Pokémon from Galar

"Ee~ (Because I felt limited, I wanted to become stronger.)"

"I see—wait, why did I understand what you said?! Are superpowers this convenient?"

Yuri belatedly realized what was happening, feeling both happy and somewhat surprised.

“Ee~ (Yes, Yuri.)”

"oh oh--!!"

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Yuri made a strange sound that looked somewhat comical.

"Congratulations, Yuri."

Mary stood quietly to the side, smiling and offering her congratulations. Yuri's Eevee evolved faster than Eevee-chan did back then, but after all, the events she experienced back then and now are on completely different levels, so it's normal for her to progress faster than before.

"Congratulations... Sigh, Yuri, you've gotten stronger again. Looks like I'll have to work even harder!"

"No, you have to rest according to the plan. I don't need to teach you the principle that too much of a good thing is bad, do I?"

"Forehead……"

Sonia's attack hit him where it hurt, and Hep was speechless for a moment. She scratched her head awkwardly and chuckled.

At this moment, Mary took two steps closer to Yuri, looked at her chest which was stuffed full, and reached out to touch Espeon's ears.

Although its fur is shorter, just like Umbreon's, the texture is subtly different, and the difference is noticeable.

"kon~ (Who is this?)"

Vulpix probably noticed the commotion, so it ran back and raised its head to curiously examine Espeon's appearance.

Mary bent down, picked up Vulpix, handed it to Espeon, and said with a smile:

"It's Eevee, it just evolved."

"kon~ (You've become prettier~)"

Mary placed the little six-tailed creature in her arms and rubbed its fluffy tail. This child had recently learned to seal itself.

Although some moves can only be learned by Vulpix during its Vulpix stage, a professor in Galar has developed a remarkable method that allows Pokémon to relearn these missed moves without needing a TM.

If Yuri had enough money, she could probably evolve right now. However, realistically, Vulpix might need to train until it can use Absolute Zero before evolving.

I touched it today.

This might be the downside of not having a detailed outline (；'д｀)ゞ, it often causes me to get stuck when encountering these kinds of water-related daily tasks, it's a real headache.

One hundred characters ...

Chapter 293 Daily Training

After their private challenge ended, Marie and Yuri returned to their relaxed and carefree state. Although they continued with their daily training, the atmosphere between the two trainers became rather...ambiguous.

Moreover, the gym challenge they booked was scheduled after Hop's, and it would be another two or three days before it was their turn.

In addition, the cold environment consumes more energy, and with Pokémon training time reduced, these few days in Battlegrounds can truly be described as an enjoyable trip.

The next day was Hep's challenge, and as usual, Mary and Yuri found an open field to train.

However, today's attention is more focused on Espeon, which has just evolved.

The increased speed and power brought by evolution, as well as new characteristics and attributes, and newly learned Psychic-type moves, are all things that Espeon needs to adapt to.

So after completing the basic adaptation training, the restless Espeon took the initiative to find Farfetch'd and other Pokémon whose strength could completely suppress her for simple battle training.

After all, Espeon's style allows it to quickly find new rhythms in battle.

Meanwhile, Yuri, the trainer, was sitting side by side with Marie on a nearby rock, propping her head up as she watched the Pokémon training.

"Oh—your Espeon is much faster now, and it's much more at ease than before."

"Indeed, before, when I dodged, I could clearly feel the danger, but now it feels more like art."

Yuri rested her chin on her hands and watched with a smile as Espeon dodged Farfetch'd's sword. Without using its full strength, ordinary sword strikes posed no threat to Espeon.

However, Farfetch'd is not suited to facing such agile opponents at mid-to-long range; he is better at head-on confrontations.

"Once she's a bit more proficient, I'll have Balu help her with stress management training."

Mary watched for a while, then suddenly said this, but the content of her words startled Yuri.

"Eh—is it too demanding to ask Balu to come?"

In Marie and Yuri's team, Bal is still the strongest one. His speed and attack power are unmatched, making him a good choice to help Espeon train. However, Yuri is a little worried that the pressure might be too much.

“Baru is very good at taking care of children. When have you ever seen him put too much pressure on them when he helps with training?”

"Hmm~"

Yuri wasn't too bothered. Espeon had been in the team for about half a year, and since it had still chosen this evolution path, Yuri probably didn't need to worry too much. She could just continue to pay attention to them as usual.

At the same time,

In the hot spring inn where Mari stayed in the town of Zhanjing, a cute woman with short blonde hair was lazily lying in the indoor hot spring in her room, idly watching the outdoor scenes displayed on the screen, and the figures of Mari and Yuri could be vaguely seen on the screen.

"Ha~"

Bored, the woman yawned, splashed some water, and played with a tulip in one hand. The warm hot spring made her feel sleepy.

"These kinds of missions are definitely more comfortable. Everyone else is doing missions in the snow, while I can soak in hot springs—and I don't even have to fight. Apollo's getting worse and worse, huh?"

