Rock Hard - Chapter 1 - Begining to rock (Patreon)

Yolanda sat to the side as her brother congratulated the winners, a smile plastered over her face.

Last year had been her seniors’, but now it was her friends and classmates' turn, and they had taken to the challenge with gusto.

“Clara! Congratulations on winning the tournament! You will get the first selection of either a Technical Machine or a pokemon to replace the pokemon you were assigned for the—”

“The Technical Machine!” cut in Clara quickly, her hand shooting up to rub the Pidgey resting on top of her head.

Yolanda just knew that Brock preferred it when trainers stuck with the pokemon they had initially, even if he didn’t change anything with how he treated them.

From what Yolanda understood, it helped jumpstart the loyalty of the bond with pokemon understanding that they had gone through the early gauntlet and then been chosen, which paid dividends for getting their teamwork started on the right foot.

“And now to— Brock moved on to the next award recipient from that had met some criteria that they'd decided on prior. 

Where previously it was only one or two people that got the full sponsorship, last year's earnings and the projected return this year had allowed Brock to offer up to five full spots for having their access to stable rights for two years locked in.

The partial sponsorship selections were higher, with ten being possible this year.

Everyone else got a pokeball, registered and let loose with the basic course that taught them how to grow as trainers. The booklet now featured ways to earn easy money from jobs, rare items, and how to pick the rookie crushers that would seek them out next week.

Yolanda watched on and even congratulated the various kids she knew. Most would do well with Brock’s oversight and support, either actively or passively. With the event finished Yolanda lifted Terra off the ground and hustled towards her room where she collected her guitar case.

“Pupa!” cheered Terra as she wiggled in Yolanda’s arms.

Yolanda staggered and stopped to brace herself.

“Hey! Careful girl! I’m still adjusting to your new… size!” she hastily said, knowing better than to call her starter ‘heavy’. Even if she was precisely that.

“Tar! Pupitar!” Terra rumbled, eyes locked to the side.

Yolanda glanced over, knowing what she’d find.

The trophy cabinet.

It was set in the hallway as a silent testament of the various accomplishments of her family.

Initially it had only housed Brock’s trophies. The badges from the Kanto Gym circuit, all twelve sat as the centrepiece. Next to it was a picture of Brock with his team with the trophy of the Orange League, or at least a replica of the trophy on display. Next to that sat a badge case for Hoenn with only five badges on display. Three major Gyms and two minor.

Other awards and accolades had trickled in over time. Awards from school, sports, and even a music trophy that she’d earned two years ago.

Forrest had his badge case on display now, set on its own shelf.

Then there were the other medals that only recently had been put on display.

Medals for valour, distinguished service, and taking part in combat and more for both her parents.

Yolanda stared at the empty spot. She could just imagine filling it with her own Badge case but she wanted more than just that. She was going to be a musician… how successful that would be she wasn’t quite sure

She hadn’t told Brock about all of her plans.

Before she left Pewter, she was going to be performing in a local restaurant. That she had no doubt Brock would learn about and show up to support her. He was great like that.

What he didn’t know was that she was going to start looking to claim Local Battle Club’s Medallion and more.

The Battle Club medallions weren’t weighted anywhere near as well as a Gym Badge, and nor should they be, with the only requirement to earn said symbol being to beat a gauntlet of trainers before defeating the Boss of the club.

They didn’t account for style, skill, or pokemon typing, with people being able to power through. She still wanted to collect them all from the Indigo region eventually. She’d had a specialised collector book made up with dozens of pages prepared for the medallions she’d collect.

She had an ambitious route planned out that would see her claiming the entire Kanto Battle Club Medallion collection, along with the Gym Badges.

It was probably going to be too much with her performances, but she wanted to go for more.

If there was one thing that she learned from her brother, it was that nothing was guaranteed in life, and you needed to grab what happiness you could.

Adjusting the strap on her shoulder Yolanda set off, leaving the trophy cabinet behind her.

She’d be back to fill it with her achievements soon enough.

For now, it was time to rock.

____________________

Yolanda strummed her guitar slowly, listening to the way it sounded and felt. There wasn’t any give in the strings, which was important. More than a few of the music teachers she’d spoken with had emphasised how important it was to never go into a performance with a weak feeling string.

