Chapter 111: HAHAHA~ I Got Kyogre!!
Deep in the Seafloor Cavern.
Every eye in the chamber was fixed on the Ultra Ball still arcing through the air.
Because inside that ball — right now — was Kyogre. The super-ancient legendary of myth.
Would it actually work?
The Ball landed. The indicator light blinked once.
Caitlin felt something she hadn't felt in a while — genuine tension. It has to work. It will work. Mammon can do anything.
Archie, zip-tied on the cave floor, was doing something with his face that could only be described as soul-leaving-body. Impossible. There's no way. Kyogre would never—
Mammon himself was the calmest person present. He had two hundred Poké Balls in his bag. If this one failed, he'd throw the next one. The math was simple.
The Ball rocked.
A second blink.
Then — click.
The indicator light went still. Solid. The Ball dropped toward the pool.
Armored Mewtwo's psychic field caught it instantly and floated it back to Mammon's waiting hand.
First ball. One try.
Mammon hadn't actually expected that. Kyogre must have been sleeping extraordinarily deeply. Whatever the reason—
He looked at the Ultra Ball resting in his palm.
"Heh." He couldn't hold it in. "HEH HEH HEH— HAHAHAHAHA!! I GOT KYOGRE!!"
His laughter filled the underground chamber, unrestrained and completely delighted.
Kyogre. The actual legendary Kyogre. Azure Sovereign of the Deep. The primordial ocean itself in the form of a Pokémon.
According to the ancient Pokédex records — the ones compiled in the Mega Evolution artist's journals:
In its awakened Primal form, it commands dominion over every ocean in the world. Each time Primal Kyogre swims, the seas expand.
The three super-ancient legends of Hoenn. The Skyborne Dragon Rayquaza. The Crimson Lord of the Land, Groudon. And the Azure Sovereign of the Deep, Kyogre.
And the Azure Sovereign of the Deep was in his hand.
"IMPOSSIBLE — how — HOW did you—"
Archie's voice broke. This was a man watching his life's dream get casually pocketed by a teenager while he sat on the floor with his wrists tied.
He didn't understand. He couldn't understand. Why had Kyogre gone into the ball?
Why hadn't it resisted?
Are you seriously that deeply asleep?! You were just put into a CAPTURE DEVICE and you didn't even TWITCH—
If he'd known it was going to be this easy, he would have just thrown a ball himself weeks ago!!
Archie's composure was experiencing a structural failure.
"What are you going on about?" Mammon turned with an expression of mild contempt.
"Would you prefer Kyogre went with you?"
He said it with full mockery.
In the back of his mind, he knew — placing Kyogre in a Poké Ball and actually earning Kyogre's recognition were two different things. The ball was a start. Not a finish.
But it was a very satisfying start.
His mood was excellent.
"You—!!" Archie's forehead vein had become a topographical feature. "You little — fight me yourself then! No Pokémon! Just us!"
"Ha?"
Mammon stared at him. Then burst out laughing.
"Archie. You're genuinely funny. Are you a good fighter? You've certainly built the aesthetic. But what does it matter if you're strong? Are your Pokémon strong? That's the only thing that counts."
Courtney and Kagura both turned away to deal with whatever was happening to their faces.
Archie had gone from red to purple. He was the kind of person who had never in his life been laughed at like this, and his systems were not handling it.
"Alright, let's be practical." Mammon rolled the Poké Ball idly and settled his gaze on the assembled Aqua members. His expression had shifted to something cooler and more businesslike.
"What do I do with you all?"
Archie and his team went quiet.
"You're the losing party," Shelly said carefully. "Whatever you decide is your prerogative."
She'd switched to honorifics without much deliberation. They were prisoners. Negotiating position was nonexistent.
"Exactly right. You're all my prizes at the moment." Mammon glanced at the pool. The pale blue glow was still emanating from the water, even with Kyogre gone. Interesting.
"Team Aqua is a criminal organization with no one expecting you here." He tilted his head, letting half his face fall into shadow.
"This cavern is also very well hidden. If I put all of you in this pool, no one would ever know."
The silence that followed was the particular silence of people reconsidering their life choices.
Shelly's pupils had shrunk to points. A visible tremor ran through her.
Archie went pale — genuinely pale, which was an achievement for someone with his complexion.
Several Aqua grunts' knees were holding a committee meeting about whether to continue supporting the rest of the body.
"Mammon — that's a crime—"
"We're Team Rocket," Mammon said, with great patience. "Doing evil things is the job. What exactly did you expect?"
His tone deepened into something that left no interpretive room.
