~{Author's Pre-Notes}~

(A Mimikyu jumps out of a green pipe) Ya-hoo! It's me! Ya-boy, author-sama! Back at it again with another new chapter of art. In this episode of pokemon, a problem with Galar? A problem with our best model? A new pokemo- Wait, I'm getting deja vu. Oh well, time to see for ourselves how our precious boy continues in his adventure to become the champion he wants to be! (Jumps into a standard Mario Kart) See ya afterword! VROOM VROOM! (Speeds off)

Comment Answers:

ninfamespinal, Guest: Find out which pokemon Victor gets in this very chapter!

Psychochicken: Hm... I didn't think about having OC trainers arrive just for Victor to fight, but I don't think I'll make that a thing. Instead, remember how I said that the league is a WORLD league, so no doubt there will be notable and familiar trainers from different regions to be just hanging out in Galar! I plan to have some of them interact with Victor, whether battling or friendships. Look forward to that in... I don't really know when to be honest, I just wing everything I write.

A Random Earthian: I don't plan on bringing in Jessie and James in here, now plan to have Swordward or Shieldbert by influence by money, they're royalty and wouldn't need it, not to mention would be too arrogant to feel the need for going to capture someone.

Wolfy: Wolfy's back, yet again, not really gone, but now has a friend. Me! :D But anyway, huh, why DO things always happen with main characters around? One of life's greatest mysteries. But I just loved your comment overall, from the added humor in it, lol. Thanks!

FanFictionReaderIne: Really love this in depth comment and praise, it really means a lot to me. It's a reason why I write my fics, seeing the people enjoy and appreciate them. Thanks for keeping me going for my writing!


~{Hulbury- 6:23PM}~

The ocean water reflected orange from the sun as it started to go down. Victor came out of a tunnel under a bridge and into the bustling seaport town that was Hulbury. The first thing he saw was a pokemon center and a seafood restaurant up ahead under the light of the evening sky.

He felt tired for the day, having been fighting so many Rainbow Rocket Grunts, helping many pokemon earlier, and then even fighting Hop. He knew that Gloria was already in Hulbury still since Hop said that she should be starting her gym battle right now, so he decided to send her a text to meet him somewhere nearby after she finished.

Victor was pulling out his phone to do just that when he caught sight of a group of people standing around talking excitingly to someone.

"Wait a second, is that...?" Victor recognized Chairman Rose within the group, the man happily signing autographs with his calm smile while his secretary Oleana stood beside him looking rather annoyed.

He slowly approached the group, listening in as he heard many people asking for Rose's autograph.

"He sure is popular."

Chairman Rose chuckled as he signed a few more things before Oleana stepped between him and the group of town people.

"Oh, if I remember correctly..." Victor thought as he recognized the tall, slender woman wearing a lab coat and red blouse. "That's his secretary, right?"

Oleana raised her hand to halt the crowd around her and her boss.

"Our sincerest apologies. The chairman is quite busy at the moment and we have to be on our way, so please disperse." She demanded rather calmly.

"Ehhhh? Aw, just a little longer." One of the females of the crowd said.

"Please, leave, now." Oleana said with a more menacing glare than before.

"O-Okay then... See you later chairman!" The same female in the crowd nervously waved.

Everyone else nervously followed suit and rushed away.

"Oh come now, I can still do a few more autographs! Maybe I could even give out a few league cards!" Chairman Rose tried to call to them.

"No, you can't. We're here for business." Oleana sighed.

"But chasing them off like that... Aren't you being too harsh Oleana? We need to support our fans." Rose answered as he adjusted his tie.

"You can support your fans by actually doing your work."

Rose awkwardly laughed, "Er, what were we working on again?"

Oleana facepalmed, "We just came to check the progress of Hulbury and to see if the power spot has changed at all in energy level."

Rose put a finger up as he remembered, "Ah yes, we must ensure nothing has changed at all in any town of our beloved region! It would be devastating if any of them ran out of Dynamax energy such as-"

He was interrupted as a proud voice spoke. "I'll do everything in my power to assist you too, chairman!"

Victor's eyes widened as he saw Bede approach the chairman, making him instinctively hide behind the pokemon center to listen out of curiosity.

Chairman Rose turned to Bede with a confused look.

"Oh? And you were...?"

The platinum-haired boy flinched, "Er... Bede sir."

Rose's eyes instantly lit up in realization, his warm smile returning.

"Oh, Bede! It's been so long since I've last seen you several years ago! I hardly recognized you by how much you've grown." He smiled.

"Bede?" Oleana questioned. "The boy from the orphanage?"

"Orphanage?" Victor repeated in surprise.

"Yes, years ago I gave him my Hatenna because I saw potential in him. Then recently, before the Gym Challenge started, I had one of my staff check in on him with a pokeball battle."

He put his hands on his hips with a proud smile as he gazed at the noble stance of the boy.

"And based on how you're standing here in Hulbury, I'm assuming you passed your test just fine."

Bede smugly grinned, "Of course I did chairman! I was honored to find out that you had decided to endorse me! Receiving that letter from your staff was one of the happiest moments of my life!"

"Oho, good to know! Will you be the one to beat the Gym Challenge and become the champion that you dreamed to be? Or perhaps it'll be one of those trainers endorsed by the champion?" Rose grinned.

Bede didn't hesitate to get serious and answer.

"I will prove your faith in me is well placed, chairman! I won't lose to anyone!"

"But didn't he lose to me already?" Victor sweatdropped.

"I look forward to it, but tell me, Bede..." Chairman Rose still maintained his calm smile, yet there was a depth of seriousness behind it. "How have you been doing on that 'other' issue I've tasked you? It should've been in the letter."

Bede looked confident, "I've been collecting Wishing Stars as you wished. I'm certain that I've obtained all the ones in the Galar Mines and will continue to search for them on my journey."

Rose nodded approvingly, "Good. They're vital to ensuring the prosperity of Galar. I'll continue relying on you for this."

Bede put a hand proudly on his chest, "Thank you chairman! I'll make sure to live up to your expectations! Now if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way to find somewhere to sleep for the night."

He bowed politely before walking off.

