Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. If I did Ash would have a Kalos Rival or they'd bring back Paul.
Some dialogue and plot elements from this chapter are taken from the anime episode A Battle By Any Other Name.
"Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind." - 1 Peter 3:8
Breakfast the next morning was a quick affair; everyone was eager to see a great battle between two strong Rock type specialists. Not even the prospect of making the steep climb up the cliffs to the Gym dampened their enthusiasm. Walking into the Gym after having made it all the way up, the group quickly caught sight of Grant chatting with two young trainers. Upon noticing the five friends Grant wrapped his conversation up and, excusing himself, walked over to see his old friends, a questioning look in his eyes.
"Hey guys, didn't expect to see you again so soon! Knowing Ash I would have thought you'd be well on your way to Shalour City by now."
Although everyone chuckled at this it was Ash that responded. "Yeah me too, but plans kinda got changed. See this here," at this he motioned to the one member of the group unfamiliar to Grant, "is my old friend and traveling buddy Brock. After our battle the other day I found out that he was coming to Kalos to study and work at the St. James' Pokémon Hospital in Lumiose City for a few months. But he had some time before he needed to start work so he decided to pay me a visit."
"Ah," Grant said. "Well, nice to meet you Brock." The pair shook hands.
"Likewise," Brock responded, withdrawing his hand. "I've heard a lot about your battling style from Ash. As a Rock type specialist myself, I must say I'm impressed."
"Thanks Brock," Grant replied. "There aren't that many that can appreciate the imposing majesty or fathom the deep mysteries of Rock types."
Brock nodded sagely at this. "Exactly. So, if you don't mind I'd love to test your battling skills first hand."
Ash smiled, putting his hands on Brock shoulders. "Yeah Grant, we'd all love to see a face-off between Rock type Gym Leaders!"
"Oh," said Grant, a smile on his face, "so you're a Gym leader as well?"
Shaking his head, Brock responded. "Not anymore. Like Ash said, I'm studying to be a Pokémon Doctor now, and before that I traveled all over with Ash looking to improve my skills as a Pokémon Breeder. But yeah, before I joined Ash on his journey I was leader at the Pewter City Gym."
"Pewter City, huh? It's got quite the reputation among Rock type Gyms. You must be a Harrison then."
"Guilty as charged," Brock laughed, putting up his hands in mock surrender.
"Well Brock, I'd love to have a battle with you, even if it's an unofficial match. Unfortunately I've already got two challengers waiting and tomorrow's my day off. I don't know if you'll still be around the day after, but I'd be happy to battle you then."
This sent a ripple of disappointment through the group; they had all been anticipating watching a spirited Pokémon battle. Realizing that it wasn't going to happen, at least not today, took some of the wind out of their sails. Only Brock had mixed feelings; while he was looking forward to testing his skills, he hadn't really had time to get to know Carbink as well as he would have liked. A delay would give him more time to train and bond with it; it also would give him the opportunity to get one or two of his Pokémon from Pewter City.
"No worries Grant," Brock said, "that should work out just fine. We'll be here around this time the day after tomorrow."
"Great, I'm looking forward to it! Our battle definitely will have an interesting flavor to it. Now if you'll excuse me," he said, turning back towards the climbing wall and the battlefield, "I have a wall to climb."
After bidding Grant goodbye the group turned and, upon exiting the Gym, proceeded back down the mountain. While going downhill was physically easier for everyone, on the way up they had been propelled by excitement for what the day would bring. Now they seemed weighed down by both disappointment and general listlessness; no one seemed to know where to go next or what to do. As they reached the bottom they turned down a nearby street. After wandering aimlessly for a few minutes they caught sight of a park and, after a brief discussion, decided that this would be an excellent place to stop and plan out how to spend their day.
As Clemont and Brock began to discuss the prospect of having a battle and Bonnie began playing with Dedenne, Serena turned to her backpack and began rummaging through it. Serena's actions piqued Ash's curiosity, driving him to ask what she was looking for.
"Well," Serena responded, lifting out a box, "these were meant to be a treat for all of us after Brock's battle. But they won't keep for two days, so we might as well eat them now."
