Author's Note: WOW! Okay, so this is a VERY long chapter. So get comfortable and grab a snack!

All done? Okay, here goes!

After trotting up the steps at her home, Gloria stopped at the front door and listened carefully. Upon hearing silence on the other side, she slowly turned the knob and gently pushed the door open.

"Mum? Dad?" She called out, and got no response. Stepping inside and closing the door, she saw a note on the dining room table. She went to read it.

Gloria,

Just in case you read this, your mother and I are next door with Hop's family. Of course, you're always more than welcome to join us!

Gloria smiled, "Dad, as much as I would love to join you guys… I have something more important to take care of right now. Heheh…" After setting the note down, she returned to her room to get changed.
For her winter outfit, she picked a grey cable-knit sweater, white gloves, a pink pleated mini skirt with a matching pink beanie, black thigh-high socks, and her maroon fur-lined boots. To finish the look, she threw on her light pink fuzzy parka.

She looked at herself in the mirror and took a shaky breath, "You can do this, Gloria." She whispered to herself, "If you can help stop a major disaster like the Darkest Day, then we can surely fix this…" She carefully brushed her bangs with her hand.

With her nerves settled for now, she headed out the door and called a taxi. Freezington being her destination. The entire trip there she was tapping her heels in anticipation. They were able to reach the tiny town in less than half an hour, the driver dropped her off at the secret base that her and Peony shared.

Gloria glanced around, "This place still looks the same. That's nice to see."
Despite it being in the middle of the afternoon, the extremely cloudy sky made it appear otherwise. Gloria watched the snow fall gracefully around her.

"This may be a small town, but I always found it charming."

Her Milotic had popped out of his dive ball and was hovering beside her. He made a content noise. Gloria giggled, "You seem to like being here. That's so interesting! You aren't even an ice-type!"
That's when she realized something, "I wonder if Calyrex is around…"

Putting that out of her mind, she ventured off into the Frostpoint Field. Milotic faithfully followed. The snow was falling just a bit heavier here, but it was still tolerable. The cold wind nipped at her nose.

"We'll have to be careful. If a blizzard happens, we'll have to leave."

Milotic nodded in agreement. Gloria's hands began to shake when she took out her rotom phone, "All right, let's text Hop and tell him I'm ready. I just hope whatever he's got in mind works…"

On Hop's end, his phone beeped to signal a new message. He grinned seeing the a-ok from Gloria, "All right mate. Here goes nothing…"

While this was going on, Opal was in Bede's apartment, having just heard the story from his point of view. Bede concluded with, "I hate to say this… but I was right, Miss Opal. She had eyes for Hop the entire time…"

The sharp-eyed Opal was not convinced, "Now hold on a minute dear boy, where did they say that, exactly?"

Bede opened his mouth to answer, only to find he didn't have one. He instead replied, "Well um.. I guess they didn't… but I'm not stupid! I could tell!"

"How?" Opal pressed.

"I… could just tell…" Bede defensively crossed his arms.

Opal was unfazed, "Don't you think you might have misunderstood?"

"No."

"How can you be so certain?"

"I just am!" Bede then sighed and softened his tone, "Miss Opal… I was played for a fool once. I'm not allowing that to happen again!"

Opal remained steadfast, "My boy, I insist you take a step back, and figure out what's actually going on."
Before Bede could answer, the sound of Opal's phone ringing cut him off. Opal looked at it to see a number unfamiliar to her flash onto the screen. Nonetheless, she decided to answer, "Hello?"

Hop's voice answered, "Miss Opal! Oh, thank goodness I got the right number…"

Opal was baffled, "Oh my… is this who I think it is? You're someone I haven't heard from in a while! Strange, I don't recall exchanging numbers with you."

"Sorry ma'am!" Hop apologized, "But no time to explain, this is an emergency! Please tell me you're available!"

Opal looked at Bede, who was looking at her with a confused expression. She wasn't using the speakerphone, so he could only hear one side of the conversation.

