In the heart of Viridian City, beneath the polished veneer of the Gym, Team Rocket's hidden headquarters pulsed with the quiet menace of power.
Giovanni sat behind a sleek obsidian desk in a dimly lit chamber, his Persian lounging at his side, its gem glinting with predatory calm.
Petrel, one of Giovanni's trusted executives, stood before him, delivering a report that had the boss's full attention.
The subject: Gladion Vortex, Moonwood's 15-year-old psychic prodigy and major Gym Leader, whose latest discovery threatened Rocket's empire.
"Sir," Petrel began, his voice steady but edged with urgency, "Gym Leader Gladion has secured a mine in Mt. Moon with large deposits of the rare metal alloy used to craft Metal Coats—items essential for evolving Onix into Steelix."
Giovanni's eyes narrowed, his fingers steepled, Persian's tail flicking with interest. "How big is the mine?" he asked, his tone deceptively calm, the kind that made his underlings sweat.
Petrel pulled up a classified report. "Our spy in the League's Department of Resource Management and Allocation estimates it's massive—enough to manufacture Metal Coats for thousands of Onix evolutions over decades. It's a game-changer for the market."
Giovanni leaned back, his mind racing, a dark glint in his eyes. Metal Coats were a cornerstone of Team Rocket's black-market trade, sold at exorbitant prices due to their rarity, alongside Hoenn's Devon Corporation, which dominated the legitimate market.
'A mine that size in the hands of a kid like Vortex?' he thought, his fingers drumming on the desk. 'He'll flood the market, undercut our prices, and disrupt our profits.'
Rocket's control over the Metal Coat trade was a cash cow, funding everything from smuggling rings to experimental labs. Devon, too, would feel the pinch, their metal steel end items losing value.
Giovanni's voice was cold, deliberate. "We can't have that. Metal Coats are our domain in the Indigo region, and Devon's in Hoenn. We charge premium prices because the metal's scarce. If Vortex starts mass-producing them at low costs, it'll gut our business."
Petrel shifted, his purple hair catching the dim light. "Should we destroy the mine, sir? A few well-placed explosives, some Golem to collapse the caves—it'd be untraceable."
Giovanni's lips curled into a faint, predatory smile, Persian purring as if sensing his master's scheming. "No, Petrel—destruction's wasteful. Why ruin a treasure when we can claim it? The mine's too valuable to lose. Vortex only holds the rights as long as he's Gym Leader and can protect it from 'criminals.'"
His voice dripped with mockery. "If he can't secure it from, say, a series of unfortunate attacks, the League will strip him of ownership. I would be the natural choice to take over—since I have the money and the legal forces to protect it along with experience. Send a team to disrupt the mine—sabotage equipment, rough up the workers, maybe kill one or two security officers to send a message. Make it look like Vortex can't handle his responsibilities."
Petrel nodded, jotting notes, but Giovanni wasn't done. "And don't think Devon will sit idly by. Their Metal Coat sales are at stake—they'll try to hamper the boy, maybe through legal battles or their own sabotage. Let them stir the pot; it'll distract Vortex while we move in." Giovanni's mind churned with strategy, 'The kid's tough, but he's still a kid—overwhelm him, and he'll crack.'
Petrel hesitated, his expression tightening, then ventured, "Sir… Vortex has become a serious problem for us. He's not just disrupting our business with this mine. He's destroyed our operations, apprehended or killed dozens of our grunts and officers—Kanto, Johto, Hoenn in the past few years. Why not… get rid of him for good?"
The room fell silent, Persian's eyes narrowing as if offended by the suggestion. Giovanni's face went blank, an unreadable mask that made Petrel's palms sweat. After a long pause, he spoke, his voice low, laced with begrudging respect. "We tried that, Petrel. A year ago, in Hoenn, when he was far from Indigo's support. You remember what happened, don't you?"
Petrel swallowed, nodding. The memory was a scar on Rocket's pride. They'd ambushed Gladion in a remote Hoenn forest, a squad of elite operatives backed by a small army of Pokémon all trained for lethality.
They'd thought him vulnerable, a 14-year-old psychic with no backup. But Gladion had unleashed Colossus, his alpha Tyranitar, a pseudo-legendary beast whose Hyper Beam had torn through their ranks like a cannon. The operatives' Pokémon were obliterated, their bodies scattered across the forest floor along with their trainers and Colossus emerged without a scratch.
The survivors had fled, whispering of a "demon in black" and his unstoppable monster.
Giovanni's fingers tightened on the desk, his blank expression giving way to a grimace. "As much as I hate to admit it, an alpha pseudo-legendary like that Tyranitar can't be dealt with by numbers alone, or even quality. We'd need overwhelming firepower—Elite Four-level trainers, maybe a Legendary—and even then, we'd lose men, Pokémon, resources. It's not worth the cost… yet."
His voice darkened, a sinister edge creeping in. "Project Mewtwo is in its final stages. Once it's complete, no one—not Vortex, not the League, not even Arceus itself—will dare confront Team Rocket directly." A dark grin spread across his face, Persian purring in sync, as if savoring the thought of Mewtwo's power unleashed.
Petrel's eyes widened, a mix of awe and fear. Project Mewtwo, Rocket's ultimate weapon, was a whispered legend among the executives—a cloned Legendary Pokémon, engineered to dominate all opposition.
'If Mewtwo's nearly ready, Vortex doesn't stand a chance,' he thought, though Gladion's track record made him uneasy.
"Understood, sir," Petrel said, bowing slightly. "I'll assemble a team for the mine—discreet, efficient. We'll make it look like Vortex's negligence." Giovanni waved him off, his grin lingering. "Good. And keep an eye on Devon—let them think they're outsmarting us. The mine will be ours, and Vortex will learn his place."
---Author Notes------
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