Chapter 299: Mammon: "Dawn, I'll Take You to Kanto"
Changed... somehow?
Cynthia fell silent at that, mentally replaying her own words. It made sense, in a way — she'd spent this whole stretch of time at Mammon's side, and it was probably inevitable that some of his influence had rubbed off on her. Not that Cynthia considered that a bad thing, necessarily. Looking back at her old self now, honestly, even she felt that past version of herself had been a little too "soft."
"Perhaps. In any case, Chairwoman, I don't recommend going to war with Team Rocket — not from the standpoint of our own combat strength here in Sinnoh, nor considering the fallout such a conflict would bring. Neither makes sense."
"And most importantly — we simply wouldn't stand a chance."
Cynthia addressed Chairwoman Carter with total seriousness.
"None at all?" Carter looked genuinely shaken.
"Not the faintest sliver. Mammon alone — even if all three regional Leagues combined their forces, I doubt they could bring him down." Cynthia shook her head, and honestly, that was the conservative estimate.
"And Team Rocket under Mammon's leadership is fundamentally different from the evil organization it once was. The evidence speaks for itself — Alola, Hoenn, Unova, and now Kanto too." Cynthia laid out her reasoning with real clarity.
"Team Rocket hasn't run wild anywhere. They've claimed the underworld, sure, but they haven't harmed ordinary civilians — and they're actively clearing out other evil organizations and poacher networks as they go."
"Cynthia, your position has clearly started leaning in Team Rocket's favor." Chairwoman Carter noted the shift sharply, giving her a pointed warning.
"I'm simply offering an objective analysis. Regardless, I don't recommend Sinnoh going to war with Team Rocket's Sinnoh branch." Cynthia answered evenly.
"Understood. Let's convene a meeting and inform the council, then." Carter studied Cynthia closely for a long moment but said nothing further.
Cynthia nodded. Though she and Carter held the two highest positions of authority in Sinnoh, a decision this significant still needed to be communicated to the League's full leadership. As for objections from the council members? Objections? Then they were welcome to go pick a fight with Team Rocket themselves.
"I hear Mammon is quite a young man." Carter stood, offering the remark with feigned casualness. She'd seen his photograph before — and, worth noting, she'd also seen those "couple" photos of him and Cynthia that had circulated a while back. At the time, she'd privately wondered whether Cynthia had finally found someone. She'd never imagined, though, that the young man in question turned out to be Team Rocket's own leader.
"That's right." Cynthia fell silent a moment. "He's the single strongest trainer of this entire era."
"What a shame. Such a remarkably gifted young man — under different circumstances, he'd have made quite a match for you, Cynthia." Carter smiled at her. In truth, she'd long wondered privately who could possibly be worthy of someone as exceptional as Cynthia. It seemed, though, that Cynthia might already have someone in mind after all.
"Please don't tease me about this, Chairwoman. Mammon and I... it's complicated."
Cynthia shook her head. If Mammon weren't part of Team Rocket... no, that wasn't quite it either. Her feelings churned, genuinely unable to name what she actually felt toward him. Strictly speaking, her current "ambiguous" relationship with Mammon had really only come about through his own, semi-forceful persistence. But if she was honest with herself, she'd never firmly refused him either — a kind of reluctant half-consent, perhaps because she genuinely didn't dislike him. Otherwise, Cynthia believed, if she'd truly refused him outright, expressed real, unmistakable resistance, Mammon wouldn't have pushed further. There had been several moments, after all, where he'd stopped himself right at the critical point — proof enough that he wasn't the type to force the matter regardless of her wishes.
But... she hadn't refused him entirely either.
Cynthia's thoughts remained a genuine tangle, but she shook her head and followed Chairwoman Carter regardless.
The council chamber.
"What? Recognize the legitimacy of Team Rocket's business enterprises?"
"I object!"
"Exactly, Chairwoman — Team Rocket is an evil organization! And just yesterday, one of their executives broke into Lily of the Valley Prison in broad daylight, killed the Berlitz family members held there, and walked out again without a shred of consequence."
"How can we possibly allow villains like this to plant roots on Sinnoh soil?"
The moment Chairwoman Carter announced the news, the council chamber erupted, several members leaping to their feet in indignation.
"Quiet." Carter rapped the table, signaling for order. "This is the conclusion Cynthia and I reached after serious deliberation. Cynthia, say a few words."
Carter turned to her.
"Champion Cynthia, why would you make a decision like this? Where does this leave the Sinnoh League's dignity?"
An elderly council member demanded, addressing her directly.
"First — this is a decision I reached after careful consideration. Team Rocket's strength is exceptionally formidable. Going to war with them would carry consequences too severe to bear, with almost no realistic chance of victory."
"If we lose, and Sinnoh's land is left in ruins, its people destroyed — who bears responsibility for that? You? Or me?"
Cynthia rose slowly to her feet, radiating the full, unmistakable authority of Sinnoh's Champion, her cool gaze sweeping across every face in the room.
Such a blunt, direct challenge left the entire chamber in silence.
"Second — I imagine none of you are entirely unfamiliar with Team Rocket's actual capabilities. If you genuinely believe we can win, then please, tell me — who exactly is going to do the fighting? You? Or me?"
The room remained silent.
