Galar: The Empty Throne

by StoriesandGlories

This was a story I wrote during the Galar generation of Pokemon that I wasn't going to publish, but decided to publish now. This story examines the adventures of Abby, a young, studious girl who is fascinated with Pokemon and Galar's history. I do not own Pokemon. I am not affiliated with anyone who makes the Pokemon games.

2. No stoppin' the gold-hearted girls

Chapter 2—No stoppin' the gold-hearted girls—

The next two weeks didn't actually seem like much time at all… it wasn't long before I was waking up on the morning of September 1st and preparing to leave… Galar had a variety of different climates, so I knew I would need attire that would accommodate a lot of different temperatures. I wore a black top with a purple jacket, a white skirt, dark brown boots and my pale pink backpack. I didn't bind my hair this time and let it fall to my shoulder blades.

I tried to pack supplies lightly—I knew I was going to need a lot of space for the items I would use as a trainer, so I kept what I brought to a minimum. When I was ready, I headed downstairs, where I saw Mom looking out the window… "Good Morning, Mom." I said before she turned around and said: "Abby! I'm happy to see you!" And she came over before she said: "It's hard to believe September's come already and you're leaving on your journey to become a Pokémon Trainer… it doesn't feel real." And before I could respond, she went on: "But I'm happy for you, too. I'm excited to follow all your accomplishments and see how much you'll grow!" "Thank you, Mom. I know there are going to be a lot of experiences in store for me and that not all of them will be easy… but I feel ready. I'm excited to get going!" I said before Mom said: "Good, because that's the best state of mind you could be in before setting out on this adventure. You've always been so smart and mature, Abby… I know you're ready for this too, dear. And just remember: if you ever need guidance, I'll be here for you to call anytime." And I smiled and said: "I know, Mom. Thank you." And we hugged each other before Mom said: "Now go on! A whole world of adventure is waiting for you, Abby!" "I will! Goodbye, Mom. I'll be back to tell you all about it!" I said before I left the house and went down to the road leading out of Postwick…

I was almost at Route 1 when I heard a: "Hey, Abby!" It was Hop! I turned around and saw him come running up before he said: "Boy, you're sure up bright and early! You must be as excited as I am!" "I sure am! But if you're saying that… then your parents must have let you join the gym challenge after all, I take it?" I asked before Hop said: "That's right. Thankfully, my punishment wasn't losing my chance to join the gym challenge…" And then he looked up and put his hand on his forehead as he went on: "But it wasn't exactly easy, either. I had to turn in my Pokémon for two weeks and wasn't allowed to do anything with them… not even training them. I also was grounded and had to help with practically all the housework… and they chewed me out. In all honesty though, I preferred being chewed out by them to being chewed out by you." And I giggled before I said: "Sounds like some tough love. Well what do you say, Hop? Want to join me in going to the train station in Wedgehurst?" "Don't mind if I do! Motostoke is too far away from here to travel to on foot, so that's the only way we're going to get there in a reasonable time frame." Hop said.

And then we headed down Route 1 before I heard a: "Wait! Hop! Abby!" It was Leon! We both turned around to see him running down the road after us… "Lee? What are you doing here? It's not even seven o'clock yet…" Hop asked after Leon said: "Barely so, I'll point out. But never mind that. I came here to give you both something useful to you on your journey." "Yeah? Like what?" Hop asked before Leon said: "These…" And he took out 40 Poke balls! "Whoa! That many?!" Hop said before Leon said: "That's right! 20 for you and 20 for Abby!" And then he gave us each half of the Poke balls before he went on: "Those should hold you over for a while. Normally I would demonstrate how to use them…" And then he turned to Hop and said: "But since you have already used a Poke ball, Hop…" And he turned to me and said: "And since Abby has already studied Pokémon so extensively… I don't see any need to be a broken record." And then he continued: "Goodbye, Hop, Abby! I believe you'll both accomplish many great things. But remember: being a trainer isn't always easy. Sometimes you will encounter setbacks that might deflate your morale. And don't forget that you are on a journey to the top with your Pokémon together and they need care too. But as long as you remember your purpose in starting your journey—and stay true to it—your adventure will be a memorable one. Let your commitment to your Pokémon and adventure be your guide as you forge a path ahead! Now go for it!" "Thank you, Leon. I will take your words to heart. Whether it's on the pitch or not, I'll see you again." I said before Hop laughed and said: "I knew you'd say something like that, Lee! See you at the pitch in Wyndon!" And Leon chuckled as we hurried down Route 1.

It wasn't long before we arrived in Wedgehurst again and went to the train station—thankfully it was open. Hop and I went in before we approached a receptionist at a desk and she said: "Good morning. Can I help you?" "Yes. We each wanted to buy a train ticket to Motostoke, please?" I said before the receptionist said: "Ah, I see. Incidentally, that train is going to be leaving in two hours. Each ticket to Motostoke will cost 100 Pokémon dollars." That was actually a very cheap price for a ticket… it was nice that travel was so affordable here in the country. "That sounds great! I'll take one." I said before I paid for the ticket and Hop said: "Works for me! Here you go." And he paid for it too. "Excellent. You'll have some time before you'll have to board the train, but take care not to miss your departure. Take care, young miss. Young sir." The receptionist said before Hop and I left the station.

