I am Giovanni

Chapter 40: The Great Spear

"Fury Swipes!" Ren screamed.

The Mankey seized the opportunity, pouncing on the exhausted Nidoran, its claws gleaming with a cold light, ready to tear it to shreds. The Nidoran looked up at the attacking Pokémon, its vision blurring, its body slumping.

His short life flashed before his eyes. I haven't even tasted freedom yet...

Just as Nidoran wearily closed its eyes, a beam of red light shot out, landing precisely on its body. It was instantly pulled back, disappearing from its spot, recalled into its Poké Ball by Giovanni.

Having lost its target, the Mankey stumbled, nearly crashing into the Sandshrew.

Inside its Poké Ball, the Nidoran didn't feel the expected pain. When it opened its eyes and realized it wasn't dead, it collapsed with relief.

At least the human had some conscience, Nidoran thought. He didn't drag me to death with him. When I escape, I'll be sure to erect a tombstone for him.

Outside, Ren, Hiro, and the two other recruits who had joined them looked at Giovanni, who now stood alone with only a dagger in his hand.

"Out of moves, are we, Giovanni?" Ren sneered. "Not so arrogant now, are you? Always putting on that face, acting so high and mighty. Let's see how you die!"

Giovanni calmly raised his hand and slowly placed it on his other Poké Ball, his eyes filled with calm and composure.

The four of them froze. Their minds couldn't help but recall the terrifying Weedle from their first encounter. Did it... evolve?

"Don't be afraid!" shouted one of the newcomers. "Kill him now! Even if that Kakuna evolved, so what? It's just a Beedrill! Its level can't be more than 11!"

The other boy, the one whose Spearow Giovanni had humiliated in class, gritted his teeth. "Yes! My Spearow is much stronger now! Watch me take him down!"

The four of them shouted in unison: "Go! Get him!"

A Sandshrew, a Rattata, a Meowth, a Mankey, a Spearow, a Bellsprout, an Ekans, and a Krabby all charged towards Giovanni. Triumphant, cruel smiles appeared on the faces of their trainers, as if they could already see Giovanni being torn to pieces.

Click.

Giovanni's finger lightly pressed the button— a flash of white light erupted from the Poké Ball.

His Kakuna appeared before him— a Pokémon so odd and foreign that the eight attacking Pokémon stumbled to a momentary pause. In their minds, they all collectively thought— why are we ganging up on this guy? Is this guy strong?

However, the four recruits felt as if a heavy stone had been pressed upon their hearts, wondering why their Pokemon suddenly ground to a halt.

"What are you waiting for?!" Ren screamed. "It's just a Kakuna! It can't even move! Get in there and tear it apart!"

But his words had no effect— the Pokémon were now wary, all unwilling to become first blood because of a misunderstanding. 

From a distance, Katsu, his Machop bruised but still standing, watched with a weak smile. The Timburr they had just been fighting lay in several pieces on the ground, its blood staining the floor.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

In their few moments of hesitation, a sound like thunderous heartbeats began to echo from the Kakuna. Its hard shell began to expand, and cracks spread across its surface. The light of evolution shone, then suddenly converged inward.

CRACK!

The entire cocoon shattered!

BZZZZZZZZZ.

A new, powerful buzzing sound filled the chamber— floating in the air before Giovanni.

It had four slender legs, two pairs of transparent, intricately patterned wings, and a striped abdomen ending in a wicked stinger— but its most prominent features were the two massive, spear-like stingers. Its eyes were an intense crimson, filled with a terrifying killing intent.

Beedrill.

The pressure field it emitted was heavy. The only other Bug-type Pokémon left in the room, a Butterfree, immediately prostrated itself on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. This was the absolute suppression of the Bug King.

With the help of Giovanni's power, his partner had overcome the Gu ritual from ninety-nine other Pokémon. Its innate potential had leaped to a whole new level. Its power had skyrocketed.

And this was only the beginning. There was still a massive amount of residual energy left to absorb; its future growth would be explosive.

This Beedrill was also considerably larger than a regular one, nearly 1.5 meters tall, almost the size of a future Mega Beedrill.

It gently rested one of its massive stingers on Giovanni's raised palm.

"Welcome back, Beedrill," Giovanni said, his voice low.

Beedrill turned, its battle intent rising. It let out a sharp, piercing cry. "BZZT!"

Giovanni waved his hand, his own aura overwhelming. "Let them be your whetstones! Sharpen your spears!"

CLANG!

Beedrill lightly tapped its two stingers together, producing a metallic ring. Its focus sharpened, exuding an aura of piercing lethality.

"Attack together!" the four recruits screamed in a panic. "Go, Spearow!" "Go, Meowth!"

"Poison Sting," Giovanni said coldly. "Fury Cutter."

As he gave the command, Beedrill's crimson eyes flared like two small suns. It spread its wings, and with a powerful flap, it created a hurricane that closed the distance in an instant.

A torrential downpour of poison needles flew from its stinger, and the Pokémon below scrambled to defend themselves. The unlucky ones who were hit collapsed instantly, their bodies turning black as they foamed at the mouth. The potency of the Bug King's venom was absolute.

While they were defending, Beedrill became a golden blur, a bolt of lightning cutting through the air, leaving only afterimages and the sound of slicing wind.

"BZZT!"

With a murderous cry, it appeared before the Spearow. Before the bird could even react, one of the massive white stingers pierced straight through its chest.

Thud.

Blood splattered. The Spearow didn't even have time to scream. Its body went stiff and plummeted to the ground.

"Spearow!" its trainer cried in agony.

Whoosh.

One figure blurred with a flash of steel. Giovanni's dagger slashed across the boy's neck. He let out a choked wail, clutching his throat as he looked at the indifferent boy opposite him. He couldn't utter a single word as blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

He collapsed, a pool of red spreading out beneath him.