The second side story focuses on the past. How Ash met Goh and Chloe, and how he recruited them to Team Flare.

3 years ago…

Ash walks into Lysandre's office to be briefed for a job. The biggest one so far in his career. This job could be his ticket up. Ash sat down in front of Lysandre and makes his presence known. Lysandre clears his throat. "So, you ready for your mission, Mr. Ketchum?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Here it is. A Professor in Kanto known as Professor Cerise has been making headlines with his research showing all sorts of breakthroughs in Pokeology. I and the public suspect that the published research is only a fraction of what he truly has discovered. And it just so happens I was contacted by some corporate slimeballs who want that information, and they'll offer me a very hefty payday for it. So I want you to head to Kanto, infiltrate the lab, and steal that research. Papers, USB, handwritten, I don't care, I just want the research."

"Anything I should know before going?"

"His lab is located in Vermillion City but only employees, friends, and family are allowed entrance, and for the love of Arceus do not go in there guns blazing, because that'll be a pain to cover up. Also, you'll be going there solo."

Ash nods slowly "And what's in it for me?"

"Promotion."

Ash sits up straight, his eyes widening "A… a promotion?"

"Yes, you heard. Such a big mission, money won't be a just reward for the effort on your part, and considering your splendid track record I think you deserve it."

"And if I fail?"

"Honestly, nothing. I know a difficult task when I hear one, and even for someone like you I don't expect this to be pulled off easily. And it would be quite counterintuitive for me and the Team if I killed you or kicked you out, ya know."

Ash stood up "Thankyou, sir. I'll be heading off now."

"The next plane to Vermillion leaves at 5:00 today. I wish you luck."

Lumiose City International Airport

"Attention, Talonflame Airlines Flight 1014 to Vermillion City is currently boarding. Please line up in a single file line and board in an orderly fashion. Thank you." the intercom blared.

Ash stood up and prepared to board. 'Airport security. What a joke.' Due to obvious laws, Ash was unable to bring a weapon with him and he has to pick it up back in Kanto, meaning he was unarmed. It felt weird not feeling his trusty weapon in his vest pocket. He boarded the plane with a sigh. As it took off, Ash takes one last look at Kalos as it gets smaller and smaller. He'll either come back successful and promoted, or back injured and humiliated, or worse, not at all.

12 hours later, Vermillion City, Kanto

"...and we have arrived at our final destination. Thank you for riding with us on Talonflame Airlines, we wish you a safe and happy trip."

Ash leaves the plane and exits the airport. He already picked up his luggage, and most importantly, his weapon. He takes a deep breath of the cool Kantonian air. "Ah, Kanto. I sure have missed you. How many years has it been?" The last time he was in Kanto was 12 years ago when he was 11 and still a naive, carefree kid curious to see the world. Back then, he would've never guessed he'd become a criminal, but now he accepted that job and does it with pride. "Alright, let's see here." Ash took out a couple photos. The Cerise laboratory appears to look like a manor or a castle of some kind. "Alright, it should be pretty hard to miss." As Ash started walking in a random direction, his stomach rumbled. He shook his head and grinned. 'Some things never change, eh Ash?' He headed towards a nearby cafe and bought a small meal. He decides to give Lysandre a call to let him know he arrived. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Ash, a young couple overheard his conversation.

"Yep, I arrived. No, like literally 20 minutes ago. I'm at a cafe having breakfast. Aw, cmon Boss! I haven't been here in over a decade, and besides, I think I deserve a short break, right?"

The duo listened. "Hey, Chloe, what is that man talking about? Haven't been back in a decade? Boss?" The young man received a smack to the back of his head by his companion, Chloe. "Stop eavesdropping, Goh. He's probably on a business trip, that's all."

Ash continued talking. "Yeah, I'll get on with it. I guess I'll check into a hotel. The Cerise Laboratory ain't going nowhere, besides, it'd be impossible to miss, ya know."

Goh stopped when he heard that "Did you hear that Chloe? He's looking for the lab!"

"What does he want with dad?"

