Hard Enough - Chapter 74: Fruitless

Chapter 74: Fruitless

The brochure I had in my hand proclaimed the festival to be a ‘Celebration of Pewter city! Brought to you by Mayor Jonathan! Celebrate for a month of Pewter city at its finest!’. I glared at it as I walked my way into town.

Around me, my siblings ran about. Some were happy to stay close to me and my older siblings, while others sprinted away only to run back just as quickly. Timmy was one such child. He was occasionally tripping over something, only to stand and give me a look.

I nodded at him, happy he was ‘being tough’ and not just falling to the ground to cry. Timmy brushed himself off and returned to chasing after Tommy. Next to me, Suzie huffed at the twin’s antics while skipping along, her actions made me lightly swing my arm as she held my hand. Next to her, Munchlax copied her, a glimmer of hunger on his face as his eyes were locked forward.

We all knew he’d probably act up, but I had enough money to afford a Snorlax an-all-you-could-eat buffet for a few days. As a lesser version of his evolved form, Munchlax wouldn’t be able to get into too much trouble.

Cindy had also said she could totally handle it. I was looking forward to the lesson she was going to learn.

Yolanda, Forrest, and I all shared dubious looks at that before assigning Salvadore as her helper to lessen the drama that I’d face at the end of the night. That left Tommy, Timmy and Suzie to look after, with Billy and Tilly being deemed too young for this expedition. The grannies would handle them while ostensibly Forrest and Yolanda would look after the other three. I had one of the grannies lined up to meet me at the festival, though.

We made the walk from our block of land without any hassles, apart from Tommy tripping Cindy and having to be separated before we got into the heart of town. For this festival, the town square had been rented out, and I could already see semi-permanent stalls with various vendors selling their wares.

Entertainers wandered through the streets with their pokemon. A few of the acts looked very familiar from those that I’d seen at the Indigo League’s opening ceremony. They’d likely been hired on.

The entire square was full of people I recognised and obvious tourists. And then there were the trainers. It reminded me more of the sideshow for the local town’s show from my past life, only larger due to the inclusion of pokemon. Then I spotted the Ferris wheel and the tiny pocket Ponytas. Huh, it was actually exactly—

“AAAAAAAAH!!! THEY’RE ADORABLE AND I MUST HAVE SIXTEEN OF THEM!” screamed Suzie as her eyes locked onto the tiny Ponytas that had been bred to be tiny and cute.

The ultimate little girl’s weak spot that translated into wrenching open wallets for guardians everywhere. Granny Babs chose that moment to appear right in front of the Ponytas. She waved at us cheerily before noticing the tiny Suzie sprinting straight at her. She opened her arms and braced for what she must have assumed was going to be a heartwarming hug.

She lowered for impact, only for Suzie to duck under the questing arms with a textbook slide that she must have picked up from coming to baseball practice with me over the winter. Granny Babs arms closed on air, and she blinked down at them before opening them and glancing behind her.

“Yeah! Pocket Ponytas!” cheered Suzie. Granny Babs rounded on Suzie while I directed a formal bow to Yolanda, who was looking mortified while staving off her giggles.

“Good luck! Here’s Sanchez, don’t give him too much sugar cause he gets silly on that stuff.” I handed over Sanchez’s pokeball with small lightning bolts across it before rising from the bow and grinning mischievously at her. “Remember, anything you can keep of the six hundred pokedollars is yours!”

“How much did he give you for us to use tonight?” said Cindy as she sidled up to Yolanda with a ruthless glint in her eyes as I jogged away.

I could feel the evil eye on my back as Yolanda calmly stated, “He didn’t give me anything. Must have given it to Forrest.” I chuckled as I popped open Zepyhr’s pokeball.

From within my Noctowl appeared with a mighty cry. I hopped on his back, and we ascended above the rooftops in short order. The birds-eye view of the festival showed that it not only operated within the city square but even spilled over into outlying streets. I could see that some of them had road-closed signs while others had been kept open.

I made a slow loop of some residential areas. It didn’t seem like anything was happening in any of the houses. I also couldn’t see anything that stuck out as ‘suspicious activities’. I passed another trainer on a Fearow and realised they were a police officer. I gave a nod before continuing my patrol of the city. It wouldn’t hurt to be thorough for now.

