Chapter 412 - 412: The Awkward Rose! Rosa Wants to Clash with Selene

"You brat, you sure do dream big."

Damian couldn't help but click his tongue. Rosa really was a headache.

"That doesn't count as some kind of dream, and I can't even promise that much, so I suggest you pick something else."

Damian replied to Rosa.

"Tch~"

Rosa rolled her adorable eyes.

"Then how about this: next time, Damian, you introduce your girlfriend to us?"

Rosa's eyes rolled, and she immediately came up with another idea.

"Hm? You want to meet Selene?"

Damian raised a brow.

"Yeah~ We still haven't even met your girlfriend yet. That's not nice."

Rosa said without the slightest hesitation.

But what kind of idea that really was, everyone understood.

"Damian, Damian~ Don't tell me even this isn't okay?"

"This one's fine. If the timing works out, I can take you to meet Selene. But..."

Damian naturally guessed Rosa's little scheme, but if he was being honest—

Rosa probably really wasn't Selene's opponent, even if she dragged Hilda along too. That probably wouldn't work either.

"You sure you want to meet Selene?"

What Damian really wanted to say was, "You sure you want to clash with Selene?"

"Of course! Hehe~ I've been thinking about this for way too long!"

Rosa's eyes were full of unhidden excitement. Whatever else, she had to let that Selene know how amazing Rosa was!

I'm already a full Champion-tier now. Dealing with one of Damian's little girlfriends should be easy, right?

"Alright. If I go to Alola sometime, I'll bring you along."

"Yay~!"

Seeing Rosa's excited reply, Damian couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

This brat really was interesting.

After resting in Freezington for one night, Damian and the others spent the next day touring the Crown Tundra. Since they'd come all this way, they might as well look around.

Especially the ancient Crown Shrine. That was the temple where Calyrex once lived as king.

But as time passed, the weather-beaten temple had fallen into ruin, and Calyrex had never repaired it.

After staying another day, Damian and the others left the Crown Tundra.

Gloria also left the group for the time being. She was heading to the Isle of Armor next, where Leon had helped arrange Mustard's test for her.

Damian knew very well that if she passed the test, Gloria could receive Kubfu, the offspring of Mustard's Urshifu.

That was a huge opportunity for Gloria, and as the former Galar Champion, Mustard's teaching would be very beneficial too.

So naturally, Damian wouldn't stop her.

Not long after leaving the Crown Tundra, Damian's phone rang.

He picked it up and saw it was Rose calling.

"Yo~ Mr. Chairman, you sure have time on your hands."

"Hehe~ Damian, when are you coming to Wyndon to sit down for a bit?"

Rose's magnetic, mature voice really was charming.

"In a few days. What's up?"

"Damian, you've done quite a lot these last couple of days."

"Mr. Chairman, what makes you say that?" Damian pretended to be surprised. "I've been adventuring in the Crown Tundra these past two days. I only just came out of there."

Hearing that, even Rose couldn't help but laugh.

"My stubborn little brother, and Gloria—weren't they both talked into joining your Team Rocket by you, Damian?"

When he got those two pieces of news, Rose was honestly shocked.

He really couldn't understand how Damian pulled it off.

Rose's attitude toward Peony had always been rather complicated. He really wanted to reconcile with Peony, whether because of family or because of Peony's strength.

Rose very much hoped Peony could put aside his grudge and return to the Galar League, but Peony's bad impression of him was too deep, and Rose felt helpless.

As for Gloria...

Gloria was a rookie personally recommended by Leon, and Rose had met her a few times. He also had a good impression of that adorable, talented junior.

But he never expected that in just a few days, both Peony and Gloria would be lured into Team Rocket by Damian.

Rose was completely stunned.

How many days had this guy even been in Galar? Was he some kind of succubus or something?!

"Mr. Chairman, I don't like that wording. What do you mean, 'talked into it'?"

Damian raised a brow.

"We share the same dreams and goals, so we hit it off right away. That's true for both Peony and Gloria."

"Joining Team Rocket and becoming partners was just the natural thing to do."

Damian said this righteously, with no hint of embarrassment about poaching people.

"Heh heh heh..."

Rose couldn't help laughing when he heard that.

"Anyway, I do have to thank you, Damian, for getting Peony to cheer up again."

Rose brushed past the topic and said with emotion.

"My little brother is just too stubborn. Even though I wanted to talk to him, he wouldn't even meet me."

When Peony was mentioned, Rose's tone grew much more complicated. No matter what, Peony was still his little brother.

Damian didn't deny it. In fact, even though the game's plot never said it outright, during the years Rose served as chairman, he definitely tried more than once to reach out and talk to Peony.

Otherwise, in the Crown Tundra plot, Oleana couldn't have known Peony, and it also made clear that Peony's personality was worlds apart from Rose's.

"Mr. Chairman, you're too polite. As for why he was willing to join Team Rocket, I should be thanking you."

Damian replied modestly.

"..."

Rose fell silent.

He seemed to more or less understand how Damian had persuaded Peony to join Team Rocket.

Could Damian have said something like helping Peony get revenge on him? Probably. Even if it wasn't exactly that, it was probably close.

In any case, Damian had definitely used his name to make his point.

How was Rose supposed to react to that? It was hard to judge.

"Forget it. Anyway, as long as Peony can get his fighting spirit back, that's a good thing."

Rose didn't bother thinking about it anymore. The fact that his little brother hadn't kept "sinking" was already a huge relief.

"Damian, I welcome you to Wyndon. There's something pretty important I need to talk to you about in person."

Rose said to Damian.

"Got it."

After hanging up, Damian looked at his phone and fell into thought. Something important?

Eternatus?

