Chapter 4 – The 9-5
January, 3029
Early the next morning, Clay roused the first regiment to begin their mission. "Hasn't been too cold recently. Looking pretty warm today, yeah?" Clay and Empoleon stood outside on the driveway, next to the squadron's large black van. Empoleon grumbled in agreement. "Should be a good first day of work."
One by one, the other squad members and their Pokémon sauntered their way outside to the van. Mavis was first, carrying with her a thermos of hot coffee. Soon after, Kade and Gallade met them. Kade wore nothing more than a light windbreaker. "Think you might get cold, Kade. We'll be in mountains a little higher than this all day." Mavis pointed out. "I'm chillin. My body's like a furnace when it comes to heat regulation. Doesn't take much for me to stay warm."
"You have everything?" Clay asked. "Yeah. Though… you didn't call for much." Kade said, lightly drumming his fingers against his leg, feeling his concealed service pistol strapped tightly to his thigh, before pulling his coat sleeve over his bracelet shield. "Triple C has the tools. No need for much else when building a house."
Soon after, Tyrene and Owen walked out as Tyrene's complaining voice could be heard around the corner. "…He needs to learn we work now. I can't be taking his calls 24/7 when we have shit to do, so if he wants to get mad about me hanging up, he needs to deal with it!" As they came round the corner, Kade could see her stuffing her phone away in her jacket with annoyance.
"Morning, you two." Mavis greeted them. "Good morning." Tyrene sighed. The low thumps of Blastoise's footsteps could be heard as he peered his tired head around the corner. The transparent smile of Mismagius gleamed vaguely atop Owen's head, as she shrouded the rest of her form, hiding in plain sight.
Lastly, Gino arrived at the driveway with a large, black metal box that he wheeled behind him. "This is the last of it." He said to Clay as he heaved the box on his own into the back of the van. Kade heard the trapdoor in the roof of the house open and close, and he could see Magnezone fly away towards the mountain range. "Get in everybody." Clay ordered.
Rather than adjacent seats, the van utilized seats facing opposite of one another to allow Pokémon of all sizes to fit comfortably in its interior. Blastoise and Empoleon who were the largest of the Pokémon sat towards the back with the most room, while Clay and Mavis sat in the front with Clay at the wheel. Everyone else sat in between. Gino clutched the handle of his box, keeping it close to his legs. He stared intently at his phone screen, allowing nothing else a piece of his attention.
As the drive began, Owen pulled out his phone and held it out for him and Tyrene to see. "You watch this match yet?" He asked. Tyrene watched what Owen was trying to show her. A recording of a professional Pokémon match played on the screen. "Oh wow…" She put a hand on the phone, focusing further on the battle's events. A bright flash and a ball of flame encompassed the battlefield until the two contestant's energy residuals settled, revealing a Heracross lying motionless, face down on the ground, and a Blaziken standing tall and victorious over them.
"After that fight, Dorian and Blaziken are number one in the region." Owen explained. "Now they're placed at the number one seed at Worlds, right? I definitely saw that coming. After Blaziken beat that Gyarados last match I knew he was winning this one." Tyrene said.
"You guys are watching the playoffs?" Kade asked, sitting across from them. "Only the one on one matches. One of the high professors, Dorian Kelser, is dominating this year with his Blaziken. They probably will win Worlds this year for solos. Dorian is also the one who made your shield, Kade." Tyrene pointed at Kade's arm. "Shit, really?" Kade held his arm up, examining the band wrapped around his wrist. "A world champion made this?"
"It's funny watching him because him and our dad absolutely hate each other." Owen mentioned. "With them both being High Professors, they're always trying to outdo one another in some petty way. I wouldn't be surprised if Dorian is participating in the World Pokémon League just to show everyone how much cooler he is than Dad."
