For as long as they could remember, they had wanted to be Gym Leaders. As they worked in their father's restaurant that doubled as the town's Gym, they would dream of the day that they would take over. They trained long and hard for that day. They knew that they would run the gym just as well as their father had. And they would do it together.
And when that day finally came, they were ecstatic.
Their father looked at each of them with approving eyes, told them that they had grown into fine young men, and that he was proud to leave the gym in their hands. At this, the three brothers looked at each other, then dissolved into a fit of joy. Their father couldn't help but smile at the spectacle.
"But I'll warn you," he said after they had settled down. He spoke in a firm and professional manner that slightly intimidated the boys. "Running a gym isn't as easy as it seems. It might seem simple now, but you shouldn't let it go to your head."
They had heard this warning several times before, so they paid it little mind. Already, they were imagining themselves engaged in epic battles with trainers from all over, having the honor of bestowing badges to the most worthy opponents.
"And we're going to do it together! Right, guys?"
"You bet!" the fiery-haired boy replied in earnest. "But just you watch, cause I'm gonna be the one who blows away all the competition!"
"I'm not so sure about that," his stoic blue-haired brother responded, maintaining an air of indifference that belied his excitement.
And so they promised that they would support each other and be the best Gym leaders they could be.
...
Chili sat alone in one of the Pokemon Center's empty booths, anxiously waiting for the buzz of the intercom to tell him that his Pokemon were recovered. Desperately he tried to push the events that had placed them here out of his mind.
"Chili!"
Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice. Looking up, he saw his brother Cilan walking over to the booth.
"What are you doing here?" Chili asked. "Your Pokemon are fine, aren't they?"
"I came because I was worried about you," Cilan said as he settled down in the seat across from Chili. "I know it's your first loss as a Gym Leader, and it might seem pretty rough, but please try to cheer up." He gave his brother a warm smile.
"Cheer up?" Chili replied incredulously. "What makes you think I need cheering up? It's not like I'm devastated about this whole thing. It's only one loss, no big deal!"
"Are you sure?" Cilan asked with concern.
"Honest!" Chili stood up and smiled at him. "And you don't need to worry about me. After all, I'm the big brother! If anything, I should be the one worrying about you guys!" At this, he laughed, and Cilan laughed with him.
Soon after, Chili's name was announced over the intercom, and he eagerly rushed to retrieve his newly recovered Pokemon.
...
"Pansear is unable to battle! The victory goes to challenger Hilda of Nuvema Town!"
Chili stared at his beloved companion as it lay beaten on the floor, then back up at the girl who had made it that way, as she hugged her Pokemon in delight. Cress and Cilan tended to their own Pokemon, who had suffered only minor injuries from the day's series of battles.
The young girl trotted up to Chili, wearing a large grin on her face. "That was a great battle, mister!" she said excitedly, producing her hand for a handshake.
Chili thought for a moment. He had lost again. As a Gym Leader, should he feel upset that he was defeated, or proud that he was able to give another aspiring trainer a shot at the Pokemon League? He mulled this over as the girl gave him a puzzled glance, her arm still outstretched.
Finally, Chili figured that, win or lose, he needed to be a good sport. So he took the girl's hand and shook it vigorously.
"It sure was!" he told the young trainer, chuckling softly. "You really burned me out, huh?"
She nodded as Chili took out a badge and pressed it into her palm.
"Here, take this. You earned it!"
The girl's smile grew wider as she placed it into her badge case. With renewed energy and determination, she dashed out the door and onward to the next gym.
Chili stared after her, proud that he had been the one to give her such energy.
...But he couldn't help but think that he ought to win just one battle.
Just one.
...
Even though they were in charge of the gym, the three of them still worked in its restaurant. After all, money had to come from somewhere, didn't it?
And the restaurant brought in plenty. It was widely renowned in Unova, and people would come from all over to sample the food there. They came expecting fantastic taste experiences, and rarely were they disappointed. But lately, there were a lot of problems.
Chili frantically tried to assemble the correct dishes as a young waitress burst in with another long list of complaints.
"The man at Table 7 says his steak is practically a lump of charcoal."
"Sorry!"
