Silence.
Silence.
Utter silence...
The air in the room seemed to have turned into amber, seemingly sealing both time and sound within a suffocating viscosity.
Both Erika and the chubby manager felt that Ash's words were simply a provocation against Giovanni.
Where the hell did you get the guts to talk to Giovanni like that?
We're dead, we're dead, we're dead... we're absolutely dead!
"So, this isn't a question of daring or not."
"You detained my Pokémon, so I must stand here."
"This is the most basic responsibility of a Trainer. It has nothing to do with who the opponent is."
"That is all."
Ash finished speaking, then looked straight at Giovanni.
Power and responsibility are one and the same.
His words were like a stone thrown into a stagnant pool... they did not cause ripples, but instead highlighted a deeper, deadlier silence.
"!" Erika felt her heart almost leap out of her chest.
She subconsciously wanted to reach out and pull Ash behind her. This young boy simply didn't understand what kind of existence he was facing.
Giovanni was not a conventional Gym Leader like Lt. Surge, nor was he an NPC in a game that could be challenged at will.
He was a behemoth entrenched in the shadows of Kanto, a formidable ambitionist that even the League had to treat with caution.
Regardless of personal strength or influence, he was terrifying to the extreme.
'Gym Leader' is a status, not a specific power level... and Giovanni was the one who was severely off the charts.
Provoking him would have unimaginable consequences.
Erika had even begun to calculate rapidly in her mind whether she could teleport Ash out before Giovanni lashed out.
Even if the price was staying behind to deal with him herself...
Perhaps she would die here, but this was the duty of a Gym Leader.
One must do as much as their authority demands, even if it means putting one's life on the line.
It wasn't a question of worth.
It was something that had to be done.
The chubby manager had already completely collapsed to the ground. Snot and tears gradually dripped down, yet he dared not let out the slightest whimper.
This was Giovanni's majesty.
Especially since the Game Corner had been watched by Erika recently, preventing them from acting... the original person in charge had already been disposed of by Giovanni.
Weakness is not an excuse for hesitation or evasion.
As soon as this chubby manager thought of his superior's end... he felt that he was dead too.
However, the anticipated thunderous rage did not descend.
Giovanni still sat steadily on that high-backed chair.
His profound gaze fell upon Ash. In that gaze, there was no anger, no mockery, not even any obvious emotional fluctuation.
The Giovanni of the past was not a shadow ambitionist.
The Giovanni of the past was just a Bug Catcher in the Viridian Forest.
At that time, he even possessed the Viridian Power.
It was a pity that things had changed, and people had changed.
He was no longer his former self; even the Viridian Power was gone.
—Truly melancholy.
—That's right, I was like this back then too.
Giovanni seemed to be looking through Ash's young and determined face at something distant—his former self.
The pressure in the room did not alleviate; instead, it became even more tense due to this silence.
Like storm clouds gathering continuously before a tempest, ready to unleash a devastating thunderstorm at any moment.
Time passed second by second, each second feeling as long as a century.
"..." Cold sweat oozed from Erika's palms; she had already prepared for the worst.
Just then, Giovanni's face moved almost imperceptibly.
His eyes seemed to drift for a moment, crossing over Ash, crossing over the room before him, casting towards some unknown time and space.
He thought of many years ago, when he was far from having the power and influence he had today.
Back then, he had also been like the boy before him, harboring dreams that seemed unrealistic, facing opponents far stronger than himself, and moving forward step by step with a courage that refused to admit defeat and a conviction that never wavered.
When he was merely a Bug Catcher, embarking on a journey with his starter partner, Beedrill.
"Time flies so fast..." Giovanni suddenly muttered and laughed.
—Weakness is not an excuse for hesitation, so even knowing the danger, one must face the difficulty head-on.
—Face the crisis, fear not death, and use this to spur oneself on.
—A sense of crisis... is the driving force of my progress.
He remembered his first confrontation with Samuel Oak, who was now a legend.
At that time, having just inherited Team Rocket, he had also stood fearlessly before the other party like this.
Even with a disparity in strength, he would absolutely not lower his proud head.
"Heh..."
An extremely light, almost inaudible scoff overflowed from Giovanni's throat.
This sound broke the dead silence, yet it made Erika's heart clench even tighter.
Immediately after, this light chuckle acted like a fuse, igniting a more intense reaction.
"Haha..."
"Hahaha..."
Giovanni actually began to laugh.
At first, it was a low, suppressed laughter, seemingly resonating from his chest.
But soon, the laughter became loud and hearty, even carrying a trace of appreciation.
"That's right, that's it."
"This is what I wanted to see."
This laughter echoed in the oppressive room, appearing so abrupt and bizarre, completely out of tune with the swords-drawn atmosphere from before.
The manager was scared pale, thinking his boss was about to explode.
Erika was completely stunned.
She had never seen, nor ever imagined, that Giovanni would laugh like this.
The Giovanni who usually appeared always seemed very serious.
Just like his moniker—Giovanni of the Earth.
The Pokémon Giovanni used were mainly Ground-type.
But interestingly, Giovanni's ace was a Beedrill.
"Interesting... truly interesting!"
Giovanni stopped laughing.
Sharp gaze, sharp eyes.
His line of sight refocused on Ash.
In that gaze, there truly was a trace of undisguised admiration.