"Kade, have you been watching the playoffs too?" Tyrene asked. "Yeah, but Gallade and I have mainly been watching the trio matches. We have a friend who's gotten placed in Worlds for trios. His name is Dawud Kawkish if you've-?" "You know Dawud?! He's top 5 in trios right now!" Tyrene broke in. "Top 5?" Kade looked at Gallade. "That's not what he told us."
"I think he's also one of the youngest in the league right now. Do you know if Dawud's Pokémon had much experience before Dawud brought them into the league? With him being such a young professional player and all." Tyrene asked.
"Oh, Chesnaught has done all kinds of things. Homie is like 150 years old. He's been in Dawud's family for at least a century, so he's got a whole history outside the family tree for sure. No one knows what Chesnaught was up to before, but for Dawud's family he's worked all kinds of jobs as well as participating in other, older Pokémon League tournaments."
"Dawud's Greninja is only around the same age as him and I. And I think he's only been training in the league so far as a career. And then there's Delphox. Dawud recruited her as his third only a few years ago. She used to be a pageant Pokémon before she evolved into Delphox. People thought it was weird that he recruited a Pokémon with no fighting experience to be in the league, but he always said how good she was for the team composition." Kade explained.
"That makes sense. I've seen a few of Dawud's battles and Delphox seems to do a good enough job supporting Greninja and Chesnaught with her fire abilities. The way Greninja and Chesnaught work together on the frontline gives Delphox the space she needs to fight with little resistance. She doesn't overexert herself in the fight because she doesn't need to." Tyrene agreed. "That's what I'm saying! Ever since Dawud started climbing the ladder, he's been getting nonstop Delphox hate on social media. It's like, damn, are you ranked top 5?" Kade threw his hands up in annoyance.
"Kade, you said Dawud recruited Delphox only a while ago, right? Was Delphox still a Kawkish family Pokémon?" Owen asked. "Nah, she was adopted through, uh… what was it… Pokémon Distribution Services?"
The air in the van froze as Kade said this. The sound of silence overtook the ambience of the van's electric engine whirring and tires spinning against the pavement, as all attention fell on Kade. Gino stopped scrolling through his phone and looked out the corner of his eye. Through the rearview mirror, Clay's eyes darted towards the back briefly before returning to the road.
"…What?" Kade shrugged. "PDS is infamous in their Pokémoncare or lack of. Pokémon under their supervision have been lost. Pokémon with no proof of identification have entered their care. And the barrier to be eligible to adopt is almost nonexistent. We ourselves have investigated the Lumiose headquarters in the past." As Gino was about to continue, Clay interrupted. "Kade. Do you know what org sponsors your friend Dawud?" he asked in sarcastic interrogation.
"I… Wait wait wait wait. Hold on a minute. Dawud ain't associated with any criminal organization or anything if that's what you're thinking." Kade retaliated. "If you meet him, you'll see why he's the least shady guy on the planet."
Highway 7 is known as the busiest road in the Kalos region. It's fourteen lanes are accompanied by pairs of lightrail tracks on each side, stretching from the heart of Lumiose City into the mountains west of Couriway, a city 100 miles west of Lumiose. The road laps southward against Kalos' southern shores before completing its circuit once again in Lumiose. The transport van of the 1st Regiment glided through the highspeed, clustered traffic like water through weathered rock, before reaching an exit of little relevance which snaked against the bases of the highest mountains in the region. The environment of the densely populated highway quickly transitioned into a back country road, where the van found itself alone as Clay guided it deeper and deeper into the mountain range.
The sudden transition of pavement into gravel jolted Kade awake. "We're coming up on the site." Clay announced to the rest of the vehicle. Kade slid the shield of the window panel open to see the mountains. Running up a nearby peak, Kade could see scaffolding and large construction equipment already positioned and ready to operate. "Wow… can you really build a house on that?"
They arrived at the bottom of the site, in a large gravel lot where other trucks and equipment were parked. The automatic doors rolled open as everyone stepped out, getting a feel for their environment. Kade was immediately disheartened upon seeing how much snow was present. From where they stood, the only walkable space was the gravel lot. Everywhere else appeared to be covered in a thick layer of snow, several feet deep.
