Thread: Brotherhood

Thanks for reading Lugion, glad you enjoyed.

Here's Chapter 2, hope everyone likes it!

@Feliciano; - Chapter 2 ready for reviewing. I'm working through Heart of Crystal already.

Chapter 2 – Disaster


Will took in a deep breath of the fresh evening air as he walked slowly through the poorly lit back streets surrounded by the tall, grey buildings of his hometown, Goldenrod City, accompanied by his two younger brothers, Max and Frankie. Apart from their differences in height, the three Wynne brothers looked shockingly alike, each of them with fair skin, short black hair, and a slim frame. However, while Will and Frankie wore blue jackets over their jeans, Max, the middle brother, wore a red, woolly jumper.

‘That battle against Morty was so cool, Will,’ said Frankie, ‘I kept thinking you were gonna lose, but you did it! It was so cool!’

‘Thanks. To be honest with you, I kept thinking I was gonna lose too.’

‘No you didn’t!’ said Max furiously, ‘You knew you were gonna win the whole time! Admit it! You only make it look close so the audience love you even more!’

‘That’s not true. It looked close because it was close. What do you think I am?’

‘I think you’re a show off. You can’t bear the idea that your battles might look easy – you play down your talent so that it looks more impressive!’

‘That doesn’t make sense,’ said Will.

‘Yeah, that doesn’t make sense!’ added Frankie.

‘Shut up, Frankie. This is nothing to do with you.’

‘Hey, be nice to Frankie. Why have you always gotta be mean to him?’ asked Will.

‘Oh, knock it off. I’m always nice to him. You sound like Mum.’

‘You’re just jealous because Will’s better at Pokémon than you!’ teased Frankie.

‘No, I’m not! I don’t care!’

‘If you care so little,’ said Will, ‘Why are you always talking about how you’re the best battler in your class?’

‘It’s true! The kids in my class all suck! Anyway, I said that like one time.’

‘You say it all the time! You said it earlier today!’ exclaimed Will.

‘I did not!’

‘If you’re so good, why don’t you battle Will?’ challenged Frankie.

‘We can’t battle here, we’re in the middle of the street. If the police come, we’ll be in trouble. Why don’t you try using your brain for once?’

‘It’s not stupid,’ said Will, ‘We can just go down an alley or something, there’s plenty around here. I’m up for a battle, if you want one.’

‘We could still get caught, even if we’re down an alley.’

‘You’re just scared! You’re such a baby!’ said Frankie.

‘I am not scared! It’s a stupid idea. Maybe tomorrow at home, or something.’

‘Oh, go on, Max. It’ll be fun. I’ll go easy on you.’

‘I don’t need you to go easy on me!’

‘Are you saying you’re up for a battle?’

‘Ugh! Fine, but if we get into trouble, it’s your fault!’

A few minutes later, Max and Will were standing opposite each other in a nearby dark alley. Frankie stood behind Will. The tall walls on either side of the impending battle blocked out what little sunlight that remained in the sky. In fact, as the alley led to a dead end, the only light came from behind Max, courtesy of a lamppost in the street that the alley led off, meaning that Will and Frankie were covered in ominous shadows. The lighting situation was, however, the least of Max’s concerns. He hated battling Will. He always lost, and Will was always mean about it. It was humiliating, and made all the worse by the fact that Frankie never failed to join in with Will’s gloating. Max couldn’t wait until Frankie had Pokémon of his own, so he could show him how it felt to be constantly beaten and made fun of.

‘Hey Maxie, you gonna pick a Pokémon or what?’ shouted Will from the other side of the alley.

‘Why don’t you pick first? I always have to pick first,’ answered Max unhappily.

‘You know the rules. You beat me, and I’ll pick first next time. I won last time, so you gotta pick first.’

Max grumbled to himself, and ran his hand over the three Poké Balls on his belt, trying to decide which one to open with. With each passing battle against Will, it became increasingly difficult to remain enthusiastic about this decision. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Max knew that whichever Pokémon he chose, Will would defeat it without breaking a sweat. He took in a deep breath, and tried to make himself care. He absolutely had to beat Will one day, and if he gave up completely, it would never happen. He set himself the target of knocking out just one of Will’s three Pokémon before all three of his own were defeated, but quickly took it back – that was getting way too far ahead of himself. He decided instead that his target would be to make Will think, even for a moment, that one of his Pokémon might be knocked out.

‘You battling or not, Maxie?’ sneered Will from across the alley.

‘Yeah, Maxie! You battling or not?’ shouted Frankie.

‘Yeah, yeah, give me a chance!’

After a couple of seconds more deliberation, Max grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt, and threw it out into the alley in front of him.

Max’s Wooper burst out of its Poké Ball, and looked around. When Max released the small, blue, bipedal Pokémon to battle his school friends, it usually jumped around excitably, but upon seeing Will it became noticeably dejected. Will made a show of thinking carefully about what Pokémon he would choose to counter Wooper, but Max knew it was all an act. He would have put a large sum of money on Will’s next Pokémon being his Golduck. Will loved using his Golduck to defeat Max’s Wooper because they were both Water types. He liked to show that he was so much better than Max that, even when they were using the same type, and therefore had an even playing field, he could win with ease.

Eventually, Will nodded, indicating that he had made his decision. He pulled a Poké Ball off of his belt, and threw it in front of him. Just as Max had predicted, the Ball exploded to reveal Will’s Golduck. Frankie cheered excitedly.

‘Dig!’ ordered Max.

Wooper immediately curled up in a ball, and used its head, feet, and tail together to start tearing up the unevenly paved ground beneath it. It made quick progress, slowly disappearing into the pothole it was creating.

‘Fill up the hole,’ commanded Will.

Will’s Golduck walked over to its opponent with an extraordinarily casual manner reflecting its trainer’s confidence. Before doing anything, it peeked into the hole that Wooper had now completely disappeared into. The smaller Water type continued to desperately tunnel, throwing up small pieces of dirt and concrete near where Golduck was standing. The larger Water type opened its mouth, and fired a fierce torrent of water into the small hole. Wooper made a desperate attempt to continue digging, but within a few seconds, it was floating at the top of what looked more like a puddle than a hole.

Will laughed, and Frankie cheered.

‘Wooper! Get to the bottom of the water, and keep digging! It won’t be able to fit down the hole!’

‘Grab it, and hit it with a Psychic, Golduck!’

Wooper momentarily disappeared back into the now water-filled hole, but Golduck swiftly grabbed it, and pulled it out again. It gripped Wooper in both of its hands, and then simply paused, allowing the smaller Water Pokémon to squirm pathetically in its futile attempts to escape.

‘Get loose, Wooper! You can do it!’

Unfortunately, Max’s encouragements were in vain. Wooper failed to escape, and after what seemed like hours of toying with it, Golduck finally sent a purple blast of energy out of the small, red sphere in the middle of its forehead, knocking Wooper out instantly. Max sullenly returned the small Water Pokémon to its Poké Ball, and sent out his next Pokémon – Zubat. In response, Will withdrew Golduck to its Poké Ball, and sent his Nidorino out to continue the battle.

‘Fly high where it can’t hit you, and launch a Confuse Ray, Zubat!’

‘Horn Attack before it gets anywhere! Jump if you have to! Keep it grounded!’

Zubat flew into the air as fast as it could, but Nidorino leapt into the air with such power that it was able to catch the Flying type with its horn, quickly slashing it across the stomach. In spite of this setback, Max was ecstatic. The last time he had battled Will, Zubat had been knocked out by a single Horn Attack from Nidorino, but now it had not only been able to withstand the onslaught, but to continue flying upwards, putting itself outside the range of further attacks. Looking across the alley at Will’s shadowy face, Max was fairly sure he had noticed the difference too. The bat Pokémon then made some high pitched noises, and fired what looked like a ball of rainbow glitter from its mouth. Nidorino made an attempt to dodge it, but was hit head on by the Confuse Ray. To Max’s delight, Will cursed under his breath.

‘Ice Beam,’ ordered Will.

