After that, no higher score than Aoki’s appeared.
However, through Aoki’s technique, many put what they saw to practical use, improving their relative scores considerably.
The person most disdainful throughout the entire process was Kuga.
Because he hadn’t used any tricks, his score was genuine brute strength.
In his eyes, everyone present was trash.
Even Aoki, who was just one point lower than him, was merely a lucky fool who knew a cheap trick or two.
Thus, the final rankings were as follows: 1st Place: Number 99, Attack Power: 98 2nd Place: Number 234, Attack Power: 97 3rd Place: Number 67, Attack Power: 95 4th Place: Number 156, Attack Power: 93 5th Place: Number 279, Attack Power: 90 …
As Viper had said, the top ten would each receive 100 points, without any extra rewards for being first or second.
After the ranking concluded, everyone received a belt bearing Team Rocket’s R logo.
Inside was an identity card printed with their individual numbers, which also stored their points.
The Team Rocket belt also served a very practical function: it contained one cubic meter of storage space.
Ignoring everyone who tried to strike up a conversation or recruit him, Aoki carried Murkrow straight toward the Points Exchange.
Having been a member of Team Rocket before, he naturally knew how vast the range of exchangeable items was.
He had many things he needed right now that could only be acquired with points.
However, because his current points were limited, the most urgent items weren’t those high-end goods.
Aoki had planned his redemptions long ago.
Looking at the points list before him, even knowing the prices beforehand, Aoki couldn’t help rolling his eyes.
A pseudo-legendary Dratini hatchling cost 10,000,000 points, and a pseudo-legendary Larvitar hatchling cost 10,000,000 points.
Indeed, everything down to the rarest pseudo-legendary Pokémon could be exchanged, but Aoki hadn’t even accumulated that many points in his entire previous life.
He currently had only 100 points, so he skipped right past those desirable yet unreachable items and flipped directly to what he could afford.
Flipping from the back to the front, he arrived at the item category.
Holding the Berry redemption list, under the gaze of the exchange staff member who looked at him like he was an idiot, he redeemed one portion of every single Berry.
These Berries were very common, and normal people wouldn’t waste points redeeming them.
But for Aoki, these Berries were invaluable; not only could they save him a lot of time searching for wild Berries, but they could also be used to make various Pokéblocks, allowing him to better nurture Murkrow so it could achieve perfect growth.
He stuffed the one-cubic-meter space inside his Team Rocket belt to the brim with Berries, redeeming every single variety once, which cost him a total of 80 points.
Afterward, he spent another 5 points to redeem some daily necessities and wilderness survival essentials.
Swiping his points card, just as Aoki turned to leave, he saw someone walking into the exchange with an Ekans.
Kuga!
As Kuga passed by him, Aoki silently activated the microchip’s scan feature.
[Pokémon: Ekans (Green)] [Gender: Male] [Level: 14] [Type: Poison] [Ability: Intimidate] [Held Item: None] [Egg Moves: Pursuit, Poison Fang, Scary Face] [Basic Moves: Wrap, Leer, Poison Sting, Bite, Glare] [Tutor Moves: Snatch] [TM Moves: None] Aoki froze.
An Ekans with Green potential—no wonder Kuga had been able to take first place in his past life.
Aoki had roughly scanned the crowd during the ranking test earlier.
There were likely no more than five Pokémon with Green potential, and none above Green.
Although some were too far away to scan, he had a good idea.
Furthermore, the other Pokémon with Green potential were Zubats and an Oddish.
Kuga’s was the only Ekans that had reached Green potential.
One had to understand that Ekans were naturally difficult to tame, let alone a Green-potential Ekans with the Intimidate ability.
Anyone capable of taming it was definitely no ordinary person.
Thus, his ability to secure first place in his past life was far from unearned.
“Hey, you’re the second-place guy, aren’t you?” Kuga suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned back to speak.
Aoki didn’t even turn his head, continuing onward as if he hadn’t heard.
Seeing Aoki ignore him, Kuga’s face instantly darkened, and he immediately ordered an attack.
“Ekans, go!
Poison Sting!” At this moment, Kuga didn’t possess deep cunning.
After all, he wasn’t very old and had only just arrived on the trial island, but at his core, he was a very proud person.
