~{Author's Pre-Notes}~

(Mimikyu sitting alone in a bedroom in front of a computer screen.)

...

What? You thought I was playing something else? Heh, I wish... As of today, I'm heading back to improve my education... yay. Meh, but it's not like I'm gonna stop this fic or my other one, but it's clear that chapters are probably gonna take longer to finish, maybe not for this week or next week though since I don't think I'll get too much work. But hey, I don't know for sure. But either way, I'll still be home for the entirety of my classes, so besides doing my standard work, I'm sure I'll still have a good amount of free time to keep working or to playing things. But enough about that, let's go over what ya boy has gone through last chapter.

(Flips open notebook)

Oh yeah, he almost got dunked on by Piers and Gloria, heh. But then he managed to escape and head on to his battle against the big man Kabu. Quite a good battle, if I do say so myself. But now let's see the aftermath of said battle, and see how the rest of the challengers are going to do against the ever-burning Kabu. I personally can't wait until Victor gets into the second part of the Wild Area, which is going to be HUGE compared to the southern part he was just in. But that's for a later chapter, let's see how he's doing now?

(Clicks play button on computer)

Answered Comment (Oldest to most recent)

Perseus D. Uzumaki: I did mention it, but I am going to do both the Isle Of Armor and Crowned Tundra DLCs, and most likely any more DLC in the future.

Wolfy365: I mean, I wouldn't say Piers has a 'sister complex,' not the common way I know that people usually use that term. It's clear that out of everyone, he should know how precious his little sister is to this world and protect her at all costs.

IanAlphaAxel: Thank you.

Drayde: Ayyyy a man of culture, I see. Funny thing, I really thought this fic wouldn't need a harem necessary, but I just thought 'screw it' I want wholesome (and maybe even future lewd) moments with each of these AMAZING girls! Glad you appreciate the fic!

Lelouch Of Zero: Yeah, Ace is the freaking MAN. He knew what he had to do and did it. And I didn't think too much with Midori mimicking Victor's actions, but now that I think about it, he really is the most adorable of Victor's pokemon, and maybe even the most durable too. Kind of reminding me of the character he's based on... heh.

KingPlotBunny: Man, I love Bea with a passion, she's so cute and adorable while also being so cool and tough. And her problems are clearly going to be related to her views on training and strength. And who's the precious boy with unnatural strength and the abilities from training with a Greninja? Yeah, this'll be fun. I hope you look forward to it!

A Random Earthian: Well, we won't delve too much into everyone else's battles, but we will catch glimpses. And as for the little talk between Piers and Victor, let's see how that goes now, shall we?

lonelyboi69: Thank you for reading and enjoying the fic!

Jak: *Nods in approval*

Stripe the Hedgetiger: Sorry, but I don't think she'll be getting a Wimpod, I already got an idea of what I want to give her.

the willyrex: I appreciate you choosing to comment and would love to continue hearing from you again. Keep in mind that although Victor has pokemon DNA, the HUMAN part of him is keeping Dynamax energy from working on him like normal, which means that it must be used a different way than Pokemon are able to. But just how is he going to be able to use this energy, hoho? And adding a lot more villains definitely increases the stakes of things that are going on. And the harem, ah who doesn't love a harem, am I right? Heh. Well so far, no one really knows how MY harem fics will exactly end. Who knows what'll happen? It's fun to see people antsy about it, heh. But I hope to hear from you again in the future!


~{Motostoke Locker Room-8:56AM}~

"I'm alright... I-I'm alright..."

Victor was still in his white Gym uniform, forehead and hands on a locker as he took several deep breaths. Sweat was going down the side of his head as he kept his eyes closed, shaking in place.

"Cor? Cor?" Twilight was perched on one of the benches of the room, staring at his trainer with concern.

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine, Twilight. It's just... I don't really know myself, but I think it's gotta do with Dynamaxing..." Victor panted.

Twilight flapped his wings and perched himself on the open locker door next to his trainer. "Cor?"

"I-It's not like last time. Even after the battle ended, I still feel like I'm burning up... And it's not from Kabu..."

Victor weakly pushed himself off the locker and weakly looked up to Twilight with a strained smile.

"Heh... I-It's... getting worse." He turned his body and pressed his back against the locker, "I think... I may need to call mom... but..."

"...Cor?" Twilight's eyes narrowed.

Victor looked down, nervously shaking.

"Y-Yeah... She might freak out and make me come back... B-But I don't want to, not after making it this far..."

He sighed before raising his head to look straight up with his eyes closed. "I don't even think she can figure out what's wrong with me without any equipment... And she's never studied Dynamax energy, so I don't think she'd give a credible reason as to what's going on..."

He lowered his head and gazed down into his hand.

"It has something to do with my pokemon DNA... It must be reacting to Dynamax energy, but..."

Victor stood up straight, holding his still slightly burning right arm.

"Just what's it doing to me?"

*Knock! Knock! Knock!*

"Eh?" Victor stood up straight as he heard the locker room door, followed by silence. "Um... Who is it?"

As a response, he heard the door actually unlock, surprising him as he saw it open and watched Piers walk in looking bored, locking the door behind him as he made it in.

"P-Piers?" Victor blinked.

"Hey." The Gym Leader raised a hand as a greeting, only to see Victor hiding behind one of the locker doors while Twilight glared down from the same door.

Piers rolled his eyes, "Oi, I ain't here to bash your head..."

"So that WAS what you were gonna do!? That's mean!" Victor pointed at him from behind the locker door.

Piers sighed, "Yeah, Marnie cleared up the whole thing of what happened last night."

Victor came out from behind the locker with a pout. "Why were you even mad at me in the first place!?"

"Because my unconscious lil sis was carried to a room by a boy, all alone." Piers frowned.

Victor blinked a few times before realizing what he did wrong.

"Um... Whoops?"

Rather than get angrier, Piers' gloomy look returned. "Whatever, I just came here to get to know you a lil bit."

"Eh? Really!?" Victor's started comedically glowing with sparkling eyes.

Piers deadpanned as his eyes started to sizzle, "Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" He remarked sarcastically.

He then approached Victor, his arms slightly swaying as he walked.

"From what I heard from Marnie and Team Yell, you seem like an okay lad. And from watchin' you battle against Kabu, you're a pretty decent trainer. You got the quick thinking, and your pokemon got good reactions, but it seems to me that they ain't used to taking damage, so train em' better. And maybe try gettin' more moves for them?"

Victor was scribbling madly in a small notepad as he listened to Piers, nodding in interest.

"When'd hell he get that?" Piers sweatdropped.

"Thank you, Piers! I'll work hard on training my pokemon even more!" Victor looked up at him with sparkles.

"Sure..." Piers stared. "Hm, you seem like you'd be a good friend for Marnie."

"Hearing that from you makes me happy!" Victor stated with sparkles.

"But-"

Victor's sparkling stopped, the boy putting on a slightly worried look.

Piers walked up to be only a foot from the boy, looking down at him with narrowed eyes. "You've got some secrets... don't you?"

Victor stared at him with his eyes widened. "Eh?"

"You've got things you haven't told anyone, right?" Piers continued.

"Um... Everyone has some secrets, so... why wouldn't I?" Victor awkwardly chuckled.

"It's not just 'some' secrets..." Piers said as he sat down on the locker room bench, placing his hands on his lap. "I saw what happened when you Dynamaxed your pokemon. You tried hidin' it, but you were clearly strugglin' to hold in somethin'... You tensed up a lot, your eyes were shakey, and your teeth were tightly pressed. And... what was up with those pink eyes? That ain't normal, kid..."

