The disappointment that came with losing a match in front of the whole city vanished, every iota of Brock was now hyperfocused on the man in front of him.

  He had aged terribly, wrinkles now framing his once youthful face. Flint had always had laugh lines and crow’s feet, but they were now his least prominent wrinkles. His visage was now dominated by creases on his brow, as if he had constantly been frowning instead of smiling in the years he had been gone

  Brock felt a vicious satisfaction at that idea.

  But perhaps what was most heartwrenching was how familiar the man looked despite the years he had been away.

  He carried himself the same way Forrest did when he had done something wrong: right foot back and a sheepish hand clenched on the small of his back.

  His hair had grown longer and unkempt, swooping downwards and curling at the end — the exact same way Yolanda’s did every morning before Brock managed to convince her to tame it a bit.

  There was a mole on the corner of his left eye, a mark Brock had forgotten but saw everyday in the younger twins. Billy and Tilly adored the little beauty mark for how it subtly differentiated them from the rest of their siblings, dubbing it their twin birthmarks. He wondered how they would react after finding out that they shared this with the father they had never met.

  It was that reminder that sparked the outrage and indignance in Brock, that his younger siblings could now barely recall their father.

  “What are you doing here?!”

  Flint flinched at the venom in his eldest’s voice. He scrambled to say his rehearsed lines, but his brain blanked at the hostility he was greeted with.

  “I - I’m home,”

  Brock glowered. He longed to curse at the man, to shout out all his frustration and anger for abandoning the family he had irresponsibly made.

  “When are you leaving?”

  “I’m here to… here to stay,”

  Brock laughed out loud.

  “I’m sorry I left. But I needed to find your mother, it was for our family.”

  Brock laughed even louder at his father’s claim.

  Despite his ire at his father, there was no question that the man had been the better parent of the two.

  At least he had made the effort to get to know his kids. Lola had been a completely absent mother, even when she was around. She used her constant pregnancy to get out of parenting her children, leaving Flint with the bulk of parenthood.

  When Brock had been younger, he had chased after his mother’s recognition and love, desperate for the same easy affection he had seen with other children his age and their parents. But no matter what he did, Lola had no interest in reciprocating his efforts, barely acknowledging her son’s presence.

  After Brock became older, he had questioned his mom on it. She haughtily claimed that she had done her job carrying him for nine months, she had no further obligation to him now that he was out.

  Brock had left his journey with a bitter taste in his mouth.

  It had been Flint who made the effort to get to know his children. He had been ecstatic to continuously have them, deeming them proof of his indifferent wife’s love for him.

  So it had been a bitter pill to swallow after learning of his father’s abandonment, for Brock had irrefutable proof that Brock’s father loved Lola more than he loved his children.

  “Continue looking for her then. Even if you never came back to check up on us, we were fine.”

  Brock indifferently concluded, eager to get the man to leave them alone again. He feared his sibling’s disappointment at their father’s fresh abandonment. Better to leave before any attachment forms.

  “I… I couldn’t come back empty handed.” Flint tries to explain, fishing out a bank card.

  He had considered passing it to Brock, but worried about his refusal. So he grabbed Salvadore’s hand and pressed it into his palm. He let go, satisfied in successfully passing it to his children.

  “Here’s some money I managed to earn while I was away. Keep it and use it how you wish, house expenses, gym upkeep or whatever you need,”

  Salvadore’s small eyes gleamed in satisfaction. As the most financially savvy of his siblings, he knew how life-saving this would be for their family.

  Brock’s first instinct was to refuse the gift, but his practicality silenced it. Flint had done a lot of damage to their family, the least he could do was compensate them somehow.

  He also couldn’t find it in his heart to deny Salvadore. His younger sibling was obviously pleased to receive something from his father, no matter that the money was to be used for everyone. He didn’t want to add to his brother’s disappointment when their father eventually left again.

  Going unrefuted settled a part of Flint, so he happily added on. “There’s 5 million pokedollars inside.”

