Chapter 146: Mammon and Cynthia's Couples Photos
"YES, so there!!"
But the moment the words were out, Kyogre felt a flicker of regret. Had it seemed too eager?
It couldn't help it, though — this human had actually taken it to fight Rayquaza! If he could take on Rayquaza, what was one measly non-flying type?
Whatever. It didn't matter. All things considered, it was quite satisfied with this particular human.
"I'll be counting on you from here on, Kyogre."
Mammon raised Kyogre's Poké Ball, aimed it, and felt the corner of his mouth pull up of its own accord.
The Ball clicked open. Kyogre dissolved into a beam of red light and was drawn inside.
Coming to Larousse had been absolutely the right call.
Mammon looked down at the Poké Ball in his hand with deep satisfaction.
Kyogre was fully caught — and it would take over from Dark Mewtwo as his current ace.
And beyond that, he'd secured a promise from the black Rayquaza, and earned Deoxys's goodwill on top of it.
Sure, he'd spent one of Ho-Oh's favors — but this was an absolute windfall. Not even close to a bad trade.
Speaking of which…
Mammon looked off into the distance, and his smile widened.
Steven and the others stepped out of the building they'd sheltered in.
"Is the battle… over?"
Wallace tilted his head back and looked at the clear blue sky, at the calm city air — as if the howling black clouds and apocalyptic winds from before had all been some hallucination.
But Wallace knew very well they hadn't been.
Because the shattered, ruined city right in front of him said otherwise.
"Seems like it? There's no more battle noise." Nemona was confused. They'd stepped inside to get out of the wind, and somehow it had just… ended while they weren't watching.
So who won?
Nemona was curious — but from the looks of it, Mammon seemed to have come out on top.
"This city is going to need a complete rebuild." Steven exhaled.
It wasn't total annihilation — but by a rough count, at least two-thirds of Larousse had been reduced to something unrecognizable. So many people had lost their homes. Even thinking about it made Steven's head pound.
But what was he supposed to do? He couldn't beat the black Rayquaza…
The one genuinely fortunate thing was that Larousse's residents had evacuated in time — they'd gotten out when Rayquaza first descended and the battle with Deoxys began. If they'd still been here when the black Rayquaza arrived and the real fighting started, there would have been no escaping it. People would definitely have been caught in the crossfire.
"My, you're all still here?"
A sardonic voice drifted from behind them, and the expressions of Steven's group shifted.
They turned — and there was the black-and-white young man with that delinquent air, Dark Mewtwo once again sealed in its silver-grey limiter armor following close behind.
"Mammon."
Steven said the name low and steady. So the final victor was Mammon, then.
"Why so serious? Lighten up a little. Don't worry — I'm in a great mood right now. Not interested in fighting you."
Mammon tilted his head slightly, smiling pleasantly at the group.
Not that it made Steven and the others any less guarded.
"Tch. I tell the truth and you still don't believe me. I'll have you know I protected this city."
Mammon raised an eyebrow and delivered the line with clear intent, his eyes drifting naturally to Cynthia as he did.
Right. He was here to collect his payment.
Cynthia understood perfectly. She gave Mammon a small nod — she hadn't forgotten.
Though obviously she wasn't going to do it right here in front of Steven and everyone else.
"Protected what, exactly?" Wallace couldn't help it — he laughed.
This ruined, smoldering, thoroughly demolished city — how was this different from being completely destroyed?
"Well, the foundations are still standing. And Deoxys didn't get eliminated by Rayquaza, did it? I rescued an innocent Pokémon." Mammon shrugged. "If anything, you should all be thanking me."
He turned a perfectly pure smile on the group.
Wallace completely lost it. Thanking him — as if.
Though Wallace turned it over in his head and thought — well, technically, wasn't that right?
"For that, yes, thank you — but one thing has nothing to do with another. We are not giving up on taking you down, Mammon."
Steven said it quietly but firmly. As Hoenn's Champion, he had responsibilities. Even facing Team Rocket, he could separate the facts clearly enough.
"Tch. That's so you, Steven." Mammon clicked his tongue, genuinely amused.
"Anyway. Someone's already paid your tab for you — don't mention it."
Mammon turned and gave the group a casual wave as he left. He'd said his hellos. And he trusted Cynthia to keep her word.
Because her name was Cynthia.
But at the words "someone already paid," Steven, Wallace, and Leon exchanged baffled looks. Paid? What does that mean?
"Are we really just letting him walk away?"
Leon, still holding to his own sense of responsibility, looked at the unmoving Steven and asked.
"We have no preparation whatsoever. Engaging Mammon right now is pointless. Let's wait until we have Mega Evolution."
Steven didn't say everything on his mind.
What he was actually more worried about was that even if they attacked Mammon right now, they probably still weren't a match for him.
And if that turned out to be true — that would be genuinely humiliating. It would deal a serious blow to their morale.
"I agree. Mammon is… too strong right now." Giovanni exhaled.
