Chapter 1: On Camping
Chapter Text
She hated to admit it, but Chrysa had a point. The words, still ringing in her ears after a few weeks, were beginning to feel like they held some weight.
‘If you want tips on getting closer with Eevee, why not ask Ash and Goh for help?’
‘N-No, thanks. They really wouldn’t understand, I think…’
“They still probably wouldn’t,” Chloe concluded, feeling confidence in her refusal for only just a moment longer. From her experiences with them, she was beginning to realize there was just some stuff she couldn't do alone. Escaping that rock, dealing with Dugtrio... there were just some things that she couldn't do all by herself. “And besides, a little extra input never hurts, right?” she told Eevee, who was making a game of running between her legs back and forth, energetic after being stuck inside a Poké Ball all day. In the worst case, she could just dismiss it as unhelpful and go about her day.
It was with these thoughts that she approached Ash after school one day. Since he did have a better idea of what she wanted for Eevee, she thought he might be the best place to start, it seemed, from how he understood why she wanted Eevee to see Vaporeon.
As Chloe approached Ash in the field within Cerise Park, he stood giving commands to Dracovish and Sirfetch’d. The fossil Pokémon’s jaws snapped at the leek carried by the Fighting-Type, but the Dragon-Type’s snout met Sirfetch’d’s leafy shield before it could take a bite out of the Wild Duck Pokémon’s weapon. Pikachu stood next to him shadow boxing, getting into the mock battle. “Brutal Swing! Catch it with Ice Fang! Block with your shield and use Fury Cutter! Back up and try-"
Chloe cleared her throat, hoping that Ash would hear. It made him jump a little before turning to her, smiling. "Hey, Chloe! What's up? Looking for Goh?"
She shook her head. "Well, no, " she admitted. "I was hoping I could talk with you, if you didn't mind."
His eyes widened in surprise, but it quickly melted into a familiar grin. Turning to his battling Pokémon, he called out to them "Great work, guys! Take a break for now, okay?"
The two Pokémon looked over at Ash, nodded, and dropped from their fighting stances and the boy from Pallet turned around. "What's up? What'd y'wanna talk about?"
She looked down, seeing Eevee's tail wagging as the Normal-Type cheerfully approached Pikachu. "Well... you're really experienced as a Pokémon Trainer, and so I'd thought I could ask you for some advice. If you don't mind."
Ash shrugged, reaching down for Pikachu. "Nah, I can always help out. What's your question?"
"Well... You know how I want to help Eevee decide on her own path, right? That I want her to make her own decisions for her future?” She looked down at the Pokémon still energetically running around her. She smiled at Eevee, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I was thinking that there's still a lot I don't know about Eevee, and I was hoping you had some advice for doing that." She bent over and picked Eevee up as well, holding her to her chest.
Ash scratched Pikachu's chin. Chloe almost saw gears turning in his brown eyes. "Well... have you tried being one with Eevee?"
She blinked in his direction.
"Excuse me?"
"Be one with Eevee. You know, you both are like zing! - and then you burst out with a bang! - and you just let it erupt all over like kafroosh!"
This wasn't going how she'd hoped it would.
"Zing? Bang? Kafroosh? Are you sure about any of that?"
Ash frowned, a hint of frustration on his face. "Maybe it'd be easier to show you rather than tell you..." he admitted. "How about you and Eevee have a battle with us?"
Chloe nearly choked. "Battle?! With you? Aren't you like the 99th strongest trainer in the World Coronation Series?! There's no way-"
As she spoke, Eevee squirmed out of her arms and across the field. She cheerfully chirped out a "Vui!" and took a mock battle stance that got Ash to laugh.
"Seems like Eevee's excited to try."
Chloe whined. "Eevee. Do you really want to battle...?"
" Vui !"
The matter was settled. The girl hung her head in defeat. "Okay but you have to go easy on us if you want me to learn whatever you mean about zing bang kafroosh."
Ash pulled on the front of his cap. "Don't worry. I'm sure there's more power in you and Eevee than you're givin' yourselves credit for." Turning to his shoulder, he gave Pikachu a grin. "Ready to give them a test?"
" Pika pika !"
Ash tossed his shoulder and Pikachu sprung off of it, landing in front on all fours, matching Eevee's stance. Chloe crossed behind her Pokémon looking across.
"Alright, you can have the first move!" Ash offered.
"First move...? Got it..."
She was still unsure of what this was supposed to do. Unsure of even what Eevee's moves were, she took out her phone and pointed it at her. "Let's see... Okay, try Quick Attack."
Eevee focused her sights forward and charged herself with power before launching in a blaze of speed.
Ash grinned, baring his teeth. "You use Quick Attack, too, buddy!"
Pikachu began to glow similarly and shot forward. The two Pokémon moved so quickly Chloe was having trouble following them with her eyes. There was a crash, and a wave of pressure shot past her as the two Pokémon collided in the middle, skull to skull. Eevee and Pikachu bounced back towards their respective trainers, paws sliding over the grass.
Chloe was blown away as things calmed down. She peered over Eevee's back, thinking to herself. ' I had no idea she could do this... I wonder if Eevee knew...? '
Eevee, for her part, was focused ahead, tail raised. Chloe felt her pulse race looking at her, following her gaze up to Pikachu, who was in the same pose.
Then her eyes met Ash's. He was grinning, with a wild gaze, like he was taking in everything in front of him.
It was then she realized she was doing the same. She and Eevee were fully sizing up Ash and Pikachu, readying for their next move. One that would come quickly.
"Pikachu, use Electro Web!"
Ash's partner built up an electric charge on his tail before lobbing it ahead towards Eevee. The charge spread open, becoming like a net that threatened to ensnare the Normal-Type.
“Eevee, dodge it!”
When she looked at her Pokémon, Eevee seemed to be storing power of some kind. Her tail was raised up high and the tip was glowing yellow. It took her back to the day she met Eevee, and she copied Yamper’s Spark attack. She nodded, sure that she understood Eevee.
She gestured out with her hand.
“Jump, and use Electro Web!”
Eevee leapt from the ground, jumping high into the air - higher than Chloe had ever seen her leap! She easily sailed over Pikachu’s Electro Web. Doing the same motions as Pikachu, Eevee spun in the air, a blob of electricity coming from the tip of her tail as though it was a painter’s brush drawing in the sky. Eevee launched the blob at Pikachu, and much like his attack, her’s opened into a net to catch him and hold him in place.
“Dodge it, Pikachu!” he ordered.
Pikachu made a spinning leap upwards, gracefully evading the Electro Web.
“Eevee, Quick Attack!”
With Pikachu coming down, Chloe’s mind seemed to fill in the space on her own, ordering the move. And Eevee was already ready to follow through, building up the power in her legs and shooting forward, aiming to catch the Mouse Pokémon where he fell.
“Pikachu, use Iron Tail!”
Pikachu continued spinning in the air, and as Eevee leapt up at blazing speed, Pikachu brought his tail - hard as metal - to bear, blocking the Quick Attack and forcing Eevee back.
Pikachu landed on all four paws while Eevee skidded backwards, throwing up blades of grass as her paws dug into the field.
Ash grinned as he made his next move. “Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
Pikachu leapt into the air and smacked his squishy cheeks with his paws, making sparks come out, showing that he was good and ready to launch this attack. “Piiii-kaaaa-chuuuu!”
As Pikachu let fly the Thunderbolt, Eevee’s tail was once again raised into the air.
“Eevee, use Thunderbolt, too!”
With the electricity crackling off her tail, Eevee’s entire body became cloaked in electrical energy, which she launched from her right at Pikachu.
The two attacks collided in the middle, causing an explosion in the middle of the air. The pressure wave from the blast nearly blew Chloe off her feet., but she kept her eyes facing forward and on Eevee.
The smoke cleared, and Ash and Pikachu were standing there, grinning madly. But the boy exhaled, relaxing. “You did it!”
Chloe paused. “Wait… I did?”
“You totally did! You and Eevee were totally in sync just now! You were totally like zing bang kafroosh!”
“Zing bang kafroosh…?”
It hit her like a sack of bricks.
“When… I was focusing on Eevee during the battle… it was like we were both focused, looking forward. A-Ah! And! When we got in the rhythm of using moves, it was like the next one just came naturally! And then-”
“And then you let it just explode! Kafroosh!”
Ash was giggling as Pikachu made his way back and hopped onto the boy’s shoulders, happy to get at least a little exercise today.
She understood it. That feeling where they put their entire selves into the battle and were pressing forward together. “I… I really was one with Eevee, huh?”
She knelt down at her Pokémon’s side. Even after an encounter where she did nothing but trade blows, Eevee was exhausted and slumped to the ground.
Ash scratched the back of his head. “Guess we got too caught up in it, too, didn’t we buddy?”
“ Pika… ”
Chloe scooped Eevee up into her arms. “Wow… I… thank you, Ash. I mean it! I really feel like Eevee and I got a lot closer today!”
Ash waved the praise off. “It was you and Eevee who put in the work. I just helped connect th’ dots for ya.”
“Still, thank you so much. I really owe you one!”
Ash shrugged. “You’re welcome, Chloe. Glad to’have helped!.”
Holding Eevee in her arms, she rushed off to tell her Dad, or Goh, or anyone else who would listen. Meanwhile, Ash turned back to Dracovish and Sirfetch’d.
“Alright, guys! How about we get back to training?”
A few nights later, and Chloe was sitting in the entry hall. And most significantly, it was late.
Professor Cerise was having a long distance phone call to another professor in a faraway region, something he wanted to do in the office while he had all his reference materials on hand. Which was just as well, since her Mom and Parker had treated themselves to dinner after Parker’s dentist appointment that day.
Chloe had eaten with Ash and Goh and everyone had apparently gone to bed or gone home. She was waiting there, almost falling asleep with Eevee in her lap. The lab was so quiet that Chloe could hear the floorboards in her father’s office creak as he stepped on them.
Suddenly, Eevee’s ears perked up. “ Eivui… ?”
Nearly dozing, Chloe sat up, looking at her Normal-Type who was previously nodding off herself. “What’s wrong, Eevee?”
Eevee sprang out of her lap but looked back as though she was asking Chloe to follow. And so, she did. She followed Eevee, who was following her ears as she picked up on some hidden sound. Eevee eventually led Chloe into Cerise Park.
She wasn’t prepared for what she encountered there. She heard a gentle voice singing.
“Close your… tired eyes
The gentle breeze....
And the… twinkling stars…”
The signing was accompanied by a gentle chorus of “Pika...Pika pika… ”
She picked Eevee up and walked towards the sounds of the singing. It was coming from a tree in the park. They walked over to it and looked up at what appeared to be a large cloth cocoon in the tree.
It was Ash’s voice.
Chloe suddenly felt very self conscious, like she was intruding on something very private. But if she wanted to leave without being noticed, it wasn’t meant to be.
“ Pi ?” The mouse’s ears perked up and he looked over the edge of the sleeping bag. “ Pikapi, Kakachu ?”
The cocoon sat up and Ash looked over. “Hey, Chloe… Didn’t expect to see you there.” Ash looked tired, but happy, with Pikachu in his lap.
“That was you singing, wasn’t it?” she asked.
“Heheh… yeah.” He laid back down. “It’s a lullaby my Mom used to sing for me. And Pikachu, when he came along.”
Chloe giggled. “I guess I didn’t take you for a singer.” She bit her tongue after the words left. “N-Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like that.”
There was a sound from the bag, like shrugging. “It’s okay.”
There was a moment of silence as Chloe slumped against the tree. It was awkward; they hardly spoke to each other unless Goh was around or she had something directly to talk to him about. She decided that they needed something in the air to talk about.
“So… why are you out here?”
There was some rustling in the sleeping bag. “Oh. I uh… I guess I like camping.” He sounded a little embarrassed, like he was being weird, sleeping in a tree in a park when he had a warm bunk bed inside the lab. “Before I came here, I used to camp out all the time, because I was traveling all over with some awesome friends of mine. I camped out less while I spent some time in Alola, but we were so surrounded by nature, every day felt like camping out!” As if he felt himself getting excited, he sat up again.“There’s so many cool things in the forest at night. You can hear Pokémon all around you. You can see their shadows when they fly. And sometimes on nights with a full moon, you can see some incredible things! Entire flocks of Pokémon flying through the night sky, entire families. It’s awesome.” He slumped back. “Don’t get me wrong. It has its downsides. Sometimes we ran out of food, or we’d get caught in the rain or snow, or somehow even worse, it’d be blazing hot even at night and you couldn’t even really sleep in a sleeping bag. It was so hot at that time… But I kinda miss it. And so some nights I just spend the night out here with Pikachu and the rest of the Pokémon in the park. To kind of relive those days.”
“Does Goh ever join you out here?” Chloe asked.
There was a chuckle. “Sometimes! Not often. I think it’s ‘cause he’s from the city and I’m from the country. Have you been to Pallet Town before?”
Now it was Chloe’s turn to reminisce. “Only once. My dad took Goh and I to Professor Oak’s Pokémon Camp one year. You’re right, it’s nothing like Vermilion City. Everything is so quiet and it feels like there are wild Pokémon all over.”
There was another laugh from Ash. “Yeah… I love Pallet Town. I’ve been to all sorts of places in the world, and Pallet Town and Melemele Island in Alola are the ones that feel most like home to me, you know? Man, I wish I knew you guys when you went to Oak’s Camp. We’d have had a blast!”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I can imagine how much trouble you and Goh would have gotten into if you guys met back then. You might have been able to convince him he even needed to make more friends!”
“He’s a proud guy,” Ash said. “But I guess he had you with him, so maybe you could have talked some sense into him.”
“I wouldn’t have had to,” Chloe said, absolutely sure. “Goh loves Pokémon just as much as you do. He always has, ever since I’ve known him.”
There’s a snicker from the tree. “Yeah, I thought so. Goh’s always talking about Pokémon with me. It just makes me want to get up and see whatever ones I can find!” He yawned, and laid back down on the branch. “Not tonight, though. I’m too tired.”
“Well, you’ll have Goh to talk to, as well,” she said, not even really thinking about the words she said.
“You’re fun to talk to, too.”
The words Ash responded with surprised Chloe somewhat.
“I’m fun to talk to, too?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, we don’t talk about Pokémon, but I feel like I can talk to you about other stuff. And talking about stuff feels good, you know? I got to think about Pallet Town. And camping. And all my friends I used to travel with, too.” He paused.
“I guess it’s fun that you ask questions,” he concluded. “Goh doesn’t, most of the time. But then he kinda keeps t’himself, so I get that he wouldn’t wanna bug me, either.”
She giggled. “Yeah, that’s him alright.”
“He’s a great friend. Someone really on my level I can just hang out with. Even if he doesn’t ask a lot of me, he makes it so that I don’t have to ask a lot of him, either. We just click, I guess.”
She nodded. “Yeah… I feel the same way.”
She leaned against the tree, reminiscing. “Goh was always the one at school who didn’t really bother me about who my Dad was or what I wanted to do. He just let me be myself.”
“Goh’s an amazing friend,” Ash said with confidence. “He just doesn’t like sleeping outside.”
Chloe laughed. “I mean, yeah. Not that you’re exactly outside here but I guess I get it.”
“I can at least see the stars,” Ash said, jokingly, which made him laugh, which made Chloe laugh as well.
“I mean it, though. You’re easy to talk to,” Ash said.
“Well, if you want,” Chloe suggested, “I could give you my phone number and you could call me up if you want to talk.”
Ash laughed again, but this time the nervousness in his voice was apparent. “I uh… yeah, that could work.”
She could feel the smirk rising on her own lips. “I can do that for you if you want.”
“...thanks.”
Soon, Pikachu was crawling down the tree and with Ash’s Rotom Phone in his mouth. He handed it to Chloe, who only took a few moments to add her phone number to it. “You can text me at that number, too,” she said as she handed the phone back to Pikachu.
“Thanks but uh…” Ash said, nervously, “...I’m not used to the Rotom Phone yet. Goh’s tried to show me so much but usually I just use it as a Pokédex or to call. Or for my ranked matches.”
She stood up, holding Eevee in her arms. The little Pokémon had fallen asleep. “Well… I’ll let you get some sleep,” she said. “My Dad might be finished now.”
“Right,” he said. “Thanks again. Good night, Chloe.”
“Good night, Ash.”
And with that, she left Cerise Park to the gentle sounds of Ash once again singing the lullaby, wondering when she would have another conversation like this with him.
Chapter 2: On Friends
Chapter Text
“Twenty more tips for taming curly hair…” She sighed, flipping the page.
A few days had passed since the night she caught Ash camping in a tree, and Chloe was sitting on her bed, reading yet another fashion magazine in an attempt to learn how to do more with her wild hair.
“Yamper! Yamper!”
“ Eivui! Ei ei ei!”
Yamper and Eevee were both watching the roomba go around her room from Chloe’s bed as well, curious as to what the device was for.
As she turned yet another page, suddenly her phone began vibrating on the desk and lighting up. Thinking it might be an emergency of some kind, she scrambled out of bed and checked it.
Incoming Call from: Ash.
Quickly, she accepted the call and put the phone to her ear. “Hello? Ash?”
“Oh!” Ash sounded somewhat surprised. “Hey, Chloe! Are you busy?”
She glanced over at Yamper and Eevee both looking like they were going to jump on the roomba. “Not really. What’s up?”
“I just needed to talk to someone about something, and Goh’s kinda busy, and you said I could call you so-”
“Alright, alright,” she said, trying to limit his rambling. “What’s up?”
There’s a pause.
“Is there some way we could meet up somewhere? It might be a while and I guess it’s easier to talk when I can see the other person.”
She furrowed her brow, not that he could see it. “We could video call.”
“Chloeeee! C’mon!”
A sigh. “Alright, we can meet at the Sugiya restaurant that’s near my house. Do you know where that is?”
“I sure do!” came his cheerful voice. “I’ve stopped a few times…”
“Alright. I’ll see you soon, then.”
And with that she hung up and began heading downstairs. Her father was reading something on his tablet, and her mother was drawing something in the corner, her focus intense. It was only Parker, who was groaning after having apparently been absolutely obliterated in the game he was playing, who noticed her appearance downstairs. “Hey, Chloe! Where are you headed?”
“I’m going out to meet…” There was a sudden hesitation in her tone, but she shook it off. “...a friend. They need to talk to me about something, and I figured I’d meet them at the Sugiya nearby.”
“Sugiya sounds amazing!” Parker said. “Can I come?”
Chloe rolled her eyes, responding in monotone. “No.”
“If her friend has called her up to ask to talk someplace like that, it’s probably none of our business,” Chloe’s mother explained from the drawing table, working on an illustration. “That said… if you could bring us some dinner home, I might be able to finish this tonight if I don’t have to stop and cook.”
Professor Cerise took a drink from his cup of tea. “That sounds great to me, too! Do you mind, Chloe?”
“Not at all!” she responded, cheerfully. Her parents were not asking a lot of questions, but they probably figured that she was the responsible one of their two children. “Send me a text with everyone’s orders! I’m not sure how long I’ll be but I’ll make sure to bring it home!”
“Thanks, Chloe!” came the chorus as the three of them returned to their various tasks.
With a smile on her lips, she spun out of the house, with Yamper and Eevee following behind as she walked down the street. It wasn’t long until she came to the bright yellow-and-red sign for the Sugiya restaurant, famed for its 24 hour service and topped rice bowls. It was something she didn’t go to very often, but it had a nice relaxed atmosphere, one where hopefully Ash could get whatever he had on his mind out.
She entered the restaurant and ordered a drink for herself to start as she waited for Ash to arrive. She was glancing over social media when he burst through the doors before apparently thinking better of himself and relaxing. One of the odd things she immediately noticed was that Pikachu was missing. Could this be related?
Ash saw Chloe and began to approach her before pausing and looking at the counter. She rolled her eyes and went to the counter with him. "What would you like?"
"Curry, please," he said, smiling as he looked at the menu.
Chloe purchased the curry for him as well as a veggie rice bowl for herself before the two of them returned to the table. As soon as Ash sat down, Yamper was pawing at his leg, which made Ash pick the pup up and plop him in the booth next to him.
Chloe sat in the opposite booth, while Eevee crawled onto the table. "So…?"
"Man the curry this place has is great," he said, smiling as he began digging in. "It reminds me of my Mom's. Hers is better, but this is pretty close to the taste when I'm away from home."
"Ash."
He froze, looking at her with a mouth full of curry.
"Where's Pikachu?"
He swallowed the curry hard and put his spoon down.
"I left him with Goh because I wanted to talk to you about him. Pikachu, I mean. Not Goh."
She took a sip from her drink. "What about Pikachu? Is he alright?"
"He's fine," Ash said. "But I didn't want him to worry about me. He's already heard all this anyway - he was there for it! I just didn't want to keep complaining about it."
' So you called me ,' Chloe thought. "I feel like I'm missing part of the story. Can you start over?"
He nodded. "Okay, so remember when Goh and I came over helping the police the other day?"
"I do…" she said. Ash and Goh had stopped over in an attempt to trap an electricity thief in town, using her house to set up the operation. The electricity made her hair go everywhere and it took an hour to get it combed back to perfection.
"Well, let me tell you how we got to helping in the first place," Ash said. "The police came to the lab because they were still looking for a suspect who matched the description. So they had us gather up all the Electric-Types and the Detective looked at them and then he decided to arrest Pikachu!"
She choked on her drink. "Arrest Pikachu?! Can you even do that?! He's a Pokémon…!"
Ash slammed his fist against the table, making the plates and bowls shake. "It made me so mad. SO mad, Chloe. Even if I didn't have proof, I know my buddy! Pikachu would never do something like that!"
He sat there for a few moments, fuming. 'This must be what he wanted to talk about ,' Chloe thought. "That must have been pretty scary for you."
Ash frowned, but nodded. "... yeah. Pikachu is my best friend." He turned his attention to Yamper and began petting him. "Most people probably wouldn't even be able to understand him the way I do. And thinking about the police taking away my buddy for a crime he didn't commit made me angry. I even thought that I might have to bust Pikachu out of there."
"You'd break the law for Pikachu?"
"I know he's innocent. So yeah. I would."
Chloe sat back before using her chopsticks to grab more rice. Ash may have a silly streak, but there was something surprising in hearing that Ash would openly break the law for Pikachu’s sake.
Ash caught her staring. “He’s my best friend. You’d probably do the same for your best friend, right?”
“ Vui! ”
“ Yamp! ”
The calls of the Pokémon drew her attention. “I mean… if there was no other way, then…” Now she was feeling scared. But even thinking about Yamper and Eevee being in danger? “...yeah, I understand. That must have been awful.”
“Pikachu and I have been together since my journey began,” he said. “We may not have always gotten along, but we both support each other one-hundred percent!”
She nodded, taking another bite. “Yeah, your Mom told Goh and I about how you got Pikachu. You overslept and Professor Oak was out of Pokémon, so Pikachu was all that was left, right?"
Ash nodded. “I don’t think my life would be the way it is without Pikachu. He’s way more than a Pokémon to me. He’s my friend, someone I can just be with, without having to worry about anything. You and Goh are the same way.”
This piqued her curiosity. “What do you mean by that?”
Ash laughed a bit shyly, taking off his hat and scratching his rough, unkempt hair. Chloe wondered if it had ever been brushed once in his life. “Well, I have a lot of friends. People I’ve traveled with, Pokémon I’ve caught, my friends at the Pokémon School in Alola… lots of people and Pokémon and my friendship with ‘em is different with each one. Some of them are like mentors to me, and some I’m mentors to. Some are like rivals, pushing me ahead! Some Pokémon join me to get stronger than they are now, others out of gratitude for me helping them out with a problem they have. Some I catch in battle, just like Goh does! But Pikachu isn’t like any of them. He’s just... with me, you know?”
She nodded. “I… think I get it. It’s like…” She took a moment to think. About herself, more than anything. “...with Pikachu, you don’t have any pressure. You two are just… you two. You don’t have to take responsibility for him and he’s got no responsibility over you.”
“Yeah!” Ash nodded. “Goh’s like that, too! We just click and go and talk about Pokémon! We even kinda got into disagreements like Pikachu and I did at first. But it’s like… Goh isn’t my rival, or my teacher, or someone I need to teach. He’s just my friend!”
“Like Pikachu.”
“Yeah!”
“And me, too?”
“Yeah! I mean, not in the exact same way, I guess, but you’re just trying to figure your own stuff out. You may come to me to help you figure something out, but it’s not the same as relying on me like I’m some kinda leader.”
Chloe wasn’t sure why, but it felt strange having Ash talk about her like that. “You don’t like being a leader?”
Ash shrugged. “I mean, it’s alright. I can be, and I am a leader a lot of the time. But there’s a lot of stress with it, too. Like you’re worried about getting lost or planning your path. Here with Goh? I don’t gotta worry about that. I can focus on my friends and my dream.”
“That sounds nice,” Chloe said, an awkward laugh following it.
“What’s your dream, Chloe?”
She blinked. “Huh?”
Her chopsticks dug against the empty bowl in front of her.
“It must be something pretty cool, whatever it is,” he said, grinning. “You’re always going off to school and doing homework and stuff so I bet it’s got something to do with that.”
Chloe dropped the chopsticks clanging into the bowl before quickly picking them up. An embarrassed flush on her cheeks, she quickly put them in the designated holder on the table. Ash didn’t say anything, only watching her curiously with his warm, brown eyes. She sighed, shaking her head. “I’m… not exactly sure what it is yet.”
Ash nodded. “I’ve got it. You’re still trying to figure out what it is?”
“Yeah,” Chloe nodded back.
“You’ll find it!” Ash said, grinning before giving her a thumbs up. “And I’m sure Goh and I’ll be there to help with whatever it is!”
“Thanks, Ash,” she said before turning to Eevee. “But right now, I’m thinking about Eevee. She’s like me in that she’s not sure of what she wants to do, so I think that by helping her, maybe I’ll be able to help me, too.”
Ash nodded. “You’ll definitely find your dream with a Pokémon at your side! And Goh and I’ll be cheering for you the whole way, got it?”
She couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “Got it. Thanks, Ash.”
Ash clinked his spoon against an empty plate before laughing. “Ha, I guess it’s about time to go, huh?”
“You can go on ahead,” Chloe said. “I’ve got to get dinner for my parents and Parker before walking back.”
“Is it far back home?” Ash asked, concerned. “I know it’s nearby, but if you need help, I could go with you.”
For a moment, Chloe considered rejecting the very gentlemanly offer, but Eevee’s excited hopping on the table put an end to that. She giggled, picking up her Normal-Type. “Alright! If you insist!”
Still carrying Eevee, Chloe led Ash and Yamper to the counterand pulled up her texts from her Mom, who had sent everyone’s Sugiya orders. Ash offered to carry them for her, since she was still holding Eevee. The two of them were walking through the streets of Vermilion City in the twilight of the evening. It would be dark before too long, and the street lights were beginning to illuminate. Between lights, Yamper glowed slightly, his natural electricity providing a little extra light. Ash was carrying the dinners for her family with no complaints. She almost couldn’t believe it. “You’re being incredibly thoughtful tonight, Ash,” she said.
He just chuckled. “Well, I feel a ton better from talking to you, and you came all the way out here just to hear me out! I just wanted to do what I could to show you how thankful I am."
That made her smile, walking beside the boy from Pallet Town. “Well, thank you , Ash. Talking with you has been fun tonight, too. And carrying all that stuff back would have been a pain, anyway.”
He chuckled, grinning proudly. It was a smile that Chloe was getting more used to seeing, and it made her smile, too. But before she could think about the situation much longer, her house came up, and she and Ash were standing outside her home, the lights on.
“Well, we’re here,” Chloe said. Eevee hopped out of her arms and ran with Yamper to the back door, hoping that Parker was still downstairs to let them in. She held out her hands for the bags, which Ash handed over. “Thanks, Ash. I can take it from here.”
Ash tugged on the bill of his cap. “No problem, Chloe. Glad I could help. I’ll see you at the Lab tomorrow, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah! Before and after school. I’ll see you then.”
He walked away a few steps before turning to see that she was still watching him leave. He gave her a wave of his arm before tuning and running in the direction of the lab.
Giggling to herself, she turned and walked up the steps and opened the door.
“I’m home!”
The morning was an interesting situation for Chloe as she entered the Cerise Research Institute with Yamper and Eevee trailing behind her.
“Good morning, Chloe!” came the chorus from Ash and Goh at the breakfast table.
“Good morning, guys.”
“You hungry?” Goh asked, smiling.
She shook her head. “Mom made pancakes this morning, so no thanks. I’m just going to feed Yamper and take Eevee and be on my way!”
“Makes sense,” he responded. Ash hadn’t said anything yet, between himself and Pikachu stuffing their faces. “C’mon, Ash, slow down! You don’t want to choke in the kitchen or on the battlefield, right?”
Ash swallowed and just laughed. “Sorry, Goh. I guess I’m just so psyched for today!”
Chole smiled to herself at Ash’s excitement before setting Yamper’s bowl in front of him and taking out Eevee’s Poké Ball. She tapped the ball against the Evolution Pokémon’s forehead and recalled her inside. “Well, I’m off!”
“See ya later, Chloe!” came the chorus from Ash and Goh.
As Chloe walked down the street towards her school, she laughed to herself. Seeing as Goh didn’t tease her about meeting up with Ash last night, it was clear that Ash hadn’t told her friend where he had gone. And if Ash is okay keeping this a little secret between the two of them? Well… she would be more than happy to share a secret with him. She would be his confidant, the one he could talk to when he didn’t feel like he could talk to anyone else.
She walked to school with these thoughts buzzing in her mind, bringing a smile to her lips. Idly, Chloe began wondering what Ash would want to talk to her about next time...
Chapter 3: On School
Chapter Text
A few days had passed since the night Ash called Chloe, and things seemed to be proceeding as they had been before, with he and Goh heading off on adventures together, Chloe heading off to school and the three of them meeting briefly in the afternoons before Chloe went home. And during that time, Chloe’s supposition proved correct: Ash hadn’t as much hinted that he’d spoken to her, and so, neither had she.
‘It’s fun, keeping a secret like this’ , she thought. ‘Ash must have decided to talk to me about it since he didn’t want to complain about it to Goh. That, and I’m really discerning, you know? I wouldn’t just spill this stuff out. I’m trustworthy, and even Ash can see that!’
The thought of being trusted like this brought on a giggle and a smile, but she paid it no mind.
“Chloe? Are you paying attention?”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, she recalled where she was - at school. Looking away from the window she was daydreaming out of, her teacher stood at the podium staring back at her, eyes filled with a mix of disappointment and disbelief.
“Can you read the next section, please?”
Chloe looked down at the textbook. They were studying science, and her book was open to the chapter they were studying. “Uh…” She flipped through the pages in the chapter, the cold sweat forming on her forehead.
“Chloe doesn’t even know where we are,” taunted Yeardley, the boy who sat behind her. “She’s off in space!”
“I-I am not,” she said, turning in her seat, not willing to bring up just what - or who - she was thinking of in that moment of distraction. “I just…” She stopped, groaned and turned back around. She really had no excuse, letting her mind wander like that.
“Well, maybe a little extra homework in this area will help you,” her teacher offered to the audible despair of the class. “Can I get a simple three paragraph essay about this chapter in your own words for class tomorrow? From everyone?”
Everyone in the class whined out loud except Chloe, who just put her head down on her book. As soon as the teacher had turned to write the assignment on the board, two wads of paper came flying in her direction, but thankfully missed their mark.
“Nice work, Chloe,” Yeardley said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
She just sighed again as the bell rang, signaling the class change.
Sitting in the study above the laboratory proper, Chloe tapped her pencil against her notebook, leaving a few staccato marks on the page.
“Ugh, this is hopeless…” she said with a whine.
She looked again at the book, once more turned to the chapter in question that she daydreamed her way through. It wasn’t even that long - only about 4 or 5 illustration riddled pages. But as she looked at the pages, she just had no desire to read the chapter like this.
“It’s not fair,” she complained to herself. “Just because no one wanted to say what page we’re on, we get homework? What a crummy punishment…”
The books laid on the table, not giving her any response.
Chloe looked around the room for Yamper and Eevee. The two Pokémon were napping in the corner, curled up next to each other. ‘So of course, I’m alone right now…’ she thought, grumbling under her breath. If her previous groaning wasn’t going to awaken them for companionship, then there was no way that anything short of shaking them awake would work. She would have to take more drastic measures.
Taking out her phone, she began scrolling through her contacts to find someone to talk to about this. She spied Goh’s name on the list and paused. ‘Knowing Goh, he’d have just as much to complain about school as I do. So…’ She almost pressed his contact to call him. Almost. Then her thoughts turned to the conversation they would have, and the teasing he’d undoubtedly unload. She signed flopping against the sofa.
“He’d definitely point out that I got in trouble and rub it in my face,” she sighed. “Not what I want to hear at all.”
Picking her phone back up, she tried to look for someone else. She scrolled down the list and stopped at a certain name.
Ash Ketchum.
She paused. ‘Would it be safe to call Ash? He’s definitely in the park, so he could come right over here. And he does have some hidden depths to him; maybe he’d give me a fresh perspective on this. At least he wouldn’t tease me for getting in trouble. We might even agree on this stuff. ’ The more she thought about it, the more it sounded like a good idea. ‘It wouldn’t hurt to ask, at least.’
She tapped his name and set the phone to her ear.
After a few rings, Ash picked up. “H-Hey!” There was an audible awkwardness in his voice. “What’s up?”
“Oh, I just wanted to know if you were free for a moment,” she asked. “Y’know. I wanted to talk.” There were a few sounds coming through the speaker that were decidedly not speech. They weren’t unfamiliar, though; the crash of Sirfetch’d’s leek against the ground and the distinctive call of Dracovish were making their way through. ‘I guess he’s still training them, ’ she thought.
Ash didn’t respond immediately, but the phone went silent, which Chloe thought was likely Ash covering the phone to give his Pokémon some command or another. After a short moment, he spoke up again, this time with confidence. “Yeah, I can do that. Where are you?”
“I’m in the study, upstairs.”
“Got it! Be there in a sec!”
The phone call ended abruptly after that. She sighed and set the phone down and took another look at the books. This time she said nothing, only staring at the words on the page until she heard someone running up the stairs. The steps didn’t stop until they were outside the door, which opened to Ash’s grinning face. Pikachu was with him as well, riding his shoulder. “Pika, pika, Kakachu!” The mouse Pokémon greeted her with a wave.
“Hey, Chloe,” Ash said. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to vent about this to someone,” she said, gesturing to the books.
Ash looked at them, an uneasy chuckle escaping. “School, huh? What’s got you mad about it?”
“Our teacher was totally unfair today!” she said. “I may have been daydreaming in class but because of that, everyone in the whole class got punished with extra homework! We have to write about the chapter we’re going over in class, but it just seems so pointless! I can read it just fine! Having to rewrite what I just read is just punishment.”
Ash took a seat not too far from Chloe. “Heh, yeah… school’s no fun, usually. Guess I can’t say much other than that since besides the Pokémon School in Alola and a few one-offs, I really haven’t been in school since I started my journey.”
“Your Pokémon Trainer’s journey,” Chloe said, filling in an unspoken gap. “When you left home with Pikachu.”
He nodded, petting Pikachu who had taken a spot on the sofa. “It’s gonna sound weird, but I’ve gotten by with just the school I had up until I left. I can read, write, do uh…” he paused to chuckle. “...do easy math. And that’s usually been enough. Though I guess I have had some smart friends help me out along the way.”
“I almost expected you to say something like you hated school and you were glad you didn’t have to go anymore,” Chloe admitted with a shrug. “Don’t take it the wrong way, but you don’t seem like you’re the kind of person who’d ever enjoy school.”
“Well, you’re not totally wrong,” he chuckled. “School was always just sort of boring to me. I can read about what something’s like in a book, but that’s a whole lot different than actually seeing it!”
She giggled, feeling at ease. “That figures. I feel like I’ve been the same, recently.” She looked down at the books, but in her mind, she was looking out the window of her school, next to her seat. “There’s just so much going on outside and most of the time we’re inside learning from books. I know there’s some stuff you can only learn from books, but I feel like we’re too far the other way.”
“Sounds like you wanna go on more trips with me and Goh, huh?”
She broke from her imagination. “Go with you guys more?”
“Yeah!” Ash said, pumping his fist. “You always look like you have so much fun when you come with us!”
“Pika! ” he chimed in, agreeing.
She shrugs, leaning back into the sofa. “I mean… I do. It was a lot of fun looking for fossils and helping with all those Diglett. And of course I want to go see things with Eevee, too! “ She sat up, shaking her head. “But I can’t just stop going to school like you and Goh... “
Ash sat there looking at her for a moment before taking off his hat and scratching the back of his head. Looking at him, Chloe thought it looked like he was trying to consider his response carefully. “Well…” he said, finally shrugging. “I mean… why can’t you? I mean, you shouldn’t do anything you don’t wanna, but what’s stopping you?”
She climbed onto the sofa, looking to the corner as her knees dug into the cushion. Eevee and Yamper were still sleeping, and she pointed at the Normal-Type, still curled up next to Yamper, sleeping. “This might sound a little… I dunno, silly, but I guess I see a lot of me in Eevee.”
“You see yourself in Eevee…?” Ash asked, blinking as Pikachu crawled to the top of his head to get a better view.
“Yeah,” she said. “Eevee’s still trying to decide what she wants her future to look like, and so am I. And like I want Eevee to take her time and consider what it is she really wants to become, I’m taking my time to decide what it is that I want to do. So I want to keep learning things in school, but I also want to learn about things away from it. I want to learn as much as I can.”
Ash nodded. “Right! You mentioned your dream before! I guess I just didn’t connect the two, you know?” Looking at the napping Pokémon, he smiled. “Sorry about Yamper not bein’ up to greet you today. When I took him for his walk, he was runnin’ all over the place! It was hard t’ even keep up with him…”
She giggled, turning around back in her seat. “Well, thank you very much for taking him. I know he can get fussy when he doesn’t get to go on a walk. I remember when poor Ren had to handle it all the time…” Giggling at the memory of poor Ren returning exhausted, she turned her attention back to the thoughtful boy. “And thank you for asking about it. Lots of people just make assumptions about how they think I should be.”
He gave that wide, toothy, somewhat wild looking grin. “Hey, no prob, Chloe! That’s what friends are for, right?”
‘We’re friends-?’ The thought gave Chloe pause. She looked at the smiling boy sitting close to her, and the warmth in his brown eyes told her the truth. She slunk back into the sofa. “Right! Thanks for being my friend.” She took a moment to reflect on that, her growing friendship with Ash when a question for him came to mind. “Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Sure, go ahead!”
“What was Pokémon School like?”
His brown eyes lit up. “Pokémon School is amazing!” he said, bolting upright with Pikachu mimicking his pose on his shoulder. “The people there are so nice and there’s Pokémon all over, even in the classrooms!”
“Pokémon in the classroom?” Chloe was hesitant. “Doesn’t it get cramped…? Or dangerous with all of them in there?”
Ash chuckled. “Well, we did have a pretty small class, I guess. Only six of us; me, Lillie, Kiawe, Lana, Mallow, and Sophocles. So there was plenty of room for Pokémon. I even had a Rotom Pokédex with me, so it wasn't just Pikachu or any of the Pokémon I caught in the Alola Region! Towards the end of my stay there with everyone's Pokémon in the classroom, it was really busy!”
“So you all learned about Pokémon in class?” she asked.
“Well, yeah,” he said, still reminiscing. “Not all the time. Sometimes we did stuff I’m sure you do. Learn about math and science and stuff. Professor Kukui said it was because if we understood the world better, it would help us understand our Pokémon better!”
“Oh, that’s like what my dad says,” Chloe said, leaning forward with interest. “‘To know Pokémon is to know the world, and that’s how we make it a better world for everyone’.”
Ash laughed at her impression. “That sounds JUST like him,” he said between snickers. “But it’s true, you know? The more I learned about Alola, the more I felt connected to it, and the more connected to it I felt, the more I connected with my Pokémon and the stronger we got. Right, buddy?”
Pikachu pumped his own tiny fist like a miniature Ash, a look of strength on confidence on his small face. “Piiika, pika, pikapi.”
“You’d have really liked the Pokémon School, Chloe,” he said. “Hopefully the next time Goh and I go there, you can come, too! Then you could meet Professor Kukui and Burnett and their son Lei… and we could all eat at Mallow’s family’s restaurant! It’d be a great time!”
She laughed. “Well, maybe I’ll have to ask my teacher if I can go with you guys more often…!”
“If there’s anything I can do t’ help, just leave it to me!” Ash responded excitedly before he seemed to realize exactly what he was signing up for. He backed down and laughed at himself. “Just uh… maybe not anything too schooly.”
There was something charming about the way he folded under even the suggestion of the more rigorous academia. “Normally you’re so confident… It's funny to see a different side of you like this. I guess not even you’re good at everything.”
Ash pouted, leaning back. “It’s not that funny…”
Pikachu snickered from his perch on Ash’s shoulder.
“Well, funny’s the wrong word,” she said, still laughing a little at him. “It’s… fun. Normally you’re always so pumped up and full of energy doing all sorts of things. But now, it’s like I’m seeing a whole new Ash, you know?”
Ash thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I can see that,” he said, nodding. “It’s kinda like how you’re different now.”
“I’m different…?” her pitch raised in surprise as she felt a hint of embarrassment creep onto her face.
“Yeah! You used to be pretty cold!”
And that embarrassment went away immediately. “‘Cold’? What do you mean ‘cold’?” she asked with an accusatory tone, pouting with puffed cheeks and pursed lips.
“Now it’s your turn,” he said, holding back his laughter. “But I mean it. Remember the first time we met? You just kinda just left me there with Pikachu on the steps.”
“O-Oh…” A very different emotion shot through her chest. Shame. It felt sharp, and Chloe hung her head down. “O-Oh… I… guess I never… apologized for that.”
He shook his head. "It’s no big deal,” he said. “We didn’t exactly know each other that well, and since then, we’ve gotten a lot closer, you know? You warmed up to me.”
Chloe shrugged, looking back at the books. The shame was mixed with another, much lighter feeling. One she didn’t quite understand the origin of yet. “I mean… I suppose I am less grouchy than before,” she said, not making eye contact. “I guess you and Goh really showed me just how amazing Pokémon can be and since then… I’ve started looking at everything a bit differently.”
Ash nodded. “I think I really started to notice it after you met Eevee. You really invested yourself into helping her out, and when she wanted to do something, you helped her with it! Like when we went to Galar looking for fossils, or when she wanted to meet Vaporeon!”
She shook her head before finally looking back at him.. “Honestly, it feels a little selfish. I just want Eevee to have it better than I did, with everyone piling on me to figure out what I was going to do right then and there.”
“You really love Eevee, don’t you?” Ash said, taking Pikachu off his shoulder and holding him in his lap. He smiled widely at her, his brown eyes looking directly back at her green eyes. “You’re not selfish at all! You’re amazing, Chloe!”
That feeling came back, light and feathery, and hard to grasp. She turned her head back to the books again. “I uh… thanks, Ash.”
“Keep it up and I’m sure you and Eevee won’t have anything to worry about," he said. "You think so, too, right buddy?”
“Pikapika!”
“Yamp! Yamp! ”
“Eievui! ”
Chloe and Ash both looked up, first at each other and then at the sounds of Yamper and Eevee scampering around the sofa before hopping up onto it next to Chloe. Immediately, her hands went to petting the two small, friendly Pokémon. “Did you two have a good nap?”
“Yamp! ” he answered for them both.
Ash nodded and stood up. “Well, I guess I better let you get back to work,” he said. “But this was fun! Thanks for callin’ me up here, Chloe.”
“Hey, thank you for listening to me rant about school for a bit,” she said, smiling back at him. “I’ll… talk to you again soon, okay?”
He nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "You’ve got it! Later, Chloe! C’mon, Pikachu!” Beckoning the mouse back to his shoulder, he turned and adjusted his hat on his head before rushing out of the room and, if the sounds were believed, back down the stairs as well.
Giggling to herself, she pulled the book into her lap, which Eevee and Yamper both immediately pawed at until she sat it down flat so they could see, too. “I honestly feel pretty recharged. I can knock this assignment out, no problem.”
She closed her eyes for a moment, and she saw Ash staring back at her, smiling. For a moment, it’s like the words echoed in her ears. ‘You’re amazing, Chloe!’ And with a giggle, she began to focus on the reading.
“There you are! I’ve been looking for you! I almost called!” Goh stood in the middle of Cerise Park, arms crossed. “Where’d you disappear to? One second, you’re over here training and then the next you’re just up and gone. Where’d you go?”
Ash shrugged. “I just went for a break, that’s all,” he said, not thinking much of it.
“A pretty long break,” Goh said, not really convinced, his body language not changing one bit. “Are you feeling alright?”
He laughed and stretched. “Honestly? I feel really great! I think that was just what I needed!” He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted out. “Hey! Dragonite, Gengar, Lucario, Sirfetch’d, Dracovish! C’mon, let’s run!” Turning to his partner Pokémon on his shoulder, he nodded, saying “You, too, buddy!” After that, he took off into the park, meeting up with and then leading his Pokémon in the athletic activity.
Goh kept watching, but relaxed. “I mean… I can’t say that’s any different than you usually are. But I can’t help but think there’s something else going on around here. That means it’s time for research.”
Unsure of what exactly he was in for, Goh took a few steps back and decided to observe Ash for hints as to what was happening to his best friend.
Chapter 4: On Appearances
Chapter Text
“There! All done!” Chloe said, closing her notebook. Her summary for class was finished. She looked to Yamper and Eevee, who sat next to her, smiling.
“Why don’t we go ahead and get a snack? I could go for a bottle of tea.”
Standing from her spot on the couch, Chloe went down the stairs and into the kitchen for a drink. Eevee and Yamper followed behind her until she got into the kitchen proper, where they raced to see which one could get to the food bowls first. ‘ I guess they wanna know who’ll get fed first…’
Chloe stopped in the doorway to find Goh sitting at the table, chewing on a pocky stick with an intense look on his face, apparently thinking about some difficult thoughts. Next to him was his Grookey, gleefully chomping through a bowl of Pokémon food. He looked up and saw her enter, giving her a friendly wave. “Hey, Chloe.”
She waved back. “Hey, Goh.” She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of tea from the fridge.
As she did, Goh asked her a question. “Hey, has Ash been acting weird around you recently?”
She nearly dropped the bottle, slick with condensation, from her hands. “W-What? What do you mean…?” Already she felt her heart knocking against her chest. ‘ Did Ash tell him that we’ve been meeting? What could he be thinking…’? , she thought. ‘ I’ll just… get Eevee and Yamper maybe a little more than a snack. I don’t want Goh to look at my face. He’ll think I’m hiding something too… which I kind of am…!’ She nervously began opening the cabinets, looking for the Pokémon food.
“He’s been acting kinda cagey,” he said. “Like there’s something going on that I don’t know about. Has he been acting like that around you, too?”
Chloe felt her hands shaking as she reached for the bag of Pokémon Food. “N-No, not really. Same Ash as usual, you know?”
She felt her stomach twist as the lie left her lips. ‘It’s not like I want to tell Goh a lie… ’ she thought as she grabbed a few berries to mix in with the food. ‘ But… if Ash wanted to talk to Goh about the stuff he’s talked to me about, he’d have told him, right? Ash trusts me to be discerning and trustworthy… I can’t tell him Ash and I have been meeting in secret…!’
Goh seemed to accept the fib, something that just made Chloe feel even worse. “I see… I’ll have to keep my eyes on him. You’ll keep your eyes on him, too, right? And tell me if he’s hiding anything?”
“Y-Yeah, sure,” she said, finally filling Yamper and Eevee’s bowls. “But even if he is keeping something to himself, isn’t that fair? Everyone’s got their secrets, right?”
Goh shrugged. “I guess, but sometimes it feels like there’s a LOT he’s keeping from us. Like when we went to Professor Oak’s the other day. He never told us that he was such good buddies with Professor Oak’s grandson and then this Gary guy comes along and they’re all buddy-buddy, you know?”
“Well to be fair, this is the first I’m hearing about this grandson of Professor Oak’s,” she said, happy to be telling the truth in this conversation for a change. “This is about that Project Mew stuff, right?”
“Yeah, but that’s separate,” Goh said.
‘ So much for trying to change the subject, ’ Chloe thought, sighing. “So Ash hasn’t spilled his entire life’s story to you. That doesn’t mean you guys aren’t best friends or anything, does it? I mean, it’s not like I tell you everything that Mika says at school.”
This line of thinking seemed to placate Goh a bit. “I suppose… but if there’s something bothering him, he can’t just keep it bottled up, you know?”
‘It’s not that he’s keeping it bottled up… it’s that he’s letting it out now. Not that I can say that…’
Resolving herself to another lie, she sighed. “I guess not. I’ll keep a close eye on him, okay?”
“Thanks, Chloe,” he said, finally relaxing. “If there’s something bothering him, we’ll get to the bottom of it together!”
“R-Right!” Chloe stuttered again, a laugh getting caught in her throat. “Wouldn’t want anything to happen to our mutual friend, right?”
“Just keep a close eye on him, okay? He’s bound to slip up eventually, and you might spot it at a moment that I don’t.”
Chloe tried to wave Goh’s concerns away, even though in the pit of her stomach she knew that they were completely legitimized. “C’mon, Goh, I’m sure it’s not that serious. Maybe he’s just nervous about being in the Hyper Class now.”
“I guess, but we’ll know soon enough.” Goh said. “By the way, how was school today?”
Chloe groaned, her punishment still fresh enough to elicit the response, even if she was already finished with the assignment. “We got extra homework because I got punished in class today.”
Goh leaned towards her, smirking. “Oh really? You, the most well behaved little student in all of Vermilion City got in trouble? Color me shocked!” His words were dripping with the teasing sarcasm Chloe expected, and for a moment before sitting down, she felt a little better about talking to Ash about it first.
---
“Good morning!”
“Good morning, Chloe!”
The refrain recurs, like the previous day’s conversations didn’t happen.
She is a bit earlier today into the kitchen at Cerise labs, since her mother couldn’t make breakfast this morning due to an impending deadline.
‘ Poor Parker… ’ she thought, since his school was closer to their home than the lab, he was going to school with only a piece of toast and a snack pack of crackers. ‘ It’s not his fault Dad’s useless in the kitchen…’
She took her seat next to Goh, across from Ash as Mr. Mime brought her a plate of a sandwich, a salad, and a cup of orange juice.
“So anyway,” Ash continued, turning back to Goh, “Dracovish was like wham, right? And Sirfetch’d was going fching but bamfed at the last moment.”
Goh nodded while scrolling down his phone, reading something. “Sounds like Dracovish is on the verge of a breakthrough, then, huh?”
“You know it! I bet a brand new move’s gonna come out soon!”
Chloe rolled her eyes and focused on eating her breakfast rather than trying to translate any of what Ash was saying into anything understandable, much less how Goh was able to understand any of it while only half-paying attention.
‘ On that note, ’ she thought, ‘ I thought he was supposed to be staying vigilant or whatever. What happened to getting to the bottom of this?’
“I’ve been thinking about these Trial Missions,” Goh said, continuing his conversation with Ash. “For Project Mew, you know? I’m wondering what sort of things count as being worthy of those Tokens… or maybe they assign you something?”
“Oh, I bet they decide what you can do,” Ash said with his mouth full. “Wouldn’t want people just sayin’ whatever t’ try and get in, right?”
Chloe grimaced at his manners. “Do you always talk with your mouth full?” she asked, the words slipping cooly out of her mouth.
Ash swallowed his mouthful of bread before he laughed, a little embarrassed. “Sorry! I just get excited, y’know?”
His cheerfulness even in this light made her stomach twist a little, the same feeling of guilt she felt the day before with Goh and his concern about Ash. She looked down and focused on her food, not wanting to engage with the topic anymore. She speared some of her salad with her fork and popped it into her mouth.
“Anyway,” Goh said, resuming from the interruption of thoughts, “I’m going to be doing a bit of research today on what’s the sort of stuff they like to do. It’ll be helpful for planning for fulfilling these Trial Missions and getting the Tokens to get closer to earning my place on that expedition to find Mew. What’re you going to be doing today?”
“School,” Chloe muttered under her breath before taking another bite of her sandwich.
Ash pumped his fist. “I’m gonna see if I can’t find anyone in the city to battle! I can’t get closer to facing Leon if I’m sitting here at 99th, you know? So I’m gonna have t’ knock out all my chores early.”
“Oh, I can handle feeding the Pokémon,” Goh responded.
Ash shrugged. “I’ve still gotta take Yamper for his walk and pick up a package for the Professor at the Pokémon Center,” he said. “So as soon as I’m done eating, that’s what I’m gonna do!”
Pikachu, who had been doing nothing but eating up to this point, lifted his arm into the air, his cheeks still stuffed with Pokémon food. “ Pikapika!”
Chloe grimaced again, taking out her phone to try and ignore both the Mouse Pokémon as well as his trainer’s poor table manners. She sighed at the time. “Well, I’ve gotta go to school now.”
Mr. Mime quietly walked by the table and took Chloe’s plate and cup away as soon as she said that.
She stood up, putting her backpack back on and stepped away from the table when she saw Yamper and Eevee just finishing their own breakfasts and got an idea. She turned on her heels and looked at Ash. “Hey, if you wanna go ahead and take Yamper for his walk, why not come with me while I walk to school? It’s a good distance and not that far from the Pokémon Center anyway, right?”
Ash looked back at her, a sparkle of happiness in his eye. “That’s a great idea! Besides, doing stuff with friends is always better than doing stuff alone!”
Goh frowned, his blue eyes staring at Chloe. She could see the gears turning in his head. She stared back at him, thinking ‘ Isn’t this what I’m supposed to do? Keep an eye on Ash?’
The Palletonian grinned, picking Pikachu up onto his shoulder. “Lemme go get my backpack real quick! I’ll be right back!” And as he did everything, Ash ran off, past Chloe and up the stairs towards his bedroom.
Goh’s frown was unchanged. “‘Why not come with me’, huh?” he asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chloe asked somewhat indignantly. “I’m just doing what you said, to keep a close eye on him to try and figure out what’s going on with him, right? It’s not like you’re going to be coming since you’re busy, right?”
He averted his eyes, taking a roll from his breakfast and ripping a piece off of it with his teeth before eating it. “You’re right. This is what I asked for, isn’t it?”
Chloe felt her face contort into a frown, but she tried to keep it from boiling over into full on anger. ‘ What is he implying? Isn’t this the sort of thing he wants me to do…?’
“I’m trying to help,” she said, annoyed.
“Help with what?”
Chloe almost jumped out of her skin with the way Ash had snuck up behind her. “O-Oh! N-Nothing! Just talking to Goh about why I thought to say that we could walk together.” It wasn’t a lie, but to Chloe it felt like one, the way the guilt piled on top of the breakfast in her stomach.
“Yeah,” said Goh. “Just wondering where the suggestion came from, is all.” The way his eyes were on her made Chloe swallow nervously.
The tenseness in the air was completely lost on Ash. “Well, thanks for waiting! Let’s go!”
Eager to get out of the situation that she was in, Chloe turned to leave. “Let’s.” At the sound of her footsteps, Yamper and Eevee looked up and gave chase, leaving Goh alone.
Though there was no one around to see it, the hurt in Goh’s eyes was apparent. “Just trying to help, huh…?”
---
Chloe started the walk quietly, her eyes more focused on the road in front of her than anything else. Normally by this time she had recalled Eevee into her Poké Ball, but since Yamper and Ash were here, she decided to let her walk, too, before confining her while she went to her classes.
Ash was quiet, too, taking time to enjoy the morning sun as it shined past the buildings. Occasionally he would gasp as a Pidgey or Rattata darted away or into a tree, but for the most part he wasn’t saying much.
Yamper and Eevee walked ahead of them, their paws plodding along the ground as they enjoyed the exercise together. With the two of them leading the way and Ash distracted, Chloe let her own mind wander as she kept her head down.
She took note of his shoes, since her head was hanging low. His shoes were black, blue, and white, but most of all, they looked worn out. The white was faded with dirt and dust and looked a bit stretched out in places. The sides were scuffed and scratched.
Looking down at her own school uniform shoes, they were pristine white, matching her cleaned and perfectly fitted uniform. Her shoes didn’t look like they had been used very much at all.
Looking over at Ash, who seemed to be just enjoying the walk, she noticed the same sort of worn in quality applied to his vest. There were places in the fabric that looked scorched or cut with some quick sewing to repair the damage. ‘ That’s probably Mr. Mime’s handiwork, ’ she thought. ‘ I can’t even imagine Ash doing any sewing… ’
His hair was wild and unkempt, pointing in just about every direction than a neat one, all poking out from under his cap in different directions. It made her think about how much effort she put into her own appearance, especially her long hair. Subconsciously, she reached back to the braid that bounced behind her. It felt tightly wound and controlled, worked into this specific configuration. It felt cool, aloof, and mature. Not wild, uncontrolled and free, like Ash’s hair looked.
Ash glanced out of the corner of his eye and caught her staring at him. He grinned. “It’s gonna be alright,” he said.
She blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“You were arguing with Goh, right?”
Chloe felt her heart sink into her stomach. “Y-You saw…?” she gasped.
He chuckled, smiling. “Nah. But it’s written all over your face that somethin’s on your mind, and it only makes sense that it’s Goh.”
This just made her stomach start twisting all over again. “Why is that?” she asked, not sure if she was ready for the answer.
“He’s like your best friend, right?” he said, smiling. “You guys used t’ go to school together and are still buddies even now, right? If I had a fight with Goh, you’d probably be able t’ tell it just by looking at me.”
She laughed ruefully. “What, is he your best friend, too?”
“Well, yeah! I mean, kinda!”
This made her raise an eyebrow. “I thought you said Pikachu is your best friend.”
“He is!” Ash said, reaching up to scratch the Electric-Type’s chin. Pikachu responded with a gentle coo. “But it’s like I was sayin’ the other day, I have different kinds of friends. Pikachu is one kinda best friend in that we’re so much alike. Goh’s a different kind of best friend in that there’s so much that we’re different!”
“I really don’t think the differences are that big,” Chloe responded.
“Well, yeah! S’not like we’re opposites. But you know both of us, you know we’re different.”
To that, she just had to shrug and smile. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“You know, you’re kinda like that, too!”
Chloe almost tripped over a crack in the pavement at that. “W-What?! What do you mean?”
“Well, like you’re really quiet,” he said. “You like t’ ask questions and think about stuff pretty seriously. I know I can be pretty loud but that’s okay! We’re just different, and that make you one of my best friends, too!”
Suddenly the weight growing in her stomach, the worry and guilt building up, felt much lighter. There was a sting in her cheeks, as well, that felt unfamiliar. “Y-You think I’m one of your best friends too?” she asked, her voice’s pitch rising.
“Yeah! You’re really thoughtful, Chloe! Why wouldn’t you be one of my best friends?”
His gentle earnestness brought a smile to her face, and the feeling in her stomach was now wholly unlike the one she felt before. “I-uh… thanks, Ash.” She turned her head away from him, the feeling in her stomach telling her she couldn’t look him directly in the eye.
“Can I ask a question, though?” he asked, turning somewhat serious himself.
This change in the mood did make her turn back to him. “Sure,” she said, bracing herself. “What is it?”
Ash looked like he was trying to pick the best words to use for a moment before looking her straight in the eye. “Look, I mean, I know girls really take their looks seriously so I’m not tryin’ t’ be rude, but why does everyone who goes to your school wear the same kinda thing? Is it just what everyone thinks is cool?”
Chloe just stared back at him, her mind drawing a complete blank. She couldn’t conceive of a universe where that was the question Ash Ketchum the rough looking Pokémon Trainer decided to ask her. Yet, fate had conspired to place her in exactly such a universe.
Shaking her head in disbelief for a moment, she looked at him. The look on his face was the same energetic, curious smile as usual, the anticipation of the answer even reflecting in his bright brown eyes.
“Ash… have you never heard of a school uniform before? Didn’t you have to wear one when you went to school in Pallet Town?”
Ash blinked like he wasn’t sure what she had just said. “Uh… no?” He even sounded unsure, himself. “I mean, Mom always made sure I dressed nicer than when I went out t’ play but it’s not like I wore the same stuff as everyone else.”
This conversation was taking her in a completely different direction than she thought it would. “Ash, everyone has to get their clothes from the same place so we all have the same uniform. It’s part of the rules from the school to go there.”
“Oh! That makes sense!” Ash said, nodding. “That explains why no one wore the same stuff in Pallet Town. Y’see, my Mom had t’ make all my clothes.”
“Your Mom made your clothes?!” This sounded unbelievable. She knew her Mom could sew patches onto things or repair small rips or tears, but the image of Ash’s mother creating clothes whole-cloth was not something she expected in her mind.
“Yeah!” Ash said, beaming proudly. “Even th’ stuff I’m wearing now she made!” he said, pulling on his vest proudly. “My Mom’s so awesome at this sorta thing. I dunno how she does it, but she’s always got something for me!”
Chloe was still trying to wrap her mind around it. “You mean, everything you’re wearing? Socks and everything?”
“Well, no,” Ash admitted, laughing shyly. “Not everything. And I do have some stuff she didn’t make. But I always feel really proud and cool wearin’ th’ stuff my Mom made for me. She put her 100% into makin’ it for me, so it makes me wanna give 200%!”
Looking him up and down, Chloe couldn’t imagine him really wearing anything else. “Well, it does suit you, you know? You look like you’re ready to go exploring.”
“Thanks!” Ash said, grinning back. The smile caught in Chloe’s eyes, and she felt her heart thump against her chest. “I guess that’s why I kinda asked about your uniform. I guess I don’t think it suits you very much.”
And the thumping stopped. “Well, sorry for having no choice in what I get to wear to school,” she replied sardonically. “Do you have some opinions on what does suit me?”
“The pink shirt with the jeans,” he replied instantly.
“W-What?”
“Yeah, you look like you’re ready to set off on your own! You look ready for adventure, to go exploring with Eevee to find what it is that you wanna do!”
Chloe felt the thumping return to her chest. ‘ He… he’s been watching me that closely?’ she thought.
Hearing her name, Eevee turned around and stood on hind legs and pawed at Chloe’s leg, snapping the girl out of her thoughts and back into reality. Looking around her, they were at the gate in front of her school. She looked at Ash, who seemed like he was just now realizing where they were, too.
“Heh, time flies when you’re havin’ fun, right?” he said, smiling. “Guess this is your stop.”
She nodded. “Yeah, it is. Thanks for walking with me,” she said, smiling at him.
He shook his head. “Nah, you were trying t’ help me out, remember? I’ll take Yamper t’ the Pokémon Center and we’ll head back to the lab after that. You have a good day at school, okay?”
She laughed at herself, brushing a hand through her hair. “Y-Yeah, you’re right. And thanks. I’ll see you later.”
“Later, Chloe! C’mon, Pikachu and Yamper!”
And with that, Ash turned, looked both ways, and crossed the street on the way to the Pokémon Center.
Chloe reached into her pocket and pulled out Eevee’s Poké Ball. “We better get inside and get ready for class, too.”
“ Eievui!” she chirped as Chloe recalled her back inside the ball.
Slipping the ball back into her pocket, she began walking into the school, only to have an arm thrown over her shoulders. The blonde girl grinning at her was a familiar sight to Chloe. It was her friend Mika, who was in the same class she was, though she usually had to sit on the opposite side of the room.
“So, Chloe…” she smirked, “who was the mystery guy?”
Chloe pushed her away. “Just one of my Dad’s research fellows,” she said, cloaking the nervous hammering in her chest with the cold indifference that she normally exhibited.
“I don’t know~,” Mika’s singsong tone teased. “Maybe there’s something else there.”
“Can we please just focus on our classes? He’s just one of my Dad’s research fellows and he was coming this way anyway so it’s no big deal.”
Mika grinned at her like a Meowth smirking at a Pidgey, but she shrugged. “Okay, if you say so. His Pikachu was pretty cute, though. Think you could introduce me to him?”
“What, to Ash?”
“No, I just said to Pikachu!”
And with that, the two girls began chattering about topics further and further away from Ash Ketchum as they walked to class.
Chapter 5: On Music
Chapter Text
The rest of the school day came and went with little fanfare.
“Okay, but their cheeks are so cute! I heard they’re like rubber when you touch them!”
“Uh-huh.”
“C’mon, Chloe! You want to touch a Pikachu’s cheeks too, don’t you?”
“Not in particular…”
By the end of lunch, Mika had seemed to forget about Ash and zeroed in even more on his Pikachu, discussing in glowing terms the time her brother showed her video he had recorded on his phone of a Pikachu in the wild.
‘ Mika sure is crazy about Pokémon. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t remind me of Ash and Goh. Those two basically became best friends overnight, bonding over Pokémon. I almost think she’d get along better with them than I would…’ She touched Eevee’s Poké Ball in her pocket. The ball shook slightly, responding to her touch, Eevee letting her know that she was there for her.
‘ I might not be as outgoing as Mika is, but I still love Eevee,’ She thought. ‘ We’re going to find our way together, at our own pace. And we won’t let anyone rush us, either. ’
The ball in her pocket shook, as if Eevee was agreeing in her own way as well.
A few hours and classes later Chloe returned to the lab to the cheerful barks of Yamper. She felt exhausted, going through the hall. ‘Today wasn't awful after the beginning of the day had passed, but boy am I glad it’s the weekend now . Letting Eevee out of her ball, she entered the kitchen to look for Ash and Goh. But when she arrived, only one of the boys was sitting there, gleefully stuffing his face with some bread.
“Ash?” Chloe asked, somewhat puzzled. “Where’s Goh?”
Ash was so busy stuffing that face of his that he didn’t even notice her come in. He swallowed the bite of the croquette sandwich Mr. Mime had made for him hard. “O-Oh, hey, Chloe! Goh got a call from his parents, and they said they were free tonight and invited him to hang out at his place!”
Chloe took a seat across from Ash. She knew Goh’s parents, of course. Especially how busy they were with work all the time. If they had a day off to spend with him he’d definitely take the opportunity. Even if it meant ending his self-declared watchfulness of Ash. ‘ Which means that the entire confrontation we had this morning was basically pointless ,’ she thought as began to look through her phone.
“You look like you’re about t’ say somethin’,” Ash said, looking at her.
She looked up, her green eyes meeting his brown. “I wasn’t going to say anything,” she said, shrugging and looking away. She sat her phone down on the table, hoping that he somehow didn’t gain the ability to read her mind.
“I mean, you and Goh had that fight this morning that we kinda forgot to talk about,” he said, staring back at her with those brown eyes of his that reflected only the truth. “You probably wanted to apologize to him, right?”
The heavy guilt she felt this morning suddenly returned to her stomach, and she frowned at it. ‘ Why was Goh so upset…? It doesn’t make any sense…’ “I guess it doesn’t matter,” she said. “I can just talk to him later.”
“Y’know, it’s easier t’ just apologize when you fight with a friend,” Ash explained. “I’ve gotten in a lot of fights with my friends so I know what it’s like.”
“I don’t even know why he got so upset,” she admitted, shrugging. “And I guess I won’t know until we talk tomorrow.”
Ash gave her that winning smile of his again. “You guys’ll figure it out! You’ve been friends for a long time, right? And friendships are pretty hard to break, even if you mess up.” He laughed, scratching his cheek. “I should know. I can mess up a lot.”
Chloe giggled at his statement. “Well, don’t go around bragging about it,” she said, smirking as she teased him back. “Some people like the illusion that you’re flawless.”
This just made Ash laugh. “Hey, I’m learning from my mistakes and everything I learn’ll help me get closer and closer to my dream of being a Pokémon Master!”
“Speaking of being a Pokémon Master,” she said, looking around, “where’s your Pokémon, ‘master’? Pikachu taking the day off?”
“Nah,” he said, gesturing in the direction of Cerise Park. “He’s just having his snack with the rest of the Pokémon. Since Goh’s gone t’ see his parents, I’m kinda in charge until he gets back so Pikachu is helping me by being a leader, too.”
Chloe laughed. “I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in this case, huh?” she joked, which made Ash laugh as well.
“Yeah, Pikachu’s the best and totally dependable! Though sometimes my Mom makes it sound like he’s more dependable than I am…”
Chloe continued to giggle. “Well, Pikachu is very dependable.”
Ash kept laughing, leaning in. “Don’t you start, Chloe. Soon you’ll be thinking Pikachu’s more dependable than me, too!”
“What I think is-”
“ Yamp! Yamp! Yamp!”
“Vui! Eievui!”
Chloe’s comeback was interrupted by Yamper angrily reminding her that he hadn’t been fed yet, and of course her little copycat Eevee had to join in if for no reason other than it looked fun.
“I guess I better feed them,” Chloe said, standing up from her chair and picking up her backpack.
Ash stood as well. “I better go check on Pikachu and the others. I didn’t get any battles today, but hopefully tomorrow after some extra special training!”
“No battles all day?” Chloe asked, walking over to where the Pokémon food was stored.
“Nope! Turns out Ultra Class trainers are kinda rare! Which makes sense! There’s only ninety-eight stronger guys in the world than me!” With that he gave a wave and left, and Chloe poured food in the Pokémon’s bowls. Yamper and Eevee began to eat with gusto as she left them to their meal.
“You guys enjoy your snack. I’m going to be in the study, getting started on my homework.” And so, too, did she leave to the study, her pink Rotom Phone laying on the table, blinking quietly.
“Aaaah! Where is it, Where is it?!”
Chloe had turned her backpack over several times since coming home, removing everything and checking every pocket at least twice each.
“Where’d I put my phone?!”
She didn’t even notice on the way home from the laboratory that she didn’t have it. In fact, she thought she had just misplaced it, which is why she was still searching her belongings for it. “Think, Chloe, where’d you put it…?” She wracked her brain, trying to come up with the last place she saw it. “Did I have it when I was doing homework…? Did I leave it at school…? I’m pretty sure I didn’t leave it there…”
Coming downstairs, she began looking for someone who could help, and she came to her father watching the news with a cup of tea in his grip. Desperate, she asked him “Dad, have you seen my phone?”
He took a sip of tea before answering. “No, not outside of your hands, anyway. Did you misplace it?”
“I think so,” she groaned. “I can’t remember where I put it…”
Chloe’s father picked up the tablet sitting on the table next to his cup of tea and tapped it on. A few moments later, it was displaying a map. “Ah, I see. It’s at the lab.”
“At the lab…?” Chloe repeated. “What did I do as soon as I got to the lab…” she said, thinking over it. ‘ I came in, let out Eevee, saw Ash…’ “That’s it! I left it in the kitchen!”
Professor Cerise put down the tablet and picked up his tea cup again. “See? Everything’s fine, then.”
She sighed. “But if I don’t go to the lab this weekend then I won’t have my phone all weekend either…” she groaned. “Not to mention the Rotom inside’ll probably get lonely…”
“That is a pickle,” Professor Cerise thought out loud.
“Can I just go get it tonight?” she asked.
He frowned, looking at the television. “Chloe, it’s almost 8PM.”
“I could stay in the guest room!” she said. “And I’ll come back as soon as morning comes, I promise!”
He scratched his chin. “Well… I suppose it’s not that big a problem. You are pretty responsible, and it’s only for a night, right?” He reached into his pockets and pulled out his key ring, carefully removing the key that Chloe recognized opened the front door to the lab. He handed her the key. “Take care on your way, Chloe.”
She took it in her hands excitedly, but even she could tell that this was an unusual request. “Uh, thanks, but are you sure that Mom’s gonna be okay with it?”
He laughed. “You would be the one of my kids to say that, wouldn’t you?”
She frowned. “Dad, I’m just trying to be responsible here, okay? But I can’t go a weekend without having my phone, especially since the Rotom is in there.”
He chuckled. “I’ll speak to your mother. Things will be fine here. Take Yamper with you, as well. You know he’ll be nervous unless he gets to stay with you.”
She nodded. “Right. Thanks, Dad!” She stepped in close to give her father a hug, one he carefully returned to make sure he didn’t spill tea on her. Then, she returned to her room and roused Eevee and Yamper from their sleep. “C’mon, we’re going for a little walk!”
Approaching the Laboratory at night was something that filled Chloe with unease, but she figured that if anyone inside the darkened building was still awake, it was most likely Mr. Mime.
Yamper was invaluable in the approach up the steps, his body gently glowing with electricity as he walked ahead of Chloe and Eevee. Yamper was the only light source this far up other than the bright glow of the moon itself. The Electric-Type waddled up the stairs before entering the lab’s grounds proper. Chloe looked over the darkened building. Everything was off. Taking a deep breath, she approached the door and took out the key her father usually used to open the lab each morning when they arrived before she went to school. Even though she knew no one was awake inside, she opened the door gently. At the very least, one of the Ghost-Type Pokémon might be out roaming, and she didn’t want to spook them.
The door made an angry creak as she opened before she and Yamper stepped inside. Without the moonlight, it was even darker. Following more of her memory than the faint glow of Yamper, the girl and her two Pokémon companions moved cautiously across the creaking floorboards and into the kitchen. There, laying screen-down, was her phone. The Rotom inside seemed to have fallen asleep waiting, which only made sense to the girl. She reached for the phone and picked it up, startling the Pokémon inside.
“Shh…” she said, hushing the Rotom.
With her phone now in hand, Chloe began her quiet walk to the guest room, using the flashlight function to light the way. She put down Eevee and the Evolution Pokémon carefully walked next to Yamper, trying not to make a sound. But as she placed her first foot on the steps, Eevee’s ears perked up. And then, Chloe heard it. It sounded like someone plucking on strings of an instrument. The plucking was slow and methodical, creating a gentle song that only grew in volume as she ascended the stairs.
She stepped as lightly as possible as she approached the music, only to find it coming from the gently ajar door that led into Ash and Goh’s room. Her breath caught in the throat. She couldn’t even speak lest she break the illusion. Even Yamper was being quiet, a rarity itself.
Chloe looked through the door to see Ash leaning against the wall of his bottom bunk. He was dressed in a yellow and black t-shirt with Pikachu’s face printed on the front. Laying across the cream colored pajama shorts he was apparently wearing to bed was Pikachu, lying very still and docile, his ears down and tail gently wagging.
In Ash’s hands, he held a small instrument that Chloe only recognized because it was a popular staple of Alolan culture; a ukulele. She had never seen the small stringed instrument before in person.
Ash looked relaxed as he strummed the instrument’s strings, playing a simple, calming melody. His brown eyes were barely open, but the moonlight flitting into the room did make them glow with a gentle warmth that she was unaccustomed to seeing. His hair was still as wild and untamed as ever, but in this light, Chloe felt like there was a regalness to it as she looked at Ash through the door, listening to his fingers pluck out a gentle song.
It was as though she had never truly seen him before, but now the scales had fallen from her eyes, and for the first time she saw Ash not as he presented himself, but as he truly was. The gentle soul that laid beneath the loud and energetic surface. She was so taken aback by the image of Ash playing the ukulele that was burning into her mind, she didn’t notice her hand grazing the doorknob, gently pushing the door open.
The music ceased instantly as Ash looked up at the door, shock in his eyes as he looked at the slowly opening door. Pikachu immediately sat up, glaring at the darkness, his cheeks flaring to life with sparks and light. As the door drifted open, he was able to see Professor Cerise’s daughter standing in front of him in her brightly colored school uniform.
He didn’t look away from her, though even Chloe could tell by looking in his eyes that he was shamefaced. She stood there in the doorway, looking back at him, knowing her eyes were concealed in the shadows of the doorway.
“Chloe…?”
Ash was the first to speak. He sat there, holding his ukulele, puzzled. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
Now it was Chloe’s turn to feel ashamed of herself. “I…” she stammered before taking a few steps into the room. Pikachu’s cheeks stopped sparking, but the mouse still looked tense until Ash put his hand on his back and rubbed. Chloe stepped into the moonlight coming in through the window. “I… forgot my phone and I came back for it.” She held out the phone as proof. “I was worried that the Rotom would get lonely if it was here all weekend.”
“I get it…” he said, his own face relaxing into a gentle smile. Pikachu similarly laid down in Ash’s lap again.
“So…” Chloe asked, swallowing her nervousness. “...I really liked your song.”
She felt stupid saying it like that, but Ash took the complement. “Thanks, Chloe.”
“If you don’t mind me asking…” she said, stepping closer. “...what is it?”
Ash began plucking on the strings again. “It’s… a song I learned to play in Alola.”
‘ That would explain the ukulele ,’ she thought. But she didn’t dare to say that out loud. “You learned to play the ukulele in Alola?”
“Not really,” he said, chuckling under his breath. “At least, not very much. But Professor Kukui would sometimes play little songs on a ukulele like this one, and I wanted to learn how to play, too! But I wasn’t able to get my own ukulele until Professor Kukui gave me one right before I came back to Kanto.”
For Chloe, that cast the ukulele in a very different light immediately. She had in effect stumbled into something very personal and private. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”
“Didn’t mean what?” he asked, looking up with his gentle brown eyes. “To see me playin’?”
She sat down on the floor, tucking her knees under her. “I… I mean, yeah, you know? This feels like I intruded on something private.”
Ash didn’t answer immediately, only continuing to strum on the ukulele. “I mean…” he started. “You’re the first person besides me t’ even know about this.”
That caught her by surprise. “Not even Goh’s seen your ukulele?”
Ash looked at her. “I don’t even think about playing it most of the time,” he admitted. “And really only Pikachu gets it, besides me.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I lived in Alola with the Professor for a while. I saw all sorts of places and things. People and Pokémon. I made so many friends, had battles with rivals, and that whole time, the power of Alola just… y’know, it just swooped inta us.”
“The power of Alola…?”
Ash nodded. “I know lots of people really like Alola as a place t’ go on vacation. I did, too, at first. But after living there for so long, Alola means more t’ me than that now. It’s like a second home to Pikachu and me. And…” he grew quiet as he continued to strum, shrugging. “I dunno. I miss it sometimes.”
“ Pi ka chuuu… ,’ Pikachu said in agreement.
He quietly strummed on the strings for a moment. “It’s like… more than the friends and Pokémon I left in Alola… I left part of myself, too.”
“ Pi ka pi ka…”
“Playing th’ ukulele helps me remember Alola, and I feel closer to it when I do. I guess I didn’t ever think about showing anyone ‘cause…'' he went quiet again before chuckling. “...it feels weird, I guess. It feels weird to say ‘I love Alola’ because there’s so many ways people’ll take it. But I want to love Alola my way. And my way is this.”
Chloe put her hand over her chest as he spoke. Even in her candid conversations with him, this was an entirely different side to him than she had ever seen before. He had such a gentleness about him that her heart ached for her to reach out to him, to tell him that his love for Alola was beautiful, and that it moved her heart, as well.
But even as those words danced on her tongue to the music Ash continued to play, she wouldn’t allow herself to say them ‘ That just sounds so… weird. I can’t say something like that to him. What would he think…?’
Instead Chloe drew closer to the side of his bed and put her arms on it to prop herself up. “Sorry that I interrupted your personal moment, Ash.”
“It’s okay,” he said, the gentle smile returning to his face. “You seem like you get it, too. And you won’t tease me about it either.”
She smiled back at him. “You can continue playing, if you want. I’ll be quiet.”
“Heh… alright.”
And so Ash returned to his gentle ukulele song, closing his eyes and letting his thoughts drift back to Alola. Chloe watched the warm smile grow on his face, and felt her own heart grow warmer watching him. She watched the rising and falling of his chest, unaware that her own gentle breathing had matched his.
Ash played for a little while longer until his fingertips began to feel sore. He peaked out from under his eyelids to see Chloe having drifted off to sleep with Eevee and Yamper curled up next to her.
Quietly, he slipped off the bed and pulled his blanket down before draping her in it.
“G’night, Chloe.”
Tiptoeing out of the room, Ash began to approach the guest room where he’d try and sleep instead. As he closed the door behind him, he thought he saw a shadow move at the top of the stairs but looking closer, he didn’t see anything. Shrugging and thinking that it might be Mr. Mime, he headed to the end of the hallway and entered the guest room.
Chapter 6: On Trust
Chapter Text
Chloe pinched her eyes shut. She never liked the feeling of the morning coming so soon, and always wanted just a little more time to rest before starting the day. ‘ Besides, it’s Saturday, right? ’ And her back hurt…? ‘ Ugh, how did I sleep last night…?’
The thought made her pause and her eyes shot open. “How did I sleep last night?”
Sitting up, the blanket draped across her shoulders fell off. She was in Ash and Goh’s room in the lab. Looking at the bed, she saw no sign of Ash or Pikachu. Then the moonlight memory from the night before replayed in her mind, and suddenly her face felt very warm. Reaching down, she felt Eevee and Yamper still dozing by her sides. And her aching legs. “Ow… I shouldn’t have slept like that…”
She pulled herself to her feet, nearly hitting her head on the bottom of Goh’s bunk. She stumbled a bit, the numbness in her legs not doing anything to help her stability.
When she turned around, she saw something else that surprised her. Curled up next to the door, wrapped in his own blanket was Goh, Grookey attached firmly to his head. This was even more concerning than the previous revelations she was having. “Wait… Goh…?”
Hearing his name caused her friend to open his eyes. At least he was a bit more rested than she was, but the sharpness in his blue eyes made her stumble back onto Ash’s bed. “Oh. You’re awake.”
“I… thought you were out with your parents.”
“I was,” he said. “But they got a call late and I figured I’d just come back to the lab since it was already dark. Imagine my surprise when I saw you in here with Ash.”
And the heat in her face just increased. “W-What, you were just watching?” she asked, now herself feeling like a private moment had been rudely intruded upon.
“Well, I /was/ coming up here to go to bed,” he said acridly from his blanket cocoon on the floor, “but when I saw Ash in here playing ukulele for you, I realized what was going on.”
She swallowed. ‘ Oh no… Ash trusted me to keep these things in confidence…! Did I already blow it…? He didn’t want Goh to get bothered by that sorts of stuff…!’
“Honestly, I didn’t expect it,” he said, staring daggers through her. “After all, we’ve been friends for years and Ash and I seemed like we were getting along well, too.” He sighed, defeated. “But I guess being friends with a guy like me is just a pain, huh?”
She felt the guilt rise in her stomach again, now twisting like an Ekans. “Goh... W-what are you saying?” she asked, not even fully sure she wanted the answer.
He sighed, looking down. Grookey tumbled off his head into his hands. “I’m saying that you and Ash don’t need me around crowding you. You two have clearly been hiding this friendship from me because you don’t want me in the way. You’re tired of being friends with me and you’re meeting up behind my back!” His last words were shouted at her, his eyes clenched shut.
Silence again reigned over the room, and Chloe looked back at him. She shook her head. “No, Goh, it’s not that at all…!”
“Then what is it, if you’re so smart?” he spat, wallowing in his misery.
“It’s…” The pressure in her stomach was making her feel nauseous.
“You can’t say? Or you don’t want to say because I’m right.” Goh looked up at her, hurt in his eyes. “I’ve trusted you for so long, Chloe. I thought our friendship meant something to you, but I guess I was just mistaken. You’d rather hang around with Ash alone than with me. You’ve probably even got a crush on the guy or something.”
Her face flared with heat and her emotions surged at the accusation. “Okay, That is NOT true!” she shouted, voice raised to the point of stirring Yamper, Eevee, and Grookey from their sleep. Her pulse was racing and she stared at Goh, upset and angry, like he had uncovered a secret she was keeping hidden. One she was keeping even from herself.
She gasped and covered her mouth and ran through her emotions and thoughts once more. The memory of Ash playing music. The talks with him when she laughed at his jokes or was caught up in his smile. The warm, fluttering feeling she had felt when he complimented her. The anger and shame being called out brought to her face.
“...oh no.”
Suddenly the guilty feeling in her stomach made sense, and the joy she had gathered from keeping their meetings to herself became obvious to her. ‘ He’s… He’s right. I can’t believe it but Goh is right’. She fell down onto Ash’s bed.
“Goh, I’ve made a huge mistake.”
He sat up. “Well, yeah. You have.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Hmm?”
When Goh looked up at her, lying on the bed, he saw tears slipping down the sides of her face as she stared up at the bottom of his bed. “I… I didn’t think this is what it would have come to. Goh, you’re still my friend, please you have to understand that. I was just trying to help Ash out… Please, give me a chance to explain and I’ll tell you everything.”
He frowned, wanting to turn away from her, but their years of friendship bade him give her one more chance.
“Alright, Chloe. I’ll listen. Explain everything.”
And so she did, starting from the day she asked Ash for help understanding Eevee, heading into the day she spoke with him in the park, the meeting they had after Ash and Goh’s encounter with the police, the other small talks about school and everything else, including the talk about how important Alola was to him.
By the end, Chloe was sitting on the bed, hands cupping her face. Goh was standing as well, still dressed in the clothes he left in the day before. His back was to the door, and he stood there, cross armed, listening to the entire thing.
“You know Ash would have talked to you if he felt like it wouldn’t have been a burden,” she said. “He called you his best friend, even. There’s just some stuff that he didn’t want to bother you with. And… And I thought I was helping by keeping this all from you, but it just led to a huge misunderstanding and you got hurt, Goh, and I’m sorry…!”
Chloe kept herself from crying by breathing deeply until she felt her friend’s hand on her shoulder.
“...I’m sorry, Chloe.”
Goh sat down on Ash’s bed next to her.
“I should have been up front with you, too. I should have told you I thought you and Ash were trying to push me away. Instead, I just got jealous… just like with Gary…”
Chloe nodded, being at least a touch familiar with the situation from her talks with Ash.
He sat up and nodded. “Well, that’s not the future I want. The future I want is in the palm of my hand!” He turned to Chloe, smiling. “If Ash says we’re best friends, then I’ll have to trust him. And if we’re still friends, then I’ll have to trust you, too, right?” He smiled at her, the same smile of her long-suffering friend.
She smiled and nodded back to him.
“Yeah… Yeah, we are, Goh,” she said, smiling, eyes still stinging from the tears.
“Then there’s nothing to worry about!” he said. “We’ll just keep moving forward, right?”
“‘Going forward’?” she shot back, falling back onto the bed again. “Going forward to what?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I think that’s pretty obvious from the way you reacted that you have a crush on Ash.”
Chloe looked around the room for a distraction, her eyes turning to the Pokémon. “I… don’t really know, you know? Maybe?” she said as she watched them. On the floor, Grookey was riding around on Yamper’s back, but he was being much more well behaved than he had been, Chloe noticed. Yamper trotted around, reminding her of the Ponyta she saw, as he carried Grookey around.
Goh scoffed. “What do you mean ‘maybe’?”
“I mean I don’t know!” she said, rolling over on the bed to face away from him. “I guess I… like him a bit more than I used to?”
“Used to?”
She whined. “I know, it doesn't make any sense…!”
“Well… I’ll just have to help you, I guess,” he said. “That’s what friends do, right?”
“Goh, I really don’t think I need any help...” she said, looking away from him. Her heart was beginning to pound in her chest again.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be cool about it,” he said, grinning. “I’ll just do what I do best; gather data and share it. It’s not like you have as many opportunities to ask him stuff where he won’t get suspicious, right?”
“I mean… I guess so…” she said, frowning. “...it feels weird to even talk about, though.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it! This is just something you’ll have to figure out! What’s one more project for Vermilion’s most diligent student?”
“I guess so... “ she said, sitting up. “But why are you so gung-ho about helping me figure this stuff out?”
“Because we’re friends, aren’t we?” he said, confidently. “I want to help you out, you know?”
“But Goh, I was just supposed to be someone who he could vent to! I wasn’t supposed to feel all weird about him!”
Goh rubbed his chin, grinning. “Well, there was a point where you needed to stop and you’ve clearly passed that,” he said. He pointed a finger confidently in the air. “So let’s keep going and see where this all leads! There’s only one way to get to the ending and that’s to press forward!”
Grookey hopped onto Goh’s arm and cheered along with his trainer’s confidence. ‘ I don’t think Grookey even knows what’s going on… ’
“There’s a lot of information you could use to help get him to like you back,” Goh said. “Favorite foods, colors, scents, games, activities, the works! And who better to be your informant? He trusts me, I’m his best friend after all.”
She tried to keep herself from laughing. “You’re going to ask him about that stuff? And you’re not going to make him suspicious?”
He grinned at her, hand still on his chin. “Trust me,” Goh said. “I have my ways.”
“Why am I not convinced…?” she said, glaring at him. “It feels like this is just making trouble where I could try to figure it out by myself.”
“C’mon, Chloe. You’ve never been one to do things halfway,” Goh said. “Remember when we’d have those tests of courage at camp? You were the bravest person there! This is just gonna take a little more of that courage!”
“ Eievui!”
Eevee hopped into her lap from the floor, smiling at her. Chloe looked at the Evolution Pokémon, puzzled. “Eevee…?”
“She’s saying she wants you to be brave!” Goh said, smiling. “No one knows what tomorrow will bring, so she wants you to take it one step at a time, you know?”
“ Vui! ”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “You know what? You’re both right. If… I’m going to deal with this, I’ve got to think about it clearly. And I promise, no matter how I feel about Ash, it won’t change how important you and your friendship are to me, Goh. That’s a promise.”
She held up her pinky to him, something they used to do when they were younger, and something Goh quickly reciprocated.
“Okay, so what’s our first move?” he asked.
As if on cue, Goh’s stomach growled loudly.
“I think each and every one of us needs to get out of here and have breakfast.” Chloe said.
“Yamper!” Yamper agreed.
Goh offered Chloe a hand, which she took, and he helped pull her to her feet.
“Thanks, Goh,” she said. “For understanding. I’m still sorry about not telling you sooner.”
He smirked. “Well, maybe you can do a bit of the homework for me the next time I have to come in for a test,” he said. “Let’s get something to eat! I’m starving!”
The two friends - as well as Yamper and Eevee - stepped downstairs and headed into the kitchen to find Ash sitting there in the clothes he was sleeping in. He was sitting next to Pikachu and both of them were about halfway through a stack of pancakes each. Ash waved to the new arrivals and swallowed before speaking. “Hey Chloe! And Goh, too! I thought you were still out!”
Goh shot a knowing look at Chloe and smirked. “Oh, I haven’t been back long,” he said, lying to cover Chloe spilling the beans to him. “Just in time to eat, though. I’m starving!”
“Honestly, I’m just surprised that Ash remembered to swallow before talking this time,” Chloe said, standing back coolly before smiling back at Goh.
Ash and Pikachu looked at the two of them and tilted their heads to the side in unison. “...is it somethin’ I said?”
“Don’t worry about it, just slide that maple syrup over here,” said Goh, taking a seat across from him as Chloe went to the kitchen to feed Yamper and Eevee.
‘I’m glad everything seems to be going back to normal,’ she thought as she began gathering the Pokémon food.
‘ When Goh said that he would be my informant, he wasn’t kidding…’
Chloe was back at school. A few more days had passed since the weekend where she saw Ash playing ukulele in a way that stunned her and she admitted to Goh about meeting the Palletonian behind his back. With Goh on board and determined to play wingman for her and Ash, Chloe was once again sitting in the classroom eating her lunch, going through the texts she had been getting from Goh on his reconnaissance.
His favorite color is blue!
“Well, duh,” Chloe said as she popped a dumpling into her mouth with her chopsticks.
Favorite food is croquettes. Attached to this one was a picture of Ash eating a croquette sandwich.
She swallowed the dumpling. “Well, I mean I guess that’s helpful but I think he’s overdoing it…”
She quietly saved the picture to look at later. She felt her face heat up again, only now she knew to call it what it was. ‘ I can’t believe I’m blushing just looking at a picture…’ she thought, sighing. ‘ I’m hopeless.’
