It was my intention to skip this episode, but after watching it I remembered the emotions I felt when I saw it on the TV back as a child. I just couldn't skip the episode. Brock will get his moment to shine as a Pokémon Trainer/Breeder.

I've added a small surprise at the end. I hope you will like the extra touch.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 5: The Little Big Horn

We had finally arrived to Cherrygrove City and decided to rest there for the night. We found a large green park with a manmade lake when we strolled around in the city. It felt so nice that I let Cedric out and Ash called out Ivysaur to enjoy the nature.

"This city has a very nice park", Misty commented.

"Togiprii."

"Yeah, I almost feel like I want to have a barbeque here", Brock chuckled.

"That would be nice to eat", Ash said as he swiftly wiped the drool off the corner of his lips. "Let's have some for dinner later."

"Chaa!" Pikachu chirped in delight.

"Saur!" Ivysaur frowned in disgust because he wasn't a big fan of grilled food.

"I haven't had barbeque for a while", I spoke up as I cradled Cedric. "I hope the Pokémon Center has that on the menu." I looked down at the Larvitar baby in my arms. "But I think it's best if you don't eat some barbeque, Cedric. You're still too young for it."

"Laaar…", Cedric whined sadly.

"Yeah, Cedric still needs to eat his special diet as his teeth are still developing", Brock explained. "Togepi's grown a lot so she can eat solid food."

Misty giggled as she nuzzled with her baby Pokémon. "My little baby's growing up so fast", she smiled. "Mommy's so proud of you."

"Togipriii!" Togepi giggled in joy by the affections.

"It almost feels like yesterday when Togepi hatched", Ash commented as he leaned closer to Togepi. "If you take a closer look, you can actually see that Togepi's grown taller too."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"Did you hear that, Togepi?" Misty asked. "Daddy noticed your growth."

"D-D-Daddy?!" Ash exclaimed with a bright red blush on his cheeks as he jumped back like he got a mild shock of Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

"Hm?" Misty hummed before she realized what she had just said and got pink all over her face. "S-S-Sorry! I don't know what came across me!"

"I-It's okay, Misty!" Ash responded with his cheeks still bright as a Tamato Berry. "I-It just surprised me…"

The two of them got so embarrassed that they were unable to look straight in the eye. I must have imagined it, but I thought I saw steam floating up from both their heads while Pikachu and Togepi were unaware of their Trainer's change of behavior.

Brock, Ivysaur, Cedric and I just watched them on the side. Brock chuckled at the duo and crossed his arms. "I knew there's something going on between them", he commented.

I looked up at the former Pewter City Gym Leader with a confused expression. "This…looks like those moments in the cartoons when a boy and a girl have feelings for each other…like…love", I said. "Is that what this is about…?"

Brock nodded as answer to my question. "Yep, this is what they call romance", he explained. "That's when two people have strong feelings for each other and they want to become more than just friends."

"Umm… When do you know you have…romantic feelings for someone?" I asked. This topic was still so foreign to me.

"Saur?" Ivysaur tilted his head to the side when he heard our conversation.

Brock narrowed his eyebrows and grimaced softly. "I think it's best to ask your mom about that, Ashley", he replied. "Or Misty. A guy telling a girl about love is…a little awkward."

"Okay", I nodded.

"Larvi?" Cedric suddenly called when some bushes nearby moved around.

"Pika!" Pikachu called out too, which caught Ash and Misty's attention.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked, his blush now gone.

"Pika pi", Pikachu pointed at the bushes.

Misty's face had finally returned to its normal color when she looked at the bushes just as a pair of weird eyes peeked out. "What are those big eyes?" she asked.

"Togi?"

I recognized those "eyes" immediately. "Guys, those are antlers", I told them.

"Antlers?" Ash repeated confusedly. "Do they belong to a Pokémon?"

The next thing that popped out from the green bushes was the face of a young Stantler. "Nyoooh…", it shrieked weakly.

