The Pokémon journey begins in Galar

With Yuri's battle now over, Marie didn't see much point in sticking around. After all, the next match would be her own Gym challenge.

She raised her hand in return to Yuri, who was waving from the battlefield with her newly earned badge, then stood and made her way out.

Squeezing through the still-hyped-up crowd with Eevee and Toot trailing behind, Marie left the bustling stands and circled around to the stadium lobby.

The changing room was tucked away in a quiet corner. She returned Toot to its Poké Ball before pushing open the door, only to run into Yuri, who was in the middle of changing.

"Congrats on your win," Marie said as she took off her backpack, her eyes casually drifting to Yuri's smooth, pale back. It wasn't the first time she'd seen her like this, so there wasn't much room for shyness.

Yuri wasn't bothered either. Upon hearing Marie's voice, she turned around while pulling off her jersey, not caring in the slightest.

She was wearing a cute Pikachu-print training bra on her flat chest. Yuri insisted it was a sports bra designed for ease of movement, but to Marie… it honestly looked more like a kid's size.

Not that Marie had much room to talk. She wasn't exactly well-endowed either. She just preferred wearing strapless bras with a more mature look. But even so, the difference between them wasn't anything to brag about.

"Thanks! Good luck with your battle, Marie!" Yuri said brightly, holding her shirt in one hand while raising her slender arm in a cheerful fighting pose.

"Put your clothes on already. Do you enjoy flashing people or what?"

"Ugh, shut up!"

Blushing, Yuri shot her a glare, then turned away to pull on her sundress in a hurry. After sleeping in the same room together for days, their relationship had grown much more relaxed.

To Yuri, Marie was no longer the cold, distant ace trainer she'd first admired. Instead, she'd become something of a dependable big sister one who occasionally dropped harmless dirty jokes and had a bit of a naughty streak.

Marie didn't say anything else. She walked to the side and pulled out her own uniform. The outfit didn't differ much between male and female trainers: just a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.

She shrugged off her jacket and adjusted the strap of her sundress, about to take it off when 

Stare.

"…"

Marie glanced over her shoulder and saw that Yuri, fully dressed now, was sitting nearby and watching her intently.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Just watching you."

"...You little perv."

"You're the perv! You turned around first!"

"You're the one who stayed to look!"

"Hmph!"

Realizing she wasn't going to win this exchange, Yuri crossed her arms and pouted, glaring at Marie in silence.

"Whatever. Suit yourself."

Faced with this childish stubbornness, Marie could only sigh and turn back to change. What else could she do? Ask Eevee to drag her out?

Once she was dressed in her Gym uniform, Marie adjusted her glove and clipped four Poké Balls securely to her belt.

"Phew…"

"Don't be nervous! I'll be cheering for you from the stands!"

With that, Yuri waved and walked out of the changing room.

"What's she running for?" Marie muttered, having caught the deep flush on Yuri's face. She'd wanted to tease her a bit more to lighten the mood, but Yuri had already made a hasty escape.

There was still some time before Marie's match. After all, Gym Leaders needed breaks too. Back-to-back battles weren't the norm. The gap between matches was usually somewhere between thirty minutes to an hour, though it varied.

Escorted by a staff member, Marie waited in the rest area for a little over twenty minutes before she was finally called.

As she walked through the empty tunnel leading into the arena, she took a deep breath. Her nerves were kicking in. For a second, she even considered cracking a lewd joke just to loosen up.

She shook her head and powered through. Stepping onto the lush, grassy battlefield, she squared her shoulders.

From the opposite side, Gym Leader Milo was already making his entrance. The two of them stopped at the center of the arena, standing face to face.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Milo."

"Haha, nice to meet you too, Marie. I didn't expect Nie Zi's little sister to be challenging Gyms already. Time really flies."

Milo seemed a little nostalgic, as if something had crossed his mind. It made sense. Not much had changed among the Gym Leaders in the past few years. With annual elimination tournaments, they probably all knew each other pretty well by now.

"So, Marie, what's your take on Dynamaxing? Just so you know, I don't plan on holding back in this match."

"If possible, I wouldn't mind you going a little easy on me. I'll be sending out someone who hasn't even evolved yet."

It might've sounded a little weak to say that right before a match, but considering Sisi's situation, Marie felt it was worth the heads-up. She didn't want Sisi walking straight into a battle on the same level as Barro.

"Hahaha! Don't worry about that."

Milo only laughed heartily, ending the conversation there before walking off.

Marie said no more either. She headed to her designated side, and when the announcer gave the signal to begin, she was the first to throw her Poké Ball.

Sisi appeared on the battlefield.

"La-ru~!"

She let out a cry that didn't really mean anything. It seemed like the crowd didn't bother her, or maybe she just didn't quite get what was going on.

Milo smiled as he saw the Ralts land, then tossed out a Poké Ball of his own.

Out popped a Gloom.

"~"

Marie stared at the Gloom wobbling on the field. So much for going easy it was a direct type advantage from the start.

But Ralts's Psychic typing was also strong against Poison. It wasn't completely one-sided. They were more or less evenly matched.

"Poison Powder!"

Milo wasn't pulling any punches this time. He didn't even wait for Marie to make a move and launched the first attack.

"Teleport, dodge it!"

The Gloom reacted quickly. As soon as the command was given, it shook its head, releasing a glittering cloud of poison that drifted straight toward Sisi.

Startled, Sisi overdid it a bit. She teleported all the way to the far edge of the field in a single burst.

Marie didn't blame her. That cloud was massive. Gloom's attack had spread poison so wide that some of it nearly reached Marie herself.

This Gloom's powder-based moves were definitely troublesome. But there was no time to dwell on that now. Marie gave her next order.

"Confusion!"

Thankfully, Sisi's attack had decent range too.

"Venoshock! Block it!"

There was no way Gloom could match Sisi's teleporting speed. For now, all it could do was defend.

"Teleport! Then use Confusion to grab the target!"

Her first move had failed, but Marie quickly followed up, hoping to seize control of the battle by locking the opponent down.

"Acid Spray! We've been waiting for this!"

"What?!"

As soon as Sisi teleported close enough to use her move, Gloom suddenly blasted out a stream of acid from between its leaves without even looking back, spraying in all directions.

Marie didn't have time to call out a command, so Sisi acted on her own. She shifted her Confusion from a grab to an attack, condensing it into a tight burst around her and using it to punch straight through the acid, hammering Gloom with it head-on.

"Nyaaa!"

"La-ru-!"

There was just too much acid. Even with her quick reaction, Sisi couldn't dodge it all and took a partial hit. At the same time, Gloom, struck by the psychic force, tumbled across the field in a clumsy roll.

NEXT CHAPTER : Dragapult vs. Flapple - Dragon vs. Dragon

(Marie's Gym Challenge heats up with a brutal Dragon-on-Dragon showdown! As her Dragapult Barro clashes with Milo's fierce Flapple, speed, strategy, and sheer power collide in a breathtaking aerial duel. Blows are traded, roars echo, and just when it seems Barro might seize the upper hand, Flapple unleashes a devastating Meteor Shower that rains destruction across the battlefield. As the dust rises and the stadium trembles, one question remains: who's still standing?

Next chapter: Did Barro survive the meteor storm? Or did Marie's hopes just crash and burn?)

If you've been enjoying the story so far, feel free to visit my Patreon for early access to advanced chapters and stay ahead in the journey!

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