Chapter 239: Mammon Is Such a Bandit — He's Almost Stripped Unova's Legendaries Bare
"Landorus is coming."
Mammon looked toward the horizon. Clearly visible now — a Pokémon with a cloud where its lower body should be, moving fast.
The Force of Nature. The Abundance Pokémon.
"That's Landorus?" Elesa watched it approach with genuine curiosity.
The silhouette was similar to Thundurus in Incarnate Forme — humanoid upper body on a cloud base — but different in specifics. The upper body was entirely orange, powerfully built, muscled in a way that communicated something about what it spent its time doing. White cylindrical structures projected from the back of its head. Its cloud base extended into a thick, coiling tail.
Mammon had mentioned that Landorus was the strongest of the four Forces of Nature — not marginally, but substantially. Of course, at the scale Mammon currently operated, "strongest Force of Nature" and "other strong Force of Nature" probably felt about the same from the receiving end.
Landorus arrived at altitude above Tornadus and Thundurus, crossed its arms, and regarded both of them with the specific expression of a mediator who has been doing this for longer than anyone present has been alive.
"Tu~!"
The sound it made was low and weighted.
Both Tornadus and Thundurus, for reasons that clearly had deep historical roots, took an involuntary half-step backward.
Then they both looked down at Mammon.
"???"
Landorus noticed the eyeline shift, looked down.
"Hello, Landorus. Glad you could make it."
Mammon waved.
"??" Landorus genuinely did not know what to do with this.
A human. Just standing there. Waving.
"Don't be upset with Tornadus and Thundurus — I asked them to bring you here. They weren't causing trouble on their own initiative."
Landorus looked at Tornadus. Then at Thundurus. Then back at the human.
Had these two been caught?
"I find you pretty interesting. Any chance you'd be willing to get into this Poké Ball voluntarily?"
Mammon held up an empty Ball and tilted it in a friendly manner.
"Tu?"
Landorus found it was laughing internally.
This human's confidence was — remarkable. Either his understanding of Landorus's reputation was very wrong, or his sense of self-preservation was absent.
Nothing about this warranted voluntary cooperation.
Landorus reached behind it. An old mirror emerged — simple, circular, the kind of object that looked like it had been made before the concept of "antique" existed — and reflected back at Landorus.
In the mirror's light, its form shifted. The humanoid cloud shape compressed, restructured. What stood in its place was a tiger — not literally, but the category of presence that the word "tiger" captures. Four-limbed, muscled, the specific aggression of something that doesn't need to prove it's the apex predator because everyone already knows.
Therian Forme Landorus.
"The Reveal Glass," Mammon observed, looking at the mirror floating above and behind Landorus. "So it was with you."
That explained how Tornadus had managed to change forme without one — it must have had access at some point. Not currently important.
"Landorus in Therian Forme." He looked it over with genuine appreciation. "That's a serious presence."
The draconic pressure Landorus was exuding was notably stronger than Tornadus or Thundurus had managed. At this point in the year, it was probably the strongest wild legendary Mammon had encountered outside of the absolute apex tier.
I want it, he thought simply.
The aesthetic argument against was that the Forces of Nature's visual designs were — abstract, across all four of them, in both Formes. That was a mild point against. The strength argument for was considerably more compelling. Therian Landorus was a genuine strategic asset: Ground/Flying typing, only two weaknesses, the Intimidate ability that reduced physical attackers on entry, and it could actually fly — which mattered more in reality than it did on paper.
The calculus said take it.
"Tu~!"
Therian Landorus issued an instruction at Tornadus and Thundurus to stay still. It didn't want to bother with humans right now. It had a fight to conduct efficiently and then it was going to find Enamorus.
Tornadus and Thundurus responded to this instruction with expressions that communicated something like oh no, Landorus, you're about to have a bad time.
Landorus registered this response as unusual. Normally they cowered. What was different today?
It found out immediately.
Dark Mewtwo appeared at Mammon's side without fanfare.
Psychic.
Therian Landorus stopped moving.
