Recaps

Giovanni continued training as Team Rocket’s higher-ups began maneuvering around the candidates, and Squad Leader Taro came to take him to meet someone important. Giovanni suspected Aidos was behind the summons and went along while planning to resist being controlled.

• Giovanni’s Weedle defeated Spearow, and a Team Rocket member blamed the victory on Weedle’s higher level.
• Over the next twenty days, Giovanni grew stronger and Weedle reached level 8 as other boys’ Pokémon also advanced and evolved.
• After seeing Axin out of his room, Giovanni was confronted by Squad Leader Taro, who suppressed him and grabbed him by the neck.
• Taro said someone important wanted to see Giovanni and dragged him from his room.
• Giovanni suspected Aidos had arranged the meeting and followed Taro, resolving to turn any attempt to control him to his advantage.

Giovanni met Aidos in Team Rocket's Viridian Base and learned that Aidos opposed the leadership selection process but would follow the Boss's decision. Aidos tested Giovanni's resolve and asked whether he could lead Team Rocket to the top, and Giovanni answered that he could conquer the world.

• Aidos intimidated two disloyal battalion commanders with Weavile's killing intent and ordered them to discipline Taro.
• Giovanni entered without kneeling, and Aidos praised his backbone before the burly battalion commander knocked Taro unconscious and dragged him away.
• Aidos told Giovanni that he opposed choosing the next leader from unknown candidates but would let the Boss's selection process proceed.
• Aidos said he would kill an unworthy candidate, while a capable one could defeat him and claim Team Rocket's leadership.
• Aidos pressured Giovanni and asked if he could lead Team Rocket to the top, and Giovanni replied that conquering the world counted.

Giovanni survived Aidos’s threats, but Miyamoto’s rescue cost him the chance to receive Aidos’s promised gift. He decided to seek resources through a deal with Doctor Liangmu, who asked what Giovanni wanted.

• Aidos threatened to kill Giovanni, then offered him a welcome gift before Miyamoto stormed in and took Giovanni away.
• Miyamoto explained that she had rescued Giovanni, and Giovanni told her the interruption had cost him a treasure.
• Giovanni thanked Axin for seeking help and decided he could trust him as a confidant.
• Giovanni visited Doctor Liangmu at the infirmary and refused to withdraw from the selection, but offered to help with his research in exchange for a few things.
• Doctor Liangmu eagerly asked Giovanni what he wanted.

Giovanni agreed to Doctor Liangmu’s dangerous “Bug King” experiment, believing Weedle could survive and prove its potential. As the monthly battles began, Giovanni and Max prepared to fight without holding back.

• Doctor Liangmu proposed a project in which Bug-type Pokémon fought and devoured one another until a single Bug King remained, and Weedle eagerly chose to participate.
• Giovanni agreed to the experiment and offered Doctor Liangmu a vial of his blood in exchange for preparing it within a week.
• Doctor Liangmu assigned Jiang Tianchuan to obtain a hundred low-level Bug-type Pokémon, a laboratory, and a healing machine.
• That night, Giovanni used his Viridian Force to restore Weedle’s potential, raising it to light green.
• Giovanni learned that the random battles would eliminate all but one person from each class, and Max warned him that he would not hold back if they fought.
• The youths entered the battle rooms, where both Trainers and Pokémon faced the possibility of death.

Giovanni fought Lizi and her Oddish in a Team Rocket battle room, killing them both with Weedle’s help. He left the room as slaughter continued in the surrounding rooms, with classes scheduled to resume the next day.

• Giovanni recognized Lizi as his opponent and ordered Weedle to attack her Oddish first.
• Weedle bound Oddish with String Shot and struck Lizi with Poison Sting while Oddish was trapped.
• Oddish grew stronger and used Absorb on Weedle, but Giovanni stabbed Lizi to distract it, allowing Weedle to bite and kill Oddish while gaining a level and learning Bug Bite.
• Giovanni killed Lizi with his dagger, then left the room with Weedle after a Team Rocket member confirmed her Pokémon was dead.
• Giovanni saw that the other nearby rooms were also filled with humans and Pokémon killing one another.