"It's a Stantler", Brock said. "And a young one too."

"Stantler?" Ash repeated the name before he picked up his Pokédex to check its data.

Stantler, the big horn Pokémon. Normal-type. The curved antlers subtly change the flow of air to create a strange space where reality is distorted. Those who stare at its antlers will gradually lose control of their senses and be unable to stand.

"But what's a Stantler doing here in the urban area?" I asked. "Stantlers are supposed to live in the forest or the mountain."

"Did it get separated from its herd?" Misty wondered.

"I don't know, but it's still very young", Brock said as he took a few steps forward to approach the Stantler. "It shouldn't be separated from its mother this young, so I assume it got lost when the herd walked close to the city." He removed his backpack and crouched down to make himself smaller. "Baby Stantlers get scared easily, so you have to make yourself small in order to get close to it."

The baby Stantler's let out another soft chirp as Brock crawled toward it on all four while imitating Stantler noise. The Stantler blinked its eyes as it stared at our friend crawling as slow as he could. Brock actually managed to crawl into the bushes as the Stantler got a little scared and moved backwards.

Brock let out a soft gasp when he noticed something. "Guys", he called softly to not scare the baby Pokémon. "The Stantler has a wound on its leg."

"It's hurt?" I asked.

"We should get it to the Pokémon Center and have it treated", Misty suggested.

"I'll coax it so we can become friends", Brock said as he picked up a bag from his pocket and poured some Pokémon fodder onto his hand. He then let that hand out as he made himself small again and crawled toward the Stantler. "Here, Stantler. This is delicious Pokémon food. I want to become your friend, so please don't be scared of me. Oooh…"

The baby Stantler actually got curious by the food and walked slowly to Brock to meet him halfway. It smelled the fodder before it took a small bite of it. I blinked my eyes once and the next thing I saw was Brock gently cuddling with the Stantler who had eaten up everything he had offered to it, but that wasn't the big problem.

"See, little buddy?" Brock spoke softly. "I'm your Stantler friend. Nyoooh Nyooh…"

Ash, Misty and our Pokémon gasped too when they noticed the same thing I saw. "B-Brock…!" my brother called.

"Sssh! Be quiet", Brock hushed us. "We Stantlers don't like loud noises."

"B-B-Brock… B-Behind you…!" Misty gritted her teeth in fear.

"Huh?" Brock said confusedly before he looked over his shoulder, finally seeing the same thing the rest of us saw.

Right behind him, there was so many adult Stantlers that I couldn't even count them. They all looked angry and ready to charge at us for being so close to the baby Stantler. But where did they come from? They had just appeared out of nowhere.

"W-What do we do…?" I mumbled in fear as I stepped backwards.

"S-S-Stay calm…", Brock gritted his teeth frightened.

None of the adult Stantlers looked happy and I could hear them hit the ground with their hooves while mooing angrily.

"RUUUN!" Brock screamed as he ran from the baby Stantler and snatched his backpack in the hurry. The rest of us listened to his command and ran away with shrieks just as the herd of Stantlers started chasing us.

I could hear their hooves click against the hard concrete as we ran through the park. There were other visitors and Pokémon there who screamed in panic when they saw the horde and ran away to safety.

I had no idea for how long we had been running, but I couldn't hear the hooves anymore so I slowed down and rested my hands on my knees, let Cedric jump down to the ground first. Ash and the others had stopped running as well and panted deeply to regain their breaths.

"I…I think we outran them…", Ash gasped for air.

"Ivy…saur…"

"Piiika…"

We turned around and saw no signs of those Stantlers. There were even no marks on the concrete that showed they had been here.

"How odd…", Brock hummed. "Those Stantlers were right behind us and now they're gone."

"Maybe they ran back to the baby Stantler to help it?" Misty wondered.

"Togi?"

