Pokémon from Galar

"Ralu? (What about me?)"

"Hmm... As for Sis-chan, let's meditate for the next few days. Maybe she can evolve before the challenge."

"Ralu?! (Really?)"

"Hmm, I've been getting more and more skilled at using telekinesis lately, and I've even learned the Psychic Beam. I've also compared some move data records, so you should be close to evolving, but I don't know if it will be before or after this challenge."

"Raltral! (Then I'll work even harder! Hehe!!)"

"Yeah, keep up the good work!"

Mary reached out and patted Sis's head before putting her down.

Sis didn't waste any time either. Perhaps the matter of evolution had aroused her anticipation, so she sat down next to Mari and began to meditate.

"By the way, Balu, have you ever fought while under a status ailment?"

"Huh? (What does that mean?)"

"My opponent is a Grass-type expert, so I think the battle might be affected by the Powder move. Gym battles only allow you to bring one item, so there's a chance you'll have to fight while suffering from a status condition."

"Roar... (That's something to be careful about. I rarely go into battle carrying heavy loads; I either eat berries or just run away.)"

"Well, it seems we don't have anyone here who can buff you right now. Let's practice like this for now and see if we can run into a passing Pokémon and borrow some powder."

Mary pondered with some helplessness. She had chosen a rather desolate place to practice, but finding a passing Pokémon that could use powder or electromagnetic waves wasn't so easy.

……

The training proceeded smoothly, and several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Grass Road Town remains overcrowded, and Mary and Yuri still have to share a house.

On the very day that Hop was to accept the gym challenge, early in the morning.

Mary woke up early as usual. She had just finished washing up and was about to go out when the fruit-eating bug that had been sitting on the table next to her suddenly started shaking.

"Squeak-"

Accompanied by meaningless cries, before Mary could react, several cracks suddenly appeared on the apple of the fruit-eating worm, and a warm light representing evolution emerged from the worm and filled the entire room.

The light quickly enveloped the fruit-eating worm, and only then did Mary realize what was happening. She quickly walked over to Yuri, who was still sleeping, grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her up.

"Yuri, Yuri, wake up! You've evolved!"

The sheet slipped down, revealing Yuri's almost naked body. She had just opened her eyes, but the bright light in the room startled her and made her close them again.

"Oh no... Marie, you turned on the flash?"

Mary watched helplessly as the light of evolution dissipated, then calmly said to Yuri:

"...Your fruit-eating worm has evolved."

"Huh? E ...

"Squeak squeak—!! (Oh! I can fly now!)"

When Yuri finally realized what was happening and looked over, she saw a red Pokémon flying in mid-air, which looked rather cool.

"Wait, wait, wait—why all of a sudden?!"

"Squeak~ (Yuri! Look! I've finally evolved~)"

The newly evolved Apple Dragon flapped its wings and flew to Yuri. Then, it closed its wings and transformed back into a complete apple shape, landing in Yuri's palm.

"...Congratulations, you've worked hard..."

Yuri stared intently at Appledra, which had opened its wings a crack to show itself to her, and she could clearly feel the joy in her Pokémon's eyes.

Meanwhile, the Pokémon watching nearby jumped onto the bed and started making a ruckus around Appledra and Yuri.

"Ralu... (This is great... I really want to evolve soon too...)"

Sis-chan teleported instantly into Mary's arms, staring enviously at the Appledra, whose appearance had clearly improved after its evolution.

As if seeking comfort, he turned and snuggled into Mary's arms.

Mary reached out and patted Sis's head, then brushed aside the long hair on her forehead, and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, your psychic power has been getting stronger lately, and the rate of progress has been increasing. You'll definitely evolve soon."

"Ralu... (I know, I'm just a little envious...)"

"How about we try a match today?"

"Ralu? (...Why?)"

"Try to change your mood a bit. You've been meditating there for the past few days, and you must be feeling a little uncomfortable, right?"

"Raru (It's alright, it's not that bad.)"

"Let Ichigo practice some battles with you today. You've worked hard for the past few days, so let's give you a little relaxation."

"Ralu?! (Really?)"

Sis looked up at Mary. Recently, her mental energy had become increasingly active, and she was able to clearly perceive Mary's emotions and some simple thoughts.

What Mary meant by "practice battles" was actually more about wanting Ichigo to play with her...

"Well, I'm going to watch my friend's gym battle today, so I'll give you guys a day off. It's not good to push yourselves too hard."

Mary hugged Sis and looked at the Pokémon in front of her, smiling slightly.

Image: "Apple Wrapped Dragon", Location: "Images/1581325340-100143709-104748158.jpg"

P.S.: This is my first evolution in over thirty chapters, though I hadn't really considered the traditional plot of evolving during battle. I'm not sure whether to include it or not.

