3 Chapter 03: Giovanni....

Several Kanto native Pokemon could be seen inside the forest lining Pallet Town, such as Pidgey, Catterpie or Rattata. Most trainer's preferences were either Pidgey or Catterpie but unlike them Alex was not a naive Pokemon Trainer.

So he had no intension of catching one either. The next morning after having breakfast, Alex started training his Pokemon.

Charmander was learning 'Metal Claw', whereas Darkrai was trying to learn both 'Sunny Day' and 'Rain Dance'.

Alex was also meditating in order to increase his Psychic powers. Darkrai didn't need any explanation or help in learning new moves but Charmander was different.

So Alex ordered him to practice 'Scratch' on a tree bark repeatedly. As time passed slowly but surely Alex noticed Charmander's claws were gaining a metallic shine.

So he nodded and resumed his Psychic practice.

After an unknown amount of time their team training time was interrupted because suddenly both Charmander and Darkrai stopped practicing and looked towards the south.

Alex noticed their abnormal behaviour and immediately thought of a possibility. So he stopped his practice and waited as rustling of the leaves grew louder by second.

" What do you think? Is it a Pokemon? " He asked Darkrai as the Dark Pokemon nodded.

" Alright Darkrai get ready, use 'Shadow Ball'. " Alex commanded. Darkrai conjured a spherical mass of dark energy and fired it towards the near bush with perfect accuracy.

With a boom the thick clump of bushes were turned into ash upon contact as the 'Shadow Ball' continued on its path.

" Rhyperior, stop it. " came a dignified voice as a massive Pokemon revealed itself as it stopped the 'Shadow Ball'. Looking at the giant behemoth Alex was impressed and also curious about the person behind the voice.

As the footsteps grew nearer, as a dark and tall brown haired man made his appearance. For some reason Alex could feel him as a familiar face but couldn't remember the exact details. The man nodded to the huge behemoth, " Good work, Rhyperior. "

Rhyperior snorted and turned his gaze towards Alex and his companions. Charmander was nervous under the intense gaze but Darkrai just stood there arm folded on his chest, ready to attack anytime.

" Quiet a surprising Pokemon you have there young man. " said the man as Alex just nodded. Minutes passed as the uncomfortable silence continued before he finally opened his mouth, " Let me introduce myself, I'm Gym leader Giovanni. Is it alright if i join you? "

Finally Alex remembered this man as the strongest Gym leader, so he shrugged and gestured towards his side, " No problem. "

" You seems to be a new trainer! " asked Giovanni as he sat beside him. Alex nodded, " I'm Alex Ketchum from Pallet Town. I started travelling yesterday. " Unknown to Alex, Giovanni flinched a little at the mention of his full name.

After the introduction, Alex again found himself attracted to the magnificent form of Rhyperior. The giant Pokemon just stood there lazily. Seeing Alex's intrest Giovanni smiled, " It seems you are very fond of my Rhyperior. "

" Yes, Rhyperior is one of my favorite Pokemon. " Alex admitted, " I have never seen one in real life. Today is my first time witnessing its massive size. " Hearing this Rhyperior puffed its chest proudly.

Giovanni smiled, " Alright then, can you visit my Gym once you enter Viridian City? " He said and stood up.

" Hmm, okay. " Alex responded after thinking for a while. But Giovanni suddenly turned serious, " But let me give you an advice first. You should refrain from casually exposing your Mythical Pokemon Darkrai to strangers, as currently you are too weak. "

He paused a little and added, " A notorious criminal organization called 'Team Rocket' are on the move. They are responsible for many Pokemon stealing incident, so you should be cautious while traveling outside major cities. "

Finishing his speech, he left with his Rhyperior as Alex realised this mistake. He actually forgot about the fact that his Darkrai was currently a low level baby Pokemon.

So he had to wait until he become strong enough before exposing his starter.

....

Kanto Region,Viridian City:-

" Finally, i am here. " Alex muttered as he witnessed the massive sky-scrapers all around him. He wasted no time as he directly went to the Pokemon Center.

