Chapter 6: Rocking with Brock
My thoughts distracted me for the rest of dinner. I tried to listen to the children’s chatter, but all I could think about was Team Rocket and Diamond Onix.
Before I knew it, Brock was already gathering the dirty dishes from the table. “Can I take your plate, Annie?” he smiled.
“Hmm? Oh, yes, of course. Thank you.” I rose from my seat. I glanced into the doorway of the kitchen, where I could see the terrible mess the kids and I had made cooking. “I’ll help you clean the kitchen, too.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“But I want to.”
“Ooooooh!” I heard Yolanda say from the living room doorway as she watched Brock and me with a smirk on her face. I shot her a glare that was meant to say, “Be quiet! This is not what you think!”
Yolanda waltzed back to where the other children were playing, quietly humming a love song I had heard on the radio a while back.
I sighed and turned back to Brock, who seemed oblivious to Yolanda’s subtle teasing. I continued. “It’s the least I could do, after all the help you and Forrest have been giving me with my research. Please, just let me help you?”
Brock smiled again. “Well, if you really want to, I suppose I shouldn’t say no…”
We got to work scrubbing the counters, walls, and floor in the kitchen. “We should also get that tomato off the ceiling while we’re at it,” I mentioned casually at one point.
Brock stopped mid-sweep. “How did you get a tomato.... On second thought, don’t tell me.” He shook his head. Then, he looked up at the now-dried tomato slice stuck above him, and stifled a snicker. I snorted with laughter. Next thing I knew, Brock and I were both doubled over laughing until we had tears in our eyes. After a minute or two, the laughter subsided, and we both gasped to catch our breath.
I looked up at Brock as I brushed the tears from my eyes; I was still shaking from laughing so hard. I took a deep breath. “Oh, yes,” I giggled. “We made quite the mess of your kitchen, didn’t we?”
“Haha,” Brock chuckled. “Yes, but nothing I can’t handle. I kind of enjoy cleaning.”
“You do?” I asked, surprised as I went back to scrubbing the counter.
“I just get this certain… satisfaction from domestic work, I guess. And I'm used to doing most of the cleaning-- and cooking-- anyway.” Brock had finished washing the last of the dishes. “Now for the ceiling?” He smirked.
“I'll get a chair.” I nodded.
I stood on a chair and scraped at the dried tomato with a scrub brush. “It's… not… coming… off,” I grunted with frustration. “I don't even know how it even got up here in the first place!”
“Here, Annie, let me try,” said Brock, grabbing a metal spatula and reaching for the offending solanaceous fruit still stuck fast to the ceiling.
As I stepped down from the chair, Brock took a step toward me, and I bumped into him by accident. I tried to take a step backwards, but I tripped over the chair and fell backwards, landing in a graceless heap in the floor.
“Are you okay?” Brock asked, giving me his hand to help me up.
“Yeah,” I replied, standing to my feet.
Hearing giggles from behind me, I glanced over my shoulder to see the little Harrisons watching from the doorway. “Look!” Yolanda whispered a bit too loudly. “He’s holding her hand!”
“Hey, kids,” Brock smiled at his younger siblings. “What do you need?”
“Nothing....” Cindy flashed an innocent smile.
“We just wanted to know if you’re done cleaning the kitchen yet,” said Tommy.
“Can we go to the Pokehouse?” asked Billy.
“Yeah! We wanna play with the Pokemon!” Suzie cheered.
“All right,” Brock agreed. “I was planning on taking Annie out there now anyway. You’re wanting to do some training with Onix tonight, right, Annie?”
“Of course,” I smiled. One step closer to getting that data, I thought.
All of us, including Flint, Lola, and Forrest, headed outside to the Pokehouse. As Brock opened the door, I could hear the cacophony of Pokemon noises coming from inside. “It sounds like a jungle in here,” I laughed.
“Oh, yes,” Forrest agreed, “but it sounds like more of a dull roar today.”
All the children raced to find their favorite Pokemon to play with, but I stood back, just watching all the Pokemon. Suddenly, I heard a roar coming from the other side of the Pokehouse. I looked up just in time to see Diamond Onix racing over. I shrieked and shrank back as it skidded to a halt just inches away. When the dust cleared, I gazed up to see Onix looming over me. Then, it lowered its head down and nudged me with its nose. I shot a desperate glance at Brock, unsure how to respond.
Brock smiled and came over. “It seems your Onix is saying hello.” He reached up and rubbed Onix’s horn. “Hey, Onix. I hear you’ve been making friends with the other Pokemon. Is that right?”
