Chapter 172: My Brother Mammon Is the Best Brother in the World!
"My dear little brother~"
At those words, Silver's pupils shook. He stared at Mammon in disbelief.
Little brother? Me?
I'm his little brother? Which means this person is my older brother?
The shock was total. Which meant this person was family.
Silver's instinct was almost immediate rejection — he'd been searching for his family, yes. But he hadn't expected it to arrive so… easily?
So Silver went quiet.
Caitlin, likewise, was looking with some surprise at the cold, reserved red-haired boy. This was Mammon's kidnapped younger brother?
"What's wrong? Not happy to see your brother? Or do you need your brother to open his arms and let you feel the warmth of his embrace?"
Mammon's smile was still gentle and warm as he teased the silent Silver.
As he said it, he spread his arms and walked forward — apparently genuinely prepared to offer a hug.
"Stop right there."
Silver stepped back on pure reflex, watching the approaching Mammon with wary eyes.
Mammon stopped. His eyebrow went up.
"You say you're my brother. Where's your proof?" Silver asked quietly.
It wasn't that he didn't want to acknowledge that he had family. It was that the environment he'd grown up in had taught him: don't trust anyone easily.
He did feel something unusual when he looked at this young man — an unfamiliar pull, a resonance he couldn't name. But Silver remained careful.
"Huh? What do you mean, proof? For family?" Gold couldn't help himself. He stared at both of them.
He had genuinely never encountered anything like this. Family was family. What proof did you need?
And wasn't this all deeply strange? Was there actually a person in the world who didn't recognize their own family?
Gold scratched his head. This red-haired guy was clearly a bit off. There was no other explanation.
"Stay out of it." Silver gave Gold a cold look.
Gold pressed his lips together, but didn't push further.
"If you're my brother — then who are our parents?" Silver looked back at Mammon, his voice flat.
"I see. You've forgotten, then. Though that makes sense — it's been ten years."
Mammon exhaled softly.
In the Adventures manga's original timeline, Silver had been taken when he was two or three years old — so he had almost no memory of Giovanni at all. But in this world, Silver had been five or six when the kidnapping happened. Normally there should have been some fragment left. Though forgetting wasn't unusual. He'd been a child.
"Our father is Giovanni. He's the Viridian Gym Leader. Our mother passed away not long after you were born."
"And I'm your older brother. Mammon. Does any of that ring a bell?"
Mammon introduced himself with patient ease.
"Giovanni… Mammon…"
Silver murmured the names quietly, his mind pulling hard at its own depths.
Fragments. A man in a suit, close-cropped hair, middle-aged — the face unclear. To the man's right, a dark-haired boy. To his left — himself.
Silver's eyes went a little distant. Was it real? It felt real.
"Is your Sneasel still with you? Pokémon remember far more clearly than humans do. If Sneasel is still around, it should recognize me."
Mammon said it at the right moment.
"Right — Sneasel!"
Silver immediately released his Sneasel. This was his first Pokémon — the one that had been at his side since childhood, protected him after he was taken to Johto.
Sneasel appeared beside Silver and looked up at him curiously.
"Sneasel — do you know that person?"
Silver pointed at Mammon and asked in a low voice. He didn't notice, himself, that his tone had already taken on a note of something like hope.
Even with the high walls he'd built around his heart over the years, Silver had always, deep down, wanted to find his family.
Sneasel looked toward Mammon. And the moment it saw him, something changed in its expression — first uncertainty, and then, registering Mammon's familiar smile —
Delight.
Snea~!
Sneasel became a black streak and shot toward Mammon.
"Long time no see, Sneasel." Mammon's voice was warm. He ruffled Sneasel's head gently, a faint green glow.
Snea~
Sneasel let out a soft, comfortable sound and closed its eyes. Yes. That's exactly it.
It turned back to Silver, calling insistently.
Silver read Sneasel's reaction and understood the answer. His expression shifted through something complicated. He found he couldn't quite bring himself to look at Mammon directly.
After escaping the Masked Man's organization, he had two goals: get stronger, and find his family like Leaf had.
Now family had appeared right in front of him, and Silver felt completely thrown. Awkward. At a loss.
He didn't know what face to show this older brother he'd only just found—
But Mammon walked up to him slowly. Gentle eyes. A gentle smile. A gentle voice.
"Silver. It's been a long time."
The same words as before. But this time, landing in Silver's ears, they were entirely different.
"Brother…"
Silver looked up. The guarded, cold expression that kept strangers at arm's length dissolved, and Silver looked at the person in front of him — the one who shared his blood — and pressed his lips together. Something warm moved through him.
"You've had it hard these years. When you disappeared, Father and I searched for you for a long time. But there was nothing — not a single trace."
Mammon put both hands on Silver's shoulders, and the gentle tone made Silver's eyes sting.
"But it's all right. You're late — but you came back, Silver."
Silver's mind was still a little hazy, and then he found himself in a warm embrace. His older brother's arms around him.
