~{Author's Pre-Notes}~

(Mimikyu at starting line of an obstacle course with 59 jellybean-like people standing near.)

Hey everyone... It's been a bit. The only thing I've really got to say about that is that life is a piece of shit that decides to give you three midterms in a day with several other small assignments and group work in the mix because school thinks that it's such a fucking good idea... I don't even feel like this chapter turned out too good, but I've thought that before yet people tell me those chapters were good. I'm not good at judging my own work.

Announcer: GO!

(Jelly bean people start running with Mimikyu just walking towards fans ahead.)

Life's just been kinda... depressing for these last weeks. Gotta think more about what I wanna do in college even though I'm already in it, because I don't even know what I wanna do... And I got weekly assignments to do that I don't feel motivated to do, and overall it just feels like a pattern happening over and over again... It ain't fun.

(Hops over swinging poles on ground as jellybean-men fly off.)

But yeah, enough rambling. You know why you're here, to see the adventure. What'll happen this time? Don't know. Is the quality good? Have no idea. I just hope you guys enjoy it.

(Get's launched by pole.)

Enjoooooooooooooy!

Answered Comments (Oldest to most recent):

FanFictionReaderIne: Ah yes, the good old butler Victor. Such a polite and powerful force. And school things are killing me. Thanks.

KingPlotBunny: Heh, a 'couple' of chapters away from the Bea and Victor meeting? Oof, it may be some more than that, but I hope not. And as for choosing not to Dynamax, he may need to talk to someone about that in order to figure out what Dynamax energy is doing to him and what to do. Hm... I wonder if there could be anyone searching to figure this out too?

5AT05H1L1NK: I'm really glad to see your comment! I really do hope to hear more from you and any ideas you can have. Because most of the time I just wing what I write anyway, I don't plan too much into the future, heh. Thanks for commenting!

Perseus D. Uzumaki: I really want Victor to meet Bea and Allister soon for shenanigans and fluff, but things have to be paced... I HATE that! But at the same time, I love it, since it just lets me write character development for current characters showing up. And as for Victor calling his mother... Frick I actually forgot, damn am I bad at keeping note of things. Thanks for reading!

Silent Master of Winds: Ayyyyye thanks! I always try to think out of the box with battles, but I try not to be too absurd with what happens in some of them. Unlike a certain boy who doesn't seem like he ever ages.

Jak: Thanks man... it's been tough, really tough. It really sucks.

Lelouch of Zero: *clicks finger guns* You know it!

IanAlphaAxel: And I'm absolutely loving you!

Acebun815: I mean, moves like explosion, self-destruct, etc don't really kill the pokemon that use them. It just makes them faint. So it would be the same for Victor. I think... Hope it never comes to that, heh.

Guest: Heh, what can I say? Hop's very durable, so I can just get away with him taking anything. ( I love him though, but his pain is a gag at this point.)

Anon Omega: ORAORAORAORAORA!

Wolfy365: Good to hear from you again, there's actually fanart of Marnie and Gloria swapped clothes already, it's where I got the idea from. And poor Allister, it's more of a mixture of insecurity and the feeling of not being wanted anymore.


~{East Lake Axwell-3:35PM}~

Victor once again stared in awe at the sight of the Wild Area as he came down Motostoke's steps. He grinned as he landed on the dirt of the beloved world of nature, gazing off into the distance. He saw the red beams of light coming from Raid Dens, he saw the wild pokemon traversing the land, and he saw dark clouds moving overhead.

"Looks like it's getting pretty cloudy today." Nessa remarked as she walked next to Victor and casually rested her elbow on his shoulder.

"Hello Wild Area, my old friend! I've come back stronger than before!" Hop shouted, jumping down the stairs from Motostoke before sticking a fist up in the air.

Marnie stepped down the steps and took a deep breath of the fresh afternoon air, enjoying the feeling of it.

"It's pretty chilly." She mumbled as she looked around, seeing some trees in the distance swaying from gusts of winds.

Gloria held her bonnet on her head, thinking it would be suddenly blown away as she made it to the bottom of the steps. She was in a relatively bright mood with her big smile, thinking about spending time together with her favorite person.

"I hope we stay together for a while!" She thought as she glanced over at Victor.

Her smile immediately changed into a dead looking gaze as she saw Nessa grinning while rustling through Victor's head.

"If only she weren't here..."

"So how do we get to the northern part of the Wild Area?" Marnie asked, her usual cold expression matching the chilly air.

Nessa grinned as she stepped away from Victor and turned left, raising her arm and pointing west.

"You see that bridge waaaaaay over there?"

The group all glanced over to where Nessa was pointing, squinting their eyes as they looked along the Motostoke walls and to a brown wooden bridge over a river.

"You cross it to get to the Motostoke Outskirts, then you follow through Bridge Field until you get there!"

"Why's it called Bridge Field?" Hop asked curiously.

"Oh, for the love of- It's because we're going through a field that goes under the bridges of Motostoke! Ya know!? The ones leading into Hulbury and from the mines!?" Gloria declared.

"Ooooooooh."

Ace walked passed Victor with his paws in his pouch, glancing curiously at the bridge far ahead. Twilight was perched on Victor's backpack while Tesla slept soundly in the comfort of his usual spot. Little Midori walked beside his trainer and saw him stretch both his arms up, to which he stretched his own arms with a smile to mimic him.

Gloria had her own pokemon in their pokeballs, with the exception of Luna peeking out of her trainer's bag and Bubbles walking calmly on the ground. Marnie was holding her Morpeko as usual, just a normal sight from the two. Hop had Conga out on his shoulder, the Beat Pokemon cheering happily to continue with the adventure.

Victor grinned as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation, Midori copying him with the same visible excitement his trainer had.

"Ooooooooh boy! I can't wait to explore the place!"

Nessa chuckled. "Well, the Motostoke Outskirts and Bridge Field could take a day or two to get through, but the Northern Wild Area is massive! I'm talking about potentially taking days just to get from one section to another!"

"So... how long will it take us to get from here to Hammerlocke?" Marnie asked her.

"Heh, it depends on the person, but it took me about two weeks!"

"Two weeks!? Sounds like we've got a long trip ahead of us." Hop grinned.

"Are you guys going to stay together the entire time?" Nessa asked.

Victor shook his head, "No, I think we gotta branch off at some point."

Gloria pouted, "Do we really have to...?" She mumbled.

"We gotta get some experience for ourselves!" Hop agreed with Victor.

"Wait, are you sure you guys really gonna end up splitting up? Won't that be dangerous?" Nessa asked, concern in her tone.

"Hey, we can take care of ourselves! We beat Kabu, after all!" Victor smiled.

"You did, his gym team." Nessa pointed out, her expression turning serious. "And even though he had his ace pokemon, as I have mine, we had different, weaker movesets for gym battles."

The four Gym Challengers stared at her in some confusion.

"Look, you kids may think that the Wild Area is a fun and easygoing place, but it's not. It's the most dangerous place in Galar. Things try to hurt you, maybe even worse."

Gloria's mind flashed back to when the Onix had slammed his tail down on Victor, her pupils shrinking at the thought.

"But... Why do some pokemon just try to go after us ?" Victor asked as he stared up at Nessa.

The Gym Leader shrugged. "No one really knows for sure... There have been so many sightings of pokemon fighting violently with one another in the Wild Area. And when they see humans... many pokemon seem to get even more aggressive."

She leaned forward and stared closer into Victor's eyes.

"So... I can't really say you guys should be by yourselves."

"I'll be fine." Victor immediately answered with determination, surprising Nessa. "I ran into an Onyx that tried to smush me, but in the end... he really wasn't that bad."

"Oh yeah, you kinda bounced around him." Hop chuckled.

"Well... We'll think about splitting up later." Victor smiled. "For now, I wanna spend time with all of you!"

"Awwww..." Nessa couldn't help but enjoy how innocent that sounded.

She smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Then let's start heading out, shall we?"

