Chapter 5—The road less traveled—

Umbreon, Toxel and I all made it across the bridge to Motostoke by about midnight… we were getting tired and so I decided to camp out on the city outskirts. In the morning, I wanted to go to the Motostoke stadium in hopes of taking on the gym leader—Kabu—for a fire badge. And yet, I knew I'd have to customize my team appropriately too… I added Drizzile and Sudowoodo, naturally for their strength against fire types, and I kept Umbreon too. Once I was ready, I headed to the stadium. I saw a line in the center, as well as another doorman here too. As I walked up to the line, the doorman approached me and said: "Welcome to the Motostoke stadium! Tell me challenger, how many gym badges do you have?" "Two of them. I came here from Hulbury." I said before the doorman said: "Excellent! Then you've done your homework, I see. In that case, you are eligible to challenge this gym."

And then he went on: "Now I'll explain the customs of the Motostoke gym challenge to you: before you can face Kabu, you'll have to catch three fire Pokémon in a chamber across from here: Vulpix, Sizzlipede and Litwick. The catch is that you'll have a trainer who will be in the battle alongside you… but they're trying to catch the Pokémon too! If even one trainer catches a Pokémon you're after, you will fail and have to start over. But if you catch all three, you'll get to choose whether you want to keep them or donate them back to the gym. After you make your decision, you'll advance to the interior of the stadium, where Kabu will be waiting. Battles against Kabu are 3-on-3 single battles and because the stadium is built on a power spot, Dynamaxing a single Pokémon is permitted." "So the stakes seem higher this time…" I said before the doorman said: "Yes they are! Kabu is usually the first gym leader who gives his challengers some grief, but that'll just make you stronger. So how about it? Are you ready to go?" "Sure. No time like the present." I said before the doorman said: "I like your attitude, young lady! Then go ahead and get in line and wait for your turn." And I did so.

It took some time, but eventually, I was in the chamber with the wild Pokémon… I let Drizzile walk with me in here as I stepped forward and saw three patches of grass and some staff members nearby them… as I went to catch each Pokémon, the staff members took their spots next to me and sent out their Pokémon—I competed against them genuinely at first, but the staff member in my first battle actually attacked my Pokémon! When I saw that, I had my Pokémon immediately faint theirs and went on to catch the Pokémon unopposed. I meant to do things fairly, but I wasn't going to send the signal I was a doormat for abuse! I repeated the tactic in the next battles and ended up catching Vulpix, Sizzlipede and Litwick—all of the fire Pokémon! When I was done, I went to a staffer in the back of the chamber who congratulated me and asked if I wanted to keep the Pokémon I caught. They definitely looked like they had potential and Vulpix was adorable… but if I had four fire Pokémon, I didn't know how I would split my attention between them all and still give them enough attention and make them strong… that was why I decided to donate them to the gym. When I was done, the staffer let me through and I headed to the pitch in back, with a full-sized crowd in the bleachers too. A male staffer also healed my Pokémon before I proceeded onto the pitch where I saw Kabu…

He was an older man, but he had a reputation as being very mature, determined and hard working. He wore a red jersey with white, black and yellow-orange flame symbols on it, white shorts with the dark red, yellow-orange and white samurai helmet (his gym logo) logo on it, red, white and black boots and a red and white scarf. He had black sleeves on his arms with red streaks and had short gray hair. He was of average height. When I approached him, he jogged over to me and said: "Welcome, challenger. I am Kabu, the leader of this stadium." And then he eyed Drizzile before he said: "Ah, but what's this? I've never seen a challenger who lets their Pokémon walk with them in the stadium. You let your Pokémon walk with you?" "I do. I feel better when we're together." I said before Kabu grinned and said: "How nice. You seem very promising as a trainer." And then he went on: "What's your name, challenger?" "It's Abby." I said back before he said: "Alright, Abby. Have you ever used any fire Pokémon before?" "I have. My first Pokémon was a fire type, in fact! They're just as helpful as I had always read, with good offensive strengths." I said before Kabu said: "Yes, I agree. I've always had great respect for fire Pokémon. That trust and confidence in my Pokémon part of what made me able to become so strong, back in my prime." "I believe you. Trust and confidence in your Pokémon are very important, as is empathy." I said before Kabu said: "Wahahahaha! You have an excellent understanding of what qualities a trainer needs to have! You are indeed promising!" And then he went on: "I look forward to measuring my strength against an opponent like you! Let's have a good battle, Abby!"

