"Hm? You're here? Took you long enough."
In one of the best seats in the audience, Marnie finally waited until Hikaru took his seat. What drew the eye was that the members of Team Yell were also gathered around Marnie, all highly spirited and filled with an atmosphere of passion.
Team Yell itself had been formed for Piers and Marnie. Its members were the townspeople and Trainers of Spikemuth, and their main goal was to make Piers and Marnie become Champion. Of course, later on, it was mainly for Marnie.
They looked like an evil organization, but in reality, they were merely "sports fan" type characters. After Marnie inherited the Gym Leader position, Team Yell would cease its activities.
As for now... they did not seem to have reached that "completely insane" stage yet.
That was probably because Spikemuth had not declined all the way to its limit. Although it was in continuous collapse and decay, the residents' lives were still just barely passable. Team Yell's scale had not yet grown as large as it would be a few years later.
Hikaru said, "Sorry to keep you waiting. A scholar researching Galar's history came by, so I arrived a little late."
"Do Piers's fan club members also have contestants they favor?"
Marnie said, "Probably. Everyone wants to watch the matches too."
That was also what Team Yell members would say to Gloria or Victor at the entrance to Wyndon.
During a competitive event, they would not cause trouble.
Though perhaps that was because Gloria or Victor had beaten them into fear. After all, in the anime, even during a grand event like the World Coronation Series, they would still carry out interference. Ash had suffered greatly because of it.
"Hello!"
Beside Hikaru, Sonia sat down directly and greeted Marnie. The young girl raised an eyebrow.
"So that's how it is. The person sitting here earlier was a Macro Cosmos employee. They were saving the seat in advance."
"Are you the scholar who came to research history? Are you with Macro Cosmos?"
"This girl really has a harsh way of talking." Sonia's expression became extremely awkward. Hikaru also felt that Marnie's personality had not yet matured into the classic deadpan state she had in the games. According to her League Card, Marnie had been quite lively as a child, and she had even been prone to crying.
In Pokémon Adventures, she also had a sharp tongue and a blunt, straightforward side added to her characterization.
This girl really has a harsh way of talking!
That was one of Marnie's strange character traits in the manga.
However, Marnie only spoke that way to people she disliked. If she was dealing with people who did not give her a bad impression, like Peonia or Peony, her emotional intelligence would instantly become very high.
Hikaru said, "So she's only saying that deliberately. But Professor Sonia is not someone from Macro Cosmos. She only has an agreement with Chairman Rose in terms of research."
"Marnie, you really dislike Chairman Rose."
"Spikemuth became what it is now because of Chairman Rose's development plans." Marnie curled her legs up, wrapped her arms around them, lowered her head, and stared with empty eyes at the lively stadium.
"There's no reason for me to like him."
"But I said this before, didn't I? If my brother can become Champion, then Spikemuth can be revitalized. If my brother can't do it, then I'll do it myself."
"That's also why I battle with Pokémon. Spikemuth is pure Pokémon battling... But using Dynamax is also the trend and current of the future. It can't be stopped."
"That person is Champion Leon. People all think he's the strongest. Even people from other regions won't be his match." Marnie's gaze fixed on Leon as he appeared in the stadium. During the opening ceremony, the Champion and special guests appeared to heat up the atmosphere. Afterward, the participating contestants would begin their knockout battles.
Watching Leon sweep his cape and strike his classic pose, pointing upward toward the sky, the cheers around them swelled all at once. From the passionate applause alone, it was obvious how popular Leon was.
After all, Leon had taken the Championship at age ten, and he had never suffered a single defeat since then. Therefore, the people of Galar believed that even if this Champion went to other regions and lost access to Dynamax, he would still suppress all Champions and become the strongest.
"It's normal to have that mindset. Local citizens are obviously going to support their local Champion. Would they really go support a Champion from another region? Ah, maybe that's not guaranteed either."
Hikaru thought that Galar might have fans of Diantha too.
Speaking of which, among the Champions of each generation, the ones who appeared with an added identity as "stars" were precisely Diantha and Leon. One was a movie star, and the other was a sports star.
Hikaru said, "Who's more popular, Leon or Diantha? Professor Sonia, what do you think?"
Sonia said, "Huh?! Asking me that out of nowhere is just trying to start a fight!"
As a woman, it was impossible for Sonia not to pay attention to the Champion of neighboring Kalos. After all, Kalos movies, like Unova movies, were famous worldwide. Compared with her battle strength, Diantha was even more famous as an actress.
For someone like Sonia, who had given up battling, even if she paid attention to women, it was impossible that she would follow battle maniacs and corporate employees like Caitlin, Rika, or Geeta.
