Chapter 316: Fox spirits! Every last one of them, out to seduce Mammon!
A World Tournament?
At that, Caitlin simply lifted her teacup with elegant composure and took a sip, while Platinum's face lit up with unmistakable anticipation.
As a trainer who dreamed of standing at the very top, how could she not look forward to a World Tournament? Showing her strength to the entire world!
That was exactly what a trainer was supposed to do — climb every mountain in her way until everyone, everywhere, knew her name and her story.
"Mr. Mammon, is a World Tournament really going to happen? And... would we actually be allowed to compete?"
Platinum still had her reservations. Setting aside the fact that there'd been no word of any World Tournament so far, the bigger question was whether the League would even let Team Rocket members participate in something like that.
"It will happen. It's inevitable, actually. And as for eligibility — the League won't be in a position to deny us."
Mammon wasn't remotely worried. A World Tournament coming into existence was inevitable — a sign of the times.
These days even Alola had been fully folded into the League's territory, and regional fragmentation meant there wasn't much deep cross-region exchange happening. And for any trainer with real ambition, being the strongest in the world was always the ultimate goal.
Right now the biggest competitions were still regional — but regional leagues were increasingly failing to satisfy what ambitious trainers actually wanted.
A World Tournament was bound to happen, no matter which angle you looked at it from.
Pulling every trainer on the planet into one tournament to crown the single strongest trainer in the world — that would generate a level of hype and authority the world had never seen.
There was no way the League could avoid holding one eventually. And frankly, only the Pokémon League had the resources to pull off something on that scale.
As for Team Rocket's eligibility — before the World Tournament officially kicked off, Mammon planned to have a proper sit-down with the League. Honestly, he was still just waiting for the League to come knocking on its own.
Mammon was confident the Kanto League had something big brewing — they just didn't look ready yet.
—
A night passed, and morning came.
Mammon set out for Johto, taking Caitlin and Platinum with him — well, for now it was still just "Johto," since Kanto and Johto hadn't split administratively yet.
They arrived once more at Ecruteak City, steeped in centuries of history. The magnificent white dragon touched down, and Mammon recalled Reshiram before walking into the city.
Ecruteak Dance Hall.
"Looks like we timed this well."
Stepping into the hall, they found a performance already underway on stage — and not just any performance, but one by the Ecruteak Five Sisters. Mammon let out a soft chuckle.
Platinum gazed around the hall with curiosity. Having spent most of her life in Sinnoh, a dance hall like this felt genuinely novel to her — especially the five kimono-clad beauties up on stage.
Dressed in gorgeous, elaborate kimonos, they moved through elegant, swaying steps, delicate hands waving folding fans, while five Eeveelutions — each a different evolution — danced right along beside them in step with the choreography.
The whole scene carried an indescribable, harmonious beauty.
Maybe because it was a day featuring all five sisters performing together, the hall was packed with spectators. Mammon and the other two found seats and sat down — and, whether by coincidence or not, May's lovely eyes, mid-dance up on stage, happened to sweep across their section and locked in place the instant they landed on the three of them.
Mammon noticed her gaze too and gave her a smiling nod.
A radiant smile bloomed across May's exquisitely made-up face, and her steps grew visibly lighter, floating along with the music.
Before long, the piece ended, and the five sisters fell naturally into a line, their five Eeveelutions settling into neat seated poses beside them, bowing together with their trainers.
A wave of thunderous applause rolled through the entire hall.
With the performance over, the five sisters made a graceful exit. Not long after, a dancer in plain clothes approached Mammon's group and led the three of them backstage.
"Mr. Mammon~!"
The moment they stepped into the dressing room, May was the first to rush over, her voice bright with delight — which made Yuzuo, who'd been about to speak herself, pause mid-breath, her fine brows knitting together in a barely perceptible frown.
Big sister... that's overstepping a little!
Mr. Mammon is clearly MY man! I'm the one with the closest bond to Mr. Mammon here!
"Long time no see, May. I was watching from the audience the whole time — Yuzuo, your performance today was wonderful."
Mammon replied to May, then turned his gaze to Yuzuo, elegant and striking in her black kimono patterned with gold.
Yuzuo's face, made a touch cooler and more striking by her stage makeup, softened into the faintest smile, her eyes fixed on Mammon with a tender, lingering warmth, like a pool of spring water brimming just beneath the surface.
Caitlin's expression cooled visibly as she glanced at Yuzuo. She wasn't especially fond of this woman.
After all, thanks to painfully thin walls the last time, Caitlin — sleeping in the next room over — had been forced to listen to an extended stretch of Yuzuo's... noises. It had left her thoroughly unhappy.
"Mr. Mammon, was my dancing not good enough?"
