"Damn, I guess I'm not as healed as I thought. I get why they said to take it slow."
Silas lay comfortably in his bed, staring at the ceiling as he contemplated his current condition.
His psychic and aura powers had fully returned. In that regard, he felt better than he had before his injury. His aura in particular had become denser and more powerful after everything he experienced.
Physically, however, Silas clearly wasn't back to 100%.
The feeling was incredibly frustrating.
For someone who had spent years constantly pushing his body and Pokémon to improve, suddenly finding himself exhausted by things that used to be routine was difficult to accept.
Silas essentially had to retrain his own stamina.
Even the relatively simple double battle with Jason had left him far more exhausted than he wanted to admit. There had been no prolonged fighting, no life or death struggle, and Silas hadn't even personally entered combat.
Yet afterward, his body demanded rest.
According to Hermes, this was completely natural.
During the battle on Mount Thunder, Silas had essentially exploded all the aura inside his body with reckless abandon. He had ignored every warning his body gave him and forced out far more power than he could normally handle.
The fact that he had survived at all was fortunate.
Silas understood the logic but that didn't mean he liked it.
Another week passed like this and Silas established a simple routine.
He would begin with physical therapy in the pool, gradually rebuilding his stamina without putting unnecessary strain on his recovering body. Once that was finished, he would spend time training his Pokémon and observing the progress they had made during his absence.
Afterward, they would battle Jason. At first, that entire routine would leave Silas completely exhausted by the end of the day.
However, the difference between each passing day was obvious.
His newly strengthened aura constantly nourished his body, allowing him to recover much faster than anticipated. Every session became slightly easier than the last.
The exhaustion remained, but it took longer to appear. His movements became smoother as his stamina steadily returned.
By the end of the week, Silas finally felt like himself again.
Hermes estimated that he had recovered to approximately 85% of his previous physical condition.
For Silas, that was enough.
He was right on time as well.
Today marked the first day the trial exams would resume.
The testing format was relatively simple.
Members of the same rank would engage in double battles to determine their positions.
However, there was another option.
A participant could challenge someone to a life and death duel if both sides agreed. There was also a penalty for refusing. If someone challenged you to a death match and you chose to decline, you would owe the challenger 10,000 Rocket Points.
Fortunately, each person was limited to only 2 such challenges during every testing period.
Otherwise, Silas imagined people would simply abuse the system to extort weaker members.
When Silas arrived at the testing area, he immediately recognized several familiar faces.
Rex was there. Andra stood among the crowd as well. Butch and Cassidy were also present.
What surprised Silas most, however, was the appearance of Jessie and James.
Both of them looked noticeably wilder than the last time he had seen them.
Their clothes and overall appearances showed the effects of spending extended periods away from the comfort of the base.
Jason had told Silas that the 2 had essentially been surviving in the wild.
Looking at them now, Silas realized he had meant that literally.
Jessie and James noticed him watching.
Neither approached. Instead, they simply nodded toward Silas. There was obvious respect in the gesture. Silas returned the nod before turning his attention toward the front.
Viper stepped forward.
His voice boomed loudly enough to carry throughout the entire testing area.
"Welcome back to the trial!"
The surrounding conversations immediately died down.
"As you can see, your numbers have dwindled due to the constant battles with the Luminary Court. However, those of you who remain are the best of the best."
Silas glanced around.
The difference was obvious. There were fewer people than before, but those remaining carried themselves differently.
They had experienced real combat over the last several months. Many had lost their friends and or Pokémon. The experiences had naturally changed them.
Viper continued.
"You all received a number on your TR devices. There are 598 of you remaining, but you will notice that only 256 names have made the cut for the bracket."
Several people immediately began checking their devices.
"If you disagree with your ranking or your lack of one, you may challenge anyone."
Silas laughed quietly to himself.
Team Rocket was using a tried and true method to encourage competition.
Rather than simply assigning everyone a position and moving forward, they deliberately gave the lower ranked members an opportunity to prove the system wrong.
Naturally, this would create conflict.
Silas had no intention of getting involved.
He looked down at his device and saw Rank 6 clearly visible. This was more than high enough for him.
Silas had only recently recovered and had no interest in wasting energy proving himself to people who didn't matter.
Unfortunately, someone else had different plans.
"I am unranked, and I challenge number 6!"
Several people turned toward the speaker.
A man stepped forward confidently.
"There must be a mistake. He only recently joined but supposedly is number 6. I hope he can last long enough to make our battle interesting."
