Here is the seventh tale in Brock's spinoff story released, released around when I expected though its time period is a little earlier than planned. For those interested, this chapter is set during the Cremini arc of Dreams and around the time Ash and Dawn were reaching the area around Cremini Town so between Parts LX and LXI. This is also the second to last chapter in the Spinoff, excluding a special epilogue that won't be written for a long time. Anyway, that is all that I have to address for now as there are no reviews to address so please sit back and enjoy the seventh installment in Luck Strikes the Heart.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Supporting Ash
"Alright that should do it." Brock said as he put down the last dish and sat opposite Lucy at the table set up in her garden while their Pokémon ate or played near them. "Another good date night."
"Any night is good with you Brock." Lucy said with a small smile that always warmed his heart. "But this has been needed."
Brock just nodded as they began eating the delicious meal. The last few weeks had been hectic for both of them, especially Brock, as trainers scrambled to get the last few badges they needed to be eligible for the Indigo Conference. Brock had been working overtime with his mentor and the Nurse Joy at the Fuchsia Pokémon Center to deal with all the Pokémon, both those of trainers and Janine's as she took on all challengers. It had been hectic but finally there had been a brief lull to allow everyone a chance to recover.
Lucy too had been busy. In that time she had been operating the Battle Pike to face a handful of challengers to it but that hadn't been the main issue. No it turned out that there had been so many trainers coming in for battles with Janine, that Lucy's rival and a representative from the Pokémon League had come to the Battle Pike to ask Lucy to serve as the third string, emergency Fuchsia Gym Leader.
Aya was the backup leader, something all gyms were meant to have, and that was all official but with the influx reaching bursting point, Janine had gotten permission from the Pokémon League to appoint an emergency leader with full rights for when her and Aya were out of Pokémon but there were still challengers wanting the Soul Badge.
It was seldom used but Brock knew of it well, his brother Forrest had held the role in the past though because of their father's incompetence it hadn't been official until Forrest became the official leader shortly after Brock returned from Sinnoh. With Lucy it was and Scott had also approved as apparently at least 3 other Frontier Brains occasionally served in that role in either Kanto or Johto gyms.
As such Lucy had had to step in and run the gym on a few occasions over the last month when Janine and Aya ran out of Pokémon and needed to get them healed and take a break to recover. Due to the Fuchsia Gym rules dictating battles be of 3 Pokémon each and that the leader only use Pokémon with a poison typing, Lucy had to borrow Croagunk from Brock to complete a trio of poison type Pokémon with her Seviper and Arbok. She had also asked him to bring in his Crobat as a 4th Pokémon to switch in when needed.
It had been an interesting experience for Lucy but not one that she wanted to repeat anytime soon. She enjoyed the Battle Pike because of its independence and the freedom she had in running it due to the Battle Frontier being privately owned. A gym leader was a whole different world and she didn't enjoy dealing with the Pokémon League.
However, Janine needed her aid and despite their rivalry Lucy was going to step up and help her out because she knew the woman needed it. Well that and she was the only one in the area with the expertise and skill level to fill the role that the Pokémon League would approve of.
Now, though, the couple had a brief rest bit from the chaos. Lucy was effectively done with the Frontier for the year as all but one on it had either beaten her or given up and there had been a slight lull in trainers challenging the gym so both her and Brock weren't needed there. There was expected to be a surge sometime in the next few weeks though as the deadline to get 8 Kanto badges approached but for the moment they could enjoy another date night under the stars.
Lucy really needed this. The last few weeks had been chaos, especially for Brock and it had made her realize just how much she loved him when she couldn't see him as much as she usually could. She also missed his cooking, there was nothing that could beat it, so this night was perfect for them.
"As it is whenever I am with you my queen." Brock said making Lucy blush like a schoolgirl at his latest nickname for her, only Brock could bring out this side in her and she loved it. "It has been a little much as of late."
"Tell me about it, I haven't seen it this bad in my entire time here." Lucy said. "It's never gotten to the point where Janine had to come and ask me to help her out at the gym. Her ego usually wouldn't let it but seeing the influx I could understand why she and Aya needed me."
"Well you did the right thing in aiding her." Brock said. "It really helped out and ensured that more trainers got the chance to challenge for the Soul Badge."
"Yeah I know." Lucy said. "She needed a break at times and Aya, while good, isn't at our level so it was a little overwhelming for her. Plus I do love a good battle."