"Hell yeah!" Hop shouted.


~{Meanwhile-?}~

A man sat at a large, round table within a dark and shadowed room. He had his elbows propped up, his fingertips touched one another, and he had an evil grin to everyone around him.

Around the table with him were five others in their own seats, each one treating their meeting a unique way. One leaned back in his seat with his legs kicked up, another sat straight with his hands on his lap, the third tapped the table in irritation and with a scowl, a fourth had his elbow propped with his head in his hands, and the final one had his arms resting on the armrests.

"So... Why are we here?" One of the six men sighed in irritation. "I'd rather not be in the same room as hothead over here."

"Watch your words, Archie. You should take note of the irony towards yourself." A calmer person responded.

"Huh!? What was that!?" The angry man brought his feet down from the table and slammed his fist on it.

"You're not going to start your childish behavior already, are you!?" A cruel voice lacking sympathy growled.

"*Sigh* How pointless..." A voice lacking any care or emotion remarked.

"Can we hold off on the drama until we proceed with this meaning? I assume it must be important if we're all gathered here?" A last, calm, and respectable voice piped up.

That got everyone to turn their heads to the main person of the room.

"So... Why are we here, boss man? And what's with the lights being out?" The hardy voice called out.

The leading man kept his grin before speaking.

"First, let me ask you all, are you sure we're completely alone?"

He heard a scoff, "Of course. Anyone who would dare try to peek in will find themselves erased from existence. Now carry on and stop wasting my time!"

"Good... In that case..."

The man snapped his fingers, causing all the lights of the room to blaze on.

With the lights illuminating, the surrounding area was revealed to be a large room with a theme of black and red floors and walls. Several holograms of a rainbow-colored R were around the walls, and a bright red carpet sat underneath the large black meeting table where everyone was circled around.

The first of the six men shown in the light was a tall, muscular man wearing a blue bandanna with a unique A logo. He has black hair, tanned skin, and a black mustache connected to his large black beard. His outfit consists of a full-body swimsuit slightly damaged on his left bicep, white areas around his chest and feet, and had additional light blue areas on his legs. He has a ragged black cape with grey stripes behind him connected to gold chains around his torse in a necklace. The most notable thing about him was the golden anchor neckless containing a mega stone in it.

"Argh! At least warn us when you turn the lights on!" He snapped, raising an arm over his eyes to shield them.

"Oh shut up, Archie..."

The one who spoke was a man in a seat across from Archie. He was a tall, thin man with red chin-length hair that curled outward. His outfit consists of a black shirt and red shorts, along with a black-red lab coat with a unique M emblem on both sides. In addition, it appeared he was also wearing a red suit under his clothes and red boots, but he also had a notable feature that was black-framed glasses that contained a mega stone of his own.

"Huh!? You wanna say that to my face, Maxie!? I'll wash you away right now!" Archie snapped at his fire-rival.

A fist slammed on the table, causing both to turn to the source.

"Can you idiots not start a fight for once in these god damn meetings!?" The man who shouted had red eyes with a red eyepiece over one, pale green hair, and he had two locks sticking out by his eyes. He had on a black cloak with an eye pattern on them, yellow bracelets on his wrists, and black boots. In one of his hands was a cane with a unique logo of a P on it, which he was gripping tightly in irritation as the other remained tightly balled on the table.

"Now, now, Ghetsis. I think we both know there's no stopping those two from antagonizing each other..." The fourth who said this was a pale man with blue eyes and pointed red-orange hair connected to his beard. He wore a black suit, lined red and black dress shoes, black fingerless gloves, and most notably, a Mega Stone on his left middle finger.

Ghetsis turned to him with a glare. "Shut it, Lysandre! I don't wish to hear anything from a lunatic who'd blow up the world to keep it 'beautiful!'"

"That was uncalled for..." The quietest among the bunch said. He was a man with a dark, brooding expression, his blue eyes looking empty but matching the color of his spiked light blue hair. He wore a uniform consisting of a long-sleeve black shirt with a gray vest over it, also containing a notable golden G on said vest. In addition to these features, he has long black pants that matched his long-sleeves in fashion and with the final addition of plain gray shoes.

Ghetsis turned to this man with a scowl.

"You be quiet, Cyrus! You're no better, you emotionless freak!"

"I still don't understand why you're so full of resentment towards me." Cyrus responded, not looking fazed at all by the insult.

Ghetsis scoffed, "Sorry, I just have something against impulsive beings without a human heart." He said sarcastically.

"Are you all done?" An authoritative voice spoke with a threatening tone.

All five of the leaders around the table all turned their heads to the one who called them.

He was a powerful man. Tall, medium built, and with short black hair that matched his dark eyes. He wore a long-sleeve black shirt with a large V neck that showed a white undershirt and wore black, slightly baggy trousers and black shoes. But on the left breast of his long-sleeve shirt, there was the notable rainbow-colored R on it.

He gazed at them with an evil smile, now waiting to be sure that he had their attention.

"Giovanni..." Lysandre started before Ghetsis interrupted with a growl.

"Why are we here? Why am I in the same room as these infernal-!"

"Quiet." Giovanni cut him off sharply, still maintaining his smile.

"..." Ghetsis glared at him before leaning back in his seat, crossing his arms. "Tsk!"

"Now then, it appears you've all calmed down." Giovanni said as he entwined his fingers together. "Now we can get down to business. The reason for bringing all of you here today is simple. You're all going to reside and operate here in Galar, starting today."

There was immediate retaliation.

"What the hell do you mean!? Like I'd want to breathe anywhere near him!" Archie shouted while pointed at Maxie.

Maxie simply sighed while adjusting his glasses, "I'm afraid I must refuse. I must remain at least six feet away from that brute at all times. Otherwise, you may find his body floating in the ocean."

"You're just asking for it, aren't you!?" Archie snapped.

"I REFUSE to stay here with these idiots!" Ghetsis snapped.

"..." Cyrus didn't react one bit.

Lysandre raised an eyebrow, "I assume there must be a reason for us needing to remain here in close contact? Is there a situation that needs our compliance?"

Giovanni nodded. "Indeed... I'm sure you'll all be pleased to hear that we've located our key to success."

There seemed to be confusion from some of the table, but Cyrus spoke the first thing that came to mind.

"Subject V-49?" He asked with an emotionless voice.

That made some eyes light up.

"Hold up, you're saying we found the kid you told us about!?" Archie asked as he scratched his head.

"Subject V-49..." Ghetsis said with an evil grin, now fully invested in the conversation.

"Aka Victor..." Maxie mumbled as he looked down with a hand on his chin.

Giovanni nodded again. "So I've called the five of you here because now that we have his location, we can finally return to the previous plans my organization started so many years ago. So for that, our order of operations will be here in Galar for as long as needed."

"You're telling me he's somewhere within this region? The region considered to have the strongest trainers in the world?" Lysandre asked.

"Indeed, we've already been monitoring his actions recently." Giovanni answered.

"So what are we waiting for? Should I go nab the kid?" Archie asked with a grin.

"I don't think it's that simple, Archie." Maxie remarked. "We're in the region considered to contain the strongest trainers in the world. From Gym Leaders to their champion... So if we've all been called here, it's no doubt because it may take all our efforts and exact coordination to extract the boy, correct?"

"Something like that." Giovanni chuckled. "He appears to have become personal friends with the 'world champion' and has been seen surrounded by other powerful trainers. And in addition to this..."

He separated his hands and pressed a button on his part of the table, projecting a screen in the center of the group that showed footage of Victor fighting several Rainbow Rocket pokemon earlier in the week.

"He appears to have... had some practice."

Everyone's eyes were engrossed on Victor.

"Wait... He has a clear understanding of his abilities. And those movements... it appears he's had some fighting guidance. Did he perhaps share his secrets to someone?" Lysandre remarked, looking rather intrigued at the boy's movements.

