Ariel's gaze became incredibly sharp in an instant.
The League wanted to sweep away Team Rockets, Team Aqua, and Team Magma.
He, Ariel, and his "Team Evil," were nothing more than a Minor Leader and an ordinary task force under Team Rockets in the League's files.
As long as he didn't stick his head out, who would notice him?
He decided to act as if he had never known this intelligence.
When the gods of the League and Team Rockets fought, a "small ghost" like him wouldn't get involved.
Protecting his own little corner and preserving his own power was the most important thing right now.
His "Team Evil" was nominally a subordinate of Team Rockets, but from its inception, it had been a private army that obeyed Ariel alone.
The selection of members, the distribution of resources, and the command of operations were all under his direct control.
This was his true foundation.
Even if the sky fell, as long as this team remained, he would have the capital to stage a comeback.
If the situation truly deteriorated to an irredeemable point and he was forced to leave Hoenn, he would have Team Evil stay behind like a nail, continuing to Ingrain itself deeply here to preserve the sparks for him.
Of course, the best-case scenario was that Ariel could remain in Hoenn safe and sound, continuing to develop and grow his influence.
Thinking of this, Ariel no longer had any hesitation.
He stopped in his tracks, took a black communicator directly from his pocket, and pressed the shortcut key for the encrypted line.
"Beep... beep..."
After a few busy tones, the call was connected, and a capable, cold female voice came through.
"Lord Ruth."
"Yuki,"
Ariel's voice was calm and steady, devoid of any emotion,
"Team Evil is preparing for expansion."
Yuki on the other end of the line clearly paused for a moment, seemingly surprised, but she didn't ask questions and just listened quietly.
Ariel continued:
"We'll still select from the grassroots of Team Rockets. Those who are marginalized, those with ability but no background, or those who simply want to make money—all are fine. You know the standards."
"Understood."
Yuki replied.
"This time, expand the number of Team Evil members directly to fifty!"
Ariel said each word with emphasis.
The reason Ariel chose to expand now was, firstly, because he currently needed power.
Secondly, Malamar had reached the Gym Leader Level, possessing a massive amount of mental power to dominate, as well as the ability to engrave another 40 Mental Seals!
This number caused Yuki's breathing to hitch for a moment on the other end of the line.
Expanding from ten people directly to fifty was no longer a small operation; it was the formation of a truly scaled armed force.
"Lord, would this be too..."
Yuki spoke hesitantly, worried that such a large move would alert other Executives within Team Rockets.
"Do as I say."
Ariel's tone left no room for doubt.
"First, filter through various channels and give me a preliminary list of two hundred people, along with their organized profiles. I will bring Malamar to select them personally."
At the mention of Malamar, Yuki's voice immediately became respectful:
"Yes, Boss! I'll get on it right away!"
She knew very well that Ariel's Malamar's unpredictable mental power was the best tool for identifying loyalty.
The fact that the Boss was going to step out personally meant that this expansion was extremely important to him.
Hanging up the phone, Ariel put the communicator back in his pocket.
He looked up again; the exit of Sootopolis City was already in sight.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows on his face—a play of light and dark, much like his current state of mind.
A storm was coming.
But he was no longer a lamb passively waiting for judgment.
From this moment on, he was also a chess player.
In this game of chess involving the lives and deaths of countless people, he would fight for a place for himself.
...
Inside a dark underground cave, the damp air carried the fishy scent of mud and unknown moss, constantly seeping from the cracks in the rock walls.
Water droplets fell from the tips of stalactites, hitting the small puddles below with a "tick-tock, tick-tock" sound—the only continuous noise in this deathly silent space.
A day later, at this temporary base of Team Evil, Ariel met the two hundred people Yuki had selected.
They stood neatly in several phalanxes, still wearing the grassroots uniforms of Team Rockets. Each person's face was a mixture of expectation, nervousness, and a hint of undetectable ambition.
They were the lowest-level parts of the massive war machine that was Team Rockets, accustomed to obedience and longing for advancement.
And today, an opportunity was placed before them.
Ariel stood on a high point in front of them, his ace, Malamar, floating quietly beside him.
After advancing to the Gym Leader Level, Malamar's physical form didn't seem to have changed much, but the invisible mental pressure it radiated was more than ten times heavier than before.
It just stayed there quietly, its translucent body reflecting eerie and brilliant colors under the weak light source at the top of the cave. Its eyes were like two dark whirlpools, bottomless.
"Let's begin."
Ariel had no extra nonsense, simply uttering two words.
Malamar understood, and a deep blue light suddenly lit up in its eyes. An invisible Psywave, like ripples on the water's surface, spread out silently, instantly enveloping the two hundred people below.
This wasn't an attack, but a screening, a probe.
A burly man standing in the front row was the first to react.
Beads of sweat the size of soybeans immediately popped up on his forehead, his legs began to shake uncontrollably, and his eyes became vacant, as if he were seeing some extremely terrifying vision in his mental world.
Ariel's gaze stayed on him for less than half a second before moving away.
Weak will, eliminated.
Following that, more and more people began to show signs of distress.
Some held their heads and crouched down, letting out unconscious groans;
Some turned pale as if all their strength had been drained;
Some even rolled their eyes and fainted directly onto the ground.
Yuki stood to the side, her face looking a bit grim as she watched the "Superiors" she had carefully selected prove so vulnerable, yet she didn't dare to make a sound to interrupt.
She knew that Lord Ruth's selection methods had always been so... unique.
Ariel's gaze slowly swept through the crowd, like a fastidious craftsman examining his materials.
His standards were clear.
Those with wills too fragile could not withstand the Mental Seal and were scrap.
Those with wills too stubborn, with too many personal thoughts or even a heart of resistance, were defective products prone to problems during use.
What he wanted were those with willpower tough enough to withstand the pressure of the brand, while their mental core possessed a certain "flexibility" that could be perfectly molded into the shape he desired—the "top-grade products."
Time passed minute by minute, and more than half of the two hundred-person team had fallen.
Of the remaining fewer than fifty people, although every one of them looked solemn and was drenched in sweat, their eyes remained clear and their backs remained straight.
A faint, almost imperceptible curve finally appeared at the corner of Ariel's mouth.
He took a liking to a tall, thin man standing in the middle of the crowd.
The man was unremarkable, but from beginning to end, his breathing rhythm had maintained a peculiar steadiness, as if Malamar's mental pressure was merely a strong wind blowing in his face.
"You, what is your name?" Ariel suddenly spoke, pointing at the tall, thin man.
The man was stunned for a moment, then immediately stood tall and responded loudly: "Reporting, sir! My name is Akel!"
"Very good." Ariel nodded and said no more.
The mental probe continued for another ten minutes until finally only forty people were left barely standing.
The blue light in Malamar's eyes slowly faded, and the suffocating pressure suddenly vanished.
The forty people still standing looked as if they had just been fished out of water, gasping for breath. Many of their legs went soft and they slumped to the ground, but their eyes flashed with the excitement of survivors.
They knew they had passed the first test.
Ariel looked at these new members, mentally calculating.
Ariel intended for the strength of this squad to reach the Elite Level!
As for a Trainer's strength, the League's judgment was simple: as long as one possessed an Elite Level Pokémon, they were considered an Elite Level Trainer.
But this set of standards didn't work for Ariel.
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