When we were back outside, Hop and I decided to split up. I went back to Route 1 to see if I could find any Pokémon to add to my team. I fought some bug Pokémon for a while… I wasn't sure whether I wanted to add them to my team or not. At the very least, Scorbunny could defeat them easily. Eventually I went back up to Wedgehurst and healed my Pokémon at the Pokémon Center—they were white buildings with red roofs that healed a trainer's Pokémon for free, which made them a great public service. They also had a PC there that could access a network that let you access your storage boxes, which let you switch which Pokémon were travelling with you. They even had merchants there who could sell supplies, like healing potions and Poke balls. Needless to say, it was the place to be if you were a trainer. When I was done, I saw it was 8:05… I suppose I'll have to go to the station not too long from now. I went back to Route 1 and looked around for more Pokémon… until a little bird Pokémon swooped down in front of me!

It had white eyes with red pupils and a yellow underbelly with black mask-like feathers around its eyes, as well as blue feathers on the top of its head and blue wings. It had gray legs and talons and a short gray beak. It was very short. This Pokémon… it was a Rookidee. They evolved into strong-looking Pokémon, so it looks like I finally found a Pokémon I knew I wanted to add to my team! When it landed, it said: "Rookidee!" And I took out Scorbunny's Poke ball before I said: "Go, Scorbunny!" And I called him out before Rookidee flew at him and pecked him! As Rookidee flew back, I said: "Scorbunny, use ember!" And Scorbunny coughed up embers at Rookidee and burned him before he circled around and then flew in to peck Scorbunny before I said: "Scorbunny, tackle Rookidee!" And Scorbunny leapt up and tackled Rookidee to the ground before he got up and pecked Scorbunny and flew across from him.

By now, Rookidee was looking weak, meaning it was in ideal condition to capture—injured Pokémon are a lot easier to catch. I took out a Poke ball and threw it at Rookidee before it sucked him in and fell to the ground. I saw it rock a few times… before it stood still! I had done it! I had caught my first Pokémon! "Yay! We did it, Scorbunny!" I said as I ran up to get the Poke ball and Scorbunny said: "Scor!" happily before I went back to him and said: "Good job. You'd better rest up in your Poke ball for now, Scorbunny—my next stop will be the Pokémon Center, so you'll feel better soon. Nice work back there!" "Scorbunny!" Scorbunny said before I called him back and ran back to the Pokémon Center.

After I got my Pokémon healed, I bought some healing potions and saw it was getting close to 8:40… now I knew it was time to stop pushing my luck! I hurried over to the station and managed to board the train in time before it departed for Motostoke. The ride itself was very tranquil, going across the countryside. I wished Scorbunny, Sobble and Rookidee could see this, but Pokémon weren't allowed to leave their Poke balls inside the train.

Eventually, I arrived at the station in Motostoke and left the train. I stepped out into Motostoke's bustling streets—it was a very large, industrial city, so there was a lot of machinery everywhere, including some unconventional lifts that worked like wheels to get you from the lower part of the city to the upper part and vice versa. Motostoke also had a stadium for challengers in the gym challenge, but it wasn't the first—it was the third. The first stadium for challengers to take on was in Turffield, which was in the western part of lower Galar. It could be accessed from Motostoke, but… not conveniently. There was no station in Turffield, so the only option was to go on foot from Route 3 to the first Motostoke Mine and through Route 4. Even so, the Motostoke stadium was still the first stop on my gym challenge—all participating gym challengers had to attend a ceremony where they would receive equipment necessary to start their challenge. The ceremony was due to occur in five days from now, though (likely to accommodate gym challengers coming from further cities and towns in the country), so I had some time on my hands. And yet I already had an idea of how to use my time resourcefully: south of Motostoke was an open stretch of land known as the 'Wild Area'. Most challengers didn't use it since they could take the train from Motostoke to Hammerlocke once they had three badges, but there were said to be a multitude of rare Pokémon in this place—many, many more than on the routes in southern Galar.

That said… I felt it would be negligent to overlook such an opportunity! I headed through the city's southern gates and set foot in the Wild Area—it was a large plain with three lakes in it and lots of vegetation. It stretched on in all directions a long way… it was much larger than I had expected. It was currently rather sunny, but I had heard that the weather could change quite readily here too… I headed down and started by training my Pokémon. I encountered some Pokémon of different kinds, but they were way too strong for Rookidee… even Scorbunny and Sobble struggled a little at first. Eventually Scorbunny and Sobble gained enough experience to battle the Pokémon comfortably and I started training Rookidee, often needing to switch Scorbunny and Sobble in… but eventually Rookidee was ready too and I started exploring further in.

