[Modern Family] Ch: 11 [Pokemon investment & A love triangle!] (Patreon)

That night, after wrestling with Adobe Premiere for what felt like an entire geological era, Jason finally watched the upload bar reach one hundred percent.

He then uploaded the videos on YT in 2 parts. The thumbnails looked good, the description was finished, and the tags were about as optimized as 2009 YouTube allowed.

Jason leaned back in his chair and stretched until several joints cracked in protest.

"Finally."

The room had grown stuffy after hours of editing, and his brain felt like someone had stuffed cotton into it. He needed air. More importantly, he needed movement. Sitting in one place too long always made his thoughts feel crowded, so he grabbed his hoodie and keys before heading outside.

The evening air greeted him the moment he stepped onto the sidewalk. Los Angeles still hummed around him, full of passing cars, distant music, and the low restless energy of a city that never fully shut its eyes.

Jason started walking without any real destination.

That was usually how it worked. He walked, and his mind untangled itself one thought at a time. Videos, streams, investments, and future plans. His new life had too many moving pieces, and walking helped him line them up before they rolled away like marbles under a couch.

Then, halfway down the street, another thought surfaced.

Pokémon cards.

Jason slowed.

"...Oh."

A grin spread across his face as the idea struck him with the force of a thrown brick.

Back in 2026, entire YouTube channels existed just to talk about rare Pokémon cards. People treated sealed products like retirement funds wrapped in plastic. Certain cards sold for absurd money, and sealed booster boxes had become collector treasures locked away in safes, storage units, and climate-controlled vaults.

But right now, in 2009, most people still saw them as cardboard.

Kids opened packs. Collectors existed, sure, but the market was nothing close to what it would become later. Nobody around him truly understood how wild things would get once nostalgia, grading, scarcity, and internet hype all crashed together years down the road.

Jason remembered three hobby stores downtown. He had passed them earlier that week while exploring the area.

Now they felt like treasure maps with glass doors.

He looked down the street, then back toward his house.

Walking was good for clearing his head, but it was not good for hauling sealed booster boxes across town. If he wanted to buy properly, he needed the car.

Jason turned around and headed home with a grin still tugging at his mouth.

The night had suddenly become a lot more interesting.

[Store 1]

The bell above the door jingled softly as Jason stepped into the first card shop.

Yellow lights reflected off glass display cases filled with sports cards, comics, action figures, and trading card products stacked from floor to ceiling. The place smelled like old cardboard, plastic packaging, and dust, the exact scent of every hobby store that had ever quietly stolen a kid's allowance.

A few teens sat around a folding table near the back, arguing over Pokémon trades with the deadly seriousness of world leaders negotiating peace. Behind the register, a bored guy flipped through a comic book and barely looked up when Jason entered.

Jason headed straight for the Pokémon section.

The moment he saw the shelves, he nearly laughed.

To everyone else, the display looked ordinary.

To him, it looked like a retirement account disguised as children's merchandise.

Jason grabbed a shopping basket and began filling it.

The first shelf carried plenty of Diamond & Pearl era inventory, all neatly stacked and priced like nobody had the slightest idea what time would do to them.

• Diamond & Pearl Booster Box - $89.99 each - 6 boxes

• Mysterious Treasures Booster Box - $94.99 each - 5 boxes

• Secret Wonders Booster Box - $99.99 each - 5 boxes

• Great Encounters Booster Box - $99.99 each - 5 boxes

• Majestic Dawn Booster Box - $104.99 each - 5 boxes

The basket became heavy fast.

One of the employees finally glanced over from behind the register.

"Big Pokémon fan?"

Jason smiled while carefully stacking another box.

"You could say that."

The employee nodded with the complete indifference of someone who had not just watched a small fortune get casually loaded into a plastic basket.

If only he knew.

By the time Jason paid and carried the boxes out, his arms were already protesting. He loaded everything carefully into the car, making sure none of the sealed boxes got crushed or bent. Once the trunk was secured, he drove toward the second store.

[Store 2]

The second shop looked old.

The sign outside had probably survived two decades of sun, rain, and bad business decisions. The paint on the front door had faded, the windows were cluttered with posters, and the interior looked like someone had stopped renovating around the late nineties and decided the shop had achieved its final form.

Jason loved it immediately.

Stores like this were where forgotten inventory went to die. The owners ordered too much inventory, and when the new gen packs arrived, the old one simply died. So, hopefully, there might still be some old boxes in this shop, catching dust.

