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In Sato's memory, Brandon was a truly powerful Trainer who possessed Legendary Pokémon—three of them, in fact: Regirock, Regice, and Registeel.
At the same time, he was also the Pyramid King of the Battle Frontier.
However, based on the intelligence Sato had gathered from various news publications and forums, this famous explorer did not yet hold the position of Frontier Brain, nor did he possess any Legendary Pokémon.
In other words, Brandon was still in the midst of his journey to locate the ruins of the three Regis. For now, he was simply a highly renowned explorer.
"Ruins exploration… just thinking about it makes it interesting. Even if it takes time, there will definitely be gains—and the rewards are generous too."
After standing in front of the mission board for a while, Sato decided to accept the task, a faint smile appearing on his face.
As for the other two missions, Sato also wanted to take them on. After all, every little bit counted. He urgently needed a large amount of League contribution points—if he could complete them along the way, all the better.
Unfortunately, when he went to register the mission at the front desk, he was informed that Brandon's commission required a qualification assessment.
The requirement was simple: defeat a subordinate stationed in Mauville City to recruit personnel. According to the staff, this mission carried extremely high risk, and only sufficiently strong Trainers were qualified to take it.
Sato had no objections to this. After all, he didn't want teammates who would drag him down either.
Moreover, ruins exploration was inherently dangerous. Without sufficient strength, it was like walking into a predator's jaws. As guards, they would be the ones standing on the very front line of danger.
The assessment was to be held at Mauville City's History Museum. However, the examiner had strictly stated that candidates could only meet him after 11 p.m.
...…..
Close to 11 p.m., Sato arrived at the main hall of the museum in northern Mauville City. By then, more than twenty League Trainers who had accepted the same mission had already gathered there.
To Sato's surprise, the noble young man named Hughes—whom he had previously encountered at the Slateport battle arena—was also present.
Hughes clearly hadn't expected Sato to show up either. When Sato entered, a flash of surprise crossed his face, but he quickly concealed it, pretending not to recognize Sato and continuing his lively conversation with a green-haired beauty in front of him.
Seeing this, Sato abandoned any intention of greeting him. He simply found a spot to stand and waited patiently for the examiner.
At 11:14 p.m., a disheveled middle-aged man with heavy dark circles under his eyes finally appeared before everyone.
"Ahem… sorry to keep you waiting. I'm the one responsible for assessing whether you are qualified to serve as guards for the ruins expedition. My name is Gubo, a researcher of ancient texts."
"The assessment is simple. First, you will complete a written test. Since the excavation site is in the desert, if you lack basic desert survival and archaeological knowledge, I suggest you withdraw now."
"After passing the written test, you only need to defeat one of my Pokémon to pass."
After clearing his throat, Gubo addressed the gathered Trainers, all of whom had turned their attention to him.
He then took out a stack of prepared test papers from his storage device and handed them out.
To be honest, when Sato saw the test paper, he nearly collapsed internally. His knowledge of desert survival and archaeology was extremely limited. Although he had been to a desert before, it hadn't been for long—and he had relied almost entirely on his Pokémon.
Fortunately, Sato wasn't ordinary. Using his psychic link ability, he observed the answers on others' papers through Kecleon's eyes, seeing everything clearly.
After carefully selecting, Sato decided to copy—after slight modifications—the answers of Hughes, who had submitted his paper first and had near-perfect answers. With his exceptional memory, a single glance was enough to memorize the entire sheet.
A short while later, Gubo quickly finished grading. As expected, Sato passed the first round with an excellent score.
At that point, only eight Trainers remained in the hall.
"You all answered very well. Good. Next, you only need to defeat one of my Pokémon to join this great ruins expedition. Follow me."
Gubo, clearly fond of those with archaeological knowledge, showed a hint of a smile as he spoke.
Soon, he led Sato and the others to the museum's backyard, where an open-air battle field came into view.
"Come out, Golurk."
Without wasting time, Gubo stepped to one side of the field and released a Golurk.
"Greetings, Mr. Gubo. My name is Hughes. Allow me to be the first to challenge you."
Before Gubo could call anyone forward, Hughes stepped up voluntarily, bowing politely as he spoke.
"This won't be easy… a level 55 Golurk right from the start. Looks like the minimum requirement for this guard mission is at least pseudo Elite Four level."
Sato used his system to scan Golurk. Upon seeing its level, he frowned slightly.
Currently, the highest-level Pokémon under his "Tyler" identity was Kecleon at level 49. Defeating a level 55 Golurk with a six-level gap would not be easy.
Of course, if Golurk weren't a Ground-type, Pikachu would have had a much easier time.
Hughes himself was a pseudo Elite-Four Trainer, and his team was strong. He used a level 56 Mandibuzz to successfully defeat Golurk.
However, the battle revealed that Gubo was far from a helpless scholar—his command skills were quite impressive. If not for Mandibuzz's type advantage and aerial mobility, Golurk might have turned the tide several times.
...
About half an hour later, it was Sato's turn—he was the second-to-last participant.
This time, Gubo once again sent out Golurk.
But what gave Sato a slight headache was that Gubo showed no intention of holding back. As the assessments progressed, the Pokémon he used grew stronger. This time, the Golurk was level 57.
"Go, Kecleon. Show them your strength."
Sato neither hesitated nor relied on stronger Pokémon like Swampert to pass easily. Instead, he directly sent Kecleon—resting on his shoulder—into battle.