Although the mining site itself was vast, the League's designated travel route wasn't all that long. Even taking a few detours, it wouldn't take too much time to get through.
But for Marie and Yuri, who had turned back toward the exit at one point, it was already close to midnight by the time they finally made it out.
Marie didn't mind, but Yuri clearly wasn't keen on spending the night inside a cave.
"Hey, once we're out of here, we'll be at Turf Town, right?"
"Kind of, but not quite. There's still a stretch of road in between. Turf Town sits in the middle of a basin, surrounded by farmland."
Marie pulled out her map and pointed out the area. If they were aiming to reach Turf Town tonight and find an inn, they'd probably be dragging their feet until past midnight.
"Ugh... I should've listened to that lady earlier and just stayed outside for the night."
Yuri sighed listlessly and clung to Marie's arm. There hadn't been many wild Pokémon in the cave anyway. Since it was a construction area with lots of foot traffic, the wild Pokémon kept their distance.
"Tired? Want to take a break?" Marie asked.
"No need. Let's just hurry up and get out of here."
Yuri shook her head, turning down Marie's offer. The Pokémon in the cave weren't cute at all hard, heavy, and not her type. Even Cottonee was slumped weakly in her arms, clearly not fond of the cave's atmosphere.
"Nya..."
Seeing this, Yuri fished out a Heal Ball she had picked up earlier from her bag and gently spoke to the Pokémon in her arms.
"Do you want to go inside the ball for a bit? It might be more comfortable in there... maybe?"
Midway through the sentence, even she started to second-guess herself and turned to look at Marie.
Marie blinked in surprise, then replied, "How would I know? I've never been inside one. But I guess Iijima and the others seem to think it's pretty cozy."
"I was asking about their feelings, not yours."
Yuri shot Marie a helpless look, then enlarged the Heal Ball and held it out in front of Cottonee.
"Want to go in?"
"Nya... (Okay, thanks.)"
Cottonee responded softly and pressed its little paw to the ball's button.
"Don't struggle, alright?"
With that gentle warning, the ball shook twice before letting out a crisp sound.
Click.
"Rest well, okay?"
Yuri murmured to the ball in her hand and then clipped it to the side of her belt.
"…Come to think of it, we haven't even officially decided who Cottonee is going to follow. Is it really okay for me to just capture her like that?"
Glancing at Yuri's somewhat uneasy expression, Marie felt an urge to laugh.
"You've already done it, and now you're worried?"
"She looked uncomfortable. I couldn't just let her suffer like that."
"Hmm, well... I think Cottonee probably likes you more."
"But you're obviously way more capable, Marie! Even back there... if you were the one giving orders, it definitely would've gone better."
Yuri's firm conviction left Marie at a loss. Honestly, she had only been a Trainer for one year longer than Yuri. Why did this girl trust her so much?
Marie gave a small shake of her head and looked at a slow-moving Roggenrola waddling along the edge of the path.
"Trainers and Pokémon choose each other. It's not just about who's stronger. If a Pokémon feels closer to you and wants to stay by your side, it doesn't really matter how powerful you are. And that battle was a tough matchup for Cottonee from the start. I might not have done better than you."
"Hmm... I know you're right, but it still sounds like you're just humoring me!"
"How is that humoring you?"
"I dunno!"
"…Anyway, Marie, have you ever heard of Metagross?"
"Yeah, it's a pseudo-legendary. Why?"
"Do you think there might be wild Beldum around here?"
"…You've gotta be dreaming. No wild Beldum sightings have ever been recorded in all of Galar. If you really want one, you'll have to travel to a different region."
"What? Aww man... I really wanted a pseudo-legendary too…"
Yuri pouted and started daydreaming cradling a Tyranitar in one arm, a Dragapult in the other, and soaring through the sky on a Metagross like some fantasy warlord.
"Snap out of it. You're drooling."
Marie leaned away slightly to avoid getting drooled on, then nudged Yuri's head with her hand.
"Hehehe... Let me dream a little. They're so cool!"
"Cool doesn't pay the bills. Do you know how expensive it is to raise a pseudo-legendary?"
"But you're raising Baro and two baby Dreepy at the same time, Marie. Isn't that expensive too?"
Yuri blinked, realizing that Marie's Pokémon must be way more costly to raise than any she had in mind.
"I make my own Pokéblocks. That cuts down a lot on nutrition costs. Plus, did you forget the huge stash I keep in my backpack?"
"Ugh…"
That was actually the only reason Marie dared to keep Baro around while raising two other pseudo-legendaries. For a normal household, feeding three of them would be utterly unsustainable.
Plus, Baro could take the two little ones out for wild training, so Marie didn't even have to do much herself.
"If you're really interested, you could try talking to Little Zuo and Little You when they evolve. If you can convince them, I don't mind letting them go with you."
"No, no... I wouldn't survive raising a Dragapult family!"
Yuri's face stiffened at the thought. Marie might be able to afford it, but she definitely couldn't. She'd go bankrupt feeding one, let alone the whole family.
"Grass-types are a bit easier to raise. They can photosynthesize, so they don't need as many supplements."
"Oh right! There's always Budew sunbathing in my yard at home."
"Budew? That's actually a pretty good Pokémon. Why didn't you catch one?"
"Hehe... Well, I had just set out on my journey. I wanted to see more Pokémon, and the Budew were so used to lounging around in my garden, I didn't have the heart to just snatch one up."
…
Chatting away as they walked, they eventually made their way out of the cave and into a clearing that connected to a narrow bridge.
"Wahhh! That's a huge drop…"
Yuri clung to Marie's hand and tiptoed over to the cliff's edge, peeking down with a shiver before recoiling in fright.
"It's fine. Baro can fly. You won't fall."
"I'm still scared! Baro can fly I can't!"
Yuri scrunched her nose and turned to glare at Marie, who didn't seem fazed in the slightest.
"Actually, now that you mention it, I kind of want a Rookidee."
"Huh? Why?"
"Once it evolves into Corviknight, it can fly super fast and carry passengers on its back. That way I won't have to ride those rental taxis all the time."
"…That's a bit too practical of a reason. Why not go for a Charizard instead?"
"I'd love to! If only I could find one."
Marie spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness. It wasn't like she hadn't dreamed of that too.