"...Who is this, Giovanni?" The woman in front of me glanced over at me, giving me a curious look. But I barely even registered her words, because I was too busy staring at her blankly.
Lusamine looked around as I imagined she would, as she had long blonde hair, a pretty and mature face, and an equally as mature body. She was wearing a white, sleeveless shirt, which acted as a choker around her neck, then turned into a skirt at her waist - and, which also happened to hug her frame very tightly. Her massive breasts were pressed out, being easily outlined and even accentuated by the clothes. Her skirt, even as she was sitting down, was on the shorter side as it didn't cover her bottom half well - which was covered in a skin-tight, leggings-esque fabric. It clung to her long legs, showcasing her juicy thighs as her skirt hid the massive rear that they led to.
She was a woman who certainly shouldn't be in Kanto, and that I wholly, in none of my wildest dreams, imagined to be at the top of this building. So far, my journey through this region had been pretty linear, as I followed the rough path and story of the games - taking on the Pewter City gym, then the Cerulean City gym, before finally breaking the mold to head to Saffron City early. I had also taken a small side quest to capture Mewtwo early, but besides that, everything had been pretty normal. Now, as someone who wouldn't appear until generation 7 was randomly at the top of the Silph Co. building, and having a meeting with Giovanni, I didn't know what to think.
But what I did know was that this wasn't my fault - how the hell would coming to Saffron City a bit early cause this?! In the games, Lusamine wouldn't have even been an idea in someone's head when Gen 1 came out! There's no way she was having some secret meeting here with Giovanni, because she didn't even exist! It seemed that the real, moving world around me didn't just make pokemon battles different from their in-game counterparts, but even the events taking place in the world.
Speaking of Giovanni, he looked about how I expected him to as well. He was on the older side, looking to be in at least his 40s, but also possibly his 50s, with pale white skin, slicked back short black hair, and a thin physique. He was wearing a buttoned-up black suit, which had a large red R logo on the front, along with dress pants and dress shoes. All around, if I were about to meet a Mafia boss, I'd expect him to look like this guy.
"...Bah, it seems there was a bit of a problem, huh?" Giovanni drawled at Lusamine's question, narrowing his eyes at me with a bit of annoyance, "Red."
I blinked as his random saying of my name only confused me more, and I just turned my blank stare from Lusamine to Giovanni, "You know who I am?"
How the hell did Giovanni know my name? Or, even what I looked like! That, combined with the whole 'TV' thing that the scientist spoke about, had me more than a bit concerned. I know I was going around kicking ass at pokemon battles and farming poor trainers who barely knew how to fight back, but had I really built up a reputation for myself already? I thought I'd have to become Champion before my name spread throughout the region!
"Of course," Giovanni just bit out, his eyes glaring at me lightly, "You've been a bit of a thorn in my side, kid. I missed out on some valuable fossils because of you, and I've been getting reports of you battling against my boys, huh? You think I wouldn't know about you?"
I blinked, my eyes widening slightly as I stared at Giovanni. I was, for a rare instance in this world, genuinely surprised - because Giovanni… was actually paying attention to what his men did? He was reading reports about what happened in Mt. Moon? He took note of me because of my actions, and actually even learned my name? Even more surprising - those incompetent grunts in Mt. Moon were writing reports about me?! I doubted they even knew how to read, much less write entire reports! But, if Giovanni knew what I looked like, maybe they were drawn reports? No matter how unintelligent you were, anyone could scribble with a couple of crayons.
"...Good," But, I pushed my thoughts aside, and my lips just twitched up into a grin, causing Giovanni to look at me slightly confusedly.
I had gained false hope a couple of times throughout my time in this world, but truly, this time it was stronger than any other time. Giovanni seemed, at least on the surface, to be a genuinely intelligent person. A competent organization leader, who kept note of potential threats to his plans, and who learned not just my name, but what I looked like. This was, in my opinion, just the bare minimum that anyone running a massive criminal organization should do, but at least he was doing it, damn it! Compared to his fellow gym leaders, such as Sabrina, he was miles ahead in terms of competency! I might actually get to have a good, strategic battle here!
"Then, if you know about how I've been kicking your subordinate's asses, you should know why I'm here," I grinned widely, my eyes locking with Giovanni's as I temporarily didn't even care about Lusamine's strange presence. I could figure that out afterward, as it wasn't like she would suddenly disappear.
"I do," Giovanni answered bluntly, his lips twitching up into a bit of a smirk as he rose from his seated position, knocking over the chair behind him as he did, "And, trust me, kid, I'm more than ready for ya."
I couldn't help but feel a bit excited as he spoke, my heart starting to pound in my chest as I reached down, and my hand wrapped around a pokeball in my pocket. For once, I felt like my hopes weren't going to be dashed away. That I was finally about to get a real-deal, intense, and difficult fight. A battle where I'd had to put all my skills on the line, against an opponent with not just skill, but also a powerful and high-level team of pokemon. It was time to indulge in the fight I'd been searching for during all my time in this world.
