"Both Victor and Hop are given League endorsements from Leon, but when Gloria asks why she wasn't given one, the Champion's cryptic words gave her a lot to think about. Until she meets a wild Blipbug, who ends up helping her come clean about her real desires. Now, our heroes find themselves in the Wild Area, ready for their adventure to reach new heights."

"A Max-Out Catch"

Victor, Gloria, and Hop are running through the Rolling Fields.

"What part of you think this was a good idea?!" Gloria yells, midrun.

"Grookey has the type advantage, I thought I was a shoo in," Hop explains, midrun.

"All our life, we were told that wild Pokémon in the Wild Area are of various different levels and to be extra caution if we are ever here!" Gloria yells, midrun.

"Sorry, but I will never be Champion if I don't take risks!" Hop yells, midrun.

"And if you're not careful, you won't make it to the open ceremony!" Gloriay yells, midrun.

"Maybe we should discuss this… when we're not running for our lives…!" Victor says, midrun.

"Onx!" the wild Onix yells, as it continues to chase the three young Trainers.

Hop trips for a moment, before keeps his footing and continues running.

"Be careful!" Gloria yells, midrun.

"Sorry, but the ground is getting uneven, besides it not like we can keep running," Hop says, midrun. "We're gonna slow down!"

Victor then slides to a stop, "Or we can make Onix slow down." Victor then throws a Poké Ball. "Go, Scorbunny!"

The Poké Ball opens, shoots out red energy, forming Scorbunny, "Scor!"

"Scorbunny, jumps around Onix, keep it in one spot!" Victor instructs.

"Scor!" Scorbunny starts jumping around Onix, who stops and watches Scorbunny.

"Onx!" Onix tries to hit Scorbunny with its head, but misses, with Scorbunny keeps on jumping around it.

"Victor…?" Gloria and Hop approach their friend.

"Gloria, have Sobble uses Water Gun, if we can make the ground muddy…" Victor starts.

"Right," Gloria responds, before she throws a Poké Ball. "Go, Sobble!"

The Poké Ball opens, shoots red energy, forming Sobble.

"Sobble, use Water Gun, aim for the ground beneath Onix!" Gloria instructs.

"Sobbl!" Sobble shoots a stream of water at the ground beneath Onix, going over it, soaking the ground.

"Onx! Onx!" Onix keeps on yelling, before Scorbunny bounces off its head, and Onix starts to sink into the ground.

"Scor!" Scorbunny lands on Victor's shoulder.

"Good job," Victor tells his Pokémon.

Gloria picks up Sobble in her arms, "Now, let's go, before…"

"Onx!" Onix yells before it dives into the ground, disappearing into a huge hole.

"Wait, did it just use Dig?" Gloria asks.

Suddenly Onix bursts out of the ground behind the Trainers, Scorbunny, and Sobble, with them turn and screams, as the Onix lunges toward them.

"Drill Run!"

Suddenly, a spinning Rhydon speeds past them, slams into the Onix, knocking it back.

The Rhydon lands in front of the Trainers and their Pokémon, holding out one arm, "Ry-don."

"Is that…?" Victor starts.

Victor's Rotom Phone flies out of his bag and floats in front of him, "Rhydon, the Drill Pokémon, it begins walking on its hind legs after evolution. It can punch holes through boulders with its horn."

"That's right," the three friends and their Pokémon turn to see a muscled man wearing a vest and a Dynamax Band with slick back hair. "That's my partner, Rhydon."

"Onx," Onix lunges forward.

"Not quite done, yet? Then Rhydon, use Horn Drill!" the man calls out.

"Ry-don!" Rhydon's horn starts to spin, before it lunges forward, hitting Onix's head, with the two appeared to be at a stalemate, before Onix is pushed back.

"Onx!" Onix turns and starts to crawl away, quickly.

The man walks up to his Pokémon and pats it on its shoulder, "Well done, Rhydon."

"Ry-don," Rhydon smiles.

"That was incredible!" Hop says, as he and his friends approach the man.

"Yeah, and thanks for saving us," Gloria says.

"I was happy to help, my name is Rocky and you already met Rhydon."

"Ry-don."

"I'm Gloria, this is my partner Sobble," Gloria starts.

"Sobbl."

Gloria looks to her friends, "And this is Hop and Victor, and Victor's Scorbunny."

"You seem to forgot, Gloria, to mention that I am the future Champion," Hop grins.

"How could it slip my mind," Gloria says, with a sweatdrop.

