Well, here's another chapter up! If anyone wants to know who the Brad in this chapter is based off of, just ask in your review and I'll give you a link. Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you find this chapter as funny as I do. And now, on with the show!

Chapter 13

Normal POV

"I don't believe this Ash!" Misty threw her arms up in disbelief. "I haven't even been here for one week and you've already managed to get us all lost!"

"Sorry Misty," Ash sweat-dropped as he looked over his shoulder. "I guess I still have a long way to go when it comes to maps."

"I'll say." Misty crossed her arms and huffed. "There are some things about being on the road I don't miss."

"Hey look!" Dawn pointed over to a blond man in a field, who appeared to be training a Slowpoke. "Maybe that guy over there can give us directions!" As they walked over to him, they were slightly taken aback when they noticed that the only one who wasn't at least a couple of inches taller than the blond-haired man was Dawn. "Um, excuse me sir?" Dawn said to get his attention.

The man ceased his training and grinned at the teenagers, "Oh, hi there! Name's Brad. And what might your names be?"

"I'm Ash."

"My name's Misty."

"I'm Dawn; it's nice to meet you."

"And I'm Brock."

"Well it's nice to meet you all. What can I do for you?"

"Actually," Brock swiped the map from Ash's hands and rushed over to Brad, much to Ash's disbelief and Misty and Dawn's amusement. "We were wondering if you could give us directions on how to get back to the path to Veilstone City."

"Mmm…no."

The teens were a little stunned by the blunt response. "N-No?" Brock stammered. "So is that a no like, you don't know how to get to Veilstone City?"

"No," Brad shrugged. "It's just a no."

"Well gee," Misty scowled. "Thanks for nothing! Come on guys."

The team turned to walk away, and Brad smirked mischievously behind their backs. "But!" He barked, startling the group, and his smirk grew and he snickered as they turned back around to face him. "But…my friends, I do know how to get to a small town where someone else could help you."

The teens all looked at each other for a few moments. "So wait," Dawn finally spoke up. "You know how to get to Veilstone City, you're not gonna tell us, but you're gonna take us somewhere else to someone besides you can tell us?"

"I didn't say that either." Brad turned and waved for the trainers to follow him. "Just follow me, and don't worry! You'll be on your way to Veilstone City in no time! Come on, Slowpoke!"

"Slooooow." (Kaaaaay.)

As Brad started walking down the nearby dirt path, the teens hesitantly decided to follow along. "Are we sure we should be trusting this guy?" Misty whispered.

"I mean, he doesn't look that tough." Ash shrugged. "And the dude's so short even you and me are taller than him. Plus we've got him outnumbered if he tries anything funny."

"You know I can hear you, right?" Brad laughed at the stunned expressions on the teen's faces. "Hey, I got nothing to hide and I got nothing to be ashamed of! I'm a small fry for sure, it's the truth and I don't hide from it! As for funny, well that's the magic word right there!"

"Whaddya mean?" Dawn asked.

"See, besides being a devilishly handsome Pokémon Trainer, I also happen to be a professional comedian!"

"You mean like 'knock-knock' jokes and stuff like that?" Ash asked.

"Not really, I go more along the lines of making fun of people."

Misty's nose crinkled in disgust. "Oh…really?"

Brad chuckled at the redhead's disapproving tone. "Now I know what you're thinking Misty, you're thinking that I must be some sort of a jerk or something because of the way I joke." Brad smirked when he saw Misty scowl after being called out. "But here's the thing, if any of my jokes have ever offended someone, it's because they can't take a joke."

"But what happens when you do offend someone?" Misty asked.

"And there's the million dollar question, as well as the fine line I walk on the daily." Brad raised a finger. "Let me tell you something kid, there's a big difference between maliciously offending someone on purpose, and someone being offended by…truth."

"I guess that makes sense." Brock scratched his head.

"Exactly, if the truth offends a person, that's their problem, not mine." Brad whipped his head around to look over his shoulder. "Now keep in mind, that doesn't mean I go around and tell people they have a funny looking nose or anything like that, that's the malicious offending stuff. I don't like that stuff." Brad smirked. "But the stuff I do like, is when I can point out something ridiculous and really drive home how it's the dumbest thing imaginable! And often times those people who get offended are the people who were embarrassed that they did something stupid instead of just learning the lesson and laughing about it later." Brad stopped as he reached a four-way crossing in the road, where a sign was on the side of the road. "Take these road signs for example." Brad pointed at the sign that had a Stantler silhouette printed on it.

"What about them?" Ash asked.

"This town always has signs everywhere, which makes it impossible to get around here."

"Hey," Ash grinned. "Maybe that's why we got lost!"

"Nooooo," Misty sidled up next to Ash and poked him in the arm. "We got lost because you can't read a map!"

"Ow..." Ash rubbed his arm and frowned, side-stepping a couple feet to give himself some distance.

"Both things can be true at once!" Brad smirked as he drew the teens' attention back to the sign. "But the problem with all these signs, is that they're never helpful signs…" Brad paused to look at his friends, "They're always signs that are warning you about something that's about to go wrong! Take this sign for example: Stantler Crossing. The sign tells you to watch out for Stantler on the road, well here's a question: Why'd they let them on in the first place?!" Brad's voice was becoming increasingly frantic and his movements spastically exaggerated. "If they have Stantler leaping out onto the road, that's not a 'put up a sign' problem, that's a 'put up a wall' problem, know what I saying? That's 'dig a moat', that's 'put 'em on a leash', someone invented barbed wire, use it for crying out loud!"

