Chapter 315: Ash: Mammon really is a good guy!
"Is this... a Froakie?"
Misty peered curiously at the pale blue Pokémon.
Overall frog-shaped, with big yellow eyes, and white bubble foam around its mouth, back, and neck. As a devoted Water-type enthusiast, Misty recognized it instantly — a Water-type Froakie, no question.
"Froakie, huh?" Ash examined the small, adorable-looking Froakie with keen interest, pulling out his Pokédex.
Beep. Froakie, the Water-type, Bubble Frog Pokémon. It secretes flexible foam from its chest and back and uses it to cushion attacks, reducing damage taken.
"Froakie — that's the Water-type starter Kalos hands out to new trainers, right?" Brock said, recalling the detail.
"That's right. And I think this one's a great fit for you specifically, Ash — its final evolution is the Water/Dark-type Greninja."
Mammon said with a smile.
"I already kind of love it — can it spit bubbles too?"
Ash crouched down slightly and poked a finger at the foam on Froakie's back — nice and springy. He'd liked this Froakie the moment he'd laid eyes on it.
That gut-level pull was hard to explain — some people just took an instant liking to a particular Pokémon, even one most people wouldn't call conventionally attractive. But that was just how it worked sometimes.
Sensing Ash's touch, Froakie tilted its head slightly, its eyes fixed on Mammon.
"Yeah, I'm glad you like it. And Ash, there's something else pretty interesting I should tell you."
Mammon glanced at Froakie.
"There's a village in the Kalos region called Ninja Village. According to its history, a heroic Greninja once saved the whole village — and ever since, they've passed down the legend of that hero."
Mammon told the story unhurriedly.
"Whoa — cool!" Ash's interest spiked immediately.
"When the bond between you and your Pokémon runs deep enough, who knows — your Greninja might just become your own 'hero' too, Ash. If you decide to take this Froakie on, I hope you'll treat it well."
Mammon paused for a moment, deliberately choosing not to mention anything about Ash-Greninja bond forms just yet.
(The Bond Phenomenon — the special connection between the anime's Ash and his Greninja. Once Bond-Transformed, Greninja could "evolve" into Ash-Greninja — a form that even made it into the actual games, with a 110-point stat boost, ten points more than a standard Mega Evolution.
Normally there was no legitimate way to obtain Ash-Greninja in-game, since transforming required a Greninja with the specific Battle Bond ability — an ability regular Greninja never actually had, which only came with the two ordinary abilities Torrent and Protean.
A Battle Bond Greninja was only ever available, story-gifted, through the Sun/Moon Special Demo Version.
So in this world — when this Froakie eventually evolved into Greninja, would it forge that same profound bond with Ash and undergo the same transformation?
Mammon figured — if the person was Ash, then yes. When it came to loving and trusting Pokémon, Ash naturally had the strongest edge anyone could ask for at forging that kind of bond in the first place.)
"Please leave it in my hands! I promise I'll raise it right!"
Ash blinked at Mammon's words, then broke into a wide grin, making the promise to Mammon with total conviction.
He'd caught a faint hint of something significant in what Mammon had said, but couldn't quite place what it meant. Was this Froakie something special?
Regardless, even without Mammon spelling it out, as long as he was willing to take the Froakie on, Ash would treat it with genuine care.
Because he truly loved every Pokémon he came across — let alone one he'd actually caught himself.
"Good. I'm looking forward to seeing the day you and it really shine together."
Mammon nodded, smiling. Yeah — he genuinely was looking forward to seeing Ash and his own version of Greninja tearing it up in battle against opponents.
Then again, come to think of it...
Something occurred to Mammon just then. Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, Terastallization — everyone else had four power-up systems to draw on.
But Ash would also have Bond Transformation on top of all of that with Greninja — meaning he'd effectively be running five systems against everyone else's four.
Yeah, checks out — the anime's Ash was always the "more systems than the other guy" type anyway.
Besides, the anime had made the drawback explicit too — once Bond-Transformed, if Greninja took damage, Ash himself would feel a share of that pain. Bond Transformation took an enormous physical toll on Ash personally.
By comparison, the other power-up methods didn't come with anywhere near that severe a downside.
Having handed Froakie over to Ash, Mammon headed back to the hotel with Caitlin and Platinum.
"Froakie's pretty cute — kind of has a spacey look about it, though," Ash said, cradling Froakie in his arms, liking it more the longer he looked at it, a smile breaking across his face.
"It does have a bit of an adorably dopey vibe," Brock said with a laugh. "But since Mammon's the one who gave it to you, at least you don't have to worry about its raw talent."
"Exactly. Mammon wouldn't hand you a Pokémon with weak potential. And honestly, Ash, Mammon's been really good to you."
Misty agreed wholeheartedly, sounding more than a little envious as she said it.
Genuinely — she felt like Mammon was being almost too nice to Ash.
Gave him a whole Ultra Beast, and now — noticing that Ash's Squirtle basically counted as a "weak point" in his lineup — immediately turned around and handed him a Froakie with the potential to be raised into a proper Water-type ace.
There was no way around it — this was a Pokémon Mammon had gone out of his way to specifically source for Ash.
What kind of miracle boss even IS this??!
Genuinely so thoughtful!
"Ha—" Ash scratched his head, a little sheepish.