"Maybe just business, I don't know. Maybe we can help?" Goh stood up, and before Chloe could stop him, he tapped Ash on the shoulder. Ash glances up. "I got company, I'll call you back." Ash hangs up "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Sorry to intrude on your call, sir, but you mentioned something about looking for the Cerise Laboratory?"

"Yes, and?"

"Well, I'm Goh, I'm a researcher for the professor and this is his daughter, Chloe. If you want to go to the lab, we can lead you there."

Ash smiles. "Oh, you can? Thank you so much! Please, lead on!" 'Heh, not bad for a start. These two are just taking me to my target'

As they walked, Goh spoked up. "So, um sir, we told you our names, what's yours?"

"I'm Ashton, but just call me Ash. My name was suggested by my father but given our history I prefer to not go by that one."

Chloe spoke up "Why do you want to go to the lab, Ash?"

"My boss wants to conduct, ummm, business. I'm essentially here on his behalf."

Goh and Chloe nodded before they continued to walk in silence.

After a bit of walking, the group came upon a flight of stairs. "And if you walk all the way up, the lab will come into view."

Soon enough, Ash got the full view of the lab, and he has to admit, it certainly is quite the sight to behold. The architecture is quite medieval yet one can still tell it is a modern building. The greenery all around made it quite postcard worthy.

"Entrance is this way!"

Ash enters the laboratory and is immediately impressed with the interior. Computers and machines beeped and hummed while in another part of the building, TVs, chairs, and tables were set up, clearly meant for living. Suddenly, a middle aged man with maroon hair and a lab coat entered the room, flanked by two people. A blonde haired man and a blue haired woman. "Ah, good to see you, Goh and Chloe. And who is this man you brought here?"

Goh waved half-heartedly. "This is Ash, and he-" Ash held up his hand and walked to the professor, offering a handshake. "I'm Ash, I came from Kalos but was born here in Kanto. I explore the world and I heard news of your research breakthroughs, I'm quite interested in it."

"Ah, you came to the right place then! Goh is one of my researchers, he goes out and conducts research and I analyze and publish them! You can tag along with him on his next mission!"

The professor didn't notice, but Ash saw Goh's face darken and let out a soft groan. A few hours later, Ash was relaxing in the lounge when Goh and Chloe came back. "Hey Ash, I just got the mission. I need to conduct research on some bugs in the Viridian Forest. Apparently people are reporting a lack of sightings of certain species."

Ash stood up. "Alright, give me a second to get ready." He heads into the bathroom. Once the door is closed, Ash starts thinking. 'Alright, I got a USB drive on me. I can transport research data from the main computer into this drive and get out of here. But how can I get access to the computer? I know! I'll take the job as a researcher and use the computer when no one's looking!' Ash heads back out and joins Goh and Chloe in a taxi. About an hour later, they arrived at their destination. Goh took the lead "Alright, everyone stay close to me! The forest can be quite dangerous." The group stayed together, with Goh occasionally stopping to examine plants or look around for wildlife. Suddenly, Ash whistled and gestured for the two to come. "What is it?" Goh asked, crouching down next to Ash. Ash pointed in front of him, and the sight made Goh gasp. "Wha-" Goh was interrupted by Chloe clamping her hand over his mouth. "Quiet down! There might be someone there!" What they saw in front of them was what looks like an enclosure, and within it are many of the local bug species, all trapped inside. "This is horrible!" Goh whispered. "Who would do this?" Chloe added. "Probably a poacher. I see some butterfree in there. People would pay some big money for rare coloring. I would guess this person is mass-breeding them so they can farm rare ones to sell."

Goh jumped out of their hiding spot and ran towards the cage. "Goh! Get back here!" Chloe hissed, but to no avail. Goh starts kicking and tugging at the gates, but it was no use. The gate was made of iron and is secured by a lock and chain. Chloe continues to try and get Goh to run back to cover before trouble can ensue. Speaking of trouble…

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" all heads turn towards the direction of the voice. Running towards Goh is a man in a tank top and wearing a samurai helmet. A net is strapped to his back and a katana sheathed on his side. If Ash has to guess, this guy would be the poacher. Chloe tries to run out of the bush, but Ash holds her down. Goh sizes up the poacher. "I'm freeing these bugs! You have illegally caught and bred native bug species for your own selfish desires!"