The group was now starting to laugh. Brad's movements; along with his tone of voice was a good combination. Seeing that he was getting through to them, Brad continued his routine. "And the people around here have adapted to this! They have Stantler leaping out onto the road periodically and they act like that's normal!" Brad cackled. "Yeah it's normal, if you live in a cartoon!"

"This guy's a riot!" Ash said, laughing harder than anyone else.

"What do the Stantler do? Jump out in top hats singing: 'Hello ma baby, hello ma honey'! AAAHH!" Brad took a bow after he finished his routine, grinning as he saw Ash and Pikachu had no desire to keep their composure, as they doubled over in laughter, while the other three in the audience managed to stay on their feet. "That's just one of the many things I make fun of."

"Lemme tell ya, you are awesome!" Ash wiped a tear from his eye as he stood back up. "You put everything into that performance and that made all the difference!"

"I have to admit," Misty shrugged in defeat. "That was really funny."

"I have a whole bunch of routines like that." Brad started walking down the road again, the teens following close behind. "Maybe I'll show you another one when we get to the town."

"Sure, I could use a few laughs after what happened yesterday." Dawn said.

"Why?" Brad looked over his shoulder. "What happened yesterday?"

The teens grew quiet as Brock put a hand on the suddenly despondent coordinator's shoulder. "Dawn lost in the Solaceon Town Contest." Brock explained sympathetically. "She's been trying to figure a way to bounce back."

"Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that Dawn." Brad hummed. "But hey, keep your chin up. This too shall pass."

"No need to worry," Dawn relinquished a tiny smile. "I just need to get my head together, that's all."

"That's the best way to approach it." Brad nodded in approval. "Well, we'll get to town in a few minutes."

"What's the town called?" Misty asked.

Brad sighed. "Doesn't have one. People in that town are afraid they'll 'offend' someone if they call it a name that someone doesn't like, so they left it unnamed."

"Hey, that's pretty funny." Ash laughed.

"Glad you think so, unfortunately I wasn't joking." Brad frowned. "That town is the most sensitive town I've ever seen in my life, everybody's afraid that they'll offend somebody else, so the town doesn't really do much." Brad shook his head in disgust.

"So why do you know about it?" Misty asked.

"Because it's where I live." Brad scoffed. "Everyone's so sensitive that we can't even interact anymore." Brad turned around suddenly to face the teens. "But lemme tell you something. I have a dream. If there's one thing I want out of life, I want to see extreme sensitivity die in my town, in my lifetime..." Brad suddenly grinned evilly. "But first…I want to watch it suffer." The deadpan tone got the teens to giggle. "Well, here we are!"

Ash, Misty, Dawn, and Brock looked around at the small town, shocked by how lifeless it seemed.

"It's so quiet here." Dawn said softly. "Where is everyone?"

"All doing a darn good job keeping to themselves." Brad rolled his eyes. "You get used to it after a while...or at least, you get used to not getting used to it." Brad exhaled and then turned to face the teens once more. "Hey you know, you guys caught me in the middle of my training."

"Oh, sorry about that." Ash apologized.

"No need to apologize," Brad grinned. "But you guys all owe me a battle as payment!"

"Wait, all of us?" Brock asked.

"That's right, and on top of it all, I only have my Slowpoke and Torkoal." Brad raised an eyebrow in challenge. "So whaddya say?"

Ash pumped a fist in anticipation. "You've got yourself a battle!"

"I wanna go first!" Dawn raised her hand with excitement.

"Sure thing, we'll do two-on-two." The group followed their new friend behind his house, where he had a field just big enough to have a decent battle. "Okay, Slowpoke, let's go!" The water/psychic-type slowly walked onto the battlefield, moaning in a drawn-out tone. "Your call, Dawn, who do you choose?"

"Since Slowpoke is a water-type, I choose Pachirisu!" Dawn tossed out a Pokéball, and the electric-squirrel emerged for battle. "Ready to go Pachirisu?"

"Chi chiwa!" (Let's do it!)

"Alright Pachirisu, use Discharge!" The electric chipmunk charged its energy and fired a powerful electric attack at Slowpoke, but even Dawn was surprised when Brad just stood there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face as the attack approached. "He...doesn't care?"

"Why isn't Brad doing anything?" Ash wondered as he watched the attack fly towards the Dopey Pokémon.

The attack hit dead-on, but to everyone's shock, Slowpoke took the attack and didn't even flinch. "That's…impossible!" Dawn gasped.

"Water-types are weak against electric attacks!" Misty exclaimed. "But Slowpoke just stood there like it didn't feel a thing!"

"Use Confusion, Slowpoke." The order was calm and relaxed, as Slowpoke's eyes began to glow, and Pachirisu floated in the air, helpless to do anything. "Now use Water Gun." Slowpoke launched the water-attack at Pachirisu, who squealed upon impact with both the attack and the ground.

"Aah! Pachirisu, are you okay?" Pachirisu groaned, but got back up to continue the battle as it sparked with electricity. "Okay then, we'll try a different approach! Use Spark!" Pachirisu charged toward Slowpoke with an electric aura for a tackle.

"Use Protect, Slowpoke." A barrier completely enveloped Slowpoke and Pachirisu bounced off harmlessly. "Now finish it with Earthquake."

"Earthquake?!" Ash exclaimed in shock.

Slowpoke stomped its foot, and a small Earthquake was created, enough that Pachirisu was thrown to the ground and completely shaken to the point where it laid on its back and fainted from the amount of damage. "Well looks like that's it for Pachirisu." Brad smirked.

