Pokémon from Galar

In the end, unable to bring herself to kick her, Yuri simply pouted and let out a loud snort to express her dissatisfaction.

Mary noticed Yuri's reaction, but she was also a little shy because of her impulsive confession and didn't dare to look at Yuri's face.

Although she knew that Yuri would most likely not interpret it as having impure motives like herself, Mary's impulsive act still caused her to show a rare expression.

Meanwhile, I-chan, who was squatting nearby, met Mari's gaze, twitched her ears, and gave a faint, mocking expression.

That's all the ambition I have.

"..."

Mary understood Ichigo's expression, but she couldn't refute it. After all, she had never been in a relationship, and had spent nearly ten years of her life on Pokémon. She really didn't know how to handle this kind of emotional issue.

Chapter 101 Yuri's View on Love

The matter of Mari's temporary departure from the Galar region has finally been put on hold for now, but Yuri has become increasingly clingy these past few days.

For example, before this, although Yuri liked to squeeze into Mari's bed to sleep together, it was just sleeping; there was no extra physical contact.

But now, Yuri not only squeezes into the same blanket, but also likes to hold Mary's hand, hug her arm, or even hug Mary's whole body at night.

For example, when it comes to taking a bath, although the two of them have been traveling together for so long, they usually wash up separately. But in the last two days, Yuri has even been quite forceful in dragging Mary to wash up and take a bath together.

After spending just two more days in Waterboat Town, Mary felt that she was about to lose her composure.

Today, after thoroughly relaxing and enjoying themselves in Waterport Town, the two finally decided to set off, passing through the mines and circling back to Motostoke City to challenge their third gym.

"what……"

Mary, carrying a bag, stood with Yuri at the city bus stop waiting for the bus. She raised her hand to cover her mouth and yawned, looking like she was sleep-deprived.

"...Are you alright, Mary? Have I been dragging you shopping these past few days? How about we rest today and go to the mine tomorrow?"

Yuri, holding Mary's hand, leaned closer with a worried expression and stared intently at the listless Mary.

Yuri's concerns were not unfounded. Traveling from Waterboat Town to Machine City by train or other means might not be far, but going through the mine shafts inside the Second Mine...

At a normal walking pace, it would take a night to get through the mine.

Two consecutive days of traversing the dark interior of the mine was already unpleasant, and now that Mary looked so listless, Yuri's worries were perfectly understandable.

However, Mary could not agree to that. It was Yuri's intimate behavior that kept Mary awake these past two nights... If it weren't for Si-chan's kind gesture of hypnosis, Mary might not have been able to get up normally in the morning.

And most importantly, Mary didn't even know how to bring up Yuri's unusually affectionate behavior these past two days. Should she say that it was too much of a shock for her? Wouldn't that be an admission of guilt?

At this critical juncture, Marie really didn't want any unnecessary complications. If something went wrong and she had to go to Alola before she could resolve it, Marie would definitely be so upset she wanted to cry.

Mary reached out and patted Yuri's head, then smiled and shook her head, saying:

"It has nothing to do with Yuri. I just didn't sleep well last night. I'll catch up on my sleep when I have time."

"...Really? You're not lying to me?"

"No, didn't I promise I would never lie to you?"

As Mary said this, she comforted Yuri's worries. This was a case of reaping what she sowed. Because of Mary's previous act of concealing the truth, Yuri demanded that she not lie to her or hide things from her like this again.

When they were being completely honest with each other in the bathroom, Mary was so pressured by Yuri in the bathtub that her mind almost went blank. She couldn't even utter a word of rebuttal and could only nod in agreement.

However, Mary is now feeling a little guilty. What if Yuri suddenly asks her something like, "Does Mary have someone she likes?" or "Marie-chan, let's talk about love~"

Wouldn't it just explode on the spot?!

Although Yuri doesn't seem to be at an age where she would be interested in dating, who knows what might happen? After all, it's not uncommon for people her age to start dating.

"Hmph~ It's a deal, you're not allowed to hide anything from me or lie to me!"

Yuri grabbed Mary's arm and deliberately made a fierce look as a warning, which was quite cute but had no deterrent effect whatsoever.

"I know, no need to emphasize it again~"

Amused by this, Mary also gave a slight smile.

"Hehehe, ah, the bus is here."

Yuri pointed to the intersection and saw the city bus slowly approaching the bus stop. The two of them boarded the bus. Since it was still early, there weren't too many people on the bus, and there were still seats available for the two of them.

"Ha... Yuri, can I take a nap?"

"Sure!"

"Thanks……"

Mary whispered her thanks, then shifted her body, rested her head on Yuri's shoulder, hugged Mo in her arms, and squinted her eyes.

The terminus of this ring bus is right at the entrance of the mine, and because it has to pass through the busiest downtown area, it takes about half an hour to get there, with frequent stops along the way.

Yuri took a careful breath, tilted her head slightly, and touched Mary's head. Her tightly clenched hands seemed to gradually loosen their grip, and even the arms that were wrapped around Xiao Mo loosened.

