Exchange Office

"Exchange Office, do you accept items in exchange for Points?" Qing Wu asked a Team Rocket Grunt who was fiddling with his phone.

Seeing business coming, the grunt put down his phone with interest.

"That depends on what the item is." The grunt's Duck Voice rang out.

"It's Ekans' Poison Sting." Qing Wu produced the Ekans Poison Sting he had collected.

The Ekans Poison Sting was well-preserved by Qing Wu, purple with a hint of black luster, excellent in appearance.

"Ekans' Poison Sting, huh. I've never seen such good quality before." The Team Rocket Grunt glanced at it.

"Can I take a look?" the Team Rocket Grunt asked Qing Wu.

"Of course, no problem." Qing Wu raised his hand in a gesture.

The Team Rocket Grunt directly put on gloves and carefully picked up the Ekans Poison Sting.

Although the Ekans Poison Sting wasn't extremely toxic, it was still troublesome if it seeped into the skin.

The grunt gazed at the Poison Stings with rapt fascination.

"These are truly Perfect Grade Ekans Poison Stings," the grunt murmured.

"I'll take these Ekans Poison Stings. Name your price."

"By the way, I'm the Squad Leader in charge of this Exchange Office. My name is Dazuo."

"If you have items to exchange in the future, I can give you more favorable privileges." Dazuo winked, signaling to Qing Wu.

Dazuo's implication was clear: I'm the boss here, so you'd better butter me up.

Otherwise, when you come to exchange in the future, you'll get the standard price.

"May I ask, what are you using these Poison Stings for? To cultivate your Poison Pokémon?" Qing Wu probed.

"To be honest, my Spinarak is in a state of evolution and needs a large amount of Poison-type materials."

"The Ekans Poison Sting in your hand is the best Poison-type material I've ever seen." Dazuo spoke truthfully.

"I once obtained a Secret Recipe. High-quality Ekans Poison Stings are the most important raw material for this recipe."

"I've searched many places and was about to lose hope, but I never expected to be so lucky as to find them here." Dazuo said, somewhat excited.

"Could you let me see that Secret Recipe? I'm a Breeder." Qing Wu said calmly.

"What for?" Dazuo's eyes showed hostility, glaring fiercely at Qing Wu.

But Qing Wu's expression remained unchanged under Dazuo's vicious stare.

"Squad Leader Dazuo, as far as I know, there's no Secret Recipe that can directly force a Poison Pokémon to break through."

"That so-called Secret Recipe is likely a trap set by a hostile force to harm you."

"If I'm not mistaken, after your Spinarak consumed the poison, it was initially full of energy."

"But as the Poison-type materials increased, your Spinarak should now be listless and weak." Qing Wu said calmly.

Qing Wu hit the nail on the head, exposing the biggest secret about Dazuo's Spinarak.

"How do you know?" Dazuo asked in surprise, suddenly feeling that this kid Qing Wu had some skill.

In truth, this Spinarak wasn't Dazuo's; it belonged to a high-ranking Team Rocket officer at Dazuo's level.

This officer, skilled with Poison Pokémon, had suffered an unexpected setback—the Spinarak simply couldn't evolve into Ariados.

Dazuo could only apply to come to Trial Island to lie low and secretly find a solution.

Dazuo pulled a note covered in writing from his pocket and respectfully handed it to Qing Wu: "Please take a look."

Dazuo didn't even realize he was using honorifics toward Qing Wu.

A superior using honorifics to a subordinate was a grave breach of etiquette in Team Rocket.

"Just as I thought, this recipe has issues," Qing Wu said calmly.

"This person really wanted to scheme and kill you. Judging by your appearance, you've stopped feeding the Spinarak the poison for a while."

"Otherwise, this Spinarak would have died long ago. My Ekans Poison Stings won't be of much help to it."

"Instead, I have a formula here that can help your Spinarak. Whether you believe it or not is up to you, Squad Leader Dazuo, to verify."