Eventually I went by a patch of grass and saw a little brown Pokémon waddling around in it… it looked like a potted plant and walked on two legs. Its upper body was tear-shaped and had three rounded, green spheres at the top that looked like greenery, but were actually rocks. It had a yellow oval on its forehead and two eyes with yellow irises and black pupils, as well as a mouth. It had two stubby legs with feet and it was short. But I knew this Pokémon… it was a Bonsly. Despite its looks, it was a rock type Pokémon. Trying to catch this Pokémon might be dangerous when it's strong against all of my Pokémon except Sobble, but I decided to try anyway. I approached it and it looked up before it said: "Bonsly!" And ran up to me, looking at me sternly before I took out Sobble's Poke ball and said: "Go, Sobble!" And called him out before I said: "Sobble, attack with water pulse!" And Sobble said: "Sob!" And spat out a blob of water that exploded when it hit Bonsly. It looked like it worked okay, but… not any better than that. Since strong sun had the power to weaken water attacks, I guess it all stood to reason. "Bon!" Bonsly said before she ran up to Sobble and tripped him with a kick, but… Sobble didn't have much trouble recovering. "Attack again, Sobble! Water pulse!" I said before Sobble attacked Bonsly with an exploding blob of water again. Bonsly conjured a rock in response before she sent it flying at Sobble, which worked a little better…

At this point, both Sobble and Bonsly were starting to look a little tired… I might need to catch Bonsly now, but if I didn't weaken her further while I could still do so quickly and easily, I might get myself into an even bigger mess… I decided to go for broke attacking. "One more time, Sobble! Water pulse!" I said before Sobble attacked with it (and Bonsly just barely got up) before she conjured another rock and smacked Sobble with it. Sobble was looking tired now, which was unnerving… but Bonsly was so weak that I knew this was my best chance to catch her! I took out one of the Poke balls I had left and threw it at Bonsly before it hit her and sucked her in! I saw the Poke ball land before it rocked a few times… and then it stood still! I gave a sigh of relief before I ran up and picked it up before I turned back to Sobble and said: "Great work, Sobble! You really pulled through that last battle!" "Sob!" Sobble said proudly before I said: "Let's hurry back to the Pokémon Center—you've earned a good rest!" "Sobble!" Sobble said before I called him back and went to Motostoke's Pokémon Center. Once my Pokémon were healed, I went back to the Wild Area… with Bonsly on the team, I now had a full team of four Pokémon… that was all you were allowed to carry with you in Galar. If you obtain any more Pokémon when you already had a team of four, you couldn't use it until you deposited it into a Pokémon storage box in a PC in a Pokémon Center. You could change your Pokémon around in a PC in a Pokémon Center any number of times, but that was only when you had access to one… there was also a program known as a "Box Link" that lets you remotely send Pokémon to and from a PC box to your team from anywhere, but not all trainers had them. Nonetheless, I felt very reassured to have a full team of four Pokémon already.

When I was back out in the Wild Area, I went down a narrow road on a hill next to a lake… the surrounding scenery was a lovely sight to behold. But then I heard a: "Tyrogue!" And I looked around… I didn't see anything at first… but soon I saw a Pokémon running from another one in my direction! The Pokémon that was running away was humanoid and walked on two legs. It had a pale purple body with brown shorts and shoes on, with white bands around its wrists and its waist (almost like a belt). Its arms were diminutively small and had three fingers on each hand. It had white eyes with brown irises and black pupils and three crests at the top of its head. It was somewhat short too. But this Pokémon… it was a Tyrogue. And the Pokémon that was chasing it was like a fat little panda with gray legs and black feet, as well as a black torso and black arms. Its head was round and colored white with little C-shaped black ears. It had white eyes with black pupils, a black nose and something of a short white mohawk at the top of its head. It had a leaf in its mouth and looked somewhat short, though ironically a little shorter than Tyrogue. But this Pokémon… it was a Pancham.

When I saw it, I saw the Tyrogue fleeing and the Pancham tackled it down before it got off of him and pounded him! I knew I didn't have enough information to act… but I didn't like what I was seeing. Besides, wild Tyrogue usually were very disciplined Pokémon that spent most of their time training their bodies and weren't known for causing trouble, so I doubted the situation was one of great complexity.

"HEY! What are you doing that for?!" I said as I ran up to the Pancham and the Tyrogue looked up before the Pancham looked at me and I said: "Leave him alone! How dare you be such a little thug!" And the Pancham looked annoyed before it stuck its tongue out at me and said: "Cham!" And he stormed over to me… and I saw the Tyrogue get in the way! "Tyrogue!" He said, but I knew I couldn't let him keep going on like this… I ran next to him before I took out Rookidee's Poke ball and said: "I can handle this! You get behind me! Hurry!" And Tyrogue shook his head before I smiled and said: "You really are brave… okay. Just be careful not to overexert yourself." And I called Rookidee out before the Pancham said: "Pan!" And he ran up to Rookidee… but then Tyrogue sped forward and disappeared… and then he reappeared in front of Pancham and hit him in the face with a palm strike and knocked him down! Pancham wouldn't get up either… he had flinched! "Good job, you! Rookidee, use pluck!" I said before Rookidee said: "Rook!" And he flew forward and pecked Pancham (which he took hard) before he flew back.

