Pokémon from Galar

Mary has never been particularly good at these kinds of things, especially in situations like this. Besides sincerely apologizing, she really can't think of anything else to say.

However, it seemed that Lulina had no intention of delving into the matter further; she simply pursed her lips and then proactively changed the subject.

"Although your Pokémon are currently far behind in strength, I believe that with your abilities, you are capable of reaching the Challenger stage. I look forward to battling you then."

Lulina finished speaking with a smile, then reached out and took out the Water Badge that she had prepared beforehand, and handed it to Mari.

Mary took the badge with one hand, then grasped Lurina's right hand, returning a somewhat awkward smile.

"I will work hard."

……

After walking out of the arena's passage, Marnie handed the Pokémon over to Nurse Joy, who was stationed at the arena, and then headed towards the changing room.

"Hmm—ha..."

He stretched and yawned. Although the actual gym challenge didn't take long, in fact, the three battles took less than half an hour.

However, Mary still felt somewhat tired, mainly because Lulina's demeanor put significantly more pressure on her than Bialo's.

"Cha~ (Are you alright, Mary?)"

Little Mo, who had already popped out of the ball, sat next to Mary and patted her waist with his little hands.

"Mmm, it's okay~ Thank you."

Mary gently stroked Xiao Mo's soft little head with her left hand before withdrawing it. She then took off her right glove and tugged at the collar of her competition outfit, thinking that she would need to wash it after the competition.

"Marie-chan! Congratulations~"

Just as Mary took off her T-shirt and shorts, leaving her in only her underwear, Yuri suddenly burst into the dressing room.

"Thank you. Would you like to change your clothes now?"

"Yeah, anyway, it's my turn next."

After Yuri walked in, she stood next to Mary and started taking out her racing outfit from her backpack with a grin.

Ignoring Yuri's constant staring, Mary calmly put on her clothes, slung her small bag over her shoulder, and picked up Mo beside her.

"By the way, Mary, you haven't been wearing that leather jacket lately."

Yuri's comment was somewhat ambiguous, as it was unclear whether she thought she looked better before or now. However, Mari simply sat beside her, holding Little Mo, watching Yuri change clothes and saying:

"Let's talk about it later, and it's good to change the style."

"Hehehe~ How about trying on the replica of the club owner's outfit that the staff will give you?"

Yuri tugged at the collar of her competition outfit and squeezed inside, chuckling and making strange remarks.

"...You can wear it yourself if you want."

Marie really couldn't accept the way Lulina, the gym leader, was dressed so revealingly, and in such a form-fitting outfit. She would be so embarrassed she'd die on the spot.

Of course, it's acceptable if you're just secretly wearing it in a hotel room by yourself.

After Yuri changed into her competition outfit, the two left the locker room and were stopped by a young lady who was already waiting in the lobby.

"Mary, congratulations on passing the Water-type Gym Challenge. As a reward, here are these two items for you."

As she said this, the young lady handed over the skill machine and a set of clothes that she had prepared beforehand.

"This is the Tide Whirlwind skill machine, and this is a replica of Lulina's arena outfit."

"Thank you."

Mary took the TM and the set. Aro's grass-type set could be worn occasionally in an emergency, but this water-type set... honestly, isn't it actually a swimsuit?

After saying goodbye to the staff, Mary sat down next to Joey and Yuri.

"May I take a look at that outfit?"

Yuri pointed to the suit in Mary's hand, and Mary nodded indifferently and handed it over. So Yuri picked up the suit, tore open the packaging bag, and then put the two thin pieces of the suit in her hand.

"Wow~ How daring~"

Yuri touched the fabric, then squeezed and tugged at it. It was very elastic. Although it was just a replica, she estimated that it would cling to her body like Lulina's, highlighting her curves.

"Marie-chan~"

"What? I won't wear it, give up."

Mary rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a few tree fruits that Mo liked for her, then cut Mary off before she could finish her sentence.

"Hey—wait a minute, try it on! It's so cute! Look, aren't all those older girls wearing them?"

She casually pointed to the staff passing by in the lobby, and they were all quite cute, attracting the attention of many men.

"...Then you can wear it yourself after you finish the challenge. Don't worry, I'll have Ichi-chan help you."

Mary reached out and took the suit back, then stuffed it directly into her backpack, glancing sideways at Yuri, who was trying to persuade her.

"Ahem... Well, if you don't want to wear it, you don't have to, hehehe... Why bother I-chan? She's worked so hard today, let her rest properly, really!"

Yuri, immediately backing down, coughed twice, rubbed her little hands together, and then bumped Mary with her shoulder, looking somewhat comical.

Chapter Ninety-Seven: Xiao Qiu's Awkward Inner World

Having retrieved her Pokémon, Yuri went ahead to the preparation area; her challenge would be coming up soon.