Having it break in the midst of a performance… it could be a death blow to a show, shattering confidence and making a performer unable to continue, or worse, even injure them.

With this in mind she’d made sure it was part of her routine to get herself settled before she began.

Just like pokemon fights, it was important to have rituals for the big shows.

And tonight… tonight was her debut in a way. This wasn’t something set up by the Gym where she’d get to play while Zoey Rumira…alright, so she might have already had some snapshot moments with that being a moment she’d remember for most of her life!

Yolanda took a breath, adjusted on her stool, pet Terra where she rested next to her on the floor, and only then did she look up at the crowd.

Familiar faces peered back at her.

Front and centre was of course her family. 

Dad, Mum, Forrest, Salvadore, Cindy, Tommy, Tilly, Billy, Suzie, and Timmy. Next to them, Brock and Sabrina had their own table, where they were obviously on a date.

Then there were the people she saw almost every day from the Gym.

Rachel, Trixie, Rocko, Dennis and his family, and even Missy had come back from fighting Ace battles to be here.

Greta, and Crystal were also here with their families.

They knew of her plans to sweep through Indigo in a blaze of battles and ballads. 

Before she got too caught up in the various faces staring up at her and lost her nerve Yolanda caught herself and cleared her throat.

“Hello everyone! Thanks for coming out tonight! This is my soft debut for songs! I’m Yolanda from Pewter and if you like my music feel free to check me out on my pokenet page!” she said, indicating a nearby code that would direct people to said page.

A few people raised their transceivers and Yolanda took the moment to inhale and exhale.

“Tonight’s tracks are going to be a bit more relaxing than my big performances! I hope you can enjoy your meal and the music!”

And with that she strummed her guitar and focused on doing her best.

“You with the sad eyes, don’t be discouraged~”

The songs began and continued to flow and after almost an hour of singing she finished to a round of applause that made her feel giddy knowing she’d done it.

She’d held a room’s attention with nothing but her music. Eight songs, not even a smidgeon of her full ‘album’ that she still had to record but from the list she’d already ‘released’ online it was a good chunk.

She’d very specifically kept one song off the pokenet, and while it was perfect for this atmosphere, she held it back, knowing that it would be perfect for another situation to come.

When she finished up she bowed low and received a loud round of applause.

“Thank you! I’m finished up with my set tonight and I’m going to rest my throat! Follow me on pokechat if you want to hear more about my tour plans!” she called. 

With that done, she hurried off before Brock or his siblings could start an encore. They’d do it too, she just knew.

For her siblings, it was probably a bit crazy to hear some of the songs Brock had sung to them performed properly.

Ducking into a backroom, she held Terra and deposited herself in a chair before throwing back a bottle of water, the cool drink a balm to her raw throat.

“Ahhhhh!” she gasped, enjoying the relief.

A knock on the wall behind her made her look up to find the restaurant manager, along with her manager, Howard Hammersby, beaming at her.

“There she is! My superstar! You were magnificent!” he gushed, making a show of clapping hugely.

The other man nodded and handed Yolanda an envelope before slipping away. Yolanda tilted her head, unsure what that was, before opening the envelope to discover a stack of pokebills. “I thought we already got paid for tonight?” she asked.

“We did! You were just that good!” gushed Howard.

Grinning at him, Yolanda giggled at his antics. “Thanks, but I don’t think a room full of people that already know me is such a good measure of my skill. They’d have cheered if I flubbed every song.”

“Ah! But you didn’t! I know each of those songs and you performed them marvellously!” crowed Howard.

“Hmmm, thanks, but I couldn’t help but feel it was a bit off,” Yolanda replied, shifting in her seat. 

“Hmmmm? How so?” 

Yolanda fidgeted. “It’s just… it felt a bit too… stagnant? I couldn’t play any of my more up tempo songs or properly rock out you know? I had to keep it tame… maybe I need a place with a dance floor?”

When the man’s lips twitched, Yolanda narrowed her eyes. “What? You look like a raticate that got the cheese, what gives?”

“Well, I wondered how much of a feel you would have for your own songs and that of the crowd. And you’re right. Restaurants aren’t the place for you. You need to be in clubs and dance halls where people can experience everything you have.”

