The next day, Aiden arrived in Nimbasa City as promised.
Since the mess caused by Team Plasma had been quickly quelled, the impact of the freezing of Opelucid City was much smaller than he had imagined.
At least, order in the other cities remained as usual.
Having made a major contribution during this incident, the Rainbow Group had clearly gained quite a bit of attention in Unova.
When Aiden arrived at the headquarters building, an interview with the group's "Boss," Giovanni, was playing on a loop on a screen in the plaza not far away.
The massive reputation boost gifted by Team Plasma was tearfully accepted by the Rainbow Group.
After this incident, the Rainbow Group had firmly established its footing in Unova. As long as it didn't do anything bad from now on and could develop steadily, it would be fine.
According to Giovanni's plan, he seemed to intend to open up multiple fronts, using the Rainbow Group's advanced technology to seize the market and build a brand-new business empire in Unova—
Well, this kind of strategy was quite common in Unova.
Aiden didn't plan to interfere too much. After all, after witnessing Unova's current complacent state with his own eyes, he suddenly felt that having the Rainbow Group around might actually be a good thing for them?
Shaking his head, he walked straight into the headquarters building.
Sitting at the front desk was still Giovanni's secretary, Matori.
It seemed that because Giovanni had his own arrangements, this most trusted secretary of his was sent to Unova to oversee the overall situation.
"Advisor Aiden, you're finally here."
Upon seeing him, Matori immediately put on a respectful posture, stood up, and took the initiative to greet him.
"Where are Meowth and the others?"
Aiden waved a hand in response and glanced around.
He didn't see the trio of clowns.
"They were sent by the Boss—President Giovanni—to investigate the situation on Milos Island. The pendant left by Mr. Drayden is also being temporarily kept by the President."
"President?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow, his expression a bit subtle.
Well, that wasn't wrong.
But the word "President"—it always made him think of a certain anime character who was terrible at the game but addicted to it and had a severe case of dragon obsession.
"Where is he?"
"In that office over there."
Following the direction Matori pointed, Aiden soon stopped in front of a room with a sign that read "President's Office."
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
After receiving Giovanni's response, Aiden pushed the door open and walked in.
The lights in the room were off, and the only window was tightly covered by curtains, allowing only a faint glimmer of light that made it barely possible to see.
Giovanni was sitting on the sofa, intriguingly toying with the purple pendant in his right hand.
"What an interesting little trinket. It actually contains the power of three different attributes, all coexisting in perfect harmony."
"Is this the creation of a 'god'?"
As for his left hand, it was, of course, resting on the back of his Persian, which was curled up on the other side of the sofa, stroking its smooth fur rhythmically.
"—"
Aiden didn't hesitate and walked right in.
And then—
Click.
He pressed the switch.
The dark room was instantly filled with light.
That's better.
"An environment that's too dark is bad for your eyesight. It's better to keep the lights on."
"Am I right, President Giovanni?"
Looking at Giovanni, who had turned his head with a slightly bewildered expression, Aiden smiled and greeted him, then very naturally sat on the other sofa and poured himself a cup of tea.
"You're here."
Giovanni quickly regained his calm expression and casually tossed the pendant in his hand over.
"So this is the DNA Splicers, passed down for a thousand years in Unova? I didn't expect them to be so generous as to give it to you."
"Because it's useless to Drayden, right? This thing is bound to the Original Dragon. Only the three dragons it differentiated into can use its power."
Aiden explained casually.
"I have Reshiram with me, and I also contributed a lot to the crisis in Opelucid City, so he just gave it to me as a favor."
"However, it seems neither Reshiram nor Zekrom want to merge, so it's actually not very useful to me."
"Interesting."
Giovanni nodded, not paying too much attention to the DNA Splicers.
"This is a divine gift that everyone in the world dreams of, yet in your mouth, it sounds like a worthless trinket from a street stall."
That being said, he didn't have much reverence for the power of gods himself.
Just like the Rainbow Feather that had been delivered into his hands, he didn't even think twice before sending it off for scientific research—
And the reason Giovanni personally came to Unova this time was also related to a Legendary Pokémon.
"Since you're here, accompany me to a place."
