Team Member Assessment

The Quicksand Team is a second-rate organization.

It cannot be compared to a massive criminal organization that spans multiple regions, like Team Rocket.

Therefore, the way it recruits new members is not as well-prepared as Team Rocket's, and it even appears rough around the edges.

The danger level of the assessment is also much higher than that of Team Rocket.

"Your task is simple: there are scattered jade stone mines deep in the mine. Find any shape of jade stone and bring it to me before the sun rises tomorrow morning."

A sturdy and rough-looking man held a piece of white jade and shouted loudly at the group of thugs in front of him. Beside him was a short, armored, long-nosed Pokémon, Donphan, emitting a low roar.

Not far away.

Several bottomless abandoned mine pits exuded a cold and suffocating atmosphere, and the unpleasant smell of dust stimulated everyone's nostrils.

"Another abandoned mine pit? People could die here, right?"

"Of course, in a place that no one maintains regularly, people are bound to die. Didn't two people die here last year?"

"What if we can't find the jade stone deep inside?"

"Can I dig outside?"

"You better worry about whether you can make it out alive first. I heard there are Pokémon inside that will attack you!"

"No way..."

Among the crowd, Kashiwagi listened to the noisy voices around him and couldn't help but touch the iron ingot hidden in his chest.

This thing was easy to obtain in the town of Yellow Iron. As a Quicksand Team Outer Member, he could easily get it from the smelting plant.

He was mainly curious about how this thing would come into play later.

In yesterday's second simulation, his fixed innate talent didn't change, but in the aspect of choosing innate talent, he had replaced "Hot-blooded Youth" with "Never Abandon (will not abandon Pokémon)."

Having suffered a great loss from the "Love Charmer," he wouldn't go down that road again. So he changed it to "Clumsy Handler (rough management of Pokémon health)."

"Clumsy Handler" would allow him to grow and improve during his travels. Most trainers start from scratch, but talking about love while dragging his feet would not be sustainable.

From the animations, from the Champion to the Elite Four, down to the Gym Trainers, how many of the younger generation have a partner?

Only Kukui, the eldest among them, is not young anymore. He fell in love and got married.

This is enough to explain a lot.

The classic Pewter City shorts-wearing youngster that starts with a Rattata was born. His progress was just as challenging as that of the Bug Catchers, catching the same Pokémon repeatedly.

For example, catching multiple Rattata or Pidgey.

If you say he's picking strong individuals, the shorts-wearing youngster lets all of them fight, which makes training and battles a bit chaotic. His overall strength didn't improve much, making it extremely difficult to progress.

So even without the burden of a love life, when he barely made it to the sixth Gym, he had to stop. He endured the torment of eight battles and eight defeats.

Even in pixel art, Kashiwagi could tell that the shorts-wearing youngster's mentality was exploding. He was still stuck at the sixth Gym until the Conference began.

It was incredible that he never saw the door to the Indigo Plateau Conference, making Kashiwagi quite speechless. He switched and used: Pokémon under level 30 to level 1, and the move "Endeavor," then he went to sleep.

...

Full of energy, he welcomed the second day.

Being an official member of the Quicksand Team is not just about getting free Pokémon; the benefits are much better than those of Outer Members. Although their freedom is further restricted, the pros outweigh the cons.

It's better to fight for it.

"Kashiwagi, aren't you nervous at all?" A colleague interrupted his thoughts.

Kashiwagi turned his head and looked at the strange attire of the person in front of him, who looked like a mountain climber. "You have so much gear; it might be difficult to move."

"I think it's alright..." The person jumped a couple of times, looking relaxed.

"For now, maybe," Kashiwagi muttered.

Kashiwagi touched the miner cap on his head. To facilitate movement, he didn't carry much equipment, things like a miner cap, a dustproof mask, a manganese steel pickaxe, and some necessary water and compressed food.

The Quicksand Team's assessment was never a secret. They liked to set up obstacles artificially, such as releasing Pokémon to attack participants and creating traps.

Thus, agility was crucial.

As they waited, a noise came from not far away.

"You poor bastards actually want to pass the assessment? Hahaha, that's hilarious!"

The grating mockery made Kashiwagi frown.

He glanced at the familiar colleagues around him and walked towards the source of the noise.

