Chapter 141: Tea with the Enemy
"Charizard, return." I said after my loss was announced, recalling him back to his pokeball.
Though I knew you couldn't win them all, this loss was still a bitter pill to swallow. Mostly because of how one-sided it had been, AND because there were numerous people watching that was almost entirely made up of other trainers, making me and my pokemon look weak.
"That was amazing!" Nemona cried out as she rushed across the arena at me, taking one of my hands in both of her own as she declared,
"I can't recall the last time someone was able to fight back that much! And if the pokemon you had sent out was one that didn't have the type disadvantage, like Lucario, Sceptile or your Blastoise, then who knows what would have happened! Or maybe if I sent out Goodra or Meowscarada instead! Lets see right now!"
I blinked at the rapid stream of words coming from Nemona's mouth as she clung to my hand, almost possessively, while her aura was also washing over me in her excitment. If I wasn't wrong, this was the same level of excitment I could see when someone else was aroused, except Nemona wasn't horny, just battle hungry.
"Honestly Nemona. The man has been on the ship for what, five minutes? And I doubt you told him that you're a Champion ranked trainer too."
"!?!"
"You're a Champion!?!" I exclaimed in shock, wondering both why she challenged me, and why I hadn't heard of her.
"Correction." Came the same voice from before, who revealed herself to be Giana as she walked into my field of vision.
Instantly my eyes narrowed at her as I recalled our last meeting, after the Houndoom incident when she tried to bribe me and I threatened to tear Team Rocket down. But even as I looked at her with hostility and suspicion, Giana continued as if it were normal,
"In Paldea the Champion doesn't immediately step down if a challenger defeats them. Instead, they serve a specfic term as Champion, and when that term is up they choose a replacement from the list of trainers who managed to defeat them. Nemona here is the youngest Champion ranked trainer in all of Paldean history."
"Yeah, but I don't want to be the next Champion." Nemona immediately said, which I approved of despite my rising irritation.
"You could have told me you were basically a Champion though." I said in an accusatory tone. Battling a Champion was an ENTIRELY different ball game than battling some random scrub, or even a Gym Leader.
"Sorry! I guess I was so excited to have a proper battle that it just kinda slipped my mind." Nemona said while making a face that said 'silly me~!'
Giana shook her head at her antics, and said with undisguised exasperation, "You're always like this. Never thinking about the consequences of you actions so long as you get a good battle out of it..."
"Well its not my fault. I can't just challenge the other Champions on board, now can I?" Nemona said with a pout.
She did have a point though, since a Champion batting another Champion could result in a sudden power shift similar to when Lance became the Champion of both Kanto and Johto. Until then, as far as I was aware, no single Champion had ever ruled over two regions.
Giana just sighed in exasperation at the other girl, before saying while hooking my arm with her own, "Either way, I have business with Ace. Maybe there are some other trainers that are boarding that you can challenge? I'm pretty sure I saw Leaf Green somewhere."
"..."
"Fine..." Nemona said after a moment of silence, though she appeared reluctant as she said it.
"But first lets get each other's numbers! That way we can get ahold of each other and battle whenever we want!"
"Hmm, you mean I can have a Champion on speed dial that I can challenge whenever I want? Sounds good to me." I said while pulling out my pokenav. Nemona on the other hand pulled out a Rotom phone, like the one Goh has.
"Where'd you get that?" I asked, as I had been unable to find any way to get one in this part of the world. Goh only got one because professor Cerise received a couple samples, one of which he gave to Chloe as well.
"My father is the CEO of the company that makes them? Why? Did you want one?"
"Yeah! I've been looking for them, but they're not sold anywhere in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn or Sinnoh!" I stated.
"Oh! In that case I'll have my father send me one to give to you. You can just battle me again as payment!" Nemona said, getting that battle-hungry look in her eyes yet again.
"NOT this time." Giana said, cutting Nemona off yet again, making me think she was quite practiced at dealing with her.
"Right... Anyways, I got your number now Ace! So lets battle again sometime REALLY soon!" Saying that, Nemona quickly hurried away as she searched for her next victim.
