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

Chapter 9: First Max Raid

The Wild Area made the word route feel too small.

Wind rolled over open grass, crossed lakes without asking permission, and carried cries from Pokémon we could not see yet. Motostoke stood far ahead, all smoke, steel, and stadium promise, but the land between us and the city refused to become only a road toward registration.

Sonia had warned us that the Wild Area did not behave like a neat route. Pokémon levels could vary sharply. Weather changed what appeared. A safe-looking slope could hide a powerful Pokémon that had no interest in becoming someone's beginner mistake.

That made Hop's excitement useful and dangerous at the same time. He saw possibility everywhere. Victor saw patterns. Gloria saw questions. Alice and I had to keep all three from becoming trouble before the stadium was even in sight.

Hop loved that immediately. Victor looked interested in a quieter way. Gloria stood beside Scorbunny with her Rotom Phone ready, while Alice studied the map Sonia had marked for us. Flora and Helen took in the open land with the calm of people who knew beautiful places could still be dangerous.

At first, the Pokémon we saw left Gloria a little puzzled. Bunnelby dug near a hill. Oddish wandered between taller grass. Wingull crossed above the lake, and Budew hid beneath a tree root. They were familiar from other regions, not the native Galar surprises she had expected.

"I thought the Wild Area would be full of Galar Pokémon," Gloria admitted.

"It is Galar," I said, watching a Combee drift near distant flowers. "But big places gather travelers too."

Alice turned the map so everyone could see. "Left takes us through Rolling Fields, Dappled Grove, West Lake Axewell, and Watchtower Ruins before East Lake Axewell. Right takes us toward South Lake Miloch, Giant's Seat, and North Lake Miloch before the ruins."

Flora smiled at the wide grass. "Either way, the point is not only reaching Motostoke. We need to observe what the Wild Area asks of Trainers."

Helen adjusted her cooking bag. "And choose a path that gives us a decent place for lunch."

Gloria looked toward a grove where trees gathered more thickly. "Dappled Grove sounds good. It feels like we can learn more there than by rushing straight across."

"Then we go left," I said.

A red glow pulsed faintly from far ahead, rising from the ground like a warning and an invitation at the same time. Hop nearly sprinted toward it before Sonia's voice from earlier echoed in everyone's memory.

Dynamax Pokémon were on another level. The warning had not sounded like a rule meant to slow us down for no reason. It sounded like Galar asking whether we could be excited and careful at the same time.

Hop stopped after three steps and cleared his throat. "I was only checking the direction."

Victor smiled with open disbelief. "Of course you were."

Gloria's Scorbunny bounced once beside her, then forced itself to stay close, "Big field, big steps, but her feet decide first."

Gloria saw the effort and smiled. "Good. We both remember."

As we walked, Alice pointed out campsites, weather changes, and spots where grass moved differently under heavier Pokémon. Flora watched how wild Pokémon avoided certain slopes. Helen counted safe cooking places like she was building a map only she could read. The Wild Area was not empty space between towns. It was a lesson with no walls.

A few more Pokémon crossed our path as we moved away from the station. Some looked at us and kept going. Others watched long enough to decide we were not worth interrupting. I liked that about the Wild Area. It reminded every Trainer that wild Pokémon had their own errands, fears, territories, and moods.