Chapter 33: Evaluation

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Victory! After a "fierce" showdown, Zubat ultimately triumphed and claimed victory in this Pokémon battle.

However, Sato felt no joy in winning this match.

Although he performed well for a newcomer in his first Pokémon battle, he was still feeling frustrated because of his miscalculation of Ekans' Rock Tomb attack range, which had put Zubat in danger.

As soon as the battle ended, Sato hurriedly offered an Pokeblock to Zubat, praised it a few times, and then recalled it into its PokéBall. Ignoring the gazes of others, he maintained a calm face and quickly headed toward the medical room.

"This isn't a turn-based battle from a game, and Pokémon aren't just data. My commands were terrible, no, my understanding of Pokémon moves are too shallow. I must deepen my knowledge in this area," Sato thought to himself as he walked, his fists involuntarily clenching slightly.

Moreover, he realized that Zubat had significantly lacking in various abilities, such as dodging, reaction time, insufficient move power, and underdeveloped innate capabilities.

On the other side, Rondo was paying the price for his carelessness. After losing the match, his face turned pale as he felt the malicious glares from those around him.

Now that he had lost, not to mention causing a lot of members to lose their points, he was seen as an easy target among the other Team Rocket members. His original plan to take advantage of Sato had backfired and instead fell upon himself.

After Sato left without even glancing at him, Rondo gritted his teeth and recalled Ekans into its PokéBall before escaping the public training ground with three of his underlings through another exit.

Some Team Rocket members, frustrated by their gambling losses, watched Rondo and his group leave with cold eyes, and a few even followed behind them.

"See, didn't I tell you he'd win? This guy is stronger than you think. I have a feeling he'll be a formidable opponent in the upcoming newcomer tournament," Tanya said to Kanjiro, looking delighted as she watched Sato's departing figure, already counting the points she gained from this. 

As soon as she finished speaking, Tanya left with a slight smile. Thanks to her bet on Sato's victory, her 500 points had directly increased to 5000, leaving her in a very good mood.

"Indeed, is this guy really a newcomer trainer? If so, he's surprisingly calm," Kanjiro nodded thoughtfully in response to her words and followed Tanya out of the public training ground.

Meanwhile, in Caesar's room, Caesar and his sister Sophia sat on the sofa watching the screen in front of them, which displayed the battle between Sato and Rondo.

"Sophie, what do you think of that kid named Sato?" Caesar asked his younger sister with a smile as the scene of Sato commanding Zubat to defeat Ekans appeared on the screen.

"Nothing much. It's obvious that he's inexperienced in actual combat, and his Pokémon training is lacking. His opponent is clearly much more seasoned. If it weren't for his carelessness in the beginning, not letting Ekans use Rock Tomb to attack Zubat, and Zubat's sudden outburst at the end, he wouldn't have stood much of a chance in this duel," Sophia said expressionlessly, rolling her eyes at her brother after he called her by her nickname.

For Sophia, a battle-hardened Team Rocket captain, the fight between Rondo and Sato was nothing more than a pair of amateurs squabbling, with no entertainment value whatsoever. Even the weakest Pokémon in her possession could defeat both Rondo's and Sato's Pokémon in just a few seconds.

"That's not a fair assessment from an elite trainer toward a newcomer. I think his command in this battle was quite good. Didn't you notice? He made zero mistakes and remained completely calm throughout the fight. That's far better than some rookie who almost cried when learning about Pokémon battles," Caesar said with a slight smile, looking at Sophia with an unusual gaze.

"Ha ha ha~ Just kidding, just kidding," Caesar immediately regretted saying this, as his sister shot him a murderous glare that sent chills down his spine. He quickly forced a laugh at her.

After glaring at her brother for a while, Sophia turned her head away in a huff. In reality, despite her outward disdain for Sato's somewhat naïve command, she was genuinely surprised by his performance.

Aside from everything else, as her brother had mentioned, it was quite rare for a newcomer like Sato to command so calmly without losing his composure in his first Pokémon battle.

Moreover, Sophia keenly noticed something during the entire battle: apart from showing a slight emotional change when facing Ekans' Rock Tomb, Sato's poker face never changed much throughout, even maintaining an inscrutable calm face after his victory, instead of looking satisfied or proud of himself.

"This guy is very dangerous. As long as he doesn't die young, he will definitely become a strong trainer in the future. If we can't befriend him, then we must eliminate him early," this was Sophia's true evaluation of Sato at that moment.

"Once the rookie training period ends, I'll leave him in your hands, Sophie. The newcomer tournament is very important for me. As long as we train him well, he'll definitely shine in the competition," Caesar said seriously to his sister after a moment.

If Sophia had such an evaluation of Sato, Caesar, who was even stronger than her, felt the same way. If he weren't busy overseeing the training of dozens of recruits, he would have personally instructed Sato himself.

After all, the outcome of the newcomer tournament would influence his future promotions, and he fully trusted his sister's abilities, which is why he decided to let her personally train Sato while also keeping him firmly within their camp.

Through his investigation of Sato, Caesar found it easy to see that Sato was as innocent as they come, and he was also a very loyal and filial person. Such individuals were rare in general, let alone Team Rocket, so now that he had encountered one, he certainly couldn't let this opportunity slip away.

"Hmph, I know. I'll definitely do what I promised you. You're so annoying. I'm leaving," Sophia said, pouting at her brother before picking up the Meowth beside her and leaving the room.

"Sigh, it's really hard to keep a girl like her around. I miss the little Sophie who used to be clingy and acted all cute with me," Caesar said with a wry smile as he watched Sophia leave.