Ooc: Now we find out what Giovanni has been up to and why Surge is worried.

Lexi Gibbs had been to quite a few shady places in her time. Be it bars, clubs, you name she had experienced it. Yet where Giovanni was taking her seemed to be the sketchiest of all. When Giovanni had told Lexi that he had something to show her, Lexi thought it would be something in his office. Perhaps she could have even picked up on a few new tips in the office. But instead, Giovanni had led her down a staircase she didn't realize existed. The staircase had hardly any light. Lexi figured that this was intentional. Afterall it just added to the mysterious nature of Giovanni. The former Viridian City gym leader was the most feared mentor in the institute. But Lexi was not scared, she would take down Giovanni when the time came.

They continued along the stairwell until they reached a door. The door was marked with the Viridian City logo. Lexi had earned the nickname ice queen because she rarely showed expressions. This though caused her to raise her eyebrows. Lexi twirled her hair in curiosity. Giovanni slid a card into the keyboard attached to the door.

The door made a clicking noise as it slid open. "Come on Ms. Gibbs, we have much to discuss.", Giovanni beckoned to his newest mentee. Lexi stepped through the door, the room was still dark. She could not see even a few feet in front of her.

"It's too fucking dark to see anything", Lexi was pisses. She had enough of pranks or jokes from her ex from freshman year. She was not in the mood for any more pranks. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. This was not what she had in mind when she had listen Giovanni as her preferred mentor. She was disappointed.

"Patience, Ms. Gibbs. If this is how you battle then I doubt I will have any trouble in our fight.", the words burned in Lexi's ears.

For all the talk about her being the ice princess, she was extremely competitive. One could just ask her sister what happened when they doubted Lexi's skills as a trainer. She was the best trainer at the institute by far. She was going to be the greatest gym leader in history. If Giovanni doubted her skills then he would be in for a very rude awakening in their battle.

"Allow me to introduce you to my own personal playground.", with that Giovanni flipped a switch. The lights came on slowly, but they revealed a future gym trainers paradise. The building was a large hanger like structure filled to the brim with battling gear. Lexi stood in absolute awe of what she had seen. There were large monitors and practice areas which rivaled the institute's own practice areas.

Very few things mystified Chelsea, this place did. The head of Team Rocket put a hand on the platinum blonde's shoulder which snapped her from her trance.

"So I assume that you like it. Well let me give you the grand tour."

Giovanni led Lexi to a row of large screen monitors. Each screen had a certain trainer listed. Of course a picture of Lexi was on the first screen. Her general information was posted like her hair color, eyes, hometown etc. But as Lexi looked at the screen closer she saw some things that were not common. Under the section called battle stats there was her win-loss percentage, her whole Pokémon team listed along with which Pokémon she liked to start with. There was a section on her battling tendencies in certain situations. Which moves she liked to use with which Pokémon. How many times she repeated the moves in certain weather conditions. There was even a section of old videos of her battles dating back to when she took on the Galar league.

"Impressed?", Lexi didn't respond. She didn't know if this was impressive or just creepy. She did not acknowledge Giovanni, her eyes did not leave the screen.

"This is the greatest collection of battle statistics ever. Something of my own creation. I decided that my Team Rocket grunts could be useful for once and start collecting information on various subjects. The data was collected over years and years. Only the trainers with 'special' abilities have made it this far. I only work with the best trainers afterall."

Lexi took this information in. So this explained why Giovanni had not lost barring one time. He had an enormous collection of information at his disposal. Lexi wanted to get ahold of this information. If she had this information then her pathway to success as the greatest gym leader ever. But how would she get ahold of this information? Giovanni just wouldn't give it to her. She twirled her hair again as she plotted on how to get ahold of the information. Of course she did not care that Giovanni had told her she had special abilities, Lexi already knew she was special. She did not need to be retold this information.

"You are a fascinating subject.", Giovanni stood in front of Lexi's profile on the screen. There was a gleam of admiration in his eyes. "You were such a passive battler when you were younger. Even your 1st year here you were too passive of a battler. But last year...", a grin appeared on his face. Giovanni had arranged for that tournament to find his next protege. Lexi Gibbs had proven her worth last year. She was perfect for what he had planned.

"I do have a test for you. There's another I have an eye on. Someone that might even rival you in terms of strength." This made Lexi perk up. 'Who could possibly be stronger than me?', the platinum haired would be gym leader glared at Giovanni. No one was as strong as she was now. Giovanni had lost all of his marbles.

