Chapter 398: Mammon: "I'll Help You Surpass Rose!"
"Honestly, Dad, can you tone it down in public?! I've told you a hundred times!"
A vein throbbed on Peonia's forehead as she hissed furiously at Peony, keeping her voice down.
"Don't call me that when we're out!"
"Wah ha ha~ Don't sweat the small stuff, Peonia-pie! Don't you think it's cute?"
"YOU'RE the only one who thinks it's cute, you jerk! I'm all grown up!"
Peonia got even angrier, especially seeing the other passengers give her strange looks when they heard "Peonia-pie."
Peonia felt her embarrassment meter maxing out.
"Eh~ Okay, okay. Come on, let's head to Freezington first."
Clearly, Peony didn't care in the least that his daughter was starting to hiss. He had plenty of experience.
Just bluff his way through it.
It's such a cute nickname. I don't know why neither of my girls likes it.
Peony was genuinely troubled.
Father and daughter were about to head to Freezington, the only village in the Crown Tundra.
It was the best place to rest and stay.
"Hello there. You two sure get along."
Out of nowhere, a clear male voice reached their ears.
Peony and Peonia turned to look, and Peony couldn't help clicking his tongue.
It was a group of one young man and three young women, and all four of them were very good-looking, any way you looked at it.
Peonia looked at the four of them curiously. She remembered noticing them on the train.
They were hard to miss.
"Hello. Can I help you?"
Peony said breezily. The young man in the lead was clearly here for them.
"There's something important I'd like to discuss with you, Mr. Peony."
Mammon smiled at Peony.
Peony frowned slightly. They know who I am. Then this probably isn't something ordinary.
"Shall we go to Freezington? This isn't a good place to talk."
Mammon looked around. Slippery Slope didn't have anywhere suitable to stop.
"Sure." Peony thought for a moment and didn't refuse.
He didn't know what they wanted, but Peony was confident in himself. His strength was no joke!
Freezington, a village in the Crown Tundra, lay between Slippery Slope and Frostpoint Field.
Not many people actually lived in Freezington. Buried in snow and ice year-round, it really wasn't a great place for people to live.
So most of Freezington's villagers had moved away.
Mammon and the others came to the guesthouse in Freezington. With the stove going, warmth filled the room, which was much more comfortable.
"So, kid, what do you want with me?"
Peony asked Mammon first.
"Peony. You were once the Leader of a Steel-type Gym, and later became Champion of the Galar League. Right?"
Mammon took a sip of steaming tea and spoke to Peony.
Caitlin, Platinum, and Serena all looked in surprise at this middle-aged man who resembled Rose but was much more rugged, a man who had once been Champion of Galar.
Peonia looked at Mammon in confusion. This guy actually knows about Dad's past?
"That's all ancient history. What are you getting at?"
Peony said impatiently.
"Don't rush. Just from that alone, Mr. Peony, you and Chairman Rose really are very different."
Mammon chuckled.
They were blood brothers, but Peony and Rose had vastly different personalities. Rose was mature, steady, meticulous, and patient. Peony was terrible at listening to others and was bold and rough in manner.
"Kid, don't think you can say whatever you want just because you're young."
At the mention of Rose's name, Peony's expression changed. His face went dark, and so did his voice.
"Your uncle here throws a mean punch!"
Hearing Peony's blatant threat, Mammon didn't take it seriously.
"No need to get worked up. I'm just curious why you suddenly stepped down from the Champion's seat back then, Mr. Peony, a position everyone dreams of."
Mammon held a dozing Jirachi in his arms and asked with feigned curiosity.
"What business is that of yours?" Peony shot back.
Clearly, Peony was not in a good mood right now.
"Peonia-pie, let's go."
Peony had run out of patience. He called to Peonia and turned to leave.
Peonia answered and still glanced curiously at Mammon. This guy...
"It was because of Chairman Rose, wasn't it?"
But Mammon's next line made Peony's face darken again and stopped him in his tracks.
"Not long after you became Galar's Champion, Rose became Chairman of the Galar League. That's what made you storm out of the Galar League."
Mammon leisurely watched Peony's back, a hint of mockery in his voice.
"How weak, Peony. Are you really that afraid of your big brother?"
"SHUT UP!"
