Hard Enough - Chapter 344 - The quiet before...

Chateau Romani was a damn fine drink I thought as I took another pull from the bottle. 

“You know, maybe you should go easy on that stuff boss?” suggested a nasally voice. 

I glanced at Meowth who was sitting beside me at the pop-up noodle stand. 

Sabrina had decided that she’d do a walk-around to get Erika and Visquez familiar with the layout of Shamouti. She’d also mentioned that she was going to talk shop about the wedding.

Which had left me somewhat adrift. I’d already approached Tobias, and sent Lance an official request through League channel.

Lance had promptly called me, very annoyed that we’d apparently waited so long but I’d countered that we hadn’t realised the scope of the issue until today, which had hime grumbling and promising to reach out to the local champion.

From there, it had been easy to talk with Tobias about the upcoming danger which he’d accepted easily, muttering about the ‘prophecy being fulfilled’. Which… well he wasn’t wrong.

With no work to do, and no Sabrina to hang out with…

It was strangely lonely not being with Sabrina after the last few days of exploration and adventure. 

Sort of what it had been like when I had to go back to Pewter to look after my family. Sabrina had kept her distance for a few days and then been right there at my side when she’d popped in only to find I had been pretty stressed out.

“Urgh don’t worry, these things only energise, there’s no alcoholic content in them,” I replied with a lazy wave of my hand. 

I shot him a sardonic look. “Although if anyone should be worried about being affected by these drinks shouldn’t you be a prime candidate?” I pointed out reasonably.

Mewoth stiffened. “No! I have a special constitution!” 

“Like a professional athlete?” I teased. 

“Exactly!” Meowth stabbed a clawed finger in my direction. “What you see before you is a well-groomed coat that hides a steely interior!” he declared. 

He smirked as he patted his chest. “In fact, Pro Athletes wish they had my physique!” 

James nodded along seriously. The effect was rather lost due to the milk moustache on his top lip, though. “Peak performance is what we project! We can run all day! Fight all night and crow our successes as the sun rises on a new day!” he declared, raising his glass to make a toast.

“....slow,” replied the attendant Slowbro, who was slowly waving a fan back and forth. 

I decided to just nod along, unsure what Slowbro might have been agreeing to, but that didn’t matter.

Jessie shook her head. “I literally watched both of you devour a box of donuts and then get breathless walking up a flight of stairs not two days ago. Peak Performance? More like lackey laziness,” she muttered. 

James and Meowth flinched. Meowth then coughed into his paw. “That was just us playing around!”

“Yeah! Also, that was two days ago! We’ve had time to train up again!” James declared. 

“Heh, you guys are always good for a laugh,” I interjected before Jessie could say anything else that might annoy the male pair of the trio.

James and Meowth settled only for Meowth to tilt his head. “Wait a second? Do you think we’re jokes!?” he gasped theatrically. 

“Nah, you’re straight men in a world gone mad,” I replied with a smirk. To play into it, I raised my bottle of milk in a toast.

Meowth, always happy for an excuse to drink more milk, raised his own bottle while James stood and put his foot on the table with his bottle raised high. “Truer words have never been spoken! In a world gone mad we’re the straight men!” he declared. 

Jessie facepalmed. “You! Those are my shoes you're wearing!”

James tittered and took his foot off the bench to hide the high heels he was wearing.

Jessie sighed explosively. “Whatever! Cheers!” she announced, raising her own bottle of milk up high.

Meowth lowered his and began to lap happily at his bottle. “Have to say I like the perks of working with you boss. That Airship was primo quality stuff! Once you patch up those security issues and get someone to add some more redundant systems to keep it aloft, you’re going to have a great mobile HQ!” 

James nodded along, sitting back down so he could take a more sedate pull of his drink.

Slowbro leaned forward and slapped its hand through the space James’ foot had been, apparently reacting far too late to admonish James. The bluenette still bowed his head to the pokemon shopkeeper.

“How’s our noodles coming?” I asked Slowbro as the timer that I’d set on my watch began to chime.

I then waited a minute for Slowbro to turn and examine the pot. 

