By the time Fat Brother abandoned him and fled, Spinarak's heart had already died.
Qing Wu was not worried about what consequences Fat Brother's escape might bring. In his eyes, Fat Brother had completely run out of Pokémon.
The Pokémon belonging to the companions who had fled with him had all suffered serious injuries and no longer had much fighting power.
Left in the wilderness, which was full of wild Pokémon, they might return directly to the base if they were lucky. If not, they would remain there forever.
In any case, Team Rocket did not prohibit Trial Participants from killing one another.
As for having one's Pokémon taken away, that was as simple as eating or drinking. Using any means necessary was the first thing Team Rocket taught all its members.
After Fat Brother fled back to the Team Rocket base, the best ending he could expect was probably to become a menial worker there and spend the rest of his life that way.
"You need to watch out for Fat Brother. His older brother is a Squad Leader in Team Rocket, and this Spinarak was specifically assigned to him by his brother." Tall Guy offered a reminder, but under Meowth's sharp gaze, he swallowed the rest of what he wanted to say.
In Qing Wu's eyes, this was incredibly amusing. Meowth seemed like the real Trainer, while Tall Guy was more like Meowth's errand boy.
Qing Wu carefully cleaned the wounds on Spinarak's body, removing the small stones and blades of grass before spraying specially prepared healing medicine onto them.
Spinarak's injuries began improving at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"This is an antidote for Meowth. You happened to run into me." Qing Wu handed over an antidotal Poffin.
"Your Meowth was poisoned and can't bring out its full strength. If it hadn't met me, your Meowth probably wouldn't have survived Trial Island."
Humanity was what Qing Wu wanted to find within Team Rocket.
He wanted to gather a group of loyal subordinates who still possessed humanity.
Tall Guy seemed agreeable enough, so Qing Wu did not mind helping him and making him owe a favor.
"What? If I wanted to harm you, I would've had Zubat attack already."
Qing Wu saw that Meowth still looked guarded and complained to it.
"Meowth, he's right. If he wanted to harm us, he could do it with his strength."
Qing Wu had not expected Tall Guy to be able to persuade Meowth.
After hearing that, Meowth took the antidotal Poffin from Qing Wu and tossed it straight into its mouth.
Suddenly, Meowth's expression rippled with delight. Oh my gosh, what kind of heavenly flavor is this?!
With every chew, Meowth's taste buds distinguished a different flavor.
Meowth was even reluctant to swallow it, wanting to let the delicious taste linger between its lips and teeth. Its gaze met Qing Wu's faintly amused smile.
Meowth's little face suddenly flushed. It turned its head away, acting utterly tsundere.
After swallowing the Poffin, Meowth felt a warm current flow out from its stomach and course through its limbs and organs.
Ever since being poisoned, Meowth had felt intense pain every moment.
As the warm current passed through it, the toxins vanished without a trace. Meowth felt as though its entire body had been purified.
This made Meowth look at Qing Wu in a new light, and it directly acknowledged his strength.
Meowth cried out to Tall Guy for a while. After thinking it over, Tall Guy nodded.
"My name is Shiranui Kaminari. From now on, you'll be my boss." Kaminari spoke directly.
"Thank you for saving my Meowth." Kaminari bowed deeply.
"Take this Spinarak. It will increase your strength."
Qing Wu picked up the Poké Ball containing the Spinarak Fat Brother had dropped on the ground and returned the bandaged Spinarak inside.
"However, Fat Brother abandoned this Spinarak, so it will be very difficult for it to open its heart again." Qing Wu felt somewhat regretful.
After all, Spinarak had taken Beedrill's sting while protecting Fat Brother. It had never expected Fat Brother to abandon it and flee.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony." After taking the Poké Ball containing Spinarak, Kaminari felt as if he had accepted a responsibility.
"By the way, boss, Meowth found a skeleton earlier. There was a Treasure Map on it."
After hesitating for a moment, Kaminari pulled a somewhat yellowed Treasure Map from his clothes.
"A Treasure Map? You mean these?" Qing Wu took seven or eight Treasure Maps out of his Wristband.
Judging by the yellowed parchment, they might even have been older than the one Kaminari had.
"These are all ownerless Treasure Maps." Kecleon had found all of them.
After obtaining them, Qing Wu had casually tossed them into his Wristband. If not for Kaminari's reminder, he might not even have remembered them.
These Treasure Maps had been left behind by Trial Participants who had discovered treasures but had been unable to conveniently bring them back to the base.
After discussing the maps with Kaminari, Qing Wu chose the nearest treasure site.
However, there was a problem with that treasure site: it was inside Arbok's territory.
The climate on Trial Island was extremely suitable for Ekans to breed.
The Ekans that had escaped from Team Rocket's trials had all multiplied and thrived there, forming a massive group.
The burial site marked on the map was right in the center of Arbok's territory.
It was highly likely that when the map had been drawn, that place had not yet belonged to Arbok.
Qing Wu put the Pokémon Fat Brother had left behind into his Wristband.
These Pokémon could all be sold directly to the Exchange Office. Some individual soldiers might even pay a high price to buy them.
Team Rocket Base.
Fat Brother ran back to the Team Rocket base in a panic, his face filled with alarm.
The Short Guy and Skinny Monkey had both been attacked by Arbok and died after being poisoned. Fat Brother had merely been luckier and managed to escape back to the Team Rocket base.
Fat Brother had even run so hard that he lost one of his shoes.
"Damn it, I will definitely avenge this grudge!" Fat Brother recalled the Short Guy being bitten by Arbok and swallowed whole.
Skinny Monkey, meanwhile, had been wrapped up by Arbok's body. After every bone in his body was crushed, Arbok swallowed him whole.
If the two Arbok had not been full and too lazy to move, Fat Brother would never have escaped with his life.
Fat Brother returned to his dormitory at the base and tidied himself up before steeling himself and heading straight to a corner of the base.
He knocked on one of the doors.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Who is it?" a hushed voice came from behind the door.
"Big brother, it's me." Fat Brother lowered his voice as well.
"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you not to come unless something happened?"
Someone who looked remarkably similar to Fat Brother opened the door. After looking around and confirming that no one was there, he hurriedly pulled Fat Brother into the room.
"Big brother, my Pokémon were stolen!" Fat Brother wailed.
"What happened?" Fat Brother's older brother frowned as he looked at Fat Brother, whose tears and snot were mixed together. His eyes were filled with disgust.
His younger brother had been causing trouble since childhood.
If not for the sake of their deceased parents,
Fat Brother's brother genuinely would not have wanted to support him. He had even given him a newborn Spinarak with Green Quality.
Fat Brother exaggerated the entire story as he recounted it.
However, he did not say that he had provoked Qing Wu first. Instead, he claimed that Qing Wu had taken his Pokémon without saying a word.
Seeing Fat Brother's shifty eyes, his older brother knew that nine-tenths of what he said was false.
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