Blue stared at the Team Rocket leader with a calm, unreadable expression.
"Let's not kid ourselves, Giovanni," Blue began. "Everyone with half a brain knows you're the mastermind behind Team Rocket."
Giovanni's face went stone-cold. That was not common knowledge. In fact, it was a secret he had taken great pains to protect. He was certain no one had connected the dots—until now.
"As Champion," Blue continued with a smirk, "the responsible move would be to crush Team Rocket like the insignificant pests you are."
Then, with a dramatic flourish, Blue tossed out a Poké Ball—and out popped a Psyduck. Of all Pokémon, a Psyduck.
"You see this goofy little guy?" Blue asked, tilting his head. "Want to bet he can wipe out your entire team?"
Giovanni narrowed his eyes. "That's a bit arrogant, don't you think?"
He was well-versed in Blue's usual lineup—Psyduck was nowhere on it. This wasn't one of Blue's aces. Which made the challenge all the more baffling.
"Come on," Blue gestured casually. "Let's have a little skirmish."
Giovanni gave a slight shrug and released his Rhyhorn.
Blue let out a sigh. "Really? This guy's so weak to water, it won't even get the point across."
Giovanni raised an eyebrow. "What is the point, exactly?"
"Summon more," Blue insisted. "Let's not waste time."
Giovanni frowned but obliged, sending out Nidoking next.
"More," Blue said again, his grin widening.
"More?"
"I want your entire team," Blue said. "Wouldn't want this to be unfair, now would we?"
Giovanni had no idea what Blue was getting at. Was this just Champion-level arrogance? Or something else?
Regardless, he called out the rest of his squad: Rhyhorn, Dugtrio, Nidoqueen, Nidoking, Rhydon, and Kangaskhan.
Blue gave a half-hearted nod. "That's a team we'll have to work on later…"
"What now?" Giovanni asked, genuinely bewildered. "You actually plan to take on my full team with that?"
Blue's smile turned razor-sharp.
"One word," he said.
"Surf."
And then—chaos.
A colossal wave of water materialized out of nowhere, crashing through the underground arena like a force of nature. It slammed into Giovanni's six Pokémon with the fury of a tidal god. Mud and debris churned across the floor as water mixed with the packed earth, creating a slick, chaotic battleground. Stunfisk, drawn to the sudden flood, slithered into the muddy water with delighted cries, splashing about in ecstasy.
Giovanni stood frozen, stunned.
What the hell kind of Surf was that?
He had faced Surf countless times. He had countered it with precision. But this? This was something else entirely.
As the water slowly receded, the remains of his once-mighty team lay crumpled on the soaked ground—defeated. All six. Wiped out. By a single Psyduck.
What the actual fuck?
Blue stepped forward, voice cool and cutting. "You see the gap now? No matter how much you plot, how many underhanded tricks you pull—there's a chasm between us you'll never cross."
Giovanni's face had gone pale.
A Psyduck. A damn Psyduck.
And then a far more terrifying thought hit him like a second wave:
How insanely powerful was Blue's ace—the so-called Titan?
It was at this point that things spiraled into complete madness.
Dozens of people began appearing throughout the underground chamber, teleported in by multiple Exeggutor. Each Pokémon had arrived with a human bound tightly at its side—every one of them wearing a Team Rocket uniform. More and more continued to materialize. First ten. Then fifty. Eventually, a hundred.
The most terrifying part?
Giovanni recognized every single one of them.
From the lowest-ranking Grunts to his trusted lieutenants like Ariana and Petrel, to his elite scientists and the undercover agents he had painstakingly embedded in every major institution across Kanto—Silph Co., the Kanto League, even the Pokémon Centers.
All of them. Captured. Exposed. And dumped at his feet.
It only stopped once Blue had presented the full extent of his decimated organization—shamed, helpless, and subdued right before his eyes.
Giovanni was a cold, calculating man. There was little that could truly rattle him. But this?
This was madness. Utter insanity.
"There are two options," Blue said, voice sharp as ice. "Follow me—for the betterment of Kanto—or…"
He gestured at the crushed remnants of Team Rocket sprawled across the muddy floor.
"You and your entire operation vanish from existence today."
Giovanni took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.
Blue was no Lance.
Lance was powerful, ruthless even—but still human.
Blue was something else entirely.
"Do I even have a choice?" Giovanni muttered, his shoulders slumping in quiet defeat.
"Don't be so grim," Blue replied, flashing a smug grin. "Team Rocket won't disappear. It'll become my underground force. You'll remain its leader—but now, you'll serve a greater cause. In the shadows, you'll do what all those squeaky-clean Gym Leaders under me can't—or won't."
He clapped Giovanni lightly on the shoulder.
"And hey—look on the bright side, my friend."
"Bright side?" Giovanni scoffed, voice dry with sarcasm. "You call this a bright side?"
"Absolutely!" Blue beamed. "I'm going to make you, and this entire organization, so insanely powerful it'll scare the hell out of anyone who hears the name Rocket."
He leaned in, eyes gleaming.
"I won't hold back. Maybe—just maybe—I'll make you strong enough…"
A pause. A grin.
"…to beat me. And get your revenge for all this."
Was that Blue's plan all along?
To forge trainers so powerful they could one day challenge even him?
Perhaps that was the spark he intended to plant in Giovanni—a motivation wrapped in humiliation, driving him to grow stronger for a higher purpose.
