Chapter 6: The First Gym
Notes:
Decided not to keep any of you waiting for this chapter any longer than necessary, plus it'd been sitting around our docs in a complete state.
Ashley's Pokemon:
Hope (Pikachu)
Spearow
Vivillon
Gale (Pidgeotto)
Mustard (Beedrill)
Erika's Pokemon:
Meadow (Leafeon)
Rafflesia (Gloom)
Ichigo (Lokix)
Venom (Beedrill)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"...well, at least you know what type of Pokemon the gym leader uses," Ashley said, looking up at the gym, which was less a building and more a colossal slab of stone. "...come to think of it, I really don't have any Pokemon good against rock types…"
"Well at least you're not charging in there like an idiot," Erika remarked. "I was worried I'd have to watch you get your butt kicked."
"...you may yet," Ashley remarked. "I don't have a single Pokemon effective against rock-types. Honestly, it's the opposite. I'm so going to get creamed."
"So are you going to quit right now, and turn around?" Erika said, teasingly. "Or is the world's greatest Pokemon master going to find a workaround her first real hurdle? Or are you just all talk, and is the world's future Pokemon Master just something you say to yourself in the mirror every morning?"
Ashley gave her the stink eye. "I know what you're doing, and I appreciate it but you're laying it on a bit thick aren't you?"
"Well you yourself can be a bit on the thick side as well," Erika said, somewhat snarkily. "You want me to shout it in your ears so I know you'll have heard me?"
"Har har," Ashley said before smiling. "...Still, at least we're back in civilization. For a while there I thought I was going to be in that forest for the rest of my life! Traded the forest greens for just a lot of gray. It's kinda depressing actually…"
She sank down into the street with a storm cloud above her head.
"...great, now I just made my mood as dreary as the rest of this city…"
Erika blinked, swearing the cloud above Ashley's head was starting to actually rain.
"Pewter City is gray, the color of stone," a man said, passing by. Erika narrowed her eyes at the man, swearing she'd seen him somewhere before. She couldn't place him exactly though, maybe it was just her imagination. She blinked, maybe he just had one of those faces. "This town has always been famous for stone."
"...that's great I guess?" Ashley trailed off. "...well I suppose it's good to be famous for something, right?"
"You're a traveling trainer, aren't you?" the man said and again Erika blinked, swearing there was a sense of familiarity about this guy. "Don't tell me you plan on challenging Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader."
Ashley gasped. "Are you a psychic, because you just read my mind!"
"No, it's obvious by the way you're loitering in front of his gym," the man said. "You're looking up at it, wondering if you should really go in. Wondering if you really have what it takes."
"So what's it to you?" Ashley asked, rather bluntly. "Why do you care? It's not like I asked for your opinion! Alright, if you're so smart, then you can tell me how much of a chance I have huh mister know it all okay?"
"Well, I can tell you right now that you don't," the dark-skinned man replied. "You should give up right now, and go on home and maybe come back once you've had a little more training and a little more self-confidence. As it is, there's no way that little mouse of yours will even make a scratch on Brock's rock-solid Pokemon."
Hope let out a little angry 'Pika…' as her cheeks sparked in pure indignation.
"Who knows, maybe I'll surprise you…" Ashley said, with a little growl in her voice and Erika smiled approvingly. At least she still had her fire and wasn't letting this guy get her down.
"Possibly, it has happened before, but I doubt it."
"Why you!"
Erika had to hold Ashley back before she got into a fistfight with the man.
"Now now, that's enough of that…" she said, calmly trying to keep a cool head even if she really disliked this man. Ashley was plenty arrogant that's for sure, not helped by Lance's praises but she didn't need anyone verbally beating her down like this!
"You're Erika, aren't you?" the man said, turning to her. "Celadon City's gym leader. Maybe you should lend this girl one of your Pokemon, to at least give her a fighting chance."
Erika was about to speak up, and say that was no way for Ashley to learn. But she was caught off by the black-haired girl herself.
"No way! If I did it that way, the badge wouldn't even be legitimate! If I used one of Erika's Pokemon, I'd be relying on her skills, not on my own!" Ashley sputtered in pure indignation. "If I had to rely on Erika's help every time even things looked slightly tougher, there's no way in hell I'd become the world's greatest Pokemon Master!"
