"I won't disappoint you."
Caitlin's smile seemed to deepen a little, and a psychic blue glow lit up as she wrapped it around an Ultra Ball and sent it flying out.
"Gallade!"
The Ultra Ball opened, and in a flash of white light, a Gallade with sharp, battle-ready aura slowly straightened up, raising its bladed arms to point at Perrserker.
A Psychic/Fighting Gallade!
This was one of Caitlin's core main roster Pokémon, and its strength was exceptionally impressive.
"Using Gallade puts her at a type advantage, and Caitlin-san's Gallade is pretty solid."
Dawn felt more at ease at that, because Gallade's Fighting type beats Perrserker.
And Gallade was already famous for its powerful close-quarters combat, not to mention the channeling boost from Sharpness.
Sharpness: Pokémon with this Ability greatly boost the power of slashing moves they use!
And Gallade had way too many slashing moves.
Leaf Blade, Night Slash, Psycho Cut, Aqua Cutter, X-Scissor, Solar Blade, and even Sacred Sword!
So in truth, Gallade didn't lack coverage at all.
With that many slashing moves, it already had more than enough.
"You're that confident? My old man's strength is really something, you know."
Peonia blinked. She didn't know exactly how strong that absurdly elegant, gorgeous girl was, but she knew her father all too well.
After all, in all these years, she'd never seen anyone defeat Peony.
"Any Trainer who can make it to top-tier Admin isn't weak."
Damian chuckled. Besides, Caitlin had always been following at his side.
Caitlin had already been gifted with talent to begin with, and most importantly, she really worked hard and never skipped special training for a single day.
The world never shortchanged people like that, especially when she also had such powerful psychic powers.
"Umm..."
Peonia tilted her head. To be honest, she still didn't really have a concept of Team Rocket's top-tier Admins.
But whatever.
Anyway, if her dad could win, that'd be best. If he couldn't, then joining Team Rocket didn't seem bad either.
In a way, Peonia also hoped Peony could step out of the shadow of the past and, ideally, make up with her uncle.
Actually, what Peony didn't know was that Peonia and Rose were occasionally in contact.
Because of his own pride and the shadow of the past, Peony had always hated Rose, but Rose had actually still cared a lot about this younger brother.
Still, Rose also knew Peony's resentment and resistance toward him, so he didn't go looking for trouble. But with his niece, Rose did keep in touch privately.
After all, she was his biological niece.
"Peonia."
"Hm?"
She looked at Damian curiously in the next moment.
"Do you have a little sister too?" Damian asked Peonia.
"Huh? How did you know?" Peonia was rather surprised.
"Don't underestimate my intel network. Speaking of which, where is your little sister?" Damian asked with a laugh, glancing at the battle that had already begun.
"Penny went back to Paldea to enroll at Naranja Academy."
Peonia didn't hide it.
She said "back" instead of "go" because Penny had actually already been enrolled at Naranja Academy before.
It was just that because of Team Star, she had temporarily withdrawn for a year and a half, and only this year had Penny returned to Naranja Academy to enroll again.
"Naranja Academy, huh? One of the best Pokémon schools in the world. So why don't you go too?"
Dawn had naturally heard of that world-class Pokémon school. In fact, back then Berlitz had also considered whether to send her to the orange school.
But Dawn didn't want to be too far from home, since the orange school was in the Paldea Region.
"Penny's the one with that talent. My Trainer talent's pretty average, and somebody's gotta keep Dad company here too, or who knows what he'd do."
Peonia sighed. Unlike Penny, she hadn't inherited Peony's Trainer talent.
Although she was also attending Pokémon school now, Peonia knew her Trainer talent wasn't outstanding.
Still, Peonia didn't really mind. Her dad and little sister were both Trainers, but compared to being a Trainer, Peonia liked exploring stories about legends more.
"If you get the chance, tell your little sister I think pretty highly of her. If she's willing to join the organization, I can offer her generous resources."
Damian said to Peonia. He had always valued talent, and Penny had that potential.
"Okay, I'll tell Penny. I can't promise she'll join, though."
Peonia blinked and answered with a grin, looking pretty adorable.
"Alright, then thanks."
Damian smiled at Peonia. He actually thought pretty highly of her too, even if she wasn't as gifted as Penny in terms of Trainer talent.
But Peonia had a sharp mind. Maybe she had a talent for business.
After all, she was Rose's biological niece. Nobody in that family was ordinary.
"You're welcome. Oh right, is that the legendary Jirachi in your arms?"
Peonia's eyes sparkled as she looked at the Jirachi in Damian's arms.
"Yeah. Didn't expect you to recognize it."
Damian rubbed Jirachi's little belly. The little one was sleeping soundly.
"So it really is true! I honestly wasn't even sure. Can I hold it?"
Peonia immediately got excited. The JK girl leaned her head toward Jirachi and asked with obvious anticipation.
"It's asleep right now, so I don't see why not."
Damian didn't refuse.
At that moment, on the field, after a fierce battle, Perrserker finally fell to Gallade's Sacred Sword.
