"Unexplainable storm?"
Damian frowns, clearly pondering it.
"Yeah, the weather report isn't saying that, and supposedly someone saw a monster when the storm rolled in."
The owner speaks with certainty.
"Monster? Pokémon, right?" Caitlin thinks this sounds superstitious.
This world's strange events have traces, and most of them come from Pokémon's abilities.
After all, this is a supernatural incident.
"Probably, but we don't know which Pokémon it is." the owner agrees.
"Was there no contact with the League?" Elesa is puzzled; such an event affecting an entire town would draw Unova League attention.
"We've contacted them, but even Officer Jenny hasn't found the real culprits yet."
The owner sighs: "As you can see, in this kind of wind, normal people can't go outside; today's a normal shift, but it's still dangerous."
"Sometimes the wind roars even more aggressively and scares people."
Hearing this, Damian is convinced.
Wild Pokémon capable of stirring up a town's weather are exceptionally rare, and this has lasted for a while.
It's gotta be Legendary Incarnate Forces Tornadus, one of the kami quartet.
"Ma'am, did the witness describe what the 'monster' looked like?" Damian asks.
"Yeah, ma'am, was it a Pokémon whose lower half is clouds and whose upper body resembles a human?"
Elesa clearly has thought of the same thing as Damian; as an Unova local, she knows a fair amount about Unova legends.
"You're talking about Tornadus?" But the owner shakes his head.
Elesa freezes; she thought the owner didn't know Tornadus.
Tornadus and Thundurus both have nasty personalities; they bring storms and ruin crops wherever they go.
And as a legendary, Tornadus' wind-stirring is one of its basic powers.
"But that's not Tornadus; someone in town confirmed Tornadus' lower half is cloud-like, upper body more human; but the witness said the silhouette looked like a green big bird."
The owner speaks up.
"Ohh." Elesa ponders, a green big bird? What Pokémon could that be?
But Damian is even more certain—that must be Tornadus.
Kami quartet, the Legendary Incarnate Forces Pokémon, normally appear to humans as cloud-like forms, close to human shape; but that's an illusion—their Incarnate Formes, while the Therian Forme is their true form.
That's why they're called Incarnate Forces.
Without question, the "green big bird" is Tornadus' Therian Forme.
But that's odd, because Incarnate Forces, to regain their true forms, require the item Reveal Glass.
As for Tornadus wrecking the town, that doesn't surprise Damian; Tornadus has always been nasty, doing evil comes naturally.
"I wonder if other Incarnate Forces are here."
Damian ponders with interest; among normal Legendary Pokémon, the Incarnate Forces are quite formidable.
And both Tornadus and Thundurus in Incarnate Formes have the Prankster Ability; Landorus in Incarnate Forme has Intimidate; Therian Forme Landorus has Intimidate as well; and Enamorus…
And all four have signature moves.
For Damian, news about the Incarnate Forces would be a delightful surprise.
After all, he came to Eindoak Town for Victini; Victini's location wasn't found, but Tornadus nearby is a boon.
The storm lasts about half an hour.
When the wind dies, the three of them walk the streets to find the town a mess.
The streets are busy with people cleaning up; from the practiced motions, clearly they're used to this.
"Interesting."
Damian's lips curl upward.
He loves this restraint-free Pokémon, the mischievous Legendary; that belongs to Team Rocket.
Indeed, it's kind of a public service, too, isn't it?
"Elesa."
"What is it?"
"Go ask around where the storm originated, or where the witness saw that Pokémon."
Damian tells Elesa.
"Got it." Elesa nods.
She can tell Damian is genuinely interested in this Pokémon.
If Damian can catch this Pokémon, it would be good for the town.
"Huh? Damian?"
A sudden, surprised voice cuts in.
A girl in black tights, Bun hairstyle waves at Damian.
"Rosa, what a coincidence." Damian smiles and nods.
The girl approaches.
"Yeah! I was surprised to see you here, I didn't expect it."
Rosa greets, catching her breath with a big smile.
"Isn't Hilda with you?"
"No, Damian, she and I are rivals, so it's not convenient to journey together," Rosa says playfully.
Although they're very close as sisters, they're also rivals; both multi-type trainers, so traveling together would be awkward for sharing a catch.
For example, Rosa just caught Hydreigon; if she journeyed with Hilda, there'd be conflict over who gets it.
"That makes sense." Damian nods.
So journeying with a partner usually means two trainers won't pair up unless they specialize together.
For anime-style journeys like Ash, partners are typically a Breeder or a Specialist, or a Coordinator, or a rival.
"How did you two end up in Eindoak Town?"
Rosa asks curiously.
