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"Why did you set a trap to harm us? This should be our first meeting, right?" Ash asked, frowning in confusion.
"Squirtle, Squirtle!" Humans are all bad!
As his words fell, the lead Squirtle, with his subordinates, quickly dashed out of Ash's sight.
Ash didn't chase after the Squirtle but looked towards the City in the distance.
"These Squirtle seem to really dislike humans, and judging by the way they set traps here, they might have been living in this place all along. Let's go into the City and find out more about the situation."
Upon hearing this, Misty and Brock looked at Ash with a hint of surprise. Facing their astonished gazes, Ash was a bit puzzled: "Why are you looking at me like that? Am I wrong?"
"What you said is very right... but that's precisely the problem. I didn't expect you, Ash, to think of a problem at this level. You were always so clueless before, except when it came to battles," Misty said, shrugging her shoulders with a matter-of-fact expression.
Although Ash always showed great agility during battles, he was quite dull in many everyday matters. However, it seems that even in daily life, Ash is making silent progress.
The two then bickered their way into the City and inquired with Jenny in the City.
As expected, this group of Squirtle indeed had a 'glorious' record in the vicinity.
This group of Squirtle had been abandoned by their Trainers. The Squirtle wearing unique sunglasses, as their leader, gathered other abandoned Squirtle together, and they eventually settled near this small City.
Because they were abandoned by human Trainers, they held great hostility towards humans, often forming groups to cause trouble in the City. Everyone in the small City felt miserable.
Ash, Misty, and Brock all looked at each other, and all three could see the astonished look in each other's eyes.
Another abandoned Pokémon! And it's one of the Royal Three Families!
What the heck? Are the Royal Three Families that worthless these days? You know, for a beginner, the Royal Three Families are almost the most top-tier and suitable Pokémon.
Whether it's in terms of species abilities, evolution, or training, they are the most suitable for newcomers. Even pseudo-legendary Pokémon might not be as good as the Royal Three Families for newcomers.
Although pseudo-legendary Pokémon become powerful when trained, they require a lot of effort, financial resources, and countless battle experiences to grow.
Pseudo-legendary Pokémon are more suitable for more experienced Trainers; for beginners, the Royal Three Families are still the best.
Yet, such a Royal Three Families, which might not even be exchanged for a pseudo-legendary, would actually be abandoned due to being disliked... How incredibly high are those people's standards!
Among them, Ash, who could discern the Squirtle's aptitudes, was endlessly complaining in his heart. If all those Squirtle had E-grade aptitudes, couldn't learn skills successfully, and leveled up very slowly... then abandoning them would be understandable, but still unforgivable.
But the aptitudes of that group of Squirtle were above average within their entire species. The lead Squirtle, in particular, knew many skills, and his aptitude even had four A's, which is considered top-tier talent within a species!
Under these circumstances, they were still abandoned. Are those Trainers out of their minds?
However, in this situation, the actions of those Squirtle are understandable. After all, the pain of being abandoned is beyond words.
"...Abandoned, which means they don't have Trainers now, right? Can I catch them?" Ash asked Jenny with a serious expression, clenching his fists.
"Of course, no problem, but the prerequisite is that you must gain their approval. If you catch them through battle, they might not listen to your commands later on," Jenny said, lightly tapping her fair chin with her finger, offering a suggestion.
"Don't worry, I'm best at this, right, Pikachu?"
"Pika Pika!"
If it were other Trainers, besides catching through battle, they probably wouldn't know how to catch Pokémon. But for Ash, out of his six Pokémon, four were not caught through Pokémon battles.
Pikachu showed him convincing strength in a human form, Ralts recognized him as soon as he hatched from the Pokémon egg, Bulbasaur was persuaded by him, and Charmander was moved by his actions and ultimately chose to follow him.
Only Caterpie and Pidgeotto were caught through battles.
So, when it comes to influencing Pokémon, he's quite experienced.
Ash and his two companions first replenished their ingredients and some essential items in the City, then borrowed the City's kitchen to make some Pokémon food.
This was Pokémon food that he and Brock made together, suitable for the tastes of most Squirtle.
As long as the tastes of those Squirtle weren't too peculiar, this food would definitely suit their preferences.
As the saying goes, to conquer a Pokémon's heart, you must first conquer its stomach. First, use food to build a good relationship with them, then appeal to their emotions and reason, slowly dissolve their guard, and finally complete the capture!