"There's our woman." Clay pointed towards a group of people wearing high visibility vests. Among them, a woman turned to face the rangers, and immediately started towards them with another taller man in tow. She stood no taller than five foot, even in her boots. Her enthusiastic eyes and glossy, bronze hair held together by her stocking cap ran in contrast with the weathering of age that rippled through her cheeks.
"Good morning everyone! As Captain Pendale might have already told you, my name is Shauna Creetley, and I want to welcome you all to our operations." Shauna greeted them before gesturing towards the tall man to her side. "This is Terrace, he's my double incase I'm busy elsewhere."
"Nice to meet you all." Terrace waved to the group. He towered over everyone, almost reaching Blastoise in height. His high-visibility vest barely covered half his torso, and the end of his winter overcoat stopped short just above his knees. His solid stature and unintentionally intimidating glare had him resembling a Steelix.
"So who are my rappelers today?" Terrace asked. With three fingers, Clay pointed at Kade, Tyrene, and Owen standing behind him. "Alright, you guys are with me." Terrace motioned for them to follow. "Getting right to it then, huh?" Kade nudged Gallade's side, as the Pokémon stared loathingly at the snowy peak ahead.
At the other side of the gravel lot, Terrace led the group of recruits to one of Triple C's construction cabins. It was a structure the company used that can be built from start to finish in under an hour, with the help of Pokémon artisanry. There were multiple set up at the base of the site that served as small storage units and break rooms. This cabin kept all kinds of climbing gear necessary for this project.
In the center of the cabin stood a small table with a small holographic projector embedded in its center. Once everyone had gathered in the cabin, Terrace pressed the projectors power button as beams of light formed a floating image above the surface of the table.
"Here's the agenda for today," Terrace began, manipulated the image of the projection into a model of the mountain side. "We're getting snow swept down the mountain side and then foundation holes blasted into the rock. The Pokémon workers have the routine down in completing this job, all we really need you humans to do is guide them through the tasks." He pulled out three small tablets and handed them to each of the human recruits. "These tablets have all of the day-one procedure loaded. And the instructions should be really easy to follow. But if you guys do have questions throughout the day, don't be afraid to radio down."
Over the projection of the mountain side, a grid formed above its surface. "Now the way you guys will travel up and down the mountain is by a network of lines we have strung above the mountainside. You will be able to zipline anywhere throughout the gridded layout." Terrace picked up a bulky remote control with its own screen on it. "This device controls the line that pulls you up and down the mountain. If all goes smoothly, you won't need to touch the ground all day."
Terrace then brought them over to the climbing gear and showed all the harnesses and line attachments that they would need to utilize the line system. After brief demonstrations, Terrace hooked everyone up with their harnesses and led them outside.
The base of the ziplines were pulled taut by thick, steel pillars sticking 20 feet out of the ground. As they approached one of the poles, Kade noticed how high the bases of the lines were. "Do we gotta climb those poles to get up there?" he asked. "Nope. Here, stand under the line right at this spot." Terrace stood below the line's base beside the pole, before stepping out of the way so Kade could.
Kade held the bulky remote, turning it about in his hands as he studied it. He pressed a switch which turned the remote screen on, showing him a map of the ziplines that covered the mountain side. "Slide upwards on the screen there." Terrace pointed. As Kade did so, a hook attached to a small spool of line ejected from a small pack on the back of his harness. The hook shot up towards the zipline above. It attached itself to the zipline and the pack began to reel in the line, lifting Kade off the ground and towards the zipline.
"Damn, this is sick." Kade looked around from his elevated position, getting a handle on the grid of ziplines before him. "Now you're good to go!" Terrace shouted at him. "Your Pokémon group is already at the top of the mountain. Head up there and give them the instructions. They'll know what to do after."
