And Chapter 36 it is! I usually have some rhyme or reason for the title, but this time I just picked something that doesn't really have to do with the chapter, but I think it fits it nicely. That was an odd way to word it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 36: Comfortable

We headed off again towards Olivine City the next morning. I quite enjoyed Johto; the people in this region were different, almost nicer. Unova was known for having a wide range of people and I found it interesting how everyone in Johto was quite even tempered. The Pokémon in the Johto region were also quite interesting. In Unova we had our specific lot of Pokémon, none from other regions except on the far east side where hardly anyone was allowed; and no other region had our type of Pokémon either.

I was probably quite stupid with how I approached wild Pokémon though, just assuming they would like me, but I had never had an incident so I kept greeting them with a smile and an outstretched hand. I stopped this however when I messed with an agitated Ursaring and scared us all half to death.

For the next few days everything went according to plan. We were on schedule to arrive in Olivine City in the next three or four days and Ash was more pumped than ever.

I trained also and my Pokémon seemed to be benefiting from all of my attention greatly, learning many new moves. I sat down for dinner that night on the grass, liking how cool it felt and my eyes glanced over to where all of our Pokémon were happily munching away. I smiled as I watched Drilbur catch sight of a Beedrill and quickly chase it off. I chuckled to myself and took another bite. He came back and again tugged on my arm, asking if I had seen what a great job he had done.

"Yes, that was wonderful, thank you" I said and petted his head. He looked like he could explode with happiness but instead flashed a bright white. My eyes widened as my small Drilbur soon morphed into a much larger and much more intimidating creature; an Excadrill.

Everyone gaped at the new Pokémon and I smiled.

"Great job Excadrill" I said, marveling at the new Pokémon. He now had the characteristics of a steel type Pokémon as well and it was easily visible. He had a large metal claw coming out of his neck that arched over his head; also the claws on his arms were now made of steel. He marched over and sat down next to his bowl, looking proud of himself.

"Wow" Misty said, shuddering, "He's scary"

I laughed, "And yet he is still a sweetheart" I said while watching him happily chow down on Brock's delicious Pokémon food.

We finished our meal and I helped clean up. Brock thanked me with a kiss on the cheek and I was blushing as much as he was. I again plopped down on the grass and pulled out the book on Pokémon Cheren had given me. Sure enough it was much more updated and had more current information than my old beat up one had. Out of the corner of my eye I again saw Excadrill chase away the same Beedrill, who was bound and determined to get some Pokémon food; Excadrill marched back in, looking proud. I had looked back down at the book but then felt a sharp pain in my right arm.

"Hrng" I let out, biting my tongue at the pain. I turned a little to see Excadrill, again tugging on my arm, wondering if I had seen what a great job he had done. The only difference was that his normally dull claws were now sharp as razors, and made of metal which had borne a large slice in my arm.

"Ow" I mumbled to myself, looking at the back of my bicep which was now bleeding profusely.

Talace and Brock both noticed at the same time and both acted similarly. Talace stood up and roared at Excadrill, blasting a flamethrower to hit him, sending him backwards and almost knocking him unconscious. I could tell Talace was furious Excadrill had hurt me and I pinched my mouth into a worried line, wondering how this was going to play out.

Excadrill was now angry also and let out an earthquake attack. It was quite effective against Talace and now the whole camp was shaking. Brock had quickly stood up and started to rush over to me, but now was stumbling around with the shaking ground, trying to walk in a straight line.

Vanillish let out a small jingle and looked scared half to death while Klang and Litwick looked to be almost bored with the situation. Talace growled and quickly started slamming his fists into Excadrill. My eyes widened, not sure what to do but Sigilyph did. He was a flying type and so he wasn't affected by any of this and sent out a Hypnosis attack to calm both Excadrill and Talace, sending them into a deep sleep. The earth stopped moving and I sighed, still clutching my arm tightly, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Thanks Sigilyph" I said with a smile and he chirped in recognition, to then return to his bowl and happily finish his dinner.

Brock quickly bandaged me up, now for the second time and I wondered why I was suddenly so accident prone as I looked down at my leg that was still in the large boot.

"There" Brock said, smiling, "All better"

I looked at my arm and smiled as I realized the bleeding had stopped, and he had successfully wrapped it up.

"Thanks Brock" I said and leaned forwards to gently press my lips to his cheek. I leaned back and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Aw, it was nothing"

Soon enough Talace and Excadrill slowly awoke. Talace began to growl again and I scolded him. He looked hurt and grunted, saying he was only trying to protect me. I shook my head and told him that it was an accident. He eyed Excadrill carefully but returned to his food. Brock also shot an accusatory glance towards Excadrill and I patted him on the shoulder, also telling him it was an accident. I walked over and knelt next to Excadrill.

He grunted and I could tell he was saying he was sorry.

