Of course, Marie had said it herself but the truth remained that the power difference within her team was considerable. Naturally, the Gym Leader would bring out her main force to deal with Marie's strongest Pokémon. It wasn't like she'd go out of her way to target the weaker ones.

Whether or not this approach was ideal was hard to say. But one thing was certain it limited a lot of tactical flexibility. After all, she couldn't exactly have Little Chirp coordinating with Baru in a battle, could she?

Moves like Baru's U-turn or I-chan's Baton Pass were basically unusable in the current Gym format. If the opponent started the match with their ace and dominated the field, it'd be pointless for Marie to switch in a fragile Pokémon like Little Chirp.

Most Gym matches were either three-on-three or four-on-four, and Marie wasn't too keen on fielding both Baru and I-chan at the same time. These battles were rare learning opportunities, and she'd rather reserve them for Pokémon like Little Mo to gain experience.

After saying goodbye to Chairman Rose, the two girls made their way to the Hulbury Stadium without incident.

Marie was scheduled for the first match of the day, with Yuri taking the second slot. After checking in at the front desk, Marie handed her Sirfetch'd over to Yuri for safekeeping.

"I'm heading in to change. See you in a bit."

"Mhm~ I'll be cheering for you from the stands!"

Yuri gave her a lively thumbs-up, then watched Marie disappear into the changing room. Turning to the quiet Sirfetch'd by her side, she smiled warmly.

"Let's head to the stands too, shall we?"

"Quack!"

Yuri couldn't understand exactly what Sirfetch'd was saying, but its curiosity was written all over its face. She reached out and gently patted its head, then led the way toward the spectator tunnel.

Marie dropped her bag, pulled out her competition uniform, and swiftly changed. Five Poké Balls were clipped to her belt standard for challengers. All her Pokémon had been returned to their Poké Balls for the battle.

By the way, Little Mo had ended up choosing the Love Ball. It didn't match his colors at all, but since he liked it, Marie had no reason to object.

Her belt looked a bit chaotic with all those different types of Poké Balls, but Marie didn't mind. As a Poké Ball enthusiast, she was always on the hunt to collect every type and honestly, she'd hang them all on her if she could.

Five varieties? That was nothing.

Leaving the changing room, she stored her bag in the Gym's designated locker area before following a staff member to the waiting room.

"The battle will begin shortly. Please wait here, Miss Marie."

The young women working at Hulbury Stadium were dressed just as fashionably and just as revealingly as Nessa herself. All of them were stunning, which made staying focused a little tricky for Marie.

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

She quickly averted her gaze and blushed slightly, offering a polite word of thanks before sitting down and pulling out her phone to pass the time.

Most stadium interiors followed the same design, with only minor variations in badge iconography and color schemes. Aside from that, the core layout was standardized across the league.

She took a sip of mineral water and absentmindedly adjusted her gloves, the thumb holes showing a bit of her skin. Just then, the giant screen nearby lit up and began playing Hulbury's promotional PV. Marie, trying to steady her breath, watched in silence.

This was her second Gym match but even so, the idea of battling under the eyes of a massive crowd still made it hard to stay calm.

If Yuri ever found out that the one who usually comforted her also got nervous like this, Marie didn't know what she'd think.

Out of nowhere, she pictured Yuri's silly, carefree smile again.

It was easy to lose track of time while spacing out.

A gentle knock brought her back to the present.

"Excuse me, it's time."

"Sorry."

Marie stood quickly, smoothed out her uniform, and stepped out of the waiting room.

The roar of the crowd grew louder with each step. The cheers funneled in from the open arena like a tidal wave, accompanied by Hulbury's signature salty sea air. It was a smell she'd gotten used to over the past few days, yet in this moment, it suddenly felt foreign.

She squinted as she stepped into the blinding sunlight.

The arena erupted in a roar. Marie instinctively winced and glanced around. She thought she spotted Yuri and Sirfetch'd in the stands and were those members of Team Yell too?

A small smile tugged at her lips. She shook her head, then turned her gaze toward the woman walking toward her a tall, beautiful figure with flowing hair.

Nessa, the Gym Leader of Hulbury.

"I've been expecting you, challenger."

"I've been looking forward to this too, Miss Nessa."

Standing on the blue-toned battlefield, which shimmered like water underfoot, Nessa gave a respectful nod.

"I saw the footage from your match with Milo. You're not just someone with strong Pokémon you're a capable Trainer as well. I've been looking forward to this battle, so I won't be holding back. My partners and I are going to crush any strategy you bring."

It was a bold, charismatic declaration confident, yet controlled. Her presence exuded a quiet intensity, like the calm before a storm. Unlike Milo's gentle, grounded demeanor, Nessa wore her sharpness on her sleeve.

Marie could now understand why Yuri liked her so much. She was undeniably captivating.

Even from the opponent's perspective, Marie couldn't help but be drawn in.

"I'll do my best."

Facing Nessa's confident challenge, Marie kept her cool and nodded. She couldn't deny it it was a bit nerve-wracking to be called out so directly.

Still, if she couldn't even handle a bit of psychological pressure before the battle, then there was no way she'd make it through the match itself.

The brief exchange ended, and the announcer's voice boomed overhead. The two of them turned their backs to each other and walked to opposite ends of the field.

The battlefield shifted. A narrow stream of seawater snaked through the middle of the arena, connecting both sides. It prevented the Trainers from getting too far apart and kept the battle from stalling.

The smell of the saltwater was even stronger now probably because the water had been pulled directly from the ocean. It was a bit murky too.

"How are you feeling? This will be my first Pokémon!"

Nessa lifted her left leg in a graceful pitching stance and hurled her Dive Ball with practiced ease. It arced through the air and burst open with a splash.

"Grrrrrawwr!"

A powerful Drednaw landed with a heavy thud, radiating raw strength.

"..."

Marie almost let out a snarky comment.

Seriously? Leading with that?

But then she took a closer look. Something seemed off. This Drednaw didn't look like a seasoned veteran.

Its shell lacked that characteristic thickness, more like a newly formed carapace. Its horn and shell coloration were lighter too brighter, almost.

Marie relaxed a little. So it had just evolved recently.

"Alright then. You're up first, Silk."

Rock-type moves were dangerous for Little Chirp, and this was an evolved Pokémon. The choice was obvious.

"Chiru~"

Silk landed lightly on the field, her expression calm as she assessed the opponent in front of her.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Share what drew you in your review helps power the next steps in this journey.

This is just the beginning. Keep the momentum going in OneJourney and stay ahead of the curve.

[email protected]/yanxx

Change @ to a.