Pokemon: Radical Redux

The next day, after the celebration last night, they may have overdone it a bit since, when everyone woke up, Brock was already up getting things ready, brushing his Larvitar and Bonsly, and polishing Kabutops's blades.

Last night, Green said she would be there, just not with them. She's probably planning on scamming more people since a lot of people are coming for the Breeding competition, so she'll meet up with them after.

Also, in the competition yesterday, Ash finally pulled up the PC and called Officer Jenny, who had Blastoise, to get him back, and needless to say, Misty's Wartortle was fangirling hard, and Blastoise was more than happy to strike a few cool poses.

As they walked out, Ash, Misty, and Yellow sat down at the table with Pikachu and Chuchu sitting on the table, while Brock was frantically working. Right now, he was brushing Vulpix's fur. "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!" he said, looking stressed.

As they began to eat breakfast, Misty looked over. "Brock, why are you so stressed? We've been over this before, stressing is just going to make things worse."

"Because why wouldn't I be stressed? This is it! This is everything I've been working for! If I win here, I get funding, a license to work with the league, and even my own plot of land. I'll finally be a Breeder for real!"

"But why does it matter?" Ash said as he took a bite of his eggs. "If you pass, you'll get everything the easy way, but if you don't, then just find a way to get to your goal your own way."

Brock slightly froze and looked down. "I... I don't know if I can. I've been trying to find my own way since way back when I was still a Gym Leader. This just seems like the only way forward, the only way I can see. I don't know if there's another way I can go."

Then he turned back to look at them. "This is the closest I've ever been. I don't want to waste my shot."

"I get it, man, and I'm not going to tell you what to do, but you know, I just gotta ask: is this what you want? No, let me rephrase that. Do you really want to do it like this? You're stressed, you're not acting like yourself and look, you're using a cloth to brush Larvitar when you usually use sandpaper," Ash said, pointing to the cloth that was making Larvitar uncomfortable because it was too soft.

Yellow looked down. "And... if you win, does that mean you'll have to leave us? You'll go and start your dream without us?"

Brock looked down at the cloth. "I-no... I mean, I'll still travel with you guys, it's just... well..." He didn't know how to answer.

"Listen, Brock, these are just our thoughts. We don't know what it's like to be you, so we don't really know," Ash shrugged as he got up and stretched his arms. "Either way, we'll support you. So, shall we go? We need to get you in, and we need to get good seats."

"Yeah, good point, and I want to see how many show up. Let's go," Misty agreed as she grabbed her jacket and put it on, ready to go.

"Y-yeah, let's go," Brock said as he grabbed Larvitar and Bonsly in his arms and started carrying them, thinking about what Ash told him as Vulpix jumped onto the table, then onto Brock's shoulder.

When they left the hotel, they walked to where the Breeding competition would be, and needless to say, it was packed. These were nationals, after all, so a lot of people came to watch.

Thankfully, since Brock had the three ribbons, he could skip the line, and since they were with him, they got to skip it too as they got inside.

Brock was still holding Larvitar and Bonsly in his arms, with Vulpix on his shoulder, as it looked like he was searching for something or someone.

It didn't take long to find who he was looking for, because in the center, along with the other competitors, was Suzie.

Brock gulped and ran up to her, putting Larvitar and Bonsly down as he held Vulpix and straightened his back. "H-hello, Suzie, it's me, Brock. R-remember?"

Suzie looked over and smiled. "Of course, I remember, silly, and I see you have Vulpix with you. She looks so healthy and happy," Suzie said as she leaned closer and rubbed Vulpix's ears.

"Y-yeah, w-well, I t-thought, n-now that we're going to be competing against each other, y-you would want Vulpix back!" Brock stammered.

In the background, Misty, Ash, and Yellow were watching the interaction. Misty and Yellow were surprised that Brock was trying to give Vulpix back, after all, they knew how much Brock liked Vulpix and how much Vulpix liked Brock.

Yellow wanted to say something, but Ash pulled her back. "We can't say anything. Remember, Vulpix is still Suzie's Pokémon, so we should let this play out."

Yellow looked down. "But... I know that Vulpix doesn't want to leave Brock. I know she doesn't…."

Suzie held out her hands and grabbed Vulpix. "Thank you, Brock. I can tell you really treated Vulpix well."

"Y-yeah, I did my best. I-I'm happy you let me," Brock said as he looked at Suzie. Then he looked at Vulpix, who was looking up at him with her cute little eyes. "Bye, Vulpix. I'll miss you."

Vulpix looked at Suzie, then over at Brock, like she was trying to decide something. She closed her eyes and started thinking, then opened her eyes, making her decision.

