Chapter 13

"I was skeptical at first when you revealed your new Dratini, but giving it some thought, I'm not so surprised." Brock chuckled from his seat on the fallen tree across from me.

I rolled my eyes and took a quick swig of my water canteen. "Yeah, you're certainly one to talk, Mr. Kettle. Oh, and by the way Mr. Pot called, he wants to know how well you've been treating your new Larvitar."

We weren't exactly at our destination, but we were certainly close. Our flight took us back over Viridian City, Pallet Town, Pallet Bay, the Sea Route, and the Cycling Road. It took us about two hours and fifteen minutes to reach Route 18. The quick stop at Pewter did add extra time that was lost but Brock was pleasant company to have. Besides me having to unleash Thor on a pod of Tentacool led by their boss Tentacruel, our trip was peaceful.

Right now, we were giving our flying pokémon a well-earned break alongside a few extra pokémon that needed the fresh air. It was when I released Fafnir to rest and eat his scheduled lunch that Brock decided to spring a Larvitar on me without any fanfare. The rock skin pokémon also had a bad temper and poor Fafnir just so happened to be the first thing they saw. It was messy effort trying to stop Brock's Larvitar from impaling their head crest through my slippery Dratini.

Now Fafnir was shakily eating his meal while protectively wrapped around Asch's tail. My starter warningly glared at the young Larvitar that glared back. The little green pokémon didn't break eye contact not even while they were stuffing their mouth with clumps of fresh soil.

Brock reproached his Larvitar with a frown. "Stop that. They are our friends and have a right to be mad after you blatantly attacked Dratini." Larvitar spun on him and angrily screeched something that had Brock's frown deepen to a hard stare that caused the rock skin pokémon to freeze. "Keep that attitude up and I won't make your favorite blend of Razz berries with dry dirt anymore."

Larvitar tightly shut their yap and angrily sat facing away from all of us in a huff.

"Again, I'm sorry for her attitude, Luke…" Brock sweatdropped.

"Nah, don't worry, I totally get it." I shook my head. "I don't think she and Fafnir will be friends anytime soon." My poor Dratini shakily looked between him meal and the back of the Larvitar. Asch being here had settled his nerves as without the Charizard's presence, Fafnir would have used Extreme Speed to run off by now.

"…Again, I'm sor-."

"Don't be, man." I sighed. "If anything lets just tell each other how we came across our…new additions to pass the time."

Brock volunteered to go first as some form of recompense for his new pokémon's attitude. He and Flint had managed to come across the little rock-ground type while surveying the Mt. Silver-Viridian forests and Mountain range. As a Top 64 contender, Brock wouldn't normally be allowed near that restricted place since only trainers who have made it to Top 8 would be allowed for clearance. Being the son of Pewter City's Gym Leader came with benefits though since he was next in line to receive the Gym from his father. His performance at the Conference did give the League a modest showing of his strength and potential.

Typical of their duties, Flint as the Gym Leader was tasked with cooperating with the pokémon rangers stationed near his city and Mt. Silver. The Mt. Silver task was a job shared between Pewter and Viridian City's Gym Leaders as they were both border towns, but I digress when speaking about Viridian Gym's current vacancy. So, in the middle of their patrol, Brock and Flint came across a poacher who was escaping from a rampaging Tyranitar on their Dodrio with a sleeping powdered Larvitar in their arms.

Flint subdued the poacher while Brock calmed down the Tyranitar with his Rhyperior and other pokémon. Then after returning the Tyranitar's stolen progeny, they nudged Larvitar in Brock's direction, grunted something, then took off.

"Wow." That was way less dramatic than I thought.

"Dad said the same thing. Apparently, Sahara's dad," Brock rubbed the rough Larvitar's carapace despite her petulantly trying to slap his hand away, "Felt that she was safer with me. He wiped out almost everyone in my team besides Rocco and Omastar, but us actually battling him to a standstill earned his respect." Brock laughed. "Certainly, more tasteful than a coward that snuck into his nest, put their child to sleep, and ran off with them."

