Special thanks to a good friend who helped me with writing this.

"Hey, Ash. Can you come here for a second?"

The Pallet born trainer looked up from his lunch (a sandwich prepared by Mr. Mime) to see Chloe beckoning him from behind an arch in Cerise Park, one of the structures that helped divide the area into multiple areas. The first thing he noticed about her was that her clothes (yellow overalls that she sometimes wore when she joined Goh and himself on an adventure) were incredibly muddy all down the front. A look at her hands confirmed this, and there were even a few streaks of dirt on her cheeks. But there was a confident smile on her face, and at her feet stood Yamper and Eevee, both also incredibly muddy.

Had they been digging something?

Ash, for his part, was dressed regularly, shorts and vest as he sat with his team eating lunch while he planned on the afternoon's training. Goh was supposed to be back from the make-up school he was forced into this weekend after bombing his last test, but if he wasn't, he'd make the most of the time he had anyway.

Quickly gulping down the rest of his sandwich (an action that his Pokémon took to mean to hurry up themselves) and quaffing down a gulp of water, he gave her a thumbs up. "Sure! What's up?"

"There's something I want to show you, but you have to come here."

"Show me something…? Did you teach Eevee a new move?"

She laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "Nothing that exciting, I'm afraid," she said, her eyes looking away. "Please?"

He jumped to his feet. "I'm comin'! I wanna see it!"

Pikachu was quick to his shoulder and the rest of his Pokémon were fast behind him.

Chloe turned and led Ash around the corner to where, if she was to be believed, there was something incredible to show him. Around the corner, on the edge of the flower garden in Cerise Park, there was a newly planted shrub. The ground all around it was freshly watered and very muddy, which told Ash why Chloe and her Pokémon were so muddy.

Chloe gestured to the shrub, an excited look on her face, as though she was saying 'ta-dah!'. Eevee and Yamper helped her surround the shrub and tried to emphasize its importance. "Here it is!" she said, a wide grin on her face. "It's something I've been thinking about doing for a while, and today seemed like the best time to do it, since Goh told me it was your birthday today."

Ash looked at the shrub for a second, confused as to how this plant could be connected to his birthday. While he did learn a bit about plants from Brock, Cilan, and Mallow, he didn't immediately recognize the significance of this particular one. "It's a shrub?" he asked, perplexed.

"It's a laurel!" she interjected, excitedly. "Specifically, a cherry laurel." She turned to it and ran her hand gently over it's leaves. "Laurels are plants that symbolize victory. In ancient times, people would make wreaths of their branches and use them to crown winners, whether it be in sports, academics, or Pokémon battles." Chloe stopped her excited explanation, laughing at herself a bit.

Ash was still a bit confused. "It's a pretty cool plant, Chloe," he offered, laughing to himself somewhat as well. "Did you plant it yourself?"

She looked at him, trying to play it off as a joke. "No, it just popped up like this and got Yamper, Eevee, and I all muddy," she quipped sarcastically. "Yes! I planted it. I help out at school in the garden sometimes, if you didn't remember."

Ash nodded. "Oh, right! You do handle that sometimes, don't you?"

This caught Chloe off-guard. "I… honestly didn't expect you to remember that," she admitted. "The last time I brought it up around you… well, I didn't exactly make the best first impression. Or second. Or even third or fourth."

She laughed again, but this time there were tears in the corners of her eyes. Ash looked at her, now concerned. "Chloe…? Are you alright?"

She looked at him with a sad smile. "...I wasn't exactly the nicest person to you when you showed up. You know that. I know that. Goh and Dad know that." She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I avoided you. I made fun of you. I yelled at you. I… I felt like you didn't belong here."

This admission took Ash back, but it wasn't completely out of nowhere. He understood that she'd prefer her space from him and Goh, and the way he did kind of intrude on her life wasn't lost on him. He'd experienced this sort of thing before, when he began staying in Alola and going to the Pokémon School. He completely changed the dynamic of everyone living there, and he and Kiawe had their share of scrapes before they really solidified their friendship.

Thinking over his life, there were more than a few people this could fit. Paul. Gary. Even his love-hate relationship with his particular group of Team Rocket.