"Vul~!" Vulpix gave Suzie a little lick on the cheek as she jumped out of her hands, then went over to Brock's leg and started nuzzling against it.

Brock and Suzie looked surprised. "What's wrong, Vulpix? You should go with Suzie."

Vulpix just kept nuzzling against his leg as Suzie smiled softly. "Well, it seems like Vulpix likes you more than me."

Brock flinched. "Oh no, Suzie! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I swear!" he said as he started waving his hands around frantically to explain himself.

"No, don't be sorry. That just means you really are a good person. Though I must admit, I'm a bit jealous. But if it's for Vulpix's happiness, I don't mind if you keep her. I don't blame her, she has always loved traveling far more than sitting down in my salon all day."

"I... I," Brock said as he looked at Vulpix. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. If Vulpix is happy, then I'm happy. But from now on, you better call me! I want monthly calls so I can see Vulpix~," Suzie said happily.

Brock gulped. "Yeah, alright, I will. I'll make sure of it. I'll even call you every week, or if you want, every da-gah!" Brock said, but before he could fumble by being himself, Larvitar and Bonsly jumped up and tackled him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Ash and Misty quickly walked over. "Sorry, sorry, it looks like he's a bit out of it," Misty said nervously as she grabbed Brock by the legs.

"Yeah, but good luck in the competition! We're going to get Brock some rest, alright? Bye, Suzie!" Ash said as he grabbed Brock by the arms, and together they carried him away before he could fumble.

Yellow was left behind. As she looked back and forth, she gave a small bow. "S-see you, Ms. Suzie," she said as she picked up Vulpix and ran after her friends, leaving Suzie to giggle softly.

Once they took Brock a safe distance away, they sat him down and helped him.

"Brock, we talked about this. When a girl is interested, do not be extra. Just be normal, like you're talking to a friend!"

"Did I mess it up again?" Brock asked.

Ash gave him a pat on the shoulder. "No, we took you out in an emergency exit. Just try to calm down, okay?"

As Yellow caught up to them, they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, it's you! It's good to see you again!"

When they looked over, they saw the familiar girl with red hair and violet eyes, Yui, as she ran over, waving at one of them.

Naturally, Brock thought it was for him, so he got up and almost started crying tears of joy.

"Dreams do come true," he mumbled as he held his hands out for a hug.

But… Yui ran right past him, making Brock feel like he had turned to stone, as Yui was actually talking to Ash. She walked up to him and took his hands.

"You came! I knew you would! You're here to cheer me on, aren't you?"

"Uhh," Ash was kind of taken aback that she was being so forward. He expected this to come up but not like this. Looking at Misty, Yellow, and Pikachu staring at him curiously, he stammered, "Err, well-"

"Oh, you don't have to say anything, don't worry! I know you are," Yui said happily. "Oh, the Egg! It hatched! You wanna see?" she asked as she held out a Pokéball and opened it, revealing a squishy little Igglybuff.

"See? Isn't she cute? You know, it's kinda like we're parents if you think about it," Yui said with a toothy smile.

"Ahem," Misty interrupted. "Uhh, nice to meet you, but how do you know Ash?"

"Oh, well, we met over in Palmpona, and he gave me this Egg, and it hatched into this cutie. And I invited him to come cheer me on for the Breeding competition," she said as Misty sent a glare at Ash.

"Uhh, what about me?" Brock asked.

"Eh?" Yui's eyebrow raised as she looked at him. "Oh, it's you. I'm surprised you made it, I thought you would be stuck with just one."

Brock held his chest like her cold words physically hurt him, "That's… cruel… I thought we were rivals…"

"Why would I want to be rivals with an idiot like you?" Yui said as she looked away from him.

"I guess you're right. I couldn't possibly compete with you. Your beauty makes everything I could do look insignificant…" Brock said softly as he fell. He wasn't even trying to flirt, just saying what he thought. There was no jumping to his knees or flowers out of thin air, just him stating it like it was a fact.

Yui blushed and turned away from him, "Whatever! Just... you better not lose before we meet! You're only allowed to lose to me, got it?" she said as she stomped off, completely forgetting everything else.

They all blinked owlishly.

"Well, that was something. So, can we change the subject now?" Ash said.

"Wait, don't think you can change the subject that easily. Are you going to give us an explanation on when you met her? I thought you were at the hospital," Misty pressed.

"Yeah, so, I met her after I left it. You think I was there the whole time?" Ash said. "How about we go choose our seats then?"

"Um, but is that a good idea? Look at Brock…" Yellow said, slightly waving her hand in front of Brock's face.

"I'm… fine…" Brock mumbled. "I just need some time to process things," he said as Vulpix climbed up and sat on his lap.

Just as they were about to leave him alone, they heard a familiar voice once again.

"Hey! There you guys are!"

