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"Can you defeat my Lugia?"
Caitlin watched Selene, eager to know the answer.
To be honest, she already acknowledged Selene's excellence; after all, this girl was indeed a bit 'terrifying.'
Talented prodigies like Platinum and Serena were already astonishing, but Selene was even more remarkable than them.
But Caitlin now really wanted to know if Selene could defeat her.
If she couldn't defeat her Lugia, then at least, for now, she was the 'main wife'!
She could use this opportunity to confess her feelings to Mammon and be with him.
As for later...
Later was later; at least for now, she could claim to be Mammon's main wife, right?
And if Selene could defeat her Lugia, Caitlin would have nothing to say; she would be thoroughly convinced.
"Then you just watch!"
Selene grinned, tossing her last Pokémon high into the air.
"My last Pokémon is it!"
"Articuno!"
Accompanied by a pleasant cry, a magnificent ice-blue divine bird spread its wings and soared.
Beautiful ice-blue feathers, extremely gorgeous tail feathers, ice-blue 'dust' swirling around its body, and a faint ice-blue divine glow shimmering all over.
It was the Legendary Articuno from the Kanto region.
"The real Articuno, it's very beautiful."
Platinum looked at this Articuno with curiosity; this was indeed one of the true Kanto Legendary birds.
It certainly shared similarities with Caitlin's Galarian Articuno, but its temperament was completely different.
Galarian Articuno gave off a cool, icy elegance, while Articuno evoked a sense of magnificence and grace.
"But looking at it this way, Miss Selene's team is truly formidable."
Platinum recalled, realizing the strength of Selene's team.
Incineroar, Melmetal, Dragonite, Nihilego, Tapu Koko, Articuno.
This team was truly very strong.
"Articuno, huh?" Caitlin observed this Kanto Articuno.
It was very different from her own Articuno; instead, there was a subtle sense of pressure. This Articuno's strength was very high, at least definitely not weaker than Tapu Koko.
"Ah~ This is a Pokémon Mammon gave me, you know. I've always cherished it."
Selene's smile was quite striking. Articuno was given to her by Mammon at the beginning of the year, and it was her first Legendary Pokémon.
So Selene had always valued Articuno greatly, sparing no effort in its training.
By now, Articuno was already one of the top mainstays of her team.
"I see." Caitlin understood.
There was nothing to envy; it was normal for Mammon to give his girlfriend a Legendary Pokémon. If anyone should be envious, it should be Selene envying her.
Mammon entrusted Little Lugia to her, didn't he?
"Cheer up, Articuno, your opponent is Lugia."
After their exchange, Selene reminded Articuno.
She didn't want to lose!
"Yiyao~"
Articuno let out a pleasant cry, its eyes fixed on Little Lugia with solemnity.
If it were in its wild state, it truly wouldn't dare to imagine that one day it would fight Lugia.
Me fighting Lugia? Is this real or fake?
But now, as Selene's main Pokémon, let alone Lugia, Articuno would even dare to confront Ho-Oh!
This was the bond between it and its Trainer!
Hmm, in Articuno's view, it was more afraid of Ho-Oh, after all, Ho-Oh was a Fire-type.
"I wonder if Articuno can defeat Lugia..."
Lillie watched the two Legendary Pokémon confronting each other in the sky with a bit of tension; although both were Legendary.
But there were differences even among Legendaries, weren't there?
Articuno fighting Lugia, that was truly a very difficult task.
But Lillie's heart was already on her best friend's side; she really hoped Selene would win.
"If we simply consider types, Articuno actually still has a type advantage," Lusamine said.
That's right, after all, Ice beats Flying.
But this slight type advantage actually wouldn't affect the battle much. Among the moves Lugia could learn, many were effective against Articuno.
For example, Electric-type Thunderbolt, and there was even Rock-type Ancient Power, which was four times super effective against Articuno.
"It depends on both sides' performance, and Selene has an advantage in that Lugia's condition isn't full."
Mammon spoke, "This Articuno is slightly stronger than Tapu Koko, but only by a limited amount."
Actually, Selene's biggest advantage right now was that Lugia's condition wasn't full; Tapu Koko had made quite a few contributions.
That one Alola Guardian of the Giants had dealt a pretty heavy blow to Lugia.
In fact, according to game mechanics, Alola Guardian of the Giants is a mechanic move; as long as it hits, it forcibly deducts three-quarters of the opponent's HP.
Yes, in terms of the game, Alola Guardian of the Giants can't actually kill.
But in reality, such a concept is naturally impossible, just like one-hit KO moves like Fissure and Sheer Cold.
In the game, hitting the opponent causes them to be near-fainting, but in reality, they are simply very powerful moves that are difficult to hit.
In reality, Alola Guardian of the Giants is simply a very powerful Tapu-exclusive Z-move. So the fact that this Tapu Z-move hit Lugia really laid the foundation for Selene's victory.
Because Lugia's current condition is not full, this is Articuno's current advantage.
The battle began; this was the final decisive fight.
Both Selene and Caitlin invested all their focus, battling seriously and cautiously.
Undoubtedly, this battle was extremely fierce, with both women refusing to back down, exchanging blows.
As time passed, the injuries on both Lugia and Articuno grew heavier, and both Pokémon were nearing their limits.
But relying on its powerful physical advantage, Lugia surprisingly managed to gain a slight upper hand.
In another exchange, Caitlin keenly seized an opportunity.
"Aeroblast!"
"Woo~!"
Little Lugia's cry rang out, and a translucent white energy sphere condensed before its open mouth.
The next moment, a massive beam of light, mixed with sharp cyclones, shot towards Articuno.
