AN: Here's the first official chapter of this story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Nope.

Spikemuth was not the prettiest place in Galar to live, that was for sure. In fact, the city had long fallen into complete desolation and obscurity. Few people ever came by, not that there was much to do if they did. The place had virtually no shops or other attractions to visit, and the look of the place gave the impression that it wasn't even safe to live there.

Among the few who did live there, one was a teenaged gothic girl with black hair and aquamarine eyes. This girl always wore a stoic expression, but deep down, she had a passionate desire to get Spikemuth out of the miserable state that it was in. Her name was Marnie.

For the longest time now, Marnie had been trying to get her older brother, who ran the Spikemuth gym, to make more of an effort himself to bring life back to Spikemuth. That wasn't to say that he didn't try, but what he was currently doing was clearly not working. His little rock concerts would only go so far when people's interests lied within the Pokemon battling realm.

Marnie had had enough of this waiting game and decided that it was time to take matters into her own hands. Spikemuth may not have a power spot for dynamaxing, but she knew of another way to bring Spikemuth back to life.

Steeling her resolve, Marnie walked out onto the battlefield that was used for gym battles. She held her partner Pokemon, Morpeko, in her arms for her support.

Her brother, named Piers, was standing on his stage and polishing his microphone, apparently getting ready for his next concert. Marnie approached her brother.

"Piers, I wan'cha to endorse me for the gym challenge," she said to him plainly, opting to just get straight to the point.

Piers stopped what he was doing and looked up at his sister, the dull sort of expression on his face that he usually wore.

"Sis, I know what it is that'chr really wantin' to do," he began. "And I already told you that I'm doin' what I can. Besides, what I'm really wantin' for you is to someday take over for me as gym leader here."

"These concerts are gettin' us nowhere, bro. Only the town residents really ever attend 'em," Marnie said, holding her ground. "Besides, how d'you know that I'm only wantin' to do this for Spikemuth? Maybe I have my own personal goals as well."

"What a rude siblin', bein' so demandin' of your big bro all of a sudden," Piers remarked disapprovingly. "Do you not appreciate the efforts I'm already puttin' forth?"

"Of course I do! This ain't a matter of non-appreciation," Marnie shot back. She then took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. "Look, I know that you too really do want to see some life return to Spikemuth. But it ain't ever gonna happen if we don't change our approach."

Piers kept her gaze fixated on Marnie, but said nothing. She continued.

"These concerts ain't gettin' the job done, but just imagine if Spikemuth were the home of the Galar region champion. That would solve the problem in an instant!" Although Marnie maintained her expression, there was a trace of desperation now in her voice.

"Peko, Morpeko!" Marnie's hamster Pokemon companion pleaded to the dark-type gym leader.

Piers continued to remain silent, but admittedly he was pondering her words.

"And I know that Mum and Dad would be devastated t'know that their kids were livin' in these kinds of conditions." Marnie's voice began to crack. "Please bro?"

Piers kept his dull gaze on Marnie for a few more seconds. Then, he turned around and began to walk away.

Marnie waited on the spot to see if her words had managed to get through to him. She found herself waiting for a few minutes, but Piers had yet to return.

Marnie shut her eyes tight and balled her fists. She had just poured everything she was feeling out to Piers and he just walks off on her? Why?! Why did that brother of hers have to be so darn stubborn?!

But then, Piers did return, carrying something in his right hand. "Quit gettin' yourself worked up, Marnie. Here's your endorsement letter."

Marnie gasped and her eyes shot open in shock, but she then shook her head and resumed her usual expression as she took the letter from him. "T-thank you," she uttered out. "Thanks a lot."

Then, to the surprise of both of them, Marnie threw herself into her brother's arms. Piers was a bit taken aback by this, but nonetheless he hugged her back.

"You're welcome, sis," Piers said gently before they broke from the hug.

Even though Piers could sometimes be a bit tactless, especially in regards to what he said, he really did care about others, especially his little sister.

Then, all of a sudden, Piers' facial expression changed dramatically as he took up his mic.