It lifted the lid and stared at the mixture as a heavenly smell wafted through the little stall. 

I leaned forward only to blink as Slowbro flinched, dropping the pot lid as it cried out in pain. “Oh, you forgot the lid was hot, didn’t you?” I mused as I moved to help it out. 

I took care to rub some potion and a burn heal on the wound before handing Slowbro the serving spoon.

It bowed in thanks to me and then slowly began doling out four bowls of ramen.

Meowth licked his lips. “You know, I feel like I should complain about the speed of service but then I realised something!”

“What’s that?” asked James.

“The anticipation is making me more eager for what we’re about to receive!”  

Slowbro presented each of us a bowl only to hold up a hand to forestall us eating. It leaned under the counter and drew out a shaker that had MSG written in large letters on the side. It gave each of our bowls a sprinkle before tucking the container away and bowing.

“Slow….bro!” it announced. 

James and I shared a look while Jessie raised a finger. “Isn’t MSG… oh who am I kidding this isn’t even in the top hundred most unhealthy things I’ve eaten!” she said as she lowered her head to begin blowing on her food. 

The rest of us followed through and for a while there was only the sound of slurping and swallowing as we enjoyed our food. When we were done, we all sat back and exhaled dramatically. 

“Ah! That hit the spot!” Meowth said as he took another sip of milk.

“You said it!” James added. 

Jessie just nodded. 

“Hmmm I’d have to agree,” I said just to get in my own two pokecents. 

Then I sighed. “Sadly, while it’s been enjoyable to just hang out with some people my own age for once I probably should fill you in on some of the discoveries that we’ve made that may concern you seeing as you’re part of the operation,” I said, sad that I had to stop being just Brock and take up my duty as a Guardian. 

I flicked them a digital summary of the last few days, along with Sabrina and I’s thoughts on the events. 

The trio crowded around James as he opened the file on his transceiver and began to read. 

Their eyes flicked back and forth as they took in everything in silence.

When they were done, all three of them shared a look. Then, without prompting, Meowth turned to me. “Is it too late to offer our resignation? Boss?” 

I snorted. “I won’t keep you here if you don’t want to be here.” 

They blinked at me, a little shocked at that proclamation. They shared another look with each other. 

“That’s… awful kind of you boss, we might be looking to get out of here then. Things seem to be heating up and I’m not sure we can stay in the kitchen if you catch my drift?” Meowth said while watching me. 

He must have been expecting me to rage and gnash my teeth. I could only imagine that’s what Giovanni would have done. 

Instead, I just nodded and sighed once more. “Yeah, if I could, I would love to hand this off to someone else.” 

“But you can’t cause you think that the twerps—” James coughed. “I mean, your brother and his friends are in danger and need to be here?” he asked. 

I nodded. “In some strange way, yes. I can’t say I understand a hundredth of the way Legendary pokemon work. They’re meant to be a mystery I think, but events like this? They’re going to have far-reaching consequences.” 

I laced my hands together and put my chin on my thumbs for a moment. “I want to give us the best chance of making things turn out positively.”

James and Meowth nodded but Jessie tilted her head and stared at me. “And for some reason you think us being here could help?” she asked.

The other two blinked at that and stared at Jessie before turning to watch me.

“Yeah. You’re misfits of the best sort. You’ve no doubt already helped with pointing out some weaknesses in the airship which we may or may not use in this coming… event,” I said, tasting the word. I had no doubt there was going to be a fight in there but what form it would take, I had no idea.

The trio shared another look only for them all to slump in their seats as one. “Urgh! Why are we such suckers for sob stories?” Meowth wailed as he dragged his paws down his face.

“We’re saps I tell you! Saps!” James lamented. 

“Too good for our own sake!” Jessie added.

I chuckled at their antics which drew their ire. “Don’t laugh at our torment!” Meowth growled without any true heat.

“Eh, nah I don’t think I will,” I replied easily. I leaned back, feeling a bit better. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you being big damn heroes,” I offered. 

“The heroes get the girl at the end of the story after all,” I said. I moved to duck under the privacy screen only to pause. “Oh, but in your case a sizable bonus might be preferable, no? Give me a list of your wants and I’ll see what I can do.” 

