Chapter 382: Giovanni's Elite Four Challenge Begins! This World Has Gone Completely Nuts
World Tree Park.
At some point, a majestic castle had gone up on the outskirts of World Tree Park, towering and imposing, a truly spectacular sight.
Mammon had sent people to build it a while back.
The main reason was that Team Rocket's Kanto operations didn't have a proper headquarters, which had reminded Mammon of N's castle in Unova.
As Boss of Team Rocket, how could he not have a cool castle of his own?
And so the World Tree Castle had been completed.
"Lord Mammon, welcome back."
The castle gates slowly opened. Anthea and Concordia stood behind them and bowed in greeting.
So pretty~!
Serena, following behind Mammon, looked at the two women. Their poise, their looks, and their figures were all flawless.
"Long time no see, Anthea, Concordia."
Mammon strolled in and smiled at them.
The World Tree Castle had only just been finished, and Anthea and Concordia were managing it as its stewards.
Mammon trusted them completely. They were close to him, and both were gentle and mature. Back in Team Plasma, they had been executives, the "Goddess of Love" and the "Goddess of Peace." Their management skills were beyond question.
"You must be tired from traveling. Shall I take you to bathe first?"
Anthea said softly.
"I am a bit tired. I'll grab a shower first."
Mammon stretched.
"Concordia, show Caitlin and the others to their rooms."
"Yes."
Concordia answered, and in a corner where no one could see, shot Anthea a resentful look.
Watching Anthea lead Mammon upstairs, Caitlin's face was expressionless, and the air around her went cold.
"Miss Caitlin, please follow me."
Concordia of course noticed Caitlin's displeasure, but she was used to it.
She had a fair idea why Caitlin didn't much care for her and her sister, but Concordia was unbothered.
In the end, it all came down to Lord Mammon's attitude, didn't it?
Besides, Concordia felt that she and her sister didn't ask for much. They weren't greedy, and they were very clear about where they stood.
As long as Lord Mammon didn't neglect them, that was enough.
Concordia led Caitlin and the others up to the second floor. Having heard they were coming, she and Anthea had already had the staff prepare their rooms.
Caitlin naturally went in to rest, but Platinum and the other two asked Concordia to show them around the castle.
"This castle is way too luxurious. It's an honest-to-goodness king's castle!" Viola exclaimed, snapping photos as she went.
And "castle" didn't cover it. The place was easily as big as an ordinary town, absurdly large.
"Lord Mammon instructed that everything in the castle be designed to the highest standard. The castle is also the organization's headquarters."
Concordia smiled.
"Does anyone live in the castle normally?" Serena asked curiously.
"Yes. Anthea and I are the castle's stewards, and many staff members live here as well; they handle the daily cleaning. The organization's top-tier executives also have the right to live in the castle."
As she explained, Concordia led them into an enormous meeting hall.
It was a huge conference room, though for now the conference table had only a few seats. Seven, to be exact.
Each seat had its owner's name on it. At the head was Mammon.
"Top-tier executives?"
"Yes. Top-tier executives hold the highest privileges in the organization, and each has a room of their own in the castle."
Concordia nodded.
"Caitlin, Kagura, Rika, N, Colress... Mitsuki?"
When she saw the name on the last seat, Platinum froze. Mitsuki?
If I remember right, that's Mr. Mammon's girlfriend's name, isn't it?
So Mr. Mammon's girlfriend is already an official Champion-caliber trainer?
"Do the top-tier executives come stay at the castle?" Viola asked.
"They do. Miss Kagura lives here full-time. Miss Rika, Mr. N, and the others come back to the castle now and then to spar."
Concordia thought for a moment and smiled.
"Only Miss Mitsuki hasn't been to the castle yet," Concordia added.
"Miss Concordia, have you met Mitsuki?"
Platinum didn't quite know what she was thinking when she asked.
She didn't really know Anthea and Concordia. She'd only met them once before. But she liked the two of them quite a bit.
"I haven't. But according to Lord Mammon, Miss Mitsuki is still training in the Alola region, so she hasn't had time to come back to Kanto."
Concordia kept her very gentle smile.
"I see." Platinum nodded.
Concordia showed the three girls around the castle for another half hour. The facilities were more complete than anything they could have imagined.
A rec room, a gym, a swimming pool, even a dedicated movie theater, and more.
Two days flew by in the blink of an eye.
Mammon spent those two days at the World Tree Castle, heading over to World Tree Park during the day to check on things.
Those two days were very lively online in Kanto, too, because the Kanto League had started building up the hype.
Giovanni of the Viridian Gym, the strongest Gym Leader in the Kanto region, was going to take on the Elite Four challenge!
