Three days later, at Team Rocket's underground base in Viridian City.
Team Rocket had already begun to take shape, but it was not yet as brazen as it would become, engaging in frenzied Pokémon captures, snatching Trainers' Pokémon in the streets, attacking League investigators, infiltrating the League's upper ranks, and other such activities.
For now, all of Team Rocket's operations took place in secret to avoid detection by the League.
However, under Giovanni Rika's leadership, Team Rocket had a hand in almost every business that could earn Pokémon Dollars. As a result, it had accumulated considerable wealth, and building a few small bases was naturally no problem.
In the base's infirmary, Giovanni abruptly opened his eyes, dressed in a hospital gown and hooked up to a nutrient infusion.
The glaring light in the infirmary forced him to squint, and he took a moment to adjust.
He opened his dry mouth. "Is this heaven? So I really did kick the bucket?"
No, that wasn't right. He thought for a moment. If he had died in the Pokémon world, shouldn't he have gone to the underworld? Or perhaps the Distortion World?
This place didn't look like either.
Giovanni abruptly sat up and looked at the surrounding beds and infirmary furnishings before realizing that he seemed to have been rescued.
He raised a hand and gently patted his face, then felt his head, which someone had shaved into a buzz cut. He hadn't had any Pokémon Dollars for a haircut before, so his hair had been quite long.
Right, he wasn't dreaming.
Then came profound confusion. "Where am I?"
There was a creak.
The infirmary door slowly opened, and several nurses and a doctor walked in. Judging by the nurses' looks and figures, none of them appeared to be Nurse Joy.
That made sense. Giovanni wasn't a League Trainer. How could a mere orphan possibly receive free treatment from Nurse Joy?
After entering, the doctor at the front stopped in surprise. He looked at Giovanni, who had sat up, then gave an instruction to one of the nurses behind him.
"Awake already? Go inform Lady Miyamoto."
After that nurse turned and left.
Only then did he hurry over and, ignoring Giovanni's struggles, examine him with all sorts of instruments.
Glancing at the completely emptied nutrient infusion, he clicked his tongue in wonder.
"Your constitution is extraordinary. Even a Pokémon would need a week to absorb that much nutrient solution, yet you've already absorbed every drop."
"Your organs were clearly on the verge of failure when you were brought in. Now they've not only fully recovered, but grown stronger."
His eyes burned with fervor, as though he were looking at a priceless treasure.
His stare gave Giovanni the creeps, and he nearly failed to resist punching him.
The doctor kept closing in on Giovanni.
"Young man, my name is Doctor Liangmu. Would you be interested in letting me study your body? If my research produces results, you'll have made an enormous contribution to the entire Pokémon world."
Although he phrased it as a question for Giovanni, the look in his eyes suggested otherwise.
Giovanni scoffed at the idea.
Rather than studying him, why not study that superhuman from Pallet Town? If that superhuman Pallet Town physique could be replicated, it could definitely create an army of superhumans that could sweep through the entire Pokémon world.
Still, Giovanni had indeed noticed something amiss.
His body really did feel somewhat different. It wasn't just his strength; there seemed to be something else there as well.
He could feel a peculiar power moving through his body.
The changes to his body were a good thing, but they could also turn into a bad thing.
Having scraped by in the slums into his teens, Giovanni wouldn't trust others easily. No matter which world he was in, the only person he could trust was himself.
He knew all too well how ugly human nature could be.
Researchers secretly conducting human experiments and treating people as less than human were all too common.
He had no desire to become some pitiful test subject.
Fortunately, before Giovanni could open his mouth to refuse, his savior arrived.
Miyamoto strode in aggressively with her calf-sized Houndoom and told Liangmu bluntly, "He doesn't have time to be your test subject. He's the last one the boss needs for her plan."
Doctor Liangmu somewhat regretted having someone notify Miyamoto. Her words only frustrated him further, but faced with that ferocious Houndoom, he could only accept his bad luck.
"That plan? The boss really is too crazy."
He patted Giovanni's shoulder reluctantly. "Kid, I hope you survive. Then we can still work together. Anyway, good luck."
"It's you!" The moment Giovanni saw Miyamoto, his memories from before he lost consciousness came flooding back.
For instance, this Miyamoto and her Houndoom had saved him, and someone else had forcibly claimed him as her son.
Finally, the "R" symbol meant Team Rocket!
Well, that was quite a twist of fate. He wondered what would happen if he, Giovanni, ran into the boss Giovanni.
No, there was a slight problem. Miyamoto had called that woman "boss" back then. Giovanni had heard it perfectly clearly.
Team Rocket could only have one boss. If she was the boss, then where was Giovanni?
Giovanni knew what point in time this was. The League had only just been established, and Professor Oak hadn't even become Champion yet.
That meant Giovanni should still be very young, but no matter what, he couldn't possibly be a woman.
Giovanni was full of questions.
Miyamoto paid him no mind. She turned and took a Team Rocket uniform from the nurse who had belatedly arrived behind her, then casually tossed it onto the bed.
"Finally remembered? I thought we'd have to delay the start of the plan. I didn't expect a brat like you to wake up so quickly."
"Hurry up and get changed. Come with me. You're the only one we're waiting for."
With so many people standing in front of him, Giovanni had initially felt a little embarrassed. But when the Houndoom beside Miyamoto let out a low growl, he immediately ducked under the covers and quickly changed his clothes.
This Houndoom was nothing like that Rattata. If Giovanni fought it to the death, the odds would only be three to seven-it would bite him three times, and Giovanni would be waiting for his seventh-day memorial!
Still, he had to admit that Team Rocket provided well. Even its most ordinary uniform was of a quality Giovanni had never worn before.
Once he had put on the uniform, he swung himself out of bed.
Dressed in the black uniform, his thin frame instead gained a hint of imposing presence.
The straightforward Miyamoto couldn't help teasing him. "Acting like you've got something so precious to hide. Who'd want to look at a brat like you?"
Her words made the young nurses nearby cover their mouths and giggle.
Under someone else's roof, he had no choice but to bow his head.
Giovanni didn't argue with her over it. He simply thanked her and added, "Thanks for earlier. If I get the chance, I'll do my best to repay you."
Then he added another question. "So, where are we going?"
Miyamoto gave the thin boy before her a long look, patted the Houndoom beside her on the head, and replied, "You'll find out in a moment. Come with me."
Though completely bewildered, Giovanni could only obediently follow Miyamoto out. Before leaving, he still thanked Doctor Liangmu and the nurses.
Along the way, quite a few Team Rocket members were busy at work. All of them greeted Miyamoto respectfully when they saw her.
Miyamoto merely nodded in response, looking every bit an executive.
Unlike the dilapidation of the slums, the current Team Rocket Base was already more modern and luxurious than even the grandest buildings in Viridian City.
After walking silently for quite a while, Giovanni finally couldn't resist asking another question. "I remember there was someone in a red suit earlier..."
Before Giovanni could finish, Miyamoto, who had reached a large door, turned and answered, "You mean the boss? You remember correctly, and she's your mother now."
As she pushed open the door, she said, "Now, you're going to meet your brothers and sisters!"
Before you continue