pokemon Fighting Dreamers

Last time we left our heroes in a cruise on their way back to Galar, their nights went just fine, it was now early in the morning, around 8:00 or so, there we have Bea, who had her Rotom Phone in hand, she's been writing and erasing the same four words for roughly two hours now, wondering if she should send it or not.

"What if he says no...what if he says yes but doesn't like it...what if he thinks I'm not...Just sent the message, damn it." Bea cursed herself and finally gave in.

-Hey Ash, you awake?-

-I am, you need something?-

-Well, first off, good morning-

-Good morning, did you sleep well?-

-I slept fine, you?-

-Fine too-

-Alright, so I was writing you because it seems like today's gonna be sunny, how about we go to the pool together?-

-The pool? Sure, I'll see you there-

-Great, see you later-

...

''Well...there's no back down now.'' Bea put her phone aside, Cinderace grabbed it at the moment she let the guard down.

''Very well, now it's finally my time to be the wingmon!'' Cinderace said after reading the messages.

''No, it's not.'' Bea shut her.

''But I-''

''Cinderace, stop it, today it will be just Ash and me, I don't want you to interfere.''

''B-But-''

''Cinderace..." Bea gave her Pokemon a firm stare. "Please, this is the day I've been waiting for, if things go well enough today I might even...just promise me you'll leave us alone.''

''Fine, I'll leave you two alone, good luck.''

"Thanks, you'll be in care of the boys as always."

"Sure."

"Alright." Bea then held the bar that Dawn gave her and sighed.

"Anything wrong?"

"I guess I'm still not sure about how to approach Ash romantically."

''Well, you already gave him a cheek kiss, that's progress, right?''

''Not really...''

''How so?''

''I may have done it, but Nessa did it first, same with the cheerleader thing, I only did it because Flannery and Dawn did it as well, as Ash meets more and more girls I feel more pressured, but imitating other girls won't do anything for me, like Jasmine said, I need to find something of my own, my own way to show Ash what I feel." Bea then opened the bag, blushing at the sight of its content again. "Gosh, this is so embarrassing."

''You're gonna wear it or not'?"

''Yes I will, I mean, what's the worst that could happen?''

"Bea, never ask that question." Cinderace said. "Still, I'm sure Ash will be very happy to see you using it.''

''...'' Bea entered her bathroom and after a long while she came out covering herself with a towel.

"Just what were you doing? You've been there for like and hour." Cinderace said. ''And what's with the towel?''

''Guess I was hesitating...and the towel is just in case I cower...'' Bea then wrote some more messages to Ash.

''Ash, you still in your room?''

''I'm already in the pool actually.''

''Alright, I'm on my way.''

After that Bea left the room and Cinderace simply sighed. "My, this girl."

Bea then found herself walking to the pool of the ship, as she said, it was beautiful day, the skies were clear and the water was warm, the sun was blazing hot and like most of the time, Bea was alone with her thoughts.

''Alright, Bea, this won't be like that time in Turffield, you're probably just gonna see him in trunks, nothing wrong about that, you're just in the pool, everyone's just chilling, right?...right?! ...will he really like this?"

''There he is...'' There were plenty of people but Bea quickly spotted him at the pool, Ash was simply sitting on the corner of the main pool, with his feet on the water, wearing just a pair of blue trunks, Bea blushed at the sight his bare back once more. "Stupid locker room..." She trailed off, Bea then managed to calm down and walked until she was next to the boy.

''Hey, Ash.''

''There you are, Bea...uh, what's with the towel?''

''Oh, you know, I just...I just felt a bit chilly in the way here.''

"Really? Well, you don't have to come in the water if you don't want to."

"N-No, I do want to get in the water."

"Uh, great."

"..."

"..."

"..."

''...so, will you take the towel off?

''I-I'm not sure you're gonna like it.''

''Like what?''

''No, I mean, t-this...Just promise you're not going to laugh.''

''Laugh about what?''

''Just promise it, Ash...''

''Ok, I promise.''

''Ugh, fine.''

Bea took off the towel to reveal a two piece black bikini with orange outlines and a white flowers design.

''...'' Ash was simply staring at her with a slight blush.

''I...D-Dawn gave me this before we left Sinnoh, so, what do you think?''