"True." I nodded, laughing with him.

Brock sighed. "Still, despite how happy everyone was that I managed to capture a Larvitar, I can't help but feel a little bad."

"Why?" I asked.

"I know that I probably proved my strength to him but that Tyranitar… Sure, he's as stone-faced as any of his species, but his actions were plain to see." Brock's fingers dug into his own water canteen. "Poachers are a dime and a dozen, especially those that set their sights on Mt. Silver. Tyranitar and their kin are always a high risk/high reward for any that seek them out. So, for a usually territorial pokémon to just hand their young to me is just…"

Knowing where Brock was going with this, I shook my head. "Brock, then that only proves that you're the right person for the job." I kept going before he could doubt himself. "Sure the circumstances pushed that Tyranitar to give you Larvi-."

"Sahara." Brock corrected.

"Sahara." I nodded and continued. "But between you and your dad, he chose you and found you a better fit for his daughter's protection than his own, and need I remind you that Tyranitar are living and walking natural disasters."

"Huh…I guess I didn't think of it like that." Brock's jaw fell as he stared contemplatively at the ground.

"That's because you're a good person, Brock." If anyone else were in his shoes, they would be gloating to the high heavens that they got a Larvitar. Honestly, it was nice to be empathetic but it would spit in the face of that Tyranitar's efforts if Borck allowed any unneeded guilt to hamper Larvitar's training. "Now…it's my turn to share how I got Fafnir."

"Sure, and Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." He smiled.

"Don't mention it." I smiled back. "Now it all started when Clair of the Blackthorn Clan came to my front door and challenged Ash, who disguised himself as me. The whole yard was a mess, Asch was covered in black marker, Sylvie was wearing my boxers on her face for some odd reason and-."

Brock facepalmed and shook his head. "I already have so many questions."

And so, I spilled the beans about Clair and the deal I made to get Fafnir. Clair was not Brock's favorite person after I told him about Fafnir's condition once I got him. The thought that others like Fafnir were suffering the same fate at the Dragon's Den saddened Brock to no end. Which is why I had to remind him that it was about time to head out to the Laramie Ranch.

Balling Fafnir and Sahara, we rode our fliers upwards into the Fuschian Peninsula and past Fuschia City. The Safari Zone was one of the few places that beat Prof. Oak's own reserve in sheer expanse as even with the overhead view, I couldn't see where it ended, only where it began the high barbed and electric fences and stationed Pokémon Rangers. The rangers were stationed on the ground and in the airspace that signified the border crossing into the Safari Zone.

We took care not to cross that line lest we get pulled over or shot down. Our destination lay a bit further beyond the city and toward the lush grasslands. The historical city lay behind us as we landed a couple of kilometers away from it's front gates on Route 15.

"Take a good rest, Asch." I patted my Charizard's neck and raised his pokéball. His grunting did make me fall short as I noticed him giving the distant farmlands a long look. I chuckled with the unsaid implications of said look popping into my head. "Don't worry, I let you out once we made it. I'm sure that Epona will enjoy your company."

Asch dully looked at me before rolling his eyes.

"No need to be dramatic, I only call it out the way I see it, man." I patted his belly and returned him to his pokéball.

"Good work Noctowl take a good rest." Brock comforted his already snoozing Noctowl before returning them. When Brock told me that he had captured a Hoothoot in Viridian Forest at night was livid. All of my friends were capturing these odd and rare pokémon on the beginner routes (Daisy with Staryu and Brock with a freaking Johto pokémon). I'm not saying that I don't love the ones I captured when I set out, but it does make me a little bitter that they had all of that sweet luck.

"So, are we going the rest of the way by foot?" Brock turned to me.

"Not quite." I pulled out a pokéball and released Epona. My fire horse pokémon nodded to me in greeting before pausing to hurriedly take in the scenery. Once she realized just how familiar our surroundings were, she excitedly reared back and released a resounding whinny.