  Their whole family spluttered. While it wasn’t enough to suddenly propel them an entire socioeconomic status, the substantial sum was more than enough to solve all their current monetary issues.

  “What did you do to get this much!” Brock demanded. While life-altering, he didn’t want his family to survive off of dirty money, as doing so had a tendency to bite back in the future.

  Realising how he was misunderstood, Flint quickly reassured his children. “This was all earned legally, I promise. I - uhm…”

  His eyes flickered to Brock’s exposed chest where his key stone had been hastily tied on.

  Brock understood his father’s meaning.

  “It was an undiscovered species too, so it was worth a lot,” the older man elaborated.

  “And who exactly did you sell it to? If it was undiscovered, it should have gone to Professor Oak!”

  “I sold it to Gray Oak. It’ll reach the professor in the future, so… He also bought it with the condition that I return home. I was always going to! But he made it easier with the money, ”

  Brock had nothing to say afterwards, knowing that his father did enough due diligence to ensure the money he received was clean.

  Silence descended in the room. Flint, recognizing that it was largely due to him, tried to fill it with chatter.

  “I shouldn’t have left, and for that I’m sorry. I felt that we needed her, so I searched and tried to complete our family.”

  The silence turned icy at the mention of their mother. Forrest, Salvadore, Tommy and Cindy, while younger than Brock, were old enough to realize how unhealthy their mother’s presence in their family was.

  Sensing that this topic wasn’t well-received, Flint tried to pivot. “Right… By the time I realized that finding her was impossible, too much time had passed by. Brock was already the gym leader and I heard he was doing well…”

  Brock’s face blackened. His journey was derailed, forcing him to come back to take care of his young siblings. By the time he had made it home, Forrest and Salvadore were scrambling and struggling to keep their entire family afloat.

  Him becoming a provider and a competent gym leader wasn’t a matter of desire. It was purely survival; sink or swim. If he had stopped treading, his siblings would have starved to death.

  “So you thought it was alright to stay away longer? Since I was doing so well?” he bit out sarcastically.

  “I ruined my marriage with your mother, I didn’t want to ruin your lives too when you were doing well…”

  “She was always going to leave! You knew this, I knew this and everyone knew this! We would have been fine with her gone, but you got up and went too! That was on you!”

  Flint kept quiet, knowing his son was right. His wife had always been distant with their children, the iciness she treated them increasing with each child she bore. Foolish and in love, Flint had hoped that she would thaw over time.

  While away. he had also deluded himself into thinking that once he found her, the distance with her kids would finally make her see the light and she would return back to their family a better mother.

  With the valve he kept on his emotions loosened, Brock continued his tirade.

  “At the very least, you could have waited for me to get back home before leaving, but you didn’t. When I returned, my siblings were starving. Forrest and Salvadore were struggling to keep Billy and Tilly alive - they were only months old! How could you abandon infants for a woman who was always going to leave!”

  Flint blanched in horror at the thought of his two youngest perishing for his actions. He had been too singleminded in that decision, hyperfixating on his wife while ignoring the rest of his responsibilities.

  He entertained the thought of getting on his knees to beg for forgiveness. But he knew Brock wouldn’t want that. Forrest and the rest of the children here would be horrified at the image of their once mighty father at their lowest. Maybe when they were alone? He could do little but promise.

  “I… I won’t leave again. I promise. Never a-a-gain.” He stammers.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Brock would have raged further, to make it clear that he had no more faith to spare for his father when they were interrupted by polite knocking on the door.

  Horrified at the thought of his younger siblings meeting their father like this, he dabs at the few drops that escaped from the corner of his eye. He glares at Flint, who immediately got the message and did the same to himself

  They composed themselves briefly just as the door opened and Gray stuck his head in, silvery-gray hair flopping down to one side and smiling politely.

  “Apologies for disturbing you, I was informed that you would likely still be here. If you don’t mind, I’d like to discuss our ba-“ he paused when he realized Flint’s presence in the room.

