Vermilion City, inside a villa under Damian's name.
Erika had been sent off to cook, while Damian and Caitlin had gone up to the second floor.
"Damian, how'd it go?"
On the video call, Giovanni's face appeared.
Judging from the background, he was in the office at Viridian Gym.
"Not that satisfying.
Lorelei and Bruno are still a little too weak for me.
Lance didn't show up either."
Damian shook his head.
He'd actually been hoping Lance would appear, but no such luck.
"Hehe～ As long as you're in one piece.
What about Gladion and the others?"
Giovanni let out a soft laugh.
Regular members and Admins were whatever, but losing an executive was always a heavy hit to Team Rocket.
"They got grabbed by Bruno.
But I already sent Mewtwo to rescue them.
By my count, they should be back any minute now."
"Good.
So, when are you planning to leave Kanto?"
Giovanni felt it'd be better if Damian went to mess around in some other region for a while.
He'd barely gotten back and had already clashed head‑on with Indigo League once.
"I'll stay about another week.
There's one more thing I want to try."
Damian thought for a moment before answering.
"All right.
Hehe～ Goodshow's calling me again.
Looks like we've got more to talk about."
Giovanni glanced at another phone—
Goodshow's name was flashing on the screen.
"Then put on a good show, Dad. I'm hanging up."
With that, Damian ended the call—
And right then, Ariana and Gladion arrived at the villa's front door.
They rang the bell.
"Coming, coming—wait a sec!"
A slightly flustered female voice came from inside.
When the door opened, Ariana's brain froze for a second.
Gladion's expression also turned… complicated.
The short‑haired girl at the door, neat and pretty, looked awkward when she saw Ariana and Gladion.
She wiped her hands twice on the apron in front of her and even tried to hide the spatula in her left hand behind her back.
"Um—Lord Damian's here, right?"
Seeing the Celadon City Gym Leader in full housewife mode, Ariana could only blurt the question out in a daze.
"Mr. Damian's home, yeah.
Please, come in."
Erika snapped back to herself and quickly stepped aside to let Ariana and Gladion in.
"Right, you haven't eaten yet, have you?
Dinner's almost ready.
Why don't you both stay and have some?
I made a bit too much."
She ushered them in while throwing in a polite offer.
"Thank you. Sorry to trouble you."
Ariana answered automatically.
"No trouble at all.
I'll go pour you some water—wait! Ah!! My food!"
Erika suddenly remembered, her face changing as she dashed back into the kitchen.
After a frantic round of clattering pans, a long breath of relief floated out from inside.
"This…"
Ariana and Gladion glanced at each other.
Their expressions were, frankly, a bit creepy.
"You're back.
Take a seat and rest for a bit."
Damian walked down the stairs, smiling at the two of them.
"Lord Damian, we've really shamed ourselves."
Ariana and Gladion hurriedly bowed their heads in apology.
It was too embarrassing.
Even with Caitlin stepping in to hold Lorelei off, not only had they still been captured by the League, but Damian had even had to send a Pokémon to bail them out.
"It's fine.
Running into Bruno is the kind of thing that just happens."
Damian offered a bit of comfort.
"Just work harder from here on out.
Aim to pay him back next time."
"Yes!"
Ariana felt a little awkward.
With what, exactly, was she supposed to get revenge on Bruno?
Gladion, though, had a steely look in his eyes.
He'd remember this.
Next time, he'd definitely take Bruno down, slap cuffs on him, and lock him in a basement!
"Right, Lord Damian—Erika is…?"
"Oh, her?
She's my maid now—handles my day‑to‑day stuff."
"As expected of Lord Damian."
Ariana was impressed.
Erika was an official Gym Leader with a bright future ahead of her—
And Damian had turned her into his maid.
Lord Damian really was something else.
Indigo Plateau.
Giovanni had returned once more.
Same familiar conference room.
When he stepped inside, Giovanni swept the room with his eyes.
Not only were Goodshow, Agatha, and the overall head of the Jennys present, but Bruno and Lorelei were there as well.
"Giovanni, you're here.
Have a seat."
Goodshow gave him a kind, gentle smile.
"Mr. Chairman."
Giovanni greeted him, then sat down.
"The reason we called you in today, Giovanni, is that this afternoon, we discovered a Team Rocket base in Celadon City—and Lorelei and Bruno both encountered Damian there."
Goodshow's tone wasn't harsh at all, as warm as ever.
Giovanni's expression shifted slightly.
"Damian's strength was overwhelming.
They weren't able to capture him."
Goodshow sighed in regret.
"It's my failure as a father.
I'm deeply sorry."
Giovanni stood and bowed his head.
"Mr. Chairman, please allow me to make up for my mistakes.
Let me bring Damian back personally."
"Ah, no need to rush, Giovanni.
Sit down.
This isn't on you."
Goodshow tried to calm him.
In truth, he did think Giovanni bore a lot of responsibility for what Damian had become as a father—
But that wasn't something he could say out loud.
It hadn't been Giovanni's intention, after all.
"Gym Leader Giovanni, I'd like to ask—
Do you know how strong Damian really is?"
Leaning back in her chair with arms folded, Lorelei asked the question in a frosty voice.
"I have a rough idea."
Giovanni sank back into his seat, his tone low.
