Chapter 35. Giovanni
On the other side of Mt. Silver, opposite the Royal Dragon Kingdom, is the Earth Kingdom, which has unified all the tribes in the entire Kanto Region. This kingdom was founded 10 years ago, almost simultaneously with the Royal Dragon Kingdom. At that time, the royal family of this kingdom was called the Silph Family. The beginning of the slave system in the Earth Kingdom was also established by the Silph Family, and the second king, Giovanni, merely continued this system.
However, although both kings used the slave system, the public reaction was completely different. Under the rule of the Silph Family, the treatment of humans was not even comparable to that of Pokémon. Commoners who made mistakes would even be reduced to food for Pokémon. But members of the Silph Family who made mistakes could remain safe and sound. Over time, the Silph Family naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of too many people. So when Giovanni rose up, countless people immediately responded to his call and followed his footsteps.
The first thing Giovanni did after taking power was to publicly execute all members of the Silph Family. This move not only won over many people's hearts but also demonstrated his methods and style, making many people feel awe toward him. Under Giovanni's rule, although it was still a slave system, he learned from the experience of the Silph Family and modified some specific regulations, so the kingdom's situation improved significantly. At least, humans could finally live like humans.
Most importantly, with the Silph Family as a comparison, Giovanni appeared much more benevolent. Furthermore, no one other than Giovanni himself enjoyed any privileges. The only way to gain privileges was to earn merit. This was equal for everyone in the Earth Kingdom.
Earth Kingdom, Royal Capital. It was another early morning. "Buzz buzz~" Giovanni opened his eyes to the sound of his Pokémon partner. "Good morning, Beedrill." After opening his eyes, Giovanni first drank a glass of water, then rubbed the head of the Pokémon beside him. Giovanni's Pokémon is a Beedrill, and the name he gave to the Beedrill was simply 'Beedrill'.
In this world, Giovanni didn't trust any creature except himself and his partner, Beedrill. This could be seen from the fact that he let Beedrill sleep in the same room as him. Back when he was a teenager, his mother was seriously ill, and his family was poor, unable to afford a doctor or medicine. Having no choice, he had to go into Mt. Silver alone to search for treasures to exchange for money or usable herbs.
Just as Giovanni discovered a rare herb and was about to pick it, he was attacked by a Rattata. He had trespassed into its territory. His calf was bitten by the Rattata, leaving him unable to escape, so he could only collapse on the spot. Just when Giovanni thought he was going to die, a large Weedle appeared and stood in a stalemate with the Rattata.
In the end, both sides were wary of each other and did not engage in a full-blown fight. At that time, Giovanni didn't feel like he had escaped death. He just felt like he had just left the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's lair. But the Weedle's target was not Giovanni at all, but the herbs he had gathered in the bamboo basket behind him. Many of them were herbs containing some toxicity, which were excellent food for the Weedle.
The clever Giovanni discovered the Weedle's target and quickly took out all the herbs from the bamboo basket, only leaving a few herbs that could alleviate his mother's illness. This action unexpectedly captured the Weedle's heart. The young Giovanni was also an ambitious and ruthless person. Seeing that the Weedle had no intention of attacking him, he immediately decided to secretly train it. That was about 19 years ago.
Before the Silph Family had even begun to imitate the Dragon Tamer Clan in harnessing the power of Pokémon, Giovanni had already started quietly raising Pokémon. This action, for a human in the Monster Era, was absolutely extremely bold. In terms of courage, it was probably second only to Liz's actions of leading people deep into Mt. Silver to search for the Beedrill family.
Thus, Giovanni quietly raised the Weedle for 14 years, and then used the power of Beedrill to ascend to the throne. The defense forces and Pokémon Masters of the Royal Palace were simply worthless trash in front of Beedrill, unable to last even 10 seconds. Now, another 5 years have passed. Just how powerful Giovanni's Beedrill is, only he himself knows.
After a simple wash-up, Giovanni, with his hair slicked back, walked all the way to his office. Upon entering, he saw a document stating that 'the resource collection team recently had conflicts with people from the Royal Dragon Kingdom near Mt. Silver.' "Hmph." Giovanni let out a light snort, the corners of his mouth turning upward. This was not some unexpected encounter.
As early as a few years ago, he had already learned about the matters of the Royal Dragon Kingdom from the remnants of the Silph Family. He also knew that the Silph Family had been engaged in a long-term tug-of-war with the Dragon Tamer Clan around Mt. Silver since decades ago. Since he annihilated the Silph Family, this war turned into a tug-of-war between the Earth Kingdom and the Royal Dragon Kingdom.
Neither kingdom could do without the mineral and herbal resources in Mt. Silver. These things involve not only military strength but also medical care. No country that wants to last long could possibly not compete for this natural gold mine at their doorstep. But Giovanni and Liz are different. Liz only wanted Mt. Silver. She initially had no intention of annexing the Earth Kingdom because she did not want to start a war.
Whereas Giovanni wanted the entire land; Mt. Silver was just a very small piece of his grand plan. As for the humans and Pokémon who might die because of this war, he simply didn't care.
After sitting for a while, Giovanni summoned his subordinate. "Boss Giovanni." The person who arrived was a muscular man standing a full 2.03 meters tall. His physique was as robust as a standing water buffalo. This person's name is Ares, one of the earliest people to follow Giovanni, and also one of the 4 generals of the Earth Kingdom.
Back when Giovanni had not yet become king, Ares always called him 'Boss,' so he still refers to him this way now. Giovanni did not correct this. He felt that this form of address could bring him closer to the 4 generals, which was beneficial for him to win people's hearts. "Hmm, how is your Rhyperior's strength now?" Giovanni looked up and asked with concern.
He remembered that Ares's Pokémon's new form resembled a standing rhinoceros, with skin all over its body as hard as if it were wearing an iron frame. That form looked very powerful at a glance. But Giovanni still trusted his Beedrill's twin needles more. "He's very energetic, much stronger than before." Ares nodded somewhat proudly. His Pokémon was originally a Rhyhorn, and he had raised him for a very long time.
Ares is a very proud person. Others who raise Pokémon start with smaller ones, feeling that it's safer. But Ares was different; those small Pokémon were like rats in his eyes. He didn't like them at all, so he had never raised a Pokémon. This made Giovanni feel a bit of a headache about this general of his at one point. After all, the people under him would certainly not want to be commanded by an ordinary person, but Giovanni didn't trust anyone else much.
Fortunately, on a night 5 or 6 years ago, an injured Rhydon broke into the territory of the Earth Kingdom and happened to run into Ares, who was leading a patrol at the time. Ares was also a ruthless person; he single-handedly took on the Rhydon with his bare body, grappling and slamming him to the ground. The Rhydon's immense strength and tough skin greatly pleased Ares. He was certain that this was the powerful Pokémon he had been searching for all along, so he helped him recover, personally fed him, and told him about his great ambitions in the middle of the night.
Finally, by appealing to his emotions and reasoning with him, he managed to subdue this seemingly dull-witted Rhydon. Ares also placed great hopes on him, naming him 'Rhyperior'. In Ares's view, there is nothing harder in this world than a Rhyperior. Originally, Ares thought his Rhydon was already in its final stage, but who knew it could still evolve? This was an unexpected pleasant surprise for Ares.