Pancham had gotten up by now and he ran up to Tyrogue and hit him with three punches before he leapt back (and Tyrogue got up, although… barely so) and I said: "Rookidee, use pluck again!" and Rookidee flew in and pecked Pancham again. Pancham just barely got up but then Tyrogue tackled Pancham and knocked him over before he got off of Pancham… and Pancham got back up and ran away! When Tyrogue saw this, he raised his fist triumphantly and said: "Tyrogue!" before I took out a potion and said: "Good job! I'm glad you're okay—that looked like a close call. Here, this will help you feel better." And I approached him before I sprayed him with it and he said: "Ty?" Before he paused and soon I saw his injuries healing before he said: "Tyrogue!" And I said: "There. That's better. Travelling isn't as fun when you're hurt, is it?" "Tyrogue!" Tyrogue said before I turned to Rookidee and said: "Great job to you too, Rookidee. You really saved the day there." "Rookidee!" Rookidee said before I said: "Since you didn't get hurt at all, you'd better take it easy now—I'll call you out when the time comes." "Rook!" Rookidee said before I called him back and then I turned to Tyrogue and said: "Looks like the coast is clear now. Take care, okay?" And I started to walk off… but then I heard a: "Tyrogue!" And I turned around to see him running after me!

I wasn't expecting this behavior and was surprised before I saw him catch up to me and he said: "Tyrogue! Ty!" And although I didn't know what he was saying, he looked worked up, like he was lecturing me… "Are you saying you want to come with us?" I asked before Tyrogue nodded and I said: "Well sure! I wouldn't say no to another Pokémon to adventure with! Come along, then!" And Tyrogue jumped up and said: "Ty!" Before I took out a Poke ball and said: "I take my Pokémon along with me in these—you can ride around inside until I call you out." "Tyrogue!" Tyrogue said before I had the Poke ball suck him in and then I walked off, feeling surprised in retrospect… I wasn't expecting to have a Pokémon join me (rather than making me catch it), but I wasn't complaining—it was a good feeling knowing I had inspired a Pokémon's loyalty instead. It was actually a really nice story Tyrogue and I had about how we had become partners… I'll have to help him get stronger as thanks. I knew I would have to make him strong enough so he could protect himself from other Pokémon—I didn't want to see him go through that again.

I kept going through the Wild Area and went back by the lake I had passed by, walking through a patch of tall grass. I thought I saw an odd Pokémon in the distance out over the water… but I had no way to reach it right now. I turned around before I walked back across the patch of grass… but as I reached the end, I saw some blades of grass that were taller than the rest nearby… suddenly I felt perplexed. I got down before the blades of longer grass and stuck my index finger into them and moved it back and forth in a horizontal motion, but what happened next was really strange: I heard the sound of muffled laughter. I got up and looked around and saw there was no one there… since the noise hadn't started until I touched the grass, I got down before the grass again and moved my finger through it in the same motion and heard the muffled laughter again and then I stopped… and the laughter stopped. I did it again and what happened next really surprised me: the grass rose up and a little Pokémon came out of the ground!

It was a blue, bipedal Pokémon. It had a blue head that was connected directly to two feet and had grass growing out of its head. It had two red eyes with white pupils and a mouth. It was short too. The Pokémon was laughing as it sat down and fell over… it looks like I must have been tickling the blades of grass that were coming out of its head… it turned around and saw me before it said: "Oddish?" And I said: "Hi, little guy. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you surface. You chose a pretty good spot to hide, considering how you blend in with the grass here." "Oddish!" The Pokémon said before it came up to me. He actually looked pretty happy… I was surprised to see a wild Pokémon that was so friendly. "You're good at hiding. We humans have a similar game called 'hide and seek' where someone hides and the other tries to find them." I said before I went on: "Hey… since I found you, do you want to try to find me? I'll hide somewhere nearby and you see if you can find where I am!" "Oddish!" Oddish said cheerfully before I said: "Okay! Then turn around and say your name several times and then try to find where I am, okay?" "Oddish!" Oddish said before he turned around and said: "Oddish…" And I looked around… there weren't many good hiding spots for a person, but I didn't want to make it too hard for Oddish either… eventually, I settled on hiding behind a log. I waited for a while… and eventually, I heard Oddish say: "Oddish!" And I looked up and saw him on the other side before I said: "Hey! You found me! Good job!" And I patted him on the head before I said: "That was fun playing with you, but I'd better go and heal my Pokémon now. I'll see you around, little guy." "Oddish?" Oddish said before I got up and waved at him and went back to Motostoke.

Eventually, I got to the stairs that led up to the city before I went up and towards the Pokémon Center. As I walked up to the Pokémon Center, I saw the door suddenly open and a girl walked out… I almost bumped into her. She had dark-colored skin and wore a pink shirt and a white skirt that went down to her knees and white shoes. She had black hair that went down to her waist and brown eyes. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think someone was going to come out so suddenly." I said before the girl said: "Ah, don't worry about it. When you're in a place where people are coming and going as much as a Pokémon Center, it's an occupational hazard."

