Pokémon from Galar

"Haha~ Just kidding. Anyway, I still have to go to school, so there's no rush."

Stretching, Mukita collapsed onto the soft grass beneath him, looking so relaxed he seemed like a complete idiot.

"Speaking of which, don't you train at all? Didn't you say you wanted to regain your strength?"

"This body hasn't even passed its initial stage yet, so it's fine to use the existing strength. Training will have to wait for a while."

"Huh? You're all grown up now, are you still considered a newborn?"

Mary scratched her head, looking puzzled. Not only did this guy break through her shell with two punches, but he also demonstrated the control of enormous energy in Palace City. She thought he had directly skipped that weak period.

"Of course it counts. I've only grown up through artificial insemination. I'm still essentially in a newborn state. After all, I can't just pop out as a baby, that would be too much of a waste of time."

"Oh, I see... By the way, what about Olive's invitation? She emailed me again."

Previously, after believing that Mugentana was not faking it, Olive showed great interest in Mugentana. Before Mari had even left the office, Olive took the initiative to approach her and invite Mugentana to assist Dr. Mulan's research as a researcher.

Faced with this invitation, Wuji Tai, who was somewhat interested but also found it rather strange, did not immediately agree and chose to consider it first.

"Ugh, I always feel a little embarrassed to go and research my own powers or something."

"You've been studied for so long, and now you're telling me this?"

“It would be different if I got involved myself.”

"Tsk tsk, I don't understand."

……

Nie Zi returned sooner than expected. Although she received a strange hint when reporting to Chairman Rose, she still couldn't help but gasp several times when she actually got home, met Mujitana, and learned about her background from Mari.

Previously, it was limited to Pokémon, but now my little sister can conjure up real people too...

Perhaps due to being too frightened, when Mary sincerely stated that her term as acting dojo master was about to expire, Nie Zi refused Mary's sincere offer, citing his need for a short vacation to recuperate.

As a result, Mary had to continue serving as the acting gym leader while Nie Zi was at home. It is estimated that she may not be able to hand over the gym leader position to Nie Zi until she has finished overseeing Yuri and Hop's challenges.

Mary strongly condemned this and hoped that someone would punish Nie Zi for his irresponsible behavior, but unfortunately everyone who heard about it chose to ignore Mary's complaints and just watched the show with amusement.

Left with no other choice, Mary had to take responsibility and manage the gym challenges for three people in just half a month.

Yuri and Hop have indeed made significant progress, both in terms of Pokémon strength and command skills. Under these circumstances, Marie naturally wouldn't continue to block them from passing.

Even the third challenger from before, because his strength and tactics were not flawed and his level was indeed quite good, was also let go by Mary.

In fact, by this point, most of the time for the dojo challenge had passed, and the contestants who had a chance to break through had basically made their judgments.

This year there may be a few more people breaking through, but overall, gym leaders will still dominate the majority of positions in the final elimination rounds.

However, for Mary, her goals have now changed.

Before, she was just thinking about making it to the knockout stage and seeing how far she would go, but now she has set her sights on the championship.

The latter part of her earlier conversation with Chairman Rose actually touched Mari somewhat. It was after Mari expressed her idea of ​​leaving Eterna's body to Leon that Chairman Rose said something that resonated with her.

'Marie, why do you think I wanted you to capture Eterna before? Because I saw potential in you, the potential to shatter the Champion Leon's reputation. Yuri and Hop seem to have that potential too, but I felt you, Marie, had a greater chance.'

'Why?'

Do you think Leon smiles a lot?

'What love or not, Dan-di has always been there...'

'It seems you've actually sensed it: he's burdened himself with too much responsibility, dedicating his most radiant years to Galar. It's time to let him take a break.'

'But...with just a year's worth of effort, can I really defeat that person's Charizard?'

"I believe in you, Mary. Ephemera chose you, and although I don't know what kind of miracle is hidden within you, I'm willing to believe in it."

'Hypothetically speaking, just hypothetically, even if I really won, Leon still wouldn't let Galar go.'

'There will naturally be a more suitable position for Dan Di, though it may not be easy, it will certainly be easier than being the invincible champion.'

President Lorze's meaningful smile at the end reminded Mary of the ending of that game in her memory.

Did he plan everything from the very beginning, including what would happen after the incident?

I touched it today.

Happy New Year everyone! I was busy all day today, Lunar New Year's Eve, and really didn't have time to write. I'm not sure if I'll be able to update regularly for the next few days, so I apologize in advance.

Visiting relatives is indeed very time-consuming; a whole day can easily be gone, and you can't do anything else in the process.

All I can say is I'll try my best to update (;-_-)ノ

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Chapter 348 Mary-chan, Can I Be Cute?

Yuri is jealous.

