Pokémon from Galar

Mary paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"That makes sense. I was a bit presumptuous and almost forgot the weight of the word 'champion.' I see your Lucario is doing quite well. Why did you choose an administrative role in the first place?"

"Because I didn't really like fighting when I was little, and I hated getting hurt and bleeding, and Xiaolu was pretty much the same way I was back then, so we chose each other at first sight, hehe~"

Individuals are always diverse, but judging from Lucario's previous state, he didn't seem like the type who disliked fighting. This was somewhat surprising to Marie.

Chapter 433 Encounter with a White Horse

"Why would Miss Mary want to go to the temple ruins? However, due to government orders, it seems that no one from the Alliance has gone in to conduct a detailed investigation yet."

Following closely beside Marie, the assistant, Lucario, cautiously held onto his arm as they traversed the cave, chatting with Marie as they went.

“I’m not looking for anything specific. Places like mountain temples are usually more symbolic. Perhaps the Lady Crown King will go there.”

Marie didn't care much about the Pokémon that passed by; Kyon's aura alone was enough to intimidate those irritable Pokémon.

"Actually, it would be safer to come after Yuri and Hop succeed, but they need some time, so I came to scout ahead first."

No one knows exactly when the Lady Crown awakened, and since the Lady Crown's storyline is only part of the second storyline in the DLC and is not covered in this film, the approximate timeline of her awakening remains unknown.

So Mary only said she was coming to check things out. If she didn't find anything here, she would naturally turn around and go see the previous champion, Masde.

Upon reaching the mountaintop, aside from encountering a somewhat irritable red-faced dragon along the way, which slightly startled the assistant, nothing unexpected happened. Si-chan easily dismissed the big oaf and cleared the way.

"Alright, we've arrived at our destination. You should be feeling better by now."

Looking somewhat helplessly at the assistant who was clinging tightly to Lucario's arm, I found it rather amusing.

"I, I know."

Having almost never ventured into such undeveloped wilderness, the assistant clearly hadn't expected to encounter wild Pokémon of that strength. Even in the Wild Area, there are many traces of human intervention; if one doesn't act recklessly, one's life is safe.

The snowfield area is practically a wasteland; apart from the area around Ice Condensation Village, there isn't even a decent road anywhere else.

With Lucario supporting her back, the assistant closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to try and regain her composure, but she still didn't let go of her Lucario.

Mary didn't care about that. She called out Ee-chan and Sue-chan, and the three Pokémon protected her and her assistant before they walked into the archway that was more than ten meters high.

The temple is entirely open-air. After passing through a long passageway to enter, it can be determined that this place was once mostly a courtyard-like area, with traces of paved roads still remaining in the middle. Only a few hardy trees are still growing around, and most of the trees are withered remains.

But the most striking feature is the deepest part, a massive, withered tree. Its trunk is towering, and the sprawling branches suggest that it may have once covered the entire open courtyard.

"Wow—I've seen it in photos, but seeing it in person still makes me think it's huge. It must be about the same size as the tree on the other side."

The assistant followed closely behind Mary, letting out a small gasp of surprise. Even in its dilapidated state, the temple's solemn atmosphere was still palpable, which greatly surprised the assistant, who had always been an academy graduate.

"Who knows? This tree died too early. Be careful and stick close to your Pokémon."

Mary frowned slightly and answered the assistant's question. The atmosphere of this ruin was a bit strange, or rather, Mary felt that this place gave her a very subtle feeling.

Step by step, Mary trudged onto the hard ground, the dull sound echoing all around her. As Mary ventured deeper and got closer to the dead tree, her sense of unease grew stronger.

"Sis-chan, do you sense anything is wrong?"

Unable to resist, she turned to ask Su-chan for her opinion. Su-chan possessed the strongest superpowers present, but Su-chan simply shook her head.

"Shh~ (No, I didn't feel anything.)"

"All right……"

Mary nodded, remaining vigilant. She always preferred to believe in such strange sensations.

