Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. If I did Brock would actually get a girl.
"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." - Proverbs 14:30
It turned out Clemont had been right; the path that he had indicated to Serena and Bonnie earlier indeed led back to the mouth of the cave. Not only was he right about the direction, he actually led the group the whole way there, adrenaline doing what Bonnie's admonitions couldn't. But now, as the entire group stood at just outside the cave and let loose a collective sigh of relief, the Lumiose Gym leader flopped to the ground, panting in exhaustion.
"Water," he croaked.
Ordinarily Bonnie would have taken an opportunity like this one to complain once again about Clemont's lack of physical fitness, but his performance over the past several minutes had really impressed her. Instead she replied, "Don't worry big brother, I'll get some for you."
Walking over to Clemont's prone form, she opened his backpack and, after rummaging through it for a moment, lifted out a canteen. After helping her brother roll over onto his back, she opened the canteen and handed it to him. Clemont nodded his thanks to Bonnie and then began to gulp the water within greedily.
"Water sounds like a good idea," Ash said, "rest too."
"Sure Ash," acknowledged Brock, "but we shouldn't stay out here too long. Sunset isn't that far off; we do not want to be too close to the cave after dark. If we are I guarantee we'll run into more Woobat…or worse."
Nodding at Brock's wisdom, the group made their stop quick. Before long they were off again on the path back to Cyllage City. Though exhausted, the group moved relatively quickly, spending little time on idle chatter. After about an hour, as the last rays of the sun's light were peaking over the horizon, Brock spotted a suitable clearing to make camp just off the main path. Before long tents were up and the fire was going. Clemont, exhausted as he was, retreated to his tent for a well-earned rest, thankful that Brock's presence meant that someone else was handling the cooking. Bonnie went to her tent as well, Pikachu and Dedenne in tow.
Serena and Brock quickly began to work on dinner, leaving Ash a bit put out. He'd tried to learn cooking from Brock on more than one occasion until, after a particularly disastrous evening in Hoenn, he'd given up the effort. At times like this he'd usually go out and do some training, but considering what his Pokémon had been through today that wouldn't be fair to them. Finding himself a comfortable spot by the fire, he plopped himself down and hoped that dinner would be ready soon.
Serena's second cooking lesson had begun well. But after a few minutes she began to struggle to keep focused. It was not that she was bored; on the contrary, the lesson was quite interesting. It was rather Ash's presence that drove her to distraction. She didn't want to look stupid in front of the boy she loved. She also couldn't help but sneak glances at him as he stared intently into the firelight. She wondered what it would feel like to have him look at her like that…
"Serena, are you paying attention?" Brock's soft tone was playful but she could tell that he was serious.
"Oh sorry, what were you saying?" Serena fixed her gaze directly at Brock. Suddenly something occurred to her. "Not that I don't want to get back to the lesson, but I just realized I never asked…so did you find the Pokémon you were looking for?"
The word "Pokémon" pulled Ash's focus away from the fire and towards his two friends. "He sure did. Brock, why don't you call it out?"
"I'll show everyone after dinner," Brock replied, "but for now, it's back to the lesson…unless you want to take over Ash?"
Laughing at this, Ash responded, "No way Brock, no one does it as well as you! Plus I'm 'banned for life,' remember?"
Brock chuckled at the memory. "That's right, we wouldn't want to defy the 'Princess of Hoenn' now would we?"
"What do you mean Ash is banned from cooking forever?" Serena's tone clearly indicated that she had no idea what her male companions were going on about. "And what's this about a Princess?"
Brock smiled. "Well Serena, it's the perfect opportunity for me to see how much you remember about ingredient prep. Keeping chopping these up while I tell you about the last time I tried to teach Ash to cook…"
As Serena worked at getting the ingredients ready she listened to Brock's reminiscence. While she messed up with the chopping once or twice, by and large she was able to get the job done while soaking in the honestly hilarious story of Ash's last attempt at making Brock's stew. The only thing about the experience that made her a bit uncomfortable was the few times Ash interjected with comments about May. It was clear that he cared a lot about the Pokémon Coordinator and, despite Brock's earlier assurances, she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.
As Brock told the story, Ash laughed along with his two friends. He didn't have any problem making light of his own deficiencies, at least not when it came to cooking. But he also used the opportunity to pay close attention to Serena, watching for any signs of something that might indicate anything…well weird. It took him a while, but he gradually noticed that Serena's face would become a little tense every time he mentioned May. Straining his mind to drudge up the memories of the soap operas his mother had forced him to sit through years ago, he thought he recalled something about jealously being a sign of love. He decided to try a bit of an experiment. Noticing Brock was coming to the climax of the story, Ash realized it would present him with a golden opportunity to test it out this new "attack." Thinking about it in such terms made him feel a bit better about what he was going to do; after all, he put his Pokémon friends through attacks all the time.
