Over the next three weeks, Larry and Katy's relationship progressed, as they continued seeing each other between their two cities for romantic meet-ups. Neither of them had told their close friends or coworkers about their relationship yet, having decided they weren't ready for that level of attention.

Besides, they agreed that it was a lot of fun keeping a secret, with Katy noting that it added some "spice".

As far as Katy's underlings, Larry's coworkers, or the rest of the Gym Leaders and Elite Four knew, they were just very good friends who liked taking time out to see each other.

Of course, it was extremely hard to hide the fact that being a couple was having very noticeable effects on their behavior and daily routines. Both the customers and the assistant chefs at Patisserie Soapberry took note of how much cheerier Katy was even for what they were used to. Krista barely had time to keep up with how many dessert trays Katy was suddenly able to prepare in an hour since the mutual confession.

Meanwhile, Rika and Hassel continued to be bemused yet amused at Larry's sudden boosted energy in the Champion Assessments. Rika once heard Larry tell her "Working hard or hardly working, right?" while in the office with her and thought she was having a stroke.

But neither one was without their problems. Larry was still falling behind on his paperwork, with Geeta calling him into her office just to scold him, both for constantly missing his deadlines and for hanging up on her.

"What do you on your time off is fine, but when I have important information that needs to be communicated, I expect you to be able to take a call as much as I expect you to be taking your roles seriously. Our League can't afford for any of us to start falling behind, especially right now."

So Larry was now forcing himself into unpaid overtime by working far into the night at his home office and crunching in the morning to try to keep all his appointments on time. And in the meantime, trying desperately not to look like he was going many nights sleepless, especially from Katy who he knew would be concerned.

Even to his own chagrin, he'd started watching beauty tutorials from Tulip… on how to mask your sleep-deprived facial features.

"And men, remember what morning foundation can do for your pores! Like I always say, a little yellow keeps a fellow from looking mellow!"

"You would've been a killer in my last job's marketing department…" Larry once muttered to his computer screen.

For Katy meanwhile, that last Gym Battle had been an eye-opener for her… and not in the best way. Ever since that encounter with Ceruledge, she was having bomb after bomb of Challenger matches and acquiring a losing streak. It was like her confidence had been completely rattled after that one match, as she caught herself making rookie mistakes and assuming too much of her opponents, leading to a string of losses.

It was reaching a point where she began to dread Challengers coming to Cortondo to face her instead of being excited for them, and she started burying herself more in her pastry work to keep her mood up.

Probably the most telling aspect of how Katy's battles were going was when she called Larry in rash excitement during her shift because she'd actually won a battle.

"Congratulations," a weary Larry said on the phone from his work office. "Was it a tough Trainer?"

"Uh—" Katy took a second to search for words. "It was… a good brawl. Their Fuecoco hadn't evolved yet, but… they did have a Naclstack! And if my Lokix hadn't Sucker Punch'd it, its salt curing probably would've been the end of me! So that's, that's something to feel proud about! …Right?"

Larry was puzzled at the tone he was picking up from Katy. It sounded almost… insecure.

"Yeah. Of course it is, Katy. Any victory over a Challenger is a cause for celebration." He looked thoughtfully for a minute. "In fact… how about we celebrate it together? This Saturday?"

"R-really?" Katy exclaimed in delight. Then she covered her mouth, fearing that customers may have heard her. "I mean… yeah! Yeah! That sounds wonderful! I'd love to!"

"Great. Then it's a date! See you soon, Sugarbug."

"Hee-hee! You too, my exceptional man!" She hung up in delight.

After a few seconds though, a cloud briefly overtook Katy as her overworked mind began to show on her face. She forced herself to focus on this date as she said, "Something to look forward to again at last. I really needed this…"

Feeling a new resolve, she dutifully went back out to her station.

Larry hung up too. His eyes shifted back to the bright screen in front of him. Windows upon windows were open. He was juggling four different assignments at once, between corresponding through the Slackoth meeting app, having two different reports open in a word processor, and using a program to generate battle data calculations from different competitions.

With a sigh, he allowed himself to shut the monitor off just for a minute, to let his strained eyes rest.

"Why did I say so Saturday so impulsively?" he cursed himself. "I don't actually know how free my schedule is. I might end up having a lot of catch-up to do this weekend…"

His fingers ran through his messy hair for a few seconds as he tried to gather himself, before moving them down and letting his hands smack onto the desk in defiance.

"No. I need to be my own man for once. This job is my life, but my life is not… this job? Is that what Rika once said?" Feeling a cramp, he leaned his head back to steady himself. "Ugh, I need a weekend like this more than I thought…"

Saturday eventually arrived. And the two of them got busy setting up. Katy was where you'd expect her to be, putting on perfume and dressing herself up all pretty at her home in Cortondo. But as for Larry well, he sure wasn't in Medali. And no one realized that today better than—

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE DOESN'T OWN THE TREASURE EATERY!? WHY IS HE HERE ALL THE TIME THEN?!"