And I smiled a little before Kabu jogged back across from me (and I walked across) before Kabu took out a Poke ball and said: "Go, Ninetales!" And I turned to Drizzile and said: "You're up! Show him what you've got!" And Drizzile said: "Drizz!" And he ran in before Kabu called in a Pokémon like a majestic fox with nine tails… as the name would suggest. It had nine long tails and had yellow fur all over its body, except for the ends of its tails, which were yellow-orange. It was very thin and had yellow hair on the top of its head that went down to its shoulders. It was pretty tall—it was about as tall as I was when it was on all fours! And then I said: "Drizzile, use water pulse!" And Drizzile attacked with an exploding blob of water before Kabu said: "Ninetales, will-o-wisp!" And Ninetales said: "Niine!" And she created a blue wisp of fire that she sent at Drizzile… but Drizzile avoided it at the last second. "Great work, Drizzile! Now use water pulse again!" I said before Drizzile soaked Ninetales again and Kabu said: "Try again! Will-o-wisp!" And Ninetales sent another wisp of fire at Drizzile and unfortunately, this one did make contact… now Drizzile was burned and would take damage after he acted… he would also extra damage from any attack that touched him… and sure enough, Drizzile recoiled from burn damage before I had him blast Ninetales with another water pulse before Kabu had Ninetales attack with a quick attack… and then Drizzile defeated Ninetales the next turn with a water pulse!

Kabu called her back before he said: "Go, Arcanine!" And he called out a Pokémon like a giant dog with a tiger-like color scheme… it had an orange body with black stripes and a big, bushy manila-colored tail and it had fur of the same color around its ankles and on its head, neck and chest. It was taller than a human adult… it was taller than Kabu, yet alone me… and when Arcanine appeared, he suddenly said: "Arcanine! Ar! Ar!" And barked menacingly at Drizzile before Drizzile looked subdued… he must have the intimidate ability, which weakens the enemy's physical attacks when the Pokémon is sent out.

And then he said: "Arcanine, bite Drizzile!" And Arcanine said: "Ar!" And ran up to Drizzile before he bit him… Drizzile took the hit fairly hard before he flinched too… this process repeated itself two more times (though Drizzile attacked with water pulse after each of Arcanine's following bites) before Drizzile collapsed from the burn damage he sustained after Arcanine's third bite… "Great job, Drizzile!" I said before I called him back and said: "Go, Sudowoodo!" And I called her out before I paused… I was tempted to Dynamax Sudowoodo, especially since Arcanine might burn Sudowoodo if I took things slowly… his last Pokémon was supposedly severely weak to rock too, so if what I had heard was true, there wasn't any reason to play defensively… I decided to try it.

I called Sudowoodo back to her Poke ball before I put Toxel down and said: "I need to put you down for a minute. Be patient, okay?" "Toxel." Toxel said before I used the power of my Dynamax band and Sudowoodo's Poke ball grew to huge proportions before I dropped it and it opened and Sudowoodo appeared at a gargantuan height before I picked Toxel up and said: "Sudowoodo, attack Arcanine! Max rockfall!" And Sudowoodo said: "Sudo!" And conjured a giant block of stone before it fell directly on Arcanine and then bounced off the second it made contact and then it crumbled into dust! And then a sandstorm started blowing in the stadium… and Arcanine collapsed too!

"Good work, Arcanine!" Kabu said before he called him back and then said: "Go, Centiskorch!" And he called out a Pokémon like a giant, flat tapeworm with a brown back and a red underbelly with yellow and yellow-orange circles on each segment. It had brown legs and a red head with four X-shaped fiery antennae, yellow eyes with brown irises and black pupils and brown pincers, as well as X-shaped strands on its tail that looked like its antennae. It was shockingly tall for a Pokémon like a tapeworm… almost as tall as Kabu… so the rumors were true! As a fire and bug type Pokémon, his last Pokémon was extra weak to rock! And then Kabu called Centiskorch back before he used the power of his Dynamax band to enlarge Centiskorch to enormous proportions, but he was standing differently now than he had before… that change in stance… it could only mean Kabu had Gigantamaxed it instead of Dynamaxing! Only certain Pokémon were eligible to Gigantamax and not all members of a species could… only certain special Pokémon that were eligible would Gigantamax instead of Dynamax. A Gigantamax Pokémon had a special move only they could use, and only while Gigantamaxed. They often had much more severe effects than max moves...

