Outside of the Pokemon Center, Gingka Hagane, lying in the grass of the courtyard was still wondering who to ask out to the celebration after what Rex had told him.

"You have to bring a date or else you can't go," Rex said.

Gingka was surprised, "A date?"

"Yeah, you do know what that means, right?" Rex asked.

Gingka rubbed the back of his head as he said, "Yeah, of course I do! No problem!"

Rex smiled, "Cool. So I'll see you tonight at the party?"

"You bet!" he replied.

Gingka did know about dates, he just never had one before, and was really nervous about who to ask. His friend Masamune, who did know about his dilemma, was confused, thinking Gingka would've already had a date at this point.

"I just don't get it, why not ask out Madoka?" he asked, wondering why Gingka wouldn't agree with his idea.

"I'm telling you, it makes me feel like I'm settling for her since we're good friends, and that she's the only girl I really know here!" he replied, a little annoyed.

"Oh," Masamune said, still thinking of who Gingka would try to ask out. Hmmm... if it's not Madoka, then who would be the perfect date for- Masamune thought, then realized something. Wait a minute, maybe she'll be the one!

"What about that Georgia girl you traveled with that one time?" he asked.

Gingka fell over, "Are you serious! No way. Sure, we did travel with each other one time, but she still acts like a snobby little brat, and is very rude to a lot of people!"

It's true that Gingka and Georgia did travel with each other once. It was because the two of them were both after a Simipour that knew Ice Beam. They ended up getting through the forest together, where they had helped Simipour take down a bunch of bug type Pokemon, who were invading the area. In the end, Gingka caught the female Simipour, and then they ended up traveling to Georgia's hometown, where Gingka's Pawniard evolved into a Bisharp during a battle. Since then, Gingka has still thought well of Georgia, but she still acted like she was better than anyone else, like when she had actually lost to Gingka's Bisharp in the first round of the Unova League, thinking her Bisharp was better, but was completely mistaken.

"Okay then," Masamune said, wondering who else Gingka could go out with.

Gingka kept looking at the clouds, until he saw one that reminded him of an airplane that he had seen long ago...

"Well, to tell you the truth, you're practically not gonna go if you don't get a date soon," Masamune pointed out, "Besides, it's not like the girl of your dreams is gonna be your date tonight."

Gingka then looked back up at the sky, at the same cloud he saw once earlier, now fading away.

The girl of my dreams, huh? he thought, as he began to remember the day that everything changed for him.

The gang had finally made it to Mistralton City. Ash, Iris, and Cilan, along with Gingka and Hinata, were waiting on the runway, near the gym, watching as they saw a plane touch down, heading towards them.

As the plane stopped and the cockpit opened, the pilot jumped out, removing her goggles and then her helmet, to reveal she was a girl.

"A girl?" Iris blurted out, surprised at who she actually was. "Could that be...?" Ash asked, wondering if she was the gym leader.

The girl was the Mistralton Gym Leader, Skyla, "The High-Flying Girl" as she called herself, saluting the crowd of trainers with a wink.

Gingka was just speechless. His face began to turn red, and was as still as a statue on the runway, as he saw this beautiful girl be seen before him.

Skyla was then revealed to use air battles, where she didn't actually battle challengers, but she predicted the outcome using her own thoughts of how the battle went down. Gingka seemingly didn't care about what she did, still starstruck at her beauty, while Ash, Cilan, and Hinata had enough of her predicting ways.

As Skyla was about to go off for another flight, she was approached by the three trainers, including Gingka, who was dragged along, and they were not happy.

"Skyla, were those really battles at all!" Ash asked.

"I'd like to know more about those air battles! In detail!" Cilan shouted.

"Me too!" said Hinata.

Skyla however, mistook them for the afternoon challengers, "Oh, you guys must be the afternoon batch, right? I've gotta go, so we'll see each other later!" she said as she walked back to her plane, but then took notice of Gingka, who had not said anything at all to her.