The owner sat behind the counter reading a newspaper while an old radio played somewhere behind him. He looked up when Jason walked in, gave a small nod, then returned to his paper like customers were an occasional weather event.

Jason wandered deeper into the shop.

The front shelves carried newer products, but the Pokémon section had clearly been pushed toward the rear wall over the years. Boxes sat half-hidden behind other displays. Some products were stacked crookedly. A few had gathered enough dust to qualify as archaeological evidence.

Then Jason saw them.

His eyes widened.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

Half-hidden beneath several dusty Yu-Gi-Oh! displays sat a row of older sealed Pokémon boxes.

'Factory sealed! Holy crap!'

Jason crouched slightly to get a better look, and the price stickers nearly gave him a heart attack.

• Neo Genesis Booster Box - Factory Sealed - $159.99 each - 3 boxes 

• Neo Discovery Booster Box - Factory Sealed - $179.99 each - 2 boxes 

For a moment, he simply stared.

In the future, collectors would fight each other for these. Lugia, Typhlosion, Umbreon, Espeon. Johto-era products had become legendary among Pokémon collectors, the kind of sealed items people whispered about in online forums before pretending they were financially responsible adults.

And here they were, sitting untouched in a dusty corner because nobody wanted them badly enough.

Jason carefully lifted every single box like he was handling newborn dragons.

The owner glanced up from his newspaper.

"Those old things finally selling?"

Jason almost laughed.

"Looks like it."

The old man shrugged.

"They've been sitting there for years."

'Years.'

Jason silently thanked every customer who had ignored them.

He placed the boxes on the counter. Since he was already there, he kept searching, moving through the shelves with more focus now. The place was messy, but messy stores had secrets. Forgotten tins, loose packs, old stock shoved behind newer displays. The kind of treasure you only found when nobody else cared enough to look.

A few minutes later, he found more.

• EX Deoxys Booster Packs - $4.99 each - 24 packs

• EX Team Rocket Returns Booster Packs - $5.99 each - 18 packs

• 2005 Collector Tins - $14.99 each - 8 tins

Jason stared at the haul and had to fight the urge to laugh like a cartoon villain.

'Good lord. Thank you for this. I am one lucky son of a gun.'

His future self was practically screaming.

By the time he finished paying, the owner looked mildly impressed.

"Starting a collection?"

Jason smiled as he picked up the first stack.

"Something like that."

"Well, looks like you're interested in those old boxes. Swing by tomorrow evening. I've got some older ones catching dust in the inventory," The owner said.

"How many do you have? And which year?" Jason asked, looking really curious.

"I don't remember the exact names since it's been years. But some are between 2003 and 2007, and there are some older boxes... what was that again?" The owner scratched his head, trying to remember. "Ah! A couple of first editions or something like that."

"A couple of first editions?" Jason wanted to kidnap that old guy and extract information. Why? A couple of first editions might cost a few thousand bucks right now, but in 2026... millions. 

"Yeah, my dad used to be a die-hard Pokémon fan, so he had this habit of ordering too much. And then a new series came, the old ones became trash. So, he went bankrupt and closed down this shop and drank himself to death. Then I took over and found shit ton of old inventory. No one buys them anymore and I was thinking of throwing them away to clear some space for new inventory," The owner explained.

"Don't throw them away. I'll buy them," Jason said with a calm smile. 'Throw them away?! YOU KIDDING ME. GIVE THEM TO ME FOR FREE. I WILL TAKE THEM ALL.'

"Alright, come by tomorrow around 8 PM," The owner said.

"Alright, see you tomorrow," Jason said with a nod.

The owner nodded and went back to his newspaper, completely unaware that he had just given Jason a small time capsule of future insanity.

Jason made several trips to the car, loading everything carefully. The trunk was filling up now, but there was still space on the passenger seat, and he started thinking about storing things, like climate control, an inventory list, protective cases, and maybe a safe room.

This was planting money in cardboard soil and waiting for the nostalgia tree to grow.

[Store 3]

The third store looked far more modern than the first two.

Bright lighting filled the interior, shelves were neatly organized, and most of the customers appeared to be teenagers browsing tabletop games, comics, and card sleeves. It had the cleaner, busier feel of a shop that actually understood merchandising.

Jason did not expect much.

That made the discovery even better.

Near the back, one shelf carried recently released Platinum products. Most customers ignored them because they were everywhere. New stock never felt special while it was still easy to find.

Jason knew better.