Erika smiled approvingly, rather proud of her young idiot companion. It seemed every day that Ashley managed to surprise her somehow. She was growing up, a little bit at a time.
"...well, you still won't be able to beat the Pewter City gym leader, even if you apply your own skills," the man said, and pointed to the sign outside the gym. "See that? The gym's closed today."
Ashley, Hope and Erika simply facefaulted.
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"Well, if we're not going to be able to challenge the gym today," Erika said, at a nearby tennis court. "I think we should make use of our suddenly clear schedule and engage in some training. During your battle with that Coalossal, you said Hope's tail was starting to glow silver at times?"
"Yeah, I did!" Ashley said, snapping her fingers in memory.
"That sounds like the beginnings of an Iron Tail," Erika said. "A steel type move, it'd be super effective against Brock's rock types. Combined with Hope's natural agility, and you actually have more of a fighting chance than you thought."
"Oh wow, really?"
"Yeah, and your Beedrill and your Vivillon should be able to contribute too with Toxic and Sleep Powder. You're actually more out of the woods than you thought."
"...but we left Viridian Forest…" Ashley blinked, cluelessly.
"...I see we won't be speaking with metaphors today," Erika said, rubbing her temples. "Put simply, you do have the beginnings of a potential strategy. And there's another move you can teach a Pikachu as well, called Electroweb. With it, you can have Hope imprison Brock's Geodude he always leads with in a web of pure electricity setting it up for the Iron Tail finisher."
"...assuming we can even teach Hope those moves…"
"Well, Hope's clearly already grasped the basics of Iron Tail, and I think Vivillon and Beedrill can help tutoring with Electroweb. It'd be no more difficult than them using String Shot, principle wise. Your team builds one another up," Erika gently explained. "Shall we?"
A few hours later, the duo and their Pokemon were fairly exhausted and the sun was beginning to set.
"Well, I think we're getting somewhere," Erika said. "I saw how much progress Hope was making so I think we're actually pretty close as we're going to get."
"...yeah, but can Hope do either of those moves on cue?"
"Sometimes, all you have to do is just have faith in your Pokemon. When I was training my Gloom, it's why I couldn't just force Rafflesia. She had to do things on her own, I couldn't instantly just snap my fingers when I wanted her to progress on a new move. I had to step back, and just have faith in her."
"That, yeah that makes sense and I've got confidence in my Pikachu. I am the one to be training her, after all. She's undoubtedly awesome! She's my Pokemon, of course she is! She's the most awesome Pikachu in the world!"
"Well, it's good you have confidence in her abilities, even if it crosses over into outright arrogance," Erika said before she yawned. "We should get an early sleep tonight, we all want to be rested for your gym battle tomorrow, after all. Your Pokemon have had a long training session, and they need to recover their strength. Even Hope can run out of energy."
Ashley nodded before fighting back a yawn herself. "...yeah, I know what you mean. I'm beat, we've been walking and training for days. It's been quite a while since I've had the comfort of an actual bed."
Finding the Pokemon center, poor Hope was in for a shock when she got there however.
"Pika?" Hope said which meant: "Huh? Doctor Joy? But I thought… hold on a second, I'm confused…"
The Doctor smiled kindly at the little mouse.
"Yes, my name is Doctor Joy, Doctor Sarah Joy. You must have met my cousin Victoria back in Viridian!" the Joy explained to the poor mouse.
"Cousin?" Ashley blinked. "But you two look… I mean, it's like you two are twins!"
"Really?" Victoria Joy asked. "Personally, I don't see what you mean. We don't look anything alike!"
Ashley just sweatdropped.
"...that must make family reunions interesting…" she said as Erika giggled in the background.
"Anyways, I'm sorry to say if you're looking for rooms for the night, we're all filled up. I can direct you to a hotel if you like," Victoria said, apologetically. "I'm sorry Ms. Ketchum, and Ms. Tachibana but-"
"There's no need for any of that," said a voice, as Erika smiled seeing her fellow gym leader walk into the building. "Doctor Joy, my gorgeous lady love, allow me to help these two young trainers out! I've got plenty of room at my house! If it allows me to prove my love and devotion to you, I'd be happy to help out!"
Erika sighed. "...Brock, how many times have you tried winning Sarah's love?"
"20 this month alone!" Brock said, without a hint of shame.