And then Kabu said: "Centiskorch, Max flutterby!" And Centiskorch said: "Cent!" And conjured a swarm of gigantic yellow, green and blue butterflies that converged on Sudowoodo and caused a burst of insectly energy before they flew off. Sudowoodo looked rattled after the attack, but that move… it wasn't a Gigantamaxed move… that was the normal max move for bug Pokémon. "Sudowoodo, attack with Max rockfall!" I said before she did so again… and when the block crumbled to dust, Centiskorch said: "Ceennnnt!" And collapsed before he shrunk down to a normal size! Sudowoodo had scored a one-hit knockout… that was certainly exciting! Whatever special move Centiskorch had, I guess I wasn't going to know now. Kabu called Centiskorch back before he jogged up to me and said: "You are promising indeed! Even though I lost that battle, it pleases me to see a worthy member of the next generation step up and take charge! And so, here you are, Abby! Your fire badge!"

And he handed me a small, red badge to fit into my badge ring… I took it out before I stuck it in its spot and I said: "Thank you, Kabu. I enjoyed having the chance to battle with you today. That was a fun fight." "Yes, I agree. And in addition to the fire badge I just gave you… take this too." Kabu said before he handed over a small, red-orange colored disc! I took it before he said: "That is the TM for the move will-o-wisp. If it connects, it burns the target. As you saw, burns repeatedly damage the enemy, but also weaken their physical attacks and makes them sensitive to being touched and take extra damage from attacks that involve touching them. If you use it wisely, it may turn around a battle against an abnormally strong opponent." "Thank you, Kabu. That was very generous of you." I said before he said: "You're welcome. And before you go, let me tell you how to reach the next gym you need to challenge. Be sure to listen well, as the path to it is not intuitive."

And then he went on: "This gym is in Stow-on-Side, which is a significant distance from here. To reach it, you'll need to take the train from Motostoke to Hammerlocke, then leave from the town's west gate. Understand? West… as in left. West is best to reach Stow-on-Side, you could say. Anyway, once you've gone through the gate, you'll be in Route 6. When you go through the twists and turns of the route—climbing upward and ultimately to the left—you'll be in Stow-on-Side. The gym leader's name is Allister and he's a whiz kid with ghost Pokémon. Don't underestimate him—he may be young, but he's talented, just like you." "Okay. Thank you for the detailed explanation, Kabu." I said before he said: "You're welcome. I wish you luck, Abby! You clearly have an understanding of what's important and what a trainer should be that's ahead of the curve. If you stay true to your style… there's no telling what you might achieve." "Thank you, Kabu. Goodbye." I said before I left the stadium.

When I was back out in the streets of Motostoke, I paused to think… Kabu had recommended the train to access Hammerlocke, but in truth… that wasn't the only way I could get there. There was also a huge expanse of land across from the wild area that directly connected Motostoke and Hammerlocke. Given how the Wild Area was when I was last there… I'll bet the Pokémon in this part of it were even better! Of course, it could also be dangerous… but somehow, I was willing to take that risk. Of course, the first step would be going to the Pokémon Center to heal my Pokémon and buy healing items and Poke balls, both of which I didn't doubt I would need. I headed down from the stadium… but before I reached one of the steam-powered lifts, I saw someone I hadn't seen in a long time: Sonia!

"Oh… hello, Sonia." I said before she turned to me and said: "Oh… hi! Abby, was it?" "That's right. What brings you here to Motostoke?" I asked. "I actually heard there was a historic statue in the hotel… I wanted to take a look. And what about you, Abby? Does the thought of something like that pique your curiosity?" Sonia asked. "Sure. It might be interesting." I said before Sonia said: "Great! Then let's go—I'll show you there."

And we went together to the Budew Drop Inn. When we arrived, we saw it was fancy inside… it wasn't what you'd call a luxury hotel, but it was still very nice all the same. We stepped in and soon saw the statue Sonia was talking about in the lobby! We approached it and saw it was a golden statue of the Sword King, holding an impressive sword. "A statue of the Sword King… very impressive." I said before Sonia said: "Yes… although I can't help but wonder…" And I turned to her before she said: "Where's the Shield King? According to the legends, they both saved Galar." "Um… that's probably because this statue was made after Galar was divided into their two territories. It makes sense, doesn't it?" I said before Sonia said: "That's true… but the part about that that doesn't add up is that Motostoke is directly in the center of Galar… if they divided it, wouldn't it have to acknowledge both of them as a central territory?"

