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Shrine of the Glacial Chasm.
Annihilape tilted its head, its blood-red eyes fixed on Chien-Pao, and slowly raised its right arm, clenching its fist.
Chien-Pao paced slowly, its icy eyes never leaving Annihilape.
"Earthquake."
Mammon gave the order first; otherwise, the cautious Chien-Pao clearly wouldn't approach easily.
Annihilape remained silent, lifted its right foot, and then stomped it down heavily.
Rumble!
The entire ground began to tremble violently, and a tangible shockwave of Earthquake rippled forward.
A Ground-type Earthquake!
Chien-Pao's pupils narrowed, its snow-white body instantly vanished from its spot, transforming into a white phantom that shot towards Annihilape at high speed.
A Dark-type Sucker Punch!
"So fast!" Iono exclaimed, her eyes unable to even catch Chien-Pao's figure.
This Sucker Punch was simply too quick.
"Block it."
Mammon, however, wasn't surprised. Chien-Pao is actually a very typical high-speed burst Pokémon.
Its physical attack and speed are both excellent, especially its speed. Even his Annihilape would find it extremely difficult to catch up to Chien-Pao.
But the problem wasn't big. The difference in strength couldn't be compensated for by a simple speed advantage.
Annihilape's bloodshot eyes stared intently at Chien-Pao, whose speed, boosted by Sucker Punch, was astonishingly fast.
In almost the blink of an eye, it had already arrived in front of Annihilape, its sharp claws wreathed in dark energy, fiercely striking at Annihilape.
However, Annihilape's reaction speed was very fast; it raised its arm.
Rip!
Chien-Pao's Sucker Punch claws tore at Annihilape's right arm.
It was blocked?
Chien-Pao's icy eyes widened in surprise; even its incredibly fast Sucker Punch could be blocked.
"Grab it."
Mammon continued to order.
Annihilape's left arm instantly shot out, successfully grabbing Chien-Pao's right claw as it tried to retract it.
"Daring to be distracted during battle—this bad habit will also need to be corrected properly later."
Mammon's eyes slowly narrowed. This flaw of Chien-Pao's absolutely had to be corrected, or it would be too fatal.
Just like now, with its front leg caught by Annihilape, Chien-Pao was essentially helpless.
"Roar!!"
Chien-Pao struggled to pull out its right front leg, but Annihilape's hand was clamped shut like an iron vice, making it impossible to withdraw.
Chien-Pao roared at Annihilape, its ancient sword-like teeth glowing with sharp black light. As Chien-Pao swung, it slashed at Annihilape in front of it.
However, Annihilape moved even faster.
"Brick Break."
Annihilape raised its right arm high, glowing with white light, let out a low growl, and its hand chop instantly fell, fiercely striking Chien-Pao on the forehead.
A Fighting-type Brick Break!
Bang!
A dull, heavy thud echoed, Chien-Pao's movements halted, and a wave of air rippled outwards from Chien-Pao's center.
It showed how powerful this Brick Break was.
Chien-Pao's eyes gradually became vacant, and its snow-white body softened as if drained, collapsing onto the ground.
"Eh? It's down already?"
Iono looked at Chien-Pao, whose aura had instantly weakened to the extreme. At this moment, Chien-Pao couldn't even get up.
"It's been sealed for too long, so its condition wasn't great to begin with, and..." Mammon took out an Ultra Ball.
"Chien-Pao's typing is Dark/Ice, making it quadruple weak to Fighting-type. My Annihilape's Brick Break isn't something a normal Pokémon can withstand, let alone the current Chien-Pao."
Mammon explained that Annihilape was his top-tier ace during his Kanto journey, and its strength was formidable.
"Dark/Ice, huh? That type combination is really uncommon. It seems only the Sneasel line has this type pairing, right?"
Iono thought for a moment, speaking with uncertainty.
"Hmm, that's right. Tsk~ the Ice type, it really is unlucky to be associated with it."
Mammon clicked his tongue in wonder. There are eighteen types in total, and Ice definitely has the qualifications to compete for one of the weakest types.
Because Ice's resistances are simply too poor; it's weak to Fighting, Fire, Rock, and Steel types.
And for resistances? It only has one, Ice, and then nothing else... That's right, Ice resists Ice, and that's it.
Not even to mention comparing it to the noble Steel type. Steel has resistances to ten types and is immune to Poison, making a total of eleven resistances. The Ice type isn't even worthy of bowing to the Steel type.
Even compared to other types, the Ice type is inferior.
It is precisely because of this weak defensive typing that, even though the Ice type's offensive capabilities are not bad, it is still disliked.
Because what does being associated with the Ice type mean? It means more weaknesses, but not much better resistances... and even many gain quadruple weaknesses.
For example, Ice/Dark is quadruple weak to Fighting, Ice/Fairy is quadruple weak to Steel, Ice/Flying is quadruple weak to Rock. Even Ice/Steel is quadruple weak to Fighting and Fire.
Even the Steel type can't save the Ice type, which speaks volumes.
"...Handsome, that's type discrimination, you know."
Iono had a subtle expression, rolled her eyes, and then reminded him.
Although the Ice type's resistances are indeed poor, there are still many Trainers who love the Ice type. Mammon's remarks were not very good.
"I don't dislike the Ice type; rather, I quite like Ice-type moves." Mammon shrugged.
"And with Terastallization, the advantages and disadvantages of types can already be changed."
Mammon released Dark Mewtwo and then threw a Poké Ball at Chien-Pao.
As usual, Dark Mewtwo used its Psychic power to hold the Poké Ball, ensuring it wouldn't be broken free, and successfully caught Chien-Pao.
This crude way of capturing left Iono stunned.
"Buddy?"
