Chapter 310: Dawn: "What Should Our Baby Be Named?"
Platinum felt her whole worldview had just been overturned. She'd genuinely never imagined it — she'd assumed Mammon had no real interest in outright dominating the world, given that everything he'd shown so far suggested he simply wanted control over the underworld. Which, honestly, seemed fine to her — even a good thing, all things considered. Before Team Rocket's arrival, Sinnoh's underworld had been plagued by Team Galactic and its associated evil groups, plus the deeply entrenched poacher networks — genuine cancers on the region. And now?
Now there was only Team Rocket left. Any other dark organization that dared show its face got hunted down and crushed before it could even take root. Platinum genuinely thought that was a good thing — and it meant she didn't have to worry about Team Rocket and the League eventually spiraling into some extreme, all-out confrontation.
But now, it seemed, she'd badly underestimated the sheer scope of Mammon's overall design. Who could possibly have guessed — the supposedly total estrangement between Mammon and Giovanni had been a performance from the very beginning! And now Giovanni was actually preparing to challenge Kanto's Elite Four. If he succeeded, he'd become the new Kanto Champion — that was—
That was genuinely terrifying, wasn't it?!
The sheer weight of the revelation left Platinum's head spinning; she genuinely couldn't wrap her mind around it.
They stayed a while longer at Viridian Gym — Mammon and Giovanni caught up for quite some time, given how long it had been since father and son had last sat down together like this. Not until ten that evening did Mammon have Dark Mewtwo sweep the surrounding area with its psychic senses, satisfied enough to finally take his leave. Mammon himself had never much cared about his own whereabouts being exposed — but Giovanni's identity absolutely had to stay concealed. Otherwise, honestly, this whole arrangement would lose most of its fun — and as far as Mammon was concerned, that particular joy was not one he could risk losing to some careless slip.
Back at the hotel he'd booked, Mammon showered and was just about to head to bed when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Puzzled, he opened the door — who would come looking for him at this hour? Caitlin, maybe? No, surely not — the proud, dignified young lady would never abandon her composure enough to pull a late-night ambush like this.
He opened the door to find Platinum standing there, her silky blue hair loose around her shoulders, dressed casually, clutching the hem of her clothes with visible unease.
"Dawn? What's up?"
Mammon raised an eyebrow, looking her over.
"That's — um — Mr. Mammon, you—"
The instant she saw him, Platinum's mind short-circuited entirely, stammering as she stared at him. Fresh from the shower, Mammon had only a towel wrapped around his waist, his lean, well-defined upper body on full display — those chiseled abs in particular leaving Platinum a little dizzy.
This looks way too good, oh my god. Mr. Mammon's build is really this incredible?
Platinum swallowed involuntarily — her first time seeing a man's bare upper body this close, and her head was spinning a little from it.
"Oh, I just got out of the shower. What's up, Dawn? Something you needed?"
"Y-yes. There's something I wanted to discuss with you, Mr. Mammon. In person."
Platinum found her throat suddenly dry, lowering her head, unable to meet his eyes. Her face felt hot — genuinely burning. It has to be red right now. Definitely bright red!
Mr. Mammon is being far too much, honestly! Isn't this basically a honey trap?!
"I see. Though, we probably could just talk over the phone, couldn't we?"
"No! This is very important. I — I have to speak with you in person."
Platinum snapped abruptly back to clarity, gathering her courage to say it firmly.
"Ummm... honestly, I'm thinking of you here too. The heiress of the Berlitz family, entering a man's room this late at night — word getting out wouldn't exactly be great, would it?"
"Since you're this insistent, though, come on in — let me change first."
Mammon tilted his head, stepping aside to let her through.
"...Excuse the intrusion."
Platinum stood frozen in the doorway for several long seconds before finally lowering her head and stepping slowly into the room. But through the strands of blue hair, her pale cheeks were unmistakably, thoroughly flushed.
Oh god! What am I even doing?
Sitting down on a chair, Platinum gripped the hem of her skirt with slender fingers, utterly unable to settle, sitting as though on pins and needles. Just picturing Mammon changing in the bathroom right now left her completely unable to calm her racing thoughts.
As the heiress of the Berlitz family, raised from childhood on proper noble etiquette and ladylike deportment, taught to carry herself with dignity and restraint at all times — she'd never once imagined she'd find herself in a boy's hotel room this late at night. What if Mr. Mammon lost control of himself and tried to force himself on her — should she scream? But then again, if she hadn't come to his room at this hour in the first place, none of this would even be happening. Wouldn't that make her the one who'd tempted Mr. Mammon into it, technically?
She'd heard that doing that sort of thing quickly led to a baby, hadn't she? Would her and Mr. Mammon's baby be a boy or a girl? Would it be a bad thing, becoming a mother this young? If Father and Mother found out she was expecting, would they be happy about it? Father did seem to hold a rather severe prejudice against Mr. Mammon, though...
"Dawn?"
Honestly, Father — she'd told him so many times already that Mr. Mammon wasn't the man he assumed him to be.
"Dawn??"
And besides, she really did prefer girls anyway. If she had a daughter, what should the name be?
"Akari" would suit her nicely, wouldn't it? She herself was "Dawn" — if there was a daughter, "Akari," light at daybreak, felt fitting somehow.
"What are you muttering to yourself about, Dawn?"
"?!! Mr. Mammon, when did you—"
Platinum finally snapped back to reality, her face instantly flooding crimson, staring at Mammon standing before her now, puzzled. Mortified beyond words.
Oh god! Arceus above! How am I ever supposed to show my face in this world again?!
Platinum buried her face in her hands, curling in on herself like a startled ostrich.
