Pokémon from Galar

Before Balu could get angry, upon hearing Marie's voice, he instantly flew backward, trying to create as much distance as possible.

The mental energy enveloped Balu, and the thought of falling asleep was suppressed by Balu the moment it arose, but his opponent did not show any surprise.

It seems they had anticipated that the hypnosis would not be successful.

Mary's expression remained unchanged. Her opponent's Gothic Miss seemed to be well-trained. Unable to determine the extent to which her opponent could affect Balu, she could only try to keep her distance and weaken the impact.

The two tests just now made the white-haired boy understand to some extent the difference in their abilities and Balu's characteristics, so it wasn't a loss for him.

"Hmph, meditation."

"Dragon Pulse! Interrupt her skill!"

The moment Mary heard her opponent's command, she reacted. She couldn't let her opponent improve her abilities, especially since Miss Gothic herself was quite capable. If she improved her abilities once or twice, Balu might not be able to withstand her opponent's attacks.

Unfortunately, the opponent's skill level was higher than Mary had imagined. The white-haired boy smiled confidently, waved his hand, and shouted:

"A strong mental focus! How could you possibly interrupt it so easily?"

"Roar—!! (How could I let you succeed!!)"

"Whoosh—(Then give it a try!)"

Boom! Boom!

The two energies collided in mid-air, the dragon-type and psychic-type energies mixing and spreading outwards, stirring up dust on the ground and obscuring the view in the center of the arena.

"Cough... Shadow Ball!"

"Get out of the way, Balu!"

call out--!

With a whooshing sound, Balu keenly sensed the Ghost-type energy attacking him. Almost at the same time as Marie spoke, Balu reacted.

The whole body twisted to the side in mid-air, but it was probably too late to launch a move to detonate it in mid-air, as Shadow Ball is a special move that is difficult to control.

Balu didn't think his opponent could still manipulate the Shadow Ball in mid-air to change direction. Relying on his familiarity with Ghost-type energy, he avoided his opponent's attack at a very dangerous angle in mid-air.

After that previous exchange of blows, Baloo could sense that the opponent's Pokémon's Special Attack had increased. If before he had dared to take a Shadow Ball to trade blows,

Now, Balu is less certain that he can withstand the opponent's attacks.

"Sneak Attack by a Hidden Spirit!"

Although Mary couldn't see clearly, she believed that Balu could dodge the opponent's attack, so she gave the instructions almost without pausing.

"..."

Baru didn't respond. His dodge of the shadow ball was extremely difficult, and to be honest, Baru himself wasn't 100% confident. But then he heard Mary's voice.

They trust me way too much!

Baru grinned, his already large mouth agape. He dared not make any large movements, nor risk revealing his position to respond to Mari. He simply slipped into the alternate dimension quietly, before his opponent could lock onto his location and launch the next attack.

Miss Gothic's mental power swept across the entire area, but unfortunately, she lost track of Balu the moment she locked onto him.

"Whoosh... (Did they hide...?)"

"Tsk, hiding? Use the reflective barrier, and then watch your surroundings."

The white-haired boy noticed the movement of his Pokémon and instantly understood the situation. He had already experienced the power of the Phantom Assault firsthand. He figured none of his Pokémon could withstand it.

"Whoosh—(Okay)"

A brief silence fell over the field.

Not long after, in a sudden instant, Baloo emerged from beneath Gothic's feet, carrying a massive amount of Ghost-type energy, and charged towards Gothic.

However, Gothic Pokémon are inherently more sensitive to space, and she noticed the commotion the moment Palm emerged from the other dimension.

Unfortunately, it was an on-the-spot reaction, and at such a close distance.

Miss Gothic used her most trusted and skillful abilities.

Strong mental focus!

Thud—Thud—!

"Roar—! (Lie down!!)"

"Whoosh—(You wish!)"

The stealthy attack struck Miss Gothic first. As she was sent flying backward, Miss Gothic frantically squeezed out her mental energy and fiercely swept it towards Balu in front of her.

With two loud thuds, the two Pokémon were sent flying backward.

Balu was knocked down by the psychic attack and slid dozens of meters across the ground, while Miss Goth was thrown high into the air and fell even further away.

"Baru, are you alright?"

Mary looked worriedly in the direction of Balu, who was shrouded in smoke and dust. Although her opponent hadn't thrown a Shadow Ball, he should still be able to continue if he only used his psychic powers.

However, since his special attack ability had been enhanced, Marie was not entirely sure about Bal's condition.

The opposing team seemed to share a similar thought with Marie: the Phantom Assault wasn't so easy to catch. That attack had landed squarely on Gothic, and even with the Reflect debuff, the white-haired boy couldn't be sure if his Pokémon was still in a state where it could fight again.

