"Can you defeat my Lugia?"
Caitlin stared at Selene. She really wanted to find out.
To be honest, she already respected Selene's skill. This girl was actually a little frightening.
She was already amazed by talented Trainers like Platinum and Serena, but Selene surprised her even more.
Right now, Caitlin wanted to know if Selene could beat her.
If Selene could not defeat her Lugia, then at least for now, Caitlin would be the one standing closest to Damian.
She could use this chance to confess to Damian and be with him.
As for the future...
The future was the future. For now, she could stand beside Damian first, right?
But if Selene could beat her Lugia, Caitlin would have nothing more to say. She would accept the result completely.
"Just watch!"
Selene grinned widely. She threw her last Poké Ball high into the air.
"My final Pokémon is this one!"
"Articuno!"
With a clear cry, an ice-blue Legendary bird spread its wings and flew high.
It had ice-blue feathers and a long tail. Blue frost drifted around it, and its whole body glowed with a soft, icy light.
It was the Legendary Articuno from the Kanto region.
"A real Articuno. It's so pretty," Platinum said. She looked at the bird with curiosity. This was one of the three Legendary birds of Kanto.
It looked similar to Caitlin's Galarian Articuno, but it gave a completely different feeling.
The Galarian Articuno felt cold and distant. However, this Articuno felt calm and graceful.
"Looking at it this way, Selene's team is really powerful," Platinum thought.
She thought back and was shocked by how strong Selene's team was.
Incineroar, Melmetal, Dragonite, Nihilego, Tapu Koko, and Articuno.
This team was truly strong.
"An Articuno?" Caitlin looked closely at the Kanto Articuno.
It was very different from her own. She felt a little pressure from it. This Articuno was very strong. It was definitely not weaker than Tapu Koko.
"Ah~ Damian gave me this Pokémon. I have always cherished it very much."
Selene's smile was bright. Damian had given her Articuno at the beginning of the year. It was the first Legendary Pokémon she ever received.
Because of that, Selene always valued Articuno. She put a lot of effort into training it.
By now, Articuno was one of the core members of her team.
"I see," Caitlin understood.
There was no reason to be jealous. It was normal for Damian to give his girlfriend a Legendary Pokémon. If anything, Selene should be jealous of her.
After all, Damian had entrusted the baby Lugia to her, right?
"Stay sharp, Articuno! Your opponent is Lugia."
After they finished talking, Selene warned Articuno.
She did not want to lose!
"Yiyao~"
Articuno let out a pleasant cry. It looked at the small Lugia with a serious expression.
If it were still a wild Pokémon, it would never have imagined fighting a Lugia one day.
Me? Fight a Lugia? Is this for real?
But now, as one of Selene's strongest partners, it would challenge a Ho-Oh, not just a Lugia!
This was the trust between it and its Trainer.
Actually, Articuno was more afraid of Ho-Oh. After all, Ho-Oh was a Fire-type.
"I wonder if Articuno can win against Lugia..."
Lillie looked at the two Legendary Pokémon in the sky. She felt a bit nervous. Even among Legendary Pokémon, their strength was not always the same.
Articuno fighting Lugia was a very difficult task.
However, Lillie was rooting for her best friend. She really hoped Selene would win.
"If we only talk about types, Articuno actually has the advantage," Lusamine said.
That was true because Ice was strong against Flying.
But this type advantage would not change the battle much. Lugia could learn many moves that were strong against Articuno.
For example, Electric moves like Thunder, or even Rock moves like Ancient Power, which would be four times more effective against Articuno.
"It depends on how they battle. Also, Selene has an advantage because Lugia is already injured," Damian said.
This Articuno was a bit stronger than Tapu Koko, but not by much.
The biggest advantage Selene had was that Lugia was tired. Tapu Koko had done a lot of work.
That move, Guardian of Alola, had dealt a heavy blow to Lugia.
In the video games, Guardian of Alola is a special move. If it hits, it takes away three-quarters of the opponent's remaining HP.
In the games, Guardian of Alola cannot actually knock someone out.
But in an actual battle, things are different. It is like one-hit KO moves such as Fissure or Sheer Cold.
In the games, if those hit, the Pokémon faints. In an actual battle, they are simply extremely powerful moves that are hard to land.
In reality, Guardian of Alola is a very powerful Z-Move unique to the Tapus. Landing that hit gave Selene a real chance to win.
Because Lugia was already injured, Articuno had a chance.
The battle began. This was the final round to decide the winner.
Both Selene and Caitlin put all their focus into the fight. They were both careful and serious.
The battle was intense. The two women traded attacks back and forth, neither wanting to back down.
As time passed, the injuries on Lugia and Articuno became more serious. Both Pokémon were reaching their limits.
However, because of its natural toughness, Lugia managed to take a small lead.
During another exchange, Caitlin sharply caught an opening.
"Aeroblast!"
"Woo~!"
The small Lugia cried out loudly. A semi-transparent white ball of energy formed in front of its open mouth.
In the next moment, a giant beam of light mixed with sharp wind hit Articuno.
It was Lugia's signature Flying-type move, Aeroblast!
