I woke up the next morning and looked around the guest room. Louis was still asleep on the sofa-bed since we decided to use the result of the battle to decide who got the actual bed. I reached over and put on my glasses and got my phone.

I looked through my Pokémon on my phone and found that Arrokuda had levelled up enough to learn Fury Attack and Nickit had learned Hone Claws.

I looked through my Pokédex and saw that some of the entries were partially empty. Especially Sobble's entry. I looked back to the 'encountered' and 'caught' numbers and actually realised that they were different. If I wanted complete entries on all the Pokémon, I would have to find and catch all wild Pokémon. And most likely trade for some too. especially if I wanted Pokémon like Gengar and Gourgeist.

Louis stirred and opened his eyes. He looked over at me and waved 'morning'. He pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes.

"What time is it?" he groggily asked.

"Eight in the morning." I answered. "How was the sofa-bed?"

"Rough, but do-able."

"Sleeping bag's are going to be rougher than that." I smiled.

"True." He agreed.

We got washed and had our breakfast with Magnolia and David, who spent the night on the actual sofa in the living room. Magnolia passed two bands to myself and Louis.

"What are these?" I asked.

"Dynamax Bands." She answered. "If you wear these bands, you will be able to Dynamax one of your Pokémon per battle."

I took the band and fitted it on my right wrist. It felt like it was just a sweatband. At least it wouldn't come off easily enough.

"What's the next stop?" Louis asked.

I looked at David as he took a breath. "Well, the next stop would be registering for the Gym Challenge in Motostoke."

"And how do we get there?" I wondered.

"Get the train there from Wedgehurst." Magnolia told me.

"Well, I guess we're going back to Wedgehurst again." I sighed.

"It is the only way there." David agreed.

Thirty minutes later and Louis, David and I were walking back to Wedgehurst. I caught myself a Lotad, Skwovet and a Zigzagoon, and apparently, it was known as the 'Galarian Form'. I was confused when I initially caught Lotad as its Poké ball glowed then seemed to be pulled into my phone.

David explained that since I already had a full party, any extra Pokémon would automatically be sent to the Storage System. We made it into Wedgehurst just after one and decided to go to the café in the Pokémon Centre.

David ordered our food and drinks whilst Louis and I logged onto the Storage System. I deposited Chewtle, Seedot and Yamper, which left me with Scorbunny, Nickit and Arrokuda.

I logged out as our food was brought to the table. I had a chicken sandwich and apple juice.

"So where can we actually use these Dynamax bands?" Louis asked.

"Only a handful of places." David told us, putting down his BLT. "Mainly Gyms, certain places in the Wild Area and Wyndon Stadium."

"How do we use them?" I asked.

David froze for a second. "I don't really know. It just happens. The band seems to gather energy and if you feed the energy into your Poké ball, you can Dynamax your Pokémon. Once you do it once, you somehow know how to do it again."

That was no help, but at least it seemed like it would be easy to do. We finished our meal and made our way towards the train station.

A small ringing sounded as we reached the station doors. David's phone flew out and flew into his face. David reached and took his phone. He pressed a few buttons and sighed.

"What is it?" Louis asked.

David looked at us. "Sorry guys, I can't come to Motostoke with you. One of the Gym Leaders wants to meet me as soon as I can."

"Which one?" Louis asked.

"Can't say." He answered. "I'm going to get a Flying Taxi."

And with that, David had gone. Louis and I entered the train station and I immediately looked at the times for the next train to Motostoke. We still had twenty minutes to wait and another train to let go by.

We sat for five minutes when the speakers called out, 'THE TRAIN NOW ARRIVING IS THE RETURN TRAIN FOR THE ISLE OF ARMOR. PLEASE HAVE YOUR ARMOR PASSES READY FOR BOARDING.'

"Isle of Armor?" I asked.

"David mentioned that's where he got Blissey when she was a Chansey." Louis thought.

A minute later and the silence was interrupted. "Not again!"

Louis and I looked to see a pink Pokémon with a yellow head and yellow tipped tail slowly plod its way into the station building. It was certainly not what I was expecting to happen. A station staff member tried to pick up the Pokémon and move it but it seemed the Pokémon was just too stubborn.

