"Okay, who wants to go first?" Gloria called out to her Pokémon team as she prepared to put hot curry on a plate. All her Pokémon responded happily using various gestures. She had set up camp in front of the Lake of Outrage. Her Milotic appeared extra comfortable at being in a familiar place.

Gloria noticed this and said to him, "It must feel nostalgic being back here huh Milotic? I still can't believe I found you here, it was such a lucky day!"

Milotic smiled back and made a cheerful noise. Gloria giggled and held up freshly cooked tropical curry, "Time to eat, everyone!"

Despite being confident in her cooking skills at this point, Gloria brought the spoon slowly to her mouth. Like she was expecting the taste to be less than stellar. When the amazing smell crept up her nose, she finally took that first bite. As did her Pokémon. She had nothing to worry about, the meal was so delicious that there was a sparkle in everyone's eyes. Despite having cooked plenty to go around, it disappeared quite quickly.

Once the meal was done, Gloria and her Pokémon were all full and satisfied. Her faithful starter Rillaboom, decided he wanted to play with the bouncy ball. So, he helped himself to Gloria's rucksack.

"Rillaboom? What are you doing silly?" Gloria teased, but she already knew what he wanted.

Rillaboom smiled and held up the bouncy ball, then ran to Gloria and handed it to her. Gloria smiled impishly, "Okay, ready?"

Rillaboom vibrated in eager anticipation for the ball to be thrown.

"Okay, go get it!" Gloria threw the ball. The grass type ran after it happily. Zamazenta noticed and decided to also run after the ball. Both reached it at the same time and began to playfully fight over it. Gloria watched, thoroughly entertained by the sight. That's when her Flareon jumped in between them and snatched the ball from both their grasps, Gloria bust out laughing at the shocked faces of Rillaboom and Zamazenta.

"That was very brave of you Flareon." Gloria spoke to Flareon as she approached her and innocently dropped the ball in front of her. Rillaboom and Zamazenta looked at each other before sporting pouty faces. Flareon noticed this, and was kind enough to grab the ball and take it to them. Which made them feel a bit better.

Meanwhile off to the side, Indeedee and Alcremie were happily chatting with one another. Gloria noticed this, and it made her think of the day she first met Alcremie as a Milcery.

Flashback…

Gloria stomped out of the mine in a huff. She was fuming so bad her hair could have caught fire at any moment.

"Uuuggh! What was that!? What was that!? Seriously!?""

She had a clear view of Turffield from where she was at. But she couldn't bring herself to go there just yet. She had to cool off first. So, she veered off from the path and found a quiet, secluded spot away from immediate view of anyone who would walk by.

"What was with that guy anyway? What was his problem!?" She sighed, "He said he was endorsed by the chairman... Ugh, whatever. I'm gonna play with my Pokémon."

Just thinking about interacting with her Pokémon cheered her up a bit. She tossed her poke balls lightly to the ground, out came Grookey and Eevee.

"Eevee!"

"Grookey!"

The calls of her Pokémon made her laugh right away, "You guys are so precious! And you both did great with that horrible person! We sure showed him, huh?"

Grookey responded by taking the stick out of his hair and swinging it around until he tired himself out. Gloria laughed, "You're so adorable!"

Grookey smiled impishly and Eevee hopped close to her grass type friend. Gloria clapped her hands together, "All right, how about some curry?"

When Grookey and Eevee responded happily, Gloria answered, "Then let's get started!"

That day's lunch was delicious. It was sweet pasta curry. Grookey and Eevee danced happily once it was served.

"Time to eat!" Gloria announced happily. Both her Pokémon wasted no time diving into the dish, Gloria couldn't help but notice that they seemed more eager than before and were even gobbling down at a more vivacious pace.

"Oh wow! I must have improved from last time!" Gloria enthused, remembering the first time she tried cooking, "At least it's edible this time… heheh…." She chuckled nervously.