"And the look on May's face when she realized not only Ash had completely burned up all our remaining stew ingredients, but we had no other food left and would have to wait until we arrived at the next town to eat anything...well, let's just say I've seen angry Steelix look more pleasant." Brock shuddered in fear after he concluded this last bit.
"Yeah, it was pretty scary," Ash shuddered as well. "You remember how halfway through yelling at me she tried to, I don't know what she was trying to do exactly, but she just started trying to hit me…"
Brock chuckled at this. "Actually, I'd forgotten that particular detail."
"Yeah, she may be a Pokémon Coordinator, but there was nothing coordinated about that attack. To tell you the truth it was kind of cute the way she was swinging her arms like that as you tried to hold her back." As he said this Ash paid particular attention to Serena. When he came to the word 'cute' he definitely noticed something cross Serena's face…something that reminded him of the angry expression on May's face when she'd realized that there was no food left. It was briefer and less intense, but it was definitely similar.
"Ash, you have a weird sense of what goes for 'cute,'" Brock responded, shaking his head. He honestly didn't think Ash had ever used the word 'cute' to refer to a girl before, however obliquely. Either Ash was messed up in the head or he was intentionally trying to provoke a reaction from Serena. He immediately dismissed the second notion. "This is Ash I'm talking about."
"Yeah," Ash chuckled, "I guess that's not the right word. It was hilarious anyways." Looking back at Serena, Ash expected to see a relieved expression when he said it wasn't so cute after all. Instead, her expression was completely blank. "This observing people thing is real confusing. I hope I didn't hurt her feelings." The sudden stab of guilt he had at this thought was unsettling to say the least.
"Well," said Serena, forcing herself to stay cool, "if we don't want a repeat of that incident we better get keep the lesson going. I think everything is ready Brock, what comes next?"
Turning his attention away from Ash and back to the ingredients, he quickly confirmed that Serena's assessment was correct and begin to explain the next step. As the conversation returned to food preparation, Ash decided now was as good a time as any to go find a place to relieve himself. After saying as much to the pair of chefs, Ash went off into the woods to find so privacy. Hopefully the trip would help him clear his mind a bit.
Knowing he didn't have much time to implement Phase Two of his cunning plan, Brock turned to Serena. "So I had my conversation with Ash."
Serena's gaze darted back and forth nervously. Although she knew Ash was probably well out of earshot, she still was a bit nervous that he would somehow overhear and even more nervous about what Brock was going to say. "And," she asked, waiting for his response with bated breath.
"Long story short, Ash doesn't believe that you're interested in him as anything more than a friend. So I didn't really move the conversation on to his feelings. What I did do was tell him to watch you for the next few days and look out for signs you are interested in him in a romantic way. So you should make sure to throw him a lot of hints."
"But Brock, if I've been as obvious as everyone says…" Serena started, skepticism clear in her voice.
"Don't worry about that. Besides, I'm not asking you to throw yourself at him. Just tone it up some more. I gave him a number of specific examples to look for. So be sure to direct a lot of comments at him, especially compliments. And blush a lot!"
"I can't do that," Serena said, blushing as she did so.
"No sweat, you're blushing right now."
"But," she started. Suddenly, a twig snapped and their conversation came to a screeching halt. A few seconds later Ash emerged from the trees.
Without missing a beat, Brock said, "Now that the water has come to a boil, go ahead and add the onions."
Not even sparing them a glance, Ash walked back over to the fire and flopped down, resuming his vigil. Unbeknownst to his companions, Ash's lack of attention was due to his focus on thoughts on the very same topic as their rushed conversation. Far from clearing his head, the trip had made Ash realize that, for once, he had a lot to think about, none of it Pokémon related.
Before too long dinner was ready. Bonnie and Clemont emerged from their respective tents and joined the others for another hearty meal. Ash made sure he complimented Serena on the meal, Serena hoped her blush was visible in the firelight, and Brock mentally rubbed his hands together, happy his little scheme seemed to be working. After their supper was done and everything cleared away, Brock decided it was time to introduce his newest Pokémon to everyone. Tossing out the Dusk Ball, Carbink materialized in a brilliant display of white light.
"Wow, it's soooo cute!" Bonnie did a little dance in excitement.