That was when Victor came out of his hiding place and approached the Chairman, his curiosity peaking by everything he's heard.

However, before he could get too close to Rose, Oleana suddenly stepped in Victor's way with a small glare as if to try and scare him off. "Sorry, but the chairman is not giving out any more autographs."

"Hm?" Chairman Rose turned to Victor and recognized him, "Oh! It's alright Oleana, this one is one of the three endorsed by Leon. Victor, correct?"

Victor nodded, not looking fazed at all by Oleana's glare.

"Yes sir, that's me. So you really did endorse Bede after all?"

"Oh? Could it be that you've met him already?" Rose questioned as he rubbed his beard.

"Yup, before the opening ceremony I talked to him in the lobby. He didn't give me the best first impression. Then I ran into him again in the Galar Mines where I found him collecting Wishing Stars. You tasked him with that?"

"Indeed I did, Victor." Rose nodded.

Victor tilted his head looking rather puzzled. "But... Why? What's so important about them?"

"Sorry, but we don't have time for-"

Rose raised a hand, shushing her. "It's quite alright, Oleana, he may be able to help us." He then put both hands behind his back as he turned and began marching down the street. "Walk with me, Victor."

The boy listened and quickened his walking pace to be beside Rose, curiosity filling him as he waited for the chairman to speak.

"Victor... Do you know what the Galar Region is run on?"

"Dynamax Energy, right?"

Rose nodded, "Correct. Dynamax energy is what fuels the entirety of Galar. From the lights we turn on in our homes, to our pokemon centers, and especially to the power spots that provide pokemon the opportunity to Dynamax... Now, have you heard of the Darkest Day?"

Victor nodded. "I have."

"Then you should know that ever since that day thousands of years ago, Galar has been getting supplied with this energy and has been relying on it ever since."

A question mark appeared over Victor, "But what does that have to do with Wishing Stars? I know they contain Dynamax Energy, but we don't need them to power Galar, right?"

Rose turned to Victor, his smile not matching how serious his eyes were.

"It seemed that way. But I've learned that the energy supply we have right now is limited."

Both were suddenly silent as they walked by a few homes, taking glances at all the innocent people enjoying the world they had now thanks to Dynamax Energy.

"..." Victor gave a more intense stare at Rose. "How long?"

"From now, we supposedly have about 1,000 years until this energy crisis occurs."

The seriousness on Victor's face turned into a smile, "Then what are you so worried about? We have plenty of time before that happens. I'm sure that at one point someone will find a solution to it."

Rose lowered his head and chuckled. "Yes... I did believe that too..."

Victor stopped, an eyebrow raised, "You, 'did' believe it?"

The chairman stopped walking too, turning to him.

"Victor, do you know about the town of Spikemuth?"

"Yeah, it's the only town in Galar not built on a Dynamax power spot, right?"

Rose shook his head in disagreement, "That's where people get their facts wrong... Spikemuth was indeed built right on a power spot..."

"Huh?" Victor blinked.

Rose sighed, "It used to be a prosperous and bright town full of all sorts of folks, filled to the brim with Dynamax energy in every corner. It was the brightest and the loudest place in Galar, popular for its music and partying. There were plans to build a stadium there, but then... One day, nearly all of their Dynamax energy disappeared. Their power spot weakened, their lights and electronics died from losing their power, and the town went into chaos."

"Wait, how do you know this? When did this happen!?" Victor asked in disbelief.

"We have records of the crisis." Oleana chipped in. "This was not too long ago, only about 64 years ago to be exact."

Rose brushed through his hair. "After Spikemuth lost its main source of power, it began falling to ruin. The streets became deserted, buildings broke down over time, the lights barely stay lit, and nearly everyone who lived there at the time all moved out. Gym battles are now held in an old blacktop court and to everyone, it's clear that Spikemuth is nowhere near as prosperous as the other power rich cities of the region. The only ones remaining in that town are those with passion for what their home was before, a place for partying and music. Nearly all of those people are those known as 'Team Yell,' the rowdy bunch of troublemakers that everyone despises..."

"64 years ago...?" Victor repeated in a mumble. "So that's why I had no idea of this happening... I wasn't here or even born to hear anything about it when it happened..."

He then formed another realization.

"Team Yell lives there and Rose mentioned that the Gym Leader in Spikemuth, Piers, endorsed Marnie... Does that mean Marnie lived there for her entire life?"

Victor looked stunned.

"I think I'll call her about it later..."

Rose got Victor's attention again. "As time progressed, the new generations of people such as yourself misunderstood Spikemuth's situation... It wasn't that Spikemuth was foolishly built on a place without a power spot, but rather, was built on a place that suddenly lost its power spot..."

He sighed. "But perhaps... it's better this way."

"But why!? Why not tell the public the truth about Spikemuth!? And how come there wasn't any info like what you've said when I looked it up the place!?" Victor asked him, not liking the idea of superiors hiding such secrets from the people.

"There isn't any official info of this for the public because the previous generations of higher-ups and myself have made sure there wasn't any for them. But the reason we're doing this is that if we did inform the public on this, then it would cause unnecessary panic all throughout Galar. If the people learn that their homes may end up losing their main source of power, no doubt fear or maybe even chaos would ensue..."

"So... Why tell me this then? Aren't you worried I might tell someone?"

Rose just chuckled, "I'm not worried that you'd do that. One reason I'm telling you this is that Leon told me that you're very considerate and love to help others, so I think you can help us. And two, even if you were to go around telling people, I doubt they'll believe you because of the idea everyone has about Team Yell..."

"What idea?"

"Well... People believe that everyone from Spikemuth is dangerous, and this is because of rumors that have been spreading for quite a while now. One such rumor is that Spikemuth did have a Power Spot, but Team Yell themselves 'destroyed' it, as if to proclaim a sort of hatred for Dynamaxing. Another rumor goes along with this idea of hatred, where Team Yell purposely built or moved to Spikemuth because there was no Dynamax energy. Their actions of messing with Gym Challengers don't help to ease any of these rumors... Spikemuth's Gym Leader, Pier's, is painted in a bad light because of this, and now everyone thinks he's like a criminal leader."

"So... Anyone from Spikemuth is antagonized because of this?" Victor thought, thinking about Marnie rather worriedly.

