As soon as Chairman Rose and Oleana were out of sight, Timothy, Coovers, Gwen, Ezria, Electchu, and Winnie went to the nearest store to restock supplies. The group split up so that Timothy and Electchu grabbed Pokemon food, Coovers, Gwen, and Winnie grabbed food for the trainers, and Ezria grabbed additional supplies. When they all met up at check out, Ezria insisted on paying for everything, declaring that she should take responsibility as the group's "new guide" and that money was no problem. Timothy, Coovers, and Gwen thanked Ezria, but in his mind, Timothy was suspicious that Ezria did it to impress him with her wealth.

After they gathered supplies, the group walked down the street to the mine at the end of the road. They went inside with Ezria taking the lead, Timothy and Electchu following behind her, and Coovers, Gwen, and Winnie at the back. As soon as they were inside, Timothy, Coovers, and Electchu were enamored to find themselves in a purple cavern with several pools of water inside and lit by crystals of many colors. Gwen and Ezria were amused with how the two men and the Raichu were entranced, with the latter particularly enjoying Timothy's reaction.

"I never pegged him for someone devoted to being strong enough to beat every regional Champion and yet be entranced over something like a mere mine," Ezria thought. "Then again, it's been so long since I've been here that I have forgotten how beautiful this place is. If Timothy's friends weren't here and Electchu was in its Pokéball, this would almost be like we're on a date."

Ezra's cheeks turned pink, and she covered her mouth to hide a bashful giggle. She looked back at Timothy and debated for a moment before she decided to walk slower until she was right next to Timothy and Electchu. Timothy grew nervous, knowing what was on the raspberry-haired woman's mind simply from how she smiled at him as they walked.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ezria said.

"Yes, it is," Timothy said politely.

"Do you normally enjoy seeing sites like this in your travels?" Ezria asked.

Timothy took a moment to think about it and answered, "You know, I don't think I normally do. Then again, I don't normally travel throughout an entire region. I haven't really needed to when I already have my gym badges for nearly every region."

Ezria's smile widened, and she said, "Well, it's only natural that you would enjoy the sights here in Galar. There's no other region like it."

"You really love the Galar region, huh?" Timothy said.

"I do. It's the most wonderful place in the world," Ezria said.

"That's quite a claim," Timothy said. "Have you ever traveled to other regions?"

"I don't need to go to other regions. I know that Galar is the best," Ezria said. "Its beauty and majesty are precious to me. I would gladly do everything I can to protect it as its future Champion."

"Oh, really? And what makes you so sure you will be its Champion and not me?" Timothy asked.

"Because it's my destiny to be the first person to defeat Leon in a Pokémon Battle and take away his titles as Monarch and Galar Champion," Ezria said.

"That sounds all well and good, but I'm going to beat Leon. You can have what's left next year." Timothy said.

Ezria raised her eyebrow in amusement and said, "I've been training my whole life to be more than strong enough to remove Leon from his mantle. Do you honestly think you'll stop me?"

"Well, I have won two Pokémon Leagues, defeated Lance, who is also said to be unbeatable, and defeated you in battle. So, I like my odds against you." Timothy said, smirking.

Timothy waited for Ezria to make a comeback, such as saying that he got lucky with their double battle on the outskirts of Turffield. But instead, she gave him a flirtatious smirk with her eyebrow still raised. Timothy wondered if he did claim that he was going to win the Galar League or if he flattered her without him realizing it.

"Well, we're just gonna have to find out after the Gym Challenge, won't we?" Ezria said.

"Uh, yeah, I guess we are," Timothy said.

Ezria's smirk grew, pleased with Timothy's response. She faced forward to focus on following the path but glanced at Timothy as she walked with her cheeks blushing. Timothy turned to Electchu and mouthed, "Was it something I said?" The Mouse Pokémon gave a puzzled look, showing that it didn't have a clue. Timothy grew more confused as he looked back at Ezria, who was still blushing with a smile as she led the group and began to worry that she would behave that way no matter what he said or did.

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Timothy, Ezria, Coovers, Gwen, Electchu, and Winnie went further into the cavern for the next few hours. Timothy and Electchu continued to walk beside Ezria, but Timothy kept silent, worried that he would somehow lead Ezria on more if he spoke to her. Unfortunately, whether he struck another conversation or not, Ezria was happy just to be walking beside her crush. Eventually, the group found themselves in an ample empty space with a small pond on the left side. Ezria walked ahead of everyone to scan the area before she smiled and turned to the group.