  Paying more attention, he felt the thick tension in the air and slight wetness on everyone’s cheeks. He grimaced inwardly before plastering on an awkward smile.

  “Right. I must be interrupting something. Perhaps another time?” He was just about to close the door and hurry to safety before he was stopped by Brock.

  “No! We weren’t discussing anything important. Please come in to talk.”

  Gray shuffles in, horrified that his escape route was effectively blocked. When he’s fully inside, he stays rooted in place for a few seconds. No one in the room says anything.

  The awkwardness was so thick Gray could feel himself beginning to choke on it. To alleviate the situation, he does what he does best and starts yapping.

  “Do you… Er… Wanna borrow a shirt or something first?”

  His eyes darted to Brock’s well-built but unfortunately still exposed chest. Perhaps he didn’t own another shirt? Or maybe he always went shirtless in his free time?

  The tan man flushes before darting to one side of the room and rummaging through a drawer.

  “No need. Sorry, I’ll put one on.”

  Only the sounds of a man rummaging through a drawer fills the air, the rest maintaining their silence. At this point, Gray had already met eyes with everyone in the room and smiled politely in greeting. All he got were stony faces masking their discomfort poorly.

  He starts yapping again to fill the silence.

  “You feeling alright after back-to-back mega evolutions? Must be a bit drained after all that.”

  Brock takes the out he was given. “Yes, I’m… tired.”

  “I was wondering, are two mega evolutions in one match actually allowed?”

  Brock tried to find any hostility from Gray, but he found nothing but curiosity. The man seemed genuine enough, not trying to find fault from Brock’s end. He decides to stick with the truth.

  “I’m not sure, to be honest. There wasn’t anything barring it, so I just rolled with it.”

  Gray laughs out loud. “Makes sense. If the league doesn’t say anything after this, we can just take it as tacit approval.”

  “Since you’re a gym leader, do you know anyone else who has more than one mega evolution?”

  “Not to my knowledge, no.” Brock admits that he likes the candidness of the man who just beat him, so he opts to do the same. “Maybe it’s just me and you for now.”

  “Oh, you know about my other mega evolution?”

  Giving him a deadpan stare, Brock reminds Gray “Your Mega Altaria caused a stir when you left Pewter yesterday.”

  “Ah, right. Sorry about that, he’s a bit of a show off.”

  “I get it, Tyranitar’s the same way.”

  Gray considers keeping his next thought to himself, but figures he should just be direct. “It looked like it. Was this his first battle mega evolved?”

  “Yeah… Was it obvious?”

  “Er…. A bit. I think if he was more familiar and stable, he would have lasted longer against Mawile.”

  Brock sighs, considering the advice of the trainer in front of him. He’d have to work on it with his proud pseudo-legendary, but he was optimistic he would be receptive. His loss today should have lit a fire within Tyranitar, reminding him he wasn’t unbeatable, even mega evolved.

  “Do you have any tips on making the evolution more stable?”

  The sudden question throws Brock and Gray off. They turn their attention to Flint, whose full attention is now fixed on Gray. The older man was determined to peel whatever secrets the fairy trainer had in regards to mega evolution because any knowledge he could provide would be helpful for his son.

  Brock gave his father a horrified look. He was essentially asking for what was likely training secrets, something high calibre trainers kept close to their chest.

  Knowledge that could give one an advantage was a valuable commodity, allowing a roadmap a weaker trainer could follow to bridge the gap with someone more powerful.

  Even in the Indigo League, spying to obtain training secrets was something trainers considered doing or guarding against.

  To directly ask Gray could be considered rude and insulting. Brock seethes. His father’s social skills had obviously deteriorated in his time away.

  “Mm… It could be on the trainer’s end to be honest. What emotion are you using to fuel the evolution?”

  The frank and quick reply gave Brock and Flint pause, surprised at Gray’s honesty. The ex gym leader jumped at the opportunity, urging his son to answer truthfully with his eyes

  Complying and genuinely curious on what he could derive from this conversation, Brock elaborates as best as he could.

