Motostoke, Galar region

"I told you exactly why I flew here on that taxi Corviknight taxi."

Kjolmar, age 17 by now, waved his hands through his ash-brown undercut-styled hair and looked straight at Marnie with his green eyes. Behind him a Klinklang hovered and a Zigzagoon tried to playfully hit it with its paw. The Klinklang has been with him since he became a trainer in Unova (although a Klink back then), all those years ago. The Zigzagoon seemed to be his newest partner, given it looks young and it is a local species.

"Let me explain it one more time, Marnie. First that Hop kid delayed me with his Wooloo problem while I was only near Wedgehurst to get my phone upgraded with a Rotom to begin with. If your fans from Team Yell hadn't blocked the road at Professor Magnolia's, Sonia would have upgraded my phone fast enough for me to leave before I even noticed Hop. Then again, I couldn't leave the poor kid without assisting, could I?"

Kjolmar realized it sounded like he was complaining but he just tried to explain why a Corviknight taxi looked like the best way for him to reach Motostoke.

Marnie looked confused.
"That still doesn't explain why you let me go by train by myself despite being in the middle of a conversation."

Kjolmar let out a small sigh, barely noticable.

"The opening ceremony of the Gym Challenge is tomorrow and I still have to buy some new clothes, meet up with my old friend from Sinnoh and check in at the Budew Drop Inn. Besides, you weren't alone on that train, there was this Bede guy and your Yell fans were not far away."

The opening event would show all gym leaders that wil be challenged and Kjolmar didn't want to miss it for the world. He was curious what they would look like, as he didn't think very high of the current champion Leon. Would this mean that the gym leaders were also pushovers? That couldn't be right. He decided to observe them well during the event, while still giving enough attention to his old friend.

Next to Kjolmar, the Klinklang started to grind his gears a little faster than it normally would.

"I know, Neo. You are exited to see Luna again. It will be so awesome to quest throuh Galar together with our old friends and maybe even some now."

Kjolmar looked at the Yamask so it would have its attention.
"You know, Tweener. I simply can't wait to introduce you to Aro and Luna. Neo and I go way back with them."

Kjolmar bade Marnie farewell and went to buy some new clothes before heading to the Budew Drop Inn. He noticed along the way that Bede was having an intimate conversation with Chairman Rose and Oleana but he shrugged it off for now. As he arrived at the inn, he noticed how Neo started to hover at a high speed towards a familiar face, while Yamask seemed to be a tad confused.

Kjolmar immediatly realized what Neo was up to.

"Aro!" he shouted while running towards his old friend.

It had been two days now since Aro had finally touched down on Galar soil and today was finally the Gym Challenge opening ceremony. For the past couple of days he had been equipping himself with new Galarian technology making sure he was kitted and ready to start his new adventure.

Things had calmed down in the Sinnoh region and Aro felt like he was no longer needed there to protect it. The presence of Team Galactic had diminished, meaning it was back under control of his sister and the Sinnoh Elite Four. This meant he was able to do what he had wanted to do since he had his first adventure in Sinnoh: Travel to other regions, and take on their best trainers. It was the dawn of a new adventure for Aro and Galar was the first obstacle to conquer.

As Aro travelled around Motostoke city he realised how different his dress sense was to the residents of Galar. His big black leather coat that trailed behind him and his mid length jet black hair that seemed to sway in the wind seemed quite gothic compared to the clothing here. However in Sinnoh it was more common.

As always Aro’s faithful partner followed alongside him. Luna was a Lucario who had been with Aro since they were both born. Luna hardly ever went into a ball and most of the time could be seen walking just behind Aro. For this reason Luna was the only Pokemon from his team that he brought along to Galar, the rest of his team were left in good hands at his grandparents house.

“Let’s hope he’s here Luna. It’ll be good to see him and Neo again.” Aro smiles as he said this as it had been a few years since he had seen his trainer companion, but now they were planning on meeting up and taking on Galar together.

As they approached Motostoke stadium Aro saw a familiar looking Klingklang next to his old friend. Kjolmar cried out and waved at Aro from afar. Aro ran over and shook hands with his old friend.

“Kjolmar! How have you been buddy! Long time no see!” He said excited to see his friend.

Luna bowed in front on Klingklang before starting to play, this was normally Luna’s way of acknowledging a friend.

