Chapter 196: Fight Zekrom or Fight Primal Kyogre? Is That Even a Question?
You wouldn't want anything to happen to this city, would you?
The words hit Elesa like a bucket of cold water. She felt her heart skip.
What — what exactly did he mean?
"M— Mr. Mammon."
She was looking at that half-smiling expression, and she could feel her throat go dry.
"You're this powerful. Why would you need to threaten someone like me."
She bit her lip. She hated the position this put her in — but she also knew, perfectly clearly, that she couldn't stop him.
"Power is exactly what got me here. And you, Elesa—"
Mammon broke into a grin.
"You're beautiful."
He let that settle for exactly one second.
"And you know who I am, don't you."
She did. He was Team Rocket.
That was precisely why she was genuinely afraid. If he were just a trainer — a strong one, sure, even an extraordinary one — she might have weighed her odds. But a senior figure in an actual criminal organization? This might not be a bluff.
"..." Elesa pressed her lips together tightly.
"If you're willing to cooperate, Elesa, I don't see any reason Nimbasa has to come to any harm."
Mammon took a bite of ice cream. The words came out lightly — just a little too lightly, landing with real weight.
Elesa's expression shifted.
She was an adult. She understood exactly what he meant.
Being a world-class model had not protected her from men who looked at her the way they looked at a prize. She'd dealt with those men before. The difference was, she'd always had options — she was an official Gym Leader backed by the Unova League, and she could say no, and make sure the person who needed to hear it heard it clearly.
But here—
"You understand what you'd have to offer, don't you, Miss Elesa?"
His voice was quiet, almost gentle. Like something whispered by a devil at her ear.
Her face had gone pale.
Nimbasa's safety.
And her own body.
"Is that all you have to say? Perhaps Nimbasa's Gym Leader doesn't actually care that much about her city."
The mockery was light, almost teasing — and it cut directly at something she couldn't brush off.
Elesa's breathing had gone faster without her noticing. She was genuinely, deeply conflicted.
Finally, she drew a silent breath.
"...Understood."
Her voice was steady. The decision was made.
She was Nimbasa's Gym Leader. Protecting this city was her responsibility. Whatever it cost.
"Oh? Understood what, exactly?"
Mammon looked at her, curious.
"Whatever price it takes — as long as you don't hurt this city, I'll pay it." Her eyes were hard, resolved.
"Even spending a night with me?"
He asked the obvious question.
"...Yes."
She said it through set teeth. She'd prepared herself for this the moment she'd made the decision — but she was still a young woman, and her voice carried the faintest tremor, and her face had gone a shade she'd never want anyone to see.
"Hahaha~"
Mammon burst out laughing.
Elesa's expression went worse at the sound. And then—
"That's genuinely funny. Miss Elesa, you actually believed me. Do I really come across as someone with absolutely no standards?"
He tapped his chin, studying her with what appeared to be genuine curiosity.
"...?" Elesa's head came up, startled out of everything she'd been bracing for.
"Relax. I'm with Team Rocket, yes — but I do have limits. Forcing you into bed with me is not something I'm willing to do."
Mammon patted her shoulder — a light, matter-of-fact touch.
He'd been teasing. He genuinely hadn't expected her to actually call his bluff like that.
Elesa's mind ground to a halt.
Then the blood that had drained out of her face came rushing back, all at once.
Everything she'd just said. Everything she'd just committed to—
"Then... then what do you actually want, Mr. Mammon?"
She got herself back to the point, looking at him with something that might have been cautious hope.
"Don't paint Team Rocket as that cartoonishly villainous. All I actually wanted was for you to work as my maid for a while." Mammon sounded entirely reasonable about it.
"What?" Elesa's eyes went wide. "A maid?"
"Hold on — Mr. Mammon, you said you have limits?"
"I do. If I didn't, we'd already be in a hotel room right now."
Mammon said this matter-of-factly.
Elesa fell silent.
...He had a point. She'd already mentally prepared herself for something considerably worse. A maid role was — compared to that — fairly manageable.
"Can't help it, really. You're that attractive, and you happen to be a Gym Leader — you'll just have to put up with a little inconvenience. Don't worry, though."
Mammon lowered his head slightly, meeting her eyes, smile still in place.
"As long as you cooperate properly, I promise Nimbasa won't be touched. And I keep my word — conditional on you keeping yours."
"...Fine." Elesa had no better options available to her.
Consider it feeding yourself to a tiger to buy the city safety.
"Excellent. I'll be counting on you for the rest of my time in Unova, then."
Mammon looked satisfied.
For the rest of his time in Unova? How long was that going to be?
Elesa's brow creased slightly. And honestly, she didn't exactly have experience in the domestic service department — she was going to have to look this up when she got back.
Before she could think much further, her phone rang.
Looker.