“Why the long face, Chloe?” asked Mika, having snuck up behind her. Chloe immediately slapped her phone face down on her desk and sat quietly mortified. “That was that researcher guy, right? You said his name was… Alf, right?”
Chloe felt her face burn even hotter, having been found out. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “I was just checking some private messages sent to me that honestly people shouldn’t be trying to stare at over my shoulder.”
“Oh come on,” Mika said, patting Chloe’s shoulder, “what’s a secret between friends?”
Chloe popped another dumpling into her mouth. “Mika, please chill out,” she said between bites.
“So what’s he like, this Alf guy?” Mika asked, leaning over Chloe’s desk and lunch. “He’s gotta be smart, right? You seem like the kind of girl that’d like smart guys.”
“Mika, it’s not like that so please stop talking,” she said, chewing the dumpling in her mouth roughly.,
“If it really were not like that you could look me in the eye, but when you lie you have a hard time doing that.”
Chloe swallowed the dumpling and felt her stomach twist. She looked up at Mika’s face and saw a look in her eyes that reminded her of when Goh would catch a Pokémon, only much less kind. ‘ And I’m just as caught, aren’t I?’
Mika gave her a wide grin. “C’mon, Chloe, it’s not like I even know Alf, right? Why don’t you tell me what he’s like?”
“Because you’re acting like I like him or something when it isn’t like that at all,” she countered.
“You were smiling like a dope at his picture and he was just eating a sandwich.”
She hated getting Pidgeyholed like this, people telling her what to do and how to feel, but that anger in her face mixed with her embarrassment for being found out by a second person that she had developed some feelings for the Pokémon Trainer living in her father’s lab to turn her completely red. She took a drink of tea from her thermos. “Look, Mika, if I admit to liking him a little bit , will you leave me alone?”
“Maybe,” Mika said, coyly putting a finger to her chin, “but maybe I can help you out, too.”
Chloe scowled. “What do you mean, ‘help’?”
“Well, clearly if you’re having to look at pictures of a guy taking like some creepy stalker, he probably doesn’t know you like him, does he?”
Chloe’s grip on her chopsticks tightened. “I am not a creepy stalker. I just have a mutual friend gathering information that could… you know…” She pushed her lunch aside and put her head on her desk. Groaning, she said “...I am being a creepy stalker, huh?”
Mika picked up Chloe’s lunch and opened it. “You said it, not me,” she said, taking one of the dumplings and popping it into her own mouth. “Though, you know, there’s easier ways to get to know someone than spying on them.”
“Like what?” Chloe asked, looking up.
“You could take him on a date,” Mika said, shrugging.
Chloe’s face was back down. “You can’t say that. You CAN’T.”
“Then don’t call it that!” Mika replied, continuing to eat Chloe’s lunch. “Call it a… friendly hang out session! Just you and him and that cute Pikachu of his!”
‘ I see she’s already forgotten about my Eevee, too.’ Chloe thought, though she only rolled her eyes at Mika. “Something tells me you’ve got more than one motive for helping me,” Chloe said, sighing into her arms.
“Look, I’ve got the perfect idea for you. A block away from my parent’s bakery there’s a new arcade opening up this weekend, okay? Why not take him there? Heck, make a day of it for the two of you together. Don’t tell him it’s a date and just go hang out with him! That’s the best way to learn what he’s really about, right?”
Chloe grumbled before looking up at her blonde friend. “I hate it when you make more sense than I do,” she said. “And it won’t be a date, it’s just going to be two friends hanging out.”
Mika shrugged. “Sure, call it whatever you like. But you’re not going to get anywhere with Alf spinning your wheels. You’ve gotta take initiative!”
Grudgingly, Chloe took her lunch box back from Mika. “I hate to admit it, but you’re right. And guys like video games right? Parker’s always playing some kind of game or another… How bad could it be?”
“You better tell me how it goes,” Mika said, handing Chloe back her chopsticks. “I’m talking about serious details. After all, if I’m going to be playing matchmaker for you like this, then you owe me the juicy stuff!”
Before Chloe could respond, the bell signalling the end of lunch rang out, and Mika began returning to her desk as other students began returning to the classroom. “Don’t forget! You owe me!”
Chloe waved her off as other students began talking and standing between them. ‘ Yeah, thanks…’ she thought.
On some level, she was already dismissing the idea Mika had planted in her head. ‘ Not only is this just another example of people thinking they know better for me than I do, but how am I going to walk up to Ash and ask him to spend the day with me. I’d be completely transparent without a good excuse. I can’t just say ‘Let’s go to the arcade…!’
It was thoughts like these that kept her company as she went through the motions of the rest of her school day and began heading back to the lab. She held onto Eevee for comfort. The small Normal-Type nuzzled her cheek, sensing there was something wrong, but Chloe wasn’t sure how to explain feelings like that to a Pokémon.
As she walked by a building on her way up the hill towards the lab, her eye was drawn to an advertisement that must have been posted while she was at school. Displayed on the advertisement was a strange, head-shaped design that she had never seen before, as well as one Pokémon she absolutely had: an Exeggutor. But it wasn’t just any Exeggutor; it was the tall and thin variety that she recognized from seeing Goh’s in Cerise Park. The kind that only grew in the Alola Region.
“Alola…” she said out loud.
“Eievui...?” repeated Eevee, not sure what they were looking at.
Immediately, Ash’s words came back to her mind:
“It feels weird to say ‘I love Alola’ because there’s so many ways people’ll take it. But I want to love Alola my way.”
She began to study the posted advertisement closely:
On Loan from the Alola Region: Rare artifacts depicting the Guardian Deities of the Alola Region, on loan to the Vermilion City Museum of History for a Limited Time!
Looking at the date posted, the exhibit started on Saturday; the same day the arcade Mika mentioned would be opening for business. The gears in her head were beginning to turn. “I… think this might be just perfect, Eevee.” Taking out her phone, she stepped back and took a picture of the advertisement and began racing up the hill. “This is the perfect way to get Ash to come with me this weekend! He misses Alola a lot, so he’ll definitely be excited to see some things from it, right?”
“ Vui vui!” she chirped in agreement.
Chloe turned up the hill and began running back as quickly as possible.
As soon as she entered Cerise Park, she was nearly blown off her feet. Eevee closed her eyes and leaned into the wind while she was struggling to keep her footing.
“Woah, Dragonite!” Ash called out, surprised. “Stop for a sec!”
By the time the wind stopped, Chloe’s hair was mostly out of place, only her flower barrette holding her two braids together as Ash approached her, putting a hand behind his head. “Sorry, Chloe! We’ll take our trainin’ somewhere a bit further from the door.”
Chloe looked at him and saw the spark of amusement in his eyes, like he was simultaneously embarrassed at messing up her hair and trying not to laugh at how she looked. ‘ But I can’t get mad at that grin on his face, ’ she thought. ‘ It’s not like he knew I’d be coming into the park. ’
Composing herself, she straightened up her back and approached him, and the amusement in his face faded, replaced with a wide-eyed confusion. “Ash, I have something I want to show you,” she said, taking out her phone.
She saw the curiosity clicking behind his brown eyes, negotiating with the intimidation he felt. ‘ Is he worried I’m going to snap at him…?’
Eventually his curiosity won out. “Show me what?”
She took out her phone and showed him the advertisement she saw, giving him an excited smile of her own. “I saw this today on my way home from school. It’s a special exhibit on Alola!”
“Alola…” Ash repeated rotely, the word slipping out automatically as he looked at her phone.
“Yeah, I mean…” She coughed, clearing her throat as she felt the pink blush once more stinging her cheeks. “You mentioned you missed Alola, right? I thought you’d maybe like to check it out… with me.” The last two words came out almost tacked on, Chloe hoping that he didn’t notice she asked him to go with her.
But to her surprise, he leaned into her personal space, eyes practically glimmering with excitement. “You mean it?!” he asked. “I mean, it’s nice of you t’ even tell me about this, but you’d take me to the museum and stuff, too? That’s so nice of you! Thanks, Chloe!”
‘ He completely missed that it’s just going to be the two of us, didn’t he?’ she thought. ‘ But if he’s relaxed, I guess I’ll be able to learn more about what he’s really like.’ Her mind immediately returned to that night, where she watched a gentle, subdued Ash playing ukulele in the moonlight. Looking back at the excited boy in front of her, she shrugged. ‘ It’s almost too hard to see them as even the same person…’ she thought. “Anyway, that exhibit opens on Saturday, so why don’t we meet at the bus stop near my school on Saturday, say around noon? We can head to the Museum from there.” ‘And maybe a few other places, too, ’ she thought, not that she’d tell Ash what she was planning.
“Sounds great! I know where that is, too, so meetin’ you there should be easy!” He looked at her with that wide, toothy, excitable smile that he seemed to save just for looking at her with. “Thanks, Chloe! You’re awesome!”
“Bowah!” called Dragonite from above, catching Chloe off guard. The huge Pokémon scooped Ash up in one arm and Chloe up in another before squeezing the two of them together in a group hug.
Chloe’s face began to burn like she was on fire. “W-WHAT!? DRAGONITE?! L-LET ME GO?!”
Ash was laughing loudly, his entire chest shaking. “Dragonite just saw you said something that made me happy, so she wants t’ make you happy, too, Chloe!”
“A little warning would be nice!” Chloe protested, but there was no escaping Dragonite’s impactful hug. Eventually she was released, and she nearly fell to the ground if it wasn’t for Ash catching her hand.
“Steady!” he said. “Dragonite’s hugs used t’ take a lot outta me, too, so I get it.”
Chloe retracted her hand like Ash was made of lava. “R-Right, thanks.” Quickly recomposing herself, she turned to him. “So, Saturday at noon at the bus stop outside my school, okay? Don’t be late.”
“Got it!” he said. “Thanks again!” Ash then turned to Dragonite and put a hand on the Pokémon’s arm. “C’mon, let’s get away from here so we can practice your Hurricane a bit more!”
“Doh…” Dragonite said before looking back at Chloe, and then turning back towards Ash who began to lead her away.
“Saturday at noon, huh, Chloe~?” came Goh’s voice from behind her.
Her face burned again. “I wasn’t going to hide it. I was going to tell you as soon as he agreed.”
“Oh, I know,” he said, smugly smirking as she turned to face him. “I’m just surprised how upfront you were. You’re already asking him on a date, huh?”
Chloe frowned. “Oh, you be quiet,” she said. “If you really want to help, just make sure he’s ready to meet me. And it’s not a date.”
“Right, right,” he said, smiling. “I’ll make sure he’s ready to go, don’t worry. You guys have fun, okay?”
“We’ll have a blast,” she replied sarcastically. “Now I do still have homework, so I better get started on it.” And so, she extricated herself from the situation and quickly left the park before Goh could tease her any more.
Goh smiled. “Alright, then. I guess I’ll go catch up with Ash.” And so Goh turned around, too, to head further into the park when a gust of wind almost blew him off his feet, too.
“Sorry, Goh!” shouted Ash.
Chapter 7: On Being Yourself
Chapter Text
Chloe stood at the bus stop near her school, holding Eevee to her chest. She was breathing deeply. 'I'm so nervous… ' She was dressed in the pink top and jeans Ash had said ‘suited’ her a few days ago, with her yellow jacket tied around her waist in case it got particularly cold but mostly because she liked the look of it. On her shoulder she carried a handbag shaped like a cherry blossom flower, though it was mostly empty since she could carry her wallet and Eevee’s Poké Ball in her pockets. She had even given herself a spritz of the Roselia perfume that Chrysa had shown her all those weeks ago. She took a deep breath and her grip on Eevee tightened.
" Vui… " Eevee repeated, that nervousness being felt in stereo.
‘ It’s not a date or anything. It’s just the two of us going to the museum together. And maybe a few other things. But it’s not a date…!’
In her chest and against her wishes, her heart pounded, betraying her true thoughts to herself. “As soon as Ash gets here, I’ll relax… I know it.”
Taking out her phone, she looked at the time. It was only a little past noon now. Well within the window of arrival. ‘ I guess I don’t know how punctual he is or not… There’s so much I don’t know…’
Eevee’s ears twitched, as though she heard something, and she turned to look in the direction of the laboratory. Running down the sidewalk with Pikachu on his shoulder was Ash, but Chloe had to do a double take to make sure it was him. He was dressed like he normally was, except his cap was on Pikachu’s head, and his hair…
‘ His hair …’
Ash’s hair was not it’s typical messy self. It looked like someone had been trying to comb it - ‘ probably Goh,’ Chloe thought - and gave up halfway before relying on hair gel for the rest of it. It was angular, pointing down, and looked like a mess. ‘ But it means that he at least tried to look a bit fancier for this…’ Her heart skipped. ‘ Does he think this is a date? ’
Ash came to a stop right in front of her. “Sorry! Gettin’ ready took a bit longer than normal,” he said, hand shyly behind his head.
She shook her head. “Hey, you’re fine, Ash. It’s not like you’re an hour late or anything,” she said, smiling. “Why don’t we get going?”
He nodded. She noticed his eyes dart to the Eevee in her arms, and she could tell that he relaxed a bit. “Heh, I guess I shoulda figured that you’d have Eevee with ya, huh?”
She giggled, amused. “Why would I not have Eevee with me?” she asked rhetorically. “It’s not like you’d go anywhere without Pikachu.”
Ash chuckled, his wide smile beaming at her. “You understand,” he said. “Goh said y’ might be by yourself, though.”
‘ Of course he would, ’ she thought. ‘ He’s thinking this is a date.’
Ash reached out and scratched Eevee’s head. “I think it’s good t’ have a Pokémon with ya, though. It’s like always havin’ someone with you so you never get lonely.” As Eevee cooed gently under his touch, he turned to Pikachu. “Right, buddy?”
“ Pikapika ,” he agreed.
Ash’s stomach then grumbled loud enough to startle Eevee and Chloe both. The two of them stepped back and Ash looked very embarrassed once again. “S-Sorry! I took so long gettin’ ready… I guess I missed breakfast.”
“ Pikapi…” Pikachu shrugged, shifting the hat so that he could give Chloe an apologetic look.
She shrugged, smiling. “You wouldn’t be Ash if you weren’t hungry, would you?” she asked. “Luckily I know a great little cafe near the school that my friends and I go to sometimes. We can get something to eat there before we head more towards the museum.”
He nodded. “Thanks…”
As the two of them turned and began walking down the sidewalk together, Chloe shot a glance at Ash’s hands. ‘ If this were a date, I guess we’d hold hands, right?’ She felt Eevee’s fur under her fingertips. As long as she carried the Evolution Pokémon like this, there wouldn’t be any hand holding.
Looking at Ash, though, his other hand was holding his Rotomphone, and he was peering at the screen with an intense look. Pikachu was leaning over, also looking at the screen. Ash’s eyes wandered and noticed Chloe staring at him. He immediately jammed the phone into his pocket. “Eheh…,” he chuckled, stepping ahead of Chloe. “C-C’mon, I’m starving!”
She frowned. “Ash is acting pretty weird… What’s gotten into him…?” she asked.
“ Eievui…?” Eevee asked.
“There’s no way, right? He’s acting nervous, not… y’know…”
“ Vui… ”
She shook her head and caught up with him. He was once again studying his phone.
“O-Oh! Uh,” Ash stammered, putting his phone away. “I like your clothes! Very… uh… you! Y’know?”
“Ash, that sounds like an insult,” Chloe replied as she glared at him. “Or a very back-handed compliment.”
He held up his hands. “N-No! That’s not what I meant! I mean they suit you an’ they look comfortable an’ stuff!”
“They are, thank you,” she said, frowning. ‘ A compliment doesn’t work if you say it in an awful way… but why’s he acting so weird…?’
The cafe Chloe knew about was Sully’s Coffee, a chain that had locations from Hoenn to Sinnoh as she understood it. They served coffee beverages among others, and for Ash’s sake, they had a fairly robust lunch menu. As they approached the door, Ash stepped up front and grabbed the door, holding it open for her. Chloe blinked and felt her cheeks sting with that familiar warmth of her blush. “T-Thanks, Ash,” she said, stepping inside.
Ash looked at her, confused. “You’re welcome,” he said with a shrug.
Chloe stepped up to the counter and looked to place her order, but before she could, Ash stepped in front. “Don’t worry ‘bout payin’,” he said. “I’ve got this,”
“Oh,” she said, shrugging. “Yeah I guess you do owe me for Sugiya the other day, huh?”
“Y-Yeah, I mean-no! Heheh, I uh…” he was a stammering wreck. “I just thought it’d be something I should do y’know…?”
‘ The longer this goes on, the more I’m pretty sure I know what’s happening, ’ she thought.
She ordered a boba tea and half a sandwich. Ash ordered at least two pasta dishes, though Chloe wasn’t sure if that was just for him or for Pikachu as well.
When she moved to pick up the tray with their food, Ash once again interceded. “Uh, n-no! I’ve got it!” He almost bumped her out of the way and took the tray. “No need t’ worry! I’ve got it!” Chloe shrugged and let him do it, but as they approached the table he began to look frantic. “W-Wait! Hold it! Gimme a sec!”
“O-Okay…?” Chloe said, stopping in her tracks.
“ Vui? ” Eevee asked from her perch atop Chloe’s head, confused.
Ash quickly set the table they were sitting at, putting Chloe’s sandwich and tea on one side and his food on the other. Then, he pulled out the chair near Chloe’s items. “H-Here!” he said.
Chloe frowned. “Thanks,” she said as she sat down. As sweet as the gesture was (and there was definitely a part of her that appreciated it), Chloe had seen enough as Ash sat down in front of her.
“Time t’ eat…!” he said quietly to himself as he sat down, Pikachu hopping off his shoulder next to him. Taking the fork, he was about to bite into the pasta when Chloe coughed, drawing his attention to her. He looked at her, the nervousness still very evident in his brown eyes. “Y-Yeah, Chloe? What’s up?”
She frowned at him. “Ash, you’ve been acting weird ever since you showed up today,” she said as Eevee hopped onto the table where she began mimicking Pikachu and shoving her face into his pasta. “What’s wrong? You’re not acting like yourself at all.”
Ash laughed and looked away. “W-What’d ya mean?” he asked, trying to avoid the obvious.
“Your hair looks like a mess,” she said bluntly. “You’ve been trying to act like…” ‘ a gentleman’, the phrase completed in her mind. “...someone you’re not,” she settled on. “I mean, I appreciate you holding the door and pulling out my chair and stuff but that’s not the Ash I expected.”
Ash’s nervous evasion melted into a guilty look on his face as his shoulders slumped. “S-sorry…”
“Goh told you to do this stuff, didn’t he?”
Ash sat up and his eyes widened in surprise. “W-wait, how’d you know?”
“I didn’t,” she admitted. “Until you confirmed it just now.” ‘ Goh, you meddler…’ she silently cursed him. ‘ You wanted to set this up so it would be like a date.’
Ash’s expression dropped and he had a guilty look on his face. “Sorry, Chloe,” he said. “When I told Goh where I was goin’ today, he said there was lotsa stuff I had to t’ be nice an’ thank you for goin’ with me.” he said. “I was trying to do what he said. Goh said it was super important that I did all this stuff.”
She sighed. “His heart’s in the right place,” Chloe said. “But you’re not acting like yourself. You’re all nervous and second guessing yourself. That’s not you. You’re always so sure of yourself and honest.”
“Sorry…” he said again, his head drooping.
She reached over and pulled the hat off of Pikachu’s head and put it on Ash’s. “You don’t have to apologize. You were just trying to be nice to me, and I appreciate that. But I wanted to hang out with you, so you should act like yourself.”
Ash looked up, eyes wide. “Really? You won’t get mad if I don’t do all that stuff Goh said I should do?”
“I’ll get mad if you keep doing it,” she said. “Just… act like Ash. That’s all I want.” Chloe smiled at him, gently.
Ash adjusted his hat so that it was sitting on his head in that familiar way. “Thanks, Chloe.”
“You’re welcome.”
And with that, Ash abandoned all matters of politeness and anything resembling table manners and threw himself into eating the meal placed in front of him. Chloe sat back and sipped her boba and watched him eat. ‘ Maybe he’s not the most outwardly thoughtful or romantically minded guy,’ she thought, ‘ but he’s earnest, and that’s cute in it’s own way, right?’
Thinking of him as cute caused her cheeks to burn, but she dismissed it before splitting her sandwich with Eevee so that Pikachu could eat more of his pasta. If Ash noticed, he didn’t say anything about it. Instead he slurped several noodles all at once. “Hey, since we’ve got th’ rest of the day, why don’t we do more stuff instead of just going to the museum?”
She blinked at him. “Aren’t you excited to see the museum?”
“Yeah, totally!” he said, grinning widely in that way that was making her smile more and more. “But they’re open for a while, so why don’t we hang out and check out other stuff, too? I bet there’s tons of fun stuff you know about in Vermilion City that Goh doesn’t.”
Giggling, she tapped a finger to her chin. “Well, there is this one place I had heard that was opening today,” she said. “But I dunno if you really wanted to head there. There’s an arcade opening a few streets over from here today.”
“An arcade?” Ash repeated, face still splattered with some of the pasta sauce. “Like video games and stuff?”
“Yeah,” she said. “It’s n-”
“That sounds awesome! I never really get a chance to play that stuff, so I’d love t’ check it out!”
Chloe frowned. ‘ It’s not really my kind of place…’ she was about to say, but Ash’s excitement for the idea made it difficult to turn down. “W-Well, we don’t know how busy the place will be on opening day… we can at least take a look, though.”
“Thanks, Chloe! We better eat up to get there as fast as we can, right buddy?” He turned to Pikachu, who nodded, and the two of them began practically shoveling food into their mouths. Chloe lowered her head to try to avoid being seen by anyone sitting across from Ash and his Pokémon doing something embarrassing. Hopefully her luck would hold out as they headed to the arcade.
The Thunderbolt Arcade was located in what internet searching told Chloe used to be a two floor clothing store in the bottom of a much larger commercial building. There was a newly hung large sign over the door that made her cringe. ‘ Purple and yellow? Talk about an eyesore…’
Beside her, Ash was getting excited. “There it is, Pikachu! We’re almost there!” he said, turning to the mouse on his shoulder.
“ Piii-ka!” he cheered in response.
“ Eiiie-vui! ” cheered the Evolution Pokémon from Chloe’s arms where she was held.
Ash chuckled. “Eevee’s pretty pumped up, too!”
Chloe frowned at the betrayal dealt to her by the small, fluffy Normal-Type. “I’m sure she is…” she said coolly.
As they approached the front of the building, Chloe saw that there was a queue to enter the building. It seemed to be moving at a pretty decent rate, stopping as people were checked in and let into the arcade. “They look really busy, but I guess they aren’t looking too bad…” she said.
“C’mon, let’s get in line!” Ash said, grabbing her by the hand that wasn’t bearing Eevee’s load. He yanked her ahead, making her cheeks flare up and almost causing her to stumble, but she kept up with him as charged to the end of the line.
In the back of her mind, a fearful streak popped up, wondering if there were onlookers wondering if they were a couple on a date, but her more immediate thought was at how rough Ash’s hand felt, holding onto hers. It felt different than she expected; much rougher and stronger than she thought a boy her age would have. ‘ Even Dad’s hands don’t feel like this…’ she thought, her cheeks growing ever redder as Ash led her into the line where he thankfully released her hand.
Chloe scraped her own fingers against her palm, and they felt so soft in comparison to Ash’s. Eevee was busy cheering at the rush of speed she just experienced. Looking around, more people were already beginning to queue up behind the two of them, and Chloe began ducking down.
“What are you doing?” Ash asked, tilting his head as Pikachu mirrored the movement.
“I-uh… N-nothing!” She lied. ‘ I can’t tell him I’m expecting Mika to be around here somewhere… I don’t need more people telling me this is what it very clearly isn’t.’
Ash saw the gears turning in her head, but he didn’t seem to be able to put it together. “Alright. It’s our turn, soon! I’m so psyched!”
“It is?!” Chloe looked up, somewhat shocked. Sure enough, the next few people were moving in ahead of them and it was time for Ash and Chloe to enter. The bored looking man with wavy brown hair down to his ears wearing a purple and yellow ‘Thunderbolt Arcade’ themed t-shirt looked down at Ash and nodded before motioning to let him in.
And as Ash strode through the door, lights and sirens began flashing. Several party poppers also sprayed confetti in his face as Chloe watched from behind.
“Congratulations!” the bored looking man, now strangely energetic, said cheerfully. “You’re our 250th guest here on our opening day!”
Ash scratched behind his head, looking at the man before his surprised mouth widened into a grin. “Oh, awesome! Thank you!”
“As a prize,” the man continued, “here is a special prize that people can win from our wonderful prize wall by exchanging tickets won from some of our arcade games!” He reached behind the podium he had been sitting at and took out a small plush Pikachu doll. “Here you go, sir!”
“Aww, it’s cute! Thanks!” Ash said, handing it to Pikachu, who squeezed the smaller Pikachu closely. Beyond that, he didn’t seem to give it any mind as he walked in, Chloe quickly following behind him.
“Wow, that’s really lucky, Ash!” Chloe said as Eevee began raising her paws up and reaching for the toy.
“You think so?” Ash said, grinning. “I mean, I guess. But I’m more excited about all the fun we’re gonna have here, y’know?”
She nodded somewhat hesitantly. “R-Right…! What do you wanna try first?”
Any hesitation was lost on Ash. “Let’s find something that’ll blow us away like pow!”
“ Pi-ka! ”
“ Ei-vui! ”
Once again, she was out-voted. Sighing, she took out her wallet from her pocket. “You got lunch, so let me get this, okay? I’ll go get us some tokens so we can play.”
“Got it! I’ll find us something fun!”
The two of them split up, with Chloe turning towards the machine to take money and give tokens they could insert into the machines. As she pulled out her yellow-and-green wallet with yellow hearts that reminded her of Yamper, her attention was drawn to a bright machine in the far corner of the floor.
It was bright blue and large, with four places for players to sit. From this distance, she could read several signs posted on it: “History”, “Science”, “Music”, “Entertainment”, “Pokémon”, and “Geography”.
“I think that’s a quiz game…” she said. Even from back here, she could see a crowd gathered around it, and there was a part of her that wanted to play it as the tokens jingled out of the machine in exchange for the bill she inserted. Sighing, she scooped the coins into a nearby cup from a stack the arcade had placed there for just that purpose.
‘ There’s zero chance Ash would want to do a quiz game like that. You know he’s bad at that stuff, so why would you want him to have a bad time?’
Grumbling, she turned and began looking for Ash. The trainer was gawking at a machine advertising a huge spaceship on the side. Pikachu was standing on the back of the seat, still holding the Pikachu plushie.
“This one looks awesome! Look, two seats! It’s even two players!” Ash said, slapping the back of the seats.
‘ It feels like he’s trying to sell me this thing… but what harm could it be?’ she thought. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s play, then.”
She sat Eevee on the back of the machine next to Pikachu and then took her seat. Ash sat down roughly, bouncing into the plastic chair next to her. Chloe slipped the tokens into the machine and took the controls into her hands.
In the game itself, players would aim their guns at the screen, which made the aiming cursor move. Pulling the trigger fired a laser to shoot enemy ships and counter their attacks, while both players firing with overlapped cursors would cause their guns to fire a more powerful laser, incentivizing people to play together to make the game easier, and thus absorb more tokens and money for the arcade.
Chloe glanced over at Ash. His brown eyes were focused and his eyebrows were furrowed as he looked at the screen. Even though this game was just something they were playing for fun in an afternoon, Ash was seemingly taking it incredibly seriously. And the way his lips curled into that confident grin made her heart skip, and she realized she was staring. Chloe looked away and began focusing on the game.
The controls felt a bit heavy in her hands, but they were simple enough to intuit. Soon she was blasting away at the ships flying past. ‘ I don’t know if these are aliens or if this is a movie or what… ’ she thought.
Ash didn’t seem to care one way or the other, just blasting to and fro, shouting as he did. Chloe did her best to fit in and play the game his way. ‘ It’s not a date. We’re just having fun. So I should try to have fun with him, right?’
Chloe focused on the game just long enough to see a missile shoot past her and ‘hit’ her, turning her half of the screen red and depleting some of the ‘Shield’ meter that she surmised represented her health in the game. She redoubled her efforts as the ship she and Ash were defending went into the trench on the moon they were attacking. The two of them aimed their shots on their sides of the screen, taking down the enemy ships and attacks as they came. Somehow, they came to the end and focused their lasers together to destroy the barrier at the end, clearing the first stage. ‘ I have no idea how I did that…’
“That was awesome, Chloe!” Ash said, beaming. “You were like blam, and then our lasers went shoop together! That was really cool!”
“Y-Yeah…! It really was…!” she replied, feigning understanding as the second stage started. Unfortunately this one didn’t go as well for Chloe as the missiles that damaged the player came faster and more frequently. Despite her best efforts, she ended up defeated with a Continue prompt counting down on her side of the screen as Ash continued blasting a bit more before getting eliminated himself.
“Heh, yeah,” he said. “That happens when you don’t play much. But it was a lot of fun to try out, right?” He turned to Pikachu and Eevee, who were a short distance away, gently tossing the plush Pikachu between the two of them.
Pikachu caught the plush and turned to Ash with a “ Pikachu!” in agreement.
“Why don’t we look for something else?” Chloe said, standing up from the machine. “Let’s find another game to play.”
“You’ve got it!” Ash said as he began to look for another game to play, beginning to wander as Pikachu chased from behind.
Chloe took a moment to pick up Eevee. “Are you having fun?” she asked her Pokémon.
“ Eievui! ” came the excited response.
‘ At least one of us is…’ she thought.
“Chloe, over here!”
Looking up, she saw Ash waving at her from a pair of machines that even Chloe recognized. They were the large cabinets for a dancing game where players stepped on buttons to match arrows in time with a chosen song. Ash had managed to find one of the few machines not populated with a couple. And Chloe did note that it looked largely like couples playing the machines in this area. ‘ It’s just my overactive imagination ,’ she told herself. ‘ He doesn’t really think…!’
Ash offered her a hand to help her get up on to the dancing stage, which she took, looking into his warm brown eyes as she did. Quietly, she hoped the dim lights of the arcade kept her blush hidden from him.
Ash quickly pivoted to just looking at the machine. “Okay, let’s get started!” Chloe just looked at the side of his face, still somewhat lost before remembering and taking some tokens from the cup and putting enough credits in the machine for another two player game.
Chloe began bouncing on the buttons to choose a moderately easy difficulty, but she saw Ash ramping his difficulty all the way up to the max. She raised an eyebrow. “Ash, I didn’t know you were good at this kind of game.”
He laughed. “Well, I don’t wanna brag, but I do like taking everything on at the hardest difficulty setting!”
Chloe ended up picking the setting in the middle. “I think I’ll take it a bit easier than you…” she said. Bouncing on the buttons a bit more, she was deciding on a song. “Maybe… this one?”
The imagery associated with the song was of a girl wandering a large maze, with the song called, fittingly enough, ‘The Labyrinth’.
“Alright!” Ash said, pumping his fists. “Let’s try it!”
As the song started, it had a slow deliberate beat, but that was in contrast to the constant twisting steps that the arrows indicated, several times requiring her to jump and spin as she tried to keep up with a difficulty setting that was clearly beyond her.
And then she glanced over at Ash, missing every note.
Taking a moment to appraise what he was doing wrong, she was flabbergasted to watch his feet flailing all over the dance pad, only rarely hitting a direction and never in time with the song’s requirements.
Turning away to not get mortified in embarrassment, she focused on doing her best with the song as it continued, realizing quickly that the only reason the song continued at all was because she was managing to keep up. But dancing wasn’t something she was accustomed to, no matter how much she pretended to dance to music in her room by herself; she lacked the coordination to keep it up.
Barely, mercifully, the song came to an end, and Chloe leaned against the handrail, panting as the game deemed her performance worthy of a B grade. Ash’s grade, given at the same time, was F, with somehow 0 points earned.
“A-Ash…,” she spoke up, still not grasping what just happened. “If you’re not good at this, why did you crank up the difficulty so high?”
Ash beamed his happy-go-lucky smile at her. “Because it’s fun taking on hard challenges, you know? Even if it was hard, it was fun seeing how well I could do!”
‘ Or couldn’t,’ Chloe thought to herself, her irritation noted in the tone she took in her mind. “I’ll be right back,” she said, stepping away from the machine.
Ash blinked in confusion. “Huh? What’s up?”
“I just need a moment…” she said. “I’ll be right back.” She pointed in the direction of the restrooms.
Thankfully, in this instance, Ash could take a hint. “Oh! Uh, right. We’ll be here, right, buddy?”
Pikachu, who was a little better at picking up subtext than Ash, looked at Chloe apologetically. “ Pikapi pikachu…” he said, as if he was saying ‘Sorry that Ash is like this…’
“Right, come on, Eevee.” Chloe turned on her heel and walked to the restroom, Eevee following her at her heels.
Entering the restroom, she approached the mirror. ‘ I just need a moment to compose myself, ’ she thought. She looked in the mirror and grimaced. The girl looking back at her looked exhausted, even though Chloe herself didn’t feel tired, only stressed. Her hair was poking out of her braid at random intervals, and in general it looked messy. “I guess that game did more damage than I thought…” she said to herself.
More than that, though, she looked like she was hating being there.
“Why am I not having fun…?”
“ Eievui…?”
Chloe unraveled her braid and began fixing it as quickly as she could. It wasn’t something that she practiced without her mother to help very much, but she could make due in a pinch like this one. Looking at her messy hair, she was reminded of how Ash’s hair looked earlier in the day before she put his hat back on him, returning him to some sense of normalcy. And the irony of the situation struck her.
“I’m such a hypocrite,” she said to Eevee.
“ Vui? ” she asked back.
“I got on Ash’s case about acting weird and now look at me. I got all dressed up and put on perfume. I’m acting like I should be scared that people will see me out with him, I’m getting dragged into stuff I don’t think is any fun… I’m doing the exact thing I told Ash NOT to do. I’m not being myself.”
She pulled her hair back, looking in the mirror. “I’m acting like this is a date when it isn’t. I hardly know anything about Ash, when you get down to it.” She watched the heat in her cheeks rise to the surface. “...maybe I like him. A bit. But is that the image of him I have in my head in the moonlight? Or is that really who he is, in the end? I don’t know.”
She began braiding the two parts of her long hair together. “I can’t act boldly or just jump into things and say anything when I’m not sure. If I have feelings for Ash, I should know exactly what those feelings are before I tell him about them.” She picked up her flower-shaped barrette and pulled it back towards her head, holding her braid together. “This is just one more thing. I’ll take my time and decide, just like Eevee. No pressure.”
Turning on the faucet, she splashed a little water in her face. “Alright. No more acting wishy-washy,” she said, stealing her resolve. “Instead of worrying about what other people may think like Goh or Mika or anyone else, I should be wondering what I think. And what I think is…” She paused before reaching her conclusion.
“I think I’m going to just try to enjoy myself and be myself. No more of this overthinking stuff. I’m just going to be myself!”
“ Eievui! ” cheered the Pokémon from the floor. Whether she understood what Chloe was talking about or not was a mystery itself.
“C’mon, Eevee, let’s go meet up with Ash and this time, we’re going to do something that I want to do!”
Chapter 8: On Learning
Chapter Text
When Chloe returned to the darkened arcade’s atmosphere, Ash was standing still at the dance machine, very clearly pretending to be confused as to which of the Pikachu sitting on the rail were his partner. Pikachu was sitting perfectly still next to the plush as Ash pretended to hum and haw, waiting for Chloe to return. “Hey, Ash!” she called out, making both Ash and Pikachu drop the ruse.
“Hey! Oh, you fixed your hair!” he said, immediately noticing the change. “Sorry about that…”
She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, waving off his concern. “I’m just glad I didn’t keep you waiting for so long.”
Ash put his hands on his hips. “So, what’s next?” he asked, looking around the arcade for the next game to play before Chloe spoke up.
“Actually, there is a game I’d like to play,” she said. “It’s a bit slower than the ones we’ve played so far. Do you mind if we go check it out?”
Ash shrugged. “Why not? Could be a fun change of pace, right?”
She beamed a smile back and nodded. “Thanks, Ash. C’mon, it’s this way.”
Ash followed Chloe closely as Pikachu picked up the plush and carried it, with Eevee carrying the cup of tokens, trying to mimic Pikachu as she did.
Chloe led Ash mostly backwards through the facility, past the entrance and the token machine, heading back to the machine she saw on the other side of the facility.
The machine was bright blue and large, riddled with flashing lights. There were four seats in a semi-circle around the display though only two were occupied at the moment. There were six smaller signs across the top, over the display labeled with the following categories: “History”, “Science”, “Music”, “Entertainment”, “Pokémon”, and “Geography”. Above that, on a white background was the blue logo for the game, “Trivia Time”.
The Trivia Time machine had drawn quite a crowd, which made Chloe curious as to why there were only two people playing it and the rest of the crowd was watching. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that one of the competitors was answering every question before his competition. Watching the screen, it shuffled through the choices before landing on Geography. The machine displayed the question: “What chain of islands lies directly south of the Kanto Region?”
The person answering all the questions quickly hit his buzzer, and three answers were displayed: The Sevii Islands, the Orange Islands, and the Decolore Islands.
The young man smirked, and Chloe took a look at him. He was wearing a plaid button-up shirt with a pocket protector. He had long, somewhat unkempt black hair and sported thick glasses. ‘ This guy looks like a real nerd…’ she thought.
“A more unintelligent person may be intimidated by this question,” said the nerd. “But I have the intellect to understand that the answer is the Sevii Islands!” He hit the button in front of him that matched the Sevii Islands, and the screen displayed a green circle, indicating that his answer was correct, showing that he had answered twenty questions correctly compared to the other participant, an unassuming boy wearing a large red hoodie, having answered zero.
An onlooker from the crowd called out. “That’s another win for the Zekenator!”
The nerd, this ‘Zekenator’ stood on his seat at the machine. “No applause necessary! I’m only showing off my natural intellectual talents!” The boy in the hoodie slipped away, clearly looking for another game to play as the Zekenator surveyed the crowd. “Who’ll be my next intellectual challenger?”
Chloe glanced over at Ash from the corner of her eye. He was looking on with a confused look on his face. “...this is some sorta quiz battle game?” he asked.
She turned to him. “The way it works is the game randomly chooses between the six topics and asks a question. The first to answer twenty correct wins!”
Ash shrugged. “Uh… I might be able t’ answer Pokémon questions but the rest of this might be too much for me…”
Pikachu hopped up from the ground right onto Ash’s shoulder and patted the trainer on the head. “ Pika, pika… ”
“YOU!”
Both Chloe and Ash turned back to the machine, seeing the Zekenator point his finger straight at the girl. Chloe blinked in confusion. “Me?”
The Zekenator gave her a crooked smile. The way the light of the game’s screen cast his face in shadow gave Chloe a chill down her spine. ‘ He looks like a real creep.’
“Yes,” he said. “You. What’s your name, miss?”
“Chloe,” she said, staring him back in his creepy face.
Ash turned to her. “C’mon, Chloe, we don’t gotta bother with this guy.”
She shook her head. “This sort of game is exactly the kind I want to play.” She turned to the Zekenator and grinned. “Just watch me wipe the arcade’s floor with this guy.” She stepped forward through the crowd, standing next to the seat previously occupied by the boy in red. “I’m not going to be a pushover like your last opponent. I’m pretty good at trivia games myself,” she said.
The Zekenator snorted. “We’ll see,” he said. He inserted his tokens into the machine for his turn at playing.
Eevee scrambled through the crowd up to Chloe’s feet, and the girl leaned down and put Eevee on the panel in front of her, where her buzzer and answer buttons were located. Eevee gleefully shook her head and jangled the tokens in the cup. As Chloe took the tokens out and inserted them, her opponent chuckled. “So, the little girl brought her pet Pokémon with her, huh?”
Chloe scowled bitterly at the nerdy boy. “You better just get ready, ‘Zeke’,” she said.
“That’s the Zekenator!”
The roulette began and the first topic came up: History. The question began reading out across the screen. Glancing over at her opponent, Chloe saw that he was clearly letting her take this one with the way he leaned back in his seat, clearly trying to take up as much room as possible.
Chloe read the question: “What year did humans first land on the moon?” She hit the buzzer to make the questions appear. ‘ This one’s easy, ’ she thought. The answers were 1956, 1969, and 1977. Chloe hit the button indicating 1969, and the green circle appeared, earning her first point.
“A simple question,” Zeke responded, sitting up. “But get ready for the next one.”
The roulette indicated Geography was next. The question read: “What is the tallest mountain in Kanto?”
Smirking, Zeke went to hit his buzzer, but Chloe’s hands were faster than his. The three answers appeared: Mt. Moon, Mt. Silver, and Mt. Stone. The nerd looked at the girl in surprise, and she hit the button for Mt. Moon. The screen indicated that Chloe answered correctly, to which Zeke slammed his hands against the machine. “What?! Mt. Silver is way taller than Mt. Moon!”
“Yeah, but Mt. Silver is in Johto,” Chloe responded with a shrug. “It asked for Kanto.”
Zeke sat back, fuming. Chloe looked over her shoulder to where Ash was standing in the crowd. He was just staring at her, mouth slightly agape. She flashed a grin and a victory sign at him before turning back to the machine.
The next topic was Music: “What Galarian rock group released the song ‘All You Need Is Love’?”
Zeke hesitated again, and behind her, Chloe heard the crowd’s murmurs. “Zeke always struggled with music and entertainment…” they said.
Chloe hit the button, and hit the button for the Beatles, which gave her another point.
Zeke hit in for the next question, on the topic of History, asking when the first modern Poké Balls were developed. “1925!” he said, earning his first correct answer to Chloe’s three.
The next topic was entertainment: “Before his starring role in Gigantic , what band was Fiorella Cappuccino part of?” Chloe hit the button and then the correct answer, ‘PMAP’.
“How am I supposed to know that…?” grumbled Zeke.
Chloe just smirked. ‘ There’s no way this guy’s gonna beat me at this.’
The next few questions came up, and Chloe traded points with Zeke a few times, though these exchanges still left her in the lead. Zeke answered a science question incorrectly, giving Chloe a chance to take the point for herself, which left him fuming.
The next topic was “Pokémon”, with the score being Chloe’s 8 to Zeke’s 3. As the question began to display, Zeke reached over and slammed his hand on Chloe’s buzzer, making both her and Eevee jump from where they were sitting.
“Sorry~!” said the Zekenator in an exaggerated tone. “I guess I slipped! Please forgive me!”
Chloe glared back. “Yeah, a real big accident,” she said. She heard some shuffling in the crowd behind her before someone called Zeke out on his blatant cheating, but she focused on the question. Rather, the part of the question that was displayed: “Eevee and Pikachu-”
She frowned. ‘Eevee and Pikachu? What about them…?’
Looking at the answers listed, the correct solution became obvious. She selected “Thunder Stone”, earning yet another point.
“Of course an Electric-Type like Pikachu evolves with the Thunder Stone,” she said out loud. “That’s just logical.”
“Lucky break…” scowled Zeke.
A series of entertainment questions interspersed with Pokémon questions came in quick succession. “Brad Van Darn! Professor Sycamore! Mecha-Tyranitar!”
Ash found himself taken aback at the second answer. “Wait, Professor Sycamore discovered Fairy-Type Pokémon?”
Chloe looked over her shoulder. “Yeah? We have a Pokémonology class in school and stuff like this comes up. It’s pretty basic stuff, isn’t it?”
The crowd gasped. “Wow, she must go to some school!” a voice said, rising over the now murmuring crowd. “Maybe Zeke isn’t going to get this after all…?”
As the next question came on the screen, Zeke slammed both his hands against the machine, startling Chloe and Eevee both. In their moment’s hesitation, Zeke hit the button before answering correctly that Staryu is a Water-Type.
“Hey, not cool, Zeke!” the crowd called as the booing began. “Taking it out on this girl just ‘cause she’s smarter than you!”
“I thought you’d wanna play fair!” another voice called.
Chloe listened closely for Ash to join in, but the Palletonian was remaining oddly quiet. Chloe looked to Eevee, who’s dark eyes stared back at her. She nodded and focused on the next question, music.
Zeke hit the button just as the question was coming up and was given the option of three names: “Koffing and the Toxics”, “Air Battle”, or “Enter the Beartic”. “W-What am I supposed to pick…?!” he groaned, hitting the button for “Enter the Beartic” before receiving a big red X, indicating a mistake.
Chloe waited for the question to appear: “What is the name of Unova’s top punk rock band?” Chloe looked back over the options. ‘ Between the two, only one of these can be the answer… even if I’m not really into punk rock.’ Hitting the button for “Koffing and the Toxics”, she scored yet another point.
Demoralized at Chloe extending her lead even further, he begins trying even more desperately to have Chloe mess up. She kept her focus forward as she answered a question about the atomic number of helium. “Mess up! C’mon, you don’t know this! Take your furball and go play some dancing game!”
She answered the next question on the age of the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town correctly. “I prefer games like this where I can think things through.” She turned her eyes in his direction. “Maybe you should go play the dancing game instead. You don’t seem very good at this one.”
The crowd gasped and went quiet as Chloe returned to answering the next question correctly.
“This girl’s blowing Zeke away!”
“The Zekenator? Maybe Zero-nater!”
The crowd rose up and continued chattering. Zeke sat down and tried to answer the last questions as best he could, but Chloe kept answering questions, just like she was at school. The final score on the board was Chloe’s winning twenty compared to Zeke’s 4. A complete blow out.
“Zeke couldn’t win even when he was cheating and trying to mess her up!”
“What a way to go out!”
“So much for the Zekenator!”
Zeke turned to Chloe and stared at her through his glasses for a moment before jumping down from the machine and fleeing from the arcade.
Ash is still standing stunned as Chloe also descends the machine. “Hey, why don’t we get out of here, too?” she asked.
Ash blinked in her direction and nodded. Chloe led Ash back to the door, with Pikachu carrying the plush and Eevee carrying the cup of tokens jingling close behind.
“This is much better than that dark arcade,” Chloe said, sitting on a bench in one of the small parks scattered around Vermilion City. The sun was hanging low in the sky, not quite setting but evening was quickly approaching. The park had a small area for Pokémon Battles as well as a few flower beds all planted with orange poppies.
Chloe had slipped the cup of tokens into her handbag while Pikachu and Eevee were poking at the plush Pikachu, sitting between her and Ash, who was taking a moment to breathe.
Suddenly, he turned to her. “Chloe, that was really cool back there!”
She turned to him and blinked. “What was?”
“All that stuff you knew!” he said. “The moon landing and who discovered Fairy-Types and all that other stuff!”
She shrugged. “Well, you learn a lot in school. And I guess I’ve been in school for a while. So I’ve picked up little odds and ends for trivia. And I’ve watched a lot of movies and listened to a lot of music so the entertainment category wasn’t very hard either.”
“But still!” he protested. “That’s really cool! I know about Pokémon an’ bein’ outdoors and stuff, but you know so much stuff I don’t!” He leaned back, looking at the sky. “It makes you really think about how big the world really is, and what sorts of things are in it, you know?”
Chloe leaned back as well, only she was looking at her shoes. “Well, I may know some facts about science and history and stuff, but I don’t know a lot about everything. Just a little. You seem like you know tons about the stuff you know about.”
Ash chuckled. “Heh, yeah… I guess so. But that makes it that much cooler, you know?” he said grinning, putting a positive spin on it. “We’re really different, and that just means we have that much more t’ learn from each other! I’d really like t’ learn more from you.” He paused as he spoke, turning uncharacteristically sheepish. “I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
She smiled, feeling that now familiar flush rise to her cheeks. “No… I mean, I’d like that. I’d like to keep learning from you, too.”
Ash smiled back at her, his brown eyes looking very warm in the setting sun, and Chloe felt her heart begin to pound in her chest. That familiar warmth returned to her cheeks. As she looked into his eyes, seeing her reflection, her heart skipped, and a thought rose in her mind all on it’s own.
‘ Maybe this was a date after all.’
“HEY!”
Chloe practically jumped in surprise, turning away from Ash. The voice was familiar if only due to it’s recency. Approaching them from the sidewalk and entering the park was Zeke, his bedraggled appearance looking even worse somehow in the setting sun. ‘ Of all the people who could have turned up… why this guy?’ She sighed, and glared at him with the same icy coolness she treated anyone she found weird or annoying. “Can I help you? I don’t do tutoring unless you’re going to pay me the same rate I get when I babysit.”
Zeke pushed up his glasses, causing the light to glare off of them. “Ah, a rapier sharp wit! Just what I’d expect from the girl who was able to defeat me!”
Chloe felt a chill go down her spine. “What, do you want a rematch with me? Maybe some other time-”
“Oh, I want more than a rematch, Chloe,” he said, pointing at her. “You deserve to enjoy conversation with someone your intellectual equal! Thrilling conversation about philosophy and poetry! We deserve each other’s superior minds, wouldn’t you agree?”
Chloe cringed and Eevee mimicked her cringing. “Ew.”
Ash saw how uncomfortable Zeke was making Chloe and stood up. “Hey, Chloe doesn’t wanna talk to you, so can you leave her alone?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Zeke said back. “I think I’d very much like the chance to talk to her alone.”
Chloe felt her stomach twist and felt herself growing even more pale. Ash frowned, glancing back at her before stepping forward. “Look, I dunno why you wanna play another trivia game with her so bad, but if you wanna compete in something, why don’t you have a battle with me?”
“ “A battle?” “
Chloe and Zeke both asked the question at the same time. Chloe was the first to follow up, though. “Wait, Ash, you don’t really have to,” she said.
“If this guy’s just gonna keep chasin’ you, it’s better t’ just handle it, right? Can I handle this for ya? As thanks for today?”
Chloe blinked, her heart beating against her chest like Grookey smacking his stick against the ground. “S-Sure…”
“Very well,” Zeke said, smirking as he pushed up his glasses. “But if I win, Chloe’s gotta come with me! We’ll have much to discuss, I’m sure!”
She grimaced. “I’m not a trophy…”
“So, does a one-on-one battle sound good?” Ash asked.
Zeke sneered. “It sounds excellent! All the better to end this quickly.” Zeke reached into one of the pockets on his cargo shorts and took out a Poké Ball, opening it in the palm of his hand. “And you’ll face my most powerful and loyal Pokémon!”
The bright light burst forth and took the form of a purple serpentine Pokémon that glowered over Ash. “Cha-bok!”
Ash’s eyes lit up. “Hey, an Arbok! It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those!”
Chloe took out her Rotom Phone and pointed it at Arbok. A picture of him appeared on the screen, and the Pokédex began to speak in its stately voice. “Arbok, the Cobra Pokémon. A Poison-Type and the evolved form of Ekans. Arbok’s body is terrifically strong, able to crush even steel oil drums. The latest research has determined that there are over 20 possible arrangements of the patterns on its stomach.”
Ash turned to the bench. “How about it, buddy? Wanna work off some energy?”
Pikachu slapped his own cheeks, making sparks fly off, startling Eevee and Chloe before hopping out in front of them as well as Ash. “ Pika!”
Chloe watched from the side. ‘ Come to think of it, I haven’t seen that many Pokémon battles between trainers. And most of the few that I’ve seen were because of Team Rocket… ” She looked at Ash, blinking. ‘ I wonder what this is going to be like…’
“Let’s get this battle started!” Ash said, punching a fist forward into the air. “Pikachu, Quick Attack!”
Pikachu’s body began to glow with power before he shot forward at blinding, lightning fast speeds towards Arbok. As Pikachu charged forward, Arbok raised his body up, showing the frightening pattern on his body to Pikachu. The Electric-Type caught a full glimpse of the intimidating pattern and glowed softly. He collided with Arbok, knocking the cobra backwards, but Arbok didn’t seem to have felt it much, if at all.
“Wait, why didn’t Quick Attack do anything?” Chloe asked. “When you used it against Eevee, it was so strong!”
“Arbok’s got an’ ability called Intimidate,” Ash said, his eyes focused forward, answering Chloe without turning from the battle. “Seein’ the pattern on it reduces a Pokémon’s physical power.” And though Chloe couldn’t see it, Ash gave Zeke a wild smirk. “But just because it’s reduced doesn't mean it’s gone. If Arbok gets close t’ us, we’ll show him just how we like t’ battle!”
“ Pika chu!”
Zeke snorted. “Ha! If you thought my Arbok’s Intimidate is scary, just wait until I start using moves! Arbok, it’s time for Sludge Bomb!”
Arbok opened his mouth and began spewing orbs of concentrated venom at Pikachu from across the field.
“Dodge it!”
Pikachu leapt up into the air, and the sludge splattered across the ground, the acrid venom bubbling as it melted into the dirt with a sound and smell that reminded Chloe of wet garbage, making her stomach churn.
“Got you!” Zeke shouted. “Arbok, use Glare! Stop Pikachu in his tracks!”
Arbok’s eyes glowed blood red and, and when Pikachu locked eyes with the cobra, his body was cast in a red glow as well.
“Pikachu, use Electro Web!”
Shaking off the red glow with no effect, Pikachu formed a ball of electric energy on the end of his tail before flipping mid-air and sending the ball at Arbok. The ball opened up into a net made of electricity before wrapping around Arbok, shocking the Poison-Type.
Zeke’s glasses fell off his nose a bit, revealing his brown eyes before he pushed them back up. “But how? Isn’t Pikachu supposed to be paralzyed from Arbok’s Glare?”
“You’d think that,” Ash said, smirking. “But Pikachu’s an Electric-Type, and you can’t paralyze an electric Pokémon!”
“ Pika pikachu!”
Arbok shook off the Electroweb and though injured, was still raring to fight. “Then we need a strategy change. Arbok, use Dig!”
“ Chabo !”
Arbok twisted and shoved his head into the dirt as easy as Chloe herself might stick her head underwater before the rest of the cobra slithered underground right behind. “What now…?” she asked.
“Alright, buddy, you know what to do,” Ash said. “Use Iron Tail!”
Pikachu leapt into the air as Zeke laughed. “How do you plan on hitting my Arbok when he’s underground? A foolish error!”
Ash’s confidence and bravado hadn’t faded at all. “Oh, we’re not aiming for Arbok. Our target’s the ground!”
“ Chuuu… pi-ka!”
Pikachu stored the energy of the move in his tail before bringing it down like a hammer into the ground with such intensity that the battlefield shattered into pieces with hunks of rock and dirt flying into the air.
Chloe felt her breath catch in her chest. ‘This is the sort of thing you can do in Pokémon battles?!’ she thought, with Eevee watching Pikachu’s moves closely, eyes wide with wonder and excitement.
“Im-possible!” Zeke shouted.
“Let’s give ‘em another Iron Tail, buddy!”
Pikachu leapt through the falling debris he had knocked up into the air, tail glowing once more. He slammed his harder than steel tail into Arbok, catching the Poison-Type by surprise.
“While it’s close, use Wrap!” shouted the Zekenator at the battle unfolding in the air.
Arbok’s long body wrapped around Pikachu, constricting his arms and tail as the two of them fell to the ground with a crash, kicking up dirt in the now ruined battlefield.
“Squeeze hard, Arbok! No one’s ever been able to escape your Wrap!”
“ Cha !” shouted Arbok, giving his all to squeeze the life out of Pikachu.
Pikachu grunted against the force that was being exerted against him. “ Pi ka…!”
“Maybe we can’t escape from you,” Ash said as he twisted his hat backwards on his head, “but you can’t get away from us, either! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
Zeke gasped as soon as he realized his tactical error. “O-Oh no! Arbok, get away from them!”
Pikachu’s cheeks began to spark as Arbok’s tail tried to unravel from around the mouse, but the Poison-Type wasn’t fast enough. “ Piii-kaaaaa-chuuuu!” shouted Ash’s partner as the electricity exploded from his body, aimed straight for the nearby cobra. Arbok screamed in pain as the force of all 10,000 volts launched Arbok down to Zeke’s feet. Arbok, struggling, once again rose, defiantly glaring at Pikachu, ready to continue.
His trainer’s confidence had been shattered, however. “H-How can we be doing so badly?” he asked. “We’re ranked 1425th in the World Coronation Series! How can an ameteur like you beat a genius like me?”
“1425th?” Ash asked, smiling. “That’s really good! I’m 99th!”
“N-Ninety-ninth?!” Zeke stammered, his glasses almost falling off again. “Y-You’re in the Ultra Class?!”
Ash pointed a thumb at his chest. “Sure am! And I’m gonna go even higher until I can face Leon again!”
“ Pikachu!”
Zeke reached into his pocket and took out Arbok’s Poké Ball, using it to recall his Pokémon. “I-I give up… there’s no way I can beat someone as strong as you…!”
As Zeke turns to leave, Chloe stands up from the bench. “Hey! Where are you going? Why are you acting all scared and timid now?”
Zeke freezes, and his shoulders slump down. “I… this is how I usually am…” he admitted, looking like he was about to collapse. “I’m usually the quietest, meekest guy around… I’m pretty good at Pokémon battles but I didn’t really have any friends… At least, not until I went to the arcade today and started playing that quiz game. After I beat so many people, they all started cheering for me and calling me the ‘Zekenator’... I-I thought that by acting like a big shot, people would actually like me and want to be my friend…”
‘ Poor guy… ’ she thought. ‘ This is just like what happened with Ash and I earlier. We weren’t being ourselves and we got all out of whack because of it.’
She stepped forward, with Eevee following her closely behind. “You should just be yourself, Zeke. You’re pretty smart and good at Pokémon battles, and I’m sure there are lots of people who would want to be friends with someone like you. I know it can be scary putting yourself out there and not being afraid, but you’ve gotta do it for yourself.”
“Chloe’s right,” Ash said, speaking up. “If you just treat people like y’ treat Arbok, I’m sure people’ll wanna be your friend!”
Zeke looked at the Poké Ball in his hands. “Like I treat Arbok…?”
Ash nodded. “Arbok was fighting super hard for you out there and you guys were totally in sync together! How else would y’ have gotten that Wrap against us when we were all in the air? You guys are pretty awesome, and I wouldn’t mind havin’ another battle sometime!”
Zeke’s glasses slid down his nose again, only this time he looked like he was about to cry. “Y-You two are right. I-” he said, sniffling, “I’m gonna go back to that arcade and see if anyone else is still there. And apologize for being a jerk. Thank you for setting me straight, Chloe. And you, too… um…”
Ash smirked, pointing at his own chest with his thumb. “I’m Ash from Pallet Town!”
Ash walked across the broken battlefield and offered his hand to Zeke, who took it and gave it a firm shake.
“Thank you, Ash.” With that, Zeke turned and left, running back down the road in the direction of the arcade.
Chloe picked up Eevee and carried her over to Ash’s side. “I think we really helped that guy out,” she said.
Ash nodded. “Yeah. I couldn’t have done it without you, though. I didn’t know what t’ say back there when he just left the battle, but you reached out t’ him.” Ash turned to her and beamed a smile in her direction. “You’re so kind, it’s awesome!”
Chloe giggled in response, but before she could say anything, the street lights began to turn on. Looking around, she realized that it was getting late. “Oh! We’ve gotta get to the Museum before it closes!”
Ash gasped, realizing the time as well. “Oh! You’re right! Let’s go!”
Chloe took out her phone and looked at the map. “C’mon, this way!”
And the two young trainers began racing down the sidewalk, leaving the crushed battlefield behind them.
The museum in Vermilion City was a somewhat large, imposing building, though Chloe figured that even for its size, it was still probably smaller on the inside than the Cerise Park. She didn’t have a lot of time to consider it, however, given how limited their time was. The museum was only open for about another thirty minutes, and so with that limited time to spare, Chloe quickly purchased the tickets for them and they headed inside, quickly following signs to the Alola exhibit. ‘ Thankfully, since it’s so late, it doesn’t look like anyone else is here…’ Chloe thought as they entered the exhibit hall. Looking up, she gasped and her eyes widened in wonder.
Displayed on four tables surrounding a diorama of the Alola Region were four large statues, carved from what Chloe assumed was volcanic rock. The carving work looked somewhat crude and rough. ‘ I doubt they had any really sophisticated tools back then, given how old they look. ’
Ash was already running up ahead to them. “Oh, wow! They’re all here!”
“ Pika!”
“Chloe, c’mere!” Ash called, gesturing her over. “These are the Tapu!”
“Tapu?” she responded, holding Eevee to her chest.
“The Tapu are the guardians of each of the islands in the Alola Region,” Ash explained, gesturing to the large, bird looking statue he was next to now. “They live in special ruins on the four islands and they come together to protect Alola when it’s in danger!” There was a wild glee and excitement on his face as he spoke. Chloe stepped close to him and looked at the first statue. Upon examination, it looked like the head of some sort of bird with a large comb.
“This one’s Tapu Koko,” Ash explained. “It’s the guardian of Melemele Island, and it lives in a place called the Ruins of Conflict. And Tapu Koko loves to battle! It’ll fly all around Melemele Island, challenging trainers to battles! It’s so awesome!”
Chloe blinked, frowning in surprise. “Wait, you saw this Tapu Koko?”
“Yeah!” Ash beamed. “I even battled ‘em a few times! That last match against Tapu Koko was so intense, wasn’t it, Pikachu?”
Pikachu laid down on Ash’s shoulder, pantomiming exhaustion. “ Pika pika…”
“But people call it a guardian deity, right? So it’s a Pokémon?”
“Sure is!” Ash said, somewhat dismissively.
‘ I wonder if he thinks about what that means…’
“We have a lot of memories about the next one, too!”
Ash walked over to the next statue, and then, in clear defiance of museum rules, put his hands on the glass case. The statue contained within looked like the head of some sort of insect with a long proboscis and antennae. “This one’s called Tapu Lele. It lives in the Ruins of Life and is the guardian of Akala Island.
Chloe went over these details in her head. “So if Tapu Koko lives in the Ruins of Conflict and likes to fight, I guess Tapu Lele likes growing things?”
Ash shook his head. “Nah, the ruins are probably called that based on Tapu Lele’s scales.”
“It’s scales?” Now she was even more confused.
“This thing you’re seeing here is just a shell,” Ash said. “In fact, they all look like they’re in their shells in these statues. But the outside of Tapu Lele’s shell has scales that fall off. If you touch them, they heal you of all your wounds!”
“Oh, that makes sense! I guess Tapu Lele’s the kind-hearted one compared to Tapu Koko.”
Ash laughed. “Not exactly.” He thought for a moment, as if he was working through his memories. “I guess it’s like Tapu Lele doesn’t really care what it does? It can heal people and Pokémon by scattering it’s scales, but it doesn’t try to share it’s scales. And touching too many of ‘em can be bad, too, trust me!”
Chloe frowned. “I guess you have experience with this, too, huh?”
Ash laughed and put his hand behind his head, but he didn’t elaborate. Instead he turned to the third statue. It looked like the head of a Tauros in the abstract. “This one’s Tapu Bulu! Man, training with it was so fun!”
“ Piiikaaa, ” pouted the mouse.
“Oh yeah, you didn’t train with Tapu Bulu, did ya buddy? But Rowlet and Lycanroc were the ones who really needed it!”
‘ I wonder if he even remembers I’m here…’ she thought bitterly, watching them. ‘ It feels like I’m not even an afterthought, compared to the stuff that he’s seen.’
He turned back to Chloe. “Oh, Tapu Bulu lives on Ula’Ula Island in the Ruins of Abundance. It can grow trees in seconds and it’s super tough. It’s pretty lazy, though.”
This, at least, made some sense to her. “Well, I guess if I had everything I needed and could grow food with barely moving, I’d be pretty lazy, too,” Chloe said. She walked around the statues to the final one that looked like some sort of fish. “And who’s over here?”
Ash walked around. “Oh yeah…” he said, somewhat shyly. “That’s Tapu Fini. It lives in the Ruins of Hope on Poni Island, only…” he crossed his arms. “It’s not the kinda hope that you think of at first.”
“‘Not the kind you think of at first?’” Chloe repeated. “What do you mean?”
“The ‘Hope’ in the Ruins of Hope isn’t hope for a better tomorrow, but it’s more like…” He frowned, looking down.
‘ He always does that when he’s trying to choose his words…’ Chloe thought. ‘ Ash can be surprisingly thoughtful and knowledgeable when it’s something he really knows about.’
“It’s like ‘I hope they’ve finally found peace,” Ash said, finally deciding on how to phrase it. “Tapu Fini can make mist where you can meet the spirits of people and Pokémon who’ve passed on. It’s like that story where you gotta pay more t’ cross the river depending on how good or bad you were in life after y’ die.”
Chloe swallowed, not expecting that to be the answer. “After you die…? You’re not saying you met actual ghosts, right?” She felt a shiver go down her spine.
“ Eievui! ” chirped her Pokémon, more excited than scared.
“I did,” he said. “A Pokémon I caught in Alola was raised by a very old Stoutland who passed away before I caught it. We met the Pokémon in the mist again, and he helped us train.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course he did,” she said sarcastically. “You train with ghosts and guardian deities. Why not?”
“Hey, one of my friends met her Mom in that mist, too,” Ash replied, the look on his face serious. “I wouldn’t joke about this kinda thing.”
Chloe froze. ‘ Wait, he’s being serious about this…? About ghosts and everything…? ’
Ash shrugged, looking back at the statue of Tapu Fini. “I don’t blame ya, I guess. It is a bit hard to believe that all that stuff would all happen t’ one person.” He once again put his hand on the glass case, smiling wistfully. “But I know that we really appreciated seein’ Stoutland one last time.”
She stepped closer to Ash. “You sure do know a lot about all of this. It’s really impressive, Ash.”
He shrugged, taking his hand off the case after leaving a handprint on it. “Well, most of it I was taught by Professor Kukui, so it’s more like I’m just passing along what he shared with me, y’know? I saw some stuff, but there’s so much he had to teach me, too.”
“If you say so,” she said, shrugging. ‘ But I feel like this is really something you make your own. You might not be academically gifted like Zeke, but your knowledge of Pokémon is easily just as good as Goh’s, or even my Dad’s. And that’s really impressive in it’s own right.’
Chloe giggled at her thoughts and smiled at Eevee, who smiled back.
The sound of her giggling was cut off by the groaning of Ash’s stomach echoing through the nearly empty museum, but this just made her giggle even more. “Ah, man, it’s been so long since we ate… I’m starving…” he said, putting a hand on his stomach.
“Why don’t we get going, then?” Chloe replied. “We can hit the Sugiya near my house on the way!”
“Sounds great! Don’t you think so, Pikachu?” He was already turning on his heels, a spring in his step. “I could eat like three plates of curry! Maybe four!”
Chloe followed behind. ‘ Maybe this little trip down memory lane for him really did help.’
Night had fallen, but the lights were still on inside Chloe’s house when she and Ash arrived after leaving Sugiya. “I guess we’re here,” she said.
“Yup,” Ash replied. “I had a great time, though, Chloe. It was fun learnin’ about stuff together, and I even had a pretty fun battle, too!”
“I should be thanking you for the good time,” she replied. “I’ve never seen you in a battle like that before, and it was really fun, you know? Not to mention learning about all the Tapu from you, too.”
They both laughed, standing on the deck on the front of Chloe’s home. Chloe still held Eevee to her chest as she looked at Ash’s face, still warm and friendly in the dim light cast by the streetlamps. Ash smiled back in but then blinked before leaning in closer. Chloe’s heart skipped. ‘ I-Is he…?!’
She’d seen enough movies to know what was expected to happen at this point. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips together…
“Oh, so that’s what that was!”
She opened her eyes. “Huh?”
Ash was holding a small leaf that Chloe only barely recognized as the sort that grew on a bush near the bench they sat on in the park. “I just saw that, and I wonder what it was. I guess it’s been in there for a while, huh?” he laughed cheekily.
Embarrassment colored her cheeks. “Right, thanks,” she said, looking away. ‘ I can’t believe I expected Ash to do something like…’
“Oh, one more thing before I go,” he said. He turned to Pikachu on his shoulder, who seemingly knew exactly where this was going. He handed Ash the plush Pikachu they had won for being the 250th guest at the arcade that day, and Ash handed it to Chloe. “Here! Somethin’ to remember the day by!”
The embarrassment was quickly surpassed by an even hotter blush that colored her cheeks even more vividly. ‘ Thank goodness it’s so dark right now…’
Clearing her throat, she accepted the small token. “Thanks, Ash. I really appreciate it,” she said, smiling widely.
“No problem. I guess we better get going, though,” he said. “C’mon, Pikachu! Let’s get back to th’ lab!”
He ran down the path back to the sidewalk, and Chloe waved at him as he waved back before turning back to the door and taking a deep breath. Setting Eevee down, she opened the front door to her home to the sight of her little brother, Parker, sitting on the steps, a malicious grin on his face as Chloe and her Pokémon stepped through the door.
“Mom! Dad!” Parker shouted. “Chloe’s home from her date !”
The teasing tone of the last word turned Chloe’s face completely red as she shouted. “PAAARKEEER!” before lunging at him as he scrambled up the stairs.
Chapter 9: On the Countryside
Chapter Text
“WHAAAAT?! THAT ALL HAPPENED?!”
Chloe nodded to Mika’s question before taking a sip of the tea from her thermos. It was lunchtime at school again, and the Monday after Chloe and Ash visited the Vermilion Museum.
“So it was really a real life date?!” pestered Mika, hungry for any details.
Chloe kept her eyes closed so that she wouldn’t roll them at her friend. “No, it wasn’t. We just hung out, you know? Stop making it something it’s not.”
Mika was busy ignoring her, grinding her teeth. “We were so busy on Saturday…! All because of that arcade opening, Mom had me helping out at the bakery…” she sighed. “I wish I could have seen you. I bet he was a real sweetheart. It sounds like he tried really hard.”
“He tried too hard,” Chloe replied. “Goh put him up to so much…” Her mind went to the hushed conversation she had with Goh this very morning, the first time she’d seen him since she left the lab the previous Friday.
“You really put him up to a lot, huh?” she said, frowning.
“I was trying to make your first date a magical and romantic experience,” Goh said.
“It wasn’t a-”
“Yeah, I know, I know. Trust me, I tried to explain the concept to Ash but it didn’t seem like he got it.”
Chloe pushed aside the twist in her stomach she felt. “Well, that’s right. I hardly know Ash. Even if I have a stupid crush on him, it’d be better to learn more about him first. I’m taking things one step at a time.”
Goh smirked. “Oh, so like with Eevee, then?”
That embarrassed her. “Y-Yeah, so what? I like to take things slowly before I make a decision. It’s always better to work from more information than less.”
Ash poked his head around the corner. “What’d you guys say about Eevee?” he asked, though in truth it was almost impossible to understand what he said since his mouth was still filled with breakfast.
Chlloe sighed. “Point being, it’s not a date, he’s not my boyfriend, so everyone just needs to relax.”
“Fine, fine…” Mika said, slinking into her chair at the desk in front of Chloe’s in the classroom where the two of them were eating lunch. “Why’d it have to be you, Little Miss No Fun who gets a crush on someone anyway…”
Chloe groaned. “So anyway, what are you doing for next week, Mika?”
She sat up and blinked her blue eyes. “Next week?” she asked. “What’s special about next week?”
Chloe rolled her eyes - openly, this time. “Next week is spring break. We won’t be in school, so I guess you’ll just be helping your Mom out, won’t you?”
A shrug and a sigh came from Chloe’s friend. “Yeah, probably… She's such a workaholic… I wish we could take a break, too, sometimes…” She reached behind her and grabbed a melon bread from her own lunch box and took a bite out of it. “So what about you?” she asked with her mouth full, reminding Chloe of how Ash would talk. “Do you have some big plans or something?”
Chloe sat up, smirking. “My Dad’s taking us on a little vacation. We’re going to hit the beach on Cinnabar Island and I fully plan on enjoying the sun and sea.”
It was a relaxing week away from the Lab that they had planned for this spring break. The lab would remain open for Ash and Goh to come and go if they wanted, though they would be asked to go home for the week. Chrysa and Ren would come to feed the Pokémon, but otherwise the lab would be completely closed for an entire week while Professor Cerise and his family enjoyed bonding time together in the sun. ‘ I can already hear the waves crashing against the beach…’ she thought.
“Ooh, you’re so lucky,” pouted Mika. “I guess that’s just the perk of being the Professor’s daughter, that you get to take such cool little vacations.” She took another bite of her bread. “So it’s just you and your parents and your little brother, right? You’re not taking Alf or Goh or anybody?”
“N-No,” Chloe said, stammering at even the thought. “And his name is Ash.”
Mika shrugged. “Alf, Ash, whatever. The point is, you’re not inviting them along?”
“Why would I do that? It’s a family trip.”
“You were the one just saying that you wanted to get to know him better, right?” Mika said, pointing at Chloe with her half-eaten melon bread. “What would be a better way to get to know him than a little vacation trip? You could even bring along Goh for cover so your parents don’t think you’re trying to spend time with this guy.”
At that thought, Chloe hung her head. “Parker spent all day yesterday teasing me for going out to meet him on Saturday. If I had to spend a week with him around, it’d be just awful.”
Mika shrugged. “Well, why not go with him to his house?”
The thought struck Chloe, making her look up at her friend, green eyes going wide. It was not something she could even think to suggest, right? ‘ There’s no way I can ask them to go there with him for a week, right…? Not after everything Parker’s said…’ Even with her rational mind making moves to block, she couldn’t deny that the thought found some purchase in her heart.
“Where does this guy live, anyway?” Mika asked, finally jamming the last piece of melon bread into her mouth.”
“He’s from Pallet Town.”
Mika began to spit up the bread but shoved her hand in front of her mouth to stop the soggy wad from landing on Chloe’s desk before swallowing it. “PALLET TOWN!? I mean, I know Professor Oak lives out there, but… Pallet Town? Really? There’s absolutely nothing to do out there. It’s a podunk backwater that’s only on the map because of Professor Oak!”
Unfortunately, Chloe had to agree. “I went to Pallet Town once with Goh when we were six, and we were only there for Professor Oak’s camp. There was nothing to do in Pallet Town besides that…”
Mika shrank back down in her seat. “Yeah, I guess it was a dumb idea to go with him to his house, huh…?”
Despite Mika now retreating from the idea, the more Chloe considered it, the more appealing it was becoming. ‘ The thing is…’ Chloe thought to herself, ‘ I still kind of want to go there…’ Other than that one trip years ago, she hadn't spent much time in the countryside of the mostly urban Kanto region. ‘ Ash already said he didn’t have school uniforms out in Pallet Town… I wonder how much a place like that really influenced who he is…’
“Chloe, what are you thinking…?” Mika asked, causing Chloe to snap back out of her thoughts and look back at her friend scrutinizing her. “You were actually considering it, weren’t you?” she asked.
Chloe said nothing but took a drink from her thermos, thereby confirming Mika’s suspicions.
“Chloe, you are so brave to do that…” Mika said. “I couldn’t imagine going anywhere without air conditioning or the internet.”
Chloe glared back. “You’re exaggerating.”
“Am I?” she asked. “You know there’s nothing in Pallet Town other than Professor Oak. Everyone in Kanto knows that! If you told me I could spend a week at the beach or spend a week in the wilderness… Well, I’m just saying it’s not much of a choice.”
“Your opinion is noted, but I’m still going to Cinnabar with my family, so it really doesn’t matter,” Chloe said, shrugging. ‘ Though… it would be really cool to head out there and see what it’s like.’
Mika looked at Chloe, like she could see the thoughts running through her friend’s head, but before she could respond, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. She quickly gathered her belongings and left the desk to return to her own across the room. Chloe let out a sigh of relief, happy to be off the grill Mika was going to continue to heat under her.
And yet, despite her own dismissal of the thought, it stayed in the back of her head, gnawing at her concentration. ‘ I know it’s probably not the best idea, going out to Pallet Town. Where would I even stay? Some hotel or something in the area? His house? What is there to gain from being there? It’s already super sketchy that I’d want to go, but at the same time… he thinks so differently than I do most of the time. It’s like a way of seeing things I’ve never considered before, so maybe going out there would give me a fresh perspective.’
“Chloe?” her mother asked. “Are you feeling alright? You’ve hardly touched your dinner?”
Chloe looked up, seeing her mother, father, and little brother all looking at her. She was sitting at the dinner table with her family that very evening after coming home from school and the lab. Their plates were mostly empty while hers was still nearly full of her mother’s special yakisoba stir fry.
“I’m alright,” she said, shrugging. “I guess I’m just thinking about stuff…”
“Such as?” Professor Cerise asked, turning his own attention to her.
Now with two parents staring down at her, she began to shrink into her seat. Across from her, Parker grinned, happy to not be the one being singled out. ‘ Lucky…’ she thought.
When she didn’t answer immediately, Parker took the opportunity to speak up. “Oh, I bet I know what it is,” he teased.
Chloe glared up at him from her declined position. Parker met her intense gaze with a smirk.
“This isn’t about Ash, is it?” her mother asked, making Chloe slink even further down.
Professor Cerise put a hand on the back of his daughter’s chair. “Sit up, Chloe, and tell us what you were thinking about.”
Sighing because she knew Parker would run with this, she sat up in her chair. “Well… I was thinking about the break we have coming up. What if… I didn’t go to Cinnabar Island with you guys…?”
Her parents glanced at each other. “Well, where would you want to go then, Chloe?” her father asked.
She looked over to where Yamper and Eevee were licking their bowls clean. “...Well, I thought… you know…”
At that moment, Eevee looked up at her with her dark eyes, brightly reflecting the light in her eyes. ‘ ...yeah, you’re right.’ she thought. ‘ There’s no reason to be afraid, right?’
She took a breath and focused on her thoughts.
“Well… last year when we went, I didn’t have Eevee… I wasn’t a Pokémon Trainer. And since then, I haven’t exactly been the most active at training Eevee. And so… I just thought that instead of going to the beach this year, maybe it would be a good idea to do more… Pokémon Trainer things. Like spending time in the wilderness and exploring and training and things.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie; going out to Pallet Town would be a good opportunity for her to experience being a Pokémon Trainer first-hand in a somewhat controlled and safe environment, especially if Ash was there with her using his wealth of experience. ‘ It’s not all about learning about him. I can learn about myself, too.
Her father nodded. “I see… that could be very good for you. You and Eevee are still making a lot of important decisions, and getting a wider view of the world might help you make them.”
“I agree,” her mother said, smiling. “Where were you thinking of going?”
Chloe froze, coughing. “Well, I… I thought about going to Pallet Town, actually.”
A moment of silence fell over the table, broken by Parker’s laughter. “You wanna go to Pallet Town just because Ash lives there!”
Chloe slapped her hands on the table, standing up. “That is NOT true! This is about experiencing different things in the world!” As she glared at her little brother, she knew the stinging redness in her cheeks betrayed her thoughts.
On the ground next to Yamper, Eevee slapped her paws against the front of her food bowl, bouncing the bowl off the ground and smacked herself in the face with it. She fell over, either falling into or feigning unconsciousness.
“Now, now, Parker, if Chloe thinks this is good for her, I think we should trust her judgement,” her father said before turning to her. “Pallet Town is pretty different from what you’ll see around here. I’m sure Ash or Professor Oak would be happy to show you around. Maybe you could even stay with the Ketchums while you’re there, as a sort of base of operations?”
“Dad, you’re just giving her what she wants!”
“Now, Parker,” their mother said, “all children leave home someday. This is just Chloe taking an opportunity to explore things she’d like to do. I think if Ash is helping her feel like she can try new things, maybe spending more time with him isn’t such a bad idea?”
Chloe put her head down on the table. “Mom, please don’t talk like that.”
Eevee, who had just gotten up from the floor, began pressing her face into it.
“Why don’t you ask Ash if he’d be okay with it tomorrow, and if it’s alright with him and his mother, then I don’t see why it would be a bad thing!” Professor Cerise smiled at his daughter. “Trying out different things is the only way to find what you like and what you don’t like, so if this leads you down a path to discover more about yourself, then I’d be happy to hear all about it once we come back from Cinnabar Island.”
She sat up, looking at her parents. “You’re… actually okay if I go to Pallet Town instead of spending the week with you guys? Really?”
Her mother laughed. “You would be the child who asks if you really should be given permission, wouldn’t you?”
“Hey!” Parker interjected, incredulously. “What’s that mean, Mom?”
“She’s saying you’re not responsible like I am,” Chloe teased back, taking control of the conversation. “Maybe if you were more diligent with your chores, you’d get trusted just like I do.”
“Aww, man… C’mon!”
As Parker continued to complain, Chloe took a bite of the yakisoba. ‘ Well, I guess I get to have a talk with Ash about this tomorrow... ‘ She swallowed her nervousness. Then she paused and took her phone out of her pocket. ‘ Wait, I could just text him now…?’ She felt foolish, almost forgetting that they had already swapped phone numbers. ‘ ...but he hates texting for stuff like this, and I don’t want him to think it’s super important that he needs to run out at night. I’ll just send him a short message that says I want to talk to him before I go to school.’
She began typing a message on the phone, directed to Ash:
Hey! Is it cool if we talk before I leave for school tomorrow?
She looked over the message. It was a little terse for her tastes; if she over thought it, she might think she was mad at Ash. ‘ Like Ash overthinks anything,’ her mind sardonically quipped, but then she remembered how earnest he looked, trying to choose the right words when asking her a question, and she felt her heart melt at how sweet and thoughtful he could be.
‘ He won’t read into it,’ she decided, sending the message as Parker left the table and turned on the TV behind them. ‘ He probably won’t even read it.’
As she sat her phone down and began to zone out watching TV, the message indicated with a tiny white checkmark that it had been read.
The next morning, Chloe steeled herself as she stepped into the lab with Yamper and Eevee bounding around her feet. Figuring the best way to find Ash was to go to where the food was kept, she walked into the kitchen. Ash and Goh were there, greedily chowing down in preparation for the coming day.
“Hey guys!”
“Hey, Chloe!” they replied in various muffled tones, their mouths full still. She tried not to let it get to her. She proceeded to where the Pokémon food was kept and put out bowls for Eevee and Yamper.
As she did, Ash spoke up. “Oh, uh, I got your message. What’s up?”
Chloe nearly jumped, not really even really expecting that he’d have read the message. She looked at him, his inquisitive brown eyes following her as she moved towards the table. ‘ Since I have his attention…’ “I wanted to ask what your plans were for the break next week,” she asked.
“Oh, I’ll be taking my Pokémon back t’ Pallet Town,” he said. “It’ll be nice to let them see everyone I have at Professor Oak’s for a bit, too!”
Goh sat up, pointing to himself. “I’ll still be in the city. I can’t exactly take every Pokémon I have with me since I have so many, but I’ll pop in a few times next week to help Chrysa and Ren take care of things here.”
“It’s good that you’ll be here to hold down the fort,” Chloe said, with Ash quickly agreeing.
“I’ll miss seein’ all the Pokémon together, but it’s only a week, right?”
Chloe turned to Ash, smiling. “Actually, I was wondering, Ash. Would it be okay if I came to Pallet Town with you on this break?”
Goh nearly choked on his breakfast. “Say what? ”
Ash looked at her, blinking for a few moments as the gears in his brain turned. “You wanna come to Pallet Town…?” he asked, the look on his face still blank.
“Y-Yeah,” she said. “I mean, I only got Eevee recently, so maybe checking out a place a bit closer to nature would be good to learn more about her, right?”
Eevee looked up from her food bowl, face messy. “ Eievui? ”
“I don’t really know a lot about being a Pokémon Trainer, but I want to learn.” She smiled at him, remembering that conversation that happened what felt like a month and last week at the same time. “I don’t want to be ‘taught’ by anyone, either. I want to learn more for my own sake, in my own way, what being a Pokémon Trainer means to me.”
Ash relaxed at her answer. “Well… I mean… it’d be really cool if you came with me,” he said, scratching his cheek shyly. “There’s so much to do and see in Pallet Town, and it’ll be fun to see how you take it all! It’s way different from the city, for sure!”
Chloe smiled. “Thanks… I think getting out of the city would be cool, too. Oh, but shouldn’t you ask your Mom, first?”
Ash gasped. “Oh, right! One sec!”
Goh raised an eyebrow. “One sec…?”
Ash took out his phone and tapped the screen a few times before holding it to his ear. There was a tense silence for a few moments until sounds began to come from the phone. “Hey, Mom! … Oh, I’m great! Hey, you know how I’m comin’ home this weekend while th’ Professor’s gone? One of my friends wants to visit Pallet Town while I’m there! … No, not Goh. Her name’s Chloe! Oh, right you did meet her that time, huh?”
Goh leaned back. “This is an incredibly bold move, Miss Cerise,” he said quietly.
“Oh, quiet,” she quipped back. “I’ve never really been out of the city for a long time. Even when we went to Oak’s Camp, we were only there for a day. I wondered what kind of place Pallet Town is and how it made Ash who he is. And besides, I’m not wrong about expanding my own horizons.”
“That’s a lot of justification for just wanting to go to his house…”
“I said be quiet.”
Ash’s conversation with his mother continued. “So she can come? She can?! Awesome! Thanks, Mom! I’ll tell her right now!” Ash looked up and grinned at her, flashing her a thumbs up. Chloe smiled back, but then Ash’s expression changed into a frown. “… No, she can’t hear me. Why?” Whatever Mrs. Ketchum said next made Ash’s cheeks burn. “Mom, please, not now. … I’m handling it, I promise. … Mom, don’t worry, I do that!”
Chloe and Goh chuckled quietly at Ash’s Mom inevitably asking him embarrassing questions. Chloe took her phone out and checked the time. “Ah, I gotta run or I’ll be late for school. Picking up her bag, she turned on her heel before taking Eevee’s Poké Ball from her pocket and recalling the Normal-Type inside.
“See you later, Chloe,” Goh said, giving her a friendly wave as Ash turned his back, still talking to his mother on the phone.
“See you, Goh. Just tell Ash we’ll get everything worked out later for when we leave.”
“So I’m going,” she told Mika that day.
“Going? Going where?”
Brimming with confidence, she pointed at her chest with her thumb. “I am going to spend my break in Pallet Town.”
Mika erupted into giggles and questions, each more embarrassing than the last.
The rest of the week felt like a blur to Chloe; her teachers were just as eager for the break as she was. When she arrived back at the lab on Friday afternoon, she found Ash and Goh having just returned from a trip to Sinnoh for Goh’s first mission as part of Project Mew.
“You two look exhausted.”
Both Ash and Goh were face-down on the kitchen table.
“We are exhausted,” Goh replied, the words muffled by the table. Pikachu and Grookey didn’t look much better.
“It was fun to help out that Ninetales but it wasn’t fun bein’ in that blizzard…”
“ Pikachu… ”
“ Groo kee… ”
Chloe stepped closer. “Well, it’s good that you both have a week off now, right? You can both take it easy here and at home!”
Ash perked up. “Oh, right! We’ve gotta go catch th’ bus, huh?”
Goh kept his face against the table. “You two have a good week. My parents are supposed to come by and pick me up since they’re taking a vacation this week, too.”
“You have a good time, too, Goh,” Chloe said. “Hopefully you’ll have a good story to share.”
He finally sat up. “And you better learn more about what being a Pokémon Trainer means to you.”
She nodded. “I’ll be bringing Eevee with me, so we’ll have plenty of time to explore what it means to us!”
Ash nodded and pumped his fist. “This is gonna be a really fun week! I’m gonna get my stuff and I’ll be right back!” With that, he picked up Pikachu and put the mouse on his shoulder as he ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
Chloe shrugged. “Wow, he got energy again all of a sudden.”
“You get used to it,” Goh said, chuckling.
Taking the moment, she let Eevee out of her ball, and the small Normal-Type shook herself loose from being inside all day. Chloe picked Eevee up, and held her in her arms. “My stuff is in the lab, so I guess I’ll get it.”
“You packed light, right?” Goh asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, I know it’s not the same as the city. Just some changes of clothes and stuff. You wouldn’t expect me to be in my school uniform all week, right?”
“I guess not.”
She gave Goh a small wave, and he gave one back. She turned to the door and stepped through the hall into the lab’s main building, where Chrysa and Ren had already left for the day. ‘ Dad, too, ’ she thought, picking up her suitcase.
Lifting it up, her suitcase had a bit more heft to it than she recalled. Curious, she sat it back down and opened it up.
She was greeted with a lick to the face.
“ Yamp! Yamper! Yamp!”
“What?! Yamper?” Chloe lifted him up. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to go home with Dad!”
“ Yamper! Yamper! ” he barked, cheerfully wagging his tail at her with that wide, grinning expression.
“Oh, I let him in,” said Ash, entering the laboratory. Pikachu now looked much more awake, and he carried his backpack with him as well as a wide grin. “Yamper said he wanted to come with you.”
She blinked. “Yamper said that?” ‘ And you understood it?’
He shrugged, laughing. “Well, maybe not that exactly, but he did want to come with you.”
She looked at the Pokémon in her hands for a moment, blinking. “Well… okay. But you need to be on your best behavior, okay, Yamper?”
“ Yamper!” And he sprang forward and began licking her face again.
Chloe sat looking out the bus window. Her bag was stowed under her seat, and Eevee and Yamper were sitting side by side in her lap.
On her shoulder, lightly drooling, was Ash’s head.
So she kept looking out the window, wondering why he fell asleep almost instantly after stepping onto the bus. She could see the looks from other travelers who were riding the bus towards the western parts of the Kanto Region, and she tried her hardest to ignore the warm feeling in her cheeks, like needles pricking her skin.
‘ This is stupid… I wonder if Goh ever has to put up with this… he’d would probably just shove him off…’ But she looked at him, sleeping sweetly with his hair in it’s wild configuration, and she couldn’t be mad.
Pikachu was also asleep, himself in Ash’s lap, curled up in his overturned hat with his tail sticking out. Chloe sighed and looked back out the window.
“Maybe I should be asleep, too,” she said quietly, though only Yamper and Eevee would reasonably be able to hear.
The cityscape quickly faded into the farmlands around Vermilion, bringing to mind her trip with Ash and Goh to see Mr. Laxton and how different his house was from her home in the city. ‘ It was a lot bigger, for starters… I wonder if Ash’s house will be bigger? ’
Thinking further, she wondered how often buses drove out to Pallet Town. ‘ It can’t be much, right? Professor Oak and Ash’s Mom had to drive when they showed up when the lab opened…’ Looking out again over the bus, there weren’t many travelers on it, either. At least two looked like trainers, and there were a few elderly folks sitting closer to the front. Other than that, it was empty.
‘ There’s even way less people out here than at home…’
Chloe took her phone from her pocket and looked at the time. They were still a bit away from Pallet Town, but she saw the signal bars steadily dropping. ‘ This might be less reliable out here, too… ’ she thought. A place in Kanto where she couldn’t use her phone? It was a little scary to think about.
Her shuddering caused Ash to open his eyes. He sat up and yawned, still holding Pikachu in his lap. He looked at Chloe and blinked a few times before he realized how he fell asleep. “O-Oh, sorry,” he said, looking away. “Guess I was more tired than I thought.”
She shrugged, looking out the window so that he couldn’t see her blush. “It’s no big deal. It happens, I guess.”
Pikachu was being roused now, yawning and stretching as he began to clamor up Ash to sit on his head. Eevee watched this and decided that she would do it, too, and climbed up Chloe’s face to sit on her head, wagging her tail happily.
“Sorry if you were bored,” he said, shrugging. “I didn’t mean t’ leave you alone like that.”
“It’s alright,” she said. “I was just thinking about stuff.”
“Like what?”
She shrugged. “About how different Vermilion and Pallet Town are,” she said. Thinking for a moment, she looked over at him. “You’ve lived in Vermilion for a while and you’re from Pallet Town. What do you think the biggest differences between the two are?”