Just as both sides were checking the status of their Pokémon, the sense of anomaly in the space suddenly subsided.

The duration of the magic space has ended.

"..."

The white-haired boy, supporting Miss Goth, gazed unwillingly across the battlefield in Mary's direction; the end of the magic space meant his defeat.

Being slower than her opponent, and in her current state, Miss Gothic would find it difficult to create suitable opportunities to unleash her magic.

Moreover, even if they seize the opportunity, given Dorambaruto's speed, there's a high chance he'll be able to land a hit on Miss Gothic the instant the Trick Space is activated.

At this point, there's no chance of winning...

The white-haired boy reached out and pressed down on Miss Goth, who was still struggling to enter the battlefield. The attack just now had probably hit a vital spot, and Miss Goth was now having some difficulty standing up.

"call out--!!"

He gently shook his head, and facing the equally unwilling Pokémon, the white-haired boy lowered his head and forced a smile at his Pokémon in a direction that Marie couldn't see. He opened his mouth and silently made a few mouth movements.

Then, he took a Poké Ball out of his pocket and put the girl he was supporting, Gothic, back into the ball.

P.S.: I wanted to make Peter a little more likable. He was too arrogant in the early stages of the game, which made him unappealing. However, he became much more interesting after turning pink and cute.

And honestly, I even had an urge to modify Peter into a girl! 2333333333333

Then she got a lecture from the protagonist, and after becoming all pink and tender, she... well, you know... (?＞?＜)☆

(I've been getting really bored staying at home lately, and my weird ideas just keep popping up.)

Chapter Thirty-Five: Leaving the Mine, Route 4

"Damn it—I give up!"

"Ah."

Mary nodded without saying anything more, and took out a Poké Ball to put Baloo, who was also in poor condition, into it.

"I will remember your fighting style. I will be the one to win on the field."

After putting away the Poké Ball, the white-haired boy walked up to Marie, regaining his previous arrogance, as if his earlier resentment was genuine.

"You're amazing, I look forward to seeing you on the field."

"And you, you're the trainer recommended by the champion, right? This time you have your friend protecting you, but next time it might not be the same."

After arrogantly staring directly into Yuri's face and speaking, the white-haired boy turned and left.

"..."

"...Don't worry too much. You've only just become a trainer. Both that person and I have several years of experience. It's normal that you can't beat them for now."

Seeing that Yuri's expression was not good, Mary awkwardly tried to say something to comfort the girl next to her.

"I know... I know it's not this."

Yuri shook her head, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

"Next time I'll face it myself, instead of relying on you, Mary-chan..."

That's why I told you not to worry about it too much.

Mary reached out and grasped Yuri's uneasy hand, pulling her towards the exit as she spoke:

“Pokémon are not tools. If you don’t have any evolved Pokémon, it would be problematic to recklessly battle that person. Don’t be fooled by the so-called champion’s recommendation, Yuri. A meaningless battle is better left undone.”

"……But,"

"Then let me ask you, do you really want Sobble to face those Pokémon and just get beaten up?"

"I...I understand...I was too excited."

Yuri swallowed hard. She knew the teardrop lizard's condition all too well. It was such a timid creature; it would run back to her with teary eyes for protection no matter what it encountered... How could she bear to let it take a beating?

"Ah."

Mary nodded, and that was the end of her advice.

Pokémon are not tools. Putting them into evenly matched battles is completely different from putting them into battles where they have no chance of winning. It can even easily cause psychological problems for Pokémon, and if not handled properly, it's not uncommon for a Pokémon to completely give up battling altogether.

Rather than gossip from outsiders and some meaningless battles, what trainers should care about is how to help their Pokémon grow in a way that is more beneficial to them.

The battle location was very close to the exit. The two of them walked for a short while before arriving at the mine exit, where they met another young lady who looked very similar to the one they had met at the entrance.

"Hello, I'm the sister who opened an outdoor Pokémon Center here without permission. Do your Pokémon need to be restored?"

The equipment and faces looked very familiar. Mary and her companion approached and asked curiously:

"You and that lady over there at the entrance..."

"Ah, that's my older sister. The two of us are each guarding one side of the cave entrance."

Similarly, after verifying the qualification certificate, Marie handed over her Pokémon to the other party.

"Hehe, just wait a moment. The three Pokémon of that boy are still recovering. It will be your turn soon."

"The boy from earlier..."

Yuri blinked, exchanged a glance with Mary, and was about to say something when a voice came from the side.

"Tsk, you guys are here too."