[ POV Change ]

[ Celadon City Gym - Team Rocket Base ]

As Jessie made her way down the long, sterile hallway, her thoughts were consumed by the red letter, its words like a swarm of angry bees buzzing in her mind. The harsh fluorescent lights overhead cast an otherworldly glow on the polished linoleum floors, making her feel as though she was walking through a nightmare.

Her footsteps echoed eerily against the walls, the only sound in the otherwise silent corridor. But as she approached the end of the hallway, she heard the sound of footsteps coming towards her, their cadence slow and deliberate.

Jessie's heart raced as she tried to keep her thoughts focused. She knew that she had to keep moving forward, no matter what. But just as she reached the end of the hallway, something hit her knees, sending her stumbling forward.

Startled, she looked down to see Meowth on the floor, its beady eyes fixed on her.

"Hey, what's da big deal?" it said, its voice high-pitched and grating.

Jessie's nerves were already frayed, and the sound of Meowth's voice grated on her like nails on a chalkboard. "Meowth, what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice tight.

"I was coming to find you," it said, its tone defensive. "James suddenly left the base to collect some big bottle caps."

"Leave him be," Jessie snapped, already feeling the anger bubbling up inside of her. "You know how his love for those things is."

"Da'ths right, so Jessie what do you want to do?" Meowth persisted, its voice like a needle in her ear.

"Not now, Meowth," she said, her eyes narrowing as she stepped into the elevator. "I have better things to do."

" Hey, at least tell me what are you doing ?"

Meowth yelled as Jessie rolled her eyes before closing the elevator.

Jessie pushed it all aside, her focus fixed on the task at hand. She was determined to get the answers about her mother that she had been searching for years, no matter what it took.

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Giovanni sat in his plush executive chair, the cool leather caressing his back, as he scanned through the endless stack of paperwork that littered his desk. He sighed, the weight of responsibility and the ceaseless headaches that plagued him, pressing down on his temples. He leaned back and stretched his arms, trying to ease the tension in his muscles.

The central base of Team Rocket was quiet, the only sound coming from the scratch of pen against paper and the soft purring of his Persian, who lay stretched out on the floor, lazily licking its paw.

Giovanni had been spending the last few weeks traveling between cities, checking in on his operations, and overseeing the remodeling of his casino. He longed for the days when he was a Pokémon gym leader, where he could dispatch trainers who left empty-handed, their heads hung low. Now, he had to deal with league paperwork and fulfill his political role, which was a far cry from his days of battling in the arena.

Suddenly, a young agent dressed in a black uniform with the red "R" on his chest burst into the room, interrupting Giovanni's thoughts.

"Sir!" he exclaimed, his voice high-pitched and nervous.

Giovanni looked up, his annoyance evident on his face. "What is it?" he snapped.

"We have received reports from Celadon City, sir," the agent said, his voice trembling. "They have caught a guy trying to enter the base of the casino."

Giovanni felt a sense of irritation creeping up inside him, but he also felt a tinge of excitement. It was interesting news, and he wondered who this mysterious person was and what their true intentions were in Kanto.

"Has he given any information?" Giovanni asked, his voice sharp.

"No, sir," the agent replied. "He refuses to speak."

Giovanni narrowed his eyes. "Contact Proton and ask him to interrogate the man. We need to know what he's up to."

The agent nodded and quickly left the room, leaving Giovanni to his thoughts once more. As he brushed Persian's soft, silky fur, he pondered on who this man could be and what he was doing here.

Just then, the agent returned, interrupting his thoughts once again.

"Sir, there's a call for you from Sir Carr," the agent said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Giovanni's curiosity was piqued. Sir Carr was one of his most trusted advisors, and he always had interesting information to share.

"Put him through," Giovanni said, his voice stern.

The agent fumbled with the video camera before a holographic image of a short man with a big body wearing a black ivy cap appeared before him.

"Ah, Giovanni, it's good to see you," Sir Carr said, a smile spreading across his face.

Giovanni bristled. "Refer to me as the boss, nothing more and nothing less," he said, his voice cold and commanding.

Sir Carr's smile faded. "Yes, boss," he replied, his voice respectful.

Giovanni leaned forward. "So, what do you have for me?"

"Well, the good news is that we have recovered all the files from the New Island base," Sir Carr said, his voice full of pride. "You should receive the USB drive any moment now."

"Good," he said, his voice low. "Anything else to report?"

" Sir, we have found Dr. Akihabara's body and lab but both were destroyed in an explosion."

"Anything else to report?"

"No, sir."

"You are dismissed."

Carr's image disappeared, and a bright light engulfed the room as a USB drive materialized out of thin air via a psychic pokemon.

Giovanni's eyes gleamed as he picked up the device with psychic energy and plugged it into his laptop.

But what he didn't know was that a digital pokemon named Porygon had infected his laptop, connecting it to an unwanted viewer, Austin.