Author’s Note: This story is from Brock’s point of view, since I feel like I haven’t paid enough attention to his character yet…and uh…I keep making him evil, like in Disturbing and Death. So yeah…this story is full of Brock-o-ness. This short story is also an experiment in writing a pokémon battle, by the way.

- Dad -

- By Brian -

“I’ve finally found you, dad…” said Ash quietly, as he stared down the man who had abandoned him when he was only three.

May attempted to speak up, but I silenced her with a wave of my hand, telling her that we shouldn’t get involved; this was between Ash and his father, not anyone else. I have of all people would know that…

His dad, who looks suspiciously similar to Ash, only much older, does not say anything. He has a blank expression on his face, despite the fact that his own flesh-and-blood had finally found him after four years of traveling.

“Well, aren’t you going to say anything, dad?” Ash spat out in the harshest tone he could muster, yet his father didn’t even flinch.

Ash and myself are similar in many ways. We both enjoy being around pokémon, we both like traveling, and did I mention that both of our fathers abandoned our families, to pursue their dreams of becoming pokémon masters?

Because of my dad I never wanted to be a pokémon master, because I would only be following in his footsteps…so I yearned to be a pokémon breeder, someone who raises and takes care of pokémon.

Ash, on the underhand, once idolized his father and the dream they both shared, which was his motivation to go on his pokémon journey. Only later on, after Ash saved his mother from the Unown, was it revealed that his father wasn’t going to come back, since he had abandoned his mother. He was crushed, but he bounced back, thanks to help from yours truly and Misty.

In fact, I think Misty did a lot of good for Ash, despite the many arguments the two had. If only she was here right now…

Ash clenched a fist and shook it threateningly at his dad. “Too scared to even talk to your own son, is that it? Too afraid to say anything, when it won’t do you any good anymore?”

Again his father remained silent, apparently not phased by his son’s threats and accusations. I, on the underhand, felt a little guilty as I watched this fight, knowing that my father and I didn’t have to go through this when he finally returned to Pewter City.

“I’m sure you’ve got a lot you want to say to me, Brock…I understand…” said Flint-my father, as he lowered his head and waited for the onslaught of insults and nasty remarks he expected me to say.

Instead, I could only smile inwardly, knowing that my father had finally come back. I was angry, but he was repenting for his sins. Now I could go on my journey to learn more about pokémon, while my brothers and sisters had a chance to have their dad to take care of them.

“Well, dad, you’re going to have to learn how to cook…”

That happened four years ago, and so far my dad has learned how to cook most of my recipes, sew together clothes, read to the little ones, battle as the Pewter City Gym Leader, and make sure all of my siblings are doing well in school. I’m proud of my dad…he’s gone a long way from being the selfish person he used to be.

“Sceptile, go!” exclaimed Ash, as he released his new grass type pokémon on to the field we all were currently standing in.

Oh no…you aren’t going to battle your own father, are you?

“Ash! Don’t do it-” May shouted, only to find the words die in her throat as she saw the look of pure anger on Ash’s face.

He was red in the face and was breathing heavily, probably from rage and frustration at his father’s complete lack of emotion and interest in this whole matter-

All of us (with the obvious exception of Ash’s father) gasped in surprise and intrigue as a pokéball was thrown from where Ash’s dad was standing. As the red light faded and the pokéball returned to its owner, we awed at the pokémon standing, or rather, floating before us. It had a cloud covering the bottom half of its light blue body, and it looked sort of like a dragon…

“It’s an Altaria!” May whispered in a hushed tone to me, “Ash’s Sceptile doesn’t stand a chance against a dragon-flying type like that!”

I nodded my head grimly, remembering that both dragons and flying types were resistant to grass type moves…but Ash always seemed to overcome type differences before…would he pull it off once again?

Ash looked nervous, the air of confidence that had surrounded him was suddenly gone as he realized that this was not going to be an easy battle.

“Sceptile…use…Leaf Blade!” he commanded, and with that Sceptile released blades of razor-sharp leaves towards the dragon.

I felt a chill go down my back as a small, eerie smile appeared on the face of Ash’s dad, as he whispered, “Attack with Dragonbreath.”

Immediately the razor-sharp leaves were engulfed in flame, causing them to fall to the ground in ashes. Ouch.

“Pump up with Dragon Dance.”

The Altaria floated up and down, and then spun around in circles, energy flowing around it in a sort of dance. It looked like it was charging up for a spectacular move…

“Finish it with Sky Attack.” said Ash’s dad, as his Altaria flew straight into the air and then back down, going as fast as mach 3, right towards Sceptile.

