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An hour later, Sato, now dressed in his Elite Trainer uniform, resurfaced in Pewter City. Without wasting any time, he rode his Shiny Pelipper straight to the Pokémon Center in the city's center.
"Miss Joy, I'll be leaving Pelipper, Nidorino, Miltank, and Arbok in your care. Oh, and be careful with this Arbok—I just caught it recently, and it's extremely vicious. You should handle it with extra caution."
Sato handed over the four PokéBalls to Nurse Joy at the counter and gave her a warning.
"Don't worry, Mr. Sato. We have plenty of experience treating aggressive Pokémon. There won't be any issues."
Hearing Sato's words, Nurse Joy responded with a professional smile before passing two PokéBalls to the Chansey beside her.
With the Pokémon treatment arranged, Sato took a seat in the waiting area, carefully analyzing the hints provided in the mission details for the Rocket Team's Rookie Competition.
The first phase of the competition involved finding the designated location. However, the exact location wasn't given outright.
Instead, Rocket Team recruits had to follow the hints in their mission briefs and complete specific tasks step by step to obtain the next destination.
Currently, the only hint Sato had received was a single name—Viridian Forest.
This meant that if he wanted to proceed and obtain the next location, he had to head to Viridian Forest and search for clues there.
Sato didn't know what challenges awaited him, but based on what he'd heard from experienced participants, Rocket Team always had operatives secretly monitoring the contestants.
As soon as a contestant entered the designated area, someone would approach them and provide further mission details.
If Sato's guess was correct, Rocket Team likely had scouts stationed at every mission location's entrance. The moment a contestant appeared, they would initiate contact.
With this in mind, Sato figured that as long as he entered Viridian Forest from the Pewter City side, he would soon receive his specific mission.
About half an hour later, Sato heard his name called over the speakers. He quickly retrieved his Pokémon from the counter and then headed to an empty outdoor battle arena near the Pokémon Center.
Before departing, he had to deal with two issues—Arbok and Miltank. He couldn't afford to have them cause trouble in the middle of a mission.
Naturally, the first problem to address was Arbok, the large, purple, venomous snake. Just like its former trainer, Rondo, it was extremely vengeful.
Ever since Sato had ordered his Zubat to defeat it, Arbok had held a grudge. Not long ago, it had even ignored Rondo's commands, bursting out of its PokéBall to try and kill Sato.
Not only that, but Arbok was also exceptionally powerful. With its three mysterious pattern transformations, it was nearly unmatched among Pokémon of the same level.
It even had the capability to defeat stronger opponents, making it extremely arrogant.
The biggest problem was that this snake was naturally rebellious. If it wasn't completely subdued, it would likely turn on its trainer. Rondo, who had nearly been devoured by it, was a prime example.
It had to be said—taming this venomous snake would be difficult for most trainers. However, Sato was confident.
He knew that while Arbok was extremely vicious, it respected strength. If it encountered a superior opponent, it would acknowledge them. In fact, it would even become obedient in its pursuit of power.
Of course, keeping it in check would require periodic beatings to remind it that it was still too weak to rebel.
In short, Sato believed that if he could defeat Arbok in a direct battle, he could make the rebellious snake submit and obey his commands.
Previously, he had relied on his Shiny Pelipper to defeat Arbok, but he knew the snake didn't truly accept that loss.
Pelipper had simply used its aerial advantage to kite Arbok from a distance, never engaging in a direct confrontation.
As a result, Arbok didn't recognize that as a fair fight, nor did it acknowledge Sato as its trainer.
"Come out, Swampert. You too, Arbok."
After confirming that no one was around, Sato tossed out two PokéBalls, releasing his Swampert and Arbok onto the battlefield.
In an instant, the towering figure of Swampert appeared beside Sato, while Arbok's massive purple body coiled in front of him.
With a strength of level 43, Swampert was in an entirely different league compared to Pelipper. At the same time, it was far superior to the level 37 Arbok.
Because of this, despite the hatred burning in its eyes, Arbok didn't dare make a reckless move.
"Arbok, because I defeated you, your trainer, Rondo, considered you too weak. To curry favor with me, he gave you to me as compensation. That means from now on, I'm your trainer.
Personally, I do think you're weak, but you have potential. So, I plan to train you. However, I know you refuse to accept your previous defeat. So I'll give you a chance—if you can defeat my Swampert, I'll set you free.
What do you think? But let me warn you—Swampert isn't someone a weakling like you can beat. You might even get killed."
Sato stood beside Swampert, who lifted him up in its large hands. From his elevated position, Sato looked down at Arbok and taunted it.
As expected, Arbok, with its arrogant nature, was immediately provoked by Sato's words. Its cold, reptilian eyes turned blood-red with fury.
The snake pattern on its chest shifted mysteriously, switching to its offensive stance. With a menacing hiss, it lunged at Sato, as if intent on tearing him apart.
However, this was all a feint—Arbok's true target was Swampert.
When it was about two meters away, the pattern on its chest changed again, switching to its speed form.
In a flash, Arbok left behind a purple afterimage and shot toward Swampert with lightning-fast speed.
Its gaping maw glowed green as it prepared to sink its fangs into Swampert's neck—Giga Drain activated.
Unfortunately, Arbok overlooked one thing—Swampert had a tail.
Swampert's tail shimmered with a metallic sheen as it executed Iron Tail, whipping around at blinding speed and striking Arbok before its attack could land.
Arbok was sent flying.
A split second later—BOOM!
The snake's massive body crashed into a wall nearly 20 meters away, embedding itself into the structure.
Ever since consuming the Mew Gene Enhancement Potion, Swampert's affinity for Ground-type energy had reached extraordinary levels, far surpassing that of an ordinary Ground-type Pokémon.
With its heightened perception, Swampert could detect every movement within a hundred-meter radius.
No matter how fast Arbok was, as long as it remained on the ground, it couldn't escape Swampert's awareness. The only outcome was a ruthless counterattack.