"Thanks, again," Victor says to Rocky.

"Scor!"

"Don't mention it, and I got to say, I'm impressed by your idea to slow down Onix," Rocky says.

"Thanks, but it didn't work…" Victor looks to the side, which Scorbunny notices.

"Don't sweat it, kid, not every plan or idea works out," Rocky says, before he looks them over. "So you all are Pokémon Trainers?"

"Yep, and I am the future…" Hop starts.

"He got it, Hop," Gloria interrupts.

Rocky holds a hand to his chin, "Perhaps you three could help me with my Max Raid Battle."

"Max Raid Battle?" Victor asks.

Rocky is leading Victor, Gloria, and Hop through the Rolling Fields and toward East Lake Axewell.

"We never took part in a Max Raid Battle," Gloria says.

"That's fine, but tell me, what do you know about Max Raid Battles?" Rocky asks.

"Trainers come together to fight Dynamaxed Pokémon and blam! Klam! Slash!" Hop excitedly explains.

Gloria notices Rocky's confused expression, "That is actually his most concise explanation."

"Right," Rocky clears his throat. "It's a little more complicated than that. You see League regulations insist that four Trainers take part in a Max Raid Battle for safety. And they can battle wild Dynamaxed Pokémon. And, this is kinda odd, but the wild Pokémon remains Dynamaxed, while a Trainer's Pokémon can only stay Dynamaxed for a short time. But winning would reward one of the Trainers the chance to catch the Pokémon."

"I heard that wild Pokémon in the Wild Area can Dynamax, but I hadn't seen any," Victor says.

"That's because you need to know where to look," Rocky explains, as he stops and looks to his side, where the three young Trainers see a glowing circle platform. "And this is a Pokémon Den."

"A Pokémon… Den…" Victor repeats.

"Yep, wild Pokémon often wander in and out of Dens, and they could be affected by the Power Spots in them and are Dynamaxed," Rocky explains, places a hand to his chin. "Although I have heard of wild Pokémon leaving a Den, still Dynamaxed, but I hadn't seen anything."

"So you can find any kind of Pokémon in there?!" Hop asks, looking closely at the Den.

"Yep, even especially rare Pokémon," Rocky smiles.

"Are you searching for a specific Pokémon?" Gloria asks.

"I am, you see, I'm trying to start up a construction business," Rocky begins, as he holds up a Poké Ball. "And my partner Rhydon is an expert worker, but I need more help." He looks to the Den, with Hop quickly going around it, watching it. "And I heard of a powerful Pokémon that had been found in this Den. One can help Rhydon and me with my business."

Rocky sighs and looks back to Gloria, "Unfortunately to take on a Max Raid Battle, I need three other Trainers, but I hadn't been able to find any to assist me."

"I'm sorry, but we're just getting started…" Gloria starts.

"That's fine, besides Max Raid Battles is a good experience," Rocky interrupts. "So what do you say?"

"Of course…!" Hop jumps over from the Den. "The future Champion can't back away from a challenge like this."

"I forgot you were gonna be Champion, you hadn't mentioned it for the past ten minutes," Gloria says, with a hand on her waist. "What about you, Victor?"

Gloria turns to see Victor looking at his Dynamax Band, before he looks over to her, "Oh, hum, I don't know. It could be… fun…"

"Maybe, but…" Gloria starts.

Suddenly Hop appears behind Victor and Gloria, "Then it settles, let's go!"

Hop gentles pat his friends on their backs, pushing them slightly forward and causing them to place their hands on the Den, as Rocky and Hop also place their hands on the Den. Suddenly a bright light emerges from the Den, with it seen for miles around, before the light starts to expand, covering the four Trainers.

The light fades, as the three young Trainers lower their arms from covering their eyes, now in a darkened landscape.

Gloria angrily stands in front, "Hop, what do you think you're doing?! We were still discussing it!"

Hop holds his hands behind his head, "C'mon, Gloria. You need to be able to jump into adventure. That's why my parents named me Hop, to remind me to always jump, or hop, into adventure." Hop grins.

"I seriously doubt that's why they called you Hop," Gloria responds.

"Hum, Gloria…" Victor looks ahead, completely awestruck and frightened, causing Gloria to look in the same direction.

"Oh, wow…" Gloria says, as a giant Pokémon slowly walks out of the darkness, coming into view, revealing it to be a Conkeldurr.

Victor holds up his Rotom Phone, "Conkeldurr, the Muscular Pokémon, concrete mixed by Conkeldurr is much more durable than normal concrete, even when the compositions of the two materials are the same."