The doors to the Treasure Eatery suddenly thrust open, as the Gym Leader of Levincia found herself being physically commanded out of the building.

"H-hey! You can't do this to me!" Iono snarled, almost stumbling down the stairs. "Don't you know who I am!? I'm world-famous, my reach stretches across the globe! I could have this measly place shut down in just one nasty post!"

"Oh, pease! The regulars of this restaurant know better than to trust opinions from some influencer," said an unmoved Valencia. "As for me, I've had it up to here with you harassing our town's star and bothering all our customers! If I ever see you set foot in here again, I'll call the police and have you charged with disturbing the peace! Leave Larry and the rest of Medali alone and go be somebody else's problem!"

With that, Valencia slammed the doors on a stunned Iono. She looked like she was about to tear up at first, until she swallowed her guilt and started flailing her arms in frustration, something having finally snapped in her.

"That's it! THASSIT!" she cried to the heavens. "You think you've had it up to here!? I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE! I've been dragging my butt all over Paldea, I've been smacked in the head with a Tinkaton's hammer, and I got bullied by some larper with a whole forest full of meanie toxic Pokémon! AND ALL FOR SOME SUAVE SMUGLORD WHO THINKS HE'S TOO GOOD TO GIVE ME AND MY STREAM THE TIME OF DAY! EEEERRRAAAGGHHH!"

With an enraged yell, she tossed out a Poké Ball in the middle of the street. Her Kilowattrel popped out and cried loudly into the air.

"No more Miss Goody Two-Shoes! It's time to start playing dirty!" Iono declared, a mischievous look in her twitching eyes. "From what the streets have been saying, lately where there's been a Larry, there's almost always a Katy there too. And if that one anonymous Ionite's tip was correct…"

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a bottle of perfume. The yellow bottle had a black label with a stylized picture of the Pokémon Vespiquen, bearing Tulip's company logo and the text "Vespiquen's Secret Aroma No. 6 – For Dangerous Queens".

"…then this will be the perfect baker bug lady tracker!"

She popped open the bottle and let her Kilowattrel sniff the liquid inside. The huge electric bird took in the aroma, closed its eyes to get a feel, and then sharply opened them again, flapping its wings as it got ready to home in on the scent.

Iono rubbed her sleeves together like a mad villain. "There's no escaping from me this time, Larry! Your days are as numbered as my views will be! Ha-ha-ha-ha! MWAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"

The All-Seeing Eye stood at the end of a street in Alfornada, its building design echoing much of the same ancient religious-inspired architecture in the rest of the beautiful city. Orange lights surrounded the rich purple box-shaped exterior, and above the signage stood a huge eye-shaped fixture that resembled the Tera Crown of a Terastallized Pokémon with a Psychic Tera Type.

Inside, the restaurant had all the makings of a rustic yet fancy dining establishment. Ceramic plates adorned the walls along with scrolls of gorgeous artwork and olden language, with beautiful silk tablecloths over every table, and in the center of this particular dining room, a wonderous floral installation towering over most people's heights, encasing a topiary in the shape of a Florges.

It was here that Katy and Larry were shown in. Larry had on his best dress suit, with a fancy new tie he bought himself, while Katy wore her best purple evening gown, which she was delighted still fit her despite not being worn for over three years, and a large glittery handbag (a birthday gift from Tulip). She also wore the same white sightseer's hat she had on during her first visit to Medali.

Katy marveled at all the sights inside, gazing up at the antique chandeliers and admiring the flowers. As the two of them got seated at a luxury table by a window, Katy immediately spotted something outside.

"Look! There's Tulip's studio right there!" She pointed at a small purple building across the street with an awning that bore Tulip's designer logo and company name.

"Oh, is it? How interesting," said Larry in a tone that sounded a bit like a feign.

"Yup! That's also where her makeup lab is. Some freaky stuff goes on in there apparently. Even I've never been allowed to go in. She's probably running illegal experiments on Pokémon in there to get that perfect shade of red eyeliner."

Larry just chuckled in response.

"It's crazy to think that I've been there several times, but this is the first time I've gotten to eat right here. I thought reservations here were impossible! How did you manage to not only get us in, but with VIP seating!?"

"Oh… I have my ways," he said coyly.

What Larry didn't tell her was that he knew very well that building was Tulip's studio because the day before…

"What… exactly… are you doing?" he asked, trying not to wince as he felt his cheeks getting pulled, and his face lines smushed together.

"Appraising you, dear," Tulip said as if that was a normal answer. "Like a work of art, I can read all the lines on your face and learn everything I need from that."

