When the mysterious man sat down, Viper began observing the situation in the plaza. After seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, he nodded with satisfaction.
Now, the expressions and behaviors of the participants had more of the look of true competitors in a test; a week earlier, they all seemed like children playing.
Viper completely ignored the reduction in numbers.
Compared to previous years, the number of participants was still high; in fact, this was one of the highest-quality intakes. In the end, only fifty people could pass, and that was the maximum limit.
In all previous trials, that number was rarely reached; in the edition with the fewest participants, only around twenty people made it through.
Now, after passing the initial phase, which was also the hardest part, more than 120 people remained, leaving Viper quite satisfied.
With a glance at his assistant, he indicated that they could begin the second trial.
The content and method of the second test were almost identical to the first: it was a test of attack power.
Although this type of test couldn't fully reflect a participant's skill, if they couldn't even achieve an acceptable level of attack, how could they speak of true strength?
During the staff's explanation, Cain learned that although the trial was exactly the same as before, a new rule had been added: from now on, whoever came in last would be immediately eliminated.
The plaza immediately filled with commotion. Eliminated directly for finishing last?
Cain frowned slightly; this rule directly targeted those attempting to exploit the system.
While only fifty people would pass the final test, not everyone who failed would lose their life. Obviously, Team Rocket wouldn't conduct business at a loss.
As long as they survived to the end and achieved an acceptable level of skill, they could still start as low-level servants.
Although they wouldn't receive any additional resources, at least they'd keep their lives, wouldn't they? Plus, if they managed to catch the attention of an important figure, they might even rise further.
But now, with this new rule, those who wanted to rely on the strong and stay in the base until the end were bound by an unyielding chain. If they weren't careful and finished last, they'd be eliminated immediately.
It was like a herd of sheep in the savannah: when chased by lions, the slowest one was always the first to die, so the herd ran faster and faster; no one wanted to be last.
The survival of the fittest in nature. Now, Team Rocket had become the lion of the savannah, and the participants were the sheep; whoever lagged behind would become food.
The noise in the plaza grew louder, and the most anxious were the weakest.
"Silence!" Viper frowned and roared angrily. As a powerful figure who had climbed over countless corpses, what he hated most were the senseless complaints of the weak.
"If you don't want to take the test, don't. You'll all be treated as if you came in last!"
With Viper's fury, those who had been frantically discussing immediately fell silent; no one wanted to anger this man who held their lives in his hands.
Under the organization of the Team Rocket soldiers, they nervously began lining up, though no one wanted to be first, as that meant facing the unknown. What if those who came after had higher scores?
The test wasn't starting, and Viper's face grew darker.
Noticing Viper's expression, the Team Rocket soldiers present grew sterner, glaring at the participants with more ferocity. They understood better than these still-naïve participants just how terrifying Viper could be.
"Tch, how slow! I'll go first." The one who spoke was Xander, showing disdain as he walked to the front of the line with his Ekans.
With someone taking the lead, the others began lining up gradually, following the established direction.
For the strong, the order in the line didn't matter at all.
According to Team Rocket's organization, Cain was assigned a position toward the back of the line.
"Now, let the test begin!" announced the test supervisor next to the measuring stone.
As the first in line, Xander didn't hesitate at all and walked step by step toward the stage, with Ekans following closely, flicking its forked tongue.
Ekans, as a fierce Pokémon, constantly emanated a sense of danger.
"Ekans, use Bite!"
"Sss!" Ekans flicked its tongue and its coiled body suddenly shot forward. Its two fangs gleamed with a dark light as it explosively bit the test stone. After the attack, it quickly withdrew without pausing.
Ekans' execution efficiency was flawless; after an attack, it always returned to its initial position. Though Xander was arrogant, his training of the Pokémon was commendable.
"Attack value: 258!" announced the presenter with surprise in his eyes upon seeing Xander and Ekans' data.
Immediately, the plaza was filled with exclamations.
"No wonder Xander is the leader; his attack value reached 258 points, almost triple the 98 from the first time!" exclaimed one of Xander's underlings from below the stage.
"Wow, starting off with such a high score!" another person shouted in surprise.
"This is troublesome," commented someone feeling the pressure.
Amid the murmurs of the crowd, Xander smiled and calmly stepped off the stage.
Then, according to the line order, participants stepped up one by one to take the test.
After completing the test, some showed joy and excitement, while others looked sad and worried.
Each time someone finished the test and found themselves in last place, their face turned pale, clenching their hands tightly, sweat beading on their forehead as they stared intently at the next participants, praying internally for someone with a lower score to appear.
And when finally someone did score lower, that person would breathe a sigh of relief, almost collapsing to the ground. The one taking their place at the bottom would repeat the same actions, anxiously awaiting someone with a worse result.
As the tests progressed, most participants had already been evaluated. So far, first place remained Xander with 258 points. Second place was a girl named Jasmine, who had been in the west corner of the plaza and owned an unusually large Zubat; her score was 227.
Third place was a lone participant with a common face; his Pokémon was a Poochyena, and he scored 225 points. As a solo participant, being only two points below Jasmine surprised many.
Fourth place was the young man Cain had earlier labeled a "smiling tiger." This young man kept a bright smile at all times, deceiving everyone around him. His name was Soros, and his Pokémon was a Koffing, scoring 215 points.
Thanks to his friendly appearance, Soros attracted several solo participants to join his team, forming a sizable group of followers.
With no more surprising results, it was finally Cain's turn for the test.
Xander, who was waiting on the side, upon seeing it was Cain's turn, put aside his scornful smile, and his face grew more serious.
Even Viper and the mysterious man seated on the platform directed their attention toward him. This young man, who had surprised many before, what score would he achieve this time?
As Cain stepped onto the stage, some also recognized him.
"It's him! Last time he got second place using some tricks," someone exclaimed, recognizing Cain.
"So that's him. I wonder what his score will be today."
"Pfft, what score could he possibly get? This time, those tricks won't work," someone said bitterly, recalling how Cain had taken second place in the first test, bumping him from tenth to eleventh and costing him 100 points.
"But that Murkrow doesn't look weak," someone with a good eye commented, noting that just by its size, one could sense the Pokémon's strength.
Ignoring all the comments, Cain calmly said, "Murkrow, use Wing Attack with all your might!"
"Caw!" Murkrow flapped its wings upon hearing the command, let out a cry, and soared quickly. The powerful flying-type energy concentrated under its control in its wings.
"Boom!" Without any pause or tricks, Murkrow's Wing Attack firmly struck the test stone.
After a moment, a line appeared on the stone: "Attack value: 265."
The presenter, surprised by the result, swallowed involuntarily, and after a brief pause, announced: "Attack value: 265 points, currently in first place! Next!"
The crowd below the stage was stunned.
In their impression, Cain had always been someone who had gotten second place in the first test through tricks, with real ability similar to theirs.
But this test left many with their jaws dropped.
They had to remember that Cain was a solo participant, with no subordinates helping him find resources, growing entirely by his own means.
Upon seeing Cain's result, Xander was also shocked.
He had had a confrontation with Cain and knew that he wasn't the opportunist others said, but someone with real skill. Even though he had rated Cain highly, he hadn't expected his score to be even higher than his.
"Could it be that training in the wild really makes you grow faster?" Xander began to question his own decisions. Was it better to gather a group of people to help him grow, or to head out into the wild for training?
(End of chapter)