Giovanni thought of something interesting.
That was something he had obtained when he was young.
He, too, was once a young man with the Viridian Power.
He was the Child of the Era of that time... it was just that he himself had abandoned that identity.
"I haven't... haven't met a young person as interesting as you for a long, long time."
Giovanni leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees.
He crossed his hands and propped them under his chin, just like a certain Commander Ikari.
This posture lacked a bit of the absolute majesty from before and added a bit of casualness in conversation, yet this casualness made his control seem even more prominent.
"Responsibility has nothing to do with who the opponent is."
Giovanni repeated Ash's words, as if savoring the meaning within.
"A very pure thought. Pure enough to be somewhat blinding."
The image of his former self appeared somewhat blurry in the light of memory.
He could no longer see his former self clearly.
Although the current Giovanni was developing Team Rocket.
But back when he was made to inherit Team Rocket, he had actually wanted to refuse.
He had changed.
Looking at Ash before him, Giovanni realized this point even more clearly.
And it was precisely because he had changed that he lost the Viridian Power.
Giovanni's tone was placid, yet it carried a domineering air that stood above all living beings.
Team Rocket's ecological niche was the shadow of the Kanto League.
The establishment of the Kanto League was not achieved overnight.
Although in theory, it was established by Samuel Oak leading the strong.
But in reality, those strong individuals with lofty ideals were too gloriously upright, while there were always people needed to do the dirty work in the dark—this was the soil for Team Rocket's survival.
There are always some foolish fellows who don't want to see the establishment of the League, aren't there?
"That old fellow Oak, it seems he discovered a pretty good seedling."
"No, perhaps it wasn't him who discovered it, but that you possess this quality yourself."
Giovanni's gaze seemed capable of penetrating the human heart; he felt more and more that the Ash before him was like his former self.
"There are too many people in this world who forget their original intentions in the face of power, who bend their spines in the face of authority."
"They calculate gains and losses, weigh the pros and cons, but forget the one thing: why they set out in the first place."
He seemed to be speaking to Ash, yet also seemed to be talking to himself.
"Guard that purity, kid."
"Even if it looks silly, very naive, and might even bring you countless dangers and setbacks... but it is precisely this kind of thing that has the possibility to create true 'miracles'."
He paused, his tone becoming deep and meaningful.
The Giovanni of the past chose the path in the darkness... so what if the Ash before him stepped onto the path in the light?
"I hope you can keep walking down this path."
"I look forward very much... to seeing what step you can finally reach."
These words completely exceeded Erika and Ash's expectations.
The imagined conflict and crisis had actually evolved into the Team Rocket Leader giving a young trainer...
Encouragement?
This bizarre development made Erika even more vigilant; she didn't believe Giovanni would be so kind-hearted.
Ash was also stunned. He had anticipated various possibilities, but he had never expected such a response.
He could feel that Giovanni's words were not entirely hypocritical; that appreciation seemed to be genuine.
But this made him even more confused.
Seeing Giovanni with his own eyes... gave him a strange feeling.
Emm... how to describe it?
Probably the feeling that even if they fought to the death... [winning wouldn't bring hatred, losing wouldn't bring unwillingness].
"What are those expressions on your faces?" Giovanni felt he was rarely this open-minded... and they actually didn't believe him?
"Who do you think I am~"
Giovanni leaned his body back, tilting the chair slightly, and propped his feet directly onto the desk.
Let's loosen up a bit today. No need to maintain dignity like usual... that's quite tiring too.
After all, within this organization called Team Rocket, there are actually some guys who aren't very obedient... such as a certain Top Executive, Vicious.
If I'm too approachable... those idiots will think I'm easy to bully... such as a certain Top Executive, Vicious.
Just then.
A decorative panel on one side of the room, which looked like a wall, slid open silently, revealing a hidden door.
Giovanni's Beedrill drifted out as silently as a ghost, making no sound.
Clearly it was flying, yet its wings were not flapping.
This Beedrill had obviously reached an extremely abnormal level of strength.
Its eyes swept across the room, finally landing on Ash.
However, the huge poison stinger on that Beedrill's arm, which flashed with cold light, was not pointed at anyone. Instead, it was carefully "holding" an object—it was precisely the missing Misdreavus.
"Mengmeng!" Ash and Erika couldn't help but exclaim.
He had originally thought Misdreavus would be caught in a cage or something... that would fit Team Rocket's behavioral habits.
However, the scene before them made them freeze again.
Misdreavus was not bound, injured, or unconscious as they had imagined.
It... it was lying face up on Beedrill's poison stinger in an extremely unladylike posture.
Its little belly was bulging like an inflated balloon, and its originally lively dark green body now appeared somewhat limp and powerless.
Good news: Misdreavus is fine.
Bad news: The state of Misdreavus being stuffed full is somewhat speechless.
There were still crumbs of Pokéblocks on the corners of its mouth, and its large eyes were half-squinted, containing a trace of satisfaction, but mostly a "so stuffed I can't move" look of despair.
Frankly speaking, now it was Erika and Ash's turn to be somewhat embarrassed.
This basically amounted to Misdreavus running over to be a guest of Giovanni and getting treated, while the two of them had come over furiously.
Fortunately, no armed conflict had occurred before seeing Giovanni, otherwise it would have been even more awkward...
____
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