I didn’t see any people around or people running while carrying goods that had no purpose being moved at this late hour. I did spot a purse-snatcher but an Officer was already in hot pursuit and had them to the ground before I could even get near.

The afternoon slowly trickled into a still early twilight, and I turned Noctowl towards the festival.

I was dreading this a little.

Should I make a flashy appearance or merely waltz in quietly? Would either matter?

In the end, I decided to land in one of the less densely populated areas and make my way into the festival.

I reached the fourth stall —a stall where you could pick a floating rubber psyduck and win a fabulous prize!—when it happened. “Gym Leader Brock! I challenge you for your badge!”

I looked to where the voice was, and I was not surprised to see a young trainer. He was roughly dressed. Smirking as if he’d just spent all day combing around my ‘hiding spots’ to find me and had successfully located me. He even had a pokeball in hand.

“Sorry kid, schedule a match at the gym. I don’t accept challenges outside my hours. I need time to rest just like my pokemon do.” I waved him off and continued to the side, unbothered to all outward appearances.

“What are you, scared?!” he shouted, glaring at me.

I let my head turn to lock eyes. “Nah, just don’t have to fight.” Then I broke my look and sauntered past him. “Schedule a time. Then I’ll face you.”

It wasn’t the first time I had faced this sort of behaviour. It was always more frequent at the start of the circuit before vanishing as young trainers became aware of how things differed from gym to gym. They all, dare I say it, matured from having to walk, fly or ride around all of Kanto and prepare their own meals.

“Hey wait!” called out the trainer that had challenged me. I didn’t wait and merely continued to walk.

A few locals heckled the kid and one rather dapper gentleman stepped forward right in front of the kid. “Ha! Young whippersnapper! Think you can just stride into our fair Pewter and challenge the Gym Leader! Let’s go! You and I, two pokemon each!”

I chuckled. Of all the ways that things could have played out, that was the best.

I continued on, observing the stalls and the variety of attractions on offer. There were a number of large tents set up for pokemon shows where trainers had their pokemon perform various tricks like having a Growlithe do backflips or chase a man dressed like a clown around.

I watched one rather good rendition of a clown policeman chase after a criminal only to have his Growlithe bite the wrong person. This then resulted in the man’s shoe being stolen by the Growlithe before a chase that mirrored the earlier perp chase ensued. I could practically hear the Yakety sax song playing over the top of it. It was hammy as any comedy routine I’d seen in either life, and people loved it.

They particularly liked it when the show was over and Officer Jenny and her Arcanine stalked in. She glared at everyone assembled before nodding, adjusting the clown’s uniform and badge and proclaiming. “It’s hard work on the streets, Officer! Keep it up!” She then gave another nod and marched off while the clown and his Growlithe saluted her. The crowd loved it, and I caught Jenny giggling to herself as she moved away.

“Gym Leader Brock! I—” I rolled my eyes and repeated my line for the second time that night as a trainer ambushed me.

“Sorry kid, schedule a match at the gym. I don’t accept challenges outside my hours. I need time to rest just like my pokemon do.”

“Eh?!” I liked it when they were merely shocked at my rejection. It was most likely these were the sorts that struggled with their confidence, and my sudden appearance sparked them to throw out the challenge. Sadly for them, I couldn’t give them a sop for their confidence by accepting.

That way lay ruin due to good intentions. I had to be firm with them all.

No one was getting an official match for the badge out of me tonight.

“Gym Leader!” “Brock!” The locals all waved to me and a few people clapped me on the shoulder as I passed them by. When I reached the square proper, I found an entertainer dancing on the stage in bright pink and blue colours as behind her an Eevee, a Jolteon, a Vaporeon, and a Flareon moved in time with her singing. I whistled, that was one cashed-up performer.

I had no doubt that a lot of parents were going to face a lot more begging for the insanely popular Evolutionary pokemon. It would be educational for the kids and parents as to how expensive those pokemon actually were.

Surprisingly, no one that I knew had a Sylveon. It stumped me how that was possible, as surely a pokemon that had been raised alongside its trainer for a long while would have had a ‘love’ relationship with them.

That had been one of my earlier investigations when I learnt that the ‘fairy typing’ was not an officially recognised typing as yet. The fact that Sylveon was a thing should have blown that secret wide open.

And yet, no one seemed to have one.

I hadn’t investigated too much, but I did have a hypothesis on it.