"It's alright sweetie. You just have to be careful now. Those things are weapons, and so you can't exactly act the same way as you did as a Drilbur." I said, pointing to his talons.

He nodded and moved his claws around, trying to get used to them. I knew right after a Pokémon evolved it would have some issues if it gained a type or some physical trait. I had had troubles with Darmanitan because after he evolved he had to walk on four legs instead of two, and it had taken him a long time to get used to that. Also when Venipede evolved into a Whirlipede and had to roll around everywhere. So now it was Excadrill's turn to get comfortable with his new assets.

We traveled for two days after that before we set up camp in a beautiful clearing by a lake that had an abandoned cabin.

"This looks like a good spot" Brock said, dropping his bag to the ground.

That day we had a ton of fun, we went swimming, and trained. It reminded me of our days in the Orange Islands and I smiled at the memory. I however couldn't get in the water with my foot so I just laid at the edge of the lake, watching Ash and Misty splash around. Brock stayed with me because he felt bad. I told him he could go join in but he refused and said he would much rather stay out with me. He sealed this promise with a kiss and I didn't protest after that.

We all climbed into bed that night with a smile on our faces.

The next morning I woke up and decided to go get some firewood. I looked around the camp and saw a familiar sight. Ash playing with Pikachu, Misty trying to help Brock cook, but being distracted by Psyduck, who was trying as hard as he might to help, but just ending up making things worse; and Brock hunched over a pot, boiling water.

I headed out and came back with an armful of logs. I set them down and frowned.

"Where's Brock?"

Misty sighed, "He's sick"

"I just saw him about ten minutes ago and he was fine" I said in disbelief.

"He just collapsed" Ash said, "and so we dragged him back to bed"

I frowned and walked into the cabin to see that they were right. Brock was lying in bed, a light sheen of sweat covering his face and neck.

"Oh, sweetie" I said in a sympathetic voice. Golbat and Pineco were keeping him company and watched as I pulled a stool over to sit by his bed.

He turned to me and tried to get up.

"Nope, no you don't" I said pushing him back down.

He protested, saying he had to make lunch but I shook my head, telling him we could take care of it for a day.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure" I said with a smile, brushing some hair out of his face. I found a washcloth and dampened it to put it on his forehead.

"So what do we need to do that you usually do?" I asked.

"Well, it should all be in my journal" he said.

I nodded, "Alright, you get some rest and we will take care of everything"

I gave him a peck on his cheek and squeezed his hand before I left.

As soon as I exited the cabin Misty and Ash bombarded me with questions as to what we were supposed to do all day.

"He said it was all in his journal" I said and fished it out of his backpack. I plopped down on the ground and opened it to the page that was titled, 'Daily Chores'. I skimmed the list and sighed, Brock did a lot more than I realized. Misty, Ash, and I went over the list, divvying up the tasks. We all decided to do the first one together however, which was polishing Brock's rock Pokémon.

I managed to climb up on top of Onix and grabbed a washcloth and some sand to polish the giant Pokémon, just like the instructions in Brock's book had said. Onix purred when I did so and I could tell he liked it.

"Alright then, let's get this task done!" I heard Ash yell and looked down to see he had a hose in his hand. Goodness knows where he got it but it was the last thing I wanted to see at the moment.

"Wait no!" I yelled but it was too late. Ash turned on the hose and sprayed it at Onix who promptly freaked out. He roared as he dodged the spray of water, and I had to cling to the rock jutting out from his head for dear life not to get knocked off.

"Ash stop!" Misty yelled and yanked the hose out of his hands.

"What's wrong, you said to polish and clean Onix and Geodude" Ash said with an innocent look on his face.

"Rock Pokémon don't like water, genius" Misty said and huffed as she turned the water off.

"Oh, I forgot" Ash said and chuckled to himself while Pikachu muttered something and shook his head.

We successfully polished Brock's Pokémon until they shined and began working on the other tasks. Misty was assigned to cooking and Ash and I went gather firewood, any fruit we could find, and water. We returned after a while to see Misty stirring a pot with a smile on her face.

"You guys, cooking is so much fun" she said with a grin.

We both nodded and set the table for lunch. Misty set out her stew and Ash and I gasped. It was purple in color and had a foul odor coming from it.

"Uh, I'm not hungry" Ash said quickly and slipped a bite of an apple while Misty wasn't looking.

"Oh come on, it will be delicious" Misty said with a smile and took a bite of her mystery stew. Her face soon turned sour and I laughed.

She quickly dumped it out and handed me the pot to cook. I sighed and tried to remember what Brock had taught me. I started making chicken noodle soup because I figured it not only would be nutritious, but good for Brock since he was sick. In a half an hour, with the help of Misty and Ash I had successfully made a batch of soup and took it in to Brock.

He was asleep with a smile on his face and I grinned at how peaceful he looked. I gently shook him awake and he grunted.

"I brought lunch" I said, sitting back down on the stool by his bed.

