Chapter 358: "Do You Regret Joining Team Rocket?" "I've Never Once Regretted It!"
Morning came.
Sunlight slipped in through the gap in the curtains, and a thin silk blanket slid off the woman's bare back as she stirred awake, faint traces of tears still lingering at the corners of her eyes.
Still a little disoriented from just waking up, she pushed herself up on one arm, the elegant curve of her back exposed instantly to the open air.
Turning her head and seeing the black-haired young man still sleeping soundly beside her, last night's memories came flooding back all at once.
Viola remembered now, her face flushing hot immediately — thankfully the room was still fairly dim, and there was no one else around.
Mr. Mammon really is incredibly handsome.
Viola leaned in slightly, studying Mammon's sleeping face closely.
A smile crept onto her lips despite herself. Sure, she knew this intimacy could only ever be something kept quiet, behind closed doors. But so what?
As long as Mammon backed her, there was no way her career wouldn't take off from here!
And besides, Viola genuinely didn't feel like she'd come out behind on this deal. Looking at it another way — she'd just slept with the current, undisputed number-one heartthrob on the internet!!
Girl, you struck GOLD here. Sure, it had hurt a little at first, but afterward, it had genuinely felt wonderful.
Viola rose carefully — even that ordinary motion left her with a faint twinge of soreness, though manageable. Tiptoeing over to Mammon's side, she paused, then leaned down and pressed a light kiss to his cheek.
Mammon's eyelid twitched slightly, and Viola startled a little at the sight. But when he didn't open his eyes, she quietly slipped, guilty as a thief, out of the room.
Phew.
Viola patted her chest and turned around — only to freeze in shock.
Caitlin sat on a chair, legs elegantly crossed at an angle, watching Viola with a flat, unreadable expression.
The atmosphere turned immediately, palpably tense.
Viola caught it instantly — Caitlin's eyes carried a noticeably cool edge, her whole demeanor shifted dramatically from before. But it didn't take much thought for Viola to understand exactly why.
"Miss Caitlin, good morning."
Viola lowered herself, greeting Caitlin humbly.
"Why were you in Mammon's room?"
Sensing Viola's deference, Caitlin turned her gaze back to the newspaper in her hands, asking flatly.
"We were discussing the next interview, and it just... went on until now."
Viola answered, bracing herself.
Discussing an interview? Caitlin's eyes narrowed slightly, glancing at the mark on Viola's neck. Do you think I'm blind, exactly?
Still, Caitlin wasn't especially angry about it.
"Fine."
Just some journalist, after all — not especially strange for Mammon to indulge himself when the mood struck, especially given Viola genuinely did have quite the figure — ample chest, narrow waist, long legs. The classic "delicate stem, generous fruit" body type; genuinely impressive proportions for someone that slender.
Seeing that Caitlin had no further interest in pressing the matter, Viola left the villa immediately.
Only once she'd made it outside did Viola finally exhale in relief. How to put it — Caitlin's presence really was genuinely intimidating.
Turning her phone back on, she found her sister Violet had left an overwhelming number of messages and missed calls. She'd had her phone off the entire night.
"Hello? Violet, yeah, I'm fine, I'm heading home now."
By the time Viola made it home, Violet rushed straight to meet her.
"Sis, you seriously scared me to death! I thought—"
Violet had rushed over from Santalune City specifically the day before, since word of Lumiose City's crisis had spread across the entire region of Kalos, and worry for her sister had brought her straight there.
"Relax, I'm fine — I went to talk to Mr. Mammon yesterday about the next interview, and it ran late enough that I just stayed over."
"Let me change first."
Viola went into her room, quickly switching into pajamas — she genuinely needed a proper rest.
"Huh? Sis, why are your knees so red?"
Violet looked, puzzled, at Viola's two visibly reddened knees.
"Probably from crouching in a corner filming yesterday," Viola said, entirely unbothered.
Was she really supposed to tell Violet it was from too much kneeling last night?
"Sis! You're way too reckless — your safety matters more than any of this!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Anyway, good news for you."
Viola beamed, giving her precious little sister's fair cheek an affectionate pinch, thoroughly delighted.
"Mr. Mammon's planning to acquire the Lumiose Press! Which means the paper will get first crack at breaking all kinds of Team Rocket news!"
In truth, Mammon had already been planning to expand into media anyway, and now was genuinely the perfect moment, given Team Rocket's current momentum.
"Wait, so your boss is going to be Mr. Mammon now, sis?"
Violet blinked.
"That's right. Your sister's real chance has finally arrived."
Viola beamed with genuine delight — not just Mammon himself, but she'd get to interview Team Rocket's Senior and top-tier executives going forward too!
She was already planning a dedicated Team Rocket column — nothing but pure traffic waiting to happen. Especially those young men and women who'd fought so impressively during yesterday's battle — Viola had already noticed exactly who they were.
Per Mammon's own word, as long as Platinum and the others were themselves willing, Viola would have free rein to interview them.