"Handsome, isn't your method of capture a bit too barbaric?" Iono hesitated, speaking cautiously and tactfully.
"Legendary Pokémon's subconscious resistance is much stronger than that of ordinary Pokémon. Under normal circumstances, I might have to use dozens of Poké Balls to catch it."
Mammon replied casually.
"I'm just speeding up the process. We're still on a tight schedule, and wasting time on this is meaningless."
"Oh, oh..."
Iono tilted her head. What Mammon said seemed to make some sense, but she still felt something was off.
"Let's go. On to the next shrine. Let's try to catch all four today."
Mammon walked towards Reshiram, who was still aloofly gazing into the distance.
"Alright~!"
Iono immediately ran over and sat behind Mammon, naturally wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Can you keep your hands to yourself? Where are you touching?"
Mammon slapped the small hand that was gradually exploring towards his chest, speaking exasperatedly.
"Oh, don't be so stingy. Aren't chest muscles meant to be touched?"
Iono chuckled, completely unconcerned, her tone very natural.
"Then your chest muscles are so big, can I touch them for a bit?"
"?? Handsome, that's a bit much. These are clearly fat, okay? They're very soft. How can you call them chest muscles?"
"Alright, then can I touch your fat for a bit?"
"Hehe No, gogogo Let's go~!"
Reshiram flapped its wings and flew up, the magnificent white dragon heading towards the location of the next shrine.
Time quickly passed, and it was now four-thirty in the afternoon.
"Caught it, Ting-Lu."
In front of the Shrine of the Groundblight, Mammon picked up Ting-Lu's Ultra Ball and nodded in satisfaction.
After spending the entire afternoon, he finally managed to catch the remaining three Chien-Pao.
Chien-Pao from the Shrine of the Glacial Chasm, Wo-Chien from the Shrine of the Greenflame, Chi-Yu from the Shrine of the Firescourge, and finally Ting-Lu from the Shrine of the Groundblight.
With this, the Treasures of ruin were all gathered.
"Phew~ Much faster than expected. This way, we might even make it for dinner."
Iono blinked. Although she was just Mammon's little follower today, Iono was quite happy.
She had witnessed all the legendary Chien-Pao and even filmed Mammon capturing them.
This was all material for her upcoming videos, and her audience would surely be very interested in this.
Perfect~!
Hmm, although Mammon said that if the video were to be released, she would have to continue providing services for him.
Hehe~ It's hilarious, Iono agreed without hesitation.
Anyway, she already owed enough; it didn't matter, a lot of debt doesn't weigh one down.
"Hmm, let's go."
Mammon nodded.
The two rode on Reshiram and flew towards Mesagoza.
By the time Mammon and Iono arrived, Caitlin and the others were just about to prepare dinner—of course, they had hired a chef.
Caitlin was the type who never lifted a finger in the kitchen, while Selene and Platinum, although they could cook simple meals, were only barely passable.
So, it was better to hire a professional chef to prepare dinner at the villa.
"You're back! How was your harvest?"
Selene saw Mammon and Iono walk in, yawned, and said.
"Not bad. All targets captured." Mammon changed his shoes, took off his jacket, and stretched.
"All the Chien-Pao captured? Are any of them particularly strong? My merits are enough to exchange for a Legendary Pokémon, you know."
Selene became interested. Thanks to the earnings from the Saffron City battle, Selene's Team Rockets merits had accumulated to 150,000.
However, she was still deliberating which Legendary Pokémon to exchange for.
"Wo-Chien, Dark/Grass; Ting-Lu, Dark/Ground; Chi-Yu, Dark/Fire. You can decide for yourself. I've already updated the exchange information for these three Pokémon."
Mammon sat down. For now, he didn't plan to train Wo-Chien and the other two himself.
Selene immediately opened the Team Rockets app and checked the basic information of the three Chien-Pao.
Caitlin lost interest upon hearing this; she only wanted to train Psychic-type Pokémon.
Meanwhile, Platinum carefully reviewed Wo-Chien's data, pondering whether to exchange for it.
After all, she currently didn't have a Grass-type ace.
"Oh, Selene, I'll save Koraidon for you. When you have enough confidence to catch Koraidon, you can challenge it."
Remembering this, Mammon said to Selene.
"Eh? Koraidon for me?" Selene's eyes immediately lit up, very surprised.
"Of course, I said so before."
"Wow~! My dear, I love you!"
Selene was overjoyed. She immediately jumped out and hugged Mammon, giving him a big kiss on the cheek.
Although Koraidon was crushed by Black Rayquaza at the Area Zero Research Station, that was because Black Rayquaza was too strong, not because Koraidon was weak.
It was still a mythical Legendary Pokémon, after all.
And, it must be said, Selene quite liked the majestic and wild Koraidon.
"If you want it, you'll have to work even harder. Koraidon has a rather fierce temperament, and you won't be able to make it obedient without enough strength."
Mammon said with a chuckle, reminding her.
"Mm-hmm~!"
Selene was full of motivation and drive, her pretty face filled with defiant fighting spirit. Sure enough, her dear still loved her the most!
Excellent!
It seemed the plan could be announced, Selene thought to herself.
"Caitlin, Platinum, Rosa, Cynthia... and who else was it?"
Selene recalled. Anyway, after thinking it over, there were only a few who were competitive.
After returning from Paldea, she would create a group chat for Caitlin and the others. It was time to properly clarify with them who was the elder and who was the younger.
Lest there be another incident like Rosa's 'tea-like' situation last time. The dignity of the main wife must not be challenged!
Selene grinned. When she caught the great lion and Koraidon, she laughed. Who could compete with her?
This World Championship was the best opportunity. She would 'shark' them all!
She would make these women realize how formidable she was!