Chapter 104: Silph Co
As the hot water cascaded over her body, Giana was silent as she contemplated all of the information she had received in the latest report from Team Rocket.
The operation in Lavender Town was a complete and utter failure.
That, had hardly been surprising to Giana considering their recent track record, ever since Ace Ketchum departed on his journey. And Giana hadn't been surprised in the slightest to learn that he had been present in Lavender town to fight back against them.
However, what HAD been surprising to her, was the information that came after the summary of the Lavender town incident. That apparently Team Aqua will be joining them in the attack on the SS. Anne.
That was more than a little shocking to Giana given Giovanni's history with the leaders of Team Aqua and Team Magma.
Originally, the two groups were the extremists amongst the land and sea cults that worshipped the primal Legendary Pokemon, Groudon and Kyogre. But then Giovanni stepped in posing as a true believer to both sides, without the other knowing.
His offer was that he'd happily finance their groups and their research into Groudon and Kyogre, asking only to be kept in the loop whenever a new discovery was made. And both groups readily accepted, seeing nothing wrong with someone wanting to learn more about their diety.
But a few months later they realized the truth, that Giovanni was funding both sides as they became increasingly hostile with one another.
Thankfully they never realized what it was Giovanni was truly after, since the idea appealed to him greatly to raise and sink entire continents on a whim. If they'd known his true intentions, then both groups probably would've put aside their differences in a temproary alliance until Giovanni was dealt with.
The real questions were, what did Giovanni promise Team Aqua to secure their cooperation? And who would double cross who first?
As far as Giana was concerned, a double cross was only to be expected given they were both criminal organizations. It was only a matter of who first, and when.
She turned off the water to her shower as that concern drifted through her mind, and toweled herself off before wrapping it around her head as she walked out into her suite, only to find someone waiting there for her.
"Afternoon." Drawled a man that Giana deeply despised, especially as his eyes leered at her naked figure with undisguised sadistic desire.
"Leon." Giana answered back without the slightest bit of discomfort or embarrassment showing in her expression. After all, she was used to men leering at her naked figure, though it was usually out of scientific curiosity instead of actual desire.
"Composed as always I see." Leon snorted, showing no consideration for Giana's privacy.
"Well since the League has decided that I no longer have any right to privacy, I suppose I should be getting used to this kind of thing." Giana stated as if it were obvious.
"Indeed." Leon uttered, without ever taking his gaze from her breasts, unless it was look downwards at her crotch.
Giana withheld the sigh that so desperately wanted to escape her lips at her current situation.
Of course, she was immediately targeted the moment Giovanni's connection to Team Rocket was discovered. But, instead of running away or hiding to escape persecution, Giana had met their accusations head-on.
She hadn't been alone of course, as Nemona stood by her to proclaim her innocence of any involvement with Team Rocket. She even staked her position as a Champion Ranked trainer to help Giana, a foolish decision considering Giana WAS a member of Team Rocket.
But it had swayed some people in her favor, as Giana was not arrested or dragged in for questioning. Instead, she simply had to hand over her Pokemon to the Captain of the SS. Anne, who promised to take good care of them, and be watched over by a representative of the League.
The only problem was that the representive of the League was Leon, who wholeheartedly treated her as a criminal with no rights. Much less the right to privacy.
"Is there anything else? Or do you intend to spectate me preparing for the party tonight?" Giana asked with a bit of venom in her voice.
"So cocky!" Leon sneered at her, before rising to his feet as he stalked towards her.
"You better remember that your freedom rides on MY decisions!" He declared while slamming his hand against the closed bathroom door behind her, pinning Giana between him and the door.
"So if I were you, I'd be a little bit more....cooperative." He sneered while reaching up to cup one of her breasts, weighing it in his hands while his thumb traced her nipple.
In response to sudden sexual assault, Giana felt....nothing.
Well, she might have felt some disgust from his touch. But it was very slight as she waited for him to finish his molestation of her.
"Still nothing?" he asked her incredulously.
