Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Don't mess with me
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The short male Team Rocket recruit was named Rondo. He was a new recruit under the first rookie instructor, Kondo, at the underground base of the Rocket Team in Pewter City, and he was the fourth recruit to successfully capture a Pokémon, following Sato.
In fact, the tall male recruit and the female recruit were also under Kondo's command, named Kanjiro and Tanya respectively. They were the second and first to successfully capture Pokémon.
Notably, Tanya was the only one who successfully captured a Pokémon during the rookie meeting.
Since all three belonged to the same rookie group and were the most outstanding members, they naturally banded together, with the exceptional Tanya taking the lead.
In reality, the time gap between Kanjiro, Sato, and Rondo capturing their Pokémon was minimal.
Moreover, in a sense, Rondo, being the fourth to capture a Pokémon, was more outstanding than Kanjiro and Sato because he had to capture an Ekans, which was significantly more difficult than Kanjiro's Geodude or Sato's Zubat.
Because of this, Rondo had to spend a lot of time capturing the Ekans. He had initially thought he would be the third to complete the rookie trials and would happily claim the third-place reward, but he did not expect to be outmaneuvered by Sato.
Rondo was originally a small-time gang leader in Pewter City. Being a local bully, he was very familiar with the Team Rocket in Pewter and often cooperated with them in various illegal activities. Therefore, he had some understanding of the rookie trials within Team Rocket.
Rondo was also an ambitious person, deeply dissatisfied with his identity as a small-time gang leader. After careful consideration, he decided to join Team Rocket, which he saw as the most promising dark organization for his future, bringing along three followers willing to follow him.
As a gang leader, Rondo was not lacking in intelligence. Pooling the strengths of his three followers, he quickly managed to capture the most difficult starter Pokémon assigned by the Rockets, an Ekans. (All new recruits must enter without any Pokémon, or they will be confiscated, saying goodbye to their past.)
However, he found it hard to accept the fact that he was the fourth recruit to successfully capture a Pokémon.
Rondo, having risen to gang leader status, was not only clever but also known for his ruthless personality and exceptional combat skills. Before joining the Rocket Team, he was a trainer with a Rattata and a Beedrill.
Thus, Rondo was very dissatisfied with his current ranking, particularly with missing out on the top three rewards, since even the third-place reward was double that of the fourth.
Rondo understood that points were the currency within Team Rocket; obtaining enough points would allow him to become stronger through the organisation. For this reason, he was keenly interested in any opportunity to earn points.
His drive to quickly capture the Ekans was naturally motivated by the rewards for being in the top three, as the difference in points between third and fourth place was substantial.
But reality was harsh; by choosing the most difficult Ekans to capture first, he ended up missing out on the lucrative rewards for the top three newcomers.
Frustrated with his ranking, Rondo decided to provoke others in order to obtain what he believed was rightfully his.
Of course, Rondo wasn't foolish; he was very much in awe of Tanya, the first-place recruit, who was exceptionally talented and favored by Instructor Kondo. Having witnessed her incredible ability to tame a savage Spearow, he believed he was no match for her.
As such, his primary target became Kanjiro, the second-place recruit. However, he was surprised to find that Kanjiro was quite powerful too.
In response to Rondo's provocation, Kanjiro directly suggested a Pokémon battle to determine the outcome. The result was that Kanjiro, using his recently captured Geodude, defeated Rondo's Ekans, leaving Rondo with nothing to say but to accept his loss.
Ultimately, Rondo had no choice but to focus his efforts on the third-place recruit, Sato. After some investigation, he learned that the third recruit had come from the weakest group of newcomers, which made Rondo very dissatisfied.
After some persuasion and recruiting, Rondo successfully brought Tanya and Kanjiro along to confront Sato, the newcomer who had claimed the third-place reward.
Their purpose in meeting Sato was not only to witness the newcomer who had risen from the weakest group but also to threaten him to divide the lucrative reward he held.
Now, seeing Sato and his weak initial Pokémon, Zubat, especially realizing that Sato was a weakling he had robbed of money not long ago, Rondo felt even more dissatisfied about Sato stealing the third-place reward from him.
So, when Sato told them to step aside, Rondo immediately threatened him, claiming he would kill Sato's Zubat in the upcoming rookie battle.
At that moment, Sato also recognized Rondo as one of the four thugs who had robbed him not long ago. However, Rondo had seemed more like a lookout than a direct participant in the theft, keeping his distance while being short and ordinary-looking, making Sato's impression of him quite vague—he only felt that Rondo looked somewhat familiar.
Shortly after Rondo and his companions surrounded Sato, a crowd of Team Rocket members began to gather in the vicinity to watch the scene unfold. Most of these onlookers were veterans who, seeing the four in action, watched with great interest, eagerly anticipating who would be the first to strike.
"Just you? Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you really think this is a place a little trash thug like you can easily dominate? And as for your threat to kill my Zubat in the rookie battle, let me give you a warning: Don't mess with me. If you piss me off, I might just end your pathetic life," Sato said, his expression turning cold as he leaned closer to Rondo, speaking with the assurance of his threat.
In the next moment, a chilling aura flashed from Sato, causing Rondo, who was already furious but trying to hold himself back, along with Kanjiro and Tanya to visibly tense up as their pupils contracted.
The veterans nearby also grew a bit more serious, with many of them nodding slightly at Sato.
Now empowered by his Pokémon, Sato was no longer the weakling everyone could bully. He had become a trainer.
While he might still maintain his usual calm demeanor, the fighting spirit that had long been dormant within him had fully awakened. Sato was no longer willing to endure insults or make compromises; he would repay any provocation with equal force.
Facing these capable new recruits, Sato felt no fear. He was confident that, given some time to develop, he would soon surpass everyone in front of him with the experience of a traverser and the help of his system.
Team Rocket was merely a stepping stone for him; his stage was destined to be much larger.
On the other side, Rondo's previously arrogant demeanor had faltered. Although he was indeed a gang leader and ruthless, he was still young and had not taken a life. Facing Sato's deadly warning and his eerily calm eyes, Rondo felt a hint of fear creeping into his heart.
Rondo turned his head away, abandoning the attempt to maintain eye contact with Sato, and looked towards Tanya and Kanjiro for help.
Unfortunately, Tanya and Kanjiro ignored Rondo's silent plea, their serious expressions focused solely on Sato.
"And you two, don't provoke me. I don't care who you are; if you mess with me, I'll make you regret it," Sato said, turning his attention to Kanjiro and Tanya after dealing with Rondo.
With that, Sato coldly pushed past Rondo and, under the watchful eyes of the three, swaggered down the stairs.
"Why aren't you two saying anything? Didn't we agree to scheme together to divide his points? You took my points!" Rondo said, his face twisted with rage as he addressed Kanjiro and Tanya after Sato left.
However, Tanya and Kanjiro clearly showed no fear of Rondo. Tanya shot him a disdainful glance before silently walking away with her Spearow.
"I'll return your points. And you better be careful; that guy just now felt a lot more dangerous than you, you cowardly snake," Kanjiro said expressionlessly to Rondo before leaving.
The surrounding veterans, witnessing this exchange, began to disperse amidst sneers of contempt.
"Sato, we'll see about this! And Tanya and Kanjiro, you two dared to play me; I won't let you off either!" Rondo snarled, his eyes filled with malice as he stared at the now-empty staircase, his face twisted in anger.
Next to him, his Ekans seemed to sense the intense malice radiating from Rondo. Its cold, serpent-like eyes narrowed, and it began to coil around Rondo's thigh.
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