Tetsuya smiled faintly, thinking that it had finally come. He had stolen the spotlight during yesterday's battle at the river, so at the very least, Giovanni now knew there was someone like him.
"So it's you, Archer. Do you need something?," Tetsuya replied.
"Mm, I'd like you to come meet someone," Archer said.
"Then lead the way," Tetsuya said.
"Hoh~ you aren't even going to ask who it is? You're just going to follow me like this? Aren't you afraid I might want to hurt you?" Archer asked unnecessarily, "admiring" Tetsuya's "courage".
"If I already know who I'm going to meet, why bother asking?"
"Good, very courageous~ It's hard to believe you're only a teenager." With that, Archer led Tetsuya away.
---◓---
At the largest and most luxurious hotel in Sunnytown, Archer brought Tetsuya to Giovanni's temporary office. It went without saying that this was merely one of Team Rocket's properties.
Giovanni sat behind his desk going through documents. As someone with multiple identities, he had far more matters than an average person to handle every day. Behind a person's success often lay hard work and effort that ordinary people could not see.
"Leader Giovanni, Tetsuya is here," Archer reported.
Giovanni raised his head, his imposing presence naturally revealing itself. "Have a seat. Secretary, make two cups of Moomoo Coffe."
Archer and Tetsuya sat down on opposite sides of the table. Before long, Giovanni's secretary brought over freshly brewed coffe.
"You've heard of Team Rocket, I assume." Giovanni continued looking through his documents as he spoke seemingly casually.
"How could I not know about Team Rocket, renowned throughout Kanto?" Tetsuya replied without hesitation.
"Good. That makes things easier. Archer, you can discuss the rest with Tetsuya," Giovanni said.
Archer stood up and bowed. "Yes, Leader Giovanni."
Archer then returned to his seat and said to Tetsuya, "The reason we invited you here this time is to invite you to join Team Rocket."
Tetsuya smiled faintly without showing much surprise. This left Archer, and even Giovanni, who was watching Tetsuya from the corner of his eye, somewhat astonished.
"Whether or not I join Team Rocket actually won't affect much.
…But what I'm about to tell you could allow Team Rocket to extend its influence into the Johto Region."
Tetsuya's words were nothing short of startling. Giovanni could not help standing up from his seat. "Young man, you shouldn't speak carelessly."
"I don't know what relationship you have with Team Rocket, but I do know that you're the 'renowned' strongest Gym Leader in the Kanto Region. Even if you hadn't sought me out, I would have found a way to meet you. This time, I've come representing Matsuba, Gym Leader of Ecruteak Gym in the Johto Region, and Pryce, Gym Leader of Mahogany Gym."
Tetsuya deliberately put it this way. Even though he knew perfectly well that Giovanni was Team Rocket's leader, that was not something for him to say himself.
"Matsuba and Pryce are both pillars of Johto… and Pryce in particular have the level that could almost be called invincible. What business might those two have with me…?" Giovanni asked, leaving aside the mention of joining Team Rocket. Although Tetsuya's words left Giovanni with a trace of doubt, he had already investigated Tetsuya's background thoroughly.
To put it plainly, Tetsuya was Matsuba and Pryce's pupil. Moreover, judging from the combat power displayed by Tetsuya's Golurk and Mamoswine during the battle at the river, it was clear that Tetsuya had undoubtedly earned Matsuba and Pryce's favor.
Tetsuya first handed Giovanni the Johto League-certified Badges from Ecruteak Gym and Mahogany Gym to verify his identity.
A special Badge like this served as proof of a Gym Leader's identity and would never be casually given to someone else. It seemed there really was an important matter. Giovanni nodded, set aside the documents in his hands, and prepared to hear what Tetsuya had to say.
"The corruption and inaction of the Johto League are already common knowledge, so I won't say any more about that. What I want to talk about next is… the Shadow Team! I wonder if the two of you have heard of them," Tetsuya asked.
"Of course. They even have forces in our Kanto, though I should have cleared out most of them by now. As we have discovered, in Kanto, their main businesses should be human trafficking and the Pokémon Black Market.
