Chapter 7

In the end, the saga ended. The doctor was arrested and questioned by the police. However, he mysteriously committed suicide in his cell. No doubt the Hunter's Guild had a hand in it.

Typically, Haku would be home by this time, training or reading materials handed to him by Pryce. However, Pryce was still busy handling the blizzard's aftermath, leaving Haku alone with little to do.

So, when Lance asked to enlist his services in guarding his cousin, he accepted it. Now, he is in the girl's hospital room, reading a book from the Pokemon Center's library.

Pokemon Centers have everything, a library, training areas, and much more. Too bad their costs are pretty insane.

They charged the girl 10,000 dollars for a single day of treatment. Worse still, without insurance, that would have costed way more. An average annual salary of an individual not in the Pokemon business is around 36,000. So almost one-third of the year's salary would have gone down the drain.

No wonder Pokemon Centers can afford to keep themselves up and running.

Settling that thought, Haku went back to the book in his hands. Titled "Ice Type Pokemon." It serves as a Guide to raising Ice Type Pokemon. In his eyes, whoever wrote this book, should be stripped of their rights to write and publish it. Almost everything in the book is full of crap.

Who says that all Ice Type Pokemon eat Ice?! For crying out loud, Swinub does eat any berry or shrubbery they can get their hands on. They also dare proclaim that Ice Type Pokemon are the weakest and frailest. How dare they!

Suppressing his rage, Haku placed the book down, intending to return it later. The only concern on his mind was the girl. She had been asleep for the past 3 days without a sign of waking up. The Doctors said that her brain was still recovering and needed time. A daily therapy session of Heal Pulse from Chansey has helped her recover faster, but it is still insufficient to wake her.

Worried as he is, he could not do a damn thing. He could only wait patiently and look after her Dratini, who was at her side. When he brought it to the room, it stayed at her side and refused to budge.

What an incredible bond.

Beside Haku was an Egg Incubator loaded with an Egg. He had brought it with him if the stay would be too long. And it paid dividends as the Egg was close to hatching. Some kicks and shakes were heard from the Egg earlier, so Haku paid close attention.

Suddenly, the girl groaned… She's awake! That should not be possible unless she is awake…

As he noticed this, the girl sat upwards and held her head. She probably was quite drowsy and alarmed at the current situation. Dratini, absentmindedly staring at the wall, immediately crawled to her lap and began spouting some words. Hearing this, the girl grabbed the Dratini and gave it a hug. Tears of joy flowed from her eyes, making for a comforting atmosphere. Haku could only watch awkwardly as they continued their act. He felt that he should not be here.

Pulling at the string beside him, a bell rang. Not long after, a few doctors and nurses immediately ran towards the run. When they arrived, they began informing the girl about her current situation. While doing this, Haku packed his stuff and silently made his way out of the room. As he did, Flakes appeared beside Haku. She was hiding earlier to not alarm the girl when she woke up.

"Familia ties are amazing, aren't they? No matter what happens, Family always sticks together." Haku softly muttered to the air.

They reminded him of his parents, who were long gone. He needed to remember their laughs, faces, appearances, attitudes, style, everything. His memories with them were fading with time. Instead, being replaced with time with his grandfather and Flakes.

The pair left the hospital ward and went to the Pokemon Store, where Trainers can buy Pokemon-related items. They had been looking after the girl for the past few days and needed more time to accomplish their primary objectives. Now that the girl was awake, Haku could leave. Of course, he texted his grandfather to let him know. Also, Flakes noted that none of the personnel was malicious, and thus, the girl was safe.

When they arrived at their destination, they were greeted by a pair of guards. Flashing his trainer licence, the guards moved aside, allowing Haku to enter. In the store, there were shelves of everything a trainer needs. Berries. Check. Pokeball. Check. Healing items. Check. Everything you could ever need was there, except… TMs. TMs or Technical Machines were essentially discs holding data of moves that could be transplanted into Pokemon via a machine. Made only a decade prior, they were precious as they could instantly teach most Pokemon a move they usually could not.