"O-Or…", I wiped the sweat off my forehead before I straightened up and grabbed my Pokédex from the pants to check some data. I recalled reading something more about Stantler at Professor Oak's lab, and after reading the data I could almost say with confidence that I was right. "Those Stantlers were just an illusion created by the baby Stantler."

"Lar?"

"Illusions?" Ash repeated before he gaped in realization. "Of course! The Pokédex said something about Stantler can change the flow of air and create some kind of distorted reality."

"Great… Another case of illusions", Misty sweat dropped. "Like the incident we had the other day wasn't enough…"

"Togipri."

"Hmm… That baby Stantler might have created the illusion as a precaution thinking we were going to hurt it", Brock said before he straightened his back. "Let's go back and find it and show it we want to help it."

"B-But what if those Stantlers were real?" Misty asked frightened.

"I can call out Trica and she can use Foresight on the illusions to get rid of them", I said.

"And if they're real, then we should try using our Pokémon to stop them and talk reason with them", Ash suggested.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"Saur saur!" Ivysaur agreed.

The nearby bushed moved again, which put us on high alert. Thinking it was the adult Stantlers, we braced ourselves for a battle. Instead of the Stantlers, Officer Jenny stepped out of the bushes. "Is everybody okay?" she asked.

Brock immediately switched his character to a love-struck Growlithe and ran straight over to the female police officer. "Oh yes, Officer Jenny! Everybody is okay over here!" he insisted.

"Brock, she could be an illusion", Misty warned him.

"I think she's the real deal, Misty", Ash said.

"Your friend is right; I'm not an illusion", Officer Jenny frowned and rested a hand on her hips. "But I need you four to come with me to the police station."

I immediately got scared, thinking we did something wrong. "D-Did we…break any law, Officer?" I stuttered.

"Taar?"

"No, miss", Officer Jenny shook her head. "Based on your reactions, you must've stumbled upon that Stantler herd and I need to write a report about it."

"You know about it?" Ash asked.

"The whole city knows about it", Officer Jenny responded.

XXXXXXXXXX

Officer Jenny led us to the police station in the middle of Cherrygrove City to fully explain to us what was happening in the city for the last couple of days. Ash had called back Ivysaur to his Poké Ball while I still kept Cedric outside. We sat around a table in Officer Jenny's office as we listened to the tale.

"Cherrygrove City was calm and normal until a couple days ago when a herd of Stantler appeared out of nowhere and began scaring the citizens out of that park", the policewoman said. "Nobody wants to go back, except a few who then regrets going there because of the herd."

"That must be the same herd that chased us", Ash commented.

"Piika…"

"But do you know why they're there?" Misty asked. "Don't they usually live in the mountains, like the ones close to Cherrygrove City?"

"Unfortunately, nobody knows why they would suddenly leave the mountains", Officer Jenny shook her head in defeat. "Nothing suspicious has been reported from there."

"Ashley mentioned something before you showed up, Officer Jenny", Brock spoke up. "We came across a baby Stantler that's injured and it's highly possible it created an illusion in the same of its herd to protect itself."

"Some ecologists have suspected that herd might be an illusion, but they always get chased away as soon as they enter the park", Officer Jenny sighed.

"STAMPEDE! STAMPEDE!" three familiar voices yelled from the outside that we heard loud and clear because the front door was open.

"It must be the herd!" Ash exclaimed before we all ran out to see what was happening.

Team Rocket was running down the streets heading toward us. I could see they were in a panic and appeared to run away from something dangerous. "Team Rocket?!" Ash and our friends exclaimed in surprise.

The evil trio stopped in front of us and gasped harshly for air. "T-The twerps…!" Meowth panted.

"What are you three doing here?!" Misty asked as she shielded Togepi.

"W-We heard the rumors about a herd of Stantler in the park of Cherrygrove City, so we thought we should catch them for our boss!" Jessie gasped deeply.

"B-But we didn't expect over a hundreds of them, so we ran away before they could attack us!" James added.

