"Victor and Gloria, alongside Hop, finally reach the Wild Area, but they quickly realize how powerful the wild Pokémon are, as well as experience their first Max Raid Battle. But Victor found himself unable to Dynamax! As the thought of that difficulty weighs heavily on him, our heroes arrive in Motostoke for the Galar League's opening ceremony."

"First Step of League Championship"

"We are here!" Hop yells, with his arms raised high, several steps into Motostoke, with Victor and Gloria behind him.

"How did I know he's going to do that?" Gloria wonders, with a hand on her waist.

"Alright, now," Hop, with one hand on his other shoulder, spins his arm around. "Onward to the opening ceremony!"

Hop starts to run ahead, but is stopped by Gloria holding onto the back of his shirt, with Hop running in pace, "Hold it there, future champion-man, the opening ceremony is in five hours."

Without skipping a beat, Hop stands in the same spot, while rubbing the back of his head, "I knew that…"

Gloria sighs, "Sure you did."

"We probably should check into the hotel," Victor suggests.

"Right, isn't it called the Budew Drop Inn?" Gloria looks over her shoulder at Victor.

"Yeah…" Victor holds up his Rotom Phone. "According to the map, it's on the upper tier."

"Upper tier? So that means…" Gloria looks back ahead, with Hop turning around, as they see the large lift rising up to the upper tier of the city. "We're going up."

"Right to the top!" Hop punches a fist into the air. "Just like I'll be at the top of the Galar League!"

"No one can say you lack confidence," Gloria says, with Victor nodding his head.

After a few minutes, Victor, Gloria, and Hop are on the lift, as it starts to raise up.

Victor holds out a Poké Ball, before looking over to Gloria and Hop, who both are holding out two Poké Balls, with they all sharing a smile.

Red energy shoots onto the lift's guardrail, forming Scorbunny, who immediately becomes amazed at the sight of Motostoke's lower tier and the sun in the distance, before looks over to Victor, with them both smiling and then continues to watch the scenery. At the same time, Gloria is holding Sobble, with Dottler on the guardrail, and Hop standing next to Wooloo, who has Grookey standing on its fur, all of whom are also watching the scenery.

Shortly later, Hop is leading Victor and Gloria down the street, "Coming thru, the future Galar Champion!"

"Hop, people are starting to stare," Gloria complains.

Unawaren to the three Trainers, a Morpeko stands around a corner, tilting its head, "Morpe?"

The Morpeko's Trainer stands next to the corner, while she's covered in shadows, "Are those Gym Challengers?"

Hop, Victor, and Gloria are entering the Budew Drop Inn to find a large group of people, all dressed in the same outfits, with some of them holding megaphones, as they stand in front of people in the lobby.

One of the guys yell, "C'mon, why aren't you cheering!"

One of the girls yell, "Yeah, the best of the best Gym Challengers is coming here!"

"So let's hear you cheer!" the guy yells.

"With all of your voice!" the girl yells.

"What's going on?" Gloria asks.

Hop smiles, "Isn't it obvious, they heard that the future Galar League Champion is here."

The people in the same clothes stop, with the guy asking, "What did you say…?"

Victor reaches out to his friend slightly, "Hum, Hop…"

Hop holds his arms behind his head, still smiling, "I said I'm the future Galar League Champion."

"What did you say…?" the girl asks.

Hop starts to release his arms, "I said I'm the future…"

The guy and girl spin and run straight up to Hop, "Are you out of your mind?!"

"There is no way we will cheer about a nobody like you!" the guy yells.

"We save our cheers for a real superstar!" the girl yells, before she holds up a large poster showing a girl. "The one and only Marnie!"

"She will win the Galar League hands down!" the guy yells.

"So you're this Marnie's fans…?" Victor asks.

The guy stands immediately in front of Victor, "We're her ultra fans!"

The guy and girl jump back, rejoining their entire group, as they all yell, "We're Team Yell, and we will cheer Marnie right to victory!"

"Team Yell…?" Victor repeats.

"At least they live up to their name," Gloria adds.

