Hey, I didn't forget! I also forgot to mention, the medical stuff here is what I took from my work in wildlife rehab. I'm just trying to make things make sense. We got the last day of work and bonding time with Jasmine!
Layla jolts upright in bed, her heart rate skyrocketing as her ears ring with Houndoom's howl. She'd been preoccupied with this job she thought those dreams were done for, but more mention of Team Rocket as news spreads of the Slowpoke incident has been getting to her. She's not in any danger, and yet, she feels as though she plays a part in what's happening.
What are the chances that Archer's Houndoom is the same one from years ago? That Archer knows the man who destroyed their home? That would be a huge break in the case.
They don't know why he came, who he was and what he wanted. He tranquilized her mother and put a device on her head. MRI showed nothing was implanted or changed in her brain. So he was most likely looking for something to do with her powers.
"Ugh," she sighs, checking the clock, it's nearly 7am. She might as well get up and get ready.
Over the course of the week, they released some of the Slowpoke back to the well. Bugsy came by to help too, Layla was shocked they looked so young to be a gym leader, but they were kind and helpful. They thanked her, personally, for coming to Johto to help out with the pokemon here.
She learned that Slowpoke are important to the history of the Town and so she became a little more appreciative of the slow pokemon. They're sweet patients, but are incredibly slow.
Today is the last day of the job, she will help with the morning chores, get a review by Joy and head out to Olivine.
While getting ready, Layla packs her work clothes up into a different part of the bag to wash when she gets to Jasmine's house and shoulders it to bring to work. She checks out of the hotel, feeling a bit downtrodden. The week went by so fast.
Still, it's a start. Her name is still on the registry and she can count on more happening if Team Rocket is back. A terrible thought, but it's true.
If they're gonna be causing trouble, pokemon are going to get hurt and Centers are going to need more nurses like Layla to help.
"Morning!" Joy greets Layla with her usual smile. "Ready for work?"
"Always."
Layla leaves her stuff behind the front counter and joins Joy, Alex and Hanna in the back. They divide the work evenly, Layla taking care of trainer pokemon coming in after getting defeated by Bugsy while Alex takes the front desk and Hanna helps with the Slowpoke.
Trainer pokemon are much different than wild ones in terms of temperament. While there's little difference between the Slowpoke and the Chikorita in front of her, it's usually in the way trained ones tend to fuss less. Even though it's not the pokemon she came here for, Layla still enjoys looking over the grass type.
Green head leaf, healthy color and hydrated skin the grass type is well taken care of, for sure.
Layla administers medicine to the pokemon to ease her pain as well as relax her body's healing factor. Pokemon tend to work hard to heal their bodies and it could lead to infection or intense fatigue. Giving them medicine, or Potions, can help ease the rush and make the healing process better for them.
By lunch, Layla feels as though this morning's episode was days ago and looks forward to seeing Jasmine. She sits with Joy in her office to go over her review, her nerves rolling too much to enjoy the sandwich she got at the cafeteria. It's not a career ending or starting review, just a way to go over strengths and weaknesses to keep in mind as she moves to the next job.
"So, Layla, I want to thank you for making the trek out here," Joy starts, pink framed glasses on her nose and a gentle smile on her face. "I say you're well informed on pokemon anatomy and biology, well prepared with your own formulary and stethoscope, and knowledgeable. While there were no major issues, I sense that paperwork isn't your strong suit."
Layla grimaces, all the paperwork she did at the daycare ruined it for her. "I'm sorry."
"No need," Joy shakes her head. "It's not the end of the world and, frankly, I didn't enjoy it either when I started out. I've sent in your review to the registry if you want to read the full form. I hope we work together again sometime."
"Thank you so much," Layla beams.
She gathers her things and heads out into the cool day. Aves seems excited for such puffy clouds rolling by, Layla barely settles on his back before he grabs her bag and takes off. Ilex Forest gives way to Goldenrod and Layla finds herself steering her pidgeot towards the library in the center of the city. Her gut has been urging her all morning to do research on the subject of Team Rocket and now that the opportunity has presented itself, she can't keep going.
Eusine's note only gave places, the least Layla can do is research what happened there and see if it's worth investigating.
There's a roost outside of the library for flying types Layla gladly leaves Aves in, and she disappears into the building. Bright, tall and filled to the brim with books, Layla feels right at home as she zips past the main floor desks to an upper floor. She gets off an escalator to an area with computers, grabbing a complimentary sheet of paper and pencil, she sits down and dives in.
Quick searches reveal what she already knows about Team Rocket. No one is sure when they first established, just that it's been around as long as the League has been, practically. Giovanni's name comes up a lot, as well as Aaron when he was in the running to take it over with his older brother before his defection to the G-men. At the end of one of the pages, she finds an article listing crimes that may have involved rocket members and clicks on it.
A whole wiki page comes up with crimes as old as fifty years ago up to current time listed as 'possible Team Rocket affiliation'. She scours the crimes from years ago, from theft to murder she finds herself getting more and more nauseous as she goes. When she reaches the 90's, she starts at the kidnapping of a young girl, Serena Lockwood, and the mysterious circumstances of her return just a few months later.
When it was revealed Serena was related to Giovanni, the majority of the regions came together in support of her. It's not easy having a dysfunctional family, and Layla assumes everyone understood that feeling despite the scale difference. However, some places ran stories about this though none got traction as Serena was open about her history.
To read it now, though, and see that Team Rocket really will not stop at anything to make a quick buck sends a shiver down Layla's spine.
