Pokémon: A Different Brock

Chapter 32: Catching Squirtle

Brock and the others followed Officer Jenny to the side of the pitfall trap they had fallen into not long before. Officer Jenny looked at the large hole in the road, then scanned the surroundings but didn't see any sign of the Squirtle.

Officer Jenny parked her motorcycle to the side, then turned to Brock's group of five and said, "Mr. Brock, Mr. Ash, Miss Misty, Miss Daisy, Miss Melanie. Was this where you saw the Squirtle? But why aren't there any Squirtle here now? Could you have been mistaken?"

Hearing Officer Jenny, Brock replied, "Officer Jenny, we accidentally fell into that hole in the ground. When we looked up from below, we saw five Squirtle wearing sunglasses up top, looking down at us. By the time we got back up to ground level, we didn't see the Squirtle anymore." As he spoke, Brock pointed to the hole in the road.

Listening to Brock and seeing him point to the hole, Officer Jenny walked over beside it and looked down. She indeed saw Squirtle footprints on the ground nearby, confirming that Brock and the others weren't lying.

After examining the Squirtle footprints on the ground, Officer Jenny sighed, thought for a moment, then said to Brock's group, "Mr. Brock, thank you for telling me about the Squirtle. You also helped me discover this hole in the road. It's good it was found in time, otherwise it could have caused unnecessary trouble." After speaking, Officer Jenny prepared to fill in the hole in the road.

Ash saw Officer Jenny starting to fill the hole. Perhaps moved by kindness, he wanted to go over and help Officer Jenny fill the hole. Seeing Ash about to walk over beside Officer Jenny, Brock grabbed Ash's clothes and led him, Misty, Daisy, and Melanie away together.

Officer Jenny saw Brock and the others walk away. She then muttered to herself, "These kids... seeing me filling this hole all alone and not even offering to help. So inconsiderate." But after saying this, she thought for a moment, Then again, why should they help me? She didn't say anything further and slowly filled in the hole by herself.

Meanwhile, with our protagonist Brock! Brock led Ash and the others to an open clearing.

Ash then asked Brock angrily, "Brock! Why didn't you let us help Officer Jenny?!"

Melanie chimed in from the side, "Yes, Brock! Why didn't you let us help Officer Jenny? Did you have something else to do? Is that why you made us leave so quickly?"

Daisy and Misty also agreed, saying, "Melanie's right! Brock, why did you do that?"

Hearing Ash and the others, Brock replied simply, "It was nothing. I just found it troublesome, that's all." After speaking, he thought, Why is Officer Jenny looking for those Squirtle so urgently? It can't just be because they're playing pranks. If the Squirtle are causing trouble, she could just capture them! Then they wouldn't cause trouble anymore! But she hasn't captured them... This matter definitely isn't that simple.

After thinking this through, Brock shook his head and thought, I can't figure it out... Sigh, forget it! I won't dwell on it. Once I catch those Squirtle, I should find out what's going on!

Hearing Brock's answer – that he didn't help Officer Jenny simply because he found it troublesome – Ash and the others didn't say anything further.

However, although Misty, Daisy, and Melanie didn't say anything out loud after hearing Brock's reply, they thought similarly in their hearts: Wasn't Brock always quite warm-hearted and helpful before? Why would he find it too troublesome to help Officer Jenny this time? Was he just pretending before? Or... does he really have something he's hiding from us?

And Ash, hearing Brock's answer, thought, Why didn't Brock let me help Officer Jenny?!... Sigh! I can't figure it out. Forget it, I won't think about it anymore. As Ash came out of his thoughts, he saw Brock looking at him, seemingly waiting for a response. Ash didn't answer Brock, but instead looked over at Misty, Daisy, and Melanie, who were still pondering.

Seeing Ash remain silent for a long time, Brock felt quite awkward and deliberately changed the subject. He checked the time and saw it was already time for lunch. He said to Ash, "Ash! It's lunchtime! Let's rest and eat right here!"

Brock's words startled Misty, Daisy, and Melanie out of their thoughts. Ash and the others agreed to Brock's suggestion. Hearing their agreement, Brock started preparing things to cook lunch.

After a little while, Brock finished cooking the meal. As Brock and the group gathered around to enjoy the lunch Brock had made, their Pokémon were also eating their food nearby, of course. Just then, five Pokémon figures appeared. They walked over beside Brock's group. Yes, it was the Squirtle Squad that Officer Jenny was looking for.

Seeing the figures were the Squirtle, Brock looked at their eyes. They were staring intently at the food in the center of the group. They must be hungry. Seeing this, Melanie took some recently purchased Pokémon food out of her backpack, walked over beside the Squirtle, and offered the food to them.

Seeing Melanie offer them food, the Squirtle glanced at her, then began eagerly eating the Pokémon food together. Before long, both Brock's group and the Squirtle had finished their lunch.

Ash looked at the five Squirtle before him, realizing they were wild Pokémon. He could catch them! These were the Squirtle Ash had always dreamed of having! Naturally, he couldn't resist the urge to catch one.

So, Ash called out to the leader of the Squirtle Squad, "Squirtle! Let's battle! I'm going to catch you and make you my Pokémon!" The Squirtle leader heard Ash and agreed to the challenge.

And so, Ash and the Squirtle leader began battling off to the side. Brock noticed that besides the Squirtle battling Ash, there were still four other Squirtle nearby. Thinking that he didn't even have six Pokémon captured on hand yet, he considered catching a Squirtle to raise.

So, he proposed to Misty, Daisy, and Melanie standing nearby, "Misty, Daisy, Melanie, aren't there still four Pokémon over there? And there are four of us (including Brock). How about we each catch one? Do you agree?"

Hearing Brock's suggestion, Misty looked at the remaining four Squirtle and picked out the cutest one. Pointing at the Squirtle she had chosen, she happily replied to Brock, "No problem! I want that one!"

Misty then ran over to battle the Squirtle she chose. Daisy, hearing Brock's suggestion and seeing that Squirtle were Water-type Pokémon, also agreed to the proposal and went over to battle another Squirtle.

Brock looked at the two remaining Squirtle, then turned to Melanie and asked, "Melanie, why aren't you picking a Squirtle? Don't you like them? Is that why you don't want to catch one?"

Hearing Brock, Melanie replied simply, "Brock... it's not like that."

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