"The man at table 12 says there's no fish on his fish sandwich."
"I'll get on that!"
"And the woman at table 4 says that her salad is burnt to a crisp."
"I'm working as fast as I can, jeez!"
Suddenly, the waitress forcefully pulled him aside. She gripped his arm tightly, staring at him with an unusual intensity.
"Listen, you. Just because you own the place doesn't mean you can shirk your duties. We're all stressed out here, but that's no excuse to slack off. Understand?"
Chili was too stunned to respond. Sighing, the waitress let go of him.
"I'll take over from here. Why don't you just wait tables for a while?" The waitress grabbed a dish and handed it to him. "Take this to table 26."
Too exhausted to argue, Chili took it from her and exited the kitchen door, bumping into Cress and nearly dropping the food.
"Are you alright?" Cress asked, only slightly altering the tone of his voice. "You look tired."
Chili was tired, but he wasn't about to show it in front of his younger brother. "What are you talkin' about? I'm fine, see?" To try and illustrate his point, he began to do a little twirl while shifting the dish to his other hand, but fumbled it, nearly dropping the food again.
"I don't believe you're fit to be working in your condition," Cress insisted. "Perhaps you should rest a while. Cilan and I can handle your share of the work."
"No way!" Chili shot back. "I don't need you to do everything for me! I can do my job just as well as you guys!"
Cress stared blankly at him for a moment, then shrugged. "Suit yourself."
He returned to his work as Chili tripped and fell flat on his face.
...
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, Cilan would wake up and go to the kitchen to get a glass of water, maybe a snack.
And when he passed the door to the battlefield, he would find Chili and his Pansear there, training.
The first time he discovered him there, Cilan curiously opened the door and looked in on him. He was discovered immediately.
"Hey there, bro!" Chili called to him, waving and grinning widely as he always did. The little monkey Pokemon mimicked his gestures. "What are you doing up so late?"
"I should be asking you that question," Cilan replied as he walked over to his brother. Upon closer inspection, he could see that Chili was covered in soot, and his clothes were slightly charred.
"Isn't it obvious?" said Chili, as if it were a ridiculous question. "I'm training so I can pull my weight around here! I mean, I can't have you guys winning all the battles, can I?" And he was still smiling, though his smile did little to hide his exhaustion.
Cilan frowned. "But it's not good for you to stay up all night like this. You need to get some sleep and conserve your strength."
"Nuh-uh!" Chili responded defiantly. "I need to train so I can win next time!" He pumped his fists in the air for emphasis, and his Pokemon did the same.
"Have you been training like this every night?" Cilan inquired with concern.
Chili chose not to answer that. "Just five more minutes, and then I'll stop. Promise!" And with that, he and Pansear resumed their training.
Cilan simply shook his head and left to go back to bed.
In the hour it took him to fall asleep, he never heard the door to the battlefield open.
...
Every time he watched Cress smirk and brush back his hair after winning yet another match, Chili became more and more discouraged.
Every time he watched Cilan smile and hug his Pansage after winning yet another match, Chili became more and more jealous.
Every time he was forced to look the nurse at the Pokemon Center in the eye and ask her to heal his Pokemon again, Chili felt more and more inadequate.
And every time his brothers looked at him with those smiles on their faces, Chili tried to give them his usual confident grin, to show them that he was fine.
But he just couldn't.
...
"Pansear is unable to battle! The victory goes to challenger Trip of Nuvema Town!"
Chili stared at the trainer who had beaten him. The haughty teenager and his Snivy both sneered at him with arms crossed.
"My grass-type against your fire-type, yet I still came away with a nearly flawless victory..." The boy frowned. "And you call yourself a gym leader?"
Chili couldn't find the words to respond.
"If you're going to base the theme of your gym around using Pokemon types to your advantage, then I suggest you learn how to do it properly," the boy continued. "If you can't even do that, then you have no business being a Pokemon trainer."
Chili knew that he was supposed to just smile and give the trainer his badge, but those words haunted him and rooted him where he stood.
"Aren't you supposed to give me my badge now?" the boy asked impatiently, as though he had read his mind.
That was it. He couldn't deal with this anymore.
