"We don't need the rewards. We won't use them anyway," Sato shook his head, then brushed past Officer Jenny.
Joseph and Mark followed without a word. The three had just received Onix's gift, and now, looking at the rewards in Officer Jenny's hands, they felt it was laughably stingy.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Suddenly, a sharp shout came from behind. The three halted and turned around.
They saw Officer Jenny standing with both hands holding the Hard Stone and Soft Sand, her eyebrows furrowed in anger; clearly furious that Sato had ignored her.
"What is it, Officer Jenny?" Sato asked coldly, his expression unreadable.
"You caught the Pokémon Hunters, so you should come accept your reward. Or are you hiding something?" Officer Jenny questioned harshly, though her eyes seemed more and more convinced of her own suspicions.
"Tch!" Sato almost laughed from anger at this self-righteous Officer Jenny.
"I'm a League Certified Gym Leader from Shadownight Gym. You're just a city security officer, Jenny. Technically, I could have handed the whole group directly to the League. I only handed them over to you to save trouble," he said without hesitation.
"You!" Officer Jenny pointed at Sato, unable to get a word out, clearly fuming.
"Instead of being used like someone's pawn here, why don't you focus on investigating whether there are still Pokémon Hunter groups on Dewford Island?"
With that, Sato walked out of the Pokémon Center lobby without looking back and returned to his room.
Joseph and Mark quietly followed behind. They had clearly noticed that Sato wasn't in a good mood, so they didn't say anything to disturb him.
Once inside, Sato slumped into the sofa alone, trying to figure out who had come uninvited again to test him.
But before he could think for even two seconds, the black Ralts inside the backpack suddenly jumped out, raised its tiny white hands, and demanded something; completely oblivious to the mood.
"Where's my Sweet Milk?" The telepathy echoed in Sato's mind, instantly breaking his train of thought.
Fortunately, Sato didn't dwell on it. Whatever came, he'd face it head-on.
"You'll get two bottles today. From now on, two bottles a day, until the crate is finished."
"I don't want that! I want a whole crate of Sweet Milk today! Sato, you heartless jerk! Liar! Ungrateful! You never keep your promises…"
Watching Ralts rolling back and forth on the table like it was about to throw a tantrum, a dark line appeared on Sato's forehead. He chose to ignore it.
Knock knock knock!
Just then, there was a knock at the door. As Sato went to open it, Ralts reluctantly accepted the two bottles of Sweet Milk, then snuck off to a corner to enjoy them happily.
"Miss Joy?" When he opened the door, standing outside was a kind-looking Nurse Joy with a gentle smile.
Sato habitually tilted his head to glance down the corridor, confirming that Officer Jenny wasn't around.
"Officer Jenny didn't follow me, don't worry." Nurse Joy smiled as she spoke.
Sato naturally didn't admit that he was checking for Officer Jenny. He just nodded slightly at Nurse Joy and invited her inside.
Seeing it was Nurse Joy, Joseph and Mark also came over and sat down in the living room, waiting for her to explain the reason for her visit today.
"Sato, first of all, I'd like to apologize on behalf of Officer Jenny. She meant well, but her personality is a bit impulsive, so there may have been some misunderstandings between the two of you," Nurse Joy said sincerely.
Hearing this, Sato remained completely calm, not showing any reaction to Joy's "earnest" words.
Seeing this, Joy seemed a little embarrassed, but since she had delivered the message, she didn't press the matter.
Then, taking on a "big-sisterly" role, Nurse Joy expressed great concern for Sato's daily life. After asking detailed questions, she even gave him quite a bit of advice.
Sato didn't know Joy's true reason for coming, but since she seemed genuinely concerned, he didn't resist too much and simply nodded in response.
After chatting for about half an hour, Nurse Joy still hadn't brought up any concrete topic. The questions Sato expected never came.
Then, Nurse Joy left.
Watching Joy's back as she left, Sato fell into thought, gradually confirming a few things in his mind.
"Nurse Joy really is the gentlest... Boss, why is Miss Joy so interested in you?" Mark once again acted up, recklessly testing the boundaries of life and death.
Sato, having closed the door, walked over and shot him a glance. In an instant, Mark felt a chill in his brain and didn't dare say another word.
"Joseph, did you notice anything just now?" Sato turned and asked.
"Probably the Joy family. The Officer Jenny here on Dewford Island seems to be newly assigned. Her personality is straightforward, so it's easy for her to be used."
"Yeah, I used to have a good relationship with the Joy family from the Johto Region. But now, a Joy from the Hoenn Region came to test me alone."
Sato said with a hint of sentiment. He wasn't sure if this was the will of the entire Joy family or just the one from the Hoenn Region.
"Why can't I understand what you two are talking about? Is there something wrong with Miss Joy?" Mark, who had been keeping quiet, suddenly asked cautiously.
Sato and Joseph both glanced at him, then turned away and continued their conversation.
Mark puffed his cheeks and decided to ignore them, hugging Togepi as he returned to his room.
---
When it was time for dinner, Mark came out of his room hugging Togepi, pretending nothing had happened as he headed to the dining table.
Just as he sat down and was about to eat, he heard Joseph and Sato discussing their next destination.
"So where are we going this time?" Mark eagerly jumped in.
"South Petalburg City," Joseph answered casually.
"So that means there's a North Petalburg City too?" Mark asked naively… and this time, he was right.
"There actually is, and it's part of our travel plan," Joseph replied.
"Hey, hey, is there anything fun in Petalburg City?" Mark asked excitedly.
Sato narrowed his eyes and smiled. "I don't know if it's fun, but we do have an old friend to visit there."
"An old friend? A guy or a girl? Could it be an old flame of yours, Boss?" Mark, just having sat down, immediately started teasing again.
Sato shot him another cold glance and dropped a chicken butt into his bowl.
"Even food can't shut your mouth!"