That got them all grinning like a pack of Carvanagh.

“A case of that Romani Milk!” declared Meowth seriously.

“Access to Madam Monique’s tailoring services and a spa day!” James requested. 

Jessie raised her hand to voice her own demand only to frown when she struggled to think of anything. 

I wanted to laugh at the other two’s requests but Jessie’s oddly lost expression made me push that aside. “Got something for me?” I asked.

She nodded slowly. “Could I… have a Happiny?” she asked as she curled in on herself, looking small and vulnerable in that moment.

James and Meowth both blinked in shock.

“Ah,” I replied, understanding that while she might have given up on wanting to heal or become a Nurse herself, Jessie still wanted to use that side of her knowledge. “I think I can arrange that.” I gave her a smirk. ”Also, if you do it right, you know that Chansey, or their evolved form, Blissey can be right terrors in a battle setting, right?”

Jessie blinked, only to give me a wobbly smile. “That would be nice, thank you.”

“You’ve earned it,” I replied, turning away to catch up to Sabrina and the girls. “Hey, you!”

The girls all perked up as I approached. Visquez grinned. “Hell of a festival shaping up if things weren’t about to go sideways I’d be setting up a volleyball tournament on the beach!” 

I hummed. “Nothing stopping you when we are between training sessions. It might even be a good idea to help blend in some,” I offered. 

Visquez grinned and nudged Erika. “Wanna be on my team?” she asked of the smaller girl only for Erika to beg off. 

Sabrina hummed. “If you want to assure victory, I could fill the space,” she offered. 

That got Erika and Visquez staring in shock, only for Visquez to cackle.

“Ahahah! We’ll rule the sand! The Unstoppable duo!” she declared. 

I chuckled. Well if nothing else I knew what I was going to be sitting around doing tomorrow. We walked along enjoying the night air and the small stalls that were starting to open up even though there were another two days before the festival began properly. People were starting to wear masks on the side of their heads and small kids were sneaking treats from Elders that had spent the day bellowing at their parents.

“Brock!” called a familiar voice and I turned away from the ladies I was with to find Forrest racing towards me. “Hey bro! We got in today and were looking around for you!” 

I held back a smirk. “Did you get drawn into helping out?” I asked.

Forrest blinked. “Wait! You know that that would happen?” he shouted. When I smirked at him he growled. “You could have warned us!”

“Hmmmm I could have, but now you’re going to enjoy the festival for the first time just a little more knowing that you’ve contributed to it,” I replied sagely. 

Forrest glowered at me. “You’re just saying that cause you’ve been relaxing on some beach somewhere, haven’t you?”

I chuckled, recalling all the incidents that we’d been getting into over almost a week. “Something like that,” I replied easily. 

I offered a nod towards Ash and Misty, who approached at a much more sedate pace. 

“Good to see you all made it,” I declared even if I didn’t really want them here for this. The practical side of me knew that Ash at the very least needed to be here. And that if Ash was here, neither Misty nor my brother were likely to abandon him. 

That being said, I glanced at my brother. I should at least give him a heads up…

I shot Sabrina a glance and projected my thoughts to her. She tilted her head before nodding, giving her acceptance of my idea.

I turned back to Forrest just in time for him to open his mouth.

“Hey can I talk to you?” “Can we talk?” we said to each other suddenly. 

Then both of us blinked. Ash wilted. “Daww! If they’d said the exact same thing, I was gonna jinx them!” 

Misty rolled her eyes. “Sometimes you’re such a child Ash!” she said only to nod at Forrest. 

I raised an eyebrow at her waving my brother off. Oh? Was this going to be a conversation about girls?

Forrest coughed and jerked his head away from the festival grounds and I allowed him to take the lead.

He led me out to a point that overlooked Fire island. I could just make out the glowing volcano top that would be a prime location for a Moltres to make a nest from where we were standing. 

“Alright, you go first,” I offered magnanimously, preparing myself to give a birds and the bees talk, or rather a Beedrill and Pidgeots talk as it were. 

“Brock how come Ash and Misty are better than me at controlling their Aura?” he asked. 

