Giovanni had really figured out how to play this one.
The Team Rocket member in charge asked coldly:
"Who started this?"
Mu Sen hurried to say that Giovanni had struck first.
But Giovanni clutched his head and wailed, "Don't hit me! There are so many of you! I was wrong! I'll never dare provoke you again!"
Mu Sen was speechless, pointing at Giovanni, his face and neck red with rage.
Giovanni had stolen every word they could have said. Didn't that leave them condemned outright?
Besides, judging by the situation now, that really was how it looked.
The boys who had been cured of the poison looked perfectly fine, while Giovanni's face was bruised and swollen. He looked utterly miserable.
Giovanni had clearly nearly killed them, yet now he seemed to be the weak victim being bullied.
"You're lying! You were the one who attacked first! Everyone saw it!"
He turned to the boys with a savage expression and demanded, "You all saw it, right? Say something!"
Cowed by Mu Sen's power, the boys stammered their replies one after another. "Y-yes, that's what happened."
Giovanni smiled coldly. The more Mu Sen behaved like this, the easier it was for Giovanni to turn things against him.
Giovanni immediately cried out in grievance, "Yes, yes, that's what happened! You definitely didn't scare them into saying that!"
Mu Sen was so furious with Giovanni that he nearly spat blood. "You!! You bastard! I'll kill you!"
He made to charge at Giovanni, but the Weedle beside Giovanni immediately blocked his path, staring at Mu Sen with murderous intent.
Weedle's terrifying methods had already cowed Mu Sen. At the sight of Weedle, he did not dare move a muscle.
But everyone had seen the move he had just made and heard what he had shouted.
The Team Rocket member in charge knew that Giovanni had crushed the whole group.
But everything now favored Giovanni. On top of that, Mu Sen's group had done this sort of thing before. Even if the matter reached Miyamoto and Giovanni Rika, they would still be the ones at fault.
So he warned Mu Sen:
"Starting today, you're all banned from every training ground! If you cause trouble again, we'll report it to our superiors and have you disqualified!"
Being disqualified meant being sentenced to death.
Both Mu Sen and the boys in his group turned pale at those words.
Mu Sen shot Giovanni a venomous look and left him with a threat. "Bastard, just you wait!"
He left with the whole crowd of sighing boys.
Giovanni slowly rose from the ground, all trace of grievance long gone from his face.
Although his face was still bruised, his cold expression and the faint killing intent in his eyes sent a chill down the spine.
Seeing Giovanni like this, the Team Rocket member in charge felt somewhat wary too.
Someone like this would be truly terrifying if he grew into his potential.
Fortunately, he was not Giovanni's enemy. Perhaps Giovanni could even lead them to rise.
In fact, at the very back of the Team Rocket members, Axin was silently observing Giovanni as he called his Arbok to his side.
And the scales in his heart slowly tipped a little.
The Team Rocket member in charge said to Giovanni:
"That goes for you too. Don't cause any more trouble, or you'll be banned from this training ground as well."
Giovanni nodded. "As long as no one provokes me, I naturally won't attack."
The Team Rocket members each gave Giovanni a long look, then turned and returned to their posts.
"Wooo?" Weedle let out a low cry at Giovanni's feet.
Giovanni smiled at it, telling it not to worry. "Relax. I'm fine."
Giovanni looked around. When the nearby boys noticed his gaze, they hurriedly turned away, not daring to meet his eyes.
These boys were no fools. They could tell that Giovanni had held the upper hand earlier.
They would not think Giovanni had gotten the worst of it. By comparison, the most impressive part was how he had not only made Mu Sen suffer a hidden loss, but also forced him to leave seething with humiliation.
An opponent like this was far too frightening.
And that Weedle-wasn't it just a Bug-type Pokémon?
Wasn't it a little too strong? So little time had passed, yet it seemed to have left them far behind. How were they supposed to catch up now?
Unlike them, Giovanni was thinking about how to get rid of the trouble posed by Mu Sen's group.
In truth, he had only escaped unscathed this time because of his surprise attack. Unfortunately, he had failed to poison Mu Sen. Otherwise, Giovanni could have crippled him ahead of time.
He had made Mu Sen stumble this time, but next time, Mu Sen would definitely be on guard. A surprise attack would not be so effective then.
Next time would be real trouble.
So Giovanni needed a new approach, preferably one that could make up for the difference in numbers.
Tap, tap!
"Move."
Giovanni was deep in thought when a voice came from behind him. It was the burly boy.
Giovanni did not start a conflict with him. He stepped aside, and the boy ran straight past.
But as Giovanni watched his retreating figure, his eyes flickered.
A little later, the boy ran up to Giovanni again, but this time Giovanni raised a hand to stop him.
The burly boy looked at Giovanni with hostility. Although he was wary of Weedle, that did not mean he was afraid. "Move! I'm not scared of you."
Giovanni shook his head and chuckled. "Don't misunderstand. I'm not here to make trouble for you. On the contrary, I'm here to help you solve a problem. Let me introduce myself. I'm Giovanni."
The burly boy said coldly:
"Max. But I don't have any problems I need you to solve."
Giovanni smiled and shook his head. "No, you do, don't you?"
Max snorted and folded his arms.
"Don't talk in riddles. I don't get it."
Giovanni paused, then smiled helplessly. Still, he explained to Max, "Your Pokémon Egg. If you want it to hatch quickly, I can help you. You'll just have to do me a favor afterward."
At those words, Max abruptly looked up.
Giovanni spoke with complete calm. "If you're interested, come find me in room 9527."
With that, Giovanni turned and headed to the equipment area with Weedle. There was no point saying more. If Max was interested, he would naturally come looking for him.
Otherwise, it would only make things more troublesome.
With equipment and targets, even relatively poor ones, the quality of Giovanni and Weedle's training immediately rose a level.
Max watched Giovanni train alongside Weedle, his eyes flickering.
The deadline was close at hand. It would be a lie to say he felt no urgency. No one was unafraid of death!
As for whether Giovanni would be creating another enemy for himself by doing this, he and Max were, after all, technically still competitors.
There was no need to worry about that, because Giovanni had absolute confidence.
His greatest enemy was himself alone. Only by constantly growing stronger could he surpass himself.
As for why Giovanni had such confidence, it rested on the Weedle beside him and the Viridian Force within him.
And on the fact that he was Giovanni, the future king of the Pokémon world's underworld, the leader of Team Rocket who could conquer the world!
Before you continue