Feng Che arrived at the assembly grounds to find a massive, bustling crowd. A quick glance suggested there were between four hundred to five hundred candidates present. The air was thick with the noise of hundreds of people chattering in small groups.
Feng Che had no interest in joining their discussions. Instead, he found a spot to lean against a wall, closing his eyes as if resting.
Before long, the entire field fell into a sudden, dead silence.
Feng Che lifted his eyelids. A man with a buzz cut, wearing a sharp business suit, strode into the training grounds. Following behind him were three distinct individuals: a woman with long straight black hair, a man with a military-style flat-top, and a man dressed in ninja attire.
The man in the suit was undoubtedly Giovanni. The three behind him were likely Sabrina, Lt. Surge, and Koga. They were followed by twenty other Team Rocket members, each accompanied by a menacing-looking Persian.
Persian were four-legged, cat-like Pokémon. Upon evolution, they gained a signature red jewel on their foreheads, and their fur turned a sleek, uniform cream white. Their ears rounded out, their pupils glowed red, and they possessed three thick whiskers on each side of their face.
Post-evolution, Persian took on a more lion-like majesty. With their soft paw pads, they could move in absolute silence. Their six whiskers sensed air currents to detect their surroundings, and their razor-sharp claws were notorious for causing trouble. They were masters of the Dark-type move Fake Out, catching enemies off guard. The jewels on their heads could discharge powerful moves like Power Gem, Hyper Beam, and Swift.
Wild Persian were noble, arrogant, and notoriously difficult to co-exist with. Their temperaments were volatile; a simple locked gaze was enough to trigger a violent assault. In areas where they roamed, the populations of smaller Pokémon like Rattata and Pidgey plummeted.
However, these Team Rocket Persian were perfectly disciplined. They looked upon the new recruits with glints of cunning in their eyes.
As the candidates scrambled to form ranks, Feng Che joined a line and focused on the inner voice of the Persian closest to him.
[Persian: More new toys. I wonder if any of them will keep me entertained today.]
[Persian: Here comes Giovanni's same old speech. I could recite it from memory by now.]
[Persian: Blah, blah, blah... after this, they distribute the Pokémon. So boring. I'd rather be sleeping in my ball.]
Feng Che watched as the Persian rolled its eyes, looking completely unimpressed by its master.
He didn't pay much attention to the specifics of Giovanni's speech either, but he snapped to attention the moment the boss mentioned the distribution of Pokémon.
Finally. My first real partner.
Giovanni clapped his hands twice. Team Rocket members immediately rolled out three massive storage racks from the side tunnels. Each rack was ten meters long, one meter wide, and two meters high, packed with rows of Poké Balls. Labels were affixed to the shelves, grouping species together for easy searching.
"Alright, go ahead and choose your Pokémon. Remember: one per person," Giovanni announced. "The quality within these balls varies wildly. What you end up with depends entirely on your own luck and insight."
With that, Giovanni stepped up to the observation deck to watch the fallout. The reserve members surged forward like a frantic tide.
Feng Che didn't move. He watched the crowd crush against the racks. He had already estimated there were about a thousand Poké Balls—more than double the number of candidates. There was no need to fight; he was guaranteed a choice. Getting caught in a stampede would only result in unnecessary injury.
He looked around. A few others remained stationary as well, watching the chaos with calm eyes. Among them was the man with the old glasses from breakfast and a stunning redhead whose curvaceous figure made the Team Rocket uniform look like a high-fashion statement.
Feng Che focused his gaze on the racks. Through the semi-transparent shells of the balls, his sharp eyes noticed something unexpected: Pokémon from other regions.
"Arbok is mine!" "There's a Weezing! Get back, that's mine!" "I've got my eye on that Gloom!"
Feng Che was stunned to hear people shouting for evolved Pokémon. He knew most of these recruits had likely never even touched a Pokémon before.
Why are there evolved forms in the mix?
Evolved Pokémon found in these settings usually had their potential maxed out. Taking on a disobedient, stagnant-growth Pokémon was like trying to serve an ungrateful ancestor. If the Pokémon decided it didn't like its new "master," the Trainer's life would be at risk. This wasn't a case of "fortune favors the bold"; it was a death trap for the ignorant.
Feng Che thoughtfully raised his head, and his gaze collided directly with Giovanni's. In that instant, he understood the boss's intent.
Team Rocket members needed to be bold but meticulous—never greedy or short-sighted.
"Instructor Viper," Giovanni said, his eyes narrowing as he watched people grab the evolved forms. "Any candidate who chose an evolved Pokémon is to be disqualified immediately. Have a Psychic Pokémon wipe their memories and demote them to menial labor."
"That boy there," Giovanni pointed toward the still-stationary Feng Che. "He's been very composed. Do you have his file?"
"One moment, Boss Giovanni." Viper checked the records. "He was recommended by Lady Sabrina."
"Sabrina? Well done. She doesn't recommend often, but when she does, they seem remarkably steady." Giovanni turned to Sabrina with a rare note of praise.
Sabrina was about to say she didn't know the boy, but then she remembered Captain Kaiser asking for a recommendation letter and a slot for the reserve trials.
So, that's the one Kaiser was talking about, Sabrina thought, her cold gaze sweeping over Feng Che for a fleeting second before she looked away.
"Instructor Viper, I leave the rest to you. Give me a result I can be satisfied with. Team Rocket wants elites, not mediocrity."
Giovanni let out a sharp laugh and departed with the three Executives.
By now, the crowd at the racks had thinned. Feng Che stepped forward. He had known his target from the start: Ekans.
As a medium-sized serpentine Pokémon, Ekans possessed formidable combat power. While typically disobedient, Feng Che had his own methods for taming one.
He looked at the rows of purple serpents. An Ekans resembled a violet snake with a yellow underbelly and round yellow eyes with slit pupils. Its wide mouth was built for swallowing eggs. It had a yellow ring around its neck and black rings trailing down its body, ending in a rattle-like yellow tail. Its serpentine form made it a natural swimmer, and its flicking tongue allowed it to sense nearby danger.