Ezria dragged Timothy from place to place for the rest of the day. After they ate lunch, she took him and Electchu to take a walk around the city, see a movie, and sled on the outskirts of town. She even took them to the boutique to show off her beauty with various outfits. On their way to grab dinner at an expensive restaurant, they bumped into a woman who was in the Normal Class, and so Ezria mercilessly beat her in a battle. Ezria hoped showing off her looks and winning a World Coronation Series battle might lead Timothy to fall for her, but he did no more than politely compliment her and cheer her out of obligation.

When they got back to their room in Hotel Ionia, Gwen and Coovers were playing a game on their phones together, and Winnie had recovered from its stomachache. As soon as Coovers saw Timothy, Ezria, and Electchu come in, he rushed over to them, dropped his phone, and told them all about his date with Sonia, leaving out their discovery and almost forgetting to call her Sonja in front of Ezria. Gwen groaned and covered her head with her pillow, having heard the story several times since Coovers returned from his date. Timothy and Electchu were more bewildered than before that Sonia agreed to a date with Coovers, while Ezria fought the urge to tell Timothy's best friend to shut up in front of him.

As soon as Coovers was finished, Ezria went to the restroom to change into her pajamas. Timothy took the opportunity to let Gwen know that Ezria bought their story and the mission was safe. His crush sighed in relief and was more at ease with the news as she took her turn, changing into her pajamas after Ezria. Before long, everyone was in their pajamas, and they turned in for the night.

But while Ezria, Coovers, Gwen, Electchu, and Winnie quickly fell asleep, Timothy was wide awake in his bed. He closed his eyes, expecting to conk out after dealing with an entire day with Ezria, but his body refused to let him sleep. After a while, he accepted that he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. He took out his Rotom Phone and played a game on it, hoping to doze off as he played eventually, but it only made him more awake.

Finally, he put his phone away and thought of something else to do. Then, he got an idea that didn't involve trying to sleep but would be relaxing. He debated with himself for a moment until he decided to go with his idea and got out of bed. His sudden movement woke up Electchu, who was sleeping on his bed, and got up in a sitting position to see Timothy opening his backpack.

"Raichu?" Electchu whispered.

"Sorry to wake you, Electchu," Timothy said. "I can't sleep, so I'm going out."

"Raichu?" Electchu asked.

Timothy took out his swimming trunks as he said, "I'm gonna go in the Hero's Bath. Maybe a little time in the hot spring will relax me enough to get sleepy."

"Rai, Rai, Raichu?" Electchu asked.

Timothy hesitated and said, "Sure, you can come if you want. Maybe the others would like to too."

"Raichu," Electchu said.

Timothy changed from his pajamas into his shirt, hoodie, and swimming trunks, and he and Electchu quietly exited the room with his backpack in hand. They went outisde and walked down the street to the Hero's Bath. Timothy took out his Pokéballs that he stored in his hoodie pocket and opened them to reveal Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, Blitzwing, and Knightblade. The Pokémon looked around, confused, until Timothy cleared his throat.

"I know it's late, guys, but I decided to take a dip in the springs here, and Electchu thought you'd like to join us," he said.

Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, Blitzwing, and Knightblade looked at each other before they nodded in agreement. Thus, Electchu, Poliwrath, Odyssey, and Knightblade got into the spring while Blitzwing sat on the edge of the spring, enjoying the steam coming from the water. Odyssey and Shockwave rested on the edge together, and Electchu and Poliwrath swam across the pool. Timothy smiled to see his Pokémon enjoying themselves before he put down his backpack and slowly got into the water. He took a moment to get used to the hot water before he closed his eyes and sank into the water until half of his head was sticking out.

After a few minutes, Timothy heard footsteps coming his way. He stood up to see Gwen and Winnie walking over to the springs. Gwen walked over to Timothy, smirking while Winnie dipped into the spring.

"I wondered where you are," she said. "Taking a break from being anywhere near, Ms. 'I'm-so-beautiful-and-perfect-that-I-deserve-the-world?'"

Timothy snickered and said, "That isn't the original reason for coming here, but I'll count that as a bonus. Care to join?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Gwen replied.