Ash frowned. “The biggest differences between them?” He slouched back in his seat for a moment, thinking over the question.
“Yeah. Is it the lack of tall buildings? Or maybe the amount of people or wild Pokémon?”
Ash shook his head. “I think… the biggest difference between the two is… the pace, I guess.”
“The pace? What do you mean?” Chloe asked.
“Vermilion’s a huge place and there’s always something happening there,” he said. “They’re always shooting movies or holding contests or all sorts of other stuff! It’s pretty cool that there’s something new there every day. But at the same time, everyone’s gotta rush around to make sure they can see all that stuff.” He reached up and took Pikachu off of his head, petting the Pokémon in his lap. “It’s not like that in Pallet Town. Nobody’s really in a rush to do much of anything. There’s not as much to see, so I guess it’s not as exciting, but I still like it, for different reasons than the ones I like Vermilion for. It’s much quieter, and you get to know everyone better. Everyone’s close.”
‘ It sounds pretty intimate…’ Chloe thinks about this description, frowning herself.
Ash looks over at her and chuckles. “Are you worried that a city girl like you won’t fit in the small town?”
“I mean,” Chloe said, shrugging, “I guess I might get a little culture shock, but I guess I’m more worried about sticking out like a sore thumb.”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about,” he said, waving off her concern. “Everyone in Pallet Town is super nice, and I’m sure you’ll get to know them really well even if you’re just here for a week!”
She gave him a somewhat skeptical smile that barely lifted the corners of her mouth. “Thanks… Does that mean you worried about fitting in at the lab?”
He shook his head. “Nah. I’ve been so many places where I’ve been weird and easy t’ pick out, I’m kinda used to not fitting in.”
“So it’s not that you were concerned about fitting in,” Chloe said, “but more that you weren’t concerned with it.”
He shrugged. “That sounds about right. I’ve always been a part of a bigger group, like the friends I used to travel with, or even the class at the Pokémon School. I guess I like being with people and Pokémon more than fitting into a place.”
Chloe giggled somewhat darkly. “Well, if there’s a place you fit in perfectly, it’s got to be the Cerise Lab. You and Goh and Dad are all so interested in Pokémon, and you’re always excited to go out and learn the next newest thing out there…” She sighed, her grip on Yamper tightening to the point that even the puppy looked up at her.
It wasn’t lost on Ash, either. “Hey, you belong there, too, y’know?” he said. “It’s like Goh told me, everyone relates to Pokémon differently. And the way you take your time and consider what’s best for Eevee is just your way of relating to them.”
His assurances helped her relax. “You really think so?” she asked, looking over at him.
“No doubt about it,” he said. “You being there helps the lab be the kinda place it is! It’s like when you’re cooking, you add a little bit of an ingredient that maybe you don’t think would fit at first and the difference makes the whole thing even tastier!”
Chloe giggled. “Wow, Ash, I didn’t know you knew so much about cooking!”
Ash laughed, too, scratching his cheek with a finger. “Yeah, well, a friend of mine I traveled with was really good at cooking, and I asked him why he was adding salt to some sweets one time. I just learn a lot from everyone I get t’ know, you know?”
She nodded. “I.. hope I can learn a lot this week, too. Even if we don’t find the exact path we want to follow, getting some perspective would be really nice, too.” She smiled warmly at him. “Thank you, Ash.”
Before Ash could respond, the bus driver hit a button activating the inner-com on the bus. “Next stop, Pallet Town. Next stop, Pallet Town!”
“Oh, we’re here!” Chloe said. “C’mon, let’s get our stuff and get off the bus!”
Ash stood, scrambling for his backpack while Chloe took her’s, and the two of them rushed off the bus and into the cool evening air in the town of Pallet.
Chapter 10: On Legacy
Chapter Text
It wasn’t as grand as she expected, but given the surrounding area consisting of farms, Chloe wasn’t sure exactly what she expected. It looked about two stories tall, and a little smaller than her house back in Vermilion. Even without streetlights or the light of the home, though, Chloe would have been able to clearly see the home, with the stars sparkling in the sky overhead.
She caught herself staring at the stars more than the building. There was almost no light pollution in Pallet Town, so the sky was so much clearer and more vibrant than back home. The sky in Vermilion was no comparison, the bright city lights making it hard to see the stars.
If her breath is already taken away by this sky, what other wonders did Pallet Town seem to have in store for her?
Ash approached the door and opened it. “Mom! I’m home!”
Chloe snapped out of her thoughts and followed behind him, Yamper and Eevee following her footsteps as she entered the Ketchum residence.
Looking around the room, it greatly reminded her of her own home, though perhaps a few more years out of date with everything. There were photos of Ash and the woman Chloe recognized as his mother hanging on the walls, a few shelves that looked to hold other trinkets and keepsakes as well. The stairs that lead up to the second story were directly in front of her as the brown haired woman who lived there stepped out of the kitchen.
“Welcome home, sweetie!” Ash’s mother said, greeting her son. “And you, too, Pikachu.” The woman smiled sweetly and patted Pikachu on the cheek, eliciting a gleeful cry from him.
Looking at Ash’s mother, Chloe was taken aback by how young she looked. She obviously wouldn’t be asking her for her exact age, but she would definitely bet money that Ash’s mom was younger than her own. ‘ I never really noticed before…’
Ash’s mother turned to the girl studying her. “And Chloe, it’s good to see you again! I hope you had a nice trip out here, and welcome to Pallet Town!”
Chloe gave a somewhat nervous, fairly shallow bow that was almost more of a nod. “Thank you very much for having me,” she said as Eevee and Yamper entered beside her, looking up at the woman.
“Oh, and are these your little friends?” she said, kneeling down and scooping up Yamper. “Hello, there, Yamper! It’s nice to see you again!”
“Mom, wait-!” Ash called out, reaching for his mother, but the feared shock of Yamper never came. The pup seemingly melted in her hands before licking her face.
“Aww! Who’s a good boy! Yes you are! Yes you are!”
Chloe exhaled a sigh of relief. ‘ I thought she was about to be barbecued…’ And then Eevee rushed her and climbed up her as well, mimicking Yamper in licking her face.
Mrs. Ketchum just laughed. “Aww! I wouldn’t want to leave you out, too, little Eevee!” she said, laughing as the Pokémon both licked her face.
Ash sighed in relief as well. “Glad that’s over…”
His mother looked at the two trainers. “Now, Ash. Show Chloe up to your room and make sure you get the things out you’ll need to sleep on the couch, okay?”
Chloe was taken aback. “S-Shouldn’t I be the one to sleep on the couch? That is Ash’s room, after all…”
“Oh, heavens no,” she replied. “I raised my Ash to be a gentleman. Whenever he has a friend over, they get the bed.”
Ash chuckled. “Heh, yeah… only I won’t be stayin’ in there, too, like I did when Goh visited.”
‘ That’s a good thing, ’ Chloe thought, trying to will her face into a neutral tone, though she was keenly aware of the stinging in her cheeks that hopefully would go unnoticed.
“While you two are up there getting Chloe settled in, I’ll finish dinner,” Mrs. Ketchum said, turning and carrying Chloe’s Pokémon away.
As Ash turned to go up stairs, he paused. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Poké Ball. “Oh! Wait! C’mon out!”
In a flash of light, Mr. Mime materialized in the living room. He looked around, blinking. “ Mime? Mr. Mime?”
“Go help Mom, okay?” Ash asked.
“ Mime!” The Barrier Pokémon turned and ran into the kitchen to the cheerful cry of Ash’s mom.
Chloe watched as Ash began ascending the stairs. “Wait, Mr. Mime isn’t actually yours?”
“Oh, no, he is,” Ash said as he began walking up the stairs. “He just usually stays here with Mom to help her out!”
Chloe blinked to herself and began following Ash up the stairs. There were a few doors situated in this hallway at the top of the stairs. One of them was sitting open into a room decorated much like the rest of the house, with a perfectly made bed and the blinds drawn closed. ‘ That must be Mrs. Ketchum’s room…’ she thought.
Ash opened a door on the opposite wall. “Here it is!”
Chloe watched him walk in and turn on the light. ‘ Okay, it’s just his bedroom, ’ she thought to herself. ‘ It’s probably not what you’re expecting. It’s definitely not going to be like Goh’s or Parker’s bedrooms. It’s just… a boy’s bedroom. A boy you kind of sort of like.’
“Chloe?” Ash called.
“C-Coming!” she replied, stepping into his room.
The first thing that jumped out to her was the green tone of the walls, reminding her of the grass outside. Looking around, she saw that Ash’s bed was elevated off the ground, over top of the closed door of his closet. A desk sat next to the closet, and behind that was a television. That was as far as she got before she noticed all the Pokémon memorabilia. A Snorlax cushion. A Poliwag pencil sharpener. A poster with Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. Pokémon were all over this room.
“So there’s the bed,” Ash said, opening the closet and pulling out a change of clothes. Pikachu hopped off his shoulder so that he could heft the items in his place. The mouse followed behind Ash closely, watching to make sure he didn’t drop anything. “You can watch the TV if you want, too.” He pulled out a blanket and a pillow from the closet as well.
As Chloe turned to the TV, her attention was drawn immediately to the dresser next to it. On top of it were many items, stacked carefully next to each other. Several of the items looked to be trophies; as well there were several sets of Gym Badges, a bracelet, a Pokémon Doll, and a statue of what Chloe could only determine was a masked wrestler.
She dropped her bag on the floor. “Ash… What… what is all of that?”
“Oh,” he said, looking over at the dresser. “I guess those are my trophies.”
“You guess?! ” Chloe was flabbergasted. “Look at them all! There’s so many of them…! Are they all yours?”
He nodded. “Yup!” Dropping the clothes, blanket and pillow on the ground, he walked over to them, looking closely at them. “These are all things Pikachu and I have earned since starting our journey.” He glanced at the doll, Chloe saw. “Well, mostly.”
Chloe took a seat in the chair at his desk. “So… would you mind telling me about all of these?” she asked. “I mean, we’ve got time before your mom finishes dinner, right?”
Ash shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” He took a few steps over to the dresser and picked up the smallest trophy. It had a clear crystal in the shape of what Chloe thought looked like a crown, backed by two wings. “This one here’s the trophy we got from the Kanto League,” he said, showing it off to her. “It’s the first trophy Pikachu and I earned.”
“ Pikaaa,” his partner cooed, looking at the trophy. Chloe supposed that there were a lot of memories that that trophy represented.
“The Kanto League…?” she said, blinking. “I knew you were really good since you got to the top 99 of the World Coronation Series, but I didn’t know you’d already competed in the Pokémon League here in Kanto.”
Ash chuckled. “Well, Kanto gives out participation trophies, which is nice. We didn’t make it all the way my first time around.”
She looked at the badges on the dresser. “I don’t see the ones from Kanto. I may not know a lot but I at least know what the Thunder Badge looks like.”
“Oh! That’s because those are in my jacket,” he said.
He opened the closet and hanging inside the door was a fairly scuffed and worn out looking blue and white jacket with a single button that would clasp it closed. Ash opened it and showed Chloe the inside. There were twelve sparkling badges on one side, and eight on the other.
She blinked. “That’s way more than just eight badges.”
“Oh! Right, I went to Johto and the Orange Islands, too. So those badges are in here, too.”
Chloe found herself taken aback a bit. She was trying to wrap her mind around it. “How… how many badges do you guys have…?” she asked.
Ash frowned for a bit. “Uh… Let’s see…” He began to count on his fingers. “There’s four badges in the Orange Islands… the other six regions had eight because Alola doesn’t have Gym Badges…”
“Fifty-two,” she said, doing the math quickly in her head. “Fifty… two…” She looked at Ash again, a painful feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. ‘ I… had no idea…’
“Yeah, that’s it! Thanks, Chloe!” he said, cheerfully. “I also completed a challenge called the Battle Frontier,” he said, walking back over to the dresser. “They put all the Symbols I earned from battling the Frontier Brains in this plaque for me!”
“Frontier Brains?”
“Oh, they’re like Gym Leaders but way tougher,” he said. “They all battle in different ways to try and beat ya. It’s not like where a Gym Leader would test you an’ see if you’ve earned the badge. They fight to win.”
“I… see…” She looked at the plaque and did some mental math. ‘ That would bring the running total to fifty-nine?’
He was just out of arm’s reach, but suddenly Chloe felt like there was a distance growing between them? ‘ I had no idea he had done so much… I knew he was a good trainer, but..’ She was almost afraid to ask about the rest of the things on the desk. “S-So, the other trophies…?”
He picked up the smaller of the two gold trophies. “This one is from the Orange Islands. You get it from beating the leader of the Orange Crew - that’s what they call their Gym Leaders - so it’s kinda like the Battle Frontier plaque. It’s not a tournament trophy.”
“Wait…” Chloe said, blinking. “Are you saying that the other one…?”
He laughed. “Yup!” He gestured to the larger golden trophy. “This one is from where we won in the Alola League at the Manalo Conference.”
“Wait, an entire tournament?” Chloe felt like she was just going to keep asking questions tonight. “So if I remember right, then that means you got to challenge the Alola Champion, right?” She knew just enough through cultural osmosis that the winner of a league tournament got the right to challenge the Champion or something.
“Not exactly,” he said boastfully. “It was the first Alola League competition, so there was no Champion t’ battle. So that’s us.”
Chloe sat there in silence, trying to make sense of what she just heard. “You… You’re the Alola Pokémon League Champion?”
He nodded. “Yeah!” he puffed out his chest. “Pretty cool, right?”
She sat stunned before shaking her head. “Y-Yeah… pretty cool.” If Chloe felt like all of his experience started forming a gap between them before, this revelation caused the entirety of Mt. Silver to rise up from under his feet, lifting him completely out of view. ‘ It’s hard to even believe… how has he accomplished so much in so little time…?’ She looked down at her hand and curled her fingers up. ‘ Meanwhile I’ve… just been going to school all this time…’
“Oh, and this is the coolest,” Ash said, gesturing to the trophy that looked like a masked wrestler. “This is a trophy of the Masked Royal! After I won the Alola League, I got to have a battle with him, and he’s a huge celebrity in the Alola Region!” He held up his hands like he was about to claw something nearby. “Enjoy!”
“ Pi-ka!” Pikachu mimicked.
Chloe was just bewildered. “En...joy?”
“Oh, that’s the Masked Royal’s catchphrase!” he explained, dropping his arms. “He’s really cool! He’s got this super-strong Incineroar and lots of other strong Pokémon! Battling against him was the most fun I’d had in my entire time there, right, buddy?” he asked, turning to Pikachu.
“ Pikachu!”
‘ Of course it was.’ Chloe looked over the dresser again. Just about everything had been explained. Her eyes scanned the dresser, being drawn to the Cleffa doll. “So… is that a trophy, too?” she hesitantly asked, pointing to it.
Ash shook his head and picked the doll up. “Nah, this is a gift from a friend of mine. She left Alola right about the same time I did, and so she gave me this to remember her by.”
“Oh.” It was all Chloe could say in response.
It was like an arrow through the chest. ‘ So… not only is he the Champion of Alola, not only did he meet this popular celebrity there… but there’s a girl in Alola who cared about him enough to give him this keepsake.’ Chloe swallowed, and felt her fingers digging into her bare knees. ‘ I only just started to have these feelings and now I’m already feeling like I’m getting crushed by them…”
If she had learned anything about Ash over these past few weeks, it’s that Alola was one of the things he held sacred, and if there was someone in love with him waiting for him to return to the island region, what hope did a bookworm from Kanto who had barely anything in common with him have? She had come to Pallet Town to try and learn about who he was, and all she’s learned is that he was so much more important and impressive than she could ever be.
How could she even relate to someone like that?
“Ash! Chloe! Dinner’s ready!” Ash’s mom’s voice carried upstairs like an escape hatch. Chloe would rather be anywhere else right now than Ash’s room, looking at Ash’s trophies, thinking about this girl who had probably already won Ash’s heart.
So she stood up and dusted herself off. “C-C’mon,” she said, unsuccessfully keeping her voice from cracking as she stepped away from him. “Let’s get dinner.”
Ash quickly gathered up his change of clothes, the blanket and the pillow from his closet and began to follow Chloe out, but his partner stood on the ground, watching the student closely as she left the room.
“ Kakachu…?”
The spread before her was unlike any she had seen before. An entire plate of croquettes smothered in gravy. Plates of omelette rice with generous helpings of ketchup. A salad. A casserole. Fresh fruits and dinner rolls and soup and of course bowls for the Pokémon to eat out of.
Chloe blinked in surprise. “You made all of this? By yourself?”
Mrs. Ketchum laughed. “Well, I had all day to prepare, and Ash does get hungry, as I’m sure you know!”
Ash was sitting down across from her, with Pikachu taking a stool next to him with a bowl of Pokémon food. “Oh boy, let’s eat!” he said, quickly digging into a nearby plate of omelette rice.
“Now, Ash, you shouldn’t be so hasty,” his mother chided him. “What if Chloe wanted to try some of that?”
Looking up at her, he offered her the plate he had been scooping and eating directly off of, his cheeks both filled inside and bespeckled outside with ketchup and rice.
“No thanks,” she said, holding a hand up, ready to push the plate back at him if needs be. Ash just looked at his mom, shrugged, and went back to eating.
Seeing Chloe’s hesitation, Ash’s mom looked at her. “Are you having trouble deciding on what you’d like to try?”
Chloe felt a sting of shame at her indecision, looking over the table at everyone but Ash’s mother and herself fully given to eating. Even Eevee was munching happily next to her as she shared the stool next to Chloe with Yamper, the two of them eating in unison. Mr. Mime stood ever ready nearby, hands behind his back. Despite his appearance, he was every inch a reliable butler.
“I… guess it’s that everything looks so good, I don’t know where to start,” she said, shrugging. While she did mean that - everything on offer looked incredibly delicious and from her experience would taste as good as it looked - there was a part of her still struggling with what she had seen in Ash’s room, a section of her mind still frozen in place from the ever increasing distance between the two of them.
“Here, I always like to start with this,” Ash’s mom said, taking a pair of serving chopsticks and placing a piece of bread and a croquette on Chloe’s plate.
She tried - unsuccessfully - to hide her frown. “T-Thank you.” She picked up the fork and knife set out for her and began slowly eating the croquette. It tasted very delicious - that crunchy, salty taste you can only get from something fried, and the potato filling was a different texture in her mouth, helping keep the fried taste of the outside from overwhelming her. Mrs. Ketchum was an incredible chef, as well. It made her reflect on how little she had done around her own home. ‘ Could I cook something even half this good?’
“I guess it is a bit shocking for you, coming so far from home, right?”
Chloe looked up from her attempt at eating at Ash’s mom. “Yeah, I guess I’ve already seen so many things that are surprising and I haven’t even been here for a day so far.”
“Ash mentioned that you were coming out here to experience things that were a little different than what you were used to,” she replied.
Chloe nodded. “I only just recently caught Eevee and while we’ve been doing things here or there, I… I want to take a step out as a trainer. And I thought that spending some time in the wilderness would be good for that.” All too quickly she realized how that sounded. “N-Not to say Pallet Town is out in the middle of nowhere!” she quickly apologized, “It’s just that… I’m a city girl, and coming out to the countryside felt like it would help give me a new perspective.”
“You’ve not spent much time outside the city then?” Mrs. Ketchum asked.
She shook her head. “Not really. A few trips here and there. Goh and I came to Pallet Town once but we were here for a little over a half a day for a summer camp. It wasn’t the same as living out here.”
“That’s for sure. There’s always so much happening in the city and so many things to see! But I like the quiet life here in Pallet Town too much to move. I guess I’m kind of past my days of craving excitement.”
Chloe looked at Ash’s mom and reflected on that thought. “I think I get what you mean,” she said. “Ash said something like that on the way here, about how everything's calmer out here. It sounds really nice.”
“Mmhm,” Mrs. Ketchum agreed. “It might be a bit easier for you to get an idea of what it’s like out here rather than if you stayed in the city. If there’s anything we can do to help you, we’d love to hear it, right Ash?”
Ash looked up. He was chewing on a croquette he had skewered with a fork. He swallowed what was in his mouth. “That’s right! Let’s have fun this week, okay, Chloe? We’re gonna have an awesome time out here!”
Based on how she’d felt up to this point, Chloe was feeling skeptical. But she mustered up enough energy to at least fake a smile. “Right!” she replied.
“So did you two have anything specific in mind for this week?” Mrs. Ketchum asked.
“I definitely wanna go see how everyone is doing at Professor Oak’s,” Ash said. “I know it hasn’t been THAT long since I was here last, but I definitely wanna spend s’more time with everyone there!”
Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Everyone? What do you mean?”
“Oh, right!” Ash said. “All the Pokémon besides Pikachu and the ones I’ve caught since coming to Professor Cerise’s lab and the ones I left with Professor Kukui in Alola are at Professor Oak’s lab! They help him out with his research a lot!”
Already her mind lurched back to all the trophies, memories, and experiences Ash must have had while she was doing homework. “Y-Yeah, I bet they do,” she said, trying her hardest to be polite without sounding sarcastic. Before she could say anything else she stuffed more food in her mouth to shut herself up.
“That’s what I wanna do tomorrow,” Ash said, continuing his train of thought unimpeded. “And on Sunday, we can head out into the woods around Pallet Town! Depending on how long Chloe wants to go camping, we might be out there a few days. We’ve gotta be back to catch the bus back to the lab on Friday, though, since that’s when the Professor’s supposed to be back.”
His mother nodded. “That sounds like a lovely time. I’ll make sure to pack enough food for the two of you for a few days, then, just in case! I’ll be busy cooking up a storm tomorrow!” She giggled and looked at Mr. Mime, who was filling Ash’s cup with more water. “And I’ll need your help, too, Mimey!”
“ Mr. Mime! ”
Chloe focused on finishing her dinner as her mind swirled with thoughts. Ash was seemingly doing the same, but she knew that she’d finish first. ‘ I don’t have a black hole for a stomach, after all.’
“Well, it was very delicious! Thank you very much, Mrs. Ketchum!”
Ash’s mom giggled. “Oh, you’re quite welcome, Chloe. Are you headed off to bed then?”
“Yeah, I’m feeling bushed. I think I’ll go ahead and call it a night, if that’s okay.”
Ash swallowed his current mouthful. “Oh, g’night, Chloe! See you in the morning!”
“Okay, good night!”
As Chloe left the table, Yamper hopped off the stool and followed her, and Eevee followed right along.
She laid in Ash’s bed, under Ash’s blanket, looking at Ash’s ceiling. Sleep wouldn’t come to Chloe in the darkened room.
She turned over in bed, looking at the trophies once more. “Look at everything he’s done,” she whispered to Eevee and Yamper who were snuggled in bed next to her. Of the two, only Eevee’s ears twitched at the whisper as the sleepy Pokémon looked up at her.
“ Vui…?”
Eevee crawled up next to her and looked at the trophies.
“He’s… gone all over the world, even before meeting Goh or me. He’s… accomplished so many different things. Seen so many things.” Her eyes drifted to the doll. “Met… so many different people.”
Chloe sat up, pulling Eevee into her lap. “I was so stupid to come out here. There’s no way I can do anything impressive against all of that. Even at my best, I’m just an inexperienced girl who’s heart set itself on some sort of-” she gestured towards the trophies “-Pokémon Master. All I’ve done is go to school. No huge accomplishments. No championship of anything. I’m just an ordinary girl.”
Her arms pulled Eevee closer to her chest and turned back over, her back to the trophies and the door.
“...there’s already someone else, besides. There’s no room in such a jam-packed life for me.”
It was to these thoughts she finally found slumber, not noticing the door, sitting ever so slightly open, closing gently behind her.
The next morning, Chloe, still somewhat frazzled, diligently worked to put her hair back into it’s typical configuration before she went downstairs for breakfast.
“Good morning, Chloe!” Mrs. Ketchum said, beaming a smile of pure sunshine. In the kitchen behind her, Mr. Mime seemed to be putting the finishing touches on several stacks of pancakes.
Chloe rubbed her tired, aching eyes. She had changed into her overalls and gray striped top. Yamper and Eevee followed Chloe down. “Good morning.” She looked around. “Where’s Ash?”
Mrs. Ketchum looked at her, amused. “I guess you didn’t notice. He’s still asleep in the living room.”
Chloe turned around and saw his foot sticking out from under the covers, laying on the ground off the couch. Pikachu was laying on his chest, still curled up sleeping. She couldn’t help but let a smile rise to her face. “I bet I could get him up,” she said.
Mrs. Ketchum looked at her. “Oh? Would you like to give it a try?”
Chloe grinned. “It would be my pleasure. Do you have a frying pan and a ladle I can borrow for a second?”
Shrugging, Mrs. Ketchum opened the cabinets and handed both of the items to Chloe. As the maroon-haired girl took the cooking instruments, Yamper and Eevee’s eyes both widened, and they held their ears down. “What are you going to do?” Mrs. Ketchum asked.
Chloe entered the living room carrying them both. Spreading her arms apart she took in a deep breath. “WAKEY-WAKEY, ASH!” She then began to hit the frying pan with the ladle, ringing it like an incredibly loud bell.
Ash’s eyes shot open and he sat up. “W-What?! H-Huh?!”
Pikachu shot awake, too, and in his surprise, the mouse discharged a bolt of electricity directly into Ash, filling the air with even more noise as Ash’s scream quickly drowned out the sound Chloe was making. The bolt passed quickly, and Ash laid there for a moment before sitting up.
“What was that?!” he asked, stunned and twitching from the electricity that coursed through his system.
“It’s called ‘Waking the Dead’,” Chloe explained. “My brother and I tend to sleep in on weekends, so as a last resort for waking us up, my Mom has been known to do this sometimes.” She put her hands on her hips, still holding the frying pan and ladle. “Good morning, Ash Ketchum. Do you know what time it is?”
Ash looked around, head still spinning and dazed from his quick awakening mixed with the Thunderbolt he just endured. “B-Breakfast…?” he muttered, looking at her.
She nodded. “That’s right. So get up, wash your face, and change your clothes.”
“Got it.” Ash turned and began heading up stairs to change and prepare for the day ahead and Chloe returned to the kitchen and gave the ladle and frying pan back to Mrs. Ketchum.
“Thank you for letting me borrow those.”
Mrs. Ketchum could barely contain her laughter. “That’s definitely an effective technique, Chloe! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him wake up so fast!”
Chloe smiled, enjoying the attention this morning. “Thank you. Feel free to make it your own if he keeps sleeping like this.”
‘ It’s almost like all that stuff last night doesn’t matter anymore, and we’re back to being friends again,’ she thought. ‘ I just hope it carries forward into the rest of the day.’
Chloe followed Ash down the dirt road and across the bridge to a building that stood on one of the larger hills in Pallet Town. Looking at its pink roof, Chloe was transported back in time to when she and Goh visited Professor Oak’s laboratory. ‘ How many years ago was that…?’ she wondered to herself. ‘ Other than Mew, I can hardly remember anything that happened back then…’
She carried Eevee in her arms. Yamper had decided that napping in the Ketchum living room after a full breakfast was how he was going to spend the morning. Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu were leading the way through Pallet Town and had brought them here. On his wrist was the bracelet that Chloe first saw on Ash’s trophy-desk. ‘ I wanna ask what it is but... ‘ She sighed. ‘ There’s no way I wanna hear another bit about how he went to some other region and this is some sort of special king bracelet or something.’
Ash led the way up the stairs. He was the one who knocked on the door as Chloe stood next to him, wondering what she’d say to Professor Oak after seeing him for the first time since a brief meeting the day she met Ash.
When the door opened, it wasn’t the wisened professor who stood there, but a young man Chloe guessed was only a few years older than Ash was. He wore a red headband under his black hair which peaked over it, covering the tops of his ears. His eyes widened with familiarity as he set his eyes on Ash. “Hey, Ash! It’s been a while! Sorry I missed you last time!” He extended a hand towards Ash, which the Palletonian shook.
“Nice t’ see you, Tracey! I guess Professor Oak isn’t around?”
Tracey shook his head. “No, the Professor’s in Goldenrod City for a few days to record episodes of his radio show.”
“Aww, oh well,” Ash said, shrugging.
Chloe stood with a sour frown on her face. “So, this is another friend of yours?” she asked.
“Oh, right!” Ash said, turning to her. He put a hand shyly behind his head. “Chloe, this is Tracey! Tracey, this is Chloe!”
Tracey offered her a handshake as well. “It’s nice to meet you, Chloe. If what I’ve heard from Professor Oak is true, you’re Professor Cerise’s daughter, right?”
Chloe’s frown intensified. ‘ Great, another person who only knows who I am because of my Dad.’ She took his hand and shook it, regardless. “Nice to meet you, too, Tracey. Do you work here?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m Professor Oak’s assistant, and that’s especially important during times he’s not here. I’ve heard a lot of things about your father, Chloe! His ambition to learn everything about Pokémon from every region is remarkable!”
“Yeah, thanks,” she shrugged, not really interested in talking about her family either at this point.
Ash stepped in to fill the space in the conversation Chloe had retreated from. “I wanna see how my Pokémon are doing, too,” he said. “Can we go see ‘em?”
Tracey nodded. “They’re all out back, though I guess it may take a bit to get them all together!”
“Awesome!” Ash said. He turned to Chloe. “I can’t wait to introduce you to all of them! Let’s go!” He pushed past Tracey and through the lab, following a path that Chloe assumed he’d walked many times in the past.
Chloe looked at Tracey, feeling a bit sorry for him. “He comes all this way and he hardly says a word to you. Sorry about this, Tracey.”
Tracey just laughed and shrugged. “Well, he wouldn’t be Ash if Pokémon weren’t the biggest thing on his mind!” he replied. “It’s just part of who he is.”
This just made her frown return. “Another part of who he is. Another part that I have no clue about.”
The two of them followed Ash through the lab and into the garden. Ash was cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting. “HEY, EVERYBODY! I’M BACK! AGAIN!”
The response was instantaneous. It started as a low rumble, coming from nearly all directions, but a swarm of Pokémon - most kinds that Chloe had never seen before, all rushed Ash from multiple directions.
Then a second ‘wave’ appeared, all charging Ash at once, only this one Chloe recognized as a herd of Tauros. The Pokémon that were approaching all diverted from their path, giving the Tauros herd free reign to crash into Ash, tossing him into the sky where another Pokémon Chloe recognized caught Ash in his claws.
Chloe took out her phone and pointed it at Ash’s savior, and an image of draconic Pokémon appeared on screen.
“Charizard, the Flame Pokémon,” the Rotom inside her phone spoke in it’s controlled, concise manner. “A Fire-and Flying-type. Charizard’s wings can carry this Pokémon close to an altitude of 4,600 feet. It blows out fire that is hot enough to melt boulders and may cause forest fires by spitting flames.”
Ash laughed as Charizard set him on the ground. “Good t’ see you too, Charizard!” he said. “Thanks for the save!”
Charizard growled, but there was a grin on his face and a familiarity in his tone.
Tracey stepped next to Chloe as the rest of the Pokémon returned and the Tauros raced off into the distance. “Muk, Heracross, Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile…” he began listing off as he pointed them out in the crowd. “Donphan, Torkoal, Buizel, Gible… Oshawott, Snivy, Scraggy, Boldore… This is most of them, but I guess most of the other Flying-Types are further in.”
Chloe did a double take as all the Pokémon crowded around Ash. “Wait, are you saying all of these Pokémon belong to Ash?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Even those Tauros that you just saw, too. Ash has caught quite a lot of Pokémon! It’s part of the reason Professor Oak needs all the help he can get!”
As all the Pokémon gathered around Ash, all vying for his attention as he endeavored to give them all hugs and headpats, Chloe watched and felt her stomach twist again. ‘ Look at them all… All these Pokémon from all over the world gathered here, and they probably only have one thing in common: they all care so much about Ash. It’s incredible… but at the same time… what place is there for me?’
She felt more excluded than ever, clutching Eevee tightly to her chest.
‘ Coming here was a mistake.’
“Oh,” Ash said, reaching into his pockets, “since we’re gonna be here for a while, lemme introduce you guys to some new friends of mine! First, c’mon out!”
He threw five Poké Balls into the air, which all quickly snapped open. Appearing in several flashes of light were the five Pokémon Ash brought with him from the Cerise Laboratory.
“Everyone, this is Dragonite, Gengar, Lucario, Sirfetch’d, and Dracovish! While we’re here, they’re gonna be with us, too!”
Immediately the crowd shifted, gathering around the new arrivals, with cheers and friendly waves and nudges from the entire group towards Ash’s new Pokémon. Dragonite picked up Oshawott and Snivy and hugged them tightly, while Lucario gave a fist bump to Buizel. Dracovish danced alongside Totodile and Gible, and Sirfetch’d impressed Scraggy and Heracross. Gengar, not quite used to the attention, faded into the shadows before reappearing nearby under the shade of a tree.
“And that’s not all! I brought one more friend with me!” Ash called out, turning to look at Chloe.
Her breath caught in her chest, and she looked around and noticed that Tracey had made a quiet escape back into the Lab.
“This is my friend Chloe from Vermilion City! She’s come out t’ Pallet Town t’ learn more about how to be a Pokémon Trainer in her own way! Say hello to her!”
“No, wait-”
The words had scarcely left her mouth before she was bowled over by the surge of Pokémon, all in various states of hugging her arms and legs. She dropped Eevee entirely as she fell into the soft, sludgy body of Muk and the other Pokémon all vying for her attention as well. A vine wrapped around Eevee’s torso and lifted her out of the crowd as Ash’s Snivy stepped back, trying to give Chloe some space that many of the others weren’t going to afford her.
It was at this moment that Chloe’s Eevee was truly seen by Ash’s Oshawott. Turning from Chloe to her Pokémon, Oshawott approached Snivy and Eevee as the former sat the latter safely on the ground.
“ Oshawott!” he boasted, pointing at his own chest. “ Osha!”
“ Vui?” Eevee replied, tilting her head to the side.
“ Snivy sni,” said Snivy, waving her hand dismissively towards the sea otter.
“ Osha~!” Oshawott challenged, pulling off his scalchop and brandishing his Razor Shell attack, causing a blade of water to extend from it. “ Osha oshawott wott!” he boasted, attempting to impress Eevee.
“ Eie? Eievui!” Eevee said cheerfully as she raised up her tail. She began to glow blue, especially around the tip of her tail. A surge of water came from her tail’s tip, forming a blade much taller and longer than Oshawott’s.
“ Osh oshawott?!” the Water-type exclaimed in surprise.
Eevee swung her tail, smacking Oshawott aside, sending the lovestruck Water-Type flying far, far away.
Snivy put an arm on Eevee’s back. “ Snivy, snivyvy.”
Meanwhile, back at the pile of Pokémon, Chloe was still unable to get her footing as they all wanted to meet and greet her in their own way. She eventually felt a hand grab her own and pull her back up to her feet. Opening her eyes, she saw Ash smiling back at her.
“They’re pretty excited to meet you, huh?” he asked, grinning.
“Y-Yeah,” she said, looking away so that he wouldn’t see the stinging heat rise to her cheeks. “I never knew you had... so many of them.”
Ash shrugged, forcing Pikachu to shift on his shoulder. “There are some people who probably think that the Gym Badges and the Trophies and the titles and everything are the most important, but me? It’s all these guys.” He smiled, a look of intensity in his eyes as he looked over the Pokémon that gathered around him. “These guys are my family. Just as much as Mom is. If there’s anything I have that could be considered a legacy, it’s them.”
Before Chloe could even think about what he just said, Dragonite flew over to them and pulled the three of them into a hug, making Chloe’s face burn even redder. The only thing she could think about was how Ash’s clothes smelled like syrup he put on the pancakes he ate this morning.
“You’re my family, too, Dragonite!” Ash said, laughing. “And I kinda want to introduce you to another part of my family if you’re up for it?”
“ Bowa…?” Dragonite asked, letting Ash, Pikachu, and Chloe go.
Ash looked at his gathered Pokémon. “Hey, Charizard! Are you up for a little sparring battle?”
Chloe saw the wild grin grow across the Fire-type’s face as he stepped forward. Charizard nodded and approached Ash for instructions.
“Wait, you’re going to have a battle here? Now? Against yourself?” Chloe asked as Eevee and Snivy approached as well.
Ash nodded. “I want to get a little practice in with this-” he raised his wrist, showing off the weird bracelet. “It’s been a while since I used a Z-Move.”
“A Z-Move?” Chloe asked, confused.
Ash chuckled. “It’s easier t’ show than t’ tell. So I need Dragonite’s help.” He turned to his Dragon Pokémon. “Are you up for it?”
She looked at Ash, then at Charizard before grinning herself, a determined look in her eyes as she sized up Charizard. “ Bowa!”
Charizard grinned back, the look in his eyes showing that he’s eager to test his strength against one of Ash’s newest recruits. He flapped his wings, crossing the field but landing not too far away, to give them both proper spacing to start the battle.
Chloe backed away as well, standing to the side as Ash backed up only slightly from Dragonite. “Alright. Let it rip, Charizard! Come at us with everything you’ve got!”
“ Grrwa! ” Charizard shouted, taking wing and zipping across the field towards Dragonite. He held out his claws, which extended and glowed white as he approached.
“Here comes a Slash attack! Dragonite, use Dragon Dance!”
Dragonite took to the air as well and began to spin, using the mystical dance to build power within her body. Charizard drew close and raked his sharp claws across her scales, but the spinning motion kept the damage to a minimum as Dragonite was pushed away by the force of the Slash attack.
“Alright, Dragonite! Show ‘im your Dragon Claw!”
Finishing the dance, Dragonite’s great paws became enveloped in emerald energy, forming sharp, jagged claws on the ends of her arms. She dove in close to Charizard and struck at his body with her attack, knocking Charizard down into a rough landing on the ground, though the Flame Pokémon did land on his feet, ready for more. Opening his maw, Charizard belched out a gout of hot flames at Dragonite, blasting the Dragon-type with a Flamethrower attack.
Dragonite tried to block some of the damage with her arms and her naturally resilient Dragon-Typing, but the blackened scales on her arms showed that Charizard wasn’t just playing around. “Alright, Dragonite! Show ‘em your Hyper Beam!”
Dragonite took in a breath as she gathered the destructive energy within herself. Forming an orb of energy before her mouth, she gathered up Charizard wasn’t about to give her the opportunity to just shoot freely as she wanted and he began flying around rapidly to throw off her aim. Dragonite fired the attack downwards, cutting into the ground itself, causing a series of explosions as she dragged the beam across the field, chasing down Charizard. The Fire-Type managed to avoid the attack and then began to head skyward.
Chloe felt her heart sink. “N-No, Dragonite! Move out of the way!”
“After using Hyper Beam,” Ash said, “Dragonite can’t move for a bit.” His eyes narrowed but the smile on his face never wavered. “So what’re you gonna do with this opening, Charizard?”
Charizard grabbed Dragonite with his claws, holding her arms down as he pulled her up and began to do loops in the air, holding her and slowly growing faster and faster as he did.
“That’s Seismic Toss!” Ash called out.
Charizard then went into a dive, quickly approaching the ground before he flipped, flinging Dragonite like a slingshot into the dirt with a crash that sent a shockwave that nearly threw Chloe to the ground. It was hard for her to look, but she saw Dragonite, covered in dirt and tired, rising to her feet as Ash began to adjust something on his bracelet. He took off the yellow gemstone on its surface and replaced it with a clear one.
“Alright, Dragonite, are you ready?” he asked.
Dragonite turned to him and nodded.
“This might feel a bit weird at first, but you’ll understand what to do. Now, c’mon!”
Ash crossed his arms in front of his chest, and the bracelet began to glow with a bright light, so bright that even the sunlight seemed dim in comparison. Dragonite braced herself with her footing as Ash crossed his hands one over the other in front of him before bringing them both down and slashing with his left arm upwards. He crossed his right arm, hand clenched into a fist, over his chest, and his left arm, also forming a fist, over his forehead. As he did, the bright light that originated from the bracelet moved to envelop Ash himself, gathering around him in a bright, golden aura. The aura shot forth as many strings of light, colliding with Dragonite and being absorbed into her body.
All this time, the bracelet continued to glow.
“Here we go! Full power, now!”
Dragonite leaned forward before kicking off with her feet, launching herself forward and leaving small craters where she had been standing. The golden aura returned around Dragonite, and she flew towards Charizard with a speed Chloe’s eyes struggled to follow.
“Breakneck Blitz, go!”
Charizard held up his claws to attempt to catch the charging Dragonite, but the glowing Dragon-Type moved even more quickly than he could respond. The light faded into a shockwave of air and smoke as Dragonite collided with Charizard, sending the Fire-and Flying-type tumbling over the ground backwards. The might of the collision produced a burst of pressure and force that nearly blew Chloe off her feet. The Pokémon watching around her and even the trees around Oak's Laboratory shuddered at the impact, and Snivy had to use her vines to keep Eevee from being blown away. The smoke cleared and Dragonite stood, still as exhausted as before, but grinning wildly and excited to continue to the battle.
Charizard rose from the ground as well, clearly worse for the wear and excited at such a powerful opponent. He spread his wings wide as though to challenge Dragonite to continue.
Ash, however, had done what he had come to do. “That’s enough for now, you guys,” he said. “Dragonite, that was an awesome Z-Move for a first try! You really let ‘em have it! And Charizard, I can tell you’ve gotten even stronger than before! That’s so awesome!”
Dragonite’s battle mania faded and she returned to her gentle, happy nature. Charizard smirked and gave her a thumbs up, and she flew over to give him a hug.
Chloe, however, was completely lost. “Ash… what… how…?”
He laughed. “That’s a Z-Move. And this-” he held up his bracelet “- is a Z-Ring. You need a Z-Ring and Z-Crystals to use Z-Moves. They come from the Alola Region, so I picked these up while I was there.”
Chloe felt her heart still racing after watching the exchange. “It was… It was so cool…” she said, the words coming out on their own. “The light was so bright and intense, but so gentle and strong, too…”
Ash grinned happily. “I know, right? Z-Moves are awesome!” He looked at Dragonite hugging Charizard tightly. The Flame Pokémon was trying to squirm out of the dragon’s grip. “Leon is really strong. And everyone else in the Master Class will be, too. I’ve been thinkin’ about this for a while, but I’ll probably need to use everything I can if I’m gonna have a chance to beat him when the time comes. Practicing Z-Moves again after not using them for so long is part of the training I wanna do while we’re out here.”
Chloe looked at him, feeling impressed, though she felt the distance between them grow ever more slightly. “You’ve been thinking about this the entire time, haven’t you?” she asked.
“Not really,” he said, shrugging. “But I did plan on doin’ it even back in Vermilion City. So I guess this is the reason I wanted t’ come home to Pallet Town. To get this.”
Chloe looked at the Z-Ring, somewhat in awe. “That’s pretty cool, Ash,” she said. “With strength like that, I’m sure you’ll be able to beat Leon.”
Ash shook his head. “I dunno. Even with Pikachu Gigantimaxing, we couldn’t really hurt Leon’s Charizard. It might take even more strength, I think. It’s gonna take everything we’ve got to win and take the next step towards becoming a Pokémon Master.”
Chloe nodded. “I…” she began to say before stopping herself. ‘ I think… you may be a lot closer to that dream than you think,’ she thought, not quite bold enough to say the words out loud herself.
“You what?” Ash asked.
Chloe shrugged. “I… guess I’m feeling a little hungry?” she lied. “I think I’ll head back to your place and see what your Mom’s up to.”
“Oh, you, too?” Ash asked. “I’ll come, too!”
Chloe turned and picked Eevee up. “Alright, then,” she said somewhat limply before beginning to walk away.
“ Pikapi, ” Pikachu said, looking at his partner.
Ash looked at Pikachu as though the mouse was telling him something important.
“ ... Did I do something wrong?” he asked quietly to himself before following Chloe away.
Chapter 11: On Gardening
Chapter Text
The sun was shining high in the sky when Chloe and Ash returned to his home in Pallet Town. “Hey, Mom!” he called out, standing at the front door. “We’re back!”
When silence was the only answer, Chloe spoke up. “Is she in the backyard?” There was a pause before she asked the prerequisite question. “Do you guys have a backyard?”
Ash blinked like he was just realizing something. “Oh, I bet she’s in the garden.”
Chloe frowned at him, still holding Eevee after the events at Oak’s Lab. The scowl she wore on her face was something that was becoming easier the more she dwelled on the seed of sadness that had been planted in the pit of her stomach since she had arrived in Pallet Town. “Well, let’s go find her, then,” she said.
Ash remained his guileless self. “Yeah, let’s go see!” He opened the door wide and began walking through the house.
Chloe responded by shrugging and walking around the outside.
When she arrived, she found Ash’s mother tending a modest garden. There weren’t so many plants that would require a lot of work to maintain, she noticed. She recognized the tomato plant instantly, the green, unripened fruits hanging from the vines as they climbed the metal tomato cage around them. There were also smaller plants, looking like they would grow peppers from what Chloe could tell. There were a few others, but they looked too small for her to identify what, exactly, was growing.
Ash’s mother wore a sun hat and a light jacket to keep the sun off of her while she worked. She looked up to see Chloe looking at her and smiled, giving the girl a small wave. Mr. Mime was watering some plants nearby, and Yamper was lying in the dirt near the garden, dozing peacefully. It was at this time that Ash finally came through the house and opened the door. “Hey, Mom, I-” he paused, having seen that Chloe had already made it out here. “Heh, uh, yeah you can do that, too.”
“ Pikapi… ” Pikachu sighed, shrugging from his partner’s shoulders. He looked to Ash’s mother and Chloe with an apologetic look.
“You’ve come back for lunch already?” his mother asked him.
Ash returned a bashful smile, holding up the Z-Ring on his wrist. “Well… yeah. Using a Z-Move takes a lot of energy, y’know?” he said shyly.
His mother shrugged. “I guess it can’t be helped. I did make some sandwiches and put them in the fridge for you, but I might have to make something even bigger for you at this rate.”
“Sorry,” he said, smiling widely. “Oh, but thanks, Mom!” he said, turning on his heel to go get something to eat.
“You can get yourself something to eat, too,” Ash’s mom said, turning to Chloe.
The girl shook her head. “I’m not like Ash. I actually have to wait until I digest food before eating more.”
The woman laughed and returned to tending a nearby tomato plant with a pair of shears. “Ash has always had a huge appetite, even as a little boy. I guess it’s where he gets all his energy from.”
Holding Eevee to her chest, Chloe crouched down near the tomato plant, watching Ash’s mother examine the branches. “So you’re pruning it to improve the yield, right?”
“Do you know a lot about gardening?” Ash’s mother asked after stifling a giggle.
“I know enough,” she responded. “I help out with the garden at school a lot, so I know a bit about keeping plants healthy.”
Ash’s mother smiled at her. “Would you mind giving me a hand, then? I have some carrot seeds I’d like to plant in that area just over there.”
Chloe looked over at the part of the yard she was gesturing towards. It wasn’t a large area, but given how small carrots were and how they grew, there was ample room for a fairly healthy amount of plants. She sat Eevee down, and the Pokémon began sniffing at the dirt. “Sure, I’ll give you a hand.”
Chloe walked over to the section of the garden Ash’s mother had indicated to her and took the shovel out of the bucket that was set aside. She crouched down as Eevee scampered over towards her, curious as to what they were doing now. Chloe looked at the packet of carrot seeds for a moment, reading how many were in there and the recommended depth of which they should be buried. “One centimeter deep and two and a half centimeters apart…” she read to herself. Taking the small shovel, she began digging the small, precisely spaced holes in the dirt.
The sound of Chloe’s voice and the digging finally roused the lazy Yamper from his sleep, and he toddled over to where the action was. Eevee watched Chloe closely with her large brown eyes before moving to the opposite side and digging into the dirt with her paws in the same way that Chloe dug through the dirt with the shovel, leaving a succession of shallow spots for the carrots to be planted. Yamper yawned and continued to brush up against Chloe’s legs, hungry for attention instead of food for a change.
“You’re quite methodical,” came the voice of Ash’s mother.
Chloe looked up from her work at the woman, who seemed to be watching her with some interest. She shrugged. “Well… I’m used to routines and following instructions,” she said, using a free hand to scratch Yamper’s head.. “That’s a lot of what school is. Following instructions and doing what you’re told.”
“Still going to school even at your age,” Ash’s mother said somewhat wistfully. “You’re not like the other friends Ash has brought home.”
Chloe immediately felt the conflict in her chest. On one hand, hearing that Ash’s other friends were known to his mother was yet another blow in a series of embarrassing miscalculations she’d made regarding this week. On the other hand, her uniqueness among them was something she almost wasn’t expecting to hear. There was a conflict in her mind about whether to deflect from these friends to spare her own feelings or to satisfy her curiosity and ask about these people Chloe had never met.
Ultimately, curiosity won out. “Ash has brought other friends here?” she asked, inwardly cringing at the somewhat hurt inflection in her voice that she hadn’t intended to express.
As Chloe’s back was to the woman, she couldn’t see her expression, but her tone didn’t betray any reaction to Chloe’s delivery. “Goodness, yes. He’s brought lots of friends to meet me. Nearly all of them are like him, though; they’re career Pokémon trainers of some kind. Gym Leaders, or Coordinators. That sort of thing.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Chloe said, trying her best to not show her emotions on her face. She returned to her task of preparing the soil for the carrot seeds.
Mrs. Ketchum smiled at the girl. “You’ll find your path one day soon, I’m sure,” she said, offering Chloe some encouragement.
Chloe nodded, though privately she held some skepticism that she’d ever find out what was right for her. “Right now, I’m just trying things out. Some stuff I’m sure will stick with me, but other stuff… Well, it’s like how you’re pruning the tomato plants. Some parts have to be cut off to make the whole stronger.”
In her mind, Chloe thought about cutting off her nascent feelings for Ash that had been growing over the past few weeks. Given everything that had occurred since she set foot in Pallet Town, maybe it would be for the best if she gave them up right now before they could do her any more harm.
Turning back to the plant by her side, Mrs. Ketchum ran a thumb over one of it’s thin, soft leaves. “Plants aren’t so different from Pokémon or people,” she said, cradling the branches of the small plant in her hand. “We all need a firm foundation to stand on and lots of love and care to grow into our best selves.” She reached into the pocket of her jacket where she kept the shears. “But only showering those we care about with love and affection can spoil them. Discipline is important, too.” She snipped one of the branches down to the trunk. “We can only grow into our best selves when we have the patient, kind support of people who really care about us enough to correct us when we go astray.”
Bitterly, Chloe pulled open the packet of carrot seeds. “But that foundation is important, too,” she said somewhat acridly. “You can’t grow anything if the soil won’t take, or if the seeds are choked out by weeds.” She began dropping seeds in the holes she and Eevee had dug up.
Mrs. Ketchum had a wry smile on her face. Chloe glanced up at her and saw the smirk, looking much like her son’s face. “Even skilled gardeners can be wrong about a soil’s condition, though.”
Chloe paused as Eevee continued covering the seeds with dirt. “What do you mean?”
“Perhaps you think the soil’s gone through too much to support a new plant, or maybe you think that the plants nearby would stop a new seed from germinating,” she said. “But some plants are more tenacious than others, and they can take root even when it feels like they shouldn’t.” Ash’s mother turned to her and smiled. “People and Pokémon are the same way. Maybe someone doesn’t seem receptive to others, but they can get very attached to the right person.”
“ Eievui!” chimed in the Evolution Pokémon, having finished burying the seeds.
Chloe wondered briefly if they were still talking about plants. “E-Even still,” she interjected, a nervous feeling rising in her chest, “it’s possible to take root in a bad place. If a plant grows somewhere it doesn’t belong, then you’ll have to move it or trim it down to stay where it belongs, right?”
“I suppose,” Mrs. Ketchum conceded. “But if a plant were to pop up unexpectedly, it could be quite beautiful, don’t you think? Maybe all you need to do is give it time, and it might bloom into a beautiful flower.”
“But it could also be a weed,” Chloe said, turning her attention back to Eevee, who sat wagging her tail. The Normal-type smiled at her, not picking up any of the subtext to Chloe’s words. “And you might be doing harm to everything around it by not removing it sooner.”
“Then the question becomes… are you willing to take that risk, Chloe?”
The student looked back over her shoulder at Ash’s mother. “R-Risk?” Her stomach did a somersault. ‘ There’s no way…’
“You could have a beautiful, if somewhat unconventional and unexpected, garden if you let these seeds grow and nurture them, or you could weed them out immediately to protect the rest of the garden from harm. That choice is up to you.”
Chloe blinked in the woman’s direction. “It’s up to me…?”
“Of course!” she said. “Everyone gets to decide what grows in their garden. Whether it’s perfectly chosen or blanketed with wildflowers, it’s always a choice.”
The sliding door on the side of the house opened up, and Ash stuck his head outside. “Hey, Mom? I uh… might need something more than those sandwiches…” There was an innocent smile on his face, one that disarmed Chloe’s defenses as usual. Recounting Mrs. Ketchum’s words, she thought to herself ‘I have a choice to make right now. Do I want to yank out this weed? Or do I want to try and grow wildflowers?’
In her heart, she knew the answer.
While his mother giggled, Chloe stood and put her hands on her hips. “Honestly,” she said in mock annoyance. “Your Mom goes through all that trouble to make you a lunch and you already blast through it,” she said, stepping closer to him.
“H-Hey,” he said, taking one step back inside. “Like I said, Z-Moves take a lot of energy…!”
“It wouldn’t do to have her back in the kitchen after making breakfast AND preparing you a lunch, so I’ll go cook something,” Chloe said, smirking at him. “I know a good recipe for cream stew.”
Ash blinked, looking at her like she had something strangely profound. “Wait, I didn’t know you could cook!”
“I am a girl of many talents,” she said, pushing past him and heading back in the house. Eevee and Yamper chased behind her, almost tripping Ash as they darted between his legs.
“H-Hey! How long will it take?” Ash called as he began following her inside.
Mrs. Ketchum giggled to herself as she turned back to her gardening. “So that’s her choice,” she said to herself. She began humming to herself, wondering just what would sprout from the seed that she planted.
The next morning felt like it came very early. Having only just narrowed her backpack to contain what she would need in the forest, Chloe descended the stairs with the sun only just creeping over the mountains, casting long shadows over Pallet Town. She was at the top of the stairs, leading into the living room where she could hear Ash’s mother was giving him instructions, so she decided to hang back a bit.
“It’s pretty lucky that Chloe knows how to cook,” Mrs. Ketchum said, continuing from some statement Chloe wasn’t able to hear. She grinned to herself before looking at Eevee, who had followed her to crouching on the stairs. “As long as you all can find water, that makes ingredients much easier to carry than already prepared food.”
Ash shrugged. “It’s only going to be a few days and we won’t even be that far away. We’ll be back before you know it!”
“I know,” his mother responded. “But it’s my job to make sure you know. And you should remember to brush your teeth in the morning and change your-”
“Mom! She might hear you!” Ash shouted over her words.
Giggling, Chloe thought now was as good a time as any to finish descending the stairs, which she did. She was dressed in something a bit different from usual; a light, airy sky-blue blouse and a pair of blue capri with a pink flower pattern around the legs. On her feet were a pair of sturdy shoes, perfect for hiking along the dirt paths around Pallet Town, and protecting her head was a tan newsboy cap to help shield her from the sun. She wore her mom’s old pleather backpack, filled with the essentials (the rest of what she brought to Pallet Town was lying about in somewhat organized piles around Ash’s room - she’d come back for them before going home).
Her arrival of course drew the attention of Ash and his mother, and his Mom was the first to respond. “Aww, how cute! It’s a very nice outfit, Chloe!”
“Thank you, Mrs. Ketchum,” she said, smiling as Eevee walked over to Pikachu to greet him with a smile and a wag of her tail.
Ash nodded as he adjusted his hat on his head with his left hand, his Z-Ring still glittering on his arm. “If we’re all set, we should get going! You can see a bit about what being a Pokémon Trainer is all about!”
Pikachu pumped his fist towards Eevee on the floor. “ Pikachu!”
Chloe nodded. “Right! Let’s go!”
Eevee turned and scampered up Chloe to rest on her head and Pikachu took his usual resting place on Ash’s shoulder.
“Hold on a sec,” Ash asked, looking at her. “What about Yamper?”
The puppy was lying on the couch, sleeping after a heavy breakfast. Chloe giggled. “Well, we wouldn’t want your Mom to be without someone to talk to, right? He can stick around here for a bit and enjoy her company.”
Ash’s mother giggled. “Thank you, Chloe. I’ll take good care of him until you get back.”
With a wave to Ash’s mother on their way out, the two of them were off. Ash pointed them towards the mountains that rose to Pallet Town’s western border, and they began walking.
Around her, Chloe saw many farmers working alongside Pokémon in their fields. She was somewhat surprised at the amount of rice paddies she saw. ‘ I guess we do eat a lot of rice, huh?’ she thought to herself. ‘ Not that this is all for me.’ Across the somewhat flat area, there were some Pokémon helping farm other plants as well. Chloe recognized a few plants that were growing, but she had never seen this many different kinds all at once.
Ash didn’t seem to notice her wonderment, instead focusing on what was ahead. “There’s so many cool places hidden around Pallet Town,” Ash said over his shoulder to Chloe. “I know just the places to go check out! Maybe we’ll see some rare Pokémon, too!”
“Do rare Pokémon live out here?” she asked.
Ash nodded. “Usually you’ll see an Oddish or a Nidoran, but sometimes you can see a Kangaskhan, even!”
“ Pikachu!” he chimed in.
Chloe hummed to herself. “That does sound pretty cool…” She felt like she was forgetting something, but she shrugged it off.
“Hey, maybe you’ll even be able to catch a Pokémon!” he said. Now he was walking backwards, looking at her as they moved down the path and towards the forest. “Your first Pokémon besides Eevee! That could be fun!”
“I dunno if I want to catch another Pokémon just yet,” Chloe said, frowning. “I still want to learn a bit more, to figure out what being a Pokémon Trainer means to me, you know?”
Ash nodded. “I gotcha. But still, maybe you and Eevee’ll have a battle! That could be cool!”
She smiled at that. “That could be cool, as long as we don’t get in over our head.”
From her perch on Chloe’s head, Eevee let out a mock-howl. “ Eeeiieevuiiii!”
Ash and Chloe both laughed at the fierceness the Normal-type was demonstrating. Pikachu climbed onto Ash’s head and gave a loud howl as well. “ Kachuuuuuuuu!”
When they finally entered the woods, Ash and Pikachu became much more quiet. Chloe watched Ash’s brown eyes dart from left to right, with Pikachu raising his tail and ears as well. Eevee was on her head, mimicking Pikachu’s movements, though her paws didn’t quite find as much purchase on Chloe’s hat as Pikachu found on Ash’s shoulder. She slipped off Chloe’s head, and only the girl’s swift reaction caught Eevee in her arms.
“Seems pretty safe, right buddy?” Ash asked after a solid 5 minutes of silence.
“ Pikapika, ” the mouse agreed.
“I figured that’s what you guys were trying to do,” Chloe said. “I guess all the traveling you’ve done, you’re used to doing this?”
He nodded back. “Yeah. I had a few friends who were better at this sorta thing than I am, but we can manage pretty well, right buddy?”
“ Pikachu!”
Chloe giggled at their double-act. “Well, I do see a few Pokémon,” she said, looking up into the trees to see a nesting Pidgey. “But I guess they’re not very aggressive.”
“The Spearow around here are somethin’ else, though,” Ash said, chuckling under his breath. Pikachu did the same.
Chloe shrugged at their private joke. “In any case, I guess this is where we do a bit of exploration? Trainers do that, right?”
Ash nodded. “Yup! There’s a place I wanna show you, but it’s gonna be a hike. Are you ready?”
Smirking back, Chloe responded “I can handle it.”
Ash began leading her through the trees. There were a few Pokémon she saw in the brush watching them; an Oddish and a Rattata, the sorts of things Ash had mentioned that she recognized. ‘ It’s honestly not that different from Vermilion City when you get down to it. I guess Kanto is still Kanto, no matter where you go.’ She smiled at the thought, drawing some comfort from it.
Maybe the distance between herself and Ash wasn’t so insurmountable after all.
As they walked deeper into the forest, Ash pointed out a large boulder lying in the middle of the trees. “See that?” he said. “That’s the first checkpoint.”
Chloe looked at the rock. It was huge compared to them, but given its location, it wasn’t exactly in any position to harm them. As she approached it, she saw a green layer of moss growing off the top of it. “It’s so big, right, Eevee?” she asked.
Eevee raised her head up towards the rock to give it a sniff. When she did, she wrinkled her nose before breaking out into a sneezing fit.
“Maybe th’ moss doesn’t agree with her?” Ash asked, stifling a laugh.
“Guess not,” she said, picking Eevee off the ground with a smirk. “We’ll get away from this rock. You’ll be fine.”
“ Eievui…”
As they pressed onwards past the rock, Chloe looked upwards through the trees. It was a beautiful day, though most of the sky was obscured by the trees and their foliage. She idly thought about asking Ash if they should stop for lunch, but looking at him, he seemed to be forging ahead just fine. The question danced on her tongue for only a moment before she swallowed it back. ‘ No, if he’s fine right now, we might as well go until he thinks about getting something to eat. ’
Continuing to follow Ash, the two of them soon came to a river. At the point where Ash brought them, Chloe saw a bridge connecting the side on which they stood to the opposite side.
Ash pointed to the bridge. “This is the second checkpoint. The place I wanna take you is across this bridge and then maybe a few more minutes of walking.
Chloe once again considered the bridge, though the more she looked at it, the more she began to worry over it. It was clearly not a new structure here in the middle of this forest. The boards that made it up looked half-rotted through at best, and the ropes holding the boards didn’t look much better than that. Slowly her gaze turned to the river, and she caught a glimpse of a Magikarp beneath the waves getting pulled downstream by it’s rapid flow.
She swallowed. “You’re not saying we’re crossing here, are you?”
Ash was already approaching the bridge when her words made him pause. “Uh, yeah? Why?”
“This bridge is clearly unsafe,” she said, pointing to it. “It looks like it’s older than Professor Oak and half the boards look like they’d snap as soon as you put any weight on them!”
Ash looked at it for a moment, then back to Chloe. “I-uh, I guess but I can’t think of another way.”
Chloe gave him an annoyed glare. “Why don’t you call out Dragonite to carry us across?”
“Hehe…” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “I kinda left Dragonite back at the lab so she could hang out with the rest of the Pokémon I have there. And Gengar… and Lucario and Sirfetch’d and Dracovish. It’s just you, me, Pikachu, and Eevee!”
“ Pikapika…” his partner sighed.
Chloe looked at the bridge again. “W-Well…” Looking at it closely, there did seem to be pieces that looked sturdier than others. ‘ If it had lasted this long while kids as rambunctious as Ash would cross it, it couldn’t be that dangerous, right?’ She took a deep breath. “Well, I guess we’ll give it a shot.”
Ash’s eyes lit up. “You won’t regret it! It’s totally worth it to see what’s on the other side.”
“ Pikapika!”
“Just let me go first,” Chloe sighed. “That way you’re still on stable ground to do something about it.”
Ash nodded. “Got it!”
Chloe looked down at Eevee on the ground. “We’ll cross together, okay?”
“ Eievui!”
Chloe took a first hesitant step onto the bridge, testing it with her weight. The boards seemed strangely reliable despite their apparent age, and she stepped more onto the bridge. Holding onto the ropes, she instantly became aware of the swaying of the ropes and the boards, but she began working her way across. Slowly, step by step, Chloe and Eevee made their way.
At about the halfway point, just as she was about to put her weight on the next board, Ash shouted out at her. “Chloe!”
She froze in place, turning her head back to face him. “W-What?!” she asked in surprise, her heart pounding in her chest.
“You’re doing great! This is the sorta thing Pokémon Trainers who travel do all the time!” He was shouting this encouragement to her with her hands cupped around his mouth. “Just a bit further.”
Smiling a bit uneasily, she waved at him before turning back to the task at hand and continuing to make her way across the bridge. Looking ahead, Eevee was already mostly across, having not been distracted by Ash’s shout. The Evolution Pokémon hopped off the wooden planks back onto the solid ground and turned to look at her, smiling and wagging her tail gently. Chloe nodded to Eevee and slowly, but confidently, finished making her way across.
Taking a moment to relax, she sat on the ground by the bridge and waved at Ash. The Trainer nodded and waved back before turning his head to say something to Pikachu, who hopped off his shoulder at that moment. Chloe watched Ash and Pikachu look at each other for only a moment longer before racing across the bridge, with Pikachu running along the rope and Ash dashing across the bridge. Chloe felt like her heart had stopped cold as they ran so recklessly. Though, watching them, the bridge didn’t seem to strain or stretch, and the two of them crossed much faster and easier than Chloe and Eevee had managed to.
When the two of them landed on the opposite side, they flashed Chloe a grin, and she stood back up. “We’re almost there!” Ash said, the excitement still clear in his grin. “C’mon!”
He began walking past her, causing Chloe to stand up and blink as she watched him. “I wonder what it is that he’s so excited to show me…? He hasn’t mentioned food once since we left his house.” She chased after him, with Eevee chasing behind Chloe as well.
There was another section of forest separating them from their destination, and as they drew closer to it, Ash’s excitement only seemed to grow. “You’re gonna be so psyched when you see this!” he said between bouts of private laughter.
Looking through the trees for a hint of what Ash was talking about, Chloe squinted her eyes. All she could see for as far as her eyes looked were trees.
“...!”
Between two of them, though, she saw a hint of something bright and colorful. Brilliant pink and blue hues were peaking between the trees, causing Chloe’s steps to hasten. At first she only walked a little faster, closing the distance between herself and Ash, but as they drew closer to the clearing they were headed to, Chloe began to move even faster until her steps broke out into a run.
Ash stopped short to let her and Eevee run past before breaking into a light jog of his own.
When Chloe finally stepped through the treeline, her eyes widened and she gasped. “This…!”
In the clearing there were many small flowers, growing in the wild. All of them had bright pink petals, but the closer to the pistol the petals were, their hue shifted from a bright pink to a bright blue. The clearing was blanketed with these flowers in a wide area, a breathtaking carpet of pinks and blues that left Chloe speechless.
Ash stepped up next to her. “It’s pretty incredible, right?” he said. “I found this place a few years before my journey started, but I still come back here sometimes when I’m at home and I don’t have anywhere else to go. Sometimes you can even see Pokémon here. Like there! Look!”
His finger pointed to the sky, and two Butterfree descended from the sky and down to the ground and the flowers, leaning their faces down to taste their nectar.
Chloe took a few steps closer and gently cupped one of the colorful flowers, careful not to disturb its growing from the ground. “This is a little beauty tulip…!” she said, the awe still caught in her voice.
Ash blinked at her, surprise now on his face. “Wait, you know what it’s called?”
She nodded. “They’re supposed to be really difficult to grow in greenhouses and in gardens, though not impossible. The school garden where I help out has a few blooming in it. But this…? All of this…?” She gestured to the entire clearing, filled with flowers. “This is… breathtaking. It’s gorgeous. It’s… it’s…”
‘ Romantic’ , the thought completed in her mind, though she wouldn’t dare give it voice.
Ash smiled. “I’m glad you like it,” he said. “I know you and my Mom were talking in the garden yesterday about plants or something, so I thought since you liked them, this would be a cool place to get started with learning about being a trainer.” He looked up from her to the field and then to the sky. “Pokémon Trainers find this sort of thing a lot. It’s part of exploring and traveling.”
Chloe looked out over the field. “You can really find some beautiful things while travelling, can’t you?”
Ash shrugged but then nodded. “I uh… yeah…” He chuckled. “I’m not the best with words sometimes but yeah, it is, isn’t it?”
Chloe stood and turned to give Ash a wide smile. “Thanks, Ash. I really appreciate you taking me out here.”
Ash pumped his fist. “From here on, I want you to plan our course, okay? Part of trainers travelin’ together is that you both decide on which way to go. If stuff gets dangerous, I can help out, but you wanted to learn about being a trainer yourself, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, and that means I’ve gotta make choices for me.”
He grinned back. “Now you’re gettin’ it.”
A groaning sound came from Ash’s stomach, and Chloe giggled. “I think the first choice I’ll make, then, is to stop for lunch, since it sounds like someone’s hungry.”
Ash laughed. “Y-Yeah! I hope what you make’s as good as the stew from yesterday! That was amazing!”
“I’ll do my best. Can you set the area up?”
“You’ve got it!”
Chloe took a moment to watch them, thinking to herself. ‘ This is the sort of thing a Trainer does all the time, isn’t it? It’s pretty incredible to think that people see things like this all the time. Even if these are just my first steps into this world, I finally feel like coming out here is starting to be worth it.’ As Ash and Pikachu began setting up a place for a campfire, Chloe’s mind began to wander to just what tasty dish she’d whip up for lunch.
Chapter 12: On Interruptions
Chapter Text
The scent was already making her mouth water, to say less of her companion. The warm, inviting aroma of cinnamon, graced with a hint of nutmeg filled the air around the campsite as Chloe stirred the pot. She gave the contents a test, bringing up a spoon and dumping it over to make sure it was sufficiently thick before adding in just a little more sugar.
The low rumbling of Ash’s stomach drew her attention, making her smile. “Is it ready yet?” he asked.
Giving the porridge one more look, she tested it once more and nodded. “Yeah, I think breakfast is ready.” She grabbed a small bowl and served the porridge into it, setting it down in front of Eevee, who very quickly jammed her face into the bowl to begin eating. “I made plenty, so eat up, okay?,” Chloe said as she served another before handing it to Pikachu.
Ash reached into his pockets but pulled them out empty-handed. “Oh, uh, whoops. Guess I forgot I left everyone else back at Professor Oak’s.” He chuckled to himself, scratching the back of his head shyly.
Chloe frowned before handing Ash the bowl served for him. ‘ Why’d you do it if you’d only forget the next day?’ was the thought that rose to her mind, but she decided that saying such a thought wouldn’t do much to ingratiate herself with him.
Ash responded as though she had said it regardless. “I did it because the more they know each other, the easier it’ll be for them t’ work together when we take on the Ultra Class,” he said. “Letting them spend time together like this’ll only make those bonds stronger when they’re gonna be tested in battle.”
Chloe’s eyes widened, her mind going back to his intense battle against Zeke over a week ago at this point. There was a craving in her to see another intense battle like that, or like Dragonite’s clash with Charizard back at Professor Oak’s. ‘ Not that I could have a battle like that with him. But there’s so much passion in it when he does it. I didn’t know Pokémon battles could be like that…’
Ash snapped his fingers, drawing Chloe from her thoughts as she stared at her porridge. “You’re worried we’re not going to be prepared, aren’t you?” he asked. Looking into his eyes, Chloe saw nothing but confidence and the composure that came with the years of experience he apparently had.
And with the confidence in those eyes, she could easily shake her head. “No,” she said. “I’m not worried about anything like that whatsoever.” And before she stared into his eyes any longer or elaborated any further, she began spooning the porridge into her mouth. “Mmmm~!” It was better than she hoped, the cinnamon and nutmeg combining with the sugar to make for a very satisfying breakfast.
Sensing that the time for talk had ended, Ash began eating as well. After a spoonful, his eyes widened and then he began to eat even more quickly, shoveling the porridge into his mouth. In an instant, he was already holding out the bowl to her. “More, please!”
She smiled, though there was a hint of guile flickering in her green eyes. “Of course! Allow me.”
She handed the bowl back to Ash and watched him eat, drawing great satisfaction that her cooking was something he was enjoying. ‘ There’s a reason they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,’ she thought, the familiar sight in TV and movies coming to mind of a woman wooing a man with delicious food. It hadn’t been the goal of coming out here, to cook for Ash, but Chloe thought it was a nice bonus to go along with everything else.
After breakfast, the camp was swiftly put away before the two of them began plotting their next move. Ash gestured around them as Pikachu crawled onto his head. “So, where’d you like to go? We have a lot of wilderness around here, and since you’re a Pokémon Trainer, you can decide whichever way you wanna go!”
“ Pikachu!” his partner cheered.
Chloe took her phone from her pocket and turned away from Ash. “Let’s see… there actually was someplace I looked up before we came out here…”
Ash stepped close, leaning over her shoulder. “Wait, your phone has a map?”
She rolled her eyes, though he thankfully couldn’t see from the angle he was standing at. “Yes. It’s got a lot of features. I’m sure yours does, too. Only…” Her expression quickly dropped from hopeful to hopeless. The indicator on the screen showed her that there was absolutely no signal for her phone in this part of Kanto. Which meant, of course, her online maps were inaccessible. “...we’re too far from town for this thing to get a signal. So no internet.”
Ash blinked somewhat dumbly in her direction. “Which means?” he asked.
“No map.”
She sighed and let herself slide down until she was sitting on her knees in the dirt where their campsite was formerly located.
Ash scratched his head. “Well… where was it that you wanted to go?” he asked.
“It was a mountain near Pallet Town,” she explained. “It’s called Mount Hideaway and I thought hiking my first mountain ever would be a good way to really experience the trainer’s life, you know?”
There was a glimmer of recognition in Ash’s eyes that sparkled like water rushing out of a fountain. “Oh, that? I know where that is!”
Chloe felt her stomach churn. ‘ Of course he’s gone there before…’ she thought, the spite creeping into her thoughts as well. When she resolved to be positive and try her best - to see if the seed of her feelings could take root and fully grow - she knew there would be times like this when he said something that set her on edge, but she tried her best to quash that negative feeling before it had a chance to grow.
“Not surprising,” she said, trying not to sound bitter. “You are from this area, after all.”
“Hehe, yup!” he said, adjusting his hat on his head as Pikachu did his best to maintain balance. “So I know the way that should lead us there!”
Chloe looked up at him before standing. “Wow, I was honestly kinda worried that it would take us a while to find it, but I guess I had nothing to worry about, did I?”
Ash nodded, looking around. “Now, let’s see. You can usually see it from here, but the trick is there’s a certain way you’ve gotta go…” He looked at the ground, seeing their shadows before nodding. “So, if it’s before noon, and the sun makes our shadows look like that… That means…”
“Yeah?”
“...I’m actually not sure where it is.”
Chloe groaned. “What? I thought you said you knew the way?”
He chuckled, putting a hand behind his head. “Well… you know, I do know the way to get there! It’s just not a straight path there.”
Any hope of a simple path to follow was blowing away like so much dust in the wind. “Okay, but you do know the way to it?”
Ash nodded. “Yeah! We’ve just gotta get to the top of a hill that I know is near here, and then we can see where the mountain is from there, once the trees aren’t in the way anymore…”
There was a quiet moment. ‘ I should have brought some paper maps,’ Chloe thought, mentally kicking herself.
As if he noticed Chloe’s slowly declining mood, Ash held up his hands and laughed nervously, his eyes watching Chloe closely with their auburn warmth. “H-Hey! Getting a little lost is part of the fun of being a Pokémon Trainer. I should know! Pikachu and I have been lost tons of times!”
“ Pikapi…” Pikachu sighed, which Chloe took as confirmation before Ash continued speaking.
“We’ll head towards this hill and then when we’re there, you can plan our route to Mount Hideaway, okay?”
‘ He says I’m allowed to choose and then he chooses anyway…’ she thought, frowning at him before turning away. “Well, if it gets us there sooner, I’m not against it, right Eevee?”
Turning to her Pokémon, she crouched down and offered the Normal-Type a smile. “ Vui!” Eevee cheered before taking the offered arm and climbing to the top of Chloe’s head, once again sitting on her hat.
“Alright, let’s get headed to this hill.”
Ash nodded and began to lead them on their way. As they walked through the trees, Chloe noted how cool it was, despite it being late spring. They were walking through a heavily wooded area, which made seeing the sky, and thus any distant mountains, all the trouble that it was. She looked at Ash, who was playing pathfinder, looking at trees and trying to discern details about their position from them.
‘ Maybe I got mad at him a bit too quickly’ , she thought. ‘ It is kinda cute the way he's sniffing around the trees for moss or whatever. It kinda reminds me of Yamper.’
A sigh. The Puppy Pokémon was probably comfortably in Mrs. Ketchum’s lap right about now. He had been sleeping on the couch yesterday morning, unwilling to follow the two of them into the forest, and there was a part of the city girl that envied the pooch.
Chloe opened her mouth to express the thought, but just as she did, there was a sudden explosion of thick, black smoke. The acrid heat brought Chloe to her hands and knees as she coughed, eyes watering. The unexpected motion brought Eevee tumbling to the forest floor, though she was also coughing and unable to see.
“Chloe? Are you alright?” Ash called out, a little too loudly perhaps since Chloe was right next to him.
“I’m fine I-Ah!”
As she began speaking, it felt like someone had come behind her and was trying to pull her away from Ash by yanking on her backpack. There was a moment of panic that coursed through her, making her heart race before she managed to shrug the bag off. She opened her eyes, seeing through the clearing smoke, and as she did, she heard a chorus of familiar voices.
“Ah-haha-HA!”
Looking up through the smoke and the trees, she did see a familiar cream-colored hot air balloon with the somewhat grotesque, grinning face of a Pokémon. In the balloon’s basket were two humans and two Pokémon. The young man and woman standing in the basket were dressed similarly in their white uniforms with black gloves and boots, though the woman’s crop top showed off her navel area. The two Pokémon were the feline whose face was on the balloon, and a blue blobby Pokémon.
In the hands of the man was something that Chloe could only describe as an extreme version of an extending arm with a grabbing hand on the end. And in the device’s grasp was her backpack.
“Hey, that’s-!”
Ash spoke up, his kind expression replaced with an angry determination. “What’re you three doing here?”
The woman sneered. “If you ask what we’re doing, you should prepare for trouble.”
“And when you’re surprised,” the man followed up, “we’ll make it double!” With that, he threw out a rose towards the two on the ground.
The woman climbed onto the side of the basket, taking a dynamic pose like a landing superhero, one knee down and perfectly balanced as her leg kept her on the basket without falling out. “To protect the world from devastation.”
The man delivered a striking gaze as the woman’s magenta hair whipped in his face from the winds. “To unite all people within our nation!”
The woman jumped back, turning her back to the lavender haired man. “To denounce the evils of truth and love!”
The man jumped, now back to back with the woman before twisting his back and extending his leg, giving the two of them a vaguely ‘R’ shaped silhouette. “To extend our reach to the skies above!”
She flashed a smoldering smile. “Jessie!”
He showed off his sparkling teeth. “And James!”
They turned to face each other, holding each other’s hand high. “Team Rocket-” Jessie shouted as James twirled her and dipped her for the audience of two humans and their Pokémon “-blasts off at the speed of light!”
They turned and he began spinning her like a top, saying “Surrender now or prepare for a far-out fight!”
Bounding in to land on the front of the basket was the very same feline Pokémon. “Meowth, dat’s right!”
Popping out behind Jessie was the blue, blobby Pokémon. “Wob-buffet!”
The response came quickly, with Ash speaking first. “Team Rocket! What’re you guys doing here?!”
“ Pi-Pikachu!”
Jessie leaned over the side, sneering cruelly at Ash. “We’re here doing what we always do, my dear Twerp,” she said with a venomous familiarity. “We’re stealing what is ours to rightfully steal.”
“Uh, Jessie…” James said, hesitantly poking her in the shoulder. “You might want to check what we actually got.”
Jessie looked at the backpack now in Meowth’s hands, blinked twice, and then looked down at Ash and Pikachu, staring up at them.
“WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE DIDN’T GET PIKACHU?! WHAT DID WE GET?!”
Jessie began to freak out and Chloe sighed before stepping forward. “I think you yanked my backpack off my back. Can you give it back, please?” she asked, more annoyed than anything.
“The Twerpette’s backpack?” Jessie asked, frowning as she looked over to Meowth. The Scratch Cat Pokémon was rifling through the bag as she looked at him before doing a double take. “Wait, why is the Twerpette out here with him? I thought we’d see the 1.0 and 2.0 double Twerps?”
“None of your business!” Chloe shouted back, willing her cheeks to stay pale. “Now please, give me my backpack back!”
Meowth dug his claws through Chloe’s belongings before he paused. “Hey, what’s dis?” Pulling from the deepest part of her backpack, Meowth pulled out a small plush Pikachu. “Why’s she got a stuffed Pikachu in here?”
Chloe felt her face begin to burn regardless. “Not now…” she grumbled under her voice. “Eevee, use Tackle on their basket!”
Eevee leapt off her head and charged forward, her small paws kicking up dirt from the forest floor before she bounded into the air.
“What’s that powder puff going to d-OOOOO?!”
Jessie’s words were cut off from Eevee’s tackle hitting the basket and nearly knocking her and Meowth overboard, James leaned over and looked at the small Pokémon. “That puny powder puff packs a powerful punch!”
“ Eievui!”
“Enough word play!” Jessie shouted.
James nodded. “Into the fray!”
The two of them took each other’s hands and shouted into the sky.
“COME ON, DOWN!”
Chloe looked up and heard the cry of some sort of bird Pokémon, but she couldn’t quite see it from the height it was flying above the trees. She did see the large red and metallic gray machine fall from the sky, landing in the forest with a crash that made the ground shake, almost throwing her off her feet.
The Meowth-shaped balloon quickly landed in this small clearing, and Jessie, James and Meowth all hopped out and landed before the newly fallen machine. Meowth jumped and dove head first into the slot designed for his charm and the two Rockets turned the knob, chanting to themselves. “Ready, set, what’re we gonna get?”
The dispenser dropped two purple Poké Balls emblazoned with the ‘R’ insignia of their organization. Jessie and James each took one and threw them. From the first came an avian Pokémon that reminded Chloe of Spearow, though she hadn’t ever seen this one before. She had beady black eyes and a striped tail. “The Ember Pokémon, Fletchinder!” James shouted.
From the second came a strange, egg shaped Pokémon with a round, metallic body with green protruding spikes. “The Thorn Seed Pokémon, Ferroseed!” Jessie shouted.
“Alright, buddy! Let’s go!” Ash said, shrugging Pikachu off his shoulder as the mouse leapt forward.
Chloe began fumbling with her phone to scan the Pokémon for more information, but Ash stepped close to her before she could. “Fletchinder is fast and can strike hard, whereas Ferroseed is defensive and can hurt if you touch it. We’ve gotta be careful.”
Chloe nodded. “R-Right,” she said, slipping the phone away. “Let’s do this, Eevee!”
Jessie and James quickly referred to their notes that gave them info on the Pokémon they sent out. “Fletchinder, use Steel Wing on Pikachu!”
“Ferroseed, Pin Missile on that Twerpish Eevee!” Jessie followed up.
“Pikachu, use Electroweb!” Ash shouted, gesturing forward.
Chloe copied his gesturing, much like her strategy was copying his move. “Eevee, you use Electroweb, too!”
Fletchinder dove towards Pikachu, wings glittering with the strength of steel. At the same time, Ferroseed spun like a top on the sharp thorns covering the bottom of his body, launching several of the thorns like rockets, zipping through the air at Eevee. Pikachu leapt up, charging electricity in his tail before spinning and lobbing the blast forward, where it expanded into a net that wrapped around the Ember Pokémon, shocking it. Meanwhile, Eevee glowed with an electrical aura, the tip of her tail glowing bright yellow as well. Eevee jumped and flipped, and the blot of electricity shot from her tail like paint flicked off a brush. This electricity also expanded into a net, but instead of damaging Ferroseed, it acted as a shield to block the Pin Missiles and prevent damage.
Chloe thought fast. “Eevee, Pin Missile!” A follow up attack might be able to pressure Team Rocket back.
“Pikachu, Quick Attack!” Ash called.
“Ferroseed, Iron Defense!”
“Use Flame Charge on the double, Fletchinder!”
Eevee’s glowing shifted from electric yellow to an iridescent green, and soon her tail was shooting out the same large spikes that came from Ferroseed. The Thorn Seed Pokémon’s body hardened, and the missiles connected, exploding as they met their mark.
“We did it!” Chloe gasped.
“ Eievui!”
But as the smoke cleared, Ferroseed sat there, still able to continue battling.
On the other side of the clearing, Pikachu shot forward like an arrow from a bow while Fletchinder cloaked herself in flames and charged forward. The two Pokémon collided in a crash, producing a shockwave that reminded Chloe of when she had that battle with Ash all those weeks ago. Unlike the evenly matched battle then, Pikachu was knocked back, sailing through the air until he crashed into Ash, knocking them both off their feet and Ash’s hat off his head.. Ash and Pikachu laid on the ground for a moment as the hat settled on Pikachu.
“Ash! Oh no…” Chloe said, pressure beginning to mount.
Team Rocket all began laughing in unison. “Looks like wit’out da brainy twoip here, yer not that tough!” Meowth taunted them.
“We’ll take Pikachu away from your stuff!” Jessie followed up.
“With skills like ours, it’s more than enough!” James added.
Chloe turned her gaze forward, trying to analyze the battle. ‘ C’mon, Chloe… you’ve had Pokémonology lessons. You knew about Professor Sycamore. You can know a little more, right? How can we turn the tables…’ Looking at Team Rocket’s Pokémon, she began racking her brain. ‘ Okay, so Fletchinder is a Flying Pokémon that fights with fire… and Ferroseed is a Steel Pokémon that looks like a seed… wait…!’ “That’s it!”
Jessie looked back over to Chloe. “Oh? And what’s one little Twerpette with her powderpuff pet Pokémon going to do?”
‘ It’s just another test. Just like the rest of this. Just one more test for myself!’
Chloe ignored Jessie’s taunting. “Eevee, use Flame Charge on Ferroseed!”
“Eeeeeeiveuiiii!” the Evolution Pokémon called out, glowing with a bright red aura all the way down to the tip of her tail, glowing with heat. The tail burst into flames that cloaked Eevee and she shot forward, ramming into Ferroseed, knocking the Grass- and Steel-type backwards and scorching the seed’s metallic surface.
Eevee bounced back, a pained look on her face, but Ferroseed looked much worse for the wear.
“H-Hey! You can’t just use any moves you want!” Jessie shouted. “That’s cheating! Somebody call a judge!”
“Oh yeah,” Chloe yelled back sarcastically. “Let’s get Officer Jenny here while we’re at it!”
The lady Rocket’s face contorted into a scowl. “Mouthy Twerpettes should watch themselves!” She turned to James. “What are you doing?! Help me!”
“R-Right,” James said, hesitating. “Use Acrobatics on the Eevee!”
“Eevee, dodge it!”
Eevee responded to Chloe’s call and leapt quickly out of the way of Fletchinder’s sharp beak. ‘ Wait, was Eevee… faster than before?’ she thought. “Eevee, use Flame Charge again!”
Eevee once more cloaked herself in flames and shot towards Fletchinder, knocking the Ember Pokémon back.
Jessie growled in frustration. “Use Pin Missile again!”
Ferroseed spun and launched the missiles towards Eevee, but the Normal-Type dodged left and right, avoiding each one. Chloe watched Eevee’s movements closely. ‘ It’s like Flame Charge makes us even faster…! We can win if we do this!’ “Use Flame Charge again!”
“I-Iron Defense!” Jessie shouted. Ferroseed began attempting the move, but Eevee flashed across the battlefield like a living fireball, crashing into the Thorn Seed Pokémon and knocking him back into Meowth. With a pained grunt, the talking Pokémon threw Chloe’s backpack and the Pikachu plushie into the air. Eevee turned on her paws and zipped quickly towards the falling Pikachu plushie, grabbing it with her legs, twisting and keeping it from hitting the forest floor.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Great work, Chloe. But we’ve got it from here.”
She turned and saw Ash there, eyes focused forward. He still wasn’t wearing his hat, but the intense look in his eyes sent a shiver down Chloe’s spine.
“Y’know, I’m lucky you guys are here. I need to get more practice in if I’m going to battle Leon again!” As he spoke, he held up his left hand with the glittering Z-Ring on his wrist.
Jessie, James, and Meowth all paled at the sight. “The Twerp has his Z-Ring?!”
Pikachu jumped forward, landing in front of Ash while wearing his cap. “You ready, buddy?” Ash asked.
“ Pikachu, Pikapi!”
Ash crossed his arms in front of him, and the yellow Z-Crystal on the ring began to glow. Pikachu adjusted his hat. “Let’s do this!”
“ Pi-ka!”
Pikachu leapt up and brought his small fist to Ash’s as they bumped them together, before turning and returning Ash’s high five with his tail. All while doing this, the Z-Ring began crackling with electricity.
Chloe watched the scene playing out in front of her, transfixed. Eevee was silent as she watched as well.
Pikachu landed before Ash and both of them punched forward with their right arms as the Z-Ring poured forth with a golden electrical aura that flowed from it through Ash and into Pikachu, leaving Pikachu with a glowing golden aura.
“Much bigger than a Thunderbolt!” Ash called out. “10,000,000-Volt Thunderbolt!”
Pikachu’s cheeks began to spark, each spark growing in intensity as the power welled up inside him. “Yeah!” Ash said, grinning wildly. “This is much much bigger! At super-full power!”
Team Rocket and all their Pokémon began hugging each other in fear as the sky began to darken overhead.
“Use 10,000,000-Volt Thunderbolt, now!”
Pikachu leapt into the air, the sparking from his cheeks becoming a sphere of energy around him that began arcing off his small body and into the storm clouds. The electricity seemed like it was being drawn into Pikachu, forming a bright, electric aura around him.
“ PIKA PIKA!”
With a shout that echoed over the clearing, Pikachu let the attack burst forth into seven different bolts of electricity, each of them a different color of the rainbow. The seven bolts all split apart and then converged on Team Rocket’s position, exploding into a pillar of electricity that was brighter than the sun. Chloe and Eevee both averted their eyes from the spectacle for the first time since it began.
Pikachu landed on Ash’s shoulder as the electricity exploded, launching Team Rocket, their balloon, and their Prize Master all into the stratosphere. Chloe heard a familiar “We’re blasting off, again…!” as they were launched far, far away from the two of them.
She looked at Ash and Pikachu. The mouse put the hat back on Ash’s head, and Ash offered him a fist bump again. “Thanks, buddy.”
“ Pikachu.”
“That was amazing…” Chloe said, her tone somewhere between awe and fear. “It was like something out of a picture book.”
“It was totally amazing, wasn’t it?” Ash said, grinning happily. “Pikachu and I can do amazing things when we work together. Just like you and Eevee can!”
“ Eievui!”
Chloe turned her attention back to her Pokémon, who had watched everything from the ground, still clutching the Pikachu plushie. Her face immediately became hot, and she grabbed Eevee and the plush and rushed over to where her backpack was lying on the ground. Eevee scrambled to her shoulder while she held the plushie, but before she could fully put it away, Ash spoke up.
“Oh, you brought it with you?” he asked.
Chloe felt her blush begin to cover her ears. “I-It’s a good luck charm,” she said, not even believing it as the words came from her mouth. “I just kept it in my backpack for luck.”
Ash smiled, seemingly accepting that as the answer. “Well, it was pretty lucky that I won it, huh?”
She wasn’t sure if his lack of understanding was a blessing or a curse at this point, and the two feelings mixed up in her stomach, taking a very unpleasant form. “Yeah,” she said curtly.
There was a moment of silence, tense and humid, between them. Chloe looked up, seeing that the gathering clouds that appeared as Pikachu used his Z-Move were still gathered. The trees around them were beginning to dance as the wind picked up, shaking their branches.
She felt a drop of icy cool water touch her face. And then the downpour came.
“Quick!” Ash said, grabbing her wrist. “We’ve gotta get some cover.” Ash grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her along. He led their entire group under a tree on the edge of the clearing. Once they were out from under the open sky, Chloe took a moment to breathe and process everything she just saw as she clutched Eevee to her chest.