"What's going on, child?" Opal asked.

"I'll make it as quick as I can! Miss Opal, Gloria loves Bede! But I messed everything up and now he's really mad at her… I'm such an idiot I know! But PLEASE help her! Can you get Bede to head over to Frostpoint Field in the Crown Tundra? Like right now? Please, it would help out a lot!"

Opal blinked several times, processing everything Hop just spat out at her. Despite him speaking a mile a minute, she got everything loud and clear. Now giddy at this plan, but trying to keep a neutral face in front of Bede, she agreed, "Sure thing! Leave it all to me!"

"Oh thank you, thank you! Miss Opal you are the best!"

Bede was now too curious, "Um… what's going on Miss Opal?" He muttered in a low voice.

Opal then hung up the phone and pointed at Bede, "You my boy, are going to head to Frostpoint Field in the Crown Tundra right this very minute!"

A stunned Bede was incredulous, "What!? That place is freezing! Why!? Miss Opal, this is not a good time for any pink-heightening training!"

She cut him off, "Dear, this has nothing to do with that I can assure you. I'm gonna head outside so get yourself bundled up! We've got a mission on our hands!"

Bede watched in exasperation as she skipped out, slamming the door behind her. A hyper potion that had been sitting on a small table near the door fell to the ground from the force. He groaned in annoyance, "Ugh, this is ridiculous…"
Despite his disproval, he went to his closet and changed into warm clothes. This consisted of his grey suit jacket, a dark pink flannel shirt, black gloves, and black dress pants. After getting his shoes on, he reluctantly went outside to meet Opal.

He whispered to himself, "I can't believe I'm doing this…"

Outside, Opal cheerfully caught up to him, now wearing a long, deep purple puffer that matched her boa perfectly. Together, they summoned a flying taxi and headed for the Crown Tundra.

Back in Frostpoint Field, Gloria had recalled her Milotic back to his ball and was now standing under a snow-covered pine tree. She took her hat off and shook the snow off, then put it back on.

She glanced around the empty field, "Hm… I wonder what's going on now?" She took out her rotom phone to check, and saw a message from Hop.

All right Gloria, I just sent Bede your way! You've got this!"

"Oh no… Okay I'm nervous again." Gloria muttered, "I don't know what to do…"
But she was determined to fix things and did not want her best friend's efforts to go to waste. She clasped her hands together and trembled. Although she couldn't tell if it was from fear or the cold.

Seconds later, she heard footsteps behind her. Her heart began to race with the thought that Bede was probably behind her now. She mentally prepped herself.

"Aww, don't you look cold."
Unfortunately, that was not the voice she was expecting to hear. She whirled around and saw the person she absolutely did not want to see.

There was no mistaking it, that wavy blonde hair, that long coat draped over a tall and slender frame. Gloria's eyes met the piercing, venomous gaze of Oleana.

Her heart jumped, "Miss Oleana!?"

Oleana kept a refined demeanor, "My, my. I certainly wasn't expecting to see the new champion here. I would assume that you'd be galavanting around elsewhere to celebrate that most recent victory."

Gloria immediately could tell this was trouble because of her mocking tone. She replied, "Miss Oleana, what do you want?"

Oleana chuckled lightly, "You seem unhappy, Gloria. Something the matter? I would assume that you'd be a little brighter."

"Could you just leave me alone?" Gloria requested bluntly, "I'm… busy."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Oleana flippantly replied, "I have a score to settle with you. Quite lucky of me to find you here, you see. I'm not gonna let this opportunity slip!"

Gloria rolled her eyes, she knew what this was about, "Really? Now? Oleana, Rose is locked up, get over it! He needs to pay for what he did."

Oleana's face turned from neutral to psychotic anger within the blink of an eye, "It's all your fault you little scamp! If you had just stayed in your own lane like a good little child I wouldn't be suffering now!"

Gloria became angered, "That was not my fault! Don't you dare blame me! Also how are you suffering? It's not like anything's been done to you!"