I believed that the earlier threshold of ‘friendship’ was being triggered first and foremost, making it tougher for people to become’ ‘loved’ and therefore causing the fairy-type evolution for Eevee. Which… Sounded very flimsy to me, as surely someone out there had an eevee that had loved them?

Then again, they were rare. It was impressive to see four of the pokemon but a glance at the sponsors for the event made me snort.

“Eevee Family Trust indeed,” I said aloud. Next to me, a man nodded while his daughter stared avidly from atop his shoulders.

“I like their performances, but the way they make everyone want them is kind of annoying,” said the man.

“Shhh daddy!” said the girl as she swatted him, never once turning her eyes away from the cute pokemon. I nodded at the man in commiseration. With the mystery of how the performer could have four of the pokemon resolved, I continued to wander.

The Eevee Family Trust was a breeder ‘farm’ for lack of a better term that had almost all of the eevee which could be found for sale. They made a huge profit from said sales while also making sure any pokemon, unless specifically asked/paid for, would be passed on as incapable of breeding.

Perhaps that also factored into why there were no Sylveons around?

The next stop I made also had my siblings merrily chomping away so I dropped into a seat next to them. “Golem!” Sanchez greeted from within a mane of fairy floss that had his head just poking out of it.

“You fed him sugar?” I asked Yolanda.

“Yeah, he used Baby Eyes on me,” she said, not meeting my gaze.

“He doesn’t know that move,” I said rationally while nodding towards Cindy, who was now recounting how she’d ridden the Ferris wheel three times!

“Well, he’s really persuasive?” Yolanda said hesitantly. I gave her an unamused look.

She bit her lip and let her eyes water. I snorted and shook my head but let the issue drop, they were having fun. Granny Babs cleaned off my sibling’s faces and I inspected them and their ill-gotten gains. Each of them now had a show bag with various toys and lollies. All of them, cheaply made, while being pricey as all hell.

And the mayor wanted a month of this? I think the parents were going to want to strangle him by the end of the week with how much sugar kids were going to be getting.

“What happened to Munchlax?” I asked as I collected up everyone’s loose rubbish.

“He tackled Sanchez and started eating his candyfloss mane. Sanchez couldn’t fight him off due to his position, and he ended up eating all of it. Sanchez got really sad ,and Munchlax started lining up on the Candy floss merchant. So he got returned to his pokeball instead,” Yolanda said, raising the pokeball in question that twitched as if the pokemon inside desperately wanted out.

“Good call.” I lounged with them for a while more, only to have someone approach.

“Gym Leader Brock!” called a new challenger. Yolanda giggled as I groaned into my hand.

I turned. ”I’m not accep—”

“Can I have your autograph?” said a tiny child while their mother hovered nearby. I relaxed instantly, a smile forming.

“Sure thing, who do I make this out to?” I plucked the pen and paper pad and wrote out a message and signature to the kid before sending them off to their mother. I sat back and glanced around, hoping for more of this positive reaction.

Apparently, I was now popular enough for children to ask for such things, as before a minute passed, I had a small swarm of children asking for my signature and photos with me. From age five to ten they all crowded in, offering up various items for me to sign while their parents either assisted, hindered or lingered.

“Now, my Herbie, he’s such a dear, would you mind signing his pokemon cap for him?” asked a nasally-toned mother. I deftly did as asked only for her to give a smile that looked entirely too plastic. “Great! Now, can you sign his—” And that is how I had to put down a limit of one signature per child that was present.

When that was done, I looked around to find my own family starting to nod off. “Alright, gang let’s get you all home for bed. I need to do another few runarounds, but home time for all of you first I think.”

“I’m not—” Timmy gave out a huge yawn while rubbing his eyes, “—sleepy!”

“Nope you are. Come on, first two up get carried home.”

“Munchlax!” cried the gluttonous little pokemon before throwing himself into one of my arms. That gave everyone pause. I looked to Yolanda who was staring at the pokeball in her grasp.

“He? What? When did he get out?” Yolanda looked from the ball to her surroundings. I had to wonder what mischief my pokemon had gotten up to in the time he had been free but when no vendors approached with a list of all the things my pokemon had eaten I shrugged it off.

“Alright, one arm is claimed, who wants the other?”

“Munchlax can’t have one of your arms! That’s not right!” Timmy stopped to argue. Suzie had no problem leaping onto my other arm and plopping her head on my shoulder.