Larry drew forth a sigh, the sigh that told how much he was already beginning to regret approaching her.

"Hmmm… your aura is considerably different since the last time ours crossed. Much less like Geeta's."

"Is that a good thing, a bad thing?"

"Beauty experts like me don't live in the world of black and white like you, darling… or your tailor. But in your case, you seem less droopy, pessimistic, and depressed manic." She took a big sniff from the air. "Ahhh! Lime basil! A very fine cologne choice! So you do care more about your presentation!"

"You and Rika should hang out more," Larry commented. "You're both very good at giving backhanded complime—"

Suddenly, Tulip gasped loudly. "¡Caracoles! Wait just a minute!" And then, once again with no morning, Larry found his face being grabbed and mangled.

"…Your cheeks. Your eyelids. Your glabellar lines. Your pores!" She was looking at his face in awe before a sly smile came across hers. "You devil. You've been following my beauty tips."

"What the-? You can tell that just by looking at my face?"

"Oh my stars! You're trying to look better for Katy! By using my advice! How very cute and charming!" Tulip marveled, grasping her own face in delight.

"Uhh, sure. Let's go with that." Larry figured that was true on some level.

"Bravo! I see it now! You have changed a lot! Once, you were too vain and uninterested in your appearance! Now you're on a journey to being beautiful! Oh, my dear Katy had better hold on tightly to you! I might try to steal you so I can profit off your amazing life story."

"Oh sweet Arceus, please no." I don't need TWO women chasing me down for interviews…

"I kid, darling! I kid," she giggled, eyes closed. "…Mostly. Anyway, yes, yes. I shall gladly fulfill your request. Two VIP reservations at the Eye for two beautiful starlets! That is…" she opened one eye. "On one condition."

"What's that?"

"I must have you join an ESP session!"

"A—a what now?"

"Emotional Spectrum Practice! It's a special exercise my best friend Dendra holds in town! It's for both Gym Challengers and open-minded souls! Your appearance is wunderbar already, but one round of this and it will make you even more beautiful!"

Larry staggered when he heard the dreaded e-word. "Exercise, you say? Look… I've had a really long week and my bones are killing me. I don't think I could take whatever physical punishment you're—"

"No, no! Don't think of it as physical discipline, it's more of a spiritual retreat! A chance to get attuned with your emotions and really get to know your body and mind on a more personal level!"

Larry blinked several times. "I don't… really understand what you just said. But—" He crossed his arms and thought it over. "Alright. As long as it isn't too taxing, I—I guess I'll do it. But only for Katy's sake."

Tulip reared her head back, eyes wide as her mascara would allow.

"You… you really have changed. Not even putting up a fight?" She said quietly to herself, "You must love her a whole lot. Katy, my little butterfly… definitely don't let this one go."

Larry took a moment to swing out his shoulder pain while Katy was occupied gazing out the window. Despite finding that session surprisingly lax, he was still feeling a bit of that 'ESP' pain…

Eventually, their appetizers came in the form of a bowl of pita chips and hummus for Katy and steamed chicken cutlets for Larry.

Larry admired the way she ate everything delicately like it was one of her own sweets, while Katy was quietly impressed at the amount of pepper and spice he was able to eat on his food without even sweating.

They caught themselves staring at each other and broke into a giggle fit.

A pleasant conversation ensued about Katy's week at the Soapberry, and Larry was just getting into the gritty details about the last match he had as an Elite Four member…

"That Goodra almost had my Flamigo on the ropes until—"

…when he was interrupted by his phone going off. His attitude dropped instantly, and his smile only sunk further when he saw who was calling.

"Give me a second," he said dryly. Katy nodded in understanding. He picked up the phone.

"Hello."

"Mm-hm."

"Mm-hm."

"Yes, I'm aware."

"This Wednesday, I know."

"Yup."

"Okay. I'll have it done for you by Tuesday."

"…You too."

After he hung up the phone, Katy asked, "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Larry mumbled. "Boss needs me to compile dossiers on all the Champion Rank trainers and their battle logs for a presentation at Blueberry Academy." He started rubbing his temples. "That's going to keep me up all night today and tomorrow, probably. A day in the life…" he muttered with some scorn.

He noticed Katy looking at him with a hugely concerned face.

"Sorry. I'm bringing the mood down. Ignore everything I just said."

"No, no. It's okay. it's just…" Katy smiled at him sympathetically. "I really have to ask. It's… pretty clear to me how overworked you are. Have you ever tried… talking to Geeta about any of this?"

"Why in Sinnoh's name would I do that?"

"Because! Not only is it, abundantly clear that you don't enjoy your salary work at all, but I'm worried that it's going to start affecting your health pushing yourself like this. I've been seeing you rubbing your neck like it's in pain whenever you think I'm not looking. And… I have to think even Geeta wants you performing at your best! Not, wearing yourself to the bone."