Nidorino took a few aimless, dizzy steps before responding. For a second, Max thought it was about to hurt itself in its confusion, but it suddenly gathered its wits, and launched a light blue beam that knocked Zubat out of the air. The pink Poison type made an attempt to rush over so that it could finish the job, but stumbled in its disorientation, falling over and hurting itself instead. Ultimately though, it didn’t matter, as Zubat was knocked out by the Ice Beam before it hit the ground anyway. Max returned it to its Poké Ball with a grumble, and sent out his last Pokémon, Mankey. Will returned Nidorino, and sent Heracross out to continue the battle.

‘Mankey, Focus Blast!’ cried Max desperately.

He had saved up for weeks so that he could afford the TM to teach his Mankey Focus Blast. He just prayed it would be enough to at least make the match between Mankey and Heracross a close one.

‘Heracross, Counter!’ ordered Will.

Mankey raised its hands, and created a ball of shining white light between them, which it fired at Heracross. The large, blue Bug stopped for a moment, seemingly injured, but then flew towards Mankey at an incredible speed, and slammed its large horn against the smaller Fighting type, sending it tumbling across the alley. Mankey was immediately knocked out. Max withdrew Mankey, and was about to say something when he heard a voice come from behind him.

‘Hey, Champ. Long time no see.’

Max turned to see a group of four teenagers around Will’s age standing at the entrance to the alley, and blocking the three brothers in. He took a few cautious steps backwards so that he was nearer Will and Frankie. The one who had spoken was standing a few steps ahead of the rest of the group, and appeared to be the leader. He wore a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt and blue jeans, had a shaved head, and a gold stud in his left ear. The other three stood next to each other at the entrance to the alley. A young man with a white vest, blue jeans, and a dyed red Mohican stared furiously at Will from the middle of the rear trio. Next to him was a girl with short, dyed blue hair, a black sleeveless top, a short denim skirt, who seemed to be more concerned with checking the large, gold rings on each of her hands than what was going on in front of her. The last member of the group seemed out of place with the other three, sporting an enormous belly; greasy, black hair; grey, stained jogging bottoms; and a black t-shirt with the name of an obscure metal band from thirty years ago.

Heracross, who was still out of its Poké Ball from the battle, dashed out in front of Max, and took a defensive stance, showing that it was ready to protect the brothers. Without warning, a Graveler appeared in front of it, and punched it in the face. After the Focus Blast from Max’s Mankey, this was more than enough to knock the Bug type out. Not a second later, another three large Pokémon appeared in the alley, each grabbing and restraining one of the brothers. Max was struck silent as he was held still by an Ursaring, and Frankie whimpered quietly in the arms of a Machoke.

‘What do you want?’ asked Will, struggling against the Poliwrath that held both of his arms from behind.

‘What do you think we want?’ answered the leader of the group, ‘You’re the amazing Will Wynne. We want your Gym Badges.’

‘Do you think I’m fucking stupid? I don’t carry my Gym Badges.’

At this, the red haired member of the group became suddenly furious, taking a few steps forwards, and gesticulating wildly as he spoke.

‘Don’t fuck with us, okay? We’ll fuck you up! You’re gonna give us your fucking Badges, okay? You think we’re gonna put up with your shit now? You think we’re fucking scared of you?’

‘I never said you were scared, but I did notice that you waited until after I had a battle to attack.’

‘Oh, fuck this! Poliwrath! Snap his fucking neck!’ shouted the red haired teen in anger.

‘Spike!’ snapped the leader of the group, ‘Calm it, there’s no need for that.’

Poliwrath didn’t move.

‘Will,’ continued the leader, now ignoring the one called Spike, ‘So you say you haven’t got your Gym Badges with you. Fair enough. I suppose I wouldn’t carry my Badges if I had any.’

‘Come on!’ yelled Spike, taking a few steps forward.

The leader of the group threw his arm out to stop him walking any further.

‘That’s enough, Spike. Go stand with Saf and Chubby like I told you to.’

Spike grumbled incoherently, but obeyed.

‘Now, Will, we’ve got a problem. We’ve gone to all this trouble to get your Gym Badges, but you don’t have them with you. Of course, that’s not your fault, but it wouldn’t be fair for us to leave empty handed now, would it?’

Max wanted to say something clever, but his mouth wouldn’t open. Fortunately, Will did not suffer from the same ailment.

‘Life isn’t fair.’

Once again, Spike exploded in enraged profanities.

‘Spike, how many times have I gotta tell you? Shut the fuck up.’

Spike nodded, and looked to the ground, clenching his fists. The fat teen patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, but Spike batted his hand away angrily.

‘Now, where was I?’ said the leader of the group, ‘Oh, that’s right. After going through all this effort, it wouldn’t be fair for us to leave empty handed, so we’re going to need something. Now, what could that be? Pokégear seems like a bit of a meagre prize given that we came expecting Gym Badges...’

A few seconds passed in which the only sound that could be heard was Frankie’s whimpering.

‘I’ve got it. You’re going to give us your Pokémon. The amazing Will Wynne’s Pokémon should fetch a good price. What do you say, guys?’

The three standing behind him cheered, indicating their support. To Max’s surprise, Will said nothing.

‘Yeah, that’ll work. I think you’d better hand them over. Actually, you know what? Spike here is gonna walk over and pull the Poké Balls off your belt while his Poliwrath holds you still.’

‘Chubby can do it,’ spat Spike.

‘I asked you to do it, Spike.’

Spike muttered objections, but walked towards Will as instructed. Will sighed, but made no effort to fight. Tears streamed freely down Frankie’s face. Max was stunned silent. He didn’t understand why Will wasn’t fighting, but he was too terrified to say anything. Spike stopped an inch in front of Will’s face, and paused, patting him patronisingly on the shoulder.

‘You wouldn’t believe how long I’ve been waiting for this, buddy.’

Spike then proceeded to remove the three Poké Balls from Will’s belt, and return Heracross to the appropriate one.

‘What about the shrimp, boss? He’s got Pokémon too,’ said the rotund member of the group.

‘Shut the fuck up, Chubby. You saw his Pokémon, they sucked, there’s no point,’ snapped Spike.

‘I like it,’ said the leader, ignoring Spike, ‘Take little Wynne’s Pokémon too, Spike.’

At this point, Will started struggling furiously, and the Poliwrath holding him tightened its grip.

‘Fuck off! Leave him alone! He’s got nothing to do with this!’

Spike appeared to be about to object to the instruction, but upon seeing Will’s reaction let out a short burst of laughter.

‘Now that’s the reaction I was hoping for. We’re gonna take your little brother’s Pokémon, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Hey, does the baby have Pokémon, why don’t we take his too?’

‘He doesn’t have Pokémon, Spike,’ said the leader, ‘Wasn’t that obvious?’

‘That’s a shame. Saf, have your Machoke smack him around a bit.’

‘Leave him alone, you sick fuck!’ shouted Will furiously.

Spike began laughing uncontrollably.

‘Saf, don’t do that,’ ordered the leader, ‘And Spike, just shut the fuck up, and do as your told. Take little Wynne’s Pokémon, and leave baby Wynne alone. What’s so hard to understand about that?’

Spike stopped laughing abruptly. Will smirked. Spike shot him an angry glare, but said nothing, instead making his way over to the Ursaring that held Max, and began removing the Poké Balls from his belt. Will became animated once more, shouting and swearing for them to leave Max out of it. Now it was Spike who smirked.

‘Poliwrath, shut him up.’

On this command, Poliwrath swung Will with all its might so that his head crashed against the wall next to him. There was an explosion of blood as his nose collided with the bricks. Will slumped in Poliwrath’s grip as if unconscious, Frankie screamed, and Max began struggling against the Ursaring holding him.

‘Spike!’ shouted the leader, ‘There was no need for that! Get the fucking Poké Balls and get over here!’

Spike turned to continue taking the Poké Balls from Max’s belt, but found it difficult due to his squirming.

‘Hey, short stuff,’ said Spike, ‘If you’re not careful, you’re gonna go the same way as Won’t Wynne over there, so watch it, okay?’

