In the hospital, Jake, Tina, Henry, and Quinn were keeping Evelyn company. John wasn't there—as a nation's Champion, he had far too many responsibilities to attend to.
However, Nicole was present.
On the second day after Julian left the hospital for Hara Desert, Nicole had come from Imperial University to Woodland Hospital to visit and care for Julian's grandmother.
"Uncle, Auntie, please eat something first."
Nicole pointed to the boxed meals she had just brought up.
"Thank you for your hard work, Nicole."
Tina took the meal and handed one to Jake.
Celebi flew over to Nicole.
Celebi: "Where's my fried chicken?"
"Here you go. But you should eat less of this stuff, okay?"
Nicole couldn’t actually understand Celebi’s speech, but Celebi had a phone and had already added her as a friend. Whatever it wanted to say, it would just text her directly.
Watching Celebi—usually so clumsy—master tens of thousands of Drakorian characters and even skillfully type using them was amusing.
According to Celebi, it learned all this just to order takeout more efficiently.
As expected, a foodie’s potential was limitless.
Munching on fried chicken and sipping cola, Celebi looked incredibly content, though it did feel a little bored with Julian not around.
Julian had also taken Slowking with him. Without that overpowered carry, Celebi had been on a losing streak in Pokémon Glory these past few days, frequently getting reported by teammates.
Now, its credibility score was too low, forcing it to play only casual matches to grind the score back up before it could queue for ranked again.
"I wonder how our son is doing…"
After finishing the meal, Nicole took the initiative to clean up. Tina was very pleased with this future daughter-in-law, but thinking of Julian, she couldn’t help but sigh.
"Don’t worry, Dad’s Metagross is with him. Even if he can’t find the Glossy Ganoderma, he won’t be in danger," Jake reassured her.
Then, his gaze turned to his mother on the hospital bed, his expression dimming.
"As her son, I should have been the one to head into the Hara Desert… I really am a failure."
His voice was thick with self-mockery.
Henry gently patted Jake’s shoulder. "Julian will find the Glossy Ganoderma. Mom’s going to be okay."
"That’s right, second brother, don’t worry too much. Worst case, we use the Ice Core—as long as we can keep mom alive, we can always search for the Glossy Ganoderma later," Quinn added.
Though the two were comforting Jake, their own grief was no less than his.
One was the head of the Walker Group, the other a Pokémon scholar—both were just as busy as John.
Because of that, it had been over a year since they last visited their mother.
As the Steel-type Elite, Jake actually had more free time because he was often slacking off—though he mostly spent that time fishing.
None of them, as children, had found time to visit their mother, Evelyn. And by the time they did come to see her, she was already lying on a hospital bed.
Feelings of guilt, regret, and sorrow were self-evident.
Ding—
Everyone’s phone buzzed at the same time.
In the family group chat, Julian had just sent a message:
> Family’s Favorite Child: "I’ve found the Glossy Ganoderma, on my way back." (Image attached)
As the only youngster in the entire family, of course he was the favorite.
"Julian found the Glossy Ganoderma! I knew he could do it! Mom’s going to be okay!"
Quinn, upon seeing the message and the photo of the Glossy Ganoderma, threw her arms around her eldest brother Henry’s neck like an overexcited teenager, legs wrapping around his waist.
Henry, usually the composed head of the Walker Group, simply grinned like an idiot, unable to hide his happiness.
Jake clenched his fist and gave a fierce, triumphant shake.
Meanwhile, Tina quickly typed out a reply:
> Tina: "My son is amazing."
> Love: "My baby is the best."
Back at their home in Lake City, Love (Indeedee) set down its phone and resumed its daily cleaning. It couldn’t help but wonder when Julian would return next.
The boy had grown up and become reliable—that was a good thing. But it also meant he came home less often.
Meanwhile, John had also seen the message in the family group. The tension that had been etched into his expression for days finally eased.
Just then, Duke walked in.
"There’s a Glossy Ganoderma in the national treasury of Pampas. But their Prime Minister wants to trade it for an offspring of your Metagross."
Glossy Ganoderma was an extremely rare treasure—Drakoria had only ever found one in decades, and it had already been used by Duke.
But the world was vast—some nation was bound to have another one.
That’s why John had been contacting other countries during this time, asking if any of them had the Glossy Ganoderma. Duke had joined the effort as well.
And sure enough, Pampas responded—they had one, but if Drakoria wanted it, they would have to trade an offspring of the Silver Metagross in return.
"No need. My dear grandson already found one. Looks like their luck ran out. If they’d agreed sooner, maybe I would’ve accepted."
John shook his head with a cold smirk.
"Good. I’ll reject them right away." Duke nodded, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
The Silver Metagross wasn’t just the Walker family’s symbol—as far as Drakoria was concerned, it was also part of their national heritage.
If John had agreed to the trade, the Drakorian government wouldn’t have been able to stop him. After all, how could they deny a man trying to save his wife?
And besides, the Silver Metagross belonged to the Walker family in the first place.
"Handle these documents for me. I'm heading to the hospital."
With that, John turned and left immediately.
Duke glanced at the mountain of paperwork piled on the desk—somehow even taller than a few days ago. Had this guy really been putting them off all this time?
'…Whatever'
He was long used to cleaning up after John’s administrative neglect.
As Drakoria’s strongest Champion, Duke was usually stationed domestically, rarely venturing abroad.
John, on the other hand, back when he was still a Type Elite, had spent his years leading cross-border operations and anti-terrorist campaigns. The number of enemy families and organizations he’d wiped out could fill an entire ghost town.
Foreign leaders regarded Duke with wary respect—but John? They feared him. The man was a butcher through and through, the sharpest blade in Drakoria’s arsenal.
---
A few hours later, John arrived at the hospital. Seeing that all his children were present and that his grandson had already found the Glossy Ganoderma, his mood improved significantly.
"Once your mother wakes up, we’ll have a proper family meal," he declared with a grin.
Ever since his divorce from Evelyn, the whole family hadn’t been together even once.
"Dad, when Mom wakes up, there’s no way she’ll agree to eat with you," his daughter pointed out.
"No problem. I’ll just send my dear grandson to persuade her. Your mom has always had a soft spot for him—just like me."
"True. Ever since Julian was born, I stopped being the favorite." Quinn shot her father a mock-resentful look.
She used to be the youngest, naturally the most pampered. But ever since Julian came along, all of that had changed.
*****
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