The more he saw of Azalea Town, the more he found himself remembering Stone Town and Ecruteak City.

Much like the latter, the city was built with traditional construction methods in mind. Walls made of white plaster sat atop a basis of roughly hewn and carved stones lined the streets, keeping the larger homes from being seen by the passersby, and clay tiles lined the roofs and gates of every building that Goh could see besides the Pokémon Center and a handful of other buildings.

Much like Stone Town, though, the city seemed to be in a state of disrepair. Other than the main thoroughfare that the bus lines ran on, the 'roads' around the city were little more than widened dirt paths. Indeed, it didn't seem like many people here owned cars at all, with Goh not seeing any motor vehicles other than the bus they rode in on and the occasional car driving through. The plaster walls he could see were cracked, and he saw many spots of clay tiles missing or broken by weathering and erosion. Azalea Town may have had a Pokémon Gym, something that no town of comparable size in Kanto could boast, but for some reason that didn't seem to help the overall state of the town.

If those were the only two things he saw, though, he would have thought he was in any other rural town between the two regions. However, there was one other sticking point that seemed to keep popping up.

Or more accurately, kept laying in the way.

"What's with all these Slowpoke?"

Chloe, thankfully, was able to ask it before he could. She took out her phone and pointed it at one that was lazily lying beside the dirt road, causing the Rotom within to speak, reading out the entry.

"Slowpoke," the phone said the somewhat large, pink creature, "the Dopey Pokémon. A Water- and Psychic-type. Slowpoke's tail often falls off, but it doesn't hurt, and a new one grows quickly, so the Slowpoke doesn't seem to mind. It takes a little time for them to feel pain."

"There's a legend," Ash explained. "They say that a really long time ago, when Azalea Town was suffering from a drought, a Slowpoke yawned and made it rain."

Goh raised an eyebrow. "Yawned and made it rain? So they were using Rain Dance?"

"Probably," he shrugged. "You know how legends can start up."

"I wanted to catch one while I was here," Horace said, "but all these Slowpoke belong to the town, so if I wanted to catch one, I'd have to look somewhere else."

Goh nodded. "Yeah, you did say you wanted to learn about every Psychic-type Pokémon, right?"

"Yeah," Horace said, "and catching them is a great way to learn about them!"

"Bay, bay!" chirped the Pokémon by his side, happy as can be.

Ash moved so that he'd be closer to Horace's Pokémon as they walked. "So your partner's Bayleef?" he asked. "Reminds me of mine!"

"Yeah! He's my first Pokémon, and really reliable when things get tough," he explained. "He evolved from Chikorita not too long ago. Speaking of," he turned back to Goh, "I haven't seen Raboot or Sobble with you. Did you leave them back at the lab?"
Goh chuckled. "Well, if you must know," he said, pulling a Poké Ball from his pocket, "You can see-"

"I can see that we're wasting daylight," Chloe snapped, grabbing him by the wrist, pouting as she did. "Or aren't we supposed to get to this Kurt's house sometime today?"

"Eievui!"

Her partner seemed blissfully unaware of Chloe's bad mood.

"Grooki!"

And for his part, the same applied to Grookey.

Goh wrenched his wrist from Chloe's hand and put his Poké Ball back into his pocket. "Fine, you're right. We should stay on task. I can show Horace all my incredibly amazing Pokémon later."

"The only thing that's incredibly amazing is how much of a pain you can be," Chloe sighed.

Horace chuckled. "I guess those two are really close."

"Close enough t' fight, which is really close in my book," Ash laughed.

"Pikachu!"

The teasing coming from Ash and Horace wasn't something Goh expected, and so he did a double take. Chloe seemed to do the same, and he saw her face burn with embarrassment. The two of them turned from each other, keeping their backs to each other, though in his mind, Goh felt relief that they had stopped bickering.