Oleana huffed, "The one person I cared about the most is gone! He was the one person that believed in me when I needed it the most… and now he isn't here anymore…"

Gloria softened her tone, "Miss Oleana… I understand, but you can't just-"

"Enough." Oleana interrupted, "You don't understand anything!" Her face then turned to a devilish smirk, "Or maybe you do…"

Gloria raised an eyebrow. Oleana continued to speak, "I could've sworn I heard you and challenger Bede had a bit of a budding romance going on. Or should I say, FORMER challenger." She chuckled, "Where's he at, hm?"

Gloria's mind went back to Stow-on-Tide, and how Oleana cruelly tossed Bede aside like he was garbage. Now knowing full well what his state of mind was at the time. Her temper was now on fire, "Don't talk about him… you pile of trash…

"I beg your pardon!?" Oleana's eyes flew wide again.

Gloria snapped her gaze to meet Oleana's, "Don't talk about Bede! You pile of trash!"

Oleana shrieked, "EEEAAAGGGHH! That's it, you're going down! Get yourself prepared, and this time I won't lose!"

Gloria grabbed the pokeball containing her Flareon, "Bring it on, you witch!"

Oleana grabbed another pokeball, "Froslass, go!" She sent out her ghostly ice type.

"Flareon, let's show this madwoman what we're made of!" Gloria twirled once and sent out her favorite fire-type. Flareon landed gracefully on the ground and growled at their old nemesis, ready for a fight.

Oleana flinched seeing Flareon, "Ugh, you… You're even more annoying than your trainer!"
Flareon responded to that by sticking her tongue out.

Gloria commanded, "Flareon, Fire Fang!"

Flareon eagerly cloaked her teeth with fangs and began charging to take a bite. Oleana was ready, "Froslass, use Double-Team!"

Froslass quickly made illusionary copies of itself, causing Flareon's attack to miss. Thinking quickly, Gloria retaliated, "Use Lava Plume, Flareon, now!"

Flareon grinned devilishly and unleashed an inferno of red-hot flames, torching all the body doubles away and hitting the real one with a super effective hit. Froslass still remained standing. Oleana commanded, "Frosslass, Hex!"

Frosslass attacked Flareon with relentless ghostly energy. Gloria retorted, "Give her a Flare Blitz, Flareon!"

Flareon cloaked herself in fire and charged Froslass, striking her hard. Froslass fell to the ground and fainted, unable to battle further. Flareon also appeared exhausted from the move.

"Return Frosslass!" Oleana recalled her downed Pokemon.

Gloria decided to do the same, "Good job Flareon, now come back!" She recalled her fire-type, "You did great out there!"

Oleana stated, "I see you haven't neglected training. That's good for you I suppose. But I'm not done yet! Tsareena! Go!"

Gloria chose her next Pokemon, "It's your turn, Indeedee! You can do it!"

The lovely maid Pokemon eagerly joined the battle. Oleana raised an eyebrow, "Hm, such a lovely Pokemon. Too bad I have to do this… Tsareena, use trope kick!"

Tsareena took a running start and leapt, landing a kick of tropical origins on Indeedee. Indeedee stumbled backward but was able to shake it off.

"You've got this Indeedee, use swift!" Gloria commanded.

Indeedee complied, shooting star-shaped rays at the grass-type. Tsareena tried to jump out of the way, but this attack never missed, and she was struck.

An annoyed Oleana responded, "What an irritating move! Tsareena, use stomp!"

Tsareena rushed to stomp on Indeedee. But Gloria was prepared, "Indeedee, psychic!"

Indeedee attacked with a strong telekinetic force, which stopped Tsareena before she could land her attack. The move turned out to be a critical hit, and Tsareena was knocked out.

Oleana started to sweat, "All right, so you've gotten a bit stronger! Salazzle, go!"
Out came the toxic lizard Pokemon.

"You bet I have!" Gloria retorted, "Indeedee, psybeam!"
Indeedee attacked with a peculiar ray, this did a lot of damage. But Salazzle managed to tough it out.

