The Poison-Type Elite Four

Flowers for an extra update~~

Just as dawn broke, Qing Wu yawned and slipped on a red life jacket, climbing down the ladder from the medium-sized yacht onto the slightly rocking, inflated life raft.

"Lord Qing Wu, I can only take you this far. You'll have to go the rest of the way on your own," Captain One-Eye said respectfully to Qing Wu before starting the yacht and gradually sailing away.

"Come out, Golbat." The Pokémon best suited for pulling this life raft was Golbat.

Golbat (╯‵□)╯︵┻━┻.

Golbat hadn't woken up either, but it reluctantly used its strong feet to grip the life raft, suppressing the urge to doze off as it flapped its wings and flew forward.

The morning sea was chillingly cold, and the sea breeze felt a bit icy against his skin.

The considerate captain had already prepared a thin blanket on the life raft, and Qing Wu wrapped himself tightly in it.

Kusaba Port, which they were approaching, was also Team Rocket's territory. To be precise, it was the territory of one of Team Rocket's Three Executives, Giovanni. Natsume and Agatha were gym leaders who had secretly pledged allegiance to Team Rocket. By controlling the three major cities in Kanto, they also controlled vast resources.

They were on par with the Four Generals, all high-ranking executives in Team Rocket, but they stayed in their respective cities and rarely appeared.

Natsume wielded Psychic Power, Agatha specialized in assassination and poisoning, while Giovanni's greatest strength was Pokémon army warfare. He was the most outstanding commander, skilled at ordering Magnemite to launch group attacks, and even created a tactic of forming a warship with a large number of Magnemite.

Team Rocket's infiltration efforts in the Kanto and Johto regions were quite successful. Agatha even became the Poison-type Elite Four in Johto, and along with other Team Rocket secret agents, the Psychic-type Elite Four Will and the Dark-type Elite Four Lorelei, they became Team Rocket's most successful hidden assets.

At Team Rocket's peak, the Johto region was almost taken by Sakaki, but it was thwarted due to Pryce's obstruction.

Pryce was a renowned Ice-type powerhouse in the Johto region, far surpassing ordinary Elite Four Trainers, even approaching Champion level.

If not for his eccentric personality, he would undoubtedly have a place among the Elite Four, and even Lance, the Champion of Johto, would be no match for Pryce.

After all, Lance was unable to become the Kanto Champion because he couldn't defeat Lorelei in the Kanto region.

Although the League publicly announced only these Elite Four powerhouses, Qing Wu was certain that the League possessed more hidden Elite Four members than those publicly known.

These were all hidden pawns deployed by the League, like the Poison-type Elite Four who had injured Cang, always well-concealed, and who later hunted down many of Team Rocket's elites and executives.

Once any underground organization became reckless and tried to provoke the League, the League would reveal its ferocious side and annihilate all the organizations that dared to challenge it.

The location where the yacht dropped Qing Wu off was not far from Kusaba Port. Golbat flapped its wings desperately and, after an hour, finally reached the port of Kusaba City, the largest deep-water port in the entire Kanto region.

Inter-regional cruise ships traveling from Kanto to other regions all stopped at Kusaba Port.

If Qing Wu wanted to return to the Hoenn region, he would have to go through Kusaba Port back to Rustboro City in Hoenn.

Kusaba City was also known as the most prosperous city in the Kanto region. Its maritime trade brought in enormous tax revenue, and Giovanni, who was stationed in Kusaba City, benefited greatly.

After all, Kusaba City was a hub for rare goods transported from all over the world, including precious Pokémon resources.

Various cargo ships came and went, and the busy people did not notice a young boy drifting in from afar on a life raft. Many tourists enjoyed waking up early to take life rafts out to sea to watch the sunrise.

After drifting to the port, Qing Wu sold the life raft to a fisherman preparing for a long fishing trip for a very low price, leaving him with five thousand League Currency.

Since Qing Wu had his ID with him and was also a Trainer, he could stay at a Pokémon Center for free.

After landing, Qing Wu felt the bustling atmosphere of Kusaba City, with crowds filling the streets. He bought a few ordinary Trainer outfits at a shop.

After changing into his Trainer outfit at the shop, Qing Wu also tidied up his hair. Even Kaminari and Ailian, who knew Qing Wu best from Team Rocket, wouldn't recognize him now, as makeup was known as a great art of deception.

