Pokémon from Galar

Sonia didn't really care about the source of Mary's story. Even if what she said was true, there was no evidence to prove it, so in the end, Sonia still had to find the clues herself.

"Anyway, if you ask me, all I can say is that I heard it from Pokémon."

"Could it be the Slumbering Forest? Is there something in there?"

"..."

Mary was taken aback, not expecting Sonia to grasp the key point so quickly. But it wasn't the right time yet. What if she took it out prematurely, and those two foolish nobles found out and came to snatch it away?

Can Wujitai still fight?

Although Marnie doesn't remember all the details clearly, she has an incredibly deep impression of the final legendary Pokémon. Its base stats after Dynamaxing were over 1,100, which was stronger than Arceus and Necrozma...

"Yes, it definitely exists, but you can't get in. Have you forgotten what happened to Yuri before?"

"...That's true. We really need to start from other places. Anyway, thank you. I didn't expect to get this information so soon after starting the investigation. I guess I'm quite lucky."

"Look, look! This is my League card! Doesn't it give me the feeling of an elite trainer?"

Yuri, who had already finished making the first version of the Alliance Cards, ran over with several cards in her hands and handed one to each of Mary and Sonia.

"It's quite cute."

Mary looked at the cute short-haired girl making a peace sign on the League card; surprisingly, she looked quite photogenic.

"Oh, by the way, I have an old Alliance Card from Dan Di. Here, I'll give it to you."

As if remembering something, Sonia took out her Alliance Card Album from her bag, picked out a Dante Alliance Card, and handed it to Yuri.

Although it was a fairly common champion outfit, the fact that it had Leon's signature made Yuri, a champion fan, extremely happy.

Chapter Fifteen: A Gift from My Brother, an Unknown Elf Egg

After retrieving their respective Pokémon, the three left the Pokémon Center.

Reaching the central avenue, Sonia pointed to the most prominent building at the very front and smiled at Yuri, saying:

"The opening ceremony for this year's gym challenge will start the day after tomorrow. Mary will take you to register later. As for me, I'll go to the clothing store first. You can call me if you need anything."

Sonia made a phone gesture and was about to leave when Mary spoke up:

"Want to go out for dinner together later?"

"Sure, I'll wait for you at the Shy Bud Hotel?"

Where is the "Mimosa Bud Hotel"?

Yuri tugged at Mary's sleeve and asked curiously.

"That's a hotel provided free of charge by the organizers for challengers. You can stay there for free after you register."

"Oh, is it really that good?!"

"Then I won't bother you two any longer. See you later!"

Sonia waved, then greeted I-chan and the others beside her before heading to the clothing store alone.

After saying goodbye to Sonia, Mary took Yuri straight to the registration location.

"Hey hey hey! Marie-chan, Marie-chan! That Pokémon over there is so cute! What's it?"

"Ok?"

Following the direction Yuri pointed, Marie looked over and saw a Slimy walking by with her trainer.

"That's Slimie, a Grass-type. After evolving, it's good at both attack and defense."

"So cute! I want to have one too!"

Yuri clung to Mary's arm and began to drift into her strange state again.

Recently, as we've been traversing the Wild Area, every time we encounter an adorable Pokémon, it pesters Marie to say it wants to raise one, but it's never actually happened. So Marie has learned to ignore Yuri's eccentric behavior.

"Alright, alright... Anyway, go register first. If you want to raise one after that, I'll take you to the wilderness to find a Sweet Bamboo."

Holding Yuri's wrist, Mari made an apologetic gesture to Slimy and her trainer, then led Yuri away from the spot.

After strolling along the main road, we finally arrived at the steampunk-style elevator before dinner and reached the gate of the Machine Arena.

"So big..."

"After all, it's a fire-type gym, and none of the other gyms are small."

Several alliance staff members were standing at the entrance maintaining order. The area at the entrance was filled not only with participating members but also with onlookers.

Considering there were too many people here, Mary once again put Dorombalut back into the ball.

That's the downside of large Pokémon; in crowded areas of bustling cities, they're more likely to stay inside their Poké Balls.

