"So, can you explain it to me? Baby?"
Selene's smile was sweet, and her voice sounded even sweeter.
"About that..."
Damian thought for a moment.
"Selene, I made a mistake."
"Aha! I knew it! Which one of those two women is trying to take my place? It's that blonde woman, isn't it?"
Selene puffed up with anger. She knew it. With her boyfriend's flirtatious personality, how could he have stayed quiet over the past year?
If Damian was only fooling around outside while she wasn't by his side, Selene would not care too much. She knew Damian well. As long as he did not bring anyone back to stand in front of her, it was fine.
But the problem now was that this blonde woman had actually appeared right in front of her! You're the one trying to cut in, and you're giving me looks?
Selene could not accept that.
"Fine, fine. You want to steal my man? I'll see what you can do."
Selene decided to teach that blonde woman a harsh lesson.
As soon as she decided that, Selene turned around, ready to go find Caitlin for a battle. Did they think she was some harmless girl who could not fight? If they had something to say, they could say it to her Incineroar!
"Stop, stop, stop. What are you doing?"
Damian quickly pulled Selene back and rolled his eyes.
"I'm going to handle that woman!"
"Don't be in such a hurry. There's nothing between me and Caitlin yet."
Damian felt a headache coming on. He didn't remember Selene having such a short temper.
"Really?"
Selene paused.
"Really. Have I ever lied to you?"
"That's hard to say."
Selene pouted, but she relaxed a little. Although Damian was a bit of a womanizer, he truly had never lied to her. It had been that way back in Kanto, too.
"Then what is this blonde woman's problem?"
"It's not strange if Caitlin has some hostility toward you. Even though we aren't together yet, we both have feelings for each other."
"Fine, I get it. She wants my place."
Selene let out a cold laugh. Since she was Damian's official girlfriend, any woman who wanted Damian would naturally see her as a rival.
"Isn't that basically the same thing? The only difference is that she hasn't even touched you yet."
"Anyway, just calm down. Don't go starting a fight over every little thing. We are civilized people, you know?"
Damian pinched Selene's cheek.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph~" The straw-hat girl grunted.
"Baby, let me ask you. If you had to choose between her and me, who would you pick?"
"Of course I would pick you, honey."
Damian answered without any hesitation.
"Hehe~"
Selene loved hearing that. Her face immediately brightened with joy, and her eyes curved happily.
"Alright then. Since you put it that way, as long as she doesn't cause trouble for me, I won't go after her."
Selene said she was a generous person. But if that blonde woman came looking for trouble, Selene would definitely not hold back. She would let that woman know who Damian's official girlfriend was.
She was Damian's official girlfriend! There was no reason for her to step aside for someone who came later.
"Come on, Baby. Let me introduce you to a girl. She's the best friend I've met in Alola. We have a great relationship!"
After saying that, Selene pulled Damian and hurried toward their meeting spot. Her excitement was clear. She truly considered Lillie her best friend and didn't hide anything from her.
At the pier, the heiress of the Aether Foundation stood there in her white dress. She wore a white lady's hat and looked gentle and refined.
"Lillie!"
"Selene~"
Hearing Selene's shout, Lillie smiled and went to meet her.
"I missed you so much! I haven't seen you for so many days."
Selene hugged Lillie, giggling.
"Well, my brother came back recently, so I've been spending time with him." Lillie's voice was a little soft.
Mhm... actually, I've been spending most of my time with Damian lately. I almost forgot to contact Selene.
"Alright. Come, come. Let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Damian."
"Baby, this is my best friend Lillie. Isn't she cute?"
Selene held Lillie and introduced her to Damian with a bright smile.
"Yeah, Lillie is indeed very cute. But Lillie and I have met before."
Damian smiled and praised her. Lillie lowered her head shyly.
"Eh? You two know each other?" Selene was a bit stunned.
"Yes. President Lusamine invited me over earlier to help enter Ultra Space," Damian explained.
"I see. Then this really is a nice coincidence."
Selene didn't think much of it and continued to smile while wrapping her arm around Lillie's shoulder.
"Selene, didn't you say your uncle was coming too?"
Lillie skipped over the previous topic.
"Mhm. But Uncle Giovanni is the Kanto Champion now, so he's very busy. He'll have to wait until my final match to come over."
Selene explained. To her, Giovanni was basically her mentor. Last year, she had spent some time as an apprentice at the Viridian Gym. Since Giovanni was also Damian's father, Selene really wanted him to come and watch the match.
However, Giovanni was quite busy now that he was the Kanto Champion. Fortunately, the Indigo Conference in Kanto had started a few days ago, so the timing should work out. Otherwise, if the Indigo Conference finals were happening, Giovanni definitely wouldn't be able to find the time.
The three of them walked toward the inside of the stadium together.
"Speaking of which, Selene, why did you come to the Alola region to take the challenge?"
