After saying goodbye to his mum , ash left and made his way to route 1 .
He walked for a few minutes until was a good distance away from pallet town.
" Alright time to meet my starter and new friend for taking on kanto " he said to himself as he grabbed the pokeball from his belt before bringing out Squirtle .
The light from the pokeball died down to reveal the water type , it stood there curiously looking at it's sudden surroundings before it finally looked at ash .
It had a healthy shade of light blue scales with a brown shell . Ash couldn't help but find the little guy adorable.
' ok time to know more about you squirtle ' ash thought as he pulled out his rotom phone and activated the pokemon scan .
Squirtle
Gender : Male
Ability : torrent
Moves : tackle , tail whip ,water gun .
When squirtles are born their shells are soft but then hardens afterwards , It's a useful tool as it can be used for protection or sleeping . It's round shape helps to resist water alowing it to swim at high speeds . While they are rare in the wild they can be seen living with members of their evolving lines near ponds and lakes , it's natural enemy is sharpedo .
" already knowing water gun makes things easier but I'm aregonna have to be careful about what of moves i teach him in the future" ash told himself.
He then put his rotom phone away before crouching down at squirtle with a smile
" Hey squirtle , my name is ash ketchum and I'm your pokemon trainer. I want to be the one of the best pokemon trainers in the world and that starts with the kanto league , so I need your help . I want you to join me ,help me take on all the gyms in kanto and i will help you become the strongest blastoise in the world " ash promised squirtle with a serious expression on his face .
Squirtles eyes lit up as he heard ash's promise and immediately accepted.
" squirt "
A bright smile appeared on ash's face at squirtles response.
" Thanks squirtle , i promise you won't regret this " he told the water type starter .
' I should probably leave him out of his pokeball to get some fresh air , at least until we reach the city ' he had probably spent to much time in that pokeball anyway what was a few minutes of sun light .
" Alright let's go " ash said as he and squirtle began walking with the water type happily following him.
It was a beautiful day , the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud on the sky . Honestly ash wouldn't mind if the weather was like this all the time .
It took a few minutes for them to come across their first opponent.
It was a rattata , right ahead of them .
While it wasn't anything unique , it was probably a safer start .
" Alright squirtle ready for our first battle ? " ash whispered the tiny turtle who nodded excitingly.
" squit "
" good , now use water gun " ash ordered.
Squirtle fired a shot of water at the purple rodent catching it by surprise and pushing rattata back .
" now before it can recover use tackle ! " ash said taking advantage of rattata's stuned state
" squitle "
Squirtle charged at his opponent , slamimg into it as rattata was sent flying across the ground.
winning squirtle the battle.
" yes ! Alright squirtle great job " ash congratulated his starter on his first victory.
Squirtle happily accepted the compliment. Happy his trainer was pleased.
' know it's just a rattata and we caught it of guard but if we keep going like this with enough training the league trophy will be in our hands . ' ash thought as to him , this gave him the confidence boost that all the studying was worth it.
After celebrating there first battle victory they kept on walking.
They defeated 2 more rattata's on their way , these battles were more direct than the first one . Ash didn't want to get to comfortable with sneaking up on your opponent .
Things still looked good .
' think I'm going to focus on training squirtle before trying to catch a pokemon , at least right now ' it wouldn't be that long just needed to get squirtle the experience he needs .
As they kept walking it , wasn't long until ash saw a girl standing in the middle of a clearing and by the fact that she had a pokeball , ash would guess she was a pokemon trainer.
she saw him approaching and instantly grabbed her pokeball pointed it towards him .
" Hey i challenge you to a pokemon battle " she could obviously knew he was a trainer because of squirtle by his side .
"Sure " ash said signaling squirtle to get ready .
The girl threw her pokeball as it popped open to reveal a pidgey .
' A pidgey ? Attacking it mid flight is gonna be a problem ' but while water gun was squirtles only long ranged attack for now , pidgey couldn't stay up in the air forever.
