Chapter 301: Silver: "I Will Find Big Brother Mammon!"
"There's actual security out here? Isn't this supposed to be wild territory?"
Misty looked genuinely startled at that. Security meant private property — meaning they had no business wandering in freely.
"Mm-hm~ looks like you three just got lucky, avoiding them entirely."
Blue said with an easy grin.
"This whole area actually belongs to a single corporation — strictly speaking, it's a private ranch and farmland zone." Blue thought it over before explaining.
"You must have noticed on your way in, right? The Pokémon ecosystem here is remarkably intact, and the environment's exceptional too."
"Wait, so we actually trespassed onto someone's private property?"
Misty looked worried now — that was genuinely rude. If the ranch's owner decided to press the matter, they'd be in real trouble. Though, well, they were already in — not much to be done about it now.
"But an area this massive, all privately owned? That must cost an absolute fortune."
"And that world tree — it's honestly enormous."
Ash clicked his tongue, staring at the distant tree.
"Right? We actually wanted to go take a look inside ourselves, but there are signs posted around the tree — apparently it's an extremely dangerous area, off-limits. And the moment anyone gets too close, a whole bunch of Pokémon come out to stop them."
The World Tree — is that its actual name? Blue blinked, thinking it over. Truthfully, she and Silver had only entered this area themselves the day before — not especially familiar with the place either.
"Miss Blue, why did you two come here in the first place? And that's the legendary Regirock, isn't it?"
Brock's brow furrowed, eyes narrowing at Blue, pointing out the key detail. This was someone else's private territory, and Blue clearly knew that already. That Regirock was obviously something the property's owner kept here on the ranch — but that red-haired boy was actively trying to catch it? That was clearly wrong. Every sign pointed to something being off about these two.
"Sharp eye on you. Well, I'll let you in on another little secret — this ranch actually belongs to Team Rocket." Blue's lips curled into a smile as she told the three of them.
"What?"
"Is that even true?"
Ash's group startled. Team Rocket's territory — here?
"No mistake about it. Took me quite a while to dig up that intel, honestly — this place is Team Rocket's Pokémon ranch in Kanto." Blue said with total confidence, clearly proud of information she'd worked hard to obtain.
"But even if that's true, this still doesn't seem right, does it?" Ash hesitated. Sure, it was Team Rocket's ranch, but—
Just then, as they talked, Silver's Teddiursa landed another Hammer Arm, finally bringing down Regirock. It collapsed to the ground, out of the fight, and drew the group's full attention.
"That kid's really strong."
Brock and Misty both noticed it immediately — that was a legendary Pokémon, and yet the Teddiursa had beaten it without sustaining any serious damage. Telling, to say the least.
"Go, Poké Ball."
Silver didn't hesitate, throwing the ball decisively at Regirock.
Watching this, Ash opened his mouth as if to say something. If this Regirock had been wild, he wouldn't have cared. But it clearly belonged to Team Rocket's ranch — evil organization or not, it was still theirs. How to put it — Ash felt like this really wasn't a great look.
The moment the Poké Ball touched Regirock, it opened, white light enveloping it. But the next instant, the light snapped back out, the capture failing.
"This Regirock's already been caught by someone," Brock realized immediately. A Pokémon already belonging to a trainer couldn't be caught again unless released first — it would only ever fail. And clearly, that was exactly the case here.
"Figured as much." Silver didn't seem especially surprised, recalling Teddiursa, his cold expression unchanged.
"Guess I need another approach, then."
"Mm." Blue walked over to stand beside him, and Silver nodded.
"This isn't right, is it?"
After a moment's internal struggle, Ash couldn't hold back any longer, speaking up to the two of them. Sure, in Ash's eyes Team Rocket counted as an evil organization — they'd left him with a pretty terrible impression, after all. But whatever else, that didn't mean it was fine to just go catching things on Team Rocket's own ranch without permission. Two separate issues.
Silver glanced at the three of them, expression as cool as ever. Just his usual demeanor.
"You really are just like Red — bursting with righteousness." Blue covered her mouth, laughing, teasing Ash a little.
"Don't worry about it, though. Honestly, Silver's not trying to catch this Regirock because he actually wants it — there's another reason behind it." Blue explained Silver's real motive.
"?" Ash scratched his head, baffled.
"Can't really get into the specifics with you all, but basically, Silver's trying to find a way to meet his older brother — so he's resorting to methods like this instead." Blue thought it over before saying that much.
If he manages to catch one of Team Rocket's precious Legendary Pokémon, surely Mammon won't be able to just sit still — he'll have to come find Silver himself, right? That was the reasoning she and Silver had settled on.
Big brother— A shadow crossed Silver's eyes. Whatever else, he genuinely couldn't accept it — that his gentle, kind-hearted brother had turned out to be a member of Team Rocket. And not just a member, either — its very leader. The whole thing had hit Silver hard, psychologically. That was his own flesh-and-blood brother. He'd called Mammon, sent him messages — but Mammon had never once responded. Clearly, deliberately avoiding him.
"I see. So there's a reason behind it." Ash looked at Silver — made sense now.
"Let's go, Blue. Deeper in."
Silver had little interest in prolonging contact with these three chance-met strangers. The World Tree area was an exceptionally important ranch for Team Rocket — and that massive tree in particular might well hold secrets worth uncovering.
