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At the entrance to the ruins, space suddenly distorted. The next moment, Sato and the others emerged smoothly from the newly stabilized dimensional passage, with the help of Alakazam.
Vanna and Janine didn't bother saying goodbye to Sato. As soon as they stepped out of the ruins, they each summoned their desert-traveling mounts and swiftly rode off in different directions without saying a word.
Sato could only shake his head helplessly at the sight. He had originally intended to suggest they travel together—it would've made leaving the desert easier and served to deter Tomoki from pursuing them. But clearly, these two strong-willed women, both used to working alone, had no interest in sticking together.
"This isn't a place to linger. Let's move too, Thomas."
Once the two had disappeared into the distance, Sato released his Flygon and had it carry him and Thomas into the sky, heading in directions opposite from Vanna and Janine.
About two hours later, a loud rumble erupted at the entrance to the ruins. Suddenly, a massive beam of energy shot up from underground, blasting a huge hole in the ground.
A battered and bruised Salamence burst out of the rapidly sand-filling crater, carrying an unconscious figure on its back as it soared into the sky.
Moments later, Tomoki and his remaining forces rushed out of the ruins' entrance. He quickly ordered his Pokémon to destroy the entrance completely.
By now, only six people remained at his side.
...
The Next Morning – Team Rocket Base, East Coast of the Mysterious Island
Inside the heavily guarded teleportation hall of the Team Rocket base, a crowd of Rocket veterans stood vigil around the large teleportation gate at its center. At the outer edges, many of the recruits who had been eliminated during the trials looked on with mixed emotions, watching the gate that still radiated a powerful psychic aura.
On the elevated platform within the hall stood Nogu and other true Rocket elites, also focused on the teleportation gate, which was now being activated.
Today marked the end of the island survival trial. Soon, those who completed the trial would emerge from the teleportation gate.
Tanya had joined Team Rocket in Pewter City around the same time as Sato. She had shown impressive strength, making it to the second stage of the rookie competition and surviving on the mysterious island for an entire week.
Unfortunately, there's always someone stronger. On the eighth day, she was utterly defeated by another participant.
That opponent was a ninja girl even younger than her—but terrifyingly powerful. With just a single Gengar, the girl had almost taken down Tanya's entire team of Pokémon, which Tanya had once considered formidable. Had the girl been ruthless, Tanya probably wouldn't have made it off the island alive.
Tanya now clearly understood that anyone emerging from that teleportation gate today was far stronger than the rest of them. Their power levels were already on a different tier.
"These people are destined to soar within Team Rocket," Tanya thought silently among the veteran Rockets, staring at the yet-inactive gate. "But they've earned it. Anyone who survived that hellish island is bound to be ridiculously strong now… Maybe even stronger than the so-called elites on the high platform."
Unlike many eliminated recruits who left the base in disappointment, Tanya had chosen to stay, accepting the invitation of a few base commanders. She had become a member of this frontline base, which suffered frequent wild Pokémon attacks.
Her reason for staying was simple—she refused to fall too far behind Sato and the others who had completed the trial.
Although the danger level here couldn't compare to the island, battling against the wild Pokémon that had followed from the island made her feel her strength growing steadily.
Now, like many veteran Rockets in the base, Tanya was accumulating merit/contribution points, hoping to earn another chance to enter the mysterious island via the teleportation gate.
She had already learned from friendly veterans just how valuable the rookie trial had been. Even just having access to the teleportation gate as an emergency escape tool made other base members green with envy.
Many veteran Rockets in this base were eager to grow stronger and desired to return to the mysterious island. However, the island's danger level was so extreme that without a means of escape, a return trip was often a death sentence.
Thus, the teleportation gate had become a hot commodity among the veterans.
But using this life-saving tool wasn't cheap. One use required at least 50,000 merit points—just to keep a small teleportation gate open for five days.
In the past few days, Tanya had guarded the base, turned in battle spoils, and burned through a ton of medical supplies. Yet she had only managed to gather 5,000 merit points. That was enough to promote her to squad leader—but not even enough to power the gate for a single day.
"Ugh... There's no use complaining. I wasn't strong enough to grasp the opportunity, so I'll just have to create the next one myself."
Frustrated, Tanya thought about how all her life-risking efforts hadn't even earned her one day's worth of gate access. Still, she wasn't one to wallow in self-pity. She quickly picked herself up.
Suddenly, one of the Psychic-type Pokémon—floating above the teleportation gate via Telekinesis—opened its eyes. An Alakazam turned into a flash of light and flew straight into the dimensional passage within the gate.
Before long, under the gaze of the entire hall, the first person returned through the gate—a dark-skinned, wild-looking girl leading a massive Kommo-o.
It was Vanna.
Both she and her Kommo-o were covered in animal-hide pouches, the seams of which sparkled with glimpses of gleaming gemstones.
Though the onlookers were stunned by the treasure haul, someone still rushed up with a chair and placed it in front of her as a gesture of respect.
But Vanna didn't even spare the man or the chair a glance. Instead, she immediately barked for someone to return the items she had left behind at the base.
Not long after, the second returnee emerged—a tall, lanky man followed by a fierce Houndoom.
This Houndoom radiated intense fire and malevolence, with flaming black horns, bony armor, and a devilish tail that burned with black fire—clearly a Pokémon of great strength.
However, the moment this man and his Houndoom saw Vanna and her Kommo-o, all the swagger they had when stepping out vanished instantly. They kept a respectful distance and looked visibly tense, their expressions full of awe.
The third and fourth returnees followed soon after. Like the second, they were initially confident—until they saw Vanna. Then their bravado crumbled, and they regarded her like a formidable adversary.
Watching this, the crowd realized just how powerful Vanna truly was—so powerful that even other victors feared her.
No one else dared to bring chairs for the others.
Because Vanna herself wasn't even sitting on a chair—she was on a beast hide, happily counting her gemstones with Kommo-o.
If Vanna was sitting on the ground… who else had the right to sit?
Just then, the Xatu that had been hovering over the teleportation gate opened its eyes. With a swift Teleport, it appeared at the gate and immediately entered the spatial passage.
The crowd instantly redirected their attention from Vanna and the others to the gate, knowing another successful returnee was on the way.
Thanks to Xatu's help, Sato emerged from the portal, slinging a black storage backpack over one shoulder. Calmly, he surveyed the people watching him.
Then, under their stunned and confused gazes, he walked straight up to Vanna—who was glaring at him in annoyance. He tossed her a quality gemstone, then nonchalantly took the only chair available and sat down next to her.
Vanna reluctantly gave Sato a smile in return, then continued counting gems. As for the other returnees, when they saw Sato casually claim the lone chair, their faces showed complete acceptance, as if it was entirely normal.