At a Moomoo Tea house in M-City, Giovanni had already rented out the entire establishment. Team Rocket members were stationed all around it, making the place completely secure.
When Pryce and Matsuba arrived with Tetsuya, Giovanni was already seated inside. Standing beside him were a man and a woman. Tetsuya was the only one who recognized the man. He was Team Rocket Admin Archer.
As for the woman, Pryce, Matsuba, and Tetsuya all knew her well… She was Aoi Maiko, the former Elite Four of the Johto Region!
The main reason Giovanni had brought Maiko with him this time was that she was very familiar with Johto. She also knew "quite a bit" about Shadow Team and had even had contact with them before. More importantly, after eliminating Shadow Team, she could help Team Rocket expand its influence throughout Johto.
Upon seeing Maiko, Pryce was also quite surprised.
How could a Johto Elite Four willingly become the subordinate of a Gym Leader from Kanto? Had Johto really declined to such an extent!?
Pryce and Matsuba had nothing to say about it. They simply sat down opposite Giovanni. After all, everyone had their own ambitions, and behind unwillingness lay nothing but lingering sorrow.
However, Maiko was not someone who could endure silence. Although she already knew Tetsuya was still alive, seeing him in such "high spirits" was still difficult to believe. She had never heard of anyone escaping from Shadow Team's clutches. How exactly did this guy do it?
"Tetsuya-kun~ It's been so many years since we last met. Seeing you looking so energetic is absolutely wonderful~" Maiko said in a sarcastic tone.
Tetsuya chuckled. "Then I really have you to thank for that… Maiko. I'll be sure to repay your kindness someday."
"…"
Maiko wanted to respond, but when she noticed the icy look in Pryce's eyes, she did not dare say anything more.
"Hoo… so, you know Tetsuya?"
Giovanni also sensed that there must be a complicated relationship between Aoi Maiko, Pryce, and Tetsuya. In truth, Maiko had been dismissed by the Johto League because of her conduct.
The Johto League had ultimately decided to remove her mainly because Siegfried's departure had completely intensified the conflict.
Giovanni had taken Maiko in primarily because Team Rocket was in urgent need of capable people. There were only a handful of individuals with Elite Four level combat power, and Aoi Maiko's influence within Team Rocket was considerable.
After all, there were very few people in the world who could reach that level.
As the title suggests, each League had only "four" active Elite Four members. Of course, there were also retired Elite Four members who had moved into the League Council.
Furthermore, in many regions, not all active Elite Four had actually reached the level of the title. The current Johto League was precisely such a case.
However, relying on her overwhelming power, Aoi Maiko had become even more reckless in her conduct. Moreover, Rockets were all well-trained and physically fit, making them even more desirable in her eyes…
Many of them had become targets of her coercive indulgence. She had even abandoned her own student, Kenny, because of it. The once highly disciplined Team Rocket had now become chaotic, and Giovanni had long planned to squeeze every last bit of value from Maiko before getting rid of her.
Giovanni, Pryce, and Matsuba quickly got down to business. For the time being, they won't mention anything about what happened because of her.
"Giovanni… your arrival in the Johto Region this time didn't alert anyone, did it?" Pryce asked.
"You can rest assured about that, Elite Four Pryce. This operation was implemented under confidential orders issued directly by the League Council. Our people from the Indigo League all entered the Johto Region in batches and in plain clothes. Even your Johto League's current Champion… Kurokawa Ryosuke, knows nothing about it."
Giovanni was quite confident about this, since he had personally organized everything.
Pryce nodded and said, "Mm, that puts my mind at ease. Otherwise, if Shadow Team catches wind of our movements, all of our efforts will have been in vain. I wonder what plans you have. We will all cooperate with your. After all, this operation will mainly rely on your Kanto force."
"Based on the investigations conducted by both of you, I've also made some investigations of my own. Although Shadow Team's Headquarters is located in Kaze no Tani, the Department Store in Goldenrod City is the source of their finances.
Whether it's their Black Market dealings or human trafficking, everything is centered around Goldenrod City. Therefore, we'll split into two groups. The first group will seal off the Department Store and eliminate every Shadow inside.
The moment something happens at the Department Store, news will certainly be sent to the headquarters in Kaze no Tani immediately, and they will definitely dispatch a rescue force. At that point, we'll first wipe out their reinforcements, crushing their morale and throwing their organization into disarray.
Then we'll initiate our full assault, increasing our chances of victory. Once the headquarters comes under attack and the branch bases send reinforcements, we'll set ambushes along every major route and wipe out Shadow Team in one stroke."
As he spoke, Giovanni spread out a map of Kaze no Tani and the surrounding area. He had already completed the overall plan for both the offensive and defensive operations.
Pryce and Matsuba could not help but admire Giovanni's capacities. Although Pryce was one of the most powerful trainers, he was stubborn by nature and had little talent for strategy, much less planning a battle on this scale. In his eyes, overwhelming power could solve everything.
As for Matsuba… he was a lifelong peacemaker with an easygoing temperament. Publicly, he neither offended nor flattered anyone, always giving people the impression of staying above "worldly" disputes.
Neither of them had any talent for planning a campaign like this, so Giovanni naturally became the leader.
"Giovanni, you can make the preparations. Between our two Gyms, we've gathered over a hundred Trainers. We'll place all of them under your command," Pryce said.
"Perfect. First of all, I believe you should send a confidential letter to the Johto League Council. That way, you'll have every justification for surrounding the Department Store in Goldenrod City.
If you send that confidential letter to the League Council now, they'll certainly approve it, even if they don't send you a single Trainer," Giovanni said.
"…Hmm? Why is that? Even if I don't receive the League's approval, I have a clear conscience in everything I do, and I have nothing to fear from them." Pryce's upright and righteous words made even Tetsuya and Giovanni feel somewhat ashamed… or maybe was just Tetsuya.
Giovanni said, "…Although you have no fear of the League, this procedure still has to be followed. Right now, Howard of Goldenrod Gym enjoys immense prestige in Goldenrod City and is also the acting Elite Four.
If such a major operation takes place within his 'territory' without presenting something that convinces him, he'll certainly interfere. That would inevitably create unnecessary trouble."
Tetsuya understood Howard's character very well. Although he controlled the Moomoo Milk industry and owned immense wealth, he was extremely vindictive and narrow-minded. Pryce's blockade of the Department Store would certainly be met with his obstruction.
Furthermore, Shadow Team had established such a massive operation in Goldenrod City that there was no guarantee Howard had no secret dealings with them. If Pryce also had to deal with Howard at that time, it would be easy for Shadow Team to find an opportunity to escape...