"Ash, Alice," we hear my Mom calling, and without hesitation, we both head over to her.

"What's going on, Mom?" I inquire.

"Considering that you've become the Champion and saved the entire Galar Region, don't you think it's time for a well-deserved break?" Mom suggests.

"We could have, but what are you getting at, Ms. Ketchum?" Alice questions.

"You see, I want you to check out the Isle of Armor. I've reached out to a special friend of mine, and I believe it would be a valuable experience for both of you to train with him," Mom explains.

We exchange glances, and I respond, "If that's the case, then we're definitely up for it."

"Great," my mom says with a smile. "To reach the Isle of Armor, you'll need a special pass, and I happen to have two of them."

We receive the Armor Pass and stow it in our bag. I then turn to Alice and ask, "So, Alice, are you ready for a new adventure?"

"Absolutely, Ash," Alice replies with a sweet voice.

After bidding farewell to my mom, we make our way to Wedgehurst Station and spot two individuals engaged in conversation with a staff member.

"The train to the Isle of Armor has arrived. Those with the Armor Pass, please board the train," the announcement rings out, prompting the staff member to inquire, "Do you have the Armor Pass?"

"Hee hee! Of course, I totally have one!" the girl in the purple and green costume replies with a mischievous grin.

"Naturally. I have made all the proper preparations, which you can observe with unclouded eyes," the boy, surrounded by floating Pokeballs, responds with an air of confidence.

"Please allow me to check your passes," the staff member requests, and they promptly display their Armor Passes.

Unbeknownst to them, a Slowpoke approaches the train's gate. The girl exclaims, "Oh, a Slowpoke!"

"Hmph. To meet a Slowpoke... Such a thing is simply elegant,"the boy remarks with an air of sophistication.

"Uh-oh, it seems another one has hopped on the train and made its way from the Isle of Armor," the staff member sighs.

I chime in, "I've never seen a Slowpoke like this before..."

"Me neither...but it must be a Galarian form," Alice speculates.

The staff member quickly recognizes us as Pokémon Trainers and requests, "You're Pokémon Trainers, right? If Slowpoke blocks the ticket gate, it will cause trouble for other customers. Slowpoke are actually pretty heavy...So, do you think you could catch it for me?"

"Sure," I reply, summoning Pikachu to the task. With a Thunderbolt attack, Pikachu successfully paralyzes the Slowpoke, and I seize the opportunity to toss a Pokéball and capture it.

Slowpoke (Galarian Form): The Dopey Pokemon: Psychic Type. Although this Pokémon is normally zoned out, its expression abruptly sharpens on occasion. The cause for this seems to lie in Slowpoke's diet.

"Wow! Amazing! The way you caught that Slowpoke was the absolute coolest," the girl exclaims with excitement.

"Indeed. How interesting... I must say, your catching style was quite simply elegant," the boy adds, his admiration evident.

"Um...thank you," I respond with a slight sweatdrop, feeling a bit flustered by their praise.

"We apologize for the wait. We have checked your Armor Pass," the staff member announces. "All aboard the train to the Isle of Armor. Mind your step when boarding. Please be aware that there will be a connection along the way."

"Okay,/Understood," the girl and the boy respond in unison.

The girl then adds, "We're heading to a place called the Isle of Armor."

The boy continues, "It's a place where one can catch rare Pokémon and do lots of training. Perhaps we shall meet again sometime.

"Let's hang if we meet up again, 'K? Bye-bye, then! See ya!" the girl says as they both proceed to board the train. Alice and I exchange curious glances, finding the two of them rather peculiar as we present our passes to the staff.

As we settle into our seats on the train, Alice ponders aloud, "I wonder what's up with those two people..."

"Well, if I recall correctly, the clothing they wore resembled the Gym Uniforms for the Poison Type and Psychic Type. So they must be the trainers for those types," I offer as an explanation.

"I wonder... Dr. Gabe and Luna mentioned something about a troublesome trainer..." Alice muses. We both decide to put that conversation aside for now and instead divert our attention to the brochures detailing the attractions of the Isle of Armor.