She took out her Pokéballs and raised them into the air for Spoink, Noctowl, Cufant, Mudbray, and Drifloon to come out. Spoink, Cufant, and Mudbray got into the water while Noctowl and Drifloon landed beside Blitzwing to enjoy the hot steam. Gwen put her backpack next to Timothy's before she undressed into her swimsuit and got into the water. She dunked her entire body into the water and stayed there for a moment before her head rose and let out a pleased sigh.

"I don't think you're supposed to dip your whole head into the springs. That's gotta hurt," Timothy said.

"Yeah, well, that's just how I like to get into a hot spring," Gwen said as she sat beside Timothy. "Besides, I think I'm entitled to this after today."

"I hear that," Timothy said. "Are you feeling okay with what happened? I know you're relieved that things worked out, but Ezria interrogating you must have been terrifying."

Gwen frowned sadly and said, "It was. To think everything we've done would have been for nothing all because of me. If it were any scarier, the chairman himself would have been there to confront me. I just wish I knew how they found out."

"Yeah, well, I think the important thing is the crisis is averted," Timothy said. "Plus, Sonia's not here anymore, so Coovers can't risk the mission with the chance that Ezria will see them and realize his crush is Professor Magnolia's granddaughter."

"Maybe, but I should be more careful how I act around Ezria from now on," Gwen said. "She might have bought our story, but she'll probably be breathing down my neck for the rest of the Gym Challenge."

"Has she threatened to do anything to you?" Timothy asked.

"She said that if I told you about our little talk or if I tried to interfere with - and I'm quoting her here - taking you as her own, she would find a way to convince you and Coovers to abandon me," Gwen said.

"Never," Timothy said without skipping a beat. "I would never agree to abandon you for anyone, much less Ezria, and neither would Coovers."

"I know you wouldn't," Ezria said with a smile.

Timothy smiled back, and they began staring into each other's eyes. Their moment was suddenly interrupted, however, by the sound of squealing. They turned their heads to see Cufant squirting water at Electchu, Winnie, Mudbray, and Spoink from its truck. The smaller Pokémon laughed in delight and splashed water back at Cufant to retaliate.

"Hey, no splashing or squirting water, you guys," Gwen rebuked motherly.

Electchu, Winnie, Mudbray, and Spoink pouted and protested in their language.

"I don't want to hear it. This is a hot spring, not a pool. Now, sit down," Gwen said.

Electchu, Winnie, Mudbray, and Spoink tried to protest again until they sighed, and Cufant released a low trumpet in defeat. The smaller Pokémon sat down while Cufant stood with half of its body in the water. Timothy let out an amused chuckle as he watched the Pokémon begrudgingly behave themselves. He then turned his head to Gwen, who closed her eyes and rested her head against the edge, silently admiring how she used her ability to understand Pokémon for discipline.

Timothy's smile faded, and he turned to the Pokémon again, watching them talk in groups. Electchu, Poliwrath, Winnie, Spoink, and Mudbray cheerfully talked to each other while Blitzwing, Knightblade, Noctowl, and Drifloon talked seriously to each other, and Odyssey and Shockwave had their private conversation. While Timothy could understand what Electchu was saying, he was completely clueless about what the rest of the Pokémon were saying. He furrowed his brow until he got an idea and turned to Gwen.

"Gwen?"

"Mmm-hmmm?" Gwen hummed with her eyes still closed.

"Can you teach me how to understand the Pokémon language?" Timothy asked.

Gwen opened her eyes and raised her eyebrow at Timothy.

"You want me to teach you that?" She asked.

"Yes, please," Timothy answered.

"You do realize that's not something you can learn overnight, right?" Gwen asked. "Knowing how to perfectly understand Pokémon took years for me to do."

"I know, but I want to start at least to learn," Timothy said. "Please, Gwen?"

Gwen furrowed her brow, hesitant with Timothy's request. Then she sighed and said, "Fine, but don't expect to understand all of our Pokémon in one night."

"Fair enough," Timothy said.

Gwen rubbed her chin in thought, listening to the Pokémon chatting to think of how best to teach Timothy. Her eyes turned to Electchu, who was telling a story to Winnie, Spoink, Mudbray, and Cufant with Poliwrath. She studied the way Electchu was expressing itself before she snapped her fingers and turned to Timothy.

"Okay, let's start like this: how do you know what Electchu is saying?" She asked.

Timothy's face fell, taken off guard. He turned his head to Electchu and scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know. I guess I just... know," he said.