Max quickly stopped moving, terrified of what might happen to him if he didn’t. Spike grabbed the remaining Poké Balls from his belt, and walked back over to the rest of the gang.

‘Now we go,’ commanded the leader of the group, immediately turning to walk out of the alley, ‘Have your Pokémon release them.’

‘Ursaring, Poliwrath, you heard the man,’ ordered Spike, following.

‘Machoke, you too!’ cried the female member of the group.

The Pokémon aggressively threw all three of the brothers to the floor. Will, completely unconscious, simply fell in a slump. Max and Frankie also fell to the floor, though were able to slowly pick themselves up. By the time they had done so, the muggers had disappeared. Frankie cried wildly, and without restraint. Max at first judged him for doing so, but soon found himself doing exactly the same.

Very interesting, I've missed reading your fics Gama. I can't wait to see where this is going; I can only assume that Will and Spike have some kind of past together. I was confused at how willingly Will let his Pokemon be taken, too, but I guess he has something up his sleeve. Anyway, good job; the first chapter in particular was very exciting.

Space the paragraphs a little more in battles remember xD

Aside from that I really liked this chapter, it showed how much Will actually cares about his brothers if he's even willing to give up his Pokemon. Though I do admit that it was a pretty idiotic move to go into a dark alley after he had just had a match that was watched by the whole city.

I wonder how the brother's bond will be now that this happened as there will probably be a lot of guilt around all three of them.

Pretty interesting. I like how you have an easy flow to read and follow. I don't ever have to stop and be like, "Now that's an odd choice of words." or "This sounds kind of forced." I can tell you know where this is exactly going.

Anyways, I thought it was a good chapter on whole. Got some plot twists in there, and I wonder what Will will do to get his Pokémon back. I also thought it showed some good brotherly love between the three when Will fought against having his younger bro's Pokémon taken. They also all have their own unique personalities, which is good. Will, Max, and Frankie all seem to stand together in "brotherhood"

Now excuse me as I go ram my head into a wall over how I deliberately put that retarded pun in there.

Gah, I'm really sorry this is so late

This story is off to a really great start so far. Your pacing is great - even though both chapters were taken up mostly by a battle, they were still engaging and showed a lot of character depth within the battle style. I really loved the interactions between the brothers, too. Each of them had very distinct personalities and quirks, though I found myself wondering just how much older Will was from his brothers, and how much younger Frankie was. It seems as though Max has started raising pokemon only recently, and while it's understandable he'd feel some jealousy towards Will for all his accomplishments and popularity, I also found myself wondering how Will obtained that popularity in the first place. After all, as of his fifth gym battle, he not only has a massive crowd cheering for him, but his battle is also televised. I wasn't sure what prompted this rise to stardom when this is nowhere near the level of, say, a league competition. Has he never lost to a gym leader? Has he been winning his badges abnormally quickly? Just the fact that he's a skilled and entertaining battler doesn't quite explain for me the sheer level of popularity Will has earned, but maybe that's just me.

Will has obviously made himself some enemies, and I'm insanely curious as to who this gang leader is and why he has such a grudge against the Wynne family, and Will in particular. Going as far as to attack him and his brothers and threaten them with their own pokemon really set the stage for the tone of the rest of the story, and I applaud that you were able to pull it off so well. To me, though, Max is the most interesting character. I really want to know why he's so jealous and angry at Will all the time - what does he know that we don't? I've got to say I'm really curious to see his development throughout the story.

I'm looking forward to chapter three! Again, sorry this was so late. I know I promised this to you yesterday, but I got caught up studying for my last final.

Hey guys, thanks for your comments, the next chapter should be out today or tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Stellar Haze

Space the paragraphs a little more in battles remember xD

Aside from that I really liked this chapter, it showed how much Will actually cares about his brothers if he's even willing to give up his Pokemon. Though I do admit that it was a pretty idiotic move to go into a dark alley after he had just had a match that was watched by the whole city.

I wonder how the brother's bond will be now that this happened as there will probably be a lot of guilt around all three of them.

I'll bear the spacing thing in mind. I guess Will thought he was strong enough to defend himself... I also guess that he wasn't xD

Originally Posted by Red

Pretty interesting. I like how you have an easy flow to read and follow. I don't ever have to stop and be like, "Now that's an odd choice of words." or "This sounds kind of forced." I can tell you know where this is exactly going.

Anyways, I thought it was a good chapter on whole. Got some plot twists in there, and I wonder what Will will do to get his Pokémon back. I also thought it showed some good brotherly love between the three when Will fought against having his younger bro's Pokémon taken. They also all have their own unique personalities, which is good. Will, Max, and Frankie all seem to stand together in "brotherhood"

Now excuse me as I go ram my head into a wall over how I deliberately put that retarded pun in there.

Glad you liked the flow and everything. In my opinion that's one of the hardest things to get right so it means a lot that you think that was good.

It might surprise you to know that the title of the fic was chosen because the brotherhood of Will, Max and Frankie is a central theme of the story.

Originally Posted by Feliciano

Gah, I'm really sorry this is so late

This story is off to a really great start so far. Your pacing is great - even though both chapters were taken up mostly by a battle, they were still engaging and showed a lot of character depth within the battle style. I really loved the interactions between the brothers, too. Each of them had very distinct personalities and quirks, though I found myself wondering just how much older Will was from his brothers, and how much younger Frankie was. It seems as though Max has started raising pokemon only recently, and while it's understandable he'd feel some jealousy towards Will for all his accomplishments and popularity, I also found myself wondering how Will obtained that popularity in the first place. After all, as of his fifth gym battle, he not only has a massive crowd cheering for him, but his battle is also televised. I wasn't sure what prompted this rise to stardom when this is nowhere near the level of, say, a league competition. Has he never lost to a gym leader? Has he been winning his badges abnormally quickly? Just the fact that he's a skilled and entertaining battler doesn't quite explain for me the sheer level of popularity Will has earned, but maybe that's just me.

Will has obviously made himself some enemies, and I'm insanely curious as to who this gang leader is and why he has such a grudge against the Wynne family, and Will in particular. Going as far as to attack him and his brothers and threaten them with their own pokemon really set the stage for the tone of the rest of the story, and I applaud that you were able to pull it off so well. To me, though, Max is the most interesting character. I really want to know why he's so jealous and angry at Will all the time - what does he know that we don't? I've got to say I'm really curious to see his development throughout the story.

I'm looking forward to chapter three! Again, sorry this was so late. I know I promised this to you yesterday, but I got caught up studying for my last final.

Glad you enjoyed the story. To answer your questions - Will is 16 (will be explicitly stated Chapter 3), Max is 14 and Frankie is 12 (both pointed out in Chapter 1, I think). At times there may seem to be bigger age gaps than there is, but that's because (I think) in close family relationships, people often exaggerate their position in the family. (The eldest, the baby etc.)

As for Will's rise to stardom. Probably the reason you think it's strange is because you're thinking of this story within the context of existing Pokemon canons. I suppose I could have made it clearer, but in my canon (or "fanon", I suppose), Gyms are extremely difficult to beat, so anyone who has collected five Badges will manage to achieve some level of celebrity status. The crowds are so large because people want to be able to say that they saw the early matches of the new Champion. A league challenge would typically have an absolutely enormous crowd. The fact that he's so young probably helps boost his popularity too, though.

Anyway, glad you all enjoyed, as I said, I'll have the next chapter out pretty soon.

Tag list: @Instrutilus; @Red; @Stellar Haze; Let me know if you want to be added!

Chapter 3 – Letters

For the next few days, the Wynne household was a very sombre place. Mothers typically become extremely overprotective and paranoid if one of their children is attacked, so it is hardly surprising that, after all three of her children were attacked at once, Lydia Wynne became a nervous wreck. Where in the past she had been fairly liberal about allowing her sons to go out by themselves whenever they wanted, particularly as it was the summer holidays, she suddenly became extremely strict about it. Before being allowed out, all of the boys, even sixteen year old Will, had to give her all the details on where they were planning on going, who they were planning on meeting, and for how long. Any proposals to be out after dark were, of course, immediately rejected, and the boys were expected to be in the company of their friends, or their friends’ parents at all times, which meant being picked up from and dropped off at the front door.