"You did a great job, Pachirisu, return." Dawn recalled her little electric-type and put the Pokéball away, her mind reeling as she tried to comprehend what just happened. "How in the world did that Slowpoke take that Discharge?"

"Slowpoke took that Discharge without even flinching." Ash said quietly.

"Its defense must really be something if it can pull that off." Misty added. "And the fact that it knows Earthquake already means that Brad must have trained his Slowpoke specifically to be able to counter electric-type advantages. He's definitely tougher than we thought he was."

"Buneary, let's do it!" Dawn called out her rabbit, who popped out of her ball cheerfully. But before she got into battle ready stance, she looked to the sidelines and winked at Pikachu who turned a bit pink at the gesture. "Focus, Buneary!"

Misty smirked down at the electric mouse. "What was that about Pikachu?"

"Pi…ka." (I…uh.)

"Buneary has a little crush on Pikachu." Ash replied nonchalantly, much to Pikachu's apparent discomfort.

"Aww, how cute." Misty giggled. "That's no reason to be embarrassed, Pikachu!"

"Pi ka chu..." (I am not...)

"Buneary, use Dizzy Punch, go!"

"Use Protect."

"Again?!" Dawn growled as she watched Buneary attack uselessly against the green barrier with her ears. "Okay, fine! Ice Beam, Buneary!"

"Confusion!" Before Buneary could launch her attack, Slowpoke's Confusion lifted the normal-type into the air just like Pachirisu, and the Dopey Pokémon slammed Buneary back down with a painful thud.

"Don't give up, Buneary!"

"Finish it with Water Gun."

Before Buneary could react, the jet-stream of water struck the tiny rabbit and sent her flying into Dawn's arms, where she landed with swirls in her eyes. "Whoa...Buneary can't battle anymore." Dawn reached for her Pokéball and recalled Buneary for a rest. "You did a good job, Buneary." With Buneary safe back in the confines of her ball, Dawn sighed and sweat-dropped at the blond comedian. "Well, you sure showed me."

"Yep, sure did." Brad smirked when he saw the surprised expression on Dawn's face. "What? You were expecting a feel-good speech about how practice'll make perfect? I'm sure you've heard that enough by now and don't need me to tell you the same truth."

Dawn was about to answer, but the words died on her tongue as she lowered her hand, realizing that Brad had once again delivered a poignant truth without her even realizing it. "I guess you have a point."

"Of course I do." Brad snickered. "So, who's next?"

"I'll give it a shot!"

Ash and Misty glanced over at their tall friend with surprised looks. "Really, Brock?" Ash asked.

"Yeah," Misty added. "I haven't seen you this fired up for a battle in a long time."

"Well hey, I may have moved on from being a Gym Leader, but that doesn't mean I've given up my rock-hard willpower!" Brock pumped a fist. "This sort of battle style is right up my alley!"

"Well now, this should be interesting." Brad grinned as Brock took his place on the other side of the field. "Tell ya what, I'll even let you choose the battle conditions. How do you want the rules, Brock?"

"One-on-one!"

"Okay then, Torkoal, let's go." Brad casually tossed a Pokéball onto the field, and a fire-type turtle appeared and puffed out smoke from its nostrils before getting into a battle-ready stance.

"Hmmm…Torkoal." Dawn pulled out her Pokédex. "That's a new one!"

Torkoal, the coal Pokémon. Torkoal burns coal within its body to produce energy. As a defense, Torkoal is able to blow smoke from its nostrils and its back to confuse enemies.

"So Brad is going with another defense heavy Pokémon." Ash scratched his chin. "Since Brock likes to battle the same way, this should be an interesting match."

"Okay, let's go Sudowoodo!" Sudowoodo popped out of its ball and gave its trademark salute after being summoned. "Let's mix things up and start with some offense! Sudowoodo, use Double Edge!" Sudowoodo charged towards the tortoise to give it a hard shoulder tackle.

"Use Iron Defense." Torkoal withdrew into its shell, and took the hit with little to no damage.

"That thing's tough!" Ash exclaimed.

"Now use Flamethrower." Torkoal spewed flames out of its mouth, and Sudowoodo crossed its arms in an "X" formation to take the hit. Sudowoodo was pushed back a bit, but recovered quickly. "Hmm, nice defense. Use Flamethrower again." Torkoal fired another fire attack.

"Sudowoodo, use Mimic!" Out of nowhere, Sudowoodo copied Torkoal's move and blasted its own Flamethrower, causing the two moves to cancel each other out as smoke covered the battlefield.

"So, your Sudowoodo knows Mimic." Brad said.

"Yeah, and now he's gonna use Double Edge!"

"Torkoal, Iron Defense again." Again, Torkoal withdrew into its shell, and Sudowoodo's tackle was useless. "Might wanna try something else."

"Sudowoodo, try using your Fake Tears!" Sudowoodo started to fake crying, to try and gain some sympathy from Torkoal and make it vulnerable.

Brad just bark-laughed. "My Pokémon don't care if someone cries for no reason! Torkoal, use Solarbeam!"

"Whoa!" Ash exclaimed. "If that hits, Brock's finished!"

"But isn't Torkoal a fire-type?" Dawn looked back and forth between Ash and Misty. "Where are all these weird moves coming from?!"

"It isn't that uncommon for trainers to teach their fire-types Solarbeam to try and counter water-types or rock-types they might face." Misty replied. "Take it from me, I faced a lot acting as the Gym Leader in Cerulean City."

