"This is just way too crazy."
Serena looked at the smiling Akari, then glanced at the cold, alluring Hisui Samurott standing in front of her.
From what Akari said, it was her first Pokémon, and it had actually beaten Dawn's Entei.
Even though Entei was weak to Water-type moves, throughout the whole battle, Hisui Samurott showed off more of its insane combat power.
Especially its razor-sharp offense. Entei just couldn't keep up.
And besides Hisui Samurott, Akari's other Pokémon had all performed brilliantly too. Not to mention Sneasler, even that Ursaluna had terrifying combat power.
"…"
Caitlin didn't say anything, but her expression was not looking great.
She had only been journeying for four months, and she'd already defeated the current Dawn...
Then by year-end, just how strong would Akari be? Maybe even Uncle Giovanni and Leon wouldn't be her opponent.
Among all the Trainers Caitlin had seen besides Damian, the strongest were Leon and Giovanni.
Those two were absurdly strong, already feeling like the limit of Champion-tier.
But at Akari's growth rate, she might be able to beat Leon and Giovanni by year-end. No, maybe she wouldn't even need to wait that long.
That was just terrifying. This was basically Damian and Dawn combined!
Caitlin's expression flickered unpredictably.
Out of the corner of her eye, Serena noticed Caitlin's expression and quickly looked away.
Miss Caitlin is terrifying right now!!
The battle ended, and the group sat down again to chat. Of course, most of the conversation was about Akari.
Along the way, Baraz and Meray also came over after finishing their daily farm work.
After Damian introduced Akari, the Baraz siblings were stunned too.
But once they recovered, Meray's gossip meter went into overdrive.
She pulled Akari over and kept asking about all kinds of future stuff, and before they knew it, night had fallen.
This time Baraz specially prepared two wooden cabins for the group. He had considered this already, and he was also very sorry for forgetting yesterday.
Damian naturally said it was fine. In fact, Baraz had forgotten yesterday because he'd drunk himself stupid, and his alcohol tolerance was terrible too.
"Mom, you have to drink this. It's juice I specially brought back from Hisui."
In the room, while Serena was off bathing, Akari pulled a small wooden bottle out of her bag and reminded Dawn.
"Okay."
Dawn nodded.
"And Mom, try to get together with Dad as soon as possible."
Akari emphasized it again to Dawn.
"This..."
Dawn was extremely shy. How was she supposed to do that?
"As long as Mom's a little more proactive, Dad definitely won't be able to hold back."
Akari leaned close to Dawn's ear and whispered a few things.
Dawn's eyes flew wide open, and even her ears turned completely red.
"As long as Mom uses these, trust me, Dad will definitely fall head over heels for you!"
Akari was very confident, because the "items" she was talking about were all things she'd found in Dawn's wardrobe before.
Dad would definitely like them!
"But this is just..."
Dawn was so embarrassed her head was starting to spin.
"Mom, do you like me?"
Akari pouted, eyes shimmering with tears as she looked at Dawn.
"Yes..."
Dawn pressed her lips together. Of course she liked her. She really liked this clever, adorable girl, Akari.
"Then Mom must want to see me sooner too, right? If you and Dad get together sooner, then I can be born sooner too."
Akari looked up at Dawn like a little animal begging for affection, and that pleading look was more than Dawn could handle.
Too strong.
"I... I get it."
Dawn finally gave in with some difficulty.
"Yay~ I knew Mom loved me and Dad the most. Mom, be brave, okay?"
"Time's almost up, Mom. Bye. I'm going to say goodbye to Dad."
Akari hugged Dawn tightly, then quickly ran out of the room.
Be brave?
Looking at Akari's back, Dawn pressed her lips together, and the moment she imagined herself and Damian... her cheeks burned hot.
This really was...
"Akari left?"
Serena, freshly out of the bathroom with a towel draped over her, walked out.
"Mm, she said it was time, so she went to see Mr. Damian."
Dawn nodded.
"Still calling him Mr. Damian?"
Serena wiped down her flax-colored hair, teasing in her expression.