"Great, then let's not waste any time!" I grinned widely, yanking a pokeball out of my pocket as I got ready to toss it forward.
"Of course," Giovanni grinned back, reaching into his own pocket, and then pulled out a chunk of black fabric, which he would throw forward to begin our battle-
I blinked, staring blankly as I realized that the fabric in his hand was, in fact, not a pokeball. I only grew more confused as Giovanni stepped forward, holding out his free hand towards me.
"Welcome to the team, kid!"
I stared down at his unstretched hand blankly, and then glanced back up at Giovanni's face, which was looking deathly serious as he gave me a light grin. I stared at him blankly for a moment, letting silence ring out through the room, and then finally spoke as eloquently as I could.
"Huh?" Was my rather sophisticated response.
"Welcome to Team Rocket," Giovanni just repeated, his grin straining a bit as his hand was outstretched for a handshake for an awkwardly long amount of time, "This is where you shake my hand, kid."
For a moment, I just continued to stare at him blankly.
"...What the hell are you saying?" I finally forced out, looking at the man incredulously. Seriously, what part of anything that had happened before this had led him to the conclusion that I was joining Team Rocket? More importantly, why the hell did he have a Team Rocket uniform shoved into his pocket already?! Did he just keep those on him at all times?!
"I'm welcoming you to Team Rocket, obviously," Giovanni bit back, looking a bit annoyed at my question, "What else would that mean, huh?"
"No, no, I get that part," I sighed, shaking my head lightly, "I mean why? I thought we were about to have a pokemon battle!"
And, I felt like that was a pretty normal thought to have! I had defeated his grunts in Mt. Moon, taken his fossils, foiled John Smith for his Abra, and even beaten more than a few grunts trying to rob me in Saffron City! Not to mention, now I had just busted through his headquarters and reached the top of the Silph Co. building to confront him! What else would we be doing except battling?! It was the natural progression of the events! I had reached the top of the tower, and it was time for my boss fight!
"A pokemon battle? Why would we do that?" Giovanni just blinked at my question, and I felt a bit offended as he looked at me like I was stupid, "You don't need to prove anything else to me, kid! I know you're Team Rocket material!"
"I'm what?" I sputtered, trying to figure out if someone had slipped hallucinogens into the Silph Co. air vents. Honestly, I was definitely offended this time - Team Rocket was full of a bunch of incompetent grunts! What did he mean I was 'Team Rocket material?!'
Giovanni just scoffed in response, as if I were the one being unreasonable, "Kid, come on. You don't gotta play coy with me. I've seen everything you did to get my attention, and you definitely did!"
"I… did?" I repeated, still trying to catch up to whatever backwards rocket, or perhaps Team Rocket in this case, science he was doing in his head. What the hell had I been doing to get Giovanni's attention? I've just been following the normal game routes and trying to stack up the gym badges!
"You're gonna make me explain it to you, huh? Need an ego boost or something?" Giovanni grunted, looking a bit more annoyed as he continued, "You outsmarted John Smith right off the bat! No one ever beats him at his own bet, so that alone was enough to get my attention, kid."
"I wasn't trying to get your attention," I stared at him blankly again, "That moron was just trying to scam me, so I counter-scammed him! It had nothing to do with you!"
More so, he said 'no one beats him at his own bet?' Anyone with a functioning brain would be able to beat him! But, considering the average intelligence of a trainer in this world, and that those were John Smith's main targets, I guess Giovanni likely wasn't lying.
"Ha! Next, you're going to tell me that what you did in Mt. Moon wasn't to get my attention either, huh?" Giovanni pressed, smirking lightly at me, as if he'd pulled out some kind of 'gotcha!' moment, "You saw how incompetent those grunts were in their search for the fossils, so you showed them that you could accomplish what they couldn't do in weeks in a single day! Now, you've brought me the fossils to prove to me how talented you are!"
My blank stare broke as I stared at Giovanni incredulously, wondering if the man really was insane, "I… I beat them because they were in my way, not because I was trying to prove anything to you, man. I took the fossils because I wanted the damn fossils, not to bring them to you! Why the hell would I go through all that effort for something like that?!"
"Dedication." My face turned drier than a desert as he brushed off my response with a light chuckle, "You were showing me you could handle yourself in the field. I respect the initiative. And, I heard you even lit some of my men on fire in the process, huh? Having the guts to attack a trainer straight on with your pokemon? You're definitely Team Rocket material!"
"That wasn't initiative, and stop calling me 'Team Rocket material!'" I protested with a groan, "They were just in the way! There's nothing more to it!"
"Semantics," Giovanni said, waving dismissively, and I felt like I was going insane. What the hell did he mean 'Semantics?!'
"Not semantics! I didn't do any of that for you, I did it for me," I stressed the last word, trying to get the concept through the insane man's head, but he just waved at me lightly again.