As for Ichigo, she's practically Ralts's babysitter now. The two of them get along quite well, so Marie just lets her be.

The two squeezed through the crowd and entered the arena.

Ignoring the athletes dressed in identical competition uniforms around them, the two walked to the counter.

"Are you two ladies signing up for this year's dojo challenge?"

"Yes, this is my invitation."

"Ah...mine, mine's over here...wait a minute..."

Mary readily took out her brother's invitation and handed it over, while Yuri opened her backpack and searched for a while before finally finding the champion's invitation.

"Okay, let me see... This is the dojo master's recommendation, and this... Oh! This is the first time I've seen a champion's recommendation letter. Little girl, it seems that the Pill Emperor has high hopes for you!"

As if they had seen something rare, the staff were somewhat surprised and lost their composure for a moment before continuing to complete the challenger's data entry.

"The data entry is complete. Now, please choose a number you like. This number will be printed on the back of your competition uniform."

"960, my number."

Mary didn't think too much about it. The number was given to her by people back in her hometown, and it seemed to have some meaning, but she couldn't quite remember...

"Hmm...then I'll go with 069!"

"..."

When Yuri noticed Mary glancing over, she scratched her cheek a little shyly and chuckled.

"Okay, your numbers have been registered. The day after tomorrow, we will distribute your competition uniforms here and hold the opening ceremony. Before that, you can stay at the Shy Bud Hotel, which is sponsored by the president, for free."

Thank you~

"Well, thank you."

After thanking them, the two girls prepared to leave, as they hadn't had dinner yet and were quite hungry.

Politely declining the offer to lead the way, which would have added to the staff's workload, Mary led Yuri toward the nearby Shy Bud Inn.

Looking at Yuri, who was beside her with her head down playing on her phone, Mari glanced at the screen curiously and asked:

"What are you doing?"

"Hehe, it's Hep. I just told him the opening ceremony time and asked when he could arrive."

"Then how do you say it?"

"It seems like it will arrive by noon tomorrow."

"I see. By the way, will you be fighting against Hop?"

"A battle?"

"Yeah, I heard from Sonia that you two were planning to be rivals, right? Tearful Lizard has been training really hard these past few days."

"Um... As for Hop, even if I didn't say anything, he would probably come looking for me to fight."

"Isn't that great?"

Mary, holding Yuri's hand, stopped in front of a shop and pointed to the green sign above.

"We've arrived."

The two girls pushed open the door, and in the lobby of the Shybud Inn stood a savior statue several meters tall. Below the statue, Sonia stood, gazing at it, seemingly deep in thought.

To Mary's surprise, the man next to Sonia was dressed in an exaggerated rock style and had his hair dyed black and white.

"Sister Sonia~"

"Brother? What are you doing here?"

"Huh?"

Yuri, who had just finished greeting everyone, froze on the spot after hearing Mary call him "brother," and looked the extravagantly dressed man and Mary up and down several times.

"Mary, how have you been lately?"

"It's the same as always, but we've got more partners. By the way, why did you come to the hotel where the contestants are staying, brother?"

The young man scratched his head, explaining with some distress:

“I ran into Sonia on the way. She said you had just arrived here, so she dragged me along with her.”

Meanwhile, Yuri tugged at Sonia's hand and asked curiously:

"I remember this person..."

"Yes, you know Yuri too? Mary's brother is Nie Zi, the current Gym Leader of Spiketown."

"Huh?!"

Mary did hear Yuri and Sonia's conversation, but she was more concerned about what was in the bag her brother was carrying on his shoulder.

"Brother, you didn't just come all this way to see me, did you?"

"Of course not, I've prepared a gift for you, Mary."

Nie Zi patted the items on her back and a rare smile appeared on her face.

"Gift?"

"Yes, a congratulatory gift for officially participating in the gym challenge."

As she said this, Nie Zi reached into her backpack, opened it, and pulled out... a Pokémon egg protected by an incubation device.

"...What kind of spirit is this?"

"How about keeping it as a surprise feature?"