"Venoshock my lovely Salazzle!" Oleana commanded.

Salazzle was drenched in a wave of poisonous liquid. Indeedee stumbled backward, and fainted. Gloria's eyes widened, "Oh no! That was a strong move!"
She recalled Indeedee, "Come on back Indeedee!" She spoke quietly to the pokeball, "Don't worry, you did well! Now…"

She considered her options, "Okay, so Salazzle is a poison type… but it's also a fire type as well. So my best option will be Milotic!"

She grabbed the dive ball, "Milotic, it's your turn!" And sent out the elegant water type. Milotic gave a brief dance in the air before taking battle position.

Oleana commanded, "Salazzle, use dragon pulse!"

Salazzle attacked with a shockwave, Milotic was able to take the move like a champ. Gloria clapped, "Great job Milotic, now, use scald!"

Milotic shot boiling hot water at Salazzle, drenching her. Visible steam floated up as the move hit, and it melted some snow around them.

Salazzle was knocked out immediately, Oleana recalled her. Gloria decided to do the same with Milotic, "Return Milotic!" She whispered, "Awesome work!"

Oleana was now down to her last two Pokemon, and it was evident that she was getting more agitated, "Milotic go!"

Gloria knew just what to do, "All right Rillaboom, it's your turn buddy!"

Her starter eagerly hopped on the field and let out a loud roar. It's as if he had been waiting for this moment his whole life.

Oleana growled, "Ugh, I am now extremely peeved! Milotic, use aqua ring!"

A ring of water formed around the beautiful Pokemon. Gloria knew that this would mean her HP would recover bit by bit after each turn. She commanded, "Okay, Rillaboom. Let's take her down! Magical leaf!"

Rillaboom summoned a numerous number of magical leaves, after letting them float for a few seconds he used one of his drums sticks to point at his opponent. The leaves chased after Milotic, striking the water type.

"Surf, Milotic!" Oleana commanded.

Milotic attacked by swamping their surroundings with a giant wave. This barely did anything to Rillaboom.

"Rillaboom, drum beating!"

Rillaboom grinned and used his wood sticks to play his drum, vocalizing cheerfully as he did so. The drums roots shook the ground as they emerged to attack Milotic. That move was a hard hit. Her Milotic tried to remain standing, but she fainted.

Oleana was livid as she recalled her Milotic, "I will not lose! Garbodor, go!"

Garbodor emerged from her ball and landed to face Rillaboom. Realizing the disadvantage, Gloria returned Rillaboom. Doing her usual whisper to the pokeball, "Thank you, friend. Wonderful work." She analyzed her situation, "Hmm… a poison type. What should I do here? My Indeedee is down! Wait! I know!"

She smiled readily, "Zamazenta, go!" She tossed the ball, and it spun in the air before opening, and revealing the shield legendary.

Zamazenta let out its captivating cry. Oleana's eyes went wide with surprise, "That Pokemon… Gah! I forgot you had that!"

Gloria nodded, "You bet!"

"AGH! Garbodor, use Gunk Shot!"

Garbodor shot filthy garbage at Zamazenta. The legendary jumped into the air to avoid right before it could hit. Gloria cheered, "Yay! Way to go! Use psychic fang Zamazenta!"
Zamazenta's fangs glowed with psychic energy and lunged at the garbage Pokemon. Chomping down hard, the move was super effective.

"No!" Oleana shouted.

Zamazenta landed in front of Gloria.

Garbodor struggled to keep standing, but it wasn't done yet. Oleana was barely keeping composed, "Stomping Tantrum Garbodor, now!"
Driven by frustration, Garbodor attacked by stomping the ground around Zamazenta.

Gloria responded, "Zamazenta, use your Behemoth Bash attack!"

Zamazenta focused, and a steady red glow formed around it. It then morphed into a giant shield and leapt forward, slamming into Garbodor head-on.

