Helix and Hooves: Trainers of the Future

by The Kelduo

Chapter 7: Heroes of Herding! The First Gym

Turffield was exactly what I expected it to be: a rural town that offered many natural wonders. My amazement at Turffield's beauty, unhindered by man's creations except for a Pokemon Center, the Gym, and other houses made of natural resources, was increased further by the fact that Decidueye are part Grass-type. At first, I did not have a clue of where to go first. There were a great variety of things to discover, not to mention a possible chance to learn more about Galar's history! Luckily, I hadn't the need to worry, for our friend Hop left the Pokemon Center to the left of the path straight to the Gym.

He waved us over. "Hey guys! You doing all right?"

I replied, "We certainly are. I can't say our team went unharmed, though. We hit a couple of rough patches on the way here, but they weren't too bad. Once we heal our teams up, we should be ready to take on Milo at the Turffield Stadium. Although, I think we'll have to wait a bit for our turn. You should've seen the Doctor make a mad dash for the stadium!"

Hop laughed. "So that's what I heard outside! Sounded like an excited Rapidash out there! Not sure why he'd be that pumped to take on Milo, though."

"I think I know." Keldeo took out something from the cerulean saddle bag he wore on his back. It was a large crimson book with three symbols on the cover: a blue wing, a purple six-pointed star, and a green leaf. They were connected by lines that formed a triangle, and in the center of the triangle, there was a pink heart. "Can someone turn the book to the chapter on earth ponies? The ink dried since I wrote it, so I can't manipulate the pages as well with my magic."

"No problem, Keldeo." Hop took the book and flipped to the aforementioned chapter. "Well, isn't that neat! Says here that earth ponies are associated with nature and the land. That'd mean they must be fond of Grass-type Pokemon. But I don't see what that has to do with the Doctor."

"Oh, right! I never told you what exactly an earth pony is. Basically, earth ponies are ponies that don't have wings or horns. That means Doctor Hooves and Pinkie Pie are earth ponies."

"Thanks a lot! By the way, this is a really cool book you've got. You said something about writing it?"

Keldeo smiled. "You bet! See, I've been thinking that I wanted to learn as much as I could about Equestria and the lands near it, so I did some traveling. I took what I learned and put it into writing. I put that information into categories, and those categories became the chapters in a book. Eventually, I had to put together a couple more books, because there's so much in Equestria to learn about! This issue is about the different kinds of ponies, and it's called History of Equestria: What Makes a Pony?"

"Awesome!" Hop gave back the book. "You should become an official author!"

"I might do that part-time someday, but I'm still a Sword of Justice. That's a career I'll never give up!"

"Good idea. I'm sure your partners must need you! Hey, while we're at it, Sonia was looking for you guys. She wanted to ask you about something. Where's the rest of you guys? You're all probably gonna want to hear about what she has to say."

I turned south and looked towards the sky. When my eyes adjusted to the sunlight, I grinned. "They're coming right now."

First came Tails, using his doubled namesake to fly. Then came Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, the former riding the latter. "Get ready, Gym, 'cause Rainbow Dash is gonna blow you away!" Rainbow said before speeding off to the stadium.

Next came Meta Knight, using his cape which was currently transformed into a pair of bat wings. After him came Sonic, whom we were expecting to come first. "...What? I took the scenic route, found some Pokemon to fight and catch."

Next was Paper Mario, folded into an airplane. After him, Lucario bounded towards us from the plains of Route 4. Then came Mario, using the body of a pigeon Pokemon called Tranquill to fly over.

Hop was astonished when Mario exited the Tranquill's body. "Whoa! Did you just pop out of that Tranquill's body?!"

"Thank you so much, Tranquill!" Mario returned it to its Poke Ball. He turned to Hop. "Yeah, I did. I don't think I introduced you yet, so I'd like you to meet my friend..." He tossed his cap into the air, and it transformed into a top hat-shaped ghost. "...Cappy!"

Hop shook Cappy's hand. "Nice to meet you! Are you some kind of new Pokemon?"

"Nah," Cappy replied. "I'm a Bonneter, from the Cap Kingdom. My species can Capture various creatures, like you saw with Tranquill."

"That's pretty cool, Cappy! Anything else you can do?"

Before Cappy could reply, Bandana Dee made his way over by twirling his spear like a helicopter rotor. After Bandana, Luigi nimbly leaped over Route 4's paddocks and slid to a halt in front of Hop. Shortly after, King Dedede came crashing down after jumping out of a Flying Taxi. The king looked around in confusion. "Hey now, where'd Pummel go? It ain't like him to just disappear!"

"That's because..." A pair of familiar arms lifted Dedede up, followed by the rest of the body. "...you landed on me! Next time you use someone as a landing pad, make sure it's a Dream Lander like Bandana Dee or Kirby. Their rubbery bodies should be able to absorb the impact."

Stepping off of Pummel, Dedede replied, "I'm-a gonna take that into consideration, lil' guy!"

And finally, Amy came in a much less dramatic way than the others, simply walking along Route 4 to reach us. "Hey, everyone! Did I miss anything?"

"Actually," Hop said, "you're just in time! Sonia wanted to ask you all about something." He pointed west, towards a hill. "She's up on that what's-her-face hill. It's the one where you can get a good view."

"Yap yap! Hiya!" Yamper came running from the direction of the hill.

"Aw, you're such an adorable little Yamper!" Amy bent down to scratch the electric puppy behind its ears. "Are you Sonia's Yamper? Think you could take us to her?"

"Sure can! This way, yap yap!" Yamper scampered back towards the hill.

I began to follow Yamper, but Pinkie stopped me. "Wait a minute, Helix! There's something in the Pokemon Center that you've gotta check out!"

