Flashback…

Bede pressed his back against the wall in a secluded alleyway, breathing heavily. His heart was pounding with anger and despair. He clutched his chest, trying to stop the pain. But it was no use. There was no getting over what had happened. The humiliation of being kicked out of the Gym Challenge was bad enough, but now he had come to the horrifying realization that he had been used.
Just when he thought he finally mattered to somebody, it turned out to be a lie. He was only a toy to them, something to be used and thrown away once they were done with it.
Tears rolled down his face, "This… this isn't real. It can't be."

He tried to assure himself, "I can fix this. I know I can."
But there was nothing he could do, and he didn't understand why. All he needed was just one person, one person to believe he was a worthwhile human being after everything he had been through. He berated himself for being an idiot, for being misled, for being naïve, for thinking he actually had a chance.

But he was a fool, and now everyone knew.

The sound of footsteps brought him out of his trance. He quickly wiped his face and turned to see who it was. He was filled with dread upon seeing it was her. The challenger named Gloria. She looked at him curiously, but didn't say anything.
He resigned himself to the fact that this was probably karma coming to get him. Why else would she be there for a reason other than to rub salt in the wound?

Bede huffed, "Hmph… what do you want?"

Gloria replied kindly, "I just wanted to know what you were doing here."

"If you're here to mock me, just do it already!" He snapped, "You've already beaten me in battles anyway…"

She appeared bewildered, "Why would I do that?"

Caught off-guard, he responded angrily, "Don't pretend like you don't know! I'm not in the mood to be playing any of your games!"

"I'm not playing any games!" Gloria retorted fiercely.

Bede stared in shock before responding, "Well, I guess it's understandable. You don't have to worry about catching up with me anymore."

Gloria sighed, "Listen, I don't want to fight with you. I just wanted to say that… I don't think it was right for them to kick you out like that."

Bede looked at her, his eyes wide.

She continued speaking, "You were just doing what Oleana told you to do, weren't you?"

Bede turned away, hating himself for tears forming in his eyes, "I… thought I was doing what Chairman Rose wanted. She told me he wanted this. I was… only…" His voice trailed off, unable to continue further.

Gloria took a step closer to him, "Bede… it's gonna be okay. Even if you can't do the Gym Challenge anymore."
She was saying this, but truth be told, on the inside she was unsure herself. Would he find anything else? It was hard to say.
Considering how he looked now. It was almost hard to believe that this was once the arrogant and rude boy who never missed the opportunity to antagonize her at every turn. What shocked her even more was that she was here trying to comfort him.

It was quite surreal for both of them.

End of Flashback…

Bede remembered he was just about to dismiss her when Opal unexpectedly showed up. Before either teen could blink the eccentric wizard had whisked him away to his new future as a Gym Leader.

They were now on a taxi back to Postwick, as Bede had offered to accompany her back before heading home himself. With the night sparkling around them, she had leaned on his shoulder and dozed off. Thinking back on his darkest moment, he looked at a peacefully sleeping Gloria on his shoulder and thought about how she tried to comfort him on that day. His heart shone with joy, and he gave her a gentle hug.

He whispered to her, "I love you Gloria, I love you so much…"

"I love you too, Bede." A whispered response from her startled him. She looked up at him with tired eyes.

"Ah! I thought you were sleeping!"

"I figured as much." She snickered before putting her arms around him. Despite being embarrassed, he kept his arms around her.

"You're so cheeky…" He responded with a grin.

And they stayed that way until they got to Gloria's house.

After stepping off the taxi and reaching the front door of her darkened house, she turned around and waved to Bede. When he waved back, she decided to blow him a kiss before retreating into her house. An action that made Bede blush.

Gloria took care to be sure she was as quiet as possible tiptoeing through the darkness. Once safely in her room, she slowly closed the door and changed into her loungewear. She decided to turn on her bedside lamp so she could hang up her dress. Once that was done, she turned the light back off and sat on her bed.

Grinning, she thought to herself, "Mmm! That was so fun! I can't wait until our next date!"

