Chapter 3: Hello, Harrisons
“The gym’s open 5 days a week, but on off days and after-hours you can use the battlefield for training if you like,” Forrest offered as he, Brock, and I made our way back to the gym. “My family’s run this gym for years, and we tend to specialize in rock-types, so our field is perfect for your Onix.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, still staring at my Pokeball. I was still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that I, little Annie, the shy daughter/assistant of Dr. Roberts, was now a real, honest-to-goodness Pokemon trainer! Wouldn’t Papa be proud of me! He’d been studying reports of and trying to get his hands on this very Onix for years, and now his daughter is holding it in her little hand! AND she’s about to visit her very first Pokemon gym! “Oh, Papa,” I whispered. “It won’t be long now!” Soon, I thought, I’ll have the data for Team Rocket, and then Papa and I will be together again!
“Did you say something, Annie?” Brock asked, snapping me from my reverie.
“Oh, I was just thinking...about my Papa. And...what he said before I...left.”
“It sounds like you and your father are pretty close, aren’t you?” he smiled.
“Oh, very. I’ve sort of been his assistant since, well, since I could hold a pen. I’ve followed him on many data-gathering escapades and learned so much from him, and now it’s my turn to gather my own data.”
“Where is Dr. Roberts, anyway?” Brock wondered aloud. “I thought he would be coming here himself.”
“Well, he’s, uh…” I stuttered. I couldn’t very well say he was being held hostage by Team Rocket. I was sworn to secrecy. Papa’s life depended on it.
“Here’s the gym.” Forrest announced, changing the subject, to my relief. The three of us had reached a large building that appeared to be constructed from ginormous, solid stone blocks. The words PEWTER GYM were engraved on the front of the building. Boulders lined the sidewalk that led to the large, wooden double doors.
“Welcome...to the Pewter City Gym.” Brock and Forrest pushed open the doors and I took a tentative step inside. I was completely unprepared for what I would meet inside. The first thing I noticed was the deafening noise. It wasn’t Pokemon calls, or music, or anything intelligent-sounding. It was just plain screaming. And the pattering of many feet on a stone floor. There must have been almost a dozen kids inside, and they were all running around like crazy!
Brock, who had come in right behind me shook his head. “I’m back!” he shouted as loudly as he could muster. No response from the children whatsoever.
Forrest groaned. The room was in complete, utter, and unmanageable chaos, and a single, harried-looking Chansey appeared to be attempting to restore some level of order in the room.
Brock called to the Chansey, “Chansey, use Double Slap!” Chansey curtly gave each of the children a resounding SLAP on the rump.
“Ow!” The kids chorused. This got their attention. They quickly formed a line, each standing stiffly in place.
“We’re back, kids,” Brock said gruffly.
“And we have a visitor,” Forrest added, nodding in my direction.
All attention now turned to me. Silence followed for a moment as the kids studied me up and down. Then one of the girls cried out gleefully, “Brock brought a girl home!”
The other children joined in the cheers and crowded around me. “It’s about time!” “We knew you could do it, Brock!” “Good old Brock!” “What’s her name?” “Have you asked her yet?”
“Asked me what?” I asked, confused, desperately searching Brock’s face for an explanation. Red seeped up Brock’s face from the neck up, and his ears flushed a deep crimson. Then it dawned on me, and now it was my turn to blush. “Oh, no!” I spluttered. “It’s not like that at all! You see--”
The oldest girl thumped me on the back, a huge grin on her face. “Oh, it’s all right, no need to be embarrassed. We all know he can be a bit rough around the edges, but he really is a great big brother, and he’ll make an even better husband! He can cook and clean better than any mom can, especially OUR mom, and he’s terrific at fixing things, too!”
Brock had had enough. “She’s not my girlfriend!” he cried, his voice echoing off the stone walls.
The kids froze and stared up at him in silence. Forrest quickly explained. “She’s a researcher come to study the Diamond Onix everyone’s been talking about. I offered to let her use the battle arena while the gym’s not officially open.”
“That’s right,” I nodded. “My name’s Annie.”
“Oh.” The kids seemed disappointed. Then they all jumped up and ran their separate ways, as if nothing had happened.
“Well, that was strange,” I murmured. Then I cleared my throat. “So, all those kids are…?” I asked.
“My younger siblings,” Brock finished. “Besides Forrest, I have eight more.”
Forrest counted on his fingers. “Let’s see...Salvadore, Yolanda, Tommy, Cindy, Suzie, Timmy, Billy, and Tilly.”
“Wow,” I laughed. “Must be busy at your house.”
“Yep,” Forrest agreed. “Especially when dad gets in one of his moods and leaves to sell rocks for the day.”
“Sell...rocks?” I wondered aloud. Something I couldn’t quite place nagged at my memory.
Brock sighed. “Dad gets into these ‘dark and brooding’ moods, where all he wants to do is sit on the edge of town at his “souvenir” stand and sell “collectible” rocks. He used to sit out there for weeks on end, but now he only goes out there occasionally.”