I felt a little put off before I finally said: "Well that assumes we understand how they divided Galar, and that knowledge seems to have been lost… what are you getting at? Are you calling the legends false? A conspiracy?" "Sometimes I wonder… I think it's interesting to consider possibilities like you listed, Abby." Sonia said before I said: "I think there must be another explanation… I mean, there's only so much we know in the first place." And then I went on: "Anyway, I think I've seen enough. Are you done too, Sonia?" "No… I'm curious. I want to look this over a bit more." She said before I said: "I see. In that case, I think I'll leave now. I hope to see you again, Sonia!" And Sonia said: "I do too. Bye, Abby."

And then I left the hotel. I continued on my way to the Pokémon Center and eventually took the lift to the lower part of Motostoke. When I was down there, I went down a street… and then I heard a: "Oh! Abby!" And I turned around and saw who it was: it was Jenna! "Jenna! It's been a little while!" I said before we approached each other and she said: "I'll say! I haven't seen you since we helped that little girl in Turffield!" And then she eyed Toxel before she said: "Aww, that's cute! You're carrying a little Pokémon! Who's that?" "His name is Toxel. I hatched him from an egg and have been carrying him around since, until he grows up a little more." I said before I said: "And what are you being so shy for? Say hi, Toxel!" And Toxel said: "Toxel!" Cheerfully before Jenna giggled and said: "Aww, that's so cute! You're carrying him around like he's your little baby!" And then she petted Toxel before she said: "I'm Jenna. Pleased to meet you, little fella!"

And then she stopped before I said: "So if you're back in Motostoke, Jenna… I trust you've come for your fire badge?" "Oh, I already got it—I fought Kabu yesterday." She said before I said: "Good job! I just won mine less than an hour ago." "Ah, it's hot off the gym, eh? Well good for you! You're keeping perfect momentum!" Jenna said before she went on: "Talking to you again is really fun, Abby… how about we go get some ice cream to celebrate our wins?" "That sounds wonderful, but… do you mind if we go to the Pokémon Center first? My Pokémon are still hurt…" I said before Jenna said: "Not at all! Let's go, then."

And then we went to the Pokémon Center before I got my Pokémon healed and then we left. When we were back in the streets of Motostoke, Jenna said: "Well, that oughta take a weight off your mind, eh? Now let's go!" "Okay. Just one more thing…" I said before I took out Umbreon's Poke ball and Jenna said: "Abby?" And I called him out before Umbreon said: "Umbreon!" And Jenna said: "What are you doing? We were going to get a treat, not battle…" "I know and I'm not saying we can't—I'm just letting him walk with me. I've changed since we last met—I always let my Pokémon walk with me now." I said before Umbreon said: "Um!" And Jenna smiled again and said: "That's a wonderful idea! Well alright then—that'll give us something else to talk about when we get there!" And Jenna and I went off as Umbreon walked with us and I carried Toxel.

When we arrived at the ice cream parlor, Jenna and I waited in line until we were at the counter to place our orders and pay for them. Jenna ordered a scoop of rocky road ice cream for herself, while I ordered a scoop of cookie dough for me… and a scoop of chocolate ice cream for Umbreon and Toxel. We went outside to a table to eat (in fact, the staff said we had to, if we were going to have Pokémon outside of their Poke balls) and Umbreon and Toxel dug in while Jenna and I had a couple of spoons of ice cream before Jenna said: "Ah! How nice this is! Nothing makes me forget my troubles like something sweet! And enjoying it with a friend makes it even better." "You've got that right, Jenna." I said before we looked over at Toxel, who was enjoying his ice cream, before Jenna chuckled and said: "He's a real cutie. I never would have thought of feeding a Pokémon ice cream before… and all because of how you care for your Pokémon, Abby." And I smiled before she said: "What made you decide to start walking with your Pokémon?" "Well when all is said and done, I suppose Toxel did. Before he hatched from his egg, I always carried my Pokémon with me inside their Poke balls and never thought anything of it… but when Toxel hatched, I couldn't bring myself to confine him to a Poke ball yet… it just didn't feel right. And as I decided to carry him, I noticed little things he did… trying to reach out and touch my phone, turning when he smelled something tasty at a restaurant or a coffee shop, looking up at the sky or at lights… it made me realize that Pokémon have such fascinating personalities that are worth observing. You don't get to benefit from them and what they think if they're inside a Poke ball. I'm not entirely sure they were meant to be confined to Poke balls…" I said before Jenna said: "Abby… that's really deep. And it's inspiring how closely you pay attention to your Pokémon. You're really something special." "Hee-hee… thanks, Jenna. And I get the feeling you're the same way." I said before I went on: "So you said you have three gym badges, Jenna… that means you're going to Stow-on-Side next." "Yes, that's right. My old hometown…" She said back before I said: "Yes, I remember when you said that… but I also remember you not being fond of the desert. How do you feel about going back to Stow-on-Side?"

