It was seven in the evening, and Timothy, Gwen, and Coovers decided to make camp for the night. Timothy spent the ride from Turffield thinking about his meeting with Ezria and how strong she was during their double battle. It was clear to him that the raspberry-haired woman wasn't someone to take lightly in battle, unlike Venarge. Ezria would want him to battle her aggressively again the next time they faced each other in battle. There was no question about it. Even though stopping Chairman Rose was the most important thing, Timothy saw Ezria as the main threat to winning the Championship Cup, and he felt he was at a disadvantage by only now learning things like Farfetch'd having a Galarian form along with an evolved form, and the powerful move, Solar Blade. With all that in mind, Timothy wanted to use the Gym Challenge and the World Coronation Series to battle as many trainers as possible to grow stronger and see as many new Pokémon as possible to be better prepared for Ezria.

After the group set up their tents, Gwen began making stew under the campfire while Timothy and Coovers set up the table and placed Pokemon bowls on the ground with Electchu's help. While filling up the bowls with Pokemon food, Timothy filled Coovers in on what happened during his encounter with Ezria.

"So, I said, 'Begging your pardon, ma'am, but I've put a lot of arrogant trainers in their place. I'm afraid telling me one of them is your brother doesn't narrow it down much.'"

"Ha! I love it," Coovers said. "It gives her the impression that you're very powerful, and it's a little true. We're getting incredibly lucky with Ezria admiring you so much."

"No kidding," Timothy said. "She is very passionate about expressing how much she appreciates freeing all Psychic type Pokémon. Especially considering she would give me one of her Pokémon to show her appreciation."

"No argument there," Coovers said. "Come to think of it, does she have any Psychic type Pokémon?"

Timothy frowned and thought about it for a second before he answered, "You know, I don't think she mentioned having one."

"So, she doesn't have any Pokémon you freed from Team Rocket's control, and yet she's your biggest fan?" Coovers asked.

"Looks that way," Timothy said.

"Huh. Interesting," Coovers said before he shrugged. "Well, if you've gained her attention without recusing any of her Pokémon, that's fine with me. After all, getting to Eternatus is the most important thing."

"Agreed," Timothy said before he looked away with a concerned look. "Although, I can't help but worry how Ezria will react if she discovers we're using her. I can live with Chairman Rose finding out when we stop him, but Ezria is so friendly that that I worry about how she will feel."

"Well, maybe we can get her to understand that what the chairman is doing is wrong," Coovers said.

"I certainly hope so," Timothy said. "If we can convince Ezria to help us and maybe even talk the chairman out of carrying out his plan, it would make our job easier."

"We can only hope," Coovers said.

"Raichu," Electchu agreed.

"Hey, quit standing around talking, you too. Dinner is ready," Gwen called out.

"Yes, ma'am," Timothy replied before he and Coovers took out their Pokéballs. "Everyone, come on out!"

They tossed their Pokéballs into the air, and they opened to review Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, Blitzwing, Knightblade, Samurott, Krookodile, Chandelure, Klinklang, Braviary, and Zoroark. Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, and Blitzwing looked at the Pokémon food happily with empty stomachs until they noticed Knightblade floating next to them. The Royal Sword Pokémon grew uneasy with how Timothy's other Pokemon stared at it in confusion until Timothy stood next to it.

"Oh, yes, introductions are in order," he said. "Knightblade, these are my other Pokémon, Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, and Blitzwing. Guys, this is Knightblade. It will be traveling with us while Gengar stays in Professor Oak's Laboratory."

Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, and Blitzwing stared at Timothy, unsure if they heard him say Gengar wasn't in the party anymore. Then suddenly, the four Pokémon burst out cheering with Poliwrath shaking its fist into the air, Odyssey and Shockwave swing dancing, and Blitzwing was spinning around with its wings in the air, dancing like a Baile Style Oricorio. They went to Knightblade to give it warm welcomes, which made the Royal Sword Pokémon comfortable. Timothy smiled at the sight of his Pokémon instantly becoming friends with the new member of their team.

"All right, everyone, now that introductions are out of the way, let's start dinner, " he said.

Timothy's and Coovers's Pokémon cheered in agreement and sat down in front of their respective Pokémon bowls. Gwen walked over and took Noctowl, Cufant, Drifloon, Mudbray, and Spoink out of their Pokéballs. The three humans then filled their bowls and sat at the table.

