An Unlikely Friendship?
Giovanni stepped into the brightly lit room, it’s walls the same sterile white as the rest of the establishment.
It was definitely too hospital-like for Giovanni’s taste, that’s for damn sure.
He grumbled as he went to the nearest chair, still scanning the room. The chairs were a rich gold and the legs a nicely polished black with the Aether symbol on the back.
How come her chairs are so fancy and everyone else was stuck with plastic baby chairs? Giovanni complained to himself. Not only were the chairs fancy, but the decor was as well. Abstract paintings that had to have been worth a fortune lined the walls, and the shelf near the white desk in the corner was lined with modern art sculptures and knick-knacks from many regions of the world. Giovanni could even recognize a replica of the Gym Statues from Kanto.
He smiled a bit to himself for the first time in a while at the nod to his home region, wiping the palms of his hands on his expensive suit pants. He glanced at the clock sitting on the rectangular desk, wondering what the hell he was even supposed to be doing right now with no one here.
He was about to get up and just say “fuck it’ and leave when he heard the door open.
Out stepped a young and quite attractive woman, carrying multiple stacks of papers in her arms as she pushed her way through the door. She lifted up a hand to make sure her purple hair was still neatly kept and walked over to the desk, apologizing to the former Team Rocket leader as she went.
“I’m so, so sorry for the wait Mr. Sakaki!” She said. “Please forgive me, but Lusamine was holding me up. She was giving me more instructions on what to do for everyone and decided to change my schedule at the last minute.”
Giovanni cocked his head and crossed his arms. “It’s quite alright, Miss.” He reassured her. “You can call me Giovanni by the way, everyone calls me by that. Well, either that or Big Boss.” He trailed off, fondly remembering his time as the beloved leader of his team.
She politely chuckled a bit, pushing her glasses back up. “I’m actually quite glad that Madame Lusamine changed my schedule at such short notice,” She confessed, sitting at her desk and beginning to sort papers into specific piles. “I was actually supposed to start my day with Ghetsis, but thankfully Lusamine decided to handle that job.”
Giovanni started to guffaw at this. “Well ain’t that some luck, huh? I actually feel bad for her for having to deal with… him…” Giovanni sneered.
The woman smiled back but then quickly realized that she had never introduced herself. “Oh! Forgive me Giovanni, but I never introduced myself to you. I’m Miss Wicke of Aether Paradise!” She held out her hand to the former mafia leader. “I hope that we will be able to form a close friendship someday, Giovanni.”
Giovanni took her hand and shook it gracefully, he mentally patted himself on the back for wiping his palms earlier. “I hope that we get some bond out of this as well Miss Wicke, I’d be glad to have one less enemy at this place. It’ll be good to have some connections.”
Wicke went back to her paper sorting and exhaled. “Well, I suppose we should get started.”
“I suppose we shall.” Giovanni sighed and crossed his arms again. His stomach began to tie itself in a knot once again. Why the hell was he so nervous? It wasn’t like she was gonna tell him something that he didn’t already know. Yeah he liked money, but who doesn’t? It’s not his fault that that was the only thing he and his admins could think to do with their earnings, well except Ariana. She was actually sensible and spent money on Silver. Hey! He also spent money on Silver! Ha! Jokes on her!
“So,” Wicke started, paged through a file folder stuffed with papers. “It says here that you have been arrested 3 times, and have been charged with the following: Pokémon cruelty, kidnapping, blackmail, theft, terrorism, extortion, loan sharking, unethical experimentation, attempted murder, conspiracy, and gambling. Well, Mr Sakaki, I’ll say you have a very impressive list.”
W-what the? Giovanni’s mouth dropped open like a Gengar’s. How the hell did Madame President acquire this list? He tried his damn hardest to wipe his record clean! With blackmail, of course, but still!
“L-listen I can explain all of those! I-“ His explanation was quickly hushed.
“Giovanni, I-well, me and the President, want to help you. All of you guys. And to do that we need to get to the bottom of this behavior. We need to know what exactly happened that made you act this way. Do you understand that?”