"I've called your name several times now. You seemed to be somewhere else entirely."
Mammon could only stare, thoroughly speechless. So Platinum's got a bit of an airheaded streak underneath, huh — never would've guessed.
"Sorry — I got lost in my own thoughts for a moment."
Seeing that Mammon apparently hadn't caught what she'd been muttering, Platinum felt a small glimmer of hope that she might actually survive this after all.
"No harm done, honestly. But what were you thinking about just now? Your face is unusually flushed — here, drink some water."
Mammon sat down on the bed, opened a bottle of water, and handed it to her.
"Thank you—" Platinum said quietly, accepting the bottle and taking a sip — but whatever she'd just been thinking, she clearly intended to keep it entirely to herself. How could she possibly say any of it out loud? Mortifying.
"You're really something, aren't you — accepting a drink from me without a second thought. And who exactly taught you that, a beautiful woman like you, walking into a man's room alone this late at night?"
Mammon couldn't help a small, amused laugh.
"...!" Platinum's eyes went wide. Was her mental scenario actually about to come true after all? No—
"Relax, the water's fine. I'm a bit of a flirt, sure, but I do have limits. Just making a point." Mammon shook his head, smiling. "Being out on your own, safety's something you always need to take seriously, you understand?"
"I understand." Platinum lowered her head, feeling her face heat up all over again.
"Alright, let's hear it, then — what did you come here to say? Is this about my father, tonight?"
Mammon could already guess the general shape of it. A girl as kind and genuine as Platinum, unable to wait until morning, working up the nerve to come find him directly at night — there were really only a couple of things it could be about.
"Yes — Mr. Mammon. Going forward, are you planning to make a move against the League?"
Platinum's mind cleared considerably at that, taking a deep breath before putting the question to him.
"Dawn, do you know how many of Kanto's eight official Gyms currently belong to me?"
Mammon didn't answer right away, crossing one leg over the other instead, asking with an easy smile.
Platinum said nothing.
"Viridian Gym, Goldenrod Gym, Celadon Gym, Vermilion Gym, Cinnabar Gym — even before I officially took over, all of them already belonged to Team Rocket."
Mammon held up his right hand, addressing Platinum.
"?!" Platinum's eyes went wide with shock. What?
"Of course, Cinnabar's Dr. Fuji has technically defected from the organization by now — but the old man has an easy enough weakness to exploit, so bringing him back into the fold won't be difficult." Mammon grinned. Dr. Fuji had been one of the researchers behind the Mewtwo project, having fled New Island alongside Uncle Xia at the time. Winning him back over would be simple enough — threaten Cinnabar Island and Dr. Fuji's own position, and there was no way he wouldn't fall in line. Which was exactly why Mammon wasn't in any particular hurry to settle accounts with him.
"And Celadon's Erika — she's my woman now."
"As for Slategray Gym and Cerulean Gym — you saw it yourself today. Their actual heirs are Misty and Brock, and both of them are provisional Team Rocket members now."
"Granted, if you made them choose between the organization and the League right now, they'd absolutely pick the League — but that's beside the point."
"So, in a sense, all eight of Kanto's official Gyms already belong to Team Rocket."
Hssss—!!
Platinum drew in a sharp, stunned breath. Genuinely terrifying! All eight official Gyms, every single one belonging to Team Rocket — the thought alone was enough to raise the hair on her arms. Absolutely horrifying. And this was Kanto — the region universally acknowledged as the strongest of them all — infiltrated this thoroughly?
"That said, believe me or not, Dawn, I genuinely maintain a friendly stance toward the League personally. Replacing the League outright has never once crossed my mind."
Mammon spread his hands, the picture of wounded innocence.
Platinum pressed her lips together, falling into thought.
"The League is the foundation of this world's stability. I have zero interest in a chaotic world."
"Team Rocket's goal has always been growth and profit — absorbing other dark organizations so this world doesn't keep breeding further darkness."
"Some might say that's just a convenient excuse to let Team Rocket manage the underworld more effectively — but isn't that a rather unreasonable standard to hold us to?"
Mammon let out a cold laugh.
"Without Team Rocket, who knows what state Kanto's underworld would be in by now. And Alola, Hoenn, Unova, Sinnoh — every single one of them was a genuine mess before we ever showed up there."
"The League can guarantee a basic level of balance and stability, sure — but they lack the real deterrence and understanding needed to actually deal with dark organizations, which is exactly why those groups, poacher networks included, have always run so brazenly unchecked."
"Team Rocket's different. We can clean out the other dark organizations, eliminate the rot and the parasites, and restore some real order to the underworld."
"I'll admit — Team Rocket, before my time, genuinely was a cancer on this world too. But I'm not my father. I have more than enough strength to guarantee my own goals stay exactly where I want them."
"Team Rocket and the League aren't actually opposed to each other. Team Rocket's simply doing the work the League can't do well, and doesn't really want to do in the first place."
Mammon let out a light laugh at that, looking to Platinum.
"Mr. Mammon, I believe you!"
Platinum bit her lip, addressing him with genuine seriousness and admiration.
"Is that so? Dawn — but the League probably won't hand this authority over so easily. If it comes down to a real fight between the League and Team Rocket over this, will you still stand with me?"
"Mr. Mammon — would you hurt League personnel?"
"I'm not someone who kills indiscriminately, but bumps and bruises are unavoidable in any real fight. The best I can promise is doing my utmost to keep them alive." Mammon understood exactly what she was really asking.
"In that case — I'll stand with you! Team Rocket—"
The Berlitz heiress's clear eyes shone with unshakeable resolve.
"Team Rocket — isn't wrong!"
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