Galar Region.
Shiryu’s flight landed at Motostoke Airport.
Motostoke was an industrial city modernized through the extensive use of steam power.
It looked prosperous at first glance, but the heavy influence of industry could be felt everywhere.
Its location near the center of Galar also made it a crucial transportation hub and an important part of many regional development plans.
After leaving the airport, Shiryu headed for Motostoke Station.
His destination was Postwick.
First, he needed to take the train from Motostoke to Wedgehurst, then transfer to a bus heading south until he finally reached Postwick.
“I never realized Postwick was this far out in the middle of nowhere.”
Sitting aboard the train to Wedgehurst, Shiryu studied the map in his hands and sighed.
He had never really noticed while playing the games.
Once the Flying Taxi became available, getting anywhere in Galar was easy.
Reality was another matter.
Given the distance between Motostoke and Postwick, taking a Flying Taxi all the way there would cost even more than his plane ticket from Unova to Galar.
Shiryu still needed every bit of money he could save for restoring and developing the ranch, so there was no chance he was wasting that kind of cash just to avoid a train ride.
He dozed off for a while and only woke when the attendant announced their arrival at Wedgehurst.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Shiryu stretched and rose from his seat.
He hadn’t brought much with him—only some everyday clothes and necessities, all of which fit into a suitcase and backpack.
With the suitcase in one hand and his backpack slung over his shoulders, Shiryu stepped off the train.
Before he had even made it out of the station, however, he heard a familiar voice he hadn’t heard in years.
“Shiryu!
Over here!”
He followed the voice and spotted an energetic girl waving enthusiastically at him.
She had short brown hair brushing her shoulders and wore a pale yellow beret, a light silver knitted jacket, and a pink skirt.
Her boots clicked rapidly against the floor as she hurried over.
“Hey.
It’s been a while, Gloria.”
Shiryu greeted her by name.
According to his inherited memories, Gloria had grown up with him in Postwick and was his childhood friend.
She was one year younger than him.
More importantly, she was also the female protagonist from Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Somehow, after being dropped into this world, Shiryu hadn’t merely gained an entire fabricated background—he had even ended up with Gloria as his childhood friend.
He had absolutely no complaints about that particular arrangement.
Gloria, on the other hand, looked mildly annoyed.
“Shiryu, you’ve been gone for three whole years!
You could’ve at least told me earlier that you were coming back.
I didn’t even get your message until this morning.”
Shiryu gave her an apologetic smile.
“I was in a hurry to get home.
I only decided yesterday that I was coming back, so I booked the earliest trip I could.”
Technically, he’d intended to return the previous night.
Unfortunately, every flight had already sold out, forcing him to delay the trip by a full day.
Which also meant he’d had to wait an extra day to receive his Shiny pseudo-legendary with god-tier potential.
A genuine tragedy.
The two spent the journey catching up on how their lives had changed over the last three years.
Shiryu had spent those years living in Aspertia City and studying at its Pokémon School, eventually graduating with excellent results.
Gloria, meanwhile, had attended the Pokémon School in Wedgehurst.
According to her, her grades were good enough that she would be allowed to receive one of Galar’s traditional starter Pokémon through Professor Magnolia’s laboratory.
She still hadn’t decided which one she wanted.
Then again, when all three options somehow felt less appealing than the regional bird Pokémon, Shiryu could almost understand the difficulty.
By the time the bus entered Postwick, the quiet atmosphere of the countryside immediately washed over him.
Compared to most towns and cities in Galar, Postwick was hardly developed at all.
Mountains and forests surrounded the area, and livestock farming had always been its primary industry.
Even now, the town still didn’t have its own train station.
But Postwick was undeniably a pleasant place to live.
Life moved slowly, the cost of living was low, and people could settle down comfortably without dealing with the constant bustle of larger cities.
Opening a ranch here almost felt like retreating into a peaceful countryside paradise.
That suited Shiryu perfectly.
“We’re here!
Shiryu, do you want to come over to my place for a while?”
After getting off the bus, Gloria invited him home.
Shiryu waved her off.
“Not today.
I’ve been traveling all day and I’m pretty tired.
Besides, I still need to go check on the ranch.
I’ll come visit another time and say hello to your mom properly.”
Gloria nodded in understanding.
“All right.
Is there anything you need help with at the ranch?”
Shiryu considered the offer.
The place had been abandoned for years, so he definitely wouldn’t mind having another pair of hands around once the cleanup began.
Still, asking Gloria to start doing chores for him the moment he returned felt a little shameless.
More importantly, he had something else he needed to take care of today, and having Gloria around would only make that awkward.
“Not today.
Come by tomorrow instead.”
“Okay.”
Gloria had no idea what was going through his head.
She simply shrugged and headed home first.
Shiryu continued through Postwick, walking along streets that somehow felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
He headed southeast, following what remained of his inherited memories.
That was where his family’s ranch should be.
After walking for a little over ten minutes, Shiryu finally reached it.
The old wooden fences had fallen into disrepair, with several sections either broken or nearly collapsed.
Fields that hadn’t been tended in years were completely overgrown with weeds, while the land farther out looked even more desolate.
There was also an old thatched cottage that had been built during his grandfather’s generation.
Time had not been kind to it.
The entire structure looked as though a strong gust of wind might finish the job and knock it down for good.
Still, there was one major advantage.
The property was huge.
Mountains bordered the ranch to the south.
A small river ran along its eastern side, with a forest farther south near where the water disappeared into the distance.
To the north stretched an expanse of land so broad that even Shiryu wasn’t entirely certain where it eventually led.
After walking around and inspecting the property for himself, Shiryu arrived at a simple conclusion.
“If I’m the one running this place, I really might be able to turn it into the greatest Pokémon ranch in the world.”
His confidence had barely settled before a notification appeared.
[The host has arrived at the ranch and formally inherited the property.
Quest complete.]
[Quest Reward: One randomly selected Shiny pseudo-legendary Pokémon with god-tier potential.]
[Draw reward now?]
…
“Draw it!”
Shiryu answered immediately.
He had traveled all the way from Aspertia City in Unova to Postwick in Galar for this exact moment.
Holding his breath, he stared at the interface, wondering which pseudo-legendary he was about to receive.
The information on the screen began cycling rapidly.
Then it stopped.
A Pokémon’s image appeared on the interface, followed by a complete set of information.
[Pokémon: Beldum (Shiny)]
[Level: Lv.
10]
[Type: Steel / Psychic]
[Ability: Clear Body — Prevents its stats from being lowered by another Pokémon’s moves or abilities.]
[Individual Values: HP (31), Attack (31), Defense (31), Sp.
Atk (31), Sp.
Def (31), Speed (31)]
[Moves: Tackle, Take Down, Iron Head…]
[Held Item: None]
[Potential: God Tier]