"Your daughter is already this big now."
"Serena!"
Dawn scolded Serena softly, then let out a helpless, confused sigh.
"Serena, what do you think I should do?"
Dawn looked at the photo of herself and Akari on her phone, at a loss for what to do.
"You're asking me?" Serena rolled her eyes adorably.
"If Akari were my daughter, I'd probably be over the moon."
Akari was so outstanding, so beautiful, and her Trainer talent was terrifying too. Having a daughter like that would be amazing, wouldn't it?
Dawn fell silent.
"What are you torn about?" Serena asked, a little curious about Dawn's thoughts.
"I don't know how to put it. I'm really happy Akari showed up, but with Mr. Damian..."
"Then let me ask you this: do you like Mr. Damian?" Serena thought for a moment, then asked.
"...Yes." Dawn hesitated slightly. In truth, she knew very well that what she felt for Mr. Damian was more admiration and worship.
But she did like him, of course.
She'd even dreamed about being with Mr. Damian, living out happy days together.
"But I don't know what Mr. Damian is thinking. He really likes Akari, but..."
Dawn sounded a little scattered, but Serena suddenly seemed to understand what she meant.
"So you're worried that Mr. Damian wants to be with you because Akari exists, not because he likes you as Dawn?"
Serena's expression turned a little strange.
"..." Dawn fell silent again.
"Sis, you're overthinking this."
Serena was speechless, half amused and half exasperated as she walked over to the dressing table and sat down.
"First off, Akari is your daughter. She's the love crystal between you and Mr. Damian. It's because you two loved each other that Akari came to be."
"Then comes the Akari who's standing in front of us now. Your logic is a little backwards."
It's not Akari's existence that brought me and Mr. Damian together—it's because I'm with Mr. Damian that this love crystal, Akari, was born?
Hearing Serena's words, Dawn suddenly felt enlightened. Yeah, that made sense.
"I get it. Thanks, Serena."
Dawn seemed to relax all at once and smiled at Serena.
"No need to thank me. So, are you going to go to Mr. Damian now? Be a little braver, and try to let me hold Akari sooner."
Serena combed her hair and gave Dawn a teasing wink.
"W-What are you saying!"
Dawn instantly went back into her shell, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Sis, you really can't keep being like this." Serena hesitated, then still tried her best to remind Dawn.
"For a man like Mr. Damian, if you have a chance, you should grab it, Dawn."
"Otherwise, who knows how many people are watching Mr. Damian? Even if Akari helps you 'back you up' later, I'm afraid your place in the family won't go up much either."
Serena felt Dawn was still way too shy.
Akari was clearly a super monster. With Akari backing her up, Dawn's status in the future definitely wouldn't be low.
But with Dawn's personality, that was going to be hard.
Dawn: "..."
"That's way too exaggerated..."
Dawn felt Serena was overthinking it.
"Dawn, at least you're from a big family. You should understand this better than I do."
Serena paused in the middle of combing her hair, her expression a little odd.
"Even knowing about Akari, Mr. Damian already said today that he can't possibly marry only you."
"I know, but..."
Dawn's brows drew together. No matter how many wives Mr. Damian married, wouldn't everyone still be family?
"No buts. Do you know why ancient kings only had one queen?" Serena looked at Dawn.
"Mr. Damian isn't a king, but the same principle applies. Dawn, you're kind-hearted, so you might feel like there has to be some kind of ranking, but that doesn't mean anything. Other people won't see it that way."
"Let's not even talk about the distant stuff. What about Mr. Damian's girlfriend? How do you think she'd view you, this third party who 'stole' part of her man's love? And Miss Caitlin too."
Serena carefully glanced toward the door and lowered her voice a little.
Dawn's little face was all scrunched up.
"Miss Caitlin has always liked Mr. Damian. You may not have noticed, but when Akari defeated you, Miss Caitlin's expression was very bad."
Serena said quietly to Dawn.
"Miss Caitlin has always looked out for me."
Dawn replied softly.
Dawn still really liked Caitlin, because Caitlin was very elegant and treated her well.