Her impression of Damian remains high: immense strength, good temperament, and he's the Truth Dragon's chosen trainer.
"We're traveling here too; I've already got eight Gym Badges, so we're visiting new places and doing some special training."
Rosa smiles widely.
"So you experienced that storm too, Damian? I've already asked around; that storm was likely caused by a Pokémon."
"Are you curious about it?"
Damian raises a brow, amused by Rosa's excitement.
"Hehe, definitely; I've found its location. Do you want to come see? But just so you know, I want to try catching it."
"Sure, if I can't catch it, you can try," Damian grins.
Rosa is confident she'll catch Tornadus, though she's not sure it'll be easy.
After all, a wild Tornadus will likely be Champion-tier, given the storm's scale.
Rosa might catch a wild bird trio in Kanto, but here in Johto, waves of birds are stronger; the Incarnate Forces are unique, single individuals.
"Let's go!"
The bun-girl is energized about the unknown Pokémon.
"Wait a moment; I'll inform Elesa," Damian texts.
Soon, Elesa returns.
"Huh? Gym Leader Elesa is traveling with you, Damian?"
Seeing the statuesque Elesa walk over, Rosa is surprised.
Isn't Elesa supposed to be taking care of Nimbasa Gym nowadays?
And then…
Rosa can't help but stare at Elesa's nakedly long legs in denim hot pants, biting her finger.
Goodness! Those legs are perfect, how did they grow so long?
"Elesa has been kidnapped by me, and now she's my maid."
Damian says with a grin, telling the truth.
Elesa, who was approaching, flinches.
"Hah?" Rosa rolls her eyes in disbelief.
"If you want a maid, Damian, you'd be better off hiring me; I'm very capable, and you only need to pay me salaries."
The bun-girl pats her chest confidently.
"Not happening; your talent isn't suited to being a maid—you'd make a great Champion." Damian shakes his head.
He believes Rosa can do a lot, but thinks she'd be better as a wife, not wasting her talento.
She's one of the original talent-managing protagonists after all.
"Hey hey, Damian, you've got sharp eyes!"
Rosa laughs, adorable and endearing, and the more she looks at Damian the more she likes him; he really knows how to talk.
He's so handsome, strong, talks well, and has a good personality—wow!
Who wouldn't want to date a man like Damian?
Rosa glances at Caitlin and Elesa; clearly Elesa isn't Damian's girlfriend, but the chic girl who's always with Damian doesn't seem like one either.
"Damian, can I ask you a rather personal question?"
The four head toward their destination, Rosa leaning in curiously.
"Go ahead, ask."
Damian feeds a small cookie to Jirachi on his shoulder; Jirachi sleeps with eyes closed, head bobbing, but the scent of the cookie makes it open its mouth.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
Hearing this, Caitlin's eyes sharpen instantly as she sizes up the young bun-girl.
Elesa also looks at Damian curiously; to her, Damian has talent, but his private life is… not exactly chaotic, but certainly rich.
And it's a shameless kind; if she weren't careful, she might have slept with him already.
Even so, she would still have to wake him up in the morning with a good morning kiss.
Elesa feels she could be eaten alive by Damian in this lane.
But the problem is, she can't bring herself to hate Damian.
He's not a good person, but he's talented, attractive, successful, and charming—the stuff of a girl's dream.
"Yeah, I do have a girlfriend."
Damian recalls Selene and smiles.
"Ahhh…"
Rosa lets out a surprisingly adorable sigh.
"It's a pity, Damian, you're already snatched up so fast."
Elesa freezes as well; Damian has a girlfriend? He actually does?
She doesn't know this?
Casually, Elesa looks at Caitlin; she notices a subtle change in the young lady's expression, but it's not obvious.
Elesa's refined, fair face looks puzzled—aren't you sister and you two about?
And by the way, who is Damian's girlfriend?
"Mr. Damian, who is your girlfriend?" Elesa can't help asking directly.
Not because she's conceited; she believes she's beautiful, with a notable figure and decent achievements.
She's a world-famous model and an official Gym Trainer, which is no small thing.
But Elesa still feels she isn't quite a match for Damian.
Damian does feel attracted to himself; Elesa can sense that, but it's only a crush.
Perhaps they could be lovers, but if he wants to formalize a relationship with Damian, the bar is quite high.
What would she compete with—a young, Champion-tier Caitlin who walks around with a Little Lugia?
Not to mention a girlfriend of Damian she's never even met.
She really wants to know who this girlfriend is, a person so special that Damian would acknowledge the relationship, and even Caitlin, who's so outstanding, hasn't secured a relationship yet.
That girl must have some exceptional gift, right?
~~~
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