This is Dejavú." Chloe said,sitting down for breakfast. "Except last time your were the grumpy one." She said, pointing to Goh.
"Our excursion had a few bumps yesterday." Goh admitted.
"Yeah, that was the only problem." Ash said sarcastically. "I'm gonna go find a challenger if anyone needs me."
A while later, just north of Vermillion
"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!"
Ash knew this wasn't healthy, but he needed to be away from Goh. He crossed a line, and Ash wasn't ready to talk about it. Looking at his phone, his number rose to 193.
Back at the lab
"So what did you do?" Chloe asked.
"Why do you think I did something!" Goh defended.
"You're here and calm. Ash stormed out angrily. So I'll repeat myself. What. Did. You. Do?" Chloe emphasized.
"Look before you say anything, it was a spur of the moment, and the other trainers' fault in the first place." Goh said.
"What! Did! You! Do!" Chloe yelled this time.
"I might have, sort of, possibly kissed him." Goh said sheepishly.
"You are an idiot." Chloe said plainly.
"I know, thanks for sugarcoating it." Goh said. "I messed up, and I don't know what to say."
"Best idea, don't say anything just yet. Let Ash come to you." Chloe said.
"And what if he doesn't?" Goh asked worriedly.
"He waited for you. Back when this all started. You just have to be patient." Chloe said.
Pallet Town
"Ash? Is everything alright?" Delila asked worried at her son's sudden arrival.
"No, I was an idiot. How could I be so stupid to think that dressing like this wouldn't cause problems." Ash angrily said, heading towards his room.
"Is there anything I can do?" Delila asked trying to be supportive.
"Forget who I've been the past few months." Ash said.
A few minutes later he came down in his old blue jacket, Pokémon league hat, and sneakers.
"Ash, please think about what you're doing." Delila pleaded.
"I did, but I need to remind everyone I'm still a guy, including me." Ash said, heading back towards the door.
"Don't do anything too reckless." Delila said watching her son take off into the sky.
Cerise research lab
"Dad, don't you think we should wait for Ash?" Chloe asked.
"Ash said he's a few minutes out on Charizard, he'll be here in time to get the main part of the mission." Professor Cerise replied.
"Did he say anything about me?" Goh asked.
"No, the conversation was pretty quick. He didn't seem to against working with you though." Professor Cerise said. "Anyways you'll be going to a mountain range in Johto, sightings of Charizard leads me to believe there may even be a colony up there."
"There is, and I've been there." Ash said walking into the room. "It's called the Characific Valley, and it's not an easy trip getting there."
"Ash, you look…". Professor Cerise struggled for the right words.
"I'm wearing what fits me best in both personality and in size." Ash said a bit annoyed. "In case anyone forgot who I really was."
"Maybe I should sit this one out." Goh said.
"Nonsense, you two will need to get over your differences, and part of that is working together." Professor Cerise said. "Now Ash, you said you've been there, so I'll let you give out May info and prep work you'll need."
"We're going to need agile flieres, ones that can go for a while carrying us as well. The path on foot is far more treacherous, and long. I'll call ahead, but I don't know what we'll be able to take photos of. Don't try and fight the Charizard or capture them. My Charizard trained for a long time with them, and I have no guarantee he was the strongest in there when he left." Ash listed off.
As Goh went to get a couple of flight Pokémon, Chloe stick behind.
"Ash can we talk." Chloe said angrily.
"Yeah, what's up?" Ash said, his tone drastically changing.
"What's up? You've spent the last 6 months dressing like a girl and suddenly you're back to the old you? Is this about what happened between you and Goh?" Chloe asked.
"I never stopped being me, that was just a new side of me, something that I'm trying to go back from. And yes this is partially about what happened with Goh, but there are other reasons." Ash said.
"It's fine to feel weirded out by that, but he's sorry for stepping out of line, and you didn't need to be so hard about the mission." Chloe said.
"Hard! Chloe that valley trained my Charizard to be able to go toe to toe with a mystical Entei, an army of Unown, take out a Blastoise and critically injure a Blaziken. He's beaten Articuno in an aerial battle. He was part of my selected team to against a Regice. He's fought Mewtwo, raced Genesect, and outflamed Reshiram. Where we're going isn't a walk in the park. I was making it sound safer than it will be. If they don't like you, I don't know what will happen." Ash said honestly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Chloe apologized.
"I get I was a bit rough back there, but you have to understand that what happened yesterday isn't going to just go away. Goh betrayed my trust when he did that, and I needed to find a way to feel secure in who I am again." Ash said.
"Hence the old outfit from your Indigo and Silver Conference days." Chloe realized.
"How do you know about those? You aren't interested in competitive battle if?" Ash asked.
"No, but I am interested in research. When you began working here, I looked you up. All your league data, old races, friends, rivals, even registered Pokémon. I found it all." Chloe said. "You'll have to patch things up with Goh sooner or later though."
"I know, I'm just not ready to do that yet, I need time to go over things, alone preferably." Ash said.
"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." Chloe said warmly before walking away.
"I will." Ash said.