Pokémon from Galar

Just as Mary was saying these things, Yuri had walked over at some point, curiously pinched the thick, translucent tentacles, and then her gaze fell on Mary's conspicuous legs.

Suddenly feeling her legs being touched, Mary looked down at the bold Yuri with a helpless expression and asked:

"...Why did you suddenly come over here?"

"Eh—ah, because it looks strange. What is this dark stuff? And it feels very smooth."

"The protective layer, though not thick, has very strong special defensive capabilities."

"Did it inherit Nihilego's abilities? Are there any limitations to this form? Let's fight it out now."

Cai Dou nodded slightly and looked at Mary, intending to see firsthand whether this appearance's abilities could actually protect her.

"The duration should not exceed half an hour, and there should be a two-day interval between uses."

"I see, Onio. Let your Pokémon try it out. My Strength and Attack are stronger, so I might not be able to find the right condition."

"...Okay, okay, I'm curious too..."

Onio nodded, then waved to the side, and the Dream Demon appeared out of nowhere.

Without delay, Mary greeted the Dream Demon and floated to one side of the battlefield, creating some distance between them.

The two stood still, and Onio paused for a moment before initiating the battle.

"...Try Shadowball first."

"Whoosh~"

The Dream Demon responded easily, without making any extra movements. A Shadow Ball suddenly appeared in front of it, easily taking shape as if it were eating or drinking, and then shot towards Mary.

Seeing this, Mary quickly shifted her body to the side and launched her fastest attack, Venom Impact!

boom--!

The Shadow Ball exploded in mid-air, but Mary dared not stop. She even felt her heart beating faster and faster. Was this what it felt like to be on the field herself?

Mary raised her tentacles, and the Power Gem quickly gathered in front of her. While maintaining her elusive movement, she launched an attack.

I always feel like I'm about to make a decision about something.

Watching the nightmare being easily torn to pieces, Mary warily observed her surroundings, looking for anything amiss.

'Ah~! (Left side~!)'

The benefit of having two consciousnesses allowed Mary to promptly detect something amiss and quickly unleash a venom blast to the left front, locating the true form of the Dream Demon.

The two people watching from the sidelines were both amazed as Mary unleashed her magnificent special moves against her opponent.

Cai Dou carefully observed Marie on the battlefield and silently assessed her in her mind. Her reaction speed and response ability were both up to standard, and because she did not need to be commanded, her battle pace would be slightly faster than other trainers.

Although she was amazed by the Ultra Beast's ability, this did not prevent Aya from acknowledging Mari's power.

This is yet another trainer who can personally take to the field.

Chapter 231 Entering the Forest of Light

A few days later, in the Mystic Forest.

I-chan, who was standing next to Mary, used a small amount of telekinesis to light up all the glowing mushrooms nearby.

Mary looked at Yuri, who looked nervous beside her, and said with a smile:

"Calm down, there's no need to be so nervous."

"But—why is Mary so calm?"

After all, Yuri was just a little girl in her early teens. Even though she was mentally prepared several days in advance, she was still nervous when the moment came and she knew she would definitely be attacked.

"Because we've already made preparations, of course we won't panic."

"Hmm...that's true, but..."

Yuri glanced at her own shadow subconsciously. She knew it, but expecting her to be as calm as Mary immediately was asking too much.

"Well."

Mary scratched her head. It wasn't that she couldn't understand Yuri's thoughts, and strictly speaking, she herself wasn't calm either. It was just that she had enough confidence and Yuri was by her side, so she appeared very calm.

Mary took Yuri's hand and they intertwined their fingers. She smiled and said:

"If you're scared, hold on tight to me, I'll protect you."

"Mmmmm~"

Yuri leaned closer, wrapped her other arm around Mary's arm, and rested her against Mary.

Although her face was flushed, Yuri became a little bolder thanks to the dim environment of the Mystic Forest.

On a large tree near Mary and her companion, a tiny, dark-colored insect, less than a centimeter in size, was perched, its compound eyes peering through the leaves as the two walked.

……

"Hehe... What a vigilant young lady. Hey, we're already on guard."

Deep in the dense forest, the ordinary-looking, burly man wearing headphones smiled as he looked at the small screen in his hand, then glanced at his temporary teammate beside him.

"What are you still saying now that things have come to this?"

Another slightly thinner, equally ordinary-looking man chuckled. Both of them were people who routinely teetered on the brink of death. As long as you paid enough, they would catch any kind of person or Pokémon for you.

This order, although it was a cross-regional commission, paid a lot of money, and the clients were just two inexperienced young girls. Although one of them seemed quite capable, they were not worried at all. What could a newcomer from a formal competition possibly be worth caring about?

