@Scytherwolf;

Episode 28: Familiar Foes and Water Woes

"Boy, it's hot today..." Ash groaned as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

[Tell me about it...] Tintri agreed. [Is there a Fire type close by, or something?]

"I wouldn't say there's a Fire type in the area, but I will tell you that the plants by the roadside are all drying up because of this heat." Brock explained, gesturing to some wilting flowers by the side of the road.

Ash slumped to the ground. "What I would give for some air conditioning or a swimming pool right now..."

"Well, a swimming pool can't necessarily fit in a bag, but I do have the next best thing!" Misty grinned as she brandished a Poke Ball.

She heaved the Poke Ball skyward. "Pearl, come on out and help us beat the heat!"

[Oh my...it is hot today...] Pearl noted. [Perhaps I can be of service and cool you guys?]

Misty nodded "Fire a Water Gun into the air and make a fountain for us to splash in!"

She smiled at the relieved looks on the boys' faces. "I hope you packed your swim trunks, guys!"

"That's fine--water will dry off anyway." Brock replied as he watched the Starmie fire a stream of water into the sky. "That, and I don't really see a place to change into bathing suits and swim trunks.

He looked over at Pearl spraying water. "While that is a good start to a makeshift sprinkler, we're gonna need more water than that..."

"Not a problem!" Ash smiled before heaving a Poke Ball to the ground. "River, come on out and cool us all off!"

[You called?] River smiled as she materialized on the road. [Wow...the ground's all cracked and hot!] she gasped when she noticed the warm ground and cracks forming on the road due to the heat.

"This is where you come in...I want you to make the biggest water spray you can to help Pearl create a sprinkler for us to play in." Ash explained.

[Okay!] River wasted no time in making a large water spray to help Pearl.

The group wasted no time in kicking off their socks and shoes and hurrying to play in their "fountain". "Yee-ha!" Ash cried as he dove head first into the cool water...

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Meanwhile, on a different stretch of the roadway, three familiar hoodlums--a fuchsia haired girl, a lavender haired boy, and a small cat Pokemon with pale yellow fur trudged along the road. ""It's the end, I tell you!" the boy cries in frustration. "We're lost, fried in a scorching sun!"

"Well, if you're so thirsty, Meowth has the water bottle." the girl sighs--she has had to endure her partner complaining the whole way.

"Okay, who needs watta more?" the Meowth asks. "Last time we took a watta break, Jessie needed it, and judgin' from how James has been complainin' dis whole time, I tink it's his toin."

"Gimme that!" James eagerly dashed up and snatched the water bottle from the tiny cat Pokemon's paws--only to find that the bottle was barely a fourth of the way full! "Meowth! This was supposed to last until we got to town! If I drink this, then what will Jessie have when she inevitably gets thirsty?"

"And if I drink it, then James will only be complaining for the next two hours!" Jessie grumbled.

"I'm a livin' bein too, yanno--so I need watta too." Meowth reminded his two human companions. "So if yanno of a well, or a grocery store anywhere..."

Jessie then spotted a well not far from the trio's current position. "Hold that thought, I see a well!"

"Follow me!" The three Rockets dashed over to the elegant looking well with Slowpoke designs in its base, eager for a drink of water.

Jessie wasted no time in hoisting up the bucket--only to find sand inside instead of water! "Any more bright ideas?" she grumbled as she lowered the bucket back into the well.

"We could try dousing rods..." James suggested.

"But then we'd have to dig for the water, and that would be too much trouble in the heat!" Jessie reminded him. "There's a reason the weatherman tells you to limit strenuous activity when it's hot!"

"You're forgettin' we have the Diglitank here..." Meowth grinned as he pressed a button on a small remote, making a giant machine that looked like a cross between a tank and a Diglett emerge from a nearby rock.

Jessie smiled. "Meowth, you're a genius! Who needs shovels and picks when we can cover a whole lot of ground at once?"

All three Rockets giddily climbed aboard, and created a large hole in the road as the tank burrowed underground.

For a while, there was nothing interesting to see in the tunnel as the tank burrowed through the earth. But after about an hour, the Rockets emerged into a large underground cave. "Wow..." Jessie asked, amazed over the crystals that formed in the cave.

"Wait a minnit..." Meowth mused as he stopped the tank. "Where dere's crystals...dere has ta be..."

"WATER!!!!" the Rockets cried as they scrambled out of the tank, and hurried towards a huge sparkling pool of water. But they stopped in their tracks when they found themselves surrounded by hundreds of large pink creatures with curled ears and vacant expressions on their faces.

Meowth noticed a sign near where his companions were standing. "Dis is Slowpoke Well--da story goes dat Slowpoke have da power ta make it rain when dey yawn."