"Do you want some help?" I offered.

"Are you a trainer?" he asked.

"Just started." I answered, standing up. "But I think I can handle one of these."

"Thank you." The man smiled.

I looked at the Pokémon and thought. I didn't want a large scale battle because of the damage it would do and I didn't want any problems with health and safety, so that only left one choice.

"Nickit." I said, holding out her ball.

"You sure are using Nickit a lot." Louis observed.

"Well, her Beat Up is the best move my whole team's got." I defended. "Speaking of which. Nickit, use Beat Up on that Pokémon!"

Three attacks later and the Pokémon still seemed to be standing strong. That, or it was just not reacting to the pain.

I raised my hand to call another attack when it opened its mouth and let out a yawn, sending a bubble towards Nickit. Since neither of us knew what was happening, the bubble popped in Nickit's face.

"What was that?" I asked.

"It was probably Yawn." The attendant said. "These Slowpoke always do that so we can't do a thing about them."

"Well in that case." I said, about to call out a Quick Attack when I thought about Beat Up yet again. I could use Nickit's power alone or borrow Scorbunny and Arrokuda's power before Nickit fell asleep. "Nickit, you're going to get one shot at this before you fall asleep so make it count. Beat Up with all your strength."

Yawning, Nickit nodded and jumped to Slowpoke. Nickit and the shadows managed to strike Slowpoke so hard, it was thrown onto the platform. I followed after it, with Nickit reaching the platform before she succumbed to slumber.

I took a risk and threw a Poké ball. Slowpoke went into the ball and the ball shook once, twice, three times. I took a step forward to pick the ball when it broke apart.

"What happened to the shards?" Louis asked.

"They disappear when the ball breaks." I told him. "I found that out when I had a failed capture."

Slowpoke raised its head slightly and spat out a stream of dirty yellow liquid at Nickit. Despite being asleep, Nickit shook of the liquid. I noticed Nickit had pulsed with a purple glow. I decided to switch out Nickit for Scorbunny. Slowpoke's eyes glowed blue and Scorbunny was lifted into the air and was thrown down hard to the floor.

"Scorbunny, use Quick Attack!" I said.

Scorbunny blurred behind Slowpoke and hit it on the back. Slowpoke turned around and spat out another blob of the dirty yellow liquid that poisoned Nickit. Scorbunny jumped into the air and dodged the attack.

I quickly threw another Poké ball and watched it shake. After the third shake, I held my breath. It shook again, clicking and the button pulsed green. I smiled as I knelt down and picked up the Poké ball.

I looked back to the attendant. "That's this Slowpoke taken care of. Sorry about how the fight turned out. I did hope that it wouldn't get as bad as that."

"We've had worse. One person even tried to help with a Obstagoon. That was a battle I wouldn't forget."

I went and sat back down and told Louis about my latest capture. He teased me about the noise I made and I countered with his lack of help.

Just as I was about to check on Slowpoke's information, I heard a voice that I didn't expect to hear.

My mother.

"Mum? What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you off before you go to Motostoke." She said.

"I hope you two are looking after each other."

"We are." I rolled my eyes. "But only when we're travelling together. We're wanting to travel alone most of the time."

"As long as it's what you want." My mum told me.

"Besides, it's going to give us the chance to grow by ourselves." I added.

My mother placed a hand on both of our shoulders. "Just be careful. And don't anger any strong looking Pokémon."

"We won't." I told her.

"Good. There's nothing worse than accidentally angering a Pangoro protecting its Pancham cubs." She blushed slightly.

I definitely did not want to be running for my life on my second day of my journey. My mum reached into bag she was carrying and pulled out a large pot and a tent bag. I noticed the pot held a few bars and a rolled up piece of meshed metal.

"What's this?" I asked, putting them into my bag.

"It's some Camping Gear." She answered. "When you're in the Wild Area or on a Route, you can set up your tent and relax with your Pokémon."