"Nope." She answered truthfully.
Even if this was enough to cow any other woman, Giana wasn't the least bit fazed. That was because, to her, Leon was worth less than discarded waste. She didn't even consider him being worth her time to feel overly disgusted from his touch.
Instead, she almost found his attempts to intimidate her humorous.
Giana found herself reminiscing of the last time she was in this position, five years ago when she'd been sent to deal with Ace Ketchum.
That 'boy' had made her feel more than any other man in her life had.
Now whenever someone tried to intimidate her, Giana couldnt help but to compare them to Ace. HE had genuinely made her feel intimidated just through his sheer overwhelming presence, while every other person just seemed pathetic in comparison.
"Damn robot..." Leon snorted as he released Giana's breast and turned his back to her.
"Remember your place criminal, cause I sure won't let you forget it." He snarled back at her, before exiting the room.
'Do you want me to kill him?'
Despite the voice that was speaking in her head, Giana barely reacted as she replied out loud,
"Don't Sabrina. If you retaliated now, then they'll know I was involved. Let's wait until the attack on the SS. Anne."
'Very well.'
"Now is there a reason you reached out to me?"
'There is. Ace Ketchum just finished his meeting with the Silph co President, and I wanted to show you everything that happened.'
"!!!"
For the first time Giana showed a genuine reaction at the mention of Ace.
"Tell me." She said out loud, anxious to hear more about what Ace was doing.
Instead of telling her anything though, Sabrina projected a series of images into Giana's mind, starting with Janine's memories of the battle against the true alpha Gengar, and leading up to their arrival in Saffron city. After that were the memories of a scientist from Silph co by the name of Miguel, since Janine had a Haunter take refuge in her shadow.
And with what she saw, Giana could feel heat spreading throughout her body that hadnt been there before.
***
*Earlier*
"Woah..." I uttered in awe while looking in every direction around me.
In every direction was a sea of skyscrapers that glittered in the midday sun, while one towered taller than all the rest in front of us.
"Welcome to Silph co headquarters." Miguel declared, sweeping his arms out dramatically as he did so.
"It has one hundred floors, making it the tallest building in all of both the Kanto and Johto regions. On top of that, this is also where the majority of our research and development take place, as well as our marketing, distribution, and so on."
Miguel continued while directing us into the lobby, where there were several rows of counters that were manned by numerous beautiful receptionists.
"The first five floors are open to the public, while the rest are restricted to only employees, and those who have guest passess. After reception, the next four floors are shops that carry the different products we create, such as Pokeballs, TMs, and so on."
As he was speaking, Miguel led us to the main receptionist's desk, where he greeted the woman manning it with a smile.
"Hello Mable. Just on our way to a meeting with the President."
"Of course, he is expecting you." The receptionist answered with a professional smile, though the auras of the two were quite interesting as they interacted with one another.
"These are your passess." She said while handing them to Janine and I, which I noted said VIP on them. "And since you are meeting directly with the President, you have also been authorized to use his personal elevator."
As she said that, Mabel pressed a button hidden behind the counter while glancing towards the back wall. Nearly the entire wall was taken up by a series of elevators that were devided up by where they went, like some that only went up to the fifth floor for the public, and others that went up to the twentieth, fiftieth, and so on floors. I could only imagine the headaches that would occur when people going to ten different floors had to ride the same elevator.
Smack dab in the middle of them though, there was a single elevator that looked different from the rest in that it was made of glass, while the other's were all made of metal.
That particular elevator lit up after Mabel pushed the button, and Miguel excitedly hurried towards it while gesturing for us to follow him.
"I've only gotten to ride the President's personal elevator once before! This is so exciting!" He stated like a child on Christmas. I had to resist the urge to say that was obvious, given both his visible excitment and his aura.
The moment all three of us were on board he quickly pressed the button for the top floor, and the elevator shot upwards far faster than any elevator I had ever been on before. The cool thing about it though was that we could see out on every single floor we passed, while Miguel stated the glass was tinted so no one could could see in.
