Ash Ketchum, you may know him as the protagonist of the pokemon anime with the adorable Pikachu, some of you may know him as the idiot who lost to a fire type pokemon with a water type, someone who never aged and never one league, or some of you look at him as someone who needs to be replaced, but real fans of him and the people inside the pokemon world know him as the kind boy who saved the world many times, whether in the movies or not. The locals inside the pokemon world we adore know him as the energetic boy who lost in multiple leagues but still is undoubtedly an incredible trainer.

The people close to him look at him as a huge part of their lives, a person who helped them grow and be the people they are today, someone who was kind and selfless enough to stop their own training to teach them, someone they love, romantic or not. His mother looks at him as her whole life, his best friend looks at him as a brother who also happens to be a rival, his pokemon look at him as their human best friend, someone who saved them from the dangers of the wilderness.

Today, two people will be added to the long list of people who he will help grow. But this time will be different, this time they will help each other as partners, care for each other deeply. Let's meet them, shall we?


Chloe Cerise, describing her is quite hard. Not many people know who she truly is, not even her. But what do people see is that she is calm, a kind soul, she is smart, and a bit judgmental. There is a main part of her that almost everyone knows, she's lost and she doesn't know what to do, and she herself knows that. She was like a seed ready to turn into a beautiful flower, only waiting for the bright sun to shine down on her.

She was walking through the street with her friends, heading to her father's lab to drop her off. While her friends talked to each other about some party, she was lost in thought. Gou had just called her and said that he was heading to the lab as well and by the heaviness of her bag caused by his stacks of homework, it was clear he wasn't going to have fun.

It has been a while she's last saw him, a week exactly. For two people who have known each other since they were babies, that was a lot. He also hasn't been attending school and his grades were dropping drastically. When her teacher informed her of that, she had to refrain herself from calling him right away and sending his ass back to school. But because she knew that wouldn't work considering how stubborn he can be, she just waited for him. Impatiently so.

"Hey Chloe, are you coming with me?"

The maroon-haired girl looked up. "Hmm?" She hummed at her friend, Trisha.

Trisha broke out into a smile knowing that her friend was lost in thought again. "I asked if you wanted to join our sleepover tonight." Mika, their other friend remained silent as she stared at Chloe in slight worry. Her friend being lost in thought wasn't out of the ordinary anymore, it happens a lot these days.

Chloe's face lit up. "Of course!" She said excitedly. Her thoughts about Gou were quickly replaced by the prospect of doing a sleepover with her best friends which they haven't done in a while after she and her family had left for Christmas break and now was the only time they had the opportunity too

They continued chatting about their sleepover until they arrived at Chloe's house.

"Okay then, I'll see you tonight." Chloe waved goodbye to her friends after planning what they were going to do tonight.

"Bye-bye." Trisha waved back.

"Good luck, Chloe," Mika said, referring to Gou.

Chloe smiled gratefully and walked up the stairs with a somewhat rare smile on her face that only got bigger when she heard the familiar barking of her family pokemon. Yamper ran up to her feet while barking happily.

She gasped as her eyes landed on a figure lying face down on the stairs. "Ehh..." The figure was full of dark spots and didn't even look to be breathing. A strange Pikachu stared up at her which made her feel even more unsettled. Instead of helping the man up, she shuffled towards the side and quickly walked away with Yamper following her and the Pikachu's gaze staying on her. She didn't look back and continued walking.

"Ash?" Professor Oak looked down at the young protégé laying on the ground. He didn't think twice about the dark spots on his face, thinking it was yet again Pikachu's. "If you don't get a move on, you'll miss the opening ceremony."

Ash groaned and stood up. He shook all the dark spots off and exclaimed, "Right!"

"Pika!" His buddy yelled with him.

Chloe gently opened the doors to the lab and walked inside, she walked to the main area where her dad mostly works inside and peeked inside. The place was full of people talking and she could barely see her father up on the platform with all of them blocking her sight. The sea of people sent a shiver down her spine and immediately made her uncomfortable. She closed the door without alerting anyone inside, she shuddered before she and Yamper walked up the stairs to her room.

Ash opened the doors to the lab and let them carelessly bang against the walls creating a loud noise. He didn't acknowledge it and only looked around the place. It looked normal and more of a house than anything. He guessed it might be the professor's home as well like Professor Oak's. He heard footsteps and looked around, he spotted a shadow on top of the stairs before it disappeared. The young man stared for a few seconds in curiosity before he shrugged it off and moved on.

He heard a loud chatter coming from one of the rooms and followed that instead. He went inside and saw a lot of people blocking his path. He went on his tip-toes and tried to look at the platform where both professors and two people with lab coats were standing.

Pikachu climbed up to his head to get a better look. "Pi, pika. Pika?" Ash grunted and moved his head all over the place to get a better look.

The new professor with maroon-colored hair, glasses, and a friendly smile on his face started speaking. "Thank you for coming. I am Professor Cerise, owner of the Cerise Research Laboratory. I especially thank those who traveled a great distance to be here today. Thank you all." He bowed with his right hand over his heart.