"Not that we were able to discover. But I don't believe he's told any other humans of his... 'abilities.' Which leaves me to believe he may have been taught how to use his powers from pokemon." Giovanni stated. "It's been apparent that he can communicate with them."

Ghetsis couldn't help but form a large grin and crazed wicked eyes as he stared at the footage of the only being of his kind, thinking of so many possibilities of power.

"He's perfect... Someone who can connect to both humans and pokemon..."

"It appears he's started gathering his own team pokemon as well." Cyrus pointed out as he caught sight of Victor's Raboot, Corvisque, and Kirlia fighting against a few fully evolved pokemon of Rainbow Rocket Grunts.

Maxie focused away from the projection and turned to Giovani. "So, how will we proceed?"

"Should we all jump him together right now? We got the power." Archie smirked as he pulled out a purple and white Pokeball with a white M on it.

"Not now. He's currently surrounded by several acquaintances, including a Gym Leader of Galar. And I wish to make this clear. None of you, under any circumstances, are to attack him while there are witnesses." Giovanni sternly stated.

"What!? To hold off an acquiring my- er, our most important specimen!?" Ghetsis snapped.

Giovanni turned to him.

"Galar is already on high alert for any activity, so there are more agents from the Macro Cosmos Agency keeping watch in several areas. From the information I've gathered, their numbers rival Rainbow Rocket in its entirety, so we can't recklessly just take any aggressive action."

"So, if he's alone, then we may apprehend him?" Maxie asked as he adjusted his glasses.

Giovanni smirked. "Well... You can try. Will you all go together?"

"Hah, as if!" Archie shot up to his seat and pointed a thumb at himself with a confident grin. "I don't need these bozos to catch a kid! I'll do it myself!"

"Oh, please, Archie. You need help just finding the lavatory for this place." Maxie sighed.

"Oi, this place is HUGE, alright!? And stop using those smart-ass words! That doesn't make you look any better than anyone here!" Archie snapped as he pointed at Maxie.

"Hm, I'm surprised you even understood me." Maxie remarked.

"Why you-!"

"I refuse to work with incompetent fools." Ghetsis hissed with pure venom in his voice. The unforgiving man stood up from his seat and slammed the bottom of his cane to the ground, turning towards Giovanni before evilly grinning. "Lord Giovanni, allow me to demonstrate just how much more suited I am compared to all these... 'amateurs.'"

Archie and Maxie glared at Ghetsis, Lysandre stared calmly at him, and Cyrus's emotionless gaze didn't change.

"Ghetsis... I do believe it would be smarter to cooperate with one another." Lysandre stated.

"I don't need any of your assistance! You would all be hindrances!" Ghetsis snapped as he turned in Lysandre's direction. He then turned back to Giovanni and did a polite bow, a smirk hidden in the corner of his mouth. "Allow me to prove my worth to you, Lord Giovanni."

"..."

Giovanni simply stared back at Ghetsis with a serious look, his fingertips touching together as he leaned back in his chair. Lysandre assumed that the powerful leader would take disciplinary action against the rude man beneath him, judging by how he was frowning.

But surprisingly, the Rainbow Rocket leader just sighed.

"You may all do what you wish, as you've always done. Just remember to only take action when he's alone, and don't risk involving others in order to get to him. The trainers of this region aren't to be taken lightly, nor can we risk making it clear to anyone that Victor is our intended target."

"Alright, got it." Archie grinned as he jumped out of his seat and proceeded to leave. "I'll show the kid the power of aqua!"

Maxie shook his head and stood up from his own seat, "So you're just gonna be useless..."

"I HEARD THAT!" Archie shouted as he got to the end of the room.

Maxie ignored him and politely bowed before turning around to another exit, "I'll be sure to bring him here."

Ghetsis scowled that Giovanni didn't entrust the task to him, but he turned around and made his way out of the room as well, picturing what kind of uses his new 'friend' would have for him.

"Subject V-49... I've failed once in creating a perfect king who can communicate with both people and pokemon. But if I can figure out how to... 'persuade' V-49 into cooperating with me, then he'll be a perfect puppet, a perfect figure of power! I must find him first."

Ghetsis evilly grinned at the thought, his exposed eye glowing red while the red eyepiece on the other started matching the evil glow.

"..."

Cyrus was simply silent as he watched the three out of six of them leave, then standing up from his own chair. "I'll take my leave."

He turned around and proceeded to leave as well, his footsteps echoing in the spacious room like the others had been.

This left Giovanni and Lysandre left, with the latter staring curiously at the powerful businessman ever since he had let the leaders do what they wish.

"Giovanni... Why didn't you order them to cooperate with one another?" He voiced his question in both confusion and concern.

Giovanni smirked.

"Information."

Lysandre raised an eyebrow, "What?"

The leader chuckled as he leaned forward in his chair.

"I wish to see Victor's utmost potential. To examine his growth and see just what it would take to bring him down. While I'm confident that all of you can overwhelm him if you actually work together, he'll understand this as well and simply use his abilities to escape. He wouldn't be foolish enough to fight such a losing battle, especially when he understands exactly what he'll be fighting against. I wish to examine the scale of his power before I even think of trying to obtain him for myself. With any one of you fighting him and his pokemon by yourselves, then he'll be more likely to fight, and then we'll see just what kinds of limits he has."

Lysandre continued to curiously stare at Giovanni.

"But... do you believe he can take on such powerful pokemon we have? Including..." He gazed down at his white and purple Pokeball.

Giovanni's eyes were filled with excited anticipation.

"That's what I wish to find out."


~{Motostoke Outskirts- 3:49PM}~

"Look at all those pokemon!" Hop beamed as he glanced over the edge of the wooden bridge and into the river.

A stream of water from a Mantyke suddenly soaked his face, to which the boy formed a blank, dripping expression.

"Pfft!" Gloria started laughing as the small Mantyke almost looked smug before it dived back down.

"Careful, some of these water pokemon are little tricksters." Nessa giggled as her sandals creaked the bridge she walked over.

"Heh, here, Hop." Victor chuckled, handing Hop a small towel from his backpack.

"Thanks." Hop smiled as he rubbed his face with it.

Midori balanced on the bridge's railing like a gymnast while Ace walked below him on the bridge, both seeming to enjoy the walking.

Marnie quietly walked behind the group, glancing at the river's beautiful blue water that flowed.

"Oi, ain't that a Snorlax?" Gloria paused, blinking several times as she saw a large, blue-green, and cream-colored round pokemon nearly seven feet tall that was just past the bridge's end and on a clear field ahead.

The Snorlax was sitting and raised a hand to his mouth, yawning sleepily and not even caring that some individuals were coming up from the bridge that led to him.

"OOOO! Dibs!" Hop's eyes flashed before he immediately ran forward.

"Hop! Wait! I don't think you wanna-!"

Nessa's shouting fell on deaf ears as Hop already reached the end of the bridge and grinned as he pulled out a Pokeball.

"Go, Monster Ball!" He flung his Pokeball and sent it spinning rapidly toward the Snorlax.

The pokemon's eyes flashed menacingly red before he suddenly slammed onto his feet, swinging his arm and punching the Pokeball as hard as he could. The Pokeball looked to visibly distort upon impact before it was sent it flying into the air, disappearing into a twinkle in the sky.

Everyone's expressions turned black and white with agape mouths, stunned by what they saw from a normally lazy pokemon.

The Snorlax then turned his head and glanced downward at Hop, not looking angry nor confused, just curious with his closed-looking eyes.

"Since when did Snorlax's move like that!? Actually, since when did they even stand!?" Victor wondering in shock.

"So, that's how you wanna play it then?" Hop grinned as Conga came beside him with a smile.

"Hop, I don't think ya should-"

Hop cut off Marnie as he pointed forward. "Conga, Razor Leaf!"

"Thwackey!" Conga jumped forward and swung his arm, to which over a dozen sharp leaves were sent flying at the Snorlax.

"Snor!" Snorlax's lips seemed to form into a frown before he stomped his foot and jumped forward. He became surrounded by a silver aura that bounced the leaves coming at him right off with any effect.

