodged and faced Growlithe's back. Manectric sparked up with electricity as it shot a massive beam of yellow lightning at Growlithe. The attack Growlithe out upon impact and launched him at the psychic barrier. Gary recalled him before he actually hit the barrier.

"Growlithe is unable to battle. Manectric wins. Challenger send out your final pokémon."

"Told ya kid. Why don't you bring out your last runt so we can finish this. Hope it's not a Bulbasaur or Ivysaur by the way."

"No it's not." 'It took out Growlithe so fast. The next pokémon won't even hold a candle to its speed. I'll just have to take my chances.' "Go Geodude."

Out of Gary's friend ball came a fairly large Geodude. It flexed its arms as it stared at Manectric."

"Geodude vs. Manectric begin."

"Be careful out there. Its really fast. Use extreme caution."

Geodude made its own equivalent of a nod.

"Going for type advantage is wise. But using a slow pokémon against a fast one, not so much. Don't make me change my view on you."

"Don't worry Lt. Surge. I know what I'm doing. Geodude let's show them. Rock polish into rollout."

Geodude slammed both hands together as a metallic sheen covered his entire body. He folded himself as he began using rollout.

"Dodge and iron tail."

Manectric dodged the rollout as its tail took on a metallic sheen. It descended on Geodude.

"Block with hammer arm."

Geodude stopped its rollout as one of its arms glowed white and it used it to defend against iron tail. Hammer arm and iron tail clashed and fought for dominance but Hammer arm prevailed.

"Grab it and slam it."

Geodude grabbed Manectric's tail and slammed it into the ground.

"Now focus punch."

After some moments of focus, Geodude's arm attained a whitish blue colour which he used to punch a now stirring Manectric. The impact knocked Manectric further into the air.

"Now Earth power."

Geodude's body glowed yellow as he smashed the ground with his fist, causing it to erupt with yellow light bursting everywhere. Geodude's glow soon changed from a yellow one to a white one. Gary was overjoyed. Geodude was evolving.

From inside the white light, Geodude increased in height and grew feet. His hands became bigger and he grew a smaller set of hands. As the light died down, a Graveler was now in their midst. Graveler roared, announcing his presence.