"Gym Leader Grey, this will be our first official battle. I've been waiting for this day for a long time. I hope your performance in this battle will satisfy me."
Giovanni could clearly feel his heartbeat speeding up abnormally, pounding harder and faster than usual.
Since that earth-shaking duel with Red, only today had been able to provoke such a powerful physical reaction from him again.
Grey, this young Trainer who had been appointed in a crisis to take over a broken-down Gym, had actually reignited the fighting spirit that had been dormant in him for so long.
Giovanni rubbed the cuff link of his suit and looked at Grey with a grave expression in his eyes.
That Gym Leader who should have been nothing more than an obstacle had now become like a perfectly thrown Poké Ball, shattering Team Rocket's grand ambitions again and again.
This boy absolutely could not be allowed to remain.
He very much wanted to say that.
But Team Rocket had already lost the ability to kill Grey completely.
Whether it was Mew, Reshiram, or Kyurem, all of them could protect Grey to the bitter end.
Should he have killed Grey back then?
No, impossible.
With Mew watching like a hawk, and Lance rushing over as well, Giovanni could be certain that he had not had absolute confidence in killing Grey.
Over these past few days, Giovanni had thought about many things.
What exactly was the relationship between him and Grey?
Enemies?
Neutral parties?
Or perhaps the relationship between a veteran and a rising newcomer?
"Gym Leader Grey, I am Giovanni, Giovanni of the Earth."
"As long as I stand upon the earth, I am invincible! Let me witness whether the Pokémon you take such pride in can defeat my indestructible army of the earth!"
By the time Giovanni came back to himself, he had already finished speaking.
There was no embarrassment in him, only the passion of battle.
This time, he was not clashing with Grey as the leader of Team Rocket.
This was a battle that belonged solely to League Gym Leaders.
A fair and proper battle!
"Gym Leader Giovanni is so cool!"
"That presence! He's as imposing as ever!"
"It's been so long since we've seen Gym Leader Giovanni this commanding!"
Giovanni's bold declaration ignited the emotions of the audience, and everyone began shouting encouragement.
Many years had passed, Gym Leaders had come and gone, and Giovanni had gone from being a newcomer at the beginning to the seasoned man he was now.
Many people had never seen this side of Giovanni before, and they were all looking forward to how Grey would answer.
"Gym Leader Giovanni, out of everyone I've encountered on my journey, the person I should thank the most is you. Being able to stand on the Indigo battlefield today and face you in battle truly makes me feel honored."
"Here and now, please allow me to introduce Fighting-type Pokémon to you and to everyone watching."
"They are tempered through countless trials, surviving desperate situations. They are Pokémon who can awaken their physical potential when cornered."
"My partners and I have suffered setbacks. We have hovered at the edge of life and death many times, and because of that, we obtained powerful strength."
"So please, Gym Leader Giovanni, and everyone in the audience, witness the effort and sweat that brought me this far!"
The moment his words fell, Grey and Giovanni tightened their grips on the Poké Balls in their hands and threw them toward the center of the battlefield at the same time!
"Blaziken, Mega Evolve!"
The instant the red light landed, Grey touched his Key Stone, resonating with the Mega Stone carried by Blaziken.
"Chawa!"
Blaziken let out a sharp cry, and brilliant seven-colored light turned into fine threads that connected with the Key Stone. In an instant, the light formed a massive cocoon that wrapped around its entire body.
Crack!
The sound of the cocoon shattering rang out. Blaziken became Mega Blaziken, and its base stats surged!
Pokémon: Mega Blaziken
Type: Fire, Fighting
Level: 71
Ability: Speed Boost
Moves: omitted
The last time Blaziken had Mega Evolved was back in Unova, when it had been level 68.
Now, having broken through to Champion level, it stood on the battlefield of the Gym Tournament and displayed its unique power!
"Not bad."
Giovanni clapped, congratulating Grey.
In front of him, a huge, heavy-looking brown hippopotamus Pokémon stood firmly on all fours.
Its eyes were scarlet. From its nose all the way to the upper part of its back, its body was black.
The instant it appeared, streaming sand poured from the openings on its body, and dust filled the air in a flash.
Weather: Sandstorm!
Pokémon: Hippowdon
Type: Ground
Level: 71
Ability: Sand Stream
Moves: omitted
A Champion-level Hippowdon, even stronger than the Sinnoh Elite Four Bertha's ace Hippowdon!
"Hippowdon, Yawn."
"Hippa..."
Giovanni knew what Grey wanted to do, so he tried to shut down his tactic immediately.
Hippowdon yawned again and again, and Normal-type energy surged forward with the sound wave.
"Protect!"
Just like that, the first chance to use Protect was spent.
An energy barrier suddenly rose, blocking the Yawn attack for Mega Blaziken.
The corners of Giovanni's mouth lifted. He knew Grey would do this.
