He did not know whether this was some kind of law.
Whenever Giovanni had just found something to be happy about, someone would come along to disgust him.
Footsteps sounded, and over a dozen boys approached, led by a scrawny boy.
This group was among the few who had killed to seize Pokémon Eggs.
Naturally, a scene like this drew quite a few people's attention.
Each of the dozen or so boys carried an Incubator. What stood out was that the scrawny boy leading them actually held an Incubator containing a Starter Pokémon Egg.
As he looked at Giovanni sitting on Nohara's corpse, there was some appreciation in his eyes, along with some wariness.
He spoke with a very amiable air:
"Hello, brother. My name is Mu Sen. It looks like we're the same kind of people. Interested in joining us? Let's move forward together."
Giovanni raised his head slightly and removed his hand from the Incubator. The faint green glow faded away.
He saw through this fellow's true colors at a glance.
Join him? Didn't he just want to recruit another lackey?
Hypocritical, self-serving, and a little clever.
But that was all. Wanting Giovanni to serve under him was pure wishful thinking.
Giovanni refused bluntly. "Not interested."
Mu Sen narrowed his eyes slightly, a trace of hostility flashing through them. He had considered that Giovanni might refuse, but had not expected him to show so little respect.
"We're all Mother's children, so we're all brothers. Some of our brothers are strong, too. Won't you reconsider?"
Giovanni still shook his head.
Mu Sen's gaze cooled slightly, and he made a small gesture. In his mind, Giovanni, who posed a threat, had only two choices.
Either submit to him or die!
Now was the best opportunity and time to eliminate some capable opponents.
Mu Sen was not the only one with this idea. Others were doing it as well.
Mu Sen had simply approached Giovanni first.
For instance, another group had gone to approach that very burly boy.
Neither Miyamoto nor Giovanni Rika stopped this, which counted as tacit permission, making these people even more unrestrained!
When the subordinates Mu Sen had briefed noticed his little gesture, they immediately lashed out at Giovanni.
"You ungrateful bastard! Boss Mu Sen gave you a chance, and you don't appreciate it! Are you looking to die?"
As the tension rose, the nearby boys immediately backed away a few steps, afraid of getting dragged into the trouble.
Giovanni frowned, realizing these fellows had come with ill intentions.
At this point, Mu Sen still put on a kindly act. "Since this brother isn't willing, naturally, I won't force him. Let's go."
The lackeys behind Mu Sen were very unwilling.
"We can't leave! Boss Mu Sen, if you leave now, how are we supposed to show our faces?"
"I say we need to teach him a proper lesson! Show him just who he's dealing with!"
"All he did was kill one piece of trash. It's not like we haven't killed anyone!"
If he backed down now, these fellows would only push harder.
Giovanni slowly stood, planted his foot on the head of Nohara's corpse, and released wisps of killing intent. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared fiercely at them. "Then come and try!"
That presence really did frighten several of them.
Although Mu Sen was somewhat wary of Giovanni, now that they had made an enemy of each other, there was no way to end this peacefully. At the very least, he had to suppress Giovanni as much as possible.
Before coming over, he had learned the reason for Giovanni and Nohara's conflict.
So he believed the Pokémon Egg in Giovanni's hands was definitely a good one, even if it was Bug-type. Since that was the case, he had even more reason not to let Giovanni keep it.
"Brother, you see, this is just how my brothers are. How about this? Apologize to us and trade your Pokémon Egg for this brother's egg. What do you say?"
A boy stepped out from behind him, holding a Ground-type Pokémon Egg.
Mu Sen stared straight at Giovanni and said with a chuckle:
"Trading a Ground-type Pokémon Egg for your Bug-type Pokémon Egg is quite a worthwhile deal, isn't it?"
"I'll think about it!" Giovanni's brow furrowed deeply. He only said this to wait for that hour to pass. Only then could he ensure his safety and keep the Pokémon Egg.
But Mu Sen was no fool. He waved his hand, and the dozen or so boys immediately spread out, surrounding Giovanni.
Mu Sen sneered. "You think stalling will work? Would I give you that much time?"
