Chapter 34: Catching Squirtle - Part 3
"Brock! Melanie! Look, I caught a Squirtle!" Misty said, holding up a Poké Ball as she walked over to Brock and Melanie.
Hearing Misty, Melanie replied, "Congratulations then, Misty!"
Since Melanie had already congratulated Misty, Brock didn't say anything further. After all, Melanie had said what he was about to say, and repeating it would be a bit awkward. Then, seeing Daisy also walking over, Brock asked curiously, "Daisy, did you catch a Squirtle too?"
Hearing Brock, Daisy took a Poké Ball from her person, showed it to Brock, and replied, "Brock, I caught a Squirtle!"
Just as Brock looked at the Poké Ball Daisy held out and was about to congratulate her, a voice suddenly interrupted, "Brock! Misty! Melanie! Daisy! Look! I caught Squirtle too!"
Hearing the voice, Brock and the others turned towards the direction it came from and saw Ash holding a Poké Ball, with Pikachu following behind him. They were running towards Brock's group together.
Seeing the smug smile on Ash's face after he caught Squirtle, Misty felt annoyed. She shot back at Ash, "Ash, what took you so long?! The rest of us caught our Squirtle ages ago! We were just waiting for you!"
Hearing Misty, Ash looked around. Seeing no other Squirtle remaining, he knew Misty was right – Brock and the others had already caught theirs. However, unwilling to admit defeat, Ash retorted confidently, "Misty! The Squirtle I caught was their leader! Its strength is definitely higher than yours! So it's not my fault it took longer to catch. It just means the Squirtle you guys caught were too weak!"
As soon as Ash said this, he slightly regretted it. Saying their Squirtle are weak indirectly implies that Brock, Melanie, Daisy, and Misty are weak too! Hopefully Brock and the others don't understand my hidden meaning...
Hearing Ash, Misty didn't say anything further, because it was a fact that the Squirtle Ash caught was the leader. Apparently, Misty didn't catch Ash's implied slight. Brock and the others, however, did understand, but they also didn't say anything. They all knew Ash well enough not to get angry over a single remark like that; after all, they were friends! So, they let it slide.
Seeing that no one reacted, Ash didn't want to cause trouble either, so he quickly changed the subject. "Brock, Misty, Daisy, Melanie! Since we've all caught Squirtle now, what should we do next? Continue heading towards Vermilion City, or rest for a bit in the town ahead and leave tomorrow?"
Hearing Ash, Brock was about to suggest resting in the town ahead and leaving tomorrow. However, before he could speak, a voice interrupted, "Mr. Brock! Mr. Ash! Miss Misty! Miss Daisy! Miss Melanie! Wait there for a moment! I have something important to tell you!"
Hearing the voice, Brock and the others turned towards the direction it came from. They saw a woman in a police uniform riding a motorcycle towards them.
In moments, the woman reached Brock's group. Brock and the others looked at the woman before them and recognized her as the Officer Jenny they had met in the town earlier. Seeing Officer Jenny's hurried appearance, Brock asked puzzledly, "Officer Jenny, you said you have something important to tell us?"
Hearing Brock, Officer Jenny replied, "Yes, it's like this... First, I want to apologize to you all. I shouldn't have placed a listening device on you and eavesdropped on your conversation. But I was worried about the Squirtle Squad's safety... Can you please forgive me for putting the listening device on you?"
Just as Melanie was about to respond to Officer Jenny, Brock pulled her back, preventing her and the others from speaking. Then Brock said angrily, "Officer Jenny, is this how a police officer acts?! Planting a listening device on someone? I could sue you for this! Unless... you can tell me why you needed to find the Squirtle so badly."
Hearing Brock threaten to sue her, Officer Jenny became flustered. She quickly adopted a gentle tone and pleaded with Brock, "Please, I beg you, don't sue me, alright? I'll tell you everything about these Squirtle! I heard on the listening device that you all captured the Squirtle, so I rushed right over. My initial thought was to trick you into releasing them... because these Squirtle were deliberately released here by us police, in order to lure someone out! That's all I can tell you, because even I don't know who we're trying to lure out."
Hearing Officer Jenny's explanation, Brock thought for a moment, Officer Jenny's words make some sense! Whatever... Planting a listening device on us was still her fault! Let's just consider these Squirtle as our apology gift! Besides, Ash and the others would be reluctant to part with the Squirtle they worked hard to catch anyway.
After hearing Officer Jenny's explanation, Ash was about to hand the Poké Ball containing his Squirtle over to her. However, Brock, having just finished his thoughts, stopped him. Brock then walked around Ash, Misty, Daisy, and Melanie, looking them over, trying to see who Officer Jenny had planted the listening device on.
As a result, Brock circled the group once but couldn't find the listening device anywhere. He was about to angrily ask Officer Jenny where the bug was, when Daisy walked up behind Brock and plucked a listening device, the size of a grain of sand, off Brock's shoulder.
Daisy handed the removed listening device to Brock and said, "Brock, the listening device was on your shoulder. Look!"
Brock took the bug, looked at it, and thought, Sigh! I have no idea how Officer Jenny managed to put a listening device on my shoulder! She never even touched my shoulder! Thinking about it... Damn it! The technology in this world is too terrifying!
After finishing his thought, Brock handed the listening device back to Officer Jenny. Seeing Brock return the bug, Officer Jenny thought Brock and the others had forgiven her. However, Brock then said something that made Officer Jenny regret everything.
The words Brock spoke were: "Officer Jenny, here's your listening device back. And regarding you planting it on me... I forgive you. These five Squirtle? We'll just consider them your apology gift. Also, before you think about causing trouble for us, go check my records. I am Brock of the Pewter Gym. After checking my information, if you still want to cause trouble for me... feel free, but I wouldn't advise it."
After saying this, Brock pulled Ash and the others away. Officer Jenny was left dumbfounded by Brock's words. Then, seeing Brock's group already walking far away, she cursed in their direction, "Robbers! You guys are so petty! Wasn't it just planting one listening device?! And you take away five Squirtle with King Potential?! You guys are too ruthless!"
After venting, Officer Jenny got back on her motorcycle and returned to town. Back at the town's police station, she immediately started looking up information about Brock of the Pewter Gym.
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