Chapter 20

Hazelwood Town, the only settlement on Route 25, was built nearly 60 years ago, by a former Kanto Elite Four, Marlon Hazelwood. It had a population of nearly 1200 and ranked amongst the Top Towns in the Kanto Region. It was a famous resting spot for Trainers who took Route 25 to capture new Pokemon or tourists who came to explore this part of the Region. And for these reasons, a Pokemon Center was established here a decade ago.

"We are finally here..." Leaf tried to voice her excitement, but she was too tired after the day's journey and training to express it.

"Bebe..." The little fairy tried to comfort her Trainer, but as soon as she spoke, she was caught in a grasp by something that took off with her. "Bebe!!!"

"No!!"

"You are not getting away with that, little fellow." Aizen sternly said as his eyes glowed purple and the green blur was caught under his Psychic Power.

"Return me my Fiona!" Leaf angrily said to the green toad-like Pokemon that was floating in the air, struggling to free itself of the invisible force caging it.

Aizen unwrapped its hold on Flabebe, and the little Fairy returned to its Trainer.

"Why would a Politoed try to steal a Pokemon?" Anira curiously looked at the Pokemon.

"Let's ask the culprit." Aizen was about to bring down the Pokémon when suddenly his instincts kicked it. "Prone!" He shouted.

The girls were baffled, but instinctively did as he had asked. It proved to be the right decision as they narrowly avoided a torrent of Water. But before they could do get hold of the situation, a foul smell made their faces turn blue.

"Squirtle... Squir..."

They heard a voice before the Politoed escaped with its partners in crime.

"What the hell was that?!" Misty yelled angrily as the smell subsided.

"A Politoed that tried to steal Fiona. A Squirtle who attacked us with Hydropump. And a Gloom that used its foul smell to distract us. Two more Pokemon were hiding westward in the trees. I guess they were the backup." Aizen stood up and smiled at the girls. "Good strategy. That smell did make me lose focus and freed Politoed."

Misty calmed down a little after hearing his words.

"I don't sense any people in the vicinity," Anira said as she helped Leaf clean her clothes off the dust.

"There were no people involved in this incident." Aizen nodded to her. "They should be wild Pokemon, but their sense of responsibility to their friends is strong." He thoughtfully said.

The Squirtle had called out to its fellows to make a run for it without wasting any time. It knew that its squad could not contend with them.

"Do you want to go after them?" Anira asked.

"I am tempted to, but we need to take some rest now." He looked at the sinking sun and took a deep breath. "Let's go to the Pokemon Center."

The town was not like what they had expected. Better put, it was not in the state they had expected it to be in.

Every shop was vandalised with ugly graffiti on its front. Even the road they were on had dumb illustrations painted on it.

The people of the Town seemed to be in a grumpy mood, and some were openly cursing Squirtle and its Squad.

They found a Jenny trying to comfort angry Shop owners at a square. And they decided to approach her.

"When are you going to get rid of those abominations?!" The old man angrily yelled. "Because of them, no one in this town can stay in peace. Our business has been suffering for months, but it is getting too much now!"

The other people gathered behind the old man nodded to his words.

"It's time you take strict measures." The old man glared at Jenny.

The officer could only nod her head at his words.

"I will call for backup from Cerulean City tonight." She promised them. And with that, the crowd finally dispersed.

"Excuse me, Officer," Aizen called out to her.

As soon as Jenny turned around and saw four youngsters, she bowed to them.

"I am sorry for the trouble. Your Pokemon will be returned to you by tonight. You should wait in the Pokemon Center." She apologetically said and raised her head.

"It is alright, Officer. Our Pokemon are with us." He gently smiled at her.

His words and smile did the work. Her slumped shoulders straightened a little, and a smile appeared on her face.

"How may I be of help to you?" She asked.

"We just want to know what is happening here," Misty said as she glanced at a vandalised shop.

Jenny sighed when she heard her words.

"There's been a Squirtle leading a squad of his, and they have many wild Pokémon helping them from time to time. It started at merely harassing Trainers and Tourists visiting this Town, then it turned into stealing Pokemon of Trainers, but in the last month, they started coming to the Town at night and doing all this..." She looked around her. "And sometimes, they steal from the shops. Mostly food, and equipment for pulling off their nightly missions."

Aizen and the girls calmly listened to her words, and they could see how distressed she was.

"We can help you with them," Aizen said to her.

Jenny smiled at his offer but shook her head.

"Their numbers are high. I don't want you to put yourself in danger." She said. "And I have decided to call for help now. Their scale of operation has gone beyond my capacity to control the situation."

"There's no need to call for backup." Aizen showed her his Pokedex. On the screen was his S-Class License with its Diamond Badge.

Jenny's attitude took a swift turn at seeing that.

"I will be grateful if you help us out, Sir!" She bowed to him.

"We will." He assured her. "But I need some more information about these Pokemon."

"Joy can help you with that. She personally knows the Pokemon, and Pokemon Center has also never been targeted by this Squad." She informed them. "I have to make a few routine rounds, and I will visit you at the Center after dinner." She said to them and saluted before getting on her motorbike and riding away.

"I feel bad for her..." Misty sighed and her friends nodded to her words.

The group arrived at the Pokemon Center and found a few Trainers in the lounge. They were all talking about the situation in the Town, and some were cursing the wild Pokémon for what was done to them.

