SURPRISE!
That's right, my faithful readers! An actual new chapter of A New Era, A New Adventure! I honestly feel so bad about the lack of updates this story has been reccieving. The problem is that the chapters for this story are SO long, and take so long to actually write out and perfect. Such hard work is hard to do in college, especially when you hate said college. It's hard to concentrate and devote time to it. So, I do truly apologize for the wait. Fortunately, this chapter is super long, and was hopefully worth the wait! I've already started on the next chapter, as well.
Last time: Aiden, being the son of the Pokemon Master, was touted to capture a trouble making Absol. Unfortunately for him, Aiden was paired up to do this alongside his life long rival, Sam Oak. Even worse, the two boys didn't agree on how Absol should be caught, or why it was even misbehaving! In the end, it turns out Absol was only trying to warn the town it was "tormenting" of an incoming disaster, and that it wasn't a bad Pokemon at all! And, after a battle with the dark type, Aiden managed to capture him and make Absol the newest part of his team!
Chapter 17: Breed to Succeed!
Brandon couldn't sleep.
He and the Ketchum siblings had reached a medium sized town called Payne City, and the three were staying in the town's Pokémon Center. For one reason or another, however, Brandon was feeling sort of down. He hadn't even attempted to flirt with Nurse Joy, which Aiden and Michelle had found more than strange.
Sighing, Brandon sat up and slid out of bed, opening the window and climbing out of it with ease. He had always been an agile boy, he just didn't showcase it often. Once outside on the grass, Brandon pulled out the poke ball that he always kept with him. Enlarging it, he pressed the center button and freed his partner Pokémon: Cranidos.
"Cran?" Cranidos asked sleepily, staring up in confusion at his trainer.
"Sorry for waking you up, Cranidos," Brandon smiled sympathetically. "I was just kind of lonely, I guess."
Cranidos nodded and sat down by Brandon's feet, looking up into the sky. The dark haired boy followed his Pokémon's actions, staring up at the twinkling stars with particular interest. Tilting his head down, Cranidos then chose to shuffle over to Brandon's side, poking at the boy with one of his claws.
"Hm?" Brandon asked, looking down at his bewildered Pokémon.
"Cran?" Cranidos inquired.
"I don't really know what's bothering me," Brandon shrugged. "I'm just feeling kind of down. Its fun watching Aiden win gym badges and Michelle compete in her Contests, but I feel like I'm doing nothing. I know there isn't much for an aspiring Pokémon Breeder to do other than hone their skills, but still. I wish I could do something competitive like those two. I need a challenge."
Cranidos sighed tiredly and nuzzled against his trainer's side. Smiling sadly, Brandon stroked his partner's head before continuing to stare up into the night sky.
What can I do?
XXX
The next morning, Aiden and Michelle were surprised to find that Brandon was not in the room. Rather, they found him right outside the window, busily cooking over a fire that he had kindled using sticks.
"Hey, Brandon, what're you doing makin' breakfast?" Aiden asked his friend, causing the slightly older boy to look up. "We're at a Pokémon Center, ya know. They've got food here!"
"Not that we don't like your food," Michelle added, squeezing in next to Aiden. "We just thought you would get to sleep in and not have to do any extra work today!"
Chuckling, Brandon continued to stir the pot full of mixed ingredients and refuted, "nah, its fine! I was in the mood to cook. Come on, get dressed and come outside! Breakfast is almost ready."
Aiden and Michelle threw other confused looks, but nevertheless, the twins changed into their day clothes, gathered their poke balls, and headed outside to where Brandon was situated. He had already set up a picnic blanket along with the bowls and spoons they would all need to eat their meal. Brandon had even set up the Pokémon's food, as evidenced by Numel, who was busily eating. Cranidos, on the other hand, was helping Brandon to finish his cooking.
"Man, you really kept yourself busy this morning, huh?" Aiden glanced at his best friend.
"Of course!" Brandon nodded, not even looking over his shoulder. "It's what I do."
"Are you okay, Brandon?" Michelle sounded fairly concerned. "You've been acting kind of strange."
"I'm just fine!" Brandon's voice was a bit too cheerful for Michelle to believe. He jumped up from his crouching position and hurried over to the red head with a bottle in hand. "Here's Pichu's milk!" And then he scurried back to sit in front of the silver pot.
"…thanks…" Michelle blinked. Pichu, who was being cradled in the coordinator's arms, began to mewl penuriously for her food. Smiling, Michelle positioned the bottle in front of Pichu's mouth and giggled lovingly when the baby electric type began to eat ravenously from it.
"Michelle…" Aiden dragged his sister away by her shoulders until they were out of Brandon's ear shot, "Brandon is acting really weird."
"I know!" Michelle's eyes widened. "I don't understand what's up with him."
"He's being way too happy," Aiden raised an eyebrow, "but…it feels like he's sad."
"I think he's just putting up a front," Michelle agreed.
"So…what do we do?"
"Well, first we have to figure out what's actually bothering him," Michelle pressed her lips together. "We're not going to get anywhere just by making guesses or assumptions."
"How are we supposed to get the truth out of him?" Aiden folded his arms.
Twisting her mouth, Michelle thought silently for a few moments before grinning at her twin and announcing, "I have an idea!"
She skipped back over to where Brandon was just finishing making breakfast for the humans. He could feel her shadow casted over him, and after a few seconds, he looked up to smile at the young coordinator.
"What's up, Michelle?" He asked brightly.
"Why are you depressed?" Michelle came right out with it. Brandon pulled a look of surprise, while Aiden squeaked and jumped forward, shoving his face right into his sister's.
"Michelle, what are you even doing?!" Aiden was waving his arms wildly. "That was your big plan?!"
"It was blunt," Michelle shrugged.
"Yeah, no kidding!"
"Guys, I already told you, I'm not sad about anything!" Brandon chuckled.
"Oh that is such a lie," Michelle rolled her eyes.
"Huh?" Brandon's interest was clearly piqued.
"Michelle's right, bro," Aiden shook his head. "There's definitely something up with you. We're not stupid, you know."
