Instructor Viper

It didn't take long before the noisy square fell silent.

A menacing middle-aged man, nearly two meters tall, wearing a military cap with a prominent red letter "R" on the left side of his chest, entered the square.

He was followed by ten Team Rocket members dressed in Team Rocket Grunt uniforms, each with a stern expression and a Mightyena by their side.

The leading middle-aged man had a pitch-black vicious looking dog by his side, its head adorned with two curved white bone horns, and its tail resembling a demon's tail - it's a Dark and Fire type Pokémon, a Houndoom!

As the square quieted down, Larry slowly opened his eyes and, upon seeing the middle-aged man, squinted slightly.

It was him! He glanced at the Houndoom beside the middle-aged man, a faint light flickering in his eyes, and his chip activated.

...

[ Pokémon ]: Houndoom (Green)

[ Gender ]: Male

[ Level ]: 28

[ Types ]: Dark, Fire

[ Ability ]: Flash Fire

[ Held Item ]: None

[ Inherited Moves ]: Fire Fang, Fire Spin

[ Base Moves ]: Inferno, Nasty Plot, Thunder Fang, Leer, Ember, Roar, Smog, Howl, Crunch, Odor Sleuth, Beat Up

[ Taught Moves ]: Foul Play

[ TM Moves ]: Hidden Power (Rock), Shadow Ball, Flamethrower

...

Seeing Houndoom's level and the string of moves, Larry couldn't help but feel somewhat helpless.

The difference was quite substantial.

Moreover, he knew that this Houndoom wasn't the first-tier Pokémon of this middle-aged man.

It might not even have reached the second tier. As long as he sent out one of his second-tier Pokémon, he could deal with everyone present, including all the Team Rocket members.

"We've got a total of one hundred and fifty-six survivors this time. The quality of this batch seems decent," the middle-aged man said. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone present could hear it, and his casual tone made it seem as though he didn't consider these lives to be significant.

After surveying the square and noticing that everyone's attention was on him, he continued, "I'm Viper, the Chief Instructor of Team Rocket, responsible for this Purgatory Island. From now on, none of your lives belong to you."

He grinned menacingly and nodded with satisfaction as he looked at everyone who was affected by his presence.

"The entire Purgatory Trial will last for three months. Starting today, you all must gather here once a week. If you fail to attend two weeks in a row, you'll be considered to have failed the trial. I'm sure you understand the consequences of trial failure, don't you?" Viper said in an indifferent tone.

He pointed to a large rock in the middle of the square. "This is the Trial Stone, the latest technology developed by Team Rocket to measure the strength of Pokémon attacks. You will take turns attacking this stone. Based on the feedback data, we will rank you. The top ten in each ranking will earn 100 points each, with increasing rewards for higher ranks. As for what you can exchange these points for, you'll need to find out for yourselves."

Team Rocket Points!

This was something that could only be used within Team Rocket and could be exchanged for nearly anything in the world.

It was thanks to this point system that Team Rocket had reached its current status. In a world where many powerful families controlled scarce resources, even if you had a lot of money, you couldn't buy certain things.

These points could not only be used on the island but also in any Team Rocket base after the trial ended.

"For this trial, the maximum number of people who can pass is fifty. The top ten participants will each receive ten thousand points, the top three will get a Team Rocket-forged League ID card, and the first-place winner will be able to choose any of the high potential starter Pokémon from Team Rocket's warehouse," Viper said slowly. "And most importantly, the rules for this trial are...there are no rules."

"First ranking begins!" With these words, Viper took a seat on a chair in the middle of the square, gesturing for his subordinates to begin recording the proceedings.

Under the enthusiastic arrangement of the ten Team Rocket Grunts, everyone quickly lined up for the first ranking test.

"Ekans, use Bite!" a teenager's voice rang out, and a purple snake silhouette charged toward the large stone in the center.

It opened its blood-stained mouth, revealing two sharp white fangs gleaming with white light, and fiercely bit the stone.

"Peng!"

Surprisingly, it didn't leave a trace.

"Attack Value: 56!"

Next, a row of words appeared on the stone tester. The Team Rocket Grunt responsible for recording the results shouted out the outcome expressionlessly.

"Number 34, Attack Value 56! Currently in first place! Next!"

They then recorded this result in their notebook.

Seemingly dissatisfied with his own result, the teenager with number 34 pouted and walked away.

