It was a warm and pleasant day in the Central Plaza of Pasio where various trainers are relaxing after hours of training with their Pokemon. Some trainers decided to visit the cafes to eat lunch with their friends and partners.

Gloria, Marnie and Hop were standing in front of a restaurant, where a long line of people where waiting. Apparently, the restaurant's best selling dish is Galarian curry and many trainers were curious with the taste of the dish.

As curry aficionados, Gloria and Victor agreed to try the restaurant's best selling dish and judge for themselves the taste of the dish. They invited their friends Hop and Marnie who agreed to come with them. They extended the invitation to Bede but he snobbily declined, claiming he wanted to train his partner. In truth, Bede and Hatterene don't like crowds so they're likely just saving face.

"How long are we waiting for Victor?" Hop asks as he taps his foot impatiently. "I need to meet with Sonia later this afternoon for research. I can't wait all day for him." Marnie adds. "I can't wait for him that long either. I need to meet my brother later since he promised me that we'll train together." Gloria looks at them apologetically as she pulls her Rotom phone. "Sorry guys. Victor has always been late for everything. I'll call him."

"B-BUT YOU PROMISED YOU'D DATE ME!"

A loud whine caused all three of them to look at the source of the familiar voice. When they saw the pathetic sight in front of them, they all had various disappointed reactions.

Victor was on his knees begging as the Lass slaps his hand off of her shirt. "I never said I'd date you. I said I would consider it if you let me win." He was groveling in front of her as he pathetically cries. "B-but I did let you win. Even if your Wartortle had the type disadvantage against my Rillaboom."

He grabs her shirt once more as he begs. "Please be my girlfriend. I'd do anything to make you happy." The Lass just looked at him as if a Muk was clinging on her.

At this, the three of them approached their friend. "Okay mate, that's enough. You're harassing her already. She might report you if you continue to bother her." Hop grabs Victor away from the Lass and lifts him so he could stand up. Gloria and Marnie were bowing as they apologize. "We're so sorry for the bother. Our friend here loses his common sense when he's around girls."

"Please, just consider dating me then." Victor grabs the Lass's hand as he continues to beg. Annoyed with the boy's antics at this point, she quickly removed her hand from his and slapped him hard.

"WHO GAVE YOU THE IDEA THAT I'D EVEN DATE A PATHETIC LOSER LIKE YOU?! I ONLY AGREED TO BATTLE AGAINST YOU SO MY WARTORTLE WOULD EVOLVE INTO A BLASTOISE. THEN YOU ADDED SUCH NONSENSE ABOUT ME DATING YOU AFTER MY WARTORTLE AND I WON THE MATCH. I NEVER AGREED TO THAT!" The Lass was ranting as everyone else looks looks in bewilderment.

After her rant, the Lass took a long moment to calm down. Victor wordlessly reaches out his hand but the Lass suddenly ranted. "I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN!" With a huff, she stomped and left the group.

The group was frozen in place as a metaphorical cold wind passes over them, as if a Slowbro told a joke. When Victor turned to look at his friends, they all sported an expression that's a combination of pity, horror and disgust. He whines loudly. "WHY ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT ME LIKE I'M A GARBODOR?!" Gloria and Marnie turned their gaze elsewhere while Hop was whistling casually.

Hop starts. "Oh nothing. We were just wondering why you're late. Again." Marnie adds. "You were harassin' that lass. No wonder she didn't want anythin' to do with you." Gloria sighs in exasperation. "You were already late in getting here to Pasio. We thought that a Lass back home finally took pity on you and agreed on a date." Victor continues to whine. "Well, you didn't tell me you were all going to Pasio when I got dumped." Everyone else raises their eyebrows in doubt as they know that girls usually find Victor frankly annoying.

"Oh, it's a surprise to see you all here."

The group turned their gaze towards the source of the voice. They saw that Calem and Serena were greeting them. Victor blinks his eyes when he saw Serena's pretty face.

"Oh hey Calem and Serena. We're in line to try the curry they serve here." Gloria returns the greeting. Hop asks. "So what brings you both here?" Calem replies. "We were just walking around. We're supposed to meet with Professor Sycamore at the lab later." Serena adds while she points to the restaurant behind them. "We want to eat at that restaurant over there." Marnie offers. "Why don't you both join us for lunch? We were waitin' here since there was a line earlier."