Michelle sniggered at this, and Aiden threw her a patented glare that was obviously learned from their mother.
"Guys, really, I'm fine," Brandon murmured. He was starting to sound less and less convincing, however.
"Brandon, come on, we know you're not," Michelle's voice softened as she shuffled closer to the future breeder. Kneeling down next to him, with Pichu still in her arms, Michelle smiled encouragingly at her longtime friend and encouraged, "you can tell us anything, you know."
"Yeah, we're not gonna' tease you or anything," Aiden smiled. "We just wanna' help you!"
Sighing, Brandon took the pot off the fire and put it down on the table. Turning to look at his two friends once again, Brandon continued, "fine. I've been feeling a little down lately."
"That much is obvious," Michelle lowered her arms as the now full Pichu jumped up onto her shoulder. "But why?"
Poking his fingers together, Brandon avoided eye contact with either Michelle or Aiden by staring at the ground and muttering, "it's just that…it's been so great watching you guys follow your dreams and compete in all those battles and contests. But I feel so…useless. And bored. I've got no competitions to do."
"Aw, come on Brandon, you could totally challenge a gym!" Aiden cocked a determined fist. "You're the son of a gym leader, after all. Just like me! You'd kick some serious butt!"
"But I don't want to challenge gyms," Brandon frowned. "I want to be a breeder, very much. There's just nothing for me to do where I can practice my skills. I can only utilize them for cooking and taking care of our Pokémon when they get sick or injured. But after a while, that gets kind of old. I need something to change it up."
"Hey, did you say you're a Pokémon breeder?"
The three young trainers all looked towards the Pokémon Center, where it sounded like the voice was coming from. Indeed, there was a girl standing not far away, smiling at the group.
"Hey, look Brandon, it's a pretty girl!" Aiden called out dumbly.
"I'm not even in the mood to chase after beautiful women," Brandon sighed, leaning back even more against the table. "But yeah, I'm training to be a breeder."
"That's awesome!" The girl raced over to Brandon, and it was now obvious that she was holding a stack of papers in her hands. "My name's Liana and I'm also a breeder! I was just coming by the Pokémon Center to advertise the breeding competition happening in town today!"
"Breeding competition?" Brandon murmured.
"Yes, Payne City is a renowned place for Pokémon breeders from all over the world to come and practice their craft," Liana explained, "so, every year, we hold a breeding competition in order for breeders to show off what they know. It's great! You learn a whole bunch from the other breeders, and you can even win prizes! It's awesome."
Brandon jumped up, his face much brighter than it'd been only seconds ago. This was exactly the kind of thing he was looking for! It was perfect!
"Oh, Liana!" Brandon swooned, grabbing the girl's hands and finally marveling over her beauty: mousse brown hair that curled in above her shoulders, very slightly tanned skin, and olive green eyes. "You are truly my guardian angel! A beauty bestowed upon me by the heavens above!"
"And there he goes," Michelle sighed, shaking her head, "back to normal."
XXX
After signing up for the competition, Brandon and the twins headed over to the main site of the actual event: town square. Liana had led them there, and during the walk, explained to Brandon what the breeding competition was all about.
"Basically, there are three rounds in the competition," Liana held up three fingers and pressed on each one as she recited the rounds, "grooming, feeding, and first aid."
"Sounds like what Brandon does alright," Aiden nodded.
"The first round is grooming," Liana continued. "In the grooming round, you have to show off how well you can care for a Pokémon's overall appearance. Using one of your own Pokémon, the judges will examine the Pokémon's coat, body structure, and appearance to the eye."
"That round seems like a bunch of fun, for a coordinator," Michelle giggled.
"After that is the feeding round," Liana tapped on her second finger. "It consists of making a certain kind of Pokémon food, depending on the Pokémon's type. You'll be given the type classification before the round begins, and then you'll have to rely on your breeder knowledge in order to make the perfect meal for that kind of Pokémon."
"Brandon should do awesome at that, because we have all different types of Pokémon, and he makes food for all of them!" Aiden grinned.
"The final round is the first aid stage," Liana smiled. "One of the most important aspects of being a breeder is having the ability to heal a Pokémon when it's injured or sick. In the first aid round, you'll be asked to create a certain type of medicine for a randomized Pokémon ailment, as well as provide a demonstration for a specific type of Pokémon injury."
"This all sounds very interesting," Brandon noted. "Do you guys really think I can do this, though?"
"Of course!" Michelle giggled.
"Pi-chu!" The baby mouse on her shoulder squealed.
"This is your whole life," Aiden added. "There's no way you could fail!"
When they reached town square, the four young trainers found the competition being set up by four males, all of whom seemed to bare a resemblance to Liana.
"Erik, Davey, Cameron, Presley!" Liana called, waving at the four boys.
"Liana, you know those guys?" Michelle asked curiously.
"I sure do, they're my brothers!" Liana giggled. "They're in charge of setting up the competition, since they no longer compete in them."
"So they're breeders too?" Brandon asked.
"Of course! My whole family is. Our mother, father, and even our grandparents are all breeders! It's a family affair."
"Just like how being a Pokémon Master runs in our family!" Aiden's eyes were bright.
"No, because Dad is the first member of our family to be Pokémon Master," Michelle rolled her eyes. "You're just planning on making it run in our family."
"Sure am," Aiden puffed his chest out.
"No way! You're the Pokémon Master's children!"
The tallest, and seemingly oldest, of the four brothers approached Aiden and Michelle, smiling hugely at them.
"That's right!" Aiden nodded. "Aiden and Michelle Ketchum, to be exact!"
Smacking her brother swiftly on the back of the head, causing him to yelp, Michelle narrowed her eyes and cried, "I thought we weren't going to use Dad's fame on ourselves!"
"I'm not!" Aiden whined. "He pointed it out first!"
"Erik, is the set up almost done?" Liana asked.
"Just about!" Erik nodded, some dark brown hair falling into his hazel eyes.
