Giovanni thought for a long time, then finally shook his head.
So what if it was a coincidence? And if it wasn't, what could he do about it?
Right now, his son was already in Axel's hands. The most important thing was to play along with Axel, only then could he get his son back.
Giovanni forced out a smile, "Axel, my young friend, who would've thought we were this fated."
"I remember not long after we met, you were already helping me look for my son, searching for Pryce's whereabouts."
"I didn't expect you to have grown this strong, and you still haven't forgotten about it."
"When you have time, help me bring my son back. I'll make sure to thank you properly."
"No time," Axel curled his lip. He had gone out of his way to find Silver, not to head into Team Rocket's main base.
With Axel's current strength, he had a good chance of suppressing Giovanni, but that was without the entire Team Rocket backing him up.
With a bunch of Elite-level fighters in Team Rocket, his chances of barging in recklessly were under 99%.
Something that dangerous, was he going to do it?
Axel continued, "I've got a grudge with the Explorers recently. I'll send Silver back after I deal with them. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."
"Wait."
Giovanni hurriedly stopped him. As someone familiar with Axel, he knew exactly what kind of person he was.
If this call ended now, he might never see Silver again in his life.
"As a Gym Leader, it's my duty to eliminate villain organizations!"
"As for you, even though you're strong, you don't hold a position in the League. Dealing with the Explorers isn't within your responsibilities."
"You stay in Kanto and keep Silver company for a few days. I'll go deal with those bastards who dared to kidnap my son."
So cooperative?
Hearing those words, Axel couldn't help but give him a silent thumbs-up.
No wonder Giovanni was the most charismatic villain. He was so sensible it was almost touching.
Axel quickly changed how he addressed him. "Ahem, Uncle Giovanni's right. Then it's settled."
"Just so happens Silver doesn't seem too eager to go back. I'll help talk to him, let him understand how hard things have been for you as his dad. You just go handle the Explorers."
Giovanni: "..."
He didn't understand how someone in this world could be this shameless.
Just a moment ago it was all hostility, and now he was calling him uncle?
"Deal!"
———
After explaining his plan to wipe out Team Rocket to Silver, Axel didn't stay long.
He came to Kanto to rescue Mewtwo. Now that Giovanni was going to the Paldea region under his Gym Leader identity to fight the Explorers, he definitely wouldn't be bringing Mewtwo or the war machines Team Rocket had just developed.
This was the perfect chance to rescue Mewtwo and, while he was at it, wipe out Team Rocket.
Of course, Axel didn't keep Silver in the dark either.
He answered all of Silver's questions clearly and told him everything that had happened while Giovanni had been searching for him during this time.
Silver fell silent, "For me… he actually did that much?"
"But… I can empathize with him, yet I can't forgive him. These underground organizations have caused too much disaster for people."
"Only by making Team Rocket disappear can my father's sins be erased."
Axel thought about it, then didn't refuse Silver's request. If Team Rocket was destroyed this way, Giovanni might not have too extreme a reaction.
"Then let's wait until your dad leaves. We'll go together after that. By the way, is your home nearby?"
"Wait," Seeing Axel ask about Silver's home, Gary got anxious.
"Once you're done here, come back to Pallet Town with me. My sister is still waiting for you to come over for a meal."
"No, no," Axel quickly waved his hands, 'Avoiding your sister is exactly what I'm doing.'
'If it weren't for your sister Daisy being at home, I'd have gone to visit Aunt Delia already.'
After making food for the Pokémon, Axel took a look at Squirtle and saw that its soul still needed about ten more days to fully form. He didn't waste any more time and went straight back to his room to fall asleep.
Now that the Rainbow Team Rocket and the Pokémon world were interacting more and more, the sooner he could get Hoopa, the sooner he'd gain another powerful combat force.
———
The scene shifted.
Axel appeared once more in an endless desert. Fortunately, in the dream world he didn't need to eat or drink, and his senses were greatly dulled.
Otherwise, just this kind of weather would be unbearable.
"Gyarados, come out. Keep teleporting and look for a city," Axel handed the traveling task to Gyarados, lying back on its wide back with his legs crossed.
As he lay there, he started thinking, 'It would be nice if the General had that "Time Dragon" trait.'
That way, Axel could have the General take Gyarados around to search for Hoopa, while he himself wouldn't feel the passage of time at all, just needing to wait for an instant.
———
A few hours later—
"Roar!", Gyarados suddenly let out an excited roar, its body trembling slightly, waking Axel who had been sleeping on its back.
Axel opened his eyes. In the distance, a modern city appeared. Its main tone was black, almost every building shining, clearly with a large amount of glass structures.
If he remembered correctly, this was where Rayquaza and Groudon had first made their name in battle.
Axel didn't hesitate and jumped straight off Gyarados's back.
With the wind roaring past him, Axel casually recalled Gyarados into its Poké Ball, then released Gardevoir, wrapping an arm around her waist as the two of them slowly descended.
The last time he came here, Axel had been surprised to find that while the other Pokémon were still dull, like data, Gardevoir, perhaps because of her psychic power, seemed to have developed some intelligence compared to before in the dream.
"Gardevoir, use telepathy and check if Hoopa is here."
Axel vaguely remembered that two Hoopas had appeared in the movie.
At the beginning, there was only one Hoopa Unbound. Later, that Hoopa became obsessed after receiving endless praise, excessively pursuing power and causing chaos in that world.
Afterward, it was sealed by Baraz and Meray's great-grandfather using the Prison Bottle, which sealed most of its power, turning it into Hoopa Confined, the small Hoopa form.
During Team Rocket's attempt to seize the Prison Bottle, the evil power inside became the shadow of Hoopa Unbound, essentially another Hoopa, which wanted to devour Hoopa Confined and take its place.
The two Hoopas each summoned Legendary Pokémon and fought fiercely. In the end, with Ash and the others' help, the small Hoopa reconciled with the shadow of Hoopa Unbound, becoming a complete Hoopa capable of switching between two forms.
This time, Axel's goal was to take away Hoopa's shadow. After all, that one was purely the dark side, so there was no hesitation in fighting it.
More importantly, with the system's existence, Hoopa would become a soulless Pokémon after leaving, needing Xiaofeng to nurture it again.
In that situation, targeting Shadow Hoopa became especially important.
["Master… I found them… those Team Rocket members we ran into before… and Ash."]
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