After several days of intense training, Marie decided it was time to give everyone a break. After all, pushing too hard wasn't always a good thing.

When Yuri heard about the day off, she grabbed her fishing rod and dragged Marie out to the coast to go fishing.

Even though Hulbury sat right on the sea, the area wasn't exactly teeming with wild Pokémon, especially with the heavy traffic of ships and people. There were still plenty of Water-types around, but not a wide variety.

But Yuri didn't mind. She just wanted to enjoy some casual fishing. She pulled Marie to one of the wooden piers built specifically for anglers, borrowed a small folding stool, and plopped herself down.

Fortunately, the place wasn't crowded, and hardly anyone else was fishing, which let Marie relax enough to release all of her Pokémon.

As she lazily tossed another Magikarp back into the sea, Yuri leaned sideways against Marie and suddenly asked,

"Wanna go watch someone else's Gym Challenge this afternoon?"

Marie didn't look up. Cradling Echan in her arms, she kept her gaze on the rippling water and nodded.

"Sure. It's about time we saw Nessa's battle style for ourselves. Want some candy?"

She reached into her backpack and pulled out a small box of fruit drops. The packaging had caught her eye when they passed by the shop earlier, and the candy was said to be made from real Berry juice.

"Mhm, thank you~"

Yuri took one, popped it into her mouth, and smiled as the rich berry flavor spread across her tongue. It really did taste like they used a lot of juice in it.

"Chiru? (Mmm~ That smells so good! Can I try one too?)"

Silk, seated beside them, caught a whiff of the candy and leaned over Echan with wide eyes.

"Sure. What flavor do you want?"

"Chiru~ (Something a little tangy~)"

"Let's see..."

The candy didn't come in any wildly clashing flavors nothing too overpowering. The berries were all chosen for harmony, and the colors made it easy to tell them apart.

Marie picked out two with a subtle sour profile and popped them into Silk's mouth, then glanced down at Echan, who was lazily sunbathing on her lap.

"Chiru~ (Thank you~)"

"Echan, want one too?"

"Yee~ (Just something sweet and simple.)"

"Got it..."

One by one, Marie gave each of her Pokémon a piece of candy. Before long, the whole box was gone.

Just then, the fishing rod Marie had wedged between her knees jerked sharply, almost pulling itself into the water. Startled, she quickly clamped her legs together, while Yuri instinctively reached between them to grab the handle.

"..."

Marie cast a sidelong glance at Yuri, who didn't seem to realize how inappropriate that looked, then released the rod from her legs and took it into her hands to reel in whatever was nibbling at the bait.

Whatever it was didn't put up much of a fight. Marie had more than enough strength to handle it. In just a few moments, a splash broke the surface as the fish was pulled out of the water.

It was a Wishiwashi.

The lure on the rod didn't have barbs it simply gave off a scent that attracted Pokémon so Marie gave the line a flick, and the small fish fell back into the sea with a splash.

"A Wishiwashi? What's a school of them doing this close to shore?"

Yuri looked surprised. Wishiwashi had a bit of a reputation. Individually, they were weak and unimpressive, but when they gathered into a school, they became a terrifying force of nature like some ancient sea monster.

The problem with Pokémon like Wishiwashi was that, if they clustered too close to port, it made seafarers especially experienced ones extremely uneasy.

And you couldn't just drive them off by force. If someone startled them into forming a battle-ready school formation, things could get very ugly.

Marie shook her head. That kind of thing wasn't for them to worry about. They didn't really know the details of Hulbury's local marine ecosystem anyway.

"No idea. Wishiwashi are pretty common, though. You can catch them in the Wild Area all the time."

"Hehehe... What do you think, should I raise one?"

Yuri chuckled carelessly, then nudged Marie with her shoulder.

"Don't even think about it. What's the point of raising just one? People only train them in groups. Unless you plan on becoming a Water-type Gym Leader here, you won't have the resources to raise a full school."

"Oh~ Should I take that as a challenge from a Champion-favored Trainer?"

The playful banter was suddenly interrupted by the voice of a mature woman, cutting cleanly into their nonsense.

"Huh?"

Yuri blinked in confusion, then slowly turned her head only to freeze in place.

"Yuri? What's up with you?"

Marie could already guess who it was by the voice alone. She turned to see Nessa, dressed casually but unmistakably in her Hulbury Gym uniform, standing just behind them.

"Miss Nessa. Good afternoon. We were just messing around and joking with each other."

Nessa waved a hand, smiling as she stepped closer to them.

"It's fine. I just happened to see you and thought I'd say hello."

"Eh?! W-w-why?! L-Lady Nessa! H-hello!"

Yuri stammered through her words like she was face-to-face with a pop idol. Marie didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. She hadn't even been this flustered meeting Leon.

"Hello there, Miss Yuri the Champion's chosen Trainer."

Clearly, Nessa was another one of those people drawn in by Leon's influence.

She shook Yuri's nervous, clammy hand with a practiced grace before turning her attention to Marie.

"And you as well. Nice to meet you, Miss Marie."

"Nice to meet you too, Gym Leader Nessa."

Marie didn't ask how Nessa knew her name. It was probably just because she'd been hanging around Yuri. That kind of thing didn't matter.

What mattered more was Yuri.

At the end of the day, Yuri was still a rookie. Even with Leon's endorsement, she wasn't someone who should be drawing this much attention from the Gym Leaders.

In Galar, the Gym Leaders were second only to the Champion himself. If it were Leon personally greeting people, that would be one thing but for someone he endorsed to get this kind of direct greeting?

Frankly, it made Marie uneasy. What exactly were these adults looking for in Yuri and Hop?

Perhaps noticing the subtle shift in Marie's mood, Nessa crossed her arms and laughed lightly.

"You're a cautious one, huh? I really just happened to be passing by. Saw you and figured I'd come say hi. Nothing more, I promise."

"Ha... Sorry. That was rude of me."

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?"

Yuri tugged at Marie's sleeve, totally lost. She hadn't caught any of the undercurrents in their conversation and couldn't understand why Marie was apologizing.

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