"Darn it, I'm still short by more than ten thousand points to trade for Tornadus."
It was night. In a hotel in Michina Town, Rosa was soaking in a bath while checking the app. When she saw the merit points needed to get Tornadus, her small face looked very sad.
Even though she had earned a lot of points during this trip to Sinnoh, it still wasn't enough.
"You have such high standards," Hilda said.
She was outside the bathroom, wiping her Poké Balls while looking at her own phone. Honestly, she really admired Rosa. Rosa worked incredibly hard when it came to earning points.
Hilda had joined the Arceus Company only a day after Rosa did. However, Hilda's points were not even at eighty thousand yet. Meanwhile, Rosa was almost ready to trade for Tornadus.
All she could say was that Rosa was always taking on missions nonstop. This girl was truly amazing at earning points.
"What do you know? Hehe~ Once I get Tornadus, just you wait. At the Vertress Conference, I'll step over you to reach the top of Unova!" Rosa replied with a huff.
"Heh~" Hilda only replied with a small laugh.
However, Hilda's heart actually skipped a beat. Her skill as a Trainer was about the same as Rosa's. In a battle, it usually depended on their state of mind, their reactions, and their tactics at that moment.
But if Rosa had Tornadus, she might actually be able to beat Hilda!
Hilda frowned. But it was fine. Since Rosa was getting Tornadus, she would just get Thundurus.
According to old stories, Landorus was the one who kept Tornadus and Thundurus in check. But first, the price for Landorus was the highest on the list.
It required 150,000 merit points!
Also, the app showed some information. This specific Landorus was extremely strong. Its power level was at the Top Champion rank. A warning on the app said it was best not to trade for it yet.
Well, even though there was a chance to catch Landorus using words and emotional bonds, that chance... it was probably very low.
So, picking Thundurus was better. Or maybe Zapdos would be good?
Hilda looked at Thundurus and Zapdos. Both of these Pokémon had the Electric type. They would counter the Tornadus that Rosa liked.
Which one should she choose?
Hilda hesitated for a moment. Finally, she fixed her eyes on the picture of Zapdos. To Hilda, Zapdos and Thundurus looked about the same in terms of looks.
However, Zapdos was a Legendary Pokémon from Kanto. That alone sounded appealing.
It's decided! Once she had enough points, she would trade for Zapdos!
At the Vertress Conference, she would suddenly bring out this Zapdos and shock Rosa! That girl would definitely be very surprised, right?
Thinking about this, a cute smile appeared on Hilda's face. Hehehe~
"You talk about Damian and Tornadus all day long. If I don't counter you, I'd be doing you a disservice, Rosa. Sorry, but I want that Unova Championship too!"
"What do you mean 'high'? If I don't have a Legendary Pokémon to back me up, how can I fight Damian's girlfriend in the future?"
The bathroom door opened. Rosa walked out with a towel wrapped around her, showing her bare legs. She was drying her hair and muttering to herself.
"You haven't given up yet? Damian already rejected you," Hilda said, surprised.
"No way! I won't stop until I win Damian over!" Rosa replied without hesitation.
Hilda tilted her head.
"Besides, it's normal to be rejected the first time I confess. Damian has a girlfriend, after all. It would be strange if he accepted me right away," Rosa added casually.
"You really are... I don't even know what you're thinking," Hilda couldn't help but criticize her friend.
Rosa's qualities were not bad at all. Although her family wasn't very rich, they were middle class. Plus, once Rosa grew stronger in the future, she wouldn't lack money. She was so pretty, so why did she have to try and steal someone else's boyfriend?
Well, Hilda also admitted that a person like Damian—young, successful, strong, easy-going, and handsome—was truly rare.
But Hilda really couldn't bring herself to chase someone else's boyfriend. Besides, she wasn't very interested in romance. She wanted to chase her dream of becoming a Champion and a top Trainer in the world.
"What do you know? When I become your boss's wife, hehe~" Rosa dried herself off and put on her pajamas, looking very proud.
"Oh, stop it," Hilda laughed and tried to bring her friend back to reality.
"Are you really that confident you can beat Damian's girlfriend? You don't think a girl liked by Damian would be an easy opponent, do you? And Rosa, even if you do beat that girl, don't forget Caitlin, who is always with Damian. The way Caitlin looked at you this afternoon was not right."
Hilda warned Rosa.
"That woman is indeed a problem."
Rosa frowned slightly. She had actually noticed it too. When she confessed to Damian, Caitlin's eyes were so cold they were scary!