In spite of the fact that these were fairly major changes to the house’s routine, they were met with surprisingly little resistance, particularly when compared to the furious objections that were raised against the expectation to rise fifteen minutes earlier on school days. Frankie had absolutely no interest in going outside, with or without his friends. The day after the mugging, he demanded to be bought a lock for his bedroom door, and didn’t leave the room, or even unlock the door, except for meals. There was a significant change in Will too. Before he had spent little time indoors, instead always out training his Pokémon, or hanging out with his friends, but now he just moped around the house, feeling sorry for himself. In fact, the only one of the three who opposed the new rules at all was Max. Although he wasn’t as enthusiastic about seeing his friends as he had been before the incident, he still wanted to be able to leave the house freely. On the surface, he seemed almost completely unaffected by what had happened, but he would occasionally be gripped by sudden fits of rage, or depression.

Nearly a week after the incident, the boys were woken up at nine in the morning by excited shrieks from their mother demanding they come downstairs at once. Max was the first to leave his room. The extent of his mother’s excitement was so much that he thought his and Will’s Pokémon had been somehow recovered.

‘A package from Uncle Terry!’ exclaimed his mother when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Although he was disappointed that he wasn’t getting his Pokémon back, the news that Uncle Terry had been in touch certainly made up for it. The family hadn’t seen Uncle Terry since he had left his post as Indigo Champion five years ago saying that he wanted to make a real difference in the world. Since then the only contact that they’d had from him were packages addressed to Will and Max on their twelfth birthdays containing their first Pokémon, Nidoran and Mankey respectively. The fact that Frankie had received nothing on his twelfth birthday had made Lydia worry that Uncle Terry had died in his attempts to ‘make a real difference in the world’. After a few more minutes, Will and Frankie both also emerged from upstairs. Once all three boys were sitting at the kitchen table, Lydia tore open the package, and pulled out a letter. She read it aloud:

‘Dear Lydia,

I am sorry I did not send Frankie anything for his birthday, I was indisposed at the time. I cannot go into any more detail than that at the present moment, but suffice to say that I am fine now. I am sure you were worried sick about me, but you really needn’t have been – you should know that I can look after myself. I think you will never understand that, but perhaps your sons at least will. At any rate, I hope the contents of this package will make up for my previous negligence.

I was also very sorry to hear about what happened to the boys. Next time I am in Johto I will do my best to recover the Pokémon, but I fear that with what little information there seems to be on the incident, I won’t be able to achieve much. It must have been particularly bad for Will as it essentially puts an end to his League challenge for the foreseeable future. I had hoped that he would follow in my footsteps, and that he could have perhaps joined me in the important business I am taking care of these days, but I guess that dream has been set back a few years at least.

I know Pokémon can never be replaced, but in some vague effort to recompense the boys, and to give Frankie his first Pokémon, which I failed to do at the correct time, I have enclosed in this package three rare Pokémon: a Bulbasaur, a Charmander, and a Squirtle. The boys should take one each.

I hope all is well with you. You may not hear from me again for some time, please try not to worry.

Yours,
Terry’

Lydia closed her eyes peacefully. She was always filled with delight after hearing from her brother. His safety was constantly on her mind. She knew he was one of the best trainers in the world, but she also knew that he was very aware of that – she was certain that his arrogance would one day be his downfall. For thirty seconds or so after reading the letter, she stood with her eyes closed, and a smile on her face, completely unaware of the fact that her sons had grabbed the Poké Balls from the package, and run upstairs to Will’s room.

The three of them sat in a circle with the Poké Balls between them.

‘Who gets which one?’ asked Frankie.

There was a moment of silence in which none of them spoke.

‘I want Charmander,’ said Will, ‘You both know I’m in the middle of a League challenge. If I manage to get my Pokémon back, that’ll be the one that will complement my team the best. I already have a Water type, so Squirtle is useless, and Nidorino covers most of what a Bulbasaur would bring to the team.’

The two younger brothers said nothing as Will leant forwards, and grabbed the Poké Ball containing Charmander. There were a few more moments of silence.

‘Can I have Squirtle?’ asked Max.

‘I want Squirtle!’ said Frankie.

‘Shut up, Frankie, I said first!’

‘Max, what do you need a Squirtle for? You’ve already got a Water type. Let Frankie have it,’ interjected Will.

Max sighed, rolled his eyes, and then gave a little nod that the brothers all understood to mean that he begrudgingly accepted what Will had said. Will leant forwards, and picked up the two Poké Balls, giving Bulbasaur’s one to Max, and Squirtle’s to Frankie. The room fell to silence again.

‘Well, what are we waiting for? Shall we go outside and test these things?’ asked Will finally.

In less than a minute, all three of them were in the back garden with their Poké Balls in hand. They were the happiest they had been since the incident. Although the plaster across Will’s nose served as an unpleasant reminder, the smile across his face showed that good times were ahead.

‘How are we gonna do this?’ asked Max.

‘I wanna go first!’ shouted Frankie.

‘I’ll beat you!’ said Max in response.

‘I’ll battle you, Frankie, then Max can battle the winner,’ said Will.

Max was slightly annoyed that Will robbed him of the chance to beat Frankie, but decided to keep quiet. He was slightly worried that since he too was battling with a brand new Pokémon, Frankie might be able to beat him, which would have been awful. At least this way, he’d be able to get an idea of what to expect, whichever of them he ended up battling.

Frankie and Will threw their Poké Balls to the ground simultaneously. Both Charmander and Squirtle were significantly smaller than Max had expected them to be. They were smaller than even Nidoran or Mankey had been when they’d first arrived. Max guessed they must be babies, and expected that Bulbasaur would be of a similar size. He sighed, thinking about all the training that the infant Grass type would require. On being released from their Poké Balls, Squirtle immediately sat down, and Charmander leant forwards and began eating the grass in front of it.

‘Alright, Frankie, you’ve got the type advantage here, so you ought to win, okay?’ said Will.

‘Hey, that’s not fair! I’ve never battled before! I don’t know what I’m doing!’

‘Well, we’re both battling with new Pokémon, so it’s an even playing field. Charmander! To me!’

‘Squirtle! To me!’ said Frankie, unsure what else to say.

The two Pokémon slowly turned, and walked towards their trainers, both stumbling multiple times along the way. Max sighed. Raising Mankey was frustrating enough, but these Pokémon seemed to be even younger. Although he was delighted to have a Pokémon as rare as a Bulbasaur, he would not have hesitated to trade it for his Mankey, Zubat, or Wooper. He watched silently as Will seemed to be exchanging whispers with Charmander. The small lizard slashed the air pathetically, and breathed out a small, black cloud in response to what Will was saying. Meanwhile, Frankie attempted to emulate Will, but seemed to be having less success. Unlike Charmander, Squirtle was staring at Frankie in bewilderment.

‘Alright, Frankie! This battle’s already started, so I hope you’re ready! I’m gonna have Charmander attack Squirtle now!’

A look of panic passed over Frankie’s face.

‘Charmander! Scratch!’

‘Squirtle! Attack Drill One!’

Charmander dashed over to its foe with its tiny claws raised threateningly. Squirtle simply cocked its head, and continued to stare at Frankie in confusion.

‘Squirtle! Attack Charmander!’

Squirtle slowly turned its head to see Charmander approaching it aggressively, and suddenly realised that it was expected to battle. A look of blind panic came over its face. Fortunately, at that same moment, Charmander tripped over a small stone, and fell, hitting its head against the ground. Squirtle plodded up inquisitively. It stood next to Charmander as the Fire type struggled to pull itself to its feet.

‘Charmander! Don’t bother getting up! Just Scratch it!’

‘Squirtle! Uh... Scratch back, okay?’

Charmander moved first, and was able to catch Squirtle off guard. It ran its claws down the turtle Pokémon’s face, causing it to wince in pain.

‘On your feet, Charmander!’

Charmander finally pulled itself to its feet, and made towards Squirtle again.