"Heavy Slam!?" Hop recognized with his eyes widening.

Snorlax's shadow enveloped Conga, whose eyes widened in fear before he got crushed, the slam of the attack kicking up large clouds of dust around the area.

"Conga!" Hop shouted in worry.

Victor covered his eyes with his arm to keep the dust from getting into his eyes, but he tried to peek any chance he could to see what happened.

It only took a few moments before Snorlax's silhouette stood up in the clouds of dust, which then cleared away to reveal the large pokemon's imprint in the ground, and with Conga right in the center of it.

"Thwak..." Conga groaned, sprawled out on the ground, unconscious.

"He went down with one move..." Hop nervously gulped, immediately returning his downed pokemon.

"That Snorlax is really strong..." Marnie thought with a serious stare.

"Hop... Slowly back away from him." Nessa called, pulling out one of her Dive Balls with a serious glare. "This Snorlax is clearly a tough pokemon for the Wild Area... And if this one is actually moving... then he might be really hungry... You never want to mess with an angry pokemon."

"Do we have any Snickers?" Victor whispered to Gloria.

"Eh?" Gloria deadpanned.

As for Hop, he nodded at Nessa's advice and slowly took a step back from the Snorlax, who was eyeing him down.

Victor, feeling worried for his friend, acted based on what Nessa said and stepped off the bridge towards the Snorlax.

"Don't worry guys, I got this." He smiled.

"Hold it right there, Mr. Famous Last Words!" Nessa said as she grabbed Victor by the shoulder before he could get too far. "Don't let your win against Kabu get into your head too! You shouldn't try to take this guy as you are now! And even if you catch him, I doubt he'd listen to you!"

"Don't worry, Nessa! I'm not gonna fight him!" Victor reassured her as he gently pulled his shoulder away.

"Eh?" Nessa was confused as Victor took off his backpack and dug into it, gently moving a sleeping Tesla out of the way and checking into one of the hidden pockets.

"You said he's probably hungry, right? So..."

"Oi, Victor, don't tell me ya gonna-?"

"Cookies!" Victor shouted as he pulled out a container of sweets sparkling to the brim.

"Of course ya are..." Gloria facepalmed, recalling her friend's previous interaction with an Onix.

"Wait, Victor, I don't think that's a good idea!" Nessa panicked.

"Why not?"

"Look at him!" The model pointed.

Victor glanced back at the Snorlax and saw that his eyes flash red as a menacing aura surrounded him.

"Somethin' tells me you should run..." Marnie said as she shivered from the aura of the pokemon.

Victor just smiled as he put his backpack back on, still holding the case of sweets.

"It'll be fine!"

He took a few steps forward.

"I'm hardened at this point! I'm ready for anything!"

He said this, but the moment he finished talking, the Snorlax...

Started...

Running

At him.

Victor's eyes instantly dilated as he saw the large pokemon somehow go into a sprint towards him, his large feet thundering and causing the ground to tremble.

"GYAH!" Victor blasted to the side while holding the container of sweets above his head, getting away from his friends and leading the Snorlax away.

"Wait, I LIED! I was not, I was NOT ready for anything! Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope SO much nope!"

"Victor!?" Gloria shouted as she watched her friend run ahead.

"I'LL MEET YOU GUYS AHEAD!" Victor screamed as he kept running for his life.

"Cor!?/ Raboot!?/ Kirl!?"

Twilight immediately took to the sky, Ace used Agility to increase his speed as he ran, and Midori teleported away so they could all catch up.

"Victor, whatever you do, DON'T look back!" Nessa screamed as they ran after him.


~{Meanwhile}~

Bea carried her large bag up a somewhat steep cliff, carefully climbing up with her pokemon close behind. She had made it out of the edge of the Dusty Bowl her Corviknight Taxi had taken her and was now into another part of Galar's landscape. An area with steep cliffs and bright sunlight brightly shining down upon her.

"*Huff* *Puff*" After a long climb, she managed to make it up into a less steep part of the steep mountain she had been climbing. She made it to somewhat flat ground and immediately put her large bag down, standing up straight and gazing out at the large view of the Wild Area that stretched farther than the eye could see.

She appreciated the beautiful view for a moment as her pokemon managed to make their way up the mountain with her, although everyone needed to help the six individual Falkinks that couldn't climb effectively.

Bea glanced around and saw a lake in the distance, some more desert-like formations, and many lush trees, having her make her decision.

She grabbed the black cloak that she had been using to give herself shade and tossed it off.

"This will suffice..."

She turned to her pokemon, her usual stoic expression on her.

"This is where we'll start... This will be the beginning of our journey..."

Her pokemon all had the same stoic look their trainer had, besides Falinks, who looked rather worried.

"It's clear that everything we've done wasn't enough to beat Leon..."

Her pokemon looked down, somewhat looking ashamed.

"But it's none of your faults. It's mine."

They glanced back up at her in surprise.

"Champ?" Her Machamp uttered.

"You all follow my commands perfectly, all of you gave your absolute best efforts for me, but it hasn't been enough... It's not any of you, so I know it must be me."

The fighting prodigy looked down as she put a hand over her chest.

"I'm not strong enough as a trainer to lead all of you... So I have to get even stronger."

Bea rose her head with a new look of determined fury.

"I have to be like all of you. This appears to be the only path left that could lead us to beat Leon. I have to be as mentally sharp as all of you, I have to be in complete sync as all of you..."

She rose a tight fist.

"I have to be as strong as all of you."

Her pokemon didn't like where she was going with this.

"So..."

Their worries came true as Bea got into a fighting stance, not towards any human, but towards them.

"Don't hold back, please."


~{Bridge Field-4:15PM}~

Victor was hiding in a tree as the Snorlax finally gave up trying to find him, the large pokemon stomping away in annoyance.

"Phew, that scared the life out of me... I didn't think I'd ever see a Snorlax run in my entire life... Good luck EVER catching that thing, Hop..."

A pokemon teleported right on top of Victor and landed on the boy's lap, revealing it to be Midori.

"Kirl!" The pokemon looked rather worried as he gazed up at his trainer.

"I'm all right... Just a little tired." Victor chuckled as he gently rubbed his pokemon's head.

He remained hidden in the tree for a few minutes just to make sure the Snorlax was gone, taking the time to notice his surroundings. He saw a few small lakes in the distance, several pokemon scurrying across the field, and the sky was still cloudy where he was. He didn't know when his friends would catch up, so he started going through his thoughts, contemplating the Snorlax's behavior.

"The moment food was brought up... He just went completely wild. Like he hasn't eaten anything in so long... Has he not?"

Victor gazed out at the landscape of Bridge Field, the land stretching underneath the large brick bridges in the distance. He glanced around and saw the trees scattered around, or more notably, the lack of trees.

"Right..."

"Kirl?" Midori uttered, seeing his trainer deep in thought.

Victor glanced down with a new serious expression, "Hey, Midori? Just how much food is there in the Wild Area?"

That question made Midori seem... uncomfortable. The small pokemon glanced away from Victor and stared out at the view of the Wild Area, eyes seeming to drop.

"Hey... What's wrong?" Victor asked, tilting his head in concern.

"Victor! Where are ya!?"

His attention was caught by Gloria's shouting, the boy turning his head to see the girl and the rest of the group running while gazing in all directions.

"How far could they have gone!? *Huff*" Hop panted as he turned to Gloria.

"Hell if I know!" Gloria yelled as they continued on.

"How fast can he run!?" Nessa shouted.

"Very!" Hop responded.

Twilight was flying overhead before quickly diving down to get the attention of Victor's companions, where Gloria caught sight of the flying pokemon and skid to a stop.

"Oi, Twilight! Where's Victor!?" Gloria asked him.

"Cor!" Twilight repeatedly flapped in the air as he turned his head to a tree not far off, focusing the group's attention to a large tree where Ace was waving at them.

