Silence.
After Selene finished speaking, the entire backyard became quiet.
Caitlin narrowed her eyes slightly. She stared at the black-haired girl in front of her. Her gaze shifted, and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.
As for Platinum, after she noticed the tense atmosphere, she barely dared to breathe.
A moment passed.
"Tsk. Not talking? Fine then," Selene said.
Seeing that neither of them spoke, Selene felt a bit bored.
Or rather, she was a bit disappointed.
She had thought these two women invited her to the backyard because they wanted to do or say something. Was this it?
They wanted to take her place beside Damian with just this? They didn't even dare to speak up. How boring.
Selene turned around to go back to the villa. She had been away from Damian for too long, and she had held back for a long time. She didn't plan to let Damian go tonight.
She needed to spend some proper time with Damian!
"Wait," Caitlin said suddenly.
Selene stopped and tilted her head to look at Caitlin.
"Do you know what Damian thinks?" Caitlin asked.
"Of course. I know him better than anyone," Selene scoffed.
Caitlin bit her lip. To be honest, Selene's scoffing reminded her of someone. She sounded exactly like Damian.
"Then you also know about his relationships?"
"I'm very aware. Although I hate to admit it, he is a bit of a womanizer in some ways. It's normal for other women to be drawn to him," Selene said.
Selene curled her lip and replied casually.
She was a little unhappy about it, of course. Who wouldn't want their man to be faithful only to them?
But Selene knew Damian too well. It was unrealistic to expect him not to get involved with other girls.
Besides, the Pokémon League didn't have a rule about having only one wife. Selene suspected that even if there were such a rule, Damian wouldn't care.
"You don't have a problem with that?" Caitlin asked again.
"Why would I have a problem?" Selene asked back curiously.
"I know him better than you do. Damian might be a womanizer, but he values feelings very much. The bond between us is something you can't understand so easily."
The corners of Selene's mouth lifted slightly. She always believed that she and Damian were a perfect match.
It was a belief she had held since the first time they met.
Their values, how they handled things, their personalities, their talents as trainers, everything about them was so similar.
That was why Selene trusted herself, and why she trusted Damian.
That was Selene's confidence in herself and her trust in Damian.
"He might like to play around, but he isn't reckless. He would never embarrass me. Also, I must repeat one thing."
Selene looked at Caitlin and Platinum with a playful smile.
"I am Damian's official girlfriend. I don't have anything against you. I don't now, and I won't in the future. As long as Damian likes you, you can stay by his side. I won't make things hard for you."
Hearing this, Platinum's eyes lit up slightly.
But Selene wasn't finished.
"If you have a problem with me, just say it. Don't play games, okay?"
"If you want my place, I'll give you a chance. As long as you can defeat me, I will step back willingly."
"Otherwise, behave yourself and don't try anything behind my back."
Selene wasn't very tall, and she looked small and sweet. However, at this moment, she was incredibly confident.
Yes, she was very powerful!
Even though she said a lot, it all meant one thing:
If they wanted her place, they had to beat her in a battle. If they could defeat her, she would step back. If not, they had to behave.
Platinum couldn't imagine where Selene got this much confidence. Did she really believe in herself that much?
But Platinum had to admit that she admired Selene's confidence. She was... so cool!
"I see," Caitlin said. A smile appeared on her face. "No wonder Damian loves you so much. I have to admit, you have the right to be confident."
Even someone as proud as Caitlin admired Selene's declaration.
"But first, I disagree with one thing. I don't think I know Damian any less than you do. I am the best match for him."
"Tsk," Selene scoffed. As she thought, this blonde girl was ambitious.
She wasn't like the blue-haired girl next to her. One look at that blue-haired girl and you could tell she was too shy to speak up; she wasn't a threat.
But this blonde woman was definitely the aggressive type.
"It looks like you want to challenge me," Selene said.
A sharp smile appeared on Selene's face. She wanted to see what Caitlin was capable of.
She actually dared to try and take her place.
"Damian is the strongest and most outstanding man in the world. Only the best woman is worthy of standing beside him, right?"
"No matter what, I won't accept an ordinary woman standing by his side, even if that person isn't me," Caitlin said calmly.
Caitlin believed she had everything she needed: looks, intelligence, and strength.
"Ha! Fine. I'll make sure you have nothing left to say."
Selene laughed. She had expected this, and it was exactly what she wanted.
If she didn't show her strength, these women would keep thinking they had a chance. It was better to settle everything at once.
In the end, position had to be earned through strength.
And Selene had full confidence in herself!