Doctor Liangmu began his experiment to create a Bug King by making Weedle fight dozens of Bug-type Pokémon under the influence of a stimulation agent. Weedle slaughtered its opponents, but Giovanni sensed it had lost control, while a Kakuna appeared close to evolving.

• Doctor Liangmu prepared the Bug-type Pokémon and warned Giovanni that Weedle might die, but Giovanni chose to let it participate.
• Xiao Chuan released the Pokémon into a sealed room and sprayed them with a stimulation agent that made them attack one another.
• Giovanni watched as Weedle led the slaughter, using its skills to kill and devour other Pokémon while growing more ferocious.
• Doctor Liangmu praised Weedle, but Giovanni sensed through his Viridian Force that it had lost control and might not recover its sense of self.
• A Kakuna began rocking as though it were about to shed its shell and evolve.

Giovanni watched Weedle fight a newly evolved Beedrill in the sealed room, and Weedle finally defeated it by striking an injury on its abdomen. Though both Pokémon appeared dead, Giovanni used his Viridian Force to revive Weedle, who awoke and bit his arm.

• Weedle defeated Butterfree, but a newly evolved Beedrill ambushed him and gained the upper hand.
• Giovanni spotted an injury on Beedrill's abdomen and urged Weedle to attack it.
• Weedle tore open Beedrill's abdomen, and the two Pokémon fought until neither moved.
• Giovanni entered the room and found Weedle pinned beneath Beedrill's corpse.
• Giovanni used his Viridian Force to revive Weedle, who awoke and bit his arm.

After Weedle devoured energy from the defeated Bug-type Pokémon, it evolved into a powerful Kakuna with cyan potential, and Giovanni helped it begin absorbing the remaining energy. Once Kakuna could no longer train, Giovanni returned to class, where Max told him that squad leader Johnny had offered him resources and asked whether anyone had approached Giovanni too.

• Giovanni treated his injured arm and palm while Weedle consumed the nutrients from the Bug-type Pokémon.
• Weedle evolved into Kakuna, doubling in size and reaching level 11 with cyan potential.
• Doctor Liangmu examined Kakuna, and Giovanni recalled it before finally going to rest.
• Giovanni used Viridian Force to help Kakuna absorb energy faster, though it could not train until it evolved again.
• Max congratulated Giovanni on Kakuna's evolution and revealed that squad leader Johnny had approached him with resources.
• Giovanni implied someone had approached him too, but kept Aidos's involvement and his failed attempt to gain support from an executive to himself.

Miyamoto announced that the boys would each receive a wild Pokémon to tame within two days or be eliminated. Giovanni drew a hostile Nidoran♂, but Kakuna’s Bug King aura forced it to back away.

• Miyamoto gathered the boys and explained that they would each choose a wild Pokémon to tame, warning that failure within two days meant elimination.
• Giovanni worried that his unevolved Kakuna might not protect him from a much stronger Pokémon, but Max encouraged him and Giovanni said he could handle it.
• Giovanni chose a Poké Ball at random and was taken to the room where he had killed Lizi and Oddish.
• Giovanni released Kakuna and opened the new Poké Ball, revealing a hostile Nidoran♂ that prepared to charge him.
• Kakuna released a powerful aura that frightened Nidoran♂ into backing away.

Giovanni fought Nidoran♂ and forced it to submit after enduring its poison and overpowering it with a dagger. Nidoran♂ finally agreed to become his Pokémon, terrified that he would kill it.

• Nidoran♂ tested Kakuna with Poison Sting, but Kakuna's Hardened body deflected the needles.
• Nidoran♂ feigned submission, then used Focus Energy and charged at Giovanni, who dodged and kicked it into a wall.
• Nidoran♂ attacked Giovanni again, and he fought it off with his dagger while Kakuna distracted it.
• Giovanni pinned Nidoran♂ despite being poisoned and repeatedly stabbed it without striking a fatal blow.
• Giovanni threatened Nidoran♂'s eye with his dagger, and Nidoran♂ fearfully submitted.

Giovanni forced the injured Nidoran♂ to accept a temporary deal: battle Kakuna after it evolved, with freedom as the prize for victory. After proving to Team Rocket that he had subdued Nidoran♂, Giovanni received treatment and food, then spoke with Hera, who was impressed by his success and intrigued by his use of the dagger.

