Pokémon from Galar

Mary stood next to Yuri, simply smiling and nodding, without offering any casual conversation. After all, she and Hep weren't that close, and she couldn't think of anything to say for the moment.

'This little boy is lying. His acting is pretty good, just a bit lacking.'

The sudden sound of Mukyuu Tana startled Mary. Her gaze lingered on Hop's face for a moment. Forgive her, she really didn't see it; her ability to read people wasn't that high.

But as for acting skills...

Recalling Hop's lineup for challenging the Fairy-type Gym, there was no Wooloo among them. Yuri and Marie hadn't paid much attention to this before, since the challenges usually only involved three or four Pokémon, and it was normal for them to take turns using them like Marie, so they didn't think much of it.

But if Mukutena's statement is correct, then she probably hasn't recovered from the shadow of failure.

Thinking this, Mary suddenly grabbed Yuri's wrist, then looked at Hep and said with a smile:

"It's not easy to see each other again, how about we have a long-awaited match with Yuri?"

Chapter 238 Hop, Deep in the Quagmire

"Sure, Yuri, it's been a long time, let's have a match. Let me test the results of my efforts over this period of time."

Hep immediately agreed; at least when it came to fighting, he was open to anyone.

"Hey—wait, Mary-chan?"

Yuri, looking completely bewildered, tugged at Mary's sleeve, pulling her head close to her mouth, and then whispered:

"Why am I suddenly being asked to fight Hop?"

Mary blinked, smiled at Hep, and then said:

"You'll know once you try it."

"……I see."

From Mary's tone, Yuri also vaguely sensed a subtle atmosphere, and recalling what she had been worried about before, she could roughly guess the reason.

"Let's go, let's go to the battlefield outside."

Yuri straightened up, smiled, waved, and walked out of the hotel.

The group arrived at the battle arena next to the Pokémon Center. Yuri took out Inteleon's Poké Ball and threw it forward, then smiled at Hop and said:

"Let's make it a 3v3 match. I still remember the battle outside Water Boat Town quite well. Let's do it again."

"..."

Hop looked at the now independent and capable Inteleon in front of him, and his smile dimmed a bit. He took the Poké Ball from his waist and threw it, but what appeared on the field was not Wooloo, but Electabuzz.

"I'm sorry, Yuri, I don't have Woolbraids and the others with me right now."

"..."

Yuri took a deep breath. As expected... This is a little annoying.

"How long are you going to keep being so willful?"

"Eh..."

Hop, who had expected a fight to break out immediately, was startled by Yuri's sudden reprimand. It was the first time he had ever seen Yuri angry.

In fact, Yuri was indeed very angry. It is normal to adjust the team configuration in order to win. Both Mari and Yuri adjusted their focus based on the opponent.

However, Hop's purpose was completely different. Yuri and Mari wanted to win simply because they wanted to win and become champions, but Hop wanted to win only because he was Dan's younger brother.

That's why Hop appeared before Yuri in a state of unexpected dejection after being defeated and mocked by Peter.

Back in Suchuan Town, Yuri was so focused on Mari that she didn't react in time. She thought that after so much time, everything would be fine, but she ended up getting more and more involved.

Why not bring the woofer?

"..."

"answer me."

"Because the seats are full."

Hop's answer was undeniably perfunctory. While the challenge slots were indeed full, there was no limit to how many Pokémon a person could bring. If you could manage, bring as many; if you couldn't and your Pokémon ran away, don't blame anyone else.

Wooloo has been by Hop's side since before he became a trainer, but now Hop is saying that because the challenge slots are full, he sent Wooloo home?!

Growing increasingly agitated, Yuri suddenly stepped forward, crossing the tense battlefield, and raised her hand high in front of Hop's miserable expression.

Snapped--!

"Woof—!"

The electric dog next to her instinctively barked at Yuri, releasing an electric shock directly in her direction. However, the Thousand Faces Avoid, who had been on guard, raised her hand and created a water vortex to block the electric shock beside Yuri.

"It's alright! Electric Dog. It's alright..."

Hep lowered his head, reached out, and gently patted the head of the Electric Hound. His mind had been a complete blank just moments before, so he quickly comforted the bewildered dog.

With a casual flick of her wrist, Thousand Faces threw the still-energized Whirlpool onto the open ground beside her, and silently walked over to Yuri. Having spent so much time with her trainer, she could naturally sense each other's feelings.

After calming the electric dog down, Hep lowered his head, scratched the dog's chin, and said in an indescribable tone:

"...Because we can't win. Whether it's Peter, the gym, or you, Yuri."

Starting with Peter, Hop seemed to fall into a slump, suffering defeat after defeat. He barely managed to pass the gym in Strangetown by catching new partners and changing his team, but after arriving in Dancingtown, he suffered several more crushing defeats.