‘Squirtle! Scratch!’

‘Charmander, hold off for a second!’

Charmander turned to face Will, confused by the order. As it did, Squirtle successfully landed a Scratch attack, knocking it backwards.

‘Yeah! Go on, Squirtle! Hit again!’

Although Frankie didn’t notice, Max could tell that Will was holding back. He struggled to stop himself from shouting out in protest. With both Will and Frankie using brand new Pokémon, this match was far more evenly matched than any between Will and Max, but Max couldn’t remember his older brother ever having gone easy on him. He made himself look on the bright side – if Will let Frankie win, then he’d finally be able to achieve his dream of putting his younger brother in his place.

Encouraged by Frankie, Squirtle hit Charmander with another Scratch, knocking it to the ground this time. On Frankie’s continued commands, Squirtle jumped forwards to attack again, squealing with excitement as it did so. Suddenly, a few bubbles burst out of its mouth, and hit Charmander, causing the Fire type to shriek in pain. Squirtle, completely stunned by what had happened, stood still for a few moments to try and get stock of the situation.

‘Frankie, I think your Squirtle just learned Bubble,’ said Will.

Frankie’s face lit up with delight.

‘That’s great! Squirtle! Bubble again!’

‘Charmander, Scratch!’

Charmander tried to pull itself to its feet, but it was no good. It was hit with another Bubble, which, thanks to the type disadvantage, was enough to knock it out.

‘Great job, Squirtle!’

Frankie ran forwards, and hugged Squirtle, picking it up. Both of them squealed with excitement.

‘Good job, Charmander, that was a great effort,’ said Will, returning the Fire type to its Poké Ball, ‘Now I guess it’s time for you to battle Max, Frankie.’

Frankie’s face dropped.

‘I can battle him for you instead if you want,’ offered Will.

‘No!’ said Max, ‘You said I could battle the winner! I already wasn’t allowed to be in the first battle! I want to battle Frankie!’

‘Frankie doesn’t have to battle you if he doesn’t want to. It’s up to him. He’s a new trainer. Don’t be such a bully, Max. Why do you always want to pick on him?’

‘Me a bully? You’re the bully, Will!’

Will went to reply, but Frankie interrupted.

‘It’s okay! I’ll battle Max!’

‘You don’t have to if you don’t want to,’ said Will.

‘I want to, okay?’

‘I suppose Charmander does need a rest anyway. Alright, I guess you two can battle then. I’m gonna go inside, and get Charmander rested up. You two have fun.’

With that, Will went back into the house. Max took his place opposite Frankie. Frankie placed Squirtle on the ground in front of him, and patted it on the back encouragingly.

‘You ready to get your butt kicked, little man?’ asked Max, with a big grin on his face.

‘You’re not allowed to be mean if I lose, okay?’ said Frankie, ‘I’m a new trainer.’

‘But your Squirtle’s more experienced than my Bulbasaur.’

‘You’ve got a type advantage!’

‘Whatever.’

Max threw Bulbasaur’s Poké Ball out in front of him, releasing the small Grass type for the first time. Like Charmander and Squirtle, it was much smaller than he had expected it to be, but it at least seemed much surer footed than the other two, owing mostly to the fact that it stood on four legs rather than two. Upon seeing Squirtle, it was able to immediately recognise that it was in a battle, and began growling ferociously after casting a quick look over its shoulder to see who its new trainer was. Max grinned. Bulbasaur seemed to be much quicker than Squirtle, so perhaps Will had done him a favour by making him let Frankie have the Water type.

‘Come on, let’s get this going!’ said Max.

Frankie frowned, and put Squirtle down on the ground in front of him.

‘Use Bubble, Squirtle!’ commanded Frankie.

‘Ha, don’t you know anything? Grass types resist Water! That was a stupid attack to use! Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!’

‘You’re just saying that ‘cause you’re afraid I’m gonna win!’

Squirtle fired a torrent of bubbles at Bulbasaur. The Grass type, ignoring them completely, just turned to face its trainer, and cocked its head to indicate that it didn’t know how to perform a Vine Whip.

‘Scratch!’ ordered Max in frustration.

‘Bubble!’ shouted Frankie.

Again, Bulbasaur turned, and expressed its inability to perform that attack while ignoring Squirtle’s ineffectual onslaughts.

‘Well, what attacks do you know?’ asked Max.

Bulbasaur nodded, and, as Squirtle sprayed it with another load of bubbles, charged forwards, and hit the Water type with the side of its body, knocking it to the floor. Squirtle was so shocked by what had happened that it instinctively withdrew into its shell.

‘That was awesome, Bulbasaur! What was that, a Tackle attack? Do another!’

‘Squirtle! Come out of there, and use Bubble again!’

Unfortunately for Frankie, Bulbasaur was much quicker to follow its trainer’s command, and hit Squirtle with another Tackle that sent it flying across the garden, ricocheting between the fences on either side. Frankie desperately called out for Squirtle to stop itself, but, even if the turtle Pokémon had been capable of doing so, the order was drowned out by Max’s laughter.

‘Hit it again if you can, Bulbasaur!’

‘No! Stop it, Max! Don’t be mean to Squirtle!’

Squirtle soon stopped moving, but before Bulbasaur got a chance to hit it with another Tackle, the Water type’s head lolled out, making it clear that it had been knocked out.

‘Alright, you win, Max! Leave Squirtle alone now!’

Max bellowed with laughter.

‘Great job, Bulbasaur! Let’s go in and get some rest! Frankie, you better train that shrimpy turtle up if you wanna stand a chance of being a halfway decent trainer! That was a pathetic performance!’

Max returned Bulbasaur to its Poké Ball, and walked into the house ahead of Frankie, who was following, with Squirtle cradled in his arms. Once inside, the boys soon forgot about the battle as their mother interrogated them about where Will had gone – apparently he had left the house without giving any indication of where he was going. To her disappointment, they reported that he hadn’t told them that he was going out either. She questioned them further for a while, accusing them of covering for him, but eventually submitted, realising that they were telling the truth. She said there was no need to worry, as he was probably just out training his new Pokémon to resume his Gym challenge, but the reassurance seemed to be more for her own benefit than theirs. Max and Frankie, confident in Will’s ability to look after himself, had little interest in what he was doing, and spent the rest of the day playing with their new Pokémon. In spite of Max’s pleading, the pair did not have another battle.

By the time they went to bed, Will still hadn’t returned. Neither of the brothers lost any sleep over it. Before the robbery, it was fairly standard for Will to go out with his friends, and return in the early hours of the morning. The next day, however, Max came downstairs to find their mother in tears. Will still hadn’t returned. He sat with her, and tried to comfort her for a while, but then remembered that he needed to let his Bulbasaur out of its Poké Ball for some exercise. As he returned to his bedroom, Frankie ran in, waving a small letter in Max’s face.

‘It’s from Will! He’s okay!’

Max snatched the letter off him, and began reading.

‘Dear Max and Frankie,

I have gone to recover mine and Max’s Pokémon. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Don’t try and follow me. If I don’t return in the next seventy two hours, you should tell the police to search the Ruins of Alph for me. Don’t speak a word of this to anyone, especially Mum, before that time. I’m telling you two this because I know I can trust you.

Love from Will’

‘We have to help him, Frankie,’ said Max, as soon as he put down the letter.

‘But he said not to!’

‘That’s because he’s forgotten that he’s not the amazing Will Wynne anymore! His only Pokémon is that Charmander now! You saw it! It’s tiny! He needs our help! If he had his old Pokémon with him, I’d have agreed with you, but he doesn’t! We need to help him! We owe it to him!’

‘I guess...’

Max was filled with excitement. This was his opportunity to be the hero for once. If he and Frankie came to Will’s rescue, it would finally be Max, and not Will, who was the saviour of the family.

‘We need to go to the Ruins of Alph! It’s not that far from here!’

‘Do you know the way?’

‘Yeah, it’s easy, we just need to go through Violet City.’

‘Okay...’ said Frankie reluctantly.

‘Come on, Frankie, we have to do this! For Will!’