He sat up a little and smiled.

"I was having a dream about you"

I chuckled, "I hope it was good"

He nodded, "It was" and then took the bowl from me.

He was about to take a bite when he suddenly got a devilish grin and handed it back to me, slouching, trying to look weak.

"I can't do it myself" he said in a whimper.

One of my eyebrows shot up, "You can't feed yourself?"

He shook his head, "too….. weak" he said and a smile broke onto his face.

I rolled my eyes and gave him back the bowl, knowing he was perfectly capable of doing it himself.

He took a bite and his eyebrows shot up, "Did you make this?"

I flinched, "Yeah" I answered, dreading that it tasted bad.

I looked down at the ground, averting my gaze but soon saw Brock jolting forward to press his lips against mine. I violently pushed back and he looked hurt.

"Keep your germs to yourself, sicky" I said and wiped my mouth but smiled.

He chuckled and took another bite.

"I think this is some of the best soup I have ever had" he said after a few minutes and I beamed.

"Good!" I exclaimed and took a bite of my own.

"Thank you for making this for me" he said quietly.

I smiled, "Anytime"

He looked up at me and stared into my eyes with an intensity I hadn't seen before. After a few moments he broke the silence.

"I love you White" he said in the most sincere voice I had ever heard.

I widened my eyes, shocked but smiled after a moment of thought.

"I love you too Brock" I said. I really did mean it. Brock and my relationship was vastly different from the one I had with N, but I loved them both. I honestly didn't know how to compare them, and I didn't think I could.

"Would you stay in here with me for the rest of the day?" Brock questioned and I nodded.

I poked my head out of the cabin.

"You guys are on your own for the rest of the day; I'm staying in here to take care of Brock"

Misty and Ash nodded before I closed the door. Brock patted the bed next to him and I had just started to walk over when I heard the familiar sound of my X-transceiver. I gave Brock an apologetic look before I walked outside and sat behind the cabin to take the call.

"Hello" I answered and N's face popped onto the screen.

"Hi White" he said with a huge smile.

"So what's up?" I asked, wondering why it had been so long since his last call.

"Lots of things, all of which I can't tell you" he said with a smirk but soon continued. "I'm sorry I haven't called for…. five days" he said with a frown, "I've wanted to but I just haven't had the time."

I nodded, letting him know I understood; I was still curious about what had been going on though.

N's eyes suddenly widened and he frowned.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked in a worried tone. I looked down and realized I still had my arm bandaged up. It was still awfully deep and I would have to keep something over it for a while.

"I just got a cut" I said.

He grunted, "I think it is a little more than a cut to be wrapped like that"

"Don't-" I started but N cut me off.

"Are you sure I don't have to come to Johto to make sure you're alright?"

I smiled, "N, I'm fine; you'll see me when I come back."

He frowned, "It kills me having you so far away you know" he said in a quiet voice.

I gave him a sad look.

"And just like with Talace your safety is my number one priority, and I can't protect you when you are off in another region" he said, fiddling with a pencil.

"N" I said in a soothing voice, "I'm fine, I promise, and just like you said Talace is here to protect me, you really don't need to worry"

He nodded but still looked a little uncomfortable.

"So when are you coming back?" he asked.

"Um, I figured I would come back after Ash's next gym battle."

N nodded and sighed.

"I have to go, love" he said in a sad tone.

"Alright N"

"I love you White" he said in an intense voice that made me feel funny inside.

"I love you too N" I cooed and we both hung up.

I walked back in to see Brock nervously drumming his fingers on the bed next to him, a worried look on his face. When I came in he smiled though and again patted the bed. I smiled and pulled something out of my bag before walking over to give it to him.

"Here" I said, "I think I missed your birthday too" I said with a smile and handed him a white box.

He gave me a hesitant look but opened the box. He pulled out an X-transceiver and grinned.

"For me?" he questioned.

"No, for Onix" I said in a sarcastic tone before I laughed, "of course it's for you"

He chuckled and smiled back, "Thank you, I guess you picked up on my irritation at only being able to call you at gyms"

"Just a little" I said with a smile, "I hope you don't mind but I got Misty and Ash one too"

He shook his head, "That's fine"

I smiled and climbed into the bed beside him. He pulled the covers up and wrapped his arm around me.

I had decided to take the risk of getting sick if I sat with Brock and snuggled into his chest.

"Are you feeling any better?" I questioned.

"Yeah, especially now that you're here" he said with a smile showing through in his voice.

I smiled also. We talked for a long time, watching the sky slowly turn dark outside. We played some games and had an overall good time. I sighed as my eyes started to droop. Brock kissed the top of my head and tucked in the blanket around me. I frowned; I was supposed to be taking care of him and yet it once again seemed he was once again taking care of me. I could hear him start to hum an unidentified song.

I smiled to myself and gently fell asleep, lulled by both Brock's humming, and his presence.