Giovanni very much wanted to go and cause trouble for the Masked Man, but his rational mind was perfectly clear about one thing: with his current strength, it was absolutely impossible for him to be a match for the Masked Man.
What's more…
The Masked Man was still Lucas's teacher, and Giovanni had no idea how Lucas would view this matter.
But to just give up like this?
He was far too unwilling to accept that!
Even when Team Rocket's Kanto branch had been completely reduced to ashes in Saffron City, Giovanni had never felt this unwilling. Back then, he had focused more on reflecting on his own shortcomings and patiently preparing for a comeback.
But Silver—Silver was his own flesh and blood, his biological son!
Ten years ago, Silver had been abducted by the Masked Man, causing Giovanni and his son to be separated for a full decade!
Giovanni was indeed an ambitious and domineering overlord, but that did not mean he was devoid of emotions. His fatherly love for Silver was absolutely genuine and pure.
And now, after finally finding Silver again, his son was unable to accept him. This left Giovanni's emotions tangled into an indescribably complex knot.
"Perhaps… I really am not a good father."
After a long silence, Giovanni let out a soft sigh. Ten years ago, when Silver went missing, Team Rocket had been in a phase of rapid expansion.
In the end, Giovanni had no choice but to abandon the all-out search across Indigo for Silver. That farewell lasted ten whole years.
Over those ten years, he had given Silver no fatherly love at all. They had not even seen each other once.
Now that Silver could not accept him, wasn't that only natural?
"Boss, please rest assured. I will definitely help you bring the young master back."
Archer, ever-loyal, gave his solemn assurance to the softly sighing Giovanni. In truth, Giovanni finding his own child brought no tangible benefit at all to Archer, a high-ranking executive within Team Rocket.
And yet, Archer still sincerely hoped that Silver and Giovanni could reconcile.
Perhaps this was what loyalty truly meant.
Hearing this, Giovanni smiled faintly and shook his head, but anyone could tell that his emotions were far from settled at this moment.
If only things were really that simple.
"Silver is different from us. He doesn't like criminal and evil organizations. If Uncle truly wants to reconcile with him, he'll still need to put in a great deal of effort."
Lucas cast a glance at Archer. Letting Archer go persuade Silver?
That would probably only make Silver's attitude toward Giovanni grow worse and worse.
Even in the special manga storyline, the main reason Silver and Giovanni eventually reconciled was because Giovanni had disregarded his own life to protect him.
Only then did Silver finally accept this father who had once been the leader of Team Rocket.
In the face of life and death, one could most clearly see a person's true heart. It was at that moment that Silver deeply realized just how profound Giovanni's love for him truly was.
"Lucas, you and he were once companions. You see…"
Giovanni fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. He had almost no experience as a father, and he knew nothing about Silver's preferences either.
Under such circumstances, how was he supposed to win Silver back?
In the end, Giovanni could only seek help from Lucas, who had once been Silver's colleague.
"My relationship with Silver isn't good. To be precise, he might actually still be afraid of me." Lucas blinked and spoke frankly, causing Giovanni to fall speechless.
Damn it—could it be that back when they were in the organization, his son had been bullied by Lucas every single day?
"However, Green and Silver are very close, like siblings. Silver has always regarded Green as an older sister." After thinking for a moment, Lucas offered Giovanni a suggestion.
Upon hearing this, Giovanni immediately shifted his gaze to Green.
"Ah—what?" Green was stunned.
At this moment, her mind was still struggling to process the situation. After all, this news was quite a shock to her. "I can try contacting him, but I can't guarantee anything. Silver has always been very stubborn."
Sensing the expectation hidden deep in Giovanni's eyes, Green came back to herself and let out a soft sigh as she replied.
Even so, Green knew the chances weren't high.
This was no longer something that could be resolved with a few comforting words. After all, Silver's stance was completely different from hers.
Just as she said, Silver had always been a mature, strong-willed, and stubborn young man with his own clear opinions.
"Thank you very much."
Giovanni softly expressed his gratitude to Green.
"Ah—no need for that." Green hurriedly waved her hands.
