Pokémon from Galar

"Ok?"

Hearing Yuri's complaint, Mari looked over and saw that the Pokémon on the field were Wooloo and Cottonwoo.

"Speaking of which, I've always wanted to ask, Yuri, isn't your family a ranch? How come it was Hop who got a woolly sheep instead?"

While watching the battle in the arena, Mary casually asked some meaningless questions.

In the arena, Cottony was spinning at high speed and Woolblade was chasing each other back and forth. It was estimated that it would be difficult to determine the outcome for a while, as both of them were in an unevolved state and had limited attack and defense capabilities.

However, Gym Leader Alo's combination of high-speed spinning and magic leaves is quite interesting; it essentially turns the magic leaves into a portable, simplified version of Leaf Storm.

Watching the young girl on the sidelines controlling the vast expanse of magical leaves around her as they spun rapidly and surged forward, Mary felt a pang of worry for Hop.

As Woolstice gradually lost control of the increasingly fast Cottony, Hop, in a desperate gamble, traded a headbutt for damage from the charging Cottony.

"Ah...you were just talking about Woolbraided sheep?"

After watching the tense attack scene, Yuri finally came to her senses and answered Mary's question.

"Hehe, actually I've been around Wooloo too much at home, helping my mom shear wool since I was little... It's a rare trip, so I wanted to see more Pokémon I've never seen before."

"I understand. I don't really want to choose to train the same Pokémon as my brother. I want to see more Pokémon that I haven't seen before."

While the two were chatting, Hopp, who was sitting on the sidelines, found himself at a disadvantage.

Although Woolblade unexpectedly used electromagnetic waves to stop Cottony's increasingly rapid attack rhythm, it still couldn't completely turn the tide.

"Ugh... why does that idiot Hop have to use Woolstätter? Is she your wife? Why does she always start with Woolstätter against everyone?"

Yuri scratched her head impatiently; it seemed this quirk had been brewing for a while. Mari, however, was somewhat speechless; she remembered that Hop had Scorbunny and Sparrow.

Both are Pokémon that are super effective against Grass-type Pokémon, but the first Pokémon thrown out was Wooloo...

Fortunately, Yalo's baby cotton wool didn't seem to have been raised for very long, and its stamina probably couldn't support her using the magic leaf too many times, otherwise the Woolstuck sheep would have been dead long ago.

How can we continue rolling around looking for opportunities like this?

P.S.: I originally wanted to write about Hop's battles, but after thinking about it, I decided to write about Yuri's instead... I'll keep Hop's battles simple.

Chapter 41 Silk Sauce's Progress

After watching Hop's challenge to the very end, the only thing Marie was certain of was the extent to which the Gym Leaders cared for the new Trainers.

Woolbraided sheep and Cottony swapped places. Woolbraided sheep was knocked down, while Cottony collapsed after being exhausted and hit twice.

After that, Scorbunny's Dynamax battle with Plume was even more obviously a slow and easy win.

For a Pokémon like Whitey, which is already lightweight, even in its Dynamax form after using Tailwind, its agility is guaranteed. At least with the intensity and release speed of Scorbunny's Dynamax Flame, it would be difficult to hit it head-on.

However, the reality was that both sides completely stood still and dealt two waves of damage. After a prediction of whether or not to protect, the battle ended.

"..."

Mary herself didn't have any objections to this situation. After all, she was the gym leader, and it was impossible for her to suppress a newcomer in front of everyone. Giving her appropriate care would not be blamed by anyone.

After all, everyone starts as a newbie.

However, this is also related to Aro's personality; his gentle nature is one of the reasons why he was chosen as the first to challenge the gym.

Will you still watch it after this?

Mari tugged at Yuri's sleeve, who was playing on her phone, and asked about her plans. She'd heard the next challenger was quite strong, so she should get to see a decent match.

"Hmm... I'm not watching anymore. I'll go out and meet up with Hop first. He's already passed the challenge, so I need to work harder too!"

Although she doesn't have a goal yet, with Hop and Marie around, Yuri is still motivated to work hard. Growing through gym challenges is also one of the purposes of the trip.

"Let's leave before the next challenge begins."

"Okay! Let's go!"

The two walked against the flow of people out of the stands and out of the arena, where they found Hop, who had just come out.

Congratulations on getting your first badge!

Yuri waved to Hop generously. In any case, obtaining the first badge was a great encouragement for Hop.

"Congratulations on passing the challenge."

"Hehe~ Thanks, did you guys watch my challenge too? I think I saw you guys in the audience."

Hep scratched his head and chuckled. It was his first time on such a stage, and he couldn't calm down for a while.

Are you planning to go straight to Route 5 next?

"No, isn't it your and Mary's challenge in a couple of days? I plan to watch your challenge before heading to Water Boat Town."

"Oh, I thought you would leave first, like before."

Yuri's tone was tinged with resentment as she spoke, after all, she had been left alone in the wilderness, and if she hadn't met Mari, she didn't know how much more hardship she would have had to endure to get out of there.

"Haha~ I don't need these few days. I'll just wander around and see if I can find a suitable partner."

However, Hep completely failed to notice Yuri's tone and continued talking while laughing.

"I'll be going now, see you later!"

Not long after, Hop ran out again, probably intending to wander around and see if he could encounter any Pokémon he had never seen before.

"Tsk, I really want to beat that guy up."

Yuri pouted somewhat unhappily, then took Mari's hand and walked towards Route 4.

"Speaking of which, Yuri, have you found the Eevee you've been longing for?"

