30 Chapter 30:

Xander's subordinates trembled with fear, particularly the one who had dared to call for Cain's arrest the previous day. Sweat dripped down his face as he shivered, grateful for Xander's intervention to prevent any rash actions.

Though this trial did not fully reflect a person's strength, it was still a clear indication of a portion of it. Could an average trialist withstand such a powerful attack?

Cain, however, was indifferent to the thoughts of his peers. As soon as he activated his AI system, he knew that none of them would be able to keep up with him. It was a confidence that belonged solely to him.

He descended from the stage, Murkrow by his side, and made his way to a corner, leaning against a pillar and closing his eyes. He had no interest in the results of the other trialists.

Viper, perched on the podium, scowled. He was not surprised by Cain's result, but it irked him that someone had been favored by the mysterious man next to him to achieve such an outcome. In his opinion, the result was even a bit low. However, there was one small detail that caught his attention.

"This Murkrow... it seems..." Viper's suspicions were not fully confirmed, and he turned to the mysterious man for clarification.

The mysterious man understood Viper's doubt, and though he was slightly taken aback, he nodded, his hoarse voice echoing from beneath his black robe, "You are correct, it is carrying a load."

Viper was almost certain of his suspicions, but he was impressed that this boy had been able to raise his flawed Murkrow so well in such a short amount of time. Adjusting his seat, Viper said, "Oh? Then this boy is quite impressive. If your Shadow Unit does not take him in, may I have him?"

The mysterious man's lips curled upward under his black robe as he asked, "What do you think?"

Viper pouted, "How tedious. You Shadow Unit people always take things so seriously."

He was well aware of the rules of the Shadow Unit. Until the mission set by the Shadow Unit was completed, no one from Team Rocket could interfere, unless the mission failed or the selected person died.

From the moment Cain accepted the reserve member medal given to him by the mysterious man, he was considered to be half a member of the Shadow Unit. The members of the Shadow Unit were generally very exclusive, even within Team Rocket. Of course, the mysterious man and Viper were exceptions, as they had been close friends before joining Team Rocket.

Therefore, as long as Cain did not complete the Shadow Unit's mission, or as long as Cain was not judged to have failed the mission, the rest of Team Rocket would have no right to accept him into their team. Even the top executives were subject to this rule, set by Team Rocket's boss, Giovanni himself. As the most powerful force within Team Rocket, every member of the Shadow Unit was carefully selected.

"Be careful what you say, Viper." The mysterious man's tone became more serious when he heard Viper's words. Although he and Viper were good friends, he had a deep respect for the Shadow Unit and for Giovanni.

Even Cain admired Giovanni. He was the most charismatic person Cain had ever met, exuding a natural charisma like true royalty. If Cain had truly been from this world and had grown up in Team Rocket, he would have undoubtedly become one of Giovanni's loyal followers. However, as an outsider to this world, Cain had a natural resistance to Giovanni. Nonetheless, in his previous life, Cain had immense respect and admiration for Giovanni.

Team Rocket was just a small organization in the Kanto region more than ten years ago, when the head of Team Rocket was Giovanni's mother.

Team Rocket didn't have much power back then, as evidenced by the fact that Giovanni's first Pokémon was only a Beedrill. Who would have used a Beedrill as their child's first Pokémon if they had vast resources? However, that Beedrill ended up becoming the strongest Beedrill in the world, using resources that could have trained a few pseudo-legendary Pokémon.

In short, Team Rocket, which was a small regional organization a decade ago, had become the largest and most powerful evil organization in the Kanto region in just ten years. The rest of the underground organizations were either eliminated or absorbed, making Team Rocket the most dominant force in the region, aside from the Pokémon Association. This was a testament to Giovanni's abilities as a leader and a skilled Pokémon trainer. He was able to battle champions head-on without losing, earning him the nickname "Giovanni Of The Land."