He didn't want to admit it, but Silver felt more at peace than he had at any point he could remember. This was what family felt like.
He had already decided, long ago, to throw away every weakness he had. Get stronger by any means. Protect Leaf.
But now — it felt like the softness he'd buried had come back.
"From now on — lean on your brother whenever you need to. I'll protect you. Whoever it is — I won't let anyone hurt you."
Mammon's voice was warm and certain, and Silver's thoughts went loose, and the tears came without permission, sliding down the corner of his eye.
Brother.
"That's really something."
Gold, watching the scene from where he'd been standing, found a smile spreading on his face.
Come to think of it — this cold, prickly, genuinely unpleasant person had found his family. That probably meant he'd get at least a little better.
Gold quietly slipped out of the Burned Tower. He was an outsider in this moment — no reason to stay.
His entire team had just been wiped out by Silver, so he needed to get to the Pokémon Center and have Nurse Joy take care of them anyway.
Though come to think of it —
Gold scratched his head. Mammon? That name was ringing a faint bell somehow. But he couldn't quite place it.
Reuniting with his little brother had put Mammon in a genuinely good mood.
He took Silver to the best restaurant in Ecruteak City, booked a private room, and ordered a table full of food.
"Brother — this is too much. We can't finish all this."
Silver could feel the warmth of being cared for, and it did reach him, but he shook his head and tried to object.
He'd been raised under strict conditions by the Masked Man's organization, and had developed an ingrained sense of not wasting food.
"That's fine. We can take the rest with us. Today's a special day — a reunion after years apart. We should eat well."
Mammon smiled.
"Oh — I should introduce you. This is Caitlin. One of my most important companions."
Mammon gestured to Caitlin beside him.
"Hello, Silver." Caitlin offered a soft, graceful smile and a slight nod.
"Hello." Silver made a genuine effort to smile back. He'd almost slipped back into his habitual blank expression out of instinct.
"I can't believe ten years have passed. I'd started to think I might never see you again."
Mammon reached into his inner pocket and took out a photograph — old, but carefully preserved. He held it out to Silver.
Silver took it, and his eyes moved again.
A family of three. Giovanni in the middle, composed and in a suit. On either side of him — a young Mammon and a young Silver. Sneasel beside Silver.
Silver ran his thumb lightly over the surface of the photo.
"If Father knew — I think he'd be very happy." Mammon said with quiet feeling.
"…He's at the Viridian Gym?" Silver's voice was awkward, but he managed the word.
"Yes. Being a Gym Leader keeps him busy, but if you have the time — go see him."
Mammon smiled.
"I could go right now! But — Brother, aren't you coming with me?"
Silver answered almost before the words had finished, the eagerness audible in his voice. Seeing his father immediately — the pull was real.
And Leaf was in the Kanto area too. If he went to Viridian, he might be able to look for her as well.
But he caught himself — understood, suddenly, what Mammon's phrasing had implied.
"For me — now isn't a good time. I'll go back when the opportunity comes."
Mammon declined diplomatically.
"…" Silver went quiet. He couldn't figure out why Mammon would be reluctant to go home. Had there been some falling out with their father?
Though that didn't quite fit either.
"Let's eat first, Silver. Look at you — you're too thin. Here, have some meat."
The dishes had arrived. Mammon gestured Silver toward the food and transferred the largest piece into his bowl.
Silver ate quietly, feeling something warm through his whole chest.
Was this the happiness only people with older brothers got to know?
After dinner, Mammon took Silver to a nearby shopping district and bought him several sets of new clothes and shoes. Then the three of them went to the Dance Theater to watch a performance, and wandered the streets talking.
For Silver, this was without question the happiest, most complete day he had ever known.
His brother had been so good to him. The best. The absolute best brother in the world.
Silver was fairly sure he fell asleep smiling.
Early the next morning.
"Silver — message me when you reach Viridian. Safe travels."
Mammon straightened Silver's collar and gave his shoulder a pat.
"Okay." Silver nodded.
"Take care."
Mammon pulled him into a brief embrace and patted his back.
"Mm! Goodbye, Brother."
Silver's face broke into a smile — a genuinely rare one — and he waved.
"Goodbye."
Mammon smiled and watched until Silver's figure had disappeared from view. Then the smile faded.
"I wonder — when this kid finds out his newly reunited brother is a Team Rocket member, what kind of face will he make?"
He knew Silver very well already. Silver hated evil organizations with everything he had.
When Silver got to Viridian and learned from Giovanni that Mammon was part of Team Rocket — whatever expression Silver made at that moment was going to be something.
The sky probably falling, in terms of the general feeling?
And then?
Hatred born from love, righteous denunciation of his own kin — or desperate attempts to drag his "foolish" brother out of the "mud"?
Poor Silver. He'd finally found his family, only to discover that family was the very thing he despised most.
There was nothing Mammon could do about that. Though he did have real feeling for this brother — they were blood, after all.
Mm. Next time they met — was this the occasion for a "my foolish little Silver~"?
(End of chapter)
☆☆☆
-> 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