The Pokémon Center occupied the best downtown location in Kusaba City. As a place for Pokémon treatment, its area was extremely vast, about the size of three or four stadiums, and it was five or six stories high.

As Qing Wu stepped into the Pokémon Center, he heard the familiar voice of Nurse Joy. Qing Wu suddenly realized he had been missing for two full months, feeling out of place with his surroundings, returning to the ordinary Pokémon world from the scheming training camp.

"Right, I need to make a call. I must call Gardevoir and Gallade to let them know I'm safe," Qing Wu said, shakily raising the videophone mounted on the wall and skillfully dialing the number etched in his memory.

When the call connected, Qing Wu saw the elegant Gardevoir, who was looking at him tenderly.

News of Qing Wu's disappearance didn't spread until a month later. Now, everything was calm. Qing Wu looked at Gardevoir for a long time before holding back tears in his eyes.

Seeing her little master about to cry, Gardevoir's nose twitched, and she quickly comforted him, calling Gallade over.

Qing Wu looked at these two, who had struggled to keep the breeding center running after his parents' passing, and a happy smile appeared on his face. Everything hadn't happened yet; everything could be redone.

Qing Wu smiled and said to Gardevoir and Gallade, "I'm fine. I just missed you. Oh, and I made a little money in the Kanto region, so our breeding center is saved. We won't have to sell land to keep it going." Qing Wu smiled.

In his past life, he had to sell land to save the breeding center. After all, the breeding center still had hundreds of acres of land deeds, all inherited from Qing Wu's parents. However, after Gardevoir's child was abducted, Gardevoir lost the motivation to manage the breeding center. ...

"I'll be back soon, don't worry." After hanging up the phone, Qing Wu quickly lost control of his emotions, tears falling like rain. He hadn't cried even through the hardships of the training camp, but Gardevoir and Gallade had touched his softest spot.

It's good to have you by my side in this life.

After wiping his tears, Qing Wu completed his accommodation registration with Nurse Joy and then registered his Pokémon in the League system.

The League strictly required Trainers to carry only six Pokémon at a time, but Team Rocket had no such rule.

The Poké Balls Qing Wu used were specially made and outside the League's surveillance range.

Even if the number of Pokémon exceeded the limit, there would be no instant transfer of Poké Balls.

Without registration, Nurse Joy could not treat the Pokémon.

This was a League regulation, and Qing Wu, as a breeding master, didn't originally need to seek treatment at a Pokémon Center.

However, if Qing Wu wanted to infiltrate the League and become a spy for Team Rocket, it was best to abide by the League's rules.

Qing Wu had another objective: to use the equipment at the Pokémon Center to check if Kecleon had any hidden injuries.

After all, system scans could only detect Kecleon's potential. Excessive accumulated hidden injuries could also affect Kecleon's potential.

Qing Wu's remaining Pokémon had been raised from a young age, so he was confident they had no such problems.

Kecleon was severely injured as soon as it landed on Trial Island. If not for its own Pokémon breeding methods, Kecleon's ultimate fate would have been severe loss of its origin and damage to its foundation.

Qing Wu also needed to perform a metal test on Kecleon to analyze the strength of its current metal shell, which was 7, and determine what kind of metal it contained.

This way, during the subsequent breeding process, he could provide Kecleon with sufficient trace metals to enhance its physique.

Qing Wu also knew how to use these testing instruments, but since he hadn't returned to Team Rocket headquarters, he had to rely on the League's resources.

When Qing Wu returned to his breeding facility, he would also prioritize purchasing some testing instruments to better facilitate Pokémon breeding.

Qing Wu entered Kecleon and Squirtle's information into the League's system, then, led by Chansey, headed to his room.

On the fifth floor of the Pokémon Center, Dormitory No. 5.

Qing Wu lay on the soft bed. On Trial Island, Qing Wu had spent most of his time outdoors. The hard ground had made it difficult for him to sleep well for nearly a month, but the rewards for his efforts were immense.

Zubat had evolved into Golbat and reached Level [redacted]. Although Kecleon had not yet evolved, it had reached Level [redacted], at the stage where it could evolve at any time.

Even the lowest-leveled Squirtle had reached Level [redacted] after Qing Wu's training.