"So that's what happened, meow!!!"
Seeing that Ash and the others didn't believe him, Meowth became anxious. It sounded unbelievable, but that was exactly what had happened.
"You're saying you got robbed by Squirtle, and they even ate your rice balls right in front of you?" Misty asked suspiciously.
From her experience, that kind of shameless behavior sounded more like something Team Rocket would do.
Maybe they tried to capture the Squirtle and got beaten instead—then came here to twist the story.
"Maybe you guys tried to harm the Squirtle and ended up tied to the tree yourselves," Brock guessed, judging by Team Rocket's usual behavior.
After all, they had never seen a Pokémon as mischievous as Meowth.
"You think we look like people who'd do that, meow?" Meowth protested.
"You do." ×3
Ash, Misty, and Brock answered in unison.
Jessie and James gritted their teeth.
Those annoying twerps…
Jessie glared at Ash, who was quietly laughing behind them.
"Twerp! Untie us already," she snapped.
"Otherwise, the same thing that happened to us will happen to you!"
Just then—
Four Squirtle wearing round sunglasses jumped out of the bushes.
"There they are, meow!" Meowth shouted.
Team Rocket wasn't too worried that Ash's group would get tied up too.
After all, Pikachu was here. Even if all the Squirtle attacked together, they probably wouldn't win.
Brock opened the Pokédex and searched for information on Squirtle.
Meanwhile, Misty's eyes sparkled like light bulbs.
She had absolutely no resistance to cute Water-type Pokémon.
"Squirtle squirtle!"
"Squirtle!"
The Squirtle weren't intimidated at all by the Trainers.
Instead, they began chattering in a stream of turtle-language.
Ash couldn't understand a word.
Probably only Pikachu and Meowth understood them.
"Squirtle says you should hand over your food and step aside," Meowth translated.
"Otherwise, you'll end up tied to a tree like us."
"Tell them we refuse," Ash said.
"And tell them to bring their boss here."
Meowth faithfully translated—
Only to get hit in the face with Sand Attack from one of the Squirtle.
Meowth coughed miserably.
It was just the translator—why was it getting bullied?!
"Squirtle says… you're not qualified to meet their boss."
"Oh? Then maybe beating you will qualify us," Ash replied.
Meowth translated with a dark expression.
These Squirtle… Meowth would remember this humiliation.
After being mocked by the Squirtle—and seeing Ash's group watching them with strange expressions—Jessie and James burned with anger.
When had Team Rocket ever suffered such humiliation?
Ash gave Pikachu a look.
Pikachu stepped forward. Electricity crackled from its cheeks.
One Squirtle handed its sunglasses to a teammate, revealing its big watery eyes.
It pointed at Pikachu.
You, yellow mouse. Let's fight one-on-one.
"Pika!"
(The nerve of this guy!) ⚡
Pikachu immediately fired Thunderbolt.
But the Squirtle was prepared.
It retreated completely into its shell and spun forward like a rolling tire.
The Thunderbolt struck the shell—but had little effect.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
The Squirtle cheered proudly, clearly not taking Pikachu seriously.
"Be careful, Pikachu!" Team Rocket shouted.
"That's a technique their leader trained them to use against Electric-type Pokémon!"
The entire fate of Team Rocket seemed to rest on Pikachu's shoulders.
Looks like the Squirtle leader had some serious battle instincts.
"Iron Tail," Ash commanded.
If electricity didn't work…
Then it was time for bowling.
Pikachu's zigzag tail glowed with a silver sheen.
Wham!
One Iron Tail sent the spinning shell flying.
Just as the Squirtle popped its head out—
"Thunderbolt!"
The electric blast hit perfectly.
"Squirtle~~~!"
The smoking Squirtle was caught by its teammates.
They stared at Pikachu in shock.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
"Squirtle!"
"Squirtle squirtle!"
After shouting a few threatening words, the Squirtle carried their unconscious friend and ran away.
"Red hat guy! Yellow mouse! We'll remember you!"
"When our boss arrives, you'll regret this!"
Meanwhile, Meowth swung back and forth happily like a pendulum, celebrating Pikachu's victory.
Ash untied Team Rocket.
"Let's see if you dare bully Pokémon again!" Misty said, hands on her hips like a boss.
Jessie scoffed.
"That was only because we weren't prepared."
"Yeah," James added stubbornly.
"We just underestimated them."
Their mouths were still tough even after losing.
"This is what they left behind," Meowth said.
It pulled out a piece of paper.
On it was a cartoon drawing of a Squirtle sticking out its tongue and making a mocking face.
The art style was… extremely abstract.
Clearly the Squirtle were fans of abstract art.
"See you around, twerp."
Meowth stuffed the drawing into Ash's hand and retreated with the others.
"Those Squirtle are repeat offenders," Brock said, frowning.
"They often cause trouble in the nearby town."
He pulled up information from the Pokédex.
"The Mischievous Squirtle Gang…"
The Pokédex screen displayed multiple town news reports.
Every single one described the "legendary mischief" of the Squirtle.
Ash couldn't help but stare.
They really caused a lot of chaos.
Every report showed the same thing:
Wherever the damage happened—
That strange Squirtle graffiti face would be left behind.
"Maybe someone is controlling them," Misty suggested.
"There's no way such cute Squirtle would behave like that."
"Let's ask around in town," Brock said.
"Maybe we can figure out what's really happening—and help them turn over a new leaf."
"Sure," Ash said.
"But first, let's get lunch."
He stuffed the drawing into his pocket.
They could investigate after arriving in town.
Only one starter left…
Squirtle.
Not long after Team Rocket left, Officer Jenny arrived on a police motorcycle.
She looked heroic and imposing.
"Officer Jenny! Did you sense that I was in danger and rush here to rescue me?" Brock said dramatically.
His flirting instincts had activated again.
"Were you all pranked by the Squirtle Squad?" Officer Jenny asked.
Misty briefly explained what had happened.
Those Squirtle were actually abandoned Pokémon.
To get revenge on Trainers, they began causing trouble in town—stealing food, pulling pranks, and even targeting passing Trainers.
They had developed a vengeful personality.
Unfortunately, they were taking revenge on the wrong people.
"Can't you catch them?" Misty asked.
"It's difficult," Officer Jenny said helplessly.
"They have a leader who's very clever and quite strong."
"Every time they cause trouble and we chase them, they escape."
"And whenever they see me, they run immediately."
"It's like playing hide-and-seek."
"We simply can't catch them."
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