Rather, although she had heard of them, she did not know the specifics.
"...Leon is my childhood friend. I should probably support Leon after all."
Sonia propped her cheek in her hand rather helplessly and looked at the brilliant man in the stadium.
"Don't you think he's handsome? Hehe."
Marnie said, "He's handsome because he's Champion. Because he has overwhelming strength, he can do whatever he wants."
"Leon's hometown isn't a Dynamax energy spot either, and it doesn't have a Gym. But everyone knows it. Postwick, a town whose main industry is ranching, where people and Pokémon live in harmony."
"If I carefully watch the Champion's performance here, I can learn his patterns. That will help a lot on the road to becoming stronger later."
"...But that guy is strong. There's no way to beat him without using methods. So..."
Marnie looked at Hikaru.
"Can the karateka you support really beat Leon?"
"Brother must have sensed something too. Ever since he returned from Unova and saw that man named Raihan, who often comes by, heading to a place called the Isle of Armor to train, Brother also stopped composing songs for the first time in ages and focused on training and battling."
"I often see him studying Leon's and other people's battle styles. Originally, that kind of thing shouldn't have been possible. He should have been planning to devote himself to music."
"Don't look at how Brother said your battle methods were dirty. We are Dark-type experts. Villains are supposed to do whatever it takes to win."
Hikaru said, "So Piers has already made a wish too."
"To become Champion. Most people think that as long as they become Champion, every problem can be solved. Mm, though theoretically, that isn't wrong."
"Whether it's the ancient royal family wanting their old glory to bloom again, or someone wanting Galar karate to become famous worldwide and wanting to face danger and challenges, or thoughts of revitalizing one's hometown... the only road placed in front of everyone is becoming Champion."
"That is the road of a Pokémon Trainer."
Marnie's setting had not changed too much.
In the official work, at first, she had also wanted to become Champion to revitalize her hometown, for the people of her town and to fulfill Piers's wish. But after losing to the protagonist repeatedly, she realized that in the end, the one who wanted to become Champion was actually herself.
And in Sword and Shield's original setting, Marnie's characterization was practically the exact opposite of the later "deadpan" version.
Dark-type Gym Leader. Fourteen years old. Girl.
Originally, she worked hard to win in the League to revitalize her hometown and make everyone happy.
But winning in the League herself became a higher priority than winning in battle.
She began using despicable methods such as stealing Pokémon from other League contestants and blocking roads to prevent people from advancing.
"I'm going to live the way I want!"
"Next time, it won't be like this!"
"I'm the Dark-type Gym Leader!"
"To protect this town, I absolutely have to become Champion!"
"Anyone who gets in my way, I'll beat them all!"
Looking at Marnie's solemn, contemplative eyes, Hikaru wondered whether this girl's mental state was not beginning to move closer to the original setting.
Though originally, it had been because her brother did not work hard, so the little sister carried the banner. But now, her brother was working extremely hard. If even that did not produce a good result, there was no telling whether the little sister might actually turn dark.
Marnie said, "Chairman Rose's wish was right about at least one thing."
"Only the strong have the right to change the future."
"She suddenly feels so serious. She's become very scary..." Looking at Marnie's expression, Sonia found it difficult to believe that a little girl could make such a face. Hikaru, however, became thoughtful.
The power of wishes plus Shadow Crystal fragments—could they also be affecting the surrounding audience, especially those with intense wishes?
Although Piers would not use Dynamax in battle, Marnie did have a Dynamax Band.
"Come on, everyone! Let's bring this battle to its peak!"
Along with Leon's voice, thunderous cheers rang out around them again. Then the special guests, meaning the various Gym Leaders and the Champion, exited the stage together. Afterward, the challengers would appear and begin their battles.
The opening match began.
The main event would come the next day, while today was only the appetizer. But this time, there really were unexpectedly many challengers.
Hikaru looked around. Of course, there was no way any familiar characters would appear here. Even if familiar people from Sword and Shield did show up, they would probably just be ordinary NPCs. People with distinct traits, such as the fashion designer Sean who carried Solrock and used Cosmic Power, raising everyone's blood pressure, did not have the level needed to appear in this tournament.
So he could only go drag people down in Max Raid Battles instead.
Led by Sean, along with taxi driver Shinichiro's Wobbuffet, Aimi's Clefairy, and Aoi's Eevee, they were collectively called the Four Deadweights of Max Raid Battles.
Galar's true Elite Four.
Helpful Eevee.
Full-health-healing Clefairy.
First-turn Counter Wobbuffet.
Completely useless Solrock.
"It would be funny if the Deadweight Four showed up in an official match."
