On an open clearing at the edge of town.
Ash and the Squirtle Squad had already taken their stances.
The Squirtle that had previously been knocked out had now fully recovered, looking lively again.
Five Squirtle wearing black sunglasses simultaneously puffed out their bellies, propped up their heads, and stared Ash down without yielding an inch in spirit.
"Squirtle, squirtle!"
The leader Squirtle barked orders in incomprehensible turtle language.
Roughly translated, it meant:
Do you want to fight me one-on-one, or do you want the five of us to fight you alone?
"Squirtle! For the sake of petting your shiny head—no, for the sake of letting you feel human warmth again—
I'm definitely going to catch you all!"
Ash stepped forward, clenched his fist, and pointed dramatically.
"This time, no slacking, Pikachu!"
"Pika!"
Pikachu took a deep breath, lowered its center of gravity, and waddled forward with heavy, deliberate steps.
Swaying side to side, it somehow carried the dignified aura of an admiral who didn't need to hurry.
On the other side, the Squirtle leader pointed a claw, and one of the underlings—a Squirtle with round sunglasses—stepped forward obediently.
"Pika!"
"Squirtle!"
The mouse and turtle approached each other until Pikachu's belly pressed directly against Squirtle's shell.
THUD!
Pikachu suddenly thrust its belly forward—
—and sent the round-glasses Squirtle flying backward, flipping onto its shell.
Due to the natural racial disadvantage of turtle Pokémon, it lay belly-up, limbs flailing helplessly in the air, completely unable to right itself.
The ultimate turtle dilemma.
"Nice one, Pikachu!"
Ash was ecstatic.
When it came to mass and body density at equal size, Pikachu absolutely refused to lose!
The Squirtle leader frowned and pointed again.
Three more Squirtle puffed out their bellies and charged forward—
—and were promptly belly-checked one by one, all flipping onto their backs and entering the same turtle-exclusive existential crisis.
"Squirtle…"
"Squirtle…"
Four Squirtle flailed helplessly on the ground, their movements oddly endearing.
Finally, the leader Squirtle—with sharp-edged sunglasses—couldn't take it anymore.
It stomped forward heavily, braced its shell and belly, and shoved back with full force.
"Pikachu, don't lose to it!"
Pikachu propped itself up on its hind legs, puffed out its round yellow belly, and lunged forward.
"Pika!"
"Squirtle!"
Neither side backed down!
At that exact moment, Ash shouted:
"Pikachu—Thunderbolt, now!"
"Squirtle?!"
The leader Squirtle's eyes widened as it turned to look at Ash in disbelief.
Wasn't this supposed to be a pure belly-bumping contest?!
ZZZAAAP—BOOM!!
At point-blank range, Squirtle had no time to react.
Golden lightning erupted instantly, flooding over its body and cooking it inside and out.
"Squirtle…"
When the light faded, the leader Squirtle lay on its back, eyes spinning—completely unable to battle.
It was super effective.
"Now's my chance—Poké Ball!"
Ash grabbed five Poké Balls at once and threw them in rapid succession.
In moments, the knocked-out leader Squirtle—along with the four underlings still trapped in the turtle's ultimate dilemma—were all absorbed into red light.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Before long, all five Poké Balls stopped shaking.
This was a perfectly legitimate battle.
Who ever said this was just belly-bumping?
Ash solemnly collected the five Poké Balls.
With Bulbasaur and Squirtle both secured—
millennium turtle, ten-thousand-year turtle, fully assembled—
Ash was in an exceptionally good mood.
"Hopefully tomorrow I'll run into a hundred-year-old Charmander…"
Back at the Pokémon Center.
Ash released the leader Squirtle and instinctively reached out to pat its shiny bald head.
"Squirtle—CHOMP!"
Squirtle snapped its jaws viciously.
If Ash's reflexes weren't maxed out, his arm might've been bitten clean off.
"Careful," Brock warned.
"That one's wearing sunglasses—its Bite hits a lot harder."
