Chapter Summaries

After Giovanni killed Mu Sen, he forced the boys to eliminate Mu Sen’s Gang and drew a group of them to his side. As Giovanni Rika and Miyamoto discussed the successor contest, a boy from Ninja Village attacked Giovanni with a poisoned Shuriken, but Weedle stopped it.

• Giovanni ordered the boys to kill Mu Sen’s Gang, and Max led them by snapping the neck of the boy he had subdued.
• Giovanni Rika praised Giovanni’s decisiveness while Miyamoto discussed the successor candidates and warned that Aidos might disrupt the plan.
• Giovanni Rika went to settle the children, while Team Rocket members recalled ownerless Pokémon amid the chaos.
• More than twenty boys gathered around Giovanni for protection, and a concealed attacker hurled a poisoned Shuriken at him.
• Weedle bound the Shuriken with String Shot, and Giovanni recognized the frail boy beside an Ekans as a likely ninja from Ninja Village.

Giovanni faced rival groups during the aftermath of the Second-Stage Selection, but Team Rocket halted the fighting and announced the deadly rules of the Third-Stage Selection. He planned to spend the month growing stronger and keep an eye on those who had attacked him.

• Giovanni faced Yalan and her Bulbasaur, A Rui and his Squirtle, and other boys, while the ninja boy slipped away.
• Miyamoto and Giovanni Rika stopped the fighting as the platform descended, and Team Rocket removed the dead and eliminated boys.
• Giovanni Rika congratulated the survivors on passing the Second-Stage Selection.
• Miyamoto announced a month of training followed by duels that would continue until only three boys remained, and forbade private killings.
• Giovanni stayed calm and searched the crowd for the ninja boy, Yalan, and A Rui.

After the third stage began, Giovanni settled into lessons and training while learning that Max was in his class and would eventually become his competitor. Axin later approached Giovanni privately, and Max proposed a new training partnership, which Giovanni accepted.

• Miyamoto began the third stage, dividing the youths into three classes for daily academic and battle lessons.
• Giovanni learned that Max, A Rui, and Yalan had been assigned to separate classes, and that the stage’s winners would likely come from each class.
• After class, Max asked to train with Giovanni, but Giovanni insisted they were competitors and threatened to kill him if they faced each other.
• Giovanni considered delaying Weedle’s evolution until he could find a way to improve its potential and secure the resources it would need.
• Axin approached Giovanni at the training ground and arranged to speak with him in his room after training closed.
• Max returned with Machop, said he would not hold back against Giovanni, and proposed that their Pokémon train together; Giovanni agreed.

Giovanni trained with Max and learned about his background before Axin pledged allegiance to him. Axin became Giovanni’s first subordinate, and he told Giovanni about Team Rocket’s leadership and factions.

• Giovanni and Max trained together, and Max shared that he had been unable to afford an apprenticeship at Saffron Gym.
• Giovanni returned home, cared for Weedle, and prepared dinner before Axin arrived.
• Axin knelt and pledged allegiance to Giovanni, who challenged his motives before accepting him as a subordinate.
• Axin said he wanted a chance to prove himself and reach the pinnacle, and Giovanni promised he would receive what he wanted once Giovanni became Team Rocket’s leader.
• Axin explained that Giovanni Rika led Team Rocket, with Miyamoto and Aidos as executives and three Group Leaders below them; two Group Leaders backed Aidos and opposed the Selection Plan.

Giovanni refused Axin’s Advanced Arbok poison sac but accepted better food and Berries for Weedle, which reached level 6 and began wanting to evolve. In Battle Class, Giovanni challenged a boy’s Spearow with Weedle, whose hostility toward bird Pokémon startled the class before it attacked with Poison Sting.

• Giovanni asked Axin how members obtained resources and refused the poison sac Axin offered for Weedle.
• Axin gave Giovanni higher-quality Poison-type food and energy-rich Berries, and Giovanni later had him sell the old food to recover some of the cost.
• After four days of better food, Weedle reached level 6 and felt ready to evolve, but Giovanni made it wait until at least level 10.
• In Battle Class, the instructor explained type matchups and said bird Pokémon had an advantage over bug Pokémon, prompting a demonstration battle between Giovanni and a boy with Spearow.
• Giovanni sent out Weedle, which showed no fear of Spearow, and ordered Poison Sting; Spearow panicked and was struck by the needles.
• The chapter revealed that Giovanni’s room held a pillow shaped like a bird and densely covered in poisonous needles.

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.