“That was another Z-Move, right?” she asked after a few moments.
Ash nodded, though Chloe kept her eyes on the rain instead of looking at him. “Yeah! Pikachu and I invented it. It’s kind of a long story, though.”
“Of course it is,” she sighed. “When isn’t it a long story with you?” It came out sounding meaner than she intended.
“ Pikapi…” Pikachu chided his partner, sensing Chloe’s annoyance.
“Sorry…” he said, looking at her with an apologetic look on his face.
Chloe looked up from her pouting for a moment and her green eyes met Ash’s brown, and any anger inside of her was snuffed out, like a campfire in the very rain they found themselves hiding from.
They were quiet for a few more moments. Then there was a rumbling.
“S-Sorry,” Ash apologized. “I guess I’m hungry…”
Chloe’s gaze narrowed at him. “That wasn’t you. That was the clouds.” She looked upwards at the darkened sky.
Ash looked up as well. “We should head further into the forest, then,” he said. “Bein’ on the edge of a clearing like this isn’t the safest place in a thunderstorm.”
“Further in?” Chloe said, frowning. “Shouldn’t we try to find a structure or something? Even a cave would be fine, right?”
Ash shrugged. “Well, I don’t know if there’s a building or a cave anywhere nearby, so we might as well use what we’ve got, right?”
“I think it’s a better idea to have something solid over my head, just in case,” Chloe responded, holding Eevee tightly. “We should look for another place to wait it out.”
This brought a frown from Ash. “If there were a place like that nearby, I think we’d have some clue,” Ash said. “Besides, we’re still heading towards that hill so we can see Mount Hideaway, right? We shouldn’t get lost out here.”
“We’re not lost,” Chloe fired back, her annoyance growing. “I’ve got it memorized the exact path back from here to where we set up camp last night, and from there to the flower field. Even you could get back from there.”
This brought a scowl from Ash. “Hey, what do you mean, ‘even you’?” he asked sharply. “I’m just tryin’ to help.”
“And I’m trying not to be a bother to you,” Chloe replied, turning to him in anger. “You’re the one who said you preferred it when you didn’t have to take the lead all the time, and yet here you are, taking the lead all the time!”
The anger that was buried by Team Rocket’s surprise attack had been unearthed.
“What do you mean?” Ash asked. “I just have more experience, so I-”
“Oh, so you’re saying you lied to me at the Sugiya,” she replied, the hurt in her tone growing at an increasing rate. “When you talked and I listened, I thought you were being genuine with me, but I guess that’s not the case, huh?”
“ E-Ei…” cooed the Pokémon with a worried tone as she looked at Ash, confused.
“ Pikapi…” said Pikachu, trying to offer his partner counsel.
“This is different from that stuff,” Ash replied, holding his hands up in a calming pose. “This is just common sense. It’s not about me takin’ charge or lyin’ or anything like that. But if we move further into the trees, it’s safer than standing here by the edge. I mean, look!” He pointed at a nearby tree. There was a hollow in it, and inside were two Rattata with different whisker lengths. “Even the Pokémon are taking cover in the trees. We can do the same, y’know!”
Chloe felt her stomach twist. ‘ Pokémon,’ she thought. Her mind instantly jumped tracks of association. The huge family of Pokémon he had waiting for him at Professor Oak’s ranch. The trophies and badges and symbols they had all earned together.
The Clefairy Doll sitting on the dresser.
“I guess if Pokémon do it, it’s fine by you, huh?” she spat, the hurt and resentment she felt finally boiling over.
“What’s that mean?!” Ash asked, more confused than angry, though his tone indicated to Chloe that anger was indeed beginning to build within him.
The storm around them began to grow in intensity, the rain coming down in sheets. The leaves and branches of the tree they were standing under were no longer sufficient to keep them dry.
Clutching Eevee to her chest, Chloe turned to him. “You’re always going on and on about Pokémon!” she snapped. “You don’t seem to ever think about anything else! Maybe you should have come all the way out here by yourself, you Pokémon-obsessed freak!”
As soon as the words left her mouth she saw the pain she had inflicted on Ash reflected in his eyes. He began to look around, as though he was in a battle and had taken an attack from an unexpected angle. Chloe recoiled, feeling like she had just punched herself in the stomach, the guilt and despair flowering inside her from the seed that had been planted when she came face to face with Ash’s extensive accomplishments.
She couldn’t bear to look at him anymore. She couldn’t stand to be near him for a second longer.
‘ Coming here was a mistake.’
Not knowing what else she could say to make this entire situation any better or worse, Chloe did the one thing she could in her panic and heartbreak that she could make sense of.
She turned her feet towards the forest and ran as fast as she could.
“Wait, Chloe!” Ash called after her, but his words didn’t reach her heart or change her course as the heavy downpour continued to fall.
‘ I’m an idiot! I’m such an idiot! How could I say that stuff to him?” His hurt gaze stayed in her eyes, no matter how far she ran from him, darting between trees and over roots as the rain continued to pound down on her and Eevee.
“ Eievui…” the Pokémon in her arms cooed.
As she rushed through the trees, something on the horizon was coming into view. She stepped outside the treeline and stopped. Just outside the tree line was a drop down the side of a cliff. In the distance, she could just barely see a mountain standing tall in the distance through the rain. “Mount Hideaway…” she said, recognizing the shape from the pictures she had seen on her phone. She looked down, trying to see if there was a way to climb down and head towards the mountain.
At the bottom of the cliff looked to be a raging river, made even more wild by the thunderstorm happening around her.
“Chloe!”
Ash’s voice filled her veins with ice, and she turned to see him standing in the treeline.
“C’mon, it’s dangerous,” he said, offering her a hand. “You shouldn’t be that close to the edge in this weather!” He was smiling at her, gentle and comforting, but the look in his eyes still held the pain she had inflicted on him.
“I-I…” Chloe stammered as the rain continued to soak all the way through her clothes.
“I’m sorry, okay?” he shouted above the rain. “I promise I had a good reason for taking charge. I just-”
“-N-No, I’m sorry!” she shouted back at him. “I just got all mixed up and lost in my emotions. I’ve seen so much of your life since I came to Pallet Town with you and it just seems so full and exciting that there’s no way there’s a place for someone like me in it!”
Ash shook his head. “That’s crazy! I could always use a friend like you, Chloe!”
“You don’t get it!” She shouted back, her cheeks burning hot even in the icy rain. “What I mean is-”
There was another rumble, unlike the thunder rolling from the skies or the growling of Ash’s stomach. Chloe felt the ground shift underneath her feet. She looked up at him, her eyes going wide.
The cliff, weakened by the torrential rain, began to slip away.
The next moment seemed to happen in slow motion for Chloe. She saw the realization dawn on Ash’s face and the fear pulled at his features, eyes and mouth opening as much as they could. She heard him say something, but she couldn’t make it out with the rain and the ground collapsing.
Ash leapt forward, tackling into her. His arms wrapped around her and Eevee, pulling the two of them to his chest as Pikachu crawled around and held onto Chloe’s back. Ash twisted in the air, putting himself on the bottom of the falling tangle of people and Pokémon.
And they fell.
Chloe’s heart was racing in fear, and she wasn't able to string together a coherent thought.
Though the fall was brief, to Chloe, that moment felt like an agonizing eternity.
And then they plunged into the water with a wet sounding snap.
If the rain was already draining her body heat, the rushing river chilled her to the bone. She felt Ash’s arms around her slacken, and felt him falling away from her into the depths of the river. She put her arms around him and Eevee and began kicking with all her might to bring them back to the surface.
She didn’t know how far they were moving downstream, or how deep the water was. She felt Pikachu moving his legs and tail to help them reach the surface as well, and there was a collective gasping for air once they did.
She thought quickly, looking around for something - anything - that could bring them to safety. Seeing a branch hanging over the water, she continued holding Ash in one arm and reached out with her other arm to grasp it. The hard, wet bark was hard to grip, and it felt like it was cutting into her soft hands, but she pulled herself, Ash, and the Pokémon over to the side of the river where this lifeline was.
Pikachu, now wearing Ash’s hat, hopped off of Chloe’s back, and Eevee squirmed out of the grasp she held the Normal-Type and Ash in. As Chloe’s grip began to slip off the branch from the pull of the river, Pikachu grabbed her hand and pulled hard, helping her grab onto a rock jutting from the ground. Eevee crawled close and bit into Chloe’s arm as she got close, doing her best to pull her trainer and Ash from the river. Chloe grit her teeth, feeling the sharp fangs, but it was preferable to the alternative.
When they were finally on the ground again, Chloe looked at Ash. He was still breathing, though he was unconscious, knocked out by the impact of hitting the river water flat on his back. If there were any more injuries, she couldn’t tell quite yet.
“ Pikapi…!” said Pikachu, the worry in his voice and on his face.
Chloe looked around. The side of the cliff they were on now stood looming overhead. Across the raging river were more and more trees and wilderness, in the direction of Mount Hideaway.
“ Kakachu! ”
Pikachu drew Chloe’s attention and the mouse pointed to a small break in the cliff face where they could at least get out of the rain.
“Right. Thank you, Pikachu,” she said.”
She put Ash’s arm around her shoulders and stood, lifting him as best as she could onto her back. He felt cold and heavy, like she was hefting a sack of Laxton’s carrots onto her back.
Eevee and Pikachu lead the way, and Chloe carried Ash into the cavity.
Chapter 13: On Recovery
Chapter Text
Though it looked like it could have been a cave of some sort from a distance, as Chloe pulled Ash closer to it, it was clear it was little more than a rocky overhang, or perhaps a crack in the cliff that widened over time until it became a hollow in the wall. The errant thought that the entire cliff could fall down upon them filled her with dread, but she pushed the thought out of her mind. If they were going to die, they had plenty of opportunity roughly ten minutes ago. They needed shelter from the rain and they needed it now.
Chloe pulled Ash into the cool, dry hole in the wall, while Pikachu and Eevee dragged their backpacks, sodden with water, through the dirt and the rocks behind her.
Gently, she lowered Ash to the ground, only now seeing the red bite marks where Eevee had bitten into her to secure her and Ash’s safety. She watched him for a moment in abject horror until his chest began to slowly rise, then she finally exhaled.
“Thank goodness…” she said, relief flooding over her for the first time since breakfast that morning. “I guess that fall knocked him out…” She looked at his unconscious body sadly. “I should be glad he’s alright… but…”
“ Kakachu ,” Pikachu said, trying to ease Chloe’s worry, putting his paw on her hand to comfort her. “ Pika, pikapika pi Pikapi, pikachu. ”
Chloe looked at Pikachu and smiled gently. “Yeah, you’re right,” she said before pausing at what she said. “Wait…”
When she looked back at him, Pikachu tilted his head, confused. “ Pika? ”
“...nevermind.”
Finally getting her backpack back from Eevee, Chloe took out the first aid kit and wrapped a bandage around her arm, covering the bite mark. Eevee rubbed her face against Chloe’s leg, trying to apologize.
“I’m not upset with you, Eevee,” she said. “You helped get us to safety! If anything, I’m thankful. A little bite mark is nothing compared to that.”
“ Eievui…” she cooed, still disheartened at everything that’s happened so far.
Chloe thought about everything that had happened as well. That growing irritation, that fight with Team Rocket, everything boiling over. And then… her eyes settled on Ash. “Even when I was mad at him, he saved me. Even after I insulted him to his face.”
Chloe’s arms, legs, and heart all felt incredibly heavy. The feeling in her chest worked its way from discomfort to pain, and she wanted to release that pent up emotion. But looking at Ash’s unconscious body pushed such thoughts out of her head. “I have to take care of all of us,” she said. “It’s up to me to make sure we get out of this safely.” She shuddered at the chill in the air, as well as her thoughts drifting to more negative outcomes.
Heat. That’s what they needed now.
“We need to start a fire,” she said out loud to her Pokémon audience. Chloe stood up and turned to them. “We need to make sure Ash stays warm, so we need to start a fire and keep it going. I need you guys to go get me a lot of firewood, okay?”
“ Pika!” he said, nodding before turning to Eevee. “ Piipii, pika! ”
“ Vui !”
Pikachu and Eevee turned and darted out of the cave, into the rain once more.
“While they’re gone… I have a few things I need to do, as well.”
The first thing she did was gather a few rocks from inside the hollow and set them in a circle nearby Ash; the location of the eventual campfire she would have to build. Next, she began going through her backpack, trying to take stock of what she had and what condition it was in.
All of her clothing, including her pajamas, were soaked, as was the plushie. The ingredients that she had brought with them were all mostly okay; a few of the noodles were soggy, but they could still probably be salvaged thanks to their vacuum sealed packaging.The plastic and metal items, including the cooking pot and cutlery, were all fine.
During this entire time, she heard Ash’s breathing. It was ragged, and sounded like he was in more than a little need of a cough to clear his throat.
She looked over at him. “Maybe… CPR could help?”
She hadn’t considered it until now, since he seemed to be sleeping fine, but she thought it might be worth trying. ‘ If he wakes up sooner, that can only be good, right?’ Her mind went through the steps of what she would need to do. She would press into his chest three times. ‘ Despite the fact that his heart hasn’t stopped,’ she thought to herself. ‘ And then…’
She felt her face heat up, in spite of itself.
“There’s no way I can do that, right…?” she said, dismissing the idea and looking back at her backpack, pushing the thought from her mind.
Ash wheezed behind her, and her mind immediately went to the effects of oxygen deprivation.
‘ If I don’t… things could be really bad for him…’ She looked at his unconscious face, scrunched up like he was having a nightmare. ‘ I… I guess I don’t have a choice.’
She kneeled down near Ash and put her head against his chest. She heard the wheezing even more intensely, but most importantly she heard his heart beating. ‘ He feels so cold right now…’ she thought, feeling his soaked shirt against her face.
Sitting back up, she mentally prepared herself and put her hands over his heart on his chest.
“One. Two. Three.” With each count, she pressed into his chest hard with both hands over his heart, trying to force it to beat harder. Then, she swallowed, took a deep breath, pinched her fingers over his nose, and put her open mouth against his.
She exhaled, trying to fill his lungs with more air than they had currently before getting back up and repeating the cycle. “One. Two. Three.”
And another exhaled breath into his mouth.
“One. Two. Three.”
Breathe…
“One. Two. Three.”
Breathe…!
As she rose up from the breathing portion, Ash’s body began to shudder and he turned over, coughing up water as he did. He rolled over onto his back, eyes barely open, but his brown eyes met her green eyes for a moment.
“Oh thank goodness you’re okay, Ash!” Chloe said, barely able to contain her relief and excitement.
“Chloe…” Ash said, closing his eyes once more and drifting off to sleep, though his breathing sounded much calmer this time.
At first, Ash’s drift back to unconsciousness came with a moment of despair, but her mind, still reeling from the events, began to play memories back in front of her eyes. The last moment she had heard his voice before this moment came back to her.. As the ground began to fall under her, Ash shouted her name and leapt to her rescue. Now, her name was on his lips as his savior. She smiled, feeling relieved that he was going to be alright.
“Now… where are those two with the firewood?” she asked, as she began going through his backpack, taking out his sopping wet clothes and trying to find the sleeping bags that he carried.
The fire sputtered fitfully and hissed, but it did burn brightly and warmly, thanks to the wood gathered, Chloe’s construction of the wood pile inside the circle of stones, and Pikachu’s electricity.
It had been a few hours since they had first arrived in this cave, and she had gone through everything they owned. From her count, it didn’t seem like they had lost anything in the fall. Every piece of clothing and equipment was accounted for, even if it was waterlogged. Even Ash’s hat (saved by Pikachu) and his Z-Ring (still attached to his wrist) were there. It almost felt like she was counting their blessings. ‘ Thank goodness. I don’t think either of them would be really replaceable if they were lost.’
The clothes from their backpacks were now hanging from a clothesline Chloe found in Ash’s backpack, held up by two larger branches that the Pokémon brought back. Ash’s shoes also sat near the fire, since Chloe figured that wearing soggy wet shoes and socks wasn’t the most comfortable thing for him. ‘ Hopefully the warmth of the fire and contact with the air will make them all dry enough to wear by the time morning comes,’ she told herself. She shot an extra glance at the Pikachu plushie, still soaking wet and dripping water occasionally. It would have to be enough.
Food was a soup made with a few of the ingredients Chloe had brought with her, but more of the food than she initially thought was unusable thanks to it’s waterlogging.
She sat, frustrated that her phone had no signal. ‘ I guess I should be thankful that it even works and didn’t short out,’ she thought. ‘ The waterproofing must be pretty remarkable…’’
In these past hours, however, Ash still hadn’t awakened. ‘ I guess the fall took more out of him that I thought…’ At least, he did seem to be sleeping more soundly than he did initially. Chloe wasn’t sure if it was just good fortune or if being tucked in under his sleeping bag was actually helpful, but she decided to count her blessings.
‘ Still…’
She held her empty soup bowl in her lap, eyes focused on Ash. The rain had stopped hours ago, and since the river wasn’t very far from where they had ended up by virtue of being part of their conveyance, she had been able to refill their canteens. But Ash didn’t seem to be waking, and as the hours dragged on, her concern was growing.
‘ ...I thought for sure the smell of food would bring him out of it.’
“Pikapi…”
Pikachu sat next to Ash, ears lowered. He was getting more and more worried as well. Eevee copied this expression, sitting next to Chloe.
“Pikachu…” Chloe found herself saying. When the mouse looked up at her, she blinked in surprise. “I-I mean…”
Pikachu’s expression fell, and he laid down next to Ash.
Chloe moved around the fire to be by their side, with Eevee following close behind her. She hesitantly reached her hand out to Pikachu and put her hand on his head. She was surprised at how soft and silky smooth his fur felt.
She stroked Pikachu’s back, trying to help calm the Electric-type’s nerves. ‘ We have a hard decision to make,’ Chloe thought. ‘ Though really, I don’t think it’s any choice at all.’ She had been racking her brain all day to find some sort of answer to the question, and while she had come up with one, she wasn’t sure how it would go over with the intended audience.
“Pikachu,” she said, “we can’t let this happen.”
He raised his head up and looked at her as she continued petting his back. “ Pika…? ”
“I’ve been thinking about how best we can help Ash,” she continued. “And the way I figure, there are two things we can do in this situation.”
“ Pi? ”
“We can stay here and wait for Ash to recover,” she said. “He hasn’t been completely out of it all of the time, so there’s a chance he wakes up and we can all go back together. Only…” She grimaced, not enjoying the dark twist in her thoughts. “...only it’s just a chance he gets up anytime soon. We don’t know how much longer he’ll be out of it. Or if he’s got any other injuries that make staying put a bad idea for him.” She wasn’t sure if the shaking she felt was her own hand’s fearful reaction or if Pikachu himself shuddered at the thought. “Which brings me to our other option; one of us can go get help.”
Pikachu sat up and looked Chloe in the eyes.As Chloe looked back into his dark orbs, she had the thought that maybe there was more than met the eye when it came to Ash’s partner.
“Since you’re faster and I could explain anything to any people who might stumble by,” she continued, “I think it would be best if you ran back to Pallet Town as soon as the sun went up. Get Ash’s mom, get Tracey, get anyone you can, and then come back and get us. Surely with all of Ash’s Pokémon, you all could get back here fast. That… does mean you’ll need to leave Ash’s side for a bit. And I know that’ll be hard. But trust me. Look into my eyes. I promise you, Pikachu, I won’t let anything happen to Ash. Eevee and I will take care of him until you get back.”
“ Kakachu…” he said, looking at her, eyes glittering. He looked at his partner and frowned sadly.
“Ash is…” Chloe hesitated, thinking of the best word to use. “...he’s very important to me, too,” she said, looking back at the boy as well. “I know you’re worried about him. I’m worried, too. But our best chance to help him is to think this through carefully and have a plan. I think this is our best shot at helping Ash.” She turned to Pikachu and took his paws in her hands, holding them together. “What do you say, Pikachu? Will you go along with my plan? It’s all up to you.”
Pikachu looked back into her eyes, and if Chloe wasn’t mistaken, she’d have said that a bolt of realization went through the Pokémon’s expression. A determined grin went over his face. “ Pika!” he said, nodding. “ Pika pi Pikapi pikachu pikapika kachu, pika Kakachu.”
She nodded. “You’ve got it. Only…”
She looked out into the darkness outside the hole in the wall they were all hiding in.
“...maybe you should wait until the morning.”
“ Pikachu.”
“ Eievui. ”
Even after dinner and putting everyone to bed, Chloe laid awake in the darkness, staring at the ceiling of the cave from the inside of her sleeping bag. What had started as a random supposition by her friend Mika that Chloe had latched onto had grown into something that she was sure would give her nightmares for the rest of her life. Even still, hours after the fact, Chloe could feel herself falling through the sky, hurtling towards the ground with only Ash’s arms to protect her from what could have been her end. And protect her, he did.
She looked over at him, still unconscious. Never stirring at all except for that one moment after he coughed up the river water. The silence, the absence of his cheerful voice and demeanor, was soul crushing. It was enough to drain the last bits of her resolve.
‘ I’m not strong enough to be out here. I’m not as tough as any of Ash’s other friends. I’m not even as tough as Goh is. And look at the trouble I got us both into. ’ She could feel the tears pooling in her eyes, but she squeezed them away, pushing them back lest the Pokémon hear her crying.
In her mind’s eye, she could see Ash’s fearful face leaping at her, grabbing her and doing what he could to save her, and now Ash could very well be fighting a battle for his own life that she couldn’t help him win.
‘ It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t let my stupid feelings get to my head, if I had just gone on vacation with Dad and Mom and Parker…’
In the end, the tears won, and Chloe quietly sobbed as she turned away from Ash’s somewhat still form, unable to even have him in the periphery of her vision any longer.
‘ Coming here was a mistake.’
Pikachu left the cave right after eating breakfast. Chloe wasn’t sure how long he would be gone, so she tried not to think about it. She tried calling using the Emergency function on her phone, to call emergency services. No luck.
She sighed, putting her phone away. “This stinks…”
Eevee sighed as well, tumbling on the ground nearby Ash where Chloe was seated. “ Eievui. ” Ash himself was wrapped in his sleeping bag, the act of getting him put inside it something Chloe had to thank Pikachu and Eevee with.
“At least the phone can keep track of time for us,” she said, looking at her phone again. “It looks like it’s been a little while since breakfast. I guess we could get started on lunch, huh?”
“ Eievui! ” she said, hopping in agreement. Chloe went to her now dried out backpack and began sorting through the various things that were salvageable. “I guess we could make this instant ramen…” she said, though the packaging wasn’t as waterproofed as she would have liked. It would have to be enough.
“Stay here, Eevee and call if you see anything.”
“ Eievui!” she said, nodding as she began marching around Ash in a circle.
Chloe smiled at the childish Pokémon. ‘ At least her brightness hasn’t been diminished over this,’ she thought.
Taking the cooking pot out of the cave and by the river, Chloe dipped it in and got a pot full of water. Looking up, she saw a tree nearby that seemed to have a marking on it.
At a little higher than her eye level, there was a hole pierced in the tree, like someone had taken a giant needle and pushed it through. The peculiarities of it caught her attention, but there wasn’t anything that could be done with it, truly, so she carried the pot back to the camp.
Eevee was still marching around Ash in a circle, making her paws land perfectly in the tracks she was leaving all around him. Chloe cracked a smile and set the pot over the firewood she had gathered that morning. Thankfully it had been dry outside for about a day and a half at this point, so the wood was much less waterlogged than previously.
Still, her fire starting tool wasn't the most cooperative thing. She had packed it with the rest of her belongings back in Vermilion, thinking that she may end up camping out like this. Only she didn’t assume that it would be their best way of getting heat for cooking.
She continued to strike the starter, trying to get sparks to hit the tender she set up, but it was more difficult than she thought. “I’m already missing Pikachu…” she sighed as she struck it a few more times. Her arm was beginning to tire when a spark finally caught on the tender. She crouched down close and blew on the spark, and it caught and quickly grew into a flame.
“Thank goodness…”
It took a little while for the fire to heat the pot up to boiling, but eventually lunch was well under way.
“Mn… ugh…”
Chloe’s eyes widened as she heard Ash beginning to stir. She got up immediately and ran around to him. He was still lying in his sleeping bag as he began to sit up.
“Ugh… my head… where am I…?”
“Ash…?” she asked, reaching a hand up towards him.
Ash turned his head to look at her, his eyes going wide. “Chloe-you’re alright!” A wave of relief flooded over his pained expression as he reached for his head, running his fingers through his hair. He began to look around, frowning. “Wait… where’s Pikachu?” he asked, his tone instantly changing. “Where are we?”
Chloe frowned and lowered her hand. “Let’s start with what you remember.”
Ash closed his eyes. “I remember… It was raining. We were fighting. You ran off. I chased you. You were saying something… and then the cliff fell and I jumped after you. I don’t remember anything after that.”
Chloe nodded. ‘ That’s pretty much everything that happened,’ she thought. ‘ I guess it’s lucky that he doesn’t remember the CPR…’ She averted her eyes and looked away from him.
“You haven’t said where Pikachu is yet,” he said, looking at her, staring with concern in his brown eyes.
‘He hasn’t even noticed the food yet. I guess Pikachu is just that important to him.’ “Pikachu is fine,” she said. “He went to go get help since I didn’t know how much longer you were going to be unconscious or-”
“Well I’m great!” Ash said, jumping to his feet and out of the sleeping bag. His determined expression quickly twisted into one of agony before he fell backwards onto his butt. “Aaaaayowch! My ankle!”
Chloe raised an eyebrow but otherwise kept her distance. “-how many other injuries you might have,” she said, finishing her thought. “I’m guessing you twisted your ankle when we fell.”
She turned to her backpack and pulled out her first aid kit and moved to where Ash was. “Now sit still.”
He nodded, watching her closely.
“Tell me where it hurts,” she said, starting with a gentle touch above his ankle. She watched his face closely, but he didn’t seem to react, so she moved her hand down slowly. There was no reaction until she got just past his ankle and he hissed through his teeth.
“Ow ow there that hurts…!”
She nodded. “Yeah, you’ve got a twisted ankle alright,” she said. “The best thing to do is to bandage it up tight. This might hurt a little but stay still.”
As gently as she could manage with still restricting Ash’s range of motion, Chloe began wrapping his ankle with the bandage. Ash was completely silent, watching her closely as she attended to his injury.
His eyes widened. “H-hey, why is your arm bandaged up like that?” he asked.
She kept wrapping. “Oh, Eevee bit me when we were trying to pull you out of the river,” she said. “After you jumped and caught me, we hit the river below. I guess you hit it pretty hard, since it knocked you out, but if the worst lasting injury is a twisted ankle, I guess we should count ourselves lucky, huh?”
Ash relaxed and let her work. “So you had Eevee do that to try and pull us out, huh?”
She nodded, her ponytail bobbing in the air. “It’s not like I wanted to do it and Eevee didn’t like it either, but we’re alive, right?”
He chuckled under his breath. “Yeah, I… Pikachu and me have had to do stuff like that before. You and Eevee must really trust each other to do stuff like that.”
She smiled, pulling the bandage taught. “Well… I guess we do, don’t we?”
“ Eievui! ” she chirped, happy at the praise.
“In any case, that should be better, though you still shouldn’t try to walk on it. We’re still waiting until Pikachu comes back with help.”
He nodded, looking somewhat like a chastened child. “Yeah, I know,” he said. “Thanks, Chloe. And… I’m sorry.”
“For what?” she asked, giggling. “You saved my life when I was the one who put it in danger. I should be thanking you for diving to grab me. If I had hit that water first instead, who knows what might have happened?”
Ash shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but then the familiar rumbling of his stomach reverberated in the small chamber. “Eheh… I guess it’s been a bit since I last ate, huh?”
“About a day,” she said, turning back to the pot.
“A DAY?!” he exclaimed. “How long was I asleep!?”
Chloe began serving up a bowl of the soup as she explained in detail what happened, though she left out the moment of giving him CPR.
After listening closely to everything, Ash put down his bowl. “Sounds like I gave you guys a big scare, huh?” he said, looking at the shadows cast on the wall by the fire.
“You did,” Chloe responded. “But it feels like everything’s finally turning the corner, so it’s okay. Once help arrives, we’ll all go back to Pallet Town and have a laugh about all of this. You’ll see.”
Ash chuckled in his bashful way. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “I still need to apologize to you, though.”
“For what?” Chloe asked as Eevee moved into her lap. The Evolution Pokémon curled up in her lap and yawned. “You’ve tried to apologize for something two or three times already, so go on, spit it out.”
Ash moved his hand to his lap, reaching for Pikachu, but because the mouse was out running for help, his hand felt nothing, and his expression dropped.
“I’m sure Pikachu is alright,” Chloe said. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
Ash nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, I guess I keep gettin’ distracted.” He turned and looked at her, across the campfire, now burning low in the afternoon. “I wanted to apologize. You’re right. I have been tryin’ to take charge out here, and I already told you I don’t like doin’ it if I don’t feel like I have to.”
Chloe smirked, feeling a bit cheeky. “What, did you not think a city girl like me could cut it out here?”
Ash looked back at her, and whatever teasing she was going to subject him to went right out as she took in the downcast, regretful look in his eyes. “Yeah, that’s part of it,” he admitted. “But not the main thing. Besides-” He gestured to the campsite around him. “-you’ve got a handle on doin’ all of this. Clothes are hung up? Fire’s made? Dinner’s made? You’re way more ready than I was when I started travelling.” He gave a rueful chuckle. “Maybe even more than I am now.”
Chloe waved her hand at him. “No, I don’t think so. I just came with a lot of supplies, and Dad was practically begging me to pack them up before we left Vermilion.” The weepy, frightened voicemail she heard the first morning she woke up in Pallet Town only confirmed that he was afraid his little girl could get in big trouble away from her daddy.
‘ Funny enough, Dad was right about that.’
“Besides, Ash,” she continued, “you said that was only part of the reason. What was the main one.”
“Oh, right,” he said, averting his eyes from her. He scratched his cheek with an index finger, sitting up but still on the sleeping bag. “I guess I was just payin’ attention to you, and I wanted to help you out.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, mind already beginning to race about what it was possible he could have noticed.
“On the bus ride, when we were talkin’ about the differences between Vermilion and Pallet Town, you said…” He paused, frowning as he went over his memory. “Well, you didn’t say, ” he corrected himself, “But you meant somethin’ like ‘I don’t have a place at the lab’.
Chloe’s eyes widened as she remembered the bus ride, herself. Ash noticed her faltering, then, losing faith in herself in the moment.
“Hey, you belong there, too, y’know? It’s like Goh told me, everyone relates to Pokémon differently. And the way you take your time and consider what’s best for Eevee is just your way of relating to them.”
“You really think so?”
“No doubt about it. You being there helps the lab be the kinda place it is!”
Ash continued. “I know what it feels like to not have a place where you feel like you belong, so I didn’t want you to feel like that. And so, I guess I thought if I showed you how cool Pokémon or being a trainer was…” He sighed. “But instead it just pushed you away, didn’t it? I must’ve looked pretty stupid.”
Chloe frowned at him. “I don’t think you looked stupid at all!” she said, pouting. She wasn’t worried about overplaying her hand here; she genuinely just wanted to reassure Ash with her friendship. “I mean, maybe I didn’t get why you were acting like that, but your heart was in the right place, and that’s what’s important, you know?”
‘ Though I can’t deny,’ , she thought, ‘ that it is really charming of him to go through all this effort for my sake.’
Ash took her words with a smile, though there was still a sad look in his eyes, as if he was reliving an unpleasant memory. “Thanks, Chloe. I guess I just wanted you to have a good time since you came out here with me after all. I wanted you and Eevee to get that much closer, so maybe it’d help you guys figure yourselves out!”
“ Eie! ” she chirped, hopping from Chloe’s lap to run around the fire to hop into Ash’s. Ash chuckled and began scratching behind her ears like he would for Pikachu.
Chloe smiled at the sight. “I guess that’s why you brought us to that flower field,” she said with a gentle smile.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m not tryin’ to tell you t’ go one way or the other. You and Eevee’ll find that path together by working it out together . I just wanted t’ give you a place you could be yourself, y’know?”
“Thanks, Ash. I mean that.” She smiled in his direction, the light from the low fire flickering in her eyes. He looked up at her and Chloe saw the flickering flame in his.
Her heart began to beat just a little faster at that moment.
“Can… I ask you a question?” Chloe said, looking across the fire into his eyes.
Ash nodded, looking straight back at her. “Of course!”
“You said that you knew what it was like, not having a place you really fit in. But a few days ago on the bus, you said that you didn’t really worry about fitting in someplace. So… what did you mean by that?” Her tone was gentle and soothing. ‘ There’s a story here. Something about Ash he probably doesn’t talk about a lot. It’s that part of Ash that I want to see and talk to the most.’
Ash chuckled, a little embarrassed. “Wouldja believe it was right here in Pallet Town?”
She gasped. “No way.”
“Yeah way,” he said. “I can remember it like it was just yesterday.” There was a wistful, gentle expression on his face as he stroked Eevee’s back. Clearly having a Pokémon at his side helped him relax.
“When I was a little kid, I… I wasn’t really popular. I didn’t have a lot of friends here in Pallet Town. I mean… it’s more like I didn’t have ANY friends, really. The only person who ever even gave me the time of day was Gary.”
“Professor Oak’s grandson?” She remembered hearing Goh rant about this guy, this Gary Oak, a few weeks back.
Ash nodded. “Yeah. We used to go looking for Pokémon in the forests around here together. But one day, he stopped hanging around me. He got really popular with the other kids in town and he started bullying me, so I fought with him right back. We were rivals from then on.” Ash’s expression darkened as he thought about it. “When I started as a Pokémon Trainer, I did a lot of stupid and mean things, because I was so caught up with beating Gary that I forgot that the Pokémon are the most important thing. I love Pokémon. Not just my Pokémon, but all of them.” He looked at Chloe, a smile on his face. “Pokémon are just so awesome and cool, and I love that we get to live with ‘em. I love Pokémon Battles, and Contests and all sorts of competitions you can do with ‘em! You can do anything with Pokémon by your side! Pokémon are just the best!”
He calmed down a bit and smiled again, like he was seeing a good memory this time. “Even after Gary stopped being my friend for a while, I still went looking for Pokémon, and they were always willing to hang out with me, too. For a while, until I left on my journey, Pokémon were practically the only friends I had. And even though I loved ‘em, it got pretty lonely sometimes.” He looked up at Chloe. “Goh’s really lucky to have a friend like you always around. Even if you all don’t get along all the time, having someone who sticks by you makes things a lot better than having to do them alone.”
“W-Well,” Chloe said, scooting around the fire closer to him. “You and I are friends now, too, right?”
Ash chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, we are.”
“Then I won’t let you feel lonely, either, Ash,” she said, looking up at him. “I know there’s lots of stuff I don’t quite get yet. About Pokémon, about Eevee, about you. But I want to learn. I want to take all these experiences and I think they’ll help me figure out what Eevee and I should do.” She paused and shook her head before pumping a fist confidently.. “No, I’m sure they’ll help Eevee and I figure out what we should do!”
Ash pumped a fist right back. “That’s the spirit, Chloe! You can do anything you want! That’s what I think.” He offered her a fist, and she brought hers to it as well. “And… thanks for bein’ my friend, too.”
She blushed and giggled. “You’re welcome Ash.”
Eevee yawned in Ash’s arms and curled up, making Chloe smile. “Why don’t you get a bit more rest? I’m going to see if I can find fruits we can eat since our food stores are running a bit low, what with falling in the river.”
Ash tried, unsuccessfully, to look undiscouraged. “Y-Yeah, I guess so, huh…? I probably should take it easy. Eevee and I’ll be here and I’ll shout if we need you to come back quick, alright?”
Chloe stood up and went to the laundry line where she took Ash’s cap from where it was hanging. She walked over and put it on his head. “Just rest for now, Ash. Leave this to me.”
She stuck her head out of the cave, looking for any wild Pokémon. Once she saw the coast was clear, she began walking along the cliff, looking for some sort of food. There was a spring in her step in the afternoon sun. And when she closed her eyes, she could see Ash’s smiling face there, filled with gratitude.
Chapter 14: On the Zenith
Chapter Text
The campfire burned, crackling as it split the firewood Chloe gathered and kept their soup (a mix of some of the ingredients that remained plus some savory berries Chloe had found and Ash was able to vouch were safe to eat when she brought them back) piping hot, even as the the cool night air wafted into the nook.
The two of them (with Ash carefully sitting up) ate their soup, along with Eevee. The small Pokémon sat next to Ash and practically jammed her face into the bowl. She looked up with soup dripping off her face, making Chloe burst into laughter.
‘ Eievui?’ Chloe’s Pokémon asked.
“Eevee, you seriously CAN’T be doing that!” she said between bouts of laughter.
Smirking, Ash turned to the Normal-Type. “Yeah, Eevee. It’s like this.” And then he stuck his face in his bowl, and immediately came back up with a face covered in soup, making a silly face that just made Chloe double over in laughter and fall backwards onto the ground. To that, Eevee just flipped over and rolled across the ground, mimicking Chloe’s movements.
“ASH! I almost spilled my dinner!” she protested, though her laughter gave away her true feelings. “You can’t do that, too!”
Ash smirked, amused. “And why not?”
“Because you might wake up tomorrow…” She said, trying to give her words the creepiest inflection she could before sticking her own face in her bowl. The salty, savory scent of the soup caught in her senses and she felt a few slices of the berries sticking to her face. “AND YOU COULD LOOK LIKE THIS!” she shouted, sticking out her tongue and making a face of her own.
Ash guffawed, his laughter echoing in the small cavern. Eevee did the same, sticking her face in her bowl again before hopping onto Ash’s arm and making a face at him.
“C-C’mon, Eevee!” Ash laughed. “Don’t scare me like that!”
“Yeah, Eevee,” Chloe quipped. “You know the scariest thing to Ash is wasted food!”
“Oh yeah?” Ash chuckled. “Well, Eevee also knows the scariest thing to you is your teacher givin’ you a pop quiz!”
“Not even close!”
Ash smirked confidently. “Then what are you afraid of?” Ash asked in that somewhat surly, overconfident way he could get when he feels like he can’t lose.
‘ Handsome country boys stealing into my life and into my heart,’ came the snappy, flirty response, but Chloe withheld it, feeling comfortable but not bold. “If I said falling from heights, would that make you laugh?” she joked, clearly referring to the events of the past two days.
Ash snorted his laugh in reply. “Maybe. Falling can be pretty scary, though,” he said, smiling at her with the flames flickering in his soothing brown eyes.
‘ You have no idea,’ she thought, staring back at him, a completely different “falling” in her mind. Despite the soup still on his face, she had to admit that there was something roguishly handsome about him, like the movie stars in her magazines that always looked a little rough around the edges.
Ash, who must have thought that she was staring at his messy face, picked up a nearby towel and wiped his face clean before turning to Eevee and wiping her face clean as well. He then tossed it to her. “Here. You’ve still got soup on your face.”
She laughed and wiped her face clean. “Thanks, Ash.”
“You’re welcome, Chloe.”
The warmth of the fire spread into her cheeks, and she looked away from his gaze toward Eevee, who was already starting to play another game.
The next morning came in gently, causing Chloe to slowly open her eyes. The sun was only just peaking over the mountains around Pallet Town, so the scene outside the cave was tinted with the yellowish hues of early sunrise.
She sat up in her sleeping bag to see Ash and Eevee sleeping gently. The two of them were drooling slightly as they dozed, and Chloe smiled gently at them. Having Eevee with him in Pikachu’s absence did a lot for helping Ash’s mood stay positive. Between the peace and quiet of the past day and the hilarious double act of Ash with Eevee copying him, Chloe was slowly getting more and more used to spending time out in the wilderness. ‘ This is so much better than how things were before,’ she thought, brushing her hand idly through her hair.
She froze and felt with her hand again. ‘ My hair…!’
It was just what she had expected after taking her hair down the night before - a fluffy, frizzy, completely unpresentable mess. She strangled the gasp in her throat and as quietly as she could manage, moved over to her bag and pulled her hair brush out of it. She quietly began brushing her hair as best as she could, eyes locked on her sleeping companion and the gently dozing Normal-Type whose legs were waving gently in the air as if she had some sort of dream.
She watched Eevee’s hindpaw kick ever closer to Ash’s face and the sweat began to pour down her face as she tried to get her hair in something resembling order before the inevitable kick to the face.
Her eyes widened as Eevee’s hindpaw kicked Ash in the cheek. She froze at the contact, waiting for Ash to groggily awaken but after a few moments of stillness, she sighed in relief as it seemed like it would take more than an errant Eevee kick to force him awake.
“ Eikew!”
It was the gentlest sounding, cutest little sneeze Eevee could have possibly done in her sleep, but Chloe’s appreciation of it turned to dread as Ash’s bleary eyes opened, catching her with her hair down. She quickly pulled her sleeping bag up and hid behind it with an “Eep!”
Ash blinked, clearly not thinking clearly yet. “What’re you doin’?”
“Don’t look! My hair’s a complete wreck!”
“Izzat all?” he asked, sitting up. His slurred speech indicated to Chloe that he wasn’t completely awake yet.
Despite this, she didn’t drop her guard. “Yes!” she protested. “I look terrible! My messy mop is going in every direction! I’m unpresentable!”
“You’re fine,” Ash said, finally sitting up. “Besides, haven’t I seen you with your hair down before, when we were at the Pewter City Pokémon Center?”
She felt her cheeks burn as the contradiction in her behavior was brought up. “S-So?! That’s different! I hadn’t been sleeping so it was at least mostly still straight after letting it down!”
“Look, why don’t you let me help you out?” Ash said, rubbing his eyes with his fists. “I’ve helped my Mom and some of my friends when they needed it.”
Her face burned even hotter. “Y-You can’t be serious. Do you think I’m letting you even SEE this, much less brush it?!”
“ Euei!” Eevee chirped, hopping around happily, as if to say “Yeah!”
“Don’t you start!” Chloe automatically replied, even though her conscious mind knew she didn’t know what Eevee was saying.
Ash’s gaze was level and unperturbed. “C’mon, you’re clearly not gonna make breakfast until you’ve got your hair done and if this helps get breakfast sooner, just let me help, alright?”
Unable to debate the clear logic(from Ash! Of all people!) Chloe sighed and let down the sleeping bag, revealing her messy, curly hair to Ash. He didn’t respond, but she could tell his eyes went to her hair.
Sighing, she walked over and sat next to him, turning her back to him. She held out her hair brush. “Alright, just get it over with,” she said.
Ash took the hair brush and began gently brushing her thick, curly hair. The gentle way he managed the hair brush caught her somewhat off guard, but the feeling of having someone else attend to her hair helped her relax. She could feel the blush across her cheeks burn a deep crimson, but with no audience besides the small Eevee this morning, Chloe was going to do her best to enjoy it.
“Can I ask you a question?” Ash said as he continued to brush.
She shrugged. “Yeah?”
“Why don’t you like it when your hair looks like this?” he asked.
The question caught her off guard, so she didn’t respond immediately as her mind took a few moments to think up the reason.
“I guess I ask because I don’t ever really do anything with my hair,” Ash said, shrugging behind her as she thought. “I just put my hat on and get a haircut every so often. I don’t think about it very much, but I know girls take their hair really seriously, so I thought you could explain it. Since you’re good at explaining stuff, I mean.” There was a charming nervousness in his tone that Chloe could only smile at. Clearly he was worried about offending her.
“Well, I can’t speak for any other girls,” she said, but for me, it’s because hair like this isn’t popular.”
There was a grunt of confusion from him. “It’s not? Why not?”
“All the models in magazines and on TV have straight hair, or it’s only wavy enough to give it a full, mature appearance. Curly hair like this…” she said, a frown growing on her face. “It’s not cool. If people saw my hair like this, they’d think I’m disorganized or a brat. If I get it braided, though, it looks like it’s straight, and I can be more popular at school as a result of having a mature, smooth hair style.”
“I guess,” came Ash’s response. “You’d know better than I would. Only…” He hummed.
She raised an eyebrow. “Only what?”
“Well… I guess this hair suits you,” he said. “Your hair’s really soft, just like you are on the inside. It’s friendly and kind.”
Chloe felt her entire face begin to burn. “N-No, I’m not,” she said. “Everyone’s always saying how I’m no fun. Mika always treats me like I’m such a busybody.”
“Well, you probably don’t let her see this side of you,” he responded. “You’re usually always in serious-focused-student-school mode. But the Chloe I saw last night? The one who joked around with me an’ Eevee? That’s the real you, I think.”
She tried to silence the pounding of her heart in her chest. “The real me…?”
“Yeah! I like this side of you, the side that lets you relax around your friends. And all of this that’s happened? It just means we're better friends than before!”
“ Eievui! ” chimed in the Pokémon in agreement.
She giggled, in spite of herself. “You know, maybe you’re right,” she said.
“I think I’m all done back here. You should be able to braid it now right?”
Chloe reached a hand out, and Ash put her brush in her hand. She pulled the brush through it once to check, and it seemed that her wild mane was tamed enough to allow the brush to pass through it smoothly.
“Yeah. Give me a second and I’ll get breakfast ready.”
As the three of them ate breakfast (really just the reheated soup from the previous night), Chloe sat looking at her bowl, The light of the day filtering in allowing her to see her reflection in it. The face she saw looking back at her was a bit rough; clearly she had been roughing it with Ash for about four days at this point, away from civilization, but in her face she saw the same girl that used to be described as cold. She couldn’t help but be reflective of this trip she had been on, despite its unforeseen twist.
‘ Is that the true me?’ Chloe thought, looking into the bowl at her reflection, tented by the nearly clear broth. ‘ Or is it the kindness that Ash says he saw?’ She once again felt very small compared to him. He was watching Eevee eat and chitter away, the Pokémon having a conversation with some invisible partner.
‘ Pokémon…’
Her own words rang painfully in her ears.
“You’re always going on and on about Pokémon! You don’t seem to ever think about anything else! Maybe you should have come all the way out here by yourself, you Pokémon-obsessed freak!”
The sick shame she felt when the words first left her mouth twisted her stomach anew.
She looked up at his smiling face as he watched Eevee, and in her mind’s eye she could still see his rain-soaked face recoiling as though he had been struck.
“Hey, Ash?”
He turned to her, looking away from Eevee now. “Huh? Is everything okay?”
She sat down the bowl, appetite fully dispelled, and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve just got something to say.”
Ash blinked in her direction, and she could tell that he tensed up, even if he didn’t say anything.
“I… I wanted to apologize for what I said the other day. About the really hurtful words I used.”
Ash’s face flashed between confusion, pain, and realization in quick succession. ‘ He must have just forgotten about it,’ Chloe thought. ‘ But I can’t let things stay as they are now without apologizing.’
“I got really upset, not just because it seemed like you were trying to force me to do things your way, but…” she sighed, knowing this would make her feel foolish. She looked up at him, and he watched her closely with his warm brown eyes. ‘ ...it’s okay. I can tell him. I trust him.’ “...but when I saw all your gym badges and trophies and heard you were the Champion of Alola… I guess it really shocked me. Not that I doubt you could do any of that stuff, but more like… what have I been doing? We’re practically the same age and all I’ve been doing is going to school and studying. You’ve been all around the world, meeting people, making friends, living your life in pursuit of your own goal. And… I felt like I wasn’t worth being friends with. Your mom said you have lots of friends who are Gym Leaders or Pokémon Coordinators and I’m just… some girl who grew up in the city who didn’t even want anything to do with Pokémon for a long time.”
Chloe went quiet, so Ash took the initiative. “...so you’re saying that I seem way too important t’ be friends with you?” he asked.
She felt like she just wanted to shrink away in embarrassment, but she stayed put. “...yeah.”
Ash thought to himself for a moment, and looking at him, Chloe could tell he was trying to work out exactly what to say next. Whenever he acted like that, he always seemed to say something that caught her off-guard, so she prepared herself, steeling herself for whatever he could say.
His words came. “...but that’s just wrong, you know?”
Even with her mental preparation, she wasn’t ready for it. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“It’s like…” he frowned, thinking more. “It’s like, do you know how big the ocean is?”
Chloe furrowed her eyebrows, confused. “What are you even talking about? What does the ocean have to do with what we’re talking about?”
“The ocean is huge, Chloe,” he explained, gesturing wide with his hands. Once you get past a certain point, it’s super deep. Like, so deep that you can’t even see th’ bottom of it! But if it were just deep, we wouldn’t say it’s huge! Just deep! It’s wide, too! Like it goes so far that you can’t even see the otherside across the horizon! The ocean is deep AND wide!”
She nodded along with him. “Okay…?” She wasn’t really following his train of thought.
“Well, I know a lot about Pokémon. I’ve done a lot of stuff with Pokémon, ‘cause my dream’s to be a Pokémon Master. I have a deep connection with ‘em. But outside that…? I don’t really know a lot. I’m no good at cooking, I get lost without a map, I’m not really good at Math and stuff…” He frowned, growing frustrated with talking, trying to explain this metaphor. “You could say that while I know a lot about Pokémon, what I know isn’t very wide past that.”
The implication snapped into place for Chloe, and his metaphor instantly made a lot of sense.
“...so while your knowledge is deep, it’s not wide. But while I don’t know a lot about Pokémon, I know a lot of different things, little pieces of information I’ve picked up here and there, little skills I’ve got that you don’t have any idea of.”
Ash stood up. “Yeah that’s it!” He then grimaced in pain as he put pressure on his injured ankle and fell back down on his butt.
“Ash! Take it easy, okay?!” Chloe stood up and held a hand out as he fell down.
Ash chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I forgot why I was sitting on the ground…” He looked up at her with confident, glittering eyes. “But yeah! That’s exactly it! Like when you won that trivia game, or all the stuff you’ve done out here. You knew what those flowers were called, and you were able to set up camp AND give me first aid! Chloe, you’re not someone who hasn’t done anything. Everything you’ve learned helps you do even more stuff! You’re amazing!”
Chloe sits in stunned silence for a moment, absorbing what he said. Her stunned frown began to crack into a smile before bubbling up into a fit of giggling. Ash looked back at her, his own eyebrows furrowed. “Did I say something wrong…?”
She shook her head. “No! No, Ash, I-” she broke into another fit of giggling. “It’s just… the Ash who understands and explains things with metaphors, who thinks carefully and picks his words slowly… I think that’s the side of you I like best.”
Ash relaxed and laughed to himself. “I wonder if that’s who I really am…?” he asked jokingly.
“Well, there’s a way we could find out,” Chloe said, smiling at him, ready to continue bantering with him.
Before she could continue, however, there was a loud crash outside the small cave. Ash and Chloe looked at each other, and then to Eevee, who had been standing there watching them the entire time as Chloe and Ash had leaned closer towards each other during their conversation.
“...I should see what that is,” she said. Ash nodded in response.
Chloe stood up and with Eevee walked the short distance outside the cave. Standing not too far away, bashing it’s head into a tree was a large, purple, and very spiky Pokémon.
She took out her phone and pointed it at the Pokémon, hoping that the Pokédex function still worked even without a signal. She exhaled a sigh of relief as an image of the Pokémon appeared on the screen.
“Nidoking,” the Rotom inside the phone said, identifying the visitor. “The Drill Pokémon. A Poison-and Ground-type. Nidoking prides itself on its strength. It's forceful and spirited in battle, making use of its thick tail and diamond-crushing horn."
Chloe watched Nidoking step away from a nearby tree, pulling out the large horn on his head from the tree he had bashed into. The horn was dripping a thick fluid - Nidoking’s venom, if the Poison-type was anything to go by. The venom seemed like it was burning a smooth hole in the tree, pierced by Nidoking’s horn. Chloe looked at the hole and gasped.
“Wait… that’s the same as the mark on that tree near the river…!” she said, gasping at the realization. “Does that mean we’ve been in Nidoking’s territory the entire time?!”
The noise from her phone and her mouth made Nidoking flick his ears, and he turned to the cave. As soon as he saw the human girl standing there slack jawed, he began stomping forward.
“H-Hey, Nidoking…!” Chloe said, holding up a hand. “We-We’re not trespassing! We’ve been stuck here. My friend is hurt, and so-”
“ DOUKI!” came the angry response. Nidoking snarled at her and stomped in her direction.
“This is bad…” Chloe said. “Nidoking definitely isn’t in the mood to talk…”
“ Eievui!”
Chloe looked down and Eevee began pawing the ground, like she was a charging Rhyhorn, herself.
“Eevee wants to help protect you,” Ash said. “She’s saying she wants to battle Nidoking!”
Chloe turned around. “Ash?!”
Ash had crawled to the mouth of the cave on his hands and knees, making sure not to put pressure on his ankle, though Chloe could see that his eyes reflected some pain from his injuries still lingering.
She looked at Eevee. ‘ I have to protect all of us somehow… is battling the right way…?” Staring into Eevee’s back, she shook her head, dismissing the negative thoughts. ‘ Wait, I’m not here alone. I’ve got Ash and Eevee here.’ The thoughts of her companions lit a flame of confidence inside her, and Chloe gestured forward. “Alright, Eevee. If Nidoking doesn’t want to listen, then we’ll have to make him listen!”
“ Eie!”
Nidoking growled out a challenge and Chloe answered in kind. “Eevee, use Tackle on Nidoking!”
Eevee kicked off from the ground, propelling her small body forward. Nidoking stood ready for the challenge as the attack crashed into his armored belly. Nidoking’s confident expression vanished as Eevee crashed into him, knocking the air out of him. The Drill Pokémon stumbled backwards before charging ahead. His legs began to glow with an amber energy.
“The legs… Eevee, dodge those legs!”
Eevee responded to Chloe’s shout as the Double Kick came out, leaping over one leg and darting under the other. The powerful Pokémon that set himself as Chloe and Eevee’s opponent found himself stumbling as the small Pokémon darted around his body.
“Now, Quick Attack!”
With her speed already disorienting Nidoking as she hopped around him, Eevee built up power inside herself and shot out like an arrow, darting around the Poison- and Ground-type before leaping in and crashing into Nidoking’s side, sending him toppling over.
“Alright! We did it!”
Eevee returned towards Chloe’s side, but the Evolution Pokémon’s steps became tipsy as she approached before falling to the ground in front of Chloe. “Wait… Eevee?”
“She’s poisoned!” Ash called out from the mouth of the cave.
Chloe balked. “How? Nidoking hasn’t touched us!”
Ash shook his head. “Nidoking’s ability is called Poison Point! If you touch the needles, even if you’re just attacking it, you can get poisoned!”
“ E-Eievui…” she stammered, rising to her feet.
Nidoking roared, not willing to let the opening go to waste. He plunged a claw that glittered with a power that looked like sand on a beach into the ground. The ground split open from there and the glowing fissure approached Eevee. When it caught up to her, a blast of that same golden power erupted like a geyser under Eevee’s feet, launching her into the sky.
“EEVEE!” Chloe shouted.
The blast from the pillar launched much higher than the roof of their shelter was. Chloe’s mind began to race as she stepped out and caught her Pokémon in her arms. “If a blast like that comes out and hits where Ash is…” she thought out loud before her imagination filled in the rest with an image of the golden pillar shooting into the roof of the cave, causing the cliff to collapse on top of Ash.
Eevee struggled out of Chloe’s grasp and stood, though injured from the poison and the attack, ready to continue. Chloe shook herself from her thoughts and looked at her Pokémon. Her concern and doubt began to mount. ‘ Is there any way we can run away…?’ she thought. ‘ No, Ash can’t even stand up, much less run…!”
“ Vui!”
Eevee stood firm and confident, even through the pain, and Chloe realized that they were both trying to protect what was important to them. That moment of realization brought back that familiar feeling of battling against Ash in Cerise Park, all those weeks ago. That day she had made the decision to reach out to him for help, that seemed to change everything.
“I don’t know what that move was…” Chloe said, “but we can do this! Let’s go, Eevee!”
Eevee raised her tail into the air and she began to glow with the same glittering golden power that Nidoking utilized. She raised her forepaws into the air, and they began to glow with a golden power. She brought them to the ground and another glowing fissure opened up, arcing it’s way across the ground and right under Nidoking’s feet. The golden pillar of energy erupted, sending the Drill Pokémon top-over-tail as he flipped and landed on the ground.
“Is that enough…?” she asked.
Nidoking was quick to answer. Standing on all fours, Nidoking fired a blast of acrid, foul smelling venom at Eevee. The blasts caught Eevee off guard, crashing into her and covering her with the burning, sickening goop.
“That’s Sludge Bomb, just like Zeke used…” Chloe said. Once again, Nidoking was approaching the cavern mouth, standing up and charging ahead, horn ahead and ready to gore anyone who stood in the way.
Chloe began looking around. ‘ Think! Think! There has to be some way out of this…!’ She gestured forward. “Eevee, Tackle!”
The small Normal-type charged forward with her entire body, but this time Nidoking seemed prepared. Cloaking himself in an aura of force, he began swinging his claws and tail indiscriminately around him, thrashing over a wide area. Eevee collided with his powerful tail and was knocked across the ground, tumbling as she fell at Chloe’s feet.
“Eevee, no!” Chloe fell to her knees and picked Eevee up in her arms, the despair growing in the pit of her stomach as she clutched her Pokémon to her chest. “You’ve gotta hang on, Eevee!”
“Chloe, just run!” Ash shouted from the mouth of the cave. “You and Eevee have done all you can! If you try to battle it any longer, you could both get hurt!”
She turned, tears already starting to form in her eyes, looking at him. “We’re not abandoning you here! You could die , Ash!”
“If you don’t, then we could both die!” he shouted back, his tone completely serious. He raised his fist to her, shouting “Just go!”
Chloe looked at Ash’s fist and gasped as the gears in her head began to turn. On the wrist of the arm Ash raised to her was his glittering black Z-Ring.
“That’s it…” she whispered. “That’s it! Ash! There might be a way for us to survive this!”
Nearby, Nidoking was suffering from the Thrash, crashing into trees in confusion as his defensive maneuver ended up giving Chloe and Ash just a few moments. Chloe sat Eevee down, and the little Normal-type stood with all of her strength. ‘ If we’re going to make it through this, then I need Eevee’s help, too!’
“Ash, give me your Z-Ring!”
Ash’s eyes went wide at what she was suggesting. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the clear crystal that he had used with Dragonite and replaced the yellow crystal he used with Pikachu before sliding the Z-Ring off his wrist and tossing it to Chloe. As Chloe slipped it onto her wrist, Ash called out to her. “Do you remember the pose I used when I was battling Charizard? That’s the pose you have to do to make the Normalium Z work and use a Z-Move!”
The Normalium Z glittered in the sunlight as Chloe turned her attention forward. Nidoking looked up, the confusion lifted from his face as he began to stomp once more towards the mouth of the cave.
Chloe thought to herself, trying to remember the pose. She crossed her left arm, wearing the Z-Ring, over her forehead and her right arm over her chest. “Go, Eevee!”
But there was no brilliant light. No surge of power like she saw surrounding Ash. Eevee rushed forward with a Tackle attack, crashing into Nidoking’s stomach. The Poison- and Ground-type brought forth another glittering golden claw into Eevee, plunging the Evolution Pokémon into the ground. The pillar of light exploded instantly, launching Eevee back at Chloe. She caught the injured Pokémon in her arms. “Eevee…!”
With her last ounce of determination, Eevee squirmed out of Chloe’s grip and stood defiantly against Nidoking.
Chloe looked around. She was backed up to the mouth of the cave now. Any further and Nidoking could simply use that attack and knock the cliff down on top of both of them. “Why… why didn’t it work?”
“Chloe…!”
She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Ash?”
Ash’s face was twisted in pain from standing on his injured leg, but the determined look he had on his face showed through it. “You have to do the full pose. The entire thing. Do you remember it…?”
Chloe closed her eyes, seeing the movements in her mind, just as Ash performed them. The slash. The brightness. “I’ve got it.” She put her hand on Ash’s and smiled. “Thanks, Ash.” She lifted his hand off her shoulder and stepped forward. Eevee as well, shook her body, her own determination flaring up.
Ash smirked. “Looks like Eevee’s so fired up, she got over the poisoning on her own.”
“Eevee,” Chloe called out. “Let’s put everything we’ve got into this!”
She crossed her arms over her chest, and the Z-Ring responded by erupting into a glowing light. Chloe felt the warmth of the light as it flooded over her and Eevee’s bodies. Eevee raised her tail into the air and began to glow with the golden energy, as though she was copying Nidoking’s move once more. Chloe crossed her hands, one over the other in front of herself, pointing directly towards Eevee. Like a razor sharp claw, she brought both of her arms down at a diagonal before slashing her left arm upward. She brought her right arm to her chest and her left arm to her forehead as the light began to expand to envelop her entire body, filling her with an intense warmth as the power surged within her. The light began shifting and moving from her to Eevee. The feeling felt like her very spirit was being yanked out, but when the light collided with Eevee, she felt a sense of connection with her that was far and above what she had felt with the Normal-type before now.
“We can do anything if we try…! We can go anywhere if we want! Eevee, let’s do it!”
Eevee absorbed the light that flooded around her into her small frame, and even the telltale glow of her copying a move had vanished.
“Let’s go! Our Z-Move!”
The powerful light surged through Eevee’s body, and just like she copied that move before she raised her paws and brought them back to the ground. Only this time, instead of a glowing fissure, the ground split open where Eevee’s paws landed, and this opening crevice quickly spread across the ground before ending up under Nidoking. Only, instead of blasting him up, the earth beneath the Drill Pokémon’s feet gave way, and he fell in. Eevee surrounded herself with the same golden glowing energy and dove into the crevice after Nidoking. Chloe couldn’t quite see what was happening from her angle, but the ground rumbled and shook, the quaking growing stronger and stronger by the second. Yet somehow, unlike when she was witnessing Ash’s Z-Moves, she didn’t feel off balance or blown away. It was as though her connection to Eevee was giving her the strength to stand strong through the apparent earthquake. Even as the light faded, the connection the Z-Ring provided her and Eevee felt just as strong as ever.
The ground near the river began to swell, like a blister forming out of the earth itself before it erupted into a pillar of light and force. The bright light of the eruption went even higher than the tree tops or the cliff they were next to. It hurt to glare through it, but Chloe spotted two shapes exiting the light. One, the larger Nidoking, was launched far, far away into the trees much closer towards what she could only assume was the base of Mt. Hideaway.
The second, smaller shape, spinning as she landed in front of her, was Eevee.
“We did it…” she whispered to herself. “We… WE DID IT!”
“ EIEVUI! ”
Chloe scooped up her Pokémon into her arms, cheerfully smiling as the tears began to form in her eyes once more. Eevee rubbed her dirty face against Chloe’s, trying to express her joy as well. She held up her Pokémon and smiled widely. Eevee smiled back, wagging her tail happily.
Ash smiled at the sight. “Thank goodness…” he said, gazing at the two of them.
“ PIKAPI!”
Ash’s breath caught in his chest as he looked skyward, and Chloe followed his gaze. There were three shapes in the sky, two of them that Chloe recognized on sight as Dragonite and Charizard. The third was another draconic Pokémon with large ears, a purple underbelly, and black wings.
“PIKACHU!” Ash shouted, hobbling out of the cave, waving at them. “DRAGONITE! CHARIZARD! NOIVERN!” Even through the pain, Chloe could see the joy and relief on his face as the three Pokémon landed nearby the torn up battlefield Chloe and Eevee had just battled upon.
Hopping off of Charizard’s back was another familiar face, this one belonging to Professor Oak’s assistant, Tracey. “Ash! Chloe! You guys really scared us, sending Pikachu back by himself!” he said, the joyous laughter choking on the relief in his chest. “When he showed up, he was exhausted, so we had to wait for him to wake up, and then we had to search for you guys! If we didn’t see that huge pillar of light, we’d have never found you guys!”
Pikachu leapt from Dragonite’s back and raced across the ground before leaping into Ash’s arms. He held the Mouse Pokémon close, nuzzling his cheeks against the red ones of his partner. “I’m so happy t’ see you, buddy. Thanks for running for help. You’re a life-saver.”
“ Pikapi! Pi-Pikapi!” Pikachu was just as beside himself with emotion as Ash was.
Tracey approached Chloe. “What even was that?” he asked, his eyes already darting around the area. “And what happened here?”
She smiled. “It’s a long story. One I’m sure we can talk about once we’re back at Ash’s house in Pallet Town.”
Dragonite flew over to Ash and embraced him as well, hugging him tightly. Noivern approached Ash as well, but Charizard hung back, looking at Chloe and Eevee. The Flame Pokémon smirked at the two of them before crouching down.
“I guess you’re gonna be our ride back?” she asked.
“ Growr ,” he replied in the affirmative.
“Well, you’ll need to give us a second to take down our camp,” she said. “But… I’m glad we made it through this.” Chloe looked to Ash, who was smiling and laughing at being reunited with Pikachu. Her heart beat strongly against her chest, the happiness she felt in that moment feeling even brighter and warmer than the Z Move.
“It’s the least I could do for him, after all.”
Chapter 15: In Dreams
Chapter Text
If there was one place in the world Ash Ketchum did not like visiting, it was the hospital. Not from any dislike of doctors or fear of needles. ‘ Though Gary still owes me for not spilling THOSE beans,’ he thought as he sat in the office waiting for the doctor in Pallet Town’s small yet local doctor’s office to see him. The room smelled clean, but not the natural clean that Ash was used to that he could smell outside. It was a cloying cleanliness that reminded Ash of the smell of chemicals and disinfectants.
Pikachu sat on his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek, trying to get him to cheer up, but it wasn’t going to work. Not right now, anyway.
“Ash, what’s wrong?” came the friendly voice to his right.
Leaning his head past Pikachu, he saw Chloe sitting in the seat next to him to his right, holding Yamper in her lap. Before they parted ways, Tracey had taken Eevee with him to run some check-ups on her after her battle with Nidoking a few hours ago. ‘ Eevee sure fought hard… ’ he thought to himself, reimagining the small Pokémon’s movements rather than responding to Chloe’s question.
“Don’t worry, Chloe,” his mother responded to the girl’s question instead. “He just doesn’t like visiting the doctor very much.” She was seated to his left and just looked over his head with her superior height. She didn’t have a Pokémon with her; Mr. Mime was busy making dinner back at the house. “Every time I would bring him here, he’d get told not to go outside for a few days and you can guess how much Ash hates being cooped up in his room!”
Chloe giggled a little. “Yeah, I can imagine.”
Ash sighed, unable to escape because of his twisted leg. “I’m right here, you guys…”
Both Chloe and his mom just giggled at him as the nurse called from her station. “Ash Ketchum? The doctor will see you now.”
Chloe stood, with Yamper slipping out of her lap and onto the ground. Chloe offered Ash a hand, which he took. Chloe helped pull him to his feet and put his arm around her shoulders to help support Ash, so that he wouldn’t need to put his weight on his ankle. Ash watched his mother say something to the nurse, but it went right over his head. Something about ‘health insurance’, he thought.
Once they were in the doctor’s office (a sparsely decorated room with a few plants, a computer, and a bookshelf), Chloe helped Ash sit down carefully without any further incident on the examination bed before sitting down in a chair against the wall. Shortly thereafter, Ash’s mother stepped in as well and sat next to Chloe. Ash looked over at the two of them and his mother smiled back while Chloe was busy staring into her phone, probably looking at some pictures or something. ‘ I still don’t know all the stuff you can do with these phones… ’ Ash thought to himself, reaching up to pet Pikachu. The mouse cooed under his touch as the doctor entered. He was a balding man who looked to Ash to be in his 50’s or 60’s - his hair was a salt-and-pepper gray, and his face bore a serious expression. It was the same doctor Ash had a lot of experience talking with after coming out of the woods after playing with Pokémon that went too far, or in less happy moments, after getting into a fight at school.
“Good afternoon, Ash,” the doctor said, sitting across from him. “And you as well Mrs. Ketchum. And… who are you, young lady?”
Chloe looked up from her phone, but before she could respond, Ash’s Mom proceeded with the introduction. “This is Chloe. She’s a friend of Ash’s from Vermilion City. And this is her little Yamper.”
“ Yamp!” he said, happy at his acknowledgment.
“I was with him when everything happened,” Chloe explained further. “We were together in the forests when during that rainstorm a few days ago, the cliff we were walking on gave way. Ash dove right in to save me, and so I’ve been helping take care of him ever since.”
Ash exhaled a relieved sigh as he continued to scratch Pikachu behind the ears. He was glad Chloe glossed over the reason they were at the cliffside. It was better to leave arguments and disagreements like that in the past. Ash then hissed through his teeth as the doctor took his leg and lifted it up, placing his leg on the examination bed. “So Ash,” he said. “This ankle is the only thing that seems to be still hurting?”
“Eheh, yeah,” he said. “I’m pretty lucky that nothing worse happened, huh?”
The doctor looked at his ankle, the bandage Chloe put around it still there. “Looks like someone already beat me here, didn’t they?”
“That was me,” Chloe spoke up. “I know a bit of first aid, so when his ankle was still bothering him, I put the bandage around it to stop it from moving so much, and then I told him to not move it very much.” Her neutral expression quickly morphed into a snarky one. “But you probably know Ash better than I do, and even I know that asking him to sit still is like asking the sun not to rise.”
Everyone around him laughed, and even Ash found himself chuckling a bit. “Well, guess I can’t deny that…” he said.
The doctor carefully unwrapped the bandage Chloe put on his leg, and began doing something similar to what she did when she was diagnosing him in that cave. “Tell me when it hurts.”
Ash felt the man’s cold fingers on his ankle and flinched at the feeling just below that. “Ow, yeah, there…!”
Chloe looked at him, her bright green eyes not missing a detail. “That wasn’t as extreme a reaction as it was last time,” she noted as Yamper waddled around her.
“You did a good job, young lady,” the doctor said. “You were able to identify exactly what happened and you got it under control.” He turned to Ash’s mom. “Just have him stay off of it for about another day or so and he should be fine.”
She smiled at Ash and patted his head, twisting his cap on his head. “Isn’t that great, sweetie?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s grAAAH!” His response was interrupted by the doctor’s cold hands applying a new bandage around his ankle.
“We can’t have it accidentally getting worse, so I need to put the bandage back on. Sit still…”
Chloe giggled. “Poor Ash…” she said, giving him a look of sympathy that he caught out of the corner of his eye.
For the first time in what must have been months, Ash was laying in his own bed, looking at his own ceiling. The lights were off in the house and only the moonlight drifted in from the window. Ash had been up here with Pikachu since dinner (An event with a guest appearance by Tracey and one where Ash was able to eat FAR more than his fill). And he was bored. Normally he’d have fallen asleep by this time, but there was something keeping him awake. Something that Ash, even with all his experiences, couldn’t explain.
He nudged Pikachu with his elbow. The mouse was sleeping next to him, clutching a doll that resembled a Pokémon. “Hey, buddy?”
Pikachu mumbled something in his sleep and turned over. Ash frowned at the sight. “The one night I can’t just fall asleep…”
He laid there, looking out the window. The angle he had didn’t let him see the sky, but he did see the outside lit up by the moon. Based on how dark it was outside the cave, he figured the moon must be half full by now, give or take. Seeing the grass outside in the moonlight wave gently as the wind blew past it made Ash sigh. He was frowning at the sight, more irritated that he couldn’t get up and go sit in it than anything.
‘ Well, why can’t I?’ he thought. ‘ Pikachu’s not awake to stop me, and Mom’s probably asleep, too. I can probably sneak out.’ A pause. ‘ Chloe might try to stop me, but I might be able to sneak past her. She did explain how she would sleep in, right?”
Smirking, he turned out of the bed and slowly made his way down the ladder near his bed and onto the floor. His ankle did sting him, feeling like Pikachu was giving it a Thundershock, but he’d experienced worse. Working through the pain, he slowly limped out the door to his room and then to the top of the stairs. Taking each step slowly, one at a time, he did his best to avoid the steps he knew creaked extra loud. It was an awkward stretch over them, but he did it quietly enough. He felt like he was home free as he stepped onto the ground floor.
‘ Sometimes I surprise myself,’ Ash thought, quietly walking to the door and putting his hand on the knob.
“Ash Ketchum, where do you think you’re going?”
He froze and looked over his shoulder. It was dark, but he saw a somewhat familiar shape in the darkness. Her fluffy hair gave her silhouette the appearance of a large, hairy Pokémon with a twist of hair spiraling off the top of her head. But if he compared Chloe to a hairy Pokémon, she might force him back up the stairs, and he didn’t endure the pain in his ankle to be stopped here.
“Oh, uh… hey,” the words came out as his brain began quickly coming up with a plan. Encounters with Chloe were almost mini-battles in their own right, weren’t they? It was hard to predict just how she’d react to things. The best course of action would be to plan a strategy. ‘ The best defense is a good offense, so I should be the one who makes the first move.’ He turned the door knob and opened the door. “...wanna sneak out with me?” he whispered.
The shadow that was Chloe recoiled in surprise. “Wh-what?! Outside at this time of night?”
“Shh!” Ash attempted to shush her. “Not so loud! You’ll wake Mom an’ Pikachu! And they’ll just send me right back upstairs!”
Chloe crossed her arms. “Oh? And why don’t you think I’ll send you back upstairs?” He could barely see her face, but her tone was more amused than threatening. And to Ash, that sounded like an opening.
“Because I just want a second outside. I haven’t got to see the sky in what feels like forever.”
“You saw the sky earlier today,” she countered. “In fact, you were in the sky when Tracey brought us back.”
“You know that’s not what I mean,” he said, frowning. “Just a little time outside? I promise I won’t run around.”
He heard her sigh, which usually meant she was about to relent. “Okay. But only for a little bit! Then you go right back to bed, okay? I’m not going to have you blaming your hurting ankle on me.”
He chuckled. “Thanks, Chloe. Besides, my ankle hardly hurts anymore. C’mon.”
The late spring air cooly rushed around him as he stepped out into the night with Chloe right behind him. He took the moment they stepped into the pale moonlight to take a look at her.
The first thing that caught his eye was how the pale moonlight lit up her eyes. There was a shine to them that brought his mind back to the light that flooded out from his Z-Ring as she wore it on her wrist, tapping into its power to protect them both. Her pale skin from her hours spent inside studying had a strange glow about it, and Ash stepped aside and let her walk past. Her long hair cascaded down her back, not wild and frizzy like he had seen in the cave that morning, but flowing and relaxed. Her hair looked soft, almost like a Whimsicott’s fluffy down, but he resisted the urge to touch it.
Chloe took a few steps out and looked at the house in the darkness. “It does feel really nice out here, doesn’t it?” She was wearing her long pajamas, the same she wore to Laxton’s farm and on their camping trip.
Ash nodded, refocusing his thoughts. “Yeah. I love cool nights like this. Sometimes I’d end up staying up all night with my friends and just talking, you know?”
Chloe smiled at him. “Well, I guess you guys would have a lot to talk about after a day of traveling, right? Talking about the stuff you see or the people you’ve met…”
“Yeah,” Ash said, looking up at the stars. The skies around Pallet Town were always filled with stars, and he did prefer the sight of them to the sight of the dark skies over Vermilion. Clemont had told him about why the skies were dark like that once, calling it ‘light pollution’, so he understood why the city would have a less interesting sky than his hometown. But he still preferred it when he could see the sparkling stars.
Chloe’s giggling brought him out of his trance. “I guess I didn’t expect you to be so… wistful,” she said, still smiling at him in the moonlight.
Ash went to adjust his hat, but since he was just wearing his pajamas, he ran his hand through his hair instead. “Sorry. When you talk like that, it makes it sound like I’ve been traveling for a really long time…”
A snarky laugh came from the professor’s daughter. “I don’t think you’re some old man, Ash,” she said. “You’ve just done a whole lot in such a short amount of time, you know? Not many people my age can call themselves a Champion, after all.”
He chuckled in response. “Well, I don’t really think about it much either,” he admitted. “I mean, there’s a reason you had to point directly at the trophy they gave me before I thought about telling you.”
“Yeah…” Now it was Chloe’s turn to look away from him. There was a dimness in her emerald eyes that made Ash feel like he made a mistake.
He stepped up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, just because I’ve done all this stuff doesn’t mean I’m better than you or anything. You’re way smarter than I am, besides. Remember? The ocean, right?”
She laughed a little. “Yeah, I remember the ocean,” she said, looking up into the night sky for a moment, going quiet. Ash still almost felt like he made a mistake, but his thoughts were interrupted by what she said next.
“Hey, Ash? Can I ask you something?”
Ash was puzzled, but looked in her direction. “Yeah? What’s up?”
“Do you…” she began before hesitating. “Do you think a time will come when you decide to stop traveling?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean,” she said, still looking away from him, “you’ve traveled through a bunch of different places and gone all over the world. Do you think there’ll be a time you… settle down and stop?”
Ash frowned, thinking. ‘ Settle down and stop? I mean, I guess one day, right? I’m not gonna be young forever. Only…’ He shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said as his thoughts came to him.
There was a smile that grew on her face, though she still didn’t face him. Ash did notice a slight redness in her cheeks. ‘ Is it that cold out here?’ he thought.
“That’s the answer I was expecting,” she said. “In that case, I’d like to ask you a favor.”
This was getting complicated. “What favor?” he asked.
She finally turned to face him, smiling as she did. Her emerald eyes glinted mischievously in the moonlight. “When you do travel somewhere, if I’m not busy… could you take me with you?”
Ash leaned back, the gears in his head turning. He almost felt like there was something he wasn’t quite getting. “I mean... you wanna come with me?”
“I know we only just talked about the ocean,” she said, running a hand through her thick hair. “But that’s not the only thing that’s huge. The whole world is, you know? And I was just thinking… Maybe there’s something out there that Eevee and I won’t see unless we come with you. I’ve learned a lot at school, but there are some things I could never learn in a book. I want to see what it’s like being a traveling trainer and learn things like…” She crossed her arms in front of her before moving them out in front, pointing them at Ash. Chloe then slashed her arm down before finishing the pose by crossing her arms over her face and chest. “Like this.”
Ash smirked, grinning. “If you’d asked me to do a Z-Move in a spot like that, I dunno if I could have,” he responded. “You were…” He faltered. He opened his mouth again to say what he thought, but he realized he didn’t have the word for it. He shook his head and moved his hands together, forming a circle before making it explode outwards.wildly. “It’s like you and Eevee were like ‘Babam!’ you know?” he said. “It was so cool to watch! I can just picture it in my head!”
She giggled, her face turning redder. “Thanks, Ash. I think I get it.”
“Only, I wonder why that Move came out…?” Ash asked. “That was Normalium Z, so Eevee should have only been able to use Breakneck Blitz. Instead, Eevee used Tectonic Rage, the Ground-Type Z-Move.”
Chloe shrugged as she put a hand on her chin. Her face also returned to it’s ordinary hue. “I dunno. I just had Eevee use her move where she copies what she sees. Maybe that’s some sorta quirk about Eevee copying the move?”
“I’ll have to ask Professor Kukui about it the next time we talk,” Ash said, smiling. “There’s so much to learn about Pokémon! It’s seriously amazing! Working with your dad and Goh has really helped me learn a lot more about them!”
Chloe giggled. “I guess being a Professor’s daughter does have its advantages,” she said, smiling. “After all, if it weren’t for my dad, I guess we wouldn’t have ever met, right?”
Ash nodded, smiling. “Yeah! I’m really happy I got to meet you, Chloe! I’m learning a lot from you, too!”
“Not as much as I’m learning from you, I think,” she said back, poking a finger into his chest. “I think we really are both learning a lot about each other.”
Chloe looked up at him, smiling gently. The moonlight made her green eyes sparkle like two torches with green flames, and Ash felt a tinge of familiarity, like something he’d already experienced was about to happen again.
“So, will you take me with you?” she asked sweetly, her fluffy hair framing her face gently.
Ash nodded, not quite thinking through what he was saying. “Yeah, of course. The more the merrier, right?”
“Thanks Ash,” she said, smiling at him. She looked like she was about to move for a moment, but then yawned and turned away. “I uh… I think it’s time for us to get back inside and get some sleep.”
Ash felt relaxed as well and stretched. “Yeah, I think so, too. Thanks for talkin’ with me tonight, Chloe. I appreciate it.”
Her emerald eyes sparkled once more. “Any time, Ash.”
He sat up, and his surroundings were instantly familiar. He wasn’t sure how he ended up back there, but Ash was sitting up in the cave he had awoken in after he caught Chloe when they fell off the cliff. Standing in front of him was that familiar girl, her maroon ponytail whipping in the wind as she stood with his back to him. On her wrist, she wore his black Z-Ring, and it glowed with intense power.
He shook his head. Had he been transported back in time? Looking at Chloe again, she was dressed in the pink blouse and jeans, not the blue blouse and bell bottom pants. The light of the Z-Ring was difficult to look past, and he could feel the waves of power emanating off of her. It was intense, but Ash managed to stand up.
The glow of the Z-Power faded, and now he and Chloe were standing in darkness.
“Thank you, Ash,” she said, not turning to face him. “Thank you for everything.”
Ash chuckled, still not quite sure what was going on, but he was going to roll with it. “You’re welcome, Chloe. I’m glad I could help.”
She nodded. “And now… I guess this is goodbye, isn’t it?”
“Goodbye…?” Ash asked, furrowing his brow. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve finished learning everything from you that I can. And I know now what my goal is going to be.” She turned to him, her emerald eyes dull and dark. “Thank you Ash. For everything. Now, goodbye. And good luck.”
“Wait, Chloe!” Ash said, reaching out to her wrist. His fingers seemed to slip through her, though, like she wasn’t truly standing before him.
The ground beneath his feet began to shift and crack, and looking around, Ash saw that the two of them were now in an endless, empty void of darkness. The ground cracked and split into two parts, one side for each of them. Ash’s side shot up, lifting him higher and higher into the sky. But while Ash thought he was being pulled up, from his angle, it was more like Chloe was pulled away from him. His heart thundered in his chest as he seemed to rise to even higher heights, leaving Chloe behind. He ran to the edge of the cliff he was now standing on as fast as he could and jumped, reaching a hand out to her.
“CHLOE!”
She turned, seemingly hearing his voice. She saw him falling towards her with tears in her eyes. Ash fell closer and closer through the void, reaching his hand out to her until-
There was a loud crash as Ash’s head hit the floor in his room. Pikachu looked over the edge of the bed. “ Pikapi?! ” he called out in shock.
Ash rolled over, seeing stars in his vision. “H-hey, buddy…” he stammered, his brain catching up with the situation at hand. Feeling the carpet under his palms, he realized that he had been dreaming after his talk with Chloe the night before. “I’m okay… I think.”
He heard the thumping of footsteps rushing up the stairs as Chloe flung open the door to his room, now dressed in her grey top and yellow overalls. “Ash?! What happened?! Are you okay?!”
“I’m great,” he said, still somewhat dazed. “Maybe I shouldn’t jump off any more cliffs.”
“Or at least off your bed,” she said, frowning at him. “I thought you seriously got hurt…” Her eyebrows were furrowed at him, and her nose was turned up just a bit in concern. She sighed, setting aside the worry in her face and offered Ash a hand. “C’mon, we’ve got breakfast downstairs.”
Ash took her hand and quickly rose to his feet at the sound of breakfast. He laughed, saying “Well, I’m never late to a meal or a battle and I’m not starting that now!”
Chloe giggled and turned back to the door. “Well, good! Come on, your Mom and I have been cooking all morning!”
The next few moments passed with a blur, with Ash grabbing Pikachu and heading downstairs to find Mr. Mime and his Mom setting their plates. Chloe, for her part, began serving pieces of french-fried toast and pieces of sliced up berries and fruit onto the plates before placing the bottle of syrup on the plate within Ash’s reach. The whole meal was sweet and delicious, the sugary syrup contrasting with the tartness of the berries and bringing the whole thing all together.
Pikachu sat with Eevee and Yamper, eating and talking about something, but Ash wasn’t paying close attention to them, instead focusing on the food that was in front of him. He paused for a moment, looking at Chloe as she ate from her plate, slowly popping half a strawberry into her mouth when he remembered the nightmare he had.
“I had the weirdest dream last night,” Ash said, pointing his fork across the table at Chloe. “You were in it.”
Chloe swallowed hard, coughing. Her cheeks turned red as she coughed the berry down her throat. “E-Excuse me?” she asked. “You dreamed about…?”
“You,” Ash said, asserting it once more. “And it was about you using the Z-Move, too. Only…” He paused as he remembered the dream. “You said goodbye, because we had run out of stuff to learn about or something.”
Chloe quickly downed her glass of water, trying not to look at him. She stopped when she heard about the goodbye. “I said goodbye?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah! And then… boom!” He hit his hand against his mother’s table, shaking the plates and cutlery. “The ground split and we were pulled apart! I called out to you but it was like you couldn’t hear me! And then I uh…” He coughed. “I fell and hit my head.”
Chloe’s face was practically buried into her food at this point. She was stuffing the food into her mouth as quickly as she could, something Ash recognized as her trying to get away from the table. ‘ I thought I was the only one who did that.’ He paused his thinking. ‘ Wait, why’s she tryin’ to get away?’
Ash began racing her through his plate, shoveling and chewing the tasty food. The delicious combination of flavors made it hard for Ash to rush, but it didn’t seem to impede Chloe at all as she quickly polished off her plate, down to the last half of a strawberry. Quietly but quickly, she stood and took her plate to the sink. “I’m going to take Yamper and Eevee for a little walk!” she said, practically zooming out of the kitchen. “Be back in a little bit!”
The two Pokémon, hearing their names called and having long since already eaten their breakfast, got up and scampered after her with both of their tails wagging.
Ash reached out towards her, mouth still filled with food as she slipped away. He heard the door close behind her as she left. He swallowed the mouthful and frowned. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked, somewhat hurt.
“I don’t think you did anything wrong, honey,” his mom said, sitting in front of her half-eaten plate as Mr. Mime refilled her cup with water. “But you did talk about something that may have embarrassed her at the table.”
Ash looked at his mom, growing more confused. “That I had a dream about her? I once dreamed that Brock and Max were the same person, only when he was Brock he was wearing stilts. When I told them, they just laughed about it. We all did.”
His mother quietly laughed under her breath. “Well, Brock and Max are both boys, you know. It may be a little different when you talk about dreaming about a girl.”
There was something in Ash’s mind that felt like he should understand what his mother was referencing, but the pieces didn’t fit together quite right. “You mean… I didn’t see it the way she did?” he asked.
“Right,” she said. “So maybe if you think about how she would look at the situation, you’ll understand how she’s feeling about you saying that.”
Ash felt like the pieces finally started sliding together in his head. “...okay! So if I think about how she might be feeling about me saying that, I can figure out what she’s thinking and that’ll help me talk to her again when she comes back, right?”
“Now you’ve got it! So give it your best shot, okay, sweetie?”
Ash picked up his glass of water and downed the entire thing in one go.
“Got it! Thanks, Mom!”
“So why did you try calling me?!”
Goh was incensed at Ash’s question, which just made the Palletonian sigh. He had just gone over just about everything relevant he could think of related to him apparently accidentally upsetting Chloe, and that was what his best friend had come back with.
“Well, you and Chloe have known each other for years, right?” Ash asked back. “I figured if anyone knew exactly what she was thinking, it’d be you, wouldn’t it?”
Goh’s voice came through the phone, sounding tired. “Ash, you said your Mom told you to think about why she might feel embarrassed or upset if you talked about dreaming about her. And your immediate thought was to ask me.”
“Well, yeah,” Ash said. “I didn’t want to hurt her feelings but I feel like I keep doing it by accident sometimes and I can’t figure out why. You’ve gotta know something, right?”
The phone went quiet for a moment. “Even if I did,” came Goh’s voice, “it wouldn’t be my place to tell you when Chloe should be the one saying it.”
‘ Wait, so he does know something…?’ Ash thought.
“So that’s my advice to you, Ash,” Goh said. “You need to talk to Chloe about this.”
“But she left!” Ash replied.
“Then wait for her to get back.”
There was a moment of silence between them, with Ash at a loss of what to say. Goh was the next to speak.
“Sorry, Ash,” he said. “I know you trust in me to help be your brains sometimes, like how I rely on you to be my brawn at other times. We’re a team as Research Fellows, and you know in any other situation, I’ve got your back. But the problem here isn’t one of brains or brawn. It’s of heart. And the only one who can tell you what’s going on in Chloe’s heart is Chloe herself. That’s the best way I can put it.”
Ash nodded. “Got it. Thanks, Goh.”
“No problem, Ash,” he responded. “Good luck. It may be scary to just come out and ask her what she’s thinking but I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to ask.”
“Right! I’ll figure out a way. Thanks, Goh!” He hung up the call and looked up from where he was sitting. He was at the desk in his room as Pikachu lay curled up on his bed. Chloe hadn’t come back yet, but it hadn’t been that long since breakfast. He just couldn’t wait to call Goh and ask him what he thought.
He looked at everything in the room, all his familiar belongings, searching for ideas. “How can I understand what she’s feeling? I bet if I ask her, she’ll just get embarrassed again.”
His eyes landed on the dresser with all his trophies on it. Only, next to the Clefairy Doll he got from Lillie was the Pikachu Doll he won at the arcade in Vermilion with Chloe. It looked a little worse for the wear, having gone with them through the fight with Team Rocket, into the river, and then drying out, but it was still well cared for, almost in better condition than Lillie’s Poké Doll.
“Pikachu…” he said under his breath, looking at it.
“ Pikapi? ” came the response from his bed, which Ash knew was how his partner said “ Ash? ”
He chuckled. “Sorry, buddy. I’m just tryin’ to figure something out.”
“ What’s that?” Pikachu responded in his own Pikachu speech. The time spent alongside him had given Ash an understanding of what his partner meant when he spoke, even if no one else did. It was something Cilan and Brock had both commented on in the past, the way their hearts were connected.
Ash didn’t put too much thought into it, just responding to Pikachu’s speech naturally. “You saw how Chloe ran off this morning. I think I made her upset, but I don’t know how.”
“ Oh, that,” the mouse responded, stretching his legs before crawling down the ladder. “ And I guess Goh didn’t think you could just ask her?”
“He does, but I don’t,” he responded. “It’s like… you’ve been around her, right? There’s a lot of times she’s thinking something but you can tell she doesn’t say what she’s thinking. She’s complex, you know?”
“ Yeah…” Pikachu said, hopping up onto the desk so that he and Ash were closer to eye level. “ Maybe we should think about the dream then.”
“The dream?”
“ Yeah! Let’s go back through it. Maybe there’s something in it that you missed.”
Ash leaned back and thought over the dream. “We were in that cave and Chloe had just used a Z-Move. And she said…”
His mind replayed the words in her calm, kind voice. “I guess this is goodbye, isn’t it?”
“She said she was leaving,” he said, taking his hat off for a moment to scratch his head. “And in that moment… I really didn’t want her to.”
Pikachu’s ears twitched. “ You didn’t want her to leave…? ” he asked, tilting his head.
Ash nodded. “Yeah, it’s like… the thought of her going somewhere was weird. I didn’t like it.”
“ But Ash…” Pikachu said, lowering his ears, “ ...you know that she’ll probably have to go somewhere someday, right? ”
Ash held his tongue as he thought about that. ‘Of course I know that,’ he thought. ‘ If she discovers a dream she wants to chase with Eevee, I’d be all for it. But that goodbye felt… different. It felt like she was sad, too.’
“ Ash? ” Pikachu asked, hopping onto his shoulder.
Ash shook his head. “I just don’t want her to be sad, Pikachu,” he said. “You know I’ve had to get used to saying goodbye to everyone. I’ve had to say goodbye to way too many friends not to be used to it. But Chloe’s not like the rest of ‘em.”