After Luna's bow, Neo hovered in circles around him. It could be an odd sight to see species like Klingklang enjoy itself, as it wasn't always easy to figure out its emotions due to the lack of facial expressions. While they enjoyed themselves, Kjolmar hugged Aro warmly.

"I can't believe we finally meet again. These Galar gym leaders have no idea who they are up against. Have you seen the Champion? He doesn't even look that strong to me. Then again, neither did we, back in the days."

Tweener carefully approached but appeared to be reserved for now.

"Oh, that's right. I should introduce you. This Galarian Yamask right here is Tweener. He is the newest member of our team. Don't let his young age fool you, I heard these guys become very strong when they evolve. Tweener, this is the friend I have been talking about, his name is Aro."

Tweener seemed to stay on guard and hid himself behind Kjolmar's legs.

"Maybe it's the outfit." Kjolmar joked while winking at Aro.
"I think it would feel more at ease around other local Pokemon. Aro, do you happen to have any?"

Aro laughed as Kjolmar mentioned how easy the champion Leon looked and also at the comment about how Kjolmar and Aro both lacked a strong presence in their earlier adventures.

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves now, it looks like we both still have to acquire and train new Pokemon for this challenge. We may be able to count on our older Pokemon like Luna and Neo but if we get too cocky, our Chances could be over quickly. I hear the Galar region is fiercely competitive.” Aro went on to say before noticing a new face hiding away behind Kjolmar’s leg.

It was safe to say Aro hadn’t seen this species of Pokemon before. The almost dinosaur looking creature seemed timid and cautious of its surroundings. It was clearly new to Kjolmars team.

“Bass the Toxel eh?” He crouched down to Bass’s level “Your a cute little guy aren’t you?” He smiled before looking at Luna and Neo once more.

“Now you mention it Kjolmar...” he grabbed a poke all from his belt. “...I’d like to introduce our new buddy.”

He threw down his ball and from it appeared Aro’s newly caught Dreepy. He had caught it on his first day in Galar and had spent the last couple of days bonding with it. It was very curious of everything it came into contact with, yet still aware of its underwhelming strength.

“This is Shade, I’m sure she and Bass will become good enough friends, maybe even to their level” he said whilst looking at Luna and Neo once more.

Shade seemed interested in Bass and hovered around him a lot inspecting before smiling at the newly met Pokemon.

Aro had always been the more modest of them and in a way Kjolmar knew how to admire that in his friend.

"Maybe you are right and the champion will prove to be more challenging than he looks. He did outmatch the other gym leaders after all so unless they are horrible, there should be some spirit in that Leon."

As soon as Aro revealed his Dreepy, Kjolmar observed Tweener closely. As Shade hovered around him, Tweener seemed to be a little less intimidated than he was before. Kjolmar knew it was a good sign. He smiled proudly when Aro made a comparison to Luna and Neo.

"Yes, Neo hardly opened up to anyone before it met Luna. I'm sure in due time Tweener will put a similar trust in Shade."

"But I must warn you tho, Shade. Little Tweener here can be quite impish."

"So!" he turned to Aro. "Are you ready for the opening ceremony? If we go there now, we will have the best seats. I heard the fire gym leader was born in Hoenn. Do you think he or she is related to Flannery of Lavaridge Town?"

Lark fidgeted with the settings on his camera for the hundredth time since he’d woken up today and analyzed his surroundings with a deceptively relaxed gaze. He, like the rest of the trainers present, had shown up to participate in this gym challenge. Unlike the rest of them however, Lark didn’t have his sights set on just winning. He was an amateur photographer in search of the best shots and his career mattered far more to him than winning some challenge.

As he walked around he couldn’t shake off a weird feeling that chased him. Was it the food he ate? Did he forget to pack something? Or was it that odd conversation he had with his parents over the phone the other day? Eh, he’d get over it soon enough. Still can’t believe my parents were gonna name me Maya if I was a girl. What a weird name.

His pokemon fluttered around him, pressuring Lark to get his head out of the clouds and keep walking.

“Alright, I get it.”

Shutter the venomoth, a pokemon with not much attack power but with a terrifying assortment of ways to shut down any of her opponents. Many trainers had underestimated the beautiful pokemon, only to discover the fury of having their all-offense pokemon rendered paralyzed, exhausted and infatuated at the same time.