Giovanni's fame in Kanto went without saying. Mature, steady, and not the least bit reclusive, he was a breath of fresh air among Kanto's Gym Leaders.
And because of Mammon, Giovanni, as his father, had trended over and over again.
Some people had questioned Giovanni's background before, but the Kanto League stood firmly behind him. And now that Team Rocket's reputation kept improving, the relationship between Giovanni and Mammon had become a favorite topic of conversation.
On Mammon's fourth day back in Kanto: the Indigo Plateau, headquarters of the Kanto League.
That day, the Indigo Stadium was packed to bursting.
In years past, crowds like this only showed up for the Indigo Conference. But today was different!
Atop the torch, Moltres's sacred flame burned fiercely.
"Tch~ Once things with the League are sorted out, I really need to have a word with Goodshow."
Seated in the VIP section, Mammon glanced at the flame on the torch and clicked his tongue.
This was the headquarters of the Pokémon League, and they were using Moltres's flame? How lame was that?
If you're really that stuck, just ask me. I'll hook you up with some flames from an actual dragon god.
If you don't want that, I could bring you some of Ho-Oh's fire instead.
This Moltres flame is just too weak. It doesn't match the Kanto League's prestige.
After all, on Team Rocket's redemption list, Moltres currently didn't have a single taker.
"?" Platinum, sitting next to Mammon, tilted her head, puzzled. What did Mr. Mammon mean by that?
Nine a.m. arrived.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Indigo Stadium!"
On a raised platform, a man in a suit with slicked-back hair and sunglasses held a microphone, his loud, clear voice carrying across the entire stadium.
"Today, we will witness an Elite Four challenge, applied for by the Leader of the Viridian Gym!"
"He will begin with the first member of the Elite Four and challenge the Kanto Elite Four consecutively, with no rest in between. A single loss along the way means the challenge has failed!"
"And if Gym Leader Giovanni succeeds in defeating the Elite Four, he will become the new Kanto Champion!"
At this, the announcer's voice rose.
"However, this will be an extraordinarily difficult challenge! As everyone knows, our Kanto Elite Four is universally recognized as the strongest Elite Four in the world!"
"In all the years since the current Elite Four came together under Lance, forget a consecutive challenge: no one has ever defeated even the first member, Lorelei!"
"So today, can Gym Leader Giovanni succeed?"
"Let's wait and see!"
The announcer was clearly a seasoned pro. In just a few lines, he had the whole venue fired up.
All across the Indigo Stadium, huge crowds let out excited, electrified cheers.
"All right! Now please welcome the challenger of today's Elite Four challenge!"
"Hailing from Viridian City, the Leader of the Viridian Gym: GIOVANNI!!"
With the announcer's impassioned roar, a middle-aged man with a close-cropped haircut and an expensive black suit walked slowly out of the tunnel beside the field and onto the battlefield.
Giovanni had one hand in his pocket. His lean, somewhat shadowed face wore a faint smile. His bearing was mature and steady, without the slightest hint of nerves.
"Gym Leader Giovanni!!!"
"Go get 'em, Gym Leader Giovanni! We're all behind you!"
"If anyone has to complete our unbeatable Kanto Elite Four lineup, it's gotta be Giovanni!"
"Gym Leader Giovanni! Can he win?!"
"It's gonna be tough, man. Lorelei specializes in Ice, and that's super effective against Giovanni's Ground types."
The whole venue erupted into thunderous cheers, so loud that the stadium seemed to tremble.
It showed just how much influence Giovanni had in Kanto.
A Gym Leader taking the Elite Four challenge was genuinely rare, and as Kanto's most popular Gym Leader, Giovanni had a huge number of supporters.
"This world has gone completely nuts."
In the general seating, a disguised Apollo couldn't help putting a hand to his forehead. He'd never in a million years imagined
that Team Rocket's former Boss would be taking the Elite Four challenge. Was he about to become a Kanto League bigwig?
Apollo really couldn't handle this.
"Heh~ That's nothing. Look over there."
Proton clapped Apollo on the shoulder and pointed toward the VIP seats up front.
That's right, Proton had come too. He'd been overseeing the company in Unova, but the moment he heard Giovanni was taking the Elite Four challenge, he'd caught an overnight flight back to Kanto.
Please. How could he miss something this big?
Apollo looked over at the VIP section, and his expression turned extremely strange.
There sat a handsome young man with green hair, draped in a white cape: none other than the former Hoenn Champion, Wallace.
"Mr. Giovanni! You can do it!"
Wallace had both arms raised high, cheering his lungs out for Giovanni down on the field.
He looked every inch the devoted fan, and Apollo found it utterly impossible to handle.
Is... is this really okay?
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