Pokémon from Galar

"Keep going! I won't give up!"

Hop clenched his fists. The battle just now had made him realize the gap between himself and Yuri, a problem he had subconsciously ignored.

If Hep hadn't fought Yuri, it might have taken him a long time to formally address his question, but now—noticing the change in Hep's expression, Yuri's lips curled into a slight smile.

"Then I'll come back here first, Thousand Faces Escaper."

Yuri raised her hand to recall the Thousand Faces, and then threw out Appledra, which was also a Grass-type Pokémon.

As the second battle began, Marie suddenly turned around and walked towards the Pokémon Center.

"Aren't you going to watch it anymore? I wanted to finish it."

"...You must have seen so many in the Fist Arena. You probably think our strength is still very weak."

'It's this youthful, raw feeling that's so good. The high-level matches in Hammerlocke are getting a bit tiresome.'

I felt that Mugentana's image was a bit off, so Mari opened her mouth but didn't say anything.

'You probably think I'm boring, but I really am. Hammerlocke City is like a cage; everything outside is fascinating to me.'

"Well... there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

After entering the Pokémon Center, Marie went to the rest area, ordered three milk teas, and then casually found a seat.

As always, Xiao Mo jumped out and took a straw, sticking it into Mary's cup.

Mary propped her head up with one hand and stroked Mo's soft fur with the other. Although her exercise and strength were steadily increasing, Mo still had the same round and chubby body, and it was soft to the touch, just like a mascot.

As Mary touched him, her fingers secretly slipped into Mo's small pocket, pulled out an orange that had been roasted by electricity, and popped it into her mouth.

Mo tilted her head and glanced at Mary. Although she was a little disgusted by her trainer's act of taking her snacks from her pocket, she pretended nothing had happened for the sake of the milk tea.

……

After lazily playing alone in the rest area for a while, Yuri and Hop finally finished their battle and pushed open the door of the Pokémon Center to come in, while Si-chan led Mo, who had drunk too much milk tea and was in a hurry to go to the restroom.

The two handed the Pokémon they were going to use in the battle to Nurse Joy, and then sat down next to Marie.

"how's it going?"

"Oh dear—I've lost completely."

Hep grinned, holding the milk tea. With his strength completely overwhelmed, even with the Blazing Flame Ace, there was no way to turn the tide.

He took a deep breath, then said:

"But next time! I'll catch up with you right away, together with the fluffy-horned sheep!"

"Is that so? Then I'll be looking forward to our next match."

Mary smiled and challenged Yuri to a duel. Then she looked at Yuri and received a wink in return.

After a brief silence, Hep spoke again, taking the initiative:

“I’m really sorry for causing you trouble this time. I’ve always idolized my brother, but I don’t know when I started to take his reputation for myself. I only realize now that I was really arrogant, which is terrible.”

This is probably what you have to face if you have a family with an exceptionally talented individual.

Mary pondered this subtly. In fact, her situation was quite similar, but Nie Zi's overall aura made it difficult for those around him to feel any sense of admiration.

What are your plans next?

"Although I really want to wait until Yuri challenges the gym, I need to take Wooloo and Corviknight to train as soon as possible. Dancing Town isn't really suitable."

Hop is the type to act on his thoughts immediately. Now that he has decided to bring back his other Pokémon, he needs to start the training plan as soon as possible.

To be honest, because of the frequent changes in teams recently, the number of Pokémon I've caught has dropped to single digits, which is going to be very difficult to take care of. But even if I have to swallow my pride and beg my brother, Hop doesn't plan to give up on anyone again.

Every Pokémon, regardless of its type, deserves the opportunity to shine in its own right.

Chapter 240 Paula and Frank

Hep left decisively, and Yuri didn't try to stop him. She just looked forward to having another match with him when they met again.

After settling into a hotel, since there were hardly any people challenging the dojo and no queues were needed, the two of them didn't immediately sign up. Instead, they turned their attention to something else.

"It's time to go find that boy named 'Frank.' It's been too long."

Yuri carefully picked up the letter that had been in Mary's backpack for a long time, her face full of interest.

"Well..."

Mary nodded somewhat awkwardly. She hadn't paid attention to it before because of other things, but now that she was in Dance Town and looked at the letter she had taken out, she suddenly remembered this little incident that she had completely forgotten.

"But...where should we even begin? Dance Town isn't that small, is it?"

"Didn't Paula say that Frank lives on the west side of town? Let's go to the Pokémon Center and ask around."

"Huh? Really? When did you say that? I don't remember."

Yuri looked at Mary in surprise; she didn't recognize her at all. Mary simply twitched the corner of her mouth and replied with a smile:

"It was probably when you weren't paying attention, but I didn't get a more detailed address."