Larry, all of a sudden, gave her a cold look. "I. Am. Fine."

Katy reared her head back in shock. Larry became conscious of this, and dialed back.

"…I'm sorry. Sorry. It's just, Geeta's insecure because she knows our numbers aren't doing so great, and I told you how she's been taking that out on—" He stopped himself from complaining about his boss at length again and said, "Look, it should be my job to worry about you, okay? Not the other way around. I can look after myself."

"Uhh, no! Not how this works anymore," Katy rebutted. "If we're in a relationship now, that means we look after each other from now on. And you know I'm concerned about you." She took a deep sigh. "Look, you're juggling… three different responsibilities all at once. And Tulip, she, she always has this saying… It goes something like, 'If you're not able to commit to something, then stop trying at that and find something you can."

Larry scoffed. "That might be a sound point, but you two don't know how lucky you have it. If either of you wanted to just quit being a Gym Leader and dealing with Geeta, you could mail a request for a resignation form and have it done in an afternoon. But me? If I wanted to give up any of my duties?"

His face slumped down. "…Not so simple. Since I was employed by the Pokémon League to begin with, it's all embedded into my contract. So, if I drop one thing… I drop everything. I'm out from the League completely. In all capacities."

There was silence for a few moments.

After some thought, Katy asked, "What would you do?"

"What would I do about what?"

"If… all of those weren't your responsibility. Let's say, if you had never gotten yourself tied up in the League, serving double duty… then where would you be, do you think? Did you have any big dreams when you were younger?"

"Not really. I just always kind of went wherever the wind took me. …Why? Are you… trying to suggest something?"

"No, not really," she answered, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess it was just sort of a… thought experiment."

They went back to eating. There weren't many words exchanged by the time the main courses came out.

Katy had ordered roasted garlic pork and a peppered tomato salad with lemon vinaigrette, while Larry had a spiced chicken roast plate with a side of arroz de pato (Ducklett rice), as well as grilled steak paninis.

He was just helping himself to the rice bowl when he heard a sudden clang.

"Sorry," Katy said quietly, picking up her fork. Larry noticed her hand shaking as she picked it up.

He set down his bowl. "Katy…"

"Yeah?"

"If we're doing this now, looking after each other and what not, then I have to ask… what's been going on with you?"

"Hmm? I'm fine."

"No. You're not," he said very bluntly. "I'm sorry to be so forward, but… I keep noticing this look in your eyes. It almost looks like you're always a little sad. And, well… your hands keep shaking, like you're constantly anxious. You've been talking like you're anxious too. What's wrong, Katy?"

"Nothing's wrong, okay?" she said very sharply. "I just—I just…" She wanted to protest further, but now Larry was giving her a look that spelled worry. "I guess I've just… been feeling out of sorts lately, that's all. Ever since that one battle I told you about, I guess my confidence has just been left out to dry. That's all. But I'll pick myself back up again. I always do. You'll see."

Katy smiled at him for reassurance, but even he could tell how ingenuine it was.

"Can I ask you a question, Katy?"

She was silent for a moment, before saying "…Go for it."

"You told me that Geeta encouraged you to go easier on your Gym Battles but that… she never mandated it. Right?" Katy glumly nodded. "So if it's your own decision, then… why? What is it you're truly afraid of? Because… much like what you just said to me, you clearly don't like doing it this way at all."

She swallowed a bite of her pork and sighed heavily.

"I hear… I hear her words, echoing in my head. Geeta's, I mean. About how getting hit with a hard challenge right away will discourage students from the Academy too hard and make them not want to seek their treasure through the Gym Challenge. And—I know! I know you've said that's rubbish, but… I really don't want to be the reason so many youths' dreams get crushed, holding all of you back and… And… setting the whole League back. I just—I can't let that happen."

She was getting even shakier explaining this. Larry slowly began to understand just what kind of burden she'd been placing herself under.

"Alright, well… if you'll let me, I'll explain to you why that's rubbish." Katy still had a steeled look on her face. But she nodded her head. "Do you know what happens whenever a Challenge loses at my Gym? Actually, you saw it happen that day you came to visit. I give them some words of encouragement, I tell them not to give up, and… do they think they give up?"

Katy withered her glance from him. But, realizing Larry was expecting an answer, she shook her head.

"No. That's right. They don't ever give up. They come back, even stronger. Then they win, and they keep going. Your heart's in the right place Katy, but you've got it all wrong. Losing their first Gym battle isn't going to make most of those students want to give up. It's going to motivate them even more. They'll want to train harder. And they'll want to beat you. And that's how all the rest of us will see far more determined Challengers making it to our Ranks."