Though internally, he was quite pleased. That's my son.
"Leave the aftermath here to Roxanne. We'll head back to Lilycove."
Steven called Roxanne to coordinate, then pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, exhausted.
On a small hillside outside Larousse City.
Mammon made his way here to find Caitlin and Lillie both waiting.
"Mammon!"
The moment Lillie spotted him, she called out in delighted relief and broke into a run toward him.
Her white skirt fluttered as she moved, golden hair flying — clear, sweet, and pretty.
"Careful — you'll trip."
Mammon caught her arm with an amused expression as she came running up. Her skin was soft and smooth, warm to the touch.
"Oh, Mammon — I'm not a child." Lillie pouted. She was a grown adult, thank you very much. She wasn't going to trip on a perfectly flat path.
"Just keeping an eye on you." Mammon shook his head.
Lillie felt a warm flutter in her chest. She bit her lip softly, a sweet smile rising before she could help it.
Then she caught herself.
"Mammon! I could see it from here — the battle at Larousse looked intense. Are you hurt?"
She asked with real urgency.
Honestly, when she'd seen the apocalyptic black clouds and howling winds descending over Larousse, she'd been terrified. She'd lost count of how many times she'd silently prayed for Mammon and Nebby.
Caitlin walked over now too. She glanced once at Lillie.
This woman really does know exactly what she's doing. That whole picture of a worried girl desperate with relief — textbook.
What man could resist that?
Not that it mattered, because Mammon wasn't a shallow person. And from beginning to end, Caitlin had kept her faith in him.
She'd worried a little in the middle, she would admit — but when she saw everything settle back to normal, and Mammon walked up looking perfectly composed and spotless —
Caitlin stopped worrying. Because Mammon had clearly won.
"Mm. Another shiny Rayquaza showed up — a powerful one — but I beat it. As for my safety, Nebby kept me very well protected."
Mammon took out Lunala's Poké Ball, gave it a little shake for Lillie's benefit, and handed it over.
Lunala hadn't formally participated in the battle, but it had to be said — the protection work had been excellent. Mammon was genuinely satisfied.
"Oh, thank goodness~ Mammon, you're amazing!"
Lillie took the Ball with a sigh of relief, smiling up at him with bright, admiring eyes.
He really was incredible. He'd beaten the legendary Rayquaza — and two of them!
"Kagura is going to be beside herself for missing this," Caitlin said lightly, with a dry smile.
Kagura had always been fixated on Rayquaza — and the day it finally descended, she hadn't been there to see it.
"Not necessarily a bad thing. This time Rayquaza came down to eliminate Deoxys — it probably wouldn't have been in the right state of mind to take Kagura seriously anyway."
Mammon shook his head. The relationship between Rayquaza and the Dragon Clan's successor was a nuanced one.
Not every successor received Rayquaza's acknowledgment — it was Rayquaza who chose the one it recognized as the true successor, not the other way around.
In both the games and the manga, Rayquaza had never acknowledged Kagura. That meant, in Rayquaza's eyes, she was still missing some particular quality.
In the game storyline, it was because May happened to have the meteorite on her at the time — so when Kagura summoned it, Rayquaza's attention was drawn to May instead, and a capture battle ensued.
Caitlin looked thoughtful but didn't quite follow.
"Once Kagura is fully ready, we'll take her to Sky Pillar. Whether she succeeds is up to her in the end."
Mammon didn't elaborate further. From a purely organizational standpoint, he did genuinely hope Kagura would earn Rayquaza's recognition.
Besides — he'd already reserved the black Rayquaza for himself. The regular young Rayquaza that couldn't even Mega Evolve? He had basically zero interest in that one.
Truthfully, Mammon thought Kagura's odds of successfully catching Rayquaza weren't particularly high.
"Understood." Caitlin nodded.
Lillie blinked, a little lost. She didn't quite follow all of that.
She let Lunala out of its Ball — she wanted to hear everything in detail. And Lunala, having had a front-row seat the whole time, immediately launched into the full account.
The big bat made a point of emphasizing how crucial its own role had been. It hadn't participated in the fighting, true — but it had been protecting Mammon!
"All right — let's find a town nearby, get something to eat, and rest properly."
Mammon pulled out his phone and opened the map, searching for the nearest settlement.
He'd barely gotten a location pinged when a message came through. From Cynthia.
"Well, this is fun."
Mammon forwarded the town location directly and felt a smile cross his face.
"What is it?" Caitlin stepped closer, curious — though she didn't look at his phone.
"Cynthia wants to come take photos with me."
Mammon didn't hide it from Caitlin. She was one of the people he trusted most.
"Photos of what?" Something uneasy stirred in Caitlin's chest.
"Couples photos. Fun, right? Posting them to the Sinnoh forums afterward — oh, this is going to be good~"
"…What."
Caitlin's eyes went wide — a rare sight.
Couples photos. Cynthia. And Mammon??
I'm sorry??
(End of chapter)
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