Father Daughter Talking Time

Normally, we would be taken to a human hospital, but the police found that our pokémon were injured in the incident as well. Thus, we were taken to the Pokémon Center since it doubles as a normal hospital as well.

I had to get treated for the blunt force trauma that occurred on my skull, and all of us had to get blood work done to make sure the sedative wasn't poisonous or anything.

Well, I say all of us… I could consent, but the others are still, worryingly, unconscious. Nurse Joy said it's because they still have trace amounts of sedative in their systems, but I don't believe that. Knowing a possible truth to the events shows me that life is but puppetry, being guided along by beings unknowable. If Ash needed to wake up, then he would've woken up by now, so he's still unconscious for reasons known only to Arceus.

He's probably having some stupid and fun adventure where they all share dreams and have aspects of their psyche manifest in different ways.

I want to have fun, too…

The door slides open and, judging from the weight of the footsteps, dad walks over towards me. He pulls up a plastic chair and sits next to me, staring at Serena's unconscious body like me.

"So," he begins, looking for something to say, "how have you been holding up?"

I spare a quick glance at him and sardonically reply, "Eh, I've been better."

He gives me a small chuckle, turning his attention back to the unconscious Serena. His casual smile crimps a little and I notice his eyes darting between my focused gaze and her body. I also noticed that he noticed my noticing of his pondering.

"How's your journey been? Except for the obvious part, I mean. I've read some snippets through our Team Magma reports, but they only mentioned you in passing. Anything…interesting happen? Maybe a…crush? I saw your new hand; anything about that?"

Interrogation is less effective when you know that they're an interrogator, and that they're your dad. Plus, he knows he doesn't need to be subtle around me.

"I discovered a fascinating new battery material. Due to certain factors with reality and physics, I've been banned from several gyms. I got Aether President Lusamine's phone number through a wild series of events. Things have been moving somewhat slowly with Courtney, but we really haven't defined what we are. I do have a massive crush of Serena—the girl in front of us, but I don't know if it's my usual crush on cute and beautiful girls… I lost my hand because of the aforementioned physics and an explosion, but I made a replacement and have been avoiding thinking negatively about that. I might do more with it; who knows? Oh, and I have these." I list off everything on each finger, and finish off with pointing to the Octillery Arms who are busying themselves with keeping the room tidy.

"Yeah, I noticed those…" Dad remarks, but he becomes silent as his gaze lingers on my hand. "Did you know that we have an entire filing cabinet on Ash Ketchum?"

I scoff. "I can believe it."

He scoffs in return. "That kid has been on a lot of adventures and has been targeted by a lot of bad people. He always came out on top…in the end. I guess we know why now."

I raise an eyebrow, keeping my focus on the rise and fall of Serena's chest. "At least I have a better idea on why Clemont's inventions keep failing, but I don't feel like telling him."

Dad doesn't answer, only following my gaze towards Serena, then quickly glancing away. A good few minutes pass in near silence, only broken by the soft, melodic breathing and the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Suddenly, my dad stands up, stretching his arms above his head with his trench coat. "Alright, cupcake. I'll talk to you later. I'm going to check if they're serving chili today." And with that abrupt announcement, he leaves.

As soon as the door shuts, an Octillery Arm slowly glides over with minute precision and picks up the flash drive sitting in the middle of the chair. With a quick flick, it plugs into the center of the claw, allowing me to browse its contents.

Hmm, what a small device you are, to hold such large amounts of data.

First and foremost, dad has left me a blueprint to the reality scanner. I don't know what he expects me to do with this, but I'm sure I'll have a clue.

What's more interesting are all the International Police files. For each file, there's two versions: the redacted form, and the form that dad copied using his credentials. For example, the file on Ash is completely redacted from top to bottom, including his photo. However, it also has files on every companion Ash has ever had like this girl Misty, or Serena. Every region that Ash has been to has their team executive files here as well, like Courtney's.

There's some gym leader files as well, but I think the most important piece is the file labeled Nicole Bellerose.

There's only one version of it as the redacted form is the normal form. Mine is like Ash's, completely redacted from top to bottom. The only thing of note is that the agent who ordered my file redacted has the exact same credentials as my dad.

Thanks, dad.

After downloading the data, I extract the drive from my claw, quickly crushing it and wrapping it in a small tissue. I'll make a note to douse the remains of the drive in acid.

I keep my gaze on Serena, wondering when she'll awaken.