She marks the year down and continues to the present. Her childhood home burning down didn't make the cut and she's only a little disappointed by that fact. Maybe she is going crazy for nothing and it was a random man with a random Houndoom. He hasn't been seen since and nothing ever came about his strange scan...
Layla continues to the events of two years ago, marking down all the well known incidents of Team Rocket and comparing them to Eusine's list.
It looks erratic. Just by the list, Layla can't understand what they were doing from the goals of their plots. Most of it seems like ways to make money, but for what? It isn't until she reaches the Silph Co. takeover that she has an inkling of what they're doing.
Controlling pokemon. But, again, for what?
Some pokemon willingly want to be with a trainer, unless they have their sights on Legendary Pokemon? There are instances where those will pick a human to join on travels, but it's so rare. What would they do with a legend anyway? Not exactly battle material.
Layla writes down her theory at the bottom and folds the sheet up with the note before exiting out of the program and heading back down. Her mind races with all the possibilities of her family's involvement in some Team Rocket scheme. It makes sense to go after her mother, a human capture disc as is famously written in the Ranger Times magazine. Layla's read that article so many times she can recite it from memory. Her mother; a famous Ranger back in the day, is now a G-man thanks to the incident that gave Layla her scar and slight fear of Houndoom. Any Houndoom.
Aves chirps at her when she approaches, he ruffles his feathers at her, a sign he trusts and loves her. She grins, offering him an Oran berry before setting her bag on the ground in front of him and climbing on his back.
Once again, they take off, though Layla is too distracted to pay attention to beautiful scenery around her.
OoOoOoO
Jasmine's house sits on some cliffs west of Olivine City, about ten minutes from her gym. The seaside city is nowhere near the size of Goldenrod or Saffron, a selling point for Layla as she's not the biggest fan of huge cities. Even Cerulean was pushing the envelope when she lived there.
There's just something cozy about living in a town you don't quite know everyone in, but have heard of them.
Layla lets Aves head to the yard, the pokemon already eyeing up the trees and clear skies and she has no qualms about him flying off for fun. She's only been over at Jasmine's once before, early in their friendship, for some tea and bonding over plants. Their friendship has really grown in the year, Layla finds herself grateful for the steel type leader's support, especially now.
"Hello?" She opens the front door, stepping into the foyer with a smile.
For the moment, it's easy to push away her nerves about Team Rocket when standing in Jasmine's house. There foyer shares a space with the living room, dining room and kitchen, the ceiling up high with windows letting in an immense amount of light. Her theme matches Jasmine herself, light blue accent colors with light browns and creams for everything else.
"Layla!" Jasmine runs out of her room past the kitchen. "Glad you made it!"
"Thanks," Layla accepts her hug with a grin. "Do you mind if I do some laundry? Slowpoke blood."
Her face wrinkles and she leads Layla to the left of the doorway to the laundry room, pristine and clean smelling. She tosses her dirty work clothes in and shuts the door with a relieved smile.
"Okay, vacation can start now!"
Jasmine shows her to the guest room, a medium sized room with white furniture and a large comfy bed. A sliding door greets her, enticing her to open the shades and reveal a beautiful view of the sea. The grass of the yard melts into sand, a set of chairs with a table sitting mere feet from the pristine waters. Wingull and Pelipper fly overhead, their cries signaling the early start of summer.
"So, I was thinking of making some lunch and bringing it to the beach," Jasmine stands in the doorway. "I made some pecha lemonade too. We can drink later, I have some spa stuff for us."
Layla raises a brow, already digging in her bag for a bathing suit. "You were really prepared for a 'me day', huh?"
"Always!" She laughs.
Dressed in an olive and white one piece with a small bow on her hip, Layla smothers on sunscreen and smacks a wide brim sun hat on. She poses in the mirror, already looking so much better than earlier, before joining Jasmine in the kitchen. With her help, they make an array of sandwiches fit for a party.
"I've got music and a cooler right outside the side door," Jasmine gestures for Layla to walk through the laundry room. "Let me tell you about training..."
The two get settled on the beach, the sun out and shining, yet it's not hot enough for a 'true' beach day, it's still good enough for them. Jasmine explains the aspect of her job Layla hasn't heard about yet, the training and examination by the Association for recertifying her gym for the next year. It's a test she dreads each year just because the process itself is meticulous and grueling.
Layla has no issues listening to Jasmine vent about the work while they eat, not wanting to get into stories of her own issues and have Jasmine tell her to stop. The gym leader's story turns towards her own pokemon and her town, trying to improve her community work and what projects she wants to do for the upcoming year. Last year was getting a farmer's market on the boardwalk for the summer, a huge hit that will be returning each year.
"Maybe, a beach clean up," she muses. "Since the Frontier has recently opened, there's been a lot of foot traffic and I'm thinking of getting a path set up... Layla, I'm sorry."
Layla turns her head, her eyes closed to the sun and frowns. "What?"
"I'm just rambling about work and this is our day."
"I don't mind," she shrugs. "I think your idea is good. If you want, we can head inside and do those face masks you wanted. Put something on in the background too?"
Layla's thoughts fall to the back of her mind as the comfort of normalcy takes over. For weeks now, she's had to deal with so much, but here, she can sit back with some wine, laugh at cheesy jokes from Jaz and be herself. The warmth in her chest keeps her comfortable as she retires to her bed, hours later with a slight buzz.
She smiles as she drops off to a deep sleep, happy to have some normal times in her life.