Pokémon from Galar

"Sure, what flavor would you like?"

"Chiru~ (The kind with a slightly sour taste~)"

"Then I'll look for it..."

When it comes to candy, the fruit chosen won't be those with clashing flavors. Basically, there are only a few flavors, and they're quite easy to distinguish based on color and shape.

Mary picked out two candies from the box and put them into Silk's mouth. Then she looked down at I-chan, who was slumped over in the sun.

"Chiru~ (Thank you~)"

"Do you want some, Yi-chan?"

"Ee~ (A simple sweet taste is fine.)"

"Hi hi..."

Marie agreed, and after feeding Eevee, she distributed the fruit candies to the other Pokémon, and the small box was quickly devoured.

Just then, the fishing rod that Mary was holding between her legs suddenly moved twice and almost fell into the water. Startled, Mary quickly tightened her grip, and Yuri, who was next to her, instinctively reached between Mary's legs and grabbed the handle of the fishing rod.

"..."

With a subtle glance at Yuri, who seemed oblivious to her presence, Mari loosened her legs, took the fishing rod, and began trying to pull the little creature that had taken the bait out of the water.

The opponent's strength was not great, and even for Mary, it was not great. Soon, as the small fish broke out of the water, its appearance was revealed to the two of them.

It is a harpy fish.

The fishing rod didn't have a barb on it; it just emitted a scent that could attract Pokémon. So, Marie simply shook it in mid-air, and the Wishiwashi fell back into the sea.

"It's a wispfish! How come there are schools of wispfish around here?"

Yuri was curious, after all, Wishiwashi was a Pokémon that was famous in many ways. Although the individual Wishiwashi was quite weak, once they gathered together, they became a terrifying existence like a sea monster.

So how should I put it... if these Pokémon gather near the coast, especially near ports, those who go out to sea, especially those who go out to sea frequently, are quite timid in many ways.

Moreover, you can't just force them to move; otherwise, if something goes wrong, what was originally fine might be artificially stimulated into a gathering of fish, which would be terrifying.

Mary shook her head. These things weren't their concern, since they didn't know the specifics of Water Boat Town.

"I don't know, but wakabashi are quite common, and you can often catch them in the open fields."

"Hehehe... What do you think about me raising a wispfish?"

Yuri chuckled again, oblivious to everything else, and then nudged Mary's shoulder.

"Don't even think about it. What's the point of raising just one? Other people who study Wishiwashi keep them in groups. Unless you come here to be the Water-type Gym Leader, where do you get the resources to raise them?"

"Hmph~ Can I take that as a challenge from a trainer favored by the champion?"

A mature woman's voice suddenly interrupted the two people's rambling conversation.

"Ok?"

Yuri turned around in confusion, then froze on the spot.

"Yuri? What are you doing?"

Judging from the tone of voice, Mary could roughly guess who the person coming might be, since she still remembered the voice. She then turned her head and saw Gym Leader Lulina, dressed in a very revealing water boat racing outfit, standing diagonally behind the two of them.

"Hello, Miss Lulina. I was just joking with a friend."

Lulina waved her hand, then walked over to the two of them and said with a smile:

"It's nothing, I just happened to see you and came over to say hello."

"Eh?! Hey—whyw why?! Miss Lululina! Hello!"

Yuri stammered as she greeted him, looking as if she had seen some kind of idol. Mari didn't know how to comment. She wasn't even this embarrassed in front of Dan-te, was she?

"Hello, Ms. Yuri, the champion's recommender."

Clearly, this is someone who was drawn here because of the champion, D'Antoni.

Holding Yuri's sweaty, nervous hand, Lurina finished greeting her and then turned her gaze to Mari.

"And you too, nice to meet you, Miss Mary."

"Nice to meet you, Gym Leader Lulina."

Mary didn't ask how the person knew her name; she guessed it was because she was with Yuri and was just mentioned in the conversation. It didn't really matter to her.

What we should be more worried about is Yuri's side.

Ultimately, Yuri is just a rookie trainer who has just started out. Even if she has the title of champion, she shouldn't attract too much attention from the gym leaders.

After all, in the Galar region, below the champion are these Gym Leaders. If it were the champion Leon himself, it would be fine, but he's just a recommender, yet they still have to come and say hello.

Honestly, it just makes Mary feel awkward. What exactly are these adults interested in about Yuri and Hep?

Perhaps sensing Mari's change in mood, Lurina crossed her arms and laughed.

"The young lady is quite wary. I just happened to be passing by and saw you, so I stopped by to say hello. Don't overthink it."

"Ha... I'm sorry, I was very rude."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Mary-chan?"

Yuri tugged at Mary's sleeve, completely oblivious to their conversation, unsure of what they were explaining or apologizing for.