  “Whatever strong emotion I’m feeling at that moment, I guess. Today….” He trails off, embarrassed at what he was about to reveal but trudging ahead anyway. “… it was determination. Indignance at almost losing on my home turf… Anger at getting my hopes up and thinking I could win.”

  Taking everything the gym leader said in stride, Gray readily reveals what they were fishing for generously. This interaction was so much more pleasant than he expected, and perhaps the gym leader could become a friend after today. It would do Gray some good to build stronger relationships here in Kanto.

  Plus, and most importantly, this conversation was better than the awkwardness earlier. Yappers ftw.

  “I think that’s the problem right there. Strong emotions are key to mega evolving, but to sustain it requires something completely different. You need to focus on a completely different feeling.”

  Everyone in the room pays attention to Gray’s words, feeling that he was about to reveal something profound.

  Gray doesn’t edge them for too long. “It’s love and trust in the bond you have with your pokemon.”

  Surprised, Brock considers Gray’s revelation. Was it really something so simple?

  “Your Steelix’s mega evolution was more stable than Tyranitar’s. He’s your starter, right? You probably subconsciously trust in his ability to get the job done, in his ability to pull you out of a pinch.”

  Gray’s reasoning struck something in Brock, feeling like the man was onto something. He contemplated the circumstances he had mega evolved his pokemon in the past.

  With Steelix, he had complete trust in his presence. He was never overly worried, just feeling relief and knowing fully that his presence would make a difference.

  When it came to Tyranitar, it was always a race against the clock. He subconsciously believed that the increased aggression that came with mega evolution would make him harder to control, so he fueled the evolution with urgency and desperation to achieve what they needed to as quickly as possible.

  Thinking like this, Brock suddenly felt guilty that perhaps the reason Tyranitar had a shorter temper during mega evolutions was because of his trainer. In his haste and inability to trust, had he been shortchanging his partner all the while?

  Sensing where his thoughts were taking him, Gray intervened. “It’s always a two-way street. He needs to have faith in you too for things to work out well.”

  Feeling a bit better at the reassurance, Brock nodded in acceptance. He would work on this with his pokemon to see if it really made a difference. He thanked Gray for his input and willingness to share his knowledge.

  Gray waved him off. Despite their rocky start, Brock seemed to genuinely care for his pokemon. It wasn’t a chore to spread information to people who would use them well.

  “How do you know this?” Flint questioned the younger man.

  “In the side of the world I was in, it was researched and proven to be so. It’s not exactly common knowledge, but everyone who could mega evolve was in the know.”

  “A different side of the world? That’s where you got that Carbink, right? Any chance we could have one for ourselves too?”

  Before Gray could reply, the door burst open to reveal a gaggle of children. There were two sets of twins, an older girl and Ash amongst them. Gray’s wayward team members were with them too, Ash acting as a natural barrier and standing between the two groups.

  In his mind, he was objectively the coolest between them. He had a total of three pokemon listening to his words, automatically making him the best. He had denied the others’ request to pet them, claiming that they weren’t technically his pokemon so he couldn’t make that decision.

  At the moment, they were all arguing amongst themselves. Ash had been sure his uncle beating Brock would have settled the debate, but the other children had claimed that Gray cheated for having a type advantage against Tyranitar.

  Rotom had not been helpful, releasing that tidbit of information where the younger twins could hear. When they were joined by the older set that came out of nowhere (seriously, why was their family so big?! Ash was an only child and already occasionally found Gary’s presence grating), more voices added to claim that Gray had cheated somehow.

  The family had been adamant in their stance, so Ash had joined them in looking for the adults. They would surely know better than them, after all.

  Upon entering the room, they found their targets. Ash had wanted to get the first word in, but was interrupted by a shocked cry from the older twins.

  “Dad?! You’re back!! Dad, we missed you so much!”