"Chairman, I believe you're getting off track. You were just supposed to tell him about the Wishing Stars." Oleana told him.

"Oh, how you're right! I do apologize." He focused back on Victor. "But the point is, Spikemuth wasn't supposed to lose its energy for another 1,000 years. And yet, it suddenly lost power and became the wasteland it is today. So who's not to say that the same thing can happen to the rest of Galar? To lose their main source of power and send the region crashing down... I'm afraid of such an event suddenly happening, and I'm worried about it happening any time."

"And... these Wishing Stars are a key to help this?" Victor deduced.

Rose nodded. "As you've mentioned, Wishing Stars contain heaps of Dynamax Energy in them. So I wish to collect them so that I can keep supplying energy to every part of Galar possible. With the help of the Hammerlocke Energy Plant, Wishing Star power can be harnessed into electricity just as well as the raw energy from power spots."

Victor's eyes lit up, "Wait, but if Dynamax energy is just converted into normal electricity in the first place, then why don't we just get normal electricity from pokemon? Or build a power plant?"

Rose shook his head in rejection, "If only it were that simple... Electricity from pokemon and electricity from power plants is different than Dynamax energy converting into poweer. A pokemon's electricity can indeed be used as a source of power, but it's much more destructive than normal electricity. It makes our equipment grow to an incredible risk of going haywire or just outright exploding. And as for building a powerplant, we have records of one being built before, but it had exploded and collapsed because Dynamax energy seemed to have some sort of destructive reaction with both pokemon electricity and normal electricity being produced."

Victor looked worried. "So... Collecting Wishing Stars is the only alternative means of getting energy besides power spots?"

"Yes, Victor, that's why we're collecting them. However... Because of how busy my staff and I are, I can't go out and find Wishing Stars myself. So I've tasked Bede with collecting them for me. It's refreshing to see what a nice and humble young boy he's become."

"I think he only acts that way around you..." Victor sweatdropped.

But Victor was reminded of the main reason he wanted to talk to Rose in the first place.

"A-Ah! Speaking of Bede! I wanted to ask you about him!"

"I'm sorry, but that's enough. I was being considerate and letting the Chairman share his troubles so you could possibly help us, but now we really must be leaving." Oleana told Victor.

Rose turned to her, "Oh come now Oleana, I'm sure it can wait-"

"Now." The women insisted with a dark aura.

"Er... Right. Ah, how about this then?" Rose turned to Victor. "You're going to face Gym Leader Nessa soon, yes? If you get a gym badge from her, I'll hold a small celebration! I'd like to get to know you a little better, after all!"

Oleana was suddenly dragging the Rose away, "The chairman and I will still be in this town for the next few days, so once receiving the Water Badge, head to this town's seafood restaurant. We'll keep tabs on Hulbury Stadium to see when you battle Nessa, so once you finish, head over to the restaurant and we'll be sure to meet you. But for now, I suggest finding a place to sleep."

"Alright..." Victor muttered, feeling bad after learning about Galar's problem and also disappointed that he didn't get to learn more about Bede.

But he replaced these negative emotions with a determined resolve.

"I'll start finding Wishing Stars too! If it's to help Galar, then I'll do what I can!"

"That would be very much appreciated! Please do your best for Galar's future!" Rose waved as he was dragged off.

Victor smiled as Rose and his secretary disappeared from his sight, leaving him alone as he saw the sun starting nearly touching the horizon in the ocean.

"I guess I should find a place to sleep... If I remember correctly, this place doesn't have any inns. That's kind of annoying... Actually, I wonder if that's on purpose to toughen us trainers taking the Gym Challenge?"

Victor shrugged and pulled out his Rotom phone, "Gloria should be done with the water gym challenge by now. I wonder how was it for her?"

He sent a quick text to her.

Victor: Hey Gloria! How are you doing? Are you still in Hulbury? If you are, then meet up with me so that I could wish you good luck before you continue on. I'll be setting camp somewhere in Hulbury, just look for an obvious red tent somewhere around the pokemon center.

He put his phone in his pocket and tossed out his pokeballs.

Ace, Twilight, and Midori all came out in a line right in front of him.

"Alright guys. I wanna find a spot to camp out for the night near the pokemon center. Got any preferences?"

Twilight immediately flew upwards in the sky to look around, Midori glanced around at the area, and Ace just kept his paws in his pouch not bothering to look.

It didn't take long for Twilight to come back and hover in front of Victor.

"Cor! Cor!" His trusty Corvisquire cawed.

"Oh? Down those stairs?" Victor asked, pointing at some stairs to the right.

Twilight nodded, then flying over to the area.

"Alrighty! Come on you two!" Victor motioned to Midori and Ace.

Both pokemon followed close behind down the stairs, where Victor came upon a picnic area of the sort with a dirt ground, two picnic tables, and four different colored stands that sold various things. But they didn't stop there as Twilight flew over the short fence near the area and landed in a flat, grassy area with a few bushes and flowers growing.

Victor followed and jumped over the fence, smiling as he looked around at the area.

"Yeah! This should be good! I don't think we'll be bothering anyone by camping out here, so let's set it up!"

He took off his large backpack and got to work taking out his camping set with the help of his pokemon.

At the same time, someone excitingly ran along the streets of Hulbury searching for him.

Gloria glanced in all directions as Luna poked out of the Girl's backpack with a smile.

"Victor said that he should be near the pokemon center! I can't wait to show him how much you've grown in such a short time Luna!" The girl squealed.

Luna nodded excitingly behind her, no longer looking as timid or nervous as before. Ever since evolving such a short time ago, she became prouder and more confident than ever. It was almost as if she was a different pokemon, no doubt taking inspiration from her trainer. But despite this, she still preferred the comfort of being carried in her trainer's backpack.

Gloria arrived at the pokemon center and continued looking around.

"Hm, he should be around here somewhere."

It didn't take her long to walk to the stairs and catch sight of an obvious red tent just finishing being to get set up.

Her eyes lit up with a big smile.

"Victor!" She hurried down the stairs.

Victor just finished hammering down one of the stakes when he heard his friend, turning around to see her hopping over the short fence and landing on the grassy area he was at.