Hearing the command, Ekans opened its blood-red mouth wide, and several thin needles glowing with purple light shot out from its mouth, targeting Aoki’s back.
Although Aoki hadn’t turned around, he had been paying close attention to Kuga’s movements.
“Seeking death!
Murkrow, crank up Tailwind and blow away those Poison Stings!” The moment Ekans launched its attack, Aoki, who was already fully prepared, issued his order in a timely manner.
Having mastered the Tailwind move, Murkrow instantly increased the wind’s intensity until it nearly matched the power of a Gust attack.
With a powerful flap of its wings, it used the Flying-type energy of Tailwind to form two small tornadoes, directly knocking the poison needles away.
Aoki turned to look at Kuga, a dangerous glint flickering in his eyes as he waited for his next move.
At this moment, Aoki didn’t possess absolute confidence in winning.
Unexpectedly, Kuga grinned and said, “Not bad.
A bit better than I thought.” With that, he paid no further attention to Aoki and walked straight toward the exchange counter.
Aoki frowned, looking at Kuga’s back.
Suppressing a strong urge to strike, he waited a moment before signaling to Murkrow that it could come down.
Afterward, he led Murkrow out of the exchange and walked straight into the forest without looking back.
*** In the massive building at the center of the base, inside Team Rocket’s Chief Instructor office, Viper sat behind an executive desk.
Opposite him sat a mysterious person wrapped entirely in a black robe.
Two cups of tea rested between them, steam rising slowly into the air before eventually dispersing into nothingness.
After a moment of silence, Viper spoke first.
“So, what brings you running to my place again?” His tone carried a trace of teasing and curiosity.
From beneath the black hood, a pair of weathered eyes emerged.
Adjusting his posture slightly, a raspy voice came from under the robe, impossible to identify by age alone.
“The mission failed.
I need a few people to replenish my team.” Grinning, Viper slowly took a sip of tea and said at an unhurried pace, “Oh?
The mission failed?” The mockery in his eyes and tone was impossible to hide.
“To think that someone as famous as you would have a time when a mission failed.
To end up coming to me for personnel—is there really no one in Team Rocket who catches your eye anymore?” Ignoring Viper’s mocking tone, the raspy voice sounded from beneath the black robe once more.
“Accidentally walked into a trap set by the League.
Two Elite Four-level powerhouses showed up, and I was almost kept there permanently.” Speaking of the League’s Elite Four powerhouses, his tone remained as calm as an ordinary person’s.
“Oh?” Viper’s expression turned serious, and he sat up straight.
“On the surface, or in the shadows?
How did you escape?” A barrage of questions poured from Viper.
An Elite Four-level powerhouse was considered a formidable expert even in his eyes, let alone their direct opponent, the Pokémon League, deploying two Elite Four trainers at once.
Was it intended as a move against Team Rocket as a whole, or was it targeted at a single operation?
A single action by the League carried immense implications.
Inside the dark room, flickers of candlelight swayed without wind, causing the two shadows cast against the wall to shift alongside the flames.
After a brief silence, the black-robed man raised a hand.
From beneath the dark sleeve, a withered, dried-up left hand covered in wrinkles slowly emerged.
Seeing the black-robed man’s withered left hand, Viper’s eyes shrank violently.
The two were clearly well acquainted, and he understood the man’s situation.
Although he wasn’t young, this withered hand definitely didn’t match his age.
More importantly, three fingers were missing from that withered left hand, leaving behind only the thumb and index finger.
“The Poison-type Elite Four?” Viper asked in a tone that sounded like a question, but was spoken with absolute certainty.
The only thing capable of inflicting such damage was a Poison-type move, and for someone with Elite Four strength like the black-robed man to suffer such injury, the attacker was likely no ordinary Elite Four expert.
The black-robed man gave an imperceptible nod.
His raspy voice, which had remained calm all along, finally picked up a trace of chill.
“A high-tier Poison-type Elite Four, and a mid-tier Psychic-type Elite Four.
Neither belongs to the League’s public roster.” “If I hadn’t acted quickly and severed three of my fingers in time, my entire hand probably wouldn’t exist anymore.” He took a breath, suppressing the turbulence in his heart.
“Fortunately, I sacrificed three Pokémon to hold them off in time, otherwise I might have been left there myself.
The mission, however, could only end in failure.”