"Oh, it'll be nice to see my family and neighbors again—I'm sure I'll bump into them there. But at the same time… after all I've seen on this journey, I feel like I'll be excited to move on. Galar has so many beautiful places, but Stow-on-Side isn't one of them. In particular, I'm looking forward to getting to see Balloonlea—it's a town in the middle of some dark woods. The vegetation has dark colors and most of the light comes from giant mushrooms. Doesn't that just spark your curiosity?" Jenna asked. "I've read about it before, but never seen it, so I do share your feelings, Jenna." I said.

Soon we finished our ice cream and we kept talking for a little while before Jenna said: "Talking with you has been so fun Abby, but I think I'd better get back to my work as a trainer… I don't even know when the next train for Hammerlocke is leaving, either." "I really had fun talking with you too, Jenna. We should do this again sometime." I said before Jenna said: "Definitely! I'll be looking forward to doing that when we meet again. I'll see you later, Abby!" And I nodded before we left the ice cream parlor and went our separate ways. Jenna went up towards the lift to go up to the higher level of Motostoke… she must be going to the train station. As for me… I went to the Pokémon Center and bought a lot of healing items and some Great balls (which were superior versions of Poke balls) before I headed south of the gates in Motostoke back to the Wild Area…

When I arrived, I switched out my Pokémon for Raboot, Drizzile and Oddish and let Raboot walk with me before I headed east to a bridge and crossed it across a river to a section further in. It felt exciting just to be here, somehow… I walked off, looking over the area around me… but when I passed by a small hill, I saw some faint beams reddish-pink light coming out of the other side… how odd… I went over to investigate and saw a bunch of rocks were piled up, but the light was piercing through cracks in between them… I hesitated before I moved some rocks aside… and suddenly the light blasted out at me once the rocks were aside! It was a red shade and was shining brightly! "What?!" I said before I paused and stepped aside… the light was still shining… but it was coming out of a hole… as though it led underground…

I remembered reading something about this… these holes that emitted bright red light… they were called "Max Raid Dens". They were places where Dynamaxed Pokémon lived, but there was also treasure inside… they also were always over power spots too, so Dynamaxing your Pokémon was possible here. I hesitated for a moment… losing in there seemed like a scary prospect, but after all my Pokémon and I have overcome, I believed we could do it… the hole looked big enough for me to enter too… but it wasn't big enough for me and Toxel. I gave a disappointed sigh… I guess the day to put Toxel in a Poke ball had finally come. I turned Toxel around in front of me and I said: "I have something I wanted to talk to you about, Toxel…" "Toxel?" He said before I looked back at the hole (and he looked in that direction in suit) and I went on: "Holes like this that emit red light are called 'Max Raid Dens'. They contain giant Pokémon like you saw Nessa's Drednaw and Kabu's Centiskorch grow into in my gym battles with them. I want to explore this den, but it's not big enough for both of us… that's why—in order to keep you safe—I wanted to temporarily keep you in this."