"You got it. Let's go, Gallade." Kade swiped his finger on the screen of the remote and his hook began to move along the zipline. The mechanism guided Kade much faster than he expected. He looked below his dangling feet to see Gallade bounding up the side of the mountain, leaping from boulder to boulder.
Kade pierced through a barrier of low hanging clouds as he continued upward. The breeze was incredibly cool against his face as he lifted his winter mask over his nose. Finally, as he made it through the cloud layer, the sky became clear as the morning sun shined over all that was above. The mountain peaks were blinding as the sun reflected off their snow. Kade turned away and looked over the ocean of clouds resting away from the mountains, equally blinding.
He pulled his goggles over his eyes and began scanning the mountain side, wondering where the end of the zipline would be. Not too far up the side, he could see a few figures standing together, each one of a large size. "I think I see the Pokémon."
Kade stopped himself short of the zipline's end, and lowered himself to the ground, near the group of Pokémon waiting. "Hey there!" Kade called out to them. The three Pokémon turned their heads and began their way towards Kade.
Before Kade stood the colossal Avalugg, an ice type Pokémon whose body resembled a country-wide glacier adrift in an ocean. Despite carrying himself on four legs, Avalugg was so large that Kade still had to look up to meet the Pokémon's eyes. The second Pokémon was the ice-type Beartic, the tallest of the trio. At eight feet, the polar bear-like Pokémon was equipped with large, ice-tipped claws and a beard of icicles dripping from his snout. The third Pokémon was a rock-type called Gigalith, the smallest yet sturdiest Pokémon of the group. Four sturdy legs supported Gigalith's pyramid-shaped body at each corner. Gigalith's dark, rocky carapace left him the only one Kade didn't have to squint at.
"Hey guys. I'm your supervisor or director guy or whatever who Terrace sent up here. You guys chill to get started?" Kade asked. Gallade smiled at Kade's godlike pun. Gigalith lowered his head, pitying this coming week knowing he has to spend it with this new supervisor.
Beartic turned to Gallade asking if they could simply get on with their damn job. Gallade relayed this to Kade. "Oh, my bad guys. Yea, lemme pull up the first task." He retrieved the tablet Terrace gave him with all the instructions loaded on them. The three Pokémon stared at Kade with astonishment. Avalugg commented to Beartic on Kade's comprehension of his companion. "Oh yea, that's just how it is. So if you guys need to ask me anything, just shout to me."
"Alright, start with Phase one section one." Kade said as he pulled himself up back to the zipline. After a brief discussion of interest amongst themselves, Gigalith, Beartic, and Avalugg began their assignment at removing the snow from the mountain side.
Kade hovered above them, slowly moving along the line. Gallade effortlessly leapt up towards Kade and stood on the zipline with his feet, tight roping along the line as he followed Kade. "I remember what Clay told us about how I should have you patrol the area or whatever. But I feel like watching over the workers is our top priority, right? So having you with us here would be way more helpful. Besides, who the fuck would come all the way out here and attack us or sabotage the construction? Especially when it's this cold." Kade shook his head. "It's obvious that there's so much Clay isn't telling us about the dangers of this job. But it's also like, what's so dangerous about THIS job? You know what I mean?" Kade tapped his thigh. "Like why the fuck I need a gun when we're doing shit like this? Ain't you protection enough?"
Gallade replied by telling Kade to recall a conversation with Jeffrey during their training. "Right… What Dad said…"
April, 3027
Jeffrey Hollinder, a Major of the Pokémon Rangers, stood on an elevated platform with a running stopwatch in his hand. He stared down into a canopy of trees, watching the occasional burst of movement appear on the forest floor. Decidueye flew overhead as a secondary perspective. Suddenly, Kade burst through a set of wooden doors below Jeffrey as he stumbled out into a clearing, wielding an assault rifle. Jeffrey stopped his clock.
