Pokémon from Galar

The two girls attracted a lot of attention as they walked down the street. It wasn't that the two girls were pretty, but rather that the huge Dragapult next to them was too eye-catching. After all, it was a very rare and powerful Pokémon, so it was only natural that passersby would be curious about such a Pokémon.

"Hey—! Over here!"

Just as they were about to reach the Pokémon Center, a familiar voice suddenly called out to the two girls.

"Ah, Sister Sonia! It's been so long!"

"Long time no see. I've finally waited for you. I didn't expect you to arrive before that guy Hop."

Yuri was the first to spot Sonia, who was waving and raising her hand, and then followed suit and raised her hand as well.

"Sonia... what are you doing here? Where's the Pokémon Lab?"

Mary sized up the older woman in front of her. To be honest, Mary and Sonia had known each other for a long time, since Mary often assisted her with her research and Mary frequently sought her help with Pokémon-related knowledge.

"Haha~ I was kicked out by Grandma to study a new topic. But I didn't expect Yuri-chan to come with you, Mary. I was worried."

"...If you're worried, then don't leave her alone in the wilderness."

Mary sighed, feeling a headache coming on. If she hadn't run into her, she couldn't imagine how Yuri would have managed to walk out of the wilderness unscathed.

"It's okay, if Hep can do it alone, so can I!"

Yuri felt looked down upon and tugged at Mary's sleeve, trying to defend herself, but after several days of getting to know her, she had become completely unconvincing.

"Is this big guy your new partner, Marie? That's rare! You've finally caught a second Pokémon."

"Hoo~ (Hello~)"

"Oh oh oh~"

Sonia reached out and touched Doronbaruto, who had leaned his head closer, then looked at Mari with some surprise:

"Is this child really the one you recently tamed? Why is he so affectionate?"

"Maybe it remembers your taste. Didn't you make energy cubes for me before? I gave them all to Him to eat."

"Oh... I see..."

"Um... are we still going into the Pokémon Center?"

Yuri cautiously raised her hand and joined in the conversation between the two.

"Haha~ Oh yeah, I was so busy talking I forgot. Come on in."

“That’s true, Draco, you guys should come in into the Pokémon Center first. The door is a bit small... and Nurse Joy will have to give you a check-up later.”

"Hoo... (I understand.)"

Draco glanced at the gate of the Pokémon Center not far away, nodded helplessly, and returned to its Poké Ball.

The three of them entered the Pokémon Center one after another.

Welcome!

"Good afternoon, Sister Joey!"

"Hello, good afternoon, little sister. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, yes, thank you for troubling those two, Sister Joey!"

Yuri carried her two Pokémon over and handed them to Nurse Joy.

Okay~

Nurse Joy's smile was as gentle as ever, and she let the two Pokémon stand on the small cart next to her.

Meanwhile, Marilyn was looking down at Ralts, who was sitting on Ichigo's back...

"Ralu...? (What...?)"

"No, Ralts, you should come along for a checkup too, Ichigo. I'll leave it to you."

"Ee- (Okay, I understand.)"

After thinking it over, Marie decided to hand Ralts over to Nurse Joy for a check-up. After all, she hadn't studied medicine, and it would be beneficial for Nurse Joy to regularly check and treat her Pokémon.

While waiting, Sonia pulled Yuri to Rotom's side, woke Rotom up, and then explained the Alliance Card to Yuri.

In short, just like business cards and portraits, most people, especially gym leaders, like to take nice photos to create League Cards. After all, distributing personally signed League Cards is a way to increase popularity.

Incidentally, Mary's Alliance card is rather ordinary, and Sonia even complained that it wasn't cute at all.

"Oh! Marie-chan, Marie-chan! This looks so interesting!"

"Hmm... If you like, you can make one yourself."

"Has Mary Sauce made this before?"

"Hmm... I have done it before."

"Could I have one?!"

"Sure, wait a moment, let me look..."

Mary rummaged through her backpack and found some Alliance Cards that she had made before but never used. She took one out and handed it to Yuri.

"Hehe~ So cute, I'll keep it safe~"

"...Whatever you want."

P.S.: I just got home this late, and just finished showering... I had to get up at 4:30 this morning, it was pure torture.

Chapter Fourteen: A momentary spoiler is fun, continuous spoilers are even more fun.

