"It's rare for everyone to get together. Ash and Serena have also come from afar. Shouldn't we find something interesting to do to celebrate."
Dawn held Xiaoyun's arm and looked at everyone.
"Speaking of interesting things..."
Zoey's eyes lit up and he pointed to a brightly colored poster posted on the wall of the gym:
"Snowpoint City Skating and Swimming Competition! It's this afternoon, over at the port! I heard that the prizes are a year's worth of ink berries Pokéblock and the Ice Brave Trophy!"
"Skating and swimming?"
Ash suddenly became energetic. "It sounds very interesting! Is it a swimming competition in the sea with ice floes? Pikachu, let's participate!"
"Pika pika!"
Pikachu also raised his little paws excitedly.
Obviously don't know what will happen next.
"One vintage of blackberries, Piplup, do you want it?"
Dawn looked down at his Piplup.
"Boga Boga!" (Want it! Of course I want it! Inkberry YYDS!)
Dawn and Piplup immediately puffed up their small breasts.
Even the legendary Piplup who was still having trouble in Misaki's arms couldn't help but quietly poked his head out from under his wings when he heard the words "Ink Berry" and glanced at the poster with his little eyes.
The tough guy who crossed the ocean is no match for the delicacies of his hometown Captivate.
Xiaoyun had a panoramic view of this scene and suggested:
"It's just right. There's nothing else to do today anyway. It's okay to join in the fun. Misaki-san, do you want to join us? Let your Piplup relax too. Maybe a swim will help you feel better."
Although it may be tired of swimming.
"Ah, okay, okay! Thank you Mr. Xiaoyun!"
Misaki nodded quickly. She also hoped to take this opportunity to ease her relationship with Piplup.
Snowpoint City Port, the scene of the drift ice swimming competition.
It is not so much a port as it is a relatively calm natural bay surrounded by huge ice floes and icebergs.
The sea water is deep, with floating white ice floes of different sizes and shapes.
The temperature is lower than in the city and the breath turns to frost, but this does not dampen the enthusiasm of the contestants and spectators.
A temporary viewing platform and player preparation area were set up by the bay, with colorful flags flying and people buzzing, creating a festive atmosphere.
The rules of the competition are simple:
Participants send a Water-type, Ice-type, or a Pokémon that is good at swimming, starting from the starting point, bypassing several iconic iceberg buoys in the distance, and finally returning to the starting point, ranking according to the completion time.
You can make reasonable use of ice floes to jump and swim to avoid countercurrents, but you cannot attack other players or destroy buoys.
The test is Pokémon's swimming speed, endurance, flexibility and tacit understanding with the trainer.
Piplup stood on the ice, puffing up her little chest and full of confidence.
"Boga!"
"Pikachu, let's work hard too! Show off your energy like Alola Surf!"
Ash shouted to Pikachu who was standing on the ice floe.
Pikachu's small body trembled slightly in the biting cold wind, and the entire electric mouse was in a messy state of "What am I going to do?"
It thinks it is an atmosphere group!
But Ash, you old boy, didn't say that I was participating in the competition myself!
Later Ash was still shouting:
"I believe you! Pikachu!"
"Pica!" (Believe me!)
"As for me, just use Iron Defense Gun Shrimp."
Serena smiled and released a blue shrimp-shaped Pokémon wielding a huge gun pincer.
Iron Defense Gun Shrimp moves slowly, but if it relies on its pair of giant claws to spray water, it can move very fast.
"I just use Starmie, it swims very stably."
Zoey sent out a starfish with a red gem in its core.
Everyone looked at Xiaoyun.
"Knock."
Greninja appeared calmly on the ice, nodded slightly, and scanned the sea ahead sharply.
Finally, all eyes fell on Misaki and her legendary Piplup.
"Piplup, do you... want to participate?"
Misaki knelt down and asked cautiously.
The legendary Piplup let out an almost inaudible snort from his nose, twisted his round butt and walked to the starting line.
Since you sincerely invited me, I will reluctantly play with you.
Inkberry, this Penguin is ordering!
"Okay! All contestants Pokémon are in place!"
The referee stood high and raised the starting flag,
"The 25th Snowpoint City Drift Ice Swimming Contest starts now!"
The flag falls!
"Piplup, rush!"
"Iron Defense gun shrimp, use Aqua Jet!"
"Starmie, Rapid Spin!"
"Greninja, follow up!"
"Pikachu, sprint with all your strength!"
"Pickup!" (Get out of here! Bastard Ash!)
