Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. If I did we'd still be listening to the original dub cast. Though I have to admit the quality of the current cast has improved over time.

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." - Proverbs 17:17

When he checked his email the next morning, Ash was ecstatic to find a reply from Brock already waiting in his inbox. After sending a brief reply to confirm they'd wait for him, Ash dashed off to the cafeteria to share the news with everyone else. Brock's plan was to rent a car at the Lumiose Airport and, after getting settled in at the hospital dorm, he would drive straight to Cyllage City. Factoring in the time it would take to pick up the car, drop most of his stuff in the dorm, and then drive to Cyllage City, Brock estimated that he would arrive late the next night.

After explaining all this to his friends, Ash raised the question of just what to do over the next two days. This discussion lasted for some time, with various suggestions thrown out. By the end of the meal though, the four friends had settled on a tentative plan. As Ash returned to the buffet for one last helping, Serena and the others went to reserve a room for Brock with Nurse Joy. Ash joined them in the lobby a few minutes later and they all left the Pokémon Center.

Ash, Serena, and Clemont spent that morning and the next one training together. Bonnie was always nearby, sometimes watching, sometimes playing with Dedenne. The group spent the two afternoons on individual pursuits, splitting up after lunch and reuniting for dinner. Clemont spent both afternoons holed up in the Pokémon Center, tinkering on a few new inventions. Bonnie and Serena wandered around the city, alternating between shopping and simply soaking in the charming atmosphere for which Kalos is famous the world over. Ash joined the girls briefly on the first afternoon, but, growing bored, quickly split off to go do some more training, eager both to get ready for the next Gym and to impress Brock with how far his battling skills had progressed since Sinnoh. The second day he began training right after lunch…that is, after finally replying to over a months' worth of emails.

In all his travels Ash had never bothered with getting a cell phone, which meant that it was Serena's phone that chirped with Brock's text early in the afternoon of the second day. Unlike Ash, Brock had long ago seen the wisdom of getting a phone. His text let Serena know that, if everything went smoothly, he'd be arriving at Cyllage City around ten that evening. After quickly typing a reply, she turned to Bonnie and shared the news. Bonnie's reaction was both swift and ecstatic.

"Oh boy, I can't wait! I wish he could get here faster!"

"Don't worry Bonnie, he'll be here soon. It's a good thing he decided to come on a Saturday…otherwise, with the rush hour traffic in Lumiose City, he'd be lucky to make it here by midnight."

Bonnie pursed her lips and sighed. "I can't help it, I really want to show him Dedenne. Ash has said he's never seen a Fairy type before!"

Serena didn't have the heart to tell the little girl that Dedenne didn't really look so different from Pikachu or that many Pokémon from other regions had been recently reclassified as Fairy types. Instead she said "I'm sure he'll be impressed with how well you are taking care of him. After all, he was a Pokémon Breeder before he decided to go into medicine. And I'm sure that, with his help, you'll be able to do even better."

Bonnie beamed. "Oh boy, now I really can't wait!" She began jumping up and down, unable to contain her joy. Bonnie's joy was infectious and after a few seconds Serena began to laugh as well. Watching Bonnie, Serena couldn't help thinking of Ash. His passionate and excitable nature was quite endearing. Thinking about Ash and the possibilities Brock's visit would open up sent her own excitement spiraling upward. Grabbing Bonnie's hands, the two girls began to dance around in a circle, oblivious to the looks they were getting.

"In 0.7 miles exit left," trilled the distinctly clipped feminine voice.

The young man in the car sighed in relief. It had been a long day. He'd tried to catch some sleep on the plane but, as usual, hadn't been able to get more than a few winks. But as much as he was looking forward to hitting the sack, he was even more excited to see Ash again. Ever since their first meeting at the Pewter City Gym, Ash had been a huge part of Brock's life. Though their paths had finally taken them in different directions, their time together had created a bond that was indissoluble. Words couldn't express how much he'd missed his old friend and how much he was looking forward to spending some time with him again.

"Exit now," repeated the voice.

Shaking himself from his reverie, Brock turned the car off the main highway and onto the local route that connected to Cyllage City. Before long he was gliding to a halt in front of the Cyllage City Pokémon Center. After putting the car in park and removing the key from the ignition, he grabbed his backpack with one hand and opened the door with the other. Closing the door and slinging the backpack over his shoulders, Brock strode toward the doors of the Center and a long awaited reunion.

It was getting quite late, especially for a group of travelers used to rising with the sun. After dinner the foursome had decided to wait for Brock in the seating area within the Pokémon Center's lobby. Bonnie had long ago abandoned all pretense of staying awake and was snuggled firmly against her brother's shoulder. Forced to sit still to keep Bonnie from waking, Clemont himself had quickly succumbed to slumber as well. The two were now curled together comfortably on the couch in a pose even the most unsentimental soul would find endearing.

Serena was scrolling through her electronic guidebook, half browsing, half dozing. Pikachu had found a comfortable spot beside Bonnie and Clemont and was fast asleep as well. Even Nurse Joy had her head down on her desk, a telltale sign of a late but peaceful night. Only Ash still showed any signs of vigor; in fact, he had been pacing back and forth for quite some time, glancing at the clock every few minutes. Brock had sent them an updated estimated arrival time, but that had come and gone half an hour ago.

Without warning the doors the Pokémon Center slid open and in walked a dark skinned young man. His spiky brown hair was a bit disheveled and his clothes were rumpled, telltale signs of a long day's journey. Yet when his eyes alit upon Ash, his tired expression brightened and he began to walk over. It took a few seconds for Ash to notice the figure's approach. When he did he issued a whoop and broke into a run, quickly closing the distance between them.

