Cerise Park was the brainchild of the genius professor Raymond Cerise, and was designed as an answer to the question for Professors located in big cities as to what to do with the Pocket Monsters (called Pokémon for short) they held onto for trainers. After studying habitats used by researchers such as Augustine Sycamore in Kalos, more standard storage solutions used by Aurea Juniper in Unova, and the literal ranch owned and operated by Samuel Oak in another corner of the Kanto Region, Professor Cerise developed a storage solution that combined the best of all worlds. It was massive - much larger than the laboratory building it was attached to. It was climate controlled - so that there wouldn't be any errant rain or snow storms on Pokémon who preferred more arid or tropical climates. It was varied - the construction work lead to the creation of rivers and streams, small forests and flowerfields, quarries and caves. It was the best environment imaginable for a researcher whose goal it was to discover the secrets of Pokémon located in every region.

But for a young Pokémon Trainer named Goh, it was something even more important: home.

Goh had lived in the Cerise Laboratory for a little over a year's time now, and with summer spreading out before him, he should should be so energetic and excited that he'd want to take a victory lap around the the entire park, grabbing onto and excitedly shouting at all of his Pokémon that lived there. After all, he had just finished his work as a Chaser for the researcher project known as Project Mew, whose aim it was to locate Mew on a dangerous, faraway island. Though the Chasers had encountered life-threatening danger in this mysterious, faraway place, they had accomplished the mission set before them and found Mew. Goh was able to express his gratitude for the Pokémon who set his life on such a dramatic course, and his heartfelt expression to Mew touched the mythical creature, causing them to call off a deadly attack and even sit in the palm of Goh's hand for a moment before teleporting away.

It was, in all the ways that mattered, a complete victory.

But Goh continued to stare at the very palm Mew had sat in, and he could still feel the plush feeling of their soft fur in his hand. And his mind was very far from his encounter with Mew, and the faraway island they called home.

After stepping onto the boat that would carry him back to Vermilion Harbor, he decided he'd try to give Ash a call. Ever since they parted ways in Wyndon on the eve of his final battle with the World Monarch Leon, it had been complete radio silence between them, and so the first thing he did, having spent the last few days traveling to and from Mew's hiding place, was call Ash.

"Goh! Did you do it?! Did you find Mew?!"

Ash's voice, even in his memory, still sounded bright and excited.

"What about you? Did you beat Leon?!"

"I asked you first!" Ash teased. "So you gotta explain what happened with Project Mew first!"

He was still feeling pleased as punch, but he didn't know the outcome of Ash's battle, so he didn't want to make it sound like he was rubbing his victory in Ash's face, so he tried to slow roll it. "Well, let me just start by saying that I was able to really tell Mew how I felt yesterday."

"That's so awesome!" Ash shouted, loud enough to nearly make Goh's ear hurt. "I'm so glad you were able to meet up with them! Congrats, Goh!"

Goh chuckled, feeling a little embarrassed. He watched Grookey play on the deck of the ship while he talked with his friend. "Thanks, Ash. I even got to hold Mew in my hand for a second!"

"Didja catch 'em?" Ash asked.

"No," he admitted. "Mew was too tough for us to even get that close with a Poké Ball, but even without catching them, we learned a whole lot! And it's not like the island's in rainy season all year, so Professor Amaranth might go back someday!"

"Still, though…! Not even I got to hold Mew when I met 'em! That's so awesome, Goh! Have you told Chloe about it yet?"

"Not yet," he said. "But I did text her and let her know I was alright before calling you."

Ash snorted a laugh. "I'm surprised you're callin' me first and not your girlfriend."

"She came up to you in the stadium, right?" he replied. "She was there at your match, and I didn't want to hear about the results from anywhere but the Ponyta's mouth."

He knew he could probably look up videos from the battle online, so he exercised a great deal of self-control by texting Chloe first and then immediately calling Ash and not looking anything up. They had agreed to meet again with smiles on their faces, and spoiling the answer felt like cheating at this point.

"So… tell me. Did you beat Leon?"

Ash laughed. "You're talkin' to the new World Monarch. The strongest trainer there is!"