The poacher shrugs, like he's been through this before. "I gotta make money somehow. You aren't the first person trying to play the hero that I've dealt with!" With that, the poacher unsheathes his katana and points the tip at Goh's face, who immediately starts backing away, until he is pinned against the gate. "NO!" Chloe ran out of the bush and places herself between Goh and the poacher, unwilling to see her friend get hurt. The poacher merely look annoyed. "You really think I won't hurt you just because you are a woman?"

"You won't hurt my friend, not before you get through me!" Chloe yells defiantly. Ash is still hidden in the bush. He doesn't want to get his hands dirty, though the professor likely won't appreciate it if he brought back Goh and Chloe in body bags. Meanwhile, the standoff continues. The poacher effortlessly pushes Chloe out of the way. "Look here, girly. You don't play the hero unless you have the skills to back it up!" As a threat, he runs the tip of the katana across Goh's arm, drawing some blood, causing Goh to clench his teeth in pain. 'Alright, Ash, you're up.' Ash leaped out of his hiding spot at the poacher, causing both of them to start rolling around the ground. "ANOTHER ONE?! HOW MANY OF YOU ARE THERE!" the poacher yelled, annoyed. "Just us three, and unlike these two, I've dealt with the likes of you before." "We'll see about that! HAH!" the poacher swings the sword at Ash, who ducks and sweeps his opponent's legs, tripping him. Ash steps on his hand and kicks the sword away, leaving the poacher unarmed. Ash lifts the man by the neck and delivers a powerful punch to his temple, knocking him out. Goh and Chloe simply watched in awe, not believing the strength of their new friend. Ash drops the poacher's body on the ground and starts rummaging in his pockets and soon fishes out a key and tosses it to Goh. "Free the bugs with the key." He picks up the sword and sheathes it, handing it to Chloe. "Take this weapon to the Viridian City Police department, and tell them how you got it." After releasing the bugs, Goh asks "What about this guy? We can't just let him go." Ash grinned evilly. "Oh I got a very fitting place to put him" Ash picks up the poacher and tosses him like a sack of potatoes into the cage before locking it, trapping the poacher like he did to bugs. About an hour later, Chloe returns with a police officer who examined the scene. A few minutes of explaining later, the officer thanked the group and arrested the poacher. "Let's go home."

Cerise Laboratory, Vermillion City

"Look, Professor! I'm telling you we got attacked by a poacher! That's why we have no research! The poacher was the one capturing all the bugs!"

"That doesn't excuse this, Goh! You failed this mission! I asked you to bring back research, instead you went and went after criminals! Dismissed!"

Chloe and Ash watched the argument from the side. Chloe looks concerned and sad, not liking how unfair her father was being. Meanwhile, Ash watched with distaste. This is no way to treat your employee, if this kind of situation ever happened to him, Lysandre certainly would've understood and let Ash go free. They watched as Goh dejectedly walked into the lounge while Chloe ran after him. Ash walked over to the Professor "Excuse me, professor, but I need a place to stay as I haven't checked into a hotel yet."

"Alright, you can stay here. I got rooms in the upper floors. Don't think this is permanent though, this is a lab, not a hotel." Ash walked upstairs to a room 'Alright, I only have until tonight. I hope this goes well.'