"Hah, what, so next you're going to tell me you broke into here, defeated all my men, and stormed in here just to fight me or something? Not to show me how good of a Team Rocket member you would be?" He scoffed, and I just gave him a dry look.
"That's exactly why I came here-"
"All of these are the actions of a talented young recruit trying to stand out from the crowd!" Giovanni continued, steamrolling over my words and completely ignoring them, "And then you managed to get all the way up to here! Even those police officers couldn't get through the guards at the doorway, but you? You fought your way up all eleven floors and came straight to me. If that's not a damn good declaration of loyalty, I don't know what is!"
I opened my mouth. Then, I closed my mouth. Then, I opened it again, before closing it again, as if I'd been possessed by a goldfish. Genuinely, I was at a loss for words right now. I had no comeback, no response, and nothing to say to the amount of stupidity coming from his mouth. Silently, my thoughts of this entire world being a product of me being high as hell resurfaced for the first time since I left Pallet Town. There was no other explanation for what Giovanni was saying - unless, maybe, he was the high one? Maybe he went a little too far with the Mafia Boss stereotype, and was smoking out of a crack pipe all the time?
I glanced over my shoulder, looking at the women behind me for support.
"I'm not the crazy one, right? I didn't do anything to make it seem like I wanted to join Team Rocket, did I?" I asked Joy bluntly, to which she nodded, also looking at Giovanni strangely.
"He's, um… not what I would expect for the leader of a criminal organization," She said bluntly, "Well, actually, I guess it makes sense for the leader of a criminal organization to be crazy, right?"
Well, at least I had her support, because right now, I had no idea what the hell was going on. Joy was also a bit on the crazy side herself, so if anyone would know if someone was crazy, it was her! However, while Joy was supporting me, Sabrina spoke up quickly and seemed to have a very different perspective.
"I-I knew it! You are a Team Rocket member in disguise!" She pointed at me accusingly, glaring lightly, "You really were trying to kidnap me! Just so you know, No One, I won't go down without-"
I promptly turned away from her, deciding that I couldn't deal with her stupidity and Giovanni's at the same time. There was only so much insanity I could manage. I glanced back at Giovanni, peeking around him at Lusamine, who was watching the whole exchange with an awkward expression on her face - as if she was also confused by the strange turn of events, though she looked a bit interested as well.
At this moment, I probably should've just given up on talking to Giovann entirely. I should've just considered him a lost cause and tossed out my pokemon as I kicked his ass straight out of the Silph Co. building, and then figured out why Lusamine was here to begin with. But, deep down, there was still a small glimmer within me. A small glimmer of hope that I could have a decent battle. That, despite Giovanni's insanity, he was still a real intelligent, competent trainer. At the very least, he had been keeping track of my actions against Team Rocket, so he was definitely the closest thing to a smart trainer I had met so far. I wanted a challenge, and I wanted to fight Giovanni on his A-game.
So, finally, I spoke to Giovanni again, intent on convincing him that I was his enemy so we could get to the main reason I came here.
"Listen," I said carefully, "I did all of that because I was trying to stop you. As in, take down Team Rocket! I'm your enemy! I'm here to kick your ass, got it?!"
In response, Giovanni… nodded sagely?
"This is exactly why you'll be a perfect Team Rocket member. You're telling me that you're after my position, aren't you?" Giovanni grinned lightly as I stared at him with my jaw on the floor, "That you intend to not just stay in a lowly grunt position, but to rise the ranks and make your own decisions! That you'll fight tooth and nail for what you believe in! The exact spirit of a true Team Rocket member!"
'Fight tooth and nail for what you believe in?' What part of that was the 'spirit of a true Team Rocket member?!' All they did was rob people and commit crimes! And, they even did that in an incompetent manner!
"You… you're a fucking idiot," I finally snapped bluntly, staring at him incredulously again, as I genuinely couldn't believe I was having this conversation with the leader of Team Rocket, "What part of stopping you do you think supports joining you!?"
"There it is! Your passion!" Giovanni grinned wider, nodding almost proudly at my words, "You're committed, kid! I respect that!"
"I'm committed to beating you, dumbass!" I tried again, but it didn't seem to get through to him.
"That's the spirit!" He praised again, as if I had just given him the correct answer to his employee orientation quiz, "Welcome to the team, kid!"
I was saved from my brain exploding as Lusamine daintily cleared her throat, finally interrupting us, "Ah, Giovanni, I won't tell you how to do your interviews, but… are you sure this boy is aware he's applying for anything? He doesn't seem to be on the same page as you."
Giovanni's head whipped toward her, looking slightly insulted, "Of course he is! Look at him! The drive! The fire! This is a prodigy, Lusamine! You think prodigies follow the rules of conventional hiring processes? No! They make their own! His Team Rocket application is unlike any other one I've ever seen!"