“Suzie and Munchlax!”

“What!?” cried Timmy before leaping onto my back to dangle from my neck. I huffed before offering Munchlax to Yolanda before repositioning Timmy into the now vacant spot in my grip.

“So everyone have some fun?” I asked the group at large.

Yolanda nodded before raising her hand,” I was wondering if I could stick around for a little longer?” She kicked the ground a bit. “I know Forrest is sticking around and the festival is going to have fireworks soon…” She chewed her lip but perked up when I nodded.

“Sure, just don’t go off anywhere and stay close to the square. Your transceiver all charged up?” She nodded, placing Munchlax on her hip before skipping to a stand that appeared to be a ball toss. I chuckled darkly.

Poor carnies were in for a shock when she unleashed a blistering fastball. On the way out, I ended up seeing a number of the kids I coached during the off-season and their parents earning another round of greetings and goodbyes before I could depart.

“Gym Leader Brock! I challenge…” I turned and gave the kid a highly unimpressed look. They paused before coughing. “I’ll find you later.”

“Good thinking, get a scheduled match lined up kid,” was all I said before heading home with Tommy, Cindy, Salvadore, Timmy, Suzie, and Granny Babs. When I reached home I turned the kids over to the awaiting Granny who Babs joined for a cup of tea while the kids went about their nightly bedtime rituals.

Instead of walking back as I had at the start, I once more opened Zephyr’s pokeball and took flight.

This time, I spotted a few things that had me investigating closer. One such act had me diving low onto a house that had no lights on, but multiple flashlights searching around.

I approached the house from the front and saw the door wasn’t open before trudging around the back to find it broken down.

I toggled my transceiver and rang a number. “Gym Leader Brock at hundred and three Pebblebry road. Break and enter in progress. Moving to detain. Send pick up.” I then tossed a pokeball over my shoulder before popping another in front of myself.

“Hold for now Shin. Izumi, you’re with me.”

“Geo!” said Izumi quietly as she hopped up onto my shoulder. I marched straight past the broken door and into the unlit house, unperturbed by the darkness. When I happened upon the first would-be criminal searching through a jewellery case I walked up and tapped him on the shoulder.

He whirled around to reveal he was wearing a ski mask pulled low. He had all of a moment to lay eyes on me before Izumi performed a straight right that saw him flopping to the ground.

“Bert? That you tripping over in there?” Another voice called from deeper in the house.

I blinked away the momentary blindness from the flashlight before marching on in. A quick return to true night vision being one of the many perks that came from training myself with Dark type energy that I had so far learnt.

Another flashlight preceded the partner in crime walking out into the hallway. “Bertram I swear if you’ve…” He trailed off as his eyes alighted on myself. “Oh… uhm, evening Gym Leader! You would not believe it, but we forgot our keys!”

I nodded seriously before pointing right at him. “Tackle.” Izumi launched herself straight forward to lay the other man out. When he was down and held firm by Izumi I patted him down. “Ya, you’re right I don’t believe you. Police are on the way.”

A thumping of feet announced yet another person remained but I didn’t bother to hurry. The police would likely already be out the front, but he wasn’t headed that way.

“Take them Shin!” I called out and sure enough as soon as the running feet crunched on the outside gravel a loud. ‘Oof!’ was called out. I suspected they had run right into Shin. Or vice versa.

I patted the burglar on the back of the head. “Stay here, and be good. Don’t add any charges of resisting arrest alright? You’ll have your rights read to you in a moment when I hand you off.”

“Wait! Does that mean you’re doing this illegally? I’ll walk! Ha!”

I pat him on the head again. “Nope! Gym Leaders and Gym associated trainers are fully deputised to make arrests for police. If a police unit is not present or the lock up is full I can even hold you for a set period of time on the Police’s behalf.”

“What? They never said anything about that in school?”

I glanced around at the burglary site. “You listened in school?”

His grumble was more than enough of an answer so I moved to secure the other two before carrying them out the front where a police van was parked with two police officers and a pair of Growlithe waited.

“All yours officers; it might be worth checking if there’s anyone else. The third one was smart enough to let me pass him before making a run. Might be another hiding out.”

The police practically bristled in excitement at that before they turned on each other. “Shotgun!” shouted the one on my left before clicking his fingers and leading off the Grolwithe while I helped the leftover policeman by loading up the burglars in their car.

