Pokémon from Galar

"So cute~ Even when she's being a little temperamental, she's adorable~"

Mary bent down and hugged Yuri tightly. She squinted her eyes and gave Yuri two kisses on the cheek before letting go of the embarrassed girl.

"Are you an idiot?!"

"Haha~ I'm not leaving. Didn't we agree to stay at your house for a while? Dr. Kukui and his group's tour route includes Spiketown, but they won't make Spiketown their base."

"Really?"

"Really? Besides, aren't you planning to come with me to pick them up? Sonia's coming too."

"Of course I'll go!"

"Hehe~"

Seeing Yuri soften up quickly, Mary couldn't help but reach out and rub her little face again.

……

After the TV series ended, Mary stretched and rubbed her slightly numb thighs, then asked:

"By the way, may I visit your ranch?"

"Sure, but what's so interesting about a ranch? It's full of woolly sheep, and if you're near the work area, the mixed smells just won't go away no matter how often you clean. I don't dare go out without perfume during busy seasons."

The account, given firsthand by the ranch owner's daughter, was so real that Mary didn't know how to refute it.

"...Can't you just let me have even a little bit of hope?"

"It's you who's the strange one, the one who's fantasizing about ranches."

Yuri stared at Mari with eyes that seemed to look at her as if she were an idiot, but she still stood up and walked out of the room.

"I'll go see if there are any extra shoes for you to wear. If you go in wearing your own shoes, they'll probably be unusable."

Hehe~ Thanks~

Upon seeing this, Mary chuckled a few times and quickly got up to follow.

Yuri's build is similar to Mary's, so their shoe sizes are naturally the same. Mary tried on the spare overshoes, and they fit her fairly well.

The two pushed open the door, but the Pokémon had already run off to play somewhere. Marie asked the Buddy next to her and learned that they seemed to have run into the ranch just like her.

"Let's go around this way."

Yuri pointed to a path next to her house and called out to Mary.

"Oh, by the way, your house is really close to the Sleepy Forest."

Mary looked at the fence not far away. Beyond it, she could see a grove of trees and a quiet path.

"Yeah, my dad used to scare me with this when I was little. It was so awful!"

As she spoke, Yuri angrily raised her little fist and waved it twice, looking quite resentful.

Mary just followed behind and laughed, without asking any questions. She knew she couldn't usually get any information about such embarrassing childhood events from people; she had to think of another way.

The entrance to the ranch wasn't far. After going around it, I quickly found the wooden door to the entrance on another main road. I took the mask, put it on, and went inside, only to see something unexpected.

Yuri led Marie through several wooden buildings, trying to find her mother, but instead they found their Pokémon inside, helping out with chores.

"How did you end up here?"

Mary looked at Sissy, who was using her superpowers to move piles of hay, and asked her a question curiously.

"Shh~ (I just ran into Yuri's mom receiving a lot of packages, so I came over to help.)"

"Oh, what about the others?"

"Sha~ (Not quite sure, probably helping out or playing somewhere else.)"

"Do you need my help?"

"Shh~ (No need, this hay looks heavy, but it's surprisingly light, we can finish quickly.)"

"Alright then, shall we head over there?"

Seeing that Sis looked relaxed, Mary nodded but didn't insist on helping, and continued to stroll forward with Yuri.

I casually rubbed the wool of a passing sheep; its soft fur felt incredibly comfortable.

"Hey, how did you end up here?"

"what?"

After releasing the docile woolly sheep, Mary turned to look at Yuri.

"No, this area is separated, after all, vehicles and outsiders come and go frequently. This little guy probably sneaked over here."

"Oh, I see. Where are you planning to run off to?"

Mary touched the Woolpiate sheep's neck and scratched it, but the Woolpiate sheep was unmoved, glanced at Mary, and did not intend to answer the question.

"They probably went off to sneak some food. Let's go in this direction."

"Should we just ignore him?"

"It's okay, we can't eat that much anyway, and the sauce is right there."

Seeing that Yuri had said so, Mary also let go of her hands, waved to the Woolstaff sheep, and left the spot.

Finally, Yuri's mother was found on the ranch, shaving a woof with a razor. Next to her was a large pile of wool and a group of woof sheep and woolly-horned sheep.

Espeon and Eevee sat quietly nearby, seemingly helping out, while two little Dragapults bounced a large ball of wool around in mid-air, having some kind of fun.

Nebula, who was sleeping next to Ichigo, sensed Mari's approach and teleported over with both hands raised and a smile. Unfortunately, due to her lack of skill, she landed several meters above Mari's head and was caught by Mari, who reacted quickly.

The white fluff floated around in mid-air, and whenever the wind picked up, a force would reach out and grab her to prevent her from drifting away.

While Mary and Yuri were snuggled up in the house watching TV, everyone else had already run to the ranch to help or play.