"I agree, it is kind of cute," Serena said. "It's even shaped a bit like a heart." At this she glanced sideways at Ash, but he wasn't paying attention, his gaze instead fixed on Brock's newest Pokémon.
"Carbink," the Jewel Pokémon said with excitement. Although, like most Pokémon, it hadn't been terribly thrilled about being battled while it was trying to go about its business, now that it had been captured and was surrounded by so many friendly faces, it couldn't help but feel excited.
"Nenene," Dedenne chattered, head poking out of Bonnie's bag.
"You want to play with it Dedenne," Bonnie asked. "Well okay, here you go," she said, letting the Antenna Pokémon down. Dedenne quickly scampered over to Carbink and before long the two were acting like old friends. The group all smiled at this.
For the next hour or so everyone had a fine time playing with their Pokémon and chatting with one another. The mood was relaxed and light, the conflicts and conversations of earlier in the day a distant memory. Before long though it was time for bed; they had a long day's hike ahead of them tomorrow and so needed to turn in relatively early. Recalling their Pokémon and putting out the fire, the group retired to their tents, all eager for what the morrow would bring.
After a quick breakfast the next morning, the group broke camp and resumed their trek back to Cyllage City. Even with getting up as early as they had, arriving back at the Pokémon Center in time for dinner would require a brisk pace. About midmorning, as the group was just getting back on the road after a brief break, they heard something rustling in the brush. Instantly alert, the group stopped. Pikachu tensed, prepared to battle if necessary. Ash, Brock and Clemont all had their fingers on their Pokeballs, ready to spring into action, while Bonnie wrapped her arms around Serena, gripping her tightly. Yesterday's altercation with the Woobat was fresh on everyone's minds and they were taking no chances. Suddenly something emerged from the undergrowth and stepped out into the light, surprising our heroes.
The figure was no forest Pokémon, but rather the figure of a girl. More precisely, she was an attractive young woman clad in hiking clothing that, while clearly functional, nevertheless exuded a strong sense of sophistication. She stood a bit taller than Brock and Clemont but was probably no more than a year or two older than them. Dusting herself off and pulling some stray brambles from her flowing auburn hair, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Ah, voici la route!" she said. Turning, she jumped with a start when she realized she was not alone. Recovering quickly, she then smiled and greeted the friends with a question. "Bonjour mes amis, où est-ce qu'on trouve la Grotte Miroitante?"
Ash and Brock stared at her blankly while Clemont and Bonnie chuckled nervously. Looking to to the blonde siblings and, quickly realizing neither was going to respond, Serena stepped forward and began to rapidly converse with the stranger in the same melodious tongue, gesturing as she went. Brock and Ash turned to Clemont and Bonnie, questions evident in their faces.
"Serena's giving her directions," Clemont supplied.
"I got that," Ash responded, "but I didn't realize Serena spoke a foreign language!"
"It's not foreign silly," Bonnie interjected, "that's the language of Kalos."
"Language of Kalos?" Ash was clearly confused. "But we're all speaking the same language."
Adjusting his glasses, Clemont responded. "Well today we speak the same language as the other regions. But what they're speaking is the traditional tongue of Kalos. Nowadays you don't really find it much northern Kalos. It's not until you reach Kiloude City and further south that it's still the everyday language."
"Yeah, I remember reading that when I applied for my rotation," Brock added. "They said you wouldn't really need it, at least not in Lumiose City."
"So do you and Bonnie speak it?" Ash was curious, but he was also a bit worried; he wasn't sure how fun it would be if all three of his Kalos companions started talking in another language all the time.
Clemont chuckled nervously. "Well, the thing is we had some lessons when we were younger, but we stopped after a while. We can understand a decent amount, but when it comes to speaking…well it's a bit embarrassing." At this Clemont turned red.
After the initial question, Bonnie hadn't really been paying attention to the boys' conversation. Instead, she was staring intently at Serena and the stranger. Had the boys noticed this, they might have assumed that Bonnie was trying to make out their conversation. But the young girl had something quite different in mind.
"Merci Serena," the stranger replied. Turning to go, she felt something tugging at her side. Turning, she looked down and saw the little girl staring up, beaming at her.
"Take care of my brother s'il vous plaît," Bonnie began. "I know he doesn't look like much, but he's a Gym leader. A southern belle like you would make him a fine wife!"
"Bonnie," screamed Clemont, face drained of all color "not again! This is so embarrassing!"
The young woman stared at Bonnie, shock and confusion written across her face. A robotic arm emerged from Clemont's backpack and snaked over to Bonnie, grabbing her and lifting her up and away from the confused young woman.
