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The Technical Machines Sato picked up this time from the free trading zone were Charge Beam, Brick Break, Ice Beam, and Ice Punch. Altogether, they cost him nearly 20 million PokeDollars, causing his available funds to shrink to around 60 million.
Based on actual needs, he had Charge Beam taught to Kecleon, Brick Break to Nidoking, Ice Beam to Staryu, and finally Ice Punch to Wartortle.
After leaving the black market, Sato once again assumed the identity of Raiden Suzuki and entered a Pokémon Center in downtown Slateport City.
Using the computer inside the Pokémon Center, he logged into the League's exchange system specially established for bounty hunters with the identity card issued to him by the League.
At present, Sato's bounty hunter identity possessed around 23,000 League contribution points. A major reason for this sizable amount was his gains from Dragon's Den.
League-issued bounties did not care whether a criminal was alive or dead. As long as the bounty hunter turned in the body, the corresponding reward would still be granted.
While in Dragon's Den, Sato had found multiple decapitated poachers' corpses. Turning them in not only earned him rewards, but also allowed those wanted criminals to be laid to rest.
Because he had completed five B-rank bounty missions in one go, his bounty hunter rank within the League was immediately promoted to B-rank, greatly expanding the range of items he could exchange for.
It was clear that the League was willing to invest heavily to encourage bounty hunters like Sato to serve them enthusiastically. Many rare Pokémon items that were nearly impossible to buy on the black market could be exchanged here using contribution points.
Since Sato already had quite a number of Pokémon—many of which still required careful training—he once again chose to exchange Technical Machines.
The Swords Dance TM, which was almost impossible to find on the black market, finally appeared in the League's bounty hunter exchange system. Although it required a hefty 15,000 contribution points, Sato did not hesitate for even a moment.
As for the remaining 8,000+ contribution points, he spent them all, exchanging for:
Solar Beam (2,000)
Reflect (500)
Iron Tail (1,000)
Iron Head (1,000)
Aqua Tail (1,000)
Ice Beam (1,500)
Brick Break (1,000)
Among these, Swords Dance was given to Whirlipede, Solar Beam to Roserade, Iron Tail and Iron Head to Pikachu, Reflect to Staryu, and Aqua Tail, Ice Beam, and Brick Break to Squirtle.
.....
One week later, at around 2 p.m., in the reception room on the second floor of the League Building in central Slateport City, Sato entered under the identity of Tyler.
The very next day after his exchange session, he had received the promotion mission for League peripheral members from the Pokémon Center. Today, he had finally received the League's official notification.
Inside the reception room were nineteen other civilian Trainers who, like Sato, had accepted the promotion mission.
The atmosphere was heavy.
All twenty Trainers were silently sizing each other up, expressions tense, faint hostility visible in their eyes.
According to past promotion rules, only half of the participants would successfully advance this time. In other words, every civilian Trainer in the room was a competitor.
From what seniors had explained, promotion missions for League peripheral members usually involved Pokémon battles—survival of the fittest. This law of nature applied just as well within the League: only the strong would remain.
At nearly three o'clock, a Officer Jenny dressed in League police uniform entered with a small stack of documents. She quickly walked to the center podium and looked sternly at Sato and the others.
"Someone distribute these documents. I'll skip the pleasantries—the details of your promotion mission are inside. You have one week to complete it. The first ten people to finish will automatically be promoted to League members."
"You now have ten minutes to ask questions."
Handing the documents to the nearest Trainer, Officer Jenny spoke loudly.
Sato and the others immediately lowered their heads to read the documents—and one by one, troubled expressions appeared on their faces.
The reason was simple: the information was extremely sparse.
There was only a location marker and a few symbols—nothing else.
But none of them were fools. They quickly realized that this promotion mission was about finding a specific object, and that the test lay in their perception and execution ability.
"May I ask whether the target is an object or a living being?"
Someone soon stood up to ask. The question was simple, yet crucial—because the difficulty between the two was worlds apart.
"Rest assured, the target is a dead object. Your task is simply to find it and bring it back."
Officer Jenny answered directly, without avoidance.
Several more core questions followed, such as rules and restrictions. Her answer was consistent:
There are no rules.
Once the ten minutes were up, Officer Jenny immediately turned and left, leaving behind a group of Trainers still full of doubts.
"She only explained the mission but didn't specify any rules. Does that mean the mission truly has no restrictions?"
"No—this is the League. They aren't some dark organization. Even if these civilian Trainers aren't official members yet, they've still contributed. The League wouldn't design a mission encouraging mutual slaughter."
"Heh… I see now. That's the trap."
"If someone tries to be clever by bringing in outside help, or maliciously attacks others, then even if they obtain the mission item, it'll be pointless—or worse, they could be permanently barred by the League."
"So a Trainer's character is also part of the evaluation."
After listening to Officer Jenny's answers and reviewing the limited information in the document, Sato quickly pieced together the deeper meaning behind the mission.
Just as he was about to finish his thoughts and leave, a stylish black-haired female Trainer approached him with a smile.
"Hello, Mr. Tyler. My name is Lanqi. Would you be willing to team up with me to complete the mission? I'll definitely cooperate fully."
Seeing this, the surrounding civilian Trainers immediately showed interest. Several female Trainers' eyes lit up, and they subconsciously began moving toward Sato as well.
In Slateport City, the name Tyler was extremely well-known among civilian Trainers. He was widely referred to as a 'mission carry'—a living safety net for difficult tasks.
That alone was enough to show just how highly Sato was regarded among Slateport's civilian Trainers.
Clearly, the moment Lanqi realized that the mission rules did not forbid teaming up, she immediately decided to latch onto Sato—this unmistakable mission thigh.