' All I need to do is wait for pidgey to get in close '
"Alright pidgey use gust " she said going for long ranged .
" tank it and use water gun squirtle " ash said . Gust would do some damage but the water type was strong enough take it . and the position he was in gave him a clean hit on the flying type .
Pidgey using its wings whiped a gust of wind and sent the attack at squirtle .
The starter seeing this followed his trainers orders and tanked the attack . While the attack was strong and did some damage it wasn't enough to knock squirtle down as the starter held his ground .
After the gust of winds stopped , squirtle didn't waste any time a immediately fired a water gun at the flying type .
It struck the tiny bird pokemon before it had a chance to dodge forcing it to land .
" pidgey ! You ok ? " the girl asked .
' i have to think carefully and quickly , a trainer battle isn't like your random wild pokemon fight . Any choice can win or lose you the fight ' ash thought.
" sand attack let's go " the girl shouted out .
Pidgey then with a strong flap of its wings hurled sand directly at squirtle .
" retreat into your shell " ash quickly called out panick in his voice . Sand attack would only need to hit once for it to turn this battle.
Squirtle could wash it out but in the meantime until he did , any attack that could miss ....Will !
Squirtle hearing the urgency quickly retreated into his shell as the sand washed around him without harm .
" now that he can't move , tackle ! " she said taking advantage of squirtles lack of mobility.
" brace your self " ash told him .
As pidgey flew at squirtle , the water type still in its shell braced himself for the attack .
The tackle landed as pidgey flew straight into the starter , but thanks to the defense of squirtles shell the damage was minimal .
" tackle squirtle , use your legs to give yourself a boost " ash said now grinning as his plan worked.
Using his legs , squirtle quickly launched himself in pidgey's position letting the hole where his head came out guide his aim .
Squirtle slammed into pidgey who did not have any time to dodge and was sent back flying.
" now finish this off with water gun " ash called out to wrap things up .
" no ! Pidgey dodge it " she shouted but it was to no avail .
The starter fired the water attack at the flying type hitting it directly in the chest .
Pidgey fell straight to the the ground , for a second it looked like it was about to get up back before officially fainting .
Winning ash the battle.
" excellent job squirtle " ash congratulated him on his excellent job .
" squirtle " the starter puffed out it's shell/chest ? .
' that was way more intense the wild rattata's we battled on the way ' ash thought while also taking note of his rotom phone signaling him of his victory credits.
The girl across the field from him sadly returned her pokemon to it's pokeball.
" you have one touph pidgey , that's the most intense battle I've had yet " ash complemented her .
" thanks , we've been training on route 1 , battling other trainers and wild pokemon . I'm just sad to see her lose " she said looking at the pokeball with a sad expression.
" Don't worry , if you keep getting better like you are now at this rate you'll be stronger in no time " he assured her with smile.
" Thanks " she smiled back .
" thanks for the battle but i have go , you going to be ok ? " ash asked .
" yeah I'm fine " she waved him off .
" ok if you say so , bye " ash waved at her as he left .
" Bye " she waved back watching him go .
________________________________________
" You did a fantastic out there squirtle. were gonna have to keep our guard up though , we can't start getting too cocky " ash told his starter..
Squirt nodded .
As they continued walking , ash pulled out his rotom phone to see the credits he got from the battle earlier.
After checking his trainers account , he closed it .
Most trainers have one . They make it so that when you fight other trainers who also have trainer accounts , you get credits after you win a pokemon battle.
Of course not all trainers have them and they stop taking credits when your opponent's account reaches a limit to prevent other people from abusing it .
It does however , makes defeating gym leaders and winning pokemon tournaments much more rewarding given how they give you much more money than your random trainer would .
Ash then seached on more info on withdraw or more specifically squirtle being able to master withdraw .
' mastering it will take a while but it will come handy in battle ' ash thought as he watched and read some websites and videos for help .
Learning an attack means almost nothing if you have no experience in using it .
Putting away his rotom ash turned to his starter.
