Before long, the noisy square fell silent.
A fierce-looking middle-aged man nearly two meters tall entered the square wearing a military cap.
Prominently displayed on the left side of his chest was a red “R.” Behind him followed ten Team Rocket members in standard grunt uniforms, each with a cold expression, accompanied by a Mightyena.
Beside the leading middle-aged man walked a pitch-black demonic dog with two white horns curving backward from its head and a tail resembling a devil’s tail—the Dark- and Fire-type Pokémon Houndoom!
Aoki opened his eyes slowly when he felt the square quiet down.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the middle-aged man.
It was him!
Scanning the Houndoom beside the man, a faint glow flashed in Aoki’s eyes as the Microchip activated.
[Pokémon: Houndoom (Green)] [Gender: Male] [Level: 28] [Type: Dark / Fire] [Ability: Flash Fire] [Held Item: None] [Egg Moves: Fire Fang, Fire Spin] [Basic Moves: Inferno, Nasty Plot, Thunder Fang, Leer, Ember, Howl, Smog, Roar, Bite, Odor Sleuth, Beat Up] [Tutor Moves: Foul Play] [TM Moves: Hidden Power (Rock), Shadow Ball, Flamethrower] Looking at Houndoom’s level and extensive move list, Aoki couldn’t help feeling helpless.
The gap was simply too wide.
Moreover, he knew that this Houndoom wasn’t even the middle-aged man’s primary Pokémon, perhaps not even his secondary team.
If he sent out a single Pokémon from his secondary team, he could wipe out everyone present, including all the Team Rocket grunts.
“A hundred and fifty-six survivors this time?
This batch isn’t bad.” The middle-aged man’s voice wasn’t loud, but everyone present heard it clearly, his casual tone treating human lives as though they were utterly meaningless.
He glanced around the square, and once he saw that everyone’s eyes were fixed on him, he said indifferently, “My name is Viper, Chief Instructor of Team Rocket, in charge of Purgatory Island!
From this moment on, your lives no longer belong to you.” He smiled sinisterly, nodding with satisfaction as he saw everyone cowed by his pressure.
“The entire Purgatory Trial will last for three months.
From now on, you must gather here once every week.
If you fail to show up twice in a row, you will automatically be deemed to have failed the trial.
I assume you all understand what failing the trial entails.” Viper spoke entirely at his own pace.
Pointing to a giant stone in the middle of the square, he continued, “This is a Trial Stone, a testing machine developed with Team Rocket’s latest technology that measures the attack power of a Pokémon.
Next, you will take turns attacking this stone.
You will be ranked based on the data returned.
The top ten in each ranking will receive 100 points, which will accumulate with each trial.
As for what points can buy, figure that out yourselves.” Team Rocket Points!
They were the currency usable only within Team Rocket, capable of buying almost anything in this world.
It was precisely because of this point system that Team Rocket had achieved its current height.
One had to realize that because many powerful families dominated the world, rare resources were almost always monopolized by them.
Even if you had unlimited money, you couldn’t buy them.
These points could be used not only on the island, but also at any Team Rocket base after the trial ended.
“A maximum of fifty people can pass this trial in the end,” Viper said, emphasizing every word.
“The top ten will each receive 10,000 points.
The top three will get a forged League Identity Card from Team Rocket.
And the number one spot will get to select any high-quality starter Pokémon from Team Rocket’s warehouse.
Most importantly, the rule of this trial is that there are no rules!” “The first ranking begins now!” With that announcement, Viper sat down on a chair in the middle of the square and signaled his subordinates beside him to begin recording the process.
Under the active direction of the ten Team Rocket grunts, everyone quickly lined up to undergo the first ranking test.
“Ekans, Bite!” a young boy called out.
A purple serpentine silhouette dashed toward the central boulder.
Its blood-red mouth opened wide, exposing two sharp teeth gleaming with white light before biting down hard on the rock.
*Bang!* Not even a mark was left behind.
[Attack Power: 56!] Immediately afterward, a line of text appeared on the stone tester.
The Team Rocket grunt in charge of recording shouted the result expressionlessly, “Number 34, Attack Power 56!
Temporarily first place!
Next!” He then wrote down the score in his notebook.
Seemingly dissatisfied with his result, the boy designated as Number 34 curled his lip and stepped to the side.
Following him was a boy accompanied by a Zubat, his face filled with a mix of timidity and greenness.
“Zubat, Tackle!” he ordered tentatively.
