"Hello," I said to the receptionist, "I was told to come here after my gym mission?"

"Oh, Lily!" the receptionist said, much more animated than I'd ever seen. "Well done on completing your gym mission! You had one of our fastest times, at twenty-five minutes! May I have your League card? I'll upload your gym mission results and then I'll scan it again when you come back in the afternoon for your battle. The gym battle slots are ordered by whoever finishes the gym mission fastest, so make sure to check GGC, and try to get here at least half an hour before your slot."

Twenty-five minutes? That was one of the faster times, although most of the experienced trainers finished in under ten, with seven being the record of this year. Would this work to my advantage or disadvantage? I guess it didn't matter either way, since it's not like Milo was fresh. He'd already spent all morning battling, so even if I went first, I wasn't at an inherent disadvantage.

With that decided, I went to grab lunch, this time at a small diner I'd found myself enjoying over the past week. It served an amazing grilled slowpoke tail curry, although I opted for the wooloo ribs today. My team and I ate the meal with a little too much enthusiasm, with Drift opening her mouth wider than I'd ever seen before. Needless to say, the gym mission had not awoken a deep desire to drop everything and become a farmer. I wondered if the gym missions were just a shoehorned in way to expose kids to backup career options.

In a way, I mused, it was really smart. Since not that many people were able to continue training full time, why not give them a wide variety of experiences so that they'd have some idea of what to do if they didn't stick to training? Grudgingly, I had to recognise this as something Galar did better than the Indigo League.

After we devoured our meal, I went back to the Pokemon Center, taking a refreshing shower. I opened GGC, seeing that Zach had finished his mission in twenty minutes. I wasn't really surprised at his excellent results, knowing his canines must have loved it. Alexa hadn't finished yet, the area in the "mission" column stating "in progress". It was wild how easily I could keep tabs on everyone, and more than a little creepy. Zach told me he'd just finished taking a shower and was on his way to eat. I told him I was going to walk off my nerves, but if our time slots were close, we could head to the stadium together.

My team and I ended up just walking aimlessly around, staring at the standing stones. I was too amped up to feel any sense of the calm or peace usually brought by nature, mind racing over the upcoming battle. It seemed fairly straightforward: enter the stadium, walk to the center of the field, Milo will say something, go to my end of the field, battle, get my badge, leave. Yet, I was suddenly scared I would mess up, somehow. What if I couldn't dynamax properly? Or worse, what if I accidentally dyanamaxed during the first battle? I resolved to keep my right wrist as stiff as possible, to ensure I wouldn't accidentally dynamax my pokemon, before worrying about how stupid that would look.

Maybe I should rewatch some of Milo's battles, just in case? Before I knew it, it was time for me to check for my time slot. Anxiety spirals were great for passing the time, who knew?

"Let's see how we stacked up, huh?" I asked my team idly, not too bothered about the results. As expected, Zach had come out far ahead, lined up for the first afternoon battle against Milo. I was two spots after him, with Alexa coming out ahead of me. She'd apparently used Sweet Scent to lure the wooloo, a strategy she'd seen the farmers using previously.

The three of us decided to head to the stadium together, all of us too nervous to speak. I found myself torn between wishing I could have done better so I wouldn't have to wait any longer, or wishing I had done worse, so I could have more time for my nerves to settle. We scanned our League cards and went into the locker room, which was predictably empty. Zach began pacing around the room, his pokemon running around happily, as he muttered strategies to himself. It was pretty entertaining to watch, especially since I knew they wouldn't get to stick around when it was my turn to break down.

Before long, Zach was called up and I gave him a thumbs up, telling him he was going to win. Alexa and I watched the big screen with rapt attention, but it went exactly as Zach expected. He easily took down Milo's oddish and eldegoss with his toxel and eletrike. His pokemon couldn't be poisoned or paralysed, which neutralized most of Milo's strategies.

Alexa's battle went well. Knight, her corvisquire, used a furious combination of Pluck and Fury Attack that sent Milo's applin reeling. Milo chose applin for both his pokemon, which surprised me, but I guess with its three evolutionary tracks he needed to train a lot up.

By the time I was called up, I was more than ready to get it over with. I couldn't stand another second with this pit of nerves, and I really wanted my first badge. I went into the tunnel, waiting as a drone rotom descended until it hovered at the center of the field, its yellow body perfectly steady thanks to the perfected technology.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome to this gym battle! Challenger Lily, number 445, is endorsed by the Indigo League! And, of course, the gym leader, fighting farmer Milo! The battle will be two versus two, with the gym leader releasing first. Switches are not allowed. To win a match, the opposing pokemon must be knocked out or declared unable to continue."

An official nodded at me, wishing me good luck, and I stepped out onto the field, faced with the roaring crowds. My knees were shaky, but I was also more than a little excited. I walked straight to the center of the field, where a gigantic pokeball had been lined out with white paint. Milo had stepped out at the same time as me, and we both turned to face each other at the same time.

He gave me a kind smile, which I tried my best to return. I was immediately intimidated, despite how nice he seemed. He cut a large figure, and was clearly completely at ease, which was the opposite of how I felt.

"The gym mission I set is challenging, so I'm impressed at how well you managed it, Lily! Proper job! I'm going to have to dynamax if I want to win!" The mere mention of dyanamxing made the crowd wild, approving screams crashing into me. Both of us then went to opposite ends of the stadium, outside the strong psychic shields that had been set up. They pulsated brightly, and I could just barely make out the tell-tale pink sheen.

Milo waited a second, before raising a pokeball into the air.

"Go, Gossifleur!" Milo yelled, releasing the grass-type. High defenses, respectable attack but devastatingly slow. I could work with that. The lack of substitution did limit me. I could release Drift now, and use Mischief later, but I didn't want to Dynamax Drift. I would rather take advantage of the breadth of Drift's moveset, and use her once Mischief has been knocked out. Dynamaxing Mischief made the most sense, with the small number of moves he had, and the benefits he would gain from the increase in durability.

With my decision amde, I threw my own pokeball, releasing my starter, who let out a shriek of excitement. Unlike me, he was absolutely soaking up the attention of the crowd. Milo waited patiently, evidently allowing me to make the first move.

"Mischief!" I tried to project my voice, but I could tell it came out shaky and extremely quiet. Was he even going to be able to hear my commands? No better time to find out.

"Quick Bite! Then Astonish!" I screamed, at the top of my lungs, and winced at just how loud it was. I flushed red in embarrassment. At least he heard me. Before Gossifleur could react, Mischief had hit it with his whole body, before taking a chunk out of the yellow flower adorning its head. Before he could follow up with Astonish, Milo commanded the grass type to attack with Razor Leaf.

"Retreat!"

Mischief dodged the barrage of leaves with ease, flying high above the attack.

"Confuse Ray!" I directed at the exact same time as Milo called out "Keep up Razor Leaf!"

Mischief was fast to react, flying closer to the other pokemon and sending out a thin beam of ghostly energy. Mischief was hit by a few of the leaves, his concentration focused entirely on directing the confused ray at the grass type, blood dripping down from the side of his body. We had to finish this fast to conserve his energy.

"Quick Bite!" I yelled and Mischief got in close, the grass type too dazed to offer any resistance, easily finishing off the battle. I couldn't help the smile that overtook my face. I was one pokemon away from getting my very first badge! The crowd started chanting my name, causing me to blush.

Drone rotom descended once again. "1-0, challenger Lily has knocked out gym leader Milo's gossifleur!" It flew away to a safe distance to preside over the next round.

Milo smiled at me knowingly, patting a pokeball before holding it up. "We're not going to be uprooted that easily! We're tough as oak!" The crowd loved that, cheering Milo on.

I waited in anticipation as a pokemon started materializing on the battlefield, grimacing as the form solidified. I'd been hoping for his eldegoss. Milo didn't hesitate, returning his roselia, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

"Let's do this! It's Dynamax time!" His Dynamax band glowed bright, sending energy straight to the pokeball, which rapidly expanded in size, growing monstrously large. It was completely encased with energy, pulsing so brightly I had a hard time focusing on it. Milo gave it a pat before he threw it easily, and roselia immediately materialized as if thrown straight down from the sky, before multiplying in size until it easily towered over everyone else in the stadium. Red energy coursed through its body, as it twirled its flower hands serenely.

"Dynamax!" I yelled, returning Mischief, before thrusting my right arm out awkwardly. To my eternal relief, it worked. I felt the pokeball absorb the strange rush of energy, which manifested in its expanding form. It didn't feel any heavier, and I had no trouble throwing it onto the battlefield. I watched as Mischief came out and instantly grew until he matched the roselia, the crowd chanting their approval in the background.

Roselia, I thought, with more than a little unease, was a challenge. Roselia outclassed gossifleur in almost every respect, and was more than a match for Mischief with its dual-typing and incredible control. The key to fighting roselia was to keep a safe distance, but Mischief was limited due to the sheer scale of Dynamax attack.

"Max Phantasm!" I commanded, determined to lower the grass-type's defense. A variety of random objects were conjured up, projected into the air, made up entirely off of ghostly energy.

Milo didn't look worried at all, shouting out his own command, confident his pokemon could take it.

"Max Overgrowth!" The roselia obeyed instantly, sending huge seeds out and planting them all over the field. Even as the objects hit its body, it didn't falter, all its focus on its moves. Plants sprouted high from the seeds and disappeared into a gigantic tornado of leaves. I looked around frantically, but realized there was no place in the field Mischief could go to avoid it. He was hit with the full force of the attack, which would have normally severely injured him or worse, only surviving thanks to his Dynamax form.

"Max Wyrmwind! We'll lower its attack!" Mischief complied, whipping up a frenzy of draconic energy, which was sent straight to roselia. The blue storm of energy went on for a long while, and I watched with bated breath as I waited for it to die down. Mischief couldn't fire off another move yet, still recovering from the massive amount he'd just fired off.

To my disappointment, the roselia still stood, although definitely worse for wear. It was certainly benefitting from the grassy terrain, which bolstered its strength. I assessed the situation. Both of the pokemon were flagging, but if we didn't take roselia down now, Mischief would somehow have to tank two more dynamax moves, one without being dyanamaxed himself.

"Max Overgrowth!" I winced, knowing Mischief couldn't take another hit like that. His evasiveness, which I had been overly reliant on, was all but useless when faced against such overwhelming attacks. We needed to finish this fast.

"Max Wyrmwind again!" Mischief was almost shuddering from the sheer exertion, and I knew it was only the extensive practice and exposure to dragon types and their energy that allowed him to fire off these moves so fast. If I'd asked for a Max Phantasm, the results would have been much less impressive. As it was, the roselia managed to sprout the plants before it could be caught by the blue tornado, and I watched as they towered even higher than last time. If it survived Max Wyrmwind, I was going to really struggle, with the now extremely inconvenient terrain.

Mischief was caught in the storm of leaves, and let out a loud shriek of pain, one of his wings heavily torn up from the damage. "I believe in you, buddy!" I cheered, trying to hide my concerned frown. He wasn't going to be able to take a third hit. I still couldn't make out what was happening in the blue whirlwind, which was now slowing down.

Suddenly, a big burst of the now-familiar red energy was emitted from the whirlwind, and I felt a burst of relief.

The drone rotom quickly descended, levitating near the center of the stadium "Challenger Lily, number 445, has won her battle against gym leader Milo! Congratulations, challenger Lily!"

"We won! Thank you so much for all your hard work, Mischief!" He let out a weak thrill, the Dynamax energy finally leaving his body, as he returned to his previous size. I quickly recalled him and Milo did the same with his roselia, patting his pokeball once he'd strapped it back into place.

I walked to the center, unsure of what to say to the gym leader. Milo shook his head, before a sunny smile returned to his face.

"That was a spirited battle from you. I can see how much dedication you've put into your training. As proof that you have defeated a gym leader in the gym challenge, allow me to present to you your very own grass badge!" We shook hands, and Milo handed over a small card, which I recognised as his signed league card, along with the badge. I thanked him, clutching the badge and League card tight in my hands and off I went, not looking at the crowd once. Once out, however, I wasn't free yet.

There were a crowd of reporters asking questions, and I was mandated to answer at least two of them. I didn't mind so much, since I'd just won my very first gym battle, but I imagined I would feel very differently if I'd lost.

"Lily! Your battle was outstanding! Are you a ghost type specialist?" A bored looking woman asked, at complete odds with her word choice, but I answered anyway.

"I'm hoping to be! Thank you!" Before I could overthink my answer, another question came my way.

"How are you finding Galar compared to Johto?" "Great, I love both regions." I hurriedly walked out, eager to head to the pokemon center to heal Mischief. I released Drift and recounted the battle along the way, turning the badge around in my hand in awe. Luckily, she wasn't too put out about being left out of the gym battle and was quickly mollified by my assurances.

"Don't worry, Drift. I'll definitely be using you against Nessa! It's going to be the best!"

That night, tucked into my bed inside the pokemon center, I dreamt of holding the Champion's Cup with my incredible team by my side.

XXX

Route 5 was much more pleasant than I remembered. Probably, it was because last time I'd been consumed with capturing a drifloon in the middle of the night. Turns out, most routes looked much better in the daylight. We even stopped by a small bike shop, each getting a rotom bike. The road was smooth, allowing us to bike the whole way through. We couldn't cycle for long before we had to stop to make camp, but I felt like we'd made decent enough progress.

I was excited to crawl into my tent and call my parents, who I had already messaged with the news. I hadn't managed to catch them yesterday, but they made up for it with their enthusiasm today. My parents gushed over my win, sending me clips of "highlights", but they sent so many that they might as well have sent over the whole battle. I was more than happy to hear the praise, despite knowing I hadn't done anything that special, passing the credit off to my team, who puffed up with pride.

None of us stopped to battle the wild pokemon, intent on getting to Hulburry as soon as possible. Fortunately, everyone on the route seemed to be on the same page, including the other traveling trainers.

We lost signal halfway through, since we were passing over the Wild Area, so I wasn't able to watch Nessa or the other challengers battle. I guess in a way I was glad I'd had all that time to prepare in Turrfield. I thought longingly of the Wild Area, wishing I could have gone after the opening ceremony, despite knowing it wasn't practical. I wanted to explore the power spots in the Wild Area to get more practice with Dynamax. I also really wanted to catch the pokemon that lived there, since it was the most ecologically diverse area in all of Galar. Staying in the Wild Area was often the best way for trainers to become stronger, due to the wide variety of pokemon for them to battle, the strong and numerous trainers that also camped out there, and the power spots which attracted unusually strong pokemon.

I was practically salivating at the thought. After Motostoke, I planned to spend as much time as possible there. I hoped to catch a couple of pokemon, especially near the Watchtower Ruins. But before all of that, I'd have to defeat Nessa, although I was feeling pretty confident.

"Barely anyone's lost to Nessa," Zach said, pulling up his phone through force of habit, before sighing when he remembered he had no connection. "Lily! Stop thinking about the Wild Area!" Zach complained, and I snapped out of my thoughts with a guilty look, averting my eyes from where I'd been staring at the Wild Area from the bridge.

"Sorry, it's just I really want to go. Yeah, Nessa will be fine. It's Kabu that everyone is scared of." I shuddered, thinking of the staggering amount of defeats he handed out every year.

"I hear he was even almost champion. He even made sizzlipede super popular for a while!" Alexa said, and I perked up. I remembered that before, charizard, machamp and gengar had been the most popular pokemon in Galar. I'd assumed charizard because of Leon, machamp because of Bea, and Gengar because of Allister. Since Allister wasn't around yet and Bea definitely wasn't the gym leader, I wondered what pokemon were the most popular currently.

"Which pokemon are the most popular right now in Galar?" I asked curiously.

"Charizard," Zach snorted. "Drednaw too, thanks to Nessa. I don't know about a third. Maybe a rock-type?"

"A ground type?" Alexa asked, clearly as lost as I was.

"Yeah, Circhester's gym leader has a son who specializes in rock types. He's super popular, did the circuit a while ago."

"Oh, where is he now?" "He's training at Pewter." I blinked in surprise. Pewter was currently run by Flint and it was hardly a powerhouse of a gym.

"Pewter?" I couldn't hide my surprise. I had no idea Gordie had trained under Flint. Zach made a face, shrugging. "You don't have that many options if you want to specialize. It's whichever gym leader or elite four you can get to train you."

I dreaded my own search for a ghost-type master. I was pretty sure I could ask my parents to ask Lance to ask Agatha, but I didn't want to try that unless I was truly desperate. My parents had a lot to say about her and all of it was about how infuriating she was to work with. Maybe I could find a dark-type master? That would make me an even better ghost-type specialist, right? I was, for once, glad that I only had one badge. It meant that mentor problems were solely future me's problem, while present me only had to focus on defeating Nessa. Well, getting to Hulbury and then defeating Nessa.

AN: One thing I'm really conflicted about is the use of Dynamaxing. It's such an important part of Galar's battle culture, being the thing that really cemented Rose's vision for the league, but it's strange that it's this skill trainers can only use in power spots and that's it. Can you imagine it's your first time using this thing and it's your very first gym match? Talk about learning on the go.