Pulling out her saddle from my backpack, I approached her with a chuckle. "Looks like someone's happy to return back home." I began strapping her up, but she kept moving so much that the saddle began slipping off. "E-Epona calm down, I'll at least need this otherwise you'll toss me off your back!" I laughed and calmed her down while brushing my fingers through her fur. She complied but kept stamping about in place impatiently, her gaze locked onto the distant plains where her old home/birthplace resided.

Fitting the saddle into place, I turned to Brock who had already released his own ride stamping pokémon, a Tauros. Seated upon our saddles, I led Epona a bit down the trail with Brock closely following behind. The urge to simply run off was strong in my blazing equine pokémon, but she valued my safety and well-being more than said desire.

"I'll lead the way! Since you're at the rear-!" I spun back to me, who nodded.

"Got it, I'll give you a signal should I see something suspicious."

Good. This was always a benefit to traveling with others that I had to begrudgingly admit to: having someone you trust watch your back. I loved and trusted my pokémon to do the same, but it was relieving to have another capable trainer with their own team to assist me and mine.

"Then let's ride!" I pulled Epona's reigns and with a mighty whinny she raised her upper body to the air and powerfully stamped her hooves on the old dirt road. We bolted from our position with Brock and his Tauros keeping up from behind. The outer plains of Route 15 spread just as far as the Safari Zone, and should you be extremely lucky/misfortunate to get lost, lead right into it. Of course, the countless Rangers on patrol will pluck you out with a warning for the first offense, then give you a 50,000 pokédollar fine for the second offense, and finally straight up arrest you on the third offense.

If you get caught the first time, then it's excusable. Getting caught a second time is suspicious and now you're on a potential watch list. The third time is just hard evidence that your intentions for crossing into the guarded territory are far from innocent. You're fine as long as you go through the proper channels, but going in without being verified by the Safari Warden is considered illegal.

I had to pat Epona's neck to signal for her to slow down a couple of times. Being so close to home was sure energizing her. I pitied Brock and his Tauros though. The mighty bull was desperately trying to keep pace with a born and bred racing pokémon. Brock had to gently reprimand his pokémon from getting too competitive lest they tire themselves out.

The grand landscape of the Laramie Ranch was only punctuated by it's large rustic ranch estate that stood in the midst of it all. All of the other farms and ranches that were along the road paled in comparison to the size of the place. Brock was in awe that I had to remind him to pick up his jaw lest a fly flies into his mouth.

Nearing the open gates, we were just about to pass through until something blurred and appeared in the middle of the road, blocking our path, and causing us to come to a hard stop.

Saddled on a disgruntled Dodrio was a boy around our age. He warily regarded the two of us with a glare. "Ah! Hey, where in tarnation are you two blokes heading? Can't you read?" He pointed at the overhead sign with the "LARAMIE RANCH" alongside two other signs "TRESPASSER KEEP OUT!" and "Private Property! Violators will be given no prosecuted!".

"This here is the private land under the ownership of the Laramie Family. Unless you've got an actual reason for intruding then kindly beat it!" Man was this kid loud, but he did make a fair point. You can't just any old stranger enter a property teeming with this many pokémon.

"Er…Luke?" Brock turned to me in askance. I nodded to him in reassurance before turning to face our loud gatekeeper.

"Yeah, we can read just fine, man." I nodded. "We're just on our way to visit a couple of friends of mine on this property."

"Heh, a couple of friends of yours, eh? On this property? Likely story…" The boy derisively snorted at me.

"It's the truth." I internally sighed as Epona impatiently clopped her hooves in place. "You see, my Rapidash was actually bred and raised here before the owners of this fine ranch left her in my care to raise. I apologize if us rushing in startled you."

"W-We weren't startled at all! It's just common sense to stop a pair of nitwits like you from barging in here." The boy stuttered with a furrowed brow. "And that's one of our pokémon?" He inspected Rapidash closely and snorted. "We don't hand out Rapidash, and certainly to no nobodies either!"

I ignored the obvious jab. "That's because she was a Ponyta when I got her."

