"If the relationship between the Indigo Elite Four and the League continues the way it is now, then just one or two more incidents that push them apart could very well make them sever ties completely."
Lucas rubbed his chin as he spoke in a low voice, clearly reminding Giovanni of the situation.
Because in this world, the Indigo Elite Four were modeled after their Special Manga versions!
And in the manga, the Indigo Elite Four were essentially extremists, twisted to the core. Their so-called title of "Elite Four" wasn't granted by the League—it was self-proclaimed.
So, right from the very beginning, Lucas had suspected that people like Lance and Lorelei would sooner or later part ways with the Pokémon League and end up standing on the opposite side.
After all, Lance and Lorelei's ideology was far too extreme, utterly incompatible with the League's creed.
But this was something that ordinary people could never even imagine.
"Lucas, you seem to be looking forward to that scene happening."
Giovanni's deep eyes narrowed slightly, the corners of his lips lifting in a half-smile, half-sneer.
"Haha! Don't say it like that, boss. I hold my cousin Lance in the highest respect. If he ever left the League, wouldn't he just become a stray dog?"
Lucas shrugged. Yet his lightly teasing tone, carrying laughter within, didn't sound convincing at all.
"Heh~ Given the personalities of Lance and Lorelei, it's not impossible. Their conflict with the League's council has indeed grown too deep."
Giovanni chuckled faintly, then paused in thought before speaking again, slower this time.
Indeed, he hadn't really thought much about this before. But now that Lucas had laid it out so directly…
Giovanni also began to consider the possibility. With Lance's arrogant, conceited nature, it really wasn't impossible for him to one day completely fall out with the League.
Of course, Giovanni would take delight in seeing that arrogant, boastful Lance fall from the position of a revered Champion of the Elite Four to that of a despised outcast dog. But…
"Lucas, do you know what the greatest restraint on the current Indigo Elite Four is?"
Giovanni furrowed his brows slightly as he asked.
"Boss, you mean…?" Lucas raised an eyebrow, understanding what Giovanni was getting at.
"At present, the greatest restraint on the Indigo Elite Four is precisely the Indigo League. If they were to sever ties with the League completely, then they would become nothing more than unchained, rabid beasts."
Giovanni's deep, magnetic voice carried weight. While it was true that the Indigo Elite Four had the League's resources backing them, the League's rules and frameworks also tightly restricted them.
If the day ever came when the Indigo Elite Four and the League broke apart for good, then the Elite Four would lose their last shackle.
But even if they left the Indigo League, would Lance and Lorelei give up their crusade against Team Rocket?
No. Absolutely not!
Lance and Lorelei's hatred for Team Rocket ran bone-deep. They despised all forms of darkness and evil. Without the League restraining them, that hatred would only intensify, fueling their already cold and ruthless temperaments.
And when that time came…
The moment they discovered a trace of Team Rocket, no matter where it was, the Indigo Elite Four would pounce like rabid dogs, completely disregarding consequences or collateral damage.
"They would become, in the eyes of the League, an evil far more terrifying than Team Rocket itself."
Giovanni said calmly. His mindset, mature, steady, and wise, gave him vision far beyond the ordinary.
He could state with certainty: if the Indigo Elite Four broke away from the League, then with their extreme and obsessive natures, Lance and Lorelei would absolutely become a force of evil even more frightening than Team Rocket.
This wasn't merely speculation or a guess. Giovanni was nearly certain of it!
At the end of the day, while Team Rocket did perform cruel and twisted genetic experiments, that was the extent of their evil—gene experiments.
But Lance and Lorelei? To destroy Team Rocket, they already had blood on their hands. Even if a Rocket base was located inside a city, they wouldn't hesitate to launch a full-scale attack, regardless of civilian casualties.
The creed of the Pokémon League was that human life came above all else. Unless absolutely unavoidable, no one was permitted to endanger innocent lives.
But Lance and Lorelei's hands… were already stained with no small amount of blood.
