This fanfic was originally written by a user named PhoenixDay2207 on AO3 and I am uploading it here with their permission.

"Greetings, Miss Chloe Cerise. I am writing to tell you that you have been accepted into the space program of Galar! Please meet us at the Hammerlocke Gym for your briefing. Sincerely, Professor Sonia Magnolia."

Staring at the letter again, Chloe took a deep breath. This was nerve-wracking. When she applied for the program, she hadn't expected an acceptance letter. Sure, she had realized recently she liked the idea of exploring space, but it didn't mean she had high hopes for being accepted. Average scores on exercise and knowledge, so to be accepted among the various other, probably more talented applicants was a shock.

Not that she knew how many people applied in the first place. She just assumed that there was a lot because of the popularity of the program.

Still, standing in front of the gym, she still felt nervous. Sweat poured down her forehead, and she had to wipe it off as her Eevee nuzzled her cheek slightly. "I know, Eevee. I'm just… not sure, is all. Do I really deserve this compared to all the others?"

"Eevee!" it insisted. As if it was telling her that she did and that she would do well. Plus, these programs almost always had multiple participants. Wasn't farfetched to assume that she wasn't the only one.

She couldn't help but smile a bit while patting its head. "Alright, you have a point."

Chasing her dream had to be a bit hard in order to feel accomplished when she reached it, right? She had seen Ash and Goh work hard for their dreams, so she should too! She wasn't going to give up now!

With that, she entered the gym, meeting Sonia and Raihan at the front as the Dragon-type Gym Leader waved. "Yo."

"Hi! You're Chloe, right? Ash and Goh have talked a lot about you!" Sonia warmly greeted.

"They do?" That was a pleasant surprise. "Did they vouch for me?"

"Oh, no, don't worry," she reassured her. "We did the selection without any bias. Your grades are okay and you've begun exploring around, right?"

She nodded, still very surprised by this. How did she know? Did Ash and Goh tell her?

"We looked into your background. Professor Kukui gave useful insight into your character, really."

Professor Kukui? "From Alola?" Chloe repeated.

"He mentioned that you seemed like a good choice for the program. Easily fascinated and also willing to work for it," Raihan added. "That kind of determination is something we need, Chloe."

"I'm not as determined as you claim I am…" Chloe felt a bit abashed.

"Well, you studied really hard for the entrance exam, right? I heard from Chrysa and Ren that you spent a month reading about space," Sonia giggled.

Chloe felt her face flare up. Oh, the sheer embarrassment! Ash and Goh, those two…!

The adults both snickered at that.

"You're pretty easy to fluster," Raihan remarked.

"Yeah, that's true!" Sonia agreed.

Eevee yipped at that, which only served to make Chloe cover her face. Oh MAN! She wanted to go crawl into a hole and hibernate there for eternity! Why did she deal with stuff like this!?

Thankfully, once the chuckling receded, she was led into the gym, with Raihan showing her the way downwards.

"It's not aboveground?" She asked curiously. She had thought that the lab would be at somewhere like the Battle Tower or something, not in a traditional castle.

Raihan closed his eyes, and Chloe noticed the slight fist tightening as he said, "The best tech Galar has… is down there. It… used to be Macro Cosmos' lab."

… Oh. Suddenly, it made sense. She had heard from Goh about Macro Cosmos and Chairman Rose. She hadn't considered how the person whose gym had been used for his delusional practices would feel about that.

"I'm so sorry!" She bowed to him. "I shouldn't have asked!"

Taken aback, Raihan immediately reassured her, "It's chill, kid! Don't stress! It's not your fault that it's a bit of a sore topic!"

"Still! That was very rude of me!"

"Kid, chill! Don't worry too much!" Now the Dragon-type Gym Leader was panicking. Where was the former Champion when you needed him!? He needed help here!

Sonia giggled at the display. Wow, to think the normally-cool Raihan was actually easy to fluster! Leon would hate that he missed this.

Eventually, Raihan did manage to reassure her that it was fine so they could continue on with their tour, much to Sonia's amusement. Man, she was adorable!

The lab had been spruced up a lot following the entire thing with Macro Cosmos, now looking more like a training center for astronauts. Various training items could be seen as Chloe stared, mesmerized by the scene.

"Alright, time to get to work, Chloe. Here's a list of what you have to go through for the next few months to be fit enough to go to space," Sonia said while handing an itinerary to the other, who took it and read it over. Physical and engineering stuff huh…?

She was prepared to take on this challenge, though! "Yes, Ma'am!"

Raihan and Sonia shared a smile.

They knew they had picked the right candidate.

After all, the new World Monarch had vouched for her.

Not that it would have changed a thing. They would have picked her anyway.