*The man has talent. A pity — someone like that would never do as a subordinate.*
Vance had watched the whole scene from a distance, and he had to admire the fellow's powers of persuasion.
He could talk the dead into being alive, and turn a defeat into an advantage. Real talent, that. He could have run a pyramid scheme with it.
And the man was tough on the inside, back on his feet and regrouped in no time at all. Someone like that genuinely did have potential.
Then again, the world has never been short of talent. What it lacks is people who can recognise it, and a stage on which it can be used.
The three of them set off and disappeared into the dense jungle.
The next day came quickly.
A droning rose in the sky as a dozen or so aircraft passed overhead, loudspeakers aboard them calling out that the trial was over and that those who had survived it were to assemble at the designated points.
Vance and the other two reached a mountain peak where several groups had already arrived.
Without a word, the three of them found a suitable spot and stood.
A few figures approached, led by a powerfully built man in a military cap bearing the letter R, sharp eyes sweeping the area.
It was Bloodhand.
"This few? Is this all of them?"
Bloodhand said it looking over a crowd of fewer than thirty, most of them carrying injuries and in poor condition. The month had put them through a great deal.
"There are two more pick-up points. Should be another few dozen, and a few more still on their way."
his deputy offered.
"Mm."
Bloodhand grunted. Surprise flickered in his eyes when he saw Vance there, and then he looked to the others.
Vance looked around and picked out a few familiar faces, all of them people who had performed well back at the base and had real strength behind it.
If anything, it was him who stood out by comparison.
Back at the base he had performed well enough, but his Pokémon had not been strong — only a Magikarp — and plenty of people had assumed he would not get through the trial.
"So you made it too, Vance."
A pleasant voice reached him while he was thinking. He turned to find Cerise coming toward him with four others in tow.
Her clothes were clean; there was nothing bedraggled about her.
"Mm. Not long ago."
Vance answered.
"And here I was wondering why you never came over to us. Off recruiting your own people, were you."
Cerise said it with a smile, her eyes on the two men behind him, and then went on.
"We should work together sometime, if the chance comes up."
"Of course."
Vance answered with a smile.
The two of them talking and smiling drew attention from the people around them, who turned to look.
That said, the two of them parted and found places to wait.
The minutes crawled by. They waited there for half the day, and a few more people trickled in.
Chief Instructor Bloodhand said nothing, and nobody else dared say anything either.
Overhead, several aircraft came and went, advanced radar equipment aboard them scanning the situation on Trial Island, the amplified loudspeakers putting out the announcement over and over.
"Beep, beep, beep—"
"Speak."
"Chief Instructor, the data shows no members remaining below."
"Understood."
Bloodhand said it flatly into the communicator, and looked round at them all.
"We can move out."
They lined up and boarded an enormous aircraft, which lifted off the ground with a roar and flew away into the distance.
"It's finally over."
"Hahaha! That damned Trial Island. Goodbye to you."
"Out of that nightmare of a place at last."
The recruits on board watched Trial Island shrink away behind them, and complained.
They had spent an unforgettable month of survival there, and they were the lucky ones, in a seat on the aircraft home rather than dead on the island like the rest.
The aircraft soon touched down, and they filed into the Team Rocket base and stood together in a cluster, waiting for Chief Instructor Bloodhand's instructions.
"Seventy-eight left, is it."
Bloodhand stood at the front of the platform, looking down at the seventy-odd of them.
A month of trial in the field had stripped the greenness off them and left something wilder in its place. Their eyes were cold. They were fit to be Team Rocket members now.
A few of them were promising material.
"Congratulations. You have passed this trial and become true members of Team Rocket. You have graduated."
The whole hall was silent, listening to him.
Bloodhand wasted no words. After a few lines of encouragement he moved on to the part they all cared about: the honours assessment.
"Headquarters has given me three Squad Leader allocations this time, awarded according to total points earned. We move now to the assessment. Any member entering it, come up to the platform."
The assessment was open and fair: members came up to the platform, produced their point cards, and were scored on the spot.
As he spoke, members began coming up for the assessment, Vance among them.
"Nolan. 6,360 points."
"Mullen. 1,603 points."
"Cerise. 9,536 points."
"Vance. 13,562 points."
............
Not many went up — eight of them in all.
"Wow, Vance must be cheating. A score that high — how is that even possible?"
"Right? I'm sure his Pokémon was just a Magikarp. Did it evolve into a Gyarados? Even if it did, surely not — not even Cerise scored that high."
"Never mind that, where's Wilder? Don't tell me he..."
With the results out, the crowd below broke into talk.
Of the eight, Vance's score was the highest, and by far the most unexpected.
Even Bloodhand and the other instructors turned to look.
Vance kept his composure, standing to one side and taking the stares calmly.
"Ha. With two great generals like myself and Emery to assist him, a little thing like first place was there for the taking."
Down below, Ambrose laughed as he said it, doing his best impression of a man of consequence.
It drew a good few looks.
Seeing how pleased with himself he looked, could it really be that he had helped?
The crowd was not sure.
Emery, beside him, tugged at Ambrose with a slight warning look. Ambrose gave him a serene glance back and went on facing the crowd with his head up and his chest out, the picture of self-satisfaction.
"Right. Anyone else?" Bloodhand called out, looking over the crowd below.
"No one, then." He waited a dozen seconds and, with no answer, spoke again. "Then for this recruits' trial, first place goes to Vance with 13,562 points; second, Cerise, 9,536 points; third, Nolan, 6,360 points."
"For their outstanding performance as recruits, these three are hereby granted the post of Squad Leader, along with an allocation of resources."
With that, Bloodhand produced three bracelets and presented them to the three of them.
"Clap, clap, clap—"
Warm applause filled the hall in congratulation of the three new recruit Squad Leaders.
The three of them stood on the platform and accepted the congratulations from below.
After all that upheaval he was finally an "officer". Not a great one, but an officer all the same — a cadre post, and surely of some use later on.
"The rest of you should not lose heart. With strength, and effort put into contributing to the organisation, a cadre post is well within reach — never mind Squad Leader, there is nothing to stop you making Division Commander. Work for it."
"Clap, clap, clap—"