Platinum era products would become incredibly desirable years later, especially once sealed boxes started vanishing from the market. Right now, they were sitting there like ordinary inventory, waiting for someone with future knowledge and questionable restraint.

Jason grabbed a shopping cart and started loading it.

• Platinum Base Set Booster Box - $109.99 each - 6 boxes

• Rising Rivals Booster Box - Pre-release Inventory - $109.99 each - 5 boxes

• Platinum Collector Tins - $19.99 each - 12 tins

• Diamond & Pearl Premium Collections - $24.99 each - 8 boxes

By the time he reached the register, the cashier looked completely confused.

"You opening a card shop or something?"

Jason laughed.

"Nope."

The cashier glanced at the mountain of Pokémon products, then back at him.

"Then what are you doing wasting this much money? Not that it's any of my business, but dang."

Jason thought about explaining future market values, PSA grading, sealed product scarcity, collector demand, nostalgia cycles, and the way fifteen years could turn forgotten boxes into bidding-war bait.

Instead, he simply smiled.

"Just an expensive hobby. Nothing else."

The cashier looked at the boxes again.

Then at Jason.

Then back at the boxes.

"If you say so."

Jason could practically hear the man's thoughts.

'Rich kid got his brain cooked.'

Honestly, Jason could live with that.

He paid, loaded the last batch into the car.

Then he climbed into the driver's seat, started the engine, and pulled away from the curb, already planning where to store everything once he got home. 

'Gotta buy climate control safe asap.'

---

[Meanwhile] [Dunphy Household]

The Dunphy house had entered its usual evening state, which meant nobody was doing the same thing, everyone was somehow in everyone else’s way, and the entire place felt one loud comment away from becoming a family meeting nobody asked for.

Claire stood near the kitchen counter sorting through mail with the focused intensity of a woman who believed bills could sense weakness. Phil was in the living room trying to fix the remote by pressing every button except the useful ones. Luke sat on the floor with a cereal bowl balanced dangerously close to the edge of the coffee table, watching television with the blank devotion of someone who had fully surrendered to cartoons.

Alex came down the stairs with her phone in hand.

That alone was not strange.

What was strange was the smile.

It was small, carefully hidden, and completely unsuccessful. She was trying to look normal, which only made her look more suspicious. Her eyes kept dropping to the phone, and every time she looked at the screen, the corner of her mouth betrayed her again. She and Jason had a little chat, which ended up in a series of 'maybe' again. And she loved it. It felt like they were in sync, which, considering Alex, happens rarely... 

...Okay, never. 

This was the second time after that noon call.

Haley noticed immediately.

She was sitting on the couch, painting her nails while pretending she was not studying her sister like a detective in lip gloss. After a few seconds, her eyes narrowed.

“Okay,” Haley said slowly, lowering the nail polish brush. “What is happening with your face?”

Alex froze near the bottom of the stairs. “Nothing is happening with my face.”

“Yes, it is.” Haley pointed at her with the tiny brush. “That is not your normal face. Your normal face looks like somebody gave homework to homework.”

Luke turned from the television. “Homework can get homework?”

Claire glanced over, already sensing danger. “Luke, no.”

Phil looked up from the remote. “Actually, that sounds like a very interesting educational concept.”

Claire gave him a look.

Phil immediately lowered the remote. “Or a terrible concept. I am flexible.”

Alex tried to walk past them toward the kitchen, but Haley sat straighter, smelling gossip like a shark detecting blood in designer water.

“Oh my God,” Haley said, her eyes widening. “You’re happy.”

Alex opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. “People are allowed to be happy, Haley.”

“Not like that.” Haley stood up from the couch, careful not to ruin her nails. “That is private happy. That is secret happy. That is somebody-texted-me-and-I-am-trying-not-to-smile happy.”

Alex twisted the cap off the bottle with more force than necessary. “You need hobbies that don’t involve my facial expressions.”

Claire’s attention sharpened instantly. “Wait. Somebody texted you?”

Phil turned fully now, remote forgotten in his hand. “Somebody texted Alex?”

They couldn't believe it, considering Alex's dates usually involved books and exams, and sometimes the library or museum.

Alex stared at both of them. “Wow. Love the confidence, guys.”

“No, honey, that’s not what I meant,” Claire said quickly, then made the mistake of looking too interested. “I just mean, was it a friend? Or...” She let the last part stretch a bit.

Haley gasped. “It’s a guy.”

Luke looked confused. “Alex knows guys?”

Alex slowly turned toward him. “You are one sentence away from losing cereal privileges.”

