Chapter 180: This World Really Is Better for Having Pokémon
"Let's go."
Mammon took one final, long look at the immense black shape barely visible behind the falling water, then gave Kyogre the word.
There was no question. That was a Shadow Lugia.
Mammon couldn't say why a normal Lugia would have "inverted" into one — that mechanism remained completely opaque. But there was zero doubt about the strength of the thing in front of him.
Just the leaking darkness alone had been enough to inspire genuine dread. Whatever this Lugia could actually do, the implication was staggering.
And the mother had said it herself — a hundred years ago, while the transformation was still in its early, slow stages, this Lugia's darkness had already exceeded Yveltal's, rivaling a freed Hoopa's.
Which meant whatever it had become now sat, at minimum, at the very top tier of legendary power.
Kyogre and the mother retreated from the waterfall chamber. As the unfamiliar presences withdrew, the black aura — which had moved with such disturbingly lifelike intent — slowly drew back, retreating behind the falls like something curling back into sleep.
The terrible crimson eyes dimmed and closed. The cavern settled back into stillness, leaving only the steady roar of falling water.
Back on the surface.
"This is worse than I'd expected," Mammon said, looking out over the endless water, thinking it through. "Lugia — are there other members of your kind?"
That there was a broader Lugia population went without saying. But Mammon had no idea how large that population actually was.
And as things currently stood, the Shadow Lugia's condition was clearly deteriorating. From what he'd just witnessed, that Lugia's self-awareness was on the verge of disappearing entirely.
"Our kind is few." The mother's telepathy was steady. "If I use your human geography — our elder currently resides in the waters near the Orange Islands."
The one from the films. The Lugia called the Guardian of the Sea.
Mammon turned this over. So the entire Lugia population came to four, total — counting the baby.
Made sense, in a way. Lugia's combat output didn't rival the apex legendaries, but they were still creatures the world had set apart, near the top of the natural order. Numbers like that were never going to be large.
Still better off than Rayquaza's line, at least. Only three of those existed total — and frankly, Rayquaza's situation was the truly absurd outlier.
"Have you told your elder about your husband?"
"...I haven't." The mother shook her head, troubled. "I didn't know how to explain it. I don't even fully understand what's happening to him myself."
"I think you need to talk to your elder. Better yet, ask them to come and see for themselves — they might recognize what this actually is."
Mammon paused.
"And I think you should reinforce the seal. Significantly."
He kept himself from saying anything more pointed than that, though privately he found this genuinely baffling. A crisis of this magnitude, and she hadn't even reported it to her own elder.
Whoever held the role of elder presumably had more accumulated experience. They might know exactly what this kind of "inversion" was. If it weren't for the mother's obvious emotional state, Mammon would have said outright that her judgment here had been a mistake.
"I understand." The mother accepted this without resistance.
"Also — keep close watch on the seal. If he loses control entirely and starts pushing against it, contact me immediately."
Mammon's tone was serious.
The Shadow Lugia's condition was bad enough that Mammon strongly suspected it wouldn't stay "dormant" much longer. The darkness saturating it was simply too far gone. Once the corruption fully consumed what remained of its mind, it would tear through that seal and emerge.
And when that happened, the entire Kanto region would pay for it. At that power level, unless that one ancient monster intervened personally, nothing in this region could stop it.
"I'm aware. I've actually been considering reaching out to Mew and Ho-Oh."
The mother had clearly thought about this herself. Though honestly, she had little confidence it would help.
"Contact me too, when it's time. I'll come help."
Mammon nodded, though privately he had real doubts about whether Mew or Ho-Oh could actually stop a fully-manifested Shadow Lugia. Ho-Oh had never been an offense-oriented legendary to begin with. And Mew — Mew's actual combat capability was something of an enigma. The only confirmed data point was that it outclassed Mewtwo, putting it roughly on par with a normal Lugia or Ho-Oh.
But the Mewtwo from the films had been a newly-awakened creature with barely any time to develop. Beating that Mewtwo wasn't exactly an impressive credential.
The Shadow Lugia's floor, by contrast, was top-tier legendary. And given the sheer density of malice radiating off it, its typing had probably inverted as well — it almost certainly carried Dark-type now.
"Alright. Thank you, Mammon."
The mother was genuinely grateful. This human — whatever impurity she'd sensed in his heart on first contact — had turned out to be someone she liked, once she'd actually spent time with him.
Because he was actually, genuinely trying to help.
Kyogre's strength was considerable. If her husband truly lost control, having Kyogre in the equation gave them one more real safeguard.
In reality, though—
"Mammon." Kyogre's telepathy connected to him privately, quiet, just between the two of them. "If it really comes to a fight, I'd suggest having that little dragon call its father over."
The little dragon meant the young Rayquaza, obviously.
"What, lacking confidence?" Mammon couldn't help the small smile.
He hadn't expected Kyogre to be the one suggesting they call in the black Rayquaza for backup.
"Absolutely not!" Kyogre bristled, indignant. "I'm the Kyogre that beat Rayquaza!"
Lacking confidence? Unthinkable. The two of them together were unstoppable.