Taking out Rotom's phone, Mary snapped a few photos around, her gaze following the camera to an inconspicuous corner where a dry haystack and a wooden basket rested on a low stone pillar were located.

"This is……"

Because this place is behind a small wall, I hadn't noticed this little corner when I passed by before.

“Miss Mary, look over here, there seems to be another place like this.”

The assistant's voice came from behind her. Mary turned around and saw a place in the distance that looked similar to the one she had found.

"Hmm, it seems this place isn't deserted after all."

"Huh—that's strange. There's not even any food on this mountaintop, yet Pokémon have settled here?"

"To be honest, I'm more curious that the league would actually say it wouldn't investigate and then not investigate."

“Not everyone is as strong as you, Miss Mary. The Red-faced Dragon we encountered before, none of the trainers I know could defeat it easily.”

The assistant's implication was quite clear: the path up was difficult, there were dangerous Pokémon along the way, the ruins were more symbolic than practical, and the League had issued a decree against arbitrarily damaging the snowfield environment.

At least there are Pokémon down the mountain, but in this godforsaken place you can't see a single one. It's a thankless task, and nobody wants to do it.

Mary shrugged, looked at her assistant, and said with a smile:

"Let's delete these photos later. I didn't expect there were Pokémon living here. Let's not spread the news."

The assistant was taken aback for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"Okay! I'll delete it right away!"

"It's about time we left. Since this place has been turned into a den by Pokémon, it's best not to stay any longer."

Seeing the assistant bowing her head, Mary took her arm and was about to leave when suddenly—

"Hiss! Hiss!!"

A white figure suddenly appeared outside the main hall, accompanied by a deafening roar. The ground began to freeze over in large areas, and the temperature in the air began to drop rapidly.

"Protect her!"

As Mary spoke, she pushed her assistant into Lucario's arms, while Sue and Ichigo moved quickly. With their two domineering auras activated, Ichigo charged out, her silver iron tail following closely behind Psychic and Power Gem as she slashed at the white voice.

Kyon hovered above Mary's head, ready to merge with her at any moment to fight the enemy.

The three attacks struck the unknown Pokémon in succession, forcing it to a halt in its forward momentum. Ichigo's figure flew backward and was captured by Sue's psychic power, returning steadily to Mari's side.

Only then did the assistant realize what was happening, and looked with a startled expression at the tall, snow-white horse that had stopped in front of them.

"Miss Mary... what should we do?"

"Stay close to me and don't wander off. Let Lucario protect you. Your opponent is probably no ordinary Pokémon."

Three attacks.

Power Gem, Psychic, and Iron Tail—the opponent was clearly an Ice-type just by looking at them, yet they appeared completely unharmed after taking attacks from Marie's three main attackers.

And Mary finally remembered what she had almost forgotten: the Crown Prince's beloved horse. It had actually appeared now?! Why? Didn't they only appear after the Crown Prince woke up?

Baloo, Chirp, Morpheus, and Hime quickly jumped out of their Poké Balls, circling around Marie and locking onto the white horse that had already crouched down, eager to pounce.

Chapter 434 Temporary Retreat

Without any hesitation, Mary had her assistant ride on Little Bird and leave the battlefield. Since the white horse had appeared, then the black horse...

Mary had to consider the possibility of a black horse appearing. Although she could only choose one in the game, and only one appeared in the story, the black horse and the white horse were listed separately in the encyclopedia.

Just as they were thinking, the tall white horse neighed loudly, its front hooves stomping down heavily. A wave of cold air spread out, and several huge ice spikes rose from the ground, heading straight for Marnie and the group of Pokémon!

"Xiao Mo and Si Jiang, take over! Balu, don't go forward yet."

"Cha! (I'll do it!)"

Xiao Mo stared intently at the oncoming ice shards, his body crackling with electricity, transforming into a massive aura that easily shattered the ice shards, and then charged towards the white horse with undiminished momentum.

Silky's magic flashed and disappeared in an instant, shattering the remaining ice shards. She then flashed back to Mary's side, her Mega Stone blazing with light, initiating her evolution.