The girl then notices the three Trainers' Dynamax Bands, "Are you three there Gym Challengers?!"

"Victor and I am," Hop answers.

Gloria holds a hand to one ear, "Do you have to yell everything?"

"Well, listen to this, I am Paul!" the guy yells before he throws a Poké Ball, releasing a Galarian Zigzagoon. "And this is my partner, Zigzagoon!"

"Zigza!"

Victor holds up his Rotom Phone, "Zigzagoon, the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon, Its recklessness has it constantly running around. If it sees another Pokémon, it will purposely run into them in order to start a fight."

"And I am Jean!" the girl yells before she throws a Poké Ball, releasing Nickit. "Here is my partner, Nickit!"

"Kit! Kit!"

Gloria holds up her Rotom Phone, "Nickit, the Fox Pokémon, Aided by the soft pads on its feet, it silently raids the food stores of other Pokémon. It survives off its ill-gotten gains."

"So we got a troublemaker and a thief, sounds like they might be perfect for those two," Gloria jokes.

"Hey, someone who is not good enough to be a Gym Challenger shouldn't throw shade!" Jean yells.

"It doesn't sound like you're Gym Challengers either!" Gloria shouts.

Paul crosses his arms, "That because we know no one is good enough to beat Marnie! And we will prove it, by beating these two Gym Challengers!"

"Where's the logic in that?!" Gloria yells.

"Alright, I been itching for a chance to battle with Wooloo," Hop holds up a Poké Ball. "Let's go, Victor."

"Oh, hum, okay," Victor reaches into his back pocket.

Both Victor and Hop throw out their Poké Ball.

"Go, Scorbunny!"

"Let's go, Wooloo!"

"You call those Pokémon, they're nothing compared to Morpeko!" Paul yells.

"And we'll prove that here and now, Nickit, use Snarl!" Jean yells.

"Zigzagoon, use Headbutt!"

"Wooloo, use Defense Curl!" Hop calls out.

"Scorbunny, jump up to dodge!" Victor instructs.

"Kit! Kit! Kit! Kit!" Nickit yells repeatedly, with soundwaves flying off.

"Woooo!" Wooloo curls up, with its body glows for a moment as the soundwaves hit.

"Zigza!" Zigzagoon charges ahead, with its head down.

"Scor!" Scorbunny jumps up, as Zigzagoon runs past under it.

"Scorbunny, now use Ember!" Victor shouts.

"Not so fast, Zigzagoon, use Snarl!" Paul yells.

"Zigza! Zigza! Zigza! Zigza!" Zigzagoon looks up and yells repeatedly, sending soundwaves upward.

"Scor…" Scorbunny starts to spit out a fireball, when the soundwaves hit it, sending it flying backward.

"Scorbunny!" Victor calls out.

"Zigzagoon knows Snarl too?" Hop's surprised.

"Nickit, uses Quick Attack!" Jean yells.

"Kit!" Nickit slams its body against Wooloo, knocking it to the side.

"Wooo!"

"Wooloo!" Hop yells.

"Now, Zigzagoon, Headbutt!" Paul yells.

Scorbunny bounces off the lobby's wall, when Zigzagoon headbutts Scorbunny, slamming it against the wall.

"Scorbunny, quick, counter with Ember!" Victor instructs.

"Scor…" a small puff of fire shoots out of Scorbunny's mouth, but it shakes and clenches its mouth.

"These two might be loud, but they're tough," Gloria realizes.

"You got that right, Team Yell for the win!" the other members of Team Yell shout, as Scorbunny and Wooloo walk over to each other.

"Now to bring out the big win!" Paul yells.

"It will be my pleasure!" Jean yells. "Nickit, let's end this, with Beat Up!"

"Beat Up?" Hop repeats.

"It's a move that allows multiple Pokémon to attack one target," Gloria explains.

"Alright!" Hop yells, to Gloria's confusion. "This is our chance, Wooloo, use Copycat!"

"Woooo!" Wooloo yells out.

"Scor…" Scorbunny, previous looking down, looks back up.

"Wait, copying what?!" Jean yells.