This fellow wasn't exactly following the script. Wasn't this far too little time for a normal villain's monologue?
A bead of cold sweat slid down Giovanni's forehead, and his clenched fists turned white.
There was no turning back now. He could only hold out as long as possible!
"Get him! Since he won't agree, kill him!" Mu Sen waved his hand, and the dozen or so boys immediately rushed him together!
Giovanni quickly adjusted his breathing as the power inside him kept circulating. Rather than immediately meeting them head-on, he did his best to dodge and maneuver around them.
Still, he struggled to withstand the combined attacks of over a dozen boys. He could only try to intimidate them first and buy himself some time.
Seizing an opening, he suddenly threw a heavy punch, striking the scrawny boy at the very front directly in the abdomen.
The boy instantly went pale and flew backward, clutching his stomach.
The blow not only intimidated the other boys but also made Mu Sen's expression change slightly.
He had not expected Giovanni to be so strong.
"Get him! He's alone! Don't give him a chance to fight back!" Mu Sen roared, directing the remaining boys to continue surrounding and attacking Giovanni.
Urged on by Mu Sen, they hesitated but did indeed move again.
This immediately dashed Giovanni's plan.
Giovanni really did not yet have the ability to withstand over a dozen boys attacking together. Soon, they had beaten him black and blue and pinned him to the ground.
No matter how he struggled, he could not break free.
Mu Sen slowly crouched down, took the Incubator off Giovanni's back, and mocked him playfully.
"Weren't you so tough? Go on, then!"
Through Giovanni's blood-reddened vision, this fellow's face really was begging to be punched!
Mu Sen slowly raised the Incubator, aiming it at Giovanni's head. "Didn't you kill someone this way earlier? How about I kill you the same way?"
Faced with this situation, Giovanni showed not the slightest fear. Instead, he grinned at Mu Sen and said:
"If you want to take my things, you'll have to pay the price!"
Mu Sen suddenly felt the Incubator in his hands begin shaking violently. With a crack, fissures appeared across the Pokémon Egg inside.
The Incubator's sealed glass slowly opened, and a newborn Pokémon emerged from within.
The Pokémon had an ocher-yellow, segmented body, seven pairs of abdominal feet, something resembling a big red nose, small eyes, and two spikes, one large and one small, on its head and tail.
A Bug- and Poison-type Pokémon, Weedle!
After hatching, this Weedle knocked Mu Sen to the ground, then used Poison Sting.
Poisonous needles shot out like a torrential shower, giving one each to the dozen or so boys pinning Giovanni down and standing around him.
Although this Weedle had only just hatched, its poison was extremely potent, seemingly because of its talent.
It poisoned the dozen or so boys, dropping them straight to the ground with foam spilling from their mouths. Only then did Giovanni manage to break free.
Weedle crawled over to Giovanni affectionately and gently rubbed against his cheek.
They had only met today, yet they seemed like family reunited after a long separation.
(The Pokémon introduction does not count toward the main text's word count.)
Weedle Bug/Poison type Male Potential: deep yellow (damaged) Ability: Shield Dust (Protected by shield dust, it is unaffected by moves' additional effects.) Level: 1 Height: 0.3 Weight: 3.2 kg
(Height and weight follow the original settings.)
Moves: Poison Sting, String Shot Egg Moves: none
(Potential and levels use the settings from my previous novel.)
Potential was further divided into three shades: pale, light, and deep. The quality of a Pokémon's potential determined its upper limit.
0-10: Novice Trainer (red)
10-20: Beginner Trainer (orange)
20-30: Intermediate Trainer (yellow)
30-40: Advanced Trainer (green)
40-50: Veteran Trainer (cyan)
50-60: Gym-level Trainer (cyan), light cyan
60-70: Ace Trainer (blue)
70-80: Elite Four Trainer (blue), light blue
80-100: Champion Trainer (purple) (second-tier deity)
100-120: Pokémon Master (first-tier Legendary Pokémon and certain Mythical Pokémon) (gold)
P.S. For Champion level, levels 80-86 are the early stage, 86-92 the middle stage, 92-98 the late stage, and 99 the peak. The same applies to Master level.)
Before you continue