"Guess Rocky's right about how it could help with his construction business…" Victor says.

"We are definitely out of our depths here," Gloria says.

"What are you saying, I'm completely pumped!" Hop shouts.

"Now that spirit," Rocky says, seconds after sending his Rhydon. "Now, let's go."

"Rhy-don!"

"Right," the three young Trainers respond, with Hop being more excitedly, as they get ready to send out their Pokémon.

"Go, Scorbunny!"

"Scor!"

"Go, Sobble!"

"Sobbl!"

"Let's go, Grookey!"

"Key!"

"Conk-dur!" the giant Conkeldurr yells.

"Sobbl!" Sobble jumps into Gloria's arms.

"It's gonna be okay, Sobble, we don't have to battle Conkeldurr on our own," Gloria gently pets her Pokémon.

"So, do we have a battle strategy?" Victor asks.

"Hit it hard and keep it on," Rocky throws out a hand. "Rhydon, use Horn Drill!"

"Rhy-don!" Rhydon jumps high.

"That's not a battle strategy!" Gloria yells, still holding Sobble.

Rhydon lept toward the giant Conkeldurr, with its horn spinning rapidly. Conkeldurr holds up one of the stone pillars it is holding, blocking Rhydon's attack.

"Conk-dur!" Conkeldurr shoves the stone pillar to the side, throwing Rhydon back, with it slams hard onto the ground.

Conkeldurr then places the stone pillar firmly on the ground, lets go, and gets ready to throw a punch, as its fist is glowing.

"That must be Max Knuckle, watch out!" Rocky warns.

"Conk-dur!" Conkeldurr throws forward a punch, as an energy fist is sent flying from its fist.

Rhydon quickly returns to its feet and runs out of the way, as Scorbunny and Grookey jump to the side, with the energy fist hits the ground, exploding on impact and sending shockwaves.

"This is so awesome!" Hop says, with huge eyes.

"Key!" Grookey mimics its Trainer.

"You scare me sometimes, Hop," Gloria says.

"Perhaps if we try long distance attacks…" Victor suggests.

"Worth a try," Gloria says, before she looks at Sobble in her arms. "Are you up for it?"

"Sobbl…"

"Scor!"

Sobble looks down at Scorbunny on the ground, who pumps its fists and smiles. Sobble nods its head, "Sobbl."

Sobble jumps out of Gloria's arms, landing next to Scorbunny, before the two Pokémon look up at the giant Conkeldurr.

"Scorbunny, use Ember!"

"Sobble, you use Water Gun!"

Scorbunny and Sobble jump up, with Scorbunny starts shooting a series of small fireballs from its mouth, as Sobble starts shooting a stream of water from its mouth.

Both attacks hit Conkeldurr, "Conk-dur…"

Conkeldurr slightly lifts both stone pillars up and slams them on the ground, sending shockwaves across the ground, as Scorbunny and Sobble lands, before suddenly a giant rock slab erupts up in front of Conkeldurr.

"Now it's using Max Rockfall," Rocky realizes. "Rhydon, use Drill Run!"

"Rhy-don!" Rhydon jumps and spins around rapidly, flying toward the rock slab, hitting it repeatedly, before finally bounces off, followed by the rock slab starting to fall down.

"Sobbl…" Sobble tries to run out of the shadows of the rock slab, before tripping.

"Sobble!" Gloria runs toward her Pokémon.

"Sobbl!" Sobble suddenly shoots a stream of water at Gloria, pushing her back, before the slab falls on top of Sobble, causing a large explosion on impact, as a sandstorm spreads out from the impact.

"Sobble!" Gloria, having fallen on her back, returns to her feet and runs ahead to find Sobble lying on the ground, with its eyes whirling, and picks it up.

"Sobbl…"

Gloria smiles, "Thank you, Sobble. Now get some rest."

Gloria holds out a Poké Ball, which shoots out a red laser, hitting Sobble, turning it into red energy before flying back into the Poké Ball.

Rocky runs over to the young Trainers and their Pokémon, "I'm sorry about your Sobble, but this sandstorm was caused by Max Rockfall, we must keep on battling or we lose."

"If we keep on battling, then we need an actual plan," Victor places a hand to his chin. "I don't believe Conkeldurr are known for their speed, but our Pokémon are fast, we could use that to advantage."

"That it!" Hop gets close to Victor, surprising him. "Your Scorbunny is very fast. If you Dynamax it, we could easily win."