Later…

It's nighttime. The sky is pitch black and the lab is closed down. The professor and his researchers have gone back home, leaving just Ash and Goh in the building. After making sure Goh has gone to bed, Ash snuck downstairs to the main computer. He took a flash drive out of his pocket and plugged it in. Immediately the virus inside the drive infects the computer, and gives Ash access. "Hah, this is a joke. You think he'd at least have two step!" Ash chuckles to himself. He searches through the files before coming across the research files. Ash starts downloading them into the drive. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Ash turned around and saw Goh walking down the hallway, both of them noticing each other at the same time. "Um, Ash,what are you doing up this late? And why is the computer on?" Ash starts sweating. Goh groggily walks towards the computer and squints at it before noticing the flash drive plugged in. "Um Ash? What's this flashdrive doing here? Wait, it has a bunch of our research files in it! Ash-" Goh turned around and found himself staring down a gun barrel. "Wha- Ash, what's the meaning of this? I thought we were friends! "

"We are, but mission comes first. Now that you've seen it, I can't just let you walk away." Ash hits Goh in the temple with the gun, knocking him out. Goh then woke up and found himself gagged and taped to a chair. He struggles to break free, but no luck. He looks up and found Ash pacing around, talking into a phone.

Meanwhile in Kalos…

Lysandre sits on his desk, phone in his ear. "So let's say she walks in, what do you think she'll do?"

Silence

"Yeah, of course she'll freak out, but how much? You know her better than me, so a lot or a little?"

Back in the lab…

Ash continues pacing "You really got to realize what an explosive element Chloe adds to this situation. If she comes in tomorrow and finds her boyfriend tied up and gagged, or worse, dead and me still stuck here, she'll freak! She ain't stupid, she knows only Goh and I were in the lab tonight, she'll put two and two together."

Lysandre: "Let us speak of the unspeakable."

Ash: "Possible, but unlikely."

"And why is that?"

"Because if shit really hits the fan, I'll do it. I don't discriminate, I'll shoot both of them, but that's not going to happen. You are going to come up with a solution. You will find a way to get me out of this mess, preferably, without civilian blood on my hands. Because if I killed some poor guy and his girlfriend, I'm going to have bad feelings."

"I got that, Ash. All I'm doing is contemplating the ifs."

Ash got frustrated "I don't want to hear about your if's. What I want from you is-"

Goh starts making noises and shaking in his chair. He's been listening this entire time. Boss? Kill? Get out of here? What really is Ash? And what is he going to do with them? Ash walks over and takes his gag off. "Talk."

Goh gasped "What do you want with me and Chloe? What do you want with the professor's research? And who was on the phone?"

"Let's just say someone is paying me a hefty sum to nab the research the professor has been conducting. Of course, as for you two, I'll have to silence you. I would prefer not to, but I can't trust that the two of you remain quiet."

"Wait, please! If I have to die, so be it! Just promise you'll leave Chloe alone! Or… I can help you!"

Ash raises an eyebrow "Go on."

"Look, Professor Cerise is not the great researcher the public makes him out to be. In reality I'm the one going out and actually collecting research! He just never credits me in his papers! You saw today what he can be like!"

"Well, why don't you quit? If you really are the one conducting the research just become a professor yourself"

"You think it's that easy? If I could I would have gone a long time ago. I dropped out of school so I can work here because I was interested in the work, but soon the novelty of it wore off. The only reason I'm deciding to stay is because if I leave, Chloe will be alone, and-"

"Look, we can listen to your sob story later, get to your point!"

"Point is, I see this as my ticket out of this! I'll help you steal all his research, if you can get me out of here!"

Ash considers this for a moment. "Fine. Now get to work."

Goh walks to the computer and downloads the research files. Then, he opens a hidden file Ash didn't see, which contained even more sensitive and valuable information, and downloaded all of it to the flashdrive. Ash nods in approval and takes the drive. "Alright, pack your stuff, we're getting out of here." While Goh goes upstairs, Ash puts the phone back to his ear. "Yep, mission accomplished. We got the files. Now about getting us out of here. Oh? He's in the region? Alright then. I'll be back soon." Goh comes back with a suitcase and gives a thumbs up. As they walked outside, Goh takes one last look at the lab, not with longing, but with contempt. They walked down the stairs, when suddenly Goh walked one way with a sense of direction. "Where are you going?"

"I'm bringing Chloe! I won't leave her alone!"

"She wasn't part of the deal! It was just you and me!"

"Then shoot me dead on the spot! I won't leave her behind!"

"Fine then. Make it quick."

