The sky over Kanto had changed.
Lance, who had always been called the strongest Champion, was defeated head-on by Giovanni during the Champion Challenge at the Indigo Stadium.
And after defeating Lance, Giovanni officially reached the top of the Kanto region. He became the Kanto Champion!
There was no doubt that this news was a massive sensation.
After all, for the people of Kanto, the name Giovanni was already quite famous.
Specifically, the trainers who had challenged the Viridian Gym in the past and earned the Earth Badge were now extremely proud.
They had once received recognition from Giovanni. Didn't that mean they had received recognition from the Kanto Champion himself?
On the field, Goodshow walked out.
He stood beside Giovanni and gave a formal speech to the public.
"The old man really is capable," Damian thought with a smile and a nod.
He found it very interesting that Giovanni had become the Kanto Champion.
In the original story, the leader of Team Rocket was an evil man who could never step into the light.
Now, he had become the Champion of the Kanto Elite Four.
He had become the absolute central figure of Kanto.
Tsk... this is really fun to watch.
The Elite Four Challenge ended.
Goodshow personally led Giovanni away from the field.
Becoming the Kanto Champion wasn't as simple as just getting public approval.
He also had to go to the Hall of Fame to be officially registered.
"Sr. Giovanni's strength is really so great!" Platinum marveled.
To be honest, today's battle really made her realize the power of a top Champion.
But it made sense. After all, Sr. Giovanni was Damian's father.
"Let's go. There's nothing else worth seeing here," Damian said as he stood up, preparing to leave.
The Champion Challenge was over, so naturally, there was nothing left to watch.
Damian led Caitlin and the others out of the stadium.
The Indigo Plateau was not far from Viridian City, so he planned to go there and look around first.
However, the internet was not calm at all right now.
People everywhere were talking about this battle and Giovanni reaching the top.
Specifically, the trainers who loved Bug-type Pokémon and the Bug Catchers were ecstatic.
Giovanni's Mega Beedrill, the absolute MVP of the battle, had already become a god-like existence in their hearts.
What is power? This is the power of the Bug-type!
Even Lance's ace Dragonite was defeated.
This was enough to shatter all doubts!
After all, life for Bug-types was usually quite difficult.
Among all the types, the Bug-type almost felt like it was lower than the others.
Aside from Pokémon like Volcarona or Heracross, it was hard to find any Bug-types that were actually strong.
It was even rarer to find one that could compare to Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon.
But things were different now!
Giovanni's Beedrill proved the power of Bug-type Pokémon.
As long as you train them well, never mind a Beedrill beating a Dragonite—even a Caterpie beating Rayquaza would be possible, wouldn't it?
Yes, that's exactly it!
The trainers who loved Bug-types felt their blood boiling.
They had finally stood up!
It was around eight o'clock in the evening.
In the office of the Viridian Gym, Matori was making tea for Damian and his group.
The main door opened, and Giovanni slowly walked in.
He was not surprised to see Damian and the others.
"Welcome to our new Kanto Champion," Damian said with a grin, waving his hand at Giovanni.
"Throughout the day, your fans have been everywhere on the internet. You became a top celebrity in just one day."
"You brat," Giovanni said with a slight smile and a mock scolding tone.
He sat down on the sofa, and Matori immediately poured a cup of tea for him.
After Giovanni took a sip, he glanced at Damian and the four girls behind him.
He couldn't help but feel speechless.
This boy was bringing more and more women around now.
However, Giovanni didn't say anything.
He nodded with a smile to Caitlin and the other three girls, especially Platinum.
Giovanni gave her a very friendly smile.
After all, she was the one who would give birth to his granddaughter in the future.
Platinum was a bit nervous.
There is a saying that even a nervous bride must eventually meet her in-laws.
But fortunately, this wasn't her first time meeting Giovanni.
It was just that her mindset had changed a bit.
Also, Giovanni's attitude toward her was quite good, which allowed Platinum to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Looking back at today's battle, what did you think?" Giovanni asked Damian.
His tone was a bit proud.
He had defeated Lance without even using Groudon! That was his true strength!
"It was a natural result. You are my father, after all.
If you couldn't even beat someone like Lance, it would be quite embarrassing for me as your son," Damian said, leaning back with his legs crossed and shrugging.
Giovanni's eye twitched slightly.
This kid.
"Lance's strength is indeed still very strong.
It was right of me not to underestimate him before the match," Giovanni said, taking another sip of tea.
To be honest, if Nidoking hadn't used Toxic to trap Mega Gyarados, the final result might not have changed.
But he probably wouldn't have won five against six.
"The current Lance cannot beat you.
His team is ultimately missing something.
Mega Gyarados is not enough to support him in a battle against trainers of the same level," Damian said, shaking his head.
Lance's overall strength was indeed powerful, but Mega Gyarados was not enough.
Just look at Giovanni; why was he able to beat Lance today?
It was because his Mega Beedrill swept through three opponents.
That kind of extraordinary power is the key to winning in a battle between equal opponents.
Mega Gyarados is strong, but it doesn't show that kind of overwhelming pressure.
If Lance's ace Dragonite could Mega Evolve, then he really could have gone head-to-head with Giovanni.