I almost laughed, because it seemed like Diamond Onix smiled and nodded! “Do--do you always talk to them like that?”
“Talk to them like what?”
“You know, like they could really know what you’re saying.”
“They understand what we say to them.” Brock smiled.
“They do?” I asked, surprised.
“You don't spend too much time around Pokemon, do you?”
“Papa and I never had any of our own. We just studied them. We’d read tons of books, and, occasionally go out on a research trip, but the latter not every often. Papa and I never got out much.”
“Really? I guess I thought all researchers were constantly traveling wherever their work took them.”
“Not Papa,” I shrugged.
“Hmm. That is weird. Wonder why?” Then Brock changed the subject. “I think what your Onix needs tonight is a good polishing.”
“Polishing?” I asked, confused.
“You know, er, I guess you don’t. It’s part of raising rock-types. I polish mine every day. It always takes a while, especially back when Steelix was an Onix itself.” At the puzzled look on my face, he smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you how.”
Next think I knew, I was hard at work buffing Diamond Onix with a strange-looking tool. “What is this thing, anyway?” I asked Brock, who stood next to me, using a similar tool.
“It’s a special kind of polishing brush, used only for extremely hard rock-types. I figured it would be the only one that would work on Diamond Onix. It has tiny bits of diamond on it.”
“This must have been expensive to get, then.”
“Not for me. The man I apprenticed under back when I was training to become a doctor gave it to me.”
“How long ago did you graduate?”
“Not long, actually,” Brock admitted. “Only a few months. I traveled through several different regions with a young friend of mine for a few years, then I went to Johto to become a sort of apprentice for a while. Funny thing is, I originally set out to become a Pokemon Breeder, but I always seemed to have a knack for caring for sick Pokemon and changed course to become a doctor instead.” He looked up from the segment he was polishing. “How’s it coming?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never polished a Pokemon before!” I giggled, then frowned. “I’m sad to say that while you’ve done most of Onix already, I’m still on my first section!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Brock assured me. “You’re doing quite well for your first try.”
Just then Onix picked me up by the back of my dress and lifted me high off the ground. “Brock! What’s it doing?” I shrieked, panicked.
“It’s only playing,” Brock called up. “I told you, it likes you.”
“Well, I’m NOT having fun! Make it put me down! Put me down!” I screamed. “Please?” I asked in a very small voice.
Onix lowered me down and set me on the ground. I tried to step forward, but my knees, weak from fright, buckled. This time I fell, however, Brock was quick enough to catch me. “You okay?” he asked.
My breath caught in my throat as I found myself looking straight into his deep, dark eyes. “Uh, yeah,” I nodded like a dummy.
“That’s good.” He helped me to stand. I quickly stepped back and out of his arms.
Hearing giggles behind me, I turned around to see all the other Harrisons watching us. From their amused expressions, they had witnessed the whole thing. I felt my entire face grow warm. “Aw, no,” I muttered nervously, covering one crimson cheek with my hand.
“I see you two are getting along nicely,” Lola remarked, giving Flint a look.
“Oh! Um, mmhmm!” I stuttered.
“We were just finishing up polishing Annie’s Onix,” Brock said quickly.
“I see,” Forrest smirked.
“It’s sooooo sweet of Brock to help you with your Pokemon, isn’t it Annie?” Yolanda grinned.
“Brock loves Pokemon a lot! He always takes such good care of them, just like he takes such good care of us!” said Suzie.
“He’s the best brother we could ever ask for!” added Tommy.
“But even though he has all of us,” Timmy interjected.
“He’s really lonely,” Billy frowned.
“It would make our big brother so happy,” began Tilly.
“If a nice, pretty girl would come and be his wife!” Cindy smiled.
“All right, guys, that’s enough,” Salvadore tried to shoo his younger siblings.
“Oh!” I blushed, sneaking a glance at Brock. His face was frozen in an embarrassed expression.
“Isn’t that right, Brock?” Yolanda asked smugly, waiting for his answer.
“Well, I… I suppose…” Brock stuttered.
“Suppose what?” Cindy smiled up at us innocently.
Brock cleared his throat. “I suppose it’s time for me to walk Annie back to her hotel for the night.”
“It is?” I asked.
“It is,” Brock nodded, giving me a subtle wink.
“Oh! Yes, it is!” I agreed, catching on to what Brock was up to. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
“Yes!” all the younger kids cried in unison. “Come back tomorrow, Annie!”
“I will,” I smiled as Brock and I left.
After shutting the door behind us, Brock let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry about that.”
“Sorry about what?”