“You were testing me?” Yolanda asked, uncertain if she should be happy at this subterfuge.

He held his finger and thumb slightly apart. “Only a little bit. Some things need to be experienced. You’ve performed at the Gym, which is a stadium itself. Could people stand from their seats there and move?” At Yolanda’s hesitant nod he snapped his fingers. “Precisely! They could! In a dining hall like this, social convention works against them, however.”

“You, Yolanda, are a superstar, and you need the right venues. Tonight wasn’t just about rocking out but showing you off and soft launching you to the locals. They know you and love you. When you leave Pewter, however? You’re going to face a much taller task!”

He stroked his chin. “That said, the goal of gathering more attention for you has worked out. We’ve already had many new subscribers to your music! Now the trick is continuing the momentum and building upon it as much as we can!”

He clapped his hands. “You’re at the starting line, are you ready to take off?” he asked, offering his own hand in an open palm to the side.

“I’m already running,” Yolanda replied, slapping the hand in a side five, which had them both grinning.

“Excellent! I’ll make some calls and adjust what we’ve worked out. Small dance halls and clubs, alright?”

“That…” Yolanda worried her lip, considering asking to scrap the deal and instead push for something big but she held herself back. She needed to step out from under Brock’s shadow before she had a true idea just how good she was. In pewter she was beloved, but that was partially because of her family.

He was right, it was time to leave the nest and take off. 

Now she just had to deal with saying farewell, and ignoring her mother’s antics.

Eh, it shouldn’t be that bad. What’s the worst she could do?

_______________________

On the morning she was supposed to depart, she almost overslept. For some reason, her alarm failed to go off and her window was not letting any light in.

If it hadn’t been for Terra slamming into the wall and jostling her, she might have turned back over and returned to sleep.

“Arceus!” Yolanda shrieked as everything in the room toppled from Terra’s assault.

“Pupa! Tar!” growled Terra causing the curses and chastisement Yolanda had been about to deliver to fall off.

“What’s that girl? It’s actually sun up and has been for an hour already?”

“Tar!” 

“...” Yolanda scrambled over to her window and grabbed at it only to curse when she pulled away a blackout blind. “Mum, you absolute conniving bitch!” she growled, reaching under her bed and patting Spot only to find no pokemon there.

“Argh! She tricked my guard pokemon!” she hissed. She’d kind of expected something like this but not to this extent!

She staggered out of bed and clicked on the lights only to find the bulb unresponsive. “How?” she howled. Terra had been next to her bead the entire evening. For Mum to have snuck in she’d have had to do it without eliciting Spot’s guard training and not disturb Terra.

Damn her sneaky ways!

Gathering her clothes, Yolanda stormed into the nearby bathroom that she only shared with Cindy and the youngest twins. Who would have no business being awake at this time.

The bathroom was in use.

Yolanda glared at the door that was shut with the sound of the shower running and someone singing on the other side.

“Muuuuun! Muuuunch! Munch!” Munchlax crooned causing Yolanda to twitch.

“Munchlax! If you’re taking her side on me leaving for my journey I’m going to be super disappointed! I thought we were buddies? Is this what friends do to each other?”

The singing cut out instantly and the sound of padding feet approached the door. A moment later Munchlax appeared with a sheepish look, with bubbles throughout his fur and a towel around his waist.

“...Munch,” Munchlax muttered morosely, gesturing at the still pouring shower.

Sighing, Yolanda stepped past him. “You can stay. Just help me by washing my—” she started to say only to see the amount of old food that was pouring out of Munchlax’s soaked fur. 

“Uhmmm, never mind, go knock on Brock’s door please?” she asked, and Munchlax, unaware of the loss of his food supplies, nodded and toddled off, still holding his towel in place.

Yolanda quickly shut the door, ignoring the likely drama that was about to play out. Sorry Brock! She mentally apologised while throwing herself into the shower.

Today she needed to look her best!

Well, the truth was that she was going to have to look good for most of the days she spent in any sort of accommodation and not roughing it in the wild, but that was beside the point.

Today was especially important as she was debuting as a trainer officially!

Once the shower was done, she performed a quick application of some concealer and makeup. A few errant hairs plucked later and she was ready to don her outfit!