"Let's stop here for dinner," she said.

"Are you sure? Wild Pokémon might attack or something while we eat," Coovers asked.

"On the contrary, this is a common place where miners stop for lunch," Ezria said. "We're far enough into the mine that we're close to where the miners work. We would probably be bumping into a few of them if we came here earlier in the day. Besides, we're close to the end of the cavern, so after dinner, we can make our way outside and camp for the night."

Timothy and Coovers looked at each other, unconvinced with Ezria's answer, and turned to Gwen. She gave them a nod, and Timothy said, "Alright, if you're sure, then I guess now's as good a time as any to eat."

"Excellent," Ezria said with a cheerful smile. "Then allow me to make dinner for all of us. I can make a mean curry."

"Curry sounds great." Coovers said.

"Alright then. If I can get you boys to help with setting up and supplying me with water for the rice, that would be fantastic." Ezria said.

"Can do," Coovers said.

"Well, if you three are going to work on dinner, then Winnie and I are gonna have a look around the area," Gwen said.

Ezria's smile melted into a suspicious frown, and she asked, "Are you doubting that I know the rest of the way?"

"Oh, no. We just want to explore," Gwen said with a forced smile. "We won't be too far away."

Ezria continued to glare daggers at Gwen, skeptical of Gwen's reply. Then she scoffed and waved her hand, and Gwen and Winnie went ahead further into the cavern. Timothy, Coovers, and Electchu looked at each other, concerned with the tension between the two women, before Timothy and Coovers began helping Ezria with dinner. Coovers helped Ezria set up two fires, one for the rice and the other for the sauce, while Timothy and Electchu went and found water to fill up the pots. After Timothy played his part, he decided to train his Pokémon to pass the time. As Ezria cooked with Coovers helping, she watched Timothy's Pokémon train with a loving smile, happy to see Knightblade getting along with Timothy's party as it trained.

After nearly an hour of cooking, Ezria and Coovers tasted the sauce and nodded to each other, agreeing that it was done.

"Hey, Timothy, food's ready," Coovers said.

"Alright," Timothy said. "I'll go get the Pokémon bowls."

"No, I'll take care of that. Why don't you look for Gwen and tell her?" Coovers said.

Ezria glared at Coovers without him, Timothy, or the Pokémon noticing, not wanting Timothy to be looking for a different woman. She then sighed in defeat, accepting that she still had to drain the water from the rice and set up the table with Coovers.

"Yes, you better look for her. Let's hope she didn't go too far." she said.

"Okay," Timothy said before turning to Electchu, Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, Blitzwing, and Knightblade. "Why don't you guys help set up while I look for Gwen and Winnie?"

Electchu, Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, and Blitzwing nodded, while Knightblade leaned forward then back as a way to nod as well. Timothy smiled and walked in the direction where he last saw Gwen and Winnie. As he went further into the cavern, he noticed mining machines and carts around the area.

"Guess we are close to where the miners are working." Timothy thought.

After a couple more minutes of searching, he found Gwen and Winnie sitting on a boulder next to a pond. Gwen had her sketchbook out, drawing a pair of Noibat hanging upside down on the ceiling above the pond. The Soundwave Pokémon were napping together with crystals glowing around them on the ceiling. Gwen was sketching the Noibat with a serene smile that warmed Timothy's heart. After a moment, he tiptoed behind Gwen and lightly poked her arm, trying not to startle her. She turned her head to him and frowned.

"Is dinner ready?" She asked.

"Yep, Ezria and Coovers are setting up as we speak," Timothy said.

Gwen's frown deepened, then she looked back at her sketch with a glum look. Timothy gave her a sympathetic smile, figuring she wanted to work more on her drawing.

"It looks really good," he said.

"Thanks," Gwen said, not looking at him.

"Are you really not done with it? It looks complete." Timothy asked.

"It isn't because I want to color it too." Gwen said.

"Oh, I see," Timothy said. "At least you found a perfect opportunity to draw something you don't see every day. How often do you see a pair of Noibat sleeping on a ceiling full of pretty crystals?"

The edges of Gwen's mouth curled up, and she looked back at the Noibat.

