It was half-past eight in the evening, and the group decided to stop and set up camp for the night. Gwen volunteered to cook dinner while Timothy and Coovers set up the table and Electchu and Winnie played. Timothy had a troubled look as they set up, for his mind was still on Gwen. Coovers looked at his best friend, puzzled as they began laying Pokémon food bowls on the grass.

"Are you okay Timothy?" He asked.

Timothy snapped out of his train of thought and turned to Coovers.

"Did you say something Coovers?" He asked.

"I asked if you're okay?" Coovers answered.

"Yeah, of course I am," Timothy lied.

"Are you sure? You kinda look like you're on edge," Coovers said. "I thought you'd be more confident after getting a good head start on the World Coronation Series. What's bugging you?"

Timothy grew uneasy, not wanting to share his feelings with the person who wanted him to make a move on Gwen for the longest time. His lack of response made Coovers more worried for his friend until Timothy thought of a half-lie and looked away from Coovers to make it look like he was reluctant to answer.

"I'm worried about what Ezria's fans said about her hinting on TV that she's interested in me," Timothy said. "The way they were acting, it almost sounded like Ezria may as well have confessed her feelings to me."

Coovers was silent for a moment in confusion before he snickered and said, "Really? How can you be worried about that? You crushed all three of those dweebs, and I doubt any other guys competing in the World Coronation Series because of Ezria will fare any better. If anything, having more of them challenge you will probably guarantee you'll be up to the Great Class."

"It's not the World Coronation Series I'm worried about, Coovers. It's how far Ezria's going in expressing her feelings," Timothy said. "It's bad enough that I'm getting her hopes up, but what about the rest of her adoring fans who aren't trying to get her to date them? They might take her implication as a fact too, and root for her to get with me. If I'm not careful, that's gonna make things more ugly if we don't nab the chairman without Ezria finding out I'm using her. If she finds out, then all of Galar will find out."

Coovers scratched his chin in thought and said, "I see your point. Though, maybe her fans will be understanding if they learn she's in league with someone risking their safety."

"Maybe," Timothy said. "But even then, I still have to make it look like Ezria has a chance for the sake of the mission, and I've never acted that way with someone before."

Coovers laughed and said, "Well, the answer is obvious, Timbo. I'll teach you how to woo a lady, and Ezria will be so infatuated that she'll trust you with Eternatus' location in no time."

Timothy let out a nervous titter and said, "No offense, Coovers, but I don't think you're the right person to ask for help when you've never dated someone a day in your life."

"That's fair," Coovers said before his eyes lit up. "Why don't you ask Gwen? I'm sure she would be willing to give you some ideas."

Timothy's eyes widened, and he turned his head to Gwen, who was still focused on making dinner. His cheeks turned pink until he shook it off before Coovers noticed.

"No, I don't want to bother Gwen asking for help on how to flirt with someone she's not a big fan of," he said.

"That's also fair," Coovers said with a teasing smirk. "It's probably best that you don't learn about how to win the lady's heart when you might be interested in that particular person. She might be on to you if you try using her advice on her."

Timothy glowered at Coovers with his cheeks turning red, but his reaction only amused Coovers more. Coovers put his hand on Timothy's shoulder and said, "All teasing aside Timothy, you can't afford to be picky when Ezria might be our ticket to Eternatus. If you won't ask Gwen or me for help, then how will you be ready for the next time we bump into the chairman's favorite person?"

Timothy furrowed his brow, accepting Coovers was right. Coovers and Gwen were the only people he was always around, and there was no telling when he might run into someone trustworthy apart from them like Sonia or Professor Magnolia. Even then, he would rather seek help for what to do about his thoughts on Gwen than how to play love interest with Ezria. He pinched the bridge of his nose, growing frustrated until something clicked in his mind.

"Of course," he whispered.

"Did you think of something?" Coovers asked.

"I think so," Timothy said. "Tell Gwen to keep my dinner hot. This might take a while."

"Huh? What are you going to do?" Coovers asked.

"Make a private call," Timothy answered as he began walking away from the campsite.

Coovers watched Timothy walk away, confused that what Timothy was thinking about needing to be hidden from him. Timothy walked further away from the campsite until he found a large tree and stood behind it to stay out of sight. He peeked from his hiding spot to make sure he wasn't being followed and sighed.

"I hope I know what I'm doing," he said as he took out his Rotom Phone.