"That you do." Brock said as he realized that he had an opening for what he wanted to ask Lucy. "Speaking of battles, I have something I want to run by you."
"Course, what is it?" Lucy said smiling at Brock eager to hear his idea, it usually meant more time together that was almost impossible to pass up short of other commitments. "If it's a training battle I am so down for that, Servine could use the experience. I think he's nearing evolution and Elektrik is doing well but not ready for a Thunder Stone just yet."
"No but that is something we could do tomorrow." Brock said with a slight spasm at the mention of Lucy's electric type, Croagunk had charged Elektrik with chaperoning Brock while he aided Lucy and the EleFish Pokémon had really taken to the role. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the Grand Festival and the Indigo Conference this year. I have to be at the latter, all Pokémon Doctors in their second year of training have to be there to lend aid to the Doctors and the Nurse Joys on the Plateau so why don't we make it a trip together."
"Croa." Croagunk croaked at Brock in warning from his food his fingers glowing purple for a moment.
"Yes you are coming with me to make sure I'm a good boy." Brock grumbled to his chaperone, he couldn't leave Croagunk here or at home even if he tried. "Anyway, I have to be there and Ash is in it this year, as well as Dawn almost certainly being in the Grand Festival, so I want to support them. I will be on call but I have a seat at the matches, just a special section so I won't be able to spend time with them, and I can bring one guest. Naturally I want that guest to be you."
"I'd love to go with you." Lucy said smiling at Brock before it fell slightly as she sighed. "But I, probably we, can only go to the latter one. We will have to remain here for the Grand Festival, or at least I will."
"How so?" Brock asked confused.
"Well I have a challenger expected around then someone who was discovered late and is taking her time to challenge the Frontier." Lucy explained remembering Scott's message that morning about that challenger. "She won't be here until around the week before the Grand Festival and we don't get time off for that. We do get time off for the Indigo Conference as Scott attends it every year, it's where he found me, so we can definitely go to that. I haven't been since I was in it so it will be fun. However, I think you will be needed here before the Conference as well."
"I can understand that for you and of course I will stay here with you but I don't see how I am needed here?" Brock asked confused. "I am already planning on asking my mentor for the time off. The Indigo Conference serves as my final for the year, it's a practical exam naturally, so I can use the Grand Festival as a way to study up for it."
"True but from what I recall, the Pokémon League only shuts down operations a fortnight before the Conference." Lucy said. "Around the time the Grand Festival ends in fact. That is the deadline for securing the 8 badges to qualify, or for past qualifiers to notify the League of their intention to re-enter like Ash has."
"Oh I see, yeah that makes sense." Brock said realizing where Lucy was going with this. "Give people as much time as possible to get the needed badges. Ash usually got the badges with a little time to spare so I never questioned it. I know that Contests usually have a little more time between the deadline and the Grand Festival but they are different creatures as they are one-time things each year."
"That they are but we can watch it on TV, I know you will want to watch it and the final is an event that I can shut the Battle Pike down for." Lucy suggest. "So we can cuddle up and watch your friend Dawn win it."
"Yeah she really deserves it." Brock said with a nod. "I do like that idea and cuddling with you."
"Well we will be rooting for her." Lucy said blushing a little at the thought of snuggling up to her rock on the sofa. "Then we can head up to the Plateau for the Conference. By that point there won't be challengers here so I won't be needed anymore. Janine is expecting a second wave in the next week or two, that's why we need to stay. I'm once again on call and may even be promoted to backup as Aya really isn't qualified for the role beyond taking over temporarily when Janine is out of town and there may be one or two challengers. You will likely be needed in the Pokémon Center during that time."
"Oh yeah I hadn't really thought about that until just now." Brock said. "Guess I will have to let Dawn know about it, she'll be upset but she will understand and be happy that we are watching. Though are you sure you want to be the backup leader?"
"No I don't but you were a gym leader once, you know how the Pokémon League operates." Lucy said. "They are rather restrictive on who they let run a gym."
"More than you could imagine thanks to my father's utter incompetence." Brock said with a sigh at the memory of his father's failure to submit paperwork that almost cost them the Pewter Gym, as well everything else he'd messed up. "They will want someone of comparable skill to Janine to back her up and frankly that is you not Aya."
"Yes it is." Lucy said. "Which is why Aya needs to get trained by Janine to be a proper backup leader in case this happens again. I'll accept it if I have to but I don't want to."