"Big woof! My point still stands, heck, if you're so insistent that it's here, then how come a guy like you has her then?" The boy pointed at me as if making a point.

I tilted my head in question. "Because…I told you that the fine folks here gave her to me." I turned to Brock with a frown. "I did say that, right?"

"Definitely." Brock nodded.

"See?" I jabbed my thumb in my friend's direction. "Did you miss what I said or…?" Oh, now the guy's turning red and his Dodrio was acting up in a fuss.

"T-That's not what I meant you wingnut!" The heck? Who uses "wingnut" as an insult anymore? "I was implying that you must have stolen her!"

…Huh.

I looked to Epona who spun her head around to look at me. "Did I steal you?"

She vigorously shook her head. Well, alright then.

"See?" I shrugged.

"As if I would believe a flimsy answer like that!"

I internally groaned at this guy's need for acting tough but trudged on with my diplomacy. "Well, if you need proof of my legitimacy and connection with the Laramies…" I pulled out the opened letter sent to my home and held it out to him. "Here." I made sure to display the crested seal on the letter.

"T-That's-!" I blinked in surprise as the boy and Dodrio pair blurred to get in my immediate vicinity to snatch the letter and quickly return to their original position. Impressive. The guy quickly pulled the letter out and began to read the letter's contents. Each careful shift in his eyes as he read each sentence had caused his expression to scrunch up as his mood was clearly souring.

"Is everything okay?" Brock asked.

Taking a deep breath, the boy tucked the letter back into the envelope then crushed the whole thing in a shaking fist. Now I'm curious for this reaction. "Yeah, is something the matter?"

He growled out. "Stay here! I'm going to confirm this with Mr. Laramie." He glared at us, no, particularly me. What? "I better not see you two trouncing about when I get back!"

"Ok-." I didn't get to reply because his Dodrio took off and left a cloud of dust in its wake. "-ay?" Brock coughed beside me as we were caught in said dust cloud.

"Well, that was rude." He dusted himself off. His Tauros blustered and frantically shook their head from the dust getting in their eye. Brock used a handy handkerchief to attend the bull pokémon's woes. "And that was less of a warm welcoming than I expected. Have you been stopped like this the last time you were here?"

"Nope. I pretty much just walked in with the owner's daughter then left with Epona when things were said and done." It really was that simple. Epona's impatient jog in place began to make me a little dizzy and I assured her that we would get to enter her home after that guy returned from confirming that the letter was sent to me by Lara and her father. So, Brock and I passed the next twenty minutes along with more chatter until the uproarious growls and roars of a stampede polluted the serene fields of the Laramie estate.

Over beyond the gated fences, I strained my eyes to capture the purple silhouettes of what looked to be Nidorino and Nidorina running about the place, charging, and attacking amongst one another. Breeders and trainers riding on their pokémon gave loud commands in an attempt to calm them down.

"That doesn't look good." Brock gulped.

"It sure doesn't. Come on girl…" I tugged Epona's reigns, and she happily complied. We hopped over one of the smaller fences near to the front gate.

"Hey, wait, but shouldn't we wait for that guy to come back?"

"I mean we could, but I'd rather be doing something than wait for a dude like that come back after wasting our time to deny us entry."

"What!? He'd really do that?"

"I dunno. Call it a hunch." I shrugged. I mean, honestly, it doesn't take this long just to confirm that the owners know me. The seal on the letter should have been proof enough, and that kid certainly wasn't friendly. The prospect of helping out with the situation over waiting to talk with him was more appealing to me.

"Besides, it doesn't hurt to help when you can, right?" I grinned. "Besides, this will be a good chance for you to make a good impression with the folks here."

"I don't know…" Huh, looks like I'm going to have to take a page out of Joey's book if I wanted to pull a goody-two shoes like Brock into helping me.

"Don't worry, I promise to take the blame if we do manage to get in trouble." I assured him.

Brock frowned before shaking his head and resolutely nodding. "Then I'll help."

I chuckled. "Good then let's get to i-."

