Valen and Rosa have met up with Melanie and Arthur in an outdoor plaza that's not far away from Liniya Corporation's HQ. Even though there are a few empty tables around, they decide to stand, their shadows being eclipsed by the shadows of the towering skyscrapers that surround the plaza. It's a warm day, but their sneakers prevent them from feeling the heat on the plaza's concrete floor.

"It's nice to finally be out in public and not be swarmed by trainers." Melanie sports a content smile. She notes that even though that while there is a number of people and Pokémon, none seem interested in a battle at this time.

"You usually won't find those type of trainers in a place like this, hence why I picked this spot."

"It's been a while, Melanie!" Rosa sports a broad grin.

"In person," Melanie corrects, turning her head leftwards towards Rosa. "I'm glad to see you're still as lively as ever."

"Tee-hee, Rosa is the anti-boredom girl!" Rosa sticks up her left index and ring fingers.

"Valen, how did you become acquainted with her?" Arthur questions.

"I befriended her in Unova years ago," Valen answers. "I've been discreetly speaking to her."

"Looks like you've started to change," Melanie observes.

"Not really, I'm still mostly the same." Valen shrugs his shoulders. "Rosa was a blast to hang out with, so I made an exception for her."

"I better see you two together frequently."

"Or what?" Valen teases.

"Don't test me." Melanie playfully flicks Valen on his forehead.

"It is with great pleasure that I make your acquaintance, Rosa." Arthur bows. "My name is Arthur Bennington."

"Tee-hee, you're so formal!" Rosa sports a winsome grin. "Nice to meet you too, and your clothes look so old but are so well preserved!" She keenly studies Arthur's trench-coat like suit. She likes how both his suit and his pants are finished in a darker shade of brown.

"Actually, these are modern reproductions of Victorian era clothing."

"Tee-hee, it fits you well!"

"Your kind remark is very much appreciated."

Suddenly, Rosa begins to panic. "Oh nooooo, I just realized that you haven't still picked up on the most important thing, Valen!" She places her right hand over her mouth.

"Please don't say it. You're so cute and pretty that it can get me-"

"You missed the most important part!" Rosa pouts. "The most super duper ultra very important part!"

Please don't say it. Please don't say it. Please don't say it. Please don't say it."

"It's a very big deal, mister!" Rosa folds her arms. "You didn't tell them that you're my boyfriend! No more fun and games. Please admit that you are still my Valey sweetie!"

"Oh come on! W-Wait, I meant to say...um...err-" Valen attempts to speak with a wide-eyed expression. "Errr...wait wait wait, you can't just-"

"Why'd you keep this a secret?!" Melanie folds her arms. "Actually, why did both of you keep this a secret? I didn't know you two were still together."

"This just got very intriguing," Arthur notes with his right thumb and index finger on his chin.

"D-Do-Don't l-lo-look at me like that!" Valen shrieks, sweating profusely. "I-I h-ha-had no prior k-kno-know-knowledge of this! I d-do-don't even know what the word b-bo-boyfriend means!"

"Valen, you'll always be one of my besties!" Rosa affirms, slightly jumping.

Then, Rosa smiles mischievously and places her hands on her hips. "Since you decided to go poof on me, I took charge." She gives Valen a flirtatious smile. "You don't leave the queen like that, big boy."

"H-How can y-yo-you even make such a decision when our h-hom-home regions are so far apart?!" Valen fires back while directing his gaze away from Rosa.

"Tsk tsk tsk, somebody doesn't know what a long distance relationship is," Rosa counters, wagging her right index finger with her eyes closed. "Also, I'm only a year younger than you, so I'm a big girl who can move here if she wants to!"

"Alas, poor Valen. I knew thy well," Arthur jokingly comments. "It appears that we have located the individual who can cause Valen to abandon his composure."

"He always had a big smile on his face whenever he talked about her, or was with her." Melanie smiles.

"D-Do-Don't decide things w-with-without my p-per-permission!" Valen bashfully rebukes, his eyes widening further with the whites showing. "No, don't blush! Don't blush!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have been rarer to locate than a Mew for so long, you bad booooy!" Rosa counters with a coy smile and a flirtatious, playful wink.

"T-That is-isn't an excuse to b-bli-blind-blindside me!"

"You're so adorable when you're flustered!" Rosa eyes sparkle as she clasps her hands next to her right cheek.

"D-Do-Don't call me a-ador-adorable!" Valen feels weakness in his knees and legs. "This girl's so damn cute and beautiful that it's unsafe!"