" ok squirtle , We can't always count on luck mid battle , so while we make our to viridian city i want you to start practicing on withdraw got it ? "
they would work on other moves after they get to viridian city .
" squirt " Squirtle nodded
They had made it to a clearing before stopping to help squirtle start practicing on using withdraw for a few minutes while ash did some research and to think for the future.
When squirtle fully evolved into blastoise , he will need to focus more on defense with speed not being a good option for him.
So ash would need to make sure to look into attacks that be effective even when the opponent is faster than the user .
' Maybe surf ? Protect would make things easier for defense without relying on taking damage . I'm gonna need to catch pokemon to specifically to help me against surge and Erika though ' two gyms leaders that use types squirtle was weak to .
' teaching squirtle one or two moves isn't going to be enough for a whole team of electric and grass types ' .
Just teaching squirtle ice beam wasn't going get him the rainbow badge on its own , just like he couldn't rely on type advantage to beat brock .
But back to withdraw.
" it said that the move isn't that complicated and to focus more on being defensive through your shell " ash told squirtle as he read the description online.
' focus energy through shell , total defense , ok I think I get most of it now ' it all said mostly the same thing .
It had been a few minutes of training and it looked like squirtle had practiced it enough use it properly .
" Alright i think that's enough training for today , lets keep moving were almost to viridian city " he had put away some attacks for squirtle to learn in the future at the back of his head .
Squirtle hearing him , stopped his training on withdraw . Ash could see he had made good progress .
The two continued on there way .
Ash checked the map as they walked . It showed him viridian city wasn't too far and that it was just up ahead.
" not too far now squirtle , We'll be there in just a few minutes " ash told squirtle .
" squir " squirtle said happily .
As they kept walking , ash saw someone up ahead .
As he got closer , ash saw it was a boy .
' another trainer ? Might as well battle him . Squirtle didn't take that much damage in fight against that pidgey ' ash thought.
" Hey , up for a battle ? " ash asked the boy who turned around with an grin on his face .
" heck yeah I thought i wouldn't get to battle someone else today " he said excitingly.
" cool , 1 on 1 ? " ash asked as squirtle ran up front to battle .
" sure " the boy said as he tossed out a pokeball. The red and white opened with a flash of light to reveal a spearow.
' this should be similar to that pidgey we've battled earlier ' ash thought .
" ok spearow use fury attack " said the boy punching his hand in the air .
" withdraw " ash countered .
Spearow flew straight towards squirtle but the water type withdrew in his shell before the flying type hit .
Spearow landed the fury attack as squirtle was repeatedly jabbed with the beak for several seconds .
Thankfully withdraw reduced the damage to a minimal .
As spearow stopped the attack , ash didn't waste a second.
" NOW use tackle " he said taking the advantage of spearow being unable to get any distance between squirtle.
Squirtle acting quickly , [ after exiting his shell ] charged at spearow tackling the bird and sending it flying across the field.
" spearow you ok ? " the boy asked.
The pokemon got up signaling that it was fine .
"Good now use leer "
Spearow than gave squirtle an intimating glare . This caused squirtle to hesitate a bit before taking a step back .
" stay focused squirtle " ash told his starter . Squirtle seemed to hear him as he shook off his fear , glaring back at spearow.
" i have to admit your squirtle is pretty strong but were not giving up that easily , spearow take to the SKY ! " The boy said pointing above him .
Following his trainers orders spearow flew into air .
" squirtle use water gun " ash knew long ranged was his only option with spearow in the air .
" Dodge it " the boy ordered panicking but it was to late .
Squirtle lunched a shot of water from his mouth . It quickly hit spearow who did not have time to dodge and almost knocked the flying type out of the sky .
" use peck " said the boy .
" withdraw " ash ordered using the same strategy.
As spearow gained stability again , it quickly flew towards squirtle with it's beak flowing a light blue and white color .
As squirtle withdraw back in it's shell like last time , spearows peck hit.
but this time when the attack landed it struck harder then the last attack , pushing him back and preventing the water type from striking back .
