Ash let out a small yawn as he walked down the steps onto the ground floor of the Ketchum household. It had been three days since their checkup with Oak and it had certainly been… interesting. He doesn't think that he'll be able to forget how confused Serena/Seth was when his Mom offered them to stay and be a part of the family. Ash sometimes forgets how patient his mother is. He would've gotten annoyed if he had to keep explaining how adoption works over and over.
"Piiii…" Pichu complained as he wiggled in Ash's arms. The tiny mouse wanted to go back to bed already.
"Hm?" A voice caused Ash to turn his attention to the couch to see Brock, who was sitting on the couch with Happiny in his lap. "Oh hey. Good morning, Ash. You're up early."
"Morning…" Ash mumbled as he joined Brock on the other side of the couch. "Why are you up so early?"
Brock seemed to chuckle at the question. "Well, Happiny and Bonsly just like to eat early. It's just routine at this point, I guess." Brock explained with a smile while reaching out to scratch the sleepy Pichu sitting on Ash's lap behind the ear. "I always had to get up early to make breakfast and get my siblings to school on time."
"Heh. School." Ash grinned as he sat back with a comfortable sigh with his hands behind his head and eyes closed. "I'm so lucky that mom homeschooled me. But… this guy-" Ash's tail emerges from behind his shoulder to point down at the curled-up Pichu on his lap before returning behind the boy. "Always wakes me up super early."
Brock grinned at the answer before pulling his back from scritching Pichu's head. "Oh yeah? Well, what's got the little guy so sleepy this morning, then?"
Ash just shrugged. "I dunno. I knew he was with Mom and Serena as they did their tutoring thing last night when I went to bed. When I woke up, Pichu was in his usual spot in my bed."
"Wait, what was she-" Brock stopped himself with a sigh as he shook his head. "Sorry. For a second, I thought that you were talking about the Serena from Kalos for some reason…"
"Yeah…" Ash groaned as his head rolled back in annoyance. Now complaining at the ceiling. "We really need to come up with a nickname or new name or something…" Ash trailed off for a little as he tried to think of name suggestions… but was pulling up blank. It's too freaking early to think!
Brock grunted with a nod. "Agreed… but nothing is coming to mind… You?"
"No…" Ash just blew a raspberry as he stared up at the ceiling. "How about you, Pichu?"
"Pi." The Pichu dryly responded. You didn't need to know telepathy to understand that the Pokemon was lacking ideas as well.
"Do you wanna turn on the TV?" Brock suggested as he pat Happini's head. "Maybe a name will jump out at us?"
Ash nodded in defeat as he huffed. "Sure." However, he couldn't be too mad as he knew that Brock had been wanting to turn on the TV to see if the news was still talking about him and his family like they had been for the past week.
"Thanks." Brock smiled as he turned on the TV and began flipping through the channels. Happiny staring at the changing TV with curiosity and wonder while Pichu, still curled up in his friend's lap, couldn't care less.
After a few seconds of flipping the channels, Ash decided that he was bored again. "Hey, do you know where Mom is? She's usually not doing farm stuff this early."
"Hm?" Brock hummed, his attention only partially on Ash. "Oh! Yeah, Delia said something about getting wood from the store for- A SMOKING HOT BABE!~"
Brocks' outburst caused all three of the other beings in the room to jump from the sudden volume. Happiny scurried into Ash's lap, Pichu was standing at full attention in a battle-ready state as his cheeks sparked, and Ash's claws were extended with his tail shot straight up like a metal pole.
'Huh?! Wha?! What's happening?! Battle!' Pichu's frantic thoughts bashed into Ash's skull like a hammer as he groaned.
'Scary noise! Dada making a scary noise!' Happiny's startled whimpers crept into Ash's skull as well while the baby Pokemon hid behind Pichu.
"Brock," Ash groaned as he rubbed his forehead. It was way too early for such loud noises. "What the heck are you yelling about? Is something wrong?"