"Wahaha—strong! You're really strong! This is so freaking exciting!"
Peony showed no sign of discouragement at all. Instead, he laughed wildly with excitement and boldness.
It had been far too long since he'd experienced a battle where he went all out and still lost.
What an incredible opponent—this was driving him crazy in the best way.
The battle continued. Peony's second Pokémon was Scizor, and after paying a price, Scizor defeated Gallade with its powerful combat ability.
The battle kept going. This was a 5v5 battle, and when Peony's Aggron also fell to Caitlin's Metagross's Hammer Arm, Peony was already at the end of the road.
"Hahaha—amazing! You're really amazing!"
Peony was still laughing maniacally.
"Then next up is my final ace! Copperajah!"
Peony hurled out his ace Pokémon—Copperajah, a pure Steel type.
It had evolved from the Cufant he first caught with Rose when he was a child.
In a flash of white light, Copperajah landed heavily in front of Peony.
Its body was that of a giant elephant, but covered in dark green rust and irregular bronze-colored patterns, with several huge chunks of bronze on its head.
"Come on! Let me show you my final strength!"
Peony was still laughing as he raised a Poké Ball and recalled Copperajah. On his wrist, the Dynamax Band lit up with a blood-red glow.
Dynamax!
Dynamax energy kept flowing through the Dynamax Band into Copperajah's Poké Ball.
One shake! Two shakes! Three shakes!
The Poké Ball expanded three full times and became enormous.
"Go! Copperajah!"
Peony forcefully threw the Dynamax Poké Ball. Above them, the sky grew dark, and a black vortex began to spin.
Copperajah landed in front of Peony, and its body size began to swell crazily.
One time! Two times! Three times!
After swelling three full times, the Super Giant Copperajah raised its head and roared.
"This is Dynamax?"
Dawn's eyes shimmered with excitement as she looked at the Super Giant Copperajah towering dozens of meters tall.
Its shape was very different from an ordinary Copperajah. After Dynamaxing, Copperajah stood on two legs, its trunk becoming thick and long, its whole body radiating a faint blood-red glow.
"Wow, that's incredible~!"
Serena couldn't help but marvel either. It really was spectacular.
This was her first time seeing Dynamax in person, and the sheer size and visual impact were just too much to take in.
Serena didn't even know how to describe it.
But now she'd also obtained a Dynamax Band, so she could Dynamax her own Pokémon too.
"Hahaha—Caitlin, come on! If you want to defeat me, you'll have to beat my Copperajah first!"
Peony had absolute confidence in his Copperajah. It was his ace Pokémon.
Even though the situation was actually unfavorable for him now, Caitlin's strength had far exceeded his expectations.
This gorgeous, elegant young girl was absurdly strong.
Whether it was that Tapu Lele or the Metagross on the field right now, both were terrifyingly powerful.
"As you wish."
Caitlin remained elegant as ever. She recalled Metagross and took out her most treasured Cherish Ball.
Under psychic control, the crimson Cherish Ball flew out and opened.
"Since you used your ace, Mr. Peony, then I'll use my most treasured Pokémon to face you!"
"Uww~"
A deep cry, still carrying a hint of childishness, rang out. Huge white wings spread wide, and the legendary Pokémon revered as the guardian of the seas spread its wings to face the Super Giant Copperajah opposite it.
It was Lugia.
"What is this?!"
Peony, who had been excited moments ago, froze when he saw this Pokémon.
"Lugia!!"
Peonia widened her eyes in shock as she stared at the Pokémon.
Lugia! That had to be Lugia, no doubt about it!
Caitlin's lips curved slightly. She raised her Cherish Ball and recalled Lugia again. With a turn of her hand, the Dynamax Band on her slender, pale wrist lit up with red energy.
Dynamax energy kept flowing into the Cherish Ball, and the Cherish Ball kept growing larger.
Caitlin's movements were still as natural and elegant as ever as she tossed the Dynamax Cherish Ball.
Lugia appeared once more, its whole body shimmering with a faint red glow as it swelled under the influence of Dynamax energy.
After swelling three full times, Dynamax Lugia raised its head and cried out, unleashing a surging wave of power.
The two massive beings stood off against each other, but it could be clearly seen that Dynamax Lugia was even larger than the Super Giant Copperajah.
"Looks like Little White's strength has improved a lot. It can already handle an opponent like Peony now?"
Damian watched Dynamax Lugia with genuine interest.
It had to be said that a Legendary Pokémon like Lugia, when carefully raised with perfect nutrition, really could grow at an astonishing pace.
Daring to use Little Lugia against Peony's ace Copperajah was enough to show that Little Lugia now had Champion-tier combat power.
Otherwise, Caitlin wouldn't have used Little Lugia in battle.
"A legendary Lugia?! What an exciting opponent!"
Peony was utterly fired up. Ever since stepping down as Galar Region Champion, he had been adventuring all over the place.
For him now, pursuing signs of legendary Pokémon was the thing that interested him most.
And now, he actually had the chance to battle the legendary Lugia!
How could he not be excited?
Win or lose, this life was worth it!
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