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

Chapter 87: Max Honey

By the time Alice and I reached the Master Dojo, we were still talking about Mustard.

The two towers had changed the way both Urshifu walked beside us. My Single Strike Urshifu moved with a quiet, decisive weight, while Alice's Rapid Strike Urshifu adjusted to every shift in the ground as if even ordinary floorboards had a current. The difference made me smile each time I noticed it.

Then I saw someone talking to Mustard near the entrance.

"Hop?" I said. "Is that you?"

Hop turned around with a grin that made the dojo feel louder at once. "Oh! Hey, Ash! Alice! Looks like you've been working hard keeping up your training here."

I bumped fists with him, and Alice greeted him with a quick hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" Hop said proudly. "I'm on the Isle of Armor to research more about the Dynamax phenomenon. Sonia and I are splitting up areas, and I thought this island sounded perfect."

Mustard stepped between us, beaming. "Hoppy-kins was asking permission to camp out on the island, but where is the fun in mucking about in the mud? I told him he should stay here at the dojo."

"That sounds better than camping," I said.

Hop rubbed the back of his head. "It would be loads easier, but I wouldn't be in the way?"

"Everyone is welcome to wear out their welcome at the Master Dojo," Mustard said. "Besides, you are practically family already. You are Leon's little brother, after all."

Hop smiled, though his expression softened at Leon's name. "Lee did train here when we were kids."

Klara and Avery were across the room, and both made strange faces that tried to hide interest and jealousy at the same time.

Mustard clapped once. "Which reminds me! Ash, Alice, there is something I have been meaning to tell you about Kubfu's Evolution, Urshifu."

Hop's eyes widened. "Wait, you already have Urshifu?"

"We cleared both towers," Alice said.

Hop stared at our partners. "No way. That is brilliant."

Mustard's grin turned mysterious. "The lovable rascals can Gigantamax too."

I looked at both Urshifu. "Then we should give them Max Soup?"

"Tricky, tricky," Mustard said. "Urshifu cannot stand the taste of Max Mushrooms. Max Soup is off the menu unless you make it more appealing."

Alice sighed. "Of course there is another step."

"There is a certain something on the Isle of Armor that will make even Urshifu gobble it up," Mustard said.

"What is it?" Hop asked, leaning forward.

Mustard closed his eyes. Silence stretched long enough for Pikachu's ears to twitch.

Then Mustard scratched his cheek. "I forgot. Oopsie-doopsie."

Hop nearly doubled over. "Are you kidding me?"

Mustard laughed. "It has something to do with another Pokémon. You three figure it out together. The world is your Cloyster, so get cracking!"

He walked away humming, leaving the three of us with the kind of puzzle that felt simple only after someone solved it.

Alice watched him go. "That was either a lesson or a prank."

"With Mustard, probably both," I said.

Hop brightened again. "I read that Urshifu is mad for some kind of sticky honey. Honey comes from nectar, right? So maybe we need nectar from Pokémon that look like flowers or fruit."