Pokémon from Galar

Onion Soldier stared at Mary's thighs for a long time. He was still deeply impressed by the way I-chan had looked like she was a cripple enjoying herself. Now that it was finally his turn, he started to hesitate...

I just don't really want to look like that useless person.

However, just as Onion Soldier was still thinking and struggling, Mary simply reached out and pulled Onion Soldier next to her onto her lap.

"Gah—(Wait—)"

"Okay, don't move. The massage is to relieve your muscle fatigue and is part of the treatment."

"Gah... (Oh... Oh?)"

Mary's words instantly dispelled Cong Youbing's hesitation. Although he had some doubts, since it was part of the healing process, then it was alright, right?

Cong Youbing then shifted his body slightly and squinted his eyes.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Dojo Masters

"Speaking of which, where did that Hep guy go?"

At dinner time, Mary and Yuri sat side by side eating curry, while Sirfetch'd was still there, mingling among a group of Pokémon and eating the dinner Mary had prepared.

However, the Poison Electric Baby was still too small. Sitting in Yuri's arms, being taken care of by her until she finished her meal, if you ignored her occasional twitching movements, the scene looked quite nice.

"Hmm... Hop, I think he was still on Route 5 when I contacted him during the day."

Yuri swallowed the food in her mouth, thought for a moment, and then gave a vague answer.

"We haven't reached Shuizhou Town yet?"

"No, he said he was doing special training, since none of his Pokémon have a type advantage."

Information about the gyms in Waterport Town is relatively easy to find. Among the Pokémon that Lyrina frequently uses, the most typical is Drednaw, which is a Water/Rock type.

I won't go into details about Goldeen, Golem, and others; they occasionally appear in gym battles.

The challenge area for the Water-type Gym is not like the others, which are all grassy areas. After all, you can't expect Goldeen to splash around on the grass to battle.

There's an artificial body of water inside, roughly half the size of the land. Although Marie is getting Baloo used to diving, it's uncertain whether Baloo will actually get to participate.

Water-type gym challenges are usually 3v3 battles. We used Palmon in the Grass-type gym before, so it's better to use Eevee this time.

As for Chiu and Siu, they will definitely be on the field. Since their opponents are all Gym Leaders, it's good to let them get a feel for the competition. After all, it's not easy to encounter trainers of sufficient skill on the journey.

Necessary practical exercises are always necessary.

While Mary was thinking, she didn't leave Yuri standing there. She picked at the curry in her bowl and continued Yuri's words:

"They might ambush you before you reach Water Boat Town, just like they did in Machine City before."

"Well... after all, they are formidable rivals."

Yuri gave a wry smile. She had fought Hop several times, winning and losing, but she often felt a lack of confidence, and she was often overwhelmed by Hop in terms of sheer momentum.

Mary could see it too, but she didn't say anything. Yuri herself definitely understood this better than Mary. This was a personal psychological issue, and no matter how much outsiders said, it would be difficult to have any effect.

"Speaking of which, has your Eevee decided on its future evolution path yet?"

She proactively changed the subject, mentioning the evolution problem that Yuri had been agonizing over before. In the end, it seemed that she couldn't decide and passed the problem on to her Pokémon, letting him decide for himself.

Then several days passed, until just now when Mary remembered that such a thing had happened before.

"Well, Eevee seems to prefer Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon."

"why?"

"It seems like he thinks evolution stones are too rare, and would rather use the money I would have spent on evolution stones to buy him something else."

"Pfft...Isn't this just the mentality of a miser?"

Mary couldn't help but chuckle. After they both laughed, Mary added:

"However, Eevee and Glaceon can evolve without evolution stones in other regions. In fact, they can't evolve using evolution stones in other regions."

"Huh? What's the principle behind this?"

Yuri blinked in confusion, not understanding. Unfortunately, Mary didn't understand much either. Apparently, there was a team researching this matter, but it seems there are no results yet.

"I don't know either, but according to the records, in other regions, you can evolve by being near a strange rock. You can travel to other regions to save money and let Eevee evolve while you're at it."

"...What's the point? It just costs a lot of money."

Yuri mercilessly criticized Mari's suggestion, asking if cross-regional travel was such a casual matter. Where would she get so much money to travel? Besides, even if it's for the sake of ecological protection, such evolutionary resources can't just be allowed to be used by anyone.

"But it's faster and relatively controllable. The three free methods you mentioned take more time."

"It's okay, it's fine as it is now. Ibu is not weak either."

Yuri wasn't wrong; that Eevee was indeed quite powerful, with good battle awareness and rich experience. To be honest, it was even stronger than Eevee-chan was back then.

After all, it's a characteristic of being able to foresee danger... I-chan was able to overcome that hurdle because Mari was by my side back then.

"Oh, right, Mary! When we get to Water Boat Town, let's go eat seafood! I remember there's a really famous restaurant there!"

"The famous one, you mean the Fangboting Seafood Restaurant, right? You have to make a reservation there, otherwise you won't get a table."

"I know, I've done my research on this. Anyway, we'll be staying in Shuizhou Town for a while, right? We can just make an appointment then!"

Hearing Yuri's words, Mary sighed softly. Why was she only so enthusiastic at times like this?

"Sure, if we run into Sonia, we'll have her treat us."

After all, that restaurant is very expensive, so we should save money wherever we can. Besides, we don't know if we'll even run into them. Maybe they'll have already left Waterboat Town before Mary arrives.

