The Trial Base

The flowers have surpassed 2000 again, I'll add another update tonight.

"The list of the final four has been decided, everyone take a short break." Coach Frostwolf glanced at Lan Ling, who looked like a walking corpse, hoping she could recover from the blow. Otherwise, she would easily be eliminated due to insufficient mental fortitude.

Although Team Rocket is a dark organization, they are tenacious. This is an unwritten rule within Team Rocket.

"Truly pathetic." A beautiful woman with golden hair, a curvaceous figure, and wearing a high-ranking Team Rocket executive uniform watched the entire match from the shadows.

"To not even make it into the top four, how disappointing." Standing beside the beauty was an Alakazam. This woman was Athena, one of Team Rocket's Four Generals.

"What a buzzkill. I came all this way so excited, only to be thoroughly defeated. I can understand Lian Ji, but for Lan Ling to stumble in the gutter like this, it's utterly humiliating. Fortunately, the other three generals chose even worse candidates, so I wasn't the target of ridicule." Athena walked back, her high heels clicking on the ground.

"Let's go, Alakazam. There's nothing more to see here." Athena, along with Alakazam, used Teleport and vanished from the spot.

Qing Wu suddenly looked up at the spot where Athena had just disappeared. He had a strange feeling that someone had been watching him just now. How odd.

"Is this just my imagination?" Qing Wu was completely bewildered. He had felt someone surveying the entire area just moments ago.

"Was that Athena just now? What arrogance, to come and go as she pleases in my Trial Base!" Coach Frostwolf said indignantly.

"Alright, they're gone. Are you still trying to talk tough behind their backs? Is that interesting? Should we call them back and have you say it to their faces?" Cang glanced at Coach Frostwolf.

Coach Frostwolf chuckled sheepishly and fell silent.

"Cang, according to my secret report, both Kaminari and Ailian have secretly pledged allegiance to Qing Wu," Qiong whispered to Cang.

"You're just being nosy. If you have so much free time, you might as well find the rats hidden within Team Rocket," Cang retorted, giving Qiong a glare.

However, Cang was quite pleased with this outcome. For so many years, talented Trial Participants had been snatched up by the Four Generals and Three Beasts.

{ps: "Rats" means spies}

This time, the Dark Department of Team Rocket could finally hold their heads high.

Qing Wu and Kuraki walked onto the competition stage, looking at each other.

"Qing Wu, I didn't expect we'd end up facing each other," Kuraki said, a hint of red flushing his pale face as he appeared very excited.

A pair of golden-yellow pupils reflected Qing Wu's image, as if he were looking at prime prey.

Qing Wu strongly disliked the way Kuraki looked at people, his eyes filled with a crazed intensity. Kuraki was also the future Poison-type Elite Four.

He had limited interactions with Qing Wu in his previous life, but he had heard from others that when Kuraki set his sights on someone, a pathological blush would appear on his face.

"Come out, Golbat!" Since Golbat was the only Pokémon Qing Wu had registered with Team Rocket, and he didn't want to reveal too many of his trump cards, he released Golbat for this battle instead of Kecleon, which would have been more effective against Poison-type Pokémon.

As for Qing Wu's current Pokémon, only Kecleon and Golbat were known to Ailian and Kaminari.

Golbat flapped its wings and emerged from its Poké Ball, looking full of spirit.

Now, Golbat could stay airborne for a period of time even without flapping its wings, thanks to the Tailwind effect.

"Come out, Arbok!" As expected, Kuraki sent out Arbok. Arbok's poison was more potent than that of Arbok, and not only could Arbok secrete venom from its fangs, but its scythe-like tail could also secrete poison.

"Qing Wu, if I defeat you this time, I'll let you off the hook. We'll call it even between us." Kuraki felt his blood boiling with anticipation for this long-awaited battle.

"Kuraki, if I defeat you this time, I'll let you off the hook. We'll call it even between us," Qing Wu said with a cold smile, uttering the same words to Kuraki.

"Arbok, use Scary Face!" Kuraki spoke first, initiating the battle.

Kuraki had observed Qing Wu's battles and knew that Golbat's greatest strength was its speed.

In fact, Lian Ji's earlier command was also correct, but Lian Ji had underestimated Golbat's speed.

Scary Face could lower the opponent's Speed stat, causing the target to become slower.

"Golbat, close your eyes!" Qing Wu's strategy against moves like Glare and Scary Face was to have his Pokémon close their eyes to avoid being affected.

"Good opportunity!!! Arbok, use (cifh) Poison Sting!" Arbok raised its head and fired a barrage of Poison Sting needles towards Golbat, like a storm of pear blossoms.

"Golbat, dodge the Poison Sting!" Golbat, like the most skilled waltz dancer, dodged Arbok's relentless attack even with its eyes closed.

"I see. I never thought of that. Golbat can dodge Arbok's Poison Sting attacks even with its eyes closed by using Supersonic," Kuraki licked his lips, like a viper flicking its tongue.

"Furthermore, your Golbat, if I'm not mistaken, has developed a habit of being boosted by Tailwind, making Tailwind a passive skill. That's why your Golbat's speed has become so incredibly fast," Kuraki revealed Qing Wu's trump card.

"I saw the faint white aura surrounding your Golbat when it took off; that's the secret to how it could stay in the air just now. Qing Wu, you truly are my greatest rival. But my Arbok isn't bad either. Arbok, use Poison Tail!" Kuraki said with a sinister smile.

Arbok revealed its shiny black, scythe-like tail and swung it fiercely towards Golbat.

Poison dripped from Arbok's tail, forming a purple flying dagger that shot towards Golbat.

"Qing Wu, do you know why I'm using Poison-type moves against Golbat?" Kuraki's eyes darted around, his yellow-black pupils fixed on Qing Wu's.

Qing Wu shook his head, although he had already guessed what Kuraki was about to say.

"Because I only know Poison-type moves!!! But after my Pokémon are fed my poisonous blood, the venom they secrete will increase in power dramatically!" Kuraki laughed loudly, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"No wonder this guy became a Poison-type Elite Four in his previous life. He himself is a Poison Person," Qing Wu realized with sudden clarity.

Poison People are humans who have consumed various Pokémon toxins since birth. Their blood contains potent poison.

Even the venom secreted by Poison-type Pokémon like Arbok and Arbok would be considered a tonic to Poison People.

The blood of Poison People is so toxic that even Poison-type Pokémon would die instantly upon contact for even a moment.

Typically, the blood of Poison People is used like making Poffins: diluted and mixed with other toxins to create highly nutritious supplements for Poison-type Pokémon.

"This explains why this guy was able to become a Poison-type Elite Four so quickly in his previous life. He himself is a legendary resource," Qing Wu thought to himself, now looking at Kuraki as if he were a rare treasure.

The blood of a Poison Person was a treasure that even Qing Wu longed to possess.

"I didn't expect he was a Poison Person. What a shame," Cang opened his eyes and glanced at Kuraki.

"There's no shame in it. Poison People naturally have shorter lifespans than ordinary people. This kid must have been cultivated from a young age by Agatha, but he's been associating closely with Bi Shias," Qiong, as the leader of the Dark Department, naturally had access to a lot of inside information.