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

‘I want Charmander,’ said Will, ‘You both know I’m in the middle of a League challenge. If I manage to get my Pokémon back, that’ll be the one that will complement my team the best. I already have a Water type, so Squirtle is useless, and Nidorino covers most of what a Bulbasaur would bring to the team.’

Called it! By the time I read the part about having the three Kanto starters in there, I knew for a fact that Will was gonna pick Charmander. Also, it's my favorite Kanto starter anyways :D

Anyways, I liked this chapter. I really liked how you portrayed the Pokémon. The fights seemed cool too.

The only thing that irks me in these chapters is the one quotation mark, but that's just because I'm American. Keep it up, this is cool!

Originally Posted by Red

The only thing that irks me in these chapters is the one quotation mark, but that's just because I'm American. Keep it up, this is cool!

American? I didn't know it was an American thing; I live in the UK and I was taught to use two. It doesn't bother me GM, I'm just surprised to hear this, but I guess you learn something new everyday.

Another great chapter; I can't wait to see what happens in the Ruins of Alph. They always get overlooked, even in journey fics, and they have so much potential to have really awesome stuff happen in them. I can sense the main protaginist actually turning out to be Max, although I suppose the title of the fic implies that it's all three of them as a whole.

Could I be added to the tag list?

An interesting turn of events.

The brothers' interactions are pretty realistic (oddly enough, I have two younger brothers myself, so I can relate pretty well), though I do think that Frankie is kinda immature for twelve.

Okay so this chapter has put a spin on things. With Will gone Max and Frankie will both have to look for him even though they both have baby starter Pokemon.

However, I'm worried as to how they will fare, especially Frankie who is still just a naive little kid. Actually I do have one question. How come Frankie being already twelve doesn't know the basics behind Pokemon battles even though he wants to become a champion?

Thanks for reading everyone. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out in the next day or two.

Originally Posted by BlueNostalgia

Another great chapter; I can't wait to see what happens in the Ruins of Alph. They always get overlooked, even in journey fics, and they have so much potential to have really awesome stuff happen in them. I can sense the main protaginist actually turning out to be Max, although I suppose the title of the fic implies that it's all three of them as a whole.

Could I be added to the tag list?

Interesting suggestions. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that the perspective and protagonists will shift a little here and there throughout the story, though the three brothers will remain at the centre of everything.

And, yes, of course you can be added to the tag list =)

Originally Posted by Elite Four Lugion

An interesting turn of events.

The brothers' interactions are pretty realistic (oddly enough, I have two younger brothers myself, so I can relate pretty well), though I do think that Frankie is kinda immature for twelve.

Glad you think so, sibling interaction is something that I find particularly interesting, I don't know why. I'll bear in mind what you said about Frankie. I do think younger siblings often are immature for their age (from what I've seen) as they play up to their status as the "baby", but I think you're right that I may have taken it a bit far so I will try to dial it down a notch.

Originally Posted by Gymleader Misty

Okay so this chapter has put a spin on things. With Will gone Max and Frankie will both have to look for him even though they both have baby starter Pokemon.

However, I'm worried as to how they will fare, especially Frankie who is still just a naive little kid. Actually I do have one question. How come Frankie being already twelve doesn't know the basics behind Pokemon battles even though he wants to become a champion?

Yes, they'll certainly face struggles. I wonder if going to help Will is actually a good idea at all.

As for why Frankie doesn't know the basics at twelve... Well, firstly, it depends on what your definition of the basics is. Although type alignment between fire, water and grass may seem like the basics for someone who has learnt about Pokemon through the games, I'm not sure it would for someone growing up in a Pokemon world without a particular direction towards battling. I'm also not sure I ever indicated that Frankie wanted to be a Champion - as far as I can recall it's only Will who explicitly has that aim, and possibly Max implicitly.

Another big reason though, possibly more important, is the fact that I imagine this fic in its own canon. I don't like the idea that at age 10 everyone sets out and becomes a Pokemon trainer. I've tried to hint at the fact that the only reason that Will and Max were lucky enough to get their first Pokemon at the age of 12 was because they had a famous and successful uncle. I think Pokemon aren't easy things to come by and the idea that the local professor just keeps a stock of regional 'starter' Pokemon just seems ridiculous. (This idea isn't even supported by the games - in the games, each generation's professor just happens to have these Pokemon and each have a different reason for sharing them with the protagonist.) So essentially, it can be considered perfectly normal to not get your first Pokemon and start collecting Badges (if you are so inclined) until you are 16 or older.

I can't believe I never noticed that Gama had a new fanfic....
I have to say, I like this a lot more than Dragon Days or Silph's Escape, which is a shock by itself! It's well written and engaging, and I'm really enjoying it!
The one nitpick I have (don't know if anyone mentioned it) is that in Chapter Two, Heracross uses Counter in response to focus blast. Counter only affects physical moves, so it shouldn't have affected Focus Blast. Again, very nitpicky, but I thought I'd mention it.
On the whole though, looking forward to the next chapter!

Originally Posted by Elite Four Drake

I can't believe I never noticed that Gama had a new fanfic....
I have to say, I like this a lot more than Dragon Days or Silph's Escape, which is a shock by itself! It's well written and engaging, and I'm really enjoying it!
The one nitpick I have (don't know if anyone mentioned it) is that in Chapter Two, Heracross uses Counter in response to focus blast. Counter only affects physical moves, so it shouldn't have affected Focus Blast. Again, very nitpicky, but I thought I'd mention it.
On the whole though, looking forward to the next chapter!

Wow, I'm glad you liked it so much! Would you like to be added to the tag list? And you're right about Counter... Now I'm really annoyed. I guess I was in a pre-Physical/Special split mindset when I was writing that battle... Odd since I used a GenIV move... I'm usually good with game mechanics, I promise!

Tag list: @Instrutilus; @SpongeBob SquarePants; @Stellar Haze; @BlueNostalgia; Let me know if you want to be added!

Chapter 4 - Fans

That afternoon, Max and Frankie headed towards the National Park just North of Goldenrod that they needed to pass through to reach Violet City. They managed to convince their mother that they were only going to the shops to buy some TMs. Although she was reluctant at first, she eventually succumbed as they were together and armed with Pokémon. As they walked along Route 35, the road out of Goldenrod City, alongside their Pokémon, who were outside their Poké Balls, Frankie became increasingly anxious.

‘I don’t know about this, Max. What if we get hurt?’

‘We have to take that chance! If you’re worried about us getting hurt when we’re travelling together, and later with Will, how bad do you think it’d be for Will by himself? Think about it this way – his only Pokémon is that Charmander. Your Squirtle beat it in battle, and my Bulbasaur beat your Squirtle! That means he’s got the weakest Pokémon out of all three of us! He needs our help!’

Frankie mumbled incoherently, indicating that he accepted.

The walk out of Goldenrod seemed to take forever. It was particularly arduous for Frankie, as his Squirtle wouldn’t let go of his leg, making it very difficult for him to walk. Max’s Bulbasaur had no such need for support, emotional or otherwise. In fact, it walked a few steps ahead of the group, paying attention to no one but itself. After about ten minutes of walking, the group reached the National Park, which they had to pass through to reach Violet City. Just as they did, they heard a high pitched sound that nearly deafened them.

‘Oh my God, Anna! You’re right! It is them!’

‘They’re so cute!’

Terrified by all the noise, Squirtle let go of Frankie’s leg, and retreated into its shell. The brothers stopped walking, and looked around, trying to find the source of the commotion. Bulbasaur walked on for a few steps before noticing that everyone else had stopped, and backtracking so that it was standing with them. Suddenly, two girls around Max’s age appeared in front of the group. They wore matching outfits consisting of a white top and a short black skirt, and appeared to be about to explode with excitement.

‘You’re the little Wynne brothers, aren’t you?’

Max looked at his feet, and scowled. He hated it when this happened normally, but it was particularly bad now. Frankie flushed, and smiled at the girls.

‘Yeah, that’s us,’ said Frankie.

‘You have to let us have your autographs!’

‘We love Will! Is he around?’

‘Uh, okay, I guess,’ said Frankie.