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you so soon!" He smiled as his pokemon gathered around. "How did your battle with Nessa go?"

"It was great!" Gloria jumped. "She was stronger than I thought, but Luna came through in the end!"

Victor looked surprised. "Huh? You managed to get Luna to fight already?"

"Not just that! Look!" Gloria took off her backpack and placed it onto the ground, where Luna jumped out and presented herself in all her evolved Kirlia glory.

"She even evolved?" Victor smiled.

Before then forming a deadpanned expression.

"Wait, after just one battle!?"

"I know, right!?" Gloria laughed.

Victor curiously stared down at how proud, and even tough Luna seemed to be acting, making him wonder something as he reached down and pat her.

"Well, Ralts are known as the 'feeling' pokemon who use their horns to detect the emotions of their trainers, but they're also influenced by these emotions, especially positive ones. So maybe a really intense moment was enough to get her to evolve?"

Gloria laughed. "Yeah! She was my last pokemon against Nessa! One versus one, pokemon versus pokemon! And I cheered for her like our lives depended on it!"

"Then why hasn't Midori evolved with me?" Victor comedically cried.

Luna approached Midori and glanced down at him, the male Ralts staring up her without any movement. She put her hands on her hips while puffing out her chest proudly as if presenting herself to her counterpart.

"..."

Midori stared at Luna's evolved form, then glanced down at his current form's hands.

"..."

The next thing the group knew, Midori was sulking right beside the tent with a small spotlight shining on him, even tracing circles on the ground.

Luna suddenly became flustered to see him look so depressed, rushing over to him. "K-Kirlia! Kirl! Kirl!"

The rest of the group sweatdropped.

"Ah, poor Midori. I guess seeing Luna already evolve is making him feel left out..." Victor awkwardly chuckled.

Gloria saw Victor's two other evolved pokemon Ace and Twilight, an angsty looking Raboot and the proud-looking Corvisquire.

"Aw, he shouldn't feel bad. He'll evolve soon, especially since he's with ya." Gloria reassured as she glanced at Luna kneeling over and gently patting Midori on his back to comfort him.

"I think so too. It shouldn't be too long... But I wonder if my battles with him haven't been intense enough? Or haven't had enough 'emotion' in them?" Victor brainstormed.

"Aren't ya going to fight against Nessa today? Maybe you could do something there?" Gloria asked as she sat down beside her friend in a cross-legged position.

"Nah. I'm gonna take on the water gym tomorrow... My pokemon and I have been through enough for today." Victor yawned.

"Eh? Really? I guess ya did fight Milo just earlier."

"No, we're not tired just because of that. We fought and helped a lot of wild pokemon." Victor said, deciding to leave out fighting against team Rainbow Rocket.

"Eh? Ya were helping out more pokemon on the way to Hulbury like ya did before arriving at Turffield? Victor, ain't that making ya-self too busy and tired out? Shouldn't ya be focusing on the Gym Challenge rather than every pokemon ya come across?"

Victor suddenly shot up to his feet, "Of course not! If I know that I'm able to help someone out but decide not to, then I'd be no better than any bystanders watching someone getting bullied!" He declared with comedic flames in his eyes.

Gloria sighed, "That's just like ya Victor..."

"Do you hate that about me?" Victor asked, glancing back at the girl.

"Of course not. It's something I admire that about ya." Gloria smiled.

"That's good to hear."

He sat back down and gazed up at the darkening sky.

"Hey, it's turning dark, are you planning to stay in Hulbury tonight?"

"Hm? Ah, I didn't think about that." Gloria realized as she saw the sky's orange colors slowly but surely darkening. "I could just pitch a tent right beside ya."

Victor smiled. "Sound good. Should I set things up for dinner? I got a lot of ingredients."

"Oo! Let me cook! I'll make ya some Herb Medley Curry!" Gloria stood up in excitement.

Victor began comedically crying in bliss at the thought, even bowing down. "Yes! Please my goddess! Bless me with your majestic cuisine!"

Gloria steamed up with a large blush, frantically waving her arms up and down, "D-Don't say it like that! It's embarrassing!"

Twilight and Ace sweatdropped while Midori just continued to sulk with Luna awkwardly trying to cheer him up.


~{Hulbury Gym Locker Room}~

Nessa sat with her head down in the contestant preparation room of her own gym. She held an empty paper cup in her hands, finished drinking some water to get over her frustration from losing another recent match. This hadn't happened for quite a while during her career, to lose four times in a row. Being the second Gym Leader that gym challengers face, Nessa was another one of the main gyms that helped wash away so many trainers from the good ones. Because of this, it was rare for her to ever lose even two matches in a row.

But now the worst had happened to her, losing first to Pier's little sister, then to a smug-like body (that battle annoyed her), then to Hop, and then finally to Gloria. The announcer's words still echoed in her head despite the young adult trying not to think about them.

"I-It's over! Nessa has no pokemon left standing! So the challenger, Gloria of Postwick, wins!"

She shook her head to get these thoughts off.

"Unbelievable! Another devastating loss for Nessa! Her record is diminishing from a streak of defeats! Has our beloved Gym Leader lost her touch!?"

She instinctively crushed the paper cup between her hands with a growl.

"Damn it..." She let out another sigh and tossed the cup onto the floor in frustration.

She suddenly heard someone enter the room.

"Sorry about your match."

Nessa turned her head and was surprised to see Chairman Rose casually walked in with Oleana.

"I watched it at the last moment and saw what happened. It was really surprising, to see an evolution in the middle of a Dynamax form, and for an alternate colored pokemon at that." Rose continued.

Nessa tilted her head, "Chairman? What... are you doing here?"

Rose lifted up three different magazines that each had Nessa on the cover. "I saw these and thought to check up on you. It seems that your modeling career is going well." He innocently smiled.

"Um... Thank you." The model responded, unsure of what to make out from what he's saying.

Rose placed the magazines on the bench.

"But working as both a Gym Leader and a model... It must keep you rather busy, doesn't it?"

Nessa narrowed her eyes in a look of suspicion.

"To constantly move from fighting hundreds of trainers, to keeping composed and posing for hours. It can really frustrate a person."