As the first group that Giovanni created after becoming the leader of Team Rocket, it could be said that the Shadow Unit was raised by Giovanni himself. With his charisma, it was no surprise that the members of the Shadow Unit worshiped him.

Viper knew that he had crossed a line with the mysterious man, but he did not take offense to the obvious warning. In the eyes of the rest of Team Rocket, the members of the Shadow Unit were considered fanatics, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, and it was best not to cross them if possible.

After a brief exchange, the two men fell back into silence.

The test was quick, consisting of each person and their Pokémon attacking the Trial Stone and recording the data. Soon, everyone was finished.

The final rankings were as follows:

First place, attack value, 265 points (Cain)

Second place, attack value, 258 points (Xander)

Third place, attack value, 227 points (Jasmine)

Fourth place, attack value, 225 points (Alan)

Fifth place, attack value, 215 points, (Soros)

...

One hundred and twenty-third place, attack value, 45 points.

There was little change in the top few places. Cain and Xander remained at the head of the rankings, pulling away from the rest of the trialists.

As for the last place, he had only a pitiful 45 points. Even in the first test, he had been in the middle of the pack. Although his Pokémon was a Rattata, a properly trained and nurtured Rattata could still produce explosive attacks, as seen in this test where the highest-ranked person with a Rattata reached the top 10.

With an ashen face, the last-ranked trialist stood frozen. He never expected to be the lowest ranked, muttering "No way, no way, no way" in disbelief.

He didn't react until the Team Rocket grunt in charge approached him menacingly and grabbed his shoulder, ready to take him away. The trialist struggled fiercely, but he was no match for the well-trained and battle-hardened Team Rocket grunt whose iron-like hands held him in a vice-like grip.

"No! No! No! No! Give me another chance! Give me one more chance!" Crying out and begging for mercy was useless. Snot and tears were streaming down his face, and a yellow liquid was oozing from between his legs, emitting an unpleasant odor. But it was all in vain.

"Rattata, come and help me!" He finally realized that, as a trainer, he had his own Pokémon.

But before the Rattata could act, two large Mightyenas appeared right in front of it, baring their teeth and giving it a deadly stare. The Rattata wanted to save its trainer, but it was too afraid to move.

"Take care of it." Viper, sitting on the platform, witnessed the scene with indifference and even a hint of annoyance. He was tired of wasting resources and unmotivated trash. What was the point of training a Rattata with some value if it was only at this level in the hands of someone like this?

Under the merciless gaze of the two Mightyenas, the Rattata lost its life.

Seeing his last hope die, the trialist gave up all resistance and was dragged away from the crowd by the Team Rocket's grunts. There was no doubt in anyone's mind as to his eventual demise.

In front of everyone, Team Rocket once again showed their ruthless side, treating human life as nothing more than insignificant.

Cain watched the scene unfold without the slightest fluctuation in his emotions. It was just one life. Dozens of people had died by his hands. Which Team Rocket member didn't have the blood of a few lives on their hands? He had once thought that Team Rocket was just like in the anime, that they would just show up and then be sent flying, but that was just the fantasy of the anime.

"Killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, that's a good tactic." Cain thought silently to himself.

Cain had a certain understanding of what Viper was doing. He was just warning those who were fooling around. If you don't move forward, you will die. For the powerful trialists present, there was no ripple in their hearts, and apart from a slight touch of contempt, they didn't think much of it, as such things had nothing to do with them anyway.

It was like the well-known catfish effect, where a group of sardines would all die if left alone in a net, but if a catfish was put in, all the sardines would begin to swim away under the deterrent of the catfish, avoiding the catfish's predation, which ultimately resulted in the sardines reaching the fish market alive and fetching high prices.

Today, they were like sardines, and Team Rocket was the catfish, and only under the relentless prodding of the catfish could all the sardines stay alive and sell for high prices. Only then could all the trialists work harder to improve and allow Team Rocket to acquire potentially stronger individuals.