"Phew—wait another half day, let them go a little deeper, and we'll make our move after nightfall. I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place any longer."

The burly man rubbed his buzz cut with some annoyance. This godforsaken place was completely dark, gloomy, and prone to dampness. He had had enough of hiding there for several days.

"I actually quite like it here."

The man chuckled and stretched, then walked over and patted the giant mushroom, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as he looked at the illuminated surroundings.

"I don't care whether you like it or not. If we don't take action today, we'll be in trouble when we get close to Wuzi Town tomorrow."

The burly man glared at the other man. If it weren't for the money, the two of them would never have teamed up on the spot. Neither of them trusted the other. But they were only being so harmonious now because of the money.

"Sigh~ If it weren't for the mission requirements, I would definitely catch a few little fire horses to take back. Those things are worth a lot of money."

"Ah……"

The burly man ignored him. Didn't he know that Pokémon in the Mystic Forest were valuable? If it weren't for the employer's connections that allowed them to enter smoothly, they would never have seen a Psychic-type Ponyta in their entire lives.

But even if you're alive to see it, you have to be alive to take it. He vaguely guessed the other party's identity, so he didn't dare to have any thoughts about it. As long as it wasn't a matter of sending him to his death, he would do whatever his employer said.

However, the employer said that the two girls' Pokémon were at their disposal. Although most of them were common Pokémon, the mission target, Marie, had two very rare Pokémon.

I'll definitely grab it as soon as possible.

The burly man recalled Dragapult and the Pokémon that was supposedly named Nihilego, and a greedy smile appeared on his face. It would be even better if he could catch a Dragapult.

It's easier to catch Pokémon when they're younger; they're not so easy to catch when they're older.

The two fell silent, each harboring their own secrets, and went into the makeshift camp to rest and prepare for the upcoming battle that night.

……

'We're being watched; a tiny, delicate creature is following us.'

Hidden somewhere, the dream demon suddenly appeared before Mary's eyes with these words.

Having grown accustomed to the succubus's masterful illusions, Mari nodded almost imperceptibly, pulled out her Rotom phone, casually opened a page, and pressed the input key.

'understood. '

The brief exchange of information took place entirely within the illusion, and no one except Mary and the dream demon knew about it.

Similarly, Mary didn't plan to tell Yuri, lest her overreact and arouse Yuri's suspicion.

However, the dream demon was quite experienced. At that distance, I-chan's mental power could cover the area, but I-chan did not notice anything amiss with the other party.

However, such ingenious mechanical creations are indeed rare, and it's understandable that I-chan overlooked them because she had never seen them before.

Mary nodded thoughtfully. These experiences are things that need to be supplemented. Although the probability is small, there will always be times when unexpected disasters occur. Such experience in discernment will come in handy when needed.

After that, go find your older brother and learn something. There's no reason why Nie Zi wouldn't know something that Onio knows.

"What are you looking at?"

Yuri noticed Mary's actions at this moment and stuck her head over. The signal in the forest was barely acceptable, and it was still possible to connect to the operator's network.

The screen displayed information about the gym challenge participants. Marie didn't say anything, but found Hop's information, clicked on it, and found that the entry had been updated.

"Huh?! Hep finally passed?"

"Hmm, it seems like it was just yesterday, he didn't contact you?"

"...Not yet! That guy! He didn't even contact me right away!"

Yuri ground her little tiger teeth, somewhat annoyed that he hadn't shared it with her right away, even though she had been worried about his condition.

"I guess I plan to talk to you in person in Dance Town."

After exiting Hop's page, Mari opened her own and gestured for Yuri to look at the latest update, then smiled and explained on Hop's behalf.

However, Yuri's attention wasn't on that; instead, she scrolled down with her finger, found a page, and clicked on it.

Then I saw some candid shots of Mary during her challenge against Onio, and what's most infuriating is that the photos of Mary completely soaked, with her clothes clinging to her body and outlining her curves, received an overwhelming number of likes.

The comments below praised the unknown Rotom camera for capturing the girl's delicate yet resilient beauty from such a perfect angle, seamlessly blending her fragility, strength, and charm into a single photograph.

Chapter 232 The Attack

night.

It was probably evening, and the sun should have already set outside.

Mary pulled Yuri to sit in her lap, checked the time, and realized that sunlight couldn't penetrate the Misty Forest at all, and there was no change between day and night, giving Mary a sense of temporal dislocation.

"What time is it... I feel sleepy."

Yuri leaned against Mary and rubbed her eyes. She then checked the time on her phone and realized that there were still several hours until her usual bedtime.

"If you're sleepy, take a nap."

Mary pinched Yuri's cheek, then raised her hand and let Yuri rest her head on her shoulder.

"Won't Mary-chan take a break?"

"Rest now, go to sleep first."