Part 63: I Definitely Wouldn't Call It Very Sticky
Update 64: I Definitely Wouldn't Call It Very Sticky
I haven’t seen you in AGES! 
I had a video call with you and Marnie two weeks ago. Semantics. But really, why are you here? If you were just here on holiday you would’ve let me know beforehand. Right.
Sonia’s been frantic about some odd spikes in Galar radiation in remote regions all over the place lately.… Is this the sort of thing we should be getting involved in? No. Well, not like THAT. It’s not like every Den from Groudon’s End to John o’ Gogoats is going off all at once, most of it is down along the southern coast. We did get a few off readings from this archipelago, though. So that’s why I’m here. 
But where’s the fun in mucking about in the mud? I was telling him he should stay here— at the dojo! I mean, it’d be loads easier than camping out for a long while, but wouldn’t I be in the way? Everybody’s welcome to wear out their welcome at the Master Dojo! Don’t be shy, my boy! Besides, we’re practically family already. You’re the little brother of our Leon, after all! I’ve never had mushrooms like they serve here anywhere else.
I hope you don’t regret it, because I’m staying!
… Punch bowl! Does he normally… You get used to it. Which reminds me, Gloria…
The truth is the lovable rascal is capable of Gigantamaxing, too. But it’s a bit tricky, because it really can’t stand the taste of Max Mushrooms. So Max Soup is off the menu, unless you can make it more appealing to it.
… Urshifu gobble up a bowl of Max Soup…
… and it has something to do with another Pokémon! Now I think I’ll let the two of you figure out just what it is. Give it a good think together! You’re on your own, kiddos! The world is your Cloyster, so get cracking! …Is this, uh, how your training usually goes? I’m pretty sure he’s just fucking with me. But I’m a better Trainer now than I was when I came here, so you tell me. Gotta admit, though, I wasn’t expecting to run into members of the Kubfu line here. It came up in one of my textbooks.
I swear, there was something about an unusual reaction to honey. But I don’t think honey-producing Pokémon are native to this area, so it’s probably something pretty similar that you can get elsewhere in the natural world.
I bet he was talking about something Pokémon naturally produce! If we’re looking for those kinds of Pokémon, then I’d reckon there might be lots in a forest. 
There’s one pretty close by actually, just past the marches north of here. Do you want me to take you there? Sounds right, mate. But really, I have to admit I wasn’t expecting to see you here. I just felt the need to go do something, you know? Spikemuth’s great and all, but I do need the occasional breather. I know we do good work, but it can get overwhelming. That reminds me, Marnie brought up, what was it, AEC? Right, Aberforth Energy Company, we named it after the Munethic name for the Spike. I never went into it with you before, it just got underway and I didn’t want to talk about anything before we had it pinned down. So, you know how Leon’s been breaking up MC and spinning off energy production divisions? Yeah? I’ve been working with Piers to set up our own energy company in Spikemuth. Basically, once a week I take Goch in and we kind of… Massage it, I guess, and produce a nice harvest of Galar particles. Then we send them off to plants around Muneth where they feed them into power lines or store them in batteries for good pay. See, since Piers and I don’t really need any more money than we’re already pulling in from our careers. We aren’t angling to make ourselves rich, so we aren’t cutting ourselves or management big cheques and we haven’t gone public either – we don’t need extra capital so we don’t need investors, and that means we don’t have shareholders breathing down our necks. We take most of the profits and donate them to local charities, anyway. Funny thing is, it turns out that we don’t just have basically a monopoly on the energy market in Muneth – local loyalty to a business that pays you well and sticks up for you, you know – but because we aren’t trying to drive up profits, we offer lower prices than lots of our competitors and that draw people in too……
… He wasn’t even Kantonian? Nope! Galarian born and bred. Chambers did study architecture over there, though, so I guess it could be worse. Anyway, he built both pagodas as gifts to one of the princesses at the time, but they were abandoned after the monarchy left. I’d heard somebody bought them up and restored them, but I was expecting some tarted-up borderline ruins rather than a functional dojo, you know? So THAT’S why you wanted to visit them, “princess-consort”. God, don’t remind me. I’m glad they renounced the throne and all, but you’d think they’d up and moved into Sawsbuckingham Palace based on how some of these people treat us. This one journo slipped up and actually called Marnie “Your Highness” in an interview a couple months back and she almost decked him. Then I pinned him in place with a lecture on autism until he tried to shut me up and talk to Marnie – and, blessing that she is, she picked up where I left off almost to the word. He gave up after a couple minutes. That was pretty funny. Meanwhile, I – oh look, we’re here.
(Pretend this screenshot is me approaching Hop from the front. What you’re supposed to do is head straight from the dojo to the nearest entrance to the forest, where Hop is waiting for you. What I ACTUALLY did was take the long route around because I was more familiar with it, get lost for a couple minutes, and finally stumble onto him from behind.)
So, this all looks like deciduous forest, which means, the best sources of Pokémon-edible glucose would probably be… Liligants and Applins. If I had to wager a guess, I bet that “special something” comes from one of them!
Like that one?
It’s still pretty little... Maybe it got separated from its parents?
You really must be lost if you think I’m your mum! And now I’m stuck. OK… 
The Forest of Focus is a god-awful maze full of dead ends and Berry trees. The only good thing about it is that I end up stumbling on several items and TMs just trying to get out. Fortunately…
We find the Pokémum in relatively short order. And we have to lead her all the way back, because what Pokémon really needs is escort missions.
Case in point: it’s only when I find my way back to Hop that I realize I have to babysit the Lilligant on the way back instead of counting on it following me
. So I have to go ALL THE WAY BACK, pick it up AGAIN, and inch my way back.
Hehe, looks like they’re both pretty happy to see each other. 
Oh, look – it’s extending its stamen for us. Let me see…
I don’t think this is what you need, mate, but at least we did a good deed anyway. I can’t believe you just ate something straight off a Pokémon. Just imitating my professors. Biologists are all nutters, mate. Anyway, we should probably hunt down an Applin next.Cue more aimless wandering…
It rolls away.
This is rotten... I don’t see that Applin anywhere! 
But I’m sure it went rolling off this way…
FUCK!It rolls away.
… What? 
Hop, no – Gotcha! 
I can’t believe you just did that! I dunno, maybe it’s just something they can only find back east… You know, if you’re done SAMPLING MY TAM O’ SHANTER, there IS a Combeehive on an island up north. I visited it while exploring the area. Maybe there’s a Vespiqueen we can get honey from there? I’m pretty sure they don’t do well in this climate. You’re still an undergraduate, what you know? More than you 
.…
Up in the northern part of the map, there’s an island that looks a little bit like honeycomb. It’s called Honeycalm Island. You can probably guess what Pokémon are common there.
Laugh it up. But really, where d’you think the nest is?
There, probably.
Huh? I borrowed a Power Spot Detector from Sonia, but why’s it going off now?
Uh, I can fairly say I wasn’t expecting this. Fortunately, even though we’re fighting a wild Dynamax Pokémon hiding in a natural object, the game treats it as a standard Dynamax battle. It goes down right quick.
As long as you don't TRY TO EAT IT first. Okay, look...Real proud of the Poképuns in this one