"Oh, okay." I followed her into the Pokemon Center.

---

Pinkie bounced over to the Rotomi. "Hi, Rotomi! I wanna tell Helix about Poke Jobs! Can you bring them up?"

The Rotomi replied in its electric, Rotom-like voice, "I'll get right to it, zzt-zzrt!" The screen changed to one with several companies on the right side, and information on the highlighted company on the left. "See the options on the right? They are Poke Jobs! You can send Pokemon to take on various Poke Jobs to earn experience and rewardzzz!"

"This sounds like quite a useful service," I said.

"You got that right!" Pinkie replied. "Oh! Rotomi, how're my Pokemon doing on the job?"

"They're almozzzt done! Give them a few more hours and they'll be on their way back from the jobzzz!"

"All right!" Pinkie turned to me. "Want to give it a try?"

"Sure. It'll be worth it in the end, I'm certain." I selected the first job in the list, from a fabric-developing company named LASS. "Seems like they want Normal-types to make a variety of different cloths. I think I've got enough in the Pokemon Boxes." I accessed my Pokemon Box and looked over the Pokemon I'd caught. "If dual types count, then I must have enough Pokemon. I'll send Skwovet, Wooloo, and Hoothoot to take on the job."

"And how long do you want them to work on the job?" Rotomi asked me.

"I want them to get as much experience as they can for each trip, so I choose for them to take on the job for the maximum amount of time possible."

"Okay, twenty four hours it izzz!" A short cinematic played on the screen, showing the Pokemon setting off for the job. "Your Pokemon are on their way to the job. They'll do their best!"

After Nurse Joy healed my Pokemon, Pinkie and I left the Pokemon Center. Pinkie said to me, "See? It's easy and fun, and doing Poke Jobs is totally worth it!"

I smiled. "It's nice to know that in Galar, the Pokemon in their Boxes aren't stuck there. They get a chance to get out and refine their abilities by assisting others using their own special powers."

"Well, are there any Pokemon that can control time?" Rainbow Dash had left the Gym, feeling down. "The Doctor beat me to it, so now I have to wait for him to either lose or whoop the Leader's butt."

Just then, a whistle blew as a ring of multicolored lights surrounded me, Pinkie, and Rainbow. It turned out that Roborygon was imitating Captain Olimar. "No time to sit around talking about winning and losing. Come on, Sonia is waiting for you guys!"

"Thanks for the reminder!" Pinkie replied. "Let's go, everyone!"

We went west up the hill, passing by several stone formations that reminded me of Stonehenge. They almost seemed like they had words engraved into them, which would mean they would likely be important later on. I wanted to go check them out to see if my hypothesis was correct, but I prioritized Sonia first. We passed two side roads that each led to dead ends that I would expect to have an item, but they apparently did not.

We found Sonia on a hill, which was where the road ended. "Ah, there you are! I was getting worried about you guys, thinking that you might have lost your way."

"Sorry about that," I replied. "Pinkie wanted to tell me about Poke Jobs, and Rainbow Dash tried to take on the Turffield Gym, only to realize that she was beaten to it by the Doctor..." Then it hit me. "...who's still taking on the Gym."

"No biggie," Sonia said. "Why don't you call him and put him on video chat?"

"Are we allowed to call others during a Gym Mission?" I asked.

Roborygon brought up some website that had a bulleted list of items. "According to the official Gym Challenge website, we are allowed to use our Rotom Phones at any time during the challenge, even in the middle of Gym Missions."

"That's good to know. Okay, Rotom, call Doctor Hooves."

A few seconds later, the Doctor picked up. "Hello? Sorry, I'm a tad busy taking on a Gym Trainer right now. Alar Wind, use Pluck! Did you need something?"

I nodded. "We do, yes. Turns out Sonia wanted to see us on the western hill in Turffield. I think she needed to tell us something."

"Oh, dear! My apologies for being so hasty. Nice work, Alar Wind! I'd be happy to come over, but I don't want to quit in the middle of a Gym Mission. Can you just tell me over the phone, Sonia?"

"Works for me," Sonia said. "Anyway, I wanted you all to come so I could hear what your thoughts were." She pointed us towards a large glyph on a distant hill. I pointed Rotom towards the glyph so the Doctor could see. "That geoglyph you see way over there... What do you think about it?"

We took a moment to look at the glyph. I saw a strange swirl in the upper left region of the hill, giving off lightning bolts, while images of several small people were along the bottom of the hill. But dominating the glyph was a massive bipedal creature with a single eye, a triangular body, short and thin arms, an antenna-shaped tail, and two large triangular legs. My conclusion: "This geoglyph depicts the Darkest Day!"

The Doctor agreed. "You're right! The swirl looks like some kind of cloud, and that colossal creature... it's definitely a Dynamaxed Pokemon!"

Sonia smiled. "Right perceptive of you two, although the portion depicting the black storm has mostly disappeared. We still don't know what that black storm called the 'Darkest Day' was, though, or what connection it has to Dynamax..." She began to twirl her hair with a perplexed look. "Guess I'm the lucky lady who'll be looking into that..."

For some reason, Pinkie pointed towards the geoglyph. "Maybe she can help!"

Sonia looked at Pinkie curiously. "What? Did a Sigilyph use Confusion on you or something?"

Lucario gasped. "No. Pinkie's right. And she's not talking about the glyph. She's talking about a creature whose presence I haven't felt since..."

"Lucario and Pinkie are onto something! Would you excuse me for a moment, Sonia?" Keldeo jumped over the railing towards the glyph and seemingly disappeared into the distance.

