Rune was wearing only a white shirt today, so when he realized the entire back had been torn open, his expression instantly darkened.
The key issue was… he still had no idea how Sato had dodged him or managed to rip his shirt in that split second!
"Teacher Rune, does this count as… 'passing'?"
Sato repeated his question once again, as if oblivious to the fact that Rune's face had gone completely black like the bottom of a scorched pan.
Behind Sato, the golden-eyed Gengar gave a small, helpless shake of its head before slipping back into the shadows.
It hadn't shown itself for a loooong time! And the moment it did, its job was to tear someone's shirt…
Sigh… what the hell kind of mission was that?
"H-Hmm. That's enough for today. Tomorrow we'll begin the Maze Escape," Rune said flatly before vanishing in a flash of white light.
After personally witnessing the full process of Abra's use of Teleport, Sato realized that Gardevoir really wasn't as fast as Abra…
But there was no doubt that that Abra's strength was only at the Elite level, and even its potential was just average for that tier.
Even so, the speed at which that Sandshrew executed Scratch was almost imperceptible… yet it too was only Elite level.
After thinking about it for a while, Sato more or less figured it out.
If an Abra went its whole life without evolving, the only move it would naturally learn was Teleport.
When a Pokémon focused all its energy and training into mastering just one move, it wasn't actually hard to achieve an effect far beyond its current level.
That was the case with Abra. And probably the same with Sandshrew.
These two Pokémon had likely been trained by Rune specifically for the first "test".
Otherwise, using Pokémon of such "low" strength to train someone who was about to become an Independent Investigator… would've been way too underwhelming.
Rune came and went quickly. The whole lesson was done in no more than fifteen minutes. And judging by the schedule, there was still over an hour until Sato's next class.
"Alright then, Pikachu, Frogadier. Let's train here for a bit!"
Looking around at the open rocky terrain, Sato simply resumed his training, using Pikachu and Frogadier again as sparring partners.
Because he hadn't fully understood the test details beforehand, he'd only brought Pikachu and Frogadier with him, just in case battle was required.
Later on, he'd rotate Drapion and Absol in day by day.
An hour later, Sato recalled his completely exhausted Pikachu and Frogadier, then headed back toward the League's administrative building.
---◓---
Knock Knock!
"Come in!"
Sato turned the handle and opened the door, and soon saw the instructor for his second course.
'A… loli?'
Sato froze for a moment. Then he backed out, checked the room number again, and confirmed he hadn't gone to the wrong place.
"Come in, Sato~ You've got the right room!"
A clear, slightly sweet loli voice called out. Sato looked more carefully at the little girl inside the room.
"Delicate" lace headpiece.
Slightly curled brown wavy hair.
A blue Lolita princess dress…
Pure white stockings paired with blue-and-white butterfly bow princess shoes.
The whole person looked like… a delicate(?), soft little loli!
Sato stepped into the room.
…But didn't close the door behind him.
"Heeheehee~ Are you leaving the door open because you're scared I might eat you, my dear Sato~?"
Suddenly, the sweet little loli voice vanished!
…Replaced by the sultry tone of a seductive mature woman.
Sato raised an eyebrow, then relaxed.
"What an impressive disguise technique!" He said with genuine admiration.
But in the next second!
A rich, magnetic male voice emerged from that same body.
"Hah! It's only so-so. Hello, student Sato. I'm your Disguise course instructor, Juno Ōshima."
"So… you're a guy?" Sato couldn't help it. In the end, he just had to ask.
"Student Sato, please remember: in my Disguise class, there is no gender, no age… and not even any species boundaries!"
At that moment, Ōshima's voice shifted again, this time sounding like an old woman. It even resembled Agatha a little.
Sato fell silent. In his past life, due to his profession, he'd also done disguise work many times. He'd assumed he could breeze through this course.
But staring at the utterly genderless Ōshima in front of him, Sato suddenly had a bad feeling…
"Excuse me, Teacher Ōshima… what exactly are the criteria for passing this course?"
Ōshima blinked those oversized loli eyes and said cheerfully, "Oh! It's simple. Play the role of a shota, a loli, a sultry woman, a middle-aged man, an old lady, and an old man. Go out in public. If no one recognizes you, you pass."
Upon hearing that, a massive bead of sweat rolled down Sato's face. His voice even tightened as he said, "I-I'm fine with everything except the loli and the sultry woman… those are a bit much."
Ōshima's expression changed instantly, and the whole atmosphere shifted. Even though he was still wearing a Lolita princess dress, he now radiated the presence of a full-grown adult!
"What was the very first thing I told you to remember, student Sato? Repeat it for me!"
"…In Disguise class, there is no gender, no age, and not even any species boundaries."
"Exactly. So either you start learning how to crossdress with me now, or you can turn right around and go back where you came from. Don't waste my time."
Sato frowned in silence. He knew that, in many situations, a female identity could indeed make it easier to move around than a male one.
But going out in full crossdress and not getting discovered to pass the exam… THAT WAS BRUTAL.
If he actually got recognized, all of his dignity would go up in smoke!
But seeing how firm Ōshima was, and clearly unwilling to compromise, Sato rubbed his forehead and finally said: "…Okay, Teacher Ōshima."
Ōshima immediately beamed with satisfaction, then pulled out a large black-and-white Lolita dress from who-knows-where!
"Let's start with a costume change. The fitting room is over there… feel free to use it~"
His voice shifted once again, returning to that alluring sultry tone, as he pointed to a corner of the room.
He didn't look particularly surprised, but his eyes gleamed with barely restrained excitement.
Sato accepted the Lolita dress, gripped it tightly… then clenched his jaw and marched straight into the changing room!
---◓---
At the same time, Helian and Jules finally used their connections to find out that Sato was currently attending a Disguise course.
Although neither brother had the qualifications to enroll in such a course, they could at least try to audit it.
Whether they would actually get to see Sato, and what they would say if they did… nobody but the two of them knew.
Twenty minutes later, the curtain to the changing room finally opened…
Wearing the Lolita dress, Sato walked out slowly, his face cold and emotionless.
"OMG! This dress suits you so well~ You absolutely have to wear it, no question!"
Ōshima acted like he had just found a priceless treasure. Without a word, he dragged Sato over to the vanity and began gesturing animatedly around his face.
Another half hour passed…
When Sato opened his eyes and looked into the mirror at the unfamiliar girl staring back…
He actually thought…
'She looks… kinda pretty.' (〃ω〃)
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🅿️🅰️✝️🆁 🅴🅾️🅽 / 🅁🄾🄼🄴🄻🄾🄵🄵