So, it's been a while hasn't it? Sorry about that, I had to rewrite this chapter more times than I would like to admit. Multiple times I would be halfway done with this chapter, but then I would delete it and restart all over because I didn't like the way it was turning out. Even now that I'm finally done with the chapter I'm still not entirely pleased with how it ended up, but I had to decide at some point, so I just went with this. Hope you enjoy it!

Nobody really knew what to do or say, the rest of the group were just kind of… stunned. After a while, the sound of another splash of water alongside the sight of Peonia's now soaking wet face broke the trainers out of their trances.

"Woo! I'm okay!" The girl said with her typical smile as if nothing happened.

The group blinked, mentally questioning the sanity of the girl, and then Brandon took the lead. "Anyways… we are almost to the Three-Point Pass, all we have to do is go south from here, and it should be not too far away…" He explained, looking at his map to make sure they didn't have another unexpected detour to take.

"Sounds simple enough!" Ash commented, happy to know they were almost at their destination.

Goh, noticing something, scratched the back of his head and said. "There's just one little problem though…" As he turned and looked at the vastness of the sea in front of them. The others quickly realized the issue the Vermillion City researcher was trying to relay, but regardless, the young trainer mentioned it out loud. "How exactly are we gonna travel through the sea?"

Peonia gritted her teeth as she realized Goh's point. "You're right, we can't just fly over… Our Pokemon will freeze to death from this cold." She finished whilst shivering, as she herself was starting to feel the effects of the cold, which seemed to get even worse when they got closer to the ocean. They definitely didn't call it the Frigid Sea for nothing…

"Hmm…" Mumbled everyone, as they tried thinking of a solution.

… … … …

Nothing. The group let out a simultaneous sigh, as five minutes had passed by and no one found a quick solution to their problem, which was quite a strange feeling, since usually at least one of them could come up with a plan, but not this time.

Peonia let herself fall on her back, making her lay down on the grassy terrain. Ash, Chloe and Goh swiftly joined her, just before she stated the obvious. "I'm stumped… You know, it would be great if some random Pokemon would just give us a ride to the Three-Point Pass…"

"It would, but considering the wild Pokemon here aren't necessarily the friendliest, I highly doubt that…'' Goh countered.

Brandon frowned and crossed his arms, frustrated he couldn't come up with anything. The Pyramid King then noticed a group of wild Pokemon swimming close to the shore, and pulled out his binoculars to investigate. Ash noticed this and stood back up, with Pikachu retaking his spot on the trainer's shoulder, and quickly made his way next to the Frontier Brain.

"What's wrong Brandon? See anything?"

The Regi Master put his binoculars down before shaking his head. "Nothing of interest, just a herd of Lapras passing by…"

"Oh, I see…" He said slightly disappointed. Ash turned around and started walking back to the rest of the group, but a sudden thought came to the Alolan Champion's mind, making him freeze up on the spot. 'Wait… Herd of Lapras? Nah… Surely it can't be…'

The Pallet Town trainer didn't even try and reason it could've been what he hoped for and resumed walking towards his friends. It had been such a long time, and in a place much further away from when he last saw it. The odds of it actually being what he thought were astronomical…

"Strange… I didn't expect to see a herd of Lapras traveling through here…" Brandon thought out loud, which made Ash freeze on the spot again almost instinctively, as the Hyper Class trainer started to get more and more curious. A part of his brain was desperately trying to reason it could just might be who he thought it was…

But come on. There was no way, right?

He thought mentally, as he turned around to face the ocean and saw the multiple Pokemon continue their way further into the sea. Despite his logical thinking, Ash eventually grew too tempted not to check if it was actually who he thought it was. The trainer sighed at his bold assumption and said. "Hey Brandon… mind if I take a look?"

The Pyramid King seemed a bit confused at the request, but nevertheless complied and handed over the binoculars. "Sure…"

Ash grabbed the object and raised it to his eyes, allowing him to see way further than he could with just the naked eye. He scanned the area for a bit, and he eventually found what he was looking for. The Alolan Champion squinted his eyes at the leader of the group, who was silently directing the pact of Lapras behind him. 'Hmm…' The Pallet Town native still couldn't quite tell if it was the same Lapras he thought it was, as he was still too far away, so he slowly started approaching the shore.

Whilst slowly making his way towards the ocean, the Hyper Class trainer suddenly froze up once more when he heard a sudden faint cry from that same Lapras, which told him that it was exactly what he was hoping for…

"Oh my Arceus, it is you!" In all the excitement, Ash dropped Brandon's binoculars and ran even closer to the shore.

