Miss Joy covered her eyes with both hands, but her fingers uncontrollably parted a crack to peek at the powerful young body inside the room.
"Mr. Jiang... Mr. Jiang Han, why aren't you wearing any clothes?"
Her voice carried a trace of imperceptible trembling. Although her family's strict upbringing allowed her to remain dignified when facing the opposite sex, the vivid and provocative scene before her was simply too impactful.
It wasn't just a good physique; it was a sense of wildness and power etched into the muscular lines through a thousand trials, possessing a primal attraction for the opposite sex.
"Oh, I just finished training." Jiang Han didn't care at all; he didn't even realize there was anything inappropriate about his state. In his view, wasn't it normal to be shirtless and covered in sweat after training?
He picked up the towel around his neck and casually wiped the sweat from his face. Droplets slid down his well-defined jawline and disappeared into his collarbone.
*Slurp.*
A very faint sound of someone sucking in saliva echoed in the quiet hallway.
Miss Joy froze instantly, the temperature of her cheeks seemingly high enough to ignite the air. She slammed her hand over her mouth, her eyes frantic.
Jiang Han's movements paused, his brow furrowing slightly as his sharp gaze swept toward her. "Miss Joy, did you hear some strange noise just now?"
"No?" Miss Joy shook her head like a rattle. "Mr. Jiang Han, you must be hallucinating."
At this moment, she just wanted to find a hole to crawl into. This was so unseemly!
Jiang Han gave her a suspicious look but didn't press further.
He just wanted to figure out why this Miss Joy was knocking on his door.
"Do you need something from me?" he asked again, his tone direct.
"Oh, right!" Reminded by Jiang Han, Miss Joy finally broke free from her chaotic thoughts and forced her expression and tone back to a professional level.
She cleared her throat, trying her best not to look at Jiang Han's upper body, focusing her gaze on the wall behind him.
"It's like this, Mr. Jiang Han. To celebrate the opening of the Food Festival, our Pokémon Center is hosting a small battle competition today. The winning Trainer will receive a portion of Pokémon Gourmet Food of their choice, which can effectively enhance a pokémon's comprehension of that specific type of energy."
"Pokémon Gourmet Food?" Jiang Han's eyebrow twitched.
He was no stranger to this term.
In the internal training materials of the Team Rockets, there was a specific introduction to such things.
It was far beyond ordinary pokémon food, being prepared from rare berries and ingredients through special processes.
Some top-tier Pokémon Gourmet Food could even cause the energy of different ingredients to produce a wonderful resonance, resulting in all sorts of incredible effects.
For example, it could take a Fire-type pokémon's flame temperature to the next level, or increase the shell hardness of a Steel-type pokémon.
Of course, there were also those that could make a Pokémon's fur softer and smoother, which were highly favored by some female Trainers.
And the kind of food Miss Joy mentioned that could enhance energy comprehension would not be cheap on the open market.
For a pokémon at an evolutionary bottleneck or needing to learn new skills, a portion of such food could greatly help them grasp their attributes.
Unfortunately, this type of Pokémon Gourmet Food is usually most effective the first time it's consumed; subsequent consumption would see its benefits greatly diminished.
So this kind of food belongs to the category where you eat it once and you're done; if you want continuous progress, you still need cultivation resources as support.
Jiang Han's gaze subconsciously flickered toward the room.
Sandile was still struggling with the dummy, honing its bite force;
Inkay was floating in mid-air, its body surrounded by a faint Dark Pulse;
Sneasel was in the corner, repeatedly firing small Ice Shards at a metal plate, practicing its newly learned skill.
They were all working hard to become stronger.
If he could get a portion of Dark-type Pokémon Gourmet Food... it would be a huge boost for both Sandile and Inkay.
"I'll participate," Jiang Han answered without the slightest hesitation. "Lead the way."
"Alright!" Seeing Jiang Han agree so readily, a sincere smile appeared on Miss Joy's face, and the previous embarrassment seemed to dissipate quite a bit.
She turned to lead the way but then stopped, looking back at Jiang Han with some hesitation.
Jiang Han followed her gaze down to himself and finally realized.
"Give me three minutes."
With a "bang," the door closed.
Standing outside the door, Miss Joy could still hear the rustling sound of clothes being put on inside. She patted her burning cheeks and let out a long sigh of relief.
In less than a minute, the door opened again.
Jiang Han had changed into a capable set of black casual wear—a simple T-shirt and trousers—yet they still couldn't hide his perfectly exercised physique that acted as a natural clothes hanger.
"Let's go."
"Mm!"
Miss Joy led the way as the two walked through the quiet and magnificent corridors of the Pokémon Center.
The Pokémon Center in Mauville City was indeed a transportation hub for the Hoenn region; even late at night, the lobby was still bustling with people and brightly lit.
To welcome the Food Festival, the interior of the center was decorated with many ribbons and balloons. A faint sweet fragrance filled the air, and the excited discussions of Trainers could be heard everywhere.
The battle competition venue was set in a dedicated battle arena in the backyard of the Pokémon Center.
This was an open-air plaza consisting of three standard battlefields side-by-side, surrounded by spectator seats.
At this moment, many Trainers who had heard the news were already sitting in the stands. Behind a long table at the edge of the field, a staff member was processing registrations for the participants.
Miss Joy led Jiang Han to the registration desk. "Mr. Jiang Han, just register your information and the pokémon you plan to use here."
Jiang Han nodded and stepped forward to register.
He glanced at the list of registered names. There were about thirty people; it looked like a small, spur-of-the-moment competition with a limited scale.
"Yo, isn't this the young master who stays in the luxury private room? Coming to join this little competition to earn some snacks too?" a slightly mocking voice came from the side.
Jiang Han looked over. It was a young Trainer dressed flamboyantly with hair dyed yellow.
Beside him followed a Manectric, yawning listlessly, its body emitting powerful electrical energy.
Jiang Han recognized him. When he was checking in at the lobby this afternoon, this guy was nearby, and the look in his eyes back then was full of jealousy and disdain.
Jiang Han didn't bother to pay attention to such a clown. After finishing his registration, he turned and walked toward the player preparation area.
"Hey! You, what's with that attitude!" Seeing himself ignored, the yellow-haired Trainer immediately felt he had lost face, and his voice rose an octave.
Jiang Han paused, turned back, and looked at him with a calm gaze, as if looking at a stone by the side of the road.
"Is there something?"
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn luffy1898