Elf: Start with small diamonds, then mutate into Diancie!

These four words involuntarily surfaced in Su Hao's mind.

Rewind to a short time ago, when Wu Neng had just arrived home with Su Hao, he suddenly remembered why he had run away from home before opening the door.

His wife, Xiaomi.

He often loses interest quickly, wanting to learn ballroom dancing one minute, astronomy the next, gardening the following minute...

Recently, she has become obsessed with cooking.

At home, it's usually Wu Neng or the children who do the cooking; Xiao Mi has never cooked before...

His second son, Jiro, the current gym leader of the Dark Grey Gym, was poisoned after tasting a bite of millet rice beforehand and is currently receiving intravenous fluids in the hospital...

Just as Wu Neng was about to abandon Su Hao and run away, the tightly closed gate of the dark gray dojo in front of his house opened, and Wu Neng was caught red-handed by Xiao Mi, who happened to be looking for ingredients inside the dojo.

Then the situation turned into what it is now: Xiaomi prepared a table of indescribable food.

In Wu Neng's eyes, this meal seemed even more poisonous than the food he had poisoned Jiro yesterday...

"Then I shall accept it without hesitation."

Su Hao calmly accepted the bowl and chopsticks handed to him by Xiao Mi, and under her expectant gaze, he finished his portion of food with an unchanging expression.

Amidst the horrified expressions of Wu Neng and his group, Su Hao accepted the tissue from Xiao Mi, who was happily tap-dancing, wiped his mouth, and calmly said with his eyes closed, "Thank you for the treat."

Meanwhile, his hand, which was under the table, was flashing green light.

Upon hearing this, Wu Neng and his eight children jumped out and surrounded the dining table, muttering to themselves, "Could it be that Xiaomi improved the taste overnight?!"

"So, it's just that the presentation isn't great, but the taste is guaranteed?!" Saburo, Yoshiko, and Goro cheered, echoing Takenori's mutterings.

Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten cheered and surrounded Xiao Mi, asking for the tableware.

"Mom, I'm hungry!"

"Mom, the cutlery!"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so happy that Mom's cooking is so popular!"

Xiaomi covered her face, her cheeks flushed, seemingly very happy.

After distributing the tableware, Xiaomi rested her chin on her hand at the table and said with a smile, "Everyone hasn't eaten anything since last night, so eat up! If you're still hungry, Mommy can give you extra food!"

"Okay! I'm starting!"

As the unified pre-meal greetings rang out, Wu Neng and the eight children picked up their soup spoons, scooped up their food, and ate at the same time!

puff-

Wu Neng and his eight children collapsed to the ground at the same time!

At this moment, Su Hao, who had almost used up all his Tokiwa power to heal himself, opened his eyes and looked at the nine people lying on the ground with a blank expression, as well as the frightened Xiao Mi.

"Quickly...call an ambulance!"

With barely a sliver of consciousness remaining, Wu stretched out his right arm, pointed forward with his finger, and then lost consciousness.

..................

"The test results are in, ma'am. Multiple toxins were detected in your food. May I ask where your ingredients came from...?"

Even the doctor in the white coat, wearing a mask, had never seen anything like it. The entire family, except for the wife and eldest son, were hospitalized due to food poisoning...

"This... I made mushroom soup for lunch today. The ingredients are... beautiful, colorful mushrooms that grow in the crevices of the dojo rocks."

Xiaomi stared at her fingers, looking as if she was about to cry.

"You...please don't use these ingredients of unknown origin in the future. Fortunately, it was just a mixture of multiple toxins and hallucinations, so it can be cured." The doctor in the white coat shook his head helplessly.

"However, including the patient named Jiro who was brought in yesterday, they all need someone to take care of them. Will you come? Or will your eldest son come?"

The doctor pointed at Xiaomi, then at Su Hao.

Su's eldest son, Hao: "?"

When did I become Xiaogang? How come I didn't know?

"Waaah, I'm fine with coming... but today the Kanto League Pokémon Inspection Bureau's inspector is coming to assess the gym... so we'll lose without a fight."

Xiaomi had tears in her eyes, never expecting that the Dark Grey Gym would be forced to close because of her.

"...Could I help you?"

Su Hao was silent for a moment, then realized that it was because of him that Wu Neng and the children thought that the food Xiao Mi made was edible and collapsed.

In that case... he'll take care of Wu Neng and the others, and let Xiao Mi handle the alliance's assessment.

Su Hao remembered that despite Xiaomi's seemingly unreliable appearance, she actually had quite a lot of Pokémon.

Marill, Blastoise, Manta Rayquaza, Gyarados, Vaporeon, Poliwag, Slowpoke, Tentacruel.

As for the Pokémon Inspection Bureau's inspectors, as long as it's not that legendary Pokémon Nurse Joy with Latias, Xiaomi should be able to handle it.