"But I don't want you getting in trouble either, Luke." I blinked in shock. "I want to help too, and if we do get in trouble for helping then well…" Brock shrugged. "At least this trip will have still been worth it."

I chuckled. "You're a good guy Brock. I really hope everything works out between you and Solidad."

Brock raised an eyebrow. "Huh, Soli? But everything is fine. Why would anything need to be worked out at all?" Ah, so he's the kind of sort to be oblivious to his childhood friend. Heh, well I wish Solidad the best then not that she would want any luck from me considering I wasn't her favorite person in the world right now.

"Nothing~. Nothing at all. Now let's bounce!" I lightly tapped my heel against Epona's abdomen. We blazed across the fields in full speed. There was a trio of squawking and a loud shout that tempted us to look back, but the encroaching riot of Nidorino and Nidorina fighting amongst each other took all of out attention. It was a frenzy; the males were either fighting amongst themselves or attacking the females that strayed away from fighting amongst each other.

All the Breeders could manage to do was corral and circle around the pack of poison types. It did prevent them from going out further from the Ranch grounds, but it would allow the fighting to stop and truly fester. Growlithe were released and on the prowl to calm the poison types but at most they could only bark and growl. This did settle some Nidorina, but the Nidorino just kept fighting in big piles that none of the Breeders allowed their Growlithe to enter lest they get severely poisoned or impaled by a stray Nidorino's horn.

It was a mess.

Thankfully a familiar face was there to lead the Breeders in figuring out the root cause of the problem.

"-that doesn't make any sense! How come the Nidorino were released for feeding during the same hour that the Nidorina were out to graze the fields!?" Shouted Lara Laramie atop her own Ponyta. My own fire horse locked eyes with her Ponyta, and they both immediately released a heartfelt neigh that stole the attention of Lara and the Breeders.

I patted Epona's side as we drew closer to them. "We'll catch up with your little brother later." Now was the time for action! Pulling Epona's reigns, we came to a complete stop next to Lara, who's mouth was gaping wide at our sudden appearance.

"Wh-! Luke, what are ya-?"

"Later! Here to help! Brought a friend who's the best Breeder in Pewter City!"

"Buwha-! Luke, you don't have to bring that up!" Shush, Brock! I'm helping you while I help them out!

"What's the issue!?" I tried shouting through the obnoxiously loud frenzied fighting of the Nidorino.

Steeling herself, Lara narrowed her eyes at the mess. "The male Nidorino weren't supposed to be released together with the females. Right now, breeding season is closing in and for some reason they were released together."

"Male Nidorino grow more aggressive when in rut! Doubly so when they have to compete with others for a mate! Having this many of them out is too dangerous!" Brock added.

Not to mention that the species were monogamous. So having one Nidorino accidentally trying to woo another Nidorino's mate would lead only to utter conflict.

Lara nodded. "Yeah, but for some reason beyond me they were released all at once! Now we have to separate them from each other before actual blood gets drawn!" Blood would only hasten the aggression and incite the pokémon to take lethal measures.

"What do you suggest would work?" I asked.

"We don't want to hurt them so any way we could subdue them is wholly welcome." Lara offered.

Shoot and I don't have Sparrow here to execute a tag team Sleeping Powder + Whirlwind combination with Lenny. Asch could sort of pull it off, but his wingspan was smaller and thus held more power/less control than Sparrow.

"Then how about capturing the Nidorino? They're the main cause of the issue so removing them could-" Lara rounded on the Breeder who suggested that and glowered at the poor bespectacled boy.

"That-!" She bit her tongue to no doubt stop herself from saying something that she'd regret. "That is an absolute last resort. These pokémon are to be protected, bred, and raised in the wild when on our land. Violating that is a definite negatory, are we clear?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" The breeder squeaked, saluted, and cut his losses by joining the other trainers in containing the Nidorino-Nidorina brawl. Lara then spun to look at us with those same hardened eyes. She didn't say it, but the unsaid warning was clear for Brock and me to understand.

""We understand.""

She solemnly nodded. "Now does anyone else have any ideas?"

