Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Warning: See Episode 1.

Blade: Er, it's been a while, hasn't it?

Ruby: Yes. It has.

Blade: Um…sorry that I haven't updated?

Ruby: Just shut up and write.

Episode 4: What the Taillow!

We're not even half a day away from Petalburg and we're all ready hungry. Brendan thought sullenly as the group took a break near a circle of rocks. Max was a little upset that they had to take a break, but the big brother had won the argument. To be truthful, Brendan was all for continuing on, but he had a Pokémon team to worry about.

"So…what are you going to cook, Ruby?" Max asked. Out of the entire family, Brendan's little brother had to be his number one fan when it comes to who is the better cook. The white-haired teen made no comment as he opened up his backpack, going through all the items inside. After a while, he started to frown. Where the hell were the foodstuffs he had laid out for his journey?

"I think we have a problem, Houston," Brendan replied, getting a little annoyed. He sighed and gave up the fruitless search. "Looks like Mom forgot to put in the food I had requested."

What was worse was that they didn't even have Pokéfood. This had to be the most pathetic situation Brendan had ever been in. He sighed again and looked over at Max, who had pulled out a single bar of chocolate.

"…I can't cook with just a bar of chocolate," the white-haired teen commented dryly. Max shrugged.

"Well, I was saving this for an emergency," Max retorted only to have the chocolate stolen by a flying shadow. The three blinked in astonishment. "That was a…TAILLOW!"

Brendan's little brother then started to chase the flying-type, excitement restoring his lost energy. Sighing, the elder followed at an easy sprint with Ash not far behind him. After a while, the trio came upon a clearing and the Taillow was perched upon a branch in the tree in front of them. Brendan was a little suspicious of all this. He had learned the hard way that where there was one Taillow, more had to be around somewhere.

"Hey! These are apple trees!" Ash commented in delighted surprise. Max had all ready started to climb up one of the trees, intent on getting at least one apple.

"Uh…no! Max, don't—" the warning died on Brendan's lips when another Taillow started pecking his kid brother on the head. Max lost his grip and would have fallen painfully on the ground if Brendan hadn't expected this to happen. The white-haired teen had been running to the tree and leaped, falling in the place where his little brother would have hit. Therefore, instead of smacking the ground, Max fell on top of Brendan. The impact hurt like hell, but he was glad that his little brother was okay.

"Brendan! Are you guys all right?!" Ash seemed genuinely concerned for them. Brendan groaned but gave him the thumbs up. Max immediately got off of his brother, apologizing for his recklessness. The white-haired teen stood up painfully, but waved off the apology.

"It's okay, Max. You didn't know and nothing's broken," he told his brother. Max didn't buy it, but abruptly a flock of Taillow had lighted down on the trees in the clearing. Brendan cursed under his breath as he and his brother cautiously made their way toward Ash.

Without warning, the flock started to attack the group. Brendan instinctively pushed Max in between him and Ash, trying to shield him from the brunt of the attack. Luckily, they were saved when a young man threw out his Pokéball, which contained a Forretress.

"Forretress, use Selfdestruct!" he shouted. A white light surrounded the bug-type before it promptly exploded on the Taillow flock. Taking advantage of the situation, Brendan picked up Max and followed Ash to the other Trainer. Making safety a top priority, the three ran a safe distance away from the clearing before stopping to talk.

"That was…brilliant," Brendan panted out with a smile. The other Trainer smiled back, taking the compliment gracefully.

"Brock! Great timing, as usual!" Ash exclaimed. Brendan decided the best way to not intrude on their reunion would be by checking up on Max. He set his brother down and made a thorough examination, much to his little brother's annoyance.

Well, at least nothing's wrong with him. Brendan thought with relief. He wouldn't have forgiven himself if any serious injury had occurred to Max. When the examination was done, the group exchanged introductions and were invited to dine with Brock for lunch. They naturally agreed and followed the man to his campsite.

"Huh. I thought I had some sandwiches…oh, well. I'll just cook up some stew," Brock told the group, much to their elation. Brendan had decided to take this moment to get to know the young, former Gym Leader. He got through this by offering to help him cook. Although Brock seemed a little reluctant, Max's comment about how good of a cook Brendan was made him cave in.

And that was how the two became rivals in cooking, as well as the best of friends.

The mood was ruined by the arrival of the Taillow flock and Team Rocket. Brendan sighed. Couldn't they have at least one good day? A day without an interruption by Team Stupid? No, of course not. That'd be too boring.

"Well, at least we get entertainment while we eat," Brendan said sarcastically. Max snickered, but said nothing. Although they were surprised when the flock agreed to eat lunch before doing anything else. Good thing Brock made plenty of stew.

After the meal, the Taillow with the chocolate beak challenged Ash's Pikachu to a battle. The two readily accepted and began their battle. After a while of continuous electric attacks, it was obvious that the Taillow would die if they didn't do something soon. That was when Ash got the brilliant idea of catching the tiny swallow.

Luckily, it was an easy capture. Too bad Team Rocket wanted to take the chance to capture Pikachu, but Brendan wasn't having any of it. He stood and threw the ball containing his beloved Pisces.

"I've had enough of these clowns! Pisces, use Water Gun!"

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" the two attacks combined, effectively causing Team Rocket to blast off again into the sky. Brendan and Ash high-fived each other, triumphant grins plastered on their faces.

After that, Ash let out his new Taillow and Brock used a Super Potion on it. Although the potion stung, the Taillow was obviously grateful. Brendan also managed to wipe off the chocolate on its beak with a napkin. With all that done, the flock took flight and Ash's Taillow called out to them in farewell.

Blade: Done. :dies:

Ruby: Hm. Next chapter, we'll be in Rustboro 'cause Blade doesn't want to go through all those filler episodes.

Blade: Damn straight. :/