She then walked over to him, "Oh, aren't you a cute-looking challenger?" she said, "That flaming hair of yours looks cool too." She then began to play with his hair.

Gingka was shocked by what she had said as he thought, She thinks I'm cute? That I have cool hair?

He became a little overwhelmed at the situation, and his face turned as red as his own hair. "Say I'll tell you what, if you're a challenger, I'll let you be the first challenger for my afternoon air battles!" Skyla said. She then poked Gingka on the nose, giggling as she went back to her plane.

Gingka's face was completely red, and he stayed there even more still as a statue.

The gang then met Mile, Skyla's grandfather, who had worked in the Mistralton gym once.

They were about to leave until Ash noticed his friend in somewhat of a trance.

"Hey Gingka, something wrong?" the raven-haired trainer asked. "Pika?" his Pokemon was confused with Gingka's position.

Gingka then turned around, stumbling, and then fell over, passing out on the pavement.

"Oh man, Gingka!" Ash shouted. The others went over to their beyblading friend as he was lying, unconscious on the ground.

He then woke up a few minutes later in the Pokemon Center, feeling embarrassed about what had happened.

I can't believe I did that... he thought, I feel so stupid, I'm a trainer with 5 badges, and I passed out because I...

He was blushing again, thinking about Skyla, the girl that snatched his heart, as he held his hand over his chest.

"I need to find a way to get over this... I need to get stronger..." he said to himself. He then walked over to the table where Ash and the gang were discussing about Skyla's air battles.

"Hey, Ash," he interrupted. Everyone looked over to him smiling, "Hey Gingka! I'm glad you're awake!" Ash said, excited his friend had reawakened. "Pika!" Pikachu was also glad Ash's friend was awake. Gingka then reached for his belt, taking his beyblade equipment, and put them on the table. "Huh?" Ash was confused at what his friend was doing. Gingka then took out his beyblade, Galaxy Pegasus. "Here Ash, take good care of Pegasus for me, okay?" he said as he placed it in Ash's hands. He then began to walk towards the doors with his bag in hand, but not before Ash stopped him.

"Hold on Gingka! Where are you going? Why are you leaving your stuff behind?" Ash asked.

"I can't focus on beyblade for right now, Ash," he admitted, "I have to become a stronger trainer, with my Pokemon. By the time we meet again, I'll get my stuff back and I'll bet that you'll change Skyla's view on battle," he said as he walked out of the doors of the Pokemon Center. Everyone then looked where Gingka left, worried for the beyblader, especially Ash. Holding his beyblade tightly he said, "I promise that I won't let you down Gingka!"

As Gingka was leaving Mistralton City, he saw Skyla's plane flying overhead. He thought that she might have noticed him, but decided not to worry about it as walked down the road to train his Pokemon, and himself.

Unfortunately for Gingka, all he could think about while trying to train was Skyla, over and over again. His Pokemon became worried, wondering if their trainer was okay.

"Don't worry you guys, I'm fine!" he always said. But they still worried.

It wasn't until Gingka met Grimsley of the Elite Four, that he began to get back on his feet and started to become a better trainer.

"You just need to think about your Pokemon and how they think of the battle you could be in," Grimsley said, "Life's like a game of chance. You win some, and you lose some. But that shouldn't bother you, right?"

"No, losing battles doesn't bother me," Gingka said, "I'm just really worried about going back to the Mistralton Gym and seeing myself act like I did before..."

"Relax, Gingka," Grimsley said as he put his hands on the boy's shoulders, "Love is definitely a trivial thing. I suggest you should tell her how you feel. It'll make you feel a whole lot stronger than you once were."

Gingka looked to the Dark Type trainer now smiling over his newfound courage, "Yeah, I definitely see what you're saying!" he said, then turned to his Pokemon, "We're gonna do our absolute best too you guys!" His Pokemon all cheered at Gingka for his happiness. "Grimsley, thank you for your teachings," Gingka said as he bowed to Grimsley. "You don't have to thank me, thank yourself for realizing that courage is what brings a man's pieces together, at least in my perspective," he admitted.

