Drew sauntered into the living room, where Valerie and his Sandslash were lounging on the couch, looking at the TV with an absent look, “Alright, I’ve got confirmation from the big bosses. You’ve got permission for another day down at the watchtower.”

  Her head perked up before she finally registered Drew's words in her mind, and she whirled her head around in surprise. “Really? Really-Really?!”

  Sandslash whipped around to its trainers, digging its claws into the couch, “Woah, cool it, Buddy!” Drew carefully lifted his friend's arms, rolling him back onto his side and tucking his arms back onto his stomach. Turning back to his daughter he continued, “Yep, really-really.”

  “When?!” Valerie leaned over the backrest of the couch precariously, almost tipping the thing over before Drew managed to get his hands on her shoulders to support her, “You cool it too Val, alright?”

  “Alright…”, Her chest rose heavily and her eyes were open just a bit too wide, but she relented, placing herself back down onto the couch. Drew placed himself between his Pokemon and his daughter before beginning his explanation.

  “You’ll go there tomorrow with me, on the Monday. We should be finishing up the census of the route, so you’ll be going up to the base of Mt. Silver with us once again.” Drew clarified.

  “Yess!” Valerie pumped her fist with a grin before wrapping up her dad in a hug, “Thank you, Dad! I love you!”

  Drew reciprocated the hug with a stupid grin, “No problem, I wouldn’t want you to go crazy at home here.” After releasing, Drew cleared his throat before speaking up again, “Although I want to make something clear before taking you on more trips.”

  “What is it?” Valerie asked with a quirk of her head.

  “What do you want to do in the future?” Drew asked seriously, “You’re turning thirteen soon and you could go to a normal school instead of relying on my homeschooling, learn something you want, and then go into a job you’ll like.”

  His daughter had a conflicted look on her face as she listened to her father. Drew threw an arm around his daughter, “I’m not going to push anything onto any path, I know you’ve got your interests figured out. Tell me, what do you wanna be?”

  She considered Drew's question seriously before answering with a smile, “I love Pokemon, I wanna do something with Pokemon!”

  Drew nodded along with the answer, “There are a lot of things you could do if you wanted to work with Pokemon.” He turned to the TV where a highly dramatized ranger TV drama was playing, “You want to be a ranger?” Drew asked as he put a hand on her head affectionately, “From the way you worked last time, I know you’d be wasted on some random ranger station.”

  “I don’t know,” Valerie answered far more seriously, “I just know I want to get closer to Pokemon!”

  “Well, there are a lot of jobs in which you work with Pokemon, a breeder, move tutor, doctor, or maybe even a trainer.” Drew said amicably, before shifting back, “I can tell you a lot about the ranger or trainer life, but the decision is up to you Val.”

  “You just want me to be a ranger so I can work with you.” Valerie accused him in a scolding tone and distrustful stare.

  Retreating at the accusation, Drew ran a hand through his hair as he laughed, “You got me, you got me. But can you blame a dad for wanting his daughter to get into his work? I know you’d love the work.”

  “Being a trainer sounds cool too though…” Valerie countered.

  “It's very dangerous though. A ton of trainers get hurt or die during their journey,” Her father cut in quickly, clearly not as unbiased as he made himself out to be, “I know you’re a smart cookie, bu-”

  “No buts!” Valerie cut him off, “I am a smart cookie! The smartest!”

  He threw his hands up defensively, “Alright, you most definitely are. Just know it's dangerous stuff, when you make your choice in the future.”

  “Alright…”

  …

  The door to the watchtower gingerly opened and Valerie walked in with her father following closely behind, “I’m back!”

  “Welcome, Welcome!” Henry greeted the two of them as they walked in with a wave of the hand, “So you’re Drew’s little girl?”

  “My name is Valerie! Nice to meet you!” She struck out an open hand which Henry shook respectfully before turning to Drew, “Well-mannered and positively adorable!”

  “She sure is!” Drew agreed with a nod.

  “Makes wonder how a slouch like Drew had such a cute daughter!”

  “Hey! I clean up nicely!” Drew cried out indignantly, “Just don’t have anyone to clean up for…”

  Valerie returned to her father's side as the two adults continued their heckling comedy routine, “So what am I supposed to do then Dad? You said we’re still doing the census” She stuttered out at the end.

  “We got the paperwork done on Friday, due to Valerie's help,” Drew supplied as he ruffled a hand through his daughter's hair, “So we’ll be getting out there right away now that we’re here.”

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  “Alright, then I’ll be here for emergencies.” Henry nodded along.

  “Huh?” Valerie questioned, “Didn’t Maxine come with us on Friday?”

  “Yeah, because we still weren’t sure how good you were at this and we needed one person for driving and one for counting.”

  Patting her hair back down Drew continued, “But you have proven yourself, my dear Valerie!”

  “Indeed” Henry answered in a regaling tone, “For you have shown clear talent in the action of counting!”

  “I have!” Valerie readily agreed in a slightly sarcastic tone.

  “So this time around, I’ll do the driving again and you’ll do the counting again, while Henry stays here on desk duty!” Drew explained.

  “Nice!” Valerie celebrated.

  “You wound me, Little Val won’t even miss me during her census adventures.” Henry grabbed at his heart theatrically.

  “I’ve known you for less than 5 minutes! Of course, I don't care about you!” Valerie lashed out in a childish tone.