Torkoal took in the sunlight, and fired an ultra-powerful beam at the rock-type, who fainted onto the ground after not being able to dodge in time. "Well, that takes care of that." Brad said.

"Yeah, Sudowoodo is unable to battle." Brock leaned down and helped the fallen rock-type sit up. "You did a great job pal, guess I should try to work on some good ol' fashioned training more often, huh?"

"Sudo..." (Maybe...)

"Now you take a good long rest." Brock returned Sudowoodo to its Pokéball, then went over to shake his opponent's hand. "You're really good with defense, Brad. I could've learned a thing or two from you back when I was a Gym Leader."

Brad smiled and shook his hand. "That's part of my training, I teach my Pokémon to not feel anything they don't want to feel, like attacks. And Sudowoodo's Fake Tears didn't work because my Pokémon aren't affected by someone that fakes something just to get sympathy." Brad explained. "They know the difference between real and fake."

Misty's POV

"He really knows his defensive strategies, but he may be taking this whole sensitivity thing a bit too far. It's not like being sensitive is a totally bad thing." It was going to be my turn, until Ash walked up to me and asked if he would like to tag-battle with him. "A tag-battle with you Ash? Anytime!" I thought to myself. "Sure Ash, it'll be fun!"

Ash gave me a determined smile, and we walked up to Brad together. "Alright Brad, let's see if you can handle tag-battles!" Ash pumped a fist in determination.

"No problem, you and Misty will be battling Slowpoke and Torkoal at the same time then?" Brad asked, not at all fazed by Ash's expression.

"That's right!" I shouted. "And we won't hold back!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Brad exclaimed. "Alright, Slowpoke and Torkoal, let's go!" Brad's two Pokémon took their places on the field.

"Alright, Buizel, I choose you!" Ash launched a Pokéball, and his water-weasel emerged for battle.

"Misty calls Vaporeon!" I followed Ash's call out and sent out my newest Pokémon, who appeared on the battlefield and stretched out upon release.

"You're using Vaporeon Mist?" Ash asked, a certain gleam in his eye.

I smiled. "Of course! I said I would train her hard, and I intend to make good on that."

Ash gave me a loving smile back, and turned his attention to the battle. "Buizel, let's try a Water Gun on Torkoal!"

"Vaporeon, try using Quick Attack on Slowpoke!" The two Pokémon attacked, but just like before, the attacks bounced off like nothing happened. "Not again! There's no way we'll beat him by just calling out attacks!"

That's when Ash looked at me and gave a grin. I'd seen that look so many times before. He had a plan. "You attack first, Misty! Tell Vaporeon to use Shadow Ball on Slowpoke!"

"Right! You heard him, Vaporeon, use Shadow Ball!" The attack was launched and I expected it to just bounce off again, but I wasn't expecting Ash to do what he did next.

"Buizel, use Water Gun on that Shadow Ball!"

I watched in awe as Buizel's Water Gun seemed to merge with Vaporeon's Shadow Ball, creating a black and blue liquid that hurtled towards the two of them. I was even more surprised to see that Brad was actually starting to lose his cool for the first time since the battles started.

"Slowpoke, use Protect!"

I expected the attacks to bounce off again, the combined attacks actually managed to break through Slowpoke's barrier, and I turned to look at Ash who was giving me a knowing smirk. "That was amazing, Ash! What a plan!"

"I've learned a lot over the years, Mist!" The grin he gave me made my heart flutter. "Now whaddya say we take this opening and give Brad and his Pokémon everything we've got?!"

I nodded at him. "You got it! Quick Vaporeon, use Shadow Ball again!" My Vaporeon fired her attack, and this time there was nothing that could be done except watch the attack nail Slowpoke and knock it out, since Ash and Buizel were keeping Torkoal busy with multiple Water Gun attacks.

"Oh no, Slowpoke!"

"You did it Misty! Now let's nail that Torkoal! Buizel, let's use Aqua Jet!"

I couldn't help but take an admiring glance at my boyfriend as he called out his next attack. This was where Ash was truly in his element, and it made me so excited to be considered his partner. That's when I suddenly got an idea of my own. "Vaporeon, get behind Buizel!" I smirked seeing the confused look on Ash's face. I wasn't about to let him take all the credit for our victory. "Hey, you're not the only one who can come up with great ideas! Vaporeon, use Water Pulse behind Buizel!"

The sight of Ash's eyes lighting up filled me with such joy. "Misty, you're a genius!" Ash exclaimed as both Pokémon used their moves. "Now when Buizel goes in for his attack, he'll be followed by a wave of water and there's no way Torkoal will be able to withstand them both!"

"That's the plan!"

"It's a great one!"

With the added power behind it, Buizel nailed Torkoal, and at long last, it took on damage. "Aah! Torkoal, try using Solarbeam!"

I instantly knew that move was a mistake. Clearly, Brad was cool as a cucumber as long as his defense stood firm. But once a few holes were punched through it, he fell apart at the seams. With Torkoal vulnerable as it charged up its attack, one look at Ash and I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

"Buizel, give it all you got with a Water Gun!"

"Vaporeon, you give it all you got too! And don't hold back!" The attacks were fired simultaneously, but something seemed off about Vaporeon as I felt a sudden chill in the air. "Wait a second...that looks like a new move..." The next thing I knew, a snowstorm was blowing towards the turtle, much to my shock and amazement. "Wow! Vaporeon is using Blizzard! What an awesome new move Vaporeon! Amazing!" Before I even had the chance to finish celebrating, the attacks connected and Torkoal laid down with swirls in its eyes. We won!