"Raboot!" He pointed up at the tree as Midori hopped down from it, with Victor following behind, still looking somewhat confused by how Midori acted.

The group caught sight of their friend and made their way to him.

"Victor! Ya alright!?" Gloria shouted as she got closer.

Victor climbed down the tree and faced the group as they arrived.

"Yeah, I managed to slip away from him." He chuckled.

"Wow, Victor! *huff!* How did you run so fast!?" Hop asked between tired breaths.

"Um... By using my legs?"

"Oh, think you're funny, don't you?" Hop deadpanned.

"Pfft!" Nessa muffled a laugh.

"*Pant* Are... Are ya hurt?" Marnie stammered, not used to running while holding her Morpeko.

"No, I just hid until he left." Victor reassured her.

"What was that!? Since when does a Snorlax go rampagin' around like that!?" Gloria shouted.

Nessa removed her hand from her mouth, looking more serious and composed now.

"I haven't seen anything like that before... And from a Snorlax of all pokemon?"

"Victor, where'd that Snorlax go!?" Hop asked as he searched around, pulling out yet another Pokeball.

"Don't tell me you're gonna go after it!?" Victor responded in disbelief.

"Hell yeah! He was amazing!" Hop sparkled.

"Well... Sorry to tell you, but he's long gone." Victor sighed.

"And I don't think you're ready to fight something that scary just yet..." Nessa sighed.

"Aw, pants!" Hop pouted, stomping the ground.

"*Gasp* Hop, language! We have a Marnie here!" Victor said with a look of shock.

"Please don't treat me like a small child. I've said much worse." Marnie stared blankly at him.

"And really!? You point me out!? Me!? Do you even hear what Gloria says half the time!?" Hop pointed.

"Actually, I can't even understand her sometimes." Victor remarked.

"Ya best be glad ya can't..." Gloria looked away, knowing some of the... 'hostile' phrases she's said before.

"Heh, they really are quite a funny group." Nessa smiled.

The model then saw a flash of red catch her eye, having her turn with an interested look at a red beam in the distance.

"Hey, kids?"

"Hm?" The four Gym Challengers turned to her.

"Have you guys ever been to a Raid Den before?"

Hearing her question, Victor turned to where Nessa was looking, eyes widening to see a large, reddish-pinkish beam firing into the sky about a mile away.

The rest of the group's eyes turned in the same direction, where Hop's eyes glimmered with excitement.

"Actually... I haven't!" He beamed.

"Hm... Nope." Gloria stared.

"I've been ta one... It's how I got my Croagunk." Marnie answered.

Victor put on a big grin as he adjusted his beanie.

"I've been forgetting to head to one. So are we doing what I think we're doing?"

Nessa took the lead, walking passed the group with a smirk.

"I wanna see what you guys can do."


~{Motostoke City-4:35PM}~

"Here we are, Magnezone!"

Colress's pokemon lifted his trainer into the air as he looked down at the industrial city below him with a fascinated smile.

"Motostoke, the industrial city powered by steam. Supposedly one of the earlier cities of Galar built before Dynamax energy was officially discovered. And to this day, the city continues to be the only place in Galar that relies on said steam-power, besides their stadium using Dynamax energy." Colress pulled up his left arm and started typing on the keyboard on his wrist, projecting a small hologram.

He typed away as his holographic screen changed from location to location in Motostoke.

"Interesting, to say the least, but this isn't what I'm here for. So..."

He continued typing away.

"So, where are you, subject V-49?"

He searched through Motostoke's news before stopping at the information of three Gym Leaders spending time with a group of challengers.

Colress chuckled.

"Ah, the media... Such a dangerous place. For everyone to know where you are, what you're doing, and what you're thinking... Quite scary. But this plays to my favor."

Sure enough, he followed the news of where his target was seen. Going into a store called the Battle Cafe, then heading to a Motostoke clothing store, and then heading to a gym for the group to exercise before finally making it out to the Wild Area.

"Oo! He hasn't left that long ago! Come, Magnezone! To the Wild Area!" He pointed.

His Magnezone sighed but obliged, flying once again.


~{Bridge Field-Raid Den}~

Victor and his companions all stood around a rocky opening in the ground with a bright beam of reddish-pink light emitting from it. In addition to the light, faint echoes were coming from within the den, making the group around them look somewhat nervous.

"Okay... So do we know the pokemon in this den?" Hop asked.

"Ya can check with ye Rotom phones." Marnie told him, pulling out her own phone and pointing it at the den.

"Really? It can do that?" Victor asked in surprise.

"Yup. It listens closely in the den for any pokemon cries and matches it up to the closest pokemon it sounds like." Nessa told him as Marnie's Rotom phone finished picking up on a pokemon's echoing sounds, then pulling up the Pokedex screen.

"So which one is it?" Gloria asked, peering over Marnie's shoulder to take a look.

Marnie held out her hand to show everyone the pokemon in the den.

Gloria instantly squealed with hearts comedically replacing her eyes.

Victor looked at Marnie's screen and saw a small, light yellow pokemon with a round body encased within an eggshell with red and blue shapes on it. The pokemon had five somewhat-spikes on its head, black eyes, and stubby hands and feet with two toes.

"Oh, a Togepi!" He smiled.

"I want it!" Gloria immediately declared with heavy breathing.

"Well, then I guess we're doing this then!" Hop laughed.

"Just be careful when going-" Nessa didn't finish as Gloria had already dived right into the den.

"I'm coming, Pixieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Her voice echoed.

"She already named it!?/She just jumped in!?" Hop and Victor thought at the same time with shocked expressions.

"Don't go running ahead! That's my job!" Hop then shouted as he leaped over the edge of the den and fell inside as well.

Victor adjusted his beanie with a smile. "Come on then!" He turned to his pokemon and started returning them in their Pokeballs to save time, then jumping in with his backpack, thankfully not getting stuck.

This just left Marnie and Nessa, with the latter turning to the former with a smile.

"They need one more person, you know?"

"Are you gonna come watch?" Marine asked in return.

"Nah, this is for you guys." The model responded with a point to her.

Marnie nodded and set her Morpeko down, the two making it to the den and carefully climbing into it.

"Good luck, kiddos." Nessa chuckled, crossing her arms.

Hop had no idea the path down into the den was slanted inside, ending up rolling down the slope with spinning eyes.

Behind him, Victor used his shoes and slide down the slope with a grin and Ace sliding behind.

The bright source of red and pink started getting brighter and brighter as Victor descended deeper into the den, then leaping and landing into a crouch with his eyes looking up in awe.

There it was. A giant Togepi that was innocently smiling despite looking menacing in size and aura.

"Toooooogeeeeeepiiiii!" Its cry echoed within the large area of the den.

Victor grinned as he glanced left and right, taking into account who was around him.

Hop was pushing himself off the ground after having finished tumbling down the den, dirt stains around him as he glanced up with his own look of shock at the giant pokemon. His Corvisquire, Sky, was fluttering in front of Hop and glaring at the Togepi, ready for action.

Gloria was standing proudly with fire in her eyes, and an excited grin plastered on her face. Luna was already out and in front of her trainer, smiling and looking excited to fight.

"Mor! Mor!"

Victor glanced back to see Morpeko running forward in black and purple colors, with Marnie quickly getting down the slope and being careful not to trip. She met up beside Victor before focusing her gaze on the Togepi, a serious and determined expression forming to show she was battle-ready.

But before Victor took action, he wanted to say something first.

"Hey, Togepiiiiiiiii!" He shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Pi?" The pokemon stared down with a confused look at them.

"Sorry about this! But once Gloria sets her sigh on something, NOTHING stops her!"

"Oh, Victor, polite as always." Hop chuckled as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"Luna, use Psybeam!" Gloria shouted, not wasting any time.

"Morpeko, Spark!" Marnie pointed with her hand.

"Sky, Pluck him!" Hop beamed.

"Ace, Ember!" Victor finished.

Ace and Sky rushed forward while Luna and Morpeko jumped with psychic and electric energy coursing around each respected pokemon.