Forrest shook his head. “What do you bet he’s out there now?”
“So who takes care of the kids if you, Brock, are at your Pokemon Clinic, and if you, Forrest, are running the gym?” I asked.
“That’s the thing,” Forrest answered. “Mom’s always off on some trip, and Dad can’t always be relied on, so Brock’s in charge most of the time. When Brock used to be the Gym Leader, he’d just take all us kids over to the gym with him, so he could keep an eye on us during the day. Then he’d come home and make dinner and everything. He’s been more of a dad to us than our real dad’s ever been.”
Just then one of the younger boys butted in. “What’s for supper, Brock? I’m starved!”
Brock smiled. “What would you like me to make, Tommy?”
All the children came running up and answered in unison. “Spaghetti and meatballs!” They jumped up and down, deceptively innocent smiles on their faces.
Brock shrugged. “Guess the votes are in!”
The oldest girl piped up. “We’ll all help! Annie too! Annie, wouldn’t you like to help make dinner?”
Forrest raised his eyebrows. “Would Annie like to stay for dinner?”
Another one of the girls nodded fiercely. “She would!”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “I suppose I have no choice!”
“YAY!” the children cheered. My arms were suddenly latched onto by a dozen little hands and I was half-dragged from the room.
“This is our house!” the little ones announced, hurrying me into the house directly behind the gym. Their white-with-a-red-roof house seemed big from the outside, but it sure looked smaller with all the kids running around on the inside! The children proceeded to give me a tour of the place. “This is the living room, and this is the dining room, and this is the kitchen, and. . . .”
The rooms were simply furnished, with minimal decor. A few framed pictures hung on the walls, depicting a man, a woman, and what appeared to be younger versions of Brock and his siblings.
“We have a nice house, don’t we?” asked the girl who had introduced herself as Cindy.
“Oh, yes,” I agreed, smiling down at her. “A very nice house.”
“It could be your house someday too, you know,” Yolanda, the oldest girl remarked.
I didn’t know quite how to respond. Luckily, I didn’t have to, because just then Brock appeared around the corner. “I thought you were all going to ‘help’ with dinner,” he teased.
The children jumped up. “Oh! Yes, we’re coming! C’mon, Annie!” I followed them into the kitchen, where Brock was already hard at work shaping meatballs.
Tommy opened the silverware drawer, grabbed a spoon, and waved it like a sword. “Dun dun dun dun!” he sang. “Super Tommy to the rescue!”
I chuckled as Tommy bounced through the room, then I turned to Brock. “How can I help?” I asked.
“You don’t have to do a thing!” Suzie piped up.
“Yeah!” Timmy agreed. “We’ll take care of everything!”
“Why don’t you just keep our brother company while we set the places?” Yolanda suggested, while carrying a stack of dishes.
Forrest watched from the doorway, shaking his head.
Suddenly, the front door burst open. A high, musical voice rang through the house. “I’m home, my darlings!”
The eight younger children rushed past me into the living room, cheering. I turned to Forrest for explanation. He only groaned. “Sounds like mom’s back…”
“Oh?” I asked. He didn’t seem as thrilled as his younger siblings. “I take it you and your mother don’t get along?”
“Let’s just say mom has different ideas of how our gym should be run, and she’s not shy about implementing them without consulting the Gym Leader…”
“Where are all my decorations?” Mrs. Harrison piped from the other room. “Don’t tell me your big brothers took them down again!”
The children chattered excitedly, all at once, informing their mother about everything that happened while she was gone. Then, one of them exclaimed, “And Brock has a new girlfriend!”
“Does he now…” Mrs. Harrison mused. “Would this be the girl in question?”
I turned to see a tall, middle-aged woman standing in the doorway, surrounded by all the little Harrisons.
“Hello, mother,” said Brock and Forrest together.
“Hello, darling,” said Mrs. Harrison, addressing Brock. “Would you care to introduce me to your sweetheart?”
“Oh! I’m not--” I began, but Brock answered for me.
“She’s not my girlfriend, mother. She’s a Pokemon researcher that Forrest and I are assisting.”
“That’s not what Yolanda tells me,” Mrs. Harrison smiled. She turned to me. “What’s your name, darling?”
“It’s...Annie,” I nodded.
“How lovely! I’m so glad to welcome a daughter-in-law into the family!”
I sighed. Forrest shook his head. Brock went back to work. Mrs. Harrison, or Lola, as she insisted I call her, chattered incessantly the entire time.
At last, dinner was ready, and not a moment too soon! At Brock’s call, all the children scrambled into the dining room and slid into chairs, and Lola took the seat closest to where she was standing. By the time I got a chance to sit down, the only chair left happened to be right next to Brock’s.
“Why don’t you sit down, Annie?” Yolanda flashed me a grin as wide as a Wailord. I smiled shyly at Brock as I sat down.