"Well, I do have a Sylveon, but I don't feel comfortable letting her out in the middle of that." I don't want to risk her health around all of those poison types.

"A Sylve-Oh! You mean that new pokémon that you showed during your Conference matches?" Lara blinked in amazement.

I nodded. "She can calm these guys down, but doing that risks her getting pulled in. She also knows Attract, but attracting all of the Nidorino could gain the jealous ire of the Nidorina." Then we'd have another problem on our hands.

"Then what can we-?" Lara frowned.

Brock snapped his fingers. "Does anyone one of us here have a psychic type?"

Lara shook her head. "We do have one, but our old Hypno is accompanying Ma with purchasing some goods down at the Fuschia Markets."

"Dammit then I guess we can't separate the Nidorino with psychic." Brock clicked his tongue.

"Not exactly…" I began and got their attention. "Sylvie does know Psychic, but…it's not the best it could be." I'd say that it was adequate an adequate Psychic compared to most over non-psychic type pokémon, but it sure was lacking to a Psychic move used by a pokémon of the same typing.

"No, that's good, Luke." Brock's smile returned. "I have a Corsola that can use Psychic too. Her Psychic isn't all that great either, but if we can have the two collaborate with only lifting the Nidorino-."

Ah, I see where he's getting at. "Then that'll give us time to handle the less aggressive Nidorina."

"Hah, and we'll be able to have the Growlithe herd them away while the others calm down the Nidorino!" Lara grinned.

"Exactly." Brock proudly nodded.

"Then lets get to it fellas!" Lara exclaimed.

And so, Brock and I released our respective pokémon of Sylvie and Corsola. The pair's efforts were able to use their psychic hold over the growling Nidorino to lift them up into the sky. The two pokémon struggled to hold up so many targets, but the aid of having another share the burden ensured that their hold was secure. The Nidorina were perplexed with the sudden removal of their male counterparts and were swiftly herded off by the various Growlithe directed by Lara and a couple of breeders.

That only left the Nidorino that were still psychically held above us.

"Okay now slowly…slowly…" One of the senior breeders of the ranch instructed us to command our pokémon to gently put the Nidorino down once the Nidorina were out of their visual field of range. Rough handling of the aggressive poison types was bound to have them act up again. They'd now be in a sour mood with their potential mates gone and to avoid being their next target we had our pokémon gently bring them down one by one.

Each Nidorino was calmed by the skilled grooming of each Breeder, and heck, even Brock had managed to join in once it became apparent that the number of Nidorino outnumbered the group of remaining Breeders. Heh, it was ironic that his cooking of pokéfood would be the clincher that earned one of the Nidorino's trust.

One by one, each Nidorino was removed from Sylvie and Corsola's psychic hold until just one remained. I noticed the mental strain placed on Sylvie and Corsola and had instructed the pair that I can handle it. Corsola was reluctant yet Sylvie happily assented to my request, which inadvertently made Corsola release her hold as well.

The Nidorino ahead of me growled and snarled as I carefully approached it. It's funny despite how feral it looked, I couldn't find it within me to feel scared. Not when I've literally groomed much bigger than it before I had even become a trainer.

It was big.

Those deep, scarred purple scales pulsed with power.

Claws and a tail that demolish my little body with stupid ease.

It was truly a beast, and yet those calm eyes never held any hostile intent. Only curiosity and gentleness were directed in my general direction.

"Come on, Luke. Don't be afraid, King won't bite you!" A large calloused and scarred hand pulled my wrist up. I jumped in fright as I was pulled closer to the hulking beast of a pokémon. Warmth filled my palm as I slowly opened my eyes to see that it, he had willingly placed his large head in hand.

They had met me halfway and happily grunted their species' name.

My fear was replaced with absolute wonder as I cast aside all pretense of caution and cheerfully began patting the hulking pokémon's head to my heart's content. Giddy childish laughter pealed out from between my lips.

