Pokémon from Galar

"I see. Then I'll have to experience your Z-Move properly."

"Even though it hasn't evolved yet, its dazzling white appearance will definitely give you a fright!"

Yuri, who was walking ahead, twitched her eyelids slightly, turned around, stepped forward, hugged Mary's arm, gave it a gentle tug, and asked with a smile:

"I think I heard some information. Lillie can use Z-Moves too?"

"..."

"Yeah~ Hehe~"

The innocent Lillie didn't notice Mari's slightly strange expression or Yuri's subtle thoughts. Although she didn't interact with Yuri as much as she did with Mari, she still responded with a warm smile.

"Do you and Marie keep in touch? That's great~ I also want to become closer to Lillie."

"No, it's just that we didn't have time to exchange contact information before. I've been learning how to make energy cubes recently, so I'll ask for your advice. Mary is really thoughtful. She specially prepared electronic notes and sent them to me. She also asked me if there was anything I didn't understand. Even though she has to train herself, she often spends a lot of time teaching me."

“Indeed, when I have any questions, Mary is always very patient in teaching me, and I’ve never seen her get impatient.”

"Right, right!"

Lillie looked at Yuri with shining eyes. She had always admired Mary, finding her both cool and gentle. Perhaps because she was the only one who had been rescued by Mary at the cost of her life, a subtle difference would sometimes appear when she talked about it with Mao and the others.

But Yuri unexpectedly encountered such an emotional precipitousness. Although she didn't say much, Lillie could sense that she might be able to connect with Yuri.

"..."

Mary was caught in the middle and dared not speak.

And along with the feeling of his waist being twisted, cold sweat had already soaked his back.

P.S.: I'm a little unclear about the exact timing of Shaymin joining the team or Lillie's Z-Move, but there shouldn't be any major plot holes, right?

What a great writing challenge!

I'm totally stuck, my brain is about to be emptied out. Should I just keep it simple and write a short story, then finish the final plot in 100,000 words?

I'm so conflicted.

One hundred words ...

Chapter 373 Going on a Date

After arriving at the inn, everyone from Alola went to their rooms to rest. Although they all seemed full of energy on the way, as soon as they saw the beds, it was clear that their sleepiness gradually appeared on their faces.

Not intending to bother them any longer, Mary said goodbye to the girls and left with Yuri.

Mary had already made plans for her date in Gongmen City, so after leaving the hotel, she didn't hesitate and hailed a taxi to head to the amusement park.

Although Yuri had exuded a slightly dangerous aura earlier, it seemed to subside quickly after Mari's soft flesh in the waist and abdomen was injured. At least Yuri didn't really intend to be angry with Mari.

However, Mary herself was a little unsure. Girls' minds are always complex and delicate. If possible, Mary hoped that everything could be explained as soon as possible. Otherwise, one small thing after another would accumulate and might explode one day.

This is something Mary doesn't want to see.

The carriage echoed with the deep, even sound of the engine. The driver, as usual, turned on the car radio, listening to a program Mary had never heard of before. The scenery outside the window rushed past at a steady pace.

Mary was grateful for the noisy surroundings, which seemed to put her chaotic thoughts in rhythm with the noise, making her feel slightly more comfortable.

Leaning back in the soft seat, Mary pretended to be listening to the voice of the TV presenter coming from the front seat; the car wasn't a suitable place, so Mary could only suppress her somewhat anxious feelings, holding tightly to Yuri's hand, unwilling to let go.

Yuri tilted her head slightly, glancing at Mary beside her out of the corner of her eye. The force from her hand betrayed her turbulent emotions.

Mary's figure, nestled in a corner of the field of vision, seemed to echo the noise around her, emanating an atmosphere that Yuri found somewhat displeasing.

Even though she was right there, why did Mary seem to be trying to blend into the noisy background?

It was clear that her hand was being held tightly, yet her palm felt empty; she could only feel the friction between her fingertips and her hand. It made her wonder if she was really holding Mary's hand properly.

What seemed like just playful teasing to her actually made Mary uneasy. Mary tends to overthink things, and sometimes, thinking too much can make her a little...

sensitive.

Although they had known each other for less than a year, this was indeed how Yuri perceived Mary in her heart. In fact, she didn't think too much about it most of the time; she just wanted to do it, to show a slightly angry expression, and to see Mary look a little flustered.

But that's all. Once you've seen it, you've seen it. Even if you're a little angry, it all disappears the moment you see Mary's worried and self-reproachful expression.

She did mention it before, hoping that Mary wouldn't overthink things, as she herself had never thought things through in a complicated way, but clearly the effect wasn't very good.

Knowing full well that now wasn't the right time, Yuri also refrained from speaking, but she didn't have Mary's patience.

So Yuri shifted her body slightly, then looked forward, past the back of the seat in front of her, towards the road ahead, while resting her head on Mary's shoulder, as if she wanted to take a break.

The weight on her shoulders made Mary subconsciously look down. Then, her hand, which was tightly holding Yuri's, was suddenly covered. Yuri's small palm seemed to want to grasp it all, so she opened it wide and clenched her knuckles tightly.

From Mary's perspective, she could see Yuri's slightly trembling eyelashes at very close range, which made Mary realize that she might have deliberately moved closer like that.

The moment I realized this, my anxiety miraculously subsided. The surrounding sounds became noisy again, but this time, the noise quietly faded away, replaced by soft, rhythmic breathing.

No one spoke, but at that moment, Mary felt as if it didn't matter even if she didn't speak. Just by feeling the breaths around her, she could connect with Yuri's heart in rhythm with the breaths around her.