And then she looked around me and said: "Aww, how cute! You let your Pokémon walk with you! That's something I haven't seen in a while." "What?" I said before I turned around… and saw that Oddish following me! "Wha—you followed me all the way out here?!" I said before Oddish said: "Oddish!" And the girl said: "Why the surprise? Is that not your Pokémon?" "No… it's a wild Oddish that I played with. I didn't think he would follow me the entire way…" I said before the girl giggled and said: "You played with a wild Pokémon? That's sweet. You have a gentle heart." And then she went on: "Well it looks like your next course of action is clear! After all, you're not going to abandon your little friend there, are you?" "Is that what you want, Oddish? To come with me?" I asked. "Oddish!" Oddish said as he hopped up and looked happy. "Amazing… what a sweet little Pokémon you are." I said before I went on: "Well, okay! If that's how you feel, then I won't say no!"

And then I took out a Poke ball and said: "I take my Pokémon with me in Poke balls like this one. You can ride in it until I call you out." "Oddish!" Oddish said before I said: "Okay. Then let's get this started. Here's to a good partnership, Oddish!" And I called him into the Poke ball before the girl said: "You have a really nice way with Pokémon. You seem like an exceptional trainer already." And I looked back at her before I giggled and said: "Thank you. You seem very nice yourself. By the way, I'm Abby. What's your name?" "My name's Jenna. Pleased to meet you, Abby." The girl said before we shook hands and I said: "Jenna… okay. Well then, where are you from in Galar?" "I'm from Stow-On-Side. I've never been to a big city like this one before…" Jenna replied before I said: "Stow-On-Side? That desert town near Hammerlocke?" "That's right! You know a lot, I see." Jenna said before she went on: "How about you, Abby?" "I'm from Postwick." I said before Jenna said: "Woooow! That little rural village all the way in the south? That's as far south as you can get in this country! Although that must mean you have the champion as a neighbor, if you're from there!" "I live near him, yes." I said before Jenna said: "Wow, how lucky! To be honest, I'd like to see a town like Postwick… not for the champion, but for how beautiful and green it must be…" "Ah, I see… there certainly wouldn't be a lot of vegetation in a climate like Stow-On-Side's…" I said before Jenna said: "No… it's one of the sad things about living in a desert. I suppose there's the Glimwood Tangle north of it, but that place was always too dangerous for me to explore." And then she went on: "But there's something to appreciate in every place in Galar. I do believe that. And on that note, I suppose I should get back to appreciating this city! Goodbye, Abby. I hope we meet again." "I do too. Goodbye, Jenna." I said before she went off…

From there, I went into the Pokémon Center and healed my Pokémon before I deposited Oddish and Tyrogue into my PC storage boxes. I spent the next couple of days training all of them, but it didn't feel like long before the day of the ceremony at the Motostoke stadium came… on that day, I reported to the stadium in time and set foot on the pitch with the other 127 gym challengers that had registered this year—it was quite a crowd! I saw Hop at one point as I got in position, but he wasn't the only face I recognized… I saw Jenna here too! We all crowded together before the Chairman of the Pokémon League came to address us—Chairman Rose.

Despite his senior position in the Galarian Pokémon League, he didn't look as old as I thought he would… he wore gray slacks and a suit to match and had a white undershirt. He had a red tie, red shoes and had short black hair and a black beard. He had darker skin and green eyes. He gave us an encouraging speech telling us to do our best, have fun, care for our Pokémon partners and strive to be the future leaders of Galar with what we learned and when he was done, he made his staff distribute the equipment we needed to start our gym challenge. Soon I received the equipment and saw for myself: one badge ring (which was currently a gold circle with wire frames all over to stick the badges in, as though it were an 8-piece puzzle)… I would have to fill this in before the deadline that the tournament in Wyndon started. One Dynamax band, made by Chairman Rose's corporation that he ran in addition to being the Chairman, the Macro Cosmos… this would let me "Dynamax" my Pokémon in a place that was known as a "power spot", which would cause my Pokémon to grow hundreds of feet taller, enhance their attributes a great deal and change the way their attacks worked, but only for a temporary period of time—Dynamaxing lasted three turns before it wore off. But power spots couldn't be found just anywhere in Galar—they actually were very rare and usually just found in Galar's stadiums… well, except for in Spikemuth, anyway. That was definitely for the best though… having Pokémon the size of the stadiums themselves wandering the streets of the city and crushing everything underfoot would cause many casualties and lead to chaos. And the last one was a Box Link program! Now I could transfer my Pokémon in my PC boxes at any time!

