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Part One Pucchi Gumi June / July 2023 Issue

Release Date:  April 28th, 2023


12 pages
Liko has arrived at the Sekiei Academy to find what it is she really wants to do with her life. After she gets her starter Pokémon, a capricious yet cute Grass-Type named Nyaoha, Liko is suddenly visited by a mysterious man named Amethio. He tells Liko he's been sent by her grandmother to come get her and adds that she should be sure to pack her pendant with her before she leaves. Liko finds the whole thing a bit too sketchy so she and her Pokémon climb out the window and make a run for it. They're soon intercepted on the rooftops by the Explorers, a group composed of Amethio and his associates Zir and Codia. Just then, another mysterious man named Friede enters the scene on the back of his Lizardon! Both Friede and Amethio seem like they have business with Liko and so they send out their Pokémon, Lizardon and Soublades respectively, to get the other out of their way. Liko decides to use the commotion from the battle to try to make a break for it. She decides to try jumping from the roof she's on over to the next building, but just as she makes the jump a stray Psycho Cutr attack from the ongoing battle ricochets her way and threatens to knock her out of the sky! All of a sudden, Liko's pendant starts to glow and covers the young student in an orb made of energy that then shields her from the oncoming attack!


Liko catches a glimpse of a mysterious Pokémon she's never seen before inside the orb. Before she can think too much about it, however, the orb "pops," sending Liko and Nyaoha hurtling toward the ground below! Friede and Lizardon swoop down and catch them before they hit the ground and then swoop back up above Amethio and the others. Since his Pokémon literally has Liko in its arms, Friede reasons, they might as well just make a run for it. Amethio orders Zir and Conia to follow them. Liko is taken onboard a nearby airship, the Brave Asagi. Friede introduces Liko to his crew -- Landau, Mollie, Murdock, and Orio -- as well as the large variety of Pokémon that’ve gathered onboard. Mollie can see that the Explorers are hot on their trail and so Friede runs to the cockpit where Friede's other partner Pokémon, Captain Pikachu, prepares for the upcoming battle. Amethio and the others soon land on the deck. Amethio believes whatever secret the pendant's holding has something to do with Liko and so he tells her they’ll need her to come with them as well. In response, Friede and Captain Pikachu step forward to protect Liko. As the battle between Captain Pikachu and Amethio's Soublades begins, Liko joins in with her Nyaoha to use Leafage on Amethio's Pokémon. The surprisingly powerful attack knocks everyone back, giving Amethio the chance to grab Nyaoha and make a run for it. Liko watches helplessly as her Pokémon is taken away.


Later, Liko tells Friede she wants to help look for Nyaoha. Friede mentions he was sent by Liko's mother to be her bodyguard and that he therefore can't allow her to be put in any more danger. Later, Murdock realizes his Iwanko remembers Nyaoha's scent and so the team follows the Puppy Pokémon until it leads them to Amethio’s henchwoman Conia. She lures our heroes to their hideout where Friede and Liko come face-to-face with Amethio. Friede offers Amethio a proposal; if Friede wins, Amethio has to return Nyoaha but if Amethio wins then he'll hand over the pendant. The two battle it out as Liko sneaks off to continue following the trail to Nyaoha. Liko and Nyaoha then return to Friede and Amethio and join in the battle with another one of Nyaoha's Leafage attacks. The whole "challenge to a battle" thing was just a clever ploy to give Liko enough time to search for her Pokémon! With Nyaoha back in their possession, Friede and the others escape on the back of his Lizardon. Back on the airship, Liko pleads with the rest of her new friends to please stay with her for just a little longer so she can find out just what it is about this pendant that's making the Explorers chase after it so relentlessly. Friede says they too want to know the secret of the pendant and agrees to let her join them.


And with that, Liko becomes the newest member of the Rising Volteccers.

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