Chapter 19: For Phione!
"That look on your face is a little rude, you know."
Mammon caught Gladion's incredulous stare and raised an eyebrow.
"Don't underestimate us just because we're a criminal organization. We keep up with the times. I had a top-tier developer build this app — it's fully featured."
Mammon said it with genuine pride. The app had been his idea. With it, Team Rocket operatives could send and receive mission briefings from anywhere.
"I'm also planning to add a group chat function, so the senior officers can communicate, share intel, and exchange ideas. We'll even be able to hold basic meetings over video instead of traveling halfway across the region."
"Work hard, Gladion. With your abilities, I'm confident you'll be promoted to senior officer before long."
Mammon patted Gladion's shoulder with an encouraging smile.
"…" Gladion didn't know what to say.
Team Rocket was turning out to be somewhat different from what he'd imagined.
Hadn't he joined an evil organization? Why did this feel more like onboarding at a tech company?
"Oh — take a look at this. These are the best Pokémon currently available in the organization."
Mammon scrolled to the bottom of the exchange page and turned the tablet toward Gladion.
Gladion leaned in with genuine interest.
Pseudo-Legendary Dratini — Ability: Shed Skin — Merit Cost: 50,000 Pseudo-Legendary Dratini — Ability: Marvel Scale — Merit Cost: 50,000 Pseudo-Legendary Larvitar — Ability: Guts — Merit Cost: 50,000 Pseudo-Legendary Jangmo-o — Ability: Overcoat — Merit Cost: 50,000 Mythical Pokémon: Phione — Ability: Hydration — Merit Cost: 100,000
Gladion's eyes widened. Pseudo-legendary Pokémon — often called "late bloomers" — were among the rarest and most coveted Pokémon in existence.
They took far longer to raise than normal Pokémon, but once they reached their final evolution, the investment paid for itself a hundred times over.
High-talent pseudo-legendaries were especially prized, and here in Team Rocket, you could obtain one simply by accumulating enough merit points.
But the real showstopper was—
"A Mythical Pokémon? Phione?! Is that real?"
Gladion's gaze locked onto the last entry. A Mythical Pokémon.
Mythical Pokémon were the rarest of the rare — bar none. Their very name said it all: they existed almost exclusively in legends. Confirmed sightings could be counted on one hand.
Team Rocket was offering a Mythical as a reward? That was insanely generous.
"Completely real. Phione's being raised at our farm back in Kanto." Mammon glanced at the Phione image, his expression just a touch odd.
He'd stumbled on this particular Phione by pure chance. He'd gone to Cinnabar Island for the hot springs, and on his way out to sea, he'd spotted the little thing sunbathing on the waves. Caught it on the spot.
The only downside was that it was a Phione, not a Manaphy. Then again, if it had been Manaphy, he probably couldn't have caught it — Manaphy actually had some fight in it.
For the record, in the games, Phione was technically the offspring of Manaphy and a Ditto — and couldn't even evolve back into Manaphy.
Don't ask how a genderless Manaphy reproduced. That's just how the games worked.
Lugia didn't have a gender either, and the anime still gave it a mother and a baby. Pokémon biology was a lawless frontier.
Also worth noting: despite its Mythical classification, Phione's base stat total was a paltry 480. That was lower than a fully evolved starter Pokémon.
Phione was, without question, the weakest Mythical or Legendary Pokémon in existence. Not even close.
If Manaphy was the "Prince of the Sea," then Phione was… the "Commoner of the Sea."
But a commoner with a Mythical title was still a Mythical. And that title was all Mammon needed to dangle as motivation for his subordinates.
Think about it: just put in the overtime, hit your targets, rack up those merit points, and you too can own a legendary Mythical Pokémon!
Motivating, right?
"!!!" Gladion's eyes practically caught fire.
A real, actual Mythical Pokémon. If he could get his hands on one, his path to the top would be unstoppable!
He'd stand before Lusamine, chin held high, and declare: "I don't need anything from you!"
"This is just the current rewards list. More elite Pokémon will be added down the line, so don't get tunnel vision."
Mammon noticed Gladion's laser focus on Phione and figured he should temper expectations.
He wasn't lying, either. Pseudo-legendaries from other regions still hadn't been located, but Team Rocket had already pinpointed the whereabouts of Kanto's three Legendary Birds.
Giovanni would be dispatching the Three Admins to capture them separately.
Team Rocket had abandoned genetic experimentation — no more Frankensteining a "three-birds-in-one" abomination — but wild Legendary Birds were still Legendary Pokémon. Giovanni wasn't about to let them slip away, not after all the manpower and resources spent tracking them down.
Mammon agreed the upgrade was overdue. Having Phione as the top-tier reward was borderline false advertising.
Swap in Moltres, and suddenly the whole thing looked a lot more legitimate.
"Understood! Don't worry, sir — I'll give it everything I've got!"
For that Phione!
Gladion's face was dead serious. He was brimming with drive.
An organization where he could actually get stronger — this was where he belonged.
He would protect Lillie. No matter what.
"That's what I like to hear!"
Mammon nodded approvingly and gave Gladion's shoulder one last pat.
Of course, reaching 100,000 merit points was no small feat. For perspective, the highest earner in the entire organization right now was Archer, sitting at roughly 80,000.
Clearing out a single Hunter hideout netted anywhere from 100 to 1,000 points, depending on the scale.
And Gladion wasn't the only one eyeing Phione — Lance had apparently had his heart set on it too.
"Plumeria — take Gladion to Akala Island next. Get those Hunter syndicates cleaned out as soon as possible."
Mammon gave the order.
"Yes, sir."
Plumeria nodded. Compared to the recruiting grind, she was honestly more interested in the Hunter clean-up operations anyway.
"All right, I'll head out. Get prepped and move when you're ready."
Mammon turned and left. He'd only come to "interview" Gladion, and the results were more than satisfactory.
Team Rocket's Alola branch was thriving.