The formula for victory has been set. Next, they just need to find the Squirtle.
After Ash and his companions had everything ready, it was already approaching evening. It would be very difficult to find a few Pokémon in the dark, but that was for ordinary people.
Ash possessed Aura. When he first encountered the Squirtle, their Aura had already been imprinted in his mind. As long as they were within a fifty-mile radius, they couldn't escape his detection.
As his Aura unfolded, everything around him was reflected in Ash's mind. A few seconds later, Ash opened his eyes and said with a drastic change in expression, "Hurry, the Squirtle have been found by Team Rockets!"
"Huh? Team Rockets?"
"Those guys are here again?"
Ash didn't have time to explain much to Misty and Brock. He dashed out of the City restaurant in one swift movement, with Misty and Brock following closely behind.
With Pikachu and Ralts on Ash's shoulders, Misty and Brock had to exert all their strength to keep up with Ash.
In a moment, Ash arrived at the location detected by his Aura.
This was a grassy area outside the City, where the Squirtle squad was confronting Team Rockets, who were operating a giant robot.
Three of the Squirtle's subordinates appeared to have sustained significant injuries. The lead Squirtle stood in front of his subordinates. His eyes were obscured by his sunglasses, but from his facial expression, he seemed extremely angry at the moment.
"You stinky turtles, how dare you set traps to harm us! Today, we're going to catch you and take you back to boss as lucky turtles!" Jessie's angry shouts came from inside the robot.
This shout also explained why they had confronted the Squirtle squad.
Not everyone has the good temper of Ash and his companions, let alone the Team Rocket Trio, who are known for seeking revenge.
The giant robot controlled by the Team Rocket Trio brought its claw down towards the Squirtle squad. The Squirtle leader spat out a Water Gun, but it had no effect on the giant mechanical hand.
In front of the giant robot, the Squirtle looked like an ant.
Seeing this, the Squirtle leader already felt a bit despairing. Although he knew that if they continued to cause trouble like this, they would eventually encounter someone they couldn't afford to offend.
But for the mental well-being of his subordinates, and to vent the anger bottled up inside, he still led his subordinates to do it.
Everything they were encountering now could only be described as their retribution.
As for calling for help... who would save troublesome, mischievous, and annoying guys like them?
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!!"
"Pika—chu Pika!!" Pikachu leaped from Ash's shoulder, his tail shining with a metallic luster.
This was a move Pikachu had just learned recently, Iron Tail!
Now was a good time to test it on Team Rockets' robot and see which one was harder!
"Bang!!"
Iron Tail and the robot's palm collided, producing a huge roar. The robot's palm was instantly sent flying by Iron Tail, and a clear indentation, carved by Iron Tail, could still be seen in the palm.
"Are you all right?" Ash asked with a hint of worry as he approached the Squirtle squad.
The Squirtle leader looked at Ash, his entire body seemingly frozen, not moving an inch.
He had seen this person before; wasn't this the target of his prank this morning? Why was he here? Was he here to help him?
Ash saw that the Squirtle didn't respond and thought they might have been hurt or startled by Team Rockets. So, he glared angrily at Team Rockets and said, "You guys, I let you off the hook a few days ago, and now you're back again. You're not done, are you!!"
"You little brat, don't make false accusations! We weren't looking for you today!!" A hatch opened in the middle of the robot, and Jessie stepped out of the robot's exit, shouting loudly.
"Exactly, exactly! We're the victims today! Why don't you ask what these Squirtle did to us!" James also shouted indignantly from the side.
"We have a legitimate reason this time, Meowth! Hurry up and move aside, or we'll take your Pikachu too, Meowth!" Meowth controlled the robot's arms, waving them as he warned Ash.
Ash looked at the Squirtle, then at Team Rockets, and finally he still chose to stand in front of the Squirtle: "Your so-called victimhood is nothing more than stepping into the traps set by the Squirtle. They couldn't have done anything more to harm you. At most, it was just a prank. I apologize to you on their behalf."
"If apologies worked, what would we need the police for!"
"Stop wasting so much time talking to the brat, just grab Pikachu too!" Jessie said, jumping back into the robot. The door in the middle of the robot closed, and the giant robot once again attacked Ash and the others.
