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

Chapter 66

After emerging from the cave, we notice Peony rushing toward a town known as Freezington. So, we follow him and see some fields and the houses around. Then, a person walks toward us and he says, "Hello, hello! What have we here? Another visitor?"

"Um... you can say so," I say.

"I am the mayor of this fair town of Freezington. I must say, it's a surprise to have visitors arriving in our out-of-the-way town one after another. Might you be here to learn about the legend of the King of Bountiful Harvests as well?"

"What is that?" Alice and I ask simultaneously.

"Ah, never mind. It hardly bears asking. After all, there's very little otherwise to attract visitors to our sleepy corner of the region. Which is a bit of a shame, really... People come all this way to investigate what turns out to be a mere fairy tale. But since you've made the journey, I must offer you this Freezington specialty as a memento!"

Then he presents us with a boatneck sweatshirt featuring a Pokemon design we haven't seen before.

"It's a shirt emblazoned with the likeness of the King of Bountiful Harvests. I'm afraid it hasn't sold quite as well as we'd hoped. We've got a fair number left over... The illustration is based on extremely ancient accounts of the king's appearance, hence the unusually sized head. But we thought it might make the design a touch more 'hip,' as they say..." the mayor explains. "If you'd like to see what the king really looked like, I suggest you take a look at the statue by the fields in the center of our village. Farewell for now, then." With that, the mayor departs.

"Over here!" Peony calls out to us as we make our way to where he is. We then spot the house adorned with a flag, and Elena sighs, "What is it now, does he think he's a pirate or something?"

"You really do have an interesting uncle, Elena," I remark as we enter the house.

"Aha! Here you are! This poky little place will be our lodgings," Peony exclaims as we remove our heavy jackets and settle down by the fireplace.

"But as of this moment, it's also something far more important—our base camp!" Peony declares.

"Base camp?" Alice inquires, and Peony lets out a sigh. "I know, I know. Not much of a base camp, is it? Still, we've got to give it a proper air of importance, haven't we? Now, enough faffin' about, Ash, Alice, Elena! Let me tell you what the Peony Exploration Team is after! Round here, they've got a fair few strange and mysterious legends!"

"Such as?" I inquire.

"FOR EXAMPLE! A huge-headed Pokémon known as the King of Bountiful Harvests!" Alice exclaims, "That was the one that the Mayor was talking about..."

"NOT TO MENTION! A massive red tree where legendary flying Pokémon gather!" I add, "Legendary Flying Pokémon? I wonder what that's about..."

"AND FURTHERMORE! These great, hulking, dot-faced giants that sleep in some ruins or something!" Elena chimes in, "That must be the Regis."

"ET CETERA! See what I mean? This place is just bursting with juicy legends! And we're not stopping until we've found just how much truth they've got to 'em! And there you have it! We are the Peony Exploration Team... and that is our grand, noble, magnificent goal! Of course, if I had my way, I'd be doing this with my darling Nia... But who knows? They say even Chansey meetings can lead to Blissey-ful friendships! So here's to a grand adventure, Expedition Chief Elena!"

"Wait, I am the Expedition Chief?" Elena asks in surprise. "I thought you would be the chief..."

"Obviously! Look... What do you think would happen if the two of us went gallivanting off together? My dear Nia could come along for a grand, emotional reunion... and find this place empty! Just the thought of it... My own darlin' daughter, sittin' alone in this room, pinin' for her papa... Gaaah! Nope, not on my watch! I'd never let that happen! So I'll be the hold-down-the-fort chief! Which means you get the pleasure of being the expedition chief!"