Then, Blue pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and held it out.
Giovanni looked at it, puzzled.
"No proper Ground-type Gym Leader is complete without this guy," Blue said with a wicked smile.
Giovanni opened the ball.
A massive creature burst forth in a surge of light and energy.
"GARCHOMP!"
Giovanni blinked, stunned. The beast loomed in front of him, radiating pure, unrestrained power.
Maybe… just maybe… working for Blue wouldn't be so bad.
At least for now.
...
Bug Catcher Tim was ecstatic. After a long journey filled with bug bites, missteps, and far too much enthusiasm, he had finally reached the entrance of the legendary Viridian Forest. Clutched tightly in his hands—held with the reverence of a sacred text—was a small, worn book.
The title?
The True Essence of Bugs.
Authored by none other than Larry.
It was this very book that had inspired Tim to become a Bug Catcher with a lifelong dream: to join Larry's Bug Gym. Well, that and the fact that his only Pokémon was a Metapod. His path was more or less decided from the start.
He stepped into the forest, heart racing—only to immediately freeze at the sight before him.
A swarm of strange Pokémon skittered across the forest floor. He didn't recognize them.
Small arthropods. Purple bodies, silver plating running down their backs. Four plates in total—the first covering half the head but leaving room for wide, curious eyes. Triangular markings sat boldly on each plate. Two long, backward-curving spikes extended from either side of their heads. Their antennae lay flat against their backs, while eight tiny legs scrambled beneath them. And then there was the tail: long, spiny, and twitching.
Tim gasped. He eagerly opened his trusty book to the chapter titled "New Bug Species Introduced in Kanto."
There it was!
"Wimpod!" he exclaimed. "Bug and Water type! That's... amazing!"
A Bug/Water type in Kanto? Unheard of. What a brilliant day to be alive. He kept reading, eyes gleaming.
This Pokémon is a coward. As it desperately dashes off, the flailing of its many legs leaves a sparkling clean path in its wake.
Bug Catcher Tim frowned.
He looked up just in time to see most of the Wimpod scatter at the sight of him—and his mighty Metapod. Not that he blamed them. His starter was a force of nature, after all.
He read further:
Wimpod gather in swarms, constantly on the lookout for danger. They scatter the moment they detect an enemy's presence.
"As if Bug Catcher Tim would let that stop him!"
His eyes gleamed with wild determination. He would catch one of these beauties—and impress Larry himself!
"LET'S GO, METAPOD!"
With a flourish, he tossed his Poké Ball into the swarm. His trusty companion landed with a dull thud.
"USE HARDEN!"
Metapod obeyed. Flawlessly.
The Wimpod stared, visibly confused.
"Metapod!" Tim grinned. "Use Harden again!"
And Harden it used.
The Wimpod glanced at one another. Then at Metapod. Then back at Tim.
And blinked.
That's when everything changed.
The air around them shifted. The temperature soared. It was as if the sun itself had dropped from the sky out of pure spite.
Then it descended.
A massive, moth-like creature swept down from the heavens, radiating unbearable heat.
Its compound eyes gleamed in two shades of blue. Crimson horn-like structures jutted from either side of its face. Its smoky white fuzz tangled in the wind as its six enormous, leaf-like orange wings beat the air. The black-and-blue segments of its abdomen shimmered menacingly.
The Wimpod took one look and bolted.
Bug Catcher Tim, the hopelessly clueless fool he was, didn't run. No—he eagerly flipped open his book again, eyes scanning the index.
Even as sweat poured down his face, he muttered with awe:
"Volcarona?"
He found the entry. A note—written by Larry himself:
I was vehemently against introducing this Pokémon into Viridian Forest, but nothing could change Champion Blue's mind. He insisted it would make the forest 'way cooler,' to quote him directly. I warned him how reckless it was to place a fire-controlling guardian deity in a woodland area, but he refused to listen. So yes—there is now a Volcarona roaming freely in Viridian Forest. My only advice: if you see her—run.
Right on cue, a beam of fire erupted from the beast, narrowly missing Metapod.
"...Oh."
Bug Catcher Tim didn't need another warning. He turned tail and ran for his life.
"WE HAVE TO FIND GYM LEADER LARRY!" he howled, as the sun-bug took off after him, probably just for fun.
"METAPOD!"
"WHERE THE HELL IS HIS GYM, THOUGH?!"
Then he looked up—and saw it.
A towering skyscraper loomed in the distance, piercing the clouds. A structure like nothing else in Kanto.
"OH. IT'S THERE! LET'S RUN, METAPOD!"
"METAPOD!"
Twenty grueling minutes later—the fastest, sweatiest sprint of his life—he skidded to a halt in front of the massive glass doors.
Larry's Gym.
"Let's go in!"
And promptly face-planted into the locked door.
"What?" Tim blinked, dazed. "Why the hell is the door closed?!"
He glanced up and spotted a piece of paper taped to the glass.
Office Hours.
His heart sank.
"The gym is... closed?"
Bug Catcher Tim stared in disbelief.
Gyms were never closed.
"AND IT'S CLOSED TWO DAYS A WEEK?!"
Behind him, Volcarona hovered ominously, wings glowing with solar fury.
Bug Catcher Tim gulped.
He was completely, undeniably...
Screwed.