‘Frankie, we can’t! Think about it!’ said Max, in what he intended to be a whisper.

‘Oh my God! Are these your Pokémon? They’re so cute! Please can we stroke them? Just a little?’

‘No, sorry, we’ve got to get going,’ said Max, trying to cut past them.

‘We can take five minutes, can’t we, Max? Will will be fine.’

‘Oh my God! Is Will in trouble?’

‘We’ll help you! I’ve got a Clefairy and Anna’s got a Jigglypuff! We’re not great battlers, but... there’s strength in numbers, right? Your guys don’t look too strong either. No offence!’

‘Sorry, that won’t be necessary, thanks for the offer, though,’ said Max to the girls before turning to Frankie, and continuing, ‘Frankie, shut up, and let’s go. We can’t hang around, and we can’t give autographs.’

‘Max! Why have you gotta be such a jerk all the time?’ shouted Frankie, becoming seriously agitated.

‘It’s okay!’ said one of the girls, ‘We can all go together, that way we can do the autographs and stuff while we walk, and we won’t waste any time!’

‘That’s a great idea, Becky!’ said the other.

‘Thanks again for the offer, but we really need to get going, and we don’t need any help.’

‘But the only reason we’re going after Will is because he lost his Pokémon, and he’s using that weak Charmander. These girls’ Pokémon probably have more experience than Bulbasaur and Squirtle put together!’

‘Shut up, Frankie! Are you stupid?’ snapped Max, but he was drowned out by melodramatic gasps from both the girls.

‘Will lost his Pokémon?’

‘What happened?’

‘The poor baby!’

‘Now you have to let us help you!’

Frankie began to say something else, but Max grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him away. The girls went to follow, but Max’s Bulbasaur stood between them and the brothers, growling ferociously. They stood for a moment, grabbing their own Poké Balls, but lost their nerve and ran away as soon as Bulbasaur snapped its teeth at them. The Grass type then proceeded to grab Squirtle, who was still withdrawn into its shell near where the encounter had taken place, with a vine from its bulb, and run after the two brothers, dragging the Water type behind it. The two brothers were too absorbed in arguing with each other to take any notice of the Pokémon.

‘Come on, Frankie, I knew you were stupid, but that was bad even for you! What’s wrong with you!?’

‘Shut up!’

‘No, seriously! You know what girls like that are like! Now the fact that Will lost his Pokémon, as well as our location is gonna be on all the fan sites by the time we leave the park!’

‘So?’

‘So!? Well, first of all, that’s Will’s reputation you’re playing with! If he manages to get his Pokémon back there’s no need for anyone to find out about all of this!’

‘It would have been worth it if they’d actually helped us!’

‘Are you kidding? You think they would have been a help? When’s the last time you saw a girl who’s only Pokémon was a Jigglypuff or a Clefairy be any kind of a help? Just because they’ve had their Pokémon longer than we’ve had ours doesn’t mean they’ll be any good in a battle!’

‘Yeah, but more Pokémon is still a help!’

‘Not if the trainers of those Pokémon are broadcasting the fact that they’re hanging out with Will Wynne’s younger brothers all over Facebook, and tagging us at Violet City or the National Park. Don’t you think Mum is gonna be looking for us?’

‘Mum’s not gonna come all the way out to Violet City just to get us!’

‘Seriously? Are you that stupid? Of course she will! Anyway, she doesn’t need to! Don’t you remember what happened last year when Will ran away from home?’

‘Yeah...’

‘Well what happened?’

‘...Mum found out where he was from one of his friends, and got the police to go and get him.’

‘You’re damn right she did! If our location starts getting broadcasted, we’re gonna get caught and sent home in no time, and then we won’t be able to help Will. Is any of this getting into your thick skull?’

‘Alright, alright, you don’t have to be so mean about it.’

The two continued to walk in silence. Bulbasaur finally managed to catch up, and flung Squirtle ahead so that it was by Frankie’s feet. Realising that it was finally safe, Squirtle emerged from its shell, and once again attached itself to its trainer’s leg. After a few more minutes of walking, Max’s stomach began to rumble.

‘You wanna stop for lunch in a minute?’

‘Okay, but shouldn’t we hide in the bushes or something so fans don’t see us?’ snapped Frankie.

Max opened his mouth to yell at Frankie, but stopped himself. He quickly realised that a more effective way to maintain his dominance would be to ignore the insincerity in what his brother had said.

‘You’re right, Frankie. Look, there’s some bushes, we’ll set out the picnic blanket there.’

Frankie glared at Max furiously, but followed him into the bushes obediently. Max made a point of going as far in as possible, not so much for the purposes of camouflage as to punish Frankie for contradicting him. The two of them laid out the picnic blanket from Frankie’s bag, and placed the food from Max’s out on top of it. Max and Frankie sat on opposite corners of the blanket. Squirtle sat in Frankie’s lap while Bulbasaur sat in a third corner of the blanket, and stared at the food in the middle. Max divided the food between the four of them, and started eating. The entire meal passed in silence.

Once they were finished eating, the four of them simply laid where they were, with none of them making any indication that they might move. They had been sitting there for over an hour when a Weedle crawled on to their picnic blanket, and began eating some leftovers. Squirtle dived behind Frankie’s back, while Bulbasaur growled at it aggressively.

‘It’s just a Weedle, Squirtle,’ said Frankie, ‘Don’t worry about it. It’ll leave us alone if we leave it alone.’

‘Don’t be stupid, Frankie, we need to train these Pokémon and this is a perfect opportunity!’ snapped Max.

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, Max, what if Squirtle and Bulbasaur get hurt? What if we get hurt?’

‘Oh come on, stop being such a baby! You said yourself that it’s just a Weedle! Bulbasaur, try hitting that thing with your vines, okay?’

Bulbasaur slowly got its vines out, unsure of what to do with them, as the Weedle got closer to the food on the picnic blanket, and lowered its head, preparing to eat. It poked the Bug type with one of its vines. Weedle did not react.

‘Like that, but a little harder. Come on, Bulbasaur, you can do it!’

Bulbasaur withdrew both of its vines, and then hit Weedle with a little more force. This time the small Bug Pokémon turned to face Bulbasaur furiously.

‘Nice one, Bulbasaur, now hit it again!’

Bulbasaur, now becoming more confident in its Vine Whip technique, this time hit Weedle even harder. The Bug type hissed. Squirtle whimpered, and hid itself behind Frankie even more. Suddenly, a second Weedle emerged from the bushes.

‘Frankie, look! There’s one for Squirtle to practise against!’

The first Weedle shot a small poison stinger from the horn on its head at Bulbasaur. The Grass type winced slightly, but indicated that it was not seriously hurt.

‘I think we should get out of here, Max.’

‘Frankie! If you’re scared to make that Squirtle battle, how are we gonna save Will?’

‘I guess,’ said Frankie reluctantly.

He then turned to Squirtle, and continued talking.

‘Squirtle, I need you to go over, and use Bubble on that other Weedle, okay?’

Squirtle looked to Frankie with terror in its eyes, desperate not to have to fight. Meanwhile, Bulbasaur continued to struggle with the first Weedle.

‘I’m sorry, Squirtle, but you have to! I need you to be strong so we can save Will and Charmander, okay?’

Squirtle nodded and nervously stepped out towards the second Weedle, which immediately hit it with a Poison Sting attack just like the one the first Weedle had used. Squirtle whimpered loudly, clutching its stomach in pain. It then burped, sounding like it was about to vomit.

‘Max! What’s happened?’

‘Oh, don’t worry, it’s just poisoned, it’ll be okay as long as you win. Bulbasaur, Vine Whip again! Keep at it!’

As Frankie prepared to give Squirtle more orders, a third Weedle appeared out of the overgrowth.

‘Max! Over there!’

Bulbasaur quickly finished off the first Weedle, and turned to face the new one as soon as Frankie spoke. Just as it did, another two Weedle appeared from the opposite direction. Squirtle was hit with another Poison Sting, this time from a different Weedle.

‘Max, we need to get out of here!’

‘We need to fight, Frankie! Keep going, Bulbasaur!’

