Chapter 390: Isn't Lance's Team More of a Flying-Type Legion?
Kanto had a new sky.
Lance, long hailed as the strongest Champion, had been beaten head-on by Giovanni in the Champion Challenge at the Indigo Stadium.
And Giovanni, having defeated Lance, now officially stood at the top of the Kanto region as its Champion!
Without a doubt, the news was a sensation.
The name Giovanni was already fairly well known among the people of Kanto.
Trainers who had once challenged the Viridian Gym and earned the Earth Badge were especially proud right now.
Earning Giovanni's recognition back then means I earned the recognition of the Kanto Champion, doesn't it?
On the field, Goodshow came out and stood beside Giovanni, making the obligatory remarks.
"The old man's still got it."
Mammon nodded with a smile. He found Giovanni becoming Kanto Champion genuinely amusing.
In the original canon, the leader of Team Rocket was a villain who could never see the light of day. Now he was the Champion of the Kanto League.
The absolute center of Kanto's attention.
Tch~ This is way too entertaining.
With the Elite Four challenge over, Goodshow personally escorted Giovanni off the field. Becoming Kanto Champion took more than public recognition; he still had to be formally registered in the Hall of Fame.
"Uncle Giovanni is so strong~!"
Platinum was full of admiration. Honestly, today's battle had really shown her the power of a top-tier Champion.
Then again, Uncle Giovanni was Mammon's father, after all.
"Let's go. There's nothing else to see."
Mammon stood up to leave. The Champion Challenge was over, so naturally there was nothing more to watch.
Mammon left with Caitlin and the others. The Indigo Plateau wasn't far from Viridian City, so he planned to go walk around over there first.
Online, though, things were nowhere near calming down. Everyone everywhere was talking about the battle and Giovanni's rise to the top.
Especially trainers who loved Bug-type Pokémon, and the Bug Catchers. Giovanni's absolute MVP of the battle, Mega Beedrill, had become something like a god to them.
What is power? THIS is the power of Bug types!
It had even beaten Lance's ace Dragonite. That was enough to shatter every doubt!
Bug types really did have it rough. Among all the types, Bug was practically treated as second-class.
Apart from the likes of Volcarona and Heracross, you could hardly find any Bug types that could hold their own in a fight, let alone match a pseudo-legendary.
But not anymore!
Giovanni's Beedrill had proven what Bug-type Pokémon could do.
As long as you raise them right, forget Beedrill beating Dragonite. Why couldn't a Caterpie beat Rayquaza?
That's right. Exactly!
Bug-type lovers were fired up. They had finally risen up!
It was around eight in the evening.
In the office of the Viridian Gym, Zhen Niao was pouring tea for Mammon and the others.
The door opened, and Giovanni walked slowly in. He wasn't surprised to see Mammon and the rest.
"Welcome, our new Kanto Champion." Mammon waved at Giovanni with a grin.
"After just one day, your fans are all over the internet, Dad. You became an A-lister overnight."
"You brat."
Giovanni smiled and gave him an affectionate scolding.
He sat down on the sofa, and Zhen Niao immediately poured him a cup of tea.
Giovanni took a sip, then looked at Mammon and the four girls behind him, and was a little at a loss for words.
This kid keeps bringing more and more women around.
But Giovanni didn't say anything. He just nodded with a smile to the four girls, especially Platinum.
He gave Platinum a particularly warm smile. She was the one who'd give him a granddaughter someday, after all.
Platinum was a little nervous. As the saying goes, sooner or later even the plainest bride has to meet her in-laws.
Luckily, it wasn't her first time meeting Giovanni. It was just that her mindset had changed a bit.
And Giovanni was being quite nice to her, which let Platinum relax.
"So, after watching today's battle, what did you think?"
Giovanni asked Mammon, unable to keep a note of pride out of his voice. He'd beaten Lance without even using Groudon!
That's his strength!
"A perfectly natural result. You're my dad. If you couldn't even beat Lance, you'd be making your son look bad."
Mammon crossed his legs and shrugged.
Giovanni's eyelid twitched. This kid.
"Lance really is strong. I was right not to underestimate him going in."
Giovanni took another sip of tea. Honestly, if Nidoking hadn't gotten Mega Gyarados with Toxic, the outcome might not have changed, but it wouldn't have been five-to-six.
"Lance as he is now can't beat you. His team's still missing something. Mega Gyarados can't carry him against trainers at his own level."
Mammon shook his head. Lance's overall strength really was formidable, but Mega Gyarados wasn't enough.
Take Giovanni. Why had he been able to beat Lance today? Because his Mega Beedrill had swept three in a row.
In an evenly matched battle, off-the-charts power like that was what sealed the win.
Mega Gyarados was strong, but it didn't show that kind of dominance.
If Lance's ace Dragonite could Mega Evolve, he could really go toe-to-toe with Giovanni.
But Lance hadn't found a Dragonite Mega Stone. That was the crux of it.