Luke hugged his bowl protectively. “I support your journey.”

Phil’s face softened into a huge grin as he walked closer. “Wait a second. Is my little girl going on a date?”

Alex’s shoulders stiffened. “First of all, it is not a date. Second of all, it is none of anyone’s business.”

Haley clapped once, delighted. “It is definitely a date.”

“It is lunch,” Alex said firmly.

“With a boy?” Claire asked.

Alex walked over to the table, took a glass, poured water, and took a sip, avoiding eye contact.

That was enough.

Phil made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a proud sob. “Lunch with a boy. Claire, our little girl has grown up. She has a lunch date.”

Claire tried to look calm, but her eyebrows had already climbed halfway up her forehead. “Alex, sweetie, that’s great. I mean, surprising, but great.”

“Surprising?” Alex repeated.

Claire winced. “Bad word choice.”

Phil said, “I'm so happy for you.”

Luke tilted his head. “Do we even remember the last time Alex went out with a boy?”

Haley thought about it for a second. “Does the debate club tournament count? Because she talked to that one kid about climate policy for like forty minutes.”

Alex pointed at her. “That was a debate.”

“Exactly,” Haley said. “Your version of flirting.”

Phil placed one hand over his heart. “I always knew this day would come. I mean, I hoped. I mean, I assumed there would be a spreadsheet first.”

Alex shut the fridge door and leaned back against it. “Can all of you stop acting like I just discovered fire?”

Claire folded her arms, trying very hard to be supportive without becoming embarrassing, which for Claire was basically emotional tightrope walking over a pit of motherly panic. “We’re just happy for you. Your life is usually books, exams, extra credit, and correcting people who say literally when they mean figuratively.”

“Because words have meaning,” Alex said.

Haley smiled sweetly. “And apparently boys have finally become one of them.”

Alex gave her a flat look. “Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk?”

“No,” Haley replied without hesitation. “I’m very entertaining.”

Phil nodded before catching Claire’s expression and immediately pretending he had not nodded.

Haley moved closer, still wearing that dangerous older-sister smile. “So, who is he?”

Alex looked away. “Nobody.”

Claire blinked. “His name is Nobody?”

Phil snapped his fingers. “Like in The Odyssey. Clever kid.”

Luke frowned. “Wait, she’s dating a Greek guy?”

“I am not dating anyone,” Alex said, her voice sharpening slightly. “It is lunch. That is all. And how do you even know what a Greek name sounds like?"

Haley studied her sister’s face, and for once, the teasing slowly shifted into suspicion. Alex was hiding something. Haley knew that look. It was the same look Alex had when she knew where Haley’s missing top was and planned to take that secret to the grave.

“Okay,” Haley said slowly. “Now I really want to know.”

“Great,” Alex replied. “Wanting things builds character.”

Haley’s eyes narrowed further.

Then something clicked.

The phone, her smile, the sudden secrecy, defensive tone, and the fact that Alex was acting like this was some classified government operation involving soup and eye contact... Could it be? 

Haley froze.

“Wait a minute.”

Alex went still.

Phil looked between them, sensing drama and immediately becoming both worried and fascinated. “That did not sound like a normal wait a minute.”

Claire lowered the mail in her hands. “Haley?”

Haley pointed at Alex, her face shifting from teasing to alarmed betrayal. “Don’t tell me.”

Alex lifted her chin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Haley’s mouth dropped open. “Jason?”

The room went quiet.

Even Luke paused the television, which meant the situation had officially become more interesting than cartoons.

Phil blinked. “Jay's neighbor Jason?”

Claire’s eyes widened. “The one who helped dad?”

Luke leaned forward. “The rich guy with the murder house? He's still alive?”

Alex closed her eyes for one second, silently cursing every member of her family and possibly the entire concept of siblings.

Haley stared at her. “You’re going out with Jason?”

Alex opened her eyes and answered carefully. “Yes. And for the record, it's not a date.”

Haley gasped like Alex had stolen something sacred. “But I like Jason.”

Claire’s head turned toward Haley so fast it was almost impressive. “You like Jason?” Then it clicked. Both her daughters like one guy. And since Alex's showing interest in him, this Jason guy must be good or atleast not stupid. She quickly glanced toward Phil. "You heard that, honey? Haley also likes Jason."

"A love triangle!" Phil gasped.

==

AN: Sorry for the cliff. This chapter became too big lol.

I didn't want to go through all that drama and cheating mess, so I think it's better to reveal it early on. And yes, there will be a little confrontation.