Like Brock, she’d gone for autumnal colours, but instead of a mere jumper, she’d gone for a brown leather jacket, belt and black pants. 

Her manager had pulled some strings, and she was now the proud owner of a limited edition Pokemon League Cap, the Mega Evolution series!

It wasn’t even available as a prize yet! She was acting as a soft advertisement of it, and she had to say, she liked the steely greys with the subtle weave of pink and purple throughout the weave. It was really all that separated the girl and boy styles of the cap.

The male version was more metal grey and glittery with regard to Brock’s mega evolution with Steelix.

With her hair pulled back into the slot for high ponytails—another difference from the boy to the girl version of the cap!— she strode out of the bathroom with her head held high only to run into her mother who was looking contrite in front of her room.

“Yolanda dear? Are you—”

“I’m awake,” Yolanda growled. “And not happy with you! How could you? You know how important this is to me!” 

Mum whirled around. “I’m sorry! I just reverted without really meaning to! I wanted to support you, I did, but I just…” she twitched. “I just…”

Yolanda sighed. “I’m leaving today!” she stated firmly. “I’m going on my journey with my pokemon!” 

Each statement caused a twitch from Mum and it took her a few moments to nod. “Yes, yes, you are.” She reached into her pouch and pulled out a tray with three dive and three net balls. “Here. I got these for you.”

It didn’t pass Yolanda’s attention that the rule of thought for these was to best use them to catch water-type Pokémon, drawing another sigh and a nod from her. “Thanks, Mum. I’ll put them to good use,” she said, packing the balls away for later reorganising. Showing that she knew that this was tough for her mother, and also to be the bigger person, Yolanda stepped in and hugged her mum.

“I’m going to be fine Mum,” she whispered.

“I’m not,” replied Mum with a small shudder running through her form that made Yolanda feel like a right heel.

Instead of caving however, she hardened her heart and stepped back. It was time for breakfast and then… urgh, a photoshoot to start her day.

Brock and Munchlax were in the kitchen when she arrived, Brock with a tired and less-than-impressed look in his eyes. Munchlax on the other hand, looked downcast. His mood only grew worse as he tried to slip various fruits into his fur to replenish his store of food, only for Sylveon to nip him and make him drop the food each time she caught him doing it. 

“Hehe? Sorry?” Yolanda offered impishly which drew a sigh from Brock as he rolled his eyes at her.

“Nice outfit, very practical and rugged without trying too hard,” he offered.

Rather than be annoyed by Brock’s teasing Yolanda leaned into it, making sure her eyes gleamed as she bounced from foot to foot. “Isn’t it just the best? Sabrina helped me pick some of it out!”

She held back a smirk, knowing that Brock couldn’t say anything bad now.

“That’s cheating,” Brock muttered into his cup of tea while Yolanda claimed her chair and made a show of raising her fork and knife. 

“So! What are you cooking for my last meal with the family for a while?”

“Who says I cooked you anything?” Brock replied, pointedly not looking at the mess of pots and pans behind him that made it all too clear that he’d done just that.

“I love you Brock,” Yolanda replied, targeting his weak spot perfectly. 

Brock folded like a stack of Geodude against a well-aimed Water Gun, producing her favourite breakfast of french toast with maple syrup and berries with powdered sugar.

“Yes!” she pumped her fist as Brock dropped a plate stacked high in front of her.

“Got all your gear packed up?” Brock asked.

“Yup! Clothes, medicines, pokeballs, berry pouch, Key items for my bike, tent, food, pokechow and sleeping bag are all packed and ready to use!” She then stabbed her prize morsel an entire piece of glorious syrupy toast and shoved it into her mouth.

“Mmmmmm!” she moaned only for a knock at the door to go unheeded. 

Brock moved to answer it, confused. In the back of her mind, Yolanda recalled that she was supposed to be doing something right now.

“—shoot?” replied Brock, leading a group into the kitchen.

“Yes we had it all planned out but we don’t have our star!” whined Howrard, causing Yolanda’s mind to boot up and recall she was supposed to be doing a photoshoot right now, not stuffing her face.

She whirled around to apologise, only for her mouth to be too full to talk. 

