Exchange Center

After that, there were no scores higher than Larry's, but thanks to Larry's techniques, many people learned and applied them, which significantly improved their relative scores.

The most disdainful throughout the entire process was Gouse because he didn't use any techniques, and his scores were straightforward. In his view, everyone present was trash, including Larry, who scored just one point lower. To him, Larry was just a lucky guy with a few tricks up his sleeve.

So, the final rankings were as follows:

1st place, Number 99, Attack Value: 98

2nd place, Number 234, Attack Value: 97

3rd place, Number 67, Attack Value: 95

4th place, Number 156, Attack Value: 93

5th place, Number 279, Attack Value: 90

...

As Viper had mentioned, the top ten all received a hundred points, and there were no additional rewards for being first or second.

After the rankings were finalized, everyone received a belt with the Team Rocket's R logo on it, including an identity card with their number and stored points. The Team Rocket belt had one particularly useful feature: a cubic storage space.

Ignoring everyone trying to keep him around, Larry took Murkrow and walked straight to the points exchange center. Having been a Team Rocket member once, he knew how extensive the range of items available for exchange could be. He had many things he needed to exchange for, and points were the only way to get them. However, since he had a limited number of points and his most urgent needs weren't among the available items.

Larry had already planned what he wanted to exchange for.

Staring at the points list in front of him, even though he knew the prices, Larry couldn't help but roll his eyes. Pseudo-Legendary Dratini, ten million points, Pseudo-Legendary Larvitar, ten million points. It was true that even the rarest Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon could be exchanged for, but the exchange prices were something Larry had never accumulated even in his past life.

He currently only had a hundred points, so he skipped past these unattainable items and went to what he could exchange for. Scanning through the list in reverse, holding the Berry Exchange List in hand, Larry made the exchange personnel gawk in disbelief as he exchanged all types of Berries. These Berries were common and usually not exchanged for, but for Larry, they were invaluable. They not only saved him a lot of time searching for Berries but also allowed him to craft various Pokéblocks to better nurture Murkrow, enabling it to grow perfectly.

He filled the cubic storage in the Team Rocket belt with all kinds of Berries, spending only 80 points in total. Afterward, he spent another 5 points to exchange for some essential supplies and wilderness necessities.

After swiping his points card, as Larry prepared to leave, he saw someone entering the exchange center with an Ekans. It was Gouse!

As he passed by, Larry quietly activated his chip's scanning function.

...

[ Pokémon ]: Ekans (Green)

[ Gender ]: Male

[ Level ]: 14

[ Type ]: Poison

[ Ability ]: Intimidate

[ Held Item ]: None

[ Inherited Moves ]: Pursuit, Poison Fang, Scary Face

[ Base Moves ]: Wrap, Leer, Poison Sting, Bite, Glare

[ Taught Moves ]: Snatch

[ Move Learning ]: None

...

Larry was momentarily surprised. A green potential Ekans, no wonder Gouse had achieved first place in his previous life. Larry had also roughly scanned during this ranking test, and there shouldn't be more than five green potential Pokémon, and none were higher. Although some were relatively distant and hadn't been scanned.

But the other green potential Pokémon are all Zubats and a Oddish, the only green potential Pokémon that reached this level was Gouse's Ekans.

It's worth noting that Ekans was originally wild and difficult to tame, let alone this green potential one with the Intimidate ability. Whoever managed to tame it was certainly no ordinary person. So, in his past life, Gouse becoming the first place winner wasn't without reason.

"Hey, you're the second place, right?" Gouse suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to say.

Larry didn't even look back and continued walking.

Seeing Larry ignoring him, Gouse's face turned somewhat unpleasant. He directly ordered an attack, "Ekans, go! Poison Sting!"

At this point, Gouse didn't have the same level of composure. After all, he was still quite young, and he had just entered the trial island. But deep down, he was a proud individual.

Ekans, upon hearing this, opened its bloody mouth wide, and several slender, purple-glowing needles shot out from Ekans's mouth, aiming directly at Larry, who had his back turned to them.

Although Larry didn't turn around, he kept a close eye on Gouse's movements.

"You're asking for trouble! Murkrow, increase the Tailwind, and swat away those Poison Stings!" When Ekans launched its attack, Larry, who had been prepared, promptly gave the command.

Murkrow, proficient in using the Tailwind ability, instantly increased the wind's strength, almost rivaling the power of the Gust skill. With a powerful flap of its wings, it harnessed the flying-type energy of the Tailwind to create two small whirlwinds, directly swatting the Poison Stings away.

Larry turned to look at Gouse, his eyes flickering with a dangerous light, waiting for his next move. At this moment, Larry didn't have complete confidence in victory.

Unexpectedly, Gouse grinned and said, "Not bad, better than I expected."

Having said that, he ignored Larry and headed straight for the exchange counter.

Larry furrowed his brow, watching Gouse's back. He suppressed his strong urge to attack and signaled for Murkrow to land after a while.

Then, he walked out of the exchange center with Murkrow and headed straight for the forest without looking back.

In the massive building at the center of the base, in the office of the Team Rocket's Chief Instructor, Viper sat behind the desk. In front of him sat a mysterious figure wrapped entirely in a black robe. Two cups of tea were placed between them, and the lingering heat created a slow upward swirl of steam, dissipating into the air.

After a brief silence, Viper was the first to speak, with a tone of mockery and curiosity in his voice. "So, you've come to me again. What's the matter?" Viper's tone was laced with sarcasm.

The figure beneath the black robe revealed a pair of weathered eyes and adjusted their sitting posture slightly. "The mission failed, and I need a few people to replenish my team," came the raspy voice from beneath the robe, making it impossible to discern the age.

Viper grinned and took a sip of tea, feigning nonchalance. "Oh? The mission failed?" The mockery in both his expression and words was evident. "I never thought the famous you would have moments of failure. Are there no suitable candidates within the Team Rocket that meet your standards?"

Ignoring Viper's mocking tone, the raspy voice from the robe continued, "I inadvertently fell into a trap set by the League, and two Elite level trainers showed up. It was a close call." The figure seemed unperturbed by the presence of Elite level trainers, speaking of them as if they were just ordinary individuals.

"Oh?" Viper's expression turned serious, and he leaned forward slightly. "Were they openly revealed or operating in secret? How did you manage to escape?" He fired off a series of questions.

In the pitch-black room, where the candlelight flickered gently without any wind, the two shadows on the wall swayed with the movements of the candlelight.

After a brief silence, the figure in the black robe raised one hand, and from beneath the robe, a withered left hand, covered in wrinkles, slowly emerged.

Viper's eyes narrowed as he saw the desiccated left hand. It was clear they were familiar with each other, and Viper was aware of the figure's condition. Despite the figure's age, the dried-up hand didn't match, and more importantly, three fingers were missing from the left hand, leaving only the thumb and index finger.

"Poison-type Elite?" Viper spoke, and though it sounded like a question, it was said with certainty. Only a Poison-type move could cause such injuries, and to inflict this kind of harm on someone of the same Elite level as the figure, it implied that the attacker was no ordinary Elite level trainer.

The figure beneath the black robe subtly nodded. The raspy voice spoke again, this time with a hint of coldness. "A Poison-type Elite at the Advanced Elite level and a Psychic-type Elite at the Intermediate Elite level. They're not the League's openly recognized forces."

"If it weren't for my quick reaction, cutting off three of my fingers in time, my entire hand might have been lost," he took a deep breath, suppressing his restless heart. "Fortunately, I managed to use three of my Pokémon to hold them back in time; otherwise, I might not have made it out alive. Nevertheless, the mission was still a failure."