Chloe and Gladion sat on one of the benches around Royal Avenue. The fountain in the center was surrounded by flowers and greenery, adding to the serene beauty of the area. The boy looked at Zoroark, remaining calm as he spoke, leaving Chloe to sit there quietly and listen.

"Zoroark, I don't know what you were trying to do, but you can't keep going around confusing everyone with your illusions," he scolded, causing the dark type to lower his head in shame. "First you turn into Chloe, and now me?"

The girl blinked, puzzled. "He turned into me?"

Gladion looked at her, nodding. "At the beach. He made himself look like you..." A sudden realization hit the blond as he recalled something. "Wait a minute, not only did he look like you at the beach, but Salazzle was also urging him to do it."

Before Chloe could react, her partner suddenly came out of her pokeball. "Lazzle salazz, lazzle salazzle." The lizard pokemon shook her head and waved her hands in front of her apologetically.

Chloe frowned in disapproval. "Salazzle, did you really put Zoroark up to this?" Her partner nodded, hanging her head. "But why? Why have Zoroark look like us?"

Gladion remained silent, having figured out why. The pokemon knew he had a crush on Chloe, and it seemed they wanted to get Chloe to reciprocate those feelings. Salazzle pointed at her trainer and the blond, then put her hands together with a smile, trying to show them what she meant. Chloe could feel the joy and affection coming from both Salazzle and Zoroark, and she pieced everything together.

The girl blushed, glancing at the boy beside her. "Salazzle, Zoroark, you both are just trying to help, I understand. You really want us to be happy...but why are you trying so hard to choose what you think is best for us?"

Gladion cleared his throat, trying to hide the faint redness of his cheeks by turning his head away. "I think they saw how well we've been getting along, so they thought to try and push us together."

Chloe slowly nodded, rubbing her arm shyly, understanding everything clearly now. "I mean, I guess I can see how they misinterpreted that. Salazzle, I'm not mad or anything, I just don't want you to cause trouble like this."

Salazzle nodded, hugging her trainer while Gladion set his gaze on his own pokemon. "Zoroark, I know how you've been watching over me since I was a child, and you've always tried to do what you can for me, but don't go using your illusions to trick us like that again."

The dark type nodded, nuzzling against the boy apologetically. The pair released the rest of their pokemon, and Gladion opened the box of malasadas. He'd bought enough for all of them, so after he and Chloe divided them, they gave some to each of the pokemon before deciding to eat their own. Chloe reached for a malasada right as Gladion did, and as a result, their hands brushed against each other.

The blond was quick to retract his hand, and let her grab one before getting one himself. "So...sorry about Zoroark. He never intended to frighten you."

Chloe smiled, gobbling up her sweet treat. "It's all right. Salazzle was pretty sneaky about it too. They were just thinking of us is all."

Gladion nodded, eating his own treat with a small smile. "Yeah, never expected them to go so far."

Having finished his malasada, he reached for the last one in the box, not noticing that Chloe had also reached for it as well. The girl took hold of the treat, but Gladion's hand fell over hers. Both of them paused, blushing before Chloe slipped her hand out from under his.

"S-sorry, did you want that?" she asked.

Gladion took the last malasada and tore it in half, handing half of it to her. "Here, we'll split it."

"Thanks." Chloe gratefully took it, digging in.

The two finished off the last malasada, and that's when the blond noticed Chloe's hand resting on the bench between them, and hesitantly, he rested his over it. The redhead blushed, looking at him in surprise before staring down at their hands.

"You know, I've got to be honest," Gladion said, looking straight ahead as his face heated up, "I'm starting to enjoy your company, Chloe."

The girl slowly smiled, allowing him to hold her hand. "Me too, Gladion."

The pokemon seemed to smile happily at their trainers. In a way, their sneaky little plan had worked. But in truth, Chloe and Gladion were both beginning to develop feelings for each other, even without the pokemon interfering.

"So, is there anywhere else you'd like to go while we're in the area?" the boy asked.

Chloe hummed. "Well, Heahea City isn't far from here. We could go for a little shopping trip if you don't mind."

Gladion smiled at her. "That's fine with me. We'll take Silvally."

After throwing away the empty box of malasadas, the pair returned their pokemon and hopped on Silvally. They sped back through Route 6 and to the nearby city area. After climbing off Silvally, the pokemon affectionately nuzzled Chloe while Gladion pat its neck. It was clear that even Silvally was beginning to really like the girl as well. The blond returned Silvally and walked behind Chloe, letting her lead the way to the nearest Apparel Shop.

