1. Ash's Story (Part 9: Alola)

Chapter 84: Trophy Room

The path beyond Ghetsis felt colder than the rooms before it, as if the mansion had saved its deepest hatred for the center. Lillie walked beside me with Snowy pressed close to her leg, and Gladion stayed on her other side, one hand near a Poké Ball. No one joked now.

The Trophy Room doors stood open at the end of the corridor. Their gold trim had been twisted by Rainbow Rocket's power until the decorations looked like teeth around a mouth. Pikachu's paws tightened on my shoulder, and his sparks stayed low against his fur.

When we stepped inside, every breath stopped. Lusamine and Mohn lay unconscious on the polished floor, side by side beneath the display lights. Their faces were peaceful in a way that made the sight worse, because nothing about the room felt peaceful.

Standing before them was Giovanni.

I knew that face. Everyone knew enough of that face. Team Rocket's name had followed too many regions, too many stolen Pokémon, too many families hurt by people who thought power was something to own. Seeing him above Lillie's parents turned the old hatred into something immediate.

Lillie ran before anyone could stop her. Gladion moved with her, both of them dropping beside Lusamine and Mohn. Lillie's hands shook as she touched her mother's shoulder, and Gladion checked Mohn's breathing with a fury that made his silence louder than any shout.

Giovanni watched them with a faint smile. "Well, well. I had been informed of intruders, but not that they were children like you."

Serena stepped forward, eyes hard. "You are standing over unconscious people and calling us children."

"I allowed the other bosses to do as they wished, hoping they would be useful," Giovanni continued. "But it seems you defeated all of them. I am impressed you reached this room."

Zossie's voice sharpened. "So he is Team Rainbow Rocket's leader."

"Indeed." Giovanni spread one hand as if accepting praise. "Team Rocket once sought to use all Pokémon and control the world. Now I command something greater. Team Rainbow Rocket will not stop at one world."

Lillie turned from Lusamine with tears bright in her eyes. "What did you do to them?"

"The presidents will not awaken for some time," Giovanni said. "I used the power of that Ultra Beast to make them sleep. When they awaken next, they will be loyal servants to my will."

Gladion stood so quickly that Lucario's Poké Ball shook at his belt. "You will not touch them again."

Giovanni's smile widened. "Such anger. Useful, if properly directed."

"It will never be directed by you," Alice said.

He looked across our group, weighing Serena, Alice, Trenor, Selene, Nate, Rosa, Zossie, Dulse, Lillie, Gladion, and me like resources he might seize later. "With the Aether Foundation's technology, Team Rainbow Rocket will build an army of Ultra Beasts. We will cross worlds, conquer them, and bring all power under my command."

Pikachu's ears flattened, and his tail lashed against my shoulder. His meaning struck through the room like a spark in dry grass. "He sees every life as a thing to take."

"I know exactly," I whispered.

The name Team Rainbow Rocket had sounded ridiculous when we first heard it, like a child's attempt to make an old threat louder by adding color. Standing in the Trophy Room, I understood the cruelty behind it better. Giovanni had taken the ambitions of ruined men from other worlds and arranged them like trophies, each one a weapon that could break a region before he ever lifted a hand.

Lillie's shoulders shook, but she stayed between Giovanni and her parents. Gladion's anger burned colder, the kind that did not waste movement. Serena and Alice moved without needing instructions, one watching Giovanni's hands while the other watched the shadows around the display cases. Everyone knew this was not only another boss. This was the person who had gathered every nightmare we had just fought.