I had to squash the perverse thoughts that entered my mind at THAT information, and busied myself enjoying the view we had from inside the elevator as we traveld upwards.
First to go by were the floors open to the public, where Silph co sold the items they made to visitors.
The second floor was taken entirely up by Pokeballs of every conceivable type, Great Balls, Ultra Balls, Dusk Balls, Luxury Balls, Net Balls, and several more. The third floor meanwhile was taken up by the TMs the company produced, which possessed every conceivable Pokemon move.
The fourth floor was primarily items that trainers would use on their travels, like Repels, Potions, exploration equipment, sleeping bags, backpacks, tents, portable kitchens, and so on. The fifth, and final floor that the public could access, was cooposed entirely of the different hold items and training equipment that Pokemon could use, some of which was the same equipment Lucario and I had used growing up.
From that point on was the private floors that guests couldn't access without a pass, where we saw numerous labs along with offices that were filled with hundreds of working scientists and employees. And as we traveled upwards, Miguel happily explained to Janine and I what they were working on, unless it was something top secret.
The two things that caught my attention as we went up though, were that Silph co was also working on creating Porygon, and that I was pretty sure I had spotted numerous Team Rocket agents mixed within the employees and scientists. At least, thats what their auras seemed like.
I think I'll keep that in mind when we talk to the president.
Soon we reached the top floor of the entire company, a markedly different level considering it was where the president worked. And waiting for us as we stepped out of the elevator was a pretty young lady that greeted us with a smile.
"Greetings! I am Yumi Silph, grandaughter of President Silph. Please follow me." Gesturing as she did so, the young lady turned around and led us to what I could only assume was the main office.
As she led the way my eyes couldn't help but admire her backside as it swayed back and forth seductively. Yumi had mid-length light brown hair that fell straight down to the middle of her back, and was wearing a casual collared white shirt with a navy-blue vest over it, couple with a red skirt and black tights.
"!!!"
"Quit staring." Janine breathed out in a voice that only I caught, AFTER she pinched the back of my hand with her nails.
"Feeling jealous?" I breathed back with a smirk, making her pinch me yet again.
While the two of us bickered, Yumi led us to what looked like a lounge with a pair of comfortable couches to sit on while a table sat between them, laden with numerous high class snacks and mini sandwiches.
But what immediately caught my attention was the man that was standing with his back to us as he looked out the window over the city below.
"Greetings, Ace Ketchum." The man said seriously, without turning back to face us.
"Nice to meet ya." I replied back to his serious tone with a casual one, even as I walked up beside him to look out as well.
"How do you find the view?" He asked me curiously.
"Amazing, but not as amazing as the one atop my Pidgeot." I answered truthfully.
"I can believe it. Unfortunately, I never had the talent to become a trainer. Instead I focused on innovation and industry, and the next thing I knew I had created Silph co."
"And just about every Pokemon trainer appreciates you for it. I can't think of anyone who doesnt use Silph co products."
"Indeed." He answered slowly, before turning to look at me for the first time. "Please, let's sit and discuss some things."
I accepted the President's offer and took a seat on the couch opposite the one he sat upon, while Yumi sat beside him and Janine beside me. Miguel meanwhile took a seat on one of the chairs to the side, as the intermediary of our two groups.
For a moment no one said anything as president Silph studied me, and I him.
President Silph was an older gentleman, but not yet at the stage where he'd be considered elderly since I could sense quite a bit of aura in his body. He was wearing a pristine charcoal suit that complimented his neatly trimmed grey hair and beard, along with what looked like an expensive looking designer watch.
"Let's cut to the chase." He said suddenly, before accepting a tablet that Yumi offered him, and sliding it over to me after tapping it a few times.
I took one look at what was on the tablet before my eyes widened in shock, as it stated that a staggeringly high number of money had been transferred to my account.
"That's just the first deposit. You can expect much, MUCH more in the future." President Silph stated as he casually tok a dip of tea.