"What are you getting at?" Nessa questioned before he could go on.

"Oh, hm... Well..." He glanced at the room's large television screen, which was now replaying highlights from many of Leon's battles.

"It's just that... I think you need to think about how high you should be aiming for."

Nessa's eye twitched, "But I-?"

"Right?" Rose leaned closer and smiled with his eyes closed.

Nessa glared at him, wishing to snap something back. The look on Rose's face, she hated it. His scrunched up eyes, his big smile, it stung her. But she found that her mouth had turned dry and unable to respond back to him.

Oleana sighed and stepped beside Rose.

"Nessa, the chairman doesn't wish to offend you in any way. This arrogant look he's giving you actually means he's worried."

"Eh? Arrogant look?" Rose asked as he pointed at himself, his face looking genuinely surprised to hear that.

"Yes, it makes you look wicked." Oleana immediately pointed out.

"Ouch..." Rose awkwardly laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Is that so? Then I do apologize for that Nessa, but as my lovely secretary has said, I'm actually worried about you. You're one of Galar's most popular Gym Leaders after all."

Nessa, still looking annoyed, finally able to speak. "But you're still basically telling me to quit one or the other... right?"

"Er, I didn't say that."

"But you implied it."

Nessa stood up from her seat, making Rose back up a bit as he saw her glare.

"I don't need you lecturing me, I can handle what I'm doing."

With that claim, she suddenly marched off with her hands tightly clenched into fists.

Oleana narrowed her eyes, "Hold on, you can't disrespect-!"

"Let her go." Rose insisted with a sigh. "I've overstepped my boundaries anyway..."

Oleana turned to him with a glare, "But no one should speak to you, the chairman, in such a disrespectful manner."

"It's alright. Just because I'm the chairman doesn't mean that no one should speak how they truly feel. Besides..." Rose started walking out of the room. "It may be better to leave her on her own."

He then chuckled.

"I'm sure things will work out sooner or later."

They followed through the door Nessa had exited and were in the lobby of the Hulbury Gym, watching the water type Gym Leader already leaving the building.

He then turned to Oleana.

"On another note... Is there any new information on Team Rocket's activities?"

Oleana saw Rose still smiling, but detected the change of tone in him and his eyes.

She flipped a few pages on her clipboard, "There were barely any sightings of them before the Gym Challenge started. But the day after the opening ceremony... their activities increased. Several people have already been victims of them, such as stolen pokemon, robbing items, and even kidnapping civilians. Champion Leon has already called in twice on two large groups of Team Rocket Grunts that he apprehended."

They walked out of the gym as Rose's curiosity peaked. "Oh? Did Leon catch them himself?"

Oleana shook her head, "No, Leon said on both occasions, they were caught by Victor of Postwick. And he also learned that they have changed their name to 'Rainbow Rocket,' but for reasons unknown."

"..." Rose raised an eyebrow. "That boy caught them...? Hm..."

He stopped walking and gazed out at the sight of innocent townspeople happily living on.

"It looks like we'll have to issue an official warning of this 'Rainbow Rocket' to the public. Write a reminder to do that tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir." Oleana quickly flipped to a different page of the clipboard and wrote it down.

"So... Victor of Postwick managed to catch them himself? He really must be quite the trainer..."

He rubbed his mustache.

"Hm... Is there more to him than the other two?"


~{Pokemon Center-7:13 PM}~

"Man, I really needed this..." Victor sighed in relief as he sank his body into the bathwater.

Within each Pokemon Center scattered throughout Galar, there were always baths in a few rooms underground exclusively for those taking the Gym Challenge, as the public knew that taking the challenge meant traveling through Galar. Even with the availability of the Flying Taxi service to take challengers wherever they desired, nearly all of them decided to travel by foot in order to help them and their pokemon get stronger. Therefore, pokemon centers installed these baths for them to use. Sadly, there wasn't enough space in the Pokemon Centers to also include any rooms for anyone to sleep for the night. Regardless, the challengers were always grateful to have a place to bathe anytime during their journey.

Midori happily swam around the large tub for small pokemon, while Ace and Twilight remained still at opposite corners of the same tub to let their friend swim around. Victor, on the other hand, sat in his own small tub for trainers.

"Boot, Raboot?" Ace called to Victor.

"Relax Ace, I've known Gloria since we were kids. Of course it's alright for us to leave our camp for her to watch, we did the same for her while she came here before us. Besides, my important things are in my backpack anyway. And it's just outside this room."

The steam from the baths slowly fogged up the bathroom they were in. There were no windows since the room itself was right underneath the pokemon center, so only a bit of ventilation helped keep the room from getting completely fogged up. The group spent several minutes just relaxing in the water, something they needed after all the trouble they went through during the day.

But at one point, a small alarm went off.

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

On the wall by the sliding glass door, there was an alarm that beeped to show that the group's time was up.

"Eh!? Already!?"

Twilight jumped out of the water and spread his wings, shaking off most of the water on him.

"Cor, Cor."

"Aw, man... I know we have a time limit so that others can come, but I wish it was just a little longer..." He pouted.

The boy stood up from the tub while also wrapping a towel around his lower half at blazing speeds, making nothing seen. Ace uncaringly pulled himself out of the tub and shook violently to get most of the water of him. Midori looked disappointed, but also moved out of the tub and shook his wet head.

Victor went to the still beeping alarm and pressed a button to stop it.

"Oh well, fun while it lasted."

He slid the fogged up glass door open as the bathwater in the tubs behind him automatically emptied out.

He stepped into the changing room and went to a cupboard, grabbing more towels for him and his pokemon. He first helped to dry off his own pokemon before then starting to dry himself.

"Raboot. Boot."

"Eh? Okay then. I'll be out in a few minutes."

His pokemon nodded and went to the door, with Midori using his telekinesis to first unlock it. Then he cracked the door open just so he and his fellow pokemon could slip out before shutting the door behind them and locking it.

"It was considerate of them to give me privacy, but does it really matter? I mean, we were all in the bath just a moment ago."

Victor finished drying his head and then dried his body, making sure not to have too much water on him when he would put his clothes on.