As they looked back, they saw Whitney walking over with her arm still secured in the cast.

"Oh hey, what are you doing here? Are you participating?" Misty asked.

"Heh, nope, I'm one of the judges! And I know what events are going to happen. You wanna hear them?" she said proudly as she pounded her chest with her good hand. "You know your girl Whitney's always got the latest info. No gossip gets by me!"

"Thanks, but no," Brock said as he got up, holding Vulpix in his arms. "I don't want an unfair advantage. I'm going to go get ready. Please don't show any favoritism to me just because we're friends."

He finally put Larvitar and Bonsly into their Pokéballs and walked off to where everyone else was.

—-

Omake - Valentine's Day

{This can be canon if you want, or non-canon}

Ash woke up one day, stretching his arms and holding Pikachu in a cradle. As he wiped his eyes, he saw he was the last to wake up, which made sense since last night he was doing some late-night training before going to sleep.

Brock was happily cooking something up while Misty and Yellow sat down, eating breakfast.

Ash sat down at the table. "So, what's got Brock so happy?"

Before Misty or Yellow could answer, Brock slid over with a smile on his face. "It's Valentine's Day! My favorite day, and I'm making chocolate."

"For who?" Misty asked, making Brock almost fall over in pain.

"You know Valentine's Day chocolate isn't just for love stuff," Ash said, putting his hands behind his head.

"Wait, really?" Misty asked raising an eyebrow

"Yeah, there is such a thing as friendship chocolate. Over in Pallet town, we'd always get a bunch of chocolate like gratitude chocolate. You know, help a grandma cross the street, help carry groceries, find a girl with a broken leg, and carry her halfway across town to the hospital… you know, the normal stuff," Ash said casually.

Brock nodded like that was the most normal thing in the world, "Yes, I can relate. The same thing happened to me once. A girl fell from the mountain, so I carried her to the hospital."

Misty's eye twitched. "How could they not be in love with you after that!?"

"It's just how it is. Besides, I used to get a lot of chocolate. If I remember, I always got the most, even more than Gary. All those gratitude chocolates… though it was mostly from girls," Ash said, acting oblivious.

Yellow had a look of realization. "Ohhh, that's why I got so many chocolates for boys! They were friendship chocolates!"

While Misty and Brock looked at each other, they thought about how Ash and Yellow described it. Not all of those were gratitude chocolates, were they?

Brock cleared his throat. "Well, either way, today is Valentine's Day, so here, I have this for you guys," he said as he gave chocolates to all three of them. "Friendship chocolates as a thank you for being my friends."

Misty took the box, "Huh, this is the first time I've ever gotten some. Friendship chocolates, huh."

As Yellow started eating hers, Ash put his on the table. "Thanks, man. I'll go get you some later."

"So, I want to ask, is there anyone special you guys have?" Brock asked as he looked down. "Unlike me, ಥ‿ಥ"

"E-eh, w-why are you asking if there's anyone we love!" Yellow stammered with a blush on her face.

"Y-yeah, I don't love anyone," Misty also said, crossing her arms with a blush on her face.

"What about you, Ash?" Brock asked.

"Well, yes, there is someone I love," Ash said slowly, as the three of them leaned in closer, their eyes widening.

Ash picked up Pikachu and lifted him up. "Pikachu, I love you. You are my best friend, and I couldn't ask for a better partner."

"Pika…(っ◕‿◕)っ," Pikachu said happily as he hugged Ash's head

Misty and Yellow fell down, and Brock cleared his throat. "Well, I meant a human. Is there a human you love?"

"Ohh, well yes to that too," Ash said as he put Pikachu down on his lap. "I do love someone… someone in this very room, actually."

Misty and Yellow looked up, leaning on the table. "Who is it?"

"Yeah, I'm curious," Brock said, crossing his arms.

Ash put his hand on Brock's shoulder. "Brock… I love you. No homo. You are my best friend and like the brother I never had."

"R-really? No one ever said that about me," Brock said, looking much happier.

Misty quickly pushed Brock out of the way and pointed at Ash. "He meant GIRL! Is there a girl you love!?"

Ash acted oblivious again. "Ohhhh, why didn't you just say that? There is a girl I do love. You wanna know who it is?"

Misty and Yellow nodded and held their breath.

Ash leaned close and whispered, "I love my mother."

Misty's eye twitched. "That's not what we-"

"You know what? Thank you for reminding me. I'm going to go visit her," Ash said as he let out Abby from her Pokéball.

Yellow held her hand out. "But you didn't answer…"

"Bye! See ya guys love you," Ash said as he teleported out.

Yellow blushed. "D-did he just say that?"

"Yeah, he did… did he mean it like 'that'?" Misty continued.