I used my superior owl eyesight to identify what they were talking about. I steadily gazed at the geoglyph, and I was able to make out a small figure standing on the glyph. Upon further inspection, the figure was a green quadruped who boasted a slim body shape with delicate legs and long horns that pointed sideways. "That Pokemon! Could it be...?"

Those of us equipped with a Rotom Phone used it to zoom in on the figure. Pummel smiled from ear to ear. "No way! It is her!"

"You know that Pokemon?!" Hop asked. "I've never seen anything like it!"

I smirked. "My friends and I know her all too well. You ever heard of this group of Pokemon known as the Swords of Justice?"

"Say what now?" the Doctor asked. "Work with me here, Wooloo... There we go! Anyway, what was that you were saying about Swords of Justice?"

"The Swords of Justice are quite well-known in the Unova region. They are--"

"A group of Pokemon that work together to help those who are in trouble," Meta Knight interrupted me. "They are known as the Swords of Justice because they are all capable of using an attack that conjures a blade from their forehead, a move known as Sacred Sword. Keldeo, in particular, has gone beyond the Sacred Sword, for he has gained access to his signature move, the Secret Sword. In addition to their sword attacks, the Swords of Justice all have the Justified Ability, which increases their attack power when hit by a Dark-type move."

"Thank you for that valuable insight, Meta Knight. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm at the end of my Gym Mission, so I need to face off against Milo. See you later!" I heard fanfare go off on the other end of the call before the Doctor hung up.

"Man, the Swords of Justice sound so cool!" Hop exclaimed in wonder. "I'd love to see them in action!"

A green blur shot past us towards the stadium, while Keldeo returned to the hill where we were. "Well, you're in luck, Hop!" he said. "I was gonna battle Virizion as training for the Grass-type Gym, but we didn't want to mess up the geoglyph. That's why she's going to see if she and I can fit in a little sparring match in Turffield Stadium sometime after the Doctor's finished taking on Milo."

"A match between Pokemon I've never heard of before?" Sonia's eyes sparkled. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I cannot miss it!" She began to leave for the stadium, but she stopped. "Oh! I almost forgot to give you all a little something for your thoughts on the geoglyph." She handed each of us a League Card featuring Milo. "Milo's a Grass-type Gym Leader. Grass-type Pokemon have many weaknesses, but that doesn't mean you should let your guard down. They can inflict all sorts of status conditions on your Pokemon, such as poison, sleep, and paralysis. You guys should take these too, so you can keep your team in fighting form." She gave us some Revives. "Now then, let's get ourselves to Turffield Stadium!"

"Okay! But first..." Pinkie ran over to a nearby photo stand-in featuring an obese squirrel Pokemon and a Pokemon that looked like a living Stonehenge. She poked her head in the hole for the squirrel. "I wanna have my picture taken! Anyone else want in?"

To our surprise, Lucario said, "I'll volunteer."

"Really?" Bandana Dee asked. "You don't look like the type to poke your head in a face board."

Lucario chuckled. "True, but Galar was my original home. My parents would take me and my brother to explore the region, and one of the places we would visit was Turffield. As Riolu, my brother and I were enamored with the face board. However, there was one problem... As wild Pokemon, we didn't have any means to take a picture. So instead, we listened to Mom and Dad tell us about the geoglyph and about the history of Galar. We learned so much, like how the heroes used a sword and shield, as well as a pair of Legendary Pokemon, to fend off the Dynamax Pokemon and the Darkest Day." He walked to the second hole in the face board, only to come up short. "Even as a Lucario, I cannot reach the Stonjourner hole? How amusing. Anyone care to help?"

"Leave this to me!" Pinkie used her tail to elevate Lucario the necessary couple of feet needed to get his face aligned with the hole. "Now we're ready!"

I positioned myself in front of the face board, with my Rotom Phone ready to take a picture. "Okay. Pinkie, Lucario, say Dynamax!"

The two shouted in unison, "Dynamax!"

Click!

Pinkie and Lucario left the photo stand-in to check out the photo. Lucario was completely silent. "..."

Pinkie looked at Lucario in confusion. "What's wrong? Don't you like the photo? It doesn't look like you blinked, and I'm not seeing any distractions in the shot."

After some more silence, Lucario finally spoke. "Ha ha ha... You've got it all wrong, Pinkie. I don't hate the photo. I'm just thinking back to my Rioluhood days. I miss the good old days, when my brother and I would play catch with an Aura Sphere made by Dad... when the two of us had practice battles against each other... when everything was normal."

Keldeo sadly nuzzled Lucario. "I feel you, pal. Some days, I just wish I could go back in time, back to before the war that caused the forest fire in the Moor of Icirrus. Because of the war, I became lost, separated from my family... I miss them so much. But if it hadn't been for that war, I would never have met the Swords of Justice. I would never have discovered my destiny. And..." He hugged Pummel. "I would never have met you." Keldeo laughed. "I guess all things happen for a reason, right?"

"You're right," Lucario answered with a smile. "If it weren't for that confused Golurk attacking my family and separating me from my parents and my brother, I wouldn't have evolved... I wouldn't have been given the chance to join Gym Leader Korrina... I wouldn't have met Pummel... And I wouldn't have become the master of Aura."

I nodded. "It's true. All things work together for the good of--"

BOOOOOOM! I was cut off by a beam of yellow and orange energy coming from the stadium. Shortly after that came a green explosion. After the explosion came... butterflies?

"Sounds like the battle's becoming intense," Pummel said. "Let's go see if the Doctor's almost done!"

On our way to the stadium, the beam of energy and butterfly explosion came again, although the former was somewhat weaker than before. "Now, what do y'all suppose that stuff's all about?" King Dedede asked.

