Pokémon from Galar

"Ee~ (I understand.)"

Effortlessly maintaining its Iron Tail, Umbreon let out a confident cry.

"Okay, let's keep Iron Tail like this for now, and then see how long it can last during Quick Attack."

Rotom was recording the time, and Mary then explained her testing plan.

Iron Tail contains an astonishing amount of energy; its power rating of 100, as indicated in the Pokédex, surpasses the output of almost all other moves.

Fortunately, Iron Tail is a technique that attaches to the limbs, making it easier to control than pure energy-based techniques like Shadow Ball and Electric Ball.

A move isn't necessarily better the more powerful it is. If you can't accurately control every bit of energy, it's a waste in battle.

Therefore, Mary puts a lot of effort into studying how to control Ichigo's moves and make various changes.

Because his speed talent wasn't outstanding, he learned the skill "Lightning Flash" to briefly accelerate, and practiced techniques like "Sand Splash" and "Ear-Piercing Sound" to distract his opponents.

To compensate for her lack of offensive talent, Mary even asked her brother to get her a 'Fake' move learning device.

Using a very clever technique, she attacked by taking advantage of her opponent's strength. If she had to put it in a nutshell, Mary could only consider it as the concept of "using four ounces to move a thousand pounds" or "using someone else's strength against them" from her previous life.

So until several months ago, Ichigo was proficient in various moves that could annoy her opponents and protect herself. Only recently did she learn Iron Tail and Poison as moves to supplement her offensive capabilities.

When will we meet the second Pokémon in Chapter 4?

All afternoon, Ichigo, accompanied by Mari, trained the power and control of Iron Tail, as well as the combination of Iron Tail and Quick Attack.

Although this small grove of trees was hit by quite a few Flash and Iron Tail attacks, under Mary's deliberate control, not too many trees were damaged. At most, a lot of branches were broken and some grass was cleared away.

After distributing some Energy Cubes to the nearby Pokémon and giving them a little massage, nothing went wrong.

It wasn't until dinner time that Mary stopped Ichigo's practice. Thanks to the Rotom phone, which allowed for some simple data analysis, training became much easier.

Marie crouched down and picked up the somewhat tired Ichigo. When she returned to her tent, she saw Yuri taking selfies with the teardrop lizard, holding something in her arms.

"It's almost time for dinner."

"Really?! That's great! I'm starving..."

"Ah... (Ooh...)"

The teardrop lizard seemed a little shy, and as soon as it saw Mary, it quickly climbed up Yuri's arm and hid on her collar.

"Squeak—(Who is it?)"

"..."

Mary blinked, meeting the eyes of the large apple in Yuri's arms. Then she looked at the bewildered Yuri and sighed.

"Where did this child come from?"

"Ah! You mean this? I found it under a tree this afternoon! I thought I found a big apple, but it turned out to be a Pokémon."

"...It's alright if I find it."

Marie looked back and forth twice. She knew about the Pokémon Fruiteater before. It was a Grass/Dragon type, and when it was born, it would find a big apple and crawl inside, only showing its tail and eyes. It was a very cute Pokémon.

"Do you want to catch it? After it evolves, depending on its form, its attack or special attack abilities are quite good, and the Dragon type can also learn many powerful moves."

"Oh! Really? You're so amazing!"

"Squeak (Is it really that powerful?!)"

The fruit-eating worm itself seemed unaware of its origins, and simply joined in Yuri's happiness.

"..."

Ignoring Yuri, Mary turned around to tidy up the tableware, skillfully started a fire to cook rice, and glanced somewhat boredly at Yuri sitting beside her, smiling and munching on fruit worms and teardrops.

"Speaking of which, I haven't asked you yet what you're going to do in Machine City?"

"Yes, I'm planning to participate in the annual gym challenge!"

Yuri raised her hand, looking incredibly cheerful and optimistic, to the point that Mary didn't know what to say for a moment.

"You have a letter of recommendation...it was from that champion, wasn't it?"

"Yes, yes! After Hop asked me to, he watched my fight with Hop and then gave it to me."

"Oh, I see. My destination is also Machine City. I'll take you there from here."

Mary sighed, feeling really worried about the child wandering around in the wilderness alone. Since she was planning to enroll herself anyway, taking her through this area would be a convenient thing to do.

"Oh—really? Thank you!"

"It's nothing, it's just on the way, and I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you wander around alone."

While stirring the curry in the pot, Marie explained her reasons without turning her head, only to have Umbreon, lying beside her, raise its head and bark twice.

"Eeee—(Is Mary shy?)"

"Stop nagging. If you're going to rest, just lie down quietly. If you can't speak properly, then don't speak."

Mary blushed. It was nothing serious, but she became a little shy because her Pokémon teased her.

"Ee~ (Hi hi~)"

……

After preparing the meal and dividing the food as they had at noon, just as they were about to start eating, Ichijou suddenly noticed something in the bushes behind Mari.

"Ee- (Want to come and eat with us?)"

"Huh?"

Mary paused for a moment upon hearing Yi-chan's voice, then realized that it wasn't about her. She turned her head and spotted a large green head with red, horn-like things on its head in the grass.

"Ralu... (Is it... okay...?)"

It was a young Ralts. Ralts are known to roam this area, and this wasn't the first time Marie had encountered one.

The reason I haven't caught one yet is that I just became a trainer and I'm already too busy training Ichigo's Pokémon to catch any other Pokémon.