Giovanni gritted his teeth and huffed. “I…I GET that!” He turned his head to the side and frowned. “I understand what you’re saying Ms. Wicke,” He repeated, sounding less angry this time. “I really do, and I appreciate the fact that you actually seem to care about this job. But can’t you see how pointless this whole thing is? Can’t you see that some of us DON’T want to change? This is a waste of tax dollars for Mew’s sake!-“
“Giovanni I don’t mean to interrupt you like this, but this is not run with tax payer money. This is all Lusamine’s. It’s a combination of donations and her own money if you’re wondering.”
“Whatever it’s run on! This is a waste of time! You’re a smart woman I can tell, do something better with your life! I can assure you that you can get a better job than to talk to some insane criminals who won’t change their extremist, cultist minds no matter what!” Giovanni cried out his hands throw up in the air.
“Giovanni, do you know exactly WHY Miss Lusamine is doing this?” Wicke cocked her head to the side, her face falling slightly.
Giovanni stiffened. “Of course I know why! She just wanted to waste some extra pocket money on some fun little experiment she thought would be entertaining! I do believe it IS a little obvious.” He crossed his arms again and slumped back in his chair. He felt bad about lashing out like this, but damn! He just wanted to get out of this joint and live the rest of his life in peace, not stuck with several morons!
Wicke sighed and took her glasses off, wiping the large frames with her pink shirt. “Miss President did this because she believes that all of you can change. She spent so much time and money on this because she sees the potential in all of you. She even said to me herself, “If I can become a better person, I’m sure they can as well.” She wants to test that theory I suppose.” Wicke returned the glasses to her face after expecting them for more dirt and smudges.
“Just like her, you all became this way due to something happening to you in your personal life. Do you know why she became obsessed with Nihilego and Ultra Wormholes, Giovanni? She saw her own husband get sucked into one, only to never return. I can’t even count the endless nights I’ve spent catering to her when she was so exhausted from searching for him that she couldn’t even stand. She understands that what she did during that time was wrong. Her neglect, her secrecy, she doesn’t expect her children, Gladion and Lillie, to forgive them so soon. What she did to them was inexcusable, but she wants to be better.”
Giovanni stiffened in his chair, dumbstruck upon hearing the Aether President’s backstory.
Wicke paused and continued, her voice full of understanding. “Grief is a terrible thing Giovanni, it can make us do so many things that we will regret later in life. She understands what it’s like, to feel as if there is no other option than to do the extreme. She’s been in your shoes. That’s why she cares so much about this program. That’s why you’re all here today.”
Giovanni sat back up in his chair, shocked. That all happened to President Lusamine? That was her reason for all of this? He didn’t expect this to get all… sappy.
The former Team Rainbow Rocket leader couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit guilty after hearing all of this. Maybe he should try to cooperate with the poor woman? After all, if he were to cooperate with them, he could return to Kanto and try to relaunch Team Rocket! He would just have to keep it on a low-profile for a while, no taking over the world anytime soon.
“I…I didn’t realize that was the REAL reason for all of this…” He trailed off and sat up straight in his fancy chair. “I would like to apologize Miss Wicke.”
Wicke smiled and waved it off. “It’s nothing to apologize over Giovanni. I understand that this is stressful to you all. I’m actually quite surprised at how well you’re handling this. There’s no way the others are being this polite and civilized, though I feel bad about admitting that. They’ll just have to take some time I guess.”
Giovanni scoffed at the thought of Ghetsis laying down on some stereotypical psychologist chair. The man was probably more suited for a Hannibal Lector-esque stretcher to be honest. He giggled at the mental image of Ghetsis starring as the lead role in “The Silence of the Mareeps” His giggling was ceased however when Wicke cleared her throat.
“Anyways, I’d like to talk to you more Giovanni,” She smiled at him, her hands underneath her chin. “Why did you start Team Rocket? Your first team.”
Giovanni pondered in his chair for a second, crossing his legs and resting his chin in his hand. No one had ever asked him that question before.
“Well,” He started, “Team Rocket started off as a... gang… if you will.” Giovanni reminisced deep into his past, back when he was in his early twenties and his hair wasn’t starting to grey at the sides. “It was mostly just out of fun and greed, and as you know, Viridian City in the Kanto region is home to quite a few underground mobs. My family, well, mother especially, had some ties with many of them. It only made sense to me at the time that I would carry on the legacy and create my own team.”
