Chapter 73

Seeing the three Starters, Qing Wu chose Snivy without hesitation.

He was currently lacking a Grass-type Pokémon. Moreover, a Contrary Snivy was an incredibly powerful special attacker, known as a walking artillery platform.

After Qing Wu chose Snivy, he handed the two remaining Poké Balls to Leiming.

Knowing that Ailian already had a Houndoom and no longer needed a primary Fire-type Pokémon, Leiming chose Tepig.

Ailian accepted the last Poké Ball from Leiming and saw that it contained Oshawott.

Her eyebrows rose with joy. All three of them were extremely satisfied with the distribution.

"Ahem, ahem." Cang saw the delight on their faces and figured they were all very satisfied with their respective Starters.

Cang coughed twice. Once everyone's attention was focused on him, he hurriedly addressed the three of them.

"Are you willing to join the Dark Department?"

Just as Qing Wu was about to nod in agreement, Cang hurriedly added, "Qing Wu is excluded."

Seeing Qing Wu's speechless expression, Cang explained, "Leader Sakaki has already claimed you. He said he's sending you to carry out a secret mission. So you're technically part of the Dark Department, but you won't be under our command. You'll be directly under Leader Sakaki."

Qing Wu felt slightly bitter after hearing that. Damn it, isn't this another undercover mission? The previous undercover mission in Team Aqua had scared him half to death.

"Ah, right after I finished speaking, Leader Sakaki sent over the mission requirements. He wants you to join the Hoenn League and become one of its higher-ups. All of Team Rocket's undercover operatives planted in the Hoenn League have been eliminated."

"Right now, we know nothing about the Hoenn League's movements. Team Rocket will provide you with the necessary support." After seeing the message from Leader Sakaki, Cang spoke earnestly.

"Understood." Qing Wu replied emotionlessly, making Cang's heart suddenly rise and fall with anxiety.

"We're willing to join the Dark Department," Leiming and Ailian said in unison, their expressions extremely respectful.

Qing Wu had previously analyzed Team Rocket's internal factions with Leiming and Ailian. Only the Dark Department was directly managed by Leader Sakaki.

The Dark Department was mainly responsible for apprehending Team Rocket defectors, investigating whether anyone within Team Rocket had committed embezzlement or other illegal acts, and monitoring the League's movements.

Every member of the Dark Department was an elite among elites.

Qing Wu's view was that joining the Dark Department would be extremely dangerous, with every mission carrying the risk of death.

However, the Dark Department also offered excellent benefits. Its members could obtain enough resources to raise their Pokémon and gain opportunities to grow rapidly.

Cang and Qiong, the leaders of the Dark Department, also held the rare belief that humans and Pokémon should coexist peacefully and develop together. This aligned perfectly with Qing Wu's current values.

"Good, good, good!" Cang said the word three times in succession. A smile bloomed across his face, and the wrinkles were so deep they looked capable of crushing mosquitoes.

"Let me tell you about the benefits of joining the Dark Department."

"First, promotions are fast after joining the Dark Department. As long as you complete the assigned missions, you can immediately rise by one rank."

"Second, you'll be respected. Our Dark Department holds an extraordinary position within Team Rocket. Every Team Rocket member becomes exceptionally respectful upon hearing our name."

"Third, the compensation is high. At Squad Leader rank, you can collect Team Rocket Points every month."

"..."

Cang described it in the most dazzling terms, sounding no different from a large pyramid scheme.

To win Leiming and Ailian over, he practically praised the Dark Department as the one and only outstanding team in Team Rocket.

"Hmph." Qing Wu understood exactly what was going on, but he saw through it without saying anything.

"Promotions are fast because the Dark Department lost quite a few people, leaving many vacancies above. Aside from you two lone commanders, I estimate there are only a few stragglers left below."

"The Dark Department naturally has an extraordinary position in Team Rocket. Whenever one of us appears before another Team Rocket member, it means there's conclusive evidence that they committed a crime. Naturally, that person will try to curry favor with us to suffer less."