"I dunno for sure," Rainbow Dash replied, "but I think that the explosion with the butterflies was some kind of bug move. The Doctor probably used the move because of type advantages or something. After all, don't bugs eat leaves?"

Amy said, "You've got a point, Rainbow. Many kinds of insect larvae eat leaves to grow bigger and prepare for metamorphosis."

Bzzt-bzzt! I felt something vibrating in my pocket. I took out my Rotom Phone and looked at the notifications. As it turned out, the Doctor had sent me a video of his Gym Mission, from the very start to the end of his battle with Milo. "Rotom, remind me to watch the video that Doctor Hooves shared with me."

"Okay, adding My Turffield Gym Mission to Watch Later."

---

When we entered Turffield Stadium, the Doctor nearly bowled me over. "Oh! Sorry about that, Helix! I was just so excited to show you my first Badge!" He brandished a golden ring with a fragment that had a leaf symbol in the bottom-right corner. "It's not much, but it's still my first step towards becoming Champion of the Galar region."

I smirked. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that. You do understand that you have a rival, right?"

The Doctor returned the smirk. "I've got three rivals, actually. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash are also competing to become the first-ever pony to become a Pokemon Champion, and I intend to beat them to claim the title."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Rainbow Dash shot back. "The most awesome Pegasus deserves the most awesome title!"

"We're all here to become the Champion!" Mario said.

"I look forward to battling you all." The Doctor paused. "Or, at least, whoever I am paired up with in the tournament." He turned to me. "Helix, since I consider you my true rival, I want you to take on the Gym Mission next. Ah, but before I forget..." He pointed us towards the Poke Ball mascot. "That's the Ball Guy. Be sure to speak with him whenever you find him, because he'll have a special Poke Ball to give you each time. Now then, I wish you luck!"

Following the Doctor's advice, I spoke with the Ball Guy, who gave me a dark green Poke Ball with four red petal-shaped details on the front. I recognized it as a Friend Ball, which immediately increases friendship with a Pokemon if you catch that Pokemon with it. After chatting with the Ball Guy, I went to the front of the lobby to speak with the Grass Gym official.

"Welcome, Gym Challenger!" the official said. "Allow me to help you through your registration. First things first--you need a refresher on the Gym Challenge?"

"Actually," I said with a chuckle, "this isn't my first time taking on a Gym Challenge. I've taken on Gym Challenges across several regions, including Kanto, Hoenn, and Kalos. Therefore, I know that I need to complete every Gym and defeat their leader in order to get each of the eight Gym Badges."

She smiled. "Seems like you understand the Gym Challenge well enough. Are you ready to attempt the Gym mission?"

"Sure. But first, I need to take on my Greninja persona so I can fit into my uniform."

She then seemed to recognize me. "Oh! That must mean you're Helix! Well, thanks to the Pokemon sent to help with LASS, we were able to fix your uniform problem. I feel you will be pleasantly surprised when you see what's in your locker."

I went into the locker room and searched for the locker with my name on it. I was expecting them to be alphabetized, but they weren't; instead, they were in numerical order. This actually made it easier for me, for I was sure that there were other challengers whose names started with H, besides the Doctor. I immediately went to locker number 724 and unlocked the combination lock. I had made it easy for me to remember but hard for everyone else, using the three numbers representing the years that introduced special Pokemon powers: 13, 16, and 19. To be precise, those numbers were for Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and Dynamax respectively.

When I opened the locker, I was surprised to see how much my uniform was changed to fit my species. The uniform was generally the same, but the shirt had been drastically changed. It was now designed like an unbuttoned lab coat, but with sleeves only, akin to a cape you could put your arms in. Those sleeves started with a large circumference like a tank top before tapering down to small cuffs. The sleeves also had a long slit along the underside for the feathers on my wings. Those slits started at the beginning of the sleeve and ended at the cuffs, so my sleeves wouldn't come off of my arms. I carefully donned my new uniform, and it fit snugly. My arms perfectly slid into their sleeves, and the feathers popped out of the slits. Excellent!

I left the locker room happily and walked back to the official. She seemed quite pleased with my attire. "You look great in your new Gym uniform! The audience will go wild for you, I'm sure!" She stepped to the side, allowing me to pass. "Let the Gym mission begin! Give it your best shot!"

"I most certainly will." I walked through the automatic doors and down the following hallway. It wasn't noticeable, but I found it hard to contain my excitement, knowing that I was about to take on my first Galarian Gym.

---

Corvisquire's Poke Ball in wing, I confidently stepped out into the room where the Gym mission would take place. "Turffield Gym, prepare to--Sweet merciful..." I paused, then I said to nobody in particular, "I'm just gonna cut off the reference right there, because there's kids watching my Gym mission attempt." The reasoning for my amazed exclamation was the sheer size of the Gym mission site. As in, a Greninja couldn't hit a pebble at the other end of the site with a Water Shuriken.

Between me and the end of the mission site were four sub-areas, each ending with a blue platform; several stacked hay bales blocking the exit to each sub-area; at least one Yamper in each of the last three sub-areas; one Gym Trainer in each sub-area with Yamper in them; and twenty Wooloo in the first sub-area.

I walked down the stairs to a short path leading to the first sub-area. The first person I met was a blond mustached man as soon as I stepped into the sub-area. "Hello, sir. Might you be here to teach me about this Gym mission?"

He nodded. "That's right, Challenger Helix. The mission for Turffield's Pokemon Gym is this!" He pointed me towards the grazing Wooloo. "To chase these unruly Wooloo..." He then showed me the hay blockade. "...to the blockades made of bales of straw, like this one right here!"

"Ah, that seems simple enough. Thank you for the advice, sir."

