When Feng Che arrived at the training grounds, the crowd had thinned out significantly. People were gathered in small groups, looking like established teams. It seemed the past three days had successfully encouraged them to form cliques.
Feng Che spotted Seita's four-man squad. He clearly saw Seita make a throat-slitting gesture toward him. He also noticed the beautiful redhead, Alice, and the young man with the worn-out glasses. Unsurprisingly, both had successfully tamed their Pokémon and, like him, had not joined any larger groups.
Before long, Instructor Viper arrived with a contingent of Team Rocket guards.
"Good morning, everyone. Seeing you all so full of life puts my mind at ease," Viper said. "The third phase of the evaluation is about to begin. Follow me."
A massive opening appeared in the center of the training ground floor. A circular elevator platform slowly ascended to meet them. Viper led the recruits onto the platform, and they began a long descent.
After about fifteen minutes, the platform reached the bottom. Feng Che saw a colossal iron gate, roughly three meters high and six meters wide. Viper walked to a liquid-crystal display beside the gate to verify his fingerprints and iris. With a heavy clank, the doors hissed open.
Beyond the gate lay a staggering sight: a massive subterranean hangar filled with rows of large aircraft, each emblazoned with the iconic red 'R' of Team Rocket.
"Impressive, isn't it? Every time I see these jet transports, it still takes my breath away," Viper laughed. "Our final evaluation isn't held here at the main base, but somewhere else entirely. Come on, get on board."
They approached a massive transport jet. A ramp lowered from the tail section, and Viper led the way up. Feng Che followed. The plane was enormous, capable of holding 150 people. Since there were fewer than 100 recruits left, there was more than enough space.
Feng Che picked a seat and used a cold, sharp gaze to ward off anyone thinking of trying to suck up to him. Viper watched this with approval.
Settled in, Feng Che focused all his attention on eavesdropping on the Persian sitting not far from him.
[Persian: This plane again. The air is always so stale and dusty.][Persian: Why do I always have to be the escort? I just sit around and watch every single time.][Persian: Death Island again... they really lack creativity.][Persian: It's just a lush, green island with a high density of wild Pokémon.][Persian: The Pokémon aren't the problem; it's the torture of running out of food.][Persian: There's a hidden 'bonus' on this plane... if only they knew.][Persian: Right in the seat pockets. Every magazine has a map of Death Island tucked inside.][Persian: Every year, so many idiots are too nervous to check their surroundings for things that could save their lives.][Persian: Once we hit the 'Dead Sea' zone, more fools will forget to put on their life jackets and parachutes.][Persian: Opening a parachute over the island is risky, though. Those wild Wingull love pecking holes in the fabric.][Persian: Life jackets are a better bet. They're waterproof—even if the sea is full of man-eating Sharpedo.][Persian: Ugh, the air is making my nose itch. I'm taking a nap.]
Soon, Feng Che saw the Persian curl up on the floor and fall into a deep sleep, drooling onto the expensive cabin carpet.
That Persian just leaked several critical pieces of intel, Feng Che noted.
Death Island wasn't a barren rock; it was heavily forested. The theme of the trial was survival. Team Rocket didn't just need powerful Trainers; they wanted elite special ops members—the kind of operatives like Jessie and James (before they became comic relief).
Feng Che reached into the pocket behind the seat in front of him and pulled out a magazine. He flipped through it casually until he found a bookmark. On it was a rough sketch of an island's topography.
This island actually has both a volcano and a snowy peak? It must be huge, he thought.
He's incredible. He found the map immediately, Alice thought, watching Feng Che from a distance. Her respect for him grew. His observation skills are terrifying. I only knew to look for a map because my family elders told me it would be there.
I checked his background—he's a commoner with no connections. He couldn't have known about the map beforehand. And he spent the last few days in a training room, so he wasn't out gathering intel.
Alice felt a growing urge to cooperate with Feng Che to clear the island. The real danger on Death Island isn't the Pokémon; it's the people. Pokémon lack human guile; they just have raw power, which can be handled with traps. But in Team Rocket, the person most likely to stab you in the back is your closest ally.
Since her Fletchling was still quite weak, she knew she needed a reliable partner to survive the coming storm.
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