The suit-clad man leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows upon his thighs as he told his tale. “At first it was me and some pals from around town. We thought it would be beneficial to us to create our faction as a way to earn some quick money. Many of them were being sent off to college, studying business to continue their families businesses or to create one themselves, so they needed it most.”
“I was already pretty well off, my mother and father had combined their wealth from their connections and had saved enough money for me to sustain myself in my young adult years. Of course, the money wasn’t gonna last forever, so this seemed like a good idea to get money quick.”
“At first it was just money laundering schemes. I’d borrow some money from a neighboring group, used it to start up my business, and then did some uh… dirty work to help pay the profit off. I was able to become gym leader for a while due to my impressive battling skills and extortions.” Smirking at the fond memories, Giovanni leaned back in his seat. “After that it sort of escalated from there. Bigger schemes bigger money, ya know? Of course, I had more members then, so it was easier for me to get away with things such as smuggling. I had some friends of mine rank up, becoming my underbosses and assisting me with the big stuff such as extortion threats and loan sharking. Ariana was my closest one, if you know what I mean, and we even got married after our son Silver was born. The years were good to me for a while. I had a beautiful wife and a wonderful son. I could get whatever I wanted with the snap of my fingers, until the pressure from the police came. Too many grunts were getting too cocky with their thievery and managed to get caught and squeal to the police about everything we’ve been doing. I had to do something, something to keep the law at bay.”
“Then the… experimentation… came along. I really don’t exactly know why I did it. I was struggling with raising a son and raising a mafia at the same time, and I… I don’t know… Team Rocket was starting to fall apart after some… 10 year-old brat decided to screw things up. Sad isn’t it? How the police weren’t enough to stop us, yet some child swept through us like it was nothing?” He trailed off from his ramblings and looked up. Giovanni noticed that Wicke had leaned forward slightly on the edge of her seat, fully invested in his story.
He sat in an awkward silence before Wicke spoke up. “The experimentation… Mewtwo… did you create it because you wanted to feel as if you accomplished something? Perhaps you felt that your family and team were slipping away, and Mewtwo was something you could control for once.”
Giovanni stiffened. Damn she was good. All for the plot convenience he supposed.
“I-perhaps you might be right, Miss Wicke.” Giovanni rubbed his face as he considered what she had said. “Everything I made, I built from the ground up. And to watch it be swept away like that-it was infuriating!” He couldn’t believe he was psychoanalyzing his life like this. Wasn’t he here just for some slap on the wrist for gambling?
The glasses-clad woman gave Giovanni a sympathetic sigh. “I understand what you went through Giovanni,” She started, her fingers toying with the corners of the papers on the desk. “You want to be in control of something so badly, want something to go your way for once. But when it doesn’t, it feels like your whole world is crashing down.” She glanced off to the side, her face twisting into a melancholy look.
The room fell silent again until Giovanni spoke up. “The way I felt during the glory days of Team Rocket… it felt as if the world was in my hands. For once I had power to do as I wished, not have my mother pick it out for me.” Giovanni stopped. He could not believe that he was gonna tell Wicke, a woman he had just met probably not even an hour ago, about his childhood. Fuck it, if it got him out of this quicker, he was ready to expose himself like this.
“Maybe that is why you wanted all that power Giovanni,” Wicke started up again, her hands now clasped together on top of her desk. “You felt like you had chosen your own accomplishments, as you worked for them yourself. You felt like your mother was too controlling and so, by having your own mob, you could command your own future. Is that correct?”
Giovanni gave a slight nod. “I guess,” He started, and heaved out a long sigh. “But in the end, I ended up a bit like her.”
Wicke cocked her head slightly. “What do you mean by that Giovanni?”
Giovanni felt the guilt rush in, soaking his heart and weighing it down. “As Silver got older, I wanted him to continue on my legacy of Team Rocket. I didn’t listen to what he wanted to do, and I think Ariana disagreed with that. She wanted our son to choose his own life, as long as he didn’t get us locked up of course. And I guess… I guess I couldn’t handle that. The fact that one day no one will remember me. All my accomplishments will be swept away due time. That I wasn’t able to continue the legacy that my mother desperately wanted.” Giovanni’s regretful mood quickly turned sour. He couldn’t believe how much of a sap he sounded like right now! If Cyrus were here to listen to all this, there’d be no recovery. He’d deem him too “emotional” and go back to being Mr. Fashion disaster’s arm candy.