At the end of the ceremony, Chairman Rose saw us off before we left the stadium and I walked back out into the streets of Motostoke… now that I had attended the ceremony, my next step was to get to Turffield… since I had been training all of my Pokémon, I felt ready to proceed. I went out of the western exit on the higher level of Motostoke and into Route 3… it was a simple grassy trail on a hill. I followed its twists and turns, but never encountered any Pokémon I wanted to catch… I kept going until I came to the first Motostoke Mine. Luckily, there were lots of overhead lamps, so visibility was excellent in here. There were numerous bridges and sets of tracks for mine carts too, so the people who maintained the mine had outfitted it well. But it wasn't entirely without risks, either… there were Pokémon called "Carkol" in here, which looked like ordinary mining carts if you were too far away, but could move pretty fast! Any time I was on a set of tracks in the mine, I had to watch my back pretty frequently to avoid being run down by them—I even had some pretty close calls! Yet as I traveled through, I didn't find any Pokémon living in here that interested me either…

Eventually, I made it out of there and into the fields of Route 4… now I was getting close to Turffield! Route 4 was simply a plain with lots of stone fences, fields and tall, golden-yellow grass. The grass wasn't the prettiest to look at, but it had a certain charm to it too. I walked through the route, checking the grass for Pokémon… I found a lot of electric Pokémon, as well as Meowth—though Meowth were first discovered in the Kanto region, some regions imported them and they evolved into different variations of the same species in response to their environment. Our kind of Meowth here in Galar were silver-colored cat Pokémon that walked on two legs with giant beards that looked difficult to hold up… Meowth in Galar were steel type Pokémon, while Meowth in Kanto were normal types. I'd even read that another Meowth existed in Alola that was a dark type… it all went to show how amazing Pokémon were. I kept looking, but soon I felt a Pokémon bump into me and I heard a: "Vee!" And I turned around… and saw it was a small Pokémon… it was a little animal Pokémon that walked on four legs. It had light brown fur on most of its body, with thick pale tan fur around its neck and at the tip of its tail (which was rather large). The interiors of its ears were colored dark brown and its eyes were dark brown too, with black irises and white pupils. It had a little black nose and was short. But this Pokémon… it was an Eevee, a very rare Pokémon!

I took out Scorbunny's Poke ball before I said: "Go, Scorbunny!" And I called him out before Eevee started saying his name cutely and Scorbunny looked subdued… that must be the growl move. Now Scorbunny's attack power with physical attacks had been weakened. "Scorbunny, double kick!" I said before Scorbunny said: "Bunny!" Before he hopped over to Eevee and hit him with a roundhouse kick, then switched legs and kicked him with a forward kick! "EeVEE!" Eevee said, taking the hits hard. As Eevee got up, he kicked sand into Scorbunny's eyes… now Scorbunny was going to have more trouble hitting Eevee. "Scorbunny, quick attack!" I said before Scorbunny said: "Scor!" And barreled forward at a speed so fast, he disappeared in a blur before he reappeared in front of Eevee and rammed into him!

Eevee was looking tired now, so I took out a Poke ball and threw it at him before it bumped into him and sucked him in! It fell to the ground and rocked a little… and then it stood still! "Yes!" I said before I ran up and picked up Eevee's Poke ball and then I ran back to Scorbunny and said: "Great job, Scorbunny! You did a great job keeping offensive momentum against him!" "Scor!" Scorbunny said as he jumped up and looked happy… but then he said: "ScorBUNNY!" And then he started to glow with a white light and change shape!

I had read about this phenomenon… it was called "evolution". Whenever a Pokémon meets certain conditions, they shine with white light and take on a newer, stronger form. This can also result in the Pokémon's types or other characteristics changing, so it's really exciting. Some Pokémon were easier to evolve, while others were incredibly complicated to evolve… at least Scorbunny wasn't one of them! When the process ended, Scorbunny had gotten taller and partially changed color… he had a white head with a yellow stripe on his forehead, as well as tufts of white hair on top of his head and white eyes with red-orange irises and white pupils. He had a black torso, black legs with red-orange fur like sleeves on his arms (and white fingers, which were uncovered) and red-orange toes. He had red-orange fur covering his mouth too and was short, but not as short as before.

"Scorbunny… you evolved!" I said before I went on: "Hee-hee… oops. I guess I should call you 'Raboot' now that you've finished evolving." "Raboot!" He said happily before I said: "Well congratulations, Raboot! You should be proud you evolved into a stronger form so soon! I'm excited for you." "Rab!" Raboot said before I went on: "We'll be heading into the next city soon… once I heal you up, we'll be going to the stadium there. The gym leader uses grass type Pokémon, meaning I'll need your strength. Lend me your power, won't you?" And Raboot held one of his hands up before he said: "Raboot!" energetically and I said: "Thank you, Raboot. Now come on—let's get you all healed up." And he nodded before I called him back. Of course, the next step was simply deciding what to do with Eevee… I decided to use my box link to send him to a box for now (as long as he wasn't in very good condition) and hurried into Turffield.

