Officer Jenny and the neighbors grant the Squirtle Squad a certificate for saving the town from the flames; and for their courage, they are appointed local firefighters.
As Ash and team leave town, the leader Squirtle follows them, and when offered to join the group, it is more than happy to do so. Now Ash has all three of Kanto's First Partner Pokémon!
Team Rocket is about to get away, when the leader Squirtle uses its Water Gun Attack to puncture their hot air balloon. James drops Pikachu, but Ash leaps to catch it in the air. Team Rocket blasts off!
Now there is a new problem: the flash bombs are burning the forest, and the fire could reach the town. Ash tells the Squirtle Squad to use their Water Guns, and they quickly put the flames out.
Time is running out for Ash to make it back as he promised. Officer Jenny takes him to a secret entrance to the cave behind the mountain, and he barely arrives on time with the Super Potion for Pikachu.
Jessie and James abruptly appear dropping flash bombs from their hot air balloon, while Meowth grabs Pikachu. Ash throws himself on top of the Squirtle Squad leader to protect it from one of the bombs, despite its mischievous behavior.
Ash does not recover his consciousness until the next morning, when a ruckus coming from inside the town shop wakes him up. Jessie and James are robbing the store and force the clerk to give them all the flash powder in stock.
Team Rocket's plan is to grab Pikachu from the cave, and betray the Squirtle Squad. Upon overhearing their plot, Ash gets the Super Potion and asks Officer Jenny to give him a ride back to the cave.
The Squirtle agree to let Ash go to town and get a Super Potion for Pikachu, but if he does not return to this cave by noon the next day, they will do horrible things to Misty... like dying her hair purple!
Ash rushes back to town, but faces many obstacles and trials before he finally gets to the nearest shop. When he is coming in, however, is hit in the face as Gary Oak opens the door to get out, and drops unconscious on the floor.
Ash, Misty, and Brock split from Officer Jenny, but soon are pranked again by one of the Squirtle as they take a break by the river. That same Squirtle tackles Pikachu into the water, where it's horned-attacked by a Goldeen.
The rest of the Squad ties up the trainers before they can react, and are ordered by Meowth to take them to a remote cave. Pikachu gets very sick due to the Goldeen Horn Attack, and Ash begs the Squirtle to let him get medicine.
Across the street from Officer Jenny's substation, and hidden from sight, Team Rocket plans their next mission. Before attacking, they decide to take a lunch break. Little they know they are about to be the Squirtle Squad's next victims.
Jessie, James, and Meowth fall into yet another trap hole, and the Squirtle steal their lunch. Meowth tells them it is Jessie and James' master, and offers them a job: Join Team Rocket and capture Pikachu!
Officer Jenny wants to ensure the young trainers are okay. She has received multiple reports of people being subject to the pranks and practical jokes of the Squirtle Squad.
These are Pokémon that were abandoned or neglected by their owners, and losing confidence in humans, banded together to cause mischief everywhere they go.
Still searching for Route 24, Ash and friends start their new adventure the same way they ended the last one: In a hole! This time, however, they did not fall into a trap set by Team Rocket, but by a group of misfits called The Squirtle Squad.
The trainers climb out of the pit and rebuke the fiendish Pokémon, who won't stop laughing at their practical joke. When the leader of the gang and Pikachu are about to duel, Officer Jenny appears, and all the Squirtle flee.
Seeing how strong Charmander got, Damian decides that now he wants it back. Ash, Misty, and Brock plead with Charmander not to believe Damian, who admits that abandoning it was the best idea, because he didn't have to bother raising it.
Charmander finally realizes that Damian never cared, and rejects him. Teaming up with Pikachu, the two Pokémon get rid of the obnoxious trainer in a fiery and electric blaze. With a new member and friend, the group leaves and keeps looking for Route 24.
Realizing that Charmander will not come with them, Ash and friends leave the Pokémon Center, and continue their search for Route 24. Not long after, they fall into a trap set on the road by Team Rocket, and Pikachu is captured.
When all hope seems lost, Charmander appears and saves Pikachu with its Flamethrower Move. As the charred Team Rocket runs away, Damian shows up having witnessed the impressive attack.
A fight is about to erupt because Damian refuses to pick up Charmander, but Nurse Joy puts and end to it and breaks the groups apart. Ash, Misty, and Brock decide to rescue the fire Pokémon, and facing the storm, go back up the mountain.
Right when the weakened Charmander is being attacked by a flock of Spearow, Pikachu uses its Thunder Shock Attack and sends them away. Everyone returns to the center with the badly injured Pokémon; the flame in his tail is about to go out.
It's been ten days since the group left the hidden village, and Vermilion City is still out of sight. Ash thinks that Route 24 will take them to Vermilion, but cannot find that road either... they are in the middle of nowhere!
Suddenly, a sickly Charmander gets their attention. Brock suggests catching it and taking it to a Pokémon Center, but the little one refuses to be caught. Pikachu explains it is waiting for its trainer.
Deciding to let it be, the group takes off, and Charmander whimpers waiting for its owner to pick it up.
Ash, Misty, and Pikachu desperately look for Brock, but keep falling into one trap after another. When they end up caught in a net and hanging from a tree, Bulbasaur appears, and celebrates the bad luck of its enemies.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket is nearby, following a lead they got about a hidden village full of Pokémon. If true, this is a great opportunity for them to commit a major heist, but time and again, they also fall into several traps.
Bulbasaur tackles Misty's Starmie and Ash's Butterfree, then gets away with Oddish and both disappear in the woods. Trying to follow it, Ash and company press on, until they get to this old hanging bridge.
As they try to cross it, one of the ropes unravels, and the bridge comes apart. Brock drops a tremendous height into the raging river. Ash, Misty and Pikachu barely make it to the other side.
Still trying to get to Vermilion City, the group leaves the main road, and get lost even further in the middle of high grasses and thick trees. After hours of wandering, they stop to rest at a spring, and come across an Oddish.
Misty weakens the Oddish with her Starmie, but when she tries to catch it, a Bulbasaur appears out of the forest to defend it, and prevents the attack.
Pokémon Tech is a boarding school that guarantees entry to the Pokémon League upon graduation, without the need to earn badges. Ash and Misty challenge the bullies, but they dismiss them, and leave.
The mist in the forest was being artificially created by the school for a "Fog Battle Techniques" class, but once dissipated, Ash and friends can see the impressive facilities.
Thinking they are heading to Vermilion City, the group enters a foggy area of the woods. Between the low visibility and the endless bickering between Ash and Misty, they are deviating further from Vermilion.
While looking for firewood, Ash comes across a group of youngsters that seem to be hazing a kid. They claim to be students from the Pokémon Technical Institute helping a classmate with some quiz questions under high-pressure conditions.
