With a felt hat pressed low over his head and a high collar covering the upper and lower halves of his face respectively, Giovanni sat down on a chair Proton had somehow procured.
He inserted the USB drive Stephen had brought into his laptop and began carefully reading its contents.
"This is amazing, truly amazing."
This time, Giovanni wasn't deliberately acting; his praise came sincerely from the heart.
He had already heard about the TM from Stephen before, but he hadn't expected Stephen to create such a thing.
In terms of practical value, perhaps only Poké Balls could barely surpass it.
Any company that possessed this technology could instantly rise to the level of industry giants like Silph Co. or Macro Cosmos!
"Did you invent this?" Giovanni turned his gaze to Stephen.
"So what if I did?" Stephen replied curtly, his tone unfriendly.
"Watch your tone! Do you know who you're speaking to? This is the Boss of Team Rocket!"
Petrel, ever loyal to Team Rocket, immediately scolded Stephen while simultaneously showering Giovanni with praise.
"Enough," Giovanni said in a low voice, cutting off Petrel.
Petrel flinched, clearly startled but too afraid to say anything further. He retreated awkwardly.
Giovanni crossed one leg over the other and began to speak calmly:
"My original plan was to take over the Aether Foundation and turn it into a proxy for Team Rocket's operations in the Alola region. To that end, anyone aware of Team Rocket's involvement in this mission was to be executed on the spot."
At these words, the surrounding Team Rocket members' expressions grew grim. If Giovanni gave the order, they would immediately release their Pokémon and tear apart any non-Team Rocket personnel present.
Giovanni raised a hand, signaling his subordinates to calm down. Even though his face was obscured by his high collar and hat, a hint of amusement could be heard in his tone.
"But surprisingly, this trip has led to the discovery of a true treasure."
"Boy, become one of my subordinates."
Giovanni extended a hand toward Stephen in an inviting gesture.
This move instantly reminded Stephen of the catchphrase of a certain white-bearded pirate from his previous life: Become my son.=
"With a mind like yours, it would be a waste for you to die here. Why not join Team Rocket and shake the entire world under our banner?"
It had to be said that Giovanni's eloquence was quite persuasive.
This was also one of the purposes of his plan—to take this opportunity to reveal his identity to Stephen.
"…What if I refuse?"
"Stephen! Don't!"
Before Giovanni could respond, Karen had already turned pale with fear.
"Oh? Not afraid of death, are you? Impressive."
Giovanni smiled faintly, his gaze shifting slightly.
In the next moment, a Beedrill appeared like a ghost between Will and Karen, its two sharp stingers pointing directly at them.
"And you don't care about the lives of your companions either, do you?"
"You bastard!" Karen gritted her teeth so hard it was as if she might shatter them.
"Damn it…" Will's face was filled with frustration.
"…Let them go, and I'll join," Stephen said, taking a deep breath, his expression resolute as if prepared to bear everything alone.
"Stephen…"
Karen and Will looked both unwilling and ashamed.
Sorry, this is all because of us…
"I enjoy talking to smart people like you," Giovanni said, the corners of his mouth curling up further beneath his high collar. He stood up from his chair.
"Come, boy. Let's discuss your future work and compensation within Team Rocket."
As he spoke, Giovanni gestured to the Beedrill with a flick of his finger.
The Beedrill immediately withdrew its stingers.
Giovanni then beckoned Stephen over, motioning for him to follow.
"Stephen!" Karen called out worriedly as she saw Stephen walking toward Giovanni.
"Don't worry. They still need me," Stephen reassured her with a few words before walking alongside Giovanni.
The two strolled toward the port of Aether Paradise.
After confirming that there was no one else around, Giovanni removed the felt hat from his head and folded down his high collar, revealing his true face.
"Surprised to see my real identity, aren't you, Stephen-kun?" Giovanni asked with a light chuckle.
"A little, but not much."
"Oh?"
"Although, uncle, you're pretty good at pretending, during our casual chats, you unintentionally showed dislike for the League. At that time, I guessed you might have done some shady things in secret, but I honestly didn't expect you to turn out to be the Boss of Team Rocket."
Stephen shrugged.
"Hehe~ I think it's about time I told you my true identity."
Giovanni's smile deepened, and he half-jokingly said:
"This time, it's been quite a fruitful harvest, hasn't it?"
"Ah… From today onward, the Aether Foundation will become Team Rocket's Alola branch. Even if the headquarters in Kanto is wiped out, the entire team can relocate to Alola. Plus, the profits from selling TM will all go to Team Rocket. We're going to make a fortune."
Stephen nodded.
In the game, Giovanni had already taken over the Aether Paradise and turned it into the temporary base for Team Rainbow Rocket.
And the traitor was also Faba.
In a way, this is like a scene from the future playing out ahead of time.
"No, the harvest I'm talking about is from your perspective."
"Me?"
Stephen turned to look at him.
"Didn't you notice the way that gray-haired little girl was looking at you? Haha~"
Giovanni teased with a laugh:
"Especially when you said you'd replace her as the hostage. Honestly, if she doesn't give you eight kids in the future, I'd find it strange."
"Karen was scared to death by your Nidoqueen at the time. You didn't see that?"
Stephen replied irritably.
That was probably the first time Karen personally experienced the feeling of death.
If he hadn't switched her out from Nidoqueen's grip, the part of Karen sweating might not have been her face, but…
Hmm, don't ask how Stephen knows.
Giovanni smiled as usual. "But plans really can't keep up with changes. Originally, I planned to use Lusamine as a hostage and then have you rescue her. That way, you'd gain Lusamine's favor. But unexpectedly, in practice, the one whose favor you gained turned out to be that little girl…"
Hearing this, Stephen couldn't help but laugh.
Improving his relationship with Karen? Of course, he was happy about that.
After all, let alone the future, even at present, Karen was already a genuine little beauty.
Although Stephen wouldn't stoop so low as to make a move on the current Karen, strengthening their relationship was a good thing. Why not?
It's not like he was one of those guys who'd say, "Loving her isn't about possessing her; it's about finding a way to make her happy."
That's cringe.
"What's your next plan, uncle?"
Stephen changed the topic.
"I plan to start a company specifically to sell the TM you created. That way, we can solve Team Rocket's funding issues."
Originally, Giovanni had considered hiding the TMs and using them exclusively for Team Rocket members to enhance the team's overall strength.
But he quickly realized that, while TMs were incredibly effective, they ultimately just saved training time and helped Pokémon learn powerful moves faster.
For example, if Zoro from the East Blue era replaced his two ordinary swords with Supreme Grade swords, would he instantly be able to beat Mihawk?
Learning powerful moves was certainly important, but for a Pokémon's overall strength, it was just icing on the cake.
To truly become strong, one still needed to train step by step.
So Giovanni figured that selling TMs for money was more cost-effective.
"Sure, what's the company going to be called? Rocket Corp.?" Stephen asked casually.
Giovanni stroked his chin. "I'm thinking of calling it Stephen Silver Corp. or SS Corp. for short. What do you think, Stephen-kun?"
Stephen: …
SS Corp.? Isn't that just taking one character each from my name and your son Silver's name and combining them?