Goh felt his mouth fall open. "Ash, that's amazing! Congratulations!"

"It's really all thanks to Pikachu and the others," he said modestly. "But we all did work together and really pushed ourselves past our limits. I definitely feel like I've taken another step towards becoming a Pokémon Master now!"

"I bet! With the strongest Pokémon in the world by your side, I bet there's tons of people who'd already call you that… if they knew what it meant, anyway."

Ash chuckled, but then there was the familiar, highly audible sound of Ash's stomach rumbling over the phone. "Aw, man… I forgot it's time for breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Goh asked. "On the boat I'm on, I'm getting ready to head down for dinner service."

"Time zones, am I right?" Ash said. "I'll tell you all about the battle while we're on our way to the campsite after we get home! I'm flyin' out today!"

"Wait, campsite?" Goh blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Ask your girlfriend!" Ash said cryptically. "Later, Goh!"

Goh sighed, reaching up and scratching behind his chimp Pokémon's ear as Grookey cooed at him, confused. It was the same response that Goh had when he first heard the call, only now he was just remembering it. Rather than calling Chloe immediately, he decided to head down into the boat and get the dinner on offer, and while he did, he searched for videos online of Ash's battle with Leon. And what he saw shocked him.

He already knew how the battle would pan out, though seeing Leon offer Ash the use of all of his tools as well as the appearance of Eternatus both surprised Goh enough that he nearly choked on his dinner twice, but more than that, what he saw was two incredibly powerful trainers, each a prodigy who could masterfully battle with and against just about any Pokémon and situation.

And in the back of his mind, though he tried to quiet it, he heard a small voice speaking to him.

'If Ash was there, he'd have been able to beat Mew in a battle.'

That would, of course, open Goh to being able to catch them, and catching Mew could have led to any number of research breakthroughs related to them.

Or maybe not, given the combined strength of Quillon, Gary, and Goh himself, not to mention the support of Horace and Danika, weren't enough to match Mew.

But the possibility existed. Ash being there could have made a difference. And that's what Goh's mind had attached to. It wasn't the fact that Ash wasn't there, necessarily, that kept his mind in a fog. It was a straight-forward comparison of skills.

From the day Goh had met Ash on Lugia's back, the two of them had been very close, but Ash had always been the more experienced and more worldly of the two, even in areas where Goh would expect that he'd be the more familiar one. He gave Goh advice when he needed it, supported Goh in battles where necessary, and used his connections to help Goh advance as well. When situations would turn dire, Goh would think 'what would Ash do?' because it usually ended up being the key to the situation he was in. Without Ash taking him back to Professor Oak's, it felt unlikely he'd have gotten the recommendation for Project Mew, not to mention all the help in the Trial Missions or all the people that they met along the way to solve the mystery of the Clear Wing. His contact with Ash had even bolstered his own confidence in himself, which eventually led to him being able to act on the feelings that grew in his heart for Chloe. Ash's friendship was a gift that had completely transformed Goh's life in ways that he would always be grateful for.

But.

Because it had completely transformed Goh's life, it was evident to him that he hadn't done enough by himself to improve his life. Ash had been traveling for a bit over five years now, and through his dedicated work towards his solitary goal that entire time, had made his way from a newbie who left his home with Pikachu to the strongest trainer in the world.

And Goh has never had that sort of solitary focus. At least, not so far.

And so, as he stepped through the glass doors of the Cerise Park - home for his many Pokémon - Goh's thoughts were conflicted. But as soon as he entered, he heard a chorus of familiar cries. His Taillow saw him enter and began squawking to his other Pokémon, who all began emerging from trees, grass, flowerfields, and every body of water that could be found in the park's confines. It was a gigantic crowd that grew up around him, from his tiniest Bug-types to his larger and more powerful Pokémon like Darmanitan and Scizor. The only two who weren't present were Golurk and Zoroark, both of whom Goh knew took their jobs protecting the park seriously, so they were likely watching, but from a distance where they could continue to watch for danger.

Goh took the moment to take his Poké Balls from his pockets. Despite not getting the opportunity to use most of them, he let out Cinderace, Inteleon, Argent, Flygon, and Aerodactyl (Grookey, of course, was on his shoulder). They all turned to him and he took a deep breath.

