"Very well, Ms.Balmaceda. Thank you."said Brock, as the lady across from him handed him his paycheck.

"Oh, but it should be me thanking you, shouldn't it, Brock?"said the lady.

"Oh, well…"

"Never mind. Honestly, who said men couldn't cook? I myself, have never been a good cook. Never have any of the girls I've hired ever been as good a cook as you have, which is quite a streak of luck, really. My niece shall be coming here, in a few weeks, and she is, not exactly a picky eater, but very…particular about food. Hopefully, she shall have nothing to complain about."

"I hope not."said Brock. "I really hope she likes my cooking. I do need the money."

"Yes, well, just be prepared in a few days. She has quite an appetite."

"Not unlike my brothers and sisters."he smiled.

"Oh, about that. I'm sorry, Brock, but you won't be able to have your younger sibling here while my niece is here. See, she isn't fond of children, and…well, you're going to have to find someone to look after them, or something. She simply will not tolerate it, I think."

"Oh, I'm sure I can keep them quiet."

"I don't know, like I said, she doesn't like children at all."

"But I don't have another place to leave them, and I can't leave them by themselves. After here, I always take them with me to the gym."

"Perhaps they can stay there, I don't know. What I do no is that Crystal will not be happy if they are here. And she's bound to find out. She has the sharpest eyes and ears I have ever seen. She can always find out what people are up to. I know no one who has fooled her for long."

"I promise you, Ms.Balmaceda, they will be absolutely no trouble at all."

"Well, we'll see."

Brock walked back to the kitchen, where his ten brothers and sisters waited to go to the gym.

"Listen,"said Brock as he looked at them. "Ms.Balmaceda will have a visitor not long from today, and you can only stay here with me while I cook if you are very quiet. She does not like noise. You come in, you stay here with me, quietly, and we leave."

"You mean I can't play outside."

"We'll see. Just no noise. Now come on, or we'll be late."

They left the big house where Brock worked to earn a little extra money, and went towards the Pewter City Gym. Ever since their mother had died, Brock had been responsible for the well-being of his ten brothers and sisters. Their father had left years ago and never come back. Brock had always wanted to become a Pokemon Breeder, but he could never leave town, because how in the world was he going to support his ten siblings? He worked for Ms.Anahi Balmaceda during the mornings, to whom his best friend, David's girlfriend, Lily, who also worked there had recommended, cooking, as her doctor did not like her to be over the stove while she was alone, and anyway, he had an unusual fear of touching anything that might be hot, and during the afternoons, he ran the Pewter Gym. He couldn't even be a full-time gym leader! But oh, well, things could be worse, couldn't they? He looked at Suzie's dress. She was always ripping her dresses, and even though he always sewed them up for her, sometimes, well, the damage was just beyond repair. And they were all growing so fast, and school, and all those things. Sometimes Ms.Balmaceda was nice enough either to give him extra money for them, or give them clothes, toys, or anything else she might come up with.

"Ms.Balmaceda gave me this new jacket."said Billy, showing his older brother a jacket he was holding.

"How nice of her. Did you remember to say thank you?"

"Yes."

"Brock,"asked Sarah. "Why does Ms.Balmaceda have so much money, and such a big house and all those pretty things to herself?"

"Oh, well, I guess, because…"Brock looked for the right words. "Well, she's worked for most of her life, she never married, and she is a member from a very rich family."

"Why aren't we from a rich family?"

"Because…well, we just aren't. Just like there are people who are rich, there are people who aren't."

"Why?"

"I'm not exactly sure, Sarah. But don't worry about it."

They arrived at the gym, and all ten boys and girls watched Brock defeat one challenger, and present a badge to another.

"Very well, everyone, it's time to go home."

They walked from the gym to their house, where they had supper, Tommy eating corn flakes, and he put them to bed. Another day, just like any other one. He got out a small notebook to see exactly how his salary should be spent. They could hardly ever afford anything extra.

Ms.Balmaceda, apparently seemed quite overjoyed at her niece's visit.

"Why, you certainly must cook something special, Brock. I'll pay you extra! Anything you can come up with! Why, Crystal will eat just about anything! What's amazing is that she keeps her figure! I only wish I had a figure like that!"she chuckled and shook her head. "It's a shame she is the way she is. So…rebellious. She can be quite polite and well-bred when she wants to, but…I must admit, she is quite irresponsible. She doesn't know anyone here, partly the reason why my brother is sending her here. Probably to get her away from those bad influences, and perhaps even a bad match. He probably hopes I can find a better match for her here, but to be honest, I highly doubt it. If for any reason, she does say something to you, I apologize in advance. She's really a good girl, she's just very short-tempered and impatient. And, well, perhaps even very judgemental, and tends to judge people on the wrong things. You simply must not take anything she says too seriously. For anything, I apologize in advance."

"Oh, I'm sure we will get along, Ms.Balmaceda. I will do everything I can to make your niece, Crystal, as comfortable and happy as possible. I'll prepare one of my own special recipes. I'm sure she will love it."Brock assured her.

"That would be lovely!"

"And I've already spoken to my brothers and sisters. They have promised me to behave."

"Oh, and I'll reward them with something special when she leaves. At least that gives me time to think about it."

Brock smiled and went to work.

"What is she like?"asked Cindy. "Does she wear the same kind of clothes and jewelry as Ms.Balmaceda does?"

"I don't know, Cindy. Maybe."said Brock.

"When will we get to see her?"

"Oh, I don't think so. You see…she's here to spend some time in peace and quiet, and I don't think you will get to meet her, but we'll see. Starting tomorrow, you will all stay right here, in the kitchen, and be as quiet as you can. Have you all got it?"

"Why do we have to be quiet?"asked Timmy.

"Because I said so, that's why."Brock replied.

Crystal Balmaceda Gonzaga looked out the window of the car that was taking her to her aunt's. Her parents said that she must go. And she didn't want to go, not really. She loved her aunt, and she loved to visit her, however, not now. Not when she had the best boyfriend back in Teal City.

"What do they have against him?"she asked. "Him and me?"

But for now, she had to go to Pewter City, and stay there for who knew how long.

Brock prepared one of his best recipes, and as he finished putting the finishing touches on it, he heard voices coming form the dining hall.

"Oh, I think she's here."he told his brothers and sisters. "Now, I want all ten of you to be on your best behavior. Lily will be busy, so be on your best behavior. This hopefully won't take long. Then we have to get to the gym, all right."

"Yes, Brock."they answered in unison.

He nodded, and walked toward the dining room, where Ms.Balmaceda and her niece were already seated. He stopped in his tracks. The girl sitting on Ms.Balmaceda's right hand side was about his own age, with jet-black hair, like…it defied description, and emerald-green eyes.

"Crystal, this is Brock, my new cook. Sandy couldn't keep working for me. She moved away, however, Lily recommended him. He's very good at it, I assure you. Brock, this is my niece, Crystal."

"Hello, Miss Crystal."he said.