Chapter 17: The Actor
Giovanni had mastered the situation.
The lead Team Rocket grunt stepped forward, his face a mask of cold fury. "Who started this?"
Musashi immediately opened his mouth, eager to pin the blame on Giovanni— but before he could speak, Giovanni let out a wail from the floor.
"Don't hit me anymore! There are too many of you! I was wrong! I'll never provoke you again!" he cried, clutching his head.
Musashi was rendered speechless. He pointed a trembling, furious finger at the boy on the ground. From an outside perspective, the scene was damning. On one side, a large group of recruits stood over a single, bruised boy who was begging for mercy. The fact that most of Musashi's group had just been detoxified was irrelevant— appearances were everything.
"You're lying!" Musashi shrieked, his face flushing with rage. "You attacked first! Everyone saw it!" He turned to the other recruits watching from the sidelines. "You all saw it, right? Tell them!"
Under Musashi's intimidating glare, a few of the onlookers stammered their agreement. "Y-yes... that's what happened."
Giovanni sneered internally. The more Musashi protested, the more guilty he looked. "Yes, yes!" Giovanni cried out again. "That's exactly what happened! You definitely didn't scare them into saying that!"
The sarcasm was so thick that Musashi looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. "You! You bastard, I'll kill you!" He lunged forward, but Weedle immediately blocked his path, its eyes burning with murderous intent. Having seen what the tiny Pokémon was capable of, Musashi froze— but his threat had been heard by everyone.
The lead grunt knew exactly what had happened, but all the evidence was now in Giovanni's favor. Coupled with Musashi's gang's reputation for bullying, he knew that even if this was escalated to Miyamoto or Madame Boss, Musashi would be found at fault.
He turned to the furious boy. "You and your gang are banned from all training grounds, effective immediately. If you cause any more trouble, we will report it, and your qualifications for this selection will be revoked."
Revoking his qualifications was a death sentence.
The color drained from Musashi's face, and from the faces of his followers. He shot one last venomous glare at Giovanni. "Bastard," he spat. "Just you wait." He then led his dejected gang out of the training ground.
Giovanni slowly stood up, all traces of his previous misery gone. Though his face was bruised, his cold demeanor and the faint killing intent in his eyes sent a shiver down the spines of those who watched.
The lead grunt looked at him with a new wariness. If a boy like this is allowed to grow, he thought, he'll be a monster.
From the back of the group of grunts, the one who had guided Giovanni to his room watched the scene unfold, his hand resting on the Poké Ball of the Arbok at his side. The scales in his mind tipped a little further in Giovanni's favor.
The lead grunt addressed Giovanni. "You too. Don't cause any more trouble, or you'll be banned as well."
Giovanni simply nodded. "If no one provokes me, I won't make a move."
The grunts exchanged a look, then returned to their posts.
"Wee?" Weedle let out a low cry at his feet.
Giovanni smiled down at it. "Don't worry. I'm fine." He scanned the area. The other recruits, seeing his gaze, quickly looked away. They weren't fools.
They knew Giovanni had won the exchange. He had made Musashi look like a fool and got him banned— an opponent like that was terrifying. And his Weedle... wasn't it just a Bug-type? How had it become so strong, so fast?
Giovanni, however, was already thinking about his next move. The sneak attack had worked this time, but Musashi would be prepared for it in the future. He needed a new strategy, something to compensate for his disadvantage in numbers. He needed allies.
Thump... thump... thump...
"Move."
Giovanni, lost in thought, was startled by a gruff voice from behind. It was the burly youth, Katsu, still running his laps. Giovanni stepped aside without a word, letting the boy pass. He watched his retreating back, an idea forming in his mind.
A moment later, Katsu ran by again. This time, Giovanni raised a hand, stopping him.
The muscular youth glared at him. Though he was wary of Weedle, he wasn't afraid. "Get out of my way. I'm not scared of you."
Giovanni shook his head and chuckled. "Relax. I'm not here to cause trouble. On the contrary, I'm here to help you with yours. Let's get acquainted. My name is Giovanni."
Katsu's expression remained cold. "I'm Katsu— and I don't have any trouble that needs your help."
"No?" Giovanni smiled. "I think you do."
Katsu snorted and folded his arms. "Don't play guessing games."
"Your Pokémon egg," Giovanni said, his voice calm and direct. "It hasn't hatched yet. Time is running out. I can help you with that— but in return, you'll owe me a favor."
Katsu's head snapped up, his eyes wide.
"If you're interested," Giovanni continued, "come find me in room 9527."
Without another word, he turned and led Weedle towards the equipment area. The hook was set. If Katsu was as desperate as he seemed, he would come.
With proper equipment and targets, the quality of their training immediately improved.
From the track, Katsu watched Giovanni and his Weedle, his eyes flickering with indecision. Time was running out. Of course he was anxious. No one wanted to die.
As for whether creating a potential rival was a risk, Giovanni wasn't concerned. He had absolute confidence. His greatest enemy was himself.
His path was one of constant growth, of surpassing his own limits.
His confidence came from the Weedle at his side, the power of Viridian within him, and the unshakable knowledge of who he was.