Chapter 366: The Hisui Era! Mammon Is Stunned
"Where the hell did this send me?"
Standing before a massive stretch of marshland, Mammon looked around with a genuinely bewildered expression, scanning his surroundings.
Wait, hold on. Hadn't he just been sitting on Yveltal's back a second ago, right in the middle of a full-blown "Legendary free-for-all"? He'd already worked out the whole path to victory!
So how did he just get yanked from a desert straight into a swamp in the blink of an eye?
Mammon was thoroughly stunned.
"Poké Balls still work, wetlands, and..."
Mammon steadied himself. He first pulled out a Poké Ball, and Tapu Fini emerged beside him with a yawn.
The Poké Ball functioned normally, though his current location remained unknown; his phone still worked, but there was absolutely no signal or network connection. And scanning the area, he couldn't spot a single sign of another person. Mammon glanced at the marshland, then down at the ground beneath his feet, then off into the distance.
His expression turned genuinely strange.
"Time travel? Terapagos's ability? But that doesn't add up."
As for why Mammon was so confident this was time travel — that was because, not far ahead of him, an enormously muscular gray bear was currently sprawled on the ground, apparently resting.
Its whole body was extraordinarily thick and powerful, with a yellow circle on its forehead that, combined with its gray brows, formed a pattern resembling "clouds veiling the moon."
That was Ursaluna, wasn't it???
Mammon raised an eyebrow, studying the dozing Ursaluna.
"Why would this send me to Hisui, though? Even accounting for Terapagos's ability, this shouldn't have landed me in Hisui specifically."
Mammon was genuinely puzzled.
Terapagos's time-travel capability was already firmly established fact — though the exact conditions that triggered it remained unclear. In the Scarlet/Violet game's own storyline, Terapagos's time-travel ability had already been demonstrated in full.
But logically speaking, even if Stellar Terapagos had triggered its own ability back on the battlefield and sent Mammon through time somehow, there was no reason it should have landed him specifically in Hisui.
Why? Because Mammon had been standing in Kalos at the time, and Hisui was ancient Sinnoh — the two regions were separated by an enormous distance.
Then again, who could say for certain — maybe Terapagos had just sent him somewhere randomly, or maybe some "someone" had deliberately interfered, specifically routing Mammon into the Hisui era on purpose.
Regardless — Ursaluna was a species that only appeared in this specific regional environment of Hisui, so this had to be Hisui, no question. And beyond that, Mammon was fairly confident he was currently standing in the Crimson Mirelands specifically.
"Fini, take that thing down."
Mammon mulled it over for a good while but couldn't quite untangle it, so he decided to simply stop trying. Terapagos's time-travel effect seemed to carry some kind of time limit — and since luck had brought him to Hisui of all places, wouldn't it be a waste not to bring back a little "local specialty" while he had the chance?
He was already here, after all, and these were genuinely Hisui-exclusive Pokémon.
Sure, he'd been "teleported" away without warning, but Mammon wasn't especially worried about the battlefield back home — with Complete Kyurem and the rest of his roster holding the line, there was no way they'd lose.
Tapu Fini perked up, drifting toward Ursaluna and firing off a Hydro Pump straight at it.
The Hydro Pump slammed directly into the completely unsuspecting Ursaluna.
Ursaluna's entire body was sent flying, baring its teeth in pain, before it finally, painfully, managed to stand back up.
ROAR!!
Ursaluna let out a furious growl at Tapu Fini. This little punk! An ambush, seriously?!
"Qi-qi?"
Tapu Fini showed not the faintest trace of guilt. How was that an ambush? It had flown straight at it in plain sight — how did that count as sneaky?
Wasn't it just YOUR fault for not paying attention?
Tapu Fini had no interest in arguing with this bear any further, firing off another Hydro Pump straight at it.
Ursaluna, its fury now in full swing, showed no fear whatsoever, launching into a wild, reckless charge straight at Tapu Fini.
And then...
"Looks like my luck's pretty good — the very first Ursaluna I catch and it's already a genuinely decent specimen."
Mammon toyed with the Ultra Ball in his hand, the very same Ursaluna now caught inside it.