Pokémon rushes out like an arrow from the string
Piplup of Dawn was the "goose" in the lead. With its adaptability to the cold environment and good speed, it was in the lead from the beginning.
Serena's Iron Defense gun shrimp uses its giant pincers to spray water backwards, like an underwater rocket, it moves very fast and bites tightly behind Piplup.
Zoey and Starmie adopt a unique swimming method. The body rotates flatly, like an underwater Frisbee, which is stable and rapid.
As for Xiaoyun's Greninja, it can instantly condense and shape the seawater under your feet, just like stepping on the Surf board, speeding on the water!
The speed is no slower than the underwater Iron Defense gun shrimp! And the posture is elegant and calm, as if strolling in the garden,
"Wow! Greninja is running on water!"
"What move is this? Water float?"
"So handsome! He looks like a ninja!"
But, there are still experts.
Fortunately, this sea area is not pure water, but is covered with ice floes.
Pikachu, who was forced to participate, showed his amazing potential after experiencing the initial panic!
He jumped directly on the ice floe! His speed was not slow at all!
"What the hell is that!"
"Who sent Pikachu out of this place!"
"But, you'll be exhausted."
Pikachu panted slightly and stopped for a moment on another ice floe.
It can be said that Shushu is exhausted!
Legendary Piplup, it doesn't have as much sprint as the other Pokémon.
Instead, it is an extremely standard, textbook breaststroke posture, and he starts paddling slowly.
At first, it was far behind, and was even about to be overtaken by the flapping Pikachu.
"Piplup, come on!"
Misaki shouted anxiously on the shore.
The legendary Piplup turned a deaf ear and still maintained that eerily stable rhythm.
Soon, something strange happened.
When other Pokémon began to encounter complex ice floes, undercurrents, and reduced physical strength, their speed began to slow down significantly.
Piplup, but seemed completely unaffected.
It even starts to speed up!
Rounding the first buoy, it passed the struggling Pikachu.
When going around the second buoy, it caught up with Starmie, which was troubled by ice floes.
In the rapids area at the third buoy, it even relied on its amazing understanding and control of the current to swim upstream, instantly surpassing Iron Defense Gun Shrimp and Dawn's Piplup that needed to fight against the current.
The last straight sprint!
Greninja The speed increased, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of an unnatural splash approaching at a terrifying speed!
"Ga." (It's a lie...)
Just by not paying attention, Piplup instantly surpassed Greninja.
The blue and white figure broke out of the water and crossed the finish line first!
"The winner is! Misaki's Piplup!"
the referee announced excitedly.
"Boga."
The legendary Piplup climbed ashore from the water and shook off the water drops on his body gracefully.
Is this a big deal?
"..."
The audience was silent for a few seconds, and then burst into warm applause and laughter.
"I'm convinced, I'm really convinced."
Xiaoyun shook his head and laughed, looking at the Piplup that calmly accepted Misaki's hug.
Where is Piplup? This is simply Bolt among penguins.
"Boga..."
Dawn's Piplup looked at the legendary creature and felt that the ink berries in his mouth no longer tasted good.
It's really fast.
"Pika... chu..."
Pikachu was fished out with a fishing net and lay paralyzed on a dry ice floe on the shore with empty eyes.
It will never participate in any form of swimming competition again, and the electric mouse will never be a slave!
The relaxing and joyful ice skating and swimming competition ended with the legendary Piplup's unquestionable victory.
Misaki was holding Piplup, and behind her was a Croagunk holding a year-old blackberry. The previous embarrassment and nervousness were gone.
Piplup is still arrogant, especially when he sees Croagunk, he becomes even more arrogant.
It won.
Croagunk has an expressionless face.
Oh, I got it, so what.
However, just when everyone was about to go to dinner, Xiaozhi's Rotom illustrated book suddenly rang a rapid bell.
"Moxi Moxi? Ah, it's Professor Cerise!"
Ash answered the phone and his expression quickly became serious, "Yes, yes! I understand! Okay, we'll be there right away!"
After hanging up the phone, Ash looked at everyone with apology and eagerness on his face:
"Sorry everyone, Professor Cerise has an urgent research task. It is a new discovery about Dynamax energy, which may involve important ecological issues. Serena and I have to leave first."
"So urgent?"
Zoey was a little disappointed, but understood, "Work is important. Please be careful on the road."
"Galar ah..."
Xiaoyun is thoughtful.
He remembered that he seemed to have received a challenge request from the tournament.
The challengers are Galar, the strongest Gym Leader, and Raihan.
It's just a few days later.
