Brock kept running towards them to try and save them.

"You fool!  Save yourself!" screamed Roxanne.

He continued running until he pushed them out of the way of the bombs.  Unfortunately, the bag exploded right where Brock was!  A large cloud of smoke and dust appeared.  The explosion seemed to be so strong that no one could have survived the blast.

Onix roared a cry of distress at the loss of its owner and whipped it powerful tail at Team Rocket.  It hurled them high into the sky.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they cried, and they were seen as nothing more than a bright speck of light in the sky.

Roxanne called Rokbit back into its pokeball.  The dust from the explosion settled and Roxanne saw Brock's still body lying in the grass.

Roxanne realized that Brock risked his life to save her.  She ran over to him to see if he was alright.  "Brock!  Brock, please!  Are you okay?  Say something!" she desperately cried.

He fluttered his eyes open and groaned softly.  He weakly called Onix back.  "I'm fine.  Onix's hard skin somehow protected me from the blast."  He smiled and then fainted.

Ash, Pikachu, and Misty were running towards them.  They were winded when they arrived.

"We thought we could give Pikachu a recharge at the mill.  Then we heard the explosion, and we got really worried," explained Ash.

"Enough yakking!  Let's get him to a hospital right away!" said Misty.

All of them were waiting nervously in the lobby of the hospital.  A familiar looking doctor approached them.

"Doctor Proctor!  The last time we met, we were helping some injured pokemon.  How are they doing?  Are they okay?" asked Ash.

"I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me for my brother.  I'm Doctor Shoctor," he replied.  "Your friend Brock just has a minor concussion, and a few bumps and bruises.  He'll be fine in a few days."

The video phone at his desk rang.  He answered it to find that Nurse Joy was calling.

"Doctor Shoctor!  I'm glad that I could finally reach you!  I would like to schedule a check up for next week.  And maybe this Friday we could both go out for some pizza together," flirted Nurse Joy.

"Well Nurse Joy, I'll see if I could fit you into my tight schedule.  I hope to see you this Friday then."  He turned off the video phone.  "Well kids, you go see your friend in his room.  And tell him that he can go soon."

All of them walked into the hospital room and found Brock sitting on the bed.  He seemed in much better shape, but he had some bandages over his head and arms.

"Hey guys!" he happily greeted them.  "Don't get worried about me, I know that I'll be fine."

"That's great to know.  Do you want us to get you out of here right now?" asked Misty.

"No thanks.  Can you guys leave me alone with Roxanne?"

"Um, sure thing Brock," replied Ash.

They left the room to let the two be alone.  Both were silent until Roxanne said, "I'm sorry for treating you the way I did."

"It's okay.  I actually know that you think of me."

Roxanne blushed bright pink out of embarrassment.  "I guess after you heard my story, you understand why I acted tough."

"Yeah, so you wouldn't get hurt the way James hurt you.  But I wouldn't do that to someone like you."  He flashed her a weak smile.

"I just had a lot of anger, and the only way to let it out was through pokemon battles."  Roxanne sighed softly.  "Since the doctor said that you need a few days of rest, maybe we could spend that time getting to know each other better."

"I would enjoy that.  Now let's get out of here."

Brock got off the bed, took her hand, and they walked out the door.

Brock found out that he needed three days of rest, and he spent most of it with Roxanne.  Misty always made fun of their time together, but it surprised her that Brock didn't give her a punch in the face for taunting him.

During their time together, they both learned of each others' past and dreams for the future.  Roxanne really changed and became more of the opposite of who she was.  Brock, for most of the time, didn't become red-faced and clumsy like he usually was around girls.

It was Brock's last day in Pewter City.

Brock and Roxanne were talking and having a picnic in the garden.  The food that Roxanne cooked was delicious, and Brock even brought some of his own recipes.

"I already know that you want to be a pokemon breeder.  So what do you want to be?" Brock asked.

"Well, I really want to be a pokemon researcher.  That's why in my spare time I study all that I can about pokemon.  I want to learn more about my Rokbit," answered Roxanne.  "The facts that I have so far is that it is a girl and what her attacks are."

"How did you find her?"

"I was looking for a home, and I got lost in the rock cave, off of Route Ten.  It was really dark and I soon tripped on a rock, or what I at least thought was a rock.  I was really scared when I felt the rock move.  I felt it and held on tight as it suddenly ran out of the cave.  In the light, I found out it was Rokbit, and she didn't run away like wild pokemon do.  We immediately became friends, and that's how I got her.  She even helped me catch Growlithe and Dugtrio."

"Wow!  I hope that you learn all that you can about Rokbit."  Brock ate some rice and sticky rolls that were in the basket.  "These are really good!  Not only are you smart, but you can cook!"

"Well, your cooking isn't so bad either."  Roxanne then looked at him nervously, thinking of something to say.

"What's wrong?  Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Yes.  You've given me such a wonderful time.  I want to repay you by letting your father, Flint, become the gym leader of Pewter City again.  Your father will be busy with running the gym that he won't have any time to take care of your ten siblings, so I want to be their baby-sitter."

"That's so generous of you, but I also have something to give you."  Brock reached into a pocket in his vest and pulled out a heart shaped pin, but it was the colour gold.  He opened it up to reveal a picture of himself.

Roxanne was so happy that tears welled up in her eyes.  "It's beautiful!  Thank you!"  She excitedly gave him a hug, and just as quickly let go.

She took the grey pin from her vest and threw it away.  She then took the golden heart, and fastened it on where the old pin used to be.

That night, they all celebrated Flint's return as gym leader.  The dinner was held in Roxanne's garden, behind the gym.

Roxanne and Brock cooked up a feast together, and almost everyone enjoyed the food.  Pikachu just stuck with a bottle of ketchup, and Timmy ate his cold noodles.

Brock's brothers and sisters took a quick liking to Roxanne when they found out that she would be their baby-sitter.  They forgot the fact that she was the one who defeated their father.

Roxanne led Brock away from the festivities and near her cabin.  She looked up at the starry sky and sighed.  "This our last night together.  I just want to know, is this good-bye?"

Brock took her hand in his and held it gently.  "I don't know, but I'm sure that this isn't good-bye."

They stood there looking at each other, saying nothing.  Then their faces came together slowly until their lips met.

They quickly pulled away, abashed.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to do that," they apologized in unison.  Their faces turned bright red, but realized that they both liked their first kiss.

They smiled at each other and kissed again, and held it a longer than before.  The stars twinkled above them as their friends continued to celebrate.

That morning, our heroes gathered outside the gym where Roxanne, Flint, and all of Brock's siblings there to wave them good-bye.

Roxanne had changed her look, she wore the same clothes as before, but everything was coloured red, and even her glasses were rose-coloured. But Brock still thought that she looked pretty.

"Remember, I'm in your heart," said Brock, and he pointed at Roxanne's gold heart pin.

"Here, take this," offered Roxanne.  She handed him her old locket, he opened it to find that there was a picture of her and Rokbit inside.  "This is to let you know that I'm in yours."

They both kissed each other good-bye.

Brock was sullen to leave his home and his new girlfriend.  But he knew that he would return someday, and he would be welcomed with lots of love.

The End

Additional Author's Notes: There you go.  My first Pokemon fanfic.  And it was quite the Mary Sue!  I have to admit, Roxanne Mineral was quite like me back then (minus the whole liking Brock thing).  Smart, a bit detached.  Someone I was and wanted to be.  Hope you readers don't condemn me for this!  To quote the classics, I was not the author that I was then!  I hope you guys enjoyed reading it.  And if you're looking for a more matured sampling of my works, check out Anime Survivor!