"Yeah, because before, you were coworkers and friends. But now that Akari has appeared, it's different."
Serena analyzed it seriously.
"Dawn, when it comes to relationships, very few people are willing to make sacrifices. Only when they're truly forced to. But even then, if you want more love, you have to fight for it yourself."
"Serena, you sure know a lot, but haven't you never dated before?"
Dawn blinked and looked curiously at Serena, who was talking at length.
"I've read a lot of books and TV dramas."
Serena replied with great pride.
So you're basically a theory master.
Dawn was a little speechless, but Serena did make some sense. Still, she believed everyone didn't mean any harm.
"I'm going to bathe first."
Dawn shook her head, planning to wash up before anything else.
Elsewhere.
"Bye, Dad~"
"Bye."
Damian watched Akari gradually disappear as Terapagos' time-space travel ability ran out.
But now it was certain that Terapagos had brought Akari over, so there was nothing to worry about.
Still, Akari couldn't stay here forever. She had her own journey, and that journey was truly related to the safety of the world.
"Galar, Paldea."
Damian looked at the world map on the table. By now, only these two regions were left unexplored.
And Damian believed taking them down wouldn't be difficult either. The tide was already turning, and Team Rocket was the trend of the moment.
To be honest, even if Damian didn't go in person, it would be fine. Letting Gladion lead people over to develop things on their own wouldn't be a problem either.
With Rose's intelligence, there was no way he'd go against Team Rocket.
But Damian was actually pretty interested in the Galar region, like Eternatus!
With Eternatus, they could set up Dynamax energy points anytime, anywhere. That was excellent.
And next year, Damian was planning to hold a world championship. As the biggest tournament encompassing Trainers from all over the world, he had to prepare carefully.
The next day arrived.
After struggling with it all night, Dawn was still too shy to sneak into Damian's room. After all, they still hadn't officially defined their relationship.
And today, Damian also wasn't planning to stay in Arche Valley any longer.
After saying goodbye to the Baraz siblings, and with the help of Mischief Hoopa's spatial rings, Damian and the others returned to Lumiose City.
Lumiose City was still bustling with energy. In just a few days, the city had already recovered a lot.
Damian first went to visit the imprisoned Lysandre and the others. Unfortunately, Lysandre, who was depressed after having his dream shattered, was still in shut-down mode.
Even when Damian went in to see him, Lysandre refused to talk to him.
On the other hand, after Damian spoke with Malva, she agreed to join Team Rocket.
Just as well, Damian hadn't exposed her identity yet, so he let her return to the Kalos League as an Elite Four member.
As for the other Team Flare Admins, they were all loyal to Lysandre, so Damian was very moved. The women were all sent off to sew with the sewing machines first, while the men went off to mine.
As for Lysandre, since he was still shut down, Damian just kept him locked up for now. He'd deal with it later if there was a chance.
Since they were about to leave Kalos, Damian also specifically called Diantha over that night.
Maybe because she knew that too, Diantha was especially cooperative, and then...
Then she fainted again.
The next day, Damian and the others boarded the flight back to Kanto. Along with Caitlin and Dawn, Serena and Alexa were also coming.
Serena wanted to go because she felt there were more executives on the Kanto side, which meant a better environment for special training.
As for Alexa, it was because of a huge piece of news.
Viridian Gym's Gym Leader Giovanni, who was Damian's biological dad!
His Elite Four challenge was about to begin!
As Team Rocket's special reporter, Alexa was obviously thrilled and didn't want to miss this chance.
Giovanni was Damian's dad, after all. Doing a special interview with him would definitely blow up!
Especially since Alexa had already asked Damian about it, and this time Giovanni's Elite Four challenge would succeed with one hundred percent certainty!
That meant Giovanni would become the Kanto Champion!
Oh my God!
She'd be able to interview the Kanto Champion, and that Kanto Champion was the son of the current Team Rocket boss.
She was about to make it big!
Alexa was very excited. No more talk—tonight, she absolutely had to dress sexy and make sure Damian had his fun to the fullest!!
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