"Ra-!" Ace kicked up a stone as it coursed with fire, then jumping and slamming his foot to send it flying. "Boot!"

"MOR!" Morpeko sent a stream of electricity.

"Hnnnn!" Luna put her hands on her head as a telekinetic beam fired from her head.

"Cor!" And Sky just started flying straight ahead with his beak glowing white.

Their attacks connected simultaneously into the large Togepi, causing enough force to make the giant cavern feel as if it was shaking.

"T-Togepi!?" The large pokemon stepped back before forming an angry pout, glaring down at the group.

"Toooo!" A reddish-pink barrier then appeared to manifest around Togepi, then turning invisible as if it wasn't there.

The Togepi then opened its mouth as she let out a cry once more.

"TOOOOOO!" Flashes occurred above the Togepi, where multiple giant yellow stars appeared out of nowhere and started to rain towards the pokemon.

"Max Starfall!" Victor shouted to himself.

"MOOOOOOVE!" Hop shouted.

The four pokemon all frantically moved out of the way of the raining stars, each one exploding into a pillar of pink energy that erupted upward.

"Ace, be sure to protect Morpeko!" Victor shouted as the energy died down.

Ace nodded as he jumped and started running beside the shorter pokemon.

"Mor?" Morpeko momentarily returned back to his yellow look, glancing over at Victor after hearing him. She noticed him glance to Marnie and nod, to which Marnie gave returned the nod with her own out of appreciation. After all, Morpeko was a Dark and Electric-type, so it appeared Victor was considerate in the weakness.

It was appreciated by Morpeko too, who glanced ahead and returned to focus on the large pokemon near her.

"Quick attack!" Both Marnie and Victor yelled.

Ace and Morpeko were both surrounded in white and visibly vibrated before both took off to avoid more giant stars that exploded behind them.

"Luna! Teleport on Sky and support him from there!" Gloria shouted.

"Kirl!" Luna vanished from the spot and appeared high up in the air, where she then landed on Sky and planted herself down.

"Use Disarming Voice and Psybeam!" Gloria then instructed.

"Keep your distance, Sky, and let Luna attack for you!" Hop supported.

"RAAAAA!" Luna projected hearts forward.

They connected to the large target of a pokemon but only made her slightly flinch.

"Get em' with Spark!" Marnie then pointed.

"Mor!" Morpeko and Ace were running beside each other before taking a sharp right with electricity coursing around her.

Togepi saw Morpeko running and frowned. Then using Ancient Power, causing several large clusters of rock to rise around her.

"Piiiiiii!" She then sent them flying down.

"Ace, Agility and Double Kick!" Victor called.

Ace visibly vibrated before he vanished behind Morpeko, the rabbit appearing ahead and jumping right towards the doubly sized rocks.

"Raboot!" He spun at accelerating speeds before he slammed a rock away, using the impact of his kick to send himself flying to another. He repeated this process and made a clear path for Morpeko as she flashed forward in yellow.

"Mor!" (Thank you!) She shouted as she jumped and spun into a ball surrounded by electricity.

She easily hit her mark with the Togepi's large size, shocking the pokemon and causing visible damage.

"T-To-!" Togepi winced as Morpeko bounced off her.

"Raaaaaaaaa!" Luna fired a series of Disarming Voices and Psybeams to the large pokemon, adding up damage while quickly flying around Togepi on top of Sky.

Victor then saw the mysterious barrier around Togepi then get shattered, causing the Pokemon to stumble back.

"Just a bit more!" Victor stated confidentially.

Hop then pulled out his Pokeball and grinned. "Let's finish this off, Sky! Time to Dynamax!"

Hearing this, Luna jumped off Sky and teleported before the flying pokemon was returned into his Pokeball, which grew several times its size in Hop's hands.

"Ora!" The boy rose the ball above his head before flinging forward, then releasing his gigantic Corvisquire.

"Coooooor!"

The giant Togepi was caught off guard by the giant bird that appeared.

"P-Pi!?"

"Send out a Max Airstream to finish this!" Hop instructed.

Sky flapped his wings rapidly before performing one larger flap, sending a powerful tornado of wind spiraling towards the Togepi.

They connected on their mark perfectly, resulting in a larger than normal explosion, followed by another even bigger explosion from the pokemon.

"We got em'!" Marnie shouted as her Morpeko scurried back to her.

"MINE!" Gloria's eyes menacing flashed with stars before she pulled out a Pokeball, the red and white sphere suddenly growing into a Dynamax Pokeball as she lifted it above her head.

She then flung her giant Pokeball forward.

"YEET!"

"Yeet?" Victor repeated with a blank gaze.

The giant Pokeball flew through the air all the way to the Togepi, clicking open and then absorbing the pokemon inside.

Then there was silence as everyone stopped moving and focused on the large Pokeball that landed on the ground.

There was one shake, two shakes, three, and then...

*Click!*

Gloria let out a loud squeal before she dove forward to the now shrinking Pokeball, picking it up and lifting it above her head.

"I got em'! I caught a Togepi! Another addition to my super cute team!

The cavern's light somewhat dimmed down due to the pokemon's catch, as the Togepi was the one emitting most of the bright light around them. However, there were still traces of Dynamax energy left behind, gently illuminating the area as Gloria hugged her Pokeball.

"Pixie! I'ma name her Pixie!" Gloria continued squealing.

"I think you already did before we even went in. Nice to see you and your cute pokemon." Victor chuckled.

Realizing that there were indeed other people around her, Gloria froze and quickly turned to them while trying to regain her composure.

"I-I mean... She's a strong pokemon and all..."

"Too late, already said cute team, and it's not like we didn't know you like cute things." Hop said with a smug grin.

"Have you ever heard the sound of someone losing their memory?"

"Eh? No?" Hop answered with a tilt of his head.

"Would you like to?" Gloria evilly grinned as she brought up a flaming fist.

"GAH!" Hop immediately retreated behind Victor. "Victor, use Charm!"

Victor flinched.

"I-I'm not a Pokemon!"

Morpeko stepped beside Ace and looked up at him with a small smile.

"Mor, Mor." (Thanks again for the help.)

Ace had his hands in his pouch as he glanced down at Morpeko with his usual moody gaze.

"Boot, Raboot." (Thank him.) He said, glancing over at his trainer, who was trying to keep Gloria from smashing Hop's head in.

Morpeko turned her head to Victor as well, curiously staring at him.

"Morpeko?" (Is he good?)

"Raboot... Boot..." (Too good... You'd honestly just be wasting your time suspecting him...)

Morpeko then turned her head back to Victor and his group, excitedly staring at the Pokeball in Gloria's hands. The small pokemon smiled as half of her doubt was removed from the pokemon's clarification.

"Cmon, let's bring her out!" Hop cheered.

"I think we should head back ta the surface first." Marnie said as she looked around the darkening cavern they were in. "There's still aye chance a pokemon can come out aroun' here. It happened to me when aye went into one."

"Let's go quick! I wanna meet Pixie!" Gloria cheered, blasting away with clouds of dust behind.

"Kirl!?" Luna quickly ran after her while waving her arms.

"Wait for us!" Hop shouted as he ran too.

"Not nice being left behind, is it Hop!?" Victor laughed as Ace walked next to him, and Marnie scooped up Morpeko into her arms.

Victor was about to follow them, but he caught sight of something that reflected the faintly shining light of the Dynamax den, turning his head curiously and walking towards it.

"What is it?" Marnie asked, noticing he wasn't heading out after their friends.

Victor smiled as he walked a few feet away from her and crouched down.

"Are these...? They are!"

He stood back up and turned to Marnie, holding a black disk in each of his hands.

"Look! TRs!" He beamed with a grin.

Marnie blinked in some surprise. "Really? Which ones?"

Victor glanced down at them. "They're-!"

His smile was instantly wiped, with his pupil's visibly shrinking in a mixture of disbelief and fear.

