Cain didn't have to wait long.
After finishing reading the report in his hands, Giovanni set it aside and looked at Cain.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Not bad. Your growth speed has really exceeded my expectations. I originally thought you'd need at least another year, but I didn't expect you to have already reached the Elite level," said Giovanni.
"Thank you for the compliment, Leader," replied Cain, standing respectfully.
Giovanni gestured with his hand, indicating he should sit.
"Since you've reached the Elite level, just as I promised before, from now on you are officially a Team Rocket Elite Officer."
"From this moment on, you'll be in charge of all Team Rocket operations in the Hoenn region. All personnel movements and missions within the region must go through your approval before being carried out."
"Additionally, you'll have direct authority to appoint members of your Heaven division, from Senior Officers downward."
Giovanni spoke calmly, but his words carried a lot of weight.
The main idea was clear: Cain was now officially an Elite Officer and would have full authority over Hoenn. Everything would be under his control.
Complete regional authority.
Although in practice he was already handling almost everything in Hoenn, now he had the title and official recognition, and that changed everything.
"Thank you, Leader," Cain repeated respectfully.
In Team Rocket, being an Elite Officer or not ultimately came down to strength.
Of course, it also meant fewer annoyances from the mediocre.
But Cain sensed that this wasn't the main reason Giovanni had called him.
"Take a look at this report," said Giovanni, handing him the document he had just read.
Cain took it and began reviewing it.
"Research Report on the Mew Gene... signed by Blaine..." he read the header quietly, slightly surprised, and continued reading more deeply.
The Mew gene was the main reason Giovanni had decided to withdraw Team Rocket.
And Blaine, as Cain knew, was one of the key people behind that research. In the future, he would be the one to create Mewtwo.
And now Giovanni was letting him see such an important report?
But as he read on, Cain frowned.
"The incompatibility between Mew's genes is so strong that the chance of replicating it is only 0.07%...?" Cain read quietly, stunned.
"Exactly. This isn't the first time we've tried to integrate Mew's genes. And the results are always the same. It's as if, beyond the base genes, there's some kind of hidden code without which replication is impossible," said Giovanni in a neutral tone.
Clearly, this wasn't the first report of this kind he had received. They had probably already made a dozen attempts... or more.
Cain didn't know how to respond.
"Keep reading," Giovanni instructed him.
Cain turned to the next page.
"Proposal for modifying the Mew gene... Success probability: 11.3%..." he read in amazement.
Modifying Mew's gene to create a new species?
That percentage was much higher... though still low.
Were they already abandoning the Mew clone to move on to creating something entirely new?
"Recommended genes to integrate: Moltres, Zapdos... and Articuno."
Cain shuddered inside. He now understood where this was all going.
"I see you reached the important part," said Giovanni, his gaze fixed.
Cain nodded.
Giovanni stood up and walked over to a window in the underground facility. Outside was the laboratory where Mew's gene was being researched.
"We've always had access to data and habitats of the three legendary birds. And since we need powerful genes to modify Mew's... what better option than them?"
"That's why this time we have an important mission for you: capture the three legendary birds," said Giovanni with determination.
If Mew couldn't be replicated, then they would create something stronger than Mew. As Team Rocket, nothing was impossible.
The three legendary birds?
"Maybe they weren't the real ones," thought Cain.
Even if they were replicas, Cain doubted he was ready to take part in such a mission at his current level.
Giovanni, as if he could read his mind, smiled.
"Don't worry, you're not in charge of this operation. The ones responsible will be Umbra and Tenebris. You'll just assist from the background."
That was acceptable for Cain.
"But..." Giovanni added.
"But there will be others involved in this mission. Be prepared for that."
And as he said it, Giovanni gave him a strange look. A look with hidden meaning, one that Cain had to interpret on his own.
Cain paused in thought but understood: those "others" were the real reason he had been summoned.
"Here's your Elite Officer badge. From now on, you will report directly to me. For the operational details, speak with Umbra and Tenebris. They're in charge of this mission."
"Also, as a benefit for ascending to Elite Officer, I'm granting you a two-hundred-million credit to use in the Team Rocket catalog."
"I'm adding another two hundred million on top of that. That gives you four hundred million in total. Check if you need anything before the mission. I expect this operation to bring me a satisfactory result," concluded Giovanni, returning to his papers.
Cain, understanding the moment, bowed and left.
He hadn't expected a bonus like that after becoming an Elite Officer. The Team Rocket reward catalog was one of the most complete in the Pokémon world.
In fact, many things the League didn't even dare distribute, Team Rocket did.
With that amount, he could prepare well.
Upon leaving Giovanni's office, Cain pinned the Elite Officer badge to his chest.
Within the Team Rocket base in Viridian City, except for extremely restricted areas, there was now no place he couldn't go.
Along the way, several Team Rocket members, upon seeing the badge on his chest, stopped at the hallway's edge and bowed respectfully.
Who was he? What was his name? That was none of their business.
This was the basic hierarchy of Team Rocket: unless you were an Elite Officer, you had to show respect when you saw one.
Otherwise, if you ran into one in a bad mood... you could simply end up dead.
Being an Elite Officer meant entering the circle of the privileged class that everyone in Team Rocket longed to reach.
(End of chapter)