In the wake of the "storm," Lusamine lay there staring blankly up at the ceiling, completely spent.
Bastard! This guy really was a bastard!
Two hours. He'd gone at it for a full two hours!
Standing, holding, kneeling…
She felt like her whole body had almost been broken by him.
"Nice."
Damian finished getting dressed, looking fresh and energized. He'd confirmed one thing: Lusamine was pretty damn durable.
He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and yanked the curtains open. Warm afternoon sunlight poured in, bright and gentle.
A post-battle cigarette would've been perfect right about now, but unfortunately, he didn't smoke.
He poured himself a glass of water, then sat down beside Lusamine.
The woman, who'd just been lying there like a broken doll, jolted awake and blurted out, "I really can't. You're gonna kill me at this rate!"
"Relax. Drink some water first. I'm not completely heartless, you know." Damian chuckled and handed her the glass.
Lusamine stayed silent. She struggled upright, waterfall-like golden hair spilling around her in a way that was, admittedly, beautiful.
After downing the water, she let out a long breath. Only then did she start to feel halfway alive again.
"You look a lot better now. Your face was white as a sheet just now." Damian teased.
"…" Lusamine quietly pulled the blanket up over herself.
Why was my face white? She didn't want to talk about it.
She just felt that young men really didn't know when to hold back.
"You already know how to get into an Ultra Wormhole, don't you?"
Her silence didn't faze him. Damian just went on and asked.
"Yeah. But we need Cosmog. Only Cosmog can open an Ultra Wormhole." Lusamine didn't hide anything. She could tell Damian was just as interested in Ultra Beasts as she was.
Which suited her perfectly.
"All right. Write me a letter. I'll have someone pass it on to Lillie. She'll come back to see you."
Damian mulled it over. If you wanted to enter an Ultra Wormhole, Cosmog really was indispensable. The only ones who could freely open Ultra Wormholes were the Cosmog line and Necrozma.
Some powerful Ultra Beasts could open Ultra Wormholes too, but that was more on the random side.
Solgaleo, Lunala, and Necrozma, though, could truly open Ultra Space at will.
Speaking of Necrozma…
No way. Unsealing Necrozma right now would just be asking to die.
In this world, Necrozma was sealed in the tower at Ultra Megalopolis in the Megalo Tower—one of the few Legendary Pokémon whose location was basically confirmed.
Freeing the sealed Necrozma wouldn't be hard at all.
The real problem was: how do you catch Necrozma?
In the source material, even the lightless Necrozma that had just broken its seal could treat Solgaleo and Lunala like chew toys.
In the anime, it took on both Lunala and Solgaleo alone and drove them into the ground. In "Evolution," it tanked Lunala's Moongeist Beam like it was nothing, then pinned Lunala down and forced a merge.
Even weakened and lightless, even sealed for who knew how long, Necrozma's strength was still far above the so-called sun and moon gods.
Damian figured that, among Champion-tier Trainers, he was definitely on the high end. As far as he was concerned, the only Champions from other regions worth really worrying about were Lance and Leon.
Mainly because he'd already secretly confirmed that this world's Lance had the power of Viridian—that was the Special manga Lance, no doubt about it.
Even so, with his current strength, if he went to pick a fight with Necrozma now… he'd get spun like a top.
He had to go to Ultra Space someday. Even ordinary Ultra Beasts were top-tier Pokémon.
But Necrozma absolutely could not be unsealed right now. Doing that would be suicide.
Its light was both its energy source and the power that kept it alive, and since the people of Ultra Megalopolis had stolen its light in ancient times and sealed it away, Necrozma's temperament had become violently savage.
The Pokédex entries across different versions made that much very clear.
"For the sake of survival, it goes mad searching for light. It fires lasers that slice everything apart." (Shield Dex)
"In the form that controls Solgaleo, its personality is brutal. It tears its prey to pieces with the claws on its back and limbs." (Dusk Mane, Sword Dex)
"In the form that rides Lunala, it grows even more vicious, sees all things as enemies, and burns everything down with its lasers." (Dawn Wings, Shield Dex)
It was obvious that after being sealed, Necrozma had gone right up to the edge of insanity.
Damian did have the power of Viridian, a natural affinity that let him get close to Wild Pokémon—but he wasn't nearly reckless enough to bet his life on Necrozma deciding not to kill him.
He really wanted Necrozma. But for now… that was a problem for future Damian.
"You're sure?" Lusamine had no idea what was going through his head. She just felt pleasantly shocked and surprised.
"Of course. Haven't you always wanted to collect Ultra Beasts?"
Damian brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear and stroked her cheek with a smile.
Her pupils went flat again, but this time from excitement.
Ultra Beasts! She craved Ultra Beasts more than anything.
"I told you, following me isn't a bad deal. I can put you at the very top of Alola—as long as you behave."
"I understand."
Lusamine lowered her head. He had every bit of leverage on her. Even her life hung on his whims.
She knew how to read the room.
Besides, he'd already "gone past her." What was she supposed to do now? Refuse to cooperate and let that be for nothing?
"Good. Take this."
Damian pulled a silver 'R' badge from his pocket. It was the emblem that marked someone as a Team Rocket executive.
Her strength was nothing to scoff at. Lusamine was an Elite Four–level Trainer herself.
After chatting with her a while longer, Damian left the manor with a handwritten letter from Lusamine in hand.
With Aether Foundation folded into its ranks, Team Rocket could basically be considered the underground overlord of the Alola Region.
Especially with Aether Paradise, that artificial island, serving as Alola Team Rocket's Pokémon breeding base.
And most importantly, there was Lusamine herself.
Once the Alola League was established, with a little nudge in the right place, the most ideal and obvious candidate for Alola League chairman would be Lusamine.
And once she was chairman, wouldn't that mean Alola was effectively under Damian's control?
As for whether Lusamine might someday turn on him…
Leaving aside the fact that he held her biggest secret right now, once her "lifelong wish" was fulfilled and her mindset normalized, her priorities would shift back to Lillie and Gladion.
And those two were just as easy for Damian to get a grip on.
Speaking of Lillie…
"I really am a bastard, huh!"
Damian cursed himself under his breath. A sudden thought had hit him.
The image of Lillie, blushing to the roots of her hair and calling him "Daddy"…
I deserve hell.
And the worst part was, just thinking about it kind of turned him on.