Not a bad deal for them, either — boost their public profile a bit, let everyone know these genuinely gifted young trainers were all part of Team Rocket.
"Ta-da~ Violet, look at this!"
Viola pulled a small notebook out of her bag, grinning at Violet.
"The current list of Team Rocket's Senior Officers."
"Wait — Mr. Mammon actually gave you THAT?!"
Violet stared, genuinely shocked.
"This list isn't as secretive as you'd think, and besides..."
Viola thought back to last night — she'd genuinely worked hard for this!! Not easy at all, thank you very much.
Besides, the list wasn't especially confidential to begin with — the League itself basically already had it. Giving it to Viola was mostly just a matter of convenience, so she could pick her own interview targets. Of course, she'd still need to arrange each interview herself.
"Gladion, from Alola — the eldest son of the Aether Foundation, whose mother is the current Alola League Chairwoman, Lusamine."
"Platinum, nicknamed Dawn, from Sinnoh — young lady of House Berlitz, hailed as the most gifted trainer the Berlitz family has produced in two hundred years..."
"Duruo, from Unova — currently enrolled at Blueberry Academy, Champion of the Blueberry League, grandson of current Unova Elite Four member Marshal."
"Mei..."
Skimming quickly through the list, Viola weighed her options for future interviews. And she noticed something — every single one of these Senior Officers was genuinely, remarkably young!
But the baseline requirement for a Team Rocket Senior Officer was already Elite-Four-caliber strength!!
Genuinely terrifying.
"This is honestly ridiculous..." Violet clicked her tongue in astonishment.
"You could put together several idol groups out of this lineup alone. I don't even want to imagine how strong Team Rocket's going to be once these kids actually finish growing up."
Violet marveled at it — after scanning through so many names, she was starting to feel like even Serena's own standing among Team Rocket's Senior Officers wasn't especially exceptional by comparison.
"A Team Rocket idol group?"
Viola blinked, and a genuinely promising marketing idea sparked in her head — a way to raise the public profile of these Team Rocket boys and girls even further.
—
The following days saw Lumiose City engulfed in a genuine flurry of cleanup activity. Through the combined effort of Team Rocket, the Kalos League, and enthusiastic volunteers, the city's twisted vegetation was finally, completely cleared away, and the resulting sinkholes and fissures were filled in as well.
All that remained was reconstruction of the buildings themselves — a task the Kalos League would handle on its own from here.
"This disaster came without warning, but such man-made calamities cannot break us. Our sincere thanks go to the citizens who, rather than giving in to fear, stood in support of us throughout this crisis, and equally to Team Rocket for their wholehearted assistance."
"The League will now begin restoring Lumiose City. We are confident that, before long, this city will experience a true rebirth. May the world find harmony and order once more, and may a tragedy such as this never happen again."
The Kalos League's official public statement received overwhelming approval from the people of Kalos.
Team Flare's rampage had, after all, been genuinely enormous — with Lumiose City, Kalos's own regional heart, nearly reduced to ruin, the psychological impact on the population had been considerable. Thankfully, the outcome had turned out well — and once again, Team Rocket found itself trending across the region as a result of the whole affair.
Team Rocket's role in the crisis had been undeniably instrumental, and their continued efforts afterward helping the League maintain order and clear the debris only reinforced that impression further.
In truth, the Kalos League's leadership would have much preferred to avoid mentioning Team Rocket at all if they possibly could — the region's higher-ups understood full well just how "delicate" Kanto's own relationship with Team Rocket currently stood, and that the Kanto League was quietly preparing for an eventual "showdown" with them.
Given that particular backdrop, was it really wise for Kalos to publicly, specifically praise Team Rocket?
Was Kalos's own leadership trying to get itself killed?
But there was really no way around it. Everyone had witnessed Team Rocket's performance with their own eyes — and besides, without Mammon, who exactly would have handled that rampaging Zygarde? Who else even could have?
The Kalos League genuinely found itself in a bind — fail to acknowledge Team Rocket, and the public would be furious with the League. Acknowledge Team Rocket outright, and Kanto would have some genuinely awkward questions to ask.
In the end, the Kalos Chairman decided to give them a mention — but only a brief, passing one, so that if Kanto ever raised the issue, the Chairman would have a ready answer prepared.
Team Rocket genuinely did contribute — surely you can't ask me to play the villain here just because your own side happens to be at odds with them?
If Mammon ends up unhappy about it, who exactly do you think would suffer the consequences? Kalos, that's who.
As far as the Kalos Chairman was concerned, he was simply trying to keep his own region stable and harmonious — was there really anything wrong with that?
There wasn't!
Regardless, one thing was beyond dispute: after this whole affair, Team Rocket's public reputation across Kalos had shot up dramatically, and almost entirely in a positive direction.
Most notably of all, the Lumiose Press had gone ahead and conducted yet another interview with Team Rocket.
But this time, it wasn't Mammon himself being interviewed — instead, it was one of Team Rocket's own leadership figures, Platinum Berlitz.
The segment was titled: "Team Rocket Executive Exclusive: Platinum Berlitz — 'I Have No Regrets!'"
