Pokemon: Master Of Tactics

After Alex saw that all 100 participants had woken up, he and his subordinate entered the hall.

He was wearing his Ditto mask and was followed by his Crobat. In addition, each of his subordinates had several Pokémon following them. Thus, many participants had fearful expressions as he and his subordinates walked in.

Team Rocket has strict selection criteria in terms of background and age, so only people over 16 and under 18 can participate in this test.

In addition, almost all participants have no parents or only have 1 living parent. And nearly all of the participants belong to the poor population.

Alex even asked specially for participants to be precisely 16 years old this time, so the subordinate he chooses can participate in the test that will be held 1 year later. Because Giovanni had said that the subordinates should not have reached the age of 18, it would make no sense to train someone who is 17 years old right now.

When Alex went to the middle of the hall, he noticed a couple of individuals who didn't show any fearful expression when they were exposed to the bloodthirsty and cold look from the Pokémon (of him and his subordinates).

Although having such quality is not always positive as it can lead to a person overestimating himself, dying quickly, it is a good indicator that these participants are at least not paralyzed by their fear.

Alex glanced through the crowd before he said in a dominating tone, "My name is John, and I am the instructor of your group of recruits. I'm not a person who likes to waste time, so you can forget about me repeating anything just because some of you are too stupid to pay attention."

Alex made a hand signal, and his subordinates brought Pokéballs divided into 2 groups. There were a total of 200 Pokéballs all together.

Alex looked at the crowd and said with an sinister smile, "You don't know how lucky you are that you got me as an instructor. Today, I am going to give each of you a chance to get an A-rank Pokémon as a starter in this test."

Several boys and girls showed doubtful expressions hearing this. It was absurd that the Team Rockets would be giving them such valuable Pokémon even though they haven't proven their worth yet.

Alex analyzed their look for a few seconds, and after finding a few eye-catching expressions, he said with a smile, "Of course, there is no free food in this world. I bought all of these 100 A-Rank Pokémon myself, so it is my personal property. And I only offer you this option because I am looking for a competent and talented subordinate."

"Only 1 of you 100 may become a direct subordinate of mine and even that only if he/she meets my minimum requirements. But if you manage to do that, not only will I let you keep the A-rank Pokémon you have chosen for free, I will also give you several rewards, making your journey to becoming stronger faster."

Alex saw how many participants had greedy looks and showed a cold smile as he said, "But this chance is not for free. If you choose to select the A-rank Pokémon, you have to tame it within 3 days. Also, you have to pay 70,000 Pokédollars for the A-rank Pokémon, and you must be in the top 10 on the test after 2 weeks."

"If you fail to meet one of these requirements, my Crobat will drink every last drop of the blood from your body."

Crobat looked delighted when he heard what Alex had said.

Although Crobat's expression seemed very normal to Alex, to the rookies, it looked like a ferocious Pokémon that was smiling at their death.

Alex continued, "If you take Pokémon on the right side, it will be a Pokémon with random potential, and you won't have to fulfill the requirements before mentioned. To become a Team Rocket member, you only have to manage to conquer your Pokémon in 1 week."

"Ok, each of you can now choose a Pokémon from The 5 Pokémon species. On the left are the A-rank Pokémon and on the right are the random potential Pokémon. Choose wisely."

Alex saw 55 of the 100 participants taking an A-rank Pokémon couldn't help but shook his head with an annoyed expression.

He knew from personal experience that about 70% of the participants do not manage to conquer a Pokémon with a random potential in this test, and most die or become Team Rocket Lackey.

Pokémon with better talent is usually more challenging to conquer. It was highly likely that the many participants wouldn't be coming out of this test alive.

Alex didn't think that more than 10 participants would manage to conquer their A-rank Pokémon. 80% of these people were only overestimating their competence.

Especially those participants who chose an A-rank Ekans. Alex was really disappointed and annoyed that these boys and girls had no proper knowledge of Pokémon species.

How could these arrogant people even think they can control such a highly aggressive Pokémon species?

Although there are a few who can do it, Alex believed that in just only one day, most A-rank Ekans trainers would die or be injured.

Alex studied the participants who took Ekans. When he saw their self-assured expression, he couldn't help but show disdain when he said, "Now that everyone has chosen their Pokémon, let me tell you about an opportunity that Team Rocket will be providing you."

"The first 10 participants to conquer their Pokémon will be receiving rewards. Especially the first three will receive generous rewards. Now, you are free to release your Pokémon and conquer them. Though remember, the sooner you tame them, the better the rewards will be," said Alex as he had a slight mocking look.

Many participants did not understand why Alex was giving such a contemptuous look. But after hearing about these rewards, many of them didn't waste time and immediately released their Pokémon from their Pokéballs.

There were also many participants who quickly recognized the danger and ran towards Alex and his subordinates in order not to get injured.

Alex, who saw this familiar scene, had completely different thoughts compared to when he was the one experiencing it.

'Hmm, it's a good way to quickly separate the trash.'

He did not feel any particular emotions when he saw these stupid participants immediately get attacked by their enraged Pokémon and were severely injured.

Some were even hit in the head and killed instantly by their Pokémon.

Crobat, watching this scene with a grin on his face, was having a blast.

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[EN]: Crobat taking out popcorn to enjoy the show.

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--patreon.com/alex02373