"That's because I didn't apply for anything!" I groaned, but Giovanni didn't budge.
"Of course you did, kid. You're doing it right now! You're showing me how competent you are by fighting your way up to here!" He argued, smirking again, "Just like how I'm showing the world my competency by taking over this city! We're pretty similar, huh? I see a lot of myself in you!"
That last part certainly didn't make me feel any better.
"That's not showing competency," I deadpanned at him, "That's breaking and entering, as well as a hostile takeover."
"It's commitment!"
"It's a crime."
"Eh, crime, passion, commitment? What's the difference?"
"There's a pretty fuckin' huge one, man," I told him dryly, letting out another sigh as I gave one last attempt at getting my intentions through his head, "Listen, I beat up all your grunts because they were in my way, alright? I didn't do any of it to impress you, or gain your attention, or for anything else! I don't know how big of an ego you have to think I did all that with you in mind, but I didn't! I'm not here for a job, and I'm not here to join Team Rocket."
I finished, staring at Giovanni with a deathly serious gaze. However, as he just stared back at me a bit strangely, and I was convinced that he didn't understand, until-
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm damn sure!" I shot back, growing more annoyed by the second as I spoke to the man, but what he said next definitely caught me off guard.
"Please?"
I blinked, staring blankly again as Giovanni spoke, "Huh?"
"Will you please join?"
I stared at Giovanni blankly. Giovanni stared blankly back. Did the leader of a criminal organization just ask me to 'please join' his criminal organization?
"What the hell? Why do you even want me to join?" I finally said slowly, more confused than ever.
Why the hell was he begging me to join Team Rocket now?!
"Look, kid, good help is hard to find these days! You're a rookie, and you took out a whole building full of my men!" Giovanni explained, looking at me a bit pleadingly, which felt strange as he was a lot older than I was, "They're all idiots! I could use a guy like you! Come on, kid, join Team Rocket!"
"No," I shot him down bluntly, but was actually somewhat impressed that he could acknowledge how stupid his grunts were.
"Pretty please?" I felt even weirder as Giovanni stared at me with wide, pleading eyes, and I leaned slightly away from him, "Come on, kid! I need a trainer like you! I'll even let you skip the grunt phase!"
"That's not as appealing as you think it is," I told him dryly, and he tried again.
"Alright, fine, more than just the grunt phase! I'll make you an executive!" He pressed further, looking at me a bit pleadingly again, "Pretty pretty please? I've decided you're a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy, kid, so I'm giving you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"No. Why would adding another 'pretty' to that change my decision?" I deadpanned at him.
"Well, usually my first tactic works, but it didn't on you, so… I'm trying shit here, alright, kid? It's never taken this long to recruit someone…" He sighed back, and I just blinked at him.
"Your first tactic?" I asked him incredulously, "You mean, all that shit about me trying to impress you was a recruitment tactic?"
"Yup! It's called gaslighting," Giovanni nodded sagely, "It usually works, too. This is the first time it failed."
"It usually works?" I repeated blandly in disbelief. He just shouts at people that they've really wanted to join Team Rocket the whole time, and they believe him? They just join a criminal organization? Who would be stupid enough for that to work on them-
"It's a very effective tactic." My expression turned bland as Jessie spoke behind me, nodding sagely as she thought back, "The training instructor used it on me, and I joined on the spot!"
I thought Giovanni's gaslighting working on anyone was unbelievable, but Jessie falling for the lies of 'John Smith' of all people was even more unbelievable. I was reminded that, in this world full of idiot trainers, I shouldn't expect much from anyone.
"You'd be surprised, kid. Those trainers will eat up whatever you tell them," Giovanni smirked at me.
But, honestly, it was hard for me to push down the hope that welled up from Giovanni's words again. My expectations of him being a genius trainer, or at least a non-dumbass one, had been crushed upon his insistence that I was trying to get his attention, but now it had risen again. Giovanni was, at the very least, not entirely stupid - he kept track of my actions, and beyond that, he knew about how stupid the average trainer was. He knew it to the point that he was even recruiting trainers by manipulating their lack of intelligence, which I had to respect to some extent.
"Well, it didn't work on me, and this tactic isn't either," I shot back, narrowing my eyes at Giovanni, "So, let's get to the point, shall we? I'm gonna kick your ass in a pokemon battle now."
There would be no better way to see if Giovanni could really give me a challenging battle than to actually battle him. Whether he wanted to recruit me or not didn't matter - here and now, I would take him on, and hopefully finally get a challenging fight.
"A battle?" Giovanni hummed, smirking widely at me again, "Fine, kid, but if I win… you gotta join Team Rocket."
I certainly didn't plan on losing, so I was perfectly fine with his condition, but-
"Why do you even want me to join so badly anyway?" I raised an eyebrow at him, as his intense insistence for me to join was a bit over the top. Even if I had been kicking his grunt's asses for the past few days, and had stolen the fossils Team Rocket were looking for in Mt. Moon, I was still a rookie trainer with only 2 badges. I couldn't be that interesting of a recruit, right?