Not "stopped moving because it was surprised" — stopped moving in the sense of having no access to the motor functions involved in moving. The psychic pressure was simply above what voluntary motion could push through.
It struggled. The struggling didn't accomplish anything. The psychic control tightened.
"What—"
Downward. The Psychic-powered flight path went straight down, then straight up, then down again. Rapid, controlled, precise. Like being used to pound pavement rather than like fighting.
Three impacts.
Less than three minutes.
Therian Landorus, one of the most formidable non-apex legendaries in the world, lay still.
"Psychic-type Pokémon when the power gap is large enough," Mammon said, looking at the Poké Ball now containing Landorus. "Genuinely unreasonable to play against. Nothing fancy required — pure ability to bypass everything and apply force directly."
He meant it as genuine admiration rather than gloating. Dark Mewtwo's combat value in fights where the power gap existed was simply exceptional. No positioning, no type-matching, no complex tactics. Total control, applied directly, done.
"I still need the Reveal Glass." Mammon picked up the ancient mirror — it was smaller than it had looked from a distance, fitting comfortably in his hand. "And one more Force of Nature."
He was saying this.
"Mammon." Caitlin's voice, pointing.
He looked where she was indicating.
Another cloud at the horizon. Moving with purpose.
"No way."
Mammon's eyes brightened.
He'd just been thinking about Enamorus, and here—
Humanoid upper body, pink, slender. A serpentine tail coiling around its lower half instead of sitting in cloud wisps like the others. The Spring Pokémon. The one whose mythology was sparsest, whose location nobody knew, whose shrine wasn't on this island.
It had sensed Landorus's presence nearby and come looking.
Enamorus floated above the shrine, scanning. Landorus should be here. Landorus had specifically said it would—
It noticed the Poké Ball in the human's hand.
"Fancy running into you," Mammon said. He held up the Landorus Ball and gave it a small, friendly shake. "Looking for Landorus? Slight complication there, I'm afraid."
"!!!!"
Enamorus stared at the Ball. At the human holding it. At Tornadus and Thundurus in the background, both of whom were now failing to look innocent.
When.
How.
Landorus specifically said—
"Perfect. That's all four."
Mammon looked at the four Balls in his open palm.
All four Forces of Nature. Complete set.
"Do you want one?" He held the collection toward Caitlin.
"I'll pass. I'm focusing on Psychic-types." She smiled, unhurried. "And I have Snowy to train. No bandwidth for new projects."
Mammon had already given her what she considered the best possible option — Snowy had gone with Caitlin rather than staying with him, and that generosity wasn't something she was going to be careless about.
Elesa looked at the four Balls with a specific expression.
She specialized in Electric-type. Thundurus was a Legendary Electric-type. The connection was obvious.
The problem was also obvious: her current strength was nowhere near what catching Thundurus would require. She hadn't been able to catch it when it was standing free in front of her, and she hadn't gotten stronger in the past hour. Wanting something was not the same as being ready for it.
Work harder first.
"We'll head back in a bit," Mammon said, returning the Balls to his coat.
He was already thinking about sending a message to Mitsuki. Enamorus was Fairy primary — Mitsuki's team ran toward that type coverage, and she might find it useful. Though she'd probably say her roster was already full and suggest he was sending her too many Flying-types again.
He'd figure it out.
"Before we leave — has anyone found the Swords of Justice yet?" He checked his messages.
Nothing from the search teams yet.
"..." Elesa considered saying something and decided not to.
She'd been observing Mammon's systematic approach to Unova's legendary population throughout this trip and had been forming thoughts about it.
Reshiram and Zekrom — both on Team Rocket's side, directly or by access.
Kyurem — a pending project, fight agreed to, future collection anticipated.
All four Forces of Nature — just happened. Just now.
Victini — collected before any of this.
The Swords of Justice — active search underway.
Everything that lived in or associated with Unova was being catalogued and either acquired or scheduled for acquisition. If Alder found out about the Forces of Nature specifically—
He's going to cry in a bathroom stall.
He really is.
Team Rocket came through Unova and stripped it down to the studs.
(End of Chapter)
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