"Mor?" Morpeko seemed confused while Marnie became concerned.

"Wh-What's wrong?" She asked, noticing his look as she took a step closer to him.

"There's..." Victor's eyes were glued to the disks as he saw a red, dried-up substance that had been visibly splattered on them.

"Blood..."

Both Marnie and Morpeko's own eyes widened, while Ace narrowed his eyes from behind Victor.

"R-Really?"

"Y-Yeah..." Victor stuttered, gulping nervously before turning his head around in the surrounding area. He wasn't looking for anything specific in the cavern, but he still tried looking. With there being blood on the disks, they must've come from... someone. He searched for any other sign of red, or any indication that someone was nearby or had been here, but there was none. All he saw was the deeper path of the cavern that he knew he shouldn't go through.

He was snapped out of his gaze when Marnie gently tugged at his shoulder.

"Y-You alright?" She asked in clear worry.

Victor blinked several before nodding with an uncertain look.

"Er, yeah... It's just that... I'm not really good with blood."

Marnie stared at him in momentary silence.

"I... I think we outta head back."

"..." Victor gazed down at the small, bloodied TRs in his hands, then letting out a sigh. "Yeah..."

The two walked together while Ace glanced back at the deeper part of the den, wondering how the TRs ended up where they were and just what was deeper ahead of the cavern.

"Just what happened to whoever lost these?" Victor wondered as he kept his head down.

He and Marnie climbed back up the steep slope to the surface, where they both heard panicked cries and loud sobbing.

"What's happening?" Victor quickly rushed out and pulled himself out of the den.

Then immediately deadpanning when he saw the situation.

Gloria's newly caught Togepi, named Pixie, was bawling her eyes out with tears comedically flying out like a fountain. Hop was holding the pokemon in his arms, cradling her like a baby with a distressed look on his face while Gloria ran around in a panic, looking for something to somehow calm her new addition. Nessa was beside Hop as he gently rocked the pokemon, trying to calm the Togepi down with her words. As for their pokemon, Sky was simply sighing on the side while Luna panicked like Gloria, not really knowing what to do.

"Victor! There you are! Help us out!" Hop called to him in desperation.

"Piiiiiiiiii!" Togepi cried.

"Wh-What happened!?" Marnie stammered as she crawled up the hole behind Victor, shocked to see the situation.

Gloria stopped running around and turned to them with comedically watery eyes. "I-I don't know! I brought her out her Pokeball to say hi, but then she started cryin'!"

"I don't think she took too kindly to being caught..." Victor sighed, putting his backpack down with the two TRs.

"Wh-What should we do?" Marnie stammered, not wanting to see a pokemon so distressed.

"Let me try." Victor said as he opened his backpack.

He gently moved Tesla aside before digging around and taking out the same container of cookies he would've given the Snorlax earlier.

He stood up and held them forward, giving a reassuring smile in Togepi's direction.

"Hey, you hungry, little fella?

Hearing that, the small Togepi stopped wailing and stared forward at Victor with her eyes still leaking out water.

"P-Pi?"

She then caught sight of the treats and started squirming frantically in Hop's arms while reaching out.

"Pi! Togepi! Pi!"

"Wha-Hey!?" Hop wasn't expecting this and lost his grip on the pokemon, resulting in him dropping Pixie facefirst into the ground.

This didn't seem to faze the pokemon, though, as she quickly stood up and waddled towards Victor, still crying and looking rather desperate.

"Pi! Pi!" She made all the way to him and repeatedly jumped up and down, trying to reach the sweets with her stubby hands but clearly unable to reach them with their large difference of height.

"Oh god, that's too cute." Victor thought as flowers of happiness surrounded him.

Snapping out of his daze, he sat down in a cross-legged manner and placed down the container with an amused smile.

"Aw... You're just scared and hungry, aren't you? Sorry, I guess we did just suddenly jump you..."

Togepi didn't seem to be listening as she just tried to pry the container lid with her stubby arms, failing miserably and pouting as more tears came down her eyes.

Victor chuckled and easily took off the lid, to which the Togepi immediately dove in and grabbed cookie after cookie, scarfing them down.

"Oh, wow, she must be REALLY hungry..." Victor thought with widened eyes.

The others watched as Pixie stopped crying and just keep eating, earning sighs of relief from everyone else.

"Leave it to Victor to calm a pokemon down..." Hop said as he sat down.

Marnie sat beside Victor, placing her Morpeko down and encouraging her to interact with the Togepi.

"Mor! Mor!" Morpeko scurried next to the pokemon and sat down beside her, giving a happy smile.

"Mmph... Pi?" Pixie mumbled as she swallowed some of her food, turning to Morpeko nervously.

Luna then happily skipped to Pixie and cheered.

"Kirl! Kirl!"

"..."

Pixie nervously scooted away from them, making Luna turn black and white.

"K-Kirl!?"

She then doubled over on the ground with a comedic spotlight shining on her in depressing darkness.

"Aw... I guess you guys really did spook her." Nessa said, feeling a little bad.

"Sorry about that... Gloria really wanted to catch you, and it wasn't like I could talk her out of it." Victor awkwardly chuckled. "She just really loves cute things."

Gloria couldn't help but pout as her cheeks turned red in embarrassment.

"But she isn't a bad trainer. She'll take good care of you. So you don't have to be scared." Victor continued, trying to reassure the Togepi.

Pixie nervously turned her head to Gloria, who was standing a few feet away to give the pokemon some space.

"I... I hope we get along... Pixie." Gloria said, trying to sound as gentle as possible, even shaking a bit as she did.

"Pi?"

"That's what she wants to call you. Do you like it?" Victor clarified to the confused pokemon.

Togepi glanced at Gloria, then back to Victor.

"..."

Before just continuing to stuff herself with cookies as if nothing happened.

The group sweatdropped.

"Maybe we should leave her with our other pokemon?" Hop suggested.

"That's a good idea, Hop. New pokemon are always more comfortable with other pokemon since they can ask around about their new trainer." Nessa said with a point.

"Ooo! She's gonna love em'!" Gloria sparkled as she pulled out her Pokeballs and sent out her entire team.

"I guess we can have everyone meet each other now..." Marnie said as she took out her two other Pokeballs, releasing her Croagunk and Scraggy.

"I'm gonna have to heal Conga first..." Hop sighed, recalling what happened to his poor pokemon.

Nessa smiled as she thought about bringing her own pokemon out, only to hear some ominous sounds up in the cloudy and darkening sky.

"It looks like we're expecting some rain... You kids should find somewhere to spend the night before your pokemon get all chummy with one another."

"Eh? Just us? Aren't you gonna stay too?" Victor picked up on her words.

"Well, I got a place to sleep back at my gym. And I didn't really prepare anything for spending a night." Nessa said as she awkwardly scratched the back of her head. "We still got some time, though, so I can hang around and call a Corviknight taxi later."

Hop finished spraying Conga with a potion to heal him up, then gently ushering the pokemon to spend time around all the others gathering around Pixie, who looked rather nervous as she nibbled her food.

"Where should we go, though? I don't exactly want to head back into town already." He said as he stood up.

"How about we camp out in the den?" Victor pointed behind him.

"Nope. Dangerous pokemon always end up going through them one way or another." Nessa threw the idea out. "I think the safest bet is for you guys to find a cave."

"You mean that den?" Victor pointed behind him once again.

"No, again, dangerous pokemon can appear there and attack. I was thinking more about one of the caves around here in the hills. There are actually a few small ones that trainers use to sleep in."

"Really? How do you know?" Hop asked curiously.

"Hey, remember that I took the Gym Challenge too!" Nessa grinned with her hands on her hips.

"Oh! Then let's get going!" Hop turned to Gloria and Marnie, who were both crouched around the large group of pokemon and trying to make Pixie feel welcome. "Oi! We're gonna find somewhere to stay!"

Gloria turned her head in surprise. "Eh? Already?"

"Just follow me!" Nessa waved to them.

