Pokémon from Galar

The whole day passed quickly in this leisurely fishing time. By the time Shui Lian called Mary to pack up, it was already past five in the afternoon.

Shui Lian handed over Mary's little stool and said with a smile:

"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight? It's already this late."

"Well... then I'll have to trouble you, Shui Lian."

Mary thought about it and didn't refuse. After all, it would take a lot of time to get back to her Melemele Island from here, even if Balu took her flying. Although Balu could fly very fast, Mary didn't have any safety measures and could only fly at a slow, low altitude.

"No, no, it's great that Mary came, and she even gave me so many energy cubes."

Water Lily smiled happily because the sea lion seemed to really like the Energy Cube Ball.

Mary, meanwhile, shook her head beside Shui Lian.

"I'm glad you don't mind. Besides, you even brought me to Chirping Hill to challenge the Totem Pokémon today. I should be the one thanking you."

The two walked along the path out. Although they had flown in directly from the sea, Shui Lian still led Mari through the normal passage when leaving.

Although this might be a slightly roundabout way and take a little longer, you can just treat it as a walk.

Chapter 122 Lillie's Visit

The next day, Mary got up very early as usual.

Although Mary couldn't find the Ball Ball Sea Lion at Munch Hill yesterday, she wasn't discouraged and continued with her daily training.

After arranging everyone's training as usual, Mary turned around and went back into the house to prepare breakfast for everyone.

I also made an appointment with Lillie today to come to Mary's house to ask her about the Power Cube.

"Oh, I see. Marie is really popular with girls in Alola—"

"Pfft... What's with that weird tone? But the people here are really warm and welcoming. Yuri, you'd definitely be a good fit here."

With Rotom's phone floating beside her, Mary prepared the ingredients while making a video call with Yuri, who was sitting on the edge of the bed in her pajamas.

"What? Are you saying I'm too noisy?"

On the other end of the video, Yuri deliberately pouted and glared at the busy Mary. Unfortunately, Mary was chopping vegetables and didn't see this cute scene at all, which made her quite disappointed.

Staring at the spot where she had made the incision, Mary's lips curled into a smile.

"No, I meant to say that you're easy to get along with, Yuri. What are you thinking?"

"Humph~"

Hearing the soft moan coming from the phone, Mary stopped what she was doing, looked up, and said with a smile:

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Yuri, have you decided which gym to challenge?"

"No need to even consider it! Fighting-type is the obvious choice! Ghost-type is just too scary..."

Yuri had already arrived in Motogakure City and planned to use it as a base to train in the wilderness before heading to Soden Town.

"If you say that, the curator of the museum will be sad. She is clearly so cute."

Bea and Onion, the two Gym Leaders of Sootopolis, are two Trainers with distinct personalities, each guarding a different Energy Point. Although the two Gym Leaders rarely interact on the surface...

However, there are also rumors circulating online that the two trainers have a close relationship in private. The evidence is Bea's rare League card that smiles at someone, and Onio's rare League card that removes his mask, which is also unknown.

Anyway, these kinds of rumors spread incredibly online, as if they were firsthand accounts.

Of course, it's just a rumor, just for fun. Those two alliance cards aren't widely circulated, and they're hardly enough as evidence. It feels more like self-hypnosis from bored CP fans.

Having previously investigated the information on these dojo masters, Mary naturally knew about these strange gossips. However, her brother didn't seem to know about the relationship between the two, so Mary didn't care much.

"Pah, pah, pah! I didn't say that Gym Leader Onyx was scary. I meant Ghost-type Pokémon! Onyx is so cute."

Yuri righteously refuted Mary's statement that distorted the facts, and firmly stated her identity and status as a fan of Onio!

Mary glanced at Yuri and chuckled as she retorted:

"I think you're just afraid that you won't be able to bring yourself to fight Gym Leader Onio and will get beaten up, that's why you're not going. I've never seen you afraid of Gastly and Dusty Ranger in the Wild Area before."

"Cough cough... What, Kuang, it's not that I feel at ease with you and Pazu around, Mary! How can you slander me out of thin air!"

"Hi hi hi~"

Mary smiled and didn't expose her. Did she really think she had never been on the forum and didn't know what kind of weirdo these Onio fans were like?

"Mooooooo—! You're just giving me the runaround again!"

"Is this even a perfunctory response?"

After setting the prepared ingredients aside, Mary smiled at Yuri on the other end of the video call, put down the props, wiped her hands, and then it was time to start cooking.

However, just as she poured in the oil and before she even turned on the stove, there was a knock at the door. Mary put down what she was holding, turned around, and walked out of the kitchen.

"Yuri, wait a moment, it sounds like someone's coming from outside."

"It's alright, it's alright~ Could it be that your blonde girl has arrived?"

"What do you mean 'my person'? Call her by her name properly, didn't I tell you that?"

"Hehehe~ Okay, don't worry about that, go open the door for them."

Yuri chuckled on the other end, offering no reply. Mary glared at her, ignored her, and walked straight towards the door.