Wicke repositioned herself in her seat and looked at Giovanni as if she were reading an eye chart at the doctor’s office.
“You’re terribly afraid of failure, aren’t you?”
HOW THE FUCK-
“Tch,” Giovanni felt a blush come to his cheeks. Was he really this easy to read? Or was this woman just damn good at her job?
The former Team Rocket leader down at the ground below him, staring blankly at the tile. “I… never really thought about that… but I guess you’re right.” He looked back up and forced a smile. “You’re very good at your job Miss Wicke.”
The purple haired woman blushed slightly and waved her hand. “Well, thank you Giovanni.” She pushed her glasses back up again and looked over at him, her gaze setting in. “Giovanni, I want you to know that you are not a failure. You’ve managed to keep coming back with every circumstance that blocked your way. You’ve gotten out of prison 3 times, which is an accomplishment in itself, and were able to revive your team every time. You aren’t afraid to try something different, hence Team Rainbow Rocket, and even still. You’d probably somehow be able to create a bigger team after this program is all done and over with. That’s a wonderful quality to have, Giovanni. You always manage to get back up on your feet when something goes wrong. I wouldn’t consider that a failure at all.”
Giovanni couldn’t help but feel a wave of comfort wash over him upon hearing the young woman’s words. “I suppose I had never really thought of that before… Perhaps I am quite accomplished, huh?” He chuckled at himself. Big bad Giovanni, the man who beat the odds.
Wicke smiled warmly at the older man sitting in front of her, sensing that his nerves were at ease. She had worked her magic again she figured. “Well, I’m glad my words were of comfort to you,”
“That’s everything by the way,” Giovanni blurted out. He wasn’t gonna lie to himself, he could go on and on for hours to Wicke about his life, but this session was more draining than Leech Seed to a water type.
Wicke chuckled a bit to herself. “Well good! Our time is almost up for the day!”
Giovanni looked up at the clock in disbelief. How had an hour and a half passed already? Time flies fast when you talk about your feelings, huh?
Giovanni sat up and stretched, wincing as he felt his back give a sickening crack. Arceus he was getting too old.
“By the way,” He started, leaning his hand on the chair next to him. “Why was this called “Gambling addiction therapy”? I’m really not much of a gambler, I’d consider that the least of my problems.”
Wicke sighed as she stood up. “Blame Lusamine for that one. You know how she is. I’m guessing she put that to try and make you feel more at ease perhaps. She probably thought that you wouldn’t worry as much if she put something mundane on there for the first day, or she could just really hate gambling. You don’t know with her.”
Giovanni gave out a small laugh. He didn’t know why, but he felt at ease with Wicke. He just met the woman, but her energy was calming and comforting to him. She really cared about her job.
Hands were put on hips as Giovanni asked her a question. “I must say, Ms. Wicke. You’re very good at reading people like a book. Either I’ve got the ability clear body, or you’re a psychic type.”
Wicke laughed and shook her head. “No, I’ve got all my credentials. I guess I’ve just always been… empathetic to others. I was always the advice-giver of the friend group and-“
Wicke’s musing were interrupted as the door to the office dramatically slammed open, a disheveled Colress practically bursting inside, gripping his clipboard with intensity and breathing heavily.
“Wicke! I’m gonna need your assistance! Archie and Maxie are fighting again and Guzma is in the bathroom right now and there’s no way I can separate them and-“
Colress’s ramblings were cut short by a crash followed by a scream that was heard out in the hall. Maxie’s shrieking followed by Archie’s laughter echoed throughout.
Wicke sighed and pushed up her sleeves, readying herself to step out until a green haired blur dashed right in front of her as an angry Lusamine hunted it down while shouting.
“Yeah that’s right! You better run after that stunt you pulled! Say that again and you’ll be in the hospital surrounded by nurses trying to pull a stiletto out of your ASS!”
Giovanni, Colress, and Wicke all gave each other a look that could only be described as pure confusion and terror upon hearing Lusamine curse.
Sure, I might be doing fine right now, Giovanni thought to himself. But what are these morons gonna do? There’s no way they’re gonna change!
Another crash echoed, this time an annoyed groan from Guzma followed after.
Arceus, that party couldn’t arrive soon enough.