"Spray-painting around town at night."
"Robbing fruit stands in broad daylight."
"Stealing food from passing Trainers."
…
Ash and his friends looked at the list of Squirtle's "crimes."
Weren't these basically just local delinquents?
"And they seem to enjoy doing it," Officer Jenny added with a sigh. "It's causing a lot of trouble for the town residents."
She had a headache dealing with them.
Those Squirtle didn't trust humans at all, which made communicating with them extremely difficult.
"Another case of abandoned Pokémon…" Misty murmured.
She couldn't understand it.
If someone chose a Pokémon partner, shouldn't they train and care for it properly?
Strong Pokémon were raised—not just found.
"Anyway, stay alert," Officer Jenny warned them.
She still had to continue her patrols to stop the Squirtle Squad from causing more trouble.
After learning about the Squirtle situation, Ash and the others checked into a local inn.
There was no Pokémon Center in this small town, though there was a basic medical clinic.
They rented three inexpensive rooms.
Ash then found a nearby restaurant and ordered a luxury meal set.
For now, they didn't know where the Squirtle Squad was hiding.
It wouldn't hurt to rest here for a while and gather information.
"Ash, how many Potions do you still have in your backpack?" Brock asked.
Earlier he had asked the waiter about nearby shops.
If they weren't short on supplies, they could wait until Vermilion City to restock.
Items in this town were rather expensive.
Clearly the local shops made most of their money from passing Trainers.
"Probably none left," Misty said resentfully.
Ash constantly battled large numbers of wild Pokémon, which consumed a lot of Potions.
The items themselves weren't the real problem.
The problem was the labor.
Every time Ash battled wild Pokémon, she and Brock had to help treat the injured ones afterward.
That was exhausting work.
"Hehe… there's still a little left. Enough for now," Ash said awkwardly.
He knew exactly what Misty's glare meant.
He quickly poured warm tea for both of them.
After lunch, Misty announced that she hadn't enjoyed a soft bed in days and went back to the inn to rest.
Brock said he would wander around town.
Ash planned to call Professor Oak.
He wanted to update him about recent events—and also show him the picture of that supposed "Shiny Fearow" along with the Shiny Gyarados.
Ash found a video call terminal and contacted Professor Oak.
"Hey, Ash! Pikachu! Long time no see!" Professor Oak greeted.
A few minutes later, Oak appeared on the screen—
Still cooking instant noodles over an alcohol lamp, as usual.
After some casual greetings, Ash transmitted the Pokédex data.
"Pfft—!"
Professor Oak nearly spat out his noodles.
"Ash… did you take this photo?" he asked, eyes wide.
"Where did you see this?"
"In the forest not far from Pallet Town," Ash replied.
The next moment—
A loud crash sounded from Oak's side.
It almost felt like the sound of his heart shattering.
"That hurts…" Oak said miserably.
"How did I miss that?!"
He quickly composed himself.
"Ash, you're incredibly lucky."
"That's a Legendary Pokémon. Very few people ever see one."
"Your Pokédex progress looks good too—Bulbasaur and Charmander already."
"Though you're still a little behind Gary."
Professor Oak was surprised, but compared to photographing a Legendary Pokémon, catching starters wasn't that shocking.
Starters were rare in the wild—
But still possible to encounter.
Then Oak saw another entry.
"Shiny… Gyarados…"
He immediately took back what he said earlier.
Gary hadn't even caught a single Shiny Pokémon.
Shiny Pokémon were extremely rare.
Not only did they look different, they often had excellent potential as well.
"Ash… don't tell me you caught it in that same forest," Oak said seriously.
His chopsticks trembled in his hands.
After Ash confirmed it—
Professor Oak fell silent.
It seemed his fishing rod was about to come out of retirement.
After a long pause, Oak recovered and spent some time teaching Ash additional Pokémon training knowledge.
Meanwhile — Team Rocket's Hideout
Team Rocket hid in a small room, plotting revenge.
"This is outrageous!" Jessie slammed the table.
"The reputation of Team Rocket has been ruined by those Squirtle!"
"We even had to ask our enemies for help. What humiliation!"
"We must capture those Squirtle—and the twerp's Pikachu too," James added.
Then they both paused.
The Squirtle Squad had numbers on their side.
They couldn't beat them.
Ash's Pikachu was too strong.
They couldn't beat that either.
Jessie and James looked at each other and sighed.
"Don't lose hope," Meowth said.
"I've got a plan."
Meowth explained his strategy.
"The twerp defeated one of the Squirtle, right?"
"Yeah! Pikachu is super strong!" James said excitedly.
Scratch!
Meowth slashed him with Fury Swipes.
"That's not the point!"
He crossed his arms seriously.
"The Squirtle Squad isn't the type to let that go. They'll definitely come for revenge."
"We'll hide in the shadows."
"When they fight the twerp and both sides are exhausted…"
"We'll show up with a machine designed to counter both Pikachu and Squirtle!"
"Hehehe…"
Meowth let out an eerie laugh.
"We'll capture all five Squirtle—and Pikachu too!"
"That's killing two birds with one stone!"
"If we recruit such powerful forces for Boss Giovanni, he'll be thrilled!"
"He'll promote us and reward us!"
"Promotion and a raise!" Jessie and James shouted.
"Becoming executives!"
"That won't just be a dream!"
"And I'll take the position of Persian!"
"Then I'll become Boss Giovanni's favorite cat! Meow!"
The trio fell into their fantasy of promotions and wealth.
The dim room echoed with their creepy laughter.
Meanwhile — The Squirtle Squad's Hideout
Three Squirtle wearing round sunglasses hurried back to their base.
They carried the injured Squirtle to their leader.
"Squirtle! Squirtle! Squirtle!"
(Boss! We missed you!!!)
"Squirtle…"
(Boss… we got bullied while you were gone!)
"Squirtle squirtle!"
(A Trainer with a red cap and a yellow mouse Pokémon beat us and broke our spinning technique!)
The three Squirtle explained everything in frantic turtle chatter.
They also used a Potion they had stored to treat their injured teammate.
Pikachu hadn't held back too much—the Squirtle would recover in a few hours.
"Squirtle!"
(What?! That happened?!)
The Squirtle leader, wearing uniquely styled sunglasses, raised his voice.
An outside Trainer had dared to injure one of his brothers.
"Squirtle!"
(Go investigate their situation first.)
(We're going to deal with this Trainer.)
The Squirtle leader adjusted his stylish sunglasses.
They had to teach that Trainer a lesson.
So he could witness the power of the Squirtle Squad.
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