I blinked. I had not been expecting that. 

“Oh? Well,” I hummed, having an idea of the answer but also knowing that he wouldn’t like it if I just outright said they were more talented than him. I needed to phrase it a different way. “Alright let’s see. You’ve been teaching them both equally yes?” I decided to start simple by covering my bases while also giving myself time to think. 

“Yeah, at first Ash and Misty didn’t really get what I was doing with meditating with my pokemon and I honestly think they mostly humoured me in joining in but they quickly changed their tune after Porta Vista… that place what we went through… it was terrifying,” he muttered. 

I clapped him on the shoulder. “You got through it. You and your friends, which is the most important thing, I cannot stress that enough. Remember first aid? You need to protect yourself first before seeking to help others,” I said firmly. 

“Right, Danger,” he replied, quoting the first letter of the DRSABCD acronym I drilled into all of my trainers at the Pewter Gym.

I nodded. “But regardless, from the report I saw that Misty really tapped into a well of water energy to commune with the Giant Tentacruel.” a pokemon that to date still hadn’t been seen off the coast despite the Rangers employing some of their best and brightest in Ocean surveillance to seek out the monstrous pokemon. 

Then again, it’s disappearing act played into my theory that Tentacruel had performed a temporary Gigantamax without an item or trainer to empower it. 

That or nature had quickly claimed it due to it being a big target in the ocean which was riddled with all sorts of predators in the deep blue. 

“Yeah so, from then on Misty really accelerated with it.” His gaze turned a little glassy. “She was magnificent.” I hummed, alright I get it you’ve got a serious crush on her, I thought to myself. 

I coughed to jog Forrest along a bit. He stiffened before nodding. “Right! Well it seemed to just click with her and seeing that, Ash started getting more into the training. They asked tons of questions and I gave them all the help that I could…” Forrest trailed off. 

“I thought I’d do better than them having been taught by you and by being the one to teach them. Isn’t that one of the tricks? To teach others to get good at it yourself?” he muttered. 

I bobbed my head in a so-so manner. “Yes and No.” I raised a hand to forestall any comments or exclamations from him. “Alright first off!” I said. 

“Did you, when you were teaching the two of them, focus on your own efforts as much? Or might you have been distracted staring at a certain someone?” I asked, only partially teasing. 

Forrest spluttered. “I wouldn’t do that…much,” he muttered. 

I raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “So you admit you might have been a bit distracted.”

Forrest kicked a pebble. “I tried to make up for it when they weren’t with me cause I wanted to stay ahead of them.”

“Hmmm alright fair enough. Now, were you focusing on a single pokemon or many of them because remember a few of your pokemon aren’t pure single-type pokemon,” I pointed out. 

Forrest blinked. “Oh,” he said as realisation struck.

“Yes, you would have started your mediations with predominantly rock-ground type pokemon with Onix and Graveler but then as you’ve picked other pokemon up you have shifted the focus of your own meditations towards Steel.”

I began ticking off his pokemon. “Metang, Onix, Golem, Magnezone, Lairon, and Skarmory.”

“Ohhhhh,” Forrest began to murmur. “That would make things muddled. 

I nodded. “You’re comparing yourself to Misty how lives, breathes, and is surrounded by water. That girl probably takes every opportunity to be in her element, literally and figuratively,” I announced. 

Forrest frowned. “Wait! What about Ash? He has way more pokemon than either of us and he has started to pick things up for a few of his pokemon!” 

I sighed. “Trust me on this right now, don’t compare yourself to Ash. Ash is…” I worked my jaw. “He’s a monster in terms of pokemon skills. You might have noticed that Ash can pick things up on the fly mid-battle if given time and enough examples. If you beat him he’s going to run it back in his mind and dissect the match before coming back stronger, faster and more skilled than last time within days.”   

I shook my head. “Ash is one in a million. I wouldn’t compare him to myself so much as Sabrina who is a natural psychic. Her skill with Psychics is unparalleled of that I have no doubts, but her breadth in terms of other typings? Couldn’t hold a candle to what Ash has.”

Forrest gaped at me. “Whuh? Really? Ash?” He stared. “He can barely read a map!” 