Serena's eyebrows knit in worry as her eyes land on Victor, who was still kneeling on the ground. "Oh, you poor thing. Let's get you back up." She offers her hand which Victor grabs as he stands up. He notes that she has soft, delicate hands. "There we go." She took a good look at his face and noticed there was a scratch, where there was a small amount of blood pouring out. Seems like the Lass from earlier slapped him harder than she realized. "Oh dear. You have a small wound on your cheek."

Serena rummages in her bag for a antiseptic solution and a cotton pad. She sprays a small amount of solution on the cotton pad. "This will hurt a bit. Please bear with it for just second." Victor winces a bit as the solution rubbed the sore area. "Oww." Though Serena was careful enough so it doesn't sting as bad. She immediately pulls out a bandage just large enough and covers the wound with it. "There we go. Now we'll just wait for it to heal and it'll be good."

"Uwaaah ~" Victor smiles goofily as Serena smiles back at him. She pats herself for a job well done. "Oh, I don't think we've met before. I'm Serena. I'm a Pokemon Trainer from Kalos like Calem here."

Victor quickly grabs Serena's hands and shakes it vigorously as he hastily introduces himself. "Fancy to meet you Serena-chan. I'm Victor. I'm a Pokemon Trainer from Galar like my friends over here." He takes her hand as he leads her inside the restaurant. "They say that the curry here is the best in Pasio." He puffs his chest in pride. "I'm not one to brag but I cook quite an excellent curry myself. I'll judge whether their curry is indeed the best in Pasio or not."

Serena listens with interest as Victor tells her all about curry. Gloria, Hop and Marnie were dumbfounded that a pretty girl is actually being nice to Victor. Calem just looks at everyone confusedly.

They were able to find a table where six people can sit. As soon as Serena sat, Victor wasted no time in taking the seat right beside her. Gloria sits beside Victor so that she could yank him in case he does something stupid. Which she foresees is likely the case. Calem, Hop and Marnie sat in front of them. Calem looked even more confused as Hop and Marnie kept their eyes on Victor, who has a dopey smile plastered on his face. "Is he always like this?" He asks Hop as he nods exasperatedly. "Around pretty girls, yes."

Before long, everyone was served their order of Galarian curry and Kalosian sweets. Everyone ate as they continued with their own conversations. Calem, Gloria, Hop and Marnie have their own conversations about Pokemon battles. Meanwhile, Victor and Serena are having their own conversation about food.

While taking a spoonful of his curry, Victor shares. "When I first started cooking curry as a young lad, I made a mess of our kitchen. Mum got so angry that she forced me to play outside while she cleans the mess." Serena listens with interest. "Oh, so you had an interest in cooking even as a kid?" Victor nods. "Yes. I love curry as a lad. I would always ask mum to cook it for me. Eventually, she taught me how to cook it myself."

Serena smiles as she shares her own experience with baking. "That's so sweet of your mom. My mom was often busy with her job as a Rhyhorn Racer. She doesn't often get to cook when she's at home. We usually just order food outside." She shares. "I started to learn how to bake when we moved to Kalos. My mom got an oven when we moved to our new house. We learned the basics from our neighbors." She fondly recalls. "Shauna showed me around Lumiose City so we could try out the patisseries there. Siebold works for the most popular one so he took us as his students when he saw what we were trying to learn."

Serena laughs nervously as she recalls more. "Siebold is a strict teacher. He would tell you bluntly if it doesn't taste and look good. I remember when he shouted at Shauna once for letting the cookies we were baking in the oven burn. He would also always require us to be at the patisserie early, before the shops are open and just when the sun is still rising."

Victor looks worried for a bit before Serena assures him as she gives a gentle smile. "But, he is a great teacher. He taught us everything he knew. When we finally mastered the art of baking, he said he has never been prouder of his students." She fondly recalls the memory of the strict and stoic cook smiling at them and hugging them for their success.

Victor shares. "He reminds me of Melony. Gloria and I were her cooking students before. I understand what it was like being under a strict teacher." He laughs nervously. "You could say that she was like her Lapras. Caring but cold."

Serena took a spoonful of curry as she squealed in delight. "This is delicious. I never had a dish that's manages to make the sweet Custap berry work so well with the spices." Victor nods in agreement. "Curry is a really flexible dish. You could put any berry and the spices work together with it to bring out a lot of flavors." He laughs sheepishly. "That's why I'm always camping out in the forest. I always experiment with different berries and ingredients to see which work well together in the curry."