Right now, it was still in the realm of light-hearted teasing from Ash and Horace. Goh wasn't sure what he'd do if Chloe actually started taking it seriously and began asking questions. Denial could only take him so far, and he wasn't ready to admit to her how he felt. As much as he was drawn to the girl with the emerald eyes and kind soul, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he destroyed their friendship, or even worse hurt her.

So he looked away, shamed and guilty, though he was sure to an outsider it would look like he was merely continuing the line of saying they weren't really that close after all.

Sometimes it felt like a charade, an illusion he had tricked himself with. He could only wonder how Chloe felt. But she said nothing, so Goh just kept looking away, even as Grookey pulled on his hair.

The four continued in relative silence after that, with Ash and Horace making small talk about the sorts of things one can do with a Bayleef in a Pokémon Battle, with Ash even managing to wring the promise of a battle out of him later, before they left.

Eventually, they came to a rather imposing looking estate, similar to what the compound belonging to the Kimono Sisters looked like back in Ecruteak, but it was obviously much smaller than that one appeared to be. Ash stopped in front of the gate. "Well, here we are. This is Kurt's place."

The three other teens looked at the large wooden doors that blocked their way. "Do we knock?" Chloe asked.

As Goh reached forward to grab the loose metal loop attached to the door that acted as the handle to knock it against the door, a voice gasped out.

"Hey, are you here to see my grandpa?"

The four turned to see a young girl staring at them. She looked about ten years old and wore a large basket on her back. Her long brown hair was tied into loops than hung off the side of her head.

At her feet was a brown Pokémon with a pale crescent in her fur who looked at them curiously.

"That depends," Goh asked. "Is your grandpa Kurt, the Poké Ball expert?"

"He's not just an expert," the girl said, stepping closer to them with all the confidence of a child who thought they were smarter than a grownup. "He's a master Poké Ball craftsman who still forges them in the traditional Johtonian way!"

"Ursa!"

Goh took his phone out and pointed it at the Pokémon by the girl's feet. A picture of her appeared on the screen as the Rotom inside recited the information. "Teddiursa, the Little Bear Pokémon. A Normal-type. Teddiursa soaks its paws in honey so that it can always lick them. Because they blend honey made by Beedrill to suit their own tastes, no two sets of paws taste the same."

While Goh, Chloe, and Horace looked at the phone and investigated the Pokémon, Ash and the girl seemed to stare at each other, looking for something.

"Hey, wait a sec," Ash said. "You're Kurt's granddaughter! You're Maycie, right?"

The girl's lips twitched in annoyance. "My name is Maizie. And you're Angus, right?"

"It's Ash," he said, laughing.

Maizie put her hands on her hips. "Well, it has been like three years since I saw you last," she said. "Though I did watch you compete in the Johto League Silver Conference on TV back then."

This made Ash grin, and he pulled on the front of his cap, almost tipping it to her. "Well, we're here to talk to Kurt about some stuff. Would it be alright if we came in and saw him?"

Maizie drew closer, and now Goh could see that her backpack basket contained many different kinds of apricorns.

"Hey, apricorns!" he said. "Can I see one?"
"No chance!" Maizie said, turning her backpack away from him. "These are for my grandpa's work! If I let you take one, he might not be able to fulfill his orders!"

"Teddi!"

Goh deflated, sighing. "Well, maybe I'll get one later…"

Chloe giggled behind him, but otherwise said nothing.

Maizie opened the gate, putting her weight into pushing back the heavy wooden door. "C'mon! I'm sure my grandpa will be happy to see you again, Ash. And you and your friends can ask him about whatever you came here for!"

"Thanks, Maizie," Ash said, gesturing for Goh and the others to follow him. They all nodded and followed the girl inside.

Inside the walls was, for all intents and purposes, a fairly modest home. It was just as traditional as the others, complete with clay shingles, and looked to be no larger than enough room for a girl and her grandfather, save for the smaller building off to the side with a distinctive chimney that stood with what looked to Goh like a wall missing, though he couldn't see much before they headed inside.

