I am Giovanni

Chapter 76: Capture

Even though the Persian's body wasn't particularly large, in Giovanni's eyes, it seemed as if a terrifying giant beast stood before him. This was the power of a quasi-Elite Four level Pokémon, a creature capable of destroying towns.

Cold sweat streamed down Giovanni's head. He could only fully unleash the power of Viridian, hoping its familiar, calming aura would be of some use.

The Persian gently brought its nose close, sniffed him twice, and let out a soft, "Meow."

Giovanni forced a smile, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, feeling as if it might leap out. Fortunately, the Persian didn't kill him. After sniffing him a few times, it turned and moved away.

Giovanni breathed a sigh of relief, his wildly beating heart slowly calming down. That was truly a heart-stopping experience.

The Persian started to walk back in the direction it came from, but halfway there, it stopped and let out a low growl at the Meowth, who was still stunned in place. The Meowth, hearing the growl, looked conflicted. It glanced at Giovanni, then at the Persian, took two steps back, and meowed twice at its parent. "Meowth!"

Upon hearing the Meowth's cry, the Persian's fur instantly bristled, and its previously peaceful gaze turned fierce again. It turned its head to look at Giovanni, its eyes now filled with an intense, wild killing intent.

Giovanni's heart sank. Oh no.

The Persian slowly stepped towards him again. Seeing that it had caused trouble for Giovanni, the Meowth hurriedly blocked its parent's path, meowing repeatedly and shaking its head, as if to say it wasn't leaving.

However, this did not dispel the Persian's killing intent. Its child had run away, had a wild trip, was almost killed by humans, and now wanted to leave with a human who had no strength of his own.

No parent would be happy about someone trying to abduct their child. The Persian wanted to completely sever the Meowth's thoughts, to kill Giovanni and eliminate any future trouble.

It slapped the Meowth away with one paw, then swiftly pounced on Giovanni. He had never expected this. He had escaped Yamaguchi, escaped Arui, escaped Gale... but he couldn't escape a protective parent.

"Woof! Roar!"

Just at that critical moment, a dark figure pounced from the side, tackling the Persian to the ground. The terrifyingly strong Pokémon was now easily suppressed by this new figure.

Archer quickly ran over and supported Giovanni, who was about to collapse. "Boss, are you alright?"

Giovanni looked at Archer and smiled slightly. "It's a good thing you're smart."

"When you sent the signal, and I saw it was deep in the forest, I guessed you might be in trouble," Archer replied. "So I took the liberty of acting on my own."

"Thank you," Giovanni said, patting his shoulder.

"If you're going to thank someone, shouldn't you thank me again?" A slender figure slowly emerged from the direction Archer came from, a faint smile on her lips.

Giovanni looked at Miyamoto, already somewhat accustomed to her timely arrivals. "You've saved me so many times, I can't possibly repay you. How about when you have children, I'll slowly repay you then?"

"You little brat," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you teasing me?"

Only after Miyamoto arrived did Giovanni truly breathe a complete sigh of relief. This time, he was truly safe. The one who had tackled the Persian was, of course, her Elite Four-level Houndoom. Only it could so easily suppress such a powerful opponent.

Miyamoto scanned the area, glancing at Gale's corpse, then at the Magneton and Golduck, before speaking faintly. "A Captain, a Gym Leader-level Pokémon, a senior-level Pokémon, and a quasi-Elite Four level Pokémon... you, little brat, are truly hated."

"I had no choice," Giovanni said, shaking his head. "That person clearly doesn't want me to live. I guess that boy, Arui, is probably gone too."

Miyamoto's face turned cold upon hearing this. "Already dead?"

Giovanni pointed at Gale's corpse. "Yes. He was probably killed by that man. He confessed, but unfortunately, only I heard it."

"That bastard," Miyamoto cursed angrily. It was unclear if she was cursing Gale or Petrel.

The Houndoom, firmly holding the Persian down, turned its head and barked at her, as if asking how to deal with it.

"A quasi-Elite Four level Persian," Miyamoto mused. "With a bit of training, it might even break through to the Elite Four." She took a Poké Ball from her waist, about to capture it.

However, the Meowth, who had just been struck by the Persian, ran over, stood in front of Miyamoto, and hissed at the Houndoom. The Houndoom disdainfully blew a flame from its nostrils, which landed at the Meowth's feet.

The small cat recoiled from the heat, but it quickly endured the pain and charged at the Houndoom despite its discomfort. Seeing this, the Persian began to struggle frantically, trying to break free.

"Interesting," Miyamoto said, stroking her chin. "Are they family? That's quite touching. Then I'll capture them both." This was a dark organization; if they liked something, they took it. Even Giovanni couldn't stop her. After all, if she hadn't come, he might have died at the hands of this very Persian.

However, he was still unwilling to let go of the Meowth. "Well, Miyamoto," he said with some helplessness. "I saw this Meowth first."

Miyamoto glanced at him, then at the Meowth. She considered the possibility for a moment, then waved her hand casually. "Then you can have it. I don't have time to train it anyway."

"Thank you," Giovanni nodded.

Bang!

The Houndoom headbutted the Persian, and the constantly struggling Pokémon immediately fainted. Miyamoto raised her hand and threw a Poké Ball, capturing it.

The ball shook a few times, and the quasi-Elite Four level Persian was easily caught. This was power.

Seeing its mother captured, the Meowth became anxious and charged towards Miyamoto. "Meowth!" But in front of the Elite Four-level Houndoom, it was no match.

The Houndoom appeared before it in a flash, and with a spray of hot air from its mouth, blew the Meowth away. If Giovanni hadn't wanted it, a little more force would have sent it to heaven on the spot. Though the Meowth was no match, its temper was stubborn.

To save its mother, it was willing to give everything— but it was simply too weak.

"You are too weak," Miyamoto said, looking down at the Meowth on the ground.

"If you want to rescue the Persian from my hands, then become strong enough."