Catching Squirtle

Far out at sea off Cerulean City, a fishing boat sailed slowly across the water.

With the sea breeze brushing his face, Xia You lounged on the deck with his three Pokémon, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

Warm sunlight spilled over them, leaving them so comfortably warm that they had no desire to move.

Of course...

If not for the pungent fishy smell that constantly filled the boat, this trip might have been much more relaxing.

But there was nothing he could do. Life never quite went the way you wanted!

After more than an hour at sea, the fishing boat finally stopped at the edge of a small island.

The weather-beaten captain emerged from the cabin and called across the deck to Xia You.

"Young man, the place you're looking for is right here. You can get off now. We're heading farther south into deep water, but we'll come back to pick you up tonight. For now... good luck!"

"Sorry for the trouble."

After thanking him, Xia You and his Pokémon jumped off the fishing boat.

Only after watching the boat disappear into the distance did he turn to examine the island.

The island was ringed with lush green trees, while a solitary mountain rose at its center. Shrubs grew across its slopes in neat rows and columns, making it look like an enormous turtle shell from afar.

As for why he had come here...

Blastoise Island supposedly appeared on no maps. Only the Pokémon living here and the most experienced fishermen knew its exact location.

And true to its name, the island was home to a Blastoise, along with a large group of its unevolved forms-Wartortle and Squirtle.

That was right. He had come here specifically to catch a Pokémon!

Getting here had taken Xia You a long search around the docks and plenty of questions before someone finally agreed to take him out to sea to find the island.

His target, however, was not that Blastoise.

After crossing the beach and entering the forest, Xia You soon spotted a group of Squirtle and Wartortle playing together.

The Pokémon had gathered here without a care in the world, looking utterly at ease.

It really is Blastoise Island. They're everywhere...

Taking out his phone, he snapped a few pictures of the surroundings. He was about to send them to Professor Cerise when he noticed there was no signal, leaving him no choice but to put it off.

Oh well. That can wait.

Xia You moved a little closer to the Pokémon and watched them for a while before slowly approaching, finally coming to a stop in front of them.

The Squirtle and Wartortle were startled by the human who had suddenly appeared before them, but rather than fleeing, they stayed where they were and watched him curiously.

Clearly, despite living far from the mainland, these Pokémon were not afraid of humans.

They even began looking him over with interest!

"Hello." Xia You greeted them with a friendly smile before continuing, "As you can see, I'm a Trainer. I'm looking for companions, and I plan to grow stronger along the way and challenge the League. Would any of you like to leave this place and travel with me?"

In this wondrous world, almost every Pokémon could understand at least some human speech, allowing Xia You's words to reach them clearly.

Conversely, as a human, he could not understand their language.

After hearing what Xia You said, the Squirtle and Wartortle exchanged glances, but none of them responded.

Only a few seconds later did one Squirtle take several steps toward him, perhaps out of mischief or curiosity about Xia You.

"Squirtle, Squirtle!"

"You're a brave one." Xia You smiled at the Squirtle. "Since you're interested, let's battle. If I win, you'll become my partner!"

Perhaps knowing a battle was about to begin, or sensing the mood, its companions voluntarily cleared a space.

Yet none of them stepped forward to stop it.

It was as though they no longer found anything unusual about the scene before them.

Xia You brought his Pokémon over and stood opposite the Squirtle.

Before beginning, however, he took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the standing blue Pokémon to learn more about it.

The Pokédex immediately responded.

"Beep. Squirtle, Water-type, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. It excels at Water-type attacks and protects itself with a hard shell. When faced with an enemy, it can unleash a powerful Water Gun attack."

Good. Just as I remembered.

He had done this both to learn about these Pokémon and to verify whether they were as he understood them to be.

So far, nothing seemed to have changed.

Xia You looked down by his feet, then beckoned to Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur, this battle is yours!"

"Bulba, Bulba!"

Hearing his command, Bulbasaur took a few steps forward and stood before Squirtle.

The two Pokémon stared at each other from a distance. No words were needed as the desire to battle slowly surfaced in their eyes.

Seeing that both Pokémon were ready, Xia You decisively gave his command.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"

At his instruction, two vines shot out from Bulbasaur's bulb and lashed toward Squirtle.

Squirtle remained calm in the face of the attack. Only when the vines drew close did it suddenly pull its head and all four limbs into its shell.

Two soft cracks rang out.

