Pokémon from Galar

Mary clearly saw President Rose pause for a moment, then raise his hand and cough lightly before continuing to speak to Yuri:

"You have to work hard for Galar's future!"

After saying that, as if he was about to run away, he gave Olive an eye signal and then turned and walked away.

"Ugh……"

Olive, perhaps used to the headmaster's independent ways, let out a brief, almost inaudible sigh, then turned to face the two and said:

"President Loz has hosted a banquet at the Seafood Restaurant in the Breakwater Pavilion in town. Please win the badges as soon as possible and don't waste the president's time..."

After saying that, without waiting for their reply, he turned around and followed President Rose in a slightly hurried manner.

"..."

Marie increasingly felt that President Rose's words had a hidden meaning, to the point that she wondered if she was being overly worried about Yuri and was even being paranoid.

"Marie-chan...why does Chairman Rose seem more confident than we are...?"

Yuri tugged at Mari's clothes. The sudden invitation caught her off guard. Wasn't she just a newcomer recommended by the champion? Why was she so confident in herself?

Setting aside her doubts about Chairman Loz for the time being, Mary thought for a moment and offered an explanation:

"The gym leaders will go easy on you and Hop, who are new trainers. In other words, as long as your battle level meets the gym leader's expectations, you're basically guaranteed to pass."

"Oh...? So Mary-chan too?"

"I?"

Mary shrugged helplessly.

"From the moment I took out Pazu, I was probably removed from the ranks of rookie trainers."

Chapter 86 The Challenge Begins: Battle Against Lulina

Of course, that's what Marnie said, but it's also true that there's a big gap in the strength of her team. The Gym Leader will use his main Pokémon to deal with her strong Pokémon, so he naturally wouldn't deliberately bully her weak Pokémon.

As for whether this approach is good or bad, Mari can't say for sure. However, in this situation, it does lock down many tactical ideas. After all, you can't expect Little Chiu to team up with Balu right now, can you?

Baloo's U-turn and Eevee's Baton Pass are practically useless moves in current gym battles, at least in practice. Otherwise, with one of the opponent's main Pokémon on the field,

It's unrealistic for Mary to use the baton to exchange for a little bird to fight.

In addition, the rules of gym challenges are mostly three-on-three or four-on-four, so Marie doesn't really want Baloo and Eiji to battle together. After all, it's better to leave the rare opportunity for a coaching battle to Momo and the others.

After saying goodbye to President Rose, the two encountered no further problems and arrived at the Water Boat Arena without incident.

Mary was the first contestant today, and Yuri was the second. So after registering with the staff in the lobby, I asked Yuri to take care of Onion Soldier.

"I'm going in to change now. See you later."

"Mmm~ I'll cheer for you from the stands!"

Yuri made a cheering gesture, watched Mari walk into the dressing room, and then smiled at the quiet Farfetch'd beside her, saying:

"Let's go to the stands too."

"Gah—!"

Although she couldn't understand what Cong Youbing was saying, she could easily sense his undisguised curiosity. Yuri habitually reached out and patted Cong Youbing's head, then led him into the passageway leading to the audience seats.

"call……"

Mary put down her backpack, took out her competition outfit, and quickly changed into it. She had five Poké Balls hanging from her waist. Because of the challenge, everyone was stored in the Poké Balls and carried them with them.

Incidentally, Mo ended up choosing the Sweet Ball, even though it was completely different from his own color scheme. But since Mo liked it, Mary naturally wouldn't feel bad about it.

The colorful Poké Balls around her waist looked a bit messy, but Marie didn't mind. As a Poké Ball enthusiast, she wished she could collect every type of Poké Ball and wear them all on her body.

Besides, there are only five types of Poké Balls.

After leaving the changing room, I left my backpack at the dojo's designated luggage storage area before following the staff into the rest room.

"The challenge is about to begin. Contestant Mary, please wait here for a moment."

The girls at the Water Boat Arena were all dressed as scantily as Lurina, and they were all quite pretty. In short, it was easy for Mary to get distracted by them.

"Thank you, I appreciate your help."

After briefly averting her gaze and thanking the staff with a slightly flushed face, Mary went to the waiting room alone to look at her phone.

The arenas all seem to be quite similar, except for the different emblems and colors; they all share the same design specifications.

Mary picked up the bottled water next to her and took a sip. She rubbed the glove on her right hand, which revealed her thumb. Suddenly, the large screen next to her lit up and started playing a promotional video for the Water Boat Arena. She aimlessly adjusted her breathing.

Although it was the second time, the thought of fighting in front of countless viewers still made it impossible for him to remain as calm as ever.

I wonder what Yuri, who has always been comforted by Mary, would think if she discovered this side of herself.

For some inexplicable reason, Mary once again thought of Yuri's somewhat silly smiling face.

When you're daydreaming, it's easy to lose track of time.