Serena had taken another spoonful of her curry and offers it to Victor, who was pleasantly surprised. "Here Victor, you should try this." He immediately realized that Serena feeding him her curry looks a lot like what Young Couples do. "Y-YES!!!" He ate the portion offered to him eagerly and agreed with Serena that the sweet flavored berries and cream work well together with the natural spices in the curry. He took a mental note of the ingredients used in the curry so he can create a better version for Serena.

Blushing red as a Tamato berry, he took a spoonful of his curry as he shyly offers. "This combination works well too. You should try it." Serena obliviously takes a bite out of the spoonful of curry that Victor was offering to her. "This is delicious. I never knew you could use apples as a curry ingredient." The subtle tartness of the Fancy Apple in the curry works so well with the various berries and spices to bring a variety of flavors. She's reminded of the journey she had experienced back home. She and Victor were oblivious to the expressions that Gloria, Hop and Marnie were trying to restrain as they eat their own curry.

"So you see. Trying to get berries from trees is a risky deal since there's a chance you'd have to battle either a Skwovet or a Greedent who are hoarding them. But it's worth it since berries add a lot of flavor to the curry." Victor explains animatedly as Serena listens with interest. "That's also a problem whenever I pick the berries from the Berry Farm. Sometimes I get Bug Pokemon battling me for disturbing them."

She explains that a kind old man and his family allowed her to plant Berries on the plot of land near their house. She helps the scientist that lives with them regarding her findings when certain berries grow next to each other. "I could show you around if you visit Kalos." At Serena's offer, Victor lights up like an Ampharos during the holidays. "I would fancy that Serena-chan. I could even show you around Galar and we'll explore the Wild Area together. That way, we could pick a lot of berries and camp outside."

Serena's eyes light with interest at the offer. "I've never been to Galar's Wild Area before. But I would love to experience camping there." She lets out a smile. "I will definitely visit Galar. I'll be in your care then, Victor."

Victor's dopey smile grows larger as he imagines how he'll make Serena's visit in Galar memorable for her. His wild imagination has taken him back home.

In the Wild Area of Galar, various Pokemon like Zigzagoon and Skwovet are scurrying among the grasses and trees. Water type Pokemon are frolicking in the ponds and lakes while Flying type Pokemon were hovering above. Among the various melodies dotting the wilderness are two footsteps running joyously.

Victor and Serena were running in the Wild Area with their hands held together. Victor was leading Serena around as he points towards the various berry trees. "Over here! The Pecha berries here are delicious."

"There's also a lot of other berries growing here. I'll make us a huge pot of curry. I can do it really well, Serena-chan." Victor was looking behind as he leads Serena, who nods. "Yes. Please make a lot, Victor." She asks as Victor smiles blissfully. "Uwaaah ~"

The overwhelming feeling of euphoria was too much for Victor to keep inside. He jumps high as he shouts happily. "YAHOO!"

As they approach a river, Victor tells Serena. "There's a river up ahead. It's shallow so that's fine, right?" Upon hearing that they'd have to cross a river, Serena stops on her tracks. "A river?"

As he also skids to a stop, Victor looks worriedly as she confesses. "Victor, what should I do?" She looks down for a moment before looking at him like an Eevee using Baby Doll Eyes. "I can't swim."

The admission of her inability to swim has caused Victor to instantly feel like a Gallade protecting a Gardevoir. There was no way that he'd let his dear Serena drown. He thought of an incredible solution to this obstacle. "I-I'll just carry you on my back and jump over the river!" He squeaks as he offers.

"Not even your toes will get wet, Serena-chan!" He assures her as he kneels down so she could settle on his back. Once he's sure that she's comfortably positioned, he places his feet more firmly unto the ground. Like a Pikachu about to use Volt Tackle, he gathers an electrifying aura then quickly sprints forward. "Just leave it to me!" He continues to assure her as they jumped over the boulders carefully but swiftly.

"Let's go!"

Both Victor and Serena giggle with happiness as they cross the river to take them to the area where sweet Pecha berries grow. And in that moment, Victor felt the sweet taste of his first love.