In the time it took Aiden to drink a sip of tea, Giovanni spoke again again.
"Jessie and the others have already confirmed Landorus's location. We'll arrive at Milos Island in about two hours."
"This is also a good opportunity for me to prove something to you—"
"The reborn Rainbow Group will use gentler methods to seek partners."
Giovanni's voice paused for a moment, and when he spoke again, it became more powerful and resonant.
"I believe I can earn Landorus's help."
Unova Region, Milos Island.
An island far out at sea, away from Driftveil City.
Legend has it that this is where the shrines to the incarnations of three deities are enshrined, and it is also the habitat of Landorus.
If Tornadus and Thundurus were to abandon their duties and indulge in pleasure, Landorus would set out from this place, drag its two good-for-nothing younger brothers back, and make them work properly.
And in the process, any land that Landorus passed over would become fertile.
"So, Landorus is actually the King of Abundance in the Unova region?"
Sitting on the cruise ship heading to Milos Island, Aiden suddenly felt inspired.
That forgotten radish spirit, Calyrex, from Galar—doesn't its power overlap with Landorus's—
"King of Abundance?"
—
Giovanni, who was standing nearby wearing black sunglasses and a sharp black suit with one hand in his pocket, turned his head to look at him.
"It's nothing. Just an obscure legend from Galar."
"I feel its fame is far less than Landorus's."
"Heh, after all, humans are very realistic creatures."
A sarcastic look appeared on Giovanni's face, his suit jacket flapping in the strong wind.
"Because Landorus's actions benefit the people of Unova, every household knows the story of the three Forces of Nature."
"If it were the Swords of Justice, who once opposed humans, probably no one would remember them."
"Perhaps this is also a form of truth."
"That's fair to say."
Aiden nodded.
The Swords of Justice occupied a small portion of Unova's legends, and not many people remembered them.
In the war a thousand years ago, they protected the wild Pokémon affected by the fires of human war and fought against humans many times.
However, rather than a deliberate cover-up, Aiden was more willing to believe that later generations, in order to protect them, mentioned the very heavy history of a thousand years ago as little as possible.
The cruise ship soon docked at the shore.
The moment Aiden set foot on Milos Island, he spotted three familiar figures at a glance.
"Boss! Advisor!"
James, carrying some unknown instrument on his back, waved enthusiastically from afar.
However, before he could move, Meowth immediately jumped up and clawed at him frantically.
"You idiot! Now's not the time to be wagging your tail, meow!"
"Landorus is already very close, meow! Keep a proper lookout, meow!"
Seeing Meowth fly into a rage, Musashi beside him immediately stopped walking, awkwardly raising her binoculars again to look in a certain direction.
"Over there! Landorus is right there!"
"It should be here any minute!"
"..."
Seeing the three of them assimilate so quickly and be completely reduced to comic relief, Aiden found it quite amusing and chuckled softly.
In Giovanni's eyes, however, it was another matter.
"Their personalities—have they been a bit too hyperactive lately?"
Aiden vaguely heard his muttering but didn't pay it any mind.
After all, comic relief characters are the strongest!
What kind of black magic technology lets them fit that instrument into a backpack and lets them track a Legendary Pokémon's location in real time with just binoculars—
When it came to scientific research ability, Aiden really had to admire the three of them.
"It's here."
Feeling the ground suddenly let out a clear chime and then begin to rumble, Giovanni immediately raised his head, his face filled with excitement.
Aiden tactfully took a few steps back, ceding the center stage to Giovanni.
To be fair, Landorus was a pretty good match for him—
Both were masters of the power of the earth, and Giovanni was a "middle-aged bug catcher." His compatibility with Landorus, a 'Bug-Type Legendary' should be quite high.
However, achieving cooperation with a Legendary Pokémon was probably not that easy.
For now, he would just observe and see.
After a gust of wind, a yellow-brown figure suddenly appeared in the sky.
Landorus, covered in explosive muscles with its arms crossed, had a stern expression, as if examining the uninvited guests below.
"Landorus, shall we have a chat?"
Seeing Aiden and the Meowth trio proactively step back, giving him and Landorus plenty of space to be alone, Giovanni curled the corners of his mouth and took the initiative to speak up.