"But then they started chasing us out of the park and they're still chasing us through the city!" Meowth panicked.

Just like clockwork, a cloud of dust appeared in the distance by the streets and people scrambled away in fear as the sound of hooves echoed on the streets. The dust cleared up and revealed the Stantler herd! My immediate reaction was to run inside the police station to seek shelter in case that was an actual herd.

Team Rocket screamed in horror and ran away. "ALL MAN FOR HIMSELF!" they yelled as they rounded a corner.

"The Stantlers have never left the park before!" Officer Jenny gasped. "Everyone, get inside!"

XXXXXXXXXX – Brock's POV

Usually, I would listen to a beautiful woman's command, but this time I held myself back. Officer Jenny forced my friends inside the police station while I stayed outside eyeing the Stantlers. I squinted and noticed that several of the Stantlers ran through lampposts, guard rails and even through walls.

It was just like what Ashley said. The herd was nothing but an illusion!

"Brock! Hurry and get inside!" Ash yelled from the police station.

"You'll get trampled by the Stantlers!" Misty screamed.

"Don't worry!" I shouted. "I'll be fine!"

"Brock!" Ashley yelled.

I knew it was the baby Stantler who had created the illusion to protect itself from Team Rocket, but perhaps it didn't know how to cancel the power now that the danger was gone. I stood tall and opened my arms to show the baby Stantler that I was willing to get trampled and somehow coax it to stop.

"Baby Stantler! I know you can hear me!" I yelled, knowing it was hiding in the illusion. "You don't have to be scared anymore!"

"Brock! What are you doing?!" Misty screamed, but hers and my friends' voices fell deaf in my ears.

I still braced myself in case the herd happened to be real. Just before the first Stantler could tackle me, I crouched down on one knee and crossed my arms to protect my head and closed my eyes. I could hear the clicks of the hooves in my ears and the wind ruffling my clothes, but I never sensed any sort of pain. Even the dust that got kicked up was an illusion and didn't hurt my eyes when I looked up. I smiled softly as the illusion slowly dissipated and revealed the baby Stantler. It was limping toward me with tears in its eyes.

I remained calm as I got up and slowly walked to Stantler to not scare it again. When it showed no signs of fears, I picked up the pace so I could treat it before its injury got worse. I crouched down in front of it and gently patted its head and scratched its ear. "You must've been so scared, Stantler, but it's okay now… You're safe", I comforted it.

"Nyoooh…", Stantler whimpered with its big glossy eyes staring at me.

"We're your friends, Stantler", I spoke gently. "And I promise nothing bad will happen to you."

I gently picked up Stantler and carried it inside the police station where Officer Jenny and my friends were waiting, stunned by the fact that the herd had been an illusion this whole time, created by a young Stantler.

"Are you okay, Brock?!" Ashley called as she ran to me and checked me all over for injuries.

"Calm down, Ashley. I'm fine", I told her as I carried Stantler.

"We thought you were a goner, but then those Stantlers faded away and we saw you were okay", Ash said as he embraced his twin sister to calm her down.

"Pika pika", Pikachu nodded.

"Laaar."

"Officer Jenny, do you have a first-aid kit for Pokémon?" I asked.

"Yes, I'll bring it out", she answered before she ran off to another room of the police station. She soon came back with the first-aid kit and placed it on the table.

I gently put down Stantler on the floor and opened the first-aid kit. I grabbed some disinfectant and poured some on a cotton ball I held with a pair of pincers. "It's going to hurt a little, Stantler", I warned the baby Pokémon.

"Nyoooh…"

Stantler did flinch by the sting of the disinfectant when I touched the wound, but it did its best to not pull away from me or accidently kick me with its hooves. "Good, Stantler… Just a little more", I praised it to make sure it knew it did a good job enduring the treatment.

