Join my p@treon for more chapters
[email protected]/Tempest_29
"Uncle Giovanni, please don't do this. You're making it very difficult for me to handle."
Although he said it was difficult, Eddie had actually pocketed the Master Ball as quickly as possible.
"Hahaha, I admire your shamelessness. As long as you can achieve your goal, what does pride matter?"
Giovanni's smile widened when he saw Eddie store away the Master Ball.
Regardless of whether Eddie joined Team Rocket or not, based on his admiration for Eddie alone, what was wrong with giving him a Master Ball? Giovanni had always been a generous person.
Even though Eddie had fooled him before, once he determined that Eddie wasn't an immediate threat, he had directly given Eddie a Pokémon Egg and a Moon Stone. That was just the kind of generous person he was.
"By the way, how's that Pokémon Egg doing? Has it hatched yet? I remember that Archer had just obtained it, so it's normal if it takes longer to hatch."
Speaking of Pokémon Eggs, Giovanni casually inquired about Eddie's egg.
"Oh, I almost forgot about it if you hadn't mentioned it. The egg hasn't hatched yet, but it will probably only take another day or two."
Eddie himself had nearly forgotten about the Pokémon Egg. After all, he'd been quite busy recently, and the egg had been quiet for a while. He guessed it was an egg that had just been laid, so it would hatch more slowly than the two eggs he'd obtained before.
But as Eddie said, no matter how slow it was, it would eventually hatch. He estimated it would only take one or two more days.
"Take good care of that Pokémon. Although I didn't pay attention to what species it was, I believe anything that came into my possession should be quite valuable. You should understand this well."
As the boss of Team Rocket, Giovanni had access to nearly anything he wanted, so Eddie believed that whatever came into his hands would be worthwhile no matter how you looked at it.
"Alright, enough small talk. Eddie, what's your answer?"
Giovanni only asked because it had suddenly come to mind. Although he was still smiling, he began urging Eddie for a reply.
"Uncle Giovanni, your proposal is very tempting. If I owned Team Rocket, I could indeed obtain many things."
Just as Giovanni said, Team Rocket had money, power, personnel, and the black technology to create Mewtwo and combine the three Legendary Birds. If Eddie truly accepted Giovanni's invitation, he could get almost everything.
But!
"Indeed, Team Rocket has everything, except for one thing—and that's exactly why you couldn't wait to invite me to join."
Giovanni sighed softly when he heard this. He knew that Eddie's words meant he wouldn't be joining.
He also understood what Eddie was referring to, and just as Eddie said, that was precisely why he had been so eager to invite Eddie to join Team Rocket.
"Yes, you lack decisive strength. Although Team Rocket has three executives and you yourself are a powerful trainer, your high-level combat power is still insufficient!"
"Team Rocket is indeed very strong right now.
You can stand against the entire Kanto Region on your own.
Not to mention your lower-level forces—you can easily match the Gym Leaders of the League.
But! That's only against the Kanto Region.
Even though the Kanto Region is the strongest region among the seven regions, objectively speaking, it only represents one-seventh of the League's total strength."
Yes, Team Rocket was very strong—strong enough to suppress the Kanto Region. However, this Pokémon world wasn't just the Kanto Region; there were six other regions as well.
In this war, Team Rocket had launched a surprise attack, catching the Kanto Region off guard, which was why Team Rocket currently had the upper hand. But as long as the Kanto Region could recover and set aside its pride to request assistance from the Champions and Heavenly Kings from other regions, Team Rocket would be doomed.
In that scenario, even if the Heavenly Kings in the Kanto Region didn't follow orders, Team Rocket would still have to face the Champions and Heavenly Kings from the other six regions. Even if the Kanto Region fell before they arrived, Team Rocket would ultimately be defeated.
This was what Erika and the others were worried about. They couldn't accept their hometown being destroyed. So even though they knew they had to fight against Team Rocket...
Giovanni was strong, but he wasn't strong enough to defeat six Champions and numerous Heavenly Kings by himself.
Unless his strength reached a legendary level, or he possessed several Legendary Pokémon.
"Team Rocket captured the three Legendary Birds, captured Mew, and created Mewtwo in order to compensate for the lack of high-level combat power. And the reason you're launching this war now is actually to eliminate me and capture Mewtwo, right?"
Also, Giovanni, you're essentially burning your bridges. Before your body can no longer support you, you're trying to see if you can achieve Team Rocket's plan to dominate the Kanto Region, even if this dominance is only temporary.
Eddie thought this secretly. Eddie knew that Giovanni's health was failing, so he planned to start this war while he could still maintain his peak combat strength.
As for his intention of recruiting Eddie now—apart from what he'd just stated, he probably also wanted to continue concealing himself and use Eddie as a front.
Giovanni had been listening quietly to Eddie's analysis, and only responded after Eddie finished speaking.
"As expected of you. That's exactly why I said you're calm and intelligent enough to remain cautious even when faced with such a tremendous opportunity as Team Rocket offers."
"Forget it. I was originally wondering if I could recruit you to my side. Now it seems that your response has made me more determined to eliminate you. I haven't fought with my full strength in a long time. This time, let the world witness the true power of Giovanni!"
As Giovanni sighed, he also stood up.
Without waiting for Eddie to react, he suddenly swung his suit jacket, and six Poké Balls fell from it.
"I am the Gym Leader of Viridian City, the strongest Gym Leader in the Kanto Region, a master of Ground-type Pokémon, the boss of Team Rocket—'Giovanni of the Earth,' Giovanni!"
"Now, I challenge you to a battle between men. There are no rules in this fight, and life and death are of no consequence! Do you dare to accept this challenge?!"
Giovanni finished speaking as the six Poké Balls landed on the soft carpet.
"Ha, what kind of question is that? If I didn't dare to fight, how could I have come to face you?"
"It's a pity that I don't have as many titles as you do. I'm just a trainer who recently began his adventure. I'll keep it simple."
"I, Eddie, trainer from Pallet Town, accept your challenge!"
Eddie stood up and, like Giovanni, threw all his Poké Balls to the ground.
But unlike Giovanni who only had six Poké Balls, Eddie had thirteen Poké Balls on the ground.
The Master Ball in the center was particularly conspicuous in Giovanni's eyes.
At this moment, both Eddie and Giovanni sneered and leaned forward.
A sudden rush forward!
The battle begins!