As the first contestant to submit his exam early, Sato's action, despite only being twenty minutes ahead of schedule, still delivered a heavy psychological blow to the other participants.
Especially since Sato looked like a kid and remained completely calm; he didn't seem like someone who would simply give up.
If he wasn't randomly filling in answers, then that meant he had finished everything!
Upon realizing this, many contestants were filled with regret, especially the older man in his fifties, who now felt like his entire life had been wasted.
From her seat, Agatha silently watched as Sato placed his exam on the table, briefly narrowed his eyes, then turned away and left the examination hall.
Naturally, Agatha wasn't the one grading the exams. However, she still picked up Sato's paper, glancing through it with interest.
Regardless of Agatha's actions, Sato's early submission had triggered a chain reaction... he hadn't even walked out of the room before another contestant stood up.
Norman!
Sato smirked. There was no way Norman hadn't been provoked by his early submission.
But that just made things more interesting!
Seeing two young Trainers submit their exams, the rest of the contestants -whether they had finished or not- began to panic.
Suddenly, a wave of people rushed to turn in their papers, instantly turning the silent exam hall into a chaotic scene!
"Ahhh!"
A loud scream suddenly echoed through the room.
Everyone turned to look and saw a Haunter grinning mischievously, using its ghostly claws to lift a contestant by the collar.
As the contestant struggled, a small cheat sheet slipped from their sleeve, landing on the floor.
Busted: Caught red-handed!
The nearest proctor immediately stepped in, grabbing the contestant and escorting them out of the exam hall.
"Any contestant caught cheating will have their results voided and will be banned from participating in any League selection for ten years!"
The assistant proctor delivered the announcement firmly, sending chills down the spines of everyone present.
The hall immediately fell silent again... nobody dared to speak.
Those who had considered taking advantage of the earlier chaos were now too scared to make a move.
Even the process of submitting exams became much more orderly after that.
All the while, Elite Four Agatha continued reading through Sato's answers with a faint smile, acting as if nothing had happened.
Standing at the doorway, Sato watched the entire scene unfold, then frowned as he noticed Agatha still looking at his exam.
Under the intense gaze of Gengar, he decided not to linger any longer and quickly left the examination hall.
---
"Sato!"
In the narrow hallway, Sato heard someone call his name. Without turning around, he already knew: it was Norman, who had also submitted his exam early.
"Hmm? What's up?"
"Just wanted to introduce myself. Norman, from Petalburg City in Hoenn. I've wanted to meet you since the Young Elite Tournament, but I never got the chance!" Norman said with a grin, extending his right hand.
"Yuga Sato, from Cerulean City, Kanto."
"You're from Kanto? But I thought…" Norman looked surprised, he remembered that Sato had represented Goldenrod Gym in Johto during the Young Elite Tournament.
"It just worked out that way. Let's talk outside," Sato replied casually, not bothering to explain further.
"Oh, sure!"
The two of them left the exam hall together, immediately drawing a wave of attention.
After reuniting with Joseph and the others, the group of five headed straight to the Pokémon Center for a meal.
"So, you two are both Gym Leader successors, huh? Must be nice! Those questions almost made my hand fall off from writing so much!"
During lunch, Norman learned that Winona and Clair were both Gym Leader heirs, and he couldn't help but feel envious.
To emphasize his frustration, he playfully shook out his sore hand, putting on an exaggerated expression of suffering.
"Hey, Sato, where are you planning to establish your Gym?"
Norman was clearly the friendly and outgoing type, jumping straight into the topic with ease.
His question wasn't just something he was curious about; everyone at the table, and even many people not present, were interested in the answer!
"I haven't decided yet. I'll figure it out when the time comes," Sato replied with a relaxed smile.
But deep down, he knew... establishing a Gym in Johto would be the most beneficial choice for him.
After all, most of his connections were in Johto.
Without hearing an answer, the group looked slightly disappointed. However, Norman -who was naturally thick-skinned- didn't seem to care at all and decided to share his own thoughts instead.
"My hometown, Petalburg City, doesn't have a Gym yet. If I could establish one there, that'd be perfect!"
Seeing how excited Norman was, Sato realized that he probably wasn't fishing for information, he simply wanted to share his own goal.
"Tch, this is only the first event of the tournament! What if you don't even pass?"
Clair couldn't help but drag Norman back to reality, instinctively teasing him out of habit.
But the moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it; she was used to bickering with White and Sato, but she wasn't that familiar with Norman yet.
"It's fine! If I fail once, I'll try again! If I fail twice, I'll try a third time! I'll pass eventually!"
Norman flashed a grin, his teeth still stained with sauce from lunch, radiating an "undeterred" confidence.
"Oh… uh… good luck, then."
Clair was momentarily stunned by Norman's absolute "self-assurance", leaving her at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, Winona's eyes sparkled as she listened to Norman, secretly adding him to her growing list of idols.
After lunch and a brief rest, the group headed to the tournament venue for the afternoon event. The second evaluation: Political and ideological alignment!
The biggest difference between the Gym Leader Qualification and the Young Elite Tournament was that the qualification exam was based on a cumulative point system.
Scores wouldn't be revealed until all five events were completed.
There was no elimination, except for those caught cheating.
Because of this, the second event had more participants, including official Gym Leader successors such as Clair and Winona.
The afternoon exam was structured similarly to the morning one but was shorter, lasting only one and a half hours, with a total of two sheets.
The first half focused on Pokémon League laws and regulations, as well as political doctrine.
Sato had memorized all of this ages ago, so he immediately began writing, completing the questions even faster than in the morning!
The second half included current policy discussions, such as: [The pros and cons of limiting the number of Pokémon a Trainer could carry.] [Strategies for Trainers and Pokémon to achieve mutual success.] [League support policies for rookie Trainers, and more.]
In short: Bureaucratic nonsense.
Fortunately, back in Joy Town, Sato had specifically studied the "standard answers" for this type of content.
So, even though the subject was politics, Sato didn't even need to think much; he simply wrote down the expected responses like a copying machine.
By the time he finished the exam, only fifty minutes had passed.
After carefully double-checking his answers, he submitted his paper at exactly the one-hour mark. Another early submission!
This time, however, fewer people were affected.
After all, this was political and ideological alignment, writing more at least guaranteed partial credit. Anyone submitting early was probably an idiot.
But that night, when the League announced the results for the first two evaluations, everyone started looking at Sato like he was a monster.
Pokémon knowledge and expertise
-1st Place: Yuga Sato – Score: 9.9
Political and ideological alignment
-1st Place: Yuga Sato – Score: 9.7
Sato had placed first in both categories!