The rewards were mainly divided into two types.
One was ranking-based rewards, fixed prizes awarded according to placement. As the first-place winner, Sato directly received one million Pokédollars. The organizers were undeniably generous.
The other rewards required exchanging points. In this trial, Sato's team had earned a total of 382 points, more than a hundred points ahead of the second place.
Naturally, Jona came in second with a total of 166 points, while none of the others even reached triple digits.
Although such a massive gap in results had occurred in previous competitions, this time the loss was to "outsiders"… outsiders who happened to come from what many in Unova once considered the backwater region of Kanto.
The sour Unova natives could only attempt to salvage some dignity by boasting of their region's faster and better development, but a loss was a loss. They had no choice but to accept it.
No matter how much onlookers gossiped, Sato and the others had already arrived at the reward exchange booth, seriously planning what they should redeem.
All the prizes were valuable. Each point could be exchanged for at least a special Poké Ball. But no one would actually waste their points on something like that.
As the first-place winners, they skipped all the items below and started from the top.
Deino Egg - 300 points.
Note: A Pokémon Egg from the Village of Dragons. Extremely rare and has tremendous potential.
The surrounding crowd let out constant gasps, but Sato and his team merely curled their lips.
"Anyone want it?" Sato asked softly. After hesitating for a moment, the others all shook their heads in refusal.
They had agreed beforehand: whoever contributed more would get the bigger share. If anyone wanted to exchange for a prize beyond their point range, they would have to compensate the others with items or Pokédollars of equivalent value.
As for Mark, there was no need to even consider. It was always up to Pokémon to come to him on their own.
Joseph also seemed uninterested in Deino. Sato couldn't tell if he was being sincere and didn't want to pry.
Phoebe specialized in Ghost types and was already close to finding her own path. At this stage, bringing in a Deino… having no time to raise it was one thing, whether she could raise it successfully was another.
And Ryoko… couldn't afford the compensation.
To her, every Pokémon could be directly acquired from the League Headquarters. Even pseudo-legendary hatchlings were within reach, perhaps even easier to obtain than through point exchange.
So, the Deino Egg was dismissed.
Undeniably, this was the best reward ever offered in the history of the tournament, as scores above 300 typically only appeared in the hands of champions.
Add to that the allure of a pseudo-legendary, and any capable champion would choose it without hesitation. As such, the Deino Egg had long been regarded as a reward reserved for champions.
But now, after a round of discussion, Sato's team chose to reject it?
Without paying any attention to the increasing buzz and chatter behind them, the group continued down the list and found that practically every Unova-region Pokémon was available for exchange.
From the starters -Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott- to rare ones like Munna, Audino, and even Larvesta Eggs, everything was there.
Moreover, according to what Greno had specially investigated, all of these Eggs had been specifically evaluated and screened by the League, they all possessed Low Pseudo-Elite Four potential.
That alone was enough to drive the vast majority of Trainers wild with excitement.
After all, most participants in the trial tournament were stuck at the Elite level, and even those who already had Pseudo-Elite Four Pokémon couldn't exactly claim they didn't still need more with that level of potential.
Sato suddenly remembered the Potential Enhancement Serum. This stuff wasn't cheap either, and its value was even higher than that of many Pokémon with Pseudo-Elite Four potential.
So, the Potential Enhancement Serum could never become a common item. Pokémon with Pseudo-Elite Four potential were still extremely rare.
Aside from Pokémon, many valuable items could also be exchanged. Among them were Energy Crystals and Origin Ore, some extremely rare and high-tier materials.
After going through all the items, the five of them held a brief, hushed discussion and quickly selected a series of items they wanted to exchange.
One Energy Crystal each for Dark-, Ghost-, Grass-, Fire-, and Poison types… just these five cost 250 points.
The Dark- and Ghost-type Energy Crystals naturally went to Sato and Phoebe. The Grass-type went to Joseph, the Fire-type to Ryoko, and the Poison-type to Mark. One per person as a base reward.
The remaining 182 points were unanimously handed over to Sato.
After all, just the points Sato had earned from Bisharp's voluntary offering and his solo gains during the night added up to nearly that much.
"If there's anything you all want from the list, just say it. We're a team. I couldn't have won first place without you."
Sato didn't immediately pick prizes but instead spoke to everyone seriously.
"This was something we all agreed on beforehand. Everyone's on board, no one has any complaints. Besides, 182 points really isn't enough to exchange for anything big. Just go ahead and pick whatever you want."
Phoebe smiled as she spoke, and both Joseph and Ryoko nodded sincerely beside her. Mark even made exaggerated faces at Sato, urging him to stop hesitating.
Looking at the four of them, Sato suddenly recalled all the initial friction and distance when they first formed their team… it felt just like yesterday.
Sure enough, for a team, chemistry really was crucial!
With that thought, Sato didn't hesitate any longer. He turned around and began tapping on the screen, item by item exchanging their points.
Bug- and Dark-type Origin Ore - 100 pointsDragon-type Energy Crystal - 50 pointsAbility Capsule ×2 - 30 pointsDark Gem - 2 points
And with that, all five had completed their exchanges.
"Didn't expect you guys to skip the Deino. Sure, you have a Zweilous, but a Deino Egg could've been used to trade for other pseudo-legendaries, you know. Guess I forgot to mention that," Drake said regretfully.
Sato's team: (д)┬─┬ノ┻━┻
"The Captain's messing with you. Pokémon rewards formally issued by the League can't be discarded, gifted, or traded. If discovered, you're immediately blacklisted by the League."
Greno shook his head and "kindly" explained to the dumbfounded team.
"Elit- Drake… you've shattered the image I had of you as the top Elite Four member in Hoenn," Ryoko muttered.
"EXACTLY! How could you do us !" Mark also shouted. He had genuinely been heartbroken for Sato a moment ago.
"HAHAHA, let's go!" Drake laughed heartily and waved his arm with flair, leading a big group of people away in high spirits.
After they left, the chatter outside Vertress Cave still hadn't died down. Just the actions of the champion, Sato, were enough to fuel debate for a long, long time.
His age, strength, appearance, refusal to pick Deino… every bit of it made this night anything but peaceful for the people of Unova.