"It's alright, Squirtle. We'll protect you... Misty, Brock, I'm counting on you with the Squirtle!"
"Don't worry."
"Leave it to us."
Misty and Brock went to the injured Squirtle, releasing their Pokémon, Starmie and Graveler, to shield them.
Ash then looked at the Squirtle leader behind him, his eyes filled with deep meaning: "Squirtle, I know you were abandoned by other Trainers and have a strong opinion of humans, but not everyone is a heartless person. Let's work together; let's protect your subordinates together!"
"...Squirtle, Squirtle!!" With Ash's encouragement and his recent actions, the Squirtle, after a second's pause, quickly nodded towards Ash, signifying that he was beginning to accept humans again.
"Very good, Squirtle, use Water Gun! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!!"
"Squirtle, Squirtle!" Squirtle jumped in front of Ash, then spewed a half-fist-sized stream of water. For a robot nearly ten meters tall, this level of attack was like a mere tickle.
But if you add Pikachu's Thunder Shock, it's different!
"Pika—chu!!" Golden electricity surged from Pikachu's body and intertwined with the water stream emitted by Squirtle in the air.
Water Gun combined with Thunderbolt formed a Hydro-Electric Cannon!
This move possessed greater power and penetration than a normal Water Gun and could only be formed with precise and skillful coordination of electricity and water flow.
However, even in their first collaboration, Pikachu and Squirtle showed extraordinary synergy.
The Team Rocket Trio controlled the robot, clenching its fist and unleashing a punch. A whistling wind sound emanated from the air; this punch was as heavy as a thousand pounds!
"Sizzle!!"
The Hydro-Electric Cannon collided with the mechanical fist, momentarily creating a stalemate in the air. But in just a few short seconds, the combined attack launched by Pikachu and Squirtle directly pierced through the giant robot's fist!
The Hydro-Electric Cannon continued its penetration, making a clean hole through the robot's entire arm!
The Team Rocket Trio inside the robot almost had their eyes pop out. How the hell did this happen? Their robot wasn't made of paper!
Even with Pikachu and that turtle, it shouldn't be possible to directly disable one of their arms!
"It's that brat's doing, Meowth!" Meowth was the first to notice something was wrong.
Behind Pikachu and Squirtle, Ash also raised his hand, a faint blue light emanating from it.
Although they didn't know what Ash did, Ash's touch was definitely in that attack just now. Otherwise, how could a situation that was evenly matched a few seconds ago suddenly turn into their robot arm being overwhelmingly shattered in the blink of an eye?!
"This is your strength, Squirtle! Don't doubt yourself just because you were abandoned by a Trainer. Your potential far surpasses all other Squirtle. For your subordinates, defeat them completely! Use Skull Bash!"
Ash passionately chanted behind Squirtle. Faced with a Pokémon who was belittled and abandoned by a Trainer, leading to self-doubt about their abilities, all that's needed is to instill immense confidence in them.
It doesn't matter if he cheated for Squirtle or not; as long as Squirtle didn't notice, it was the power they unleashed together with Pikachu.
Their previous weakness was simply due to not having a good teammate to cooperate with; in reality, he was very strong—Ash wanted to give Squirtle this kind of confidence, paving the way for his future.
"Squirtle, Squirtle!" Squirtle also couldn't believe this was an attack he could unleash, but with Ash's chicken soup encouragement, he still mustered his spirit, his eyes under the sunglasses becoming sharp. Immediately after, his short legs kicked out forcefully!
His rounded head aimed at Team Rockets' cockpit, and his entire body shot out like a rocket—Skull Bash!
Behind Squirtle, Ash focused his Aura onto his fingertips, where a small, marble-sized blue energy sphere appeared.
'Super-Mini Aura Sphere.'
"Sizzle!"
The barely noticeable Aura Sphere, along with Squirtle's Skull Bash, fiercely struck Team Rockets' cockpit. In an instant, the seemingly impenetrable cockpit shield was directly pierced with a large hole!
The Team Rocket Trio inside quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding being hit by Squirtle's Skull Bash and Ash's Super-Mini Aura Sphere.
But with the Super-Mini Aura Sphere breaking through the defense and Skull Bash breaking through the wall, a massive hole appeared in the center of the robot. Faint currents of electricity flickered in the air at the hole, as if it could explode at any moment...