Watching Damian's back as he walked away, Lillie's eyes grew a little hazy.
Mr. Damian…
Her right hand rose to her chest of its own accord, feeling the ever-faster thumping inside.
She could feel it—she really could feel the pounding of her own heart.
It was a kind of flutter she'd never experienced before, something she didn't know how to describe. It wasn't like the warmth of family or friendship at all.
But she knew one thing: whenever Mr. Damian was near, she felt this strange mix of calm and bashfulness.
Except… Mr. Damian couldn't stay by her side forever.
Wait! She'd forgotten to ask Mr. Damian for his contact info!
Realizing that all of a sudden, Lillie's eyes widened. Clutching her bag, she hurriedly ran in the direction Damian had gone.
Idiot, idiot, idiot!!!
Lillie even wanted to smack her own head. How could she forget something this important?!
Last time she'd forgotten to ask his name, and this time she'd forgotten to ask for his contact. Seriously, Lillie, you're such a dummy!
After running for a while, Lillie finally had to stop, panting lightly. But as far as her gaze could reach, there was no sign of the boy at the end of the road.
Head drooping, Lillie couldn't help feeling disappointed. She'd missed her chance again…
"Lillie～!"
A bright, cheerful girl's voice called out to her.
Lillie turned around and saw Selene, wearing a straw hat, a floral camisole, and a beaming smile.
"Selene." Lillie's lips curved into a gentle smile.
If there was one thing she was happiest about on this "trip," it was meeting her close friend Selene and… Mr. Damian.
The straw-hat girl walked up to Lillie with a light, bouncy step, her smile blooming like a flower.
"Selene, did you pass the trial?"
"Hehe～ that Totem Lurantis? Piece of cake. My Incineroar stomped it, easy win, totally OP!"
The girl lifted her delicate chin in pride, putting on her usual show like a pro.
"Selene, you're amazing. Next is Queen Olivia's Island Queen grand trial. Do you have confidence?"
"Of course I do. Hold on, Lillie, let me message that jerk real quick."
Giggling, Selene pulled out her phone and eagerly sent a message to a certain someone, telling him she'd cleared another Captain's trial.
It had become a habit of hers by now. Even though being in different regions wasn't fun, getting to share her victories with the person she loved was something that made her genuinely happy.
Curious, Lillie snuck a glance and noticed that Selene had her boyfriend saved under a heart emoji. Emmm…
Come to think of it, she'd heard Selene say her boyfriend was a very strong Trainer, and he had the ability to communicate with Pokémon and was naturally close to them.
Since Selene was originally from Kanto, her boyfriend should be from Kanto too, right?
Lillie suddenly realized something—that all of this… seemed to line up perfectly with Mr. Damian.
Her heart lurched. This had to just be a coincidence… right? Kanto Region was huge. It was probably just that they happened to be similar in a few ways.
Lillie tried to comfort herself. Instinctively, she didn't want it to be true.
"All right! Let's go, Lillie, I'll treat you to some ice cream."
Selene quickly finished typing, hit send, then grabbed Lillie by the arm, ready to drag her off for snacks.
"Mm." Lillie looked at Selene's pretty, fair side profile, then hesitated.
"Selene."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Your boyfriend… what color is his hair?"
"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Selene tilted her head in confusion, but didn't think much of it.
"Hehe～ it's black, same as mine." Selene played with her braided pigtail, answering with a carefree grin.
"…"
Lillie's heart skipped a beat. Mr. Damian's hair… was black too.
"Eh? What's wrong, Lillie? You don't look so good. Are you feeling sick?"
"N-no, I'm fine, maybe I just didn't sleep well last night."
Lillie lowered her head and replied softly. It couldn't be… There was no way it was that much of a coincidence, right?
All these similarities—of course they had to be coincidences.
She didn't dare meet the worried gaze of her friend. Her hand tightened unconsciously around the strap of her bag.
She didn't even have the courage to ask Selene what her boyfriend's name was. She knew all she had to do was ask.
But… she couldn't.
Originally, Lillie had wanted to tell Selene about the boy she'd just met for the third time today, but her emotions were far too tangled now.
I'm sorry, Selene…
...
Elsewhere, Damian had arrived at the Ruins of Life.
"Congrats, Caitlin. You pulled it off."
Watching Tapu Lele floating beside Caitlin with a completely broken, hollow look on its face, Damian couldn't help but admire her.
Honestly, when he'd first heard Caitlin had found Tapu Lele's location and wanted to challenge it, Damian had just decided to keep an eye on things.
Sure, Caitlin had made huge progress lately, but defeating and catching Tapu Lele? Damian hadn't thought she was there yet.
Yet somehow, Caitlin really had beaten Tapu Lele. Damian had no idea how she'd managed it.
By normal logic, the odds of success shouldn't have even been ten percent.
After all, Tapu Lele was a genuine Champion-tier Pokémon, even if it was wild.
"Thank you. It's also because I used the tactics I learned from you, Damian. And Tapu Lele wasn't exactly going all out at first."
Caitlin wore a soft, stunning smile as she gazed gently at Tapu Lele.
"…"
Tapu Lele's eyelids twitched violently. It was drowning in regret, on the verge of tears.
It regretted everything!
Yes, even with Caitlin's powerful psychic support, Metagross hadn't actually been Tapu Lele's equal in a straight fight.
What shocked Tapu Lele most was that Caitlin had been able to channel psychic power directly into her Pokémon.
Out of curiosity and a desire not to crush this human's spirit too badly, Tapu Lele hadn't put any real pressure on her at the start and had just been playing around.
That was where everything went wrong…
Caitlin had Metagross throw up a Light Screen, then spam Calm Mind and Hone Claws like crazy. It was a strategy she'd picked up from Damian—if you can't win with raw strength, just buff up.
Calm Mind boosted Special Attack and Special Defense. Hone Claws boosted physical Attack.
What a cheap little outsider!
By the time Tapu Lele realized something was off and cursed this cheap human under its breath, its Shadow Ball—slamming into a Metagross behind a Light Screen and juiced up by two Calm Minds—was barely even hurting.
And after that, it was over.
The fully stacked Metagross just chased Tapu Lele down and pounded on it, while Tapu Lele could barely scratch it.
Tapu Lele was utterly, completely done.