"Everyone… we did it. I was able to meet Mew again!"

The roar of the crowd around him had to be heard to be believed. All of them cheered happily, that all their hard work had been successful, and Goh let out a sigh of relief. He was worried that word that he hadn't caught Mew would be seen as a failure, but everyone was so ecstatic that he even encountered the Mythical Pokémon again that this could be considered a win.

"It's thanks to all of you that I was able to make it happen," he said. "So I'm grateful to you all. Thank you very much."

He gave a polite bow to them, feeling restrained even as happy as he was. Cinderace, Inteleon, and Argent all watched him closely, while Grookey poked at his cheek.

Clearly he wasn't getting through this without coming clean about his thoughts a bit.

He stepped through the crowd of Pokémon who all continued to gather around him and sat down on a nearby fallen tree. Cinderace and Inteleon sat next to him while Argent curled up by his feet.

"...I just wish I was more excited about everything, you know?"

His friends could tell something was bothering him, of course. The fact that all the Pokémon were giving him their undivided attention let him know that as happy as they all were, they were still concerned for him.

It was time to break the news.

"I've been thinking a lot," he said. "About my dream, about Mew, about all of you guys… and about what I need to do to grow into the person I want to be. And so…"

He took a deep breath.

"I want to go on a journey."

The entire park was so quiet, Goh could hear the water in the stream gently moving.

He swallowed his feelings and continued.

"If I did that, though, it might be a long time before I got to see you all again, and so-"

His concentration was broken by a loud cry of "Vuivui!"

Darting out of the bushes to stand before Goh was a familiar Eevee. She looked at him with her bright, brown eyes and wagged her tail with its distinctive swooshing pattern that marked her as a female.

Looking where the Eevee had darted out from, he saw standing in the bushes another very familiar face. Goh saw the guilt in her green eyes as she fidgeted, her maroon braid swaying back and forth as she did. She was dressed in her yellow overalls and gray blouse, which reminded him again of what the day's plans were.

"Chloe…"

He said her name effortlessly, like it was the most natural collection of sounds he could make.

"I-I'm sorry," she said shyly. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop on you."

He gave her a kind smile. "It's alright. I don't mind. Come here."

He scooted to the side on the log, opening a spot for Chloe to sit that none of the Pokémon tried to take. Goh smiled inwardly at the thought that his Pokémon understood how important Chloe was to him, and that they wanted her to be included in this sort of family get-together. He put his arm around her, and she leaned into him.

"I missed you a lot while you were away," she said sweetly, and he felt his face heat up.

All he could do is apologize. "Sorry. I really didn't mean to be away for so long."

"I know," she said, digging the toe of her pink shoe into the dirt. Eevee sat patiently on the ground, but she leaned over and picked the fluffy Pokémon up and sat her in her lap. Grookey climbed down into Goh's lap and reached out to her, and the two of them touched their paws against each other.

"After all," Chloe continued, "it's not like you didn't talk to me at all, right?"

He chuckled to himself. After his call to Ash, he did call Chloe and spoke with her, and he had excitedly already gone over everything that happened with her.

Still, he hardly remembered the conversation. It felt like a total blur as he recounted every detail he could, still ecstatic about the feeling of Mew's plush fur in his hand. But his joy was unmistakable; even he knew that. And looking down at her as she leaned into him, he could see that she was happy for him.

He stopped his thinking for a moment, though, and noted that Chloe seemed a bit shorter than the last time he had seen her. That, or he'd grown a bit taller.

But before he could mention it, she interrupted his thinking.

"You were so excited and happy, so it's okay if you spent some time without me. It's been really good for you over this past year, hasn't it?"

He nodded. "Yeah… I guess I've grown a lot." He paused. "I-I mean that I've changed, not necessarily grown but-"

Chloe just giggled and Goh stopped over explaining himself.

"Thank you, Chloe."

There's another moment as the Pokémon all seem to begin mingling, making quiet small talk, still wanting to stick near their trainer and his girlfriend, but Goh's conversation with Chloe stopped once again.