The trio of trainers that were laying on the ground a good distance away from the scene raised an eyebrow each at Ash's sudden outburst. They stood back up and made their way to the Pyramid King, where Chloe asked: "Um, what exactly is Ash doing?" A shrug from the experienced trainer was her only response.

"Lapras! It's me, Ash!" The Alolan Champion screamed out into the ocean, trying to catch the attention of the leader of the Lapras herd. It seemed to be in vain though, as the group of ice types kept going on their merry way.

He had now reached the beginning of the Frigid Sea and could no longer get any closer to the group of transport Pokemon. Ash needed to catch their attention before they were too far away, but thankfully, he knew just how…

"Pikachu! Thunderbolt into the sky!" The electric type, who had yet deciphered what affiliation Ash had with that certain group of Lapras, nevertheless jumped off his trainer's shoulder and launched a bright bolt of electricity into the air.

The water and ice types swimming in the ocean quickly noticed the bright yellow light shining on a nearby shore they had just passed, and slowly started making their way back where they came from to investigate. The leader of the Lapras herd originally had a serious look on its face, as he didn't recognize the source of the electric bolt, but soon enough, as they were getting closer, the frown on the transport Pokemon's face turned into exhilaration when it saw the familiar face of a trainer with a Pikachu on his shoulder, waving at it's herd excitedly.

Ash's previously owned Lapras let out a cry of joy as it swam faster to meet its former trainer, who started petting its head with a huge smile plastered on his face once the Pokemon arrived at the shore. "Lapras! It's so good to see you! It's been so long!"

The Pokemon nodded in agreement and Pikachu nuzzled the Pokemon's cheek, finally remembering the Lapras that Ash used to own. At that same moment, Ash's friends arrived at the reunion. "You know this Lapras Ash?" Goh asked, as he didn't remember him knowing one.

"Of course! He used to be my Pokemon!" The young trainer revealed.

As Ash watched Chloe, Goh and Brandon's eyes widened slightly in surprise, he was half expecting Peonia to say she recognized the Pokemon, but to his and the others surprise, her comment was not at all what was expected.

"You used to own a Lapras!? That's so awesome!" She exclaimed, earning a strange look from pretty much everyone. "W-What?" She asked, noticing the weird facial expressions from her friends.

"Y-You didn't know that?" Ash said, to which Peonia gave a shake of the head.

"Now that is the most shocking thing I think I've ever heard in my entire life…" Chloe expressed with absolutely no hint of sarcasm in her voice. Goh and Brandon nodded approvingly, making Peonia deadpan.

The rest of the Lapras traveling with Ash's old Pokemon caught up to their leader and seemed to ask if it knew the humans. After a quick explanation in Pokemon language, the transport Pokemons let out happy cries, happy that their leader got to reunite with it's old trainer.

Ash smiled at this and proceeded to ask a favor to his old friend. "So Lapras, we are trying to get to this place called the Three-Point Pass, would you mind giving us a ride with your herd?"

Ash's Lapras would obviously be glad to help out it's former trainer, but it still asked the rest of it's herd if they would mind. The water and ice types were happy to comply with the raven haired boy's request and nodded to their leader.

"Really!? Thanks a bunch!" Ash turned to face his companions and excitedly declared. "Alright guys, we have our rides!"

"Great, let's get going then. I'll lead the way." Brandon announced, to which nobody opposed.

The group quickly got on five separate Lapras and started making the final push towards the Three-Point Pass, greatly exciting the group of travelers. Brandon was at the front, riding with Pikachu next to him atop of Ash's Lapras, since it was the leader of the herd, Peonia and Ash were side to side just behind him, riding on a Lapras each, and Goh and Chloe just behind them, with their own Lapras each as well.

"Well Ash, you've somehow come up with another great plan to save us once again!" Peonia commented with a smile, seemingly greatly enjoying her ride on top of her Lapras.

"I-I didn't do anything, we're just lucky Lapras happened to come by here." The Alolan Champion replied in his typical sheepish fashion.

The blonde haired girl looked at her companion in an unamused fashion and coldly said. "You just can't seem to take a compliment can you?" Ash simply scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

Goh, who was silently watching the two in front of him interact, chuckled at the truth in Peonia's words. He looked towards his right, and found Chloe looking at the pair as well, with an unreadable facial expression. Figuring it was about time he said something to his childhood friend about her strange behavior recently, Goh tapped his Lapras gently and pointed towards Chloe, indicating he wanted to speak to her. The Pokemon wordlessly complied and got closer to it's nearby member of the herd transporting the maroon haired girl.

