"Someone I also know?" Magnus was involuntarily stunned. In his memory, among the people he knew, there was only one capable of standing on equal footing with Kael: the current League's chief president, the council elder. As for the other old figures, he did not know exactly what level they possessed.
Cain nodded with complete certainty.
Seeing such confidence in Cain's expression, Magnus became even more confused. He and Cain did not truly know each other — how could Cain know whom he knew?
Then, a figure suddenly crossed his mind. Without realizing it, his breathing quickened, and he widened his eyes in disbelief.
"Don't tell me... you mean him?"
Although Cain did not know exactly who the figure was that had just crossed Magnus's mind, it was most likely not far from the person he himself was thinking of. After all, people of that level were extremely rare in the entire Pokémon world.
"Team Rocket... Giovanni?" Magnus's voice trembled slightly, because that was the only name he could imagine at that moment.
Only one thing puzzled Magnus: why would Giovanni come here?
Moreover, although Team Rocket had been withdrawing in recent years and friction between the two sides had not been too great, they were still, after all, mutual enemies.
If Giovanni appeared here, who could guarantee that he was not coming to join Kael and attack the League together?
Thinking this, Magnus's heart trembled slightly. Even with his firm will, the moment he imagined Giovanni appearing here and what he would have to face, the pressure on him skyrocketed.
The main issue was that the strength of his Pokémon had already dropped by seventy to eighty percent. How could he possibly stop an alliance between Giovanni and Kael?
Back then, the relationship between those two had been extraordinarily good, to the point that they were almost never apart. Their strengths were evenly matched, competing and growing together, which gave both of them enormous reputations throughout the League. They were even considered the two greatest geniuses since the League's founding and were seen as its future.
And he, Magnus, although he also knew them well back then, had actually always followed behind them, almost like a younger brother.
"Wait, you said... Giovanni is coming here to face Kael? How do you know?" Magnus finally reacted. From Cain's tone, it sounded as if Giovanni was coming to confront Kael, not to attack the League.
Cain nodded, and his expression appeared somewhat more stable.
"Because from the way he's rushing here, it's obvious at a glance that he's not doing it for two old, battered weaklings like us. And besides, if he truly came to attack the League, then he wouldn't be arriving at Mt. Silver alone — the entire Team Rocket army would be coming with him."
Hearing that, Magnus also calmed down somewhat. After all, Cain was a psychic, and in terms of perception he could sense more things than Magnus could.
However, he did not notice that at this moment Kael, suspended in the air, had not yet discovered Giovanni the way Cain had.
Because although Giovanni was already very close to Mt. Silver, almost about to enter the psychic barrier, he was still outside Kael's perceptive range.
But very soon, Kael also finally detected that powerful force approaching at high speed. It was such an intense presence that even he was surprised.
Without realizing it, he stopped directing his Pokémon and turned his gaze toward the figure that had forcefully broken into the psychic barrier.
Or, to be more precise, toward two figures.
One of them was Giovanni, dressed in formal attire as the leader of Team Rocket.
And beside him was a strange creature never seen before, completely wrapped in black, dark armor that made its true appearance difficult to distinguish.
It wore a helmet-like structure shaped like a triangle that covered its entire head. Only two ear-like structures did not appear to be part of the armor; they were likely the original color of the Pokémon itself. On the front of the helmet was a black crystal visor shaped like a "V," where the creature's eyes should be.
Its hands were covered by thick armored pieces that completely protected everything from the elbows downward.
It also had shoulder armor like that of a knight, and its ankles were likewise encased in a strange black metallic armor.
The area with the greatest coverage extended from the chest to the abdomen, where a specially designed armor completely enveloped the body, including the back, except for an exposed bundle of nerves running from the center of the back to the rear of the neck, which was intercepted by a special device in the armor.
Naturally, even part of its curved purple tail was covered in metal.
At first glance, it gave the impression of an alien, yet it also somewhat resembled those futuristic warriors often seen on television, possessing an extremely technological aesthetic.
And yet, this never-before-seen creature radiated an aura that none of those present could ignore, even inspiring astonishment.
It was terrifying to the extreme!
A thin layer of psychic power covered Giovanni's body, allowing him to move freely through the air just like Kael. There was no need to think much to know that this psychic power undoubtedly came from the strange being beside him.
"Well, it seems quite a few old acquaintances have gathered here today... Kael, Magnus," Giovanni said with an open smile on his face, slowly ascending until he reached the same height as Kael, looking from afar at that old friend he had not seen for so many years.
Only time had passed like a white horse flashing by. In the blink of an eye, both of them had become what they were now: the leaders of two great forces. Those two men who had once wandered together within the League now both sought to bring it down.
Kael glanced at Giovanni, whose appearance had changed very little, and then looked at the strange creature beside him. From that being, he felt an extremely intense threat.
Even his most reliable Pokémon, Mega Latios and Mega Latias, had already moved to Kael's side, observing that creature clad in black armor with great caution.
As Master Level Pokémon, the things they perceived far surpassed what their own trainer, Kael, could sense.
(End of chapter)