''...''

''C-Could you say something at least?!''

''...Oh my god, you could grind meat on those.''

''ASH!''

''Y-You told me to say something.''

''YOU STUPID-!'' Bea then kicked Ash onto the water but she accidentally slipped in, falling into the pool as well, Bea then quickly got out and started ranting to herself.

''Argh! I knew this was a bad idea! Why did I even put this on? I...I guess it was because I don't want you to think I'm not feminine enough, you're always surrounded by pretty girls and then there's me, punching and kicking around every minute and then..." Bea then looked at the pool again, noticing Ash hadn't come out. "Ash, are you..." Ash's body then emerged from the water floating face down. "ASH!''

''Oh my gosh! Ash, I got you!'' Bea instantly got back to the pool and took Ash out, leaving him on the floor near the edge to check him. ''Ash, are you okay?! Ash! Ash! H-He's not breathing! Alright, Bea, calm down, you just have to give him CPR...C-CPR, I have to...I have to lock lips with him..." Bea took a hold of Ash's face, obviously blushing by the mere thought. "H-His life is at risk, this is no moment to get embarrassed, Bea, just do it!"

She got as close as she could, she was just centimeters away, Bea could feel her breathing bouncing off Ash's lips and back at her, she was about to- "Argh! I can't do it all!" Oh, looks like she wasn't. "Somebody help me! Where's the lifeguard?!"

''I'm here, going!''

Running at them was a young woman, with two large pink flowers on her head hiding part of her hair, she was wearing a blue bikini top with white flowers and a matching blue sarong, worth to mention, she was running heroically slowly.

''Could you stop the slow motion?!'' Bea exclaimed.

''Oh, sorry, hard habit." The girl then ran normally and stood next to Bea. "What's wrong?''

''My friend, he's-"

"Oh, he's quite good looking, isn't he?"

Bea simply sighed. "...uh, sure, he's adorable, aren't there any male lifeguards in the cruise?''

''Sorry, but I'm the only one here.''

''Is that so...then I guess I can take care myself.''

''Wait a second, did your friend drown?!''

''Well, yes but-''

''That's no good, I have to give him CPR!"

''N-No, you don't! I-I mean I can do it-''

''Move aside!'' The girl pushed Bea away.

''Hey!'' Bea was about to rant but then she noticed the girl was simply looking up instead of helping Ash. ''...What are you doing?''

''I'm looking for his soul.'' She said. ''CPR won't work anymore.''

''S-Soul! Wait, he's dead?!''

''Yup! I mean, kinda...not quite, not yet, it's complicated...oh, there it is!'' The girl pointed up but Bea couldn't see anything. ''Uh, weird, it looks like this isn't the first time he dies.''

''Will you do something already?!''

''Calm down, I do this all the time.'' The girl then pulled out a Poke Ball

''Wait, where were you hiding that at?''

''Balloony, come on out!'' The girl released a Drifblim. ''Buddy, could you reach that soul up there?'' The Balloon floated up until it was infront of the soul, she then grabbed it with two of its arms and lowered it down infront of the girl.

''Hey there! I know the light might seem tempting, but the living are not done with you yet.'' The girl softly put the soul back on Ash's body, touching his chest in three certain spots, Ash suddenly started to cough water and sat down breathing again.

''There we go, you could have at least tried some chest compressions, don't you think?''

''Ash! Are you-''

''I'm okay, Bea -cough- I'm okay.''

''See? There was no reason to worry.'' The girl patted Ash a few times on his back and then got up.

''Thanks, Miss...''

''The name's Phoebe, no need to thank me, enjoy your travel and be more careful.'' Phoebe then walked away leaving the two alone.

"Well, that was-"

''Ash, I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!'' Bea exclaimed sitting infront of him.

''Don't worry, Bea, I'm okay.''

"I-I don't know what happened to me, I just was-"

"Bea, seriously, I'm okay."

''Ash, I...I feel like you're being too easy on the fact that I pretty much killed you.''

''It's fine, Bea, I know you didn't mean it and no one got hurt in the end, I kinda provoked you after all.''

''You mean like that episode from Regular Show?''

''Yeah, kinda, so don't worry about it.'' Ash then dropped himself on the ground to catch a breath.