“Yup! He might be terrible at other things like cooking or looking after himself but in the field of pokemon? Battling specifically? He’s probably going to be one of the strongest, if not in the top… five in the world easily.” 

Forrest was obviously reeling at this information. “He’s really that strong?” he muttered. 

I nodded. Before any despair or dejection could sink into Forrest I reached out and clapped him on the shoulder forcing him to look into my eyes.

“That all being said, you have made great strides little brother!” I declared before I softened my gaze. “I’m proud of you.”

He smiled goofily only for a scowl to slip across his features. I squeezed his shoulder again. “No, don’t think about that. Focus on yourself. You have to run your own race. Now with that being said, you’ve been using a training program that mostly focuses on what worked for me. Perhaps it’s time to experiment some and change it to your own needs?” I suggested.

“Like how?” he asked. 

“Hmmm well instead of getting muddled information from your pokemon perhaps have them focus on steel type moves that they can perform to enhance the feelings you get from them. Or focus on specific Steel type items,” I suggested. 

I reached into my pouch and drew out a handful of Gems I happened to have. I shifted through them. “These are single use Steel Gems, focus on the energy within them for now.”

Forrest shifted as he stared down at the gems in his hands. “You’re not disappointed that I didn’t stick with Rock are you?” he asked. 

I crouched down so I was lower than him. “You’re not me Forrest. You’re you, and all the more for that simple fact.” 

I smirked at him. “Also maybe try and meditate on your own from now on if Misty being around you distracts you.” 

He spluttered and I grinned. “I don’t try meditating with Sabrina around, so I’m not going to judge!” 

He snorted. “Right, okay, I’ll… do that,” he muttered. “Thanks,” he replied. 

I nodded and straightened up with a quick dusting of my knees. Forrest stared at the distant island only to tilt his head. “Hey you said you wanted to talk about something right? What was it?” he smirked at me. “Was it something to do with Sabrina and your trip here?” he leaned over and nudged me. “Don’t worry Bro I can help draw Erika and Visquez away if you need me to!” he said with a conspiratorial wink.

I huffed, amused that we’d had similar lines of thought for each other. 

Then I sighed. “I wish it was as simple as that.” I glanced around and found a boulder. “You’re one of the first of… well let’s just say a series of chats that I need to have about some disturbing facts Sabrina and I have been investigating and that might involve you.”

Forrest blinked but sat next to me dutifully.

I couldn’t tell him everything of course. There was no way I could mention that I’d gotten into a no holds barred fight against Team Aqua where I’d blown pokemon apart and maimed a man. 

Nor could I mention how Janine had secured a giant airship. The Guardians had plans for that, and if it became necessary then yes, we were planning to use it for good rather than evil like Lawrence the Third might have.

What I could do was relay some of the bare facts about Sabrina’s premonitions around the Shamouti festival. Foreign groups were showing a lot more interest, which made things a lot more touch-and-go.

Forrest sat and listened as I spun a tale about the upcoming dangers. 

“I’m staying,” he said straight away after I finished. I blinked at him only for him to cross his arms over his chest and his gaze to lock with mine. “I might not be the strongest trainer around here, but I can still help people. If things are going to get bad… like Porta Vista, I want to help. No, I can help!” he stated firmly. 

I looked into his eyes and saw that he’d heard all that I said and come up with a different focus than I’d expected. 

Although he had somewhat predicted my desire to ask him to leave. 

Had to give him props for that.

I worked my jaw back and forth. “That… “ I looked down at my hands. “I…” I faltered, unsure what to say. 

“I would prefer it if you left,” I said, deciding on honesty. 

“Not happening!” he barked. “If you make Sabrina drag me away, I’ll find a way back!” he said. 

That response drew another sigh and a nod from me. “Yeah, I thought you’d say something like that… and honestly it makes sense.” 

I stood and bopped the top of his shoulder with my fist. “Erika and Visquez are doing some training with Sabrina and me. You and your friends might benefit from some of that as well.” 

I frowned. “I’m going to have to tell Ash and Misty to be on the lookout as well now. The locals know. No point  your friends being the only ones who don’t know a storm is brewing.” 

