Chapter 30: Gu

Chapter 30: Gu

Pitch black. The oppressive darkness was the first thing Giovanni registered after being shoved into the battle room. He clutched the Poké Ball in his hand, its smooth, solid weight his only comfort.

Whoosh— a sharp intake of air spread from across the room. Thanks to the power of Viridian, Giovanni's senses were keen enough to pick it up easily. He didn't know who his opponent was, only that in this room, only one of them would leave alive.

Buzz.

A blinding light flooded the room, illuminating everything. The glare lasted only a moment. Giovanni didn't bother to wipe the discomfort in his eyes.

"Come out, Weedle!" he shouted, releasing his partner.

His opponent, realizing what was happening, did the same. "Go, Oddish!"

It was a girl's voice. They saw each other in class. He recognized her. Her name was Rina. The girl, who was already trembling, completely broke down when she saw who she was facing. Tears streamed down her face.

"Giovanni!"

No one wanted to face him. They knew that facing Giovanni meant death.

He felt no pity. Holding back now would be irresponsible to himself. "Weedle, Poison Sting!"

In a duel like this, the first move wasn't decided by a Pokémon's speed, but by who could draw and release their partner faster— Giovanni was faster.

Weedle launched its attack instantly, a volley of needles flying towards the Oddish. Though Poison Sting couldn't poison a Grass-type fast enough, the sharp barbs could still cause physical damage.

"Dodge it, Oddish!" Rina screamed.

The Oddish frantically tried to move, but its body was still scraped by the needles. Drops of green sap leaked from the wounds.

"Oddish!" Rina cried.

Giovanni's voice, like a recurring nightmare, echoed in the small room. "String Shot. Bind it."

Weedle spat streams of white silk, instantly pinning the Oddish to the ground.

"Oddish, use Acid! Corrode the silk!" Rina commanded frantically. Her Pokémon obeyed, and the acid did indeed begin to dissolve the threads— but the moment it was bound, its trainer was left vulnerable. This wasn't a League-regulated battle. This was a fight to the death.

"Weedle," Giovanni said, his voice flat. "Poison Sting— at her."

His partner obeyed without hesitation. A new volley of needles flew across the room, so fast that Rina had no chance to dodge. Crimson bloomed across her chest as she collapsed.

In her last moments, she let out one final, venomous command. "Oddish... kill them!"

The Oddish, seeing its master fall, was stunned for a moment, then consumed by a primal rage. Its small eyes glowed red. It charged, its normally clumsy movements now filled with a terrifying resolve. Its body began to glow as it used Growth, its power increasing.

But a Pokémon consumed by rage, with no trainer to guide it, was predictable.

"String Shot, at its feet," Giovanni ordered. "Then continuous Poison Sting. Don't give it a chance to use Acid."

White silk shot out, tripping the charging Oddish. Then came the torrential downpour of needles. The Oddish screamed in pain, but it forced its way through the onslaught and broke free, lunging at Weedle and sinking its teeth in for an Absorb attack. Weedle felt its stamina draining away as the Oddish's wounds began to heal.

At that moment, Giovanni appeared beside Rina's fallen body. He plunged his dagger into her side. She let out one final, gurgling scream.

The Oddish turned its head, distracted by the sound. It was only for a moment, but it was all the time Weedle needed. It leaped onto the Oddish's back and sank its mandibles deep into the plant-like Pokémon's body. Green sap flowed out as Weedle began to feast. The Oddish struggled, but it was no use.

Under the continuous gnawing, Weedle's body flashed with light. It had leveled up again, learning a new move in the process: Bug Bite. The Oddish, now powerless, had reached its end.

Giovanni pronounced Rina's sentence. Rather than letting her suffer, he would grant her a quick death. The blood-stained dagger fell decisively, plunging into her slender neck.

A young girl in the prime of her life withered away. Her Oddish, half-devoured, soon followed.

— — —

Click.

The door slowly opened. Giovanni, wiping the blood from his dagger, walked out of the room with Weedle at his side. He was the first to emerge.

The grunt in charge of his section saw him and showed no surprise. "Where is your opponent's Pokémon?" he asked.

"Dead," Giovanni replied coldly, pointing back into the room.

The grunt went inside to check, then gave Giovanni a long, deep look. "You can go. Class resumes tomorrow." The life that had just been extinguished was, to him, utterly insignificant.

Giovanni nodded and left, his face an expressionless mask. The scattered specks of blood on his hands could never truly be washed clean.

The same scene was playing out in dozens of other rooms. Frenzied slaughter. The stench of blood was so thick it made one nauseous.

In one room, a boy with a twisted face choked the life out of a girl while his Ekans constricted her Rattata until its organs ruptured.

In another, Katsu punched his opponent's head until it was nothing but pulp, while his Machop held a Psyduck in a chokehold, its yellow face turning a deep, suffocated crimson.

Elsewhere, a boy lay on the ground, riddled with shuriken, as a Zubat drained the last of his blood.

And Arina watched with a cold, detached expression as her Bulbasaur's Leech Seed drained her opponent into a dried husk.