Chapter 137: Iris, I Promise, I Will Absolutely Not Lay a Hand on You

"Caitlin, take Lillie to a safe place."

Mamen signaled for Caitlin to take Lillie to a safe position to wait.

"Eh? Mr. Mamen, aren't you coming with us?"

Hearing this, Lillie felt some worry. After hearing about the entanglement between Rayquaza and Deoxys, although Lillie felt aggrieved on behalf of Deoxys,

Rayquaza's strength was indeed overwhelming; it would be best if they did not interfere, right?

"I am preparing to help Deoxys. Rayquaza is wrong to act this way."

"But..."

"There are no 'buts,' Lillie. Whether the relationship between humans and Pokémon can become more harmonious is precisely what needs this kind of help."

Mamen replied to Lillie with a smile.

"And please trust me; I am very strong."

"..."

Lillie pressed her lips together. Although she also knew that Mr. Mamen was a very strong Champion-level Trainer.

But is it really okay for a battle between such Legendaries?

"In that case, please take Cosmog with you, Mr. Mamen. Cosmog is also very strong and can certainly help Mr. Mamen."

Lillie stopped trying to persuade him, took out Cosmog's Poké Ball, and handed it to Mamen.

"Thank you, Lillie."

"It's fine, but please promise me that Mr. Mamen will definitely return safely, can you promise me that?"

"Rest assured, I definitely will."

The young girl's sincere emotion was so intense that Mamen made a promise to the young girl.

"Mm!" Lillie nodded heavily.

Caitlin took Lillie away, preparing to go to a safer position to watch the battle. Of course, she trusted Mamen; Mamen never did anything without preparation.

"Now there is no room for error."

Mamen spun Lunala's Poké Ball in his hand. With Mewtwo and Lunala present, defeating this Rayquaza was no problem.

But what Mamen worried about was never this Rayquaza that couldn't even Mega Evolve.

To be honest, Mamen truly did not believe the Rayquaza from the Sky People legend would be this weak.

The upper limit of the Rayquaza clan is very high; for example, the Shiny Mega Rayquaza in the Hoopa movie could skirmish and maneuver among six top-tier Legendaries.

And the Mega Rayquaza in the "XY Mega Evolution" arc, with a single "Dragon Ascent," could force the Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre to revert from their Primal Reversion forms.

Although this was a sudden insertion after Groudon and Kyogre had been fighting fiercely, knocking out both with a single strike was enough to prove the power of this Mega Rayquaza.

Unlike this Rayquaza, which struggled so much against a single Deoxys, having to fight a 50-50 battle; even without Mega Evolution, it shouldn't be this exaggerated.

There is an official example video of a truly powerful Rayquaza battling Deoxys. In "Pokémon Generations," Wally rode a Mega Rayquaza to space, shattered the meteor predicted by the Sky People, and encountered Deoxys hidden inside the meteor.

This Deoxys was strong and could freely change forms, so what happened then?

It was crushed by a Mega Rayquaza that Wally was not commanding!

It was suppressed and beaten by the Mega Rayquaza the entire time; in the end, a single "Dragon Ascent" directly pierced and shattered the Defense Form Deoxys. The two were simply not on the same level.

"I wonder if, after losing, other Rayquaza will come down to interfere."

Mamen narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at the Rayquaza and Deoxys locked in a fierce battle.

Actually, Mamen was very confident. As long as he could command Deoxys Individual 2, defeating this wild Rayquaza was no problem.

After all, this Rayquaza's offensive strategy was really simple: mindlessly rushing in and spitting Dragon Pulse, relying purely on its own stats to brute-force its way through.

But it must be said, Rayquaza's 'stats' are truly excellent.

Deoxys hit Rayquaza three times, and Rayquaza felt no pain or itch; it roared, flew up again, and continued fighting, showing no signs of having been injured at all.

But when Deoxys was hit by Rayquaza once, no, just grazed by a Dragon Pulse, it was either dead or injured.

This is the charm of a stat monster!

So it's not that this Rayquaza is weak; rather, this Rayquaza, besides brute-forcing, knows nothing else.

Defeating this brute Rayquaza is not difficult, but the problem lies in whether fighting this Rayquaza will attract other, stronger Rayquaza.

Just as Mamen was pondering, a Garchomp flew low, quickly arriving in front of him.

"Mamen!"

Iris and Nemona dismounted from the Garchomp's back.

"Champion Iris, Young Lady Nemona, why have you come?"

Mamen feigned surprise.

"Mamen, is that Pokémon battling Rayquaza related to you?"

Iris got straight to the point, staring tightly at Mamen's facial expression.

"Tsk~ So you've come to demand accountability."

Mamen whistled in amazement.

"When there's good news, you don't think of me; the moment this happens, you come to demand accountability immediately. Champion Iris, you really are..."

Mamen mocked her without holding back.

Nemona was so embarrassed her toes were practically digging into the ground; after all, Mamen's words were undoubtedly explaining that he had nothing to do with that Pokémon.

Although the other party was a member of a villainous organization, splashing such mud on him like this still made Nemona feel too awkward.

Hmm, this girl is still too innocent.

"If I misunderstood you, I apologize to you, but Mamen, you..."

"I do not crave your apology, Champion Iris. You are still just as high and mighty."

Mamen cut off Iris's words; naturally, he would not doubt Iris's character.

Cynthia's brows furrowed.

"And why should I explain anything to you? Champion Cynthia, you think far too highly of yourself. Are we close?"

Mammon mocked her once more, killing the conversation on the spot.

"If you're begging, then act like you're begging. Are you sure you didn't come to me looking for information?"