''Uh, sure.'' Bea did the same, resting by Ash's side, both of them were simply looking up.

''Are you sure you're okay?'' She asked.

''I'll be fine, really.''

''So...'' Bea continued. ''You said you've been...gone before...how does that feels like?''

''Its hard to tell.'' Ash answered. ''One moment you're here and...then you're simply not.''

''Do you see other people or something like that?''

''Not really, I don't remember much from when it happens, it all gets blurry.''

"Hmm..."

''By the way, what were you saying?'' Ash asked.

''I didn't say anything''

''No, I mean, before I lost consciousness I think I heard you say something, what was that?''

''I..." Knowing what he meant, Bea tried to avoid eye contact before asking. "Do you think I'm feminine?''

''Well...no, you're not the typical girly girl.''

''I-I..." That statement hurt Bea a little. "Yeah, I guess you're right.''

''But I think That's great!'' Ash continued.

''You do?''

''Sure, you have this 'tough' charm, that's really great, you're sometimes scary too, but you're also really cute when you want to.''

'HE JUST CALLED ME CUTE!' Bea shouted in her thoughts.

''I think that what I'm trying to say is that you have your own way of being feminine.''

''W-Well, I...so do you like the bikini?''

''Uh...I do, you look really good in that.'' Ash then noticed some smoke coming from Bea's ears. ''You okay, Bea?''

''I think you were a bit too honest.'' Bea said sitting on the ground.

"You th-" Ash tried to sit down as well, but he couldn't.

"You okay?"

"Just a bit dizzy..." Ash answered holding his head. "It's like a weird version of Jet Lag."

"Dizzy, uh?"

''Bea?'' Before Ash could react, Bea was already carrying him on her arms.

''B-Bea! what are you-''

''Well, I'm being feminine in my own way, just like you said, you don't mind me doing this, right?''

''N-Not at all, but please, warm me before doing it next time.''

''Next time...sure!'' Both then stood silent for a moment. ''Well, I suppose we aren't swimming for now, so would you like to go to the juice bar?''

''S-Sure, let's go.'' Ash expected Bea would let him down once she said that, but she just started to walk away still carrying him.

''Uh, Bea, could you put me down?''

''Hmm, I don't know, you just drowned a few moments away." Bea answered with a small laugh. "I'm not sure if I can let you go on your own.''

''B-Bea, I'm fine, I'm not dizzy anymore, I can walk there.''

''That's not gonna stop me, I'll let you down once we get to the juice bar, deal?''

''I...fine, deal.'' Ash gave in.

Bea kept on walking to the bar while still carrying Ash on her arms, of course the scene grabbed some views but Bea couldn't care less, she was carrying her prince and if someone had a problem with that, she'd just beat em up, Ash was slightly embarrassed by the situation but it's not like complaining would be if any help.

''Why do even like to do this so much?'' Ash asked her.

''Well, I don't know, I just like supporting you and I guess that literally supporting you works too.''

"I guess-"

A sudden rough wave then crashed the ship, nothing too big, but enough to make it tilt just a little, Bea flinched a second and almost stumbled but managed to stay on feet, by pure instinct, Ash wrapped his arms around Bea's neck so she wouldn't let him fall accidentally, Bea pretty much turned into a tomato as Ash's cheek pressed against hers.

"Close call." Ash sighed loosening the grasp but still holding onto Bea.

"Uh...Sure, I-I can let you down if you want."

"Well, we're almost at the juice bar." Ash looked at the establishment that was just a few feet away. "I guess you can keep going." He said.

"Oh? W-Well thanks." Bea then walked a little more until they made it to the juice bar, she left Ash in one of the seats and then sat next to him.

''There, that wasn't too hard.'' Bea said embarrassed.

"Hello young guys!" The owner of the bar looked at them. "Name's Ernie, what would you like?"

"Some shaved ice will do." Ash said. "What about you, Bea?"

"S-Shaved ice too." Bea answered. "Sounds great."

Ernie quickly prepared the shaved ice and gave it to them.

''Hey, Ash." Bea took some of her shaved ice in the spoon and offered it to him. "Say, Ahh.''

''Uh..."

''...Well, that works too.''

''B-Bea, what are you doing?''