"Damian wanted to become an excellent Trainer from a young age, so I poured everything into training him as a child."
"By mid‑year last year, when he came back to the Gym after setting out on his journey, he was already a Champion‑tier Trainer."
Giovanni's voice was heavy.
"Champion‑tier in just half a year?"
The overall head of the Jennys blurted out in shock.
"Hehehe—what a terrifying little monster."
Even Agatha couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.
Goodshow sighed silently again.
A prodigy Trainer like that… had joined Team Rocket.
"By now, with Damian's talent, I'm afraid his strength has already surpassed mine."
Giovanni spoke in a deep voice.
Everyone's expressions shifted at that.
Lorelei's brows tightened.
So what Giovanni meant was that by mid‑year last year, Damian still hadn't been his match?
Seriously?
Did that mean Giovanni himself was Champion‑tier as well?
Goodshow and the others clearly reached the same conclusion.
They'd known Giovanni was strong—he'd always been called "Kanto's strongest Gym Leader"—
But no one outside really knew exactly how strong he was.
Giovanni himself kept a pretty low profile.
"In that case, Gym Leader Giovanni, you should also know what Damian's main roster looks like, right?"
"—Yeah."
Giovanni hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Could you tell us?
It's important intel."
Agatha fixed him with her cloudy gaze.
"Damian's first Pokémon was a shiny Gastly.
He really liked Gengar, so I managed to find him a shiny Gastly."
Giovanni's voice was thick with mixed emotion.
"Later, he set out on his journey.
When he came back to Viridian Gym, his main roster lineup was Gengar, Mismagius, Annihilape, and a Tyranitar."
"Only four?"
"That's right.
At that time, Damian's main roster wasn't complete yet.
As for what came after… I don't know."
Giovanni shook his head.
At the Indigo Plateau Conference, Damian had soloed the whole thing with just Annihilape.
No one had managed to force out the rest of his lineup.
"A Trainer good at Ghost and Dark types, huh."
Agatha fell into thought.
And that terrifying armored Psychic Pokémon, the black one—
It wasn't among those four, which meant Damian must've caught it later.
Lorelei's brows dipped again.
What she really wanted to know about was that Pokémon Damian called "Mewtwo," because she felt that Armored Mewtwo's strength was downright absurd.
"According to intel from Alola, Damian also caught Tapu Fini.
He's quite the remarkable young man."
Goodshow spoke softly.
"Mr. Chairman, this year I'd like to apply for the Elite Four challenge."
Giovanni's low voice cut through the room.
"Giovanni, are you serious?"
Goodshow looked at him in surprise.
Each year, the official Gym Leaders had a chance at an Elite Four challenge.
There was only one slot, and only one Gym Leader could challenge.
In past years, Giovanni had always declined.
Then again, so had the others.
"I am.
I want to become Elite Four.
I'm going to defeat him with my own hands and bring him back to the League."
Giovanni's voice was firm.
"Excellent.
I approve.
But Giovanni, you still need to earn the right to that challenge first."
Goodshow was deeply pleased.
He had a feeling that if anyone could stop Damian, it would be Giovanni.
After all—
Only the one who tied the knot could untie it.
"Hehe—
I'm looking forward to having you join us, Giovanni."
Agatha's raspy chuckle was thoroughly creepy.
Bruno's eyes were hot with excitement.
He'd just been beaten by Damian today, but that was fine.
He could always fight Damian's dad.
There was no way Giovanni was just as strong as Damian, right?
Lorelei, meanwhile, was measuring Giovanni with her eyes.
Could this guy really become their colleague?
Also…
Her gaze flickered oddly, and she turned her head away, avoiding looking at Giovanni.
She suddenly remembered her conversation with Damian that day.
If she really did marry Damian, wouldn't that mean she'd have to call Giovanni "Dad" too? Emmm*
Lorelei knew she didn't actually like Damian, but her thoughts still drifted there on their own.
Creepy.
Time rolled around to eight in the evening.
"Gladion still doing special training?"
Damian, pajamas in hand, stopped at the bathroom door just as Caitlin was returning.
After dinner, she and Gladion had gone to the backyard for special training.
"Yeah.
He's working hard."
Caitlin nodded.
"Today's defeat must've hit him pretty hard.
The guy's got a really proud temperament."
Damian chuckled.
But that was a good thing.
After watching Caitlin head back to her room, Damian looked down toward the living room, where Erika was watching TV.
"Gym Leader Erika."
"I'm here, Mr. Damian. What is it?"
"I'm going to bathe.
Come scrub my back."
"?!!"
Erika's eyes went wide and her face went bright red.
She shook her head frantically, stammering.
"B‑bathe together? N‑no, no way!
If we do that, I'll get pregnant—
I don't want ten kids, I'll break!"
"What are you even thinking?
I said scrub my back, not hop in for a lovers' bath."
Damian froze.
What was this young lady going on about?
"Scrub your back? Oh—okay then."
Erika snapped back, still red as a tomato, and agreed.
But when she stepped into the bathroom and looked down at the towel in her hands, the flower‑arranging young miss suddenly froze again.
Wait.
Hold on.
Why… had she just agreed to scrub a man's back?!!
Something was definitely wrong with her brain.
~~~
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