The Patron Quadrilogy: The Legend Begins

Chapter 47

Tuesday, October 17th, 12:05 p.m.
Littleroot Pokémon Lab Warehouse (Old)

After everyone had rested for a bit, Brendan and the other Patrons continued training their new Teammates until it was time for lunch. Brock was far too exhausted to cook, but Brendan and his Team were more than capable of cooking for the group.

Ash's friends, thoroughly exhausted, watched Brendan and the members of Team Brimstone cook. Despite the fact that Team Brimstone owned and operated a Pub, a few of Ash's friends were still surprised that all of Team Brimstone knew how to cook. From what it looked like, it seemed like each member was working on a different dish and none of them had any .

Brendan was making curry, and Brock saw him toss in some shredded Pecha Berries. Unable to contain his curiosity, he dragged himself over to Brendan to see what he was doing.

"I'm amazed you can still find the strength to move," Brendan said without looking away from the curry. "Your friends don't seem like they'd be able to."

"As someone who enjoys cooking," Brock began. "My interest and curiosity overcame the pain."

"Is that why the green-haired tuxedo is heading this way as well?" Brendan asked, not looking up. Brock looked at him and saw Cilan slowly making his way over, wincing. Seeing how Cilan moved made Brock's own muscles ache.

"Is this how intense it was for you and your team when you all got your Powers?" Brock asked.

"Well, when we use our Powers for the first few times, it's incredibly exhausting,  but unlike Lieutenants, I don't really remember ever feeling sore from using my Powers. Of course, I did wind up passing out most of the time until I stopped pushing the limits of what I could do. I still do, of course, but not as often. And I rarely pass out these days."

"Hmm, so why do you pass out when you go too far past your limit, but May doesn't?"

"Truthfully, I couldn't tell you why. My best guess, and that's all it really is, is that she's used to intense amounts of stress due to being a Coordinator, and a Top Coordinator, no less. Granted, if she does push herself too far, she'll probably just pass out later on. I can't really say, and I try to refrain from asking her about a bizarre ability that could hurt her. She's got too much on her mind right now anyways." Brendan's voice, though even, had a definite defensive edge to it, and Brock decided it would be very ill-advised to press the matter.

"So, uh, what're you doing with the Pecha Berries?"

"Using them to help curb how spicy the curry will be. We don't have a problem with spicy food, big shock, but we know some of you guys would be less than grateful about overly spicy curry. So, ideally, this will be tame enough for everyone to eat. You could also use any other sweet berry or additive, but the exact amount is something you'd have to figure out."

"Well, it smells good, at least," Brock offered.

"Indeed," Cilan agreed, finally making his way over. 

"Thanks. If you're wondering what the others are cooking, Wally and Flannery are making some chicken. Giri's doing sushi, and the rest are doing other things."

"Are you using your Powers to cook?" Brock asked.

"Yep. I started cooking like this back when Erika was still alive. We never saw eye to eye, but we definitely didn't hate each other. She convinced me to just use my Powers to cook food rather than just using firewood. And I convinced her to use charcoal as a fertilizer. Both ideas worked out. The Celadon gardens never looked more vibrant. Well, at least they were the last time I was there."

"Yeah..." Brock agreed, feeling a pain in his heart when he thought of Erika.

"You cared a lot about her, I take it?" Brendan asked, looking at him with a blank, knowing expression. "I can tell when people are hurting."