Then, Chloe looked up at him. And she asked the question he knew she was going to ask as soon as she was caught eavesdropping.

"Goh… what did you mean about going on a journey?"

He sighed. He really didn't want to upset her, but he also knew that there was no lying to a girl as smart and insightful as Chloe Cerise, so he spoke openly.

"I've… been doing a lot of thinking," he said. "About my future. And about what I want to do with it. And… after meeting Mew in that place… that innocent garden that they made for themselves, it just got me thinking , you know?"

He looked up at the blue sky through the glass dome.

"There's so much about Mew that we just don't know, not even after seeing it so close - after holding them. And meeting them again made me excited to learn more about them, and get closer to them."

Chloe giggled. "So you mean exactly like when we were kids and you saw Mew for the first time?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Goh laughed. "It's like, there's so much more to Mew than I know yet, and I still want to keep trying and make Mew my friend!"

"I get it…" Chloe said. "So it's like your goal hasn't changed, right? You still want to catch one of every Pokémon to make your way back to Mew?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I think it's time that I tried things a different way than I have up until now."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "A different way?"

"Mew's DNA contains the DNA of every Pokémon there is, and so if I want to learn about Mew, then I need to learn about every kind of Pokémon. And that means learning about all the places they live and the people they live with. It means I can't stay in one place and that I have to explore places I've never been before. Because to know Pokémon is to know the world, just like your dad said."

He could hear the professor's voice in his head as though it was his own. 'To know Pokémon is to know the world. And that is the very key to making it a better world for each and every one of us.'

Chloe looked away from him, and he spotted her blush travel down her cheeks a bit more deeply. "Dad's always talking like that… and now you're sounding more and more like him." He caught the smile on her lips and the fascination in her tone, so he didn't refute her.

"It's how I can become an even better, more knowledgeable trainer," he said. "And that'll be how I reach out to Mew."

He went quiet, and Chloe moved her head from his shoulder to his chest, with Grookey and Eevee moving from their laps to sitting next to them on the log. Goh held Chloe there for a moment before continuing.

"I wasn't strong enough to reach out to Mew more than I already have. If I'm going to become Mew's friend, then I've got to be ready to handle anything they can do, or they'd probably get bored. And so, if I go on a journey, traveling across the countryside and really being in nature, like Ash has done, then I might be able to learn something and become stronger in a way that I can't if I stay in Vermilion City. And if I can do that, I know that I'll be able to become a trainer who can face Mew as an equal, and we can become friends."

His heart beat loudly in his chest, and he heard Chloe giggle at his words. "You really have been thinking a lot about this, haven't you?" she asked.

"It's… basically been the only thing on my mind since I started coming home," he admitted. "I've been thinking about what my next steps should be, after meeting Mew this time and being able to thank them."

"And you came up with this idea to go on a journey?" she asked.

Goh nodded.

"So this journey… is it something you plan on taking all by yourself?"

It was the obvious question, with the obvious subtext to it, and Goh sighed.

"...obviously, I would love it if you could go with me on this journey. I love you, Chloe, and I wouldn't want to split us apart. But if I asked you to come with me, I'd just feel selfish."

"Why would you feel selfish?" she asked, turning around to where she was now lying on the log with her head in his lap looking up at him. Glancing around, it seemed that Eevee had moved back into Chloe's lap, but Grookey was now sitting on the log next to him with Chloe's braid in front of him.

She had become very comfortable with him, it seemed. It was a far cry from the hesitation over holding hands from a few months ago. Goh wondered if this was what it was like when the early stages of a relationship ended and two people just continued to be together.

"Because, I know you," he said, finally answering her question. "You've had people telling you what to do all your life, telling you to be a Pokémon Professor and not letting you choose for yourself. It's your life, and it should be your choice, and if you don't want to come with me, then it would be wrong of me to force you to come."

She smirked at him. "So if you know me so well, wouldn't it make sense for me to want my boyfriend to invite me along on his journey? How could we stay in touch if you left for months at a time?"

He chuckled. "You know the answer to that one, don't you?"

She blinked innocently at him, acting like she had no idea what he was talking about. So he took his phone from his pocket and placed it on her forehead.