"So you're a Pokémon Trainer now?" Ash asked Maizie.

She nodded. "Yeah! And Teddiursa here is my Pokémon partner."

"Teddiursa!"

Grookey, Pikachu, and Eevee all responded by leaving their trainers to walk closer to the bear, and the four of them all began chatting amongst themselves.

"Looks like they're friends already," Chloe noted, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah," Goh said, nodding. "These guys are always ready to make new friends, aren't they?"

Bayleef trundled over, calling out to them, and soon all five Pokémon had gathered together and were chatting energetically in their familiar language.

"Even Bayleef's making some new friends," Horace said.

Seeing all the Pokémon getting along reminded Goh of how things were in the Cerise Park with his Pokémon partners, and he finally found a moment to relax since Horace had turned up.

"You guys have fun out here with Teddiursa," Chloe said. "Don't get into mischief, okay?"

"Eievui!

"Grooki!"

The two Pokémon that called out began running around together, grinning widely.

"Maybe I should let out Cinderace to keep watch…" Goh wondered aloud. He reached into his pocket, but before he could pick a ball, a flash of light burst out of his pocket, and at his feet appeared the silver-coated shiny Eevee named Argent.

"Bui! Eiebui!" he barked, rushing out towards them.

Grookey and Eevee paused and looked at Argent before frowning and returning to being closer to Teddiursa, Pikachu, and Bayleef.

Horace came up quickly and excitedly. "Goh, you have a shiny Eevee?"

Goh nodded. "This is Argent. I got him a little while ago after a bit of trouble."

Argent's ears twitched, and he looked at Goh with his serious gray eyes. "Eiebui!"

"That's one way to put it," snarked Chloe.

Goh frowned. "Anyway, Argent, can you keep tabs on everyone out here?"

He nodded. "Eiebui! Buibui!"

Maizie turned back, her hand on the door. "Hey! C'mon, hurry up!"

"Coming!"


Once they were inside, it was apparent to Goh that this home was set up just like the other traditional Johtonian homes he'd been in, complete with a tatami mat floor in rooms outside of hallways. Maizie led them to such a room and sat them on the ground around the low table, called a kotatsu, before leaving. "Let me go get my grandpa. He's probably still napping."

With that, she slipped away, leaving Goh and the others in quiet for a few moments. Goh's eyes darted around the room, and it was decorated with aged photographs that seemed to have faded with time. Given that this was Maizie's grandfather's home, he supposed these pictures were of himself and his friends. Maybe even Maizie's grandmother and parents.

After a few beats of silence, Chloe spoke up. "This is a pretty nice place. I guess he can afford it thanks to being such an in-demand craftsman, huh?"

Goh frowned. "Is he really that busy, though?" he asked. Most people just buy Poké Balls from stores. They've been mass produced for about the past thirty years or more, right?"

"Ah-HEM!"

Goh looked up and saw an old man standing in the doorway. He looked no taller than Goh did, and he was dressed in a blue kimono with a white sash. The look on his face was stern and weathered - he looked for all the world like an aged craftsman who had long-since perfected his craft.

"Kurt!" Ash blurted out. "Hey!"

The old man's features softened as he took Ash in his sights. "Hello there, Ash. How have you been for all these years?"

Ash grinned widely. "I've been gettin' closer an' closer to my dream of bein' a Pokémon Master!"

The earnestness in Ash's words made Kurt laugh. "That's great to hear!" He looked at the other teens seated around his kotatsu. "These aren't the friends you came here with last time, is it? Who are you all?"

Goh pointed to himself with a thumb. "I'm Goh. I'm a research fellow along with Ash for Professor Cerise."

"My name's Horace," he said, bowing his head. "I'm Goh's friend."

"I'm Chloe," she said with a sigh and a shrug. "I'm Goh's handler and Horace's nothing."

Goh felt a frown grow across his face at Chloe's distant attitude, but he didn't argue against it.