He shook his thoughts clear. "C'mon, Chloe. Don't beat yourself up. That's all in the past, y'know?"

Pikachu nodded before leaping from his shoulder to hers, nuzzling her cheek with his. "Pika, pikachu!"

Chloe stroked Pikachu's head. "I know that," she said, fighting the emotions out of her eyes. "All of that is in the past. And, y'know… I'm glad it is. You've been an incredible help here as my Dad's research fellow. You've been an invaluable friend for Goh. And… you've been my friend, even when I didn't really act like it towards you." There was a harsh honesty in her words. But she turned her attention back to the shrub. "So… I wanted to plant something in the park that symbolized the spot you have here. With Dad, and Goh, and me. That symbolized the impact you have in all our lives."

Now it was Ash's turn to be caught off-guard. "You did this for me…?" he asked.

She nodded. "I know you've tried to explain it a few times, but I still don't really know what a Pokémon Master is supposed to be, or how long it's going to take you to become one. But I know you're going to keep moving forward towards that goal, and succeeding. In your current goal to beat Leon and… whatever happens after that, too."

There was another look of sadness in her eyes, one that Ash had seen time and time again. Even with his goal of battling Leon still so far and his research fellowship with Professor Cerise giving him ample opportunities to train and see the world, his new friend Chloe was already worried about when he would leave their lives.

"And no matter where," Chloe continued, "your life takes you after you leave here one day… I just want you to always have a place here, in Cerise Park." She smiled at him. "I see it now. We're lucky to have you here, Ash. And hopefully, one day we can take a few branches from this laurel and weave a crown for you to wear as the World Monarch." She picked Pikachu up off her shoulder and handed him back to Ash. "So that's that. Happy Birthday, Ash."

Ash took another look at the shrub, the cherry laurel. Somehow, after hearing all the feelings that Chloe put into planting it, it seemed like a much grander plant, even though it was still pretty small and freshly planted. He chuckled. "Y'know, it's gonna be awesome to see just how big this thing gets," he said. "It's like a Pokémon! I'm already psyched just thinking about it!"

Pikachu crawled from Ash's arms to his shoulder and gave a rallying cheer of "Pikapika! Pikachu!"

Ash adjusted his hat, grinning at Professor Cerise's daughter. "Thanks, Chloe! You too, Yamper and Eevee! I'm so lucky to have friends as amazing as you and Goh helping me out! Battling Leon again may be one step on my way to being a Pokémon Master, but going around the world and getting to know all the amazing people and Pokémon in it is a huge part of it, too!"

As he spoke, he turned to his Pokémon partners - Dragonite, Gengar, Lucario, Sirfetch'd, and Dracovish - gathered behind him. He took a few steps backwards towards Chloe and the newly planted bush. "Everyone I've met here is like a giant leap towards my dream! All you guys, all of Goh's Pokémon, and even you and Goh, too, Chloe!"

He turned again, grinning at her. "I'm so confident, I'll even shout it!" He thrust both of his fists into the air with a shout. "THAAAANK YOOOOU!"

All of his Pokémon leapt into the cheer as well, the noise rattling some of the Pokémon trying to enjoy the flower garden. But this just made Chloe laugh.

"One more thing," Ash said. "I know you're still tryin' to find your own path, and you're trying to help Eevee find hers, too. But whatever you and she decide, I hope I get to be there and help you guys out as much as you guys help me!"

He grinned wildly in that trademark Ash Ketchum way, thrusting a fist out towards her this time. Smiling, Chloe mimicked him, balling her hand into a fist and bumping hers into his.

"Thanks Ash. I know you'll be a huge help!"

After the words left her mouth, Gengar disappeared and reappeared behind Chloe before shoving her towards Ash as Dragonite came up behind him, wrapping the trainer and the muddy girl together in one of the Dragon Pokémon's signature excited, bone-crushing hugs. Sirfetch'd and Lucario, acting quickly, pry them loose, but some of the dirt and mud had already transferred to Ash via the contact.

Both Chloe and Ash saw this and just burst into laughter that echoed throughout the Cerise Park, just as Goh returned from his Saturday school.