Who knows what was up with Giovanni today? He told Aoki so many things, even revealing his ultimate vision.
Perhaps it was because Aoki was the most talented Team Rocket member he had ever met, or perhaps it was because...
Aoki resembled his younger self.
"I've said too much. Actually, the reason I called you here is because there's something I hope you can do." Giovanni returned to his executive chair.
Aoki raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me."
For some reason, Aoki seemed to detect a hint of awkwardness on Giovanni's face.
Awkwardness?
"Ahem, it's like this: you came from Trial Island, so you should be quite familiar with the situation there. This current trial mission has also begun, and a new batch of selected members will enter Trial Island. Everything will proceed according to the rules, but..."
Halfway through Giovanni's sentence, the awkwardness on his face intensified, but after a fleeting moment, it completely vanished. However, Aoki had a very bad premonition.
"But among them are two people named Jessie and James. I hope you can look after them."
"..."
Aoki stared blankly at Giovanni, feeling as if his ears might be malfunctioning. Look after who?
"Jessie? James?" Aoki murmured their names.
"That's right, Jessie and James. One of them is the daughter of a former capable subordinate of mine, and the other is the son of an old friend. While having you do this is truly overkill, I believe only you can keep them in line.
If possible, of course, let them complete the entire trial mission. If not, just terminate it for them and take them to your Hoenn region. Kanto isn't peaceful right now, and their... their intelligence might not allow them to survive this major upheaval."
Aoki felt his worldview had been completely shattered today.
Had he seen three different Giovannis today?
One was the calm and composed Team Rocket boss, facing a group of high-ranking Team Rocket executives without batting an eye, revered by everyone.
The second was the ambitious middle-aged man discussing his ideas and ideals, determined to change the entire Pokémon world and overthrow the existing League's rule!
The third was the most surprising and shocking to Aoki: this was... a parental Giovanni?
Boss, are you experiencing a personality split?
And it started with such a terrifying topic: asking him to look after Jessie and James?
If Pokémon fans on Earth heard this, they'd probably die laughing. Jessie and James needing someone else's care? With their luck, besides dying of old age, they have no other way of dying, alright?
Right now, they're just two people. When they form their trio, that's when they truly become complete, practically immortal.
Anyway, even if the Pokémon world were destroyed, at most they'd just yell, "We're blasting off again!"
And then, curtain call!
Although this topic ignited Aoki's inner Tucao Soul (Tucao Soul roughly translates to 'roasting spirit' or 'urge to mock'), it wasn't too important. Besides, Aoki just happened to want to visit Trial Island again.
As for Jessie and James, didn't Giovanni say the trial could be terminated at any time? Then he could just take them to the Hoenn region, toss them to the Sky Team, and let the people below deal with the headache.
"When do we leave?" Aoki asked.
Hearing Aoki's question, Giovanni knew he had agreed.
"Tomorrow morning at eight," Giovanni said.
Actually, Giovanni had no choice but to ask Aoki to look after Jessie and James. The Kanto region was indeed not peaceful right now, and the Hoenn region, due to the demise of Team Magma and Team Aqua, had become the most stable region.
And Aoki was not only the leader of the Sky Team but also one of the Hoenn Elite Four. There was no place more suitable for the two of them than the Hoenn region.
This was Giovanni's promise to Jessie's mother's last request. As a man of his word, Giovanni had truly gone to great lengths.
As for James, he was brought into Team Rocket by Jessie, so he would leave with her. Giovanni was indeed well-acquainted with James's father, so he would do it as a favor. After all, looking after one was looking after one, and looking after two was also looking after two.
"Then there's still plenty of time. Can I go see the progress of the Mew gene research? After all, I was involved in it," Aoki made a small request.
"You can go by yourself. Blaine was just mentioning you a while ago," Giovanni said casually, waving his hand.
So Aoki left Giovanni's office.
Looking after Jessie and James was truly an incredibly "difficult" mission.
He went straight to the secret laboratory at the very bottom of the base, where Aoki once again saw Blaine in a white lab coat.
As Team Rocket's chief scientist at the time, Blaine's status and position were undeniable. Moreover, his own strength was not weak. Aoki had not had any conflicts with him. Even if he had tried to scheme against him in the last incident, he hadn't succeeded.
Blaine, on the other hand, was surprised by Aoki's rapid increase in strength. Aoki was no longer someone he could easily manipulate.
So, both of them, with great understanding, wore friendly smiles on their faces.
"Mr. Blaine, when exactly will this Mew gene be successfully replicated into a true Pokémon?" Aoki and Blaine walked through the laboratory, looking at the bottles and jars placed on the surrounding walls. Inside were some very strange-looking creatures, though all were lifeless.
"The genes are actually already integrated. All we need to do is arrange these genes in a certain ratio and sequence. After all, the energy contained within these genes is extremely vast. One wrong move could directly destroy the thought processes of the resulting Pokémon," Blaine's face bore the pathological expression seen on the faces of mad scientists.
After so many days and nights of research, results were finally about to appear, so how could Blaine not be happy?
"Then, Mr. Blaine, what kind of strength and potential will this newborn Pokémon possess?" Aoki asked.
"Unparalleled potential, and strength that will dominate the entire Pokémon world! I hope and believe that no Pokémon in the Pokémon world will be its opponent!!" Blaine described it as if he were introducing a work of art.
Aoki then followed Blaine to tour the gene integration facility and saw many gene culture dishes, with quite a few embryos already active within them.
It seemed that Mewtwo could appear at any moment!
Then the Kanto region was becoming more and more interesting: the sudden appearance of the Divine Cult, the division of the Kanto League, and the birth of Team Rocket's secret weapon, Mewtwo!
Who knows how many more things are still hidden, and who knows under what circumstances unforeseen changes will occur again.
It felt like the storm belonging to this world was officially beginning to spin.