The entire operation took all of five minutes and by the time ten minutes were up. The police were on the phone with the owners to inform them of what had occurred. I waved to them, returned my pokemon and lifted off with Zephyr to continue my circuit.

I started to head towards the square when a series of spotlights flashed upwards to mark out a ‘no fly’ zone.

Unlike the games, if you wanted to fly your pokemon around it wasn’t a simple HM that you needed but rather an extra test and license. It was much like a learner’s driving test from my old world with laws such as; not buzzing residents of the cities, keeping aware of electrical powerlines, and never flying over certain mountain ranges or islands in each region.

Or, as was important now, during celebrations, being aware that fireworks could be set off. It was thus highly recommended that you do not fly during such events or if not possible, remain well out of the marked-out zone lest you create a tragedy.

A number of fliers buzzed around the square before beginning to circle as the police worked to clear the no-fly zone.

I decided to land instead of pushing through and potentially delaying the show.

This saw me landing near a stall that was well and truly on the outskirts of the festival. Strangely the woman stiffened when she saw me and threw a towel over her goods in an action that was far too frantic for my liking. I looked straight at her.

“What was that?”

“What was what?” said the woman in a far too innocent tone. She smiled guilelessly like a pro. I stared at her face, trying to place it. I had a list of swindlers and hoodlums to be on the lookout for. She had a freckled face with a cute button nose that was currently being tickled by some loose strands of her strawberry blonde hair. She looked more like a farmer than a crook.

Then again, people did have make-up and hair dye so she could be anyone if she was skilled enough. I stepped closer and the woman swallowed firmly. “E-evening Gym Leader! Anything I can do for you tonight?”

I stared before relaxing and smiling. “Yeah, you can give me your name. You know me and have me at a disadvantage.”

Her eyes widened at that before she spluttered. “Oh, I’m no one special. I’m just a simple berry farmer selling her produce!” I looked down and saw that yes, she was in fact selling berries. Zephyr approached and hooted at a few before turning his neck to look right at me.

“Can I see your papers? How come you’re not closer in? And your name?” I prompted once more.

“Oh! Papers! Right.” She leaned over and handed me a clipboard. “Names Kelly Meadows! I started up a farm.”

She scratched at her arm nervously. “Had some trouble getting workers for a while there but I got some help just a while ago! Ha!” she said with a slightly manic look in her eyes before she shook it off. “Had to rush to get my stock put together since I’m not from one of the big farms so the Mayor didn’t let me know about the festival. I only found out I was missing out a few days ago! Took a bit of time to get the farm sorted out so I could come in. Got my sister looking after things now.”

I nodded. She had most of the normal berries you saw sold, such as Oran, Chesto, Peacha, Leppa, Razz and Bluk berries but also some ones I wasn’t familiar with such as Pamtre, Watmel, Charti, Liechi and Spelon berries.

I handed the sheets back over after spotting the seal of approval, “This seems to be in order. Sorry for startling you. Were you packing up for the night?” I said, glancing at the towel she’d thrown over some of her produce.

Kelly smiled widely. “Oh! Um, yup! I was packing up.”

I hummed, unsure with her answer, before having Zephyr bump me and bob his head towards some Oran berries. “Mind If I buy my pokemon some food?”

Kelly perked up. “Oh!? Well, I’m not packed up yet! Sure, how many berries do you want?”

I pointed towards the Oran and Watmel berries that Zephyr was interested in. Then two of my pokeballs popped open and Knight and Bertha loomed over me to stare hungrily at the berries.

“Three boxes,” I said without missing a beat. “How much?”

Kelly paused before nodding quickly. Her smile turned much more genuine which made me glance around for something off. I couldn’t find anything. Perhaps it was me overthinking things after coming from that crime scene?

“Uhm you got five hundred pokedollars for that?” she said before blushing. “Sorry! Of course you do! I watched you beat down the Champ!”

“Thanks,” I said, opening up my wallet and handing over five crisp hundred pokedollar bills that featured the face of the original shrine maiden of Bellsprout tower. One Fiona Flowers, renowned for her skill with grass types and a historical icon for Johto.