"Don't give me that. You know there's more to it than that," Gwen said. "When did you start understanding Electchu?"

Timothy took a moment to think about it and said, "I think I was about fourteen years old. I was in the middle of a battle in the Unova League. My opponent was winning, with me only having two Pokémon left to choose. His Pokemon, Wormadam, took out Shockwave, who was my third to last Pokémon in the match, and so I prepared to retaliate with my Titus since it was part fire and thus powerful against Bug types. But when Electchu saw me take out Titus' Pokéball, it shouted, 'Rai' and 'Raichu' while waving its hands frantically. The way it was acting, it was begging me not to jump off a cliff or something. It was so worried about what I was going to do. I kept asking what the problem was, and it kept saying its name while pointing at Titus's Pokéball and the opponent's Pokéball. The referee started to get impatient and threatened to disqualify me if I didn't take out another Pokéball."

"And how did that lead you to understand it?" Gwen asked.

"Well, after a while, Electchu took a new approach and pointed at the Pokéballs of one of my remaining Pokémon, then started making gestures," Timothy said. "It pointed at my opponent's Wormadam and then laid down on its front, playing with the ground. Then it pointed at Titus's Pokéball, played with the ground again, and made a slit throat gesture. Finally, it flexed its muscles and moved its paws forward like it was shooting something from its stomach. After a moment, I realized that it was telling me. We were against a Sandy Cloak Wormadam, making it both a Bug and Ground type. It was still weak to Fire attacks, but it could have Ground type moves that would seriously damage Titus, so Electchu suggested that I use Poliwrath, who is strong against Ground types."

Gwen snickered and said, "You didn't know there are three different kinds of Wormadam, and they're all dual-types? I think a Wormadam with rocks and pebbles and a coat of sand would give it away."

"Yeah, well, I was losing a battle that goes before the quarterfinals, which was the farthest I'd gotten in any Pokemon League at the time, and I was eager to make sure I didn't get disqualified before I even made it that far," Timothy said. "Regardless, Electchu was right. Poliwrath was the right choice to take down Wormadam, and it defeated the rest of my opponent's Pokémon, so I won the match. Granted, I lost the one that came after that, but still, Electchu and I realized there might be a way for me to understand its language completely. For the next several years, I practiced until finally, I can understand every 'Rai' and 'Raichu' Electchu says to me without needing to use specific body language. I don't want to speak for Electchu, but I think I can say our friendship is as strong as it can be between trainer and Pokémon."

Gwen smiled as Timothy finished his story before she went back into instructor mode.

"Why do you think you can't understand any of your other Pokémon?" She asked.

Timothy took a moment to think about it and said, "I guess I didn't think it was possible. I'm close to all of my Pokémon, which I hope includes Knightblade someday, but I guess I figured it could only be my Pokémon partner because it's been with me since the beginning. For that matter, I never thought anyone could understand a Pokémon they just met before until you came in disciplining Gengar."

Gwen hummed and nodded in understanding.

"I get that. It is rare - potentially unheard of that anyone could understand Pokémon the way we do," she said. "Having said that, it seems you never gave your other Pokémon a chance to try to communicate with you the way you do with Electchu. It may be out of its Pokéball all the time, and so is always with you, but just because Winnie and I are the same way doesn't stop me from understanding my other Pokémon. Remember, they are my family just as much as my mother was in their own right. Do you feel your Pokémon are as much family as your biological family?"

"Well, yes," Timothy answered.

"Then prove it," Gwen said, pointing at Poliwrath. "Start with listening to Poliwrath while it's talking to Electchu, Winnie, Spoink, Mudbray, and Cufant."

Timothy hesitated before taking a few steps toward the Pokemon to hear them clearly. He could understand Electchu telling the story about his battle against Gordie to Winnie, Spoink, Mudbray, and Cufant. Eventually, Poliwrath started talking to Gwen's Pokemon, but all he could hear was "Poli" and "Poliwrath."

"Do you understand anything?" Gwen asked.

"Nothing," Timothy said. "I think it's talking about my battle with Gordie, but only because I understood Electchu talking about it."

Gwen sighed and walked over to Timothy. She put her arm over his shoulder and moved her head closer to Timothy's as she pointed at Poliwrath again.

"Listen more closely," she said. "Don't focus on what bond you may or may not have with your Pokémon. Focus on its emotions. Its tone. Its body movement. Their spirit. Compare it all to how people communicate."