Oleana gasped in shock as her Pokemon slumped forward. Garbordor looked at Zamazenta, the legendary giving a piercing gaze. Not able to withstand the move, Garbodor fainted.

Gloria had won the battle, she let out a sigh of relief. Oleana yelled in frustration while recalling her last Pokemon.

"Whoa, look at you! You did it Zamazenta!" Gloria praised, while trying to catch her breath. Zamazenta returned to normal and rushed to it's trainer to lick her face. She laughed, "Ahaha! You're so goofy! Come on now, return to your ball now!"

After returning Zamazenta, she glanced over at Oleana. She was facing away, but then turned with an irate expression, "You… you're just as cheeky now as you were during our last battle… How dare you…"

Gloria sighed, "Just give it up, Oleana."

Oleana quieted down, but she was still enraged, "Wha… what kind of world is this!? You get to become champion and skip merrily into the sunset with your beloved. Meanwhile the most important person in my life gets taken away!?"

Gloria was so overwhelmed; all she could do was breathe heavily.

Not knowing when to quit, Oleana decided to give one more sneer, "That Opal must have been extremely desperate considering she picked some pitiful child who got abandoned by his parents to be her successor!"

Gloria froze, but that shock was quickly replaced by rage. Oleana didn't see her crouch down and use both hands to scoop up a handful of snow. She packed the snow into a sizable ball and with all her might, she flung it at her. Oleana turned in time to see the snowball coming toward her, it hit her right in the face.

Oleana yelped in shock as the snow exploded right on her. Afterward, little flakes would steadily fall from her shocked face.

Gloria threatened, "Don't ever speak of him like that again!"

This caused Oleana to snap. With a look that would frighten even the most malevolent of demons, she rushed up to Gloria.
Gloria put her arms up defensively, to which Oleana grabbed them tight.

Gloria screamed, "Let go of me! Stop!" Trying to wrestle from her grip.

"Don't think this ends here Champion! I'll take you down one day, then I'll make an example out of you! I'll beat you to pieces, and then I'll show all of Galar that their dear Champion has-!"

Oleana was abruptly shoved away from her. Gloria stumbled backwards, after regaining her footing, she gasped upon seeing Bede standing there.

"Keep your hands off of her, you wicked hag!" Bede shouted.

Gloria caught her breath, "Bede!"

Oleana couldn't believe her eyes, "Y-You! You!"

Bede turned to Gloria, "Gloria? Are you hurt?"

Gloria was so surprised that she couldn't respond. Oleana did though, "AGH! Why did YOU have to show up now, you filthy wretch!

"Excuse me!?" Bede retorted, "You know, I have so much I would like to say to you. But since I'm about to have an important discussion with Gloria here. I'll keep it short. You deserve to rot in prison alongside Rose. I think being in there would suit you well."

Gloria snorted, trying and failing to stifle laughter.

Oleana's face turned red with anger, "How dare you!? You… you obnoxious brat! How is it that your sorry life did a complete 180!? I can't believe it!" Oleana grabbed handfuls of her hair in both fists, it looked like she was about to tear it out.

Gloria got in front of Bede, "It's called, 'you reap what you sow'. You used him, manipulated him, then cast him aside when you were done. There's no coming back from that, Miss Oleana. You did all this to yourself."

Bede focused his attention on Gloria, his face had lit up.

Oleana huffed, "Why do you care so much about him? Don't you remember how awfully he treated you before?"

"I do. But that was only because he was acting under Rose and you. Now that he's free. I've gotten to know the real him!" Gloria's heart began pounding thinking about what she wanted to say next. This was it, she was going for it, "And it's not just that I care about him! I…" Her face reddened, "I love him!

Time had stopped around them, despite the snow continuing to fall. Oleana took a step back from shock, "What the…"
Gloria's Alcremie popped out her ball and cheered, waving her arms around in pure joy.
Bede blinked a few times, "Wha… you…"

"Gloria! Bede!"

Everyone saw Hop sprinting to them.
"Hop!" Gloria responded.