She had truly never imagined, even in her dreams, that one day she would receive a personal thank-you from the leader of Team Rocket himself… This was really…
After exchanging a few more words, Lucas bid farewell to Giovanni.
"Have someone send me Silver's location. I'll go look for him personally."
Watching Lucas's group of four depart, Giovanni rubbed his temples with a weary expression. After some thought, he gave this instruction to Archer.
No matter what, he still had to go and talk to Silver again.
Although Silver himself might not yet know how to face him, they were father and son after all. Some things would inevitably have to be faced sooner or later.
"Yes."
Giovanni lifted his head and gazed at the sky, letting out another sigh in his heart.
Who would have thought that not long after his terminal illness had finally been cured, he would run into an even more headache-inducing problem?
His own son "disliking" him—how could anyone endure that?
Could it be that, for his son's sake, he would have to give up Team Rocket?
Meanwhile, on the other side, Lucas and the three girls were heading toward a certain location.
"This is the first time I've ever seen Mr. Giovanni look like that."
Marnie recalled Giovanni's expression just now, her delicate face showing a hint of peculiarity.
In her impression, Giovanni had always been calm, composed, mature, and steady—someone who held everything firmly in his grasp.
But just now, Giovanni had been unable to conceal his true emotions at all. It was extremely rare.
"When a son hates his own father, no father could easily accept that, especially when they've been separated for ten years."
Lucas wasn't surprised at all. Giovanni's situation with Silver was simply too special.
"Ahhh! Damn it, Lucas! Why did you push this troublesome matter onto me? How am I supposed to even open my mouth to Silver?"
Green, on the other hand, wore an utterly distressed expression. She stared at the communicator in her hand, her brows tightly furrowed.
She had always had Silver's contact information, but the two of them rarely communicated.
After all, they had always been under pursuit by Karen and Will.
Oh—almost forgot.
Will was currently still being detained by the League for reformation…
Giovanni had already been trying to pull strings through connections, but because Lance had previously slaughtered a large number of council members, the matter had become extremely troublesome.
As a result, even now, Will was still serving time behind bars…
"I'm not wrong though. You really are familiar with Silver, and right now, you're probably the only one he trusts, aren't you?"
"But… but this is different!" Green replied weakly.
How was she supposed to persuade Silver? She had zero experience with this kind of thing, okay?
She couldn't exactly start with something like, "Silver, I heard you found your dad?" or "Silver, your dad really loves you. How about you calmly talk things out with him?"
Just imagining that scene made Green feel numb all over…
"There's no rush. Just take it slow and test the waters. Or you could directly talk to Silver and see if he can persuade Uncle to go straight instead."
"If your own father is an evil figure and you can't stand it, shouldn't you, as his son, try to help him step out of the darkness?" Lucas replied casually.
"Huh?"
Green froze when she heard that.
It actually… kind of made sense?
Indeed. From the looks of it, Giovanni truly cared deeply about Silver. If that was the case, perhaps Silver could try persuading Giovanni to reform in the future?
After interacting with Giovanni for some time, Green didn't actually harbor much resentment toward him.
Perhaps because of Lucas's presence, the Giovanni Green had come into contact with was mature, rational, wise, and even friendly. Naturally, she didn't develop any strong aversion toward him.
"These things should be taken slowly. It's their family matter—there's only so much we outsiders can help with." Lucas shrugged as he spoke. This was also one of the reasons he didn't want to interfere too much in Giovanni and Silver's relationship.
After all, he was just an outsider. What's more, back in the Masked Organization, he had teased Silver quite a lot—Silver harbored no small amount of resentment toward him.
As they spoke, the four of them arrived at the secret base and entered through a hidden door.
Compared to the emptiness of their previous visit, the base now looked much livelier.
Researchers in white lab coats busied themselves at their respective stations, surrounded by all kinds of instruments, machines, and containers.
"Professor Fuji, how is the progress?"
Lucas led the three girls to the side of an elderly researcher and asked.
This was Fuji, the chief person in charge of the Mewtwo Project.
However, as soon as he walked over, Lucas's gaze was captured by the lifeform inside a container in front of him.