……

After getting off the bus at the entrance of the amusement park, unlike places like airports, the amusement park on a weekday was not so crowded. Although there were quite a few tourists, the atmosphere was just right without feeling deserted.

Still undecided about which activities to do, Mary and Yuri stood in front of a map near the entrance, making their plans.

"I want to ride the carousel first!"

"Okay, sure..."

Mary nodded. She had never really understood rides like carousels, not even in her previous life, and she still didn't get it even now that she was a girl. But seeing Yuri's enthusiastic expression, she figured the girl must like it.

"Then you can go to the haunted house if you follow the path!"

"Huh? Are we going to a haunted house?"

Mary still asked, and it turned out that the haunted house in this world, with the help of Ghost-type Pokémon, was several levels scarier than the haunted house in her previous life. To be honest, just reading the description made Mary not want to experience it.

"Yes, yes! The haunted house here is famous! And there are several more scream-inducing ones further on, so we can go all the way there. Let's go!"

Having roughly planned the route, Yuri had long forgotten what happened in the car earlier, and ran out while holding onto Mary's arm.

"Yuri, wait—"

Mary, who was being dragged along, called out to Yuri to stop. When Yuri turned around, Mary suddenly raised her other hand, cupped her cheek, and kissed her.

After a brief, two-second pause, Mary withdrew her tongue, raised her head, and looked at the bewildered Yuri with some guilt, saying:

"I'm sorry about what happened before..."

"Ah...ah, ooh..."

Yuri, who had initially thought it would be something serious, was now in a daze. She couldn't believe that Mary had called her over just to kiss her in public.

Even though it was just a brief taste, this is an amusement park! How dare she do something so daring!

Yuri, her eyes practically turning into circles, looked around blankly and realized that quite a few passersby were already staring at the two of them. Although her mind was a complete mess, her sense of shame still successfully drove her to act.

So Yuri grabbed Mary's arm without a word, lowered her head, and ran out, not caring which direction she was running in.

Chapter 374 Feelings That Are Hard to Express in Words

There was no training today, and the two Pokémon, like before, went to watch a movie with their movie theater membership cards. The rest of their Pokémon, too lazy to move, stayed obediently in their Poké Balls, with no intention of coming out to disturb the two trainers' date.

Seeing that Yuri was about to walk past the target area, Mary quickly pulled her arm a couple of times to stop her.

"We've arrived at our destination. If we walk any further, we'll miss it."

Upon hearing Mary's voice, Yuri turned around abruptly. Her flushed cheeks still looked shy, but her glaring gaze directly conveyed her anger and embarrassment.

"Humph!"

Yuri deliberately gave a loud snort, turned around without saying a word, let go of Mary's arm, and walked into the carousel area.

Following behind, Mary quietly asked a staff member, and after receiving an affirmative answer, she jogged after them with a smile. Yuri glanced at her sideways but ignored her, instead finding an empty rocking horse and awkwardly sitting down.

With her hands steadying her body, Yuri was still trying to compose herself when she suddenly felt someone behind her. Startled, she turned around and was met with Mary's smiling, 'punchable' face.

"Sit down together."

"No—I don't want to! Get off! Why are you sitting with me!"

"I asked the staff, and they said the children could sit together,"

With nowhere to steady herself, Mary reached out and hugged Yuri's waist, then pressed her entire upper body against her. Feeling Yuri's struggle, Mary breathed warmly into Yuri's ear and whispered:

"Let me help you, otherwise you might fall and hit your head."

"...That's too much!"

"Hum~"

The girl in her arms gradually calmed down. Mary rested her chin on Yuri's shoulder. She still didn't know what was so fun about the carousel, but it seemed not bad to be with Yuri. It wasn't as boring as she had imagined.

Of course, Mary and Yuri weren't the only ones on the facility; there were two other couples in other areas who also noticed the commotion. One of the men even tried to imitate Mary's actions.

However, being a tall adult, even though the staff didn't stop him, he found that he couldn't sit down properly at all. He awkwardly returned to his seat, which made his girlfriend burst into laughter.

Mary and Yuri heard the noise, turned around and saw what was happening, and covered their mouths to secretly laugh.

……

The afternoon passed quickly, especially while they were having fun. Before they knew it, the sun was slowly setting in the west, and the sky was gradually turning orange-red.

After hanging up the call with Sonia, Mary casually pointed to the Ferris wheel not far away and said:

"Sonia will be here soon. Let's go after we finish riding the Ferris wheel."

"Won't it be too late?"

"No, there aren't many people in line. Besides, it takes time for Sonia to get here from the city."

As Mary said this, she nudged Yuri's shoulder, gestured, and then walked to the end of the line.

The queue was slightly longer than at noon, and many people probably shared Mary's idea, scheduling the Ferris wheel for the very end of their trip.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, the two followed the staff's directions and sat facing each other. As the Ferris wheel rotated, their view gradually rose. Mary, however, did not pay attention to the scenery outside the window, but instead focused her attention on Yuri.

Since I often ride the Ferris wheel, the most attractive part of it must be the small and enclosed space for solitude.

As expected, Yuri reacted almost the same way as Mari, staring intently at Mari.

Suddenly, Yuri stood up, and with a slight tremor of the floor, she came to Mary and sat down face to face on Mary's lap, her legs curled up and placed perfectly on the chair in a duck-like sitting position.

"What? First time on a Ferris wheel? Aren't you going to take a good look around?"

Mary reached out and put her arm around the girl's soft waist, then looked up at her with a smile and asked.