Chapter 136: Cynthia, I Promise — I Absolutely Won't Lay a Hand on You
"Caitlin. Take Lillie somewhere safe."
Mammon gestured for Caitlin to move Lillie to a secure position and wait.
"Hm? Aren't you coming with us, Mr. Mammon?"
Lillie looked worried. She'd just heard the whole story of what was happening between Rayquaza and Deoxys — and while she felt genuinely sorry for Deoxys, Rayquaza's strength was undeniable. Getting involved seemed risky.
"I'm going to help Deoxys. What Rayquaza is doing isn't right."
"But—"
"No 'buts,' Lillie. The relationship between people and Pokémon becoming more harmonious — that takes exactly this kind of help."
Mammon smiled at her.
"And please trust me. I'm quite strong."
"..."
Lillie pressed her lips together. She knew Mr. Mammon was a Champion-tier Trainer. She knew.
But a battle between legendaries — was it really all right to step into that?
"In that case — please take Nebby with you, Mr. Mammon." Lillie stopped trying to dissuade him. She reached into her pocket and held out Lunala's Poké Ball. "Nebby is very strong too. She can help you."
"Thank you, Lillie."
"Don't thank me. Just — please come back safe. Can you promise me that?"
"You have my word."
Her sincerity was so open and unguarded. Mammon made the promise to the earnest young woman without hesitation.
"Mm!" Lillie nodded hard.
Caitlin took Lillie and moved to a better vantage point. She trusted Mammon — he never entered anything unprepared.
With Mewtwo and Lunala, this Rayquaza isn't a problem.
Mammon turned the Lunala Ball over in his hand. What he was less certain about wasn't this particular Rayquaza.
Honestly, he had trouble believing that the Rayquaza of Meteor Clan legend was this limited. Rayquaza's ceiling was extraordinarily high — the alternate-colored Mega Rayquaza in the Hoopa film had held its own against six top-tier legendaries simultaneously. And in the XY Mega Evolution specials, a single Dragon Ascent from Mega Rayquaza had forced both Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre out of their Primal Reversion in one hit. Even accounting for both legendaries being depleted from fighting each other, that was a statement of power.
This Rayquaza, meanwhile, couldn't even cleanly handle a Deoxys. Pure brawn, no technique. Point blank Dragon Pulse, over and over. It wasn't weak — its stats were genuinely absurd, which was why Deoxys kept taking lopsided damage from glancing hits while Rayquaza shrugged off everything. But there was no skill here, no intelligence.
There was official reference material, too. In Pokémon Generations, a Mega Rayquaza with Zinnia riding it had gone to space and encountered a Deoxys hidden in a meteorite — a strong, form-shifting Deoxys — and simply dismantled it. Crushed in Defense Forme by a single Dragon Ascent. The gap between those two had been categorical.
This Rayquaza couldn't Mega Evolve. That was the difference.
What I'm wondering, Mammon thought, eyes narrowed as he watched the ongoing battle, is whether losing here brings a stronger Rayquaza down to intervene.
He was fairly confident he could direct Deoxys Individual Two to handle this particular Rayquaza. The offensive patterns were completely readable. But a stronger one, or a Mega-capable one — that was a different calculation.
Then again — Kyogre had been sleeping long enough. A reminder of what a Rayquaza could do would be a useful experience for it. And a chance to improve his standing with the legendary was welcome.
A Garchomp flying low came in fast from behind him.
"Mammon!"
Cynthia and Nemona dismounted.
"Champion Cynthia, Nemona — what are you doing here?"
Mammon put on a convincing expression of mild surprise.
"Mammon. Is that Pokémon fighting Rayquaza connected to you?"
Cynthia was direct, watching his face carefully.
"Tsk — so you've come to lay blame."
Mammon clicked his tongue.
"When nothing's happening, nobody thinks of me. The moment something goes wrong, I'm the first suspect. Champion Cynthia — you really are something."
His sarcasm was unhurried.
Nemona's toes were practically curling from secondhand embarrassment. Whether Mammon was involved or not, showing up to accuse someone without evidence was awkward regardless of who they were. Even if the target was a criminal organization member.
She was still too straightforward for this.
"If I've misjudged you, I apologize. But Mammon—"
"I don't want your apology, Cynthia. Still so above it all, aren't you."
He cut her off. He wasn't questioning her character — that wasn't what the irritation was about.
Cynthia's brow furrowed.
"And why would I owe you an explanation? How well do we actually know each other, Cynthia? You're a little overestimating your position."
One more hit, clean and final.
"If you want something from me, ask like you're asking. Are you here for information or aren't you?"
"So you do know what's happening with Rayquaza and that Pokémon."
Cynthia's expression settled. Of course he knew.
"Ah — yes, I do. And?"
"Mammon. Tell us what you know. If this keeps going, the city won't survive it."