Koume, dressed in a cherry-pink kimono, mischievously fluttered her bright eyes at Mammon. She was the fourth of the five sisters — though going purely by looks, her petite frame and youthful face made her seem more like the baby of the group.
All five sisters knew Mammon, though the remaining three weren't quite as close to him as May and Yuzuo were. Still, whatever else, all of them knew it was Mammon who'd broken the generational curse passed down through their family, saving them from a transgression committed by an ancestor generations back.
So even the other three — Koume included — held an extraordinarily high opinion of Mammon, verging on outright reverence.
"You all danced wonderfully — you had me completely mesmerized."
Mammon didn't hold back a drop of praise, and all five sisters lit up with captivating smiles in response.
"Mr. Mammon, did you just get back to Kanto?"
May personally poured a cup of water and brought it over to the three of them, her voice gentle as she asked — genuinely, soothingly gentle.
Watching her big sister swoop in and steal her "job" yet again, Yuzuo's expression went flat.
Big sister really does know how to lay on the charm. Not that it'll get her anywhere, though.
Yuzuo folded her hands neatly in front of her stomach, the picture of elegance. I'm the one who actually has the close bond with Mr. Mammon. Not you, big sister.
That tone...
Platinum's sixth sense, ever the sharp young lady's instinct, immediately flared to life as she watched the beautiful kimono-clad woman.
This pretty lady definitely has feelings for Mr. Mammon.
Platinum blinked. How to put it — not that it was especially surprising, really, given how much charisma Mr. Mammon genuinely had.
She snuck a glance at Mammon, and — for whatever reason it brought to mind — the young lady of House Berlitz lowered her head and took a small, quiet sip of tea.
"Ah — just got back not too long ago. I'm here in Johto to take care of some business, and figured I'd swing by and see you all while I'm at it," Mammon replied with a smile.
"I happened to run into Ho-Oh yesterday, and I already asked on your behalf — it's not holding onto what happened back then. It wants you all to know you don't need to worry about it anymore."
Mammon told the five sisters, and pulled out his photo with the giant flaming bird as proof that he wasn't just saying it.
Yes — he really had asked Ho-Oh yesterday what it thought of the people of Ecruteak City, given their history.
Turned out the great flaming turkey genuinely didn't hold grudges — it had real grace about it, its focus set firmly on the more important future ahead.
"Really?"
"Lord Ho-Oh has really forgiven us?"
"That's wonderful, sisters!"
The five sisters lit up with delight. Koume and the other two hurried over to Mammon's side, leaning their heads in eagerly.
"Whoa! It's really Lord Ho-Oh!"
"Mr. Mammon looks so handsome, he's really photogenic~"
"What exactly are you even looking at right now? Anyway, why does Lord Ho-Oh's close-up look so..."
"Shh — sis, are you TRYING to get yourself killed? You can't just say that out loud!"
The Ecruteak sisters fell into an overlapping chorus of chatter and teasing.
Watching the sisters cluster close around him, breathing in the fragrance drifting off their kimono-clad forms, Mammon couldn't help but sink into thought.
A whole flock of little fox spirits!
Watching the Ecruteak sisters completely surround Mammon, Caitlin's expression turned distinctly cold. These shameless little fox spirits, yo!
And honestly, what was even going on with five sisters like this in the first place? What was their family even thinking, having five daughters??
Even someone as thoroughly "well-fed" as Mammon would surely have a hard time holding out against temptation with five sisters like this around!
Utterly, shamelessly wicked!!
What followed, naturally, needs little elaboration — the Ecruteak sisters lavished Mammon's group with the warmest hospitality imaginable, made all the more enthusiastic by the good news he'd brought.
The five sisters were absolutely buzzing with joy.
Mammon, meanwhile, was genuinely living like an emperor — Momoko washing his feet, Sakura and Koume each massaging one of his arms and shoulders, Yuzuo working on his scalp, and May personally peeling grapes and feeding them straight into his mouth.
Thoroughly, luxuriously pampered.
A tender trap indeed — and this one was about as tender as they came.
Especially with all five sisters each gorgeous as blooming flowers, each with her own distinct, striking allure, plump or slender, every type represented.
(Ahem — though, granted, Mammon privately admitted that even if they'd all been identical quintuplets, he wouldn't have minded that one bit either.)
Caitlin and Platinum, meanwhile, headed out to go shopping — Caitlin genuinely couldn't stand to keep watching these five fox spirits "seduce" Mammon right in front of her. Platinum, for her part, was thoroughly charmed by the old-world atmosphere of Ecruteak City, so the two of them took the opportunity to wander around together.
Before long, night fell, and Mammon's group naturally returned to the residence May had arranged for them beforehand to settle in for the night.
☆☆☆
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