"Zoro…"

  Sato turo look at Zoroark, who had just called out to him. His pierg blue eyes reflected Sato's slightly dazed expression.

  I'm still here. Sato smiled, uanding Zoroark's , and at the same time, a particur saying came to mind.

  Some people just love to wallow in self-pity.

  Ha, like hell he would admit to that! Sathtened his posture, puffed out his chest, and strode fidently toward the hotel.

  That so-called past life? Just memories. He lived in the present. There was no point iation or self-doubt.

  Fortunately, the hotel where he was staying was located south of the Game er and hadn't colpsed. However, only a handful of staff had shown up for work.

  Ba his room, despite staying up all night, Sato felt ne to sleep.

  He took out the securely stored external drive, and the first thing he did was back up the stolen data. Only then did he start bing through it.

  After skimming through the tents, a satisfied grin appeared on his face. The data could be categorized into three ses: Pokémon, items, and experiment records.

  The first category was by far the most extensive, with eaon doted in individual files.

  The data ranged from basic details like height, weight, and type matchups to more advanced information such as learnable moves, trainihods, and eveed folklore. It was a treasure trove of information.

  As for Abilities, they hadn't yet been systematically cssified, but some were described ily.

  For example, the entry on Magmortar hat its body temperature was extremely high, warning that close bat against it could result in burns.

  Sato wasn't particurly ed about Abilities, as he was already quite familiar with them. What truly made this data invaluable was the trainihodologies it tained.

  The files detailed trainihods for every Pokémon in Kanto and Johto—excluding Legendary Pokémon. Some widely raised species even had multiple doted approaches, sometimes over a dozen.

  Another aspect that intrigued Sato was the colle of Pokémon folklore.

  In his past life, as human teology advanced, humanity's desire to quer Pokémoronger, and many so-called myths were eventually proven true.

  All of these legends shared ohing in on—any Pokémon lio them was never ordinary.

  There were tales of a thousand-year-old Hauhat could take human form, a ales that haunted an a mansion deep in the mountains, and a mysterious ruler of Mt. Silver.

  If the opportunity arose, Sato wouldn't mind iigating these legends. Perhaps his team would gain a new member along the way.

  Setting aside the less relevant files on items and experiment records, Sato finally allowed himself to rex.

  He shut down the puter, hid the external drive securely, and at st, colpsed onto the bed and drifted into deep sleep.

  Zoroark and Haunter also found fortable spots to rest, leaving the responsibility of guarding the room to the ever-alert Spinarak.

  Of course, the Carvanha swimming zily ihtub was also keeping an eye on things—at least to some extent.

  ---------------

  When Sato woke up, the clock read 1:00 PM. Despite the exhaustion from the previous night's events, he recovered just as quickly.

  Zoroark and Haunter were also awake. Pokémon recovered far faster than humans.

  After making sure his team had their breakfast—though teically, it was both breakfast and lunch—Sato packed up his things, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and headed to the Pokémoer.

  In just one m, the destroyed ter had been mostly rebuilt. While Pokémon assistance pyed a signifit role, Sato couldn't help but be impressed by the League's efficy.

  Approag the temporary reception desk, he handed over his Poké Balls.

  The newly assigned Nurse Joy accepted them with practiced ease, but despite her posed demeanor, Sato caught a deeply buried sadness in her eyes.

  Upon arriving at the waiting area, Sato pulled out his phone, where he had saved a separate copy of the trainihods for Haunter. Finding a seat, he immersed himself in reading.

  "Did you hear? Last night, all five Pokémoers in Goldenrod City were attacked. Four Nurse Joys were killed. Only the one from this ter survived, but her sey died proteg her."

  "Damn Team Rocket! No matter how evil they are, they shouldn't harm Nurse Joys!"

  A righteous trainer fumed, cursing Team Rocket in frustration.

  Sato recalled the hidden sorrow in the eyes of the Nurse Joy he had entered earlier. Now, he uood why.

  Just then, a Nurse Joy hurried over, visibly flustered aed.

  "Excuse me, are you Sato?"

  "Yeah. What's this about?" Sato put away his phone and aowledged her.

  "Thank you for saving my sister. Could you e with me? Our captain would like to personally thank you."

  "Hmm… How is the Nurse Joy I treated?" Sato didn't stand up immediately but instead asked after a moment of thought.

  The Nurse Joy in front of him hen shook her head, her gaze softening as she looked at Sato, though sadness still lingered.

  "My sed cousin's sey died proteg her. Physically, she's fine now, but emotionally… she's struggling to accept it."

  "She'll recover in time."

  Sato nodded. After exging a few more words, he allowed Joy to lead him.

  They walked toward the still-intact ses of the Pokémoer, eventually reag a door at the top floor of the building.

  From inside, faint murmurs of versation could be heard.

  "Aunt Haruka, I've brought the kid o with me!" Nurse Joy knocked on the door and spoke softly.

  Sato g her. A kid? What was with that? He held back the urge to pin and instead shifted his attention to the door.

  As the door opened, a modest feren came into view.

  Seated inside were three individuals, while two more stood by. At the head of the table sat a burly man who immediately caught Sato's attention—Bruno, the Fighting-type Elite Four!

  "I never imagihat the hero who saved our Joy family would be a child," said the elderly Nurse Joy seated to Brunht.

  She stood up, approached Sato, and spoke with siy. "I am Joy Haruka, and on behalf of the Joy family, I extend our heartfelt gratitude."

  "I also heard from my subordihat you provided siderable assistance during this crisis," said the older woman sitting to Bruno's left, her smile ki shrewd. "Kid, have you ever sidered being a police officer?"

  Sato hesitated. For a brief moment, he was unsure whether to respond to the older Joy, reject the police offer, or aowledge Bruno, who was clearly the one in charge.

  "Enough, don't scare the child," Joy Haruka said, notig Sato's momentary silence.

  She pulled him to sit beside her and sighe younger Joy behio pss e juice.

  "Thank you," Sato said simply.

  He had expected to meet a high-ranking member of the Joy family and possibly gain some bes or preferential treatment.

  What he hadn't expected was to meet Bruno of the Elite Four, along with an elder Jenny, who was apanied by Goldenrod City's own Officer Jenny. Given their prese was clear these two old women held signifit authority.

  "Yuga Sato. From Cerulean City, Kanto. Parents deceased befe ten. Disappeared for some time before reappearing in New Bark Town, Johto, where he registered as a trainer. Initial Pokémon: Zoroark. Later acquired Haunter, Larvitar, Spinarak, and Carvanha."

  Bruno's voice was slow and deliberate as he recited the information.

  Sato's head lifted, his gaze log onto Bruno's. There was no pani his eyes—only cold indifferend vigince.