["What are you doing?"]
"N–Nothing... just researching possible places where Giratina might appear."
Hearing Caitlin's question, Cynthia couldn't help letting out a breath of relief as she answered.
Thank goodness... it seemed her best friend was still as pure as ever.
But the next moment, Cynthia felt like Gyarados's Tackle attack had suddenly gotten stronger.
Blinking, Cynthia froze.
This brat Caitlin, why was she always critting with full damage gear equipped every single time.
Seeing Cynthia's expression, Caitlin frowned lightly, then leaned closer toward the camera.
Her golden hair cascaded like a waterfall over the bed, making her skin look as pale as snow.
The Balenciaga pajamas on her legs might not have been her usual haute couture, but under the crystal chandelier they shimmered as though glowing faintly.
Caitlin nearly pressed her face against the screen, staring hard at Cynthia.
["I'm telling you, are you two hiding something from me?"]
"N–No... not at all. We're just planning to head to the Battle Frontier tomorrow to look for Giratina's traces, so I wanted to give you a heads up."
"See... um, see if you have time to grab a meal together."
["Dinner?"], Caitlin glanced at Axel behind Cynthia, and a gleam flashed across her eyes.
'As expected of my best friend.'
Back when she'd been in Aurient, Caitlin had been utterly helpless.
Her problem wasn't exactly huge, but it wasn't small either.
Neither Professor Rowan nor any of her Battle Frontier colleagues had been able to figure it out.
She'd finally found a ray of hope, only for that person to be caught and tamed by someone else first, and he even seemed extremely resistant to her.
Originally, Caitlin had planned to use her money power to make Axel marry into her family, thereby solving her psychic issue.
But unexpectedly... Axel had been completely against it.
Yet the more resistant he was, the more interested Caitlin became.
Finally, after hearing that Axel had saved Sinnoh and even helped the Berlitz family's young lady earn her family badge, Caitlin understood.
She simply hadn't offered enough.
With that realization, Caitlin returned to the Battle Castle.
'And with Nana's help, it shouldn't be too hard to capture Axel's heart this time, right?'
As for her friendship with Cynthia, Caitlin had full confidence in that.
["Sure! Just come straight here tomorrow. I'll have a few chefs flown in from Aurient in advance."]
["And I'll make sure they prepare all your favorite dishes too~"]
["Though it's a bit inconvenient here to build an amusement park, otherwise I'd even set up a roller coaster for Garchomp and Lucario, they love those rides..."]
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a sharp cry came from Cynthia's mouth. Caitlin looked at her in confusion.
["What, you're afraid of heights now like your Garchomp?"]
"N–No...", Cynthia's voice sounded weak and shaky, making Caitlin sigh helplessly.
["Still denying it? You screamed just hearing the words roller coaster..."]
["Anyway, just come quickly tomorrow. No scary rides this time, only good food and fun!"]
"Mhm, okay," Cynthia replied quickly, then hung up the communicator in a rush.
Immediately, while Axel wasn't paying attention, she pressed the Poké Balls of Gardevoir and Pheromosa.
Axel: "???"
'I even agreed to meet your best friend with you, and this is how you repay me?'
But thinking about the upcoming encounter with Caitlin, Axel clenched his fist.
If he was doing this, he'd do it properly, no half measures.
'Fine then, no sleep tonight!'
———
[Sinnoh Battle Frontier]
Located in the northeastern archipelago of Sinnoh, it was divided into several different "Battle Facilities."
These facilities were similar to Gyms, but they didn't train rookie Trainers. Instead, everyone who battled here was already a main-force contender.
Because of that, the challengers who came here were all somewhat famous Trainers.
Caitlin was one of the Battle Facility leaders, the owner of the Battle Castle.
However, due to her defect of psychic outbursts whenever she lost a battle, Caitlin rarely fought personally. Usually, her butler Darach handled the matches.
No sooner had she hung up her call than there came a soft knock at the door.
A young man's voice spoke from outside:
"Miss, we've just received news from Tower Tycoon Palmer, apparently, a powerful Trainer achieved a twenty-win streak today. Do you want to review his information?"
The Battle Castle itself was an enterprise of Caitlin's family, used to befriend or recruit strong Trainers. Nearly every time a powerful Trainer appeared, they would offer money or gifts to build goodwill.
Normally, Caitlin wasn't interested in these things, leaving them all to Darach.
He'd only come to ask out of routine.
But as luck would have it, Caitlin was in a great mood today.
"Oh? Is that so? Slide the documents under the door."
"Also, I have a few things to tell you..."
Caitlin told him about Cynthia and Axel's visit tomorrow, then added, "Hmm, that's all I can think of for now. You can add some other activities if you see fit."
"Anyway, make sure everything's arranged according to our family's highest standards of reception."
"Yes, Miss!"
After Darach left, Caitlin waved her hand lightly. The folder at the door floated up through the air and landed in her grasp, lifted by her psychic power.
Ever since she'd been stopped several times by Axel and Gardevoir in Aurient, she had finally learned to use psychic power at a basic level.
She couldn't yet use it in battle, but for grabbing objects, it was easy.
The dossier was very detailed, even including a photo of the so-called exceptional challenger Darach had mentioned.
It was a man wearing a hood.
His physique was lean and balanced, and faintly beneath the hood, a glimpse of blue hair could be seen.
Further down was a description of his details:
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— Name: Ryujiro
— Currently used Pokémon: Carnivine, Cacturne, Weezing.
Record: Achieved twenty consecutive victories in the Battle Tower. During battle with Tower Tycoon Palmer, Carnivine exhibited a special ability, its body became intangible to dodge Palmer's main Pokémon's ultimate attack, suspected to wield mysterious power.
Recommendation: Quiet, arrogant personality, unsuitable for recruitment. Offer "Miracle Seed" as a gift, maintain friendly relations only.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
"He defeated Palmer?"
Reading the report, Caitlin fell into brief thought.
Perhaps because of her strong mental sense, she suddenly picked up something off about this Ryujiro.
Palmer might not be a Fire-type expert, but there were plenty of rumors he'd once been close with the Fire-type Legendary Pokémon, Heatran.
So how could someone like that lose to a Grass-type Trainer?
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