Chapter 381: Dawn, You Need to Step Up!
"That was seriously intense."
Serena looked at the grinning Akari, then at the cold, menacing Hisuian Samurott standing in front of her.
According to Akari, this was her starter Pokémon, and it had even beaten Platinum's Entei.
Entei was weak to Water, but over the whole battle, what Hisuian Samurott had really shown was its staggering power.
Especially its relentless offense. Even Entei couldn't hold up against it.
Besides Hisuian Samurott, Akari's other Pokémon had all performed brilliantly too. Sneasler went without saying, and her Ursaluna had been astonishingly strong as well.
"..."
Caitlin said nothing, but the air around her was noticeably cold.
Four months of traveling, and she's already beaten Dawn as she is now...
How strong will Akari be by the end of the year? Even Uncle Giovanni and Leon might not be able to beat her.
Apart from Mammon, the strongest trainers Caitlin had ever seen were Leon and Giovanni.
Those two were frighteningly strong. They seemed to be at the very limit of Champion-caliber.
But at the rate Akari was growing, she could probably beat Leon and Giovanni by the end of the year. No, she might not even need that long.
This is terrifying. She's Mammon and Dawn combined!
Caitlin's expression kept shifting.
Serena happened to glance her way out of the corner of her eye, caught the look on Caitlin's face, and hurriedly looked elsewhere.
Miss Caitlin is scary right now!!
With the battle over, the group sat back down and chatted. Naturally, the conversation was mostly about Akari.
Partway through, Baraz and Meray finished their daily farm work and came to find them.
When Mammon introduced Akari, the siblings were stunned.
Once they recovered, Meray's gossip instincts went into overdrive.
She pulled Akari aside and peppered her with questions about all sorts of things in the future, and before they knew it, it was evening.
This time, Baraz had specially prepared two cabins for the group. He'd thought of it this time and apologized profusely for forgetting yesterday.
Mammon of course told him it was no problem. The truth was, Baraz had forgotten yesterday because he'd been tipsy too. His tolerance was terrible.
"It's almost time. Bye, Mommy. I'm going to go say goodbye to Daddy."
Akari gave Platinum a tight hug, then hurried out of the cabin.
"Has Akari gone?"
Serena, fresh out of the shower and wrapped in a bath towel, stepped out of the bathroom.
"Mm. She said it was almost time and went to see Mr. Mammon."
Platinum nodded.
"You're still calling him Mr. Mammon?"
Serena dried her long flaxen hair, a teasing look on her face.
"Your daughter's already this big, you know."
"Serena!"
Platinum shot her a reproachful look, then sighed, half helpless and half lost.
"Serena, what do you think I should do?"
Platinum looked at the photo of herself and Akari on her phone, with no idea what to do.
"You're asking me?" Serena rolled her eyes adorably.
"If Akari were my daughter, I'd probably be over the moon."
Akari was so outstanding, so pretty, and so incredibly talented as a trainer. Who wouldn't be thrilled to have a daughter like that?
Platinum said nothing.
"Is something bothering you?" Serena was a little curious what Platinum was thinking.
"I don't know how to put it. I'm really happy Akari showed up, but with Mr. Mammon..."
"Then let me ask you something. Do you like Mr. Mammon?" Serena thought for a moment and asked.
"...I do." Platinum hesitated slightly. She knew perfectly well that what she felt for Mr. Mammon was mostly admiration and hero worship.
But she liked him too. Of course she did.
She'd even dreamed about it: her and Mr. Mammon together, living happily.
"But I don't know what Mr. Mammon thinks. He really loves Akari, but..."
What Platinum said sounded a bit muddled, but Serena suddenly seemed to understand what she meant.
"So what you're actually worried about is that Mr. Mammon only wants to be with you because Akari exists, and not because he likes Dawn, the person?"
Serena's expression turned a bit strange.
"..." Platinum fell silent again.
"Girl, you're overthinking this."
Serena was at a loss for words. Half laughing, half exasperated, she walked over to the vanity and sat down.
"First of all, Akari is your daughter. She's the fruit of your and Mr. Mammon's love. Akari exists because you two fell in love."
"That's why the Akari we just met exists. You've got the cause and effect backwards."
It's not that Akari showing up brings me and Mr. Mammon together. It's that Mr. Mammon and I being together is what brings Akari into the world?
Hearing Serena's words, Platinum suddenly saw it clearly. That's actually right.
"I get it now. Thank you, Serena."
Platinum seemed to relax all at once and smiled at her.
"You're welcome. So, are you going to go see Mr. Mammon now? Make a little progress, would you?"
Serena combed her hair and winked at Platinum playfully.
"What are you talking about!"
Platinum instantly turned into an ostrich again, her voice as small as a mosquito's whine.
"Girl, you can't keep doing this." Serena hesitated, but decided to warn Platinum anyway.
"With a guy like Mr. Mammon, if you've got a chance, you should grab it, Dawn."
"Otherwise, who knows how many people have their eyes on him. Even with Akari 'backing you up' later on, you might never move up in the household."
Serena thought Platinum was just too shy.
