Chapter 309: Giovanni Feels His Life Is Simply Too Perfect
Evening. Viridian City.
"Yo~ Zhen Niao, been quite a while, hasn't it? Come here, let me see if the young master's put on any weight lately."
Entering Viridian Gym, Mammon spread his arms toward the approaching Zhen Niao, grinning.
"Boss, please conduct yourself properly."
Zhen Niao stepped back, pushing up her glasses, giving a flat glance to the three behind him. Caitlin's expression didn't shift at all as she gave the purple-haired, bespectacled woman a quick once-over before looking away — no threat there. Platinum and Paul, meanwhile, took in the grand, opulent Gym around them. Viridian Gym. Why would Mammon be coming here? Neither of them was slow on the uptake — realization dawned on both at once, leaving them genuinely stunned.
"Tch~ months apart and Zhen Niao's still this cold to me." Mammon scoffed.
Zhen Niao shot him a subtle, unamused glance — flirtatious in private was one thing, but in front of company?
"Boss, showing up at the Gym like this out of nowhere isn't exactly wise, is it? Mr. Giovanni holds no small standing with the League these days — if this got noticed—"
"Relax, Mewtwo already checked, no one's tailing us, and the nearby cameras didn't catch anything either."
"Alright then. Mr. Giovanni's waiting inside for you. This way, please."
Zhen Niao wasn't especially surprised — she trusted Mammon wouldn't do anything this reckless without reason. Following her into Giovanni's office, they found him seated at his desk, right hand idly stroking Persian.
"Yo~ Dad. Living the easy life, huh?"
Mammon dropped into a seat without a trace of formality, teasing him.
"Uncle Giovanni. It's been a while — my regards." Caitlin offered a formal, elegant noble's greeting.
"Not that long, actually — we saw each other over in Unova." Giovanni gave Caitlin a mature, easy smile and a nod, then turned his attention to Mammon.
"Nowhere near as easy as your life, Mammon — Team Rocket's new boss, head of a major power known across the world."
There was an unmistakable note of teasing in Giovanni's tone.
So it really was true!!! Platinum was thoroughly stunned. The outside world had always believed Mammon had joined Team Rocket originally because of a suffocating home environment and public pressure — a genuinely promising young man driven onto the wrong path. But clearly, the whole world had been deceived. There'd never been any real father-son rift between Mammon and Giovanni at all — the entire thing had just been an elaborate performance!
Paul felt an equally powerful surge of shock internally, though his expression stayed composed on the surface.
"Ha~ that's all thanks to you, Dad, honestly. Oh, right — let me introduce you to these two."
Mammon introduced Platinum and Paul to Giovanni.
"Both prodigy trainers I scouted over in Sinnoh. Genuinely gifted."
"Hello there."
Giovanni nodded at them both with a smile. His admiration for Mammon's eye for talent ran deep — hadn't Caitlin and Gladion both been Mammon's own discoveries too? And events had proven that judgment sound — Caitlin had become Mammon's right hand, and Gladion, beyond his own considerable strength, had proven himself equally capable in management, becoming one of Mammon's most trusted subordinates.
"Mr. Giovanni, hello." Platinum and Paul returned the greeting.
"There's always been rumors going around that you and Mr. Mammon—"
Platinum glanced carefully at Giovanni, unable to resist voicing the question on her mind. Maybe, now that Team Rocket had reformed, father and son had quietly reconciled behind the scenes?
"This was Mammon's own idea. Once I decided to hand Team Rocket over to him, I severed my ties to the organization entirely."
Giovanni's answer, of course, confirmed something else entirely — that he himself had once been Team Rocket's original boss. So Mr. Mammon had literally inherited the family business?! Platinum fell silent. Which meant, in effect, that the League had been played by father and son this entire time. And Team Rocket's former boss had been the Viridian Gym Leader all along — an official, League-sanctioned Gym!!
"Dad, Silver went to the park today. Did he mention it to you?"
Mammon took a sip of the tea Zhen Niao had brought, asking Giovanni.
"Mm. That boy... he's genuinely fixated on you." Giovanni shook his head, resigned.
"A little too fixated, honestly, Mammon. You'd better brace yourself." Giovanni considered a moment, genuinely concerned that this state of affairs wasn't doing Silver's psychological wellbeing any favors.
"Understood. I'll arrange for someone to give him some counseling when I get the chance." Mammon mused it over.
Silver, Silver — if you want to track your brother down, you're going to have to work a lot harder than this.
"Oh, right — Mitsuki messaged me a few days ago. She mentioned the Alola League's officially established now, and once the Manalo Conference kicks off, she'd love for me to come watch in person. What do you think?"
Giovanni asked with a smile.
The Manalo Conference — Alola's regional tournament, held at Manalo Stadium, itself funded and built by the Aether Foundation. And since the current Alola League chairwoman was Lusamine herself, that essentially meant the chairwoman had personally funded the venue's construction. Something Kukui and the others were, needless to say, thoroughly relieved about — truly, the right choice for Alola's league chair!
Mitsuki?
At the name, Caitlin instantly perked up, sitting straight, setting down her teacup. Giovanni, noting this with sharp attentiveness, let his smile deepen slightly, watching Mammon with obvious amusement.
"She sent me the same message. Wants me there to see her crowned Alola's champion." A wistful note colored Mammon's voice. Right — time really had flown by; Mitsuki was about to claim Alola's throne herself now.
"I already said yes. This is a genuinely meaningful milestone for her."
"Mm, then I'll agree too. Such an important life event for my future daughter-in-law — I should be there in person to support her. Though I'll wait until the finals to show up, given I can't risk exposure."
