"Bang!" A dull thud echoed. Gary waited for a moment and found that nothing seemed to have happened to him, but the sound still resonated right in front of him...
Gary slowly opened his eyes, and saw a figure with Pikachu on its shoulder standing in front of him.
"Yo, Gary, how come you look so pathetic after not seeing you for a while?" Ash turned his head slightly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Ash!! How did you get here?!" The moment he saw Ash, Gary's face lit up with joy. He never would have thought that the one who saved him this time would be Ash.
After all, only one group of people is allowed into the Viridian Gym at a time, and moreover, no one knew what he had encountered inside. So when Mewtwo unleashed a Psyshock, he thought he was done for.
But Ash appeared in front of him like a savior from the heavens and saved him directly. If Ash were a girl, he would have pledged his life to her right then and there!
"Don't look at me with those eyes, it's gross!" Ash's cool demeanor couldn't withstand Gary's longing gaze. After rolling his eyes and saying this, he turned his head to look at the Pokémon in front and the person standing in the Trainer's position.
Is this bizarre machine-clad Pokémon Mewtwo? The guy commanding Mewtwo must be Giovanni.
This was Ash's first encounter with Giovanni, and at the moment he saw him, Ash felt a tremendous pressure. Giovanni's appearance was that of a kind uncle, but the aura he exuded made it clear that he was no ordinary person, giving off a sense that if anyone crossed him, he'd crush them utterly.
"Ash!!" Misty and Brock arrived a little later. They first took a look at the surroundings, and after seeing Blastoise and other Pokémon collapsed on the ground, their expressions turned very grim.
Before coming in, they held onto a sliver of hope, but the current scene confirmed that Giovanni was indeed the leader of Team Rocket; this wasn't incorrect information from Lorelei.
"How are you, Gary? Are you alright?" Brock asked with concern after surveying the surroundings. They were well-acquainted with Gary, having watched a Pokémon battle together at the volcano not long ago.
Yet only a few days later, Gary had become so pathetic. From the scattered Pokémon, it seemed Gary had employed a mass battle strategy, only to be instantly defeated by the opponent. He hadn't even managed to retrieve his Pokémon into their Pokeballs.
It was clear that before Ash's arrival, Gary was in a grave crisis.
"I'm fine, Ash arrived in time, so I'm not hurt. But how did you guys get in? The Viridian Gym shouldn't allow a second group in, right?" Gary said as he pushed himself off the ground, taking out his Pokeballs to retrieve Blastoise and the rest.
"Ash sensed you were in the gym and in danger, so we hurried over," Misty replied, her eyes never leaving Giovanni.
"Mr. Giovanni, why... why are you the leader of Team Rocket? You're supposed to be the pride of us Gym Leaders in Kanto!" Misty looked at Giovanni and said, with a hint of pain in her words that was hard to hide.
As one of the Gym Leaders, Giovanni was someone she admired greatly, even not long ago.
She wanted to become a superwoman like Lorelei and wanted to elevate her Cerulean Gym to the pinnacle like Giovanni had done.
If one day the Cerulean Gym could have the same fame as the Viridian Gym, she might laugh herself awake in her sleep.
However, today, one of her dreams silently shattered. Giovanni's identity and his deeds dealt a huge blow to Misty!
Upon hearing Misty's questioning, Giovanni casually shrugged: "Looks like that woman Lorelei told you quite a bit. But little girl, there's one thing you need to understand. I'm the leader of Team Rocket first and the Gym Leader of Viridian Gym second."
"It's because of my status and position as the leader of Team Rocket that I have such a prestigious position and power openly. Do you think if I became a Gym Leader first, I could have reached this level?"
Giovanni's indifferent words left everyone silent. Morality aside, what Giovanni said is unfortunately true.
If he had become the Viridian Gym Leader first, he might not have achieved this at his age. The biggest difference between Team Rocket and the League is that the former can resort to any underhanded method.
As the founder and leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni received support from the whole organization, ultimately becoming a formidable figure. Simply being the Viridian Gym wouldn't have been enough to supply his resources.
Moreover, without the status of Team Rocket's leader, he might not even have become the Viridian Gym Leader.
So Misty's accusation is somewhat baseless. He is primarily the leader of Team Rocket and secondarily the Viridian Gym Leader. If there's any betrayal, it should be that he betrayed Team Rocket and ran to the League.