"Both Slowpoke and Torkoal are unable to battle! The winners are Buizel and Vaporeon, and the match goes to the team of Ash and Misty!" Brock announced as Dawn and her Pokémon cheered for us over by the sidelines.

I wrapped Ash into a congratulatory hug which he gladly reciprocated. "Mmmm…I will never, ever, get tired of his hugs."

Normal POV

After everyone congratulated their Pokémon on a job well done, they returned them to their Pokéballs and met up in the middle of the battlefield, where Brad held out his hand to the victors. "Well, looks like I have more work to do on double-battles."

"I gotta hand it to ya though, your Pokémon are really strong!" Ash complimented.

"Well thanks Ash." Brad smirked. "Although if I'm being honest, if you and Misty hadn't merged those attacks, I probably would've won."

"You know, I think you're right Brad..." Brock did his best to ignore the glares suddenly being shot his way. "As much as Ash and Misty may hate me for it, your Pokémon have really impressive defense."

"No I don't hate you Brock..." Misty said a little too sweetly for the breeder's tastes, "You'll just have to pay for saying that later." Brock just gulped as Misty suddenly had her mallet in her hand.

"Say, you guys hungry?" Brad quickly changed the subject as he got into the middle of the group. "There's a Chinese restaurant over there."

"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed. "I'm starving!"

"Pika pika!" (Me too!)

"Come to think of it, it has been a while since we had breakfast." Brock said, quite relieved at the change of topic.

"C'mon, it's my treat." Brad led the group towards the restaurant, completely unaware of the fact that they were being watched from being a large bush.

"Boy, the twerps sure know how to pick friends." James said.

"Dat guy is a real piece of woik." Meowth added. "Not dat any of de otha folks dey've run into over da years have been any different."

"That may be," Jessie snickered evilly. "But the way he described the tenants of this sleepy little town, it'll make for easy Pokémon snatching!"

James pumped a fist. "Which means Team Rocket is in for some serious cashing!"

"And I've already got a great plan hatching!" Meowth smirked. "So what say we get started?"

The trio tiptoed their way through the seemingly abandoned town, giggling in anticipation of the Pokémon they were absolutely sure they would be coming away with this time around.

"Go and get a table guys, I have to talk to a friend of mine first."

"Sure thing!" Misty watched as Brad walked away and disappeared into the restaurant, then she turned back to her friends as she slid into a booth with them. "Brad's a little strange, don't you think?"

"What?" Brock raised an eyebrow. "You suspect something?"

"I don't mean that kind of strange," Misty shook her head. "At least not anymore...he's just…a little wacky."

"Sure," Ash shrugged. "But that's just how he gets his laughs, he did say he was a comedian after all."

"I guess. His little sign joke was pretty funny." Misty admitted with a shrug of her own.

"The best parts are the looks on his face when he does it!" Ash laughed just thinking about it.

That's when Brad suddenly reappeared. "That's what's called being a visual comedian."

"Oh, hi Brad." Ash said.

"If you don't immerse yourself into the act, you don't get laughs. So I make sure that I exaggerate my reactions to things, it's part of the way I do things."

"It kinda sounds like a Pokémon battle!" Ash exclaimed. "If you don't give it 100% every time, you don't get anywhere, right?"

"Exactly my friend." Brad nodded. "Hey, do you know why I have Slowpoke for a Pokémon?" Brad got all head shakes. "Because it's one of the few Pokémon that couldn't care less about being sensitive! It doesn't care! If it wants to do something, it does it. It doesn't ask a rock permission to lie on it, it just does it."

Misty rolled her eyes. "No offense, but that sounds like a strange reason to have a Pokémon."

Brad smirked. "You realize what you just said, Misty?"

"Uhh…what?"

"You said 'no offense.' Lemme tell you something, there's only one thing that offends me, and that is…an offended person." Brad just chuckled when Ash, Misty, Dawn, and Brock all gave him confused expressions. "Don't worry, I don't expect you to understand." Brad shook his head in amusement.

It was at that point that a young, attractive waitress with long blonde hair arrived with a huge smile on her face. "Excuse me sir, my name is Rachel, may I take your order?"

At the sight of said beautiful woman, Brock immediately squealed and leaped out of his seat, getting down on one knee as he took her hand in his. "You can take my order! How about a romantic, candlelit dinner for two-" But Brock's romantic pitch was instantly cut off when Croagunk appeared with a swift Poison Jab right where it counts. "On second thought...I'd like...an order...of pain killers...please." With one last groan, Brock collapsed onto the floor, only to be dragged away by his poison/fighting-type Pokémon.

"Is he alright?" Rachel asked in concern.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about him," Misty waved it off. "This happens every day."

"Um...okay...well," The waitress rolled her shoulders and looked directly at Brad as she got back to the task at hand. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"Yes ma'am, I could use some utensils, since I can't use chopsticks." Brad requested.

"Oh yeah, I just noticed that. Um, me too please?" Ash added.

Misty and Dawn requested the same, while Brock was only just now making his way back to the booth from under the table, a pained hand indicating that he also preferred the usual utensils.

That's when Rachel seemed to smirk. "Oh, I'm sorry, we don't have utensils here."

"Wait," Brad slammed his hands on the table, shocking his new friends as he stood up with an overly incredulous tone in his voice. "You mean you don't have a knife, a fork, and a spoon?"