"Tailwind, Ash all the way, but maybe we will meet again at Galar soon."
Xiaoyun smiled.
"Eh? Xiaoyun, you want to go to Galar too?" Ash said in surprise.
"Well, I have some business to take care of."
Xiaoyun did not elaborate.
"Great! See you then Galar! We must fight again!"
Ash's eyes lit up again.
"Okay, definitely." Xiaoyun agreed with a smile.
After a hurried farewell, Ash and Serena rushed to the airport to take the latest flight to Galar.
Xiaoyun and Dawn plan to stay at Sinnoh for another day or two to deal with some trivial matters before setting off.
Watching the plane soar into the sky, Dawn held Xiaoyun's arm and asked softly:
"We went to Galar because of the battle?"
"Yes, someone has handed me a letter of challenge, so I have to respond." Xiaoyun shook her hand and felt the warmth from her palm.
"By the way, take a look at the scenery of Galar. I heard that the curry and afternoon tea there are very good."
"I always feel that being with you will never be boring."
Dawn rested his head on Xiaoyun's shoulder, his tone gentle and satisfied.
From Sinnoh to Alola, and then to the upcoming Galar, their journey always seems to be full of unknowns.
"That's right, if you follow Brother Yun, you'll find new tricks every day."
Xiaoyun raised his eyebrows proudly, and was rewarded with a gentle slap from Dawn.
A few days later, Galar Region, Wyndon.
This is the largest and most prosperous city in Galar Region.
The streets are spacious and clean, and the modern design is wonderfully integrated with the Galar style architecture.
The air is filled with coffee, toast and a certain... competitive passion.
On the huge electronic billboard, Rollout played Pokémon World Championships's promotional video and player highlights.
Fans wearing supporting uniforms of each team can be seen everywhere, discussing the latest rankings and competitions.
This is the only venue for Pokémon World Championships Masters Tournament, a stage for countless trainers' dreams, and the economic and cultural center of Galar.
"What a lively city..."
Walking out of Wyndon airport, Dawn couldn't help but be amazed.
Even though she had seen Lumiose City, she was surprised by the scale and modernity of Wyndon.
The atmosphere here is more like a huge theme park created for battles.
"After all, this is an area famous for its battles and business Pokémon League. Almost everything here revolves around tournaments."
Xiaoyun is very calm and has some understanding of the style here.
"Let's go and meet the person who picked us up first."
As soon as he finished speaking, a clear and highly recognizable female voice came from the direction of the airport pick-up port:
"Xiaoyun! Dawn! This way--!"
The two looked around and saw a tall young lady with wheat-colored skin wearing fashionable midriff-baring heating pants, waving her arms vigorously.
"Nessa!"
Dawn shouted in surprise, pulling Xiaoyun over quickly.
The popular supermodel Hulbury Gym Leader, Galar is known as the trend-setter.
Nessa.
They became friends when they traveled and challenged the gym in Unova. Later, they surfed and ate barbecue together in Undella Town, and they became good friends.
"Long time no see! Dawn is still so cute! Xiaoyun is still like this... well, he looks like he can fight well."
Nessa gave Dawn a warm hug and patted Xiaoyun on the shoulder with a hearty smile.
Her eyes turned on the interlocked hands of Xiaoyun and Dawn, and she blinked narrowly. "Oh, the relationship is still so good, it's enviable~"
"Nessa You are the same, you are so radiant."
Xiaoyun responded with a smile, feeling very fond of this outspoken friend.
"This is Sonia, my good friend, one of the most outstanding researchers among the younger generation of Galar Region, and a childhood sweetheart of Leon."
Nessa turned sideways and introduced another woman beside her.
It was a young woman with an orange-red high ponytail, an intellectual and lively temperament. She was looking at the two of them with curious and friendly eyes.
"Hello, my name is Sonia. I am currently mainly studying the geology of Galar and the phenomenon of Dynamax."
Sonia stretched out her hand with a gentle voice.
"I've heard Nessa and Leon mention you a long time ago. Sinnoh is the youngest champion, and his girlfriend Coordinator finally met today. She is even younger than in the photo."
"Miss Sonia, thank you very much."
Dawn shook hands with some embarrassment and was surprised by the identity of Leon's childhood sweetheart.
The childhood sweetheart of the battle champion turned out to be a researcher with such an intellectual temperament?
Xiaoyun shook hands calmly. "Hello, Dr. Sonia. Leon often mentions you in... uh, the group."
(In the small group chat of champions, Leon occasionally complains about Sonia urging him to write a report or complains about where he blew up again)