Pikachu tilted his head. “ Why isn’t she? ” he asked.
“Because…!” Ash started, but he fell silent. He began wracking his brain. ‘ Because she’s just started being a trainer? Well, I helped May and Dawn with that. Because she doesn’t know what her dreams are? Serena needed help, too, and I was able to help guide her. What makes Chloe different?’
“ Because?” Pikachu asked. Ash looked at his partner, and there was something mysterious in his gaze. At that moment, Ash wondered if Pikachu knew more than he was letting on.
“...Do you know, buddy?” Ash asked, looking at him.
Pikachu smiled and nodded. “ I think it’s because she’s so different from you.”
Ash furrowed his brow like he had just been challenged. “What do you mean by that?”
“ Well, you and Chloe are really different. You grew up in the countryside, where she’s lived in the city her whole life. You’re really pumped about Pokémon, and she’s kinda cool on us.” Pikachu wagged his tail, dithering on whether he should say the next part before deciding to continue. “ She’s always had people around her like her dad or Goh or her classmates. You… we’ve talked about what things were like for you before we met.”
Ash sighed. “I… I guess you’re right about that. We are super different, but we’re still really good friends, Pikachu. We both stood side by side against Team Rocket, and she protected me. She’s really kindhearted, even if she doesn’t show it all the time. It’s just…”
“ It’s just what? ” Pikachu asked.
“I… I can’t figure her out. It’s like there’s a piece of her I can’t reach, you know? What can I do to figure out that part…?”
Pikachu turned around quickly, slapping Ash in the face with his tail. Ash’s cheek stung, and he looked at his partner in surprise.
“ C’mon, Ash! You know a way to get to know people without words! All you have to do is that!”
Ash’s eyes lit up. Pikachu’s slap brought him back to his senses. “I know what we’ve gotta do now. Sitting around thinkin’ about things won’t help! So let’s move!”
Pikachu hopped onto Ash’s shoulder. “ Where to, buddy? ”
“To Professor Oak’s! Hopefully we can make it there and back before Chloe gets back here!”
Chapter 16: In Our Eyes
Chapter Text
‘ Heh, I look pretty cool, I bet.’
Ash felt pretty confident in himself, having returned with his Pokémon on his belt as he waited on the side of the road in front of his home. From her footsteps in the dirt, it seemed Chloe was walking around and seeing the farms of Pallet Town on this morning walk she did, so Ash waited here for her to return. He leaned against the fence with his hat covering his eyes as Pikachu waited on his shoulder.
“ Pikapi, pi ka chu,” said his partner, alerting him that Chloe was returning.
“Play it cool, buddy,” he said, a confident smirk on his face.
He heard the footsteps of Chloe, Eevee, and Yamper come to a stop nearby. “Ash, what are you doing standing out here?” she asked. “Is your ankle feeling better?”
“My ankle’s great,” he said, trying not to laugh. “So uh, Chloe, there’s one more thing I wanna tell you about being a trainer. It’s a saying that we have.”
Chloe leaned back on her feet, amused. “A saying? And what’s that?”
Ash finally looked up at her, and glared directly into her emerald green eyes. Her bemused expression faded into a somewhat shocked look, and her cheeks turned pink.
“A-Ash…?”
Ash reached to his belt and readied a Poké Ball. “When two trainers lock eyes, that means it’s time for a Pokémon Battle!”
“ Pika! ” called his best buddy, cheering him on.
The shock on her face was replaced with surprise. “W-What?! Battle with you!? But you’re like the 99th strongest trainer in the world! I’m no match for a guy like you!”
“No excuses,” Ash responded. “We’re gonna have a Pokémon Battle, since this is part of what it means t’ be a Pokémon Trainer. And you wanted to learn all about it coming out here, right?”
Chloe’s eyes darted around, obviously looking for a way to escape. Ash, however, felt confident. ‘ She really wants to learn what it’s like to be a trainer,’ he smugly thought to himself. ‘ I’m sure of that. And if we battle, I might get what she’s feeling for once! It's win-win! I’m so psyched! It’s like getting to battle a strong Gym Leader!’ He began hopping back and forth from one foot to the other, unable to contain his excitement any longer.
Chloe sighed, signaling her surrender to his wishes. “Oh, alright. It’s still too early for lunch anyway. We can have your battle. Where are we having it?”
Ash gestured around them on the dirt path in front of his house. “Right here. Trainers battle wherever they are.”
“You’re not serious-!” Chloe once again balked. “Pokémon Battles can get really destructive! You know that! What if we break something?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Ash said, waving off her worry dismissively. “C’mon, it’ll be fun!”
She looked back at his face, and then down to her Pokémon. “Okay, so I guess it’s a two on two battle since I only have two Pokémon?”
“That’s right,” Ash said. He had secretly considered bringing back a few more for Chloe to use so she wouldn’t be so limited, but battling with Pokémon she didn’t necessarily have a chance to bond with wouldn’t help him understand how Chloe felt. ‘ It’s just like Brock and Professor Oak have said. Pokémon become more like their trainers the closer they get, and I’m sure with how close Chloe is to Eevee and Yamper, she’ll be able to become one with them and then ba-blam!’
Ash turned and walked away from her to give them enough space for their battle. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going to happen, but he knew this would be his best shot at meeting Chloe’s gaze and peering into her heart.
When he turned to her, she was crouched down to Eevee and Yamper, seemingly deciding on a strategy. With only two options, Ash could force her strategy down two paths, given that he could call on any of six different Pokémon for the battle. ‘ When we battled Team Rocket, I could tell she knew about type match-ups, so it’s not like she’ll have no idea… in that case…” He reached down to his belt and picked off a ball, quickly expanding it. “Alright, Gengar, I choose you!” Ash threw the ball forward with a curving spin. The ball snapped open in midair, the recoil from the opening sending the ball back to Ash, who caught it just as easily in one hand. The blue light released from the ball took the shape of the shadowy Ghost- and Poison-type Gengar that Ash had met in the Cerise Laboratory.
Gengar zipped around the area on the dirt path in front of Ash’s home before popping up right in front of Chloe. “ Gen-GAAAAR!” he shouted, going cross-eyed and wagging his long tongue at Chloe and her Pokémon.
Chloe stared straight on, clearly not startled by the appearance of the Shadow Pokémon. Eevee jumped up and began doing the same facial expression, going cross-eyed herself and sticking out her tongue. Yamper on the other hand growled and barked at Gengar with a “ Yamp! Yamp!”
Chloe looked at her two Pokémon before crouching down and patting them both on the head. “Right. Eevee, take it easy for now, okay? Yamper, I’m counting on you!”
“ Eui!” The Evolution Pokémon chirped back before hopping onto Chloe’s shoulder, taking the same spot Pikachu would be on Ash’s.
Ash smiled. ‘ Eevee sure likes to copy things. I guess that’s her way of trying to figure out what she wants to do. ’ He looked up from Eevee to Chloe’s face, and the student had a serious expression as her eyes were focused on Gengar. There was a spark in them that Ash recognized in his opponents; a real burning fire for battle. It was small now but maybe, Ash could draw out both her and Yamper’s fighting spirit.
“You can make the first move, Chloe!” Ash called. “After all, I challenged you.”
Chloe looked up at Ash, her expression going from focused to puzzled. “Oh, well… I guess you can’t really start a battle until you decide who’s going first, huh…?” She thrust an arm out forward. “Alright, Yamper! Let’s start with Spark!”
Yamper growled and his body began to spark and crackle with electricity. He began bounding forward on his short legs, building up even more power around him.
“Okay, Gengar! Let’s meet ‘em head on with Ice Punch!” Ash called
Building a chilling energy around his fist, Gengar began darting around the battlefield, moving about erratically but still in general in Yamper’s direction. As the ghost drew close to Yamper to finally unleash the attack, the puppy crouched before springing up like a cannonball shot at point blank range. The crackling aura around Yamper crashed into Gengar’s fist, and for a moment, the moves clashed roughly against each other before Yamper barked out, unleashing even more electric power. Gengar’s fist was blown back, and Yamper’s body shot forward, crashing into Gengar and sending him flying back towards Ash. The lightweight Pokémon tumbled across the ground a bit before landing on his feet, scowling at the impertinent pup who pushed him back.
Ash was unfazed. “Yamper’s got a lotta power for such a little guy,” he said, his smirk still confident.
But there was confidence on Chloe’s face as well. “Remember the day Gengar started haunting the lab? Yamper was the one to take him out and force him back. He’s got some serious strength.”
“But Yamper’s only got Spark, right?” Ash asked, his confidence never wavering
“Y-Yeah?” Chloe replied, not sure where he was headed with this.
“That means he won’t be able to attack us if he doesn’t get close!”
Chloe gasped and her eyes went wide. Similarly, Yamper gasped, his tongue hanging down from his mouth. “ Yamp?”
“Gengar, use Night Shade!”
Gengar rose up into the air and his eyes began to crackle with necrotic energy. He blasted out what looked to be a burst of shadows from his eyes and aimed them straight for Yamper.
“Dodge it, Yamper!”
Chloe called out to her puppy, and he did his best, scrambling along the ground to avoid the attack, but Gengar simply chased him down from the air. Sweeping the Night Shade attack across the road, Gengar eventually caught Yamper zagging when he should have zigged, blasting him back with a burst of shadow. Yamper flopped on the ground like a wet sausage before rolling back over onto his feet.
“Yamper, are you alright?” Chloe asked.
Yamper growled at Gengar. “ Yamper! Yamper! ”
Chloe had a look on her face like she was trying to strategize. “Nuh uh,” Ash shouted. “You’ve gotta think fast in a battle! Gengar, use Shadow Ball!”
Gengar formed the orb of necrotic energy in his hands, glowing and crackling with a brilliant darkness before chucking it hard at the small Yamper.
“Yamper, get out of the way and use Spark!” Chloe called.
Yamper watched the Shadow Ball get closer, crouching low to the ground. When it got close enough, he sprang up, and the Shadow Ball exploded where he had been standing just a moment ago. His body began to crackle and spark once more in the air, and Yamper used the electromagnetism to launch himself like an arrow towards Gengar.
“Gengar, use Psychic!”
Gengar’s eyes began to glow purple and before him grew a swirl of psychokinetic force, which then exploded into a purple shockwave. Yamper, his trajectory already set, was unable to change his course and the psychokinetic shockwave washed over him, knocking him out of the electrical aura he had built around himself as he floated in the air for a moment. Gengar gestured with an arm downwards, and Yamper was flung into the dirt, landing with a thud.
When the dust cleared, Yamper stood defiant, shaking the dirt off and growling at Gengar again. Ash looked to Chloe, but her eyes were fixed on Yamper before she, too, became defiant. “Right,” she said. “We’re not going to give up!”
‘ She’s totally one with Yamper right now!’ he thought, excitedly. ‘ Let’s keep pushing her and see what happens!” Ash smirked at his plan coming to fruition. “Let’s wrap this one up, Gengar! Use Ice Punch again!”
Gengar, in contrast to the last time he was ordered to use the move, began charging Yamper head on, flying quickly across the road that was their battlefield.
“Yamper, use Spark!” called Chloe.
Yamper began sparking and crackling once more, but since Gengar was moving in directly, the ghost appeared before Yamper before the puppy’s attack was ready. Gengar brought his chilling fist down into the Electric-Type’s head, and Yamper quickly became encased in ice.
Chloe’s expression became one wrapped in fear. “Yamper, NO!”
Gengar floated back to Ash’s side with a grin on his face. Ash put a hand on his hip and shrugged. “You both fought really hard, but it’s hard to win when you’ve only got one move that we can plan around.”
“That’s true…” Chloe said, sighing. She took a few steps onto the road towards Yamper’s frozen body. Then she stopped. “Wait… Yamper’s still sparking!”
The icy cocoon that contained Yamper was still crackling with electricity, as though Yamper was frozen mid-charge and the power just kept building up inside him. The ice began to splinter as the electricity continued to arc off the pup until the electricity seemingly caught Yamper on fire and engulfed his body in flames.
“Yamper?!” Chloe gasped before pausing. Ash looked at her and recognized that look in her eyes.
He could laugh. “I guess you can teach an old dog a new trick, huh?”
“Yeah, and unlucky for you, this is one that I know how it works!” Chloe responded, her confidence restored. “Yamper, use Flame Charge!”
The now blazing Yamper shot forward towards Gengar, and though the ghost was easily able to dodge out of the way, the heat from the move caused Yamper to move faster, skidding across the dirt road on his paws.
“Keep it up, Yamper! Keep building that speed!”
Yamper once again began sparking, and the electricity turned into fire much more quickly than before as the Electric-type was becoming more and more used to the new Fire-type move in his repertoire.
“Gengar, use Night Shade!” Ash called.
Once more, Gengar began shooting bursts of necrotic energy from his eyes. But this time, Yamper’s increased speed made him a tough target to pin down. The puppy zipped along the ground, dodging the blasts until he jumped and collided with Gengar again, knocking him back as the flames scorched the specter.
“Gengar, use Psychic!”
“Yamper, dodge it!”
With purple glowing eyes, Gengar once more unleashed a wave of telekinetic force at Yamper. This time, though, Yamper jumped and sailed over the shockwave as it passed harmlessly beneath him.
“While he’s in the air, he still can’t dodge,” Ash said, gesturing forward. “Gengar, use Shadow Ball!”
Smirking, Gengar formed another sphere of necrotic energy in his hands before chucking the sparking, shadowy orb at the airborne Yamper, an easy target since his quick feet were no longer on the ground.
Chloe reached a hand out towards the puppy. “Yamper, please! You can do this! I know it!”
“ YAMPER! ” he shouted, opening his mouth wide as the Shadow Ball approached. Yamper bit at the orb just as it was about to collide with him. Instead of an explosion of necrotic energy, the Puppy Pokémon had caught the Shadow Ball in his mouth as though he was playing fetch with Ash’s Gengar.
“What the?!” Ash gasped in surprise.
Chloe was beside herself with glee. ‘You did it, Yamper! Now throw it back!”
Twisting in the air and making the best use of the momentum of Gengar’s Shadow Ball, Yamper spun around, throwing the Shadow Ball back in Gengar’s face like a slingshot. Even Gengar gasped in surprise as the Shadow Ball crashed into him, sending him careening across the road until he landed close to Ash, his eyes dazed over. “Gen… gar…”
“Gengar is unable to battle! Yamper wins!”
“ Mime, Mime!”
Ash and Chloe looked over at the front door to Ash’s house to see Ash’s mother standing there with a picnic basket and a sun hat. Mr. Mime, as well, was dressed like he was going to have a picnic in the countryside.
“Mom, how long have you been there?” Ash asked.
“And where are you going?” Chloe followed up.
Ash’s Mom waved off their concerns. “Oh, long enough. I never thought I’d see such an intense battle right outside my own home! It’s so exciting, isn’t it?”
Ash grinned. “It sure is!”
“Y-Yeah…!” Chloe said with some hesitation. “I mean… it was a little scary for a bit there, but… it’s also really fun! It’s a rush, like riding a roller coaster!”
“That’s it exactly!” Ash shouted. “Getting together with your Pokémon, feeling that rush, and then ba-blam!”
Chloe smiled back at Ash, her eyes glowing like green flames. “Yeah! You just ba-blam out a new move! Yamper and I were totally in sync!”
“ Yamper! ” He said, panting happily.
Ash picked Gengar’s Poké Ball out of his pocket. “Return, Gengar!” he said. The recall beam shot out, turning Gengar back into energy and placing him inside. “Take a nice rest. You really helped out a lot!”
“Are you two ready for lunch, then?” Ash’s Mom asked them, holding up the picnic basket.
Chloe shook her head. “Not yet,” she said. “We’re still in the middle of a battle, aren’t we Ash?”
The intensity in Chloe’s eyes sent a shiver down Ash’s spine. A wild grin appeared on his face. He wanted to continue this battle, to continue to clash with those intense emerald eyes. “That’s right! When two trainer’s eyes meet, they’ve gotta battle! And we’re not out of this yet!” Ash held his arm forward. “Pikachu, I choose you!”
Pikachu stood up on Ash’s shoulder and leapt forward, sliding across the dirt road on his paws. “ Pika! ”
Chloe smiled, her expression brimming with confidence. “Let’s keep going, Yamper! You’ve got this!”
“ Yamp! ” he said before snarling at Pikachu with his teeth bared.
“I hope you don’t mind that I move first again, Ash!” Chloe called out. “Yamper, use Flame Charge!”
“Nuh-uh! We’re movin’ first! Pikachu, use Quick Attack!”
Yamper once more prepared his flaming veil as he rushed towards Pikachu, but Pikachu built up his power that much faster and moved with lightning speed, darting across the battlefield, charging into Yamper and knocking the pup back.
“Yamper, use Spark!”
As he flipped through the air, Yamper began building up a genuine electrical aura once more before zipping through the air towards Pikachu as his entire body sparked and crackled.
Ash gestured forward. “Pikachu, use Electroweb!”
“Electroweb?!” Chloe gasped. “What’re you planning with a move like that!?”
“ Pikapikapikapika-” Pikachu chanted as he built up the electricity in his tail. He spun “- PI-KA!” , flicking the glob of electricity at the quickly approaching Yamper. The glob quickly expanded into a net that surrounded Yamper, dropping him to the ground.
“Just ‘cause it’s not very effective doesn’t mean it doesn’t do anything! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
“Yamper!” Chloe called out in a panic.
As Yamper struggled to escape the Electro Web, Pikachu leapt up and built a one-hundred thousand volt charge in his small body before unleashing the forceful attack with a “ Piiikaaachuuu! ” The electricity arced off of Pikachu and shot across the ground before finally colliding with Yamper, who shouted out in pain as the electricity exploded all around him.
Once the smoke and dust cleared, Yamper could be seen lying on his belly in the middle of the street, dazed and unable to continue.
“Yamper is unable to battle!” shouted Ash’s mother. “Pikachu wins!”
In contrast to how the battle between Yamper and Gengar went, Pikachu had finished Yamper off relatively quickly. “Awesome work, buddy!”
Pikachu turned to Ash and flashed a V-for-Victory. “ Pi Pikachu! ” saying “ We did it! ” in his way.
Chloe walked across the field to where Yamper was, Eevee slipping off her shoulder to give the pup a sniff. Chloe gently picked Yamper up off the ground and carried him back to where she had designated her spot as. “You were awesome out there, Yamper,” she said, praising the small Pokémon. “You really went all out against Gengar! You even learned a new move! Thanks for all your hard work.”
“ Yamper…”
“Chloe’s right, Yamper!” Ash shouted. “You really surprised us when you sent that Shadow Ball right back at us! I guess you could say I got ‘shocked’, y’know?”
Chloe couldn’t help but giggle as she gently set Yamper in the soft grass in Ash’s front yard, giving him a rub on his head. “You watch from here, okay Yamper? Eevee and I’ll make this an exciting battle for you to watch.” She turned back to Ash, the same excitement that had been building over the course of the battle now plainly visible in her eyes.
“Ready for round two?” Ash asked.
“Yeah! Eevee, let’s go!”
At Chloe’s command, Eevee stopped following her around and dashed out to the field, staring down Ash’s Pikachu with a determined yet excited look on her face - the same look that was on Chloe’s face. Ash couldn’t help but grin himself. Battling Chloe was exhilarating! Any battle could be, but there was something that just made Ash want to throw his all into this particular match. ‘ Chloe’s come such a long way in such a short time…! I can’t wait to see where this goes! I love it!’
He had forgotten that he was trying to determine what Chloe was thinking and ended up only clarifying his own thoughts. Those two odd pieces he had tried to fit together before slotted together perfectly in the forge of this intense battle.
Both trainers opened their mouths at the same time, shouting the same words.
“Use Quick Attack!”
Both Pikachu and Eevee built up power quickly before kicking off, dashing across the ground at lightning speed before crashing into each other, making a shockwave that nearly blew Ash’s hat off his head and made Chloe’s ponytail whip around. Both Pokémon bounced back towards their respective trainers, landing in place, ready to continue.
“Pikachu, use Electroweb!”
“Eevee, dodge and use Tackle!”
Pikachu built up the static blob on his tail and flung it at the small brown Normal-Type, but Eevee leap to the side, avoiding the net before charging in with a full body Tackle attack, crashing into Pikachu and sending him flying backwards just above the ground.
“Use Iron Tail to slow down!” Ash called.
Pikachu’s lightning bolt shaped tail began to glow with a metallic luster, and the mouse flipped, jabbing his tail into the ground and dragging himself to a stop with it, leaving a groove in the road.
“Great, buddy! Now, use Iron Tail to Attack!”
“ Pika! ” Pikachu flung himself forward with the Iron Tail, jumping out towards Chloe’s partner, ready to twist and strike.
“You use Iron Tail, too, Eevee!” Chloe called.
“ Vui! ” Eevee’s tail began to glow with the same metal sheen, and she leapt forward, clashing metal tails together against Pikachu, creating a loud clanging that made even Chloe banging a pan with a ladle seem quiet.
“Keep it up!” Both Chloe and Ash shouted, and both of their small Pokémon continued to use a rapid-fire barrage of Iron Tail attacks as they smashed into each other one after the other, neither side giving as much as an inch as the sparks flew from each clash of tail against tail.
Eventually as they watched, it was becoming clear that Pikachu was gaining the upper hand, forcing Eevee more onto the defensive, but Chloe was the one to try to change the balance. “Eevee, Quick Attack!”
The Evolution Pokémon hopped backwards and quickly built up power before charging in and crashing into Pikachu once more, sending him backwards. Pikachu flipped and landed safely on his paws, and Ash took a look at Eevee. The Normal-type was panting from the exchange, clearly running out of fuel in her tank, and the sight made him feel frustrated. ‘ I want this battle to keep going…! We’re having so much fun, right?’
He looked up at Chloe’s face and saw the same mix of excitement and frustration. She wanted to keep the battle going, too, but there was a limit to what Eevee was capable of. “Even still…” he said to himself, looking at Pikachu and Eevee. A smirk grew on his face. “Man, Chloe, you’re really somethin’, you know?”
She looked up at him, her focus broken. “I’m really something? Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself there?”
He shook his head. “Think about the last time Pikachu and I battled against you and Eevee. We had to hold back a lot! But look at how far you’ve come in such a short time! You’ve gotten so strong since then, Chloe! You and Eevee both!”
Chloe’s cheeks turned pink as she looked down at her Pokémon. “You think so…?” she asked, not meeting Ash’s eyes. “If we’re that much stronger than we were before, it’s only because Eevee and I have gotten a lot closer than we used to be.” She met his eyes and smiled gently at him. “And that’s all thanks to you, Ash. We spent a lot of time this week learning about our Pokémon and each other. We had to make it through some pretty hard conditions, and defend ourselves from Team Rocket and wild Pokémon. It’s all this time we’ve spent out here that’s really made the difference for Eevee and me.”
Ash chuckled. “I may have gotten you out here, but it’s you and Eevee who really did all the hard work. And Yamper, too! These are the bonds you have with your Pokémon, Chloe! And the way you can do it is incredible! They love you so much, and that love becomes power that they can use when you’re both in sync with each other!”
“ Pika, pikachu!” Pikachu added.
Chloe’s face turned a shade redder. “L-Love, huh…?” she said, laughing lightly under her breath. “Well, if anyone’s shown me an example of what love is like… it’s you, you know?”
Ash blinked in her direction. “What do you mean?” he asked, puzzled.
The color of Chloe’s face only continued to change. “W-What I mean is, you and Pikachu are really close. Like incredibly so. When you were hurt and wouldn’t wake up, Pikachu was beside himself with worry.”
Pikachu, sensing that the battle was at least taking somewhat of a pause, stood up and looked to Ash with a smile. “ Pikapika, Pikapi, ” he said, meaning “ She’s right, Ash.”
“You two have been through so much together,” Chloe continued, smiling at him. “Eevee and I are still practically at the beginning of getting to know each other compared to you guys. You and Pikachu have an incredible bond, and I hope Eevee and I can be that close one day, too.”
Eevee’s ears twitched at the sound of her name, and she turned away from the battle and rushed to Chloe, jumping into her arms. “ Eie! Euivui! ”
Ash laughed as Pikachu rushed back to him and hopped on his shoulder. “But look at how far you two’ve come in such a short time, anyway! The way you and Eevee just get each other is really awesome, you know? You guys are a perfect team!”
Chloe giggled as Eevee pawed at her face, going in for a lick. She relaxed a bit, the tension in the air dissipating thanks to the Pokémon. “Well, you guys have stuck together so long, that’s what I think is the real awesome thing. You guys never, ever , give up on your dream of being a Pokémon Master together! You’ve been all over the world, in so many places and things, and you all still keep going. That single-minded deduction is completely inspiring, Ash.”
Now it was time for Ash to feel embarrassed. He laughed and scratched the back of his head, causing his hat to move a little. “Well, I guess we have been through a lot, huh, buddy?” he asked Pikachu, looking away from Chloe for a moment.
“It’s taken you a long time to get where you are, and I know by just knowing you that you’re going to keep going,” Chloe continued. “It makes me feel like, no matter how long it takes for Eevee and I to figure out what it is we want to do with ourselves, we’ll be able to make it. You’re like… a guiding star in the night sky that we can see with our own eyes!”
To that, Ash could only laugh. “Well, maybe I’m some sorta guiding star,” he said, rubbing his nose shyly, “but the map to your dreams is inside of you , Chloe! You and Eevee will be the ones to find the way together!”
Chloe looked across the field at him, and Ash caught the burning excitement and passion in her eyes, like a blazing green inferno. Seeing her so fired up just made him even more excited and fired up.
In the heat of that battle, everything in the world made sense to Ash.
“How about we finish this with one more move, Chloe?” he asked, adjusting his hat with his hand. Pikachu looked ahead at her as well, a confident smirk on his face.
Chloe nodded. “Yeah! One final attack!”
“ Vui!” Eevee chirped in agreement as she leapt from Chloe’s arms back into the road.
The two Pokémon seemed as fired up as their trainers were. Chloe and Ash glared across the field at each other before they both gestured forward.
“Eevee!”
“Pikachu!”
The next words came from both of them at the same time.
“Use Thunderbolt!”
Pikachu leapt up and slapped his cheeks, causing them to spark with electricity that coursed through his body before beginning to collect in the tip of his now sparking tail. “ Piiiikaaa…!”
Eevee raised her tail into the and became engulfed in a bright, glittering electric-yellow aura. Her tail began to glow bright yellow as it began to spark as well. “ Eieeevuiii…! ”
“ CHUUU! ”
“ VUIII! :”
Both Pikachu and Eevee launched the Thunderbolt attacks at the same time, and the crackling blasts of electricity collided in the middle. The electric energy arced off of both of the small Pokémon who were pouring their energy into the blasts. If the road hadn’t been damaged before (and it assuredly had been), it was being wrecked now as the electricity arced out, cutting even more slices into the already ruined patch of dirt road in front of Ash’s home.
“Full power!” Ash called out as the shockwaves from the clashing moves nearly blew his hat off his head.
“ CHUUUUUUU! ” Pikachu shouted, obliging Ash’s request. The full unleashed power of Pikachu’s Thunderbolt pushed back against Eevee’s attack, and the Evolution Pokémon dug in her toes as she poured all her strength into keeping Pikachu at bay.
“Eevee! You can do it!” Chloe shouted her encouragement at her partner.
Eevee felt the surge of Chloe’s emotions, and unleashed even more power into the Thunderbolt, pushing Pikachu just a little further back to the middle once more. But Pikachu shouted once more from the depths of his being, and began to overwhelm Eevee, pushing down harder and harder with the vivid yellow voltage arcing off into the ground all around them until Eevee’s copied move was pierced by Pikachu’s signature attack.
Eevee called out an “ Ei! ” as the Thunderbolt exploded, but Pikachu continued arcing the attack further back until it got close to Chloe. The electricity arced into her hair, making her carefully crafted and braided ponytail explode into a wild looking puff of hair, sending her barrette flying backwards and turning her hair into a wild, frizzy mess.
The smoke cleared all around them, and Eevee laid in the middle of the road, eyes dazed over and unable to continue the battle.
Ash’s mom stepped forward and raised her hand. “Eevee is unable to battle! Pikachu wins, which means the winner is my Ash!”
Pikachu landed in Ash’s arms with a thud as both he and Ash laughed, holding his partner in his arms before he turned to Chloe, who was walking to the fallen Eevee. Her hair was even more frizzy and wild than it was the morning Ash saw her in the cave, and their talk replayed in his head.
“Your hair’s really soft, just like you are on the inside. It’s friendly and kind.”
And watching her gently lift Eevee into her arms, he couldn’t help but think was right about that. Chloe walked up to Ash with her hair going every which way, holding onto Eevee, and gazing at him with the warm kindness in her emerald eyes. With a hint of pink in her cheeks, she held her hand out to him.
“Good battle, Ash. That was a lot of fun.”
Ash began to reach for her hand, but there was something in him that hesitated for only a moment before he took her hand in his.
It felt small and soft in his hand as his fingers pressed into her palm. He had worn gloves to prevent some of the worst aspects of wear and tear on his hands, but even as he discarded the practice, the effects of time on his hands and the rough conditions he often found himself in had left their indelible mark on his them, leaving them rough and hard. Good for rubbing a Pokémon’s fur, but for little else. Chloe’s hand felt very different, like a delicate dessert that would fall apart if he squeezed it too hard, ruining it. He didn’t squeeze the handshake overmuch, and it was over just as it began with a shake or two.
“What an exciting battle!” Ash’s mother said as she walked closer with Mr. Mime. “It had me on the edge of my seat!”
Chloe giggled and released Ash’s hand. “Thanks, Mrs. Ketchum. There’s no beating Mr. 99th in the world over here, though!”
Shaking himself from the now-missing feeling of Chloe’s soft hand, he smiled. “Hey, that thing where Yamper caught the Shadow Ball threw me off my game! How’d he even do that?”
“You know,” Chloe laughed, “I’m not really sure. But I think if we do a little research we can figure it out.”
“You almost sounded like Goh there,” Ash teased, making Chloe blush.
“Well, you almost sound like Jessie! She was so mad when Eevee copied their moves!” Chloe parried his jab perfectly, her wit as sharp as ever.
The two of them broke into laughter that managed to even perk up the injured Yamper and Eevee into higher spirits.
Ash’s mother nodded. “I have a great idea! Why don’t we head out to Professor Oak’s lab with our picnic? Tracey did mention he should be home from Goldenrod last night, right?”
Ash jumped up and down. “Yeah! That’s a great idea, Mom! It’ll be great to have one more day with everyone!”
His mother then turned to Chloe. “Will you need any help getting your hair back in place?” she asked.
Chloe laughed, giving her hair a toss with her hand. “I think I can fix it if you give me enough time.”
“That’s good,” Ash’s mother giggled. “From where I was standing it looked like Pikachu’s Thunderbolt made your hair bloom like a flower!”
Chloe’s face reddened again as she turned to the Pokémon. “Well, we should get ready if we’re headed over there, right?”
Ash pumped his fist. “Right! Even if I was already over there today to pick up Gengar and the others, spendin’ more time with everyone else’ll be awesome!”
Chloe and Ash began walking towards the house, talking as Ash’s Mom turned to Mr. Mime. “Now Mimey, can you handle fixing all this road so it’s still safe to use?” Looking over the stretch of road that Ash and Chloe turned into their battlefield revealed that there was a lot of collateral damage for what ended up just being a battle for fun.
“ Mime mime! ” he responded with a bow.
She looked back over towards her son and the girl who had her heart set on him, the two of them smiling gleefully as they entered the house. “It looks like that little seed really did bloom into something beautiful, didn’t it?”
Mr. Mime either didn’t hear her words, or only pretended not to.
Ash was once more lying on the couch in the Ketchum house, the sun having set hours ago after a fun day introducing Chloe to all the Pokémon he had that she hadn’t met yet. Pikachu was curled up in his lap as he lounged in the dark.He was doing something he hadn’t ever really done before, and was scrolling through pictures on his phone. Chloe had taken time at Oak’s Lab to show him how to take pictures, and it was something he would then do a lot of as they enjoyed their picnic with his Mom, Professor Oak, and Tracey.
He scrolled to a picture of Eevee using Bullet Seed next to a very surprised Sceptile. His stalwart partner from Hoenn seemed extra interested in Chloe, in a way that Ash himself found pretty funny, though he didn’t seem to quite grasp what Sceptile was trying to ask about her. He just wished Bayleef was as friendly, but the Leaf Pokémon at least found companionship in Yamper, the two of them lying in the grass and pouting in the direction where Chloe was playing with Sceptile and Eevee
Scrolling past the pouting Pokémon, Ash came to a picture that did make him smile wide. He didn’t own a lot of female Pokémon (mostly a factor of random chance since he didn’t go out of his way to catch any particular gender), but seeing Swellow, Gliscor, Snivy, Unfezant, and Talonflame join with Eevee, Dragonite, and Chloe for a picture of ‘the girls’ was fun, even if Bayleef was still being a spoilsport. It was like they were accepting the three newcomers as part of the group, and it made his heart swell with pride to see it.
“It’d be nice if we could include Lycanroc next time, too,” he chuckled to himself.
He scrolled to the next picture of Chloe running from the Tauros before moving on to the next one, of her getting scooped up by Noivern.
“Look at all these pictures I took,” he said to himself quietly so as to not disturb anyone in the house’s sleep. “Rotom would be really proud of me, I bet. Maybe Todd, too.”
He scrolled to the next picture and smiled. It was one Chloe had taken with his phone, with the two of them next to each other, and Lucario, Dracovish, Gengar, Dragonite, and Sirfetch’d all huddled around the two of them. Pikachu was in the middle, squeezed between her and him. He had thrown his arm around her shoulders and they were all smiling together, human and Pokémon alike. He liked this one most of all.
“Heh… I guess I kinda forgot to figure out what she was thinking, but that battle was worth it. We had such a great time, I’m sure I’ll put it together eventually as long as we keep spending time together.”
He tapped on the picture to pull up some options and set this particular image as the background on his phone before setting it down on the end table nearby. As he relaxed and laid down to go to sleep, he heard one of the stairs creak under the weight of someone stepping down them. He sat up and looked towards the stairs. Silhouetted in the dark, her hair down and smooth, was Chloe. In her arms she held Eevee, her hand over the Normal-Type’s mouth to keep her quiet. She was in her long pajamas again, just like the night before. Ash smiled at her and picked a dazed and tired Pikachu out of his lap and slipped out behind her as she gently opened the door.
“I didn’t think you’d be someone who snuck out this often,” Ash said, placing Pikachu on his shoulder once they were standing in the moonlight.
Chloe giggled. “Well, I guess that makes you a bad influence.”
He snorted. “Me? A bad influence? Maybe you’re just really impressionable.”
Chloe laughed to herself and looked up at the stars. “Yeah, maybe.”
Ash sat in the cool grass, damp with dew. He patted the grass next to him, and Chloe sat there, holding Eevee in her lap.
“The stars out here are somethin’ else, aren’t they?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she responded. “You can’t see anything like this in the city. There’s so many of them, and they’re all like little sparkling diamonds. It’s… beautiful, you know?”
Ash chewed on that word for a bit. “Yeah… Yeah, I guess it is beautiful, isn’t it?” he said. “I think the night sky above Pallet Town is my favorite.”
“And after that is Alola, right?” Chloe asked, gently petting Eevee.
Ash chuckled as Pikachu yawned and stretched. “Yeah, guilty.”
He leaned back on his hands and felt his accidentally touch Chloe’s hand in the grass. He retracted his hand fearfully, not wanting to offend her, but other than a dart of her emerald eyes in his direction, she didn’t seem to respond, so he put his hand nearby, but not touching hers as he looked up in the sky.
“I hope I can see the sky in Alola someday,” Chloe said wistfully. “It’s a really special place to you, so I’d like to visit it someday.”
Ash looked at her when she said ‘you’, blinking. “Well, it’s special to a lot of people. Especially the people who live there.”
“Yeah,” she said, shrugging as Eevee yawned as well. “But while we’ve been out here this week… I’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve seen some of the really amazing things that come with being a Pokémon Trainer, and I’ve had to deal with…” she went quiet for a moment. “...some of the less amazing things. Like the danger. And the fighting.” Her eyes were now dark, no longer catching the moon’s light as she lowered her head, now looking at the ground. “I was really worried for a bit. I cried back there, in that little hole in the wall cave. But in the end, we made it through, didn’t we?”
He moved his hand from the grass to her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Yeah, because you stuck it out and kept a cool head. You’ve really surprised me at how much you’ve grown this week, Chloe. I hope you found something that you can take back with you. You really do belong with us.”
Chloe’s mind went back to their talk in the cave. “Yeah… I guess I did show that I can really stick it out when times get tough, you know?” She brushed a hand through her hair, her fingertips gliding over the back of Ash’s hand where it stayed on her shoulder, but she didn’t let them linger as she sat up, looking at the stars.
“I think…” Ash started before shaking his head. “No, I know you should come with Goh and me more often than you already do. There’s so much you can see out there, even if you don’t think you’ll be interested in it at first.”
Chloe looked over at him. There was a mirthful twinkle in her eyes. “So you’d want me to see stuff that I might not be interested in at first?” she said with a smile that looked warm in the moonlight.
“Yeah!” he said, still full of energy. “Even if you aren’t interested in it, or you’re never interested in it, there’s always something to get out of it! You can’t learn anything just sitting there, right? You’ve gotta keep moving, and nothing you learn’ll be a waste of time as long as you do!” He chuckled a bit before looking away from the girl next to him and towards Pikachu. He rubbed his best buddy’s head. “At least, that’s how I do things, anyway.”
“I… I’ll think about it,” she said after a few moments of silence. “I want to make sure what I decide on is the best for me and for Eevee, both.”
“As long as you’ve got Eevee with you,” Ash said, “I know you’ll both make it together.”
“Thanks, Ash…”
There’s another moment of quiet.
“I guess it’s gonna be another night like this one, huh,” Ash said.
“What do you mean?” Chloe asked.
“Now I’m just thinkin’ about all kinds of stuff,” he replied. “The stars, the sky, Alola, Eevee, you…” he chuckled a bit after the last one. “I guess I need t’ calm down a bit before I can go to sleep.”
Pikachu stood up and hopped off Ash’s shoulder and ran back towards the house. The action was so quick that Ash wasn’t even ready for him to dash off. “B-Buddy? Where are you goin’?”
Pikachu jumped and opened the door quickly before dashing inside.
Chloe looked at Ash for a moment, Eevee mimicking her own somewhat neutral-confused expression. It was only a few moments longer when Pikachu came back, holding a small instrument that he recognized.
His ukulele.
Chloe gasped. “You brought it with you?” she asked, excitedly.
He laughed as he took it back into his hands. “Yeah. It left it here when we went camping, but I guess it could have helped pass the time those nights if I brought it with me, huh?”
“You wouldn’t have minded playing for me?” Chloe’s voice was quiet, but high with anticipation.
Ash shrugged at the question. “Yeah, why not? You already know and besides… it’s nice to see you relax, you know?”
“Would you…” her face turned pink again. “Would you mind playing some for me now?”
“Sure.”
Ash sat up and began strumming his fingers across the ukulele, plucking out the familiar tune he had spent many a night perfecting alongside Pikachu. It was during sleepless nights like this one, where he was too excited to sleep, that he would stay up strumming it. Pikachu curled up in his lap, his tail gently swaying to the ukulele’s song.
He closed his eyes and pictured the Alolan sea at night with it’s sparkling stars and bright moon over the ocean, reflected on the water’s surface. He remembered the cool nights listening to Professor Kukui play a relaxing song for Burnett as she would drift off to sleep.
He felt something against his shoulder, and he looked over as his fingers continued to strum. Chloe’s soft hair cushioned it, but she was laying her head against his shoulder, listening to him play quietly.
Ash smiled, a feeling of peace and contentment rising in his heart, and he played on.
The two of them stood at the bus stop together. While Chloe had insisted she wasn’t opposed to walking the rest of the way as a sort of last-minute adventure, she did note that with her full suitcase carrying all that stuff as well as Yamper’s presence, it would be infeasible to do so.
So they were waiting for a little bit until the bus to Vermilion arrived.
“I had a great time out here, Ash,” she said to him. “Thanks for bringing me out here.”
He laughed and scratched the back of his head. “You’re welcome, Chloe. I had a blast, too!”
“Even your ankle?”
“Even my ankle.”
She giggled. “I’m glad, too, then. I’m almost excited to see what comes next!”
A rumbling sound was heard over the horizon, and Ash and Chloe both looked to see the bus trundling down the road, kicking up a somewhat reasonable cloud of dust behind it. The bus stopped and opened its doors for the two of them to climb aboard. Ash went first and stepped up the stairs before turning around and seeing Chloe holding onto the suitcase, trying to juggle it, Eevee, and Yamper. Once she had Eevee on her head, and the suitcase and Yamper under one arm, Ash reached down and took her by her free hand, pulling her onto the bus. The two smiled at each other and went to find a seat.
From his perch on Ash’s shoulder, Pikachu smiled. He felt like something was beginning to change, and he was excited for what came next, too.
Chapter 17: On the Passage of Time
Chapter Text
As familiar a sight it was, Chloe felt like it had been a lifetime since she last set her eyes on her home in Vermilion City. It had only been a week since she hopped on the bus with Ash to Pallet Town for the spring break, but so much had happened in the course of the seven days that Chloe couldn’t say that the simple building wasn’t a sight for sore eyes.
Ash stood at her side, smiling widely in that way that always made her smile, as well, Pikachu copying the same expression. On her shoulder, Eevee seemed to be copying them as well. She couldn’t even begin to stifle the giggle that grew up from her stomach. ‘ I guess all four of us have that same sort of smile on our faces now, don’t we?’
Only Yamper, yawning at her feet, seemed to have a different expression on his face, but sometimes Chloe thought Yamper’s expression was hard to parse. The puppy’s thoughts always seemed to be his own, even if they ran along fairly predictable lines.
She opened the door, holding it open wide enough for Yamper to toddle inside and for Ash to grab, holding it for her as she stepped inside.
“Mom! Dad! Parker! I’m home!”
There was the sound of a book dropping to the ground in the next room as Professor Cerise came scrambling across the house. “Chloe! You’re back!” He threw his arms around his daughter, pulling her into a tight hug while incidentally jamming his face between hers and Eevee’s. “I missed you! You didn’t call back after that first morning! You’re not hurt are you? Did your phone break?”
“Dad, you’re crushing me,” Chloe squeaked out as Eevee giggled excitedly.
Her mother walked in, her tablet pen tucked behind her ear. Parker followed behind, his video game controller in his hands. “Welcome home, sweetie,” her mother said, much more calm than her father. “Did you have a good time?”
Chloe just laughed it off. “I’m not hurt, and no my phone is fine, Dad. And thanks, Mom.” She shot a look over her shoulder (and her father’s arms) at Ash. “It wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I had a lot of fun out there.”
“Hey, Ash and Pikachu!” Parker said, pushing past his Mom to approach the older boy. “I hope my sister wasn’t too boring for you.”
Ash gave Parker a pat on the head, ruffling his hair. “Nah, Chloe was a big help! Wasn’t she, buddy?”
“ Pikachu!” he responded.
“There was a little trouble,” Chloe said as her father finally released her, “but it wasn’t anything that a little clear thinking and will power couldn’t make its way through.”
Ash snorted. “Well, I think clear thinking probably saved the day,” he said, winking at her.
She winked back. “I dunno. Something can be said about having the heart to make it through.”
The two of them giggled, their experiences like a secret that bound them together, making the rest of Chloe’s family just watch them for a moment before Chloe turned back to them.
“Oh! How was your time on Cinnabar Island? Did you all have fun at the beach?”
Parker put his hands behind his head and groaned. “As if,” he said. “It rained basically all week. I think the only one of us who could have had fun at the beach like that was Yamper and he was with you.”
“ Yamp! ” the Puppy puffed out his chest proudly. Eevee hopped off Chloe’s shoulder and stood next to him, puffing out her chest as well.
“That bad, huh?” Chloe said, a wry smirk on her face. “It only rained once while we were in Pallet Town. I guess we were lucky.”
Ash chuckled. “I wouldn’t go THAT far,” he said, clearly remembering what happened in the rain. The two of them looked each other in the eyes again, both remembering the cliff falling away and Ash’s daring rescue, followed by Chloe’s patience in tending to his wounds afterwards.
‘As harrowing as that entire experience was, ’ she thought to herself, ‘ I think I really was lucky to have such an incredible experience with you, Ash.’
Ash, seemingly knowing what she was thinking, smiled gently into her warm green eyes. “Well, maybe a little lucky,” he chuckled.
Once again, Chloe’s parents and little brother seemed like they weren’t in on the joke. “You guys are awfully chummy, huh?” Parker pouted, glaring at Chloe from the side of his eye. “Maybe there’s something you guys would like to tell us?”
“There’ll be plenty of time for that later,” Chloe said before turning to her mom. “Hey, can Ash stay for dinner? It is pretty late and knowing Goh, he probably won’t have anything set aside for Ash when he gets there.”
Ash’s stomach growled audibly at this exact moment, enough for everyone to turn to the boy who now had an embarrassed look on his face. “I guess snacks aren’t enough to go by when breakfast was so many hours ago…”
“ Pikapi… ” Pikachu sighed, bemused. He shook his head and shot Chloe an apologetic gaze, which she returned.
Chloe’s mother smiled at her, giving her a knowing smile. “I don’t have any problems with it. But I will need you to help cook if we’re making enough for everyone!”
“I’ll be more than happy to help, Mom,” Chloe said with a wide smile. “As long as someone can occupy his time while we cook.”
She once again looked at Ash, who grinned back. “Well, I can always do a little bit of trainin’! Can I use your backyard? I’m not sure Dragonite an’ Lucario sparring ‘ll be fine in the front yard.”
Parker’s jaw practically fell off his head. “Dragonite and Lucario?! Wait, you have all your Pokémon with you?”
Ash chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. Chloe spoke up in his place. “If you mean the ones he’s caught since he started working for Dad, then yeah. If you mean the ones he’s caught since he started as a trainer, then not even close.”
Ash grinned like a cheeky Mankey, rubbing the back of his head, and Chloe could only giggle. The thoughts of Ash’s somewhat lengthy list of exploits had been something that made Chloe’s stomach twist in knots, but the experience in the last two days of their excursion taught her something about him that no amount of trophy explanations could.
‘ No matter what happens, no matter where he goes, there’s always a place for me. At the lab, at home, with Eevee and even with him. I just have to work to find that place with Pokémon at my side.’
“Wait, Chloe!” Parker said, turning to her. “What do you mean? How many Pokémon has Ash caught? I wanna see ‘em!”
Ash put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I can talk to ‘im if you want, Chloe,” he said. “I’ll go ahead and get started training outside.” He raised a fist up above Parker’s head toward her.
She raised her own fist and met his. “Don’t blow his mind like you did mine,” she responded with a familiar coolness. “Mom and I’ll get dinner going.”
As the two sides split up to go to their own destinations, Professor Cerise and Yamper watched them go, with more than a little puzzlement on the man’s face.
“...very interesting…” he thought out loud.
“ Yamper.”
“Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!” Mika was beside herself at school that coming Monday. Chloe had just finished explaining everything to her friend that had happened - Ash’s exploits, their adventure in the wilderness, and even the battle they had. However, her friend was tied up in one thing.
“You kissed him!” she squealed, delighted. “I can’t believe you kissed your crush like that!”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Four things,” she said before she began holding up fingers. “One, he was unconscious. Two, it was an emergency situation and he could have died. Three, that’s just how CPR works, you’ve had the same lessons that I’ve had. And four, it was just the logical thing to do in that situation. So all of that together, and it wasn’t a kiss. It doesn’t count.”
“You kissed him~!” Mika teased in defiance of Chloe’s logic. “You love him~!”
She just glared back at her friend. “Will you be quiet for a second and listen to what I’m trying to tell you?” she said.
“All I’m hearing is that you took VERY good care of you boy friend,” Mika said, grinning ear to ear. “I imagined a lot of things could happen out there in Pallet Town with no internet, but I never imagined anything like that!”
An audible sigh. “Why isn’t the part with Team Rocket the least believable? Or the Z-Ring?”
“Because I don’t want to live in a world where such a thing as a talking Meowth doesn’t exist.”
Mika could be strangely stubborn.
“Well, you need to listen up because I’m not going to be here if you need me to repeat myself.”
Mika blinked at Chloe, her blue eyes reflecting Chloe’s irritated expression.
Chloe opened her mouth and began explaining the talk she had with everyone just a few hours ago.
“I want to help with research.”
Chloe stood there in the lab just as her father began explaining the day’s work to Ash and Goh. All three of them turned to her, as well as Chrysa and Ren, her father’s assistants.
“Wanna run that by me again?” asked Goh, blinking.
Chloe was firm. “I want to help with research. I know I still have school, but I want to try and figure out a way I could go on more trips, to see more of the world. If I want to take finding my own way to live with Pokémon seriously… if I want to help Eevee find her way, then sitting around, waiting for stuff to come to me isn’t going to make it come any faster.”
Her father stroked his chin. “That sounds a little like you’re getting impatient, Chloe. Are you sure this is what you want?”
She shook her head. “I’m not impatient,” she said, keeping her eyes trained forward. “I know it’s going to take a long time to find out where I fit into everything. And I’m okay with that. But my week out into the wilderness with Ash taught me one important thing: not everything I learn can be found in a book, or in a single building. I need to… expand my worldview. I have to be more proactive. I’m tired of letting stuff just happen to me. I’m ready to take things into my own hands!”
“ Eievui! ” her Pokémon chimed in, as excited and confident as her trainer.
“I think she should do it!” The only voice in agreement came from Ash. “Chloe’s ready for the sorts of stuff we do! Maybe even more!”
Goh put his hand to his chin this time. “Well, it’s not like I said she couldn’t come along,” he said. “In fact, it’ll be fun having Chloe around. We’ll be able to get even more data with a third perspective!” The more he spoke, the more excited he became. This suited Chloe perfectly.
“And have you had her cooking?” Ash boasted. “She’s definitely got my vote if she’s able to keep cooking for us!”
Both boys high fived, and Chloe only laughed. “Gee, next you’ll be asking me to do your laundry. I’ll be a research fellow just like you guys, not your maid.”
Goh grinned widely in her direction. “Oh, I don’t think you’ll need any extra motivation to cook for Ash, Chloe.”
Chloe felt her cheeks warm up, but she kept her gaze focused forward. “And what do you mean by that?”
“I think it means he wants you to cook for him, too!” Ash, ever oblivious, said.
“Oh brother…” she sighed.
As Goh and Ash descended into a discussion about Parker’s current whereabouts, Professor Cerise turned to Chloe, a thoughtful look on his face. “Are you sure about this? It’ll be pretty tough juggling school as well as trips…”
“I’m sure, Dad,” she said. “It’s like you said. Sometimes it’s the effort that counts.”
To that, he could only smile. “I see Ash has been a great influence on you, as well.”
Her cheeks only burned hotter. “C-C’mon, Dad, not right now.”
He chuckled. “What I mean is, you saw how Ash pulled Goh out of his shell, and now he’s done the same thing for you. That boy is something special. We’re very lucky to know him.”
Chloe nodded. “Yeah. We are.”
“So that’s that,” Chloe said. “I still need to work out the details with our teacher but you’ll be seeing less of me each week because I’m going to help them with Pokémon work.”
Mika blinked in her direction. “Wow… you’ve changed a lot, Chloe.”
She hesitated. “I feel like everyone’s been saying stuff like that lately,” she replied, frowning. “I’m seriously not that different. I’m just trying to be more active, you know?”
“You’re right,” Mika said. “It’s good for you to get out there more. It’s almost like you’re growing up ahead of me.”
“Mika,” Chloe said, frowning. “Don’t be like that. Don’t be sad just because I’m not going to be around as much anymore. I promise I’ll still be here the other days of the week.”
“You better,” Mika replied. “I’ll want to see all the pictures of the Pokémon you meet while you’re not at school. I wanna see them, too!”
Chloe sighed. Of course, if it wasn’t boys, Mika’s interest was squarely focused on Pokémon.
“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
It was a few days later, and Ash’s partner leapt into the air under the cloudy Galarian skies before discharging a bolt of electricity at a curious Pokémon made up of six smaller Pokémon. Goh’s Pokédex called it Falinks.
Chloe just thought it was a pain in the neck.
Having just pulled Eevee away after she had been copying Goh’s Grookey with harassing the poor thing, she shielded her Pokémon from the explosion as the Thunderbolt sent the six troopers of Falinks in different directions, with their Captain bouncing down the hill towards the river like an empty can kicked down the road.
“I’ll get this one!” shouted Goh over his shoulder. “You guys get the others!”
Ash nodded. “Got it!”
“Good luck, Goh!” Chloe shouted as he chased after the captain bouncing down the hill.
Ash turned to Chloe and grinned. “Let’s find all these guys and get them all together so we’re ready when Goh comes back.”
Chloe sighed, putting Eevee down. “Right,” she said, looking over and seeing one of the Falinks flailing its short, stubby legs in a bush. “Are things always this disorganized on research trips?” she asked, picking the Pokémon up.
Ash stroked his smooth chin. “Uh… sometimes, I guess. But that’s part of the fun of doing research, you know?”
Chloe flipped the small Pokémon in her hands around. The trooper looked up at her and it’s eyes began to sparkle happily. “ Lili ?”
She frowned at it. “I’m not your captain…” Sighing, she brought the trooper back to Ash and Pikachu, who had already gathered the other four and sat it down with it’s partners.
The five Falinks troopers all looked around at each other, confused and unsure. They were chattering among themselves nervously. Ash stood over them, hands on his hips. “Hey, c’mon. Goh’s got your captain, I’m sure they’re fine!”
“ Pikachu!” his partner called out to the troopers.
All five of them turned to Pikachu and fell silent. ‘ This is so weird,’ Chloe thought. ‘ What a strange Pokémon…’
After the silence ended, each of the troopers, one by one, began to move and file in line behind Pikachu, looking much like how the Pokédex said a Falinks should look, if it weren’t for the electric mouse at the head of the line.
“ Pika!?” he called out in shock, wagging his tail to try to force the troopers back. All they did was lean back (in sync) to avoid the flapping tail, all while watching Pikachu closely.
“Hey, stop that!” Ash called, stepping close. He picked up one of the troopers and set it aside, so that it wouldn’t be following Pikachu around. When he did, the next trooper in line walked up to take its place, and so Ash set that one aside. While he did, the first moved to the end of the line, Chloe watched with despair as the cycle continued. The line of troopers grew one longer when Eevee began copying them, standing in line behind the Falinks until Ash had to pick her up because she was standing too close to Pikachu.
“E-Eevee!” Chloe called out. “Don’t make things more difficult than they already are!” Already, her illusions about what researching would be like were getting dashed upon the rocks of reality.
Another few weeks had passed, and Chloe sat next to Goh in a huge stadium in the Sinnoh Region. The crowd was excited for the main event to begin, but Chloe couldn’t help but feel nervous in the pit of her stomach. ‘ I knew it was the World Coronation Series but I guess I didn’t think it would be this hugely popular… she thought, looking at the monitor.
The announcer came on over the speaker system. “Today, we have an Ultra Class Battle! And here we have our two trainers for today’s match!”
Doors on the bottom of the battlefield opened up, and platforms rose carrying the trainers on them. On the far end of the battlefield was a young man with dirty blonde hair, wearing a jacket with a serious look on his face. On the closer side, Chloe could look down and see the back of Ash’s head.
The display in the middle of the stadium began showing highlights of the first trainer. “Currently ranked 27th in the world, he’s the Sinnoh Region’s strongest Gym Leader! It’s Volkner of Sunyshore City!”
The crowd whipped into a frenzy of cheers around the two Kantonians for Sinnoh’s hometown hero. Chloe grimaced. “I guess this Volkner guy’s pretty popular, huh…?”
Sitting on the railing in front of her, even Eevee began to dance and cheer.
The display changed again, this time showing the ranking of the second trainer: 99th. “His opponent is a newcomer to the Ultra Class. Ranked 99th in the world, it’s Ash from Pallet Town!”
The crowd quieted down their enthusiasm with a few polite claps.
Goh chuckled darkly. “I guess there’s not much love for the away team, is there…?” he joked, looking around.
Chloe shook her head. “Then we’ve gotta be the ones to make some noise!” she said. Standing up, she cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone. “C’mon, Ash! Show them that you’re the one who’s gonna battle Leon!”
“ Eievui!” she began shouting as well.
“ Uki! Gruki!” Goh’s Grookey began smacking his stick against the railing as well in an attempt to drum up a beat.
Goh smiled at his friend, amused. “Yeah, you’re right.” He stood as well. “You can do it, Ash! Send this Gym Leader to the showers!”
Again, time kept on skipping by, and while things seemed to be going fairly well, this particular trip was an exception.
‘This day just gets worse and worse,’ Chloe thought.
First, they ended up getting chased by a horde of Roggenrolla into this mineshaft. Then, they were attacked by a Ferrothorn. And then the explorer they met turned out to be a Pokémon Hunter and betrayed them, and now they were all stuck to the wall by his Galvantula’s Sticky Web.
“At least this cannot get any worse,” she said.
As the hunter wheeled his wheelbarrow full of Larvesta eggs away, Goh called out at him. “Hey! Give those back!”
“Don’t you see that the Larvesta are mad?” Ash asked him.
“Who’d give these up? I can sell these and get rich!” the Pokémon hunter said, mocking them.
The Larvesta that had emerged from the nearby mineshaft blew their flames out at the hunter, missing him by a wide margin. But there were plenty of other things around that could burn from their heat, catching on several wooden platforms and old crates from the gold rush era.
“Those eggs’re gonna get burned up!” Ash said, still struggling against the Sticky Web.
Goh struggled against the web as well. “The Larvesta are so angry, they’re putting everyone in danger…!”
“We’re in danger, too!’ Chloe shouted, also struggling against the web as the burning platform crept ever closer to where the three of them were stuck.
Goh stopped and watched the fire closely. “Wait, this could be our chance…!”
Chloe and Ash looked down at the flames as well as the licked towards the edges of the web.
“This is totally crazy,” she said. She couldn’t tell if she was sweating from the dangerous situation or the heat getting that much closer to burning her hair.
Ash nodded. “I get it! We break out when the webs are just weakened enough!”
“ Pikachu! ”
“ Gruki! ”
“ Eievui! ”
The Pokémon were in favor of the plan.
Goh watched the flames crawl closer and closer. “Just a little bit more…”
“Now!”
Ash and Goh shouted at the same time, and Chloe leapt out as well, breaking the web and freeing the three of them.
Goh quickly took charge of the situation. “Ash, Chloe, you two get the eggs back from the hunter! I’ll handle the Larvesta!”
“You’ve got it!” Ash said, rushing off.
Chloe nodded to her longtime friend. “Be careful, Goh!” And then she went chasing after Ash and the hunter.
Ash held his hand out forward as he and Chloe chased after the hunter. “Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
“ Piiikaaachuuu! ” cried Ash’s partner, unleashing the blast of electricity from his body. The electricity arced and the hunter let go of the cart to avoid getting shocked. Chloe leapt forward and grabbed the cart to make sure the Larvesta eggs didn’t spill out and get damaged.
As she let out a sigh of relief, Ash stood up to the hunter. “Do you still wanna fight?”
“ Pika, pika! ” challenged Pikachu, still sparkling with electricity.
The hunter turned down another tunnel and ran off, fleeing from the scene. “You brats’ll regret this!”
Chloe sighed in relief. “C’mon, let’s get these to Goh and the Larvesta!”
Ash nodded and they began running back as quickly as they could.
From what Chloe saw, Goh seemed to be holding his own with the Larvesta when they arrived, gesturing to them with his hands. “Goh, we’ve got em!” she called out.
Goh nodded and gestured to Ash and Chloe. “See, they’re safe and sound! We got them back from the bad guy!”
“ Pikachu! ” he added, pleading.
Goh reached out to the Larvesta. “So please, stop!”
“ Uki! Ukiuki!” chatter Grookey towards the Larvesta.
But it seemed like their words weren’t reaching the Bug- and -Fire-types, as the Larvesta began preparing another Fire-Type attack for them and their Pokémon.
“Don’t do it!” Shouted Goh. “Please, you have to stop, Larvesta!”
Goh locked eyes with the Larvesta as they continued to power up their Fire-type moves.
“Be careful, Goh,” Ash said.
“Maybe we should leave…?” Chloe asked, turning around with an “Eep!”
The Larvesta stopped charging their attacks and calmed down, staring at Goh.
“You understood me…!” he said with a sigh as Ash rolled the eggs over to them. Ash and Goh quickly unloaded the eggs from the wheelbarrow
“We did it, Ash!” Goh said, smiling.
“We sure did,” Ash replied, also smiling.
The two boys chuckled at each other before Chloe interrupted them.
“Uh, guys? What about this?”
Ash and Goh turned around to see that the wooden staircase they were previously attached to was now completely engulfed in flames.
Both of them gasped. “If this keeps burning…!” Ash said.
“Right,” Goh said, already reaching into his pockets. “C’mon guys, we need you!”
He threw two Poké Balls into the air that opened up to his Intelleon and his Krabby.
“I choose you, Dracovish!” Ash shouted, bringing out his Fossil Pokémon.
Chloe looked at her Eevee. “We need your help, too!”
“ Vui!”
Goh gestured towards the flames. “Intelleon, Snipe Shot! Krabby, use Bubble Beam!”
“Dracovish, use Water Gun!”
“Eevee, use Water Gun, too!”
The three trainers, each with their Pokémon, threw their all into fighting the blaze growing around them, unaware of the golden Pokémon approaching who would save them from that unfortunate fate.
Chloe felt exhausted, lying on the couch in the lab, with Eevee also lying on her lap.
“It feels like it never stops, Eevee…” she said, listening to the rhythmic keyboard tapping of Chrysa and Ren as they entered in more data from the research that was done the previous week. “Those blue obsessed weirdos were something else, not to mention everything that came before…”
“ Eievui… ” she cooed, curling up.
Chloe sat up, looking at the Pokémon. “But things are going well, right? I feel like we’re seeing so much more than we used to.
Eevee rolled over onto her back, as though she was seeking a belly rub, which Chloe then provided.
“But still, it’s not so bad, right…? It just goes to show how big the world really is. I guess it’s something I never really considered when I said that I wanted to be part of it.”
Ren chuckled from his desk. “Well, sometimes I feel like Chrysa and I get the better part of the deal, since we just come in and do our work. We don’t have to worry about travelling all over and doing any crazy competitions or anything.”
Chrysa giggled. “You know there’s times you’re jealous, like when Ash and Goh get to go someplace nice.”
“Guilty,” Ren admitted, laughing.
“Someplace nice, huh?” Chloe thought out loud. “I wonder when we’ll go somewhere like that…”
Her mind began running through all the regions they had skipped through on their excursions. She honestly felt like she spent more time on planes than in the regions they visited. ‘ Just once, I’d like a chance for things to slow down, so I can enjoy where we go. We’re always so busy… I just want to slow down and really take a region in, you know?’
Just as she was thinking these thoughts, the door opened, and her father walked in, with Ash and Goh following behind.
“Hey Chloe!” came the cheerful greeting from both the boys, but Ash frowned at seeing her exhausted like that. “Are you feelin’ alright?” he asked.
She sat up, waving off his concerns. “I’m fine! Just thinking about some stuff, I guess.”
“Look out, Goh,” Ash joked, throwing an arm around the other boy’s shoulders, “she’s going to put you out of work with all that thinking she’s doing.”
Goh sneered back. “Well, given how little you think, I still think we’re running at a deficit.”
The two boys laughed at each other, and Chloe stood, cracking a grin herself as well. “Someone needs to keep you both grounded,” she said with a shrug as she approached the two of them.
The holographic projection behind her father began to beep, and Chrysa’s tapping became more furious. “Professor, we’ve got a phone call,” she said.
Professor Cerise turned to the projection. “Put it through, Chrysa.”
She nodded and tapped a few keys, and a screen projected onto the hologram, showing a tanned, muscular man in a white hat.
“Alola!”
Chloe was a bit surprised at the man and took a step back. Ash and Goh, however, recognized the man instantly. Ash, especially, had an excited smile on his face. “Professor Kukui! Alola! Good to see you again!”
Professor Kukui waved to Ash. “It’s great to see you again, Ash! You, too, Goh!” he said cheerfully.
Chloe shrank back into the background of the call, not sure what to make of this ‘Professor’. Her mind instantly went back to the image of Ash playing the ukulele in the moonlight, when he quietly explained how the Professor would sometimes play ukulele songs for him at night. It suddenly dawned on her that this man kept coming up when she spoke with Ash, and she knew very little about him.
The realization filled her stomach with a feeling of dread. It was as though this man’s appearance on the screen was an ill presage for the events that were going to come to pass.
“Since you’re already here, we can Cut to the chase like a Quick Attack.”
“Is there some sort of big event happening in Alola, Professor Kukui?” Professor Cerise asked, adjusting his glasses to look at the screen.
“Sort of,” he replied through the screen. “Really, it’s something I wanted to Lock-On and tell Ash directly as soon as we heard the news.”
Ash, excited as ever, grinned happily. “The news? What’s going on?” he asked.
The next words echoed through Chloe’s head far longer than they echoed through the halls of the Cerise Laboratory.
“We just got word from Lusamine! They found Mohn! Lillie is coming back to Alola!”
Chapter 18: With the Ice Princess
Notes:
This chapter is something of a side-story, a break from Ash and Chloe's adventures to spend some time with the characters that were brought back at the end of the last chapter. I struggled with whether to include this as it's own chapter or to simply make it a one-shot and advise the readers of this story to read it before continuing, but after much consideration, it makes the most sense for it to be included here as it was intended to be read.
I apologize for this diversion, and thank you for continuing to read this story. Next time, we'll see Ash and Chloe again.
Chapter Text
The blonde girl pulled her jacket around her even tighter than before. There were many, many differences between her home region and the one she currently found herself in, but if Lillie could pick the one she liked the least, it would be the temperature. Tropical Alola was much more hospitable to her than frosty Galar.
Looking at her feet where her Vulpix lay, she at least could smile knowing that her partner was comfortable. As an Ice-type, the Alolan Vulpix acclimated to the colder temperatures very quickly. Even her brother, who normally dressed in ripped clothes, was putting on an extra layer under his sweatshirt to stave off the cold.
Gladion sat with her on a bench in the train station they had stopped at as the family took a few moments to recharge, especially the mechanical Pokémon that sat some distance away with the sibling’s mother, who was also dressed much more warmly than she normally was. The Magearna sat quietly, temporarily powered down to rest as the rest of the family took a moment to gather their bearings.
Lillie turned to her brother and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Gladion. I’m sure we’re closer than we think.”
He gave her a smile as he peeked at her between his bangs, but there wasn’t much light in his eyes. “I’m not so sure…” he said. “I mean, I know Magearna is pointing us on the right track, but it’s not like the beam of light she uses goes with the curvature of the planet or anything. She’s just a living compass, and that means even if she’s pointing in the right direction, there’s no telling if the path we’re taking is the best one.”
Lillie hummed to herself, her mind opening up her mental library to think through all the books she’s read. ‘ What Gladion is saying is true , she thought. ‘ It’s like if there was a path over a mountain or a path around it, the path around the mountain would be faster, even if it looked like you were going the wrong way.’ She shook her head, though. “I disagree,” she said. “Even if Magearna isn’t pointing us in the most efficient path, I feel like there’s a reason she’s taking us the direction she is.”
“And why do you think that?” Gladion asked, his tone of voice communicating curiosity over confrontation.
To that, Lillie could only shrug. “I… suppose it would be best to call it faith.”
“Faith?” he responded.
Lillie looked across the train station to where Magearna sat with her mother. “It’s thanks to Tapu Fini that we even have an idea that Father is alive somewhere. And Magearna is pointing the way to something. We have no guarantee that what Magearna is pointing to is Father or that Tapu Fini even gave us the correct information. The Tapu can be incredibly fickle when helping people, even cruel at times.”
Gladion frowned. “You’re sounding like you’re starting to doubt that Father is even out here somewhere…”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I just know from the books I’ve read that there’s a lot we’re taking for granted. But still… I feel like if Father was truely dead, Tapu Fini would have shown him to us. So I have faith in her, and in Magearna. I know we’re getting close. I know !”
“ Vul! ” cheered Snowy, standing up and shaking her six bushy tails.
“Snowy has faith, too,” Lillie said, looking once more at Gladion, “so I can’t let you give up hope! Not you and not Mother, either!”
From across the way, Lusamine visibly slumped over, hearing Lillie call her out. The daughter of the Aether Foundation President could only look upon her childish mother in pity; when she isn’t calling her a baby, Lusamine is acting like one herself. “Mother, I saw that,” she chastised, causing Lusamine to slump over further, almost falling off the bench now.
“So what should we do next?” Gladion asked. “We arrived here in Motostoke only a few hours after Magearna shut down. She’s probably just as exhausted from the search as we are. Don’t you think we should try to take some of the burden off of her?”
Lillie nodded. “At the very least, we can try to find something nice for Magearna to show her we’re thankful for all the work she’s been doing!” She got up and walked over to where her mother was slouching. “Mother, Gladion and I are going to go look around the city for a bit. Will you and Magearna be alright here?”
Lusamine looked up with the saddest eyes that reminded Lillie of a Rockruff for a moment. “I will…” she said in an exaggerated, childish tone.
Lillie tried very hard not to think poorly of her mother, since this was hard on all of them, but there were times she just wanted to shake her until she started acting like a real grown-up.
With Lusamine settled in next to Magearna, Lillie, Gladion, and Snowy left the train station in Motostoke and began looking for something to eat to start. Motostoke was wholly unlike any place Lillie had ever gone besides the Aether Paradise itself. The entire city seemed like it ran on machinery with large steam pipes running along walls high enough that a person couldn’t accidentally burn themselves on it.
Quite a few people turned their heads toward Snowy as she walked. ‘ I suppose Snowy would be quite the sight out here to people who aren’t used to seeing an Alolan Vulpix ,’ she thought. The Fox Pokémon was cheerful as she walked beside Lillie through the streets of town, though, headed down to a cafe that her phone said was highly reviewed.
As they continued to roam the streets, Lillie turned her head towards a large, red building with a red roof that she recognized as being similar to the Pokémon Centers in Alola. She relaxed, smiling at it. “Look, Gladion! A Galarian Pokémon Center! I wonder how it’s different from the ones back home?”
Gladion shrugged. “I can’t say I think it’s very different at all,” he said. “They probably have their own Nurse Joys, just like ours do.”
“You’re right,” she said with a smile and a giggle. As she pulled her eyes away, though, something in one of the windows caught her eye and she froze, causing Gladion to bump into her from behind and Snowy to turn in shock.
“Lillie?” her brother asked. “What’s wrong?”
Eyes as wide as saucers, Lillie walked up toward the window of the Pokémon Center, where apparently notices and posters were placed so that passers-by could see them. And in one of the images, looking like a somewhat scruffy mugshot was a blonde man with green eyes and a somewhat familiar expression on his face.
“Father…?”
It was a relatively recent posting of a poster that indicated that a man had turned up, and anyone with information about him was being asked to step forward. It stated that this man was currently in Freezington and that anyone who had any information could call them or visit them at the building where they were located.
Gladion’s eyes went wide as well as he read the document, quickly memorizing any details. “Lillie… he really is alive…”
A thousand questions began racing through her mind. ‘ Why hasn’t he tried to contact us? Is he alright? How did he end up in Galar, of all places?’ and many, many more. But one thought emerged above all others, and caused a single tear to slip down the girl’s cheek.
‘ We’ve… finally found him.’
When they hastily returned with food, the first thing they did after rousing Lusamine was alert her to the poster, which they then took her to. Upon Lusamine questioning Nurse Joy inside, they learned that Freezington was a small village located in the far south of Galar, in a region called the Crown Tundra. The poster had only gone up fairly recently, and Lusamine suspected that since Aether didn’t have a branch here, gathering information from this region was difficult.
“Macro Cosmos has always pushed back against any attempts we’ve made in establishing a base here…” Lusamine had whispered under her breath while they were in line buying Crown Passes, so that they could board the train to the Crown Tundra.
The further they went south on the train out of Motostoke, the colder it got. Lillie and Snowy looked out the window to the place that the Galarians called the Wild Area, but other than seeing some strange red lights as well as some wild Pokémon, she didn’t understand what was so interesting about it. Eventually, they passed through a tunnel, and on the other side was a great mountain of snow with a giant tree on top, and that captured Lillie’s imagination more than anything else she’d seen up to this point. She began making notes about it in her diary until it got so cold she had to wear mittens inside the train itself.
When they arrived, the Crown Tundra was experiencing a reasonable snowfall for a place with ‘tundra’ in the name. It reminded Lillie very much about Mount Lanakila and the times she visited it with her friends. She was very thankful she had her winter clothing available for such an occasion.
As they looked around, though, it quickly became apparent that there was no easy pathway to their next destination, and that they would be walking through the snow to get there.
Gladeon let out his Umbreon, who shook at the cold but quickly acclimated. “Umbreon’s rings can glow even through a snowstorm,” he said. “It may help us find some travellers and ask for directions.”
“ Breon,” the Moonlight Pokémon said, flicking his tail through the air.
Walking through the snow was difficult as it was up to Lillie’s knees in places. But even through all of this, her spirits were kept high by watching Snowy leap and play in the snow as they walked ahead.
When Lillie looked to her mother, all of the childish immaturity that had characterized Lusamine had seemed to vanish. There was a cold look in her eyes as she pressed on despite the snow blowing in her face. But in the depth of Lusamine’s cold, green eyes there was a passionate spark that Lillie was sure warmed here even in this environment.
‘ Mother knows that we’re close,’ she said. ‘ That’s why she’s so serious now.’
Gladion had the unenviable task of carrying Magearna, and after attempting to lift and carry her for a short time, he settled on letting Silvally out. He smiled as he slid an orange disk into his partner’s RKS System. “May the warm memories that have carried us this far ignite a blaze with us, my friend,” he said as Silvally’s colors shifted, initiating a change to Fire-type.
And so, the group of them walked through the snow, with Lusamine an icy cold contrast to her warm children. They marched forward in the direction they could only assume was Freezington and the destiny they had in their hearts and minds. Lillie watched Umbreon stay up front, his rings glowing warmly as they walked. Snowy was filled with energy in this palace, and Magearna watched the scenery silently.
Eventually, a tiny flame began to flicker in the distance, and Lusamine picked up her pace towards it, with Gladion and Lillie matching her new speed, though for Lillie it was becoming more and more of a struggle the faster they went. “We have to hurry,” Lillie’s mother said. “That could be a torch or some other light of the village!”
As they drew closer, however, it was apparent that the flame did not belong to a town, but to a Pokémon, one that the family from Aether Paradise recognized on sight.
“Is that… a Charizard?” Lillie asked as they got closer.
Her mind immediately went to her passionate friend Kiawe, back home in Alola. She wondered how he was fairing in his training to become a Kahuna. And her mind quickly began sweeping through the rest of her friends: Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, and -
“Hey, stand back!” the tall man next to the Charizard said, having turned to them as they approached. “This place can be dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” Lillie asked innocently. “How come?”
The man turned to the sight behind him. “Charizard, can you clear the skies for me? Use Sunny Day.”
The man’s Charizard flapped his wings and formed a warm, glowing sphere in his mouth before launching it into the air. It flew up and exploded with the sound of a loud ‘pop’, and the clouds above quickly parted, and the warm sun began to shine down upon them.
Looking back at the man, Lillie took a closer look at him, now that the snow wasn’t obscuring her view. He wore a black snapback and what appeared to be a sports jersey with a sword and shield symbol on his chest. Most strange of all, he wore a cape that looked to be made of fur covered in logos that were only vaguely familiar to her at this point, and he had long purple hair.
He fixed his golden eyes on the mountainside that came into view, and the giant cavern they were standing at the mouth of. Even more surprising was that this man wasn’t alone. There were men and women scattered about in white and black suits all with the logo of a ‘C’ made of concentric circles on them, and they seemed to be in the middle of building a fence.
“What is this place…?” Lillie asked.
“This is called the Max Lair,” the man explained. “It’s a place where you can find all sorts of Dynamax Pokémon inside in the long, maze-like tunnels.”
“Dynamax Pokémon?” Gladion asked, raising an eyebrow.
The man laughed. “You three aren’t from around here, are you?”
Lillie shook her head. “No, but I read about Dynamax Pokémon in a book once,” she said. “They’re supposed to be giant Pokémon you can only find in the Galar Region. I was wondering why we hadn’t seen any since we arrived. Do they only live in this lair, mister?”
The man shook his head. “‘Mister’ is just a bit too formal for me. Please, call me Leon. And you’re right, miss…?”
“My name is Lillie,” she said with a smile. “And this is Snowy!” she added, gesturing to the white fox at her feet.
“My name is Gladion,” her brother said, sizing up Leon closely. “These are my partners Umbreon and Silvally. We’re also travelling with Magearna.”
Leon scratched his chin. “I’ve never seen Pokémon like those before…” he muttered.
“I’m Lusamine,” she said, her tone cold. “And you’re with Macro Cosmos, aren’t you?” When Leon looked over at her in surprise, she stepped forward. “Don’t lie, I recognize the symbol on your workers here.”
Leon put up his hands. “Not exactly right, but not exactly wrong, either. I’m working with these guys since their actual president is…” He hummed on his words a bit. “Away.”
Gladeon rolled his eyes. “Like that isn’t suspicious,” he whispered to Lillie.
“I don’t care,” Lusamine said. “There’s only one thing I want, and that’s to get to Freezington. It’s important.”
Leon took a step back. “I’d be more than happy to guide you guys to Freezington!” he said with a guarded smile. “It’s not even that far, you know?”
Leon’s Charizard turned in Leon’s direction and looked closely over the people who had approached before locking eyes with Silvally. The two Pokémon stared at each other for a moment before Silvally flinched and looked away.
Gladion noticed this. “Your Charizard is very strong,” he said. “It’s will even managed to make Silvally flinch. I wouldn’t mind testing my skills against you in a battle.”
Leon gave him a sad smile. “I wish I could, but my hands have been busy with things like this-” he gestured all around him-”for a long time now. I could really go for another battle sometime soon, but right now it’s not to be. Although…”
“Although?” Gladion asked.
“Well, if you want to ensure we get a battle, you could always enter the World Coronation Series.”
Gladion blinked again. “World Coronation Series?”
“That’s right. The worldwide ranking of trainers who want to call themselves the strongest.”
“Are you participating in the World Coronation Series?” Lillie asked.
He chuckled. “I’m the one ranked at the top, the World Monarch.”
Lillie and Gladion gasped as Leon and Charizard began walking away.
“C’mon, let me show you the way,” he said. Leon stepped to the left before Charizard yanked on his cape, pulling him back towards the Fire-and Flying-type. Charizard grunted and gestured in the exact opposite direction Leon was trying to walk before turning and beginning to trudge through the snow. The world’s strongest trainer sighed to himself, somewhat embarrassed, and began following his Pokémon’s lead.
Lusamine followed the Monarch soundlessly.
Freezington was a small, small village blanketed in snow. There was a torch, but given that it, too, had snow covering it, Lillie figured that it was blown out in the snowstorm that reemerged once Charizard’s Sunny Day had expired. There were only a handful of small wooden buildings in this village, but before there was any debate about where to start, Magearna stirred on Silvally’s back and looked up. From the device in her chest, a pink beam shot out, pointing at one very particular house on the edge of town.
Lillie’s breath caught in her chest.
Lusamine led the way as they approached the building. Once they arrived, she knocked hard on the door and waited only a few moments before she moved to knock again. Before she could, the door opened to a girl with brightly colored hair who looked about Lillie’s age, blinking at the crowd that appeared before her before locking eyes with Leon. “Hey, Dad?” the girl said, turning around. “Leon’s back.” She stood back and gestured for everyone to come inside. “And he brought friends.”
Gladion recalled Umbreon and Silvally into their balls, as did Leon with Charizard. Lillie, Snowy, Magearna, Lusamine went ahead and packed themselves into the small building, more of a wooden cabin than anything, with Leon closing the door behind him once everyone was inside.
Coming in from the other room and closing the door behind him was a man with a rough, grizzled beard wearing an orange outfit that Lillie thought looked perfectly warm for the Crown Tundra. “Leon!” he greeted in his large, boisterous voice. “I didn’t expect to see you again so soon! What brings you back?”
Leon took off his hat and scratched his head. “I guess these people have business with you,” he said. “And they almost wandered right into the Max Lair, so I thought I’d guide them the rest of the way here.”
“You’d better get back to the team out there,” the man said. “You never know if-”
“Right, right,” Leon said, waving off his words. “I’ll handle it, Peony. You help these people, alright?”
Peony nodded. “That I will, Monarch,” he said. Leon turned back to the door and stepped into the freezing cold temperatures once more. Charizard came back out of his ball, and Lillie watched them fly through the snow back towards the Max Lair.
“Now that that’s settled, how can I help you folks?” he said, offering Lusamine a hand. “My name’s Peony and-”
“Where is he?” Lusamine asked.
“Beg your pardon?” he asked.
Gladion sighed since Lusamine was so laser focused. “We saw a notice saying that you had someone here and you were asking for more information on him. He’s mine and Lillie’s father.”
Lillie watched the realization dawn on Peony’s face as it was twisted into horror before the man forced his expression back in place. “So that man is-”
“My husband. His name is Mohn. Is he in that other room?”
Peony shot a glance at the girl who was standing in the back now. She shrugged at him and he sighed. “I mean, I certainly can let you in to see him,” Peony explained, “but you might want to curb your expectations, you understand? If you go in there before you’re ready, it could be more upsetting than anything you’ve had to get through to get here.”
“Nothing could be more upsetting than spending another moment out here when he’s in there.” Despite Peony’s height advantage, Lusamine pushed past him and threw open the door and walked inside.
Lillie looked closely and her breath caught in her chest once more.
Sitting at a table in this room was a large man, dressed in what she supposed was a set of clothing Peony had loaned him. He was rubbing a few whiskers on his chin as he read a book. His calm green eyes looked up and beheld Lusamine. He blinked a few times.
“Hello, there,” he said.
“You’re here…”
Lusamine took the sight in, and gasped. Lillie’s mother looked like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“After the accident, I… I gave up hope. I thought you were truly gone. I neglected our children, but they persevered, and they gave me hope. And you’re here. Mohn…!”
As she approached, Mohn closed the book on his table. “I… what are you talking about? What accident?” The look on Lillie’s father’s face was one of confusion, and when he opened his mouth to speak next, Lillie couldn’t have predicted how much the words would shatter her world.
“Who are you?”
The question hung between Lusamine and Mohn for a moment, with Lusamine staring back at the man she loved and her heart shattering like a glass picture frame knocked from her desk.
“I… I’m Lucy,” she said, trying to fight the tears in her eyes.
“Lucy…?” Mohn asked. “I don’t know anyone named Lucy.”
Lusamine’s body began to quake as she hid her face in her hands. “I… I…” She looked up at him, hot tears pouring down her face in the cold room.
“I’m your wife…!” she bawled like a child.
Mohn stood up and put the chair he was sitting in between them. Lillie saw the look of fear in her father’s eyes, the confusion, the despair.
“He…” Lillie was the one who finally found the words. “He doesn’t remember us.”
She tried to take a step into the room and reach out to her mother, but Gladion took her by the wrist. She looked at her brother and saw the pain and tears forming in his eyes as well before finally noticing her own tears rolling down her cheeks.
Lusamine stood there crying, locking eyes with Mohn for only a few moments longer before she collapsed to the floor, fainting. Peony stepped past the children and picked Lusamine up, holding her upright, but she was unconscious.
“Gladion…” Lillie said, her voice barely above a whisper. “This… this must be Tapu Fini’s cruelty,” she said. “We came so far, all through this time, believing that he was still with us…”
Gladion pulled his sister into a hug and held her tightly as Snowy whined at her feet.
“He’s… he’s really gone, isn’t he, Gladion?”
Gladion said nothing, but held his sister tightly.
“And this is the mansion where we lived,” Lillie said, sitting in a seat next to a hospital bed. “There’s a big garden where Pokémon come every day, and your own Pokémon live there, too!”
Mohn, sitting up in the bed, looked at the tablet Lillie held in her hands. “We lived in a mansion like that?”
It had been a few weeks since the scene in the cabin in the Crown Tundra.
It took some time, but Lusamine recovered and Lillie and Gladion had managed to calm her down, and they explained everything to Peony, who then explained everything to Mohn.
Peony, in turn, told them a few details; Mohn had appeared in the Max Lair after an event that they called the Darkest Day, and completely without any memory. It had been a long time bringing him back to where he could do even basic tasks once more, and when he had recovered to a point where he could at least do some things, Peony had sent out word, asking for information. It had been a month or so after going around Galar, putting up the notices, that Lusamine had appeared on his doorstep.
Mohn agreed to be moved to somewhere where he could get a proper medical examination, and Lusamine spared no expense in leveraging the Aether Foundation’s considerable wealth, flying him straight to the largest hospital in Wyndon to get him checked out. He had gone through several rigorous tests that checked his health, and now he was resting with Lillie, going through images of her home, Alola, with him.
“We sure do,” Lillie said, a sad smile on her lips as Snowy laid down gently at her feet. “We have a kind-hearted butler named Hobbes, and we even have a lot of friends from the Pokémon School there, too!”
Mohn, rubbing his scratchy whiskers on his chin, sighed. “I’m sorry I don’t remember you, Lillie,” he said. “You’re such a bright, cheerful girl. This must be so hard for you…”
Lillie shook her head. “It’s alright, Mr. Mohn. The truth is, I don’t have any memories of you other than seeing your photograph at home. I’m sorry that this is so hard on you. Discovering that you had a family you entirely forgot about… I can’t even imagine how you feel.”
Mohn fell silent, looking at Lillie. He put his hands together and covered his mouth with them. “You… aren’t going to call me ‘Father’?”
“I didn’t want to impose on you,” she replied. “I thought that having someone call you that might make you sad or upset.”
Mohn thought over this. “And you’re so considerate of the feelings of those around you, as well… I believe what you are all telling me. The photos I’ve seen do look like me, after all, and I don’t remember anything from my past from before Peony found me. I just… feel terrible for not remembering you, my daughter.”
Lillie willed herself not to cry. “Father…”
Mohn smiled at her, reaching up to cup her cheek. “I have to admit, it does sound a bit strange to be called that. But… I like it.”
“Oh, Father!”
Lillie stood up and put her arms around him, finally embracing the father she had heard so much about but had never ever met.
Father and daughter embraced for a moment of silence as the door to the room opened, possibly from hearing the commotion inside the room. Lillie stepped away from her father and looked at the door, seeing her brother stand there in the shadow of the doorway.
“Gladion…” Mohn said, watching his son walk in.
Gladion flinched at the word, but he forced the shadows from his gaze, and a smile onto his lips. “Father,” he said with a curt nod.
“...were you listening in on us?” Lillie asked.
“Heh,” he smirked. “Maybe just a bit.” He turned his attention to Mohn. “I… wanted to ask. What are your plans to do once you’re released from the hospital?”
Mohn frowned. “I’m… not exactly sure.”
“You’re free to do whatever you want,” Gladion responded. “But I was hoping you would come back with us to Alola.”
“Come back?” Mohn asked.
Gladion took a Dusk Ball from his pocket and expanded it. “It’s said that memories of a place linger where they were made. It’s possible that… if you come home to Alola, to your room, your lab, you may be able to recover your memories.”
“I might be able to recover my memories…?” Mohn said.
Before Gladion said another word, the Dusk Ball in his hand snapped open, and in a flash of light, the Monster Fox Pokémon who had long been Mohn’s partner in battle appeared.
“Zoroark…”
The name came from Mohn’s lips unbidden. Did he look up Pokémon and happen upon it, or was the name tied to a deep, hidden part of his memory? Lillie wasn’t sure.
Mohn and Zoroark stared deeply at each other, the unspoken bond of trainer and Pokémon once more at play.
Lillie and Gladion watched with bated breath.
After a moment, Zoroark’s eyes began to glow, and the room began to change and warp as the Monster Fox’s powers of illusion transported them from the hospital room in Galar, to a father’s room in Alola.
Lillie squeaked out a gasp, knowing in her mind she was still in the hospital, but her heart told her these images were of her home, and her father’s most personal space.
Mohn slipped out of the bed away from Lillie and began walking around, approaching the desk. He picked up the photograph and stared longingly at it. It showed a family of four; a man and a woman with their small children. “These are…”
Lillie could see the look on his face. He recognized those people. He was one of them, after all.
He stepped over to a table in the corner. The words weren’t readable in the notebook (even Zoroark’s illusions had their limits), but even Lillie could tell there was a feeling of familiarity growing within him.
“This is…”
The door to the hospital room opened, and Lusamine stepped into the illusion.
“Mother!” Lillie gasped.
Mohn turned to her and locked eyes with her for a moment.
“Mohn…” The name is a whisper on her lips.
“Lu...cy…?”
Just as Mohn said the nickname he gave Lusamine in another life, he collapsed onto the ground, holding his head in his hands. “Aaaaah!”
Lillie rushed over to his side. “Father!”
Gladion was the next one over, and he began helping him to his feet. “Father, are you alright?”
Lusamine reached a hand out towards him, but took it back and said nothing as Zoroark’s illusion disappeared all around them.
Lillie and Gladion both helped Mohn back to bed and he laid down in it, breathing heavily. “Oh, Father…”
“Lillie, we should let him rest,” Gladion said. When Lillie looked up into her brother’s eyes, she saw the pain in them. He, too, had been hoping that it would be this simple to restore his father’s lost memories, and watching those hopes get dashed so quickly was a vicious blow.
“Right,” she said, turning to Lusamine, who just stood there silently, hanging her head. “Come on, Mother. Father needs to rest.”
Lusamine nodded silently, and Lillie took her hand and began leading her out.
Zoroark curled up on the ground at the foot of the hospital bed, nodding to Snowy, and the small fox began to follow Lillie out.
As Gladion opened the door and Lillie stepped through the threshold before her mother, Mohn called out.
“Lusamine…!”
The Aether President looked up, her eyes going wide. She turned, and Lillie saw the fresh tears rolling down her mother’s cheeks as she looked to the man she loved.
“Lucy…” Mohn said, struggling through the pain, “I promise you… and I promise you, too, Gladion and Lillie. Once I’m well enough again… Once I’m well enough to leave, let’s go back to Alola together. I might not remember in my mind, but in my heart, I know you all.”
And for the first time since she had heard that Lillie and Gladion had a lead on their father’s whereabouts, Lusamine smiled. A warm, happy, motherly smile.
“We will return home together. I promise,” she said, the tears running down her face.
As Gladion stepped through and closed the door, Lillie smiled down at Snowy, who had followed her out.
“One day, I’m sure he’ll get his memories back,” she said to her Pokémon. “The only thing we have to do is keep the faith that it’ll happen!”
“ Vulpix! ”
Chapter 19: On Reunions
Chapter Text
“We just got word from Lusamine! They found Mohn! Lillie is coming back to Alola!”
Chloe felt her eyes widen and her throat dry out.
‘Lillie? Who’s Lillie? And why would this Professor be calling to tell Ash about her…? ’
Her mind went all the way back to Pallet Town, and the sinking feeling of dread she felt before had morphed into a real fear when the image of that slightly tattered Clefairy Doll sitting on Ash’s dresser reemerged.