"Hippowdon, Earthquake!"
Since Protect had been used, he would begin attacking.
"Blaziken, Swords Dance!"
Grey's choice was unexpected.
Rumble!
Hippowdon stomped the ground fiercely, and earthquake waves spread outward like raging tides!
Mega Blaziken leapt into the air. Its rapidly spinning body stirred up the air currents of Swords Dance, forcibly forming an invisible barrier in front of it.
The earthquake waves collided violently with the Swords Dance field, producing a dull roar.
Swords Dance was not a defensive move. The wall of air could only briefly block the impact.
But for Mega Blaziken, that instant was already enough!
"Brave Bird!"
Mega Blaziken folded its arms in front of its chest, and a blinding crimson light burst from its entire body.
At the moment that red light compressed to the extreme, it suddenly transformed into suffocating blue flames!
A giant bird phantom formed purely from Flying-type energy appeared out of thin air, completely enveloping Mega Blaziken.
"Screech!"
Accompanied by a cry that tore through the sky, the giant bird dove down with the momentum to burn everything to ash, heading straight for Hippowdon!
Giovanni raised his brows slightly. He had not expected Grey to use such a desperate attack so early.
But he did not panic because of it. Instead, he calmly shouted, "Stealth Rock!"
Brown rock energy burst around Hippowdon, and countless sharp stone fragments scattered across the battlefield like rain. However, they did not directly attack Mega Blaziken. Instead, they quietly disappeared into the air.
The instant the rocks vanished, the giant bird crashed into Hippowdon!
Blue flames swallowed the enormous body, and the explosive shock wave rolled the sand into a spiraling pillar that shot into the sky!
"Fire Punch!"
Grey pressed the advantage. Mega Blaziken endured the recoil damage from the move, but instead of fading, its fighting spirit only rose higher.
It clenched both claws into fists. Scorching flames erupted with a roar, blasting straight at Hippowdon's face!
Bang, bang, bang!
Mega Blaziken punched so quickly that afterimages trailed behind its fists, but Hippowdon did not react at all, which made people feel rather surprised.
Grey frowned and shouted in quick succession, "Baton Pass!"
He had done everything he needed to do. It was time to switch.
"Chawa!"
Mega Blaziken leapt up. Normal-type energy erupted, turning it into a beam of light that returned to the Poké Ball in Grey's hand.
Immediately after that...
"Anni!"
Annihilape appeared. Stealth Rock revealed itself again, stabbing toward it!
Boom!
Since Annihilape had the Fighting type and resisted Stealth Rock, it did not take much damage.
Instead, it only ignited its fighting spirit.
Ghost-type energy burst from Annihilape's fists, transforming into two enormous spectral fists that left its body and shot straight toward Hippowdon!
They were so fast that even the spectators outside the battlefield had no time to react before they saw the rapidly advancing Rage Fists about to hit Hippowdon!
Giovanni's plan was thus achieved.
"Whirlwind."
After forcibly enduring the two Rage Fists, Hippowdon merely lifted its leg. The sandstorm became like a pair of giant hands, picking up Annihilape and throwing it back into Grey's Poké Ball.
The effect of Baton Pass vanished instantly.
The buffs that Mega Blaziken had stacked disappeared completely.
Grey: "..."
Tch.
"As expected of Gym Leader Giovanni. You saw through my plan immediately. I admit defeat on that front."
Grey cupped his fist respectfully, then looked at the newly sent-out Pokémon.
Genesect.
It was only weak to Fire-type moves. As long as Hippowdon could not get close, Genesect could still act as a long-range turret and wear it down.
Giovanni did not let down his guard.
He knew exactly what Team Plasma's artificial Pokémon were like.
A Champion-level Pokémon with a base stat total of 600, it suited the title of elemental turret even better than Nidoking on his own team. It was a troublesome opponent.
"Hippowdon, continue with Whirlwind."
Hippowdon's tactic was very simple.
When it ran into something weak to Ground or with lower Defense, it would directly attack with Earthquake.
When it encountered an opponent it could not defeat quickly, it would simply blow them away with Whirlwind.
At the same time, it would use the effects of Stealth Rock and Sandstorm to chip away at their health, achieving the result of fighting multiple opponents by itself.
Before Hippowdon's heavy body could stomp down, Grey hurriedly gave an order.
"Blizzard!"
The cannon on Genesect's back burst with chilling light. An extreme cold storm wrapped in ice crystals and snowflakes roared out, cutting a blue trail through the yellow sandstorm.
Hippowdon forcibly endured the Blizzard. It let out a pained growl, but still did not fall.
Then Hippowdon suddenly inhaled. The sandstorm spun wildly together with Whirlwind, forming a sand tornado that forcibly swept Genesect up and slammed it back into the Poké Ball at Grey's waist!
"?"
The next Pokémon to appear was Mewtwo.
