Chapter 7: The Demise

"This is Kanto News One reporting.

The man simply known as 'Giovanni', the Kanto-based Mafia Boss who became an underworld figure of global stature and the most influential crime lord Kanto has ever known, was last night found dead inside the Viridian City Gym.

I repeat, Kanto, Giovanni is dead.

Last night there was major upheaval in the city of Viridian as passers-by and local residents reported bizarre activity happening within the Viridian Gym. The Viridian police force were soon called and upon arrival they stormed the Viridian Gym after witnesses saw the roof of the Gym literally collapse and cave in. Worried for the safety of whoever was inside the police burst down the doors and came face to face with one of the most surprising scenes they had ever witnessed. The ground was covered in debris from the fallen roof and the whole building was teeming with hundreds of Team Rocket agents.

Once these criminals saw the police arrive the whole building erupted into chaos. Hundreds of Team Rocket employees scattered and fled the building. Within the chaos the police forces were overwhelmed and despite their best efforts could do nothing to stop or capture any of the agents.

Once all the people had fled and the madness had cleared, the police found a body.

Giovanni.

Found with a major head wound, he was rushed to Viridian hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival.

The police can only guess but it seem there was severe infighting within Team Rocket and Giovanni was simply caught in the crossfire. They do say the strongest empire cannot be taken down from outside forces, but only from weaknesses from within. Is that what happened here? Did his greatest vision, his most powerful empire in Team Rocket, really turn on him?

Mr. Giovanni, who was born into a gangster clan in Viridian City, took a burgeoning empire forged by his father and made it an unparalleled, made-in-Kanto criminal brand. His empire inspired revolutions all around the world. Almost copycat organizations started to spring up in all major regions: Team Aqua, Magma, Galactic, among others whose rise to prominence are built on the reputation Giovanni and Team Rocket had built. Many say these organizations never would have been powerful if Giovanni hadn't inspired an uprising in his home region of Kanto all those years ago.

News of his death has sparked wide surprise and disbelief throughout the world.

"Here was a man driven — driven by plans, with objectives, driven by power, driven by the name of Team Rocket, someone who was a part of the underworld royalty, I can't believe this is the end," said a police investigator who spent years probing organized crime. "He has survived so much. Who would think his own creation would fail him?"

An underworld figure who was once within Giovanni's social circles but now considers himself retired 'from the game' said he doesn't believe the news. "Oh, no. I'm not counting old Gio out yet. Not until I see his body myself. Then I'm going to shoot him one more time, just to be sure," the old mobster said.

Questions immediately emerged over what his death might mean and how the immense void his death brings might be filled, but answers will not come easily.

After a short period of paying, or at least feigning, respect to the biggest name in organised crime, it seems inevitable his death will bring violent jockeying for power and position from mobsters in Kanto, if not worldwide, who will fight for the considerable profit and power that flowed under Mr. Giovanni's supervision.

His death will bring profound instability to the underworld because it is difficult to see any one man with the recognition needed to fill the void and any chance he had for a smooth succession to an appointed heir has now gone. There is the possibility that Team Rocket had a contingency plan specific for this kind of event. Giovanni created relationships with many important people in his lifetime. From what we know he was brought into 'the game' along with four other people he has known since his childhood. Petrel, Archer, Ariana and Proton. These four shady individuals are rumored to hold the highest ranks within Giovanni organization, Archer in particular has been Giovanni's right hand for decades. Is it simple that he steps up to take the role?

The inner workings of Team Rocket has always been shrouded in mystery, and any speculation we can offer is pure guesswork.

Through it all, through all the battles, through all the wars, the Team Rocket Don has become known as untouchable. He displayed a remarkable ability to avoid or thwart arrest or, if all else failed, to beat the charges in court. It added to his legend and made him more attractive to underworld figures wanting to work with him.

"He was acquitted every time a charge was put against him," said an ex-Team Rocket employee. "Except for that one in Fuchsia City a few years ago."

And he almost beat that one too.

At the time of his death, police investigators had pinned him as being back on top of the food chain. His organization was nowhere near as stable as it once was; his empire had been reduced; his sense of omnipotence had been eroded. But he was without a doubt 'The Boss' once again.

Team Rocket was once known as an absolute powerhouse. At different points in our history there have been terrible rumors that Team Rocket had secret infiltrators everywhere: the government, the Pokémon League, the FBI, the G-Men, everything! With Team Rocket, and more specifically Giovanni, pulling the strings behind all these major political powerhouses, Giovanni would be the most powerful man in, not just Kanto, but the entire world.

However, these rumors never came to anything… Not that we know of.

"All our predictions of what might happen, what might be going on, has to be tossed out now," said a police organized crime specialist. "All our forward planning and investigation of who is on the move has to start again."

We apologise if this report has held too many rumours and opinions instead of pure hard facts but with an organisation like Team Rocket and a mystery like the man they call Giovanni, it is next to impossible to deliver cold hard facts. But on this day, there is one fact we can deliver with absolute certainty.

Giovanni is dead. People of Kanto, you can rest easily tonight. Sleep well, as the man called Giovanni is dead."

TO BE CONTINUED…