Still, whatever it was, Wyndon was a place he was supposed to visit anyway.

Ballonlea was a small town built inside a hollowed-out giant tree.

The Gym Leader of Ballonlea was Opal, the oldest Gym Leader in the Galar region. At fifty, Opal was Mustard's rival, though not his opponent.

And this year, because of her age, Opal was searching everywhere for an heir.

Of course, that had nothing to do with Damian.

"This city is kind of amazing. It's really pretty."

Dawn looked around. Everywhere was full of beautiful decorations, and if it were night, it would probably look dreamy and enchanting.

"Well, the Ballonlea Gym Leader is the type who's always going on about 'with pink,' so the town's style follows her lead."

Damian didn't deny it. Opal's title was "fantastic theater," and she had spent her whole life pursuing "with pink." As for what her "with pink" actually meant, only she knew.

But one thing was certain: Opal's mental state was a little concerning.

Take Bede, for example. He had originally been a sharp-tongued, savage, arrogant man, and his personality was very unlikeable, which made him quite out of place.

But it had to be said that Bede's strength and talent were indeed outstanding.

And yet even Bede, after Opal's "teaching," had gone from a cocky young hotshot to a mysterious guy who started muttering "with pink."

That showed just how terrifying Opal's "magic" really was.

The four of them wandered around Ballonlea. This town had a lot of unique charm, so it never got boring.

About an hour later, things suddenly got chaotic in the streets.

Damian turned around and saw a white-haired boy in green and pink clothes running for dear life, gritting his teeth as he ran, looking like he was... escaping?

He looked extremely refined. His soft white short-cut hair and pale skin even made people wonder about his gender.

That's right—if not for his completely flat chest, people might even have mistaken him for a girl.

"Huh? Bede, you ran out again? How many times is that now?"

"Seventh time, I guess? Why bother, when Gym Leader Opal treats you so well?"

"Yeah, yeah. She likes you so much, you should just give in and go along with her. We all believe you can take over Ballonlea Stadium."

The bystanders said with a laugh to Bede, leaving the boy named Bede looking red one second and green the next.

"Shut up!!! I will never compromise with that old hag!"

Bede was both embarrassed and furious, but his feet never slowed.

These guys were just the kind who loved stirring up trouble when watching a show. How would they know what he'd been through?!

Soon, Bede ran out of Ballonlea and into Glimwood Tangle. Ballonlea was surrounded by Glimwood Tangle.

"Damn! Where the hell is the exit?!"

After taking several turns, Bede quickly got tired, and he also realized something was wrong.

Even though Glimwood Tangle was huge, there shouldn't be this few paths going back and forth in this damn place, right?

"This place has been shrouded in a mist by those Fairy-type Pokémon. There's no way you're getting out unless you can find the Gym Leader's Pokémon."

A leisurely teasing voice drifted over.

"Who is it?!"

Bede snapped around instantly, his gaze cold and fierce.

What met his eyes, however, was a group of one man and three women. Bede's sharp brows creased slightly.

"A grown man running around outside in clothes like that? You've got guts."

Damian sized up Bede's outfit and couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Shut up! You think I like this?!"

Bede's face instantly flushed red, and he snarled at Damian.

"Do you know what I've been through lately? Do you know what kind of torture I've suffered?! Pink! Pink! It's all pink!!"

Bede grabbed his head in despair, his face twisting.

What was he facing every day now?

A world full of pink surroundings and puzzles, spending day after day with Fairy-type Pokémon. That old hag was practically trying to ruin him!

Sure, she did teach him about Fairy-type insights and tactics and stuff, but what Bede wanted more was freedom.

And the most terrifying thing was, he'd actually started accepting pink!

How could a handsome man like him like something like pink? Especially while wearing clothes this disgusting.

Tsk~

Seeing Bede like that, Damian couldn't help clicking his tongue again.

Meanwhile, the three girls—Caitlin and the others—looked even stranger.

"Alright, looks like you really are pretty troubled. So how about we make a deal?"

Damian thought for a moment, then said to Bede.

"What deal?" Bede covered his head. He thought the people in front of him all looked very mysterious.

And then... it seemed like they were here for him?

"You battle Dawn. If you can defeat Dawn, I'll tell you how to get out of Glimwood Tangle. I'll even stop Opal from chasing you."

Damian pointed at Dawn beside him.

Hearing that, Bede's expression lit up instantly.

"And if you lose, you join my organization. How about it?"

"No problem!"

Bede agreed without the slightest hesitation, arrogance rising in his expression as he stared directly at Dawn.

As long as he could get away from that old hag who kept tormenting him, Bede could absolutely agree!

Besides, he didn't think he'd lose!

That girl called Dawn looked about his age at most, and among people his age, aside from Gloria, he'd never lost to anyone else!

What's more, he'd already been trained by that old hag. He hated the pink she kept forcing on him, but it had to be said that his strength had improved a lot!

Even if he met Gloria again, he was confident he could defeat her.

"Okay, it's a deal."

Damian was very satisfied with Bede's answer.

Dawn took out a Poké Ball and slowly walked to the other side of Bede.

"My name is Platinum Berlitz, and you can also call me Dawn. Please guide me."

Dawn gave Bede a graceful little bow, full of proper manners.

Bede nodded slightly in return, then lifted his chin proudly.

"My name is Bede, the elite among elites! You'd better keep that name in mind!"

Bede shifted his body slightly, raised his left arm to point at Dawn, looking both flamboyant and confident.

"I'll show you what the supreme with pink is all about!"

Trainer Bede has come to challenge!

But right after saying that, noticing Dawn's strange gaze, Bede's face turned ugly as he cursed inwardly. Damn!

That damn old hag had definitely cast some kind of spell on him!!

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