Even though breakfast was less than an hour ago, Ash, being Ash, was naturally quite excited at the prospect of food. "So what's in there?"
"Ta-da," Serena said, opening the lid to reveal eight brightly colored pastries. She'd baked more than enough for everyone to have one.
"What are they," Ash asked.
"These are traditional Pokémon sweet treats. They're called Poke Puffs," Serena replied.
"Poke Puffs huh," Ash said. He wondered if they were similar to Poffins.
Serena smiled. "Do you want one Pikachu," she asked.
The Electric type's swift hop down from Ash's shoulder was all the answer Serena needed. She lifted two out of the basket, handing one to Fennekin and the other to Pikachu. Both Pokémon took bites and cooed in appreciation at the excellent taste. All the activity drew Bonnie, Clemont, and Brock's attention and they began to walk over.
While glad that Pikachu enjoyed it, Ash had a more pressing question on his mind. "People can eat them too, right?" They sure did look pleasing to the eye. Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed one of each of the two kinds Serena had made and shoveled them into his mouth. Serena sighed at this. Although used to Ash's behavior by now, that didn't make it any less disgusting. Yet as soon as they were down his throat, his face took on a weird look.
"Ash, what's the matter," Clemont asked. Although Serena was a good baker, these were Poke Puffs after all…not every variety was meant for human consumption.
Ash looked up, joy on his face. "They're great," he enthused. "That's the yummiest thing I've ever eaten in my life."
Brock just chuckled. He'd heard such praise on multiple occasions so he didn't take the implied slight personally. All it meant was that Serena had done really well.
"Please don't scare me like that," she said, relief evident in her voice.
Before anything else could be said, Dedenne's cries for attention pierced the air. Its grasping arms made clear what it wanted.
"Can Dedenne please have one," Bonnie asked.
Ash reached to hand Bonnie one, but before he could complete the action the telltale blue glow of a Psychic type move surrounded the Poke Puff. It levitated straight up out of Ash's hands and into the air. Turning to follow it, the group saw the Poke Puff go right into the mouth of strange looking pink Pokémon a short distance away. Before they knew what happened, the thing lifted all three remaining Poke Puffs up and devoured them as well.
Hanging his head and sighing in frustration, Ash held up his Pokedex towards the interloper. While seeing a new Pokémon was usually exciting, the disappointing circumstances made him unable to muster up much enthusiasm this time. As the Pokedex entry on Slurpuff finished playing, Ash looked up and caught sight of a girl standing behind the Slurpuff. She had short blue hair and her dark orange eyes glinted in the morning sun. Her blouse and skirt were sky blue while her loose-hanging tie and headband were bright orange. The way her outfit complemented her features was another quintessential example of Kalos' world-renowned fashion sense, not that Ash noticed.
"You see," Miette began, a mixture of sweet charm and condescension swirling in her voice, "Slurpuff thinks your Poke Puff tasted decent enough."
Serena didn't like her tone or her words. "What does that mean," she started. "Who are you?"
The girl smiled. "I'm Miette," she started, "and this is my partner Slurpuff."
The group of people and Pokémon made their introductions. While Serena's tone contained some degree of hostility, the others all introduced themselves politely, not wanting to put off a new acquaintance even if she had been a bit abrupt.
As soon as the last introduction was given, Ash's stomach made its presence known quite loudly.
Miette smiled. "Ash sure is cute," she thought. "And now I know the perfect way to get his attention." Aloud she said, "Since my Slurpuff ate some of your Poke Puffs, how would you like to try some of the best?"
While the little dig within this offer was upsetting, what irked Serena even more was Bonnie and Ash's immediate and eager acceptance of Miette's offer. She refused and looked away determinedly as Miette distributed Poke Puffs to the rest of the group, ensuring both people and Pokémon got something appropriate. Serena hid a smile though when Ash's greed for food backfired on the blue-haired interloper; his reaction to a particularly spicy Poke Puff reassured her that Ash wouldn't be praising this girl's Poke Puffs as "the yummiest he'd ever tasted."
But when Miette made another condescending remark after that, well she couldn't refrain from responding.
"Hey, I make them like that too," Serena responded angrily.
