The Black Robe

At the Team Rocket trial base, Coach Frostwolf looked at Cang, who was seated in the main seat.

Although Cang sat calmly in the main seat, the veins bulging on his hands revealed his inner turmoil at that moment.

Seeing that the assembly signal had already sounded and most people had arrived, Qing Wu's figure was still nowhere to be seen.

"Will our leader be alright?" Kaminari said worriedly, while Ailian comforted Kaminari beside him.

"Don't worry, our leader is so powerful that even if the two of us teamed up, we wouldn't be a match for him. Our leader will be fine."

"But why hasn't our leader appeared even after assembly?" Kaminari was a bit anxious.

"Our leader might have been delayed by something. Don't worry," Ailian could only say reassuring words.

She was also feeling uneasy, fearing that something might have happened to Qing Wu. She had finally found a strong backer, and now he might be gone before he could even show his full potential.

"This is truly good news, Qing Wu won't be appearing," Lan Ling said, completely relieved that Qing Wu hadn't shown up by this time. Now she could finally go head-to-head with Kuraki.

"What a shame, Qing Wu was a worthy opponent," Kuraki said nonchalantly, lamenting the twists of fate.

Kuraki, who thought he would have a feud with Qing Wu, found himself appreciating him, while Lan Ling, who should have been an ally, secretly plotted to send Qing Wu to his death.

After waiting for a while longer, and confirming that no one else would enter.

Cang ordered the plaza gates to be closed. Cang suddenly looked more than ten years older, feeling as if all his strength had vanished.

"You can host this competition, Qiong. I want to be alone for a while," Cang slowly stood up.

Just then, as the plaza gates were about to close, a Black Robe with a Golbat broke through the closing gap.

Who is this?

"How dare you! To barge in at the last moment!"

Many trial participants were discussing amongst themselves.

The Black Robe took off his hood, revealing a smiling face. It was Qing Wu.

"It's the leader! The leader isn't dead!" Kaminari cried with joy, holding back the urge to look directly at Qing Wu.

He was afraid Qing Wu would see the tears welling up in his eyes and laugh at him.

"Yes, the leader is back," Ailian's eyes also turned red.

Kuraki gave Qing Wu a welcoming expression.

Lan Ling glared fiercely at Lian Ji, then turned to Qing Wu with a brilliant smile.

"This brat, always making people worry," Cang, who was about to leave, sat down abruptly and shouted into the microphone before him, "Since everyone is here, this assessment officially begins!"

Immediately after, a Team Rocket grunt brought a lottery box, asking each trial participant to draw a ping pong ball from it.

The ping pong balls had various numbers written on them.

"The rules for this trial are very simple: pure combat to determine victory. Number one fights number two, three fights four, and so on. Of course, the benevolent Team Rocket will also give you one chance, a chance to save your life."

"If you forfeit the match, you will receive this life-saving opportunity. However, those who forfeit will be stripped of their chance to become a formal member of Team Rocket, their Pokémon will be confiscated, and they will become mere laborers."

"During the matches, you can use any tricks or schemes you wish. We at Team Rocket only care about the outcome. We will not pursue any actions, even if you kill your opponent."

"Additionally, as you all know, we can also engage in death matches. If both parties agree, a death match can be held. The final trial officially begins!"

"Please hand over your drawn numbers to the staff. After your number is registered, you can apply to have a death match," Cang said, then closed his eyes and rested in his seat.

Qing Wu drew a number from the lottery box, number 38, a truly auspicious number.

After the Team Rocket grunt registered the number, the large screen in the plaza, which hadn't been opened in a year, lit up. It displayed the names of individuals, indicating that so far, only one person had survived this trial.

"Instructor, I want to have a death match!" Fatty immediately raised his hand, signaling to Coach Frostwolf that he wanted to challenge someone to a death match.

"Who is your opponent?" Coach Frostwolf asked Fatty. Fatty's resentful eyes stared at Kaminari for a long time. Kaminari felt Fatty's gaze and, without hesitation, opened his bell-like eyes and stared back.

Just as everyone thought Fatty was going to challenge Kaminari, Fatty shifted his gaze to Qing Wu.

"Reporting, Instructor, I want to challenge Qing Wu to a death match!" Fatty still believed that this was all Qing Wu's fault.

If Qing Wu hadn't appeared, he wouldn't have lost his Spinarak and wouldn't be in such a sorry state. Even his subordinate was swallowed by an Arbok.

... Seeking flowers...

Fatty thought of the Death Makeup Technique he trained his Arbok with and immediately calmed down.

"This idiot, who told him to challenge Qing Wu? Even I don't have that confidence," Kuraki's face turned grim, his eyes filled with ferocity.

A look of displeasure appeared on Kuraki's pale face. This would make Qing Wu mistakenly believe that Fatty was instructed by him to provoke Qing Wu.

"Forget it, it's already like this. Since Fatty is in a hurry to reincarnate anyway, let him be," Kuraki waved his hand, completely giving up on Fatty.

"Do you really want to have a death match?" Frostwolf asked Fatty. Fatty nodded firmly.

"And you, Qing Wu, do you agree?" Coach Frostwolf turned his head to Qing Wu. Qing Wu also nodded in agreement.

... 0 ...

"Alright, the death match is established!" Coach Frostwolf shouted loudly.

"Is there anyone else who wants to have a death match?" Coach Frostwolf asked, but no one answered.

"The death match begins!" Coach Frostwolf pressed a button, and with a rumbling sound, four large battle arenas rose from the bottom of the plaza.

Fatty grabbed a Poké Ball and walked towards one of the battle arenas, with Qing Wu following closely behind.

There were no judges for this life-or-death duel. The rule was that once a trainer stepped onto the arena, their Pokémon could stay, but one of the trainers had to die.

Fatty stood on the arena, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

"Qing Wu, you have no idea how hard I've been training. Ever since you defeated me, you've been the one I resented most every single day. Thank you for becoming the motivation for my growth. I'll give you a dignified death," Fatty said boastfully.

"Your abilities haven't improved much, but you sure can talk big. When you abandoned your Spinarak and ran away, didn't you have any second thoughts? You were just too weak," Qing Wu scoffed at Fatty's words.

"Hmph, all this fancy talk. Trainers rely on strength. Let me show you my power!" Fatty threw out a Poké Ball, and a giant Arbok appeared, flicking its tongue at Qing Wu with a ferocious expression.

"Come out, Golbat!" Qing Wu directly summoned his Golbat.

Everyone watching in the arena saw a Golbat several times larger than the usual size flapping its wings in the air.