"I hope you'll think about it," Bonnie smiled, waving as Clemont huffed off, Bonnie in tow.
Brock turned to Ash, laughing. "So Bonnie is like Max in reverse?"
Ash smiled, "Actually, she reminds me more of you, except she's not after them for herself."
Chuckling at that Brock turned to the still-confused young woman. "Bonjour mademoiselle," he began, clearly butchering the pronunciation, "My name is Brock and I'm from Pewter City. Pleasure to meet you," at this he extended his hand.
Really taking a look at the group for the first time, the young woman took his hand and replied, "Bonjour Brock, my name is Gabrielle. Pleazure to meet you." Her accent was quite thick, clearly influenced by her native tongue. It reminded them both of Fantina, the Hearthome City Gym leader.
"And I'm Ash," smiled the black-haired trainer, offering his hand as well, "and I'm from Pallet Town."
"Zose are both in Kanto, no," Gabrielle replied as she shook Ash's hand.
"That's right," Ash replied. "I'm here to win the Kalos League and to become the world's greatest Pokémon Master!"
"And you Brock," Gabrielle said, staring at the trainer intently. "Are you 'ere to challenge ze League also?"
"Nah," Brock replied, "while I used to be a Gym Leader back in Kanto, after traveling with Ash through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh I actually decided to study Pokémon medicine. I'm just visiting Ash for the week before heading to Lumiose City to work in the St. James' Pokémon Hospital for a few months. Then it's back to Kanto to continue my studies."
"So you wish to be a Pokémon Doctor," she murmured. "A fine choice, zough it is a pity zat you won't be 'ere for very long. Still…" at this she trailed off. Reaching into her pocket, she produced a sleek looking phone. She thrust it at Brock. "I would like to 'ave your number just in case."
Serena was embarrassed at the girl's forwardness. Apparently people in southern Kalos was not as "traditional" as they presented themselves. Ash on the other hand was flabbergasted. After seeing Brock get shot down so many times, to see something like this…it was shocking to say the least.
Up to this point Brock had been keeping his cool, looking calm and in control, but upon taking the phone from Gabrielle a goofy grin spread across his face. While he was typing in his number Ash Ketchum mentally sighed in relief; he knew that look and it helped reassure him that that he hadn't somehow wandered into one of Brock's dreams.
Upon receiving her phone back from Brock Gabrielle gave a little curtsey, which she somehow managed to make look elegant and graceful despite being clad in hiking pants. "It was so nice to meet all of you. 'Ope to see you again soon." She made sure to catch Brock's eye as she said the last part. She whirled and, with a flounce of her hips that was quite obviously exaggerated, she took off in the direction of Reflection Cave.
They all watched her retreat in silence. After she had gone far enough to be out of earshot, Ash said aloud what everyone but Brock was thinking. "Well that was weird."
"If I'm dreaming don't wake me up," Brock said with a giddy tone in his voice and a blush on his face, clearly still in shock from what had just transpired.
Awkwardness hung in the air a moment. Deciding to break the spell Ash turned to Serena. "So Serena, I didn't know you could speak another language. That's so cool!"
Serena felt a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. "Thanks Ash, but it's no big deal."
Ash smiled. He'd noticed the blush but it didn't necessarily mean anything. One thing was still bugging him though. "But I'm confused…she speaks with a pretty strong accent. But you don't really have one."
"Ah, well everyone in Vaniville Town is pretty much bilingual. About half the families in town use one language and half use the other, so we all had to learn both at school. Mom and I don't speak it at home so I'm nowhere near as good as Gabrielle or someone from the far south. But I can at least pronounce both languages like a native."
"That makes sense," Clemont said, rejoining the group and the conversation. "Vaniville Town is at the northern edge of South Kalos or the southern edge of North Kalos, depending on how you look at it. If I had known I was going to be a Gym Leader I wouldn't have quit studying. Some of the people from the South get really upset if you can't use their language."
"We should probably get going," Brock said, having recovered from what was to him a very surreal experience. "We've advanced pretty far today already but there's still much more road to come."