Thankfully, the wound hadn't been infected yet, so it would heal quickly with the treatment. I put away the pincers and grabbed a roll of bandage and wrapped it around the wound on its front leg. I tied it around tight enough so it wouldn't come loose or too uncomfortable for Stantler.

"There. All done", I nodded after I finished my work.

"Nyoooh", Stantler neighed before it crawled into my lap and sat down on all four. I chuckled as I allowed it rest its head against my arm as I caressed its back.

"Wow, Brock. Stantler trusts you so much now that it wants to rest in your lap", Misty giggled in amazement.

"Togiprii."

"So… We can finally come to a conclusion that the other Stantlers were an illusion?" Ash asked.

"Pika?"

"Yep, and they were created by this little fella", I nodded as I never stopped brushing my hand on Stantler's fur.

Ashley cuddled with Cedric and looked a lot calmer than moments ago. "Thank Arceus they were fake…", she mumbled tiredly.

"Laaar."

"How did you figure out that herd was an illusion, Brock?" Officer Jenny wondered.

"Well… I noticed how the illusion Stantlers passed through solid objects without getting hurt, so I quickly realized they were illusions", I explained. "Baby Stantler created them to scare everyone away, probably thinking they were going to hurt it."

"It was just using its defense mechanism to protect itself…", Ashley mumbled.

"Yeah, it was scared and lost and acted like a child would when they're alone", I added. "Except young Pokémon can't exactly communicate with humans, so they just rely on their natural instincts to protect themselves until they find their parents."

"I'm very impressed, Brock", Officer Jenny smiled. "You sure understand a lot about Pokémon."

My heart leaped hard in my chest by the sweet compliment and the extra sweet smile.

"That's because Brock is going to be the greatest Pokémon Breeder in the world", Ash told the policewoman.

"With so much knowledge already at such a young age, I have a feeling you'll become a great Breeder", Officer Jenny smiled.

"Thank you, Officer Jenny", I smiled. I would love to get closer to her and hold her hand, but I didn't want to wake up Stantler now that it had fallen asleep. "Whenever I work with Pokémon, I feel a special connection with them. When I first saw Stantler in the park, I tried to get closer to get a better look. It was then I saw the fear and loneliness in its eyes. I imagined a lot how it was feeling, so it could sense I felt the same as it."

"And you figured all that out by looking at Stantler's eyes? I'm amazed", Officer Jenny smiled.

"I think it's basic knowledge when it comes to being both a Trainer and a Breeder", I added. "If you can't feel what the Pokémon is feeling, then you might not truly understand them."

"That's similar to what I try to do with my Pokémon", Ashley commented as she patted Cedric on his head. "If I can figure out a way to communicate them better, we'll be able to understand each other without any problems."

"Taaar!" Cedric chirped happily.

"And I've learned that from you, sis", Ash grinned.

"If the wound's healed up tomorrow, we'll release Stantler back in the mountain", I suggested.

"Good idea", Misty nodded. "Stantler's family must be worried about it."

"You can stay here for the night", Officer Jenny told us. "I'll bring some blankets and pillows for you."

"Do you perhaps have some food that you can share with us?" Ash asked her. "We can pay for it."

"I don't have that much, but there's a convenient store down this street where you can buy lunch boxes and heat them up here", Officer Jenny replied.

"You guys can go and buy those lunch boxes for dinner", I told my friends. "I'll stay here with Stantler."

"Okay."

XXXXXXXXXX

The night went well with Stantler sleeping comfortably in my arms. I could imagine how scared it must've been sleeping outside alone with no one to protect it. Now it was finally able to relax and have a good rest.

The next morning, I removed the bandage to see the wound had fully healed up. After a quick breakfast cooked by me and Ashley, we left the police station to release Stantler in the wild. I carried it to make sure it wouldn't run away if it got spooked by something like a speeding vehicle.