"Hey Chloe." The young researcher first said casually, awaiting to see her initial reaction. Chloe seemed a bit startled by her friend, but recomposed herself before replying.

"Oh! Hey Goh, what's up?" She replied in a strangely nonchalant manner, making her good friend narrow his eyes slightly.

"That's what I wanted to ask you. You've been acting… well, strange lately…"

"What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine…"

Seeing he wasn't going to get anywhere trying the subtle way, Goh decided to get straight to the point. "You've been staring at Ash and Peonia like a creep for a while now, and also I've noticed that recently, the only person you look at or, heck, talk to as of late, is Ash."

Chloe looked back at Ash and Peonia, seemingly just noticing she was in fact staring at the pair, and flusteredly replied. "Y-Your probably j-just imagining things Goh..."

"Chloe, I've known you long enough to know when you're lying or not…"

The maroon haired trainer visibly tried to come up with something to say, but found herself incapable of doing so. The girl sighed and looked at water beside her, her mind wandering as she spotted some Magikarps and Basculins swimming peacefully in the ocean. 'Who am I kidding? Goh's not stupid. He's obviously noticed I've been acting weird recently. But what am I supposed to say? I don't even know myself why I feel so strange around Ash…'

Chloe turned her attention back to her childhood friend and decided to be straightforward with him. If there was anyone who could help her figure out what she was feeling, it was probably him. "You're right… I guess I have been acting pretty strange lately. But the truth is, I don't really know myself. It's just that, recently, I feel so… weird when I'm with Ash, but I have no idea why. It's as if everytime I'm near him, I just can't think straight, and it seems like he's the only thing I can think about. And it doesn't help that today specifically, everything seems to revolve around him. It's so confusing, seriously…"

Goh was a bit surprised, as he wasn't expecting her to just say what was bugging her in her mind, especially since Chloe is usually a quiet, reserved person. Nevertheless, he pondered her words for a while, trying to think of the best thing to say.

"Hmm… You do bring up a good point when you say that so many things seem to be related to him lately, but as for what you're feeling…" Goh really wanted to say the first thing that immediately came to his mind when Chloe mentioned feeling strange around Ash, but he caught her stare on him and decided to drop it. "I can't really help you there."

At the sight of her deflated face, Goh thought back to what he and Brandon talked about when the group got separated in the Roaring Sea Caves…

"You think she likes him don't you?"

"W-Well I didn't say that but…"

"Look, I don't nearly know the girl as much as you must do, but from what I observed, she has slowly been getting more attached to him as time passed by, especially compared to the first day I met you all…"

"Don't remind me… that whole day was a mess…"

"I might not be too knowledgeable when it comes to feelings and emotions of others compared to other things, but what I can tell you is that there's a possibility she does feel something towards him, although she may not have realized it yet. But the way things have been going recently, she may very well know soon."

Goh didn't want to immediately jump the gun and tell Chloe straight to her face that she might have developed feelings for the trainer, but to tell the truth, he was almost certain that was indeed the case, she just hadn't realized it yet. Goh turned his attention to Ash and Peonia in front of him, seemingly laughing at something, as he once again pondered what to tell Chloe.

The Vermillion City researcher really wanted to help his childhood friend out, he truly did, but he knew this was something she had to realize herself. So he decided on simply giving her some words of wisdom. "Look Chloe, I would really like to help you out here, but this is something your going to have figure out yourself. But, there is one thing I can tell you…"

"And what is that?!" The maroon haired girl eagerly asked, desperate for some answers.

Goh chuckled at her despair before finally asking her: "Have you ever thought about… What is Ash to you?"

… … … …

"...Huh?"

"Hey Goh! You gotta come see this! It's a white striped Basulin!" Ash suddenly screamed out of nowhere.

"REALLY!? THOSE EXIST!?" The young researcher yelled back, as he quickly told his Lapras to catch up to Ash and Peonia.

And with that, Chloe was left all alone to ponder what her childhood friend meant. She frowned and looked at the sky, thinking. 'I don't get it. What is Ash to me? What kind of vague question is that!?'

A decent amount of time passed, an amount in which nothing really that intriguing happened. Goh, Ash and Peonia had lost sight of the white stripped Basculin before the Vermillion City researcher could catch it, greatly disappointing him, Brandon was still at the head of the group with Pikachu, the electric mouse still casually conversing with it's old friend, and finally, Chloe was still at the back of the group, trying to figure out just what exactly Goh meant by his words of wisdom.