"I don't know…" Victor starts.

"I like it, let's do it," Rocky says.

"Okay…" Victor says, as Hop and Rocky nod their heads.

Gloria holds out a Poké Ball, "Let's do this for Sobble." She then throws the Poké Ball. "Go, Blipbug!"

The Poké Ball opens, shoots out red energy, which forms Blipbug, "Blip!"

With a Poké Ball in his hand, Victor looks at his Dynamax Band, "Okay, you see it a lot on battle streams… You can do this…" Victor breathes deeply with his eyes closed, before opening them and aims his Poké Ball at Scorbunny. "Alright, Scorbunny, Dynamax!"

"Scor!"

But nothing happened, with Victor again saying, "Scorbunny, Dynamax!"

"Scor!" But still nothing happened, Scorbunny slowly looks back at its Trainer. "Scor?"

Victor holds up his arm, looking at his Dynamax Band, "Why can't I Dynamax?"

"Victor, watch out!" Gloria calls out, with Victor looks ahead to see Conkeldurr throwing a large energy fist at him and Scorbunny.

"Scor!" Scorbunny fires a series of small fireballs at the energy fist, but it isn't slowing.

"Blipbug, counter with Struggle Bug!" Gloria yells.

Blipbug jumps up, with its body glowing green, and collides with the energy fist, causing a large explosion. Thrown out of the explosion, Blipbug is knocked back.

"Blipbug!" Gloria calls out.

Blipbug's body starts to glow, before it reshapes into a dome-like shape, with the glowing ceases, revealing Dottler, which lands on the ground.

"Blipbug, you evolved!" Gloria realizes, as she takes out her Rotom Phone.

"Dottler, the Radome Pokémon, as it grows inside its shell, it uses its psychic abilities to monitor the outside world and prepare for evolution," the Rotom Phone explains.

"That's so awesome!" Hop says, before he looks to Grookey. "There is no way we are falling behind. Right, Grookey?!"

"Key!" Grookey jumps up and down, exciteding.

"Then, use Branch Poke!" Hop instructs.

"Key!" Grookey jumps up and stabs forward with its stick, which hits the center of Conkeldurr's head.

"Conk-dur!" Conkeldurr tries to swipe away Grookey, but it manages to jump off the stone pillar and leaps away.

"We can't just attack…" Victor says.

"I might have a plan, now," Gloria says as she puts her Rotom Phone back in her bag. "Dottler, use Confusion!"

"Dot… er!" Dottler's body glows brightly, before small orbs shoot from it and hits Conkeldurr.

"Conk-dur…" Conkeldurr starts to raise one of its hand from a stone pillar, but then slams itself in the head.

"Why did it just hit itself?" Hop wonders.

"Because Dottler manages to confuse it," Gloria smiles.

"Conk… dur!" Conkeldurr yells, before a large barrier appears in front of the Pokémon.

"What was that?" Gloria asks.

"Dynamaxed wild Pokémon sometimes summon barriers to protect themselves with," Rocky explains. "We're gonna have to take it down before we could do any serious damage… while your Pokémon are receiving damage from the sandstorm."

"Scor…" Scorbunny says, as it sees Grookey walks over.

"Key…"

"Well, we do have a plan," Hop says.

Victor keeps on looking at his Dynamax Band, "But I can't Dynamax…"

Rocky sighs, "Maybe this was a bad idea. I shouldn't involve you kids in my foolish dream…"

"No…" Victor suddenly says, before looking away from his Dynamax Band. "No dreams are foolish… and we can still battle…"

"He's right," Gloria agrees. "If Conkeldurr feels like it needs a barrier, then we must be doing some damage."

"Alright! Let's knock down that barrier!" Hop pumps his arms.

"Okay then," Rocky nods his head, then turns. "Rhydon, attack with Horn Drill!"

"Scorbunny, Ember!"

"Grookey, Branch Poke!"

Scorbunny jumps up and starts shooting a series of small fireballs from its mouth, as Rhydon and Grookey leap up, with Rhydon's horn spinning and Grookey stabs forward with its stick. All three attacks hit the barrier at once, and after a couple seconds, the barrier shatters.

"Conk-dur!" Conkeldurr, letting go of one of its stone pillars, starts to throw a fist forward, sending out an energy fist.

"You not the only one who can use barriers," Gloria starts. "Dottler, Reflect!"