Although Mari explained the origin of Mugentana clearly, and Yuri had obviously understood what Mugentana was, she was still jealous.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have taken your cells without saying anything..."

On the lawn of the dojo training ground, Mari knelt carefully beside Yuri and secretly peeked at Yuri's expression.

"Hmph! It's not like I'm getting upset over something so trivial!"

She turned her head and glared at Mary with a cute but fierce look. Was this what she was angry about?

"I'm...I'm sorry..."

Although Yuri looked exceptionally cute at that moment, Mari had no time to appreciate it. After being scolded by Yuri, she shrank her neck and stammered an apology.

Not far away, Wujitai, who was leisurely teasing the little nebula, would occasionally turn his head to glance at it, and then, out of Yuri's blind spot, he would give Mari a gloating smile.

This guy! He actually ran away all by himself at a time like this!

She gave Mugentana a fierce glare, but Yuri noticed before she could even hold it for a second.

"Um?!"

"..."

Mary quickly straightened her back and raised her head, trying to appear completely focused.

"So, Mugentana... has she decided to stay at Mary's house forever?"

"Well, after all, to operate in human society, you always need a suitable identity. As the gym leader, my brother will have a lot of things much easier. Besides, I promised Chairman Rose that I would keep an eye on her."

Although she was reluctant to say it, Mary couldn't withstand Yuri's piercing gaze, so she honestly told the truth.

"Eh—um—I see—(reading in a monotone)"

"..."

Mary quietly moved her knees closer to Yuri, and cautiously raised her eyelids to glance at Yuri's face. After finding that the other party did not react, she breathed a long sigh of relief.

The smooth knees moved more and more frequently, quickly approaching Yuri, who was sitting cross-legged with her arms crossed.

"Yuri~"

"Humph--"

She called out Yuri's name in a sickeningly sweet voice, only to be met with the back of Yuri's head. But Mary was not discouraged. She reached out and quickly wrapped her arms around Yuri's slender figure, hugging her from behind.

"Don't hug me! I haven't forgiven you yet!"

Yuri naturally began to resist by shaking her body, and her hands, which were tightly wrapped around her chest, hurriedly grabbed Mary's arm, trying to pry it off her waist.

Mary naturally dared not let go, her arms tightly wrapped around Yuri's waist without wavering. Not only that, in order to exert more force, Mary pressed her entire body against Yuri's, her cheek against Yuri's shoulder, arching her back and lying completely on top of Yuri.

After struggling for a while, not only failing to break free but also getting completely pulled up by Mary, leaving Yuri breathless, she finally gave up.

"Ha...ha...let me go!"

"I won't let you go! You'll definitely run away if I do!"

"you--"

This was the first time Yuri had seen Mary so unreasonable, which actually calmed her anger considerably.

"call……"

Yuri let out a long sigh of relief. She could feel Mary's wrist, which she was still holding tightly. The delicate touch of her fingertips made her fall silent for a moment.

Mary was also getting nervous because the girl in her arms had become silent. Saying or doing something would have been much more reassuring than the girl remaining completely still.

Mary gently nuzzled Yuri's shoulder with her cheek, then looked up, though from this angle she could only see a very small part of her face.

Perhaps because Mary was pressed too closely, even the slightest movement caused her entire body to shift, and her soft, delicate skin brushed against her through her clothes, making Yuri's mind wander.

Yuri released her wrist and patted Mary's hand, softening her voice as she tilted her head slightly and said:

"...Let go for now, Mary-chan."

"……Um"

After a moment of silence, sensing the change in Yuri's demeanor, Mary carefully released her arms, but still rested her cheek on Yuri's left shoulder.

Yuri glanced down at Mari's hand, which was hanging by her side, and carefully covered it, enveloping the other's slightly cold hand.

“Mary-chan…”

"Ah."

The voice from behind, along with the warmth on her left shoulder, reached Yuri's heart. Complex emotions echoed in her chest. Yuri felt as if she had deflated, shifting her weight backward and leaning against Mary.

Mary, whose hands were being held, gradually calmed down and moved her cheeks closer to Yuri's smooth neck. Unlike when they first met, her fair skin had become slightly darker after traveling for so long.

"It's so itchy... Don't leave it on like that."

Yuri twisted her neck, trying to avoid Mary's breath, and leaned her whole body backward.

Realizing Yuri's intentions, Mari hurriedly brought her knees together, which had been spread apart in a duck-like position, and then leaned back, letting Yuri lie down on her lap along her chest.

Yuri held her hands and moved them to her chest. Her leaning upper body blocked the somewhat dazzling sunlight, creating a small patch of shade.

Yuri lay down with her legs stretched out, looking up at Mary's face, but because the sunlight above was too bright, she couldn't see Mary's expression clearly.

“Mary-chan—”

"Um,"

"I've improved! The Nine-Tails and the others have become even stronger!"

"That's amazing."