Brawl

When he saw Giovanni, he all but tilted his chin up to the sky.

Especially when he saw Weedle, disdain and venom flashed in his eyes. He still held a grudge over Weedle knocking him down before.

The Charmander beside him seemed to match his personality, wearing the same arrogant look that practically begged for a beating.

Several of the followers behind him now had Pokémon at their sides, and there were even some new faces.

It seemed Mu Sen had recruited them after successfully hatching Charmander.

But relationships like theirs were extremely fragile. Once threats and conflicts truly arose, they would turn on one another in an instant.

For now, Mu Sen's group still counted as a fairly powerful gang.

Once they entered, the nearby youths immediately moved far away, afraid of getting dragged into it.

Every youth present had witnessed the feud between Giovanni and Mu Sen's gang.

So they all looked at Giovanni and Weedle with pity.

There was no question that Mu Sen's gang had come to make trouble for Giovanni.

The commotion was considerable. Not only Giovanni, but even the burly youth running like mad noticed them.

When Giovanni saw Mu Sen at their head, his expression slowly darkened, and a trace of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"Stop for a moment, Weedle. Trouble's here."

At the sight of the group of over twenty people, Giovanni immediately called out to Weedle ahead of him.

Hearing Giovanni, Weedle stopped immediately and followed his gaze toward Mu Sen's gang.

It remembered these annoying fellows too. If its venom had been more potent back then, there probably would not have been so much trouble now.

Its tiny body also harbored intense killing intent.

The faint aura it gave off sent chills through the nearby youths.

Before long, Mu Sen strolled over and blustered at Giovanni. "Brat! You sure kept me waiting. I thought you'd hidden away like a coward!"

Giovanni spoke coldly:

"You? You're not qualified."

Since they had fallen out openly, Mu Sen no longer bothered pretending. "Your mouth is still as tough as ever. I wonder if your bones are just as tough!"

As Mu Sen spoke, the Charmander beside him opened its mouth and roared at Weedle.

"Char!"

The youths who had suffered at Giovanni and Weedle's hands before all looked eager to have a go, and the Pokémon beside them let out roars as well.

The air seemed thick with tension!

Giovanni and Weedle stared coldly at them, their killing intent flaring. "Do you dare attack?"

Mu Sen laughed mockingly.

"Of course we know the rules. But as long as we don't kill you, there's no problem with beating you half to death and crippling that bug!"

Hearing this, Giovanni could tell that Mu Sen and the others had probably done the same thing before.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted nearby Team Rocket members who seemed to have noticed what was happening, but they did not come over to intervene.

In that case, Giovanni could only force them to intervene.

So he immediately ordered Weedle, "Weedle, Poison Sting! Focus more on the Pokémon!"

Ten days of daily training had brought the newly hatched Weedle and Giovanni completely into sync.

Before Giovanni finished speaking, Weedle acted, sending a stream of poison needles from its head in a torrential barrage.

Giovanni struck so decisively that Mu Sen and the others never saw it coming.

They were clearly the ones about to gang up on Giovanni, yet Giovanni struck before they did.

The nearby youths watching the show were stunned as well.

Thud, thud!

Every single needle in the barrage struck its target.

Human and Pokémon alike screamed, their faces darkening before they collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

Had there not been so many of them, Weedle could have wiped them all out in a single volley.

Because of Giovanni's specific instructions, noticeably more Pokémon were hit, and they took more needles as well.

Mu Sen really was lucky. Both he and his Charmander had actually avoided the poison needles.

The few youths and Pokémon still standing swallowed at the miserable state of their companions, clearly somewhat panicked.

Mu Sen cursed furiously:

"You sneaky bastard, launching a surprise attack! Go, Charmander! Show him and that bug the power of a starter Pokémon!"

The ill-tempered Charmander immediately acted, charging toward Weedle with its claws flailing.

Watching the Team Rocket members already heading their way, Giovanni calmly gave Weedle an order while Mu Sen was shooting his mouth off.

"Keep going. Continuous Poison Sting."

Since he could not kill Mu Sen yet, there was no need to waste his strength.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Poison needles kept shooting toward Charmander.

Mu Sen shouted frantically:

"Dodge, Charmander!"

Forget commanding Pokémon-these youths probably could not even name their moves.

The poison needles were so fast that Charmander could not dodge them at its current level.

In the crisis, Charmander ignored Mu Sen's command entirely. It kept swinging its short claws, using Scratch.

Gleams flashed across its sharp little claws, making for quite an intimidating sight.

But poison needles moving at that speed were not something claws could block.

Charmander only blocked a few before a poison needle struck it, making it scream.

Whatever else might be said, starter Pokémon could certainly take a hit. Even after being struck by poison needles, it had not lost the ability to fight.

But Mu Sen was heartbroken. He cried out, "Charmander!"

He shouted at his frightened followers:

"What are you standing around for? Attack! He's just one person with one Pokémon! What can he possibly do?!"

At Mu Sen's urging, several youths immediately sent their Pokémon to attack Weedle.

"Go, Pidgey, Spearow, Rattata, Ekans! Caterpie!"

"Keep your Pidgey away from my Caterpie!"

"And your Ekans, keep it away from my Rattata!"

After giving those instructions, they charged at Giovanni themselves.

Giovanni told Weedle quietly, "Hold back a little. Dodge as much as you can. Don't get hurt!"

Though somewhat confused, Weedle did not disobey Giovanni.

Giovanni covered his head first. Thinking he was afraid, the youths gleefully laid into him.

Giovanni went along with their blows, falling to the ground and letting out scream after scream.

By then, several Team Rocket members had arrived, and an Arbok let out a roar.

"Stop!" "Arbok!"

The Pokémon, only level one or two, immediately froze under Intimidate, trembling all over.

Even Weedle was no exception, but the defiance in its eyes seemed to turn into flames.

The youths ganging up on Giovanni hurriedly stopped as well.

The Team Rocket member in charge ordered his subordinates to quickly give Antidotes to the poisoned youths and Pokémon.

If these youths died on this training ground, they would be disciplined too.

Fortunately, the Antidotes were administered in time, and there were no deaths or lasting injuries.

But looking at the youths and Pokémon sprawled across the ground on the other side, then at Giovanni alone on this side, his face bruised and swollen-

For a moment, they could not tell who the aggressor was.