Axin pledged his allegiance

With Max and Machop as training partners, the results were indeed quite good.

First of all, neither of the two little ones would concede to the other, and they competed in their training.

Although Max's Machop was not as strong as Weedle and could not beat Weedle in sparring, he had the refusal to give up characteristic of Fighting-type Pokémon. His approach came down to one word: "Fight!"

For their Trainers, Giovanni and Max, the situation was reversed. Thanks to his outstanding physique, Max consistently held the upper hand over Giovanni in training.

What was more, the guy actually knew martial arts and could easily defeat Giovanni when they sparred.

However, whether intentionally or otherwise, he was always giving Giovanni pointers, correcting mistakes in both his training and his martial arts.

"When you punch, your waist and stance need to work together. That's how you maximize your strength and power."

At Giovanni's puzzled look, he smiled and explained.

"I'm from Saffron City. Saffron Gym is a Fighting-type Gym, so everyone in Saffron City knows some martial arts. I was planning to become an apprentice at Saffron Gym."

Saffron Gym? Wasn't that Sabrina's Psychic-type Gym?

But Giovanni soon figured it out. At this point, Sabrina probably was not even a cell yet.

Her father was not particularly strong, so naturally, Saffron Gym was still a Fighting-type Gym.

Giovanni simply asked Max, "Since you wanted to become an apprentice at Saffron City's Gym, why did you come here?"

Max rubbed his head, a little embarrassed. "It costs fifty thousand Pokémon Coins in tuition to become an apprentice at Saffron Gym. I didn't have that, so they kicked me out."

Giovanni patted Max's arm. "They missed out on a genius."

Max scratched his head sheepishly.

"Not really. There are loads of people better than me. I'm just a bit bigger. My little brother is more talented than I am. He might still be a tiny little kid, but let me tell you..."

Once Max started talking about his little brother, there was no stopping him. It seemed he doted on his brother, too.

Their pleasant training session soon came to an end.

As the last two boys to remain at the training grounds, Giovanni and Max headed back to rest.

After returning, Giovanni washed up, scrubbed the dirt off Weedle, and used the Viridian Force to restore some of his stamina.

Weedle was not far from fully recovering his potential. It was already pale green, and would probably be light green once fully restored. It might not reach deep green.

That did not matter. Giovanni could use the Viridian Force to raise it to deep green, too.

After preparing Weedle's food and his own dinner, Giovanni and Weedle both dug in.

They still needed to replenish their energy quickly after training. Only then could they grow stronger.

As though someone had timed it, the doorbell rang just after Giovanni finished eating and washed the dishes.

Giovanni opened the door to find Axin standing outside.

Giovanni spoke to Axin casually.

"Come in. Sit wherever you like."

Axin nodded and walked inside, but rather than sitting down, he waited respectfully for Giovanni.

Since he wanted to stand, Giovanni let him. After closing the door, Giovanni turned and asked him,

"What is it? Can you tell me now, Mr. Axin?"

Axin dropped to one knee. "I want to pledge my allegiance to you."

Giovanni narrowed his eyes and made a soft sound of surprise.

"Pledge your allegiance to me? Aren't you afraid I'll fail? If I'm not mistaken, you're at least an Intermediate Trainer."

Axin answered honestly.

"I have a feeling you'll be the winner. And you're right. My Arbok is level 26. It won't be long before I become an Advanced Trainer."

Giovanni said flatly, "Then isn't pledging allegiance to a Beginner Trainer like me a little hard to justify?"

Axin shook his head. "Everyone else sees you as a Beginner Trainer, but I know you're a dragon yet to rise. You'll become Team Rocket's young master, and even its future master!"

"I'm just lucky enough to have met you before you grew strong, giving me the chance to come and pledge my allegiance."

Giovanni sneered. "That's only half true, isn't it? You do think I have potential and a chance of becoming Team Rocket's master."

Giovanni's tone shifted, and a faint aura of authority emerged around him.

"But! That's only a possibility."

"You're probably thinking of placing your bet early. Even if I fail and die, it won't affect you. After all, no one but the two of us knows you came to pledge your allegiance to me."

Giovanni's words were like a sharp blade that seemed ready to run Axin through at any moment.

Because that was indeed what Axin had been thinking.

Giovanni sat down on the sofa and said meaningfully,

"You're not the only clever person in this world. Never take everyone else for fools."

Axin lowered his head in embarrassment.

But Giovanni told him with absolute confidence,

"However, you were right about one thing. I will definitely be the sole victor and become Team Rocket's next leader!"

"So I'll accept your allegiance, because you already serve Team Rocket!"

Axin suddenly raised his head, his gaze somewhat complicated. "Then...?"

He wanted to ask Giovanni whether he counted as one of his own.

But Giovanni interrupted him, cutting straight to what was in his heart. "What do you want? What do you want to get from my future self? Resources? Status? Or money?"

Axin fell silent for a while before saying, "I'm not sure. I just want an opportunity, a chance to show everything I'm capable of. I want to stand at the pinnacle."

Giovanni laughed. "Then you want it all!"

Axin did not argue, tacitly admitting it.

Giovanni did not look down on Axin for his greed. If he lacked even that much ambition, Giovanni would have looked down on him instead.

Anyone serving under Giovanni deserved the best treatment! That principle would one day extend throughout Team Rocket!

Giovanni promised Axin,

"Once I become the leader, you'll get everything you want! You have my word."

Hearing that Giovanni was not merely brushing him off, Axin dropped to one knee and bowed his head to him. "Boss."

This was what Team Rocket's members called Giovanni Rika. Once Giovanni Rika stepped down, they should address their new leader the same way.

So it was perfectly normal for Axin to address Giovanni that way.

Taking Axin on as his first subordinate was indeed a very unexpected development for Giovanni.

But in the future, Giovanni would take on more and more subordinates. Axin was only the first, only the beginning!

From Axin, Giovanni also learned about Team Rocket's current structure and its key figures.

First was their leader, Giovanni Rika, who was said to be an Advanced Elite Trainer.

Next were Giovanni Rika's trusted right and left hands, the two executives, Miyamoto and Aidos, who had yet to show himself.

Miyamoto was slightly stronger, probably at the Beginner Elite level, while Aidos was probably a Peak Semi-Elite Trainer.

Below them were three Group Leaders, all with the strength of Gym-level Trainers. The strongest two belonged to Aidos's faction, vehemently opposing the Selection Plan and wanting to support Aidos as the new leader.

However, Giovanni Rika ruled with a firm enough hand that they could not budge her!