Seeing that Mary seemed interested, Yuri's mother gestured and gave up her seat to the two girls.

Chapter 369 Going to meet an old friend from three thousand years ago

In the evening, Wujitana arrived in Hualang Town in a flying taxi.

"Miss, we've arrived—where would you like to get off?"

The driver's voice came from a loudspeaker next to him, and there was a device similar to a walkie-talkie inside the carriage to facilitate communication between passengers and the driver.

"It seems to be a house near Dandi's hometown, the closest to the Misty Forest."

"Okay, okay! Hold on tight, miss."

The driver who flew around the Galactic Empire naturally knew that while he might not remember every detail of a large city like Gongmen, he could easily recall the details of a small town like Hualang.

Corviknight landed in an open area near Yuri's house, clinging to the carriage. Mugentana opened the car door, raised an eyebrow slightly, glanced at the dimly lit Misty Forest, then waved to the driver and watched Corviknight disappear into the horizon.

"So the two dogs used to live around here. Speaking of which, did they just pick the two kids who lived the closest when choosing their people?"

Although choosing a human to relax for a hundred or two hundred years would be a very casual matter for them, the degree to which they were casual still left Wuji Tai somewhat speechless.

Tugged at the strap of her cute shoulder bag, Mukita took out her phone and looked at the photos, quickly finding the target building.

Stepping into the courtyard where the fence was not closed, Mukita raised her hand and knocked on the gate a few times. After hearing the movement inside, she withdrew her arm.

The door was pushed open, and Yuri appeared before them.

"You're here! I was worried you might not be able to find the place, so I was just about to come and get you. Come on in, come on in~"

"This location is pretty easy to find, isn't it? Sorry to bother you—"

Walking through the space Yuri had cleared, Mukitana saw Mari, who had changed into her pajamas and had her hair down.

"You can wear these slippers. I haven't told Mom about Tana yet."

"I don't care, it doesn't matter whether I tell the truth or hide it."

"Although it's possible to hide it, you and Yuri look so alike, it's impossible to hide it..."

Mary leaned against the side and chimed in. Although she had already scolded Yuri for not telling her family back in the afternoon, she could only speak up for Yuri when the time came.

Mari brought Mugentana to the kitchen, where Yuri's mother was busy preparing dinner. Mari had originally intended to help, but was refused.

Unlike Mary's family's reaction, Yuri's mother was clearly shocked after hearing Yuri's explanation. However, they also shared some similarities, such as focusing on the issue of blood ties.

Although Mari felt that those who knew about this should know that there was a clear difference between Mugentana's situation and the state of 'the offspring of two people', she didn't know if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Yuri's mother's gaze had changed very subtly.

After a dinner where everyone was having a good time, except for Mary who felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Mukita suddenly suggested that she wanted to go for a walk.

"It's already dark outside. Where would you like to go for a walk?"

Yuri glanced at the sky outside the window. Because of the vast area and sparse population, the only lighting outside the window was the orange streetlights on the road, which made the night in the entire town of Hualang seem quite deep.

"I rarely come to the Forest of Dreams, so I'm going to say hello to some old friends I haven't seen in a long time."

"Eh—"

Yuri was startled and hadn't reacted yet, but Mary continued the conversation:

"Are you sure you're okay? I won't get beaten up, will I?"

"Why did you get beaten up? Those two puppies are quite docile. You can come and see for yourselves if you want. You'll get to know them eventually anyway."

"……real?"

Mary raised an eyebrow, her eyes filled with distrust as she looked at Mugentana. After all, he was shattered by a sword and shield three thousand years ago. Would he really not come up and strike her with a sword first?

"Don't worry, we don't have that much of a grudge. Just tell me if you're going or not. Without me leading you and without being chosen, you definitely won't make it to the very end by yourself."

"Go, of course we have to go! What a great opportunity! We can't let it pass us by, Yuri! Let's go!"

"Huh? Wait, why are we suddenly going to the Sleepy Forest together? I haven't decided yet."

"What's there to think about? Nothing's going to happen. Let's go, let's go."

Mary grabbed two coats and put them on, then pulled Yuri and Mukita out the door.

As expected, the outdoors was quite dark. Using the light leaking from the window, the three of them easily climbed over the low fence. Facing the dark forest ahead, Mary and Yuri simultaneously turned on the light from Rotom's phone, which then floated beside them.

"Hiss—why did you have to come at night?!"

Yuri clung to Mary's arm, looking at the increasing number of trees around them, and muttered a complaint under her breath.

Wujita wisely kept quiet and simply walked ahead of the two, leading the way. He needed neither light nor extra care, and despite it being his first time there, he seemed to know exactly where to go.

After walking for about half an hour, the confusing thick fog in the forest did not materialize, and the Pokémon around seemed completely unconcerned about the three intruders, resting on their own.