"But I don't know how to describe it, Mammon. That Lugia is wrong. Its malice unsettled even me. If it loses control and we can't put it down quickly, this whole region could pay for it."
Kyogre's tone had gone genuinely heavy.
Outside of its rivalry with Rayquaza and its grudge against Groudon, Kyogre was usually quite level-headed.
This region is where Mammon was born, Kyogre thought. That mattered to it, more than it would say out loud.
"I was once pulled out by Hoopa's Prison Bottle, against my will. Hoopa's strength is something I personally experienced — and I think that Lugia's malice might exceed even Hoopa's."
A century ago, while Kyogre had been deep in dormancy, Hoopa Unbound had once forcibly dragged it out through a Prison Bottle for a fight. Kyogre had genuinely felt Hoopa's power firsthand — though the encounter had been brief, since Hoopa had immediately knocked it straight back into the bottle.
Hoopa Unbound's combat capability sat unquestionably at the apex legendary tier, and its broken-mechanic Prison Bottle made it an absolute nightmare in actual combat.
But measuring pure malice density alone — that Lugia exceeded Hoopa.
That was genuinely absurd.
"Understood." Mammon went quiet, thinking it through.
He and the mother Lugia returned to Whirl Island One. The baby Lugia was at the shoreline, happily chasing the mechanical Psyduck back and forth through the surf. Caitlin was watching with the expression of an indulgent aunt at a family reunion.
Rika and Ito were eyeing a small silver feather with a complicated, half-grimacing expression — clearly torn over whether it would actually satisfy the Masked Man.
May — Zuki — and Tamao were on a video call with someone, probably their sisters back home.
"Mammon. You're back." Caitlin was the first to notice him, crossing over with a small, warm smile.
"Yeah. Things got a bit complicated. I'll fill you in later."
He turned to the mother Lugia.
"Lugia — there's one more thing."
He called Zuki and Tamao over and introduced them properly.
"...?" The mother tilted her head, puzzled.
"They're from Ecruteak City. Their ancestors served as priestesses to you and Ho-Oh, centuries ago."
Understanding settled over the mother's expression immediately. She went quiet, looking between Zuki and Tamao.
This Lugia had been the one that once made her home at the Brass Tower. A hundred and fifty years ago, after a profound disappointment in Ecruteak's people, she had abandoned that home for the waters near the Whirl Islands.
And now — face to face with descendants of the priestesses who had once served her with absolute devotion — something complicated stirred behind her composure.
"Lord Lugia. It's an honor."
Zuki and Tamao both bowed deeply, immediate and earnest.
"Regarding what happened at the Brass Tower — our ancestors have always wanted to apologize, to you and to Lord Ho-Oh both. We hope you can forgive us."
Zuki's eyes had gone red around the edges. She bowed again, lower this time, her voice entirely sincere.
"We've kept the ruins of the Brass Tower exactly as they were. As a reminder to ourselves. We've reflected deeply on what happened, and we hope — truly — that you can forgive what was done."
The mother let out a long, slow breath, watching the two of them.
"...Ah."
It was precisely because she had once hoped for something that the disappointment had cut so deep.
Lugia and Ho-Oh had always shared the same quiet hope — that an unspoken trust might bloom naturally between humans and Pokémon. And yet, in Ecruteak as much as on the Whirl Islands, humans had let her down, again and again.
And still — even then, whenever humans faced disaster at sea, she had never once stood by and watched. She had always given aid.
What a gentle, generous creature she was.
"I never blamed any of you. Not once."
Her telepathy reached Zuki and Tamao directly, warm and unhurried.
"It simply wasn't the right time, back then. Perhaps that's all it ever was."
She thought of that night again, and let out another quiet sigh.
She and Ho-Oh had made their home in Ecruteak for centuries. They had seen things. All of them.
"Stand up." She used her Psychic ability to gently lift both girls upright. "If your hearts are genuinely in this, then keep working at it. The future between Pokémon and humans is something humans have to build for themselves, just as much as we do."
Her words landed with a gentleness that left both girls' eyes wet despite themselves.
What was this feeling?
Zuki couldn't quite name it. Just a deep, wordless sense of something finally settling into place.
Over a hundred years, and her family had finally heard those words from Lugia herself.
"Lord Lugia. Please believe us — we will carry your will forward. Always."
Zuki forced back tears and made the promise with absolute conviction.
The mother said nothing more. She simply nodded at Zuki, eyes warm with something like relief. She could feel it — every word that girl had said had come from the heart.
Watching this small reconciliation unfold, Mammon found himself genuinely moved.
Whatever else was true — a world that contained creatures like this really was better for it.
Mammon had always carried genuine goodwill toward Pokémon. That was one of his few non-negotiables.
"Mammon."
"Right here. What is it, Lugia?"
He turned. Something in her expression looked like hesitation. Like a decision still being weighed.
"I..." The mother looked down at her daughter, still chasing the mechanical Psyduck through the surf, laughing in whatever way Lugia laughed.
She thought of the Shadow Lugia. And made up her mind.
She had a seal to guard now. An elder to find. There was simply no other option left to her.
"I'd like to ask you to look after her for me. For a while."
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