He saw she still wasn't convinced, and he took a deep breath.

"Katy… I'm about to tell you a harsh truth, okay? You might not want to hear it, but here it goes. Your fears of holding us back, they wouldn't be made true by going harder. That's more in danger of happening right now, because you're holding back yourself too. You should know as well as anyone… Pokémon battling is about giving it all you've got. Not doing it half-heartedly.

What was it Tulip said? About committing? If you want to be a 'shining example for Paldea' or, whatever Geeta likes to say then… you need to stop pulling your punches, and start hitting back." He finished off with a smile. "As hard as you can."

Katy wouldn't look up at him. So Larry reached over and pulled her chin up, and forced her to look him in the eyes. Katy was mesmerized by his warm, caring eyes. Such a contrast to what he was a few minutes ago.

"Oh, Larry…" she said very lovingly, wanting to take Larry's hand in hers. But… her mind snapped back on. And she instead pulled it away.

"Thank you. I… know your heart's in the right place. But… here's the real problem." She stared down at the table with sad eyes. "Even if I wanted to ignore Geeta's advice and start going all out again… what if… what if I'm not even good enough for that anymore?"

Larry had a look of disbelief. But she continued, "The reason I've been so shaken ever since that battle was because it felt like the closest thing I've had to the sorts of battles I used to have in ages. And, it made me feel like a stranger. Like I had gotten far too rusty or… perhaps, that I'm out of my league now. That the days of being as skilled a Trainer as I was in my youth are… sailing me by."

"Katy, I think you're jump—"

"You know what? I know someone who can illustrate this better," she said sharply. "You know how I've talked about Lizzy? My lifelong companion who used to be my star battler? Would you like to meet her? Right now?"

"Wh—"

Katy grumpily dug into her glittery bag, and placed something on the table. Larry recognized it as a Premier Ball.

The same Premier Ball from that photo?

"Lizzy, meet Larry. Larry, Lizzy."

"…I don't understand."

"This is Lizzy's Ball. She's inside here," Katy explained. "She and I were once thick as thieves, champions of battling. One of the strongest Pokémon I've ever had on my team, even as far back to when I was a young Trainer getting all the Badges. And when I started as a Gym Leader, she was my ace. I scored a lot of victories thanks to Lizzy and her vicious attacks."

"What happened?"

"After I took Geeta's advice and started… lightening my battles to make them easier, Lizzy was so strong and undefeatable that I just… I had to stop using her on my team. I wanted her to take on the role of training the rest of my friends for battles. But… Lizzy was very unhappy about it, and it became harder and harder to coax her out of her Ball to partake in that."

Katy was starting to fight back tears now. "I think… I think she just really wanted to keep on battling with all her heart, and was disappointed she couldn't do that anymore."

She choked up a bit as she spoke. "And then one day, I tried to call her and she just… wouldn't come out of her Ball. That was, that was almost two years ago now. Two years since I've gotten to see her outside her Ball. I think… I think she's just too ashamed to come out now…"

She shakily grabbed the Ball to put it away and then looked up at him again, her eyes getting waterier. "You want me to tell you a harsh truth, Larry? If holding myself back is going to hold everyone else back, then… then maybe I should just quit! Maybe what you all deserve is a different, much better Gym Leader who's worthy of her own Pokémon!" she ranted in a progressive outburst.

A few people nearby were beginning to stare. Larry's mouth was open, speechless. Katy's whole body was shaking now.

She grasped her heart tightly with her hands, working to slow down her breathing. Soon, all that rising anger went away. Letting a single tear steam down her face, Katy now only looked upset, and regretful.

"I'm sorry. You know I—I didn't actually mean any of that."

"I… I know," Larry stammered. "I'm sorry too. I said some things I regret as well. And… I'm sorry about Lizzy. I-I never knew."

Katy made herself chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "Heh. Look at us, right? Just two hopeless basket cases, all pent up of emotions and depression… Maybe that's the real reason we're so attracted to each other…"

The two of them sat in silence for a little while, the tension not cutting as high but clearly still hanging in the air. Katy shifted between concentrating on the table and on the floor, while Larry contemplated the ceiling and occasionally his own chair.

He stared ahead at Katy for a while, and she glanced back at him despite trying not to, and then a thoughtful look came upon his face.

"You know what I think?" he said. "I think we both just needed to let out some of our anger, and… all we really need is a spot to decompress."

Katy looked at him curiously. "You have a place in mind?"

"It's the whole reason I took you to Alfornada today," Larry smiled. "I've gotten to see so many of the places that are meaningful to you, and it's high time I repaid that debt. This time, I want you to see someplace that's special to me. Let's pay our bill and then… I'll show you."

"How… much… further is it?" Katy gasped.

"We're almost there! It's just at the top of this hill," said Larry.