"Good Evening!" Joy greeted them at the front desk. "And Welcome to the Hazelwood Town Pokemon Center! How may I help you?" She beamed a smile at them.

"We would like a suite, and we need to ask you for some information." Aizen passed her his Dex and made sure to keep his voice low.

"Chansey, please watch the front desk for a while," Joy asked her pink partner.

"Chansey!"

"Please come with me."

Joy led them to the back where the guest suite was situated.

"I hope you like the place." She smiled and said as she showed them their suite.

"It's perfect." Aizen smiled at her and gestured for her to be seated in the lounge. "We found Officer Jenny in the Town, and she told us about the troubles the wild Pokemon have been causing here." He started after they were seated.

"Are you going to help us?" She hopefully asked.

Aizen and the girls nodded to her.

"What can you tell us about the Squirtle's Squad?"

Joy sighed at his question and clenched her fists.

"I understand that they have been causing a lot of trouble for the Town, but try to go easy on them..." She said, nearly pleading. "They do kidnap the Pokemon, but any Pokemon that wants to come back to its Trainer is returned here at night."

The group nodded to her and waited for her to continue.

"A year ago, an accident happened in the Pokemon Center. It concerned a Poliwhirl and her Trainer." Joy revealed to them. "Somehow, the Poliwhirl had gotten hold of a King's Rock, and when the Trainer used the Transporter to call it here, it evolved after coming out of the Pokeball." She stopped saying anything and took a few seconds to control her emotions. "When the Trainer saw what had happened, he started screaming at her. The poor thing was in tears, but stayed silent."

"How could he..." Misty was about to yell but Aizen grabbed her hand and squeezed it, calming her.

"He had been training the Poliwhirl to become a Poliwrath, and had invested a lot of time and effort on her." Joy sighed. "I calmed him down, and he decided to give her a chance. But a week later, he dropped her off here, claiming that her cheerfulness and carefree nature were not what he needed in his Pokemon." Her eyes turned misty when she recalled that day. "He called her a useless minion, who would never become a fighter, and that she was only good for cheerleading."

Aizen sighed and nodded to her to continue. He had to squeeze Misty's hand again and again to keep her from shouting.

"Politoed was heartbroken. I tried to keep her here and find her a new Trainer, but she escaped one night. A month later, Jenny informed me that she saw a sad Politoed near the pond in the woods outside of the Town. I went there and tried to convince Politoed to come with me, but she would not even talk." She sadly recalled the memory and wiped away the tear that escaped her eye.

All of them were upset at what had happened to Politoed. Misty had a soft spot for Water Pokemon, and she was seething with rage at what Joy had revealed to them.

"Such Trainers do not deserve Pokemon." She bitterly spoke the words.

"Mhm.." Joy nodded to her. "I detest the Trainers who abandoned their Pokemon just as much as I detest those that mistreat and oppress them."

"What happened after?" Aizen nodded to her and asked her to continue.

"A couple of months later, a Trainer abandoned his Starter, a Squirtle, after it had failed to evolve in over two years. He had caught a new one near the seaside that evolved into a Wartortle not long after. And once the Squirtle lost a battle, causing him to lose a large bet, it proved to be the last straw for him. He let out his frustration on it and abandoned it in this Town. Squirtle took his words to heart, and developed distrust towards all humans." She regretfully shook her head.

"The Evolution of a Pokemon depends on a lot of different factors. The bond between a Trainer and his Pokemon plays a vital role in it. Emotional stability and growth are important too. I am sure that Squirtle must have felt left off after his Trainer found new Pokemon. Watching itself be replaced must have hurt it more. And so, it never reached the point of evolution." Aizen guessed. "Or maybe the Squirtle deliberately suppressed its evolution because it didn't want to evolve."

Joy nodded to his words. She knew who he was. And he was someone who had achieved a lot in the Research of Pokemon Evolution.

"The Squirtle found Politoed in the woods, and they became good friends. Within the next two months, they managed to gather four new members to their Squad. There's a Machop, a Gloom, a Growlithe, and a Pigeotto." She informed them. "Gloom was abandoned by its trainer after she couldn't believe that her cute oddish turned into a 'foul smelly abomination'. The Machop and Growlithe were rescued by me from a Trainer that was abusing and overworking them. They were in a sorry state when they were found, and I think they never got out of the trauma." She sadly smiled at them. "I don't know anything about the Pidgeotto, but I am sure that it has its own story."

"So there are six of them..." Aizen nodded to her and started forming plans in his mind.

"Yes. They are called the Squirtle's Squad. But lately, they have gathered the support of Wild Pokémon as well. There's a colony of Exeggutor in the woods, and some Exeggutor have been sighted helping the Squad out in the Town. Other than that, some Meowth have been helping them as well"

"Thank you for giving us the information, Miss Joy." Aizen got up from his seat and smiled at her.

"Please, go easy on them." She pleadingly asked once more.

"I will try my best." He assured her.

"Thank you," Joy smiled at him and the girls. "Chansey will bring you your dinner in half an hour. I will take my leave now." She said and left to resume her duties.

"So, what's the plan?" Anira smiled at her brother and asked.

Leaf and Misty turned to look at him as well.

"Are you guys not tired?" He smiled at seeing their determined eyes.

"Nope."

"Don't care."

"Just state the plan!"

Anira, Leaf, and Misty replied with bright smiles.