Chapter 82: Cinnabar Island Chronicles (Part 2)

Even though she was furious at being looked down upon by a League Elite, Rosa still accepted the exam filled with blatant discrimination.

The written portion was far harder than expected—far exceeding the usual difficulty for Pokémon caretakers.

If not for Rosa's years of hands-on experience in Pokémon care, she might not have been able to answer correctly.

Even treatment plans for Pokémon from Unova and Alola?

Did this League Elite deliberately make the test impossible?!

The more Rosa thought about it, the more frustrated she became.

But when she remembered Emboar's earlier encouragement, the cheerful, energetic girl took a deep breath—pushing aside her frustration and resolving to finish the exam.

At the same time, Klein was speaking with Cinnabar Island's current Nurse Joy, requesting that she take charge of the newly established Pokémon Center.

"Elite Klein, I'm not that experienced in managing a Pokémon Center of this scale," Nurse Joy admitted. "The caretaker assigned here previously worked at Celadon City's Pokémon Center."

Klein's voice remained calm but firm.

"I understand. However, I still want you and the new caretaker to switch roles."

"Can I ask why?"

Nurse Joy's tone turned slightly defensive.

She had personally recommended Rosa, believing in her skills.

Rosa wasn't part of the Joy family, but her professionalism and dedication were second to none.

Yet this League Elite seemed unsatisfied with her qualifications.

"Because a Pokémon Center without a Nurse Joy will hurt its credibility."

Klein explained patiently.

"The New Pokémon Center project is being heavily promoted by Lorelei as a major Kanto League initiative. Having a Nurse Joy present is essential. I don't want people questioning why our center doesn't even have a Nurse Joy."

His reasoning was clear and logical.

Right now, the League was making major efforts to expand Pokémon Centers across Kanto.

In Celadon City, where multiple centers existed, one not being run by a Joy was acceptable.

But Cinnabar Island was different.

If this Pokémon Center didn't have a Joy, it could be misinterpreted as a lower-quality facility—damaging the League's reputation.

To put it simply—Klein didn't trust a non-Joy caretaker to meet the high expectations set for the project.

It was a political move, but a necessary one.

Nurse Joy sighed.

"But didn't you already test her?"

"If she passes, it only means she qualifies to be a caretaker at the regular Cinnabar Pokémon Center—not the new League-affiliated one."

Klein's tone left no room for negotiation.

If she didn't agree, he would escalate this issue directly to Lorelei and the League.

Nurse Joy wanted to argue further, but seeing Klein's unyielding stance, she could only sigh.

"You won't even read her resume?"

On Klein's desk, Rosa's personnel file lay untouched.

But before he could look at it, Blaine entered the office, handing him Mawile's battle data analysis.

Klein waved a hand dismissively.

"Doesn't matter. She's not a Joy."

No matter how talented she was, her absence from the Joy lineage would always be a problem.

Lorelei shared the same belief.

For now, they would wait for her test results.

If she failed, she'd be dismissed.

If she passed, she'd work at the standard Pokémon Center for a trial period before they considered transferring her.

Unexpectedly, Rosa scored 140 points—an incredibly high score.

Klein raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised.

"Still need to replace her?" Nurse Joy asked.

Klein thought for a moment.

"Let her work at the regular Pokémon Center for a month before we make a final decision."

He was willing to compromise—but only slightly.

For now, he'd let her prove herself in a lower-stakes environment.

At least he wasn't being completely unfair.

With that matter settled, Klein finally turned his attention to Mawile's data.

---

"…A meteorite?"

Klein frowned at the report.

Blaine nodded, his tone serious.

"This Mawile has absorbed a massive amount of extraterrestrial mineral energy from Cinnabar Island's underground meteorite deposits."

Cinnabar Island was originally formed from a massive meteor impact millions of years ago.

Traces of that ancient celestial energy still remained deep underground.

It was widely believed that Mega Evolution stones originated from extraterrestrial minerals.

Rayquaza could Mega Evolve naturally by absorbing enough of this meteorite energy.

And now, Mawile had done something similar.

It had ingested enough of these unique deep-earth minerals to trigger its own Mega Evolution.

Klein stared at the report, deep in thought.

"Something else is bothering me," he admitted.

Blaine turned to him.

"What is it?"

"When the Seafoam Islands Crisis happened, a mysterious trainer appeared and held off Lance."

"At the time, we assumed he was a Johto mercenary."

"But now I suspect he was here for Cinnabar's underground minerals."

Blaine's expression darkened.

"You think it's not over?"

Klein nodded grimly.

"This whole thing feels unresolved."

This was the real reason he wasn't revealing Mawile in the upcoming battle.

If someone was targeting Cinnabar's rare minerals, he had to keep his trump cards hidden.

Meanwhile…

A fleet of luxury vehicles arrived at Cinnabar Island's academy—escorted by a swarm of reporters.

The news of Cynthia's visit had already spread like wildfire.

Online, the top trending topic was—

"Elite Klein and Cynthia—Secret Romance?!"

After Klein's heroic actions in Johto, public opinion of him had skyrocketed.

Unlike some flashy, media-hungry Elites, Klein was a practical, no-nonsense warrior.

Naturally, the idea of him and Cynthia together had fans buzzing with excitement.

Of course, there were also serious discussions—

Analyzing Cynthia's battle record and her immense strength compared to Klein.

Regardless, the public attention was mostly positive.

And with nothing major happening in the League right now, this exchange battle had become a high-profile event.

Elsewhere…

In a luxurious hotel suite, a man watched the news broadcast with amusement.

"Komon, is this Cynthia really that strong?"

Across from him, Komon sipped his tea.

"Extremely."

"She's rumored to be a four-core level trainer, currently searching for her fifth core strategy."

The man laughed.

"That strong, huh? Sounds tougher than me."

He casually pulled up Cynthia's profile online.

Staring at her powerful, confident gaze, he smirked.

"A strong woman like this…"

"If I married her, our children would be ridiculously powerful."

Komon choked on his tea.

"…Are you seriously thinking about this?!"

"Why not?"

"You do realize challenging Cynthia is basically suicide, right?"

The man grinned.

"Ha! Sounds like the perfect challenge."

Without hesitation, he declared—

"Cynthia will be my wife."

Komon massaged his temples.

"…You really don't value your life, do you?"

(End of Chapter.)