As a man of ruthless ambition, Giovanni never hesitated.
The instant he made his decision, his body was already moving.
"Finish him, Beedrill!"
Bzzz—!
A flash of white light burst forth. Amid the high-frequency hum of rapidly beating wings, a yellow-bodied Beedrill with black stripes appeared in midair. The twin needle arms and the stinger at its tail gleamed with a sharp, chilling light.
Beedrill clearly shared perfect synergy with Giovanni.
The moment it emerged, it became a blur of yellow, lunging straight toward Nozomi. The twin drills struck forward—aiming directly for Nozomi's throat. Giovanni's intent was merciless.
"Tch."
The moment Mewtwo had spoken earlier, Nozomi already sensed something wrong. Having anticipated trouble, he wasn't about to be caught off guard by Beedrill's ambush.
He raised his hand and threw a Poké Ball.
A large, majestic Dragonite materialized before him.
The Dragonite's bond with Nozomi was no weaker than Giovanni's with his Beedrill. The instant it appeared, it swung a round, powerful claw toward the incoming Beedrill.
"Dynamic Punch!"
Boom!
Beedrill, who had charged in aggressively, was slammed straight into the ground, the impact leaving a crater in the concrete floor.
Its wings fluttered frantically, but to no avail. Against Dragonite, Beedrill was as fragile as an infant.
Without waiting for Nozomi's command, Dragonite's twin antennae sparked—sending out a brilliant bolt of electricity.
"Thunderbolt!"
Crackle—!
Pinned beneath Dragonite's claw, Beedrill convulsed violently, paralyzed by the surge of electricity.
"Damn it!"
Giovanni cursed under his breath. Beedrill was one of his strongest aces—yet it had fallen in mere seconds.
Of course, it was largely his own carelessness to blame.
He had never expected a Dragonite to appear out of nowhere. Beedrill's strength lay in its speed and precision, but it had crashed head-on into a powerhouse like Dragonite—whose sheer strength and endurance utterly crushed it. By the time Giovanni reacted, it was already too late.
"Dragonite… from Lance?" Giovanni asked sharply.
From what he knew, throughout all of Kanto, only one person could raise a Dragonite to such a level—Lance.
"Sorry," Nozomi said coolly. "Wrong guess."
At the sound of his voice, Chakra's eyes narrowed. That voice—it sounded familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before.
A flash of realization crossed Chakra's mind. He shouted, "Boss Giovanni, he's No—!"
Before he could finish, a streak of blue light shot past him. His vision spun, then a wave of searing pain tore through his skull.
It felt as though a red-hot iron spike had been driven into his brain—and twisted mercilessly.
He tried to reach for his Poké Ball to counterattack, but the agony radiating from his very soul made his body convulse violently, curling up like a shrimp.
"Oka… help… me…"
Chakra forced the words out through clenched teeth.
Oka turned just in time to see what was happening to him. His glare shifted to Sabrina. "You—what did you do to Chakra?"
"As you can see," Sabrina replied coldly.
Under her control, Alakazam's spoons pulsed with psychic light—firing off another Psychic blast that struck Chakra squarely, knocking him unconscious. "Of course, I dealt with him."
"But you—" Oka's words stumbled. He wanted to ask—wasn't Sabrina supposed to be working with Team Rocket? Why attack them now?
Sabrina didn't bother answering. With a flick of her wrist, Alakazam unleashed a Psybeam. Oka's Shuckle, which had been clinging to his shoulder, quickly stretched out its shell to intercept the attack, blocking it just in time.
"You damned woman!"
Oka hurled two Poké Balls. A pair of Jumpluff appeared before him, firing volleys of Bullet Seed toward Sabrina and Alakazam.
Sabrina didn't push her luck. Missing one strike didn't make her reckless. She remembered Nozomi's plan clearly—her job was to hold off these two Rocket executives, not to defeat them outright. Now that she had eliminated one unexpectedly, she had already exceeded her mission.
All she needed to do now was keep this brute occupied—and make sure he didn't interfere with Nozomi's fight.
With that thought, Sabrina ordered Alakazam to engage Oka, teleporting fluidly between attacks.
In this kind of battle, a Pokémon capable of Teleport had an overwhelming advantage.
All of it happened in an instant.
One moment, Giovanni's Beedrill was destroyed by Dragonite; the next, Sabrina, who was supposed to be an ally, betrayed him—taking out one of his lieutenants.
If Giovanni still couldn't see that he had walked right into a trap, then his years as Team Rocket's boss had been for nothing.
"No… could it be… Nozomi?" Giovanni's eyes narrowed.
Before Chakra passed out, he had managed to utter only one syllable—No.And in all of Kanto, there was only one trainer of such terrifying strength whose name began with that sound—Nozomi.
But one thing didn't add up: Nozomi wasn't supposed to have a Dragonite.
Neither the intel Giovanni had collected nor the reports from his agents had ever mentioned Nozomi possessing one.
Yet before Giovanni could make sense of it, Nozomi reached up and removed his mask.
"That's right—it's me," he said evenly. "Giovanni, we finally meet."
"Nozomi!"
Giovanni's face darkened instantly.
"You dare to show yourself before me!"
He had been longing for this chance.From Viridian City onward, Team Rocket had suffered almost a thousand defeats at Nozomi's hands—including one senior officer, four mid-level executives, over a dozen squad leaders, and countless regular agents.
And now this man had the audacity to appear before him again.
"Why wouldn't I dare?" Nozomi replied calmly.
He stood behind his Dragonite and released another Poké Ball with a flick of his wrist. Metagross materialized beside him, heavy steel limbs thudding against the floor.
"From where I'm standing," Nozomi said lightly, "it looks like you're the one at a disadvantage."
"Heh…"
Giovanni's low chuckle echoed across the chamber. His expression shifted—dark amusement in his eyes.
"It seems," he said, "you have no idea what kind of power I now command."
He met Nozomi's gaze, eyes brimming with confidence.
A confidence born from absolute certainty—that he could end Nozomi here and now.
"Oh?" Nozomi's eyes flicked toward the silent observer nearby—Mewtwo.
Giovanni followed his gaze.
Sensing Giovanni's attention, Mewtwo lifted its head. "What do you want me to do?"
For Mewtwo, it didn't matter who it fought for.
Giovanni had promised to help it find the meaning of its existence—and for now, that was reason enough.
"Destroy him," Giovanni said, pointing at Nozomi—and the two Pokémon standing beside him.
"Just those two?" Mewtwo's voice was as cold and emotionless as ever.