Soon he reached near a white building with a huge Pokemon banner.

He entered inside and the first think he did was to resister his name for Indigo Conference. Nurse Joy took his Pokedex and started the registration process.

Every trainer was obliged to obtain eight badges in order to gain eligibility for participating in Indigo Conference.

There were a total of eleven official gyms located in eleven different cities, so that trainers could choose among them. You had to defeat a gym leader in order to acquire a badge.

After the registration was over, Nurse Joy told him his room number and returned his Pokedex back.

All resistered candidates could enjoy free food, medicinal care and shelter from Pokemon Center.

So after Nurse Joy finished checking conditions of his Pokemon, Alex directly left to take some rest.

...

After he finished resting, Alex found himself in front of Viridian City gym. He walked inside and after a while he finally stood in front of a huge doors. It opened automatically as he found himself inside a room, where Giovanni was waiting for him.

" Great, you are finally here. The reason i am waiting for you was to give you something. " Giovanni said as he approached near him. He took out two Poke Balls from his jacket and gave them to Alex.

Alex looked at the Poke Balls in his hand curiously as he asked, " What are these? "

Giovanni smiled at the boy's bewildered expression and answered, " There is an Aron and a Rhyhorn inside them. The Rhyhorn was the baby of the same Rhyperior you have seen in the forest and Aron is a native Steel/Rock type Pokemon of Hoenn Region. "

" But why are you giving them to me? " Alex asked perplexed. Giovanni smiled, " I don't need them in my team so i was in search of a good trainer. I think you are talented enough to raise them well, so i have decided to gift them to you. "

Although Alex was sure there was something else nonetheless he accepted them, " Thank you Sir Giovanni, i promise to take care of them. "

" You also don't have to worry about their ownership. Give me your Pokedex and i will update your database. " said Giovanni. Alex nodded and handled his Pokedex to him.

Giovanni went to the corner of the room and used his machine to update the Pokedex. After the process was over he gave the Pokedex back to Alex.

After that Giovanni requested Alex to spend some time with him. Alex didn't deny his request and spent the rest of the day with Giovanni but at the end of the day, he had reached at a conclusion about Giovanni's real identity and how he was related to him.

......

Currently both of them were standing on the balcony and were enjoying the sunset.

" Say Alex, don't you hate your father? " Giovanni suddenly asked, " I mean as you have said he left your mother when you were just five. "

Alex smiled, " Hmm, frankly i have never hated him as i always thought he must have his reasons to leave us. Although i did have some resentment towards him. " Then he looked back at Giovanni, " But today all my resentment has vanished as i finally met you, father. "

Giovanni was surprised for a moment before he calmed down himself, " So you have figured it out already. " Seeing Alex's nod he continued, " Alright then, i can't tell you about my reason but here take this as my final gift. "

He took out a blue microchip encased in a glass case.

" Have you ever heard about Sylph Co.? " asked Giovanni. Alex nodded while pocketing the chip, " Yes, they are the owner of Pokemon franchise and all items and tools like Potions, Poke Balls and many more. "

Giovanni said seriously, " To tell you the truth I'm the CEO of Sylph Co. and this Pokechip is a top level technology of our company exclusive only for the upper echelons of our Company. " he added again, " After you install this chip in your Pokedex, you can enjoy all services free of cost in Poke Marts and also your Pokemon limit will also increase to 25. "

Alex looked at the chip with trembling hands because now his biggest problem of only having six Pokemon was solved. Every trainer could only have six Pokemon with them, it was actually a limit set by Pokemon Legue officials.

But now Alex was an exception, so he was very happy. His trip to Viridian City gym had given him many surprises.

" Now that your roster can accommodate twenty-five Pokemon, you should still let them have a routine check up to avoid any hidden problems. " Giovanni said as he patted his head, " Now young man you should get going as i have something to take care of. Goodbye my boy and remember to call me if you face any problem. "

Alex bid his farewell and left the Viridian City gym. On his way back to Pokemon centre he had installed the chip and as a result his roster limit was increased to twenty five.