Chapter 70

The number of flowers has exceeded 2,000 again, so I'll add another update tonight.

"The list of the top 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, with her lacking mental fortitude, she would easily be lost among the crowd.

Although Team Rocket was a dark organization, perseverance was also one of its unwritten rules.

"What a useless fool." A beautiful woman with golden hair, a graceful figure, and the uniform of a Team Rocket senior executive had hidden herself in the shadows and watched the entire match.

"She didn't even make it into the top four. I'm truly disappointed." A Alakazam stood beside the woman. This beauty was Athena, one of Team Rocket's Four Generals.

"What a letdown. I rushed over here full of excitement, only to watch her get utterly crushed. Lian Ji is one thing, but Lan Ling actually capsized in the gutter. How embarrassing. Fortunately, the people chosen by the other three Generals were even worse, so I didn't become the object of ridicule." Athena walked back in her high heels, their clicking echoing through the passageway.

"Let's go, Alakazam. There's nothing worth watching here anymore." Athena left with Alakazam and used Teleport, disappearing from the spot.

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

"Could that have been my imagination?" Qing Wu was completely baffled. He had felt as though someone had been surveying the entire arena.

"That person just now was Athena, wasn't she? What incredible arrogance, coming and going freely in my Trial Base." Coach Frostwolf spoke indignantly.

"Forget it. She's already gone, and you're still talking tough behind her back. Is that interesting? Should we call her back so you can say it to her face?" Cang shot Coach Frostwolf a glance.

Coach Frostwolf gave an awkward laugh and fell silent.

"Cang, according to my confidential report, both Lei Ming and Ailian have secretly pledged allegiance to Qing Wu." Qiong spoke softly to Cang.

"You really have too much time on your hands. If you have so much free time, you'd be better off finding the rats hidden within Team Rocket." Cang rolled his eyes at Qiong.

But Cang was quite satisfied inside. How many years had it been? The outstanding talents among the Trial Participants had all been picked away by the Four Generals and the Three Beasts.

{PS: "Rats" means spies.}

This time, the Dark Department of Team Rocket had finally been able to hold its head high.

Qing Wu and Kuraki had now walked onto the battlefield and were looking at each other.

"Qing Wu, I never expected that we'd still end up facing each other." A flush appeared on Kuraki's pale face, and he looked extremely excited.

His golden-yellow pupils reflected Qing Wu's figure, as though he were looking at the finest prey.

Qing Wu really disliked the way Kuraki looked at people. His eyes were filled with madness. Kuraki would also become the Poison-type Elite Four in the future.

Qing Wu had not interacted with Kuraki many times in his previous life, but he had heard others say that whenever Kuraki set his sights on someone, a sickly flush would appear on his face.

"Come out, Golbat." The only Pokémon Qing Wu had registered with Team Rocket were Golbat and, besides that, he did not want to reveal too many of his trump cards. Thus, he sent out Golbat for this battle instead of Kecleon, which had an even greater advantage against Poison Pokémon.

At present, the only Pokémon of Qing Wu's that Ailian and Lei Ming knew about were Kecleon and Golbat.

Golbat burst out of the Poké Ball, flapping its wings and looking full of energy.

Golbat could now use Tailwind to remain suspended in the air for a while even without flapping its wings.

"Come out, Arbok." As expected, Kuraki sent out Arbok. Arbok's venom was even more potent than that of Arbok, and not only could its fangs secrete venom, its sickle-shaped tail could as well.

"Qing Wu, if I defeat you this time, I'll let you off. We'll consider our conflict settled." Kuraki felt his blood boil. This was the battle he had been waiting for.

"Kuraki, if I defeat you this time, I'll let you off. We'll consider our conflict settled." Qing Wu gave Kuraki a cold laugh and repeated the same words.

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

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

In fact, Lian Ji's command earlier had been correct as well, but she had underestimated Golbat's speed.

Scary Face could lower the opponent's speed, reducing the speed of the target it affected by one level.

"Golbat, close your eyes." Whenever Qing Wu faced moves such as Glare and Scary Face, he had his Pokémon close their eyes to avoid being affected.

"What a perfect opportunity!!! Arbok, use Poison Sting!" Arbok raised its head and fired a massive volley of Poison Stings toward Golbat like a storm of pear blossoms.

"Golbat, dodge the Poison Stings." Golbat moved like the finest waltz dancer, dodging Arbok's storm of Poison Stings even with its eyes closed.

"So that's how it is. I can't believe I overlooked that. Even with its eyes closed, Golbat can use ultrasonic waves to evade Arbok's Poison Sting attacks." Kuraki stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, like a viper flicking its tongue.

"Also, if I'm not mistaken, your Golbat has already developed the habit of using Tailwind. Tailwind has become a passive skill, which is why your Golbat is so fast." Kuraki exposed Qing Wu's trump card.

"I saw the pale airflow surrounding Golbat when it took off. That's the secret behind how it was able to remain suspended in the air just now. Qing Wu, you really are my greatest rival. But my Arbok isn't bad either. Arbok, use Poison Tail." Kuraki gave a sinister laugh.

Arbok revealed its dark, gleaming, sickle-shaped tail and slashed it viciously toward Golbat.

Venom seeped from Arbok's tail, forming a purple flying blade that shot toward Golbat.

"Qing Wu, do you know why I used a Poison-type move when battling Golbat?" Kuraki's eyes shifted, and his yellow-and-black pupils locked onto Qing Wu's eyes.

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

"Because Poison-type moves are all I know!!! But after my Pokémon drink my poisonous blood, the potency of the venom they secrete rises sharply as well." Kuraki laughed loudly, though a thread of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"No wonder this guy became the Poison-type Elite Four in my previous life. It turns out he's a Poison Person himself." Qing Wu suddenly understood.

Poison People were humans who had consumed the toxins of various Pokémon since birth. Their blood contained deadly poison.

Even for Poison Pokémon such as Arbok and Drapion, the toxins they secreted were nourishing supplements to a Poison Person.

If a Poison Person's blood touched a Poison Pokémon even briefly, it would die on the spot.

Usually, Poison Person blood was used the same way Poffins were made: the blood was diluted and combined with other poisonous substances to create a highly nourishing supplement for Poison Pokémon.

"That explains why this guy was able to become the Poison-type Elite Four so quickly in my previous life. He himself was a legendary resource." Qing Wu thought secretly. At that moment, he looked at Kuraki as if he had found a priceless treasure.

Even Qing Wu desperately wanted to claim a Poison Person's blood as his own treasure.

"I never expected him to be a Poison Person. What a pity." Cang opened his eyes and glanced at Kuraki.

"There's nothing to pity. Poison People naturally have shorter lifespans than ordinary people. This kid was probably a Poison Person cultivated by Agatha from childhood, but he's quite close to Bi Shias." As the leader of the Dark Department, Qiong naturally knew many bits of insider information.