Lance wants to get Lyra something special for Valentine's Day, but he isn't quite sure what to get. Fortunately, Whitney comes to the rescue.

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Lance felt a bubble of panic rise up within him. For the past few hours, he had been walking up and down the aisles of Celadon's department store, searching for a worthy gift. Valentine's Day was fast approaching and he still had yet to purchase anything for Lyra. It was like buying present for someone's birthday – bloody difficult. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, as he stared at the shelf examining the products on sale.

Chocolate, soft toys, plastic trees, bathroom decorations… pretty much everything in the shop was being treated as the perfect V-Day gift. Lance wasn't sure where to even start. He wasn't going to give Lyra a box of chocolates and roses because that's what everyone else was doing. He had money, and he wasn't going to settle for something too cheap. But what to get? It wasn't like he could buy out the entire store.

"Hey there, Lance!"

Lance turned around to find Whitney running towards him. He thought about running away, but it was too late. The girl had caught up to him. "Whitney." Valentine's Day was literally created for someone like Whitney. She liked cute things and Valentines was all about over the top cuteness. Valentines must be like Christmas for her.

"Are you having trouble trying to decide what to get Lyra? Well, perhaps I can help!"

Great. Now he was going to be stuck with Whitney for the next couple of hours. He tried to come up with an excuse, but none came to mind. He wasn't the Champion anymore so he no longer had to concern himself with League business. "What would you recommend?"

"Some guys like sticking with the roses and chocolates idea, but I think for someone of your status, you should do something more. I mean, you should still get here roses and chocolates though, I don't know any female who doesn't like chocolate. Oh, maybe you could get her a cute little pendant or bracelet or even an adorable soft toy! There are some really cute Pokemon Valentine plushies in the next aisle."

The girl was so excited she was almost jumping up and down. "Anything else?"

"Well, if you don't mind splashing some money around, you could visit either Olivine City or Vermillion City – I hear they're running V-Day cruises to Kalos. Tickets have almost sold out though so if you want to do that you have to get within the next couple of hours," Whitney explained. "You get a romantic meal, private seating, beautiful scenery…"

That sounded more up his alley, but would Lyra appreciate having so much money spent on her like that? She found it difficult enough to accept the Dratini for passing the quiz. "Anything else?"

Whitney thought hard, stroking her chin. "Not really, there's not much to do here in terms of Valentine's Day stuff. You have to visit the other regions for that – Kalos in particular. There are heaps of things to see and do there. Flying there is so much quicker, but sitting on the back of a Pokemon isn't what I'd call a romantic ride. It's up to you of course."

"Thanks, Whitney."

She grinned. "I'm always happy to help. I've been helping out other confused guys around the region as well. A lot of them don't have as much money as you do though, so their options are a lot smaller. Lyra's mascot Pokemon is a Feraligatr, right? I saw Totodile soft toys in one of the aisles. Anyway, I hope I helped. See you later, Lance! Morty is taking me out tonight." She winked then skipped off, humming a tune to herself.

Lance watched her leave. Strange girl. But Whitney had helped a great deal. She had given him a list of options. He grabbed one of each item on the shelf (a box of chocolates, a cute Totodile, roses and a heart shaped pendant) and made his way over to the cashier (after stopping by the cape section of course). Perhaps he was going a little overboard here, but Lyra meant that much to him. He paid, then exited the shop.

Now, to head over to Vermillion City to visit the ship crew! He summoned his Dragonite and Aerodactyl, and placed the shopping bags in their mouths. There were no cars here in Johto and Kanto – either you cycled or walked from city to city, or you flew on the back of a Pokemon. He reached Vermillion and climbed off his Dragonite's back, strolling into the dock. There were quite a few people already here trying to book tickets.

But Lance, being a former Champion, was able to take the VIP line. He bypassed the queue and made his way to the front. A few words were exchanged, and Lance exited the building with a couple of tickets. At least now he could rest easy tonight knowing he had done his shopping for the day. How was Lyra going to react though?

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It was Valentine's Day today and Lyra woke up feeling a little stressed. People around her were giving gifts and such, and she was left feeling nervous. Lance had been a very difficult person to buy something for. She had asked Clair for some assistance, but Clair was clueless as well. Lyra sought out help from Karen who suggested something draconic since he was obsessed with them. That's when Lyra heard from Ethan there was a very special dragon event being held over the coming weekend.

It was a chance for dragon tamers to learn about other dragons from all regions and battle against other tamers. There was also a safari area where dragon tamers could catch other dragons that weren't native to their homeland. Lance considered himself to be a Dragon Master but he hadn't captured them all yet. This was a rare chance to be the greatest one in history.

So she bought him a ticket (which cost well over a thousand pokedollars) and silently prayed he'd be ecstatic. She waited for him now – he had promised he'd drop by the League in the early hours of the day. Moving to her own private balcony, Lyra looked up at the sky, smiling at the Valentine's Day messages in the air.

Arms wrapped around her waist, and Lyra squealed, surprised. It didn't take her long to work out who it was though. Of course, Lance had decided to enter through the main doors instead of landing on the balcony as usual. "Surprised?" he asked lightly, turning her around so she was facing him.

She giggled. "Normally you arrive on the balcony." She made herself grow a couple of centimetres by standing on her toes then wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him down closer to her level. She kissed him on the lips, and he responded, kissing her back, arms around her waist. They held this position for a couple of moments until they broke apart. "I got you a gift. I hope you like it."

"You know you didn't have to do anything…"

She shook her head. "I had to." She reached down into her pocket and handed him her gift. "I don't know if you've heard about it, but there's this really special once-in-a-lifetime dragon tamer event being held over the coming weekend. I thought you'd be interested in attending since you love dragons so much," she explained, watching his expression. "You even get a chance to catch rare dragons that aren't native to Johto and Kanto."

A slow smile crossed his face. "Thanks, Lyra."

Well, at least he didn't hate it. That was a relief. She glanced down noticing the brown bag sitting on the floor next to him. "You did a bit of shopping?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I had to get you something."

She bent down and searched through, smiling. "Did you buy out the store?" Chocolates, a pendant and an adorable Totodile plushie holding a red shaped heart. "I love it!" She hugged him tightly.

"And well, there were some roses… but Dragonite dropped them on the way here."

She chuckled. "It's the thought that counts."

"That's not all though…" He handed her two tickets. "I thought we could go to Kalos. They're running a special deal down at the docks in Vermillion for Valentine's Day and since we've never been to Kalos before… I thought it would be a good idea."

"Ooh, I've always wanted to go there! I've heard they have heaps of restaurants there and there's even a tower you can climb!" Lyra said, excited. Kalos was said to be a beautiful region, the perfect place for a romantic short stay. "Happy Valentine's Day, Lance!" She kissed him again.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Lyra."