"I totally misjudged Mammon before. But it's fine — I'm gonna help him out from now on!"
Ash declared it with real conviction. Yeah — as far as he was concerned, his whole opinion of Mammon had flipped completely, one-eighty.
As long as Mammon didn't go and do something genuinely evil going forward, nobody was going to change Ash's mind on this — he'd staked his word on it!
Mammon's just a good guy!
—
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"You've really put a lot of thought into Ash, haven't you, Mammon."
In the hotel suite, Caitlin tilted her head, addressing Mammon.
Platinum, in no hurry to head to her own room, sat off to the side nursing a cup of Moomoo Milk, watching the two of them with curiosity.
(Yeah — a habit she'd picked up from Caitlin. Apparently drinking milk was good for your health, and good for... development, too.)
"Ash has real potential, and his web of connections isn't ordinary either."
Mammon poured himself a glass of juice, took a sip, and the corner of his mouth curled up.
"Oh?" Caitlin was curious. Purely on potential alone, girls like Mei and Touko had plenty of that too — but Mammon clearly hadn't invested this level of thought into them.
"Ash comes from Pallet Town, Caitlin. That place is no ordinary town, believe me."
Mammon leaned back comfortably into the couch, glancing over at the other sofa.
Tapu Fini, Jirachi, and Victini — the three "senior veterans" — were currently sizing up the newly-arrived Marshadow with obvious curiosity.
Marshadow had already curled itself as small as it possibly could. Yeah — it felt like its whole body was about to melt into nothing.
So much pressure!
"Pallet Town — isn't that the town Professor Oak lives in now?" Platinum recalled. She'd worked as an assistant at Professor Yamanashi's lab before, and had heard him mention it.
"That's right. Ash and Professor Oak go way back — Ash basically grew up under his watch, and Ash's mother is close with the professor too."
"Though honestly, that's not the main part. The real point is Ash's older brother."
Mammon nodded.
"Oh?" Caitlin sensed they were getting to the heart of it now.
"This generation out of Pallet Town is genuinely absurd. Ash and his twin brother Red are both trainers with jaw-dropping natural talent — Red especially. I actually crossed paths with him once, back in Celadon City."
"That guy is the single most gifted battler I've ever personally seen. There are barely a handful of people in the entire world who could hold a candle to him."
Mammon shook his head, thoroughly impressed.
At that, both Caitlin and Platinum looked genuinely startled. They didn't think Mammon would joke about something like this.
Which meant — Red really was that ridiculous.
"What kind of mother has this? Gives birth to twins and BOTH of them turn out to be prodigies?" Platinum clicked her tongue, adorably baffled.
You could honestly call it a household producing two once-in-a-generation talents at once.
"That's not even all of it. As far as I know, on top of Red and Ash, Professor Oak's own eldest grandson, Blue, is a monster too — insanely gifted at raising Pokémon, and a genuinely fierce battler, practically dead-even with Red as a rival."
Mammon said, idly flexing his right hand, sounding thoroughly entertained.
(The only real shame was that, as of right now, he still hadn't crossed paths with Blue himself. The genuine, original-generation Champion, Professor Oak's grandson Blue — no question, another "monster.")
(As Red's childhood-friend-turned-rival, Blue's talent as a trainer needed no further explanation — before their final Championship showdown, in every battle the two had along their respective journeys, it had been dead even, wins split roughly fifty-fifty, if anything with Blue holding a slight edge over Red.)
(It was only in the Championship match itself, the one that mattered most, that Red beat Blue and claimed the title he'd just sat down in — and even then, only barely, a hard-fought, narrow win.)
(After that Championship loss, though — maybe because the defeat cut so deep — the once arrogant, prideful Blue reined himself in and settled into the role of Viridian Gym Leader. You could say losing to Red knocked the fight right out of him.)
(Red, having become Kanto's Champion, never stopped growing — eventually retreating to Mt. Silver to seek out ever-stronger opponents in total solitude, becoming the legend of Mt. Silver itself.)
(Blue, meanwhile, though also still called a "battle legend" in his own right, clearly never quite kept pace with Red's continued growth after that.)
"Huh?" Platinum tilted her head, genuinely stunned.
Wait — three "monsters"? All from the same generation, same tiny town?
"Hard to believe, isn't it? But that's just the kind of era this is — sweeping and dramatic."
Mammon couldn't help but marvel at it himself. An era that would normally go decades without producing a single "monster" like this had somehow spat out one after another, back to back.
(What Mammon didn't say out loud was that beyond those three, Pallet Town also had Green. Sure, Green's natural talent as a trainer wasn't quite on the level of the other three — but she was still absolutely "monster"-tier in her own right.)
(Which meant Pallet Town had produced FOUR "monsters" in one single generation!)
(Damn. THIS is what Kanto's about!!)
"There's definitely going to be a World Tournament eventually, Caitlin, Dawn — you two absolutely cannot slack off. Let's make sure everyone gets a good, long look at just how strong Team Rocket really is."
The corner of Mammon's mouth curled up as he crossed his legs, addressing the two women with unshakable confidence.
(A World Tournament — a tournament to crown the single strongest trainer on the entire planet. Mammon was confident the League would end up holding one eventually.)
(The Eight Sages? Hmph — he'd just have Team Rocket's own all-star team sweep the whole leaderboard clean.)
(End of chapter)
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