Chapter 108

Alex walked to the door of Professor Oak's office and knocked.

Today was the day he would start on his journey. He already said the needed goodbyes, and was prepared to leave early in the morning.

But he got a text message from Professor Oak to meet him at his office urgently. Hence, Alex put off starting and visited the Professor.

"Come in" came a voice.

"You wanted to see me Professor?" asked Alex as he entered.

"Yes. There is something I need you to do

This is also an Alliance sanctioned mission" said Professor Oak

"Yes Professor" said Alex solemnly.

The Alliance would not sanction missions or outsource them lightly. It had to be something truly urgent, if the Alliance had asked Professor Oak to take up the mission. Also, the fact that Professor Oak found him directly instead of issuing it to a trainer in the Correlation app meant it was truly urgent.

"What do you know about the Viridian City Gym?" asked the Professor.

"The Viridian City Gym was one of the most powerful Gyms in Kanto a few years ago, specialising in Ground types. But the Gym leader disappeared three years ago, leaving an assistant in charge. The assistant used Pokemon cultivated by the Gym leader, so his coordination with them is sub par. Hence, it has become rather easy to pass" said Alex. He knew about Giovanni and had guessed as to the reason he disappeared, but as it was not publicly available information, he had to pretend he didn't know more.

"Well, all that is correct. But there are a couple of things you don't know. Giovanni, the Gym Leader of Viridian City Gym, is actually the leader of Team Rocket!" said the Professor.

"What! A Gym Leader is the leader of Team Rocket!" said Alex feigning a surprised expression.

"Yes. Actually, it was a secret the Alliance discovered long ago. But Giovanni was already the Gym leader of one of the most prosperous places in Kanto by then, and deeply rooted in the place. And he was very powerful, hence capturing him was out of the question. So the Alliance turned a blind eye to his secret identity for a long time" said Professor Oak.

"But three years ago, Team Rocket, due to some events, offended Red Fires. He, as you know, was a genius trainer from Pallet Town. He was pissed off by Team Rocket, and he clashed with them on several occasions. In one of the encounters, he proactively sought out the base of operations of Team Rocket, and tore it apart. The leader, Giovanni tried to stop him, but he was defeated. But the reason wasn't Giovanni was weaker than Red, but because he had not brought his main team of Pokemon with him to the base. He mainly battled with his secondary team of Pokemon, that was a notch weaker than his main team " he continued.

"Then what happened?" asked Alex, already having guessed the next part.

"Giovanni wanted revenge, but he couldn't seek out Red, as both I and some members of the Alliance came forward. We were willing to turn a blind eye to Giovanni for the larger picture, but we wouldn't allow him to run wild, and attacking a genius we had high hopes for was out of the question. We also strictly warned him not to use the influence and methods of Team Rocket to target Red in an underhanded manner. Hence, Giovanni decided to wait in his Gym for Red to come to him instead. Red had always planned to challenge the Viridian City Gym even though he didn't know the leader Giovanni was the Team Rocket Boss he had fought back in their base. And eventually, it happened" said Professor Oak.

"The battle was fierce. Giovanni mostly had the upper hand, but in the end, Red carried out an amazing reversal and defeated Giovanni" said Professor Oak.

"Wow! That is awesome. What happened then Professor?" asked Alex.

"Giovanni was ashamed he lost. He also recognised that his battling skills had declined compared to his peak, as he had focused on his identity as the leader of Team Rocket over his identity as a trainer. He awarded Red the Earth Badge, and announced that he would not care about Team Rocket affairs, and instead headed to Mt. Silver to train. He was never seen again after that" said Professor Oak.

"Red went on the become the Champion, and the Viridian City Gym list a lot of its respect with an inferior battler as the acting Gym leader. The Rockets dissolved into relative chaos, with no one charismatic enough to take the helm. This was the state of affairs after this battle. The Alliance had a few plans against Team Rocket and the Viridian City Gym. They were just waiting for the best opportunity to carry out these plans. But now, it seems a wrench has been thrown into this plan" said Professor Oak.

"What happened Professor?" asked Alex, while faintly having a guess.

"Yesterday evening, a trainer challenged the Viridian City Gym, expecting an easy victory as it was generally perceived as. But he found himself completely outclassed. Not only were the Pokemon he faced different than those used by the acting Gym leader for the past three years, but all the Pokemon had also been well trained and under the command of an excellent battler. The trainer lost brutally and was kicked out of the Gym, in a style which was common in the Viridian City Gym more than three years ago. Hence, some members of the Alliance and International Police took this matter very seriously and investigated it overnight. The result, was a rather grim situation" said Professor Oak.

He looked at Alex with a serious face and said, "That's right. Giovanni, one of the most powerful trainers in the world and leader of Team Rocket, is back!"