"So, Liana, have you ever won the breeding competition before?" Aiden asked.
"No, this is my first year entering," Liana shook her head. "But I really hope I do well and make my family proud! Erik won his first breeding competition when he was my age, and that was eight years ago now."
"So he's 18, huh?" Michelle looked the older boy up and down.
"That's right!" Liana nodded. "And Davey is 16, Cameron is 15, and Presley is 12. I'm 10, so I'm the youngest, and the only girl."
"But you'll be just as good a breeder as the rest of us!" One of the brothers, who was just slightly shorter than Erik, assured Liana.
"Thanks Davey," Liana blushed slightly. "So, Brandon, which Pokémon are you going to use for the first round?"
"You said it's the grooming round, right?" Brandon pressed.
"Uh huh."
"Well, in that case, I think I'm going to go with…" Brandon trailed off as he rubbed his chin and thought silently to himself. After a few moments of deliberation, Brandon reached to his belt and plucked off a poke ball, tossing it in the air and releasing his chosen Pokémon; Numel.
"Num?" Numel looked around curiously.
"Numel, huh?" Aiden asked.
"Yep," Brandon nodded. "I figured that Numel and I could use some more practice as far as working as partners is concerned, so what better way to fit that in than at a breeding competition?"
"That's a great idea, Brandon!" Michelle complimented.
"So, Liana, which Pokémon will you be using?" Brandon swooned, moving in towards the brunette girl.
Liana seemed surprised for a second, but she quickly regained her composure and winked at the aspiring male breeder before her. "I'll show you!"
Retrieving her own poke ball, Liana tossed the sphere, causing it to burst open and release a flourish of blue light that eventually materialized into her chosen Pokémon; Vulpix.
"Aw, what a cutie!" Michelle squealed. "Just like Clarisse's Vulpix!"
"Oh yeah, your rival has a Vulpix, too!" Brandon beamed. Oddly enough, Aiden didn't say anything.
"Vulpix is my number one Pokémon," Liana giggled, picking the little fox Pokémon up in her arms. "She's such a little sweetheart!"
"And her coat is beautiful; thick and shiny," Brandon noted, stroking the fire type on its head, causing it to mewl happily. "I think I'm in trouble with you two!"
"You'll do great, Brandon!" Liana cheered. "I'm sure of it."
Kneeling down, Brandon patted Numel on his head and instructed, "okay, Numel. You and I are entering this breeding contest, and we're going to win, together, as partners! What do you say? Are you gonna' help me out?"
Numel's only response was a long, sleepy yawn, which caused Brandon to face fault and his two travelling buddies to laugh freely.
XXX
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the annual Payne City breeding tournament!"
Aiden and Michelle had taken seats in the set up bleachers, ready to watch Brandon compete with many other breeders.
"This is going to be so awesome!" Michelle gushed. "I've never seen a breeding tournament before. I wonder what it will be like!"
"There's no battling, so it might not be as exciting as a gym match or a Contest," Aiden mused. "But I do love Pokémon, so it'll still be awesome!"
Brandon was standing behind the announcer, right beside Liana and all of the other contestants. They had already been situated at their grooming stations, chosen Pokémon in front of them as they waited for the first round to actually get underway.
"Alright, Numel," Brandon murmured to his dual type Pokémon. "This is it! Get ready!"
Numel simply let out a puff of air. From beside the duo, Liana giggled, her cheeks glowing a rosy pink as she laughed. Brandon sighed happily; he thought the girl was absolutely lovely.
"We begin today's tournament with the first round: grooming!" The announcer yelled into his microphone, bringing up applause from the audience. "The breeders will all have five minutes to give their Pokémon's coat and overall appearance a final boost, after which the judges will examine each one and determine the points awarded for the first round! And…BEGIN!"
Brandon had already given Numel a bit of a touch up before the start of the tournament, but he figured a bit more brushing couldn't hurt. Using the short bristled brush, the young breeder stroked the numb Pokémon's fur. Numel mewled happily in appreciation, enjoying the simple but calming action. Turning his head, Brandon watched Liana as she gave Vulpix a final grooming. She was fixing the fox Pokémon's top tuft of orange hair, adjusting the curls and making sure they were all an equal size. Once Liana was sure the curls looked precise and well executed, she reached into her grooming bag and pulled out a shiny, olive green bow that perfectly matched the color of her eyes. Liana gently clipped the accessory between Vulpix's bangs and perfectly curled fur tuft, making sure it was even.
"Vul!" Vulpix crooned happily once the bow had been properly affixed.
"You sure do love your bows, don't you, Vulpix?" Liana smiled.
The fox Pokémon swished her elegant tail back and forth in pure contentedness. Just from the way the Pokémon acted, Brandon could tell that Liana's Vulpix was older and more seasoned than Clarisse's Vulpix whom they had previously encountered.
The five minutes was up fairly quickly, and with that settled, it was time for the judges to make their way around and examine all of the entered Pokémon. Brandon was fortunate enough to get a male judge. Had it been a pretty girl (or woman…) Brandon knew he would've lost control of himself. Curse my good looks and boyish charm.
"Hmm…this is an excellent looking Numel you've got here," the judge complimented Brandon.
"Thank you, sir!" Brandon beamed at the man.
The judge leaned in closer to Numel to better examine the dual type's coat. He gently ran his fingers over the numb Pokémon's mostly yellow coat, feeling for the softness of his fur. Numel let out a happy noise, causing Brandon to chuckle.
"Thick and soft fur," the judge nodded, standing up to his full height and writing something down on the clipboard he had with him. "And it looks like he has great structure. A good sized hump and strong legs." Leaning in once again, the judge examined the patch of green fur that covered Numel's hump. "The green fur blends into the yellow fur perfectly. No unkempt lines…and the spots are nicely shaped. Round, no funny looking shapes."
Numel tilted his head to the side, looking ready to fall over. Shrieking silently, Brandon pulled the numb Pokémon down by his near legs, smiling innocently at the judge when he gave the young breeder a bewildered look.
