“Betamon, Electric Shock!”
At the backyard of Professor Oak’s lab, as Gary gave the command with a raised hand, Betamon’s body suddenly crackled with dazzling electricity.
Its four little stubby legs kicked off the ground.
The opposing Pikachu couldn’t react in time at all,
And was sent flying backward,
Crashing awkwardly into the trunk of a large tree behind Ash.
“Hah~ How boring.”
Gary yawned, showing utter disdain for Ash and Pikachu.
From the very start of the battle, Pikachu hadn’t listened to Ash’s commands.
Instead, it fought on its own.
But with Ash’s current level of command,
It probably didn’t make much difference whether Pikachu listened or not.
“Pikachu!”
Ash didn’t even have time to care about his rival’s mockery—he turned and rushed over, scooping Pikachu into his arms.
Even though Ash always did some baffling things,
His care for his Pokémon was genuinely unmatched.
“You’d better work hard before the next Indigo League Conference, Ash.
Don’t embarrass Pallet Town.”
After delivering his parting shot,
Gary recalled Betamon into its Poké Ball.
He even gave the ball cap a flamboyant kiss before walking away smugly.
‘The power of Digimon is truly not to be underestimated.’
Professor Oak glanced at his grandson’s retreating figure, silently noting to himself.
“Ash, bring Pikachu into my lab.
I’ll help treat it.”
Professor Oak then called out to Ash.
His grandson was important, but he couldn’t neglect his godson either.
“Professor Oak, that Pokémon Gary used just now…
the Pokédex said it’s from the Alola region?”
While Pikachu was being treated, Ash remembered something.
During the battle earlier, when he saw that the Pokémon Gary used wasn’t one of the Kanto starters he’d guessed,
Ash got curious and pulled out his Pokédex to look it up.
The display showed that the Pokémon was called [Betamon]—a newly discovered Pokémon from the Alola region.
“Yeah, Gary went to Alola last week and got a new species called [Digimon].
He even transferred his residency to Alola for it.”
Professor Oak explained.
“That damn traitor!
He betrayed Kanto!”
Ash cursed angrily.
Noah, however, would note that Ash’s first championship was actually won in Alola.
And given that it was Alola’s first-ever League tournament with hardly any strong competitors, Ash kind of lucked into that win.
Noah seriously suspected Professor Kukui had gone easy on him too.
…
“This is Galar?
It feels completely different from Alola!”
In Motostoke, the largest city in the Galar region,
Serena’s eyes sparkled with excitement the moment she stepped off the plane.
If Alola was full of tropical natural charm,
Then Galar was the epitome of modern urban style.
“Thanks to the power of Wishing Stars, Galar’s technology level is very high.”
Noah said, following Serena off the plane.
After securing Serena and her mother,
Noah now turned his poaching efforts toward Galar.
This time, Grace hadn’t come along—
After all, there were still plenty of things to take care of at their new home.
Walking out of the airport terminal,
Serena let out another gasp of amazement at the sea of people in Motostoke:
“There are so many people.”
Noah raised an eyebrow slightly.
Although Motostoke was Galar’s largest city and the headquarters of both the Macro Cosmos Group and the Galar League,
The crowd here was indeed excessive.
Looking around, Noah noticed the various promotional posters hanging all over the streets.
Among them, occupying the absolute center stage, was a young man draped in a cape covered in sponsor logos, with a beard on his chin—
He’s none other than Leon, the strongest trainer of the Galar League, known as the [Undefeated Champion].
Besides him,
There were also posters of many Galar Gym Leaders: Raihan the [Dragon Storm], Piers the [Gloomy One], Bea the [Karate Genius], and many others.
So many nicknames—Galar was pretty chuunibyou too.
“That’s because the Galar Star Tournament is being held right now.”
Just then, a lively female voice reached their ears.
Noah and Serena turned to look.
Before them stood a woman in her early twenties,
With vibrant orange hair tied into a side ponytail,
Exuding mature charm from head to toe.
Her white lab coat stood out prominently—especially the pair of battle tanks beneath the cyan sweater inside, looking like they were about to burst the buttons at any moment.
Among all the women Noah had encountered so far, only Lorelei from Kanto could slightly surpass her.
Serena blinked and asked:
“Excuse me, you are…”
“My name is Sonia.
I’m a researcher of Galar’s history.
I never expected to meet you two here—Professor Noah and little Serena.”
Sonia flashed a brilliant smile, radiating a mature charm that the still-innocent Serena completely lacked.
“Miss Sonia knows Noah?”
With her mother not around, Serena had reverted to calling Noah by his name.
“Of course—Professor Noah, who developed Z-Moves and discovered Digimon in Alola, is a big name in our Pokémon research community.”
Sonia replied with a smile.
“So, are you two visiting Galar for tourism?
Or field research?”
“No, I’m here to poach your talent.”
Noah’s first response completely threw Sonia off.
Even Serena broke out in a slight sweat.
She thought to herself, ‘You really don’t hide anything at all, don’t you?’