Chapter 233: The League Stunned
There was only the native Pokémon of the island, gazing up at the sky in fear.
"Did I misjudge?" Rio frowned. Then he shouted again: "Gengar—I see you! Really—stop hiding!"
A few more minutes passed, but no Pokémon responded. Finally, Rio asked Old Ghost to check with the wild Pokémon on the island—had there ever been a powerful Gengar protecting them?
Ten minutes later, Old Ghost returned. The answer was no—none of the island’s Pokémon had ever been protected by a Gengar, nor had they ever seen a Ghost-type Pokémon there.
"Was I really wrong?" Rio began to doubt himself. But if he was wrong, what was the real explanation?
"Forget it—I’ll set that question aside for now. First, I need to deal with the Rockets here."
"Gengar—round up all the Team Rocket members on this island. And I’ll need you to slightly modify their memories," Rio said.
He planned to send every Rocket on this island to League prison. But before that, Gengar would need to tweak their memories—specifically, things like Articuno’s appearance and the circumstances of their unconsciousness. Giovanni had already begun to suspect that the masked figure and Rio might be connected. If he didn’t alter Giovanni’s final memories, that sharp mind would likely piece together the truth—that the masked figure was just a fabrication. That was a landmine he needed to defuse.
Before modifying the memories, Rio had Gengar use hypnosis to interrogate Giovanni. The answer was: "I’m not certain yet, but my intuition tells me that masked man and Rio might be working together—they were putting on an act to deceive the League and the public."
Hearing that sent a chill down Rio’s spine. As expected, Giovanni had already suspected something. If Rio didn’t alter his memories, sending him to League prison would be planting a time bomb.
So Gengar modified Giovanni’s final memories. When Rio asked again about the masked figure, Giovanni’s response was: "Those two bastards! They ruined Team Rocket’s carefully planned Mewtwo capture operation. One day, I’ll make them both pay."
"Now that’s more like it," Rio said, satisfied. As long as Giovanni didn’t connect the masked figure to him, everything was fine.
Rio pulled out his communicator and contacted the League, informing them that he had captured Giovanni and many of his top executives on an island, and urged them to send people to take custody as soon as possible.
The League erupted. They couldn’t believe that during his vacation, Rio had managed to capture Team Rocket’s boss. One executive called back repeatedly to confirm—was it really Boss Giovanni? After Rio confirmed it several times and sent close-up photos, the League was in chaos. The news spread like wildfire.
Some rejoiced; others worried.
First, it reached the Elite Four.
"What?! You’re telling me Rio captured Giovanni and his top men on an island?" Lance, back in the Dragon’s Den in Blackthorn City, was stunned. As an Elite Four member, he knew all about Team Rocket—the criminal organization that dominated Kanto and Johto behind the scenes. On the surface, the League ruled the regions, but in the shadows, many considered it Team Rocket’s territory. In Kanto alone, five of the eight Gyms were managed by Rocket affiliates. That was absurd—enough to make trainers from other regions laugh.
He had thought about wiping out Team Rocket many times, but it was incredibly difficult. Not only was the League itself infiltrated, but even if he stood alone against Giovanni, victory was far from certain. He had resigned himself to the idea that Team Rocket would always be a cancer the League couldn’t remove.
And now, that cancer had been cut out—by surprise, at its very root. It was almost unbelievable.
"Incredible—truly incredible. This is the kind of Champion the League needs!" After confirming the news multiple times, Lance laughed heartily. "I’m going to welcome him—I have to be there."
Meanwhile, on Frozen Island in the Sevii Islands, Lorelei also received the news. "Rio actually captured Team Rocket’s boss—along with General Athena and Lt. Surge, the Vermilion Gym Leader!" She covered her lips in astonishment. After confirming the news was true, she looked up at the sky. "Is Kanto and Johto about to change forever?"
"Excellent! Outstanding! This is what a League Champion should do!" Bruno, back on the first island of the Sevii Islands for training, exclaimed with wide eyes after hearing the news. "From today on, I’ll follow his orders completely."
"Good kid—no wonder you beat all four of us to claim the Champion’s throne," Agatha said in her old castle, receiving the news last—but reacting the fastest and with the greatest sense of the big picture.
"No—I need to get to the League and manage the situation. If this news is true, Team Rocket’s remaining forces will be desperate. They’ll try every trick to stop the transfer or break Giovanni out of prison. That can’t be allowed to happen. Now that we’ve caught him, he’s not getting out."
Agatha packed her things and headed straight for the League prison, determined to clear out a cell and make sure Giovanni settled in comfortably.
"Impossible! How could Boss Giovanni have been captured? It must be a rumor spread by the League! Boss Giovanni is like a god—no one can defeat him!"
At a Team Rocket branch in Kanto, the news also arrived. First, they refused to believe it. Then they tried to contact the members who had gone with Giovanni to capture Mewtwo. When they couldn’t reach anyone, panic began to set in.
"No—impossible! They’re probably just too busy to answer," someone tried to reassure themselves.
"Keep calling—keep trying! Once the mission is over, they’ll pick up."
After dozens more attempts, nearly twenty minutes later, the communicator finally connected.
"Hahaha! I knew Boss Giovanni was fine—he couldn’t have been captured. They were just busy. See? It’s connected now!" the caller laughed. "Good thing I didn’t fall for the League’s tricks. That new Champion? Capturing Boss Giovanni? Not a chance—he’s not even qualified to shine Giovanni’s shoes."
The others, who had been sweating with anxiety, breathed sighs of relief and crowded around.
But the voice on the other end sent them straight to hell:
"Sorry—I’m the new Champion you said isn’t even qualified to shine Giovanni’s shoes. And your boss is currently in my custody."
"Which branch are you from? Leave your location—I’ll make time to visit you so you can all reunite with Giovanni in League prison. You’ll find a nice little—"
The call was cut off.
The Rocket members in the branch stared at each other, their faces pale as death. Their minds went blank. They had lost everything.