"Wait, you're Brock?" Ashley's eyes widened in shock as she looked the dark-skinned teenager up and down, looking to be about a few years older than her. He wore an orange shirt, and she wasn't sure if his eyes were even open or not. "I was supposed to battle you at your gym today!"
"Yeah, sorry, but I got absolutely wrecked by some kids from Pallet one after the other," Brock admitted, rather embarrassingly. "Including some kid who took me on with just his Squirtle! Swept my whole team!"
"...that sounds like Gary," Ashley said, hanging her head with that dark cloud over her head returning again. "...well, he is Oak's grandson and as much as I hate to admit it, he does know a lot more about Pokemon and how to bring out their real potential."
"Yeah, I thought he looked a little bit like the Professor," Brock said. "...friend of yours?"
"...yeah, once," Ashley said with a sigh. "And then his ego went to his head and suddenly… we just weren't."
"Damn, that sucks," Brock said. "I admit, even as unprofessional as it sounds-"
"Unprofessional? You were just hitting on Nurse Joy!" Ashley snarked. "You're one to talk!"
"She's a beautiful angel from heaven!" Brock said, hand over heart and Ashley swore she heard a holy choir from somewhere. …was everyone in her region just this plain weird?
"As I was saying, though. Gary does need his attitude taken down a few pegs, skill is one thing but the kid has a serious attitude problem. I've seen balloons with less hot air than him."
Ashley snorted and Erika suppressed an unladylike snort of her own.
"Anyways, as I was saying, I'd be happy to offer you a place for the night! The both of you! It'd be just wrong to turn down a fellow gym leader and her girlfriend in her hour of need!"
"I'm not her girlfriend!" Ashley said, though she felt a distinct rush of heat to her cheeks at the idea. Or at least, the idea of dating another girl. She wondered why.
"Brock, we don't want to impose. Besides, you have nine siblings! You can't possibly have room for-"
"Nonsense!" Brock said. "There's always another place to squeeze you in! It's the only gentlemanly thing to do anyways! You'll even get a homemade breakfast for you and your Pokemon in the morning!"
"If you say so…" Erika said, uncertain.
"Homemade breakfast?" Ashley said. "It can't possibly compare to the food my mom makes for her cafe!"
"Is that a challenge?" Brock grinned. "Well, I'd be honored to take you up on that!"
At Brock's home, Ashley didn't feel like she was intruding at all actually. The home, with the toys on the floor and the crayon-drawings on the wall stuck there with pride? It felt lived in, it didn't feel like a house. It felt like a home. It felt like it was full of the most important thing of all, love.
"...nine siblings huh?" Ashley said. "...and where's…?"
"My mother's on vacation, though I don't think you can ever really call it a vacation when she's never planned on returning home," Brock said, rather bitterly. "And my father… Well, honestly I don't know where he is and I don't care actually by this point. He left his gym, and his kids to me."
"...which just leaves you," Ashley said, with a sigh. "Damn that sucks. For what it's worth, I know what it's like. My dad, I haven't seen him in years and honestly he and mom are married only on paper. She's been left to take care of me alone."
"...well at least you still have one of your parents," Brock said. "So you're lucky in that way, don't take it for granted. Some people, they don't understand what it's like. Namely having a mom that loves you unconditionally, up until the moment she's gone."
"Yeah, mom's the best. She even supported me when I ca…" Ashley swallowed, realizing she'd probably said too much.
"When you came out?" Brock said. "Don't worry, I don't care. Suzie, that's one of my little sisters, she decided she wanted to be a girl one day so we got her on D."
"D?"
"Ditto genes," Brock said. "They're doing amazing stuff with it nowadays, have you…"
"I'm not sure if I even can," Ashley said. "Erika's a friend, but she's not exactly my legal guardian so…"
"Call your mom the next time you can, I'll back you up if I need to," Brock said. "You deserve to be your truest self, everyone does."
He sighed, sadly.
"...something wrong?"
"Yeah, see, running the gym was never what I wanted to do with my life," Brock said. "I always wanted to learn about Pokemon breeding. Learning what kinds of foods they eat to bring out a Pokemon's true power, everything a successful breeder would want to know. I get more joy from raising Pokemon than battling them. That's why I started making homemade meals. …well, that and one other reason…"
"Yeah, guess it's hard to follow your dreams when you're forced to step up to being a parent," Ashley said. "...Mom, she always said she wanted to give the Pokemon League another try but with dad gone… I mean, she's happy running her cafe but I always wondered if…"
Ashley gave a sad sort of smile.