They waved goodbye to each other, sending one another off back on their journeys.

Before he knew it, Gingka had gotten his team to become a whole lot stronger, including himself! He now had a Simipour, his Pawniard and Lampent evolved, and he obtained two more badges!

Before he would return to Mistralton City, he entered the Pokemon Battle Club Ninja Tournament, in Icirrus City.

He saw Ash and his friends and walked over to them, "Hey Ash, what's up?" he asked smiling. "Gingka!" they all shouted, surprised the once depressed beyblader was back on his feet. "So Ash, you have my stuff?" Gingka asked. "Oh yeah!" Ash said as reached into his backpack, pulling out Gingka's launcher and beyblade, Pegasus, "Here you go!" Ash said, handing the items to Gingka. "Thank you Ash," Gingka said, looking at Pegasus, who shined brightly in the sun.

The tournament went on to be very interesting. Gingka defeated Ryuga's Hydriegon in the semi-finals in order to get to the final round where he defeated Hinata, who surprisingly beat Ash in to get that far.

With his win, he seemed more confident and stronger than ever, Ash was wondering what he would do now.

"So, where are you going next Gingka?" his friend asked.

Gingka happily replied, "Back to Mistralton City to get my final badge!" he shouted, excited, "I assume that things there are taken care of, right?"

Ash knew what Gingka meant and said, "Yeah, it's all good there! No more boring air battles from Skyla!"

"All right!" Gingka shouted, "I can't wait to see the sparks fly there! You and the others wanna come along with Gan-Gan Galaxy too?"

"Sure!" Ash replied, and with that, Team Gan-Gan Galaxy and Ash and Co. went back to Mistralton City for Gingka's last gym battle with Skyla.

The battle raged on intensely as both the beyblading boy and the highflying girl were pushed to their limits.

Gingka's Simipour was on the verge of defeat, breathing heavily, kneeling on the ground, while Skyla's Swanna flew in the air, just a little worn out from battling for so long.

Gingka was looking a little stressed, wondering if he would actually lose. Skyla's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Say, Gingka," she said as he looked towards her, "Usually trainers have a reason for challenging their final gym leader in order to get their last badge. They feel that they deserve a good challenge once in a while so, why am I your final gym challenge?" she asked.

Gingka began to think of how to respond to what Skyla had said. Well, it's now or never, he thought. "The reason I consider you a challenge Skyla," he began to say, "was because back when I first met you I had-" Gingka's confidence suddenly disappeared, his legs began to shake, his fingers trembled, and the heat started to build up in his cheeks.

"You had...?" Skyla asked, wondering what was wrong with the flaming-headed trainer.

Gingka was more than he had ever been during any battle before, but he then remembered the wise words of his teacher, Grimsley.

"Even if you have to shout it out, you should just tell her how you feel..." he said to himself. His confidence began to increase once again as the trembling went away, but his cheeks were still red.

"I HAD FALLEN IN LOVE WITH YOU!" Gingka shouted at the top of his lungs.

Everyone was shocked, especially Skyla, who was taken aback by those words, "You had fallen in love... with me?" she asked.

Skyla's grandfather, Mile, was also surprised, but began to smile at the beyblader's spirit and courage.

Gingka breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yeah, you don't know how long I've been wanting to get that off of my chest."

He then suddenly realized something. He felt as if with the stress of saying his true feelings had turned into his newfound strength.

"And you know what?" Gingka added, "I feel a lot stronger than I did before! All right, Simipour, let's do this!"

"Simi!" his Pokemon shouted as she arose from her fatigue, feeling Gingka's new strength surging within her as well.

In the end, thanks to his strength and Simipour's newly learned Surf, Gingka earned the Jet Badge from Skyla. As he was about to leave the gym with his friends, who were proud he won, Skyla went over to him.

"Say, Gingka?" she asked.

"Huh? What is it Skyla?" Gingka asked confused.

