Caleb actually saw a hint of mischievous cunning in Mewtwo's eyes. But on second thought, that made perfect sense.
This Mewtwo had been under Giovanni's control in the Collapsed World for so many decades. The fact that he didn't eliminate him on sight was already a show of restraint.
Though they weren't the same person, their crimes were nearly identical.
Caleb pushed the thought aside and turned to Giovanni, quickly formulating a plan.
He adopted a solemn expression and asked, "You really don't remember anything at all?"
Giovanni looked genuinely confused and shook his head slowly.
Caleb sighed softly and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder...
Although Giovanni had lost his memory, he was still an intelligent adult. Amnesia hadn't turned him into a fool. He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Do you know me?"
"George Freedomson," Caleb said gravely, "You've worked hard, comrade!"
Giovanni grew even more perplexed. After a moment's thought, he asked, "George Freedomson… is that my name? Can you tell me what happened? I can't remember anything."
Caleb nodded calmly, "That's right. It's your codename, assigned by the Organization."
"Organization?" Giovanni echoed.
"The Kanto Pokémon League," Caleb replied without missing a beat, then launched into an impromptu fabrication, "Eight years ago, you were an outstanding League investigator who went undercover in Kanto's criminal syndicate, Team Rocket, under the alias 'Giovanni'..."
"...For the past eight years, you worked tirelessly to rise through their ranks, eventually becoming Team Rocket's leader. Thanks to your efforts, the League successfully dismantled the entire organization in one sweeping operation. Just now, you called me, gave me a location, and hung up abruptly. By the time I arrived, you were already unconscious, so I brought you here."
Giovanni frowned, deep in thought.
Caleb watched his expression carefully.
"Comrade George," he said seriously, "I'll ask you one last time, are you absolutely certain you remember nothing?" Caleb pointed at himself and added, "Do you remember who I am?"
Giovanni instinctively shook his head, then studied Caleb's face intently before shaking his head again, more heavily this time.
Caleb's expression remained thoughtful, but inside, he was frantically improvising, "According to the intelligence you sent us earlier, Team Flare possesses a brainwashing technology…"
"Team Flare?" Giovanni asked.
"You infiltrated them after Team Rocket's collapse. Since your cover wasn't blown, you used your former identity to gain access to other regional villainous organizations and extract intelligence."
At this, Giovanni fell silent. After a long pause, he said quietly, almost pained, "I'm sorry… I truly can't recall anything."
'Is Mewtwo's mind-wipe really that thorough?' Caleb wondered. Then, he sighed dramatically, "You've sacrificed so much. Since your cover is likely blown, take some time to rest now. Welcome back, Comrade George Freedomson!"
Committed to the bit, Caleb gave Giovanni a warm, reassuring hug.
Then, without a shred of guilt, he pulled a notepad and pen from his pocket, scribbled Lorelei's phone number, and handed it to Giovanni, "Once you're back, call this number. She'll arrange your leave and debriefing."
Caleb dumped the entire mess squarely onto Lorelei's shoulders. He would let her deal with 'Comrade George Freedomson'...
Whether Giovanni believed the story or followed through, Caleb wasn't entirely sure. After all, the whole tale was pure improvisation, riddled with holes.
All he could hope for was that, when Giovanni returned home a day later, he wouldn't be surrounded by Team Rocket grunts.
Giovanni tucked the note into his suit pocket...
Since Caleb was now playing the role of Giovanni's handler, he added more context to make the story plausible, "This place is an alternate dimension opened through Mewtwo's psychic power. It's similar to Giratina's Distortion World. I'm conducting research on such phenomena, and I'll send you back to your world in exactly one day."
Giovanni glanced at Mewtwo, his expression unreadable and cold.
The explanation was wildly fantastical. Yet, in a world where Pokémon existed, it wasn't entirely implausible.
Caleb couldn't tell if Giovanni bought it, but he pressed on, "I don't know what happened before you called me, or whether your identity was truly exposed. I retrieved you from your residence, so when you return, you'll reappear in the same place. Use your judgment wisely."