Victor now had a completely serious expression staring down Piers as the Gym Leader glared at him.

"Marnie seems to be fond of you... But how can I trust that your secrets won't end up hurtin' her at one point?"

Victor looked down and narrowed his eyes.

"Because... I don't want anyone to learn my secrets. Otherwise, they might end up getting hurt..."

Piers tilted his head with an eyebrow raised. "What? So you're plannin' to keep big secrets about yourself for your entire life? And every day, my lil' sis is gonna risk getting hurt just bein' around you?"

"No!" Victor raised his head with fire in his eyes. "As long as she doesn't know them, then she'll be safe! Trust me! I'm gonna make sure everything works out! I'm going to take care of everything and sort out my life! And will make sure to protect Marnie, no matter what!"

"..." Piers stared at Victor's eyes for a good minute, examining the truth and determination in them while also wondering what he meant. "What the hell is going on with ya, kid?"

"Well... Victor looked down to his right arm, still feeling some stinging in it. "I... actually don't really know myself. Dynamaxing just kinda... hurts me."

"Ya can battle without it, just saying."

Victor chuckled, "Of course you'd say that. The third strongest trainer in Galar, and you don't even Dynamax your pokemon... It's actually what I like the most about you. To show everyone that you don't have to adapt to what everyone else is using in order to be strong."

"Hm, I appreciate it." Piers nodded.

"...Hey, Piers?"

"What is it?" The Gym Leader asked, looking bored yet again.

"Do you... wish that you guys had Dynamax energy again?"

Piers frowned, "What do you mean by that? To Dynamax my pokemon? Hell no."

"No, not that. Just... to have Dynamax energy for Spikemuth. To light it up like it used to be."

"..."

Piers was silent for a good minute, staring at the consideration in Victor's eyes.

"Did Marnie tell you about Spikemuth? Then ya decided to become friends with her?"

Victor shook his head, "No... When I met Marnie, I just knew that she was a good girl and wanted to be her friend. It was only until I met Rose in Hulbury and ran into Marnie yesterday that I learned about Spikemuth's past. I understood just how misunderstood everyone was of you and Team Yell."

"Hm..." Piers stood up from the bench. "If I'd have to say whether I'd prefer havin' Dynamax energy in town or not, I guess I would. It'd be nice to rock up the place even more. But don't go thinkin' of somethin' crazy to try and get it."

"Heh... I don't even know what I'd do to even get it." Victor chuckled. "I just know I really want everyone to see you guys shine again."

"..." Piers stared at Victor in silence for a few seconds. "I appreciate the thought, but I guess we're done here. I don't really care what's goin' on with you as long as it's nothin' illegal. I just wanna make sure you don't drag Marnie into whatever troubles you've gotten into." Piers told him.

"Don't worry, I'll do everything to keep her safe." Victor proudly declared with a determined fist.

"Hm, alright then... Maybe you could get along with her after all." Piers turned around and made his way to the door. "Treat her well, alright?"

"Of course." Victor nodded with a small smile.

As Piers grabbed the doorknob and unlocked it, he stopped.

"Oh yeah, one more thing..."

He turned his head, and Victor saw the pupils in the corner of his eyes flash menacingly red as they narrowed in on him.

"I know you did nothin' to her at the inn, but don't ever think about tryin' anythin' with her, alright?"

Victor flinched, "U-Understood..."

Pier's glare turned into a neutral expression.

"Then maybe you and I could get along too."

He then left the room, leaving behind a sighing Victor and frowning Corvisquire.


~{Motostoke Stadium Lobby-A Few Minutes Later}~

"Guys! It's so good to see you again!"

Victor was back in his usual attire and ran to his waiting friends in the lobby, with Hop being the first to greet him in a hug.

Hop patted his friend's back before they let go of each other with big grins.

"Your battle was amazing, Victor! I never would have guess Midori hid in the tails of Kabu's Ninetales!" Hop laughed.

"Heh, I love thinking outside the box!" Victor laughed.

He then turned to see his two female friends there, but found some people missing around them.

"Huh? Where's Piers and Team Yell?"

"P-Piers left... and Team Yell went with him." Marnie answered, her Morpeko standing next to her while nibbling on a berry.

"Oh, really? I was actually kind of hoping to get to know them more..." Victor sighed.

Marnie stepped closer to Victor, looking both apologetic and nervous. "U-Um, Piers didn't cause ya any trouble, did he? W-We couldn't go after him to the locker room..."

Victor just gave Marnie a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, he and I just talked for a bit to make sure that I'd treat you well. Heh, he even said that we could probably get along!"

"Th-That... makes me worried..." Marnie stammered, wondering what her brother was thinking.

Victor then turned his attention to Gloria.

The girl was nervously fidgeting with her hands behind her back, a pout on her face as she averted her eyes from Victor.

"Um... Hi." Victor smiled nervously, stepping up to her.

Gloria looked down, keeping her pout.

"Sorry..."

"Eh?" Victor blinked.

"I... might've overreacted a bit." Gloria mumbled.

"A bit?" Hop sweatdropped.

"SHOR-RYU-KEN!" Gloria uppercut jumped Hop, sending him spiraling in the air.

"GAK!" He spun several times before crashing face-first onto the ground, twitching.

"Y-You... already used... that one..." Hop groaned from the floor.

Marnie nervously shivered while blue from shock, wondering how much that hurt.

"Would ya shut it!? I'm tryna apologize here!" Gloria snapped at him.

Victor sighed as he just walked closer to Gloria while she was focused on Hop.

"Alright, let's just..."

He wrapped his left arm around Gloria's waist and pulled her close.

"HUH!? What are ya doing!?"

Gloria started to struggle in any way that didn't involve punching Victor, but the boy held her close as he removed her beanie with his other hand and tossed it on Hop's back. Then Victor made Gloria freeze entirely with a hand on her head.

"There we go... Good girl." Victor whispered as he gently brushed through her hair.

Gloria's entire face started burning red as she felt Victor's firm but gentle arm hugging her waist and felt how warm his hand was atop her head.

"Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha-?" She suddenly felt weak in her knees, causing her to start stumbling back against the boy.

"Uh-oh, one moment." Victor carefully walked the both of them back to one of the red couches of the Motostoke lobby, then sitting down with Gloria right on his lap. "There we go."

The girl fidgeted in silence for several seconds, unable to get any words out by how embarrassed she felt. But soon, with the power of head pats and how comfy she felt on Victor's lap, she slowly leaned back against him with her breathing coming out at a steady pace.

"There, you calm now?" Victor smiled as he continued moving his hand through her hair.

Gloria had her eyes closed and weakly nodded as her two arms hugged the one Victor was using to hold her.

And then...

*Snap!*

The girl's eyes shot open when she heard the sound of a camera, witnessing Hop with her beanie in one hand, and the boy's Rotom Phone in the other, a smug look on his face.

"Looks comfy." He said before another snap was heard from his phone.

"HOP!? I'LL BLOODY KILL YA!" Gloria burst in a dark aura and suddenly tried to lunge at him with as much ferocity as a wild animal, but Victor stopped patting her head and used both arms to keep her in place.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy there, Gloria! Hop wouldn't show that to anyone, right Hop!?" Victor tried to calm her as he felt her struggle more than ever to tear Hop apart.