Katy was very short of breath. "And to think… you're the one… who didn't want to walk… through the desert to Cascarrafa…"

"And to think you're the one who loves hiking!" Larry snarked back.

Eventually, they both reached the top of the hill and Katy was amazed to see that they were at the peak of a waterfall.

"Whoa…"

The lake at the top of this mountain was pristine. A few wild Pokémon called this hideaway their home, but nothing outright hostile seemed to dwell here.

"This is… so beautiful," Katy marveled.

"If you think that's gorgeous, you should see over here," Larry gestured, having walked all the way to the edge of the cliff.

Katy hustled on over, curious to see what he was talking about, and was immediately awestruck.

"Oh… my gosh…"

"Can't beat this view, right?"

Katy sat herself down at the cliffside to take in just… how expansive the view from the cliff was.

"You can see… all of Paldea from here…" Most of all, Katy noticed… "There's Cortondo. And Grand Olive Orchard… and all of the West Province around it… I-I think I can see my own house!"

"Oh yeah," Larry squinted.

"Gosh. Y'know, whenever I come to Alfornada to visit Tulip, it's such a long cab ride or a big hike but… this really puts into perspective just how… conceptually close we really are to each other."

"This is my special spot," Larry told her. "Every so often… when work's been beating me down too hard, or I just feel like I need somewhere for pure Zen, I've never found a better spot for it than here. There's never any people around, the Pokémon are all docile. And… like you said, it's such an amazing, peaceful view. I always feel all of my stress… lifting off me, just sitting here and staring."

The towns of the West Province were the most visible from up on this cliff. But the Great Crater of Paldea took up the whole center of the view, with Glaseado Mountain and Casseroya Lake with its Socarrat Trail being visible behind the south end, and the Pokémon League building sticking out on its cliffside.

Mesagoza with all its bright lights shined clearly at its centerpoint location. Other areas to the east side, like the mining mountains near Levincia and the Poco Path Lighthouse, could also be glimpsed.

"It's just so freeing. It's like… like…"

"…like the whole world doesn't exist up here," Katy finished. "When you look at the whole region this way, all our lives, all our silly human problems… they seem so small from up here. It makes sense that this is where you feel so peaceful…"

A small wind began to pick up. Larry and Katy looked over at each other. The wind blowing their hair made them both take on a sort of… free-spirited look. Larry's pointed locks tittering back and forth, and Katy's hair swaying elegantly.

Larry felt the urge to lean in. To kiss her maybe… But he was thwarted by Katy obliviously turning her head and focusing on the view again.

"You know what? Maybe this spot right here should be considered one of the Ten Sights of Paldea."

"Perhaps. But, I don't know… maybe it's better that this waterfall stays out of any tourism brochures. People coming up here on the regular would ruin the whole tranquility of it all."

Katy chuckled. "Amen to that. Buuuuut, if we did, we would definitely have to call it Larry's Hill."

Larry laughed, and Katy joined in.

Unnoticed by them, the wind around the cliffside began to pick up even further. Eventually, it finally made itself known when…

"Ahh! NO!"

A gust blew Katy's hat off, and she watched in despair as it got carried by the wind somewhere down below.

"Oh no! My hat!" she cried.

"Katy, calm down…" Larry held onto her shoulders to try to calm her. "I-I can buy you another hat, it's not a big—"

"I CAN'T calm down! Jules bought me that hat! She gets very upset when I lose things she gave me! If she finds out I lost my hat like this, she'll kill me!"

"I thought you said she was younger than you?"

"Age and height don't matter when you're on my sister's bad side," Katy said very chillingly and still-eyed. Then she pleaded, "Please, Larry? We have to get down there somehow! I need that hat back!"

"Okay! I'll help you get it back."

Larry dug into his satchel and pulled out a Poké Ball. He sent it out, revealing his Tropius which gave a mighty yell.

"TROOOH!"

"Hop on."

Larry and Katy soared through the skies of Paldea on the back of Tropius, who breezed through the air moving with the wind. They were sailing above and increasingly far from the cliffs of Alfornada, trying to get a read on where Katy's hat went.

"Are you sure we'll be able to find it this way?" Katy asked anxiously, shouting over the loud wind.

"Tropius is very good at following air currents!" Larry shouted back. "If anyone can trace the direction of the wind to where your hat fell, then he can!"

"Tro!"

Tropius flapped its leafy wings, riding the currents through to the East Province between Mesagoza and Levincia, and scanning the ground below. Eventually, it perked up.

"Tro! Tro!"

"Hmm? I think Tropius might have found something!"

"Troooo!"

Tropius craned its head to point in the direction of where it had spotted something peculiar. Larry leaned his own neck out to look.

"I don't… … Yeah! There it is! I—I think that's it!" Katy gasped. "But… oh no."

