Krookodile, who had just finished high-intensity training, was lying on the ground recovering its strength. Hearing the commotion, it slowly opened its eyes and looked at the blue figure that was much smaller than itself.
It sensed a dangerous aura emanating from the opponent.
Without the slightest contempt, Krookodile stood up heavily. On its dark red body, muscles bulged, and a fierce, violent pressure spread out.
The battle was on the verge of breaking out.
There was no testing the waters, no maneuvering.
The moment Ariel's voice fell, Frogadier's figure turned into a blurred blue afterimage and vanished from its spot.
In the next second, it appeared beside Krookodile. Between its palms, two Water Pulses formed from high-pressure water currents slashed directly toward Krookodile's waist and ribs with a piercing sound of breaking air!
Fast! Too fast!
Krookodile didn't even have time to turn around; relying solely on battle instinct, its massive tail, covered in rock energy, swept out backward!
"Clang!"
The water blades collided with the rock tail, producing the sound of clashing metal.
Failing to land a hit, Frogadier's figure vanished again, appearing like a ghost behind, above, and in front of Krookodile, launching a continuous onslaught.
Water Pulse, Aerial Ace, Double Team...
It pushed its speed to the limit, filling the entire arena with its afterimages.
Krookodile, meanwhile, was like a mountain standing tall in a violent storm; no matter how fierce the attacks were, it remained unmoved.
Rock Slide blocked movements, Stomping Tantrum forced the opponent back from close range, and powerful claws tore through every incoming Double Team clone.
This was an ultimate collision of speed and power.
Every one of Frogadier's attacks was executed with full strength. Its stamina was depleting rapidly, but its eyes grew brighter and more crazed.
It craved it—craved greater pressure, craved the thrill of walking on the edge of life and death!
"Roar!"
Krookodile seemed to have been provoked into a temper as well. It slammed its foot onto the ground, and an invisible gravity field instantly enveloped the entire arena.
Frogadier's movements suddenly jerked, and its speed plummeted.
This was the moment!
A fierce glint flashed in Krookodile's eyes. Its giant claws, coated in Dark-type energy, slammed down on Frogadier like swatting a fly!
"Bang!"
Frogadier flew backward like a cannonball, plowing a long trench into the ground before finally slamming heavily against the wall of the training room.
A gruesome bloody gash bloomed across its chest.
The intense pain and powerful impact caused its consciousness to flicker for a moment.
The blood of Meteor Falls, the cries of its companions, Sen's ugly face, and its father, the clan leader who died in battle, flashed through its mind once again.
Unwillingness! Anger! Hatred!
At this moment, all these emotions were like a flood bursting a dam, completely destroying the barriers of its reason.
It exploded with every technique it had learned at this very instant!
Quick Attack, Water Pulse, Smokescreen, Brick Break...
"Gua!"
It let out a shrill, long cry, and the energy throughout its body underwent a qualitative change at this moment.
Within the originally azure Water-type energy, an eerie aura faintly began to seep through.
It was overdrawing its stamina, using hatred to squeeze out its potential.
It craved power too much; it could even be said to be the one among Ariel's Pokémon that desired power the most.
Sensing Sen today had further ignited the flames of its pursuit for power!
Because it was different from other Pokémon; it carried a mission, the mission of its entire clan...
Krookodile's gaze also turned serious.
It realized that if it didn't strike back, Frogadier might destroy itself due to energy overload.
"Krookodile, use Brick Break to suppress it."
Ariel commanded coldly.
He understood all too well. Frogadier could evolve steadily and naturally once it reached level 36; it absolutely could not overdraw its potential to evolve prematurely!
Krookodile let out a roar. A layer of dazzling white light covered its sharp claws as it swung them down fiercely toward the charging Frogadier.
"Boom!"
The massive power gap caused Frogadier to crash into the ground like a meteor, creating a shallow pit in the Energy-absorbing Floor.
But in the next second, it actually stood up again, wobbling.
The white light of evolution began to flicker on its body. That was the sign that energy had accumulated to the critical point.
Ariel stared intently at that white light.
"It's not time yet, Frogadier!"
Ariel's voice was like a heavy hammer, smashing into Frogadier's consciousness.
"Evolving now is just squandering your potential! If you want to kill Sen with your own hands, then push it back down! Press this power into your very bones!"
"If you lose your potential, what revenge is there to talk about?"
"Do you want to be defeated by Sen's subordinates?"
Frogadier's eyes were bloodshot. It stared fixedly at the light of evolution that was almost about to envelop it.
It remembered those fallen companions.
If it evolved now, it would indeed gain stronger power, but that wouldn't be enough.
What it wanted was absolute revenge, the kind that could crush everything.
"Gua—!!!"
It let out a scream of extreme agony.
Under the watch of Ariel and Krookodile, that white light of evolution, which had already begun to spread, was actually forced back into its body by sheer will.
Its body trembled violently, every inch of muscle spasming. The energy within it mixed with undried water vapor, rising in clouds of Mist.
Finally, the white light vanished completely.
It was still in its Frogadier form, but its size was slightly larger than before. The look in its eyes was no longer chaotic madness, but a kind of coldness born from extreme suppression.
It had succeeded.
It had rejected an imperfect evolution triggered by emotional fluctuations, converting all that energy into its own strength.
Frogadier knelt on one knee, gasping for breath.
It felt its body brimming with unprecedented power. Although it hadn't evolved, its control over energy had ascended to a new level.
Krookodile walked over and gently nudged its shoulder with its large head, a form of recognition.
Ariel walked up to it and handed over a bottle of Life Essence.
This was the one bottle he had kept in his hand, and it was also the last one.
"Drink it, then rest."
Ariel looked at Frogadier, gaining a new understanding of this partner's resilience.
The strength of the entire team had achieved a qualitative leap during this frantic training.
Ariel sat on the bench in the training room, looking at information regarding Sen within the Team Rockets information network.
He knew that the next time they met would be the time for the harvest.
The lights in the training room gradually dimmed, leaving only the steady breathing of several Pokémon.
Ariel closed his eyes, constantly deducing the next steps of his plan in his mind.
In this world where the strong prey on the weak, anger is the most useless thing. Only by forging anger into a blade for killing does one have the right to speak of revenge.
And he was the one holding the blade.