"That's one of the reasons I'm on my journey, so I can live her dream for her."
"You're a good daughter. I wish I was a better son, maybe then my father wouldn't have left me behind," Brock said, sadly before he looked at Ashley. "Now you should get some sleep, you've got a gym battle with me tomorrow. And I refuse to accept you at anything less than your very best. Good night."
"G'night…"
Still, sleep didn't come easily for Ashley. As she tossed and turned on the couch, she reflected. At least she still had her mom when her dad up and left. Brock, as she listened to him tell a bedtime story to his little siblings… He didn't even have that.
He'd had to raise them all on his own. She sighed, if she ever met his father then he'd be getting a swift kick in the dick. It's not like he deserved to have any more kids anyways, not if he couldn't take care of the ones he already had. Some people were the reason gene pools needed lifeguards.
Smiling at the thought, Ashley drifted off to sleep.
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The next day…
Lights flashed on, instantly illuminating the battlefield which was covered with what else but more rocks.
"Are you ready, Ashley? Before we begin, how long have you been with that Pikachu? How long have you been with that Pokémon?"
"Uh, about two weeks I guess?" Ashley scratched her head. "But we've had battles with trainers, so Hope is hardly weak! She even defeated a whole Spearow flock all by herself!"
"Then maybe I won't knock her out in one blow," Brock said. "But… All the same, if you plan on battling solely with Hope, then you're in for a big disappointment. As someone who's been learning to be a Breeder, I'm going to pass on a little piece of advice. You need to properly take care of all of your Pokemon, you can't just neglect them in favor of your favorite. That's a disservice to them and your abilities as a trainer."
"I'd never do that! My team, they're like my family! You take care of your family, and I've been taking care of mine!"
Brock smiled. "Then this battle should at least show off your strength, if you don't win today there's always tomorrow. Just remember to take care of your Pokemon, and you'll go as far as you want to. You can see just by looking at my Pokémon how rock hard my willpower is. My Pokémon are all hard as rock and have true-grit determination!"
Ashley grinned. "Then we'll just have to show you our might!"
"You're going to challenge me even knowing that you'll lose? That's what a Trainer's honor demands! So be it! Show me your best!" Brock said, snapping his fingers and enlarging a Pokemon. "Gooooooooo Geodude!"
"Geodude!" the boulder with arms said.
"...what if it's a girl?" Ashley blinked. "...wouldn't it be called Geogal then?"
Brock facefaulted and Erika giggled from her place in the stands.
"...wait, if you love your Pokemon so much, why haven't you…?" Ashley trailed off.
"Simple," Erika explained. "Gym leaders always have multiple teams, each scaled to the level of trainers they might face. Brock's using his team meant for trainers who don't even have one badge, while he has another for those who have 4 to 5 badges. He simply doesn't have time to name them all, plus he could get them mixed up mid-battle. Besides, most of his Pokemon belong to the gym anyways, not him."
Ashley nodded. "Makes sense."
"Geodude, Rock Throw!" Brock said, pointing at Ashley's Pikachu.
The pokemon grabbed a rock, ripping it up from the field and tossed it towards Hope.
"Hope, agility now!" Ashley said. "Roll to the left, dodge it!"
"Pika!" Hope cried, dodging the thrown rock as it shattered into rubble behind her.
"You know what to do, pin it down with Electroweb!" Ashley said, even as Geodude flew towards her in a full-on charge.
"PIIIIIIIIIIKA!" Hope said, leaping forwards, up above the rock-type and creating a ball of orange electric netting on the tip of her tail.
Lobbing the netting forwards, Hope pinned the Geodude to the floor.
"Ha, now come down on top of him with Iron Tail!" Ashley shouted as Hope's heart-shaped tail glowed silver. The color of steel. Hope let out another cry as the steel-laced tail came crashing down on top of the Geodude, slicing through the electric netting.
The floor cracked beneath Brock's Pokemon, and then cratered with Geodude unconscious.