  Henry grabbed at his heart again, this time far less theatrically than the last time, and fell back into his chair. “Ouch!” Drew snickered as he handed his daughter her oversized overall, “Better get some ketchup for those harsh browns you’re serving up, Val!”

  The two quickly got dressed for work as Henry slowly recovered from the verbal abuse, “Good Luck, guys!”

  “Bye”

  “Bye-bye!” The two of them answered as the door closed behind them.

  …

  The two entered the work truck once more and began their drive up to Mt. Silver, Drew kept his eyes on the precarious trail that ran through Route 28 and led to Mt. Silver while Valerie manned the computer and used the counting device as she scanned the sides of the road. The route was wide enough for a large pickup to drive through, but its sides were still almost completely covered by a shallow forest.

  Route 28, while at some points it raised or lowered, was for the most part flat, only actually beginning to rise once the Route ended and the outside of Mt. Silver itself came into view. Yet still, an offroading vehicle was required for the muddy and rocky parts of the trail if one wanted to brave the Route not on their own feet or on a Pokemon.

  Unfortunately for them, none of the local rangers were lucky enough to own a Pokemon that they could mount, so they received a vehicle to be able to do their work. Drew felt fortunate for the truck, even if it was an older model. If it took him around three to five hours in the truck trudging his way along the trail just to reach Mt. Silver he wouldn’t want to know how bruised and battered his body would be if he was riding up to it every day on an Arcanine or other Pokemon. Sure, they’d be there quicker by not necessarily needing to follow the trail, but what worth would that have for the census they’re doing right now?

  Three or so hours into their drive, Valerie spotted a wooden structure through the foliage, “Huh? Was that there last time?” She turned to her father, “Dad, do people live out here?”

  Drew turned as he realized they were driving by the building, a quaint little wood hut stood a small distance away from the trial, connected by a thing walking trail, “Oh yeah! Some celebrity or something lives over there. We talked to her before, just making sure she’s ok out here but I can’t remember her name for the life of me right now.”

  “Famous? How famous?” Valerie's interest was piqued.

  “I’m not sure, I think this is some kind of hideaway, so I didn’t want to pry back then.” The conversation died as more Pokemon appeared on the sides of the trial and Drew's apparent disinterest in his workplace neighbor began to show.

  The drive was long and arduous, the repeated clicks of the counting device and the hum of the diesel engine giving the act a quiet rhythm even through the dirt path which uncomfortably bumped against their spines. Pokemon peeked curiously at the loud man-made vehicle passing through the wilderness, keeping a respectful difference at the same time.

  …

  They finally arrived a the base of the mountain with a squeak of the breaks and a final sputter of the engine as the ignition of the truck was turned off. Sandslash hopped off the back of the truck and waited expectantly next to the driver-side door as the two of them exited the vehicle.

  “Aargh, this thing might be built for the off-road, but they’re still utilitarian.” Drew groaned as he stretched next to the door.

  “My butts all sore…” Valerie complained as she nursed her behind.

  “My everything is all sore,” Drew countered as he continued stretching, “You should count yourself lucky you’re still young.”

  Valerie admired the mountain as Drew kept on stretching, “Last time it was already pretty dark by the time we got here, Mt. Silver is pretty imposing up close, huh?”

  “Sure is.” Drew agreed, cracking his fingers and wrists, “You can see it from back home as well, right?”

  “Yeah, but from the windows at home, it's so far away it doesn’t really look real, back home it felt more like a backdrop.”

  Up close the mountain cut an imposing figure as its singular flat tip cut straight up into the sky, the snowy flat top of the mountain looked serene from so far below. Drew had heard and seen the insides a few times already and the place just disquieted him, the insides were positively teeming with Pokemon, powerful Pokemon at that.

  The complete ecology of the mountain wasn’t a mystery to the ranger, Drew just hadn’t read up on it but from what he knew the Pokemon inside were strong, even young Pokemon being far stronger than those in the other caves one could explore in Kanto and or Jotho. Whether it was due to strong parent Pokemon, a large amount of local competition, a special food source, or all of the above or something entirely different.

  Drew just knew the place was perfect to train if you were in the first percentile of trainers. He’d never gotten that far, but it was public knowledge that if you weren’t an elite trainer and you were making your way to Mt. Silver it was your funeral.

  Valerie and Drew leaned against the truck as the two of them looked up at the mountain. Just then as the two of them took their well-deserved break, Sandslashes ear perked up and it looked at the ground curiously, before it suddenly shot up and began to grasp at Drew's pant leg frantically, “Sla! Sla!”

  “What’s up, buddy? Something up?” Drew was just about to let go of the side of the truck bed and lean down to calm down his Sandslash, but before he managed to the ground began to violently shake and a violent wave of heat shot out of the mouth of the mountains cavern.

  Fearing that his brows might get seared straight off of his face at the heat, Drew acted quickly, “Buddy! Stone Edge in front!”

  His Pokemon acted quickly, raising a sharp wall of spikes to shield them from the extreme heat as the two of them quickly raced behind the truck for a more constant shield. “What's going on?!” Valerie asked in a panic.

  Drew wanted to assuage his daughter's fears but before he was able to, loud cracks resounded from the sides of Mt. Silver as gigantic cracks began to form on the mountain. Rocks tumbled and collected up each other as they rolled downhill, quickly coalescing into a cacophony of sound as a rock slide bore down on them.

  “I don’t know! But we need to move!” Drew cried out.