It was then she saw something ahead of her. A small figure was watching them from the tall grass.

"Huh? What's that?" She spoke, which caught the attention of Grookey and Eevee. The wild Pokémon decided then to reveal itself. It was a tiny, beige colored Pokémon with a droplet-shaped body composed of cream, with two arms and a crown of six protrusions.

Gloria gasped lightly, "A Pokémon? It's so cute!"

Grookey and Eevee put their guards up and began to growl, but Gloria jumped in front of them, "Hold on guys!"

Her rotom dex read to her,

"Milcery, the Cream Pokémon. A fairy type. This Pokémon was born from sweet-smelling particles in the air. They say that any patisserie visited by Milcery is guaranteed success and good fortune."

"Wow, a fairy type Pokémon! How cool!"

To Gloria's surprise, Milcery got close enough for her to reach.

"Wow, you're really comfortable with me for being a wild Pokémon!" Gloria stated.

Milcery made happy little chirping noises and stared at Gloria as if she were asking something.

"Do you want some curry?" Gloria asked, then went to grab a spoonful of curry while Grookey and Eevee watched curiously. She held the spoonful up to Milcery's mouth, the fairy Pokémon stared, then sniffed at it. After a few silent moments, it smiled big and took the whole bite.

Gloria laughed, "Wow, you were really hungry!"

Milcery danced in the air and cuddled up to the young trainer. She giggled, "Haha! You're so sweet! Do you want me to catch you?"

Milcery nodded the affirmative excitedly. Grookey and Eevee had hopped off the table to get a closer look.

"Milcery is going to join us, you two. Isn't that great?"

Grookey and Eevee tilted their heads, looked at Milcery, then at each other, then smiled and nodded in approval.

"Oh, that makes me glad!" Gloria cheered, "Come on Milcery, welcome to the team!"

Milcery happily chirped and went into a poke ball. Gloria held the pokeball, gazing at it proudly before turning to Grookey and Eevee, "All right, you guys have a new teammate!" Grookey and Eevee responded with cheers.

"All right, I think we've had our fill now." Gloria concluded looking at the empty plates, "Come on, let's get going to Turffield!"

After packing up and recalling Grookey and Eevee, Gloria secured her rucksack on her shoulders and faced forward. The wind in her face, blowing her hair back.

"I feel much better now. Onward!"

With that in mind, she took off down the road.

End of Flashback

Gloria couldn't help but laugh at this memory. Looking back, it seems so long ago now. With how everyone started, and where they're at now. It made Gloria cherish those memories all the more.

"Before that, it was the first time I had met Bede. Heh… He really got under my skin. I was so angry at the time I couldn't think straight. I'm glad my Pokémon were there for me." While she graciously looked at her Pokémon. Her mind slowly went to Bede again, and she began to have some doubts.

"Maybe… was it wrong for me to just walk away from him like that? I mean, I felt so nervous I didn't know what else to do. I still feel a bit bad about it. I mean, he followed me to the forest. Why do I get the feeling that he didn't mean what he said in the Courageous Cavern?"

Now she felt like she absolutely had to see him again. But how? She forced herself to stop, "Gloria, you've done this to yourself once today, not again." She reminded herself. With everyone full and satisfied, and her brain in danger of drifting back to ideas she was trying to avoid. Gloria decided it was time to pack up and head somewhere else. The world was calling to her and she was eager to find out where she wanted to hang out next.

Once all her Pokémon were recalled and everything packed away. Gloria secured her rucksack on her shoulders and began to walk. The air was comfortably cool, and it was only a little less cloudy today than it was yesterday.

"Let's see, where should we go now?"

Her rotom phone ringing stopped her in her tracks, she looked at the ID and saw it was Hop. She picked it up, "Hi Hop!"

"Gloria! I'm glad I was able to get a hold of you! How are things?"

Gloria replied, "Not bad, Hop! I just finished having curry with my Pokémon and we're trying to decide where to go now."