''Im just trying to seize the day, it's been a while since it's just been you and me.'' Bea put the spoon a little closer to Ash. "Pretty please."

''Fine..." Ash opened his mouth, Bea cheered in her insides and then fed him. "Hey, this is very good."

"See, I don't know what got you so nervous."

"Alright, let me try.''

''Let you try?'' Bea asked.

''Say Ahh.'' Now it was Ash's turn to offer a bit of his shaved ice to Bea.

''I- Hmm...'' Bea's blush grew bigger as she began to sweat.

''Bea?''

''I'll be back in a moment!'' Bea then ran out of the juice bar and hid behind some stairs cursing herself.

''Why did I just ran like that?! Argh! What's the point of flirting if I get so nervous when he does something like that?''

Bea breathed slowly to calm herself, once she thought she was ok, she went with Ash again, and there he was, still sitting on the juice bar...talking with Phoebe.

'God damn it, Ash Ketchum! Why are you such a girl magnet?' Bea thought as her jealous side rose up as always. 'I let you alone for five seconds! FIVE SECONDS! and you're already talking with another girl!'

''So you're an ex-member from the Hoenn Elite Four?'' Ash asked Phoebe.

''Yup! But I gave the title to an old friend of mine, I'm going back to my hometown in Alola, I want to take things a bit easier, you know?''

"Of course, it's great to have a break from time to time, thank you for saving me at the pool by the way."

"Oh, it was nothing."

"To which island are you going then?"

"I'll go to Melemele."

''Heeey, I'm back.'' Bea stood between the two.

''Oh? Heh.'' Phoebe laughed a little at Bea. ''Well, I guess you and your friend would like some time alone, Alola, Ash.'' Phoebe then started to walk away from the bar.

''Mahalo, Phoebe!'' Ash said as he waved goodbye.

''Mahalo?'' Bea asked.

''It's Alolan.'' Ash explained. "Mahalo means thanks."

''You know Alolan? Sure.'' Bea rolled her eyes.

''Yes, I do! My friends taught me!" Ash assured her. "Go on, tell me anything and I'll translate it.''

"Really? Then how do you say victory?"

"Lanakila." Ash quickly answered.

"Belief?" Bea continued.

"Mana'o." Ash kept answering as fast as she talked.

"Race?"

"Heihei."

"Alright, Mr. Worldwide, tell me about desperate measures."

"Hana ʻaʻa makehewa"

"Heroes and Villains?"

"Ne meʻe laua na paio." Ash didn't seem to be fazed at all.

"F-Fair winds and following sea?"

"Makani ʻolu a holo malie"

"Fire will never say that it has had enough!"

"A'ole e 'olelo mai ana ke ahi ua ana ia!"

"No one has ever died for the mistakes he has made; Only because he didn't repent!"

"Aohe mea make i ka hewa; make no i ka mihi ole!"

"Fine, fine! You win!" Bea was honestly scared by that last bit.

"Success!" Ash said with a laugh.

"Geez, as if you didn't have enough tricks already." Bea said. "Since you're the champion I guess that makes sense but geez."

"Alright, say ahh, then." Ash offered her the shaved ice again.

"..." Bea blushed, but opened her mouth anyway, Ash fed her and Bea smiled satisfied, after changing their spoons, each ate their respective shaved ice.

"Hey, hey, lady." A blonde teen suddenly approached Bea. "Why don't you cutie play with me for a bit?"

Bea simply rolled her eyes and tried to ignore him.

''Oh, come on, I'll listen to whatcha gotta say.''

''I say go away.'' Bea stood firm. 'Harasser guy in the bikini chapter, typical.'

"Don't be so cold." The guy tried to put a hand over Bea's shoulder but she quickly held his wrist with force, stopping him from doing so.

"Uh, Bea?" Ash tried to call her.

''Oh ho, well, ain't you aggressive grabbing me like that?'' Bea simply stood silent and squeezed his wrist tighter causing him to hiss in pain. ''O-Ouch, okay, how about a role change? Imma grab your b-''

Before the guy could continue talking Bea gave him a good ol' Tekken Jab-uppercut leaving the guy knocked out on the ground.

''Bea!'' Ash exclaimed.

''What?" Bea asked unfazed. "That was harassment, I did plain and clean self defense.''