"Okay, everyone, dig in," Gwen said with a smile.

"Thank you," Timothy and Coovers said.

The Pokémon all said calls of thanks before everyone began eating. Timothy and Coovers each took a scoop of Gwen's soup and froze in place when they put it in their mouths. They stood still for several seconds, relishing the taste before they swallowed. Gwen snickered as she watched the two grown men struggle to eat at a regular pace instead of wolfing it down.

"Oh, I forgot to say. Congratulations on winning your first Gym Badge, Timothy," Gwen said.

"Thank you," Timothy said, smiling. "Though, I hope my other Gym Battles will be a little more difficult."

Coovers looked at Timothy in disbelief and said, "Why? I thought we're trying to get through the Gym Challenge and earn the chairman's trust as soon as possible."

"I know, but the trainer in me would like to be challenged a little bit, especially since growing stronger with my Pokémon team is why I came to Galar in the first place," Timothy said. "Besides, Chairman Rose and Ezria might be more impressed if any of the other Gym Leaders pose a more legit obstacle that I can overcome as opposed to all of them going down in a flash just because I have Pokémon with the right advantage against theirs."

"Hmmm. That makes sense," Coovers said. "That reminds me, though. Why are there ten Gym Leaders when you only need eight Gym Badges?"

"Because Stow-on-Side and Circhester give you two Gym Leaders to choose from," Gwen answered. "Bea runs the official Stow-on-Side Stadium, while Allister runs a smaller one closer to the forest. Few Gym Challengers battle Allister considering how he's pretty shy, and his Gym gives a...unsettling impression in the spirit of being a Ghost type gym. I've also heard you can't Dynamax Pokemon at Allister's gym because it's not in a power spot. On the other hand, Gordie and his mother, Melony, share Circhester Stadium and let the Gym Challengers decide which one they want to face. Whichever one you choose, the Gym Badge you earn at each place will be the same shape for when you connect them to your ring."

"How unusual," Timothy said. "Then I guess I'll just pick the ones I have the best advantage against."

"Do you think you have the type advantage against all of the other Gym Leaders?" Gwen asked.

"Er, I wouldn't say all of them for sure, but on paper, I seem to have the advantage against most of them," Timothy said. "I mean, the next gym leader, Nessa, is a Water type Gym Leader, so Electchu and its Electric attacks are the obvious choice for beating her. Then, there's the Fire type Gym that Poliwrath can take care of with its Water type attacks, Odyssey can deal with Steel and Ice type Pokémon. Shockwave appears to be the key to two Gym Badges by using its Psychic attacks against the Fighting type Gym Leader's Pokémon and its Fairy type attacks against the Dragon type Gym Leader's Pokemon. Since Ghost is weak against Ghost, it makes more sense to take on Bea instead of facing Allister with Knightblade. Electchu's Iron Tail and Blitzwing's Steel Wing are powerful against Fairy type attacks, but I don't think relying on one move each is wise. With all that said, some of these Gym Leaders are likely stronger than Milo and will have dual-type Pokemon, making it harder to land critical hits."

"Not to mention there is one Gym Leader that wasn't at the opening ceremony, and we don't know what type of Pokémon he or she has," Coovers said.

"That's true," Timothy said. "Do you know where that Gym is and what type of Pokémon they use, Gwen?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what Pokémon they use, but the Gym Leader lives in a town called Spikemuth, and it's the second-to-last place you need to go to for the Gym Challenge," Gwen answered.

"Well, at least we know that much," Timothy said. "I'll just have to keep training my Pokémon until we get there and hopefully we'll be ready for what's in store with this mysterious Gym."

"Speaking of which, have you checked what moves Knightblade has?" Coovers asked. "I was wondering if it has any Steel type moves that might also come in handy for the Fairy type Gym."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks for reminding me," Timothy said.

He took out his Rotom Phone and scanned Knightblade while it was having a conversation with Odyssey and Shockwave as they ate. Timothy waited until a list of Pokémon moves appeared on the screen with a "ding."

"Oooo, Knightblade has a nice set of Pokémon moves," Timothy said. "It knows Night Slash, Sacred Sword, Shadow Claw, and Flash Cannon."

"A Dark type, a Fighting type, a Ghost type, and a Steel type move, all very powerful. That is a nice set," Coovers said.