Timothy stared at Gwen, puzzled by her instructions. He turned back to Poliwrath, still talking to Gwen's Pokémon. The Tadpole Pokémon was flexing its muscles and saying its name loud and proud, making Winnie, Spoink, Mudbray, and Cufant gasp as though there was something grand about their friend's name. Poliwrath then raised its hand from the water, causing some to splash in front of Winnie and Spoink. It then flexed it muscles again and pointed at the swirl on its stomach before it dunked its head into the water back first.

Gwen's Pokémon cheered until Poliwrath continued with a menacing voice. It continued making a throwing motion before putting its hands together and then spreading them apart. Timothy rubbed his chin as he studied his Pokémon, and Gwen smirked, knowing progress was made.

"Well?" She asked.

Timothy took a second to think about it before he turned to Gwen.

"Well, Electchu was talking about how it defeated Gordie's Shuckle, so it makes sense that Poliwrath is following with its part of the battle since I switched Pokémon after Shuckle fainted," Timothy said.

"And?" Gwen asked.

Timothy hesitated again.

"I don't get why Poliwrath keeps flexing its muscles, but I think it was talking about taking Gordie's Stonjourner down with Surf and Hydro Pump," he said. "But what's with Poliwrath being so intimidating after that and spreading its arms? Did it hate that Winnie, Spoink, Mudbray, and Cufant interrupted it just to cheer?"

"Not quite," Gwen said, chuckling. "Poliwrath is trying to make Gordie's Coalossal Gigantamaxed intimating, and right now, it is boasting how it quickly took down Coalossal using Max Geyser. It's really silly, honestly."

Timothy looked back at the Pokémon and watched Poliwrath holding its first into the air proudly. Winnie, Spoink, Mudbray, and Cufant cheered, but Electchu rolled its eyes and ridiculed its friend for exaggerating. Poliwrath looked daggers at Electchu and snarled at it. They began arguing like children, making Winnie, Spoink, Mudbray, and Cufant uneasy and catching the attention of Odyssey, Shockwave, Blitzwing, Knightblade, Noctowl, and Drifloon. Blitzwing, Knightblade, Noctowl, and Drifloon were curious about the fight, while Odyssey and Shockwave simultaneously rolled their eyes over their friends' behavior. But rather than breaking them apart, Timothy studied Poliwrath's demeanor and speech more.

"Poliwrath is arguing that it can exaggerate the story if it wants, and Electchu disagrees," Timothy said.

"Good. Very good," Gwen said, smiling. "Now, why don't you practice more while breaking them up?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess I can do that," Timothy said with a sheepish grin.

Gwen lifted her hand from Timothy's shoulder, and he swam over to his Pokémon. Timothy stood between Electchu and Poliwrath, spreading his arms in front of them.

"Knock it off, guys. You're being ridiculous," he said.

"Rai, Rai, Rai, Raichu," Electchu protested.

"Doesn't matter. Poliwrath is having fun entertaining everyone else, and it is telling the true story. It's not worth fighting about," Timothy said.

Electchu and Poliwrath stopped glaring at each other, and all twelve Pokémon looked at Timothy, confused. Timothy suddenly felt awkward from all eyes on him as Electchu swam closer to him.

"Rai, Rai, Rai, Rai, Raichu?" I asked.

"Uh, not exactly," Timothy said. "I asked Gwen how to understand other Pokémon than just you, and I got some of what Poliwrath was saying while Gwen had to fill in the blanks."

The Pokémon at each other, unsure if they heard Timothy correctly. Then, Winnie looked at Gwen and asked, "Teddiursa?"

"Yeah, he did," Gwen said.

Timothy and Gwen's Pokemon looked at each other again for a moment, and before the trainers knew it, all of their Pokémon, apart from Electchu, cried out in joy. They rushed over to Timothy with Poliwrath giving him a hug, Odyssey and Shockwave patting his back, and Cufant petting his hair with its trunk. The other Pokémon took turns trying to express their excitement, surrounding Timothy until Electchu swam over to Timothy and ordered the other Pokémon to back away. Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, Blitzwing, Knightblade, Winnie, Spoink, Noctowl, Cufant, Mudbray, and Drifloon reluctantly complied, giving Timothy a moment to catch his breath.