"You're the one who's always talking about calling and texting and stuff, right?"

"Oh… yeah," she said with a giggle. "I guess that's me, isn't it?"

Goh chuckled as well, and he combed his fingers through her hair, taking care not to accidentally disrupt her braid.

"So if I'm only coming if I want to, where does that leave Ash?" she asked.

At that question, Goh hesitated, pulling his hand back and looking back at the sky.

"I… I don't want him to come," he said. "More than that, I can't have him come with me."

"Why not?" Chloe asked as she picked Grookey and placed the chimp on her lap next to Eevee. She was still looking up at him from his lap, and he did his best to remain focused.

"Well, you saw him at the battle with Leon," he said as though that was all that needed to be said.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I did. But what does that have to do with your journey?"

He wasn't sure if she was asking it innocently or if she just wanted him to say it himself, but glancing down at her eyes she did seem actually curious. So he sighed and looked back at the sky.

"Ash is way past where I am when it comes to being a Pokémon Trainer. And I'm not saying that because I'm jealous or anything. It's just… an honest assessment, you know? And I feel like if he and I stick together, I'll never be able to find my own footing. He's an amazing friend, but… you know, I need to be able to stand on my own two feet. Improve on my own. I have to be able to do it without his support, or I'll never be able to, you know?"

She gave him a gentle smile. "I can understand that. It's hard to stand on your own when you're stuck in the shadow of someone else. I can relate."

He looked down at her and thought for a moment, but the answer came quickly. "Yeah… I guess you'd know that with your dad, huh?"

Grookey had curled up into a ball and was dozing off now, with Eevee curled next to him. Chloe held both Pokémon on her stomach and lap as she looked up at Goh with a smile. "It is hard to do anything on your own with someone as famous as the Genius Professor standing right next to you. Not that it's Dad's fault. People just… don't think about what they're doing, you know?"

Goh nodded at that. "Yeah… I know."

He gently ran his fingers through Chloe's hair again. This sort of casual closeness was still pretty new, but Goh was finding himself becoming used to it. At least, until Chloe asked her next question.

"Have you told Ash about your decision yet?"

His hand froze mid-move, but he continued without making contact with her bright green eyes. "Of course, if I told Ash that I wanted to go on a journey by myself, he'd tell me to just go for it. That's the kind of guy he is. He'd support my choices no matter what."

She tilted her head in his lap. "And why haven't you told him, then?"

Like always, she saw right through him.

"...it feels… I dunno, it feels wrong. Like I'm doing something awful. We've gone through our ups and downs, but most of all we've been really close through all of this. We've always had each other's backs no matter what. And telling Ash that I didn't want to hang out with him anymore… It feels like a betrayal of that friendship where we'd always had each other's backs. We've been friends for over a year at this point, and if Ash leaves…"

He exhaled his breath.

"...If he leaves, we might not see him again for years. You know how he tends to travel the world. He could end up in some faraway region I've never heard of and it could be literally years until we meet up again."

Chloe nodded at that. "I mean… it's not a great thought, I'll admit it. Ash and I might not be as close as you two are, but he's still a friend I might not see again. And we already had to say goodbye to two friends I'd known for a long time.

Goh nodded, sparing a thought for Deliah and Mika. He hoped they were doing well in Sinnoh, or whatever other region they'd ended up in.

It would be lonely for Chloe after he left, too.

"Well… I'll always be able to come home and see you, at least," he said. "Not to mention our calls. But after Ash leaves, he might not bother to try calling or anything. I'm definitely not looking forward to telling him."

Chloe nodded. "I guess you don't know what you're going to do next either, huh?"

Goh frowned and looked down at her, but before he could ask what she meant by that, the peace in the park was shattered with a familiar, energetic voice.

"There you two are!"

Chloe immediately sat up, rolling Grookey into Eevee and causing them both to roll onto the ground, dizzy but now awake. Goh caught a glimpse of Chloe's cheeks dusted red, and his own face felt somewhat warm as well as he stood all the way up.

Racing through the park, waving excitedly, was the very Ash that they were just speaking about. Pikachu remained on his shoulder until he drew close. The mouse leapt from Ash's shoulder down to the ground to greet Eevee and Grookey, but Ash ended up stopping short. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked. "You guys haven't been fighting again?"

