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With the battle over, the next logical steps were treating the injured and, most importantly, cleaning up the battlefield. Unfortunately, none of that had anything to do with Sato or the other Team Rocket recruits who had just arrived.
No sooner had the fighting ended than Nogu, the Team Rocket elite member, once again gathered up all the recruits who had participated in the battle—including Sato—and led them in an orderly fashion back into the base.
However, compared to the original number, their group was now significantly smaller—only 48 remained. As for those who were missing, there was no need to ask; it was clear they had either been unlucky or simply not strong enough to survive.
Roughly ten minutes later, Sato was sitting in a large meeting room. Besides the new Team Rocket recruits like himself, there were other unfamiliar faces present—new recruits as well, but clearly not from their group.
Sato did a rough headcount. Including the 48 newcomers, there were over 200 people in the room. Evidently, other Team Rocket recruits had arrived at the base before them.
Among those unfamiliar faces, Sato sensed a faint but definite sense of danger from three individuals—two men and one woman. It wasn't overpowering, but the threat they radiated was markedly stronger than that of the others.
Sato couldn't help but quietly examine the three more closely. They all appeared quite young.
Among the two men, one had a plain face but an exceptionally large frame—easily over two meters tall, with bulging muscles, a square jaw, a buzz cut, and a neatly fitted black suit complete with a tie.
Despite the oppressive pressure his physique alone exuded, his gentlemanly attire, honest face, and constant goofy smile somehow gave off an oddly approachable vibe.
However, of the three, this towering young man gave Sato the strongest sense of danger. Especially when the man smiled at him with that goofy grin—Sato felt like he was staring down a starving tiger pretending to be friendly.
A smiling tiger—that was the first impression Sato had of the burly young man.
The second man was beautiful. And not just handsome—his face was so striking it would make most women green with envy. He had porcelain-white skin and flawless features.
But what really left an impression on Sato was the man's outfit.
The guy had waist-length black hair styled in a princess cut, wore an elegant black dress, sheer black stockings, and black heels. His lips were painted red, and subtle red and purple eye shadow adorned his eyes—he looked more womanly than an actual woman.
Yes, this was the first time since arriving in the Pokémon world that Sato had encountered a full-fledged crossdresser—one so convincing that he could almost pass as a real woman.
His voice was quite androgynous, too. If Sato hadn't been paying close attention and noticed the Adam's apple, he might've genuinely thought he was looking at a gorgeous woman.
This crossdresser's senses were just as sharp as the smiling tiger's. Even though Sato had only been sneaking glances at him from the corner of his eye, the man turned his head as if sensing his gaze and smiled sweetly at him.
There was no mistaking it—that flirtatious glance and smile were downright terrifying. Sato, who had just realized the person was actually a man, instantly felt a chill down his spine and instinctively clenched his rear.
At the same time, a wave of nausea welled up in his stomach—so intense it nearly made him throw up the beef jerky snack he'd eaten not long ago.
Terrifying crossdresser—that was Sato's first impression of the beautiful man.
As for the woman—Sato immediately felt like he was facing a wild, dangerous beast. She was likely from the far-off Alola region. Even if not, she definitely had Alolan blood in her veins.
Her skin was a deep bronze, her face was fairly attractive, and she wore nothing but two crudely fashioned garments woven from unknown plants—barely enough to cover her well-developed modesty.
Her waist-length black hair was tied into braided twists, and she wore a polished necklace made from some kind of animal fangs. Aside from that, her exposed dark skin was painted with numerous tribal markings made of unknown pigments.
There was no doubt about it—this dark-skinned beauty looked just like a tribal warrior. The only things that signaled she wasn't from some primitive jungle society were the Team Rocket wristwatch on her right hand and the belt around her waist holding six PokéBalls.
Compared to the smiling tiger and the terrifying crossdresser, the dark-skinned wild beauty had even keener senses. The moment Sato shifted his gaze to her, she snapped her head around and glared back with fierce eyes.
Of the three threats, the burly youth exuded the most pressure, while the crossdresser and the wild beauty were about equal in terms of danger.
Sato didn't recognize any of the three. But to give off such an overwhelming sense of threat—they were clearly no ordinary recruits. So far, only Maya, Janine, and Marlos had ever made Sato feel like this.
Because no one was leading the meeting, and none of the Team Rocket recruits were familiar with each other—most even saw each other as rivals—the room was filled with a tense and uncomfortable silence.
Sitting in a secluded corner, quietly sizing up his fellow recruits, Sato suddenly remembered something—Nogu had previously handed him a roster.
It was a fairly large but thin booklet, containing basic information about the participants.
Even though the information inside was simple—just a photo and a short blurb for each trainer—Sato had treasured it. He hadn't had the time to read it before due to how rushed things had been, but now was the perfect opportunity to get a better grasp of who he'd be facing.
And sure enough, the three individuals who had caught his attention were in the roster.
When Sato found their profiles, his suspicions were confirmed. All three were direct protégés of high-ranking Team Rocket faction leaders—formidable opponents in this newcomer competition.
Especially the burly youth. His entry in the roster was brief—just a few words—but enough to send chills down Sato's spine.
Because the man was none other than the nephew of Sato's own 'boss'.