"Copying the last move called," Hop says. "Like Beat Up!"

Wooloo and Scorbunny both run up to Nickit, covering all three Pokémon in a dust cloud, and after a couple seconds of it, Wooloo and Scorbunny jump back, leaving Nicki lying on the floor.

"Kit…"

"My poor Nickit!" Jean yells. "That wasn't fair, ganging up on my Nickit like that!"

"They were copying your attack…" Gloria says, with a sweat drop.

"Doesn't matter, I still got Zigzagoon!" Paul yells.

"Not for long, Scorbunny had recovered from flinching," Victor starts. "Now, Scorbunny, use Ember!"

"Scor!" Scorbunny jumps up and starts shooting a stream of fireballs from its mouth, blasting Zigzagoon and knocking it next to Nickit.

"Zigzagoon!' Paul yells.

"Alright, Hop and Victor for the win!" Hop yells.

Gloria holds a hand to her face, "If anyone else yell…"

"What is this?"

Victor, Hop, and Gloria turn, as Team Yell looks ahead to see entering the hotel is Marnie and her Morpeko.

"Marnie!" all of Team Yell yell.

"Morpe!" Morpeko smiling.

"I hope you're all not causing any trouble," Marnie says.

"Not at all, Ms. Marnie!" Paul claims, as he and Jean hurriedly stand next to her.

"We're just spreading our love for you, Ms. Marnie!" Jean adds.

"I told you not to call me Ms. Marnie… or to yell so much," Marnie says, with Paul and Jean slowly sliding away from her. Marnie then looked to the three Trainers. "Again, I hope they weren't bothering anyone too much."

"We're fine, mostly," Victor says, as Scorbunny jumps onto his shoulder.

"Scor!"

"Morpe!" Morpeko walks up.

"So this is Morpeko?" Victor asks, as he holds up his Rotom Phone.

"Morpeko, the Two-Sided Pokémon, It carries electrically roasted seeds with it as if they're precious treasures. No matter how much it eats, it always gets hungry again in short order."

"That right," Marnie picks up Morpeko and holds it in her arms, as it pulls a seed out of its pocket and pops it into its mouth, eating it. "My partner, Morpeko, and I am Marnie."

"Morpe!"

"I'm Victor, and this is Scorbunny."

"Scor!"

"I'm Gloria."

"This is Wooloo," Hop knees next to his Pokémon, patting it, before standing back up. "And I'm Hop, the future Galar League Champion."

"So not!" Paul is heard yelling.

"So you all Gym Challengers?" Marnie asks.

"Actually, I'm not," Gloria rubs her arm.

"Well, I still look forward to seeing what you can do," Marnie says, looking at Victor and Hop.

"You too," Victor says, as Marnie, holding her Morpeko, walks past them. "She seems nice and soft-spoken…"

"Unlike her fans," Gloria adds.

"I thought I will find you three here."

The three Trainers, with Scorbunny and Wooloo turn to see Sonia entering the lobby.

"Sonia, what's you doing here?" Gloria asks.

"Isn't it obvious…" Hop starts.

"If you mention your future as Champion one more time!" Gloria yells.

"Now who's yelling?" Hop asks, grinning, causing Gloria to look down, blushing.

Sonia smiles, "Seeing you guys in the opening ceremony is one reason why I came."

"One reason?" Victor asks. "What's the other reason?"

"Well, I actually have been thinking about those strange Pokémon you saw in the Slumbering Weald, and I start to think they might be related to some old legends," Sonia explains, with a hand to her chin.

"What old legends?" Victor asks.

"Yeah, like this one," Sonia walks past her young friends to look at the tall gold statue of an armored knight, holding a shield and raising a sword. "The hero who saved the Galar region."

"A hero?" Victor wonders.

"I think I heard of this," Gloria starts. "Something about a black storm…"

"That's right, you see, according to legend a black storm covered all of Galar," Sonia starts. "It was known as the Darkest Day. Gigantic Pokémon appeared and attacked the land. Until a single hero rises and defeats them all with his sword and shield. And this statue is of that hero."