"Understandable." Brock said with a nod. "So it's settled then, we are staying here and watching the Grand Festival and then going up to the Plateau to support Ash even if I likely won't be able to see him during it due to work."
"Yes though as a Frontier Brain I technically have to be neutral during the event." Lucy said though she would of course be supporting Ash as he was Brock's best friend. "Speaking of your friend, has she qualified for the Grand Festival yet? You said that she was heading out on a cruise to get her last 2 ribbons out on the islands when I returned from Unova but has she updated you?"
"Alas Dawn went one for two out there." Brock said shaking his head. "She won her first Contest but then lost her second one to one of the other hyped-up favorites and apparently got injured in the process. She lost to a girl called Mollie who she said I beat in the same Contest the one time I entered a Contest but I don't remember her. I'll see her on TV at the Grand Festival as she qualified when she beat Dawn so I'll probably remember her then."
"I see." Lucy said recalling Brock's story of entering a Contest to impress a woman, and the subsequent Poison Jabs he'd received from Croagunk for it. "So I take it Dawn has found another Contest to compete in for her last ribbon."
"She has, she's going to be in the Cremini Town Contest." Brock said surprising Lucy, she knew that town. "She sent a message after Ash beat Blaine and they returned to the mainland that that was where they were heading last I heard. It's a place that sounds familiar but I can't recall it."
"Well it is near the Battle Tower so you likely have been there." Lucy said. "That's where Anabel is based, the final Frontier Brain these days since Brandon's retirement."
"That where I remember it." Brock said as it all came back to him. "Ash faced Anabel twice because he rushed the first battle and lost it. He won the rematch though. It was a good battle and he managed to negate Anabel's ability enough to win."
"Wait, Ash was one of the trainers who Anabel beat the year he faced me." Lucy said as something Anabel had said to the other Frontier Brains suddenly returned to her brain. "Did he think she was a guy at first when she brought him to her place to change after ending up in a lake with him and then won his rematch because he knocked out the lights so she couldn't see where the final attack came from?"
"Yeah, all of that." Brock said confused. "How do you know?"
"Because we all talk about our matches and lives, that's how they all know I have a boyfriend now but not who you are as I am enjoying keeping it a secret, and Anabel said she had a challenger like that." Lucy said remembering how odd Anabel had been acting then. "A special one who she was sad to see go and praised more than anyone else. I, I think Ash made the same impression on her that you made on me that year. At least that's the impression I got even if Anabel didn't confirm it."
"Oh." Brock said realizing what Lucy meant. "That honestly wouldn't surprise me knowing Ash and Arceus loves to mess with him so I am pretty sure that if he ventures out to Cremini Town then he will run into Anabel. Likely it will be memorable and involve Beedrills, Ash has a way of really angering that Pokémon."
"And she's not the kind of person to get over feelings easily from what I've gathered." Lucy said. "In fact, I am pretty sure Ash is the only person she's ever had feelings for as she has never acted that way about anyone else as long as I have known her."
"Which means that she will run into Dawn if she runs into Ash." Brock said. "And that could be interesting for both of them. I know that both are mature women and can handle it sensibly but it will still be interesting."
"That it will be, I'll have to ask Anabel about it soon." Lucy said deciding to drop a message to the youngest Frontier Brain and check up on her in the morning. "But enough talk about that, we still have desert and I have something special for that."
"You do?" Brock asked. "What?"
Lucy didn't say anything, she just winked at him, pick up her plate the serving dish and turn to walk back to her house, swaying her hips just a shade more than necessary as she did knowing Brock was looking and possibly drooling a little. Brock was as he grinned and picked up the rest of the plates and followed his girlfriend into the house. They had made plans for the future; it was now time to really enjoy the present.
Soon though everything would all change. Brock had everything he needed, he just needed the right time, the right moment, and then everything would be infinitely greater between him and his Pike Queen.
A nice little cliffhangery ending there to finish another chapter in this short, sweet, tale of Brock and Lucy's love. There is only one more chapter left to tell in their story this year and that will be released during or right after the Grand Festival arc of Dreams and then Luck will end. There is a planned epilogue but after the next chapter y'all will see why it will be released in a while. Anyway, that is all for this chapter, as always please favorite, follow, and review and don't forget to follow me for more great content. Until next time.
Stringdog