He knows Pokémon better than me.

After the battle ended, Onio walked up to Mari and nervously handed her the Ghost Badge.

The Night Watchman can do other tasks, but he must perform the ritualistic process of bestowing the badge himself.

The Ghost Badge is an irregularly shaped rectangular plate with a pattern of purple mist engraved on it.

"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Onio!"

Mary did not look down on the other person because of their young age; she still politely accepted the gift with both hands and nodded her thanks.

This caused Onio to turn around in a flustered and shy manner.

Xiao Zhi also curiously came closer, looking at the ring in Marie's hand—

The emblems of the Galar region are irregular jigsaw puzzle pieces. When all of them are put together, they can form a circle, thus fulfilling the entry requirements for participating in the Galar League Conference.

"You're making fast, Mary. There are only three left."

Ash offered his congratulations; at this moment, only a few small gaps remained on the badge ring.

To be fair, the Galar Alliance emblem is quite collectible. It would look better displayed on a TV stand at home than individual small emblems.

"Well, but the remaining three gyms are all quite formidable."

Mary's face also showed a serious expression.

The remaining badges are the Fairy Badge of Dance Town, the Dragon Badge of Hammerlocke City, and the Evil Badge of Spike Town.

Let's leave the Badge of Evil aside for now.
Popura from Dance Town is a veteran Gym Leader with many years of experience and formidable strength.

In particular, her fairy attribute greatly counters her proficiency with evil attributes.

And Mr. Chibana of Motogakure is even more formidable, a master who can fight Leon head-on, and is known as the strongest gym leader in Galar.

Composing herself, Mary smiled faintly and addressed Onio:

"Anyway, Mr. Onio, let's face off again at the League Conference. Then we'll see your strongest power!"

That wasn't Onio's full power, of course; for example, that sun coral—

She had investigated and found that Onio also had an even stronger evolution of Corsola, Corsola Magmortar.

At the League Tournament, challengers who have collected all the badges, the ten Gym Leaders, and the strongest Champion, Leon, will compete in an elimination tournament.

Only then will all the museum masters unleash their strongest power.

Onio nodded, his expression under the mask instantly turning ugly. Every year, that segment, with the audience's enthusiastic shouts and tens of thousands of burning eyes, was the most torturous environment for someone like him with social anxiety!
After the match ended, Ash and his friend decided to say goodbye.

"Thank you so much for this materials list!"

Xiao Zhi didn't forget to wave the list in his hand and express his gratitude.

Benedict's cheeks flushed beneath his mask, and he nodded to Ash.

Ash just told him that he wanted his Gengar to drink Max Soup so it could transform into a Gigantamax form like "Giant Gate".

Onio didn't refuse and gave Ash a list of materials.

"Once you've collected them all, you can come anytime. I'll be waiting for you here."

He still speaks haltingly.

Ash glanced at the list. The main ingredient was a kind of food called Dynamax Mushroom, plus Dynamax Sweetness and some other strange ingredients.

As for Dynamax, he seemed to have seen this thing before when he was fighting Pokémon dens; it was a random reward.

I thought it was just another useless thing like big mushrooms and small roots, so I didn't pay much attention and gave it away to others.

It seems that the main ingredient for all types of Max Soup is this "Max Mushroom," with the only difference between the various types of Max Soup being the other minor ingredients.

It turns out it's something very important.

"Then we'll have to go farm a few more Dynamax Dens!"

As Ash left the gym, he secretly made up his mind. Watching the two leave, the huge arena was left with only Onion, and the bright lights around him gradually went out, making his figure look quite lonely.

"Hehehe~" "Hehehe~"

However, soon, several Crying Masks, Mimikyu, and Night Watchers came up and played around Onio, making the atmosphere cheerful again.

"Everyone."

Only after all the outsiders had left did Onio slowly remove his mask.

It revealed a delicate and youthful face, smiled, and started playing with the group of ghost Pokémon around it.

However, this scene seemed somewhat eerie to others!

It was already late at night when we left the dojo.

Ash and Marnie returned to the Pokémon Center. Still excited from their intense gym battle, they weren't in a rush to go to sleep.

The two sat on chairs outside chatting, leaning against the streetlights, quietly observing the night view of Suchuan Town.

At this time, most tourists had returned to their hotels, and the whole town was very quiet.

The stall owners along the street packed up their shelves, which were laden with a dazzling array of goods, and prepared to close their shops.

The streets became much emptier for a time.

The evening breeze occasionally brought a hazy, yellowish dust to Route 6, giving Ash the feeling of being back in Desert City in the Kalos region.

"By the way, Mary, where are you planning to go next?"

Ash couldn't help but glance at the aloof girl beside him. She was resting her chin on her hand, surveying the city in the darkness, but her eyes were vacant, suggesting she was thinking about something else.

"Huh? Oh, next I'll naturally go collect my sixth badge. I think I'll go to Dance Town?"

Mary snapped out of her daze, took out the map, looked around, and then answered.

Dance Town is located northwest of Legend Town, separated only by the Mystic Forest.

It is said to be the most unique and dreamlike forest in the Galar region.

Suddenly remembering something, Mary reminded her:
"By the way, Ash, that Dynamax mushroom you're looking for... it seems like there are wild ones growing in the Glitterwood too."

The Mystic Forest is known for its various glowing mushrooms, and its scenery is especially beautiful and dreamlike at night.

Of course, it's pretty much the same during the day; the dense forest blocks out the sun, and once you enter, the sunlight almost completely disappears.

In the forest, all sorts of other mushrooms also grow.

"The Mystic Forest, huh? That sounds intriguing."

Ash nodded. Now there are two ways to collect Dynamax Fungus.

Mary rested her chin on her hand, looked at Ash, and casually asked:

"By the way, Ash, why did you suddenly come to Traverse Town?"

Surely they couldn't have come all that way just to watch her dojo challenge, right?
Xiao Zhi smiled and replied matter-of-factly:

"Yeah, I came here specifically to watch your dojo match!"

This answer immediately made Mary sit up, her expression turning awkward.

"I was also planning to take a look around here, maybe I could help restore my fossil while I'm at it~"

As he spoke, Xiao Zhi excitedly pulled out two big treasures.

Upon hearing this, Mary relaxed her brow slightly.

However, this should be considered a special trip, right? (End of Chapter)