"Hmm... I guess I'll go to the Pokémon Center and ask first!"

Now that they had a lead, Yuri didn't plan to linger and dragged Marie back to the Pokémon Center.

……

"A kid named Frank..."

Sister Joey touched her face with her finger and frowned slightly. She liked the environment of Dance Town so much that she had been stationed here for a long time. She had met almost everyone in the town. Although she couldn't remember everyone, she had some impression of them.

"Sorry, I can't recall any kids around ten years old named Frank..."

"Oh, I see. Sorry to disturb your work."

Yuri scratched her head in disappointment, but Sister Joey waved her hand gently and said:

"It's okay, but what do you want with that boy?"

Mary showed the envelope in her hand and then explained:

"Actually, when I was in Motogakure, a little girl named Paula asked me to deliver a letter for her. She said she didn't have time to deliver it before she moved away."

"Moving away...? I'm sorry, to my recollection, there haven't been any families moving away recently. Perhaps it's someone I don't know. How about I ask Ms. Officer Jenny for you?"

Sister Joey seemed a little disappointed, as she couldn't remember either of the two names, even though she had been here for almost ten years. Moreover, this interesting matter piqued her interest, so she offered to help.

"Really?!"

Mary tugged at the excited Yuri's sleeve, then asked proactively:

"Won't this cause trouble for Sister Joey? They probably won't just allow this kind of investigation."

"Ah, it's alright, it's alright. I know both of you, and Miss Officer Jenny will be with you too, so don't worry."

Sister Joey smiled and explained, then picked up her phone and dialed Officer Jenny's number.

"Hey? Joey, what's up?"

"Good afternoon. Actually, I've come across something interesting. Want to play around with it... cough, let's investigate it together."

Ms. Officer Jenny, who was sitting in the police station feeling bored, raised an eyebrow, tilted her head, and said while holding the receiver:

"Tell me, what's wrong?"

"It's like this..."

Miss Joy gave a brief explanation, then mentioned Paula and Frank's names, and Miss Officer Jenny got excited at the mention of fun and gossip.

Yuri and Mari are both considered excellent newcomers with guarantees in the league. With her personally following along, helping out with a small matter shouldn't be a problem.

"OK~ I'll go check the archives. Wait for me a bit. But I don't recall any little girl named Paula moving out recently, which is quite strange."

After saying that, Miss Junsha hung up the phone.

Mary and Yuri, who had overheard the two talking, exchanged glances, feeling that it was all too easy.

"You two wait here for a while. Officer Jenny should be able to find some clues soon."

Having received this reply, the two had no objections, nodded, and sat down in the rest area.

"Will it go smoothly...?"

Yuri was a little worried, and Mary thought for a moment and then said:

"It's alright, we'll definitely find it. Miss Officer Jenny has already agreed to help."

Although that's what she said, Mary was still a little unsure. This was all decades ago, and it was questionable whether information from that era had even been entered into electronic archives. Miss Officer Jenny might not be able to find such old information...

Worried about this, the two waited for a long time at the Pokémon Center. Just when Yuri was about to give up, Officer Jenny finally pushed open the door and walked into the Pokémon Center herself.

"Hey? Officer Jenny, you're finally here!"

Miss Joey behind the counter looked at Officer Jenny in surprise as she walked in; she hadn't expected her to dawdle for so long.

"Well, things have taken a little longer than expected, so I spent a bit more time. Where are Miss Yuri and Miss Mary?"

"Here you are."

Miss Joy handed her a glass of cold water and then pointed behind her. Officer Jenny took it, drank it, and turned around to see the two girls walking towards her.

"Are you Miss Yuri and Miss Mary? We have some interesting things to tell you, but we hope you won't get too excited."

Yuri nodded blankly. What interesting thing? And why did it take so long?

Miss Joey, leaning against the counter, came over and asked with a curious expression:

"What's wrong? What's going on? It must be something fun that's kept you occupied for so long, right?"

“…Ahem, Joey, mind your image.”

Officer Jenny coughed awkwardly twice. Couldn't this person be a little more composed like herself?

"Oh, tell me already!"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you—"

Officer Jenny drank the water in her glass in one gulp, then took out her phone and showed a photo that was heavily pixelated.

“At first, I searched through the data from the last few years, but I couldn’t find a child who matched what you described. Although I felt something was off, I still broadened the scope. I did find Frank’s name, and his address was in the west of the city, but…”

"Isn't this an old man?"

Yuri raised her eyebrows and looked at the ID photo in the file, which clearly showed the appearance of an elderly person.