"Articuno can't dodge it!"
"It's over!"
"Articuno!!"
Platinum and the other two girls' eyes widened. Articuno had just moved its body and could not dodge that Aeroblast!
If it hit, the heavily injured Articuno would definitely be unable to battle!
Boom!
The Aeroblast hit Articuno directly in the chest. It exploded with a loud noise. The powerful energy and sharp wind blades cut into Articuno's body.
Articuno cried out in pain and fell from the sky. It crashed heavily into the ground, creating a large cloud of dust.
It looked like this one hit had decided the winner.
Neither Articuno nor Lugia were in good shape. Articuno should not have been able to withstand that Aeroblast.
"How... Selene actually lost..."
Lillie's face turned a bit pale. She never thought that Selene, the strongest girl she knew, would lose to another woman.
"Selene was already very impressive, but the opponent was a Lugia after all," Lusamine said helplessly. She rubbed Lillie's head.
On the field, Caitlin finally sighed with relief. This battle had been extremely difficult.
Her mind had been tense the whole time. She hadn't dared to relax for a second.
Now, it was finally over.
"Sheer Cold!"
Suddenly, Selene's voice rang out.
What?!
Caitlin quickly looked up. She looked at the field in disbelief.
Inside the thick dust, a large amount of freezing frost spread out. Then, a bright beam of icy light shot toward the tired Lugia in the sky.
The Ice-type move, Sheer Cold!
"How is that possible?"
Caitlin shouted in surprise. This shouldn't be happening!
Articuno had definitely been hit by Aeroblast. In that state, how could it still be able to battle?
And it had even finished charging Sheer Cold!
Because Sheer Cold was so powerful, it usually took a long time to charge.
For a strong Pokémon, if Ice Beam was almost instant and Blizzard took about a second, then Sheer Cold took about two seconds.
Two seconds!
In a battle, that was enough time for an opponent to hit you with two Thunderbolts.
So, usually, Sheer Cold needed the right conditions to work. But why had this Articuno already finished charging?
It had been on the ground long enough to charge, but something was wrong.
"Protect!"
Caitlin didn't have time to think. She had to give an order.
The small Lugia tried to dodge backward immediately. The green light of the Protect barrier began to glow. But because it was too sudden, the barrier wasn't fully formed.
Sheer Cold hit the small Lugia.
An intense cold instantly spread through Lugia's whole body. It let out a low cry of pain.
In the blink of an eye, Lugia's body was covered in frost. Its body became stiff, and it fell out of the sky, out of control.
Boom!
Lugia's large body crashed into the ground. The freezing air from Sheer Cold caused a layer of ice crystals to spread across the floor beneath it.
The whole area went quiet.
As the dust cleared, everyone saw Articuno lying on the ground, breathing heavily.
On the other side, Lugia was covered in white frost. Its eyes were spinning in circles.
I... lost.
Looking at the defeated Lugia, Caitlin felt mixed emotions.
I actually... lost.
Caitlin bit her lip. She still couldn't believe it.
"Lugia is unable to battle. Articuno wins."
"Caitlin has lost all six of her Pokémon. Therefore, the winner is Selene."
Platinum snapped out of her shock and ran onto the field to announce the result.
"Whew~ That was such an exciting battle. It was so close," Selene said.
She let out a long breath, but her face had a bright smile.
That felt good!! So good!!
"Caitlin, I will never forget this battle with you. You really are a woman brave enough to challenge me."
"You've earned my respect!"
Selene felt great after the fight. Now, when she looked at Caitlin, she liked her more. With someone like this around, she wouldn't have to worry about finding good fights in the future, right?
I accept this girl!
"..."
Caitlin finally came back to reality after hearing Selene's words. She silently recalled her Lugia.
How should she feel? Selene's words sounded like a winner bragging, but they also felt a bit strange. Caitlin couldn't quite understand it.
"It was Endure, wasn't it? At the end, Articuno used Endure to survive the Aeroblast, right?"
After a moment of silence, Caitlin asked Selene.
Endure let a Pokémon withstand an attack through sheer will and stay in the fight instead of fainting.
Besides Endure, Caitlin couldn't think of any other reason why Articuno hadn't lost.
"That's right. I intentionally had Articuno show a weakness so it could use Endure to counterattack," Selene admitted openly. Otherwise, winning would have been very hard.
"I lost this time," Caitlin admitted silently.
"Don't make that face. I won't make things hard for you, and I'm not planning to give up my place either. I think highly of you," Selene replied with a giggle.
Caitlin: "..."
"I'll also accept your challenge anytime. Oh, by the way, you haven't officially started a relationship with Damian yet, right? I'll give you a tip. Be direct with him. He likes that."
"But not tonight. I haven't seen him in a long time. Tonight, Damian is mine."
"So, you should go tomorrow instead."
Suddenly thinking of this, Selene added one last point to Caitlin.
She had been holding back for almost a year. Today, she had to spend proper time with Damian.
Caitlin: "..."
Looking at the serious Selene, Caitlin didn't know how to respond. She could only give an awkward but polite smile.