With such benefits, they came at a price. The average TM would cost about 5,000 dollars which for the average Trainers would be too costly. Thus, most TM users would be more affluent Trainers. However, spamming TM is unwise due to the excess information poured into a Pokémon's brain, which can severely impact their ability to battle. At most, 10 TMs should be sued on a single Pokemon.

However, the criminal underworld loves them and actively tries to steal them due to their benefits. The Pokemon Center places TMs in a highly guarded store section as a countermeasure.

Heading to the second level, a few guards awaited him. They were hired by the Pokemon Center to monitor any Trainers that entered the area and to eliminate those that they deemed a threat. As Haku walked by them, he could sense the stares that they were giving him. They looked down upon him, which Haku did not mind at all. They were oblivious to Flake's bloodlust that was almost leaking from her. She did not like it but hid it for the sake of her Trainer.

When Haku reached the second level, there was only a large counter with a few clerks. A few Trainers were also there, but they were only window shopping. Walking towards a clerk, Haku took out his brand new Trainer's licence and gave it to her. Slightly shocked at this, the clerk scanned the licence and donned her typical severe face when it showed that it was real. He was a customer she would not miss, and his last name was accurate. Then, she might be able to connect with a Future Gym Leader. Haku then handed her a list of all the items he needed, and she ran to get them.

Grabbing a seat, Haku sat down and waited for his items to arrive. In the meantime, something needs to be addressed. People were staring at him. Quite a few, really. About 5 or 6. They were all Trainers of varying strength, but one thing is sure. They were envious of him. Haku's appearance did not help as he wore pretty average clothes, giving them the impression of a country bumpkin. Yet, a clerk was treating him better than them? How preposterous!

They were envious of him. A little too much. But Haku closed his eyes and shut off his senses, waiting for Flakes to signal. Whenever he felt alone, Haku closed his eyes and shut everything. A way to cope.

Soon, a cold sensation appeared on Haku's neck, instantly awakening him. It was Flakes' way of waking him. When he opened his eyes, the clerk was there. On the counter were 5 TMs of varying colours and differing prices. Try as she might, Haku could see a streak of fear across her face. The other clerks and Trainers were also afraid.

Did Flakes play a prank? Or were they afraid of a Ghost Type Pokemon. Regardless, they could have been more genuinely notable for keeping tabs on.

Taking out his card, he paid for his items and requested to use the TM Machining Table. The TM Machining Table was where TMs could be used. It is where TMs data could be transferred into Pokemon. Keeping her smile, she guided Haku to a room where the TM Machining Table was. Slotting the TMs into the Machine, he recalled Flakes back to her Pokeball and placed it in a slot. Haku retrieved his Pokeball as the clerk retrieved the TMs and returned them to Haku. The clerk then pressed a few buttons, completing the implantation process within a minute.

TMs were reusable and basically served as a lifetime supply to that move. Another reason why they were expensive. Using the TM Machining Table and TMs cost Haku about 200,000 dollars…Quite an amount, to say the least.

As Haku was about to leave, the clerk asked, "Could I have your number?"

Instantly, Haku's face hardened, which went unnoticed by the clerk.

Disgusting. She only wants the network to interact with me. It is pretty weird for a woman to ask a 9-year-old this, but if my grandfather is involved… I would rather not interact with you ever again. Her intent is all over her face.

Ignoring her, Haku walked out of the shop after buying a few other items and went to check on the girl. On the way, he let out Flakes, who was worried.

"I am fine Flakes…Hopefully." Haku muttered.

When he arrived at the girl's room, the girl was awake and seemed to await him. As if she knew he would come.

"What is your name?"

"Haku, Haku Yanagi."

"Could I ask you something?"

His gut told him that something was off about the girl. Her calmness in her current situation was unsettling. Her resolute eyes seemed to be able to take on the world. Her confident aura irked him.

"Sure, fire away."

He only did the logical thing. Her eyes seemed to pierce into his soul, which scared him shit less.

An eerie smile formed as she said, "Could I train with you?"