"What do you want?"
Giovanni didn't waste time with small talk. He simply swept a hand and asked directly.
Given that Elias had helped him recover his son, no reward would be too much.
So this time, he had no intention of pulling the usual negotiation tricks.
Whatever Elias wanted—if he asked, Giovanni would do everything in his power to make it happen.
Elias wasn't all that surprised by this.
But truth be told, there weren't many things Team Rocket could help him with right now. If anything, there was just one matter that needed attention...
"I'm planning to head to the Sinnoh region to settle an old score with Team Galactic."
"If you're offering help, then have Team Rocket gather and provide any intel you can on them."
After a brief moment of thought, Elias laid out his request.
"Alright."
Giovanni agreed without the slightest hesitation.
The task wasn't difficult by his standards.
Although Team Rocket didn't have much sway in Sinnoh—nowhere near their level of influence in Kanto or the Sevii Islands—gathering basic intel was still within their capabilities.
After discussing a few more details with Giovanni and finalizing plans to meet with Silver, Elias was ready to head out.
But before leaving, there was one more thing he hadn't forgotten—Mewtwo.
Turning to Giovanni, he asked:
"When do you need me for that experiment of yours?"
Since he held the genetic sequence of Mew in his hand, timing wasn't an issue on his end.
Still, if he could wrap this up before going to Sinnoh, that would be ideal.
Otherwise, he'd have to make a separate trip later.
At the mention of Mew, some of the joy from reuniting with his son faded from Giovanni's face.
He cleared his throat and replied, "If you've got the time, we can go now."
The Mewtwo facility was on an isolated island far from the mainland. But with a helicopter, it would only take a few hours to get there from Saffron City.
Upon hearing that, Elias mentally mapped out the timeline.
Lance still hadn't responded, and the Sinnoh trip wasn't so urgent that one day would make a difference.
May as well go see Mewtwo first.
With that thought, he gave a nod and said:
"Alright, let's head to that island of yours."
Gardevoir had no objections to the plan. Latias even perked up at the mention of going somewhere near the ocean, visibly excited.
And Mew? Her eyes were already gleaming when she realized Elias was off to visit her future "daughter."
The smile on her cat-like face was uncontrollable.
In her ideal scenario, Mewtwo would wake up during this trip—then promptly help her overpower Gardevoir and that noisy jet-plane of a dragon.
Finally, with her obedient daughter by her side, she could monopolize Elias completely.
It was a perfect plan!
Just imagining it had Mew giddy with anticipation—stopping Elias from going to the island was the last thing on her mind.
Among the group, only Sabrina's face fell when she heard the proposal.
Thanks to Elias and everything going on with Team Rocket, she'd already closed the Gym for several days in a row.
In the past few days alone, her phone had practically exploded from rookie trainers demanding battle and League officials pressing for answers.
And that was after Elias had asked Lance to smooth things over for her.
If she kept ghosting the Gym any longer, there was no telling what kind of mess it'd cause.
Which meant she probably couldn't tag along to the island.
She'd originally planned to have Elias all to herself today—realizing that wasn't going to happen left her a little deflated.
She shot a resentful glance at him, her silver teeth grinding audibly.
Of all times to leave, you pick now? Seriously?
"The Gym still needs my attention. I'm heading back."
With a light huff, Sabrina turned and strode toward the elevator.
She planned to ask Giovanni later how the hell he managed to run both a Gym and Team Rocket without imploding.
Her departure felt like nothing more than a small bump in the road.
After arranging for the helicopter, Giovanni slowly rose to his feet and gestured invitingly:
"Come. Let me show you the masterpiece I created."
"I promise, that Pokémon will surprise you."
His voice was filled with confidence.
Even though Elias already knew what Mewtwo looked like, he still felt a flicker of anticipation.
Seeing data on a screen isn't the same as standing face-to-face.
"Looking forward to it."
With Giovanni in the lead, the group made their way to the rooftop of the Silph Co. building.
There, a sleek black helicopter emblazoned with a bold red "R" was already spinning its rotors, waiting patiently in the designated landing zone.
Standing rigidly in front of it was Giovanni's secretary—Matori—flawlessly dressed in her business suit, calmly awaiting their arrival.
"Matori, while I'm gone, I'm leaving everything to you."
"If anything important comes up, contact me directly."
As they approached, Giovanni issued instructions in a steady voice.
"Yes, sir."
Matori responded crisply, stepping aside.
Elias, walking just behind Giovanni, waved casually as soon as he spotted her.
"Long time no see, Secretary Matori."
Back when he frequently dealt with Giovanni, he'd built up a pretty decent rapport with her.
The moment she heard his voice, something about it struck a chord.
When her eyes finally landed on him, they widened slightly in surprise.
She remembered Elias vividly.
After all, he was probably the youngest person her boss had ever done business with.
For someone with such a distinct presence, he was hard to forget.
Only... if she remembered correctly, hadn't there been news of his death a few years ago?
Then... who exactly was standing in front of her now?
Seeing her stunned expression, Elias only smiled without offering any explanation. He stepped straight into the helicopter.
He knew Matori's personality—methodical and thorough. If something didn't make sense, she'd investigate it down to the last detail.
So showing up like this was, in a way, giving her something to dig into.
Inside the cabin, Giovanni watched Elias's amused expression as he boarded, and couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
...
As it turned out, Giovanni wasn't lying. The helicopter flight lasted only a few hours before they neared the remote island.
Through the veil of sea mist, Elias could just barely make out the island's silhouette in the distance.