He placed all the towels he used, besides the one still wrapped around his lower half, into a basket meant for the dirty towels to go in.

"Now to get some clean clothes on."

He reached for his backpack sitting on a chair, but stopped as he noticed something.

"Wait... Did I leave it open?"

It then shook.

"Eh?"

Victor stared with a blank expression as he saw his backpack visibly twitch and shift in its spot. He was completely frozen as he just watched it constantly move, knowing that there was only one reason why it would move.

"There's something inside!?"

He carefully kneeled down and placed his ear against his backpack to listen in, hearing the sounds of nibbling and crunching.

"Oh god, it's a pokemon. It's gotta be... It must be eating the bag of berries I have inside... WAIT! IT'S GONNA SPREAD ALL OVER MY BAG THEN!"

Victor quickly lifted his head and raised the lid of his backpack all the way up, gazing inside to see what had crawled in.

"Charja!"

"GYAH!"

He suddenly jumped away as he hadn't expected something to poke its head out, the movement resulting in Victor's backpack tumbling onto the floor.

Victor blinked as he saw something slowly wiggle out of his backpack.

A small, cuboid pokemon with three square segments making up its body. He had four brown stubby legs, two blue screen-like eyes, two short yellow spikes under each eye, and a jagged mouth that opened and closed sideways.

"A... A Charjabug!?" Victor turned black and white in shock with a comedic strike of lightning coming out of nowhere.

"Char... Charja..." The battery pokemon didn't even seem to acknowledge Victor's existence as he crawled out, simply chomping on the remains of some berries happily.

Victor stared blankly as the Charajabug fully left his bag and moved on the floor, leaving trails of berry juice as he did. When he was out all the way, Victor rushed to his now pokemon-free backpack and dug through it, feeling his stomach drop as he saw the inside.

"My berries!" He reached in and pulled out a plastic bag of what used to be full of berries, instead just covered in berry juice. He dug more into the bag and felt devastated.

"My clothes!" He pulled out clothes covered in the same berry juice, the clothes that were supposed to be for him to wear out of the bath.

He glanced down at the Charjabug that let out a small burp, splattering some blue around.

Cross-veins of irritation popped on Victor's head.

"How did you even get in here!?" Victor quickly searched around the room before looking up at a vent that had been knocked open.

"The vent!?"

Charjabug let out a small yawn and snuggled on the floor.

"What have you done!?" Victor dropped his backpack and scooped the Charabug off the floor, staring face to face with the sleepy bug.

"Charja... Bug... burp!" The pokemon burped once again, but in front of Victor's face this time, leaving the boy with a few splotches of berry on him.

Victor had a comedic dead stare where his eyes lost the brown color in them, just staring at the now yawning Charjabug that didn't seem to mind being suddenly carried by a stranger.

"..."

The Charjabug made a few more tired grumbles, then actually lifting its sleepy eyelids and gazing at Victor.

"..."

"Bug?" It tilted its body with a question mark appearing over him.

"You're just noticing I'm here!?"

"..."

Charjabug closed his eyes.

"Zzzzzzzz..."

"HE FELL ASLEEP!?"


~{Outside-Five Minutes Later}~

"So... What happened?"

Gloria asked this question with a blank face as she saw Victor approach her looking like he was about to give a whole business presentation.

The boy's outfit contained a set of black business clothes with a white dress shirt underneath with the addition of his out of place brown running shoes. In the boy's arms was the Charjabug from the bathroom, the pokemon sleeping peacefully in his hands as he was carried to their small camp. Victor's pokemon walked beside him while staring at the dozing Charjabug rather confused as their trainer stopped in front of Gloria with a comedic dead gaze in his eyes.

"We were taking a bath... Then when I went to my clean clothes out of my backpack, I found this one eating all the berries inside... He spread berry juice on everything... What I'm wearing now was the only thing the pokemon center had besides nurse outfits..." He said in a lifeless voice.

"Yikes." Gloria's blank expression didn't change. "So... What are you going to do with him?"

"..."

Victor turned the sleeping Charkabug towards himself, staring at his peacefully sleeping face while his body made small accordion sounds.

He slowly reached a finger and poked the little guy on his face, the pokemon wiggling in Victor's hands while making adorable squeaks.

Victor's dead eyes suddenly regained color and sparkles started shining around him despite his blank stare.

"I wanna keep him."

Victor's pokemon, along with Gloria, all comedically fell to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL LEAD TO THAT!?" Gloria suddenly shouted.

The Charjabug's eyes shot open by the sudden scream, scaring him to suddenly conduct electricity all over his body.

"CHARJAAAAAAAA!"

Due to holding him, Victor was comedically electrocuted.

"GYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!" Victor's gray beanie blasted up and landed on Gloria, while the boy's hair shot up straight as he was shocked for several seconds, his pokemon backing up with widened eyes by the sight.

When the electricity died down, Victor was charred to a crisp with his eyes bulged as Charjabug started squirming in his hands.

"A-Are you alright!?" Gloria stuttered with a shiver, just picturing how much that should've hurt.

Victor's body twitched and he released Charjabug, the pokemon falling to the ground and landing on his back, making him struggle to wiggle back up.

"That... stung." Thee trainer coughed smoke.

Charjabug flipped back onto his stomach and frantically looked around.

"Char!? Bug, Bug!? Charjabug!?"

Victor shook his body and somehow removed most of the black char on him, then crouching down with a reassuring smile as if nothing happened despite his hair still being stiffed up.

"Heeeeeeeey little fella. How are you doing?"

Charjabug turned to Victor and his eyes formed hostile yellow pupils of the sort.

"Charja!" The two yellow stubby spikes on his face sparked electricity threateningly.

"Er, I don't think that's a good idea." Victor told him with an innocent smile.

Charjabug noticed what he meant and flinched as he saw the hostile glares of Victor's three pokemon, but was more afraid of the silhouette and red eyes of the girl beside the boy.

Gloria cracked her knuckles.

"Ch-Charr!" Charjabug jumped back into Victor's arms, surprising the boy as the pokemon wiggled in them with comedic tears. "Char! Bug! Charjabug! Char!"

