Fierce Ekans, Qing Wu Throws a Spicy Berry

Just as Qing Wu was about to leave the Trial Base and return to the small cave he had discovered yesterday, he suddenly saw a group of people standing outside in the distance, apparently waiting for someone.

At the head of the group was the man who trained the Ekans, Kuraki.

Qing Wu looked at Kuraki's snake-like pupils, and his heart skipped a beat. Snakes were the most patient hunters among animals; they used their forked tongues to capture the scent of prey in the air, quietly approaching their target before launching a fatal strike.

Qing Wu couldn't help but shiver at Kuraki's gaze. He quickened his pace out of the base.

In Qing Wu's view, his Pokémon hadn't received enough training yet, and now wasn't the time to fight this madman. Once this lunatic set his sights on you, there would be no peace.

As Qing Wu walked step by step toward the exit, the gloomy malice in Kuraki's eyes grew heavier, and his face turned paler.

Kuraki twitched his little finger, and the Ekans understood, quickly slithering in Qing Wu's direction.

Qing Wu heard the sound of a Pokémon crawling behind him and knew the Ekans had launched an attack.

The Ekans opened its gaping maw, its mouth filled with a large amount of foul-smelling gas.

As if Qing Wu had eyes in the back of his head, he directly took an oversized Berry from his Wristband, turned around, and stuffed it into the Ekans's mouth.

The Ekans was suddenly stuffed with the Berry, which got stuck in its throat, neither going up nor down.

Qing Wu's move wasn't very damaging, but it was extremely humiliating.

Kuraki's face turned even whiter, and a trace of black blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, until the Ekans finally bit the Berry in half.

Berry juice dripped from the Ekans's mouth onto the ground.

It turned out to be a Spicy Berry, a fruit with an extremely high spiciness level, so hot that the Ekans's mouth swelled up directly.

"You'd better take the Ekans to the medical room quickly. That was a Spicy Berry," Qing Wu kindly reminded him.

Kuraki's gloomy gaze swept back and forth between Qing Wu and the Ekans, until the Ekans's mouth was swollen like a sausage.

Only then did Kuraki recall the Ekans into its Poké Ball and lead the group toward the medical room.

"Clap, clap, clap," a figure hidden in the shadows clapped their hands. "I didn't expect to see such a good show."

Qing Wu looked closely and saw it was Lan Ling.

"Qing Wu, you'd better be careful. Kuraki is a petty man. Once he sets his sights on you, it'll be a fight to the death."

"Especially since you've offended him like this. Oh, by the way, I'm Lan Ling. Hope you're still alive next time we meet."

Lan Ling, in a great mood after watching the spectacle, hummed a tune as she walked toward the Exchange Office.

"So it's her." Qing Wu recognized the familiar face and remembered who Lan Ling was.

This was the future direct subordinate of Athena, the Ice-type Psychic Elite Four. No wonder Qing Wu felt like he had seen her somewhere before.

He had crossed paths with her a few times in his past life, but back then she had short hair, so he hadn't recognized her at first glance.

This woman was also a famous Viper Beauty in Team Rocket. If she set her sights on you, she would scheme you to death.

"Boss, I want to exchange," Lan Ling shouted loudly, slapping a card down on the counter, making it seem like there were millions of Points on that card.

In a corner of the base was the room of Team Rocket's head instructor. Coach Frostwolf sat in his office chair, smoking a cigarette.

Just then, the arrival of a Black Robe broke Coach Frostwolf's peace.

The Black Robe directly pulled a cigarette from Coach Frostwolf's precious stash of cigars, expertly snipped the end, and lit it.

Under Coach Frostwolf's pained and reluctant gaze, the Black Robe sat directly across from him, crossed his legs, and said nothing.

The Black Robe took a deep drag of the cigar but choked on the smoke, coughing incessantly.

"You can't even smoke, and you're wasting my expensive cigars like this."

Coach Frostwolf finally couldn't hold back and spoke first, breaking the silence.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much. Boss Sakaki sent me here to take a vacation." The Black Robe pulled off the hood covering his head, revealing a weathered face.

"Oh, you battle maniac actually came here to vacation? Is the sun rising from the west?" Coach Frostwolf exclaimed in surprise.

"Did the mission fail?" Coach Frostwolf probed cautiously.

"The mission didn't fail. I just need to see my old friends off one last time." The Black Robe's tone carried a hint of helplessness.

"Right, they've held on for so long, they can't keep going anymore. It's been hard on them." Coach Frostwolf sighed.

Parting between life and death was the most common thing in Team Rocket. This batch of Pokémon had been with the Black Robe the longest.

