Chapter 380: Giovanni Is About to Challenge the Kanto Elite Four! You Won't Come Watch in Person?
"?"
Mammon sent Giovanni a question mark.
For the first time, he felt his old man's impression of him was way too stereotyped. He was telling the truth!
What exactly do I look like in Dad's head?
The old man doesn't believe me, and he's accusing me of playing around?
"I'm serious. One of those two really is your granddaughter."
Mammon sent another message.
"?"
This time, it was Giovanni who sent back a question mark.
No one knows a son like his father. Giovanni knew Mammon well. Mammon did joke around sometimes, but he wouldn't push a joke like this a second and third time.
Which meant Mammon was telling the truth.
But the problem was...
Giovanni watched the video again, even zooming in on the two girls' faces mid-battle.
No matter how he looked at it, they looked more like twins. Not that that was the point.
Genetics were a strange thing. A daughter looking a lot like her mother was perfectly normal.
Giovanni studied it carefully and soon identified the girl with dark navy hair and the headscarf. Around the angles of her face and her eyes, she looked a bit like Mammon.
But the problem was... the ages didn't add up!
Giovanni recognized the other one. That was Platinum; he'd met her.
If this headscarf girl was Mammon and Platinum's child, how could she possibly be this old?
Even growth hormones couldn't pull that off!
"Can't figure it out, can you, Dad? Akari traveled here from the future. She really is your granddaughter."
Mammon replied with a grin.
The next second, Giovanni was calling.
"Where are you?"
Giovanni's usual mature, magnetic voice was thick with surprise and delight.
"Kalos. Getting a little antsy, are we, Dad?"
Mammon teased him.
"She's my granddaughter. Of course I want to meet her," Giovanni replied without hesitation.
A granddaughter!
Giovanni had never imagined he'd get to hold a grand... or rather, get to meet a granddaughter this soon!
"You probably won't make it in time. The time travel has a time limit. Next time. There'll be other chances."
Mammon chuckled. Kanto and Kalos were pretty far apart. Catching a flight over now would be too rushed for Giovanni.
For all he knew, Akari would be back in Hisui by the time Giovanni arrived.
It wasn't that there was no way. He could just have Confined Hoopa fetch Giovanni.
But Mammon didn't think it was necessary. Mainly, Platinum probably wasn't fully ready yet. Akari would certainly know Giovanni.
Akari would be all cozy with Giovanni, and Platinum, as the "daughter-in-law," would be a nervous wreck in front of him. There was no need for that.
"..." Giovanni frowned, feeling a rare flash of irritation and helplessness.
He really did want to see his granddaughter, Akari, in person and have a good long talk with her.
"All right. I'll wait, then."
Giovanni replied. Whatever the case, this really was an enormous surprise for him.
Nothing short of wonderful news!
"Has Groudon made it back yet?" Mammon asked casually, watching the fight between Garchomp and Sneasler.
Mammon had already answered Giovanni's question yesterday, and Giovanni had been relieved to hear what had happened.
"Not yet. I have no idea how long it'll take to walk back."
Giovanni rubbed his temples with a bit of a headache. He was truly learning the downside of a Pokémon that couldn't fly.
If it could fly, Groudon would save a lot of time getting back to Kanto.
As it was, it could only walk back one step at a time, and who knew where it was now.
"It should make it by tomorrow at the latest." Mammon couldn't help laughing.
"Let's hope so." Giovanni sighed. All he could do was hope Groudon didn't get lost or wander off.
It probably wouldn't, though. He and Groudon were close, and it knew his presence well. It should be able to sense him.
"By the way, you should be about done with things over in Kalos, right?"
Giovanni seemed to remember something and asked.
"There aren't really any problems left. Why?"
Mammon nodded. Since Team Flare had been wiped out, there hadn't really been any resistance in the Kalos region.
The Kalos League's official website even still had an announcement up praising Team Rocket for heroically stepping in to help deal with the evil organization Team Flare.
"My Elite Four challenge is coming up soon."
"How is it this soon?"
Mammon was taken aback. The League Conference was still more than two months away, and Giovanni was already about to take on the Elite Four challenge?
"The Elite Four evaluation for Gym Leaders works very differently from the usual process. And Goodshow gave me special privileges, just as a courtesy."
Giovanni smiled, his lips curving meaningfully.
It was actually Goodshow's way of currying favor. Giovanni, now with Groudon, was undoubtedly extremely strong.
Especially since he had the recognition of Champions like Leon and Cynthia.
If Giovanni used Groudon in this challenge, Goodshow believed even Lance might not be able to beat him.
In other words, Giovanni might become Kanto's new Champion.
"I see. So, Dad, what are you saying?"
Mammon raised an eyebrow.
"Your old man is about to take the top spot in Kanto. You're not coming to watch?"
Giovanni smiled, eyeing Mammon with interest.
He didn't believe for a second that Mammon would pass up a show like this.
"Ha~ Of course I'll come watch in person. I'll bring your daughter-in-law along."