"Oh, that's great! So, you're probably wondering why I called. You see, my family's invited your family for a BBQ this evening! Leon's finally made some time and is coming back home! It's only natural you join us! You will, won't you?"

"Leon's coming home? Amazing!" Gloria replied, "Of course I'll join! What time will it be?"

"All right! Dinner will be served at around 5 pm. Hopefully my brother doesn't get lost! Hahaha!

"Heh, one can only hope!" Gloria chuckled.

"I don't think it'll happen though, because he invited Sonia to come with! So she'll be joining us too!"

Gloria's eyes widened, "Really!? Ah! Everyone's going to be there that's so great! I'll definitely join!"

Hop laughed, "I know, right?! It'll be one big party! All right, I'll see you then! Have a good rest of your day!"

"Thanks so much for inviting me Hop, I'll see you later!"

After they both said bye, Gloria was so excited she bounced on her toes a few times, "Ah, this is going to be so exciting! We hadn't had a family BBQ in a really long time! It'll be so much fun! And Sonia's gonna be there too! I can't wait!"

Gloria now had something else to think about.

The dinner was to be at five, but Gloria caught a taxi back to her house just before 4:30. It never hurts to be a bit early. As she hopped up the steps to her home, the door opened. It was her mother and father.

"Hi Gloria!" Thea greeted, holding a steaming container of mash and wearing oven mitts.

"There you are Gloria!" Connell spoke, he was carrying a tray of sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, Gloria's favorite dish, "Just in time, we were about to head over! Let's get going!"

"I smell my favorite!" Gloria clapped, "Did you need help carrying anything?"

"We're good dear!" Thea assured, "We just have to get it over with no casualties!"

"On that note, let's go before this cools off!" Connell replied.

Gloria and her family rushed over to Hop's house and arrived to see his family already congregating outside. His father was working the grill and his mother was setting the plates on the big picnic table. Hop was the first to see them and waved a hand excitedly.

"Gloria, over here!" He called out. This caught the attention of Hop's mother, Elsie, and she rushed over to greet their guests.

"Hello, hello! I'm so glad you all could make it! Gloria, it's so good to see you!" Elsie greeted.

Thea replied, "Likewise! So nice to finally have a BBQ again!"

As the adults began to chat, Gloria and Hop began having a conversation.

"So Gloria, what'd you end up doing today?" Hop asked.

"Oh, my team and I ended up having a relaxing day. We just walked around random places and went Pokémon watching in the wild. Then I went to a café and had a cup of tea. Then we did more wild wandering, heheh…"

Gloria thought to herself, "There's no way I could tell him what's been bugging me…"

Hop nodded, "Ah, that's great! It's nice to take it easy every once in a while."

"What about you, Hop? What did you do? I know you told me this morning you were studying, but did you do anything else?"

"Well… heheh… I went for a walk. Sonia told me I needed to relax more."

"That's right. It never does good to overwork yourself." A voice interjected. The two friends turned to see it was Sonia, and Leon was right beside her. Sonia didn't have her lab coat on, instead she was wearing her normal beige coat.

"Hey guys!" Leon greeted.

"Sonia! Leon!" Gloria energetically greeted them.

Sonia smiled, "Hey Gloria! It's good to see you! How are things been?"

Gloria chuckled nervously, "Well, I've been busy. Heheh…"

"Busy relaxing?" Hop retorted playfully.

"You can say that counts as being busy!" Gloria fired back.

Leon laughed, "I'm so happy everyone's able to get together, and Sonia? Thanks for coming along! To be honest, I didn't think you'd say yes to my invite!"

"It's okay, I can take a break every now and then!" Sonia replied, "Hop has been a great help, so I'm able to relax more!"

Leon beamed, "Great work brother!"

Hop put a hand on his neck, "Oh you guys! It's nothing, really! But I'm glad to hear you guys say that."

