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Viridian Gym
At that moment, in the courtyard behind Viridian Gym, a figure sat leisurely in the yard, legs crossed, drinking coffee.
On the grass at his feet, a Persian lay lazily. The entire scene looked extremely peaceful.
"Boss, Jessie and James are here. They want to see you!" At that moment, a figure walked in and spoke respectfully.
"Huh? Those two haven't left yet?"
When he heard their names mentioned, Giovanni's expression shifted slightly, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Since announcing Team Rocket's disbandment, most members had scattered like monkeys from a falling tree.
Some of them had gone to the Johto Region, while the rest insisted on staying with him. He had no objections to either choice.
He'd assumed Jessie and James had left with the disbanded members, so hearing his subordinate's words piqued his interest.
"Let them in!"
"Yes!" The subordinate responded, then quickly retreated. Not long after, two figures entered with Meowth.
"Boss! We finally get to see you!"
When they saw Giovanni, whether it was Jessie, James, or Meowth, they all looked like they were about to cry, as if they had suffered a great injustice.
"Didn't I already announce that Team Rocket has been disbanded? What are you still doing here?" Giovanni looked at the two people and Meowth before him, responding calmly.
"Boss, why? Is it just because you lost to some kid?" Hearing this, Jessie said excitedly.
After all, they had never given up despite repeated failures, yet the boss had chosen to give up after failing just once.
"You don't need to worry about that. Is this why you came to see me? To talk about this?"
Giovanni gently swirled the cup in his hand, his own reflection visible in the dark coffee, and spoke leisurely.
"No, we're hoping that you'll regain your spirits and lead us to conquer the world again!"
"To help cheer you up, we brought you something very precious!" Listening to Giovanni's words, the two of them quickly produced the glass container holding the sacred fire.
Because it was Moltres's flame, even without oxygen, it wouldn't go out inside this sealed container.
"Hmm?"
Giovanni turned his head and glanced at it after hearing them speak. Persian beside him seemed to have heard something about a precious item and looked up briefly, but after just one glance, immediately lay back down.
"Boss, this isn't just any normal flame! This is the sacred fire used by the Pokémon League—the flame of Moltres itself!"
"Without this, the Pokémon League won't be able to continue their conference!"
Jessie and Meowth spoke excitedly, like children seeking praise.
Giovanni's expression shifted slightly when he heard this. The item was completely useless to him. It could even be said that Jessie and James's attempt to please him was no different from a clown's performance.
Others might have started mocking them by now, but at this moment, Giovanni remained silent and couldn't bring himself to laugh.
Yes! Although in the eyes of people who knew Giovanni well, Jessie and James's approach was utterly foolish, if it had been the Giovanni from before, he would have dismissed them without a second thought. However, since his battle with Ash and the announcement of disbandment, he had come to realize many things.
Although the two people before him failed more often than they succeeded, they were truly loyal to him—just as loyal as the other members who had chosen to remain at this gym.
In his opinion, stealing this sacred flame had no real value, but it represented everything that Jessie, James, and Meowth—three seemingly insignificant Team Rocket members—had to offer.
Their only reason for doing this was simply to please him.
"You did an excellent job. I appreciate this gift very much!" After a moment of silence, Giovanni said calmly.
"Thank you, Boss! This is just the beginning. We'll definitely keep up our efforts. You must regain your spirits soon!"
Hearing Giovanni's praise, the three of them suddenly looked overwhelmed with gratitude.
How long had it been? They didn't know how long it had been since they'd last heard the boss's praise. For them, receiving a compliment from Giovanni was already more than satisfying.
"I'll consider it. Just do what you think is right."
"Yes! Then we'll take our leave now!" After hearing this, the two of them exchanged glances and felt overjoyed. Finally, taking such a huge risk hadn't been in vain.
Meowth stepped forward with the sacred fire and placed it on the table in front of Giovanni. It glanced at Persian beside him and shook its head with slight reluctance, but at that moment, it felt something pressing down on its head.
"You've done well this time, Meowth. Keep following them and do your best!" When it looked up, it saw Giovanni smiling with his hand resting on its head.
Meowth's eyes filled with tears upon seeing this. It had been so long since the boss had touched it like this.
"I won't let you down, meow!"
Meowth wiped its tears seriously, clenched its paws, and responded firmly before retreating with Jessie and James.
"Boss, is this really okay? If we let them run around outside like this, the League might cause trouble for us!"
After Jessie and the others left, a subordinate nearby stepped forward and asked.
"It doesn't matter. Just let them be. They won't cause any serious problems." Giovanni waved his hand slightly after hearing this.
"They actually said all that about cheering me up. Those two are really..." After finishing, Giovanni murmured quietly.
Although it was somewhat amusing, having two such loyal subordinates actually wasn't bad at all.
"Then, Boss, what should we do with this?" At that moment, the subordinate beside him looked at the sacred fire placed on the table and asked.
Caw!
Giovanni heard the sound and looked toward the sacred fire on the table. At that moment, he suddenly heard a cry from above. He looked up slightly and spotted a Pidgeotto hovering in the air.
"A guest has arrived. Go receive them!" Looking at the Pidgeotto, Giovanni narrowed his eyes, then spoke to the subordinate beside him.
The subordinate was slightly surprised upon hearing this, then walked directly to the iron gate beside the backyard, opened it, and froze when he saw the person standing at the entrance.
The figure standing in front of the iron gate left a deep impression on them.
"Please, come in!" The boss had already said to welcome them, and the subordinate didn't dare to be negligent. He stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.