In his life, Ash Ketchum has seen and heard many insane things.
But this had to take the cake.
He was currently in his house on Melemele Island, eating what appeared to be a sandwich while Pikachu was devouring a bowl of Pokemon Food next to him.
Him and Serena were getting ready for the visit to Pokemon Trainer's Academy next month but he wasn't expecting to get a call from Gary beforehand.
"You sure?" Ash asked him as Pikachu finished his food and ran over to him.
"Positive, Solana reported to me that they were attacked twice during the trip. Once in the stadium and once outside the Pokemon Center. Thankfully it seems like Gloria was able to drive them off both times." Gary said to him.
Ash sighed. The reports that he and the other championss had got led them to initially believe that this so-called Team Chaos was simply a bunch of troublemakers that posed no real threats.
But clearly that wasn't the case anymore. If what happened in Galar was any indication, they were only attacked by a division of this Team Chaos.
"Alright we will talk more about this when I head up to the academy next month. Until then take care."
Ash hanged up as he saw Serena and her Delphox soon come downstairs as Serena hugged him as Delphox played with Pikachu.
"Hey how is Lei?" Ash asked as he kissed his fiancée on the lips.
"Sleeping like a Rock-type, we can told Kukui and Burnet that he was the perfect little boy who caused no problems." Serena said as she returned the kiss.
She soon sat down next to him on the couch.
"So what did Gary want to talk about? Was it something about our trip to the academy?"
Ash shook his head no as he told her about the Fist Squad attacks in Circhester during the Freshman trip.
"Oh my… were any of the students hurt?" Serena asked.
"Thankfully no, the worst it got was some minor injuries that were treatable. Though some of the students were recklessly enough to challenge to admin and only got saved by Gloria."
Serena sighed as she twisted her engagement ring on her finger.
"You having second thoughts about the trip?" She asked.
Ash shook his head no.
"I know Gary, he will probably have campus security at the max during our visit there. But still, I am going to hold a champion's meeting soon to discuss this and see if there is anything we can do." Ash said.
Serena sighed. She obviously was a bit on edge now after hearing that news but she trusted Ash's judgement that this would not affect their trip to the academy as she looked out at the night sky.
Meanwhile back in Circhester, the professors were getting things packed up as it was time to head back to the academy.
"Man! I had a blast! We really need to come back to Galar soon!" Rex said as he had Weiss pack up his suitcase.
Robyn smiled as she said that they were more places she wanted to show them around her home region and that hopefully she could do it soon.
"Hey does anyone know were Kenan is?" Shion asked as she was helping Tyson pack his suitcase up.
Kenan meanwhile was in the Pokemon Center lobby talking with Lyna. Both of them had made a real connection with each other and felt like having one last talk.
"You know I feel like you and I had a great time together on this trip. Say when we get back to the academy, you wanna hang out some time?" Kenan asked her shyly.
Lyna was expecting that from Kenan as she gave him a teasing smile.
"My my, Kenan Fox. Are you asking me out on a date?" Lyna asked teasingly.
"And what if I am?" He said back teasingly as well with a smile on his face.
Lyna giggled a bit… before placing a kiss on Kenan's cheek.
"Sure that sounds like a lot of fun."
She soon left to pack leaving a red-faced Kenan in the middle of the Pokemon Center before he left to pack his suitcase with his friends.
There is a ironclad rule that the Fist Squad lives by.
"It is that failure is not tolerated or accepted."
It is something they all believe, even the lowly of grunts.
Which is why they are all relieved that for the most part they succeeded in their objective.
Cassidy soon walked up to the Hooded Man as they rest of the grunts watched in suspense.
"Here you go sir, Professor Sonia's notes about Dynamax and the history of Galar." Cassidy said as he gave it to the Hooded Man.
The Hooded Man soon gave it to one of his assistants to look. And after a couple of minutes, the assistant handed it back saying that it was legit.
"You have done well Cassidy, our leader thanks you for your service to the cause." The Hooded Man said as he soon placed both of his hands in his black trenchcoat.
"Thank you, but what is the next move for us?" Cassidy asked.
The Hooded Man soon tilted his head a bit before giving him a cruel smile.
"We have received word that Monarch is visiting the academy soon, so we have sent another one of our squads to kidnap him and deliver to our leader soon enough."
Cassidy soon gulped. Having battled against Gloria, he knew how powerful these Champion-level trainers were. But he didn't speak up against him.
"As for your squad, stay here in Galar until you receive further instructions."
The Hooded Man soon snapped his fingers as he and his assistants soon disappeared in a flash, like it was magic.
Cassidy soon sighed, he knew what he signed up for and he had no complaints about it.
But even he couldn't help feel a slow growing pit in his stomach as he heard the laughter of the Hooded Man echoing through his skull.
He just hoped for his sake, he made the right decision.
