Chapter 10: Subduing Squirtle

Chapter 10: Subduing Squirtle

Off the coast of Cerulean City, a fishing boat was slowly sailing across the sea.

With the sea breeze brushing against his face, Xia You and his three Pokémon leaned against the deck, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

The warm sunlight spilled over them, making them feel so cozy that they didn't want to move at all.

Of course...

If it weren't for the pungent fishy smell constantly wafting from the boat, this trip might have been even more relaxing and pleasant.

But there was no helping it; that’s just how life goes sometimes!

After more than an hour of sailing, the fishing boat finally stopped at the edge of a small island.

The weather-beaten captain walked out of the cabin and shouted to Xia You on the deck from a distance.

"Hey kid, the place you're looking for is right here. You can get off now. We need to continue heading south into the deep sea, and when we come back tonight, we'll pick you up here. For now... good luck!"

"Thank you for the trouble."

After expressing his gratitude, Xia You and his Pokémon jumped off the fishing boat.

Once he watched the boat sail away, he turned to examine the island.

In terms of shape, the island was surrounded by trees and lush with greenery. In the center of the island stood a solitary mountain, with shrubs growing in an orderly fashion across it. From a distance, it looked just like the shell of a giant turtle.

As for why he was here...

It was the Island of Blastoise. It is said that this island does not exist on any map; only the Pokémon living there and the most experienced fishermen know its exact location.

And just as the name suggests, this island is home to a Blastoise, along with a large group of its unevolved forms—Wartortle and Squirtle.

That’s right, he had come here specifically to capture the Pokémon living on this island!

Being able to find this place was the result of Xia You searching the docks for a long time and asking many people before someone finally agreed to take him out to sea to find it.

However, his target was not that Blastoise.

Crossing the beach and entering the forest, Xia You soon saw a group of Squirtle and Wartortle playing.

He saw the group of Pokémon gathered there, looking carefree and completely at ease.

It really is the Island of Blastoise; their presence is everywhere...

He took out his phone and snapped a few photos of the surroundings. He wanted to send them to Professor Cerise, but seeing that there was no signal here, he had to give up for the time being.

Forget it, I'll do it later.

Walking closer to the group of Pokémon, Xia You observed them for a moment before slowly approaching and finally standing before them.

These Squirtle and Wartortle were startled by the sudden appearance of a human, but instead of fleeing, they stood their ground and looked at him with curiosity.

It was clear that despite being far from the mainland, these Pokémon were not afraid of humans.

They were even curiously sizing him up!

"Hello there." Xia You greeted them with a friendly smile and added, "As you can see, I am a Trainer. I am currently searching for companions and plan to grow stronger along the way to challenge the League. Is there anyone here who wants to leave this place and travel with me?"

In this magical world, almost all Pokémon can understand human language to some extent, which allowed Xia You's words to reach the ears of these Pokémon accurately.

Conversely, however, as a human, he could not understand their language.

On the other side, after hearing Xia You's words, the Squirtle and Wartortle looked at each other, but there was no reaction.

It wasn't until a few seconds later that one Squirtle, perhaps out of mischief or curiosity about Xia You, walked a few steps toward him.

"Squirtle, Squirtle!"

"You've got guts." Xia You laughed as he looked at the Squirtle. "Since you're interested, let's have a battle. If I win, you'll be my partner!"

Perhaps sensing that a battle was about to take place, or simply picking up on the atmosphere, its companions consciously cleared a space.

Yet, no one stepped forward to stop it.

It was as if they were no longer surprised by such a scene.

Xia You also brought his own Pokémon to stand directly opposite the Squirtle.

However, before starting, he took out his Pokédex and aimed it at the standing blue Pokémon to learn more about it.

The Pokédex immediately provided feedback.

"Beep. Squirtle, Water-type, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. It excels at Water-type attacks and uses its hard shell to protect itself. When it encounters an enemy, it can unleash a powerful Water Gun attack."

Very good, just as he remembered.

He did this not only to understand these Pokémon but also to verify if they were exactly as he knew them to be.

Now it seemed that nothing had changed.

Xia You looked down at his feet and waved to Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur, this battle is up to you!"

"Bulba, Bulbasaur!"

Hearing his command, Bulbasaur walked forward a few steps and stood before the Squirtle.

The two Pokémon looked at each other from a distance; no words were needed, as the fighting spirit was already slowly emerging in their eyes.

Seeing that both Pokémon were ready, Xia You decisively issued his command.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"

Following his instruction, two vines flew out from the bulb on Bulbasaur's back, lashing toward the Squirtle.

However, facing such an attack, the Squirtle remained calm. Just as the vines were about to strike, it suddenly retracted its head and limbs into its shell.