However, Xiaomi seemed to have misunderstood, as if she thought Su Hao wanted to help her pass the dojo assessment by the inspector.

"Oh, Mr. Su Hao, are you a trainer too? Please help us! The survival of the Pewter Gym depends on you!"

Xiao Mi grabbed Su Hao's hands and earnestly begged him for help.

She remembered that on the way to the hospital with her husband, Wu Neng said something: "That guest has the aura of a strong person. We can try to ask him for help in passing the assessment."

"But... isn't it only the gym leader or acting gym leader who can take the test?"

Su Hao waved his hand helplessly, saying he could handle either the assessment or taking care of Wu Neng and the others.

Most importantly, based on the animation, the inspectors should be selective in their roles; they wouldn't just randomly find some nobody or outside help to easily replace the gym leader and take the assessment.

"Ah, that's alright. It's just that because Jiro collapsed, the acting gym leader of the Pyrenees Gym hasn't been confirmed yet."

Xiaomi took out her phone and showed it to Su Hao.

She emphasized, "If you agree, you'll be the acting gym leader of Pewter City Gym in the next second!"

"...Alright then."

After a moment of silence, remembering that he was there to undergo a trial, Su Hao chose to face the challenge positively.

Just like how he silently ate that bowl of culinary disaster.

------------

Steven, Shiny Mega Metagross.

Chapter 349 Divine Beast Girl vs. Phantom Beast Boy

"So you are Su Hao, the acting gym leader of the Dark Grey Gym?"

The aloof beauty leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, wearing a gray hat and sunglasses that covered her eyes. However, her fair skin and glossy pink updo made it easy to tell that she was exceptionally beautiful.

Her all-black business attire accentuated her graceful figure, with a bodycon mini-skirt, knee-high boots, and a prominent "absolute territory" (arena/areas of skin), likely attracting a large number of male fans who would call her "sister."

Su Hao finally understood why Xiao Gang was so infatuated with Miss Joey and Miss Officer Jenny.

A dignified stance, elegant lines.

These are the words Xiaogang used to describe her.

In other words, the person in front of Su Hao is none other than Nurse Joy, the former inspector from Saffron City, who came to Pewter City Gym for an assessment in the Diamond & Pearl special episode of the anime.

“That’s right. Because Master Jiro collapsed from poisoning, I’m temporarily taking over as acting Master, Miss Joy.”

Su Hao's gaze was fixed on Qiao Yi's sunglasses, without the slightest hint of guilt, as if he had completely embraced his role as the acting head of the museum.

"Wow, it's amazing you recognized me."

Miss Joey took off her sunglasses with a cool air, revealing a sharp, piercing look in her azure eyes that was unlike any other Miss Joey.

“Yes, I am Joey.”

"But now I am a senior inspector of the Pokémon Inspection Bureau. Please address me as Inspector Nurse Joy."

Joey, Senior Inspector

After saying that, Inspector Joey took out his credentials and showed them to Su Hao.

Su Hao pretended to check the documents, then smiled and said, "The documents are fine. What brings Inspector Joey to the Dark Grey Gym this time?"

Su Hao heard from Xiaomi that Xiao Gang is currently traveling in the Hoenn region.

In other words, Nurse Joy, who will only appear in the special episode after Diamond and Pearl ends, shouldn't be at the Pyrenees Gym at this point in time.

"The reason I came here is simple. I heard that not only the acting gym leader, but also the former gym leader, Mr. Wu Neng, and his family were hospitalized due to food poisoning, is that right?"

Joey fiddled with his sunglasses with one hand, his tone indifferent.

"......Yes."

"That's why the Pewter Gym was so easily wiped out. Based on my own judgment, I must examine the strength of the gym and report whether the Pewter Gym meets the requirements."

"So, I called back the junior inspector and took charge myself."

Joey put his sunglasses into his pocket, his expression cold.

Su Hao never expected that it was because he encountered Wu Neng that he returned home early and was eventually poisoned. This small-scale butterfly effect caused Inspector Joey to arrive ahead of schedule.

"...Then Inspector Joey must also know that I am the newly appointed acting headmaster, right?" Su Hao frowned, his mind racing.

He didn't want Brock, who was still in Hoenn, to find out that the Phantom Troupe had been shut down because of his own actions.

Joey nodded and replied, "Ah, of course I know that."

"...Then why did you come here even though you knew that the Dark Grey Gym had no one to fight?" Su Hao didn't understand her reasons for acting.

Joy shifted her body slightly, closed her eyes, and said, "I originally planned to come here personally to inform the Pewter Gym that it would be ordered to make changes and suspend the issuance of badges to challengers."

Joey's words made Su Hao's heart tighten.

"but......"

Joey kept everyone in suspense.

"but?"

Su Hao didn't understand what she wanted to say.

"You have a very good eye, want to take a gamble?"