If they hadn't gone to the hunters to attack Mary, they wouldn't have attracted the attention of the Galar Alliance, or even drawn in troublesome enemies like Nie Zi.

She casually placed the screen aside. The woman's task now was simply to monitor Mary and Yuri's movements and, incidentally, see what cards Mary had hidden.

Compared to the tasks of the other two leaders, her task was much easier.

She casually poked the two Poké Balls lying next to her. One of them was a Snowbeard that she had caught casually around Battlegrounds. Although it was weak before it evolved, she wasn't a frontline fighter, so it wasn't a big problem.

The other specially made diving ball contains what is said to be a recently developed defective product. It is quite powerful, but its only drawback is that it can only breathe underwater. Therefore, it can only be used as a last resort. If it is released for too long and no water source can be found, it is easy to die.

"Tsk, I really don't know what's so special about those researchers that makes them worth recruiting."

Despite her complaints, although she held the same rank as the other two cadres, she was still less powerful than them in terms of actual authority, and she could only follow the team leader's lead in making some decisions.

Standing up from the hot spring, the woman wrapped herself in a towel and returned to her room. She had booked a beauty salon that afternoon; for her, who had come to Galar under the guise of relaxation, some pleasurable activities were essential.

He turned his head and took one last look at the two girls sitting together in the snow, then cut off the signal, tossed the monitor aside, and ignored it.

"How leisurely~ I really envy having such a great older brother."

Given Team Rocket's capabilities, they could easily find out why Nie Zi was targeting them. However, Nie Zi's strength was unbelievably high; he could compete for a championship spot in any other region, but in Galar, he was just a gym leader.

Just then, an encrypted communication suddenly came in, interrupting the woman's plans.

"Hey, what's up, Lieutenant Lambda?"

The person appearing on the screen was an ordinary middle-aged man with a very Galar-esque style, but only the three of them, the cadres, knew about this encrypted channel.

"How's it going on your end, Domino?"

"Same old story. What, another test subject for me to receive?"

The woman didn't mind being seen wearing only a bath towel, and even proudly puffed out her full breasts.

Unfortunately, the man opposite him remained completely unmoved.

"No, your mission has been temporarily changed. We'll meet up in the snowfield."

"Huh? You're planning to go down in flames with Nie Ziyu?"

"Seriously, that's Apollo's business. I want you to go as a researcher, find two local guides, and investigate the legend of Galar below the snowfield. Ideally, you should find some traces of the three legendary birds."

Domino raised an eyebrow, glanced at the unfamiliar face on the screen, and nodded slightly.

"What about the surveillance mission here?"

"Just find someone to replace you."

"Fine, you're the vice-captain anyway, so you call the shots."

After briefly explaining the situation, Domino immediately ended the call. It was normal for them to be eyeing Galar's three legendary birds. Team Rocket had conducted in-depth research on the three legendary birds, and it was unexpected that Galar would discover the existence of this regional form, which would naturally pique the interest of some researchers.

As for Nie Zi, what does that have to do with Duo Mino? She's just a foreign researcher who knows nothing.

Chapter 294 Mei Rong's Snow Moth

While Team Rocket was quietly plotting, Marnie and Yuri each faced their sixth gym challenge.

Because they were both on the same day, the two parted ways at the fork in the road and went to their respective reserved arenas.

Arriving alone at the all-white arena, Mary rubbed her hands together, pushed open the door, and went inside. Although it was an ice-attribute arena, there were still quite a few people inside, and the heating in the lobby was on and quite strong.

As for the areas further inside, Mary estimates that it's more unlikely.

"Good morning, Mary. You're here so early."

When Mary entered through the door, the staff member in charge of the lobby raised his hand and greeted her with a smile.

"Good morning."

Mary greeted her and followed her to the inside, where she found a sofa to sit down. The young woman placed a cup of hot tea in front of Mary and said with a smile:

"There is still an hour until the scheduled challenge time, and Mei Rong's morning training will not end for another half hour."

"Thank you."

Mary nodded, picked up the paper cup, took a sip, and exhaled a long breath.

Mei Rong's dojo challenge naturally included a simple pre-match test, but it wasn't too difficult for Marie. The only problem was that it was really cold during the match, especially since she had to change into a special challenge outfit today.

"Did Yuri, who was always with Marie, go to challenge the Maga Gym Leader?"

Perhaps because Mary was the only contestant, the receptionist sat opposite her, holding a water glass, and started chatting with her.

"Well, Yuri's team doesn't have good compatibility with ice-type characters, so they split up."

Mary smiled and offered an explanation.

"Oh, I see. You two have a great relationship. I really hope you can both overcome this year's gym challenge!"

"Um... thank you. I'll try my best."

Feeling a little embarrassed, she scratched her head, surprised that the person in front of her would also pay attention to them.

They chatted idly in the lobby for a while, and it wasn't until almost time that Mary went to the changing room to change into her challenge outfit.

After checking the Poké Ball on her waist, Marie walked out of the changing room and, led by a staff member, entered the central passageway.