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

Chapter 40: Hidden Wolves

The Fighting Badge still felt new when we stepped out of Stow-on-Side Stadium. The sunlight outside seemed softer than the battlefield lights, and for a few breaths I let myself enjoy the weight of the badge case at my side.

Alice walked close beside me, still smiling. "Four badges now."

"Four," I said. "Grass, Water, Fire, and Fighting."

Pikachu shifted on my shoulder, ears twitching toward the street ahead, "The battle is behind us, but the stones ahead are still listening."

Before I could ask what he meant, a Yamper bounded toward us with its tail wagging so hard its whole body wobbled. It circled my legs, barked happily, then jumped toward Alice as if greeting old friends.

"Yamper?" Gloria said. "That means Sonia is nearby."

Sonia hurried after it, slightly out of breath but smiling. "Looks like my Yamper really likes you, huh? Anyway, we have run into each other at a good time."

Yamper pressed against Sonia's boot, tongue out and eyes bright.

Sonia looked toward the stairs leading higher through town. "You know the mural here in Stow-on-Side? It is said to tell the story of the hero of Galar as well, though what is there today is actually a replica of the ancient art that used to be here."

Alice's eyes sharpened. "A replica?"

"That is what the records suggest," Sonia said. "You two tend to notice things other people miss, so I wondered what you might think when you saw the ruins."

I glanced at Alice, then back toward Sonia. "Then let us take a look."

The road toward the mural climbed between market stalls and weathered walls. Stow-on-Side still sounded like carts, stone, and distant Gym cheers, but the higher we walked, the quieter the town became. The air changed near the ruins, not colder exactly, but older.

Yamper trotted ahead, stopping every few steps to make sure Sonia followed. Elena walked near the front too, her expression thoughtful after hearing the mural might be a replica. History mattered differently to her when Macro Cosmos and her father's name were always close to it.

A few children near the market pointed toward Yamper and whispered about Sonia. One of the stall owners called out that the professor's granddaughter had been asking questions about the mural all week. Sonia flushed at that, but she did not deny it. If anything, the attention made her walk faster.

"I am still only Sonia," she muttered.

"You say that like only Sonia has not been doing most of the thinking about Galar's history," Alice said.

Sonia laughed, embarrassed but pleased. "I am trying. The more I study the Darkest Day, the more the old explanations feel too smooth. Real history usually has rough edges."

Gloria looked toward the mural stairs. "And Galar polished the edges off?"

"Maybe," Sonia said. "Or maybe we kept the parts that were easy to tell and forgot the parts that were harder to understand."

That made the climb feel heavier. My badge victory had been simple compared with that. A battle had rules, a referee, and a clear end. History could keep changing after everyone thought the result had been decided.

Helen looked up at the mural's direction. "It feels strange after two Gym battles here. The town has been watching us fight, but now we are the ones watching it."

Flora nodded. "And wondering what it has been hiding."

A tremor cut through the ground before anyone answered. The fence rattled under my hand, and loose dust skittered down the steps.