''Hey!" Two of the guy's friends got closer to Ash and Bea.

"T-This girl just punched me without reason..." The guy on the ground said.

"You think you're getting a free pass to screw with us just because you're a girl?'' One of his friend asked.

''Alright guys, sorry about the bother but we're just gonna leave, okay?'' Ash stepped in.

"Leave? Oh ho, look, listen boy, we're just a bunch of innocent and harmless college friends that went to a vacation together."

"Really? Then I'm going to look for the guy who asked." Bea said uninterested.

''I can't permit that." The guy continued. "I can't permit it! Can't permit it, this girl has ruined our celebration by being here, she punched my homie!''

''Yeah, look at my hands, huh?" The other dude said. "They're shaking, I'm so mad.''

''Yeah, look, my brother's shaking.''

''Alright, Ash, this is the plan, I'm gonna kick these three dudes overboard, you stand by and try to not get in the way.''

''Bea, that sounds like a bit too much.''

''It's not like someone's gonna miss them...and what is that one doing?" Bea pointed at one of them who was doing back flips for some reason.

''My bro's intimidating you, isn't he?''

''No, not at all.'' Bea answered. ''Why are you acting so crazy?

''Did Toph just call you crazy?'' The one who Bea punched asked.

''Did he call me Toph?'' Bea asked.

''That's kinda funny actually.'' Ash said.

''WE GOT A SITUATION!'' One of the guys shouted. ''WOO! WOO! WOO!''

The three guys then started to shout to the skies, some other guys that were on the pool came by and before Ash and Bea knew it, they were surrounded by the whole group of 30.

''I haven't been around this many arrogant college kids since Elekinem played Duke...'' Bea said

''At least we got into college!''

''Uh, it's nice to meet everybody, but we're gonna take off, take care, guys, enjoy yourself.'' Ash held Bea's hand and tried to take her away from there but the group stopped them from leaving.

''You can go mate, we have no problem with you, but the girl stays here.''

''As you wish.'' Bea shrugged her shoulders and then cracked her knuckles.

''Let's take it easy.'' Ash stood in front of Bea again.

''Don't get in our way here, that girl just crushed my friend's eyes!''

''He was trying to grab me...'' Bea said menacingly.

''Well, you should be thankful that any guy around here finds you at least mildly attractive.''

Bea was about to take a step forward, but Ash stopped her again.

''Listen, Bea is really sorry."

"I'm not." Bea said.

"Either way, I just want you to stop bothering her.''

''And why should we do that?''

''Because...'' Ash thought for a moment looking around, then he suddenly held Bea's hand. ''Because she's my girlfriend.''

''...eh...?'' Bea's mind is experiencing technical difficulties, please stand by.

''You're telling me she's your girlfriend?''

''Yes...'' Ash said.

"Is that true?" The guy asked Bea.

"Y-Y-YES!" Bea answered shivering.

''...Well, why didn't you just say so?" The guy gave them a surprisingly sincere smile. "Sorry our homie tried to mess with your girl, go in peace, bro.'' As he said this, the rest of the group went back to the pool, letting them go.

''Uh...thanks.'' Ash then walked away dragging Bea, who still hadn't fully reacted.

''Wait, we're not gonna use the 'If she's really your girlfriend then kiss her' card?'' One of first guys asked.

''No bro, we respect.''

After getting far enough from that group, Ash let go Bea's hand, finally causing her to react.

"There, you okay, Bea?"

"I a...S-Sure, I'm great, g-great...uh...Ash, why did you do that?"

"Well, they seemed like the kind of guys that would just let us be if I told them that."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Sometimes is not that hard to read people, you know?" Ash then laughed a bit. "Like, you remember our 'first date' back in Hulbury, right?"

"Heh, yeah, you totally saw through me." Bea admitted with a laugh. "I Really didn't want to go."

"Are you sure they didn't hurt you?"

"Pfft, you know they can't." Bea laughed a bit. "You also know I could have just broke their ribs, right?"

"Just because you can it doesn't mean you have to." Ash said. "Sometimes is better to avoid a fight."

"Alright, mr. Peaceful, I'll take into consideration."

"Well, it'll be better to avoid the pool so those guys don't bother us again, but there's still an hour or so before we arrive, is there something else you'd like to do?"

