Giovanni

The weather in Yinhua City was poor, and the flight had even been delayed an hour because of it. Upon arriving, Gongping gazed at the thick layer of thunderclouds above the city and kept feeling that he had forgotten something important.

After the plane landed, Gongping and several staff members made their way discreetly to the new-model Pokémon Center.

Unlike the Pokémon Center near Yinhua City's southern harbor, the one Gongping arrived at was in the northern mountains and primarily served trainers traveling overland.

At a glance, amid sprawling green, irrigated fields, the entire Pokémon Center occupied an enormous area, encompassing almost this entire stretch of mountains. Of course, such extensive grounds were mainly intended as a free-roaming area for Pokémon taken into care.

When the subject of taking Pokémon into care came up, Nurse Joy sounded somewhat displeased. "Lately, quite a few Pokémon have been abandoned by their trainers and wandered into our ecological zone, one after another. Some even had their legs broken by their own trainers."

The older trainers were, the more temperamental they became. After all, still traveling between regions to compete at their age indicated certain flaws in their mindset, and quite a few baby Pokémon suffered for it.

"Don't worry. I've already applied to the Kanto Region for a blacklist system. If similar problems occur in the future, the Kanto League can revoke their eligibility to compete. If they're local Kanto Region trainers, it can even revoke their trainer qualifications."

Once their trainer qualifications were revoked, these people, who had left home at ten and spent years living off their parents and the Pokémon League, would completely lose their means of support and have to start earning a living again.

As Gongping and Nurse Joy walked side by side and chatted, something suddenly occurred to him, and he asked, "For Pokémon taken into care under normal circumstances, the Pokémon Center's fostering obligation only lasts up to two years, right?"

Normally, Pokémon Centers temporarily sheltered Pokémon taken into care or found abandoned, waiting for their original trainers to claim them, or giving them to new trainers after a certain period.

But after two years or longer, Nurse Joy, unable to keep feeding these Pokémon, would send them together to Pallet Town. There was a massive medical facility there, where the Pokémon sent over waited for Professor Oak to screen them.

Pokémon that Professor Oak deemed worthy of observation would be placed in the wild ecological zone at Professor Oak's Laboratory. The remaining Pokémon would live there for a few months before being euthanized.

The kindhearted Nurse Joy generally tried her best to avoid reaching that point. However, some large cities, such as Celadon City and Saffron City, only had a single Pokémon Center. With such a heavy burden to shoulder, they ultimately had no choice but to send these Pokémon to the medical center in Pallet Town.

Nurse Joy smiled. "Yes, but the new-model Pokémon Center has more extensive grounds and better facilities than an ordinary Pokémon Center. We can extend fostering by another year, and if conditions allow, we can guarantee four to five years."

Nurse Joy naturally understood the importance of the new-model Pokémon Centers. Thus, although the entire Joy family was dissatisfied with Lorelei's stance on raising Pokémon for food, they gave her almost their full cooperation on this matter.

Apart from the ecological zone, several recreation centers had also been built in these mountains. In addition to the Pokémon League, Giovanni, one of Silph Co.'s directors and the Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym, had contributed greatly. As such, besides Gongping, the other guest at the opening ceremony was Giovanni.

Giovanni arrived half an hour after Gongping. As a key figure at Silph Co., Giovanni had an extremely packed schedule. The senior officials of both the Pokémon League and Silph Co. were also well aware of his other, secret identity as Team Rocket's leader. Still, Gongping had not expected such an important figure to place so much value on the opening of this new-model Pokémon Center.

Giovanni's entourage was far grander than Gongping's. Countless uniformed staff lined both sides to clear the way, and Giovanni slowly approached the new-model Pokémon Center like an ancient emperor. As he drew closer, his gaze met Gongping's.

This Giovanni was no ordinary powerhouse!

After a brief exchange of looks, Giovanni withdrew his probing gaze and smiled very naturally.

"Ha-ha, so this is Mr. Gongping, the Sandstorm King. I'm Giovanni. Besides being a director of Silph Co., I'm also the Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym. However, some of the Viridian Gym's equipment has malfunctioned recently. I've sent people to expedite the repairs, so it may remain closed for a while."

Team Rocket's three great geniuses had destroyed the entire Viridian Gym while battling Ash. Even now, thinking about it made Giovanni grit his teeth with hatred, but in front of Gongping, he naturally attributed it to the Gym's age and disrepair.

"The Viridian Gym was only repaired last year, and it needs repairs again this year? It looks like the renovation company you hired is very unreliable, Mr. Giovanni."

"Indeed, ha-ha."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Giovanni felt somewhat wary of Gongping, the Sandstorm King. Rumor had it that this fellow was a hothead. If he discovered Giovanni's identity as Team Rocket's leader, he might cause another heap of trouble.

Gongping, however, was in a rather good mood. Giovanni was a Ground-type Gym Leader, while he was the Sandstorm King, so there was plenty they could discuss regarding raising Pokémon.

As a veteran Gym Leader, Giovanni had an exceptionally impressive breadth of experience. If his background had not been so complicated, perhaps he would have become a regional Elite Four member long ago, rather than the complex figure he was now, combining the identities of businessman, gangster, and Gym Leader.

Their conversation mainly revolved around raising Pokémon. Gongping's insights into the composition and development of Sandstorm teams, as well as Pokémon battle strategies, also gave Giovanni a fresh perspective. He truly lived up to being the young Elite Four member who had dealt Team Rocket a heavy blow at Mt. Moon, possessing distinctive abilities and insights in battle.

"Mr. Giovanni, have you ever heard of a book called The Secrets of the Earth?"

Gongping's abrupt question briefly stunned Giovanni. "No, but it sounds like a book about experiences in training Ground-type Pokémon."

The entire opening ceremony went very smoothly. Although many trainers had appeared in Yinhua City, they were all heading to the southern harbor and seemed to have little interest in this new Pokémon Center in the north.

"Nurse Joy at the southern Pokémon Center went missing a while ago. Although it's still operating, so many trainers have appeared. Has something happened?"

Yinhua City's weather gave Gongping a very uncomfortable feeling. After briefly wrapping up the opening ceremony, he did not hurry to leave, instead remaining in Yinhua City. Giovanni likewise observed the city with keen interest.

Soon, Giovanni began talking. "A so-called strongest trainer appeared a while ago. He's holding a competition on New Island, and apparently the rewards are very generous, so quite a few trainers have come after hearing the news."

With the regional tournament about to begin, an enormous number of trainers had gathered in the cities surrounding the Indigo League venue, so there were all sorts of exchange events as well. New Island's strongest trainer was regarded as a publicity stunt; the main draw was still the money the organizer was offering.

New Island?

The strongest trainer?

Could this be that Mewtwo movie?

It had been so long that Gongping had basically forgotten the entire movie's plot. Now, seeing Yinhua City's weather suddenly reminded him that Ash and the others seemed to have already begun heading toward New Island around this time.

At this point, Giovanni turned his gaze to Gongping, a note of curiosity entering his voice. "Hearing the title of strongest trainer, would you be interested in taking part in this grand event, Elite Four member Gongping?"