"Oh, you don't have to call me sir. My name's Dan. My brothers and I are just doing our job as referees for the various Gyms throughout Galar, and it's also our job to report the results of battles to the League HQ. Now, let the Gym mission begin!"

I started by running to the left and chasing the first group of thirteen Wooloo to the group of three on the right side of the sub-area, then I looped around to the right side of the group and chased them into the last group of four Wooloo. Having rounded up all twenty Wooloo, I herded them onto the platform in front of the bale blockade. As they rolled onto the platform, my attention was drawn to a nearby digital sign attached to an arrow. The sign displayed the number of Wooloo on the platform. Once the number reached 20, it blinked a few times and changed to arrows pointing to the next sub-area as a Wooloo sign attached to the arrow spun clockwise. My attention turned back to the Wooloo herd as they knocked away the blockade with their combined force.

The next sub-area held nothing except a Yamper patrolling it and a Gym Trainer at the end of the sub-area. Something told me that the Yamper was there to drive away Wooloo, so I waited until its back was turned to sneak the Wooloo past it. After the Wooloo busted the second barricade, I took on the Gym Trainer and defeated his Gossifleur easily with Corvisquire's Peck. Upon defeating the Gym Trainer, I saw that the Yamper ran to the Trainer and stood by his side.

The third sub-area had two long hedges arranged in the shape of a pause sign, with a Gym Trainer on the right side of the right hedge, and a Yamper patrolling the space between the hedges. Just as I was about to put together a plan, my Rotom Phone rang.

The Doctor was on the other line. "Helix, I have some advice for you. By now you've probably made it to or passed the section with a Yamper in it, correct?"

I replied, "That's right. Does your advice have to do with the patrolling Yamper?"

"Yes, indeed! From my experience, it seems that Yamper have some kind of connection to the Gym Trainers. If you defeat a Gym Trainer, their corresponding Yamper will stop patrolling and head to said Gym Trainer."

"Spoiler alert!" an annoyed Rainbow Dash said to the Doctor. "You could've warned us that there was a shortcut before you gave Helix the advice!"

"But that's a good thing," the Doctor answered. "You'll know to herd the Wooloo first instead of battling the Gym Trainer first, because you enjoy the challenge."

"Oh. Well, I can't argue with that."

"Good. Now then, good luck with the Turffield Gym Challenge, Helix! I'm cheering you on from the stands!"

"Thanks, Doctor. I'll see you once I get to the main arena." I hung up.

I herded the Wooloo along the left part of the sub-area to avoid the Yamper completely before taking down the Gym Trainer's Budew with a couple hits from Dottler's Confusion and defeating Oddish with the same attack. Having beaten the Gym Trainer, I chased the Wooloo to the platform, where they overcame the third blockade.

The fourth sub-area looked like it would be an actual challenge. It had four long hedges, arranged in a rectangle with lines that did not meet; the rectangle was longer horizontally than vertically. Two Yamper patrolled the hedges, one for the left hedge and one for the right. I waited until the rightmost Yamper was travelling north, and then I carefully led the Wooloo behind the Yamper, keeping them a fair distance apart to keep the Yamper from noticing. Once the Yamper went around to the other side of the hedge, I herded the Wooloo towards the platform. Making sure that the Wooloo were far enough away from Yamper, I took on the Gym Challenger, who was just north of the hedges. I easily defeated her Bounsweet (a Pokemon that looked like a purple mangosteen) and Oddish with Hotshot's newly learned Flame Charge and Dottler's Confusion respectively.

Finally, I led the Wooloo onto the platform, where they rammed through the last blockade and rolled into the paddocks on either side of the staircase that had been revealed. Afterwards, the gates to the paddocks closed, and I made my way up the staircase.

When I got to the top of the staircase, I turned and waved as steam billowed from pipes on each side of the staircase. I heard Dan say "Gym mission cleared!" through speakers as the door which I had gotten to slid open. I calmly walked through the door, which led to a long hallway that I followed.

---

---

I emerged from the corridor, walking out onto the field as the crowd roared with delight. From the other end of the stadium, Milo walked out onto the arena as well. We walked to the center of the stadium and turned to each other. "Nice to see you once again, Milo."

"Same to you, Helix," Milo replied with a warm smile. "I see you've changed quite a bit! Last time I saw you in a stadium, you were a completely different Pokemon! Hope you don't mind me asking, but how'd you change form?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked." I turned to the crowd. "If it's all right with you guys, I've got a story to tell. What do you say?"

I heard some cheering from the crowd, but especially from my friends. Pinkie Pie in particular was incredibly happy; she was holding a sign with my face on it and shouting, "Tell us, Helix! Tell us your story! I can't take it any longer!"

And Doctor Hooves exclaimed, "I would be honored to hear your story, Helix! Hearing your story will cause our bond to grow even tighter, I'm sure of it!"

I smiled. "Okay, then. Here's my story." Meloetta played somber music as I told my tale. "I used to be your average human, like Pummel and Heart Fist. They're the two dressed-up Machop you see near that enthusiastic pink pony named Pinkie Pie. Anyway, I used to be your run-of-the-mill human who metaphorically puts his pants on one leg at a time. I also happened to be a nerd, which led to me being repeatedly bullied in school. Now, the bullying didn't bother me much; not only did I have high self-esteem and the ability to respond to verbal insults with a strong quip, but I could also escape from lockers easily with my high IQ and recover from physical wounds fairly quickly.