When I got there, I saw it was a nice little rural town, surrounded by fields of grass. It had some street markets that sold flowers, shrubs and even fresh fruits… it reminded me of home. It looked like a nice little community. I went to the Pokémon Center and healed my Pokémon before I decided to access my PC and adjust my team. I added Raboot, Sobble, Oddish and Eevee to my team before I went back out… and then I heard a: "Whoa! Look out!" But I recognized that voice… it was Jenna! I turned to see her come skidding to a full stop behind me and I said: "Jenna? What's the matter?" "Abby! Have you seen a Pichu passing through here?" She asked before I said: "No, I haven't… why?" "There's a little girl whose Pichu recently wandered off in the direction of Route 4! I was hoping someone knew where it went…" Jenna replied before I said: "What? That's horrible! Separated from her poor Pokémon…" "It sure is! As long as you're here, help me find it, will you, Abby?" Jenna asked. "Absolutely! Let's go already!" I said before we ran back down into Route 4.

Jenna and I searched the patches of grass one-by-one… we decided to search the further patches first, as the little girl's Pichu had more time to get away, plus if the Pichu was closer, it would likely wind up right where we were. We kept looking until we went by a field near the entrance to the first Motostoke Mine… and then we spotted a small electric mouse Pokémon… it had a yellow body and was bipedal. It had a black tail and a black, ruff-like pattern around its neck, as well as two arms and two feet that were connected directly to the bottom of its body (with no legs). It had a rounded yellow head with two black eyes with white pupils and two yellow, spiky ears with black ends and two pale pink circles on its cheeks. It was really short… and it was being attacked by two Electrike!

Electrike were small electric Pokémon that looked like little wolf Pokémon. The tip of their tails were yellow and they had yellow streaks along the sides of their manes—they also had yellow lines above their noses—but other than that, their bodies were almost entirely pale green. They had white eyes with black irises and white pupils and moderate-sized mouths. They were somewhat short too. Jenna and I ran in before I saw the Pichu get tackled by one of the Electrike and it sparked its cheeks before it said: "Pi!"… it was going to use an electric attack! "Hey! Stop!" I said but Pichu already zapped the Electrike that was attacking it… and yet the electricity redirected in midair and went to the other Electrike, then when Pichu tried to zap that Electrike, its electricity was redirected to the first one. But when each Electrike was zapped, they didn't even react to it… and when Pichu was done attacking, he looked confused before he said: "Pichu?" And the Electrike roared before they resumed attacking…

It was as I feared… their ability was lightning rod… all Pokémon had an ability that activated under certain conditions that usually helped the Pokémon in some way. Some Pokémon—like these Electrike—could have more than one ability and which they inherited was determined at random. Their ability—lightning rod—rendered electric attacks harmless and drew them to the Pokémon itself, if the assailant was trying to attack another Pokémon. If an electric type had lightning rod, it also become stronger when it was zapped by electricity… so because of this Pichu, this battle was going to be harder. When Jenna and I closed in, Jenna said: "I didn't expect that! The Electrike didn't take any damage?" "It's because of their ability. It's called 'lightning rod'—it redirects electricity to the Pokémon and renders it harmless. It also makes them stronger if they're electric typed, so these Electrike are going to be harder to defeat…" I said before Jenna said: "Ha! No problem! You leave that to me!" and I felt uneasy before we took out our Poke balls and Jenna said: "Go, Mudbray!" And I said: "Go, Eevee!" And I called him out while Jenna called out a Pokémon like a little brown donkey… it had tan legs, a tan stomach and a tan nose (with black nostrils) but the rest of its body was colored brown. It had black hooves, a black tail and a black mane—the inside of its ears were colored pink too. It had white eyes with black pupils that were like ovals on their sides and was of average height.

And then Jenna said: "Mudbray, use mud sport!" And Mudbray said: "Bray!" before he conjured big puddles of mud at his feet and started stomping and splashing in it, causing it to go flying everywhere… onto Eevee, onto the Electrike, onto the Pichu… even on itself! Jenna and I were really lucky we didn't get soaked with mud! But I saw what Jenna was doing now… mud sport weakened electric attacks, so at their level, the Electrikes' attacks that could be boosted weren't going to do as much damage! That was really smart! "Eevee, tackle the Electrike on the left!" I said before Eevee said: "Vee!" And tackled the Electrike I had said to target. At that moment, the Electrike turned around (and now they looked mad) as one of the Electrike said: "Ee!" And barreled forward so fast, he turned invisible before he smashed into Eevee. And the other Electrike did the same thing, only he targeted Mudbray. But when Mudbray was hit, he said: "Bray!" And stood in a more steadfast position… that was his ability, "stamina" going to work! It made Mudbray more resistant to physical damage every time it was hit!

"Eevee, growl at them!" I said before Eevee said: "Vee! Eevee!" Cutely and the Electrike looked subdued… one of them barreled forward again and smashed into Mudbray (although Mudbray didn't have any trouble recovering from it now) and Mudbray looked even more steadfast before Jenna said: "Mudbray, mud-slap the Electrike on the left!" and Mudbray kicked up some of the mud at the Electrike's eyes! The Electrike took it a little hard before it recovered and said: "Ee!" And barreled forward at Mudbray too, but Mudbray had even less trouble taking the attack than last time…

The other Electrike looked annoyed before it barreled forward at Eevee and smashed into him, but he didn't take it too hard. Then the Electrike who had been hit by mud-slap barreled forward at Eevee… but he ended up charging to Eevee's left and missed him! It looked like that mud was doing the job! "Eevee, tackle the Electrike you attacked before! I said before Eevee did so and Jenna said: "Mudbray, double kick the Electrike Eevee attacked!" And Mudbray ran up to that Electrike and turned around quickly before he kicked him with his hind legs and then did it again!