“You know, the kids. Embarrassing you back there. I could tell they were making you uncomfortable.”
“Oh, not at all!” I said quickly. “They’re such sweethearts! They seem to love you a lot.” My heart melted a bit.
“That they do,” Brock agreed. “No one knows them better than I do.”
“Is-is it true?” I dared to ask.
“Is what true?”
“What the kids said, that you’re, oh, nevermind.”
“No, what?”
“They just made a remark about you being… lonely.”
“Oh,” Brock gave a bit of a nervous laugh. “That.”
“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to,” I quickly assured him. “I shouldn’t have asked.” I muttered.
“No, no, it’s fine.” Then he smiled and changed the subject. “Want to get something to eat?”
Next thing I knew I found myself being led through the doors of the Pokemon Center. “Like many Pokemon Centers, ours has a restaurant, where trainers can eat at a discounted price,” Brock explained.
A young woman with dark pink hair and a light pink dress, whom I immediately recognized as a Nurse Joy, turned toward us as we passed through the lobby. “Oh, Dr. Harrison, what brings you in so late?” she asked.
“I’m just taking Annie here to get a bite to eat.”
“Oh,” she smiled. “Yolanda was here earlier, telling me you’ve got a girlfriend?”
I blushed for the zillionth time that day. “Eep! I’m not--”
Brock blushed too. “Well, you see, Nurse Joy, she’s not my girlfriend. She’s just a friend of mine that, uh, just happens to be a girl!”
Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow. “I see.”
Before she could say more, however, Brock was practically dragging me by the hand into the restaurant. “Gotta run! See you tomorrow, Nurse Joy!” Then he muttered under his breath. “That Yolanda…”
“We gotta stop this whole boyfriend-girlfriend rumor,” I giggled.
Brock groaned. “I suppose I deserve it, though,” he muttered. “I’ve wanted a girlfriend for so long, now that I’m seen with a girl, no one shuts up about it!” He cleared his throat. “So, what do you like?”
I was busy staring into his dark eyes. “Hmm?” I murmured, spacing out.
“I asked what you wanted to eat.”
I snapped back to the moment. “Oh! Sorry. Um, anything you like is fine with me.”
“But I’m asking what you like.”
“And I said whatever you like!”
Nurse Joy watched, smirking and shaking her head, from the doorway. “Yolanda was right…” I heard her mutter.
My thoughts distracted me for the rest of dinner. I tried to listen to the children’s chatter, but all I could think about was Team Rocket and Diamond Onix.
Before I knew it, Brock was already gathering the dirty dishes from the table. “Can I take your plate, Annie?” he smiled.
“Hmm? Oh, yes, of course. Thank you.” I rose from my seat. I glanced into the doorway of the kitchen, where I could see the terrible mess the kids and I had made cooking. “I’ll help you clean the kitchen, too.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“But I want to.”
“Ooooooh!” I heard Yolanda say from the living room doorway as she watched Brock and me with a smirk on her face. I shot her a glare that was meant to say, “Be quiet! This is not what you think!”
Yolanda waltzed back to where the other children were playing, quietly humming a love song I had heard on the radio a while back.
I sighed and turned back to Brock, who seemed oblivious to Yolanda’s subtle teasing. I continued. “It’s the least I could do, after all the help you and Forrest have been giving me with my research. Please, just let me help you?”
Brock smiled again. “Well, if you really want to, I suppose I shouldn’t say no…”
We got to work scrubbing the counters, walls, and floor in the kitchen. “We should also get that tomato off the ceiling while we’re at it,” I mentioned casually at one point.
Brock stopped mid-sweep. “How did you get a tomato.... On second thought, don’t tell me.” He shook his head. Then, he looked up at the now-dried tomato slice stuck above him, and stifled a snicker. I snorted with laughter. Next thing I knew, Brock and I were both doubled over laughing until we had tears in our eyes. After a minute or two, the laughter subsided, and we both gasped to catch our breath.
I looked up at Brock as I brushed the tears from my eyes; I was still shaking from laughing so hard. I took a deep breath. “Oh, yes,” I giggled. “We made quite the mess of your kitchen, didn’t we?”
“Haha,” Brock chuckled. “Yes, but nothing I can’t handle. I kind of enjoy cleaning.”
“You do?” I asked, surprised as I went back to scrubbing the counter.
“I just get this certain… satisfaction from domestic work, I guess. And I'm used to doing most of the cleaning-- and cooking-- anyway.” Brock had finished washing the last of the dishes. “Now for the ceiling?” He smirked.
“I'll get a chair.” I nodded.