At this the group resumed their journey on the Miroir Way back to Cyllage City. Throughout the day the conversation danced between a number of different subjects. For the most part though the three Kalos natives were interested in hearing more from Brock, asking about his experiences traveling with Ash, what it was like studying to be a Pokémon Doctor, and his impressions of the Kalos region so far.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon they finally glimpsed Cyllage City in the distance. While the sight of their destination did cause them to pick up their pace in anticipation, as they drew closer they gradually came to a stop, transfixed by the beauty of the city at sunset. Nestled between the cliffs and the Western Sea, Cyllage City was well-known for its excellent sunsets. Coming from Route 11 to the North, the five travelers had a magnificent view, the sun's orange rays playing off the ocean, buildings, and the cliffs in a swirling mixture of beauty as appealing to the eyes as Brock's cooking to the tongue. The gentle feel of the sea breeze, the salty taste in the air, and the sound of the Wingulls' call engaged their other senses, heightening the intensity of the experience and serving as an excellent frame to the magnificent vista. All five of them stood entranced. Even Ash, who wasn't one for remaining still, was caught up in this vision of beauty.
As the sun's light faded beneath the horizon and the lesser lights began to twinkle in the sky, with unspoken consent the group resumed their walk. Before long they arrived at the Pokémon Center. Serena had called ahead to reserve their rooms; once again, Brock would be bunking by himself while the rest of the group would share. After picking up their keys from Nurse Joy the five friends headed straight for the cafeteria. The long day's walk and light lunch had left them eager to dig in. Everyone took more food than normal and ate with a gusto that made them look like Ash and Ash look like a rampaging Snorlax. Even Serena, who was usually quite fastidious when it came to eating and manners, ate with an abandon that would have resulted in a scolding had her mother been present.
While conversation was sparse during the meal, as it was winding down Brock, being the responsible one, realized they had yet to set any sort of plans for the day to come.
"So guys, any ideas for what to do tomorrow?"
Four sets of eyes turned to Brock, and then to one another expectantly. Each was hoping that one of the others would have a suggestion. As the seconds ticked on and no one made a move to respond, Brock smiled.
"No need to worry guys, we can think of something at breakfast."
There were audible sighs of relief at this. Serena spoke up. "Thanks Brock, I think we're all really tired. Plus we spend two whole days here waiting for you to arrive, so we've pretty much seen everything." Realizing how this sounded, she hastened to continue. "Not that we're not okay with doing something twice!"
Before Brock could respond Ash slammed is fist down on the table, startling the group. Turning to look at him, they all saw an expression of satisfaction on his face. "I've got it," he exclaimed. "Why don't we go to the Gym? I'd love to see you battle Grant!"
"Wow Ash, that's a great idea!" Serena beamed. "Two Rock type Gym Leaders going head to head…"
"I confess that would be quite intriguing," Clemont said. "As a Gym Leader myself I've often wondered about different ways to improve my own battling strategy. I've learned so much just from watching Ash and Pikachu. I can only imagine what I'd learn from visiting another Electric type gym."
"It would help a lot I can tell you that," Brock replied. "On my journeys with Ash I've gotten to see just how different leaders with the same specialties could be. Personally I learned especially important lessons from watching Ash battle Roxanne and Roark, the two other Rock type leaders I saw him face." Turning to Ash he continued. "I think that would be a great idea."
"Oh boy, I can't wait," exclaimed Bonnie. Her cry of joy was immediately followed by a loud yawn as the effects of a day's travels and hearty food made their presence known.
Brock chuckled. "And with that, I think it's time to turn in."
The five friends all agreed heartily with this. After cleaning up their trays, they headed off to their respective rooms, promising to meet a bit later on in the morning though, at Ash's insistence, not so late that other trainers hadn't already eaten all the good food.
Apologies for the Google Translated French. If anyone can help out there I'll go back and fix it. And unfortunately (to me as well as you) this is the closest in this fic Brock will get to having a girl of his own. In the end, this is a story about Ash and Serena finding love; to randomly throw Brock together with someone or to mention a girlfriend in passing didn't seem right after all the rejection he's faced.
If Ash is out of character here, I acknowledge that he probably isn't quite as clever as I make him out to be here. But considering what he does put his Pokémon friends through and that there's no real malice behind what he's doing, I personally don't think he's "too nice" to do what I depict him doing here. He is however nice enough to feel conflicted and a bit guilty though, especially when he goes from "theoretical response" to "I think I actually hurt another person's feelings."
Considering the fact that Pokémon is dubbed into so many languages I know they'll never really discuss the language issue in the anime. Canon has, in my view, mixed signals on whether or not the country where Pokémon takes place is part of our world or merely of a world like ours. In the English dub French words have been used, notably by Burgundy, and we've run across people with French accents. The explanation we get here of there being a "Northern" and "Southern" Kalos with different languages is sure to be contradicted by canon one day, but at this point it isn't and I thought it added some flavor.
An adapted quote from the lyrics of one of my favorite Pokémon theme songs is buried in this chapter. It's probably a bit obvious.