"If you really do, give me something useful then," Ash muttered. "I woke up early for this." He said that even though it was already one-forty in the afternoon.

"Now, let's move on to the subject of pokemon." He snapped his fingers. "As you're already aware, our planet plays host to this mysterious life-form, in the forest, in the sky, and under the seas. No matter where you go in this world, you will undoubtedly find them." The professor said his speech with passion in his voice.

Ash and Pikachu stared blankly as the human finally managed to push through the sea of people and got a better look. Professor Cerise continued his speech, but he wasn't exactly impressed. He's heard this same kind of speech for years now, only said a little differently.

"Because to know pokemon is to know the world, and that is the very key to making it a better world for each and every one of us!" Ash smiled, okay he'll admit he was a little impressed with that. He clapped along with the people as he finished his opening speech before diving into talking more about pokemon.

Meanwhile, Chloe sat on the couch in the upstairs living room while reviewing her math book. She flipped through the pages before sighing and moved her eyes around before her gaze landed on Yamper sleeping beside her on his back and snoring softly. She chuckled, finding the sight incredibly endearing. She placed the book on the table before standing up, hearing Yamper wake up and follow her.

"Yah! Yamper!"

She looked out the window while muttering. "Come on, Gou." He was supposed to arrive at two in the afternoon, but it was already two-thirty and he was late. "You told me you'd be stopping by today, and that's the reason I brought your homework here with me." She still had a little hope that he was coming despite being late. She thought she was doing the right thing by bringing his homework, but she was oblivious to the fact he may not like that. She thought she was only helping him stay at school.

Her phone chimed, signaling a text. "Huh?" She took it out and opened her mailbox. She grumbled. "I'm going to be late because I'm about to have a fateful encounter?" She read it out loud. The girl pouted sadly and leaned against the window. "Wow..." She sighed. "The only time he gets in touch is for nonsense like this!"

Professor Cerise looked down at his phone when a sudden hologram appeared with an exclamation mark followed by a thrilling sound that interrupted his speech. "Let's see." He turned towards it and searched through. Ash, Pikachu, and many others from the crowd watched in confusion as a hologram appeared by him just swiping his hand in the air. "The atmospheric circulation, temperature, humidity, altitude..." At that point, Ash's mind just shut down at him. Those who understood what the professor was saying waited in anticipation as he continued a few more buttons before turning back to them.

"This may not be the most accurate forecast, but in about twenty minutes, an extremely rare pokemon might just appear over Vermillion Port."

Ash barely understood what the professor said as his brain really did seem like it shut down on him, but he did understand the last part. "A rare pokemon?" His eyes sparkled as he expressed his excitement.

"Pika?"

The professors were discussing when Ash raised his hand high and caught their attention. "Ooh, professors?"

"Hmm?" Professor Oak hummed and looked at the excited young man.

"I'll go check it out, 'kay?"

"Pikachu!"

And just like that, they were out.

Chloe watched from the window as Ash ran out of the lab. Her eyes unconsciously followed his movements in intrigue. She watched him until turned a corner and disappeared from her eyes. A sea of people followed after him with loud footsteps that somehow reached the second floor from where she was at.

"Hmm, I wonder what was that about?" She shrugged it off and sat back down on the couch with Yamper jumping in her lap. She brushed his fur with a smile on her face and continued waiting for Gou patiently

Three hours later, 5:56

The sun was already setting down and the weather was starting to get cold. When Gou had said he was going to be late Chloe thought it was only going to be a few minutes, not a whole three hours!

Chloe rushed through the stairs a deep frown on her face and a stack of papers in her hand, Gou's homework. When she had seen Yamper's nose and ears pick up, she knew he was back home. She opened the door and Yamper rushed out while barking happily, she moved a little slower.

She poked her head out and immediately scolded Gou. "Come on, you're late!" Her eyes stayed on Gou on the ground and didn't realize there was somebody else there with him.

He perked up and stared up at her. "You're not gonna believe what happened!" You're right I won't. Chloe snarked in her mind "It's the story of our fateful encounter!"

"Pika, Pika!"

Her attention was stolen by the strange pokemon running in circles around her legs. She looked down for a moment as a Pikachu and her Yamper played around.

She froze as the corner of her eyes finally caught on the figure Gou brought. Now that she got a good look at him, she recognized him as the boy with smoke all over his body this afternoon. The one that looked dead and she ignored. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief upon knowing he wasn't dead but didn't fully glance at him at all.

"You'll never guess!" Gou pointed a finger at himself. "I met Lugia!"

Chloe placed a hand against her hip with papers and looked down at him deadpan. "Is that so?" She kneeled and handed him his homework finally.

Ash followed her movements with an ever-curious look. Pink painted his cheeks which went unnoticed as his whole attention was on the girl in front of him. "Wow..." He said in his head as he paid more attention to the girl more than he probably did to her whole gender.