'THE TRAIN NOW ARRIVING IS THE FAST TRAIN FOR MOTOSTOKE. PLEASE HAVE YOUR TRAIN PASSES READY FOR BOARDING.'

I looked down the tracks and saw the train approaching. I went back and got Louis, who luckily was already coming to the platform. "Got your ticket ready?"

"Yes Gordon, I've got my ticket." Louis sighed, but I knew he was thankful that I was reminding him.

The train pulled to a stop and a couple of people got off the train and Louis and I got on. I managed to get us a table to sit at. As the train began to leave the station, Louis and I waved goodbye to my mum. I placed my bag on the table and ate the rest of my sandwich.

"How long until we get to Motostoke anyway?" Louis asked.

"I don't know." I answered, looking at my phone. "According to this, it could be another twenty minutes."

The train began to slow down as I was looking up information about the Gym Challenge. I looked out of the window and saw that we were in what was known as the Wild Area.

A double beep sounded throughout the carriage. "Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but due to several Wooloo and Dubwool on the tracks ahead, this train is terminating here at the Wild Area."

Several people moaned and Louis and I left the train. The station didn't look any different than the one at Wedgehurst. Since we were some of the last ones to leave the train, it felt like it was just myself and Louis at the station.

"Kids, we have to leave." I heard a man say.

"But what about Eevee and Pikachu?" a boy asked.

"We can't just leave them here dad." A girl added.

The dad sighed and rubbed his head. "Well, none of the people we asked has room for Eevee or Pikachu. Let alone both."

Louis looked at me and then at the kids, trying to hint what I was already thinking about. I nodded and Louis approached the kids. "Excuse me, my cousin and I heard you talk about an Eevee and a Pikachu." The kids faces brightened up as they looked to their dad. "What's the problem?"

"My kids have been looking after an Eevee and a Pikachu thinking they were lost and belonged to someone but it turns out that they're wild Pokémon who somehow caught themselves with my kids Poké balls." The dad explained. "I said we could spend a little extra time to see if anyone wants them, but no-one can take them."

"I could take one." Louis said.

"And I could take the other." I offered.

The children smiled and each handed us a Poké ball each. They boarded the train and Louis and I walked outside. The exit let us out into a smallish area covered with grass.

I held out my new Poké ball and threw it into the air. The ball opened and on the ground, a small brown Pokémon with cream pieces of fur looked at me and smiled. I used my phone to scan Eevee.

'EEVEE, THE EVOLUTION POKÉMON. THANKS TO ITS UNSTABLE GENETIC MAKEUP, THIS SPECIAL POKÉMON CONCEALS MANY DIFFERENT POSSIBLE EVOLUTIONS.'

I scanned the Poké ball for Eevee's other information.

Name: Eevee

Level: 10

Gender: Female

Ability: Run Away

Remaining HP: Full

Usable Moves: Growl, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Quick Attack

Gigantamax available

I didn't realise that Eevee had a Gigantamax form. I knelt down in front of Eevee. "Hello Eevee. Would you like to join me on my journey?"

Eevee happily jumped into my arms and rubbed her head affectionately.

"Gordon, I'm going to go on ahead." Louis told me. "Call me when you get to Motostoke."

"Ok. When do I have to get there?" I asked.

"According to this, the opening ceremony is in three days so we need to register the day after tomorrow at the latest." Louis told me.

"Thanks. See you there." I waved him off.

I picked up Eevee and returned her to her Poké ball. Five minutes later, I reached a small fence that indicated the border between the Wild Area and the station. I took a few steps past the fence and somehow felt a difference in the air. It was certainly different here than in Postwick.

The Wild Area was enormous.

I looked around like I was a young child in a large toy store. There were a lot of Pokémon just walking about, not even bothered with the fact that a human was nearby.

I saw a red beam of energy shooting into the sky from a distance. I would definitely have to check that out. Walking in the fresh air of the Wild Area was a welcome change to simply walking down Routes 1 and 2.

I walked to a nearby tree with a thinnish trunk. I looked up and saw some berries. They were too high to reach up and pick them but when I kicked the tree, some berries fell out. I placed my hands on the tree and shook it. more berries fell out. I shook the tree two more times and more berries fell out.

