Chapter 108: Gym Leader Giovanni, Do You Have Children?
Chapter 108: Gym Leader Giovanni, Do You Have Children?
Who?
Giovanni?!
Jing He stared at the words on the screen, unable to react for a long moment.
Could someone really be impersonating him to add a friend?
The leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, actually wants to add me as a friend?
Most likely because of Mewtwo?
Should I accept?
Anyone who has played Pokemon games or watched the anime knows about Team Rocket, and no one is unaware of their leader, Giovanni.
In the special episodes, Giovanni’s Beedrill even managed to overpower Lance, who was already one of the Elite Four at the time.
As a powerful underground organization spanning the Kanto and Johto regions, Team Rocket’s influence is so great that even the League dares not act against them lightly.
A friend request with such a direct self-introduction...
“Wait, isn’t Giovanni currently the Gym Leader of Viridian City?”
As a Gym Leader, there’s no reason to refuse his friend request, right?
“Hold on.”
Jing He suddenly remembered something.
“Did I reject a friend request once before?”
He turned around and looked around the room.
“Kya?”
Noticing his actions, the Gastly hanging from the ceiling looked at him with a questioning gaze.
“Gastly, has anything unusual happened around here?” Jing He asked.
“Kya?”
Anything unusual?
Gastly looked puzzled, buried its head in the ceiling, then circled the house, and finally emerged from the ceiling again.
It shrugged.
“Kya~~”
Nothing.
Even Vulpix and Smoochum looked at him with questioning eyes.
Jing He sighed with relief.
“Nothing to worry about.”
As long as there’s no sudden appearance of a ninja.
He then said to Gastly:
“Gastly, if you ever notice a ninja or something similar around the house, don’t hesitate—use your strongest move on them!”
“Kya?”
A ninja?
Gastly suddenly chuckled and made a hand sign with its claws.
This kind of ninja?
“Exactly, if you encounter one, act quickly and decisively.” Jing He instructed.
“Kya~~”
Gastly patted its chest, indicating it could handle ten at a time!
Jing He shook his head, not wanting to elaborate.
He was afraid of scaring Gastly.
After all, if someone really appeared at his house, it would most likely be Koga, the Gym Leader of Fuchsia City and one of the Poison-type Elite Four in Johto.
Koga is also one of the three main officers of Team Rocket, along with Proton and Petrel, all of whom are Gym Leaders in Kanto.
Even Sabrina of Lavender Town seems to be involved.
In a region with eight Gyms, five are controlled by Team Rocket, which gives you an idea of their influence.
But upon further reflection,
Giovanni doesn’t seem like the type to hold a grudge over a single rejected friend request.
After some thought, Jing He decided to accept.
After all, the man is a Gym Leader, and he has introduced himself. Not accepting could invite trouble, like Koga really showing up!
After accepting the friend request, Jing He felt less tense.
Worst case, he could hide in Sinnoh. The Galactic Team isn’t to be underestimated either.
If he could hide at Cynthia’s place, he’d be pretty safe.
As soon as he accepted, Giovanni sent a message.
[Earth King]: Hello, Teacher Jing He.
Surprisingly polite.
Jing He knew quite a bit about Giovanni from the anime and the special episodes.
The portrayal of Giovanni differs between the two, but his core principles remain the same.
In the anime, Giovanni represents evil, but his “evil” is different from that of people like Butch and Cassidy. He follows rules and order, making him more like a lawful evil.
In the special episodes, Giovanni is also portrayed as evil, but with more humanity and warmth.
For example, in the special episodes, Giovanni seeks Mewtwo to find his lost son.
He treats his Pokemon, especially his Beedrill, just as well as any other trainer, if not better.
Red, despite opposing Team Rocket and even disbanding them, respects Giovanni. When Red was frozen, it was Giovanni who came to his rescue.
In summary, the Giovanni of the special episodes is a father first and the leader of Team Rocket second.
However, whether in the anime or the special episodes, Giovanni’s ultimate goal is the same.
“Every year the League sits, but this year it’s my turn!”
This is why Team Rocket has gradually infiltrated the League, leading to five out of eight Gym Leaders in Kanto being part of the organization.
They even plan to infiltrate the Elite Four in the future!
[Teacher Jing He]: Hello, Gym Leader Giovanni. Is there anything I can assist you with?
He pretended to only know Giovanni as the Gym Leader of Viridian City, keeping his other knowledge to himself.
This way, no matter what happens, he won’t be blamed.
[Earth King]: Teacher Jing He, you are highly capable. Are you interested in helping me in Kanto?
Is this a recruitment?
It must be!
Jing He had a good idea why.
It’s because of Mewtwo.
[Teacher Jing He]: I’m sorry, Gym Leader Giovanni, but as a teacher, I have a group of adorable students to teach and cannot leave Hoenn.
Jing He politely declined.
[Earth King]: You are a truly responsible teacher.
[Teacher Jing He]: After all, once a teacher, always a teacher.
[Earth King]: I apologize for being presumptuous.