The Zubat above his head slowly flapped its wings and slammed its back against the stone.
[Attack Power: 19!] Seeing the text on the stone tester, the boy who had tested first let out a quiet sigh of relief, followed by a contemptuous scoff.
The people waiting behind also cast looks of faint disdain toward the second boy.
“Number 13, Attack Power 19, temporarily second place!
Next!” The Team Rocket grunt remained expressionless.
To him, these boys and girls who were coming into contact with Pokémon for the first time were painfully green, failing to arouse even a trace of his interest.
“Number 24, Attack Power 25, temporarily second place!
Next…” “Number 98, Attack Power 45…” “Number 77, Attack Power…” One after another went up.
Those with higher ranks looked at those below them with disdain, while looking at those above them with teeth-grinding envy.
Aoki frowned at the sight.
It had been the exact same situation in his past life—Team Rocket’s poisonous trial!
Only when the participants fought among themselves like venomous insects could the strongest survivor emerge.
“Attack Power: 98!” While Aoki was lost in thought, a series of exclamations suddenly rang out in front of him.
An attack power of 98, the highest score so far, belonged to a slender youth with fair skin and clean clothes, looking almost as if he hadn’t come to undergo a trial at all.
Beside him was an Ekans, standing proudly before everyone, looking at the crowd with deep disdain and contempt in its eyes.
*It’s him.* Aoki’s eyes narrowed involuntarily when he saw him.
If he remembered correctly, this was the person who had won first place in this trial in his past life, obtaining an exceptionally talented Bulbasaur and embarking on a protagonist-like life.
His status had risen rapidly, and even after Aoki unlocked his Microchip later on, he had never been able to catch up to his footsteps.
Number 99—his real name should be Kuga!
A long time passed, and no one appeared with an attack power higher than Kuga’s.
After more than half of the participants had tested, it was finally Aoki’s turn.
His number was 234.
“Another one with an uncommon Pokémon!” When it was Aoki’s turn, many began whispering among themselves upon seeing the Murkrow on his shoulder.
Among the Pokémon distributed by Team Rocket, Zubat, Ekans, and Koffing made up the vast majority, but a few other species were mixed in.
Having an uncommon Pokémon didn’t mean it was stronger than a Zubat, Ekans, or Koffing; it simply meant others viewed it as an outlier because it was different.
“Tch, it’s just a Murkrow, what’s the big deal?
The score of the previous Murkrow wasn’t anything special either.
Look at his scrawny appearance—that Murkrow is clearly way smaller than the last one.
His score definitely won’t amount to much!” another person sneered.
Aoki’s expression remained unchanged as he ignored the voices around him.
Taking a gentle breath, he said, “Tailwind state, Peck!” His calm demeanor caused those mocking him to unconsciously shut their mouths, expressions of awkwardness creeping onto their faces.
They had intended to affect his performance with words, only to end up embarrassing themselves.
Murkrow launched itself into the air, faint white currents of air swirling around its body.
After several days of recovery, its body had gradually restored itself to the size of a normal Murkrow.
Circling once in the air, it gathered all its strength, using the momentum of Tailwind and the gravity of its descent to strike the stone with a loud *thud*.
Afterward, it executed a graceful turn and landed steadily back on Aoki’s shoulder.
Aoki offered a subtle smile, his eyes slightly open and his brows arched upward.
Taking a glance at the giant rock, he slowly walked away.
[Attack Power: 97!] The text on the giant rock hit like a massive slap, landing hard on the faces of everyone who had mocked him.
An attack power of 97, second only to Kuga’s 98.
Temporarily ranked second, while the third place currently had only an attack power of 90—the gap was anything but small.
“Number 234, Attack Power 97, temporarily second place!
Next!” Even the person recording the scores couldn’t help taking an extra look at Aoki as he slowly walked into the crowd, waiting a moment before announcing the result.
In truth, with Murkrow’s current physical strength, it couldn’t output such a high attack value naturally.
Aoki had simply utilized proper technique, allowing Murkrow to combine the inertia from Tailwind’s acceleration with the gravitational force of its descent to achieve such a score.
After Aoki finished his test, a few quick-witted individuals fell into deep thought, understanding the trick Aoki had used.
It was a minor trick, but its effect was substantial, wasn’t it?
After all, as Viper said, the rule was that there were no rules!
Viper had been watching the entire testing process.
When Aoki finished his test, Viper’s gaze lingered on him for a few extra seconds.
*An interesting little fellow!*