I stood on a chair and scraped at the dried tomato with a scrub brush. “It's… not… coming… off,” I grunted with frustration. “I don't even know how it even got up here in the first place!”
“Here, Annie, let me try,” said Brock, grabbing a metal spatula and reaching for the offending solanaceous fruit still stuck fast to the ceiling.
As I stepped down from the chair, Brock took a step toward me, and I bumped into him by accident. I tried to take a step backwards, but I tripped over the chair and fell backwards, landing in a graceless heap in the floor.
“Are you okay?” Brock asked, giving me his hand to help me up.
“Yeah,” I replied, standing to my feet.
Hearing giggles from behind me, I glanced over my shoulder to see the little Harrisons watching from the doorway. “Look!” Yolanda whispered a bit too loudly. “He’s holding her hand!”
“Hey, kids,” Brock smiled at his younger siblings. “What do you need?”
“Nothing....” Cindy flashed an innocent smile.
“We just wanted to know if you’re done cleaning the kitchen yet,” said Tommy.
“Can we go to the Pokehouse?” asked Billy.
“Yeah! We wanna play with the Pokemon!” Suzie cheered.
“All right,” Brock agreed. “I was planning on taking Annie out there now anyway. You’re wanting to do some training with Onix tonight, right, Annie?”
“Of course,” I smiled. One step closer to getting that data, I thought.
All of us, including Flint, Lola, and Forrest, headed outside to the Pokehouse. As Brock opened the door, I could hear the cacophony of Pokemon noises coming from inside. “It sounds like a jungle in here,” I laughed.
“Oh, yes,” Forrest agreed, “but it sounds like more of a dull roar today.”
All the children raced to find their favorite Pokemon to play with, but I stood back, just watching all the Pokemon. Suddenly, I heard a roar coming from the other side of the Pokehouse. I looked up just in time to see Diamond Onix racing over. I shrieked and shrank back as it skidded to a halt just inches away. When the dust cleared, I gazed up to see Onix looming over me. Then, it lowered its head down and nudged me with its nose. I shot a desperate glance at Brock, unsure how to respond.
Brock smiled and came over. “It seems your Onix is saying hello.” He reached up and rubbed Onix’s horn. “Hey, Onix. I hear you’ve been making friends with the other Pokemon. Is that right?”
I almost laughed, because it seemed like Diamond Onix smiled and nodded! “Do--do you always talk to them like that?”
“Talk to them like what?”
“You know, like they could really know what you’re saying.”
“They understand what we say to them.” Brock smiled.
“They do?” I asked, surprised.
“You don't spend too much time around Pokemon, do you?”
“Papa and I never had any of our own. We just studied them. We’d read tons of books, and, occasionally go out on a research trip, but the latter not every often. Papa and I never got out much.”
“Really? I guess I thought all researchers were constantly traveling wherever their work took them.”
“Not Papa,” I shrugged.
“Hmm. That is weird. Wonder why?” Then Brock changed the subject. “I think what your Onix needs tonight is a good polishing.”
“Polishing?” I asked, confused.
“You know, er, I guess you don’t. It’s part of raising rock-types. I polish mine every day. It always takes a while, especially back when Steelix was an Onix itself.” At the puzzled look on my face, he smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you how.”
Next think I knew, I was hard at work buffing Diamond Onix with a strange-looking tool. “What is this thing, anyway?” I asked Brock, who stood next to me, using a similar tool.
“It’s a special kind of polishing brush, used only for extremely hard rock-types. I figured it would be the only one that would work on Diamond Onix. It has tiny bits of diamond on it.”
“This must have been expensive to get, then.”
“Not for me. The man I apprenticed under back when I was training to become a doctor gave it to me.”
“How long ago did you graduate?”
“Not long, actually,” Brock admitted. “Only a few months. I traveled through several different regions with a young friend of mine for a few years, then I went to Johto to become a sort of apprentice for a while. Funny thing is, I originally set out to become a Pokemon Breeder, but I always seemed to have a knack for caring for sick Pokemon and changed course to become a doctor instead.” He looked up from the segment he was polishing. “How’s it coming?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never polished a Pokemon before!” I giggled, then frowned. “I’m sad to say that while you’ve done most of Onix already, I’m still on my first section!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Brock assured me. “You’re doing quite well for your first try.”
Just then Onix picked me up by the back of my dress and lifted me high off the ground. “Brock! What’s it doing?” I shrieked, panicked.
“It’s only playing,” Brock called up. “I told you, it likes you.”
“Well, I’m NOT having fun! Make it put me down! Put me down!” I screamed. “Please?” I asked in a very small voice.