Kurt sat down at the table taking his own side by himself while Maizie followed him in and shared the remaining three sides with the other three visitors. Goh was seated on one end, next to Chloe, and he tried not to think about just how close they were sitting next to each other nor about the floral perfume she had spritzed herself with.

"Welcome to Azalea Town," Kurt said. "Any friend of Ash's is a friend of mine. How can I help you young folks?"

"We're here because of Project Mew," Goh began.

"Project…"

"...Mew?"

Kurt and Maizie both repeated the words slowly.

"It's a research project headed by Professor Amaranth to learn about the Mythical Pokémon Mew," Goh explained. "We're doing research on a legendary sort of Poké Ball that we've heard is said to exist."

"A Poké Ball?" asked Kurt, rubbing his chin. "What sort of Poké Ball is that?"

Goh took off his backpack and opened it. He pulled the scroll tube out and set it on the table before opening it up and unfurling the ancient scroll that he had received from Morty.

Depicted on the scroll was a picture of an ancient king, seated in a chair, holding above him a white feather surrounded by spots of red, yellow, and blue, as well as a silver feather and a strange crystal. Across from this king was a depiction of the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh, wings spread wide and surrounded by holy flames.

"This scroll shows a story about a king that once tried to create a special talisman that could control the gods. And based on what we've learned, this may have been a sort of Poké Ball. Have you ever heard anything like that?"

Kurt reached over with trembling hands and took the scroll. He unfurled it and stared at the images drawn on the parchment, his eyes going wide, though whatever emotion laid behind his eyes, Goh couldn't say.

"We've even managed to get two of the three components," Chloe added. "We have the Rainbow Wing and the Silver Wing."

Kurt's hands tensed up around the parchment, and for a moment Goh wondered if he might accidentally rip the ancient document.

Kurt clinched his eyes closed. "N-No," he said, swiftly rolling the scroll back into a tube. "I've never heard of anything like that before in my entire life."

"Do you want to take some time to look over the scroll? Goh offered. "We can stick around for a few days if-"

"Unnecessary," Kurt said, practically throwing the scroll back at him. "There's nothing to learn here."

Goh sighed, his head hanging. If Kurt didn't know anything about the mysterious talisman, then who would? Maybe Team Rocket was also barking up the wrong tree at this rate.

"Goh…"

Chloe's voice felt like a ticklish whisper in his ear, but he didn't look up.

"Sorry, Goh," Horace added.

"I guess we'll have to try something else," he said.

As Goh began turning the gears in his mind again, Ash sat up. "Well, that isn't the only reason we're here," Ash said. "Professor Oak asked us to check in about the GS Ball."

"The GS Ball?!" Kurt's surprise was unable to be hidden. "I've been working on it, of course. But the GS Ball is an enigma wrapped in a riddle. Even after all this time, it's not something I've been able to solve yet."

"Even after all this time?" Ash asked. "It's been three years."

Goh chuckled at his friend's impatience, but he had to admit, this mysterious ball did pique his curiosity. "Hey, if it's no big deal, can I take a look at it?" Goh asked. "I've never seen the GS Ball before, so it'd be great to take a look at something so mysterious and unsolved."

Kurt laughed nervously. "It's really not anything so interesting as that," he said. "Just a ball that's gold and silver."

"I'd like to take a look at it, too!" Horace said. "It sounds really interesting, like it's some sort of lost relic."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Chloe open her mouth, as though she was going to say something, before closing it. In her green eyes, he saw a conflicted look.

Kurt stood up and cleared his throat. "W-Well, unfortunately I am a very busy man with many, many orders that need to be made and fulfilled." He turned to his granddaughter as he began to leave the room. "Thank you for bringing me these apricorns, Maizie," he said. "But can you escort our guests out? I have work to do."

Maizie stood, confusion crossing her face. "Grandpa…? But they just got here-"

"And they're now leaving here," he said, scowling. "I've got to get back to work!"

