Still under that towering tree, Damian and the others sat on a picnic blanket.
"So, Akari—
Arceus sent you to Hisui's trials, right?"
Serena looked at Akari, surprised.
"Yeah.
And that day, Auntie Serena, you all even celebrated my coming-of-age, didn't you?"
Akari wore a refined, innocent smile.
Her big eyes curved like crescent moons.
"Auntie Serena…"
Serena's face looked a little off.
Especially because Akari was clearly the same age as her, yet hearing her call her "Auntie" just felt weird.
But when it came to generations, Akari really did have to call her "Auntie."
So Serena could only swallow that odd feeling and think about another issue.
Akari was being sent by Arceus to Hisui for training and adventure.
Serena had heard from Dawn about "Sinnoh Myth."
Arceus was the god of creation.
So why was it that focused on Akari?!
Caitlin's brows were also slightly furrowed right now.
With a subtle measuring look, she studied Akari.
She was thinking the same thing as Serena.
After all, Caitlin's brain was extremely sharp.
And Caitlin had also thought of one more thing.
Back then, when Dialga left its Orb to Damian, it was like a reminder—
to hand it to the daughter he would have in the future.
So was that daughter Akari?!
Caitlin felt there was a very real chance.
Because if even Arceus recognized Akari, that meant she was special—truly not ordinary.
To be honest, Caitlin felt an instant sense of danger in her gut!
She wasn't really worried about Dawn herself.
Even if Dawn had a daughter like Akari—
Caitlin wasn't too concerned.
Mother by child is expensive? Like some people can't have kids, right.
Caitlin's body was also healthy.
She believed she'd be able to conceive Damian's child too later.
So in Caitlin's eyes, a child's "advantage" wasn't that important.
Besides, she was stronger than Dawn.
But all of the above was under normal circumstances.
If the child that was born turned out to be an extremely outstanding "monster"…
then that would be a non-normal situation.
And now, Akari was clearly… not right.
At the end of the day, she'd been a little careless.
Akari could time travel back to Hisui, and in this past era of Hisui, she had met Damian—
which meant she herself was already extraordinary.
Caitlin's eyes shimmered slightly, her expression uncertain.
Things were looking bad!
Today's mood had been swinging back and forth, huge upswings then huge crashes.
Right now, Caitlin's mind was really churning nonstop.
"Akari, what is Hisui like?"
Dawn asked, curious.
Hisui—wasn't that the former name of the Sinnoh Region?
"Mm—
mostly it's the difference in the environment and all the techno-things.
The environment there is pretty different from modern times, so there are quite a few Pokémon that are unique to Hisui."
Akari tapped her own chin and thought for a moment.
"Hisui-form Pokémon?"
Serena was really curious.
For Trainers like them, Pokémon were never an outdated topic.
And when it came to region-unique Pokémon—like Alola form, Galar form, Paldea form, and so on—
the truth was, different regions in modern times already had Pokémon that differed by region.
That was all because the environment was different.
So Serena understood "Pokémon unique to Hisui" pretty easily.
"Right.
For example, Ursaring's evolution Ursaluna.
And Zoroark in its Hisui form—
there are a bunch of them."
Akari nodded.
Ursaring can evolve?!
Hearing that, Dawn and Serena were both pretty shocked.
As a Pokémon that was already pretty strong among Normal-types,
Ursaring itself was already no joke—
and now it could evolve, too.
"Actually, on this trip to Hisui, I caught quite a few Hisui-form Pokémon.
I've already uploaded most of the info data into the app.
After that, if you want, you can redeem points on your own."
Damian smiled when he said this.
Hearing that, Dawn immediately pulled out her phone and checked it quickly.
Sure enough, the list had gained a few more Pokémon.
"Akari, you're a Trainer too now, right?"
Dawn asked her daughter.
She was interested in Pokémon from Hisui.
And Akari definitely caught some Hisui-unique Pokémon.
Of course, the most important part was—
Dawn also really wanted to see Akari's current strength.
And also, to guide her.
"Yeah, Mom.
My strength is already really strong now."
Akari flashed a big smile.
Her smile-eyes looked adorable, like crescent moons.
"Then let me test your level.
Let's have a battle."
Dawn smiled softly at Akari.
"Sure!
I'm down!"
Akari agreed without holding back.
She was practically begging for it.
A battle with Mom—
showing Mom her current Trainer strength—
Akari was super motivated.
And it was also perfect timing to see how strong Mom was now.
Akari felt really confident in herself.
"For real?
You two are going to battle?"
Serena looked very surprised.
A Trainer battle between mother and daughter?
That was kind of interesting.