Onix lowered me down and set me on the ground. I tried to step forward, but my knees, weak from fright, buckled. This time I fell, however, Brock was quick enough to catch me. “You okay?” he asked.
My breath caught in my throat as I found myself looking straight into his deep, dark eyes. “Uh, yeah,” I nodded like a dummy.
“That’s good.” He helped me to stand. I quickly stepped back and out of his arms.
Hearing giggles behind me, I turned around to see all the other Harrisons watching us. From their amused expressions, they had witnessed the whole thing. I felt my entire face grow warm. “Aw, no,” I muttered nervously, covering one crimson cheek with my hand.
“I see you two are getting along nicely,” Lola remarked, giving Flint a look.
“Oh! Um, mmhmm!” I stuttered.
“We were just finishing up polishing Annie’s Onix,” Brock said quickly.
“I see,” Forrest smirked.
“It’s sooooo sweet of Brock to help you with your Pokemon, isn’t it Annie?” Yolanda grinned.
“Brock loves Pokemon a lot! He always takes such good care of them, just like he takes such good care of us!” said Suzie.
“He’s the best brother we could ever ask for!” added Tommy.
“But even though he has all of us,” Timmy interjected.
“He’s really lonely,” Billy frowned.
“It would make our big brother so happy,” began Tilly.
“If a nice, pretty girl would come and be his wife!” Cindy smiled.
“All right, guys, that’s enough,” Salvadore tried to shoo his younger siblings.
“Oh!” I blushed, sneaking a glance at Brock. His face was frozen in an embarrassed expression.
“Isn’t that right, Brock?” Yolanda asked smugly, waiting for his answer.
“Well, I… I suppose…” Brock stuttered.
“Suppose what?” Cindy smiled up at us innocently.
Brock cleared his throat. “I suppose it’s time for me to walk Annie back to her hotel for the night.”
“It is?” I asked.
“It is,” Brock nodded, giving me a subtle wink.
“Oh! Yes, it is!” I agreed, catching on to what Brock was up to. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
“Yes!” all the younger kids cried in unison. “Come back tomorrow, Annie!”
“I will,” I smiled as Brock and I left.
After shutting the door behind us, Brock let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry about that.”
“Sorry about what?”
“You know, the kids. Embarrassing you back there. I could tell they were making you uncomfortable.”
“Oh, not at all!” I said quickly. “They’re such sweethearts! They seem to love you a lot.” My heart melted a bit.
“That they do,” Brock agreed. “No one knows them better than I do.”
“Is-is it true?” I dared to ask.
“Is what true?”
“What the kids said, that you’re, oh, nevermind.”
“No, what?”
“They just made a remark about you being… lonely.”
“Oh,” Brock gave a bit of a nervous laugh. “That.”
“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to,” I quickly assured him. “I shouldn’t have asked.” I muttered.
“No, no, it’s fine.” Then he smiled and changed the subject. “Want to get something to eat?”
Next thing I knew I found myself being led through the doors of the Pokemon Center. “Like many Pokemon Centers, ours has a restaurant, where trainers can eat at a discounted price,” Brock explained.
A young woman with dark pink hair and a light pink dress, whom I immediately recognized as a Nurse Joy, turned toward us as we passed through the lobby. “Oh, Dr. Harrison, what brings you in so late?” she asked.
“I’m just taking Annie here to get a bite to eat.”
“Oh,” she smiled. “Yolanda was here earlier, telling me you’ve got a girlfriend?”
I blushed for the zillionth time that day. “Eep! I’m not--”
Brock blushed too. “Well, you see, Nurse Joy, she’s not my girlfriend. She’s just a friend of mine that, uh, just happens to be a girl!”
Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow. “I see.”
Before she could say more, however, Brock was practically dragging me by the hand into the restaurant. “Gotta run! See you tomorrow, Nurse Joy!” Then he muttered under his breath. “That Yolanda…”
“We gotta stop this whole boyfriend-girlfriend rumor,” I giggled.
Brock groaned. “I suppose I deserve it, though,” he muttered. “I’ve wanted a girlfriend for so long, now that I’m seen with a girl, no one shuts up about it!” He cleared his throat. “So, what do you like?”
I was busy staring into his dark eyes. “Hmm?” I murmured, spacing out.
“I asked what you wanted to eat.”
I snapped back to the moment. “Oh! Sorry. Um, anything you like is fine with me.”
“But I’m asking what you like.”
“And I said whatever you like!”
Nurse Joy watched, smirking and shaking her head, from the doorway. “Yolanda was right…” I heard her mutter.