While Yuri was engrossed in the League Cards, Sonia and Mari took the lead and sat down in the rest area.

"That child is so cute~ It reminds me of the first time I traveled abroad."

"Then why don't you continue your travels? Kalos would be great, I've always longed for Mega Evolution, Alola would be nice too, Z-Moves are really interesting."

"Hmph, that's just your personal hobby... Go do it yourself, I'm not helping you."

Mary smiled but didn't reply, then changed the subject.

"Sister Sonia, what are you investigating now?"

"Me? I don't even know what I'm supposed to be investigating... Anyway, let's start by investigating the legends from different places."

"Is it that mysterious Pokémon that looks like a phantom?"

"You know? Oh, Yuri-chan told you, right?"

Sonia was surprised for a moment, but immediately realized that she must have heard it from Yuri.

"Yeah, but if I have the chance, I'd also like to go on an adventure in the Misty Forest. These forbidden areas always pique my curiosity."

"No way! There are too many unknowns over there, and now there's a mysterious Pokémon. You kids shouldn't get involved."

Sonia spoke with such righteous indignation, yet she was clearly only in her early twenties, acting as if she were much older...

Mary, however, didn't mind. She rested her chin on her left hand and smiled slightly.

"Now, little brat, there's some information you've been asking for~ Do you want to know?"

"...What do you want to do?"

Sonia reacted quickly. After all, she had been dealing with Mary for quite some time, and she knew that Mary was probably figuring out what she could get out of her again!

"Your reaction... never mind, it's not a big deal. I remember you have a Milotic, Sonia, right?"

"Yeah...what? You want it?"

What am I supposed to do with your Pokémon?

Mary glanced helplessly at Sonia, whose expression changed instantly, and knew that this person was acting.

"I just wanted to ask if your Milotic has laid any eggs yet. You know I found a beautiful scale, right?"

"Then you're too late. Didn't you discard the egg that laid two years ago? Now you're only remembering it? Well, it's gone."

After hearing Mary's request, Sonia immediately became arrogant, tilting her head and starting to expose Mary's past. Mary blushed, somewhat helplessly.

"...I was too embarrassed to take it for free back then, and besides, my brother had already promised to help me find an Eevee, so I wasn't confident that I could take good care of them."

"Hmph~ But that's what I like about Marie, she's so serious and responsible towards every Pokémon."

Sonia has always admired Marie's attitude towards Pokémon, which is why she forced herself to learn so much about Pokémon breeding. She even let Eevee choose its own evolution path...

"Sigh... Never mind, since you don't have it, let's keep this favor for now and see if we need it later."

Mary sighed and waved her hand, saying that since it wasn't possible, she wouldn't force it.

"Huh? Don't give up! Go fish near my house! I started fishing right in front of my house too!"

"...Then why don't you take your Milotic away? Every time I go fishing, it just hangs around there and likes to deliberately bite the hook. Forget about clownfish, I can't even catch a Magikarp!"

"Hehehe~ Then you go and talk to Milotic yourself, tell him that he's in the way and ask him to stay away."

Sonia's smile grew even wider. Of course, she knew that someone as gentle as Mary wouldn't say such hurtful things; after all, Milos genuinely enjoyed playing with Mary.

Strictly speaking, when he said he would lend Milotic to Mary, there was a certain seriousness in his words.

Moreover, Sonia doesn't have many hobbies besides her research; she just enjoys seeing the helpless, frustrated expression on Mary's otherwise indifferent face.

"...Are you even human?"

"Hahahaha~"

Mary didn't want to complain anymore, so she took an orange from her backpack and started eating it.

"Alright, enough joking. Let me tell you about the clues regarding that Pokémon."

Upon hearing the serious topic, Sonia's expression instantly turned serious, and she even took out Rotom's phone to record Mary's words.

"There's no need to record it. The legend of the Dark Night tells of a culprit who caused the Dark Night and a hero who saved Galar. You should remember that, right?"

"Hmm...you wouldn't mean to say..."

"That phantom image is related to a hero."

"...??? Wait a minute, isn't that hero a single person?"

Sonia blinked, looking incredulous. After all, the image of the hero who saved Galar wielding a sword and shield was known to everyone in Galar.

"Then go and investigate yourself. You're here to investigate, right? I've already told you what to do, so why are you going to do it?"

"...Well, that makes sense, but where did you get all this weird information?"