Blue shrugged but prepared to follow along regardless — no helping it, Silver was her little brother, after all. Learning that Silver had found his birth family had genuinely delighted her — right up until she learned his father was Giovanni, at which point she'd been floored. And sure enough — that Mammon from Team Rocket turned out to be Silver's own biological brother. Blue's reaction upon learning that had been something like (O_O).
"You two heading into the tree? Let's go together."
Ash's group hesitated a moment, then caught up with Blue and Silver.
"It might get pretty dangerous in there. You three might want to sit this one out," Blue warned.
"We actually came here for a reason too," Misty said, a little reluctant. If it weren't necessary, she genuinely wanted nothing to do with Team Rocket — Mammon had left a deep enough scar on her psyche already.
"We passed through Rota Street earlier, and then—"
Misty gave a brief rundown of why the three of them had come this way — Ash had won the tournament during Rota Street's festival, and in the process had accidentally awoken a Lucario sealed within a staff. From the Queen of Rota Street, they'd learned the story of the legendary Aura hero from years past — and that this same Lucario's former partner, the Aura hero, had apparently ended his journey right here, at this very World Tree.
"I see. Alright, then — but be careful." Blue thought it over and decided not to object. Ash was Red's little brother, after all, and Red had told her before that Ash was one of his most valued rivals. That meant Ash's own strength was probably considerable — no harm in traveling together.
The group of five pressed onward toward the World Tree, encountering plenty of Pokémon blocking their path along the way — and each one noticeably stronger than the last.
"This is so strange. Why are they trying to stop us like this?"
Misty asked, thoroughly puzzled, looking at the now-defeated Regice and Registeel lying before them. Both were, likewise, among the legendary giants — thankfully not quite as overwhelming as before, and Silver's Teddiursa and Ash's Pikachu managed to bring them down.
"No idea. Maybe we'll understand once we actually get inside," Brock said, brow knit tight, a distinctly bad feeling settling over him.
"Tu~!"
Just then, a low, resonant cry echoed from somewhere nearby. A powerful, tiger-like Pokémon, orange-hued, drifted slowly toward them atop a cloud, its imposing eyes sweeping down over the group.
Therian Forme Landorus.
"Tu!!"
A hostile growl rumbled from its throat.
"What Pokémon is that?"
Misty stared, awestruck, at Therian Landorus. Such overwhelming pressure! No question — this Pokémon was far, far stronger than Regirock and the others combined.
"It seems to be telling us not to go any further, or it'll attack us."
Ash more or less grasped the meaning. He pulled out his Pokédex, but it came back with no data at all.
"Silver?" Blue could feel the crushing weight of Landorus's presence herself — this Pokémon was clearly no ordinary opponent. Nowhere close to the same league as Regirock and the others!
Silver's brow furrowed tightly.
"We just need to go in and take care of something. It won't take long — could you make an exception for us?" Ash asked Landorus directly.
"Tu!!"
Landorus refused outright. The World Tree was currently their territory, and the tree itself never showed humans any mercy. As the trusted "chief of security" Mew had personally assigned to guard the World Tree, Landorus, in every possible sense, could never permit any human entry.
"No room to even negotiate, huh. Should we turn back? Or push through by force?" Misty asked, unable to help herself.
"No!" Silver rejected that outright.
"I have to go in. There might be information about my brother somewhere inside." Silver's voice was heavy. A tree this important might well hold crucial information about Mammon.
"Whoever it is — nothing's stopping me from finding my brother!"
Silver threw a Poké Ball, releasing his Honchkrow before him.
"Guess we're forcing our way in, then." Blue threw up her hands with a resigned shrug, releasing her own Blastoise as well.
"Let's take it down! Pikachu!"
Ash slapped his own cheeks — he had a promise to Lucario to keep, after all. Pikachu leapt to the ground, full of fighting spirit, staring up at Landorus in the sky.
"You can do it! Go, go!"
Misty and Brock stepped back, cheering enthusiastically from the sidelines. Sure, the orange tiger looked formidably strong, but they still had plenty of faith in Ash's group — they'd just taken down all three legendary giants, hadn't they? Surely this orange tiger wouldn't be any different. They were going to win this!
Seeing these humans who'd barged in uninvited not only ignore its warning but actually move to attack, dangerous light flickered in Landorus's eyes.
And then—
"Pikachuuu!!!"
"No good! We can't win this, this Pokémon's just too strong — we need to get out of here, now."
Ash stared at Pikachu, buried under a Rock Slide with only its tail sticking out, wailing pitifully. Blue stood equally stunned. This orange tiger really was on another level entirely. One Stone Edge sent Silver's Honchkrow crashing straight to the ground; it dodged Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt effortlessly; a massive Rock Slide buried Ash's Pikachu whole; and finally, one Extrasensory left Blue's Blastoise thoroughly, helplessly incapacitated. Genuinely absurd — a complete, one-sided crush.
"Tu~!"
Landorus let out another cry, the ground shuddering beneath them, ochre-yellow energy flickering across the earth. Ground-type Earth Power!
Seeing Landorus escalate the attack further, Blue and the others' expressions turned grim. This is bad!
A crisp, clear woman's voice suddenly rang out.
"Please, stop, Landorus."
At the sound, Landorus froze mid-motion, its gaze dropping past Ash's group toward whoever stood behind them. The gathering Earth Power gradually settled, unreleased.
Ash's group turned around — and the moment they saw who'd spoken, every one of them froze.
What was she doing here?!
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