Ash's exclamation startled Serena, jarring her back into full consciousness. Quickly realizing what was going on, she got up from her chair and walked over to Bonnie and Clemont. "Wake up you two, he's here," Serena said, gently shaking the siblings awake.

Turning back, Serena was startled to see Ash and Brock locked in a close hug. She'd never seen Ash express such affection before…at least, never to anyone but Pikachu. Her heart beating just a little bit faster, she began to walk over to join them.

"Hey Ash, it's been a while."

"You bet it has! So glad you could make it!"

"Yeah, same here." He then noticed a pretty young girl walking over. She looked about Ash's age. Her round face was framed with long dirty blonde hair and her eyes were a bright sky blue. She was also quite fashionably dressed, with a black top, red skirt, black stockings, and a pink hat. Stopping beside them, she smiled and said, "You must be Brock. I'm Serena."

"Pleasure to meet you Serena," Brock smiled, nodding his head in greeting.

"Brock, you'll never guess this, but I've known Serena even longer than you!" started Ash excitedly.

Serena chuckled and blushed a bit, something that did not go unnoticed by Brock. He turned to face her. "Really?"

"Yeah. We met at Professor Oak's Summer Camp a long time ago. But someone," she glared at Ash at this point, "forgot all about me!" She softened her expression. "At least at first."

"Typical Ash," Brock replied, chuckling. "I've lost track of the number of birthdays and holidays this kid has forgotten…he wouldn't even remember to change his underwear without his mom reminding him."

"Hey!" Ash exclaimed as he swatted Brock playfully, "just because mom says that doesn't make it true."

Before Brock could issue a retort a yellow blur leapt up from the ground straight into his arms. He looked down and spotted another old friend. "Hey Pikachu buddy! Good to see you too!" He rubbed the Mouse Pokémon's cheeks, eliciting a contented "Cha." After a moment to get reacquainted, Brock handed Pikachu back to Ash. As he did so he noticed a teenaged boy and young girl walking up to them. Both had fair skin and light blonde hair. The boy was taller and wearing a blue mechanic's coveralls and round glasses. The shorter and clearly younger of the pair was wearing a black sleeveless top with a poofy white skirt.

Extending his hand in greeting the teen said, "I'm Clemont. A pleasure to meet you. And this is…"

"I'm his sister Bonnie. I'm so happy to meet you! Were you really a Gym Leader like my big brother?"

Bending down a bit and shaking her hand as well, Brock replied. "Pleasure to meet you Bonnie. And yes, I was a Gym Leader back in Kanto before I started traveling with Ash. So," turning to Clemont, he continued, "you were also a Gym Leader."

"Well," Clemont paused briefly and adjusted his glasses, "technically I still am. But meeting Ash made me realize that I have a lot more to learn. A journey seemed the best way to do that. "

"Then who's running your Gym?"

"I'm glad you asked Brock. See, I'm not just a Gym Leader…I'm an inventor. So I built a robot with state of the art artificial intelligence to conduct Gym battles for me while I'm gone."

"Sounds cool."

"Yeah big brother, until it locked us out of the Gym and we had to sneak back in with Ash and Serena's help."

"Really?" Brock cocked his head in a gesture of surprise. "That sounds like an interesting story."

"It was. See Ash…" started Bonnie before a monstrous yawn forced its way out of her throat. The rest of the group yawned as well and then all chuckled.

"I'd love to hear about it," said Brock, smiling "but it sounds like we could all use a nice rest. I know I sure can."

"Don't worry Brock, I booked you a room myself," started Serena, glancing sideways at Ash as she did so. "Unfortunately this Pokémon Center doesn't have any five-person rooms so I reserved you a single. Hope you don't mind!"

"That'll be fine."

"Great! Let's go see Nurse Joy then."

The group made their way over to Nurse Joy. Like all Nurse Joys, Cyllage City's Nurse Joy had mastered the art of both catching sleep whenever possible and being able to wake at the slightest disturbance. Brock's arrival and the subsequent conversation had brought her back from the world of dreams to reality. By the time the group began to walk up, she stood alert and smiling.

"Hello and welcome to the Pokémon Center. How may I help you?"

"Hi Nurse Joy. You should have a reservation in my name for a single. Brock Harrison."

"Actually, it's just Brock," Serena interjected. "Didn't know his last name."

"No problem. I've already found it here in the computer. Single room for at least one night. Here's your key. Go down that hallway and take a left and it will be on your right. Room 7."

"Thanks Nurse Joy. You have a good evening." He turned to the others. "Let's meet in the cafeteria tomorrow for breakfast. It's been a long day for everyone so how's 9:00 AM sound?"

Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie all smiled and nodded. Brock waved to them and began walking to his room, which was in the opposite direction of theirs. The others started back to their room, only to stop when they realized Ash wasn't following. Turning, they were all surprised to see a look of confusion on Ash's face.

"Something wrong Ash," Serena asked.

"Uh…either Brock's really really tired or something is definitely wrong."

"What do you mean?" Worry clouded her face.

"The way he spoke with Nurse Joy was just…strange."

"What do you mean Ash?" This time it was Clemont who expressed confusion. "It sounded perfectly normal to me."

"For a regular person, sure. Not for Brock."

"How do his interactions with her usually go then?"

"Uh…it's kind of hard to describe." Yawning he continued. "Never mind, he was probably just too tired. Let's all head off to bed!"

With that, Ash began striding off quickly toward the room and, when realizing that there was no other information forthcoming, the other three started after him.

Well, that's all for now. Will try to get up a few chapters over the next week.