Landorus didn't respond, but it clearly shifted its attention to Giovanni.
It could sense that—even when staring directly at a deity, the human before it showed no trace of fear, instead becoming even more excited.
How interesting.
But, it had nothing to talk about with humans.
"Human, stand down!"
Landorus suddenly let out a terrifying roar, so loud that the surrounding air began to tremble.
Aiden, who was observing from the sidelines, also subconsciously covered his ears.
Giovanni, however, stood his ground, making no unnecessary movements.
"I am here to discuss cooperation, Landorus."
After Landorus's voice had gradually faded, Giovanni stared at it again and spoke calmly.
"Times have changed. With current human technology, it is not difficult to find the traces of Legendary Pokémon."
"That is why I am here."
Although Landorus didn't speak, Aiden could still read a bit of anger from its expression.
After all, it had been tracked to its own doorstep and was now being confronted by Giovanni.
What are you doing, President Giovanni!
But Giovanni's next words quickly made it look bewildered.
"With our help, it would be just as easy to find Tornadus and Thundurus."
"They've been running around all over Unova lately. You must have a headache because of them, right?"
Landorus quickly understood.
So that's how it was. He was here to make a deal with it?
Borrowing human power to find its two good-for-nothing younger brothers could indeed save a lot of trouble.
But, what was the price?
"State your purpose, human."
Landorus's voice was much calmer this time.
Clearly, the negotiation was only now officially beginning.
Seeing this, Giovanni smiled and said, "I have no special requests. I only hope that the three of you brothers will appear at the Rainbow Group building at an appropriate time."
"Consider it a bit of marketing for the company. How about it?"
"—"
Marketing—what was that?
Landorus, far from human society, did not understand his words.
However, wasn't there a simpler and more direct way than using its brain?
"In that case, let us follow the ancient rules."
Landorus's voice was like a great bell, its words filled with a convincing power.
"Naturally."
Giovanni also nodded slightly and then assumed a fighting stance.
He had done many wrong things in his life.
When he was young, driven by a passion, he aspired to make Team Rocket grow and prosper;
After succeeding, he never stopped, even attempting to lay his hands on the power of gods.
But Giovanni had never regretted any of his decisions.
The him of the past was indeed a villain who would do whatever it took to achieve his goals, and he had never tried to defend himself.
Even now—
His thoughts hadn't changed much.
Since he had lost, he would accept his fate as a defeated man with nothing, and look for an opportunity to make a comeback.
It was just that the him, who thought he had no scruples, suddenly looked back and realized that he had never cared about the feelings of the child he cared about most.
So this time, his mindset had changed slightly.
Just before the battle was about to begin, Giovanni turned his head to look at Jessie, Meowth, and James nearby.
The Giovanni of the Rainbow Group was not fighting for himself this time, nor did he have any noble purpose.
The him of today was just a father who wanted to provide some compensation for Silver and sincerely looked forward to his growth.
He wanted to leave Silver the best, and healthiest, "Team Rocket."
For this purpose, not even a god could stop him.
"Rainbow Group, Giovanni—"
As he spoke, he suddenly grabbed the suit jacket draped over his shoulders, casually tossed it aside, revealing a set of well-defined muscles.
"Here to ask for a spar!"
Landorus narrowed its eyes, looking at the human before it whose aura had suddenly surged.
An interesting human.
It could sense that this man was serious.
Did he really think he could defeat me?
In that case—"I accept your challenge."
After speaking, Landorus suddenly shook its body, tossing a blue figure out from its body, which was formed from swirling currents.
Aiden:?
Noticing the blue figure suddenly flying towards him, he subconsciously caught it.
Looking at the unconscious blue colt in his arms, even he, who was knowledgeable, could only look confused.
What's going on?
Why is Keldeo here?
And, this is already the how-many-nth Legendary/Mythical Pokémon to appear before me on its own—
It can't be Arceus making a move again, can it—
Aiden weighed the unusually heavy Keldeo, whose eyes were rolled back in circles, and was speechless for a moment.
Dude, seriously?
You've got some nerve. Learning to swordfight with the Swords of Justice is one thing, but you dared to challenge Landorus too?
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