Cerise Park was livelier in the few weeks since Cerise Laboratory opened. Goh, developed a passion for capturing Pokémon as part of his dream to capture Mew, and so began catching Pokémon wherever he, Ash, Serena, and Pikachu went. Thus, the park was filled with a Taillow, a Tentacool, a Mantyke, a Sentret, a Stantler, a Misdreavus, a Dewgong, a Skwovet, a Darmanitan, a Sandile, a giant Golurk, a Cubone, a Spearow, three Cascoon, and every single Bug type Pokémon in the Kanto region. Goh was feeding his Pokemon their dinner with his Scorbunny, who evolved into a Raboot the day before. Ash, meanwhile, was training with Pikachu and his new Pokémon, Gengar, by the river.

But up on a hill inside the park, Serena enjoyed a quiet time with her Pokemon. Sylveon, Panchum, and Poliwhirl played while Delphox sat down on the grass, enjoying time to itself with its eyes closed. Serena was sitting beside Delphox, brushing Absol's fur as it rested its head on Serena's leg. The smile on the Disaster Pokémon's face warmed Serena's heart, knowing it was cherishing the quality time with its mother figure. With a few more strokes, Serena put her hairbrush back in her bag, and Absol lifted its head.

"You're all done, Absol," Serena said. "You can go play with the others now."

"Absol," Absol said.

Absol raced to Sylveon, Panchum, and Poliwhirl just as they started a game of tag. Serena's smile grew as she watched her dear Pokémon play without a care. She then looked ahead to the other side of the river, where Ash, Pikachu, and Gengar were training. Ash was filled with energy, having won his first World Coronation Series battle against Visquez, Lt. Surge's substitute as the Vermilion City Gym Leader. Serena hugged her legs as she watched the love of her life in bliss.

Suddenly, she felt a vibration coming from her coat pocket.

"You have a call from Timothy. You have a call from Timothy. You have a call from Timothy," her Rotom Phone said.

Serena took out her phone and looked at Timothy's name on the screen, confused. She pressed the answer button and held her phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Serena. It's Timothy," Timothy said.

"Timothy, what a surprise," Serena said. "How's the Gym Challenge?"

"It's going well. Got my third Gym Badge the other day. I also started competing in this thing called the World Coronation Series this morning," Timothy replied.

"Oh, you're partaking in the World Coronation Series?" Serena asked with a smile. "Ash is competing too. He had his first battle today."

"Is he? I would love to have a battle the next time I see him," Timothy said. "Actually, Serena, that's not the reason I'm calling. I'm hoping you can help me with something."

"Sure. What is it?" Serena asked.

Timothy hesitated and said, "Before I tell you, I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this. This is something I am keeping a secret from Coovers and Electchu, so I need your word that you won't tell anybody about this conversation."

Serena's eyes widened, baffled that Timothy was hiding something from his two closest friends. It took a moment before she collected herself and said, "I promise I won't tell anyone."

The receiver became silent again, making Serena wonder if Timothy was still on the phone. She then heard a loud sigh and Timothy mumbling.

"I have a crush on someone."

"Sorry, what was that?" Serena asked.

"I have a crush on someone."

"Still didn't catch it," Serena said. "Can you please speak up?"

"I have a crush on someone!" Timothy shouted.

Serena's eyes widened, and her mouth hung a gape. She couldn't tell if she heard Timothy correctly or if she imagined it. After half a minute, her face lit up, and she squealed.

"You have a crush?!"

"Pipe down! You want the whole world to hear you?!" Timothy hissed.

Serena giggled in excitement and said, "Sorry, Timothy. I just can't believe it. I've been hoping you'll want to find someone special one day, and now it's happened!"

"Hey, wait a minute. I didn't say I want to find someone. I just… happen to think of a woman a certain way," Timothy said.

"Does that include thinking you might want to date this special lady?" Serena asked smugly.

"Uh, I don't know if I would use the word 'date,' but I guess I wouldn't mind spending time with her alone," Timothy answered reluctantly.

Serena's smile stretched to the side of her cheeks.

"What's her name?" She asked.

"Um, let's call her Anna," Timothy said.

"Call her Anna? What's wrong with her real name?" Serena asked.

"I'm not ready to go so far in admitting these feelings as to say her first name, so we're gonna go with her middle name," Timothy answered.

Serena covered her mouth to hide a snort before she burst out laughing in a high-pitched voice.

"You're too embarrassed to say her name? Timothy, that's so silly," she said.

"Oh, right. And what did you do when you saw Ash for the first time since you were little? Run over to him with open arms and kiss him full in the mouth a million times?" Timothy remarked.

Serena instantly grew silent; her pupils like grains of sand and her face barn red. She and Ash have given each other kisses every day since they got together, but to kiss multiple times in one sitting was something the honey blonde girl didn't yet dare to do with her beloved. She took a deep breath to collect herself and spoke calmly with only her cheeks still red.

"S-so, tell me about 'Anna,'" she said. "What do you like about her?"