At first, it appeared to her as a very evident question; She was Ash's friend. But the more she thought about it, the more it felt weird to say. The girl shook her head, slightly worrying the Lapras she was riding on, as she tried to analyze the question deeper. They were definitely nothing less than friends that's for sure, and whilst she unknowingly blushed at the thought of being more than friends, they were not that either. So why was saying Ash was simply a friend seem so… bizarre to her? Did she not want to be titled as 'Ash's friend'? Did she want to be something else to him?

After another more aggressive shake of the head, the ride Pokemon carrying the maroon haired girl let out a worried cry. Chloe quickly reassured Lapras after calming herself down, there were too many questions flowing in her mind that she wasn't thinking right. She figured she would be better off leaving the subject for now and addressing it at another time, as she saw in the distance the first few chunks of land consisting of the Three-Point Pass, and decided to focus on the adventure ahead.

Little did Chloe know, a certain blonde haired girl in front of her was watching her discreetly with great curiosity.

"Pika-Pikachu!"

The Pallet Town native, currently conversing with his research partner, perked up at the excited cry of his starter Pokemon. "What's up Pikachu!" He asked naively.

"I think he just spotted the Three-Point Pass, we can just about see it from here." Brandon suddenly explained, as he pointed to a nearby shore looking to be their destination.

"Really!? Wow, this might be the first time we actually make it somewhere without anything trying to attack us!" The raven haired trainer joked, although the others didn't necessarily find it quite funny, proven by the unenthusiastic glares from Peonia and Goh.

"Don't jinx it Ash…" The only Galar domestic of the group warned. Ash simply laughed it off, clearly thinking nothing bad would actually happen.

But as if perfectly on cue, a sudden gush of water erupted just in front of the group, making Ash's Lapras at the head abruptly stop. Chloe, noticing the huge splash, quickly caught up to the rest of her companions, just as a giant Magikarp mecha appeared from the ocean. It towered over the trainers and Pokemon as the fake Pokemon floated menacingly ahead of them, with it's four mechanical arms flailing around in an unnatural fashion.

At the sight of the strange mecha, Goh turned to Ash frustratingly. "You just HAD to say something didn't you?"

"Aw come on! How was I supposed to know that was going to show up!?" The Alolan Champion quickly defended. "And who knows? Maybe it's friendly?"

"Think again twerp!" Exclaimed a sudden voice, seemingly coming from atop the fake Magikarp. The group turned towards where the voice came from, and at the familiar sight of a purple haired female with a Wobbuffet and a blue haired man standing next to a Meowth, grunts of exhaustion were heard from Ash, Goh and Chloe.

"Really!? You guys again!? Can't you just leave us alone!?" Chloe groaned out, holding her head as she couldn't bear to deal with Team Rocket again.

"Unfortunately that's not how we work, maroon haired twerpette!" Meowth replied proudly.

"Oh my Arceus… Is that the actual Team Rocket!? No way! You're the one who's always chasing after Pikachu right!?" Peonia asked, sounding strangely happy, causing Ash, Goh and Chloe to look at her dumbfoundedly. "Hi! My name's Peonia, nice to meet you!" She waved with a grin.

"Peonia, you have got to be kidding me…" The Hyper Class trainer said in disbelief.

Even Team Rocket seemed a bit weirded out at Peonia's strangely polite introduction, the TRio asking simultaneously: "Really? It is?"

"Of course! It's truly amazing how you've never been able to capture Pikachu even after trying for so long, and you still keep trying! It's actually pretty impressive!" The Galar native added, angering Team Rocket.

"Hey! W-We've captured Pikachu plenty of times! You… uh… blonde haired twerpette?" Jessie blurted out, trying to find the best way to call the new girl.

"Wasn't there already a blonde haired twerpette? The one with the nice headwear?" James thought out loud.

"Uh… Lillie…?" Ash asked in slight confusion, as Pikachu jumped from Ash's Lapras to his trainer's shoulder.

"Yeah, that one… We can't have two blonde haired twerpettes now can we…" Meowth noted, holding it's chin with one it's paws.

"True… You know twerp, you should really stop traveling with a bunch of blonde haired twerps and twerpettes, mix it up a bit for once…"

Ash was about to retort at Jessie's comment, but Peonia spoke up first. "She's got a point actually… Thinking about it, you've traveled with there blonde haired people in Kalos alone… Then there's Lillie, Bianca if you wanna count her–

"ON WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON PEONIA!?" Ash screamed at his traveling companion, not bothering asking how she knew the names of the people he had traveled with.

The talking Meowth smirked. "Hey, I kinda like this new twerpette. She's definitely better than the maroon haired twerpette over there…"

Chloe blushed before screaming out. "WHAT!?"