“Nah, this is a gift from a friend of mine. She left Alola right about the same time I did, and so she gave me this to remember her by.”
Ash’s words rang in her ears like he had just bashed a frying pan against a ladle.
Either not noticing or not caring, Professor Kukui continued talking.
“So after I got the news, I immediately reached out to Mallow and the others. We think it’d be a great idea for you to Zippy Zap over here to Alola so that we can throw a surprise party for Lillie and make it a huge welcome back for Mohn, too!”
Ash’s eyes were wide and excited. “Wow… that sounds awesome!”
“Sure does! Does that mean I can come, too?” Goh asked.
Chloe turned back towards the couch to fully leave the scene.
“Sure, Goh,” Ash said with a beaming smile before turning to Chloe who was still slinking away. “Chloe, you’re gonna come too, right?”
She froze and swallowed her nervousness. “I-I mean… I wouldn’t want to impose.”
Ash approached her and took her by the hand before pulling her towards the hologram so that Professor Kukui could get a good look at her. “Professor, this is Chloe! She’s a really good friend of mine and I’d like her to come, too. Is that okay?”
Chloe found herself face to face with the image of the Alolan Professor, her cheeks burning pink. Goh chuckled off to the side, and her father seemed to go quiet as well, but all Chloe felt was the Alolan Professor’s gaze upon her.
“Ah, I see,” came the words as the man’s intelligent eyes looked at the girl. While Chloe couldn’t read his mind, this did give her a better chance to size up the man. He wore sunglasses over his quick eyes, though Chloe could see them scanning her even behind them. He had a neatly trimmed goatee and a ring on his left hand - he was married. Chloe raised her eyebrows at that. The wide smile that grew across his lips reminded her of the one Ash had… was it something that Ash learned from this man, or was it something they just seemed to have in common?
Kukui gave Chloe a gentle smile. “Any good friend of Ash’s is welcome in Alola,” he said. “I’m sure Burnet would love having another woman to balance out all the men that are about to be around the house.”
Chloe looked over to her father, blinking slowly. “Is… it okay if I go, Dad?”
There was a gentle smile on his face as Professor Cerise stepped closer. “You’ll make sure she’s safe in Alola, right Professor Kukui?”
“Safer than a Safeguard, more guarded than a Protect!” he said, smiling back.
Ash cheered, throwing his hand into the air. “Alright!”
It was at this time Chloe realized that Ash was still holding her hand and her face heated up even more.
Goh threw his fist in the air as well. “Alright! Next stop, the Alola Region! Let’s go!”
As she sat on the plane between Ash and the window seat, Chloe sat with a book open on her tray table and a bundle of anxiety in her stomach. From the time they had spent together near Pallet Town during her spring break, Chloe felt fairly confident in herself in handling herself around Ash, and Ash seemed like he was excited and happy to have her around.
But Alola was an entirely different ball game. She knew that.
Alola was a place where Ash had found not just a championship, but a sense of calm and balance in himself. Her first trip to the region in her entire life was significant, and she spent every second she was on the plane now keeping up on her school work (they would be in Alola for at least a week, she assumed) thinking about what was to come. Eevee spent the time in her Poké Ball, but Chloe could feel the Normal-type shifting in her pocket in anticipation. She could feel how important this was as well.
About halfway through the flight, Ash nodded off and began dozing on her shoulder, but other than helping reassure Chloe that things would be alright in the island region, it didn’t affect her mindset too much.
“Heh, at least he’s sleeping on your shoulder instead of mine this time,” Goh chuckled as Chloe continued working through her science homework.
When the plane finally landed in Hau’oli City, Chloe was a wreck of barely sleeping combined with all her school facts and her anxiety about what awaited her in the island region. Ash instinctively seemed to wake up as the wheels hit the ground and as soon as they had the clearance took Chloe by the hand and pulled her out of her seat and off the plane.
When the three Kantonians finally exited the airport, they spotted Professor Kukui lounging in his red jeep. He waved them over, and Ash excitedly pulled Chloe with him.
Her face heated up as soon as the sunlight hit her face, and she can’t tell if it’s the tropical sun or the fact that Ash seemed to always know where her hand was that caused her to react that way.
“Alola, Professor! It’s good to see you again!” he said.
Professor Kukui smiled, his eyes glancing at Chloe as she was pulled behind him. “Alola, Ash. And welcome to the Alola Region, Chloe.”
Chloe looked down, not meeting the Professor’s gaze. “A-Alola,” she stammered out.
Goh gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I was nervous the first time I met him, too,” he whispered to her.
“You know that’s not why I’m nervous!” she whispered angrily back.
Professor Kukui didn’t miss a beat, though. “And it’s good to see you again, too, Goh!”
Goh smirked back. “Glad to be seen, Professor!”
The three kids piled into the car with Ash taking the front seat and Goh and Chloe taking the back. As Professor Kukui began to drive, Ash launched into an excited explanation of what he had been up to at the Cerise Institute lately before diverting back to ask the Professor about something that happened on spring break.
“...and it was like froosh! Pow!, you know? Chloe totally used a Z-Move with my Z-Ring!”
Goh blinked in surprise before looking over at her. “Chloe, you did what ?! You didn’t say anything about that!”
Chloe felt like she wanted to shrink away. “I didn’t think it was that big a deal…” she said, shrugging. “Eevee and I just really needed to help Ash in that situation, you know? It was the only way I could think to defeat that Nidoking.”
“It was totally awesome!” Ash said, turning back to see her, his eyes sparkling with joy and excitement. “And remember how Eevee used Tectonic Rage, even though the Z-Ring had a Normalium-Z? So awesome!”
“Say what?” Professor Kukui said as he continued to drive along the Alolan roads. “It used a different kind of Z-Move than usual?”
“Yeah!” Ash said. “I was wondering about what happened. Do you know?”
Professor Kukui scratched his goatee. “Well… I suppose… Chloe, does your Eevee know the move Copycat?”
“Copycat…?” Chloe blinked in surprise. “I’d say that’s what she is rather than a move she uses. Is there a move called Copycat?”
Professor Kukui nodded. “Yeah. Copycat is a move that lets a Pokémon use a move they see, even if that move isn’t one they know or they even can use normally.”
Chloe’s eyes widened. “You mean… like when she copied Yamper’s Spark or Vaporeon’s Hydro Pump…”
“You hit the answer with a Smart Strike,” the professor responded. “Because it’s a move that copies other moves, when Z-Power is collected and a Z-Move is used, it becomes whatever type of Z-Move the copied move becomes, but at the same time, Copycat is still a Normal-Type move, so it needs Normalium-Z to happen.”
“That makes sense,” Goh said. “So because Eevee was trying to copy a Ground-type move, it came out as the Ground-type Z-Move!”
As Goh spoke, Chloe remembered Eevee bringing her paws down to the ground, making the fissure in the earth and dropping Nidoking into it.
Professor Kukui laughed. “It’s like you used Mind Reader on me! Great inference, Goh!” He looked up in the rearview mirror at Chloe. “If you wouldn’t mind, would you let me see Eevee if she does any battling while you’re here?”
Chloe looked back, meeting the reflection of his eyes. “Yeah, why?”
“Well, the Eevee in the Alola Region don’t usually use Copycat, so there might be something we could learn about moves by observing her.”
She shrugged. “I mean sure, I don’t mind,” she said.
“Great! Just how I’d expect a child of a researcher to respond!” he said, grinning. “We can learn a lot about Pokémon by observing them.”
To that, Chloe, sunk back in the seat with a sickened look on her face.
“...Is it something I said?” he asked.
“Professor,” Ash said, his voice calm, “Chloe doesn’t want to be like her dad. She doesn’t know what she wants to be yet, but she knows she doesn’t like it when people say she should be a Professor just ‘cause her dad is one.”
“Oh!” There was more than a little surprise in his tone. “Sorry about that, Chloe. I’ll be sure not to make that mistake again.”
“Not if you don’t want Ash to come out swinging, huh?” Goh replied. He and the Professor traded glances before breaking into laughter.
Chloe just wanted to disappear while Ash crossed his arms. “I don’t think it’s so funny,” he said.
“ Pikapika,” snickered Pikachu. This only made Ash’s frown wider and more confused.
It was only a few moments later when Professor Kukui brought his jeep to a stop and turned off the engine. Chloe looked up at the small home and steeled herself.
It didn’t look like much, just a smallish wooden home with a patio out front. There did appear to be two stories to the building, at least there would be plenty of room for their stay, she thought. There was a small sign hanging on the front of the building, but the letters were so faded from the sun and salty sea air that Chloe couldn’t even tell what it said anymore. The railing and the stairs were all painted green, so she saw the building wasn’t lacking for upkeep.
Sitting on the patio, rocking in a chair was a woman with bright hair, holding a small child to her who seemed to be sleeping on her shoulder. She looked up softly at the approaching group, and her eyes moved from Ash to Pikachu, Goh, Grookey, Professor Kukui and then finally onto Chloe. She gave a small wave to the group, but otherwise said nothing to them as they approached.
“Alola, Professor Burnet!” Ash called out, waving back at her. The Professor responded by putting a finger to her lips, and Ash immediately quieted down.
“Oh, the baby’s asleep,” Chloe whispered.
Goh nodded. “Yeah. His name is Lei.”
“Lei, huh…”
As Professor Kukui took his place next to Burnet and gently patted his son Lei on the back, Chloe realized where she fit into this entire situation. ‘ Professor Kukui is someone Ash looks up to almost like a father,’ she thought. ‘ And Professor Burnet is a mother and Kukui’s wife… so this is basically Ash’s family in the Alola Region.’
She swallowed nervously.
‘ And now their son is bringing a girl home.’
Suddenly the stairs to the Professor’s home looked dauntingly tall, and Chloe felt dizzy even considering climbing them.
Ash’s warm hand took her’s and he gave her a reassuring smile and she relaxed as he led her up the stairs.
“I haven’t got a chance to introduce her yet,” Ash said, practically presenting her to Burnet. “This is Chloe. She’s from Vermilion City, just like Goh.”
“I-It’s nice to meet you,” she said, giving her a shy, slight bow.
Burnet gave her a smile that reminded Chloe of her own mother. “It’s nice to meet you, Chloe. I hope Ash hasn’t given you too much trouble.”
“Not at all!” Chloe said. “Ash has been a big help with getting closer and closer with my Eevee!”
“You should let Eevee out!” Ash said, excitedly. “There’s tons of room for Pokémon.”
Looking away from Ash, she looked to the professors, who both nodded. Taking that as permission, Chloe reached into her pocket and opened Eevee’s Poké Ball in her hands, letting out Eevee with a bright flash of light. Eevee yawned and shook herself loose from the extended stay in the ball ever since they left from Kanto.
“ Vui! ” she yawned.
“Well, it should be okay,” Chloe said, smiling at Eevee. “It’s not like you all have a bunch of huge Pokémon hanging around here, right?”
As she said that, Professor Kukui opened the door to the home, and three huge Pokémon all leapt out and tackled Ash at once, taking him off the patio and into the sandy dirt at the bottom. A fourth, much smaller Pokémon, merely glided out to meet him on his silent wings. All of the Pokémon seemed to be nuzzling Ash excitedly, and Chloe took out her phone to give them all a quick scan.
She started with the small one. “Rowlet,” her Rotom Phone said. “The Owl Pokémon. A Grass-and Flying-type. During the day, Rowlet builds up energy via photosynthesis. At night, it flies silently through the sky, on the prowl for prey.”
She moved onto the next one, a four-legged Pokémon with bright orange fur like a setting sun. “Lycanroc Dusk Form. The Wolf Pokémon. A Rock-type. Dusk Form Lycanroc have both calm and ferocious qualities. Their temperamental nature makes them a difficult species to raise.”
The third Pokémon she scanned was the tall, feline looking Pokémon. “Incineroar, the Heel Pokémon,” the Rotom said. “A Fire-and Dark-type. Incineroar is the final evolved form of Litten. It’s rough and aggressive behavior is its most notable trait, but the way it helps out small Pokémon shows that it has a kind side as well.”
‘ These last two kind of sound like Ash does, ’ Chloe thought. ‘ Calm and ferocious. Kind and aggressive.’ She smiled to herself as she scanned the final one. ‘ I guess these are Ash’s Pokémon from the Alola Region, then.’
The screen showed an image of the large, metallic Pokémon with the malleable body. “Melmetal,” it said, “the Hex Nut Pokémon. A Steel-type. Centrifugal force is behind the punches of Melmetal's heavy hex-nut arms. Melmetal is said to deliver the strongest punches of all Pokémon.”
“The strongest punches of all Pokémon…?” Chloe asked, looking up from her phone.
Ash finally got up from his impromptu attack and walked back over to Chloe, the four Alolan Pokémon following closely behind. “Guys, this is Chloe. She’s a really good friend from Vermilion City, so be nice to her, okay?”
That was all the permission they needed, and in a few moments, Chloe was tackled to the sandy dirt as well by all of Ash’s Pokémon, with Eevee even jumping in as well because it looked so fun.
“H-Hey!” Ash called out. “C’mon, I just said be nice, didn’t I?”
Melmetal lifted her onto its shoulder with a gleeful grunt, making her giggle and kick her legs, sitting on it’s powerful arm. “Wow… so I’ve never seen Pokémon like this before! They seem really strong! It makes sense that their trainer is the Alola League Champion!”
“You know it!” Ash grinned back, beaming like the sun above their heads.
Goh frowned. “Wait a second… Alola League Champion…?”
Ash chuckled and put his hand behind his head. “Oh, uh there was a tournament here a little while ago, and I ended up winning.”
“WHAAAT?!” Goh shouted, astonished. “That’s amazing, Ash!” He shot his best friend a grin. “And why’d you never mention anything like that?”
“Oh, I didn’t…?” Ash laughed.
Chloe smirked. “Don’t feel bad, Goh. I had to point to the trophy and ask him before he thought about telling me.”
While Ash chuckled, Goh shrugged. “I knew you were amazingly strong, but this just blows my perceptions out of the water, you know?”
“Thanks,” he said, somewhat embarrassed now.
Melmetal set Chloe down and she, Ash, and Goh followed the Professors into the home. “I hope you don’t mind if Chloe uses your old room,” Professor Kukui said to Ash, indicating the ladder in the main room.
“Nah,” Ash said, waving his hands. “She borrowed my room while we stayed in Pallet Town, too.”
“I hope this one isn’t as messy,” Chloe teased, smirking while looking at him with one eye closed. “Your room had stuff all over the place.”
Professor Burnet giggled. “I made sure he kept things clean when he left last time,” she said.
“I guess I’ll go up there and put down my things,” Chloe said, taking the rungs of the ladder in her hands. Climbing them wasn’t unlike climbing the ladder that led to Ash’s loft-like bed in Pallet Town.
Meanwhile, behind her, she heard Goh speaking to Ash. “I guess we’re camping out down here, aren’t we?”
“We can split the couch,” Ash chuckled, and she heard a sound like their fists colliding.
Once she was up in the loft, Chloe saw a couch, a dresser, and a bookshelf. ‘ Looks like they won’t be the only one’s on a couch,’ she thought somewhat bitterly. A round rug was on the floor as well. ‘ For chilly mornings,’ she supposed.
As she began unpacking her things from her suitcase, she heard someone else climbing the ladder and wasn’t at all surprised when she saw Ash’s head peek over the edge. “How’re ya likin’ it?”
“It looks really cozy,” she said, taking a few steps away and sitting on the couch. “I can see why you like it so much here!”
Ash climbed up the rest of the way, and she saw he had Pikachu with him as always. He walked under a skylight and pointed up. “It’s really amazing here at night. You can see the stars so clearly and you’re practically in bed!”
“That sounds really nice,” she said, “but it’s a couch. You know that, right?”
He laughed. “Yeah, well, if you fall asleep on it, it’s a bed!” he insisted jokingly. Ash looked back into the Alolan sky, his smile growing distant. Chloe could tell that his thoughts were moving away from this moment, as well.
“I guess once he’s old enough, this’ll be Lei’s room, you know?” Ash said. “Time’s always passin’ and everyone’s changin’.”
“You say that like you aren’t still a pretty young guy yourself,” she laughed.
Ash laughed. “Well, maybe. I’m not as young as I used to be.”
She smiled at him warmly. “Well, everyone gets older eventually. I’m kinda surprised that you’re the kinda guy to think about that.” She scooted over on the couch to give him a place to sit next to her.
Taking her cue, he began walking forward. “I can be a pretty complex guy, you know. I’m not as simple as lotsa people think I am.” He approached the couch to sit down, but before he could, a voice called to them from below.
“Hey, you two!” Goh called up the ladder. “Don’t we need to go meet Mallow and the others to talk about this surprise party for Lillie?”
Chloe felt her face scrunch up like she had just bitten into a Nomel Berry as the spectre of this Lillie girl returned to ruin her nice, enjoyable time.
What surprised her was the flash of disappointment on Ash’s face. It was only present for a moment, but he shrugged it off and took Chloe by the hand towards the ladder. “You’ll really like the gang, Chloe,” he said to reassure her. “Trust me!”
“I-I do,” she said as he let go of her hand and descended the ladder. But the dread she felt building up in her stomach wasn’t going to let her mean the words that left her mouth. With a sigh, she, too, descended the ladder.
The walk from Professor Kukui’s home to the restaurant that the party planning meeting was going to take place in didn’t take very long at all, but Chloe wasn’t prepared for the audience they’d see once they got there.
As soon as the three of them stepped through the door, Chloe saw a group of Pokémon lazing around. She didn’t recognize most of them, but she saw a round one with spikes, and a tall one with long green leaves. There was one more she thought was a Bug-type, and a large turtle like Pokémon as well as a large blue Pokémon that almost looked like a mermaid.
She did, however, recognize two: a Marowak (though it didn’t look exactly like the Marowak Chloe was used to seeing) and an Eevee with fur longer than hers with a bowl cut.
“Alola, guys!” Ash said, announcing their presence.
“ Pikapika! ”
“Alola, Ash! Goh!”
The four people seated at the table waved to Ash and Goh before pausing. One of them, a boy with reddish orange hair, pointed at Chloe. “Uh, who’s that? Is she a friend of yours?”
Ash gestured to her. “Oh, this is Chloe! She’s a friend of mine from Vermilion City, just like Goh is!”
Chloe coughed a little before giving them a polite wave, holding Eevee to her chest with her other hand. “A-Alola.”
The two girls at the table, one with long green pigtails and the other with a short blue style that framed her face, instantly glanced at each other, and then at Chloe. She felt herself go pale. ‘ There’s no way they can tell anything from that, right?’ she thought nervously.
The final boy at the table also appraised her with his eyes, but kept his arms crossed and said nothing.
“The more the merrier, right Mallow?” the blue-haired girl said, smiling to her friend.
“Right!” Mallow responded. “Welcome to Alola and my family’s restaurant, Chloe!”
Chloe gave a polite bow. “Thank you for having me.”
Ash and Goh approached the table and sat down, but Chloe had to move a chair from a nearby table to have a place to sit. She maneuvered her seat between Ash’s and Goh’s and her two Kantonian friends moved aside slightly to give her room to sit down. Pikachu and Grookey jumped off of each of their respective heads and went to where the Pokémon were gathered, with Chloe assuming that Pikachu was introducing Grookey to his old friend group.
“Since we have someone new here,” Mallow said, “why don’t we start with introductions! We’re all classmates of Ash’s who went to the Pokémon School with him while he was in Alola. My name’s Mallow and that over there is my partner, Tsareena!”
The Grass-Type with the long leaves turned and gave a bow of her own. “ Tsaree!”
“My name’s Lana, and I have two Pokémon over there,” she said. “My Primarina and Sandy, my Eevee!”
Primarina waved over at them. “ Primari,” she cooed melodically.
“ Buibui! ” Sandy chirped happily, sitting on his rear and waving at Chloe’s Eevee with a forepaw. Eevee scrambled out of Chloe’s grasp and joined the rest of the Pokémon on the floor, eager to join in on their conversation.
“Oh, that tail!” the boy with the orangish hair said. “Your Eevee’s a girl, isn’t she?”
Chloe blinked in his direction. “Yes she is… you can tell that by the tail?”
“If you compare her tail to Sandy’s tail, you can tell the difference immediately. Male Eevee have a rough pattern around the cream colored part of their tales, but Female Eevee have a smooth, swooping pattern around them!”
Lana glowered at him. “Shouldn’t you introduce yourself, Sophocles?”
The boy, Sophocles, chuckled. “R-Right!” he said, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “I’m Sophocles. And my partners are Togedemaru and Vikavolt!”
In the crowd on the ground, Togedemaru was already placing herself between Eevee and Pikachu, which Eevee took to be a game as she moved around and inserted herself between Pikachu and Togedemaru, only for Togedemaru to move and the cycle to repeat.
Vikavolt, for it’s part, floated over to Chloe and nodded respectfully. “ Vikavolt!”
Chloe reached out and touched his mandible, smiling. “Nice to meet you too, Vikavolt.”
Vikavolt smiled (though Chloe honestly found it a little hard to tell) before floating back over towards the Pokémon.
The last boy had an intensely serious demeanor. “I’m Kiawe. Two of my partners are over there, Marowak and Turtonator.”
“Your Marowak doesn’t look like ones I’m familiar with,” Chloe said. “I guess it’s an Alolan Marowak.”
He smirked before looking back at Ash. “She got it in one. Honestly, I didn’t think she’d be that smart.”
“You better watch yourself around Chloe,” Ash boasted. “She’s way smarter than even I know.”
Goh chuckled. “Well, you don’t exactly raise the bar very high yourself.”
Everyone, even Ash and Chloe, all laughed together at Goh’s quip. Mallow stood at the table. “Well, now that we’re all friends, we can start planning the ‘Welcome Home Lillie and Mohn’ party in earnest!”
Chloe shrunk back, trying to hide her distaste from the rest of the people sitting around the table. ‘ I don’t even really belong here, do I?’ she asked herself. ‘ I don’t even know Lillie… I don’t think I’d be a very good choice to be in charge of her party…’
Ash spoke up. “When is she supposed to be back?” he asked.
Mallow put a hand to her chin. “Going by her message to Professor Kukui, we still have a few days before she gets here, though we’ll need to be ready to get everything going at a moment’s notice.”
“Oh,” Sophocles said,” I have an idea! Why don’t we set up everything in the classroom of the Pokémon School! Class is still out for another week or two, so we can have all the decorations ready to go as soon as they get here!”
Everyone besides Chloe and Goh cheered. “That’s a great idea, Sophocles!” Ash said, speaking over everyone else.
“Yeah,” Lana added. “We can set everything up and we’ll be ready no matter what!”
Mallow began writing this down in her notebook. “Alright, so we’re having it at the Pokémon School…!”
As she wrote it down, the doors to the restaurant flew open. “I hope I’m not late!”
Floating in the entrance of the restaurant was a red tablet computer with a face that seemed to speak using a mouth on its screen.
“Wait, what?” Chloe asked, looking at it.
“Rotom!” Ash cheered, waving at the new arrival. “You’re here!”
“Ash!” the Rotom floated over, waving at them. “I’m glad I caught you all! We’re still planning Lillie’s surprise party, right?”
Chloe tried to lean out of the way, but this just drew their attention. “Hmm? And who’s this? ” Rotom’s mouth on their screen was replaced with a question mark.
“Oh, this is Chloe!” Ash said. “She’s another friend of mine from Vermilion.”
Chloe sighed. “I guess here’s where I say Alola again, isn’t it?” she said jokingly.
“Alola, Chloe!” Rotom said, spinning around to take a picture of her. They spun back around and a wheel began counting from zero all the way to one hundred fairly quickly. “New data recorded!”
“So are you like Ash’s phone here?” Chloe asked somewhat bluntly.
“I am NOT!” Rotom shot back, the numbered wheel being replaced by an angry face. “I am a Rotom Pokédex, the ultimate in human-Pokémon relations! I guess crude girls from Kanto don’t know any better, though! I’m way better than any silly phone.”
Chloe stood up, glowering. “Hey, what do you mean, crude?” she fired back. “I think you’re being crude, here!”
“Impossible,” the Rotom Pokédex responded. “I am perfectly polite with only a 6.66% margin of error.”
“You can’t say ‘perfect’ and then give a percentage you’re not! That’s not perfect!”
Ash got up between them. “Hey, guys, c’mon! You’re both my friends, you know?”
“Fine,” Chloe said, crossing her arms. “I’m sorry, Rotom.”
“Apology accepted.” Rotom said before going to float by Ash.
Chloe glowered at the tablet for a moment. “...don’t you have anything to say to me?” she asked.
Rotom turned to her with a question mark on its screen. “Data not found. You already apologized.”
Chloe grumbled and sat down.
“Hey, Rotom,” Sophocles asked, “don’t you have work to do at the Aether Foundation?”
Rotom turned to him with a smile on its screen. “Miss Wicke gave me the time before the party off so that I could help! I couldn’t pass up a chance to see everyone all back together, right?”
‘ Oh, joy, ’ Chloe thought, putting her head on the table.
“Are you feeling alright, Chloe?” Rotom asked, noticing her movement immediately.
“Just peachy.”
She sighed. This Rotom was a lot more talkative than the one who quietly lived in her phone.
“Are you gonna be coming with us, then, Rotom?” Ash asked, excited.
“Of course! Just leave it to me!”
Chloe sighed. ‘How could this get any worse?’ she thought.
Mallow cleared her throat, making everyone quiet down around the table. She began speaking.
“Alright, so here are the plans for the party. Feel free to jump in with your own suggestions!”
By the end of the conversation, Chloe had learned quite a lot she hadn’t before about the girl they were planning this party for, the mutual friend of Ash, Lana, Mallow, Kiawe, and Sophocles: Lillie.
She was a girl who, until recently, was deathly afraid of touching Pokémon. A studious girl who had seemingly read just about anything in books, she was now the proud owner of an Alolan Variant Vulpix (Goh noted that it's an Ice-type with a white coat, showing the Pokédex entry for the evolution, Ninetales, that he caught). Her mother was the President of the Aether Foundation, and she lived in a mansion outside of Hau’oli city. Sophocles brought up the potential to hold the party there, but Lana reminded him that there would be no way they could keep it a surprise in a place like that.
When Chloe asked about why they had to go look for this Mohn, Kiawe and Ash explained that there was some sort of accident years ago, though they were scarce on the details, only noting that he was ‘lost’ and they had now ‘found’ him.
Even the chatty Rotom seemed mum on the topic. This made her that much more suspicious, but she couldn’t press them on the topic, so she let it drop.
With a steady stream of customers entering the restaurant, Mallow adjourned the meeting. “My dad’s going to need my help for the dinner rush. But we have a pretty solid plan to get started with. I’ll be in touch if there’s anything I need your input on, but tomorrow, we’re going to have to buy up all the decorations. You’ve got that, Sophocles?”
The boy smirked and nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ve got it, right Togedemaru?”
As the group looked over to the group of Pokémon, the scene in front of them was a continuation of the previous game where Eevee kept squeezing between Togedemaru and Pikachu, then Togedemaru squeezed between Pikachu and Eevee.
Ash chuckled. “Looks like they’re having fun!” he noted.
“Doesn’t look fun to me,” Chloe noted, rising from her seat and walking over to Eevee.
Sophocles followed behind her. “C’mon, Togedemaru! You’re being rude to Eevee!”
Togedemaru glowered at Eevee, sparks in her eyes. “ Dema DEMARU!” she shouted.
Eevee just looked back with a blank, almost unreadable smile on her face, wagging her tail gently.
Pikachu, for his part, used the opportunity to slip back towards Ash and climb the boy to rest on his shoulder. “ Pikapi… ”
“Tired of their game, buddy?” Ash asked, scratching his partner’s head.
Lana sighed. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s it…”
Togedemaru marched up to Eevee and growled at her, raising her small arms in challenge at the Normal-type. Eevee, either not understanding or accepting the challenge, stands up and smirks confidently as she begins to fluff out the fur on her neck to make herself appear larger and more threatening.
Sophocles and Chloe moved swiftly to separate the two Pokémon before it could truly come to blows. Togedemaru, however, wasn’t willing to let it go, and from her sparking cheeks, discharged a surge of electricity that her trainer managed to prevent from hitting anyone as he howled in pain.
Mallow put a hand over her mouth. “Sophocles, are you alright?”
“I-I-I’m f-f-f-fine..” he chattered as the numbness left his muscles.
Eevee grinned at the sight and began sparking, herself.
Chloe panicked. “N-No! Don’t do it, Eevee!” She held the small Pokémon up to hopefully distract her, but the sparking built up. Chloe clenched her eyes shut, fearing the shock that was headed her way.
But when the shock was to come, she felt Eevee get snatched out of her hands.
“GYAAAAAA!”
She opened her eyes to see Ash holding onto Eevee, and now he and Pikachu were getting shocked by the Pokémon in his hands.
When Eevee noticed the change, she stopped and blinked cheerfully at Ash before scrambling up and taking the opposite shoulder from the singed Pikachu.
“Ash..! You…” Chloe was surprised that Ash had taken the shock for her.
He coughed, and exhaled a puff of smoke. “I uh… If you got shocked, it’d wreck your hair, right?”
A hand went to her braid and felt it, perfectly intact. She felt her face heat up at Ash’s noble sacrifice. “Th-Thanks, Ash…”
He quickly shook off the shock and lifted Eevee off his shoulder and handed her back to Chloe. “ Now don’t do anything like that again, okay, Eevee?”
“ Eievui! ” she chirped, wagging her tail happily.
Chloe became very aware that everyone’s eyes were on her now. ‘Oh no… this is just going to make them even more suspicious, isn’t it?’
“I guess Eevee’s copycatting is giving Togedemaru the wrong idea,” Goh said, trying to break the tension in the air.
Sophocles, having shaken off his own shock, nodded while still holding his Pokémon. “Yeah. Togedemaru is really fond of Ash’s Pikachu, but Eevee kept getting in the way.”
“ Maru,” Togedemaru huffed.
“So it’s like they’re rivals, huh?” Kiawe said from the back of the group, petting and recalling Marowak and Turtonator.
“I-I don’t think it’s like that,” Chloe stammered, unsure of why she was even interrupting, since Togedemaru had already averted the attention away from her.
Ash shrugged. “I’m sure Eevee and Togedemaru will be great friends by the time it’s time to go back to Kanto,” he said to Chloe in an attempt to reassure her.
“That’s not exactly what I’m worried about…” she whispered.
“Hey!” Rotom called out, floating down to Ash. “Ash! Do you know what time it is?!”
Ash, somewhat surprised, looked at the floating Pokédex. “What time is it, Rotom?”
“It’s time for tonight’s rerun episode of Alolan Detective Laki!” he chattered, grabbing Ash by the arm. “Let’s get back to the Professor’s house and watch it!”
“Alolan Detective Laki?” Chloe and Goh asked simultaneously.
While Ash’s other Alolan friends all had different expressions on their faces, Rotom moved right in front of Chloe and began displaying images on their screen. “Alolan Detective Laki is a hugely popular TV Show in the Alola Region! It’s a mystery show where each week, Laki and his partner Pokémon all go solving crimes! I never miss an episode!”
Chloe frowned. “You never miss an episode? But aren’t you in the Pokédex? Why would you watch TV?”
“Because it’s the greatest television show ever made!” Rotom responded bluntly. “Are you saying you never let the Rotom that lives in your phone watch TV?”
Now she was on the backfoot. “H-Hey, I never thought to ask!”
As Rotom leaned in, Ash took Chloe by the hand and pulled her towards the door. “Well, then we’ll all watch it together, then, right? C’mon!” As they approached the door, Ash shouted “See ya later, guys!” And with that, he zipped right out the door, pulling Chloe behind him and with Rotom floating close behind.
“Sorry for that,” Goh said as he began to take his leave.
Kiawe shrugged. “That’s just how Ash is. I’m sure you’re used to it by now.”
“More than you know,” Goh chuckled back. “I better make sure they don’t get into trouble. Catch you guys later!” And with a wave, he was off as well.
“Bye, Goh!” Sophocles said, waving. But as he turned to Lana and Mallow, their eyes seemed to be focused on something else entirely. “W-What’s up…?”
The two girls shot each other a glance and shrugged. “It’s nothing,” Mallow said. “Now scoot! I’ve got work to do!”
Chapter 20: On Domestic Living
Chapter Text
Alola was a region filled with all sorts of bright, vibrant wonders, Chloe was learning. After waking up incredibly early to catch a ship from Hau’oli City’s port, they arrived on Akala Island and headed straight to what she could only describe as a sports stadium. Burnet flashed some tickets to the man at the counter and the five of them were seated with a great view of the ring.
“This is the Battle Royal Dome,” Professor Burnet explained, carrying Lei in one arm and pointing with her other. “It’s a place where special Alolan-style Battle Royals are held!”
“Battle Royal?” Goh asked.
“It’s a special type of Pokémon Battle where four trainers all go up against each other head-to-head!” the Professor explained. “Only one can survive. Only one can be crowned victorious! And only one is as handsome as the man who never loses here!”
As Burnet began to swoon over this mystery man, Chloe looked around, curiously. “Wait… where are Ash and Professor Kukui?” Pikachu was sitting next to Chloe where Ash originally was, but somehow in the middle of making their way down here, they had lost not only him but the other Professor as well. Chloe held Eevee to her lap, and Goh did likewise for Grookey.
As she asked those words, the lights went dark except those lighting up the ring in the middle. Standing there was a balding man with blonde hair down the back of his head and a matching beard. He stood with a microphone and addressed the crowd, wearing a black and yellow striped shirt.
“Howdy, folks! I’m sure that this handsome face is a familiar sight to everyone here, but just in case there’s any new comers, let me introduce myself. My name is Viren, and I’m the president of Rainbow Happy Resorts, the company that puts smiles on everyone’s faces. You may know us from our Viren Tower resort location from Hau’Oli City, or any of our various other wonderful projects in the Alola Region.”
Chloe frowned at the unscrupulous man blatantly advertising to them, and the rest of the crowd seemed to be unimpressed either, with a few boos echoing through the arena.
“Now, I’m here today for a little revenge grudge match,” he said, continuing to walk around the ring. “You see, it wasn’t that long ago that my boys, the Revengers, would have had an iron-grip on the Battle Royal dome if it weren’t for a certain masked man and his sidekick.”
Chloe frowned to herself. “Masked man…?” Something about it was ringing alarm bells in her head, but she couldn’t quite connect the dots as she listened.
“I’ve learned that just recently, one part of this team has come back to Alola, so we’ll be able to get our revenge once and for all.” he turned to the darkness where the trainers would come out. “Do you hear me, Masked Royal? I’m calling you and that little puny Royal out right now! The Revengers will have their revengance!”
“Oh brother,” Goh said, rolling his eyes.
“ Uki… ” Grookey added.
“Wait…” Chloe said, wracking her memory. “The Masked Royal…?”
Spotlights went to the red, Charizard-shaped entrance way that Viren was talking to. Standing in the entrance way were two people, both wearing masks. Standing next to them were an Incineroar and a Lucario, but all four had their backs to Viren before they turned and posed like they were brandishing their claws.
“Enjoy!”
“ Incin!”
“ R-Rawr…”
Lucario, for whatever reason, wasn’t getting into it.
Now that the two masked people were looking towards the crowd, Chloe recognized the taller one as the man from the trophy on Ash’s dresser back in Pallet Town.
“This is a trophy of the Masked Royal! After I won the Alola League, I got to have a battle with him, and he’s a huge celebrity in the Alola Region!”
“A huge celebrity…?” Chloe asked, frowning as she analyzed the man. He looked strangely familiar, but Chloe chalked it up to seeing the trophy from before. “But then who is that guy…?”
Next to the Masked Royal was a shorter, lankier young man wearing the same mask. While the Masked Royal and the Incineroar seemed in sync as they approached the stage, this second masked wrestler seemed to be dealing with some rebellion from his Lucario.
The Masked Royal climbed into the ring and held his hand out for the microphone, which Viren obliged him. “Listen up, Viren!” the Masked Royal practically shouted into the microphone. “Your dirty tricks and schemes have never once beaten me, and they failed against my young friend as well. Why don’t you just give it up?”
Viren laughed, quickly producing another microphone from his pocket. “Because, Masked Royal, your little protégé over there has been gone for how long now? Are we even sure that runt of a Royal can even match up to my new-and-improved Revengers?”
The ‘runt’ Royal stepped forward. “You bet I can!” he shouted with a voice that carried into the microphone the Masked Royal held in his grip. “You can just bring ‘em on and we’ll beat ‘em!”
His Lucario hopped into the ring and landed in front of this second Royal, glaring at Viren before sending out a warm pulse of Aura that washed over the crowd.
“And what was the name of this brat?” Viren said, pointing a finger at him.
The Masked Royal looked into the stands with a smile towards where Chloe and the others were sitting. “This is Neo Royal,” he said confidently.
The Neo Royal nodded. “That’s right! I’m Neo Royal and I’m here to help Masked Royal stop you guys from wrecking this place!”
While the crowd murmured something about a name change, Burnet nudged Chloe with her elbow and leaned over. “That Neo Royal is pretty cool, don’t you think?” she asked.
Chloe frowned, looking at him closely. There was something familiar about that boy and his Pokémon, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it.
Viren took a few steps back. “So two Masked Royals? Big deal. How can two Royals compete-”
The lights in the entire Battle Royal Dome went out before flashing back on.
“-against all six of us Revengers!”
Standing in the arena with Viren were now five other men, including two that Chloe was sure had Pokémon-themed wrestling outfits on. The Pokémon standing in the ring with them were all snarling at Incineroar and Lucario. Chloe couldn’t recognize them all and began scrambling for her phone.
She now wondered why that flying Pokédex was house-sitting instead of helping out.
With her phone’s help, she quickly identified the remaining Pokémon as Magmortar, Electivire, Poliwrath, Pangoro, and the Alolan forms of Muk and Golem.
“Six on two doesn’t seem fair…!” Chloe said. “How can they try to have a match when the odds are so stacked like that?”
Burnet smiled, holding Lei. “You’re right that the odds are stacked, but I wouldn’t be so sure in saying they’re stacked in the Revengers favor.”
“What do you mean?” Chloe asked.
Burnet looked out at the ring, with Lei reaching his small hands out towards the ring as well. “You’ll see.”
The Masked Royal turned to the Neo Royal. “How about you show me how much you’ve improved since then?” he said, the microphone catching his words.
The Neo Royal nodded, gesturing out. “Alright, let’s show ‘em what we’ve got! Lucario, use Double Team!”
Stepping forward into the ring, Lucario immediately began to split into multiple copies of himself, until the number of Lucario doubles outnumbered the Revengers more than twice over.
Viren gestured forward. “Don’t just let them make fools of us! Get them!”
The Revengers’ Pokémon all began launching attacks at the illusory Lucario, but each one only seemed to hit a double rather than the real thing.
“Now, Aura Sphere!”
The remaining Lucario all began forming the bright blue, glowing orbs made from the same warm Aura that Lucario had showed off to the crowd earlier. The army of Lucario tossed the barrage of Aura Spheres at the Revengers, exploding with a rush of warm light and heat as the attacks found their marks.
As the smoke cleared, the Revengers and their Pokémon were all on the ground, sore from the attack. The Masked Royal stepped forward again. “As always, my Pokémon and I will defend the honor of this ring from any interruptions by those such as you. Incineroar, use Darkest Lariat!”
The Masked Royal’s Incineroar crouched down, gathering energy in his hands before spinning like a top with two blazing claws. The spinning Pokémon crashed into the pile of Revengers, throwing all of them out of the ring back towards the green Tyranitar shaped entrance.
As the Revengers scrambled away, both the Masked Royal and the Neo Royal approached the side of the ring, gesturing to the crowd. “We apologize for the interruption, and we hope the next Battle Royal battles fill your hearts with burning passion!” The Masked Royal said before handing the microphone over to the Neo Royal.
“The spirit of Alola burns strong in our hearts, and we hope it burns inside everybody! Now-”
Both the Royals and Incineroar performed the claw pose again.
“-enjoy!”
Lucario struggled to mimic the pose. Clearly the Neo Royal hadn’t spent much time preparing his Pokémon for this collaboration.
“I’ve gotta say,” Burnet mused out loud, “that Neo Royal was pretty handsome, right, Chloe? So brave to face off against those bad men with the Masked Royal.”
Chloe felt her face heat up. ‘Why is she trying to play up this Neo Royal guy…?’ she thought. ‘ There’s only one guy I like…’ She shook her head. “He’s cool, I guess. But it’s not like he’s as cool as some people I know.”
Goh laughed to himself. “Well, maybe it’d help if you saw him without the mask…” he laughed.
“You’re back!”
Rotom floated in the doorway upon everyone’s return to the Professor’s home in the early part of the afternoon from the Battle Royal Dome.
Burnet put a finger to her lips and shushed Rotom. She held Lei gently in her arms, and the Pokédex took a hint. A gauge with a speaker on it appeared on it’s screen, lowering to about 1/3rd its full height.
“Thanks for watching everything, Rotom,” Professor Kukui said from the back of the group.
“My pleasure!” The response came out at a whisper. “Oh! I almost forgot!” Though their speech was still quiet, they floated in front of the group and switched their expression from a surprised emoji to a picture of a woman Chloe didn’t recognize. She had dark hair and pink glasses, and a kind look on her face. “Miss Wicke called and said there was an important thing she needed to talk to you about at the Aether Paradise!”
Kukui stepped forward, pushing past Ash and Goh. “Is it urgent?” he asked, the tone in his voice shifting towards seriousness.
“It is!” Rotom shouted, still at 1/3rd volume. “She said for me to tell you to come over as soon as you got back!”
A worried look grew across Burnet’s face. “I’m a bit worried if Wicke said we needed to head over immediately…”
“Should we head over there, then?” her husband asked.
Burnet’s eyes went down to her baby. “Lei just fell asleep… I’m worried if he gets woken up again, he won’t be able to sleep after that…”
Everyone fell quiet for a moment, puzzling over the situation.
“The Aether Paradise is a place for Pokémon Research, right?” Chloe asked in a quiet voice, drawing everyone’s attention. Once she had their attention, she stepped forward and stood next to Rotom before the rest of the group. “I’m sure they’re really nice there, but I can just stay here with Lei. I’m not really super interested in Pokémon Research, anyway…”
She gave a somewhat embarrassed smile. Goh nodded, and Ash and Kukui stepped forward. The Professor moved first and put his hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Chloe, I haven’t got Amnesia. I remember that you don’t want people Instructing you on what you should do.”
She nodded, looking away shyly. “I mean… I bet it’ll be a lot of fun to see all the Pokémon there, but I don’t want to run into someone who starts talking to me about how great my Dad is.”
Kukui, Burnet, and even Ash all shared a private moment to chuckle. ‘They probably know someone exactly like that, ’ Chloe thought to herself.
Burnet then turned to Chloe. “Do you know how to hold a baby?” she asked.
Chloe nodded, holding up her arms. “I used to hold my little brother when he was just a baby.”
“I can attest that she never dropped him,” Goh added, chuckling.
“If you don’t mind babysitting for me, Chloe,” Burnet said, gently placing Lei in her arms. “He’ll probably sleep the rest of the time anyway, but if he gets up, there’s formula in the refrigerator and clean diapers in the diaper bag, just in case anything goes wrong.”
Chloe held Lei gently. He felt small and vulnerable, and she remembered in her mind the first time she held Parker, though even back then she had her mother’s help to make sure she didn’t fall over. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. You all better get going, since Ms. Wicke did ask you to come as soon as possible, right?”
“Right,” Kukui nodded with a seriousness that Chloe somewhat felt didn’t fit him. He turned back to the door. “We can probably grab a quick ferry from the port if we hurry,” he said.
Though Kukui, Burnet, and Goh walked back towards the door, Ash watched Chloe closely as she smiled at the sleeping baby. Pikachu put a paw on the boy’s face, snapping him out of his stupor. “ Pikapi. ”
Chloe watched Ash as his eyes went back and forth, like he was trying to come up with a strategy for a tricky opponent. Ash hesitated for only a moment longer before turning back to the Professors. “Is… it okay if I stay here, too?” he asked.
Kukui had a knowing smile on his face. “Really? You’d rather stay here rather than see all the Pokémon at Aether Paradise?”
Ash shook his head. “No, it’s not that… I just…” he looked back at Chloe, who now stared right at him. “Chloe… you know, she might need some help.”
“Don’t tease him,” Burnet said, though she was smiling, herself. “He’s just trying to be responsible, right?” She gave Ash a wink and the boy seemed to grab ahold of that.
“R-Right! You never know when something’ll come up. And if I’m here, then I’ll be able to help out.”
Goh shrugged. “I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll just have to take all the notes in your place.”
Ash rubbed the back of his head, chuckling. “Thanks, Goh.”
“I’ll be here, too,” Rotom said, missing the underlying subtext of what was happening.
The only response Rotom gets is the door closing in front of them, with the two trainers and the Pokémon standing around in a moment of silence as everyone else rushed off without them. Lei dozed quietly in Chloe’s arms.
“Thanks for staying with me, Ash,” Chloe said, smiling at him gently.
Ash reached his hand to hers and softly squeezed. He didn’t say anything for a moment as he held her hand. After a moment, he released her hand, saying “Anytime.”
Chloe sat in the rocking chair that she had initially seen Burnet in when she had approached the house, rocking with Lei gently in her arms.
A good distance away, to keep the noise down, Ash was training with the Pokémon he brought from the Cerise Laboratory against his Alolan Pokémon.There was still a bit of noise, but the distance combined with the sound of the waves and the wind did a lot for muting the clashing off attacks. Eevee sat on the patio next to her chair, watching the training from a distance as well.
She couldn't hear Ash from that far away, but she watched him shout and give commands, running around. The Rotom Pokédex was floating nearby, giving their input into the situation, Chloe was sure.
They had split into five separate pairs and were practicing their moves against each other. She caught a glimpse of Sirfetch’d blocking Melmetal’s metal fist with his shield and Lycanroc staring down Dracovish. Pikachu and Rowlet didn’t seem like they were going to do much fighting, but Lucario clashing with Incineroar made Chloe furrowed her brow. “Lucario and Incineroar…”
Her mind went back to what she saw that morning, and the two Masked Royals. ‘ Why’d Burnet keep trying to see what I thought of them?’ she thought to herself, rocking Lei gently as the baby slept. ‘ I guess the Neo Royal was close to my age… maybe she doesn’t realize I like Ash yet…’
There was a part of her that didn’t want to admit that there was something that drew her attention to the Neo Royal, but for all her puzzling over the topic, she was no closer to an answer.
Another thought. “Where are Gengar and Dragonite?”
She couldn’t hear them, but she supposed they must be fighting above, where her view was blocked by the roof.
It was at this moment, responding to her question asked out loud, that Lei began to stir. He opened his eyes up and looked at the young lady carrying him and blinked his brown eyes in her direction before opening his mouth and unleashing a loud cry.
Eevee responded by beginning to cry as well, and Chloe groaned.
Looking up, she saw Ash freeze and turn around towards her, and the two of them locked eyes. No doubt he could see Lei moving if somehow the crying didn’t carry that far. With a flash of several Poké Balls, his Cerise Lab team vanished and he and the Alola team began racing up.
As Ash and the Pokémon scrambled up the stairs, Rowlet landed on the wooden railing nearby, tilting his head at Chloe and Lei.
“What’s the matter?” Ash asked.
Chloe giggled. “Well, he just woke up, so I’d guess that he’s hungry,” she said, amused.
Lei’s sobbing quieted for a moment, only for Ash’s stomach to growl loudly.
Chloe could barely contain her laughter. “I guess you’re hungry, too, aren’t you?”
“S-Sorry…” he chuckled.
She walked over to him and handed him Lei. “Well, I can’t cook and hold Lei at the same time, so you try to distract him while I get everything going, okay?”
“Got it,” he said as the two of them walked into the house, all of the Pokémon following behind them.
As Eevee, Pikachu, and Ash’s Alolan team began to sit in a circle and discuss something, Chloe began heading to the kitchen and Ash to the couch in front of the TV and began flipping through the channels. “I wonder what babies like to watch…” he asked out loud.
Rotom sat on the couch next to him. “Do you think he’d like to watch Alolan Detective Laki? We have several episodes from the latest season recorded!”
Chloe frowned as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of formula. “I don’t think so. He’d probably prefer something with bright colors.”
Ever since Ash took hold of him, Lei seemed like he wasn’t as upset, but there was an unhappy look on his face until Ash’s lazy channel surfing brought up a show featuring a grassy hill and four multi-colored creatures that looked a little like Pokémon standing and talking slowly.
Ash watched the screen, transfixed by it as Lei was.
“Roto-Tubbies?” Rotom asked, a question mark appearing on their screen. Sensing no amusement coming from Ash as he and Lei watched this program, Rotom floated over to Chloe as she continued to gather ingredients for lunch onto the counter.
“Would you like me to help? I know all the steps to cooking a delicious meal!” they asked.
“No, I think we’ve got it,” Chloe said. She turned around and put the bottle of formula in the microwave and turned it on for a short time. While that was happening, she began filling a large pot with water and turned to chop some vegetables and berries.
“Be careful! Knives are very sharp!” Rotom said, displaying a red exclamation point.
“I… I know,” Chloe sighed as she began to closely chop the berries. The Rotom Pokédex seemed to float over closer.
‘ Do they not know how to take a hint?’ Chloe thought to herself before dumping the chopped vegetables into the water.
The microwave beeped and Chloe tested the formula to make sure it was warm (but not hot) before carrying the bottle and handing it to Ash. “Do you know how to feed a baby?” she asked.
He was gently bouncing Lei on his knee. The baby seemed happy enough. “Yeah? I’ve fed a baby Pokémon before.”
“Not the same.”
“It’s kind of the same,” Rotom said, floating over towards Ash.
“See? Rotom agrees,” Ash said, pointing to the Pokémon.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Here. Feed him. Make sure to do it gently, okay?”
He took the warm bottle with a smile. “Right…”
As Ash fed Lei from the bottle, Chloe returned to the kitchen to prepare their lunch. She added water to the pot and began boiling the berries and veggies to soften them up before she added Moo Moo Milk and spices that she picked off of the professor’s shelves.
The pleasant aroma of the cooked veggies and the creamy stew Chloe was making began to fill the home, and Chloe began looking for the Pokémon food.
“Oh! Uh, Melmetal doesn’t eat that,” Ash said as Lei polished off the bottle in his hand. Chloe was holding a bag of Pokémon food not unlike what they used at the lab back home.
“It doesn’t?”
“D’ya see a box of bolts and screws in there?” Ash asked.
Chloe looked back in the cabinet. “Yeah, it’s right here.”
“Get those. Melmetal eats metal instead of regular food.”
‘ That figures,’ she sighed. ‘ But I guess it is Ash’s so it makes sense that he’d know something weird like that.’
Filling most of the bowls with a combination of Pokémon food and sliced berries and one with the box of metal, Chloe returned to the pot and began stirring it as Ash sat with Lei on the couch, watching whatever show they were absorbed in.
She tasted the stew and nodded. “This is going to be delicious.”
“Uh, Chloe?”
She looked up at Ash, and his face was twisted into a very uncomfortable position.
“Oh no,” Chloe said. “Don’t tell me he needs his diaper changed.”
Ash’s grimace was all the confirmation she needed before the stench struck her on her approach.
“I’ve seen Professor Burnet and Professor Kukui change Lei’s diaper over one-hundred and eighty times!” Rotom said.
Chloe frowned. “That’s… that’s not very helpful information, Rotom,” she said.
“But it is!” they protested. “I know where everything you’ll need is. All we need is someone to do it!”
Ash glanced at Rotom. “Can you do it?” he asked.
“I don’t have thumbs,” Rotom responded plainly.
Ash and Chloe both groaned at that one.
“Look,” Chloe said, holding out her hands. “I’ll just do it.”
Ash blinked in her direction but placed Lei in her hands. “You… you know how?”
“I’ve done pretty well in Home Economics,” she said. “This is the sort of thing you learn there.”
Ash stepped back, somewhat surprised, gawking at her.
“Don’t just stand there,” she said, pointing to the stew. “Stir it and make sure it doesn’t burn.”
Ash nodded at the command. “Right. Got it!”
As he dashed off to keep their lunch from ruining itself, the Rotomdex floated nearby. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Go get Burnet’s diaper bag. She left it here with everything else we needed.”
The Pokédex saluted her. “I’m on it!”
She carried Lei over to the table in the living room and cleared it off as best she could with one hand before laying the baby down on it. The Rotomdex brought over the diaper bag, and Chloe set to work cleaning the Professor’s child and changing him into a new clean diaper before handing the old one to the Pokédex to throw away.
“There you go!” Chloe said, picking up Lei in her arms. “How does that feel?”
Lei giggled as he was held up before burping loudly and continuing to giggle.
Holding Lei closer, she smiled and spoke sweetly to him. “Now now, Lei, you shouldn’t take your manners from Ash, you know?”
Lei responded by babbling something and resting his head on Chloe’s shoulder. She smiled and held Lei close.
She only looked up when she heard the snapping sound of a camera. Looking up, she saw Rotom turning around and smiling at her. “This one will be a great memory,” they said.
Chloe giggled, standing up for Rotom to take a better picture. “I think so, too,” she said with Lei giggling. “What do you think, Ash?”
When she looked at him, Ash was lost in thought. He was looking at her, but it was clear his mind was elsewhere. “A-Ash…?”
The repetition of his name brought him out of his stupor. “Oh, uh, y-yeah!” he said, clearly not paying attention.
She decided to have a little fun.
“Oh, so you agree with that then?” she said.
Ash turned his focus to the pot he was stirring. “Y-Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” he said. “You’re smart, you know what you’re talking about.”
Hearing that praise come so easily from his lips put her off her footing, and she felt her face heating up.
But Ash had handed her a blank check, and she intended to cash it.
Approaching him she smiled. “Alright, so we both need to taste test it, then,” she said.
Rotom displayed a question mark. “What do you mean? That’s not what you were-”
“Use the spoon and let me taste it, Ash,” Chloe said, standing between Ash and the Pokédex.
Shrugging, he brought the wooden spoon up and held it up for Chloe. She blew on the stew to make sure it was cool enough and took a quick bite.
“Mmm…” she hummed. “It’s delicious!”
Ash’s mouth fell open. “I wanna try!” he said.
Moving Lei to one arm and taking the spoon from Ash in the other, she got Ash a spoonful of stew and held it up for him to eat from.
As Ash took his bite, Rotom snapped another picture.
Chloe felt a rush run down her spine of fear, wondering if Ash would pull away in embarrassment, or shout at Rotom, but all he did was lock eyes with her and smile, so she did that as well.
“It’s really good,” he said, chuckling.
Chloe felt her face heat up, looking into his deep brown eyes, and her heart thumped harder in her chest.
Ash reached his hand up and wiped some of the stew off her cheek, and she giggled. This caused him to break into laughter, and even Lei joined in.
The Rotomdex floated there with a question mark on their screen, unable to make sense of any of it.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Chloe looked to Ash, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “Are… we expecting anyone?” she asked.
“C’mon in!” Ash shouted, loud enough that whoever the visitor was could hear it, as they began turning the door knob and opening the door.
“Sorry to drop in on you like this, Ash,” came Mallow’s voice as she stepped inside, the fisherwoman Lana following behind her. Both of their faces were splashed with surprise when they caught a glimpse of the scene before them.
“Hey guys!” Ash said, smiling.
“Hey, Ash.” While Lana’s words were directed at Ash, her eyes were looking straight at Chloe, and the student from Vermilion could easily see the gears turning her head.
Chloe cleared her throat and put on her biggest, fakest smile. “S-So how can we help you guys?” she asked.
Mallow shook herself out of her shock. “We were making some choices on decorations for the party, and we were wanting a third opinion…” She paused, once again looking at Ash and Chloe, and her expression said only that she didn’t believe her eyes.
While she put on a gentle face to make sure the baby in her arms stayed calm, internally, Chloe was shattering. ‘ Of course we’d get visitors on the day I’m basically playing house with Ash…’ she thought, cursing her luck. ‘ It was going to be a nice day for us to spend some private time together and now…’
Chloe’s thoughts, however, had betrayed her, and when she realized that the thing that she was most incensed about was her private Ash time getting intruded on, her face lit up like a red light bulb.
She glanced at Ash, and while he had made no move toward or away from Chloe, the expression on his face was blissfully vacant. It reminded her a bit of how Eevee would smile.
“Y-Yeah,” Lana said, trying to break the awkwardness in the air. “Usually we ask Lillie about this kind of thing, but obviously we can’t ask her if it’s going to be a surprise…” The more she spoke, the less it seemed like her words were landing with any impact, and she, too, quieted down.
Looking like she had stuck a sour Pinap Berry in her mouth, Mallow decided to put the question to the two Kantonians. “Are… Are we interrupting something?”
With confirmation that the suspect situation they were in wasn’t going to escape notice nor be politely ignored, Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but Ash beat her to the punch.
“Nope!” he said, grinning in his trademark winning way. Chloe wanted to appreciate his confidence in the face of this, but her mind was already snaking down pathways of increasing embarrassment in front of Ash’s friends who, if they didn’t have any idea of her feelings for Ash before, were getting more than enough evidence for at least a little suspicion.
Mallow’s eyes narrowed. “That’s good. Hey, Chloe? Why don’t you bring Lei over here and we’ll show you exactly what we’re talking about…” The taller girl elbowed Lana to communicate her true message, and Lana nodded at the nudge.
Before Chloe could respond, Ash grinned. “Great! I’ll get us some bowls ready for lunch, then!” he said. “Mallow, you’re gonna love Chloe’s cooking! It’s amazing!”
Chloe wasn’t sure her face could get much redder, but she couldn’t bear to look them in the eyes, so she just looked at the floor as she walked over to the girls.
“Great, Ash,” Mallow said, smiling as well. “We’ll be right back!”
Mallow walked back to the door and with Lana following her behind, Chloe followed their lead and stood on the patio before closing the door behind them. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she held Lei close by. The feeling only increased as Lana and Mallow put their hands on her shoulders and leaned in close.
‘ Oh no.’
“So, Chloe,” Lana started. “You and Ash seem pretty close.”
The sweat was already starting to bead on her forehead. “Y-Yeah…? I mean, not particularly, right…?”
Mallow’s cheerful grin seemed to become a mocking sneer. “Oh really?” she asked. “You all seemed pretty chummy back there. Were you feeding him with that spoon?”
Chloe looked down at her hand. Though her arm supported Lei, the soup spoon she had used to help Ash get a taste might as well have been a smoking gun.
Suddenly she understood what the criminals that Detective Laki apprehended must feel like.
“The two of you were alone, huh? Just a little private date for the two of you?” Lana squinted her eyes and scrutinized Chloe’s face closely.
She had been caught red-handed, but still Chloe attempted to deflect. “I-I don’t know what you mean-”
Lana pointed a finger accusingly right at Chloe’s face. “C’mon, you know you like Ash. It’s written all over your face!”
Chloe’s stomach twisted in a knot. The guilt burned her face ever redder, and the infant Lei reached up and patted her crimson cheek. “I-I mean, don’t you guys? You’re friends, aren’t you?”
“You seem just a little more fond of him than we are, though,” Mallow replied, leaning in. “Maybe you like him enough to want to be his girlfriend.”
Chloe swallowed nervously, worrying what sort of Beedrill’s nest she had kicked over. ‘ I’m sunk. If either of these girls already like Ash, then there’s no way I’ll be able to stay in Alola, much less help with this party… and that’s not even considering how Lillie might feel about Ash…!
“I-I-I-”
Chloe stammered uselessly, unable to refute the fact that Ash did make her heart race and her lips curl into a smile whenever she got to spend time alone with him. She let her head sag.
“I’m busted.”
Lana and Mallow looked at each other and began giggling while Chloe sighed in defeat. “Look, I’m sorry if we’re not going to get along anymore,” she said. “I should have known that one of you guys already had feelings for Ash, and… well you all knew him first, right…?”
“Woah! Hold on!” Mallow said, waving her hands. “You’ve got it all wrong! I mean, speaking for me, I don’t like Ash like that.”
“I mean, as far as boys go to have a crush on, you could do worse,” Lana added, shrugging while drawing loops in the air with her finger. “He’s kinda spacey. He’s a good guy and a good friend but I’d be worried he’d get kinda annoying if I wanted to go out with him.”
Chloe’s face burned even hotter than before. “H-He’s not that annoying,” she replied. “Some of the stuff he does is kinda cute, you know?”
“I just didn’t really think anyone would have those kinds of feelings for Ash,” Mallow said. “That’s why I was so surprised. Ash just doesn’t seem like the kinda guy who steals your heart.”
“Definitely an acquired taste,” Lana agreed. “I’m kinda curious how it started.”
Chloe looked at the two of them. “So… neither of you have a problem with me… y’know… liking Ash like that.”
“Of course not,” Mallow said, clasping her hands together. “In fact, you two are kinda cute together!” she said. “I can’t believe someone like Ash would bring a city girl like you home!”
“You do seem like kind of the opposite of what I’d think of when I think of someone who’d wanna date Ash,” Lana said. “You’re way quieter than he is.”
Chloe tried not to frown. “I’ll take that as a compliment.
“But does he know you like him?” Lana then asked, her eyes watching Chloe closely.
Chloe turned back and looked at the door. “I mean… I was just starting to think that we’d become good friends,” she said, sighing. “I wasn’t going to push my feelings onto Ash, you know? It’d be like forcing him to make a move, and I already don’t like it when people tell me what to do.”
“So, no then.” Lana said, and Chloe nodded to confirm.
Mallow hit her fist into her open palm. “Hey, no sweat! We’ll just make the party we’re planning the perfect place for you and Ash to confess your feelings for each other!”
“Mallow, that’s perfect!” Lana said, grinning.
Chloe held up her hand. “Wait a second, doesn’t Ash need to have feelings for me first before he can admit them? You’re getting the cart before the Ponyta a bit, aren’t you?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Lana said, smirking. “You just leave that to us. We’ll set this party up so that you’ll be able to get some alone time with Ash!”
“And then you’ll be able to have a romantic ending to your evening!” Mallow said.
“What about Lillie?” Chloe shot back, still trying to find a hope for escape. “Wouldn’t it be weird if her party was being used for that? She’s your friend, too, right?”
Lana shrugged. “I’m sure Lillie won’t mind. She does love a good story! Besides,” she said, grinning, “it’s not like you guys will be hanging out next to Lillie all night! There’ll be plenty of time for you two to sneak off and kiss!”
Chloe felt like she wanted to cry, but unwilling to give Lei a reason to cry as well, she put on her best, most stoic expression.
“F-Fine… but if Ash gets mad that you guys are doing something like this, it’s on you, alright?”
The two girls smirked to each other. “Don’t worry,” Mallow said. “I think he’ll be thanking us by the time this is all over."
The door to the Kukui’s home opened, and Ash was standing there. “Uh, are you guys finished out here?” he asked, blinking his brown eyes at Chloe. “I just… y’know, the food’s already ready and-”
“-you’re hungry,” Chloe said, a smile growing on her lips at his bashfulness. “We’re ready to eat, right, girls?”
Mallow threw an arm around Chloe’s shoulders while Lana put an arm around Chloe’s waist. Both of the Alolans smiled at Ash. “Right! Ready as ever!”
As they all entered together, Chloe sighed, thinking wryly to herself.
‘ I definitely got more than I bargained for, coming here.’
“Who’s the culprit of this case?”
The room went quiet, and the detective turned an accusing finger forward.
“It’s you.”
Chloe, Ash, and Rotom gasped. Eevee gasped as well, but Lei and Pikachu were hardly paying attention at this point. It had been several hours since lunch and Mallow and Lana had both been gone just as long.
“I can’t believe it’s the Pokémon Walker!” Rotom said, shaking their wig to and fro. “I thought for sure it was the mailman!”
“I was there with you,” Chloe said, still holding Lei up. “But I guess he’s going to explain why it’s the Pokémon Walker who stole the rare Enigma Berry seeds.
Ash sat with Pikachu on his shoulder and Eevee in his lap. “I honestly can’t follow it when it gets like this…”
“ Piii-ka.”
“You may have thought you could deceive everyone, but you can’t deceive Alolan Truth. Alolan Detective Laki! There’s never been a case I can’t solve!”
As the television droned, the door to the home opened and the Professors Kukui and Burnet, as well as Goh, stepped into the house, carrying bags that Chloe thought came from some take-out restaurant that she didn’t recognize.
“Welcome back,” Chloe said as Lei began to reach for his mother and father. Kukui went to the kitchen area as Burnet approached and took Lei into her arms.
“Oh, there you are, Lei!” she said, cooing to her son before turning back to Chloe. “Thank you so much for babysitting, Chloe.”
“It’s no problem,” she replied, giggling. “It was tough sometimes but we had a lot of fun today.
Ash, sensing food, had already left the couch and headed over to help Professor Kukui. Goh approached her and smirked. “So you had fun today, huh? I really think you missed out. The Aether Paradise was something else!”
“It’s fine,” she said to her friend with a shrug. “We got to do a lot today, too, didn’t we?”
Rotom floated next to her head. “That’s right! And I took some pictures, too!”
Ash and Chloe both froze, and Chloe looked at him with a pleading gaze.
“Y-Yeah but we don’t need to see any pictures!” Ash said, stepping away from the food and towards Rotom.
“Oh, I think they’re very interesting!” insisted the Pokédex.
Goh frowned, glancing between his two friends. “Yeah… I’m pretty interested, too, now,” he said. “Let’s take a look at them, Rotom.”
Chloe leapt for Rotom, only for Rotom to float away and hover just out of reach. On their screen, they displayed first the images of Chloe and Ash taste testing the food. The next image was of Ash making a silly face at Lei, making both the baby and Chloe laugh.
The next image was of Chloe attempting to brush Ash’s hair while he held onto Lei. She was talking, but thankfully for her, the image was silent.
There was an image of Lei crying and both Ash and Chloe trying to figure out what was wrong, panicked expressions on their faces. Then, a picture of Lei sleeping, and Ash and Chloe sitting next to each other on the couch, with Chloe resting her head on Ash’s shoulder.
Chloe felt her face burn. ‘ They’re going to think we’re a couple at this rate…!’ She jumped for Rotom, just missing the floating Pokémon as they continued showing Goh the images.
Her friend had an incredibly self-satisfied look on his face.
The image changed to one with Ash sitting next to Chloe, with his arm around her, and both of them looking a little red in the face.
“Is there something you’d like to share with the rest of the class, Miss Cerise?” Goh asked, teasingly. “You seem like you’ve been studying pretty hard so far, huh?”
She tried to wave him off. “T-There’s nothing to announce. Right, Ash?”
Turning to him, she saw that Ash couldn’t speak because he was stuffing his face full of food in an attempt to escape, himself.
He quickly drank down a cup of water and turned to the ladder. “Well, it’s time for bed! G’night!”
Chloe frowned. “Ash, that’s where I’m going to sleep! Get out of there!”
He chuckled, already halfway up the ladder. “S-Sorry…! I uh, forgot?”
As he laughed, something fell out of his back pocket and landed on the ground by the bottom of the ladder. Chloe went quiet and her eyes went as wide as the plates Professor Kukui was loading their take-out dinner on.
She approached the ladder with Ash still hanging on it, and picked up the thing that fell out of his pocket.
It was a red, green, and blue mask with a blue zig-zag down the middle. Ash froze up, staring down at her as she looked up to him, something very different burning in her emerald eyes.
“Ash…?” she asked with a voice that only pretended at being calm.
“Y-Yeah…?” he asked, swallowing.
“...are you telling me THAT YOU’RE THE NEO MASKED ROYAL?!”
Her volume grew as she went on, and the end of her shout echoed even outside the home into the Alolan moonlight.
Chapter 21: In the Wisdom of Others
Chapter Text
“I wonder why they decided on these?”
Goh was the one to ask the question out loud, but Ash hummed to himself, wondering what exactly was the ‘theme’ of this party. ‘And why does it need a theme, anyway? Isn’t it for Lillie and her dad coming home?’
He was on the top of a stepladder, hanging another star-shaped decoration. It was made of a pale, yellowish plastic that the package advertised as ‘glow in the dark. ‘ But they won’t really be able to know for sure until the sun goes down and these plastic stars are given a chance to shine, right?’ Ash paused for a moment to chuckle to himself at his clever wordplay. ‘ Heh, I bet I can tell Chloe that later and she’ll get a laugh out of it. ’
After he climbed down the ladder, Ash looked around the classroom. He, Goh, Kiawe, and Sophocles were all given the orders by Mallow to start putting up these decorations. “ Lana, Chloe and I are going to be working on getting the rest of the plans in order for this party,” Mallow had said just a few hours ago, wagging a finger in his face. “ We need you guys to do your part while we hammer out the menu.”
Ash absent-mindedly rubbed his belly, imagining the delicious food that the girls were going to come up with. If Mallow and Chloe were great cooks on their own, what they would be capable of together set Ash’s imagination spinning.
“ Pikapi! ”
Ash turned around to a yellow blur hopping onto his shoulder, and Pikachu clung to Ash tightly as Togedemaru chased him over, frowning and stomping her little feet. “ Marudemaru! ” she protested at Pikachu’s escape. Looking up from the Roly-Poly Pokémon, he saw that Vikavolt was floating back down to Sophocles after hanging another star successfully. Meanwhile, Turtonator carried the second step ladder for Kiawe as he and Marowak followed, both of them holding a few stars they were tasked with hanging.
Goh stood near all the supplies, stroking his chin from the question he asked. Grookey sat on his head, similarly stroking a stalk of the boy’s hair. Cinderace was rifling through the bags and Inteleon simply stood at Goh’s side, watching the others carefully. All the while, Rotom flitted about the room, snapping pictures as they went.
“You don’t like stars?” Ash asked, finally answering Goh after no one else seemed to.
He shook his head. “It’s not that, but isn’t this a party for Lillie’s big return home? Why these stars?”
“I was wondering the same thing,” Kiawe said as Turtonator sat down the stepladder for him. “I guess there’s some reason Mallow and the girls decided on it, but they certainly weren’t sharing the reason with us.”
“Sometimes girls can just act in mysterious ways, you know?” Sophocles said, patting Vikavolt as it went up with another star. “I mean, Togedemaru’s been acting strange ever since Ash came back.”
Ash frowned. “I thought something was up…” he said, frowning. “She’s been really clingy towards Pikachu ever since we came back. Way more than she ever was before.”
“ Piiika,” the mouse nodded in agreement.
Goh looked at Togedemaru and smirked. “Well, it’s obvious right?”
The boys all looked to Goh like he had said something completely not obvious. Ash even vocalized this sentiment. “Uh, what do you mean?” he asked, furrowing his brow.
Goh shrugged. “Togedemaru’s jealous.”
Now it was Kiawe’s turn to be doubtful. “Jealous? What’s she got to be jealous about?”
“I bet it’s Chloe’s Eevee,” Sophocles said, walking towards his Steel-type and picking her up.
“ Dema,” Togedemaru huffed, turning up her nose towards Sophocles as though to say ‘ As if! ’
Ash frowned. “What’s wrong with Chloe’s Eevee?” he asked. “You guys aren’t making any sense…”
“Have Pikachu and Eevee been spending a lot more time together than usual?” Sophocles asked, gently petting Togedemaru in an effort to calm her.
Ash crossed his arms, going through his thoughts. “Well… I guess Chloe’s been coming on research trips with Goh and I a lot recently.”
Goh nodded. “Yeah, and since Eevee is Chloe’s Pokémon, she’s been around Pikachu a lot more as a result. Is Togedemaru really fond of Pikachu?”
“That’s an understatement,” Sophocles chuckled. “When she thought that we wouldn’t see him again, she burst into tears.”
Ash shrugged. “But Togedemaru is just sad that her awesome buddy Pikachu would be gone, right? Everyone gets sad when their friends have to go away.”
Ash felt everyone’s eyes on him. “What? Did I say something weird?”
“Not… weird,” Kiawe said. “More like you missed the point, I think.”
At that, Ash frowned. “Missed what point? Is it Eevee’s fault somehow?”
Goh walked over to Ash and put an arm around his shoulder. “You’ll have to excuse him guys,” he said. “I do the bulk of the thinking for the two of us.”
“Oh, we’ve been there,” Sophocles said, a knowing smile on his face. “Trust us.”
Goh released Ash as he and the other guys had a laugh at the Palletonian’s expense. Ash crossed his arms, frowning. “Look, I get that Togedemaru is jealous of Eevee but why? Is it because of that camping trip we took a few weeks ago?”
“You went camping with Eevee and Chloe?” Kiawe asked. He was now just standing next to the stepladder, his work somewhat forgotten.
“Yeah,” Ash explained. “Chloe said she wanted to try out being a Pokémon trainer, and so I took her out to Pallet Town and we spent part of a week in the woods together.”
Sophocles nodded. “Yeah, that’ll do it, I bet,” he said. “That’s exactly the thing she’d get jealous over.”
Before Ash could ask why that was, Goh spoke up, rubbing his chin. “That’s when Eevee used that Z-Move, right…?”
The classroom went quiet for just a moment as the words Goh said registered with their listeners.
“Eevee did WHAAAT?!” Kiawe shouted, now stepping in close to Ash and Goh. “Chloe doesn’t even have a Z-Ring, much less a Z-Crystal, right?”
Ash raised his arm. “Oh, she used mine,” he said, holding up his own Z-Ring. It had the special Z-Crystal that he used with Pikachu in it. “She borrowed my Normalium-Z, too.”
“And when Eevee used the Z-Move,” Goh continued, “it wasn’t the regular Normal-Type Z-Move either, right?”
Ash shook his head. “No, it was Tectonic Rage, just like Hapu used.”
“Hapu?” Goh asked.
“She’s the Kahuna of Poni Island,” Kiawe explained. “A powerful trainer acknowledged by Tapu Fini, the guardian of Poni Island. Her partner is a Mudsdale, and they used Groundium-Z to turn their moves into Tectonic Rage.”
“A Mudsdale?” Goh asked, pulling out his phone.
Before the Rotom within could answer his query, the Rotom Pokédex floated over. “That’s my cue!” On their screen, a picture of the large, equine Pokémon appeared. “Mudsdale, the Draft Horse Pokémon. A Ground-type. Mudsdale spits a mud that provides resistance to both wind and rain, so the walls of old houses were often coated with it. Its heavy, mud-covered kicks are its best means of attack, and it can reduce large trucks to scrap without breaking a sweat.” As Rotom continued to speak, the picture on the screen changed to show Mudsdale from different angles.
“I think we’re getting a little off-track,” Sophocles said, still holding a now-calmed Togedemaru in his hands. “I’m really surprised that Chloe was able to use a Z-Move with a borrowed Z-Ring. I always thought that you had to have a Kahuna or a Tapu or something give you permission to do it.”
Kiawe nodded. “Yeah, remember when we took Lillie to see Hala after she got her father’s Z-Ring? He gave her permission to use it.” He crossed his arms and frowned. “There’s absolutely no way Chloe should have been able to use a Z-Move without getting permission AND with a borrowed ring and crystal. It’s impossible.”
“Maybe you should tell us more about this Z-Move, Ash,” Goh said, looking his friend in the eyes. Ash looked back in them and saw that Goh trusted that he was telling the truth, so he nodded and began going over the events that lead up to the Z-Move.
He started from the morning they fought Team Rocket, explaining the situation they found themselves in, and his injury. He explained Chloe’s taking charge of the situation, and sending Pikachu away to get help. He paused a few times, and only skimmed over the talks he had with Chloe briefly. ‘ It’s not that I don’t wanna talk about them,’ he thought to himself as he spoke. ‘ But… it’s hard to explain how I felt… I dunno if I can…’ He finished up by noting that without Pikachu, Eevee was the only Pokémon they had to defend themselves when Nidoking attacked.
“And Eevee was just like ‘blam’! She copied Earth Power and used it against Nidoking, but it wasn’t enough, but when she copied it with the Z-Ring, it was like…”
He paused again, as his mind replayed the Z-Move and it’s brilliant light in his mind. As much as he wanted to say he focused on Eevee and the attack she used, his eyes were locked on Chloe as the Z-Power surrounded her and the light shined around her. There was a word, he was sure, that explained how he felt in that moment, his eyes on her, but he either never learned it or he couldn’t remember it in the moment.
He shook his head. “You’ve gotta take my word for it. It was so awesome, I can’t even explain it well.”
Goh stroked his chin, humming in thought. “And so she used the Z-Move, even though you guys say she shouldn’t be able to? Why wouldn’t she be able to, if she’s got the Z-Ring and the Z-Crystals. Is there something else that’s needed?”
“The only people who can use Z-Moves are those that have overcome a trial,” Kiawe said. “Even if it’s not an official trial given out by a Kahuna, Pokémon can make that choice.”
“Like how I earned my Grassium-Z,” Ash said, looking at the Z-Ring on his wrist.
Kiawe nodded. “Right, or how Lillie earned her Iceium-Z. Chloe never participated in a trial at all. Not one that was acknowledged by a Pokémon or one of the Tapu, anyway.”
“Are the Tapu really that significant?” Goh asked.
Kiawe’s disposition only worsened, and a vein seemed to throb on his forehead. “The Tapu are the Island Guardians and have protected Alola for generations. Not only that, they’re the ones responsible for distributing the Z-Rings to the Island Kahunas, who then give them to trainers who pass a Trial.”
“Not only that,” Sophocles added, “but the Tapu also help protect Alola when it’s in danger.”
Goh raised an eyebrow. “Like from bad guys?”
“Like from Ultra Beasts.”
Kiawe’s comment made Goh raise an eyebrow. “Ultra Beasts…?”
Rotom floated over. “Are you sure we should talk about that?” they asked. “Shouldn’t we get clearance from the Aether Foundation before we talk about those?”
“It’s fine,” Ash said with a smile. “You guys can trust Goh!”
Sophocles, Kiawe, and Rotom all looked at each other before nodding. “You’re right, Ash,” Kiawe said. “Goh’s a good guy who proved himself in our own little trial the first time you guys came to Alola.”
“Heh, thanks,” Goh said, putting a hand on his hip. “Now, what’s an Ultra Beast?”
“To put it simply,” Sophocles said, “Ultra Beasts are Pokémon from another dimension that travel through an area between dimensions called Ultra Space.”
Goh raised an eyebrow. “And now there’s an Ultra Space?”
Sophocles nodded and continued. “Based on our understanding of it, Ultra Space is sort of like the crossroads for a bunch of different worlds. Ultra Beasts all have their own homes, worlds where they live normally, but for some reason or another, they fall through Ultra Wormholes - holes in the very fabric of time and space that connect our world to Ultra Space.”
“Like wormholes in our universe,” Goh said, nodding along. “Though it’s only thought that those connect two points in space. We haven’t exactly gotten to the point of travelling that deep into space yet…”
“Yes, precisely!” Sophocles said, pointing at Goh. “These Ultra Wormholes can be opened by certain Pokémon, but sometimes they just kinda happen normally.
“And it’s like leaving the door open when they do,” Goh said, nodding. “That lets these Ultra Beasts wander in…” He chuckled to himself. “Man, I’d love a chance to catch one of those Ultra Beasts. How many kinds are there, anyway?”
Rotom turned to Goh with a smile. “There are eleven recorded species of Ultra Beasts, one undocumented species, and several Pokémon that can be considered close to being Ultra Beasts.”
Goh’s eyes widened. “That many, huh? And I guess when they come through, it’s bad news because they could quickly take over if the native Pokémon aren’t equipped to handle them.”
“That’s exactly it,” Sophocles noted. “The Tapu help protect Alola from Ultra Beasts if the other Pokémon aren’t able to. And part of the way they do that is by working with the Island Kahunas and helping to distribute Z-Rings to trainers who complete trials.”
“There’s a connection between the light that shines from Z-Rings and the Ultra Wormhole that we don’t quite fully understand,” Kiawe said. “But the important thing about this is that the Z-Rings are important to Alola, and-” he turned to Ash- “SHOULDN’T BE LOANED OUT! NOT EVEN IN AN EMERGENCY!”
Ash and Pikachu put their hands over their ears as Kiawe yelled. “B-But it wasn’t a big deal, right? We had to use the Z-Ring, or something awful might have happened! And besides, Chloe pulled it off! If she shouldn’t be able to use the Z-Move, then why did it work?”
“That’s…” Kiawe started to protest, but he frowned, not finding an adequate response.
“...a good point…” Sophocles said, crossing his arms and thinking.
“...maybe we’re overthinking this a bit,” Goh said. “Maybe the Tapu noticed everything Chloe went through to help Ash and saw how desperate the situation was and they decided that Chloe did overcome a trial and so she could use the Z-Ring.”
Kiawe blinked. “Could it really be that simple…?”
“It sounds almost comical to consider,” Sophocles said, “but when you eliminate the impossible, all that remains, even if it’s improbable, must be the truth, right?”
Ash put his hands behind his head. “I dunno HOW Chloe was able to use a Z-Move,” he said, frowning. “And honestly, I don’t really care how she did it. It just shows how awesome she is! I’m psyched that you guys are getting a chance to meet her and I’m sure the more time you spend with her at the party, you’ll see how awesome she is, too!”
Goh raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Are you really sure you want us to see how ‘awesome’ she is?” he joked.
Sophocles chuckled. “Yeah, Ash. We wouldn’t want you to act like Togedemaru, would we?”
“Why would I act like Togedemaru?” he replied back, almost snapping. He wasn’t sure why his chest ached at their words, but he was sure that he didn’t like the way they were talking about Chloe just now.
“He’s saying that like how Togedemaru’s jealous of Eevee because she spent a lot of time with Pikachu, you might get jealous if we spend lots of time with Chloe,” Kiawe said.
“Huh?” The words that came out of Kiawe’s mouth sounded like gibberish to Ash. “What does that even mean? Chloe’s my friend, and so if she gets along with my other friends… that’s good, right?”
There was a strange mix of feelings in Ash’s stomach, and he didn’t like either of them. ‘Kiawe’s over here making no sense at all, and… and why am I thinking that Chloe getting along with them could be a bad thing…?’ He shook his head. ‘ No, this doesn’t make any sense. Chloe’s a really awesome friend that I care about a lot. I want her to like my friends, too.’
The silence didn’t go unnoticed. “Ash, are you okay?” Sophocles asked. “You look like you bit into a malasada with a sour filling.”
“It’s like bawoomp, you know?” he said, struggling to explain himself. “It’s like first I was all froosh but then I got all twisted up like grick!”
“That makes absolutely no sense,” Kiawe sighed, putting his hand on his forehead.
“And yet somehow I think we all understood it,” Goh agreed, shrugging.
Sophocles, Rotom, and Pikachu all nodded.
“It’s… it’s hard, to put into words…” he said, shoulders slumping. “I… Chloe is a really cool person and an awesome friend. You guys are all my friends, too. I just… I don’t get why I’d be jealous about it…”
“...but you are feeling a little jealous, right?” Goh asked.
Ash crossed his arms and frowned. “I… I dunno? What does that even feel like? It’s so weird to talk about. I don’t wanna get jealous of you guys. You’re all my friends! You shouldn’t get jealous of your friends!”
Goh stroked his chin again. “Yeah, but remember when Pikachu was jealous because you were spending all your time training Lucario?”
“I-I uh…” he frowned.
His heart thudded in his chest like he had just been slugged, but his mind just went back to that day. He shook the thoughts of her emerald eyes staring daggers at him from his mind. ‘ The more we talk about this, the less I like it…’ he thought.
“I’m gonna focus on getting the rest of these decorations hung up…”
He turned and went back to the stepladder and began climbing up with a new star.
“Poor guy,” Kiawe said, shrugging. “He doesn’t even realize how bad he’s got it.”
Ash frowned at Kiawe talking about him like he wasn’t there, but endeavored to work and not pay close attention to what they were saying.
“ Pikapi… ” his partner cooed, patting him on the side of his head, trying to ease his mood.
Ash began climbing the ladder, but he couldn’t help continuing to listen in on the conversation that his friends were having without him now.
“Okay, just because he feels that way doesn’t mean she does,” Sophocles said. “And if she doesn’t, it’s just Pikachu and Togedemaru all over again.”
He heard Goh scoff. “Oh, that’s no issue,” he said. “I’m 100% sure she’s feeling the same way.”
Ash tried to focus on something else, but his mind was drawn in by the talking. ‘ She? Who’re they talking about now? Who’s like Togedemaru?”
It felt like the more he tried to grasp the conversation, the less he fully understood. So while at least pretending to work, he listened in on their talk.
“Then… why don’t they just talk to each other about it?” Kiawe asked.
“How do you know they haven’t?” Sophocles asked.
“Because if they had, I’m sure that Ash wouldn’t be as confused as he is right now,” he explained. “That Chloe girl must be pretty smart and perceptive to use a Z-Move without practicing, and she immediately understood that my Marowak is the Alolan variant.”
Ash saw Goh nod out of the corner of his eye. “Yeah, if there’s anyone who could break this down for him, it’s Chloe.”
The more they spoke about her, the harder it was for Ash to concentrate, and the more it felt like he was just sitting at the top of the stepladder eavesdropping.
They continued to speak with Ash there, regardless.
“So why hasn’t she?” came the question from Sophocles. “Are we sure they feel the same about each other?”
“I know they do!”
It was Rotom who spoke up.
“I took a LOT of pictures yesterday from where they stayed home and took care of Lei!” Rotom announced. Goh nodded in agreement.
“Oh, and aren’t they interesting?” Goh asked, the smugness in his voice even reaching Ash’s ears from the ceiling as he struggled to hang a star.
“Like this one!” There was the quiet beep of Rotom’s screen displaying a picture, but Ash couldn’t see which one it was from this angle. “Or this one!” they announced with another beep. “Or even this one!”
Sophocles’ face was turning red, while Kiawe looked dumbfounded. “Wow…” he said. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Photographic evidence definitely makes this an open and shut case, doesn’t it?”
Kiawe and Goh nodded.
“So… if that’s the case… and they’re THIS close…” Sophocles continued, “then… why not?”
Goh crossed his arms. “Chloe is… really slow to move, even when she’s sure of something,” he said. “She’s really cautious and doesn’t like getting rushed into things, so I bet she’s looking for the perfect moment.”
“And him?” Kiawe asked, pointing a thumb at Ash.
“I think the answer there is obvious,” snarked Goh.
Ash grumbled. “I don’t know exactly what you guys are talking about down there,” he said, finally securing the star, “but it sounds like you’re makin’ fun of me and I don’t like it.”
“Don’t worry, Ash,” Goh replied. “There’s an easy solution to this issue.”
He frowned, climbing down the ladder. “...maybe it doesn’t need your help.”
“On the contrary,” he said. “You’re my friend and I wanna help you out. This is definitely a matter of brains at this point. Let me be your brain, Ash.”
‘ ...why does this sound like a trap?’ Ash thought. ‘ Like he’s tryin’ to get me off guard in a battle?’
Goh’s smiling face forced Ash to push those thoughts aside though, and he shook his head. “I don’t even know what the matter is ,” he said. “But if you think you can fix it, go ahead, Goh.”
Ash took another glow in the dark star and went to hang it up, pushing away from his friends as his mind struggled to put all the pieces into place. ‘ First they were talkin’ about Togedemaru and how she’s jealous of Eevee, and then that turned into me bein’ jealous of them? Pikachu and Chloe… what’s the connection…?’
He struggled to think of anything, but the topic of jealousy sent him back to that day, not long ago.
“You utter BLOCKHEAD!” Chloe shouted at him, furious. She held Yamper in her arms as Ash crawled under the kitchen table in the lab.
“B-Blockhead?!” he gasped, sitting up, only to bang his head on the underside of the table. He hissed in pain, putting his hand on his head. “I-I’m tryin’ to find Pikachu. Have you seen ‘im?”
“No,” Chloe said, glaring at him with her green eyes piercing him. The look in her eyes shook the present day Ash, but the Ash of that time was still dealing with the throbbing pain in his head. “But if you even bothered to pay a little attention to him, you’d realize how jealous he was!”
“J-Jealous…?” Ash asked. His eyes looked for Goh. His friend was standing back, looking away as Raboot did the same. Sobble’s eyes met Ash’s, but only for a moment before the Water Lizard Pokémon vanished, turning invisible.
“Yes! Just like Yamper was not too long ago! Pikachu wanted to spend time with you, to be your number one, and you just spent all your time with Riolu instead!”
“B-But we’re training-”
“I don’t care even a little bit about your training!” came her judgement, cold and bitter like an Icy Wind attack. “You really don’t understand how Pikachu feels at all, do you?! Pikachu loves you the most of all, out of everyone else in the world! And you got so blinded by your desire for battles and wins that you left him alone! He was practically crying last night and YOU WEREN’T THERE!”
She turned her back to him, and Ash sat in stunned silence. He looked up to counter her, to say something that would prove her words false, and he caught her looking back over her shoulder at him. His eyes met hers, and the bitterness he saw there had thawed, if only a little. While Chloe was clearly fed up with him and upset for Pikachu’s sake, there was the smallest hint of weakness in her eyes.
Looking at them, Ash thought he could hear her say “I thought you of all people would be better than this.”
And so he hung his head low, and chuckled darkly at himself for his foolishness. “I… really messed up, didn’t I?” he asked.
“You sure did.”
Chloe didn’t mince her words.
“How are you going to fix it?”
Ash looked up at her, and saw the sadness growing from that spark of pity he caught in her eyes. The Ash of the present, remembering these events, wanted to reach up and touch her cheek, to stop that tear forming in her eye from falling. But the Ash of that time just stood up and adjusted his hat.
“I’m gonna go find him. I’m gonna tell my buddy how sorry I am and I’ll make it up to him! You’ll see!”
He saw her smile at him, satisfied with his answer, and he nodded. “C’mon, Goh! Let’s go to where my buddy is!”
“And where’s that?” Goh asked.
“Back to Pallet Town!”
Ash smiled to himself. As bad as the memory was at the time… it felt better, in hindsight. Chloe helped him reconnect with Pikachu in a moment where they were drifting apart. “And I never thanked her…” Ash said to himself.
“ Pikapi?” Pikachu asked, tapping the boy’s face with his paw.
“Don’t worry, buddy. It’s just something I’ve gotta talk to Chloe about,” Ash replied, scratching Pikachu’s head.
As he crossed the room to continue decorating, his friends continued their own discussion.
“So how are you going to solve this for them?” Sophocles asked out loud.
“Well…” Goh said, his eyes following Ash’s movements as he grabbed the stepladder and moved it across the classroom, “Chloe and I grew up together. I can usually tell what she’s thinking, even if sometimes our wires get crossed. There’s no substitution for a friend who knows you like a sibling.”
“...so you think you can convince Chloe to make a move?” Kiawe asked.
“It’s the only way forward from here,” Goh said, flexing his arm. He held his palm open. “Their future’s in the palm of my hand, and I won’t fail!”
Listening in, Cinderace looked tiredly at Inteleon. “ Dace, derace? ”
“ Intel. Leon, ” came the reply.
Cinderace sighed, but from across the sparsely decorated classroom, Ash sighed even louder.
Chapter 22: From Another Perspective
Chapter Text
If the days in Alola were filled with a tropical heat, then the nights in Alola were much cooler and more comfortable, especially for someone used to spending all his time in doors.
Now, with the lights off and a pillow under his head, Goh laid there on the couch, eyes shut and trying to go to sleep. Usually he had the bottom bunk at the lab to mute Ash’s snoring, but the other Research Fellow was now on the other end of the Kukui’s corner-couch, sounding like he was clear-cutting a forest. Between Incineroar and Lycanroc snoring as well, Goh was beginning to consider putting himself in a Poké Ball if it would let him rest.