• Nidoran♂ tried to rely on his poison to kill Giovanni, but Giovanni used an Antidote and made him agree to battle Kakuna after Kakuna evolved for a chance at freedom.
• Giovanni tested Nidoran♂'s obedience, then demonstrated to a Team Rocket member that Nidoran♂ followed his commands and used Poison Sting.
• The Team Rocket member accepted Giovanni's claim that he had subdued Nidoran♂ and let him leave.
• Doctor Liangmu treated Giovanni's wounds and examined Nidoran♂, while Giovanni requested another bottle of Antidote.
• Giovanni collected food from Hera, who questioned how he had subdued Nidoran♂ before Kakuna evolved.
• Giovanni showed Hera his dagger and credited her for it, prompting her to say she hoped he would be the final winner.

Giovanni trained Nidoran♂ while clashing with Yalan at the Training Ground. After Yalan stormed off, Axin reported that another fifteen people had died and fewer than forty remained, and Giovanni expected the rules to change again.

• Giovanni cautiously fed Nidoran♂ and kept his Poké Ball locked while they began to build trust.
• After two days of Pokémon Food, Nidoran♂ gained two levels and trained Poison Sting and headbutts with Giovanni.
• Yalan mocked Nidoran♂ and Kakuna, and Giovanni taunted her about Ivysaur being manipulated.
• Yalan threatened Giovanni and Axin, but Axin stopped her from starting a fight in the Training Ground.
• Axin told Giovanni that fifteen more people had died and fewer than forty remained, and Giovanni predicted the rules would soon change.

Giovanni trained with Max, then used his Viridian Force to convince the defeated Nidoran♂ that he could help him grow stronger. Nidoran♂ began to warm to Giovanni, and as the end of the month arrived, the rules changed again.

• Nidoran♂ lost his spar with Max's Tyrogue after ignoring some of Giovanni's commands, while Max and Giovanni later sparred and Giovanni narrowly lost.
• Giovanni told the dejected Nidoran♂ about Machop's past defeats and promised to help him become stronger if he listened.
• Giovanni used his Viridian Force to restore some of Nidoran♂'s squandered potential, earning his trust.
• Giovanni let Nidoran♂ roam freely at home, and Nidoran♂'s attitude toward him changed over the following days.
• The end of the month arrived, and the rules changed again.

Miyamoto changed the training rules so that only one youth could leave alive, and Giovanni was attacked by Lian Xiu and A Huo. Giovanni and Nidoran♂ fought back, but their opponents formed an alliance and began wearing Nidoran♂ down as other youths turned their attention toward Giovanni.

• Miyamoto gathered the youths in separate training grounds and announced that only one person could leave alive.
• Giovanni sent out Nidoran♂, while most of the youths attacked Max and Lian Xiu and A Huo targeted Giovanni.
• Giovanni ordered Nidoran♂ to unleash Poison Sting, forcing the four opposing Pokémon to dodge and giving Nidoran♂ a chance to attack Rattata.
• Nidoran♂ struck Meowth with Poison Sting when Lian Xiu and A Huo sent their Pokémon in together, leaving Meowth badly poisoned.
• Lian Xiu and A Huo formed a temporary alliance and used Sandshrew, Meowth, Rattata, and Mankey to wear down Nidoran♂.
• Giovanni realized Nidoran♂ was in danger and that other youths were beginning to target him.

Giovanni’s Kakuna evolved into a powerful Beedrill as Lian Xiu and the other boys launched a group attack. Beedrill began slaughtering their Pokémon, and Giovanni killed Xi Ba as the fight continued.

• Giovanni recalled the exhausted Nidoran♂ before Mankey could strike it, and Nidoran♂ vowed to escape and put up a gravestone for him.
• Lian Xiu, A Huo, Xiao Ni, and Xi Ba urged their Pokémon to attack Giovanni, but Kakuna’s presence frightened the attackers.
• Kakuna cracked open and evolved into Beedrill, whose strength had surged after absorbing nutrients from ninety-nine Pokémon.
• Giovanni ordered Beedrill to attack, and it unleashed Poison Sting and Fury Cutter against the boys and their Pokémon.
• Beedrill pierced Spearow through the chest, and Giovanni threw a dagger into Xi Ba’s neck, killing him.