"Third — if any of you have genuine confidence in defeating Team Rocket, you're welcome to go challenge them personally, rather than sending the League's own combat personnel into a war with no realistic chance of victory, purely to be humiliated."
Cynthia's tone remained level, unwavering.
"Fourth — this is a notification, not a discussion. I am not asking for your opinions on the matter."
"Kindly remember — I am the Sinnoh Champion."
Hssss—!
Oak, the fiery red-haired member of the Sinnoh Elite Four, drew in a sharp, silent breath, staring in genuine shock at Cynthia's overwhelming display of authority. Well, damn. Their Champion had really brought the heat today, hadn't she — this intense? He'd only ever seen Cynthia this commanding in actual battle, and specifically only when she was commanding her ace Garchomp — Cynthia, ordinarily, carried herself with cool, composed elegance in both daily life and combat alike. Only when battling with Garchomp did she ever let that full, confident, commanding presence befitting a Champion truly show. Oak exchanged a glance with Fantina and Crasher Wake, and saw the same bafflement mirrored in both their eyes.
Something's off. Very off.
...
Evening arrived.
After dinner, Mammon casually placed a video call to Platinum.
"Hello? Lord Mammon, what's up?"
The call connected quickly, Platinum's bright, crisp voice coming through — though the background carried what sounded distinctly like the noise of an ongoing battle.
"Dawn, what are you up to?"
"Ah? Just found a small poacher outpost, so I figured I'd take it out while I'm here."
Platinum said it as casually as discussing what to have for dinner. Ever since joining Team Rocket, she felt like she'd discovered an entirely new world — spending every day taking down evil organizations and poacher networks? Genuinely wonderful. The only real regret had been that earlier stretch when those rude Unova visitors kept swooping in and stealing missions right out from under her. Platinum genuinely couldn't understand it — wouldn't it make more sense for Unova trainers to go grind missions back in their own region, instead of coming all the way to Sinnoh to hoard them so aggressively? But once the Unova crew had finally left, Platinum felt like she'd landed in paradise. She no longer harbored any of her initial reluctance, either — she'd realized Mammon genuinely hadn't lied to her. Team Rocket really was nothing like the rumors made it out to be.
"Good. Let Paul know — in a few days, you two will be coming with me to Kanto."
Mammon nodded.
"Eh? Kanto?"
Platinum blinked her bright, wide eyes, tilting her head with an adorably puzzled expression.
"Mm. Team Galactic's basically wrapped up here in Sinnoh, and the poacher networks aren't much of a threat anymore either. No further need for you two on cleanup duty here." Mammon replied.
With Sinnoh's largest evil organization now completely dismantled, only small-fry stragglers remained, and Team Rocket had largely dealt with those over the past stretch of time. The once-brazen poacher networks, meanwhile, now spent most of their time hiding from Team Rocket entirely — no match for them, and they knew it.
"I'll take you two to Kanto for a few days, then we head out to the next region."
"Sounds great!" Platinum's eyes lit up. A new region to work in? She could already picture a mountain of merit points calling her name.
"Right, and give your father a call too, let him know you're doing fine — you're about to head off somewhere far again, no sense worrying him more than necessary."
"Ummm... but Father doesn't exactly have a favorable opinion of Team Rocket." Platinum bit her lip, troubled. She'd actually reached out to Mr. Berlitz once during this stretch of time — but he'd only briefly asked about her wellbeing before launching straight into an agitated plea for her to quit Team Rocket immediately. No matter how Platinum explained that she was genuinely doing well, growing rapidly, Mr. Berlitz remained convinced she was only saying so under threat from that thoroughly wicked man, Mammon. Which left Platinum thoroughly exasperated.
"Sounds like Mr. Berlitz is a bit hidebound, honestly. People who can't accept new things tend to be like that."
"However you'd like to see it, Lord Mammon." Platinum's tone came out awkward but carefully polite. Whose fault is it, exactly, that my father has this bias against Team Rocket in the first place? she couldn't help thinking privately. After all, between the threats and the outright kidnapping Mammon had originally used to bring her in, Mr. Berlitz had nearly had a full breakdown over the whole ordeal at the time.
"Dawn, you've picked up some bad habits lately — even learned to be sarcastic." Mammon raised an eyebrow.
"I have not." The noble Berlitz heiress's protest came out with rather less conviction than intended.
"You really should spend less time around Paul. He's clever, sure, but his general approach to things isn't a great fit for you." Mammon figured Paul must have been the one corrupting his gentle, well-mannered Platinum.
"Also, I feel like I should explain myself here."
"Sure, I did use some fairly heavy-handed methods to bring you away from Mr. Berlitz originally, but that was genuinely a last resort."
Mammon let out a sigh.
"Didn't expect Mr. Berlitz to still hold it against me this long, honestly. Though I'm sure he'll come around to understanding eventually."
"Sure, he's temporarily lost his one daughter — but he's bound to gain plenty more down the line."
Mammon declared this with complete confidence.
Right — whatever Mr. Berlitz ended up with eventually, it definitely wasn't going to stop at just one daughter.
"???"
On the video call, Platinum tilted her head in total bewilderment, utterly unable to make sense of what Mammon had just said.
(End of Chapter)
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you