The door hadn't been closed, and as Mary approached, she saw Lillie already standing in the doorway.

Good morning, Mary, I'm here!

"Good morning, Lillie. Why are you here so early today? Have you had breakfast yet?"

"I've already eaten."

Lillie took off her sun hat and held it in her hand, then followed Mary into the house.

"Oh, so this is Lillie? She's just as cute as Marie said!"

"Eh? Who is it?"

The sudden sound startled Lillie, who instinctively grabbed Mary's clothes and hid behind her.

Mary turned her head to look at the Rotom phone that was floating towards her, then pointed to the screen and introduced it:

"This is my friend in Galar, Yuri, a rookie trainer."

"...Ahem, sorry, I was rude just now. Nice to meet you, my name is Lillie."

"Ah, it's nothing, it's nice to meet you. My name is Yuri."

Lillie's polite greeting startled Yuri, who hurriedly tugged at her pajamas, sat up straight, and gave a stiff bow.

After introducing themselves, Mary asked Lillie to put down her bag and hat, then glanced outside and asked:

"Where's the bright white one?"

"She ran downstairs when we arrived, she should be playing outside with Xiao Mo right now, right?"

Lillie wasn't too worried; Marie's Pokémon all seemed to be quite caring.

"Lillie, please sit down for a while. I still need to make breakfast."

"Okay, I understand. May I go outside and observe their training?"

"Sure, whatever you like. Oh, by the way, there are some energy cubes in the fridge that I made yesterday. You can give some to Bai Huanghuang."

After Mary finished speaking, she turned and went into the kitchen to continue making breakfast, while Lillie listened to her, walked to the freezer next to her, and opened it.

Then I saw many boxes containing energy cubes, and one of them had a note that read 'Lillie & Shiro' on it.

Holding the cool box in her hand, Lillie looked at the beautiful handwriting and a faint smile appeared on her face.

Just as she was about to leave, Lillie suddenly remembered something and, leaning to the side, shouted loudly towards the kitchen:

"Marie—have Bal and the others eaten the Energy Cubes yet—?"

"Eh? I've already eaten. Lillie, just give the ice-type one to Shiro."

"I understand~"

Lillie responded, then smiled and turned to leave the house. She looked around and spotted Whitey playing with the two Doronmesia.

Chapter 123 A Visit to the Paradise of Ether

Ether Paradise

It exists as the base of the Aether Foundation, with the main purpose of protecting Pokémon injured in the wild and releasing them when appropriate, while also conducting a series of related research.

Etherland is located in the sea near Alora. As a completely artificial sea base, it is rumored to be powered by the tides of the sea.

Lillie's mother, Lusamine, is the chairperson of the Ether Foundation, holding full control over this enormous organization.

Today is the day Lillie invited everyone to visit the Etherland. As a rare learning opportunity, Dr. Kukui somehow found a boat and, after class, led everyone away from the school and headed towards the Etherland.

Mary was quite curious about Etherland, where the huge ecological park reportedly occupied an entire floor, and the various simulated environments were almost identical to those in the outside world.

Holding onto the railing with both hands, Mary looked at the huge, white floating island that was vaguely visible on the horizon. She wondered what kind of projects the Ether Foundation used to generate profits and recycle funds.

After all, judging from the projects on the surface, the Aether Foundation is practically a huge money-devouring machine. Apart from conducting some legal research, it basically just releases wild Pokémon directly. This alone must have swallowed up a lot of assets.

The Ultra Beast project is even further away from completion. Let alone capturing Ultra Beasts for research, at this stage, it's not even possible to actively open the Ultra Cave.

Mary pondered these things that were basically unrelated to her, using them to pass the time. In any case, all she saw was that Lillie's life was very affluent, a typical rich young lady, and it wasn't her place to investigate these matters.

"What are you thinking about, Mary?"

Lillie pulled down her sun hat and walked over to Marie, smiling as she struck up a conversation. Lately, the two of them, along with Mao, had been discussing the nutritional balance of Pokémon food, and their relationship had grown quite close.

"No... I just think the Lillie family is really amazing, being able to build such a large base at sea."

"That's all thanks to Mother... But Ether Paradise is really amazing, I'll show you around today!"

When Lillie mentioned her mother, her tone changed, sounding a mixture of resentment and pride. Mary listened quietly without interrupting.

"I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Oh right, the crafting machine I ordered arrived yesterday. Mary, come teach me how to make energy cubes sometime!"

"Wow, that's fast... Wait, shouldn't Etherland have this kind of equipment? Do we need to buy it separately?"

Energy cubes aren't exactly rare; they're just less common in Alola and Galar. The Aether Foundation, a massive Pokémon research facility, would certainly have them.

"Yes, I do have some, but those are for research purposes. How could I possibly take one back?"

Although the entire Aether Foundation belongs to Lillie's family... Marie didn't instill any unnecessary ideologies in the naive Lillie; being simple and kind is a good thing.