She locked eyes with her Manager trying to convey her sincere apologies.

Howard lowered his glasses to stare at her. For a long moment, no one moved.

Then he pointed at her. “She’s adorable. Take the shot!” 

Before she could say anything the photographer started taking photos of her with her cheeks stuffed and powdered sugar on her mouth.

“Mmm?!” she grunted in surprise. What was this sudden betrayal!? She chewed furiously and swallowed but made sure to keep her anger on her tongue.

“Why?” she growled a moment after the food hit her belly.

“Because people have seen heaps of photo shoots where the main star is edgy and cool, candid moments like this add colour more than you realise. It makes you human.” he gestured at the plate. “Keep eating like you normally would.”

She considered taking a tiny cut and slowing down how she ate, but she didn’t have the patience or the clam right now. She stabbed her plate once again and stuffed another piece of toast wholesale into her mouth just to make a point.

“Perfect!” gushed Howard as he waved the photographer forward.

She wasn’t going to react, she wasn’t going to react. She was just going to keep eating her breakfast.

Munchlax edged a fork towards her plate only to earn a growl for his efforts.

Munchlax considered her for a moment, then retracted his fork only to perk up when Brock deposited the next stack of toast before him.

“Munchlax!” cheered Munchlax.

Despite her best efforts to remain edgy and cool, Yolanda found herself giggling at the sight and when the camera shutter sounded out she rolled her eyes and continued with her morning.

Afterwards the official photoshoot was down right easy as she forgot to be nervous.

It was just as she was wrapping up that Greta and Crystal showed up.

“You done?” Crystal griped. “A.J. took off days ago to be first in line to challenge at Fuchsia!”

Greta and Yolanda both rolled their eyes. “And if he jumps off a cliff are you going after him?” Greta asked sarcastically.

“Yes! So I can tell him he’s doing it wrong!” declared Crystal, knowing it was the ‘wrong answer’ but still puffing her chest out like she was pleased with it.

Yolanda and Greta shared a look and shook their heads, knowing there was no hope.

“I still have that thing to take care of,” Yolanda reminded her friends, causing them to perk up. 

“Oh right! Let’s get that done then!” Crystal replied, grabbing Yolanda’s hand and leading her towards the road where the trio all drew out their scooters from their bags and took off.

When they reached the Battle Club Yolanda stalked inside with a palpable aura of fighting spirit around her. Which… still wasn’t the same as actual proper aura.

Despite her best efforts she hadn’t been able to draw upon it like Brock or Sabrina.

“I’ve come for your symbol!” she declared formally.

Her words caused a bit of a fuss among the attendants and kids who practically threw themselves to line up against her.

The Battle Club manager pointed out four at random and Yolanda grinned as a swarthy Hiker took to the battle court across from her.

“Ready to rumble?” he boomed.

Enlargening Spot’s pokeball Yolanda grinned. “Let’s rock!” she replied.

Spot the Growlithe emerged on the field across from a Graveler and rather than being worried he crouched low, ready to fight.

“Begin!” called the referee and Yolanda slashed her hand forward. 

“Speed finish!” she ordered.

Spot blitzed across the field with Agility where it slammed into Graveler’s lower body and much to her opponent’s shock, spun about to deliver a powerful Double Kick that sent it soaring out of the arena and out of the fight.

Yolanda leaned forward, ready to keep fighting only to blink when instead of standing back up like most Graveler she knew, it remained on the ground.

“The first match goes to the challenger!” announced the referee and rather than making people back down the people facing her looked more eager. The referee looked to her. “Will you continue straight away?”

“Of course!” Yolanda grinned viciously as her next opponent tried to send out a Golduck against her.

This time Spot had to fight hard, using Agility to the best of his ability while Yolanda tracked the Water Guns and made sure he didn’t get led into the corner or a puddle that might have fouled his footwork.

After a minute of playing keep away Yolanda had a good feel for her opponent’s rate of fire and pulled the trigger. “Flamethrower!” she barked

Spot didn’t hesitate and turned to launch the stream of fire right into the emerging ball of water causing it to erupt into a cloud of steam.

“Follow up!” ordered Yolanda as the battlecourt vanished from sight.