"I'm lonely," Giovanni answered bluntly, with such a serious tone that I had to resist face-faulting.
"Y-You're lonely?! You have a whole criminal organization!" I spat out incredulously, but Giovanni just nodded sagely and partially confirmed my thoughts about him.
"My grunts are all idiots," He grunted, nodding his head towards Jessie, "You know her, right? Then, you'll know how useless they all are! It's hell trying to discuss anything with them! I'll beat you in a pokemon battle, and then I'll make you work for me, kid! With a prodigy like you by my side, my goals will be achieved in no time! And, I'll actually have someone to talk about Pokesports with! Those idiots can't even remember the rules, much less the players names…"
I stared back blankly at him for a moment, but then, I couldn't fault him. Jessie was nice and easy to get along with, but beyond her looks and comedic timing, she really didn't have a ton in the intelligence department to contribute. Giovanni really did have more to him than it appeared on the surface, as his logic was pretty sound - if I were a rookie trainer that was kicking his grunt's asses on a daily basis, then I would certainly be a big boon for his rather incompetent organization's manpower. He'd gain a powerful subordinate and someone who wasn't a complete idiot to converse with. He'd even given me an idea, as I'd definitely have to check out whatever these 'Pokesports' in this world are. I wonder if they have Squirtle-racing instead of Horse-racing? Can I bet on that?
And, honestly, I'd be lying if I said his offers weren't appealing. So far, I had yet to meet anyone truly normal in this world, as Joy was the closest thing I found, but even she was more than a bit crazy. Giovanni, for all his gaslighting and the circles he was running in this conversation, was probably the closest person I had met to the word 'normal.' If he could prove to me that he was genuinely a good fighter as well, then I wouldn't mind hanging around the guy a bit more, even if I definitely wasn't going to join Team Rocket. I didn't think they'd let me be the Champion if I was a criminal - granted, I doubted any criminals had made it that far, so I couldn't be certain. Either way, I didn't want to find out.
"Then, show me what you've got," I grinned widely at Giovanni as I finally chucked forward the pokeball in my hand, ready to engage in the battle. As I did, the pokeball popped open, and a creature popped out, and then… promptly started squirming on the floor awkwardly.
"Is that… a Legendary pokemon?!" Sabrina breathed out in awe behind me, which just caused me to look at her dryly.
"No, no it isn't. Why did that bastard give me a Lapras?" I groaned, staring as the pokeball that the scientist had given me just half an hour earlier was shown to be carrying a Lapras. In the games, this was an event that happened, but after the scientist said it would assist me in taking down Giovanni, I had expected something else. As in, something else that could battle on the land inside the towering building we had just scaled.
"It's a water-type. A water-type that can't move around on land," I deadpanned at the creature, which was slowly lurching forward and backwards as it started to spin around towards me in the world's slowest process.
Some water-type pokemon could battle perfectly fine on land - Squirtles, Politoeds, and even Starmie. They might've gotten a pretty big buff in the water, but they could certainly hold their own on land. Unfortunately, while it might not have been as bad as my flopping Gyarados or a Magikarp on land, Lapras did not fit into that category. How the hell was this pokemon supposed to assist me in a battle taking place eleven stories in the air, and nowhere near a pool of water, damn scientist?!
"A Lapras? Impressive," Giovanni hummed, only raising my opinion of him more as he actually recognized the pokemon, "But… why'd you release it?"
I blinked, as I had expected that 'but' to be followed by some strand of dramatic words about how it was no match for his 'insert powerful pokemon here', which would kick my ass.
"To battle?" I deadpanned at the man, who blinked in surprise despite the fact that we had just been discussing having a battle.
"Right now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me, and then bluntly shook his head, "No can do, kid."
"What the hell do you mean you can't?" I spat out at him again, staring blankly at the man, "You just said we were going to have a battle, and if I lose, I'll join Team Rocket!"
"Well, I meant another time," Giovanni waved his hand dismissively, as if I was the foolish one for assuming that he wanted to have the battle right now, "I can't do it right now."
"You can't? Just throw out a pokemon, man!" I pushed, as I didn't want to let this battle slip out of my hands. I finally found a competent opponent, and he just randomly decides that he doesn't want to battle?
"I can't," Giovanni just repeated, and at my dry glare, he clarified, "I mean, I literally can't, kid. I don't have any pokemon with me right now."
"You… you don't have any pokemon with you?" I asked him blankly, slowly raising my hand to recall my new Lapras, "How… how the hell do you have no pokemon?!"
Seriously, that was the one thing pokemon trainers always had with them! It was half of the concept of being a trainer! You couldn't be a pokemon trainer, much less a gym leader or the mafia boss of a criminal organization, without any pokemon! It was like being a police officer without a gun, or a taxi driver without a car, or a chef without a big floppy hat - you just couldn't do it!
