Chapter 112: Hahaha I Got Groudon!

Deep within the underwater cave.

At this moment, all eyes in the venue were fixed on the Poké Ball that had not yet landed.

Nothing else, because the legendary ancient Pokémon Groudon was inside that very ball!

Can it be caught?!

Everyone stared tightly at the Poké Ball as its indicator light began to flash for the first time.

Caitlin felt a long-forgotten sense of tension; it would succeed, right? It must succeed!

Mamen... he can do anything!

As for Archie and Quan of Team Aqua, especially Archie, they were about to burst; impossible! Groudon cannot be caught by this brat!

Absolutely impossible!

Mamen himself was not in a hurry; he was even prepared to keep throwing balls, since his bag contained two hundred Poké Balls.

At worst, he would throw them all at Groudon; as long as it was caught, it would be a huge profit.

Beep~

The Poké Ball shook in the air for the second time, and that was all it did.

Ding~

Accompanied by a crisp, clear sound, the Poké Ball froze.

Groudon! Caught successfully!

The frozen Poké Ball fell toward the pool, but Mega Mewtwo Y immediately used its psychic powers to control the ball, slowly floating it before Mamen.

Mamen hadn't expected success with just the first ball; was it because Groudon was sleeping too deeply? Very likely.

But it didn't matter anymore.

Looking at the Great Ball before him, Mamen's lips slowly curled upward as he raised his hand to catch the Poké Ball containing Groudon.

Feeling the texture of the Poké Ball carefully in his palm, Mamen finally could not suppress the joy in his heart.

"Hehe~ Hmph hah hah hah hah hah~! I got Groudon!!"

Inside the underground cavern, the boy's wild, joyous laughter rang out extremely loudly.

Caught!! The legendary Groudon! This is Groudon!

According to Mamen's Mega Evolution drawing diary.

'Its form dominating the sky is said to rival a god—Mega Rayquaza'

'This is its primal form after awakening; it is said that with every step it takes, it creates land—Primal Groudon'

'The Primal Groudon that has survived since the ancient times is like the King of the Deep Seas who rules all oceans—Primal Groudon'

The Sky Dragon Rayquaza, the Lord of the Fiery Land Groudon, the King of the Azure Deep Seas Groudon.

These are the three legendary ancient Pokémon of the Hoenn region!

And now, the King of the Azure Deep Seas is in his hands!

"Impossible! How could this happen?! It shouldn't be possible; how could Groudon be caught by you???"

Words of disbelief came; it was Archie, the Team Aqua boss who had always pursued Groudon, whose mindset was now on the verge of collapse.

He did not understand, nor did he comprehend why Groudon truly entered that Poké Ball.

Why didn't Groudon resist?!

Are you really sleeping that deeply? You've already been put inside a Poké Ball by someone!

And what made Archie most unable to hold it together was that this guy actually put Groudon inside with just one throw.

Groudon! Are you really such a casual fish?!

If he had known earlier, Archie would have thrown a Poké Ball himself first!!

Waaah waaah waaah... Archie's mindset was truly collapsing; his ideal thing had been taken away by someone else so easily.

"What nonsense are you spouting? If Groudon doesn't follow me, does it mean it should follow you?"

Mamen composed his expression, turned around with a look of mockery and sarcasm, and looked at Archie.

Although he knew that right now he had only put Groudon inside the ball; to truly catch Groudon, he still needed to gain its approval.

But it didn't matter; having a good start still made Mamen very happy.

His mood right now was very good.

"You!" Veins burst on Archie's forehead.

"Brat, if you have the guts, fight me one-on-one! Without Pokémon!"

Archie shouted angrily.

"Hah?"

Hearing this, Mamen's expression became strange, and finally he couldn't help but laugh.

"Archie, you really are quite funny; are you really that good at fighting? Your muscles look quite impressive, but what good does it do if you can fight? Can your Pokémon fight?"

Mamen mocked; this Archie really had muscles stuffed inside his brain!

Pfft~

Hearing this, Shelly and Siebold couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh out loud.

Archie's black face was squeezed into a red one; his fists clenched tightly. Archie had never been spoken to like this in his entire life!

"Alright, let's talk about something serious now."