Where there are people, there are power struggles, and this martial power-based organization, Quicksand Team, is no exception. People without anyone to rely on, like Kashiwagi, are numerous, while those with some money and background are also present. They each have their own small groups, look down on each other, and are hostile.

This is where the importance of sticking together comes in.

They approached the source of the voice and saw a group of relatively clean-looking guys, different from the surrounding thugs.

These thugs were pushing around a skinny young man, laughing haughtily, occasionally looking at other onlookers, and feeling pleased when they saw that no one dared to meet their eyes.

"Oh, oh, oh! The leader of the poor guys is here. What's the matter? Are you going to support these poor guys? Do you have the strength for that?"

The leading thug saw them coming, put his hands in his pockets, and came closer, directly aiming at Kashiwagi, the tallest and most composed among them.

Unfortunately, he was almost a head shorter than Kashiwagi, so he had to tilt his head up to meet his eyes, showing a provoking expression.

The other thugs chuckled and left the skinny young man alone, standing in front of Kashiwagi and the others.

Both sides stared at each other, looking like they were ready to fight.

"You'll find out if I can fight when the assessment starts." Kashiwagi pulled the skinny young man behind him and scanned the others with a raised hand.

The thugs were taken aback and involuntarily took a step back.

The leader, seeing his companions backing down, couldn't help but get angry and sneer, "Are you really good at fighting? What's the use of that? It's all about power and background in this world. You skinny little brat! Just wait and see!"

Having said that, he led his group to another place.

The person next to Kashiwagi, who had been tense, immediately relaxed and started comforting the skinny young man.

"Don't be nervous, they're not powerful enough to interfere with the assessment. Just relax."

An older person stepped forward and tried to dispel some potential concerns among the group.

The troublemaker is named Chaida. He is a relative of the middle-level member of the Quicksand Team: a small captain. Although they still need to let their nephew participate in the dangerous assessment, for people like them who have dirt under their feet, being a small captain is already a significant achievement.

In this assessment, Chaida probably enjoys some convenience.

As for whether they will target them, that remains to be seen.

The Quicksand Team lacks people, so when the lower ranks fight, the upper management has set a limit that does not allow for any breakthroughs, such as not taking lives or causing permanent damage that affects the labor force.

These tough thugs dare to challenge Chaida and his group because they believe that the executive of the Quicksand Team will maintain the balance between them.

They haven't made any mistakes until now, and as long as they stick together and fight in a group, someone will intervene, and Chaida's uncle hasn't dared to do anything to them.

However, what about the possibility of secretly targeting them during the assessment?

Knowing that they will be punished once caught, why bother attacking new recruits, whom the Quicksand Team desperately needs?

Expecting small gang leaders to have a sense of the bigger picture is ridiculous; they have their own way of thinking.

They must find a way to end this once and for all.

Speaking of which, it's simple; the assessment is already not easy, and where will they find the energy to target Chaida?

Kashiwagi felt quite a headache.

The conflict between the two sides has been irreconcilable since before the time travel. It's not easy to keep a low profile.

Nothing can be done about it.

Chaida and his group have long abused their power among the peripheral thugs, bullying countless people, and labeling those who kept to themselves as cowards until they met Kashiwagi and others who knew how to stick together.

Being a bit tougher made them suffer losses at the hands of Kashiwagi and others.

Both sides have had several fights, each time diffused by Kashiwagi's martial power.

Therefore, Chaida and his group have always seen them as thorns in their sides. They come to cause trouble every few days.

Today is no exception.

In the end, the upper management's laissez-faire and half-coddling approach to the matter has been a source of trouble.

A group of not very intelligent people, even illiterate people with shallow family backgrounds, can act without restraint in a place like Yellow Iron Town, where legal constraints are weak and rely solely on internal vigilante justice.

Such scenes are common in the Pokémon world.

The fact that Kashiwagi's physique is not bad is fortunate.

The human body in the Pokémon world is quite interesting; it can be weak, bedridden for years, or strong, smashing rocks with fists and breaking wood with legs, even fighting and using moves against many Fighting Attribute Pokémon.

Kashiwagi has been working on this aspect, and now he far exceeds his peers.

This excellent innate talent for the body made him quite pleased.

"The assessment begins! The first batch of people going down came over for inspection. If you have any jade stones with you, hand them over! And beware of Donphan smelling it!"

The examiner's loud shout and Donphan's mooing echoed one after another.