Once we arrive at the Isle of Armor, I remark, "Finally, we're here at the Isle of Armor..."

"Yeah, it was quite a long ride," Alice adds.

Just then, we encounter the two trainers once again, and the girl says, "Aha, there you are, right on time too!"

"Quite commendable punctuality. Hm?" the boy adds, his statement raising some unease.

"Right on time?" Alice questions, her curiosity piqued.

"Hmmm...Hey, have we met before or something?" the girl asks, her curiosity evident.

"I've got the strangest feeling we've met before... But I can't recall. And here I thought Amnesia was Slowpoke's move. My name is Avery. I'm a senior member of the dojo you are to join," Avery introduces herself.

"And I'm Klara! We've been at the dojo for a while, so they sent us to help out the newbies!" Klara chimes in.

"Newbies? Us?" I glance at Alice, who shrugs, equally surprised by this unexpected revelation.

"You're here to join the Master Dojo, are you not? We also train there," Avery confirms.

Suddenly, the two of them do an unexpected about-face, and their expressions change dramatically.

"What's going on? Am I being mocked...by a kid?! But I'm the colorful, caring, and charismatic Klara!" Klara exclaims.

"My goodness, this is a thick one. Like a poor, lost Wooloo... It's up to me - as an elegant adult - to make sure they get the message," Avery declares with a hint of exasperation.

With a growing sense of unease, the two of them turn around, and Klara suggests, "Well then... How about we have a quick battle? Just so, y'know, we can see who's better?"

"Indeed. Perhaps a show of strength is the best way to get to know each other," Avery adds.

I agree, saying, "Sure, we can battle you two, right Alice?"

"You bet," Alice responds with determination.

"Then we'll be waiting outside, so come on out when you're ready!" Klara and Avery depart from the station, their mutterings about showing who the better trainer is lingering in the air, heightening our sense of anticipation and unease.

Alice and I exchange a concerned glance, and I express my unease, saying, "Okay, I really don't like the way they're acting."

"Yeah, but if your Mom is the one that asked us to join the dojo, then we should go along with it," Alice reasons as we exit the station. Klara and Avery are already waiting for us, and Klara begins by saying, "Hee hee! I bet this is your first time on the Isle of Armor. I bet you can't wait to start exploring."

"But first, let's make sure you can handle yourselves. Naturally, as a member of the Master Dojo... I'll be using my Psychic powers to test your strength," Avery explains.

"So you're a Psychic, that's cool," I respond.

"Why thank you, but don't overexert yourselves when we battle. Klara, you fight the girl, and I'll face him," Avery instructs.

"Sure," Klara agrees, "Go easy on me, okay?"

"Okay," Alice reluctantly agrees, her concern growing as we prepare for the upcoming battle.

They send out Abra and Venipede, Pokémon not typically found on the main Galar Island. I send out Galarian Rapidash, while Alice chooses Galarian Darmanitan for the battle. Rapidash starts with a Megahorn attack, trying to damage Abra, but it keeps teleporting, frustrating Rapidash until it tires out. Venipede manages to land a Poison Sting on Darmanitan, and Darmanitan misses its Ice Hammer attack. It's a bit of a struggle, but in the end, we defeat Abra and Venipede.

"Wh-when did I get beaten down to my last Pokémon?! Did you use Hypnosis on me?" Avery exclaims.

"How am I the one getting backed into a corner? This should NOT be a thing!" Klara complains.

They send out Slowpoke as their final Pokémon, and we're surprised by their speed, but ultimately, they can't match our strength, and we defeat them.

"Such strength! I'm in Psyshock!" Avery exclaims.

"Oh, my next Pokémon's gonna make short work- Huh? That was my last one?" Klara realizes.

We smile, victorious after the battle. I remark, "Looks like we're getting stronger, right?"

"Yeah," Alice smiles back, pleased with our progress.

Avery and Klara are clearly in shock as Avery stammers, "Ah, um... Could...could you give us a moment?"