"The compensation really is good." Qing Wu had also chosen to join the Dark Department because of its generous benefits.

However, one thing Qing Wu could be certain of was that after Leiming and Ailian joined the Dark Department and received vigorous cultivation from its leaders, they would soar like dragons entering the sea.

Leiming and Ailian had originally been powerful Trainers. With the Dark Department leaders' full support, they would definitely advance to Elite Four level faster than they had in his previous life.

As for whether they might die during a mission, Qing Wu could not guarantee that. Still, he felt that anyone who had managed to become an Elite Four-level Trainer in his previous life possessed tremendous luck.

Cang spoke for nearly an entire hour. Only after his mouth had gone dry did he pull three gleaming silver medals from beneath his black robe.

"These are your identification badges for joining the Dark Department. The string of numbers on them is your Team Rocket account and password. Welcome to the Dark Department!" Cang said enthusiastically, leading the way in applauding.

Qiong smiled warmly as he shook hands with the three of them.

"If you have any problems, communicate with me promptly. These are your communicators." Qiong handed each of them a brand-new communicator.

Qing Wu took it and gave it a look. Good heavens, wasn't this the latest Team Rocket custom communicator? He hadn't expected it to have been developed so early.

Cang glared fiercely at Qiong. He had actually overlooked the communicators and failed to prepare them, allowing Qiong to steal the opportunity. This left Cang extremely displeased.

"Then we'll take our leave for now." Qing Wu planned to visit the Exchange Office first to prepare some TMs for his Pokémon, and to discuss his companions' future Pokémon-training paths with Leiming and Ailian.

Only after the three of them had left did Qiong put on an ingratiating expression and say to Cang, "Big brother, give me one promising seedling to train."

Qiong had also grown eager after seeing such good prospects.

"Get lost." Cang's hot temper flared, and he forced the words out through clenched teeth.

"The moment you snatched the chance to hand out the communicators before me, I knew exactly what you were scheming, you brat. Our relationship is over." Cang let out an arrogant snort.

"Leader." After returning to the Team Rocket dormitory, Leiming and Ailian respectfully addressed Qing Wu.

"Don't be so formal. Even I didn't expect the rewards from this trial." Qing Wu looked at the Poké Ball in his hand.

The Poké Ball was a Great Ball, and inside it, an arrogant Snivy was sleeping.

"Exactly. Normally, only first place gets the opportunity to choose a Starter. I never expected the top three to get one this time. We really struck it rich." Leiming spoke happily.

"I wonder what Quality these Starters have." Ailian examined the Poké Ball in her hand.

"These three Starters all have Blue Quality. Keep that hidden carefully. Don't let certain people grow envious." Qing Wu spoke solemnly to Leiming and Ailian.

Team Rocket was divided into numerous factions, and the competition was extremely fierce.

When the Pokémon one possessed had outstanding potential, the best thing to do before they grew strong was to keep a low profile—in other words, quietly develop.

"Joining Team Rocket's Dark Department is both an opportunity and a risk. You need to make good use of it. And remember, quality is more important than quantity when it comes to Pokémon. If you capture too many and can't care for them properly, you'll hinder both the Pokémon and yourselves." Qing Wu reminded them again.

"Ailian, assign the members of your team beneath you and Leiming as Squad Leaders. They're all rare talents. If you encounter any problems, use the communicators to send me an emergency message. I'll reply once I see it."

"As for those fence-sitters who want to pledge allegiance to you lately, don't accept a single one. They're experts at changing with the wind. When you're down, they'll kick you while you're down. Once you gain power, they'll become active again and try to curry favor with you. As if things could be that easy." Qing Wu sentenced the opportunists to death on the spot.

"Understood, Leader." Leiming and Ailian indicated that they knew what to do, so Qing Wu set off for the Exchange Office with peace of mind.

However, on the way to the Exchange Office, another familiar person stopped Qing Wu.