"Ah, this feels so good."
At a hot spring inn in Snowpoint City, Rosa was wearing a bathrobe and soaking in the hot spring. Her whole body felt loose and relaxed.
It felt amazing.
"Whoever came up with soaking in a hot spring in weather like this was a genius. This is way too good."
Rosa tilted her head back and looked at the snowflakes slowly falling from the sky. She could not help sighing.
That's right. Snowpoint City stayed cold all year because of its special location.
Snow from Mt. Coronet fell all year long. Because of that, Snowpoint City was always covered in white.
It was similar to Viridian City, where flowers bloomed and grass stayed green all year. But Viridian City was a little more mysterious. People said it was because of Viridian Forest.
"Yeah, I feel like my whole body has finally relaxed."
Elesa completely agreed. She looked at Rosa, whose face was already red from the heat. She did not dare let her eyes move any lower.
That was because Rosa's chest really did make her feel jealous.
Rosa was only sixteen. How had she already developed that much?
Hilda quietly enjoyed the hot spring without saying anything.
"The leftover members of the Pokémon Hunter group here have already been dealt with. So where are we going tomorrow?" Rosa asked after soaking for a while.
The main reason they had come to Snowpoint City was because there happened to be a group of Pokémon Hunter leftovers nearby.
"Let's check the mission list."
"Sigh. Time really goes by too fast. I've had so much fun these past few days."
Rosa stretched her body. The wet towel faintly outlined her figure.
Because the company was covering the costs, Rosa had been enjoying herself the whole time.
And since it was her first time in Sinnoh, everything here felt fresh to her.
"Mhm. We have to go back to Unova in two more days." Elesa showed a faint smile.
"Eh? That soon?" Rosa froze.
"It's already the fourth day, Rosa." Hilda rolled her eyes.
"Damn it. I haven't made any progress with Damian yet, and I still don't have enough merit points." Rosa sounded very unwilling.
Hilda: "..."
Elesa could not help finding it funny.
"There's nothing we can do about the merit points. Those people are all competing with us." Hilda also felt helpless.
"Those students are way too shameless. And then there's Platinum and Paul. They're locals, so why are they competing with outsiders like us?"
Rosa complained in frustration.
She really wanted to say that the locals here were not polite at all.
"Is there any chance that, from their point of view, we're the rude ones?" Hilda looked at Rosa with a speechless expression.
Normally, the missions in Sinnoh should have been handled by Platinum and the others.
We were the ones who came in from Unova and started taking their jobs.
"So what? The company posted the missions. If we can take them, then it's fair."
Rosa clearly thought she was completely right.
"The company is already using all its resources to find Team Galactic's headquarters. If we can locate it first, we'll definitely earn a huge amount of merit."
Elesa picked up her phone and checked the app.
The moment she looked, she brightened.
"Rosa, Hilda! There's a large-scale mission!"
"Really? Seriously?"
"Where's my phone?"
Rosa and Hilda quickly grabbed their phones too.
"Large-Scale Mission: Mt. Michina."
Rosa was thrilled. It really was a large-scale mission. Those were the best.
She was only a little over thirty thousand merit points away from getting Thundurus. If things went well this time, she might earn enough in one shot.
"Main target: Team Galactic Boss Cyrus, Champion-level Trainer."
A Champion-level opponent. This mission would not be easy.
Hilda thought about it for a moment. But there was no doubt that if they could complete it, especially if they caught Cyrus, the reward would be huge.
Still, taking down Cyrus would definitely be very hard. He was the leader of Team Galactic.
And he was also a Champion-level Trainer.
"Hilda! We have to grab this chance!"
Rosa, however, was full of energy. Her bright eyes were burning with excitement.
"Don't be careless, Rosa. Cyrus is definitely not easy to deal with. If we run into him during the mission, don't charge at him head-on."
Elesa reminded her. She meant that Rosa should not get too reckless and rush straight at Cyrus, only to get beaten back.
"Huh? Don't charge at him head-on?"
Rosa looked full of disdain.
"He's just the boss of an evil team. I'm the future Unova Champion!"
Rosa had always believed she was extremely brave.
Besides, once the mission started, students like Drayton and people like Platinum would definitely be there too.
They could go first and test how strong Cyrus really was.
...
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
At the foot of Mt. Michina, a large number of Team Galactic members in silver-and-black uniforms had already gathered.
"Boss."
Jupiter stepped forward and bowed before Cyrus.
"The team is ready. We're waiting for your order."
"Mm."
Cyrus nodded. He tilted his head slightly and looked upward.
"It's up there. The Michina Ruins are above us. Move out."
"Yes."
Cyrus took the lead and started walking up the mountain.
Jupiter brought an elite squad with her and followed behind him. More people stayed at the foot of the mountain to avoid drawing attention.
"Should we move now?"
"Don't rush. Wait for news from above."
"Yeah. Otherwise, we'll alert them. We'll go up once the fighting starts."
Not far away, Lacey, Crispin, and the others were talking while holding binoculars. That's right, they had already set up an ambush.
At the summit, in front of the Michina Ruins.
"We're here."
Cyrus stood in front of the ancient temple ruins with his hands behind his back.
"Who are you?"
Sheena and Kevin happened to be outside. They were both stunned when they saw Cyrus and the others.
"Cyrus. My name is Cyrus."
Cyrus stepped forward twice and spoke in a flat tone.
"You two should be the guardians of these ruins. I heard that you protect Arceus's Jewel of Life. Hand it over to me."
"No. The Jewel of Life is our most important treasure. We can't hand it over to outsiders." Sheena shook her head and refused.
"Is that so? Then this is just a meaningless struggle." Cyrus's voice still had no emotion.
"Girl, do you even know what truly deserves to shine?"
Cyrus looked directly at Sheena, the guardian of the ruins.
"You're weak, ugly, ignorant, and you don't even understand yourself. People like you, burdened with the flaw called a 'heart,' are nothing but fools."
"What did you say?"
Kevin glared at Cyrus angrily. This guy really was too arrogant.
"I won't say it a second time."
Cyrus spoke flatly. A Poké Ball opened, and Houndoom appeared in front of him.
The fierce Houndoom stared at Sheena and Kevin menacingly.
"Give me the Jewel of Life. Otherwise, I'll deal with the two of you first, and then I'll find it myself."
Cyrus threatened them without changing his expression.
"Tsk. Cyrus, you're rotten to the core. You really are ruthless."
A man's voice slowly came from the side.
Cyrus's brows instantly tightened. A clear wave of irritation rose in his heart.
Yes, he was not truly without emotion. He only believed he had thrown emotion away.
But hearing someone call him "rotten to the core" still made him unhappy.
He was working for a perfect world. He would become its savior. He would become a god.
And this man was calling him rotten?
Cyrus turned his head and looked to the side. He saw a young man dressed in black walking over slowly. Caitlin followed behind him at an unhurried pace.
This person looked familiar.
Cyrus frowned slightly. To be honest, he was sure he had seen this young man before.
Wait.
"You're Damian from Team Rocket?"
Cyrus finally remembered. This was Damian from Team Rocket.
At the start of the year, Sird had even sent Damian's information to him.
And then Cyrus's expression turned even worse.
You're with Team Rocket, and you still have the nerve to call me rotten?
How shameless can you be?
-------------------------
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