Chapter 270: Reshiram: A Gorgeous Dragon Like Me Doesn't Just Brawl Around
Cynthia genuinely was breaking into a cold sweat right now, feeling Caitlin's sharp gaze locked onto her. Not that she was afraid of Caitlin, exactly — but Cynthia knew perfectly well that Caitlin was clearly in love with Mammon. And now here was Mammon, casually suggesting he'd like to have a child with her instead...
How to even put it? Cynthia felt an odd, illicit sense of having flirted with a close friend's man — though, strictly speaking, Caitlin's current situation was probably still just an unrequited crush. Still, the underlying feeling held regardless, and Cynthia found herself unable to meet Caitlin's eyes directly.
"Mammon — you do have a girlfriend, don't you?" Cynthia said, steadying herself, looking at him. "Running around like this behind her back — is that really okay?"
Cynthia was hinting at it — no, more than hinting, outright implying it. Shouldn't matters of the heart call for some measure of fidelity?
"Cynthia, the League's never actually mandated monogamy, you know," Mammon said with a laugh.
"—" Something flickered across Cynthia's refined brow. True enough, the Pokémon League had never explicitly legislated monogamy — but it had never actively promoted polygamy either, in any direction. After all, over a century ago, before the League even existed, the world had still been a patchwork of feudal states, nobility, small kingdoms and great ones scattered everywhere. It was only once the League formed and gradually unified everything that the modern, rapidly developing society of today emerged. Sure, the League still preserved the traditional titles of regional nobility — queens, kings, and the like — but those were purely ceremonial now, nothing more.
Still, judging by how Mammon was carrying on, it seemed he genuinely wasn't planning to settle for just one wife. Caitlin, thinking it over, wondered — was Mammon planning on collecting several secondary wives on top of the main one? Though, honestly, Caitlin wasn't all that surprised by the idea — her own tolerance threshold for this kind of thing had already climbed quite high. Compared to Mammon running around unchecked elsewhere, it genuinely seemed better to just let him collect a few secondary wives instead. But the primary wife's seat — that one, Caitlin fully intended to claim for herself. And she was confident she could win it, too!
"Mammon, must you make this difficult for me?" Cynthia said, resigned.
"Sounds like you're not too thrilled about it, Cynthia," Mammon said, propping his chin in thought.
Who would be thrilled about this? Cynthia genuinely wanted to ask that out loud. Joining Team Rocket? She was firmly against that. Having Mammon's child? That was practically the same as marrying him — of course she wasn't willing to do that either.
"Tell you what, then — you were already planning to travel with us for a while, weren't you? Why not serve as my personal attendant during that time, handling my day-to-day needs? How's that sound?" Mammon said, smiling at her.
Something shifted instantly in Caitlin's eyes. A maid — again? Rika in Kanto, Elesa in Unova — vivid memories, both of them! Caitlin's gaze snapped to Cynthia at once. Cynthia — you're Sinnoh's Champion!
"An... attendant—"
Cynthia fell into thought at that. Being a proper maid wasn't something she had any skill at, sure, but simply handling basic day-to-day needs? That genuinely didn't sound too difficult. Compared to the previous two options, Cynthia found herself thinking this was practically the "easy mode" choice.
"You're sure it's just being an attendant?"
"Of course."
"Fine. I agree to it."
Cynthia nodded, accepting the terms. Serving as Mammon's attendant for a limited stretch of time wasn't an especially outrageous ask. Compared against the entire safety of Snowpoint City, this was a burden she could bear. And at the end of the day, it was just an attendant's role — not being worked to the bone for him. With Caitlin around, Mammon wasn't going to try anything untoward toward her either — nothing to genuinely worry about.
"That was surprisingly easy. Guess I should've asked for more," Mammon said, raising an eyebrow.
Cynthia: "..."
"I've agreed to your request. Now it's your turn to make good on your promise, Mammon." Cynthia looked toward the still-rampaging Regigigas, genuinely worried about the beast's fury spilling over into Snowpoint City.