"Geodude, return! Very good, I'm impressed," Brock said, calling back his Pokemon. "You weren't lying, you do have a strong bond with your Pokemon. Teaching your Pikachu that move, maybe you do know what you're doing after all. But it's only going to get harder from here, fair warning. Give up now, and I'll spare you the pain."
"Then you don't know me that well, at all do you?" Ashley asked.
"Heh, I guess not," Brock said. "Truth be told, I'd have been disappointed if you gave me any other answer! Let's go, Skiddo!"
A goat-like Pokemon, with grass instead of wool leaped into the air. Landing atop of one of the remaining rocks on the field, it let out a loud 'baaaaaaa' sound.
"Of course, what sort of gym leader would I be if I didn't cover for my weaknesses?" Brock said. "This is Skiddo, a grass type from the Kalos region. Not many Kanto trainers have one of these."
"Funny, I guess my next Pokemon will be like your Skiddo meeting an old friend then!" Ashley said, recalling Pikachu. "Come on, Vivillon!"
"Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" the elegant, graceful Pokemon said as she flew up above the battlefield.
"A Vivillon, and by its scales it's well-looked after! You keep on pleasantly surprising me, Ms. Ketchum."
Ashley grinned. "Please, just call me Ashley. It's a name you'll be hearing a lot of, in the future! Now Vivillon, Psybeam!"
"Tackle attack, Skiddo!" Brock ordered the small ram, and it let out another 'baaa' as it leaped into the air towards Ashley's butterfly.
"Quickly, use your sleep powder!" Ashley quickly changed her orders, and her Scale Pokemon flew around the arena spreading orange dust everywhere.
Skiddo's eyes shuddered shut and it fell crashing headlong into a rock knocking itself out.
"Two down, three to go!" Brock said. "Let's see how you get along with this next Pokemon! Bolin, I choose you!"
A pokemon, resembling a cross between a snapping turtle and an Ankylosaur of some sort appeared. The grass-type let out an audible thud as it landed on the field, with bushes growing out of its shell.
"The color's off though, that's not like any Grotle I've seen at Professor Oak's…" Ashley blinked, as the Grotle pawed at the ground. It was golden with an aquamarine shell instead of its usual coloration.
"This is a Shiny Pokemon, they're prized for their rarity and while they're no stronger than usual members of their species," Brock said. "Their coloration is a breeder's dream. I raised this one from an egg myself! But enough talk, Bolin use Withdraw! Hide in your shell, you can't be put to sleep if Vivillon can't get to you!"
"Vivillon, return! I know how to draw it out of its shell," Ashley said. "Go Mustard! Use Toxic!"
The newly named Beedrill buzzed and fired purple poison from its twin stingers. The Grotle groaned, splashed with the oozing purple substance and let out a moan of pain.
"Mustard return, now while it's weakened!" Ashley said. "Go Spearow!"
"A good strategy, wearing down Grotle's defenses that way and then choosing a Pokemon who would be super-effective against his hard shell despite the lower level," Brock said, admiringly. "That Spearow… I can see he's been in many battles because of his scars. Is he a member of the flock that you said your Pikachu beat?"
"The leader!" Ashley said, even as her Spearow pulled out a hat she'd sworn she'd seen somewhere before.
"...wait, is that the hat from that Jim Bob guy?" she thought, even as her Spearow tipped his hat with a wing.
"Then this should be interesting!" Brock said, having thrown off his shirt in the excitement of a good battle. He'd been completely caught up in it all, thrilled at the challenging match. "Bolin, withdraw into your shell again and withstand Spearow's attacks!"
"Peck! Keep pecking away at that Grotle's shell until you find a weak spot!" Ashley said, and her Spearow flew up and looped down into a dive with his beak glowing white.
"SPEAAAAAAARRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"
And Ashley grinned, and that older guy said this was supposed to actually be a tough gym battle! So what did he know anyway?
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"Good work, Ashley," Brock said, recalling his Grotle. "But those were just the easy Pokemon. You're out of type advantages now. This Pokemon… I found it, or rather its fossil in the nearby mines. Go Cranidos!"
The small Pachycephalosaurus had a hooked beak, and a hard dome-shaped head. It stamped at the ground, blowing steam from its nostrils.
"So, giving up yet?"
"Never! Hope, Iron Tail!"