They turn away, and Klara expresses her concerns, saying, "Not good... Not good at all, man... How'd this kid get so strong?!"

"Improbable... No, impossible! What kind of trick did this kid use? If a trainer of this talent arrives at the Dojo, then the people there very well may suffer amnesia about our very existence!"

Klara suggests, "We could just tell them to buzz off... No, they asked us to bring in the new students!"

It's clear that they are struggling to come to terms with their defeat and the unexpected strength of our team. The two of them turn around to face us once more, and Avery acknowledges, "You have potential. Why, you made me use a whole three percent of my strength! Still... How should I put this... Our dojo is a respected place, where even the famous Champion Leon trained."

"That's amazing. I'd love to see the place where Leon trained," I respond.

"Me too," Alice agrees.

"No offense, but maybe, just maybe, you're not quite good enough to make it? Sooo... how about this? Why not enjoy the sights, but just stay away from the Master Dojo over there, 'K?" Klara suggests.

We're taken aback, and I start to protest, saying, "But..."

Avery intervenes, "I suppose you can have this, too, as a parting gift." Avery gives us each a Style Card.

"Show it when you next visit a boutique or hair salon, and I'm sure you'll be able to find a more elegant look, like mine. Now then... Farewell! I doubt I'll see you again. Avery, Teleport!" Avery leaves suddenly using the move Teleport.

After Avery's departure, Klara adds, "I guess that's that! See you never! Hee hee hee!" Klara exits as well.

Puzzled, I ask, "What's going on here?"

Alice offers an explanation, "I think the two might just be jealous of what we're capable of, but let's ignore them and head to the Master Dojo."

I nod in agreement, and we proceed toward the Master Dojo, putting the odd encounter behind us.

While strolling on the Fields of Honor, we notice a multitude of Slowpoke lounging on the beach. I comment, "So that must be how the Slowpoke come to the Wedgehurst Station; they aren't that far away from the station."

"Yeah," Alice agrees, "I think I want to catch one myself as well. Maybe we should have a Galarian Slowbro and a Galarian Slowking."

"That would be nice, but the problem is that we might not know how to evolve them," I point out. However, Alice takes out her Orbeetle, which uses Bug Buzz to defeat one of the Slowpoke, capturing it in a Pokéball.

"Well, guess that I also caught one," Alice says with a grin.

I notice some twigs on the ground and ask, "Alice, do you know what those are?"

Alice examines the tree and the twigs, then searches through the Rotom Phone. She eventually says, "Those are Galarica Twigs. It is said that if you have 8 of them, you can make a Galarica Cuff, and if you have 15 of them, you will have the Galarica Wreath. Both of them are key items to evolve Slowpoke."

"There are a lot of them, if you ask me. I guess we should try to make them so that we can evolve the Slowpoke as soon as possible," I suggest.

After collecting the necessary items, we follow the instructions on the Rotom Phone. However, when we give each of the Slowpoke the item, nothing happens. We exchange puzzled looks, wondering why the evolution process didn't trigger as expected.

"Why didn't they evolve? Did we do something wrong?" Alice asks with concern.

"I don't think so..." I begin, but before I can finish my thought, two Shellder suddenly appear and bite onto the Galarica Twigs, causing two Pokemon to glow. I quickly realize, "That makes sense; they still need the Shellder."

After the glow fades, we see that the Galarian Slowking and Slowbro have undergone a significant transformation compared to their original forms. Excitedly, we scan them with our Rotom Phones and discover that both of them are now Poison Types. Slowbro has also learned the move Shell Side Arm, while Slowking has acquired the move Eerie Spell.

Slowbro (Galarian Form): The Hermit Crab Pokemon: Poison and Psychic Type. Evolve from Galarian Slowpoke with Galarica Cuff. A Shellder bite set off a chemical reaction with the spices inside Slowbro's body, causing Slowbro to become a Poison-type Pokémon.

Slowking (Galarian Form): The Hexpert Pokemon: Poison and Psychic Type. Evolve from Galarian Slowpoke with Galarica Wreath. A combination of toxins and the shock of evolving has increased Shellder's intelligence to the point that Shellder now controls Slowking.

