1. Ash's Story (Part 10: Galar)

Chapter 7: Route Lessons

The road waited quietly outside Wedgehurst, but I knew better than to trust quiet roads.

Route 2 looked gentle at first glance. The grass rolled in soft patches, the path curved toward open water, and the bridge ahead seemed built for new Trainers taking careful steps away from home. People called places like this beginner routes because they looked safe from a distance.

Pikachu sat on my shoulder, ears twitching toward every rustle. He knew the truth too.

Gloria stood beside Scorbunny with her Rotom Phone ready. She had checked her supplies twice before we left town, then checked Scorbunny's Poké Ball as if the little Fire-type might vanish if she forgot to look. Scorbunny bounced in place, trying hard to look patient.

Alice walked beside Wooloo, who kept close to her legs. Flora and Helen followed with easy steps, both looking more comfortable on the road than Gloria looked pretending she was not nervous.

Flora smiled at the grass ahead. "This is where the road begins testing whether new Trainers actually watched where they were going."

Helen adjusted her bag. "And whether anyone packed enough food."

I glanced at Skwovet's ball. "We packed enough. Then we packed extra."

The ball shook once, which did not comfort me.

Gloria looked toward the bend. "Hop said Route 2 is where new Trainers start filling out their teams."

"That is true," I said. "But it does not mean every Pokémon on the route is waiting politely for a catching lesson."

Gloria held her Rotom Phone a little tighter. "I thought the first road after town would be simple."

"It can be," Alice said. "Simple does not mean empty. It means the road gives lessons you can survive if you pay attention."

Scorbunny stopped bouncing as if it had understood the tone, then looked up at Gloria with bright, impatient eyes.

Scorbunny scraped one foot against the path and forced its ears still, "I want to run, but I will wait until she sees where we are going."

Gloria crouched and touched its head. "I know. We watch first."

Something striped cut across the grass before she stood again.

It moved like a black-and-white streak with red markings flashing between blades. Scorbunny jumped back. Wooloo pressed against Alice's leg. The wild Pokémon darted from one side of the path to the other, vanished under the bridge rail, then doubled back through the grass.

Gloria gasped. "Was that a Zigzagoon?"

"Galarian form," Helen said. "Darker typing, louder attitude, and more mischief than its size suggests."

The Zigzagoon burst out again and cut across the path so close that my boot scraped back. It did not attack. It crossed, turned, showed its teeth in a wild grin, and sprinted away as if the whole route had become a game only it understood.

Pikachu leaned forward, eyes bright, "That one is not running away. It is drawing a line and daring us to follow."

I grinned. "Then we follow carefully."

Alice lifted one hand. "No chasing blindly."

"Right," I said. "We read the pattern."

Zigzagoon shot through the grass, under a low fence, and across the bridge path again. Every time it looked like it would disappear, it curved back toward us with the same reckless grin.

Galarian Zigzagoon lowered its head, paws tearing two wild lines through the dirt as its grin sharpened, "If you can read my turns without crushing them, prove you can lead a path worth chasing."