With the battle agreed on, the two girls headed outside Aether House.
Naturally, when the kids at Aether House heard their two favorite big sisters were about to have a Pokémon battle, they all trailed out after them, buzzing with excitement.
There was no need to pick a battlefield—there was already a big open space right outside.
Caitlin and Acerola took up positions on opposite sides, facing each other from a distance.
"This is great. It's been such a long, long time since Acerola's had a battle."
Acerola looked at Caitlin, hands folded behind her back, tilting her head as her eyes curved into crescents again.
She genuinely hoped Caitlin was really strong. Otherwise, she'd be disappointed.
"You'd better be careful, Caitlin. I'm super strong, y'know. Even Uncle Nanu isn't necessarily my opponent."
Acerola's smile was still as bright and adorable as ever.
The "Uncle Nanu" she mentioned was Ula'ula Island's Island Kahuna.
"Please go easy on me."
Caitlin wore a faint, composed smile. She was already fully prepared.
Before coming here, Damian had told her: Acerola was a Ghost-type Trainer at Elite four -level strength.
Battling Acerola meant going in with her entire team at a type disadvantage, but Caitlin didn't believe that meant she'd definitely lose.
"Okay then~! I'm coming in!"
Acerola threw out her first Poké Ball. The Pokémon that appeared looked like a ragdoll plush with a zipper for a mouth—pure Ghost-type, a Banette.
Beforehand, they'd already talked through the battle rules and who would send out first.
Facing Banette, Caitlin chose Alakazam.
The two Pokémon clashed, and the battle officially began.
"I wonder if Caitlin can actually beat Acerola."
Sitting on a stool the Aether Foundation staff had brought out for him, Damian watched the clash between the two beautiful girls with great interest.
Emotionally, of course, he wanted Caitlin to win.
Rationally, though, even if Caitlin had the higher raw power, her whole team was starting from a type disadvantage.
Ghost beats Psychic. On top of that, Ghost-type Pokémon fought in strange, unpredictable ways. Acerola, as a Four-four-level Ghost specialist, knew Ghosts on a level that could only be called expert—her understanding easily surpassed ninety-nine percent of Trainers in the world. That was no exaggeration.
Thankfully, Damian had already used Mismagius to battle Caitlin a few times, so she did have some experience fighting Ghost-type Pokémon.
After paying a hefty price with Alakazam, Caitlin finally took down Banette and claimed the first win.
But Alakazam was then defeated by Acerola's second Pokémon, a Froslass. Caitlin sent out Gothitelle next, and that fight ended in a double knockout. Fighting into a type disadvantage really did feel awful.
This was a 3v3 battle, and in the final round, Caitlin and Acerola both sent out their aces.
Metagross vs. Palossand.
With everything coming down to this, both sides went all-out.
Caitlin's Metagross was monstrously strong. Even at a type disadvantage, it was still pummeling Acerola's Palossand.
Acerola was stunned—genuinely stunned.
That Metagross had shattered Palossand's Shadow Ball with a Meteor Mash, then rushed in close. A right-hook Meteor Mash slammed straight into Palossand's face, followed by a left-hook Ice Punch.
Palossand tried to retaliate with Earth Power, but Metagross just tanked it head-on, then followed up with two more super-effective Ice Punches, bringing them down like a Hammer Arm on top of Palossand.
Uh…
Acerola tilted her head.
So this was Metagross? Huge HP pool, insane physical Attack, great Special Attack, and both Defense and Special Defense through the roof. Its Speed was a little on the slow side, sure, but it had priority with Bullet Punch to patch that up, and its coverage was insane.
Eighteen types in total, and Metagross resisted ten of them, with only four types hitting it super effectively.
Did they just mash these stats in with their feet?
Watching Metagross stand there eating Palossand's hits and then slam it into the ground over and over, Acerola's eyes went glassy.
And Caitlin was supposed to be a Psychic-type specialist, right? Was this what the pinnacle of Psychic battle style looked like—just raw, unrestrained brutality?
After another two super-effective Ice Punches crashed down, the panting Metagross finally secured victory on the strength of its brutally tempered body.
Congratulations all around.
And then, in the very next second, a black light flared over the fainted Palossand and wrapped around Metagross.
Metagross collapsed with a crash. That's right—before going down, Palossand had managed to pull off a Destiny Bond it had inherited, dragging Metagross with it.
Both sides were completely out of Pokémon. A draw.
"Whew~ You're amazing, Caitlin! I had the type advantage and still almost lost."
Acerola let out a cute, long exhale, patted her cheeks, then gave Caitlin a bright, crescent-eyed smile, her voice sweet and clear.
And she meant every word of it.
"Thanks. You're really strong too, Acerola. If I get the chance, I'll come back to spar with you again."
Caitlin shook hands with Acerola. She hadn't won, but she was perfectly calm about it.
If anything, the battle had been easier than she'd expected.
After all the times she'd fought Damian—well, Damian's Ghost-type tricks were… special.
Compared to that, Caitlin felt Acerola's battle style was downright wholesome. Way less pressure.
"Hehe~ okay, okay! Let's add each other's contacts! Acerola's really happy."
Acerola tilted her head cutely, clearly delighted. She really did love Pokémon battles.
After exchanging contact info with the adorable Acerola, Damian and Caitlin said their goodbyes to everyone at Aether House.
"You have to come see Acerola again, okay, Caitlin? We have to stay in touch~!"
On tiptoe, Acerola waved her arm enthusiastically, calling out reminder after reminder.
She really liked the gorgeous, powerful Caitlin. Mmh~ liked her a lot.
The smile at the corner of Caitlin's lips deepened as she turned and waved back at Acerola.
"Your charm's something else, Caitlin. The kids and Acerola both hate to see you go."
As they walked down the little path, Damian glanced at the psychic girl beside him and couldn't resist teasing her.
"Don't make fun of me. Acerola's just a very pure girl."
Caitlin shot Damian a look, brushed a strand of gold hair back behind her ear, and spoke in a lazy drawl.
"But she and I are very different."
Yes, very different. Caitlin was now a member of Team Rocket, while a pure, talented girl like Acerola was almost guaranteed a beautiful future.
"Caitlin, that kind of thinking's all wrong." Damian raised a brow.
He'd been about to say more when his phone buzzed. A message had just come in.
"Looks like our luck's pretty good," Damian said, baring his teeth in a grin.
"What is it?" Caitlin asked, curious.
"Someone's found Tapu Fini's location."