"...Remember when you said you'd teach me how to dance?"

After changing back to their usual clothes, Ash and Bea met in the dancefloor of the cruise, because of course it had one.

"Ready for lesson number one?" Ash took of his vest to have a little more mobility.

"Sure!" Bea said confident.

Ash then took a hold of Bea's hand, causing her to tense a little as she remembered what happened some moments ago. "Just relax, okay?"

"S-S-Sure." Bea tried to call herself as Ash took to the dance floor. "So, where should we start?"

"Uh, give me a sec." Seeing the song that was currently playing was a bit too fast paced for a first lesson, Ash called the DJ of the place. "Sorry sir, could you play a song that's a bit more calm? I wanna teach my friend how to dance."

"Sure fella, take this." The DJ quickly changed the song.

-Down, the boogie down, down, up and down-

"Maybe something a bit slower." Ash said unsure.

-Quiero saber qué me pasa, te pregunto qué me pasa y no sabés-

"Anything else?"

-Koi ga umareru kimi no naka de-

"DUDE!"

"Oh boy, how did that get there?" The DJ quickly stopped. "This is the good one, I swear."

-Everybody shout, "What's the big idea?" (Hey! What's the big idea?)-

Ash simply sighed and gave up. "You know what? Forget the music, just follow my lead, you say this is your first try?"

"Pretty much." Bea answered.

"Then we'll go for something simple, more or less what Lisia and Brendan did for their performance, alright?"

"Sounds good, cause I really don't think I could get close to whatever you and May were doing."

"Great." Ash got closer to Bea, taking her in the common partner dance position, holding one of Bea's hand and putting his other hand on her waist, Bea quickly reacted and put a hand over Ash shoulder.

"First thing first." Ash began the lesson. "Let's try swaying, you don't even have to move your feet just yet, simply sway from left to right with me." Bea nodded and did as told.

"Great, now I'll walk back and you follow me." Ash made some steps backwards and Bea followed him stepping forward. "Now back at you." Now it was Bea who walked backward and Ash followed her.

"Great, now let's do a simple box step, I'll show you first."

Ash let Bea go for a moment and did the steps alone, he took a step forward with his left foot, then he stepped to the side with his right foot and closed his left to his right foot; Ash then stepped back with his right foot, to the side with his left foot and closed his right to his left foot, Bea then mirrored the moves almost perfectly on her own, Ash then held her in position again and they did the step together.

"One...two..." Ash counted to help her keep the pace. "How are you feeling?" Ash asked her.

"This is quite good actually."

"There, you're doing great, now let's do a simple spin, okay?"

"I guess anything simple will do."

Ash Fred Bea from his grasp and raised the hand he was holding, Bea then made a clean spin, but she stumbled at last moment, Ash then quickly dashed forward and caught her on his arms before she could fall.

"You okay?" Ash asked.

"Y-Yeah." Bea simply looked up at him, quickly reminder that Bea was a bit taller than Ash, so this was...kind of a new experience, it felt weird to let Ash take the lead, but she kinda liked it.

"Let's try this again." Ash helped Bea get back up and they started from the simply swaying again, going until the spin, which Bea made perfectly at the second try, satisfied with the progress, Bea decided to call it a day and Ash agreed with her.

"Alright, Ash Ketchum, you taught me how to dance." Bea laughed as they left the dance floor. "Anything I can do to repay you?"

"I don't..." An idea suddenly struck on Ash's head. "Hey, can you sing?"

"...no." Bea answered blankly.

"I'm hearing doubt." Ash teased her.

"I'm not going to sing!" Bea shouted with a blush.

Our Kanto native was now curiously interested. "Well, you said you wanted to repay me." Ash answered with a smug smile.

"I-I-I..."

"Come on, Bea, just a little song."

"Ash, seriously, it's a bad idea, I would sound like a dying ostrich doing a barrel role."

"What's an ostrich?" Ash asked.

"Dunno."

"Anyway, you already heard me singing so I think that would be fair, I just wanna hear you sing."

-I just wanna hear you sing-

"...Fine."

"Great, I saw that there's a Karaoke restaurant in the cruise, let's go there."

"Hold up, Ash, you want me to sing on a stage? In front of people?"

"Chill out, Bea, how many people can there be at this time of the day?"

