Normally, the expertise of a caring trainer guides a Pokémon’s development, but Pokémon are intelligent creatures with wills of their own, which means they may choose something different from time to time. The Squirtle Squad, first seen in the anime, exemplifies what happens when Pokémon take matters into their own hands.
This gang of Squirtle with sunglasses banded together to cause mischief and, more importantly, to protect one another, distinguishing them from the rest. Even today, Ash Ketchum runs into people he met on his journey across Kanto and beyond.
Ash and his friends were wandering through a town with a Squirtle problem while Ash was still building his team on Indigo League. Five local Squirtle had formed a punk gang and were wreaking havoc wherever they went after being abandoned by their owners for a long time. One Squirtle stood out from the others by wearing pointed sunglasses rather than round ones, indicating that he was the mastermind behind the chaos. Because these Pokémon had come to the conclusion that no human would ever love or protect them, they banded together like stray dogs, relying solely on one another. The Squirtles battled Ash’s team, but only until Team Rocket arrived.
Team Rocket, still intent on stealing Ash’s Pikachu, tricked the Squirtles into assisting them. Pikachu needed a Super Potion to recover from their attack, and the Squirtle Squad even held Misty hostage to make sure nothing went wrong while Ash retrieved the Super Potion with their help. However, the five Squirtle eventually realized that Team Rocket were the true villains and defeated them with Water Gun, sending them blasting off once more. The town was at peace once more, but the Squirtle Squad still had an unfinished business with Ash.
Ash’s boss, Squirtle, was impressed by Ash’s genuine concern for all Pokémon and decided that Ash was a trainer to be respected. As a result, the boss Squirtle abandoned its glasses and became Ash’s sixth Pokémon, while the other four Squirtle became firefighters for this town and others in need. Inspired by Ash’s team, the Squirtles had transformed from delinquents to heroes, and true to their word, the four Squirtles saved the day from accidental fires and other disasters time and time again. In the course of its duties, Ash’s Squirtle ran into old friends and did its fair share of fighting in between missions.
Despite the fact that it did not evolve into a Wartortle or Blastoise, Ash’s Squirtle proved to be a tough and resourceful Pokémon by challenging and defeating a diverse range of opponents. Squirtle won nearly twice as many matches as it lost, but it never forgot its delinquent tough-guy roots, remaining in its Squirtle evolution stage and fighting alone with incredible tenacity worthy of any good-hearted punk.
After a long journey with Ash, this Squirtle said his goodbyes and joined the other four as a firefighting team. Ash and Squirtle spent a lot of their childhood together.