Chapter 219: Opening the Lockbox
"There will be a test later."
Hearing those two shouts, Rio’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. He didn’t know what to say to Gengar. Acting isn’t about ad-libbing nonsense. I told you to put on a show, not to write your own script.
Still, at least the act seemed convincing. Just look at Lance’s grave expression—he clearly took it seriously, treating it like a genuine threat. Rio glanced at Lance on his left, then at Agatha and Lorelei on his right—both wore equally solemn faces. Finally, all of them turned to him.
"Champion Rio—what exactly is going on? Why did that man call you an old friend?" a League executive asked.
"It’s a long story," Rio said with a deep sigh. He proceeded to weave a tale of a passionate young man betrayed by a sinister figure.
"It was a stormy noon..."
Elsewhere, after the three Regis left the Kanto League headquarters at the Indigo Plateau, Gengar emerged with a chuckle from the masked figure’s shadow. It opened its mouth and spat out three Poké Balls, recalling the Regis. Then it looked at the masked figure—whose mask fell off, revealing the face of a young man in his early twenties, eyes closed, as if under hypnosis.
Under Gengar’s command, the young man began to undress himself with his eyes shut, stripping down to his underwear. Gengar then spat out a set of League staff uniforms, and the young man dressed himself in them.
"According to Rio, this should do it," Gengar muttered.
Rio had instructed it to swap the controlled person back into their original clothes, leave them out in the wild, and modify their memories.
"Oh, right—I still need to alter the memory."
"Sigh—Rio’s such a hassle, always making Old Ghost do this kind of tedious work. But at least I got to make my Gus famous while I was at it."
Soon, Gengar left, and the young League staffer collapsed into a deep sleep.
At the Viridian Gym, the name "Gus" reached Giovanni’s ears.
"Gus?" he frowned. "Who is that? I’ve never heard that name before. Is there someone like that in the Paldea region?"
Giovanni looked like a man facing a serious threat. He had not only learned from his subordinates that the attacker was named Gus, but also heard Rio’s description of the man’s background—a figure from the Paldea region whose goal was to capture all legendary Pokémon and rule the world. And his first target was Kanto and Johto.
"This Gus has completely disregarded Team Rocket," Giovanni said, his eyes narrowing with fury. He saw it as a provocation not just against the League, but against Team Rocket itself. Every villainous organization in the world knew that Kanto and Johto belonged to Team Rocket. Anyone trying to take over would be making an enemy of them. Even the League had to avoid crossing Team Rocket. No organization from other regions had ever dared set foot on Kanto or Johto soil—only Team Rocket expanded outward.
"Just because you’ve caught the three Regis, you think you’re invincible?"
"Just wait—I’ll make sure you’re driven out of Kanto and Johto in disgrace."
Fuming, Giovanni called over his beautiful secretary, Matori. "Send word to General Apollo. I’m assigning him a new mission: investigate the man who called himself Gus and attacked the League headquarters today. Find his location and gather all information about him—but don’t alert him."
"Oh, and remind Apollo—I’m very disappointed in him. I hope this mission will bring me a pleasant surprise. I can accept two failed missions that caused trouble for the organization, but a third will not be tolerated."
"Yes, Boss Giovanni."
Back at the Kanto League headquarters, night had fallen.
Rio and Mr. Fuji sat in a villa the League had assigned to Rio, sipping tea and chatting. The purpose of their meeting was twofold: first, for Mr. Fuji to congratulate Rio on becoming Champion, and second—to finally open the lockbox Mr. Fuji had entrusted to him.
"I had no idea you went through so much while you were away from Lavender Town—and carried such a heavy burden," Mr. Fuji said with a sigh. He had also heard about Gus—the story of how Rio had been used and betrayed by a sinister figure.
"Since you’re now facing an enemy who commands legendary Pokémon, you’ll need a Pokémon capable of matching them to protect Kanto and Johto. Bring out the black lockbox I gave you," Mr. Fuji said seriously, deciding to fulfill his promise and reveal the secret inside.
Finally—I’ve been waiting for this day, Rio thought, suppressing his excitement as he produced the black lockbox. He had previously buried it in Lavender Town to avoid any mishaps—like at Mt. Ember, when Lugia knocked him into the sea and he lost his backpack. If the box had been in it, he’d have been devastated. But before the Indigo Conference, confident in his victory, he had retrieved it.
"The password is *#0209—the date Mewtwo was born," Mr. Fuji said once Rio had the box out.
Rio raised an eyebrow. He had considered that Mr. Fuji might have used the date of Mewtwo’s birth or the day he encountered Mew as the password, but had dismissed it because the code was six digits. Now he realized he had guessed correctly—just without the "*#".
A few seconds later, following Mr. Fuji’s instructions, Rio opened the lockbox. What he saw inside made his pupils contract.
Inside was what appeared to be living skin tissue.