Gallade soon followed out the same doors, flicking away an airsoft pellet stuck to his arm. Kade dropped the gun and bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Jeffrey climbed down his ladder. "Nice job. You didn't let Gallade touch you once that run. Now you just need to pad your time a little more-." "Hot damn, Dad. Ain't getting through the whole course good enough?" Kade panted.
Jeffrey raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Usually you're excited about PRs." Kade took another moment to breathe as he paced back and forth, keeping his eyes to the ground before his feet. "I just… I don't get it." He looked up at his father with rejecting eyes. "Like, is there really gonna be a situation… where I'm gonna need this?" He tapped the airsoft gun lying in the grass with his foot.
"First," Jeffrey picked Kade's gun off the ground. "Don't ever throw your weapon away." He pressed the broadside of the rifle into Kade with the barrel pointing towards the sky. Kade clutched it reluctantly and carried it with tired hands.
"Second, A person is just as much a Ranger as their Pokémon. Your enemy knows this. You need to understand that combat situations aren't like Pokémon league battles. That's why you need to find ways to be just as dangerous as Gallade when the situation calls for it."
Jeffrey could see his son grow frustrated. Kade made a motion like he was going to throw the gun down again, but he refrained, instead throwing the strap over his shoulder, and slinging the gun behind his back, as if the sight of it annoyed him.
It was moments like these when Kade didn't bother arguing back, did Jeffrey know his son was greatly troubled. "I know you don't wanna shoot anybody. You won't find a Pokémon Ranger who does. I'm not even saying that you have to."
"This job, Kade, is gonna leave you in some shitty situations every now and then. It's similar to how a police officer doesn't want to respond to a robbery, or how a firefighter doesn't want to jump into a burning house, or how a nurse doesn't want a broken and bleeding Pokémon lying on their bed. But when these people are confronted with these challenges, they're equipped with the tools and knowledge to respond and make a decision that can save someone's life. It's the same for us. During the flood in Kalos, I wasn't in Lumiose City because I wanted to be."
January 3029
At the base of the Zygarde Mountains, Tyrene and Blastoise walked into one of Triple C's popup cabins which was designated as the employee lounge. Tyrene opened the thin door to see nobody inside. There was only a few tables and chairs for two pairs at each one. Sitting on a countertop at the side of the cabin walls were several cannisters of soup, all of varying sizes and labels.
Tyrene walked over and inspected the cannister labels. She picked one of incredible size and weight and hoisted it into her arms. "This one's for you." She grunted as she set it on one of the tables for Blastoise. The large water-type Pokémon groaned with thankfulness as he loosened the cap and poured potato and cornn berry soup into his gaping maw.
While Blastoise ate, Tyrene searched for a cannister with a portion fitting for a person. She found her favorite, hondew berry and dumpling, sitting at the very back. "I wonder if there's a second lying around…" she pondered as she sat across from Blastoise at the table.
"There's still so many meals in here. We must be the first ones down our section of the mountain. I think Terrace underestimated how much we could finish in a day." She said as she put a spoonful of soup in her mouth.
After the first bite she stopped and stared at the wall to her right. Blastoise paused as well, knowing that his trainer was contemplating something. He leaned forward, knowing that his trainer was about to speak her mind to him, as she always does. "I feel I might've pushed our group to work too quickly. They all seemed tired and dismissive by the time we got to the bottom. Do you think we didn't do the project right?" she asked.
Usually Blastoise can answer a yes or no question by shaking his head. But sometimes Tyrene will ask something where an answer can be devised from many angles to Blastoise's dismay. When this happens, Blastoise takes a finger and taps on the side of his head. Seeing this, Tyrene let out a sigh. "That's definitely not a no."
Just then, Owen entered the cabin, with cheerful Mismagius on top of his head. "Hey, Ty." He greeted as he headed straight for the soup counter. He gazed at the half-eaten lunches his sister and her Pokémon had. "How long you guys been here? You got that done pretty fast." He asked.