"Not very often, but they are very cute together." she said.

"Yeah, they seem like a happy couple." Timothy said.

"Teddiursa." Winnie agreed.

"They do," Gwen said. Her smile turned into a frown, and she looked at Timothy disapprovingly. "Speaking of which, you and Ezria seem to be getting along very well."

"Well, I have to make it look that way for the mission," Timothy said. "We're supposed to be friends with her and the chairman."

"Are you sure? Cause you two seem to be liking each other more than friends." Gwen challenged.

Timothy hesitated and scratched the back of his head.

"She does appear to think of me that way, I grant you," he said. "It worries me that I somehow lead her on when I'm not interested in being in a relationship with -"

"Oh, please, don't insult my intelligence, Timothy," Gwen rebuked. "You were flirting with her."

"Flirting? I wasn't flirting," Timothy said.

"Yes, you were. You were playfully bantering, and she was giving you a look," Gwen said.

"How is that flirting?" Timothy asked. "I told her I would win the Galar League and beat Leon. She asked if I really think I will instead of her, and I explained why I like my chances. Flirting is calling each other handsome or pretty and giving each other pet names and whatnot."

"You expect me to believe that you weren't flirting by teasing her?" Gwen asked. "It looked like you were given the way she reacted."

Timothy tilted his head and asked, ''Can teasing count as flirting?"

Gwen and Winnie looked at each other and then back at Timothy.

"Timothy, you do know there's more than one way to flirt with a woman, right?" She asked.

Timothy looked at Gwen even more confused, and Gwen's eyes widened in disbelief. She began to snicker before she and Winnie laughed out loud, with Gwen almost dropping her sketchbook. Timothy felt embarrassed by the way they were laughing, as though he asked a question with an obvious answer.

"How could you not know that?" Gwen giggled.

"Well, I mean, I've never heard of people flirting that way," Timothy said. "Most of how I describe flirting sums up how Coovers flirts with a woman or how our friends, Brock and Holly, flirt with each other. I was just acting competitive with my rival. That's what trainers do."

Gwen snorted and said, "Good grief. I can't believe a grown man like you barely knows anything about flirting."

"Well, how am I supposed to know this stuff?" Timothy asked. "I mean, this would explain why Ezria reacted the way she did, but I've barely gained interest in something like romance over the past couple of years. How am I supposed to know if it looks like I'm flirting?"

Gwen and Winnie looked at each other again, smirking.

"Tell you what, I'll explain it to you when you're older," Gwen said.

"What? Come on, I'm around the same age as you," Timothy said.

Gwen snickered again and said, "You know, when you're not focusing on the mission or ranting about Pokémon training, you're kind of cute."

Instantly, the area became silent, with Timothy's and Gwen's eyes widening. They looked away from each other, flustered, and Gwen cleared her throat.

"For the record, that wasn't flirting," she said.

"Thanks for the clarification," Timothy said.

Winnie looked back between Timothy and Gwen, confused. Gwen saw Winnie look at her from the corner of her eye, and she mouthed out, "I don't know why I said that." Timothy looked up at the ceiling as though it was the most exciting thing in the world, and yet the right side of his mouth began to curl up until he heard Coovers's voice from a distance.

"Timothy! Gwen! Where are you guys?!" Coovers called out.

"Over here, Coovers!" Timothy shouted.

It took a couple of seconds until Coovers turned to find Timothy, Gwen, and Winnie by the pond.

"What are you guys doing standing around for? Everyone's waiting on you," he said.

"Alright, we're coming," Timothy said.

Gwen broke out of her flustered state and glumly looked at her sketch, remembering that she wasn't done. She sighed and closed her sketchbook before she and Winnie got off the boulder and followed Timothy and Coovers. But as they walked, Gwen's mind returned to what she said to Timothy, and her cheeks again turned to a light shade of pink. Unbeknownst to her, Timothy looked down at the ground as he walked behind Coovers, smiling as he thought about the same thing.

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By the time Timothy, Coovers, and Gwen returned, the table had been set up, and the Pokemon, excluding Winnie, were waiting in front of their bowls to eat. Ezria was relieved to see Timothy, for she was worried that he had gotten lost and might have been attacked by wild Pokémon while he left his Pokémon party behind. Timothy and Gwen apologized for taking so long to come back before Gwen took out Noctowl, Spoink, Mudbray, Drifloon, and Cufant. Her Pokémon walked over to the bowls of Pokémon food waiting for them, and Gwen filled Winnie's food with honey.