"The real trouble didn't come until one time during middle school. At lunchtime, I once saw a boy sitting at a table alone, with no food or tray to speak of. I tried asking what was wrong, but he did not answer. I had a strong will and therefore refused to give up on anything, so I then asked if he needed anything, but still no response. Finally, deciding that actions spoke louder than words, I decided to offer him my food. That's when he snapped. He shoved the food away, called me an onslaught of curse words, and yelled that he didn't need any friends before he stormed off. That... was a critical hit straight to my heart. I should've found an outlet for the negative emotions that moment caused me...

"...But I didn't. Instead, the negativity turned toxic and corrupted me from within. I became desperate for a way to unleash my rage and get revenge. That's when I learned about Pummel Fist, who had discovered the wonderful world of Pokemon with his mother Heart Fist. I chose to become a Pokemon Trainer myself and do what any great Trainer would do: complete the Pokedex and aim to become the very best. But I wasn't satisfied. I later discovered that Pummel and Heart were transformed into Pokemon due to a peculiar Potion used on them by Archie and Maxie. Therefore, I put together a plan to capture Pummel and take a sample of that Potion for use on myself.

"Everything having gone according to plan, I used that Potion to transform into this Pokemon, a Shiny Decidueye. See, the Potion causes its user to transform into any Pokemon they have registered in the Pokedex and allows them to change their species at will. That's why you saw me as Greninja in Motostoke Stadium. Also, the user can only speak Pokemon, which is why Pummel, Heart, and I have these special pieces of headgear; they translate Pokemon language into human language. Anyway, after training, I challenged Pummel and his friends to an epic battle to blow off steam, and I recruited the villainous Marx Soul and Soul of Sectonia to aid me. Don't judge me; I was corrupted back then.

"Eventually, Marx Soul and Soul of Sectonia turned against me, because they wanted only to kill the heroes I was fighting. Therefore, I had my new teammates utilize my power to defeat the dark villains. After the intense battle, Pummel offered me a chance to redeem myself as a member of the Pokemon Expedition Society, and I gladly accepted. Thanks to some new friends we made between then and now, I have become a true hero of friendship."

The crowd roared once more, and the Doctor was on the verge of crying. "Helix... I had no clue... you had gone through so much... I understand now. I see what has changed you into who you are now. Thank you for sharing your story!"

Milo was amazed. "Oh my, I didn't know you had gone through so much in your life! And all this time I thought you were just a talking owl Pokemon with fancy headgear! Please forgive me for underestimating you."

I chuckled. "I certainly do forgive you. Just do me one favor, okay?"

"And what is that?"

I grinned. "That you go all out against me in our battle!"

Milo smiled. "I will gladly do so. I saw how you so easily completed the Gym mission, so I see no reason to underestimate a hero like you. And it sure seems like you understand Pokemon real well, too. This'll be a doozy of a battle, Helix! No doubt I'm gonna need to Dynamax my Pokemon if I want to beat you!"

I walked to the west side of the stadium, and Milo walked to the east side. "Hotshot, I choose you!" I sent out my trustworthy starter.

"You can do it, Gossifleur!" Milo said as he sent out the familiar flower-like Pokemon.

Dan the referee stood firm. Once we were both prepared to fight, he exclaimed, "Let the battle begin!"

"Let's start out easy, partner," I said. "Give 'em a dose of Double Kick!"

"Got it, Helix. Here goes!" Hotshot rushed in to deliver a pair of powerful kicks to Gossifleur.

"You're going for the direct approach? That's a risky move. Gossifleur, use Rapid Spin!" Gossifleur spun around at a very fast pace as it lunged at Hotshot. To my surprise, the spinning motion combined with Gossifleur's small size caused it to trip Hotshot, leaving him open to attacks. "This is why you should be careful if you're facing a smaller opponent! Now, follow up with Magical Leaf!" Gossifleur released several glowing leaves that formed a circle above Hotshot, all aimed at him.

"Like I told my partner, I'm just getting started. Nail Gossifleur with an Ember!"

Hotshot sat up and breathed an Ember at Gossifleur, causing it to lose control of the leaves, which therefore dropped harmlessly out of the sky. "What's the matter, can't use Magical Leaf and take an attack at the same time? Looks like you need to learn how to juggle tasks. Yeah, that's a football pun."

"Good one. Now, finish her with Flame Charge!"

As Hotshot raced towards the weakened Gossifleur, Milo replied, "Well, actually, my Gossifleur's a boy. And so are my other Pokemon, besides Bellossom and Cherrim."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think now's a good time to tell me that?"

Milo glanced at his defeated Gossifleur. "Oh, dear! I'm so sorry, Gossifleur!" He returned it to its Poke Ball. "You're right about that, Helix. This was not a good time to mention the gender of my Pokemon. It would've worked out better for me if I'd told you after our battle, of course; even more so if you happened to have a Pokemon that knows the move Attract, in which case gender would be very important."

I heard the Doctor say from the stands, "Hold on, that can't be the end of the battle. I was pretty sure Milo sent out another Pokemon to battle me with."

Milo answered, "He's right, I've still got one more partner with me! I'm not going to be done in that easy! My team and I are tough as weeds! Let's see how you deal with Eldegoss!" He sent out a small green Pokemon that looked like it had a full-bloomed ball of cotton for hair and a leafy cloak not unlike Swadloon's.

I checked my Rotom Phone. "Eldegoss, the Cotton Bloom Pokemon. A Grass-type, the seeds attached to the cotton fluff on its head are filled with nutrients. It allows the wind to scatter them so that plants and other Pokemon can benefit from them."

Dan turned to me. "All Gyms in the Galar Gym Challenge allow you to switch your Pokemon upon defeating an opposing Pokemon. Would you like to switch?"

"Yes, I would." I returned Hotshot to his Poke Ball. "Nice job, partner. You deserve a good rest." I then sent out Dottler. "It's your turn, my knowledge-gathering ally!"