"Heh, I wouldn't show anyone that wasn't here. But man, is this gonna be fun to bring up!" He chuckled, putting his phone away.

"HOP! Delete that right now or so help me, I'll smash ya phone right on ya head!" Gloria shouted, struggling to stand due to Victor somehow able to easily pull her back.

"Welp, I think I'll take on Kabu now! Be sure to watch me!" Hop laughed before he tossed Gloria's beanie beside the two, then taking off.

"YE GIT BACK 'ERE RICHT NOW YE SON O' A-!"

"Easy, Gloria, your accent is slipping." Victor stopped her as he covered her mouth with a free hand.

"Mmph! MMM!" The girl had a murderous gaze as Hop waved to them before making his way to the locker room.

Marnie had just been silent the entire time, watching the group with a blank expression and feeling a bit out of place. Her Morpeko tugged her leg, looking up at her with a big smile.

"Mor! Mor!"

"Hm? Ah, ya wanna hug?" She reached down and picked up her pokemon in her arms, then turning back to see Gloria practically sinking on Victor in relaxation as if he was the couch itself.

"I-I-Is it really that comfy?" She couldn't help but wonder with a light blush.

"Hey, Marnie! Come sit with us! We could watch Hop's battle from the lobby TV!" Victor smiled at her as he once again started petting Gloria's head.

"U-Um... okay." Marnie nervously walked over and planted herself in a spot beside Victor, glancing at how comfortably glowing Gloria seemed. "D-Do... Do you guys always do this?"

Victor chuckled, "Nope, but whenever I do, it always calms her down."

Gloria pouted, despite keeping her eyes closed to relax. "Shut up..."


~{Meanwhile-?}~

"Oh, what a pity... To think I'd be forced to fly to Galar by pokemon just because the authorities don't appreciate the good work I've done before... Hm, but perhaps this will help me increase my bond with Magnezone!?"

A tall man with blonde hair and a blue cowlick around his head was sitting on top of his Magnezone, a wide and circular pokemon almost like a flying saucer. Both were flying over the calm ocean waters underneath the bright morning sun. The man had yellow eyes with black glasses, wore a white lab coat with a black uniform underneath, and had black shoes. He held a tablet in his hand that he was gazing down into while lightly humming on his flight.

This man was Colress, a surprisingly cheerful and friendly scientist who only ever thinks about bringing out pokemon's full potential. And here he was, flying as quickly as his Magnezone could carry him across the ocean, aiming to get to Galar as soon as he could.

"Magnet Rise sure is useful, hoho! It's basically the same as having a flying pokemon with me." He grinned.

In his tablet, he read up on all the limited amount of data he had on his reason for coming to Galar.

"Subject V-49... Aka Victor. The 49th subject out of 50 children in laboratory one. He was the only experiment that was successful, but then stolen afterword immediately by his mother with the addition of the entire facility's computers being hacked and wiped clean so that Rainbow Rocket couldn't replicate the experiment's specific design."

There was a sudden jerk from Magnezone.

"Whoa!" Colress used a hand to grab hold of Magnezone's yellow antenna, and the other pressed his tablet tightly against himself to make sure it wouldn't fling off. "Phew..."

He looked down at his pokemon and chuckled, patting him as he felt the ride smoothen again.

"Did something happen, Magnezone?"

"Mag..." The Magnet Area pokemon apologized as its three eyes looked up at his trainer.

Colress laughed, "Oh how I wish I knew what you're saying! Perhaps I could ask subject V-49 to inform me of your opinion towards me?"

Magnezone looked ahead as he continued flying towards Galar, wondering about the boy his trainer talked about.

Colress looked back down to his tablet and started tapping a few things.

"Now then, just where are you?"

He looked at the media pointing out Victor's Gym Battle against Kabu in Motostoke, and also checked the information provided by Rainbow Rocket spies, learning that the boy hadn't moved to the Northern Wild Area yet.

"Then he must still be in Motostoke! Let's hurry, so we don't miss him!" Colress grinned.

Magnezone obliged and increased his speed, the water under him splitting as he soared over it.

"I wonder just how strong you and your pokemon are?" Colress chuckled excitedly, staring at an image of Victor after his victory against Kabu.

~{Motostoke Stadium-10:15AM}~

"Victor...?" Gloria mumbled as she looked down, not even bothering to look at the screen where Hop had just Dynamaxed his own Corvisquire, Sky.

"Yeah, Gloria?" Victor asked as his eyes sparkled to see Sky unleash a Max Airstream.

"Can... Can ya let me go now?"

"Are you gonna try to kill Hop when he comes back?"

Gloria pouted, "No..."

Victor used both hands to grab Gloria by the waist.

"Eep!" The girl turned completely red as Victor was somehow able to easily stand up and lift her up like a baby, then setting her down on the right of him.

Marnie stared from Victor's left with widened eyes at how easily he picked up the girl.

"Whoa... Could he pick me that easily?"

Marnie blinked.

"Wait."

She suddenly poofed into a red color with steam coming off her.

"What was I just thinking!?"

Now seated beside him, Gloria turned to Victor while the boy focused on Hop's battle against Kabu.

"Oi."

Victor turned to her with an eyebrow raised, "What's wrong now?"

The girl narrowed her eyes at him.

"When did ya get so close to Nessa?"

Victor paused for a moment, blinking at her question.

"Where'd this come from?"

"I was planning to bring it up, but then that whole matter with Marnie and the inn happened... So out with it! When'd ya two become close friends!?"

Victor just formed a big smile.

"Just yesterday, actually! I couldn't fight her gym because you, Hop, and a few others beat her, making up five losses in a row for her. Then she..." His grin faded a bit. " She became depressed about it."

"Eh?" Gloria was surprised to hear that.

"I ran into her while she was feeling sorry for herself and ended up going with her to one of her photoshoots at the Lake Of Outrage."

"You went to the Lake Of Outrage!?" Gloria raised her voice.

"H-How was it? I wanted to go there too..." Marnie spoke up with interest.

Victor turned to the Spikemuth girl with a large smile and stars in his eyes. "It was amazing! The water was so beautiful, and there were so many friendly pokemon! The camera crew took so many shots of Nessa and I with them, I wonder when they'll publish them!?"

"And... you and Nessa suddenly became... 'friends' there?" Gloria stared at him with a look of suspicion.

Victor turned back to her with another bright smile.

"Yeah! She was in a bind, thinking that she'd have to give up being a Gym Leader or a model even though she loved doing both. But I managed to have her realize that she can do both! Heh, heh."

He happily swayed his head side to side. "And now we're friends!"

"Close friends if you guys hugged each other like at the end of your battle..." Gloria muttered with a pout.

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothin'!"

"Centiskorch is unable to battle! And that's it! As expected from the champion's little brother! The victor is Hop!"

The three trainers glanced at the lobby's television and saw Hop's Corvisquire shrink back to normal size near Kabu's now unconscious Centiskorch.

"Ooo! Hop did it!" Victor cheered with his hands up. "That's my boy!"

"What are you, his mum?" Gloria sweatdropped.

"He's pretty strong..." Marnie commented in a low tone.

"He must've trained a lot against Onix! Haha!" Victor laughed.

"Ah! That's right! Why the bloody hell did ya sent Hop to get himself killed by that Onix!" Gloria shot up from her seat and turned to Victor.

"Eh? But I didn't send him to get killed, just to train so he'd get stronger... Speaking of which, aren't you gonna go fight Kabu next, Gloria?" Victor grinned.

