He knows Pokémon better than me.

The next day, instead of relaxing in the castle, Ash hopped on his Rotom bicycle and set off again.

Holding the front of the car with one hand, he sped across the open fields.

"Looks like Hop's training's really going well. He even invited me to go raid a Max Raid Den today?"

Ash was playing with his phone with his other hand, and several of his Galar friends had responded to his messages.

Especially Mary, who has sent him quite a few text messages recently, inviting him to come to Souzen Town to watch her dojo challenge.

However, at that time he was still in the Xicui area and could not receive a signal at all.

Fortunately, the two months in Xicui area were shortened to ten days.

I glanced at the top right corner and saw that Mary's gym challenge was at 8 p.m., so there was still time to go.

It's strange, but some people actually schedule gym challenges for the evening?

"If we go to Suchuan Town, we can see if we can restore those two fossils!"

Ash also brought along the two fossils he had dug up in the mine before—a fossil dragon and a fossil fish.

The fossils from the Galar region are arguably the worst quality in the entire region.

In other regions, only one piece is needed to easily restore the area.

However, fossils from the Galar region typically require several pieces to piece together a complete genetic sequence.

It's said that the restored Pokémon weren't normal fossils, and the restoration techniques weren't up to par, which led to the fossil research institute in Sogdiana being closed for a long time.

"Anyway, let's go and see what's going on."

However, before heading to Strangetown, we can meet up with Hop first and have a long-awaited Dynamax raid battle.

Chi Chi Chi -!
The Rotom bicycle sparked and flashed all the way, and when it reached the shore of Lake Minas, it automatically switched into the form of a floating wheel, accelerating on the water turbine.

With the help of Aura, Ash quickly located his Kingler, which was buried in the mud at the bottom of the lake, blowing bubbles.

Moreover, there are quite a few high-level Pokémon in Lake Milotic, and he sensed at least three Gyarados with not-so-weak Aura.

Seeing that Kingler was alright, Ash didn't bother to wake it up. He simply used Aura to send a greeting from afar before riding off towards the north of the Wild Area.

Then, amidst a mist, we passed through the arched bridge corridor of the City of Machines.

The bully Gardevoir was still patrolling the area, drifting and floating in the hazy white mist like an older sister in a long dress, its figure rather eerie.

"Bee!"

Even from a distance, the baby dragon on his shoulder trembled in fright and burrowed into his collar, seemingly terrified.

"Uh, don't be afraid. As long as we don't get too close, that Gardevoir won't attack us randomly."

Ash quickly rubbed the baby dragon in his arms, understanding dawning on him.

He had already guessed that this ancient dragon would evolve in the direction of "evil + dragon," just like Hydreigon.

Gardevoir, being a Fairy-type, is four times weak to it, making it an absolute counter.

Ash decided to temporarily put Bagon into its Poké Ball. The wild Pokémon north of the Wild Area are generally a level higher than those in the southern areas, so it's better to let Bagon adapt slowly.

After entering the northern wilderness and crossing the southern rocky plains, a vast expanse of sand and dust stretched before us.

It wasn't a desert, but a barren, hard Gobi desert with many dead trees that had lost all their leaves.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
A hazy, yellowish dust cloud still hung in the air, making the environment look quite harsh.

The sand dune is the central area of ​​the northern wilderness, surrounded by high earthen slopes, so the sandstorms cannot spread to other places.

As you approach this area, you can already see many Ground-type Pokémon, such as Excadrill, Dugtrio, and Hippowdon, roaming around.

A vulture, Na, hovered in the air, its eyes sinister and dangerous.

"Liga!!!" Upon seeing humans approaching, it immediately let out a hoarse and unpleasant cry and swooped down to prey.

"Pickup!"

Pikachu immediately leaped up, its electricity surging, ready to give the vulture an electrotherapy treatment first.

Sensing the approaching danger of the electric current, the vulture Na moved with lightning speed, its wings grabbing the bone club on its head like hands and hurling it with great force.

"A bone boomerang?"

Ash's eyes lit up as a bird used a Ground-type move—a Vulture that knew about type advantages.

Zizzi——!
The bone rod rotates and collides with the electric current, thus completely immunizing itself against it.

It's only attribute immunity, and only applies to opponents of similar level.

Pikachu's level is clearly far superior to this Vulpix, so it should be a Bully Vulpix.

Similar to the "boss Pokémon" scattered in the wild in the Greenland region, the wild areas of the Galar region are also home to some "bullies" whose level and strength are a level higher than the surrounding Pokémon.

However, the "bullies" are more rational and can be communicated with.

The bully Diggerbuck near the castle had its eye on Ash's Magearna and wanted to join the castle as a laborer, but Ash decisively refused.

The bully is only slightly larger in size, not as exaggerated as the leader Pokémon of the Green Pokémon, which is three times larger.

"Pickup!!"

With a shout from Pikachu, the electric current pushed the bone club back completely, finally striking Vulpix.

The latter's body convulsed in mid-air before crashing to the ground in a sorry state, presumably dying instantly.

It's just that the bone club is immune to lightning, but the body itself is still afraid of electric shocks.

Pikachu then landed steadily on Ash's shoulder, and the wild Pokémon that had wanted to approach the sand dune scattered in all directions.

"That's fine too!"

Xiao Zhi was delighted and rode his bike straight towards the pinkish-purple pillar of light that shot into the sky in the center of the sand dune.

Upon seeing the Pokémon den, there was already someone guarding it.

Her short, dark purple hair was tied up, and she was still wearing athletic pants and a wool sweater, with a crossbody bag on her back.

Upon seeing Ash approach, the cheerful boy immediately smiled and waved:

"Hey over here, Ash!! Long time no see~!"

Ash rode his bike closer, and the brown-skinned young man in front of him was none other than Hop. He did look much more mature than before.

Under Dan Di's care, it must have undergone intense training, right?

“This area is always patrolled by that bully, Vulpix, so very few trainers can directly reach this central Pokémon den.”

Hop gave a reminder, but judging from Ash's expression, he should have easily broken through the blockade of that Vulture.

"Long time no see, Hop~"

Xiao Zhi replied simply, and of course, his "long time no see" really meant a long time.

His gaze then fell on the Pokémon den; it was Hop who had invited him here this time.

Judging from the color and imposing presence of the beam of light, Ash estimates it to be a four-star Pokémon den.

Rotom pulled out his phone to investigate and quickly provided specific information:

"Beep beep! Pokémon den identified! Type: Normal. Star rating: Four stars. Weather: Sandstorm Roto~!"

Below this is a black silhouette image—(End of Chapter)