"Legal immunity," Giovanni shrugged, and as I stared at him blankly again, he clarified once again, "The police can't arrest you unless they beat you in a pokemon battle, kid. So, if I don't have any pokemon on me, I can't be arrested."
"That… is that true?" I glanced back at Joy, who simply gave me a curt nod. Officer Jenny had told me that she could only arrest criminals after defeating them in a battle - something she struggled to do because her sole Arcanine was always tired from carrying her around all day - but, if someone didn't have any pokemon, they were just… unarrestable?
"Everybody knows that you have to lose a pokemon battle against an officer to be taken to jail, Red," Joy explained easily, "So, if he doesn't have any pokemon with him, then… I guess he can't be arrested?"
I stared at her blankly. Then, I turned back, and stared at Giovanni blankly.
"That might be the stupidest shit I've ever heard, and I've heard a lot of stupid shit," I said bluntly, and I wasn't lying, as I'd certainly heard a lot of stupid shit from various trainers over the past week - one bug catcher had even told me that I'd be getting the better end of the deal if I traded my Squirtle for his Caterpie, "What, so if someone doesn't own any pokemon, they're just immune from any laws?"
I was starting to wonder if there were more than a few trainers embedded into the legal system in this region, which might've explained the absolutely idiotic laws and rules here. Having to not just defeat a trainer in a pokemon battle, but defeat anyone committing a crime in a pokemon battle - regardless if they had pokemon or not - was definitely something an idiot would think of. How could the legal system even function with this stipulation? Any intelligent criminal would just not capture any pokemon, and they'd be able to get away with anything scot-free!
"Um… I guess?" Joy supplied unhelpfully behind me, just shrugging, "In theory it's true, but that never happens, because everyone has pokemon. It's kind of the thing to do here."
"Fair point," I sighed, just also shrugging as per usual, as I decided not to try and understand this crazy world any more than I had to. In a world full of pokemon and idiots, it would make sense that most people would at least own one pokemon, even if they weren't a trainer, and that the seemingly large amount of idiots in this region wouldn't think to abuse that loophole like Giovanni was right now. Honestly, I had to give the man his respect - this was some serious level bullshit he had thought up, and it was pretty genius.
"So, we're fucked? We did this for nothing?" I drawled, looking back blandly at the three women behind me, but Jessie quickly shook her head.
"Nope! Officer Jenny can still arrest all the grunts down there, right?" She pressed, grinning a bit smugly as she used her brain for once, "Then, he'll have no army to keep Saffron City captive!"
"All the grunts we didn't defeat, because she just scared them away?" I shot back, nodding lightly at Sabrina, and causing Jessie's face to drop, "We seem pretty fucked to me."
For once, I had been outsmarted in this world, and it felt… nice? My plan to storm Silph Co., defeat Giovanni, and hand him over on a silver platter to Officer Jenny had been stopped in its tracks, but honestly, instead of angry, upset, or sad about the waste of time, I felt… good. Excited, even, because I had been outsmarted - in a world full of idiots, Giovanni actually had a well throughout plan, which he created by using a loophole in the system! Not only was he not an idiot, but he was actually pretty smart! Add in that he was a gym leader with powerful pokemon, and thus assumedly a good trainer, and I'd found the first competent trainer in all of Kanto!
However, just as I was about to give up and start convincing Sabrina to let me challenge her gym anyway, a soft giggle echoed through the small room.
Lusamine's laugh was soft, almost amused, as she glanced over to Giovanni as spoke up, "Giovanni, I'll accept your partnership."
"Huh?" Giovanni blinked, glancing back to her as she suddenly changed her mind from her earlier words, "You will?"
Lusamine didn't answer immediately as her eyes slid from Giovanni to me and then back to him again, and slowly, her lips curved up into a small grin, "I will, but only on one condition. I'll offer you a deal. In fact, I'll make both of you a deal."
"Me?" I blinked as she turned to look at me, confused as to why I was being dragged into this again. She knows I'm not actually a Team Rocket member, right? I assume she does, but with how my conversation with Giovanni was very much so not what I expected it to be, I could never be sure with anything in this world.
"...What kind of deal?" Giovanni asked slowly, his face becoming serious but cautious again as he was apparently unprepared for any bargain that didn't involve him handing me an R-logoed outfit.
"It's simple," Lusamine folded her hands in her lap, looking overly graceful as she did, and somehow causing a tension to form in the air in the process, "A solution that will make all of us happy. I'll form a partnership with your organization, you'll leave Saffron City, and he…"
The tension in the room became even thicker as Lusamine reached into the hem of her skirt, and I heard Sabrina inhale sharply and nervously behind me - which was going a bit too far, in my opinion, because did she think the woman was about to whip out a gun or something? - as she pulled out an item. Then, as she flipped a phone screen towards me, which had a contact slot on the screen, the tension dissipated even faster than it arrived.