"..." Gloria narrowed her eyes for a moment before turning around. "Alright, I'll go fight him, but you'd better watch me!"

"Of course I'll watch you!" Victor immediately answered.

Gloria lightly flinched and blushed, then making her way to the front desk.

That left Marnie and Victor alone, with the boy turning to the girl with an awkward chuckle.

"Sorry about suddenly leaving you alone at the inn to explain everything for me... But I knew that neither Gloria nor Piers would do anything to hurt you. I don't think that would've been the case for me, though."

Marnie shyly turned to him as she fed her Morpeko a cookie.

"N-No... I should be apologizing for Team Yell and Piers... They always overreact when it comes to me..."

"I mean, I could understand why, though. If anything ever happened to you, then it'd give off as much panic as the end of the world!" He joked.

Marnie looked down with a blush. "D-Don't exaggerate like that..."

"No, seriously, if anything happened to you, someone's gonna die." Victor deadpanned in dead seriousness.

Morpeko had a blank expression.

"Mor..." (Simp)

Victor gazed down at her with a similar blank look.

"P-Please don't kill anyone..." Marnie nervously shivered at the thought.

"Hey, guys!"

Marnie and Victor turned their heads to see Hop already changed back into his usual attire, running from the male's locker room.

"Did you see me!? Did you!? Wasn't I amazing!?" Hop gleamed as he approached the two.

"Sure did! You were great at not failing!"

"Don't praise me like that!" Hop abruptly shouted.

Victor started laughing at his friend's reaction as Marnie stared up at the television screen.

"So... Gloria's next?" She muttered.

"Oh! She already went to take on Kabu too?" Hop asked as he turned to the screen.

"Yeah, but I think there's someone before her. We might have to wait a little bit." Victor said.

Hop jumped and landed on the right of the couch, his impact causing Marnie and Victor to both bounce up in their spots.

"Heh! Can't wait to see how Gloria's team is coming along! I haven't seen them in a while." Hop grinned.

"Knowing her, she probably caught every single cute pokemon she could find. I just hope she could give time for all of them." Victor chuckled. "Oh! That reminds me!"

He reached into his backpack on the floor and released all his pokemon, although leaving Tesla in the bag. Twilight flapped his wings and perched himself on the back of the couch, Ace uncaringly started walking around, and Midori curiously stared up at Victor.

"Let's see how Luna's gonna do." Victor smiled down at him.

Midori turned his head and glanced up at the screen, then smiling as he jumped and sat down on one of the couch's armrests to watch.

As they waited, the doors of the stadium then opened, and Victor heard a familiar voice.

"*Yawn...* Damn it... To think I would oversleep..."

Victor turned his head, and his eyes widened to see familiar platinum hair.

He shot up from his seat and waved with a big smile.

"Hi, Bede!"

The boy froze right in the middle of the lobby, his entire body tensing up to hear that voice.

"Oh no..." Bede's head twitched as he slowly turned right, catching sight of the one person he didn't want to see. "Damn it! I thought I lost you!"

He immediately started to bolt for the registration desk to sign up and escape to the locker room, but he didn't even make it two steps before Victor appeared right in front of him with a bright smile.

"Good to see you made it here safely!"

"What the-!?" Bede stopped in place with a look of shock, wondering how'd Victor get right in front of him so fast.

Even Hop and Marnie blinked in surprise as they swore that Victor was right next to them before seeing him right in front of Bede.

Bede backed up with a glare. "Will you ever leave me alone!?"

"Oh, come on, Bede! Being alone isn't fun! Let me introduce you to my other friends!" Victor grabbed Bede by the hand and started guiding him to Hop and Gloria.

"Wha-!? Release me, you scoundrel!" Bede tried pulling his hand back with all his might, even trying to skid his shoes on the ground to halt, but Victor wasn't even phased and continued pulling him.

"What is this guy made of!?" Bede thought as he frantically pulled.

"Guys! Say hi to Bede!" Victor smiled as he brought the boy to his two friends.

Hop and Marnie were standing up and couldn't help but look suspiciously at Bede.

Despite this, Hop shrugged and put on a big smile. "Hey, Bede! I'm Hop! Lee's little bro!"

"I-I'm... Marnie..." Spikemuth's goddess muttered nervously, recalling how rude the boy Victor brought over was.

Bede actually stopped struggling and raised an eyebrow when he heard Marnie, as how she sounded was... 'unexpected' from what he had assumed about her. But he quickly shook his head and put on another glare.

"I don't care who you are! I don't intend to be friends with a brute from Spikemuth or a disgrace of a champion's little brother!"

Cross-veins formed in Hop's head while Marnie flinched with a hurt look.

"Oi! Play nice!" Victor karate chopped the back of Bede's head with a pout.

"Ow! What the hell!?" He growled as he clutched his head and turned to Victor. "Did you just lay your hands on me!?"

"Wow... He's a rude one." Hop deadpanned as he stared at Bede.

Marnie's Morpeko started sparking electricity from her cheeks as she turned dark into her Hangry mode. "Mor! Mor!"

"Hold on!" Victor got between everyone, just in case. "Bede! Marnie isn't a brute! She's the sweetest girl you'll ever know! And Hop being Leon's little brother shouldn't mean anything!"

"Sure." Bede scoffed with a roll of his eyes, then finally pulling his hand from Victor. "Don't try to involve me in your toxic circle... Let me take my challenge and stop bothering me already..."

Ace was peaking at the group while narrowing his eyes, almost tempted to kick something. Twilight glared at the boy from his spot on the couch, and Midori was actually sad as he stared at Bede from the armrest.

Bede quickly marched away to take on Kabu, leaving a frowning Hop, sad Marnie, and disappointed Victor behind.

"Jeez, what a jerk..." Hop muttered.

Marnie just looked down with her tufts of hair lowering too, in depression.

"I get the feeling... he doesn't like me..."

Victor sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "To be fair, I don't think he likes anyone but Rose..."

The mood seemed to turn a bit sour after Bede, but luckily, there was something to help them get excited again.

"Oo! Look! Gloria's already up!" Hop brightened.

The group, and even Bede from the registry, glanced up at the lobby television to see Gloria in her Gym Challenger Uniform, actually jogging side by side with Kabu as well.

The trio took back their seats and stared up at the screen. Even Victor's pokemon all curiously glanced up to watch her battle, besides Tesla, who was still sleeping.

Victor smiled confidently as he watched the girl and Kabu stop in the center of the arena.

"She'll do great!"


~{Wyndon Stadium-10:30AM}~

"And here we are, folks! Another day for another glorious battle to be seen! I'm sure all of you here today are excited to see this!"

Wyndon Stadium, also called the 'Champion's Stadium' by the public, was always filled to the brim with people whenever a battle occurred. Why, you may ask? Because nearly every single battle that occurred in this stadium would always be held with the champion of the world, Leon.

Today was no different, as thousands of people cheered in the stands as they saw their proud champion standing on the pure green grass field with a big grin reflecting the bright light of the sun.

Across from him was his challenger, Galar's fighting prodigy, and the proud warrior determined to take this victory and finally end Leon's perfect streak. Bea had the usual stoic gaze on her face, but the sunlight reflecting off her eyes made it seem like flames were coming from them.

"Hey, Bea! How've you been?" Leon grinned with a wave. He thought about Rose's words to be more casual and social around the girl to see if they could along, hoping he could break her out of her shell.

