Clap—clap—clap—
Just as Elias exited the psychic space, he heard the sound of steady, rhythmic clapping from not far away.
Turning his head, he saw Giovanni approaching with an expression of open admiration in his eyes, applauding as he walked.
Beside him trailed a dazed-looking Professor Fuji, his face blank, like soone whose entire worldview had just been turned upside down.
The mont he laid eyes on Elias, Fuji's eyes reddened, and he rushed forward with barely restrained urgency, blurting out:
"How did you do it?"
Elias instinctively took half a step back.
He wasn't exactly fond of getting too close to mad scientists.
Facing Fuji's intense, almost desperate gaze, Elias curved his lips into a faint smile and lightly replied:
"Take a guess."
After all that waiting, all he got was that? Fuji clearly started to lose it a little.
But before he could press further, Giovanni's deep voice cut in first:
"All right, Professor. Go get so rest. Elias and I have a few things to discuss."
Compared to Fuji, Giovanni was obviously the shrewder one.
He knew Elias carried more than a few secrets—but if Elias didn't want to share, he wasn't about to pry.
After all, the results spoke for themselves... and they were nothing but beneficial to him.
That was enough.
The boss had spoken. No matter how unwilling he was, Fuji could only shoot Elias a lingering look before leaving.
As for how wildly Fuji's guesses would spiral from there—that was anyone's guess.
Once the professor was gone, Giovanni gave Elias a slight smile.
"Congratulations. Another miracle."
Even he hadn't expected Elias to pull it off.
Guessing a genetic map out of thin air? That was already beyond human capacity.
At this point, if soone told him Elias was the human incarnation of Arceus, he might actually believe it.
"wtwo's progress was her own effort."
Elias waved a hand modestly.
Sensing wtwo's bashful emotional response through their link, he added:
"She's not fully developed yet—she wants to stay in the tank a bit longer."
"I'd like to ask you to make sure Fuji and the others don't disturb her during that ti."
Since he had already agreed to wtwo's request, Elias had every intention of honoring it.
Otherwise, if she were provoked and went berserk, it would be a lose-lose situation for everyone.
Giovanni didn't hesitate before nodding.
"No worries. I'll make sure they keep their distance."
Now that wtwo's condition had finally stabilized, Giovanni didn't want to risk losing it all either.
Compared to a cold, unfeeling battle machine, he'd actually much prefer using a wtwo with emotions—a Pokémon with flesh and blood.
That thought made Giovanni narrow his eyes slightly.
Originally, he'd planned to ta wtwo himself and make her his own Pokémon once she awakened.
But now, with Elias in the mix… the better choice seed obvious.
Any other trainer probably wouldn't be able to win wtwo over willingly.
With that in mind, Giovanni asked:
"Elias, would you be interested in being wtwo's trainer?"
Elias blinked, startled.
He stared at Giovanni's usual poker face, wondering if the man had been kicked in the head by a Tauros.
Sure, he had been planning to try and capture wtwo, and had ntally prepared himself for a full-day negotiation with Giovanni.
But… wasn't this supposed to be his line?
Why was Giovanni offering it first? Had their roles reversed?
He couldn't help but be shocked. After all, wtwo was Giovanni's long-term pet project—he'd been working on her creation for over a decade.
And now that she was finally complete, he was just going to give her away?
No wonder Elias was suspicious.
Sensing Elias's confusion, Giovanni gave it a bit of thought and said:
"Realistically speaking, you're the most suitable person to be wtwo's trainer right now."
"But it's not a gift—I have one condition."
He paused, clearly waiting for Elias's response.
Oddly enough, the ntion of a condition actually made Elias feel relieved.
He'd be more worried if Giovanni asked for nothing at all—that would be a red flag the size of Sinnoh.
After a brief mont of consideration, Elias nodded.
"All right. Na your condition. If it's not too unreasonable, I'll agree to it."
"Rejoin Team Rocket—this ti, as a collaborator."
Giovanni didn't beat around the bush.
He'd thought this through. Elias already had plenty of powerful Pokémon at his side. If he could use just one Pokémon to tie Elias to his cause, the benefits would far outweigh simply claiming wtwo for himself.
To be honest, Giovanni wasn't even sure if wtwo, once she reached her full potential, could win against that shiny Gardevoir.
On the other side, Elias wasn't the least bit surprised by Giovanni's proposal.
Giovanni had been eyeing him for a while now. It was only natural he'd take this chance to draw him in.
And Elias didn't have much of a grudge against Team Rocket, either.
If nothing else, Team Rocket did offer full insurance, retirent benefits, and even post-retirent job placent—better than most organizations out there.
Besides, with his... unique circumstances, Giovanni probably wouldn't assign him anything too troubleso.
So really, there wasn't much to lose.
With that in mind, Elias nodded in agreent.
...
By the ti he stepped out of the lab building, night had fully fallen.
The sea mist had mostly cleared by now, revealing a sky full of stars overhead.
Gardevoir, Latias, and w quietly flanked him.
Having spent their energy in playful scuffles earlier, w and Gardevoir were finally a bit tired and had stopped ssing around.
Elias glanced at w floating nearby, her soft, puffy appearance practically begging to be squished. He sighed, helpless.
Unlike wtwo's cool, distant presence, w had a real talent for making herself hated.
Single peace sign makes you a dad, double clasped hands and you're the grandpa.
That's exactly the kind of energy w gave off—it was no wonder Gardevoir's blood pressure kept spiking.
Beep beep—
Just then, Elias's phone buzzed twice in his pocket.
He swiped to unlock it, and was greeted by a ssage from Lance.
[Elias, I've got one good news and one bad.]
[Good news first: we've successfully acquired the locations of several Team Galactic bases. I'm sending them over now.]
[Bad news: Cynthia… seems to have gone missing.]
[This ans the situation in Sinnoh might be shifting. I'd recomnd holding off on going there for now.]
Staring at the ssage, Elias couldn't help but blink a few tis in confusion.
Cynthia? Missing?
---
T/N: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
User Comments
0 comments from readers