His eyes locked onto Silas.
"Hey, kid. If you aren't scared, then let's have a life or death battle."
The surrounding area became noticeably quieter.
Silas looked at the man for a moment. He had no words to waste on a fool.
"So be it."
Silas casually tossed out 2 Poké Balls. Flygon and Hippowdon appeared beside him.
The challenger responded by releasing Weavile and Golbat.
Silas looked at the 2 Pokémon before he laughed.
"Haha wow. You don't even have a Crobat, yet you dare to challenge me."
The man's expression darkened.
"A Golbat is enough for the likes of you. Golbat, use Brave Bird! Weavile, use Ice Shard!"
Both Pokémon immediately prepared to attack but they never got the opportunity.
Sand erupted violently from the openings along Hippowdon's back. The grains rapidly gathered around the battlefield before swirling into a powerful vortex.
Golbat's wings struggled against the violent currents. Weavile attempted to move but found itself trapped by the surrounding sand.
Both Pokémon were immobilized before their attacks could properly begin.
Silas had been waiting for this moment.
"Flygon, use Dragon Rush. Hippowdon, use Iron Head."
Flygon shot forward. Dragon type energy wrapped around its body as it accelerated directly toward Golbat.
At the same time, metallic light covered Hippowdon's massive head as he charged at Weavile.
The 2 attacks landed almost simultaneously.
Hippowdon crashed directly into Weavile with Iron Head, while Flygon slammed into Golbat using Dragon Rush.
The results were immediate with both Pokémon were knocked out. The battle ended almost as quickly as it began.
Silas' challenger stared blankly at the battlefield as his legs gave out. He dropped to his knees helplessly. Only now did the reality of the challenge seem to sink in.
This wasn't an ordinary ranking battle. He had personally demanded a life or death match. With both of his Pokémon defeated, Silas could dispatch him quite easily.
Silas watched him silently.
He could have mocked the man and he could have even killed him.
Instead, Silas spoke calmly.
"We are sorely lacking in members right now, so I won't kill you unless you give me no choice."
The man's entire demeanor immediately changed.
"Thank you, Sir Odin."
His earlier arrogance disappeared.
He now spoke with complete respect but it was an insincere kind of respect
Silas' expression remained unchanged.
Through his aura, he could sense the intense hostility building inside the man.
The respectful words meant nothing. The man clearly hated him, it didn't take an aura master to see it.
Silas sighed internally.
Perhaps I should have just killed him if this is his reaction.
Certain people held grudges no matter what happened.
If you show them mercy and they would resent you for humiliating them. The best way to handle these types was to kill them directly.
This man seemed to be the former type.
Whether Silas had shown mercy or not, his hatred had already taken root.
Silas looked directly at him.
"I want to warn you that should you act against me or my people in the future, nothing good will come from it. So it's best that you let those ideas go."
The man's expression froze.
For the first time, genuine nervousness appeared in his eyes.
"Lord Odin, I wouldn't dream of it."
Silas' expression turned cold.
"Cut the bullshit. I have aura, and you are quite obvious."
The surrounding people became quiet again.
"Like I said, it won't end well for you. Take the mercy I gave you and do better. Team Rocket doesn't need weak-minded and vindictive people within its ranks."
"Well said, Odin."
Viper's voice carried across the area.
The challenger visibly stiffened.
It was one thing for Silas to threaten him was another for Viper to openly agree with Silas' judgment in front of everyone.
The man lowered his head and without saying anything else, he disappeared back into the crowd.
Silas paid him no further attention.
The remaining challenges proceeded without major incident.
By the time the rankings settled, Jason, Jessie, and James had all successfully secured positions within the top 100.
Jessie took rank 97.
James reached rank 93.
Jason performed slightly better at rank 89.
The rewards were considerable.
Anyone who reached the top 100 received 10,000 Rocket Points.
The top 10 received 50,000.
Silas was satisfied.
Everyone within Spartan had made progress.
Just as it seemed the ranking portion of the trial was coming to an end, 2 familiar figures stepped forward.
"Before we leave, we challenge ranks 97 and 93 to a life and death double battle."
Butch and Cassidy stared directly toward Silas' group.
The hostility between the 2 pairs was obvious.
Jessie and James didn't hesitate.
"We accept."
Jessie's expression hardened.
"But I just hope you can bear the consequences of fighting us."
The atmosphere immediately became serious.
This wasn't another ranking match.
Viper stepped forward.