Chapter 73: My Goal Is to Become a Pokémon Master!
Ash. A boy from Pallet Town, the pure-white town at the edge of the world.
"Grown up quite a bit. But that expression — still exactly right."
Mammon studied the black-haired boy at the center of the trio from a short distance away. That bottomless energy, that bright-eyed wonder at being somewhere new — he'd know it anywhere.
Especially paired with the Pikachu on his shoulder. Wall-to-wall nostalgia.
Too bad. No idea if Ash ever came back after the reboot.
He cast a quick glance at the two on either side — Ash's original companions. Misty and Brock.
In his previous life, the series had run from the original Sun and Moon era all the way through Ultimate Journeys, and the roster of companions had cycled through completely. But Misty and Brock were the ones you remembered. Brock especially — he'd been there all the way through Sinnoh.
"WHOA!! What is that Pokémon?! That is INSANE!!"
Ash had apparently spotted something, because his eyes lit up like floodlights and he bolted straight toward Mammon at full speed.
Mammon tilted his head slightly.
Ash had stopped directly in front of Armored Mewtwo, nearly vibrating with excitement.
"That is SO COOL!! How is it THIS cool?!"
"Pika~chu!"
Pikachu let out an equally delighted squeak.
The armor covered Dark Mewtwo's face completely, leaving only those unsettling violet eyes visible through the visor's lens — which, if anything, made it look even more mysterious.
"ASH!!"
Misty, clearly used to this, looked pained. She and Brock jogged to catch up.
"Huh — no data?"
Ash had already whipped out his Pokédex and was pointing it at the sleek metallic figure. The device returned: No data available.
"…Oh."
Armored Mewtwo glanced at Ash, then at the Pikachu on his shoulder. Ash was one thing — but the moment Pikachu accidentally made eye contact with Armored Mewtwo, every hair on its body tried to stand up at once. Its entire body locked.
A cold, instinctive alarm shot through Pikachu's chest.
This thing is extremely dangerous.
It took everything Pikachu had to not immediately discharge. It held on, screaming at itself internally.
"Its name is Mewtwo," came a mild voice nearby. "It hasn't been added to the Pokédex yet, so there's nothing to find."
All three of them noticed the white-clad boy standing beside the armored Pokémon.
"He's gorgeous—"
"Mewtwo? A newly discovered Pokémon?"
Misty and Brock had very different thoughts at exactly the same moment.
"Its name is Mewtwo?! Even the name is cool!!"
Ash's enthusiasm was undimmed.
"Right? You've got good taste — I think Mewtwo looks amazing too." Mammon nodded approvingly.
Not going to lie — with the armor on, Mewtwo looked like something out of a mech anime. Imposing and genuinely striking.
"Is Mewtwo your Pokémon?"
"Yes. A very important partner of mine."
The eyes behind the visor flickered faintly. Armored Mewtwo said nothing, and quietly accepted the description.
"That's so cool! I have one too — this is Pikachu, my most important partner!"
Ash beamed, the full-brightness version of his smile, and gestured proudly at his best friend.
"Pika~!"
Pikachu waved a small paw at Mammon, dutifully. It had decided it was simply not going to look at the armored creature again.
"What a cute Pikachu." Mammon reached over and ruffled the top of Pikachu's head. Genuinely satisfying texture.
Pikachu blinked. It didn't pull away. Something about this person's presence — the warmth that came off him — was oddly comfortable.
"Heheh~" The compliment made Ash rub his nose with pure uncomplicated happiness.
If you like Pikachu, we're already friends.
So Ash, being Ash, launched straight into introductions: "Hi! I'm Ash, from Pallet Town — I'm traveling to compete in the Indigo Conference, but my real goal is to become the greatest Pokémon Master in the world!"
"Hi, I'm Misty~"
"My name's Brock."
"I'm Mammon. Nice to meet you all." His voice was warm, his manner easy. The kind of first impression that stuck.
Combined with the face — Misty had already started quietly thinking about baby names.
No. No no no. I'm supposed to be rebuilding the Cerulean Gym. I cannot be derailed by a pretty face—
She looked at Mammon's calm smile again.
WHY does he have to look exactly like her type—
"Mammon — wait, Mammon?!"
Brock's eyes had gone from their usual narrow set to something approaching open. He'd placed the name immediately.
"Huh? Brock, you know him?" Misty blinked.
"Are you kidding? Mammon won last year's Indigo Conference. Swept the whole thing — people were talking about it for months."
Brock gave Misty a mildly baffled look. He could understand Ash not knowing, but Misty too?
The story had made the rounds on every Pokémon League forum: Mammon, using a single Annihilape start to finish, steamrolling every other competitor in the bracket like they were NPCs. His name had been all over the official League website.
"That's Mammon?"
Misty paused, and then it clicked. Her three older sisters had spent weeks at the end of last year going on and on about whoever the new heartthrob of the Indigo Conference was. She'd been deep in training drills, trying to get the Cerulean Gym back on its feet, and had completely tuned it out.
"WAIT — Mammon, you won the Indigo Conference last year?!"
Ash's eyes lit up a second time.
"Mm. Though honestly, my opponents that year weren't particularly strong. It was a bit dull." Mammon laughed quietly.
The Kanto League hadn't gone public with the news of his Rocket affiliation yet — probably a deliberate calculation. His performance last year had been, objectively, too flashy. His popularity had shot up in ways nobody anticipated. A rising star like that suddenly appearing on Team Rocket's roster wouldn't exactly be a great look for the League.
"That's so COOL!! I want to win the Indigo Conference this year too!"
"Please — Ash, you probably can't even beat Red," Misty said, giving him a look.
"Misty, come on — even if it's Red, I won't lose!"
Ash bristled immediately.
Mammon raised an eyebrow. Interesting name.
And—
"Mammon." Armored Mewtwo's rough telepathic voice moved through his mind.
"What is it?"
"This person carries a particular heat. A burning presence. Whoever it belongs to is very strong."
Mewtwo meant Ash.
"Oh?"
Something strong enough that a newly awakened Dark Mewtwo, of all things, was flagging it as very strong.
What Pokémon was Ash carrying that could read that way?
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you