"How about you? Do you want to join in? I don't have time to deal with you one by one. I finally got to see Damian again today. I don't mind if you two take me on together."
Selene looked at Platinum. While Platinum looked lost, Selene spoke directly.
"I'm in a hurry, so come at me together!"
There was no doubt that was what Selene meant.
"You are... so arrogant," Caitlin said. Her eyes narrowed slowly. Selene's behavior made her feel uncomfortable.
It had been a very long time since she felt looked down upon.
"I'm okay... um... Caitlin is stronger than me."
Under Selene's sharp gaze, Platinum gave an awkward smile. She waved her hands to show she wouldn't fight.
She never intended to steal Selene's place anyway. She just wanted Selene not to target her for being someone who came later.
Also, Platinum knew Caitlin was stronger than her. If even Caitlin couldn't beat Selene, there was no point in her fighting.
As for teaming up with Caitlin to fight Selene? She could never do something like that!
"Tsk," Selene scoffed. But this was fine. With one less troublemaker, she could save a lot of time.
Pokémon battles were familiar to all of them as Trainers. Luckily, Lusamine's backyard had a very large training field.
Selene and Caitlin stood on opposite sides of the battlefield.
"Now, we will begin the Pokémon battle between Caitlin and Selene. The rules are a full six-on-six battle."
Platinum acted as the temporary referee. To be honest, she was forced into the role.
But there was no one else here besides her.
"When all six Pokémon on one side are unable to battle, the other side wins."
"Battle start!"
After announcing the rules, Platinum immediately ran off the field. She moved so fast because she was afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.
Usually, the referee would decide who sent out first, but Selene skipped that step.
"Now! Incineroar! Let's go!"
Selene threw her first Poké Ball.
A white light flashed. A powerful, fierce red-and-black tiger-like Pokémon appeared in front of Selene. It opened its arms and roared at Caitlin.
It was Incineroar, the final evolution of the Alola region's Fire-type starter. It was a Fire/Dark-type.
This Incineroar was one of Selene's favorites, and it was also her usual starting Pokémon.
"Come on. Let me see what you can do. Since you dare to challenge me, I hope you're not just all talk."
Selene gave Caitlin a mocking smile.
Even though Caitlin was the challenger, Selene would be disappointed if she couldn't put up a fight.
This was the first woman who had the guts to challenge her.
"I won't disappoint you," Caitlin said.
She wore a faint smile. She used her psychic powers to make a Poké Ball fly out.
"Tapu Lele!"
After a flash of white light, Tapu Lele floated in front of Caitlin. It tilted its head and looked at the Incineroar across from it.
It was indeed the island guardian, Tapu Lele.
"Oh? So you're the thief Queen Olivia mentioned who stole Tapu Lele."
Seeing Tapu Lele, Selene was a bit surprised.
When she was doing her Island Challenge on Akala Island, Olivia had been furious while saying their guardian deity had been "stolen" by a thief.
"That is just small-minded people trying to make me look bad. I gained Tapu Lele's respect through my own challenge," Caitlin replied calmly.
She didn't even want to bother responding to clowns who said such things.
"It seems you're not bad," Selene said.
Selene didn't care about that. Either way, Tapu Lele didn't look unhappy at all.
That was enough to know. Tapu Lele truly accepted Caitlin as its Trainer.
"However, this makes things more interesting."
Selene's smile grew wider. Strong opponents always excited her.
"Incineroar's Dark type makes things hard for Caitlin, but Tapu Lele is a good choice," Platinum whispered to herself.
After all, Caitlin specialized in Psychic types, and Dark types were immune to Psychic moves. That made it hard for Psychic Pokémon to fight.
But Tapu Lele's Fairy type was strong against Dark types and resistant to them.
"That's true, but Selene's Incineroar isn't strong only because of direct power."
Platinum heard a familiar voice.
"Huh? Damian? Why are you all here?"
Platinum was startled. She turned around and saw Damian, Lillie, and Lusamine standing behind her.
"You were in the backyard for a long time, so we came to check on you," Damian shrugged and looked at the two girls on the field.
"Why did Selene and Caitlin suddenly start a battle?" Lillie asked, confused.
"They... they just wanted to test each other's skills," Platinum answered awkwardly.
She couldn't exactly say they were fighting over who would stand at Damian's side, could she?
Damian smiled and didn't say anything else. He didn't plan to stop them. It was better to let Selene and the others settle this themselves.
In the world of Trainers, there was nothing a battle couldn't solve.
They just needed to find out who would win.