"Hello, Grandpa?"

Julian had just finished breakfast when he received a call from his grandfather, John.

"My dear grandson come to the Woodland Hospital in Orient City right away. Your grandma has been hospitalized," came John’s heavy voice through the phone.

"What’s wrong with Grandma? I’ll head over immediately," Julian asked urgently.

"I don’t know the details yet. I’m on my way there now."

Julian could hear the sound of wind howling in the background of the call.

After hanging up, Julian turned to Slowking. "Slowking, pack up. We need to go to Orient right now."

"Slow!"

Slowking nodded. It had heard the phone conversation just now as well.

While Slowking went upstairs to pack, Julian walked into the backyard and recalled all his Pokémon. However, Arcanine was missing.

"Metagross, bring it back from the Dog Club."

After breakfast, Arcanine usually made a round at the Dog Club to fulfill its duties as the president.

Metagross vanished and reappeared in front of Julian in an instant, with Arcanine in tow.

Arcanine looked bewildered, as if wondering why it had been brought back. Before it could react, Julian recalled it into its Poké Ball.

"Slow!"

Slowking had finished packing and even brought along the sleepy Celebi.

Just as Julian mounted his Dragonite, the villa door opened, and Nicole walked in.

"Something going on?"

Nicole asked, noticing that Julian looked like he was in a hurry.

"My grandma’s sick. I need to go to Orient," Julian replied.

In his hurry, he had forgotten that he had plans to stroll in the park with Nicole that morning.

Noticing Julian’s anxious expression, Nicole immediately said, "Then hurry up and go."

"Mm."

After bidding Nicole farewell, Julian flew out of Imperial University on Dragonite at top speed.

At Dragonite’s maximum speed, it took only half an hour to reach Woodland Hospital in Orient.

This hospital was a private one owned by Julian’s grandmother’s family. It boasted excellent medical facilities—though at a steep price.

Julian headed to the top floor, where the VIP wards were located. The entire floor had only ten such rooms.

He knocked on the door of Room 1, and it was his grandfather, John, who opened the door.

"You’re here."

John spoke softly when he saw Julian.

The absence of "my dear grandson" made Julian’s heart sink—was Grandma’s condition that serious?

"Your parents, uncle, and aunt will be arriving later."

Since Jake and the others were coming from Lake City, which was farther from Orient than the Imperial Capital, they would take longer to arrive.

Inside the hospital room, aside from John, there were several other members of the Cavendish family—including the Cavendish family head.

Everyone’s expressions were grim.

Julian immediately walked to the hospital bed and saw his grandmother, Evelyn, lying with her eyes closed, surrounded by several medical equipment.

Though he didn’t know what illness she had, her aura was indeed extremely faint.

"What exactly happened to Grandma? When I last saw her, she was perfectly fine."

Granted, that 'last time' was over a year ago—a bit too long, perhaps.

But Evelyn was one of the Cavendish family’s pillars. She underwent regular health checkups, so any serious condition should have been detected early.

Yet, judging by her current state, it seemed like she had been sick for quite a while already.

"Auntie’s condition is due to rapid organ failure," the Cavendish family head said sorrowfully.

"Organ failure? Impossible! Grandma isn’t even eighty yet!"

Julian refused to believe it. With the average lifespan now at around 120 years, how could his grandmother, not even 80, be suffering from organ failure?

"Did you people do something to her?"

Julian glared at the Cavendish family members around him. He knew that in their eyes, his grandmother had always been an outsider.

"Julian, what are you saying?! She’s my aunt!" the Cavendish family head roared, furious.

"Then why is she like this?"

Seeing the genuine anger in the man’s expression, Julian softened his tone slightly.

Thinking about it more, it really didn’t add up. Even if the Cavendish family never fully accepted Grandma as one of their own, they wouldn’t dare harm her.

After all, even though she was divorced from Grandpa, they still cared about each other. And with him—Julian—as her grandson, the Cavendish family would only treat her better, not worse—unless they were complete fools.

"Your grandma was poisoned by a Pseudo-Champion Swalot when she was young. Although she was rescued, the residual toxins in her body were never fully eliminated."

"And she was poisoned… because of me."

John looked at Evelyn on the hospital bed, his expression a mix of heartache and guilt.

'Poison!'

Hearing this, Julian's heart tightened. Poison was one of the hardest things to deal with—and since this poison had been lingering in her body since her youth, she must have tried every possible remedy over the years—yet it was never fully eliminated.

Now, as she aged and her body weakened, the toxins had finally overwhelmed her system, leading to the current condition.

"If it’s organ failure, can Heavy Water treat it?" Julian asked.

Heavy Water could regenerate damaged limbs and organs and was an extremely rare medicinal item.

"It’s no use. We’ve already tried it." The Cavendish family head shook his head.

"What did the doctors say? There has to be a way to treat her!" Julian pressed urgently.

"Glossy Ganoderma. The doctors said only this treasure can save Auntie. Her entire body’s organs are failing, and Glossy Ganoderma has miraculous effects on both internal and external injuries."

Upon hearing this, Julian hurriedly searched the system store and quickly found the Glossy Ganoderma. But when he saw the price, his face darkened.

'Damn it, it costs a million points!'

[Glossy Ganoderma: (Type: Universal Treasure) Can be used by both humans and Pokémon. Purifies the entire body, revitalizes the constitution, and extends lifespan.]

Julian currently had a little over 600,000 points. He had assumed he could afford it, given that Ultimate treasures like Soul Crystal and Diamond Core were priced at around 500,000 points in the system.

But the Glossy Ganoderma, despite being of the same tier, cost a staggering 1,000,000 points—far beyond his expectations.

The exorbitant price was likely due to two factors:

- No type restrictions—it could be used by any Pokémon, regardless of their typing.

- Universal compatibility—both humans and Pokémon could benefit from it.

With these two advantages combined, the required points naturally skyrocketed.

"Is Glossy Ganoderma the only option? Are there any alternatives?"

"Right now, yes. The hospital’s doctors are holding an emergency meeting to explore alternatives, and we’ve also consulted specialists nationwide," the Cavendish family head explained.

"They might come up with something, but Glossy Ganoderma remains the best solution. And… we don’t even know if Auntie can hold on long enough for them to find another way."

As he spoke, his expression grew bleak.

"Grandpa, does the national treasury have this thing?" Julian suddenly asked.

Hearing this, the Cavendish family head’s eyes lit up with hope.

Right! They couldn’t get the Glossy Ganoderma themselves, but John was a Champion. If the national treasury of Drakoria had this item, he would surely be able to access it.

But John’s expression darkened further.

"Last time, when Duke was poisoned… it was used to keep him alive. There’s none left in the treasury now."

*****

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