Ash follows Goh before arriving at a two story house. "Ash, give me a boost up."

Ash lifts Goh and helps him climb onto the garage roof, and Goh slides open a window and steps inside. In the room, Goh sees Chloe sleeping peacefully. He gives her a light nudge. "Huh? Wha- Goh?!"

"Shhh!"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting out of here. I'm leaving Kanto tonight!"

"But why? And why are you telling me this?"

"Because, I want you to come with me!"

Chloe sat up "Are you crazy? What about my family? What about your work?"

"Chloe, your father is a terrible father, and you saw how he treats me. You really think I want to continue that job? Besides! Think of it as a new start! We can get new jobs, new opportunities, and a new life, together! Besides, what do we have to lose? Besides each other?"

Chloe thought about it. "But where are we going specifically?"

"I'm actually leaving with Ash! He said he came here from Kalos, so I guess we'll be heading there. And you know what they call Kalos? The place where Dreams and Adventure begin! Think about that!"

"Alright then, just let me pack my stuff."

10 minutes later, Chloe came back dressed and packed. "Now, Chloe, are you sure about this? I really don't want to force you."

"In all honesty I really would rather be with you than rot here in Kanto. Besides, you said it's like a chance to start anew, so let's take this chance."

Goh smiled. "Well then there's no time to waste! Here, I'll help you out." Together the two went out the window and joined Ash outside. "So um, Ash, the airport is still a couple miles away. If we walk it would take us a few hours. You want to catch a cab or a bus?"

"Nah, an associate of mine is in the region. He should be pulling up any second now."

As soon as Ash said that, a red convertible pulled up. Seated on the driver's side is a man with spiky brown hair, the one and only Gary Oak. "Need a ride, Ashy boy?"

"Yep, to the airport. And we're bringing these two along."

"Alright then. You two get in the back. Get my car dirty and we'll be going to the body disposal instead of the airport."

As Gary started driving, Ash turns around and started talking to Goh and Chloe. "Now that we're here, I might as well tell you guys the truth. You ever heard of Team Flare?"

Goh: "Heard of? Of course! They've been making headlines lately!"

Ash: "Yes, that Team Flare. Well, me and Oak Tree here are two of their members. The boss sent me here because he wants the professor's research."

"So that's who you were talking with on the phone!"

"SO YOU'RE A CRIMINAL!" Chloe yells. "Gary,stop the car." The car screeches to a halt.

"Listen, you two. You have two choices once you land in Kalos. Join and work for Team Flare, or be living constantly looking over your shoulder. Because now that you know what we do, we won't just let you go. You can join the life of crime, or live a boring civilian life."

Goh: "I'll join."

Chloe: "What?! Goh! We're talking about crime!"

"Look, I would rather live among the most powerful criminals than live in fear of them! Besides, this could be our path! You always said you never know what you want to do! This could be it!"

"But-"

"You will never know until you try it. And we can do this together."

Chloe let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright then, I guess it's worth a shot."

"Alright Ash, we're joining your Team."

Ash grins. "Great! Gary, off to the airport! We got some new members to initiate!" The car drove off into the night, with not 2, but 4 members of Team Flare. This decision changed Goh and Chloe's lives forever, and they have no regrets about it.

3 years later…

Ash and Goh sat around their usual cafe table, having breakfast. "Hey, Ash. Remember how we met?"

"Yeah, we certainly had a rough start. I threatened to kill you a few times, but look where we are now."

"Yeah, now we're partners! We're the boss's best and no one has even come close to our track record!"

The two men laughed together and continues eating their breakfast. Suddenly, Ash's phone buzzed. "Hello? Oh, Lysandre, what is it this time? Hmm, okay. Me and Goh will get on with it immediately."

"So, another mission?"

"Yep. It's a hit. Some dude named Calem harassed the boss's daughter and also stole some of our stuff. The boss wants us to kill him with extreme prejudice."

"Anything else we should know?"

"Gary is there too, undercover. If it calls for it he'll assist us."

"Cool, let's hunt some Camels."