Chapter 25: The Ten-Thousand-Year Turtle

In a wooden cabin deep within the jungle, a young girl wearing a yellow straw hat was tending to the wild Pokémon around her.

Beside her, a Rattata was dozing off.

"Huh, Oddish, why are you injured?"

The girl picked up the suddenly appearing Oddish and began treating its wounds.

*Rustle!*

The Oddish's leaves fluttered, as if it were trying to communicate something.

"Oh? Was Bulbasaur captured by a trainer?"

The girl shook her head; she seemed able to understand the words of Pokémon.

However, instead of feeling any sense of loss, she actually broke into a smile.

Her palm gently rubbed the Oddish's slender green leaves.

"It should have left long ago; it shouldn't have stayed here forever."

Most of the Pokémon here were just loafers living leisurely lives.

But that Bulbasaur clearly possessed a desire to grow stronger through battle; the outside world was where it truly belonged.

Yet, to protect these weak Pokémon, it had never chosen to venture out.

She gently set the Oddish down and looked around at the surrounding wild Pokémon.

"I should be like Bulbasaur. I should go out and see the world too."

With that, the girl put her yellow straw hat back on, packed her luggage, and set off in a certain direction, taking only her Rattata with her.

Behind her, a group of wild Pokémon called out in reluctant farewell.

***

Having gained the powerful combat strength of Bulbasaur, Ash and his group were still making their way toward Viridian City.

Suddenly, Brock said with a look of joy

"There's a town ahead. Let's go restock our supplies!"

He was single-handedly responsible for the three meals a day, as well as the occasional afternoon tea and midnight snack, for three people and a pile of Pokémon. Even his four-dimensional backpack was reaching its limit.

To put it simply: they were running low on supplies.

The three quickly quickened their pace.

*Rumble!*

However, as they reached a certain spot, they suddenly felt the ground give way beneath them, and the earth began to vibrate out of nowhere.

The trio: "?"

*Whoosh!!*

Before Ash and the others could react, a large hole opened up beneath their feet, and the three, along with Pikachu, tumbled into it.

Dust swirled instantly. Falling from a height of nearly ten meters, they were all left dizzy and disoriented.

"What the heck!" Misty complained.

"Is it Team Rocket again?" Ash also grumbled.

Yet, in his heart, a strange sense of secret joy welled up.

They had clearly stated they wanted to catch his Pikachu, yet they hadn't shown up for so many days. Wasn't that breaking a promise?

While there was no way he was actually going to let them catch him...

At least he had to make it look like his Pikachu was popular and precious!

However, to his surprise, the heads that suddenly poked out from above were not those of Team Rocket.

"Ah, bald...?"

The three looked up toward the mouth of the hole, only to see five heads suddenly appearing—all of them completely bald.

Under the sunlight, they were somewhat shiny and reflective.

They were even wearing black sunglasses, looking like a professional team.

"Beep beep. Squirtle, the silly Pokémon, one of the starter trio, the blue bald one, likes to use Water Gun."

The Pokédex at his waist automatically reported.

"Squirtle, squirtle..."

"Squirtle, squirtle..."

Seeing the three fall into their trap, the five Squirtles at the mouth of the hole burst into laughter, whispering among themselves with rather arrogant expressions.

"Damn it, was it you guys?!"

Ash's blood boiled. He stowed his Pokédex, stood up, and used Brock's back as a stepping stone, exerting sudden force.

*Thud! Thud!*

He even performed two "Newtonian kicks" against the surrounding rock walls.

Using the reaction force, he actually managed to grab the edge of the hole above with one hand.

*Clatter!*

With one final heave, Ash successfully pulled himself out of the hole.

"Squirtle!?"

"Squirtle?!"

The five Squirtles couldn't help but take half a step back in surprise.

They had played this prank on countless passersby, yet no human had ever escaped so easily.

They were startled by this human's movements!

"Squirtles, huh? Another starter Pokémon..."

Ash's expression shifted even more.

Are starters just everywhere now? You can just run into them in the wild?

Seeing this, Ash made a grand gesture and shouted

"Don't slack off, Pikachu! I choose you!"

Regardless of whether it was a prank, he wanted to catch a Squirtle.

They looked quite silly; it made him really want to rub one of those bald Squirtle heads.

"Pika!"

Pikachu kicked off the ground and landed between Ash and the five Squirtles.

Today, it was full of energy!

Slacking off was a necessity, but one couldn't let others see you slacking.