"Wrong?" Brock repeated back to the younger boy as his ruby eye sparkled way more than it usually did. "Nothing could ever be more right! Look! Isn't that the most beautiful woman you have ever seen in your life?!"
Ash blinked at his newly adopted brother with confusion before turning to look at the TV, which Brock seemed to be fawning over. "Brock… That's a Nurse Joy. They're everywhere…" Though, now that he was looking at the screen again, it seemed that it was a Pokemon contest.
"They're not all the same, Ash," Brock exclaimed in a wooed tone as he continued. "You see, while they all look extremely similar on the surface, all the Joy's and Jenny's have these small differences that you can-" Ash promptly stopped listening at that point.
'Is your trainer… always like this?" Pichu asked Happiny while staring at Brock like he was clinically insane.
'Dada only gets like this when there are pretty ladies. And only older pretty ladies…' Happiny explained with an eye roll as she got comfy in Ash's lap.
While the two Pokemon discussed the strange, new addition to the family, Ash continued to ignore his older brother by watching the contest on TV. It was a rerun of the contest that happened last night, but that was fine because Ash hadn't watched this one.
The scene on the TV was the battle portion of the contest. One side had a boy in just a regular suit and tie that didn't stand out much. Just shouting orders at his Weavile to counterattack and make a spectacle with the Pokemon's ice. He seemed decent, but not that very noteworthy, especially compared to his opponent.
The second battler in the contest was noteworthy for a few things. To begin, she wasn't dressed that well. While most try to dress up and look their best while on the contest stage, the brunette girl looked like she just walked onto the stage in her travel outfit. Red bandana, a red and black jacket, blue compression shorts, a yellow fanny pack, and a Combusken that looked like he hadn't preened his feathers in weeks. Dressing to impress certainly wasn't an interest for her.
While the girl's dress, or lack thereof, was noteworthy, what dragged Ash's attention to the girl was something that she wasn't doing: Commanding her Pokemon. To Ash's awe, he watched as this mysterious girl communicated with her Pokemon through a series of grunts, snaps, and claps of her hands. Sure, it looked silly, but it was clearly working, given how the Combusken was absolutely embarrassing the poor Weavile so badly that Ash almost felt bad for them.
With one more, devastatingly precise Blaze Kick, Combusken shattered Weavile's ice claws which it had made for itself, and knocked the Pokemon out of the air. The boy's points were fully depleted as a loud horn blared, signaling the match's end.
"Remarkable!" The announcer started at the camera cut back to an announcer, much to Ash's annoyance. "And with one of the most one-sided battles we at the Olivine City Contest Hall have seen in quite a while, the winner goes to the Mute Maiden M-"
'Ashhhhhhh!' Pichu yelled as Ash felt his entire body get shocked with electricity. The pain pulled him away from the TV and he fell off the couch with smoke coming out of his mouth. "Brock isn't stopping. And it's starting to weird me out."
"Then why don't you just shock him like you do me, Pichu?" Ash whined in pain as he lay on the ground. Happiny tried to shove her rock-egg into Ash's mouth, which he began to suck on as it would make her happy.
Pichu rolled his eyes. 'You think I didn't try? I shocked him worse than you and he's still going.' Pichu remarked with an annoyed tone while tapping his foot.
Turning his head to the left, Ash was dumbfounded as he saw Brock on the floor beside him. The elder boy was muttering something about the Jenny's at this point with his hands over his chest. "And the Lavender town one has-"
"Okay…" Ash grunted as he sat up. "That… is weird… I don't get it. What's so good about girls anyway?" Ash muttered to himself and Pichu, the Pokemon just giving his trainer a shrug before both looked back down at the lovestruck heap on the floor.
"Shock him again?" Ash wondered while staring at Brock.
'I did that already. With like, twice as much juice as I did you.' Pichu noted. 'Happiny, does this happen a lot? What usually gets him out of this?'
