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The law of the jungle is an unchanging truth within the ranks of a dark organization.
Facing Sato, who now held a hunting knife to his throat, the burly man let out a sigh before tactfully nodding in understanding.
Moreover, after realizing that Sato's strength far exceeded his own, his mindset underwent a drastic change.
In the next few minutes, he completely abandoned his previously aggressive demeanor and instead looked at Sato with a fawning expression, like a chameleon adapting to its surroundings.
However, Sato did not immediately demand payment for sparing the man's life. Instead, he took advantage of this opportunity to gather intelligence from someone who had been residing in the Team Rocket's underground base in Pewter City for a long time.
He asked about things that weren't exactly top-secret—whether this place was one of the entrances to the Team Rocket's underground base, if anything significant had happened recently, and when the next rookie tournament would take place.
Hearing that these were all trivial questions, the burly man had no reason to hold back. In fact, in order to curry favor with Sato, he answered everything in great detail without hesitation.
As it turned out, this location was not an entrance to the Team Rocket's underground base in Pewter City, but rather a temporarily abandoned recruitment passage for new recruits.
The reason the burly man had been stationed here for such a long time was simple—he had taken on a one-year assignment to guard this place.
In reality, the Team Rocket's underground base in Pewter City had a total of five entrances, none of which were hidden in desolate suburban areas.
Instead, they were located within the city's four major districts and central business area.
When Sato learned the exact locations of these five entrances, he was shocked.
The reason was simple: these entrances were all situated within some of Pewter City's most well-known department stores and major corporations.
These businesses employed large numbers of people, significantly reducing the city's unemployment rate and contributing greatly to Pewter City's economic prosperity.
But after hearing the burly man's explanation, it was now obvious—the true masterminds behind these businesses were none other than the Team Rocket.
Furthermore, most of the upper management in these stores and companies were likely non-combatant logistics personnel of the organization.
"Hiding right in plain sight, huh? The Team Rocket really knows what they're doing. Even if the League has suspicions, they wouldn't dare act recklessly against these major businesses that support the city's daily life. After all, unemployment is a serious issue for any ruler. Strikes and protests aren't just a game—mishandle one, and it could throw society into chaos."
As Sato thought about it, he couldn't help but be impressed by the Team Rocket's audacity.
At the same time, he was deeply shaken by how the organization had quietly gained control over a substantial portion of Pewter City's economy.
He was certain that beyond these few well-known businesses, the Team Rocket must have other industries woven throughout Pewter City—likely in great numbers.
Thinking about this, Sato got the distinct impression that the entire city was ensnared in an economic web spun by the Team Rocket.
And he had a gut feeling that this web was only going to tighten. Eventually, Pewter City might find itself completely unable to escape from their grasp.
However, Sato did not dwell too deeply on this matter. He deliberately shifted his focus back to himself, returning to the topic at hand.
After gathering information about the Team Rocket's base entrances, he began inquiring about the rookie tournament.
The burly man, clearly someone with experience, was very familiar with the rookie tournament.
According to him, there were only about five days left before the official start of the tournament.
However, after factoring in the time needed for participants to travel to the competition site, only about one day remained.
In fact, the rookie tournament had technically already begun two days ago. Participation in the tournament was not mandatory—it was issued as a mission, and only new recruits were eligible to accept it.
This meant that rookies could choose whether or not to participate. As long as they visited the mission hall in the Team Rocket's underground base in Pewter City and accepted the rookie tournament mission, they would be considered officially registered.
The location of the rookie competition changed each time, and only those who accepted the mission would receive some clues about the location.
From there, the rookies had to rely on their own abilities to reach the designated location.
Yes—simply accepting the mission did not guarantee participation in the tournament. To truly enter, recruits had to find their own way to the battlefield.
If they failed to arrive within the allotted time, they would be disqualified. However, there was a second-chance round.
Any recruits who failed to reach the competition site could still qualify by winning at least six out of ten Pokémon battles.
Typically, the rookie tournament was held in isolated locations, such as uninhabited islands or dense forests. Contestants had to reach a designated area within the site within a specific time limit.
During this process, they could use any method to eliminate other participants.
However, there was one strict rule—killing was forbidden. Contestants were allowed to take out their opponents' Pokémon, but they absolutely could not kill another person.
Clearly, this brutal competition served as a way to further filter out the most outstanding recruits while weeding out the weaker ones.
The remaining elite participants would then enter the final phase of the tournament—an unrestricted one-on-one survival battle.
What was an unrestricted one-on-one battle? It was exactly as it sounded—real, no-holds-barred combat in the wild.
There were no rules. No matter what method was used, as long as a contestant could defeat their opponent or take down all of their Pokémon, they would claim victory.
The rewards for the rookie tournament were exceptionally generous—especially for the first-place winner, who would be promoted directly to a Team Rocket reserve Executive member (i.e., an Elite rank operative).
This reward alone made countless Team Rocket members green with envy. For any new recruit, this was an opportunity to rise to the top in a single step.
Becoming an Elite operative meant gaining the right to establish one's own territory. Executives were permitted to set up their own Team Rocket operations anywhere in the world.
Even for those who didn't take first place, the top ten contestants would still be promoted from low-ranking grunts to Squad/Platoon/Battalion Leaders, receiving a wealth of rewards and increased access to the organization's resources.
"I didn't expect the rookie tournament to have already started two days ago... Good thing I made it back in time. If I had delayed any longer, I would've missed my chance. I need to return to the Team Rocket's underground base in Pewter City right away and accept the tournament mission."
Upon receiving the full details of the tournament from the burly man, Sato felt a growing sense of urgency.