Hop smiles, "And someday there's been statues of me as the Champion."

Gloria looks over to her friend, annoyed, "Ever heard of a broken record, Hop?"

Sonia smiles, before returning to a serious expression, "Although, if this legend is based on real events, we have no idea what this black storm is or what caused it, beyond the fact it blanket the sky all over Galar."

"Gigantic Pokémon…" Victor whispers, before thinking about the Dynamaxed Conkeldurr, then looks up to Sonia. "Could it be... that the Gigantic Pokémon were Dynamaxed?"

"That is one possiblity," Sonia responds. "Of course, there simply isn't enough information yet…"

"But what does this have to do with the Pokémon Victor and I saw in Slumbering Weald?" Gloria asks, thinking back to the red creature and blue creature.

"There are theories that the legendary king is connected somehow to Slumbering Weald," Sonia explains, before sighing with her arms crossed. "But again… not enough information to confirm it…" She then looks up to see the three young Trainers looking at her, causing her to sweat drop. "Oh, but don't worry about it. You should really only worry about the Gym Challenge."

"Gym Challenge, right," Gloria repeats. "Excuse me for a second."

Gloria walks past the statue, standing next to the checkin counter and holds up her Rotom Phone, after pressing the screen a couple times before she holds it up.

Glory appears on the Rotom Phone's screen, smiling, "Oh, hi there, honey. You made it to Motostoke, safely?"

"Yes, mom," Gloria starts. "And there's something important I need to discuss with you.".

"What is it, Gloria?" Glory asks, as Gloria lets go of her Rotom Phone, allowing it to levitate in front of her.

"Well, mom, you know how when I received the letter from Chairman Rose, rejecting me for a League endorsement…?" Gloria starts, unaware of the elevator doors opening, as someone steps out. "And how disappointed I was. Well, I was also disappointed when Leon didn't give me an endorsement."

"I know, honey…" Glory says.

"Well, I was really disappointed, but the truth is I don't actually want to compete in the League…" Gloria starts. "I just want to travel, see the world… And since I realized it, I've been thinking of a way to tell you..."

Glory smiles, "I already know."

"You do?" Gloria asks.

"I'm your mother, Gloria, I know you better than you know yourself," Glory starts. "And while I don't know about Rose, but Leon realized it too, which is why he didn't give you an endorsement."

"Then why doesn't anyone say anything…?" Gloria asks.

"Because it's something you have to figure out on your own," Glory tells her. "And Gloria, you have my full support."

"I do?"

"Yeah, I traveled a lot when I was your age and I like to believe it made me who I am today," Glory says. "So, travel to your heart's content and be safe."

Gloria holds onto her Rotom Phone, smiling, "Thanks you, mom. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, dear."

Gloria presses the screen on her Rotom Phone, unaware Victory is looking at her, smiling.

"Did you say you were rejected for an endorsement by the Chairman?"

Gloria turns to see someone approaching her, as her friends join her, "Yeah, why does it matter to you?"

"I am Bede, and it is me who the Chairman gave his so much important endorsement to."

"Oh… good for you…" Gloria responds.

"That's cool, Victor and I got our endorsement from the Champion himself," Hop explains.

Bede smirks, "Not that it matters much."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hop asks.

"The Champion's endorsement means so little, he can give them away dozens at a time," Bede gets close to Hop. "But Chairman Rose, his endorsement is so valuable, that he only gives one for every league competition."

Bede walks pass the four friends, bumping Hop's shoulder as he does, "I would say see you around, but you'll be lucky to beat your first Gym Leader."

"Marnie's seem so nice, but Bede is so…" Victor starts.

"Unpleasant," Gloria finishes.

"That just goes to show you there are many different types of people in the world," Sonia starts, before looking to her young friends. "And right now, you three better set up in your rooms and get ready for the opening ceremony."

"Right," the three Trainers say together.

Bede starts to push open the lobby's front entrance, looks over his shoulder to the group and then continues on his way out.

Later that night, at the Motostoke Stadium, the stands are full with people and Pokémon, all cheering, including Gloria, who has Sobble in her lap.