However, Mo didn't plan to run around. Even though he was more than half a month old, Mo still didn't like unfamiliar environments. He nestled quietly in his trainer's soft arms. Mo even reached out and hugged Marie's wrist to support himself.

Yuri glanced at Morpeko's movements. She had to admit that Morpeko was really cute, especially after recently getting to know Morpeko. Yuri even had the urge to raise one herself.

Extending her free hand, Yuri gently poked Mo's cheek, avoiding the electric sac.

"just--?"

Xiao Mo turned her head to look at You Li in confusion, wondering why You Li had poked her like that.

Yuri took out a box of fruit candies that Mary had bought from her pocket, poured one out, and handed it to Xiao Mo.

"Cha~"

Xiao Mo readily opened her mouth and put the candy in, and Yuli smiled when she saw this, then took one for herself and put it in her mouth as well.

Have we gone a bit too far these past few days?

As Yuri savored the sweet fruit flavor in her mouth, she pondered this. She had never actually considered romance before.

In fact, before Mary said "I like you," she didn't even have a clear concept of love.

But a few days ago, after hearing Mary's 'confession,' Yuri felt a strange emotion. So, based on the learning spirit she had learned from Mary,

She secretly asked Rotom to look up a lot of information about the meaning of 'like'.

As was the dutiful Rotom, he naturally followed instructions and compiled all possible scenarios. Yuri, who was experiencing romance for the first time, was first given the freedom to pursue love...

Romantic relationships between opposite sexes, same sexes, and even interracial relationships.

Various sentences, summaries, people's opinions, and discussions were all neatly arranged and presented to Yuri.

So Yuri began to test herself and Mary.

Since Mary will be leaving in about two weeks anyway, we might as well take this time to explore things thoroughly and then think things through properly when Mary leaves.

So what exactly is love?

Yuri didn't know when she would understand.

Chapter 102 Using a Teething Stick to Fish for Biting Turtles

"Seriously, this is a mine, so why is there a pond here?"

The mine still has adequate lighting and tall beams for support, but it is different from the Galarian mine that we entered from Route 3.

The interior of Mine No. 2 has many ponds with flowing water, which is why there are many water-type Pokémon inside the mine.

From the moment Mary and her companion entered the mine, they had already seen quite a few Water-type Pokémon, such as Tumbler, Shuckle, and Gastrodon.

There are also mudfish hiding under the mud pretending to be traps, and buzzing fish flying around overhead, etc.

If I had to say, the mines actually have more types of Water-type Pokémon than Waterport Town.

"Hmm... I don't really know much about this either. Maybe there's some kind of water source underground."

Mary, who hadn't studied geography, didn't really understand this kind of thing, which might be related to the fact that the mining in the second mine wasn't as extensive as that in the Galar mine.

"Hiss... I feel a bit cold."

Yuri shrank her neck; the cool, damp atmosphere inside the cave made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Put on some warmer clothes. We're going to be in here for a whole day and night. Don't catch a cold."

Mary glanced at Yuri, who was only wearing a T-shirt and a cardigan, and was a little worried that she would catch a cold.

"Hmm...that's true, I'll look for it."

Yuri nodded, then squatted down and started rummaging through her backpack. She pulled out a sweater and a pair of tights, took off her coat and hung it on Onion Soldier's shield, changing in front of Mary.

"Marie-chan, aren't you going to change?"

"I was already wearing thick clothes."

The atmosphere of the mines here is very different from that of the mines in the Galar Mine. In the Galar Mine, apart from the paths specially marked out for challengers, there is a formal mining area, so even if you can't see many people, you can hear the sounds of construction inside.

But this place is different. Perhaps because the mining area is quite far away, this area has been completely designated for the challengers. Apart from passing Pokémon and the clear sound of water, there is no sound of human activity here.

Helping Yuri quickly put on her clothes, Yuri took the large backpack from Mary's wrist and said with a smile:

Thank you~

"Ah."

"Hey, Mary-chan, do you think I should catch a Bitetor? Look at how strong Lyrina's Drednaw is!"

As Yuri spoke, she pulled out a rather large chew stick from somewhere, then held it above the head of a passing Biting Turtle. Watching the Biting Turtle almost without hesitation bite down on it and hang from it.

"Hehe~ It actually bites!"

"...What is this?"

Mary blinked as she watched Yuri's series of actions, not understanding what she was doing.

"Someone recommended this to me before, saying that it's easy to catch biting turtles with this special chew stick, so I bought a bag, and I didn't expect it to be so easy."

As Yuri spoke, she lowered her hand, letting the Biting Turtle land back on the ground. Then, holding one end of the chew stick, she watched the Biting Turtle tear at the other end, seemingly quite interested.

This biting turtle didn't seem afraid of people. After biting the chew toy, it refused to let go and didn't try to run away. It just stood there openly in front of the two humans and the two scavengers, biting back and forth.

"Should we subdue them?"

"Hmm... never mind~"

I thought Yuri had something in mind, but to my surprise, she let go and gave the chew tortoise the chew stick.

"This is for you~"

He reached out and patted the tortoise that was still struggling with its chew toy, completely ignoring Yuri's chewing turtle shell, stood up, and pulled Mary away from where they were.