Following was a teenager with a Zubat, his face displaying a hint of timidity and inexperience.

"Zubat, use Tackle!" he ordered hesitantly.

The Zubat on his shoulder leisurely flapped its wings and rammed into the stone, resulting in an "Attack Value: 19!"

Upon seeing the displayed result on the stone tester, the first participant to complete the test let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Subsequently, he snorted disdainfully, and the people waiting for their turn to test looked at him with a touch of contempt.

"Number 13, Attack Value 19, temporarily second! Next, please continue!"

The Team Rocket Grunt, still expressionless, called out the result. He didn't find these newcomers who were new to interacting with Pokémon very interesting.

"Number 24, Attack Value 25, temporarily second!"

"Number 98, Attack Value 45..."

"Number 77, Attack Value..."

One after another, as the rankings progressed, those who had achieved top scores regarded those with lower rankings with disdain. When they looked at those who had higher scores, they gnashed their teeth.

Larry frowned as he observed this situation. It was similar to his previous life, the Team Rocket's Gu raising trial. It was only when the Pokémon owners themselves began to compete that the strongest Pokémon would emerge.

"Attack Value: 98!"

After Larry had lost himself in thought for a moment, the sound of exclamations suddenly echoed from the front. With an Attack Value of 98, the current highest-ranking participant was a tall, fair-skinned youth, dressed neatly as if he weren't here for the trial at all. By his side was an Ekans, standing proudly before everyone with a deep expression of scorn and disdain in its eyes.

"It's him." Larry's eyes inadvertently narrowed upon seeing this. If he remembered correctly, this individual, Number 99, whose real name was likely Gouse, had won the first place in the previous trial. He had obtained an excellent Bulbasaur and subsequently embarked on a main character-like journey. His status had risen rapidly, even outpacing Larry's pace despite Larry's activation of the chip later on.

After a considerable amount of time had passed, no one managed to surpass Gouse's Attack Value. As most participants had already completed their tests, it was finally Larry's turn, with the number 234.

"Another person with a special Pokémon!" When it was Larry's turn, people in the crowd began to whisper upon seeing the Murkrow perched on his shoulder. Among the Pokémon assigned by the Team Rocket, the primary ones were Zubat, Ekans, and Koffing. Still, there were also some other Pokémon mixed in.

A "special" Pokémon didn't necessarily mean it was stronger than Zubat, Ekans, or Koffing; it just meant that it was different from the norm, making people regard it as an oddity.

"Tch, just a Murkrow, what's so impressive about it? The Murkrow in front didn't perform any better. Look at how scrawny he is, and his Murkrow is obviously much smaller. I doubt he'll achieve a good score!" Another person scoffed.

Larry remained composed, ignoring the comments of others. He took a deep breath and said, "Tailwind state, Peck!"

His calm demeanor caused those who had mocked him to involuntarily close their mouths, revealing a somewhat embarrassed expression.

They had initially intended to influence others' performances with their words but ended up embarrassing themselves.

Murkrow took flight, pale-white energy swirling around its body. After several days of adjustment, its size had gradually returned to that of a normal Murkrow.

It hovered in the air, performed a graceful turn, and then landed firmly on Larry's shoulder after delivering a precise attack on the stone.

Larry smiled lightly, his eyes slightly widened, and his eyebrows raised as he looked at the giant stone. He walked away calmly.

"Attack Value: 97!"

The letters on the giant stone hit everyone's faces like a massive slap. An Attack Value of 97, ranking temporarily second, with the third place currently having only an Attack Value of 90, it was not a small difference.

"Number 234, Attack Value 97, temporarily second! Next, please continue!" Even the person recording the results couldn't help but give Larry, who had walked slowly into the crowd, an extra look.

After a while, he announced the score.

In fact, with Murkrow's current Attack power, it couldn't have achieved such an Attack Value. However, Larry had used a technique that allowed Murkrow to utilize the inertia from the Tailwind state and the gravity from falling to enhance its attack, resulting in this score.

After Larry had completed the test, a few people with active minds fell into contemplation as they also understood Larry's trick. The trick was small but had a significant effect, wasn't it?

As they said, there were no rules in this trial!

Viper had been observing the entire testing process, and when Larry finished his test, he stayed on Larry for a few more seconds.

An interesting little fellow!