The next day's training arrived as scheduled.
The site was set outdoors, adjacent to the Lake of Rage.
The air in this forest was always filled with a damp and restless mist. The lake's water was unfathomably deep, with undercurrents constantly surging, like some giant beast sleeping and breathing beneath the surface.
The primitive aura of the forest and the cold technological creations of the Team Rockets formed an eerie fusion here.
Holographic Projection Targets, Energy Sensing Posts, and Force Field Generators used to simulate various extreme environments were quietly embedded among the ancient trees, the cold light of metal flickering under the dappled shadows.
Corona, Viper, and Dar had already arrived.
At Corona's feet, a Charizard was yawning listlessly, its nostrils puffing out two thin trails of sparks that ignited a few withered leaves on the ground.
Beside him, the Blaziken stood with its arms crossed over its chest, posing like a martial arts master, its eyes Locked-On to the distant lake surface, filled with fighting spirit.
Next to Viper, the Drapion's massive tail hook swayed slowly behind it, shimmering with a faint purple light, clearly coated in Toxic.
The Scolipede was coiled up, its countless thin legs rustling against the ground with a soft sound that made one's skin crawl.
The strangest was Dar; he had only released a single Froslass.
That Pokémon floated in mid-air, her form flickering and emitting a faint chill that caused a layer of thin frost to condense on the surrounding grass.
She looked at no one and nothing, as if she were merely an incorporeal ghost.
As Ariel arrived, he also threw out his own Poké Balls.
As soon as Krookodile appeared, it opened its large mouth and let out a low roar, its eyes behind its sunglasses gleaming with ferocity.
Malamar floated up, the luminous organs on its tentacles flickering rhythmically, as fluctuations of Psychic Power caused the surrounding air to warp slightly.
Weavile landed soundlessly, its sharp claws flashing with a cold light under the sun.
Finally, there was Frogadier, which landed nimbly on a tree branch, wiped its face with its Foam Scarf, and scanned the area with alert eyes.
The four Pokémon, each with a vastly different style, faintly formed a formation that balanced offense and defense.
Viper's eyes, heavily lined with eyeliner, glanced over. She twirled the tips of her purple hair with her fingers, her voice lazy:
"We only have a week to train, little brother. You're being a bit greedy."
Ariel checked Frogadier's condition and replied without looking up:
"Don't worry, I've always trained this way. On the contrary, it's you three who only released one or two. Your teams can't possibly consist of just that little bit of assets."
Viper let out a giggle, a sound like wind chimes but with an indescribable eeriness.
"Pokémon are just tools."
She extended the tip of her tongue and lightly licked her lips.
"For the main force, you only need to cultivate one or two of the sharpest ones. The rest are just consumables to be replaced once they're used up, aren't they?"
Corona let out a dull grunt in agreement.
Dar, however, had no reaction, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
This was the philosophy of these people.
Or rather, it was the consensus among most members of evil organizations.
What are Pokémon?
They are tools for making money, weapons for gaining fame and fortune, and pawns to be discarded after use or replaced when exhausted.
Investing too much emotion and resources into a pawn was, in their eyes, foolish and inefficient behavior.
Ariel knew in his heart that although he wore the uniform of the Team Rockets, he was fundamentally different from them.
His path to becoming stronger was never a one-sided extraction.
His relationship with his Pokémon was more like a symbiosis, a mutual investment.
I help you break your limits, and you help me clear away obstacles.
This relationship meant he had to spend several times more energy than an average person researching tactics, building rapport, and tailoring training plans for every single Pokémon.
It was exhausting, but Ariel firmly believed that only in this way could he build a team that truly belonged to him and could carry out his will.
He didn't have any lofty sense of morality and wouldn't go around pitying the world, but at the very least, his own Pokémon were by no means consumables that could be discarded at will.
Of course, other people's Pokémon were an exception.
Ariel looked up with a perfect smile on his face and said in a half-joking tone:
"Maybe it's a local custom. In our Hoenn branch of the Team Rockets, it's more popular to train an entire team."
These words were flawlessly diplomatic, explaining his own behavior without directly contradicting the other's philosophy.
"A Hoenn custom?"
Viper laughed so hard she trembled, her voluptuous body leaning toward Ariel. A thick scent of perfume mixed with the aroma of some unknown herb wafted over, somewhat pungent.
"I say, Ariel, big sister really likes your type."
Her voice was pitched very low, carrying a hint of sticky moisture.
"Since we need to build rapport, why don't you accompany big sister for a meal? I guarantee our rapport will be built up very quickly."
Her fingers almost touched Ariel's arm.
Ariel's smile remained unchanged, but a hint of coldness had already surfaced deep in his eyes.
He hated this kind of self-important flirting, and he hated this invasion of his personal space even more.
He had even begun to calculate whether, if they really came to blows, he should have Weavile use Ice Shard to freeze her feet first, or have Malamar use Psychic Control to make her slap herself.
Just as he was about to speak, a cold voice cut in.
"Viper."
It was Dar.
He had been standing there like an ice sculpture the whole time, but now he finally spoke.
"The scent on your body isn't something everyone likes."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Viper's smile stiffened on her face. She slowly turned her head to look at Dar, the flirtatiousness in her eyes vanishing completely, replaced by a venomous coldness.
Dar remained expressionless, only opening his eyes slightly to look at her before lowering his eyelids again, as if he hadn't been the one speaking.
"What do you mean by that, you Sissy?"
Viper spoke.
Hearing someone call him a Sissy, the corners of Dar's mouth twitched slightly.
"You Skank, say that again?"
The aura of the Froslass beside him surged, and the chill surrounding her seemed to intensify by several degrees.
The atmosphere became thick with tension.