"Good grief, is it really so exciting that I want to understand you all?" Timothy asked.

The Pokémon called out their answer, and Electchu translated. Gwen's Pokémon explained that they were happy to help a friend of their trainer get to understand Pokémon better as she does. Poliwrath, Odyssey, Shockwave, and Blitzwing adored the possibility that they could communicate with their beloved friend, adding that they were jealous that Timothy could only understand Electchu. Knightblade thought Timothy understanding its language could strengthen the romance between him and Ezria, primarily if he taught Ezria to understand Doublade. Timothy was uneasy with his new Pokémon's motives but was otherwise touched that the Pokémon wholeheartedly supported the idea.

"Alright, if that's how you feel, then why don't we use the methods Electchu and I used to understand it," Timothy said. "Everyone will take turns saying simple sentences to start out. Sound good?"

The Pokemon made calls of agreement.

"Excellent. Let's start with something simple like introducing ourselves," Timothy said. "Poliwrath, why don't you go first?"

Poliwrath happily complied and introduced itself in its language. It was soon followed by Odyssey, Shockwave, Blitzwing, Knightblade, Winnie, Spoink, Noctowl, Cufant, Mudbray, and Drifloon coming last. Timothy continued the lesson with the Pokemon saying sentences like "Hi," "Bye," "Good evening," what types they were and what moves they had in a certain order. Eventually, Timothy had the Pokémon repeat all of the sentences, trying to understand better and memorize as many words the Pokémon were saying with minimal success.

Gwen watched from a distance, smiling at the touching moment between Timothy and their Pokémon. Then she got an idea and got out of the spring to quickly dry herself and put her clothes on before she began to shiver from the cold. Gwen then took out her sketchbook and a pencil, sat down, and began drawing Timothy and the Pokemon. She started with Timothy looking to his right, followed by Odyssey and Shockwave, who Timothy was facing. Gwen drew Electchu swimming beside Timothy before drawing the rest of the Pokemon.

As Gwen looked up to see the Pokémon she was drawing one by one her heart grew warm. Every smile she drew was precious in her eyes. Even if Poliwrath, Knightblade, Spoink, and Drifloon couldn't smile, she knew they were having fun helping Timothy.

After drawing the background, Gwen took out a box of colored pencils and began coloring. She started with the Pokémon, coloring her Pokémon first before getting to Timothy's. However, when she began coloring Timothy, she stopped coloring his green eyes. She looked up from her sketchbook to look at Timothy's eyes as he listened to Shockwave with a smile. Gwen's mind went to the number of times she and Timothy stared into each other's eyes and wished she didn't have to look away whenever the moment was interrupted.

Then Gwen's smile faded as she remembered the pain in her heart when she denied having feelings for Timothy to Ezria. It was strange to her since she had never felt that kind of pain before. She placed her hand where her heart was as she continued to look at Timothy.

"I meant it when I said it, though, didn't I?" Gwen thought to herself. "I mean, we haven't known each other for terribly long, but he has been a good friend. One would think that it would be really obvious if he thinks of me that way, He doesn't even know how to flirt."

Convinced with her logic, Gwen moved her hand away from her heart. She finished coloring her drawing and held it up to see how it looked compared to what was happening in the springs. Gwen opened her backpack to put away her sketchbook and pencils but stopped when she noticed her mural necklace beside her. She picked it up and held it up to her face, rubbing the plastic gem against her fingers. Gwen looked back at Timothy, who was scratching the back of his head, and chuckled nervously while the Pokémon laughed, having misinterpreted something Noctowl said to him. Gwen overheard Electchu explain what Noctowl said, and she covered a giggle with her mouth before looking at her necklace again.

"Then again, he can be very thoughtful and supportive and loves Pokémon. I can't help but feel a little timid sometimes when I'm near him, too," she thought. "Perhaps there is something I feel for him even if he doesn't. I can't do anything while Ezria keeps an eye on me, but if she leads Timothy to the proof we need, we'll nab her and the chairman shortly after he gets his last badge. That should give me enough time to figure out my feelings while Timothy competes in the Championship Cup before he leaves Galar."

The edge of Gwen's mouth curled up at the thought of Ezria no longer around. She put on her necklace before sitting back down, watching Timothy still talking to the Pokémon.

"Okay, Mr. Durbin, let's see if there's hope for you yet when you're through being a hero Galar needs," she said.