"Dot-er!" Dottler calls out, as a large yellow-colored barrier appears, blocking the energy fist, before a large explosion consumes both attacks.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Rocky pumps his fists, before he notices his Dynamax Band is glowing.

"Rhy-don!"

Rocky holds up his Dynamax Band arm, "Let's do this." Victor looks over to Rocky, before he holds out his Poké Ball. "Let's go, Rhydon!"

Rhydon turns into red energy and flies to the Poké Ball, with Rocky then holds out his hand, with the large, glowing Poké Ball surrounds it, before Rocky starts to turn around, "Dynamax!"

Rocky throws the large Poké Ball which opens and shoots out a massive red energy, as it starts to take shape and grows, until it forms a giant Rhydon, "Rhy-don!"

"Incredible, Rhydon Dynamax! A live Dynamax!" Hop excitedly jumps up and down.

"Key! Key!" Grookey mimics its Trainer.

"Dot… er" Dottler says, with a sweat drop.

Gloria sighs, "You'll get used to it."

Victor looks around as the sandstorm starts to clear, "The sandstorm… it's wearing off."

"Then this is the perfect moment. Rhydon, get in close!" Rocky yells.

"Rhy-don!" Rhydon charges and starts to grapple with Conkeldurr.

"Conk-dur!"

"While it's busy, we should attack," Victor suggests, with his friends nodding their agreement.

"Dottler, Confusion!"

"Scorbunny, use Ember!"

"Grookey, Branch Poke!"

Dottler's body glows brightly and shoots out small orbs. Scorbunny jumps and shoots a series of fireballs from its mouth.

As Rhydon and Conkeldurr are grappling, both attacks hitt Conkeldurr, "Conk-dur!"

"Key!" Grookey runs across Rhydon's arm, before jumping and stabs forward with its stick, hitting their opponent.

"Alright, Rhydon, push Conkeldurr back and use Max Quake!" Rocky calls out.

"Rhy… don!" Rhydon pushes Conkeldurr, forcing it back a couple steps. "Rhy-don!" Rhydon then slams a fist into the ground, with the ground beneath Conkeldurr starts to crack before collapsing completely under its feet, followed by a large explosion.

As the explosion clears, Conkeldurr is seen on one knee, with only its stone pillars keeping it upright.

"This is my chance," Rocky holds up a Poké Ball, which glows as a large Poké Ball forms around it, then throws it. "Go, Poké Ball!"

The Poké Ball flies high in the air, which then opens up, as a large vacuum blows out of it. Conkeldurr turns into red energy and flies into the large Poké Ball, which then closes and lands on the ground. It shakes three times, before the energy shrinks back down to a normal Poké Ball, with stars shoot out of the button.

"Alright!" Rocky scoops up the Poké Ball and holds it up. "I caught Conkeldurr!"

The sky starts to clear before the Trainers and their Pokémon find themselves back in their old location, with the Den stops glowing.

"That… was…" Hop gets down low before he hops up. "Awesome!"

Later on, Rocky leads the three Trainers to the top of a hill, overlooking the entrance to Motostoke.

"There you go, Motostoke," Rocky says.

"Thanks, a lot," Hop says, as he gets excited. "I don't believe I'm so close now…"

"That's okay, I should thank you," Rocky says, with a sweat drop.

Gloria looks over to Victor, who is looking at his Dynamax Band, before approaches him, "Are you okay, Victor?"

Victor looks up at her, "Oh, hum, I'm fine." Victor gives a small smile. "Really, I'm okay."

"Okay…" Gloria says, before she and Victor turn to the approaching Rocky.

"Again, thanks for the help," Rocky says.

"I hope you're able to follow your dream," Victor says.

"You too, kid," Rocky smiles.

"Okay, let's go…" Gloria says, before she looks around. "Hop?"

"Yeah, I think Hop's getting impatient," Rocky says, before they see Hop running down the hill.

"Hop! Wait up," Gloria calls out, before starting to follow after him.

"Hurry up, my future as Champion awaits!" Hop shouts.

Victor shrugs his shoulders, "Hopefully, we get to see each other again."

Rocky watches as Victor runs after his friends, "I'm sure we will, Victor." Rocky holds up a folded letter with the word "endorsement" written on it. "Someday, as you follow your dream."

The three friends are running toward the grass toward Motostoke's entrance.

"An exciting adventure punctures our heroes' first foray into the Wild Area. But it also brought concerns for Victor about his ability to Dynamax. Will he be able to handle this problem, or will it be a roadblock in following his dream?"

"Find out, as the journey continues…"