Mary, however, was in no hurry. She casually tossed her hand in the hall and released Little Chiu out alone.

"Gah~ (Hehehe~ What's up~)"

Hearing Xiao Qiu's ingratiating tone, Mary almost laughed. She plopped back down and tilted her head to look at Xiao Qiu, who had stopped beside her.

"It's not that I have something to say, but shouldn't you explain something to me?"

She raised her hand and touched the feathers on Little Chirp's neck. They felt a bit harder than before its evolution, but not as hard as Marie had imagined.

After evolving, Little Chick not only grew in size and height, but also gained many times more weight. Now, Marnie's small arms can no longer contain this evolved Blue Crow.

"Gah... (Okay...)"

Little Chick gestured for a while, somewhat dejectedly, but in the end, it just climbed down and rested its head on Mary's lap. Its sharp claws were tucked into its belly; Little Chick didn't even dare to rub against Mary's lap as much as before.

Its beak and claws became larger and sharper, which made Little Chick, who always liked to snuggle into Mary's arms, not happy at all.

Mary's hand traced a line from her neck down to her abdomen; the feathers in that area still appeared as soft as ever.

"Suppressing the momentum of evolution must be very difficult, right?"

In the silence, Mary took the initiative to start the conversation. Perhaps in Xiao Qiu's tone just now, there was a sense of guilt towards Mary that he himself was unaware of.

"Gah... (It's alright... hehe...)"

"Really? It's okay if you don't try to be brave."

I curiously tugged at Xiao Chu's evolved wings. The feathers on the wings had a steely texture, and they looked quite lethal.

"Ugh—(Okay, it really hurts, I'm sorry.)"

As a Pokémon's strength increases, its urge to evolve intensifies. Without the assistance of an Everstone, the Pokémon itself would feel like it was defying the laws of nature.

Xiao Qiu hid herself so well that no one could detect her, which shows how much effort she put into this.

"Well... I didn't mean to blame you. So why didn't you want to evolve, and why did you suddenly make up your mind during the battle just now?"

"Gah... (Actually... don't be angry after I tell you.)"

Chirp cautiously turned its head and glanced at Marie's face. Her eyes, which had been quite imposing after evolving, were now exactly the same as before, a little silly and a little cheeky.

"Go ahead and tell me!"

Mary patted Little Chick's belly and gently urged her twice. Then she saw Little Chick shyly turn her face away, avoiding Mary's gaze.

"Giggle... (After evolving, I won't be able to be hugged by you, Marie anymore...)"

"Pfft..."

Although she had some suspicions based on Xiao Qiu's behavior earlier, Mary still couldn't help but laugh after hearing it. After laughing for a while, she couldn't resist ruffling Xiao Qiu's head and continued to ask:

"And then? Why did you suddenly want to evolve?"

"Gah—! (I don't want to lose!)"

"Oh, I see. Thank you for your hard work."

Mary reached out and hugged Xiao Qiu's neck, then lowered her head and pulled him into her arms. He was indeed quite heavy...

"..."

Little Chiu was surprised to be hugged. She opened her mouth and stood there dumbfounded. Mary's cheek was pressed against her body, and the touch made Little Chiu freeze.

When Mary let go of him, Little Chiu was still in a daze.

Mary tugged at his wings and reached out to close his open beak.

"Wake up."

"Gah—(Can I hug you one more time?)"

Mary squinted her eyes, reached out and pinched Xiao Qiu's cheek. After evolving, her little face wasn't as easy to pinch as before.

"Don't suppress your urge to evolve next time. If you really don't want to evolve, I'll buy you an Everstone. Don't keep it to yourself, understand?"

"Giggle—(Yes, yes, yes, okay, okay, I understand, I understand, I understand!)"

"Ugh……"

If, according to the paper, Chinchilla learned Drill Peck... then it's basically not far from meeting the conditions for its second evolution, although it only evolved into Blue Crow now because it was delayed.

Therefore, the second evolution may be delayed, but it is estimated that it will not be delayed for too long. Once Chirp can control the Divine Bird Strike, the evolution will likely happen naturally.

However, she didn't plan to tell Xiao Qiu this right now. He probably hadn't recovered yet, and telling him he'd get even bigger soon would be inconvenient.

At that point, I'm afraid I'll be even less able to accept reality.

The average height of Corviknight is 2.2 meters. Judging from Xiao Chu's current size, it is estimated that it will be much larger than the average size after evolving.

This way, Marnie's team now includes two large Pokémon.

From now on, when staying in hotels, we'll probably have to specifically choose the special-sized rooms.

If Chirp really was the kind of Pokémon that hated evolving, then Marnie would have bought him an Everstone long ago. The main thing is that he doesn't seem to have any resistance to evolving, and he trains very hard.

Now, in order to win battles, they are actively evolving.