Whilst the rest of the group and Team Rocket started bickering, Brandon silently went over to Goh to ask him for clarifications. "Who exactly are these people?" He asked, confused, as he didn't quite understand what was going on. Ash's Lapras seemed to have an idea though, since it had a similar reaction to Ash, Goh and Chloe at the sight of the evil team members.

"They are bad people who try to steal other people's Pokemon, but for whatever reason, they always try to capture Ash's Pikachu specifically. They were actually the ones who caused the trains to be delayed the day before we left for the Crown Tundra." The Vermillion City researcher explained, earning a silent 'Oh' from the Pyramid King.

Ash, having heard enough from the TRio, decided to get back on track. "Anyways… What do you want Team Rocket?! I'm not giving you Pikachu, so why don't you just leave us alone already!"

Jessie grinned, before cheekily saying. "Hmm… How about… No! Meowth, do the thing!"

"You got it!" The talking normal type Pokemon pulled out an obscure device and pressed a button on it, causing the Magikarp mech that they were standing on to open its mouth and shoot out a giant net, aiming straight at Ash and Pikachu. Barely having the time to react, the Pallet Town native quickly called out a move. "Quick! Iron Tail!"

Pikachu proceeded to jump off it's trainer shoulder as it's tail glowed a glimmering silver, and attempted to slice the net that was heading for him. The electric mouse swung its tail with a flip, but to the group's surprise, the net firmed the hit, stretching with extreme elasticity, causing Pikachu to ultimately get caught and get reeled back in front of Team Rocket. "PIKA!?" The Pokemon screeched in shock.

"Pikachu!"

"Come on Twerp, don't you think we know you better than that?" The talking cat once again teased, seriously starting to tick off Ash. "We knew you were going to try and cut the net, so we made it out of extremely durable rubber! Pretty smart eh?"

"Why you…"

"Wow, that's actually really clever! Nice one Team Rocket!" At Peonia's words, just about everyone in the group looked at the girl as if she was crazy, specifically Ash, who gave her a glare that could probably kill, but the blonde haired girl subtly returned a sly wink. The Pallet Town trainer clearly didn't get the message she was trying to relay, but Brandon took note of this and stayed alert.

"Well thank you! It's great to see our work appreciated for once!" James thanked, as he was pleasantly surprised by the praise from Peonia.

"But of course, such a wonderful piece of technology must be appreciated!" The young girl added in an unnaturally formal tone.

"Hey guys, I kinda like how this twerpette thinks…" Jessie commented out loud, before suggesting something to her. "Hey twerpette with the pink highlights, how would you like to join the winning team and have a spot on Team Rocket?"

"Really!? it would truly be an honor to join the likes of geniuses like you!" Peonia replied once again in an unnatural fashion before slowly telling her Lapras, the Pokemon equally questioning her line of thinking, to get close to the TRio. The blonde haired girl then swiftly jumped off her Lapras and onto the Magikarp mecha.

At this point, Ash was convinced she was hit on the head and slumped on the back of his ride Pokemon in disbelief. Chloe and Goh suddenly came up next to him, tapped him on the shoulder, and pointed towards Brandon. The Alolan Champion, confused, turned to the Pyramid King and noticed he had discreetly released his Ninjask, who seemingly was trying to approach the net that was keeping Pikachu, where he finally understood what Peonia was doing. He was about to let out a loud 'Oh', but Goh quickly covered his mouth and shushed him before he made too much noise.

"Now hold up just a minute twerpette… We would need to evaluate you first, you know, make sure you're worthy of being part of people like us!" Meowth announced, before pulling out a pen and paper out of seemingly nowhere, looking to be ready to interview her. "What do you think you could bring to the likes of Team Rocket?"

"Hm…" Peonia started off, whilst holding her chin. "Well first of all, I'm a pretty small eater, so you guys wouldn't have to share too much food."

"That's a good trait, it's already hard enough to eat when Morpeko's around…" James noted, earning nods from his companions. "What else?"

"I can cook some pretty good curry, I do well in cold places… Oh and I am a pretty good battler too! I've studied Ash's battle style for years now, so I know all the amazing tricks he's used before!"

"Hmm… We know the twerp more than anyone else, so we already know all of his tricks…" Meowth said with a frown, not convinced.

"Trust me! I know a trick that I'm sure you've never seen him use before!" Peonia declared with a smirk.

"Go on then twerpette, prove it!" Jessie challenged the younger girl.

Peonia chuckled, before saying smugly. "Of course! Have you guys ever heard of…

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Wait, Thunderbolt!?" Team Rocket shouted in panic as they saw from just behind Peonia the electric mouse they thought they had captured suddenly jump into the air and fire off the move they were more than familiar with, the bolt of electricity flying straight towards the TRio. Just before they were about to get blasted off again, Wobuffet made itself useful and used a Mirror Coat to reflect the move into the sky.

