"Wooo~ So pretty, so cool—I love it!"
Leaf clung to the neck of the ice-blue bird, rubbing her cheek affectionately against its feathers. The Articuno looked visibly confused by the overwhelming affection.
Yes, it was Articuno.
One of the legendary bird Pokémon from Kanto—Dylan's gift to Leaf.
Not long ago, Giovanni had handed over the Articuno and Moltres captured by Team Rocket to Dylan.
Dylan kept the Moltres for himself, but since he already had an Articuno, he decided to give this one to Leaf as a gift.
After all, if it weren't for Leaf's help, he wouldn't have had nearly as much fun.
"Take good care of it, Leaf. You should be near Champion level by now, right?" Dylan asked.
"Humph~ Don't underestimate me! I already am Champion level," Leaf grinned proudly, lifting her chin.
She was happy with her progress. Sure, she didn't advance as fast as Red or Blue, but she wasn't the type to compare. For her, being Champion level within a year was already amazing.
"Impressive," Dylan gave her a thumbs-up in approval.
Leaf happily went back to bonding with Articuno—she absolutely adored it.
After all, it was a legendary Pokémon, and Dylan had given it to her!
Johto Region
In a secret underground base near Cianwood Town…
A figure cloaked in black stood still, wearing a terrifying mask.
"Boss."
Karen, now donning a white mask, stepped quietly into the base, her usual laid-back demeanor completely gone. She bowed respectfully.
"Where is Will?" the cold, distorted voice rasped.
"He was captured by the Kanto League," Karen said softly, licking her dry lips.
Silence fell. A chilling cold permeated the air.
Freezing—bone-deep cold.
Goosebumps covered her skin, but she didn't dare speak. She knew this was the Masked Man's rage simmering.
"Useless," the Masked Man hissed.
He hadn't expected Will—after completing the training he'd assigned—to still get caught. Sure, he knew Will and Karen had… their tendencies, but to land himself in prison?
Unacceptable.
"Master, here's the Rainbow Wing," Karen offered a faintly glowing feather, its iridescence subtle and beautiful.
"No news on the Silver Wing?" the Masked Man asked, gloved hand reaching out.
"No… I'm very sorry."
"Keep searching. With Rocket dismantled in Kanto, it's time. Karen, I want you to take control of the remnants in Johto. My patience is wearing thin."
"You understand what I mean, don't you?"
His cold, dead eyes behind the mask bore into Karen's soul. A shiver ran up her spine.
"Yes! I understand. I'll move faster," Karen quickly responded, taking a deep breath.
"But boss… Giovanni's still active. He's powerful," she hesitated. She knew she couldn't handle Giovanni on her own.
"If he gets in the way, I'll support you remotely," the Masked Man said flatly.
"Contact Gamma and Carter. They'll assist you."
"…Understood."
As he left without another word, Karen exited the base as well, dabbing cold sweat from her brow. Her face was pale.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
Even as a Champion-level trainer herself, Karen felt like a powerless child in front of him.
She couldn't even fathom how terrifying his true strength was.
"Taking over Team Rocket, huh…"
Calming down, Karen twirled a lock of her blue-gray hair, curious.
Would Giovanni care about her taking over Rocket's remnants? Probably not. The Masked Man had already promised to step in if needed. No surprises there.
"That shorty Chuck is gonna have fun with this~"
She smirked playfully. This could get interesting.
Rota Gym, Backyard
Dylan took out his phone and made a call.
"Hello?" A deep, magnetic voice answered.
"Giovanni-senpai, where are you now?"
"Tidying up loose ends at Viridian Gym. And Dylan, thanks again for everything this time."
In the backyard of Viridian Gym, Giovanni stood before a fire pit. The flames danced, casting shadows across his face.
He was burning all of Team Rocket's old records. Kanto's Rocket team… was done.
"No need to thank me. So, what's next for you?"
"I've got some personal business. Might head to Johto," Giovanni said calmly.
"Johto, huh? If it's convenient, would you mind taking Zinnia with you? She needs to head there too."
"Something with the Johto Pokémon Association?"
"You're already in the loop, huh?"
"She mentioned it in passing. Heh… fine, I'll go with her. I owe her anyway for what she did for Rocket."
Giovanni paused. He hated owing favors, even with his reputation as a 'source of darkness.' But if someone helped him, he remembered it.
"Perfect," Dylan smiled. With Giovanni accompanying Zinnia, there'd be no issues.
Not that he thought Zinnia couldn't handle it alone—she was a powerhouse Dragon-type Champion—but still, better safe than sorry.
"What about your gym?"
"I've left it in Petrel's hands for now."
Whether he'd return someday… who knew?
