Chapter 3: Ekans's Submission

The next day at noon, Noah slowly opened his eyes in the treatment chamber. The originally emerald-green liquid had turned into clear water. He pressed a red button at the bottom of the chamber with his foot, and within a minute, the nurse who had cared for him the previous day arrived.

Noah, still naked, expressionlessly took a new Team Rocket grunt uniform from the blushing nurse's hands and quickly put it on.

"Here are your Poké Balls. They've fully recovered, and I've fed them," the nurse said, blushing as she handed Noah two black, Team Rocket-issued Poké Balls from her pocket. She then lowered her head, avoiding eye contact.

"So big, even bigger than before," the nurse thought, her face flushing as she looked down. As she was lost in thought, she nearly fainted. By the time she regained her composure and looked up, Noah had already left, having collected his stored belongings.

Noah first returned to his room.

A simple single bed, a table and chair, an old computer, and two dumbbells were all the furnishings in Noah's room.

Upon returning, the first thing he did was stretch and loosen up. After a full-body workout, he was pleased to find his injuries from the previous day had completely healed.

"No matter how many times I experience it, it's still incredible. This is a thousand times better than the medical technology of my previous world. Just a good night's sleep and I'm as good as new," Noah murmured to himself.

Due to the powerful healing abilities of Pokémon and the corresponding medical technology developed, deaths from illness were rare in the Pokémon world. However, deaths from wild Pokémon attacks remained high every year.

After checking his own condition, he began to check on his Pokémon. Pressing the buttons on the two Poké Balls, he released them in a flash of white light. Koffing and Ekans appeared before him.

"Koffing~" The sinister and cunning Koffing immediately floated over to Noah, nodding and bowing in a fawning manner, his small eyes filled with deep longing.

Ekans, on the other hand, immediately lowered its head, coiling its body in fear. Its cold, snake-like eyes showed terror. Although its lower half had regrown, it was much smaller than its upper body and would need several more days to fully recover. This time, Noah's punishment had thoroughly intimidated it. The fear of death had temporarily subdued Ekans.

"Such a glutton. Here you go." Seeing Koffing groveling before him, Noah smiled slightly. He put on a pair of gloves from his waist pouch, then took out a bead emitting a purple glow.

At the sight of the bead, Koffing began to drool, acting like a lapdog wagging its head and tail. Ekans also lifted its head, its eyes showing deep greed.

This was a highly precious Toxic Orb, containing immense poison energy. For Poison-type Pokémon, it was an unparalleled temptation. Koffing's fawning was to absorb some of the Toxic Orb's energy. Naturally, Noah was happy to see his loyal Koffing grow stronger.

Noah placed the Toxic Orb into Koffing's wide-open mouth and gently patted its head.

He had obtained this Toxic Orb a year ago during a mission, snatching it from the hands of the Pokémon League members. To acquire it, Noah had faced near-death situations.

The opponent had been stronger, and only through a life-risking strategy did Noah manage to kill them. Not only did Koffing nearly die from self-destructing, but Eknas was also left with just its head. Noah himself suffered severe burns and permanently lost his right eye, which was now an artificial electronic eye hidden under his bangs.

However, the reward was substantial. After that battle, Noah finally had the means to grow stronger. The Toxic Orb significantly boosted Koffing's power, enhancing its intelligence and moves. For instance, the Sludge Bomb Koffing used the previous day was not the usual harmless sludge bomb but one that exploded.

Koffing's mutation brought Noah immense joy and fueled his ambitions. He was no longer content with the precarious position of a Team Rocket grunt; he aimed to become a cadre or even a top leader within the organization.

Nonetheless, Noah's cautious nature, honed by nine years of life-or-death experiences within Team Rocket, prevailed. Despite possessing the strength of a Team Rocket elite, he refrained from revealing it, biding his time to gather more power. With only one elite-level Koffing, he couldn't establish himself among Team Rocket's elite. This was largely due to his status as a grunt with no background.

Team Rocket was a dark organization rife with factions. Its key positions were occupied by people from these factions. Only absolute strength could earn their recognition and a chance for promotion.

Noah had once humbled himself, groveling like a dog to curry favor with Caesar of the Archer faction, only to be met with disdain and harsh humiliation. After that, he abandoned any thoughts of joining a faction, deciding instead to climb through sheer strength. In the dark world, power ultimately ruled.

Ten minutes later, Koffing finally expelled the Toxic Orb, having absorbed all it could. Now it was flushed red, like a bomb about to explode, with droplets of purple liquid oozing from its holes, corroding the marble floor beneath.

However, Koffing managed to endure, gradually returning to its purple color. The skull mark on its body gained another black hue, leaving only the head part white. Noah estimated that once the entire skull mark turned black, Koffing would be ready to evolve.

"Don't be greedy next time. Spit it out if you can't handle it. Got it?" Noah scolded Koffing, tapping its head. The Toxic Orb's energy was too potent, and even Poison-type Pokémon could only withstand it for a limited time before it became lethal. A year ago, Koffing could only endure for about a minute.

"Koffing~" Koffing weakly nodded, having exhausted itself trying to absorb the poison energy, almost exploding in the process.

"Alright, go back to your Poké Ball and absorb the remaining energy," Noah said, returning Koffing to its ball.

"Ekans, come here." Noah then coldly addressed the purple snake, whose eyes still showed greed.

Cold-blooded Pokémon like Ekans were hard to tame. Initially, one couldn't afford to be lenient with them. Only by instilling fear could they be made obedient.

Noah's Ekans had already killed five previous trainers, devouring each of them.

Upon hearing about this, Noah used a small amount of his points to exchange for this murderous snake and subdued it through brute force. However, it always betrayed him at critical moments, with yesterday being the ninth instance.

Seeing Noah's gaze, Ekans's greed vanished, replaced by fear. Under Noah's cold stare, it reluctantly slithered over and bowed its head.

"Ekans, you're an ungrateful beast. I've given you nine chances, and now I think you don't deserve to live." As he spoke, Noah stepped on Ekans's weak spot and grabbed its head with both hands.

"Ekans~" Ekans tried to struggle, but with its weak spot pinned, it was powerless. Feeling the increasing pressure on its neck, its yellow eyes reflected the murderous intent of the human before it. Realizing Noah genuinely intended to kill it, Ekans's eyes began to glaze over as it lost consciousness.

Noah threw the nearly lifeless Ekans against the wall and stepped on its head.

"From now on, you are my Pokémon. My orders are absolute. Do you understand?" Noah pressed down harder on Ekans's head.

"Ekans~" Ekans weakly opened its eyes, finally placing its weak spot beside Noah's other foot in a gesture of submission.

To be continued...