Silph Co.

The Kanto Region was, in a sense, this world's true center of technology and finance.

Its civil society, business community, and academia were all extremely developed. This differed from the setting in the games, and Gongping, who had been born in Unova, could readily feel Kanto's strong foundations in the humanities and sciences.

To address the issue of attracting investment for the campus, Gongping began considering how to find a suitable financial backer or investor after securing Agatha's authorization.

He did not seem to have many connections himself, and advertising online was...

Suddenly remembering that he had Giovanni's contact information, Gongping quickly opened his contacts and got in touch with the Team Rocket boss.

"You want to approach Silph Co. for investment? What kind of investment?"

Giovanni kept studying the Sandstorm King before him, seemingly finding it hard to believe that this boy was responsible for some major Pokémon League project.

"It's for education."

"Education?"

Giovanni grew increasingly suspicious. After a long silence, Gongping finally asked coldly, "Is there a problem?"

"No... I'll put in a recommendation for you. Whether it works out will depend on your performance."

After securing Giovanni's help, Gongping took a private plane to Silph Co.'s headquarters in Saffron City.

He looked up at the towering building before him. This was the world's largest manufacturing company, a leader in all kinds of technology and an undisputed behemoth in the Kanto Region and even the entire world.

As a business giant, Silph Co. had always supported all sorts of events. Shortly after Gongping arrived, Giovanni, whom he had contacted by phone earlier, also hurried over from Viridian City. Since the executives had limited time for the meeting, he took Gongping straight upstairs after a brief greeting.

Silph Co.'s private reception room was an extremely luxurious tea room. A pot of tea gave off a faint fragrance on a glittering, ornate tea tray, and six cups of tea sat on the table. Once Gongping sat down, the middle-aged executive at the head of the group studied the Pokémon League's newly appointed Sandstorm King with a smile.

The rumors circulating about him were not particularly favorable, but judging by his appearance today, the boy was quite polite.

"Have some tea."

At the middle-aged man's inviting gesture, Gongping very politely drank his first cup of tea. Throughout the exchange, both the man's hospitality and Gongping's tone and manner in response were practiced, displaying an unexpected sophistication.

After the second cup of tea, Gongping took out his documents and handed them over. The executives' eyelids twitched as they leafed through them, and they quickly set them down on the table without another word. The middle-aged man at their head merely tapped the table quietly. On this occasion, even Giovanni could only listen from the sidelines, with no say in the matter.

"Is an ordinary school worth our sponsorship?"

After a long while, he finally spoke. Something like this had not required their personal involvement, but they had agreed to meet this fellow out of consideration for Giovanni's request. They had not expected some tiresome school construction business, however, and had no interest whatsoever.

"The students here are the elite of the elite from every region. If Silph Co. participates in this construction project, perhaps you'll reap greater returns at regional tournaments in the future..."

Everyone present was shrewd and naturally understood what Gongping was implying, but the middle-aged man shook his head. "We never lack talent. As for Silph Co.'s image, there's no need to have these children wear clothes printed with our company logo."

Hearing the answer he had expected, Gongping nodded and lowered his head to drink his tea. He looked at the leaves in his cup with an awkward expression, then set it down and took a deep breath, as though trying to find a topic to ease the atmosphere.

Giovanni and the Silph executives all watched curiously to see how the Sandstorm King would respond next.

"All sorts of events and tournaments need sponsorship these days. I've heard of the Kamiya Foundation, which attracted quite a bit of attention recently. Would any of you gentlemen be able to introduce me? They might be willing to invest."

The Kamiya Foundation?

"I believe that foundation was established in the last few years, but the projects they invest in are all very strange, and they don't care about profits. As for your project, they won't be interested. Those people only like collecting antiques."

Another director beside the middle-aged man thought for a moment, then offered Gongping some advice. "Over the past few years, they've been buying up ancient Pokémon at high prices. Seventy percent of the ancient Pokémon fossils circulating on the market are in their hands. Investing in education? They wouldn't do it. Besides, none of them are exactly respectable businessmen."

Your Giovanni doesn't seem to be much of a respectable businessman either...

The conversation between the two sides had become considerably more relaxed. Gongping seemed to be discussing inconsequential topics, and the Silph executives were also in the mood to chat. Even the middle-aged man finally made a rare interjection.

"Not necessarily seventy percent. Giovanni's company holds quite a few fossils too. Aside from that, this foundation's origins are far too mysterious. A few years ago, they secretly funded the establishment of the Hunter Association in the Sinnoh Region, handling quite a few off-the-books jobs for the Sinnoh League."

The Sinnoh League?

At the mention of the Hunter Association, Giovanni's gaze flickered. "So that's how it is. I only just learned that the people backing them are this Kamiya Foundation."

From the moment the Kamiya Foundation came up, Gongping had been intensely focused, committing every piece of information he could glean to memory. To avoid arousing suspicion, however, he also asked about some other trivial matters and gossip.

It had to be said that Silph Co.'s executives were well informed. They could confirm or disprove many things he had only heard through the grapevine.

After chatting for a while, Gongping steered the conversation back to the campus, but unfortunately, the Silph executives still refused to agree. In the end, he could only take his leave.

Overall, Silph Co. had been very welcoming toward Gongping's visit, but their rejection of this sponsorship proposal was unmistakable. This was not arrogance; they were entitled to refuse.

As they walked out of Silph Co.'s headquarters, Giovanni glanced at the young Sandstorm King and patted his shoulder with a smile. "Actually, I'm quite interested in your proposal. How about we find somewhere to have coffee and discuss it further?"

"Oh?"

Giovanni laughed heartily and took Gongping to a café in Saffron City. Only after they sat down did he reveal his purpose.

"My son has reached school age too. I very much agree with the educational approach you just proposed. This is exactly the school I've been looking for!"

Giovanni grew a little agitated as he spoke of this. "The Pokémon League's schools really are garbage. In Kanto especially, there isn't a single private school for the elite that satisfies me. Apart from teaching useless information, they don't offer any useful knowledge at all."

"My company will cover this sponsorship funding, and I'll also arrange for some of the teachers. In exchange, King Gongping, I hope you can put my son through some proper training."

Opening a school together with Team Rocket?

Although Gongping found this a little strange, seeing Giovanni's enthusiasm, he did not seem to have any reason to refuse. It was merely a matter of bending the admissions rules to accept a student who, as he recalled, had decent potential.

"Is your son currently traveling, or is he at home?"

At the mention of his son, Giovanni gave a few dry coughs. "Ahem... He's competing in the Silver Conference in the Johto Region. Once it's over, I'll send him to study with you."