Chapter One Hundred and Seven: A Corner of the City

“Take a break and have a drink.” Su Yi stepped forward and handed over a bottle of fruit juice.

Nimo took it and gulped it down noisily.

“Ha, I’m really sorry,” Nimo sighed deeply, then forced a bitter smile.

Su Yi was somewhat surprised. As a trainer, although she couldn’t withstand a legendary Pokémon head-on, surely she could manage “high-speed movement,” right?

But then Su Yi reconsidered; people’s constitutions vary. Not everyone is like Ash; some are naturally weak or prone to illness.

If he had the materials on hand, Su Yi would have at least offered Nimo a dose of stamina-boosting medicine.

“Su Yi meow! The Ledbug has flown onto the street, meow,” Rucao, running ahead, called out.

“By the way, is it illegal to ride Pokémon on the street?” Su Yi pondered, itching with excitement.

“Oh?! What kind of Pokémon is that?!” came the sudden chorus.

“So fast!” The street suddenly buzzed with commotion.

“Make way!” Su Yi shouted loudly as he rode on the back of a Glarebird, and the crowd quickly parted.

“Gawa!” The Glarebird deftly avoided pedestrians, following the Ledbug’s guidance.

Fortunately, it was lunchtime, so there weren’t too many pedestrians. This area didn’t have the terrifying foot traffic of the pedestrian street, allowing Glarebird to run unimpeded.

“This doesn’t seem quite right,” Nimo said timidly, grabbing Su Yi’s backpack from behind.

Though she sometimes got carried away during battles, this showy display made her feel a bit embarrassed.

“Huff! Is that the Pokémon you just caught? It runs so fast!” Marie seemed to enjoy this thrill akin to racing.

Rounding a corner, several Starly in the sky spotted Su Yi and chirped as they flew over.

“Oh? Who are you guys?” Su Yi looked at the Starly in surprise.

“Jiji~” The Starly happily chirped a few times, then tried to lead him somewhere.

Su Yi could only explain, “Sorry, I still have some things to do right now.”

The Starly seemed to consider this, then flew up into the sky.

“Are those your Pokémon friends?” Nimo asked curiously.

“Yes, I met them by chance. They’re a cute and friendly group,” Su Yi smiled and nodded.

At that moment, Glarebird suddenly stopped. Ledbug floated to a small alley entrance and began to flutter uncertainly.

“Is the smell of garbage interfering with Ledbug?” Su Yi dismounted Glarebird and cautiously approached.

Inside the cluttered alley piled with various discarded items, a complex mix of odors hung thick in the air.

Su Yi moved aside the obstacles blocking his way and stepped inside. His movement disturbed something, stirring a rustling sound.

“Is that a Galarian Obstagoon?” Su Yi focused his gaze and saw three black-and-white Galarian Obstagoon playing with something.

“Ruu!” The Obstagoon turned its head and growled lowly, threatening the intruder.

“Ah! That’s my stuff!” Nimo pointed at the object they were playing with.

“Dynamax Band?” Su Yi recognized it clearly—it was the same kind of Dynamax Band he also had.

“That’s an official loan! It can’t be lost!” Nimo said anxiously.

“Officially lent to you?” Su Yi was surprised.

At that moment, the three Obstagoon suddenly charged. Su Yi hurriedly stepped back as Rucao brandished a short blade to intercept.

“Glarebird!” Su Yi turned sideways and shouted.

Behind him, Glarebird rushed forward, blocking the Obstagoon’s attack with its claws.

“Aibo, watch out for the flash!” Su Yi shouted.

Rucao pushed away the Obstagoon’s sharp claws with the short blade and retreated swiftly with his back to Glarebird. After a quick charge-up, Glarebird suddenly burst out a strong flash.

“Ruu!” The Obstagoon was instantly blinded, losing its composure.

“Good opportunity!” Su Yi immediately stepped forward, aiming his grappling hook at the Dynamax Band and launched it.

“Nia gin!” Suddenly, a Meowth rushed rapidly from behind the Obstagoon. It leapt over Rucao; its three claws formed a short blade, blocking the grappling hook and then slashing quickly toward Su Yi.

“Su Yi!” Marie and Nimo cried out. Due to the narrow alley, Glarebird behind them couldn’t provide immediate support.

“Think you can bully me?” Su Yi showed no fear. Reaching into a compartment of his backpack, he swiftly drew his single-handed sword and slashed toward Meowth’s claws.

Clang!

Su Yi’s hand shook slightly as he blocked the attack. Fortunately, Meowth didn’t use any special moves.

“Nia?” Meowth looked surprised but, seeing its comrades covering their eyes in panic, it angrily advanced, swiping claws in a flurry.

Su Yi calmed himself and skillfully parried each strike with his sword.

In the narrow alley, the clang of metal echoed continuously, as if two wandering swordsmen had met for a duel.

Meowth didn’t intend to seriously injure Su Yi, only to force him back or teach him a lesson. But he hadn’t expected this man to remain so composed and fight back fiercely.

Clang!

They separated. Su Yi smiled, “Good swordsmanship, but it seems your underlings stole my friend’s belongings. If you keep interfering—”

At that moment, Rucao already held the short blade to Meowth’s back, and behind Su Yi, Glarebird glared fiercely at it.

“Nia?” Meowth realized the situation and, after hearing Su Yi’s words, turned to question the Obstagoon.

The Obstagoon regained their sight and, seeing Su Yi’s imposing group, nervously admitted their misbehavior.

“Nia,” Meowth sighed, then picked up the Dynamax Band and handed it to Su Yi.

“Nia gin!” Meowth lowered its head, as if apologizing.

Su Yi returned the Dynamax Band to Nimo and said to Meowth, “Apologize to her. This is very important to her.”

Meowth paused, then apologized again to Nimo. The three Obstagoon behind also bowed their heads in remorse.

“Since you’re so sincere, I’ll forgive you.” Nimo smiled as she took back the Dynamax Band.

“Gawa!” A call came from the sky. A Corviknight landed outside the alley and greeted Su Yi.

“Is that Corviknight?” Su Yi said in surprise.

Several Starly and Murkrow flew to Su Yi’s side, chirping happily.

“Looks like Su Yi is quite popular among Pokémon,” Nimo said, watching the scene with fascination.

“Gah!” Corviknight pointed its wing toward Su Yi and spoke to Meowth, who was startled and then called out excitedly to Su Yi.

“What’s going on?” Su Yi was puzzled as Meowth seemed eager to lead him somewhere.

On the outskirts of the city, inside an abandoned factory, dozens of Pokémon gathered.

Obstagoon, Galarian Obstagoon, Galarian Meowth, Starly, Murkrow, Nickit, Thievul.

All were common Galarian Pokémon.

“Nia!” Meowth nudged a Doublade forward and approached Su Yi.

“Yin!” Doublade’s eyes lit up upon seeing Su Yi, then shyly hid behind Meowth.

(End of this chapter)