Bulbasaur began whipping Weedle in all directions, successfully managing to knock one or two out, but increasing numbers continued to arrive. At the same time, Squirtle retreated into its shell, becoming overwhelmed by the several Weedle crawling all over it. Frankie opened his mouth to insist they flee again, but stopped as he heard an incredibly loud buzzing sound from deeper in the bushes. Both brothers turned in fear as three large Beedrill emerged, holding their drills out aggressively.

‘Let’s get out of here!’ cried Max, ‘Bulbasaur, clear us a path!’

Bulbasaur did its best to move the Weedle out of the way so the brothers could make their way back to the park, but in doing so it drew the attention of the Beedrill. At the same time, the brothers found themselves having to pull growing numbers of Weedle off of their own legs to make their way out of the bushes. Frankie screamed for Squirtle to emerge from its shell so it could escape, but it was completely unresponsive. He soon realised that the Water type had fainted, so returned it to its Poké Ball. As they tried to push their way through the bushes, it was becoming increasingly clear that Bulbasaur wasn’t going to be able to withstand the Beedrill’s attacks for much longer, after which point their sole targets would become Max and Frankie. Max winced in pain as he felt a stinger going into his ankle. Frankie was on the verge of tears. They both felt like they were doomed. They summoned all the strength they could to push onwards, but it was no good. Then, everything started to become blurry. Their limbs became less responsive as a sweet sound came from the distance. Max felt a large weight hit his shoulder. Both brothers felt unconsciousness slowly taking over. This was it, they were truly doomed. There was no escaping this time.

Max woke up to find himself lying on a bed. He had been stripped down to his underwear, and had bandages all over his body. A quick look around the room told him that it was the bedroom of a teenage girl. A second look told him exactly who that girl was. In the corner of the room, one of the girls that he and Frankie had met earlier was sitting at a desk, writing something.

‘What’s going on?’ asked Max groggily, struggling out of bed.

‘Oh no! Don’t get out of bed! Stay there! You’re safe here, it’s okay!’

As if her words had brought them on, Max felt severe pains in his arms as he tried to pull himself out of bed. He didn’t like taking orders from this girl, but he realised she was right, so made himself relaxed.

‘How? What happened? The... park... Weedle...’

‘Oh poor baby! Are you feeling confused? That happens sometimes, sorry! Well, when you and Frankie ran off, your Bulbasaur chased me and Becky away, but then we thought that we had better be brave because you obviously needed help, so we came back, but when we did you were gone, so we looked all over the Park for you when we heard some angry sounding Beedrill in one of the bushes. I had my Jigglypuff use Sing and put everyone to sleep, and we found out it was you in there, so we took you back to Becky’s house until you got better.’

‘Becky’s house? Where? Frankie?’

‘Oh, Frankie is in the other room with Becky, don’t worry about him. And, yes, we’re at Becky’s house! I wanted to go to mine, but I live in Goldenrod, and we figured you wouldn’t want to go back there since you said you ran away and all, so we took you here to Ecruteak instead!’

‘Ecruteak? No... We need to go to...’

‘You just rest a little longer, sweetheart. You’re not going to be able to go anywhere for a while. I’ll go tell Becky you’re awake and make you some soup.’

Great chapter as always, Gama! I spotted some errors, nothing too big, but just thought I should tell you.

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

As they walked along Route 35, the road out of Goldenrod City, alongside their Pokémon, who were outside their Poké Balls, Frankie became increasingly anxious.

The bolded line sounded kind of awkward to read, perhaps you could've put "alongside their Pokémon, who were out of their Poké Balls"

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

‘We have to take that chance! If you’re worried about us getting hurt when we’re travelling together, and later with Will, how bad do you think it’d be for Will by himself? Think about it this way – his only Pokémon is that Charmander. Your Squirtle beat it in battle, and my Bulbasaur beat your Squirtle! That means he’s got the weakest Pokémon out of all three of us! He needs our help!’

"Traveling" has one "l" ^^;

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

Terrified by all the noise, Squirtle let go of Frankie’s leg, and retreated into its shell. The brothers stopped walking, and looked around, trying to find the source of the commotion. Bulbasaur walked on for a few steps before noticing that everyone else had stopped, and backtracking so that it was standing with them. Suddenly, two girls around Max’s age appeared in front of the group. They wore matching outfits consisting of a white top and a short black skirt, and appeared to be about to explode with excitement.

I think this is supposed to be "backtracked", right?

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

‘We’ll help you! I’ve got a Clefairy and Anna’s got a Jigglypuff! We’re not great battlers, but... there’s strength in numbers, right? Your guys don’t look too strong either. No offence!’

"offense"

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

Frankie began to say something else, but Max grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him away. The girls went to follow, but Max’s Bulbasaur stood between them and the brothers, growling ferociously. They stood for a moment, grabbing their own Poké Balls, but lost their nerve and ran away as soon as Bulbasaur snapped its teeth at them. The Grass type then proceeded to grab Squirtle, who was still withdrawn into its shell near where the encounter had taken place, with a vine from its bulb, and run after the two brothers, dragging the Water type behind it. The two brothers were too absorbed in arguing with each other to take any notice of the Pokémon.

I think this is supposed to say "and ran after the two brothers", right?

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

The two continued to walk in silence. Bulbasaur finally managed to catch up, and flung Squirtle ahead so that it was by Frankie’s feet. Realising that it was finally safe, Squirtle emerged from its shell, and once again attached itself to its trainer’s leg. After a few more minutes of walking, Max’s stomach began to rumble.

"Realizing"

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

Max opened his mouth to yell at Frankie, but stopped himself. He quickly realised that a more effective way to maintain his dominance would be to ignore the insincerity in what his brother had said.

"realized" Remember that they all have "z"s, before the "e", ok?

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

Frankie glared at Max furiously, but followed him into the bushes obediently. Max made a point of going as far in as possible, not so much for the purposes of camouflage as to punish Frankie for contradicting him. The two of them laid out the picnic blanket from Frankie’s bag, and placed the food from Max’s out on top of it. Max and Frankie sat on opposite corners of the blanket. Squirtle sat in Frankie’s lap while Bulbasaur sat in a third corner of the blanket, and stared at the food in the middle. Max divided the food between the four of them, and started eating. The entire meal passed in silence.

That bolded line sounds kind of weird to me. I found it flowed smoother as "Frankie glared at Max furiously, but obediently followed him into the bushes". Could just be me, but I think that it sounds kind of awkward with both clauses ending with "ly"

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

‘Frankie, look! There’s one for Squirtle to practise against!’

"practice"

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

Bulbasaur did its best to move the Weedle out of the way so the brothers could make their way back to the park, but in doing so it drew the attention of the Beedrill. At the same time, the brothers found themselves having to pull growing numbers of Weedle off of their own legs to make their way out of the bushes. Frankie screamed for Squirtle to emerge from its shell so it could escape, but it was completely unresponsive. He soon realised that the Water type had fainted, so returned it to its Poké Ball. As they tried to push their way through the bushes, it was becoming increasingly clear that Bulbasaur wasn’t going to be able to withstand the Beedrill’s attacks for much longer, after which point their sole targets would become Max and Frankie. Max winced in pain as he felt a stinger going into his ankle. Frankie was on the verge of tears. They both felt like they were doomed. They summoned all the strength they could to push onwards, but it was no good. Then, everything started to become blurry. Their limbs became less responsive as a sweet sound came from the distance. Max felt a large weight hit his shoulder. Both brothers felt unconsciousness slowly taking over. This was it, they were truly doomed. There was no escaping this time.

Again with "realize" and its variants, "z" before the "e"

Originally Posted by Gastly's Mama

As if her words had brought them on, Max felt severe pains in his arms as he tried to pull himself out of bed. He didn’t like taking orders from this girl, but he realised she was right, so made himself relaxed.

Don't think I gotta tell you here xD


Overall, a great chapter, I like that Frankie and Squirtle kind of have matching personalities xD, as with Max and Bulbasaur. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Great work, man! Just keep those little grammar bits in mind :).