When I grabbed one of the boxes before pointing two other boxes out for Knight and Bertha each to carry. I stepped back, tossing two berries to Zephyr. Then I let out the other four pokemon I had on me. Izumi, Shin, Chou, and Sanchez all locked onto the last box of berries before claiming their own to chow down. I turned back to find Kelly watching with fascination.

“Do alright for yourself out here?” I said more to make conversation than anything. I noted that she was still holding the money in her hands.

“Oh…. no not really. I’m only getting people coming and going from this way unlike the other big fruit stalls further in near the entertainment.” She wilted slightly at the confession.

I hummed, giving her stall another look over. “Need something to keep people around. Maybe get a friend to buy another stall next door and get a pond with a flimsy drop chair over a pond. Crowds love that sort of thing.” I circled a finger around her produce. “If you had a juicer and some cups you could also sell some juice to people and their pokemon. Fresh juice always goes down well.”

Kelly perked up at that. “Huh, that’s actually a good idea.” She gave me a furtive look. “Thanks Gym Leader.” She scratched her cheek. “Make me feel sorta bad now.”

I tilted my head. “Why’s that?”

She stiffened. “Oh! Uh! Cause I was cheering for Lance to win is all!”

I snorted. “We all have our favourites; I won’t be annoyed at you going for him over me.” I then shot her a wink. “Maybe cheer for me next time, yeah? Then you won’t feel so bad.”

She laughed at that. I checked on my pokemon to find them circling Izumi whose smaller mouth didn’t let her devour her pile as quickly. She used one arm to warn off the larger pokemon while shovelling berries into her mouth.

“Annnnnnd I think I should be off soon.” I returned my pokemon, bar Izumi, who relaxed at not being pressured. She made quick work of the last few berries before hopping onto my shoulder. I half considered making a joke about her weight, but my instinct flared up and warned me away from the terrible idea. I shot Kelly a nod before walking in further. “Might see you around Kelly, good luck with your sales!”

“Thanks for the sales and the idea! And I will cheer for you next time!” she shouted after me.

As I approached the square, a raised platform flashed with lights, and an announcer raised his hands dramatically just as some fireworks launched into the sky. The still-present festival goers oohed and ahh’d as the light show began.

I marched on, spotting a few people I knew, including Lawrence, my Lawyer. He waved me over.

“Brock!” said the tattooed-up Lawyer. “Meet the apple of my eye and my sweet, sweet lady love! This is Tanya!” he gestured to a woman and I greeted her politely before smiling at Lawrence.

“You’re a lucky man Lawrence,” I said before clapping him on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you to enjoy your night. I have to go find my younger brother and sister. Find out if they’re still here before heading out. I’ll be in touch soon though.”

Lawrence and his girlfriend Tanya let me go without any issue but a number of others greeted me having been made aware I was present.

“Gym Leader—” a firework went off, cutting through the trainer’s challenge. I promptly used that as an excuse to outright ignore them. Amusingly enough, it seemed to work as they couldn’t call out for me to stop thanks to the fireworks.

I eventually found Yolanda talking with a few of her friends. She had a nice mask of a Tyranitar on her head while she peered upwards. Munchlax was right at her side holding her hand, his gaze fixed upwards even as his jaws worked at the large slab of meat he held.

I approached and tapped Yolanda on her shoulder. “Hey,” I said before glancing around. “Seen your brother?”

Yolanda shook her head before gesturing in a direction. “Might be over near the bike racing set up?”

I headed off in that direction. I hadn’t actually spotted that during my last pass of the square. If I had missed that, perhaps there was a lot more to this festival.

I stopped when I found Forrest lined up on the slope for the mountain bikers to ride a set course. He had his helmet on, which let me relax a tiny amount, but he soon had me clenching in fear as he sped down the slope to perform a number of speedy actions that saw him bunny-hopping small hills and skidding around tight corners. When he was done I sighed in relief alongside another man.

I chuckled. “At least he’s good enough. I hopefully don’t have to worry about him crashing out.”

“Yeah, kids surprise you. don’t they?” said a familiar voice as I stared at Forrest lining up for another go.

“Ha! Yeah, I just wish he…” I trailed off as my mind registered where I had heard that voice from. I whipped around. “Flint?”

The spot next to me was empty. I turned fully around to see if I could spot him slipping away. Overhead more fireworks went off and I cursed. I wouldn’t be able to jump up onto Zephyr. A nearby bike starting platform for the mountain bikers though would serve as a higher vantage point so I leapt from the ground to grab onto the railing. The biker atop it squawked in fright at my sudden appearance, but I paid them no mind. Instead, I stared out into the crowd to look for the shabby appearance of Flint walking away.