"So, you really do know information about Rayquaza and that Pokémon?"

Cynthia's expression turned solemn. Sure enough, Mammon did know the inside story.

"Ah~ indeed, and then what?"

"Mammon, please tell us what you know. If they keep fighting like this, this whole city will be destroyed."

Cynthia took a deep breath and made a sincere request to Mammon.

To stop those two Pokémon's battle, she naturally had to first understand what was happening.

Otherwise, going to stop them completely in the dark might only push things in a worse direction.

Besides, Rayquaza and Deoxys were far too powerful; trying to stop them by force would be very difficult.

"What does that have to do with me?" Mammon curled his lips into a smile, utterly unconcerned.

"You—!" Nimo wanted to speak up and rebuke him, but remembering his identity, she shut her mouth again.

The other party was Team Rocket. Rebuke them for having no conscience or morals? That would be laughable.

"What do you want?" Cynthia asked calmly.

"Let me think." Mammon rested his chin on his hand, his brazen gaze sweeping over Cynthia from bottom to top with careful appraisal.

That naked, brazen stare made Cynthia instinctively tense her body. She forcibly swallowed her psychological discomfort, suppressing the instinct that made every hair on her body stand on end.

This guy…

Cynthia even felt that Mammon had practically wanted to 'devour' her just now!

"Tsk~ looks like you aren't ready yet, then let's leave it at that."

Mammon tilted his head. Even if he told them about the conflict between Rayquaza and Deoxys, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway.

"After this is over, how about you do a couple's photoshoot with me?"

Mammon smiled wickedly. Once the shoot was done, he'd post it on the Sinnoh League forum. He didn't dare imagine what the reaction of the trainers over in Sinnoh would be.

Probably the feeling of 'the sky has fallen'?

"A couple's photoshoot…"

Cynthia showed a troubled expression.

She had been single from birth until now, and had never even thought about finding a partner. Suddenly being asked to do a couple's photoshoot or something…

"Senior, this guy has ulterior motives!"

Nimo felt she had to say something, otherwise she felt she was nothing but a wooden statue.

These two hadn't noticed her at all!

"…" Cynthia fell silent. Did she really need Nimo to point that out?

Earlier, the way Mammon had looked at her was just like a big wolf eyeing a little rabbit — plainly writing his craving for her body all over his face!

"Just a photoshoot?"

"Of course."

"Can you guarantee you absolutely won't…"

Absolutely won't get handsy and take advantage of me?

Cynthia's reserve still made her too embarrassed to say such a thing out loud, but her meaning was clearly evident.

"Of course, please trust my character, Champion Cynthia. I am a very gentlemanly person."

Faced with Mammon's mystically self-confident statement, Cynthia could only respond with silence.

What else could she say?

"You really have some nerve." Nimo couldn't hold back anymore. Threatening Champion Cynthia into compliance like this, and he calls himself a gentleman?

"Heh~ I am, after all, a member of what you people call Team Rocket, born evil." Mammon let out a snort of derision.

"Per our agreement, you should now tell us the information you know."

"No problem, then let's talk."

Mammon looked up at Rayquaza and Deoxys, who were battling in the sky.

"Rayquaza is a Pokémon that dwells in the ozone layer. It regards the entire sky as its territory and drives out every living being that comes from outer space."

Mammon explained slowly.

"And Deoxys — the Pokémon currently fighting Rayquaza — is a Pokémon from outer space. So you understand now, don't you?"

"Rayquaza wants to destroy Deoxys?"

Mammon had already made it clear enough; Cynthia and Nimo naturally understood the meaning.

"Exactly. Rayquaza cannot tolerate a 'cosmic stowaway' like Deoxys appearing in its territory, so it will keep hunting it down until Deoxys dies."

In other words, Rayquaza didn't know the secret of Deoxys's core. Otherwise, four years ago Rayquaza wouldn't have simply left.

It would surely have found a way to blast Deoxys's core crystal into ash before leaving. Otherwise, wait for Deoxys to revive and come hunting again? Rayquaza wasn't that idle.

"This…"

After confirming this point, Nimo looked at Cynthia in a daze.

What were they supposed to do?

Help Rayquaza destroy Deoxys? But what had Deoxys done wrong?

But help Deoxys defeat Rayquaza? If they had that kind of ability, would they still need to come ask Mammon about the whole story?

Cynthia was also at a loss for words. She checked her phone — Steven said they still needed some time before they could reach Jubilife City.

Bamboo Orchid took a deep breath—no matter what, she had to give it a try!

Even if she couldn't win, she had to find a way to stop these two Pokémon from fighting and protect this innocent city!

"How about it? Two lost little ladies—you seem to need some help, don't you?"

Mammon's smiling voice reached their ears at just the right moment.

"You have a way to stop Rayquaza and Deoxys?"

"Of course, I can help you defeat this Rayquaza."

Mammon deliberately stressed the words "this Rayquaza"—mm, just this one, no "after-sales service" included.

If an even stronger Mega-evolving Rayquaza really showed up, that would have nothing to do with him.

Anyway, fighting on like this, Mammon felt it was pointless—nothing more than this Deoxys specimen Two getting beaten by Rayquaza into a core-crystal slumber state again; after all, this Rayquaza's "stats" were just too outrageous.

But that didn't fit Mammon's plan—he was still rather greedy for this Deoxys specimen Two's body.

As for a stronger Rayquaza coming to cause trouble, Mammon also felt that would be a nice opportunity.

Fatty's been sleeping for so long now, it's time to let it recall Rayquaza's beatings—perfect chance to grind some affection with Fatty.

Ps: This chapter is a make-up update, still one chapter short

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(End of this chapter)