"Really? You're asking me for help after you ate all my berries, dirtied the rest of my clothes, and then shocked me to a crisp." Victor asked with a blank stare.

Small accordion sounds came from Charjabug as his pleading eyes stared up at Victor.

"Char... Charjabug..." He whimpered.

Victor sighed, then gently patting the Charjabug on his head.

"Now, now, you're not gonna die... As long as you behave that is."

It was around this moment when Charjabug realized how Victor was answering back perfectly to what he was saying, making him look up with curious eyes.

"Bug?"

"Loud and clear." Victor answered. "But let me ask you something..."

A comedic scary oni mask seemed to form behind him as he stared at Chajabug with a close eyed-smile that didn't match the hostility around him.

"What made you think it was okay to dig through another person's stuff and eat everything they had?"

Chajabug flinched.

"B-B-Bug... Ch-Charja..." He stuttered.

Victor's menacing aura disappeared and he just let out another sigh.

"Figured as much... It's always about food with you guys, isn't it?"

Charjabug nodded frantically, his body making accordion sounds as he did so.

"But don't ya guys eat humus from the soil? Why didn't ya just bury yourself somewhere?" Gloria asked the pokemon, still glaring threateningly at him.

"Charja, Charjabug."

Victor sweatdropped. "He says that he got bored of humus all the time and went searching for different food... He climbed the pokemon center and wnt through the vent, leading him to the bathroom and snuffing out my berries..."

"How the bloody hell did a Charjabug climb that!?"

Victor then raised up Charjabug and stared directly into his eyes.

"You like food, right buddy?"

"Charja."

"Do you always want to have food?"

"Charja."

"Do you want to be my pokemon?"

"..." Charjabug formed a question mark over his head. "Charja?"

"Heh, I guess I should explain."

Victor turned to Gloria. "You can go to sleep for the night. I'm going to wash all my dirty clothes and explain to this little guy about our adventure."

"And explain my circumstances..." He also thought but didn't say.

"Eh? Are you sure? I can come help too, you know?" Gloria told him.

"No, no, you need your beauty sleep." Victor said as he picked up his backpack full of clothes and berry remains while holding Charjabug under one arm.

He turned to his pokemon "You guys start sleeping too. I'll be fine with this little guy."

Ace shrugged and went into Victor's tent with Twilight following him.

Midori on the other hand, had started sulking again when he saw Luna, reminding him that he wasn't on the same level as the others. Luna sat beside him looking rather unsure of what to do, just continuing to pet her friend on his head.

"You'll evolve soon Midori, don't worry about that." Victor tried to reassure him before proceeding to walk into town to find a way to wash his things.

Gloria watched Victor leave with the still nervous Charjabug under his arm.

"Well... Good night."


~{The Next Morning- 9:10AM}~

Gloria and Victor faced each other in front of the Hulbury pokemon center. Victor had on a clean pair of his usual clothes and his backpack had been cleaned after an agonizing night of scrubbing and precise chemical choosing to make sure his father's backpack wouldn't get ruined.

"So... You're gonna fight Nessa then?" Gloria asked.

"Yeah. You should head back to Motostoke and take on the fire gym. Hop should be near there training." Victor told her.

"Alright then..." Gloria looked disappointed, still wishing to stick to the boy.

Victor noticed this and reached over, removed Gloria's green bonnet, before then gently caressing her head.

"Good luck, have fun, be strong." He said with a happy smile.

Gloria lightly blushed and fidgeted from the warm feeling, even making small squeaks with each brush of his hand.

"Kawaii..." Victor thought with a smile full of bliss.

"Wh-What about that Charjabug you found?" Gloria said as she moved away from Victor's hand out of embarrassment.

"Oh? Him? Well..."

He turned his back to Gloria, showing the top of his newly cleaned backpack open with Charjabug sleeping away, a sleep bubble growing then shrinking.

"The moment I brought up providing food and sleep, he wanted to come with me." Victor chuckled.

"That easily!?" Gloria said, trying not to shout in disbelief.

"Well apparently, living in the wild is hard and tiring for him all by himself. Even if there's a lot of humus in the Wild Area, he said that pokemon seemed to have been getting more... aggressive than previously. So all he wants is a guaranteed comfortable place to sleep and with the meals to go with it."

"So... He wants to be a freeloader?" Gloria sweatdropped.

Victor awkwardly laughed, "Basically... But don't worry, I'm not gonna let him just loaf around, I'm gonna make sure he works with me to become stronger!"

"But he seems so lazy... Can he even fight?" Gloria sweatdropped.

"Okay... I'm sure you'll get him strong." She smiled.

"I hope so. He's an electric type, so first I'm gonna put him up against Nessa!"

"Eh?! So soon!?"

Victor nodded with a determined expression. "I'm gonna test out just how serious he's gonna be if he's sticking with me."

He turned to the street heading off to Hulbury Stadium.

"And that test is now."

Gloria gazed at the Hulbury Stadium in the distance, the gym that she had successfully passed just yesterday.

"Well..." She smiled and turned back to the boy. "Good luck Victor."

"You too Gloria." He smiled back.

With that, both teens went their separate ways, with Victor taking the street towards Hulbury Stadium and Gloria taking the path into the Galar Mines No.2.

Luna was poking out of Gloria's backpack and waved to Victor with a smile as she was carried off.

Victor waved back before proceeding to his destination in a confident march.

"Now then, Charjabu- Oh wait. I should give you a name, shouldn't I?"

Charjabug's sleep bubble comedically popped and he wiggled in Victor's backpack.

"Charja... Charja..."

Victor put a finger on his chin and stopped walking as he thought about a name.

"Let's see... Charjabug evolves into a Vikavolt, it's an electric type pokemon, hm... How about..."

He snapped his fingers with a bright expression.

"Tesla!"

The Battery pokemon just snuggled in his backpack, his sleep bubble forming once again as he slumbered away.

"You don't care what I call you, do you?" Victor sweatdropped as he heard his battery pokemon snoozing behind him.

He sighed, but then smiled.

"Well, Tesla it is then. I hope we can work together in the future."

The newly named Tesla made a sleepy nod.

"Now then..."

Victor adjusted his gray beanie before raising a clenched a fist up into the sky.