Team Rocket realized they had just been tricked when they saw Peonia swiftly jump back onto her Lapras still with a smirk, joined at her side by Ash and his now freed Pikachu, Brandon and his Ninjask on her other side, and Chloe and Goh behind her, with all of them looking ready to battle.

"Hey! What was that all about blonde haired twerpette with the pink highlights!?." Meowth screamed in anger, before abruptly lowering his tone. "We really need to find a shorter name for you…"

"Sorry, I'm not looking for a job right now, I got some ruins to go check out first!"

"Why you… Fine, we don't need your help anyways!" The Magenta haired Team Rocket member declared, before simultaneously declaring with her male companion "Gacha, come on down!"

A sudden Peliper cry was heard from the skies, the group of travelers looking up to find the water-flying type drop a strange looking vending machine perfectly in front of Team Rocket, who forcibly used Meowth's charm to twist the crank, the normal type shivering from the strange sensation. Two Pokeballs came out of the vending machine, which Jessie and James immediately released. They revealed the brutal Pokemon Sharpedo and the ice break Pokemon Walrein, both of them landing in the water ahead of the Magikarp Mecha.

"Wow, we actually got some pretty good Pokemon for once!" Jessie squealed, happy to know they weren't given some useless Pokemon to battle.

"Not like that's going to change anything, Pikachu, Thunderbolt again!" Ash shouted back, as Pikachu jumped from his shoulder once more and fired off his favorite move.

"Shadow Ball Ninjask" Brandon shouted as well, his bug-type Pokemon firing off a decently sized purple sphere of ghost power.

"Pft! How cute! Show em' a Dark Pulse Sharpedo!"

"Water Pulse Walrein!"

At Jessie and James's commands, the two Pokemon belonging to Team Rocket launched their moves, colliding with Pikachu and Ninjask's moves, creating a big puff of smoke. Brandon wasn't planning on giving them any time to relax, and immediately ordered his Ninjask to get in closer with Aerial Ace on Sharpedo. As the ninja Pokemon buzzed closer to the dark-water type, Jessie told Sharpedo to use an Agility, easily evading Ninjask's moves due to its already fast speed, and struck back with an Ice Fang, dealing massive damage to the frail Pokemon.

"Wow, that's fast…" Chloe muttered, noticing how quickly Sharpedo moved around in the water. Jessie laughed sadistically at her comment before speaking up cockily

"Alright, fun's over! Aqua Jet!"

"Crunch Walrein!" James added to his team member's command.

As the two Team Rocket Pokemon rushed towards the group, Ash's Lapras let out a loud cry, seemingly trying to tell something to it's herd. Before Ash could even ask what his former Pokemon was doing, All of the Laprases opened their mouths and let out high pitched screeches, causing the multicolored rings of Round to shoot out of their mouths. This greatly disrupted Sharpedo and Walrein, since the sound of the multiple Lapras was too loud for the Pokemon to handle, which gave Ash and co the perfect opportunity to strike.

"Awesome Lapras! Alright, this time for real! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Merge it with your Shadow Ball Ninjask!"

At Ash and Brandon's respective orders, the two Pokemon combined their attacks, which sent a strange beam of electric and ghost power straight at Sharpedo and Walrein. The two Pokemon, still dazed, didn't have time to react, and got hit with the improvised move, causing them to crash into Team Rocket's Magikarp submarine, which in turn, made it explode, and sent Team Rocket flying once.

"Aw come on! The one time that stupid machine gives us good Pokemon of course the twerps are joined by a herd of Lapras!" The magenta haired woman complained whilst soaring through the air.

"It seems like we just can't win can we…" James commented with a sigh.

"Well, we did have Pikachu for a while there, but the twerpette with the pink highlights pulled a fast one on us…" Meowth added.

"True… But for now…"

"Team Rocket's blasting off again~" The TRio shouted simultaneously as they flew further into the sky, disappearing in a bright white star.

At the sight of another Team Rocket blast off, Goh let out a loud sigh. "I wonder if they will ever actually stop annoying us…"

"Lucky Peonia thought to distract them, I thought you had lost your head!" Ash admitted, thankful his companion managed to exploit Team Rocket's gullibility.

"Did you really think I would stoop so low as to compliment Team Rocket? Oh please, have a little faith in me Ash!" She joked sticking out her tongue and winking playfully.