"I see..." I uttered slowly while looking over the amount of money a few more times, while even Janine's aura spiked in surprise beside me as she looked at what the table said ver my shoulder. "This isn't your trying to bribe or buy me, is it?" I asked him cautiously.
"Heavens no. That's just nine percent of the profits we've seen from the sales and pre-orders of the Capsules." President Silph said as if it were obvious.
"!!!"
"I see!" I exclaimed while looking at Miguel gratefully.
"I don't. Why are you getting money from Capsule sales?" Janine asked me curiously.
"Probably because I'm the one who came up with them." I said with a touch of humor in my voice.
"!!!"
Janine just gaped at me when she heard that, while Miguel nodded in affirmation as he said,
"Ace saved my life under Mt. Moon a couple weeks back. Afterwards we were returning to the Pokemon Center, and he mentioned something about storing buildings in little things called Capsules, as well as applying the same tech we use on trainer bags on buildings to make them bigger on the inside. At first I just dismissed the idea, but then I thought about it, and after a bit of testing confirmed that it WAS possible! So I returned to Silph co and we began working on as quickly as possible."
"Indeed. I couldn't believe the idea myself, yet here we are. And just in time to put them to use after Lavender town was destroyed." President Silph said with a grim tone, with undertones of gratitude.
"So does that mean I get a percentage of the profits from now on?" I asked him curiously.
"Indeed. To encourage development and ideas, I offer all of my employees ten percent of the profits of whatever ideas they come up with that we produce and market. The remainder goes to Silph co as the supplier and manufacturer for the materials of the items in question. Incidently, you are only receiving nine percent since one percent is still going to Miguel as the one who formerly presented the ideas, and as the one who did all of the heavy lifting on making it a reality."
"That's only because I needed to make a share of it for paperwork and the like. I already have a few items that I'm making money off of, and Silph co funds all of my research, so I don't necessarily need the extra cash." Miguel hurriedly added, which suprised me since usually people wouldn't say no to making more money, regardless of if they already have enough or not.
"There you have it." President Silph said, as if that was that, before adding as he seemingly recalled something, "oh! also, as a gesture of good faith, I would also like to offer you three capsules of your choosing, free of charge. Any after those would need to be paid for though, but we can just arrange it to where the money is subtracted from future profits."
I cocked a brow at that, since the offer was a little overly generous. Especially considering how expensive Capsules were as a product. I mean, that was a LARGE chunk of change that President Silph just tossed to me, and that was ONLY nine percent of the profits, meaning they'd already subtracted the money used to make them and pay those who made them.
"Isn't this a little TOO generous?" Janine asked, giving voice to my thoughts as well.
"Perhaps... Well, there is something behind it." President Silph said to her concern, as his entire demeanor turned dark.
"You see, I'm aware that Ace Ketchum is the one who has been the largest driving force behind the numerous setbacks Team Rocket has been experiencing in the past weeks. And this gesture is me doing what I can to support him in his endeavors." President Silph said as he clenched his hands angrily.
"I see..." I said in response to his explanation, before he continued.
"Giovanni....blinded me with friendship! He used me, my company, and all of the research we've done to help people! All to commit his numerous acts of wanton destruction and greed!
"And the worst thing is that I KNOW he's still got people hiding within my company, sending him data about whatever it is we're working on! I mean, how else would he have managed to weaponize our Silph Scopes to use in Lavender town!? Or created the airship they used in their attack?!
"But no matter what we do, we can't pinpoint who they are! They're too good at hiding their tracks, and it's impossible for us to move to do anything without them finding out ahead of time! If this keeps up, then the League will have no choice but to turn their attention to us!"
As President Silph ranted about Giovanni and Team Rocket, Yumi gently reached out and took his hand into her own, as if to comfort him.
For a moment I didn't say anything, instead watching the two of them while slowly eating a sandwhich I had plucked from one of the numerous platters before me. After swallowing it, I leaned forward and said to him, "what if I said that I could help you identify the leaks in Silph co?"
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