Chapter 67

"Arbok, use Dragon Dance." The Fat Man issued the command, leaving Qing Wu utterly shocked. Arbok could learn Dragon Dance, but only if its potential was exceptionally high. It seemed the Fat Man had used some special method to make Arbok learn it.

Golbat quietly watched Arbok complete its Dragon Dance. It truly had no idea what Arbok was writhing around and dancing for.

While Arbok danced, the Fat Man lit a cigarette. In an instant, smoke billowed across the battlefield.

"Arbok, use Scary Face." The Fat Man's plan was to frighten Golbat with Scary Face and lower its speed, then have Arbok close in at top speed. He knew this Golbat specialized in ranged attacks.

"Golbat, close your eyes, then use Air Slash on Arbok." Qing Wu calmly issued his command.

At Team Rocket Headquarters, in Sakaki's office, Sakaki was stroking Persian while sitting in his office chair and watching the live broadcast from the Trial Base.

"So this is Cang's chosen successor?" Sakaki said, looking at Qing Wu's smiling face.

"How many surprises will he give me?" Sakaki was also short on manpower now.

A few days ago, the League had wiped out all the spies Team Rocket had planted within it. Sakaki now needed people to infiltrate the League and serve as Team Rocket's hidden agents.

Sakaki tapped on his desk, then suddenly pressed a button beneath it. A purple-haired girl in an office-lady outfit knocked and entered.

"Leader Sakaki, may I ask what orders you have for me?" The girl respectfully bowed to Sakaki.

"Prepare a helicopter to take me to Trial Island. I'm heading there." Sakaki also wanted to see what promising talents were on Trial Island.

Golbat's Air Slash was like a dense storm of Wind Blades, but Arbok dodged them by crawling in a zigzag pattern.

Qing Wu noticed that the pattern on Arbok's abdomen had changed.

"That's the Speed Pattern, isn't it? No wonder it's so fast. Did this Fat Man change the pattern on Arbok's abdomen by smoking?" Qing Wu understood it clearly.

"Golbat, fly upward." Golbat didn't dare let Arbok get close, so it widened the distance between them.

"Arbok, use Poison Sting!" the Fat Man shouted confidently.

Arbok opened its cavernous jaws. A dazzling purple venom gleamed between its teeth, and countless poison needles shot from its mouth toward the Golbat in the air.

"Golbat, use Aerial Ace!" White light flashed over Golbat's body as it appeared behind Arbok.

"Shadow Ball!" A huge Shadow Ball appeared in Golbat's mouth. It hurled it toward Arbok, then used the explosion's recoil to soar into the air.

Arbok's sudden defeat made the Fat Man's heart clench. Once the smoke cleared, Qing Wu saw a huge hole in the ground.

It seemed Arbok had used Dig at the last possible moment.

"That was close." The Fat Man wiped away a bead of cold sweat. If Arbok lost its ability to fight, he would be executed on the spot.

When the Fat Man saw the look on Qing Wu's face, as though he had narrowly escaped disaster, he immediately flew into a rage.

"Arbok, use Ice Fang." Qing Wu and the Fat Man both understood the situation perfectly. They knew Poison would likely have little effect on the other's Pokémon.

Arbok burst straight from the earth, ice-blue energy gathering around its teeth as it charged toward Golbat.

Arbok's back was torn and bloody after being struck by Shadow Ball. The attack had clearly affected it.

"Golbat, Aerial Ace!" Just as Arbok was about to bite Golbat, Qing Wu issued the command.

The image of Golbat was bitten into several pieces by Arbok, but Golbat had already appeared behind Arbok.

"Wing Attack!" Golbat infused its wings with Flying-type energy. Like sharp blades, they slashed viciously at Arbok's back.

In the next instant, Arbok's head was severed from its body and fell to the ground, while the headless snake body continued struggling desperately.

"Golbat, don't celebrate too soon. Our opponent still has another move." Looking at the constantly twisting snake body, Qing Wu naturally knew the matter wasn't over yet.

The Fat Man pulled a purple pill from his pocket. Gritting his teeth, he threw it directly to Arbok.

It was a drug he had obtained from a Trial Participant's remains, one capable of stimulating Arbok's cell division. It was the only one he had.

The Fat Man had originally intended to find a top Breeding Master to analyze the drug's ingredients. He had never expected to use the final pill to save his own life.

Arbok, now reduced to a head, swallowed the pill in one bite.

Afterward, Arbok's body rapidly grew. Its abdomen and tail soon regenerated, and an Arbok larger than the original appeared.

This was a unique ability of Arbok. Some Arbok could stimulate their own cells to grow rapidly even after only their heads remained, regenerating the rest of their bodies once more.

However, the pill also had drawbacks. Stimulating such rapid cell growth consumed most of its stamina.

In other words, Arbok now had only a sliver of strength left.

"Arbok, use Double Team!" the Fat Man shouted at Arbok.

Arbok could still control its old headless body. The Fat Man's self-created Double Team relied on using Arbok's old body to launch a combined attack.

"Golbat, don't give Arbok a chance. Destroy Arbok's old body first!" Qing Wu understood immediately and shouted before Arbok could act.

"Arbok, use Ice Fang to stop Golbat!" Golbat flapped its wings, condensing countless tiny Wind Blades that tore Arbok's old body into pieces.

"This Arbok is already beyond saving." Cang understood Arbok quite well. From its breathing alone, he could tell that Arbok was at the end of its strength.

"The outcome of this battle has been decided. It's a pity about this Arbok. After consuming too much of its life force, it has reached the end. An Arbok capable of Death Makeup Technique and self-recovery is truly rare." Cang shook his head with slight regret.

"Golbat, use Wing Attack on Arbok. Accelerate with Quick Attack!" Qing Wu shouted at Golbat. The winner had already been decided.

Arbok was knocked out of the battlefield by Golbat and completely lost its ability to fight. At a speed visible to the naked eye, its body aged and dehydrated, turning into a dried corpse.

"No!" The last thing the Fat Man saw was Golbat opening its mouth and revealing its sharp fangs. He felt a pain in his neck, then plunged into darkness.

Qing Wu watched as Golbat bit through the major artery in the Fat Man's neck and drained him dry in a single gulp.

"Golbat, don't do that again." Qing Wu patted Golbat on the head, then stripped everything from the Fat Man's Wristband. He discovered a book called Poison Training Secret Art.

The book recorded the cultivation methods for several common Team Rocket Pokémon: Arbok, Grimer, Tentacool, and Beedrill.

"So the Fat Man learned the Death Makeup Technique through this secret manual." Qing Wu skimmed through it and immediately found the instructions for learning Death Makeup Technique.

"Looks like I can exchange those two Arbok with Orange Potential directly for points now." With this manual, Qing Wu no longer needed the two Arbok capable of using Death Makeup Technique.