Qing Wu took a pen and scribbled a list of Berries and herbs on the paper, clearly noting the preparation steps.

"This is a medicine that Poison Pokémon can take. Follow the steps."

"After three days of administration, it will neutralize the toxins in your Spinarak and even trigger its evolution."

"Oh, and this can also boost your Spinarak's stamina." Qing Wu pulled out the few remaining Poffins.

These were just basic Poffins, common in Team Rocket, and most Breeders could make them, though quality varied.

"Give your Spinarak three of these Poffins every day."

Qing Wu placed them on the table as a favor to Dazuo. Having Dazuo in charge of the Exchange Office could be a great help to Qing Wu.

"Th-this is a Flawless Grade Poffin."

Seeing this Poffin, Captain Dazuo was exceptionally excited—he had never seen a Flawless Grade Poffin before.

"They're truly beautiful, every single one crystal clear, like flawless gems." Captain Dazuo gazed at these Poffins as if they were treasures.

"I made all of these myself, but the success rate wasn't very high. It took a lot of effort." Qing Wu deliberately downplayed the success rate.

If he wanted to, Qing Wu could ensure that every Poffin turned out just like these, with a guaranteed yield rate.

"The yield rate for this kind of Poffin isn't high, probably around..." Qing Wu named a number.

"A yield of that much? That's double that of an average Pokémon Breeder." Captain Dazuo was stunned by Qing Wu's humblebrag.

"Damn, I slipped up. Said too much."

Qing Wu silently cursed himself, forgetting that most people had a very low success rate with Poffins.

"Little brother, I'll take you as my little brother from now on." Captain Dazuo suddenly spoke up.

"Little brother saved my life, and I have no way to repay you. If you ever need anything, big brother will make it happen."

Having received Qing Wu's guidance and generous help, Captain Dazuo was filled with gratitude toward him.

"I need a large amount of Berries—the more, the better—and I'd like to ask big brother to help me sell Poffins within Team Rocket."

"Help me earn Points and exchange for items. Can big brother manage that?" Qing Wu thought for a moment, then stated his request.

"Of course, no problem. Leave it to me." Captain Dazuo patted his chest.

"For the Poffin split, you take ninety percent, I take ten. That's settled, or else big brother will think you look down on me." Captain Dazuo declared loudly and generously.

"Big brother!"

"Little brother!"

Captain Dazuo and Qing Wu clasped hands tightly. How much sincerity was in that grip, Qing Wu had no idea.

But it didn't matter. After all, Team Rocket was full of betrayal and mutual exploitation—Qing Wu was long used to it.

"Oh, right, little brother, I haven't even asked your name yet." Captain Dazuo realized after all this time that he didn't know Qing Wu's name, which was pretty awkward.

"My name is Qing Wu. If big brother ever runs into any Pokémon breeding issues, you can consult me directly."

Qing Wu revealed that he was a breeding expert, adding to his bargaining chips.

"Got it." Captain Dazuo immediately pulled out the best Berries and medicinal herbs from the warehouse, along with a piece of dark alloy ore.

"Big brother, I can't exchange that many Berries with just five hundred Points." Qing Wu looked at the mountain of Berries piled up and said instinctively.

"No worries. Consider the extra Berries as big brother's sponsorship. After all, you gave me a recipe—think of it as payment for that."

Qing Wu tried to decline a few times but had to accept, promising to provide Captain Dazuo with a batch of Poffins by the end of the trial.

Qing Wu's Team Rocket Wristband was stuffed to the brim, containing many rare Berries, such as Sand Scale Fruit.

Then Captain Dazuo pulled out some wilderness necessities he no longer used, like a Small Tent, a Windproof Lighter, and a Good Rod.

Captain Dazuo even took out a Space Backpack that could hold three cubic meters of items—he had really gone all out to build a good relationship with Qing Wu.

May Day reading fun, a gift of 500 VIP Points!

(Event time: April 29th to May 3rd)