If the arena challenge were done one match at a time, it would naturally be unfair to those who entered first.
But since the order was based on first-round results, many who were dissatisfied still didn't dare question it.
Just like Wesley, who ranked near the bottom, he wasn't challenged until the 10 place contestant finally stepped up.
But in the end, he was still easily defeated by Wesley's Croagunk.
With that, Wesley's spot in the final lineup seemed almost guaranteed.
The challenge continued. Seven of the ten arenas saw no more challengers.
Because those Arena Holders had decisively crushed their opponents with overwhelming force, intimidating others into backing off.
The remaining three arenas, however, saw frequent turnovers, with battles growing increasingly brutal.
But that in turn created a vicious cycle; each new victor appeared exhausted, making them a tempting target for the next challenger.
Haruki watched all of this clearly from the sidelines, thinking that these people had truly gone bloodthirsty.
Eventually, death appeared.
The Golbat of the 5 place contestant was bitten by an Ekans belonging to the 3 place contestant. Its wing viciously torn open; it looked like it wouldn't survive.
The 5 place contestant screamed in rage, demanding answers, but the broadcast coldly instructed the loser to leave the stage.
The entire room fell silent. Everyone simply watched.
This wasn't the Pokémon League.
…This was Team Rocket, an underground organization!
Once the 3 place contestant secured his bloody win and a spot in the final 10, all eyes turned to one person.
The only Senior Intelligence Officer in the room: Matori.
Matori adjusted her glasses and calmly walked to the arena under everyone's gaze. She then chose…
Zachary!
Immediately, countless mocking eyes turned toward Zachary, making his sleazy expression look even more grotesque.
No one thought Matori would lose. Not even Zachary himself.
Three minutes later, Matori's Golem stepped off the field.
As for Zachary's Yanmega… it had been buried under a pile of rocks, its condition unknown.
The entire hall fell silent. No one dared look directly at Matori as she took the Arena Holder seat.
Until Haruki slowly stepped onto the stage, and everyone suddenly remembered: there was still one person who hadn't gone up yet.
Would he challenge Matori?
'What a joke, no way!'
Then who would be the final person to be challenged?
Would it be the bloodstained third-place contestant, or the heavily injured fourth-place?
'It should be the latter, right?'
Wait...
He chose the one who had been challenged the least the entire round…
Wesley!
Boom!
With a flash of red light, the long-waiting Marowak finally took the stage.
Wesley glanced at his opponent, whose information was scarce in the intel files, and ultimately chose Golbat, his only remaining uninjured Pokémon, which also had a flight advantage.
The battle began immediately.
Marowak strode forward steadily, moving step by step into the arena.
Golbat was already in the air, flapping its leathery wings in an unpredictable rhythm.
"Golbat!"
Wesley only called its name, he gave no command.
"Marowak."
Haruki likewise only called out his partner's name.
Despite Wesley's rugged appearance, the battle between the two began as a mental chess match.
The next moment, a harsh screech echoed across the arena, causing many spectators to instinctively wince.
Screech!
On the other side, Wesley's expression darkened.
He had hinted for Golbat to use Supersonic. But with Screech disrupting it, Supersonic had no effect, it couldn't confuse Marowak at all.
And that was exactly what Haruki had predicted!
"Smack Down!"
"Maro!"
Marowak swung its bone like a bat, smashing a projectile of rock energy into the air.
Golbat hadn't even reacted before it was struck.
The effect of Smack Down triggered, Golbat instantly lost its flying ability and crashed hard onto the arena.
Bulldoze + Bone Club.
This classic combo had long since been mastered by Marowak to perfection.
Golbat was smashed straight into a crater, and unsurprisingly, lost the ability to battle.
So fast!
The battle hadn't even lasted a full minute, and Wesley -well known within Base No.1- had just lost like that…
Then, under everyone's gaze, Haruki walked toward Wesley.
'What was he doing? Was it going to be a real-life brawl?'
Quite a few people in the room were well aware of the kind of things Wesley and Zachary had done, and they suddenly perked up.
Then, Haruki spoke.
"Drink more Honey when you get back. Don't choke on it."
With that, Haruki turned and sat in the Arena Holder's seat.
And so, the second round of the MIO selection ended.
The losers all exited the arena, and the 10 victors proceeded toward the final gate.
Yes, the selection only consisted of two rounds, nothing overly complicated.
Originally, Haruki had planned to take out one of his targets on the field and deal with the other after it ended.
'But who knew what Zachary had done to piss off Matori? She had eliminated him directly.'
Which made things easier for Haruki.
The 10 contestants passed through the gate one by one, but all of them tacitly left the front position to Matori and Haruki.
And this time, the room finally didn't just contain contestants and the broadcast.
"Congratulations on passing the Mobile Intelligence Officer Selection!"
Three people in plain clothes stood at the front of the room, waiting for them.
The speaker was the woman in the center, someone Haruki had met once before: the café proprietress.
But now, she was no longer dressed up like an innocent "big sis".
A slightly tight-fitting suit and skirt now fully showcased her mature charm.
'As I thought… definitely not young,' Haruki silently noted.
Clearly, all the contestants here had seen the proprietress before, some looked visibly surprised.
As for the other two, they were men.
One wore a full business suit, his fingers glittering with multicolored gems, oozing rich-boy vibes as he smiled at the group.
The other was silent, dark-skinned, with a massive travel backpack slung over his shoulders, he looked like he'd just returned from the desert.
Then the proprietress continued, "Next is the assignment of your external identities as Mobile Intelligence Officers. There are 4 slots for politicians, 4 for merchants, and 2 for traveling Trainers. Selection order will be based on overall performance in both rounds and is not open to appeal."
Once she finished, she ignored everyone's varying reactions and began announcing the order.
First place: Matori
Second place: Haruki...
Haruki blinked. Had he really just been ranked second?
Was it just because Matori's Golem had reached Elite-tier?
Well, yes. That was exactly why.
Still, there were two slots for traveling Trainers, he'd definitely get one. So Haruki let it go.
But to everyone's surprise, Matori didn't choose the highest-freedom identity of traveling Trainer… she chose politician.
But when Haruki remembered her future role, everything suddenly made sense.
----
Soon, all identities were assigned.
The third-place contestant snagged the other traveling Trainer slot like a scavenger, grinning uncontrollably.
Haruki made a mental note of his name: Maldo.
After that, the politicians followed the proprietress, the merchants followed the rich guy, and Haruki and Maldo followed the backpa-cough, the Trainer.