Cynthia took a slow breath and asked plainly, with genuine sincerity.
To stop the battle, they needed to understand what had caused it. Walking in blind would only make it worse. And even trying to intervene by force against Rayquaza and Deoxys was not a realistic option.
"What does that have to do with me."
Mammon's smile was perfectly pleasant.
"You—!" Nemona started to say something, then stopped herself. He was Team Rocket. Lecturing him on civic responsibility was going to sound absurd. She closed her mouth.
"What do you want." Cynthia stayed calm.
"Let me think."
Mammon rested his chin on his hand and let his gaze move over Cynthia with an entirely undisguised deliberateness — up, down, unhurried.
The directness of it made Cynthia's body stiffen involuntarily. She suppressed the instinct to step back, pressed down the prickling sensation that wanted to turn into something much more obvious, and held her ground.
This person—
She had the distinct feeling Mammon was looking at her like a meal he was deciding whether to order.
"Tsk — you're not quite ready yet. Never mind."
Mammon tilted his head. Telling them about the Rayquaza and Deoxys situation wasn't going to give them the ability to actually solve it anyway.
"Once this is resolved — how about we take a couples photo set together?"
His smile was openly mischievous. He already knew exactly which Sinnoh League forum he was posting it on. He could practically picture the reactions — the regional equivalent of the sky is falling.
"Couples… photos."
A genuinely uncomfortable expression crossed Cynthia's face.
She had been single her entire life and hadn't so much as considered a relationship — and now, entirely without warning, she was being asked to pose for couples photos with—
"Senpai, this guy has completely dishonorable intentions!"
Nemona decided she needed to contribute to this conversation. She was standing right here and neither of them had acknowledged her existence in several minutes.
"..." Cynthia went quiet. She needed Nemona to tell her that?
The way Mammon had been looking at her was the expression of a wolf that had spotted something it was very interested in eating. He'd put nothing on his face to hide it.
"Just photographs?"
"Of course."
"You can guarantee you won't—"
—lay a hand on me or take advantage of the situation?
Her composure kept the actual words from forming. But her meaning was completely clear.
"Naturally. You have my word as a gentleman, Champion Cynthia."
Faced with Mammon's inexplicable confidence in his own gentlemanliness, Cynthia had nothing to say.
What could she say?
"Your skin is incredibly thick." Nemona couldn't hold it in anymore. He'd basically coerced Cynthia into agreeing and was calling it gentlemanly conduct?
"Heh — I am a member of Team Rocket, after all. Universally acknowledged as the forces of evil." Mammon made a sound of light amusement.
"Per the agreement — you'll tell us what you know."
"No objection." Mammon looked up at the battle still unfolding overhead.
"Rayquaza inhabits the ozone layer. It treats the entire sky as its sovereign territory and drives out anything of extraterrestrial origin."
He explained it steadily.
"And Deoxys — the Pokémon fighting Rayquaza right now — is a Pokémon that came from space. So you understand the situation now?"
"Rayquaza wants to eliminate Deoxys?"
Mammon had been clear enough. Cynthia and Nemona both understood.
"Correct. Rayquaza cannot tolerate a 'space stowaway' like Deoxys operating within its territory. It will pursue this until Deoxys is dead."
Rayquaza didn't know about Deoxys's core — the secret of its regeneration. That was the only reason it had left four years ago after apparently destroying Individual One. If it had known, it would have ground even the crystal to dust before departing. A Rayquaza didn't want Deoxys coming back for another round.
"Then—"
Nemona looked at Cynthia blankly.
What were they supposed to do with that?
Help Rayquaza kill Deoxys — but Deoxys had done nothing wrong. Help Deoxys fight off Rayquaza — with what? If they could manage that, they wouldn't have needed to come ask Mammon anything.
Cynthia was equally wordless. She checked her phone — Steven said they'd need more time to reach Larousse.
She took a slow breath.
Whatever the answer was, they had to try. Even if they couldn't win, they had to do something to put themselves between these two Pokémon and the city that was suffering for it.
"Well, well. Two lost young women who appear to be in need of assistance."
Mammon's pleasant voice arrived at exactly the right moment.
"Do you have a way to stop them?"
"Of course. I can defeat this Rayquaza for you."
Mammon placed deliberate emphasis on this Rayquaza. This one. Not including follow-up service. If a stronger, Mega-capable Rayquaza showed up afterward, that was entirely outside the scope of what he was offering.
In practical terms — letting this continue wasn't interesting. Sooner or later Individual Two would just get knocked back into core-crystal dormancy by Rayquaza's raw stats, which would be inconvenient for his plans. He still very much wanted that Deoxys intact.
And if a more powerful Rayquaza came looking for trouble — well. Kyogre had been sleeping long enough. A refresher course in what Rayquaza felt like was overdue. A good opportunity to improve their relationship, if nothing else.
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