Giovanni and Beedrill slaughtered the Pokémon and boys trapped in the training ground, leaving Max and Machop as the last survivors. Max sacrificed himself to save Machop, and Giovanni vowed to keep going for him and remain undefeated.

• Giovanni ordered Beedrill to attack, and Beedrill killed the Pokémon and boys who fought or tried to flee.
• Beedrill spared Max and Machop until Giovanni called it back, leaving Max to face Giovanni with his wounded Machop.
• Max told Giovanni about his family, his younger brother, and his wish for Machop to survive.
• Max recalled Machop, gave its Poké Ball to Giovanni, and stabbed himself with a dagger.
• Giovanni caught Machop's Poké Ball and vowed to keep going for Max and become undefeated.

After winning the selection’s third stage, Giovanni was taken by Miyamoto to meet Giovanni Rika, where Aidos’s arrival sparked a brief confrontation. Giovanni addressed Giovanni Rika as his mother, and she invited everyone to sit.

• Miyamoto praised Giovanni’s Beedrill, and Giovanni entrusted the Machop Poké Ball to her for Axin.
• Miyamoto ordered Houndoom to burn the human corpses, while Giovanni encouraged Beedrill to grow stronger.
• Team Rocket members, including Axin, collected the remains as Miyamoto led Giovanni away to meet the boss.
• Miyamoto told Giovanni he was the first winner and asked who he thought would win next; Giovanni predicted Yadu.
• Miyamoto and Giovanni encountered Aidos outside Giovanni Rika’s room, where Aidos challenged Giovanni and Miyamoto confronted him.
• Giovanni entered the room, called Giovanni Rika “Mother,” and she invited everyone to sit.

Giovanni Rika discussed Giovanni’s abilities, rewarded him with a promised Poison-type treasure, and outlined his place in Team Rocket’s succession struggle. She set Aidos as his chief threat and said the fourth selection stage would give him time to grow; Giovanni then encountered A Rui and Yadu, who had returned with Miyamoto and Aidos.

• Giovanni Rika recognized Giovanni’s Viridian Force and suggested he study a psychic’s training manual to develop it further.
• Giovanni requested a Poison-type treasure for Nidoran♂, and Giovanni Rika agreed to provide one.
• Giovanni described a plan to strengthen Team Rocket and infiltrate the Pokémon League, and Giovanni Rika approved while warning him about Aidos.
• Giovanni Rika said Miyamoto would keep Aidos in check and told Giovanni the fourth selection stage would give him time to grow.
• Giovanni met Miyamoto, Aidos, A Rui, and Yadu as he left, and he realized Yadu had killed Yalan.
• Axin waited outside Giovanni’s room with a Pokémon and greeted him when he returned.

Giovanni accepted Max’s grieving Machop and urged him to grow strong enough to fulfill Max’s last wish. As Machop and Beedrill trained and leveled up, Nidoran♂ grew jealous of their progress.

• Axin delivered Machop to Giovanni, who restrained him and told him he could honor Max by becoming strong and fighting Max’s younger brother in a duel.
• Machop agreed to live on and fulfill Max’s wish, and Giovanni let Beedrill release him.
• Giovanni brought out Nidoran♂ and teased him about battling Beedrill or Machop, frightening him into acting submissively.
• Giovanni visited Doctor Liangmu, who praised Beedrill’s aptitude.
• At the training grounds, Nidoran♂ reached level 13, Machop reached level 17, and Beedrill reached level 19, leaving Nidoran♂ resentful of their progress.

Giovanni received a Team Rocket mission to capture a hundred Tauros and joined Little Pig Johnny’s squad. After using a Gym-level Poison-type stinger to strengthen Nidoran♂ and his other Pokémon, he set out with the squad, quietly noting someone nearby before they departed.

• A Team Rocket member told Giovanni he would join a squad mission in a week and delivered a Gym-level venomous stinger.
• Giovanni gave the stinger to Nidoran♂, which gained a level; over the next few days it gained another level, learned Fury Attack, and improved its potential.
• Beedrill reached the intermediate level and learned Focus Energy, while Machop also gained a level with Giovanni’s help.
• Little Pig Johnny arrived and told Giovanni the squad’s objective was to capture a hundred Tauros.
• Giovanni met Johnny’s five squad members, including Axin, received a mask, and departed with them after glancing toward someone nearby.