"O-Of course we haven't," Chloe stammered, crossing her arms. "We've been waiting for you."

Goh thought over their conversation. Aside from maybe one joke, Chloe hadn't tried to pick on or tease him at all since he had discovered her eavesdropping on him. She'd been nothing but thoughtful and considerate which, considering how much they liked to tease each other, did suddenly strike Goh as odd. He turned back towards Ash, but before he could get in a word edgewise, his friend was closing in with a grin on his face.

Ash held a fist up. "You didn't forget our promise, did you?" he asked.

Goh's memory leapt to an evening that felt like a lifetime ago in Wyndon, on the eve of Ash's final match with Leon. Ash had made them promise to meet up again with smiles on their faces, and so Goh forced one onto his face and brought his fist to meet Ash's.

"Right! We both did it, didn't we?"

"I want to hear all about how you met Mew!"

"And I want to hear exactly what it was like battling Leon!"

"WAIT A SECOND, YOU GUYS!"

Chloe's shout broke their attention and drew it back to herself.

"If we don't hurry, we'll miss the bus!"

Goh felt himself tense up. He had been told about the camping trip, after all. While he and Ash were in Wyndon, Chloe and the rest of the Cerise family went camping in a spot near Mount Moon, and since both boys were back in town, she wanted to go camping with the two of them to celebrate.

"Right! We'll talk on the way!" he said. "Grookey!"

He held up Cinderace and Inteleon's Poké Balls, recalling them back as Grookey leapt to his shoulder. Chloe scooped up Eevee and Pikachu jumped back to Ash. The three teens all shouted a farewell to the park, on their way to catch their bus before it was too late.

The bus ride to Mount Moon wasn't as long as previous rides taken, and the trio quickly made their way to the forest Chloe wanted to show them. All the way, Ash and Goh told the stories of their experiences through their own eyes.

Goh had to hold back his surprise when Ash mentioned that fighting Leon's team felt like fighting Goh, given their similar Pokémon. Imagining that he could stand toe-to-toe with the new World Monarch's team did much to bolster the young man's confidence, but telling his story about how he had nearly died when confronted with the beasts that lived on that faraway island that Mew called home reminded him to be humble.

All the while, he looked for an opportunity to tell Ash of his decision to move forward without him, but that moment never seemed to come, and so he kept putting it off, deciding to ask more questions about Ash's battle rather than focusing on himself.

Before he could find another chance to ask, Goh realized that it had grown dark, and he and his friends set up camp and prepared dinner. Chloe handled most of the cooking duties, but he and Ash set up the tents, gathered the firewood, and fed their Pokémon (and Cinderace was able to easily light the fire). She made the same sort of curry she'd made in Galar's Wild Area, only instead of having whipped cream unceremoniously added to it, she used a packaged curry as a base and decorated it to look like Pikachu, Eevee and Grookey. Despite the cute appearance, it was plenty tasty and the three of them polished off the entire pot rather quickly.

Ash and Pikachu leaned back into their chair around the campfire, humming peacefully to themselves as Goh cleared the table's dishes. Chloe snickered at the sight, saying "You two are pretty similar, huh?"

Goh held back a laugh. "More than similar, I'd say. Sometimes it feels like they're sharing a single brain between them. They're always charging ahead and won't let anything stop them!"

Ash laughed out loud. "Well, yeah! Pikachu and I can always tell what the other is thinking. We've been together for a long time now."

"I guess it's been about five years now, right?" Chloe asked, touching her finger to her chin as Goh sat in his chair next to the campfire. Grookey leapt into his lap, almost knocking the air out of Goh's stomach with how full of food the little chimp was. Cinderace, who sat in the grass next to Goh, stifled a laugh of his own.

Ash nodded. "I was ten when I first met Pikachu, and now we've been together for five years… I've known Pikachu for a third of my life so far, and the more time we spend together, the more of my life I'll end up spending with him."

"Pikapi," Pikachu said, nestling into his trainer's lap.

Ash gently stroked his partner's back.