Withstanding a full Hydro Pump from Tapu Fini without going down immediately already said a great deal about this wild Ursaluna's caliber. Well — he'd keep an eye out for anything even better, but if nothing turned up, he'd happily keep this one and raise it himself.
Mammon had genuinely taken a liking to Ursaluna.
"Come to think of it, I really do owe that little tortoise some thanks — Hisui's a genuinely great place to be."
Mammon looked around; there appeared to be two more Ursaluna tumbling around on the ground in the distance — might as well round them up too, while he was at it.
Hisui really was, for Mammon, a genuinely excellent place to find himself in. Ursaluna, Kleavor, Basculegion, Sneasler, Hisuian Growlithe, and more —
So honestly, Mammon had always wanted to make a trip to Hisui someday anyway. Even without this fortunate accident, he'd already been planning to eventually ask Dialga to "open a door" for him someday, when the opportunity arose.
Not that this actual visit would stop him from still planning to ask Dialga for that "door" in the future, of course. A place like Hisui — no harm in visiting a few more times.
Having caught a fair number of genuinely promising Ursaluna in this stretch of marshland, Mammon picked a direction at random and kept moving.
Hisui's environment really was remarkable — compared to the modern, industrialized world, the Hisui era preserved far more of nature's raw, untouched character. An endless expanse of wilderness stretched in every direction, no end in sight, no cities anywhere to be seen.
Of course there weren't — this era only had villages; the very concept of a "city" hadn't come into being yet.
Not that Mammon was in any particular hurry, though — sure, Dark Mewtwo and the rest of his Legendaries were still back in Kalos, on the desert battlefield, but he wasn't entirely without high-tier Legendaries on hand himself.
"Mammon, where are we?"
Having had a bottle of Little Sacred Ash restore most of its stamina, Young Rayquaza looked thoroughly confused.
Wait, weren't they just in the middle of a fight a second ago? And now suddenly they were somewhere else entirely?
"No idea, honestly, Rayquaza. Can you sense your parents from here?"
"The distance is too great, but... maybe, a little?"
Young Rayquaza couldn't say for certain. Sure, there was a bloodline connection, but the distance really was too vast to be sure of anything. It could faintly, vaguely sense the presence of its own kin somewhere out there, though — how to put it — something about it felt genuinely strange.
"Alright, I think I get the picture." Mammon nodded, then recalled Young Rayquaza.
"That little tortoise's time-travel ability probably has some kind of time limit, or maybe it'll just teleport me back on its own."
Mammon mused, continuing to head off in an unknown direction.
He wasn't especially worried about being unable to return to the modern era — after all, an "outsider" like himself, someone who didn't belong to this era, surely wouldn't be permitted to linger here indefinitely by Dialga. And based on what he knew of the game's own storyline, that little tortoise's time-travel ability did indeed carry a built-in time limit.
Right at that moment—
"Ho~ now what do I see here? A lost traveler~"
A young man's voice suddenly called out from not far away.
Mammon looked up, his expression carrying a note of genuine surprise.
Standing there was a strikingly handsome young man with blond hair, a traveling pack on his back, dressed in a blue merchant guild uniform, a hat perched on his head.
Mammon recognized the look instantly — this was Volo, of the Ginkgo Guild.
Volo!
The final antagonist of Legends: Arceus, the human form chosen by Giratina itself — and, as it happened, Cynthia's own ancestor.
Volo was currently approaching Mammon, a friendly smile on his face.
Honestly, though — Mammon genuinely found the whole thing rather uncanny. Because Volo's face bore a striking resemblance to Cynthia's own — the only real difference being that, as a man, Volo's facial features carried a much stronger, sharper line to them.
Summed up simply, Volo looked less like Cynthia's ancestor and more like her twin older brother.
"Hello there, this humble one goes by Volo, a member of the Ginkgo Guild. Traveler, might you be in need of assistance?"
Volo greeted Mammon with a smile.
Carrying the bloodline of the ancient Sinnoh people, Volo harbored his own quiet ambition to meet — and control — Arceus itself. But in his day-to-day dealings, Volo genuinely came across as a thoroughly dependable sort.