"What's wrong?" asked Katy.

"Just… look."

Katy gleaned downward to look for her white hat. Then she spotted it…

…hanging off the horn of a Tauros. A Paldean Tauros. And not just one, but a Tauros roaming the plains with a whole herd behind it.

"…Oh."

"Ummm…" Larry tried to assess the situation. "So… when you said back there that your sister would get really upset, exactly ho—"

"We have to get it back, Larry," she stopped him. "Between Jules' wrath and the wrath of a herd of Tauros… honestly, I'd rather face the Tauros."

Larry gulped. "Understood. Okay… uhh, let's see. Tropius? Let's… try to find somewhere close by but safe enough to land."

"Tro!"

"Actually… let's make a quick step to my house yet," said Katy. "I have an idea."

After taking a detour to Cortondo and relocating the Tauros with Katy's hat, Larry guided Tropius to land a safe distance from the herd, on a nearby indent. Larry and Katy, slowly and cautiously, tiptoed up close to a hill where the Tauros had congregated, and hid behind a rock.

Larry was trying to keep his breathing steady. He never thought he'd find himself this close to a full pack of Tauros before.

"Okay…" he whispered. "So Tauros native to Paldea are all of the Fighting type. I've got my full Flying-based team right here with me. So… if I just play it cool, and not let them get overwhelmed… I think they could take them."

"Maybe, but…" Katy gazed thoughtfully. "I want to try this first."

She began to stand up. Larry, panicking, immediately pulled her back down.

"Katy, what are you doing!?"

"I told you I had an idea!"

"Katy, those things are dangerous! You make one wrong move, and they'll rip you to shreds!"

"I know what I'm doing, Larry. Just…" She made him let go of her arm. "Just trust me on this, okay? This isn't my first rodeo with a wild, ferocious Pokémon."

Larry tried to search for words to say, but finally sighed indignantly.

"Okay. Alright. I trust you. But…" He grasped two of his Poké Balls and held them close. "I've got Altaria and Oricorio right here on standby. If anything goes wrong, I'll… I'll be right there behind you. Okay?"

"Got it." She stood up and began to very slowly tiptoe out from behind the rock, towards the Tauros with her hat.

"Please be careful," Larry cautioned, his eyes wide as could be.

Katy slowly inched forward, walking at a slow tempo while hunched downward to make herself look unintimidating.

Tauros, the one "wearing" her hat, perked up from eating grass and noticed her, making Larry jump. He was all ready for it to start pawing with its feet and gearing up a charge.

But instead… it didn't? It started slowly moving towards her, nose sniffing the air.

"That's right…" Katy said very quietly. "That's right… I'm not here to hurt you…"

The Tauros came up to Katy very slowly. It didn't seem angry or even startled, but had more of a… curious look about it. It clearly smelled something.

"You smell that, don't you?" Katy reached into her bag. She pulled something out, which made Tauros walk even closer. Larry tried to peer to see what she had without drawing attention to himself.

Is that… a Poffin?

Tauros leered its heard outward, as Katy held out the Sour Poffin. Slowly, and surprisingly gracefully, Tauros opened its mouth to receive the Poffin without so much as touching Katy's hand.

"It's good, isn't it? Just eat on up…"

While Tauros was distracted with its snack, Katy kept her hand out and very delicately reached towards the Tauros's right horn. With a patient and pristine movement, she lifted her hat off its horn, without the wild bull even seeming to notice.

Larry breathed a sigh of relief, until he spotted that the rest of the herd had noticed their brother receiving a treat and also began to creep over to Katy.

"Katy… Katy…!" he tried to whisper loudly.

Katy shushed him. "It's alright. I brought plenty for everyone. See?"

She opened up her bag, revealing even more Poffins of different types, which she laid out for all the Tauros.

"See? Plenty for everyone," she said with a smile.

As I live and breathe, this woman will never cease to amaze me… Larry thought to himself, absolutely gobsmacked at what he just witnessed.

Suddenly, Katy looked back at him with a panicked expression, as she put her hat back on.

"Okay. Now we get the heck out of here."

They hopped onto Tropius's back as fast as they could and flew down to Artazon, the nearest town to the plains they tempted fate on.

They got themselves a seat at a rooftop picnic table from one of the restaurants, and hung out there to finish the evening. Larry got himself another panini sandwich, this time buffalo chicken, because of course he was still hungry.

"That was… astounding impressive," Larry finally commented between bites. "How on earth did you develop a skill like that?"

Katy giggled modestly. "It's just what growing up in a farm town is, I guess. We used to get herds of Gogoat running through the area, and I had to learn how to tame them in order to avoid being trampled when I was out playing and training in the fields."

"And… where did you get… Poffins of all things?"

