Blue Water Town, Suburbs
The sun hung high in the sky, leaving everyone feeling wilted from the heat.
The Team Rocket trio lay sprawled ungracefully on the grass beneath a large tree, their stomachs growling in chorus.
"Dammit! This makes me so mad!" Jessie brandished her fist, her face twisted with rage. "As the prestigious Team Rocket, we've actually stooped to trimming lawns and cleaning warehouses for that stingy old lady just to earn this measly bit of lunch money!"
She clutched a few crumpled bills in her hand, feeling utterly humiliated.
"Oh well… there's nothing we can do about it, Jessie," James sighed, his handsome face drooping. "We've failed too many times lately. Forget bonuses—the Boss has even cut off our basic operating funds… If we don't find a way to make some money soon, we won't even be able to afford Pokémon food."
"Exactly, Meowth!" Meowth lay weakly on the ground, claws scratching at the turf. "It's all that brat from Pallet Town's fault! And his damn Pikachu!"
"Next time we see them, we'll definitely snatch that Pikachu and present it to the Boss! Then we'll get a huge bonus!"
"Right!" Jessie and James said in unison, their eyes burning with fighting spirit.
But soon, the sound of their growling stomachs extinguished that fire again.
"Alright, stop talking and let's eat first!!" James was starving.
Chomp chomp~
A clear sound of chewing drifted over.
Jessie paused and frowned. "Hey, Meowth! I haven't even started eating yet, and you're already sneaking bites!"
"Meowth?" Meowth looked up innocently, the corners of his mouth perfectly clean. "I haven't eaten yet, Meowth! My claws haven't even touched the food!"
"Huh?" James was also stunned. "Then that sound just now…"
The three of them realized something at the same time and snapped their heads around to look at another paper bag containing a slightly larger lunch, which they had placed on a nearby rock.
There on the rock, a circle of Squirtle had gathered at some point!
And they weren't ordinary Squirtle!
Each one wore a small pair of black sunglasses that covered most of its face, looking both comical and arrogant.
They were sitting in a row, clutching the rice balls and energy bars that originally belonged to Team Rocket, eating happily.
The "chomp chomp" sounds were coming from them.
The leader—a slightly larger Squirtle—even unscrewed a bottle of orange juice that belonged to Team Rocket, took a few swigs, and then let out a satisfied burp.
"Gah!!!"
Jessie's scream almost pierced the sky.
She sprang up, pointing a trembling finger at the sunglasses-wearing Squirtle, her hair nearly standing on end from anger. "You… you bunch of bald bastards! You've got a lot of nerve! How dare you steal food from Team Rocket!"
"Unforgivable! Simply unforgivable!" James also stood up and struck a battle pose.
"Meowth, get them!"
Meowth lunged forward with his claws…
Five minutes later.
On a thick branch of the tree, the two humans and one cat of Team Rocket were tied up tightly with sturdy vines, hanging there like three zongzi, swaying gently in the wind.
"Let us go! You stinking turtles!" Jessie struggled in vain.
"Help… Is anyone there…" James wanted to cry but had no tears.
"Meowth… To think Team Rocket has stooped to being bullied by a bunch of Squirtle… I'm too ashamed to face Boss Giovanni, Meowth…" Meowth felt like life wasn't worth living.
Below the tree, the group of sunglasses-wearing Squirtle had finished enjoying their "spoils of war."
The lead Squirtle patted its round belly, nodded in satisfaction, and then arrogantly waved its claw at the hanging Team Rocket trio—likely meaning "so long, suckers."
Then, they formed a somewhat messy line and strutted away with an arrogant swagger, clearly off to find their next target for a prank.
Leaving only the Team Rocket trio swaying in the wind on the tree, faces covered in tears…
Meanwhile, at the edge of the forest.
Yuuto, Delia, and Misty finally emerged from the dense forest, and their vision suddenly opened up.
Ahead, they could already see the neat rooftops and curling chimney smoke of Blue Water Town.
"Wow! We're finally out! It feels like we've been walking in the forest forever!" Misty cheered; her leg was completely healed now.
At this moment, she was full of vitality, like a bird out of a cage, skipping ahead with her light orange short hair flying in the sunlight.
"Misty, slow down, watch your step," Delia gently reminded her, her eyes filled with a bit of worry and maternal care.
She was discussing with Yuuto which supplies to restock in Blue Water Town, as well as the food formulas for Bulbasaur and Oddish.