Curiously, the Doctor seemed rather irked by my choice. "Wait a minute... Is Helix trying to copy my tactics?"

I shrugged. "How could I? I haven't watched your match yet on my Rotom Phone. Anyway..."

I took a moment to notice the climactic shift in music, and I listened to the crowd chanting "Dyna Dynamax! Max! Dyna Dynamax! Max!" Heeding their chant, I returned Dottler to its Poke Ball, which I held in my right hand. The familiar red energy burst from my Dynamax Band into the Poke Ball, increasing it to its Dynamaxed size.

"...it's time to have some real fun. How about it? You want to give the crowd what it wants, Milo?" I launched the Dynamax Ball behind me, showcasing my now Dynamaxed Dottler.

"I thought you'd never ask, Helix!" Milo returned Eldegoss to its Poke Ball, which became infused with Dynamax Energy. He took a moment to show it some TLC before saying, "Come on, Eldegoss! It's Dynamax time! Get ready to uproot this challenger!" He used his right arm to easily toss the Dynamax Ball behind him, where it burst into a giant cotton bloom of doom.

Both of us having Dynamaxed, the crowd stopped chanting. They then began to sing an unfamiliar but uplifting tune. "Ohhhh ohh oh-whoa! Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh oh-oh-oh! Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh ohh oh-whoa! Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh oh-oh-oh!"

"Looks like everyone's loving the battle so far!" Milo said with a smile. "Let's see if our Dynamax Move leaves you in shock and awe! Use Max Strike!"

"Show him you won't have any of it, Dottler!" I took a quick look at my Rotom Phone to figure out the name of the Bug-type Max Move. "Use Max--"

Alas, because of the time I took to find the name of the move, Eldegoss was able to use its own Max Move. To my surprise, the attack did not come directly from Eldegoss; instead, the ground underneath Dottler broke open, releasing a massive column of energy like the one I saw on my way to the stadium. After taking the attack, Dottler said, "A self-analysis confirms that my already low speed has been reduced more by Max Strike. Other than that, my hard shell gave ample protection."

"Excellent! The joke's on you, Milo. Dottler is already slower, so the side effect does little to aid you! Dottler, use Max Flutterby!"

"A wise choice. Watch as my winged allies go and eat through the opponent's defenses!" Dottler summoned several green butterflies to attack Eldegoss, resulting in a large green explosion. The aftershock of the explosion seemed to weaken Eldegoss more. "The side effect of Max Flutterby is lowering the opposing team's Special Attack."

I turned to Dottler with a smile. "I always knew you'd make a great partner, what with you being the brains of the operation. Speaking of, why don't we finish him off with Max Mindstorm?"

"Ending the fight with a terrain-causing Max Move? You must be a Pokemon of culture as well." After enduring another Max Strike, Dottler emitted several circular waves of psychic energy that overwhelmed Eldegoss, causing Eldegoss to explode and return to its normal size, swirls in its eyes. The Max Move also caused psychic energy to surround the stadium. "Max Mindstorm's side effect is Psychic Terrain. Seeing as you've taken on the form of Decidueye, I assume you know about Psychic Terrain?"

I nodded. "I do indeed. Tapu Lele's Ability causes Psychic Terrain whenever it enters a battle, and said Pokemon lives in the Alola region, which is where Decidueye can be found. In other news, congratulations on defeating Eldegoss!"

Dottler returned to its normal size. "Don't thank me. You were the one who gave me the orders and Dynamaxed me."

Milo sighed as he returned Eldegoss to its Poke Ball. "Looks like the power of Grass-types has wilted from your combined might." He gave me a humble smile. "You're an incredible Gym Challenger, you know that?"

I returned Dottler to its Poke Ball with a light chuckle. "I've actually trained Pokemon before I ever came here to Galar. Those Pokemon are still hanging out in their PC boxes in the Alola region. Seeing as I've trained Pokemon before, this Galarian Gym Challenge tests what I already knew and gives me new information to put to use."

"Oh, so you've been to Alola? Well, unlike most regions, Alola has no Gyms and therefore doesn't have Badges. Know what a Badge is?"

"Actually, I do. A couple of my friends have actually obtained all eight Badges from every region." I turned to the crowd. "Doctor Hooves, do you hear me?"

The various Rotom recording the battle turned to the Doctor, who was shown on the jumbotron. "Yeah, I hear you. What do you need?"

"I just need you and the other ponies to listen carefully to what I am about to say. You'll need to know this information if you want to be successful in the Gym Challenge. Pokemon..." I sent out Hotshot. "...are sentient creatures. They have a mind of their own, like you and me. When we have them battle, they don't follow orders blindly like some beast that you tame. They do as they're told because they respect us. Pummel! Show us your collection of Badges."

"Which one?" The cameras turned to Pummel, who took out a few different cases of Badges. He opened up one of them, revealing eight Badges in top condition. "Will my Hoenn Badges work?"

"Yeah, that'll do."

The crowd, and especially the ponies, looked at Pummel's Badges in awe. "Wowie, that's amazing!" Pinkie exclaimed. "No wonder you and Keldeo work so well together!"

Keldeo corrected, "Actually, we're so awesome together because we have the same kinds of goals and personalities. What's more, he even helped me defeat Kyurem and become a true Sword of Justice!"

"But that's besides the point." I continued, "Badges are a sign of respect. Badges are proof that you've got what it takes. More Badges means higher-level Pokemon will obey you, even if they've been traded to you."

"Traded?" the Doctor asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself, Doctor," Milo replied. "First, you need to know about something called the Y-Comm."