Then she heard a faint sound that made her freeze. She gasped lightly, "Oh no, I think mum's awake!"
Thinking quickly, she scrambled to get herself under the covers and closed her eyes, trying to look as natural as possible.
Thank Arceus for good timing, because a minute later, Gloria heard the sound of her door peering open slightly. This was followed by a pause, then her mother sighing in relief. Afterward, the door was closed again.

Still pretending to be asleep, Gloria turned away from her door and giggled quietly to herself. Surprised she was able to pull that off.
She didn't realize how tired she was because soon, she fell asleep for real.

Gloria sat up in her bed and stretched, the overcast day evident through her curtains. The clothes she was wearing the night before were exactly how she left them last night. The memory of last nights events made her face flush. Pushing that aside for now, she checked her phone and noticed the temperature outside had dropped quite a bit.
Deciding to get into the autumn spirit while taking the weather into consideration, she got dressed in a maroon cable-knit sweater, a tan pleated mini skirt, black thigh-high socks, and her favorite brown boots. To complete the look, she decided on her orange knit beret.

In the living room, her Alcremie was sitting next to the family's Muchlax. She kept a tentative eye on him while he snoozed away. Gloria entered the room, "There you are you silly girl!" She greeted her Alcremie. The small fairy Pokemon cheered in joy.

Gloria picked her up, "Are you interested in Muchlax?"

A faint snore from Muchlax was the only response they got. This made Gloria giggle, "Come on, let's head out! We gotta let him sleep!"

After greeting the family's Budews, Gloria hopped down the wood steps onto the dirt path leading to the stone bridge. She stopped at the center of this bridge to look out at the Wooloo rolling around carefree in the fields. Alcremie was in Gloria's arms, giggling and pointing at the two Butterfree hovering over.

Gloria smiled at the sight and continued on, "This view is always amazing!"

Skipping past two more Wooloo on the path, she paid no mind to the well-dressed man standing next to the short stone wall.

"The power of science is amazing!" The man exclaimed, "Now you can battle and trade Pokemon with other people just by walking around!"

Gloria briefly turned to look at the man before continuing on. She thought to herself, "Who is that guy?" But she brushed it off and kept walking. Although she did think it was strange that she kept seeing that man, and he would always be standing in the exact same spot. Alcremie didn't have a care in the world, she was happily waving her arms.

"Tee hee! I wonder how Sonia's date with Leon went! I should go see her!"

"Gloria! Wait for me, mate!"
Gloria turned to see Hop rushing to catch up with her. She greeted him, "Hop! Good morning!"

After catching his breath, he replied, "Hey mate! Good to see you again!" His attention went to Alcremie, "Hey there, little sweetie! It's nice to see you too!" He gently shook her little hand. She squealed happily in response.

Gloria giggled, "She was trying to hang out with Muchlax, with… expected results."

Hop laughed, "Little guy just snoozing away, right? Haha! How typical! So, how did your date with Bede go?"

"It was wonderful! We had dinner and just chatted. Nothing too crazy happened, thank goodness!"

"That sounds great! I hope things continue to go well! Just know that I'm here to support you, all right?"

"Thanks Hop. That really means so much! Say, how did things go with your brother and Sonia?"

Hop jumped back, "Aw geez! You found out about that?"

Gloria replied quickly with a hand up to her mouth, "Was that supposed to be a secret? Oh no, I'm so sorry!"

Hop waved his hands, "No, it's okay! I knew because my brother had talked to me about it. How'd you find out?"

"They were at the same restaurant that Bede and I went to. We ran into them just as we were leaving."

Hop put a hand on his head, "Ah gee, talk about the most awkward thing ever! Seriously, what are the odds of that?"

"I know right?" Gloria agreed, "I was just on my way to the lab to ask her how her date went!"

Hop declared, "Let's go together! We can both find out!"

Gloria agreed, and the two headed down the path to the lab.

Hop inquired, "So Gloria, do you have any plans to train new Pokemon?"

"New Pokemon?" She wondered.

"Heheh! I'm not asking to try to get some sneaky insider advantage! I was just curious. Leon's been considering that. He says it'll help him keep sharp in his training if he experiences with different Pokemon."