Ash and Bea quickly made it to the place, it was the typical karaoke club, with a bar, lots of tables and a stage with the DJ on his station next to it, the place had a disco ambient and there were plenty of people, something that instantly got Bea nervous.

"Why is there so many people here?!" Bea asked. "Who goes to a Karaoke restaurant at 11:30 am?!"

"We do!" Most of the people inside answered her.

"Uh, sorry, Bea, maybe this was a big idea." Ash said "you don't have to-"

"No, Ash, you already brought me here so I'm gonna sing, damn it."

Bea didn't want to disappoint him, so she got herself queued up, Ash and Bea then sat in a table together and all they had to do then was wait for her turn.

"Alright people, next in the stage is Bea! Come on up, girl!"

Bea sighed and went upstage, the DJ gave her the microphone and Bea received some claps from the people in the place.

"Uh, so this is..." Bea stopped a moment to look around, there were suddenly more people from the upstage perspective, everyone had the sight set on her and this go her nervous. 'I...what was I going to say?'

Did Bea had Stage fright? Well, not exactly, it's more like this was the first time she's been in a stage at all, while Bea was alone with her thoughts, the people watching her started to murmur.

"She's frozen stiff."

"Is she nervous?"

"Why won't she start?"

"Not good..."

"I'm waiting for my turn, damn it."

'Why can't I just start?' Bea asked herself.

"Hey, Bea!" Ash called her back to reality, she looked at him and he simply answered with a smile. "You can do it!"

Time stopped right there for Bea, it felt as if everyone else disappeared, Ash and her were the only ones in the place.

'Why do I even care about what all these people think?' Bea thought to herself. 'After all, the only person I want to show this is...him...just him.'

Bea then took a deep breath and told the DJ to restart the music with a sign, he did as told and Bea tapped the stage with the pace of the music.

...

There are no coincidences

There's a reason why we met

Even if neither of us

Understand was is it yet

...

The song took a small instrumental break and Bea blinked a few times, surprised by how well she just singed, she looked at Ash, who was looking back at her, with expectant eyes waiting for her to continue, she supposed, Bea took another breath and kept singing.

...

So don't think about the past

The only thing that matters here

Is that building tomorrow

Is up to you and me

...

So now it's time to get up!

Prepare yourself!

Believe in me!

Cause I believe...

In you!

I'll be right here! I'll help you dream!

For you!

I'll have your back! I'll help you fight!

I know we'll be fine!

Just as long it's you and I!

...

I know what it might seems like

But I also know that I'm not wrong

Whatever that waits in the future

It depends on us

...

So now it's time to wake up!

Get ready then!

I believe in you!

Cause you believe...

In me!

You'll have my back! You'll help me fight!

For me!

You'll be right here! You'll help me dream!

We'll make it through!

Just as long it's me and you!

...

Bea then started to let herself loose and danced around the stage, Ash and the rest of the audience were clapping for her along the beat of the song, Bea then sang again with even more passion.

...

For you!

I'll dream again! I'll fly again!

For you!

I'll fight again! I'll smile again!

Come and take my hand!

I know that we'll be just fine!

...

We'll be fine...

...

Just as long it's you and I...

...

Just you and I...

...

The song ended and Bea received claps and cheers from everyone, she then looked Ash again who was giving her a standing ovation. "Gosh, I feel like my heart is gonna explode."

Bea then left the stage and walked back to Ash while she blushed.

"So how was that?"

"I...I think it was beautiful."

After that show, Ash and Bea went to the front of the cruise to see the place where they were going to dock, Galar could be seen in the distance, the two stood there together until the ship reached the place.

''Here we are.'' Ash said.

''Wait, this is Hulbury?'' Bea asked recognizing the place.

''Well yes." Ash said. "You didn't see the destination name in the ticket?''

''No I didn't, but if we're back in Hulbury then that means-''

''Hey, Ash! Hey, Bea!'' Someone called from the dock.

''Nessa!'' Ash waved at her.

''Nessa...'' Bea trailed off annoyed.

After picking up their things, Ash and Bea went down to the dock along Cinderace and Pikachu, where Nessa was waiting for them, she was wearing her casual clothes, this being an off-shoulder blue shirt, long grey pants, a grey newsboy cap and black sandals, most of her long hair was also braided into a bun.