"I thought you didn't care what people think of you, so whatcha gonna do about it, big boooy?" Rosa's eyelids flutter as she places a finger on her lower lip.

"I told you that you wouldn't escape me this time, and I remember what neighborhood you live in." She turns to away with her arms folded, her eyes closed while confidently smiling.

"N-N-N-Nooooooooooooooooooo!" Valen shrieks towards the sunny sky, grabbing his disheveled hair. "I'm going to be exposed at this rate!"

"Quite the high-spirited lass, isn't she?" Arthur asks.

"That's why she's fun to be around," Melanie says.

"Hmph, d-do w-what you want," Valen tells Rosa. Much to his relief, nobody's noticed that he's blushing. He places his hands in his pockets and he decides it's time for him to saunter off.

"You know you can't hide from me, my sweetie," Rosa mutters in amusement.

"Hold up, where are you going?" Melanie inquires

"I-I'm not fan of so-soap o-op-operas." Valen exits the plaza, onto a concrete sidewalk in between two towering skyscrapers.

With Valen out of sight, Melanie decides that it's time to get serious. "Rosa, I don't think you've gotten an explanation as to why he vanished. Am I right?" She asks as she folds her arms again, glancing to her right towards Rosa.

Rosa reopens her eyes, admitting, "I don't think so. We had some contact, then he vanished."

"Have you been told anything at all?" Melanie asks.

Rosa sighs, a somber look now plastered on her face. She glances to her left towards Melanie. "His mom told me that he's been battling depression...I don't how or why it happened."

"...I got the same vibe." Melanie winces

"I never fake my positivity, but I planned to cheer him up the instant that I reunited with him...I can't cheer him up if I'm sad too."

"...If I had to guess, I'd say that his mom didn't tell you everything because it would break your heart."

"Yeah...but I can't run from it when I'm here in the flesh. Please tell me what he's been through...if you know anything."

"I would like to know this information as well, as I too have been kept in the dark." Arthur requests.

"Before that, I need to ask you a question," Melanie informs Rosa. "What's going with Hilda?"

"She's...she's really busy, but she really misses him." Rosa winces. "She handled his deployment worse than I did...and I'm his girlfriend."

"...I'll tell both of you everything that I'm aware of." Melanie sighs. "It's for his own good."

Arthur stays silent, but he wonders what else Valen's not telling him. Rosa's from Unova, which indicates that this Hilda is Hilda White, the president of the BW Agency. Furthermore, he's heard of the name Rosa. This girl's achieved fame both within and outside of Unova.

Valen's gone back to his house, and is currently laying on his bed. "Why'd I get so nervous? I make no sense." He stares at his black marble ceiling as the antique, gilt bronze clock within his antique bookshelf ticks by the second.

He turns his head towards the mahogany bookshelf, eyeing its ornate imagery and patterns. Valen eyes the one photograph he did take with him to his current residence: A photograph of Valen and his team from many years ago that sits within the center top of the enclosed bookshelf, just below the curved arch. The framed photograph shows Valen as a pre-teen alongside a Bagon, a Kirlia, a Quilava, and a Luxio.

"...At least Rosa is actually fun to be around," Valen murmurs. "I wonder how this is gonna turn out for the two of us."

Then, Valen's mouth curves into a faint smile. "Don't be a dumbass, Valen. If she can make Silver smile, you'll be fine."

Out of the corner of his eye, Valen spots Gardevoir standing near his open door. As per usual, she's come to check up on him on behalf of the whole team.

However, Valen notices that Gardevoir isn't alone this time. Typhlosion's come to check up on him too.

Valen gives Gardevoir and Typhlosion a thumbs up. Gardevoir nods and smiles, while Typhlosion lets out a soft roar. Then, they dash towards their trainer.

Valen sweats nervously as the duo give him mischievous grins. He realizes that Gengar's told them about Rosa, and the whole team knows how nervous he can get when it comes to her.

However, Valen returns to being calm when he realizes that they're just trying to cheer him up. Rosa did this too. She likes to maintain her usual self for her own sake, and for everyone else's sake. Rosa loves it when she makes people smile.

Valen pets Typhlosion and rubs the top of Gardevoir's head. "Hey Gardevoir, sorry about asking you to Teleport me home," Valen says. "Typhlosion, I wanna say sorry again over what happened in your last battle."

Gardevoir caresses the top of Valen's head, while Typhlosion nuzzles his upper chest.

"What?! He's changed that much?!" Rosa exclaims as she places her right hand over her mouth, trembling in horror.

"No wonder the bloke seems like such a downer," Arthur notes.