"But this is more important. Here, your homework printouts."

Gou sweat dropped. Ash finally withdraw his eyes from Chloe, but his mind was still on her and only looked away for a moment to stare at the stack of papers she handed to Gou. He scrunched his face as he saw how much it was and guessed he probably didn't attend school that much. After that, his eyes returned to watching Chloe as Gou and her interacted.

He felt the growing curiosity to know her as she talked to his new friend.

"Right. Yeah, okay." Gou looked down and muttered, "Not that I asked for them in the first place."

"Huh?!"

With just one word, Ash knew she was mad and it seemed like Gou knew that as well.

He immediately changed the subject. "That reminds me, where's Professor Cerise?"

Chloe cooled down and pointed at the door. "Oh, dad's inside with Professor Oak and-" He took that as the perfect opportunity to get away from her before she scolded him harder.

"Professor Oak's here as well? Yeah! Professor!" He stood up and rushed past her, but now before muttering, "She's so scary like a devil..."

"What did you say!" Chloe yelled after him as she furred her forehead. She sighed. "That Gou..."

Wanting to make conversation, Ash spoke while unable to resist the temptation to continue looking at her features. "Your dad's Professor Cerise?" Sadly, that was the first thing that came to his mind. How typical of him.

She flinched as she was suddenly reminded of his presence. The young girl looked at him from the corner of her eyes and never dared to make eye contact because just the thought of doing it strangely made her nerves set on fire.

"Um, do...you need help?" She asked tentatively referring to him laying on the ground for a time now.

Ash forced himself to stand up with strength and speed he hadn't believed he had at that moment. Just moments ago, he and Gou were laid on the ground, exhausted from walking around just trying to get home. But as he looked at her, he felt a whole new kind of tiredness, breathlessness.

A glint in his eyes slowly formed, those eyes could only catch sight of the side of her face, somehow, it impacted him as if he could see her entirely. At the back of his mind, he wondered what was going on with him. Why couldn't he move?

Why couldn't he answer her question?

When a couple of seconds passed and he didn't say anything, Chloe finally couldn't help it and looked down.

Does he actually need the help?

Just as she turned her head to look at him, she didn't expect to feel the full blast of his intense gaze.

Green eyes met Auburn

Those eyes that stared back at her were filled with confusion yet...wonder

And some other emotion that only felt a little familiar.

A heavy blush took over her face and she looked away just as she first looked at him.

"Uh, um, h-hi." She internally smacked herself for stuttering.

Ash blinked, seemingly snapping out of whatever trance he was on. He shook his head quickly and flashed her a big, bright smile that if only she took a proper look at, could have possibly rivaled the setting sun around them.

"Hi, there...my name's Ash Ketchum." Though his mind was running with questions of what just happened, he didn't forget to point down at the ground where his partner was still playing with her...yeah. "And that's my buddy Pikachu."

"Pika, pikachu!" The little mouse managed to say as he wrangled around with the little electric puppy

"Chloe Cerise."

...How cold

She almost regretted that.

It was silence again with Chloe looking anywhere but at him, afraid her heart would beat out of her chest if she looked at him while Ash boldly continued to just stare at her.

She cleared her throat. "Um, if you're looking for dad, he's inside." She pointed at the doors.

"Hmm?" He hummed, seemingly startled. He opened his mouth, his eyes searching her for something to say, but no words actually came out. A little disappointed and again confused himself, he just let out a "Yeah! Okay!" and slowly walked passed her. Briefly glancing at her right before the door closed between them.

Chloe let out a mixed sigh of relief and disappointment at the same time. She looked down at the two electric-type pokemon and smiled softly.


"Dad? Ready?" Chloe called out at her father while carefully walking down the stairs.

Professor Cerise rubbed the back of his neck while apologizing. "Oh, sorry! Sorry! Can you wait just a bit longer?" He snapped his fingers. "Oh, wait I almost forgot! This is Ash Ketchum and of course, you already know Gou." The Professor smiled at his daughter. "They will be staying here at the lab from now on, you're okay with that right?" As a good father, he had to get his daughter's approval first as she will be stopping by a lot to check on him and she's a girl after all.

Chloe took one look at Ash and smiled. "Hmm, of course."

Ash grinned at her happily and nodded.

The End


Author's Note: Finally finished with this rewrite and I have to say I am WAY happier with this than the original. To update you on the next one-shot, I'm already at 11k words and maybe planning to update it this month. It will actually be longer than anything else here and will probably be a two-part.

For new readers, what you are reading now is the better version of A Breathless Meeting. Anyways, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review and feel free to criticize me on what you think I should improve except for faster updates lol. Just be respectful of it. If you have any ideas for future chapters, just review them or message me if you want. (No lemons, though. I don't think I'm ready for that yet)

I'll see you in the next chapter!

Words: 3, 128

Originally updated: 3/27/21

Rewritten: 9/5/21