I licked my lips as I failed to find anything. There were plenty of people still moving about, despite others standing and watching the sky above. I passed my eyes over Yolanda and found nothing.

I growled in annoyance and thought about what to do next. It was a shame Janine was gone; otherwise, I would have had her track him down instantly. I was considering calling Sabrina when another firework went off. The crowd roared their approval, and I sighed.

Calling Sabrina into this crowd would just be hurting her. There would be too many thoughts if she had to seek out Flint from among them. I wasn’t even sure if that had been him. I think that annoyed me the most. I continued to search for any sign Flint was present only to not find anything.

I eventually had to give up. I trudged back to Yolanda to find Forrest wiping off his face with a towel. They looked at me and blinked. “Brock? Is something wrong?” Yolanda said carefully.

I blinked, surprised they’d caught onto my mood. Then I huffed. If anyone was going to detect it, it would be them. I waved about the crowd. “I thought I spotted Flint. I…”

Yolanda perked up at that before looking around. “Want to keep looking?” she said hopefully.

I almost said no, but her hopeful look made me hold off. “Sure Yolanda.” We spent another hour walking around through the festival but came back without spotting Flint once again. I ran a hand across my face as we walked home. Yolanda held herself upright as she carried a snoring Munchlax back home.

“It’s a good thing! He’s coming closer right?” she said tightly. We hadn’t seen anything and now I felt like a schmuck for getting their hopes up when I wasn’t even sure I’d seen anything.

I nodded. “Yeah, I think it is.” I considered it for a moment before pointing at Forrest. “He was watching you I think. You were pulling some good moves on your bike.”

Forrest perked up at that. “Really? Heh.” He smiled widely and I spotted Yolanda smiling wider as well. They must have been happy that their father might have possibly been showing some interest in us. I decided not to dampen their mood by reminding them that I wasn’t sure if it had even been him. It might have been some other shabbily dressed man.

… Which said things about what I expected of Flint, but that was neither here nor there.

Before I went to bed, I diverted to Forrest’s room. There I knocked on the door and waited until he called out to me. I found him still awake and working a cloth over his bike. “Really? You should be doing that downstairs in the workshop.”

“Heh, sorry Brock!” He said shamelessly. I glanced at that backpack he’d stored it in and grimaced. Evidently, he should have done it before folding it up because his backpack was filthy. I gave him a look before shaking my head. “Leave it for tomorrow.” I then tapped his desk.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you as well. You’re not picking up your jobs around the gym like we talked about.”

Forrest didn’t meet my gaze. “Sorry! I just, I wanted to hang out with my friends.”

“It’s been a few times now Forrest. You said you wanted to take on a bigger role, even possibly one day take over for me. That means you need to do the jobs you’re assigned and learn how to run the gym.”

“I try but there’s so many jobs!” he said suddenly. He shook his head. “How do you do so much?” This time he met my eyes.

“I don’t do it alone but I worked my way into it,” I said honestly.

“Sorry for letting you down… I didn’t mean to.” His lip wobbled, and he scrubbed at his eyes to wipe away any tears. I stepped up and hugged him.

“Hey, hey. No, it’s cool. You’re still learning, don’t beat yourself up over this stuff. There is a lot and if I didn’t have as many people helping me out I’d be drowning as well. Things are tough with the surge and Dad and the family but we can get through it alright.”

“Right, right!” He said before sniffing wetly. “Right, I’ll start getting serious tomorrow.”

I snorted and knocked him on the head lightly. “Bratty little brother. You were supposed to get serious ages ago.”

He stuck his tongue out at that before I grabbed a pillow and swatted him. “Go to bed.” I then pointed at his muddy floor, clothes, bike, and backpack. “And clean those up tomorrow.” I pushed him into bed. “Now go to sleep before I summon a Gengar to make you go to sleep!”

He snorted at my faux macho tone. “Night bro.”

“Night,” I said as I made my way out. I lay down and relaxed. I might not have found my dad but I couldn’t consider today to be fruitless.

And tomorrow? I’d get a day to just hang out with a friend. I smiled as I fell asleep, very much looking forward to my upcoming surf lesson with Brawly.