"Course you can," Miette responded with false sweetness, "that's Poke Puff basics. Poke Puff 101."
"What's with the attitude," Serena shot back, not liking this girl talking down to her. Growling, she stared intensely at Miette. At this the blunette's false cheer broke and she mirrored Serena's actions, shooting a strong glare right back at Serena. The intensity of the situation had the rest of the group sweating with nervousness.
Brock, as the elder of the group, intervened. "Hey you two, let's take it easy," he said, pulling back Serena.
"Yeah," Clemont added, gently gripping Miette and gently moving her away from Serena, "why don't we all just calm down. There's no reason to be mad."
At this the two disentangled themselves from the boys' grips, whirling and putting their backs to one another.
"Why not have a bake-off," chimed Bonnie. This comment caught the attention of the group, so Bonnie elaborated on the upcoming Poke Puff contest. After Miette informed them that this was her whole reason for coming to Cyllage City, Serena confidently accepted Miette's implied challenge, which led to another stare-off. Clemont and Brock again had to step in. After being separated by the boys once more, Miette bid the group a quick farewell, saying she had a few things to get ready before the contest. Watching her retreating form, Serena resolved to win this contest and show Miette just where she could put that attitude.
With Miette gone and things calm again, Ash turned to Brock. "Hey man, you going to enter? I mean, maybe you've never made Poke Puffs but you're great with Pokéblock and Poffins.
"I think I'll pass," shrugged Brock. "Let's give Serena a chance to shine. Besides, I'm pretty sure we don't have enough berries left for two entries."
"He's right about that," supplied Clemont. "We'll have to pick up some more before hit the road again."
As the group began to walk in the direction of the contest, Brock loped his legs extra far to catch up with Serena, who had gotten far out ahead. It didn't take a genius to realize that she was determined to do well. Drawing even with her, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, slow down a bit. The contest isn't going anywhere and Clemont is starting to lag behind."
"Sorry," she said sheepishly, slowing her pace a bit. "But I just want to be sure I can register on time. I really want to win this."
"I can tell."
"Thanks for not entering by the way," she said. "I'm glad it'll just be me and her up there."
"And all the other competitors too," Brock quipped. "But seriously, no worries. I think it'd be a great opportunity for you to show your strength, both to yourself and to a certain someone."
"Yeah," she nodded, "I hope so. I was so happy when he said that it was the best thing he ever tasted…but that that girl came along and well…she just made me so mad!"
"Just do your best Serena! I know you have what it takes." His reassuring tone slowed her racing heart.
"Thanks Brock," she said, visibly more calm now. "That means a lot." And it did. Somehow Serena felt quite close to Brock even though it had only been a few days. He was quickly becoming like the older brother she'd never had…it was going to be hard to see him leave.
"Hey guys," called Ash, "wait for the rest of us." It might have been Serena's imagination, but it sounded like there was a hint of concern in his tone.
Nodding to one another, Serena and Brock halted and turned around, waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. After catching up, the group once again was treated to Bonnie chiding Clemont for his slowness. Chuckling at the siblings' antics, the group resumed their walk towards the contest.
First off, and I am totally remiss in not saying it before, but thanks to all my readers and reviewers. I really appreciate all the feedback! And thanks to Papifly for the French translation help.
Brock will indeed battle Grant, it just won't be for a while. I hope it will be worth the wait even though it isn't the main focus of this story. As for what is…this past weekend's episode had the deepest and best Ash-Serena interaction we've seen in a while. Hopefully it's a sign of more to come, though if it isn't, well, that's what this site is for.
Canon is ambiguous on whether or not the Poke Puff contest takes place in Cyllage City. There's no direct evidence that I could see one way or the other, although considering Ash's constant rushing around it probably didn't. Even if it did, the timing is off; without Brock's visit there's no way the group would still be in Cyllage City almost a week after the Gym Battle. But it's what works here.
Finally I recognize that this chapter is quite short and that about half of it comes straight out of the anime, which is why I've gone ahead and posted two chapters today. To give you a bit of the lay of the land, this story will have 16 chapters and an epilogue, though with the exception of the epilogue the length of those chapters is more akin to what you'll find in the next chapter (4000 words or so) than what you find in this one.