"Now that we know what they evolve into, how about we continue to explore?" I suggest, and Alice eagerly nods in agreement. We're ready to embark on the next stage of our adventure with our newly evolved Pokémon.

As we approach the Master Dojo, we make our way across a bridge. Suddenly, a Diglett pops up from the ground, startling Alice, who stumbles back.

"Alice, are you okay?" I ask with concern.

Alice reassures me, "I'm fine...but what is that Diglett..."

I'm also puzzled and remark, "Hey...this is an Alolan Diglett, what is it doing here?"

Just then, a man rushes over to us and exclaims, "Oh, Diglett! You're here!"

The Diglett seems to respond to the trainer, and the trainer chuckles, saying, "Hahaha! You little rascal! I was worried about you!" He then turns to us and adds, "Thanks for helping me find my Diglett."

"So were you the one that brought it from the Alola Region?" Alice asks, and the man is surprised, "Oh! I didn't expect to meet someone who knows about it. That's right! This is a Diglett from the Alola Region. When I traveled in Alola, I fell in love with these adorable three hairs."

"Then you must be a fan of DJ Leo as well, right?" I ask, also surprised that people in Galar are familiar with the band. I add, "Well, I have traveled there, and I was the first Alola Champion."

"No wonder you look so familiar," the man laughs. "Anyway, you found a Diglett buried in the ground; you definitely have a talent for finding Diglett! If it's okay? Will you find all the other Diglett, too?"

Alice and I exchange glances and then decide to help out. "Oh, what kind people you are! Words can't express how grateful I am. You see, please help me find 150 more Diglett."

"150? That's quite a lot," Alice remarks, realizing the scale of the task ahead.

"I know, but I have the locations of where I dropped the Diglett; just interact with them, and I'm sure they will come back," the man reassures us.

With a sigh, we accept the challenge and head out to the Fields of Honor. After much searching and interaction with the Diglett, we manage to find all 18 of them. We return to the trainer with the rewards, and he generously offers us Alolan Persian, Kantonian Slowbro, and Johtonian Slowking as a token of his gratitude.

"Wow, those sure are some great rewards," Alice exclaims.

"You're right," I agree, appreciating the unique Pokémon we've received. We accept them and have them transported back to the castle to give our friends or family because we don't actually need them.

After our trek, we finally arrive at the Master Dojo, where we see Klara and Avery engaged in a conversation with a woman standing in front of the door.

"Oh, fiddlesticks...So our new students decided to go back home?" the woman asks with a disappointed tone. "It is kind of shame since the new students were requested by the other Champions..."

"Seems that way, yep!" Klara says, affecting a fake sad tone.

"I'll have you know, our offer to escort them was perfect. But they rather abruptly absconded after our battle..." Avery adds, mimicking Klara's tone.

It's clear that the two of them are trying to spin the situation to their advantage, and we watch the exchange with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

"And I'd been hoping we'd get to welcome new members to our little family here, too..." The woman turns around and notices Alice and me approaching the dojo. "Well, hello? And who are you, love?"

I introduce ourselves, saying, "My name is Ash, and this is my buddy Pikachu," as Pikachu greets the woman. Alice adds, "I am Alice. It's nice to meet you."

Klara and Avery, seeing us, react with shock and horror. "Huh? Agh!" "Hmm? Gah!"

The woman, seemingly unperturbed by their reactions, continues, "Of course, you must be the new students who are supposed to join the dojo today! The newly crowned King and Queen, I've heard a lot from Aurora herself."

"You know my mother? Then it would be great," I say with a smile, pleased by the mention of my mother.

Alice turns to Klara and Avery, questioning them, "But why do you think we rather abruptly left?"

"They must've changed his mind about joining the dojo!" Klara quickly offers an explanation.

"Indeed, I thought you had used Teleport or something, you disappeared so quickly! Regardless! It gives me great joy to know that you decided to come after all!" Avery adds, trying to cover for their previous statements.