"Sure is. I've never seen Sacred Sword before Ezria and I battled, but it did some serious damage, so I wonder how powerful it is against a Pokémon that's not weak to Fighting type moves. Plus, Knightblade has one ranged move, so I don't always have to rely on melee attacks," Timothy said. "I gotta say, as a trainer who prefers using only attacks, I like how Ezria trains her Pokémon."

Gwen furrowed her brow and said, "I hope you don't admire a lot apart from that, Timothy."

"Why's that?" Timothy asked.

Gwen paused and looked past Timothy's shoulder to stare suspiciously at Knightblade.

"I have an uncomfortable feeling about Ezria. There's something that's just not right about her," she said.

"You mean the way she was so enthusiastic to meet Timothy?" Coovers asked.

"That and something else, but I can't figure out what," Gwen said. "I'm not even sure I'm comfortable with one of her Pokémon traveling with us."

Timothy turned his head to look at Knightblade, who happily talked with his other Pokémon as they ate their dinner. He turned back to Gwen and said with a shrug, "I don't know. Ezria is eccentric, I grant you, but Knightblade doesn't seem strange to me."

"It was willing to leave its trainer and be separated from its brother because Ezria wanted it too," Gwen pointed out.

"Fair point, but it's my Pokémon now," Timothy said. "And if we train hard, we could over time create a close bond as I have with all of my Pokémon."

Gwen stared at Timothy, taken by surprise. Her shock turned into a smile of admiration as she saw in Timothy's eyes that he sincerely cared more about the Pokémon itself than where it came from.

"Alright, if you really feel that way, then I'll trust you. Just be careful with what happens if Ezria finds out who she gave her Pokémon to, or how Knightblade will react for that matter."

"Fair enough," Timothy said.

With that, they went back to their meal. As they ate, Gwen looked up at Timothy and smiled again. She stared at him for a few seconds until she realized what she was doing and quickly went back to her stew, paying no mind to her cheeks turning pink. Timothy looked up at her just a moment after she looked away and noticed the slight blush on her cheeks. He tilted his head, wondering what was on her mind. He began to wonder if she was thinking about him, but then his eyes widened in shock, and he resisted the urge to slap himself in front of Gwen, Coovers, and the Pokemon.

"What's with you, Timothy? Why are you hoping for something like that?" He thought to himself. "She could be embarrassed about something or thinking about another guy. Yeah, there's another researcher she admires and wouldn't mind putting up with her tight schedules and stuff like that. They probably have tons in common with the mystery of the Darkest Day or something. What do we have in common apart from hating how Venarge treated Ned? She didn't even watch my Gym Battle."

At that last thought, Timothy's eyes widened again, and he stared at his reflection from the water in his soup, astounded at himself.

"Good grief, I'm getting so worked up that I'm trying to come up with all sorts of reasons why a woman I've only known for a few days doesn't like me." He squirmed and scratched the back of his head. "Maybe Electchu is right. I am acting weird around Gwen. Maybe it's not as serious as I'm making out to be. After all, it's not like I act like Coovers when he's around Sonia, acting all googly-eyed around her. What could be dorkier then -?"

"Timothy?"

Timothy jumped in alarm and looked up to find everyone finished with their food and looking at him. Timothy looked down to find his stew still half-eaten.

"Are you alright?" Gwen asked.

Timothy's cheeks turned beet red, and he said, "Y-yes, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about... training my Pokémon. That's all."

Gwen tilted her head, and Coovers gave Timothy a puzzled look, unsure of whether or not he was telling the truth.

"Okay, why don't you stop thinking about training and finish your supper so you can start training?" Gwen suggested.

"Y-yeah. Totally. Good idea," Timothy replied.

With that, Timothy wolfed down the rest of his stew. Coovers and Gwen stared at him for a moment before they got up from their seats and put their Pokemon back in their Pokéballs, save for Winnie. Timothy took it upon himself to grab everybody's bowls and utensils and wash them at the nearby river to distance himself from the others. Gwen put out the campfire and Coovers took apart the table. Timothy glared at his reflection in the river as he washed the Pokemon bowls.

"You better watch yourself, Timothy. Who knows what will happen if you drift off like that again?" he thought. "Don't think about Gwen like that anymore. Just focus on training. That's right. Training. Knightblade is new to your team. It knows Sacred Sword, Night Slash, Shadow Claw, and Flash Cannon. Think about how you will use those moves to train it with other Pokémon. You can do that. Just take a deep breath, finish washing the dishes, put them away, and start training."