Akari was clearly a super "monster." With Akari backing her up, Platinum's position down the line would certainly be high.
But with Platinum's personality, it was going to be tough.
Platinum: "..."
"It's not that dramatic..."
Platinum thought Serena was overthinking it.
"Dawn, you came from a big, powerful family. You should understand this better than I do."
Serena paused mid-comb, her expression odd.
"Even knowing Akari exists, Mr. Mammon said today that there's no way he'd marry only you."
"I know, but..."
Platinum frowned slightly. However many wives Mr. Mammon had, they'd all be family.
"No 'buts.' Do you know why kings in the old days only ever had one queen?" Serena looked at Platinum.
"Mr. Mammon isn't a king, but it's the same principle. You're kindhearted, Dawn, so you probably think drawing up a ranking is pointless. But other people won't see it that way."
"Forget the distant future. What about Mr. Mammon's girlfriend? How do you think she'll see you, the third party who 'stole' part of her man's love? And then there's Miss Caitlin."
Serena glanced carefully toward the door and lowered her voice a little.
Platinum's little face scrunched up.
"Miss Caitlin has always loved Mr. Mammon. You two might not have noticed, but when Akari beat you, Miss Caitlin's face looked awful."
Serena said quietly.
"Miss Caitlin has always looked out for me," Platinum replied softly.
Platinum really did like Caitlin. Caitlin was so elegant, and she'd always been kind to her.
"Sure, because before, you two were coworkers and friends. But after Akari showed up today, things are different." Serena analyzed it seriously.
"Dawn, when it comes to love, very few people are willing to make sacrifices unless they have absolutely no choice. And even then, if you want more love, you have to fight for it yourself."
"You know so much, Serena. But you've never actually dated anyone, have you?"
Platinum blinked and looked curiously at Serena, who was holding forth so confidently.
"I've read a lot of books and watched a lot of dramas."
Serena answered very proudly.
So you're a master of theory, basically.
Platinum was a little speechless. Still, Serena did have a point. But Platinum still believed nobody meant her that much harm.
"I'm going to shower first."
Platinum shook her head and decided to shower before thinking about it any more.
Elsewhere.
"Bye, Daddy~"
"Bye."
Mammon watched Akari slowly fade away. Terapagos's space-time travel had reached its time limit.
Still, now that he knew for certain that Terapagos could bring Akari here, there was nothing to worry about.
He couldn't keep Akari here forever, though. She had her own journey, and her journey really did bear on the fate of the world.
"Galar. Paldea."
Mammon looked at the world map on the table. Those were the only two regions he hadn't been to yet.
He was sure taking those two regions wouldn't be difficult either. The tide was flowing one way, and today's Team Rocket was the tide!
Honestly, even if Mammon didn't go himself, it would be fine to have Gladion take people over and build things up on their own.
Rose was too smart to go against Team Rocket.
Still, Mammon was fairly interested in the Galar region. Eternatus, for example!
With Eternatus, he could set up Dynamax Power Spots anywhere, anytime. That would be very nice.
And next year, Mammon planned to hold the World Tournament. As the biggest event of all, bringing together trainers from around the entire world, it needed careful preparation.
The next day arrived.
Platinum had agonized all night, but she was too shy, and she didn't work up the nerve to make any move on Mammon. The two of them hadn't even made things official, after all.
And today, Mammon wasn't planning to stay any longer in the Vale of Creation.
They said goodbye to Baraz and Meray, and with the help of Confined Hoopa's spatial rings, Mammon and the others returned to Lumiose City.
Lumiose City was as bustling as ever. In just a few days, the cityscape had largely recovered.
Mammon first went to visit Lysandre and the others in custody. Unfortunately, Lysandre, broken by the collapse of his dream, had completely shut himself off.
Even when Mammon went in to see him, Lysandre refused to talk to him.
Malva, on the other hand, agreed to join Team Rocket after a talk with Mammon.
As it happened, Mammon hadn't exposed her identity yet, so he let her return to the Kalos League to resume her post in the Elite Four.
As for the other Team Flare executives, they were all fiercely loyal to Lysandre, which Mammon found very touching. The women were all sent off to work the sewing machines for now, and the men were sent to the mines.
Lysandre, since he'd shut down, would stay locked up for the time being. Mammon would deal with him later.
The following day, Mammon and the others boarded a flight back to Kanto. Along with Caitlin and Platinum, Serena and Viola came too.
Serena came because she figured Kanto had more senior executives, which meant a better training environment for her.
As for Viola, she came because of a huge piece of news.
Giovanni, Leader of the Viridian Gym and Mammon's own father,
was about to begin his Elite Four challenge!
As Team Rocket's special correspondent, Viola was thrilled and had no intention of missing this opportunity.
Giovanni was Mammon's father! An exclusive interview with him would definitely go viral!
Especially since Viola had already asked Mammon, and this time, Giovanni's Elite Four challenge was one hundred percent going to succeed!
In other words, Giovanni was about to become the Kanto Champion!
Oh my gosh!
She'd get to interview the Kanto Champion, and this Kanto Champion and Team Rocket's current Boss were father and son.
I'm going to hit the jackpot!
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