Another example is Ralts, a Pokémon that has an almost intuitive sensitivity to human emotions. Marie doesn't consider herself an optimist or someone who can attract their pure hearts, so she didn't have any particular intentions.

"Wow! So cute! Rotom! Rotom! Come take a picture! Take a picture!"

Ignoring Yuri, who was only focused on taking pictures, Mari gave Ralts a gentle smile:

"Sure, I made quite a lot anyway. Is the sweetness acceptable?"

"Raru... (Waaah...)"

This Ralts seemed overly shy; upon hearing Marnie's voice, it instinctively shrank into the bushes.

Mary didn't mind. After serving the curry, she carried it over, squatted down, and placed it a little distance away from Ralts. She tapped the spoon in the plate with her finger and said with a smile:

"Do you know how to use a spoon? Ichi-chan, please demonstrate."

"Huh? (You're going to order me around like this??)"

Despite her complaints, Illusion obediently used her psychic powers to scoop up some curry and put it in her mouth right in front of Ralts.

"Ralu~ (I understand! Thank you...)"

Marie took a few steps back, not wanting to disturb Ralts which was distracted by the food, and returned to Yuri's side to eat her own meal.

"Hey! Marie-chan! It's Ralts! Ralts! Why are you so calm?"

"..."

Mary, who was being swayed back and forth by Yuri's shoulders, almost dropped the plate she was holding. She irritably pushed away Yuri's increasingly close head.

"Don't get excited, just eat. The longer you stay here, the more you'll see all sorts of Pokémon. Not to mention Ralts, I've even seen Dragapult and Goodra."

Actually, that's just bragging. Marie has only ever seen the unevolved versions; she's never actually seen the final evolutions of the two pseudo-legendary forms...

"Wow! That's such a professional-sounding statement!"

"……Have a meal."

With a helpless sigh, Mary suddenly felt a bit tired. So this is what it's like to mentor a complete newbie...?

Mary herself doesn't make much curry, after all, she's a girl, and her appetite isn't even as big as Yi-chan's.

After quickly finishing her portion, Mary placed the plate on the makeshift table and turned to look at Ralts, who was still struggling with his spoon.

It seems that because Ralts rarely uses his psychic powers to perform such delicate operations, he has to hold the spoon with both hands and use his psychic powers to properly put the curry into his mouth.

Mary watched as the four Pokémon gathered around her and ate, a slight smile appearing on her face.

Perhaps it's time to add some new partners.

After all, Ichigo has grown to the point where he needs to accumulate time to become stronger, and he has also gotten used to how to train and take care of Pokémon.

How about we go fishing near Sonia's house afterwards? I still have those beautiful scales I found unused.

P.S.: I actually checked the data, and Umbreon is about one meter tall... Marie is only about 1.5 meters tall. Even considering Umbreon's long ears, it's still a super big cat...

Then there's Draco, whose height is listed as three meters, Gardevoir as one hundred and sixty centimeters, and Inteleon as one hundred and ninety centimeters. Yuri and Marie, the two girls, actually look incredibly small...

Pokémon Introduction

Considering that some readers might not be familiar with Pokémon or haven't played Sword and Shield, I'll briefly introduce the Pokémon that appear first... I wonder if that's too long-winded...

Image: "Umbreon (Eevee-chan)", Location: "Images/1579056393-100143709-104642107.jpg"

Umbreon (Eevee-chan): Dark type, the evolved form of Eevee. Umbreon has black fur, and its red eyes make it look more ferocious than other Eevee species. The ring patterns on its body are dazzling gold, and these patterns will glow slightly after being bathed in moonlight.

According to the encyclopedia, when enraged, it sprays a venomous sweat from its pores, attacking its opponent's eyes. On a full moon night or when excited, the circular patterns on its body glow with a golden light.

Umbreon has outstanding defensive capabilities, but its attack power and speed are relatively average.

Image: "Ralts", Location: "Images/1579056444-100143709-104642107.jpg"

Ralts: Psychic and Fairy type, Ralts has a white body. Its body and legs make it look like it's wearing overly long clothes. Its green hair is like a bowl cut—also overly long, seemingly covering most of Ralts' face.

Its hair is parted by two flat, red horns inserted in the middle, one larger pointing forward and the other smaller pointing backward. Ralts' eyes are usually covered by its bowl-shaped head, but from below, you can see its red eyes, similar to those of its evolved form.

Ralts is timid and uses its red horn to sense emotions; it will hide in the shadows when it senses hostility. However, when Ralts detects positive and optimistic emotions in a person or Pokémon, it will approach them on its own, and its body will gradually warm up. If its trainer is in a good mood, Ralts will also become happy.

Ralts has very strong special attack abilities after evolution, and it's also very attractive, making it the "waifu" of many trainers. However, it's rather timid before evolution and is currently just a mascot.

Image: "Fruit-eating bug", Location: "Images/1579056461-100143709-104642107.jpg"

Berrybug: A Grass/Dragon type Pokémon that looks like an apple, except that the eyes and tail of the green caterpillar hiding inside are visible on the apple. It spends its entire life inside an apple. When encountering its natural predator, the bird Pokémon, it disguises itself as an apple to protect itself.

Fruit-eating worms live inside apples and devour the flesh. Once the apple is completely eaten, the worms will evolve, and the taste of the apple will determine the direction of their evolution.