Author's Note: Hey… I get to put in Giovanni now. Persian is far better (or at least prettier) than Kangaskhan, so Giovanni is going to follow his Yellow team. This chapter's a bit on the short side as well, but I still kind of like how it turned out…
Chapter Twenty Eight: Vs Persian!
"Um, Petro… We've been going down for a while…"
"Pika."
Petro sighed in response to Ren, and he was clearly bored. The elevator had indeed been going down for a while, causing Ren to get nervous. They really had no idea where or when they were going to get out, but Petro wasn't nearly as scared as Ren was.
Suddenly, however, the elevator finally came to a stop. After a soft dinging sound, the door opened, and Ren stumbled out into what looked like a rather large, classy office. The floor was covered in a white shag carpet, and several black-and-white leather chairs were around the room. There was a large ebony desk in the middle of the room, and a man in a black suit was sitting behind it with a Persian curled up at his feet.
"Excuse me. We don't take child members," he said tersely, not looking up from the document he was signing.
"But… uh…" Ren stammered. "I was just…"
"Oh, all right. I suppose if you really want to do something, then you can deliver this document for me. Take it to Earl and Ray in the conference room on the third basement floor."
The man sighed and capped his pen as he handed the sheet of paper to Ren. It was written in small, precise handwriting, but it was still difficult to read. The signature at the end of it, though, was slightly larger and easier to read: Giovanni. However, Ren shook her head suddenly, and she timidly set the paper back down on the desk.
"Err… That's not really what I meant… I-I'm just kind of here by accident…"
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
By now, Giovanni was starting to look suspicious instead of angry. Similarly, his Persian yawned and opened its eyes, glaring at Ren. The blonde gulped, but Petro looked defiant.
"I… I was just in the Game Corner, and then I came down here," Ren squeaked, biting her lip.
"I see. I received a report from one of the grunts that there was a rather pitiful-looking girl wandering around… Now I see who he meant. I'll just have to get rid of you myself."
Sighing again, Giovanni snapped his fingers. Persian slowly uncurled itself and stretched, blinking for a moment as it looked at Ren. Then, it languidly reached out with its claws, and Ren shrieked as she stumbled backwards.
Suddenly, sparks exploded from Petro's cheeks, and he jumped in front of Ren. He released the Thunderbolt, causing Persian to screech as it was singed. The cat Pokémon tumbled backwards, but quickly got back up, licking its fur in irritation.
"Hm… This could be interesting," Giovanni muttered. "Keep going, Persian."
Persian reluctantly lashed out with its claws again, but Petro easily jumped out of the way. He then released another Thunderbolt, and Persian hissed as it was thrown backwards. It was still sparking as it collapsed, and Giovanni frowned.
"Hmph. Oh well. You will be no match for these two… Amuse me, will you?"
The dark-haired man pulled two gold-and-diamond encrusted Pokéballs from a drawer in his desk, and Ren wondered how many more he had in there. However, she gulped when she saw the two Pokémon that Giovanni had selected. An Onix and a Rhyhorn materialized in front of the desk, and even Petro unconsciously stepped backwards.
"I, um… I guess I'll use Igloo and Venus then…"
Ren hesitantly released the Wartortle and Ivysaur. Igloo looked at the two Rock-Types, but Venus looked at them impatiently.
"Rock Throw," Giovanni droned.
"Use, uh, Vine Whip and Surf!"
Both Rhyhorn and Onix launched several rocks toward Ren's Pokémon. Venus quickly raised several vines from the flower on her back and knocked the rocks away. Then Igloo crouched down and started shooting water out of his mouth. He formed a large wave, and it crashed down onto the two other Pokémon.
Rhyhorn crashed into Onix and toppled over, causing Onix to sway slightly. The smaller Rock Pokémon looked like it had fainted, but Onix still had some energy left. Ren looked uncertainly at Onix, wondering what it would do.
"Bind, Onix."
Onix stretched its tail out with surprising speed and wrapped up both Igloo and Venus. It raised them up in the air, glaring at them as it started to squeeze. Ren gasped, trying to think of something, but then blinked as Onix roared in pain. It immediately dropped Ren's Pokémon and fell backwards, and Ren caught a glimpse of ice in its mouth. Igloo had to have used Ice Beam on it when it lifted them up, and he looked pleased with himself.
"Hm… You are… intriguing for such a small child. If we ever meet again, however, know that I will be prepared."
With Giovanni's warning, the lights abruptly went out. They came back on a few seconds later, and Giovanni had vanished, along with all of his Pokémon.
"What happened?" Ren asked slowly. "That was weird… We better hurry out of here, guys."
Petro, Igloo, and Venus all nodded back to her. Ren recalled Venus and Igloo, and she and Petro hurried back to the elevator. When they stepped in, Ren held her breath, hoping the ride back up wouldn't seem as long as the ride down had…