And I took out a great ball before I said: "You've seen my other Pokémon come out of these—they're various kinds of Poke balls that Pokémon can live in until they're called out. They're perfectly safe and comfortable for Pokémon. That said, now that you're so grown up, I want to keep you in this until I'm back out of this Max Raid Den. I'll call you back out once I'm out of there, okay?" And Toxel looked reluctant before I said: "It'll be okay. This kind of Poke ball—a great ball—is perfectly safe. And I won't let myself be taken down in there." Finally, Toxel said: "Toxel." And nodded before I said: "Thank you, Toxel. I'll see you soon!" And I called him into the great ball before I switched out my Pokémon so I had Raboot, Oddish, Sudowoodo and Hitmonlee with me. That actually felt pretty awful, but I knew I had my commitment to honor… I decided to crawl down the hole and proceed further in…

Eventually, I made it into an underground cavern. I proceeded further in… and soon saw a giant Dynamaxed Pokémon inside! With its color scheme, it almost looked like a skunk, but it didn't stink at all… it had a similar body and color scheme with black legs, gray toenails and black star-shaped marks around its eyes, which were red and had black pupils. It had a long pink tongue that was hanging out of its mouth too. This Pokémon… it was a Linoone, and the variety found in Galar too—Linoone also lived in Hoenn, but were only normal-typed there. Ours were dark and normal.

When it saw me, it said: "LiNOOONE!" And I flinched before I took out Hitmonlee's Poke ball and said: "Hitmonlee, go!" And I called him out before the Linoone snarled and I started thinking… Linoone were severely weak to fighting, so Dynamaxing Hitmonlee might let me end this much faster. I called him back before I used the power of my Dynamax band to enlarge Hitmonlee's Poke ball and then I dropped it on the ground before it opened and Hitmonlee emerged at a giant size! "Hitmonlee, use Max knuckle!" I said before Hitmonlee said: "Hiiit!" And conjured a giant orange phantasmal knuckle before it went flying down at Linoone and smashed into him for massive damage! "LinOOONE!" Linoone yelled before he finally recovered and then he followed up by making the ground crack beneath Hitmonlee before whitish-yellow energy shot up from beneath him! And then Hitmonlee looked a little sluggish… that must have been a Max strike… it looks like I'll have to finish this fast, before Hitmonlee becomes too slow! "Hitmonlee, do it again! Max knuckle!" I said before he attacked with it again. And then Linoone attacked with another Max strike before doing it again. By now, Hitmonlee was looking weak, but so was Linoone… it looks like we've got him! "Hitmonlee, finish him off! Max knuckle!" I said before Hitmonlee did so… and Linoone collapsed! He shrunk back down to a normal size before he got up and (realizing he was no longer giant) immediately fled the den!

When it was gone, Hitmonlee shrunk back down to a normal size and I took out two super potions before I went up to him and said: "Great job, Hitmonlee! Here, take these—you earned them!" And I sprayed him with them before he perked up and said: "Lee!" And I said: "You did wonderfully. Now let's go—some treasures must be waiting!" And Hitmonlee jumped up and said: "Lee!" before we walked further in.

Eventually, we reached a dead end where there were several things littered on the ground! I saw three Technical Records here—one was colored a yellow-green color in the middle, one was colored a bright shade of pink in the middle and one was colored brown in the middle! I looked at them more closely… the yellow-green record was for the move pollen puff, the bright pink record was for the move play rough and the brown record was for the move drill run. All three were powerful attacks in the bug, fairy and ground types respectively, so I took them with me in my backpack. I also saw a small bag… I opened it and saw mahogany-colored candy inside… these were Dynamax candies… they made any Pokémon who ate them healthier when they Dynamaxed… they were normally very rare, but even so, I couldn't help feeling uneasy about feeding my Pokémon candy that had been sitting around in a dusty old cavern for who-knows-how-long… I decided to leave them.

I was about to turn around and go, but then I noticed something… I turned around and walked up towards it and I saw it… it was a scrap of paper. I was genuinely perplexed and went up to it… I knelt before it and saw that it was ripped at the sides and was in a strange shape… I wasn't sure where this had come from… it had writing on it too, so I decided to read it… I picked it up and it said: "…Their tyranny has become unbearable. It not only torments us, but makes a mockery of our values and our people. And so, our mission is clear: find the late king…" And a name was written, but it had faded away… it was completely illegible… but the rest of the text was still there. After the name, it said: "…'s heir. Only then will Galar return to what it once was."

When I read this, I was shocked… this document… it looked like a historical document from some period in Galar's history when Galar had been occupied by a strong, foreign power… what was this doing in a Max Raid Den?! I couldn't make sense of it at all… now that I had defeated the Pokémon guarding this treasure, I suppose I could donate it to a museum… and yet, I wasn't sure something so precious should be so readily given away… I decided to take it with me. I put it in my backpack too before I turned around and took Hitmonlee before I hurried back through the cavern and when we reached the hole I had crawled down, I called Hitmonlee back before I climbed back up the hole and back out into the sun…its warmth felt so much better against my skin.