"Hmm? How do you know about Poffins?" Larry gave her a look. "…Oh! Right! Because Poffins are from Sinnoh, and, and so are you! Heh-heh, sorry I forgot. Umm, they're actually homemade. I like to try to figure out how to make foods from across the ponds in my spare time when I'm bored. They're… probably not as good as the ones they make back home."

Larry chuckled. "I mean, I'm not a Pokémon, so I'm the wrong person to ask about that. But… it's funny. My mother used to make Poffins, actually. She made them at the Day Care she worked at."

"Really?"

"Mm-hm. One time, I remember she brought me to work one day and showed me the machine where they're made. It's a lot of stirring and spinning. I think I remember it looking kind of fun."

"I read that the biggest thing people make Poffins for in Sinnoh is to boost their Pokémon's performance to compete in 'Super Contests'. Have you ever been to one of those?"

Larry shook his head. "…Never really been my thing. Sorry."

"That's alright. Hmm… maybe you should let me know if you ever decide to visit home. I'd love to see one of those Contests in person."

"Perhaps I will. …I might end up on a business trip there before long, since my profession often takes me around the world…" Then Larry had a realization, thinking back on watching his mother make Poffins. "…Actually. I think that's my thing."

"What is?"

"You asked earlier what I would be doing now if I had never gotten involved with the League. … When I was a kid, I did used to dream about traveling the world. Mainly to see how different regions of this world adapt different cuisines and food styles, and the different kinds of Pokémon. … I-I completely forgot that used to be a thing. I had… so many books and atlases. I haven't thought about that in years."

"I had a dream like that too, kind of!" Katy said excitedly. "I used to have a bunch of recipe books from different regions because I wanted to learn how to bake foods from every region in the world. Pewter Crunchies, Shalour Sables from Kalos, those Lumiose Galette things Jules loves… Oh, and Casteliacones! Those have always sounded really, really tasty!"

"Have you ever had a Lava Cookie?" Larry opined.

"Those are the ones from the Hoenn region that are said to be baked in an area coated with volcanic ash, right?" Larry nodded. "I assume they don't taste like a volcano, though."

"No. It's more of a tangy meets sweet taste. They were also popular in Sinnoh for a while. Kanto too, I think."

"Now that sounds unique. Another place to add to my bucket list!"

They smiled at each other warmly. Larry's smile began to dither though, when he thought back to the All-Seeing Eye.

"Hey… about before. At the Eye. I want to apologize so sincerely. I know I get kind of riled up about my duties and about your unique worries as a Gym Leader. You know I… I'd never try to hurt you intentionally."

"No, you're fine. If anyone should apologize it should be me, but…" Katy pondered things over. "I know this might be weird to say, but… should we be apologizing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think… I think it's good that we let those things be said. Aired out our thoughts and feelings to each other, as it were. It's never good to keep things bottled up and… I think to have a healthy relationship, there should be some arguing born of worry every now and then. Can I be honest?"

"Of course. Always."

"I think after all that stuff… I'm feeling even better about us than before."

Larry contemplated this, and then smiled and said, "…Yeah. Me too."

They held each other's hands across the table.

"I think… I really love you, Larry."

"Yeah… I love you too, Katy."

They looked into each other's eyes. Felt each other's warmness. And then… well. No thinking even went into the next part.

It was a soft and gentle kiss. Katy's lips locked with Larry's, his head craning alongside hers. Their eyes closed, tenderly enjoying the moment.

All of time didn't exist anymore. The world didn't exist anymore. Nothing mattered in this precious space except for the two of them. And there was nothing in the world that could take away this warm, this fuzzy, this intimate feeling of pure bliss.

Larry was happy. Katy was happy. They were living in this moment, never to leave.

A pristine kiss, captured in time, and on video, rendered in glorious HD on the… Rotom Phone's… hi-tech camera lens?

"Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee…"

A mischievous giggle sounded from the very top of one of Artazon's windmills. Iono stared in wicked glee at the hot sight her phone just captured, her Kilowattrel perched next to her.

"Well, well, well… I guess patience really did pay off for once. Larry and Katy. What an odd, quirky couple," she remarked. "This is the viral hit I've been waiting for. Uploading… now!"

A message on Iono's phone confirmed that her recorded footage was just sent to her cloud.

"Oh, Larry, Larry, Larry…" she said very smugly. "When all my viewers see this on the Iono Zone tomorrow, you'll be wishing you begged to be in my spotlight much earlier. Ohoho! A-HA-HA!"

"Kaww! Kaww!" Kilowattrel sounded, trying to join in on her owner's revelry.

Iono quickly shushed it. "Keep quiet! We could get in trouble if someone sees up here! Especially that weird Brassius guy with his pointy vine whippy… thing! You want him to use that on us?"

"Raww…"