2nd Gen Giovanni left the building

After receiving the seventh badge, the player comes across a question: where to get the 8th badge?
Shortly after he remembers there being another Gym which was closed before. So he returns to Viridian City, notices that it's open and battles his way to the Gym Leader, who happens to be Giovanni, trying to revive Team Rocket. The player defeats him and receives the Badge and the Fissure TM.
But there's more: if you talk to him a second time, he tells you that he gave up his plan of reviving Team Rocket and instead wants to retire in order to study Pokemon. After that Giovanni vanishes, without leaving any trace.

So, did you talk to him a second time after getting the last badge to hear his "final words", or did you just leave?

I actually took it one step further, and saved before battling him. Then I'd turn off without saving after defeating him, so I could rebattle him again and again.

I really don't remember why. I guess I didn't like that the game was coming to an end, or maybe I disliked something about that being the absolute last time to battle Giovanni (even though that was the case with literally every other Gym Leader).

I like to leave him there because like with every other gym leader, once I beat them I imagine them all wallowing in their defeat because they just got beat by someone who isn't even a teenager yet (in most games).

Yup, I definitely have. Don't usually talk with gym leaders after defeating them and leave immediately, but Giovanni was a major player in these games, so it was sort of hard for me not to. :P Also, I've always wondered where he'd gone off to after his defeat. Would've been great if he'd made some form of appearance in GSC, but unfortunately, he didn't.

Plot Twist: Giovanni is the next professor in Gen VII.

I never talked to him again, so this was an interesting read. I got in and got out.

-Yoshi- said:

Plot Twist: Giovanni is the next professor in Gen VII.

I never talked to him again, so this was an interesting read. I got in and got out.

Click to expand...

DO WANT. I would pay good money for that.

I actually never talk to a gym leader after battling them unless I press the buttons too fast and I accidentally talk to them a 2nd time. But that would be really amazing to see Giovanni becoming a Professor. That would be a real change and the new main antagonist would be someone who think of him as a traitor of Team Rocket and their new leader :P

I talk to him twice usually because I press the buttons too fast. I also like seeing him talk about giving up his plans to revive Team Rocket because it makes me feel better about having such a hard time level wise in Crystal. Weird, but true.

-Yoshi- said:

Plot Twist: Giovanni is the next professor in Gen VII.

I never talked to him again, so this was an interesting read. I got in and got out.

Click to expand...

and Pokemon is ruined... XD

I spoke to him a second time. I was really surprised to see him disappear when I first played Red.

I feel like the original games tried hard to make Giovanni seem mysterious and somewhat creepy. His face was half shrouded in shadow in the instruction manual (which scared me a bit as a kid), and the trainer card/profile thing in-game had a question mark rather than his face before you earned the badge. His departure fit in with the mysterious theme quite well.