The group quickly packed up their things but left out their pokemon to socialize. Victor scooped up his backpack but froze for a second as he saw the two blood-stained TRs on the ground once more.

"..."

He picked them up with an unsure look, reading them to himself through the blood.

"Leaf Blade and Substitute... Both are pretty good, but I don't think any of my team can even learn Leaf Blade..."

"Victor, ya coming!?" Gloria shouted with a wave, the group already moving ahead.

Victor snapped out of his thoughts and glanced up to see his friends already walking ahead.

"Yeah, sorry!" He adjusted his backpack and hurried ahead with Midori running beside him, almost seeming to mimic how his trainer ran.

Victor held the two TRs in each of his hands, passing his friends and heading to the front of the pack where Nessa led them.

"Hey, Nessa!"

"Hm? What is it?" The model turned to him as she kept walking forward.

Victor stopped beside the Gym Leader with the TRs in hand.

"Well..." He brought them up for her to see.

"Oh! You found some TRs in the den! Nice!" Nessa smiled.

For some reason, Victor didn't like how normal that sounded.

"Um... Yeah, but..." He brought them to her closer to show the blood on them.

That made Nessa's smile fade as she noticed that Victor's usually cheerful mood had been dropped in worry from the disks.

"Right... That was your first time in a den..." She muttered.

"Is it normal to find TRs in them? And with... blood?" Victor asked her.

Nessa scratched the back of her head with a sigh.

"I guess it's better if I tell you now... You can say that it isn't 'normal,' but it's not surprising to find them in dens. People go around into dens all the time, Victor. Groups of trainers try to go take down a Dynamax pokemon, but sometimes.. things don't go too well."

Hearing that, Victor gazed down at the blood of the TRs, getting unwelcome chills as Nessa continued.

"Normally, if trainers fail to take down a Dynamaxed pokemon, the pokemon just sends them all out by force, which can hurt the trainers and also cause items from them to fall. So you can usually find TRs and other items in dens behind Dynamaxed pokemon. But depending on the pokemon, there can be more... serious results."

"Do... some people not make it out?" Victor asked, picking up on what she was saying.

Nessa remained silent for a few seconds, which Victor took as an obvious answer.

"Victor... I told you before that the Wild Area is dangerous... I knew you guys would be fine in that Raid Den since the pokemon around here aren't like the ones all the way up north. I mean, that was a Togepi out of everything."

"But why would pokemon really want to... kill humans? Is it because we're the ones bothering them first?"

Nessa had a look of thought, "I said this before, but we don't know for sure... For pokemon in dens, I understand that trainers bother them first, but for pokemon in the Wild Area, it's unclear why many of them are always on the aggressive."

"..."

Victor glanced down at Midori, noticing the pokemon looking down at the ground as he walked. He recalled his pokemon getting in this same mood when asked about the food in the Wild Area.

He glanced forward at the expanding view of the marvelous land, understanding that there were many darker things behind it.

With that, he remained in silence as Midori stepped closer to him, raising a hand and taking Victor's to hold.

Victor glanced down as he felt the contact, forming a small smile despite Midori still keeping his head down.

"I guess... There are some things I gotta look out for..."

The group walked together on their journey, intending to get as much experience as possible for their future battles.

All their pokemon were interacting with one another in some sort of way. Conga and Bubbles were beside one another, chatting away to catch up on their journey so far.

Both Corvisquires flew in the air while eyeing each other down, respecting each other but also wishing to one-up the other.

Tesla was sleeping on top of Hop's Wooloo, having found another enjoyable place to sleep that wasn't his trainer's bag. Wooloo didn't seem to mind as he happily walked with his group of friends, with Ziggy and Bolt playfully chasing each other around him.

Scraggy and Croagunk walked with Plush between them, both pokemon finding amusement in watching the Stufful waddle adorably.

Once again, Luna was within Gloria's bag, peaking out to take occasional glances at Midori with a sad look, noticing the Kirlia look down.

Morpeko was once again getting carried by her trainer, sleeping in her arms for the ride.

And finally, also surprisingly, Ace was walking while angrily blushing red in embarrassment. Beside him was Gloria's new Togepi, Pixie, holding his paw with her stubby hand and happily waddling with him. One way or another, Pixie somehow took an immediate liking to Ace's quiet but cool nature, as everyone else who spoke to her seemed to be a little over eccentric in welcomes, scaring her a bit.

Ace hadn't expected this, and he couldn't exactly say no when the child-like pokemon just took his hand with a precious baby smile on her face. He didn't want her suddenly bursting into tears again and risking getting chewed about by his trainer, so he bit the bullet and just walked with her.

"Pi! Pi!" Togepi happily cheered, getting attention from some of the other pokemon.

Who then all gave Ace smug looks.

A cross-vein formed on Ace's head, and his eye twitched as he tried not to kick a rock to anyone right there.

Victor glanced back at them and smiled when he saw how they were interacting, most notably finding Ace and Pixie to look adorable. Of course, Gloria thought the same thing and was even taking rapid pictures of the two while squealing.

Seeing him smile, Nessa formed her own and wrapped her arm around Victor's shoulder.

"There's a lot for you to learn, Victor. But I know you'll get through everything just fine. The Wild Area is where you change. Your pokemon get stronger, you understand them better, and your instincts are sharpened through every experience you go through. This..."

She waved a hand to present the thousands of miles of land barely seen head.

"This is where the strongest trainers are really made."

Victor knew she was right. He knew that this part of his journey would be where things truly escalate for him. Just ahead, far past the Bridge Field, would be where he would gain the experience he needed to take on anyone.

There was much to see, so much to learn, and so many people to meet.

From a lonely ghost user riding atop his Gengar, finding a place where he can feel like he belongs.

A beautiful fighting warrior determined to take down one of her own pokemon, battling with her Hitmontop while the other five watched.

A flying scientist smiling on his Magnezone, wishing to look into how one boy's pokemon appeared so strong and what did it relate to the boy himself.

A man in a brown coat with his Croagunk, both frowning as they searched the most powerful region for any equally powerful and threatening criminals.

A lone man surrounded by pokemon, his green eyes full of compassion as he was spoken to about another with a gift similar to his, his powerful dragon behind him and narrowing its eyes.

A grinning young woman flew atop her own powerful dragon, a unique stone sparkling on her left ankle as she flew over a brightly shining area of the Wild Area.

And even a woman standing with her Lucario in some mysterious ruins, her pokemon detecting an unnatural and dangerous aura so far in the distance, causing him to narrow his eyes.

So much to look forward to, so many memorable events that our hero doesn't know he'll have yet. So many people to meet and learn from, with many possible encounters in the future. But it didn't matter who or what he'll encounter during his journey.

He was determined to be ready for any of it.


~(Author's Post-Notes)~

(Standing still while few jellybean-men chase another with a golden tail.)

*GASP!* Oh, my, god! I-It's all the villains from before!? Who EVER could've seen that coming?... I mean, I guess if you didn't play Ultra sun or Moon, you wouldn't have known, and I guess I could've gone a different direction of villains, but I just felt like those guys made sense. It should've been obvious that only one man has the right to lead such a dangerous organization, the big man himself. But next on the list of events, Gloria got a cute pokemon! Hooray! And our heroes had their first taste in a Raid Den, with one of them learning that the Wild Area clearly holds more than meets the eye. You ever think why we get items from finishing raids? And anywho, this feels like a season of an anime just ended with what's setting up to come. New threats, new friends, new battles, and a whole lot more experience! Just what will our boy go through when he makes it to the 'meaty' part of the Wild Area? I'm excited about the people I want him to meet, but at the same time, I feel like it'll be so much to write interactions with each of them. But I'll worry about that later, I hope all of you enjoyed the chapter and leave a comment! I really feel like I need the positivity after the shit that was midterms... Man, I don't even know how long the next chapter is gonna be. See you next time trainers!

(Snatches tail of bean-man passing)

Announcer: Qualified!

...

I'm way too tired...