Lark ignored her for the most part, as his attention was focused on a gothic looking trainer. He’d just snap a quick picture of the exotic looking man and keep moving.

*SNAP*

He had turned flash on at some point during his re-re-recalbirations. Crap.

Aro smiled as both Luna and Shade spent time with their newly acquainted friends. As Kjolmar mentioned to Shade about the electricity that Bass had, instead of standing clear she touched a spark that emitted from Bass before getting a slight shock.

“Shade! Kjolmar just mentioned to you about how dangerous that is” he laughed slightly as Shade looked back with a cheeky smile as if she didn’t care.
“Your a character for sure aren’t you” Aro laughed again.

“I can’t wait to start our new adventure, it’s felt like so long since we had our last showdown in Sinnoh” he said to Kjolmar.

All of a sudden a white flash surrounded the area which startled most trainers and Pokemon within the immediate area. Aro turned to see a younger trainer messing with his camera, he was facing Aro which suggested whatever he took a photo of was in this direction. Aro walked over to the trainer.

“Hey was that flash you? I mean it’s the middle of the day, I highly doubt you need your flash on?” He chuckled.

“Aro Celestia, nice to meet you” he extended his hand.

Their intention to head to the stadium got delayed by the interruption of a guy's camera flash and Aro's reaction to it, quickly followed by Aro introducing himself to the photographer. Kjolmar eyed the stranger up and down in order to make a fast assumption of who they were meeting.

Neo hovered closer to Kjolmar like it usually did when a new person approached, proving its point that it was always ready to strike if needed. Neo could be very protective of Kjolmar.

Tweener, on the other hand, seemed to distracted by the meeting with Shade to notice the photographer at all. Then again, it was very young and not exactly used to certain situations. When it finally noticed everyone's attention going to the stranger, Tweener quickly hid behind Kjolmar's legs again, like it had done before when it had first met Aro.

When Aro introduced himself, Kjolmar hesitated one second but then quickly joined his friend's example. "Kjolmar." he said while making intense eye contact with the photographer. Somehow the fact that Neo was floating around Kjolmar made the whole situation even more intense. "And you are?" he added before anything else could interrupt them.

"Sorry man, got too excited with this thing. The name's Lark, or Larkshoots2 on the internet." The brows above his droopy eyes slowly settled into a more contorted position, as he was beginning to show an ounce of self-awareness. Giving the two some homemade business cards was probably out of the question. "I'm also joining the gym challenge, but I'm gonna be more focused on my photography gig. Shutter here is my right hand bug."

Shutter, at hearing her name, flapped her wings even faster than before. The venomoth was easily excited and curious about just about everything, which was terrible when traveling alongside a photographer who needed peace and stillness during shots. She was showing an incredible amount of restraint by not flapping in everyone's faces, but was clearly struggling to hold it together.

Aro smiled as the rather skittish trainer explained who he was. Aro was reminded back to the days of his first adventure when he was nervous for almost anything.

“Lark is it? Nice to meet you” Aro said as he responded to the avid photographer.

“Shutter eh? That’s a great name for her.” He said as he watched the Venomoth try and stay calm.

“I have a proposal Lark. I assume you were planning on doing the gym challenge alone?” Aro said as he looked around for anyone else who maybe with Lark “ If that is the case, how about you travel the challenge with me and Kjolmar? I’d really like some photo memories of the Galar region. Me and Kjolmar have been companions for a while now and we’ve never had a photo together. In return I can pay you for your time and also you will get some kickass company I promise...” he chuckled. “So what do you say?” He asked Lark.

Suddenly a loud female voice could be heard through the intercoms.

“CAN ALL GYM CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS PLEASE GET SEATED IN MOTOSTOKE STADIUM. THE OPENING CEREMONY IS ABOUT TO BEGIN.”

Aro turned to Kjolmar and their Pokemon.
“I guess we best get going, Lark are you coming too? Or will we see you later?” He said as he started to check he had all his belongings.

Kjolmar inspected Shutter the Venomoth. Bug types had never been his thing but he had to admit Shutter looked very energetic. When it flapped its wings, Kjolmar subtly took a small step backwards, as if he was going to get poison powder all over him or something.

"Well, Lark, it is nice to meet you. Like Aro said, it would be cool to have some pictures on our new quest and some company is never a bad thing."