"Well, this is really a perfect example of how a Numel should look," the judge nodded, scribbling some other notes onto his clipboard. "Thank you!"
"No, thank you," Brandon smiled, watching the judge as he wandered off. Never mind, Brandon thought spritely to himself, my boyish charm rules!
"And that completes the first round of the breeding tournament!" The MC took the microphone once again. "We have the standings for the first round right here…coming in third place with a total of 25 points, is Hermes!"
Blinking, Brandon leaned forward, trying to see exactly who this contestant was. He got an answer before he could even spot the guy, however. A low growl sounding from Liana's throat seemed to indicate that he was bad news.
"Liana, do you know that guy?" Brandon asked curiously.
"Yeah, unfortunately," Liana huffed.
Brandon had a lot more questions to ask of his newfound friend, but these inquiries were cut off by the booming voice of the tournament announcer.
"In second place, with a total of 30 points, is Brandon!"
This certainly piqued the young breeder's interest. Liana clapped for him and smiled at the boy, bringing a considerable blush to his tan cheeks.
"And, in first place for the grooming round, with a grand total of 35 points," the announcer finished, "is Liana!"
This seemed to come as a surprise to the brunette girl, whose body tensed up despite the glowing smile on her face. Brandon clapped for the girl just as he had done for her.
"Second place in the first round? Not too bad," Aiden smirked at his sister.
"Yeah, I bet he'll do really great in the next round, too!" Michelle beamed. "Brandon does love to cook, after all."
With a break between the first and second rounds, Brandon managed to take Liana by the arm and pull her in closer, whispering in a low voice so no one else would hear, "Liana, who is Hermes?"
"He's just a big jerk," Liana sighed, rolling her eyes just at the mention of his name. "We've sort of been rivals ever since we were kids. He's got two older brothers who have competed against my brothers before, so that rivalry kind of got passed on to us. Hermes is completely full of himself, it's the worst."
As if on cue, a dark blonde boy approached Liana and Brandon, a fairly mischievous smile set on his pale face. Liana growled lowly, while Brandon didn't look too impressed either.
"What do you want, Hermes?" Liana bit acidly.
"Is that any way to greet your old friend?" Hermes purred, causing Liana to roll her olive green eyes. "I'm disappointed in you, Liana! I thought you were raised better than that."
"Better than you were, that's for sure," Liana scoffed.
Hermes seemed disturbed by this snide comment, but his obvious annoyance was quickly replaced by an air of curiosity as he set his beady, gray eyes on a stoic looking Brandon.
"And who is this?" Hermes drawled. "I've never seen this charming young fellow around before."
Raising an eyebrow, Brandon offered a hesitant hand to the stuck up breeder and supplied, "I'm…Brandon. It's uh…nice to meet you?"
Shaking the darker boy's hand, Hermes smirked and countered, "a pleasure…for you." He started laughing, causing Brandon's expression to shift into one of distaste. Rolling her eyes yet again, Liana tore Hermes' hand away from Brandon's and started to pull the boy away by his arm.
"Come on, Brandon," Liana ushered quietly.
"Liana, dear, where in the world are you going?" Hermes gasped. "I was simply making a little joke. It's all in good fun!"
"Not when you're a complete jerk it's not," Liana shot back.
"You don't have to be such a sore loser, Liana," Hermes frowned.
"A sore loser?!" Liana was offended. "I beat you in the first round! What in the world are you talking about?"
"I simply mean that you're jealous of my dear Wigglytuff," Hermes smirked evilly, motioning down towards his equally devious looking Pokémon. "We all know he's much better than that silly little Vulpix of yours."
The fox Pokémon standing by her trainer's feet snarled. A red tint appearing on the girl's face, she scooped up her fire type and huffed, "your Wigglytuff isn't that great, you know. And I love my Vulpix! She's a wonderful Pokémon, and suggesting anything otherwise is just stupid."
"Let's see how that works out for you in the second round," Hermes scoffed, striding away with his Wigglytuff hopping alongside. They left behind a visibly angry Liana and Brandon, both of whom were silently vowing to beat Hermes at his own game.
Aiden and Michelle had watched the entire exchange from the stands, although they weren't entirely sure of what had just happened. All they knew was that Liana and Brandon both seemed pretty ticked off, and the blonde guy they'd been talking to came off as an arrogant jerk.
"Wonder what's going on down there," Aiden mumbled.
"I'm curious about that guy's Wigglytuff," Michelle mused, pulling out her light blue poke dex to scan the Pokémon.
Wigglytuff, the balloon Pokémon, and the evolved form of Jigglypuff. Wigglytuff are capable of inflating themselves into large sizes in order to scare off enemies. By inhaling air, it can inflate itself, enabling it to float through the air.
"That's a pretty cool Pokémon," Michelle noted, putting her poke dex back in her bag. "I wonder if it's gonna' be a problem for Brandon …"
It was soon time for the next round; the feeding round. The participating breeders all gathered in a straight line, waiting to pick out their type classification from the tournament host. When he got to Brandon, the young breeder reached into the bowl and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which upon its unfurling, revealed which type of Pokémon he'd be making food for.
"What did you get?" Liana asked curiously. She had selected her type right before Brandon and had already told him her result: poison.
Reading off of his strip of paper, Brandon answered Liana, "I got fire type food." Already, Brandon had a great idea for what to do. He was pretty skilled in making fire type specialty foods, thanks to having Numel, Ponyta, and Growlithe around.
Hermes, however, was not quite ready to let Brandon win. Even from several feet away, he could read the boy's strip of paper and was able to tell that he had drawn fire. Hermes' own random selection had been normal types, the most boring kind of food to make. All normal types had very bland taste, so there wasn't much that had to be done in order to make the perfect kind of food. That made it easy for Hermes, but not fun. And Hermes hadn't entered the competition for easy. He wanted to win through a challenge, and not by a free pass.
