After lunch, Sato temporarily parted ways with Akira and the others, since their afternoon classes weren't the same.
After checking their schedules one by one, they found out that the only other theoretical course Sato shared with them was that one from earlier.
Sato gave them the address to Teacher Drake's villa, then took a short walk to rest before heading to his first afternoon class.
Calling it a classroom was generous… it looked more like a movie screening room. A giant screen reflected an electric blue glow that made Sato's eyes feel uncomfortable.
"Hello there, are you student Sato?"
This time, Sato was the one sitting in the classroom waiting for the teacher. But the first person to walk in was a girl in a white lab coat.
"Yes, that's me. Are you… the instructor?"
"Oh, no~ I'm not the instructor for this class. Teacher Zion is very busy lately, so he asked me to play a pre-recorded lecture. Just make do, okay?"
The lab coat girl didn't really care whether Sato wanted to make do or not. She quickly ran into the projection room, fiddled with the equipment for a couple of minutes, and then hurried back out.
"The video's running now. I'll come back to turn off the system in two hours. Just sit tight and study, student Sato!"
BOOOM!!
With that, the lab coat girl dashed out of the room and slammed the door shut, leaving Sato alone in front of the giant screen that had already started playing.
Sato: "…"
[Hello everyone, I'm Zion, your instructor for the course 'Emotion Control.'
The main goal of this course is to ensure that when you're battling underground forces, you don't let your personal judgments or emotions lead you to deliver punishment on your own.
The crimes committed by such individuals will be judged under the League's fully developed legal system…]
To Sato's surprise, the Emotion Control course wasn't about how to control one's emotions. Instead, it repeatedly emphasized that when dealing with underground forces, one must act strictly according to League law.
In the video, this "teacher" named Zion presented many cases of Investigators who, after taking justice into their own hands with underground criminals, gradually spiraled out of control, becoming violent maniacs.
These Investigators no longer upheld "law, light, and justice", but rather the twisted desires in their own hearts!
Independent Investigators of the League were all extremely powerful Trainers. If even one of them defected to the "dark" side, the damage to the League and its people would be catastrophic[1].
What this Emotion Control course truly aimed to teach was how Investigators should properly relieve their negative emotions after each battle, and how to hold onto the pure intentions they started with.
'What a shame… I would've liked to hear this lecture face-to-face,' Sato thought quietly as he watched the video.
Two hours passed quickly, and the lab coat girl returned right on time to shut down the equipment.
"Teacher Zion asked me to let you know! If he's free next time, he'll definitely teach in person. But if he's still busy… well, you get it~"
She winked as she said it, wearing a face that clearly said: "You understand, right?"
At that point, how could Sato not understand? She might as well have just said the next class would be another video. After all, you're the teacher, you make the rules.
Still, there were only three sessions in the entire Emotion Control course, and the content wasn't all that heavy. Sato didn't feel much pressure self-studying it.
And finally, the last class of the day arrived; also the only outdoor training course.
Multi-Pokémon Command!
For Independent Investigators, the ability to command multiple Pokémon is extremely important. After all, just from the name alone, it's clear that Independent Investigators have to rely entirely on themselves when carrying out missions.
Offense, defense, mobility, and self-preservation… these are the four key criteria that must be met during the Multi-Pokémon Command assessment.
Of course, if you can ensure that just one or two of your Pokémon can fully meet all four criteria, then you don't have to take the Multi-Pokémon Command course at all.
Sato thought about his Hydreigon. Aside from slightly lacking in protecting the Trainer, it pretty much met all the criteria by default.
After all, three heads meant three minds.
An overwhelming advantage that no other Pokémon could match!
And if you added Gengar, who was always hiding in the shadows…
There wouldn't be any problem at all.
Still, Yuga "the ever-low-key" Sato chose to attend the afternoon's Multi-Pokémon Command class and followed the instructor's methods for team composition by sending out four Pokémon for practice.
The minimum strength requirement for Independent Investigators was Peak Ace level or above.
And the rules for the Multi-Pokémon Command assessment were even tougher: you had to defeat a Trainer team with three times your total power, and protect yourself from all harm in the process.
The "Three-Times-Strength Team" -TTST- wasn't just made up of three people. It simulated a full combat unit; ranging from Ordinary level grunts, to Elite level captains, all the way up to Peak Ace officers.
Sato was no stranger to this kind of large-scale battle. He had already experienced it countless times before.
So upon hearing the assessment criteria, he requested to take the test on the very first day of class.
Zoroark handled offense. Umbreon focused on defense. Honchkrow maintained maneuverability. And Gengar, of course, served as Sato's final line of protection.
Sato's opponents? A military unit consisting of 100 Ordinary level soldiers, 10 Elite level squad captains, and 2 Peak Ace officers.
One against 112…
And Sato could only use four Pokémon!
Sato's qualification as an Independent Investigator had originally been granted due to his Gardevoir's undisputed Elite Four strength.
But this time, he sent out four Pokémon -none of which had reached Peak Ace level- and still passed the test in one go.
A fully organized army, even if made up of grunts, could be extremely dangerous. If they coordinated their attacks properly, they could pose a major threat to even Elite Four Trainers.
…Unfortunately for them, Zoroark's Night Daze was perfectly suited for clearing enemy lines. One blast of Night Daze, and half of the basic soldiers were wiped out.
With twitching expressions, the two Peak Ace officers watched as Zoroark unleashed another Night Daze without hesitation…
At that point, all the soldiers without firearms were completely wiped out. Only the Elite captains and Peak Ace officers remained on the battlefield.
The twelve remaining opponents tried to gang up on Sato, but none of them managed to lay a single finger on him. One by one, they collapsed under Zoroark's illusions.
In the end, Sato passed the Multi-Pokémon Command course on the very first day of training, causing quite the stir!
That evening, Sato disguised himself as a hunched-over old man and wandered through the night market.
Along the way, he even joined a fishing mini-game and a ring toss challenge. Throughout the entire outing, not a single person saw through his disguise.
Disguise Course: One-sixth of the assessment… COMPLETE!
•
•
🅿️🅰️✝️🆁 🅴🅾️🅽 / 🅁🄾🄼🄴🄻🄾🄵🄵
[1] Unlimited…. POWAH!!!!!