Pokémon from Galar

Sonia laughed and suddenly spun around in her chair, letting the camera follow the movement to film the entire interior environment.

Mary frowned and thought for a moment. This unfamiliar environment was definitely not the research institute in Mugan Town, but it was more likely to be in Gongmen City.

"Where? Gongmen City...?"

"nonono~"

Sonia held up one finger and shook it from side to side, then pulled out an ID card from somewhere and placed it in front of the camera.

"Tsk tsk~ The correct answer is snowfield!"

"Huh?! What are you doing there?"

Mary was startled by the identity card. Wasn't she in Spike Town just two days ago? How did she suddenly turn around and go to the Snowfield?

"Well, my grandma said I was just sitting around doing nothing lately, and since I couldn't get into the lab in Motogakure, she sent me here."

"You can't even get into Hammerlocke City? That shouldn't be the case."

"We can't get in. Anyway, aren't you interested in that hollow space beneath the snowfield? Want to come? I can recommend it to you."

"Sure, of course I'd love to. When are we going?"

"They'll come today or tomorrow. Of the people originally scheduled to go in this time, one of them seems to have had an accident during training, so we need to find someone to replace him."

"How could such a good thing happen to me?"

Mary blinked. Finding a replacement at the last minute wouldn't be difficult, would it? There are plenty of elite-level trainers, aren't there?

"Only you would think it's a good thing. You have to spend the night in the Hollow, and you know what the atmosphere of the Dynamax is like. Moreover, most trainers can't even bring their own Pokémon because the environment is too harsh, and they can only choose from the lab."

"Well..."

Mary scratched her head. That made sense. The reward was indeed quite generous, but going in once or twice to try it out would probably be enough. Going too often would be too much.

"Anyway, come quickly. I'll submit your name first. Is everything alright at the dojo these days?"

"The next challenger probably won't arrive until next week at the earliest. I'll leave this afternoon after lunch. By the way, could you ask me if I need to use the Pokémon from the lab if I bring Chirp?"

"Chirp... Ah, theoretically it should be fine. After all, it's for safety reasons that we can't bring our own Pokémon, but your Chirp should actually adapt to that environment."

"Okay~ I'll hang up now, see you later."

"Okay, see you later."

After hanging up the phone, Mary stretched and yawned. She hadn't expected the opportunity to come to her so easily, which made her a little uneasy.

"Hey, Mugentsuna, don't you think this is a bit too coincidental?"

'Hmm—it's not impossible that Loz deliberately arranged this, in fact, it's quite likely, especially after your Corviknight Raven was born. It's normal for him to suspect you.'

"...That's true, I almost forgot about that."

The excitement she had just felt quickly faded, and Mary scratched her head, looking a little troubled.

"There's nothing to worry about. At most, Lorz will test you. Don't underestimate your position."

"No, it's just a bit frustrating. It feels like everything is going according to Chairman Loz's expectations, which makes me a little uncomfortable."

"Oh, I thought it was something big. It would be strange if someone your age could outsmart Rhodes. Remember, Marie, what truly allows you to defeat Rhodes is strength and legacy. As long as we succeed before Rhodes acts, we win."

"That's true, but it's still annoying. Why did we suddenly have to be rivals with President Rose for no reason..."

Frustrated, Mary scratched her head, a subtle displeasure creeping over her.

……

"Excuse my bluntness, President, isn't this kind of deliberate arrangement a bit too conspicuous...?"

Olive stood beside President Lorz, somewhat puzzled, and after the arrangements were made, she voiced her doubts.

“It’s alright. Mary is still young, so we can’t expect too much from her. Although she’s a good girl, I’m still a little worried that she might do something foolish. Although I’m also somewhat looking forward to it.”

"...President, I meant Master Nie Zi. Contestant Mary is only eleven years old."

"Haha~ Anyway, let's take a look first."

President Loz chuckled, rubbing his beer belly. He was both excited about Mary's plans and worried that she might do something foolish.

If it's the former, then what's wrong with him being a stepping stone? But if it's the latter, he also has to take responsibility for protecting contestant Mary's safety.

Despite making such an arrangement, President Loz never doubted Marie's love for Galar; on this point alone, their impressions were almost completely identical.

"Yes--"

Since President Rose had said so, Olive stopped worrying about it. Although that man would definitely be a lot of trouble when he got angry, President Rose would surely have a way to solve the problem.

President Loz pulled a document from a drawer, flipped through it with a somewhat wistful expression, and then shoved it into the shredder next to him. Not only that, he also unscrewed the thermos on the table and casually poured the tea into the wastebasket, letting the shreds completely turn into residue.

Chapter 333 Testing and Research Institute

Although she was a little annoyed, she still had to go to the snowfield. If she could actually analyze something there, then Mary would have made a profit.

In the afternoon, after confirming that everything was alright at the dojo, Mary flew to the snowfield on Little Bird.

Sitting on Chirp's back, Mari squinted as she looked down at the scenery of Galar. Chirp's Blade Birds were attached to her legs and waist, with subtle energy flowing around them. They even created an energy barrier in front of Mari, blocking the strong winds at high altitudes and elevating the riding experience to a whole new level.