After laughing, Mamen looked at Archie and the others with composure, gently spinning the Poké Ball containing Groudon in his hand.

"Tell me, how should I deal with you?"

Upon hearing Mamen's words, Archie and the others' faces changed.

"As the losers, how you wish to dispose of us is naturally entirely up to your will."

Shui Wutong fell silent, and Izumi spoke in a low voice, even using an honorific when addressing Mamen.

She was still quite clever—after all, they were now the defeated side, all captives of the other party; what leverage did they have to speak?

"Exactly right. You are all my spoils now, speaking of which…"

Mamen glanced at the pool still flickering with a faint blue glow—whatever this bathwater Kyogre had been soaking in for who knows how many years, it seemed there really was some subtle change?

Kyogre wasn't even here, yet it was still glimmering faintly.

"Your Aqua Team is a criminal organization in Hoenn, and no one cares that you've come here."

Mamen tilted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth curving into a wicked arc, half his face shrouded in shadow.

"This undersea cavern is secluded enough—if I threw all of you into this pool, no one would ever know, would they?"

"!!!"

Izumi's pupils contracted sharply, her whole body trembling violently.

Shui Wutong was also visibly shocked, and the other Aqua Team members were seized with terror.

Bro, are you serious?

But looking at Mamen's intimidating, shadowed expression, quite a few Aqua Team members couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Mr. Mamen, what you're doing is a crime!"

Izumi couldn't help but speak up—wait, this is way too much!

"You're hilarious. We're Team Rocket—if we don't do evil, are we supposed to do good?" Mamen's mocking tone deepened.

"Then it's decided."

Izumi's face went pale, and behind her, several Aqua Team members had their legs already wobbling.

"Kid! If you've got the guts, come at me—don't hurt my brothers!"

Shui Wutong forced himself to be brave, glaring at Mamen as he spoke in a low voice.

"Not bad, plenty of guts—then I'll grant your wish."

Mamen waved his hand.

Armored Mewtwo's eyes lit up blue; telekinesis lifted Shui Wutong into the air, and he plunged down headfirst.

His head went straight into Kyogre's "bathwater."

Glub glub glub~

Shui Wutong thrashed violently, but it was useless—bubbles rose one after another from beneath the surface.

Izumi and the others watched their own boss with ugly, fearful expressions.

About ten seconds later, Armored Mewtwo flicked a finger, and Shui Wutong's head broke the surface.

"Cough, cough~"

Shui Wutong coughed violently, spitting up several mouthfuls of water.

Actually, he was a strong swimmer, but with Armored Mewtwo's telekinesis pinning him, he could do nothing but hold his breath.

"Soak your brain in water for a bit, so you don't blurt out any thoughtless nonsense later."

Mamen waved his hand again, and Shui Wutong, controlled by Armored Mewtwo, floated back to his original position and dropped down.

Shui Wutong was gasping heavily. Even he, at this moment, was thoroughly shaken—just now, he felt like he'd really seen his great-grandmother at the bottom of the water!!

"I speak, you listen. I don't want any objections from you in the middle of this. Understood?"

Mamen's tone gradually cooled.

"I'm a kind person at heart. If anyone truly isn't willing, you can step right up—I'm sure the wild Sharpedo around here would love the taste of your flesh."

Silence, as if the cold itself had been muted.

No Aqua Team member dared make a sound, terrified of actually being sunk into this pool—they still had whole lifetimes of indulgence ahead of them!

Even Shui Wutong was the same.

"From now on, Aqua Team is merged into our Team Rocket. All organization members will obey reassignment and be redistributed to new posts."

Mamen said flatly, looking at these people.

"Once you've joined Team Rocket, we're all family in the same organization—benefits and treatment are all negotiable. But if anyone is found disloyal to the organization, betraying the organization…"

Mamen laughed twice, but anyone could tell there was still an unfinished sentence hanging in the air.

"Shui Wutong and Izumi—you two write down the locations of all Aqua Team bases. Once we're out, contact every former Aqua Team member and have them gather in the outskirts of Sootopolis City."

"Understood?"

"Understood."

Izumi replied softly.

"Hmm? Haven't you eaten?"

"Understood!"

Izumi and the others all replied loudly.

"Good. Grusha, you take charge of them."