"Y-Comm?" I took out a pencil and notepad. "Can you tell us about the Y-Comm?"

"I sure can. Take a peek at your Rotom Phone's screen. You see a little icon in the bottom left corner that looks kind of like a Y?"

The Doctor, Pummel, Heart, and I all looked at our Rotom Phones. Sure enough, there was a Y symbol in the bottom left corner. Out of curiosity, I pressed the icon, and it opened up a window with six tabs on the left and messages from other Trainers on the right. "What's this? Reminds me of some kind of social media website."

"Well, it does function kind of like that, in that it lets Trainers keep each other updated on what they're doing. This allows Trainers to alert each other to important events, such as getting together for Max Raid Battles or dueling against each other. But the most important part is that it gives Trainers the chance to trade Pokemon."

"That's good to know." I put away the notes before asking Milo, "Mind if I take over to explain trading?"

"Go right ahead, Helix. I won't stop you."

"Okay. Listen up, ponies. Sometimes, there may be Pokemon that you feel like you just can't find. If that's the case, then try trading Pokemon. For instance, let's say you need an Omanyte, and a friend of yours wants a Kabuto. Just trade your Kabuto for their Omanyte, and you're both happy. But the thing is, if the Pokemon that's been traded is at a high level or has reached a high level, and you don't have enough Badges, then they won't think you're worthy of being their Trainer. They'll refuse to fight for you, and they might even sleep on the job!"

Rainbow Dash asked, "So what you're saying is that Pokemon that've been traded to you will be loyal to you, unless they're too strong and you don't have the right amount of Badges?"

I pointed at Rainbow with a grin. "I knew you'd get it, bearer of loyalty!"

"Thanks, but what about Pokemon you caught yourself?"

"And that's where it gets complicated. See, different Pokemon have different personalities, just like different people--or ponies, in your case--have different personalities. Even if you don't have many Badges, your Pokemon may still obey you, depending on the circumstances. Remember when you had your Ninjask battle against my Corvisquire? Training a Ninjask is something you must take seriously. The clue is in the name: Ninjask. It's a ninja Pokemon, so it must undergo strict training. Now, if you had a Pokemon like Rapidash, one that likes to run around quickly, it would likely obey you even if you didn't have enough Badges."

"I think I'm starting to get it now! You're saying that if I caught a Pokemon myself but don't have enough Badges, it probably won't obey me unless I cared for it properly."

"That's exactly my point, Rainbow."

The Doctor chimed in, "So another example would be your Dottler, Helix. If you keep helping it gather knowledge, it will still obey you, even if you have very few Badges. Is that right?"

"Bingo! Now we're getting somewhere!"

And of course, Pinkie Pie made some statements that were amazingly spot-on: "So what you're saying is that a super fat bear Pokemon with a huge appetite would keep obeying me if I kept its belly full of yummy berries and curry; a little bug Pokemon that uses static electricity would obey me if I let it hang out someplace that has a lot of static build-up, like my mane; and a hippo Pokemon that shoots sand out of holes on its body would obey me if I kept the holes free of big rocks that could block them; even if I didn't have enough Badges?"

I shook my head in amazement. "You'll never cease to impress me with all your insanely accurate assumptions, Pinkie Pie." I turned to Milo. "Back to you. Anything else I need to know?"

"Not really. As proof that you have defeated me and taken your next step in the Gym Challenge, allow me to present you with your very own Grass Badge!" Milo held out what appeared to be a fragment of a golden circle. On the fragment was a design of a stylized leaf of spinach.

I looked at the Grass Badge in confusion. "How curious. Never before have I seen a Badge that looked like a fragment of something."

"Well, there's a reason for that. In your locker back in Motostoke Stadium, did you see some kind of golden ring?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." I took out a golden ring with a five-inch diameter. "I brought it with me, too, since I figured it was important."

"Great! Each of the Badges in the Galar region fit in a different spot in that ring." Milo took the ring and fit the Grass Badge on the bottom part of it, slightly towards the right side. "When you've gotten all eight Badges, you'll have a full medallion!"

"That makes sense. Oh, where are my manners? I forgot to thank you for the battle!"

"Same goes to you, Helix." I used Foresight to ensure that my Ghost-type wing would make contact, and then I shook Milo's hand. "I've got some advice for you. The Gym Challenge has a set order to follow, so the next Gym you need to visit is in Hulbury, where you'll meet Nessa. You'll find Hulbury just beyond Route 5, so go there if you feel like you're ready. But you've got the Grass Badge now, so you could instead head to the Wild Area."

"The Wild Area? What does that have to do with the Grass Badge?"

"Oh! My apologies, I forgot to tell you one more thing about Badges in Galar. Here in Galar, higher-level Pokemon simply won't allow you to catch them unless you have the right amount of Badges. With the Grass Badge you should be able to catch Pokemon up to level 25."

"Level 25?" the Doctor asked. "...Then how the hay was I able to catch that Onix in Rolling Fields?!"

"The Onix in Rolling Fields?" This clearly surprised Milo. "That's very strange... Did you by any chance make it faint rather than simply getting its HP very low? That could be the reason why you were able to catch it."

"Ah, I did make it faint. I can understand why that would lead me to be able to catch the Onix."

"Then good on you, Doctor! Higher level Pokemon like that Onix can be powerful allies if you catch them, but it's your choice of whether or not to add them into your party." Milo turned back to me. "Good luck on your Gym Challenge, Helix! And likewise to all your Gym Challenger friends!"

"Thanks. Have fun taking on whoever faces you next!" I turned to leave, but I stopped. "Actually, hold on. I'm not sure if you know this, Milo, but a couple of my acquaintances want to use this stadium for practice."