We walked a few kilometers from Cherrygrove City until we weren't that far away from the mountains on Route 30. "This should be good", I said before I carefully placed down the baby Stantler on the ground and stepped away from it. "You're free to go home, Stantler. Just walk toward the mountains and you'll find your family."

"Nyoooh…", Stantler whined before it actually walked back to me and nuzzled its cheek against my waist.

"It looks to me that Stantler wants to stay with you, Brock", Ash chuckled.

As much as a part of me said I should keep Stantler, it was for its best to let it return to the wilderness where its family was waiting. I pulled back from Stantler and put a distance between us while I kept my poker face, devoid of all feelings. "You must go home, Stantler!" I raised my voice in hopes of scaring it away. Stantler did flinch a little by the loud yell, but it still chose to go to me. "NO!" I yelled and stomped the ground, now really scaring it so it jumped back. "Leave now!"

"Brock, you're scaring it!" Misty shouted.

The baby Stantler whimpered in sadness, but it didn't attempt to approach me again. It lowered its head as it turned around and took a few steps towards the forest. It once stopped to look over its shoulder, but I kept my strict expression to show it could no longer stay with me. Left with no other options, it walked away with one last whimper.

It hurt my heart to display such a rude act, but it was for Stantler's own good. Sometimes, tough love was the best for a child, which I had experienced a couple of times when I was a kid, and I had showed the same toward my little siblings when they got rough.

"Brock…?" Ashley called softly.

I didn't realize my shoulders were shaking. It had been a long time I had to act like a strict parent when all I wanted was to give so much love for every Pokémon. I wiped a stray tear from the corner of my eye and took a deep breath. "I'm fine…", I assured my friends and myself. "Stantler will be fine too… Let's go back to the city and grab our stuff."

It was awfully quiet as we walked back to Cherrygrove City. I tried erasing the memories of Stantler, but it wasn't so easy. Its eyes full of fear and longing were still haunting me. I had to clear my mind, so I looked up at the sky to just let my mind fade away. Unfortunately, I spotted something that grabbed my attention immediately.

"Team Rocket!" I exclaimed.

"What?!" the others gasped as they looked up and saw the evil team's Meowth air balloon.

"The balloon is heading toward where Stantler's going!" Ash yelled.

"Pika pika!"

"They're going to catch Stantler!" Ashley exclaimed.

"No! They can't do that!" I yelled as I immediately took off to find and protect Stantler. It had just been released and it's meant to return to its family no matter what!

"Hurry, Brock!" Misty yelled behind me.

"We'll catch up to you!" Ash shouted as I ran as fast as my feet could.

I ran down the dirty path where I saw Stantler's fresh footprints. I should've known that Team Rocket would try capturing Stantler. I should've stayed with it until it found its parents. I was such an idiot!

"Hang on, buddy! I'm coming to save you!" I yelled as I ran through the thick forest. I heard its cry, so I knew I was on the right track. I soon spotted Team Rocket's balloon that had landed so they could grab Stantler. The baby Pokémon was trapped in a net and it couldn't do anything to get free.

"Let go of Stantler right now!" I yelled at them.

"Look! The big twerp's here!" Meowth snarled.

"Too bad for him that we're done!" James laughed before he threw a Poké Ball. "Victreebel, stop the twerp with Razor Leaf!"

"Yiiaaah!" Victreebel came out and sent sharp leaves at me. I quickly jumped back to dodge them before they could cut me into pieces. It was enough distraction because Team Rocket was already floating up to the sky in their air balloon with Stantler still in the net and hanging underneath the basket. Victreebel used its long vine to grab hold onto the basket and got lifted up before it was called back by James.

"Stantler!" I yelled as I reached for one of my Poké Balls. Just as I was about to call out Zubat for assistance, a large black silhouette jumped up from a nearby cliff and cut both the air balloon and the rope that the net was tied to. The baby Stantler shrieked as it fell towards the ground. I picked up the pace as much as I could to catch it before it could get fatally hurt.

