Pokemon: Sandstorm Elite

The battle video between Klein and Will sparked heated discussions online. However, the public's attention soon shifted to the new Kanto Regional Tournament, as the upcoming week was officially "Kanto Tournament Week," with various TV channels focusing their broadcasts on the event.

While the regional tournament was in full swing, Klein showed no interest in watching the matches. Instead, he secluded himself in a private lounge, tirelessly working on improving his Dream Simulation System.

Among the trainers Klein had faced, Will ranked among the top, especially with his terrifyingly powerful Mega Gardevoir, whose psychic abilities had far exceeded Klein's data calculations. This meant that enhancing and upgrading the Dream Simulation System had to be accelerated.

With his hands moving swiftly over the keyboard, Klein continuously input parameters, fine-tuning the system. Multicolored lines of code flashed across the screen as they were finalized one by one.

When he was alone, apart from taking care of his Pokémon, Klein spent most of his time here, refining the Dream Simulation System. However, not all of his Pokémon enjoyed this virtual world—at least, his Tentacruel absolutely despised it.

After completing his work for the day, Klein let out a sigh of relief. As he removed his VR headset, he accidentally knocked over a picture frame.

In the photo, a grinning Klein stood beside a gentle-looking Rosa and a reluctant-looking Lucas. The three trainers were joined by Tepig, Oshawott, and Snivy, each cuddled in their arms.

"Lucas, we're about to set off together. Stop being so shy—come take a group photo!"

A blue-haired boy with a helpless expression was pushed forward by Klein, while the Oshawott in his arms curiously glanced around. As for Tepig, it lay on Klein's head, snickering.

"This is such a hassle."

Klein patted his Tepig and playfully coaxed Lucas. "Come on, don't say that. When Rosa and I aren't around anymore, you'll have to take care of yourself. Cooking, doing laundry—you'll need to handle those on your own."

Standing in place for the photo, Lucas finally couldn't hold back a complaint. "Can you two just get out of my sight? Watching you is annoying. Also, unlike you, Klein, I'm not some spoiled rich kid who needs Rosa to do everything for me."

Klein, true to his otaku nature from his previous life, never learned how to cook and barely did laundry. Most of his daily chores had been handled by Rosa.

Lucas's expression, full of disdain as if saying, Stop shoving your romance in my face, made Rosa blush slightly. "Enough arguing, you two. Let's just take the picture."

As the photo settled into place, a small Swinub suddenly appeared, sprawled on the table with a lifeless expression.

"Are you hungry?"

The Swinub, yawning, nodded its head and rolled toward Klein, looking up at him with big, pleading eyes.

"You're really something… Alright, I'll cook something for you."

Although the breeding area had dedicated caretakers to feed the Pokémon, this particular Swinub preferred eating whatever Klein ate. Its clingy nature left Klein no choice but to shake off his laziness and get to work in the kitchen.

With hundreds of flavors of synthetic meat available on the market, Klein picked a few ingredients, expertly combining them. His knife moved swiftly, producing rhythmic chopping sounds. Before long, several stir-fried dishes were placed in front of the Swinub.

After sharing dinner with the little Pokémon, Klein washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, looking every bit like a younger version of Brock.

Ever since parting ways with Rosa, Klein had gradually learned to take care of himself. The life skills he once lacked, he had now mastered one by one.

The only downside was that sometimes, when he wanted to watch a movie, he realized there was no one to watch and banter with him anymore. Or rather, the person who once watched those movies with him… was no longer here.

Shaking off his emotions, Klein straightened his clothes and headed to a conference room adjacent to the Indigo League's main hall for the weekly Elite Four meeting.

Upon entering the meeting room, the other Elite Four members greeted Klein warmly. Their youngest colleague had recently brought great honor to Kanto's Elite Four, especially by humiliating Will from Johto.

"Cough, this week, everyone has performed exceptionally well," Lance began, addressing the room. "From gym inspections to the trial run of the new Pokémon Centers, and of course, the Elite Tournament—the League's higher-ups are very pleased with our work. As a result, they've approved a generous performance bonus for us."

Lance's gaze lingered on Klein with particular satisfaction. This kid worked efficiently—his handling of the gym inspections had been impeccable, and his victory over Will had left the Johto Elite Four in utter disgrace.

The Johto and Kanto factions had always been in competition, vying for League resources. Though Lance was technically the Elite Four Champion of the greater Kanto region, his allegiance leaned toward Kanto's interests.

Aside from the private bonuses for each Elite Four member, there was another substantial sum that had been allocated. This was the main reason Lance had called the meeting.

"Three years ago, we proposed the establishment of a branch of the International Police Academy in Kanto. After much discussion, the League has finally approved it and allocated funds for its construction."

The International Police Academy was a prestigious institution dedicated to training various law enforcement personnel, including special agents, rangers, and conservation officers. Its headquarters had always been in Sinnoh, but due to the increasing frequency of major incidents in the Kanto region, Lance had been pushing for a local branch.

"A school like this will be a great asset," Agatha remarked. "At least we won't have to request reinforcements from Sinnoh every year. But this also means more work for us. Who's in charge of this?"

Lorelei was the first to speak up, looking exasperated. "The new Pokémon Center project has just started. I don't have the time for this."

Bruno laughed heartily. "If I took charge of the academy, at least the students would get some solid muscle training!"

Lance, however, had already made his decision. "According to the League's plan, Agatha will oversee the project as headmaster, while Klein will serve as vice principal and disciplinary director."

"...Disciplinary director?"

Klein blinked in surprise. Wasn't he only fifteen?

Lance, seeing through his thoughts, smiled. "Don't worry. The first batch of students will be around ten years old. They'll need to train for five years before graduating. It's a long-term commitment."

In reality, Agatha, being older, would focus on overall management, while Klein, young and energetic, would handle the hands-on responsibilities. With "Sandstorm Elite" Klein and "Ghostly Matriarch" Agatha in charge, they would undoubtedly become a renowned senior-junior duo in Kanto's Elite Four.

Lance didn't assign easy jobs to any of them. Bruno was responsible for managing countless organizations, while Lorelei oversaw the launch of the new Pokémon Centers and handled online public relations, a massive and intricate task.

As for Klein and Agatha, once the regional tournament ended, they would be responsible for organizing the next Elite Tournament and conducting a new round of gym inspections. Since Agatha already managed these duties, with the academy added to her plate, Lance decided that Klein would take over gym inspections entirely.

"This season, Kanto has approved thirty-four new gyms. With the ones that were demoted, the total number of standard gyms is enormous. In the next season, I expect you, Klein, to implement rigorous evaluations, just like you did with Cerulean Gym."

Kanto wasn't a large region, yet gyms were sprouting up everywhere, often due to political connections rather than merit. Lance felt it was necessary for Klein to clean house.

So, Klein's next tasks were set—serve as the academy's disciplinary director and conduct the upcoming gym inspections.

Both were jobs that would inevitably make enemies.

Not that it mattered. This kid was never afraid of making enemies.

(End of Chapter)