I am Giovanni

Chapter 34: The Second Pokémon

Another ten days passed. Kakuna's evolution was still a long way off— then trouble came knocking.

The sudden summons for an assembly left Giovanni bewildered. There was still half a month left until the final duels. What was going on? If they had moved the timeline up, he was finished.

Some of the other recruits, thinking the same thing, were already gloating, rubbing their hands together in anticipation of facing him while he was vulnerable.

Giovanni frowned but ignored their gazes. He would not compromise, not until the very last moment.

This time, Madame Boss was not present. Only Miyamoto stood before them. Under the puzzled and anxious gazes of the recruits, she clapped her hands. Several grunts pushed two large carts into the room, each one piled high with Poké Balls.

"You don't need to worry," Miyamoto announced, "this assembly is not for a battle."

The recruits let out a collective sigh of relief.

"These Poké Balls," she continued, pointing to the carts, "contain various Pokémon. They will be your second Pokémon. The purpose of this exercise is for you to understand the process of capturing and taming a wild creature."

Hearing this, the recruits were overjoyed. A second Pokémon would be a huge boost to their strength.

"Don't get too happy," Miyamoto warned, her tone sharp. "The Pokémon inside are all wild. Some have even killed people. Their temperaments will be extremely volatile. If you lack the skill, you could be attacked, even devoured. If you cannot tame a single wild Pokémon within two days, you will be eliminated."

The recruits, having raised their own Pokémon for over a month, were still confident. With their partners helping, how hard could it be? A few of them, however, looked at Giovanni with malicious glee. They knew his Pokémon was an immobile Kakuna. They couldn't wait to see him fail.

Giovanni's brow furrowed. If the wild Pokémon was low-level, like the Rattata from the forest, he was confident he could handle it. But if there was a large difference in strength, it would be troublesome.

Katsu whispered from behind him. "Hasn't your Kakuna evolved yet?"

"Not yet," Giovanni replied. "It's fine. I can handle it."

"Now," Miyamoto announced, "one by one, come up and select a Poké Ball. You will then be taken to private rooms to tame your Pokémon. You have two days. Those who fail will be eliminated."

One by one, the recruits stepped forward. There was nothing to choose; all the Poké Balls were identical. It was all up to luck. Soon, it was Giovanni's turn. He had no right to refuse.

He stepped forward and randomly picked a Poké Ball. The power of Viridian was useless here; all he could feel from the balls was a vague sense of hostility.

A grunt waved to him. "Let's go. Follow me."

Giovanni followed him to a familiar room—the same one where he had killed Rina and her Oddish. It seemed these room assignments were not so random after all.

Bang.

The door slammed shut, leaving him alone in the empty room. He could almost imagine Rina's ghost haunting the place. He knew ghosts were real in this world, but what of it? If she came back, he'd just kill her again.

He first released his own partner. Though his Kakuna couldn't move, its mere presence was at least something and it could act as a shield with Harden.

He took the dagger from its sheath on his thigh, the cool steel giving him a small measure of security. He knew that if the Pokémon attacked, he could recall it to its ball, but it all depended on how fast it was.

"Ready?" he murmured, unsure if he was talking to his Kakuna or himself. He tightened his grip on the dagger and pressed the button on the new Poké Ball.

Click.

With a flash of white light, a purple, porcupine-like Pokémon appeared. It had large ears, small incisors, and a single horn on its head.

A Nidoran, the male of the species— a Poison-type that would one day evolve into the mighty Poison/Ground-type, Nidoking.

It emerged and cautiously surveyed its surroundings. Its red eyes glowed with a feral light. It was not timid; it was ferocious.

When it saw Giovanni, its eyes filled with murderous intent— a human. Wild Pokémon like this one naturally detested humans, and being treated like a tool, passed around in a ball, had pushed its anger to the boiling point.

It let out two sharp barks, then charged.

At that moment, Kakuna was ready. The Nidoran was startled, wary of the Pokémon beside him. Only then did it realize Giovanni was not alone.