Previously on Galarian Days...
After Zander collects his 8th and final badge, Sophia accompanies him to the Wild Area in lieu of sharing employee discount coffee, where he defeats not one, not two, not even three, but four Dynamiasmas! They end up having the coffee after all, while Elle and Turner re-discuss their agenda...
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Back in the Wild Area, Zander resumed his default plan of battling Pokemon, strengthening his own and collecting items to sell for cash. Since he was now eligible to participate in the Champion Cup, he wanted to make sure his team was as strong as he could make it, but something kept him agitated during his training: his mission to stop the opposite crisis was still in force, and he was no closer to accomplishing it than when he first began.
"Of all the things to pile on," Zander growled to himself. "Increasing waves of Dynamiasma attacks, the Wild Area picked clean of Galar particles, and the side-quest of coming back to Wyndon Stadium for the Apricorn Rangers has to coincide with my mission! And I still have no idea who the man in black and the woman in white that are causing this mess are..."
Meanwhile, Sophia was hanging back, gathering berries to make some curry for lunch, (and she never did shake the trees hard enough to cause any Pokemon to attack her) singing a little ditty to herself, "I like curry, it has yummies, we will put some in our tummies..." Eventually, late afternoon was about to slip into evening, so, figuring she had enough berries, she called out, "Zander! Time to eat!"
Zander was snapped out of his thoughts and regrouped with Sophia, and the two friends set up camp temporarily to prepare their meal. Remembering the food tins he got at the restaurants, Zander asked, "Sophia, is it okay if I try a little experiment with these?"
"What did you have in mind?" Sophia asked curiously.
"Remember that conversation we had about exact polar opposites coming together?" Zander explained as he opened the tins. "Well, I think we can afford to go a little crazy today. You have a plastic container?"
"Just one," Sophia said as she pulled it out of her satchel, then prepared to get the pot ready for the curry.
"Great. Toss the berries in there, and I'll prepare the experiment."
As Zander opened both tins, Sophia let the berries she gathered drop into the pot. Zander then poured in half of Bach's tin, and half of Bob's. Both of them then fanned the flames to heat the pot, then stirred alternately to smoothen the curry. After they added some heart, the curry was done. The smell of the curry wafted into the air as Zander's Pokemon were eager to start eating. Sophia then set out the plates of the new curry, rich and juicy with a balanced flavor.
Zander and Sophia then raised their spoons and took a bite... and their eyes lit up at the taste! It was so good that they polished off the rest of their plates in 30 seconds flat. Even the Pokemon devoured their servings!
"Yum, yum, and yum some more!" Zander said as he licked his plate clean. "I'd say this experiment was a success!"
"I'll say!" Sophia agreed. "What should we call this delicious concoction?"
Zander put his plate down and said, "Well, since it was made from stuff from a seafood restaurant and stuff from a steak restaurant... how about, Surf 'n Turf Curry?"
"Surf 'n Turf Curry it is!" Sophia said as she handed Zander the plastic container. He then poured the rest of the tins' contents inside, and called it Mixed Leftovers.
After cleaning everything up, Zander told Sophia, "Looks like it's time we made our way to Wyndon. Anything I should be on the lookout for, since you work there?"
"Just that it's a big city, with a big hotel to sleep in and a big stadium for battles. Oh, and it also has this really tall tower covered in thorns called the Rose Tower. It used to be called the Battle Tower at one point, but then it got changed back when it was repurchased by Macro Cosmos."
"Interesting. Oh, and could we get there from the Wild Area Station? I want to look back on some memories along the way."
"Sure, I don't mind."
The two friends then made their way to the station, and once they were on the train, Sophia pulled up some casual game app for her to play on her phone, while Zander was left alone with his thoughts...
(Flashback)
A still-gray Zander had just picked himself up and brushed himself off after being thrown at the station, and he said to himself, "Ouch... maybe no one has broken an egg before, and I'm the first. Eh, it's probably for the best. If they're too concerned about putting a baby Poke of a different color on the planet, let the giants weed 'em out."
After getting his bearings back, he entered the station and got on the train to Wedgehurst Station, where he could rest on the ride there. Once the train reached the station, he felt like he could continue to look for the Pokemon that could help, if not for one thing...
The sky had long since cleared up.
"Aw, man!" Zander said as he folded his ears back in disappointment. "So much for that... Well, maybe I can still go back to Wyndon and catch the rest of the battle there."
"Perhaps I can save you the trouble," a male voice said. "I lost."
Zander turned around towards the direction of the voice... and he was face-to-face with the ex-Champion, Leon!
"So many conflicting emotions!" Zander said as his mind was a tangle of feelings.
"Leon's here!"
"Aw, he lost."
"All that work over nothing!?"
"I think I might've fractured more than that egg in that toss."
"Are you feeling okay?" Leon asked, a little concerned.
"Yeah, just... give me a few seconds to process this."
Both of them waited for ten seconds, then Zander said, "Okay, I'm good. First, yay! I get to meet one of the best Trainers in all of Galar! Second, sorry to hear about your loss. Third, I can't believe I came all this way for my efforts to be in vain! And finally, I think I need to sit down."
Leon led Zander to a bench and sat next to him. Deciding to strike up a conversation, the wolf asked, "So, what brings a powerful, famous Trainer like yourself all the way to Wedgehurst?"
"I was actually coming from home in Postwick, where my family and I had an amazing barbecue to celebrate my retirement as Galar's Champion," Leon explained. "But enough about me, how about you?"
"I was actually attempting to help with doing something about the Darkest Day," Zander said, "but now I'm too late, since it already seems to be handled."
"Oh? What were you going to do?"
"Well, while I was running away from the Darkest Day back at Wyndon Stadium- thanks for nothing, Rose- I thought to myself, 'The Darkest Day happened before thousands of years ago, didn't it? And it was dealt with before, right? So, maybe I should get those who stopped the Darkest Day before, and just ask them to stop it again!' But I ran into a lot of complications along the way: evading giant Pokemon, climbing up and down a mountain range, running out of energy and passing out in the Wild Area, waking up in front of a nursery, trying to warn people at said nursery, getting tossed all the way to the station, and now... here I am."
"Sounds like you had a full and busy day."
"I did, but apparently it was all an exercise in futility..." Zander said as he lowered his head and whimpered a little.
Leon stroked Zander's back and said, "Hey, you tried your hardest, and that's all that matters. That's what'll get you far here in the Galar region. It's why the Gym Challenge is held every year, and it's what pushes Trainers to be their best. But it's not just for Trainers; whatever you try to accomplish takes effort, and plenty of it. And you certainly have it."
Zander looked up at Leon, and perked back up and smiled as he said, "You're right, Leon. So what if I'm too late to help stop the Darkest Day? I've already come so far, and I only have a little more to go!" He then stood proudly and added, "So I'm not stopping now until I reach the end of the line! Thanks for the encouragement, Leon!"
"No problem!" Leon said, and Zander continued on his way, having recovered from his toss (which only caused a mild sprain), but Leon called out, "Wait! What was your name!?"
"It's Zander!"
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(End of flashback)
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And that encouragement helped me become the Wolfen Knight of Galar I am to this day, Zander thought just before the train stopped.
Sophia took notice of the lack of movement and said, "We're here, Zander. Still looking back on those memories?"
"No, I was just wrapping up," Zander said, and the two friends disembarked the train to Wyndon Station.
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