I am Giovanni

Chapter 66: The Deceptive Meowth

"Look at you two, so dirty," Giovanni said, shaking his head as he looked at his Beedrill and Nidorino, both covered in blood.

In response, Beedrill quickly shook its massive stingers, splattering the blood onto the pale face of one of the corpses and into its lifeless, open eyes.

Giovanni looked at the two dead grunts, then took the Poké Balls Machop had gathered from them. They were all his now. He kicked their signal devices aside, then casually released a few of the Rattata he had caught earlier. He pointed at the corpses.

"Gnaw on them," he said, his voice cold. "Gnaw until they are unrecognizable."

The Rattata, hearing his command, dared not refuse. They frantically pounced on the corpses, tearing and biting with savage fury. Soon, the bodies were unrecognizable, the fatal injuries completely obscured. After tasting human flesh, however, the Rattata's eyes turned bloodshot. They let out furious roars, their aggression now directed at Giovanni.

"TA!"

Giovanni's eyes flickered slightly. He waved his hand.

Beedrill slowly flew forward, tapped its twin stingers together, and let out a single, sharp, "BZZT!"

The Rattata, which had been so fierce just moments before, instantly deflated, each one collapsing to the ground, trembling. Giovanni casually recalled them.

Whether they become more aggressive and attack their new trainers is their problem, not mine.

He glanced at the two bloody corpses again, shaking his head in disdain. Two paupers. Nothing of value. "Let's go." He and his Pokémon quickly disappeared from sight.

After he had been gone for a while, a Magneton flew down from above, and a slender figure lightly jumped off it. Looking at the mangled corpses, he spoke in a hoarse voice. "Do you really think you can cover up an internal conflict within our Team Rocket?"

"Which bold brat could it be?" he mused, holding three blank papers in his hand, his eyes cold and filled with murderous intent. "And you all..."

Crackle!

A beam of dazzling lightning erupted in the forest. When the light dissipated, only piles of ashes remained, which were then scattered by a gust of wind.

— — —

After searching for another half a day, Giovanni had caught six or seven more Pokémon. It wouldn't be long until he completed his mission. However, he still hadn't seen that Meowth.

He had thought that, due to its cat-like nature, it would surely come back to bother him again. He had been looking forward to thoroughly tormenting it. Unexpectedly, the little thief never appeared.

Just as he was thinking he had missed his chance, he heard angry roars and the furious growls of Pokémon from a distance.

"Damn Meowth! We're going to kill you!"

"URSARING!"

"Damn it! We fell for it! This is Ursaring's territory!"

Only that Meowth could infuriate people enough to make them roar like that. To lead them into the territory of an Ursaring, a Pokémon known for its brutal nature... being attacked was a minor outcome— being killed and eaten was far more likely. This Meowth was truly devious.

Giovanni smiled with interest and immediately rushed towards the sound.

Whoosh!

A pale yellow figure moved quickly through the trees ahead, the mockery in its eyes truly taunting. Before Giovanni could even speak, his Beedrill had instantly flown towards it. Since its "birth," Beedrill had never stumbled, never let any Pokémon or human escape. This Meowth was the first. It could not tolerate the insult.

Giovanni didn't stop it. This Meowth was strong and clever. It would be a good challenge for his partner.

"BZZZT!" Beedrill attacked, but the sound of its vibrating wings was so loud that the Meowth discovered it beforehand. Though surprised to encounter them again so quickly, its movements were equally fast. The moment Beedrill charged, the Meowth flicked its tail, sending out a volley of golden, five-pointed stars—a Swift attack.

Beedrill had no choice but to switch from offense to defense, using Fury Attack to shatter the stars one by one. By the time the golden light dissipated, the Meowth had already run off. It turned its head and grinned at Beedrill, its expression incredibly mocking.

Beedrill was so enraged that its own energy surged. Its body flashed, and it leveled up to 26. Interestingly, the move it learned at that moment was Assurance—a move that grew stronger if the target had already taken damage. It was quite fitting.

Giovanni was just about to have Nidorino and Machop block the Meowth's path when it smiled at him and glanced upwards. Giovanni froze. His power of Viridian instantly sensed something amiss. He looked up.

An Ursaring stood on a towering tree branch above him. It must have climbed down from higher up, just outside his sensory range. Its eyes glowed green, staring intently at him, saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth. In the next second, it looked as if it would drop from above.

The Meowth let out two gloating cries, "Meowth!" then moved through the trees again, disappearing without a trace.

"This little guy," Giovanni could only shake his head. "He's really good at tricking people."

"URSARING!" The massive bear Pokémon above did indeed jump, its gaping maw heading straight for Giovanni's head, clearly intending to bite it off.

Though Giovanni's physique had greatly improved, against a level thirty-something Ursaring, he was just food. Fortunately, he still had his Pokémon— and Beedrill had just learned the perfect move.

"Look up! Knock Off!" he calmly shouted. "Fury Attack! Assurance!"

Nidorino and the others, alerted by his command, frantically looked up and spotted the descending Ursaring. They immediately launched a furious attack. However, against the thick-skinned, high-leveled Pokémon, their attacks were clearly insufficient.

Meanwhile, Beedrill, seeing the Ursaring daring to attack its master, vibrated its wings so rapidly they almost sparked. Its twin stingers swung, unleashing its newly learned Assurance.