"That girl..." Giana said while shaking her head.
"You seem quite versed in handling her." I commented.
"You have no idea." Giana replied before turning to look directly at me, before looking away suddenly.
"So what is this business you have with me?" I asked her, keeping my voice level despite the fact that she was an 'enemy'.
In all honesty, I was surprised she was still being allowed to roam free. But then again, Giana did seem different from Giovanni the one time I saw him up close. Not nearly as sinister and malicious as him.
"Right. Let's find someplace else to talk." Giana said, leading the way away from all of the spectators that had come to watch Nemona and I battle.
I shot a look to Misty and Chloe, who were both hanging back at the sidelines while watching curiously. I then said to Misty telepathically, 'Go on ahead by yourselves. I have some business to take care of.'
I could practically feel the curiosity burning inside Misty regarding who the woman I was with was, so I then told her, 'This is Giana, Giovanni's daughter.'
"!?!"
Shock and alarm appeared in both Misty's expression and aura at the revelation, which was pretty shocking I guess since Giana wasn't exactly well known throughout Kanto. If I recalled correctly, she said she was studying in Paldea.
I felt Misty's intention to alert the rest of the girls as I withdrew my psychic sense from her, and focused on Giana. I half expected her to try and take me to some dark corner or abandoned room to 'talk', but we ended up going to neither of those places. Instead...
"Please, order whatever you want. Its on me." Giana said as a server took our order at a small cafe on another part of the deck.
"Tea with some honey for me please." I said to the server, who quickly jotted down my order before going to get it along with Giana's order.
When both were brought, I asked her, "So what's this all about? I doubt you wanted to simply have tea with me."
For a moment Giana didn't answer, instead taking a prolonged sip of the drink she ordered, before finally saying, "I just wanted to tell you that my interests are no longer aligned with Team Rockets."
"!?!"
I blinked in surprise at THAT particular bombshell, especially since I could tell through her aura that Giana wasn't lying.
"Is that why the League hasn't tried to lock you up?" I asked her.
"Actually, no. My pleas of innocence regarding Giovanni's crimes went unheard after he was exposed. The only reason I was not immediately jailed, or interrogated, was because Nemona stuck her neck out for me, putting her title as a Champion ranked trainer on the line. I WAS however forced to turn over my pokemon for safekeeping, while the League assigned a man to watch over me and make sure I didn't do anything suspicious."
All of that made me cock a brow since Giana WAS aligned with Team Rocket, at least previously.
"And why would you abandon them now?" I asked, seeing as Giana wasn't just some grunt. She was the daughter, and possibly heir, of the boss of the entire organization.
"Because of you." She answered, as if it were obvious.
"Ever since you started your journey, you have been foiling one operation after another, all over the region. The Pokemon Center in Viridian city, the fossil sanctuary in Pewter, turning Jessie into your agent, all of our hideouts in Pewter being attacked, the Mt. Moon operation, getting omega weapon to betray us, the nugget bridge challenge, the attack on Cerulean city Gym, Lavender town, and now Surge. Just like you promised me all those years ago, you are burying Team Rocket. And I know well enough not to stay on the losing side."
THAT made me cock a brow, since it was obvious that Giana was in contact with Sabrina. How else would she know so much about what I had been doing, or that I had recruited Jessie?
"But let me guess, you're not going to give me any intel about Team Rocket or their plans to attack the SS. Anne." I said, already expecting a similar situation to Sabrina. Even to this point she had not spilled ANY secrets about Team Rocket, and I had not been able to successfully read her mind.
To this Giana flashed a truly radiant smile, and said in a voice that was almost a pur, "If you want to know, then try to read my mind."
I frowned at the challenge, and extended my psychic powers at her to try and do just that, but was met with an impenetrable wall of resistance.
"Of course..." I said bitterly, making her smile widen.
"Its typical for people in positions of power to receive training in how to defend their minds against psychics. Sabrina trained Giovanni and I, and I'm willing to bet that every member of the Elite Four, along with several Gym Leaders, have been trained. Of course all the training in the world wouldn't matter against a powerful enough psychic, like Mewtwo." Giana explained while twirling her finger around the edge of her cup.