Elesa checked the screen, remembered she was supposed to be heading to the station.
"Go ahead. It's fine." Mammon was completely unbothered.
"...Looker." She answered.
"Elesa, aren't you on your way? Champion Alder's already here."
"I'm sorry, Looker. I'm not going to be able to make it."
"Oh — no worries. Get some rest if you're not feeling well."
Looker didn't press — Elesa's presence wasn't strictly necessary for this particular meeting. She'd assumed the rain earlier had left her unwell.
"Thank you." Elesa said goodbye and ended the call.
"Why not tell Looker the truth?" Mammon asked, mildly curious. "You won't be going back to the gym for a while."
"...Is that an option?" Elesa blinked, genuinely caught off-guard. "Mr. Mammon, kidnapping a Gym Leader is a serious charge."
She'd thought he was at least trying to keep this quiet. Was he actually unconcerned about the League finding out?
Although — given that Primal Kyogre — Elesa fell silent again.
"Irrelevant. Alder's already flagged me as the highest-level threat on the board. What difference does one more charge make?" Mammon shrugged, entirely at ease.
He wondered, idly, how Alder was going to go about dealing with him.
Nimbasa City Police Station.
"Champion Alder, my apologies — Gym Leader Elesa won't be able to join us today."
Looker stepped into the conference room with a brief, apologetic look toward Alder.
"No problem, I understand." Alder waved it off.
"Then let's start with your briefing, Looker. So Team Plasma and Team Rocket actually engaged — is that right?"
He leaned forward, wanting the full picture.
To Alder's right, Steven and Wallace had already taken seats. They'd arrived in Opelucid as promised.
"That's correct. We received a tip about Plasma activity near a large warehouse — possible combat in progress. When we arrived, Colress was already present."
Looker kept her report brisk and professional.
"The attack on the Plasma base had been carried out by a group of students from Blueberry Academy."
"Students?" Wallace blinked. "Wait — Blueberry Academy students? These kids hadn't even graduated and they were already hitting criminal organizations?"
"They were extremely capable. Every Plasma member in the base — other than Colress — had been neutralized by the time we arrived."
"That said," Looker continued, "I'm ashamed to admit it, but even Gym Leader Elesa and the combined efforts of my unit were no match for Colress himself."
"Colress..." Alder's brow furrowed. The Dark Scientist's personal combat ability was that high?
"Then Plasma's leader N appeared on scene. Mammon arrived shortly after. N called Zekrom. The battle began."
"N was not Mammon's match. Zekrom was seriously injured by Primal Kyogre. They eventually retreated, with Zekrom carrying N out. Colress was taken by Mammon."
Looker ran through the sequence cleanly.
Wallace exchanged a look with Steven. Alder's expression had gone dark.
Honestly, Wallace thought Alder's situation was even harder than their own had been in Hoenn. When Rocket had hit Hoenn, at least Magma and Aqua hadn't been holding any legendary Pokémon.
Here — Plasma had a high-tier legendary. Already.
"What was the actual battle like? Between Zekrom and Primal Kyogre?"
Steven considered his words before asking.
"Primal Kyogre had absolute dominance." Looker answered without hesitation, following his logic immediately.
"In that case, Plasma's not going to be able to resist Rocket. So." Steven turned to Alder. "What's your read, Champion?"
"I'd rather hear yours first. You have more experience dealing with Rocket." Alder meant it — Steven had been in the thick of this firsthand.
"Team Plasma cannot realistically fight Team Rocket. Left to their own devices, Rocket will absorb Plasma — it's only a matter of time."
Steven kept his voice level and clear.
"The worst-case scenario: not only does Rocket swallow Plasma's organizational infrastructure and headcount — they also recruit Plasma's leadership and executives. Which gives them Zekrom and Colress on top of everything they already have."
He let that land.
"In Hoenn, Maxie and Archie both ended up in Rocket's camp. Mammon has an extraordinary ability to win people over — even across opposed sides. That's not something we can ignore."
"So if we want to slow Rocket's growth here—"
Steven looked at Alder.
"—we hit Plasma first." Alder followed the logic. "But Steven, Plasma has Zekrom."
"One Zekrom — not a Primal. Between everyone you've invited, we have multiple Champion-tier fighters. Those odds aren't impossible."
A Zekrom that had just been decisively beaten by Primal Kyogre was, while still formidable, a manageable target for a coordinated Champion team.
And there was one more piece.
"Also, Alder — you should reach out to Gym Leader Giovanni in Kanto. By now, he should have already won Groudon's recognition."
There'd been no news of anything going wrong on Giovanni's end. That silence implied success.
"And more to the point—"
Steven looked at Alder with the expression of someone laying out the obvious.
"Fighting Zekrom, versus fighting Primal Kyogre?"
Is that actually a question anyone needs to ask?
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