But Lance had not found a Mega Stone for Dragonite.
That was the key point.
So in Damian's view, Lance not only couldn't beat Giovanni.
But he probably couldn't even defeat Leon.
"Heh... that guy Lance gave me some tough talk.
He said that in our next battle, he will show me his brand-new Dragon Legion," Giovanni said in a low voice.
"Although, I think his main team would be better described as a Flying-type Legion."
Giovanni even made a joke.
Platinum and the others were stunned for a moment, and then their expressions became a bit strange.
Alexa even covered her mouth quickly, almost laughing out loud.
A Flying-type Legion??
Giovanni was actually quite humorous, but if you thought about it carefully, he was right.
Gyarados, Dragonite, Charizard, Dragonite, Aerodactyl, Dragonite.
Although all six of these Pokémon had "Dragon" in their names, in reality, only the Dragonites had the Dragon type.
On the other hand, all six of these Pokémon had the Flying type.
Umm... it really is a Flying-type Legion.
"It seems he has trained some new main Pokémon, but that makes sense.
The weaknesses of his current team are very obvious now," Damian said, raising an eyebrow.
He wasn't surprised.
Over the years, it was impossible for Lance not to train a new main team.
In the games, Lance's team was limited by the version of the game.
In reality, during the second challenge in HeartGold and SoulSilver, Lance's team changed quite a bit.
Salamence, Gyarados, Garchomp, Altaria, Charizard, and Dragonite.
That was his team during the second challenge in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Well, even then, there were more Flying-types than Dragon-types.
But in the Black 2 and White 2 World Tournament, Lance's team could truly be called a Dragon Legion.
Dragonite, Salamence, Kingdra, Haxorus, Hydreigon, and Flygon.
Every member was a Dragon-type!
So strictly speaking, as the Kanto Champion, it was definitely not a difficult task for Lance to put together a Dragon-type team.
Whether it was his status as the Kanto Champion or his position as a leader of the Dragon Clan, there was no way Lance lacked resources.
After being champion for so many years, Lance undoubtedly had a very solid foundation.
It seemed likely that his second team hadn't yet matured enough to surpass his first.
But after losing to Giovanni, there was no doubt that Lance would start training like crazy.
After all, Lance was a very proud person.
This defeat would stay with him forever.
"It doesn't matter. No matter how much he improves, if I can beat him once, I can beat him a second time," Giovanni said with a calm smile.
Not to mention he didn't even go all out this time, as he didn't use Groudon.
Even without Groudon, did people really think he, Giovanni, had no other tricks?
He had been carefully training the Bloodmoon Ursaluna that Damian gave him.
Giovanni was very satisfied with its strength.
After careful training, it would definitely become a core member of his team.
Plus, there were other potential main Pokémon "waiting to be fed."
When Lance challenged him again, Lance's team would change.
But his team would also change!
A Dragon Legion?
My Ground-type Legion might not be any weaker!
"So cool... My old man is different now that he's the Kanto Champion," Damian said, clapping his hands.
His exaggerated actions and tone made Giovanni's eye twitch.
This brat.
However, Giovanni's mood was indeed very good today.
He had defeated Lance, whom he had always wanted to fight, and became the Kanto Champion.
His next goal was the President of the Pokémon League!
Goodshow was already very old and couldn't serve as the General President for many more years.
Once he retired, Giovanni could naturally apply to become the General President.
At that time, Damian would manage the underworld, and he would manage the Pokémon League.
Wouldn't the world be in their hands?
Giovanni was very satisfied with the current situation.
And all of this was thanks to the influence of his talented son.
"Sr, now that you've become the Champion, what will happen to the Viridian Gym?" Platinum asked curiously.
"It will stay closed for now until a suitable person is found to take over," Giovanni said, shaking his head.
After becoming the Kanto Champion, he naturally could not continue as the Viridian Gym Leader.
It would be too difficult to handle both.
He actually had many people he could recommend, such as high-ranking or top-level executives of Team Rocket.
However, the relationship between the League and Team Rocket was currently in a delicate state.
So it wasn't appropriate yet.
Goodshow had suggested sending someone to take over temporarily.
But Giovanni politely refused after asking about their strength.
The Viridian Gym was something he had inherited.
If he let a second-rate trainer take over temporarily, wouldn't that bring shame to the Viridian Gym's name?
Instead of doing that, it was better to keep it closed.
"The Viridian Gym is our family property. After everything is settled, let N or Zinnia inherit it," Damian agreed.
The title of the Viridian Gym could not be ruined!
It was their "family business," after all.
Damian truly felt that the trainer who took over the Viridian Gym should definitely not be a weakling.
Otherwise, there was no point in being open for business.
Think about it: who were the Viridian Gym Leaders in the original story?
Giovanni! Blue!
In the anime, the person who temporarily took over the Viridian Gym was Agatha of the Kanto Elite Four.
So no matter what, the prestige of the Viridian Gym could not be lost.
Damian was thinking that after the final battle and negotiations with the League,
he would let N or one of the others take over the Viridian Gym.
This way, they would not only get the gym back but also keep its reputation.
It would be perfect.
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This novel is already complete.