As the beginning of the ceremony is announced, Kjolmar pulled Aro's hand in order to get him moving. "See, we got here early and we might end up being late. Let's go, we need to best seats we can get."

Kjolmar heard Aro asking Lark if he was joining them and starting pushing Lark too. "Of course he is. Come on guys, hurry up."

He returned both Neo and Tweener to their poke balls and forced everyone to get moving.

"Huh? You mean it?" asked Lark. His face had the uncanny ability retain a vacant and relaxed look, even when he was genuinely excited for something.

These trainers definitely looked like they knew their stuff. Getting the chance to photograph them in the middle of their battles would be priceless. Especially since I might not do so good... Shutter was a peculiar pokemon to battle with. His friends who were fans of battling called her a glasscannon, and the people he beat preferred "a cheap gimmick". Shutter's entire moveset revolved around getting lucky, so there was always the chance of eating dirt. If he were to lose a challenge it'd be tougher to get good shots without some other trainers around to help.

"I have some photography buddies around the region. Haven't actually met most of them outside of the internet, but hey, first time for everything. It'd be nice to have some strong trainers around to help me find great shots."

Shutter knew the drill and practically crashed into her pokeball, and the three made their way to the stadium.

At the event, Kjolmar observed the gym leaders presenting themselves. Some of them looked less boring than Leon so that was a relief. He wondered if Kabu really could be related to Hoenn's Flannery. As he noticed Piers, he realized right away this was the brother Marnie had been talking about, there could be no mistake. His eye fell on Opal and he grinned while he poked Aro. "That is really a gym leader? Somehow I think she can be underestimated and she will surprise us."

Next up he looked at Milo and Nessa. "Oh, there are the Brock and Misty of the region." As he noticed not everyone in his presence understood that reference, Kjolmar shook his head. "Never mind, it was just a joke for Neo."

Finally, he laid eyes upon Raihan. "Hm, dresses like a child and uses dragons. How disappointing. I'm starting to see why Leon become the champion."

As he realized he was criticizing too much, he apologized to Lark. "Sorry, you must think I'm a bit of a nag. I tend to share my criticism too often. You know what, I bet some of them will show me that I was wrong." he laughed.

During the event, Tweener had been sitting on Kjolmar's lap the entire time. Tweener had been curious about the gym leaders too but he was not expressing that excitement and preferred a safe distance. Every now and then it peeked at Shutter. It must have been exhausting for Tweener to meet so many new friends in such a short time.

Meanwhile Neo simply observed it all without making too much commotion and every now and then it gave more attention to Luna than to the event itself. Neo could have a lack of interests in these things when someone it likes is around. Because of it's mechanical identity, it never fully learned how to be polite and somehow people don't expect this from Neo.

When the event was finished, Kjolmar asked his travel companions if they were up to go directly to Milo's gym. "He uses grass types so we all might want to avoid using water or ground types. I think both my Pokemon make a decent match against grass types. Well, as for Tweener, he should focus on the right attacks. Luna will have little difficulty because of his experience. And Shutter will be super effective actually! Unless you don't want to battle with Shutter, Lark? Maybe you prefer to focus on your photography?"

Kjolmar eyed Shutter up and down before turning to Lark again. "Is Shutter your only companion at the moment?"

He disabled the sound and light from his camera and took multiple careful shots of his surroundings, once again hiding the effort and concentration it took underneath a calm exterior. There were too many unnecessary people around and his subjects were too far away for his comfort, so these photos were worthless as standalone works. He'd probably settle on using them to kick off his newest wave of blog posts.

"As long as you turn that energy on them in battle while I'm shooting, there's no problem." The flashier these leaders dressed, the better the shots would be. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. The biggest advantage that'd come with taking on this challenge were the stadiums, though. Nice flat land with no obstacles. He made a mental note to buy a newer pair of running shoes at some point.

He rested the camera's strap over his shoulder. "Of course I'm fighting Milo. My team's too strong against him for me not to. No one ever said I wasn't allowed to shoot and battle at the same time, after all." He winked lazily.

