Nidoran♂'s change in attitude

That day, Max also arrived at the Training Ground. He hadn't died, which probably counted as fairly lucky.

Beside him were a Tyrogue with a badly bruised face and a Machop who was still very lively despite a few scrapes.

Seeing Giovanni training Nidoran♂, he was delighted. "Giovanni, I knew you'd be all right. Is this your new Pokémon? A Nidoran♂? Looks pretty good, doesn't he?"

Giovanni turned and smiled at Max. "Not bad, just a little dim."

Fortunately, Nidoran♂ was hard at work with his head down. Otherwise, he probably would have been furious enough to consider giving Giovanni a Poison Sting.

Whether his aim would be any good was another matter.

Max scratched his head and patted the Tyrogue beside him forward. "Dim? That's fine. As long as he's strong. Want to let him spar with my Tyrogue?"

Giovanni spread his hands indifferently. "If he can still fight, sure."

Max chuckled twice and patted his chest in assurance.

"No problem. Don't let his appearance fool you. He's actually incredibly tough. Machop beat him up for two days before he finally gave in."

Giovanni smiled and shook his head. "No wonder his face is so swollen."

In the end, Nidoran♂ did fight Tyrogue.

Ultimately, Nidoran♂ lost to Tyrogue because he sometimes refused to follow Giovanni's commands.

Tyrogue raised his chin at Machop.

He meant that he was actually pretty strong.

As for Nidoran♂, the loser, he felt rather humiliated and went straight into his Poké Ball.

Max patted Tyrogue on the head and asked Giovanni:

"How's Kakuna doing? Is he close to evolving? The end of the month is almost here."

Giovanni shook his head. "I still don't know when he'll evolve. Hopefully, he'll make it in time."

Max pointed at Machop beside him and said with a smile:

"Hopefully, it'll be soon. This guy can't wait to fight Kakuna after he evolves. He lost more often than he won before, and he still won't accept it."

Machop clenched his fists, looking toward the Poké Ball holding Kakuna.

Giovanni answered with a smile:

"Don't worry, there'll definitely be another chance to fight. We've got plenty of time, don't we?"

Max forced a couple of chuckles. "Yeah."

He rolled his shoulders a couple of times and extended a hand toward Giovanni. "We haven't fought in a few days. Want to spar? Let's see if you've been slacking off these past two days."

Giovanni clenched his fists. "I'd love to!"

With that, the two boys began fighting!

The fight eventually ended in a narrow defeat for Giovanni.

And so their pleasant day came to an end.

But as Giovanni watched Max walk away, his gaze was complicated. The bruises on his face seemed to warn him not to go soft.

Likewise, with his back to Giovanni, Max's expression also wavered. He clenched his fists until they turned white and his veins bulged.

Giovanni wasn't the only clever one.

Once one person figured it out, pretty much everyone else knew too.

The two of them were destined to take opposing paths and face each other with weapons drawn!

Then evening came.

Had it not been mealtime, the dejected Nidoran♂ would still have refused to come out of his Poké Ball.

It had to be said that this was an excellent opportunity to build affection and trust.

To help him get over it, Giovanni pointed at Kakuna and told him:

"Did you know that Machop, the one who beat that Tyrogue, used to lose to him?"

Hearing this, Nidoran♂ whipped his head around to look at Kakuna. He knew Kakuna was strong, but he hadn't expected him to be that powerful.

Didn't that mean he might not be able to escape Giovanni's clutches later?

Sure enough, humans were all devious, even human cubs. He'd been tricked!

Giovanni had no idea so much was going through his head. He simply continued speaking to Nidoran♂:

"Do you want to get stronger? Beat the opponent who defeated you, and even surpass the powerful Pokémon you once couldn't stand against?"

Hearing Giovanni's words, Nidoran♂ naturally recalled the time his family had been driven away by a family of Ursaring.

He nodded vigorously, his eyes burning with eagerness.

Giovanni told him, enunciating every word:

"As long as you're willing to listen to me, none of that will be a problem. I'll help you grow to a level even you can't imagine."

Although Nidoran♂ felt a little anticipation, he soon shook his head. He didn't believe it.

Giovanni had guessed that this scheming fellow wouldn't believe him, so he continued:

"I know you don't believe me, so I need to prove it to you. But do you dare let me touch you?"

Provoked by Giovanni, he immediately nodded. Who's afraid of whom? I don't believe Giovanni can pull any tricks!

Seeing Nidoran♂ react this way, Giovanni knew he had taken the bait.

He raised his hand and gently placed it on a part of Nidoran♂'s body without poisonous barbs. A green glow slowly rose from his palm as he used the Viridian Force.

The comforting, familiar Viridian Force flowed into Nidoran♂'s body. He actually let go of his resistance and narrowed his eyes in comfort.

Unlike Kakuna, Nidoran♂ hadn't damaged his potential by forcibly breaking out of his shell.

But Pokémon like him who lived in the wild would actually squander some of their potential to varying degrees.

Fortunately, he was still young. The longer it went on, the more potential he would waste, until his progress came to a halt.

So, among wild Pokémon, there were exceptions with particularly outstanding talent, as well as those who had eaten special treasures.

And, of course, there were the legendary Pokémon.

For the rest, it was generally very difficult to reach the Elite Four or Champion level.

Giovanni's Viridian Force, however, could help Nidoran♂ improve this considerably, even restoring the potential he had previously squandered.

Only after a fine sheen of sweat appeared on Giovanni's forehead did he remove his hand and tell Nidoran♂:

"Well? I wasn't lying to you, was I?"

Nidoran♂ rose comfortably from the ground. He could feel that his body had indeed become much stronger, and there was also the sense of affinity the Viridian Force brought him.

He more or less believed Giovanni now.

Still, he loved his freedom. He was only giving Giovanni a chance for now.

Once he was done using Giovanni, he would escape without hesitation.

Giovanni slowly stood up and told Nidoran♂:

"As long as you listen to me, you'll have food to eat and get stronger too."

Nidoran♂ nodded vigorously.

Giovanni smiled and told him:

"Get some rest. Keep working hard at training tomorrow."

That day, Giovanni didn't return Nidoran♂ to his Poké Ball, letting him move freely around the living room.

This was to see whether Nidoran♂ had truly settled down.

Naturally, he still needed Metapod to watch the door while he slept, and Giovanni still held a dagger in the hand beneath his covers.

He simply didn't show Nidoran♂, leaving that scheming fellow to fill in the blanks himself.

Sure enough, over the next few days, Nidoran♂'s attitude toward Giovanni underwent a complete three-hundred-and-sixty-degree change.

Time passed quickly, and the end of the month arrived again.

Sure enough, the rules had changed this time!!