He sighed. "Who believes dose kinds of fairy tales, anyway?"

"But what if it's true, Meowth?" Jessie gasped, excited.

"We could capture the Slowpoke and get rich by charging the townspeople to have them make it rain!" James suggested. The Rockets giggled with excitement as they retreated to the tank to discuss the particulars of their latest plot.

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"Welcome to Azalea Town...where people and Pokémon live in happy harmony." Brock read as the group approached a wooded area near some mountains, where they could see rooftops and buildings in the distance.

"Finally!" Ash smiled as the group made their way into town. "I am SO ready for my second badge!"

"What's the hurry? I kinda want to see the sights." Misty suggested as she pulled Ash back. "Like this Kurt guy, who makes his own Poke Balls, for a small fee."

"Besides, the Gym is closed because of the drought." Brock agreed, showing Ash a sign on the path leading to the Gym that said "NO CHALLENGES TODAY DUE TO DROUGHT." "So I think it'd be fun to watch a Poke Ball maker at work."

"Okay..." Ash sighed in defeat.

Misty, meanwhile, noticed that all the signs depicted Slowpokes, people openly dressed up as Slowpokes, Slowpoke dolls and trinkets were in all the shops, and a music store had a book open to the tune "The Slowpoke's Yawn". "There's Slowpoke stuff everywhere..."

"Not to mention Slowpokes themselves..." Brock noted as he observed Slowpokes lying in the road. Some stared into the distance, others were curled up, asleep, and a few would begrudgingly get up to allow a person to pass before plopping back on the path again.

"Is this place a shrine to Slowpoke or someth--!" A low pitched howl suddenly got Ash's attention. When he looked down to see what he had stepped on, he saw a Slowpoke with a pained look on its face. "Uh, sorry, big guy." he apologized.

"How dare you step on one of our Slowpokes' tails?" a woman gasped.

"It was an accident, I didn't know!" Ash pleaded as more angry townsfolk, including the woman, approached the group. "We only arrived in town today!"

"That doesn't matter!" a man retorted. "Locals and visitors alike are supposed to respect the Slowpokes, and you will pay the price for causing one pain!"

"No time to ask questions, we need to go!" With that, Brock led the others into the main district, being careful not to step on any more Slowpoke tails as they rushed to avoid the angry mob.

After weaving past shops, nearly snarling traffic, and ducking down a sidepath, Misty noticed that the group had arrived in a park. "I think we lost them..."

"Talk about an overreaction...." Ash grumbled--he had not expected an angry mob to chase them for merely stepping on a Slowpoke tail. "I apologized and everything!"

"That won't be enough, travelers..." an older man in a Slowpoke costume cautioned. "For now, just put these on and lie very still." he instructed as he gave the group three Slowpoke costumes.

Ash sighed as he heard the rumble and shouts of the approaching crowd. "I guess we have no choice, guys..."

When the crowd arrived in the park a few moments later, they came to a screeching halt when they saw four Slowpokes lounging by the fountain--one was playing with a Pikachu, one was sprawled over the fountain, and one was observing a Vulpix, in addition to one staring at the sky.

Minutes seemed to tick by like hours as Ash--inside the Slowpoke costume--would periodically bat at Tintri to keep up the ruse. Geez, I'm hot...

"Okay, the coast is clear!" he heard their rescuer say.

Misty was first to remove her costume head. "How do you even stand being in one of these on a day like today?" she asked as she got up from the fountain.

"I'll say--these feel like a sauna!" Ash agreed as he got up and started removing the sweat drenched costume.

Brock, meanwhile, was the farthest along at getting out of the costume. "If you don't mind my asking, sir, why are the Slowpoke so important?" he asked as Hinata brought him his story notebook. "I'm an amateur storyteller competing in the Lore Stage, and the tale might make some good material."

"I see--the clouds and red stripe on your vest made that clear." the man grinned.

Once Brock had a pen to write with, the man began "Long ago, there was a drought just like this in Azalea Town. One day a Slowpoke came to the town, and the people wondered who it belonged to--or if it was a wild one. One day, when it yawned, it started to rain, and the town was saved. Since then, Slowpoke have been treated with the deepest respect."

"No wonder the townsfolk got so mad at Ash stepping on one..." Misty mused as Brock finished copying down the bones of the man's story"

Suddenly, something dawned on the man. "Oh, look at the time! I just remembered the errand I had to do today!"

"Who was our rescuer?" Misty wondered as the man dashed away, still in costume.

"I don't know, but we need to thank him later for saving our skins." Brock smiled as he pocketed his story notebook, with his pen neatly clipped to the cover. "For now, let's go see Kurt."

To Be Continued...