Read upto 25+ advance chapters exclusively on my Patreon ahead of everybody else - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
------------------
After completing the sale of his PokeBlocks through the commission system, Sato headed towards the public training ground to conduct the morning training session for his Zubat. He had already planned to use the morning and noon breaks for Zubat's stamina training, while the evening would be reserved for skill training.
With only six days left in the rookie evaluation period, he needed to make the most of his time to ensure Zubat's strength surpassed that of the other rookies' Pokémon. He had also received news from Baron about the rookie competition scheduled for a month later. If he wanted to stand out in Team Rocket, achieving excellent results in this competition was essential.
Therefore, he had to make every effort to improve Zubat's strength. In fact, after yesterday's training, Zubat had leveled up and was now a Level 10 Pokémon.
A few minutes later, Sato arrived at the public training ground, where several trainers were already working with their Pokémon.
Among them, Sato spotted Tanya and Kanjiro, who, with his Geodude, was engaged in a sparring match with her Spearow. Since it wasn't a life-or-death situation, both were being careful and essentially practicing against each other.
At the same time, Sato noticed Rondo, who had also seen him and was watching with a sneaky-looking Ekans.
Finally, Sato recognized several other new recruits from the cafeteria, now in the rookie uniforms, diligently training their Pokémon.
Sato then shifted his gaze, choosing an empty patch of ground near the edge, and began the morning training session with Zubat.
"Come out, Zubat! Let's continue our training from yesterday; I'll keep track of the time," Sato released Zubat and instructed him to put on the 5 kg weighted vest.
Zubat, having undergone training yesterday, understood Sato's command well. After donning the vest, he immediately flapped his wings vigorously and started flying around the entire public training ground.
At that moment, Sato pressed the timer on his Team Rocket watch to record the time Zubat took to fly around the training area.
Compared to the stamina training on the first day, Zubat showed clear improvement. His strong physique, combined with exercise levels far exceeding those of others, along with excellent recovery from top-notch supplies during training, all contributed to Zubat's rapid strength enhancement.
While wearing the 5 kg weighted vest and maintaining maximum speed, Zubat returned to Sato's side after 2 minutes and 13 seconds. This time was 10 seconds shorter than the time it took Zubat the same distance yesterday.
The data comparison showed that Zubat's flying speed had improved compared to yesterday's performance; last night's training had truly been effective.
"Effort truly pays off! Look, Zubat, under the same conditions, your flying speed has improved quite a bit since yesterday. Keep training like this, and you'll become even stronger," Sato said with a smile, placing the recorded data from his notebook in front of Zubat.
"Zi zi zi zi~~" Zubat chirped happily in response, flying in front of Sato.
Although Zubat had no eyes and didn't understand the content written in Sato's notebook, that didn't stop him from trusting Sato, who had personally trained him the night before. After realizing that his hard work had made him stronger, Zubat was even more motivated to follow Sato's training demands.
After letting out a cheerful call, Zubat flapped his wings once more, continuing to fly around the training ground. This time, perhaps due to excitement and being warmed up, he flew noticeably faster than during his first round.
"It seems that emotional changes can also cause fluctuations in a Pokémon's strength. Hmm, I need to remember this," Sato thought as he noticed Zubat's flying speed was noticeably faster than at the beginning. He quickly pressed the timer and recorded his observation in his notebook.
After 1 minute and 58 seconds, panting heavily, Zubat returned to Sato, having burst forth with incredible speed to set a new record for himself. However, it was clear that such bursts required more stamina, as Zubat was enveloped in white steam and dripping with sweat.
Seeing this, Sato noted the new flight record and immediately removed the weighted vest from Zubat. He then handed Zubat a glass of purified water with a dissolved high-quality PokeBlock for hydration and began massaging Zubat's wings to help him recover from the exertion.
While Sato was massaging Zubat, four unexpected visitors approached him. The leader was a gloomy-looking Rondo, followed by three delinquent youths who clearly didn't have good intentions.
These three delinquents were Rondo's subordinates from Team Rocket, and from the uniforms they wore, it was evident that they had successfully completed the initial rookie test and tamed the Pokémon given to them by Team Rocket.
In fact, after Rondo initially tamed his Ekans, he sought ways to help his three subordinates do the same. Since all three had chosen Geodude—relatively easy to tame Pokémon—Rondo managed to assist them in their taming efforts within just a day.
Sato noticed Rondo and his group's uninvited arrival but chose to ignore them, focusing intently on massaging Zubat without glancing their way, instantly pissing them off.
"Hey, kid, are you looking for a fight?" one of Rondo's hot-headed subordinates shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Sato. After all, how dare he ignore them?
His shout immediately drew the attention of other Team Rocket members training nearby. Seeing someone trying to provoke a confrontation, most of them displayed expressions of amusement.
However, Sato only caught a glimpse of the banshee subordinate out of the corner of his eye before continuing with the massage as if nothing had happened.
Zubat, unlike Sato, wasn't as calm. He slightly lifted his head to scowl at the direction of person daring to shout at his trainer.
In the next second, Zubat quickly slipped from Sato's hands and landed on his right shoulder, scowling fiercely at Rondo's volatile subordinate. Zubat opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs, and began to release a wave of ultrasonic sound.
"Easy now, don't pay attention to a mad dog's barking. If he wants to bark, let him bark to his heart's content. If he dares to make a move, we'll break his legs. But until then, let's not be like him and make a scene—it's quite embarrassing," Sato said, gently stroking Zubat to stop his aggressive behavior while intentionally raising his voice.
There was a strict rule against any direct conflict among members; any violation was treated as treason. This taboo was firmly ingrained in Sato's mind, so no matter how much he was provoked, he wouldn't initiate a confrontation in public.
At the same time, he had nothing to fear. In this Team Rocket base, Rondo and his three subordinates were just a bunch of clowns. Unless they were looking to get themselves killed or were incredibly stupid, they wouldn't dare to make a move.
As Sato spoke, the nearby spectators burst into laughter, and the Rondo subordinate who had shouted at Sato turned bright red with anger upon hearing their reactions.
"Alright, Sato, we're not here to pick a fight. How about a Pokémon duel?" Just as the hot-headed subordinate was about to explode with rage at the laughter surrounding him, Rondo stepped in to prevent his group from acting foolishly, then arrogantly stated his purpose to Sato.