"A battle full of anticipation."
Caitlin spoke with a gentle smile.
This was also a perfect chance to learn about Akari.
She had a hunch Akari was probably really strong.
Because among everyone here—
besides Damian and Akari—
Caitlin was the one who knew the most about Arceus.
Akari, who could be treated specially by Arceus—
and even had trials arranged because of it—
how special was she, exactly?
Maybe this battle would show a thing or two!
"Mm.
Let's see Akari's level right now."
Dawn smiled.
She didn't believe for a second that she'd lose to Akari.
After all, according to Akari, she'd only been in Hisui for about four months.
A Trainer who only grew for four months—
Dawn didn't think it was possible for her to lose.
She was the Trainer with the highest talent in the House of Dawn for the past two hundred years—Dawn.
Even inside the powerhouse-swarming Team Rocket, she was among the top tier for Trainers of the same age.
And the original purpose of this battle—
was guiding, in Dawn's mind.
Damian raised a brow.
His eyes looked a little odd as he stared at Dawn .
Once they decided to battle, they didn't keep sitting.
They found an open spot nearby.
"Then I'll be the Referee."
Serena stepped forward to volunteer.
"The battle starts now.
Battle will be Dawn vs Akari.
A full 6v6 battle.
When one side's six Pokémon are all unable to fight—
the other side wins."
"Begin!"
Serena announced the rules in a short, clear way.
After all, this wasn't an official Arena battle.
It was just a simple format.
"Wooohoo~
Finally, I get to enjoy a real modern full-team battle!"
Akari took out a Poké Ball.
On her clean, fair face, excitement flashed.
Her eyes were itching to go.
It was obvious Akari's battle spirit was burning hard.
Hisui was an ancient Sinnoh Region.
So whether it was battle rules or battle formats—
to a modern person like Akari—
everything there felt too… rough.
But now—
she finally got to experience her "first" real official battle!
"Akari, be careful.
I'm strong."
Dawn expanded her Poké Ball in her hand and reminded Akari.
"Show me everything you've got!
Let me see it all!"
"Mm-hm.
I will!"
Akari's eyes curved with a smile.
Dawn smiled back.
Then she lifted her Poké Ball in front of her, took a gentle breath, calmed her eyes—
and entered battle mode.
Trainer Dawn has come to challenge you!
Even though her opponent was her Future daughter—
battle was battle.
Being a Trainer meant taking every battle seriously was the basic rule.
Dawn threw her Poké Ball forward.
"Alright.
My first Pokémon is this one."
"Froslass!"
Like it was wearing a kimono, Froslass floated in front of Dawn .
It was one of her main roster Pokémon.
Ice / Ghost.
"Mom, you've got bad luck."
Seeing this Froslass, Akari grinned.
She threw her own Poké Ball right back.
"Arcanine!
Go!"
Along with a loud, dominating roar, a powerful, spirited canine Pokémon landed in front of Akari.
"Is that Hisui-form Arcanine?"
Serena immediately understood.
Because the shape was clearly different from a normal Arcanine.
Its fur was flax-colored.
But this Hisui Arcanine's fur was gray-black.
And rather than saying it looked like a dog…
it was more like a lion.
It had a truly intimidating, dominating presence.
Especially the flames wrapped around its mouth—
as if they could burst out at any moment.
"Yep.
Hisui Arcanine is Fire / Rock.
And yeah—it beats Froslass."
Damian nodded and stated Hisui Arcanine's typing.
"That typing combo isn't really anything special."
Caitlin calculated it in her head and got an idea.
Because the Fire / Rock combo does have decent resistances.
There are only four types it's weak to.
But the problem was—
a four-times weakness to Ground and Water types.
Those were both hot, common types.
One four-times weakness was already deadly.
Now add two.
This typing combo was actually worse than a normal Arcanine's pure Fire typing.
"Pokémon are truly strong or weak based on the Trainer, not the other way around."
Damian chuckled softly.
"And exactly—
Akari isn't an ordinary Trainer.
The Hisui Arcanine she trained…
might show some pretty eye-catching results."
Hearing that, Caitlin and Serena both froze.
So Damian had confidence in Akari's performance?
But the problem was—
Akari had only just become a Trainer four months ago.
"Come on, Akari.
Remember to go all out!"
Dawn let Akari take the lead.
My Future daughter—
I wonder how strong you've become on your journey in Hisui so far?
Dawn still sounded curious.
After all, the opponent was her and Mr. Damian's daughter.
By rights, she should have inherited at least one of the Trainer talents from either Dawn or Damian.
Because both Dawn and Mr. Damian were Trainers with abnormal talent.
~~
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