With that, Kurt stood and left the table, marching out of the room while Goh and the others could only share surprised glances at each other.

"Sorry, guys," Maizie said. "I guess it's time for you guys to go."

"It's no big deal, Maizie," Chloe said, standing. "We can let ourselves out, right?"

Goh felt a chill run down his spine, even as Maizie agreed and shrugged, heading out of the room after her grandfather. The tone she was taking was ice-cold and reminded Goh only about the times he'd truly angered her. He could feel the chill in her emerald eyes as he stood, turning his back to her. "R-Right," he said. "Let's get the Pokémon and leave!"

Goh awkwardly walked out, drawing even more confused stares from his friends.


Deciding they had no better base of operations, Goh and the others headed back to the Pokémon Center. The four of them gathered around the unused battlefield, leaning against the building while Pikachu, Grookey, Eevee, and Bayleef went to play in the orange light of the setting sun.

Argent stood in the shade, sternly watching them.

"Man, what're we gonna do now?" Ash said, kicking at the dirt. "Kurt totally just blocked us from learning anything about either the GS Ball or the Poké Ball you guys are looking for," he said, gesturing to Goh and Horace.

Goh stroked his chin. "That's a good question…"

"Don't you guys think he was acting kinda weird?" Chloe asked. "Like as soon as we asked him anything, he started making excuses and trying to avoid the question."

"Yeah!" Horace said, stepping forward. "And when we brought up the ancient Poké Ball, it was like he was afraid of what he was seeing."

Chloe stepped towards Horace and nodded. "Right? He was totally suspicious! I bet he does know something, only he's not telling us for some reason."

At that thought, Horace frowned. "I can't imagine he'd have anything to hide, though. Why would he lie about it?"

"That's the question," Goh said, shrugging. "And the main mystery we're faced with right now…"

Ash crossed his arms, frowning as though he was in deep thought. "Hey, you guys…"

"What is it, Ash?" Goh asked.

"...I don't like to think about it, but do you think maybe Kurt was lyin' about the GS Ball, too? Maybe he's already solved it, even!"
"Why would he not tell Professor Oak about the GS Ball?" he asked. "If he'd discovered anything about that, why would he keep it to himself…?"

The four teens went quiet, even as their Pokémon were (nearly) all having a good time playing in the dirt of the battlefield.

"Maybe…" Horace offered with a shrug, "maybe Professor Oak would know something? I did see a picture of him in Kurt's house."

The three Kantoians went quiet. "Wait," Goh said, "you did?"

Horace nodded. "It was on the wall of the room we were sitting in," he explained. "It looked like they were all younger, but I recognized Professor Oak's face. He was with Kurt and a woman I didn't recognize, though."

"But if they took a picture together," Chloe said, filling in the gaps, "then they definitely know each other."

"Man, if Kurt is lying, that'll just make Professor Oak even sadder…"

Goh shook his head. "It can't be helped," he said. "We need to call Professor Oak and figure out what he knows. Anybody got his number?"

"Oh, I do!" Ash said, taking out his phone. "I've got it saved just in case!" He tapped the screen on his phone, unlocking it before tapping the phone app and Professor Oak's name.

The phone displayed a phone with a red cross-out circle over it.

"Huh…? No signal…?"

Chloe sighed. "Well, yeah. Makes sense for a place way out in the boonies like this…"

"We'll just use the landline in the Pokémon Center!" Goh said, pumping his fist. "It's times like these that it pays to go low-tech!"

"Who'd have thought you of all people would appreciate withered technology…" Chloe snarked, shrugging.

Goh gave her a confident, sly smirk. "We can't all be confident rich kids who always have the latest tech. The older the technology is, the better understood it is, and the more you can push it to its limits."

She raised an eyebrow. "And this is supposed to impress me?"

The emphasis on the word 'impress' caught Goh off guard, his thoughts slipping through his fingers. "W-Why? Are you impressed?"

