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 co from Imperial University to Woodland Hospital to visit and care for Julian's grandmother.
"Uncle, Auntie, please eat sothing first."
Nicole pointed to the boxed als she had just brought up.
"Thank you for your hard work, Nicole."
Tina took the al 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 al, 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 tagross 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 ti because he was often slacking off—though he mostly spent that ti fishing.
None of them, as children, had found ti to visit their mother, Evelyn. And by the ti they did co 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 sa ti.
In the family group chat, Julian had just sent a ssage:
> 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 ssage 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.
anwhile, Tina quickly typed out a reply:
> Tina: "My son is amazing."
> Love: "My baby is the best."
Back at their ho in Lake City, Love (Indeedee) set down its phone and resud its daily cleaning. It couldn’t help but wonder when Julian would return next.
The boy had grown up and beco reliable—that was a good thing. But it also ant he ca ho less often.
anwhile, John had also seen the ssage 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 Pri Minister wants to trade it for an offspring of your tagross."
Glossy Ganoderma was an extrely rare treasure—Drakoria had only ever found one in decades, and it had already been used by Duke.
But the world was vast—so nation was bound to have another one.
That’s why John had been contacting other countries during this ti, 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 tagross 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 tagross 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 governnt 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 tagross belonged to the Walker family in the first place.
"Handle these docunts for . I'm heading to the hospital."
With that, John turned and left imdiately.
Duke glanced at the mountain of paperwork piled on the desk—sohow even taller than a few days ago. Had this guy really been putting them off all this ti?
'…Whatever'
He was long used to cleaning up after John’s administrative neglect.
As Drakoria’s strongest Champion, Duke was usually stationed dostically, 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 al," 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 ."
"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 ca along, all of that had changed.
*****
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