Tapu Fini looked like it might start laughing from sheer rage.
Fine. Fine!!
"Fini!!"
Tapu Fini's crisp, high-pitched cry rang out, and a pink mist began spreading across the ground.
"This is…?"
Caitlin's eyes flickered. Misty Terrain!
Judging by how fast that pink fog rolled outward, this wasn't a move. It was Misty Maker—Tapu Fini's ability—automatically setting the terrain.
It was the same difference as Drizzle versus Rain Dance. Sure, both brought rain to the field, but in battle they were worlds apart.
Drizzle triggered instantly—no warning, no delay, no cost. Rain Dance, on the other hand, required spending a turn using a move, and that single turn was an opening an opponent could exploit to set up or strike first.
That was why weather- and terrain-setting abilities were so oppressive: they let you deploy a field effect without paying for it.
And for certain Pokémon, the advantages granted by weather or terrain were enormous.
"It really is Misty Maker," Damian said, sounding even more pleased. If this Tapu Fini had been Telepathy instead, he would've considered it a genuine shame.
"With Misty Terrain active, status moves won't stick."
He tilted his head slightly, like he was reading the rules aloud.
Misty Terrain: For a certain period, Pokémon on the ground cannot be inflicted with status conditions or confusion, and the damage taken from Dragon-type moves is reduced.
"But it doesn't matter."
Damian smiled again, unbothered.
"Fini!!"
Right after Misty Maker activated, a faint sea-blue glow lit up across Tapu Fini's body.
The Water-type move—Surf!
Splaaash!
The ocean surged violently. A massive wave nearly twenty meters high lifted Tapu Fini up with it, then crashed forward like a moving wall—aimed straight at Gengar.
That Surf is insane!
Caitlin stared at the wave that practically blotted out the sun, her eyes shining with genuine admiration.
Sure, the move was boosted by being right on the coast, but the raw force behind it made one thing obvious: this Tapu Fini was no joke.
"Sludge Bomb."
The Shiny Gengar opened its mouth wide and spat out several deep-purple globes of sludge. They tore through the air and slammed into the oncoming wave.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Under the barrage, the wave's momentum buckled. Huge holes were blasted straight through it. The crest wavered, lost cohesion, and then the whole mass began collapsing under its own weight.
Water thundered down in sheets and pillars. The impact was brutal—almost magnificent.
"Phantom Force."
A dark, jagged rift opened behind the Shiny Gengar, and it dove straight into the gap like it was slipping into another layer of the world.
The Ghost-type move—Phantom Force!
The last of the water finally finished crashing down. Tapu Fini hovered warily, scanning the aftermath.
Then—
A shadow surfaced behind it.
The Shiny Gengar emerged from the darkness, and Tapu Fini sensed it instantly, whipping around.
"Geh~"
But it didn't attack.
Instead, the gray Gengar opened its mouth wide, leaned in close, narrowed its eyes, and pulled a "cute" little face—so exaggerated it looped right back around into pure mockery.
Tapu Fini jolted like it had been jump-scared and reflexively shot backward at full speed.
"Fini!!!"
A second later, it saw Gengar clutching its stomach and laughing like it couldn't breathe.
Tapu Fini snapped out of the surprise, and embarrassment hit it like a punch. The shriek that followed was half humiliation, half fury.
This damn gray fatty! How dare he humiliate me like this!
Bastard!!
A blue flash ignited—water power surging—and a massive pillar of water speared through the air at Gengar.
The Water-type move—Hydro Pump!
"Sucker Punch," Damian said, chuckling like he was enjoying a show.
A dark gleam flashed in the Shiny Gengar's eyes. Its body warped into a gray-black phantom, vanishing out of the Hydro Pump's line and darting forward. In the blink of an eye, it was already at Tapu Fini's side.
Priority move: Sucker Punch. With that burst, Gengar's speed was terrifying.
"Thunder."
Zzzzt! Crackle!
Golden lightning crawled over Gengar's body the moment Tapu Fini turned to create distance—
BOOM!
The bolt slammed into Tapu Fini head-on.
Electricity engulfed its body. Pain ripped through it hard enough to force out a cry.
The blast detonated and sent Tapu Fini flying backward.
Electric was strong against Water—this Thunder hit for real damage.
"Sludge Wave."
The corners of the Shiny Gengar's mouth curled up. It raised its right arm toward Tapu Fini and unleashed a flooding torrent of deep-purple sludge that swept across the battlefield.
The Poison-type move—Sludge Wave.
Tapu Fini forced itself to steady in midair, barely managing to open its mouth and spit out a stream of boiling water in response.
Scald.
But the moment the boiling water collided with the advancing sludge, it was overwhelmed. The sludge tore through the counterattack and slammed directly into Tapu Fini's body.
STAB Sludge Wave. Massive damage.
Tapu Fini was driven straight down into the seawater.
"Thunder."
Damian didn't let up.
Tapu Fini's Special Defense was very high—meaning it probably wasn't done yet.
Gengar fired another bolt into the water. The golden electricity turned that section of sea a vivid, unnatural gold, with smaller arcs dancing and snapping across the surface.
"This Gengar…"
Caitlin watched the lightning flicker over the ocean. Above the water, the gray-black Gengar floated calmly, its two scarlet pupils glowing sharp inside that wicked silhouette.
She truly hadn't expected it. This Shiny Gengar—this weird, almost abstract presence she'd struggled to place—was actually this powerful.
That was Tapu Fini, a legendary. And it was getting completely manhandled.
"Don't look so shocked," Damian said, catching Caitlin's expression. He spoke with an easy smile. "Legendary Pokémon aren't as untouchable as people think."
"?" Caitlin looked at him, confused.
"Regular legendaries like the Tapus are basically Champion-level," Damian said casually, like he was talking about the weather. "And that's already considered pretty strong."
"Some of the weaker wild legendaries are only Elite Four-level. You could handle those yourself."
Caitlin: (°—°)
But Damian wasn't lying. The Articuno at the Seafoam Islands, Moltres at Victory Road, and Zapdos at the Power Plant—already located by Team Rocket—really were only Elite Four-level threats.
The Tapus were a step above, sitting comfortably in Champion territory.
"Of course," Damian added, "that's only for ordinary legendaries. If you're talking about something on Ho-Oh or Lugia's level, that's a completely different story."
High-tier legends like Ho-Oh and Lugia—wild or not—were in a category ordinary wild legendaries like Moltres simply couldn't compare to.
"I see." Caitlin fell quiet, thinking it through. She seemed to understand what Damian meant now.
"Alright then." Damian nodded, satisfied. "Time to throw the ball."
Tapu Fini was being levitated back toward him by the Shiny Gengar's Psychic, limp and unresponsive. Its eyes had turned into swirls.
Honestly, that was for the best. Less struggle.
Back when Damian caught Phione, he'd needed thirty-seven Ultra Balls before one finally held. He couldn't help wondering how many it would take this time.
But it didn't matter.
He had two hundred Ultra Balls sitting in his bag.
Tapu Fini is mine!