The Viridian City Gym loomed over Kian like a mausoleum. Up close, the architecture was even more severe—brutalist concrete pillars, dark tinted windows that revealed nothing, and a set of heavy double doors that looked like they could withstand a siege.
Kian reached out and rattled the handle. Locked. Solid.
"Fuck," he hissed, the sound sharp in the quiet evening air. "It's actually closed. I thought that was just a game mechanic."
He stepped back, hands on his hips, looking up at the Earth Badge symbol etched into the stone. It made sense, logically. Giovanni was a crime lord; he had a syndicate to run. He couldn't spend all day waiting for ten-year-olds to challenge him with their Bulbasaurs.
"Waste of time," Kian muttered. "Better go find a hotel and figure out my next move."
He turned to leave, his boots pivoting on the stone steps.
But then, he froze.
It was faint—barely a vibration in the air—but his enhanced senses caught it. A voice.
He stopped breathing, straining his ears. He shook his head, thinking it was just the wind or the hum of the city grid, but it came again. A low, muffled murmur.
There are people inside.
Curiosity, that dangerous and seductive mistress, grabbed him by the throat. Kian knew he should walk away. He knew that whatever was happening inside that gym was likely above his current pay grade. But he was Kian.
He crept back to the door, moving with the silence of a hunting cat. He pressed his ear against the cold, unforgiving metal of the seam between the double doors.
The voices became clearer, though still hushed.
"...you have that what Sir Giovanni wanted?" a rough, gravelly voice asked.
"Yes," a second voice replied, smoother, more obsequious. "Team Rocket on the Sevii Islands has sent this. It arrived by private courier an hour ago."
"Good," the first voice grunted. "Then Sir is waiting. Do not keep him."
The sound of footsteps faded, echoing into the vast emptiness of the gym interior, followed by the heavy clank of an inner security door sealing shut.
Kian pulled back, his eyes wide.
Sevii Islands?
His mind raced. In the games, the Sevii Islands were post-game content. They were linked to the Ruby and Sapphire plates, to unauthorized Rocket warehouses, to experiments that the main region didn't know about. If they were moving cargo from there to Viridian now...
"What the heck are they planning?" Kian whispered, a thrill of excitement shooting through him. "Oh god, this is getting interesting."
He was already formulating theories—smuggled Pokémon, illegal evolution stones, maybe even Mewtwo data—when reality crashed down on him.
A heavy hand clamped onto his shoulder.
Kian stiffened. He hadn't heard them approach.
"Hey, young man," a voice barked from right behind him.
Kian turned slowly, keeping his face neutral, his muscles coiled and ready to snap.
Standing there were two men. They were dressed in generic black security uniforms, but the red 'R' logo was conspicuously absent. Still, the vibe was unmistakable. They wore sunglasses despite the setting sun, and their postures screamed 'thug'.
"Don't you know the Gym is closed?" the one gripping his shoulder sneered. "Gym Leader Giovanni is out of town."
The second man stepped closer, cracking his knuckles. "And don't you know you can't just snoop around private property like this? People who stick their noses where they don't belong... they tend to get in trouble."
Kian's mind calculated the odds in a split second.
Two of them. Probably armed with standard Pokémon—Zubats, Rattatas, maybe a Machop. I have Gardevoir. I could kill them both before they even draw their balls.
But then what? The noise would attract attention. The police would come. Giovanni would know someone was onto him. He was Level 1 in the grand scheme of the criminal underworld.
Kian let his shoulders slump, forcing a look of wide-eyed, innocent panic onto his face. He channeled the energy of every dumb rookie NPC he had ever met.
"O-Oh! I'm sorry!" Kian stammered, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I didn't know! I just... I'm a new trainer! I just got my license today!"
He pointed nervously at the gym doors. "I just wanted to see what a real Gym looked like! I've only ever seen them on TV! I didn't mean to trespass, I swear!"
The grunts exchanged a look. Kian held his breath, hoping his performance was convincing.
The first grunt released his shoulder, shoving him slightly. "Tch. Just another fanboy."
"Get lost, kid," the second grunt grumbled, losing interest. "Go play with your Pidgeys. This is a restricted zone."
"Y-Yes! Of course!" Kian laughed nervously, backing away. "Sorry again! I'm going! Haha!"
He turned and broke into a run, his boots slapping loudly against the pavement.
As soon as he was out of sight, the panic vanished from his face instantly, replaced by a cold, calculating smirk.
He slowed to a walk, straightening his jacket.
"Sevii Islands," he murmured, committing the intel to memory. "Giovanni is in town. And he's cooking something up."