"See? Nothing to be afraid of son. Sometimes pokémon will react to you the same way you react to them. It's okay to be scared, but also understand that they can be scared too. Now I know that King is the exception and that he'll never hurt you but allow your old man to give you some tips when you come face to face with a pokémon like him."

The Nidorino in front of me growled out and threateningly lowered their head with their horn now primed and ready to lung into me. I stopped approaching soon after. The Nidorino grunted and started dragging one of their clawed feet through the ground, ready to charge.

I got down to one knee and held out my hand. The gesture confused the Nidorino, who's anger slowly subsided to curiosity. They kept growling at me, but I kept calm and remained unmoved by it's display of intimidation.

I was putting it off of it's game. The Nidorino was baffled yet now was curious with me. They took careful steps closer to me and cautiously narrowed their eyes to me. Their horn was still low enough to thrust into me. I heard some of Sylvie's growling behind me, but the free hand that I kept behind me gestured for her to stop.

Now close enough, the Nidorino sniffed at my head. I remained motionless and steadfast, never moving beyond my set reach. Seconds ticked down with each curious sniff as the pokémon's body grew less stiff and more comfortable.

A full minute passed until I had finally breached the pokémon's distrust before it finally reached me halfway and calmly pressed their head into my palm. Given clear permission, I lightly chuckled and allowed my hands to go to town on scratching underneath the neck and around the horn of the pokémon by reflex.

"There you go! Whose a good deadly monster of venomous destruction? You are! Your are…!" The Nidorino happily yearned for my touch and happily pushed himself into my hands. I was cautious to avoid his horns and spikes.

And of course, I had another pokémon that wanted to be treated well for her efforts. "Sylveon…" One of Sylvie's ribbons tugged at my arms, and so I relinquished one hand from Nidorino to her. To say that I was left with two very happy pokémon in my arms was an understatement.

Once Lara returned with the Breeders, they were quick to herd the Nidorino back to their designated area, far away from the Nidorina.

"Thank you two so much! You guys are the best!" Lara deeply bowed to both Brock and me. I still had Sylvie in my arms while Brock was diligently scrubbing Corsola's cute and rocky exterior. Though I had no clue why a Nidorino was still around though.

"Don't mention it, Lara, we're only happy to help." Brock nodded.

"Yeah, I also kind of needed to make up for my late reply to your invitation." I chuckled.

"Nah! I get it, Mr. Big Shot was probably dealing with all the attention he got from the Conference." Lara snickered.

"Not true, I was sleeping in from sunrise to sunset!" I proudly grinned.

"Wow, you really shouldn't sound so proud about that at all." Lara giggled.

Epona was running with Ponyta around the fields after things calmed down, and Asch was closely flying after them. Though Lara's Ponyta stubbornly kept trying to outrun my Charizard while Epona, my Rapidash, humored her younger brother's immaturity by keeping pace with him.

Looks like Epona's little brother did not approve of my Starter.

"So, you ever figure out who lost track of the Nidorino?" I asked.

Lara's expression darkened. "Yeah, it's this doofus named Dario. He's one of the Breeders that my Pa took in to teach, and like the six times before, he suckered a new ranch hand to do his job while gallivanting off to do a task that's not even his responsibility."

Huh, Dario. That name sounds so familiar…

Nah, I don't remember him at all.

"Well, I hope he gets a good talking to." Brock nonchalantly sighed and returned Corsola after polishing her to the point to where she was glistening. "The pokémon could have gotten seriously hurt."

"Oh, trust me, when I tell Pa about this, he'll-." Lara was interrupted by the arrival of the same kid that stopped us earlier and a burly and hairy balding man in overalls riding on the back of Dodrio.

"There they are, Mr. Laramie! The two trespassers right there!" The boy snickered and pointed at Brock and Me. "They took off running the moment I came back and refused to com-!"

"Gahahahaha! Luke, my boy, it's good to see you again!" The burly man jumped off the Dodrio and charged over to pull me into a big hug.

My face now planted in the man's hairy pecs; I muffled out. "I-It's good to see you too, Mr. Laramie. How's your leg doing?"