As usual, Nebula was nestled inside Mary's coat, peeking out excitedly at the scenery. Although Chirp could easily take care of Nebula with two of its bladed birds, Mary couldn't bear to let Chirp continue to be distracted.

Chinchilla's evolution over this period has far exceeded Marie's own expectations, though it's not without its problems.

Because that evolution essentially integrated two different burst systems together, namely Dynamax and Overlord Aura, Dynamax is now completely unusable, and Overlord Aura's amplitude has weakened compared to before.

In the future, as Xiao Qiu's strength increases, the aura of the overlord will also weaken until it is completely transformed into Xiao Qiu's power.

That's really interesting.

Mary has recently been having these thoughts that a career in research might be a good option for her, given that she now possesses the knowledge given to her by the Great God of Light and has also gained access to the knowledge of the Infinite Tana.

It's not impossible to create a system similar to Mega Evolution, but one that doesn't grow larger and only allows for brief Gigantamax evolutions.

This would give Galar a chance to spread Dynamax to other regions, instead of limiting it to its own territory.

……

Lost in thought along the way, I found myself able to see the snow-white mountains and plains before I knew it.

After sending a message to Sonia, Mary had Little Bird land right outside the lab door. Sliding off Little Bird's back, Mary reached out and hugged its outstretched head, nuzzling it gently.

"You've worked hard, come back and rest for a while."

"Gah~ (It's okay, we'll score another goal later.)"

As Little Chirp spoke, it spread its wings and sheltered Mary and Nebula under its wings, blocking the wind and snow outside. With its intentional control, the stiff feathers became soft, and with Little Chirp's body heat, Mary felt as if she were leaning against a warm stove.

"Thank you."

"Gah~ (Hehehehe~ It's nothing~)"

"Eh..."

As expected, Xiao Qiu let out another very strange laugh. Marie rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. She leaned against Xiao Qiu and sighed deeply. For a moment, she thought Xiao Qiu had become handsome, but it was all just an illusion.

"Oh, Little Bird? Where's Mary?"

Sonia's voice came from the side, her tone quite puzzled, probably because she hadn't noticed Mary hiding under Little Chick's wings.

Mary smiled and peeked out, following the direction of the sound to find Sonia.

"It's here."

"Oh ho~ I didn't know it could be used like this? It's actually quite comfortable."

Sonia walked over, her face full of curiosity, and reached her hand in, patting Xiao Qiu a few times, with an expression that said, "I want to try it next time."

"Stop touching me, can't you just take me inside first?"

Mary first glared at Xiao Qiu, then poked Sonia, who had already squeezed half her body in.

"Hey, why are you in such a hurry? We're not officially setting off until the day after tomorrow. Let's go, don't put Little Bird away, let's go test it out."

Despite muttering to herself, Sonia took a few steps back and then gestured to Mary, who was about to put Little Bird back into the ball.

"Hmm? What are you testing?"

"Of course it's about endurance. Without actual data, how can I let you in just by saying so? Of course, if you're willing to show Little Chirp's form, it won't be so troublesome."

"...Then let's go get tested."

Mary, who was standing next to Sonia, pouted helplessly, waved to Xiao Qiu, and then they walked into the research institute in the cave together.

The entrance is quite large, and as long as Xiao Qiu doesn't think about taking off inside the cave, it's still quite spacious for her to walk around.

Little Chirp's large size naturally attracted a lot of attention, but with Sonia leading the way, most of the researchers already knew what was going on. In fact, many researchers nodded with satisfaction as they looked at Little Chirp.

Sonia greeted them all the way and led Mary and Little Bird directly to an empty room.

“I messaged Sister Koya, she’ll be here soon.”

"Sister Koya?"

"This is the person in charge here. I heard that he used to learn from my grandmother, so he's like an elder to me."

"oh oh……"

Mary nodded and remained silent. A short while later, a capable-looking woman with a ponytail, wearing a white lab coat, walked in.

"I was wondering who you would recommend, Sonia, but I didn't expect it to be Marie! This Corviknight looks very well-bred. No wonder she's confident that she doesn't need the Pokémon from the lab."

"Hello, I'm Mary."

"Hello, I'm Koya, the head of this research institute. Your Corviknight looks impressive, but we still need to test it in practice. Is that alright?"

"No problem, how do I do it?"

"You and your Corviknight can stay in the room. Just don't tear this place down. Do whatever you want."

"Should I come too?"

"Of course, although most people should be fine, there's always the possibility of something going wrong, and I have to be responsible for you."

"alright."

Mary readily agreed, and Koya acted just as readily. He waved and led Sonia out of the room, then signaled to the researcher beside him to activate the simulation device.

The test is not complicated. It simply simulates the energy concentration of a void and plots a curve of body parameters. If the trend of change is within a safe range, it means that the test has been passed.

Meanwhile, Marie, who was inside the room, quickly sensed the change in energy. The Dynamax energy came very quickly, and even Chip accidentally flashed a faint red light.