"It's already lunch. We could have done it quicker." Tyrene shrugged. "Leveling 1000 feet of a mountain side isn't something just any Pokémon can do in four hours." Owen sat next to Tyrene with his and Mismagius' cannisters. "What do you mean? You got here only a few minutes after Blastoise and I." Tyrene questioned. "Oh, we're not done with our side. We just came down cause we're hungry." Owen said.
Mismagius hovered down from Owen's head and ate her meal across from him on the table. As Owen ate, he noticed Tyrene scowling at her cannister. "…Soup not good?" he asked. "No, it's… I just don't think I work well with other Pokémon." Tyrene fidgeted with her spoon. "I remember both Dad and Commander Kayle said I can be a pretty commanding person, no matter who I'm with. I just feel like I'm starting to be more conscious of it now."
Owen stopped chewing. "What the hell are you talking about?" he mumbled with his mouth full before swallowing. "Commanding? That isn't it. You're someone who knows how to get the job done." He said. "I mean- It's not like you aren't commanding. You just hyper-fixate really well. I don't think I've ever seen you get distracted once. Like, look right now! You turned your whole body to face me as I spoke. We're at lunch, you didn't have to stop eating and give your full attention like we're at ceremony or something."
Tyrene looked down at herself before turning back to the table. Owen shook his head. "Geez. You don't gotta fight your nature. I don't know why you're trying to now of all times. It's gotta be cause this is your first real job." Owen stood up from the table with his empty cannister, leaving Tyrene enamored at how fast he eats. "When it comes to working, whenever you're assigned to do within a timeframe, it really doesn't matter how fast you do it as long as it gets done. Now that you ARE done, you can just chill out… Maybe that's it. Commander Kayle probably never taught you how to do that." Owen took his empty cannister back to the counter, as Mismagius leapt back onto her throne atop his head. "Anyways, back to work with us. See you later."
Late in the afternoon, the cabin door swung open as Kade and Gallade peaked inside cautiously. "Guys?..." Tyrene, still sitting in her chair, was first to notice them as they entered. "Hey, what's up?" Kade waved, standing awkwardly in the entryway with Gallade.
"It looked like you were sneaking in here. You do something?" Tyrene asked. "What-? Nah." Kade didn't elaborate, regaining a casual composure as he made his way over to the soup counter. He wasn't about to try and cover up the topic of slacking off with the other Pokémon. What a silly way to reveal his secret, he thought. Instead he took the next best course of action, acting like everything was normal.
Kade and Gallade sat down at the table next to Tyrene and Blastoise's. They held straight faces as they ate, staring at each other. Until Gallade muttered a portion of an inside joke they had developed with the worker Pokémon, to which they contained their silent laughter and a mouth full of noodles. Teenage boys are always giggling about something, Tyrene thought.
She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling, reassuming her relaxing position before Kade and Gallade arrived. "Hey Ty, did ya'll finish?" Kade asked. "A while ago, we did." She replied, not moving her gaze.
Kade and Gallade looked at each other with wide eyes, knowing that they weren't even halfway done with their side of the mountain. "Nice…" Kade nodded. "What about you gu-?"
Clay threw the door open to the cabin. "Oh. Easy. You're all here." He raised his ski goggles above his eyes. "Hop in the van. We're leaving." He ordered. "Wait, what? We're not done yet though." Kade protested. "HUH?!" Tyrene gasped. "Doesn't matter. They're shutting down the site before it gets too cold. Get your things."
Cold and tired, the regiment drove home in relative silence. The new junior members welcomed the warm embrace of their team house's interior as they tore their winter equipment off their bodies and found a space to lounge in the living room.
"Man, who knew literally hangin around all day would take so much outta you?" Kade sighed as he let the heat of the home absorb into his skin. "Speak for yourself." Tyrene said, visibly shivering as she plucked out specks of ice from the ends of her hair. "It wasn't too bad. Only needing to supervise some Pokémon along with those views? I'm kinda looking forward to that tomorrow." Owen added.
