Chapter 359: The Prison Bottle! Mammon Is a Man the Great One Himself Once Blessed
"That was a good interview."
Mammon watched the flood of unanimous praise beneath the video, unable to hold back a smile.
"Dawn, they're basically all just gushing about how cute you are."
"Mr. Mammon, please stop teasing me."
Platinum went a little bashful again.
"I'm not teasing at all — Dawn genuinely is adorable. If I were a boy, I'd absolutely be chasing after you."
Viola chimed in as well, giving Platinum a playful wink.
Platinum's face went red.
"Alright, stop teasing Dawn, she's about to turn into an ostrich," Mammon said with a laugh.
"This segment turned out great. Go ahead and run with it yourself from here — interview whoever you like, just make sure you get their consent first."
Mammon told Viola. Credit where due, Viola's interviewing skills genuinely were impressive — she had a way of putting people at ease. And her questions weren't especially pointed, yet somehow always landed exactly where the audience's curiosity happened to be.
"Okay, okay~ leave it to me, boss!" Viola was thoroughly fired up.
Honestly, she felt like her fortunes had genuinely turned around — not only had she slept with Team Rocket's own boss, but now the resources at her disposal were essentially limitless.
In truth, the people she most wanted to interview right now were the top-tier executives. Every single one of them was pure walking headline material — N, former leader of Team Plasma; Caitlin, formerly a battle facility operator from a prestigious Sinnoh family; Kagura, heir to the Meteorite people's legacy; and so on.
But unfortunately, aside from Caitlin, none of the top-tier executives were currently in Kalos.
As for interviewing Caitlin herself... yeah, Viola didn't quite have the nerve to bring that one up. She could tell perfectly well Caitlin didn't think especially highly of her right now.
But even without the top-tier executives, there were still plenty of worthy interview subjects among the Senior Officers, weren't there? Gladion, Duruo, former Team Skull boss Guzma, former Team Aqua leader Archie, and more.
Though, admittedly, most of the people Viola found genuinely compelling happened to be based in other regions. Honestly, Viola would've been more than happy to travel for it — but with Mammon currently in Kalos, and considering she'd occasionally still need to keep him company at night — no wait, sleep with Mammon at night — Viola figured there was no need to rush off anywhere just yet.
Mammon really was extraordinary, after all — the night before, she'd nearly been knocked clean unconscious.
But honestly, Viola felt it had been thoroughly worth it.
"Oh, right, boss." Viola remembered something.
"What's up?"
"So, the merit points I've built up in the organization, and any Pokémon redeemed with them — can those be transferred to someone else to raise?"
Viola asked carefully.
She genuinely had no real talent as a trainer herself — that was exactly why she'd gone into journalism instead. But having joined Team Rocket, wasn't it a genuine waste to leave all those merit-shop resources completely unused?
"Technically, no. You're thinking of redeeming something for your sister Violet, aren't you?" Mammon raised an eyebrow.
"Boss, you're so sharp." Viola shot him a wink with her left eye while Caitlin and Platinum weren't looking.
A mature older-sister type acting cute — surprisingly charming, honestly.
"Why don't you ask Violet if she's interested in joining Team Rocket herself instead? That'd be a lot more straightforward — she could handle her own merit points that way. As for transferring redemptions on someone else's behalf, rules are rules."
Mammon thought it over and told Viola.
"Got it, boss! My sister would be thrilled to join the organization!"
Viola straightened up instantly, the sudden motion causing her fitted top to visibly strain around her generously-filled chest.
"You sly woman, been angling for this the whole time, huh."
Mammon couldn't help laughing — of course he understood exactly what Viola had actually been after: getting her sister an opening to join the organization.
"Well, my sister's a Kalos Gym Leader, after all — I was worried you might not want to take her on, boss."
"No need to overthink it that much. Sure, bring a contract for Violet to sign."
"Got it! Boss is the best!"
Viola was thrilled — she figured this counted as a real opportunity for her sister too. With actual resources behind her, Violet was sure to grow stronger.
Thinking that over, Viola stole another glance around, making sure Caitlin and the others weren't watching, and shot Mammon another wink.
"I'd like to come by tonight."
"Call me daddy first."
"Daddy, I'd like to come by tonight."
"I mean YOU should be the one calling ME that tonight."
Watching Viola, Mammon couldn't help clicking his tongue — this woman really did know how to work an angle. Genuinely obedient, too, and genuinely uninhibited about it.
—
Meanwhile, elsewhere, out in an endless expanse of featureless desert.
Braviary descended from the sky, and Baraz landed, crawling into a cave — and before long, his eyes lit up with genuine delight.
There, standing in the cave, was a strangely-shaped vessel.
"Finally found it. The Prison Bottle!"
Baraz let out a relieved breath — he was absolutely certain this was it. This was the very tool his great-grandfather had used, generations ago, to seal away Hoopa's power. With this in hand, Confined Hoopa could finally reclaim its full strength.
Without a moment's caution, Baraz stepped forward and took hold of the Prison Bottle. But the instant his hand closed around it—
Two hollow, eye-like sockets set into the top of the Prison Bottle lit up with a pair of glowing crimson points of light.
Baraz's figure froze instantly. Two seconds passed, and then, his face utterly blank, Baraz picked up the Prison Bottle and climbed back onto Braviary.
—
The Vale of Creation.