Of course, Peonia sometimes made confusing moves too. But considering that she did not like staying with her father Peony, and that she did not have the battle level of her younger sister Penny, it was understandable that she was a little bad.
"Hm? A familiar face?"
Though Hikaru had originally thought no familiar characters would appear, to his surprise, among the contestants with their various strengths, there were actually a few faces he recognized.
A masked Ghost boy stepped into the stadium very timidly.
He muttered about how scary it was, then said, "Let darkness enshroud my surroundings," before having his Gengar Gigantamax.
"This contestant is really young. How did he get an invitation?"
Marnie stared at the child in the battlefield.
"Or does he just look young, while actually being old enough to meet the standard?"
Sonia said, "That's the kid from the haunted house in Stow-on-Side, right?"
"Although they call it a haunted house, it's actually a Ghost-type Gym. Did you know? Galar is actually an all-type region."
Marnie said, "All-type...?"
Hikaru said, "I heard that Galar has Gyms for all eighteen types, but only ten type specialists serve as major-division Gym Leaders, while the remaining eight are minor-division Gym Leaders."
"As the minor division, they represent Gym Leaders whose strength isn't quite as high. If a major-division Gym Leader repeatedly loses in battles, or commits some kind of improper conduct, they can also be demoted to the minor division."
Sonia nodded.
"That's right. Being demoted to the minor division means losing one's spotlight. In the Galar region, that is the most important thing."
She clasped her hands together and showed a worried expression.
"My friend is the Water-type Gym Leader. She's the popular model Chairman Rose mentioned earlier, Nessa, the raging wave of Hulbury."
"She, Leon, Raihan, and I were all Champion Cup challengers in the same year. It was probably seven Cups ago."
"Not long ago, she almost faced the embarrassing situation of being demoted to the minor division. Fortunately, she pulled through. But while serving as a Gym Leader, she also works as a model. Her fame isn't too great yet, but I think one day she'll become a model as famous as Unova's Elesa."
"When that time comes, she'll have to choose between work and Pokémon battling. Should she focus on developing her career, or devote all her energy to battles?"
Hikaru said, "'Her friends and family know full well that she hates losing, and they worry it may affect her modeling work.' Is that it?"
Sonia nodded.
"So the competition among Gym Leaders in Galar is quite intense. What makes it different from Gyms in other regions is that the Gyms here have fixed existences."
"I heard that Gym Leaders in other regions are selected based on strength, popularity, local influence, or because they are Elite Four members or powerful Trainers. There are also cases where the leader of a challenge facility serves as a Gym Leader, and even situations where the head of an evil organization becomes one."
"But in the Galar region, among the Gyms in eighteen towns, each has corresponding Trainers. If someone wants to become the Gym Leader of a specific type, they need to go to the Gym matching that type and undergo hard training."
"Besides that, there is also a certain Psychic family that has served as Psychic-type Gym Leaders for generations. However, in the past ten years, they declined. After being demoted to the minor division, they never again produced anyone capable of becoming a major-division Gym Leader."
Hikaru watched the match in the stadium.
Galar being an all-type region was not obvious in the games, but it was described on the League Card of the Poison-type Gym Leader Klara. She had originally just been an underground idol. In order to become famous, she went to take the Poison Gym's examination and training. However, the Poison Gym was never encountered in the games at all.
The minor-division Gym Leaders were, honestly, no different from invisible people. Because challengers would never go to minor-division Gyms, they could only try to place highly in the yearly Champion Cup or town events, striving to be appreciated and increase their popularity.
"Compared to that, Spikemuth may not have a Dynamax energy spot, but it still firmly holds its position in the major division. Piers really is quite strong."
On the battlefield, Allister had already defeated his opponent. The masked boy fled in a panic.
He seemed to murmur something, yet also seemed not to have said anything. But whatever it was, it was certainly his wish.
"Uniform number 291. A pun on 'hateful.'"
After that came a battle between people Hikaru did not recognize. After a brief instant-kill sequence, the next familiar face to appear was a Psychic-type acquaintance.
"I will make everyone who humiliates me fly! Every past Psychic-type Gym Leader has been my blood relative. As their descendant, I was destined before birth to shoulder the burden of the Psychic Gym!"
"My wish! To become the strongest Psychic! To make everyone who looks down on me fly into the sky!"
"Oh, that's Avery." Hikaru saw the Psychic boy appear. If Caitlin was the strongest Psychic, then Avery was the weakest Psychic.
Once, he had served as the Psychic-type Gym Leader, but because he always used psychic power to make challengers fly after losing, he was dismissed from his position. That was why he had gone to the dojo to retrain.
Uniform number 026. A pun on "brain."
(End of Chapter)
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