"First! First!"
"Yes yes yes, THIS is exactly what I'm here for!"
"Our girl Viola's really made it now, doing a whole sequel to the Team Rocket interview!"
"Berlitz? THE Berlitz Berlitz?"
"Whoa! The girl on the cover is gorgeous — she's actually a Team Rocket executive? That's genuinely impressive."
The moment the interview video dropped, it drew an enormous audience immediately. The people of Kalos, after all, were burning with curiosity about Team Rocket — and honestly, it wasn't just Kalos; plenty of other regions felt the same.
The video opened on that same familiar living room, Viola seated in formal attire, while Platinum wore a fitted black dress, a large 'R' emblazoned across the chest.
"Welcome to our special feature segment. Today, we're joined by Team Rocket's Senior Officer, Miss Platinum. Please, say hello to our viewers."
"Hello everyone, I'm Platinum Berlitz. You can also call me Dawn."
Platinum rose formally to her feet and offered a proper noble's curtsy.
Perhaps because this was her first time on camera, the girl was visibly a little nervous.
"Dawn's certainly very polite. Feel free to relax a little — think of this as just an ordinary conversation," Viola guided her gently.
"Mm~" Platinum nodded.
"So, Dawn, I've gathered some information — apparently your background is genuinely quite exceptional, correct?"
"Well, I suppose you could say that. My family carries a fair amount of recognition in Sinnoh," Platinum said, offering a bashful smile.
"You're being modest. There's also a genuinely interesting detail — apparently your family unanimously considers you the most gifted trainer the family has produced in two hundred years, and treats you as their hope for the future."
Viola said, smiling at Platinum.
"May I ask — as the young lady of House Berlitz, carrying your family's hopes on your shoulders, with such exceptional natural talent, why did you end up joining Team Rocket?"
"That's..." Platinum hesitated slightly, fidgeting with the hem of her dress.
"If it's not comfortable to discuss, you don't have to answer," Viola said, seeing the girl's visible reluctance.
"It's not that it's especially uncomfortable, exactly — let me think how to put it." Platinum considered for a moment, gathering her words.
"Honestly, at the time, Team Rocket's public reputation was still fairly poor — most people still thought of it as an evil organization, after all."
Platinum said. Viola nodded.
"And then Mr. Mammon reached out to my father for certain particular reasons — I'd rather not go into the specifics — and, using somewhat forceful methods, he arranged for me to join Team Rocket."
Platinum held up her fingers to indicate a tiny gap, implying it had really only been a small amount of force.
"Genuinely just a LITTLE bit forceful, though. Though, even now, my father might still hold a slight misunderstanding about Mr. Mammon over the whole thing — no matter how I try to explain it, he just won't listen."
Platinum said, sounding genuinely resigned.
"But personally, for me, I still think back fondly on that moment. It was a genuinely... unique experience."
"I see. Sounds like Mr. Mammon genuinely valued you a great deal, Dawn, if he was willing to risk your uncle's misunderstanding just to bring you into Team Rocket as his companion."
Viola began, effortlessly, romanticizing the situation on her own.
"So, Dawn — do you regret joining Team Rocket, looking back on it now?"
"I have never once regretted it!"
Platinum shook her head, her tone genuinely resolute.
"For me, it might well be the single best decision I've ever made in my entire life."
"Mr. Mammon is a leader I genuinely admire and respect. And in everyday life, he's also an excellent mentor, a teacher figure — my own growth wouldn't have been possible without his support and guidance."
Platinum's tone was thoroughly earnest.
"Mr. Mammon isn't here right now, you know, you don't have to lay it on quite this thick for your leader," Viola teased.
"No... it's not that at all. I mean every word of it." Platinum's fair, delicate face flushed slightly pink.
"Haha~ just teasing. Dawn really is adorable."
"I think your father, watching this, would genuinely come to understand you a bit better too. Now, about the Team Flare incident — you and your fellow companions..."
The interview continued on, and under Viola's easy guidance, the whole conversation carried a light, genuinely pleasant tone. It ran a little over half an hour before finally wrapping up.
"So good, love it! MORE please!"
"Oh my GOD, Dawn's really from House Berlitz?! That's a genuine mega-heiress right there!"
"Dawn is way too cute, I'm in love, absolutely in love!"
"A rookie so gifted the boss himself personally showed up to recruit her into Team Rocket — I'm genuinely curious how strong she actually is now."
—
Meanwhile, in the Sinnoh region, at Professor Rowan's laboratory.
Watching this interview, Professor Rowan and Mr. Berlitz exchanged a long, silent look.
Mr. Berlitz especially — his face had gone red as a liver.
Hearing Platinum's own line, "I have never once regretted it," played back to him on-screen, Mr. Berlitz's feelings churned in a genuinely tangled mess.
And what exactly did she mean by "genuinely just a LITTLE bit forceful"?
My own daughter — how could you go around whitewashing that man like this?! You were literally COERCED into joining Team Rocket by him!
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