Chapter 68

"The winner of this life-and-death duel is Qing Wu~!" Coach Frostwolf loudly announced the result.

"Since Qing Wu fought Butch and won, Qing Wu will automatically advance to the next round. Qing Wu and Butch's opponents will challenge each other to determine who advances." Coach Frostwolf's powerful voice rang throughout the arena.

Qing Wu glanced at the fat man's corpse, whose eyes remained wide open in death. He let out a long sigh and turned to leave the arena.

Qing Wu walked to a corner of the plaza.

Qing Wu checked Golbat's current condition. After looking it over, he finally relaxed.

Aside from some stamina loss, Golbat had suffered no injuries, so it would not affect the battles to come.

Without making a sound, Qing Wu flicked an Energy Poffin into Golbat's mouth.

Golbat smacked its beak, landed on the ground, and began recovering its stamina.

Qing Wu thought that when he left Trial Island, he would teach Golbat a move—Roost.

Roost allowed a Pokémon to land and rest, restoring its stamina.

It was an extremely practical move, and could be said to be an essential recovery move for Flying-type Pokémon.

Qing Wu had also seen a Trainer who was exceptionally skilled at using Roost: Shio of Team Aqua.

Shio of Team Aqua had an extremely powerful Pelipper.

Ordinary Flying-type Pokémon had to land on the ground before they could use Roost, yet Shio's Pelipper could use Roost directly in the sky.

Qing Wu had once asked Shio about the technique. Shio had simply said, "Treat the sky as the ground."

Even now, Qing Wu still had not figured out how Shio enabled Pelipper to use Roost in midair.

Kuraki coldly watched the fat man's corpse as it turned into a dried corpse. The fat man's strength ranked among the top three in Kuraki's team. His Death Makeup Technique was so masterful that even Kuraki could not use it. Yet the fat man, who had been hiding so many trump cards, had still been defeated by Qing Wu.

"I said long ago that the fat man might have had a chance of beating Leiming, but fighting Qing Wu was pure suicide. Still, the fat man made a huge contribution by helping us test Qing Wu's strength. As expected, it's unfathomable."

Kuraki looked at Qing Wu with considerable wariness. With his sharp battle instincts, Kuraki noticed that Golbat had not lost much stamina.

"Qing Wu really is the obstacle blocking my path to the first-place seat among the Trial Participants. Damn it, Qing Wu, why did you come back?" Lan Ling glared viciously at Lian Ji. When Lian Ji met Lan Ling's fierce gaze, her heart jolted, and she thought, This is bad.

The longer Lian Ji stayed by Lan Ling's side, the more clearly she understood Lan Ling's temper. Lan Ling had definitely taken a grudge against her.

If Lan Ling failed to claim first place, he would definitely come after her. Lian Ji was now as frantic as an ant on a hot pan.

In the battles that followed, Qing Wu advanced with overwhelming momentum. In the round of thirty-two, Golbat took down the fiercely charging Rattata with a single Air Slash.

In the round of sixteen, Golbat defeated the poisonous-spined Nidorino with a single Aerial Ace.

During the battles, Qing Wu only had Golbat defeat the Pokémon. He never pursued total annihilation, and everyone who fought him was moved to tears with gratitude.

The eight Trial Participants who finally made it through were Qing Wu, Leiming, Ailian, Kuraki, Blondie beside Kuraki, Lan Ling, Lian Ji, and Elvis.

Four of the top eight came from Qing Wu's team. Qing Wu was worried that he would be matched against one of his teammates, but after another draw, the matchups became:

Qing Wu vs. Lian Ji

Ailian vs. Blondie

Leiming vs. Lan Ling

Elvis vs. Kuraki

They happened to take place simultaneously in the four arenas.

Elvis was a white-haired young man with a full beard. He was tall and powerfully built, though his appearance was slightly mature.

When Qing Wu first saw Elvis, he thought Elvis was nearly thirty. Only after the introductions did he learn that Elvis was only � years old.

Elvis was also a martial artist who specialized in Fighting-type Pokémon.

Elvis's main Pokémon was an evolved Machamp. The moment they met, Qing Wu gave Elvis an Advanced Antidote.

After all, in Team Rocket, which was surrounded by Poison Pokémon, possessing an Advanced Antidote was equivalent to giving a Pokémon another life.

Qing Wu walked onto the arena and looked at Lian Ji's pink hair. He said to her, "It was you, wasn't it?"

Those three words immediately sent chills through Lian Ji. Looking at Qing Wu's smiling eyes, she felt as if she were seeing a demon's smile.

Lian Ji gripped the Poké Ball in her hand tightly, as though it were a lifeline.

Looking at Lian Ji's shocked expression, Qing Wu knew that this woman had been the one who teleported him to Ghost Mountain that day.

A top-tier Psychic from his previous life, an executive of Team Rocket, Athena's direct subordinate, and Team Rocket's Psychic-type Elite Four.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Lian Ji did not dare meet Qing Wu's gaze. Her palms were drenched in sweat.

She was not yet the famous top-tier Psychic she would become in her previous life. Right now, she was like a little girl whose misdeeds had just been exposed to her face.

"Come out, Golbat!" The instant Qing Wu released Golbat, a Hurricane swept across the arena.

The powerful wind stung every inch of the girl's skin like blades.

Qing Wu knew that Lian Ji could be recruited. With the title of top-tier Psychic alone, he had to bring Lian Ji under his command.

To be honest, most of the Trial Participants in this generation who would eventually become Elite Four members had already been taken under Qing Wu's wing.

In other words, so long as Qing Wu did not die prematurely, he had a very good chance of becoming another faction leader within Team Rocket.

At that moment, Golbat was burning with rage. It had been searching all along for the culprit who had teleported it to Ghost Mountain.

If it had not been teleported to Ghost Mountain, its body would never have been covered in slime, forcing it to take dozens of baths.

Although Qing Wu had used the citrus scent of Orange Fruit peels to mask the stench on Golbat's body,

Golbat's sensitive nose could still pick up the faint, lingering odor. I'm not clean anymore.

When enemies met, their eyes blazed with hatred. Golbat flapped its wings with all its might, and the wind grew stronger and stronger.

If measured with a wind-speed detector, the Hurricane produced by Golbat's wings could reach � level.

"Come out, Drowzee!" Unable to withstand the Hurricane, Lian Ji released her Pokémon.

Drowzee appeared in a meditative pose, its entire body covered in a layer of blue Psychic Power that kept it from being blown away by the gale.

Drowzee was the evolved form of Hypno, as well as a new Psychic-type Pokémon developed through research at a Team Rocket base.

It possessed powerful Psychic Power throughout its body. Its entire body was yellow, with a ring of white fur around its neck. In its hand was an item that enhanced Psychic Power: a rope tied to a ring.

Drowzee possessed extremely powerful hypnosis abilities. As long as someone stared at the ring for three seconds, they would fall asleep.

Originally, Drowzee had been created through genetic technology by scientists in the Pokémon World to treat insomnia.

Unfortunately, it had ended up becoming one of Team Rocket's main Psychic-type Pokémon and had embarked on a path of crime.

"This Drowzee is very strong. As expected of Lian Ji's main Pokémon." Qing Wu swept his gaze over it, and detailed data about Drowzee appeared in his eyes.

Pokémon: Drowzee (Dark Green)

Gender: Female

Level: 35

Type: Psychic

Ability: Dreaming

Basic Skills: Hypnosis, Harden, Confusion, Headbutt, Poison Gas, Yoga Pose, Psybeam, Mind Games

Egg Moves: None.

Tutor Moves: Light Screen, Protect, Calm Mind, Shadow Ball...