"I've been well, Leon. I've been training all the way up to this day to face you again." The Fighting master answered with a polite boy.

"Heh, really? You trained that much for me? I'm flattered." Leon laughed.

"Of course! I'm determined to prove to everyone that I'm the strongest in Galar, starting by ending your perfect streak!"

"Oh Bea, you know I don't lose!" Leon chuckled.

Bea did a high kick before stomping her foot and crouching on the ground into a fighting position, raising her arms so one fist was pointed forward while the other was pulled close to her chest.

"You will today!"

Leon grinned as he pulled out his Pokeball.

"That's the spirit! Show me that fighting passion!"

Bea's eyes had determination as she pulled out her own Pokeball.

"I won't lose... Not after everything I've trained for..."

"Let the exhibition match begin!"


~{Motostoke Stadium Battle}~

"Bolt! Charge in with Spark!"

"Yamp! Yamp!" The little Yamper was surrounded by electricity as he scurried towards Arcanine, who was currently charging right at him using Flame Wheel.

Both collided together in a giant explosion, to which Bolt was then one sent flying back.

"Yamp!" He landed on the ground and rolled with some bruises on him.

"Bolt! Are ya okay!?" Gloria shouted.

Across from them, Arcanine stepped out of the smoke, wincing a bit while shaking his head.

"Can ya get up, Bolt!?" Gloria shouted.

As a response, Bolt growled as he slowly pushed himself up from the ground, shaking. Suddenly, his body started to glow entirely blue and change in shape, making everyone's eyes widen.

"Well, would you look at that!? Once again, Challenger Gloria's pokemon is evolving right in the middle of a battle! What a sight!" The commentator announced.

Sure enough, Bolt's body grew, his legs stretched, his snout extended, and he became much taller. In a few seconds, the bright blue lights vanished to reveal a Boltund, a white and yellow dog pokemon, standing tall and proud.

"Atta boy!" Gloria shouted with a fist up in the air.

Kabu laughed across from her, "I can feel the flaming determination from your pokemon through your evolution! But it won't help you! Arcanine, Will-O-Wisp!"

"Ar!" Arcanine spit out a small, sinister blue flame towards Bolt.

"Run and jump right at him!" Gloria shouted.

"Bolt!" The newly evolved Boltund ran forward and jumped to avoid the quick ball of flames, making his way to Arcanine.

"Bite him, Arcanine!" Kabu shouted.

"Ar!" Arcanine dove forward with his jaw open.

"Charge right into his mouth with Spark!" Gloria countered.

Bolt barked before leaping right at Arcanine's head, his body covered in electricity. Bolt slammed quickly into his opponent's face with his much faster speed before Arcanine could clamp his jaws in him, electrifying the pokemon's whole body.

Arcanine let out a howl before falling back with a slam, with Bolt landing right on him.

"And Kabu's second pokemon is down! This seems to be going well in the challenger's favor!"

"Thanks, Bolt! I'm proud of ya!" Gloria shouted with a jump.

"Bolt! Bolt!" Her Boltund barked, his tongue hanging out happily.

"Well then, I guess your pokemon's newfound power did help." Kabu chuckled as he returned Arcanine.

"Bolt, return!" Gloria pulled out her pokemon and returned Bolt, who nodded happily as he was absorbed back.

"Oh? Switching now?" Kabu questioned curiously.

"Yup! I know what's ya last pokemon!" Gloria brought out another Pokeball, then tossing it. "Come on, Luna!"

Her Pokeball clicked open to reveal the sparkling blue pokemon.

"Kirlia!"


~{Motostoke Lobby}~

"Eh? Her Kirlia? I thought she'd bring out Bubbles right now?" Victor said as he stared at Gloria Dynamaxing her pokemon.

"Maybe her Kirlia wanted to show off?" Hop smiled as he and Midori kept their eyes stuck to the screen.

"Hm, well even if Luna goes down, I'm sure Bubbles could come in and clean things up." Victor muttered as he watched Kabu Gigantamax his Centiskorch.

"Her Kirlia is so pretty..." Marnie muttered in awe at the blue and orange colors.

The group's eyes remained glued to the screen as Kirlia Max Guarded against Centiskorch's Max Flutterby. Then Luna sent a Max Mindstorm to-

"Hold up, did she just one-shot Kabu's Centiskorch?" Victor deadpanned, watching Kabu's pokemon fall to the ground and shrink.

"Hey, didn't you do it too?" Hop nudged him.

"But Twilight's Max Airstream was Super-Effective, Luna's Max Mindstorm only does normal damage... Man, must she have a lot of Special Attack..."

"And the winner is challenger Gloria! What a tremendous feat of strength from her Kirlia!"

The Dynamax Kirlia turned to one of the cameras and smiled happily, then shrinking back to normal.

Midori smiled back, impressed by her power.

"So now we've all beaten Kabu's challenge!" Hop jumped with a cheer.

"Not quite, there's still another." Victor smiled.

"Eh? Who?"

"Bede."

Hop turned to him in disbelief, "What the-!? That guy!? You're gonna watch his battle!?"

"I mean, he's a challenger like us, so he's also a rival! I wanna see him fight!" Victor grinned.

"Well... I'm kinda curious too..." Marnie muttered, then actually frowning a bit. "I wanna beat him."

Hop shrugged, "Hm, guess that makes sense. He should be next since no one else came in after Gloria."

Sure enough, a few minutes after Gloria left the field, the screen showed text that the next challenger would be Bede.

"I've battled Bede twice. He's pretty good." Victor smiled.

"Really? Someone that full of himself is actually a good trainer?" Hop asked with an eyebrow raised. "Did you beat him?"

"Yup! Both times, actually! He's not bad, but he needs to work on treating his pokemon better. That's what I think, at least." Victor thought as he recalled Bede and how uncomfortable his Hatenna seemed around him. "But, at least he has some of the skills to back up being a little arrogant." He chuckled.

"D-Does... he have any cute pokemon?" Marnie actually asked embarrassingly.

Victor laughed, "He sure does! He prefers Psychic-types, actually!"

"Victor!"

The mentioned boy turned his head and stood up to see Gloria running towards him as happy as can be, with Luna running cheerfully beside her.

"Did ya see me!? Did ya!?" She stopped in front of Victor and started bouncing in place.

"I sure did! You were amazing!" Victor said with a big smile.

"Hehe~" Gloria had her hands on her cheeks with a light blush as she looked down with a big smile.

Luna immediately approached Midori as he stepped down from the couch to meet her, thee female Kirlia jumping up and down excitedly from her recent victory.

"Kirl." Midori congratulated her.

"Kirl! Kirl!" Luna said happily with a bright aura around her.

Midori suddenly flinched and took a step back with a light blush. "K-Kirl?"

Luna repeatedly nodded up and down while patting her hands together in excitement, even turning a little red.

Hop heard them talking to each other while Victor and Gloria talked, the boy curiously peaking at them.

He watched as Midori awkwardly stepped closer to a patiently waiting Luna, who was anxiously rubbed her hands together while looking down with a small smile. Then Midori nervously reached one of his hands forward and...

Started patting her head.

Hop stared with a blank gaze as he watched Midori nervously rub Luna's head while Luna visibly shivered in delight.

*Snap!*

Hop turned left and saw Marnie with her phone aimed at the two Fairy-types, a tiny trail of blood coming from her nose as she maintained a face of bliss.

"S-So cute!" The girl squealed to herself.

Hop had flowers around him as he stared at his friends and how they were all acting.