I quickly looked over to Ash, wondering how he was going to defend against a pumped up Sky Attack, which unfortunately for Ash was the most powerful flying type attack there was-

“Use Detect!” Ash exclaimed, and without delay his Sceptile released a temporary barrier around it, causing Altaria to bounce off it and crash onto the ground, much to everyone’s surprise.

If I didn’t know better I could’ve sworn that Ash’s dad, who I still did not know the name of, almost looked as if his smile had gotten bigger at this sudden change in the battle.

“Use Dragon Dance.”

“Use Agility, Sceptile! Try to jump right on to Altaria’s cloud!” Ash commanded, while I wondered why he issued such an unusual plan of action. Shouldn’t he tell Sceptile to try to stay as far away from Altaria as possible?

“What’s he trying to do, Brock?” May whispered into my ear, as she watched the fight with interest mixed with concern, “If Sceptile gets too close he might get hit by another Sky Attack…”

“We’ll just have to wait and see, May…”

“Come on, Sceptile, try to jump right on its cloud!” my black-haired friend said once again, as his Sceptile ran at blinding speeds around the Dragon Dancing Altaria. Before Altaria could fly out of the way Sceptile jumped right on top of the cloud, causing the look of confidence return to Ash’s face.

“Now use Dragon Claw, Sceptile!” he commanded, which caused a grin to appear on my face. Ash had finally learned that using all sorts of attack types would allow him the element of surprise against opponents! The best part was that dragon type moves just happened to be super effective against other dragons!

It came as no surprise to me when Altaria fell to the ground, unable to battle after receiving such a close Dragon Claw attack.

Ash’s dad had a blank expression on his face as he returned the downed pokémon to his pokéball, and kindly said, “Good job, Altaria. You deserve a good rest.”

What? Shouldn’t his dad be yelling at the pokémon, for not winning even though it clearly won the type advantage? I glanced over to Ash, and he looked surprised as well, since we were probably thinking on the same wavelength.

“You’ve trained well, son.” his father said, “I’m very proud of you.”

Ash looked speechless as his dad turned around and quietly walked away. That’s it? That’s all he was going to say? Even my father said-

I hadn’t realized it, but Ash was now on his knees, a defeated look on his face as he watched his father disappear into the woods.

I bent down next to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Are you going to be okay, Ash…?”

He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes as he quietly began to sob. Pikachu and May came over to try and comfort him, but to no avail, as his wails and cries became higher and more desperate.

As I rubbed my friend’s shoulder, attempting to calm him from his frantic state, I wondered why he could possibly be so sad after beating the father who abandoned him.

Only later did I learn that Ash hadn’t been crying out of anger or sadness; he was crying out of happiness, because all he wanted was for his father to be proud of him…

- End -

First time I’ve used a pokémon battle in a story after…what…five years? It’s been so long since I wrote my first story (which will never, ever be on FanFiction.Net). Well, I hope you all enjoyed this little story. =D

Dragon Claw, Dragon Dance, and Leaf Blade are new moves from Ruby/Sapphire. Dragon Claw is a TM that allows anyone that can learn it (which includes Sceptile) to use an 80 base damage dragon move. Dragon Dance is a special move that increases the user’s attack and speed up one level. Finally, Leaf Blade is a 70 base damage grass move.

Ash’s mom didn’t really tell Ash that his father had abandoned them after Pokémon 3, I simply said that because I thought it would’ve made sense considering the story and all.

As you can see below, I have seven stories currently in the works…o_o It’s amazing how un-lazy I’ve managed to become…

Next Stories for Season Two:

Doom Desire - Wishing can be dangerous...especially when that wish is granted.

Deal - Misty and Gary make a deal that neither are comfortable with…especially not Ash.

Dream - After losing Ash to Misty, May dreams of what could’ve been.

Stories Currently Planned for Season Three:

The Show Must Go On – The actor for "May" reflects on the character she portrays on the popular "Pokémon" cartoon show, as well as the effects of replacing a well loved character ("Misty").

Cognitive Dissonance – Ash must choose between the two most important things in his life.

Love Is Not A Magicarp You Can Catch – Brock goes on a date with Misty.

Standing In the Middle of Yesterday - Misty visits the place where she fished Ash out…

Multi-Chaptered Story Currently Being Developed:

Ascension – The truth about where Pokémon come from, how they came to be, what the Chosen One's true purpose really is, the final evolution that will change the world and, most importantly, an end to everything.