Despite the move being Grass-type, Squirtle blocked the attack with its sturdy shell. The only effect was a few tremors running through it.

There was no denying it: Withdraw had always been the greatest defense of turtle Pokémon!

Once Squirtle emerged from its shell, a Water Gun burst from its mouth, shooting straight toward Bulbasaur.

But just like the Vine Whip aimed at Squirtle, this Water Gun was all too easy to predict!

"Bulbasaur, dodge!"

Xia You gave the command in time, but unfortunately, as Bulbasaur dodged, Squirtle suddenly turned its head. The stream followed its mouth, chasing Bulbasaur. Although Bulbasaur was moving away at full speed, the shifting Water Gun still drenched half its body.

There was no helping it. Speed simply wasn't Bulbasaur's strong suit!

But this also showed that Squirtle knew how to fight effectively!

"Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed!"

A seed shot sharply out of its bulb.

Yet as it reached Squirtle, a torrent of bubbles poured from Squirtle's mouth, intercepting the seed!

At the sight, Xia You couldn't help praising it. "For a wild Pokémon, you really do know a thing or two!"

"Squirtle, Squirtle!"

Receiving praise from the human before it, Squirtle even puffed out its chest proudly!

Paired with its comically round head, the pose looked rather funny.

Shaking his head, Xia You pointed forward, taking things a little more seriously.

"Bulbasaur, keep attacking with Vine Whip!"

Two vines lashed toward Squirtle again, and just as before, Squirtle used Withdraw, pulling its entire body inside its shell.

But Xia You's attack did not end there. At his command, the vines did not retract this time. Instead, they wound around Squirtle's body again and again, binding it tightly.

"Squirtle?!"

Squirtle was shocked and tried to poke its head out, but every opening in its shell had been sealed off. It struggled for a long time, yet still could not move.

"That's what you call trapping yourself." Xia You smiled faintly, then instructed Bulbasaur, "Now lift it up. Let it have a taste of the giant pendulum!"

At Xia You's words, Bulbasaur hoisted Squirtle high with its vines and slammed it hard into the ground, then did it a second time, a third...

Even with its shell protecting it, under blows like these...

After just five or six slams, once there was no response from inside the shell, Xia You waved his hand, and Bulbasaur finally loosened its vines.

The shell then tumbled onto the beach.

Seeing that the shell remained silent and completely motionless, Xia You took out a Poké Ball and threw it.

The Poké Ball traced a perfect arc through the air, arriving above Squirtle.

As the Poké Ball opened, a beam of red light shot out, enveloping Squirtle and drawing it inside.

Click.

The Poké Ball landed on the beach.

Perhaps the repeated slams had knocked Squirtle unconscious, leaving it completely unable to resist. Even after taking it in, the Poké Ball did not shake once!

Snap.

As the button on the front gently locked into place, Squirtle had officially been caught.

Great. My fourth Pokémon!

Before Xia You could celebrate, however, a tremendous roar suddenly came from the distance, followed by the ground beginning to shake.

From the sound of it, some immensely powerful Pokémon was heading their way.

Xia You raised his eyebrows.

Looks like that battle really did alert the island's Blastoise.

It must be pretty unhappy about a human entering its territory.

But that's fine. I've already accomplished what I came here for!

Still...

Xia You checked the time.

Only half an hour had passed since he arrived on the island.

That meant he would have to find somewhere to hide for a while until the fishing boat came to collect him, unless he wanted to fight that Blastoise.

Well, that's fine. It'll help pass the time.

With that thought, he picked up the Poké Ball and smiled at his three Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur, come back. Time to make ourselves scarce! Let's play hide-and-seek with that big fellow!"

Day gave way to night, and night to day.

By the time Xia You left the sea and set foot on land again, he was standing on the streets of Cerulean City.

After a night of rest and recovery at the Pokémon Center, Xia You set off for Pewter City again with his four Pokémon.

In his spare time, he also sent Professor Cerise all the photographs he had taken on Blastoise Island.

As a Special Research Investigator for the Cerise Laboratory, visiting Blastoise Island and photographing its ecosystem could be considered a perfect fulfillment of his duties.

Of course, he didn't actually have to do it, but taking pictures as he traveled and explored gave him a few more memories. It was something he could do along the way.

He followed the broad street toward the outskirts of the city.

But just as Xia You was about to leave Cerulean City, a green-haired man carrying a backpack, who looked roughly his age, suddenly stopped him.

"You up ahead, please wait! Will you accept my challenge?!"