Sunglasses boosting Dark-type Bite was common knowledge.
"Squirtle! Squirtle!"
The Squirtle was clearly furious about being caught through non-honorable methods.
Extremely turtle-rage-inducing.
"Squirtle, let's talk this out."
Ash had no intention of fighting further and smoothly transitioned into talk-no-jutsu mode.
"If your underlings keep this up, they'll definitely get rounded up and locked in a Pokémon detention facility."
"And you know what prisons like best—fresh, tender rookie Pokémon."
Ash spoke with absolute seriousness.
Brock & Misty: "..."
"And if you come with me," Ash continued,
"I'll help find proper Trainers for your crew."
"One capture, two placements, three-way win."
"You profit massively."
Even Squirtle lowered its head, deep in thought.
"Squirtle…"
It sat on the chair, little legs dangling above the floor.
Truthfully, all those pranks were just a way to get attention.
As the leader, it wanted a real future for its team.
"Squirtle…"
It hesitated.
What a massive headache—for a turtle.
After some discussion, Squirtle agreed to join Ash.
Using the Pokémon Center's transfer system, Ash sent three of the Squirtle to Professor Oak's Laboratory, instructing him to help find them suitable Trainers.
After all, Trainers from Pallet Town were all good people.
On screen, Professor Oak—who had just gained three starter Pokémon for free—asked:
"Ash, you should be close to Vermilion City by now, right?"
"Almost there!"
With another powerful teammate added, Ash was clearly cheerful.
"The map says once we cross that mountain, then the sea, then walk about ten more kilometers—we'll reach Vermilion City. Super close."
Professor Oak: "..."
"Anyway, hurry up," Oak urged.
"The Cerise Laboratory is about to officially open."
"If something strange really is happening there, it needs to be dealt with early."
Unlike Oak's rural lab, Cerise's facility was in a major city with constant foot traffic.
That made things much more dangerous.
"Oh, and if you resolve it," Oak added,
"Professor Cerise said he can give you a few S.S. Anne luxury tickets."
"They're expensive."
"S.S. Anne?" Ash asked blankly.
"That's the top-tier cruise ship!"
Misty explained excitedly.
She had caught the keyword: multiple tickets.
Meaning if they worked hard—
She and Brock could also live the high life!
Worth noting: Misty had also taken in one of the Squirtle.
As a woman of Blue Spirit, no one was more suitable for Squirtle than her.
Soon, the trio set off once more toward Vermilion City.
Before long, following the map, they reached a barren mountainside.
Past this mountain—and across the sea beyond it—was Vermilion City.
Not far at all.
Halfway through, on a rocky ledge, they spotted a wild Pokémon.
Dark red skin.
Sharp claws.
A tail burning with steady flame.
Eyes full of spirit.
Charmander.
"Incredible luck!"
Ash exclaimed, eyes shining.
"I'm starting to wonder if I'm actually the protagonist of this world!"
In less than three days, he'd encountered all three Kanto starters.
"Beep. Charmander.
Charmander Pokémon.
'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never bully the poor youth.'"
The Pokédex announced.
"Xiao… Yan?"
All three stared at each other, completely confused.
What a weird classification.
As Ash was about to send out Pidgeotto to weaken Charmander, Brock stopped him.
"Ash—look at its tail."
"The tail?"
Ash paused and looked again.
The flame was small—barely flickering.
Charmander's stamina was clearly far from full.
It was even panting while lying on the ledge, utterly exhausted.
Did this mean it was already capturable?
"Go! Poké Ball!"
Ash hurled a Poké Ball without hesitation.
WHAM—!
Despite its exhaustion, Charmander leapt up and swatted the Poké Ball away with its tail.
But the returning Poké Ball drifted weakly back—
Charmander barely had any strength left.
Ash froze.
What… was the right move here?
After thinking for a long time, he finally sent Pikachu forward.
"Pikachu, you're good with words."
"Go talk to it."
"Pika?"
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