Giovanni’s politeness was a pleasant surprise to Jing He.
But this is likely part of Giovanni’s charisma, which is why loyal followers like Proton and Koga are willing to serve him.
When Jing He thought the recruitment was over, Giovanni sent another message.
[King of the Earth]: Professor Jing He, would you be interested in becoming my personal advisor?
"Uh..."
Jing He rubbed his temples and started typing.
"Actually, I'm sorry, I'm currently—"
Before he could finish, another message appeared.
[King of the Earth]: Of course, it's a paid position. I believe it won't disappoint you, Professor Jing He.
"Hmm?"
Jing He glanced at his half-typed response and hit the delete key a few times.
Giovanni continued.
[King of the Earth]: And you won't need to come to Kanto's Vermilion City for work. We can communicate online.
No need to go to work, just an online personal advisor, and the person is a Gym Leader.
It seemed like there weren't any problems with this offer.
[Jing He]: What would I need to do?
[King of the Earth]: Provide psychological counseling for me, my Pokemon, or any Pokemon I know, including Mewtwo, whom you are familiar with.
Seeing "Mewtwo," Jing He couldn't help but grit his teeth.
Ordinary people wouldn't know Mewtwo is part of Team Rocket, and he had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, when it came to Mewtwo, Jing He always held the principle that if he took on the case, he would try his best to help.
If he didn't know, it would be one thing, but since he did, he couldn't ignore such a special case.
At that moment,
[Your account has received 3,000,000 League Coins. Remaining balance: 3,222,100 League Coins]
Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions...
Sigh—
Just three million like that?
More generous than Devon Corporation!
Wait a minute.
[Jing He]: Gym Leader Giovanni
[King of the Earth]: Considering you've already provided some treatment for Mewtwo, I've taken the liberty of covering the initial costs.
[King of the Earth]: For future work, we can set your monthly salary at one million League Coins. How does that sound?
One million a month, that's...
Twelve million a year?!
Is Team Rocket that rich?
Oh, right, the current Team Rocket is backed by Silph Co., with five Gym Leaders and three major units. That makes sense.
[Jing He]: Gym Leader Giovanni, I haven't—
[King of the Earth]: Great, it's settled then!
[Jing He]: Gym Leader Giovanni, I haven't agreed yet.
[King of the Earth]: Congratulations, Professor Jing He. I look forward to our future cooperation! (Handshake.jpg)
[Jing He]: ???
No.
Boss Giovanni, can't you see I didn't agree?
Is this forced?
The money was already in his account, making it hard to back out now.
Just like that, he became the personal advisor to Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni.
So,
Jing He decided to take a screenshot.
To keep evidence.
If anything happened, he could claim he was also a "victim."
[King of the Earth]: Is there anything else you'd like to know, Professor Jing He?
Jing He: "."
He took a deep breath and decided to ask the most crucial question.
[Jing He]: My question might be a bit forward, but... Gym Leader Giovanni, do you have any children?
[King of the Earth]: ???
This was a crucial question!
Because he needed to determine whether this Giovanni was the one from the anime or the one from the manga.
The anime Giovanni was almost beyond saving, obsessed with taking over the Pokemon League.
But if it was the manga Giovanni, there might still be a chance to help.
After a long pause,
Giovanni replied.
[King of the Earth]: This is the first time someone has asked me this.
[King of the Earth]: My answer is... yes.
[King of the Earth]: But he's missing.
Jing He clenched his fists.
All the elements are in place!
So, is Red involved?
[Jing He]: I believe you will find him.
[King of the Earth]: Thank you.
After saying that, Giovanni's profile picture went dark.
Jing He sat back, rubbing his chin.
"In the end, it's just a Gym Leader looking for a Pokemon psychologist."
Even without Giovanni, he would have continued to provide counseling for Mewtwo.
"Thinking about it this way, it feels like I've earned a few million for free."
"But... should I report this?"
With that thought,
Jing He stood up and walked to the balcony.
"Hey, Elite Four Koga, it's Jing He."
At the Rocket Base in Kanto's Vermilion City,
"Phew—"
Giovanni put down his phone and leaned back on the sofa, his eyes filled with a hint of melancholy.
Janine, standing beside him, had never seen Boss Giovanni look like this before.
Was this the same all-powerful leader she knew?
She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
'Is this the power of Professor Jing He's psychology? It's truly terrifying.'
While Janine marveled internally, she softly said, "Boss, have some cookies to relax."
"Uh-huh."
Giovanni gave a soft response but didn't move.
Even so, it was enough to make Janine happy.
"Regarding 'Jing He,' only you and I can know about this. Set the confidentiality level to the highest. Understood?"
"U-Understood!" Janine's cheeks flushed.
This is a secret only I and Boss Giovanni know!—
PS: This chapter is 3.2k. Although I only updated three chapters today, it's already close to 10k words. Please vote for the monthly ticket!
Please note that this story blends elements from the special chapters, anime, and games, so please don't be too picky about the details.
(End of Chapter)
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