PPS: Apple-wrapped Dragon: The Apple-wrapped Dragon resembles a newly hatched reptile, except that it is wrapped in a fruit peel instead of an eggshell, and its forepaws are fused with the fruit peel to form wings. Its eyes are thin yellow plates with green eyelids that can close.

Apple-Wrapper can reassemble the broken apple peels on its body to disguise itself as an apple, just like the pre-evolutionary fruit-eating worm.

Its attack capabilities are decent, and more importantly, it looks pretty good.

I touched it!!

I'm taking a break today!

One hundred characters ...

Chapter Forty: Hop's Childhood Sweetheart, the Woolstress

Marie accompanied Yuri as they squeezed into the Grass Road Arena. She wasn't sure how many matches were scheduled for today, but Hop seemed to be first in line, so the two of them arrived early.

Because of the large number of people, Marie brought everyone back into the ball, and Yuri did the same. The baby cotton and tearful lizard were not suitable for such a noisy environment. Only the newly evolved apple dragon was still adapting to its evolved power, while acting cute with Yuri.

Mary leaned back in her chair, staring at the still empty arena. The spectator seats for the challengers were relatively close to the arena.

"By the way, Mary-chan, how long until your Pokémon egg hatches?"

"I don't know, maybe another month or two, why?"

"No, I'm just curious. Marie, you don't seem to be in a hurry to assemble a team for the gym challenge..."

Yuri was indeed very curious about this. She had encountered Ninetales and Gastly on the road before, and had even played with Growlithe by the roadside. However, although Marie got along well with all those Pokémon, she had no intention of catching them at all.

"Oh, well, let me ask you, Yuri, what are your dreams?"

"Huh? Why are you suddenly asking me that?"

"I'm a little curious, Yuri, what's your purpose in participating in the gym challenge?"

"What...is my word...?"

Hearing Mary's question, Yuri fell into thought for the first time. Mary didn't intend to urge her, but continued:

“Hop wants to follow in his brother’s footsteps and become the champion, Sonia wants to investigate the history of Dynamax and Night Elves, and I’m like you now, Yuri, I haven’t figured out my purpose yet.”

"Doesn't Mary-chan have any either?"

Mary nodded, then shook her head. It wasn't that she didn't understand, she just hadn't figured it out yet.

Does he want to challenge the Gym Leader and the Champion, or does he want to see Eternatus's appearance, or does he actually harbor a desire to capture Eternatus?

The Sword and Shield team chose Hop and Yuri as their two gods. Regardless of whether the two of them eventually captured the two legendary beasts like in the game, Mari felt that she definitely didn't have that chance.

"Pretty much. Maybe I'm actually trying to find a goal for myself through gym challenges."

"what……"

Yuri sighed, tilted her head, and leaned against Mary.

"To be honest, I just followed Hep's lead and came along, but I didn't even find my own goal. Thinking about it now, Hep is really amazing."

"Let's search together. The gym leaders are all amazing people. We're sure to learn something from them."

"Mmm... Marie is so gentle, just like an older sister."

"..."

Mary didn't respond. The number of spectators around them gradually increased, presumably because the time for the challenge was almost up.

"Hey, get up, the challenge is about to begin."

The dojo challenge host spoke very little. After announcing the challenger's information, he stepped aside.

Then I saw Hop walk in next to me, wearing his athletic uniform.

"Wow—Hepp actually looks pretty good in his racing suit!"

Yuri craned her neck to look at Hop and laughed, it was hard to tell whether she genuinely thought it was alright or was just habitually mocking her childhood friend.

"There are quite a lot of people in the audience for this show?"

Mary looked around. Logically speaking, a newbie challenger like Hop wouldn't usually attract many viewers. In fact, the stronger the contestant, the more fans they could gain.

For example, that somewhat annoying white-haired boy, after inquiring, Mary discovered that the boy's name was Peter. Despite being annoying, he was quite popular, and it was said that the show had a lot of viewership and ratings during the challenge.

As for Hop... it's probably because he's the champion's brother and the champion's recommender.

It's normal to be curious once you're associated with the champion, but Mary is worried that Hop and Yuri won't be able to withstand the pressure.

In fact, the previous Peter was the same; he immediately brought up the chairman and the champion, which clearly showed a problem with his thinking. Regardless of who recommended him or what their relationship was, strength is never judged by who recommended him.

Just as Mary was lost in thought, the next challenge officially began.

Looking at the photos of Hop and Yalo on the big screen, Mary finally came to her senses.

"As expected, it's that Woolbraided sheep again."