"And now, I dedicate this song to you, Marnie, the hero who will save Spikemuth from eternal damnation!" he said dramatically over the mic.

Piers then began to sing. At the same time, young men and women clad in "interesting" combinations of black and pink came rushing out onto the scene. They looked like a sort of hybrid of punks/goths and street thugs. Once they understood what the song was about, they began to cheer for Marnie.

"Go, go, Marnie, the hero of Spikemuth!" a male grunt shouted.

"Gooooo, Marnie!" a female grunt cheered.

"She's cute and she's tough, and she'll take no one's guff!" a third grunt chanted.

"We're Team Yell, here to support Miss Marnie on her way to the top!" they all announced at the same time.

Marnie looked around at all the Spikemuth residents now cheering her on. She found herself feeling rather flustered... and unsure about how to deal with all the sudden attention. She also felt that maybe they were taking this whole thing just a bit too seriously; a few grunts had already begun at work painting her picture onto banners.

Despite all this though, Marnie decided that she would at least try to tolerate this, so long as these guys didn't try to do anything crazy.

"Welp, this is the place, buddy," a certain black-haired boy said to his yellow mouse Pokemon that was perched atop his shoulder. "This is where we go to register for the Galar gym challenge."

Ash Ketchum, now sixteen years of age, had traveled through many different regions, and even had just become the Alola region champion. Now, he was about to face his greatest challenge yet. He would be taking on the Galar gym challenge, and aiming to become the new Galar region champion. Which by the way, the current champion, named Leon, was the one who had endorsed Ash for the gym challenge.

This journey was very important to Ash, much more so than any of his previous journeys. The Galar champion was the toughest of all champions to beat, and Ash felt that if he could take him down, then perhaps he would have finally achieved his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master.

"Let's go!" Ash yelled with excitement, pumping his fist into the air before proceeding to enter the building.

Already inside the building and at the front desk was Marnie.

"Hello. I would like to register for the gym challenge please," she told the man running the desk.

"Of course, young miss. I will just need to see your endorsement letter please," the man requested.

Marnie reached into one of her leather jacket's pockets and pulled out her endorsement letter before handing it to the man. He took it and put on his reading glasses before proceeding to read it.

"Gym leader Piers, eh?" he said. "One of Galar's best gym leaders, yet despite that, he never presents himself in public anymore."

Marnie looked as stoic as ever as the man began the process of registering her. A few minutes later, he turned back to Marnie.

"Congratulations! You have been successfully registered as a gym challenger," he said with a grin. "Now, if you would be so kind as to choose your preferred uniform number please? It will be displayed on the back of the mandatory uniform you must wear for any official match."

Marnie took a moment to ponder that. "I will go with... 9-6-0."

"Very well," he said before keying this information into Marnie's computer profile. After he was done, he opened a drawer and pulled out a bracelet-like object before handing it to Marnie. "Here. You are also required to wear this challenger band at all times to identify yourself as a gym challenger."

Marnie said nothing as she took the band and slipped it on her wrist, though she was inwardly unsure as to why this should be necessary.

"The opening ceremony will be held here tomorrow afternoon. You will be able to collect your uniform during this time to wear during this event," the desk man said. "Also, all new gym challengers have been booked a room for tonight at the nearby Budew Drop Inn."

"Thank you," Marnie said, the faintest of a grin appearing on her face.

Marnie then turned around and proceeded to exit the building. At the same time, Ash was beginning to approach the desk, him literally shaking with excitement. Marnie noticed and couldn't help but make a comment on it.

"You're quite the excitable one, ain'cha?" she said.

"Huh?" Ash was broken from his thoughts and he looked at the goth girl addressing him, a hint of mirth in her eyes. "Oh... yeah. I'm very excited to compete in the gym challenge."

Marnie gave a nod. "So am I. And for the record, I don't intend to lose to you."

She then continued on her way. Ash watched her for a moment as a confident grin appeared on his face.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," he said, looking forward to hopefully a great rival.

AN: And that marks the end of this chapter. See you all again soon with the next one!