"Found it, but haven't tamed it yet. That little guy is quite strong. Today, I'll take the Apple Dragon to avenge myself!"

"It's alright to avenge the defeat, but if you couldn't even beat the Sobble, the Appledra might be in trouble. That kid only evolved today and hasn't had any acclimatization training."

Yuri paused, then said somewhat hesitantly:

"Anyway, let's practice the new special move first and then go find that little guy!"

"...Whatever makes you happy."

The adaptation period for the Apple Dragon should be very fast. After all, it is not an evolution promoted by external factors. Just like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, it is a gradual biological instinct that will allow it to quickly adapt to its new power.

If it's a Pokémon that needs to evolve with the help of items, without sufficient strength and training, evolving too early will cause the Pokémon to spend a considerable amount of time adapting to its power.

For example, Ibrahimovic...

Eevee's eight evolutionary forms are not the kind of evolution that happens naturally, but rather evolution that arises based on the environment and external influences. This kind of evolution occurs when Eevee has not yet received enough training and has not yet mastered the use and control of its energy.

While there won't be any long-term effects, it will be a tough time for Ibrahimovic.

Having entered Route 4, Marnie released all her Pokémon. Palmo's training progress had been remarkable over the past few days; according to him...

Before I joined Mary's training program, I had never trained so smoothly, especially since it wasn't even our department's signature move.

Therefore, Mary increasingly suspects that the abnormal growth rate of Yi-chan is not abnormal for Yi-chan, but for Mary herself.

However, there are still too few Pokémon in the comparative test, and Marie is not sure if it's because Pazu has been taking more nutritional supplements recently.

Recently, Mari has also started considering buying some items to assist Ichigo and Bal's training, such as the Flame Orb or the Evil Gem, which contain corresponding energy.

As for Silk, if possible, Marie would like to find a powerful Psychic Trainer to train her, but unfortunately there aren't any very powerful Psychic-type Psychics or Trainers in the Galar region. If she really wants to find one, she'll have to go to other regions.

After careful consideration, Marie realized that if she really wanted to become stronger quickly, she couldn't stay in the Galar region forever; she had to go to other regions to explore more ways to become stronger.

Following Yuri into Route 4, Sue-chan, who was following beside Illumi, used Teleport to take Illumi and the two little Dragapults around, looking very happy.

Sisi has made great progress in training recently. She used to find it difficult to do this, but after just over a week, she can teleport people with ease.

Moreover, he seemed to have plenty of mental energy, teleporting several times in a row without showing any signs of fatigue.

Marnie hadn't seen any other Psychic-type Pokémon use Teleport, nor did she have the appropriate equipment to test it, so she didn't know whether Suzu's ability was considered strong or weak.

However, it's quite good for Mary. The more proficient she is at using Silky, the better she'll be at navigating gym challenges.

How wonderful it would be to use elusive hypnosis to put people to sleep, and then devour their dreams afterward!

Chapter 42 Yuri Finds a Wild Eevee

Following Yuri along the way, helping Appledra adapt to its special moves, it took about half a day to finally find the place where the Eevee she mentioned was resting.

It seems that Eevee and Yuri have become quite familiar with each other these past few days. Even though their resting place has been completely exposed, they didn't change their positions and even greeted each other in a very friendly manner. I wonder if they have no sense of crisis or something else.

"Good morning, human. You're a little late today."

"Hmph! Today I'll definitely defeat you and make you come with me obediently!"

"Ha...buyi... (Ha...hihi...)"

The Eevee yawned in a very human-like way and scratched its ears, deliberately making a provocative gesture. It seemed to work well, and Yuri tossed the Appledra into the air.

"Go, Pingguolong! We'll definitely beat her today!"

"Squeak... (I'm trying my best...)"

Mary stood to the side, watching Yuri's battle with great interest. Although Appledra had evolved, it had hardly trained before, and even relying on its instincts, the strength it could unleash was probably limited.

Since that Eevee on the other side was able to defeat Sobble and Cotton, Marnie's strength is probably quite good. To be honest, Yuri's chances of winning are not high.

What Marie was curious about was that Cottony could use Sleep Powder, and with a fairly high level of proficiency. Logically speaking, it would be difficult for an Eevee before it evolved to avoid these powder-type moves.

But in the end, Yuri was unable to catch it, which was quite interesting. Marie was also quite curious about what moves this Eevee knew.

"Apple Wrap Dragon, Wing Attack!"

"squeak--!"

Appledra received Yuri's signal and flapped its wings as it swooped down toward Eevee on the ground. With air superiority and the height difference, Appledra would probably have a much easier time if it learned more moves.

Unfortunately, having only recently evolved, it has only learned a few flying and dragon-type moves, so it may not be able to use them well.

"Buyi—"

Eevee's evasion was incredibly agile and efficient, as if it had been planned in advance. Just as Appledra pounced, it positioned itself at the very edge of the attack range and used Quick Attack to escape the attack's reach.

Not only that, while dodging, he turned around in mid-air and faced the Apple Dragon, unleashing a high-speed star attack.

"Pingguolong, use a tornado to disrupt the opponent's movements!"

Without a suitable move to defend, Appledra calmed down the moment it heard Yuri's voice. It stopped in mid-air, turned around and took the hit of Swift before using its only Dragon-type move.

The not-so-strong Dragon-type moves, combined with Appledra flapping its wings, formed a tornado of considerable range but insufficient strength, which swept towards Eevee.

Yuri knew that this Dragon-type move wasn't particularly powerful for the time being, so while Eevee was caught off guard and had no time to react, she quickly continued to command: