Chapter 7:

Battles in the Galar Countryside

Location: Motostoke

Before leaving Motostoke to head west for Turrfield, I said goodbye to my two rivals, Marnie and Allister.

"I hope… we meet again…" Allister said.

"Sure," Hop replied. It was clear that out of our friend group, Hop and Allister were the only two who didn't really get on. Hop was a bit freaked out by the kid.

"Oh great," Marnie said as we saw some Team Yell Grunts coming our way. "Don't worry, I'll deal with them. You two just continue. I don't want to delay you any longer."

"You sure?" I asked. "Well then, that makes sense! Let's head off!"

Location: Route 3

Route 3 was a rocky path with various mining equipment scattered throughout. The colourful, rolling hills that made Galar famous could be seen in the distance.

"I'm going to continue on," Hop said.

"That's fine," I said. "See you in Turrfield?"

"Or before then!" Hop replied, running off.

I smiled; what was I going to do with him?

I walked on a bit and eventually found my first Trainer; it was a Schoolgirl.

"This will affect my grade! I need to do this!"

Gloria Vs. Schoolgirl Hannah

"I choose Pancham!" shouted Hannah. She sent out a black and white Pokémon with a leaf in its mouth. It looked very smug.

Pancham (ヤンチャム)

#111

Fighting Type

Playful Pokémon

2'00" (0.6 m)

17.6 lbs (8 kg)

Wanting to make sure it's taken seriously, Pancham's always giving others a glare. But if it's not focusing, it ends up smiling.

"Rookidee, you're first!" A Flying Type was just what I needed. "Use Peck!" Rookidee stabbed Pancham with its beak.

"Pancham, Circle Throw!" Pancham grabbed Rookidee and threw it, forcing it into its Pokéball. Then out came Purrloin.

"No!" I shouted. "Cheeky move. Fake Out!" Purrloin then clapped in front of Pancham. It flinched. Knowing that Purrloin was weak to Pancham's Fighting Type moves, I recalled it for Scorbunny.

"Use Arm Thrust Pancham!" Pancham hit Scorbunny with its arm three times.

"Scorbunny, use Ember!" Scorbunny flung an ember at Pancham. It landed, knocking it out.

"I'm stuffed! How will I graduate Year 5?!"

Following my victory, I waded through some tall grass. It was funny that I hadn't been out of Motostoke long but the atmosphere on Route 3 was so different it felt like I had only left a week ago.

Anyway, I encountered my next Pokémon. It was purple and cream with a long tail.

Stunky (スカンプー)

#130

Poison/Dark Type

Skunk Pokémon

1'04" (0.4 m)

42.3 lbs (19.2 kg)

From its rear, it sprays a foul-smelling liquid at opponents. It aims for their faces, and it can hit them from over 16 feet away.

"Scorbunny, I choose you!" I shouted. "Ember!" Scorbunny fired a flame at Stunky for lots of damage. Stunky then fired some pink gunk at Scorbunny, lowering its Sp. Defense. "It used Acid Spray! Okay Scorbunny, Quick Attack!" Scorbunny rammed into Stunky, defeating it.

I got out of the tall grass and had a look at my progress. On my Rotom Phone, I got up a map.

"So, at the end of this road, is Galar Mine No. 1. Okay, we'll clear that tomorrow. Good stopping point I think." I could see the mine in the distance. The mine was owned by, of course, Macro Cosmos. "Well, let's get a wiggle on!" I got up and was, of course, noticed by a Trainer. This was a Postman.

"Why are Christmas letters getting earlier and earlier?!"

Gloria Vs. Postman Tad

"I choose Scorbunny!" I shouted.

"Go Delibird!" Out came a white and red Pokémon with a sack-like tail.

Delibird (デリバード)

#078

Ice/Flying Type

Delivery Pokémon

2'11" (0.9 m)

35.3 lbs (16 kg)

It carries food all day long. There are tales about lost people who were saved by the food it had.

Delibird has no known evolution.

"We have the advantage Scorbunny! Ember!" Scorbunny kicked a flame at Delibird, doing Super Effective damage.

"Come back with Present!" Delibird threw a present at Scorbunny… it was one of the healing ones!

"Now use Ember again!" Scorbunny gave Delibird a fiery finish.

"How is Santa going to get the letters now?"

With that done, I was almost at the mines. But I also wanted to take it easy. After all, this was the Galarian countryside. Certainly, a nice breather after the busy Motostoke.

I had to battle one last Trainer before I made up my camp. It was a Schoolboy.

"Hey! I saw you on the TV!"

Gloria Vs. Schoolboy Peter

"I choose Sizzlipede!" A slithery, orange Pokémon came out. It had many legs.

Sizzlipede (ヤクデ)

#159

Fire/Bug Type

Radiator Pokémon

2'04" (0.7 m)

2.2 lbs (1 kg)

It wraps up prey with its heated body, cooking them in its coils. Once they're well done, it will voraciously nibble them down to the last morsel.

"Go Lotad!" I shouted.

"Use Ember Sizzlipede!" Sizzlipede fired a flame at Lotad for a direct hit.

"Come back with Water Gun!" A spray of water cooled Sizzlipede off for quite a bit.

"Now use Bite!" Sizzlipede bit down on Lotad.

"Come back with Water Gun again!" Lotad shot some more water at Sizzlipede, defeated it.

"So, that's how it's gonna be? Go Dottler!" Next up was a chunky-yellow Pokémon with black spots.

Dottler (レドームシ)

#011

Bug/Psychic Type

Radome Pokémon

1'04" (0.4 m)

43 lbs (19.5 kg)

It barely moves, but it's still alive. Hiding in its shell without food or water seems to have awakened its Psychic powers.

Blipbug -Lv 10- Dottler

I decided to recall Lotad. "Go Rookidee!" I replied. "Use Peck!" Rookidee stabbed Dottler with its beak. It was certainly Super Effective, but it would take more than that to get through Dottler's hard shell.

"Confusion!" Dottler made Rookidee a bit dizzy. My Pokémon shook it off.

"Use Hone Claws!" Rookidee sharpened the claws of its feet, raising Attack and Accuracy.

"Now use Confusion again!" This time it missed!

"And now use Peck!" This one was a Critical Hit!

"Confusion!" Another Confusion hit Rookidee. It almost took it down. Then, Rookidee started pecking at Dottler viciously. "Hey, that's Fury Attack!" It took down the Bug Type.

"Can I have your autograph?"

Following that, I made my way outside the Galar Mine.

"Let's stop here," I said, getting out my camping equipment.

That night, I had a speak with Hop.

"Not bad progress!" he said. "I'll catch up tomorrow. Then after this mine, it's onto Turrfield!"

"Yeah!" I replied, killing the call.