A New Challenge!

See ya later, Poppy!

Mmmuuuggghhh... I couldn't beat you today...

Oh hey, Raihan. Were you battling Poppy?

Yep! Got my revenge from some time ago!

Impressive. Your talent is clearly comparable to the Elite Four's. You may even be as strong as a Champion.

Even we can't let our guard down when battling Poppy.

Um, um!

There's actually another kind of battle I wanna have with you!

Oh? What is it? Just so you know, Double Battles are the great Raihan's expertise!

No, the battle I want is...

a friend-making battle!

A friend-making battle?

My New Year's resolution is to make more friends!

So I wanna see which of us can make the most!

Huh, I see.

I'm game, but you know I won't go easy on you, right?

Yeah! Bring it on!

It'll be our very own serious battle!

All kinds of people are here!

But...

I guess we can't just randomly make friends with people.

Hi there! You look super cute! Mind if I ask you something?

Hm? What's up?

Oh, I wasn't talking to you.

Wait...you weren't?

Guess you wanted something from Poppy?

Um...who are you?

Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I'm Blossom.

I'm an apprentice of Valerie's. She's a Gym Leader from Kalos.

Valerie, huh. She's a famous fashion designer, right?

Indeed! I'm also studying fashion design.

And a thought came to mind when I saw you, because you're as cute as a doll!

Would you mind trying on an outfit I made?

Wooow! A new outfit?!

Of course! I'd love to get all dressed up!

Really?! Thank you!

How exciting, Poppy!

U-um...

I wanna ask you something, too.

What is it?

Can we be friends?

Sure, I'd love to!

New friends, huh.

I usually have no trouble chatting with people, but...

Come to think of it, what does it really mean to be friends with someone?

I might feel lost, but I still look good. Maybe I should snap a quick selfie.

Hey, you! Got a minute?

Who are you?

I'm Adaman, leader of the Diamond Clan!

I don't want to waste my time, so I'll just cut to the chase!

Why do people take so many pictures of themselves?

Everyone on Pasio seems to. It's not like your face looks any different, so what's the point?

Hmm. That might be true, but only to an extent.

When you experience something, your expression in the moment can't be replicated!

I see. I guess as time passes, your emotions and memories start to fade, huh.

I get it now! Thanks!

I have a feeling we'd get along. What's your name?

I'm Raihan, a Gym Leader from Galar!

And I just remembered! You're that guy from Sinnoh from a long time ago.

Ah! Saves me time explaining things! I knew we'd get along. So...

And so I got to learn some ninja tricks, and a few new recipes, too.

Wow! You've done a lot of cool stuff!

Hmm, I'd love to hear more of his stories.

And I wanna battle someone from Hisui.

Hey, Adaman! I wanna ask you something!

Wanna be my friend?

Sure, of course!

It's been great hanging out with you!

All right! How about a battle, then?

Sure!

By the way, I've never seen that Pokémon in Hisui.

This is Sandaconda! He's great at creating sandstorms and stirring up battles.

With Sandaconda's sandstorm, you could definitely hide like a ninja!

Oh yeah! Before we battle, do you want to stop by the souvenir shop?

They've an outfit that'd suit you and Sandaconda perfectly!

Whoaaa! She looks tougher than steel!

Umm... Hi, miss! Wanna be my friend?

Huh? Y-your friend?

Poppy, you confused her by asking out of nowhere like that.

You should tell her about your friend-making battle.

Oh, you're right! Sorry, Rika!

Rika? Are you that person Whitney was talking about?

Oh, you know Whitney?

Yes, she's my friend!

I'm also a Gym Leader from Johto. My name's Jasmine.

I'm a Steel-type user and...

Yaaay! Same as me!

*chuckle* Steel-type Pokémon are great, aren't they?

So, um...about being your friend...

I'd love to!

That outfit caught my eye a while back.

And when I saw you and Sandaconda, I knew it'd be perfect for you!

Yeah, I love it!

I like the ninja-like design. It matches Sandaconda!

Sandaconda! Let's give Adaman and Leafeon a taste of our teamwork!

We won't lose, either! Let's do to this, Leafeon!

Let the winds blow! Stream forward, Sandstorm!

Yaaay! I have a new outfit!

Thanks, Blossom!

You're welcome. I'm glad I got to create some quality work, too.

You really do look as cute as a doll in that outfit, Poppy!

Heheheh! I'm more than just cute, you know!

Um, Poppy.

As a sign of our friendship, there's a Pokémon I'd like to entrust you with.

I'm sure you'd take great care of her!

Taking on a powerhouse opponent is great, but there's something special about battling a friend!

I hope we can battle more and...

Wait, what am I doing?!

H-huh? What's wrong?

So...I've been competing with someone to see who can make the most friends.

But I was having so much fun chatting and battling, I totally forgot!

So basically, you haven't made any friends other than me.

Want me to introduce you to some people?

Thanks, but I can't accept that.

This is a serious battle. I don't wanna cheat.

Besides...

You shouldn't force new friendships. That's something I've learned from all this.

I might've lost...but I'm gonna be honest about what happened!

The next morning...

Ta-da! Here are all my new friends!

A different-colored Steelix?! Is she...

Uh-huh! She's also my new friend!

I got this outfit as a symbol of friendship, too!

I'm impressed! Didn't think you'd do so well!

Adaman's the only new friend I made!

I also got a cool new outfit, but I guess you did, too.

So that means...

Poppy wins this battle.

Looks like! I am a little disappointed...but congrats, Poppy!

Sorry you lost, Raihan!

But I'm sure the time spent wasn't a waste.

You're right!

Hey, we gotta capture this moment. Wanna snap a pic together, Adaman?

Oh, um!

I'm the winner of making the most friends...

but when it comes to making deep friends, I think I lost!

Deep?

Yeah! The two of them became suuuch good friends, I feel a little jealous!

Yes, it's hard to believe they met only yesterday.

But my friends and I will keep getting closer!

And I hope we get to have more and more battles, Raihan!

Of course!

I'm always ready for a challenge from you, Poppy.

Let's keep having serious battles!

Yeah!

All right. Now that we've all these new friends, let's celebrate with a photo!

Everyone, look at the camera! Ready? One, two, three!