Skyla cheeks began to turn a little red, "What you said, back in the gym, did you actually mean that?"

Gingka smiled, "Every word, Skyla. I really did fall in love with you."

Skyla's face turned a little redder, "Well then, I should show you a secret of mine too," she said as she began to remove the huge glove from her right hand.

When it was removed, Gingka and the others couldn't believe it. Skyla's hand was smaller than her actual glove size, but looked absolutely perfect with no flaws whatsoever. "Here! You can hold it!" she said. Gingka blushed a bit, but then took her hand saying, "O-okay."

Skyla hand felt so smooth and soft, Gingka couldn't believe she had a perfect hand like this.

"You see, my hands are usually so smooth, that they can't grip the controls of an airplane, so I use gloves to grip onto the controls," she said. "Oh!" Gingka said, realizing why, "I get that, that's pretty cool Skyla!"

"Um, Gingka?" she asked. "What is it?" he asked. "You're still holding my hand..." she said. "Huh?" Gingka looked down, seeing his fingerless gloved hand still gripping onto Skyla's perfect hand, he blushed in embarrassment, "Oh, I'm sorry!" he said as he let go of her hand.

Skyla giggled, "It's okay Gingka," she as she got closer to him, "In fact..." she then cupped Gingka's cheek with her hand, causing him to blush as she grew only inches away from his face, "it's perfect..." she said before she closed the distance between them with a passionate kiss.

Everyone reacted very surprised.

"What the heck!" Masamune shouted.

"Oh my..." said Tsubasa.

Madoka and Yu were just speechless.

Cilan was awed by this, saying, "What a love that has blossomed right before us today!"

Ash was clueless, "What did Skyla just do?"

Iris sweat-dropped and said, "Ash, you're such a kid. It's called kissing!" "Kissing?" the capped trainer asked, confused. "Yeah, it's a way of expressing love to one another," Iris said. "Oh, then it that case, I should probably kiss Pikachu, right?" Iris and Pikachu both sweat-dropped, annoyed at the trainer's stupidity, "Ash, you're such a kid?" "Or do I have to kiss you, Iris?" Ash asked. Iris blushed intensely and said, "Well, guys are supposed to kiss girls, so..." But she was too late as the raven-haired trainer went to check on Gingka after his surprise kiss.

"So, how was that?" Skyla asked, blushing with a fiery passion. Gingka was non-responsive, and non-moving, but Skyla took that as a compliment, "Your silence speaks a thousand loving words," she said blushing even more. Her grandfather smiled, happy for his granddaughter.

Without warning though, Gingka fell over again, and passed out. "Oh dear! Gingka are you okay!" asked Skyla, checking on the flaming-headed trainer.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," said Tsubasa, "He has come through much worse," he added.

"Well if that's the case..." Skyla began to say, "Goodbye everyone. Especially you Gingka," giving him a peck on the cheek as a goodbye gift.

Afterwards, Gingka was being carried in Tsubasa's arms as they had left Mistralton City.

Gingka's face was still red, and smiled as he was dreaming about Skyla, the girl he loved...

"Hey, Gingka!" Masamune shouted.

Gingka awoke from his flashback, annoyed that Masamune had interrupted it. But he decided to let it go as he stood up.

"So, now what?" Masamune asked, "What're gonna do?"

"I guess I might as well go with Madoka, since she's my best friend," Gingka replied as he ran off.

"Hey, Gingka wait for me!" Masamune shouted, following his friend, who was glad to have remembered such a graceful event.

End Chapter 3

Yay, GingkaXSkyla! Don't they seem cute together?

More details:

Masamune's Pokemon (competed in the League/ lost to Ash in the first round): Zebstrika, Conkeldurr, Maractus, Basculin, Mandibuzz, Darmanitan

The Ninja Tournament was made up, thinking about what would happen if there was a tournament where all the original trainers would battle against the shinobi of the Leaf Village.

More Ash stuff in the next chapter, plus will Gingka ask Madoka out? Stay tuned!