Chapter 259: The Battle for the Title of Strongest Viridian Gym Leader!
2024-05-15 Author: Samsung Charmander (Author Name)
"When?!"
Feeling the raw chill on his neck, Giovanni didn't dare to move. He could only use his peripheral vision to glance to his side.
What entered his vision was a red figure with the body structure of a praying mantis. Its entire body shone with a red, metallic luster. Its back was to Giovanni, obscuring his view of its front. It held a steel pincer arm up in a reverse grip, the pincer open, its sharp inner edge pressed tightly against the skin of his neck.
"A Scizor?! Such incredible speed..."
Giovanni recognized the Pokémon, the name escaping his lips. Even for an expert in Bug-types like himself, this Scizor's movements were completely impossible to track.
That's right. Although Giovanni publicly declared himself an expert in Ground-types, his mastery of the Bug-type was actually a level higher.
Even so, he couldn't see a single flaw in this Scizor. It was a perfect Bug-type Pokémon.
Giovanni's expression darkened, his evaluation of the Spiky-Haired Youth standing not far in front of him rising yet another notch.
At this moment in the Viridian Gym, the two stood less than five meters apart. On one side, Beedrill's large stinger was pressed against Green's neck. On the other, Scizor held Giovanni's neck in its steel pincer with a reverse grip, its back turned to him.
The stylish pose carried an air of arrogance.
Any move from either Bug-type Pokémon would be enough to kill the human before them on the spot.
For a moment, the air once again grew tense and murderous.
In the middle of the standoff, Giovanni's expression suddenly relaxed, and he chuckled.
"It seems this time, we're evenly matched again."
"It's ninety-ten."
Green immediately refuted his claim of a stalemate. He shot Giovanni a cold glance and said, "I dare to make a move. Do you?"
One was a man of high status, the big boss of a large multinational corporation, with power that was nearly unrivaled.
The other was just a rookie trainer who had just started his journey.
Their statuses were not equal to begin with. As the saying goes, the barefoot are not afraid of those with shoes. In a situation like this, a stalemate was no stalemate at all, but a one-sided affair.
Giovanni: "..."
His face instantly turned livid.
Indeed, Giovanni was not willing to trade his own life for that of some random trainer.
Their gazes locked, clashing in the air. Then, they both snorted coldly at the same time.
"Bzz—"
"Bzz—"
In the next second, the sound of insects beating their wings at high frequency came from two places at once. Beedrill and Scizor simultaneously released the humans before them, their forms dissolving into afterimages and vanishing from their spots.
"Bzzzzzzzz—"
Now, only the sound of high-frequency insectoid vibrations filled the arena, as a yellow-and-black afterimage and a blood-red afterimage flickered continuously.
"Beedrill, use Twineedle!"
"Scizor, use Bullet Punch!"
As Giovanni and Green's commands fell, two bursts of light flared from within the flickering afterimages. One was a dark green light carrying the essence of the Bug-type, while the other was a metallic silver light brimming with immense power.
"Clang!"
The green light and the silver light collided in the air, setting off an explosive wave of energy before they instantly separated to attack again. In the next breath, the two flashes of light reappeared in another corner, hurtling toward each other once more.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"
The explosive sounds rose and fell, echoing from every corner of the Viridian Gym, and the light from their impacts flickered all over the place. Due to their extreme speed, it almost gave the impression that several Beedrill and Scizor were battling at once.
"Hah..."
After dozens of clashes in the span of a few seconds, Beedrill and Scizor simultaneously retreated several meters, their figures reappearing in mid-air. The momentary, continuous exertion left them panting slightly.
Giovanni's brow furrowed tightly as he launched another attack.
"Beedrill, use Pin Missile!"
At the command, Beedrill raised its two large stingers. A sharp energy condensed upon them, instantly forming countless spikes of white light that shot toward their target. The spikes trailed long tails of energy, creating a spectacular display.
Green, however, calmly instructed, "Scizor, use Fury Cutter."
