Chapter Text
“Galar?” Red hummed as he read through the pamphlet that Arata had given him. “Never heard of it before.”
“It’s up north and not far from Kalos.” Arata explained. They were lounging in Red’s hideout while the other Elite Four members were resting in their respective rooms. The Millennium Tournament had ended a week ago and the cleanup had been draining on everyone. The Gym Leaders had returned to their respective towns and cities days earlier and resume their off-season activities. The Elite Four and Red on the other hand had to finish up on the post tournament paperwork and ensure that all the participants, guest and other league officials got off the mountain safely before relaxing.
The whole tournament was an emotionally draining ordeal for Red as he had to confront his past and eventually reveal himself as Ash to his former friends. But on the bright side he had his Unovian and Kalosian friends behind him when he did. The group promised to keep in touch before they left and made Red promise not to drop off the grid without letting them know again.
Red will miss his friends and felt bad briefly that he was glad that they were leaving Heiwa. His relationship with Serena became awkward when he turned down her confession. As much as he liked Serena, he can never see her as anything more than his closest friend. They promised to remain as friends though, so he supposed some time apart will help them get over the awkwardness.
And so, Arata decided that their Champion needed a vacation.
“They have a Pokemon League.” Red noted in surprise. “Why didn’t they participate in the Millennium Tournament?”
Arata averted his eyes at that. “The committee in charge of the tournament could not reach an agreement with Chairman Rose on certain facilities for the stadium.”
Red raised an eyebrow in question. Arata flipped the pamphlet to a certain page. “Dynamaxing. Pokemon in Galar are capable of Dynamaxing if they are over a spot call a Power Spot. Their Gyms and League are built over them…though if I remember correctly, one of the gyms is not. Chairman Rose wanted to build an artificial Power Spot on Mt. Harmony so that the Galar Contestants can Dynamax their Pokemon. But the committee shut the idea down.”
“I can see why.” Red muttered as he read through the info on Dynamaxing. “Galarian participants will have an unfair advantage for having Pokemon that can become massive and increased stats.”
“That and Chairman Rose refused to divulge information about his plans or have a viable budget for the artificial Power Spot. It would have presumably taken up more than 40% of the tournament’s budget. And you know how Miranda is when it comes to League spending.”
Red nodded in understanding. Heiwa had contributed a huge cut to the tournament budget on top of hosting the tournament. Despite the economic downturn following the Team Dawn era, one good thing that came out of it was that Professor Darcy found many cures for Pokemon diseases in the process of finding a cure for the Dark Serum. Through this, Avaris was able to turn Heiwa into one of the largest pharmaceutical distributors to other regions and boost the economy greatly. Between Avaris’ efforts and Miranda, the Chairwoman in charge of the Heiwa League, having a tight control on the Pokemon League budget, they could afford to host the tournament.
“And even if Chairman Rose did somehow have a viable plan and budget, Avaris would make Miranda say no. There is no telling how the artificial Power Spot would have affected the crystals of Mt. Harmony, Crystal City and all the Pokemon living in the area. So Chairman Rose pulled out the Galar League when he realized he wouldn’t be getting his way.”
Red scrunched up his nose in disgust. “He couldn’t accept that the Galarian participants had to battle normally so he threw a fit and withdrew them from the tournament? That’s selfish.”
“That’s how Chairman Rose is. It’s no wonder why a lot of people outside Galar dislike him.” Arata sighed and then lowered his voice. “Just between you and me, he treats the Pokemon League like it’s a form of entertainment and cash cow. Avaris and I suspect that he wanted to show off the Pokemon Dynamax to boost Galar’s reputation and possibly sell the artificial Power Spots to other regions. But luckily for us, Professor Magnolia of Galar was opposed to the idea too and the rest of the League Competition Committee were willing to listen to a professor over a businessman.”
“You don’t have the best impression of Chairman Rose.” Red noticed.
Arata sighed again and slumped down in his seat. “About six months after we defeated Team Dawn and I just became the Champion, Avaris invited me to join him on a diplomatic visit to Galar and I agreed. It was both the best and worst decision I ever made.”
“How so?”
Arata flicked his eyes around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping first before answering, “Before I explain, there is a reason why Avaris, Miranda and I make sure to minimize all interaction with the Galar League and keep the Gym Leaders and Elite Four away from Galar. Bear in mind that we were fresh off defeating Team Dawn and I was still very paranoid. But in every interaction I witnessed between Chairman Rose and Leon, the Galarian Champion, it strongly resembled the way Solaris used to treat mom before he revealed himself to be Team Dawn’s leader. He is a narcissist and sociopath who relishes his control over Leon and Galar. When we got back to Heiwa, Avaris asked me to write a report on our visit Galar. So I mentioned Rose’s behavior and made a strong recommendation to keep away from him and his dealings. It was enough to convince Avaris to not allow Rose to expand his business reach to Heiwa.”
