Alex hearing this couldn't help but look at Giovanni in a new light.
He previously thought that Giovanni's Pokemon team strength was probably similar to an elite four members of Kanto.
But now that he had heard this information from Giovanni, he couldn't help but think that Giovanni is probably stronger than any of the elite four members.
Alex even got the feeling that Giovanni has a high probability of being a High Champion level trainer and is maybe just a bit weaker than Professor Oak. (High Champion level trainer= at least 3 Pokemon of this level.)
And that's Giovanni's strength without considering Mewtwo.
Alex was so influenced by the games and anime versions of Giovanni that he didn't realize that Giovanni might be even stronger than he had previously thought, even though he had high-rolled Giovanni's strength in his first initial assessment.
And even in the manga where Giovanni was in his "strongest" version, he lost to a young red. Red didn't defeat Giovanni's strongest Pokemon, but victory is victory.
That's also why Alex thought that Giovanni had a high probability of being a mid-champion level trainer.
Alex didn't expect Giovanni to be so powerful.
'No wonder he considers a level 59/60 Pokemon only as his pet.'
Alex looked at Giovanni and replied with a (fake) little smile, "Boss thanks for sharing this information with me. I can't thank you enough."
Giovanni looked at Alex and he started laughing as he said, "Haha, didn't I tell you when we first met that I have a special talent and that makes me very good at reading other people?"
After that, without saying anything, he started looking at Alex with his emotionless eyes.
Nobody says anything for a few seconds.
Alex watched Giovanni's reaction and although he didn't show any abnormal expression, Alex couldn't help but feel fear when he saw Giovanni's eyes.
He understood immediately that Giovanni had realized that he wasn't really happy or grateful for the information Giovanni had shared with him.
Alex, realizing that the situation was heading in a dangerous direction, couldn't help but get a little nervous
After a bit of hesitation, he looks Giovanni in the eye and says in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry I tried to lie to you. I knew the information beforehand and... I just didn't want to reveal that ."
Alex didn't know if Giovanni really had such a special ability or if he was just very good at spotting lies, but he understood that Giovanni definitely knew when he himself told a lie or told the truth.
Of course, Alex didn't want to be seen as ungrateful or as a liar so he had to give Giovanni an explanation.
The problem was that Alex obviously didn't want to tell Giovanni about the existence of his system, so he couldn't tell him the direct truth.
Giovanni also noticed from the answer that Alex did not want to reveal where he had gotten this information from but he just thought Alex was doing it to protect the person who gave him the information.
Because of this, Giovanni could understand Alex's "reasons" for this lie and he didn't think any less of Alex because of it.
He even liked Alex a little more than before because he thought Alex risked lying to him to protect the person who had helped Alex before.
Giovanni began to break the silence. "Although I don't like it when people try to lie to me, I can understand your reasons. I don't blame you."
Then after a short pause, he said with a smile, "You can tell me if you want to keep secrets or don't want to tell me where you got this information from. I'm more understanding than you think. haha"
Alex felt a bit relieved when he heard that, "Thanks, boss. That's good to know. I also hope we can build an honest relationship."
Those were real thoughts of Alex and he had no intention of lying to Giovanni.
He would even say that he had a relatively good opinion of Giovanni and even had a bit of respect for him. Alex respected very few individuals and that Giovanni gained even a little respect from him is a testament to how strong Giovanni's charm really is.
Giovanni smiled as he said, "That's good to hear. Especially since I know you really mean it and aren't just saying it."
After a short pause, he continued, "Now that we've settled that, let's talk about business. Now that you've been selected for the Hoenn position, I wanted to ask what kind of support you expect from Team Rocket? feel free to tell me your real thoughts. I intend to let you take full control of Hoenn's underground anyway."
Giovanni then said with a smile, "And if everything goes well later, even all of Hoenn."
Alex couldn't believe his ears when he heard what Giovanni had said.
He said with a shocked expression, "You.. you won't have any problems once I have all of Hoenn under my control in the future? ...and Boss, what makes you think I can do something like that? Controlling most of Hoenn's underground is hard enough as it is."
Alex truthfully had no thoughts of dominating the world or controlling an entire region.
Giovanni started laughing when he saw the expression of Alex. "Haha, I'm just talking about the future and you don't have to worry about it. But if you truly manage to control 90% of Hoenn's underground I would even start to see you as a partner with whom I can overthrow the alliance in the future."
Alex, hearing the word partner, couldn't suppress his surprise. He couldn't believe that Giovanni would offer him something like that.
Giovanni saw this and he said with a small smile, "I know you're the kind of person who hates entrusting the control of your own life into someone else's hands. And I'll just offer you a way to change that. .. Of course, you have to have enough capital first."
Alex who heard that suddenly understood why Giovanni had previously said that he had "very high expectations" of him.
He could now better understand just how Giovanni planned to replace the Alliance and become the "ruler" of this world.
Alex didn't know Giovanni's exact plan but he had a guess. It seems that Giovanni is not as power addicted as Alex previously thought if Alex's thoughts are correct.
But if Alex's thoughts were right, by the end of the plan, Giovanni would become the most powerful force in the world but would not have "direct" or "all" control over all regions.
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