So, as the breeders were called to start their ten minute time, Hermes decided he would mess with Brandon's head, if only slightly. Since it only took Hermes roughly three minutes to finish his simple normal type food, he could focus the rest of his attention on Brandon. Hermes watched as the dark haired boy gathered the ingredients he needed for the perfect fire type dish, the most important aspect being tamato berries.
"Cheri berries would make this food even better," Brandon mused to himself, rubbing his chin in thought. He was positive he had seen the small, red berries growing on a tree not far from where he'd collected the tamato berries from. The tamato berries were certainly strong enough to give the food a flavor that fire types just loved, but cheri berries would increase the taste even more. The spicier a fire type's food was, the better. So, deciding he wanted to make the best sample possible for the judges, Brandon decided to head back towards the berry filled trees the breeders had all used to make their dishes.
With Brandon out of the way, Hermes was able to approach the boy's station and sprinkle in a secret ingredient to Brandon's already mixed bowl of special flavoring. The mischievous blonde cackled as he tainted Brandon's special creation, knowing they would all be in for a world of fun once it came time to test the food.
"You're not going to win this one, newbie," Hermes smirked. "You've got to earn your chops, first."
By the time judging for the food had come, Brandon was confident in his special mixture. It was definitely spicy, and he knew a fire type would just love its flavor. When the judges approached him, Brandon smiled at the panel and introduced his creation, just as every other breeder had.
"I had fire type specialty food," Brandon explained, motioning towards the red bowl in front of him. "I bolstered the flavor of the food with a special sprinkling of tamato and cheri berries. The spicy properties of both add a flavor that is delectable for fire types."
"You certainly seem to know your stuff, young man," one of the judges complimented before tossing a poke ball in the air. "Let's see what Charmander thinks of your dish!"
The lizard Pokémon smiled up at Brandon, who returned the action. Silently, the starter Pokémon sat before the bowl and took out a piece of food, sticking it in his mouth without hesitance and chewing on it. After a few seconds, however, the fire type stuck his tongue out in disgust, making a noise of similar connotations.
"Huh?!" Brandon gasped. To be honest, he was quite stunned by the Pokémon's reaction.
"Oh dear," the judge frowned. Obviously, that was not a very good comment. Brandon had a feeling he wasn't going to be winning this round.
And indeed he didn't, not even ending up in the top three. Liana had come in third, and Hermes had finished first. Aiden and Michelle, still sitting in the stands, were disappointed by the outcome. They were happy for their newfound friend Liana, but Brandon not winning a cooking round seemed very off to them.
"Brandon being all depressed and weird can't have anything to do with this, can it?" Michelle frowned.
"Nah, he made an awesome breakfast this morning even when he was being all mopey," Aiden shook his head. "He's happy to be in this competition, so no way did that matter. Something is definitely up."
Brandon walked up to Liana, giving the brunette girl a weak smile. "Congrats, Liana!"
"Thanks," Liana's voice didn't sound so strong, "but…what happened? I thought cooking was your specialty."
"I did too," Brandon sighed. "I don't really understand what went wrong. I mixed the tamato and cheri berries together perfectly. And you can never put too much of those berries in a fire type's food. The more there is, the more they love it!"
"You really are a sad excuse for a breeder, aren't you?"
Brandon growled and whipped around, finding himself face to face with Hermes. "What was that?"
"Silly boy," Hermes clicked his tongue. "Shouldn't you know that fire type Pokémon don't like rawst berries? It's basic breeding knowledge."
"I didn't put any rawst berries in my food…" Brandon muttered.
"Are you sure about that?" Hermes drawled, holding up the bright blue berry. Its green leaves were longer than usual and curled, and Brandon instantly knew what that meant: the berry was even more bitter than usual. Just the bottom of the berry was missing, having been torn off and used as an ingredient. But Hermes had made normal type food, and Brandon knew for a fact that normal type Pokémon also didn't like the taste of rawst berries. That's when the darker boy gasped in realization, snarling at the satisfied looking Hermes.
"You!" Brandon cried, pointing an accusatory finger at the blonde.
"You don't have to act so surprised," Hermes scoffed. "You should've expected something like this to happen. Next time, don't leave your station unattended." And with that, the cruel breeder skirted away without a care in the world.
"That jerk…" Brandon seethed, surprising even himself. He rarely talked about people that way; he was such a sweet boy. But Hermes was really beginning to wear on his steel strength nerves.
"Now do you see why I don't like him?" Liana sighed, her voice laced with sadness.
"Yeah, completely," Brandon grumbled. He wasn't going to let Hermes beat him or Liana. Not on his watch.
You're going down, Hermes. But, unlike the little games you like to play, I'm going to make sure you fall fair and square.
XXX
"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for the third and final round of this year's breeding competition!"
The announcer's booming voice brought up a cheer from the stands. Aiden and Michelle were no exception, clapping along with everyone else. Brandon and Liana were in determination mode, however, ready to beat Hermes at his own dirty game. The two were absolutely ready to beat him, in their own fair way.
"The final round is our first aid round," the announcer continued. "For this final stage, the breeders must create a certain type of medicine for a randomized Pokémon ailment, as well as provide a demonstration for a specific type of Pokémon injury."
Brandon looked over at Liana, clearly impressed. "Wow, you told me that before, word for word!"
"I've been to enough of these tournaments where I have every spiel memorized," Liana smirked. "It's…actually sort of sad."
"Each breeder will choose an ailment at random from our bowl, similar to last round," the announcer continued. "Upon choosing their condition, the breeders will be given fifteen minutes in the forest to find herbs and other ingredients in order to create their medicines. Once time is up, they will demonstrate the usage of their created treatments."
When it came time to choose their ailments, Liana and Brandon exchanged glances. Liana went first, just like before, and ended up drawing paralysis. Brandon's turn to pick led him to selecting…
"Poison," Brandon breathed.
Nearby, Hermes smirked. Poison could be a hard ailment to cure. Brandon might face a lot of difficulty with that one. Fortunately, he had drawn burn, which was a good ailment to cure. It was easy but still respectable. Much better than having to make specialty food for a normal type Pokémon.