He skid to a stop right in front of Oleana, "Don't worry, I can take her!" He assured them, "Just get out of here both of you!"

Gloria locked eyes with Hop, and the two exchanged a confident smile and approving nod.

"Ugh, now you're here too!?" Oleana complained.

Gloria crouched to pick up Alcremie, then turned to Bede, "Bede, come on!" She took him by the hand, which Bede noticed right away, and they ran. The snowfall began to increase in intensity, as if the weather could sense the extreme situation and decided to match it with its own energy. The pair could hear the yells of Oleana fade as they got further away. Alcremie was laughing loudly, this was like a roller coaster ride to her.

"Where are we going?" Bede asked.

"Back to Freezington!" Gloria answered, "Hurry, I'm starting to freeze!"

Bede rolled his eyes, "Oh really now? I didn't notice!"

After what seemed like forever, they could finally see the warm lights of town. Once making it past the wooden gates that served as the border, the snowfall strangely returned to a gentle pace.

Gloria immediately fixed her eyes on the cabin her and Peony would use during their adventures, "Right here." She guided.

"What's this?" Bede inquired as they approached the front door.

Gloria opened it and stuck her head in, "Peony? Are you here?" When she got no response, she nodded and stepped inside, "Come on in Bede. It'll be safer in here."
Bede stepped in as requested, and Gloria closed the door behind him. Separating them from the outside cold.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to be here?" Bede questioned.

"Of course! No problem!" Gloria assured, "Peony and I used this cabin while we were adventuring together. He said I could use it anytime I like! So don't worry, it's okay." She set down Alcremie, adjusted her rucksack, then dusted the snow off her skirt. The little Pokemon immediately rushed over to the refrigerator to curiously examine it.

Bede pondered quietly to himself, "Peony? Why do I feel like I've heard that name before?"

Gloria hurriedly took her parka off and hung it up on a hook by the door, "Whew! I'm completely knackered!" She then rushed over to a shelf that was above the kitchen counter, "Bede, did you want some tea?" She removed her gloves and set them down.

Bede was still feeling a bit unsure, but he answered, "Um… of course!"

"I'll make some right away!" Gloria answered, "You can sit down if you'd like!"

Bede decided to take her up on that offer, removing his jacket and hanging it next to Gloria's before taking a seat at the small dining table. Now that things were quiet, he recalled what Gloria said only ten minutes ago. Did she say she loved him? Just thinking about it was making him blush. He turned to her casually making tea in the kitchen, humming to herself, acting completely natural.

"Mi! Mi!"
Bede looked to see Alcremie by his feet, joyously smiling up at him. He smiled back at her, "Hello there."

What Bede couldn't see from where he was at, was that Gloria was grinning from ear to ear. It took absolutely every ounce of strength in her to not start squealing from pure excitement.

"I can't believe I did that! Ah! I wonder what he's thinking about now… Oh, I'm so embarrassed! But I'm excited! I finally let him know!"

With the tea now done, she grabbed both cups and walked over to the table. She placed a cup in front of Bede, then sat down in the chair closest to him with her own.
After taking a sip, Gloria began to speak, "Bede… about earlier today… I…"

Bede set his tea down and reached over to take Gloria's hand. This caused her to stop talking. She slowly turned to look at their joined hands and began to blush.

"Bede?"

"Gloria…" He spoke softly, "I'm so sorry about earlier. About what happened in Hammerlocke."

Gloria felt her eyes sparkle, "Ah! It's okay! I… was just about to bring that up. I'm so sorry that I didn't try explaining things to Hop…"

Bede shook his head, "It's all right."

After a few moments of awkward silence, Bede chose to break the ice, "Gloria… what you said to Oleana… is that true?"

Gloria blushed, "Ah… y-yes…" She squeezed her eyes shut.

Bede hesitated before responding, "Gloria, look at me."

She did, opening her eyes to meet his tender gaze. She couldn't believe this was real. She was with Bede, just like this.