'Not all the time… but it does happen enough that Dada's siblings have a thing they do to help.' Happiny stated before walking over and delivering a swift punch to her trainer's groin, causing all three males to let out a sharp gasp and grab their crotches while Brock yelled out and squirmed on the ground. 'There! Give Dada a second!'
She was right, at least. It only took Brock a few seconds to climb back up onto the couch with a little whimper. "Sorry… about that…"
"Uh…" Ash muttered for a bit, sharing a worried glance with Pichu. "It's fine… are you okay?"
"Yeah…" Brock answered in a high-pitched tone of voice before taking a deep breath. His tone reverted to normal afterward. "Yeah. I'm okay… We just need to find a better system."
"Yeah… I guess so." Ash agreed with a light chuckle as he felt a sweatdrop slide down the side of his face. "But maybe just try not to do that around Serena and Seth?"
Brock nodded at that. "Yeah, agreed." Brock sighed as he leaned back again, seemingly relaxing.
"Do what around me?" A feminine voice called from behind the couch.
"Don't worry about it." Ash smiled as he turned to look behind the couch. "Brock is just being rea-"
Ash's words stopped in his tracks as he stared wide-eyed at his little sibling in front of him. She was smiling happily at him while she was rubbing her eye with her left hand while her right arm was holding the very chipper Mawile to her bare stomach. She seemed to be in a good mood and rested well, but that wasn't the reason that Ash had stopped in his tracks. It wasn't just her stomach which was bare, it was her entire body! She was naked!
"Morning Serenaaaaaaa!" Brock greeted while turning a bit after Ash and was similarly shocked to see their little sibling in that state as his voice rose. The eldest sibling immediately went to cover Ash's eyes with his hands, much to Ash's thankfulness. Ash's mind had gone blank from shock before he could process what was in front of his eyes.
After a few failed attempts to sputter anything out, the elder sibling just managing to stutter out a few syllables, Brock finally strung a coherent sentence together.
"S-Serena!" Brock cried as he tried to pull Ash's head into the couch cushion. An act that Ash was absolutely not going to argue or fight against. "W-where are your clothes?!"
The delighted giggle that came from the girl was as adorable as it was concerning. "I asked Mommy if she could help me with a girl body like she did with my boy body before. So we practiced really hard last night and look!" There was a small pause in the girl's speech. If it was anything like the last time, when Seth ran in and showed them their boy form, they were likely doing a twirl. "It looks really good, doesn't it?"
The girl's plea for praise, while being nothing but innocent, caused the two boys to shudder a bit. Ash knew that she was just excited and happy to show her progress off, but Ash was NOT expecting to see her- or any girl, for that matter- naked today… or ever.
"Yes, Serena. It does look good…" Brock delivered the girl the praise she so desperately wanted to hear, marked by the excited giggles that erupted from her directly afterwards. "But please put on clothes for us?"
Ash couldn't see it but he could tell that the girl's mood immediately slumped right after Brock's plea. "Awe… Why?"
"Because walking around naked isn't something that we usually do in this family, Serena," Brock stated. His tone became a bit firmer and authoritative to the girl's question.
"But you don't seem to mind… and I need the practice!"
"I do, Serena. And it bothers Ash as well, doesn't it?" Brock's pry for Ash to join in on the small argument wasn't that appreciated as Ash wanted nothing more than to stay out of this!
"Y-yeah, Serena…" Ash agreed with his older brother. Brock's hands still covered his eyes even though Ash's face was stuffed into the couch cushion. "I get wanting to practice and being proud… but please just practice with mom and not around us… please?"
There was a silence in the room for a few seconds before Ash could hear a small huff. "Okay, fiiiiine… Hmph… I'm gonna go play with Mawile outside!" The clearly grumpy little sibling huffed before stomping off.
