I am Giovanni

Chapter 59: Giovanni Arrives

When the pungent smell of blood filled the room, one of the hired trainers' expressions changed drastically. "Someone died?"

One by one, they released their Pokémon. "Quick! Get them out!"

"Right! Even if they break in, it will take them some time!"

"When they come in, we'll have our Pokémon attack all at once! Catch them off guard!"

They had a beautiful plan— but before they could even get ready, they heard the crisp sound of shattering glass.

Archer and his three subordinates had already broken through the windows. At the same time, their Pokémon were released. Archer's own Arbok, now an advanced-level powerhouse, emerged with a menacing hiss. It spread its hood wide.

"Cha!"

Arbok's Glare, combined with its Intimidate ability, washed over the room. The hired trainers' Pokémon were instantly suppressed, frozen in place.

"It's an advanced-level Pokémon!" one of them shouted in panic. If they had been advanced trainers themselves, they wouldn't have been working as hired muscle.

"Arbok, use Acid Bomb!" Archer commanded.

His Pokémon leaned back, its abdomen contracting violently as a thick, green liquid gathered in its mouth. With another deafening roar, it spat the deadly acid. The glob flew through the air with a piercing hiss, heading straight for the terrified Pokémon, which were still paralyzed by fear.

"Dodge! Quick, dodge!" the trainers screamed, but their Pokémon couldn't react.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions rocked the room. Acid splattered everywhere, corroding everything it touched. The trainers' Pokémon, caught completely off guard, cried out in pain. Some lost their ability to battle instantly, their flesh corroding away to reveal pale bone and gore entrails.

"Is this what the Alliance calls trainers?" Archer sneered, his gaze sweeping across the chaotic room. "A bunch of trash." He found their wails grating. "Don't waste time. Finish this," he ordered his subordinates coldly. His Arbok was already poised to launch its next attack.

"Yes, Captain!"

The Team Rocket Pokémon surrounded the trainers and their Pokémon and began a brutal slaughter.

— — —

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the villa, Akira Matsumoto and his family were huddled under the covers, trembling with fear as they listened to the commotion downstairs. His young son, only a year or two old, was a mess of snot and tears. If his wife hadn't been covering his mouth, he would have been wailing loudly.

"Husband, what do we do?" she complained, her voice trembling. "This is all your fault!"

Akira Matsumoto composed himself. "Don't be afraid. Even if they fail, I still have a way out. I prepared a secret passage. We'll go through it and head straight to the police station. This time, they'll have to protect us."

He threw off the covers and, taking his wife and child, started for the hidden exit— but at that moment, his child suddenly stared at the windowsill and shouted, "Meowth!"

"Silly child," Akira said without turning his head. "There's no Meowth here. Don't talk nonsense."

But the next voice was his wife's, filled with horror. "It's... it's real! There's someone outside!"

Akira Matsumoto finally turned his head. A pair of scarlet eyes were the first thing he saw, their killing intent so potent it felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar— Beedrill.

And the "Meowth" his wife and child had seen was the human it was carrying, a boy wearing a Meowth-themed mask. His indifferent eyes revealed nothing but an endless chill.

Giovanni had graced them with his presence.

Akira's heart seized, but then he saw the steel security bars outside the window and let out a slight sigh of relief. "Don't be afraid! The bars will block him!"

Swish.

Beedrill instantly swung its sharp, massive stingers, using Fury Cutter. The security bars that had given Akira a sliver of confidence, along with the glass window, were neatly sliced open and fell to the floor.

As Akira's eyes widened in disbelief, Giovanni lightly stepped inside.

Akira swallowed, a drop of sweat trickling down his forehead. He pulled out a Poké Ball. "Don't be afraid," he comforted his screaming wife and child. "It's just one Pokémon. I still have a trump card! Go, Butterfree!"

A beam of white light flashed, and a Butterfree of considerable strength, close to the advanced level, was released. Akira was not a real trainer, but he had spent a fortune to buy this powerful, relatively docile Pokémon for self-defense.

Against an ordinary opponent, it might have stood a chance— but it had just so happened to encounter the King of Insects.

"Go! Butterfree!" Akira shouted— but after shouting for a long time, there was no movement. His Butterfree was frozen, trembling with fear in the face of Beedrill's overwhelming aura.

"Butterfree?" Akira roared in anger. "You trash! Have you been eating all the good food I gave you for nothing?!"

Under his verbal urging, the Butterfree braced itself to attack— but Giovanni had already spoken.

"Kill it," he said, his voice indifferent. "Fury Attack."

Beedrill became an afterimage, appearing in front of the Butterfree. Its two large stingers swung continuously, splattering dark green insect blood like small flowers blooming on the Butterfree's body.

In just one encounter, the Butterfree was dead. It fell to the ground, and Beedrill ripped out its energy organ and swallowed it whole.

"What's going on?" Akira's scalp tingled. "This isn't right!" His wife and child looked at him with even greater despair.

"Don't be afraid!" he comforted them again, his voice cracking.

"I still have a way! Yes, I still have a way!"