"That makes thirty." Shauna sighed as she marked off another tally on the paper she was holding, obviously bored out of her mind. They'd been at it for heaven knows how long and she soon realized why Trevor and Tierno had somewhere to be in such a rush. She wishes she had been as smart as them to scurry off when all this started, but no, she just HAD to be curious. Hopefully, Trevor or Tierno would be headed back now so she wouldn't have to bear this any longer.

"Another win for me." X said sheepishly, a small smile playing at his lips as Kanga and Lil' Kanga finished up the battle. Yvonne was on her knees across from him, seemingly shocked that she had lost this many times in a row. "How do you even do that?" she asked making grandiose gestures towards the battlefield. X shrugged and his smile faded, "Why don't we call it a day?" he requested, looking over at Shauna, who looked like she'd had enough. "One more battle!" Yvonne yells, jumping up and sending out another Pokemon. X sighed and cracked a smile again in her direction, "I'm sure you'll win this time, you just needed to warm up right?" he said humbly. "Of course." Yvonne smirked.

She dropped to her knees again for the thirty-first time that day. "How do you even?" she asked as she stared at the arena blankly. "Just luck I guess, maybe you're just having an off day." he stepped forward and reached out a hand to help her up. She locked eyes with X and he smiled, of course like all the others it was fleeting and replaced with his normal expression. Why couldn't he just give her a huge genuine smile? That's what this was all about anyway, wasn't it?

Yvonne loved his smile more than anything. After years of seeing nothing but his closed window, she longed greatly for a grin to stretch across his face. She knew, although he was too humble to admit, that he loved winning. A wave of pride would wash over him after a victory and a smile would make itself ever so present on his face, until it was pushed back by the cold, stubborness she remembered hearing through the window. She wanted to make it stay for a while, she wanted him to be positively genuinely happy.

Which is why she started this of course. She knew that she could probably win a one on one fight with him if she absolutely tried her hardest, but that's not what this was about. She had tried so hard but still, his smile was always hidden by a mask of depression. It was true that he had gotten much better since the beginning of their journey, back then smiling at all was out of the question, but she still had yet to see a beautiful, full grin grace X's features.

Yvonne sighed and took his hand, "Yeah I guess we should call it day." Shauna was beyond relieved that they were finally done.

Later that night, after Yvonne had already flopped into bed, she thought about how her and X were complete opposites. Like the sky and the sea. One clear, warm, easy to read, and bright. The other mysterious, cool, and clouded, with stubborn waves covering a beauty hidden underneath the surface....

The next day Shauna confronted Yvonne in the Pokémon center, "Y-ey I can't do it today." she complained, "What's that even about anyway, you've never been so dead set on challenging X-ey." she continued to whine. "Oh, yknow, just want to test my skills against someone who knows how to battle." Yvonne chuckled nervously. Shauna raised an eyebrow sarcastically, before dragging her into a room away from X, Tierno, and Trevor.

"Tell me what's really go on." Shauna asked, her eyes practically boring into Yvonne's soul. Yvonne heaved a sigh, she couldn't keep secrets from this girl could she, she couldn't blame her though, after what she put her through yesterday. "Maybe I just, yknow, wanted to see X... smile?" she squeezed her eyes shut, her cheeks flaming red. Shauna gasped and Yvonne opened her eyes and looked at her questioningly. Then Shauna smirked devilishly, "Looks like someone's got the hots for X-ey~!" she snickered. "I do not! It's just, he always looks so sad and I just want him to be happy. Plus he's cute when he smiles so..." she rambled on and Shauna facepalmed as she contradicted herself.

"You're really bad at this aren't you Y-ey? Why don't you find an opportunity to ask him about it, if anyone can tell you what makes X-ey happy, it's X-ey himself. And while you're at it why don't you get yourself a new boyfriend too." Shauna laughed evilly, leaving before Yvonne could respond, what was she gonna do with that crazy girl?

On the way to the next town, Yvonne thought about Shauna's suggestion. 'Find an opportunity' she had said, but how would Yvonne know when her opportunity opened up? It was already getting late and they had only held small conversations the entire day.

It was already dark when they had set up tents on a small beach, Trevor pointed out that if they followed it they would soon reach Shalour city, and at this point everyone was already asleep. Almost, everyone. Yvonne kept over thinking things, she swears that she wishes she could be forgetful like Shauna sometimes. Yvonne rolled over, trying to get more comfortable, when she heard shuffling in the sand outside.

She slowly crawled out of her tent to see X sitting in the sand, staring at the ocean. She stood up and silently walked over to him, as to not wake the others, and sat beside him. He jumped a little when she plopped down next to him, but relaxed after seeing who it was. "Did I scare you? Sorry." Yvonne whispered, staring at the sand as she ran her hands through it. "No, it's fine. I was just startled a little that's all." he replied.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a little while before Yvonne spoke up, "Hey X, what makes you smile?" she asked bluntly, silently cursing herself in her head for asking. He shifted a little where he sat, and replied, "Why do you ask?" She looked up at the ocean, calm and soothing under the moonlight, much like the boy next to her, "I know you've been through a lot, and I know it's going to take some time, but I want to see you happy. I want to see your smile. Whatever you're feeling... you don't have to hide it from me, I want to make it okay, if you'll let me." she whimpered quietly. "I didn't mean to worry you. I'm sorry, Yvonne. To tell you the truth, sitting here watching the moon over the water with you, makes me really happy all on its own. Thank you for caring, not just now but all those years behind my window too."

Yvonne gasped when she felt X's lips against her cheek. Her head turned quickly and a burst of emotion hit her like a cool ocean breeze washing over her. A smile shone on X's face, like none she'd ever seen. It shone like the moon over unclouded water, crisp and clear. The surging waves of emotions that once filled his eyes, we're replaced with a subsiding calm. And though the ones before were fleeting, this smiled stayed the rest of the night. Yvonne saw many more smiles in her future, and Shauna saw a lot less tallies.

Fin.