Sato might not have remembered every little detail of the Team Rocket Purge Operation in Goldenrod City, but he could still recall all the key moments.
However, if he completely replicated the real event in his preparations, it would be far too suspicious… as if he could predict the future.
After all, this was only a simulation, and if the organizers had accounted for the possibility of past participants using prior knowledge, they might have altered Team Rocket's secret base location to prevent exploitation.
If that were the case, the test could end in disaster.
So, the real event could only serve as a reference… all necessary precautionary measures and scouting efforts still needed to be carried out as if the details were unknown. In fact, additional defensive measures had to be put in place!
He covertly arranged for Gym Leader Howard to be stationed at a regular inn near the Pokémon Center, ready to act.
In the sewers and artificial waterways, he placed a large number of Pokémon with the Damp Ability to counter possible explosives.
Elite Four Bruno and Officer Jenny were assigned to guard Silph Co. and the Game Corner, ensuring they could quickly provide reinforcements.
Patrol units were doubled, deliberately drawing Team Rocket's attention; forcing them to launch their attack thirty minutes earlier than planned.
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At exactly 9:00 AM, as expected, Team Rocket launched their assault!
Thanks to the preparations, although the Pokémon Center was bombed, the most critical individual -Nurse Joy- remained unharmed.
What Sato hadn't anticipated, however, was just how crucial Nurse Joy would become!
As the person most familiar with the Pokémon Center's infrastructure, she immediately activated the backup underground facility, restoring nearly 80% of the center's functionality!
Soon after, Silph Co. was breached, leading to the capture of numerous Team Rocket logistics personnel before they could escape.
Regardless of whether Team Rocket had intended to strike at 9:00 AM or not, Sato had already forced the League's counteroffensive to start thirty minutes earlier.
For the next half-hour, the simulation entered a stalemate. Team Rocket seemed to be disoriented by the League's preemptive strike, failing to respond immediately.
At the same time, Sato's elite squads conducted a full-scale search, yet no large gatherings of Team Rocket grunts were found, only scattered minor operatives.
Then, suddenly, multiple explosions erupted across the city!
Sato immediately ordered Bruno to summon rain!
Politoed swiftly commanded all Water-type Pokémon in the city to neutralize the fires and explosions, minimizing the damage.
So far, everything matched reality. Citywide explosions appeared to be a scripted trigger point in the simulation; s soon as the explosions ended, Team Rocket's base location would be exposed.
However, at this moment, the simulation's scenario deviated from real history!
The Game Corner was no longer Team Rocket's secret base!
Instead, an unexpected event occurred: A rogue Larvitar broke loose, leading to chaos among independent Trainers.
Team Rocket exploited the disorder, escalating the conflict to divert the League's focus and resources.
Sato immediately deployed Gym Leader Howard to suppress the situation, ensuring the chaos didn't spread further.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket's actual base in Goldenrod City had been relocated... to the busiest commercial district in the city center!
At 10:00 PM, the commercial streets were still crowded with civilians.
Before launching an attack on Team Rocket's base, the greatest challenge was ensuring the safe evacuation of the public.
This unexpected element, completely unrelated to the real event, was the true test of city defense skills.
After all, the most critical aspect of city protection is safeguarding civilians; buildings and infrastructure can always be rebuilt.
Fortunately, Sato had received training in civilian evacuation back in Joy Town under Nurse Joy's guidance.
He assigned an entire elite squad to oversee the evacuation, placing Officer Jenny in charge of coordinating the operation.
Meanwhile, Sato himself deployed Bruno… to infiltrate Team Rocket's underground base alone!
An Elite Four member was equivalent to an entire battalion!
Bruno stormed in, tearing through Team Rocket's forces like a rampaging Garchomp, while Sato rallied independent Trainers across the city, offering rewards for assisting in the battle.
As Bruno carved a path through Team Rocket's defenses, Trainers flooded into the base, overwhelming the enemy.
This sudden influx of reinforcements threw Team Rocket's evacuation plan into chaos!
Bruno then displayed his true Elite Four strength, single-handedly capturing Team Rocket's operation commander in Goldenrod City: Darth Kaiser!
(It's 'Dark' but you know…)
The Team Rocket Purge Operation in Goldenrod City had finally entered its final phase!
The ever-energetic Nurse Joy once again proved indispensable; thanks to her coordination, most of the injured Trainers and Pokémon were successfully treated and saved.
Sato understood that in the simulation's scoring system, the final safety of the civilians played a major role.
And since he had personally experienced the real event, he knew that Nurse Joy's contributions were absolutely irreplaceable!
A Pokémon Center -and more importantly-, Nurse Joy herself, had become a symbol in every city.
Just seeing Nurse Joy present and unharmed was enough to calm panicked crowds, as if her very presence guaranteed their survival.
At this moment, Sato finally grasped the true extent of the Joy family's influence within the Pokémon League.
Perhaps, looking identical wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Once all final clean-up operations were completed, the results for the simulation test were announced.
4.2 points.
Adding the 4 points from the written exam, Sato's total score for the City Protection Capabilities assessment was 8.2 points out of 10.
This was the only test so far where he had failed to achieve a perfect score.
Since he had drawn Goldenrod City, the largest and most complex city, his test lasted far longer than that of most participants.
By the time he finished his assessment, most others had also concluded their exams. Glancing at the live-updating leaderboard, Sato noticed that the highest score was only 8.8 points.
However, about ten minutes later, when all tests had officially ended, the leaderboard rankings shifted dramatically!
City Protection Capabilities Final Rankings:
1st Place: Winona – 9.8 points
2nd Place: Flint– 9.7 points
6th Place: Lucian – 9.4 points
7th Place: Clair – 9.3 points
Among the top ten, aside from Clair and Lucian, Sato didn't personally know the others, but he was somewhat familiar with them.
Then, he made a critical observation: Nearly every top-ranking participant in this test was a future Gym Leader!
Sato's 8.2-point score placed him outside the top 40, while Norman scored even lower, only 6.8 points, barely passing.
However, Sato wasn't surprised at all.
For Gym Leader successors, the City Protection Capabilities test was essentially a guaranteed advantage.
Each of them was specifically assigned the city of their future Gym, giving them a natural edge.
Not to mention, their in-depth knowledge of their own cities' defenses and strengths far surpassed what any ordinary participant could achieve.