To be honest, Rosa wasn't very worried about Damian's girlfriend. No matter how excellent that girl was, could she really be better than Rosa? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
But Caitlin was different. This woman was a year older than her. Her talent was clearly very high, and she was a powerful psychic.
She was elegant, came from a famous family, and was a Champion-level Trainer. On top of that, she spent every day with Damian. She had the advantage of being close to him!
And Rosa knew she clearly couldn't beat that woman right now.
"Darn it! That blonde fox!" Rosa cursed under her breath.
The most important thing was that Caitlin clearly had designs on Damian. She definitely wanted him for herself!
"..." Hearing this, Hilda found it hard to keep a straight face.
Wait, friend, isn't the person who should be called a 'fox' the one trying to steal someone's boyfriend? Isn't that you?
"Hilda, if I get bullied, you have to help me!"
Rosa came up with an idea. She knew she couldn't beat Caitlin alone, but that was okay. She had her best friend!
"Huh? Me?" Hilda looked at Rosa in shock, pointing at herself.
"Are you sick? What use is it if I help you?" Hilda was so annoyed she laughed. This girl just wanted to drag her into getting beat up.
"Besides, Caitlin is stronger than Cyrus. Do you think the two of us can beat her?"
Today, it took the five of them together just to take down Cyrus. Caitlin was definitely stronger than Cyrus, probably by a lot. A Psychic-type team was much harder to deal with than Cyrus's team, which was mostly Dark-types!
"I'm giving you a friendly warning. Caitlin's ace is Mega Metagross. She also has a Tapu Lele that is just as strong as Mega Metagross," Hilda said, glancing at Rosa.
"Finally, the one she usually carries with her is Lugia, the 'guardian of the seas,' a Legendary Pokémon from Kanto."
"So what? I'll have a Legendary Pokémon too!" Rosa said stubbornly.
"It doesn't matter. Even if we both fought together right now, it wouldn't be enough for Caitlin to break a sweat. Also, I should mention that Caitlin's own psychic powers could pin both of us to the ground. We couldn't even win in a hair-pulling fight."
"Give up, Rosa. You can't compete with her right now. Don't end up getting kicked aside by your rival before you even get the man."
The more Hilda spoke, the more she felt her friend had no chance.
That's right. Leaving aside Damian's actual girlfriend, if there was a competition, it was obvious that Caitlin had a much higher chance of "winning" Damian. How could Rosa fight Caitlin right now? By having a bigger chest?
"Hmph~" Rosa was very annoyed by what she heard, but she couldn't find a reason to argue back.
"She's just a year older than me. I won't be worse than her." Rosa refused to give in. She felt she was not inferior to Caitlin. If she couldn't win now, it was only because the other woman was older.
"Fine. Which item are you going to pick?" Hilda rolled her eyes and changed the subject.
Since Rosa didn't want to give up, what could she do? As her friend, she could only support her. If Caitlin really bullied Rosa, Hilda wouldn't just watch. She would definitely stand up for her. Even if they both got beaten by Caitlin together, Hilda accepted that.
"The Mega Stone, of course. There's no need to even choose," Rosa replied immediately.
"Do you have a Pokémon in your team that can Mega Evolve?"
"No." Rosa sounded very proud of this, making Hilda stare at her.
"So I plan to catch a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve and train it. I just don't know which Pokémon are stronger after Mega Evolution. But I already have a plan."
Rosa blinked and shook her phone at Hilda with a smile.
"You want to ask Damian?" Hilda suddenly understood. She actually had the same idea as Rosa.
Mega Evolution could greatly increase a Pokémon's strength. No matter what, since they aimed to be top Trainers, there was no reason to give up on Mega Evolution.
Even if it was a bit of a hassle to train a new main Pokémon now, they had to do it. Otherwise, if you don't have Mega Evolution and your opponent does, aren't you naturally at a disadvantage?
"Of course. Damian must know which Mega-Evolved Pokémon are strong. Asking him will definitely be worth it."
Hilda nodded at Rosa's words.
On the other side, Damian was enjoying a lap pillow and a massage from his "maid," Cynthia. It was incredibly comfortable.
He had just finished his bath. It is worth mentioning that Cynthia was the one who scrubbed his back.
The room was brightly lit. Cynthia pressed Damian's temples as she gave him a massage. Her expression was calm, and her blonde hair was tied back neatly.
Hmm, this hairstyle was quite dangerous.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Damian opened his eyes and picked up the phone to look.
"Damian, Damian, are you there?"