"Cranidos, Take Down!" Brock said, and like a bull, the dinosaur charged towards the small Pikachu. Hope might as well have been waving a red flag with how angry the fossil Pokemon looked.
"Up and over, Hope!" Ashley said. "Flip up over it!"
"I don't think so!" Brock said, even as Hope followed her trainer's directions. "Cranidos, use a Flamethrower now!"
Ashley watched in shock as Hope was blasted backwards by a jet of burning orange flame.
"Move tutors, another useful trick in raising your Pokemon," Brock said, gently raising a finger. "You can use them to teach Pokemon moves they otherwise ordinarily wouldn't know and cover for their weak spots. Such as Cranidos, against steel types."
"Ha, I'll keep that in mind!" Ashley said. "Hope, Thunder Wave! Electrify the whole field!"
"PIKA!" her Pikachu said, letting out a shockwave from her body and leaving Cranidos paralyzed.
"Try to move, Cranidos! Flamethrower, again!" Brock said, and despite his current position the fossil was able to let out another jet of flame.
"Leap over it, and come down crashing into another Iron Tail!" Ashley said, and Hope followed her directions leaping off a rock. Her tail was charged with silvery steel and it came smashing down onto Cranidos head.
"Cranidos return, so you're 4 to 5 and you haven't even lost a single Pokemon yet," Brock said. "Impressive. I'm actually having to work for my victory. But you haven't met my strongest Pokemon yet. He's the first one I ever had, the only good thing my dad ever did for me by giving me him as an egg to raise. Let's go, Quake!"
The massive serpentine rock snake towered over Ashley's tiny Pikachu, and roared at the little electric mouse. Onix pretty much reached the ceiling and Ashley knew it'd take a lot of Iron Tails just to bring the massive Pokemon down.
"There's no shame in forfeiting the match," Brock said. "Come back with a water Pokemon, and we can resume from there."
"Water…" Ashley thought to herself before snapping her fingers. "That's it, I know how to beat this one!"
She grinned, tossing off her hat and cried out: "Hope, aim your Thunder Shock towards the sprinkler system!"
"What?" Brock gasped, seeing the golden lightning bolt race towards the ceiling. "So that's your play… I have to admit, none of the other trainers thought about that and just tried to bulldoze their way past my Onix. Good thinking, unconventional thinking but good thinking!"
As the sprinklers sprayed Quake, it roared in anger.
"But can you outlast my Onix?" Brock said. "Go on, Quake, wrap that little rat in your coils!"
"Oh no you don't," Ashley said. "Knock it away with your Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Hope said, knocking away Quake's head with another one of her Iron Tails.
"Now pin its tail to the floor with Electroweb! Make sure it can't move!" Ashley said, and she watched as a golden net pinned most of the Onix's tail to the floor.
Even as the sprinkler water rained down and Quake roared in pain, several kids ran out of nowhere. They stood between her and Quake.
"Stop! No! Don't hurt Quake!"
"He's supposed to win!"
"Please, leave him alone!"
Ashley's eyes widened, realizing these had to be some of Brock's little siblings.
"No, Ashley's supposed to win," Brock said, bringing his little siblings in for a hug even as his Onix collapsed to the floor into unconsciousness. "She earned her victory today. I'm proud to have battled her."
Recalling Quake, he walked up to Ashley and pinned a badge to her bag.
"And I'm even more proud to give you your first badge," Brock said. "Welcome to your journey towards the Pokemon League, kiddo. I hope to see you there."
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"I did it, I did it! I did it!" Ashley pranced around in victory outside the gym.
"Yes, you did," Erika said, with a warm smile. "Though it's unladylike to gloat, I should add."
"Ha, shows what that old man knows! He had no faith in me at all!" Ashley chortled. "Well who's laughing now huh?"
"...Honestly, it seems I have to eat my words," the older man from before said, walking up. "Well done, kiddo."
Erika's eyes narrowed, there was something familiar about the way he said that.
"Dad?" Brock asked, stepping out of the gym with eyes wide.
"Wait, you're…"/"I knew you looked familiar!" both Ashley and Erika said in unison.
Ashley crossed her arms and glared at the man, an expression mimicked by her Pikachu and her Spearow. (Whom she'd named Clint, given his apparent like of cowboys and deadly accurate aim)
"You mean you're the good-for-nothing father who left home and never came back? You might just be why the middle finger was invented in the first place, because I'm very tempted to use mine, asshole!" Ashley snapped. "You'd better have a good excuse, because if not I will try and ignore you so hard you'll end up doubting your own existence!"