The earnest question escaped his mouth before he could stop it, and now Chloe was inching away, an irritated, red-faced pout on her face. "I-I-"

"C'mon, guys," Ash said. "Cut it out and let's get to talkin' to Professor Oak."

Goh and Chloe both glanced at each other, and Goh realized that he had once again fallen into the comfortable pattern of bickering with her. He felt his own face heat up in embarrassment and regret. "...Sorry, Chloe."

"I'm sorry, too, Goh," she said, not looking at him. "I didn't mean to get so snippy."

Ash put an arm each around both Goh and Chloe. "See? You guys are still friends! Let's get back to it!"

Horace stood back, quietly laughing at the whole thing. Goh felt his stomach twist. He'd surely end up having to explain things to his friend later.


The four teens gathered around the video phone, with Ash taking the receiver and dialing the Oak Research Laboratory. This time, Professor Oak himself picked up. "Why, hello, Ash! I see that you're calling from the Azalea Town Pokémon Center! Did you already speak with Kurt?"

Ash was unable to hide the disappointment on his face. "That's the thing, Professor," Ash said. "We went and saw him, but when we asked him about the GS Ball, he seemed like he didn't want to talk to us about it."

"The ancient Poké Ball we asked him about was a no-go, too," Goh added, speaking towards the receiver on the phone. "He totally stonewalled us."

Professor Oak frowned at the news, the wrinkles on his face folding further as he thought. "That's troubling… I would think that if he learned something or knew something, he'd be happy to help! But this seems unlike him."

"Professor," Chloe interrupted, "do you know Kurt very well? We saw a picture of you in his house."

"It's a somewhat long story," Professor Oak said. "The short version is, when I was a young lad, I traveled through the Johto Region, catching and battling with Pokémon, and while I was on my journey, I met Kurt. He was only a brash young man back then, but he had a burning desire to become the greatest Poké Ball craftsman there ever was, and he was traveling to challenge himself, searching for every Poké Ball crafting recipe he could. He wanted to make the old steam-based ones, the ones you had to crank to open, even ceremonial ones made of glass or other very fragile materials! He even made me some of these antique Poké Balls, and I ended up using a few of them!" The more Professor Oak spoke, the younger and more excited he seemed to grow. "When we all achieved our goals, Kurt, myself, and a friend of ours all met up and took a picture. That is probably the one you saw."

"So based on just how much Kurt wanted to improve his skills…" Goh said, "...it's possible he'd already traveled around and found out about this ancient Poké Ball, right?"

"I suppose so," Oak said with a nod. "Only I'd have thought that I'd have heard about it if he'd actually made something like that…"

"Sounds to me like Kurt's got more than one secret," Chloe said.

Horace looked at her. "But why?"

"A question I wish I could answer," Professor Oak said. "I do have a poem, though! Maybe this sort of brain teaser can assist you in coming up with a new plan!"

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "A-A poem?"

"I didn't know Professor Oak did poetry," Horace added.

Professor Oak cleared his throat. "When you can't deal with a Girafarig's head, maybe try turning it around and trying again!"

"Turning it around and trying again…?" Goh asked. It felt like a hint, almost.

Ash "So like… instead of trying from the front…?"
"...try from the back? Like instead of talking to Kurt, maybe we should talk to people about Kurt. This might give us the lead we need!"

Ash nodded. "Great thinking, Goh!"

"But where do we start?" asked Horace. "Who knows Kurt well enough that they might tell us something helpful?"

Chloe gasped. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "We should ask Maizie, his granddaughter!"

"Do you think she'd talk to us?" Goh asked. "If all four of us go over to her, she might think we're suspicious…"

"Just leave it to me," she said with a smile. "I'm sure I'll be able to talk to her and get her to spill the beans."

Professor Oak chuckled. "It sounds like you all have a plan!" he said. "I look forward to hearing how it goes!"

Goh glanced out the window and saw the darkening sky. "We'll probably have to catch her tomorrow," he said. "It's pretty late now."

