Chapter 332: "He's Team Rocket's Leader! The Chance of a Lifetime!"
"Could I ask for some specifics?"
Viola was genuinely curious now.
"Sure. I did happen to win last year's Indigo Conference — I imagine I've got a bit of a name for myself on Kanto's side of the internet."
Mammon answered, modest as ever.
"Oh? You can't be that old, can you, Mr. Mammon?"
Something clicked for Viola at that, already mentally calculating how well she could sell this particular hook. After all, the winner of a regional Conference — the Indigo Conference specifically — could well pique genuine public curiosity even here in Kalos.
"Right, I only just set out on my own trainer's journey last year."
"Okay, got it. So, Mr. Mammon, when would you have time for the interview?"
Viola thought it over and asked.
"How about tomorrow afternoon?"
Mammon was, admittedly, someone who liked to sleep in — barring anything genuinely urgent, he usually didn't get up before ten. And clearly, in Mammon's own estimation, this interview didn't rank as anything urgent.
"Great! I'll come by at one tomorrow afternoon, then."
Viola confirmed the time.
"See you tomorrow, then." Mammon offered a smiling farewell.
Viola watched the group climb into their car and pull away. Why exactly was Serena leaving with Mammon's group? Seemed like they were on pretty good terms.
Well, she'd find a chance to ask Serena about it later. For now, tomorrow's interview was the priority.
"Better go home and look up whatever I can find on Mammon," Viola thought to herself. He'd said himself he had some name recognition over in Kanto — she should be able to dig up something once she got back and searched Kanto's networks.
—
Back in Mammon's car, meanwhile.
"Mr. Mammon, why are you agreeing to Miss Viola's interview?" Platinum asked from the back seat, genuinely puzzled.
In her view, this didn't strike her as a particularly good idea — Team Rocket probably wasn't well-suited to appearing publicly in the mainstream press. After all, plenty of Mammon's own operations weren't exactly the kind that would sit well with the general public.
She was thinking, specifically, of what had happened to her personally when she first joined, and this morning's threatening negotiation with Diantha.
"Why not?" Mammon shot back with a smile.
"Dawn, Team Rocket's a legitimate organization now — and a legitimate business too." Mammon said lazily.
"Ummm..." Platinum wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Was it really THAT legitimate?
"Regardless, the old, evil Team Rocket is dead and gone. We're going to have to rehabilitate our reputation eventually, one way or another."
"Otherwise, wherever we go, people are just going to keep pointing fingers and calling us 'that evil Team Rocket' — that's not exactly the outcome we want either."
Honestly, Mammon's reasoning was a bit of a stretch — but as long as there was a reasoning at all, that was enough.
The truth was, Mammon genuinely didn't care about Team Rocket's public image one way or the other. Whatever the outside world thought of them, what difference did it make? Regardless, Mammon had no intention of changing how he conducted himself.
The real reason he'd agreed to the interview was mostly a spur-of-the-moment thought — he figured it'd be genuinely entertaining.
Just imagining the faces of everyone who knew him, watching that interview with looks of constipated disbelief — genuinely hilarious material.
"Ah, I see." Platinum understood now, and felt Mammon's point made sense.
Platinum had, by this point, fully and genuinely accepted her own identity within Team Rocket — so if the organization's public image could improve out in the world, that could only be a good thing, right?
Serena blinked, not quite following the significance of it all — she didn't know much about Team Rocket, and Mammon's mention of the organization once being "evil" hadn't fully registered for her.
But listening to Mammon and Platinum's exchange, it sounded like Team Rocket really did have a genuinely terrible reputation over in Kanto.
Well, whatever — that was the old Team Rocket. Serena wasn't the type to hold something like that against them.
"By the way, Serena, have you decided which Ultra Beast you want?"
Mammon asked her.
"Mm~ Mr. Mammon, I'd like Blacephalon."
Serena stated her decision.
The Fire/Ghost-type Blacephalon was one of the more offense-oriented Ultra Beasts — extremely strong Special Attack, respectable physical power too, and its speed wasn't bad either. But typical of Ultra Beasts, Blacephalon's HP and Defense were pretty lackluster.
"Blacephalon, huh? Solid choice — that'll fill a real gap in your team."
Mammon nodded. For Serena's current lineup, Blacephalon really was an excellent pick.
Worth noting here — Serena's starter had been Froakie, not the Fennekin she'd started with in the anime. Which meant Blacephalon's typing here filled a genuine gap in her current team.
"I'll get you a Elite-Four-caliber Blacephalon, which'll save you a huge amount of training time — but you'll need to catch it yourself first. Ultra Beasts tend to have pretty fierce wild temperaments."
Mammon reminded her.
Ultra Beasts, given their raw baseline strength, tended to genuinely be quite powerful to begin with — but Mammon had confidence Serena could pull it off.
"Okay! Thank you, Mr. Mammon."
Serena was genuinely delighted at that — an Elite-Four-caliber Blacephalon, meaning once she caught it, all she'd need was some basic team-synergy training and it could immediately serve as a core mainstay.