Inside the massive cylindrical vessel was nutrient solution, and within it floated a creature that looked as though it were sleeping peacefully with its eyes closed.
"Mewtwo!"
Green and Marnie recognized the Pokémon at a glance as well.
But this wasn't an ordinary Mewtwo—it was the Mewtwo Y form that had once appeared in the Arche Valley!
Compared to that one, however, this Mewtwo was noticeably smaller, like an infant.
"It seems the experiment has progressed very smoothly, Professor."
Lucas's lips slowly curled upward as he looked at the Mewtwo Y inside the container, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
"Extremely successful." Professor Fuji nodded as he replied.
"The embryo's growth has been very smooth. In just a few days, this Mewtwo should awaken. If its consciousness is complete, then this project will be a total success."
Professor Fuji spoke in a deep voice, his gaze firmly fixed on the Mewtwo Y.
This was the Mewtwo he had created with all his might. Fuji firmly believed that this one would be even more perfect than the Mewtwo belonging to Team Rocket!
Moreover, he had poured all of his heart and soul into it. Now, it all depended on whether this Mewtwo Y would respond to his expectations.
"As expected of Professor Fuji. I really didn't misjudge you. But… why this form?"
Lucas praised him sincerely. It had actually succeeded!
What puzzled Lucas, however, was why this Mewtwo had developed into the Y form even at the embryonic stage.
"That's thanks to the Legendary genes you sent earlier, Mr. Lucas."
Before Professor Fuji could answer, a young voice sounded from behind them.
Colress, removing his white gloves, slowly walked over.
"Colress, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Mr. Lucas."
Colress wore a faint smile and gave Lucas a slight bow.
"So, you used the Legendary genes you obtained earlier on Mewtwo, didn't you?"
Lucas hadn't forgotten what Colress had just said. Every time he encountered Legendary Pokémon, he almost always collected some genetic samples.
And during the massive Legendary battle in the Arche Valley, he had gathered an enormous amount of Legendary genes.
Including… the genes of Mewtwo's Y form!
"That's right. However, after research and analysis, many of the genes had poor compatibility. But the genes from Mewtwo after Mega Evolution were an exceptionally perfect match for our Mewtwo."
"And then?"
"We injected these fully optimized genes into Mewtwo's body. The process was extremely smooth, and Mewtwo completely accepted and adapted to them."
Colress pushed up his glasses and spoke proudly with a smile.
At this moment, his emotions were extremely elated. The artificial Legendary had truly succeeded!
This was an astonishing project—and they had succeeded!
This Mewtwo 2.0 was far superior to the Genesect he had once resurrected and modified. No—rather, Genesect couldn't even begin to compare to this Mewtwo!
Because Mewtwo 2.0 was a top-tier Legendary Pokémon!
Yes—even compared to those Legendary Pokémon revered as gods, it would not be inferior in the slightest!
"Will Mewtwo remain in this form permanently?" Lucas asked, his eyes flashing.
"Of course. This is Mewtwo's normal form. And…"
Colress tried his best to maintain his composed smile, but the constant adjustment of his glasses betrayed the excitement he couldn't quite suppress.
Its default state being the Y form?
Lucas felt delighted upon hearing this. Without a doubt, this would greatly enhance Mewtwo's strength!
"And?"
"And Mewtwo has also integrated a small number of other Legendary genes. Mr. Lucas, I believe this will be a very big surprise for you."
Colress was brimming with pride. The birth of this Mewtwo was the result of his joint efforts with Professor Fuji!
For a researcher, there was no greater joy or sense of pride than completing a difficult project.
"Of course. I'm very much looking forward to it."
Lucas did not immediately ask Colress and Fuji which Legendary genes had been implanted into Mewtwo 2.0's body.
With a smile on his face, his gaze remained fixed on Mewtwo Y.
When Mewtwo Y awakened, it would personally demonstrate its power and potential for him—just how outstanding they truly were.
Or rather… just how terrifying.
(End of Chapter)
TN: I just noticed, Mewtwo Y form look like what Mew's Mega Evolution would have look like.