"I love this group."

"Eh!? THAT guy!?" Gloria suddenly shouted.

Hop sighed.

"Oh great... Way to ruin the moment..."

He and Marnie turned to Gloria and Victor. "What happened?"

"All I did was tell her about Bede. He's up to battle Kabu any moment, after all." Victor answered him.

Gloria looked irritated with cross-veins on the side of her head. "I don't like that guy... Not one bit..."

"But you haven't even talked to him!" Victor told her.

"But I know he's an arse!" Gloria snapped as she punched her hand into her palm. "I've seen how smug he can be in battle! Every time I see him, I wanna bash his face in!"

"I don't think that's healthy..." Victor sweatdropped. "I'm actually trying to be his friend..."

Hop, Gloria, Marnie, and even the pokemon stared at him with blank gazes.

"What?" Victor sweatdropped.

"Friends, with him!? Victor, come on! I know ya nice and all, but ain't that tryin' too hard!? I mean... Look at him!" Gloria pointed both of her hands at the screen to reveal Bede walking into the arena, smug as ever.

"He's a pretty mean and self-centered bloke..." Hop sighed.

"And doesn't get along with anyone..." Marnie finished.

Victor's pokemon all nodded, recalling their previous encounters with the boy.

Victor opened his mouth to say something but then closed it, know that he couldn't exactly deny anything they had said.

"Okay..." He sighed. "Look... He may seem... 'problematic,' but he's not really a bad guy. He even took the Gym Challenge just to make Chairman Rose proud."

"Ya mean ta suck up ta him..." Gloria grumbled.

Victor shushed her with a finger up, "No! Not for that! He just wants to help Rose to... repay him."

The trio in front of him curiously tilted their heads.

"Let the Gym Battle begin!"

"Oh! They're starting!" Victor turned to the screen in excitement, watching Bede throw a Great Ball.

"Bede's first pokemon is a Duosion! It seems it evolved while our challenger was traveling!"

Victor blinked as he registered that Bede's previous Solosis was now a Duosion, a larger and chubbier version of its previous self. "Huh!? But didn't I just fight him yesterday!?"

The group watched in interest as Bede kept a level head and smiled throughout his battle, not letting himself lose focus or freak out even if his pokemon got hurt.

"He's... actually pretty good?" Hop blinked as he watched Duosion's many orbs from Psyshock all connected to Kabu's Ninetales.

They remained standing while staring at the screen, with Bede already knocking out Kabu's first pokemon without too much trouble.

"He's strong..." Marnie muttered, although she didn't like to admit it.

Bede returned his Duosion as Kabu returned his Ninetales, both trainers sending out their second pokemon.

"His Gothita evolved into a Gothorita too?" Victor blinked as he saw another previous Psychic-type pokemon now changed in appearance. She was taller and looked like she had buns of hair now, looking more mature than her previous form.

The group watched as Bede's new Gothorita maintained its distance from Arcanine using ranged attacks such as Psybeam or Rock Tomb.

"He's got the strategy down." Hop muttered.

The battle of keep away went on for a few more minutes until Gothorita managed to take Arcanine down with a Psybeam after lowering his speed so many times with Rock Tomb.

Then once again, Bede switched out his pokemon while Kabu returned his unconscious Arcanine back.

"He sure switches out a lot..." Gloria grumbled as she saw Bede pull out another Great Ball.

Victor saw how much Bede was grinning and couldn't help but smile a bit.

"He actually really enjoys pokemon battles, doesn't he?"

Bede tossed his last Great Ball, and it was revealed to be...

"C-Cute!" Marnie and Gloria both stammered as they stared at the new pokemon with shining eyes.

"Oh! A Hattrem!" Hop smiled excitedly.

Victor's eyes widened as he even saw Bede's Hatenna now as a Hattrem, a small pink pokemon with large blue hair resembling a large hat on her head with two large pony-tail tufts of hair she was using to stand on.

Bede was grinning as he put a hand over his face dramatically, while Hattrem glanced back and smiled at her trainer.

That got Victor to recall the time Bede's Hattrem was a Hatenna and had been uncomfortably glancing back at Bede during their battle against him, also reminded of what he had told the boy afterward.

"Bede, just... Think of your pokemon more."

Victor smiled proudly.

"So... he actually ended up listening?"

Bede Dynamaxed his Hattrem as Kabu Gigantamaxed his Centiskorch, but...

We all know how that ends.


~{Motostoke Lobby- A Few Minutes Later}~

Bede walked out of the locker room with hands on his hips and eyes closed, looking as smug as ever.

"Hmph, a perfect battle. Not a single one of my pokemon were knocked out, as expected from me."

"Hey, Bede!"

Bede flinched as the veins on his head started popping out.

He opened his eyes to see Victor waving both hands at him with his other friends staring at him from behind.

He turned his head to ignore them, but somehow, Victor appeared right in front of him at startling speeds once more.

"What the-!?" He stumbled back, but Victor grabbed both of his hands while smiling up at him.

"You were great! And all three of your pokemon actually evolved!? That's amazing! Did you actually listen to me and treat them better, after all!?"

Bede's eye twitched as he had on a face of disgust at Victor, "I-I- That had nothing to do with you!"

"Sure, sure!" Victor laughed as he playfully patted Bede on the back.

Victor was suddenly grabbed by the collar and pulled close, making his eyes widen to see Bede's face of pure anger in front of his while having a fist cocked back.

"This is the last time I'll warn you, challenger! If you don't stop messing with me, then I'll make sure you don't!"

Victor raised his hands in surrender while his entire demeanor turned completely calm and serious.

"Easy, Bede. You don't want to do this even if I do talk to you again. Rose actually seems to like me, and we know he cares for you, so how do you think he'll react to hear that you punched me?"

Bede's pupils narrowed in anger. "Are you threatening me that you'll tell him!?"

"No, of course not! But... I don't think she'll be quiet about it. In fact, she might even make sure you never talk to Rose again..." Victor awkwardly sweatdropped as one of his fingers pointed behind Bede.

Bede blinked in confusion before finally feeling a chilling aura behind him.

"EEP!" He flinched before his head slowly turned in a robotic matter to the gaze behind him, the corner of his eyes picking up a black silhouette with red eyes and blazing in a fiery aura.

He let go of Victor and instinctively hid behind him at the sight of the Scottish girl threatening to beat him to a pulp.

"What do ya think ya're doing?" Gloria's voice was menacing, and her eyes flashed comedically red while she cracked her knuckles together.

"Easy, Gloria. Easy." Victor told her as he made sure to keep himself between Bede and the girl.

Hop and Marnie approached them, keeping quiet to see how everything would play out.

"Victor, I'ma need ya ta step aside." Gloria growled.

"Sorry, Gloria, but I really don't want you hitting him."

"He just threatened to punch ya!" Gloria shouted.

"Um... that's just who he is?" Victor shrugged with an awkward smile.

Bede calmed down from the scary feeling of death he had encountered, now backing away from the two with a scowl.

"What a violent gorilla..."

Cross-veins popped up all over Gloria as her aura burst up into pure flames.

She leaped right towards Bede with a violet cry, but Victor caught her in his arms and chest to hold her back.

"Hold on, Gloria! We don't need anyone dying today!"

Gloria reached her arms forward with her hands, flailing towards Bede while Victor hugged her with his feet planted.

"YA FOOKIN' PIECE O' SHITE! WHIN AH GIT MAH HAUNS OAN YA I'M GONNA RIP AFF YA PATHETIC BOABY 'N' MAK' YA SLOCH IT!"

