Chapter 392: Giovanni's Interview; the Galar Region
Running into Ash was just a brief interlude.
After saying goodbye to Ash's trio, Mammon and the others headed to Cerulean City and caught the Cerulean Sisters' show on the way.
About two more days passed, and another interview video hit the trending list.
It came from a publisher called Alpaca Press, notably the former Lumiose Press.
The reporter was none other than Viola, whose name was now making waves.
Not just in Kalos; people in other regions had heard of Viola too.
She'd interviewed Team Rocket back-to-back, and this time, her interviewee was Giovanni, who had just reached the top in Kanto!
In the World Tree Castle, Mammon was sitting in the living room with Anthea beside him, ready to enjoy the interview video.
The video opened on the Indigo Stadium and the announcer's fired-up voice.
"Let's give a thunderous round of applause and congratulate the new Kanto Champion: Giovanni!"
The crowd roared like a tidal wave, and Mega Beedrill stood triumphant over Dragonite.
The camera cut to a clean office.
Mammon recognized it, of course: Giovanni's office in the Viridian Gym.
"Welcome to our interview program. I'm reporter Viola, and today we're deeply honored to be joined by the Kanto Champion, Mr. Giovanni."
"Mr. Giovanni, please say hello to everyone."
Wearing his formal black suit as always, Giovanni gave a faint smile and waved at the camera.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Giovanni."
Mammon had to admit, Giovanni was pretty photogenic.
Mammon chuckled. He was curious what questions Viola had prepared.
"Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview, Mr. Giovanni. You're truly so kind. Having just become Champion, you must be incredibly busy."
Viola expressed her gratitude once more.
"As we all know, the Kanto Elite Four has always been called the strongest Elite Four of any region, especially the head of the Elite Four and Champion, the Dragon Master, Mr. Lance."
"But you defeated every one of them, Mr. Giovanni. I was there in person, and it was really so exciting."
"May I ask how you felt after winning?"
Viola asked Giovanni.
"How I felt? Fairly happy, I suppose. Lance really is a very strong opponent, so after beating him, I was relieved."
Giovanni answered with a smile.
"You're quite modest, Mr. Giovanni. Your Mega Beedrill performed truly brilliantly in that battle, defeating three of Mr. Lance's Pokémon in a row and securing your victory."
"But before that, you'd never used Beedrill in any public setting. What does it mean to you?"
Viola asked what many people had been wondering.
"Heh heh~ Beedrill is actually my starter Pokémon." Giovanni smiled faintly.
"Is that so?" Viola was quite surprised.
"Mm. I was born in Viridian Forest. When I was young, my family wasn't very well off, so my starter was a Weedle."
"As I grew up, I shifted to being a Ground-type trainer and became Leader of the Viridian Gym, so I didn't use Beedrill much anymore."
Giovanni answered slowly.
"I see. But your Beedrill is truly incredibly powerful. My younger sister is a Gym trainer who specializes in Bug types, and after watching your Champion battle, she's become a total fan of yours."
Viola blinked.
"That would be Miss Violet, I take it? Bug types aren't as strong as some other types, but if she perseveres, I believe she'll become an excellent Bug-type Gym Leader."
Giovanni came across like a mature, gentle elder.
"Oh my goodness~ Mr. Giovanni, you're too kind. Sis, did you hear that? Keep at it!"
Viola winked at the camera, exaggerating her tone as she spoke to her sister from afar.
On screen, Giovanni smiled.
"Actually, I have one more question, Mr. Giovanni. Until this year, you were always a responsible, outstanding Gym Leader, and you never seemed interested in challenging the Kanto League."
"Then this year, you suddenly applied for the Elite Four challenge. Was there a particular reason?"
Viola asked again.
This was another thing many people were curious about.
Judging from Giovanni's strength, he must have been capable of challenging the Kanto Elite Four all along, yet he'd never shown any ambition in that direction before.
Challenging now couldn't have been a whim.
Plenty of people had their theories, but without Giovanni confirming it himself, they were only guesses.
"About that..." Giovanni's expression grew much heavier.
"If you'd rather not answer, that's fine," Viola said considerately.
"No, it's all right. There's nothing I can't say." Giovanni shook his head.
"The biggest reason, really, is my son, Mammon."
Giovanni let out a soft sigh.
"Because of my work, I may have neglected my son from a young age. I didn't fulfill my responsibilities as a father."
"Later, I learned he'd joined Team Rocket. It was a heavy blow, because it was my fault."
Giovanni said in a low voice.
Viola seemed about to say something, but in the end held her tongue.
"Whatever happens, I can't stand by and let Mammon keep going down the wrong path. So I applied for the Elite Four challenge. I'm going to bring him back from Team Rocket myself."
"But is Mr. Mammon wrong?"
Viola asked, genuinely puzzled.
At that, Giovanni fell silent.