Team Rocket launched a nighttime operation to capture Tauros in the Safari Zone, but the herd charged at Giovanni and Johnny as a Ranger realized something was wrong. A Ranger sent Pidgeot to alert the Fuchsia Gym and rushed toward the herd.

• Johnny led Giovanni and five Team Rocket members to the Safari Zone and assigned the teams their approach routes.
• Giovanni released Nidoran♂ and warned him not to run, then told him he might need to use his treasure.
• Johnny and Giovanni approached a Tauros herd of at least 150, and its leader charged them with the herd.
• Axin worried that Giovanni was in danger and hurried toward him, while Sam said Johnny would protect him.
• A middle-aged Ranger noticed the Tauros herd behaving strangely, sent Pidgeot to the Fuchsia Gym, and ran toward the herd with Slowpoke.

At the Safari Zone, Giovanni realized Johnny was trying to use a Tauros stampede to kill him and launched a counterattack. Meanwhile, Aye headed to the Safari Zone after receiving news of Pokémon Hunters, while Archie and Koga followed against his orders.

• Pidgeot delivered a letter from Baoba to Koga, who brought it to Aye and Archie during their training.
• Aye learned that Pokémon Hunters had entered the Safari Zone and left the Gym in Koga and Archie's care.
• Archie ignored Aye's instructions and went after him, forcing Koga to follow for fear of being blamed if Archie got hurt.
• Johnny ordered his Pokémon to use weak attacks on the Tauros herd, enraging it while he edged away from Giovanni.
• Giovanni had Nidoran♂ attack Johnny's Beedrill, then commanded his own Beedrill to suppress it with its full aura.

Giovanni used a Gym-level Poison Point to draw the Tauros herd into Johnny, then escaped with Axin while Johnny survived the stampede. Giovanni killed Sam to prevent him from becoming an uncertain factor, and Johnny pursued Giovanni and Axin in a rage.

• Giovanni’s Beedrill suppressed Johnny’s Beedrill as the Poison Point drew the Tauros herd into a charge, letting Giovanni escape while Johnny was engulfed.
• Dugtrio brought Johnny out from underground; Johnny had lost four Pokémon but survived and ordered Axin and Sam to stop Giovanni.
• Johnny demanded Beedrill for himself, while Axin revealed his loyalty to Giovanni and Sam tried to surrender.
• Giovanni ordered Axin to kill Sam, and Beedrill pierced Sam through the chest as Axin’s Pokémon killed Sam’s Pokémon.
• Giovanni and Axin fled by air, and Johnny released more Pokémon and chased after them.

Baoba caught the Team Rocket members poaching Pokémon in the Safari Zone, while Giovanni and Axin fled toward Fuchsia City and encountered its Gym Leader. The Gym Leader’s Crobat overwhelmed their Pokémon, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• The three Team Rocket Official Members attacked the Tauros and tried to capture them, drawing Baoba’s attention.
• Baoba used Slowpoke to defeat Grimer, then directed Slowpoke and the awakened Tauros to attack the Team Rocket members.
• Slowpoke pointed Baoba toward Giovanni and Axin, but Baoba stayed behind and identified their direction as Fuchsia City.
• Giovanni sensed a powerful presence ahead, realized Fuchsia City’s Gym Leader was approaching, and decided to use Johnny as a distraction.
• Giovanni and Axin landed as the Gym Leader arrived on Crobat, which unleashed Air Slashes that shattered Arbok and Golbat’s Protect barriers and knocked them out.

Aye killed Johnny after stopping a poaching group in the Safari Zone, while Venomoth pursued Giovanni and Axin. Baoba and Slowpoke reported that five people were now nearby, including two who had come from Fuchsia City.

• Aye released his Gym-level Venomoth, prompting Giovanni and Axin to surrender before fleeing when he said they would pay in blood.
• Johnny abandoned his Pokémon and tried to escape, but Aye's Crobat killed the Pokémon and drained Johnny until he died.
• Baoba told Aye that enraged Tauros had killed three people on his side, while the other Tauros were mostly safe.
• Baoba's Slowpoke reported five people in the direction Giovanni and Axin had fled, including two who had arrived from Fuchsia City.