Forrest stared at me. “You’re letting me stay, just like that?” 

I chuckled. “Yup. While you’re not up to my level I think I can trust you to help protect people.” I bopped him again. “Just keep your head on a swivel and stay close to your friends. A legendary, especially an old one, is no laughing matter.”

I waved my hand, deciding I might as well get most of the talks done tonight. “Let’s go find Misty and Ash,” I commented. 

Forrest followed along, still a little lost that I hadn’t mounted the expected resistance. Heh, little brother forgot that I’d read a small library’s worth of books on parenting tips.

Still, I wasn’t going to push him away, not with how he was digging in his heels. It was best to support him and make sure he stayed as safe as possible.

We walked back through the festival, noting that most of the small kids and parents had departed for home already while older kids were still out and about. I could see a few pokemon battles taking place in various parts of the festival grounds under supervision while some stall owners were starting to shut up shop as their intended market were now in bed. 

“Oh hey Forrest! How’d your talk go?” asked Misty the instant we got within sight.

“It went well! Brock helped point out a few things about my training that I hadn’t considered!” he replied quickly. Then he paused and glanced at me. “You wouldn’t happen to have some Water Gems, would you?”

I rolled my eyes and handed him a set. “Hey Misty, where’s Ash?  I need to talk to you about some issues I’ve been working on with Sabrina.”

Misty turned and pointed to the side where we found Ash… in an argument with N. 

“No way! I’m not releasing my pokemon! They’re my precious friends and we’ve been through so much together!” He shouted, causing other people to turn and take notice of N.

A few scowled only for the scowls to quickly vanish as N straightened and raised a hand towards Ash. “Don’t you understand that you’re hurting them? Pokemon weren’t born just to be shackled to your will! You have bought into a lie!” 

More than a few people around N were reaching for their pokeballs, examining them like they’d never seen them. Most put them back and shook their heads, marching away. Others hesitated however. 

I moved forward and felt my heart begin to stir in a manner that… Hmmm so this was N’s empathic abilities was it? I called up my dark energies and let them flow through me.

And like that the feeling vanished as other emotions ran rampant through me. 

Blasted kid! Where did he get off pulling people’s… no, calm Brock, I thought to myself. He’s just a kid. 

I clapped my hands and sent a small shockwave of dark energy rippling outwards while also using rock energy to make the sound carry. 

To everyone around us it looked like my clap had disrupted the torches, causing them to flicker, but the truth was I’d just performed a very weak Dark Pulse to wipe N’s presence in people.

Everyone jolted in shock and stared at me. I adopted a casual smile. “Wow! Sorry about the scare there, but things were getting a bit heated! How about we all take a step back and just enjoy the festival!” I made sure to project my voice loudly around me and people relaxed at this.

I nodded to Ash. “Ash, I need to talk to you,” I stated.

Ash nodded and moved towards me thankfully without offering any resistance. He did glance back at N though with a frown but that was all.

‘N’ or rather Natural, stared at me like I’d just given him the biggest shock of his life. I nodded at him and moved away.

That… was probably going to bite me in the ass somewhere in the future but in the moment it had seemed like the best option. 

“That was one of the people you warned me about wasn’t it? The Fiore representative?” Forrest asked, falling in beside me.

I nodded tersely. “Yes. I’d suggest staying away from him. He’s dangerous in different ways.”

Ash gave N another look. “Yeah, something was weird about him,” he muttered. 

I sighed. Damn I’d been doing that a lot tonight. “Come on, I’ll fill you guys in on some stuff,” I suggested.

When I was done with them I could talk with Elder Tobias.

Urgh, this was supposed to be a simple adventure with a one-two knock out punch with us taking out Lawrence!

Still, I was starting to feel better about the coming Shamouti Festival.

We’d prepare as much as we could and have all the supports ready. 

It would just be a matter of seeing how big the actual storm was.

[hr][/hr] 

 A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!

It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter! Have to admit that I am really enjoying this arc. Like so much more than I initially thought I would. Everything just seems to click so well with all the buildup I’ve been giving this along with last-minute additions.