"Of course it is..." I said while shaking my head, though it also made sense considering just how broken a psychic could be without any way to counter them.
"So if you're no longer aligned with Team Rocket, and you don't intend to help us fight them, who side ARE you on?" I asked her eventually.
"I'm on my own side, though who knows which side that will eventually take me to in the future. For now I merely wish to see how things will play out between you and Giovanni." Giana answered with a serious voice.
"I see..." I said while leaning back slightly in disappointment. Giana would've been able to provide us with far more intel than Jessie would have, but I also can't deny that her taking a step back was a good thing for us. Even more so IF Giovanni didn't already know about her decision.
"I enjoyed the chat." I said while quickly finishing my tea, and standing to take my leave.
I noticed a flash of disappointment in Giana's eyes as I did so, but it vanished quickly.
"Of course. You have people waiting for you, and I'm sure your Charizard needs some attention. I also enjoyed the chat Ace, I hope to have many more like it in the future."
"You can count on that." I said while giving her a brief nod of farewell, to which I saw her eyes light up slightly before I turned to walk away.
As I rounded the corner to head to the ship's Pokemon Center, I narrowed my eyes while noting the aura that was following me.
I could feel them watching Giana and I while we were talking, but as far as I could tell they were not with Team Rocket. Instead, I could feel anger, jealousy, and arrogance coming from them as they followed me with less than noble intentions.
Instead of going straight to the Pokemon Center, I took a few other turns through the halls to an area that felt devoid of auras, giving my stalker and I some privacy so I could see what they wanted. Once we away from people, I ducked inside what looked like a storeroom to see who my stalker was.
I then hopped up onto a crate to sit on it as I awaited their arrival.
Sure enough, a moment after I entered the room, the door opened to let the light in as the guy entered fearlessly.
"So THIS is where you bastards are working from!" He declared while flipping the light on dramatically, only to find me sitting here waiting for him.
"Hi."
"..."
"Well don't just stand there. Come on in. Let's talk."
"Where are the rest of you?" The man demanded.
"The rest of who?" I asked, my curiosity growing by the second.
"Don't play dumb with me you criminal. The rest of you filthy Rockets!"
"..."
I genuinely blinked at his declaration, a sudden wave of déjà vu coming over me as I recalled the Officer, now maid, Jenny from Pewter.
"Are you serious right now?" I asked him incredulously. Even if I wasn't world famous right now, a good number of people should be able to recognize me.
"Dead serious. I saw you conversing with Giana, the daughter of the criminal kingpin Giovanni. That's all the evidence I need to know you're cut from the same cloth, and a part of their little criminal gang! Now, in the name of the Unova League, I'm going to be taking you into custody!"
"..."
I got it now...
The guy was an power-hungry idiot chasing glory and recognition. But that didn't explain the jealousy.
So, instead of answering as the guy began to approach me, I took a peek into his mind to see whatever else was behind his intentions.
Unlike Giana his mind was completely unguarded against my invasion, allowing me to view his memories, with my and Giana's conversation being at the forefront. There, I could see he was fixated on the moment when she smiled at me.
Connected to that memory though were several memories that made my expression harden.
Firstly there were the ones involving Giana, in which he, as the League representative assigned with keeping an eye on her, regularly harrassed and even molested her while holding his position and authority over her. The ONLY reason that his actions did not escalate to taking her by force was the fact that Giana's expression never shifted, regardless of what he did her to. Resulting in his comparing her to a robot.
Even worse? Giana wasn't the only one.
Before her, I could see a whole list of different memories of this man abusing his authority from the League time and again, all while falsifying records and lying to his superiors to avoid getting caught.
So needless to say that when he put his hands on me with the intention of 'taking me into custody', I didn't hesitate to grab and break them.
*KER-CRACK!*
"BWAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The scum screamed as his hands were suddenly broken, apparently not realizing what had just happened. But I didn't stop there.