Sonia insisted, "Of course that doesn't mean I want him overworking himself. He almost did that this morning until I forced him to go for a walk!"

Leon laughed at this, Hop just bashfully smiled.

Gloria smiled along while the jovial chatter went on.

"Okay everyone, it's time to eat!" Elsie announced, "Come to the table!"

"All right, food time!" Leon enthused and rushed to the table.

Gloria sat down with Hop on her left and Sonia on her right. When it was time to serve the food, Gloria immediately helped herself to some sweet potato casserole with marshmallows before getting some baby back ribs and a smaller helping of mash.

"So Hop, how are things going with your studies?" Thea asked.

Hop swallowed his bite of rib and replied, "Things are great! I've been learning a lot!"

Elsie replied, "Hop's gotten this new energy ever since he's taken the role of Sonia's assistant. We're so happy for him!"

Leon enthused, "I'll be proud to call myself the big brother of the amazing Professor Hop!"

"Guys!" Hop grinned despite being embarrassed. Everyone at the table had a joyful chuckle. Gloria felt happy for Hop.

"This food is amazing!" Sonia complimented, "I'm so happy to have been invited. Thank you so much!"

"We're happy to have you as our guest, Professor Sonia!" Elsie assured.

Connell turned his attention to his daughter, "Gloria? Are you all right dear? You're usually a lot more chatty."

Gloria felt some heat in her face when everyone simultaneously looked at her, but she managed to smile, "Oh, I'm okay dad! I'm just thinking about a lot, that's all."

"Like what?" Hop asked.

Gloria hesitated, "Like… um… Well, I'm… still getting used to people recognizing me. You know? Heheh… As the new champion and all…"

Everyone nodded and looked at her sympathetically but Hop raised an eyebrow. It made Gloria panic on the inside; she knew Hop only made that face when he wasn't convinced. Nonetheless, he patted her shoulder, "Hey, we're here for you, okay? Don't feel like you're alone."

"That's right!" Leon stated, "You've got us. We look out for each other!"

This made Gloria feel a bit better, "Thanks everyone."

Dinner went on smoothy after that. Gloria was thankful that she managed to steer away from the attention. Once it was over, everyone pitched in to help clean up.

"That was a nice dinner." Thea praised, "Elsie, thank you so much for inviting us."

"It was wonderful to have you join us!" Elsie replied graciously, "And Gloria? I'm thankful you were able to be here. I know it must not be easy to be the new champion, but I know you will get used to it in time."

Gloria smiled nervously, "Thanks! I know I can, it'll just take time." She looked around, and saw Leon and Sonia exchanging a brief hug before seeing Sonia wave and walk away.

Gloria was suddenly struck with the need to tell Sonia all that had happened with Bede. She was nervous but she took off running to the Professor and called out, "Sonia, wait!"

Sonia stopped and turned around, "Huh? Gloria?

Gloria caught up with her, "I'm so sorry, but I need to tell you something."

"Oh? What is it?"

Gloria looked around. Despite everyone being occupied with something else, she didn't want to risk anyone hearing what she wanted to say. She especially did not want Hop to hear.

"Can we…? Go somewhere else? Somewhere more private preferably."

Sonia chuckled awkwardly, "You're starting to scare me a little Gloria, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just… I must get something off my chest. So, can we go?"

Seeing the need in Gloria's eyes, Sonia agreed, "All right, let's go this way."

Gloria and Sonia both found privacy near the route one signpost. Gloria felt more at ease then, "Thank you Sonia. I really need to tell you this."

Sonia's concern grew, "What's the matter?"

Gloria looked around, "Before I tell you, you have to promise me that you'll keep this between us. Don't tell anyone about it."

Sonia's eyebrows raised for a moment, "Okay, I won't tell anyone. I swear."

Gloria took a deep breath in, then exhaled, "Well, you remember the Galarian Star Tournament that Hop and I teamed up in the other day?"