"Hehehe~ I wish I could get Lulina's autographed Alliance card~"

Yuri chuckled a few times, then started lusting after Lulina's body again. Mari, finding this strange, asked curiously:

"If you pass the gym challenge, won't you get a ticket?"

"No, that's not it! I'm talking about rare cards, the kind that's been circulating online, the super pretty and mature Alliance card of Lulina in a dress! I just don't know where she got it."

"..."

Mary opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. After all, she wasn't the type to be obsessed with collecting League cards; on the contrary, she would probably be more interested in rare ball types.

"Mari-chan, don't you have a favorite gym leader? Oh, could it be your brother?"

"...No, my brother's words,"

Mary recalled with a subtle expression. Although Nie Zi was very good to her, he was, after all, her own brother. She could say she liked him, but when it came to his status as a dojo master, she couldn't really call it admiration.

"In the end, I don't particularly like any gym leader, I just respect them as a trainer."

"Hey—don't you think Ayaka is cool? Don't you think Lurina has a mature woman vibe? And also, Onio is mysterious and cute like a little animal, and Kibana is like the big brother next door!"

"...They're all gym leaders, okay? Why are you only looking at whether they're good-looking or not? You're a participant in the gym challenge."

"I know, I'm just reminiscing. After all, we were just ordinary fans not long ago."

Yuri didn't mind and swayed as she explained to Mary.

However, since these gym leaders do indeed engage in idol-like activities in some aspects, Mari can understand it. She just definitely won't tell Yuri about her past attraction to Ayaka and Lurina.

P.S.: Regarding Leafeon and Glaceon, this is my secondary interpretation. In reality, Sword and Shield didn't provide those two rocks, so in this generation, they were changed to evolve using evolution stones.

Chapter Sixty-Four Rotom Bicycles

Yuri finally met the Sirfairy on Route 5, fulfilling one of her wishes. So, the next day, she happily set off again.

It's worth mentioning that, due to his evolution, Sirfetch'd seems to have found it difficult to find an opponent near the lake where he used to live.

So Mary suggested that the Onion Ranger travel with her to broaden their horizons and then detour to the wilderness to find a stronger opponent.

For Marnie, it wasn't that she liked Sirfetch'd and wanted him to follow her and be her Pokémon. After all, judging from Sirfetch'd's attitude, he didn't seem very interested in joining any trainer's team.

The main reason for this suggestion is to find another sparring partner for Ichigo and Balu.

Even before evolving, Farfetch'd could fight Ichigo to that extent. After evolving, with its attacks becoming even more ferocious, it is now strong enough to train and grow stronger alongside Ichigo and Pazu.

The same applies to Onion Soldiers. Finding a suitable opponent is not easy, and there are no humans in the wild to accompany them and provide various healing items at any time.

Sirfetch'd, who had already planned to leave the area after evolving, agreed after a moment's thought. In fact, Sirfetch'd even felt he had gotten a good deal.

Having stable, equally matched training partners, free medicine and food, and even daily massages—all for the price of the combat training that one is already eagerly anticipating—is a great privilege.

Both sides felt they had gotten a good deal, and even Yuri felt she had gotten a good deal because she was so curious about Farfetch'd.

Leaving the lakeside and passing the breeding hut again, it wasn't long before we reached the bridge that connects to Water Boat Town.

The bridge spans the open field, and looking north, you can see the iconic, massive energy conversion device in Motogakure. According to the introduction, that huge and conspicuous device absorbs energy from the Galar region and then generates various types of energy for daily life.

A very familiar setting.

Just like in Marie's memory, Eternatus's setting is almost exactly the same. While absorbing the energy of the Galar region to maintain its survival, it also produces Dynamax energy.

She didn't dwell on these trivial matters, after all, her current strength was insufficient. Regardless of what research and investigations the Chairman had conducted on the unearthed Mugentana, it was beyond Mari's current knowledge.

Pointing to the boundless wilderness below, Mary looked down at the soldier standing beside her, who wore a longing expression, and said:

"This is the wilderness below, with almost no trace of human presence. You can live there from now on."

"Gah... (Looks pretty good...)"

Farfetch'd looked at the distant wasteland and tightened his grip on his sword and shield.

"However, I personally suggest that you go to the town of Souzen. There is a trainer there who is suitable for you. His name is Bea."

"..."

Sirfairy didn't reply, so Mary withdrew her words and simply handed him a picture of Bea. Sirfairy, a Fighting-type, was a perfect match for Bea, who was also proficient in Fighting-types. The reason she was telling Sirfairy now was...

She was simply giving him the information she knew, so that he would have another option.

Ultimately, whether Cong Youbing goes to the wilderness or to Su Chuan Town to challenge Cai Dou is entirely his own choice.

"Marie-chan! The scenery here is amazing!"

Suddenly, Yuri's voice came from above, making Mari look up curiously. She then discovered that Yuri had actually been carried away by Bal.

Along with them were a group of smaller, more daring Pokémon that couldn't fly, all clinging to Pazu and Yuri, looking around.

Looking at Yuri being held in Balu's arms in a princess carry, Mari felt helpless. She had always felt awkward being princess carried, which was why she had refrained from making any such requests.

I didn't expect Yuri to run over there on her own, just to fly and play.

"...Don't go too far."

I originally wanted to remind them to be careful, but after thinking about it, I figured that with Balu's abilities, nothing serious would happen. Apple Dragon and Little Chirp were also there, so the words that came to my lips turned into other admonitions.