Brock waited a few seconds before hearing the door clothes before finally releasing Ash with a relieved sigh. "Sorry about that… You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. You're good…" Ash groaned as he sat back on the couch properly while rubbing the back of his neck. His tail wrapped around his leg like it usually did when Ash was uncomfortable or trying to act normal. "Thanks for… that. But what about you?"
Brock chuckled at that. A small smile on his face as he shook his head. The elder's amusement at Ash's genuine question kinda bothered him a little bit, but he let it slide since Brock didn't seem like the kind of person to laugh at someone. Just the situation or question.
"My parents ran off pretty much right after Billy and Tilly were born. I had to bathe them, change the diapers, all that kinda stuff. I've seen my siblings naked, and this isn't all that different from that. You're the only child who hasn't seen a girl naked before, Ash." Brock stated with a smile. The elder boy wasn't as shaken up by the sight as Ash was.
After giving a slight nod at that, Ash gave a slight smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I guess that you're happy to be done changing diapers and stuff, right?"
"Eh." Brock waved the question off. "It wasn't that bad. Billy and Tilly were potty trained, which made it easier."
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Pichu decided to invite himself back into the conversation by jumping back onto Ash's lap. 'I will never get you humans and your insistence on clothes and stuff. It's weird. Just walk around naked like we Pokemon do.'
Pichu's innocent comment caused Ash's mind to flash back to two minutes ago. Causing the boy to cover his face with his hands and let out a loud groan, much to Brock's, Pichu's, and Happiny's confusion.
"I'm never gonna be able to look at Kalos Serena the same way again, am I?" Ash wailed into the air, causing Brock to let out a small laugh and rub Ash's back while Pichu rolled his eyes and muttered something about Ash being a 'drama queen.'
After Ash finished being in despair about his newfound knowledge of what girls look like, the nine-year-old slumped down on the couch that he was sitting on.
"Do you want to go back to watching the Pokemon Contest, Ash? Maybe it'll help you get your mind off it?" Brock graciously offered the younger sibling with a pitied smile.
Upon sitting back up and looking at the TV again, Ash winced a little as he saw the same, red bandana-wearing girl up on stage about to get some award of some kind. It wasn't a ribbon as the contest was a non-league circuit, but Ash didn't care. "Can we… change the channel, please? I really don't wanna look at a girl right now…"
The comment got a chuckle from Brock and Ash could swear that he saw the ruby and flower bud where Brock's eyes should have been to roll, but Brock started changing the channel like Ash wanted.
Flipping through the channels absentminded, the duo of semi-humans with Pokemon resting on their laps didn't make much noise until-
"Wait!" Ash cried as he shot forward. Startling Pichu as the tiny mouse jumped up. "Was that Lance?"
"Huh?" Brock tilted his head as he turned to Ash.
"Go back a few channels!" Ash demanded while looking back at the TV as Brock followed his directions.
"There!" Ash yelled while pointing at the screen. "I wonder what he's doing?"
"Seems like a press release of some kind… and there are some other gym leaders too…" Brock pointed out as both of them focused entirely on the TV.
Lance stood up on the small stage with a firm, straight posture about him. In front of him was a podium with several microphones with different news station logos each one attached. To the champion's left stood two men in typical G-men suits, ties, and sunglasses. Standing in front of the duo of G-men was a third man who looked… well, the guy looked exactly like a ninja. He wore a traditional black and purple gi with a blood-red scarf over his nose and mouth. Most anyone in the Kanto Region would recognize the man as Koga, one of the region's most respected gym leaders.
To Lance's right stood a few more G-men in the back with two more notable figures in front of them. One wore a light blue, sleeveless, short-legged gi with a blue and white jacket over it. Ash knew enough about Johto and its gym leaders to recognize the man as Falkner, the Flying Gym leader of the region. Beside the Johto native stood a much larger, much more… extravagant man that Ash could swear that he had seen before but couldn't quite pinpoint where. The man wore lavender pants, a teal and white shirt, and a white beret. He looked a bit out of place looking so handsome in what seemed to be such a serious setting.
Lance clearing his throat caused the murmuring of the press to quiet down as well as caused Ash's attention to return to the champion instead of his companions. The Champion of the two regions looked a bit more tired than the last time that Ash had seen him, which was in person, Ash reminded himself with a smile. A smile which dropped as Lance opened his mouth.
"For those unaware, as there hasn't been a direct statement made about the situation as of yet, the three Waterflower Sisters- leaders of the Cerulean City Pokemon Gym- were arrested two days ago. The arrest was made for a variety of reasons that will be made available to the public after this press conference. Just know that the most notable crimes are fraud, misuse of League funding, and violation of Pokemon health and safety standards. Again, the full report will be released to the public in the coming days."
The man's voice was much different from the one that Ash had heard come from the same man when he stood on his mom's front porch. He sounded much deeper, serious, authoritarian even. The man paused after speaking about the Waterflower sisters to let the press and what other people watching firsthand murmurs quiet down as Brock and Ash share a glace. Brock just gave the boy a surprised shrug, signaling that he had no idea what was going on either.
"The reason that I have called for this meeting is that during the same night that the Waterflower Gym Leaders were arrested, the youngest -and only non-Gym Leader- of the family, Misty Waterflower, has disappeared. She was last seen having a severe asthma attack on the floor of the arena area and the front entrance to the gym. The caretaker left to watch over the girl hurried to the kitchen to get Misty her inhaler at her request, but when the caretaker returned, Misty- along with several of the Cerulean City Gyms Pokemon, would not be found. We believe that she has run away out of fear that she would have been prosecuted for the same crimes that her sisters were charged with, which is not true."
The increased muttering and murmurings of the crowd caused Lance to pause and let them settle down before continuing. Ash used the opportunity to turn to Brock with his jaw agape.
"I didn't even know that there was a fourth Waterflower sister. Did you?"
"I-I mean…" Brock stammed with clear appall at the news. "I mean, I knew that there was a fourth, yeah, but I never met her before. We gym leaders didn't really see each other that often. I asked about how their youngest was doing one of the few times that I saw them and…" Brock paused for a moment, looking down at the ground. "The things that they called her - their own sister - were just… horrible. I couldn't imagine thinking those things about my own siblings, much less saying any of it out loud! And they did it so… so casually, too…"
Ash shuttered as he tried to imagine the things that the three could say about their little sibling that would cause Brock, who Ash had realized was a pretty stable and supporting guy, to be that shaken up by what the Waterflower sisters said. "I guess… It isn't surprising that she ran, then…"
"I guess not, Ash." Brock sighed as he crossed his arms with an angered huff. "I guess not…"
'Why would anyone ever be mean to their sister? I don't get it…' Pichu muttered in confusion. 'I mean, yeah. Sis steals my food and we fight sometimes, but I would never hate her or anything.'
"Humans are weird, Pichu…' Ash sighed as he petted Pichu while focusing back on the TV. "Humans are stupid and weird." Ash mirrored his Pokemon's comment from earlier as Lance began to speak again.
"After the disappearance, I made the decision to try and keep the search hidden from the public and just limited to the G-men in scope but…" Lance paused to grimace. His hands clenched the sides of the podium he was standing beside. "After 24 hours and no sign of Misty, we have decided to inform the public and expand the search effort. We, the G-men, will continue to focus entirely on finding Misty while working closely with the Jennys and several Gym Leaders that I called to assist us."
Lance paused as the murmur nearly to full yelling. Ash swore that he could hear someone yell 'You waited over a day to tell us?!' along with several other comments along the lines of 'Worthless!' and 'She's dead by now.'. Lance didn't allow the outcry to continue or grow as he yelled out.
"As for ground searching, I- myself- will lead a team of G-Men and Jenny's with specially trained tracking Arcanine. Koga will do the same as he has experience tracking and leading group rescue efforts such as these."
Koga merely stepped forward and gave a simple, effective nod while looking stoic and silent. Lance continued to speak right after.
"For aerial assistance and reconnaissance, Falkner will be in command of a team of G-Men as well as over a dozen Noctowl trained for search and rescue operations such as these during both the night and day."
Falkner stepped forward and nodded. "We'll be able to find her. I won't rest until I do. That is all." The Gym Leader stated with a clearing of the throat before stepping back. Ash could see Lance Wince slightly at Falkner's choice of words, but the man continued as if nothing happened.
"And finally, I have asked Wallace of the Hoenn League to come and assist us. Given that several of the water-typed Pokemon that belong to the Gym went missing at the same time that Misty disappeared, we believe that she either took them, or they followed after her when she ran away. Either way, the chance that Misty could have used streams, rivers, or bodies of water to hide in or use to escape is not zero, which is why Wallace is joining us."
The finely dressed man took a step forward and opened his mouth to speak in a much more serious, commanding tone than Ash would suspect to come out of such an extravagantly-clad person. "It is my pleasure to join in on the search but the longer time to use here, the more time that we could be using to search for our missing girl is wasted." The man started towards the crowd, but it sure felt like it was directed at Lance in particular.
"Agreed, Wallace. I have one more thing to say and it has been addressed to Misty if she happens to somehow be watching this: Misty. You are not in any form of trouble. We just want to find you and ensure that you are safe and uninjured. Nobody will be mad at you. Nobody believes that you have had any involvement in any of the crimes that your sisters have committed. I understand that you must be scared but please- I implore you- we are scared for your safety and wellbeing. Just walk up to any Jenny and say your name. They will understand what to do from there."
Lance leaned back after his direct address to Misty. The man took a slow sight before leaning forward again. "That is all for today. Thank you. We will keep you informed of any developments that have been made. Now, if you excuse me, I need to get back to the search." Lance's statement ended with finality before turning to his left and speed walking off stage as the press jumped up and yelled questions at him in a melding mesh of words that nobody could understand. A mesh that Lance and his exiting companions ignored.
After watching the Champion exit the stage, the group sat in stunned silence for a few moments. Ash could feel his jaw agape, yet he had no real desire to lift it for whatever reason. The young boy was only pulled out of his stupor by the news station going back to the regular programming that neither Brock nor Ash cared about.
As Ash turned his head to look at Brock, he found himself unable to think of anything to say as his friend, his new brother stared at the screen silently.
"I… I um… I guess you won't have to worry about the news talking about you and your family anymore, huh?"
Ash gulped as he felt the air in the room go even more still. A small chuckle only managed to escape his lips before the sharp THWACK of Pichu's tail hitting Ash in the face. 'Really?!'
"That is… deserved." Ash winced while shooing Pichu's tail off of his face. "Brock, are you okay?"
'Dada sad… It's okay, dada. I'm here with you!' The tiny Happiny in Brock's lap turned and nuzzled into her human with the best hug that she could, given her tiny arms. The venture seemed to be appreciated by Brock as he gently patted the baby Pokemon on the back lovingly while returning the hug.
After giving a slow sight, Brock opened his eyes again and turned to look at Ash again, his ruby eye glistening in the morning light more than normal. "Yeah… I think I'm okay. I guess I just feel like… I should've done more. I saw - or heard, at least - the way that the Waterflower Trio thought about Misty, but I just… didn't do anything."
Ash reached over and placed a hand on the older boy's back gently. This… wasn't Ash's strong suit, but he still wanted to try. Despite only knowing Brock for a few days now, Ash had already begun to trust and care for him like… well, like an older brother.
"Hey… Y'know… It wasn't your fault. You realize that, right?"
"Y… yeah. I know."
The older boy's words were betrayed by his tone. Ash wasn't having it. "Hey. It isn't your fault. You had other things to worry about like your gym and your family. You were doing a lot. Some stuff was bound to slip."
