@Guest commenter

Sorry I don't have a way of properly addressing you. As for the AshxChloe, while I've haven't been too interested in that pairing, it's definitely on the table for some future ideas I have.

After getting in touch with Professor Birch, and letting him know of the hiccup that occurred, Ash was allowed to stay for another day to research the rest of Shoal Cave. "Well come on Pikachu, let's go to the Pokemon Center to get some rest, then tomorrow we can get an early start on the cave." Ash said having returned the boat. Anthony had informed him that the upper levels of water weren't nearly as cold, so they should be fine for then, but Ash had some other research he wanted to do.

It had been a while since him and Serena had parted ways, and last he had heard she was coming here to Hoenn to try out for contests. After a bit of work, he was finally able to find the files for the contest season she would have been here for. Three hours of searching through the winners, and he hadn't seen a single win from Serena. "Maybe I have the wrong season." Ash said, pulling up the next one. Another few hours and nothing. Entries from May, and even Dawn but none from Serena. "It's getting late, I should get some sleep for tomorrow." Ash said looking at his watch. Pikachu was already fast asleep. Ash carefully crawled into the bed next to him and fell asleep.

The next morning, Ash rented another boat and was on his way back to Shoal Cave. "Okay, Pikachu, let's try and stay topside this time." Ash said as they neared the entrance. "Back again eh?" The man at the entrance said. "Yep, I still have to research during the high tide." Ash said with determination. "Well you're in luck. The tide is coming in. You should have 6 hours to explore but be careful." The man said. "I know, I know if the tide lowers I'll be stuck." Ash said impatiently. "Actually I was just going to say be careful of where you step, slippery slopes are no joke." The man said still happy.

"Spheals, and Sealeos seem to enjoy the upper areas of the cave it seems." Ash said to himself. "Talking to yourself? Have you gone crazy?" A familiar voice said. "I wasn't expecting you all the way up here." Ash said turning towards Anthony. "High or low tide I come here to train." Anthony said from atop a ledge. "Now what brings a pretty girl like you here again?" Anthony asked. Being mistaken as a girl was becoming normal to Ash, but this was the first time that he was called pretty by someone other than his mother. "I'm here doing research on the different Pokemon here." Ash said calmly returning to his work. "Ahh, beauty and brains, a deadly duo. I never got to thank you for the lunch yesterday. How about I repay you with dinner tonight?" Anthony asked coyly. "It's fine, trust me. We're even." Ash said wanting to avoid this as much as possible. "Please, I insist,just one dinner is all I ask. Nothing more." Anthony said. "Nothing? As in after this you'll drop it?" Ash asked. "Well, maybe one more thing." Anthony said. "And what would that be?" Ash retorted. "A name."

Ash couldn't believe he had agreed to it. He was just trying to get Anthony off his back, now he had dinner plans. If Chloe ever got wind of it, she'd never let him live it down. Well, he had some time to finish his research before he had to get ready for dinner, so might as well continue through the cave.

"You look… nice." Anthony said as Ash approached. Ash was shocked, Anthony was wearing a button up shirt and a tie. "Sorry, I came here for research not a fancy dinner." Ash said. He was wearing capris and a floral blouse. While they were nice, Ash was clearly underdressed for this place. "Maybe I should just go." Ash said awkwardly. "No, no it's fine. I should have said something earlier." Anthony said guiltily. "So the Starlight Cafe." Ash said sitting down at the table. "Yeah, it's themed around the space center sort of." Anthony said awkwardly. "So you seem to know your way around here, did you grow up nearby?" Ashasked trying to keep the conversation going. "Not exactly, I go wherever it's the most difficult to train my pokemon, and being surrounded by water makes training a fire type a challenge." Anthony said. "How about you, I mean a tough trainer and a researcher, how did that happen?" Anthony asked inquisitively. As Ash explained the events leading up to him becoming a research assistant leaving out the parts about him being a guy the conversation flowed easier and easier through the night.

That night back at the Pokemon Center, Ash was looking through contest records again. "She has to be here somewhere right Pikachu?" Ash asked his buddy. They had searched ribbon winners of three separate seasons and no sign of Serena anywhere. "Maybe May knows what happened to her?" Ash asked looking at the time. "It's probably too late to call her now, I'll try and get a hold of her when we get back to the lab." Ash said before calling it a night.

Elsewhere

"What are these things?!" Serena shouted as she was chased by an unknown force. "Braixen use Fire Blast!" Her starter pokemon sending a powerful burst of fire behind them as they jumped off a cliff into a flowing river below.