Chairman Rose walks out to the center of the field, holding out his arms, "Ladies and gentlemen! As many of you know, I am Rose, chairman of the Pokémon Galar League! I know many of you here at the Motostoke Stadium…!"

"As well as everyone watching from the comforts of their homes have all been waiting for this very moment!" Rose continues on the TV in Vicki's house, as she, Glory, and Castera, with Munchlax in Vicki's lap, are watching.

"So without further ado, I officially announce the Galar League Gym Challenge will now begin!" Rose continues. "All Trainers who enter, must defeat the eight Gym Leaders, earning the Gym Badges, which will allow them entrance into the Galar League Tournament! And then the winner of the Tournament will challenge the Galar Champion for a chance at becoming the new Champion!"

The crowd explodes into a round of applause and cheering, before Rose continues, "And now, let me introduce our Gym Leaders!"

At that moment, eight individuals start to enter from the field's rightmost entrance, as Rose continues, "The fighting farmer! The Grass-type expert, Milo!"

Milo waves at the crowd.

"The raging wave! Master of Water types, Nessa!"

Nessa blows a kiss at the crowd.

"The ever-burning man of fire! He's the Fire-type veteran, Kabu! The silent boy of mystery! Friend to Ghost types, Allister!"

Allister just waves his arms back and forth and rocks his head side to side.

"The master of a fantastic theater! The charming Fairy-type user, Opal! The hard-rock crusher! The new Rock-type master, Gordie!"

Gordie grins and waves two fingers at the crowd.

"Last but not least, the tamer of dragons! The top Gym Leader, Raihan!"

Raihan waves at the crowd, before he takes a selfie with his Rotom Phone as he holds thumbs up.

"Unfortunately, it would seem one of our Gym Leaders couldn't make it…!" Rose looks around as he rubs the back of his neck, before noticing Milo shrugging his shoulders.

"Ahem," Rose clears his throat. "Anyway, let's introduce our challengers this year!"

The crowd continues to applause and cheers, as a large group of Trainers, all wearing their Gym Challenge uniforms, are entering from the leftmost entrance.

"Alright, Marnie! Go Marnie! You can't be beat, Marnie!" Paul and Jean, as well as the rest of Team Yell, yell in unison with Jean waving around her Marnie poster, as Marnie walks across the field, looks to the side and nods.

"At least they're supposed to be loud here," Gloria looks up at Team Yell, who are seated high up in the stands.

"Sobbl."

Gloria looks back down at the field, where she sees Hop jogging out onto the field with his arms raised, "And there's Hop, who is as excited as ever. If not more so…" She then started to look around the field, "Now where's Victor?"

"Sobbl," Sobble points toward the entrance, with Gloria following it, now seeing Victor slowly walking onto the field, completely stiff and constantly shaking.

"Is he… okay?" Gloria asks.

"Sobbl?"

Vicki, Glory, and Casteria watch Victor walking onto the field on the TV.

"Is something wrong with Victor?" Glory asks.

"He's kind of nervous in front of a large crowd," Vicki responds.

"Lax."

"He did realize how much of a spectacular sport the Galar League is?" Castera asks.

"If he doesn't before, he does now," Glory comments.

Victor comes to a stop on the field, still stiff and shaking, unaware that Bede is several feet away, notices him and crosses his arms, "Pathetic."

Victor slowly turns his head, trying to look around, when he sees a tall Trainer, with dark hair with two long bangs off the front.

"Alright, Trainers!" Rose starts, getting Victor's attention, almost causing him to jump in place. "We all expect great things from you all! And I'm sure you won't disappoint!"

Bede grins.

Marnie softly nods her head.

Victor slowly raises his hand, looking at his Dynamax Band, with a serious expression appearing on his face.

"Let's hear it one more time for our Challengers!" Rose shouts, causing the crowd to explode into applause and cheers again.

"Not too long in Motostoke, our heroes face rivals of different kinds. But now the real challenge begins. Will Victor be able to overcome his nerves and wins in the Galar League?"

"Find out, as the journey continues..."