"Ashley go and see what made that noise! Chloe get Corvisquire and Koffing ready to blind anything that she finds." Goh ordered.
"Ow!" Ash shouted.
"What did you find." Goh shouted.
"If you were over here, you'd know!" Ash shouted back.
"And if I wanted complaining I'd have asked for it." Goh shouted.
"It was another angry Spearow." Ash said, rubbing the spot it pecked him. "This is pointless, I'm going back to the lab."
"I'll let you know when we're done." Goh said, "We have more places to check."
"Goh, I'm in all kinds of pain, and am bleeding in a few spots. I'm going back." Ash said.
Chloe only watched the once friends argue with each other, things had been bad since Ash had left.
"Fine! Leave! It's what you do best! Just know that this will be on your progress report Ashley!" Goh yelled, but Ash was already too far off.
A while later
"Ash, can i come in?" Chloe asked from outside his room.
"That depends, is the new Goh out there with you?" Ash asked angrily.
"No, I think he's trying to report you for not following orders." Chloe admitted. The door slid open, and Chloe took that as being allowed in. Only to find Pikachu, Scraggy, and Totodile stacked on each other, having opened the door.
"In here." Ash said from the bathroom. "Don't worry it's fine."
Chloe walked in to find Ash soaking his legs in ice water.
"How're you feeling?" Chloe asked.
"Physically, I'm in pain. Emotionally I'm annoyed." Ash said. "What happened, Goh's so different than when I left."
"He took your leaving hard. At first he didn't say much, but a few missions in, he started taking charge. Then he started being harsher with what he wanted. Soon enough if the mission went wrong it was always my fault." Chloe said sadly.
"What about your dad?" Ash asked.
"We've had a lot of successful missions with Goh like this, I don't have the heart to tell my dad how bad it's gotten." Chloe said.
"So you do all the work, and he gets all the credit." Ash said.
"Yeah, pretty much, but if he's in a bad mood, he'd give me jobs that would sabotage the research." Chloe said.
"Like sending me into the unknown, knowing that there were hostile Pokemon." Ash pointed out.
"Pretty much yeah." Chloe admitted. "What are you going to do about him?"
"I'm not sure there's much I can do yet." Ash admitted. "And what's with him calling me Ashley?"
"Maybe it's his way of showing dominance." Chloe said with a laugh. "I missed this."
"Complaining about Goh? Pretty sure you could talk with Misty for the same effect." Ash said with a laugh.
"No, I missed you. This wasn't like the other times, I didn't know if you'd come back, and it hurt knowing you might not." Chloe admitted.
"Don't worry, I plan on fixing this before I look at going off on a mysterious journey again." Ash said with a laugh.
'Ding'
"Great, a message from our fearless leader." Chloe said sarcastically. "He found a lead on Regice, and wants us ready to go ASAP."
"Bring Pokeballs for this one, it's time he was knocked down a peg." Ash said. "I'll meet you guys in the lab in a few."
A little while later
"Took you long enough Princess." Goh commented.
"Had to make sure I was ready." Ash admitted.
"Our boat leaves in five minutes. Let go." Goh commanded.
"Aye aye captain." Ash said sarcastically.
"When'd Pikachu get a collar?" Chloe whispered.
"Around the time I left, he doesn't mind it though." Ash said.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed happily. The yellowish orb in clear view.
"Is that what I think it is?" Chloe whispered.
"Yep, and keep it a secret. I don't need Mr. Leader finding out about it." Ash said.
"If you ladies are done gossiping, we have a mission to take care of." Goh said, impatiently.
On the boat
"So I've faced Regice a couple of times, some things we should look out for…". Ash began before being interrupted.
"Uhp uhp uhp. Ashley, we've been over this, you don't make the battle plans any more. You fall in line, or you leave it." Goh said. "Cinderace and I will take the front point, Chloe you go in from the side with Ponyta, Ashley you and Pikachu keep it distracted."
"Great, eight Pokémon leagues and a battle frontier and I'm on distraction duty." Ash said.
"If you prove yourself responsible, maybe you'll even make it to the second attacker." Goh said with a smirk. "Though with your attitude as it is, I don't see that happening."
Ash pantomimed him zipping his mouth shut.
"Much better, now you and Pikachu go run a lap around the boat, I'll time you to make sure you're fast enough for this." Goh ordered.
Ash gave a thumbs up before leaving the room.
"Come on Pikachu, let's see what there is to do on this boat." Ash said as they rounded a corner.
Six hours later
'Knock knock'
"About time! Did you get lost on your way? Or did you try and leave us again!" Goh shouted.
Sticking with his choice earlier, Ash said nothing, only shrugging his shoulders.
"When I ask you a question! I expect an answer!" Goh shouted.
"And when it's two on the morning I want to sleep!" Chloe yelled.
"I'm watching you." Goh said, looking Ash dead in the eyes. "Get some rest ladies, you'll need to be ready for tomorrow." Goh said exiting the cabin.
"You're just making him worse by doing this." Chloe said.
"That's my plan." Ash said.
"I thought you said you didn't have a plan." Chloe said confused.
"I don't, but I need to see how far I can push him." Ash admitted. "He needs to see how bad he's gotten, and one way might be by making everything go wrong."
"If you think that will work, go for it." Chloe said going back to sleep.
"I'm hoping it will." Ash said, laying down in his bed as well.