Being called out so brazenly by Ash just now proved that Pikachu's training was still far from sufficient.

Today, it had to fight seriously!

Thus, Ash made a simple and crude command.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt directly!"

The Electric type counters the Water type; today, he was a sure winner!

"Pika, CHUUUU!!!"

Thunderbolt exploded from Pikachu's cheeks, transforming into a twisting golden serpent of electricity that shot out abruptly!

"Squirtle, squirtle..."

"Squirtle, squirtle..."

As the golden light surged toward them, the five sunglasses-wearing Squirtles immediately fell into a panic.

"Squirtle!!"

However, one Squirtle wearing distinctive, sharp-framed sunglasses reacted first.

It unleashed a High-Speed Water Gun at Pikachu, drenching the mouse in water.

"Pika...!"

Being hit in the face caused Pikachu's Thunderbolt to lose its aim. The current, which originally could have enveloped all five Squirtles, now only struck one of them.

"Squirtle, squirtle..."

However, the power of Thunderbolt was still formidable. With a single hit, the round-eyed, sunglasses-wearing Squirtle was charred black and instantly lost its ability to fight.

Ash wasn't annoyed: "Then let's do it again! Use Thunderbolt!!"

The fierce electric serpent surged again. This time, the four Squirtles were on guard and sprayed Water Guns in unison.

But this time, the blue water columns did not confront the Thunderbolt head-on.

*Splurt!!*

*Splurt!!*

Instead, they bypassed Pikachu and shot toward Ash and the mouth of the hole, instantly soaking that patch of ground along with the trainer.

*Zzzzt!!*

Since Pikachu was also standing on this moistened patch of land, the Thunderbolt suddenly diverted its course, rushing toward Ash and his group.

Water conducts electricity.

*Crackle, pop!*

Ash and the two others in the hole were immediately given a massive electric shock.

Brock and Misty didn't even know what had happened; they were hit by both water and lightning paralysis.

"Pika...?"

Realizing something was wrong, Pikachu quickly stopped the current and turned to look at its trainer with an embarrassed expression.

Today, it really had wanted to fight properly!

"Squirtle! Squirtle! Squirtle!"

At that moment, the four Squirtles quickly hoisted the incapacitated Squirtle onto their shoulders and chose a tactical retreat.

As they ran, they continued to sway and shout.

They were a professional team.

***

Not long after, Ash, Brock, and Misty arrived at the nearby town, feeling sore and numb all over.

It was only upon reaching the town that they learned that "professional team" was actually a group of habitual offenders.

They frequently played pranks on passersby around the town.

While they didn't cause any great danger, they had earned the dislike of many townspeople.

"They are Pokémon abandoned by trainers. Perhaps that is why they are so rebellious," the local Officer Jenny explained to them.

If they continued to cause trouble, she said, they might have to take forceful measures.

"Abandoned?"

Ash looked puzzled. He couldn't understand how anyone could bear to abandon their own Pokémon.

Before he became a trainer, he had dreamed of owning a Pokémon.

It was a feeling of extreme longing, which made the word "abandoned" feel very foreign to him.

"Not all trainers are as passionate as you, Ash," Brock sighed, patting his shoulder and explaining helplessly.

"Especially many trainers who use 'strength' as their only standard. When their Pokémon reach their psychological limit, they will abandon them without mercy."

There were even many trainers who would hatch a large clutch of eggs just to pick out the highest-quality individuals.

As for the remaining eggs, once they hatched, they were simply abandoned in the forest, their survival left to fate.

Under Pokémon law, directly abandoning a Pokémon egg is illegal and punishable by arrest.

But a newborn that had just hatched could be discarded.

It was a loophole in the law.

"I don't accept that behavior. There are no weak Pokémon, only trashy trainers."

Ash clenched his fists, his expression darkening.

"If I see those trainers who abandon Pokémon, I'm going to punch them right in the face."

Even Brock, who always opposed violence, couldn't find any fault in his sentiment.

Both emotion and reason are valid paths, but the emotional path Ash chose was undoubtedly one Brock could empathize with.

Now that he understood the situation, Ash's previous annoyance with the Squirtles completely vanished.

With a determined gaze, Ash turned to Officer Jenny and made a request

"Officer Jenny, leave those five Squirtles to me! I'm going to catch them!"

Since it was humans who had disappointed them, he would be the one to make the Squirtles feel warmth again!

*(Slap)*

(End of Chapter)