The Road to our Destiny II: The Galar Adventures

Chapter 30

Timothy and Gwen struggled to keep themselves together ever since they left Ballonlea. As soon as the group woke promptly at nine in the morning the day after Timothy's match, Ezria assumed the role of their leader. Timothy and Gwen couldn't deny that Ezria made good food, and everyone was better rested with her in command. Still, the raspberry-haired woman after Timothy's heart was anything but humble about it. She took pleasure in showing off how she cared for everyone else, seeing it as a means to prove to Timothy that she was the superior woman to rely on. As far as Ezria was concerned, she successfully took Nurse Joy's advice to obtain her prize.

With less time to ride than before, It took double the amount of days to come back to Stow-on-Side than it did for Timothy, Coovers, Gwen, Electchu, and Winnie to travel from there to Ballonlea. Ezria only allowed the group to stay there for lunch and restocking supplies, giving Gwen no time to revisit the mural, much to her disappointment. At the same time, Timothy was thankful that Bea was in Kanto and no one else in town was around to reveal to Ezria that he had lost his first battle with Bea.

Finally, they exited the mountains and began riding through the straight and level road to Hammerlocke. On the evening of the third day riding from Stow-on-Side, Ezria stopped riding and turned her bicycle back into a phone to check the map and the time.

"It's half past six," she said before turning to Timothy, Coovers, Gwen, Electchu, and Winnie. "It's another several hours until we get to Hammerlocke. We shall rest here tonight. We'll make it to the city in the afternoon."

Timothy, Coovers, and Gwen nodded and got off their bikes. Timothy and Gwen let Electchu and Winnie down, respectively, before they ordered the Rotom to transform into their phones. Coovers set up a campfire, and Ezria set up a table to cut up ingredients for curry. Timothy found a place a mile away from the campsite to train his Pokemon until Ezria came over to let him know dinner was ready.

The trainers and their Pokémon ate silently until they all had their fill. While Timothy, Coovers, and Gwen finished their last helpings of Ezria's curry, Ezria made tea. Thus, Timothy, Coovers, Gwen, and Ezria sat at the table sipping tea while all of the Pokémon laid down to sleep off dinner.

"Ah, what a comforting way to end the day," she said, smiling with her eyes closed. "I wish I had thought of buying cookies or some sort of dessert before we left Stow-on-Side."

Coovers lightly chuckled and said, "That just makes me think of the sweets Serena makes."

"Oh, yeah. She makes some tasty treats," Timothy agreed.

"Serena, as in the girlfriend of that boy you lost the Indigo League to?" Ezria asked with her eyes open.

"That's the one. She makes delicious cookies and Poké Puffs for everyone's Pokémon," Coovers said.

"I miss Serena's macarons personally," Timothy said. "I had no idea the treat could be so sweet until I had some of Serena's when we traveled with her, Ash, and some of our other friends."

"When you put it like that, Ash is a lucky guy to be with someone like Serena," Gwen said with a smile.

"Yeah, a lucky guy indeed. I wish I met my other half at such a young age." Coovers said, looking at the sky with a lovey-dovey look. "That means I would have experienced many years already of tasting her food, holding hands, going on dates, talking about feelings, and soooooooo much kissing."

"Er, you're talking about this Sonja woman, right? The one you haven't made a move on yet?" Ezria asked.

Coovers paused before he remembered that he was hiding who his crush's real name was and said, "That's right. In fact, we're going to have a date the next time we see each other. The first of many."