Pokemon: Master Of Tactics

Alex was waiting at a bank in Celadon City. Before the date, he had bought new clothes to look a little better. He also wore a soft scarf to protect himself against the cold wind. He also had his hair cut and styled. After looking at his more refined look, Alex suddenly felt a lot more handsome.

Although he asked her out on a date yesterday, Alex wasn't very sure if she would agree. He was the one who was actively trying to build the relationship, and Maria has shown an indifferent attitude until now. Alex wasn't sure what Maria really thought of him. Alex sometimes wished he could read Maria's mind to make it easier for him to understand her.

Upon the exact agreed time, a 16-year-old girl with dark red hair, blue eyes, and a voluminous figure came. She wore a light blue top, which goes very well with her eyes. Although this girl was gorgeous, no men showed interest in speaking to her because of the scary cold aura oozing out of her. It looked like she was going to kill anyone who dared to speak to her.

Alex walked towards Maria with a smile.

"Hey beauty, are you here alone?"

Maria turned to see Alex looking at her with a smile. She said with a cold expression, "Alex, can you stop with your bad jokes?"

"Hmm, you're quite harsh to your date partner."

"Date partner? This is not a date."

"C'mon, you know why I invited you here today. Can't you be a little more honest?"

Maria, who heard this, had an unresponsive expression when she said, "Let's go to the restaurant that's as great as you say."

Alex shook his head with a smile when he heard her reply.

"Let's go. We'll be late."

Alex led her gently around town. The way he was so smooth that it made Maria look at Alex with a suspicious expression.

"The way you are so natural in this that it makes me think you have done it many times."

Alex immediately understood what she was trying to say. He gave her his classic cheeky smile and said, "Hm, but you are the only person for whom I am want to do it."

Maria, who heard his blunt answer, couldn't help but blush for a moment as her cheeks puffed up like a little frog. But she quickly came back to her senses.

"As if I will believe that."

Alex, who saw her natural reaction, showed a bright smile.

"You will soon find out if I'm telling the truth or not."

"What does that mean?" Maria showed a confused expression.

"You'll see."

Maria suddenly noticed that Alex was holding her hand the entire time.

"Hold on, why are you holding my hand like it's the most natural thing to do‽" She looked at Alex with a cold expression.

"I can't?"

"Humph, can't you read the atmosphere?"

Alex gave a confused expression when he heard this. He couldn't really understand what she meant by that.

Then he noticed something and said with a little grin on his face, "Even though you are saying that you didn't tell me to release your hand."

Maria gave a short smile when she heard Alex's answer before going back to her cold expression.

"Let's talk about something else. I heard you got third place in this tournament."

Alex, who is now in the public eye, is not so stupid to speak the name of the tournament here.

"Yes, I only came third. Why do you ask?"

Alex saw her annoyed expression and said in a sincere tone, "You don't need to be annoyed for losing against those two monsters who were groomed by their strong parents for their entire life."

"I would feel better if I didn't hear this from you."

After she said that, it suddenly got colder as a cold wind flew in their direction.

"It's cold..."

Alex, who saw that she was feeling cold in her attire, immediately took his soft scarf to wrap it around her neck.

Then he said with a smile, "Can I score bonus points for that?"

Maria showed a small playful smile. "Definitely not with that bad joke."

Alex noticed that Maria was opening up a bit more to him and smiled as they slowly walked to the restaurant.

...

Alex and Maria stood by one of the most expensive and best restaurants in town.

Maria saw how expensive this restaurant looked like. "Isn't it too expensive?"

"It's not a lot of money for us trainers. And I am the one paying."

"You can forget that. I'll pay for my own food."

"Can't you give a man his dignity?"

"Paying for a woman's food is your honor?"

"No, not for every woman. Only for you."

Maria, who heard this, became quiet and walked into the restaurant with a red face.

Alex, who saw how he can persuade Maria, showed a smile.

At the reception, a young woman around 20+ age, with a professional suit and a friendly business smile, was standing there. She had brown hair and a large bust where Alex had to suppress his instincts to look at it longer.

"Hello, my name is Alex Stark. There should be a private dining room reserved by my name."

"Yes, you are exactly on time, sir. Please follow me, I will guide you to your room."

When Maria and Alex followed the woman, Maria asked, "Why did you reserve an entire room? Doesn't it cost too much?"

"Hehe, to impress yourself this much is worth it."

"Do you think I'm a woman that you can buy?"

Alex suppressed his instinct to agree in a funny tone.

"What, of course not. I'm just trying to upgrade the date. After all, this is my first date with you."

"...You're not going to get anything out of that praise, you know?"

"Do you think I'm such a perverse person?"

Maria just looked at Alex with a look full of doubt when she heard this question.

Alex remembered his first meeting with Maria and stopped talking about this topic.

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