"I'm Mammon. Mr. Volo, you bear a remarkable resemblance to a friend of mine — I'm genuinely starting to wonder if you might be her older brother."
Mammon's own face broke into a warm, sunny smile as he addressed Volo.
"Oh? Is that so?" Volo blinked, surprised.
"Regrettably, though, this humble one has no siblings to speak of," Volo added with a small laugh.
"You might find this hard to believe — why don't you take a look at this instead."
Mammon pulled out his phone, opened a photo of himself and Cynthia together, and showed it to Volo.
Volo studied it with curiosity, his expression turning genuinely bizarre, his face practically scrunching into a knot.
"Hmm... could it be that my own parents fathered a child elsewhere, one I never knew about?"
Volo stared at the blonde woman in the photo, falling into deep, thoughtful contemplation.
No wonder — the woman in this photograph genuinely, uncannily resembled him. It left Volo genuinely questioning whether his own parents might have kept a secret daughter hidden from him somewhere out there.
Or perhaps his father — or his mother — had once had an affair of their own?
"Ha~ no need to trouble yourself over it too much, Mr. Volo. The world is a vast place — people who resemble one another closely aren't unheard of. Though, admittedly, this really is quite the coincidence."
"Mr. Volo, might I ask for a photograph together with you?"
"A photograph?"
"Yes, exactly like this. Mr. Volo, if you'd stand a little closer, and then... click~"
Mammon saved the photo of himself and Volo together, thoroughly satisfied — once he made it back to the present day, he could show it to Cynthia.
"What a marvelous device~ Mr. Mammon, this thing of yours — you call it a 'phone,' correct?"
"That's right. You're familiar with it, Mr. Volo?"
Mammon's eyebrows rose, looking at Volo with interest.
The Hisui era shouldn't, by any reasonable account, have anything resembling a phone — and yet, it wasn't entirely unheard of, either!
"Ah~ there's a child I know who happens to have a phone of her own, though hers looks rather different from yours."
Volo's eyes flickered faintly as he spoke to Mammon.
That child had fallen through a rift in space-time. But this gentleman here — how had he arrived?
"Might I ask you to take me to meet her, Mr. Volo? She may well be a companion of mine."
So this era really did have an Akari, or a Meiyao, running around?
"Certainly. As it happens, I'm headed that way myself — would you care to accompany me, Mr. Mammon?"
"I'd be grateful for the company."
Naturally, Mammon was more than happy to join him, and Volo, for his part, was equally pleased — genuinely curious whether this young man might be like that girl too.
The two of them chatted amiably as they walked. After roughly an hour or so, they arrived at a small cottage — an old, secluded dwelling.
"This is where a friend of mine lives. That child ran into some trouble a while back, so I introduced her to this place," Volo explained.
"Oh, Mr. Volo, you've come."
A clear, bright voice suddenly rang out from behind the two of them.
Mammon turned to look, and his eyes flickered slightly — standing there was a delicate young girl with blue-black hair and bright, clear eyes.
She wore a white headscarf, a blue cotton coat, matching cotton pants, and a red scarf wrapped around her neck.
"Dawn? No, wait — that's Akari!"
Mammon stared at this girl before him, bearing an easy ninety-five percent resemblance to Platinum. If he had to name the one real difference — Platinum's hair was blue, while this girl's hair was a much darker blue-black.
"Ah~ Akari, is Wusi around?" Volo asked with a gentle smile.
But he immediately noticed something was off in Akari's expression.
The girl named Akari was staring at Mammon with unmistakable, overwhelming delight. Mammon blinked, about to return the look with a warm smile of his own—
—when a flash of blue blurred past him, and by the time he registered it, his expression had gone thoroughly stiff.
He raised both hands, genuinely at a loss, staring down at Akari, who had somehow, in an instant, closed the distance and thrown herself into his arms, hugging him tight.
Volo, too, looked thoroughly baffled.
But what left both Volo and Mammon even more stunned was what came next.
"Papa~ how are you here?"
Akari looked up at him, overflowing with pure delight, her eyes fixed on his from close range.
The girl's joy and excitement were unmistakable, radiating off her in waves.
Mammon was completely stunned.
"...What?"
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