The Electrike was looking worn out now, so I said: "Eevee, take down the Electrike you attacked! Quick attack!" And Eevee attacked him with it… before he collapsed! "Mudbray, use mud-slap on the other Electrike!" Jenna said before he did so and the Electrike charged forward at Eevee… and missed him again! It was easy to bring down Electrike from there!

When we did, they both got up and ran away before I said: "Yes! Good job, Eevee! That was a wonderful first battle!" Ee!" Eevee said before Jenna said: "Great job, Mudbray!" And Mudbray whinnied before we called our Pokémon back and went up to the Pichu before Jenna said: "Are you okay? Those Electrike didn't injure you, did they?" And Pichu shook his head and said: "Pichu." Before Jenna said: "Good. Hey, are you looking for your trainer? A little girl who lives in Turffield up ahead?" And Pichu's eyes widened before he said: "Pichu! Pi!" And nodded. "In that case, come with us. Your trainer's waiting!" Jenna said before she ran off and Pichu and I followed her…

Eventually, Jenna led us back to Turffield and down a street to where a little girl was waiting. When Jenna saw her, she said: "Heeeey! We found him!" And the little girl looked up before she said: "Oh! Pichu!" "Pi!" Pichu said before he ran up to her and she picked him up and said: "I'm so relieved you're safe! Thank goodness!" And then she looked at me before she said: "Who is this? Did she join you in searching for my Pichu?" "Yup. She's a friend of mine. She was more than willing to help me out!" Jenna said before the girl said: "Oh! Thank you! Then I owe you both my gratitude!" And then she went on: "Thank you for helping me, nice girls! Here are some things to repay your kindness!" And she handed us both big, purple record-like objects… "Oh! Are these technical records?!" I asked before the little girl said: "You're very smart, miss! Yes, these are some technical records I found in the fields! They're valuable items that teach your Pokémon a really cool move, but break after they're used. The ones I gave you are the technical records for the move 'sludge bomb'. It's a really strong poison attack that can poison the target!" "Are you sure you want to give such a rare item away?" I asked before the little girl said: "Of course! After all, my Pichu can't use it."

And then the little girl turned to her Pichu and said: "I'm sorry I couldn't stop you, Pichu… I'll be more careful from now on." "Pi… Pichu." The Pichu said before Jenna said: "He looks touched by what you said… what happened?" "My Pichu was so excited to be taken out to the fields to play, he just kind of… ran off when I put him down. I couldn't catch up to him, so I went into town looking for help and then I found you." The girl said before I said: "I think I see now… you're taking responsibility for what happened and your Pichu is touched. And now he trusts you more because of it. That's really noble." And then Pichu said: "Pichu!" And then he said: "Pi!" And he started to glow with a white light! "Wha—Pichu?!" The girl said before I smiled and put my hands on her shoulder and said: "It's alright—he'll be okay."

And then Pichu finished evolving… now he was a Pikachu. Pikachu were a little taller than Pichu and had thunderbolt-shaped tails that were brown at the bottom and yellow at the top and in the middle. Their ears pointed upright and still had black ends and they had longer arms, though they still didn't have real legs—just feet that were attached to the bottom of Pikachu's torso. The circles on their cheeks were colored red now, but otherwise, their faces were basically the same. "P-Pichu? You're okay?" The girl asked before Pikachu said: "Pikachu!" And Jenna said: "Your Pichu evolved. Now he's a Pikachu. And he's stronger because of it." "That's right! And Pichu only evolve when they're very close to their trainer." I said before the girl said: "Pikachu!" And she scooped him up and hugged him before she said: "Thank you, nice girls! I'm going home now. Bye!" And she ran off with her Pikachu still in hand.

Jenna and I smiled before she said: "That girl's a really good trainer… I'll bet she'll become something special one day." "I agree… but you're not so different yourself, Jenna. You helped her without hesitation and without the initial promise of a reward, either. That shows you have exceptional character." I said and Jenna giggled and said: "Look who's talking! I roped you into this and you went along with it, without a word of complaint! You stuck with it and got the job done. That's really something." And then she went on: "We're the same, you and I. We're both girls with hearts of gold!" And I smiled. To be honest… I liked the sound of that. But before I could respond, Jenna went on: "But it was only the right thing to do. It doesn't matter if there's a reward in it or not or if the person's rich-looking or clearly poor. You should help someone who needs it." "Well said, Jenna. If more people thought that way, this world would be a better place." I said.

And then Jenna said: "Well now that that's resolved, I suppose I'd better get back to training for the battle with the gym leader. But thank you for your help, Abby. I'm grateful not only because you helped, but also because I got to learn a lot about you." And I smiled before I said: "I feel the same, Jenna. See you around." And then she went off while I went to heal my Pokémon in the Pokémon Center.