"Damian, aren't you going to introduce these two?"
Giovanni wore a polished, mature smile as he spoke in that deep, magnetic voice of his.
He was naturally a bit curious about the two people Damian had personally brought back.
Under Giovanni's gaze, Caitlin and Gladion both tensed up a little without meaning to.
This man… was Team Rocket's boss.
The source of Kanto Region's darkness—the one who had grown Team Rocket into what it was right under the Indigo League's nose.
From the League's point of view, Giovanni was an extremely evil and dangerous man.
But from a third‑party point of view…
You had to admit—this guy was seriously impressive.
Damian glanced at Caitlin and Gladion.
"My name is Caitlin, boss."
Caitlin rose gracefully, giving Giovanni a refined noble's curtsey.
Her tone was measured and unhurried, composed and self‑possessed.
"I'm Gladion."
Gladion also stood, gave a short bow, and introduced himself.
"Hehe～ welcome to Team Rocket, both of you."
Giovanni chuckled softly, his attitude fairly easygoing.
If Damian had brought them all the way back to Kanto, that alone said plenty about their potential.
Giovanni knew Damian very well—this kid was picky about talent.
"Things are stable over in Alola?"
Giovanni lifted his teacup again.
He'd been a bit surprised when he'd suddenly heard Damian was coming back.
After all, Damian had only headed to Alola a bit over two months ago.
"No real issues. I've already arranged everything that's left to handle.
So I figured I'd come back and check on you."
Damian nodded.
"As expected of you, Damian."
Giovanni's smile deepened, a hint of pride slipping into his tone.
"But you picked a bad time to come back. The League's been cracking down on us pretty hard lately."
"Lance and Lorelei, those two lunatics, have been attacking our members and bases everywhere.
Be careful when you're out and about.
The Indigo League higher‑ups know who you are."
Giovanni reminded Damian.
Kanto Champion Lance and Lorelei?
Hearing this, Caitlin mulled it over.
Kanto's Elite Four lineup had always been incomplete: Ice‑type Lorelei, Fighting‑type Bruno, Ghost‑type Agatha, and the Dragon Master Lance.
These four made up the current Kanto Elite Four—
And Lance, as head of the Elite Four, also held the position of Indigo League Champion.
Caitlin had always been curious about that group.
With the Indigo League serving as the Pokémon League's headquarters, there had long been rumors that Kanto's Elite Four were the strongest in the world.
And Lance himself was hailed as the strongest Champion.
The invincible Lance—that was how people in Kanto saw him.
"Because of the S.S. Anne incident?"
Damian raised a brow.
"That's right. Archer's operation failed, but his hijacking of the S.S. Anne and kidnapping of every passenger aboard caused a massive uproar."
Sabrina's tone was flat.
The S.S. Anne was a world‑famous luxury cruise liner.
Now that it had docked in Vermilion City's harbor only to be snatched by Team Rocket, it was only natural it attracted a lot of attention.
From the Indigo League's perspective, this operation was basically a slap right across their face.
If Team Rocket dared seize the S.S. Anne today…
Would they dare seize Silph Co tomorrow?
How could they possibly tolerate that?
"What was Archer thinking? He's not usually that reckless."
Damian frowned in confusion.
As the foremost of the Four Admins, Archer's capability was undeniable.
Sure, his raw strength was only around Elite Four‑level.
But his calm, rational mind was his greatest weapon.
"According to Archer's report, intel suggested there was a Trainer aboard the S.S. Anne carrying the Mythical Pokémon Darkrai.
He wanted to capitalize on the opportunity."
Sabrina's voice remained icy.
"A Darkrai Trainer?"
Damian was genuinely surprised.
A Darkrai Trainer?
Could it be Tobias, the one who'd shown up at the Lily of the Valley Conference in the anime?
No way it was Sird, right?
Sird was one of Team Rocket's Three Beasts from the Special manga—
But her true identity was actually a Team Galactic plant inside Team Rocket.
She had a very powerful Darkrai, though she couldn't fully control it.
So it was basically impossible for this to be Sird.
The odds pointed squarely at Tobias.
"Yeah. But in the end, he failed. They never found that Darkrai Trainer, and the whole plan got wrecked by two boys."
"I see."
Damian stroked his chin.
"Damian, how long are you planning to stay in Kanto?"
Giovanni's question neatly skipped past the topic.
To him, Archer's failure was just a minor issue.
Even if the Indigo League had stepped up their crackdowns because of this, at worst they'd lose some grunts and a few bases.
As long as the executives were fine, ordinary Team Rocket members were expendable.
"About half a month, maybe. I'm planning to wait for Mewtwo."
Mewtwo?
Caitlin and Gladion, who had been quietly listening, both looked puzzled at the name.
"Then you can head to New Island as early as tomorrow.
According to Dr. Fuji, Mewtwo's physical indicators have all started showing signs of awakening.
It should be sometime very soon."
Giovanni smiled in response.
He'd already been planning to have Damian return around this time.
"Even better."
Damian grinned.
His expectations for Mewtwo were sky‑high.
"Got a region in mind for the next stage?"
"I've got an idea, but nothing final yet."
Damian thought for a moment.
"Alright. As long as you've got a plan. Let's go grab a meal."
Giovanni didn't press.
He trusted that Damian had his own considerations.
After that, Giovanni and Sabrina put on disguises, and the group headed to a nearby hotel together.
Since his public identity had been fully cut off from Giovanni's, Damian obviously couldn't show up at Viridian Gym.
Giovanni, too, only met with Damian in disguise.
But it didn't matter.
Giovanni had plenty of private properties—he even had a villa here in Saffron City.
Just like that, two days passed.
Out in a deserted stretch of ocean, on a small, lonely island—
A deafening explosion suddenly tore through the air.
From the center of the island, a terrifying black shockwave erupted outward.
Wherever that wave passed, whether rock, trees, or concrete buildings, everything was shattered and erased.
The once‑huge lab had completely collapsed into rubble, thick smoke and dust billowing into the sky.
Within the murky, swirling haze, two sinister points of deep purple light suddenly flared to life.
A black figure slowly stepped out of the cloud of debris.
Jagged stones jutted from the ruined ground, the entire island reduced to rubble.
The deep purple glow in those eyes flickered, filled with profound confusion and emptiness.
A low, hoarse voice echoed out via Telepathy.
"Who… am I?"
~~~
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