Kyon summoned dozens of phantoms. In order not to affect his companions' attack, the Power Gem erupted again, descending from the sky in an attempt to pin the white horse to the ground.

Meanwhile, Ichigo silently stepped onto the ice, closely following the aura wheel, ready to launch a sneak attack at any moment.

Seeing this, the white horse seemed even more excited. Suddenly, it exerted force with all four limbs and charged straight at the aura wheel. At the same time, a large amount of snowflakes suddenly surged up beneath its feet, turning into white waves that lifted it up, as if it were walking on air.

avalanche!

Sis quickly grabbed Mary and dodged out of the avalanche's path, but the attack ahead didn't stop. The Power Gem rained down from the sky, shattering a large amount of snowflakes that slammed into the white horse. With Ichigo's help, Mordred's Aura Wheel traced a graceful arc in mid-air, following closely behind.

A dazzling bolt of lightning exploded on the side of the white horse.

Two icicles suddenly shot out from the avalanche. The white horse, in pain, quickly chose to retaliate and turned the avalanche to engulf Mo and Yi-chan!

Just as Ichigo was about to be engulfed by the avalanche and ice spikes before she could even touch the white horse, dozens of air blades suddenly rained down from the sky, forcibly blasting a path through the encircling snowflakes.

With a burst of intense mental energy, I-chan, along with Xiao-mo, seized the fleeting opportunity to break free from the encirclement, while simultaneously placing her front paws on the back of the white horse.

The icy chill seemed capable of freezing I-chan at the mere touch, yet I-chan gritted her teeth—

Fraud!

boom--!!

The white horse on top of the avalanche was swung around in mid-air by Ichigo and then slammed hard into the ground. The avalanche followed closely behind, burying the white horse and making it disappear without a trace.

At that moment, an explosion suddenly came from the deepest part of the main hall.

Two figures emerged from the shadows, and two shadow spheres exploded, the surging dark energy transforming into a silent energy storm. Both sides simultaneously chose to barely control their energy, tilting it towards the empty sky. A jet-black pillar of light shot into the heavens, shattering several clouds.

Even after guiding the energy storm, both sides retreated dozens of meters to barely avoid the raging storm that couldn't distinguish friend from foe.

"Roar—(The second one is here!)"

Before he could even steady himself, Balu roared without turning his head, reminding his companions that when Ichigo and the others attacked the white horse earlier, the black horse in front of them had tried to sneak up on them, but fortunately Balu noticed in time and intercepted it.

"law--!!"

The almost entirely black horse stood in the dim shadows, its calm yet unsettling gaze surveying Mary and the others. Meanwhile, the white horse burst out of the snow, shook its head, and energetically rubbed its hooves, seemingly gathering strength for the next attack.

The assistant on Xiao Qiu's back was already too frightened to speak by the towering black beam of light. However, the terrifying energy just a few meters away seemed to give her a glimpse of the afterlife, and for the first time, she felt that death was so close to her.

Controlling Blade Bird to stabilize Assistant and Lucario, Chirp glanced at the person on her back and quickly communicated with Marie.

At this moment, Mary, who was being held in Sis's arms, slightly raised her gaze, glanced at Little Chick circling high in the sky, nodded almost imperceptibly, and then said loudly:

"I apologize for trespassing on your territory. Everyone, it's time to retreat."

Judging from the probing just now, these two Pokémon are probably quite strong. If they really fought, this ruin would probably be demolished in less than half a minute, leaving not a single brick behind. Moreover, Chirp would also need to take care of her assistant.

If both sides really go all out, they probably won't be able to protect her safety.

Sis quickly escorted Mary out of the temple, retrieved Xiao Mo and the others, and then carried Mary onto Xiao Qiu's back.

"Phew—let's go back first. Those two horses are probably not simple. We need to investigate them in detail."

"Oh, okay! I understand!"

Compared to Mary, the assistant seemed much more nervous and flustered. Fortunately, Blade Bird was there to support her, otherwise she might have fallen.