Mavis came out into the living room to join them. "So? How was everyone's first day?" she asked as she sat down next to Kade and Gallade. "Fun." "Boring." "I don't know what I'm doing." Mavis laughed at their unified responses. "I take it work was pretty good then."
"What'd they have you do today, Mavis?" Kade asked. "Clay and I spent the day down at headquarters in Lumiose City. We needed to take care of some logistics involved in working with a private company like Triple C. As well as a few other things we're looking forward to this year, like the Pokémon League Tournament." She explained.
"We're going to the tournament?!" Kade's eyes lit up. "As security and for ceremonial stuff. Nothing to worry about right now since that's still a few months out." Mavis said. Kade turned to Gallade. "We gotta tell Dawud and the crew we're gonna be there."
Gino then walked into the living room in baggy lounge clothes. He scratched his smooth face as he made his way to the kitchen. "What did you do today, Gino?" Tyrene asked. He paused mid-step. "…I set up security cams around our worksite on the mountain. Got halfway done today. Tomorrow I should finish." He said, lumbering into the kitchen. "Gino come talk to everybody!" Mavis urged him. "I'm making dinner." He replied, followed by the sounds of pots and pans being retrieved from cabinets.
Gino turned on the electric stove as he placed a large pan on the big burner. He went to the large, silver refrigerator and retrieved pounds of raw Wailord meat. He carried it delicately to the steel, center island and placed the meat on a cutting board.
"Let me help with something." Tyrene's voice materialized over his shoulder. "No need." Gino said as he grabbed a large cutting knife. "Please? I'm so bored let me do something with dinner. Work was so brainless today." She pleaded.
"Leave the cooking to me. It's part of my job too. To feed you all." Gino sliced into the paper packaging of the meat. "Really? I thought you were the tech person on the team." Tyrene asked. Gino stared at the meat on the cutting board, bargaining with himself. "…You won't leave me be, will you?" he sighed. "I know how to cook too, if that's what you're wondering." Tyrene said.
Gino looked at the meat further, squinting his eyes beneath his rectangle glasses. He wasn't lying when he said he was the team's cook. Between him, Mavis, and Clay, Gino spent by far the most time in the house. Their prestigious squadron brought them busy schedules and many operation requests so that there wasn't much time to think about mealtimes.
Gino pointed his finger at the meat. "Do you know what meat this is?" he asked. "Looks like Wailord or Wishiwashi meat from…" Tyrene cocked her head to read the partially torn label taped to the packaging paper. "…A Mister Denona?"
"We helped Denona a few years back with his shipping business. Mavis became good friends with him. When Wailord passed a month ago, Denona had him processed. Said he wanted to feed as many friends as possible. And many friends it is. Wailord was an enormous Pokémon." Gino explained as he threw the rest of the packaging in the garbage.
"Now for the important step." Gino folded his hands. "We thank Wailord for providing himself to us." He said. Tyrene folded her hands as well. "Right." They both lowered their heads as Gino led a small prayer giving thanks to Wailord, as was the custom for receiving Pokémon meat. Similar to donating one's body to research, it was common for either person or Pokémon to designate themselves as feasts for the opposite species postmortem. It is a common and sacred practice for handling the deceased.
Back in the living room, Kade felt his phone buzz in his sweatpants pocket. He glared at the phone screen with tired eyes to see a message highlighted in the screen's center. (Sorry to bother you, buddy. Your dad is in the hospital and I thought you should head over here when you get the chance. Lumiose Regional 5. Room 771 – Reed Iluni).
"Yo…" He reread the message. "What's up, Kade?" Owen asked. "Uh… My dad's in the hospital right now, apparently. I don't know why. Ugh probably his fucked up leg." As Kade said this, Gallade slightly recoiled in surprise. "No way!" Mavis exclaimed as Kade showed her the text. "Here, I'll drive you there. We'll take the van." She stood up. "Gino! Kade, Gallade and I are gonna be late for dinner!" She shouted. "Wailord won't be happy." He replied. Kade and Mavis threw on their winter jackets and hurried outside with Gallade in tow.