Overcome with rage, Chili took the badge in his hand and threw it at the trainer, not caring whether it hit him or not. Before the boy could respond, Chili ran out of the battlefield. He didn't care where, as long as it took him away from that condescending sneer. Cilan immediately ran after him as Cress tended to the confused and furious trainer.
After a long while of searching, Cilan found Chili in the storage room. He was sitting in the corner, completely silent and still. Cilan approached him cautiously.
"Chili, what's wrong?"
The red-haired boy looked up at him for a moment, then resumed staring at the floor. Not sure what to do, Cilan just watched him and said nothing. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Chili sighed heavily and looked back up at him, speaking in a voice just above a whisper.
"I can't do it."
Cilan looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"
"This gym leader stuff," he replied, without raising his voice. "I can't do it."
Cilan could only stare at him in disbelief. He couldn't believe that this was Chili, the same Chili who was always bragging that he would be the best gym leader in Unova, the same Chili who spiced up the lives of everyone around him with his crazy antics.
"What are you saying?"
"I haven't won a single battle since I became a gym leader," Chili raised his voice angrily. "That trainer was right. What was I thinking, trying to run a Pokemon gym?"
Cilan couldn't bear to hear his brother talking like this. "Don't be ridiculous," he said softly, managing a small smile. "All you need is a little more training, and then you'll be able to win for sure. And don't forget that you're not alone, because you've got me and Cress. We've got plenty of battle experience, so we'll-"
"Of course you do!" Chili shouted with such sudden intensity that Cilan flinched. In one swift movement, Chili was up on his feet, shaking with anger. "You guys never have any problems, do you? It's all so easy for you guys, isn't it?"
Cilan backed away slowly, raising his arms in front of him. For a moment, he was actually afraid that Chili would hurt him.
"I'm supposed to be the big brother..." Chili grew quieter. "I'm supposed to be the one that's helping you guys..."
Cilan didn't dare speak, but simply nodded.
"Well, I've had it!" Chili yelled. "You guys can run the gym by yourselves, because I quit! I'm tired, I'm stressed, I'm pissed off, and I just can't take it anymore!"
In a fit of rage, he grabbed a china dish from one of the storage shelves and threw it across the room, barely missing Cilan and shattering it on the wall. Cilan stared at him, dumbfounded. He looked like he was about to say something else but, since no more words would come to him, he simply buried his head in his hands and screamed.
Cilan stood and watched as Chili screamed himself hoarse, ignoring the tears streaming down his face. Then, having exhausted nearly all his energy, he dropped to his knees and compressed himself into a little ball on the floor, making a pathetic attempt to stifle the sobs that wanted to escape from him. Cilan was shocked; this was the first time he'd seen his older brother so helpless.
Quietly, Cilan got on his knees and put his arms around his brother. Chili tensed at the sudden contact, but made no move to stop him. Encouraged by this, Cilan pulled him closer.
"I know it's hard," he whispered to the redhead, who was still shaking with pent-up anger. "But you don't have to bottle up your frustration just because you're a gym leader."
Chili spoke, having calmed down enough to form coherent sentences. "But...how the heck do you guys make it seem so easy...?"
"It's hard for us, too. I'm always worrying that the gym might get damaged, or that my Pokemon might get seriously hurt..." Cilan chuckled a little. "But I know that even if such a thing did happen, I'd have you and Cress to support me."
Chili was silent.
"And you don't need to pin so much responsibility on yourself," Cilan continued. "You don't need to be strong for our sake... If you're frustrated, then go ahead and let it out."
And so, despite his determined effort to keep what was left of his dignity, Chili did just that.
Cilan held his brother as he let out all of the angry sobs that he had been holding back. By the time he was done, he was breathing heavily, and Cilan's shoulder was soaked with tears. But he had finally stopped shaking.
"Feel better now?" Cilan asked.
Chili nodded, removing himself from Cilan's embrace.
"Just remember, you don't have to do it all alone. The three of us are in this together."
Chili smiled weakly. "Jeez, you're such a romantic, aren't you?"
And Cilan smiled back. Because in that weak smile, he saw a hint of the energetic, confident Chili he knew and loved.