So there he was, trying to keep his eyes shut and will himself to sleep. At least the familiar weight of Grookey on his chest was helping him slowly nod off in the darkened home… though there was more than a little anxiety on Goh’s part that Lei would wake up and his crying would ruin this opportunity to get some shut eye.
The subtlest click made Goh’s eyes snap open, and he tilted his head to look around. There was a bright beam of Alolan Moonlight now coming in through the opened door. Goh sat up, his heart beginning to race in his chest. ‘ An intruder!?’ his mind immediately jumped to the conclusion. But watching closely, he saw that it wasn’t someone entering, but leaving.
With his eyes still adjusted to the dark, he looked around. Ash and Pikachu were on the other side of the couch, snoring, so he used their noise to mask his own movements as he stood up and began creeping around the house. Looking down the hallway, he saw the room to Professor Kukui and Burnet’s bedroom was closed, which quickly shrank the list of suspects that Goh had as to who could be slinking out at this time of night.
He walked over towards the window, and sure enough, he saw the long fluffy hair of his childhood friend walking towards the beach in the moonlight, a scampering Eevee following her from behind. He felt Grookey’s small hands climb up his back until reaching the top of his head as they watched.
Thinking over the talk they had earlier that day with Kiawe and Sophocles, Goh went outside to follow Chloe to the beach. If there was going to be a better opportunity for him to speak with her alone, he wouldn’t know how to describe it.
As soon as he opened the door, the cool, salty air of the Alolan night washed over both himself and Grookey. He was still dressed in his pajamas, as well as barefoot, but that just made the cool grass and sand on the beach that much more an interesting sensation.
Alola was very different from the familiar home of the Kanto Region, Goh was sure. And yet, it had its own charms and appeal, the thoughts of which were on his mind as he came behind Chloe, who was sitting in her own pajamas on the beach, looking at the moon and stars.
“I wouldn’t think you’d be the one to sneak out at night,” Goh lightly teased her as he walked close. “Mind if I have a seat, too?”
Chloe turned to look at him, a flash of surprise on her face, but it was quickly replaced with a wave of disappointment that made Goh’s chest ache just a bit. ‘ She’s probably disappointed it’s only me and not Ash,’ he thought wryly to himself. Even if he understood Chloe’s growing romantic interest in his best friend, Goh was, himself, still human with his own anxieties about losing his friends as they grew closer to each other. His sharp mind, however, pushed those thoughts aside. He knew, at least academically, that Ash and Chloe weren’t the kinds of people to leave him high and dry and their strengthening friendship with him was proof of that. He would just have to be more mindful until his heart caught up.
“It’s a free beach,” Chloe said with a shrug as Eevee scrambled into her lap.
Goh sat down next to her and took in the view as well. “The sky here’s really different from what there is in Kanto, isn’t it? Even with all the huge cities I know that are on Melemele Island, you can see the stars so clearly out here.”
Chloe nodded. “Ash talked about the night sky in Alola and honestly I don’t think he did it justice,” she said. “It’s so incredibly beautiful out here… I can see why it’s such an important place to him. It’s like…” She gestured widely. “It’s like someone threw a glitter bomb up there and it exploded, and the glitter is all stuck up there…”
“Yeah… it’s definitely an incredible sight,” Goh said, looking up at it. “I guess Ash knows what he’s talking about with this.”
This made her giggle. “Well, he is good for something at least,” she said, trailing off.
Goh sat quietly with her for a moment, sitting with his friend and their Pokémon looking. He could tell by looking at her face lit up by the moon that there was something on her mind and when her green eye glanced over and saw him looking at her, he knew she’d realize that if she had something to say, he’d listen to her.
This was just how these friends could operate.
“...So Lana and Mallow figured it out,” she said, beginning her explanation.
“That fast, huh?” Goh said, stretching his legs out, letting his toes dig into the sand.
Chloe nodded. “I don’t know how they somehow got that idea so fast,” she said, shrugging. “I guess they just knew Ash that well and they were like Sharpedo smelling blood in the water or something…”
“Is that a bad thing?” Goh asked, looking over at her. “I mean, it doesn’t seem like they’re upset that you like him, so at least there’s no jealousy you have to deal with, right?”
Chloe, in contrast, brought her knees in and hugged her legs, frowning. “I guess, but that brings its own problems.
“Such as?”
“I feel like they’re hijacking this party that’s supposed to be welcoming Lillie back,” she said, frowning. “It’s supposed to be about her, and her homecoming right? Why are they trying to set it up like it’s some formal dance or something…?”
Goh’s eyes widened, putting the pieces together that explained why they were hanging stars in the classroom. ‘ I guess it’s going to be something like couples going to dance, huh…? Suddenly, all that stuff makes a little more sense…’
But more than that, he read Chloe’s face and saw that she was still looking away from him, and in her body language, that meant she wasn’t telling the truth. At least, not all of it. He felt a small smile rise on his face. “...but that’s not the part that’s really bothering you, is it?” he asked.
Chloe’s cheeks reddened in the moonlight and she turned away from him. “I can’t keep anything to myself, can I?” she sighed. “I’m a terrible liar.”
He shrugged. “It only makes sense,” he said, smiling. “You’re someone who hates getting pushed into things, especially when it’s related to something you really care about.”
This just made Chloe sigh again. “...sometimes having a friend who can read you like a book feels like a curse.”
“But I’m not wrong,” Goh followed up.
Chloe finally looked at him, her gaze sharp enough to cut his face. “No, you’re not,” she admitted bitterly. She relaxed from her curled up position and Eevee unfurled herself into the girl’s lap.“I get that they’re trying to help me out, but I haven’t even ASKED for their help with this, you know? I don’t want to rush into things before I’m ready and they’re setting up this party like they’re trying to make it into a date! Do you know what that feels like?!”
Goh chuckled darkly. “Afraid not,” he said. “I haven’t exactly gone on any dates.”
Chloe scowled. “Wanna trade?” she joked.
“But it’s not like you’re unsure of how you feel, right?” Goh asked, not engaging with the question presented to him. “Even if we hadn’t been going on our research trips together with Ash, I can see with my own eyes just how over the moon you are with him. Why not ask him how he feels about you and see where it goes?”
Chloe stood up, causing Eevee to tumble into the sand on the beach.. “And now my supposed ‘friend’ is trying to push me into it, too” she spat (irrationally, Goh noted to himself). “What did I just say about not wanting to rush into things?”
He stood as well, waving his hands. “Hey, I’m not trying to rush you into anything you’re not ready for,” he said, explaining himself calmly, “but from where I’m standing, I think there’s such a thing as being too cautious, isn’t there?”
Chloe glared at him, clearly not satisfied with that explanation.
Goh continued.
“I mean, think about how it was with me trying to become a Research Fellow,” he said. “I did a lot of work and research on my own to get ready to do it, didn’t I? But when the opportunity was given to me, I didn’t hesitate because I knew it’s what I wanted. I followed my heart and got to where I wanted to be.” As he spoke, Chloe’s glare softened, which bolstered his confidence. “And now you should be following yours, right?”
Chloe flinched like he had struck her. “...it’s not that simple-” she tried to explain before Goh interrupted her.
“You’re worried about what Ash would say, aren’t you?”
She quietly nodded.
Goh turned back towards the ocean. “I can’t help you there,” he said. “I’m not exactly sure how he’ll respond to having that said to him, you know? He and I are friends, but there’s a limit to what I can infer.”
Chloe slumped her shoulders. “...b-but you’ve been observing him too, right?”
Goh glanced back over towards her, his mind already moving ahead on this train of thought. “I have,” he said.
She began digging her toes into the sand. “Well… based on what you’ve seen of him… with your analytical expertise… with all the data you’ve collected… what do you think his response would be if I told him I wanted to be his girlfriend?” The more she spoke, the redder her face got, and she didn’t look up at all from the ground.
As nervous as she was, Goh had already formulated his answer based on how he’d seen Ash act since his return from Pallet Town after spring break.
“...I think… no, I’m sure that on some level, Ash definitely feels the same way about you,” he said.
Chloe looked up, her eyes wide like a wild Pokémon that he was about to toss a ball at.
“You really think so…?” The hope in her tone was palpable.
“I do, only…” Goh turned back to her and crossed his arms. “...only it’s like there’s a block in his mind that prevents him from seeing it…” He thought over his words and shook his head. “No, that’s not quite it, either. It’s more like there’s a gap between what he understands about falling in love and what he thinks falling in love is. If that gap could be filled in, I’m sure he’d instantly realize that he loves you, too.”
“T-That’s a pretty bold statement.”
Goh shrugged at her interjection. “I’m giving you the answer based on the data that I have. I’ve noticed you guys holding hands from time to time, not to mention the pictures that the Rotomdex took yesterday. It’s not like Ash was trying to get away or totally misunderstood. He’s initiated it several times. He likes doing it. He just probably can’t put why he likes doing it into words.”
There was a look of relief and joy on Chloe’s face that Goh hadn’t seen since she had caught Eevee. It made him smile to see his friend so happy.
“Then… then I should talk to Ash about it in the morning,” she said, looking back out towards the sea. “If… if he really does like me back just as much as I like him… then I should be able to get him to understand.”
Goh shrugged. “Assuming you don’t get cold feet and change your mind at the last minute to save face.”
Chloe’s more confident posture slumped once more.
“Hey, I’m a guy, right?” Goh said, smiling. “I’ll talk to Ash, man-to-man, and I’m sure that I’ll be able to make him understand what he feels. And once he knows, I don’t think ANYONE will be able to stop him from bringing his feelings up to you, you know?”
“You’d really do that for me, Goh?”
He nodded. “What’re friends for? I want you guys to be happy and if doing something like this helps, then let me be your wingman!” He winked and gave her a thumbs up.
Chloe smiled and put her arms around Goh, hugging him.
“Thanks for being such a great friend, Goh. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“If there was someone I liked who you could talk to, I’m sure you’d do the same thing for me,” he replied as he put his arms around her and hugged her back.
Under the Alolan moonlight, Chloe didn’t refute his words.
Under the Alolan sunshine, Goh was beginning to feel the pressure.
Goh had followed Ash into a clearing in the forest on Melemele Island where he was getting some private training in, and as soon as Ash caught sight of him, he had instantly asked Goh a question he couldn’t reasonably refuse.
“Let’s have a sparring battle, Goh!”
Now, across the field, Ash stood with his Sirfetch’d and Dracovish in a double battle against his Inteleon and Cinderace. The mis-matched Fossil Pokémon was charging them.
Pikachu and Grookey stood on the sidelines, cheering for their trainers and friends as Goh began his attack.
“Use Snipe Shot!”
Inteleon pointed his hand towards the charging Dragon-type and snapped his pressurized shot of water at Ash’s Pokémon.
“Charge on through it!” Ash shouted, and Dracovish did exactly that, completely unfazed by Snipe Shot. They lunged at Inteleon, who leapt out of the way of the attack, his long tail only just avoiding those powerful jaws.
“Cinderace, use Blaze Kick on Sirfetch’d!”
“ Cin-DERACE!” Goh’s first Pokémon leapt forward on his powerful legs, flipping in the air as his feet became engulfed in flames.
“Block with your shield!” Ash called out.
Sirfetch’d raised his leek-like shield up to Cinderace’s kick, and while the force seemed to make the Fighting-type’s arm recoil, and the flames singed the shield, the Wild Duck Pokémon stood firm.
“Great, use Night Slash!”
At Ash’s order, Sirfetch’d’s leek-like sword began to spark with the negative energy befitting a Dark-type move and he quickly brought it to bear against Cinderace.
“Knock it back with a Double Kick!” Goh called out before trying to turn his attention back to the other side of the field. “Inteleon, use U-Turn!”
Cinderace imbued his feet with a more focused energy than a raging fire and kicked the leek out of Sirfetch’d grip.
“Nice!” Goh shouted. “I knew a Fighting-type move would beat a Dark-type one!”
On the other side, Inteleon flipped around to snap his tail at Dracovish, but getting the appendage close to that mouth was a miscalculation as Dracovish sunk their fangs into Inteleon’s tail and began to swing them around by it.
“Inteleon!” he called out. Gritting his teeth, he turned his attention back to Cinderace. “Use Quick Attack to push off against Sirfetch’d and spring towards Inteleon!”
Cinderace built up the energy for the preemptive strike, going for the charge, but Ash just grinned wildly. “Sirfetch’d, use Detect!”
As Cinderace leapt towards the Fighting-type, Sirfetch’d leaned backwards, and the tall Striker Pokémon went sailing over his head, foiling not just the attack but Goh’s attempt at repositioning. Sirfetch’d used the opportunity to leap towards his leek and rearm himself.
Goh grit his teeth at being on the backfoot. Usually he kept up with Ash in their training battles, and so he was looking for his opportunity to make a play for his advantage.
Ash raised his hand and gestured forward. “Alright, let’s-”
Before the command could be finished, Ash’s stomach growled audibly through the clearing and he let his arm drop.
“...Let’s take a break for lunch.”
At the mention of lunch, Dracovish immediately dropped Inteleon and turned back towards Ash. Goh exhaled, unaware that he had been holding his breath at that moment. ‘ Can’t let him see that I’m thankful that the battle was called early,’ he thought to himself. Running his hand through his hair, he tried to play it cool. “That was pretty intense, Ash. You’ve really been kicking your training into overdrive!”
Ash was already back near Pikachu and Grookey as Goh and the rest of the Pokémon made their way over. Ash was pawing through the picnic basket that Chloe and Professor Burnet had prepared for them that morning, handing a sandwich to his partner Pokémon before reaching in for a can of Pokémon food.
“Yeah,” Goh’s friend finally responded. “Lately, we’ve had tons of energy for training! And we’re only gonna keep gettin’ stronger, right guys?”
“ Pika!”
“Sirfetch’d! ”
“Draco-ha! ”
“ Grooki!”
“You don’t have to respond as well, Grookey,” Goh chuckled before turning back to Ash. “But seriously, you guys have been on a hot streak for a while now, haven’t you? Is there a secret to it? Have you been sneaking in training on the side or something?”
Ash bit into his croquet sandwich and chewed it for a moment, thinking to himself. “Well… honestly, I think this newest stretch has been thanks to Chloe,” he said.
Goh’s eyes widened at the opportunity being placed right before him. “Oh?” he said, trying not to sound too surprised. “And why’s that, do you think?”
Ash chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, she’s been helping me out a lot, you know? Like, a while ago, we just started talking and I always felt a lot better after talking to her. She’s a good listener and sometimes I just got stuff I need to get off my chest.”
Goh stifled the fact that he could have been talking to him this entire time and pushed past it. “Yeah, I kinda thought something like that was happening,” he said. “You and Chloe have been spending a lot of time together lately.”
Ash shrugged. “I mean, not lately ,” he protested, taking another bite of his sandwich. “She came to me for help with Eevee one day and we just started talking after that. She helped me out when I was mad about those guys almost arresting Pikachu and we talked about school and Alola and all kinds of stuff.”
He might have been a skilled battler, but Ash wasn’t good at hiding a deflection. Goh shrugged. “Yeah, I remember that time. I actually ended up catching you two hanging out once, but I didn’t want to intrude, so I stayed back.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie, he thought as he remembered seeing Ash practically serenading Chloe in the lab that night, months ago. The heartache at seeing his two friends spending time without him was still sensitive, but he shook himself out of it.
Ash blinked in surprise, his face flushing. “Y-You did?!” he asked, shocked that his talks with Chloe had been uncovered that early.
Goh nodded. “Yeah. To be honest, it kinda hurt that you two were meeting behind my back. I was worried that if you guys were going to spend time together without me, maybe I’d lose two of my best friends.”
Ash swallowed that bite of sandwich especially hard. “Oh… S-Sorry, Goh.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Goh said, waving off his concern. “I already talked with Chloe about it. I’m confident in my place with you guys now. Our friendship’s stronger than ever, right?”
Goh offered a fist to Ash, which Ash met with a grin. “Right! Of course! You’re practically my best friend, aren’t you?”
“ Pi-ka. ”
He chuckled. “Okay, best human friend, then.”
“Right,” Goh acknowledged.
After bringing his fist back, Ash looked at his hand and frowned. “I don’t want you guys to feel like you don’t know where you stand with me, you know? You’ve both got a place with me as my friends.”
Goh raised an eyebrow. “Both?”
The Palletonian chuckled. “Yeah, Chloe was sayin’ something like that a while ago, too. You know she doesn’t really know her place in the world, right? We talked about that.”
‘ This is a golden opportunity, ’ Goh thought. “So you helped assure Chloe that she belongs, right?”
“Of course!” Ash answered cheerfully.
Goh smirked. “And where’s that?”
“I dunno!” he replied just as cheerfully. “Maybe she’ll find something in Alola that’ll help her find it, though!”
Goh sighed. ‘ Okay, new angle,’ he thought. “You’ve been thinking about Chloe’s place in the world, then?” he asked.
“I mean, yeah!” Ash said blithely. “I’ve been thinkin’ about her a bunch lately, since we’ve started hanging out more!”
‘ Alright, he’s taken the bait. Time to catch me a Ketchum.’
Goh sat up. “And what have you been thinking about her, exactly?”
Ash froze, and his eyes began darting around. There was a touch of guilt on his face, like he had admitted something he wasn’t supposed to, or got caught trying to snatch a cookie before dinner. “I uh…”
He took off his hat and scratched his head. Goh could see that Ash was struggling to describe what he had been thinking. He knew that he had led Ash all the way to the gap in his understanding.
“I… I dunno.”
Now he just had to help him across it.
Goh smiled. “Well, if you’re not exactly sure, we can just talk about the reasons you’ve been thinking about her. Maybe I can help you piece everything together. I am great at gathering data and analyzing it, after all.”
Ash crossed his arms, frowning over the puzzle Goh knew he had in his mind. “Well… there’s a bunch of things,” he said as he struggled. “It’s like… all of them separately but all of them at once, you know?”
“Let’s just start then,” Goh said. “Just start with any topic you’d like.”
Ash took a bite from the sandwich and thought for only a moment before looking back at it. “This sandwich,” he said. “Chloe helped Professor Burnet make it, right?”
Goh nodded, letting Ash continue.
“Well, I’ve had Professor Burnet’s croquet sandwich before, right? But when Chloe made it, it tasted even better than usual!”
“So you’re saying that her food tastes better than food from other people?” Goh asked.
Ash nodded. “It’s weird, right? I’ve been tryin’ to figure out why that is, but I keep thinking about other stuff, too.”
“Such as?”
Ash averted his eyes. “Well… she doesn’t like to talk about her hair, you know?”
The image of Chloe with her long, fluffy hair down appeared in Goh’s mind’s eye. “Yeah?”
“Well, that’s so weird!” Ash said. “With her hair braided, she looks like she’d be kinda uptight or not friendly. But her hair? Goh, her hair is so soft and fluffy! It’s like how she really is on the inside! Kind hearted and friendly! And I just keep thinkin’ about how she looks different when it’s in the braid, but how it’s not like her!”
Goh finally got a chance to take a bite from a sandwich, himself. “It sounds like you’ve been thinking about her a lot.”
“Like every day!” Ash said, falling back into the grass, having finally finished his sandwich. “I can’t get her out of my mind, sometimes. Like, I’ll just be sitting there rememberin’ something.”
“Like what?”
“Like, just the other day, when we stayed behind to take care of Lei?” he explained. “She took such good care of Lei. She was so kind and gentle with him, and I was kinda… y’know, struck by it. Like I got hit in the head with a Rock Throw.”
Goh frowned, not really ready to dig into those implications quite yet. “Is there anything else?”
“Yeah! I think about the Z-Move she did all the time!”
“The Z-Move she did while you guys were on spring break?”
“That’s the one!” Ash shouted. “She was so… bright…! And…” Ash frowned, crossing his arms as he laid in the grass. “I… I dunno how to describe it. Sparkly? Like she drew my attention, but kept drawing it even more!”
“She really dazzled you with that, didn’t she?” Goh asked.
Ash sat up. “That’s it! I was dazzled! It was dazzling! It was so cool! ”
Goh looked at Pikachu, who was sitting with Grookey and the other Pokémon. The mouse gave Goh a shrug and a sympathetic look, as if to say ‘I’m not sure how to help him any further’.
“I just…” Ash grunted in frustration, punching at the air with his fists. “I just don’t know what to say a lot of the time, you know? She’s so smart, Goh. I don’t want her to think I’m stupid because I don’t get it all the time.”
“You want her to think you’re smart?”
“Not just smart! Cool, too!”
Goh crossed his arms. Of course, he knew the answer to Ash’s struggle, the name for the feelings he was wrestling with, but he was lacking the angle he’d use to teach Ash what that feeling truly meant.
He reached into the picnic basket for another sandwich, hoping the food would give him more inspiration when it dawned on him.
“Professor Burnet…!” Goh exclaimed, the eureka moment flashing through his mind.
Ash looked at Goh like he had just had a completely random outburst. “You okay?”
He nodded. “Ash, I think I know the answer to your dilemma.”
His friend’s eyes widened. “You do?”
“Think about, for a moment, how Professor Kukui acts around Professor Burnet.”
Ash frowned, not seeing the connection. “Why?”
“Just trust me,” Goh said, smiling. “This is the result of my thorough data analysis.”
Ash shrugged and thought about it. There were a few moments of quiet as Ash struggled before Goh realized that he’d need a bit more prompting.
“Okay, like, how does Professor Kukui act when Professor Burnet makes something for dinner?”
This time, Ash’s face told Goh that he was remembering a precise moment when it did happen. “He said that it tasted better than anything he’d had before,” Ash said. “I mean, it was really delicious…”
“...but isn’t that what you just said about Chloe’s cooking?”
Ash looked at Goh and furrowed his brow. “Like… I think Chloe’s cooking is really awesome?”
“Yeah!” Goh said. “And other things. Like how he acts around her! Did you catch him holding onto her hand?”
Ash nodded slowly. “I… yeah…”
“Like how you like to hold Chloe’s hand, right?”
A look of awe began dawning on Ash’s face. “You mean…”
“I’m sure you’ve got it figured out,” Goh said, smiling.
Ash looked at his hands, his eyes gone wide. “I… just like when Professor Kukui would play the ukulele for Professor Burnet…”
“...and like you played for Chloe, right?”
Ash nodded. “So… so you’re saying that the reason I feel all mixed up about Chloe is because… I feel the same way about her that Professor Kukui feels about Professor Burnet?”
Ash’s eyes were wide and practically sparkling with joy. Goh couldn’t help but feel his heart swell with pride that his dense friend had finally put the puzzle pieces in his mind together.
“Right.”
Ash looked down, clenching his hands into fists. “I… I guess I do love her, huh?” He laughed at himself for a moment. “I uh… but… Goh, if I love her… then does that mean we’ve gotta get married?”
Goh almost coughed up the sandwich he was chewing on. “Uh, well…! Maybe take it a bit more slowly than that…!”
“But what if I say something like that and scare Chloe away?” Ash said, standing up. “Goh, you’re smart! You’ve gotta help me figure out how to talk to her about this stuff.”
Goh shrugged but shook his head. “Sorry, Ash. No can do.”
“What?!” Ash exclaimed. “Why not?!”
He pointed to his head before pointing to Ash. “Because I’m brains,” he said. “And you’re brawn. But Chloe? Chloe is heart . And if you tell her how you really feel about her, she’ll help you with yours the rest of the way.”
Ash relaxed and a smile grew on his face. “You’re right. Thanks, Goh. I couldn’t ask for a better best human friend!”
Goh chuckled. “Well, neither could I,” he said, barely able to stop himself from laughing.
The two boys went for another fist bump, but before they could finish it, Ash’s Rotom Phone began to speak.
“You have a call from Mallow. You have a call from Mallow.”
Ash took the phone from his pocket and answered it. “Hello?”
Goh couldn’t hear what was said on the other line, but given Ash’s shock and the words that he said, he could only draw one conclusion.
“She’s here?!”
As the plane they were on flew through the warmer air closer to her home region, Lillie was finally able to put her jacket away.
Sitting next to her on the flight was her brother Gladeon. Across the aisle was their father, Mohn. Just looking past Gladion, she saw that her father looked more than a little nervous. ‘ I don’t have it in me to blame him’ , she thought. ‘ It’s only the second time he can remember that he’s been flying.’
While his memory still hadn’t returned, Mohn still accepted Lillie and Gladion as his children, as well as Lusamine as his wife. ‘ I’m sure that if we can spend some time with him at home, he’ll start remembering more and more!’
There was a part of her that feared it would bring back the intense migraine that her father had felt when he began remembering before, but she had to hope that this trial would pass from them without any further incident.
The part of her stomach that felt when the plane was landing told her that they were descending and it was only a moment afterwards that she felt the plane’s wheels hit the runway before slowing to a stop. Looking out the window, she could see the Alola Region once more. The sight of it filled her heart with joy.
“We’re home, brother,” she said. “Father, look out the window!”
Lusamine, who had been seated next to Mohn, opened the window on their side of the plane,and Mohn looked out at the bright light outside. She couldn’t see her father’s expression, but the look of joy on her mother’s face told her that it was only a good thing.
The seatbelt light turned off and Lillie gathered her things before heading off the plane. Standing at the foot of the stairs from the plane was an older gentleman with a maroon suit, a prickly pushbroom mustache. He wore a monocle on his smiling face.
“Welcome home, Miss Lillie!”
Lillie took off her wide brimmed hat and smiled as the Alolan sunshine soaked into her entire body.
“It’s great to be home, Hobbes!”
Behind her, Gladion coughed. “Can we enjoy the sunshine too?”
Embarrassed, Lille hurried down the stairs, letting her family members also disembark from the Aether Foundation’s private jet. She quickly took out her phone and shot out a text to Mallow, saying that they had just landed back in Hau’oli Airport.
She looked to see her mother helping her father down the stairs when her phone vibrated. The message came much more quickly than Lillie expected, but in the back of her mind, she expected this somewhat.
Opening her mental library, she could easily recall the various occasions that she and the rest of her friends - Lana, Sophocles, Kiawe, Mallow, and Ash - threw a party for a fortuitous arrival or for a sad separation. She wasn’t sure her friends would throw a party for her immediately upon her return, but she couldn’t say she didn’t expect it.
And the words on her phone only confirmed her thoughts.
‘Please come to the Pokémon School as soon as possible! Bring your family with you!’
Chapter 23: On Parties
Chapter Text
Chloe had never been to the Pokémon School before, so upon seeing it’s green exterior, her mind immediately went back to Professor Kukui’s house. ‘ The only other possibility’ she granted, ‘ is that Alola has a lot of green trees.’
The building itself looked to house multiple classrooms on multiple floors, with a great silver bell in the highest part of the building. The destination that she, Lana, and Mallow, were making for was a classroom on the bottom floor. There was a wide open wall to the classroom, letting in the orange sunset and fresh evening breeze of Alola. ‘ I guess it just goes to show how closely tied to nature Alola is…’
The rest of the classroom had chairs and tables set up for the party, but Chloe did catch the desks for the classroom all carefully maneuvered into one corner. On the walls and hanging from the ceiling were off-white plastic stars that Chloe was pretty sure would glow in the dark once the sun set fully. There was also a speaker system set up where someone could plug their phone in and play music on the inside wall of the classroom.
It seemed like they were going with some sort of starry night theme for this surprise party.
At one of the tables, setting up the food on offer was Mallow, the incredibly talented chef among the Alolans that Ash was close friends with. She was doing some last minute touches to the assortments of fruits, vegetables, and cheeses on the table. She carefully adjusted a tray of fruits, doing her best not to get any food on her dress.
The fact that they had dressed up in such short notice still shocked Chloe, who still wasn’t fully clued into what Mallow and Lana were planning for the evening.
Mallow was wearing a fairly simple dress with a forest green top and a brighter, paler green skirt with a floral pattern. Her hair was still in its usual style, with the flower hairband that matched the pattern on her skirt. On her wrist, she wore her Z-Ring as an accessory. She took a few steps away from the table and nodded. “Great! That’s just perfect!”
Lana was wearing a simpler dress, all a navy blue with a bright bubble pattern running all the way from the top to the bottom. She still wore her sandals and Chloe was pretty sure that she was still wearing her swimsuit beneath it as well. Like Mallow, she, too, wore her Z-Ring, looking like a piece of jewelry. She was over at the huge food bowl, pouring in a little bit more Pokémon food as Tsareena, Primarina, Sandy, and Eevee all watched closely. Chloe could see her Pokémon’s mouth watering from where she stood.
Chloe herself was also dressed up. When Mallow and Lana had spirited her away in the early part of the day, she wasn’t sure where they were going, but when they brought her to a dress shop in Hau'oli, she had a sinking suspicion that this was how things would end up.
The dress she chose was blue at the top with a white sash around the middle and with a purple skirt that was pink right towards the end. When she saw it her mind went immediately back to the flower field outside of Pallet Town that Ash showed her and if they were going to make her wear this, it might as well be something that looked beautiful, right?
Still, she stood there, not really doing anything to help prepare, only taking in the preparations that everyone else did. ‘ Isn’t this supposed to be Lillie’s party? Not mine?’ she thought.
Mallow caught her frowning and walked over. “C’mon, Chloe, cheer up! You catch way more Pokémon with Sweet Honey than you do vinegar!”
Chloe’s frown deepened. “I’m not trying to catch a Pokémon,” she retorted.
“Ash is practically a Pokémon himself,” Lana interjected. “It’s a really good plan.”
“ Eievui!” Eevee chirped in agreement.
Chloe’s face just turned more and more sour. “Et tu, Eevee?”
“Just relax,” Mallow said. “I know you’re worried that this won’t be enough of a party for Lillie, but it’s not like we’re going to put the spotlight on you or anything,” she said. “Trust us, Lillie is our dear friend, too. We wouldn’t short-change her just because we’re totally curious about this romance.”
“Mallow’s right,” Lana said, patting Chloe on the shoulder. “Just relax and have fun tonight! Whatever happens, happens! Besides, I bet Ash’ll take one look at you and his jaw’ll drop!”
“Y-You really think so…?”
“Absolutely!” Lana said, taking her hand off of Chloe’s shoulder and shoving her forward. “Now go get ‘im!”
Chloe stumbled forward from the shove and closed her eyes as she was pushed. Before she could fall over, two strong hands grabbed onto her arms.
“Chloe! You okay? You look like you tripped.”
Chloe looked up and saw Ash’s brown eyes looking back at her. He was still wearing his orange hat, but the concerned look on his face made her heart skip.
Then she saw Pikachu perched on Ash’s shoulder and realized he wasn’t wearing his regular clothes.
Standing back up straight and taking a few steps backwards, Chloe smiled. “Thanks, Ash… but what’s with that getup?”
Ash was dressed in a black suit and pants, with a blue tie that he was already pulling at uncomfortably. On his wrist, he wore his black Z-Ring, with the yellow Z Crystal that was shaped like Pikachu’s tail. He frowned. “For some reason when we got here, Mallow said that we had to dress up, so I just changed clothes with what they had.”
Goh stepped around him, dressed just like Ash, only with a red necktie. “We all did,” he said with a shrug.
Sophocles stepped out from behind Goh, dressed likewise but with an orange necktie, but Kiawe stood dressed as he normally was. “I refused,” he said.
Chloe turned back towards Ash, sizing him up in his somewhat tidier appearance. His hair was still poking out in different places from his hat, but the rest of his clothes were very neat and he of course had his winning smile. “You… you look really great, Ash,” she stammered out, trying her best to compliment him. She looked away from him and she was sure that the blush on her face was obvious.
Ash looked back at her, his eyes taking in the colors. He frowned a bit, which Chloe recognized immediately as his ‘thinking face’. Once he clearly made the connection, his eyes widened and a smile grew on his face. “...your dress is like the flowers outside of Pallet Town…” he said, somewhat in awe.
Still blushing and not making eye contact, Chloe nodded. “Y-Yeah…” she said. “I uh… I picked it out because it reminded me of them. Do you like it?”
She looked up at him out of the corner of her eye and saw something she was unfamiliar with. Ash had taken a step back, and put his hand behind his head, chuckling bashfully. He seemed to be blushing as well, a faint red coloring his cheeks.
That just made Chloe’s face burn even hotter.
“ Pikapi… ” Pikachu said with a sigh before shrugging. He looked at Chloe with a look on her face that communicated to her ‘Well, what can you do?’, to which Chloe responded with a giggle of her own.
“You’ve got that right, Pikachu,” she giggled.
“No need to worry!” smiled the Rotomdex as they floated behind Ash. “I’ll be sure to take plenty of pictures so that we can all remember this night forever!”
Chloe couldn’t look at Ash after hearing something like that, so she looked at her feet instead. From her peripheral vision, she could see that Ash was shyly looking towards the ceiling.
‘ I hope something comes that can break up this awkwardness,’ she thought.
“Big brother…!” came a young girl’s voice from behind them, causing the students to turn around. Entering the classroom was a girl that looked almost exactly like Kiawe, only several years younger and wearing a dress.
“Mimo…?” Kiawe asked, watching her come in, followed by two grown-ups. “Mom? Dad?”
‘ I guess this is Kiawe’s family, then,’ she thought. The little girl he called Mimo wore a pink dress with a red skirt, and she stamped right up to Kiawe. “You need to dress up if everyone’s going to dress up, big brother!” she said, pouting cutely.
Kiawe’s stern expression faded instantly. “Anything you want, sis!” he chuckled before turning to his friends. “I’ll be right back!”
Mallow stepped up next to Chloe as Kiawe left. “So that’s Kiawe’s family. And entering now is Lana’s family!”
The grown ups found a place at the edge of the room while Ash and Pikachu began talking to Mimo in Kiawe’s absence. Entering now were a woman and two smaller girls whom, if Chloe didn’t know better, looked like exact clones of Lana, only differentiated by their apparent ages. All three of them were dressed in outfits that looked a lot like Lana’s.
“Lana!” the young twins called in unison. “We came! We came! Is Lillie here yet?!”
“Not quite,” Lana chuckled. “And if you misbehave, she won’t get here at all! So stay on your best behavior, okay? No matter what you see tonight, no outbursts.”
“No outbursts?” one of the girls asked.
“Or Lillie won’t be able to get here?”
Lana nodded. “So be good! Okay?”
“Ooookaaay…” the twins groaned before beginning to walk toward Mimo and striking up a chat with her.
Lana turned to Chloe. “Those two are Harper and Sarah. You… probably wanna be ready for them, later.”
Chloe raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“You’ll see.”
Entering the room after that were a man and woman who closely resembled Sophocles, with the man dressed in a tuxedo, and the woman in a plain-looking sundress and a light jacket.
“Hey, Mom and Dad!” Sophocles said, waving to them with a wide grin on his face.
They waved back with his father shooting him a thumbs up as well. “Lookin’ good, Sophocles!”
Sophocles chuckled, his face flushed in embarrassment. “Yeah, well…”
At this time, Kiawe returned. He still wasn’t wearing a shirt, but he had put on the jacket, pants, and shoes, Chloe noticed. He still wore his Z-Ring on his wrist. “Mimo! I’m back!” he said, approaching his little sister.
Chloe took several steps back from the group until she ended up closer to the Pokémon than any person, looking around, she found Goh nearby, letting out Cinderace and Inteleon to enjoy the food, as well as letting Grookey slip off his head.
“...do we really belong here for this big party?” she asked him.
Goh shrugged. “Well, maybe not,” he admitted, “but we’re here as Ash’s guests, right? I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Chloe! Goh!” Ash said, charging back up towards them. “You guys! C’mon, this is a party for everyone, right?” His hand quickly found Chloe’s and linked fingers with her. “You two can’t be wallflowers like this!”
“W-Wait!” Chloe protested, her face heating up. “What about letting out everyone else’s Pokémon?” she asked.
Ash stopped and nodded, letting go of her hand. He reached into his pants pockets and pulled out five Poké Balls. “C’mon out, everyone!” he shouted, letting out Dragonite, Gengar, Lucario, Sirfetch'd and Dracovish to join the party with everyone else’s Pokémon. This caught Sophocles and Kiawe’s attention by doing so and they sent out Togedemaru, Vikavolt, Turtonator, and Marowak to join in as well.
Chloe looked around. “It sure is a lively party,” she noted, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead. “Lots and lots of people I barely know are here…”
“You’re telling me?!” Goh nervously responded. “I definitely don’t do so well in big crowds like this…”
Ash approached them from behind and threw his arms around both of them. “C’mon, guys! Don’t be shy!”
“A-Ash!” they both shouted simultaneously as Ash pulled them towards the group.
As he did, the Professors Kukui and Burnet arrived, both putting fingers over their lips. Burnet held Lei in her free hand.
Kukui spoke first. “Alright, we’re going to need everyone to quiet down. Lillie and her family are on their way in right now! When they come in, we need to give them our biggest ‘Alola Surprise’, got it? It needs to be a real Uproar.”
“Got it, Professor!” Ash said, pumping his fist as everyone else quieted down, even the Pokémon.
All eyes turned toward the door and awaited the entrance and return of Lillie and her family.
Chloe swallowed her nervousness, but the heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach was hard to combat. She stood right next to Ash and looking at him both soothed those worries as well as made her stomach twist up all the more. The words she shared with Goh the night before came back to her mind, but she couldn’t shake the idea that perhaps Goh had been wrong, all along.
Her concentration was broken at the sound of footsteps, and with her eyes turned towards the door, her anticipation at an all-time high. It was at that moment she saw her enter the classroom.
The girl wore a wide-brimmed hat and a white sleeveless dress with a sky-blue hem and collar. It was ornate without being overly decorated. On her wrist, she wore a white Z-Ring with a red leather strap. She had very long platinum-blonde hair with two braids hanging down, framing her face. Her eyes were green like Chloe’s, but they were closer to the color of the sea rather than Chloe’s emerald green eyes. The girl’s eyes went wide, and her hands covered her mouth.
“Oh, my…!”
From behind her came a boy who looked to be a few years older than the girl, with the same platinum blonde hair and sea-green eyes. His hair was much shorter, with a long jagged bang covering one of his eyes. He wore two earrings on the ear Chloe could see, a red Z-Ring, and a black vest with a red tie and black pants. His visible eye went wide as well.
Behind the two of them came a tall woman with hair and eyes the same shades as before. She looked incredibly thin, with a gentle smile on her face. Like the boy, only one of her eyes could be seen, but Chloe could tell it was already tearing up. Her long hair swooped around her, almost like a cloak to keep her sheltered from the world. She wore a white and gold pantsuit and high heel shoes.
Finally, next to the woman, came a man with a squarish jaw and his even paler blonde hair somewhat messily sticking up off his head. His eyes were a deeper green than the others, closer to Chloe’s in tone. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt and a green tie with his pants held up by suspenders. Chloe saw that in his eyes, rather than recognition, there was confusion and wonder. It was almost as though he had never set his eyes on anything in the classroom before.
The family stood in the room for only one moment of silence before the shout came.
“ALOLA SURPRISE!”
The shout came from everyone in the room, besides the new arrivals and Chloe, who was trying to analyze the family that came in.
“Welcome home, everyone!” came the following shout as Ash and the rest of the Pokémon School’s class approached her. Chloe and Goh looked at each other and shrugged before walking towards her as well.
Ash, Mallow, Lana, Kiawe, and Sophocles all came close to the girl, and Chloe saw the wide smile of familiarity on the girl’s face. She tried her hardest not to read into the faint pink coloring the girl’s pale cheeks. Ash paused his own indistinct chattering to turn to Chloe and grab her hand, pulling her over. Goh, seeing this, followed suit.
Ash shot a wide smile at the blonde girl as he still held Chloe’s hand. “Lillie, these are friends of mine from the Kanto Region. Their names are Chloe and Goh!”
Goh was the first to respond, putting his hand on his chest and giving her his best, most winning smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Lillie. We’ve heard a lot about you from Ash and everyone.”
Lillie gave him a polite smile back. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Goh,” she said before turning her attention back to Ash. “I honestly suspected there’d be a surprise party waiting for me when I got back, but I didn’t expect you to be here, much less for you to bring friends!”
Ash chuckled, rubbing the back of his head while grinning with his toothy smile. “Yeah, well, Professor Kukui let us know that you were coming back almost a week ago now! He’s the one who told us, and we’ve been hanging out here planning this party for you!”
Sophocles chuckled. “Yeah, well it was mostly Mallow that did all the difficult planning,” he said shrugging.
As he did, Lillie looked over the crowd. “I am thankful for this, absolutely,” she said with a somewhat perturbed look on her face. “Only… can someone tell me why you’re all so dressed up?”
Chloe felt the air grow thick with embarrassment around her. It was Lana who stepped forward with a suitable lie. “Well, we wanted it to be a really fancy welcome home party for Mr. Mohn,” she said, a smirk on her face.
‘ There’s no way she buys that flimsy excuse…’ Chloe thought.
Sophocles stepped up as well. “Y-Yeah! You know, it’s a big deal! He’s basically the president of the Aether Foundation, right?! We wanted it to be a party suitable for him!”
Chloe saw a dim flash of sadness pass through Lillie’s eyes. “I see…” she said, forcing a smile onto her face.
She instantly felt like Lillie was hiding something from them. Chloe said nothing, but continued to watch.
Ash didn’t seem to catch onto his friend’s hidden feelings. “Yeah! This should be a huge celebration! Your Dad’s back! That’s awesome, right? We went all out for it!” he cheered.
Lillie giggled at Ash’s enthusiasm and nodded. “Y-Yes, you’re right, Ash. Thank you all so much for throwing this party for him!”
“Not just for him,” Mallow said. “But for you, too! We’re happy to have you back in Alola with us!”
Kiawe nodded. “They’re right. Now it’s really like the old gang’s back together.”
Chloe noticed, looking at all the adults in the classroom, that while their group was chatting happily, the atmosphere around the other group in the room was much more somber.
‘ Something’s up,’ Chloe thought, frowning. ‘ This was supposed to be a big triumph, right? Why’s everyone acting like they lost, instead…?’
“Oh! Speaking of, I should let Snowy out!” Lillie said, taking a Poké Ball out from her bag. She opened it in her hands and in a flash of light, a white Vulpix appeared at her feet.
“So that’s the Alolan Vulpix?” Chloe asked out loud. “I’ve only ever seen the Kantonian one.”
As she fished her phone out from a pocket in her dress, Goh commented. “It looks a lot like the Ninetails I saw.”
Chloe took out her phone and pointed it at Snowy. The screen transitioned to a picture of the white Vulpix. “Vulpix,” her phone’s Rotom said. “Alolan Form. An Ice-type. After long years in the ever-snow capped mountains of Alola, this Vulpix has gained power over ice. If you observe its curly hairs through a microscope, you’ll see small ice particles springing up.”
Snowy approached the group’s Pokémon and cheerfully yipped, happy to see Pikachu and the rest of the Alolan Pokémon again. Cinderace also waved cheerfully at her, and Inteleon stood cooly by and nodded.
Chloe’s Eevee rushed over to Snowy and began excitedly hopping around, hoping to play. Snowy did oblige her, hopping around with Eevee. Ash’s Pikachu, tailed by Togedemaru, also approached Snowy, and the four Pokémon began cheerfully chattering as they approached the food together.
Three bright flashes of light shot out and next to the large plate of food appeared an Umbreon and two Pokémon Chloe didn’t recognize. She pointed her phone at the first one and the red and white lupine appeared on the screen. “Lycanroc Midnight Form, the Wolf Pokémon. A Rock-type. This form of Lycanroc is reckless. It charges headlong at its opponents, attacking without any care about what injuries it might receive. It’s invigorated by powerful opponents - the stronger the better.”
The other Pokémon was strange, having mostly a dark-colored body with a long silver mane, and what almost looked like a blade on its head. When Chloe pointed her phone at it, a question mark appeared.
“No data.”
She raised an eyebrow. “No data? What do you mean?” she asked.
“This Pokémon isn’t registered in my database.”
Goh gasped. “That must be one rare Pokémon.”
“Heheheh…” came the chuckling from behind her as the Rotomdex floated before them. “That’s my cue. Allow me to tell you all about it!” In a flash, Rotom’s mouth disappeared and the screen was now displaying a picture of the Pokémon before them. “Silvally, the Synthetic Pokémon. Having been awakened successfully, it can change its type in battle - just like a certain Pokémon depicted in legends. This is it’s Normal-type appearance. Although it’s name was Type: Null at first, the boy who evolved it into this form gave it the name by which it is now known.”
“Type: Null…?” Chloe asked.
“That can’t be an ordinary Pokémon,” Goh said.
“It’s not. It’s my partner.”
Goh and Chloe both turned to the young man that came in with Lillie who bore a somewhat friendly smile on his face.
“Gladion!” Ash said, grinning widely. “Nice t’ see ya again!”
The young man chuckled. “Nice to see you, too, Champion. How’re things going?”
“It’s been awesome!” Ash said. “We’ve been waitin’ for you guys to come home so we can celebrate. I’ve got a ton to talk to you about, too!” The more he spoke, the more excited he became. “Oh! And maybe we can have a battle, too! It’s been way too long!”
Gladion couldn’t keep from laughing. “You seem like you’re the same as always.”
“So you’re saying that he’s always been this excitable,” Chloe added slyly, smirking.
“Ever since I’ve met him,” Gladion responded. “And you are…?”
She smiled. “My name’s Chloe. I’m a friend of Ash’s from Vermilion City. And this here is my friend and Ash’s fellow researcher, Goh.”
Goh offered Gladion a handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, Gladion.” The handshake was quickly reciprocated.
“It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Congratulations on finding your father,” Goh said. “I’m sure there must be some story behind that.”
Gladion’s smile dimmed, and the same sadness that Lillie had in her eyes entered his. “It is some story,” he said.
“Okay, what’s up?” Chloe asked, finally getting irritated enough to broach the subject. “I mean, you guys found your Dad right? Shouldn’t this be a celebration? It feels like you and Lillie are… actually pretty sad about what happened.”
Gladion’s one visible eye darted over to her. “You’re very perceptive,” he said.
Goh and Ash both furrowed their brows. “Wait…” Ash said. “... guys, is something wrong?”
Gladion looked at Lillie. His sister nodded in response. “It’d be easier to explain together, so I’ll introduce you to him now, if you’d like.”
Ash’s warm brown eyes were searching for something in Gladion’s expression, but Chloe wasn’t sure if he found what he was looking for or not.
As Gladion turned to lead them towards Mohn, Chloe felt a hand grab her roughly by the wrist. Looking over, she saw Mallow, smiling at her, though there was nervousness mixed into her expression as well.
Glancing around, she saw that Lana had grabbed Lillie in a similar way.
“Us girls need to have a moment to talk,” Mallow said. “We’ll be right over, though!”
Lillie shrugged at the question Gladion asked with his eyes. “Fair enough,” he said before gesturing to Goh, Ash, Kiawe, and Sophocles. “Let’s go.”
Mallow and Lana pulled Chloe and Lillie back, away from the other guests. Now sequestered from the rest of the party, Chloe once again found her nervousness, close to the girl she had feared since the moment she learned about the doll in Pallet Town.
“So what did you want to talk about?” asked Lillie, looking at her Alolan friends.
Mallow and Lana looked to each other, then at Chloe, before turning their attention back to Lillie. “There’s something else super important going to happen at this party,” Mallow explained. Lana nodded in agreement.
Chloe felt her face go pale. “N-No there isn’t,” she tried to say.
Sea-green eyes darted between them. “What are you all talking about?”
Lana leaned in. “Didn’t you notice how Ash acted around Chloe?”
“I did see him grab her by the hand,” Lillie noted. “But given how much is all happening at once, I suppose I didn’t think about it very much.”
Chloe felt her face heat up.
“You see,” Mallow started. Her eyes darted to Chloe before going to Ash across the room and back again. She leaned in close to Lillie and whispered just loudly enough that Chloe and Lana could hear. “Chloe and Ash definitely have a crush on each other.”
The nervousness in Chloe’s stomach threatened to make her lose her lunch, but she stood stone still, her eyes focused on Lillie’s reaction.
‘ Did they draw me over here just so that our fighting wouldn’t make a scene?’
Lillie gasped, her mouth hanging open. She looked back at Ash and paused. Then at Chloe, pausing once again. Then her gaze shot back and forth several times in surprise. “You… you mean, really?”
“Really really. We’ve been watching the two of them pretty closely,” Lana explained. “She even fed him! We saw them hanging out at Professor Kukui’s house taking care of baby Lei together!”
Chloe’s eyes began darting around as she began looking for the exits. ‘ I could probably run if I needed to.’
“That’s… that’s so…”
Chloe took a step backwards as Lillie spoke.
“That’s so cute!”
Lillie put her hands to her cheeks, shaking her head to and fro.
“C-Cute…?” Chloe asked, her nervousness quickly being converted into embarrassment.
Lillie nodded. “It’s really cute! You and Ash, I mean! And you two are going to confess your love here tonight?”
“Y-You jumped way too many steps ahead,” Chloe said, waving her hands nervously. “I-I haven’t told Ash anything yet!”
Lillie clenched her fists. “You should, though! I never thought such a romantic story would play out when I came back! It’s just like a TV Show!”
Her enthusiasm made Chloe relax, somewhat, but she still couldn’t let her guard down. “So… I mean, sorry if this is presumptuous, but you don’t have feelings like that for Ash, either?”
Lillie shook her head. “Not at all. Ash reminds me a lot of my brother Gladion, so I guess he’s kind of like a brother to me, too.”
Chloe finally allowed herself to relax. “Okay… that’s good news,” she said.”I didn’t want to get involved in a big fight over a guy of all things…”
“Now that’s something you’d only see on TV,” Lillie giggled, causing the other three girls to join in as well.
“So, this is decorated to give a romantic atmosphere…” Chloe said, looking around, finally allowing herself to connect the dots.
Mallow nodded. “Exactly! I’m sure that if you can talk to Ash about it, this story will have an amazing ending!”
Chloe frowned. “I… I guess so. You all and Goh are all rooting for me…” She slapped her cheeks to try and psyche herself up. “I can’t just let it go, then. I’ve gotta do what I can.”
The three Alolans giggled excitedly.
“Before you do that, though,” Lillie spoke up, “would you like to meet my mother and father, Chloe?”
Chloe smiled back at her. “I’d love to.”
“Me, too!” Lana said. “Let’s go!”
The flash of sadness that went through Lillie’s eyes earlier returned. “Okay. Only… well, I’m sure Mother can explain it better.”
Seeing that the boys had all departed Lillie’s parent’s side, Chloe and the rest of the girls went over to the man and woman, who were making chitchat with a very serious looking Professor Kukui.
“Mother?” Lillie interrupted. “This is another of Ash’s friends from the Kanto Region, Chloe.”
Lillie’s mother offered Chloe a handshake. “It’s very nice to meet you, Chloe,” she said with a smile. “I’m Lillie’s mother, but you can call me Lusamine.”
Chloe did her best attempt at a curtsy for the woman. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Lusamine.”
Lusamine’s hands went to her cheeks. “Aww! She’s so cute! Such a well behaved little baby, just like my little Lillie!”
Lillie pouted. “I’m not a baby, Mother, and Chloe isn’t either…”
“Children grow up so fast…” Lusamine pouted herself. She then turned to Chloe. “So, you live in Vermilion City?” she asked.
Chloe nodded. “Yeah? How did you know that?”
“Ash said so,” she said, pointing to the boy playing with the Pokémon with the rest of the boys. “He seemed insistent that he mention you. I think he might have his eye on you.” Lusamine gave Chloe a wink.
Chloe shuddered. “R-Right…” she stammered.
The woman looked her up and down. “Now that I get a better look at you… you look a little familiar… if you’re from Vermilion City, then are you related to Professor Cerise, by any chance?”
Chloe practically felt herself choke. “M-My dad?!”
“No way…!” Lusamine said. “You’re the Genius Professor’s daughter?”
Chloe shyly nodded while stepping back.
This news caught Lillie and the others by surprise as well. “Wow, really?” Mallow said. “Your Dad’s a Pokémon Professor?”
“That’s so cool!” Lana added.
“I-I guess so…” Chloe said, looking down. “Usually it just brings me a lot of trouble…”
Lillie looked at her, furrowing her brow. “Trouble?”
Chloe shrugged, still looking down. “Well… usually people assume that just because my dad’s a professor, I’m going to become one, myself. And… I hate it when people try to force me down paths that I haven’t chosen myself. I just want my own chance to choose for myself.”
There was some nervous shuffling on the parts of Mallow and Lana. ‘ I guess they realize what they did,’ she thought.
“It would be like if someone expected me to take over for Mother one day…” Lillie said.
“And Chloe should be able to choose what she wants to do.”
Everyone’s heads turned to find Ash standing there, a defiant look in his eyes. He carried Pikachu on his shoulder and Chloe’s Eevee in his arms. He handed the fluffy Pokémon to Chloe with a gentle smile on his face, and she gratefully accepted her partner from him.
“Thanks, Ash.”
Lusamine smiled herself, nodding. “It’s alright, Chloe. Ash is right. You should do what it is you want to do, not what anyone forces on you.” Her eyes looked over to Ash. “Though taking suggestions and trying things out isn’t always a bad idea either.”
Chloe smiled dimly and nodded before looking up past Lusamine. Mohn was standing back somewhat, just watching them, but not saying anything at all.
“Is… your dad alright, Lillie? I haven’t heard him say anything.”
Once more, the sadness flashed through Lillie’s eyes, but it appeared on Lusamine’s face as well. Mohn stepped forward and somewhat hesitantly put a hand on Lusamine’s shoulder. “It’s alright,” he said. “I can explain this time, if you’d like.”
“Mohn…” Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she put her hand on his.
Lillie’s father walked around her mother and stood before the children. He was a large man, and looked powerfully built. Chloe thought that his skin looked a bit darker than Lusamine’s and Lillie’s, now that she was looking at him up close. ‘ Has he been tanning?’
“Hello there, Chloe. Lana. Mallow. I suppose the reason I haven’t said anything is… that I don’t remember anything.”
Chloe’s jaw dropped. “You… don’t remember?”
“Yeah," Ash said, nodding gravely. "’Lillie’s dad has insomnia."
Chloe’s eyes narrowed and she sighed. “Ash, it’s amnesia .”
“Oh. S-Sorry…”
Mallow looked to Lillie, the sadness on her face apparent for all to see. “Lillie… I-I’m so sorry…”
She shook her head. “No, it’s alright Mallow. While Father might not have his memories back, there’s a part of him that does recognize things. And his Zoroark recognizes him as well!”
Mohn put a large hand on Lillie’s shoulder. “It… may take me some time to recover and get going again, but I’m going to try my best to get my memories back, so that I can remember this incredible family that I have.”
‘ So that explains why everyone’s still broken up about it,’ Chloe thought to herself. ‘ Even if they found him… they still have a long road before he’ll truly be back.’
Professor Kukui approached the group standing around Lusamine and Mohn, leading Burnet through the people by her hand. “Hey, c’mon. I know things aren’t all what we’d like, but it’s more than just a Lucky Chant that brought Mohn back. We should celebrate tonight for this turn of good fortune. And what better way is there to celebrate than to dance?”
“Dance?” Ash asked, looking to Kukui. “Are you going to dance, Professor?”
He held up Burnet’s hand. In her other arm, Lei was sleeping. “Unfortunately,” Burnet said, “we’ll have to pass. But that doesn’t mean that you all should miss out on the fun, right?”
The stereo system began playing a slow song, perfect for dancing. Chloe looked around and saw the parents who came with their spouses began asking each other to dance. Even Lusamine turned to Mohn with a smile. “Would you like to give dancing a try?” she asked, holding out her hand.
“Ah uh…” he chuckled nervously. “L-Lucy… you know I don’t quite remember how, right?”
“It’s alright,” she smiled back. “You were never very sure on your feet, so I’m used to leading and supporting. You just count on me, okay?”
Mohn’s cheeks flared up and he nodded. “S-Sure…” he said as Lusamine led him into the middle area of the classroom to where they could dance.”
“We should get a chance to dance, too!” Mallow said, grinning. “Hey, Kiawe! Get over here!”
Kiawe turned from holding Mimo’s hand. “Huh? B-But a big brother needs to take care of his little sister…!”
Mimo stomped on his foot, making her brother recoil in pain. “Stop it, Kiawe! Let me go dance with Gladion!”
Gladion shot a sympathetic glance to Kiawe. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t stumble. I’m a big brother, too, after all.”
“Yay! Gladion!” Mimo cheered, hopping over to him. Gladion bowed like the well-raised gentleman he was and began the awkward, childish, swinging dance that Mimo wanted to perform.
Kiawe hobbled over to Mallow on his hurt foot. “F-Fine… C’mon…” he said, taking her by the hand. “But we’re going to burn up the dance floor with the flames of Akala. We’re going to be the best dancers out there!”
“I’m sure we will be,” she said, looking over at Lana and giving her a wink.
Lana nodded and grabbed Sophocles by the arm. “We’re going dancing, too,” she said, a fire in her eyes.
Sophocles almost dropped the snack he was carrying. “What?! Why?!”
“Because I want to be the best dancer.”
Sophocles' panicked cries were drowned out by the music as he was pulled by Lana to the dance floor.
Lillie looked at Ash and Chloe, giggling nervously. “Heh… wow, I guess one of us will end up being a wallflower tonight.”
“Not exactly.”
Chloe looked over to see Goh giving Lillie bow before standing back up straight and holding his hand out to her. “A princess shouldn’t be alone at a party,” he said, his eyes glittering with confidence. “And if you’d allow it, I’ll be your prince, my Cinderella.”
Lillie’s cheeks flared red as she took Goh by the hand. “S-Sure…!” she stammered, taking his hand.
As the two of them walked away from Ash and Chloe, she giggled. Ash looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “What’s up?”
“Goh’s totally embarrassed, saying something like that. I guess he just really wanted to look cool that badly.”
From behind, Chloe could see that Goh’s ears were bright red. Likely the rest of his face was, too.
“Ha…” Ash said, shrugging. “I guess even Goh gets to be cool tonight, huh?”
“Yeah…”
They stood there for a moment, quietly, though Chloe knew that at least half of Ash’s friends were watching them closely.
Chloe turned to him. “Well… I-I mean, Ash… w-would you like to… to dance with me?”
The words came out stammered and shyly, but she looked Ash in the eyes and saw them widen in surprise before the smile settled into them. “I-uh…” he shrugged. “I’m… I’m not the best at dancing,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head.
“ Pikapi, ” Pikachu said, encouraging him, “ pika pi pikachu Kakachu pika?”
Ash looked at his partner and nodded. “You’re right, buddy,” he said.
“ Eievui!” came the call from the Pokémon she held as she squirmed out of Chloe’s grasp. “ Ei Eievui vuivui ei!”
“I guess they’re both right, huh?” Chloe said, giggling.
Ash held out his hand to her. “So uh… you wanna dance?"
Chloe smiled back, her cheeks burning. “I’d love to.”
Just as she reached out for his hand, however, the school’s bell began to ring urgently with a series of quick, low notes.
Everyone froze, and Ash retracted his hand. Chloe looked around and saw the confusion on most of their faces, but on Ash, Kiawe, Sophocles, Lillie, Lana, and Mallow’s faces, she saw only resolution as they all turned to Professor Kukui, who now stood next to the chalkboard.
“Sorry, everyone,” Kukui said. “Looks like we have some party crashers.”
Chapter 24: On Party Crashers
Chapter Text
“Party crashers?”
Chloe turned from Ash to Professor Kukui, who stood resolute in the classroom turned party location. Kukui, for his part, was looking at Lusamine, who was still holding onto a confused Mohn.
“That’s right. Wicke must have sent the signal,” she said with a serious look on her face. “It’s time for the Ultra Guardians to ride once more.”
Ash, and all his Alolan friends turned to Lusamine and gave a strange salute, crossing their fist over their chests. “Ultroger, Lusamine!” they all shouted together.
With that, Professor Kukui pulled up on the chalkboard, and Chloe saw it slide up along the wall, revealing something that looked more like it belonged in her father’s research laboratory, not in a classroom with a giant tree growing through the building. He slapped his open palm against the middle of the technological grid, and it began glowing with a bright, multicolored light.
With that, the ladder in front of the bookcase, as well as the bookcase itself moved away and opened, revealing a secret chamber in the classroom.
Chloe stood stunned, not sure of exactly what was happening at that moment as Ash, Lillie, Kiawe, Mallow, Sophocles, Lana, and Gladion, as well as their Pokémon rushed into the chamber, each standing on different spots.
“I’m going, too!” Goh shouted, with Cinderace, Inteleon, and Grookey charging behind him.
Ash reached his hand towards Chloe, who was standing still. “C’mon, Chloe! You should join us!”
“ Pikapika! ”
“ Eievui !”
Pikachu and Eevee cheered her on as well, and before she knew what she was doing, Chloe was standing with the rest of them in the secret compartment in the classroom.
“I’ll be right here with you,” Ash said, smiling. “Just go with the flow, okay?”
“A-Alright.”
Just as Chloe finally seemed to be catching up, the ground gave way beneath her, and she began descending beneath the floor.
She closed her eyes for just a moment, cringing that something might cause her to fall and get hurt, but she felt a calm hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Ash there. His hand felt strong on her shoulder, and she took a deep breath and calmed herself.
Looking around the transport tube she found herself in, she saw everyone was going down on their own separate platforms, she and Ash included (theirs were close enough that Ash could reassure her, a coincidence Chloe was extremely thankful for). The only ones sharing a platform were all the Pokémon that had joined them, though she did worry that with Eevee and Grookey hopping up and down like they were, they might stumble and fall off.
Looking down, she caught a glimpse of a rubbery, purple fabric that seemed to be rising up from her platform. She saw Ash’s confidence out of the corner of her eye as a blue version of what was approaching her covered Ash, and as she turned, she saw everyone else getting covered in various shades. The rubbery fabric covered her party dress, but didn’t climb her body to her head. It began wrapping around her arms and legs very tightly, and soon it took the form of a tight bodysuit before it split apart into gloves for her hands and boots that went up to just below her knees.
The transformation continued, with white ceramic plates appearing on her chest and her shoulders, and the rubbery fabric continuing to change, adding details and thickening the boots to provide better protection. Finally, a small blue and gold symbol appeared on the front of this strange outfit, and they were lowered into a room that finally looked like it could be part of the Pokémon School again.
Looking around, she saw that while there were color variants, most of the outfits looked like hers, only with the base color different. Gladion’s outfit instead was more modest, covering his body and bearing black ceramic plates instead of the white ones worn by everyone else. Ash stood in blue, Lillie in pink, Mallow in Green, Lana in cyan, Kiawe in red, Sophocles in orange, and Goh in a standard black while Gladion wore his more ornate black outfit.
Goh frowned. “Why does he get the cooler looking one…?”
“Can’t you focus on something else?” Chloe sighed. “Like look at this room!”
Looking all around them, there were monitors and computers all around, as well as a door that had a symbol on it. When Chloe looked down, she recognized it as the symbol that seemed to be on everyone’s Z-Rings. Standing near what appeared to be a projector of some kind in the middle of the room was a Clefable.
“ Fable! ” she waved to them as they approached. She turned and pressed a button on a large green and black keyboard, and a projection appeared in the air from the machine.
In the projection was a woman Chloe had only seen once before, and only in a still image. Standing next to the woman in glasses was a rather frail looking man who wore overly sized green glasses. Both were dressed in white outfits with gold accents, bringing to mind the clothing worn by scientists as well as the pantsuit worn by Lusamine.
“What’s going on?” Ash asked the woman in the projection.
Gladion stepped forward. “Wicke? What’s happening?”
“I bet the Ultra Wormhole opened up again.”
Rather than the woman, Wicke, or the man speaking, it was Goh who mentioned those words.
Chloe furrowed her brow. “Goh?”
“I didn’t quite get it the day we were there,” Goh said, “but when the Professors and I went to the Aether Foundation, Wicke pulled them aside to talk to them about something. I maybe sort of eavesdropped on them, but they were talking about something opening up, and readings that were similar to things a while ago.” He turned to Sophocles and Kiawe. “After you guys explained Ultra Wormholes and Ultra Beasts to me yesterday, I spent a lot of time thinking, and I realized that Wicke calling everyone to the Aether Paradise might have been related.”
Wicke nodded. “It’s exactly as you said, Goh,” she said, clearly remembering his name from whatever introduction he got that day. “There’s an Ultra Wormhole opening somewhere on Melemele Island.”
“U-Ultra Beasts? Ultra Wormhole?” Chloe looked around, still confused. “Can someone PLEASE explain what’s going on here!? I feel like I was at a party ten minutes ago and now I’m in one of Parker’s favorite TV Shows!”
Lillie giggled. “Mother does love her TV shows for kids…”
“To put it simply,” Goh explained, “Ultra Beasts are Pokémon from other dimensions, and they travel through Ultra Wormholes. This can be bad news since they can unbalance the ecosystems of the places they invade, as well as the harm that can befall them as well.”
“To add to that,” Wicke said, “while some Ultra Beasts are more docile and less dangerous than others, there are some Ultra Beasts that are incredibly dangerous to those around them. And according to the readings we’re getting from the Ultra Wormhole, it’s possibly the most dangerous of the Ultra Beasts that we’ve encountered before; Nihilego.”
The faces of Ash and his friends went pale, but Chloe and Goh, who had no frame of reference for this creature, frowned. “Nihilego?” Chloe asked.
“That’s my cue!'' The Rotomdex floated up in front of the monitor, wearing a bracelet on their arm with the same blue-and-gold symbol of the Ultra Guardians on it. Their screen changed from their mouth to an image of a white, almost jelly-looking creature with no discernable face and long white tentacles. If she didn’t know better, Chloe thought that the way it looked actually resembled the way Lillie was dressed above, but she shook such thoughts out of her head. ‘It’s probably another silly coincidence.’
“Nihilego,” Rotom said, “the Parasite Pokémon. A Rock-and Poison-type. One of several mysterious Ultra Beasts, Nihilego appeared in this world from an Ultra Wormhole. Nihilego appears to be a parasite that lives by feeding on people and Pokémon alike. It produces a strong neurotoxin that lowers inhibitions and drives anyone poisoned with it to violence.”
“So you guys encountered this before?” Chloe asked the quiet room. There wasn’t much of a response, but the silence answered Chloe’s question just as well as any words could.
The man with the green glasses spoke. “Unfortunately, it gets worse,” he said. “Our readings indicate that there may be a large mass of Nihilego attempting to pour out of the Ultra Wormhole all at once. Though the size of it prevents them from coming out too quickly, they will keep coming, so it’ll be important to fight them back as effectively as possible.”
“So how are we supposed to handle this?” Goh asked, gritting his teeth.
“The best thing we can do is capture the Nihilego and send them back through the Ultra Wormhole before using a device to close it behind them,” Wicke responded. “You should find it with the medicines as well as the Beast Balls, though one of you will need to carry it.”
“Beast Ball?” Goh was excited. “You mean… a special kind of Poké Ball designed for Ultra Beasts?!”
“T-That’s right,” Mallow replied, raising an eyebrow.
Goh grinned widely. “You just leave those Beast Balls to me. Catching Pokémon is my specialty.”
Kiawe nodded. “Then the rest of us will be on the attack, weakening them for Goh to catch.
“J-Just wait a minute,” Chloe waved her hands, now clad with purple gloves, in panic. “I only have my little Eevee! We’re not cut out to battle some alien Pokémon.”
Ash put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. “It’ll be alright, Chloe. You just handle the machine to close the wormhole for us, alright?”
Chloe nodded, her cheeks warming slightly. “R-Right, Ash.”
“So we’ve got our battle plan,” Gladion said. “We should move out.”
“Right,” Wicke said with a nod. “Ultra Guardians, off you go!”
“Ultroger, Wicke!” they all responded in unison, though Chloe and Goh fumbled a bit.
The Ultra Guardians recalled all the gathered Pokémon into their Poké Balls, with the exceptions of Goh’s Grookey, Ash’s Pikachu, Chloe and Lana’s Eevee, Snowy, and both of Sophocles’ Pokémon. Then, they all stood on the platform the Pokémon descended on and were raised back up into the air, only this ride took much less time before depositing them in a room with several more Pokémon already waiting. Ash walked towards a Garchomp wearing a harness, while Sophocles hopped on top of a Metang. Lana climbed on top of a Dragonair, and Mallow was riding on the back of a Flygon. Kiawe patted an old Charizard on the side of his face as he climbed onto his back. Lillie and her brother climbed onto the backs of an Altaria and Noivern, respectively.
Chloe and Goh stood back, not seeing any other Pokémon ready to act as their transportation. “I guess they weren’t totally prepared for two extra Guardians…” Chloe said, holding the somewhat awkwardly sized machine in her arms as she looked around.
“I’ve got my own ride,” Goh said, taking out a Poké Ball. “C’mon out, Aerodactyl!”
With a toss, Goh’s Poké Ball opened, and the Fossil Pokémon Aerodactyl appeared with a shout.
Goh approached his Pokémon with a grin. “We’re gonna take flight, Aerodactyl!”
“B-But what about me?!”
Ash shot her a thumbs up from atop the Garchomp he was sitting on. “Dragonite, I choose you!”
In another flash of light, Ash’s very affectionate dragon appeared next to Chloe. Ash pumped his fist. “Okay, Dragonite, can you let Chloe ride on your back? We’ve gotta get moving!”
Dragonite looked at Chloe and smiled before throwing her arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug.
“T-Thank you, Dragonite,” Chloe coughed, “but maybe there’s a better time and place for all of this?”
Dragonite nodded and crouched down for Chloe to climb on top of her back, and the Ultra Guardians all got onto the launchers that sent them and the Pokémon they were riding flying quickly into the air.
As the Pokémon ascended into the air, Chloe looked behind her and saw the Pokémon school behind her, as well as the pool that apparently drained to give them their launching point as they rose into the night sky.
Ash spoke into his wrist. “Alright, Wicke. Where’s the Ultra Wormhole opening?”
From each of the Ultra Guardian’s wrists came a hologram, similar to the projection in the base. This time, only Wicke appeared, her green companion seeming gone. “Our readings show that there’s an increased surge of Ultra Energy at Ten Carat Hill. The Wormhole seems to be opening there.”
“Ultroger,” he said, before taking the handlebars on Garchomp’s harness and changing course, the rest of the Pokémon changing course as well to follow behind him.
Dragonite came up next to Garchomp, and Chloe reached out towards Ash, but she wasn’t quite able to reach him. “Ash, this all feels so crazy,” she said. “It feels like everything’s moving way too fast…!”
“It’ll be alright,” he said, giving her a confident grin. “And after we get done with this, there’s something I wanna talk to you about.”
“Something you want to talk to me about…?” Chloe asked, her eyes going wide. “A-Ash… you don’t mean…”
“Look up there!” called Goh, and her eyes were averted from Ash and now looking at the mountain rising in the distance. Lit up by Alola’s bountiful moonlight, it looked to Chloe like an extinct volcano – one that may have erupted hundreds of thousands of years ago, but was no longer active. But in the air above it, glowing in a rainbow of colors, was a strange sight that she could only describe as a puncture in the sky. It looked small, but it seemed to be growing slowly larger and larger as time passed and they flew closer to it.
“Is that an Ultra Wormhole…?” Chloe asked, holding onto the machine that had been developed to close it.
No one answered her question.
The hole in the sky expanded further, and at long last, a white, almost glass-like tentacle pushed through it, pulling at the sides of the hole torn in the sky. The pulling motion seemed to open the Ultra Wormhole wider, and the Ultra Beast identified as Nihilego floated out. Chloe felt her hands clench as the strange creature floated in the air, its body moving as though it was floating in the sea though it was floating in the air.
Then, another tentacle pulled through the Ultra Wormhole, and another Nihilego emerged.
“It’s just like Wicke said…” Sophocles noted, looking at the emerging Ultra Beasts. “There’s a bunch of them coming through.”
Lana flew Dragonair a bit closer. “Hey, you guys! You can’t stay here! It’s dangerous for everyone!”
The Nihilego, though faceless, turned their bodies towards her. Another Nihilego began pulling through the hole as the group remained stationary yet flowing.
Chloe frowned, watching them. “It doesn’t seem like they’re just stumbling through… it’s almost like they’re trying to come through,” she said.
“But why would they want to do that?” Kiawe asked.
Chloe frowned, trying to think of what it could be. ‘Is this an invasion…?’
“The number of Nihilego keeps on increasing!” the Rotomdex called out. “Calculating estimated number of Nihilego… Calculating… Calculating…”
From the Ultra Wormhole emerged another Nihilego, but unlike the other three that had come out so far, this one seemed to have a golden sheen to its glass-like body. The golden Nihilego emitted a loud, grinding sound, and the other three that had emerged so far began to gyrate and buzz as they began moving closer to Lana. They began raising their tentacles towards Lana and Dragonair, the ends of them glistening with a venom secreted from the ends of their appendages.
“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
“ Piiikaaachuuu! ”
With a leap into the air, Pikachu jumped from Ash’s shoulder and fired a Thunderbolt that arced between Lana and the approaching Ultra Beasts, making them move backwards from Lana as she pulled Dragonair back towards the rest of the Ultra Guardians.
“I think they’re looking for a battle,” Kiawe said with a grin. “How about we give them one, Charizard? Use Flamethrower!”
The Charizard that Kiawe was riding opened his mouth and let out a gout of flames at the Nihilego that were drawing close to Lana, burning their otherwise pristine surfaces.
The golden Nihilego sounded off again, and another regular one emerged from the Ultra Wormhole. Soon, all of the ordinary ones began moving towards the Ultra Guardians, raising their tentacles to attack.
“We have to move quickly,” Gladion said. “Or else they could overwhelm us with their numbers.” He took a white Poké Ball from his pocket and threw it out. “Silvally, use Air Slash!”
The strange, silver-colored Pokémon appeared in the air, forming a sphere made of air before it, launching long, sharp blades forward, striking at the Nihilego that approached.
As Silvally’s move ended, the Synthetic Pokémon began to fall, and Gladion maneuvered his Noivern close to it in the air. He took a small, navy blue disc from his outfit. “These clear skies cover the whole world and blanket us all in its embrace. These creatures intrude upon its clarity, and now we must defend it! Silvally, accept this Flying Memory within yourself and take to the skies!”
Gladion tossed the Flying Memory to Silvally, where it entered the Pokémon’s body by it’s head. The fin on top as well as it’s eyes and the fin on it’s tail all became the same shade of deep blue, like a clear sky on a cloudless day. Silvally exuded an aura that matched that color, and wrapping that aura around itself, stopped its descent and rose into the sky next to Gladion, standing atop the spinning aura of wind it conjured.
“Gladion’s right,” Ash said, turning to Chloe and Dragonite. “You guys try to get low and in position beneath the Ultra Wormhole. That machine’ll fire a beam that’ll close it!”
“How do you know that?!” Chloe asked.
Ash gave her a confident grin. “I’ve seen it work before!”
“Alright… I’ll go down there. You guys better keep them away so we can close it!”
He nodded. “I’ll protect you with everything I’ve got, Chloe. Just leave this to us!”
“Pika!”
Fighting the pounding of her heart in her chest, Chloe directed Dragonite down towards the ground – the top of Ten Carat Hill.
Above her, she could still hear and see the battle commencing, and she could also see more Nihilego emerging from the Ultra Wormhole.
Lana and Mallow threw Poké Balls of their own, sending out Primarina and Tsareena.
“Primarina, Sparkling Aria!”
“Tsareena, Magical Leaf!”
Primarina threw her arms open wide and began to sing, forming a large sphere of water in the air before swinging forward, sending the sphere towards the Nihilego. The sphere burst into many smaller spheres, heading towards the Nihilego.
Tsareena spun in the air, and formed a glowing green sphere of light in her hands before firing an array of leaves made of light out of it, each heading to one of the water spheres, making them and the leaves explode on contact, showering the Nihilego with harmful energy.
The golden Nihilego moved forward itself, pointing a tentacle at Primarina as she fell before firing a spray of inky toxin at her. Two of the ordinary Nihilego aimed their tentacles towards Tsareena and fired rays of sparkling light at her.
Lana and Dragonair swooped down and caught Primarina, and only narrowly avoided the toxic stream that nearly grazed her. Tsareena flipped in the air, kicking each ray fired at her away with her powerful legs as Mallow and Flygon descended, catching her as well.
All the while, the Ultra Wormhole continued to exude one Nihilego after another. Several of the ordinary Nihilego began moving down from where the wormhole was opened in the sky towards Ten Carat Hill, where Chloe was just landing. Goh grimaced. “Fighting in the air means we can’t rely on all of our Pokémon as easily,” he said. “Some of us should head towards the ground and defend Chloe more closely as she sets up the machine. The rest of us should stay up here and keep them from escaping!”
“Gladion and I will take the sky,” Kiawe said. “You guys make sure Chloe can set up the machine.”
Sophocles maneuvered Metang over. “Vikavolt and I can fight in the air, too! We’ll do our part!”
“ Vika! ”
“Then Goh, Mallow, Lana, and I’ll head to the ground,” Ash said, pulling Garchomp towards the ground, jetting off. As he did, two of the gathered Nihilego began darting down to intercept him.
“Wait, Ash!” Goh shouted. “We need to move together!”
“I’m not gonna let Chloe be in danger!” he shouted, leaning in close on Garchomp as the dragon accelerated downwards
“Snowy, use Powder Snow!”
“Vikavolt, use Signal Beam!”
Snowy leapt from Lillie’s lap and blew an icy cold breath of wind and snow down. Vikavolt fired the multicolored ray from his mandibles parallel to the Powder Snow. Both attacks were angled to cover Ash as he dove down. Goh’s Aerodactyl, Mallow’s Flygon, and Lana’s Dragonair all began descending towards the ground as well.
Chloe took the somewhat large machine off of Dragonite’s back and ran. Looking up, she tried to position herself as close to ‘under’ the Ultra Wormhole as she could maneuver and set it into the dirt. “Okay,” she asked herself. “I need to get ready for when we can close it...”
“ Eie… ” Eevee chirped, standing by her side.
Suddenly, there was a sound above her head like grinding glass, and looking up, Chloe saw one of the Nihilego approaching, its tentacles splayed wide.
“ VUI! ”
Eevee leapt up, tackling the beast back before landing on the ground between it and Chloe.
“We have to protect this machine…” Chloe said, staring down the faceless creature.
The Nihilego moved forward, raising its tentacles and spraying a venomous fluid at Chloe and Eevee. Chloe leapt out of the way, as did Eevee. Once she was clear of the move, Eevee raised her tail in the air and began to glow with a sickly purple aura that seemed to match the color of Chloe’s Ultra Guardian uniform. From the tip of her tail, she fired the same toxic spray back, catching the Ultra Beast off guard at the counter attack.
The Nihilego seemed enraged by the action and began forming a sphere of acrid toxins in the gap below its main body.
By now, Chloe could recognize the move on sight, recalling the Arbok and Nidoking she’d seen use it. “Sludge Bomb…”
Nihilego moved to fire the attack, but as it did, a wave of psychokinetic energy washed over it, tossing it backwards.
Chloe gasped. “What was that…?”
Before her eyes appeared the shadowy form of the Gengar who haunted her father’s Laboratory.
“ Gehehehen! ” he snickered at the Ultra Beast.
“Gengar?” Chloe asked before looking around. “Ash?!
Somewhere behind her, Ash’s Garchomp landed, and Ash began dashing over, with Rotom floating close behind him. Looking into the night sky, she saw Goh, Lana, Lillie, and Mallow descending as well as more Nihilego.
Ash’s eyes were focused on Gengar as he approached. “You’ve got the machine in place?” he asked.
“Y-Yeah.”
The Nihilego was soon joined by a partner, and so Ash took a ball from his waist and sent out Sirfetch’d to stand alongside Gengar.
“Use it to close the wormhole, then,” he said.
Chloe balked. “Wait, close it now ? I thought we should only do that after we send them back through?!”
Ash’s eyes were intense and burning hot as he glared at her. “It can open them back up where they’ve formed as well as close them. We’ll send them all back through once we’re finished, but if many more come through, there’s no way we’ll be able t’ stop ‘em!”
Rather than making her feel attacked, Chloe saw his intensity as the strength he welded, and nodded, completely in accord. “Got it. I’ll get this thing up and running!”
“I’ll help, too!’ called Rotom as they began shining a light on the machine.
“Thanks, Rotom,” she said with a smile.
As Chloe crouched over the machine and began activating it, the Nihilego began firing globs of poison and sparkling beams towards her, which Gengar and Sirfetch’d leapt in and blocked, Sirfetch’d with his shield and Gengar with his body..
“You guys are fightin’ ME!” Ash challenged, turning his hat backwards. “I’m not gonna let you pass!”
“ Pika! ” he shouted, jumping off his partner’s shoulder.
Eevee leapt over the machine and stood beside Pikachu, her tail raised and her fur ruffling as she, too prepared for battle.
Goh, Mallow, Lana approached the battlefield around where Chloe had set up the machine as she flicked the switches that brought the device to life.
The gathering Nihilego began firing more of the sparkling rays at Chloe as she worked the machine, filling the air with the sound of stones grinding against each other.
Goh tossed two Poké Balls forward. “Inteleon, use Snipe Shot! Cinderace, use Pyro Ball!”
“Tsareena, use Trop Kick!”
“Primarina, use Aqua Jet!”
As Goh’s partners appeared and prepared their moves, Tsareena and Primarina leapt into action. Tsareena’s glowing legs kicked the Nihilego’s attacks away, and the veil of water that formed around Primarina allowed her to charge right through them, smashing into one of the Nihilego and breaking their line.
“Gengar, use Psychic! Sirfetch’d, use Night Slash!”
Ash’s Ghost-type formed the swirling vortex of psychic power and sent another telekinetic shockwave over the Ultra Beasts, knocking them off balance as Sirfetch’d leapt in, swinging his great leek like a sword, knocking them all down and away from the machine.
The device finally whirred to life, and it fired a beam of light at the Ultra Wormhole.
Up above them, Kiawe, Sophocles, and Gladion were continuing to battle, using the moves of their Ride Pokémon as well as the moves of their flight-capable partners to keep the Nihilego from spreading out.
The beam of light reached the Ultra Wormhole, and the Wormhole began to react and shrink away, becoming a narrow hole, then a glowing pinprick in the sky, and then nothing.
The golden Nihilego screamed out in dismay before turning its attention downwards, and all the Nihilego that had been contained in the air began descending downwards.
Right for Chloe and the machine.
“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!” Ash shouted.
“Eevee, you, too!” called Chloe.
Ash’s partner leapt up, slapping his cheeks to generate sparks before unleashing a powerful blast of electricity towards the incoming Ultra Beasts, causing an explosion and knocking a few back, but there were many more already on their way.
Eevee’s fur sparkled and cracked with electricity as she unleashed her own blast, knocking a few more of the horde out of the way.
The golden Nihilego was now at the head of it’s pack, with Gladeon, Sophocles, and Kiawe chasing the horde in pursuit towards the ground.
“There’s just so many…” Lana gasped.
“We’ve gotta do something!” Mallow said.
“Right,” Goh nodded. “We’ve gotta just keep wearing them out. It seems like they realize this machine is what closed the wormhole, and now they want it!”
“Dragonite, use Draco Meteor!” Ash called, gesturing with one arm as he threw a Poké Ball with another. “Lucario, use Aura Sphere!”
Dragonite gathered power around herself as Lucario appeared next to her and began gathering his Aura as well. With a flap of the massive dragon’s wings, meteor-like blasts of violet energy fired out towards the approaching Nihilego. The Golden one dodged around the blasts, but many other Nihilego were caught in them.
Lucario was next, unleashing his own volley of attacks as they approached, sending out a barrage of Aura Spheres, each hitting their marks with precision.
Yet even as the smoke cleared, the Nihilego kept coming, chasing behind their golden leader.
“There’s too many…!” Chloe cried out.
Ash stood in front of her as the golden Nihilego approached. “We’re not gonna give up! No way!” He spread his arms out and glared at the faceless Ultra Beast.
In the skies above them, a light began to emit from Kiawe and Charizard. His voice boomed over the dead caldera as he began glowing as bright as the sun.
"The Zenith of my mind, of body and spirit! With the great power of Akala! Ride the blazing-hot winds and fly high! Supersonic Skystrike!"
The Z-Power that exuded from Kiawe was absorbed into Charizard, and Kiawe held on to the harness tightly. Charizard, surrounded by the light of Kiawe’s power, shot downwards at the golden Nihilego like an arrow, leaving a sonic boom in their wake as they shot downwards. Before the golden Nihilego could reach Ash or any of the Pokémon down there, Kiawe and Charizard crashed into them, crushing them to the ground with the might of their Z-Move.
The golden Nihilego flew backwards, and the other Nihilego began grouping around it, to shield it from more attacks.
Kiawe’s Charizard stood, clearly tired from the battle in the sky and the impact as Kiawe himself tumbled off the lizard’s back.
“Kiawe!” Mallow shouted, rushing to his side with Lillie, who had arrived on the scene just moments ago.
“I-I’m alright…” Kiawe said, sounding somewhat dazed. “I just… probably shouldn’t be on Charizard during that…”
Gladion landed his Noivern nearby. “But it’s the right idea,” he said. “By using all our Z-Moves, we might be able to weaken this army enough so that we can capture them.”
Chloe looked around. “How many Z-Moves do we have available…?” she asked
Ash, Lana, Mallow, Lillie, Sophocles, and Gladion all raised their wrists with their Z-Rings on them.
Kiawe raised his wrist, too. “I… can’t use mine again so soon… I just need a break.”
Chloe nodded. “I just hope all these moves are enough,” she said before she turned to the worn out trainer and smiled. “Thank you for protecting Ash for me, Kiawe. You guys take it easy, we’ll handle it from here.”
Kiawe nodded, seeing the fire in her eyes. “Give them one for me, too,” he said.
Across the caldea, the golden Nihilego rose up again, though clearly shaky and wounded. It gestured forward, and the horde of Nihilego began approaching.
Sophocles stepped up first, crossing his arms in front of him. “Let’s do this, Vikavolt!” he shouted, the Z-Ring on his wrist beginning to shine. "All of our systems are in total sync!”
The light began to move from Sophocles to his Bug-and Electric-type, and Vikavolt made the energy his own.
“Now program ready... run! Time for Savage Spin-out!"
Vikavolt fired a long, powerful thread of silk that looked as thick as several ropes all braided together at one of the ordinary Nihilego. Once the Nihilego was sufficiently wrapped up, he began swinging it through the crowds of them, knocking many of them aside and away.
At the side, Goh began picking up Beast Balls from the box filled with them. He charged in, and began tossing them at the downed Ultra Beasts. “Beast Ball, go!”
The Beast Balls came into contact with the defeated Nihilego, drawing them inside, thinning their numbers. The Beast Balls all clicked as they contained their quarry, and a small voice seemed to come from Goh’s Rotom Phone in his pocket, declaring that “Nihilego will be registered to your Pokédex!”
Vikavolt tossed his caught Nihilego into the air and charged it, slicing through the cocoon he had made for it, which exploded in a flash of sickly green light. The Nihilego that fell from that was also quickly captured by Goh.
“Keep them coming!” Gladion commanded, glaring down the approaching swarm of Nihilego.
Mallow crossed her arms next, and a flash of vivid green began to surround her and Tsareena. She crouched down with her Pokémon as the light continued to glow from them.
“I can feel it!” she called out, as the energy connected her and her partner. “The breath of nature, the grasslands and the forests!”
Tsareena began to glow with the Z-Power as well, and the two of them began to stand.
“Now… it’s time to use Bloom Doom!”
The power erupted from Tsareena in a wave of verdant energy, covering the dusty wastes of the dead caldera with a blanket of bright flowers. Tsareena’s hands held onto a sphere made of this power and raised it into the air before firing a beam of this bright power down, aimed right for the front of the Nihilego pack.
The golden one began screeching, and a wall of it’s companions formed a barrier between the Z-Move and itself as the attack struck, and an explosion that looked like a rose bloomed open, sending several more of the Nihilego to the ground as the bulk of the horde continued to approach.
Goh continued throwing Beast Balls as he moved around, out of the path of the oncoming attackers. The Nihilego paused, noticing him containing their members, and their direction changed, now heading towards him.
Ash’s eyes went wide. “Goh, NO!”
Goh turned, seeing the charging horde rushing towards him. “Cinderace! Inteleon!” he called out.
His partners appeared at his side. Inteleon began shooting compressed sprays of water from his hands, while Cinderace was making use of stones to turn into Pyro Balls, but it was apparent that their moves wouldn’t be enough to slow them down as they began hurling more sludge and rays of light their way.
Near Ash and Chloe, another light began to glow as Lana crossed her arms. The blue crystal on her Z-Ring glowed with bright shine. “Embraced by the sea!” Lana called out, waving her arms like waves upon the sea, transferring the energy from her to her Primarina. “Past the ocean’s horizon!”
As Primarina made the power her own, Lana gestured to the area between Goh and the Nihilego.
“Use Oceanic Operetta!”
The pearl beads around Primarina’s flowing blue hair burst apart as the Soloist Pokémon spread her arms wide and began to sing.
“ Priiimariiina, priiimariiina~!”
As she sang, with her voice echoing across the landscape, a huge orb of water formed over her head, controlled by her voice. The singing continued as she sent the sphere to stand between Goh and the Nihilego, shielding him and his Pokémon from their attacks.
For a moment, all that could be heard was Primarina’s singing as Lana continued to pose near her to pour all her energy into the move. A Poké Ball snapped open, and Gladion’s Midnight Lycanroc’s red eyes glowed in the darkness.
“We need to start now, Lycanroc!” Gladion shouted, holding his Z-Ring up. Gladion’s Lycanroc matched the pose before they both crossed their arms, and Gladion’s Z-Ring sprung to life. From the glowing cobalt crystal, Trainer and Pokémon moved in perfect sync, moving their hands in front of them.
“Vividly shining light, take flight!” he shouted. “Carve the greatest name into this battlefield!” The power began transferring from Gladion to Lycanroc, and trainer and Pokémon kept moving in sync.
As Gladion built up his power, the Nihilego began attacking the giant bubble, and Primarina’s voice began becoming hoarse at the stress of maintaining the move for so long.
“Alright, Lycanroc! Use Devastating Drake!”
The energy gathered by Lycanroc was fired from the wolf’s paws and became a violet dragon that flew towards the Oceanic Operetta.
The dragon punctured the bubble, and it burst into a wave of violet-tinged water that washed over the horde, flushing them away from Goh and his Pokémon.
All of the remaining Nihilego were soaked through with the empowered water rushing over them as Lillie stepped forward.
“Snowy, this is our chance!”
She crossed her arms over one another, and her Z-Ring began to glow, with the pale blue crystal on it glittering. Snowy stood by her side, doing her best to copy the pose.
“The quiet falling of snow from the skies. Crystals of water, constantly shimmering!”
As Lillie went through the Z-Move pose, the Nihilego that were still able to fight began to attempt to scatter.
“Use Flamethrower!” called Kiawe.
“Use Aura Sphere!” shouted Ash.
Both Kiawe’s tired Charizard and Ash’s truehearted Lucario launched their attacks, aimed to keep the group together rather than to make direct contact themselves.
“Blanketing the world with their frosty Z-Power!” Lillie’s voice continued to carry over the battlefield. She crossed her arms before her, and then began moving them, as though she were stacking these very crystals atop each other. “Together with my fiery spirit, rise up into the vast sky once again!”
Lillie’s power shot forth and connected her to her partner, who had a determined look on her face .
She threw her arms wide. “Subzero Slammer!”
At the call, a layer of ice appeared on the ground where Snowy stood, and began quickly growing into a pillar of ice that the fox stood upon. Once the pillar grew high into the sky, Snowy began gathering her strength, forming the chilling winds of ice and snow around her into a focused point of cryogenic energy.