When the staff woke me up, I realized it was already time to enter.

"Feel sorry."

Mary gave a soft apology, stood up, straightened her clothes, and walked out of the lounge.

The cheers, growing louder as they approached, were still quite a cacophony for Mary to adjust to. The air flowing through the passage carried, as always, the salty, fishy smell characteristic of Waterboat Town—a familiar scent that should have been present during this time.

In that instant, it felt unfamiliar once again.

Stepping out of the passage under the dazzling sunlight, the enthusiastic cheers made Mary frown slightly again. She unconsciously looked up and glanced around, seemingly seeing Yuri and Onion Soldier, and even some people who looked like the cheering squad.

Slightly wanting to laugh, Mary twitched the corners of her mouth, then looked away at the beautiful, long-haired older sister walking towards her, the Gym Leader, Lulina.

"Gym challenger, we've been waiting for you."

"Me too, Gym Leader Lurina."

Stepping onto the light blue-toned grounds, it felt as if one were truly immersed in water. Lurina maintained her earnest smile, nodded to Mari, and continued:

"Judging from the video from Yaro's side, you are not a trainer who has Pokémon but lacks strength. I am looking forward to battling you, so I do not intend to hold back. My reliable partners and I will crush any of your tactics."

A cool and charming declaration, the confident atmosphere further highlights Lulina's sharp temperament, as if facing a silent sea, calm, yet unable to know how terrifying raging waves are surging beneath this calm.

Unlike Alo's gentle yet unwavering demeanor, Lurina's sharp and assertive nature is quite striking. No wonder Yuri likes her so much; she's undeniably charming. Even as an opponent, Mari was genuinely captivated in that instant.

"Then please guide me."

Faced with Lulina's confident declaration of war, Marie maintained her composure and nodded in agreement. To be honest, it was quite stressful for the gym leader to declare war on her face like that.

However, if you can't even withstand this much language pressure, then you'll almost certainly fail this challenge.

After a brief exchange, and with the host's announcement, the two sides turned their backs to each other, creating distance. Simultaneously, the arena shifted, and a winding stream of water appeared in the arena.

The meandering water flow ensured that no stalemate would occur due to excessive distance, and the salty, fishy smell... was probably from seawater brought in directly from outside, which wasn't very clear.

"How does it feel? She's the first Pokémon I've ever had!"

Lulina raised her left leg high, assuming a throwing stance. The diving ball she held in her hand instantly enlarged, and she was thrown out while still wet.

"Roar--"

A rather imposing Berserker Turtle appeared on the field.

"..."

Is this what we're seeing right from the start?

Mary almost couldn't help but complain, but after looking at it carefully, she realized that this Berserker Turtle... didn't seem to be very battle-hardened or well-developed.

The shell lacks a certain thickness, resembling that of a newborn turtle. Both the horns on its head and the color of its shell are slightly glossy.

This relieved Mary a little; it seemed to be a recently evolved Devourer Turtle.

"Then I'll leave the first match to you, Sis-chan."

Rock-type is super effective against Chinchilla, and since it's an evolved form, there's only one option left.

"Qiru—"

Sis calmly landed on the field and began to sizing up her opponent.

Chapter 87 The Sudden Attack of the Frenzied Devouring Turtle

"Go into the water and pray for rain!"

Lulina didn't even intend to relinquish the first move; quite naturally, she gave her instructions the same time the referee announced the start of the match.

However, Mary had no intention of yielding and issued her orders almost simultaneously.

"Use your telekinesis to catch it! Don't let it go into the water!"

Although the Berserker Turtle isn't fast on land, it's a different story when it's in the water. Plus, with the murky and unpredictable water, it'll have to be constantly on guard against sneak attacks from its opponents once it's inside.

While it's unclear why Lurina didn't choose a Pokémon like Goldeen, the best approach for now is to keep the opponent confined to ground battles.

"Chiru—! (I understand!)"

"Roar—! (Watch me!)"

The Berserker and Silky reacted very quickly, moving almost simultaneously with the commands given by their respective trainers.

call out--

Sijiang instinctively teleported to close the distance, and her increasingly powerful mental energy enveloped the Berserker Turtle that was trying to head towards the water not far away.

"Now! Shell Blade!"

"Roar--!!"

The Berserker Turtle suddenly stopped moving, turned its head towards Silkie, and let out a loud roar, its sharp horns emitting a light blue light.

Mary instantly sensed a bad premonition.

"Chiru—?!"

"Get out of the way!"

brush--!

Before Mary's voice had even faded, the Violent Turtle suddenly stretched out its neck, its imposing head raised high with a beautiful water blade, and charged towards Silky with lightning speed!

That's too late!

Facing the Berserker Turtle for the first time, Sisi was completely unprepared for her opponent's neck to extend like that, and her reaction was a beat too slow. Her immense mental power gave her a vague premonition in that instant.