In a short moment, Red arrived inside the Viridian Gym and immediately spotted Giovanni standing on the second floor.
At first glance, Giovanni noticed Red and deliberately ignored Gary below, looking at Red with slight surprise, unable to understand why Red—who had already obtained the Earth Badge—would still bother to "visit" the Viridian Gym.
(Could it be this kid is also here for Mewtwo? Looks like the League's people will be arriving at the Viridian Gym soon…)
"No need to mind me. I just 'happened' to pass by."
Ignoring Giovanni's faintly warning gaze, Red spoke casually.
"Red, you're actually here too?" Gary said in surprise. He originally wanted to show off his ten League badges, but upon noticing the Earth Badge in Red's hand—
Compared to his own ten badges, Gary couldn't help but lower his head in dejection and fall silent. After all, most of his badges were from second-rate, miscellaneous gyms. Although they still granted eligibility for the Indigo Plateau Conference, their prestige was nowhere near that of the eight official gyms.
"This boring reunion can wait until after the match, kid," Giovanni said flatly, leaning back in his chair and looking down leisurely at Gary.
"I'm Gary from Pallet Town… the number one—no, number two! I hereby officially challenge you to a Gym battle!"
Gary shouted. He had intended to boast about his strength, but with Red present, he awkwardly corrected himself to second place.
"Full of spirit, I see. I accept your challenge. I am Giovanni, the Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym," Giovanni said calmly, leisurely stroking the Persian beside him.
Rather than a Gym Leader, Giovanni looked more like a well-dressed businessman, which made Gary, as the challenger, extremely curious about Giovanni's true strength.
"Each side will use three Pokémon. There is no time limit. The official battle begins!"
The two gatekeepers from earlier stepped into the center of the battlefield, acting as referees.
"Ring—"
As the bell rang, Gary immediately threw his Poké Ball.
"Go, Nidoking!"
"Go, Golem!"
Both Gary and Giovanni sent out their Pokémon.
Giovanni lazily ordered Golem to use Tackle, while Gary responded without hesitation by commanding Nidoking to use Tackle as well.
Nidoking and Golem collided head-on, using Tackle to test each other's strength.
But something awkward happened—Golem was directly knocked back into the wall by the more powerful Nidoking and fainted on the spot from the impact, defeated in a single blow.
(That was unexpectedly weak…)
Red glanced at Giovanni with mild sarcasm. Even if he planned to use Mewtwo, there was no need to be this perfunctory—he was actually sending out poorly trained Pokémon just to fool people.
"Golem is unable to battle!" the referee announced.
To celebrate Gary's victory in this round, the cheerleaders behind him immediately shouted chants of guaranteed victory.
"Not bad. Let's continue with this one."
Giovanni offered a perfunctory compliment and sent out another Pokémon, completely ignoring Red's disdainful gaze.
As the white light faded, a Kingler appeared in front of Nidoking.
After a brief exchange, realizing he couldn't match Kingler in raw power, Gary quickly switched Pokémon and sent out Arcanine, intending to execute a speed-based strategy.
As expected, under Arcanine's fierce charges and Fire Spin attacks, Kingler gradually lost stamina and was finally defeated by Arcanine's full-power Fire Blast.
"Kingler is unable to battle!"
(Isn't this way too easy? Isn't the Viridian Gym supposed to be the strongest Ground-type Gym in the Kanto Region?)
Gary looked at the fallen Kingler in confusion. He wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could crush all strong opponents.
Yet the scene before him, combined with Giovanni's deliberate praise and occasional approving glances, caused an inexplicable sense of pride to rise within Gary.
"Continuing is pointless—you've already lost!" Gary boasted.
"That's not necessarily true."
Giovanni slowly stood up, looking down at Gary with arrogance.
"I possess absolute power. Now, let me show it to you!"
After speaking, Giovanni glanced provocatively at Red, signaling whether Red dared to step forward and challenge him.
In response, Red simply chuckled softly. He had already figured out Giovanni's little scheme.
First, use weak Pokémon to inflate the challenger's confidence—then crush them completely with Mewtwo's overwhelming power, savoring the psychological torment.
Of course, part of it was also due to Gary's arrogance—and Red's unexpected presence.
Giovanni was particularly interested in Red's reaction. If Red showed fear toward Mewtwo's power, Giovanni would lose all expectations for him.
Because anyone who fears Mewtwo's strength is unworthy of becoming a true opponent of Giovanni.
Ahead, a hidden passage opened, and a steel door slid aside.
Mewtwo, clad in restraining armor, made its grand entrance. The faint aura it emitted alone was enough to make Gary—who had been boasting moments ago—tremble all over, swallowing nervously and instinctively stepping back.
Mewtwo's eyes turned azure. With a slight release of psychic power, it immobilized Arcanine, then flung it into the wall. The immense impact nearly rendered Arcanine unable to stand.
Seeing this, Giovanni hurriedly looked toward Red, eager to observe his reaction.
"Good…"
Giovanni let out a sigh of relief, a faint smile appearing on his face.
In his eyes, Red's expression remained calm—without the slightest trace of panic or fear. Instead, his eyes gradually ignited with fighting spirit, anticipating the upcoming battle with Mewtwo.
(The boy from Pallet Town… Red, as expected, only you…)
Giovanni grew even more eager for a battle with Red, but after calming himself, he suppressed his excitement.
Because Red had not yet reached the true peak of his strength. Fighting him now would be far too disappointing.
"Arcanine!"
Gary turned anxiously to look at his fallen Pokémon, fear evident in his eyes.
"Wh-what exactly is that thing?"
Gary hurriedly took out his Pokédex, trying to analyze Mewtwo's data.
"No data. A mysterious Pokémon!"
"No data?!"
Gary stared at the Pokédex in shock, muttering to himself.
"This childish Gym battle ends here, boy. Even if all your Pokémon fight together, you still won't defeat it!"
To demonstrate Mewtwo's overwhelming strength to Red, Giovanni deliberately provoked Gary, encouraging him to send out all his prized Pokémon, completely unconcerned with the unfair numbers.
"That's not true!" Gary retorted, unwilling to let Giovanni belittle the companions he was proud of.
"Then why don't you try?" Giovanni said leisurely, a provocative smile forming on his lips.
In response, Gary threw out Nidoking once more. Arcanine, recovering at that moment, stood up and fought alongside Nidoking, charging forward toward Mewtwo.
"Let this young man experience what true fear is," Giovanni said calmly.
Mewtwo's eyes turned azure once again. With a slight release of psychic power, it lifted both Nidoking and Arcanine into the air, immobilizing them completely.
"Do you see, boy? This is true fear—absolute, invincible power!"