"My apologies. A lot of people want to catch a Beedrill now. As the trainer of the strongest Beedrill, Mr. Giovanni, is there anything you'd like to say to them?"
Viola changed the subject decisively. She'd said enough. From here, she'd let the public guess and debate on their own.
They hadn't gone over a script beforehand, but Viola had to hand it to Giovanni's quick thinking. That silence was absolutely brilliant!
"Pokémon are truly wondrous creatures. They're living beings with their own thoughts and feelings. For us trainers, they aren't tools, but partners who can be with us our whole lives."
"Believe in yourself, and believe in your Pokémon partner, and it will answer you."
Giovanni said it with a faint smile.
It was a very standard line, the kind of thing people said in public. But most people loved hearing exactly that kind of thing.
Viola asked a few more questions, none of them pointed, and the interview wrapped up on a pleasant note.
For Mammon, the interview wasn't all that interesting.
For the general public, it was a different story.
First, it gave them a closer look at Giovanni. Then there was the whole father-son question between Giovanni and Mammon.
Yep. Things are about to get lively online.
That was a good thing for Mammon, though. He could sit back and enjoy all the gossip about himself.
After resting in Kanto for about two more days, Mammon boarded a plane and set off again.
...
The Galar region.
This was a region full of character. In Galar, Pokémon battles were the most popular entertainment, one of the region's defining features.
You could basically say no region revered Pokémon battles more than Galar!
In Galar, Gym challenges took place in dedicated battle stadiums.
That said it all.
And not just anyone could take on the Gym Challenge in Galar. Only trainers who received an endorsement from certain people, such as Gym Leaders, were eligible.
This was naturally meant to raise the bar for the Gym Challenge, a kind of elite selection in its own right.
Otherwise, having someone with a Caterpie challenge a Gym in a stadium that huge would look a bit ridiculous, wouldn't it?
And it was precisely this intensely competitive culture that gave strong trainers here unparalleled popularity.
Take the Champion, Leon!
Undefeated, never once having lost, Leon was the biggest star in all of Galar.
Galar had been developing at high speed, mainly thanks to Leon and the Chairman of the Galar League, Rose.
One handled the civil side and the other the martial, and together they had given everything to Galar, gradually helping it flourish.
Hammerlocke.
Located at the very center of Galar, it was known as "a city steeped in history."
Hammerlocke had once been the center of Galar, but after Wyndon was built, Wyndon became the most developed city in the region.
"It has a really medieval feel."
Coming out of the airport, Serena held onto her hat and gazed out over the city.
"Yeah. But it's actually a very developed city, and it's home to Galar's strongest Gym."
Mammon looked at Hammerlocke with interest too, explaining as he went.
The Hammerlocke Gym Leader was Raihan.
Though Mammon felt that Galar's strongest Gym Leader ought to be Mustard, master of the Master Dojo.
But the Master Dojo wasn't really a formal Gym, and it was on the Isle of Armor besides, so it couldn't really count.
The group went into Hammerlocke. The city's unique scenery really was something different, very fresh.
But as they passed by Hammerlocke Stadium:
"There is indeed a creature with a very powerful presence down below." Dark Mewtwo's telepathy sounded in Mammon's ear.
"Tch~ Good."
Mammon nodded. That's right. The reason they'd landed in Hammerlocke was to check whether Eternatus was still in the Energy Plant.
It seemed Rose hadn't moved it. That was the best possible outcome.
That's right: the source of Dynamaxing, the Legendary Eternatus, was in the Energy Plant beneath Hammerlocke Stadium!
And Rose was deliberately keeping it "raised" down there.
As for why...
Ummm... All I can say is that Chairman Rose thinks very far ahead. A little too far, honestly.
Of course, that had nothing to do with Mammon. He'd set his sights on this Eternatus, which meant this Eternatus was his.
But there was no rush yet.
Mammon looked at the bustling crowds of Hammerlocke. The city was still lively for now. Going by the game's story,
the Eternatus disaster had been triggered by Rose during the Champion Cup. But this world had already changed enormously.
Mammon wondered whether Rose had changed his mind, and whether he'd still be so desperate to awaken and catch Eternatus.
After resting in Hammerlocke for a bit, he let Platinum and Serena explore the city while he and Caitlin headed to Postwick.
Postwick was a small town that ran mainly on ranching, where people and Pokémon lived together in harmony.
At a glance, it was pretty ordinary.
But what made Postwick extraordinary was that it was Leon's hometown.
It was also the hometown of Sword and Shield's protagonist, Gloria, and her rival, Hop.
But Mammon wasn't here to sightsee today.
"The Slumbering Weald. I wonder if I'll find a sword or a shield lying around?"
Mammon stood in front of the Slumbering Weald, looking at the mysterious forest wrapped in a thin veil of mist.
The Slumbering Weald: home of the legendary heroes, Zacian and Zamazenta!
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