As Melanie gives her time to let this information sink in, Rosa can feel her ribs tightening and her heart aching, and she places her hands over them. Valen's more than just a best friend turned boyfriend to her—Valen's the best boyfriend she's ever had.

She's a popular girl, but her luck with boyfriend's been subpar. One ghosted her, another cheated on her, and the one before Valen was the worst among the three. He took off without notice. She's fended him off by doing what he doesn't want her to do—being herself.

She'll never forget the day when Valen swooped down on his Salamence. Rosa was sitting at her favorite café, about to order a scrumptious lunch. They'd met already thanks to Hilda, and they'd quickly become friends. They've been friends for seven years.

Shortly after, the smooth talking started. Eventually, a blushing Rosa asked him to each lunch with her, which he agreed to. She was hesitant about dating due to her history with romance, but she'd already begun to develop a crush on him herself. He's made her feel like a queen whenever he complimented her. He made her feel like the most special girl. Whenever she got a gig in a theatre play, he was always in the front row. Every single detail about her was and is important to him.

She was and is a huge fangirl of Valen's past persona, and she first met him while he was donning his persona. That persona was an inspiration to both Hilda and her, among others. She went crazy with elation when she learned that Valen was the famous trainer that she gushed over. She thought he was just the best copycat yet, as guys hit on her by copying said persona. It turned out that her celebrity crush and personal crush were the same person.

"Sorry for telling you that." Melanie sighs.

"Don't be...I need to know...no matter how much it breaks my heart." Rosa leans back against the plaza's silver railing with her palms resting on the way. "Such a sweetheart...wounded, cold, and confused." "I thought that he'd start to improve faster, but it's been a really slow process," Melanie admits, sighing as she places her hands on her hips.

Rosa can't take it anymore, and she begins to cry. "The poor guy was and is suffering, and that hurts." She uses her left hand to wipe away her tears. "That hurts me more than anything else."

Rosa's crying becomes louder as her stream of tears turns into a river. "I wasn't there for him!" She wails. "I'm so sorry, Valen! I love you so much, but I wasn't there for you!"

Melanie and Arthur glance at each other, looking concerned for Rosa.

Then, Melanie glances back at Rosa. "His mental state won't be magically cured, but you can bring a lot more joy into his life."

"...You're right." Rosa faintly smiles.

"Make him happy all over again!" Melanie exchanges a hi-five with Rosa.

"I'm now Super Rosa!" Rosa forms a fist with her right hand and raises it above her head towards the sky.

"Super Rosa?" Arthur blinks.

Rosa re-opens her eyes, shouting, "That's right, I am Super Rosa, and we are the Rosa Rescue Rangers!" She sports a radiant smile, bringing her right hand down. She uses her left hand to point towards the sky.

"I wanna be a heroine! I'll lead the charge to assist knight Valey against unhappiness!"

"Pardon my intrusion, but do you even know where he is?" Arthur inquires.

"Uh...um...no, I don't," Rosa reluctantly admits with her head bowed down. "A little help would be appreciated."

"Knowing Valen, either he's lying on a bench, or he's lying in bed at home," Melanie chimes in.

"Ah, then I'll check his neighborhood!" Rosa exclaims. "I know exactly where that's located!"

"Arthur and I will check his other usual spots, even though I know he won't tell us where he is." Melanie groans. "I bet he asked his Gardevoir to Teleport him home so he could get away faster."

"Rosa Rescue Rangers, it's time to move out!" Rosa sports an enthusiastic grin. Once again, she forms a fist with her right hand and raising it into the air.

"Hey, don't call us that," Melanie scolds. "Your help's appreciated and needed, but don't name a group after yourself."

"That name has quite the stupendous rhythm to it."

"Don't encourage it."

"Your impudence is unnecessary and inappropriate," Arthur counters. "Please enroll yourself into a educational institution to learn the behavior of a proper lass, thank you."

"Who uses the word impudence?"

"I am a gentlemen who uses whatever language I wish to use in any given situation."

"My Valey's really cool, but he's also really sweet, and I love that he can be both!" Rosa gushes, her eyes sparkling. She clasps her hands in front of her chin.

"Wait, the current Valen can be sweet? Old Valen was, but the current Valen of all people?"

"I would like to know what the bloody hell did I get myself roped into."

Rosa's just strolled into Valen's historic neighborhood. As she walks down the old, cobblestone sidewalk, a sight breeze rustles rustles clothes and hair, as well as the nearby lush grass and leaves on the tall trees.

The afternoon sun gleams over the neighborhood's Gothic Revival style houses of the Victorian era. Rosa notes that all of the houses are either two or three stories, and are finished in a variety of colors. Some houses are cream, others are warm red, others are royal maroon, and so on.