They've been frequently active throughout the various regions… though, they seem to have restrained themselves somewhat over the past half year." Giovanni's understanding of Shadow Team was second to none, and he was also very familiar with the underground forces in every region.
At present, Team Magma and Team Aqua in the Hoenn Region, as well as Team Galactic in the Sinnoh Region, were all still in their development stages.
Moreover, they were too far from Kanto for Giovanni to concern himself with them. What he hated most was Shadow Team in the neighboring Johto Region. Their "vicious" and "ruthless" methods, along with the strength of their subordinates, had caused Team Rocket considerable losses.
Although Shadow Team's forces and personnel were far inferior to Team Rocket's, every Shadow was extremely strong and fought with reckless disregard for their lives. Although Giovanni wanted to eliminate Shadow Team, the organization kept its movements well hidden in the Johto Region, and he was also genuinely wary of Shadow Team's power, fearing that an attack would result in heavy casualties.
"Let me first tell you about my experiences and how Shadow Team trains its members…"
Tetsuya spoke for a full half hour before he finished explaining Shadow Team's methods and what had happened to him within Shadow Team.
Giovanni could not help sneering. "Heh… this Shadow Team is rather 'interesting'."
Archer said, "How infuriating! So some of the people they trafficked to us were nothing but their rejects."
"In other words, the destruction of Shadow Team's overseas base has already struck at their very core, and a large number of Shadows died at sea. That's why they've remained dormant for so long…?"
Giovanni already had an idea in mind. If he could seize this opportunity to eliminate Shadow Team and expand his influence into the Johto Region, Team Rocket would become the only underground organization spanning two regions. They would even dare to challenge the League!
"Yes. Matsuba and Pryce have already gathered many like-minded people to investigate Shadow Team's strongholds and headquarters, but their forces are too limited. If you, 'Leader' Giovanni, could represent the Indigo League and lend them assistance, I believe Shadow Team's destruction would only be a matter of time."
Giovanni naturally understood Tetsuya's meaning immediately. A righteous undertaking like eliminating Shadow Team would certainly have to be carried out in the name of the Indigo League. As for how the Indigo League's forces could successfully enter Johto, that was something both sides would have to consider next.
"With the assistance of elites like Matsuba and Pryce, I'm confident as well. Please return and tell them that I will definitely send word within three months. Also, this is my private number. Please take it to them as well." With that, Giovanni had his secretary hand Tetsuya his internal business card.
"…Then what about having Tetsuya join Team Rocket?" Archer asked.
"I believe Team Rocket and Tetsuya won't have any conflicts of interest, Archer. So whether you join or not is entirely up to you, Tetsuya. However, Team Rocket's doors will always be open to you," Giovanni said.
Tetsuya secretly admired someone like Giovanni as well. Whether it was his breadth of mind and bearing or his ability to look far ahead, he was truly exceptional among men.
After speaking with Tetsuya for only a short while, Giovanni had already determined that Tetsuya would not have any conflicts of interest with Team Rocket. It was simply incredible. Even Matsuba and Pryce could not do that.
While this is also due to the fact that Matsuba and Pryce don't have to look after any kind of "organization" of their own that relies on them, it isn't all that strange that Giovanni's mind developed the way it did.
As for why he had been invited so openly… this wasn't an anime, game or manga. Those "gray" areas, well, practically black, might be "illegal," but as long as there was no proof, nothing could be done. Besides, as long as they didn't cross the League's boundaries or get caught red-handed, at most there would only be a superficial investigation.
It's like real life. When you're a child, everything is black and white, good or bad, but as you grow up, you realize that everything is tinged with shades of gray…
Therefore, as long as Giovanni's role as leader remained unknown, the fact that he had issued the invitation merely indicated a connection to Team Rocket.
Something that, even if revealed, no one would believe given his reputation and achievements; in fact, people would be more likely to suspect that Silph Co. or other companies were the ones dealing with the organization and that its board of directors had access to them.
Of course, if Tetsuya were to mention it to the Jenny family, along with the matter of the "lost" Poké Balls, their influence would be enough to truly hurt Giovanni. But Tetsuya wasn't interested; after all, given his past life and what he knew, he had no reason to fear Team Rocket.