Chapter 116: Steven, We're Going to Win This. Right?
"Sensei has good eyes."
Mammon was genuinely impressed. The venue was packed, the distance was considerable, and Wallace had still locked onto him through the crowd with the precision of someone who'd been memorizing his face.
A few days apart and the man had developed fighting spirit. Interesting.
He waved at Wallace from the audience, took Caitlin's arm, and started toward the exit.
Wallace's composure deserted him. He stepped off the stage platform mid-transition, which left May staring at his back in confusion.
"Steven!"
Steven looked up from a geological survey report. "What's happening?"
"Mammon — I just saw Mammon!"
Wallace's breathing was quicker than usual. He grabbed Steven's sleeve and pulled him toward the exit at a pace that was not quite running.
Steven processed the name, set down the report, and followed with the expression of someone who understood the situation and had complicated feelings about being involved.
The man who made that video, he was thinking. Also the man who posted those photos. Now in Slateport, apparently, while we are also in Slateport.
Outside the venue, Mammon had found a dessert counter and purchased two Casteliacones.
Worth mentioning: this particular dessert chain was a Team Rocket acquisition. He'd sent people to Unova specifically, paid an extraordinary premium for the brand and the recipe, and the previous owner had ultimately parted with it under circumstances that involved sustained and creative persuasion.
The Casteliacone was genuinely excellent. Mammon had no regrets.
"They're following us," Caitlin noted, glancing back.
"I know. Message Kagura."
Caitlin typed while Mammon led them toward the city's western outskirts — an open area, clear sightlines, no bystanders.
He found a spot with a view of distant water through the trees, turned around, and waited.
"Followed us all the way out here." He smiled as the two figures approached. "You're committed."
Wallace and Steven came to a stop a few meters away.
"Sensei, and the distinguished predecessor," Mammon said pleasantly, looking between them. "Two consecutive Hoenn Champions in one afternoon. I'm honored."
"Don't." Wallace's voice was controlled. "Call me that one more time—"
"It's confirmed, then? You two absorbed Magma and Aqua?" Steven's tone was direct.
"Word travels fast." Mammon tilted his head. "Yes, that's correct."
"What's your actual objective in Hoenn?"
Steven's eyes were calm but focused. He'd been working through the implications since yesterday.
"It's a reasonable question, but it's also a little funny coming from you," Mammon said. "Kanto's territory is saturated. Expanding to other regions is natural organizational behavior. I was actually hoping to have a conversation with you two about this."
He paused.
"With Magma and Aqua dissolved, the only notable criminal organization active in Hoenn right now is Team Rocket. In a sense, we've resolved a problem that's been on your League's desk for years. You could look at that charitably."
"Team Rocket is a greater threat to Hoenn than Magma and Aqua combined." Wallace was not charmed. "Don't pretend otherwise."
"Sensei, your bias against us is showing—"
"I told you not to call me that."
"The Pokémon League's position is clear," Steven said evenly. "Whatever you think you've done, Hoenn doesn't want Team Rocket here. That's the starting point of this conversation."
"Fair enough." Mammon shrugged. "Then there's nothing to discuss. I assumed as much."
Wallace squared his shoulders.
"Then we're arresting you. Today. And I have backup this time."
He said it with genuine conviction.
"Oh? A few days away and you're feeling confident again, Sensei. I appreciate the spirit." Mammon raised an eyebrow. "Though I'm not sure Steven alone changes the math enough."
"Do not underestimate—"
A dragon's cry shook the air.
Everyone looked up.
Salamence banked in from the east and descended, wings pulling back as it slowed. Kagura dropped from its back with the casual ease of someone who'd done this before, landing beside Mammon and Caitlin in one smooth motion.
Steven went still.
He studied the Salamence. The presence coming off it was — substantial. Considerably beyond what he'd expect from the standard ceiling for the species. Sidney's ace Salamence was strong; this was stronger.
Another Champion-tier.
He looked at the girl. The worn cape, the sharp eyes, the easy stance of someone who was completely relaxed about the current situation.
"Who is she?" he said quietly.
There was something else — something about the way she was looking at him specifically. Not at Mammon, not at Wallace. At him. A complicated look that he couldn't place, because he was completely certain they'd never met.
"So." Mammon addressed Wallace and Steven together, his smile carrying something that wasn't quite amusement and wasn't quite threat. "Updated count: three to two. What's the revised read, Sensei?"
"Stop calling me—"
"I heard you, I heard you."
"Don't let him provoke you," Steven said, not taking his eyes off the situation. He was running the math. Caitlin. Kagura. Mammon himself, who had defeated Wallace with a Pheromosa and Suicune and hadn't used Mewtwo yet.
Three to two. On paper.
In practice, the gap was more complicated than that.
"Give me something, Mammon." Wallace kept his voice steady. "Some reason this doesn't end here."
"I could give you several." Mammon's tone was perfectly pleasant. "But I think you'd find them unsatisfying. The honest answer is: we're here, we're staying, and fighting us costs you more than it gains you. But I don't expect you to accept that."
"No," Steven said. "We don't."
"Then I suppose we'll see." Mammon glanced at Wallace with something that looked, genuinely, like affection. "I was actually looking forward to this one."
"One more thing, while we're all here—" He brightened, as if something had just occurred to him. "Speaking of seeing — the outdoor lighting here is exceptional. There's a water view, good natural shade—"
Wallace's expression went to somewhere between homicidal and mortified.
"I was thinking — since you've brought a friend this time — a couples' series might be well-received. You and Steven together. The aesthetics would complement each other nicely, and—"
"THAT'S IT." Wallace had his Poké Ball out. "GO."
"Don't! Don't just—" Steven caught his arm for one second. "Strategy first—"
"THERE IS NO STRATEGY, STEVEN—"
Caitlin and Kagura exchanged a brief look.
Steven, for his part, looked at Mammon, then at Wallace, then at Mammon again.
He thought about the wrestling video. About the fashion series. About the comment sections.
He thought about the fact that he would need to be the functional adult in this situation.
Then he looked at the three people across from him and thought about the math again.
"Wallace," he said carefully.
"What."
"We're going to win this."
A beat.
"Right?"
Wallace faltered. He turned to Steven — his best friend, the most capable trainer he personally knew — and searched his face for the unambiguous confidence he needed right now.
Steven looked back at him with the expression of someone who had run the numbers and found them inconclusive.
"...Probably."
Wallace's soul began its third departure of the week.
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