Peony spun around and roared at Mammon.
His emotions were so intense that his chest was heaving, betraying the fury inside him.
"No need to raise your voice. And what good does yelling at me do?" Mammon tilted his head slightly, meeting Peony's furious eyes.
Peony truly was a genius too. Becoming Galar's Champion had already proven that.
So why had he and his own brother, Rose, ended up never speaking to each other again?
As Mammon saw it, it really came down to Peony's own fragile, defiant psyche.
Peony and Rose were brothers who grew up together, but throughout their childhood, Peony had always been compared to his outstanding older brother.
The judgments and stares of others became unbearable to Peony, and his personality gradually grew rebellious.
Eventually Peony ran away from home, but he was taken under the wing of a patron and became a Gym Leader.
He even went on to become Champion, but even then, his brother's shadow still loomed over him.
Learning that Rose had become League Chairman was what drove Peony to leave the Galar League and become an ordinary adventurer wandering all over.
How to describe it? All you could say was, that's Rose for you.
"Don't you DARE say that name in front of me!"
Peony was breathing hard, his eyes locked on Mammon, spitting out every word. His low, hoarse voice was like a wild beast's.
Peonia stood carefully behind Peony. It was the first time she'd ever seen her father this angry.
"Oh? So this is how you run away?"
Mammon acted as if he didn't see Peony's expression at all and kept his head tilted as he spoke.
Peony's breathing grew faster and faster.
"Since you couldn't measure up to Rose, you ran far away, buried his name, and pretended he'd never been part of your life."
Mammon went on as if talking to himself.
"Peony, a Champion-caliber Steel-type trainer, affectionately known as 'Big Brother Steel.' I wonder what your fans' faces would look like if they learned their idol was just a weakling who only knows how to run away."
Mammon kept needling him with a grin.
Platinum and Serena watched Peony nervously, already gripping their Poké Balls tight in case he suddenly lashed out.
Because anyone could feel that Peony's anger had hit a critical point, like a volcano that could erupt at any moment.
Peony really was about to explode!
For all these years, he'd done everything he could to cut ties with that man and try to forget him.
And now this reckless brat kept bringing up that name in front of him, again and again.
Does he really think I'm made of clay?
Peonia quietly took two steps back, afraid of getting splattered with blood any moment now.
But past the peak of his fury, Peony actually calmed down a bit.
"What's between him and me isn't for an outsider like you to judge." Peony took a deep breath and said in a low voice.
"Hm? Tch~ I thought you'd throw a punch. You can actually hold it in?"
Mammon rested his chin in his hand and looked at Peony with some surprise.
Peony was so angry he laughed. This guy!
"I'd really like to teach you a lesson, but this is a guesthouse. And besides..."
Peony's face darkened. As unpleasant as this guy's words were,
Peony knew he wasn't wrong. No matter how you dressed it up, he really was running away.
Because Peony knew perfectly well that his talents couldn't compare to his brother Rose's. Just look at how Galar was thriving now; Rose becoming League Chairman had been the right call.
"Anyway, I can't be bothered wasting my breath on you. If you only came to laugh at me, you've done it."
Peony said flatly, getting ready to leave with Peonia.
Clap clap clap~
Suddenly there was applause. Mammon slowly stood up and looked at Peony with a smile.
"Do I look like someone with that much time on my hands?"
"I didn't come all this way to find you just to provoke you, Mr. Peony. I have real business to discuss with you."
Mammon took a gold badge out of his pocket and tossed it to Peony.
Peony caught it at once. He opened his hand and saw an exquisite badge shaped like an "R."
Peony's brows knit tight. He thought he was starting to understand.
"As the Boss of Team Rocket, I'm sincerely inviting you to join Team Rocket as a top-tier executive, Mr. Peony."
Mammon said slowly, with a smile.
"Mr. Peony, believe me: your talent and worth are no less than your brother's. And I can give you a stage to prove it."
"Team Rocket..."
Peony was sure now. It was Team Rocket.
He'd been in the Crown Tundra for a while now searching for Legendary Pokémon, but before that, he'd occasionally seen news about Team Rocket online.
And now Team Rocket had actually come to Galar.
But some underground organization says it can let me prove I'm worth more than Rose? Are underground organizations this full of themselves these days?
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