After Haunter finished dealing with the bodies, Giovanni stroked his chin.
From the girl's travel-worn appearance and the fact that this road only led in one direction, Giovanni could conclude that she definitely came from Pewter City.
"It seems I can go and capture a high-quality Aron and evolve it into an Aggron," Giovanni mused.
Giovanni wouldn't complain about having too many Pokémon under his command, nor was he afraid of not being able to take care of them all; he could always hire Breeders later to help him raise them.
Moreover, at present, not counting the Haunter in the shadows, Giovanni could only deploy five Pokémon.
Giovanni stroked Persian's head. With Persian by his side in Viridian Forest, he was essentially familiar with the terrain and, at the very least, wouldn't get lost; Persian could lead Giovanni out at the fastest speed.
As for whether they would encounter any powerful Pokémon on the way, Giovanni's Power of Viridian wasn't just for show.
His perception was growing stronger and stronger.
"Let's go. An excellent Trainer always has to brave the elements. I wonder where I can learn the Secret Power move. That way, I won't have to sleep in a tent every night."
Giovanni said this, but he at least had a tent to sleep in, and he didn't even have to carry it himself; Haunter could carry it for him.
What about other Trainers?
To conserve stamina, they usually only brought a sleeping bag; tents were luxuries.
After a small interlude, Giovanni continued to walk along the outer perimeter of Viridian Forest.
The interior was still somewhat dangerous for Giovanni.
A legendary Pokémon might suddenly appear and devour Giovanni, and there was no need for Giovanni to take such a risk right now.
In any case, he was close to the Viridian Base. Once Giovanni's strength was sufficient, all the Pokémon here would belong to Team Rocket; not a single one would escape.
The outer perimeter of Viridian Forest posed no danger to Giovanni.
But for others, it remained a forbidden zone that could threaten their lives at any moment.
Just a few hours later, Giovanni heard cries for help, and a girl came running towards him.
She was holding a badly wounded Butterfree, and behind her was a group of red-eyed, frenzied Raticate.
These guys couldn't even defeat a Raticate or a Rattata, yet they still wanted to travel. How ridiculous.
Giovanni pondered for a moment before saying to Persian beside him, "Go on, help her. After all, when you're out and about, a Trainer should be willing to help others, shouldn't he?"
Persian rolled its eyes. What about the guy who just died?
However, it still didn't disobey Giovanni and decisively charged towards the girl and the group of Rattata.
For low-level Pokémon like Rattata, Persian no longer found them interesting; at most, it was just for a bit of sport.
When the girl saw Persian approaching, she was so scared that she quickly covered her eyes, her legs gave way, and she knelt on the ground.
"Help! Why is there a Persian too?"
Indeed, Persian's menacing appearance didn't look like it was there to save her; instead, it looked like it was going to finish her off as well.
"Meow!"
Persian glanced at her with some confusion, then leaped up, accurately spotting the leader of these Rattata and Raticate, and let out a roar.
The group of Rattata and Raticate instantly froze in place, terrified.
Persian pounced on the leader Raticate, opened its maw full of sharp teeth, and bit down on its neck, tearing it off with force.
The Raticate didn't even let out a scream; its head was directly torn off by Persian.
Persian scanned the area with its sharp, wild gaze, and the group of Rattata scattered in terror.
The girl, slumped on the ground, was trembling, not daring to open her eyes. "Butterfree, we might die."
Clear footsteps grew closer until Giovanni's voice suddenly rang out, "Hey, are you alright?"
The girl opened her eyes, somewhat disbelievingly, and looked forward with a hint of fear. Even seeing Giovanni's cold and fierce face, she suddenly felt a warmth in her heart, her nose stung, and her eyes reddened. "Is that a human?"
Giovanni merely replied coldly, "What do you think?"
Then Giovanni secretly waved his hand at Persian, telling it to quickly eat the Raticate to avoid being discovered.
Persian turned its back and began chewing loudly.
After seemingly much deliberation, the girl excitedly shouted to the Butterfree in her arms, "This is great, Butterfree, we're saved!"
Giovanni looked at the battered Butterfree and reminded her, "I think you need to treat it quickly, or it won't last."
The girl finally reacted. She frantically pulled out a Potion spray and gave Butterfree a simple treatment. Only when the pain on Butterfree's face subsided did she sigh in relief.
She then took out a Poké Ball and recalled Butterfree.
Giovanni frowned. Was this girl too thoughtless? She didn't even release her Pokémon; she really wasn't afraid of him attacking her.
The girl repeatedly thanked Giovanni. "Thank you, my name is Delia. I'm truly grateful; otherwise, I would have been finished."
Delia glanced behind her with lingering fear. Sure enough, the Rattata and Raticate were gone, only a well-fed Persian turned and walked towards them.
Recalling Persian's appearance just now, coupled with the current situation, she knew that Persian was Giovanni's Pokémon.
"No need to thank me." Giovanni had no good feelings for such a thoughtless woman.
He turned and walked forward. Persian glanced at the girl and slowly followed behind Giovanni.
Seeing Giovanni about to leave, Delia looked at the deep, dark forest and felt her whole body tremble.
She frantically pleaded with Giovanni, "Wait, can you help me? My Butterfree is injured, and I can't get out of Viridian Forest on my own. Will you just stand by and watch a young girl in her prime be eaten by Pokémon here?"
Giovanni stopped and replied coldly, "If you don't have the ability, you shouldn't choose to travel. Wouldn't it be better to just stay put? You're even dragging your Pokémon down."
"I have no obligation to carry dead weight."
With that, Giovanni continued forward, his pace quick. Delia had to jog to keep up with Giovanni.
However, after being reprimanded by Giovanni, her already red eyes grew even redder. She shouted after Giovanni, "Wait, I'm willing to pay!"
Giovanni scoffed, "Not interested. I'm not short on Poké dollars."
Having just been saved by Giovanni, Delia wouldn't speak disrespectfully, but if Giovanni really left like this, she would definitely be in danger.
So she shouted to Giovanni, "You're a Trainer, you must want high-quality Pokémon, right? I know the path to a similar Diglett's Cave."
Step.
Although Giovanni didn't stop, he said, "Let's go."