"Giovanni-sama, if we don't withdraw quickly, Lance will be arriving soon!" the assistant urged, hoping Giovanni would temporarily give up his duel with Red.
"Heh! Do you think that arrogant youngster Lance can contend with me?" Giovanni scoffed, battle intent gradually igniting in his eyes. "Right now, my nerves are being fiercely stimulated by the brat standing before me!"
The cramped office could not withstand the clash of four Pokémon. In no time at all, the ceiling was blasted through, turning the top-floor office into a vast battlefield connected directly to the open sky.
"Charizard, use Flamethrower!"
With the sky as their arena, Charizard flapped its massive wings to seize the high ground, spewing scorching flames from its mouth. The crimson Gyarados opened its blood-soaked maw, its frost-laden fangs snapping viciously toward Nidoking.
"Nidoqueen, use Water Pulse! Nidoking, use Thunderbolt!" Giovanni commanded calmly.
The searing flames were swallowed by Water Pulse, evaporating into mist. Fortunately, the damaged office allowed airflow to disperse it quickly. Meanwhile, under Nidoking's Thunderbolt assault, the crimson Gyarados was forced to shift into its "Dark Dragon Form" to minimize the damage.
"The power of that Water Pulse is clearly beyond reason. Could Nidoqueen's Ability be—?!" Red speculated, though his tone was firm; he had already deduced it.
"Sheer Force. That is Nidoqueen's Ability. It increases the power of moves like Water Pulse by a full thirty percent," Giovanni said lightly, revealing his Pokémon's information without hesitation. Such was the confidence of a true powerhouse.
(Sheer Force: Increases the power of moves with additional effects by 30%, but those additional effects no longer activate.)
"Then there's no need for further probing!" Red said calmly, lowering his cap. The visible left eye gradually turned crimson, and a terrifying aura instantly blanketed the battlefield. The four Pokémon were affected simultaneously.
"Aura Resonance… what an outstanding youth. I truly miss the days when you first came to the Viridian Gym, still so green…" Giovanni recalled, a jade-green aura slowly surfacing around him. It spread over Nidoking and Nidoqueen, not only nullifying the oppressive force of Aura Resonance but also gradually healing their injuries.
This was the Viridian Realm Giovanni once possessed.
"A realm born from the Power of Viridian?" Red said as the Power of Viridian surfaced from him uncontrollably, resonating with Giovanni's own.
"So you too received the blessing of Viridian Forest. No wonder I vaguely sensed the Power of Viridian within you!" Giovanni remarked with an expression of realization. "Those who possess the Power of Viridian can sense their own kind. Even though my power is withering, sensing another like me is effortless!"
"I never expected the boy once blessed by Viridian Forest to become the leader of Team Rocket, aiding evil forces. Time spares no one!" Red mocked. The Power of Viridian was meant for kind-hearted humans blessed by the forest, yet Giovanni had long strayed from his youthful path, rendering his power unstable.
"Hahaha! Kid, do you know why I've chosen to forgive you time and again?" Giovanni laughed, covering his face, then stared at Red coldly moments later. "Because you remind me of myself—of my younger days. The same ignorance. The same arrogance! But now, I will shatter that blind confidence of yours completely!"
With Giovanni's command, Nidoking swiftly used Double Kick, striking the crimson Gyarados. Still affected by Thunderbolt, Gyarados failed to shift forms in time and suffered heavy damage from the super-effective blows.
"Dragon Rush!"
Charizard roared, diving from above with purple-gold draconic killing intent enveloping its body, transforming into an energy dragon devouring all before it.
"Nidoqueen, use Iron Tail!" Giovanni ordered coolly.
Nidoqueen leapt powerfully, her glowing tail slamming sideways into Charizard. But Dragon Rush was not so easily halted. After a brief clash, Nidoqueen was the first to falter, crashing to the ground.
Meanwhile, Nidoking, engaged with the crimson Gyarados, found its arm viciously clamped down upon. Gyarados's frost-laced fangs froze Nidoking's right arm before a sweeping Aqua Tail sent it flying.
"It seems these two alone can't stop you for now!" Giovanni said, recalling Nidoking and Nidoqueen into their Poké Balls.
"The reason I released the Viridian Realm was to tell you one thing. The one battling you now is not Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket—but Giovanni, Pokémon Trainer!"
Under everyone's gaze, Giovanni slowly tossed the Ultra Ball he had prepared.
A flash of white light faded, revealing a Beedrill that moved like lightning, instantly appearing behind the crimson Gyarados. A single X-Scissor forcefully knocked the massive body back several meters.
Seeing its companion injured, Charizard roared in fury, unleashing Flamethrower at the Beedrill.
"Drill Run!" Giovanni commanded.
Beedrill's wings buzzed rapidly as it spun like a steel drill, piercing through the flames. It struck lethally at Charizard's neck, leaving it temporarily unable to breathe.
"Charizard, Gyarados, return!" Red recalled them into their Poké Balls. Just as the Silph Co. president believed there was no turning the situation around and prepared in despair to sign an unequal contract with Team Rocket, Red threw another Poké Ball.
"I'm counting on you, Beedrill!"
"What?!" ×2
The Silph Co. president and the Team Rocket assistant shouted in shock, astonished that Red had also sent out a Beedrill.
"It seems that Beedrill from back then has grown considerably!" Giovanni said with mild surprise. As a Beedrill trainer himself, he could clearly see the immense changes.
"The bond between me and my Beedrill will never lose to yours, Giovanni the Pokémon Trainer!" Red declared firmly, synchronizing Aura Resonance with his Beedrill as an overwhelming pressure surged forth.
"I'm gratified by your growth. As expected of the youth I acknowledged!" Giovanni said excitedly. "Indeed! Only you can truly stimulate my nerves—Red from Pallet Town!"
The Power of Viridian once again vanished from Giovanni's side, but was immediately replaced by another formidable aura—one even surpassing it.
"This is the new realm I comprehended after losing the Power of Viridian. A realm even stronger than the Viridian Realm… the Earth Realm!" Giovanni explained slowly. "Unlike the Viridian Realm, which requires recognition, this newborn Earth Realm suits the current me far better!"
If Aura Resonance unleashed battle-hardened instinct and intent, and the Viridian Realm embodied endless vitality, then Giovanni's Earth Realm was an insurmountable peak—crushing any who dared oppose him into the soil below.
"Truly an unfathomable opponent!" Red said solemnly. As a user of Aura Resonance, he clearly recognized that Giovanni's Earth Realm was equally at the pinnacle.