Timothy took a moment to think about it and said, "Well, she's smart, passionate about her dream, kind and compassionate to people and Pokémon, and has this incredible talent for drawing and understanding what Pokémon are saying perfectly…"

"Is she really pretty?" Serena asked.

Timothy hesitated again and said, "I was going to say she's a great cook next, but yes, she's very pretty."

Serena smiled again and asked, "And how do you feel when you're around her?"

The honey blonde girl heard her friend groan from the receiver as though he were embarrassed to answer the question.

"I don't know. Glad?" he answered begrudgingly. "Like, I want to be there when she's trying to accomplish her dream and to have her back when she's afraid of something. I want her to always be happy no matter what comes her way… and maybe being the person she always wants by her side would be nice."

Serena's smile stretched out again the more Timothy spoke. It was too good to be true to her that her older friend was beginning to ease up on the idea of romance after knowing him being someone who deemed it irrelevant. As far as Serena was concerned, Timothy developing romantic feelings for a woman was almost as miraculous as Ash falling in love with her.

Timothy sighed again, saying, "I feel ridiculous for saying all of this."

"Timothy, you have no reason to feel ridiculous at all," Serena said. "Everything you said sums up how I feel about Ash. Watching him reach his goal, being there when he's troubled, making him smile; being able to do all of those things is one of the things I treasure about being together with him."

"Heh, when you put it like that, you really are the right person to talk to," Timothy said.

Serena giggled and asked, "What's wrong with talking to Coovers about this?"

"He's been trying to get me into pursuing something with 'Anna,' and if I admit to having a crush after brushing him off so many times, I'll never live it down," Timothy answered. "Besides, he's over passionate about romance like Brock. Would you trust Brock to teach Ash how to be romantic toward you properly?"

"Point taken," Serena said with a nervous chuckle. "So, you're asking for help with expressing your feelings to 'Anna?'"

Timothy let out incoherent words of hesitance before he answered, "Y-yes, please."

Serena's face brightened again, and she said, "I'd be happy to."

"Great," Timothy said with enthusiasm in his voice. "So, how do I imply that I'm interested in her?"

Serena looked up at the skyline, scratched her chin in thought for a moment, and asked, "Well, does she know you support her dream and that you like her drawings?"

"Yes, she does," Timothy said. "In fact, I told her last night that I'm rooting for her instead of her rival who has Coovers to encourage her."

"Great. Then you're already at a great start," Serena said.

"I am?" Timothy asked.

"Of course. It shows that you really care about her and her dreams, especially if it's just you while Coovers is supporting someone else," Serena said.

"Okay, great. What else?" Timothy asked.

Serena took another moment to think and said, "You should also get to know her better. Ask her about things like where she's from, why she's pursuing her dream, why she likes to draw, her favorite food, things like that."

"Hmm, well I already know where she's from and why she's pursuing her dream, but I would like to know why she likes to draw," Timothy said.

"There you go," Serena said. "Do you think she might like you back?"

For several seconds, Serena heard Timothy making hesitant and bashful sounds.

"I don't know. Maybe," he said. "I mean, we were getting to know each other better last night away from Coovers and our other friend, and when I suggested we go back to the campsite, 'Anna' asked if we could stay where we were alone together."

He paused again before he continued.

"And I don't know if 'Anna' realized this, but she had her hand on top of mine the whole time we just enjoyed the night sky."

"Oh, Timothy that's wonderful," Serena chirped. "That has to mean she likes you too."

"Are you sure? It could be just a coincidence," Timothy said. "I mean, it's not like she was giving me some lovey-dovey look like when Brock and Holly are together."

"Uh, I don't think Brock and Holly are the best examples of how people normally show they're into each other," Serena said. "Most people usually aren't so… direct when expressing they like someone."

"Are you sure? Cause it seems pretty clear that behaving somewhat like them is a normal way to show it," Timothy said.

"What do you mean?" Serena asked.

"Well, you see, another woman is infatuated with me, to put it mildly," Timothy said.

"Another woman? Timothy, I hope you're not going to try and pursue both of these ladies. Remember what happened with Brock?" Serena said.

"No. I swear I'm not," Timothy said. "I mean, technically I am, but only because I have to with the other woman when I want to with only 'Anna.'"

"I don't follow," Serena said.

"Coovers will have my head if I tell you this, but he's here in Galar on a mission for the International Police, and he needs me and my reputation to accomplish his mission," Timothy said. "Lives may be at risk, and being on good terms with the other woman might save them."

"You're wooing a woman to save lives?" Serena asked.

"I know. I know. It's completely ridiculous, but this woman just happened to have heard of my accomplishments and developed a crush on me," Timothy said. "Whenever we bump into her, she asks questions about me and if I'm interested in romance. She always makes sure she's sitting next to me when we're having a meal with friends, and she keeps giving me looks that make it obvious she has a thing for me."