So as Mammon saw it, Lance not only couldn't beat Giovanni, he probably couldn't beat Leon either.
"Heh heh~ Lance gave me quite the parting threat. He says next time, he'll show me his all-new Dragon Legion."
Giovanni laughed low.
"Though I think that team of his would be better named a Flying-Type Legion."
Giovanni even cracked a joke.
Platinum and the others froze at that, and then their expressions turned odd. Viola quickly covered her mouth, barely managing not to burst out laughing.
A Flying-Type Legion??
Mr. Giovanni is way too funny. But come to think of it, he's actually right.
Gyarados, Dragonite, Charizard, Dragonite, Aerodactyl, Dragonite.
In Chinese, all six of them had "dragon" in their names, but only Dragonite was actually a Dragon type.
Flying, on the other hand? All six had it.
Ummm... Yeah, Flying-Type Legion fits perfectly.
"Sounds like he's been raising some new main battlers. Makes sense. The weaknesses on his current team are really obvious."
Mammon raised an eyebrow, but he wasn't surprised. After all these years, there was no way Lance hadn't been training new battlers.
In the games, Lance's lineup had been constrained by which generation it was. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, when you challenged Champion Lance a second time, his lineup had already changed quite a bit.
Salamence, Gyarados, Garchomp, Altaria, Charizard, and Dragonite.
That was Lance's lineup in the HeartGold and SoulSilver rematch. Granted, it still had more Flying types than Dragon types.
But at the World Tournament in Black 2 and White 2, Lance's lineup could truly be called a Dragon Legion.
Dragonite, Salamence, Kingdra, Haxorus, Hydreigon, Flygon.
Every single one a Dragon type!
So strictly speaking, as Kanto Champion, assembling a full Dragon-type team would be no trouble at all for Lance.
Between being Kanto's Champion and being a big name in the Dragon Clan, how could Lance possibly lack resources?
After all these years as Champion, Lance couldn't be without reserves. It was more likely his second-string battlers just hadn't grown strong enough to surpass his first string yet.
But after losing to Giovanni, it went without saying that Lance would throw himself into intense training.
Someone as proud as Lance would carry this defeat with him forever.
"It doesn't matter. However much he improves, if I beat him once, I can beat him twice."
Giovanni smiled faintly. Never mind that he hadn't even gone all out this time; he hadn't used Groudon.
And even setting Groudon aside, did people really think Giovanni had no reserves of his own?
He'd been diligently raising the Ursaluna Mammon gave him. He had to say, he was very pleased with Ursaluna's strength.
Properly raised, it could certainly become one of his core battlers.
And there were other promising battlers waiting hungrily in the wings too. When Lance came to challenge him again, Lance's team would have changed.
But so would his!
Dragon Legion? My Ground-type Legion is more than a match!
"So bold~ You really are different now that you're Kanto Champion, Dad."
Mammon clapped and cheered. His over-the-top gestures and tone made Giovanni's eyelid twitch.
This brat.
But Giovanni really was in a good mood today. He'd beaten Lance, whom he'd always wanted to beat, and become Kanto's Champion.
His next goal: President of the Pokémon League!
Goodshow was already very old and couldn't serve as President for many more years. Once he retired, Giovanni could naturally apply to become President.
Then Mammon would run the underworld and he would run the Pokémon League. Wouldn't the whole world be in their hands?
Giovanni was very satisfied with how things stood.
And all of it was thanks to his all-capable son~
"Uncle, now that you're Champion, what happens to the Viridian Gym?"
Platinum asked curiously.
"It'll stay closed for now, until a suitable successor comes along."
Giovanni shook his head. Now that he was Kanto Champion, he naturally couldn't keep running the Viridian Gym. He wouldn't have the time.
He actually had plenty of people he could recommend, like Team Rocket's senior or top-tier executives.
But relations between the League and Team Rocket were in a delicate state right now, so it wasn't the right time.
Goodshow had offered to send someone to fill in temporarily, but after Giovanni asked how strong they were, he politely declined.
The Viridian Gym was his to pass on. Letting some second-rate trainer fill in would be an embarrassment to the Viridian Gym.
Better to just close it for now.
"The Viridian Gym is our family business. Once things are settled, let's have N or Kagura take it over."
Mammon wholeheartedly agreed. The name of the Viridian Gym must not be tarnished!
It was their "family business," after all.
Mammon truly felt that whoever took over the Viridian Gym absolutely could not be a scrub. Otherwise, there was no point in opening its doors at all.
Think about it: who were the Viridian Gym Leaders in the original canon?
Giovanni! Blue!
In the anime, even the one filling in at the Viridian Gym was Agatha, a Kanto Elite Four member. So no matter what, the Viridian Gym's prestige could not be allowed to slip.
Mammon was thinking that once the decisive negotiation with the League was over, he'd have N or one of the others take over the Viridian Gym.
That way they'd get the Viridian Gym back without disgracing its name. Perfect.
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you