Regardless of how much the man tried to pull his shattered hands free of my grip, he was unable to budge them in the slightest. Instead I twisted them to earn myself another nauseating crack, followed by another scream.
I then pulled him at me while jerking my head forward, smashing my forehead into his nose for another crack. It was only then that I released his hands, before smashing my fist into his face to knock out some of his teeth. Followed up by bringing my knee up right into the fork of his legs.
A few more targeted hits and kicks later, and I had him curled up on the ground sobbing uncontrollably while begging me to stop.
"Humph." I snorted at him in disgust. I had even been restraining my strength to make sure he didn't die from his injuries, yet here he was sobbing and begging pathetically after a few hits.
*CRACKLE.*
I channeled the power of Zapdos and shocked the guy enough that he was rendered unconscious, before grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and dragging him along.
Soon enough we returned to the areas where other people were, earning me numerous looks as I dragged him all the way to the Pokemon Center, which was also the infirmary for people.
"I need some help over here." I casually said while walking into the reception area.
"Oh no! What happened here?!" A Nurse Joy asked worriedly as she wheeled over a gurney, which I just slapped him onto.
"He tripped and fell down the stairs." I said bluntly.
"..."
"Is that so?" Nurse Joy asked as she examined what was clearly a knuckle mark on his cheek.
"Yep." I said without offering any other info.
"I see. We will need to begin treatment immediatelly." Nurse Joy said, wheeling the gurney to another room as a Chansey followed along behind her.
"So what actually happened?" Asked a voice behind me, surprising me when I realized who it was.
"Well hello Nurse Joy. I wasn't expecting to see you here." I said while turning to see the Viridian city Nurse Joy standing there.
"Indeed, its surprising to see you here as well Ace. I just boarded today though, after getting permission to join the Nurses Joy onboard." She explained with her trademark smile.
"I see. Then I know my Charizard is in good hands." I said, readily handing his pokeball over to her.
"Of course! I will treat it quickly and have it back out to you as soon as possible."
Saying so, she quickly hurried to the back to give Charizard the treatment he needed.
"I leave for a little bit, and he gets his ass kicked? What happened?" Lucario asked as he suddenly appeared beside me, having gone to explore the ship on his own previously.
"Apparently, I was challenged by a Champion without realizing it." I explained, which immediately got Lucario's attention as his aura sharpened to a razor's edge.
"Tell me everything."
Instead of recounting the battle verbally, I projected it directly into his mind via telepathy, allowing him to see just how outmatched Charizard was from the very beginning.
"He held out well for being at such a type disadvantage." He said as soon as the memory was over.
"Indeed. But that doesn't change the fact that I got my first official loss." I pointed out, which was going to be the thing Charizard would feel the worst about.
As if on cue, Nurse Joy reappeared with Charizard's pokeball in hand as she passed it back to me.
"I treated all of his wounds, so he should be good as new in a little while. I would recommend bedrest for a few days, but knowing you and your pokemon I doubt that will happen." She said after handing him back.
"Yeah. Knowing Charizard specifically, he'll want to start training right away for revenge." I said, recalling the time he had lost to Gary's Wartortle.
"I wish I could say I was surprised..." Nurse Joy said while shaking her head wryly.
*Beep Beep!*
A notification from my pokenav got my attention as it beeped, alerting me to a message I got from May.
"Apparently there's a pokemon trade event going on." I reported to Lucario.
"Trade event?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah, its a thing where trainers get together to trade their pokemon for entirely new pokemon. Its a good way to acquire a new pokemon without having to go through the trouble of finding and taming one in the wild, and it helps build connections." I explained to him.
"I hear that all of the good trading takes place during the first day after the ship arrives to a new region, since there's so many pokemon there that some passengers have never seen before." Nurse Joy said helpfully.
"It would be interesting to see some new pokemon." Lucario added thoughtfully.
"Yeah. Though I can't really imagine trading my own pokemon... Well, maybe some of the Grimer." I said with some contemplation, recalling the horde of Grimer I had caught in the sewers.
"Lets go check it out." Lucario said, before we said our farewells to Nurse Joy and headed to meet up with the girls.
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