"This… that's impossible…"
Hearing Giovanni's words through the phone, both Green and Marnie froze. Green furrowed her delicate brows, speaking hesitantly.
No matter what, the Indigo Elite Four were recognized as the strongest force within the League.
They were also the cornerstone of Indigo's status as the strongest of all regions' Leagues.
In the eyes of countless Kanto and Johto citizens, they were guardians.
How could they possibly become a greater evil than Team Rocket?
"There's nothing impossible about it. When an ideology descends into obsession, without one realizing it, that person is already stepping into the abyss."
"When obsession twists itself into something distorted and one remains unaware, that person has already become a demon."
Lucas said flatly. Yes, that was exactly the state of the Indigo Elite Four—or rather, the state of Lance and Lorelei.
Their love for Pokémon was too great. But because of that excessive love, they could not tolerate the existence of anything that harmed Pokémon or nature.
When devotion turns into obsession and distortion, then deep inside, that person has already become a demon.
"Think back to Lorelei's actions aboard the S.S. Anne. If she hadn't been restrained by the League, back then she probably wouldn't even have boarded the ship at all."
"She would've simply frozen the entire cruise liner from the outside and sunk it into the sea."
Lucas's eyes flickered with light. If one had to name the coldest, most ruthless villains in the Special Manga…
Without a doubt, it was the Indigo Elite Four!
Yes, Team Rocket as an evil organization spanned across most of the manga, returning time and again.
But compared with the Indigo Elite Four? Team Rocket wasn't nearly as vicious!
In order to build their so-called ideal world, the goal of Lance and his three companions was nothing short of eradicating the majority of humanity!
And they had already started moving on this plan—it wasn't just empty talk.
They launched attacks on cities without hesitation. Lance alone attacked Vermilion City. With nothing but his Dragonair, he destroyed the region's largest port city, causing civilian casualties on a scale Team Rocket couldn't even dream of.
Not to mention Lorelei and Agatha, who controlled wild Pokémon to assault other cities as well.
Strictly speaking, it was the Pokémon League that kept Lance and the others shackled, suppressing the evil inside them.
But if the Indigo Elite Four completely broke away from the League, then unrestrained, there was truly nothing they wouldn't dare do.
"Uh…"
Green was stunned again, falling silent as she recalled the attack on the S.S. Anne where the Elite Four ignored the passengers' safety just to strike Team Rocket.
"So, Boss, are you saying you want me to stay out of this matter?" Lucas pondered a moment before asking Giovanni.
"For now, we don't need to interfere. Let things develop naturally. At present, the Indigo Elite Four leaving the League brings us no benefit."
Giovanni spoke slowly. Even if they broke away from the League, the Elite Four would still relentlessly target Team Rocket.
In fact, their attacks might become even more ferocious.
And since Team Rocket had not yet reached the moment of decisive confrontation with the League, they certainly did not want to add such rabid enemies into the mix.
Giovanni knew Lance, his longtime enemy, far too well.
"I understand."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. To him, it hardly mattered anyway.
In his eyes, his cousin Lance was destined to eventually clash with the League.
It was simply that Lance had not yet been beaten down hard enough. He was still far from becoming the mature, rational, redeemed Lance of the manga's later arcs.
"Once we've taken control of Silph Co., we can sit down and discuss our next plan. Lucas, I believe our chance isn't far off now."
Giovanni smiled faintly. His Mewtwo was almost fully matured—the time was drawing near.
"Well then, I'll look forward to it." Lucas replied, his eyes gleaming slightly.
Giovanni seemed… a little impatient?
For some reason, this thought appeared in Lucas's mind.
Was it just an illusion?
"By the way, since you're in Johto, I'll have you deal with a traitor."
Just as Giovanni was about to hang up, he seemed to recall something, and spoke lightly.
His tone was utterly devoid of emotion, showing his complete disregard for this so-called traitor.
"Oh? A traitor?"