"Shutter's my right hand girl, but I do have another helper. He's a zebstrika, bought him from a professional breeder with my first couple of paychecks way back when I was first getting started. He's my golden ticket for traveling long distances, but gets a little stressed around strangers." His eyes turned to a premier ball wrapped around his belt, with an ornate emblem proving the pedigree of its contents. Having the expensive pokeball stored next to the beat up, haggard standard one that housed Shutter almost looked comedic.

Although Kjolmar has his criticisms of the gym leaders, the opening ceremony made Aro realise one thing. The sheer turnout of spectators for these events surely meant that these battles were unmissable, meaning he bet none of the gym leaders were pushovers.

When the three of them had regrouped outside the stadium, the immediate conversation was about the first gym challenge hurdle; Milo.

“Yeah, I think we all have a good chance to be honest, Although I’m really keen to see Shade’s battling potential. I know she has one move that is an advantage in the first gym but where she might not have the type advantage in hoping she can make it up in how stealthy she is.” Aro said.

As if she was listening in on the conversation, Shade came out of nowhere to surprise both Kjolmar and Lark. Aro laughed as Shade then came to rest on Aro’s head.

“See what I mean? As much as I can rely on Luna, he understands that he’s gonna need strong teammates to rely on too.” Aro said as Luna nodded in agreement.

“I guess if we’re all ready we ahead towards the mines, I head we can cut through there to get to the next city.” He suggested.

"Yes, but first I must insist you try my new curry recipe. I read that it's common in Galar to enjoy nice curry dishes and I'm trying to cook all of them while I'm here. I only tried to the most basic one so far but I swear you will like the taste."

Kjolmar dragged out some cooking equipment and started to prepare the curry.

"Let's see, which berries were it again? I think I used these blue ones."

While waving a fan to stir the fire, he realized he was delaying the gym challenge.

"I don't mean to hold everyone but there are no berry trees in that mine and let's face it, our bellies are empty."

With great passion, he stirred in the pot and tried his creation.

"Hmm, it's perfect. A very balanced flavor, I think this will suit just about anyone. Who wants some?"

*SNAP*

"What? Pictures of food are in nowadays. It's all anyone with a camera ever posts on the net, anyways." As it was their first day of officially beginning the gym challenge, Lark made sure that not a single moment went by without a photograph to commemorate it. Annoying, sure, but he had to cover his bases if he wanted to get to the good stuff. You didn't start off a photo album with a shot of your zebstrika beating someone to the ground, you had to build up to it with sunsets, cities and a good old fashioned training shoot, all peppered with lame hashtags about friendship and positive thinking.

His thumbs typed up a storm of words and phrases meant to garner as many online interactions as possible before a final send-off into the internet. If there was a silver lining to being a young photographer, it was probably being able to take full advantage of technology. "Curry suitable for anyone, huh?" he asked, sounding amused. "Then you'll need some reviews to confirm it for you."

Lark's lips spread slowly after his first bite, a rare display of emotion. He was used to eating on the go from his work, and had come to appreciate curry. Not many dishes in the world could be filling and delicious at the same time, nor could they be prepared with so little. "Hmmm... Good stuff..."

He ate the rest of his curry at a relaxed pace. "We're gonna be a little late to the challenge. It's convenient for me since I get to take some pre-battle shots, but I figure you two don't want to wait on other trainers getting crushed." He chuckled, like someone remembering a secret.

-

After they finished their curry, the group got on their way. Kjolmar kept Neo in its poke ball for now and only let Tweener get some fresh air for the time being. He wondered when it would evolve. As they made their way through the mine, Kjolmar noticed a lot of coal Pokemon and mine cart Pokemon. "Don't touch them, Tweener. I bet they are hot as hell. My pokedex says they are fire types."

As they progressed through, Kjolmar showed Aro and Lark the fossils he had gotten in Motostoke. "They seem different than in other regions. As far as I can tell, you put two of them together somehow. I bet there are multiple outcomes, depending on the fossils. Apparently a professor near Hammerlocke can revive them for me so I guess I'll just have to carry them around until we get there."

"A photographer chasing after photos of extinct pokemon brought back to life, where have I heard that before?"

Lark stretched his arms far out and above his head, taking in the view. "What's it gotta be like to fall asleep for thousands of years and then wake up with your body all mismatched?" He eyed the fossils with a surprising amount of scrutiny. "Either way, if you manage to revive whatever's in that, you're gonna have the element of surprise on your side for the next couple of battles."