Putting me down, the old man uproariously laughed. "Leagues better, son, and thanks for the concern! We saw your match during the Conference. Shame ya lost but at least ya didn't lose to no filthy Johtonian, am I right?"

"Pa, you promised not to say stuff like that after Ma convinced you to accept more Breeders from abroad…" Lara glared.

"It was only a joke Lara; I was only kidding…" Mr. Laramie rubbed his neck. "So, Luke since you're here that means that you finally responded to Lara's letter, am I right?"

"Yup, she mentioned that you needed help with something, and I wanted to bring Epona back home. Though I kind of need some context since the letter was pretty vague…" I scratched my chin and looked Lara who immediately refused to look me in the eye.

"Well, son about that…" Mr. Laramie began.

"What is going on!? Mr. Laramie these are the two nitwits that invaded your property!" Ah, right, that guy was still here.

"Huh, you mean Luke, Dario? Don't worry, we know him so he's free to come and go as he pleases." Ah, so this guy is Dario. Hehe, he's going to be in so much trouble~!

"Wha-! He can just-!? Why does he get that sort of-?" Jeez, man, it's like you didn't read that letter I gave you and pieced together the context from it. Dario sputtered then angrily pointed at Brock. "Then what about him?"

Mr. Laramie rubbed his chin as he took in Brock. My friend froze as he stood stock still under the evaluating gaze of the large ranch owner. "Hm, I'm afraid I don't know you, kid so Dario does have a point." The kid smirked in triumph.

Ahahaha, no.

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Laramie, he's cool. Brock's one of Pewter City's best Breeders." I nodded with a grin and relished Brock's embarrassment and humble denials about being "one of the best in Pewter.

And bless her soul, Lara happily vouched for my friend too. "Yep, he even came up with a plan to deal with the Nidorino and Nidorina ruckus that came about because Dario left his post!"

Looking pale, Dario stuttered, "W-Wait, no, I didn't leave my post, I-I just-!"

"Dario did WHAT?" Mr. Laramie's jolly smile fell and was replaced with a furious glare that had the jerk trembling in his boots.

It was so satisfying seeing someone get their comeuppance. The Dario didn't even bother to look for Mr. Laramie at first until after Brock and I leapt into action to help Lara with the Nidorino-Nidorina problem. Then he found Mr. Laramie and concocted a whole fib about us outmaneuvering him to trespass into the reserve. The asshole was given an extensive dressing down by Mr. Laramie and Lara before he delegated the horrid punishment of cleaning the Tauros stalls for six months.

Brock and I didn't feel an ounce of pity for him. The guy decided to be the self-imposed gatekeeper while leaving his post to some other new and unqualified Breeder to handle.

"Thanks for your help, son. If you're interested in asking me any questions, don't hesitate to ask, alright? You look like you got a good head on your shoulders and I'd love to help you better yourself as prospective Pokémon Breeder." Mr. Laramie chuckled and roughly patted Brock's shoulder.

Brock winced in pain but kept his vibrant smile on his face. "You have no idea how much that means to me! Thanks, Mr. Laramie."

"Bah, just call me Leonard! You and Luke have earned at least that much. Hell, Luke even more so now that he finally came here to help."

"Yeah, about that… I still don't know how to help out. Lara was pretty vague in the letter." I scratched my cheek. "Something about it being related to the race and my involvement and all that jazz…"

Mr. Laramie seriously nodded and crossed his arms. "Right, I guess my little pumpkin would still be in that phase of her life to just skirt around the details. It's actually quite maiden-like of her~!"

"Pa…" Lara heated hissed out. Her cheeks a rosy, red as she still refused to look me in the eye. I was severely missing some major context here.

"Alright then, Luke Ketchum…" Mr. Laramie grabbed me by the shoulders and took up my full attention. His smile was foreboding and making me a bit uncomfortable. "I know that I'm asking for too much after you've helped us out in the past, but I really humbly request that you take my sweet, beloved daughter's hand in holy matrimony!"

…

…

"…What?" I croaked out.