Giovanni snapped his fingers, the polished doors of his private Viridian Gym office sliding shut as Jessie, James, and Meowth stumbled in, their uniforms smudged and eyes wide with nervous anticipation. He stayed seated behind his obsidian desk, Persian coiled at his feet, and tapped the dossier marked URGENT.
“Another failure.”
His voice was quiet, icy, enough to make Jessie’s bravado wobble.
“Pikachu still eludes us. Explain.”
Jessie launched into excuses, hands gesturing wildly, while James nodded in terrified agreement and Meowth tried to interject with promises of better plans. Giovanni’s stare never flickered. The lights overhead cast sharp shadows against the Rocket insignia on the wall. His phone buzzed once, a coded message from the labs. Tension thickened as Giovanni considered whether to tolerate their incompetence or make a very public example. Outside, the distant sounds of Gym challengers drifted through reinforced walls, a reminder that the world saw him as their champion, not their kingpin.