Rachel snorted, like she was holding back laughter. "I'm so sorry sir."

"This is unbelievable!" Brad shouted. "Get me the manager!"

"Right away sir!" Rachel quickly rushed to the manager's office with a certain spring to her step.

As for the teens, they were confounded by what they'd just seen. "Brad," Dawn finally asked. "You don't really think this is worth calling the manager for, do you?"

But Brad just put a finger up to his lips and smiled at them. "Just sit back and enjoy the show."

The group stared at Brad in astonishment as they saw Rachel returning with what appeared to be the head person in charge following behind her. "Hey, he seems like he knows what he's doing." Ash figured.

At this point, Rachel returned with the manager, that same barely contained smile on her face as she presented the gentleman to Brad. "Here you are sir, this is Chen, our new manager."

"Thank you, Rachel, I can take it from here." Chen cleared his throat and put on his best professional smile. "What seems to be the problem sir?"

"You really don't have any utensils in this place?" Brad said incredulously.

"That is correct." Chen nodded. "I'm sorry sir, but we try to be authentic in this restaurant."

Rachel was now quietly giggling, as if she knew what was coming next. "Exactly, thank you for explaining sir."

"Oh, you want to be authentic…" That's when Brad stood up and removed himself from the booth...as if he was aiming to get some extra room to move. "Alright let me get this straight…Bob."

It was at this point the teens accompanying Brad realized this was all an act, and the waitress Rachel was in on it. "Here we go!" Ash thought excitedly.

"I just walked into a Chinese restaurant in the middle of nowhere, I walked through brushed-aluminum doors to get in here, I was greeted by that blonde waitress behind you that sat me down at this Formica table and gave me a plastic-laminated menu." Brad paused to catch his breath. Ash, Misty, Dawn, Brock were now laughing at their friend's act. "I'm about to order Chinese food cooked by that Mexican guy in the back, and when I finish eating, I'm paying with a credit card, but you think if you throw in chopsticks, I'm suddenly jet-propelled into the Ming Dynasty!"

Ash was laughing harder than anyone else; he was banging the table as if he was trying to dent it. "I can't with this guy!"

"C-Calm down Ash!" Misty said through laughter.

"S-Sorry Misty!" Ash had tears in his eyes.

"Brad's just way over the top!" Dawn exclaimed.

Brad gave his friends a wink, and then continued by looking at the manager who was growing more irritated. "Dude, what delusion are you living in? I mean you're gonna have to give me a chance to suspend my disbelief! Why stop at chopsticks? I'm gonna need a whole 'I-reject-modern-technology' theme day so I can be prepared! I'll wake up to the sound of a Torchic outside of my window, I'll look down at the sun-dial to see what time it is! Then, taking my clothes down to the nearest stream I'll beat 'em with the rocks to get 'em nice and clean, then I'll come back and call a girl to see if she wants to go to a Chinese restaurant but I won't use a phone, I'll use a telegraph, or better yet, a smokescreen attack!

"Then, I'll go pick her up in my best Rapidash-drawn chariot, and once we get over there to eat, I'm not gonna pay with a credit card, I'll pay with three Torchic, a woven blanket, and some beads! And then when we go home, I'm not walking her to the door, I'm beating her over the head with a club, and dragging her by the hair, now when you throw in chopsticks, I get it!" Brad finished with a bow, and his friends applauded his performance.

It was at this point that the manager, red-faced and fuming with anger, lost his temper and entirely and shouted at Brad with all sense of professionalism gone. "Get out of my restaurant! Out! Out!"

"Ahh, put a helmet on ya sorehead! Can't you take a joke?!"

"No! You just insisted that silverware is better than chopsticks in a Chinese restaurant!"

The teens looked at each other incredulously. "Um...aren't they though?" Dawn whispered.

Brock nodded. "Without a doubt."

Brad's face fell. "You know, you're right. I did say that…silverware is better than chopsticks…" His face twisted into a sarcastic sneer. "Because they are! Obviously, a knife, a fork, and a spoon are better than chopsticks!"

"You're being eccentric about this!"

Brad repeated himself. "Obviously, a knife, a fork, and a spoon, in tandem, are better than chopsticks!"

"You're just being intolerant and insensitive!"

"Oh for crying out loud, let's get two bowls of soup, I'll get a spoon, you can use chopsticks, let's race and see who gets to the bottom first!"

The group was laughing too hard to even try to contain themselves, tears were coming out of their eyes, and even Rachel had lost all ability to keep from laughing, which only got Chen to whip around and glare at her. "And what do you think is so funny?!"

Fighting through the laughter and tears, Rachel walked over to Brad and put an arm around his shoulders. "Let him off the hook Brad, he's had enough."

With that, Brad smiled and took a bow for his friends and they gave him an ovation of applause. "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here the rest of my life probably."

Seeing everyone around him still having fun, including his own employee, Chen started cooling off as he came to the realization that this whole thing had probably been planned out. "Alright, what's going on?"

"This is just a joke sir." Rachel walked up to Chen to explain. "Every time a new manager is hired, I call Brad to give him a good-natured ribbing. He doesn't really wanna cause trouble, he just wants to make folks laugh!"

Chen just scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'd appreciate if you canceled that tradition, you know full well how we are in this town."

"Oh, of course sir. Won't happen again." Rachel nodded and watched as Chen walked away, mumbling something about young upstarts. "Well," She said as she turned to her customers. "That's probably the fourth time in the past year I've had to make that promise." She winked and started making her way to the kitchen. "I'll be back in a sec with your food."