Same peaceful tranquility as ever, with Meray and Confined Hoopa resting on the grass.
"Strange, why hasn't my brother sent word in a while?"
Meray puzzled over it — Baraz had originally been checking in with his location periodically, but had gone silent since.
Suddenly, an eagle's cry sounded from the horizon.
"That's my brother's Braviary!"
Meray's face lit up with joy, and she immediately rose to her feet, looking toward the sky.
Braviary swept in and landed on the ground, and Baraz dismounted from its back.
"Brother, did you find the Prison Bottle? That's wonderful, you—brother?"
Meray took two eager steps forward, watching Baraz approach with his head down, but as she spoke, she noticed something wrong.
Too quiet. Why isn't Baraz reacting to anything at all?
Right at that moment, Baraz suddenly lifted his head, his gaze locked unwaveringly onto Confined Hoopa's puzzled little face.
"Brother?!" Meray's pupils shrank — she'd caught it. Two points of glowing crimson light.
In the next instant, a violent surge of black energy erupted out of the now-opened Prison Bottle, flooding wildly into Confined Hoopa's body.
That colossal wave of energy surged like a tidal wave, hurling Confined Hoopa up into the sky, its small body caught at the center of a reversed, whirling cyclone, swallowing this terrifying flood of energy whole.
No — more accurately, that energy was violently forcing its way into Hoopa's body, whether it wanted it or not.
The whole sky darkened under the weight of that black energy, and Meray watched, horrified, as it unfolded before her.
The Prison Bottle now empty, Baraz let out a muffled groan, his body collapsing limply — but he just barely managed to catch himself with an arm before hitting the ground.
"Brother?!" Meray heard the noise and rushed to steady him.
"Meray? How did I get here? Hoopa..."
Baraz gripped his head, a sharp, throbbing pain lancing through it. But even through the pain, he looked up at the strange spectacle unfolding in the sky.
"Brother, don't you remember? You brought the Prison Bottle back — and you opened it." Meray watched him, worried.
"I... no, that's not right."
Something tightened in Baraz's chest. Had it really been him? But he had absolutely no memory whatsoever of anything after touching the Prison Bottle.
Right at that moment, the sky finally cleared back to brightness. Every trace of the black energy had vanished completely, and standing in its place was a colossal giant.
Its body was towering and enormously muscular, humanoid in shape, with a massive braid standing upright behind it, radiating wild, untamed ferocity. A huge gray tail extended from behind it.
Hoopa Unbound!
BOOM!
Hoopa Unbound landed heavily on the ground, its sheer mass sending a violent tremor through the earth beneath it.
"Hoopa's power~ is BACK!"
A coarse, gravelly telepathic voice rumbled through the air — entirely unlike the cute, childlike tone from its Confined form.
Hearing this, Meray broke into a joyful smile. Baraz, though still full of confusion, felt genuinely happy for Hoopa too.
"Meray, Baraz, I—"
But before Hoopa Unbound could finish speaking, its face suddenly contorted violently, as though gripped by some unbearable agony.
Its towering, giant frame began to sway and topple.
"Hoopa!"
Meray cried out, alarmed.
THUD—
Hoopa Unbound crashed heavily to the ground, its once-clear eyes beginning to flicker with an eerie, malevolent crimson light.
"VANISH!!"
A savagely furious roar tore out of Hoopa Unbound's throat. The fallen giant rose back up, its face twisted into a grotesque, demonic mask of rage — leaving Meray and Baraz's pupils trembling with sheer terror.
Hoopa Unbound slowly rose into the air, its eyes flickering between light and dark, a crimson glow of malevolent hatred so concentrated it seemed almost tangible.
"VANISH!! ALL OF YOU, VANISH!!"
A roar like something out of a nightmare echoed across the sky. Baraz pressed his lips together tightly and quickly snatched up the Prison Bottle, aiming it at Hoopa Unbound.
Hoopa Unbound's body froze instantly, black energy flaring to life as it was drawn back into the Prison Bottle.
Before long, Hoopa Unbound reverted back into its Confined form, dropping out of the sky.
Meray rushed forward and caught it.
Baraz sealed the Prison Bottle shut, and seeing the crimson light still glowing faintly at its mouth, immediately hurled it to the ground.
He understood now — something was genuinely, seriously wrong with this Prison Bottle!
"Hoopa, are you alright?"
Seeing Confined Hoopa lying so weak and fragile in her arms, Meray felt a genuine pang of heartache.
"Meray..." Confined Hoopa struggled to open its eyes, looking up at her.
"So dark... it was so dark in there... Hoopa was... so scared."
Confined Hoopa related its experience in a faint, weak voice.
"It's okay. It's over now." Meray held it close.
"There's something genuinely wrong with this Prison Bottle. How could this have happened..."
Baraz had heard what Hoopa said too, and genuinely couldn't make sense of it. This was supposed to be Hoopa's own sealed-away power — how could it have turned into something this genuinely malevolent?
"What do we do now, brother?" Meray was, at this point, genuinely at a loss.
She couldn't even bring herself to approach the Prison Bottle anymore.
"Let's call Mammon. Ask him what we should do with this thing." Baraz thought it over and decided reaching out to Mammon was the right call.
Mammon was clearly enormously experienced, and genuinely powerful. And most importantly, Baraz trusted him.
Mammon was a man the Great One itself had once looked upon with favor.
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