Marnie, Hop, and the pokemon around them were all comedically black and white with deadpanned expressions.

Victor blinked with a blank gaze as he processed her speech, "Excuse me... what?"

Bede was backing up with his eyes widened all the way by the sudden violent outburst by Gloria. He could feel her aura intending to snap him in two, and he was not gonna figure out if she could actually do it.

"A-All of you stay away from me!" He turned around and bolted for the exit, leaving everyone.

"GIT BACK 'ERE YE SON O' A BOOT SAE AH KIN RIP YER SPINE RICHT OOT YER GEGGY!"

"What is she even saying!?" Victor wondered as he continued pulling her back with his enhanced strength, the only thing keeping Gloria from killing the boy.

"My, what a lively bunch!" Someone laughed.

Everyone turned to see Kabu now in the lobby with him, managing to at least calm some of Gloria's anger with her surprise to see him.

"Kabu? Shouldn't you be fighting more challengers?" Hop raised an eyebrow.

The flaming male approached him, holding his towel around his neck. "On the contrary, there aren't any more challengers left to battle!"

Victor, still with his arms around Gloria's waist to hold her, glanced at the receptionist's table to see no more people.

"Well... It's still pretty early. I'm sure more challengers will come later."

"Besides! Even if there were more challengers, they'd have to wait! Right now, I'm here to see all of you off!" Kabu continued with a happy smile.

"Eh? See us off?" Marnie repeated with a confused expression.

"Oh! You're here too? Good to see ya again, lassie." Kabu nodded. "There are many trainers who never manage to gather three badges, and they just give up on the Gym Challenge altogether. So I make it a point to see off any of the trainers who were able to defeat me!"

"O-Oh yeah... You did personally walk me out of your gym..." Marnie remembered after she had beaten Kabu.

At this point, Gloria had stopped paying attention to Kabu, and her anger had fallen when noticing how close and tight Victor's embrace around her was. Her face was red and was looking down at the boy's surprisingly toned arms.

"Wh-When did he ever get those!?"

Victor felt her shaking and turned to see her no longer lashing out.

"Um... Gloria? You good now?"

The girl nodded bashfully. "Y-Y-Yeah..."

Victor carefully let her go, and the girl stepped away from him while fiddling her fingers together.

"Ah, to be young." Kabu brightly shined as he stared at the two. "Well, are you all planning to head towards Hammerlocke Stadium immediately?"

Now that had everyone thinking.

"Actually... should we?" Victor muttered aloud.

"We would already be heading through the Northern Wild Area, and that'd give me a great chance to start filling out more of my team!" Hop excitedly exclaimed.

"I-I actually wanted to check out some of the stores here..." Marnie timidly spoke.

Gloria was still looking down, nervously shaking, while faintly recalling the feeling of Victor's arms around her.

Victor smiled as he snapped his fingers, "Actually, I don't think we should go yet! We're all finally back together after taking on Kabu's gym, and I have no doubt we won't see each other for a while because I'll want to head off to the Wild Area on my own. So... Let's spend some time together!"

Hearing that, Gloria immediately snapped out of her embarrassing thoughts and turned to Victor as happy as possible.

"Really!?"

Hearing that made Kabu start thinking with a hand on his chin. "Well, there are actually many things to do in Motostoke. It is one of the largest cities in Galar, so you should all be able to find something that suits you all."

"He's right about that, even I sometimes come here to enjoy myself." Someone else spoke.

Victor realized that none of them said that, so he glanced back with widened eyes to see who came through the gym's doors.

"Milo!? Nessa!?"

Sure enough, Turffield's farmer and Hulbury's supermodel had both walked into the lobby with big smiles.

"It's good to see you again, Vict-whoa!" Nessa was caught off guard as Victor appeared right in front of her, embracing her in a hug while laughing.

"I honestly thought I'd see you like in weeks or something! Not the very next day!" He looked up at her with a close-eyed smile.

Nessa paused as she saw the pure smile he had, then smiling back as she reached down and petted his head over his beanie. "Heh, I actually forgot to mention that we'd see each other again after you beat Kabu."

Gloria once again had a dead gaze as she stared directly at Nessa while the young adult rubbed Victor's head.

"Upupupupup!" Hop quickly rushed right in front of the girl, actually looking serious with a hand halting her. "We don't need any more of that. Just accept that Victor is so social that he hugs girls too, alright? Don't cause any more trouble for him."

Hearing him word it like that, Gloria's hands balled into fists, but she turned her head away with a pout. "Fine..."

Milo smiled next to Nessa with his hands on his hips. "Wow, I hadn't seen anyone hug Nessa like that since I witnessed her tell Sonia that she became a model!"

Victor let go of Nessa and turned to Milo with his arms open, eyes sparkling.

"You want one too?"

That made Milo let out a heartfelt laugh. "You sure do love expressing yourself, don't you?" The large male opened his arms, "But what kind of monster would I be to reject a hug?"

The muscly man and innocent boy did a manly hug, patting each other's backs with laughs as their arms wrapped around one another.

"He even hugs guys, see?" Hop pointed for Gloria to see, proving that Victor's hugs shouldn't mean anything but for friendly contact.

Gloria just continued to pout.

"I wish I could be as confident and outgoing as Victor..." Marnie couldn't help but think with a small sigh.

When Victor and Milo backed up, that was then the boy actually started to think about something.

"Wait, why are you both here?" He tilted his head.

Nessa had one hand on her hip as she answered, "Well, we consider it pretty amazing whenever someone beats Kabu."

Milo continued, "Not a lot of Gym Challengers can get a Gym Badge from him. So we like to get together to see the victors off, like a way of showing our support."

The Grass-type Gym Leader caught sight of Marnie, and his eyes brightened.

"Oh! Marnie, right? After you won against Kabu, I came here to see you off, but you had already gone." He awkwardly chuckled.

"R-Really?" Marnie mumbled.

"Yeah, I was the only one here. Not even Nessa came, so I was feeling pretty embarrassed by myself."

"Oh, sorry about that. I was... going through some things." Nessa sighed with an embarrassed smile.

Victor couldn't help but chuckle as he understood what Nessa meant.

"It's alright, I'm just glad we're here to send all of these wonderful challengers off." Milo said, glancing at everyone. "Oh, where did that Bede fella go? He just beat Kabu just a bit ago, right?"

The kids sweatdropped.

"He's... not really one to stick around." Hop answered.

"Heh, I already know what you mean." Nessa giggled, recalling battling Bede and congratulating him. She then turned her head and caught sight of Luna and Midori side-by-side.

She instinctively flinched and took a step back.

"Bad memories, Nessa?" Kabu laughed.

"Shut up..." The model frowned.

Luna and Midori apologetically smiled.

"So we were gonna wish you guys the best of luck as you went out to the Northern Wild area, but you guys mentioned staying in Motostoke to enjoy yourselves, right?" Milo then asked everyone.

"Oo! Do you have some places in mind!?" Victor asked excitedly.

"I do, I could point them out on the map if you'd like." The farmer answered.

"How about you three just come with us?" Victor asked the three Gym Leaders.

"Now, now, I'm sure you wouldn't want an old man like me spending time around you younger folks, would you?" Kabu waved off the idea.

"I'd actually love if ya came with us, Kabu!" Hop smiled.

"I-I don't mind..." Marnie nodded.