"Ivysaur, grab Stantler with Vine Whip!"

Ash and the others made it to us as he called out his Pokémon. Ivysaur appeared on top of a tall boulder and used its vines to grab the top of the net. It caught the net and tried holding it up without Stantler getting hurt. However, the baby Stantler weighted more than Ivysaur and its weight broke through the net, so it fell once again toward the ground.

"I'll catch you!" I yelled before I dived with a big jump with my arms outstretched to catch Stantler. I caught Stantler and accidently landed in some bushes.

"Brock!" Misty and Ashley yelled, their voices sounding louder.

I spat some dirt and leaves that got in my mouth as I carefully cradled the baby Stantler. I sighed deeply in relief when I saw it didn't sustain any injuries. My body felt a little sore after that jump I took, but nothing was thankfully broken.

"Thank goodness for all the training I had when I was in the Little League", I laughed sheepishly, referring to the baseball club I joined long before I became a Gym Leader.

"Brock, you're a big hero!" Misty smiled as my friends reached me.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu smiled widely.

"Togipriii!"

"Saur saur!"

The screams of Team Rocket echoed nearby and we saw them getting chased by a herd of Stantlers. They ran past us and completely ignored us and the baby Stantler. Dust got kicked up by the Stantlers' hooves and this time it tickled my nose and eyes.

Ashley sneezed in her elbow before she pulled a tissue from a pocket to wipe her nose. "Guys… That herd must be Stantler's family", she stated.

"Yeah, those Stantlers are absolutely real this time", Ash chuckled.

Baby Stantler's family couldn't have appeared in a better timing.

XXXXXXXXXX – Ashley's POV

It took some time, but the herd of Stantler finally approached us after they chased away Team Rocket. None of them acted aggressively toward us. Instead, they patiently waited for their little one to join them.

The baby Stantler looked at Brock who nodded to it in return. "Go, Stantler… Your family is waiting for you", he gently told it.

"Nyoooh…", the young Stantler neighed hesitantly before it approached the herd.

The herd opened up and allowed an adult Stantler walk toward the baby. My eyes widened when a slightly taller Stantler followed the other adult that looked completely different compared to the other Stantlers. Its fur was greyish-brown instead of light brown and it had a long white beard on the front. Even the shape of its antlers was different and larger.

"What is that bearded Stantler…?" Ash whispered to me.

"Piika?"

"I… I don't know…", I replied hesitantly. "I've never seen it in the books before… Do you know that Pokémon, Brock…?"

"No, I don't know what that Pokémon is…", he responded.

"Could it be…a new Pokémon…?" Misty wondered. "Like an…evolution of Stantler…?

"Toge?"

"Does anybody have a camera…?" I asked.

"No…"

"Not me…"

"I forgot packing one when I left for your birthday party, guys…"

I grunted angrily at myself for not thinking about bringing a camera along my journey. I could've taken a picture of the bearded Stantler and send it to Professor Oak to ask him if he knew about it. I wished the PokéGear had a camera function, but they didn't have it.

The two adult Stantlers nuzzled their heads against the baby Stantler's as they hummed in joy of finally being reunited. The young Stantler did look back once at Brock, probably thanking him for everything he had done for it.

"Nyroooh!" the bearded Stantler neighed loudly to the herd. It must be the leader of the herd because they listened to its command and turned around to return to the mountains. The little family followed them on the very back as they departed to make their way back home together.

We stayed silent and watched the herd until they had vanished into the forest, the only proof left behind were the footprints of their hooves on the soft earth.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley's party:

Firered the Charizard (male)

Cedric the Larvitar (male)

Trica the Sentret (female)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's party:

Ivysaur (male)

Pikachu (male)

Charizard (male)

Wartortle (male)

Heracross (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Misty's party:

Goldeen (female)

Staryu (genderless)

Psyduck (male)

Togepi (female)

Poliwag (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Zubat (male)

Vulpix (female)