Since he had chosen to make a deal with Doctor Liangmu, it was best to be straightforward when dealing with a researcher like him. They had no time to play guessing games with you, either.
Unless that researcher ranked first among Trainers and first among researchers, too.
Giovanni said:
"Resources. I need Poison-type and Bug-type treasures. My Weedle is about to evolve, and I need to improve its potential."
As a veteran researcher, Doctor Liangmu naturally knew that Pokémon had one opportunity to improve their potential at each stage.
And when he heard that Giovanni's Pokémon was a Weedle, he grew even more excited. "A Weedle? What a coincidence!"
Giovanni was somewhat puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Doctor Liangmu explained to Giovanni, "One of my previous research directions was Bug-type Pokémon. There's a project I've always wanted to do, but never had the chance."
"As it happens, I recently finished the project I was working on, so I have time, and you just happened to appear here. This is fate. Could I take a look at your Weedle first?"
Giovanni frowned, but still let Weedle out. He wanted to see what Doctor Liangmu was up to.
The moment Weedle appeared, Doctor Liangmu thrust his large face toward it, startling Weedle so badly that it nearly used Poison Sting.
"Weedle, don't attack."
Fortunately, Giovanni stopped it in time, preventing a tragedy.
Doctor Liangmu had no awareness whatsoever that he had just taken a stroll through the underworld.
Holding an instrument he had produced from who knew where, he examined Weedle from every angle.
But once he finished, he frowned. "Your Weedle's talent can only be called average, and its potential has been damaged, too. How about I give you one with better potential instead?"
Weedle nearly died of anger at Doctor Liangmu's words. Had it known, it would have poisoned this old geezer to death just now.
Giovanni stroked Weedle, soothing its agitation, and smiled at Doctor Liangmu. "No. It's my partner, and my family, too."
Doctor Liangmu found this a bit of a headache. "Tsk, I need to think about this. With this one, the chance of failure would be very high. I might be better off swallowing my pride and asking for some resources."
Giovanni had unconditional faith in Weedle. He asked Doctor Liangmu:
"Why don't you tell me about your project first?"
Doctor Liangmu told Giovanni:
"I call this project 'Bug King.'"
"Because of the unique characteristics of Bug-type Pokémon, most live in matriarchal societies. In the early stages, the bug queen usually doesn't have particularly high potential, so she isn't powerful enough, either."
"But by continually devouring swarms belonging to hostile forces, the bug queen can produce offspring with greater potential."
Doctor Liangmu said with some excitement:
"According to my preliminary research, Bug-type Pokémon that improve their potential by devouring resources don't gain much in terms of combat ability."
"If a hundred Bug-type Pokémon were shut in one room and made to fight and devour one another until only one remained, there would be a strong chance of producing an unprecedented Bug King."
"Not just in potential, but toxicity, physique, and even status among Bug-type Pokémon!"
Giovanni's brows furrowed tightly after he heard this. The risk of doing this was simply too high.
In terms of both returns and costs, it fell far short of improving potential by devouring resources.
Even though Giovanni had great confidence in Weedle, the slightest mistake could mean its death.
Besides, wasn't this method just like raising venomous creatures together until only one survived? Wasn't it actually the same as Giovanni's current situation?
Unlike Giovanni's hesitation, Weedle was brimming with fighting spirit, as though flames were burning in its tiny eyes.
Doctor Liangmu's earlier words had dealt it a blow.
It had always refused to admit defeat. Now that it had a chance to prove itself, how could it be unwilling to seize it?
"Wooo!"
Giovanni saw Weedle's fighting spirit. He knew his Weedle's temperament. Once it made a choice, it would see it through, and it would succeed!
So Giovanni told Doctor Liangmu:
"Let's go with 'Bug King.' My Weedle will definitely become the true Bug King!"
Seeing Doctor Liangmu hesitate, Giovanni sweetened the deal. "I can give you a vial of my blood first. I know my body best. This vial of blood will yield results beyond your expectations."
"But I want everything ready within a week."
"Well..." Doctor Liangmu's gaze flickered. He was clearly tempted.
Nothing appealed to a researcher more than research results. Besides, Team Rocket was funding the research anyway. This was doable!
Doctor Liangmu finally agreed. "All right, deal! Don't worry. I'll prepare some Bug-type Pokémon with strength comparable to your Weedle's and reduce the risk to the absolute minimum."
He called toward the back of the infirmary:
"Tianchuan, go help me requisition a hundred Bug-type Pokémon below level 10, then requisition a laboratory and a healing machine!"
At Doctor Liangmu's call, a young man in a white lab coat emerged from inside. "Professor, is it that urgent?"
Doctor Liangmu urged him:
"Enough nonsense. Get going."
The young man gave Giovanni a puzzled look, then hurried out. "Yes."
Doctor Liangmu explained to Giovanni very politely, "This is my student, Jiang Tianchuan. He's quite clever, but his skills aren't up to par yet, and he can be a bit extreme in how he does things."
Giovanni paid it no mind and simply asked Doctor Liangmu,
"Mm. Where do we draw the blood?"
Doctor Liangmu smiled brilliantly, producing a syringe from who knew where. "Here. Right here will do."
That night.
Giovanni asked Weedle seriously:
"Are you sure? There's still time to change your mind."
Weedle simply nodded firmly.
Giovanni said no more. Instead, he gently placed his hand on Weedle and activated his Viridian Force at full power!
Green light filled the entire room.
Giovanni was going to use this night to fully restore Weedle's potential! Then, over the next few days, he would make Weedle stronger again.
Sweat streamed down Giovanni's body, and the color gradually drained from his face.
His efforts paid off, however. Weedle's potential was finally fully restored.
Light green!
Time passed quickly, and the last day of the month finally arrived.
Sure enough, just as Giovanni had imagined, the so-called random battles were decided within each class.
In other words, only one person from each class would survive in the end.
After learning this, Max gave Giovanni a bitter smile. "You really did guess right. If we face each other, I won't hold back."
Giovanni nodded expressionlessly. "Neither will I!"
One by one, the youths were led into the battle rooms prepared beforehand, their hearts filled with unease.
This time, not only the humans but even the Pokémon could die!
P.S. I've been a bit busy. I originally wanted to keep posting four updates, but it's three today. Dear readers, please don't mind.
Before you continue