"Nice to have you back." Nessa said.

''Hi, Nes-'' Ash was about to greet her but Nessa interrupted him with a sudden hug.

''How have you been?'' The Water expert asked.

''I, hmm, I'm-''

''Hey, don't be like that." Nessa broke the hug and looked at Ash. "It was just a welcome back hug." She then held both of Ash's hands as the two blushed. "Nothing to be embarrassed about, right?''

''R-Right.'' Ash simply looked down at their hands.

''You just happened to arrive on my day off." Nessa said with a smile. "By the way, what do you think of my casual clothes? You always see me in my Gym outfit, so, how is this for a change?''

''Uh, yes, it is...you look really great.''

''Oh, stop it.''

Ash simply looked at her for a moment. ''...Nessa, there's actually something that I wanted to-''

''Alright, that's enough of you." Bea took Ash's wrist and started to drag him away from Nessa. "Let's keep moving.''

''Uh, wait, why so fast?'' Nessa asked following them from behind.

''We have to go to the Crown Tundra." Bea answered not bothering to look back at Nessa. "Besides, Ash already needs to get back on track with the Gym challenge, he's still on three badges.''

''Well, I was wondering if you would like to go out with me.'' Nessa said.

''I-'' Ash was about to answer but Bea interrupted him.

''Sorry, but Ash is very busy right now.''

''Actually, I was asking you, Bea.'' Nessa called again and Bea froze in her place, did she heard that right?

''...You what?'' Bea turned around and looked at Nessa directly.

''I was wondering if you would like to hang out with me, we could have a Girls' day out, what do you say?''

''...I say NO.'' Bea quickly answered. ''I f*cking hate you, I think I've left very clear.''

''Yeah, you sure have.'' Nessa answered. ''But that's the reason why I'm inviting you, maybe we could finally get along.''

''That's a bit...''

"I think you should go, Bea." Ash jumped into the conversation.

''You think so?'' Bea asked and Ash simply nodded.

"Nessa has a point, maybe you two could get along."

''Sigh...Fine, just because you want to.'' Bea gave in

''Great, thank you, Ash.'' Nessa said. "As for you, I have a little favor to ask as well."

"And what would that be?" Ash asked.

Nessa walked until she was Infront of Ash, she then took a knee and looked up to him. "Ash Ketchum..." Nessa then pulled a small blue box out of her pocket and offered it to Ash. "Will you marry me?"

"Hol up-"

"PIKA?!

"N-N-Nessa!"

"YOU PIECE OF S-"

"HAHAHA!" Nessa interrupted before they could say anything. "Calm down, calm down, I'm just kidding, you should have looked at your faces, don't worry, okay? The box is empty." Nessa opened the box revealing that it had nothing inside, Ash and Bea finally managed to breath again, while Ash was a complete blushing mess that he couldn't even mutter a word, Bea was doing her best to contain the urge of turning Nessa into past tense.

"Still, the box could have something later." Nessa continued with a giggle. "Next year is a leap year after all."

"I'm gonna kill her..." Bea trailed off.

"That makes you wonder tho." Cinderace said. "What Ash would have said if the proposal had been real." After this statement, Bea recalled her Pokemon with a sigh.

"Earth to Ash." Nessa got closer to him with a playful tone. "Anybody still there?"

"T-T-That's-"

"There, there, don't faint yet." Nessa held his burning cheeks. "I do have an actual favor to ask."

"...uh, that being?"

"Look Ash, Valerie's having an artist block, so she's been feeling quite down lately, she even tried to drink bleach yesterday.''

''That's...actually pretty worrying.'' Ash said concerned. ''Shouldn't you take her to a doctor?"

''I was going to, but coming to think about it, I think you'll do.''

''Me?''

''I was wondering if you could go to my mansion and cheer her up with some of your Ketchum charm."

''Uh sure, I'll gladly help her.''

''Of course, as for you, Bea, where would you like to go first?''

''Just to make it clear, I still hate you and think this is a bad idea.'' Bea replied.

"Oh, come on, it'll be just you and me together for a day." Nessa said. "What could go wrong?''

''Do you want me to make a list? Because I'm thinking of at least a dozen things right now.''