Chapter 564 - 564: 564. The first appearance

Deafening gunshots echoed through the room, gunpowder thick in the air.

Water dripped somewhere in the silence that followed. Theo, dazed, gasped for breath. The fear of death still gripped his chest, and a yellowish, foul-smelling stain spread across his pants — followed almost instantly by a wave of humiliation.

Edwin's face twisted into a mocking, disdainful grin, and he burst out laughing. "Hahaha, you actually pissed yourself! Relax, those were just blanks — for the noise, nothing more."

Wynne fixed Edwin with a dark look, drew a slow breath, and said quietly, "That's enough, Edwin."

"Enough?" Edwin's smile turned contemptuous. He drew a silver pistol from his waist, leveled it at Theo, and stared straight at Wynne. "You think this one's a fake too?"

"Edwin!" Wynne's expression darkened further. His eyes shifted to Giovanni, standing off to the side without a word, and that silence gave him a little more nerve.

In raw strength, Wynne outmatched Edwin. His only real concern was whether Giovanni would step in.

Seeing Giovanni watching the whole affair with detached interest, as if none of it concerned him, Wynne pulled Raichu's Poké Ball from his bag and hurled it out. "Raichu, Fake Out — stop him!"

"Ursaring! Protect!"

Edwin wasn't about to be outdone, and sent out his own Ursaring.

Raichu shot forward in a blur, its body crackling with Normal-type energy, and struck at Ursaring with an open palm faster than the eye could follow.

A shimmering barrier flared to life, and Raichu's Fake Out crashed harmlessly against it.

"Edwin, don't push this too far. You've had your fun — it's time to let Theo go." Even as he spoke, Wynne kept his eyes on Giovanni; the real authority in the room belonged to him.

"Let him go? Not a chance." Edwin's expression turned vicious. Tormenting Theo tonight had only ever been a pretext — what he truly wanted was to establish his authority, to make it clear he wasn't the same pushover as before. "Who's going to pay for what I've lost? Whose fault is it that my second uncle's face is a mess right now?"

"I'll have Theo kowtow to you and apologize in person. I'll cover his losses myself — how does that sound?" Wynne looked at Edwin, offering him an out. "Do me this favor."

"You?" Edwin sneered, his expression turning arrogant. "Mr. Wynne, favor isn't something you're given — it's something you earn."

"Ursaring, finish him. Crunch!" Edwin jabbed a finger at Theo, ordering his Pokémon forward.

Hearing Edwin's brazen words, Wynne drew a steadying breath, pulled a Poké Ball from his waist, and threw it. "Go, Pawmot! Mach Punch!"

"Raichu, Thunderbolt!"

Facing down both Pokémon at once, Edwin showed no trace of alarm — if anything, his face lit up with excitement.

At last, it was time. He'd been waiting for this moment.

"Boom!"

Ursaring was thrown back by the combined force of Pawmot and Raichu's attack, left with minor injuries and a ferocious snarl on its face.

Edwin drew a Gigantamax Poké Ball from his waist, his gaze fixed on Wynne, and hurled it toward the open window.

"Go, Charizard!"

At his call, Gigantamax Charizard burst into being. Its enormous feet struck the ground hard enough to send a faint tremor through the floor. Flames wreathed its huge body, lighting up the dark night like a furnace, its great wings glowing with fire along their edges.

The patterns across its belly blazed with light, and the twin horns atop its head crackled with raging flame, spewing scorching heat into the air.

"Roar!"

The moment Gigantamax Charizard appeared, it radiated terrifying power and a king's presence, like some demonic dragon come to life.

Shock flickered across Wynne and Som's faces as they stared at Edwin in disbelief — then turned toward Giovanni, still sitting silently in his chair.

So that was why Giovanni had said nothing. He'd handed Edwin a weapon like this.

Gigantamax Pokémon of this caliber had always been Giovanni's own trademark; no one else was known to possess one. If Edwin now had one too, there was only one place it could have come from.

So the rumors were true — Giovanni really had unlocked the secret behind Gigantamax.

Edwin had landed himself an extraordinarily powerful patron.

A flicker of envy, even greed, stirred in Wynne's chest. Edwin really was a lucky man. If falling in with Giovanni meant access to power like this, Wynne would follow him without a second thought too.

Never mind how notorious Giovanni had become, ranked among the most dangerous criminals alive. The instant he was willing to share the secret of Gigantamax, Team Rocket would become the most sought-after name in the underworld. Countless people would scramble to work with him — plenty would join Team Rocket outright, no questions asked. A single Champion-level Gigantamax was terrifying enough to secure a family's fortune for generations.

"Pretty tough, aren't you?" Edwin's expression turned wicked as he called out his next command. "Charizard, G-Max Wildfire!"

At his voice, flames roared up Charizard's body and into the sky. The blazing collar around its neck and the fire licking along its wings surged with astonishing heat, gathering into a single point before it.

"Roar!"

Charizard let out a furious cry, and the gathered fire took the shape of a massive burning bird, diving straight at Pawmot and Raichu.

"Protect!"

Both Pokémon threw up their light shields at once, straining to hold back the oncoming attack.

"Boom!"

The firebird slammed into the barriers with a deafening crash, shattering them and dissolving into a wash of flame that spread in every direction. In an instant, the room was a sea of fire, swallowing everything in sight.

Though Pawmot and Raichu had blocked the worst of it with Protect, the spreading flames of G-Max Wildfire still caught them at the edges, burning steadily.

Watching this unfold, Wynne and Som's faces grew grimmer still. This Charizard alone had shown its strength in a single attack — and paired with Ursaring, and Edwin's ace Baxcalibur, Wynne knew he stood no real chance against him.

Jacob had been watching quietly, and now judged it was his turn to step in. His plan with Edwin had only ever been to teach Wynne a lesson, and by now, that lesson had been delivered.

"Edwin, that's enough." Jacob's voice carried through the room. "There are hundreds, maybe thousands of people in this building. Are you planning to burn them all alive?"

He turned to Wynne next, his tone even. "Mr. Wynne, what you did was wrong. If you don't want to work with me, just say so plainly — there's no need for schemes behind my back. I hope this is the last time."

Jacob's voice stayed calm, but Wynne caught the warning buried in that cold, steady gaze all the same. His chest tightened. "Giovanni..." he started.

"You don't need to explain yourself. But if there's a next time..."

Jacob didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to — everyone in the room understood exactly what he meant.

.......