The owner of the battle café was clearly kind to new Trainers. After seeing Yuri's age and Sobble's level of development, he sent out a Combee certainly not the most formidable opponent.
It looked well-raised, but before evolution, Combee's combat abilities were hardly impressive.
Once it failed to dodge Sobble's second Water Gun and ended up drenched, the outcome of the match was effectively sealed.
Marie could tell the café owner had gone incredibly easy on her. Honestly, if he'd sent out a Milcery instead, Yuri wouldn't have stood a chance not with moves like Aromatic Mist and Sweet Kiss.
Still, a win was a win. Marie waved at Yuri as the girl came over, proudly cradling her Sobble.
"Congrats. What did the owner give you?"
"Um… some kind of charm? From the packaging, I think it's just candy?"
Yuri sounded uncertain as she placed the prize in front of Marie a pink heart-shaped candy wrapped in a clear package with delicate flower patterns.
"Oh, a Sweet! That's actually an evolution item. Looks pretty well-made, too."
Marie held the heart-shaped treat up to the light, inspecting it closely. She hadn't been to a battle café before, so this was the first time she'd seen one of these in person.
"Evolution? For who?"
"Alcremie," Marie replied, nodding toward an Alcremie who happened to be passing by with a tray, playing the role of a part-time server. Honestly, the smell of fresh cream from it was overwhelming. Rumor had it that all the café's whipped cream treats were made using ingredients from Alcremie and Milcery not that anyone could prove it.
"Marie-chan…"
Yuri glanced nervously at her, her expression saying all too clearly what was on her mind before she'd even opened her mouth.
"You better think carefully. If I really find you a Milcery, you might just end up with a body like the café owner's."
"...Gulp."
Yuri looked back at the round-bellied café owner, then sniffed the lingering sugary scent left behind by the passing Alcremie. Her eyes filled with hesitation.
Alcremie was great in battle, sure but for a regular girl, resisting that constant, sweet, milky aroma was no small feat.
To be honest, Marie didn't want to see Yuri a year from now transformed into some version of "Chunky Yuri."
And besides, Marie had completely forgotten how many Pokémon she'd already promised to help Yuri find. With the Gym Challenge coming up, there wouldn't be time to swap team members midway through.
Training was one thing but building up enough bond with a new Pokémon in such a short time was a different story entirely.
"Ugh… then… I'll find one and give it to my mom as a gift or something…"
Yuri bit her lip, looking like she'd just made some life-or-death decision. Marie couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Alright, finish that ice cream and let's go grab dinner. Want to invite your friend along?"
"You mean Hop?"
Yuri chewed on her spoon thoughtfully, then shook her head.
"Forget it. That guy's not the type to go shopping with me. If we find him now, he'll just bug you for a battle."
Marie scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and fed it to Ralts perched in her lap. Resting her head on her hand, she replied lazily.
"Speaking of, weren't you supposed to battle him first? Didn't Sonia say you two were rivals?"
"Well… technically, yeah. But we just battled back home a few days ago. I don't think there's much point fighting the same person that often."
She held Ralts steady as it practically draped itself over the rim of the sundae glass to lick at the melting cream. Marie poked gently at its rosy horns and murmured,
"Don't overdo it, you'll get a stomachache."
"Ralts! (I'll be careful!)"
Both Baru and Ee-chan had tried ice cream before, thanks to Marie. But Silky, who'd grown up in the wild and was still quite young, was tasting it for the first time and absolutely fascinated by the flavor.
"I'll have a one-on-one with Hop eventually."
Marie's tone was half to herself, half to Yuri. Yuri, for her part, waved dismissively.
"Of course it'll be Silky. If you sent out Ee-chan or Baru, Hop might actually cry."
Marie and Silky quickly finished their shared dessert. She stopped Silky from ordering another one, and once Yuri finished her own ice cream, the two of them left the café.
They headed down the street toward the stadium. With the opening ceremony fast approaching, the closer they got, the livelier the streets became and the more shops they passed.
As they were walking, a Charizard suddenly soared overhead and landed nearby.
It was hard not to notice the Pokémon was far too eye-catching. Both Marie and Yuri instinctively looked over and saw Leon trailing behind.
He was dressed exactly as he had been that afternoon, in his usual flamboyant fashion. Naturally, passersby recognized him instantly. But everyone was polite, resisting the urge to crowd around. They took a few photos from a distance before moving on to avoid blocking the road.
"Charizard! Thank goodness you came with me. No way I'd have found the stadium on my own."
"…"
Marie heard his words and fell silent. There was one direct main road from the city gate to the stadium. How exactly do you even get lost on that?
"Hey there! Yuri! And the young lady from earlier!"
Leon spotted the two of them immediately and waved enthusiastically, striding over.
"Mr. Leon, we meet again."
"Leon-nii!"
Hearing Yuri's nickname for him, Marie instinctively glanced over. They're that close?
Leon stared at the Sobble in Yuri's arms for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
"You've both grown a lot Sobble and you. Here, take this. You should be able to use it well now."
With that, Leon reached into his pocket and handed her a Mystic Water.
It wasn't a rare item cheap to buy, very practical, and perfect for new Trainers. A solid boost to water-type moves without any drawbacks.
"Ah! Thank you! Thank you, Leon-nii!"
Yuri looked delighted, cradling the Mystic Water like a treasure. She fastened it around Sobble's neck and beamed from ear to ear.
Yep. Another Leon fan.
Marie could see it instantly.
Still, Leon was undeniably strong, and his personality was magnetic. It wasn't surprising that he had such a massive fanbase in Galar.
"And you, miss I didn't expect to run into you here as well. This is for you too!"
"Huh? For me?"
Marie blinked in surprise. Before she could even react, the Ralts in her arms reached out and took the item.
It was a Poké Ball a pink one with a heart-shaped print.
"…A Love Ball, Mr. Leon?"
Marie immediately recognized it. She'd always been fond of specialty Poké Balls, and the Love Ball was one of the rarer kinds. Though its effect making it easier to catch Pokémon of the opposite gender was a bit odd, it was just as valuable as a Moon Ball.
Up to now, the only rare balls Marie owned were a Moon Ball and a Friend Ball, both gifts from her brother.
"Haha, you're Marie, right? I thought you looked familiar earlier. When I asked around, I realized you're Nez's little sister. I had this lying around unused, so consider it an apology for interrupting your nap earlier."
"…Well, thank you, Mr. Leon."
Marie's face flushed slightly. She hadn't meant to accept it but the ball was just… so pretty.