“ Vuuuuuuuul- ”
Snowy leaned over the edge and fired the intense beam of energy across the field, dragging it across and towards the Nihilego corralled by Ash and Kiawe.
“ Piiiiiiiiiix!”
The cryogenic power washed over the Nihilego, encasing them in ice. The ice quickly expanded into a beautiful sculpture that encased them before shattering, the parasites all falling to the ground amongst the ice and snow.
Chloe took in a breath for the first time since the final assault began. “Is… it over?”
Goh raced over to them and began throwing Beast Balls, catching all the Nihilego one by one.
“Now, the last one…! Go!”
Goh threw the final ball at the golden Nihilego, and it made contact, pulling the Ultra Beast inside.
The entirety of Ten Carat Hill went deathly silent.
The ball shook once.
Then again.
When the ball shook a third time, it began to spark and quickly snapped open, the leader of the Nihilego invasion appearing once more. It again emitted the loud grinding sound, but it stopped once it seemed like there were no more allies to come to it’s aid.
Ash stepped forward. “The battle’s over, Nihilego,” Ash said, stepping towards it. “It’s time for you to go home.”
The Nihilego made the roaring, grinding sound once more and charged for Ash.
“Ash, no!”
Chloe leapt forward, tackling Ash out of the way, knocking his hat off of his head as she did. The Nihilego rushed past them and charged for the machine. Before it could reach it, however, Gengar reappeared and let loose another wave of psychokinetic power, pushing it away from the machine and buying them a few more seconds.
Pikachu rushed over to his partner. “ Pikapi?! Pika!? ”
“Ash, are you okay?” Chloe asked, repeating Pikachu’s sentiment.
Ash laid on the ground under her for a moment before grinning. “Thanks, Chloe. I wanted t’ protect you, but you protected me.”
She smiled, her face heating up. “Well, of course,” she said, her eyes tearing up, “if something happened to you… I don’t know what I’d do…”
He nodded. “I get it.” He sat up and placed his hat on Pikachu’s head. Chloe stood up and gave him a hand, which he took to pull himself to his feet.
“Alright! Are you ready, buddy?” Ash asked.
“ Pika! ”
“We’ll help, too!” Chloe said, standing beside him.
“ Eievui! ”
Ash crossed his arms in front of him, and the yellow Z-Crystal on the ring began to glow. Pikachu adjusted his hat. “Let’s show them what our full power looks like, together!”
“ Pi-ka!”
“ Yeah!”
“Vui! ”
Pikachu leapt up and brought his small fist to Ash’s as they bumped them together. As he did, Eevee leapt up behind him, smacking her soft, fluffy tail into his jagged, flat one. Pikachu turned and high fived Ash with his tail, turning and giving Chloe a high five with his paw. All while doing this, the Z-Ring began crackling with an enormous amount of electrical energy.
Pikachu landed before Ash and Chloe, with Eevee at his side. All of them punched forward with their right arms (or paw, in Eevee’s case) as the Z-Ring channeled the golden electrical energy that built up around Ash, Chloe, and Eevee and poured all of that power into Pikachu, leaving him with a glowing golden aura.
Chloe took Ash’s hand in hers. With a smile, she repeated the words she had heard months ago.
“Much bigger than a Thunderbolt!”
Ash smiled, his eyes sparkling like they had all the stars of the Alolan night sky in them.
“10,000,000-Volt Thunderbolt!”
Pikachu’s cheeks began to spark, each spark growing in intensity as the power welled up inside him. “Yeah!” Ash said, grinning wildly. “This is much much bigger! At super-full power!”
The golden Nihilego struggled and finally broke free of Gengar’s grasp and began charging at Pikachu.
Pikachu leapt into the air, the sparking from his cheeks becoming a sphere of energy around him that began arcing off his small body and into a group of quickly forming storm clouds, drawn by the buildup of electric power in his small body. The clouds were electrically charged from the outset, and began pouring even more power into Pikachu.
“ PIKA PIKA!”
Pikachu launched the seven-colored bolts of electricity from his body towards the charging Ultra Beast. The blasts all converged on Nihilego, crashing into it.
Goh pumped his fist. “Alright! That’s that!”
But his jubilation was quickly shattered as Nihilego kept charging forward, pushing back against the attack.
But for Chloe, who held her hands out, pouring her own strength into this move alongside Ash and Eevee, everything seemed to melt away.
She only saw Pikachu, Ash, and Eevee.
She only heard their heartbeats, all thundering in unison.
Chloe closed her eyes and smiled, and felt a feeling of warmth and contentment rush over her. A wave of joy and excitement. Rather than the draining feeling she felt when she first used a Z-Move, she felt like she was connected to something much bigger than just Eevee and herself.
In that moment, she felt her heart become one with Ash’s, and that unity became a surge of power.
“GO!”
Chloe wasn’t sure if it was Ash or herself that shouted the word, but Pikachu’s electricity boomed and surged, and the Nihilego that had been pushing through was now being pushed back.
The rainbow-colored lights all joined, and there was a massive explosion that turned night into day.
Only instead of being blown off her feet, like she was when Ash used this move against Team Rocket, her footing was sure. Instead of being unable to look, she took in the entire sight in her eyes.
The waves of energy threatened to blow over the machine, if it wasn’t for Rotom and Gengar working together. Gladion and Goh had to grit their teeth to stay standing, while Lillie, Lana, and Mallow joined with Kiawe to keep him safe from being so close to the attack. Sophocles ended up being blown over.
The light then faded, and the night sky returned.
Laying all but still was the Nihilego, now defeated.
Goh stepped forward towards the fallen Ultra Beast.
“Beast Ball,” he said the words, barely above a whisper and clearly exhausted from the encounter. “Go.”
He dropped the ball on the Nihilego, and it went inside without any further struggle.
The Ultra Guardians all sighed in relief now that the mission was over.
Goh looked around at all the Beast Balls on the ground, scattered by the battle. “I uh… guess we gotta gather these up now, huh?” he said.
There was a groan from everyone but Ash and Chloe, who only broke into giggles.
All told, it didn’t take long for the Ultra Guardians to gather the Beast Balls, and even less time for them to send the Ultra Beasts back through the wormhole and seal it behind them. From there, it was a short flight back to the Pokémon School to return the Ride Pokémon and a debriefing from Wicke.
“I see…” she said, nodding. “It sounds like you all had quite a bit of trouble out there.”
“That’s an understatement…” Goh sighed.
Chloe frowned. “I wonder, though, why did the Ultra Wormhole open up where it did? And why did so many of them pour out of it?”
“It’s difficult to say for sure,” Wicke said, “however, I do have a theory.”
Lillie blinked. “A theory?”
“Take a look at this.”
On the display, there was now a map of Melemele Island. To Chloe, it looked like a heat map, but there were only two spots that were heated: a hot spot right above Ten Carat Hill and a smaller warm spot at the Pokémon School.
“Wait…” Kiawe asked. “What does this mean?”
“As you know, there’s a connection between the light of the Z-Rings and Ultra Space,” Wicke explained. “This power can be absorbed by living beings.”
Sophocles frowned. “Absorbed?”
“If a being spends too much time in Ultra Space, they’ll become filled with this energy, and since it’s the same energy as the Ultra Wormholes give out, it may be possible that the Nihilego confused that energy for another wormhole, a way to another world.”
“So you’re saying they sensed that power somewhere?” Ash asked.
There was a gasp that came from Lillie. “The… the accident…”
“The one that spirited Father away…” Gladion said.
Wicke nodded. “It’s possible he fell into Ultra Space, and if so, it’s possible he was there for a long time, absorbing its power. The Nihilego may have noticed when he reemerged and were drawn to that power.”
“Wait,” Mallow said, putting her still-gloved hands to her cheeks. “Doesn’t that mean since we all went through the Ultra Wormhole that we’ve got that Ultra Space stuff in us, too?!”
“No,” Wicke said, shaking her head. “While you may have absorbed some radiation from the time you all dealt with Necrozma, it’s been faded for some time now.
Goh looked to Ash. “And what’s Necrozma?”
He laughed to himself. “I’ll tell ya later.”
“You better…”
Chloe nodded. “So Miss Wicke, does the machine that we used to close the Ultra Wormhole work on the same principle?”
“That’s right,” she said. “It exudes the same sort of energy, though obviously it’s not the same naturally occurring energy of Ultra Space.”
Chloe nodded. “That explains why the Nihilego made a beeline for the machine when we used it. They thought it was a portal to another world.”
“That makes sense to me,” Wicke said.
“But…” Ash asked, scratching the back of his head, “...why would they wanna look for another world? Don’t they have their own?”
Lana nodded. “Yeah, that weird place we saw them all at before.”
“There’s still a lot we don’t know about the Ultra Beasts,” Wicke said. “Nihilego included. All the data we do have is in the Pokédex.”
Rotom’s screen displayed a spinning circle for a moment. “There’s no data in here yet about why they may be so aggressive, only that their toxin turns other aggressive.”
“I see…” Wicke said, sighing. “And I suppose all the Nihilego are gone now, right?”
“Yeah, they are,” Goh said, frowning. “Why? Is that an issue?”
“Well, not quite,” she said. “Only… the Nihilego’s neurotoxin can have powerful effects on the brains of those poisoned by them. Perhaps by studying the poison, we could make a medicine that could help people and Pokémon.”
“Like what Chrysa said that night,” Chloe whispered, her mind going back to a night that felt like a lifetime ago. “Researching Pokémon to find ways to help everyone.”
Lillie took a step forward. “And… their toxins could have an effect on the mind?” she asked. “Like… like with memory?”
Gladion frowned. “Lillie…”
Chloe recalled Mohn’s words at the party.
“I suppose the reason I haven’t said anything is… that I don’t remember anything. It may take me some time to recover and get going again, but I’m going to try my best to get my memories back, so that I can remember this incredible family that I have.”
“Poor Lillie…” Chloe said, holding Eevee to her chest. “And we don’t have any way of making that toxin again without finding the Nihilego…”
“ Vui…?” Eevee chattered before wriggling out of Chloe’s grip.
“H-Hey! Eevee! What are you doing?!”
Eevee stood triumphantly in front of the Ultra Guardians, and her fur began to bristle out. She raised her tail and quickly became cloaked in a purple aura, the cream-colored tip of her tail glowing brightly.
She then sprayed a blast of toxins out, thankfully out and away from the Guardians, their Pokémon, and Clefable.
Everyone stood there for a moment, looking at Eevee as she turned around, proud of herself.
“ Eievui! ”
Chloe frowned, looking at what Eevee had done. “Wait… is that…?” She turned to the Rotomdex. “Rotom, can you scan that toxin? Can you tell us if it’s a match for Nihilego’s?!”
Everyone in the room gasped.
“Wait, so Eevee’s Copycat…” Ash said, his eyes going wide.
“...might be able to fully copy something like that?!” Goh exclaimed.
Rotom floated over to the toxins on the ground and began scanning them. “Calculating… Calculating…” Rotom said, the screen displaying the spinning circles again as the Pokédex performed it’s analysis. “Bibibi! It’s a perfect match!”
“A perfect match!?” Gladion asked.
“So…” Lillie said, taking a step towards Chloe and Eevee. “So… Eevee can help us get this toxin… and there may be a way for us to use it to help Father restore his memories!”
“ Vui! ”
Chloe picked up the Normal-type. “Eevee, you’re incredible!” she giggled as Lillie rushed over and nearly tackled her over.
The blonde girl, whom Chloe had originally feared, hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Eevee. Thank you, Chloe. There aren’t words to describe how grateful I am that you all are here to help my Father.”
Chloe smiled and nodded, hugging Lillie back. “I get it. Fathers are pretty important.”
“Well?!” Ash shouted. “What’re we waitin’ for?! There’s a party up stairs in the classroom, and I’m not done celebratin’ yet!”
The Ultra Guardians all raised their fists into the air.
“Yeah!”
Chapter 25: On Party Finales
Chapter Text
With night fully set, there were only a few ordinary sources of light in the classroom of the Pokémon school, the Ultra Beast threat now averted. The stereo system continued to dutifully play music gently into the party. And while these lights were mostly positioned around the edges of the room and the food table, still decked out with snacks, what caught Chloe’s eyes and imagination the most were the stars.
While she had seen them hanging around and placed on the walls before the sun had fully set, looking up at them now, she saw them gently glowing in the dark, giving the room a sort of calm, soft ambiance. Everyone was back, and even wearing their party clothes again instead of the Ultra Guardian uniforms, but the mood had definitely shifted from what was happening before the interruption. Rather joy or sadness being based on your proximity to Mohn and his situation, the entire room felt muted. Joyful, Chloe thought, but muted.
The Alolans were spending time close to their families, and even Ash was telling Professor Kukui and Burnet about what had happened. Burnet no longer carried Lei, who had long since fallen completely asleep and left to sleep, tucked into the baby car seat set on a table nearby. This left Chloe and Goh to stand near the Pokémon quietly. Even the ones that had entered combat against the Ultra Beasts were now quietly relaxing and chitchatting. Eevee and Togedemaru had even buried the hatchet and were both talking, with Pikachu seated in the middle of them.
From the corner of her eye, Chloe thought that Goh might say something, but he mostly kept looking between her and Ash, as though he was expecting something to happen.
Their talk the previous night flashed through her head, and she recalled Goh’s promise to her.
‘ Did he get a chance to talk to him today?’ she thought to herself.
Still, she didn’t move, herself. It was like a part of herself was paralyzed into indecision. She knew what she wanted to do, and she knew the steps she had to take to do it. She even had everything she needed to do what she wanted here, only…
“...it’s like I’m getting ready to bake a cake, only I can’t even turn on the oven…”
She frowned at herself in the dark, quiet atmosphere.
Finally, it was Professor Kukui who broke the silence.
“Hey… I get that we just had a pretty stressful event happen, but aren’t we here for a party? I think we all need to use Celebrate and Work Up our excitement! Not only did these kids keep Alola’s peace and protect us, and not only is Mohn back after all these years, but we have a better pathway than ever that can lead us to having his memories restored! Isn’t that something worthy of an Eruption of joy?”
“Professor Kukui’s right,” Lillie said. “While it may not have been the most peaceful evening, and everything isn’t fixed quite yet… there’s so much reason for us to be happy!” She smiled and bowed her head “I want to thank everyone who came for this surprise party. I missed everyone here so much, and I even got to make two new great friends! Let’s turn this into an incredible celebration for my father and the bonds that all bring us together!”
There was a chorus of agreement from everyone who came to the party, and Chloe felt Goh’s hand shoving her forward. She stumbled a bit, now standing in the middle of the ‘dance’ floor area. She turned and looked back at him, and he smiled and gave her a nod as he turned his attention to Ash.
“Yeah!” Ash said, grinning widely as he approached Chloe. “This definitely is a party, and now I’m gonna do what I would have done earlier if we weren’t interrupted.”
“ Pikapi!” Pikachu gasped, eyes going wide and ears flicking.
Chloe felt her eyes go wide, and the calm, quiet, romantic atmosphere seemed to surround Ash as he approached her, a smile on his face. She felt her cheeks warm up, and she gently held out a hand towards him.
Ash walked closer to her. Then, he was too close.
And he kept going and had walked by.
Turning in shock, Chloe watched Ash hustle up to the snack table and begin picking things off of it to cram in his mouth. He was choosing little cakes that had berries baked into them before he went to down it all with a cup of Pinap Berry juice.
Chloe stood there, shocked but ultimately not surprised. ‘Of course he’d fix his eyes on food first,’ she thought, her head hanging. ‘ That’s just the kind of guy Ash is.’
There was a part of her mind that wanted to rail against Ash’s boorish behavior, leaving her standing alone in the middle of this crowd, but her knowledge of what Ash was like and how he operated held her back from getting too upset. ‘ I just wish I was surprised by it, is all.’
Goh, an annoyed look on his face, approached Ash and ripped the next cake he was about to bite into from his hands. “Don’t you have something else you need to take care of?” he asked through a forced smile on his lips.
Ash grabbed another cake off the table and quickly bit into it. “Showry,” he said, talking with his mouth full, which just made Chloe groan to herself. He swallowed the bite before looking back at Goh intensely. “I’m just tryin’ to build up my energy. This stuff is way harder than you made it sound.”
“You’re saying talking is hard?” Goh smirked, leaning in. “You’re backing away from a challenge then, Mister Champion of the whole Alola Region?”
Ash leaned back, taking a step away from Goh. The look on his face told Chloe that Goh had successfully thrown him off his footing.
“That’s right,” Kiawe said, stepping up. “You’re a man, aren’t you Ash? So go be a man and deal with this head on!”
Both Goh and Kiawe twisted Ash around and then shoved him at Chloe, causing him to stumble towards her. She barely caught his arms in her hands, keeping him from falling over.
Ash chuckled nervously. “H-heh… Sorry, Chloe…” he said, looking at his feet like a disciplined child.
“ Pikapi… ” Pikachu sighed before looking at Chloe. “ Kachu, Kakachu. Pikapi ka pikapika ka chupichupi kakapika.” The exasperated look on Pikachu’s face told her that he meant something like “ Not even I know what Ash’s thinking sometimes.”
Eevee bounced next to Pikachu cheerfully before tackling into him, mimicking what Ash did to Chloe. And much like Chloe, Pikachu’s paws caught Eevee before she could drop both of them to the floor.
Chloe giggled at the sight, which caused Ash to finally look up at her. “H-Hey, what’s so funny?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I… I think sometimes we get a little stuck on ourselves, don’t we?” she said.
Ash snorted a laugh. “Heh, I guess you’re right.”
With Chloe and Ash now standing in the middle, Professor Kukui took Burnet by the hand. “If you wouldn’t mind, Professor?” he asked, smiling at her.
Burnet’s eyes sparkled in the dim light, and she laughed. “Well, of course, Professor. If you insist.”
As Kukui led Burnet onto the dance floor, Chloe could see Mallow once again approaching Kiawe. “We didn’t get to finish our dance, either,” Mallow said, offering her hand to him.
Kiawe smiled and nodded. “Yeah, we didn’t,” he said. “I don’t want to lose to Goh, so you better get ready to cut a rug!”
She giggled. “The music’s slow, Kiawe, so if you try to dance too fast, you’ll just look silly…”
“Right. But still. Ours will be the greatest dance in all of Alola!”
As Mallow began getting pulled around by Kiawe, the two of them not quite in step, Sophocles approached Lana, hanging his head. Lana looked at him. “Yes, Sophocles?”
He sighed. “You’re going to pull me into this anyway, right?” he said, defeated. “Might as well not struggle.”
A vicious grin grew on Lana’s face, reminding Chloe of a Sharpedo. “Good. We’re not losing to Kiawe.”
Sophocles groaned as Lana dragged him across the floor.
“S-Say… Goh?”
Goh still stood by the table with the food, and he turned his head to see Lillie standing there. Chloe could easily see the flush on her cheeks, even in the dim light. There was something in her heart that was happy to see Goh getting this sort of attention, though whether it was genuine happiness or schadenfreude at Goh now having to deal with a paramour. Still, another part felt somewhat embarrassed, now feeling like she was looking on the outside at how she must have acted up until somewhat recently.
Goh shrugged and smiled. “Well, it wouldn’t do for the two of us not to have dance partners, right?” he said, offering a hand to Lillie.
Lillie could only manage a shy nod as she took Goh’s hand, and he led her away from the food table before putting a hand on her and beginning to dance slowly to the music.
“Heh…” Ash chuckled. “Looks like everyone else’s already gone, huh?”
Chloe nodded. “Yeah…” she said, looking at him in the dim light. He was scratching his head and not looking at her in an obvious way, like he was trying to avoid her gaze. “Ash… is something wrong?”
When she saw Ash flinch at the question, she knew she had him. “Well… It’s just…”
She slowly, gently, took his hand. “It’s okay. I promise.”
He relaxed somewhat, feeling her hand holding his. “...I’m not really good at dancing…” he admitted.
“Is that all?”
“It’s a big deal, though, right?” he said, looking at her. “I-I mean, everyone else is at least a little good at it. I’ve gotten made fun of for it a bit, and…” He shrugged boyishly. “I… don’t want you to make fun of me, too.”
She smiled, putting another hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Ash. I won’t make fun of you. Let’s just… be careful, okay? Take it slowly, one step at a time with me.”
Ash looked at her, and she could see herself reflected in his eyes. His anxiety melted, and he smiled warmly at her.
“Sure.”
Chloe and Ash were already in the middle of all the other dancing couples, so the only thing they needed to do was begin their slow dance, stepping together and turning as they did. Ash’s steps were unsure, and he frequently tried to step with his left when he should step with his right, but Chloe’s calm, controlled steps kept the two of them upright, and Ash somehow avoided stepping on Chloe’s toes.
It was a quiet, peaceful moment, she thought.
The look on Ash’s face was one of deep thought or concentration. Whether he was trying to come up with something to say, or he was merely trying not to hurt her with his clumsiness, she wasn’t sure. She did have to admit, however, that watching him have so much trouble with this simple act did a lot to make him seem less like the Champion of the Alola Region and the 64th strongest trainer in the world, and more like the boy she found herself enjoying the company of more and more.
She felt her pulse quicken and her face warm up. Not wanting to have Ash look her in the face as she was so flushed, she stepped in closer to him and put her hands around his back.
From this spot, as they turned, she could see the other dancing pairs easily. Sophocles’ parents had joined in, as well as Lusamine and Mohn. Both pairs were more graceful on their feet than Ash was, but Lusamine still had to help Mohn and seemed to even be leading the dance with him.
Her friends were all dancing pretty close to each other. Lillie’s attention was fully on Goh, but Goh couldn’t help but notice that Gladion’s awkward dancing with Mimo was drawing nearby, and that Lillie’s brother was appraising him rather than paying attention to his somewhat-awkward play-dancing with Kiawe’s sister.
Speaking of Kiawe, he and Mallow were dancing in very quick circles, spinning around each other faster and faster, only for Lana and Sophocles to to continue to spin like a top next to them. From what she could see of their expressions, Kiawe and Lana were locked in an intense battle, but Mallow was getting dizzy and Sophocles was already past his limits.
The strange scene in front of her drew a quiet giggle out of her, just barely audible to Ash’s nearby ear.
It took Chloe a moment to realize that Ash was giggling alongside her.
She leaned back and looked at him, and there was a quiet confidence in his features now.
“Ash?”
They kept spinning in the middle of everyone else’s dancing.
Ash began to speak.
“It’s weird to think about,” he said, his steps becoming more sure and confident as they danced. As they spun around, Chloe just looked into his warm brown eyes, unable to pull herself away from them. She had to remind herself that he had spoken to her, and she had to answer.
“What’s weird?” she asked.
“Before I left Pallet Town on my journey, I didn’t really have any friends,” he said. “It was lonely, a lot of the time. I spent my time with the Pokémon in the forest more than any other people, and even then they were afraid of me a lot of the time.”
“Oh, Ash…” she whispered sadly.
“Then I met Pikachu, and we started our journey together. I’ll never forget the day we met. It was almost like my life didn’t really begin until that day. And a funny thing started to happen. I started making more friends. I met more people who I could talk to, who would travel beside me, who liked me for me. I met Pokémon who trusted me, who cared about me, who wanted to be my partners. I set off on this journey with the dream in my heart of being a Pokémon Master, and I’m still chasing it. But sometimes, when I can stop and look at everything I’ve done, and how different it is around me? It kinda feels like I’ve already made it.”
Chloe felt the tears at the edges of her vision, listening to him speak. The lightly glowing stars overhead gave the atmosphere a strange feeling as he spoke.
She thought for a moment about how she should respond before coming up with what she wanted to say.
“While I might agree with you and say that from where I’m standing, you are a Pokémon Master, I know you well enough to know that the only person who can really tell you when your journey’s over is you, Ash.”
He nodded, smiling at her. Chloe wondered if he could see himself reflected in her own eyes.
“Do you think winning the World Coronation Series will be the end of it?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No,” he answered honestly. “Being a Pokémon Master… it’s not something that’s easy to put into words…” He chuckled to himself, finally averting his gaze from her. Ash looked up at the glow in the dark stars, smiling to himself. “I guess now that the sun’s set, these plastic stars have their chance to shine, huh?”
Chloe snorted out a laugh, trying to hold back her giggling.
Ash laughed alongside her. “Hey, I knew that’d make you laugh,” he said to her.
All this time, they continued dancing slowly.
Ash looked back down at her. “Hey, Chloe…?”
“Yeah…?”
“When do you think your journey will end?”
The question, much like every question Ash seemed to ask her, caught her off guard.
“My journey…?”
He looked over, and she followed his gaze, seeing Eevee leaning against Pikachu. The mouse had his arm on her back, and Eevee looked like she was sleeping.
“You’re working hard for Eevee, right? You want to help her decide on her own path. You want to help her make the decision that will make her the happiest.”
Chloe saw how happy and calm Eevee seemed, and felt the same happiness rise up within her.
“Yeah,” she said. “Eevee and I are the same, you know? I want to keep helping her find out what she’s supposed to be, and maybe I’ll find out what I’m supposed to be along the way.”
Ash smiled at her, and their eyes met again.
“This journey I’ve been on has felt like it’s lasted forever, but no matter what ends up happening on it, I’m really glad I went on it.” He shook his head. “No, more than just ‘glad’. I’m so happy that I went on it, I could just burst, like ba-blam!”
“Like ba-blam, huh?” Chloe chided him.
He shook his head. “I-hold on, I’m tryin’ to explain it… It’s just hard, you know? Let me try again.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “I made so many friends on my journey. More than I can probably count. I used to be alone, and now my life is so full I... “
He looked away from her. “...I guess it’s hard to explain,” he laughed darkly. Chloe could tell the laughter was aimed at himself.
“You mean to say you’re thankful for them, right?” she said.
Ash turned back and nodded. “Yeah…” he said. “And… I think I’m most thankful t’ meet you, Chloe.”
Chloe felt her heart skip.
“You just…” he tried again before finding himself tongue-tied once more. “You get it. You get me . You understand what I’m trying to say. You listen, or you ask if you don’t know. You’re here for me because you choose to be. And I… that means a lot to me, you know…?”
She smiled, trying to keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She didn’t want Ash to misunderstand at this point.
“I get it,” she said. “You’re… really important to me, too, Ash. You’re like… a strong, guiding hand. You aren’t forcing me forward. You’re walking beside me and encouraging me to take my own steps towards my future. And I…”
She closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder.
“I love that.”
She felt Ash’s breath catch in his chest.
She looked up at him, and she saw his eyes sparkling in the darkness. The happiness she saw in them wasn’t one she had seen before. She had seen Ash happy, of course, but his joy usually felt like an explosion, or a wind blowing hard and rushing past her.
This time, his happiness was like a small spark of electricity, lighting a soft, warm light.
“Chloe…” he whispered. “I… I’m sorry if this is selfish, but I never want to stop journeying with you.”
She giggled. “If that’s selfish, then I’m selfish, too,” she said. “I want to stay with you. I want to see what the future holds for us with my own eyes.”
Ash smiled, and the dancing stopped.
He released her and took a step back before twisting his hat on his head so that he wore it backwards. He threw his arms open and smiled at her.
“Chloe, let’s find our futures together. Let’s find the one waiting for both of us, with our Pokémon by our side! What do you say?!”
Chloe realized that she was now standing before everyone, and that it wasn't just her own dancing that had stopped. Every eye in the classroom was now turned towards her, and were it not such a serious situation, she might have just burst into laughter.
Instead, she shook her head, smiling.
“What do I say…?” she asked. “Well… there are some things you can’t express with words.”
She stepped up to Ash and put her arms around him, and raised her lips towards his.
She could feel the embarrassed blushing on her face, but she didn’t care. Her heart thundered in her chest, filling her with a confidence she didn’t know she had. Even if he didn’t say the word himself quite yet, she knew his heart, and for her, that was enough.
Ash was somewhat surprised at her direct action, but his wide arms closed around her and held her there, and the awkward kiss was returned.
She wasn’t sure if it was the rush of excitement or the thrill of her first kiss, but Chloe’s knees suddenly felt very weak. Ash’s arms kept her standing, and the kiss continued for longer than perhaps they were ready for.
But it ended, and Chloe looked into his eyes, and she saw the love flowing back into her’s.
“I… guess this is what it feels like to love someone like this,” he whispered to her.
“You didn’t know?” she giggled.
“Y-... no,” he admitted, chuckling. “I knew what it looked like. I knew how I felt. I just didn’t know how it was supposed to feel, you know?”
She buried her face in his chest. “I get it,” she said. “It had to be spelled out to me, too.”
“For real?” Ash asked, blinking. “Heh… maybe you and I aren’t so different after all, huh?”
“Maybe not,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes at him. “But to be like the guy I love can’t be a bad thing, right?”
Ash’s smile just widened into an even more happy and excited one. “Not at all.”
“ Pikapi! Kakachu! ”
“ Vui! Vuivui!”
The two of them turned and stepped apart, letting Pikachu and Eevee hop up onto their respective shoulders. They reached over and gave each other a hi-five with their paws, cheerfully.
“I was wondering how long it’d take,” Goh said, chuckling as he approached the two.
Professor Kukui was right beside him. “No kidding.”
“P-Professor…!” Ash protested.
Kukui put a hand on his shoulder, and for a moment it looked to Chloe like it was a father addressing his son. “It was obvious you liked her since I saw her over the call. I’m proud of you for finally taking this next step. Having someone with you on your journey like this is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before.”
“Just don’t let him distract you too much from your school work,” Goh joked, winking at Chloe.
Chloe took Ash’s hand and interlocked her fingers with his. “We made a promise to find our futures together, right? I’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“And with Chloe by my side, I’ve got nothin’ to worry about either!” Ash cheered.
Professor Kukui put his other hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “Well then! It seems like the things to celebrate just keep adding up! So let’s finish this party with a bang, everyone!”
Everyone present raised their hand and cheered with a “Yeah!”
Everyone, that is, except Ash and Chloe, who raised the hand they held together.
It felt like a lifetime had passed by the time Ash, Chloe, and Goh returned to Kanto from the Alola Region, but time waits for neither student, research fellow, nor Pokémon Master, and so Chloe once more found herself at school.
“I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!”
Mika was tearfully holding onto Chloe’s arms for balance. The two of them had snuck off to the roof of her school during lunch, and Chloe was in the middle of eating and explaining to her friend everything that transpired since they had left for the Alola Region.
“You finally found the guts to just BE with him openly! You’re an inspiration to all of us, Chloe! I only hope my future boyfriend is as flashy and cool as yours is!”
Hearing Ash described as her boyfriend made her cheeks flush, but she didn’t let Mika know how much it riled her up.
“He is pretty flashy and cool,” she said, popping another dumpling into her mouth from her bento box.
“And it’s so romantic how you finally came together! I love it!”
Chloe was sure that if this wasn’t actually happening in front of her eyes, Mika would be shedding hearts like dandruff.
“Yeah, well, that doesn’t change the path we’re on, you know? He’s still aiming to beat Leon, and I’m still aiming to help Eevee find a path to her true happiness.”
“Yeah, but what happens after he beats Leon and Eevee’s all evolved up?” Mika asked. “What’s the next chapter in your love story?”
Chloe shrugged. “He’ll be continuing towards his real goal of being a Pokémon Master, and I’ll be continuing towards my real goal of finding my own path with Pokémon. But the important thing is we’re going to do it together. And speaking of.”
Chloe looked up, the wing beats of Dragonite audible through the air as Ash landed his dragon on the roof of the school. Dragonite quickly rushed over to Chloe and wrapped her trainer’s girlfriend up in a tight hug.
There was a low growling sound, but that only came from Ash’s stomach.
“S-Sorry…” he said. “I wanted to eat lunch with you, so I made sure not to eat too much beforehand…”
Upon getting released from Dragonite’s hug, Chloe used her chopsticks to pick another dumpling out of her bento and aimed it towards Ash’s mouth. “Honestly, you have never once in all the time I’ve known you been found to ever eat more than you can handle, so don’t worry about it next time, okay?”
“Gommit,” he said, chewing on the dumpling.
Pikachu shot her an apologetic glance, but Chloe could only do the same. She reached into her pocket and opened Eevee’s Poké Ball, and her Pokémon began chirping excitedly at Pikachu, who hopped off Ash’s shoulder to sit closer to her.
Mika squealed, picking up both Pikachu and Eevee into her arms. “LOOK AT HOW CUTE THEY ARE!” she shouted. “THIS CUTE PIKAVEE COMBINATION! TOTAL MASTERS OF ADORABLE!”
The strength of Mika’s hug seemed comparable to Dragonite’s, and Pikachu began to struggle to get free, his cheeks sparking as he attempted to free himself.
“W-Wait, Mika!” Chloe warned, holding a hand up.
“B-Buddy, watch out!”
Ash’s warning came too late as Pikachu involuntarily discharged a bolt of electricity into both Mika and Eevee. The girl lit up as the electricity coursed around her, screaming, her blonde hair sticking up and the blue bows in her hair flying off.
But the shock passed as Mika’s arms slacked and she fell over.
“M-Mika?! Are you alright?!”
“I’m fiiiine…” she said, dazed but still chipper. “It was just a little shock, right?”
As she said that, Eevee’s fur began to bristle and crack with electricity.
Chloe held up a hand in panic. “Eevee, wait-!”
The second electrical discharge left Mika even more scorched than before, but fortunately for Chloe, her friend quickly recovered.
It wasn’t as impressive as the skies above Pallet Town, nor as dazzling as those of Alola, but the sky above the Cerise Laboratory was had its own charms, and though many stars were driven out due to the lights of the nearby city, a few of the brightest ones still shone
It was under this sky that Chloe entered Cerise Park, followed dutifully by her Pokémon partner, Eevee.
It was quiet, and the moonlight through the glass ceiling made navigation simple, though Chloe already knew exactly where she was headed.
She was quite familiar with the tree, standing in the middle of a field inside the park. When she found her way to it’s base, she looked up and saw a large cloth cocoon curled up on one of its branches.
“ Pi ?” A familiar mouse’s ears perked up and he looked over the edge of the sleeping bag, down at Chloe in the moonlight. “ Pikapi, Kakachu ?”
The cocoon sat up and Ash looked over. “Hey, Chloe… Didn’t expect to see you there.” The surprise in his brown eyes belied the joy they held, seeing her. “I thought you went home.”
“I asked if I could stay here tonight,” she smiled, bringing her sleeping back out from behind her. “Here, with you.”
Ash blinked at her. “Oh!”
It was a simple matter for him to slip off the branch and land on his feet, even still cocooned in his own sleeping bag.
“Well, then I’m glad you’re here.”
She giggled as Eevee dashed out from behind her to run circles around Pikachu. “I’m glad I’m here, too,” she said.
The two of them laid the sleeping bags next to each other and crawled in, with Chloe letting her hair down just before slipping inside.
“Heh… I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,” he chuckled.
“Used to what?” she asked, sitting up. “I promise, having a girlfriend isn’t that weird. People everywhere have girlfriends or boyfriends.”
“Not that,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, I guess that’s new, too, but I’ll get used to that. I mean your hair.”
And the familiar sensation of blushing returned. “W-what about it?”
“It’s always so soft and warm-looking,” he said. “Just like how you’re soft and warm on the inside.”
She giggled. “Well… I guess if you look at me and see someone soft and warm-hearted, I don’t have a problem with it,” she said. “On the surface, you can look like a disorganized, goofy, completely not serious guy-”
“Hey!” he interrupted.
Giggling, she continued. “-but I know that you’re hard-working, passionate, positive, and determined. That’s the real Ash that I know and love.”
Ash laughed to himself, somewhat embarrassed. “Yeah, well… I love you, too,” he said, charmingly befuddled.
“D-did you wanna…?” she asked, trailing off.
Ash chuckled. “I-uh… are you sure? I’m not good at it yet.”
“We can’t get better at it without trying,” she said.
Ash’s cheeks were flaring now, but when he looked to his partner for support, Pikachu had curled up in a ball next to Eevee, who had done the same. Without any further recourse, Ash readied his courage. “Alright.”
Chloe smiled and sat up more and waited for him to come closer, closing her eyes.
Ash looked at her and took a deep breath before sitting up and moving closer himself.
When Chloe opened her eyes, she saw his blushing face very close to hers. His brown eyes were staring straight into her emerald greens. They inched closer and closer to each other in the pale moonlight. Chloe smiled, giving him a nod and gently parted her lips.
Ash just looked and didn't move, unsure of what to do. "Heh… C-Chloe… I mean…"
"It's okay," she said, taking his hand and placing it where it cupped her cheek. "I'll help you."
Cupping his own cheek with her hand, she pulled him close and closed the distance between them, pressing her lips against his.
Kissing Ash was always such a thrill for her. The intimate feeling of being that close to him made her heart race, and she could feel Ash’s confidence surge as well as he kissed her back. They did not make too much of a habit of it (she hadn’t even told her parents she had kissed him, yet, much less even tried to kiss him when her father, Chrysa, or Ren was around) so it still wasn’t the sort of kiss she saw on TV or in the movies, but it filled her with a secretive thrill all the same.
When the kiss ended, Chloe and Ash pressed their foreheads together. They both opened their mouths to speak, but neither of them found any words, so they just giggled and laughed.
“I guess it’s time we get to sleep, huh?” Ash asked.
“Yeah.”
Both of them squirmed back into their sleeping bags, and then Chloe wriggled hers closer and put her head on Ash’s chest. He put his arm around her and she closed her eyes.
“Hey, Ash?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you remember that lullaby you were singing that night when I found you out here?”
He chuckled, making Chloe’s head bounce. “Of course I do.”
“Do you… think you could sing it for me?”
“Sure.”
And with that, Ash began gently singing in a quiet voice to her.
“Close your… tired eyes
The gentle breeze....
And the… twinkling stars…”
And as her breathing slowed and she focused on the soothing sound of his voice, Chloe’s heart was filled with love. While in her mind, she knew that neither of them knew what awaited them in the future, past the horizon and their more immediate goals, in her heart she knew that there was always a place for her at the Champion’s side, and that she would always be his confidant.
The End
Chapter 26: Bonus Chapter: On Cake
Notes:
As the author of this work, allow me to thank all of my readers from the bottom of my heart. I was blown away by all the positive feedback this story received, and how so many people seemed to love it so much. I have often said, "As long as one person who reads my writing smiles, I have been successful as a writer" and all of the smiles you all have shared with me must mean I am very successful indeed. My heart is filled with gratitude for you all. Thank you.
Since the story ended last chapter, you may be wondering why there is a new chapter! While I do intend that the story I started in Chapter 1 did end in Chapter 25, I wished to include two bonus scenarios that I couldn't include, for one reason or another, in the main story. Consider these both a sort of extended epilogue that follows Ash and Chloe after they are able to connect their hearts together.
It is only because I have such wonderful readers that I am able to include these two bonus chapters. Thank you. The last chapter will be posted before too long, so please stay tuned.
Chapter Text
The forest held the gentle, familiar glow of the mushrooms. The air was as moist and humid as Chloe remembered it, but it wasn’t an unpleasant familiarity. Over these gnarled roots and past the mysteriously glowing mushrooms, Chloe had once traveled and enjoyed her own adventure without her childhood friend Goh, or her now-boyfriend Ash. She fondly remembered the Ponyta and Rapidash native to the Galar Region that she assisted, all those months ago.
“I hope they’re still doing alright…” she said, stepping over yet another overgrown root.
“Ponyta and Rapidash, right?”
She looked over her shoulder to see Ash there, smiling confidently at her.
“I’m sure they are,” he said. “Maybe we can see ‘em before we'll head back home!”
“Wait for me!” Goh shouted, having fallen behind.
Chloe sighed and shrugged. “Some things never change,” she said, shaking her head. Eevee chattered in her arms, smiling and wagging her tail as she watched.
Goh ran to catch up, tripping over the overgrown root she and Ash carefully stepped over. Before he could fall, Ash caught him by one arm, and Chloe by the other.
The look of relief on his face was palpable. “Thanks, guys…”
“We’re never gonna let you down, Goh!” Ash said as he and Chloe helped him stand up.
She frowned at him. “But you should REALLY be more careful, you know?”
“Maybe you two should slow down…” Goh said, still trying to catch his breath.
“ Grooki… ” the chimp on Goh’s shoulder said in agreement.
“I swear, ever since we got back from Alola, you guys have been rushing ahead more and more. It’s hard to keep up with you guys sometimes!”
Ash laughed. “Hey, what can I say? Bein’ with Chloe fills me with a lot of energy!”
“That’s right,” Chloe added, giggling. “And his excitement is infectious, so I get a lot of energy, too!”
“I’m glad I’m vaccinated…” Goh joked, groaning.
“ Pikapi...Kakachu…”
Both Ash and Chloe sighed, hearing Pikachu’s chastisement loud and clear.
“Right, we’ll slow down from here…”
“Sorry, Goh.”
They both bowed their heads, which only made him roll his eyes.
“It’s alright. C’mon! Let’s get going! Ballonlea is just ahead!”
Goh was now the one foraging ahead, with Chloe and Ash chasing from behind.
From her memory, Chloe recalled that Ballonlea was a town nestled in the heart of the Glimwood Tangle, lit up by the large, glowing mushrooms that made the forest their home. It always looked like something out of a fairytale to her, and as she gazed out upon it from the distance she was at with the others, her mind went back to that book she discovered it in.
“There are so many cool things you can find written in books…” she said to herself.
Ash paused and turned to her. “You think so?”
“Yeah,” she said, holding onto Eevee with one hand and gesturing to the forest with the other. “Do you think anyone in Kanto would believe a place like this existed if you couldn’t show them pictures? Most of them don’t even believe in a Meowth that can talk.”
“Mika does,” Ash offered with a shrug.
She sighed. “I mean, right… but still! There’s lots of amazing things you can read about, and that’s not even including the things that the writer just made up. It’s like being able to make your own world, you know?”
Ash smiled at her and nodded. “I get it. It is pretty cool, now that you mention it. Imagine writing a story about a Pokémon no one’s ever met, or one where there’s a huge tournament with all the strongest people in it in one place.”
“You mean like the World Coronation Series?”
“I mean like that but with everyone all together at once! Wouldn’t it be awesome!?”
His enthusiasm made her giggle like always. She took his hand and squeezed it. “You’re right, it would be pretty awesome. But let’s not be late to the tournament we’re actually here for.”
“Right!” he said, pulling her ahead with him. “Let’s go!”
Once they arrived in the quaint town, their phones told them that they were still a bit early to meet with Opal, the Gym Leader who had invited them out to the Galar Region, so Chloe took Ash and Goh to a patisserie that she saw was located there for a treat, only for them to come face to face with a Milcery that Goh caught and very quickly evolved into an Alcremie.
With their new companion in tow, the group headed to Ballonlea Stadium, where they would meet with the Gym Leader.
The gym’s interior, much like it’s exterior, was coated in shades of pale pink and blue, which Chloe remembered as being the outfit of choice of the elderly woman who had invited them. Ash’s energy was indeed infectious as he and Chloe passed Goh and raced to meet up with her again.
“We’re here!” Ash shouted as he pushed past the automated doors. Chloe could only smile at him as he continued to rush ahead as she kept pace without exhausting herself.
Standing at the other end of the entranceway of the gym was the familiar old woman with her cane, dressed in what Chloe would say is a cotton-candy themed dress. She smiled, her wrinkles making it look crooked. “I see that. Welcome to the Ballonlea Gym.”
Ash began hopping in place, excitedly. “Ah man I’m so psyched!” he said, grinning wildly. “I can’t wait for this tournament to start! Is Leon here yet? I can’t wait to get my first battle!”
Opal smiled back at him, her bright purple eyeshadow looking like she had a second set of eyes beneath her wide-brimmed hat.
Chloe briefly wondered what Lillie would look like with that sort of make-up before approaching Opal.
“You’ll have to forgive him,” Chloe said, giving Opal an apologetic smile of her own. “He’s just really excited to get a chance to face Leon.”
“And you’re excited too, right?” he said to Chloe, his wide, hopeful grin beaming like warm sunshine.
She giggled at his sheer energy. “Well your excitement is contagious. After seeing how amazing your battle with Volkner was, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to you battling this World Monarch.”
“Right?” he said, his smile never faltering. “And with you cheering me on, I know we can’t lose!”
“ Pikapika! ”
Opal chuckled as Goh finally caught up. “Oh! I sense a spark between the two of you. I wouldn’t want to presume but…?”
Ash grinned his cheeky, toothy grin as he took Chloe by the hand and raised both their hands up, fingers interlocked. “Yep!”
Chloe felt her face heat up. “Yeah…” she said, smiling and blushing alongside him, feeling the warmth radiating from his hand.
“Oh ho!” Opan chuckled. “Well, congratulations for you two,” she said. “Even after all my time, young love still makes my heart race.”
“Thank you very much,” Chloe said, lowering her hand but still keeping it held onto Ash’s.
“Oh! Before it slips my mind,” Opal said, continuing, “the Ponyta and Rapidash in the Glimwood Tangle are doing very well.”
Chloe’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really…? I was wondering how they’ve been doing. That’s so great to hear, right, Eevee?”
“ Uei! ” Eevee called in response.
Ash began pulling her forward, past Opal. “C’mon! Let’s go find Leon right now and get that battle!” he said, his excitement climbing ever higher.
“H-hey, slow down!” she laughed as she ran with him, never letting go of his hand.
What the couple found as they entered the main area of the stadium wasn’t Leon, however, but another man. He wore a dark jacket and shorts, and had his back turned to Ash and Chloe as the girl’s boyfriend shouted ‘LEON’ from the top of his lungs.
When the man turned around, Ash stopped in his tracks, and his blue eyes shocked Chloe to the point where she dropped Ash’s hand.
“It’s Raihan…”
Goh was the one to speak his name.
“If Raihan of the Masters Eight is here, too, then this must be a huge tournament…” Goh said, finishing his thought.
Raihan took several steps over, looming over Ash. “Hey…” he said, looking down at him. “Aren’t you… that energetic kid who yelled from the stands? What’s your name, kid?”
“I’m Ash,” he said with his trademark confidence. “And this is my partner, Pikachu!”
“ Pikachu! ”
“And this is Chloe, my girlfriend.”
She felt her cheeks heat up immediately. “H-Hi…!” she said, giving Raihan a polite bow. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Raihan smirked, showing off a tooth sharper than the others that looked like a fang. “So you’re the Ash that Leon’s been talking about so much,” he said. “And you brought a little girlfriend with you, too.”
Ash grinned with his cheeky smile as Raihan looked over the arena.
“But it looks like Leon isn’t here… Think he ran away?”
While Chloe could tell that Raihan’s tone was a sarcastic joke, Ash took the words at face value, frowning at him. “Leon wouldn’t run away! He’d never run from a battle!”
Raihan looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Oh really? Well I’d be running if I thought I could get away…” He punctuated his statement with a sigh.
Ash’s eyes went wide with surprise as Opal also loomed over him. “Oh, you know you’re not getting away from me, Raihan…”
“Oh, I know,” he said, his grin looking more pained by the second. “If I tried to run now, it’d only be asking for trouble… I’d never be able to say no to this old bat…”
Chloe took a step back, finding a place next to Goh. “Maybe we should head to the stands and get a good seat before more people show up…” she offered as she began her own retreat.
“Sounds good to me,” replied Goh.
Opal looked over her shoulder at them, grinning. “Oh you’re here to compete too, you two.”
“What?! Us, too?!”
Chloe’s mind began to swim with just how she could even compete on the same level as the Masters Eight.
As it turned out, the competition wasn’t one for Pokémon Battles. Instead, it was a cake decorating competition like she had watched on TV with her mother occasionally. The catch was that they had to use Alcremie to provide the cream. The Alcremie all seemed to be the personal Pokémon of Opal, all but the one Goh had just caught and evolved, so of course he used that one.
Chloe opted for a lemon cream one with heart decorations. Ash ended up with a caramel swirl Alcremie with berry decorations. Raihan had a rainbow cream Alcremie and Leon, the Monarch, chose a mint one.
Chloe looked at the cake she and Eevee had made while Opal began her judging with Leon’s cake. It was yellow with hearts and a few lemon slices, though she did take some liberty with the cream on top. Rather than her initial idea of doing a swirl of whipped cream, she decides to do overlapping zig-zags of cream that reminded her of Pikachu’s tail.
Looking over to Ash’s cake, it was an overly decorated mess. The Caramel Cream was heaped on thickly and it was topped with all sorts of decorative candy Pokémon (though she didn’t miss the sight of the Alolan Exeggutor on his cake - he was clearly thinking about the island region as he worked on it).
The sides of the cake had cookies with Pikachu and Eevee faces pressed into the cream on the sides. Eevee noticed these details, Chloe could tell. She watched her Pokémon’s eyes watch as Ash decorated the cake, putting on the cookies, several chocolate bars, and candy in the shapes of other Pokémon as well.
Over her shoulder, she saw Goh despairing over the remains of his cake, Grookey lying by the side with a plump, satisfied belly. The sponge cake base was all that remained, and even that was torn apart with bite marks. Goh had barely anything to show, and it was all she could do not to laugh out loud. ‘ I guess a Pokémon really ate his homework this time,’ she thought, smirking.
It was as she watched this that Opal, fresh from checking Raihan’s cake, approached him.
He laughed nervously. “Well… my Pokémon ate it,” he said.
Opal nodded. “If your Pokémon is this happy to eat all the cream off that cake already, it just shows that you and Alcremie will be great friends.”
A wave of relief washed over him. “Right!” he said, finally relaxing after the stress of the competition left him.
Opal then approached Chloe’s table. Silently, she took a knife and cut a slice of her cake, placing it on a plate before taking a bite. Opal chewed the bite thoughtfully, with her eyes closed.
“You have a kind heart that truly values Pokémon, don’t you?”
Opal didn’t even open her eyes before asking that.
“You… why do you think that…?” she asked.
Opal chuckled. “I can tell just from the taste. I can see why the Ponyta and Rapidash like you so much.”
Chloe felt her face heat up as she smiled to Opal and then Eevee and Alcremie. “Thank you very much!”
As she said that, Opal took another bite.
“There’s another taste in here as well,” she said with her mouth partially full. “It’s sweet and smooth… like young love.”
To that, Chloe’s face heated up even further. “You… you think so?”
She glanced to the side at Ash, who was making some last minute adjustments to the lean of several of the decorations. She smiled at him, wondering what his response would have been if he had heard.
“A good taste indeed,” Opal replied. “Definitely one I’ll have to keep in mind. Now, the last cake…” She stared at Ash’s cake for a moment before blinking. “Well this is quite… creative.”
Ash grinned widely. “Alcremie made a bunch of yummy cream, so I wanted the cake to be extra extra yummy!”
As she spoke, Opal cut off a slice of cake with a decorative sugar Diglett on it. “Well, there is a certain thrill to a taste you can’t predict, isn’t there…?”
Like with Chloe’s cake, she popped a bite into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “I see…” she said, cake still in her mouth before swallowing the first bite. “It seems like the rich sweetness of love made its way into your cake as well. However…”
She took another bite and chewed it silently before her eyes shot open.
“The sweetness of love and the unpredictable taste that changes depending on what piece of cake you get… it has a mysterious taste that makes you hungry for more!”
Chloe gasped. “Does that mean it tastes good…?”
“Maybe we should try it, too,” Goh said, swallowing his own pride. Chloe hastily nodded in agreement.
“And so… that means it’s time to declare the winner of the competition…!” Opal shouted.
“The winner?”
The word came from everyone’s mouth.
Opal nodded. “Right… only… as far as cakes go, there are two winners. So we’ll have to have a head to head battle to determine the true winner!”
Ash’s eyes went wide with excitement. “A battle?! Alright!”
Chloe swallowed, nodding. “Okay, but… who are the two winners?” She wanted the answer she had conceived in her mind to end up being wrong.
The response she got from Opal was a wry grin. “Why, you are, child,” she said. “You and this rambunctious young man here.”
Chloe looked over to Ash, who was still jumping with excitement at being told there would be a battle.
“Me and Ash?”
Ash’s eyes went wide, and soon they were brimming with excitement. “I get t’ battle Chloe for the win?! That’s awesome! I’m so psyched!”
Chloe raised an eyebrow, still not sure of how this battle would go. “Wouldn’t you rather battle Leon…?”
“Are you kidding?” Ash asked, nearly laughing. “I’ll battle Leon when I reach him in the World Coronation Series! But another chance to battle with you? Even if we get to spar every day, I can’t get enough of it! This is awesome!”
She found herself smiling at his excitement. “Well… who am I to deny you that, then?”
Opal chuckled. “We’ll use the battlefield here in the stadium. I’m looking forward to what kind of battle you two create for us.”
“Right!” Chloe said, nodding quickly.
Opal approached her, still that wry, wrinkled grin on her lips. “You may want this, before you head to your side.”
Opal held out to her the same white, red, and blue band that Ash was wearing.
“Dynamax band…? So you’re saying I could Dynamax Eevee during the battle?”
“Against that young man? You may need every advantage you can get,” she chuckled. “Good luck, child.”
Chloe turned her sights to Ash and the fire was already burning in his eyes. The sight made her excited, too, in spite of herself.
“We’re going to do our best, don’t worry.”
Ash and Chloe went to the opposite sides of the stadium, standing in the trainer’s boxes. The stadium was much larger than any battlefield she had shared before this point.The sheer size of it was somewhat intimidating, but more than that, her favorite part of battling Ash was seeing him get excited and psyched up during their matches. She remembered watching him getting into the battle in Pallet Town those months back and how happy he seemed in that moment.
She twisted the Dynamax band around her wrist. It felt strange, but it would hopefully be a helpful tool for her in this battle.
She took a deep breath and nodded before gesturing forward with her arm.
“Eevee, I choose you!”
Taking her boyfriend’s phrase for a spin, she called on Eevee, who was waiting at her feet. The Evolution Pokémon rushed out across the astroturfed stadium field towards the middle.
Ash must have seen and heard her, since he gestured out as well, his voice echoing down the stadium to where she could hear it.
“Pikachu, I choose you!”
It would always have been Ash’s trusted partner, the Pokémon with which he shared his life. Just as her heart was linked to Eevee, his was linked to Pikachu, and both of them to each other. They opened their mouths and gave the same command.
“Use Quick Attack!”
Pikachu and Eevee surrounded themselves with power and darted across the field on their short legs, racing head-first towards the other. Both of them leapt up and they crashed their skulls against each other, the impact echoing throughout the stadium as both Pikachu and Eevee flipped around.
Ash was next to call his move. “Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!”
“Dodge it, Eevee! Use Tackle!”
As Pikachu began building up a charge of electricity, Eevee began rushing forward once more. Ash’s partner discharged an electric blast, cutting through the artificial grass and making its way towards Eevee, but Chloe’s Pokémon leapt gracefully over the arcing electricity before coming down on Pikachu with a full-body tackle, knocking him back.
“You caught us with that one! But next time won’t be so easy!”
“Just try us, Ash! I’m going to show off everything I’ve learned from battling you!”
Even from this distance, Ash’s wild grin could be seen. “Pikachu, use Electroweb!”
“Eevee, use Quick Attack!”
Eevee began charging again at high speed, but Pikachu was standing still, raising his tail into the air to build up an electrical charge before lobbing it at the Normal-type. Eevee darted around the web and continued her approach.
Ash smirked, and Chloe realized too late that she had fallen for a feint. “Use Thunderbolt!”
“Eevee, get back!” she called.
But Ash’s mouse was too quick for either of them. Eevee aborted the Quick Attack, skidding to a halt, and that brief moment she wasn’t moving was all Pikachu needed. He unleashed the full force of his cheeks onto Eevee, singing her fur and blasting her backwards. Eevee stood up, her face defiant as she glared at Pikachu, a snarl the Electric-type returned.
Even through this, though, Chloe could feel her connection to Eevee, and Eevee wasn’t upset or even angry. She was ecstatic and overflowing with joy. Battling Pikachu like this brought a rare side out from her. Eevee became feisty and competitive, and though she wasn’t a match for Pikachu’s sheer strength and experience, there was little doubt of the passionate fire that burned in her heart.
Ash looked at her, and she caught his brown eyes looking at her, even this far away. ‘ He must be thinking something like this, too, right? ’
Her boyfriend nodded and pumped his fist. “Pikachu, use Iron Tail!”
Chloe immediately understood his intention. “You, too, Eevee!”
Pikachu began charging forward, his tail becoming enveloped in a metallic shell as he charged ahead. Eevee raised her tail, waiting for his approach, a silvery aura surrounding her as she copied the move and her own tail became encased in steel.
Then, they both leapt forward.
Pikachu and Eevee crossed tails like they were swords, and the clanging clash echoed through the Ballonlea Stadium, making even Leon and Raihan stand from their seats in the stands.
Both Ash and Chloe were getting more into the battle. She could still remember when she was disinterested in them, and felt a small amount of pity for herself. She recalled the brightness of Pikachu’s moves and how she once couldn’t even look at them. Now, she couldn’t take her eyes off of them.
This was a Pokémon battle. She knew it now, how incredible they could be.
Pikachu and Eevee’s tails clashed together once more and they pushed each other back, both standing on all fours with their tails up. They were ready to continue.
Ash nodded. “You ready to take it to the next level, Chloe?” he shouted.
“The next level?” she asked.
“Pikachu, c’mere!”
Pikachu stood and raced back to Ash. He cocked his head to the side and blinked. “ Pikapi? ”
“It’s time. We’re gonna Gigantimax!”
Chloe felt her stomach drop. “Gigantimax…?”
“It’s a simple thing, child.”
Chloe turned and saw Opal standing next to her. The Gym Leader continued to speak, without even looking at her.
“There are some Pokémon that, when they Dynamax, they instead change the shape of their bodies. We call this change Gigantimax instead, since the change is… well, gigantic .”
“And Pikachu can Giganitmax?” Chloe asked.
Pikachu leapt up into Ash’s hands. From where she stood, she saw the light on Ash’s Dynamax band begin to glow, and then the red, imposing light from it began to pour into Pikachu. Ash lifted his partner over his head and gave Pikachu a toss towards the middle.
And as Pikachu flew through the air, so too did his shape change.
His lithe, flexible body became rounder, losing its definition. His tail, only bent in a few places, began to expand and grow longer, with more bends appearing in it as it grew. The entire tail seemed to change into a bolt of lightning that was affixed to the mouse, and when Pikachu’s feet landed, the ground of the entire stadium shook with the weight.
“PIIIIIKAAAAA! ”
Pikachu’s normally high-pitched and cute voice was now deep and foreboding.
Opal turned to her. “You and your partner can Dynamax to try to even the odds, if you wish.”
Chloe swallowed, feeling intimidated for the first time since the battle began. “I don’t really have a choice. How do we do it?”
“Recall Eevee into her ball. The Dynamax Band will do the rest.”
Chloe held up Eevee’s Poké Ball and pulled her partner back inside. As the ball closed with Eevee inside, the Dynamax band began to glow, and the same red light began to pour into the ball containing her Pokémon.
And then the ball began to glow and grow in rapid spurts, quickly becoming too large for Chloe’s one hand. The ball gained a great deal of weight and heft, but it stopped growing when it was just at the edge of too heavy for her to throw.
Chloe gave the ball a toss, and it opened again, releasing her Eevee. Only this time, she began to grow and change as well.
The fluffy fur around her neck grew out, encompassing even more of her body, and her tail grew larger and larger. When her feet hit the ground and shook the stadium like Pikachu did, Chloe was sure she was mostly fluffy fur at this point.
“Did… Did Eevee Gigantimax as well?” Chloe asked, blinking in shock.
“Awesome!”
Ash’s excitement was impossible to dampen.
“ EEEEEVUIIIII!” she shouted, her newly deepened voice echoing across the arena.
“This battle just gets more and more awesome!” Ash shouted. “I love gettin’ t’ battle you, Chloe! It’s always amazing!”
Chloe felt her cheeks flare up, but she couldn’t say she disagreed. “I love spending time with you, too, Ash. Now let’s keep this going!”
“Alright, Pikachu! It’s time to show off your G-Max Move! Use G-Max Volt Crash!”
Pikachu’s cheeks began to spark and course with electricity, and he leapt into the air, only to come crashing down again, shaking the ground once more. He fired the electricity into the gathering clouds, and they disappeared from view for a moment, though with the storm clouds rolling over towards her giant Eevee, she knew the move was incoming. She needed to counter attack.
“Eevee, copy that move!” she called out.
Eevee stood awkwardly on her four, giant feet and raised her tail into the air. The large amount of fluffy fur around her began to roll like waves on the ocean, and a pale-blue aura began to surround her.
The storm rolled closer, and bolts of lightning began to drop, and so Eevee unleashed her attack.
The blue aura was unleashed from Eevee’s body, and it stopped not that far away from her.
“Wait… what happened? That’s not a Volt Crash…”
Chloe’s words were cut off by the falling attack unleashed by Ash and Pikachu. The bolts of lightning came crashing over Eevee, only for the shield of light she created to block each blow as it came. By the time the storm clouds had passed, Eevee remained untouched.
“ VUUUUIII ,” came the Pokémon’s also somewhat surprised response.
Chloe heard Opal’s sharp laughter coming out from behind her. She turned and saw Opal standing there, rubbing her angular chin.
“So… that Eevee of yours can use Copycat, right?”
“How did you know…?”
“Well, you told her to copy it,” Opal said, stepping closer. “And that’s the only move Eevee learns that can do that.”
“That’s true…” she replied. “But why didn’t it work?”
Opal shook her head. “It’s because of how Max Moves work, child.”
“How they work?” Chloe was completely unfamiliar with them.
Opal nodded. “Right. Each type of move transforms into a different move of the same Type, so long that it inflicts damage. However, any move that doesn’t inflict damage on its own instead becomes Max Guard.”
Chloe frowned. “Well, why does it do that? That doesn’t make any sense. Shouldn’t they just become different versions of the Max Move?”
The woman shrugged. “That’s just how it is. Sorry to burst your bubble.”
Chloe turned her attention back to the battlefield. “Then I have to use Eevee’s Max Move. What do Normal-type moves become?”
Opal chuckled to herself. “Well, Normally they become Max Strike, only…”
“Only…?”
“...well, your Eevee is Gigantimaxed. And a Gigantimax Eevee can’t use Max Strike. It has its own Max Move it can use, instead.”
“Well… what’s it called?” She asked.
Opal leaned her head down and whispered to her the answer.
Chloe’s face turned red, the embarrassed blush overtaking her entire face.
“N-No, I can’t call that out.”
“And why not?” Opal said, putting her hands on her hips. “You want to give your boyfriend the best battle you can, right?”
“She’s right, Chloe!”
That voice was Ash’s.
She turned to him, seeing his hands cupped around his mouth, calling to her.
“Let’s finish this battle in a way we can both enjoy, okay?”
And in the face of his optimism and cheer, what could she do?
She sighed, which signaled her giving in. “Alright, Eevee. I hope you’re ready, because here it comes!”
She took a deep breath and pointed her finger straight at Pikachu.
“Use G-Max Cuddle!”
The air went quiet as the name of the move echoed throughout the stadium.
The lumbering Gigantimax Eevee stood on all fours, ready to run, and then she began to dart towards Pikachu. With each step she took, a pillar of light erupted from where she stepped, and out of that light flowed fluffy, soft fuzz that looked much like the fur on Eevee’s body. With each step she took towards Pikachu, more of the fluff came out, and though Gigantimax made her move much more slowly than normal, the sight of Eevee looking like she was riding a sea of fluff towards her target was one to behold.
“We’re not gonna let it just come in!” Ash shouted. “Pikachu, use Max Steelspike!”
Pikachu grabbed onto his tail and smashed it into the ground like he was swinging a club. At the impact sight, metal spikes began to erupt and surged towards Eevee, but it was only after the move was launched that Ash realized his tactical mistake.
As the spikes shot up, Eevee only rose higher into the air on the wave of fluffy fur, covering them up and rendering them harmless.
“Go, Eevee!” Chloe shouted.
Eevee rode the wave as it crashed down on Pikachu, and for a moment, both Gigantimax Pokémon disappeared under a wave of the fluff.
There was a loud crashing sound as Eevee landed, and then it was still.
Though when Chloe looked up, she saw Eevee moving her head from side to side as the fluff began to fall away. And it wasn’t long before Pikachu was visible, either, also moving his head.
The two Pokémon were nuzzling each other’s faces, both smiling cheerfully.
Ash and Chloe both were at a loss for words.
“Eevee…?”
Her eyes went wide at the realization. All that extra time Eevee had spent with Pikachu over the past few months, the jealousy from Sophocles’ Togedemaru, and now, with the fluffiness of the G-Max Cuddle, Eevee had gotten to do what she had set her little heart on. And much like Chloe had found her heart stolen by Ash’s confident, energetic smile and his passionate, loving nature, so too had Eevee become attached to the loyal, supportive, clever Pikachu.
It was enough to completely snuff out any flames in her heart that drove her to continue the battle, and looking over at Ash, she could see the gears turning in his head, and the pieces snapping into place.
It was all he could do to not laugh.
Chloe and Ash began to cross the field towards each other, their Pokémon acting as an effigy of their own love. Chloe offered Ash her hand, which Ash took and shook like he would any competitor before pulling her into a warm hug of his own.
A few moments later, the Gigantimax of Pikachu and Eevee ended, and the two Pokémon returned to their ordinary shapes and sizes.
Goh was the first on the scene after the battle ended, and Chloe could see the smirk on his face from as far away as the stands. “Well… it looks like you guys can double date from now on, huh?” he teased.
She looked down, and sure enough, Pikachu and Eevee were still cuddling each other, even after the effects of the move passed.
“It is strange…” Opal said, stepping up to them as well. “G-Max Cuddle is supposed to infatuate the opponent. It’s never really had an effect like this before.”
Chloe giggled. “Well… it makes sense when you understand how the Pokémon feel,” she said, letting go of Ash and turning to Pikachu and Eevee.
Ash chuckled, adjusting his hat. “Yep! Honestly, I’m kinda embarrassed that I didn’t get it before now.”
Chloe looked up at him from where she had crouched near the Pokémon. “Is it really that surprising when Goh basically had to walk you through how you felt about me.”
He kept chuckling. “Well… no.”
“Now, Eevee, you better be really nice to Pikachu from here on out! I don’t want to hear from Ash how you upset him!”
“ Vui! ” came the happy, chirpy reply.
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Ash said. “Eevee’s just like you. She can be a little silly sometimes, but she’s really kind, loving, and soft when you get down to it.”
“ Pichupi pikapika, Pikapi.”
The four of them laughed, with Leon and Raihan finally joining them. The World Monarch smiled widely. “I’ve never seen a battle end like that. Good luck to you two in the future!”
They both smiled at each other and then turned to him.
“Thank you, Leon!”
Chapter 27: Bonus Chapter: On Holidays
Chapter Text
The ground around them was fluffy and white, and the trees were all coated with a layer of snow as far as the eye could see. Because of this, it was quite bright outside, and Chloe had a difficult time seeing until her eyes adjusted. But the quiet brought on by winter had a magical feeling to it, not the least of which was because of where she found herself.
For the first time since spring break, she had returned to Pallet Town with Ash.
And while their adventures had continued after their hearts finally understood each other in the summer nights of Alola, it was funny to Chloe that the more things changed, the more they seemed to be the same. Of course, she still went to school, met with Mika, went to the lab, talked with her father, did homework and did it all again the next day. But there was the near-constant presence of Ash and Pikachu in her life now. He’d greet her in the morning before she left for school and he and Goh went to their next research assignment for her father. She’d see him returned, usually exhausted and snacking once she came back. They would have time to talk about their days, a quiet moment for her to sneak a kiss, and they would have to part again.
There was something comforting in a routine, she thought, as she continued to live her life, only with an excitable, Pokémon-loving boyfriend who she spent time on the weekends with. And thus, when the break around the end of the year and Christmas came, and she would be out of school for two weeks, who but that boyfriend could offer to break that routine?
“Chloe, you should come with me to Pallet Town for Christmas!” he shouted in the lab at the beginning of December, and Chloe only needed to ask her father permission once to spend time with her boyfriend’s family before he agreed (though he did insist on calling every night to make sure she was okay).
That was how she found herself in this winter wonderland on Christmas Eve, with snow covering the ground and the lake before her frozen solid. She exhaled her held breath, which came out white in the frosty air.
Ash had opted for long pants (which looked a bit odd to Chloe at first, since she had only ever seen him wear shorts before) and a warm, thick jacket that covered his clothes. Pikachu had a stocking cap and a scarf, though Eevee required neither given how thick her fur was.
Ash found them both a nearby stump to sit on and brushed the snow off of it. Chloe sat down in her own wintery outfit, with nice warm leggings and a fluffy white jacket that went over the jumper she wore. Sitting down next to Ash, she began to open her backpack to switch from her snow boots to her ice skates.
Ash chuckled to himself nervously under his breath as he took off his own shoes and replaced them with ice skates. They were nice and new, purchased with Chloe saving up her own allowance and doing extra chores and even agreeing to tutor several girls from her class for final exams that semester. Chloe was excited when she gave them to Ash, but while there was surprise and joy in his face, there was also more than a little trepidation.
“I uh, I’ve never gone ice skating before...” he admitted. “ At least not with ice skates. ”
“All the more reason for me to help you learn, ” she had told him. They now found themselves at a pond outside of Pallet Town in the early part of the morning. The sky was clear, and Chloe wanted to take advantage of the time they had.
“C’mon, let’s go!” she said, taking him by the hand and awkwardly walking through the snow to the edge of the pond. She tested the ice near the edge for just a moment to be sure it was solid, but there was little doubt it would be.
Chloe let go of his hand and stepped onto the ice, and in a few moments, she was already gliding atop it, the blades on her skates gliding over the surface of the ice.
She had gone ice skating a few times before. Mostly with her parents during winter breaks like this. One time, she had gone with Mika and Goh, only for Goh to fall through the ice and the day to be canceled early. But she loved the feeling of the cold air rushing past her face and the white puffs of breath coming from her mouth. But what she loved most of all was the image she saw while skating, of couples holding hands as they spun around the ice. It was that image that she most wanted to replicate with Ash at her side.
The Palletonian, for his part, seemed hesitant to step onto the ice, even as Pikachu and Eevee hopped onto it with nothing separating their bare paws from the ice.
Pikachu turned around, flicking his ears. “Pikapi, pika? ” he asked.
“I’m alright,” Ash replied. “I’ve just… gotta do it.”
He took his first steps onto the ice and began sliding forward, but the way his arms waved in the air around him told Chloe that this wasn’t his intent. She skated up next to him and stopped, taking his hand.
While this did steady Ash and he exhaled a puff of white in relief, Chloe could see his cheeks flushing, and his eyes darting away from hers. “Thanks,” he said, somewhat shyly.
She couldn’t help but giggle at his stubbornness. “You don’t have to try so hard, Ash. I’m not sure I can love you even more than I do already.”
Ash chuckled and his free hand was now pulling his cap down. “I uh… I guess I just want to always look cool in front of you, you know?”
“You are always cool,” she said, linking her fingers into his. “You don’t have to act like you know how to do everything, though. You can rely on us.”
“Us?”
Chloe looked around, seeing Pikachu and Eevee stopping nearby. The two of them were managing to glide across the ice together, but they were watching Ash and Chloe closely.
“Eie, ” Eevee said, tilting her head
Pikachu put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “Pikapi. ”
Chloe put her hand under his chin and turned his face to look at her. “We’re all here for you, Ash,” she said. “Just like how you are all here for me, or how we’re all here for Pikachu and Eevee.”
He nodded, laughing. Chloe thought that he must have been laughing at himself. “You’re right. I just… y’know, I get caught up in it. I wanna always make you happy, Chloe, so I worry about bein’ the perfect boyfriend, even if I still don’t get it all the time, you know?”
She smiled at him gently, putting her hand on his cheek.
“You don’t have to be the perfect boyfriend. I just want you to be the perfect Ash. The best you that you can be.”
She demurely leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, and when she backed away from him, his eyes were wide, and his cheeks were reddened even more than just the winter chill could cause.
“You’re just way too smart for me, y’know,” he said. “I never thought about love much in the first place, but I never woulda guessed someone as brainy as you woulda fallen for a blockhead like me.”
“You’re not a blockhead,” she said. “You’re just very earnest and straight-forward. You focus on what’s important and you don’t sweat the small stuff. And you have a gentle soul that loves Pokémon and me. You’re just being hard on yourself.”
He snorted a smile. “Well… I wasn’t good with dancing before, and I’m not really good with ice skating, either.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you. And I bet Pikachu will be more than happy to help you, too.”
“Pikachu, ” he said, nodding.
“Eievui! ”
“Thanks, everyone,” Ash said before looking intensely into Chloe’s eyes. “I’m ready. I’m gonna amaze you with my ice skating skills by the time we’re done!”
“I look forward to it.”
She skated gently away from him, gliding over the surface of the ice, with Pikachu and Eevee skating up next to her.
Ash sighed and then put his best foot forward, and he skated up next to her, and she caught his arm. The two of them began to spin around each other, with Pikachu and Eevee sliding around them as well. Once Ash found his footing, he began to race Pikachu around the pond, the two of them attempting to out pace the other.
Chloe could only watch in humor and fear that they would get themselves hurt, but Eevee seemed to be excitedly cheering them on.
Eventually, Chloe and Ash’s fun caught up with them as Ash’s stomach grumbled loudly, informing them that it was lunch time. At Ash’s request, they packed up their belongings, switched back to their snow boots, and began the walk back. But as they passed the treeline, Ash paused for a moment.
“Hey, Chloe,” he said, “Hold on a sec.”
He paused and took one of his skates out of his backpack and approached a tree.
“What are you doing?” she asked, following him behind.
Ash chuckled to himself. “Well, there’s somethin’ I saw people do on TV and I wanted to do it here, with you.”
Chloe blinked at him and waited for an explanation. He took the point on the skate’s blade and used it to carve into a tree near the pond. It took a bit of effort, both because of the toughness of the tree and the awkwardness of writing with the skate, but he managed to carve the letters “A” and “K” into the tree.
“You’re monogramming the tree?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Now I’m gonna put your initials,” he said.
She blushed, her mind finally catching up with his desire. “You’re going to what?”
Ash’s face was red, as well. “Well, I just wanted to make our mark, you know?” he shrugged. “It’d be so cool to come back here later and see where we put our initials on this tree.”
She nodded, unable to conceal her smile. “Okay, Ash,” she said. “But can I do it instead?”
He handed her his skate. “Sure! Go for it!”
She took the skate from his hands and walked up to the tree. It was tough, digging the point of the skate into the tree, but she managed to carve “CC” next to the “AK”. For a bit of artistic flourish, she then put a heart around the letters before handing Ash his skate back.
He smiled warmly at it, taking her hand in his own. “I like it,” he said.
His hand felt cold and wet, but Chloe was sure her’s did as well, so she didn’t mind.
“I like it, too.”
When Ash asked to break for lunch, Chloe wasn’t sure where he was taking her, especially since he said they were going to his Mom’s place. But eventually the snow-topped building came into view, and the vent on top spewed a steady stream of steam. Chloe was informed by a nearby sign that this was Pallet House. It billed itself as a family restaurant, but given Chloe’s understanding of Pallet Town during this and her previous visits, she thought that it was the only restaurant in all of Pallet Town.
When she and Ash entered, she was immediately hit by the delicious scents that seemingly were trapped behind the doors. There was also a sense of familiarity; it smelled just like the cooking Mrs. Ketchum masterfully crafted in her own kitchen.
Chloe began to put the pieces together as she scanned the diner. It was decorated much like the Ketchum residence was, with pale walls and pictures hung all around. The contents of the picture frames varied much more than they did in the home, however, containing newspaper clippings and pages featuring notable Palletonians such as Professor Oak, his grandson, and of course Ash.
Chloe was in the middle of quickly reading a clipping about Ash’s entry into the Indigo Plateau Conference when she heard the double doors to the kitchen swing open.
“Oh! I wasn’t expecting the two of you to come here,” Mrs. Ketchum said, carrying plates of food. “One moment, let me deliver this and I’ll be right back.”
They nodded to her and took seats at the counter on the round stools set up for customers. Chloe looked around and saw a few more pictures, only these looked to be landscape paintings that depicted the hills and farms around Pallet.
“So… when you said this is your Mom’s place…” Chloe started.
Ash chuckled. “Yeah! This is my Mom’s restaurant. She owns it! This is where she works whenever I’m not at home.”
“And I guess there’s times she can’t get away from it, either,” Chloe supposed. “But still… this is really cool that your Mom has her own business! And with how tasty her food is, I can’t blame her!”
“ Eievui! ” she chimed in, hopping onto the counter in front of Chloe while Pikachu remained on Ash’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Chloe dear,” Mrs. Ketchum said, coming back with a smile on her face. “That’s sweet of you to say.”
Chloe looked around at the walls, decorated with memorabilia of the small town. “It’s so cozy and warm here… honestly, I’ve been here for only a few moments and it already feels like I never want to leave.”
“That’s the kinda place this is,” Ash said, smiling. “Pallet House is where you can really get t’ know people and learn about ‘em. It’s part of the reason I said everyone’s close here. You really do meet everyone here if you stick around.”
Chloe giggled at Ash’s description. “Honestly, I totally see it. Pallet Town is an amazing place.”
“I hope you’re not just saying that just because your boyfriend lives here,” Mrs. Ketchum teased, but Chloe was able to laugh it off, since Ash was the one pulling down his hat.
“I’m not just saying it because of that, but he is pretty amazing.”
Her own parents had known for some time about the two of them going steady, but when they told Mrs. Ketchum, she seemed to not be surprised about it, a fact that honestly disarmed Chloe at the time. Ash could only laugh and stutter, and had commented that his Mom was pretty incredible.
“It’s just that the more I see of Pallet Town, the more I see just the kind of amazing place that it is, you know?” she said. “It makes me kinda wish there was a place here for people to come visit and enjoy all the nature around here. City people like me rarely ever get to go to a place as surrounded by nature as Pallet Town.”
Mrs. Ketchum giggled then looked at her son. “It sounds like all the time you two have spent in the woods here has left a pretty big impression on her.”
Ash rubbed the back of his head shyly. “Well, I just wanted her to know what it was like for me, you know? I’m happy that she took to it as well as she did. It’s like she’s a country girl, deep down!”
Now it was Chloe’s turn to blush. “Ash, you can’t just say stuff like that, you know. I’m definitely at home out here, but there’s still a lot of stuff you can only find in the city.”
“Heh, yeah, I know,” he said, shrugging.
“But still,” Chloe said. “Imagine if Pallet House was just a little bigger, and with some rooms where people could rent it out. Like a bed and breakfast, you know?” She spun on the stool, opening her arms wide. “People could come eat the delicious, home cooked food and then explore the countryside around Pallet Town. See the fields of wildflowers. Skate across the ponds. Just live and experience nature alongside Pokémon. Doesn’t that just sound amazing?” Her stool completed one full revolution before coming to a stop. She faced Mrs. Ketchum and Ash again before she realized just how far she had gone into her daydream. “I-uh, s-sorry,” she said, her face reddening. “I just got caught up in it, I guess.”
“It sounds like a wonderful idea, Chloe,” Mrs. Ketchum said, beaming. “It kind of makes me want to try it myself!”
Ash gasped. “Is that the dream you want to pursue with Eevee?” he asked.
Chloe and Eevee both looked in his direction, startled. “Our dream?”
He nodded. “Yeah. You brought up this awesome idea. Is that why? Because you and Eevee wanna run a bed and breakfast, too?”
She giggled at his enthusiasm. “Not quite,” she said. “I mean, it’d be a fun side project, I guess, but that’s not the path I want to take when it comes to Pokémon.”
“Do you have some sort of inkling yet?” Mrs. Ketchum asked. “You’ve been giving it a lot of thought lately.”
Chloe looked down shyly, blushing. “Well… I guess there is one thing I am thinking that I’d like to do. But I’m still not sure about it, so I dunno if I wanna say it and get put on the spot.”
Ash pumped his fist confidently for her. “Well, if you wanna try it out, for at least a little while, then why not?” he asked. “Even if you change your mind later, that’s okay.”
Her eyes darted up to look at him, though she kept her head down. “Do you really think so?” she asked.
“Yeah!” he said, his smile beaming as bright as the sun on freshly fallen snow. “Nothing you experience is a waste of time! Everything helps you move forward, one step at a time, right?”
She couldn’t help but smile at that.
“You’re right. Thanks, Ash.”
Night fell over Pallet Town like a soft, quiet blanket pulled over the sky. Somehow the moonlight caused the fallen snow to sparkle even more beautifully than the sunshine did, Chloe thought.
She stood on the porch of Ash’s home, with Ash next to her. In her hands, to help keep them warm, was a cup of hot cocoa. Ash’s had already been emptied and sat on the railing. Pikachu and Eevee were curled up inside on the couch, cuddled together for warmth on the cold winter’s night, leaving Ash and Chloe a bit of privacy.
There is a moment of quiet for the couple as they enjoyed each other’s comfort this quiet Christmas Eve evening.
“It’s kind of a magical feeling, don’t you think?” she asked.
He nodded and put an arm around her.
“Yeah, it is.”
She giggled and snuggled in closer, letting his arm rest on her side. Though they were both bundled up in their winter coats, he was still incredibly warm.
“It reminds me of the time I met Santa Claus.”
There was a brief moment of silence in the air as Chloe mourned the death of the romantic moment she was sharing with him, but after letting that quiet moment pass away, she stepped away from him.
“You what ?”
Her gaze at him was cold, as if he had told an inappropriate joke.
He nodded insistently. “Santa Claus. You know, he rides the sleigh? He delivers presents to every good boy and girl?”
No matter how much she learned about Ash, he always seemed to be able to surprise her.
“You met Santa Claus?”
He nodded again.
“But… I thought he was just made up?” she said, crossing her arms.
Ash shook his head. “No, he always manages to give me and my friends presents, no matter where we are. And I met him, too. We even met his Lapras.”
“He has a Lapras?!” This story was getting even more difficult to believe.
“Yeah,” Ash said. “And a Jynx, and some Ponyta. Team Rocket tried to kidnap him to ruin Christmas but my friends and I saved him and made sure everyone got their presents that year.”
Chloe sat there, stunned. “And… and if we talk to your friends, they’ll vouch for you?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Brock and Misty were both there. Misty’s the Cerulean City Gym Leader, and Brock used to be the Pewter City Gym Leader but he retired and is tryin’ to become a doctor now. Both of them will tell you this is real.”
Unlike some people she knew, Ash wouldn’t tell a fib about something like this, so she set her cup of cocoa aside and pulled a notepad and pen from her pocket.
“Okay, Ash, can you tell me the story from the beginning?”
He blinked. “What’s that?” he asked.
“It’s… it’s a notebook,” she said, somewhat embarrassed. “I want to take notes on what happened when you met Santa Claus.”
“Why, because it sounds like I’m making it up?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. It’s because I know you that I know you’re not making it up. But…” She suddenly felt very self-conscious. “Well… you said that I should try following new dreams, right? Even if I change my mind later?”
He nodded, but then the realization dawned on him and he gasped. “Wait… so takin’ notes on my story is what’s gonna help you reach your dream?”
“Well… I think the things that’ve happened to you are pretty incredible,” she said, giggling. “And I think lots of people could enjoy reading about them.”
“Reading about them?!” Ash practically jumped from excitement. “You mean…? You wanna write books about me?!”
She waved his excitement down. “They’d just be children’s books,” she said, giggling. “But… yeah. I think it would be a lot of fun to share these stories. And you would be able to tell me everything, since I listen so well, right?”
Ash was the one to surprise her by leaning in and kissing her this time.
Her eyes went wide and she was keenly aware of the taste of the cocoa on his lips as well as the bright moonlight giving the scene it’s calming glow. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, but he ended the kiss quickly, his excitement unable to let him stop for even a moment.
“Thanks, Chloe. I’m glad you think everything I’ve seen isn’t a waste of time,” he said.
“Well, it cuts both ways, doesn’t it? If nothing I can do is a waste, then the same has to apply to you.”
He nodded. “I’ll tell you however much you wanna hear. I promise!”
Ash leaned into the corner where the railing met the side of the house, holding Chloe there. His arms felt so warm and strong as they wrapped around her.
She looked up to the bright moon shining above them.
"As long as we can keep sharing this sky, that's enough for me."
Ash nodded, and looked up at the sky.
“It all began this time Misty, Brock, and I saw a Jynx on a beach holding a boot...”
The morning sun crested over the trees from the window, peeking onto the pages laid out in front of her. Her mother had just returned the finished manuscript with illustrations to her, and this was the first chance Chloe had to look over the children’s book - her first ever that was going to hit publication, and she smiled at the memories from that Christmas in Pallet Town Ash had told her the story during.
How many years ago was it now, she wondered. Ten? Fifteen? She wasn’t thirty. Not yet, but it seemed that time had its own way of slipping by. She was an adult now, sitting in her bedroom on Christmas morning, looking over this project.
She heard four sets of snoring behind her, but she had long grown used to the sound. At the foot of the bed, curled up next to each other for warmth on this cold winter morning were the ever reliable Pikachu and Eevee. After all these years, their closeness never seemed to falter, and it was a thought that brought Chloe a lot of comfort.
Laying in bed, half out of it with only part of the covers still on him was her husband. He’d still never grown out of his poor sleeping habits or messy hair, that Ash Ketchum. But looking at his sweet sleeping face, she remembered the joy, warmth, and love he brought into her life every day, and she couldn’t stop the smile from growing on her face.
Idly, her hand drifted over to touch the wedding band she still wore. It was a grand ceremony with more people and Pokémon present than she could count. She distinctly remembered her father, Ren, and Goh all crying, though at least for her father and Goh they had people to comfort them in her mother and Lillie.
Even more than that, she remembered the grand adventure she and Ash embarked upon as wife and husband, packing up their belongings and traveling across several regions looking for adventure and making memories before they returned to quiet Pallet Town in the corner of the Kanto Region.
Again, she found it hard to count the time. Though, she did know it was at least five years ago that the bed’s final occupant had joined them.
Her hair was wild, soft, and curly just like Chloe’s was, and it seemed to have pink, zig-zagging highlights. Though she was sleeping now (snoring, in fact!), Chloe could see Ash’s warm brown eyes on her daughter’s face. Her name was Anemone, after a wildflower the two of them had seen while traveling together, but they usually only called her Anne. At only age five, she was still too young to become a Pokémon Trainer of any sort, not that Chloe would push her daughter to do anything she didn’t wish for. But she was such a daddy’s girl that she figured it would be inevitable that she would want to get her own Pokémon someday and go on all the adventures she’d heard about from her well traveled papa.
She returned to looking at the book with the drawings of Ash, his two friends, and the evil Team Rocket within. She wondered how many of these stories she would end up putting into the hands of children before they would read about the day Ash Ketchum would meet Chloe Cerise, and both their lives would change forever. It was an exciting thought, though she surmised that perhaps saying that she first met the love of her life passed out on the stairs lightly charred by Yamper maybe wasn’t the most romantic beginning the story could have.
But if the sun was rising, that meant it wouldn’t be long before it was time for everyone to wake up. And though the main business of Pallet House was closed for the day, there would still be several hungry people and Pokémon who would be expecting breakfast to come soon.
Chloe stood and quietly shifted to the bedside, giving Anne and Ash both a soft kiss on their foreheads before she slipped down to make breakfast.
As she began stacking pancakes in the kitchen usually used for the restaurant, she wondered about her idea coming to fruition. Pallet House was now a fairly popular bed and breakfast, though it seemed to still be a secret, only known to those in the know. She recalled hosting Gladion in Kanto for a few weeks while he went on his own training journey around the various Gyms of the region. And she made no subtle hints about him recommending the place to Goh and Lillie once they finally decided to tie the knot, though from what her old friend usually said, they were always busy with work.
Life in Pallet Town was slow, and though it took a while, Chloe had gotten to know everyone, just as Ash said she would, and frankly she found the pace suiting her here much more than Vermilion City ever did.
Whether it be time or the scent of breakfast drawn them in, she finally heard Ash’s steps coming down the stairs, carrying Anne on his shoulders. Pikachu and Eevee darted into the kitchen for Chloe while Ash sat Anne at the table.
She brought out the plate filled with pancakes to her husband and daughter’s smiling faces.
“Mommy! Mommy! Did Santa come last night while we were asleep?”
Ash chuckled, patting her on the head. “Hold on, Champ,” he said. “We’ve gotta eat breakfast before we can see what Santa brought us.”
Anne looked at her father, smiling widely. “Okay, Daddy,” she said, taking her fork into her hands. “But I wanna see it soon!”
Chloe laughed. She was so much like Ash, it was uncanny. They both seemed to have the same zeal for life about them. “Alright, let’s dig in. I want to get going so we can continue our tradition.”
Ash used his fork to take a pancake and put it on Anne’s plate before he began cutting it into smaller, child friendly pieces. “I hope it’s cold enough,” he said. “Ice skating on Christmas mornin’s one of my favorite traditions.”
“Well the first time was on Christmas Eve,” Chloe joked, putting a hand on her hip. “But we have gone every day on Christmas since then, so it’s okay.”
“ Pikachu! ”
“ Eievui! ”
The breakfast quickly succumbed to Ash and his daughter’s combined appetites. Chloe was already excitedly looking out the window in anticipation.
The ground around them was fluffy and white, and the trees were all coated with a layer of snow as far as the eye could see. Because of this, it was quite bright outside, and Chloe had a difficult time seeing until her eyes adjusted. But the quiet brought on by winter had a magical feeling to it, not the least of which was because of whose hand she was holding.
Anne walked between her mother and father, smiling widely as she held each of their hands.
The family of three, with their two Pokémon, headed out to the small pond that was a short walk from Pallet House, where the family called home. After taking it over from Ash’s mother and transforming it into a bed and breakfast, the small family had moved in, living alongside the guests they would entertain.
As for Ash’s mother, she still sent them postcards from Alola from time to time. The tropical region was much better for a grandmother’s bones than how cold Kantonian winters could be.
Anne’s hair was finally braided into twin pigtails, a style that suited her somewhat tomboyish nature. Chloe wondered if her daughter would grow out of it, but wasn’t in any rush to force her to be anything but a happy child.
Under Ash’s arms were his somewhat old ice skates and a brand new pair of sparkling white ice skates that Santa had left for Anne in just the right size. “ He always knows ,” Ash had joked to Chloe, and after all this time, she had no reason to doubt him.
They approached the pond and Anne rushed out from their hands to the bench they had installed after having the old stump by the lake removed. “Daddy! Daddy! Let’s skate together, okay?”
Ash scratched the back of his head, glancing over at Chloe. “Well, I was hopin’ t’ get a chance t’ skate with Mama first, Champ.”
Hearing her referred to as ‘Mama’, she giggled. Chloe shook her head. “No, Papa, it’s okay if you skate with her first. You know she’ll tire out before too long and go make snowmen with Pikachu and Eevee.”
He leaned over and kissed her lips softly, but quickly. “Alright. I hope I won’t keep you waiting.”
He turned to the bench and the pond and began the process of switching Anne’s snow boots for her ice skates.
Chloe turned to see an old tree, still standing next to the path back towards home. In an unsure hand, etched into the bark were the initials AK and CC, wrapped together in a heart. The memory of that day rushed back to her once more, and she once more felt like a young girl, standing with her freshly minted boyfriend with a life of love and adventure before the two of them.
Looking at that young man who had grown up so strong and kind wrestling with their daughter’s shoes reminded her of her age, but the truth of the matter was clear.
There would always be more love and adventure with Ash by her side.