Pokémon from Galar

"It's more ceremonial."

"Alright..."

Chapter 167 Arrival

Just as Mary had guessed, they set off at night and arrived in the daytime, with the time difference between the two places feeling exactly twelve hours.

"Oh, I'm here already? It feels exactly the same..."

Yuri surveyed Alola from mid-air, finding nothing particularly different. At least to her, someone not native to Alola, there was no difference.

"Of course, I already said it's another Alola. Alright, time to land."

Solgaleo landed in front of Mizuki's house. After Mari helped Yuri off Solgaleo's back, they ran into Mizuki, who had noticed the commotion and came out of the house.

"Marie?! You're back!"

As Mary unbuttoned her protective suit, she turned to look at Mizuki, smiled, and nodded, saying:

"I'm not too late, am I? I've only been there for two days."

"I'm late! Lillie helped me deal with the monster I encountered yesterday!"

She deliberately feigned a sullen expression, though her tone held no anger whatsoever. Mary didn't mind, and after helping Yuri undo and put away her protective suit, she smiled and introduced it to her:

"That's Mizuki, the first Alola Champion."

"Oh! Alola~ My name is Yuri, and I'm a friend who travels with Marie-chan."

Yuri stared wide-eyed at Mizuki, who was dressed in revealing clothing; the title of champion carried considerable weight.

"Alola, my name is Mizuki, and I'm also Mari's friend. But speaking of which, you brought your friend along this time, it's not like we're on a sightseeing trip."

Mary smiled and took Yuri's hand, without explaining in too much detail.

“My sudden disappearance last time was too scary, so I brought her with me this time.”

"Well...that's true."

Mizuki stared at Yuri's face for a while, smiled ambiguously, and then turned around and led them into her house. Yuri felt a little uneasy under her gaze and subconsciously shrank closer to Mari, but still obediently followed her inside.

"Stay at my place this time too, I haven't even cleaned the room you stayed in last time."

"Is that okay... I was planning to take Yuri to find a hotel."

"It's okay, it's okay. My parents have been extremely busy with the league lately and haven't been home for the past two days."

Mary smiled. She hadn't seen Mizuki's parents many times when she was there before. She turned to Yuri and asked:

"What does Yuri think?"

"Mary, it's up to you to decide."

Yuri nodded, not intending to offer any opinion, and so the matter of where to stay was settled.

What are your plans for today?

"I'm planning to buy a swimsuit this afternoon or evening so I can go to the beach."

"Oh, that's great! Should I go find Lillie too?"

Mizuki sat on the sofa with an envious look on her face. After the island tour ended, there was nothing special to do. Even though she wanted to expand her team, it would take time to catch the right Pokémon. So she just spent her days training.

"Ha... Anyway, I'm going to get some sleep first. It was the middle of the night when I came here."

"Oh—is that so? Then you've had jet lag twice in the last few days, hahaha~"

"Anyway, goodnight, and don't call us for lunch."

Mary glared at Mizuki, who laughed out loud without any restraint, then took Yuri's hand and walked towards the room she had stayed in before.

"Goodnight, goodnight~ I'm going to find Lillie. The key is still in your room, so please feel free to do as you please."

Mizuki waved her hand, gave her instructions, and then walked out of the house with six Poké Balls hanging from her. She summoned Salamence and flew towards Lillie's house.

Mary entered the room and looked around the familiar space. There was indeed no tidying up. She casually put her backpack aside, turned on the air conditioning, and turned to Yuri, who had relaxed slightly, smiling as she asked:

"Would you like to take another shower?"

"I'm fine, I didn't sweat at all during that short time."

"Then let's sleep. You can squeeze in with me. This bed is quite big."

Mary drew the curtains before returning to the bedside, while Yuri had already taken off her shoes and stretched on the bed.

"It feels like a vacation."

Mary, who was taking off her shoes, suddenly heard Yuri's words, and amusedly climbed onto the bed to look at the girl lying next to her.

"Well, it does look quite similar, but we'll still have to deal with Ultra Beasts, so it won't be a real vacation."

"Hmm... Even though I insisted on coming along, it seems like I can't help Ultra Beasts at all."

Mary pulled the blanket up and lay down next to Yuri, then gently rubbed Yuri's cheek.

"It's just that I can't help you for the time being. Besides, I only planned to bring you here to have fun. Interpol is in charge of Ultra Beasts, and if you're strong enough, they won't let you get involved."

"Huh?! Interpol?"

"Yes, they are two very serious people, so Yuri, you don't need to feel guilty. I brought you here simply because I wanted to be with you."

Mary spoke a little too quickly, blurting it out before she even realized it. Hearing this, Yuri's face flushed red. Although she knew Mary hadn't meant it, it was incredibly moving.

Yuri buried her face in the blanket, lowered her head and pretended to sleep, avoiding Mary's gaze.

Seeing the somewhat hasty retreat, Mary smiled rather happily. Although it was just an accident, it did seem somewhat interesting as a result of a test.

After all, Yuri is cute and has a great personality. More importantly, she grows quickly as a trainer. Although with Marie around, it's uncertain whether she can become a champion in the future, but she definitely has the potential.

The reason Mary didn't dare to have any romantic feelings was simply because Yuri acted too much like a typical straight woman in many ways.

But now it seems like things aren't quite the same.

Of course, this idea only crossed Marie's mind and didn't materialize. Both of them were still in the early stages of becoming trainers, and Marie also had memories of the Eternatus incident.

