Leon and Sonia

"Finally! We finally made it!"

Sonia, covered in dust and grime, stared at Hulbury's gates in the distance. God knew what she had been through lately! She never should have listened to her grandmother, who said traveling with Trainers was a basic requirement for becoming a Professor, much less set out with this idiot childhood friend of hers! They had done nothing but get lost the whole way! How many times had they crawled through tall grass alone?!

"Aha! I'm going to challenge the Gym!"

Leon, who had no beard yet and looked almost exactly like Hop aside from his hairstyle, was also covered in dust and grime. But his eyes sparkled as he grabbed his Poké Ball and shouted.

"All right, all right, we'll challenge the Gym first. But this time, you're not allowed to run off! I'll lead the way! Got it?!"

Sonia grabbed Leon by the clothes and shouted.

"Yes, yes, I'm counting on you, Sonia. Haha."

Leon knew how many wrong turns he had taken along the way. Looking at Sonia, now filthy and with her clothes torn by the brush, even as dense as he was, he knew this was his fault and immediately bowed his head in apology.

"And no matter what, we can't challenge the Gym looking like this. Let's go to the Pokémon Center first. The Pokémon need to recover, and you need to change clothes. You can't compete covered in dirt, can you?"

Sonia counted the things they needed to do on her fingers.

"Great! Then, Pokémon Center! Let's go!"

"Hey! You idiot! Didn't we agree that I'd lead the way?!"

The two bickered all the way, and somehow got lost again. Not only did they fail to find the Pokémon Center, they wound through countless turns and ended up at the docks, which were bustling with people.

"Looks like there's a festival going on!"

Leon stood atop a wooden crate, looking over the crowded yet orderly docks.

"It does seem to be a festival. Wait a second, I'll ask a friend."

Sonia took out her low-battery phone—Rotom had not yet become widely used, so phones still needed charging—and sent a message to her online friend, Chewtle Can't Use Shell Smash.

Little Yamper—[Hello! Are you there? We've arrived in Hulbury. Is some kind of event being held here?]

Chewtle Can't Use Shell Smash—[Huh? You're here already? That's right, we're holding the Great Fishing Festival. Are you at the docks?]

Little Yamper—[Yeah, there are so many people. By the way, what is the Great Fishing Festival?]

Chewtle Can't Use Shell Smash—[It's hard to explain in just a sentence or two. Anyway, head farther inside and ask someone. Say you've come to watch the ceremony and that you're friends with Lulina, then head toward the ceremonial platform.]

Little Yamper—[We're coming right away!]

Sonia put down her phone and turned around, intending to set off with Leon. But when she looked back, Leon had already vanished.

"Where did that idiot run off to now?!"

Sonia shouted furiously.

Meanwhile, Leon was being shoved through the crowd until he ended up beside a wooden hut near the main stage.

"What is this place?"

Leon truly had not gotten lost on purpose this time. He had been pushed here. A huge wave of people had surged inward just now, and he had been caught in the middle and carried along with them.

Click.

The wooden hut's door opened.

"Make sure you're prepared. You'll be going on soon, so do your best, little Blake."

Haisewai walked out of the hut with a smile and nearly collided with Leon. Fortunately, Leon dodged aside in time.

"Sorry, sorry. Hm? You're... Leon, the one participating in this year's Gym Challenge, right?"

Haisewai had been about to apologize when she noticed Leon, who was adjusting his hat, and recognized him.

"You're... Gym Leader Haisewai! Please have a Gym battle with me!"

Leon stared at Haisewai with shining eyes and shouted.

"Hahaha, no problem, but not today. Today is Hulbury's once-a-year Great Fishing Festival. Everything in Hulbury has to make way for the Great Fishing Festival today. And unless there are extremely special circumstances, battling is forbidden during the festival. How about the day after tomorrow? I'll be free then."

Seeing Leon's expression, Haisewai knew he was the kind of new Trainer who enjoyed battling. She had no intention of refusing him, but it was clearly impossible during the Great Fishing Festival. She had other business tomorrow as well, so they settled on the day after tomorrow.

Haisewai's request was perfectly reasonable. Gym Leaders were people too. Some regions had Gym Leaders who vanished every day, while others did not even meet challengers and simply set up robots to hand out badges. Some even had Legendary-level Pokémon guarding the entrance. Compared to them, the Gym Leaders of the Galar Region could practically be called endlessly accommodating.

"No problem! Then I'll visit the day after tomorrow!"

Leon dearly wanted to battle right now, but he was not someone who failed to understand reason. Otherwise, he could never have become the Champion beloved by all of Galar in the future.

"All right, no problem. As for today, enjoy the atmosphere of Hulbury's Great Fishing Festival. You only get this chance once a year, so your timing is pretty lucky."

Haisewai patted Leon on the shoulder, then turned and left with Kingler.

"Roar—"

Leon's Charmeleon jumped out of its Poké Ball on its own. Looking at Kingler beside Haisewai, a grave expression appeared on his face.

"You felt it too, didn't you, Charmeleon? Gym Leader Haisewai is a very strong Trainer!"

Leon understood what Charmeleon meant. That Kingler was not merely large. He could tell that none of the Pokémon he currently had seemed capable of defeating it.

"Roar—"

Charmeleon nodded. But he had never believed himself inferior to any Pokémon. One day, he would surpass that Kingler.

"That's right. We'll definitely surpass them someday! But right now, where is Sonia?"

Leon's opening had been full of vigor, but reality quickly defeated him. He was lost again!

"Roar—(｡ŏ_ŏ)"

Charmeleon was equally helpless about this. He had already grown used to his Trainer getting lost every day. He felt he needed to learn how to read maps, or else they would spend their future getting lost over and over again. But maps were so hard to learn. He had studied with Sonia for ages and still had not figured them out.

"Did your online friend's childhood friend get lost again?"

At that moment, another voice came from inside the wooden hut. It sounded like a young man's voice.

"Yeah, it seems like she can't find him. But there isn't much we can do. The docks are packed with people right now. Once you get swept up by the crowd, forget outsiders—even locals might not be able to find their way."

This time, it was a young woman's voice. Leon thought he had heard it before. It sounded rather like the voice of that online friend Sonia knew.

Then the person they were talking about was...

Knock, knock, knock.

Before Leon could react, Charmeleon stepped forward and knocked on the door first. Pokémon had sharper hearing, and Charmeleon could immediately tell it was a person's voice. It would be perfect if someone could help look after his directionless Trainer—otherwise, Leon might disappear again in the blink of an eye.

"Coming! Who is it?!"

The door opened, and Lulina poked her head outside.