The horn that signaled the start of the round sounded, and the breeders were off. They all charged into the nearby forest, rummaging and foraging for herbs and other ingredients that could make up their medicines. At some point, Brandon and Liana had split up. Liana knew she needed cheri berries for her mixture, since it was well known that they cured paralysis. Brandon, on the other hand, needed pecha berries for his own medication, and he had already seen they were growing on the other end of the grove. As he made his way west, the young breeder was unaware of Hermes' presence. It was hard to be, since the devious blonde was hiding away in the shrubs. He was peering out only with his steely gray eyes, having already gathered a sufficient amount of rawst berries for his medication. He had enough left over from sabotaging Brandon's food in the last round.
Smirking, Hermes stuck a foot out just as Brandon was dashing by, causing the breeder in training to go flying. Hermes let out a short cackle before covering his mouth, not wanting to get caught by Brandon or any other of the competition's breeders.
With a cry, Brandon hit the dirt, his body landing harshly on the ground. It hurt, and it even knocked some of the wind out of him. Breathing was now a chore. Sighing, Brandon tried to push himself up with his elbows, sure of the fact he'd have some nice, big bruises on his body in due time. He wondered how in the world he had fallen in the first place. He had been running and not exactly paying attention, so maybe there'd been a root or a branch sticking out that had thwarted him.
While Brandon was still down, an amused Hermes had made his way over to the crop of pecha berries. There weren't many left, thanks to the previous round, and that just made Hermes' job so much easier. With little effort, he managed to pluck every last remaining pecha berry, running away with the supply and leaving behind a group of barren trees.
On the forest ground, Brandon was still lying down on his stomach, struggling to get back to his feet. While he dealt with this, a pained moan sounded in Brandon's ear, and it wasn't his own. Slowly turning his head, the young breeder was met with the sight of a crumpled up Rhyhorn, moaning in pain and barely moving.
"A Rhyhorn? In the forest?" Brandon wondered aloud. "That's strange…"
He managed to crawl over to the Pokémon, despite still being in pain, and give it a look over. Upon further examination, Brandon could see that Rhyhorn was trembling, most likely from exhaustion, and that a strong strip of purple was visible over its nose.
"It's poisoned!" Brandon gasped.
Finally regaining his breath and managing to pull himself up, Brandon made his way towards the growth of pecha berries that he had seen before. To his surprise, however, the purple leaved trees now had no berries left on them.
"No!" Brandon hissed. This was bad. He needed pecha berries for the competition in the first place, but now he needed them even more for the sick Rhyhorn he had discovered. Not knowing what else to do, he ran off in search of the one person who could help him out.
XXX
Up in the stands, Aiden and Michelle watched the returned breeders with a sense of bewilderment. They were all back…save for Brandon.
"Where is he?" Aiden muttered. "He has to start making his medicine now or time will run out!"
"He did so well in the first round, and ever since he's been falling apart!" Michelle exclaimed. "I just don't understand."
Much to their surprise, however, their best friend burst back onto the scene, looking frantic and with no ingredients in his hands. Instead, he ran over to Liana, fervently shaking the girl's shoulders and crying out to her, although about what Aiden and Michelle couldn't be sure.
"Brandon, what is it?" Liana practically gasped, whipping around. "We have to beat Hermes!"
"I found something more important," Brandon breathed, still tired from his fall and run. "And I really need your help with it."
"But-"
"It's serious!" Brandon cut her off, grabbing the girl by her hand. Liana blushed slightly but quickly shook it away and allowed the boy to lead her back into the forest.
At his station, Hermes chuckled. His plan was working out perfectly. He hadn't even tried to sabotage Liana! Brandon was helping him out and he didn't even know it.
XXX
Fortunately for Brandon, the Rhyhorn was poisoned badly enough where it hadn't moved from its spot. It was still lying beneath the shrubs, eyes closed and shaking.
"A Rhyhorn?!" Liana gasped.
"That's what I said!" Brandon nodded. "It's strange to see one in the forest, and it's even stranger to see a poisoned one. Poison type attacks usually don't do a lot of damage to a rock and ground type like Rhyhorn."
Suddenly, a series of purple sparks shocked Rhyhorn, causing it to cry out in pain. Both young breeders backed away slightly, startled by the sudden sparks.
"I think it's badly poisoned…" Liana breathed.
Brandon thought for a second before gasping, "you're right!" Liana blinked and turned her eyes onto Brandon, causing the boy to elucidate, "my Uncle is a Pokémon doctor, and I've seen this before. There's a difference between a poisoned Pokémon and a badly poisoned Pokémon. In the case of one that's been badly poisoned, the effects of the attack remain on the Pokémon and continue to suck out their energy until they're cured…if they even are cured at all."
"And what if they don't get cured?" Liana asked, her throat tight.
"It doesn't end well," Brandon shook his head, not wanting to face that reality.
"Well, we just need to get some pecha berries," Liana reasoned. "That will help! I thought you drew poison as your ailment, anyway."
"I did, but that's the problem," Brandon furrowed his brow. "There are no pecha berries left."
"What?!" Liana's eyes widened. "How can that be possible? We grow so many pecha berries!"
"I don't know, but when I went to the tree to get some, they were all gone," Brandon sighed. "We need to find another way to help Rhyhorn."
"Like using antidote!" Liana snapped her fingers.
"Great idea!" Brandon beamed at his friend before shying away a bit. "But…where are we going to find antidote?"
"Presley," Liana answered easily. "He's like the antidote master! It's his specialty. He makes really quick healing ones. If you want, you can stay here with Rhyhorn, and I'll go get some of the antidote from my brother!"
"Sounds good," Brandon nodded, and with that, Liana was off. He sighed and turned his attention back onto the ailed Rhyhorn. Smiling sadly, Brandon knelt down so he could be closer to the sick creature. Normally, a Rhyhorn would be frightened by having a human so close to it. Brandon knew that as a fact. But since this one was so decimated due to the poison, it didn't so much mind Brandon being close by.