Her memories of this neighborhood's coming back to her like a flash flood of thoughts. She recalls that her previous visits to Calvana was due to her wanting to know lots more about her bestie turned best boyfriend ever. Thus, most of it was spent in Valen's house and Valen's childhood house. Nevertheless, Rosa had tons of fun hanging out with Valen's family, Melanie, Hilda, and others. She's been to Calvana long before she met Valen, but her memory about those trips are are vague.

"A girl from Aspertia with an awesome goal to seek! I don't know what's in store, but it won't get the best of meeeee!" Rosa raises her left fist towards the sky. "There's soooooo much to learn and battles to be woooooon! I've advanced so far, but there's always more to comeeeee!"

Rosa halts, her eyes fixated on the maroon three story house, noting that the house's roof is finished in black. She recalls Valen's house being finished in this color scheme.

"Rosa's gonna start all over again!"

"Hi, did you get yourself a gig in a play?" Valen calls out to Rosa from his front yard.

Rosa lets out a happy gasp, twirling around to face Valen. She beams a winsome smile towards Valen, who's standing in front of his front porch's railing.

"Do I get free tickets because I'm your boy?"

"Tee-hee, you get a VIP pass!"

Valen was about to spend some time with his Pokémon when he spotted Rosa. Thus, Valen turns to his team of Pokémon, whom are relaxing on the lush, front lawn. "Hey, look who dropped by."

All six Pokémon appear to greet Rosa. Salamence and Typhlosion let out slight roars, Gengar waves hello, Gardevoir folds her arms and acknowledges Rosa with her eyes closed. Luxray and Golisopod pretend to be disinterested but still acknowledge her presence via a faint smirk and a cackle respectively.

"Ooooooh, it's your entire team!" Rosa cheers "The ferocious Salamence, the mischievous Gengar, the fiery Typhlosion, the elegant Gardevoir, the electrifying Luxray, and the menacing Golisopod! They all look amazing together!" Rosa exclaims with her hands clasped in front of her mouth.

Valen's Pokémon close their eyes out of joy. They loved having Rosa around, and they hope that she'll stay here.

Valen vividly remembers that Rosa's smile is an infectious one. Wherever the two of them went, she brought smiles with her. Her cheery demeanor makes it very hard to not feel at least a little but merrier. Even the brooding duo of Silver and Gladion couldn't help but smile around this girl.

"Ground control to Valey! Wake up, sleepyhead!"

"So, what brings you here?"

"Valey, the Rosa Rescue Rangers are here to assist you!" Rosa asserts with triumph, turning sideways as she points at Valen with her right ring finger, and places her left hand on her hip. "As both Battle Queen Rosa and Super Rosa, I forbid all sadness!"

"The Rosa Rescue Rangers?" Valen ponders as he stares blankly and blinks in confusion over Rosa's name choices. "Super Rosa?"

"I'm also Super Rosa now, and my Rosa Rescue Rangers will help you become a happier person!" Rosa asserts again like she's a super heroine within an action movie. "Together, we can defeat unhappiness, your mortal enemy! I'm your heroine, baroness, countess, duchess, princess, queen, angel, goddess, fangirl, girlfriend, future fiancé, and future wife, and I command you to smile!"

"Well then...this is an interesting development," Valen remarks as he blinks in confusion again, unsure what to make of this situation. "A very interesting development, to say the least."

Things go momentarily silent with only the breeze making any noise. The silence's broken when Valen loses his composure again.

"Super Rosa and the Rosa Rescue Rangers...I can't take this. Hahahahahaha, I can't...this is too much," Valen murmurs as he places his hand over his mouth, tearing up.

Then, Valen erupts with genuine laughter, much to Rosa's embarrassment.

"D-don't laugh!" A red-faced Rosa demands as she backs up a few feet. "T-This is serious! S-Serious responses only!"

"I'm sorry, but the fact that you're being serious make this so funny that even someone like me can't contain the laughter!" Valen howls, placing his hands on his ribs as he cries laughing. "I can't believe somebody actually made me laugh this much!"

"I-It's not f-funny!"

Valen's Pokémon are taken aback by this and look at each other in confusion, shock, and disbelief. All expect for Gengar, as the grinning ghost joins Valen in laughing.

Then, Gengar realizes that he can pull off his favorite antic, so the mischievous Pokémon vanishes into the ground, snickering to himself as he secretly heads towards Rosa to pull said antic.