Mamen nodded in satisfaction. Grusha walked up to Shui Wutong and the others and began taking stock.

"Mamen, absorbing the entire Aqua Team—is that really fine? Shui Wutong doesn't look like the type to be sincerely convinced."

Sidney asked Mamen curiously. As the former boss of Aqua Team, Shui Wutong's prestige within the organization went without saying.

Many Aqua Team members would likely remain loyal to Shui Wutong.

"A fly—no matter how much it struggles, it's still just a fly. I can swat it dead whenever I want."

Mamen didn't take Shui Wutong seriously at all.

"I've already given him one chance. If he still can't grasp it, then he's truly nothing but a hopeless waste."

Mamen looked down at the Poké Ball in his hand, his mood still very good.

The gains this time were truly very impressive — rounding up the boss and executives of Team Aqua, and even picking up a Magikarp along the way.

Shizuka crossed her arms over her chest, reserving her opinion on this, but then thought it over.

There was nothing wrong with it either; when all was said and done, Maxie's strength was just that — if he really wanted to deal with him, it was the kind of thing he could crush with a flick of the wrist.

"Fireflame, Domino, you two take a few people and scoop up some of the water from this pool to take with us."

Mamen thought for a moment, then gave the order to Fireflame and Domino.

"Yes." Fireflame and the other immediately ran over to Maxie's side, preparing to bring a few people to collect the water.

"What are you going to use this water for?" Shizuka was very puzzled.

"If I'm not mistaken, Kyogre has been soaking in this pool for at least a thousand-plus years, right?"

"It should be." Shizuka blinked; she still didn't understand.

"If that's the case, then the water in this pool must carry Kyogre's scent and aura — it's probably marinated through by now. Take it out and let me study it."

Mamen felt that this Magikarp's "bath water" might really have some "mysterious" efficacy — after all, it was bath water Kyogre had soaked in for over a thousand years!

"???"

Shizuka and Caitlin exchanged a glance, both seeing the bewilderment in the other's eyes.

The matter of the undersea cavern was basically settled. When Mamen and the others came out of the undersea cavern, sunlight poured down, making Mamen feel warm and cozy.

Maxie and the others also instantly felt much more comfortable, with a sense of being reborn — they had nearly been drowned at sea!

"Mamen... my lord, I feel there's a piece of news you should be interested in."

Maxie hesitated, but for the sake of his own life and that of his former subordinates, Maxie still "came to his senses."

"Oh? Go on." Mamen watched Maxie with great interest.

After being controlled by the armored Mewtwo and having his brain soaked in water for a while, Maxie's IQ seemed to have risen by a tiny bit.

"I know where one of Team Magma's large bases is!" A ferocious grin spread across Maxie's face.

Team Aqua was gone, Kyogre was gone, and freedom was gone too.

So Team Magma — you can forget about staying alive either!!

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely sure!"

"Very well. If it's true, that counts as a Great Achievement for you — I can promote you to senior executive."

Mamen patted Maxie on the shoulder. Tsk~ a bit hard — he had no idea how Maxie trained those muscles, but one look told you they were full of power.

Maxie didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Half an hour ago he was still a small-time boss; now he was just a senior executive — and he hadn't even officially taken the post yet.

"Also, you don't like Archie, do you?"

Mamen thought it over: if he wanted his subordinates to be obedient, he still had to give them more benefits — best to cater to their tastes.

Maxie's eyes lit up.

"Once we catch Archie, I'll hand that guy over to you to deal with. I'll allow you to solo him without using Pokémon — just don't beat him to death."

"Hahaha!! Mamen, my lord, I adore you to the teeth!"

Maxie laughed heartily in wild delight, his fists creaking as he clenched them.

Archie! You just wait for this punk — I've been wanting to solo you for ages!

Fireflame: Lord Archie, I hope you stay safe...

 Skit

Archie: Maxie, you bastard — getting absorbed into Team Rocket? I despise you!

Maxie: Hahahaha~ say whatever you want — crow sitting on a plane!

Archie: Ahwooooo!!!

Maxie: Monkey steals the peach! Tornado destroys the parking lot! Two dragons playing with a pearl!

Archie: Yamete kuu!!





(End of chapter)