"Say it again, Gloria."

Her eyes widened, "Huh?"

"Tell me, how do you feel about me?"

Her heart kicked into maximum overdrive. She squeezed his hand tightly, "I love you, Bede!"

Alcremie squealed once more and began hopping all over the place.

Bede averted his eyes briefly before looking back at her, "You're… telling me the truth, right?"

"Of course I am!" Gloria insisted, "I wouldn't lie about something like that. I know it seems strange but… it's real."

Bede couldn't find the words to describe what he was feeling. It was a mix of just disbelief and elation. Now it was his heart that was overworking.

"I… I apologize for doubting you, Gloria. I know you're not the type to lie. I just couldn't believe that you would feel that way toward me. I thought you would be in love with Hop. Because… you and him had been friends for a long time."

Gloria lightly chuckled, "Ahaha… you aren't the first person who thought that. I've had a lot of people ask me if Hop and I were dating. Of course, the answer would always be no, and that we're just best friends. He and I, we've never thought about each other in… that way. Heheh… We just share the same brain cells. Hahaha!"

Bede found humor in that, "I see."

Gloria made a realization, "Hold up… is that why you got so upset earlier?"

Bede put his hand to his face.

"Bede…"

"S-Sorry…" He apologized.

"Does this mean… do you…?"

Bede took a deep breath, "I love you too, Gloria…"

Gloria put her hands up to her mouth, now feeling overwhelmed. She felt like she could walk on air. Now elated, she stated, "I'm so happy!"

Bede, now having shed all his fear, hopped to his feet and grabbed Gloria into a hug. Which she immediately returned. Gloria held him tightly, feeling his heart pounding against her. This was without a doubt, one of the happiest moments of her life.

Bede glanced over to see his Hatterene out of her ball, giving him a smile and a wink. To which Bede smiled at her. He also noticed Gloria's Flareon was now out and giving him an approving nod.
Alcremie squealed with joy once more and was bouncing about. Flareon went over to attempt to calm her.

Gloria turned around, "Ah! Hey there, ladies! I didn't realize we had an audience!"

Flareon went up to Gloria and rubbed her head against her legs, Gloria squatted to pet her, "I'm so happy, Flareon!"

After a minute, the trainers recalled their respective Pokemon. Gloria faced Bede, "Does this mean you're my boyfriend now?"

Bede chuckled, "Of course."

This made Gloria giggle. Bede remarked, "I couldn't say this before, but I love it when you blush."

Gloria's eyes widened, "I-I'm not blushing! You're blushing!"

Bede made a feeble attempt to hide his face, "No, I'm not!"

The sound of the door flying open startled them. Gloria was mortified to see Peony waltzing in without a care in the world, "Gahaha! What an incredible adventure that was!"

He froze in place when his eyes locked upon the two embarrassed teens, "Huh!? Oh, hey chief! Good to see ya!"

"PEONY!" Gloria shrieked.

Peony was unfazed, "Gahahaha! Okay chief I understand! I should've knocked! Gahaha! I'll just be heading back out! I'll be seeing you around!" He spun around and opened the door again. But before leaving, he turned around and gave some parting words, "Don't be reckless now. Gahaha! Just having a laugh! Cheers, chief!" He left immediately after, almost slamming the door shut.

Gloria slapped her hands to her face, thoroughly embarrassed, "Now I know how Peonia feels…"

A stunned Bede spoke, "Who… was that?"

Gloria shook her head, "Don't worry about him. Come on, let's go somewhere else."

Bede paused before replying, "All right."

After putting their jackets back on, they joined hands, for the first time as a couple. After meeting each other's gaze, they exited the cabin. Gloria called a taxi for them, and they climbed aboard once it had arrived.

On the way to their next destination, Gloria faced away from Bede and grinned big, "I'm with Bede now! I almost can't believe it… Aaaaahh! I'm going to faint…" It was like she was back in the championship tournament, having just defeated Leon.

The joy she felt, was immeasurable.