Timothy closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and held it for several seconds before slowly letting it out. He washed the rest of the bowls and spoons and dried them with a towel before returning the dishes to the campsite. When Timothy was done, he took another deep breath before turning to face Electchu, Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, Blitzwing, and Knightblade with a serious look.

"Alright, fellas, let's get down to business," Timothy said. "Tonight, we are focusing on the skills and powers of our new friend, Knightblade, and then we're going to show it the ropes." Timothy then walked over to Knightblade and said, "I don't know how Ezria trained you, but in my team, we work together to help everyone get stronger. I have my Pokémon face each other constantly, using specific moves to attack or defend and strengthen their moves, agility, focus, and so forth. Follow along, and you'll fit in with our family just fine. Sound good?"

"Aegislash," Knightblade answered, holding its shield up to show it was ready.

"Is Timothy normally like this when he trains?" Gwen asked.

"More or less. Timothy hasn't had a new Pokémon and his team for years, so teaching Knightblade how to work with Timothy's other Pokémon should be very interesting," Coovers said.

"You mean he doesn't use any of his other Pokémon?" Gwen asked.

"Sure, he'll do that sometimes. He does have other Pokémon at home like Titus, Fenrir, and a Snorlax that he'll sometimes use in Pokemon League tournaments if necessary. When all is said and done, though, his official team is Electchu, Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, Blitzwing, and Gengar," Coovers said.

"I see," Gwen said.

"Teddiursa," Winnie said.

"Alright, Knightblade, show us what you're made of," Timothy said, turning his eyes to a nearby tree. "Attack that tree using Night Slash followed by Sacred Sword!"

Knightblade's blade glowed light-purple, and it charged toward the tree, screaming "Aegislash," like a battle cry. The Royal Sword Pokemon's blade pierced through the tree with the tip sticking out. Its blade then turned blue, and it spun around, cutting the tree in half. Knightblade turned to Timothy as the top half of the tree fell behind it.

"Not bad. A clean, linear cut," Timothy said. He scratched his chin in thought for a moment before he pointed at another tree closest to Knightblade. "Cut the branches of that tree using Shadow Claw. Get as close to the trunk as possible."

Knightblade's sword changed from blue to black with a purple outline. It charged at the second tree and rapidly cut off its branches. Within seconds, the tree was nothing but a trunk with yellow spots surrounded by a pile of branches. Coovers, Gwen, and Winnie stared at the remains of the tree in astonishment.

"Knightblade cut those branches off so cleanly it's as if they weren't connected to the tree at all," Coovers said.

"And it did it so quickly," Gwen added.

"Teddi," Winnie said.

Electchu, Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, and Blitzwing walked over to the remains of the tree, intrigued. They then complimented Knightblade or gave nods of approval, which made the Aegislash proud. Timothy walked over to analyze his new Pokémon's work and turned to it with a smirk.

"Impressive. I honestly didn't expect you to get so close to the truck at the speed you were attacking," Timothy said. He looked around until he saw a boulder close to the river. "Alright, let's see what you can do with your final move. Use Flash Cannon on that boulder!"

Knightblade created a white ball of energy in front of its sword and fired a white and light blue beam. The beam hit the boulder, and it exploded on impact, sending pieces of it flying into the air. When the dust cleared, only the bottom of the boulder remained.

"Very nice. Ezria trained you well," Timothy said.

"Aegislash," Knightblade said, holding up its shield proudly.

"Well, it looks like Timothy won't have to worry about Knightblade's power at all," Gwen said.

"No kidding. Now, let's see how it fits it into training with his other Pokémon," Coovers said.

"Teddiursa," Winnie said.

Electchu, Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, and Blitzwing walked/flew over to look over the remains of the boulder, impressed with Knightblade's work once again. Timothy walked to the center of the field with Knightblade following him and clapped his hands to gain his Pokémon's attention. They ran over to their trainer and new member of the team before Timothy turned to Knightblade.

"Alright, Knightblade, you've proven to be very powerful, and I have no doubt that will be very handy in battle," he said. "But now, we work on training together with the rest of my team. As I said, we work together to strengthen everyone's abilities. To give you a better idea, I will show you how we do it."

He