A brown rabbit creature sighed as it watched the rain fall outside the window. [There's nothing to do...]

[We've played all our games, both video and board....] a yellow mouse creature with a thunderbolt tail agreed as it toyed with a marble that was on the floor.

[There's nothing on TV...] complained a blue penguin creature.

[And we've read all our storybooks a bazillion times!] a pink humanoid creature agreed.

The mouse creature perked up at a female voice from upstairs. “I think the Pokemon are bored…”

“I gathered as much…” a young male voice agreed.

“Say…you think Brock would be interested in playing storyteller for a while?” the female voice asked.

“Yeah! He knows millions of stories!” the male voice was excited now. “I’ll go ask him right now!” The mouse creature watched as its owner, a young boy with spikey black hair, dash downstairs through the kitchen, and into the garage.

[Stories?] The rabbit creature was interested.

[You know, knights, princesses, talking Pokemon, magic instruments, stuff like that!] the penguin creature smiled as the spikey haired boy returned inside the house with a number of instruments and props. An older boy with brown hair and tan skin follwed close behind, every so often scanning the room as if looking for a suitable place to perform.

Finally, he gently shepherded the four Pokemon against the blue easy chair nearby the window, and drew a line in the carpet. “There…this is the stage, okay?” he explained. All four Pokemon nodded.

“Pikachu, Happini, Piplup, Buneary…you guys are in for a treat.” smiled a black haired girl that entered the room as the boys finished preparing their “stage”. “Brock’s learned quite a lot of stories from all over the world–and he’s always learning more.”

[Wow!] Happini was impressed.

“I take requests too, so let me know if you want to hear a particular tale.” Brock explained to his sort of audience.

[What's Ash going to do?] Pikachu was interested in the number of noisemakers, props and instruments Ash was organizing off to the left of the “stage”.

“He and Dawn are going to help with the sound effects.” Brock explained as Dawn came to help Ash sort props.

Some minutes later…

“Okay…I think we’re ready!” Ash whispered to Brock. “Fire away!”

“Now then…” Brock thought for a moment, then began “There was once a boy who wanted to learn to fight with a sword.” he began, pausing to pick up a plastic Master Sword and perform a few swipes at the air. “He went to the best swordsman in the land and asked him to train him in the ways of the blade.” He swiped at an imagined opponent again for a few minutes, then continued. “The blademaster agreed, and took the boy in as an apprentice.”

[What's an apprentice?] Happini interrupted.

“Someone who trains under a master at something.” Brock explained before continuing “At first, the blademaster gave the boy some very odd chores to do–things like sweeping the floors…” He set aside the plastic sword for a moment and pantomimed sweeping a floor. “and cooking…” Then he pantomimed cutting an onion and puting it into an imagined pot, making the Pokemon giggle a little. “But he didn’t mention anything about a sword.” With that, he retrieved the prop Master Sword and mimiced a Link-esque pose. “The boy grew impatient and begged the blademaster to begin his training–to which the blademaster agreed.”

“The next morning, as the boy prepared his breakfast, the blademaster snuck inside, and struck the boy with a wooden practice sword.” Brock proceeded to thrust at the air as if he were the blademaster in his tale. “But when the boy turned to see who had struck him, the blademaster disappeared into the shadows.”

[I think I know what happens next!] Piplup interjected. [Over time, the boy caught on to the blademaster coming, until he actually defended himself from one attack!]

Brock was dumbfounded–Piplup had taken the words out of his mouth. “Yes!” he smiled. “But then one day, he found the blademaster hard at work and got an idea–why not attack him and catch him off guard? So he took a wooden practice sword and crept up quietly to his master. But before he attacked, the blademaster retrieved a shield and defended the blow!”

[Aw, I wanted the boy to get an attack in!] Buneary complained.

“There’s a point to this…” Brock interjected before continuing “Then the boy realized that becoming a swordsman wasn’t all about learning the moves of the sword–it was to read the opponent’s mind and counter his moves. The boy never forgot this lesson, and went on to become a master swordsman.” He performed a few more fighting moves with the prop sword before interjecting “The End.”

[Bravo!] Pikachu called.

[More!] Happini agreed…

To Be Continued…