He knows Pokémon better than me.

The Rotom drone immediately lowered its altitude to check, then took off again and loudly declared:
"Didi Alcremie has lost her ability to fight!!"

"Since all three of Popura's Pokémon are unable to battle, Marie is the winner of this Dance Arena Challenge!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers, especially the cheering squads scattered throughout the venue, whose shouts made the entire audience tremble.

"What incredible fans!"

Even Xiao Zhi was tormented by the fourfold noise behind him: "noise," "chatter," "loudness," and "roaring," so much so that he could only cover his ears with his hands.

The fanatic fans are terrifying!
The outcome was decided, and Popira could only recall Alcremie, letting out a helpless sigh.
"Looks like the power of pink isn't enough today~"

On the other side, the Commander of the Cleaves was also kneeling on the rock, panting heavily. The battle had taken a huge toll on it.

Without the energy to sustain it, the surrounding cream gradually dissipated, as if it had never existed.

If this continues on the field, it would probably take three days and three nights just to clean up all that cream.

"Good job, Commander Slash!"

Mary wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled. All the special training she had received had finally paid off!

Popella had already walked over, leaning on her small parasol, and looked at Mary with her eyes crinkling, making no attempt to hide her admiration.
"What a fantastic battle, little girl! You've shown me something completely different!"

If she hadn't already chosen her disciple, she would have forcibly taken Mary as her successor in the arena right now.

"Thank you for your guidance, Miss Popella!"

Mary quickly bowed politely, after all, what she had just seen was not Popira's full strength. It was only on the stage of the Galar League Conference that she could witness the latter's true strength.

"So this is proof of passing the dance arena test, Fairy Badge~!"

Popella smiled and handed the latter a fragment badge, shaped like a small axe, with a pattern resembling a pink butterfly on its surface.

Mary quickly and solemnly accepted it, carefully inserting it into her badge ring. Now, with the entire ring complete, only two gaps remained—

The Evil Crest held by his own brother, and the Dragon Crest held by the strongest Gym Leader, Rabana!
"Uh, the next two are not simple either~"

Mary breathed a sigh of relief, but she wasn't in a hurry to take on the challenge. She was probably the fastest progressing contestant in this year's Galar League.

Congratulations, Mary!

Xiao Zhi also came up and congratulated him with a smile.

Of course, as soon as he said it, he felt as if countless vicious eyes were staring at him from behind.

If it were a free-for-all, he would probably be surrounded by dozens of cheering squads by now, facing a gauntlet of challenges, right?
"Oh~ Is this your friend? You smell so pink! It's really strong!"

Popira stared wide-eyed at Ash with curiosity. This boy seemed to have come into contact with some incredible Fairy-type Pokémon!

Moreover, there's more than one!
She can sense which fairy Pokémon a person has come into contact with just by their scent; this is probably her unique superpower.

Meanwhile, Peter, who had originally intended to mock Popura with a few sarcastic remarks like "You brag so much, but you still lost," suddenly froze on the spot upon seeing Ash's figure, unable to utter a word.

Why is it this jinx again?!
In Grass Road Town, he was once arrested by Ash and taken to the police station.

Once again at the second mine, he was captured by Xiaozhi and handed over to the local miners. He was almost traumatized by the beatings!
He was relieved to have avoided the jinx in Su Chuan Town, but then he was arrested by this old woman!
Ever since I met Xiaozhi, I feel like nothing is going right!

"Hmm? Do you two know each other?"

Popella looked the two of them up and down, but they both shook their heads and shook their hands in the same way.

"Uh, I don't know your student."

Xiao Zhi's lips twitched, and he immediately spoke. He absolutely didn't want to get involved with this troublesome person!

"I've never seen him before either. Teacher, let's hurry up and get to the special training! I think I might be starting to feel a little bit attracted to the fairy attribute!"

Peter urged them on even more.

Once he had gathered all the information about the old woman, he was confident he could take down Popira, deliver a sarcastic remark, and swagger away.

But when facing Ash, it's best to run away first!

"Ah? Looks like you've finally come to appreciate the beauty of pink!"

Although she didn't quite understand it, Popira was overjoyed and still showed a satisfied smile.

This guy actually figured it out ahead of time?!
I was originally planning to treat Mary to dessert after the match and discuss fairy-type training and battles. But I think I'll pass.

Training this new disciple is the most important thing!

Two and a half months later, at the Galar League Conference, she even wanted Peter to take her place in the competition.

Perfect timing, I can finally retire completely!

"Well then, you two, I'll take my leave now."

Popella, leaning on her small parasol, turned and left, with Peter quickly following after her.

But when I turned around, I always felt a strange sense of oppression behind me.
The pressure on one eye is greater than the pressure on dozens of cheerleaders!

After watching the strange "master and apprentice" duo leave, the lively dance arena began to get noisy as the audience gradually got up and left.

Mary pointed to the cheering team members waving at her from the stands not far away and asked Ash:

"Oh right, I'm going to a celebration party with them later, Ash, why don't you come along?"

The cheering team kept their promise and stopped making things difficult for or hindering the other participants.
She also had to keep her promise; after each gym challenge, she had to go to the victory celebration with them, and she had to be there.

"Eh~"

Mary sighed helplessly. She had no way to deal with these "fans." After all, many of the members of the shouting team were fellow villagers from Spiketown, or even elders, and she couldn't drive them away.

"The Shouting Team?"

Ash glanced back and immediately shook his head in refusal.

"Since you're all from the same hometown having a gathering, I'd better not join in the fun. I'll just wander around Wuzi Town by myself for a bit!"

If I actually went to a shouting team gathering, I'd probably spend a night in jail!
Perfect timing! He hadn't really explored Dance Town properly yet, and he was quite interested in this town full of glowing mushrooms.

"All right."

Mary pouted and then reluctantly walked towards the cheering squad.

Immediately, an exceptionally loud cheer erupted from the cheering squad.

Many chubby members of the cheering squad even opened their jackets to reveal T-shirts printed with Mary's image underneath, looking like they were asking for praise.

Mary: "."

It seems she's going to spend a night in jail! (End of Chapter)