*Thwack, thwack.*

Despite being a Grass-type move, the Squirtle withstood the attack thanks to its sturdy shell; the only side effect was that the shell vibrated a few times.

One has to admit, Withdraw has always been the greatest asset of turtle-type Pokémon!

As it emerged from its shell, a Water Gun shot from the Squirtle's mouth, aimed straight at Bulbasaur.

But just like the Vine Whip against the Squirtle, this Water Gun was too easy to predict!

"Bulbasaur, dodge!"

Xia You ordered in time, but unfortunately, as Bulbasaur dodged, the Squirtle suddenly shifted its aim. The stream of water followed its mouth, chasing Bulbasaur. Even though Bulbasaur dodged at full speed, half of its body was still splashed by the moving water jet.

There was no helping it; Bulbasaur didn't have the speed advantage!

But this also showed that this Squirtle knew how to fight well!

"Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed!"

A seed shot out from the bulb.

However, just as it reached the Squirtle, it spat out a large number of bubbles, which actually neutralized the seed!

Seeing this, Xia You couldn't help but praise it: "For a wild Pokémon, you're quite skilled!"

"Squirtle, Squirtle!"

Facing the human's praise, the Squirtle actually puffed out its chest proudly!

Combined with its comical round head, it looked quite amusing.

Shaking his head, Xia You pointed his finger, becoming a bit more serious.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip again!"

Two vines lashed toward the Squirtle once more. Just like before, the Squirtle used Withdraw, pulling its entire body inside.

However, Xia You's attack didn't end there. Under his command, the vines didn't retract this time; instead, they wrapped tightly around the Squirtle's shell, circle after circle.

"Squirtle!?"

The Squirtle was shocked and tried to poke its head out, but the openings of the shell were completely sealed. It struggled for a long time but remained unable to move.

"This is what we call 'trapped in one's own web'," Xia You smiled slightly and then instructed Bulbasaur, "Now, lift it up and let it taste the feeling of a giant pendulum!"

Following Xia You's words, Bulbasaur used its vines to lift the Squirtle high into the air and slammed it heavily onto the ground. Then came the second time, the third time...

Even though the Squirtle was protected by its shell, under such repeated slamming...

After five or six times, when there was no reaction from inside the shell, Xia You waved his hand, and Bulbasaur released the vines.

At that moment, the shell rolled onto the sand with a thud.

Seeing that the shell was quiet and motionless, Xia You took out a Poké Ball and threw it.

The Poké Ball traced a perfect arc in the air and landed above the Squirtle.

As the Poké Ball opened, a red light shot out, enveloping the Squirtle and pulling it inside.

*Click.*

The Poké Ball landed on the sand.

Perhaps it had been knocked unconscious, causing the Squirtle to lose all ability to resist. Even after being pulled into the ball, the Poké Ball didn't even wobble once!

*Ping.*

As the button on the front clicked shut, it meant that the Squirtle had been successfully captured.

Very good, the fourth Pokémon was in the bag!

However, before Xia You could celebrate, he suddenly heard a massive roar in the distance, and the ground began to tremble.

Judging by the sound, it seemed that some powerful Pokémon was rushing toward them.

Xia You raised an eyebrow.

It seems the battle just now had completely alerted the Blastoise on the island.

Presumably, it wouldn't be very happy about a human entering its territory.

But that didn't matter; he had already achieved his goal!

Only...

Xia You checked the time.

Only half an hour had passed since he arrived on the island.

It seemed that if he didn't want to fight that Blastoise before the fishing boat came to pick him up, he would have to find a place to hide for a while.

Well, that's fine; it'll help pass the time.

Thinking of this, he picked up the Poké Ball and smiled at his three Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur, return. Let's get out of here; it's time to play hide-and-seek with that big guy!"

...

As the sun and moon rotated.

When Xia You left the sea and stepped onto land again, he was already standing on the streets of Cerulean City.

After a night of rest and reorganization at the Pokémon Center, Xia You, with his four Pokémon, set off on his journey to Pewter City once more.

In his spare time, he sent all the photos he had taken on the Island of Blastoise to Professor Cerise.

As a special research fellow for the Cerise Laboratory, landing on the Island of Blastoise and capturing its ecosystem was a perfect fulfillment of his duties.

Of course, he didn't have to do it, but looking back on the journey and taking photos served as a way to add to his memories—it was just something he did along the way.

He walked along the wide street toward the outskirts of the city.

However, just as Xia You was about to leave Cerulean City, a man with green hair, carrying a backpack, and looking about the same age as Xia You, suddenly blocked his path.

"Hey, you in front, please wait a moment. Would you like to accept my challenge?!"