At this moment, Gengar decides to make his presence known behind Rosa by re-appearing in the ground. Valen sees this and a faint smirk comes across his face. "Hey, I see a ghost behind you."

"Fineeeeeee, I'll play along!" Rosa responds as she turns around.

Then, Gengar quickly materializes into its full form and jumps up while laughing.

"EEEEEEYYYYAAAAA!" Rosa jumps backwards. Gengar roars with laughter, extremely pleased with his antic.

"Nobody wanted this house because a Gengar decided to move in," Valen explains with a lopsided smirk. "My mom bought the house to restore, while I battled and caught the Gengar. Mom kept the house so I had somewhere to stay when I moved out."

"W-What?!" Rosa places her right hand over her gaping mouth, jumping backwards.

Could a being from another world be watching people from behind any of the arched windows? What if there's an entity lurking behind Valen, waiting to take drag both to somewhere unknown?

"I thought I told her this before. Whatever, she's cute so she gets a pass."

"I-" Rosa begins to speak as she turns around to at Valen, her mouth curved into an affectionate, ear-to-ear smile.

"I remember this story now! I still love that attitude of yours!" Rosa affirms her feelings with sparkling eyes, clasping her hands next the right side of her head.

"I'm trying not to get exposed! Stop being so damn cute!"

"You're so awesome and cool!" Rosa gushes. " You even went to the trouble of looking for me, which was sooooooo sweet of you!"

"I would rather find more ghosts in my house than trying to figure this out!" Valen calms down, blinking in confusion over his own statement. "...That made even less sense."

"Ooooooh, you still haven't realized the harder you make it for me, the more fun I'll have in catching you!" Rosa winks.

"Wanna come inside and hang out with your boy?" Valen walks up the wooden steps leading up to the front door. The steps make a slight creaking noise, but it remains sturdy enough to use.

"Of courseeeee, you silly boy!" Rosa giggles.

"I could get used to having her around again." Valen faintly smiles as he's about to re-enter his house with Rosa behind him.

Valen's Pokémon look visibly joyful that their trainer is finally starting to open up more, albeit Valen still has the motivation of a Slowpoke and a Slaking combined when it comes to socializing and expressing himself, despite his unusual behavior.

"Oh, my other Pokémon need to say hi to you!" Rosa exclaims. "I'm sureeeee my Hydreigon and your Salamence will look adorable together again!"

Salamence's face begins to burn up, as the other five Pokémon fixate their gazes at him in a teasing manner. Typhlosion lets out a roar to tell Salamence that he's cute, causing him to cry out in embarrassment while she triumphantly grins.

"By the way, where are Melanie and Arthur?"

"Oh, now you're asking that?!" Melanie retorts with her hands on her hips, having just arrived with Arthur.

"Bye." Valen walks into his house, closing the brown wooden door. Gengar laughs, while the other Pokemon stare at the front door. They're smiling, because they know why he went inside.

"What's he up to?" Melanie stares into the front door's oval window.

Valen opens the door, stating, "I'm back."

The front steps creak as Valen walks down them, his right hand in his pocket. "Here you go," Valen says to Rosa as he walks down the steps, revealing that's he's holding a rose in his left hand.

Valen places the rose in Rosa's right hand, causing Rosa to blush immensely as she holds onto it.

"You're welcome," Valen remarks with a faint smile, walking past Rosa while glancing at her.

Rosa closes her eyes and holds rose over her heart. "I'll always love you." she affectionately smiles.

She's been hit on by guys who only saw her a pretty and popular trainer. None of those guys can even be in the same stadium as Valen. She'll make him feel those words again through her actions.

"So, what is the story behind the rose?" Arthur asks.

"I handed her a rose because I thought it made me look badass," Valen admits, placing his left hand in his pocket.

"Tee-hee, that's a good cover story!" Rosa faintly giggles. "Yoooou gave me the rose because you thought I was super cuteeeee!"

"I had already invited Rosa inside-"

"I changed my mind! Battle first, date second!" Rosa interjects. "Unless we can combine them and be a tag team!"

"I like the tag match idea."

"Rosa Rescue Rangers, assemble!" Rosa cheers. "Oooh, maybe it should be the R-Team or the Rosa League!"

"How about the Rosa Force?"

"Oooh, that sounds good!"

"Valen, don't encourage it."

"I just did."

"So far, this lovely day has been both amusing and perplexing," Arthur murmurs, smiling with his eyes closed.

"The future will decide if there's a heroine buried deep inside!" Rosa points her left index finger towards the sky "I wanna be a heroine! Rosa Force!"

"That's my girl." Valen smirks.

What do you think of Rosa and Valen's relationship so far?