"Don't worry. At the end of the day, the big guy's just having a moment of blind rage," Mammon said, shrugging.
"Watch this woman for me. If she doesn't sell the rest of her life to Team Rocket after using up a whole bottle of my Little Sacred Ash, I'll wring the life right back out of her." Mammon glanced at Poacher J, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile. He knew perfectly well her mind was fully conscious right now — just physically incapacitated from her injuries. Mammon had no intention of going easy on this woman — anyone who could carve out such a thriving career in the poaching trade obviously had no shortage of guts and skill. But getting J to actually toe the line properly wouldn't be easy. No matter, though — if she wouldn't listen, a little proper "education" would sort that out. And if she really insisted on being this stubborn, well, there was always feeding her to a school of Sharpedo — conveniently, her own crew happened to keep a pack of them.
"Mm~" Caitlin offered a flawless, faint smile.
Cynthia: "..."
Poacher J: "..."
"Reshiram."
Mammon released Reshiram's Poké Ball, and the regal, aloof, genuinely magnificent white dragon appeared before him. Mammon mounted up and flew Reshiram toward Regigigas.
Regigigas was still in the throes of its rampage, one Hyper Beam after another firing off wildly, seemingly without limit.
"That attack speed — shouldn't Slow Start have worn off by now?" Mammon studied Regigigas from above; this attack frequency didn't look remotely hampered by Slow Start at all.
In-game, Slow Start halved both Attack and Speed for five turns — a genuinely brutal debuff. Because, sure, Regigigas down there was firing Hyper Beam after Hyper Beam like it was free, but technically, Regigigas's actual Special Attack stat wasn't even that overwhelming to begin with. Relatively speaking, of course — given its overall power level, Regigigas's Hyper Beam was still leagues beyond what an ordinary Pokémon could manage.
And Bulbapedia's description of Slow Start was genuinely something else: "A Pokémon with this Ability has its Attack and Speed halved for the first five turns it's in battle — whether it can survive those five turns is the real deciding factor, and that's precisely the strategic key to this Ability!"
"The strategic key" — my ass! Five whole turns of halved Attack and Speed, and you're calling that a "strategic key"? You want Regigigas to somehow muscle through five entire turns like that with its bare head? That was exactly why Regigigas, despite technically qualifying as a box-legendary, never made it onto any restriction list — because with Slow Start active, Regigigas was, barring some special workaround, functionally useless. The kind of Pokémon nobody would even bring to clear the story mode, let alone compete with.
In reality, though, Regigigas's Slow Start wasn't quite this crippling — depended on the situation, of course. As long as you didn't throw it straight into battle the instant it came out, and instead let it stand off to the side for a bit to finish "starting up," you could work around it. You could even use that startup window to let Regigigas warm up and strengthen itself in the meantime. And in the real world, even accounting for Slow Start, Regigigas's raw power was genuinely formidable — sure, no telling exactly where it stood before the startup period finished, but once it did finish starting up, Regigigas actually outclassed both Dialga and Palkia — in their non-Origin forms, anyway.
And right as Mammon was mulling over how to calm Regigigas down, the creature on the ground seemed to have noticed Reshiram in the sky above it.
"Reggi!!"
Without missing a beat, Regigigas raised its right arm, red-orange energy gathering in its palm. Hyper Beam! A massive beam tore through the air, aimed directly at Reshiram.
"Dodge it."
Reshiram evaded instantly, slipping clear of the incoming beam.
"How rude — attacking us the moment it spots us? Reshiram, confident you could beat it?" Mammon asked, genuinely marveling, addressing his mount beneath him.
"Eh? Mammon, this big guy looks seriously vicious — better let one of the other brothers handle this one," Reshiram said, startled, its cool telepathy hastily offering the suggestion. Not that it was afraid of Regigigas in this berserk state — genuinely, not afraid at all. It was simply that a gorgeous, elegant white dragon like itself shouldn't be constantly getting into brawls. It was Mammon's mount, after all — image had to be maintained, and besides, its real job was keeping Mammon safe.