And as if on cue, Ash's stomach growled loudly, and the boy put a hand on his stomach. "Eheh… sorry, guys."

"Let's shelve this for now and get back to it first thing in the morning," Goh said. "Then we start Operation 'Talk to the Tail'!"

"We really have to work on your naming sense," Chloe said, coyly, making Goh giggle as well.

Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as he thought.


Dinner passed without incident, and with the sun set completely behind the forest to the west, the four teens all went to their rooms, with the boys sharing one and Chloe getting one to herself. Having already tucked Grookey in, Goh slipped out to the restroom to wash up one last time before heading to bed.

He was rounding the corner when he heard a familiar voice speak.

"I honestly didn't expect you to still be awake."
Goh froze at the voice of Chloe in the hallway, and he glanced around the corner as stealthily as possible to see who she was talking to.

Chloe's unfurled, soft, curly hair that Goh could privately admit to himself that he found cute was the view he saw first. She was facing away from him, so he at least could rest easy knowing that he hadn't been seen by her.

But when he caught sight of the white-blonde hair of the person he was speaking to, he felt his blood run cold.

"Oh, I was just coming back from the water fountain," Horace said. "I had to take some medicine."

"Are you not feeling well?" Chloe asked, and to that Horace shook his head.

"No, nothing like that. It's so I don't get sick. I've got a pretty weak immune system, all things considered, so I can get sick pretty easily. I take these pills before bed every night, though, and it really helps me stay healthy."

Horace's weak immune system was something Goh was already familiar with, both by understanding how it impacted Horace and those around him, and when he and Horace had talked about it, back when they had reunited and reconciled.

Chloe's reaction mirrored Goh's from that time.

"I'm so sorry… I had no idea. I didn't say anything weird, I hope."

Horace waved off her concerns. "It's alright. You were just curious and concerned." He paused. "Actually Goh said basically the same thing when I told him about it."

He heard Chloe cross her arms. "Oh, really?" she said. "Well, speaking of Goh, or not speaking of him, today was the first I've ever heard of you. He's never mentioned you once to me before today."

Goh felt a cold sweat break out on his skin as his mind raced ahead, following the path Chloe was on to its logical destination.

If Chloe learned about Goh and Horace's first meeting, it would be an easy enough timeline to connect.

Seven years ago, he had left Vermilion City to go on vacation with his parents in Azalea Town. When he returned, he was no longer the bright, excitable child he had been before, but one who had withdrawn from the world and more to the point, withdrawn from his friendship with Chloe.

He felt terrible about it in hindsight, but he wasn't sure who would betray him next, and his confidence in himself was shattered. And this shut-in lifestyle caused Chloe no end of frustration.

And who would bear the brunt of Chloe's pent-up frustration?

Horace, the one who had 'betrayed' Goh in the first place, would be the first target.

But Goh knew Chloe well enough to understand that he wouldn't escape unscathed either, and the thought of her emerald eyes glaring at him coldly was enough to force him into action.

His heart, valuing his friendship with Horace and filled with love for Chloe, wouldn't let him stand idle.

Faking a yawn, he stepped around the corner. "Oh, hey guys," he said. "You know it's after bedtime, right?"

Chloe turned around with an embarrassed look on her face. "G-Goh! I-It's not what it looks like!"

Horace raised an eyebrow at both Goh's bad acting and Chloe's confused embarrassment. "Uh, you guys?"

"Well, what it looks like is that it's time for bed," he said, ignoring Chloe's protestation. "We better hit the hay, right Horace?"

"R-Right…"

"H-Hey, wait a minute!" Chloe interjected. "What about-"

Goh gave her a too bright faked smile to try and push past the awkward situation. "Good night, Chloe," he said, practically pushing Horace into the room they shared with Ash.

The last he saw of Chloe that night was a bewildered look on her face, and the last he heard from her was a chagrined "good night".