The Pokémon journey begins in Galar

"Are there really Eevee on Route 4?"

"There are. Plenty of records online confirm it too, but whether you actually run into one depends on your luck."

Marie walked along Route 4 with Yuri. This area was known for its Eevee and Pikachu population, making it a favorite spot for many female trainers.

"Hmm... I wonder when you're going to evolve," Yuri muttered, smacking her lips as she held Applin up in front of her face. She stared at the round little apple from every angle, as if staring hard enough might suddenly trigger evolution.

"Maybe you'll be ready in time for the Gym Challenge. But if not, things might get tricky for you this time."

"I think it'll evolve in time... There's still more than a week before the Gym Battle. Didn't that big sis say it might happen within a few days?"

Yuri's tone wasn't particularly confident after all, she was just going off what others had told her.

"Well, I'll be staying around here. If you want to look for Eevee, try the area closer to Turf Town," Marie said, stopping at a wide open space between the hills. There weren't many trees here, making it an ideal spot for Baru to safely practice Flamethrower.

"Okay, then I'll head off for now. See you later, Marie!"

"Mm. Message me if anything comes up."

Marie waved as Yuri ran off. Once she was out of sight, Marie turned to her Pokémon.

"Baru, from here on out, our Gym Challenge opponents will all specialize in specific types. This is a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with all those messy moves you've learned. Today we'll start with Flamethrower."

"Raa~! (Got it!)"

"Eon, you'll be sparring with Baru. Focus on improving your evasive maneuvers and counterattacks. I'll switch between you two and give commands."

"Ee~ (Okay!)"

"Ralts? (What about me?)"

"Hmm... As for you, Silk, keep meditating for now. With a little luck, you might evolve before the Gym Challenge."

"Ralts?! (Really?!)"

"Mm-hmm. You've been getting better with Confusion, and now you've even learned Psybeam. I went over your battle data, and you're definitely close to evolving. The only question is whether it'll happen before or after the challenge."

"Ralts-ralts! (Then I'll try even harder! Hehe!)"

"Yeah, give it your best."

Marie gave Silk a pat on the head and gently set her down.

Silk didn't waste time. Maybe the idea of evolving had motivated her she sat down beside Marie and went right into meditation.

"By the way, Baru, have you ever battled while affected by a status condition?"

"Raa? (What do you mean?)"

"Our opponent is a Grass-type specialist, so there's a good chance we'll be hit by powder moves. Since you're only allowed one held item for the Gym Battle, you may end up having to fight while paralyzed or poisoned."

"Raa... (Yeah, that could be a problem. I've only ever shaken off status effects with berries, or just run away.)"

"Right... We don't really have anyone on the team who can inflict you with a status effect for training. For now, let's keep practicing, and maybe we'll run into a passing Pokémon who can help us out."

Marie sighed, a bit frustrated. She had deliberately picked a sparsely populated area for training, so finding a wild Pokémon that could use powder or Thunder Wave wasn't going to be easy.

...

Their training continued smoothly and steadily. A few days passed in a flash.

Turf Town remained crowded as ever, and Marie and Yuri still had to share a room.

On the morning of Hop's Gym Challenge, Marie, as usual, was the first to wake up. After finishing her morning routine, she was just about to head out when the Applin on the table suddenly started to shake.

"Chii-!"

With a squeaky, meaningless cry, the apple began to crack thin lines splitting across its shell. A soft, warm light began to radiate from Applin's body, illuminating the entire room.

Before Marie even had time to react, Applin was already engulfed in the glow of evolution.

Startled, Marie rushed over in a few quick steps to the still-sleeping Yuri. She grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her awake.

"Yuri, Yuri! Wake up! It's evolving!"

The blanket slipped off Yuri, revealing her barely dressed figure. Groggy and disoriented, she squinted against the glow filling the room.

"Ahh what's with the light... Did you turn on the flash, Marie?"

Marie gave her a helpless look as the evolution light slowly faded, then said with complete calm:

"...It's your Applin. It evolved."

"Huh? Eh-ehhhh?!"

"Chii-chii! (Oh yeah! I can fly now!)"

By the time Yuri fully grasped what was happening, the newly evolved Flapple was already hovering in the air, its sleek red body giving off a sharp and confident aura.

"Wait, wait how did it happen so suddenly?!"

"Chii-chii~ (Look, Yuri! I finally evolved~)"

Still fluttering its wings, Flapple flew over to Yuri and, with a flick of its wings, folded itself back into its apple form and gently landed in her palm.

"...Congratulations. You worked hard."

Yuri stared, dumbfounded, at the gap in Flapple's wings as it proudly showed them off. She could clearly feel the joy radiating from her Pokémon.

The rest of the team gathered excitedly on the bed, surrounding Flapple and Yuri with cheerful noise.

"Ralts... (So lucky... I really want to evolve too...)"

Silk used Teleport to jump into Marie's arms, staring longingly at the clearly more stylish and attractive Flapple.

She nuzzled into Marie's chest like she was looking for comfort.

Marie stroked Silk's head, brushed aside her bangs, and smiled down at her.

"Don't rush. Your psychic powers have been getting stronger lately, and you've been making steady progress. You'll evolve soon too, I'm sure of it."

"Ralts... (I know... I'm just a little jealous...)"

"Wanna try a battle today?"

"Ralts? (...Why?)"

"To clear your head a bit. You've been meditating for days now must be feeling kind of stiff, right?"

"Ralts. (Not really, I'm fine.)"

"How about Eon keeps you company today? You've worked hard these past few days. Take it easy."

"Ralts?! (Really?!)"

Silk looked up at Marie with wide eyes. Her increasingly sharp mental awareness allowed her to sense Marie's emotions and even some of her thoughts.

And Marie's idea of a sparring session with Eon... was really just to let her play a little.

"Yeah. We're going to watch a friend's Gym Battle later, so I'm giving everyone the day off. No need to push yourselves too hard."

Marie hugged Silk close, looking fondly at the excited Pokémon around her. A faint smile rose on her face.