"Yes. You guys did so well." Sonia smiled, "Congratulations to you both."

"Well, after the tournament. Hop went home immediately, but I decided to hang around a bit just to wind down. And… well…"

Sonia listened, "Yes?"

Gloria checked their surroundings again just to be sure, and when she had confirmation that they were alone, she told Sonia what happened. How she encountered Bede, how kind he was to her, and that she just so happened to meet him by chance again today.

Sonia was surprised, "Ah, I see."

Gloria nodded, "Mm-hmm…"

Sonia couldn't help but smile a bit, "I thought it was weird you were so quiet at the dinner, I had a hunch it wasn't just you being overwhelmed by the champion title!"

Gloria sighed, "I know, but I didn't want to say that in front of everyone. Especially not Hop. Well, what I also want to say is that I want to see him again. I thought about what you told me that one time and it made me feel so sad for him."

Sonia remembered, "About him having no family, right?"

Gloria confirmed, "Yeah, but it's not just about that. I'm truly curious about him. After that first meeting, I realized I don't know anything about him. Sonia, do you know more about him?"

Sonia replied somberly, "I don't Gloria, I'm sorry."

Gloria glanced downward, "I see, well… thank you for hearing me out, Sonia."

"Of course! I'm happy to help!"

"So… what should I do?" Gloria wondered, "How can I approach him again?"

Sonia mulled it over, "Hmm… I suppose you can just find him. Heh, sorry. That's the best advice I can give on this."

"It's okay." Gloria assured, "I think I'll go to Ballonlea to see if he has time. I don't know if he'll even want to see me. But it's worth a shot, right?"

Sonia replied, "Leon told me this saying once, you miss every chance you don't take. So I say, go for it. Know that I'll be rooting for you Gloria!"

"Thanks Sonia! I really appreciate you taking the time to listen." Gloria thanked, "I feel better now that it's out in the open, somewhat."

"Even if things don't work out in a favorable way, just know you tried." Sonia affirmed.

This made Gloria smile, "You're right Sonia. Thanks again!" That's when her attention went to the darkening sky, "It's getting late, so I'll let you go now."

Sonia nodded, "All right Gloria, I'll see you some other time. Keep me updated on the situation, okay?" She waved.

Gloria waved back, "I will, Sonia! Bye for now!"

When the two parted ways, Gloria immediately headed straight back to her home. She looked toward Hop's house and could see that everyone had gone. Gloria sighed in relief, hurried up the steps, and got inside.

She could hear her parents chatting and laughing in the living room, so she sneaked down the hallway to her bedroom. After quietly closing the door, she put her rucksack on the ground and immediately changed into her loungewear. She then walked to her bed and collapsed onto it, rolling over to face the ceiling.

Her rotom phone dinged, she looked to see a message from Hop.

Hey, are you home?

She typed back,

Yes, I'm gonna go to sleep now.

He responded,

All right, just making sure. You kinda just disappeared!

Gloria nervously typed,

Sorry about that, I'll see you some other time, okay?

His answer,

You bet! Have a good night, mate!

Gloria put her phone down, she felt guilty for leaving him out of the loop. But she assured herself that it was the best thing to do. She thought about what her plan was for tomorrow, and her hands began to sweat. She repeated the words Sonia said to her, "Even if things don't work out in a favorable way, just know you tried."

With that in mind, she smiled comfortingly and prepared to shut off her lights and go to sleep. But then there was a knock on the door.

"Gloria? You in there?" Thea's voice called.

"Yes, mum. I'm here."

Thea let out a relieved sigh, "Okay dear, I was asking because your father and I didn't see or hear you come in. We wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine mum. I'm just tired."

"Okay, good night dear. I love you."

"Love you too, mum."

After hearing footsteps fade away, Gloria turned the lights off and pulled the covers over her. Soon, she had drifted off to sleep.