"I see," Serena said. "So, you think because she acts that way to you, you think that's how "Anna' would behave if she likes you?"

"Well, the other woman isn't Brock, Holly, or Coovers, so it seems to make sense," Timothy answered. "Heck, we're both competing in the Gym Challenge, and she took a moment of me claiming I'm going to win as me flirting."

Serena laughed and said, "I can see how that would be misleading, but as I said, most people don't express they like someone like that."

Her eyes turn to Ash, who is still training his Pokémon.

"Take me with Ash. Ever since we got together, I've been showing him how much he means to me daily. I hug, kiss, and say I love him, but that's not all. There are moments I just want to look into his eyes, be very close to him when we are with each other or with friends, and when he talks to me I give him my undivided attention. There are still so many things Ash doesn't yet understand about romance, but all of that is enough to make it clear to him that my feelings are true, and every moment we are together is precious to me."

"Looking into each other's eyes and listening to each other is all you need to know someone likes you?" Timothy asked.

"They can be," Serena replied.

Serena heard a hum in thought from the receiver before Timothy said, "Well, we have been staring at each other like that sometimes, so, maybe Gwe - er, 'Anna' does feel that way. But how do I know for sure?"

"I think the only way you can do that is to make the first move," Serena answered. "Ask if she'd like to do something with you, like go out to dinner or a walk in the park. Maybe give her a gift. Something simple yet shows that you care."

"How can I show I care about her with something simple?" Timothy asked. "Wouldn't it be more meaningful if I give her something really nice?"

Serena's smile grew as she watched Ash, her mind on a special night in Coumarine City.

"Trust me, Timothy. Sometimes the most simple of gifts can be the most meaningful," she said.

Timothy hesitantly groaned and said, "Okay, I'll trust you."

"Good. So, do you know how you will make the first move?" Serena asked.

"Um, I honestly have no idea," Timothy confessed. "I guess I should ask her on a date, but that might be difficult when we're kinda pressed for time because of Coovers's mission, and I still don't want him to be aware of my feelings."

Serena furrowed her brow and said, "Don't take too long to make a move Timothy. I understand you guys are on an important mission, but you can't let your pride keep you from something wonderful."

Her face softened with unease as she continued.

"Plus, if another woman is chasing you, then you need to make it clear to 'Anna' that you want to be with her before things get messy. I know a thing or two about rivals for the person you love making moves first because I'm too shy to do it. Believe me: it's not worth worrying that you will lose the person you care about."

Timothy let out a heavy sigh and said, "You're right. Coovers and I can't have the other woman know my true feelings, and 'Anna' knows I'm not into the other woman, but there is a chance that I'll miss my shot if I wait too long while pretending to like the other person. Granted, if things work out with 'Anna,' it might complicate things before the job is done, but that might be what we have to face before I ever have to interact with the other women again."

"Good. I'm glad you understand," Serena said, smiling again.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Timothy asked.

Serena took a moment to think about it, and her smile grew as the answer became clear.

"Don't give up until it's over."

The phone was silent for another moment before Timothy let out a light chuckle.

"I feel I should have known you were going to say that," he said, earning a giggle from Serena. "Anyway, I should let you go. 'Anna' and Coovers are likely wondering where I am by now."

"Of course," Serena said. "Best of luck to you, Timothy."

"Thanks," Timothy said. "Good night, Serena."

"Good night," Serena replied.

With a click, the phone fell silent, and Serena put it back in her pocket. She went back to looking at the night sky through the skyline with a smile plastered on her face. Her heart leaped for her dear friend, confident that he would accomplish his goal with her advice.

Serena then looked down to see Ash still training with Pikachu and Gengar, and her smile grew. She stood up, walked down the hill, and crossed the bridge to the other side of the river, where Ash let his Pokemon take a break. He heard the sound of footsteps and turned around to see Serena walking over to him.

"Hey, Serena," he said. "What's -"

Before Ash could finish his question, Serena wrapped her arms around him, pulled him over, and smashed her lips together with his. Ash's eyes widened, taken aback as his girlfriend held on to the kiss with a soft moan. She then broke the kiss to give her beloved a loving smile.

"I love you so much, Ash," Serena said.

Ash said nothing for a moment, still taken aback, then he smiled back and said with a toothy grin, "I love you too."

Serena's heart skipped a beat, and she tightened her hug, saying, "Hold me." Ash wrapped his arms around Serena, and she let out a blissful sigh with her eyes as she rested her head on Ash's shoulder. As the two teenagers held each other in a moment of pure love, Serena began to wonder how Timothy might win the heart of the woman he liked.