  “Dad! You’re here, you’re here!”

  Recognizing the man for who he was, having been older when Flint had left, the older twins were first to rush towards the man to glomp him in a big hug.

  Flint immediately returns the gesture, touched and grateful that some of his children were still so willing to show affection even if he didn’t deserve it.

  “Dad? You’re our dad?”

  The youngest twins, Billy and Tilly whispered in awe. They hesitated in approaching, but was reassured by how much the man looked like family. When they got a smile in return, they both added to the cuddle pile, screaming in happiness at their father.

  Ash considered the man in front of him, somehow finding him familiar. When the puzzle pieces fell into place, he was about to comment out loud but was stopped by Gray with a hand covering his mouth.

  Message clear, he keeps his thoughts to himself. He watches on from the sidelines, considering how his own reunion with his father would be like.Would his dad even like him?

  Brock keeps his mouth shut as his younger siblings swarm their father, simply happy that he had returned, not even questioning the man for the reasons he was away.

  He knew that he would hash things out with his father in the future, but for now he let his siblings express their joy. As far as he was concerned, since the younger ones had already met the man, he was going to stay here whether he liked it or not.

  He made plans in his head for how to shackle their father back in Pewter, not knowing that their father had genuinely no more plans to stray.

  The gym leader contemplated how things would change from now on. Did his father want the gym again? Brock honestly wouldn’t mind, provided he proved his competence to both roles as gym leader and father.

  His match with Gray had opened his eyes to how much more room he had to grow, and he knew that the kind of growth he needed could only be found outside of Pewter.

  Who knows, perhaps a few years down the line Flint could completely take over again, leaving Brock free to continue his journey.

  Champion Lance Blackthorn watched the conclusion of the match emotionlessly on his monitor. Gray Oak had simply gotten lucky that his mega evolution had a type advantage against Brock’s.

  Figures that the grandson of that Kantonian professor had luck on his side. Lance sneered, knowing that the man’s luck would run out in the future.

  Those born with a silver spoon knew not the power of hardwork, something Lance was well-versed in as a dragon trainer.

  Besides, not all was truly lost. Brock’s lack of composure and loss was simply proof that the trees the champion planted had begun bearing fruit. In the end, no matter who won in the match, Lance and Johto were already the ultimate winners.

  Nevermind that Brock could mega evolve two pokemon — rockheads always had their heads in the mines, so it wasn’t surprising that he managed to find megastones.

  With Pewter Gym losing in a personal challenge, it was clear that Pewter Gym’s standards were on the decline, especially since he lost to someone specialising in the weakest type there was.

  He called for someone on his private phone, a special device so discreet that half of the inhabitants of Indigo Plateau didn’t know he had it.

  Lance continued with his work, knowing she wouldn’t arrive till later since she had to hide herself deeply in order to not be found.

  After some time, a knock sounds out from the champion’s office door. Lance bids his guest permission.

  A woman enters the office, her face and identity hidden behind a face mask. She wore dark clothes to keep her inconspicuous, long sleeves and a baggy fit to conceal her figure.

  Lance commands her to be at ease, so the woman unmasks herself. She has huge brown eyes that compliments her lustrous bob. Her skin was beautifully tan and her figure well-maintained. Looking at her, one wouldn’t expect her to be a day over 30, nevermind that she had managed to birth 10 children herself.

  “It seems that your mission went beautifully, Lola. Pewter Gym has obviously declined, its old gym leader nowhere to be found and his eldest son scrambling to maintain a semblance of dignity. To lose to a weak trainer specialising in the weakest types… It’s the height of embarrassment.”

  Lance sneers at the thought.

  “Regardless, we now have proof that your sacrifices were not in vain. Pewter Gym is but a shell of what it once was. Well done.”

  Lola, Brock’s missing mother and wife to Flint smiles at the compliment from her boss.

  “Thank you, sir. It was all worth it to keep Johto safe.”

  Lance Blackthorn’s smile, this time, is genuine.