"I know, Sister Delia… Ow!"
The cheerful response hadn't even finished before it turned into a cry of alarm.
This was immediately followed by a dull thud, and then silence.
"Huh?" Delia looked up and blinked in confusion. "Where's Misty? She was just here… Did she learn 'Teleport' or something?"
In Yuuto's Aura perception, there was a cleverly concealed trap pit under the road ahead, and Misty's life signature was currently at the bottom of that pit, a bit dazed but mostly filled with surging rage.
"She didn't teleport," Yuuto sighed, his tone a bit helpless. "She 'burrowed underground'."
"Eh?"
Before Delia could react, Yuuto had already stepped forward quickly.
On the originally flat dirt road, a large pit about a meter in diameter and nearly two meters deep had appeared. The opening was covered with thin twigs and grass leaves, disguised quite well.
At the bottom of the pit, Misty sat covered in dust, rubbing her sore bottom, her headband askew.
"Misty! Are you okay?" Delia cried out, hurriedly reaching down along with Yuuto.
Yuuto grabbed Misty's wrist and, with a little force combined with her own kick-off, easily pulled her up.
"Who! Who did this! How dare you ambush me!!!"
As soon as Misty stood firm, she immediately bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Her cheeks puffed out in anger, she stood with hands on her hips and shouted at the empty surrounding grassland, completely unaware that Yuuto was still holding her hand.
At that moment, his Aura once again picked up a clear sensation. Behind the bushes not far from the road, there were several small, active life forms, preparing to slip away with the smug joy of a successful prank.
"Pikachu! That bush over there—get ready for Thunderbolt!" Yuuto's eyes sharpened as he barked the command.
"Pika!"
Having traveled and fought alongside Yuuto, Pikachu's rapport with him was already extraordinary.
Almost the instant Yuuto spoke, it locked onto the direction, the electric sacs on its cheeks flashing with golden light!
Almost simultaneously with Pikachu charging up, a rapid stream of water also shot out from behind the bushes!
Its target was Misty, who had just climbed out of the pit and was still yelling.
The dazzling golden electric snake struck second but arrived first, violently colliding with the Water Gun!
Water conducts electricity!
The violent current instantly surged backward along the stream of water!
Squirtle!!!
A shrill scream came from behind the bushes, accompanied by a puff of black smoke.
Immediately after, a frantic rustling sound erupted. Four Squirtle wearing small sunglasses scrambled out from behind the bushes, carrying a comrade who was charred black, had its sunglasses askew, and was still smoking. They vanished into the woods on the other side with incredible speed, leaving behind only a mess and a faint smell of burning.
"Dammit! Squirtle!" Misty saw them clearly now. "You're the ones who dug these traps? Stop right there!"
As a Trainer aspiring to be a Water-type Pokémon Master, Misty had a natural affinity and desire to collect most Water-type Pokémon.
But there are always exceptions.
Squirtle was one of the top entries on her "exception list."
In her own words, these guys just looked sleazy!
They were sneaky all day long, pulling pranks everywhere, without a shred of the gentleness or spirit of a Water-type Pokémon!
When she was younger and helped her sisters count the Pokémon boarded at the Cerulean Gym, Squirtle were the most troublesome. They would disappear at the drop of a hat, hiding in pipes or at the bottom of the pool, making her search until she was drenched in sweat every time!
Of course, back then she just found them troublesome; it wasn't quite hatred.
What truly gave her a psychological shadow was Gyarados.
The childhood experience of being swallowed whole by a Gyarados had become a nightmare she still couldn't shake.
She had once sworn never to catch a Gyarados in her life, and she wouldn't even look at a Magikarp.
But fate can be ironic sometimes.
The Gyarados she hated and feared most would in the future become her most trusted and powerful ace.
That Gyarados of hers would even master fire abilities, with potential that could be called top-tier.
Of course, the young Misty now didn't know any of this yet.
She only knew that her feelings toward Squirtle had gone from "indifferent and slightly annoyed" to being slammed into a pit they dug and nearly ambushed by a Water Gun!
How could she stand for this?
She went straight from "indifferent" to "hater"!
Misty was so angry her hair was nearly standing on end. She took out a Poké Ball and was about to give chase. "Don't run! Let me teach you a lesson…"
"Wait, don't chase them!"
Just then, a mature, sophisticated female voice came from the other side of the road…
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