Chapter 79 Yuri's Embarrassing Performance and Her Promise with Lurina

"Um... Gym Leader Lulina, are there many Wishiwashi around here?"

Once again, Yuri released the wispy tuna she had caught back into the sea. She had been feeling rather restless, but finally couldn't help but strike up a conversation with the gym leader sitting next to her.

"Ah, haha~ It was alright before, but there have been quite a few lately."

Hearing Yuri's cautious voice, Lurina smiled at the sea, braced herself on the wooden plank beneath her, and explained:

"They are probably the group of wakabashi I trained. I let them live in the waters around here most of the time."

"Oh...wait?! Eh?!"

Yuri was startled by this explanation and almost dropped her fishing rod. Lurina reached out to help her steady the rod, and smilingly explained to the two girls' curious eyes:

"This is a new project for me. If I can command the weakling fish to gather into a school at any time, it will become another major landmark of Shuizhou Town."

"Wow! How can you command so many Pokémon at once?!"

Yuri found it unbelievable. Although it looked like a big fish after it gathered together, before it gathered together there were thousands upon thousands of Pokémon... Could a trainer really command something like that?

Mary blinked. Although she had seen many records of wealthy people trying it, the only successful examples she had heard of so far were from Alora.

"Did you get something from Alora?"

In response to Mary's question, Lurina nodded, then shook her head. She smiled and explained:

"It's only some basic stuff, but that's enough for my research for now. Miss Mary, you seem to know quite a bit about Alora."

"It's alright, I've only looked at a little bit of information."

“Oh right, I think I’ve heard you mention the Alola and Kalos regions before, Marie-chan,”

"You still remember? I was thinking about going there someday to see it for myself."

Mary looked up at the sky, while Little Chiu, who had nothing else to do, was practicing her moves with Baloo in the air. Fortunately, the two of them didn't make much noise, and apart from attracting the attention of some passersby, no one came to complain.

"Your Pokémon is working very hard."

Lulina watched the baby tits darting around in the sky with great interest. Their speed and the power of their moves were quite impressive; they were not just pretty faces.

"Feeling the pressure now, huh? After all, Water-type Pokémon aren't very compatible with him."

Even if you say that, I won't go easy on you.

Turning his head to look at the black-haired girl, he had previously learned from Ya Luo that Nie Zi's younger sister was very strong. At first, he thought she meant that she was very strong as a newcomer.

Now it seems that he is actually very strong as a trainer.

Its weakness is probably that it doesn't have enough Pokémon. Not to mention substitute Pokémon, it hasn't even assembled a full team of six.

Upon hearing this, Mary gave a slight wry smile, then turned to look at Lurina, who was beaming with joy.

"Please go easy on her a bit. Little Qiu is just a child and can't take a beating."

"Little Chick? Is that the child's name? He's quite cute."

Lurina looked in Xiao Qiu's direction again. Cute, I guess... Marie didn't know whether she should expose Xiao Qiu's true colors, but then she remembered that all those witty remarks were directed at her...

I even recounted it to outsiders; it was an experience akin to being publicly executed.

After a little consideration, Mary decided it was best to maintain the image of Little Bird in the eyes of outsiders.

"Well... it's alright."

Meanwhile, Yuri, sitting between the two, was unusually quiet. Lurina, the gym leader beside her, was kind and beautiful—honestly, very attractive.

However, Yuri was still very nervous. She had already exhausted her courage by taking the initiative to start a conversation, and now, suppressing her personality, she didn't even know how to speak.

Why is Mary so calm when talking to the gym leader? She was the same way when facing the champion. Her mentality is just too stable!

Yuri pitifully turned her head to look at Marie's profile. Is this the basic quality of a powerful trainer?

"?"

Mari, who noticed Yuri's gaze and looked over, found it rather amusing; she had never seen Yuri act so timidly before.

"Haha~ It seems I'll be disturbing your date, so I won't be a third wheel."

Lurina smiled and stood up again, just as she was about to leave when Mari suddenly grabbed Yuri's hand and called out to Lurina.

"Um, Gym Leader Lulina, if it's possible, could you give this child a rare autographed League card? She really wants one, but she's too shy to ask."

"Waaaaah—I'm not, I'm sob sob..."

Shyly, she rested her head on Mary's shoulder, her cheeks quickly burning up.

"League Card? Sorry, I went out for a walk and didn't bring it with me. But if you beat me during your gym challenge, can I give you a rare League Card?"

Dressed in revealing clothing, with only a few Poké Balls hanging from her waist, it certainly didn't seem like she was carrying anything extra. Marie patted Yuri's shoulder and whispered:

"Yuri... is asking you."

"Um... I understand! Miss Lurina, I will do my best!"

"Very good, that's the spirit. I'll be looking forward to it."