"Ehehehehe ~" Victor was laughing happily by himself before it was rudely cut off by Gloria smacking him behind the head. As he snaps back to reality, Gloria gives him a deadpan expression. "You were laughing alone. It's embarrassing."

He immediately turns to face Serena, who looks at him with an adorable expression of confusion and concern. She was tilting her head cutely so he hastily explains. "Oh, don't worry Serena-chan. I was just planning where I would take you once you visit Galar." Luckily for him, she didn't notice that he was planning something grand for her.

Before long, everyone was full from the delicious food they ate and the stories they shared with each other. Everyone got out of the restaurant as they thanked the staff for the wonderful meal.

Hop, Calem and Serena were on one side of the plaza towards the road leading them to the lab. Marnie, Gloria and Victor were on another side to lead them the path towards the forest. Gloria and Victor agreed to help Marnie train with her brother.

"Well mates. We better be off to the lab." Hop starts as Calem adds. "It was fun being with you all. Thanks for being with us."

Serena nods as she looks at them. "Thanks for inviting us to lunch. We had fun." She turns to look at Victor. "And thank you for giving me wonderful tips for cooking. I'll be sure to cook Galarian curry at home for my mom."

Just then, Victor went forward and clasped Serena's hands on his own. Trying to look suave in front of their friends, he speaks in a low and deep voice. "It was my pleasure, Serena-chan." Serena tilts her head oblivious of his intentions. Gloria, Marnie and Hop cringed at their friend's attempt to sweep a pretty girl off of her feet. Calem just looked at all of them confused.

Gathering all his courage, Victor blurts out loudly. "SERENA-CHAN! PLEASE BE MY GIRLFRIEND!!!" Due to how loud his voice is, everyone was stunned for a while. Except for Victor, all of them were moving like a horde of Spinda. When everyone finally got snapped out of their confusion, Serena asks as she's still recovering from her confusion. "What did you say?"

Victor looks down a bit nervous to gather any remaining courage before repeating his question in a softer voice. Gloria, Marnie and Hop were giving him dirty looks for temporarily stunning all of them with how loud he was. "Serena-chan, will you be my girlfriend?"

Calem looks in bewilderment as even he understood what Victor was asking from his friend. Gloria, Marnie and Hop seem to be on edge as they want to leap at the right moment to rescue their friend before he makes a fool of himself again.

Serena paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought before she replied. "But, aren't we friends already?"

"HUH?!?!?!" Everyone else stared at her like an Espurr before she explains. "We're cooking buddies now." She tilts her head cutely like a Clefable with Unaware.

Everyone was silent for an uncomfortable long while, as if another Slowbro told a joke while a Murkrow is calling it an idiot on the background.

Gloria, Hop, Marnie and even Calem were doing their best to stifle their erupting laughter at the scene of the oblivious Serena unknowingly placing the hopeful Victor in the friendzone.

"Victor?" Serena calls his name in concern as he has a blank expression on his face, with one of his eyes twitching a bit. It's like Marnie's Morpeko used Nuzzle on him to paralyze him in place. In his mind, utter chaos was erupting as he was processing Serena's answer to his question.

Inside the deep recesses of his mind, many thoughts were fighting to gain dominance. He couldn't decide if being regarded as her cooking buddy hurts more than being outright rejected. But then, he recalled hearing from many Young Couples that the first step towards everlasting love is friendship. He'll take his time wooing her, one Pichu step at a time. After all, Serena has a heart as beautiful as her face. She's the kind of girl he'll want to be in a relationship with.

Before long, Victor let out a dopey smile as he finally accepted Serena's answer for now. "Ehehehehe. That's right, Serena-chan. We're cooking buddies."

Calem looks at Victor suspiciously before just shrugging at the situation in front of him. It's not his business to interfere in his friend's love life, no matter how dense she is with how hard Victor is crushing on her. Gloria, Marnie and Hop were still eyeing their friend suspiciously as they know all too well that Victor wouldn't give up on his quest to get a pretty and kind girl like Serena to be his girlfriend.

But they're hopeful that Serena would continue to be his friend. As it is, she's blissfully unaware that Victor has a huge crush on her. Victor places a hand behind his head as he laughs dopely at the situation. "Ehehehehe ~"

Serena smiles back at him like a Steenee with Oblivious being subjected to Attract. In her mind, she's glad that she has a nice guy like Victor for a new friend. "Hehe ~"