Mr. Mammon really is so thoughtful.
"No need to thank me. Just work hard from here — don't let me down." Mammon said with a smile.
He genuinely had high hopes for Serena.
"Yes, sir!" Serena's expression turned resolute.
—
Night fell quickly.
In Viola's room, freshly showered, hair still pinned up, she sat down at her computer desk.
"So you're going to interview last year's Indigo Conference champion, sis? Ummm... that's not exactly a huge story, is it?"
On the video call, a pretty girl in a white nightgown lay sprawled across her bed, looking puzzled.
The lace-trimmed nightgown slipped slightly to one side, revealing a generous stretch of fair, pale skin.
Quite the sight!
"You don't get it, Violet. This guy's genuinely not ordinary."
Viola pulled up a Kanto regional website and started digging into information on Mammon, and a video popped up immediately.
And then—
"Hello everyone, I'm Mammon. Team Rocket's Mammon."
Team Rocket?
Viola froze. Something about that didn't sound right at all — and was this some kind of broadcast?
Once she finished listening to this video-less audio clip, she was even more certain — something was very, very off.
Those words were dripping with pure, unfiltered arrogance!
"Sis, I think... you might want to bail on this interview. Team Rocket's Kanto's evil organization!"
Since the video call had been running the whole time, Violet had heard the clip too, her voice already carrying a note of genuine shock.
Oh my god. And the Team Rocket history she was digging up was genuinely horrifying — kidnapping, extortion, genetic experimentation, stealing Pokémon off random passersby, and just this year, they'd apparently hijacked the S.S. Anne, a world-class cruise liner!
That was genuinely far too much — completely beyond anything Violet had ever imagined.
"This is way too dangerous, sis!"
"Don't panic."
Viola's own heart was racing now too. She understood, at last, why Diantha had been so eager to get her to leave that morning.
Diantha had clearly known exactly who Mammon was from the start.
Viola immediately started digging deeper into Team Rocket's background, and, sure enough — thoroughly, undeniably villainous.
But there was one crucial detail Viola had caught.
"Violet, you heard it too, right? Mammon's the current leader of Team Rocket — he said it himself in the broadcast, that he took over after taking down the previous boss."
Viola's eyes flickered with a sharp, eager glint. This could be her big break!
"Sis, you're not seriously still thinking about interviewing him, are you?" Violet's voice was practically disbelieving. "Have you lost your mind??"
"I don't approve! This is way too dangerous, sis!"
He's the leader of an evil organization! Setting aside Viola's own personal safety, could you even broadcast an interview with the leader of an evil organization in the first place?
"Calm down for a second, Violet. I saw Diantha talking with Mammon myself this morning, and I've come across some other information too — apparently, under Mammon's leadership, Team Rocket has completely changed how it operates. It's not the same Team Rocket it used to be."
Viola explained patiently to her sister.
"But..." Violet's brow stayed knitted with concern.
"Violet, you know how long I've been waiting for a shot like this!" Viola said, eyes fixed on the basic information about Mammon on her screen.
"If this interview with Mammon actually spreads, this could be my ticket to real fame!"
Yes — this was a genuinely one-of-a-kind opportunity! Sure, Mammon might not be especially well-known here in Kalos, but he was Team Rocket's boss — the boss of the former evil organization known as Team Rocket!
Even if the interview's local reception in Kalos ended up modest, Viola was confident that if she could get this segment circulated into Kanto, it could genuinely make her a household name.
"Violet, I have to think about this seriously — this might be the chance of a lifetime! I want to grab it!"
"I still just think..." Violet's tone remained thoroughly unconvinced.
"Trust me on this, Violet — I don't think Mammon's actually that evil of a man." Viola tried to soothe her sister's worries.
This was an exclusive interview with the leader of Team Rocket — there was no way Viola was giving that up. Opportunity and risk always went hand in hand, after all.
And besides, in Viola's own estimation, the actual risk here wasn't especially high. If Mammon really were that dangerous, would Diantha have simply let his group wander freely around Lumiose City the way she had? Which surely meant Mammon was, at the very least, "manageable."
"Whether I can make something of myself really comes down to this one shot!"
Viola did carry a fair bit of ambition, honestly. Sure, her little sister Violet had already become one of Kalos's own Gym Leaders — but Violet's actual battle strength ranked fairly middling among the Gym Leaders, and Bug-type at that. Plenty of online commentary had criticized Violet's skill.
Mostly, Violet's looks and her sunny, upbeat personality had saved her reputation quite a bit. But what good did that do Viola?
"Well, if that's your decision, sis, then I'm coming to Lumiose City tomorrow to be there with you! If anything goes wrong, I can protect you."
Seeing this, Violet stopped arguing, speaking seriously instead.
She knew her sister's personality well enough — if talking her out of it wasn't going to work, then she'd just have to be the one protecting her big sister instead.
"You... alright, fine."
Viola felt a genuine surge of warmth at that, and could only agree — she knew refusing wouldn't do any good anyway.
Everything was riding on tomorrow's interview!!
(End of chapter)
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