"Thanks, Rach!" Brad slid back into the booth and puts his hands behind his head and leaned back, sighing in satisfaction. "That was probably one of the better reactions I've gotten. Gotta cherish the moments when they come around here."

"You kinda gave us a scare at first." Dawn said.

"Yeah," Misty added. "For a minute I thought we were really going to get kicked out without a meal when the manager flipped out like that."

"That actually happens every once in a while, depends on how the manager at the time takes it." Brad shrugged. "Like I said, this was one of the better ones."

"Wait," Brock said. "You've actually gotten thrown out a few times?"

"Oh yeah. But Rachel's always there waiting for me by the service entrance with a bag of food-to-go if I do."

"But I thought everyone in this town was overly-sensitive." Ash said.

"Nah, not everyone, there are a few people around here who are regular people." Brad smiled. "Like our waitress."

At that moment, Rachel came back with a Machoke who was carrying a huge plate of what seemed like every item on the menu. "Eat up you guys, this one's on me!" Rachel winked and turned to leave, but she was stopped in her tracks when Brock suddenly leaped in front of her, kneeling down on one knee once more.

"Oh my darling Rachel, since you insist on paying for lunch, how about I pay for dinner?!" Brock said passionately.

"Okay, that's it." Misty hopped out of her seat and yanked Brock back to his seat by the ear. "I think she's had a gut-full of you Casa-no-duh."

It took them quite a while to get through the smorgasbord of food. And after the hearty lunch, the group went outside to a grassy area, and there, Ash and Pikachu fell to the ground onto their backs, groaning in apparent pain.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Misty asked.

"Stomach…full…world…spinning."

"Piiika." (Ohhh.)

Dawn put her hands on her hips and sighed. "Ash, you do this every time we eat out!"

"You still haven't learned, have you Ash?" Misty teased, kneeling down next to Ash and his bulging stomach.

"Just let me lay here." Ash moaned.

"You and Pikachu both, I swear." Dawn rolled her eyes, but was surprised when Buneary suddenly popped out of her Pokéball and hopped over to Pikachu. "Huh? Buneary, what are you doing?" Dawn got her answer when she saw her Pokémon start rubbing Pikachu's belly with her soft paws, and the soft, appreciative smile from Pikachu and the light blush on Buneary's face made Dawn want to squeal at the top of her lungs. "Awww, that's so sweet!"

"You know, I think Buneary has the right idea." Misty said.

Ash's POV

Oh brother, why did I keep doing this to myself? My stomach felt like it was ready to explode because it was hurting so much. But then Misty started rubbing my overly-stuffed stomach, and the pain steadily began to decrease. "That feel good Ash?"

"Does it ever…" I turned my head a little so that I could look right at her, "It feels good Mist; I'm starting to feel better. Thanks." Misty gave me a smile, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the massage.

Normal POV

"I think I'm gonna puke." Brad gagged.

"Oh come on," Dawn gave a quick glare to the comedian before gushing at the intimate scene again. "This sort of sensitivity isn't bad! It's sweet!"

"I didn't say it was bad, I just said I wanna puke. It's too sweet for my tastes."

"Hey Brad, something's been bothering me since we got here." Brock spoke up. "Besides the people inside the restaurant, we haven't seen anyone around here at all. Where is everyone?"

Brad just rolled his eyes. "Like I said earlier, everyone's just trying to keep to themselves. They're probably all locked in their homes reviewing all their list of offensive terms. It's about as long as the doggone dictionary itself by now."

The team suddenly heard screaming in the distance. "What was that?" Dawn wondered.

"I dunno," Brad's expression finally turned serious. "But it's definitely not the kind of scream I usually hear around here. Let's go find out!" Brad hurried in the direction of the screams, with Brock and Dawn following close behind.

"Ash, are you feeling better?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, let's get going!" Ash got up and ran off and Misty chased after them, with Pikachu and Buneary close behind.

When they got back to the main part of the town, they found a huge group of people screaming. "What's going on here?!" Brad yelled.

"Just look, they're taking all of our Pokéballs and there's nothing we can do to stop them!"

"Who is?!" Dawn looked up onto the roof of a building, and that immediately answered her question. "Oh no, not here too!"

Jessie: "Listen, is that the voice of overly-sensitive people I hear?"

James: "It's speaking to me loud and clear."

Jessie: "On the wind!"

James: "Past the stars!"

Meowth: "In your ear!"

Jessie: "Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"

James: "Dashing all hope and putting fear in its place!"

Jessie: "A rose by any other name is just as sweet."

James: "When everything is worse, our work is complete."

Jessie: "Jessie!"

James: "And it's James!"

Meowth: "Meowth, now dat's a name!"

Jessie: "Putting the do-gooders in their place!"

James: We're Team Rocket!"

Team Rocket: "In your face!"

"Wobbuffet!" (Yeah!)

"Mime mime!" (Yeah!)

"Team Rocket!" the teens yelled.

"How'd you get your hands on those Pokéballs?!" Brad growled.

"Simple," Jessie cackled. We just said that if they didn't hand over their Pokéballs, they'd offend the great Team Rocket!"

The entire group did a face-fault after hearing that. "Oh come on, if you have to ask in order to steal Pokéballs and you're thieves, put a helmet on!"

"How dare you?!" James shouted with an overdramatic flair. "Don't you know how much that offends us?!"

"I got news for you people, I don't care!" Brad shrugged. "Game over…I win!"