Mammon grinned. Giovanni claiming the Kanto Champion's throne? How could he miss that?
"Oh, and Dad, I just took a trip to Hisui and caught some Ursaluna, which are basically extinct nowadays. Want to take a look?"
Mammon suddenly remembered.
"One of them's Champion-caliber. You could raise it as a main battler. Ursaluna is Ground/Normal. It's really strong."
Mammon added.
"Ursaluna?"
Giovanni raised an eyebrow. And what had his all-capable son just said? He'd taken a trip to Hisui?
Giovanni of course knew Hisui was ancient Sinnoh. It seemed Mammon had started to touch on time itself.
That's my son, all right.
"Sure. Send it over."
Giovanni smiled and nodded. If Mammon said Ursaluna was strong, Giovanni trusted him.
If it really was worth raising, he could make it a frontline main battler.
"Okay, I'll let you go. I'm watching my wife and daughter fight right now."
With that, Mammon hung up, leaving Giovanni on the other end not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Watching his wife and daughter fight? What the hell? Giovanni had to admire Mammon's way with words.
And on the field, the battle really had reached a critical moment.
Platinum's brows were knit tight as she stared in disbelief at Garchomp, fast asleep on the ground.
"How did this happen?"
That's right. Garchomp had fallen asleep!
But the Sneasler across from it hadn't used Hypnosis or anything like that. The two Pokémon had been locked in fierce combat the whole time.
The only possibility was the move Sneasler had just hit Garchomp with: Dire Claw!
"Looks like you figured it out, Mommy. Yep, it's Sneasler's Dire Claw."
Akari's unforgettable crescent-moon eyes appeared once more.
Sneasler stood over the sleeping Garchomp with a wicked expression, raised its long, sharp black-and-red right claw, and licked it.
"Whenever Sneasler's Dire Claw lands, there's a chance it poisons, paralyzes, or puts the target to sleep. Looks like Garchomp got unlucky."
Hearing Akari's explanation, not only Platinum but also Caitlin and Serena frowned.
That move... is way too strong!
Sneasler was powerful to begin with. It had been trading blows with Garchomp at close range the whole time, relying on its quick, agile movements and strength no less than Garchomp's to keep the exchange even.
And on top of Dire Claw's formidable ability to inflict status, its power wasn't low either!
Now Garchomp was asleep and would stay helpless until it woke up, unless it used Sleep Talk.
But Sleep Talk was far too random, and Garchomp knew a lot of moves. What if it randomly picked a non-attacking move like Sandstorm or Helping Hand?
"All three of those status conditions are a pain. This Pokémon is tricky."
Serena was thinking through how she'd handle this Sneasler if she were the one facing it.
"Normally, when Dire Claw lands, the odds are it'll be poison. Dawn got a bit unlucky."
Mammon walked back over and shook his head. He'd stepped a little away from Caitlin and Serena to take the call.
"Akari's Sneasler definitely has Poison Touch."
"Poison Touch?"
Serena's expression shifted slightly.
Poison Touch: whenever the Pokémon uses a contact move, there's a chance of poisoning the target.
And from what Mammon had just said, Sneasler's Dire Claw and Poison Touch probably rolled their chances separately.
That's kind of terrifying!
Whenever Dire Claw landed, Poison Touch had a chance of poisoning the target, and even if Poison Touch didn't trigger, there was still Dire Claw's own random roll for poison, paralysis, or sleep!
This Sneasler was a walking disease vector!
"That's why I said Dawn was unlucky. Instead of poison, she got sleep." Mammon shrugged.
With Poison Touch plus Dire Claw's one-in-three chance of poison, poison was naturally the more likely outcome.
And honestly, sleep was far more troublesome than poison or paralysis.
With poison, you could at least throw everything you had into defeating the opponent before the poison finished you, or take the opponent down with you and create an opening for your next battler.
Paralysis made a Pokémon much slower and occasionally locked up its body, but it was still far better than sleep, where all you could do was take hits.
Honestly, in some ways Platinum was at a real disadvantage in this battle. She didn't know much about the Hisuian Pokémon Akari was using.
Akari did tell Platinum her Pokémon's types, but types alone definitely weren't enough.
So the battle looked fair, but given the information gap about the Pokémon, Platinum was at a disadvantage.
"Dawn probably can't beat Akari today." Mammon was sure of it.
Akari's strength really was stunning. A stranger would never believe she'd only been traveling for four months.
The rest of the battle went exactly as Mammon had predicted. Platinum was very strong, but Akari was every bit as strong.
Add in the power of her Hisuian Pokémon, and in the end, Akari defeated Platinum.
Looking at her Entei, collapsed beneath Hisuian Samurott's Razor Shell, Platinum looked a little dazed.
She'd originally meant to take the chance to give Akari some pointers. She was her future daughter, after all.
But now...
As the loser, she, the mother, was the one who needed the pointers...
Has Akari really already surpassed me? Can someone really get this strong after traveling for just four months?
This defies science!
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