Red felt bile rising up his throat. He heard about the way Solaris would manipulate Professor Darcy and the way he treated her in the past. Professor Darcy always hesitated to talk about it, but she made sure that he understood what a sociopath is and how to identify them. But Arata had witnessed this kind of behavior since young and became shrewder in his interactions with strangers. So Red felt comfortable in trusting his friend’s judgement in the matter.
“Wait, if Chairman Rose is that bad, why are you suggesting that I go to Galar?”
“Leon and the Gym Leaders aren’t so bad when you get to know them. I even keep in touch with some of them. It’s only unfortunate they have a bad boss.” Arata shrugged.
“Galar is also a good exploration location and have unique Pokemon that is native to that region. They have places call Wild Areas where you can find rare and powerful Pokemon. You’ll have fun exploring those areas, and I wouldn’t be surprise if you have new additions to your roster when you get back. And you can challenge the gyms in unofficial matches for fun since you technically can’t participate in the Gym Challenge and it’s off season for them too. Leon won’t turn down the opportunity to battle you either if you ask but make it clear that you refuse to turn it into a public exhibition match. I’ll call him and give him a heads up if you do decide to go. And as long as you stay incognito, you won’t pop up on Rose’s radar. If you do, turn down everything that he offers, including publicized matches. He always turns them into propaganda for Galar’s Pokemon League. Make it clear that you are on leave.”
He tilted his head in thought then grinned. “I think that covers all of it. But if you do find yourself in a sticky situation with Rose, just call me or talk to Leon.”
“Ok.” Red nodded, becoming more convinced to visit the new region. “How good is Leon by the way?”
“Very good. He and I became our regions’ Champion around the same time but he managed to remain in that position for so long.” Which was impressive if Red thought about it. League Champions usually can retain their titles for an average 5 years and sometimes longer if they are careful, baring exceptions like Hoenn. Steven and Wallace have a weird rivalry for the position that the title changed hands between them so many times and many people gave up on keeping track on who is the Champion at the moment. For Leon to retain his title for 8 years is impressive.
“We didn’t get a chance to battle since most of my Pokemon were still recovering from fighting Solaris and battling everyone to become the Champion but I saw his exhibition match with another Gym Leader, Raihan. And that was also the first time I witness Dynamax. If you thought Mega Evolution was impressive, you’ll be blown away by Dynamax.” Arata continued. “And if you ask Professor Magnolia politely, she might give you a Dynamax band for you to Dynamax your pokemon.”
“Hm.” Red was now convinced to go on a vacation at Galar. But still, “Are you sure it’s a good time for me to go on vacation away from Heiwa? We just finished the Millennium Tournament and probably have a lot of things to do…”
“Not as much as you think. We finished most of our duties before the tournament and within this week, so we can handle it. And we are planning on rotating vacation days so there’ll at least be someone in the office each week. I’ll be going to Kalos with Reika, Maddie and mom next week. I think Daimen is planning on Sinnoh the week after that.”
That was enough for him. “Alright, I’ll go to Galar.”
Arata beamed at that. “Great. I’ll call Leon and make the arrangements for the trip there.”
Two days later, Red found himself and Pikachu on a plane to Wyndon. Taking Arata’s advice, he only brought Pikachu to make room for new pokemon. Muraku had volunteered to watch over his Pokemon and send them over if needed. For the vacation, he had gotten a new outfit. He was wearing a gray unzipped hoodie with a black shirt underneath. He also got charcoal black waterproof pants and matching shoes and waterproof bag. To top it all off, he had a new red cap with orange, blue, black, and white stripes across, each representing one member of the Elite Four.
“Isn’t this exciting Pikachu? It’s been too long since we traveled in a new region.” Red grinned at his trusty companion.
“Pikachu. Pika Pika.”
“Yeah, I wish that Anabel could join us too. But she’s busy with the move to Heiwa.” Red sighed. The lilac haired Frontier Brain had volunteered to move to Heiwa and set up the Heiwa branch of the Battle Frontier after the Millennium Tournament, which meant that she couldn’t join him in Galar. But they promised to call each other when they can.
He pulled up the Galar map on his WristCom with Pikachu looking over his shoulder. “According to the map and what Arata said, we can take the train all the way to Wedgehurst and drop by the Pokemon Research Center to get a Galarian Pokedex. Then we can go to the Wild Area.”
“Pika.” Pikachu nodded in agreement with the plan.
Shutting down his WristCom, he exchanged grins with his partner and fist pumped. “Our vacation starts now! Galar! Here we come!”
“Pikachu!”