Giovanni took a sip of tea, nodding along. As for whether Mitsuki would actually win the title — that wasn't really a question either of them entertained seriously. Who in all of Alola stood any real chance of stopping her from taking the crown? Don't be absurd. Short of importing some "extraterritorial demon god" tier talent like Mei or Platinum — and even then, Mammon would honestly say, if it came down to an actual fight, Mei and Platinum probably still wouldn't be a match for Mitsuki either. After all, this world's Mitsuki hadn't just been personally apprenticed under Giovanni himself for half a year before her official debut — her Pokémon resources were also top-tier by any measure. She'd started her journey with a top-tier-talent Dratini, then later received both Nihilego and Articuno from Mammon himself. Genuinely premium treatment. And by her own account, she'd already caught Tapu Koko, and had her eye on a rather dashing lion of a Legendary besides.
That lion, apparently, was Solgaleo — smuggled from the Ultra Megalopolis into present-day Alola by Lunala, and, as it happened, romantically involved with her. Lunala, though, was an important companion and family member to Lillie, and while Mitsuki eyed him with real longing, she couldn't quite bring herself to actually go after Cosmog — the young Cosmog that would eventually become one or the other. And by Cosmog's own account, it considered itself already claimed — belonging to Lillie, Mammon, and Solgaleo. It wasn't especially fond of Mitsuki either, given how often she'd teased and bullied it back when it was small. Taken a shine to it now? Too little, too late.
So, having whiffed with the moon-god fearing ghosts, Mitsuki set her sights on the fire-fearing sun-god, Solgaleo, instead. Solgaleo, for its part, held no particular ill will toward Mitsuki — even agreed to let her attempt a capture. Unfortunately, Mitsuki's current strength still fell noticeably short of Solgaleo's own. The capture failed.
Mitsuki wasn't giving up, though, resolved to keep training and try again later — and Solgaleo, for its part, agreed to give her another shot down the line. It was easy enough to imagine — Alola's first-ever League Champion was probably about to lead the whole region into a genuine golden age.
"Speaking of which — when are you planning to tell Mitsuki about your current identity?"
Giovanni asked Mammon.
Caitlin's elegant brow furrowed slightly, a sudden weight of pressure settling over her. Uncle Giovanni seemed to think remarkably highly of this Mitsuki — even calling her "future daughter-in-law" outright. Caitlin pressed her lips together, the comment weighing on her more than she'd expected.
"No rush. After she's crowned champion." Mammon shook his head.
"Fine, your call — it's between the two of you, after all." Giovanni sipped his tea, not planning to meddle in his son's romantic affairs. He knew well enough Mammon's tastes ran on the freewheeling side. Still, Giovanni thought highly of Mitsuki — the girl really was something extraordinary, and she and Mammon had known each other longer than most. Sure, Mammon had no shortage of exceptional women around him these days, but Giovanni doubted anyone could seriously threaten Mitsuki's standing.
"So, Dad, when are you planning your Elite Four challenge? I've been looking forward to the show." Mammon crossed one leg over the other, thoroughly at ease, asking Giovanni.
Right — this was, without question, the single most anticipated event in Kanto for the rest of the year, as far as Mammon was concerned.
Mr. Giovanni's challenging the Elite Four? Platinum's eyes went wide at that.
"'Looking forward to the show' — what, watching your old man steamroll Kanto's Elite Four?" Giovanni couldn't help a small laugh.
"Aside from Lance, who's at least got some real bite, the other three shouldn't give me much trouble. Honestly not much of a show to see." Giovanni idly scratched Persian's head, his tone thoroughly unbothered.
"Sounds like you're planning on using Groudon, then." Mammon didn't confirm or deny it either way. Without Groudon, the outcome between Giovanni and Lance would genuinely be uncertain — but with Primal Groudon in his corner, there was practically no one left in this world capable of matching Giovanni besides Mammon himself, and maybe that ancient monster over in Johto.
"Reaching the top requires it." Giovanni nodded.
"Goodshow's already collected the eight original badges from us Gym Leaders, apparently planning to use them to summon a Legendary Pokémon."
"Which means Lance may well end up with a Legendary of his own as his ace."
"I don't intend to hold back my own strength. Becoming Kanto's Champion would be the best outcome available. We'll just have to see what Legendary he ends up with, when the time comes."
Giovanni explained. Lance's raw strength was already formidable, and he stood a genuinely good chance of coming away with a high-tier Legendary as his own ace. Giovanni had no intention of underestimating him — having already committed to challenging the Elite Four, aiming straight for the Champion's title was only natural.
"Ho-Oh or Lugia, most likely — neither's enough to threaten you, Dad." Mammon shook his head. In Pokémon Adventures, the "large Legendary bird" Lance and his allies had summoned turned out to be Lugia — no telling whether that would hold true in this world too. But whether it ended up being Lugia or Ho-Oh, either one taking on Primal Groudon would honestly be asking a lot of them.
"Couldn't be more perfect, then. Mammon, you'll have to start calling me the Kanto Champion soon enough." Giovanni leaned back in his chair, swirling his teacup lazily, smiling.
Team Rocket's whole operation was thriving under Mammon's inheritance. And he himself was carving out an equally successful path in the light-side establishment. Silver, too, would have every reason to be proud of him.
My life really has turned out perfect, hasn't it~ Giovanni thought. If parallel worlds really did exist, some other version of himself out there was probably eaten alive with envy right about now. Heh heh heh~. What a genuinely wild world this had turned out to be.
Platinum's brain had officially given up processing. The secretly-identity-concealed former Team Rocket boss is about to become the Kanto League Champion? She glanced at Mammon, then at Giovanni, then back again.
Is this... is this really okay?
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