Ethan flinched as the explosion echoed through the hospital.
The windows rattled violently, monitors beeping in sudden agitation as the sound rolled in from the direction of the Galactic Power Plant and Research Center.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
"Mom," Ethan asked, hope painfully clear in his voice, "was Dad running late for work today, by chance?"
She didn't answer.
She stood frozen beside the window, hands clenched white against the sill, staring out at the rising smoke twisting into the sky.
"…Mom?"
Her shoulders trembled.
Slowly, she turned to look at him—eyes wide, unfocused, reflecting the red warning lights washing over the city.
"I—" Her voice caught. "I don't know."
But the way she said it told him everything.
===
Ethan was half-asleep on the couch when the doorbell rang.
Not the polite chime it usually made—but the heavy, insistent press of someone who wouldn't leave without being answered.
His head throbbed as he stirred, bandages pulling uncomfortably at his temple. He could hear his mother moving before he saw her—slow footsteps, unsteady, like she already knew.
The door opened.
Two Pokémon Rangers stood on the porch.
Their uniforms were scuffed. One had a sling around his arm. The other's jacket was torn and darkened with dried blood—not human, but enough to say the day had gone very wrong.
"Mrs. Roberts?" one of them asked quietly.
She nodded once, gripping the doorframe.
"We're sorry to come so late," the Ranger continued. His voice was steady, practiced—but not cold. "There was an incident at the Galactic Power Plant and Research Center earlier today."
Ethan sat up. Of course, he thought dully. Of course I'd start my new life with a tragic backstory.
He didn't stay to hear the rest.
When the words finally came—soft, careful, devastating—he was already moving, feet carrying him down the hall on instinct alone. The door to his room creaked softly as he pushed it open and slipped inside.
Eevee was curled up in the center of his bed.
Its fur was matted and singed in places, breathing shallow but steady. One ear twitched the moment Ethan stepped closer, tired eyes opening just enough to recognize him.
"…Eevee," he whispered.
The Pokémon let out a weak, familiar sound and pressed its head into the blanket, closer to where Ethan had slept for years.
He sat on the edge of the bed and rested a hand against Eevee's side, feeling the warmth there—real, solid, alive.
Outside the room, his mother's voice finally broke.
Inside, Ethan stayed very still, fingers buried in Eevee's fur. He curled around the Pokémon, letting the warmth anchor him as memories clawed their way back. Tears slid down his cheeks, silent but relentless, as he tried to dissociate from the weight of the loss—the death of a father he barely had a chance to know in this new life.
===
The funeral was held on the outskirts of Veilstone City, just beyond the meteorite garden.
The company was footing the bill, though that did little to ease the weight on his mother. She had broken down the night before, tears soaking the sheets as she whispered about the life insurance—not nearly enough to keep them in the city. They would have to move. Leaving his father behind, in the city he had loved, had broken her in a way Ethan had never seen before.
Ethan sat near the front, trying to make himself small. Around him, there were many other children—sons and daughters of his father's coworkers. The funeral was far larger than anything he had imagined, a grim testament to the mass casualties at the Galactic Power and Research Center.
Even the CEO of the company had come out of seclusion to pay respects to his deceased employees, a rare public appearance that only made the event feel more official, more permanent.
Cyrus stepped up to the podium, crisp suit impeccable, a prepared speech in hand. The murmurs of the crowd fell into uneasy silence as his voice cut clearly through the air.
Ethan's stomach turned.
"We gather here today as a result of a tragedy," Cyrus began, his voice smooth, deliberate, carrying across the gathered mourners. "A tragedy that has claimed the lives of dedicated employees—men and women who devoted their time, their talent, and their very lives to the advancement of our society. They were taken from us as we strove for a perfect world."
And then it clicked.
His father.
All the fragmented memories, all the odd suspicions from that day at the research center, suddenly aligned. His father had been a member of Team Galactic. He had knowingly worked for this man—the same man now standing at the podium, speaking fondly of the lives that had been lost, twisting tragedy into a showcase for his own vision.
Ethan's hands clenched in his lap.
====
After the ceremony, the crowd began to disperse, leaving the family in the quiet reception in the meteorite garden.
A figure approached—tall, composed, and impossibly stern, moving with the ease of someone accustomed to command. Carolina Shirona. Ethan's great-grandmother.
Her eyes, sharp and assessing, scanned him from head to toe before settling on his face. "Maverick, hello. I am your great-grandmother."
Ethan hesitated for a fraction of a second, then forced a small, wry smile. "I think I want to go by Ethan now," he said carefully. "Maverick is a bit of a mouthful."
Carolina's gaze flicked to him, measuring, almost appraising. There was no judgment, only a faint acknowledgment.
"Very well, Ethan… your mom and I talked and you are coming to stay with me for a bit while she takes care of affairs here.
"So, that means that we are going home to pack up and get Eevee, right?" Ethan asks
Carolina's lips pressed into a thin line, her expression unreadable for a moment. "Yes. Eevee will come with us. But understand this—our time at your home will be brief. There are matters to attend to, and I do not tolerate delays or distractions."
Ethan nodded slowly.
====
They returned to the house in near silence.
Veilstone felt different now—quieter, tense in a way that hadn't been there before. Ranger patrols flew overhead on their Pokémon, silhouettes cutting across the sky in steady patterns. League banners had replaced the emergency warnings, draped across buildings and streets as if order alone could erase what had happened.
Inside, the house felt hollow.
Ethan moved on autopilot, packing only what Carolina allowed: a single suitcase, a backpack, and Eevee. Nothing else.
The other stuff would come when mom organized the movers.