"Eh?"
By the time Lillie came back to herself, all she could see was Damian's back as he walked away.
She hadn't even thanked him properly. Lillie sighed, then turned and waved to Selene.
"I'm over here, Selene."
"Phew~ Why'd you run off so far all of a sudden?"
Selene jogged over, patting her chest in worry.
She knew full well that Lillie wasn't a Trainer.
"Sorry—Nebby suddenly popped out."
"Heh, called it. It had to be this little rascal."
Selene crouched slightly and poked Nebby's cheek. This little guy was just too mischievous—always sneaking out to wander.
Nebby puffed up its cheeks, glaring at Selene in protest.
"Oh-ho, you dare glare at me? Want candy or not?"
Selene grinned, hands on hips, blatantly threatening Nebby.
"Cosmog~ Cosmog!"
"Good. A teachable kid. Stick with big sis and you'll eat and drink like royalty!"
Selene nodded in satisfaction at Nebby's reply. Ahem—though she had no idea what Nebby actually said.
Lillie gave a polite yet awkward smile. She was pretty sure Nebby had just gone "bleh bleh bleh," not whatever Selene imagined.
But that wasn't something worth correcting.
"By the way, Lillie—did you find Nebby by yourself this time?" Selene asked, curious.
She knew that if Nebby ran off, it was a pain for Lillie to find it alone.
"No, Nebby ran into a really gentle boy."
"Oh?"
Selene's pitch jumped several notes.
"It's not what you're thinking."
Lillie shot Selene a playful glare. They hadn't known each other long, but they'd already become close like sisters.
For some reason, Lillie found being with Selene genuinely comfortable—just the best kind of friend she'd always wanted.
...
Elsewhere, Damian headed toward the villa he'd just bought.
He'd be staying in the Alola Region for a while—he needed a temporary base.
It wasn't far from the beach, about ten minutes to the villa district.
But…
"Hm?"
Damian glanced toward a nearby training ground, where a girl seemed to be doing special training.
Not unusual by itself. What was unusual was that this girl looked familiar to him.
Damian sifted through his memories—he'd been in this world sixteen years now, so things were a bit fuzzy.
"What's she doing here?" After recalling, Damian raised a brow.
A fitted white-and-pink long dress tracing an elegant, curvy figure; a white sash cinched around a delicate waist.
A finely sculpted face, skin so fair it practically reflected sunlight, and luxurious golden hair cascading down her back.
A very beautiful girl—and she was Caitlin!
In the Platinum era, the mistress of the Battle Castle; in Black/White, the Unova Region's Psychic-type Elite Four.
An elegant, slightly haughty sleeping beauty from a prestigious Sinnoh family. Her innate psychic power was enormous and imperfectly controlled; when she lost a battle, the resulting emotional swing could trigger a psychic rampage and cause massive destruction.
That factor also got her barred by the League, so in Platinum, even though Caitlin owned the Battle Castle, the one who battled the player was her Castle Valet, Darach.
Later, once she mastered her emotions, she went to Unova to train and became an Elite Four in short order.
Worth noting: Caitlin is loaded. In the games she outright says she has villas all over the world—and lets her bestie Cynthia use them.
"Interesting."
Damian thought for a moment, then walked toward Caitlin with genuine interest.
Right now, Caitlin was drilling a Kirlia, and the move she was drilling was Psychic.
Psychic is a powerful, practical special attack in the Psychic-type toolkit. For a Kirlia to have learned it already meant either it was high level or it had used a Technical Machine.
Technical Machines are very practical items. Use one on a Pokémon, and it learns the corresponding move—simple and convenient.
But it's also a shortcut. Take Kirlia, for example: even without a Technical Machine or the right level, if a Pokémon that knows Psychic teaches Kirlia,
Kirlia's talent isn't that bad—given time, it can still learn Psychic.
Of course, that method might take a while.
If you've got the means, buying a Technical Machine for your Pokémon saves time and effort—no question.
But Technical Machines aren't cheap, especially for strong, practical moves like Psychic.
Caitlin noticed Damian's approach, but didn't mind him, continuing Kirlia's training.
Her method was simple: have Kirlia attack her other Pokémon—Metagross.
That's also what most Trainers do when they're training solo without a sparring partner.
"The results are… mediocre." After a short while, Caitlin's pretty brows knit. Irritation began to rise, and a flickering psychic-blue glow lit her eyes.
But she quickly caught herself, took a few deep breaths, and pressed the agitation down.
"If the drills aren't ideal, how about I spar with you?"
At the voice, Caitlin turned to Damian.
"Solo drills can't beat real combat practice. Don't you think?"
Damian's lips quirked as he took out a Poké Ball and gestured to Caitlin.
"You have a point."
Caitlin, of course, understood, and scrutinized the unfamiliar boy.
"But if it's a boring battle, I'll be very upset."
"Trust me, beautiful lady—I'll make sure you enjoy this one."
Damian's smile slowly took on a wicked edge.
And just then, wisps of purple-black haze began rising behind him, accompanied by a creepy "kekekeke" laugh.
"???" Caitlin tilted her head, staring blankly at the Damian who now radiated an ominous, big-bad-boss aura.
What… is happening right now?
"Gengar! Cut the damn theatrics!!"
Watching the purple-black haze billow around him, Damian's face twitched. He couldn't hold it in anymore.
At his voice, the pudgy gray-black culprit who'd queued up the VFX and BGM poked half its body from Damian's shadow, looking at him, puzzled.
"Gengar? (You don't like the effect?)"
Understanding Gengar perfectly, Damian's face spasmed again.
Where the hell did this fat gremlin even learn all this nonsense? He'd definitely been secretly binging shows lately.
And the old-school kind—the hero-vs.-demon-king stuff.