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Giovanni took a long time to recover, though his body was still somewhat numb.
He was very puzzled about why Eevee could use Electric-type moves, and this particular move seemed to guarantee paralysis.
"This Eevee must be one we experimented on, and it appears some changes have occurred."
Giovanni attributed Eevee's abilities to side effects from their experiments. He didn't think much about it beyond that—Eevee was just like that, he reasoned.
"But perhaps I've been sitting in my office too long, causing my body to become rusty. This incident has left me somewhat dazed and embarrassed."
"Fortunately, Morning Sun in front of me isn't an enemy of the same caliber, otherwise this could have been dangerous."
Giovanni felt some relief at this thought, while also adding physical training to his mental schedule.
"Thank you, young man. If you hadn't saved me, I probably would have lost my life here."
Giovanni stood up, brushed off his suit, shook away the dust that had accumulated, and spoke to Eddie.
"Sir, I'm glad you're alright. As a trainer from Pallet Town, it's my duty to help people in need. Please don't be so formal."
Eddie smiled brightly and responded shamelessly, as if he weren't the same person who had turned and walked away moments earlier.
"You disguised yourself as a researcher and wore a suit when going out for fieldwork. That seems rather impractical."
Eddie maintained his smile while internally criticizing Giovanni's flawed disguise.
This wasn't to say Giovanni's acting was poor, but his clothing and behavior weren't convincing for a researcher at all.
Thinking back to when Eddie had played Pokemon Emerald before his transmigration, Professor Birch wore a white lab coat during field research and carried three Pokemon for protection.
If Giovanni were wearing proper research attire now and had released a moderately strong Pokemon to "protect" him, Eddie might have given him credit for the effort.
But that was beside the point, because Eddie had recognized Giovanni. No matter how well Giovanni disguised himself, Eddie would see through it immediately.
"There aren't many people like you willing to help others. Regardless, I must thank you. Let me introduce myself—my name is Giovanni, and I'm a Pokemon researcher."
"I was studying Pokemon ecology in this area recently, but I accidentally disturbed some Zubat resting in the woods. I was careless."
Giovanni approached Eddie, expressing gratitude while introducing himself and carefully observing Eddie's expression.
He hadn't been mistaken earlier—Eddie had left immediately after seeing him. This made Giovanni suspect whether Eddie knew him, so he deliberately gave his real name to test Morning Sun.
As for why he, as the Gym Leader of Viridian City, could be confident that others wouldn't recognize him—it was because he had been away from Viridian City for a long time and kept a low profile. During his time as Gym Leader, he rarely made public appearances.
Moreover, he had been working behind the scenes for years. Probably only a few elderly residents of Viridian City still remembered his real name.
So he was certain that except for some Alliance executives and relevant insiders, no one would remember his real name, and few people remembered his appearance.
However, he needed to observe Eddie carefully now. After all, Eddie had looked at him and left immediately. Though he didn't understand why Eddie had returned with what Giovanni considered a rather ridiculous excuse, Giovanni had reason to test him—this was his original purpose anyway.
"Sir, your name is Giovanni. That's a fine name, very distinguished. My name is Morning Sun, and I'm a rookie trainer from Pallet Town. I'm currently on my adventure journey."
Eddie's expression remained unchanged as he responded to Giovanni with the same bright smile.
He was familiar with Giovanni, so he naturally understood what kind of person the man was.
Frankly speaking, he also had some idea of how Giovanni would test him, so he naturally knew how to handle the situation.
"Morning Sun? Are you the hero who assisted the Gym Leader in Rainbow City and helped eliminate the Team Rocket branch?"
Giovanni saw that Eddie's expression hadn't changed at all, and began believing that he really did have crowd phobia.
He thought to himself that Eddie was just a naive kid who got scared by such simple things.
His evaluation of Eddie dropped accordingly.
Although he was looking down on Eddie internally, Giovanni maintained an amiable and slightly surprised expression on the surface.
His acting was truly excellent.
Eddie couldn't detect any flaws—Giovanni's expression was perfectly in character.
"No, no, I couldn't accomplish so much by myself. I was only able to do it with Erika's help, and then she gave me all the credit."
"As for me, I'm actually a bit ashamed because I only did some insignificant things."
Eddie responded to Giovanni with an expression that conveyed "I'm proud but trying to be humble."
As he spoke, he raised his hand with a small gap between his thumb and index finger, indicating that he really had only done such a tiny thing.
"Would you dare make that gap any smaller?"
Giovanni's face remained unchanged, but he was constantly criticizing Eddie's false modesty internally.
Of course, Eddie's expression and tone seemed quite genuine. He was just showing a little pride—what was wrong with being proud after single-handedly destroying a Team Rocket branch? Wasn't it natural to feel invincible when accomplishing good deeds?
It was precisely because of this that Eddie's authentic expression couldn't be faked, so Giovanni believed it.
"Morning Sun, you're being too modest. The news reports say you were a major contributor. There's no such thing as insignificant in this context. It's fine to be a little proud."
"Really? Hahahaha, well, it's better to stay humble."
Eddie and Giovanni chatted happily, both deeply engaged in their performance. Eddie laughed heartily and proudly from time to time, while Giovanni displayed a kind smile.
If ordinary people witnessed this scene, they would definitely think these were close friends who had known each other for years.
In reality, this appearance of friendship was purely superficial.
"Hmph! Getting conceited after destroying one branch without three executives present. It's ridiculous that three departments issued a joint warrant for someone like this. In the end, he's just a vain young fool. Such a person might be strong, but that's all there is to him. Nothing to worry about!"
"But this silly boy can probably provide me with some entertainment. I'll continue observing him."
This was Giovanni's current thinking.
He had intended to leave, but instinctively wanted to continue his observations. Even if Eddie really was as he judged, it would be fine—he could just treat it as a leisurely stroll.
"It seems Sabrina didn't tell him about what I did when I first met her. He came to test me without knowing anything. This is the consequence of being overconfident. I'm playing him for a fool, hahahaha."
Eddie's laughter became increasingly brilliant and genuine, making Giovanni believe he really was dealing with a naive boy.
They suddenly looked at each other and both burst into laughter.
Ordinary observers would definitely perceive this as a joyful scene between new friends.