"Tch and who would this be?", Lexi would go out of her way to fight whoever this was. To prove that she was the superior trainer at the Institute. The rage she had not felt in a long time crept back into her. Giovanni just smiled, 'perfect.' He moved down to another monitor, Lexi followed closely behind. She stopped in shock at whose profile stared at her. The ice queen's hard exterior had cracked.

"Ah so you are familiar with Mr. Rodrick Sparks." Giovanni stared not at the monitor, but at Lexi. He wanted to see her reaction. Giovanni had been keeping a close eye on Lexi and her sister for years. Ever since he heard about them from a well placed source in Galar. Yes Lexi was indeed special. He needed to keep her close. She would be key when the time was right. But right now Giovanni had to slow play her.

"He was my neighbor. I used to babysit him.", Rodrick had been an interesting child. He was quiet and unassuming as a neighbor. But he did prank Chelsea often which Lexi quite enjoyed. The last she had heard of him, Rodrick was off trying to become the champion of Galar. He had of course lost, but after that Lexi had lost contact. That was until Giovanni showed her Rodrick's image and battle profile. The little shy neighborhood boy she knew had grown up. He even had dyed his hair purple.

"Well your neighbor is quite spectacular. His electivire is quite impressive.", Giovanni glanced at the monitor. He placed his hands behind his back and leaned back. "Since you know him so well, I have your first assignment. It's imperative that you complete it. If you fail, don't bother even considering coming back."

Lexi turned her attention back to Giovanni. "And what exactly do you want me to do? Kidnap him?", the antics of Team Rocket had not escaped Lexi. Everyone knew that Team Rocket had kidnapped Pokémon and even trainers. Lexi did not mind doing something that bent the rules especially if it resulted in her passing the internship. But kidnapping especially someone she knew would be crossing the line.

Giovanni just let out a chuckle. "No, no. I am out of that racket now.", somehow Lexi did not buy that. "A few of my fellow instructors here are also admirers of Mr. Sparks. Surge and Byron come to mind. They want to start to mold Mr. Sparks into their own weapon. They aim to try and push me out of the Institute. They say that my past history makes me a danger to our students and reputation of the school.", he chuckled as he approached Lexi's personal space.

He flashed a handsome smile that riled the girl up temporarily. "So naturally I wish to foil their plans. Bringing Mr. Sparks into the fold and having him on our side would be advantageous to us."

Lexi raised an eyebrow, "Us? What do you mean us?" She was just Giovanni's intern. Not some sort of lackey. Giovanni's smile just grew as he placed a hand on Lexi's shoulder. She shrugged it off as her blue eyes glared at Giovanni. This seemed strange. The behavior bordered on creepy. If Giovanni continued like this then Lexi would report him.

"Well Ms. Gibbs, as I have said I have watched you for a long time. You remind me of myself when I was younger. You have that spark and intelligence. I saw it up close. That's why if you are successful in completing your internship, all of this will be yours.",

Lexi's eyes widened as she looked around. Was Giovanni bullshitting her? All of it? What was Giovanni's end game? Something here stunk.

"You see Ms. Gibbs, I need a successor. Someone that can handle the day to day stuff for me. If you manage to complete this internship then I will name you my successor.", Giovanni could tell that Lexi was not sold on his story. This was fine with him as he had anticipated as much. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a manila colored folder. He handed it to Lexi, who raised an eyebrow in confusion. She took the folder from the ground type experts hands.

She opened and found some sort of X-ray or MRI photos, she wasn't sure which was which. She looked at the photos. One showed a giant white lump. Lexi continued to exam the phots then looked at Giovanni. For the first time, Lexi saw Giovanni not as a cruel monster, but as a human. The ice princess' demenour fully cracked as her eyes welled with tears.

"So now you understand why am need a successor.", Giovanni stared up. Lexi assumed he was trying to avoid showing weakness. "That's why I need to name one before they push me out. If they push me out then all of this was for nothing. It's why I need you to succeed."

Lexi nodded emphatically. She would help Giovanni any way she could. "Of course. I will help you in any way you need. I won't fail."

Giovanni smirked , "excellent."

When Lexi Gibbs left, Giovanni moved into his private office. The manila folder containing his cat scans was placed into the trash can.Lexi Gibbs left, Giovanni sank back into his desk, a large grin on his face. He pulled out his cellphone which had been going off during his meeting with Lexi. Giovanni had to be careful about who knew about this phone. After all it contained something important.

Giovanni looked at the message and smiled, "Project Z is underway."

The team rocket leader sat back and smiled. He loved it when a plan came together.

Ooc: So we got a new character and learned some things about Giovanni. How will he use Lexi as his pawn? And why does he need Rodrick? Stay tuned.