"Will give me his phone number."
My blank eyes met Lusamine's deathly serious look, "...My phone number?"
I felt like I was missing something here, because I know I'm pretty handsome, as shown by the three women following me around like stalkers, but… was this MILF seriously hitting on me right now? I know I almost instinctively called her 'Mommy' earlier, but time and place, lady! Not to mention, I felt like she was a bit too important of a person to be randomly hitting on rookie trainers.
"Put your phone number in the phone," She told me bluntly, rising to her feet as she stepped forward. She strode across the room, her eyes locked with mine, until she stopped just a foot away. Then, she reached up and abruptly placed one finger under my chin, and… pointed it downward because she was shorter than me. It was an awkward motion, and while Lusamine looked deathly serious, it felt more awkward than intimidating to me.
"You've caught my interest," She explained easily, keeping my gaze locked with hers. As her eyes bored into mine, her lips curled up into an almost predatory smile, and I suddenly felt like a hungry tiger was staring me down. Or, more accurately, a hungry cougar.
"...Right," I muttered, staring back at her awkwardly as I reached down, shuffling through my pockets for my own phone even as I couldn't look down to assist my search, "What if, instead, you put your number in my phone?"
Mainly because, regardless of how attractive she was, I definitely was a bit on guard about the whole 'catching her interest' and 'predatory stare' thing, and I would rather not give her the power to contact me whenever she wanted. Instead, I could just keep her number in case I ever decided to get in contact with her again, and, more importantly, I could choose to not call her at all if I wanted.
"No," Lusamine shot me down instantly, and as her tongue darted out, licking her lips lightly, the feeling of a cougar staring me down became even stronger, "I like to be the one in control."
I definitely felt like the situation had spiraled out of my control now, but as I did with most confusing or complicated things, I just shrugged.
"...fuck it, fine," I finally sighed, tilting my head to look down, and then blinking as her hand forcefully pushed my gaze back up.
"No wandering eyes. I didn't say you could look down there, even if I don't mind," She told me bluntly, a smirk forming on her lips as she did. I didn't know if this was supposed to intimidate me, but I just looked at her blandly.
"Then, how am I gonna put the number into your phone?" I asked dryly, finally glancing down as Lusamine blinked, and then blushed lightly as she realized I was turning my head down to look at her phone, which she was still holding up, and not at her body.
She pulled her hand away from my face, and I reached down, tapping in the numbers that I barely remembered were connected to the phone in my backpack. I considered putting in a fake number, but honestly, having contact with this woman would probably help more than it would hurt me in the long run, even if she was a bit scary.
"Then, our deal is complete," Lusamine said matter-of-factly, promptly shoving the phone back into the hem of her skirt as she brushed past me. However, as she did, she was stopped as Joy stepped forward to block her path.
"I don't know who you are, but I'd appreciate it if you kept your hands off my boyfriend, alright?" Joy said bluntly, her lips curved into an overly sweet smile. As she did, Lusamine just looked down at her a bit annoyedly.
"Boyfriend? I might have to have her eliminated…" She muttered under her breath as she pushed past Joy and then called back to Giovanni casually, "We can continue our meeting elsewhere, Giovanni."
Did she just say 'have her eliminated?' Should I be concerned about that?
But, as I glanced over at Joy, who was still smiling overly sweetly with a very annoyed look in her eyes, she didn't look all too afraid of the maybe-threat, so I figured I shouldn't be either.
"Gah, whatever, I got the blueprints I need already anyway," Giovanni sighed as Lusamine pushed past the three women behind me and headed out the door, following after her even as he gave me one last glance, "This ain't over, you hear me, kid? Next time we meet, I'll give you that battle, and you'll be joining Team Rocket!"
As he stomped out of the room, I hoped only the first part of his statement happened. The room became silent as the door swung close behind them, and just myself, Jessie, Sabrina, and Joy were left on the top floor of Silph Co.
"So… a job well done?" Jessie asked a bit shakily, just getting a dry look from me in response.
"I don't know about 'well done,' but we got them to leave. Which means you owe me a gym battle," I told Sabrina pointedly, who just nodded at my words, "But, first…"
I turned back to the empty room in front of us, which didn't look very different from any of the lower floors, as it just had a small desk, a bunch of chairs, and various cabinets leaning against the walls. In the games, after defeating Giovanni, you'd get the prototype Master Ball from the President of Silph Co. for rescuing him, but I hadn't met him on the way up to this floor, nor on the top floor. I could poke around a bit and look for a Master Ball lying around until Misty and Officer Jenny arrived, but I was doubtful that they would leave such a valuable ball lying around.
However, just as I was about to start fruitlessly searching the room, a cabinet on the opposite side of the room abruptly shook. The door of it pushed outward, looking as if someone was trying to push out from the inside, and a voice abruptly shouted at me.
