A string of defeats clearly has shifted Serena's mood in a subtle way.
However, as a prodigy, Serena's adjustment ability is evidently very strong; she reins in those messy ideologies and keeps immersing herself in the battle.
Serena's third Pokémon is Jolteon, one of Eevee's evolutions, a fast special attacker.
This time Serena is more cautious, but still of little use.
Having defeated two of Serena's main roster Pheromosa, its Beast Boost ability has already activated twice, its speed has increased twice, and it's reached a terrifying point.
Although Jolteon is also a fast special attacker, against the current Pheromosa it looks like a fresh recruit.
Not only is Jolteon unable to keep up with Pheromosa's moves, even its attacks can't match Pheromosa's opponent!
But at a key moment, Serena started to maneuver.
Pheromosa's key High Jump Kick hit Jolteon; this hit would normally have caused Jolteon to lose the ability to fight.
But Serena had Jolteon use Endure.
Endure, a Normal-type move, lets it barely survive even a fatal attack (ps. in the games, it leaves just a sliver of HP).
Enduring the blow of Pheromosa's High Jump Kick, Jolteon then unleashed a Thunder in close range onto Pheromosa.
Although Pheromosa immediately backed off to distance itself, the Thunder attack still connected.
Thunder dealt a substantial blow to Pheromosa.
But this lone chance wasn't seized; Pheromosa then followed with a Focus Blast to dispatch Jolteon, who had reached its limits.
Thus, Pheromosa has now run a three-win streak!
"Truly a powerful girl."
Diantha's gaze toward Dawn is extremely solemn.
In her view, Serena is an extraordinarily talented rookie, and Diantha believes Serena will quickly ascend to Champion-tier.
A champion in a year!
What a terrifying trainer talent that is?
Yet, to her surprise, Serena is now being beaten by someone her own age like this.
Being swept three times in a row by one opponent's main roster Pokémon is very rare in a full-team battle.
Can Serena mount a comeback? In Diantha's view, almost certainly not.
After all, Pheromosa is only Dawn's lead Pokémon; who knows what other main roster Dawn has in store.
"Serena isn't bad either, Miss Diantha; don't you think there's a bit of a problem?"
Damian squints at the two girls still battling on the field; the outcome seems obvious—Serena can't beat Dawn.
"Mr. Damian, please go on."
Diantha looks at Damian with a puzzled gaze.
"The strength of Serena's team is a bit weak."
Then there should be Serena's Mega Absol at her Mega slot, along with the Kalos starter trio she's acquired, and this main roster, in Damian's view, isn't great; if you talk about strength, it's only a bit, not much.
Not as good as Dawn's original team, let alone compared to Dawn's current team.
Diantha's brow tightens slightly; she doesn't really recognize what Damian is saying, as Damian's point is that Serena's main roster is dragging her down?
"Mr. Damian, what do you think is the relationship between Pokémon and Trainers?"
Diantha's tone is very serious.
"I understand what you mean, Miss Diantha, but not yet."
Damian lets out a half-smile and responds to Diantha.
"There are no weak Pokémon, only weak Trainers; that saying isn't wrong by itself, but we must judge based on the actual situation."
"Well then, Miss Diantha, do you think Serena and Miss Dawn, what's the gap between them?"
Damian gestures toward the two on the field.
"…" Diantha is speechless.
"To me, Serena's Trainer talent is exceptionally strong—for a rookie who only started this year, to have this kind of strength at this moment, she could be called a 'monster.'"
"But Dawn, if she truly goes all out in battle, I think she could beat three Serendas; that's a conservative estimate."
Damian calmly states; indeed, in Damian's estimation, it's like this.
Pheromosa is strong yet vulnerable; in Dawn's team, it's just a core main roster, and as long as you find a way to counter it, it's a core main roster that's manageable.
Dawn's current ace is Mega Garchomp and recently caught Entei.
"Why is there such a big gap in strength between you two, Miss Diantha? Where do you think the problem lies?"
Damian asks Diantha.
Diantha parts her lips but cannot think of a good rebuttal.
"I won't deny that Dawn's current Trainer level is higher than Serena's, but as long as the Trainers' levels aren't materially different, there shouldn't be such an exaggerated gap in strength."
"The main reason is the vast difference in the main roster strength."
In fact, Damian's statement is a bit of a sophistry.
Dawn is also stronger than Serena in terms of Trainer ability; Dawn has been through Team Rocket's trials and participated in many battles.