Scizor's expression was as unflinching as its Steel-type. It swung its pincer arms to its sides, and this time, it was the one to condense the dark green light of the Bug-type. Meeting the countless Pin Missiles head-on, it swung its arms repeatedly, shattering all the incoming energy needles.
"Use Acrobatics!"
"We'll use Acrobatics too!"
Following their trainers' commands, a faint blue energy aura enveloped both Bug-type Pokémon. Their movements became more cunning as they changed direction back and forth in mid-air, executing all sorts of tricky maneuvers before finally smashing into each other head-on.
"CLANG-CLANG!"
Another immense metallic crash echoed out. The faint blue energy aura of Acrobatics faded from both bugs simultaneously, and both were knocked back several meters.
They had battled for several turns, yet the entire exchange had taken less than a few minutes. This caused the two bugs' panting to deepen.
If there was one thing insects were not known for, it was stamina.
Giovanni stood behind his Beedrill, a cold, sinister smile creeping onto his face.
"Heh, are we evenly matched this time?"
"Still ninety-ten." Green's calm and wise eyes seemed to see through everything. He pointed out the key factor without any reservation, "Isn't the situation completely one-sided right now?"
Up until now, Scizor had been meeting Beedrill in direct confrontations. This was a matter of pride between Bug-type Pokémon.
In terms of type matchups, Beedrill had no chance of winning at all.
Its Poison-type was completely nullified by Scizor's Steel-type, and its Bug-type was also not very effective against steel.
This Beedrill was indeed powerful, but it was nowhere near strong enough to defeat his Scizor.
Having been called out so completely, Giovanni's face turned livid. He fell into a silence, then, as if refusing to admit defeat, said in a low voice:
"My Beedrill still possesses an even greater power..."
Green immediately sneered.
"Tsk, you think my Scizor doesn't?"
Giovanni: "..."
His words caught in his throat. As a middle-aged bug catcher, he naturally understood Green's meaning.
Mega Evolution.
Both his Beedrill and Green's Scizor had mastered this higher level of evolution.
Seeing that he wouldn't be able to gain any advantage against this Spiky-Haired Youth today, Giovanni sighed. Without further hesitation, he took out a Poké Ball and recalled his Beedrill.
"Then I'll consider this a temporary defeat at your hands."
Today, from every angle, he had been thoroughly suppressed by Green. Although it infuriated Giovanni, it was an undeniable fact.
But it didn't matter. Giovanni had already broken through his obsession; his heart was now free of fear.
As the strongest, he would sooner or later tear apart the face of this youth who was always so calm and unruffled.
"Then you can have this."
Seeing the other party suddenly toss a small item over, Green caught it with a reverse grab.
In his palm was a badge shaped like a green leaf.
"The Green Badge..."
A hint of nostalgia flashed in Green's eyes as he put the Green Badge away.
His Viridian Gym didn't exist in this world, so he would let this Green Badge take its place.
The two Viridian Gym Leaders from two different worlds stared at each other from a distance, saying nothing more. Green then recalled his Scizor, turned, and left.
And this time, Giovanni didn't resort to any more dirty tricks. He simply watched the other leave, his face dark and sullen.
"Heh heh..."
Only after Green had completely left the Gym did a cold smile return to Giovanni's lips.
A person couldn't become strong for no reason, much less reach the pinnacle in an instant. Giovanni was already suspicious about this point.
This trainer had initially called himself Gary, but then he seemed to completely transform into another person. Who was he now?
Split personality?
Giovanni sneered. There was no way a 10-year-old trainer could possess such a state of mind. He understood that this was a true master, baptized by countless battles!
Green?
"Hmph, daring to tell me your name was your biggest mistake today. Let me see just what kind of god you are, Green..."
At this thought, Giovanni's pupils constricted, and he commanded in a low voice:
"Bring me all information on these four keywords: Pallet Town, Gary, Green, rookie trainer!"
(end of chapter)