"Got any suitable Pokémon?" Coach Frostwolf said as he turned around, opened a safe, and took out three Poké Balls.

"These are three relatively strong Pokémon I've collected. Take them to train, or else your position in the organization won't be secure."

Although Coach Frostwolf felt some reluctance, he steeled himself and pushed the Poké Balls toward the Black Robe.

"No need. I still have backup Pokémon. Boss Sakaki knew about it and told me to come relax and find a successor while I'm at it."

The Black Robe pushed the Poké Balls back to Coach Frostwolf.

"To be honest, after all these years, I'm a bit tired," the Black Robe said helplessly.

This batch of Pokémon had all been carefully raised by the Black Robe. Over the years, they were like father and son. He just wanted to see them off.

Even someone as heartless as the Black Robe could feel his own heart beating.

"We can relax the survival rate for this trial a bit. The organization has lost a lot of people lately," the black-robed figure said to Coach Frostwolf.

"Those were Boss Sakaki's exact words," the black robe added.

"I never thought that you, Cang—known as the Grim Reaper in Team Rocket—would end up in such a state," Coach Frostwolf said with some emotion. He stood up and grabbed two bottles of good liquor from the cabinet.

"Want a drink?" Coach Frostwolf was ruthless, but he still held onto a shred of humanity.

"Are you still hurting inside? After all, you used to be such a kind person," Coach Frostwolf couldn't help but console him.

"I'm numb." That single phrase, "I'm numb," laid bare Cang's bitterness. He and his Pokémon had made too many sacrifices for Team Rocket.

His own Pokémon had been replaced several times over, all buried on Ghost Mountain on Trial Island.

Cang felt his strength waning. It was time to find a successor.

"What exactly happened?" Curiosity ultimately got the better of Coach Frostwolf, and he asked.

"When I was battling two Elite Four members from the League, a hidden Poison-type Elite Four ambushed me. All my Pokémon were poisoned."

"I thought the toxin would be fine after I got back to base and took an antidote, but later I noticed my Pokémon becoming lethargic."

"Then I had all my Pokémon examined. The medical experts were helpless against this toxin."

"I've already told Leader Sakaki. I came here to see my Pokémon off, so I'm treating this as a vacation to pick some people," Cang said expressionlessly.

"I never thought even you, a Poison-type and Dark-type Elite Four, couldn't cure the poison. That's really rare."

Coach Frostwolf tried to joke, but his face was grim. If even a Poison-type Elite Four couldn't cure it, how powerful must that toxin be?

"I don't know. That Elite Four is a new face. I also had Agatha take a look."

"Pfft." Cang bit open the cork with his teeth, took a huge gulp of liquor, and swallowed.

"What did Agatha say?" Coach Frostwolf raised an eyebrow.

If anyone in Team Rocket ranked second in poison use, no one would dare claim first.

"Agatha couldn't do anything either. He thinks it's a new type of toxin. His medicine can only slow it down."

"Thanks to him, my Pokémon have been able to hold on this long, burning their last embers of strength."

What a pity. In his final moments, Cang was still trying to save his Pokémon, with no time to train new Elite Four-level ones.

Without Elite Four Pokémon, Cang couldn't command respect. He was destined to fall from his heights into the abyss.

Cang sighed inwardly. One step at a time. At least he'd already decided to find a successor.

"I'm going to sleep here. I haven't rested in days. Every time I close my eyes, I see my Pokémon struggling to live."

"They keep holding on, just so their trainer won't feel sad." Two streams of murky tears flowed from Cang's eyes.

"Didn't you say you were numb? This is common in Team Rocket," Coach Frostwolf asked, confused.

"I'm numb, but the memories run deep." Cang hadn't slept in days, numbing himself with alcohol.

Cang rubbed his temples hard. His head was throbbing.

He saw the will to live in his Pokémon—a desire to let their trainer live on better.

That touched the softest part of Cang's heart.

Coach Frostwolf didn't look into Cang's eyes. If he had, he would have seen that Cang harbored a death wish.

"In Team Rocket, you can't get attached to Pokémon. You haven't just joined yesterday," Coach Frostwolf said with a frown.

Cang was Boss Sakaki's right-hand man, second only to him in strength. How could he be so broken?

"You haven't been through it. You wouldn't understand." Cang downed the entire bottle of liquor in one go.

He tossed the empty bottle aside, and it clattered on the floor.

"I'm going to sleep." Cang sat on the stool, wrapped in his black robe, and drifted off. Soon, his snores roared like crashing waves.

"This bastard always comes to my place and treats it like a hotel," Coach Frostwolf grumbled inwardly, but he walked out of the office and gently closed the door behind him.

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