Lillie asked curiously. This was indeed something she was confused about. Selene was Damian's girlfriend, and her teacher was the Gym Leader of Viridian Gym. Yet, she had come all the way to the Alola region.
"Hmm... the first reason is that my mom wanted to move. She said the scenery and climate in Alola are great and suitable for living."
Selene began to speak.
"Then I asked Damian. Damian said we could move. It just so happened that the Alola region didn't have a League or a Champion yet, so I could come here and become the first Champion."
"Hehe~ More importantly, Damian told me he wouldn't be staying in Kanto much longer. Since that's the case, there's no point in me staying in Kanto."
Selene's tone was casual, but her meaning was clear. If Damian wasn't in Kanto, she had no reason to stay there.
"Ohh~ I see..."
"Thinking about it now, it's still a bit of a shame. If I stayed in Kanto, I could have challenged Uncle Giovanni after winning the Indigo Conference."
Selene blinked and spoke with a giggle.
"You're dreaming," Damian said with a laugh.
"The competition at the Indigo Conference is much stronger than here. Even if you won the championship, you'd have to get past Lance first if you wanted to challenge my old man."
The competition in this year's Indigo Conference was stronger than any other regional tournament.
While the Manalo Conference had Selene, Gladion, and Hau, the Galar Champion Cup had Gloria, Hop, and Marnie, and Unova had Rosa and Hilda, Damian honestly felt they were not on the same level as the Indigo Conference.
The pressure at this Indigo Conference was terrifying.
Red, Blue, Green, Ash, Silver, and Ethan... the lineup was almost ridiculous.
That's right. Currently, the Johto region still belonged to the Kanto League, so Ethan was actually participating in the Indigo Conference.
Damian didn't know if Green would participate, but Silver had definitely confirmed his entry after being persuaded by Giovanni.
But even without Green, those five, Red and the others, had already raised the level of this Indigo Conference far too high.
For any contestant other than those five, this Indigo Conference would be brutal. It would not be a pleasant experience at all.
It really fit the saying: Getting into the top eight is already a success.
"Hmph. As long as I compete, I'll definitely be the Champion!"
Selene was very stubborn. She believed that in any tournament she entered, she couldn't lose to other people her age.
"And so what about Lance? Even if I'm not his match now, I'll definitely be able to beat him in the future!"
"Even Uncle Giovanni won't be my match in the future!"
Selene was very confident in herself. She knew Giovanni had caught Groudon, but she was certain she could surpass him one day.
"Mhm, mhm! Selene will definitely be the best!"
Lillie smiled and encouraged her best friend.
Damian chuckled. He truly believed in Selene's potential. Her improvement was indeed fast.
Manalo Stadium was a stadium with a strong ancient Roman style. With the financial support of the Aether Foundation, it had been built to be large and impressive.
Damian had bought VIP seats in advance. By the time he and Lillie arrived, Caitlin and Platinum were already seated.
As the first tournament since the establishment of the Alola League, the event was naturally important. Moreover, the people of Alola were very supportive. The entire stadium was packed, making it very lively.
As the President of the Alola League, Lusamine personally went on stage to give a formal speech. After that, Kukui took the stage as the host.
In reality, because it was the first Alola tournament, the entry requirements weren't high, so there were many contestants. No matter which regional tournament it was, the early matches were never very interesting. They were still in the elimination phase, narrowing down the field.
Selene easily defeated her opponent using only her Incineroar, without much effort.
Gladion and Hau had an equally easy time.
In truth, for this Manalo Conference, the only real threats to Selene were those two, even though Guzma was also participating.
However, Guzma was only there specifically to annoy Kukui. He didn't have the strength to fight for the championship.
When evening came, Selene was also invited to the artificial island of Aether Paradise.
At night, Lusamine personally welcomed them. At the dinner table, Selene noticed Caitlin giving her a look. When others weren't looking, Caitlin whispered a few words to her.
Tsk~
Selene found it a bit annoying, but since Caitlin had asked to meet, she naturally couldn't refuse.
After dinner, Selene sent Damian away to keep Lusamine and Lillie company. Then, she went to the backyard of the villa alone.
Not long after, Caitlin and Platinum also arrived.
"Still sticking together, I see? Speak up. What do you want to say?"
Selene looked at Caitlin and the other girl, pouted, and spoke rudely.
Hearing Selene's words, which sounded like she was pushing for a direct confrontation, Platinum immediately turned her head away in embarrassment.
"Miss Selene, you seem to have quite an issue with us."
However, Caitlin wasn't affected at all. She still kept a polite smile.
"No, no, no. I don't have an issue with you. And I don't have an issue with whatever relationship you have with Damian."
Selene tilted her head slightly, her clear eyes staring at Caitlin.
"However, my blonde lady... you are the one who has an issue with me, right?"