As soon as everyone was settled, Ezria told everyone to dig in. Timothy, Coovers, and Gwen thanked her and began eating their curry while the Pokémon started eating their food. Ezria watched Timothy closely as he took his first bite of curry. As soon as Timothy swallowed his first bite, he couldn't help but smile from tasting the rice and sauce together. He then noticed Ezria looking at him and looked away, forcing a wooden expression on his face as he continued his meal, but it was too late. Ezria's heart skipped a beat, and her lips stretched to the sides of her face, ecstatic that he liked her cooking.

As Timothy ate, he turned his head to the Pokémon while they enjoyed their supper. He smiled as Knightblade enjoyed a conversation with its sibling as they ate together. He then looked at Ezria's other Pokémon to see a Scyther and an Avalugg eating next to Sirfetch'd and Weezing. Timothy grew puzzled, however, as he looked at the Pokémon eating next to Weezing that looked like a massive goliath with a body of coal atop it, had a large, coal-black body, with two legs and a pair of stubby arms, alongside two massive spikes atop its shoulders and It bore a head consisting of a pair of eyes and a mouth, atop which it carried a large amount of heated coal.

"It's a Coalossal," Ezria said, knowing what was on Timothy's mind. "They are commonly found in other mines across Galar."

"Coalossal, eh?" Timothy said as he took out his Rotom Phone and scanned the Pokemon.

"Coalossal. The Coal Pokémon. A Rock and Fire type." Rotom said. "It's usually peaceful, but the vandalism of mines enrages it. Offenders will be incinerated with flames that reach 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit."

"Interesting," Timothy said as he turned his head to Ezria. "Considering that your other Pokémon are a Scyther and an Avalugg, I assume Coalossal is your third Pokémon to represent a shield?"

"That's right. You will rarely find a Pokémon with such strong defense apart from Doublade, Avalugg, and Weezing," Ezria said. "On a side note, who says you can check out who my other Pokémon are? Are you trying to plan how to face them the next time we battle?"

"If I was, it's your fault for taking out your entire team," Timothy said. "Besides, you already know everyone from my team is, so who says you have to be the only one knowing the other's party?"

Ezria smirked and said, "Fair enough," before she went back to her curry, Timothy scooped another mouthful of curry until he realized something and turned to Gwen, who was sitting next to Ezria. She looked up from her food, noticing that Timothy was looking at her.

"That didn't come off as flirting, did it?" Timothy mouthed out.

Gwen rolled her eyes and shook her head. Timothy sighed in relief with his hand on his chest and went back to his meal.

As soon as everyone was finished eating, everyone returned their Pokémon, excluding Electchu and Winnie, and Coovers helped Ezria put away the table. Timothy and Gwen washed the dishes at the pond with Electchu and Winnie helping. Once everyone was done, Ezria began leading the group again, not so subtly making sure she was walking beside Timothy. Timothy kept his gaze away from Ezria, pretending he didn't know she was there. Ezria put her hands behind her back and looked at Timothy with a smile as her cheeks heated up.

"Did you notice Knightblade and Doublade being so happy to see each other?" She asked.

"I did," Timothy said without looking at Ezria.

"I think it's very sweet that they were talking to each other as they ate like they used to when Knightblade was my Pokémon," Ezria said. "It's almost like Knightblade never left its brother's side."

"I bet," Timothy said.

"Do you have any siblings?" Ezria asked.

"Three. Two brothers and a sister. I'm the oldest," Timothy replied.

"How nice," Ezria said. "You know, technically I'm the oldest because I was born five minutes before Venarge."

"You don't say," Timothy said.

"I do, and I make sure he doesn't forget it," Ezria said, grinning. "Do you get along with your siblings?"

"I do," Timothy answered. "I don't see them often because of my travels, but I get along when I see them."

"That's good. I can't say I'm the same with Venarge, but you do strike me as someone who cares about their siblings with that kind heart of yours."

"Thanks," Timothy said plainly.

"Are any of your siblings married?" Ezria asked.

"My sister and my first brother are. She has a daughter, and he has two boys and a girl," Timothy said.

"Aw, how nice," Ezria said. She played with her fingers, her hands behind her