I picked up the berries and put them in my bag; 3 Oran Berries, 2 Pecha Berries and one each of Cheri berry and Kelpsy berry.

I heard a faint sound and looked up. I saw an annoyed looking pink berry Pokémon glaring back down at me. I decided to quickly move away from the tree before it attacked. Since I had a Pecha Berry, I quickly let out Nickit and fed her the berry.

The purple pulsing stopped immediately and Nickit looked at me, looking a lot better. Once I put her back in her ball, I decided to try to get to the beam of light as soon as I could.

Before long, it was already getting dark. Since there were no caves about, I decided to use the Camping Gear that my mum gave me. According to my Mapping app on my Rotom Phone, I was near West Lake Axewell.

Just for the sake of Arrokuda, I made my way towards a nearby lake. I put my tent up and let out my Pokémon. Instantly, Scorbunny and Nickit went to Eevee, welcoming her whilst Arrokuda floated over and began hanging around Slowpoke. I smiled as at least it seemed that they were welcoming to each other.

I looked around, hoping I could see where the red beam of light was and realised that it was only across the nearby bridge. An hour's walk at the most.

Despite the fact that I had just set up camp, I knew that I wanted to at least investigate the beam. I looked around and since everyone was having fun, I wanted to just see if I could go by myself. Just as I began to walk to the edge of camp, my phone rang.

"Hey Louis, what's up?"

"Gordon, where are you?" he asked.

"According to Rotom, West Lake Axewell. Why?" I asked.

"Sonia has these neat little devices for us." He answered. "Just stay at your camp for a while, she's on her way."

"Fine." I said, hanging up.

Thirty minutes later, both Nickit and Eevee jumped up and both stared in the same direction. I followed their gaze and saw a small light coming towards me. I stood and took a quick glance. Nickit and Eevee were ready, Slowpoke was only just looking around, Scorbunny came and stood by my feet and Arrokuda came and floated towards my shoulder.

"Gordon?"

I placed my hand over my eyes and squinted. "Sonia?"

The light dimmed and I could recognise Sonia. She smiled and waved. Scorbunny, Arrokuda and Nickit relaxed whilst Eevee relaxed only slightly, still wary. I sighed as Slowpoke walked to my legs. I knelt down and rubbed Eevee on the head. "Don't worry Eevee, Sonia's nice. You can relax."

"How are you doing?" Sonia asked.

"Alright." I answered. "I was going to have a look at that beam of light but Louis called me about you and some devices."

Sonia smiled. "Yes, the Pokémon Box Link." She told me, handing me a small white box. "This box can link with your Rotom Phone so you can access the Storage System wherever you are." I took the box from her and looked at it. "There are some places it won't work though."

I thanked her for the box and she decided to walk with me to the beam of light. She helped me pack up my camp and forty minutes later, we arrived at the beam of light.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a Raid Den." She answered. "Inside, there's a Pokémon that sometimes is out of its natural habitat. It's also a Dynamax Pokémon. Normally, four trainers join forces and battle it together."

"But what if I'm on my own?" I asked. Since most trainers travelled alone, it was a valid question.

"There are some trainers who spend their lives travelling from den to den to help solo Trainers defeat these Pokémon." Sonia explained.

I peered into the den. All I could see was a bright red light. "How do I know what Pokémon is in there?"

My phone vibrated and flew in front of me. It looked like an extension of my Pokédex app. It showed a silhouette of a Pokémon and two types 'Dark' and 'Ice'.

"It's showing a Dark and Ice type Pokémon in here." I said.

"Are you going to fight it?" Sonia asked.

I thought about it. I didn't have many Pokémon that could handle one of these dual-type Pokémon, but it could become a great asset if I caught it.

"I'm going to fight it." I answered. "Scorbunny's my best Pokémon against one like this anyway."

As I began to lean into the den, Rotom flew back in front of my face. A message on the phone asked if I need any help inside the den.

I pressed the 'YES' button and felt myself fall down into the Raid Den.