Such a massive blunder—Sachi was already grateful that Giovanni had chosen to spare her.
"Stand down."
Watching her retreat from the office, Giovanni stroked the head of the purring Persian in his lap, his eyes deep and unreadable.
The implications of this failed operation were dire.
First and foremost: how had the operation been leaked? Everything about it had been kept strictly confidential. Other than those who were absolutely loyal to Team Rocket, no one should've known a thing. Yet the League had clearly been tipped off.Was there… a traitor within Team Rocket?
And then, there was the matter of Nozomi's strength.
Giovanni had originally dispatched Sachi and Chakra to deal with Nozomi almost as an afterthought. In his estimation, Nozomi had never been a real threat to Team Rocket's interests—his prior actions had never crossed the organization directly, and his strength hadn't seemed remarkable.
But now… things were different.
Nozomi, together with Lorelei, had managed to defeat the combined might of Sachi and Chakra.That meant Nozomi's power had already reached, or at least approached, the level of the Elite Four.
And that was dangerous.
Especially now, when Team Rocket had just lost Chakra, the Alliance gaining a new powerhouse like Nozomi completely tipped the balance of power.
Finally, there was the matter of the captured personnel.
Giovanni trusted Chakra and Lt. Surge implicitly—their fates and interests were bound tightly to Team Rocket's, and betrayal was out of the question.But the same couldn't be said for everyone else.With so many members captured in one sweep, it was almost inevitable that one or two might break under interrogation—and that could expose Giovanni's true identity.
"…It seems the Viridian Gym can no longer remain in operation."
Giovanni's decision was swift and absolute.He could not afford to gamble—not as the head of Team Rocket.
"Matori!"
His secretary stepped in at once.
"Spread the word," Giovanni ordered, his tone cold and controlled. "Begin immediate preparations to relocate headquarters. Not a single whisper of this is to leak out."
Nozomi, of course, had no idea that Giovanni's cautious nature had already driven him to abandon the Viridian Gym and move Team Rocket's base elsewhere.
At that moment, Nozomi was making his way down the route toward Saffron City.
By the logic of the original Pokémon storyline, he should've detoured to Maiden's Rock and then to Bluepool Island to handle that whole Giant Tentacruel mess.
But honestly? He'd had enough excitement lately.Leaving those side adventures to Ash, Nozomi decided to go straight for Saffron instead.
"Pidgeotto, use Peck!"
A Pidgeotto swooped from above, its sharp beak glinting coldly as it dove straight at him.
"Too weak. Gastly—use Shadow Ball!"
Nozomi didn't even blink. With a lazy hand gesture, his Gastly leapt into action.
"Heh-heh-heh!"
With a cackling laugh, a pitch-black orb shot forth from Gastly's mouth, slamming into the incoming Pidgeotto and blasting it out of the air.The bird hit the ground with a dull thud—unconscious.
A one-hit knockout.
"Looks like that's my win."
Nozomi smiled at the opposing Trainer.
"Damn it… fine! Take it!"
The young man's face twisted with frustration, but a loss was a loss. He dug out his wallet and handed over a thousand Pokédollars—the wager they'd agreed upon before the battle.
Pocketing the cash, Nozomi grinned and added casually, "Next time you fight a Gastly, don't be stupid enough to use physical attacks. They don't work. Try long-range moves instead. Charging straight in like that? You were practically asking to lose."
The Pidgeotto Trainer blinked, realization dawning.
"You just wait! I won't lose next time!"
He stormed off down the road.
Nozomi chuckled softly. "Heh."
As if that guy would ever beat him. Sure, his advice had been correct—but the real reason he'd lost was simple: his Pidgeotto was weak as hell.
Of course, Nozomi wasn't heartless enough to say that out loud.
Tucking the money away, Nozomi suddenly felt a powerful surge of energy emanating from Gastly.
He turned to observe his partner closely—and after a moment's thought, his eyes lit up."Hmm? This feeling… is it about to evolve?"
It made sense.
He'd had Gastly for quite some time now. After all the battles it had fought, evolution was right on schedule.
Following the guidance from the Pokémon Breeder's Manual in his memory, Nozomi led Gastly beneath the shade of a nearby tree.
There, Gastly's body began to glow—wrapped in radiant white light.
The glow lasted nearly a full minute before slowly fading away.
And when it did—standing where Gastly once floated was a Pokémon several times larger, with jagged fangs and a devilish grin—Haunter.
"Heh-heh!"
Haunter was practically bursting with excitement, leaping and phasing about to test its new body.
Ivysaur, standing nearby, stared curiously at its transformed teammate.
Haunter's eyes gleamed mischievously. In the blink of an eye, it vanished—only to reappear behind Ivysaur. Before Ivysaur could react, Haunter's long tongue shot out and licked it square on the back.
"Da-nyehh!"
Ivysaur let out a shuddering cry, its body instantly seizing up.
Paralyzed—just from a single lick.
Ivysaur turned to Nozomi with a tearful, indignant look, but Nozomi merely stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"That was just Lick, huh? The power's impressive… Haunter, show me what else you've got."
Haunter floated forward eagerly. Cold, sinister energy surged from its body.
"Dark Pulse, not bad," Nozomi murmured approvingly.
Next, Haunter's hands stretched and warped into massive, shadowy claws, raking across a nearby tree trunk. Three deep gouges appeared instantly.
"Shadow Claw, too."
Haunter had learned three new moves in total.
That might not sound like much—but for a Pokémon that had just evolved, mastering three techniques in one go was exceptional.
"Looks like I've gained another powerhouse."
With Haunter now part of his main lineup, Nozomi could already see its battle potential.He figured that even without his Steelix or Metagross, he could probably beat Lt. Surge using just Ivysaur, Leafeon, and Haunter.
"I really am getting stronger."
With a confident smile, Nozomi continued down the road.
According to the signpost ahead, he was just ten kilometers from Lavender Town—a place famous for its Ghost-type Pokémon and the great Pokémon Tower that housed their graves.
Perhaps sensing it too, Haunter began to float even more energetically beside him, its grin widening in anticipation.