I am Giovanni

Chapter 117: A Feast for Kings

As Surge was an ordinary person who had never trained Pokémon, Giovanni naturally wouldn't immediately give him a senior-level Pokémon. The consequence of that would be a swift and brutal death from the Pokémon's backlash.

"Persian," Giovanni snapped his fingers and called out softly. Persian, which was licking the blood off its fur, jumped down from a nearby tree and tilted its head.

"Help me catch a basic-level Pokémon," Giovanni said, rubbing its head. "And I'll have something good ready for you."

Persian rolled its eyes but still obeyed, weaving through the jungle and quickly disappearing.

"Boss, what are you doing?" Surge asked, confused.

"I'm helping you catch a Pokémon first," Giovanni replied casually, pulling out his dagger and beginning to process the Farfetch'd's corpse.

"Uh, wouldn't cooking Pokémon violate the Alliance's rules?" Surge was alarmed. "If a Search Officer discovered it, it would be troublesome."

Giovanni scoffed. "Rules? Those are for the poor and those without power. The superiors are the ones who change the rules." He raised the blood-stained dagger and plunged it heavily into the Farfetch'd's body. "I never believe in these things. So what if I violate them?"

"You... you're right," Surge said, a deep resonance in his voice. Wasn't he just a lower-class person without power or influence? He could tell that Giovanni was not a benevolent person and was unlikely to abide by any rules.

After all, what kind of rule-abiding person would be dismembering a Pokémon here?

Giovanni sharpened a branch, simply processed the Farfetch'd, cleaned off its feathers, skewered the whole thing, and even stuffed its own leek inside, aiming for an authentic flavor.

"What's more, your identity is clean. It's easy to resolve by spending some money." The registration fee might be a difficult hurdle for Surge, but for the current Giovanni, it was no longer an issue.

He had his Machoke fetch some firewood, then casually released one of his Rhyhorn that knew Fire Fang. Smoke soon billowed up in the jungle, carrying the strong aroma of roasted meat. At this location, under these conditions, only Giovanni would have the audacity to do such a thing.

Even Surge, standing nearby, nervously looked around, cold sweat dripping from his forehead— but Giovanni, though seemingly focused on roasting the duck, had his power of Viridian spread out, sensing everything. A cold smile played on his lips, completely unconcerned about the prying eyes.

Nearby, whether it was the survivors of the S.S. Anne or the members of the Sea Overlords, they were all drooling... and also very angry.

"What an arrogant brat! I'm going to kill him!"

"Can you defeat that Rhyhorn? Or that Beedrill?"

Though they didn't dare to act rashly, they were unwilling to leave. Until the belated Archer and Mars arrived.

"Go deal with the people around," Giovanni said without looking up, "then come over." Archer and Mars were stunned for a moment, then each went in a different direction.

"Boss, who are they, really?" Surge asked, looking around nervously.

"Don't worry," Giovanni said, telling him to sit down and relax. "You're not needed yet. I'll only give you tasks when you have the ability."

At this moment, screams echoed from within the jungle. Surge shivered in fright. "Is it Mr. Archer and Mr. Mars?"

"That's right," Giovanni said. Having them take action was mainly to give them more experience. As the Boss, he couldn't do everything himself. What was the purpose of having subordinates then?

As for whether they would be in danger, Mars might be, but Archer would be fine. If there were truly strong individuals, they wouldn't have hidden for so long without making a move.

After a while, Archer and Mars, covered in blood and looking very disheveled, emerged from two directions. They carried some captured spoils of war, as well as some energy organs from the Pokémon they had killed. They knelt on one knee and placed the items in front of Giovanni. "Boss, we did not fail you."

Giovanni didn't even glance at the items. He threw two Poké Balls to them—the parents of the Rhyhorn he had tamed. "Well done," he said. "These two Pokémon are your reward."

"Thank you, Boss!" Archer and Mars said, taking the Poké Balls and bowing their heads respectfully.

Giovanni took down the roasted Farfetch'd. The aroma was enticing, the skin glistening with oil. "Come," he said. "It's just roasted. Try it. The branches from the berry tree, plus the Farfetch'd... it's definitely delicious."

"Yes, Boss," they exchanged smiles.

"I just happened to bring salt," Mars said, pulling out a small bottle.

"I have sweet honey here," Archer scoffed, pulling out a small jar.

Surge was sweating profusely. Even when they were sailing, they dared not eat Water-type Pokémon, at most they would eat some ordinary sea fish. Giovanni tore off a leg and placed it in his hand.

"Don't be shy," he said. "Come, eat a leg. You're still young, you need to grow. This kind of energy-rich meat is even better than drinking Miltank's milk." He then turned to Archer and Mars.

"You two, don't just focus on eating. Go roast the others. Otherwise, there won't be enough to share. And there are Pokémon to feed too."

"Thank you, Boss," Surge hastily accepted it. Though it violated the Alliance's rules, he could clearly see Giovanni's kindness to him.

And this Farfetch'd leg... it was truly delicious.