"Well we'll have to redefine the definition of the word win for you." Jessie scowled. "After all, whether you care if we're offended or not, we still have this whole town's stash of Pokémon and you've got nothing!" Jessie reached for a Pokéball. "And now we're going to make sure that nothing is all you end up getting! Seviper, attention!"

"Carnivine, you too!" The two Pokémon got into battle-ready stance, but not before Carnivine took a detour to gnaw on James's head. "We need to talk about offending someone's personal space!" James tore the grass-type off of him, and that's when it finally joined Seviper for battle.

"I can't battle," Brad exclaimed. "Slowpoke and Torkoal are exhausted!"

"Don't worry about it, Brad!" Ash tugged on his gloves and retightened the straps as he reached for some Pokéballs. "Just leave this to me! Staravia, Chimchar, I choose you!" Staravia and Chimchar emerged with a battle cry. "Chimchar, use Flamethrower and Staravia use Aerial Ace! We've gotta get everyone's Pokémon back!" Staravia flipped in midair and charged towards the two Team Rocket Pokémon at an incredible speed. Meanwhile, Chimchar spewed out flames that hurled towards them and forced a reaction out of Team Rocket.

"Don't just stand there, Seviper! Counter with Poison Tail!"

"And you Carnivine, use Bite!"

"Dodge 'em!" Staravia flew back into the air to avoid Carnivine's bite, while Chimchar leaped up and avoided Seviper's poisonous tail which left a divot in the ground from where the impact was made. "Nice work you two! Now Chimchar, nail 'em with a Flame Wheel! Staravia, use Aerial Ace and get those Pokéballs back!"

Chimchar knocked the two Pokémon back to the balloon with the Flame Wheel attack, and Staravia cut the rope holding the Pokéballs with a quick slash, much to Team Rocket's horror as they gasped in shock. "Hey, we worked hard to get those!" James yelled. "Making up ways to be offended isn't as easy as it seems you know!"

"Finish the job Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Within seconds, Pikachu used a powerful electric-attack, and sent Team Rocket blasting off again.

"Why do we keep losing like this?!" James moaned.

"I can't believe that guy, heckling us like that, what is he a comedian?!" Jessie yelled.

"I tink we shoulda taken his advice ta put a helmet on dough…" Meowth paused.

"BECAUSE WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

"Wobbuffet!"

*Ping*

"Way to go everyone!" Ash congratulated his team on a job well done before returning Chimchar and Staravia to their Pokéballs, while Pikachu received a very special congrats in the form of a hug from Buneary. "Looks like you're getting some special treatment today Pikachu."

"Pika..." (Yeah...) The electric mouse blushed.

As the town members went to receive their Pokéballs, Brad made his way to the center of the crowd and shouted at the top of his lungs to get everyone's attention. "You see what can happen being overly-sensitive?!" Brad yelled. "If these guys weren't here to save your Pokémon, you would've just let them get away with them!" The townspeople dropped their heads in shame. "Here's what I say now...whatever happened in the past hundred or so years ago, I don't even know, and honestly I don't care! I've lived here all my life thinking that this town was doomed to be this way. But I say we just stop being this way, stop acting like every word we use is somehow a personal attack on us, and learn to laugh again! Who's with me?!"

At first, it was silent, the whole crowd seemed hesitant to raise their hands in solidarity. That is, until one blonde-haired girl started clapping.

"It's Rachel from the restaurant!" Misty whispered to Ash.

Then the applause slowly started growing louder, until everyone in the crowd was clapping and cheering, finally ready to try and take a new approach to life, much to Brad's happiness as he briefly took a bow and walked back over to his friends.

"Well Brad, it looks like your dream may finally come true." Brock said.

"Well, it'll take some time, but it's a start." Brad chuckled. "It's about time too. I can't thank those three clowns enough for giving my town a reason to finally look in a mirror and see what they've been doing to themselves. Maybe this town will finally have a name again!" Brad replied. "And thank you guys too for luring them here. What, do they follow you around or something? You seemed to recognize them."

"Ugh, trust me, it is a long story." Dawn suddenly gasped as her eyes widened in realization. "Hey! I just realized! We never got any directions! We gotta get to Veilstone City as soon as we can!"

"Waah! That's right!" Ash exclaimed.

"You need directions?" Rachel walked up to them.

"Yeah, we need directions to Veilstone City so I can fight my next gym battle!" Ash exclaimed.

"Well, all you have to do is follow that path over there," She pointed towards an old dirt road. "And you'll head straight to Veilstone City!"

"Thanks so much!" Dawn exclaimed.

Brock got one knee and grabbed Rachel's hand one last time. "We can never repay you enough for helping us, but if you would like to stay in touch I can give you my e-mail addreeeesss!" But just like before Brock received a jab from Croagunk to shut him down and drag him away. "I guess some things just aren't meant to be, ugh..."

"I have to apologize for our friend, when he meets a pretty girl he can't help himself." Misty said.

"Well I guess I'll take that as a compliment then. Don't worry; good luck on your journey everyone!"

"And watch out for Stantler!" Brad shouting, giving them all one last laugh before waving goodbye.

"Brad was really something, wasn't he?" Ash asked.

"He sure was." Misty agreed.

"But I wonder if he was serious about those Stantler?" Brock asked. Their question was answered when a Stantler hopped out of the bushes and leaped into the bush on the other side of the road. "Well okay then."

"I guess that answers that." Dawn giggled.

"Well, at least we're on the right track again, let's get going and get that gym badge!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu cheered in agreement, and the group walked down the path to Veilstone City.