"I understand," Giovanni nodded.
Satisfied, Caleb led him to the Lord's Hall to rest, then quietly signaled Mewtwo to put him to sleep with Hypnosis.
Only after Giovanni was soundly unconscious did Caleb slip away...
....
By the next morning, all the Pokémon mining teams had returned with gold, and core facilities like the Barracks and City Walls had reached Level 3.
Caleb checked the resource requirements for upgrading his territory to Level 4, then headed straight to the Barracks to inspect the newly unlocked Level 3 Pokémon troops:
«Barracks (LV3)»
Recruitable Troop Types:
LV1:
1. Rattata, a Level 1 unit capable of tearing enemies apart with sharp teeth and claws. An initial unit that can evolve into Raticate (Level 2 unit) after accumulating a certain amount of combat experience.
- Recruitment cost: 1 Food unit...
2. Pidgey, a Level 1 unit, a Tiny Bird Pokémon capable of flying at speeds of 76 kilometers per hour with extremely good eyesight. Even from high altitudes, it can use Gust to deliver precise strikes on enemies. This is an initial unit that can evolve into Pidgeotto (Level 2 unit) and then Pidgeot (Level 3 unit) after accumulating a certain amount of combat experience.
- Recruitment cost: 1 Food unit...
LV2:
1. Gloom, Level 2 unit. A Weed Pokémon capable of using Grass-type and Poison-type moves. Possesses the magical ability to heal allies and poison enemies. If it accumulates sufficient combat experience, it can choose to evolve into Vileplume or Bellossom (Vileplume enhances the troop type's poison abilities, Bellossom enhances the troop type's healing abilities.).
- Recruitment Cost: 10 Food units...
2. Dugtrio, Level 2 unit. A Mole Pokémon. Its body remains hidden underground, allowing it to move swiftly beneath the soil without being detected by the enemy. Excels at attacking foes with Sand Tomb.
- Recruitment Cost: 10 Food units...
3. Tauros, Level 2 unit. A Wild Bull Pokémon adept at charging and ramming. Typically used for breaking through enemy formations. In battle, can use its powerful horns to destroy enemy lines.
- Recruitment Cost: 10 Food units...
Lv3:
1. Venusaur, Seed Pokémon. Uses wide-area Sleep Powder to inflict status conditions, supported by powerful Grass/Poison type moves.
- Cost: 100 Food units...
2. Blastoise, Shellfish Pokémon. Its hardened shell blocks massive damage. Ideal defensive unit.
- Cost: 100 Food units...
3. Charizard, Flame Pokémon. A Flying unit that dominates the skies with searing Flamethrower strikes that shatter enemy formations.
- Cost: 100 Food units...
'Wow. Compared to Lv. 2 units, the recruitment cost had jumped tenfold.' Caleb thought.
Even with his Flower Planter title boosting resource income, Caleb felt a twinge of pain.
100 Food units per soldier meant 100 000 for a thousand. These were far too expensive to recruit recklessly like he had with Tauros.
He decided to reserve all current resources for upgrading his territory to Lv. 4... Unfortunately, that required 500 000 units of each resource, which is 1.5 million in total.
Despite farming all afternoon yesterday, he was still short. There was no choice but to keep grinding...
Sitting back in his chair, Caleb opened the map.
Thanks to Ho-Oh's 'bug-like' ability, he could clearly see the location of every player's territory, though not their names.
On Day 5 of the Chaos Era Domination Instance, players were being eliminated daily. Their territories vanished from the map the moment they were knocked out.
Caleb watched as territories flared and disappeared in rapid succession. Players clashed fiercely while his own corner of the map remained eerily quiet.
It was… kind of boring.
He absentmindedly stroked Celebi's head as the little Pokémon nuzzled against him, seeking affection.
He had no intention of joining the chaotic player wars. Not just because fighting would slow his development, but because he was waiting.
He wanted to connect with Terrence and Hatsumi first, as soon as their Council Halls finished construction...