"Decision made."
The color left the room.
"Hey!" Archie forced the bravado back into his voice through sheer stubbornness. "If you're going to do something, do it to me. Leave my people out of it."
"Bold. Appreciated."
Mammon waved a hand.
Armored Mewtwo's eyes lit up. Psychic force took hold of Archie, lifted him, inverted him, and deposited him head-first into what Mammon had been privately calling Kyogre's bathwater.
Glub glub glub.
Archie thrashed. Useless. Bubble after bubble floated up from below. His people watched with expressions of shared existential horror.
Ten seconds passed. Mewtwo's finger curled, and Archie's head was extracted.
"CaGH— cGHFF—"
Archie coughed up what seemed like a significant volume of water. His swimming was, in fairness, excellent — but "fighting psychic telekinesis while inverted" was a different skill set.
"Cold soak for the brain. Hopefully it helps before you say something stupid."
Mewtwo deposited him back in his original position. Archie hit the floor and spent several seconds just breathing.
He had, for a moment down there, genuinely seen his great-grandmother.
"Here are the rules," Mammon said. His voice had lost its performance quality entirely. "I say things. No one interrupts. If anyone has strong feelings about this, they can stand up now — I'm sure the local Sharpedo population would appreciate the meal."
Silence. Total, comprehensive silence.
Even Archie didn't move.
"Team Aqua is hereby absorbed into Team Rocket. All members will be reassigned to new roles and positions. Join us and you're part of the organization — good treatment, reasonable conditions. Betray the organization—"
He smiled without finishing the sentence.
Everyone present understood the ending.
"Archie. Shelly. Write down every Team Aqua base location. When we surface, contact every remaining Aqua member and have them assemble outside Mauville City."
"Understood?"
"...Understood." Shelly.
"Hmm? Didn't eat today?"
"UNDERSTOOD!" — general chorus, including Archie, at full volume.
"Good. Gladion."
Gladion stepped forward to begin the headcount.
"Mammon." Kagura fell into step beside him as he moved off. "You really think you can fold Team Aqua in cleanly? Archie doesn't exactly look like he's made his peace with this."
She kept her voice low.
"A fly can thrash all it wants. It's still a fly." Mammon's voice was mild. "I've given him an opportunity. If he can't hold onto it, that's his problem — he's just a piece I don't need."
He looked down at the Ball in his hand.
The mood was still good. Very good, in fact. One operation: absorbed Team Aqua's leadership, and happened to pick up a legendary ocean deity.
Kagura kept her reservations to herself. Then thought about it practically. Archie's ceiling was obvious. Mammon could end him casually at any time he chose.
Fair enough.
"Courtney, Domino — take a few people and collect some water from this pool."
Mammon turned back with a specific expression.
"...What do you want the water for?" Kagura looked at him.
"Kyogre has been soaking in this pool for at least a thousand years."
"Probably, yes."
"So the water is thoroughly marinated in Kyogre. Take it out and run some analysis on it."
He was genuinely curious whether thousand-year Kyogre-essence water had measurable properties.
Kagura and Caitlin looked at each other.
The specific expression on both of their faces did not have an easy translation.
They emerged from the Seafloor Cavern into afternoon light. The sun hit the water and Mammon stretched his arms out and let it warm him.
The Aqua members all experienced something similar to the sensation of having been born a second time.
"Lord Mammon." Archie had clearly been sitting with something. He cleared his throat. "There's information you might find useful."
A pause.
"I know the location of a major Team Magma base."
His smile was a particular shade of vindictive.
Team Aqua was gone. Kyogre was gone. His freedom was considerably diminished.
But if I'm going down, you're coming with me, Maxie.
"You're certain?"
"Completely certain."
"Good." Mammon clapped him once on the shoulder. "If it checks out, I'll count that as significant service. Senior executive track."
Archie's expression landed somewhere between laughing and crying. Half an hour ago he'd been a Boss. Now he was angling for a promotion to executive within an organization that had just conquered him.
"One more thing." Mammon thought about it. "You don't like Maxie."
Archie's eyes lit up like a signal flare.
"When we catch him — I'll let you settle it your way. No Pokémon. Just you two. Don't put him in the ground, that's the only rule."
"HAHAHAHA!! Lord Mammon, you have my absolute devotion, YO!!"
Archie's laughter rolled across the water, fist clenched so hard his knuckles cracked.
Maxie. I have been waiting for this for a very long time.
Courtney, for her part, stared quietly at the horizon.
Lord Maxie. I hope you're alright out there.
☆☆☆
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