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"Begin the test, trainees. Be wary of those around you. Don't trust anyone easily." Although Instructor Frostwolf spoke the truth, it only made more people suspicious.
"Damn, this instructor is really instigating everyone here to kill each other!" Qingwu secretly complained. Qingwu also saw the full view of the testing equipment, which was a large nano-testing robot.
This nano-testing robot was about three meters tall. The robot's head consisted of a screen, and the robot's belly was the target attack area. One had to hit the robot's belly to get a score. Under the arrangement of the Team Rocket robots, everyone lined up and proceeded with the test in order.
"Koffing, use Self-Destruct!" A trainee holding a Koffing gave the command to his Koffing.
"What a pity," Qingwu sighed. After this Koffing Self-Destructs, it would only have a sliver of health left. The base was not a charity; it would not actively help Pokémon recover their stamina. This would not end well for the trainee. One could only say Self-Destruct was momentarily exhilarating, but it would lead to a family disaster.
The clumsy Koffing flew near the testing robot's belly, its body violently expanding, glowing, and heating up. When the Koffing completely turned into white light, a loud boom was heard, producing a huge cloud of smoke. The power value 120 was immediately displayed on the instrument.
"Power value 120." The Team Rocket auxiliary robot immediately recorded this trainee's data. The trainee was ecstatic. He didn't see Instructor Frostwolf's icy gaze. Using Self-Destruct to gain power value was the most foolish way. This trainee also set a bad example. Several subsequent trainees holding Koffings also let their Koffings self-destruct. Among them, one trainee's Self-Destructing Koffing actually achieved an excellent score of 150 power value, temporarily ranking first.
Qingwu watched all this with amusement. The more excited they were now, the more tragic it would be later.
"Number 112, power value 67." "Number 115, power value 121."
Trainee after trainee took the test, each with a different expression. Some even damaged their Pokémon's foundations just to get high scores, which would make them regret it for a lifetime. Everyone was acting like crazy, desperately trying to get a better score than others. Qingwu watched the lively atmosphere, feeling that something was very wrong. This seemed to encourage trainees to use any means necessary, just for a score.
"Power value, 200." A young lady with beautiful blue long hair, using an abnormally colored Crobat, achieved the current first place with Aerial Ace. Qingwu's eyes widened. He remembered that this was the trainee who eventually broke through the encirclement and gained the right to choose a green-potential Pokémon.
"This time's green-potential Pokémon will be mine, and you will always be beneath me," Qingwu thought calmly.
Next, a young man with an indifferent expression manipulated an Arbok, achieving an excellent score of 210. The young man's listless eyes glanced at the surrounding crowd, then he slowly walked away with his Arbok. This young man, who looked like a shut-in, was not simple. Qingwu recognized him as the future Poison-type Heavenly King. He always liked to look at his opponents with yellow snake-like eyes and was a master of poison, skilled at using snake-like Pokémon. For example, Arbok, Seviper, Cacnea, Serperior, and so on.
When it was Qingwu's turn, it was already late in the session. Qingwu's number was 255. Qingwu watched his Crobat flapping its wings, surrounded by countless air currents, knowing that Crobat had already adjusted itself. Qingwu gave Crobat only one command.
"Crobat, use Quick Attack." That's right, in a tailwind, Crobat's body was larger than a typical Crobat. So, with Quick Attack, Crobat's speed would reach an extreme. Crobat flew high into the sky, and with the help of gravitational acceleration, Quick Attack, and the tailwind, it charged directly towards the device's location.
The trainees only saw a white flash, and then they saw 245 float up on the device. This was the highest score so far.
"Number 255, power value 245, highest score in the arena, currently ranked first." The Team Rocket auxiliary robot announced the final result. This result made everyone present disbelieving.
"This is just a simple Quick Attack; how can it have such power?" "Isn't this cheating?" "How can this Crobat's destructive power be so great?" Everyone was discussing animatedly, and some even had flickering eyes, seemingly unconvinced by this score.
"Silence! The instrument will not have problems. This score is valid," Instructor Frostwolf declared definitively. Everyone present immediately fell silent, disbelievingly watching Qingwu calmly recall his Crobat to its Poké Ball. The crowd remained silent for a while before understanding why Crobat was able to get such a score. It was simply the skillful use of altitude and gravitational acceleration, which gave Crobat more power.
Although everyone understood Qingwu's little trick, there weren't many trainees left behind Qingwu. Some trainees were thoughtful, while others cried out in anxious despair. All kinds of emotions could appear in this training base. But more trainees believed that the method Qingwu used was a petty trick not worthy of praise, so Qingwu received many contemptuous glances.
Qingwu didn't care about other people's opinions. If he did, Qingwu would have long been swallowed by this man-eating training base.
So the final results are as follows:
First place, number 255, power value: 245
Second place, number 118, power value 210
Third place, number 88, power value 200
...
Qingwu was already calculating what he could exchange with the upcoming 500 points. After the rankings were finalized, each trainee received a special bracelet with a red 'R' emblazoned on it. There was also a trial card exclusive to trainees, which displayed each trainee's number.
This bracelet was made of nanomaterials and contained approximately one cubic meter of storage space. Six ordinary red and white Poké Balls were also embedded on the bracelet, which could be removed with a flick of the finger. The trial card could be used for point transactions and point exchanges, essentially serving as a means of payment between trainees.
After this gathering ended, Qingwu headed straight for the point exchange center. For Qingwu, who had once been a member of Team Rocket, he knew exactly where the exchange center was. Moreover, Team Rocket's point exchange center was Team Rocket's entire warehouse, containing everything imaginable. Even large airships could be conjured, provided enough Team Rocket points were paid.
Qingwu had many things to exchange this time, and they were very fragmented. Most importantly, he needed the special alloy for Aron. This was key to improving Aron's overall metal strength. Qingwu arrived at the exchange center. A Team Rocket member handed Qingwu a tablet, which listed the items currently available for exchange.
Qingwu once again recalled the exorbitant price of pseudo-legendary Pokémon. A Mini Dragon, without any talent evaluation given, cost ten million points. Any Pokémon linked to pseudo-legendary status cost ten million points. Slightly stronger Pokémon cost several million points. Qingwu also saw a green-potential Aron, with an exchange price of three and a half million points.
Qingwu felt very lucky. He had encountered Pokémon with green potential. The exchange prices of Rattata and Caterpie were not below one million points. This showed that Team Rocket itself was severely lacking in green-potential Pokémon.