The drive to the hospital was stressful for the sons of Jeffrey. Mavis was quick through the mountain pass and highways that led towards the city. Kade wracked his brain with all kinds of possibilities that would leave his father in the hospital.
Mavis dropped Kade and Gallade at the hospital entrance. "Go on I'll wait out here at this drop off." She said. The two hurried into the hospital, taking the elevator up towards where Jeffrey's room was. Even this late in the evening, the hospital was bustling with activity. Kade and Gallade maneuvered through the tight traffic of doctors, nurses, and assistant Pokémon.
They swerved through the door with 771 printed largely on the front. They saw a group huddled at the foot of the hospital bed hidden behind a white curtain. "Shit…" Kade huffed under his breath as they approached rapidly.
Jeffrey was sitting up in his bed, wearing a hospital gown. Decidueye stood watchfully beside him. The people standing before him all seemed to be a part of the PRA. The ones he recognized were Major Iluni, whom Kade knew as a lifelong family friend from Jeffrey, and Commander Kayle. Both of them bore disgruntled expressions.
"Good to see you two." Jeffrey greeted his boys. He looked tired, but nothing else was alarming about his appearance. "Dad… What happened?" Kade panted. Jeffrey waved his hand. "Here, can you all leave us alone for a little bit?" The rangers shuffled out the room silently, leaving the Hollinder men by themselves.
"Had a nerve snag in my bad leg. Came out of nowhere. But the doctor said it wasn't anything too serious. I just won't get to walk around for a while." Jeffrey said. Kade didn't say anything, still looking as worried as when he walked in.
"…Nothing serious?" Kade finally asked. "You don't look convinced." Jeffrey tilted his head. He then looked towards Decidueye and nodded his head. Decidueye approached Kade and wrapped a wing around him before he spoke softly.
"Don't react to what I'm about to tell you. There's nothing wrong with Jeffrey. He's feigning injury to use himself as bait."
Kade turned to Decidueye with wide eyes, like he was about to start questioning, but Decidueye stared him down. Kade stopped himself and kept quiet. "Don't worry, I'll give you an update in about a week or two. That's when the doctor wanted to try and get me walking again." Jeffrey said. Kade just nodded, glancing at his father's cane resting against his bed.
"Don't let what I told you leave this room." Decidueye returned to Jeffrey's side.
Jeffrey could tell what he instructed Decidueye to tell his son was not enough to put him at ease. He knew his child enough to see he was brimming with questions. "We'll talk about it again, l promise." Jeffrey tried to reassure him. "Ok." Kade took a deep breath. "Well damn Iluni could've texted me earlier in the day, gotta head to bed soon for work." Kade said.
"That's right!" Jeffrey's eyes lit up. "How's living with a team?" he asked. Just then Kade noticed movement beside him. He turned to see a most unexpected face. "Boys! So happy to see you." Dorsey appeared in the room with a black winter jacket on. She wrapped her layered arms around Kade and Gallade. "Mom-! Hey!"
"Jeffrey said you guys would come around. Glad I can see you all in one place." Dorsey smiled. Kade just nodded at the sentiment, still distracted by what Decidueye informed him of. "Because of Jeff's injury, I'll be staying in the city to be near; take some vacation. Only until he recovers."
This brought Kade somewhat back to reality. In the recent year of Kade and Gallade's training, they almost never spent time at home. They traveled all over the world with their father to engage in all kinds of training exercises. Kade had been so caught up in initializing his career, that he just realized this was the first time he had seen his mother face to face in four months.
"That's cool. We just got done with our first few days of work. But I can tell you more once my team captain has us do more stuff." Kade said. "That's right! Well what can you tell me so far?" Dorsey pulled up a chair and sat. As Kade began recalling the last two days, he felt his worry lift under the attentive eyes of his parents as they listened to his story.