Gloria looked ahead with a thoughtful expression, "Huh… I guess I never thought about that."

Hop found this humorous, "Ha! Funny, I thought that would be something that would have at least cross your mind! Being the champion and all…"

She shook her head, "I guess I just really like my current team too much for that. Never mind that, Look, the lab's ahead!"

"Race you there!" Hop blurted out, then took off running. Gloria shouted at him before rushing after, "Hey, no fair! You got a head start!"

"Come on, catch up mate!" Hop teased, being only slightly ahead of her.

"I'll get you for this Hop!" Gloria retorted.

A few people leapt out of the way of the barreling teens. Hop and Gloria became even to the other on the final stretch of path leading to the lab. The second the door got within reach they both reached for it, and they simultaneously grabbed the handle at the same time. This caused to two to become entangled in playfully shoving one another in an attempt to get through the door first. Both kept a firm grip on the handle.

"I'm gonna get through first!" Gloria enthused.

Hop replied sharply, "No, I am!"

Suddenly, the door pushed open, causing both of them to fall backwards. They were shocked to see Leon standing there.

"What on earth are you two doing?" He asked while laughing, "You guys should know it's dangerous to play around doors. Somebody could get hurt!"

Hop sat up, rubbing head, "Ahhh… Lee! When did you get here?"

Gloria's beret had fallen to the ground, so she swiped it up and secured it back on her head.

Leon chuckled, "Haha! I know this is a rare thing for me! I just wanted to spend more time with Sonia here!" He directed his attention to her.

Sonia became embarrassed, "Leon!"

Gloria and Hop let themselves in, excited by this new turn of events. Hop in particular was grinning, "Bro! Sonia! I'm so happy for you both! Although, it does make me a little sad… it seems like everyone is falling in love except for me!"

Leon pat his shoulder, "It's okay Hop, I'm sure you'll find somebody, someday! But… who else is in love? I know Gloria is with Bede here but… who else are we talking about?"

Everyone froze for a moment, before slumping their shoulders. They were all so exhausted by Leon's lack of awareness. Sonia especially, she buried her reddening face in her hands.

Gloria couldn't help but giggle, "Leon, you are honestly the most clueless person ever sometimes! But I guess you wouldn't really be Leon if you weren't like that…"

Leon's typically relaxed face became awash with confusion, "What do you mean, Gloria? Come on, I know I get lost sometimes! Or… maybe a lot of times! But I'm not that clueless!" He smiled nervously, trying to make a point. But this only made Hop and Gloria bust out laughing. Which only added to his confusion and made him wonder what he said that was so funny. Sonia on the other hand, felt a twinge of terror, and nobody noticed.

Gloria stopped when she felt her phone ring. While everyone was distracted, she slipped outside and looked at the caller I.D.
It was Peony. Surprised, she answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Oi, hey chief! It's me, Peony! I'm glad I got a hold of you!" His lively voice rang through the speaker.

"Peony? What's going on?"

"Say Chief, I was wanting to tell you that I'm terribly sorry about the other day. I didn't mean to barge in on ya like that."

Gloria blushed remembering what he was talking about, "It's okay. Don't worry about it." Her voice calm and collected.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend, chief!" Peony praised, "It sure caught me off-guard! Gotta give credit where credit's due, congratulations!"

Gloria chuckled awkwardly, "Thanks Peony. We just got together not too long ago."

"Oh, that's swell! But hey listen, that's not the only reason I'm contacting you. You see, late last night. I ended up heading into the fields for a quick breather because I was having some awful insomnia. I was at the old cemetery, and I encountered this strange woman."

Gloria felt her nerves tense up. She had a bad feeling that she knew who he was talking about.
Peony continued to explain, "That jokester mistook me for Rose. Can you believe that? Talk about a mix-up. That lady had some nerve on her, I'll say…"

Gloria sensed the anger in his voice, "W…wow… yeah, Peony. That's real weird."

"She left shortly after. But that sure was something! Still… a bloke like him could inspire that much loyalty, eh?"