Once I was back in the Wild Area, I knew I'd have to decide what to do about the entrance I had just uncovered to this Max Raid Den. I turned around and looked at it… and I saw the red light was no longer coming out of the den… it must have to do with the fact that I defeated the Dynamaxed Pokémon inside. But given how dangerous it was down there, I decided to bury the den beneath the rocks I had moved aside before, just in case. Once it was buried beneath the rocks again, I took my box link out right away… I still had my promise to Toxel to honor, after all. I added Umbreon, Corvisquire, Hitmonlee and Toxel to my team before I took Toxel's great ball and called him out. When he appeared, he looked happy and said: "Toxel!" And I said: "Hi Toxel, I'm back. I told you I'd call you back out!" And then I walked up to him before I picked him up and carried him again before I said: "There, that's better. Let's get back to exploring, shall we?" "Toxel!" Toxel said before I called Umbreon out to walk with us and we continued forward.

We proceeded further in for a long time, until eventually I saw giant brick walls that towered far into the air! I see… these must be a part of the bridge I crossed when I went from Turffield to Hulbury. We kept going until we reached a plateau in the distance… from here, I could see Hammerlocke's walls in the distance! It looked like we were getting close! We kept going until we went by some especially rocky terrain… but as we passed by, I thought I saw something… I turned and saw something at the base of a rock… it was colored black and dark purple… I approached it and knelt down before it… and saw it was a Technical Record! It said 'Sludge wave' on the front. I thought it looked like it had the potential to be useful, so I took it with me and put it in my backpack with the Technical Records I had found in the cavern before we proceeded on.

We were getting close to Hammerlocke by the time night fell… it looked like we might make it and get to sleep in a proper hotel rather than having to camp out, if we hurried. Toxel, Umbreon and I kept going and soon arrived at a hill where we were next to the walls of Hammerlocke—we were going to make it! We kept going towards the entrance… but Umbreon suddenly turned and stopped before he looked to the side, over the cliff… "Umbreon? What's wrong?" I asked before he said: "Um! Umbreon!" And then we saw a strange Pokémon come floating down from a tree!

It was a tiny dragon that looked like a pale green snake with little front legs of the same color attached and a dark green shell on its head that had horns of the same color sticking horizontally out of its head with red ends. It had yellow eyes with small black dots for pupils and dark green spikes in a Y-shape around its midsection. It was short. But this Pokémon… it was a Dreepy, a really rare dragon-and-ghost type Pokémon! They were very hard to find in Galar, so this was very exciting! I ran forward (still carrying Toxel) before I said: "Whoa! Good eyes, Umbreon! I wouldn't have seen that Dreepy at all!" And the Dreepy said: "Dreeepyyy!" as though he wanted to scare us… that's not out of character for a ghost type, really. And then I said: "Umbreon, go get him! You can do it!" And Umbreon ran in before Dreepy said: "Dreep!" And made a swarm of flies, gnats and all manner of other bugs converge on Umbreon and caused a yellow green dust cloud to form around him before Umbreon took the hit a little hard… that was clearly infestation. Now Umbreon was stuck where he was and was going to take additional damage at the end of every round. "Umbreon, use snarl!" I said before Umbreon started snarling fiercely at Dreepy, which he took hard! Dreepy fell down and had trouble getting up as he said: "Dree…py…" and Umbreon recoiled from the bug swarm before I immediately took out a great ball before he could recover and threw it at him before it bumped into Dreepy and sucked him in! The great ball fell to the ground before it rocked three times… and then stood still! It had worked! I caught him!

I ran forward before I held Toxel in one hand and picked up Dreepy's great ball before I said: "Ooh! Yay! I caught my first dragon Pokémon!" "Toxel!" Toxel said excitedly as the bug swarm and dust cloud around Umbreon dispersed and he ran forward before I said: "Thank you, Umbreon! Now we have a really rare and high-potential ally, thanks to you!" "Um!" he said before I quickly used my box link to send Dreepy to my boxes and went on: "Come on! Let's hurry over to Hammerlocke, check into a hotel and call it a night!" And Toxel said: "Tox!" While Umbreon said: "Um-Umbreon!" And we excitedly hurried to Hammerlocke. Thankfully we arrived and I found a hotel before I checked in and we all called it a night.