Spot vanished into the mist only for the sounds of growling and squawking to emerge. When the steam thinned and showed Spot, exhausted but victorious over his foe.

“That’s the way!” Yolanda crowed knowing she’d just won a clutch match in the line up against her. “Can you keep going?” she asked.

Spot nodded seriously with a proud woof and after a moment’s visual check over she nodded to confirm she was sticking with her growlithe for the next match.

Which proved to be a good decision as a Beedrill emerged.

Yolanda and Spot both grinned savagely at the sight of the bug type.

If there was a pokemon type that she knew how to deal with, it was bug types! She didn’t even have to verbalise the command for Spot to launch an aggressive Flamethrower that was more a firewall than a stream of fire.

Beedrill went down leaving one more pokemon for Yolanda to beat before she faced the Club Manager.

When she spotted the trainer marching up to the trainer box she twitched, instincts she’d honed from spending time around her friends and at the gym coming to the fore.

Her next opponent was dressed in designer apparel and had a luxury ball in their hand. There was also a glint in their eyes.

Spot was pulled from the fight before he could be locked in, allowing her to choose another. In this situation she had no other choice but to go with her best.

“Let’s rock Terra!” she declared, sending forth her starter as across from her a Tauros took to the court.

Tauros stomped and the field shuddered.

Terra locked eyes and replied with an Earthquake the instant the fight started. 

Tauros in reply attempted to charge through it. “Close Combat!” called the trainer with a vindictive roar.

Rather than back down, Yolanda punched the air. “Knock it back!” she ordered, deciding to commit to the hilt against her opponent.

Terra responded by sinking into the earth and causing it to buckle even further. This time Tauors stumbled, and the glowing horns that had been a threat, rather than plowing into Terra Tauros swung wide, causing a gauge in the hard packed ground.

Tauros still staggered to its feet showing it was a tough pokemon but once more Yolanda and Terra were ready.

Stone Edge slammed into Tauros before it could turn, taking it in the flank and smashing so that it fell, lowing with pain before collapsing.

Yolanda let out a small breath only to stiffen up, realising she’d relaxed. “Terra stand ready to—”

The Tauros, rather than stand back up, collapsed into a red light as Yolanda’s opponent returned their pokemon. “I can tell when I’ve met my match girlie. You went hard and backed yourself,” they stated with a nod to Yolanda.

When the Manager stepped forward with a light sheen of sweat on his forehead Yolanda’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“S-so! You’ve beaten the selection of the Club’s representatives and are now ready to face me!”

“Yes, I am,” she replied, making no move to return Terra who was also starting to glare at the Manager.

The man sent out Yet another Graveler. Terra made short work of them with a one-two Earthquake into Stone Edge.

When the match was called, Yolanda strode over to the Manager to collect her prize, the first of many, if she had her way.

“You didn’t randomly select those trainers at all, did you?” she growled as she shook his hand.

He didn’t say anything but the way he refused to meet her gaze told her all she needed to know.

“My Medallion, and my prize winnings,” she ordered, earning a sigh from the Manager.

“You know… in a way I was just trying to help you avoid getting a big head?” he offered only for Yolanda to scoff. 

“Nah, you just didn’t want my first registered string of victories as a Trainer to be from your club,” Yolanda replied hotly.

Once more the Manager chose silence and Yolanda exhaled from her nose. It wasn’t against any rules, but it was a dirty thing to pull. 

Still, she’d won despite the trickery, and that made it a both slightly bitter, but also more sweet at the same time.

Which was weird but also made perfect sense to her for some reason?

What did make her feel better was seeing the club’s manager hand over his Club’s medallion to her. It went into her book as the first scalp of her conquest.

Even sweeter still was the ping that announced that a hefty stack of pokedollars had just entered her account.

Feeling flush with success Yolanda strutted out to meet her friends in the reception.

She was more than underway now, she had set off!

_______________________

A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!

It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading!

For those who missed it, Growlithe knowing Double Kick is a nod to the idea that the kids who get involved in the local community earn the approval of a secret ™ teacher who is one of the Grannies. With Yolanda’s story I couldn’t see her not having earned this move. 

I will give this another two or three chapters to showcase Yolanda’s story. Like it, dislike it, love, hate it? Tell me what you think!