The Team Rockets Pokémon exchange Counter was located at the end of the third basement floor.
Jiang Han followed the instructor through the dark corridor. Dim yellow lights were placed every five meters along the walls, casting long shadows of the two men.
"This is where Team Rockets exchanges Pokémon."
The instructor stopped in front of an alloy door and pressed his finger against the fingerprint scanner.
"Rewards in Team Rockets are based on a point system, and your ranking in the rookie training camp is also determined by these points."
The alloy door slowly opened to reveal a spacious room. The walls were covered with a dense array of display screens, each showing data for different pokémon.
"Your current points rank you first, with a total of 250 points—a full 70 points ahead of second place."
The instructor walked to the central console and swiped his finger across the screen.
"To be honest, with your points, you would have been first in any of the previous training camps."
He turned around and stared into Jiang Han's eyes.
"In the eyes of those Senior Cadres, someone like you would be a treasure to fight over. Are you really sure you want to go to the Hoenn region?"
"I'm sure." Jiang Han's voice didn't waver for a second.
The instructor was silent for a few seconds before nodding.
"The extra reward from the instructor is 50 points. Adding that up, you have 300 points. In the League's monetary system, that's a full 3 million league coins."
"That's no small sum; it's the harvest from your four years of special training."
He entered a string of code into the console.
"Go choose your pokémon."
Jiang Han walked to the console, and the exchange interface popped up on the screen.
A dazzling array of pokémon was listed, ranging from common ones like Pidgey and Caterpie to the starter pokémon, and even some Dragon-types.
Detailed data and point prices were noted next to every pokémon.
However, there were no options for Pseudo-Legendary pokémon. Presumably, not just for the League but also for Team Rockets, Pseudo-Legendaries were rare resources that wouldn't appear on this kind of exchange interface.
Jiang Han's finger swiped across the screen, his eyes quickly scanning the options.
The exchange price for starter pokémon was around 150 points, while common pokémon like Ekans and Nidoran only cost a dozen or so points.
Some Dragon-type pokémon, such as Noivern and Kingdra, had exchange points for their initial forms reaching around 200 points!
But none of these were Jiang Han's choice.
As a veteran player of the pokémon games in his past life, he had already planned his team composition.
Dark-type—this was his area of specialization.
Not only because Dark-types had broad coverage, but more importantly because the fierce and decisive fighting style of Dark-type pokémon perfectly matched his personality.
And for his first pokémon, he had already made up his mind.
Sandile.
A Dark and Ground type, it could nullify Psychic and Electric-type attacks.
After evolving into its final form, Krookodile, it would possess respectable physical attack and speed, along with a sufficiently rich movepool.
Whether in terms of coverage or survivability, it was the ideal Pokémon for Jiang Han to build a Dark-type team.
He typed "Sandile" into the search bar, and the screen immediately jumped to the corresponding page.
The exchange prices for most Sandile fluctuated between 20 and 100 points.
Team Rockets' evaluation system was very meticulous. Based on size, personality, and Moxie, it even went down to the sharpness of claws and the color of the back patterns to evaluate potential.
Most of their potential evaluations fluctuated between Intermediate and advanced.
Of course, this was also the potential level of pokémon chosen by most Team Rockets rookies.
Only a few rookies with high points could afford to exchange for a pokémon with Superior-level potential.
Jiang Han couldn't help but marvel at the level of detail in Team Rockets' pokémon sales. One wouldn't see such professional data in most of the League's breeding centers.
He continued scrolling down until, suddenly, a line of data made his finger stop.
300 points!
The price for one Sandile had actually reached 300 points, putting it on par with Dragon-type pokémon.
Jiang Han clicked on the details page, and a 3D projection of a Sandile appeared on the screen.
"Sandile, the Desert Croc pokémon, Level 8, Moxie: Moxie. Known moves: Sand Attack, Hone Claws, Bite. Egg Move: Counter (Fighting-type). Excellent physical development, good health, teeth sharp as blades..."
Jiang Han's gaze moved past the routine data and fell on the bottom line of red text.
"Upon hatching, it bit to death six other Sandile of the same level. Personality Evaluation: Ferocious. Potential Evaluation: Gym-level!"
The room went silent for a few seconds.
Jiang Han's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained expressionless.
Gym-level potential.
This meant that as long as this Sandile was trained normally, its strength would reach at least the Gym-level after evolving into Krookodile. And with proper training and high-quality resources, it might even break through to the Quasi-Elite Four Level.
More importantly, there was that Moxie—Moxie.
Every time it defeated an opponent, its Attack would increase by one stage. This Moxie, combined with the Sandile's ferocious personality, made it practically born for battle.
And that Egg Move, Counter, was the icing on the cake.
Counter, a Fighting-type move, allows the user to return double the physical damage it receives to the opponent.
Jiang Han's finger lingered on the screen for a few seconds as his mind quickly calculated the training value of this Sandile.
A ferocious personality meant it would be difficult to tame, but Jiang Han didn't care. He never planned on raising a submissive and well-behaved pokémon anyway; he wanted a beast that could tear enemies apart in battle.
Biting to death six of its own kind right after hatching—this kind of savagery was exactly what Jiang Han needed.
Furthermore, this Sandile would exhaust all of his points.
Jiang Han looked up at the instructor standing nearby.
"I'll take this one."
The instructor walked over, glanced at the screen, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"This Sandile has a very fierce personality. Three rookies wanted to exchange for it before, but I refused them all." He turned to look at Jiang Han. "Are you sure you can tame it?"
"I can." Jiang Han's answer was short and firm.
The instructor stared at Jiang Han for a few seconds and suddenly laughed.
"Fair enough. You haven't been an easy one to deal with since you entered the training camp." He entered the confirmation command on the console. "This Sandile is yours."
A confirmation prompt appeared on the screen, and Jiang Han pressed his fingerprint.
"Points deducted: 300. Current remaining points: 0."
A wall on one side of the room suddenly opened, revealing a passage.
The instructor walked toward it, and Jiang Han followed behind.
At the end of the passage were small pokémon containment rooms, surrounded by special transparent glass.
Jiang Han spotted that Sandile at a glance.
It was lying in the center of the containment room, its body a size larger than a normal Sandile. The black stripes on its back were darker, and its claws glinted coldly under the lights.
Sensing someone approaching, the Sandile suddenly looked up, its crimson eyes staring intently at Jiang Han.
There was no fear in that gaze, only pure killing intent.
Jiang Han met its gaze, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
This is exactly how it should be!
Levels 10–19: Beginner; Levels 20–29: Intermediate
Levels 30–39: advanced; Levels 40–49: Superior-level
Levels 50–59: Gym-level; Levels 60–69: Quasi-Elite Four Level
Levels 70–89: Elite Four Level; Level 90 and above: Champion Level