"what……"

Mary also felt sleepy. She covered her mouth and yawned, then imitated Yuri by pulling the blanket up and burying her face in it to block the sunlight streaming in through the curtains. She quickly fell asleep.

The room was quiet for a short while. Suddenly, Yuri sneakily pulled back the blanket a little to reveal her eyes, looking at Mary, who was sleeping with half her face covered. Her loose black hair fell on her cheek, giving her a more delicate and fragile appearance.

"...Mari-chan?"

"..."

She whispered the girl's name, and after confirming that the other girl didn't respond at all, Yuri blushed and boldly moved a few steps closer.

Chapter 168 Taking a Walk and Chatting

I didn't sleep for too long, since I need to sleep at night too, and it would be inconvenient if I slept straight through the night now.

With the help of the alarm clock, Mary opened her eyes first and casually turned off the alarm on the Rotom phone floating in mid-air. Only then did Mary realize that Yuri had somehow snuggled up in her arms, curled up like a kitten.

"Hmm... Marie-chan?"

"Are you awake? Get up and wash up."

Looking down at Yuri, who was squinting and tilting her head back, Mary smiled and whispered in her ear. The warm breath and the slightly ticklish feeling made Yuri shiver involuntarily.

"...I...I'll go wash up first!"

Yuri hurriedly ran out of Mary's arms. She was still a little shy. She could do some small things secretly while Mary was asleep, but if they were both awake, Yuri would be especially shy.

Mary watched as Yuri fled and disappeared outside the room before lazily sitting up, stretching. She wasn't feeling well, but there was nothing she could do but bear it.

I got out of bed and changed into a dress. I was thinking about where to have dinner. Going to Hao'ao City would be enough. It's being developed as a tourist city, so there are plenty of good food options and swimwear shops.

However, another option is Koniko City, where Captain Shuiren and Mao live. Moreover, Mao's family owns a restaurant, and Mari is also eager to try the food at Mao's family restaurant in this world.

Not paying much attention to the two options, Mary left the room to wash up. After she finished, she found Yuri sitting in the room, looking a little bored.

Since the Rotom phone doesn't have a network-connected communication account in this world, it can only be used as a Pokédex entry. Thinking about it that way, Marie decided it was better to go to Hau'lor City.

After all, we need to buy Yuri a working phone card. Since it's a tourist city, those cheap temporary cards that last for half a month or a month are quite affordable.

"Let's go to Hao'ao City for dinner and do some shopping while we're there."

"Mmm! Let's go! Swimsuits!"

Upon hearing Mary's suggestion, Yuri jumped up from her chair, looking quite excited. In fact, Mary was just as excited; she also wanted to see Yuri in a cute swimsuit, but she just didn't show it.

The Pokémon were still sleeping in their Poké Balls, so Marie and Yuri didn't disturb them. They simply hung the Pokémon around their waists and walked away from Mizuki's house.

It's still quite a distance to downtown Hao'ao from here, but since it's still early, neither Yuri nor Mary are in a hurry. Instead, they happily enjoy their walk together.

"To be honest, although I've temporarily captured Sirfetch'd, I'm still quite hesitant about whether to let him go out and challenge the gym."

When Yuri rushed to Alola with Sonia, Sirfetch'd's sword and shield were so big and heavy that they could only be taken on the plane inside a Poké Ball. So, he's currently considered Yuri's temporary member.

"Well, it's fine if he doesn't mind, and Sirfetch'd be quite eager to battle the Gym Leader."

"What I mean is, how about you, Mary, take Farfetch'd to challenge Bea's Gym Leader? I'm not very confident that I can be a competent leader."

Yuri chuckled and scratched her head. In fact, she was quite strong as a trainer, both in terms of theoretical knowledge and adaptability. Her only weakness was that she lacked experience.

“Since Sirfetch’t agreed to let you put him in the Poké Ball, I think you should trust his choice, Yuri. You see, even though I’ve come back these past two days, he hasn’t said anything extra.”

"Well……"

Seeing that Yuri still looked hesitant, Mary raised her hand and patted Yuri's head, smiling as she said:

"Don't be afraid of failure. Onion Sol will cooperate with you. Do you want me to help you get used to this kind of battle during this period? You need to get used to this kind of battle."

Yuri chuckled a few times as Mary patted her head. Negi Yui's strength was roughly the same as Pazu and Ichigo's, but Yuri often felt that Mary was stronger than her, so she would subconsciously back down a bit.

Given their close relationship, the fact that they've never seriously fought each other, and the fact that Yuri consistently outclasses him, it's not hard to understand why she would subconsciously develop these feelings.

But how to put it? If they were in different professions, it might not matter, but Yuri and Marie are both trainers, and they will meet on the battlefield one day. This kind of mentality is not fair to Yuri's Pokémon.

Yuri was somewhat aware of Marie's intentions, which is why she seemed a little happy. Yuri was also someone who liked Pokémon battles, and since Marie offered to help her, Yuri naturally wouldn't let go of the hand that was extended in front of her.

"Thank you, I will try my best!"

"It would be great if we could go through the gym together and then battle each other in the knockout stage."

Mary smiled and painted a rosy picture for the two of them, at least for Yuri, who thought the idea was a bit too far-fetched.

However, Mari, who was aware of Yuri's and her own growth rate, did not think this idea was a pipe dream.