Chapter 29: Catching Charmander - Part 4
Hearing Damian Oak's words, Mr. Oak Bridge didn't say anything but directly swung his hand towards Damian's face. A loud "Pak!" sound was heard, and a red handprint appeared on Damian Oak's face.
"Dad! What did I do wrong?! Why did you hit me?" Damian Oak asked tearfully, touching his stinging red cheek.
"You brat! Do I need a reason to hit you?! Besides, you almost caused a battle between two major families! If anything had happened to that kid," Mr. Oak Bridge pointed towards Brock, "it's hard to say if I could even protect you!" he said to Damian, frustrated with his son's failure to meet expectations.
Hearing his father, Damian Oak thought for a moment but still didn't grasp the severity of the situation. He asked curiously, "Dad, wasn't it just about killing some brat? Besides, it's not like I haven't done things like that before! What's the big deal?" After speaking, Damian rubbed his reddened cheek again.
Hearing Damian's words, Mr. Oak Bridge angrily gave him another slap. This slap landed squarely on Damian's other, previously unreddened cheek. Damian touched both his now-reddened cheeks and said pitifully to his father, "Dad! Why did you hit me again?! What did I do wrong this time?!"
Hearing his son Damian's words and seeing his pitiful face, Mr. Oak Bridge thought for a moment, then sighed. Afraid others might overhear, Mr. Oak Bridge leaned close to Damian's ear and whispered a few sentences. After hearing his father's words, Damian nodded and said nothing further.
Brock and Flint were watching how Mr. Oak Bridge punished Damian. They only saw Mr. Oak Bridge slap Damian a couple of times and heard their initial conversation. Of course, Brock and Flint couldn't hear what Mr. Oak Bridge whispered privately into Damian's ear at the end.
Seeing that he couldn't hear their conversation anymore, Brock curiously asked Flint, "Dad, what are you doing here?"
Flint, however, hadn't quite registered Brock's question and asked instead, "Brock, what did you just say? Also, Brock, are you okay after that explosion earlier?!"
Hearing Flint, Brock repeated, "Dad, I'm fine, just a bit sore. And I was asking why you came here."
Flint then explained, "Well, it's like this. Didn't you tell me yesterday about Damian Oak from the Oak clan annoying you? Since he provoked you, I checked some information and was worried you two might fight. So I called Mr. Oak Bridge of the Oak clan and told him about what happened last night. Mr. Oak Bridge said Damian Oak is his son, so we came over together to see what was going on."
Just as Flint finished speaking, Mr. Oak Bridge and Damian walked over together. Mr. Oak Bridge put on a smiling face and said to Flint, "Brother Flint! Regarding this matter, how about we just have my son Damian apologize to your son, Wu Xiaogang (Brock)? That should settle it, right? If this blows up, it won't be good for either of us."
After speaking, Mr. Oak Bridge pushed Damian in front of Brock and said, "You brat! Hurry up and apologize already!" Hearing his father, Damian mumbled an apology to Brock, then thought, If Dad wasn't forcing me, I would never apologize!
Brock saw Damian apologize to him. He considered Mr. Oak Bridge's words about settling the matter with just an apology. Just an apology and you think this is over? No way! Brock thought. Then, Brock made a move that made both Mr. Oak Bridge and Damian feel extremely frustrated.
Brock immediately collapsed onto the ground. He started rolling around in agony, putting on an expression of immense pain, and cried out to Flint, "Dad! It hurts so much! My whole body hurts! It hurts so bad I could die! Dad, could I have gotten internal injuries from that explosion earlier?! It's only starting to hurt now! I don't think I can make it!" After saying this, besides rolling all over the ground, Brock also started yelling loudly in pain.
At this moment, Brock was thinking, Damn it, they thought they could just settle this like that?! Now, if Mr. Oak Bridge doesn't offer me something substantial, he won't be able to justify it! If he doesn't give something, I'll just stay on the ground and refuse to get up! Then I'll spread the word about this incident across all regions and see how he handles the fallout!
Flint saw Brock rolling all over the ground and yelling loudly in pain. As an experienced person, Flint could tell at a glance that Brock's performance, full of flaws, was just an act. Understanding what Brock was trying to do, Flint decided to cooperate and play along, asking with feigned concern, "Brock! Does your whole body hurt?"
Hearing his dad Flint's question, Brock knew Flint had seen through his act. He thought, Sigh! Was my first performance really that bad? He figured it out so easily! Then he replied to Flint, "Yes, Dad! My whole body hurts! It hurts so much I could die!"
Hearing Brock's reply, Flint then turned angrily to Mr. Oak Bridge and declared, "Oak Bridge! Look what your son has done! If anything serious happens to my son, our family is prepared to go to war!"
Damian Oak heard Flint's threat and looked at Brock lying on the ground, but didn't notice anything suspicious, perhaps because Damian was still too young and inexperienced.
Then Mr. Oak Bridge also looked at Brock rolling on the ground. After observing for a few moments, he knew Brock was pretending; after all, Brock's acting was full of holes. He thought, Sigh! Can't this kid act a little more convincingly? Make it easier for me to believe him! But what does it matter if I know he's acting? I still have to pay up dearly. Who told my son to attack him?!
After watching Brock, Mr. Oak Bridge put on a fawning smile and said to Flint, "Brother Flint, don't be angry! I will definitely cover your son's expenses, and there will also be an apology gift." Mr. Oak Bridge then took a Poké Ball from his pocket and handed it to Flint.
Flint accepted the Poké Ball and said, "Alright, Brother Oak. We'll make a final decision on this matter after seeing if my son is alright. If my son Brock is fine, then we'll consider this matter settled."
Seeing Flint accept the Poké Ball, Mr. Oak Bridge thought with heartache, Your son is clearly pretending! Didn't I already give you an apology gift? And you still want to 'see if your son is okay'? Sigh! You cunning old fox! Let's see how long you two can keep up this act!
"Brother Flint, look, your nephew Brock is in so much pain he looks like he's about to pass out! You should hurry and take him to the hospital! I have other matters to attend to, so I'll leave first. Bye-bye! I'll cover all the expenses!" Mr. Oak Bridge said to Flint after glancing at Brock. After speaking, he pulled Damian Oak and the accompanying adults and children away.
Seeing Mr. Oak Bridge and his group leave, Brock slowly got to his feet. Ash, Misty, Daisy, and Melanie, who had been standing nearby, had of course overheard the earlier conversation between Brock and Flint. They knew Brock had been pretending all along and hadn't interrupted him.
Seeing Brock get up, Ash and the others weren't surprised. After Flint watched Brock get up from the ground, he handed over the Poké Ball Mr. Oak Bridge had given him earlier. Then he said to Brock, "Brock, I have things to do, so I'm leaving first. Call me if anything comes up. But first, go buy yourself a cellphone so you can contact me properly." After speaking, Flint left.
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