Ms. Joey helped Charmander clean the silt off his body and then helped him regain his strength. About half an hour later, Charmander had recovered his vitality.
Ash recalled Charmander and said goodbye to Ms. Joey. Then the three left the Pokémon Center together and continued on their journey.
The group was headed to Vermilion City. To get there, they first had to pass through the Route 24, and it was still a long way to go.
However, with both Ivysaur and Charmander caught, the mood was high.
"We've encountered so many things along the way! But it's pretty fun. I never knew traveling could be this interesting," Misty said with a smile, walking ahead of Ash and Brock. She looked back at them, stepping backward in her good mood.
"That's the joy of traveling! You never know what will happen or what kind of Pokémon you'll meet," Brock agreed. If he hadn't left Pewter City and followed Ash, he might never have had the chance to experience these things. He was grateful it had strengthened his dreams while in his hometown.
"I'm just saying, don't get too excited, alright? If you fall, it's going to hurt!" Ash warned Misty, who was still walking backward.
"Hmph! I'm Misty, a beautiful genius girl. There's no way I'd be that careless. Ahh!!!"
Boom!
As she was talking, Misty stepped backward onto nothing but air. There was a sudden rumbling sound, and she panicked, waving her arms as she fell uncontrollably.
"Hey!!"
Seeing this, Ash instinctively reached out and grabbed her hand. As Misty fell, Ash caught her, quickly planted his feet, and with some effort pulled her back up. Brock hurried over to help Ash.
"I told you to watch where you were going!" Ash said, struggling a bit.
Misty wasn't particularly heavy, but the sudden fall had caught Ash off guard. Even Pikachu jumped down to hug Ash's leg, trying to help.
"How was I supposed to know there'd be a trap? Ash, don't let go!" Misty said, trembling as she looked down at the bottomless pit below.
After a few moments, Ash and Brock managed to pull Misty up. She collapsed on the ground, panting with lingering fear.
"Really, why are there traps on the main road?" Misty asked, still shaken. No one had expected such a huge hole in the middle of the path. If it weren't for Misty, they all might have fallen into it.
"The trap is pretty deep. Looks like it took some time to dig," Brock said, standing beside the hole, hand on his chin.
"I almost fell into it! And you're complimenting it? Whoever set this trap is in big trouble when I find them," Misty grumbled.
Heh, heh, heh!
Suddenly, a laugh echoed through the area. Ash and Brock turned around, while Misty looked straight ahead. They saw several figures standing side by side, laughing mockingly.
"Squirtle?" Misty asked, confused. In front of them stood not just one Squirtle, but five. Usually, one was rare, let alone five at once.
The Squirtles were blue, resembling turtles with hard brown shells on their backs, and their tails curled like waves. The leader was bigger and wore butterfly-shaped sunglasses, while the other four had round sunglasses.
Squirtle is one of the starter Pokémon that trainers can receive, just like Charmander and Bulbasaur, making it rare. But this time, there were five of them.
"Pikapi!!!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu called out mockingly as it jumped in front of Ash, glaring at the Squirtles. The Squirtles smirked back, and Pikachu grew irritated at their response.
Turning to Ash, Pikachu pointed at the trap behind them, then at the Squirtles.
"You mean Squirtle and the others dug the trap?" Ash asked, picking up on Pikachu's signals.
"Pi-ka!" Pikachu nodded firmly.
"Really? Why would you do that?" Misty said, still shaken from her near fall. Though she was the one most affected, she couldn't bring herself to be too harsh on them since they were Pokémon.
Squirtle and Pikachu exchanged a few words, and Pikachu gestured again to Ash, trying to explain.
While Ash didn't have any special ability to understand Pikachu perfectly, their bond allowed him to get the gist of it.
"They did it because they think it's funny to see humans get into trouble?"
"That's so mean!" Misty stood up angrily, brushing the dirt off her clothes. But just as she did, the leader Squirtle launched an attack at them.
A thick stream of blue water shot out from its mouth, heading straight for Ash, Misty, and Brock. Ash quickly stepped forward to shield them.
"Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!"
Pikachu dashed in front of Ash, facing the incoming Water Gun. A powerful electric current surged from Pikachu's body, and with a crackling sound, the electricity collided with the Water Gun.
Boom!
After training with Ash for so long, Pikachu's strength had grown. Plus, Electric-type moves naturally had an advantage over Water-type moves. It didn't take long for Pikachu's Thunder Shock to overpower the Water Gun and surge towards the Squirtles.
Boom!
Just as the Thunder Shock was about to hit the leader Squirtle, another Squirtle leaped forward, pushing its leader out of the way. The Thunder Shock struck the brave Squirtle instead, enveloping it in electricity. The Squirtle was knocked out instantly by Pikachu's attack.
When the electricity dissipated, the small Squirtle fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Squirtle!!" The leader rushed over and cradled its fallen companion, clearly worried. Then, with anger in its eyes, it stood up and faced Pikachu, ready for a fight.