The exclusive move of the Lugia Family, the Flying-type Aeroblast!
"Articuno can't dodge!"
"It's over!"
"Articuno!!"
Platinum and the other two's pupils all constricted, because Articuno, having just adjusted its posture, couldn't dodge this Aeroblast!
And if it were to hit, the heavily injured Articuno absolutely wouldn't be able to withstand it!
Boom!
Aeroblast heavily struck Articuno's chest, exploding with a roar. The powerful energy, mixed with incredibly sharp air blades, fiercely sliced at Articuno's body.
Articuno cried out as its body plummeted, falling heavily to the ground and kicking up a large cloud of dust.
This one blow had decided the winner.
Both Articuno and Lugia were not in good condition, and Articuno could not possibly withstand this Aeroblast.
"How could... Selene actually lost..."
Lillie's small face was somewhat pale; she hadn't expected that one day, the strongest girl in her heart, Selene, would actually lose to another woman.
"Selene is already very impressive, but her opponent is Lugia, after all," Lusamine said, rubbing Lillie's head with a helpless expression.
Meanwhile, Caitlin on the field finally let out a sigh of relief. This battle had truly been too difficult.
Her mind had been constantly tense; she hadn't dared to relax at all.
And now, it was finally over.
"Sheer Cold!"
But abruptly, Selene's voice came through.
What?!
Caitlin suddenly looked up, staring disbelievingly at the field.
Through the dense dust, a large amount of icy frost spread, and then, a dazzling beam of ice light shot towards the tired Little Lugia in the sky.
The Ice-type Sheer Cold!
"How is this possible?"
Caitlin exclaimed in rare surprise. This shouldn't be possible!
Articuno was indeed hit by Aeroblast. In that state, how could it have withstood Aeroblast?
And it even managed to charge up Sheer Cold!
A move like Sheer Cold, because of its immense power, requires a relatively long charging time.
In the hands of a powerful Pokémon, if Ice Beam is instant, and Blizzard takes less than a second, then Sheer Cold would take about two seconds.
Two seconds!
In battle, that's sometimes enough time for an opponent to launch two Thunderbolts.
So, generally, Sheer Cold usually requires special conditions to be used, but how could this Articuno have already charged it?
The time it took to fall to the ground was indeed enough, but this wasn't right.
"Protect!"
Caitlin didn't have enough time to think; she had to give a command.
Little Lugia also immediately dodged backward, and the green light of a Protect barrier gradually lit up, but it was too rushed.
Before Protect could fully form, Sheer Cold had already struck Little Lugia.
The chilling and terrifying cold instantly invaded Little Lugia's entire body, causing it to let out a painful whimper.
In the blink of an eye, Little Lugia's entire body was covered in frost by the powerful freezing air, its body stiff and uncontrollably plummeting.
Boom!
Little Lugia's massive form crashed heavily to the ground, the terrifying freezing air of Sheer Cold causing a layer of ice crystals to spread across the ground beneath Little Lugia.
The entire field fell silent.
As the dust gradually dispersed, Articuno's panting form, sprawled on the ground, came into everyone's view.
On the other side, Little Lugia's body, covered in white frost, was also visible, but it could be seen that Little Lugia's eyes were already spinning.
I... lost.
Looking at the incapacitated Little Lugia, Caitlin's emotions were incredibly complex.
I actually... lost.
Caitlin pursed her lips, still unable to fully process it for a moment.
"Lugia is unable to battle, Articuno wins."
"Caitlin has lost all six of her Pokémon, so the winner is Miss Selene."
Platinum snapped out of it, quickly scurrying onto the field to announce the battle results.
"Phew~ That was a thrilling battle, a real close call."
Selene let out a long sigh of relief, but her face was beaming with an incredibly bright smile.
So satisfying!! So satisfying!!
"Caitlin, I will truly never forget this battle with you. As expected of a woman who dares to challenge me."
"I acknowledge you!"
Selene, invigorated by the battle, now found Caitlin more and more pleasing to the eye. With such a good sister, would she ever have to worry about not having battles to fight?
This sister, I, Selene, acknowledge!
"..."
Caitlin finally came back to her senses after hearing Selene's words, silently recalling Little Lugia.
How to put it? Selene's words were undoubtedly a victor's boast, but they were also a bit strange, leaving Caitlin truly puzzled.
"It was Endure, wasn't it? Articuno used Endure to withstand Aeroblast at the end, right?"
After a moment of silence, Caitlin asked Selene.
Endure: Even if attacked, it will forcefully withstand it with tenacious will and will not faint.
Aside from Endure, Caitlin truly couldn't figure out why Articuno hadn't fainted.
"That's right, I deliberately had Articuno fake an opening to counter with Endure."
Selene admitted it openly; otherwise, winning would have been truly difficult.
"This time, I lost." Caitlin sighed inwardly.
"Don't make that face, you'll be second in command at home, I think highly of you." Selene replied, grinning.
Caitlin: "..."
"I'm always ready for your challenge too, oh, right, you haven't confirmed your relationship with Mammon yet, have you? I'll give you a tip: wear something sexy and go into his room tonight, then say a few sweet words."
"But not tonight. Tonight, Mammon and I are reuniting after a long time. Tonight, I'm going to battle him for three hundred rounds."
"So you should go tomorrow instead."
Suddenly remembering this, Selene added to Caitlin.
She had been suppressed for almost a year; today, she had to have a good time with Mammon.
Caitlin: "..."
Looking at the serious-faced Selene, Caitlin didn't know how to respond for a moment, only managing an awkward but polite smile.