Ash's words seemed to resonate with Brock, if only slightly. The elder boy turned his head to smile at Ash halfheartedly. "Thanks, Ash. I know that you're right, and I know it isn't my fault… sigh… Maybe it's just the older brother part of me that feels…"
"Yeah…" Ash nodded while rubbing his back absentminded before he realized what he was doing and pulled his hand away to rub the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry! I didn't mean for that to get… uh…"
Brock simply let out a chuckle at Ash's sudden embarrassment over wanting to comfort him. "Don't be! I needed that. Thanks… bro."
"..."
"..."
"That feels weird." Ash tried his best to smile at Brock, but the forced nature of it - as well as his enlarged canines - made it seem like he was snarling at him.
"Agreed." Brock nodded. "Let's not try and force it."
'Eh. Give it a few months. That's how long it took me to start thinking of Mama and Sis as family.' Pichu chimed in with a grin. Ash was sure that the tiny Pokemon would be munching on popcorn if he could, given the slightly awkward tension in the air.
"Uh… what do you wanna do now?" Ash asked while nodding in response to Pichu's comment.
"Mhm." Shrugged Brock. The elder boy having turned off the TV after Lance's conference was over so that they could speak in silence. "Wait until your mom gets back, I guess?"
"Oh yeah… Where is she, anyway? You were about to tell me earlier but I think I cut you off…" Ash admitted with a sheepish, sorry-looking smile which caused Happiny to giggle.
"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way." Brock teased, joining in on his Pokemon's giggling as he rubbed the back of her head. "And I don't know. I know that she mentioned something about going to the hardware store, I think?"
Ash's chest fell as all the color drained from his face. His jaw hung open as he could feel Pichu immediately crawl under his human's shirt with a scared squeak.
No… this couldn't be happening. Not again…
"Erm… Ash?" Brock asked cautiously as he stared at the younger boy. "Ash? Pichu? You guys okay?" The worry in his voice grew as they continued to not respond.
"When…" Ash finally spoke after a few seconds of silence that lasted lifetimes. "When did she say that she would be back?"
"Oh, um…" Brock stammered, clearly shaken by his friend being so distraught all of a sudden. "I don't think that she mentioned it, to be ho-"
"She would've mentioned it, Brock!" Ash yelled while lurching forward to grab onto Brock's shoulders. Shaking the elder boy wildly. "You have to remember! We might not have much time!"
"T-Time for what?!" Brock yelled while grabbing Ash's wrists to pull away from his shoulders. "I… think she said that she would be back around… ten, or something?"
His eyes darted to a clock as his breathing continued to rapidly quicken. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins while he jumped to his feet in a panic as there wasn't a clock in the living room. After having ushed to the kitchen, Ash nearly screamed at what he saw.
It was 9:48!
"Okay! We don't have much time!" Ash yelled as he ran into the living room towards Brock. "She'll be back any second now. You grab Serena and run as far into the woods as you can! I'll run to Oak's and maybe I can use Dracovish to fight her off."
"Woah, woah. Ash, what is happening? Slow down. You're starting to scare me a little." Brock tried to plead with the inconsolable Ash as he held the now distraught Happiny in his arms.
'Unca Ash scary…' Happiny whimpered a bit as she tried to hide in Brock's hand.
"Look, there's no time!" Ash pleaded before shaking his head. "Mom… she gets in these… renovating moods…" The added dread to Ash's words as well as Pichu's fearful whimpering under Ash's now-shaking shirt caused Brock's hair to stand on end. "Look, we have to get out of here or else we will get dragged into i-"
The front door creeks open. She's back.
"Hey everyone!" Delia cheerfully declared as she walked into the living room with Kangy right behind her and Timby sitting on the large Pokemon's shoulder. "Sorry, I'm late! Let's get started by adding the sunroof to Brock's bedroom! I have a full day planned ahead of us!"
"Everyone for themselves!"