Gloria remained silent. Peony had no idea of her history with those two, and her boyfriend's connection as well. It was a long story that she didn't want to get into at the moment. And she was confident from the way he sounded he didn't want to get into his side of things either.

This is seldom addressed publicly, but Peony is in fact, Rose's younger brother. Something that Gloria was aware of. She knew that Peony held resentment toward his older brother, but she didn't know exactly why. She also knew that Peony was Galar's Champion so many years ago, but he vanished as soon as Rose became the Chairman of the Pokemon League. Gloria had so many questions, but she couldn't bring herself to ask them.

Finally, Peony spoke, "Anyway, congrats on the whole boyfriend thing! I hope it works out between you two!" He sighed, "Ah, what am I to do the day my daughters find boys… Haha! I'm gonna have a fun time with the lads! If they're gonna date my girls then they better meet my expectations! Gahaha!"

Gloria chuckled, then paused realizing that Peony had used plurals, "Daughters? Girls?"

"Ha? Oh yeah! I have two! You've only met one, chief. The other is currently away right now. Her name is Penny! But I call her Pen Pen because she's just as darlin' as my Nia!"

Gloria chuckled nervously, "Uh…huh…"

"Well, I'm gonna head on out now! It was real nice catching up with ya, chief! Be sure to stop by sometime! Feel free to bring your boyfriend too!"

"Okay, I'll… think about." Gloria replied, "I'll be sure to visit though!"

After hanging up, Gloria glanced upward toward the dark clouds. The questions about Rose and Peony troubled her mind as the wind chilled her face. What was their history? Why are they on bad terms? Did Rose force Peony to leave the League? Or was it his own choice? These were things she wanted to know but was afraid to find out.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the door to the lab opening. Hop and Leon came outside.
"Hey Gloria! Are you okay?" Hop asked, "You've been out here for a while."

Gloria shook her head with a soft smile, "Yeah Hop, I'm okay."

He hesitated for a moment before replying, "All right. Just know that I'm here for you mate. We all are."

"Thanks Hop."

Leon spoke kindly, "Gloria, Hop asked me a question on your behalf, so I wanted to answer."

Puzzled, she looked at Hop, "A question? What about?"

Hop grinned sheepishly with a hand on his neck, "Sorry Gloria, I couldn't resist!"

"Well, I'm here to answer!" Leon declared proudly, "There are no rules stating a Champion can't date a Gym Leader. So you two have no need to hide or anything!"

Gloria giggled, "Oh! Um… well, that's good to know! Ehehe…"

Leon smiled impishly, "Just make sure you continued to go all out and have a Champion time! You two might have to face one another in a tournament someday!"

This got Hop excited, "Oh, I want to see that now! Boyfriend Vs. Girlfriend! Come on Lee, when's the next tournament!?"

"Hop!" Gloria exclaimed, which made the two brothers laugh.

After hanging out in the lab a bit longer, Leon had to return to work. After saying bye, he called a taxi to be taken to Wyndon. Now that he was gone, Gloria was ready to ask Sonia the question she had been wanting.
"How'd the date go?" She asked with a big grin.

Sonia turned red, "That wasn't a date! We were just… hanging out!"

"Suuure." She teased, making sure to drag that word out as long as possible.

Hop objected, "But Sonia! You put so much thought into how you looked! I find it hard to believe you were just hanging out!"

"Hop!" Sonia freaked out, "Don't read so much into this!"

Hop grinned, "But reading is my specialty!"
This made Gloria laugh. Despite this, she shared encouragement, "Hey Sonia. If you need advice or encouragement, you can always let me know!" She winked.
Sonia smiled at her, knowing she was returning the favor, "Thanks Gloria. But… I think I'm okay for now. We had a good time together and that's what counts! And to be honest, I'm surprised at how much of a gentleman he was… he's usually so aloof and carefree!"

"Awww…" Both Hop and Gloria responded together, making Sonia recoil.

"Awesome!" Gloria continued, "I'm happy for you, Sonia!"
She wanted to ask more questions but decided to give the poor professor a break.

After all, she understood how she felt completely.