Both Alice and I remain suspicious of Klara and Avery's behavior, but we're willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Honey, the woman in charge of the dojo, intervenes, saying, "Oh, everything's just coming up roses! Now, I'm quite sure they already told me your name. Ash and Alice, my name is Honey. I help keep this place running. You can consider me the lady of the house. Not that the Master Dojo is just any old house!"

As Honey, Alice, and I continue talking, Klara and Avery mutter to themselves off to the side:

"Aaaagh! Why?! How?! What do they think they're doing, just showing up like that?! This ain't good... Ms. Honey will know I lied!"

"Bagh! Why? For what purpose are they here?! My Future Sight must be off! I must think... Before Ms. Honey figures out I told an innocent little lie..."

We can't help but notice their unusual behavior, but we don't comment on it.

Honey explains, "Seems you've already met our Klara and Avery. Those two are bid of an odd Duckletts, but they are one of our own."

"I can tell about that," I reply, recalling our earlier interactions with them.

"They're training hard here at the dojo so that they can become Gym Leaders someday," Honey adds.

"That is a nice dream," Alice says, acknowledging their aspirations.

"I can trust the four of you to get along, right?" Honey asks.

The four of us exchange glances, and Klara says, "Hee hee, I'm sure we'll be best friends!"

Avery adds, "Heh, it's an honor to make your acquaintance."

Honey, seemingly satisfied, looks at the time and says, "Oh dear, but look at me! Here I am making you stand around outside after you've come all this way! Come in, come in! Don't mind the faint stench of sweat!"

Alice and I nod as we watch Honey leave, leaving us alone with Klara and Avery. The two approach us, and Klara says with a menacing tone, "Listen, you... If you dare tell Ms. Honey about what happened at the station... I'll melt you down to size! You understand?!"

Avery echoes the threat, saying, "Like what she said, if you dare breathe a word of what happened at the station to Ms. Honey... Well, let's just say my psychic powers are very potent. Do I make myself clear?"

While we aren't particularly fazed by their threats, we understand that it's best to keep things civil if we want to get along and become stronger trainers. So, we can only nod in response.

Klara and Avery then head into the dojo ahead of us. Alice comments, "Those threats aren't going to intimidate us."

"But they won't accomplish much if they continue acting like that," I add. However, just as we discuss this, we feel like something is watching us. We both look up and catch sight of two shadows leaving the roof, though we don't get a clear view of what's up there.

Now we're finally beginning with the Isle of Armor Arc. I hope you like this chapter and the next chapter will be meeting Mustard.

Ash and Alice's Pokemon:

Venusaur, Charizard x2, Blastoise, Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Meowth, Machamp, Rapidash (Galarian), Slowbro (Galarian), Gengar, Kingler, Weezing (Galarian), Lapras, Eevee, Snorlax, Meganium, Typhlosion (Hisuian), Espeon, Slowking (Galarian), Mantine, Sceptile, Gardevoir (Shiny), Milotic, Absol, Infernape, Lucario, Abomasnow, Gallade, Samurott, Audino, Darmanitan (Galarian), Garbodor, Zoroark, Stunfisk (Galarian), Greninja, Meowstic x2, Aegislash, Hawlucha, Decidueye, Lycanroc (Dusk), Mimikyu (Shiny), Melmetal, Rillaboom, Cinderace, Inteleon, Greedent, Corviknight, Orbeetle, Thievul, Eldegoss, Dubwool, Drednaw, Boltund, Coalossal (Shiny), Flapple, Appletun, Sandaconda, Cramorant, Barraskewda, Toxtricity x2 (Amped, Low-Key), Centiskorch, Grapploct, Polteageist (Antique), Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Obstagoon, Perrserker, Cursola, Sirfetch'd, Mr. Rime, Runerigus, Alcremie x9 (Each Flavor), Falinks, Pincurchin, Frosmoth, Stonjourner, Eiscue, Indeedee x2, Morpeko, Copperajah, Dracozolt, Arctozolt, Dracovish, Arctovish, Duraludon, Dragapult, Zacian, Eternatus, Kleavor