As the group laughed out loud, Peonia once again spotted out of the corner of her eye Chloe being strangely quiet, staring at both her and Ash, and she giggled quietly to herself.

Something was definitely up with her, and she eagerly wanted to find out.

With Team Rocket's minor interruption done and dealt with, the group of travelers were able to safely make it to the shores of the Three-Point Pass with no more problems. Ash and Pikachu were the first ones to disembark from their ride Pokemon, where the trainer readjusted his hat and exclaimed. "Finally, we made it!"

"Only a little bit more and we'll be at the temple!" Goh added in a similar tone, equally excited to finally get to check out the ruins.

Brandon, Peonia and Chloe joined them on the shore, and then the entire group turned around to face the nice herd of Lapras that helped them reach their location. Ash took a step forward, getting closer to his former Pokemon, and looked at it with a mix of thankful and sad eyes. He knew he couldn't possibly ask Lapras to travel by his side again, it was the leader of it's herd after all, but he still felt a bit sad they would already be leaving each other after just reuniting.

Ash smiled and petted Lapras on its head, earning an adorable cry from the water and ice type. "Thanks for all the help Lapras. It was really nice seeing you again." He confessed. The Pokemon smiled back at it's trainer at his words, before Ash continued. "Well, I guess this is goodbye… It's a shame you can't come with us, but I'm sure we'll see each other again. You'll always be a part of the family after all!"

Lapras let out one last soft cry before turning to it's herd, silently telling them they should take their leave. The group of ride Pokemon nodded before turning back towards the ocean, and swiftly making their way towards their next destination. As the adventurers waved goodbye, Ash added for the last time: "Hey Lapras! Be sure to visit us in Vermillion City! We'll be waiting!"

"Pika-Pikachu!" The electric mouse screamed from Ash's shoulder, agreeing with his trainer's words. Lapras turned to them one last time with a smile, before it inevitably disappeared into the now sunset with the rest of it's herd. The group stayed there a while, taking in the moment, before Brandon got the group back on track.

"Alright, the ruins shouldn't be far from here, if we make good time, we should get there before nightfall, so let's get moving."

"Right!" Shouted back to the group of young trainers.

As the group silently started making their way forwards, Chloe, who had been keeping relatively to herself recently, was still thinking about what Goh told her just before they encountered Team Rocket. No matter how much she tried ignoring it, she couldn't get the question he asked her out of her mind. She looked up to find the three males of the group conversing about what could possibly be hiding in the mysterious temple, but kept her focus on the one that had been plaguing her mind for the past two days.

Chloe facepalmed lightly before muttering. "This whole thing is gonna make me lose my mind…"

"What thing!?"

"AH!" Chloe screamed in surprise, before quickly calming herself down when she realized it was just Peonia sneaking up on her cheerfully and innocently. "Oh, it's just you…"

Peonia giggled before reasking the same question in a different matter. "So, what's bothering you Chloe? You've been acting pretty weird ever since you all got out of the cave earlier."

The maroon haired girl sweatdropped, mentally asking herself how everybody seemed to notice she wasn't acting like her usual self, before quickly dismissing anything. She really didn't feel like telling Peonia. "It's nothing, just thinking, that's all."

Unfortunately for Chloe, the Galar native wasn't going to give up that easily. Peonia quickly walked in front of her and whilst walking backwards, she added in a teasing voice: "Aw~ Come on Chloe, I know there is something bothering you! Maybe I can help!"

"No seriously, it's okay." Chloe really, really didn't feel like having Peonia get involved with her own issues, but the girl just didn't want to let it go.

"Chloe!~ Please just tell me! I won't tell anyone… Plus you won't feel any better if you just keep it to yourself, so just spit out!"

The young Vermillion City girl was about to tell her to stop pestering her about it already, but she stopped herself right before. She pondered it for a bit and, as much as she hated the idea, maybe Peonia was right to a certain extent. She wouldn't really get anywhere if she just kept it to herself, and maybe having the advice of another girl could actually lead her to some answers. The only probably was that she didn't particularly like the idea of telling Peonia specifically; they weren't really that close, and, not like she hated the girl or anything but, she would definitely rather tell somebody else.

But then again, who else would she ask? She wasn't particularly very close to anyone at her school, especially now that she started traveling a lot more with Ash and Goh, and she didn't want to wait until the group got back for some answers anyways. She obviously couldn't tell Ash, Goh already knew and said he couldn't help any further, and, respectfully, she doubted Brandon would be much help in this type of situation, which then only left Peonia as a possible candidate.