"You're gonna' be okay, buddy," Brandon smiled at the Pokémon. "I just wish there was some way I could make you feel a little better until Liana comes back…"
Tilting his head up, Brandon scanned his eyes around the forest, searching for something that might bring some relief to the sick Rhyhorn. Eventually, he caught sight of a narrow tree, filled with oran berries. Brandon smiled to himself. It was perfect! Standing up, he walked over to the tree and picked three berries, bringing them back over to Rhyhorn and offering the fruit to the poisoned Pokémon, who showed little interest in them.
"Come on, they're good for you!" Brandon encouraged. "These will help you to keep your strength up."
Slowly and cautiously, Rhyhorn stretched his neck out with what little energy he had and took a bite out of the bright blue berry. This seemed to cheer Rhyhorn up to some extent, although he was still very weak.
"Just hang on, Rhyhorn," Brandon murmured, "we're going to help you."
XXX
With the rest of the breeders busily working on their ailment remedies, Aiden and Michelle were watching restlessly from the stands. Liana and Brandon still hadn't returned from wherever Brandon had dragged them both off to, and they were now at the one minute warning.
"They're never going to win at this rate," Michelle sighed sadly. She'd really been pulling for her best friend and their newfound friends. Michelle especially wanted that Hermes guy to lose. Something about him really bugged her.
"I have no idea where Brandon and Liana went," Aiden shook his head. "He's just been acting so strange…"
With the clock down to thirty seconds, the breeders had now reached the home stretch of the tournament. Hermes was finishing mixing his medicine with a smile on his face, pleased with the dirty work he had done concerning Brandon and Liana.
"And, here we go!" The announcer's voice boomed. "Down to five…four…three…two…o-"
"WAIT!" Liana yelled. Everyone stopped what they were doing and whipped around, surprised by the sight of the frantic looking brunette.
"Liana, what are you doing?" Cameron, her third oldest brother, stood up. His sea green eyes were full of confusion and concern.
"We have a problem," Liana rushed the words out.
"Like what?" Now the announcer was joining in on the conversation.
"There's an injured Rhyhorn in the forest," Liana sighed, "Brandon found him."
"A Rhyhorn?" Cameron's eyes widened.
"Yes, it's strange," Liana nodded, "but he's very badly poisoned. And there's no pecha berries left in the grove!"
"But that's impossible…" Davey scratched his head. In the background, Hermes was beginning to look rather nervous.
"Well, impossible or not, there are none," Liana frowned. "We have to do something to help that poor Rhyhorn!" Turning towards her fourth oldest brother, Liana pressed, "Presley, do you have any of your special antidotes that we could give to Rhyhorn?"
The auburn haired boy nodded quickly, getting to his feet. "Yeah, I have some in my bag right over there. I'll get a bottle of it and you can bring all us to Rhyhorn. We'll fix him up in no time!"
Up in the stands, Aiden and Michelle were exchanging surprised looks.
"Brandon found a poisoned Rhyhorn!" Aiden gasped.
"We should probably go help out, too," Michelle offered. Aiden nodded quickly, and soon, the two siblings were running down the bleachers in order to join Liana and her brothers on the stage meant for the breeders in the tournament.
"Liana!" Aiden called, causing the brown haired girl to whip around. "Is Brandon still in the forest with that Rhyhorn?"
"Yeah, he promised to keep it company until I could get the antidote for it," Liana nodded.
Gathering up his bag full of supplies, Presley gave his sister a determined look and spoke, "show us where they are, Liana."
XXX
The girl led them all back into the forest, where Brandon was kneeling down beside the sick Rhyhorn. He was obviously relieved to see them all back, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Aiden and Michelle had joined them.
"Wow, Liana wasn't kidding!" Aiden marveled. "There really is a Rhyhorn in the forest!"
"And it's really badly poisoned," Michelle sighed.
"Liana, did you bring back any of that antidote you were talking about?" Brandon asked.
"Sure did," Liana nodded. "Presley's got it right in his bag!"
Her third oldest brother reached into his satchel, pulling out the yellow spray bottle and handing it to Liana. Smiling at her brother, the girl knelt down to try and feed the antidote to the sickly Rhyhorn, but was surprised when the dual type Pokémon refused to take any of it.
"Come on, Rhyhorn, this will help you to feel better!" Liana encouraged. Rhyhorn, however, did not seem convinced. It simply looked away from Liana, letting out a short breath of air as another series of purple shocks surrounded its body.
"Rhyhorn, please," Michelle murmured. She absolutely hated to see any kind of Pokémon in such pain.
"Pipi…" Pichu squeaked. She obviously agreed with her trainer.
Twisting his mouth, Brandon held his hand out towards Liana and asked, "would you mind giving the antidote to me?"
Liana nodded silently, handing over the yellow bottle. With the antidote firmly in hand, Brandon moved the nozzle of the bottle towards Rhyhorn's mouth, gently coaxing, "hey buddy, why don't you drink this down? It'll help to cure that poison of yours, and you'll start to feel like yourself again!"
Brandon's gentle voice seemed to do the trick for Rhyhorn, who finally lifted his head off the ground and began to drink out of the antidote bottle. From behind the young breeder, the rest of the trainers smiled happily, feeling confident that Rhyhorn would now begin to heal.
"I should scan Rhyhorn with my poke dex!" Aiden pulled out the red device, holding it up to the Pokémon. "Let's see what it says…"
Rhyhorn, the spikes Pokémon. Rhyhorn are well known to charge straight into things, especially at things that they feel might threaten its well-being. Rhyhorn have an incredibly short memory span.
"That's a little harsh," Aiden blinked.
"Kind of sounds like you, with the whole memory thing," Michelle smirked.
"HEY!" Aiden bellowed.
Soon, Rhyhorn had finished the entire bottle of antidote, and the purple sparks surrounding his body had disappeared. It certainly appeared he was getting better, as the purple strip across his nose had also gone away. Everyone was happy about the progress, but Brandon was still feeling cagey, and Liana could tell.
"What's on your mind, Brandon?" Liana asked.