"You guys come too!" Victor appeared between Milo and Nessa while linking his arms with theirs, visibly excited.

"Well, I don't have any more work to do today." Milo thought.

"And of course, I'd wanna hang around you again!" Nessa smiled at Victor

Everyone then turned to Kabu, waiting for him to answer.

The man of flames grinned. "If I'm requested to come, then of course I'll come along! I know Motostoke like the back of my hand, so I'll point you out to some of the best places to visit!"

"Yay! Then let's go!" Victor cheered.

"I believe we should start off with the main square of Motostoke, that's where the common, but still great stores are." Kabu insisted with an arm raised.

"Actually, we should find something to eat! None of us actually ate breakfast yet because a lot of things happened this morning." Hop said as his stomach started growling.

"Oh! then allow me to take you to my favorite place to eat, the Battle Cafe!" Kabu cheered.

"Well, that sounds... interesting." Gloria muttered as she heard the name.

"OO! Lee told me about it before, but I've actually never been to it! Let's go! Come on!" Hop suddenly bolted right at the door.

"Hop!? Do you even know where the bloody hell it is!?" Gloria shouted but not bothering to chase him this time.

"Hahaha! He's just like his brother! Always rushing ahead." Milo laughed.

"But does he get as lost as him?" Nessa joked.

"Surprisingly... he doesn't." Victor unlinked his arms from Nessa and Milo and watched as Hop already disappeared outside.

Marnie stood beside Victor looking... excited? The boy was just noticing Marnie seeming brighter than usual while holding her Morpeko.

"You excited to go somewhere together with a bunch of friends?" He tilted his head with a sweet smile.

Marnie flinched when he asked that, turning a little red but managing to turn to him nervously.

"Y-Yeah... "

"I am too." Victor responded happily.

"Let's head out now while it's still early! We don't want the shops filling up with people!" Nessa spoke with an arm up.

"Allow me to lead the way then!" Kabu proudly spoke as he walked past the group.

"Heh, it's been a while since I've had a meal with others." Milo said as he turned to follow Kabu.

Everyone started to follow the Fire-user out, making it outside where Victor immediately turned his head left and right to search for someone.

"Aw, Ball Guy left... He never sticks around when I go to battle a Gym Leader." He couldn't help but think, disappointed. "Oh well, I'll see him again in Stow-On-Side."

Victor looked up as his diverse group made their way to Motostoke's lift to carry them from the top level of the city to the bottom. Thinking of Stow-On-Side, he thought of who his next opponent in the Gym Challenge would be, Bea.

"A part of me really wants to go and fight Bea right now! She has such a strong fighting style!"

And thinking of Bea, Victor suddenly stopped walking and repeatedly blinked before he could get onto the Motostoke lift, recalling something important.

"AH! OH NO!" He suddenly shouted and put his hands on his head.

Everyone jumped in shock before turning to him.

"Wh-What's wrong?" Marnie was surprisingly the one to ask first.

Victor looked at them all with a comedic look of horror.

"I forgot to watch the exhibition match between Bea and Leon!"


~{Meanwhile-Wyndon Stadium}~

"Use Flamethrower!" Leon shouted with a point of his hand.

"Jump to the side, Machamp!"

The tall Superpower Pokemon with four arms moved just on time to avoid a blaze of flames from Leon's Charizard.

"We're close! We're SO close!" The Machamp's trainer felt beads of sweat going down the side of her head. She was panting hard as her eyes burned with her fighting spirit, running down the side of the field while shouting instructions to her ace pokemon.

"You've really gotten stronger since last time, Bea!" Leon laughed as his Charizard flew in the air and circled around Machamp.

The martial-arts prodigy didn't even seem to acknowledge that he said anything. She was completely engrossed in her battle as her Machamp did everything in its power to win. She wasn't even fighting herself, yet she felt just as exhausted as her pokemon, sweat dripping all over her. It was finally a one versus one, the last stretch of the match to take her victory.

"Head straight for him!" Leon shouted with a confident smile.

"Char!" His Charizard flew down right at Machamp, flying like an arrow and aiming right towards him.

Bea's eyes widened. This was a mistake from Leon. His Charizard was recklessly coming in fast without any signs of slowing down. This was her chance, her day, her moment.

"USE VITAL THROW!" It was rare for Bea to ever scream as loud as she did, but she knew she had to prioritize Leon's mistake, to finally seize her moment.

"Ma-!" Her Machamp turned sideways just as Charizard came in, using her two top arms in precise timing to grab him by the neck. She then pulled with all her might and swung Charizard over her head.

"-CHAMP!" The pokemon threw Charizard into the ground and created a power slam, kicking up giant dust clouds.

The audience gasped right after the attack, everyone on the edge of their seats to see Leon's strongest pokemon slammed down like that.

Machamp stepped backwards to get out of the dust, panting with her eyes widened.

Bea was just in the same state, her eyes completely open with her pupils even shaking. Machamp had successfully nailed the move, and knowing its strength, must've done tremendous damage.

There wasn't any movement in the dust for several seconds, making everyone wonder... did she really do it?

"He... He's not getting up." Bea thought, unable to believe what she was thinking. "We... did we-!?"

"Slash him!"

"What?" Bea blinked and was shocked to see Charizard fly out of the dust clouds with his claws swinging.

Bea nearly choked on her breath, feeling desperation fill her.

"Machamp! DODGE-!"

"CHAR!" It was already too late, as Charizard had already slung his claws and slashed Machamp's chest.

"Ch-Champ!" Machamp cried in pain before falling back.

And that was all it could take.

She fell to the ground, eyes closed and body going limp as she became unconscious.

"And with a slash, that's it! Machamp can't get up! It's all over!"

Bea's eyes dilated.

"What?"

She stared at the scene in front of her. Her Machamp knocked out on the ground, Leon's Charizard roaring up in victory, and Leon himself raising a hand in the air and doing his signature Charizard pose once more.

"Once again, the champion adds another victory to his unbeatable streak! Give it up for Leon!"

"N-No..."

Bea found herself running to the middle of the field, falling onto her knees and putting her arms atop her Machamp.

"Machamp! Get up! We can still do this!"

Her Machamp remained motionless, eyes not even opening.

"Please get up! You have to get up!"

There still wasn't any movement.

Bea felt her hands ball into fists as she hung her head, feeling the most frustrated ever. It was supposed to be here. This was where she had the chance to finally take down Leon. And for a moment, she swore she had won, swore that for once, his Charizard had stopped moving. But then... it was as if the world decided to mess with her, having the fire pokemon get up and strike her Machamp down as if nothing happened.

"We're not strong enough..."

She drowned out the cheers of the crowd.

"I..."

Her hands shook.

"We..."

She took a deep breath and clenched her teeth together.

"We have to train even more."


~{Author's Post-Notes}~

(Closes laptop and spins in chair.)

Oh, yeah. It's all coming together.

So it looks like everyone else is successful in taking down Kabu. And what's this!? Milo and Nessa are here!? *Gasp!* And it looks like next chapter they're all gonna have some fun! Yay, a feels good filler chapter next! And... Oof, it looks like Bea is suffering a case of plot armor from Leon. There's no one he can lose too... At least, not yet. But yeah, Bea's gonna feel that loss for a while. And next time, we're just gonna have a good time before it's finally off to the Wild Area once more! I wonder what our odd group of powerful trainers will do to help themselves relax?

Until next time, folks!

(Goes to notebook filled with school papers)

This... is gonna suck.