Once inside, the redhead wasted no time in looking around. She let Salazzle, Espeon, and Ninetales out to join her, and Gladion decided to bring Umbreon out as well to have fun with the other female pokemon. He had noticed the cute accessories on the girl's pokemon before, which meant they enjoyed shopping as much as their trainer did. Though Gladion wasn't really into all that clothes shopping, he hung back and watched the others have fun, a small smile on his face. He was actually pretty used to this since Lillie had always loved looking at clothes too. His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden nudge to his leg.

He looked down to see Umbreon there with a yellow bow in her mouth. "Umbre bre."

Gladion leaned down to rub her head. "So you want a little bow like Espeon, huh? All right then."

He took the bow from her and started moving to the register to pay, but he paused when he saw Chloe staring at a multilayered choker. There was a simple black band at the top, below it was a silver chain with a diamond-shaped pendant, and below that one was a black chain with a pokeball pendant. It was rather cute, and the intense look on the girl's face made him wonder if she was debating on whether to get it or not.

(This is the choker, by the way)

"That's a nice choker," he commented, causing her to glance at him. "You thinking of buying it?"

Chloe hummed. "I would, but I'm a bit short on pokedollars at the moment. Just my luck to stumble upon something so cute right when I can't afford it." She started to turn away to leave, but Gladion abruptly took the choker off the shelf. "Hey, what are you-"

The redhead was stuck staring in surprise as he silently went over to the register, paying for Umbreon's bow and the choker. Chloe was stunned, not expecting him to purchase it for her. Gladion smiled as he kneeled to fix the bow on Umbreon, fastening it onto her ear so that it sat on the side of her head. The dark type excitedly went running over to show Espeon her new accessory. The blond then casually strolled over to Chloe, moving behind her to fasten the choker around her neck. She stood their with wide eyes, slowly looking at herself in a nearby mirror.

"Gladion..." She was nearly rendered speechless.

She watched the boy smile in the mirror's reflection, a faint redness on his cheeks. "Looks cute. You like it?"

"Well, yeah..." Chloe turned to look at him, her fingers touching the pokeball pendant. "But I wasn't expecting you to waste your money on me."

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's no big deal. I'm the current president of Aether, remember? It's not like I've got a shortage of money."

Chloe couldn't stop the joyful smile that spread across her face. She suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a hug, resting her head on his shoulder. "You really didn't have to, but...thank you."

Gladion's blush darkened, and his eyes were wide in shock. He managed to wind his arms around her to return her hug. "Y-you're welcome."

Chloe slowly pulled back from the hug, meeting his emerald gaze. "You know, you're a lot sweeter than you let on."

Gladion turned his head away. "Sh-shut up..." He sighed softly, managing to compose himself. "Anyway, if you're done shopping, we should rest at the Tide Song Hotel. It's getting a bit late and I'm sure the pokemon must be getting pretty hungry."

Chloe nodded, glancing at the nearest clock and looking outside, seeing the orange-tinted sky. "Yeah, I could use a bite myself. Time sure flies when we're having fun. But why the hotel? Isn't that a bit expensive?"

Gladion shrugged. "Not for my family. I just figured it'd be the best way to get a good night's rest after an exciting day. Room service will take care of the food so you won't have to do any cooking." He smiled a little. "Just trying to make thing's easier on you."

"How thoughtful of you," she teasingly replied, "but it's a great idea. It's rare that I ever get such a luxurious place to rest." She giggled, looking over at their pokemon gathered around a jewelry stand. "You girls about ready to go? We're going to grab supper at the hotel."

The four female pokemon turned their attention to their trainers, crying happily and hurrying over. They must've been hungry to be so easily distracted from the accessories. The two returned their pokemon to their pokeballs, then left the Apparel Shop. It was a quick walk to the hotel in the northern part of the city. Chloe gazed up at the gorgeous building that was the Tide Song Hotel, and even the lovely Horsea fountain out front added to the beauty.

When they stepped inside, the interior was just as stunning as the exterior. Gladion led the girl right over to the receptionist, and booked a single large room since it would cut down on expenses than if they each got a separate room. After receiving their key, they went straight to their room on the second floor, which was larger than a lot of the rooms on the first floor. Fortunately, there were two beds, and there was even a balcony overlooking the ocean.

Chloe stretched her arms over her head, the smile having never left her face. "Now this is a luxurious room. I think the first thing I want to do before I eat is get a warm, relaxing bath."

Gladion smiled lightly. "Go ahead. I'll call room service to get our food, and the pokemons' too."

Chloe could tell she was going to enjoy their stay. She got a taste of luxury, and she was already taking advantage of it, even if it was only for one night.