"Let's get that Water Badge with all we've got!"


~{About Five Minutes Later}~

"I'm terribly sorry, but Nessa isn't in right now."

"ACK!" Victor turned black and white.

"What do you mean she isn't in!? I was so worked up to face her!"

The male Pokemon League staff standing right in front of Hublury Stadium bowed apologetically.

"I'm sure you were, but Nessa has chosen to go on leave as of yesterday afternoon, therefore as of right now, the Hulbury Stadium is closed. I can't tell you how long she'll be gone, as it up to her when she decided to comes back."

"Huh!? How long is that usually?"

The staff member looked up and thought about it.

"Well... The last time she decided to take leave from her gym, it lasted for about a week."

"A week!?"

"I'm terribly sorry. We will, of course, notify and encourage her to return, but it is ultimately her decision when she comes back."

Victor sighed and fell to the ground rather depressingly. "Fine..."

He forced himself to walk away from the stadium and then plopped himself on the railing that kept people from falling into the water.

"Just my luck... Things always have to be more difficult for me, don't they?"

He placed his elbow on the railing and rested his head in his hand, staring off at the sight of Hulbury and it's coastal waters.

"Now what am I supposed to do? I didn't have a plan in case Nessa wasn't in her gym... I wonder where she is?"

He glanced at several people sailing on the ocean, glanced up at dozens of Wingull flying overhead searching for food, and saw several water-type pokemon swimming close to the pier.

He then turned his head and stared at the Hulbury Lighthouse off in the distance, looking somewhat intrigued by the tall structure.

"Well..."

He stood up straight and adjusted his backpack, letting out a deep breath.

"Might as well check it out."


~{Hulbury Lighthouse}~

"He's telling me to quit modeling, isn't he!?"

Nessa asked this question to Sonia over the phone. The water type Gym Leader leaned on the corner railings with her town's lighthouse standing tall behind her. There was easily detectable anger in her voice as she vented out to her friend on the other side of the line.

*Hmmm, is he? You sure you're not overthinking it?* Sonia asked, not sounding too worried.

"It was obvious what he meant! Who does he think he is!?"

*Heh, calm down Nessa. Aren't you getting a little too worked up on what he said?*

"But... He-!"

*Or do you think he actually had a point?*

Nessa suddenly turned silent, feeling her body tensing up as she put on a look of shock.

"No... I..."

Sonia sighed, *Look, I think that fight against Gloria just shook you up a bit. I think you just need to relax.*

Nessa flinched, "Y-You watched that!? I thought you'd be too busy!"

*Haha, I've got notifications set on for my phone to let me know when you're going to face someone. I promised Victor that I'd watch his battle against you, after all.*

Nessa's head fell on her arm as she felt the humiliation build up in her.

"Damn it... But it's not just that battle that's bothering me, I've lost a few other battles before them..."

*I know, I saw them. It was Hop, Marnie, and that one kid endorsed by the chairman, Bede was his name, right? You just got unlucky facing them all in a row.*

Nessa grumbled, "This sucks. What am I supposed to do now?"

*What do you mean? Just do what feels right to you. That's what I do!*

"Sure, maybe then I'll end up sleeping in a lab and forgetting to shower for three days straight..."

She heard Sonia slam her table.

*That was one time! I had so much work to do!*

"It only takes a few minutes to shower!"

*Huh!? Have you seen my hair!? Do you know how much I have to do to wash and then style it to keep this shape!?*

Nessa sighed and continued sulking, "Whatever..."

There was a brief moment of silence over the line before Sonia herself sighed.

*This is why I asked if you've been getting tired recently... I think you just need a break. Don't go pushing yourself Nessa, alright?*

"Yeah, yeah..." Nessa twirled some of her hair as she stared off at the ocean.

*Don't give me that attitude. Go somewhere and relax, avoid modeling or battling for a bit and do something that you enjoy. Hang out with someone other than me, you'll appreciate their company. When you call me again, I expect you to be as hoppity as a Scorbunny!*

"But modeling and pokemon battles are what I enjoy..." Nessa thought.

She thought back on what Rose had suggested for her, thinking about how 'high' she should be aiming for.

"Am I really going to have to give up one for the other?"

Nessa stopped hunching her back and answered her friend.

"Yeah, I'll do that... Thank's Sonia..."

*No problem bestie! Have a good time somewhere and then tell me all about it! I'll be waiting!*

The water type user hung up her phone first, putting it away and resting both arms on the railing as she stared blankly into the distance.

She didn't even notice when someone passed the Toxtricity statues by the lighthouse and pulled at the opposite corner of the railing. The person rested his arms and head on the rail too while staring off into the beautiful blue water, not even noticing the beautiful woman at the other corner of the railing.

Nessa sighed once again.

"This sucks..."

"You're telling me..." A voice sighed back.

"What?"

"What?"

Both the boy and young adult turned to each other, where Nessa instantly recognized the young boy to be Victor, the boy that her bestie had told her so much about.

Victor recognized Nessa just as fast, feeling entranced by her blue eyes, but also detecting some sort of frustration in them.

"..."

Neither expected the other to be there. As they had both been sulking for different reasons to both noticing anyone.

The sounds of chirping Wingull, the roars of the waves, and the accordion-like sounds of Tesla sleeping in Victor's backpack rang through the area as both humans stared at one another.

"You are..." Nessa muttered, examing Victor and his attire.

Victor shined brightly as he approached her with a bright smile, feeling his joy return to see her.

"Hi, Nessa!"


~{Author's Post-Notes}~

(Stands beside a crashed kart) Well then, turns out Mimikyu's can't drive too well... But what's this? It seems there appears to be some doubts in Rose of whether or not Galar will remain energy filled, hope he doesn't do anything crazy, right? And what's this!? A Charjabug!? (Squeals) I've always loved that little guy and his whole evolution line! But... this one seems a little lazy, doesn't he? Meh, still love him. Oho? And it appears our best boy has met up with the model and Gym Leader herself. What will happen next? Look forward to another chapter of "How does a boy accidentally charm every female he meets!?" (Slips on a Mario cap and mustache while putting on a yellow cape) Until next time! YA-HOO! (Flies off into the sky)