"You're such a coward — Regigigas can't even fly, and you're still chickening out?" Mammon said, exasperated. Right — Regigigas, like Groudon, couldn't fly either. Practically the only two high-tier legendaries without flight capability.
"Well, in that case—"
Mammon considered for a moment, then tossed out Dark Mewtwo's Poké Ball.
"Mewtwo!"
Dark Mewtwo materialized before Mammon, deep violet flames flickering in its eyes as it surveyed Regigigas below. Convenient timing, actually — Dark Mewtwo had just gained fresh power, and testing it against Regigigas would be a solid benchmark.
"Mewtwo."
Light of evolution flared around Dark Mewtwo's body, the telltale sign of Mega Evolution flashing past in an instant. Amid a thick haze of purple-black energy, Mega Mewtwo Y stood in its place.
Mega Evolution!
An overwhelming wave of thick, palpable malice spread outward as Mega Mewtwo Y looked down at its own arms. Power! Overwhelming power, flowing without end!
"It evolved?!" Cynthia stared at Mega Mewtwo Y hovering in the air, stunned. Sure, its body had visibly shrunk, but the terrifying pressure it radiated made Mega Mewtwo Y's strength unmistakably, viscerally clear. Dark Mewtwo can Mega Evolve too?
Cynthia pressed her lips together. Mammon really was growing more formidable by the day.
"Reggi!!"
Regigigas seemed to sense the threat posed by Mega Mewtwo Y too, the seven round holes across its chest flaring wildly. It raised both massive, thick arms, energy gathering rapidly in each palm.
Hyper Beam! Two massive beams of destructive light tore through the sky, streaking toward Mega Mewtwo Y at high speed.
But Mega Mewtwo Y simply raised an arm, and a deep violet barrier flared to life in front of it.
BOOM!
Both Hyper Beams slammed hard into the psychic barrier and detonated, a powerful shockwave rolling outward, thick smoke billowing everywhere. Within the haze, an eerie deep-violet gleam flickered, and a strange gust of wind swept through, clearing the obscuring smoke away.
Mega Mewtwo Y stood there completely unscathed, expression as cool and detached as ever.
"Not bad," Mammon said, nodding, satisfied. Before its Mega Evolution, Dark Mewtwo could never have absorbed two Hyper Beams this effortlessly.
"Once this big guy's calmed down, might be a good time to ask it a few things," Mammon said, gazing at Regigigas on the ground.
Honestly, there was something Mammon had been genuinely curious about for a while now — call it a working theory. The creation inscriptions tied to Arceus's Plates contained a few particular lines:
Mystic Plate: Before the universe existed, only it drew breath.Insect Plate: Where the universe was born, that too is where it originated.Earth Plate: When the universe came into being, its fragments took the shape of Plates.Meadow Plate: Pokémon born of that creation were granted a portion of the Plates' power.Splash Plate: One who holds the Plates may take on countless forms to wield their power.Flame Plate: The power granted to the Plates comes from a giant that was struck down.
Really, the meaning behind these inscriptions was straightforward enough — they described Arceus's origins and the birth of the universe itself, and explained why Pokémon born afterward came to carry distinct "types." The so-called "typing," in other words, existed precisely because newly born Pokémon were shaped by the influence of the Plates' foundational power.
But the Flame Plate's inscription carried one genuinely fascinating detail: "The power granted to the Plates comes from a giant that was struck down." So — who, exactly, was this "struck-down giant"?
Mammon looked at Regigigas. Well — pure speculation, sure, but it lined up remarkably well with the facts as they stood. It would also explain why Regigigas was currently lugging around a body cursed with Slow Start — maybe Arceus itself had beaten Regigigas half to ruin at some point in the distant past. Not just crippling its raw strength, but leaving behind a lasting aftereffect that made it perpetually slow to "start up" ever since.
Yeah. The Alpaca — absolute unit, huh?
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