Lucas's interest was piqued. Though Team Rocket was an evil organization, Giovanni's personal charisma was undeniable.
Perhaps the Rocket executives disliked each other and secretly wished for one another's downfall.
But their loyalty to Giovanni himself was unquestionable.
Even the likes of the Three Beast Carr were the same. Though Carr was an ambitious, arrogant little man, so long as Giovanni was around, he wouldn't dare harbor disloyalty—not in a million years.
Such was Giovanni's presence, his charisma and his power to intimidate.
"A pathetic clown who doesn't know his own limits. Some time ago, the organization experimented with a special type of Poké Ball that could guarantee capture."
"But due to severe flaws in its function and the heavy consumption of resources, the project was discontinued. A few prototype balls remained, however, and I bestowed them upon one of the executives."
Giovanni explained leisurely. After all, Team Rocket's goal had always been world domination, and to achieve that, powerful Pokémon were a must.
So naturally, the concept of a ball that could capture any Pokémon was something Team Rocket had considered.
"So, this executive grew rebellious?" Lucas's lips curled upward.
Yes, now he remembered something about this.
"That's right. This Poké Ball is known as the Dark Ball. It strengthens control over Pokémon, but completely erases their intelligence. In other words, a failed product."
Giovanni narrated. Though the Dark Ball's capture success rate was incredibly high, any Pokémon caught by it lost all sentience and willpower.
Such Pokémon were nothing more than puppets, hardly worth Giovanni's attention.
"Vicious was originally someone I sent to Johto to assist the Three Beast. But his greed has disappointed me greatly. Recently, he discovered the whereabouts of the Legendary Beast Suicune, and so abandoned base without permission. I'll trouble you, Lucas, to dispose of him."
Giovanni's voice was calm. He wasn't incapable of tolerating ambition in his subordinates.
But when ambition interfered with duty, that he could never accept.
Vicious's strength wasn't bad, and he seemed to have obtained some kind of trump card.
But compared to Carr and the others, Lucas was the more reliable choice.
"A trivial matter. Leave it to me."
Lucas didn't refuse. Someone like Vicious was hardly worth mentioning—it was just a simple errand.
After hanging up, Lucas thought for a moment, then dialed another video call.
The screen rang for a long time. Clearly, the other person was either busy or debating whether to answer.
"Hello?"
Finally, the call connected. Onscreen appeared a short figure sitting on a high chair, face dark and gloomy as he muttered a greeting.
"Long time no see, Carr. I heard not only did you fail to capture Entei, but even your own men have run away?"
"Tsk tsk~ Truly impressive."
Lucas's smile was radiant, but his words were anything but friendly.
What could he do? Every time he saw Carr's stubborn face, he couldn't resist a jab or two.
The kid really was entertaining.
"…None of your concern!"
Carr's forehead veins bulged visibly, his face black as coal as he ground the words through clenched teeth.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
That bastard! Why did I ever click "accept" on this call?!
"No need to thank me. We're all colleagues, after all. But honestly, it's disappointing, Carr. As the leader of the Three Beast, you can't afford to keep performing so poorly."
Lucas shook his head in mock pity.
"Lucas, if you only called to mock me, I don't have time for this."
Carr's face was thunderous, his voice cold.
"You're misunderstanding. Send me Vicious's location. I'll take care of him."
Lucas shrugged. And there it was again—this little runt couldn't take the pressure. His mental fortitude really wasn't up to par.
"Vicious should be heading toward Olivine City." Archer glanced at some information before replying.
Although he loathed Lucas, he knew well that Lucas was terrifyingly powerful. Letting him handle Vicious was the best choice.
"And his precise location?"
"Still under investigation…"
"Wow, Carr, you're really competent. One of your own men deserts you, and you don't even know exactly where he is?"
Lucas quipped again with biting sarcasm, then hung up the call directly.
Meanwhile, in the main control room of the underground base in Goldenrod City, the anguished, guttural roars of a certain short man rang out continuously.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhh!!!"
(End of Chapter)