"A-Are they gone?!" A flurry of fingers shoved through the gap in the locked cabinet door, and then waved awkwardly at us, "H-Hey! Is anyone still here?!"
I stared blankly at the talking cabinet, and then sighed as I strode forward, calling back out, "Yeah, they're gone. Who are you?"
I assumed the man in the cabinet had a name, and I was hoping that Giovanni really was crude enough to shove the president of the Silph Co. into a small cabinet, and that it wasn't some random scientist or grunt.
"I-I'm the president of this company! Quickly, there's no time!" The voice wheezed out, being a bit urgent, "T-The briefcase! To the side! Of the cabinet!"
"Eh?" I blinked at his words, which came out in panicked gasps, as I glanced to the side of the cabinet. True to his words, there was a pretty standard briefcase lying on the ground. I reached down, and picked it up curiously, "What about it?"
"T-Take it! Run! Run now!" The president shouted from inside the cabinet, his voice desperate, "Before they come back! Take it and run away!"
"What's in it?" I just asked him bluntly, not sure why he was panicking so hard as I turned back to the cabinet, "They're gone now, so I can just let you out, y'know? Did they really just shove you into a locker? Is there a key around here somewhere?"
Seriously, this was some 90s-level bullying going on here. But, considering there was a lock on the front of the cabinet holding the door shut, I figured there was a key somewhere to open that lock. That would be the easiest way to free him, but if it came down to it, I still had a full team of miniature monsters that could just rip the cabinet a part to break him out.
"A-Ah, yes, I know where it is, but there's no time! Take that brief case, and run, quickly now!" The voice shouted back, and I looked over strangely at the cabinet.
"You guys know why he's freaking out?" I asked, glancing back at my three female companions, and getting two blank shrugs in response. Only two, because Sabrina's face had turned dark, and she was staring ominously at the cabinet.
"I… I do! His future is so dark! If we don't leave now, then we'll all be in great-"
"You can't really see the future." I deadpanned at the woman, who flushed as her dark expression broke, "You just want to actually leave quickly, don't you?"
"...I may be feeling a bit peckish."
"Well, you can eat after we bust him out, and after our battle," I hummed, turning back to the president as he was locked in the small cabinet, "So, where's the key?"
"There's no time! You need to go now! Run away immediately, and let no one see what's in that briefcase!" The president just shouted again as I stared at the cabinet dryly, "They can't get their hands on it!"
"Why do we need to leave immediately? What's the rush?"
"Y-You must leave now! You have to!"
"Is there something important in here? If there is, then shouldn't you at least explain more before I take it?"
"I should, but there's no time! You must leave immediately!"
"You don't even know who I am, y'know? All you can hear is my voice," I deadpanned at the cabinet door, "How do you know I'm not a Team Rocket member?"
For being the 'genius' president of a massive company, this guy shared the earlier scientist's trait of not being the brightest. He didn't even know who I was, and hadn't seen my face, so why was he trusting me with this random briefcase? Especially if what I assumed was in here really was in here!
"I-I overheard your conversation! Now, you must go! There's no more time to speak!" The president just insisted.
"I feel like there's a lot of time to spea-"
"Go! Go now, and take the briefcase!"
"If you keep interrupting me, I'm really going to leave you in ther-"
"Run! Run now, and don't let anyone see what's in that briefcase!"
"Alright, fuck you, man," I finally sighed, turning back to my companions as I strode towards the door, "I'm sure Officer Jenny will let him out when she gets here. Let's just go."
Hey, when a random man in a cabinet wanted you to leave with his potentially very valuable briefcase, you couldn't question it too much. My morals said I should set him free, but my greed certainly wanted to keep the case, and his insistence led me to follow the latter.
"Should you check what's inside first?" Joy raised an eyebrow at me, "He seems to think it's pretty important, right? What if it's, like, a pokebomb or something?"
"A… pokebomb?" I stared at Joy blankly, and when she just nodded instead of explaining more, I decided to push past the issue. I didn't know what a pokebomb was, and I didn't think I wanted to know what it was either.
"I think I already know what's in here, but…" I nodded at her words, reached down as I grabbed the two locks on the front of the briefcase, and unsnapped them. After I did, my lips curled into a grin as the lid snapped open, and a singular, purple item was showcased to us. It would've been nice to have this when I was dealing with Mewtwo, but it was too late for that.
Besides, using it right away would've been a waste. I had a couple of other options in mind for what to do with this. The potential opportunities were limitless, especially now that I had connections with two very powerful people in this world.
I only had vague ideas at this moment, but in the future, this one item would change my entire life in this world full of pokemon.
"The Master Ball."
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AN: Thank you for reading! I've cut down my uploading schedule recently (To this, Change, The Fisherman, and I Was Reincarnated As Frieza) so updates will be more frequent!
And, as always, this story is updated twice as often on Patreon.com/Koyon ! (With some chapters currently available to all tiers except the cheapest one, and up to 11 more chapters on the MAX tier!)