Every time Hop met the gaze of a stranger or a gym leader, he felt as if they were blaming him for being so useless.

He's the younger brother of champion Dante, so he should win! But why can't he win no matter how hard he tries?

Hop saw that Peter had been taken to the Fairy-type Gym by Popra, and it was widely rumored that Peter might be the next Fairy-type Gym Leader.

However, Poppy, who had chosen Peter, showed a regretful expression as Hep repeatedly failed.

Under immense pressure, Hop finally sent the evolved Wooloo and Corviknight back to his home and instead captured new Pokémon.

Unfortunately, Hop, having changed its Pokémon, passed the gym challenge once again.

Two consecutive victories completely misled Hoppe.

The reason we couldn't win was because our previous partners were too weak. We can become stronger by catching new, powerful Pokémon!

Hop, who thought he had finally found the crux of the problem, stayed in Dance Town, waiting for Yuri, wanting to prove to her that he had finally found the right path and would not be left far behind by Yuri.

So even if Mary hadn't asked for a fight, Hop would have brought it up himself; he was already tormented by his own inner turmoil and the harsh realities of life.

He desperately needed a match against Yuri to prove that his choice was right and that he wouldn't disgrace Champion Leon's reputation.

"Stop saying anything, Yuri, let's fight."

The atmosphere between the two grew increasingly heavy.

"you--"

"Stop talking—!"

Hep's voice suddenly rose a few decibels, forcefully interrupting Yuri's words, then paused.

"Yuri, please, let's fight... I beg you..."

Yuri could even hear a hint of a sob in Hop's voice. Gazing at the boy with his head bowed in front of her, Yuri felt that this was probably not her imagination.

Swallowing hard, Yuri felt a tightness in her chest. She felt an urge to punch her defeated rival in the face.

But what's the use of that...?

Yuri glanced at Mary, took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and then turned and walked back to her seat.

"Then let's fight, Hop. I will defeat you with all my might."

I'll kick you back off this wrong path, and then after it's over, I'll pin you to the ground and punch you a couple of times to vent my anger.

Fish

It's the end of the month today, and after thinking about it, I'll just take it easy...

One hundred characters ...

Chapter 239 Awakening

Mary, who had been watching from the sidelines, looked at Yuri's angry expression and sighed inwardly.

This was the first time she had ever seen Yuri angry. Even when she had narrowly escaped death in the Ultimate Cave last time, Yuri had never yelled at her.

However, Hep's problem is indeed quite serious.

It's unclear whether the two people inside the arena noticed, but Mary, who was outside the arena, could clearly sense the difference in strength between the Electric Hound and the Thousand-Faced Escaper.

Despite being a type advantage, Thousand Faces easily blocked Electrocution's electric shock.

This means that Electric Dog is much weaker than Thousand Faces, otherwise it wouldn't have been able to deal with the reverse attribute so easily.

It's true that changing your team composition makes it easier to pass gym challenges, but that's only if the gym leader is consciously going easy on each challenger to varying degrees.

Hop did indeed pass the Fairy-type Gym smoothly, but after sending Wooloo and other Pokémon home and replacing almost the entire team, Hop's overall Pokémon strength had completely fallen behind Yuri's.

The lack of systematic training and battles has slowed the growth of Wooloo and Corviknight, as well as the new partners in the team who have only recently evolved. Perhaps only Scorbunny, given to him by Leon, has maintained its strength.

Hopefully he will realize this soon.

Mary watched the two people who had already started fighting.

Electivire possesses impressive speed, which, combined with its already high-speed STAB move Thunderbolt, did put considerable pressure on Inteleon, but that was about it.

The Sniper and Water Pulse were used in various ways to disrupt the opponent, and the Mind Blast was combined with fancy footwork. Despite its efforts, Electivire, which has no resistance to Water-type moves, could only helplessly have its stamina depleted by Inteleon.

The entire battle was completely one-sided.

'Oh dear, that little boy is going to lose; the difference in skill is too great.'

Mujitana popped up again to chat with Mary.

"...I can tell, okay?"

On the battlefield

"Water gun, let's end this battle!"

With Yuri's final command, the Electric Hound, which had finally escaped the whirlpool, crashed head-on into the water gun fired by the Thousand Faces Evasion. Unable to hold on any longer, it collapsed to the ground, losing its ability to continue fighting.

Hop picked up the Poké Ball and recalled Electrike. Although his expression was somber, it was much more pleasing to the eye than before the battle.

"As expected, Yuri, you've become even stronger."

He raised his hand, caught the second Poké Ball, and threw it with his signature throwing motion, and a Woodpecker appeared on the battlefield.