"...and again with the language…" Erika sighed, though she admitted she was of similar sentiment.
"I couldn't become the great Pokémon trainer I wanted to, and because I was such a failure, I was too embarrassed and ashamed to go back to my family," Brock's father said, ashamed. "Honestly, you can say all you want to me, son. I'm ready to hear it. I know I deserve all of it. But… It's time I started taking care of my family."
"Alright, there are some things you need to know…" Brock started but instead of a tirade of insults, he had this to say. "Suzy always rips her dresses so you better learn how to sew. And Timmy only eats cold spaghetti for breakfast. Cindy sleepwalks so you have to tie a bell on her wrist and the twins never want to take a bath. Tommy likes corn flakes for dinner, so-"
"Hold on, slow down, I can't write that fast!"
Ashley and Erika shared a look.
"...you really think he means it?" Ashley sighed.
"I dunno, but that's not what's bugging you, is it?" Erika said, knowingly.
"...no, it's not. Brock's lucky, at least his father came back…" Ashley sighed and Erika wrapped an arm around her.
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Later, as they were at the edge of Pewter City, Ashley and Erika were joined by a very surprising figure.
"...wait, Brock?" Ashley blinked.
"Yeah, I want to stay a few days and make sure my father is keeping to his word, but would you mind if I meet up with you as soon as I can?" Brock asked. "I know I've got things to learn, but so do you. Maybe we can teach each other a few more things, like we did today. Besides, Erika warned me that you're a terrible cook so…"
"...yeah, it's not one skill that mom was ever able to pass to me…" Ashley laughed nervously.
"Well, between Erika and I, I think we should be able to fix that problem. And as a breeder, I've learned plenty about Pokemon's likes and dislikes when it comes to their food. I want to try my recipes out on your Pokemon, see if they're not just flukes."
"Sure! We're all trying to reach our dreams and I'd be a real dick if I didn't help you reach yours!" Ashley grinned before admitting: "...you know, I've always wanted an older brother. You, I don't know, but I guess you're what one's supposed to be y'know?"
Brock grinned. "Then I'll be happy to fill in. Just leave everything to Brocko!"
Erika sighed, she supposed once again Ashley was like a magnet. Drawing people and Pokemon alike in. She still wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing yet.
But Brock, as perverted as he was, well he was a far better influence than Lance. And that was something Ashley really needed right about now…
A roar cut through the sky, and all three looked up to see a great white dragon flying through the sky. It looked down at Ashley, and then swooped down and flew over her head far too fast for her to even draw her Pokedex.
"...hey, that Pokemon, it's the same one I saw when I left Pallet Town…" Ashley said. "...I wonder which Pokemon it is?"
The white dragon flew skywards letting out a blast of flame and then flew up into the clouds. Up, and out of sight.
"New Pokemon are being discovered all the time, so who knows?"
"And that Pokemon?" Ashley said, her eyes filled with determination that Erika knew all too well. "When we meet again, I'm going to catch it!"
"What makes you so sure you even can?" Brock asked. "Or that you'll meet again? A Pokemon like that, something tells me it's one of those you only meet once in a lifetime."
"And yet I've seen it twice, so I'm luckier than most!"
"Be careful, your luck may run out someday."
Erika shook her head. "No, I know Ashley and if she says she's going to catch that Pokemon… I believe her. That girl, whenever she gets something into her head, there's no stopping her."
She smiled. Nope, there wasn't any stopping Ashley now. She would meet that dragon again, and catch it. Erika was certain of it.
Notes:
And that's the first of many badges to come, and yes we're going to avoid the 'pity badges'. Ashley is going to have to *work* for her badges this timeline, and they're only going to get harder from here. Not to worry, she's got her big brother Brock by her side now.
And she's going to need all the help she can get, given Team Rocket lurk in the shadows, and Lance hiding his secrets in those very same shadows... Next time, Ashley, Brock and Erika find themselves caught in the midst of a Team Rocket plot, as Giovanni sets his plans in motion...
And Ashley finds out not all of Team Rocket is as incompetent as Jessie and James, in a world she must defend...