It was also the fourth Pokémon on Grey's team.
He had to admit it.
Giovanni's Hippowdon was seriously bulky.
It had endured so many attacks in a row and still had not lost its ability to battle. It had clearly been trained completely in the direction of a tank!
"Gym Leader Giovanni is insane."
"This is the first time I've seen Gym Leader Grey fail to end things quickly. Sure enough, experience still wins out."
"Oh? I didn't expect Gym Leader Grey's usual specialty, fast offense, to fail against Gym Leader Giovanni. And not much time has passed, yet four of his six Pokémon in this battle have already appeared and taken some damage."
It was the first time Guli TV had seen Grey in a passive position.
That alone was enough to show how strong Giovanni was.
"Gym Leader Giovanni, this Pokémon is called Mewtwo. It is a Psychic type, and its Ability is Pressure."
Grey enthusiastically introduced Mewtwo's situation to Giovanni.
"Heh. Thank you very much for explaining, Gym Leader Grey."
Giovanni smiled without warmth.
Introducing Team Rocket's artificial Pokémon to him?
Grey, you really do know how to play with my heartstrings.
Giovanni very much wanted to lose his temper, but it was not convenient to do so.
The expression on his face remained calm.
"Mewtwo, Psychic!"
Hippowdon's Special Defense was average. The repeated attacks earlier had already left its stamina hanging by a thread, so it was perfect to let Mewtwo finish it off.
Giovanni only gave his order calmly.
"Slack Off."
This time, Mewtwo moved faster.
Its eyes turned deep blue, and vast psychic power wrapped around Hippowdon's whole body, blocking its attempt to move.
Boom!
Hippowdon's vision spun as if the sky and earth had overturned, and it was manipulated by Mewtwo like a rag doll.
Before long, it completely lost its ability to battle.
"Hippowdon is unable to battle. Gym Leader Giovanni, please send out your next Pokémon."
"Come back. You worked hard."
Giovanni was satisfied with Hippowdon's performance.
By itself, it had forced out four of Grey's Pokémon and chipped away some of their stamina.
Not bad.
"Mewtwo... heh."
If it were Giovanni's own Mewtwo, the one that had not yet betrayed him, he might have needed to pay a little attention.
But this Mewtwo was nothing more than a replica created by Team Plasma.
It looked almost delicate. How could it possibly compare to his perfect creation?
Mewtwo: "?"
It had a feeling that the old man in front of it was badmouthing it.
And that he had said something unpleasant too!
"For my second Pokémon, you'll do."
Giovanni casually sent out his second Pokémon.
It was a gray scorpion Pokémon with two claws.
It was currently standing on the ground using its tail, making playful faces at everyone.
Pokémon: Gliscor
Type: Ground, Flying
Level: 72
Ability: Poison Heal
Moves: omitted
A Gliscor with Poison Heal...
Giovanni, why are you playing dirty too?
Who turned you into this?
Even Poison Heal Gliscor is here!
So that whole "as long as I stand on the earth, I am invincible" thing...
Turns out you meant using Poison Heal for sustain, huh?
Of course.
Poison Heal had been a major tactic in the games of his previous life.
Breaking it was simple too.
Just open with Knock Off and remove its item.
With Mewtwo's speed, it should definitely be able to do that, right?
Grey still had quite a bit of faith in Mewtwo.
He hoped it would not disappoint him.
"Mewtwo, Teleport over and use Knock Off!"
Grey did not dare get careless and directly ordered Mewtwo to rush in.
"Mm."
Mewtwo vanished from where it stood. When it reappeared, it was already behind Gliscor.
Dark-type energy wrapped around its rounded fingers. Mewtwo aimed at Gliscor's back and struck down hard!
Clang!
There was only a loud sound.
Mewtwo was bounced back by an energy barrier.
Normal-type Protect!
"Gym Leader Grey, you're not the only one who knows how to use Protect."
Giovanni smiled faintly, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.
"Gli-gli!" Gliscor said. "Hehehe, dummy!"
Gliscor was full of mischief. Dense purple light spread all over its body, clearly showing that it had entered a badly poisoned state.
For ordinary Pokémon, entering a badly poisoned state meant they needed to end the battle quickly.
But for a Pokémon like Gliscor, which had the Poison Heal Ability, this was practically a massive boost.
It was a perfect helper for sustaining itself.
"Two!"
Mewtwo was getting heated and instantly swore.
It did not matter even if someone heard it. Primeape's cry sounded like it was swearing too, so what was wrong with Mewtwo saying one word?
But...
Why did every single Pokémon keep provoking it?!
Did it really have that little dignity?!
"Mewtwo, your opponent is deliberately trying to anger you. Don't let it drag you off course."
Grey's eyes sharpened.
Giovanni really did understand Mewtwo far too well.
He immediately knew exactly where Mewtwo's sore spot was.
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