The gap in Trainer levels isn't enough to completely outclass Serena.
The main reason is the overall main roster lineup and the strength gap of the main roster.
But Dawn has trained a Champion-tier Garchomp, which can completely suppress Serena.
Ultimately, growth environments for prodigy Trainers matter a lot.
Of course, there is indeed a strength gap in main roster.
Serena's current main roster is average; though under Serena's training, she's quite strong.
But when facing an opponent with equivalent talent—the "monster"—the pressure rises immediately.
Serena's current situation is similar to Ash's earlier; unseen until she faces a worthy opponent, her innate weaknesses show.
Altaria? Meowstic? Clefable?
Not that Damian looks down on these Pokémon; Serena can train them to be very strong too.
But that requires time.
Otherwise, with the same growth time, how would Altaria compare to Garchomp? How would Meowstic compare to Pheromosa? How would Clefable compare to Entei?
Isn't that asking them to fail?
"If there's a growth environment that can give Serena better resources, I believe Serena would quickly transform."
"What do you think, Miss Diantha?"
Diantha's face shows a twitch; she could just say Serena should join Team Rocket, and give her more resources, right?
Ridiculous!
What Team Rocket can give, the Kalos League can give too!
Trying to lure Serena away? Dream on!
The battle ends quickly; Serena zones out a moment as she watches Greninja, beaten by the opponent Empoleon.
She's defeated in this full-team battle, decisively.
In total, she beat only one Pheromosa, then lost to Dawn's second main roster Empoleon.
How disappointing.
"Are you all right, Serena?"
A gentle, feminine voice reaches Serena's ears, bringing her back to herself.
Serena lifts her head and finds Dawn in front of her.
"I'm fine… Dawn, you're really amazing~"
Serena tightens her lips, forcing a smile and praising Dawn.
She had thought she herself was a very excellent Trainer, especially among peers, but today's battle has given her a lesson.
"Thank you—Serena, you're strong too."
Dawn's smile is shy and reserved.
Serena feels a bit awkward; she's been pushed down by Dawn, yet Dawn's strength makes her wonder.
This kind of outcome clearly shows a large strength gap between them, though in part it's because Serena didn't fully understand Pheromosa's traits.
But Serena doesn't want to make excuses.
A crushing defeat is a crushing defeat.
"I don't mean anything else; if it were the old me, I'd be around your level too, but I've grown a lot."
Dawn realizes her wording might be inappropriate for the moment and hurriedly explains.
"…?"
Serena is puzzled.
"Mr. Damian helped me become stronger."
Dawn smiles, full of gratitude and emotion.
The growth environment, abundant resources, and powerful Pokémon—Damian never holds back.
For example, that Entei—Dawn knows that Damian gave it to her.
And this only strengthens Dawn's resolve.
As long as Mr. Damian's ideology doesn't "go bad," Dawn will stand firmly with Mr. Damian, even against the Pokémon League!
Hearing Dawn's words, Serena is stunned.
Mr. Damian helped Dawn become stronger?
What does that mean?
But Dawn's specifics aren't easy to discuss, especially with Kalos Champion Diantha nearby.
"Fantastic battle, Miss Serena; you truly are an excellent Trainer."
Damian steps forward with a smile to praise.
"Compared to Dawn, I still have a long way to go," Serena visibly sinks into disappointment, shaking her head.
"Dawn is the strongest rookie from Sinnoh Region; Miss Serena, don't be discouraged, and I think if you keep working hard, you can defeat Dawn."
Damian offers encouragement to the girl.
"Yes, Serena, have confidence in yourself."
Diantha feels compelled to speak up; otherwise all of Damian's praise will drown out hers.
"Thank you, I'll keep working hard."
Serena tightens her lips and thanks with a warm smile at Damian's graceful response.
But inside, she keeps thinking about Dawn's words: Mr. Damian helped her grow stronger.
Dawn can do it for me too, right?
But how exactly did he do it?
Serena hesitates; she and Mr. Damian only just met, asking directly would be a bit too forward.
Still, she's very curious.
Serena was determined to be strong, and after such a crushing defeat she's eager to know how Dawn grew.
Well, she'd ask later.
After chatting a bit longer with Diantha and Serena, Damian leads Caitlin and the two girls away from the venue.
Seeing the three leave, Diantha promptly bids farewell to Serena and hurries back to the Kalos League building, heading to the chairman's office.
"Mr. Chairman! This is bad! Team Rocket has arrived!"
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