Giovanni turned to gaze at the stately Viridian Gym. How many years had passed? Ten? Twenty?
He wasn't sure anymore.
This trip to Johto wasn't just to settle things—it was to visit Cianwood City, see if his illness could be cured.
But most importantly… to find Silver!
"All right. If you need help, let me know," Dylan added. "Unless you plan to take down the entire League or mess with Arceus, there's not much I can't handle."
"Haha… you're something else, Dylan."
"…But I don't want to owe you too much," Giovanni admitted with a sigh. He, Giovanni—Team Rocket's former boss—didn't like debt.
And frankly…
"I don't have much time left."
He rubbed his temples, weary. He hadn't told anyone—not even his loyal secretary Matori.
But he trusted Dylan. Dylan knew who he truly was, yet never exposed him.
And frankly, Dylan didn't need leverage to bring him down if he wanted to.
"You're sick?" Dylan asked.
"Yeah. Terminal illness—incurable with modern medicine."
Giovanni didn't mind the blunt question.
"Human medicine might not work, but that doesn't mean there's no cure," Dylan shrugged.
"?"
Giovanni paused. Dylan said it so casually, like they were discussing dinner plans.
"What humans can't do, Pokémon can," Dylan continued. "You're thinking too small."
"…You mean?"
"Yep. Just in Kanto, we've got Ho-Oh—known to resurrect the dead. Even if you're ashes, it could bring you back. A little illness? No problem."
"There's also Celebi, the time-traveling Grass mythical. And in Kalos, Xerneas, who can grant life."
"If Xerneas doesn't want you to die, you literally can't. Even if you try."
Dylan grinned, listing examples. And he wasn't just blowing smoke—these were real.
Like AZ, the ancient Kalos king, who built the Ultimate Weapon powered by Pokémon lives just to revive his beloved Floette.
When Floette realized the cost of her resurrection, she left him.
AZ, having used the weapon, was cursed with eternal life—he wandered for three thousand years.
So yeah, Xerneas's life energy? Very real.
Just get that fancy rainbow deer to shine a light on Giovanni, and he'd be right as rain.
"I see…"
Giovanni fell into thought. Dylan was right—he'd limited his thinking to human science.
But Ho-Oh and Celebi… those he'd heard of, being from Kanto.
Still, those two were notoriously hard to find.
"If you want, I can help you find Ho-Oh," Dylan offered with a grin.
And he could—because Leaf had a Rainbow Wing that could call Ho-Oh.
Ho-Oh had gifted it to her, saying she could summon it in times of danger. A heartfelt gesture… though Dylan thought it was pretty useless.
Leaf worked for him. If she was in danger, he'd protect her.
Besides, in Kanto, who could threaten her other than the Masked Man?
And if Ho-Oh flew in against him, that'd just be suicide.
Ho-Oh would probably show up and curse her out: "You set me up, you little—!"
Yeah. Pretty, but otherwise not very helpful.
"Dylan, I just said I don't want to owe you. How the heck would I repay this?" Giovanni asked, exasperated.
"No need to be so formal. It's simple," Dylan said, eyes gleaming. "Someday, I might ask you for a favor. Don't refuse, that's all."
"It won't go against your beliefs, and I promise it won't be bad for you."
"…Fine. I owe you one, Dylan. Whatever it is, just say the word."
It'd be rude to refuse after someone offered to save your life.
"When are you free?"
"Give it some time. I'm still doing okay. I leave for Johto tomorrow."
Now that death wasn't looming, Giovanni smiled faintly. Next priority: find Silver.
He wasn't in a rush. His body could probably last another year or two.
If he found another way to cure himself before then, maybe he wouldn't need Dylan after all.
"Sounds good. And what about Johto's Rocket remnants?"
"I've lost," Giovanni said flatly. "My Team Rocket died in Saffron."
In other words, he didn't care about Johto's branch anymore.
"I see," Dylan nodded.
After a bit more conversation, he ended the call.
"All done?" Leaf popped up beside him, blinking curiously. "Sooo~ what do you need Giovanni for?"
She'd only caught parts of the conversation, but enough to get the gist.
Her curiosity was through the roof.
"You'll find out eventually," Dylan said, stretching lazily.
"Tch. Mysterious much?"
"Time to sleep. Night, Leaf."
"Eh? You want me to sleep with you? Well~ if it's you, Dylan…"
"…Down bad."
Dylan rolled his eyes. She was definitely messing with him on purpose.
Ignoring her indignant protests, Dylan headed back inside. With Sinnoh cleared, he'd unlocked Johto's map.
Time to finish Johto soon too.
Which of the Sinnoh legendaries should he pick?
Before entering the growth simulation, Dylan had already started considering which dragon to choose—after all, the Sinnoh trio were something else.