"The poison seems to be out of Rhyhorn's system, but he's still very weak," Brandon sighed. "Pecha berries would really help."
"But there are none left in the grove," Liana frowned. "I don't know where else we can find pecha berries."
"I have some right here, if you'd like."
The gathered trainers all whipped around, shocked to see a bashful looking Hermes standing in the clearing of the forest. Both Brandon and Liana were extremely distrustful of the breeder, and this was evident in their faces.
"What do you want, Hermes?" Liana spat. "We're in the middle of something very important here."
"I know you are," Hermes' voice was gentle. "That's why I brought you the pecha berries from the grove. I have them all with me." He held his hands out for proof. Just as he had promised, his palms were filled with the pink, heart shaped berries. Liana threw a glance over to Brandon, silently questioning if they should actually trust Hermes.
"I think we can," Brandon spoke softly, getting to his feet and walking over to Hermes in order to take the berries. "You may be extremely competitive and selfish at times, but at the bottom of it all, you're a breeder. Just like the rest of us. And you would never want to leave a sick or injured Pokémon untreated."
"Never," Hermes confirmed, shaking his head.
Bringing the berries over to Rhyhorn, Brandon knelt down and offered the helpful food to the dual type Pokémon. Rhyhorn happily accepted the offering, taking big bites out of the berries until they were all gone. Once the berries had been completely eaten, Rhyhorn got to his feet and walked out slowly from underneath the bushes, much to everyone's delight.
"Rhyhorn!" Brandon cheered. "I'm so happy to see you're okay!"
Rhyhorn let out a loud roar, causing Brandon's smile to widen. He really thought Rhyhorn was a pretty awesome Pokémon. Only adding to the young breeder's joy was when Rhyhorn hopped forward, nuzzling his head against the boy's chest.
"Hey, you really are doing much better!" Brandon laughed. "That's great!"
"Look at the bond that Brandon and Rhyhorn managed to build so quickly," Presley noted, Aiden and Michelle looking up at him in interest. "Because Brandon was able to cure Rhyhorn so quickly and effectively, Rhyhorn has complete trust in him. One of the many perks of being a breeder!"
"You really did great, Brandon!" Aiden complimented his best friend.
"Thanks, Aiden," Brandon smiled over his shoulder at the young trainer. Roaring once again, Rhyhorn hit his leg against Brandon, confusing the boy. "What's up, Rhyhorn?"
Continuing to nuzzle Brandon, Liana watched the Pokémon with curious eyes before beaming and calling out, "Brandon! I think Rhyhorn wants to be your Pokémon!"
"Really?" Brandon looked up at Liana in surprise. The girl giggled and nodded. She was positive. "You want to come with me, Rhyhorn?" The Pokémon nodded emphatically. Chuckling, Brandon pulled out a poke ball and held it over Rhyhorn, pushing the center button. "Alright, welcome to the team, Rhyhorn!"
A beam of red light emitted from the sphere and sucked Rhyhorn in. The ball shook a few times in Brandon's hand before settling down, a quiet but still audible click alerting him to the capture of his newest Pokémon.
"Nice, Brandon!" Michelle smiled. "You caught a Rhyhorn!"
"I sure did," Brandon nodded, smiling at the red and white ball in his hand.
XXX
"So, how did the tournament end, anyway?"
"I didn't win, or even come in the top three," Brandon smiled sheepishly. "But…I don't really mind. It was still fun, and I got a new Pokémon!"
"That's very true," Brock, who was speaking to his nephew over video phone, smiled. "And you cured him, too! That was great of you to do, Brandon. You're on your way to becoming a great breeder, and I couldn't be more proud."
"Thanks, Uncle Brock," Brandon blushed slightly.
"And who knows," Brock chuckled, "maybe one day, Rhyhorn will evolve and you'll have a super strong Rypherior, just like your Dad!"
"Yeah, that'd be awesome!" Brandon nodded emphatically.
"Well, I don't want to keep you from your friends too much longer," Brock smirked. "But remember how proud I am of you. Keep up the great work, bud!"
"I will, I promise," Brandon's eyes gleamed.
With the call disconnected, a small tap on his shoulder caused Brandon to turn around. Standing behind him was Liana, smiling sweetly and giggling very softly.
"Liana," Brandon breathed, getting to his feet. "I'm sorry you didn't win the breeding tournament. It was pretty much all my fault."
"No it's not," Liana shook her head, "and I'm not mad! I'm really glad I got to help you take care of Rhyhorn."
"I'm glad to know you're not mad at me," Brandon smirked. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you were!"
Her own grin becoming sheepish, Liana gave the boy an expectant look and asked, "do you have a poke gear?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Laughing, Liana held her hand out and requested, "give it to me."
"…why?"
"I'm not going to do anything bad!" Liana's laughs grew stronger. "I promise."
Reaching into his pocket, Brandon pulled out his blue and black device and handed it over to Liana. She turned on the screen and typed in a few things before smiling satisfactorily and handing it back to a very confused Brandon.
"I just gave you my poke gear number," Liana informed the boy. "That way you can call me…whenever."
"Whenever?" Brandon repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Liana nodded, a happy smile still on her pretty face. "Whenever."
Brandon beamed and nodded hurriedly. He couldn't believe how much better this day had gotten. New confidence, a new Pokémon friend…
And maybe even a new love interest!
Yes, a very Brandon centric chapter, and a new Pokemon for him! Rhyhorn is a sweetie Pokemon :)
And yes, Liana is in fact a love interest for Brandon. Each of the characters will have a few differnt possible love interests. I've always wanted to see people shipping my characters :P I'm even considering making shipping names for my characters! So, in a review, you guys can feel free to leave suggestions and opinions. Better yet, tell me who you think looks good with who right now! I'd love to know who you're all shipping ;)
Work on the next chapter is already underway. Hopefully it won't take as long as this one did! I'm home for the next 5 weeks, away from the school from hell, so hopefully I'll be able to better concentrate.
Until then, leave a review (tell me who you ship! :P) and I'll see you all next chapter!