While the withdraw reduced the damage , squirtle was still hit pretty hard .
' that did more damage then I thought it would , I need to end this now , plus I can't stay on defense forever ' ash thought
" squirtle are you ok ? " ash asked the starter who looked back and nodded.
" then get a water gun ready I have a plan , follow my kead " ash said to which squirtle understood.
This next part needed timing .
" squirtle use withdraw again " ash tried to make it look like he was panicking and didn't have a plan .
And it worked .
" that same trick again ? This battle is over . Finish it spearow and use fury attack " the boy ordered cockily .
The spearow flew towards the starter ready to land the attack.
Squirtle follow ash's plan used withdraw .
As spearow closed the distance , ash sprang his trap into motion.
" Now squirtle ! Use water gun " despite hiding in his shell , squirtle was able to aim his water gun at the bird pokemon as it flew into his line of fire .
" what ?! spearow pull back it's a trap ! " the boy tried to warn spearow but it was to late .
Squirtle fired the water gun straight at spearow . It hit the flying type sending spearow straight to the ground because of the speed it was flying .
" Now finish this with tackle " ash told squirtle with a grin on his face .
The water type didn't waste a second a charged at spearow tackling it at full force .
The bird pokemon landed on the ground as it rolled to a stop , the swirling eyes signifying it loss.
" yes ! Nice job squirtle " ash congratulated his starter.
Squirtle smiled , just as happy as his trainer at having won the battle.
The boy across the field brought spearow back into ita pokeball.
" you did great spearow take a rest " he said to the pokeball.
Ash made his way to the boy .
" Hey thanks for the battle , definitely felt more exciting than one shoting rattata's " he said .
" your welcome " the boy said smiling back as they shook hands .
With that they went there separate ways .
ash and squirtle continued walking to viridian city .
" were going to need to teach you more attacks squirtle , tackle and water gun are good but only having those two will make future battles harder" he said .
Squirtle nodded just as eager to learn new attacks .
" I'm thinking bubble and bite to keep things simple " ash said pulling out the list of moves to teach squirtle.
But as he was looking over them he was interrupted as he heard the bushes he was waking past shake .
He suddenly stopped , having been brought out of his thoughts.
Squirtle looking at the bush as if preparing for an attack.
" it's ok squirtle , it's probably just a rattata-" ash was saying before something yellow shot out of the bushes and right past his feet.
Ash jumped back as the mysterious pokemon disappeared behind another pair of bushes.
' what was that ? That definitely wasn't a rattata ' he thought.
He held his hand at squirtle to tell him to be silent. As they slowly approached the bush , ash looked over it to see what ran past them .
It was a pikachu , that wasn't a common find on route 1 , they normally live in viridian forest .
' I could use a raichu on my team . As much as I want an eletrivire , finding elekid in kanto is not going to be easy . And I do need a fast pokemon ' ash thought grabbing a pokeball from his bag .
' I need to aim this carefully because if I don't , I run the risk pikachu escaping or attacking '
He was just sitting there not knowing ash was there .
Waiting carefully for pikachu to turn around so he could have the perfect spot to throw the pokeball.
And he didn't have to wait long as pikachu shifted his position.
It was all he Needed .
Throwing the pokeball as accurate as he can . It hit pikachu right on his back and before the yellow rodent could have a chance to escape , the pokeball opened and sucked him in .
Ash didn't even try to celebrate as he waited for the ball to signified the capture.
It shook all but three times , before it dinged .
A big smile made it's way to his face .
He ran foward and picked up the pokeball.
" my first pokemon capture , I didn't get to officially battle him but it doesn't matter . " he said still looking at the pokeball in his hands .
He looked at squirtle next to him .
" looks like you have a new team member squirtle " ash told his starter.
" Squirtle " the water type cried out , happy to have a new team member .
" well get to know more about him after we arrive at viridian city , i even see the buildings from here come on let's go ! " ash said .
" squi " squirtle said and happily followed ash as they continued on there way .