Chloe sighed before taking a chance, Peonia clearly wasn't going to leave her alone about it anyways, so she decided to tell her, even if she might go on to regret it later. "F-Fine, can I ask you a question then?" She took her excited nods of approval as her sign to go on, but struggled to get the words out of her mouth, it surprisingly wasn't a very easy question to ask…

She ended up deciding to ask her the exact same question Goh asked her earlier, because maybe it could help her better understand the question, and after a bit of difficulty, she finally said. "This might sound a bit weird but… W-What exactly is Ash to you?" Chloe didn't like the surprised expression on Peonia's face, as the latter clearly wasn't expecting that, and she felt a strange sense of nervousness while awaiting her response.

The blonde haired girl's facial expression changed to a questioning one, before suddenly changing to a smile, as she replied. "Well, for as long as I can remember, he's always been somewhat of an idol to me, someone I strived to be like. Especially now, since I've got to travel with him for a bit, I learned to look up to him even more, and I also feel I can safely say he's a good friend now too!"

Chloe unintentionally exhaled, feeling a weird sense of relief from Peonia's answer, and Peonia questioned her about the origin of the question. "Pretty strange question to ask though… I don't really get how this affects you…"

The maroon haired girl frowned before explaining further. "The thing is… ever since the past two days, I've been feeling kinda strange around Ash, and I have no idea why. I asked Goh for some advice earlier, and he seemed hesitant to respond, the only thing he told me was to think about the question I just asked you…"

Peonia slowly started to grin at her words. So that's what was bugging her? The blonde haired girl had her suspicions, but after what she just told her, it was pretty clear what was going on. Thankfully, Peonia had a plan.

"Well, what is Ash to you then?" Peonia asked bluntly.

"I-I… uh… I don't know…"

"Hmm… What do you want him to be to you then?"

"I-I seriously have no idea Peonia…"

The Galar native pouted. She wasn't getting anywhere at this rate, so she decided to be as blunt as possible, and just say what Goh was probably too afraid to ask. "Say Chloe, do you like Ash?"

"W-WHAT!? N-NO, OF COURSE N-NOT!" Was the answer Chloe gave, and the answer Peonia was expecting. The blonde haired girl laughed, she was going to enjoy this…

"You stuttered."

"Wha- N-No I didn't!"

"And you're blushing."

"W-What on e-earth are you talking a-about!? N-No I'm not!"

"You just stuttered again."

"W-Well it's because you're asking s-stupid questions!"

"So you don't like him?"

"N-No!"

"So you wouldn't mind if I had feelings for him and told him right now?"

"WAIT W-WHAT!?"

Peonia simply gave her a devilish smirk, and prepared to call out for the Alolan Champion's name. "Hey! Ash-

The Pallet Town trainer in question turned around at the sound of his name, only to find Chloe desperately trying to cover Peonia's mouth. He raised an eyebrow, alongside Goh and Brandon, who were also equally confused. "Umm… yeah? What's up?…"

Chloe let out a forced laugh before replying. "I-It's nothing Ash! W-We just wanted to k-know if we were close to the ruins!"

"Okay… Well yeah, we should be there right after passing through these giant stone pillars…" He replied whilst looking at Goh, wondering if the two girls were okay. The young researcher simply shrugged.

"C-Cool… Thanks!" The Vermillion City girl, all whilst still covering Peonia's mouth pretty forcibly.

"Yeah… No problem Chloe…" Ash said awkwardly, not really understanding what was going on between those two, but didn't question it further, and went back to conversing with Goh and Brandon.

Chloe let out an audible sigh, before finally letting go of Peonia, and noticed she still had the same smirk as before. The blonde haired girl gave another giggle and said. "Why'd you stop me Chloe?"

The girl in question was left stunned, as she couldn't quite find an adequate reason for her own actions. "U-Uhh… well… b-because…"

Peonia laughed again, to which Chloe frowned, before saying. "I think we just answered your question Chloe… Don't worry, I won't steal him from you… well, unless you really don't like him after all…"

"PEONIA!" The Galar native gave her a wink, before quickly catching up to Goh, Ash and Brandon, joining in on their conversation, as the first few pieces of the ruins could be seen.

Chloe stayed back for a while, as she was too stunned to move. Her head struggled to comprehend it, but thinking about it… "H-Have I actually… f-fallen for Ash…!?"

"Hey Chloe!" Suddenly exclaimed a more than familiar voice. Chloe looked up, only to realize it was in fact none other than Ash, excitedly smiling at her and pointing in front of him. "Hurry up! The ruins are just up ahead!"

The girl, with a couple tinges of pink forming on her cheeks, flusteredly replied. "O-Okay!" Before joining the rest of the group. This was turning into quite the adventure that's for sure…