"These past five years, I've met so many Pokémon. I've learned so much about them, too. About as much as I've learned about myself. I started my journey with a big head and bigger ego, but as Pikachu and I have traveled, I've learned to put myself last and others first more often. I've made so many amazing friends and caught tons of Pokémon. And each and every one of those Pokémon has helped me become much more than I ever could have been on my own, just like I've helped them become more than they could be without me."

He took his gaze from Pikachu and looked at the stars glittering above them, and the shadow of Mount Moon that loomed in the darkness.

"But no matter how many great friends I meet, one of the things I've learned after all this time is that a beginning always brings an ending, too. That's just how life is! I've had to say goodbye to a lot of good friends over time. All except for my number one buddy, Pikachu."

Ash turned his attention back to the mouse and gave Pikachu a scratch behind the ears, eliciting a 'Chaa' from him.

"I can definitely relate," Goh said. "When I met Cinderace about a year ago, I really only had you and Chloe as people who'd call me a friend. But when I saw how far he went to protect the Nickit, and how far he came out to reach out to me in the Wild Area… I guess I was inspired."

Cinderace looked at him with wide eyes. "Cinderace?"

He chuckled. "Yeah! I think it's awesome how you put yourself out there to help others! And not just the Nickit, too! Even when we weren't on the same wavelength when you were Raboot, you were always looking out for others, like those Pokémon in Hoenn, or Inteleon back when he was Sobble!"

Cinderace put a paw behind his head and chuckled. "C-Cinderace…!" he said with a blush.

Goh turned his eyes back to the fire. "I can admit it now that I was being selfish and prideful," he said, the flames flickering in his eyes. "I was afraid. I didn't want to reach out to the people and Pokémon around me because I thought they wouldn't understand the pain I had. But thanks to all of you here, and thanks to all my Pokémon, I've realized how great it feels to be surrounded by people and Pokémon you love."

"You say that now," Chloe teased, "but you used to act like a cool lone wolf-type who could handle everything on his own. You didn't seem afraid of anything other than homework."

He turned to her, frowning. Was this the first time she picked on him since they had reunited in the park? He scanned his thoughts and realized that it was true.

But before he could point that out, Chloe giggled and smiled at him. "Honestly, I think this new, more kindhearted and open Goh is a huge improvement over how closed off you used to be."

That just made him laugh. "You're calling me closed off? I'm thinking you don't even realize how much you've changed, Miss Cerise."

"I-I haven't changed that much!" she replied, frowning at her boyfriend. "I'm still the same me I was last year!"

"Nah, you're totally different!" Ash interjected. "When we first met, you didn't seem like you wanted anything to do with Pokémon, or me! And now, lookin' at Eevee, it's clear that you really love 'em!"

"Eievui!" she chirped, standing proudly in Chloe's lap as though she had just made a great triumph.

Chloe looked at the Pokémon in her lap with surprise in her green eyes, but she began to gently pet her fluffy partner. "I… guess I always felt pressured by how everyone else saw me. Whenever I did well at something in school, I was always reminded about my dad. How I was a chip off the old block, or a daddy's girl, or anything like that. I loved Pokémon almost as much as Goh did as a kid, but when every way you try to express yourself gets reduced back down to being like someone else, you start to resent it. I resented the single path it felt like everyone was trying to force me down, and since that path was littered with Pokémon, I guess I came to resent them, too."

Eevee laid down in her lap, and Chloe's gaze lingered on her own partner. Goh felt guilty at her words. Not because he'd intentionally done the same (though he couldn't quite remember if he'd ever done it himself), but because he should have been there to help stand up for her and reassure her that she didn't have to become a copy of her father.

"But then I met Eevee."

Goh's breath caught in his chest.

"Eevee has so many paths in front of her that she could choose to take, but she couldn't go down any no matter what. She couldn't figure out what shape she wanted her life to take, what her next stage would be. She was just like me."

Eevee's ears twitched, but the mysterious little Pokémon said nothing.

"Walking all this way with Eevee, meeting all of her different evolutionary forms on our own terms… I guess I'm inspired by Eevee, too. I want to learn more about Pokémon and the world, at my own pace. Not anyone else's. Eevee showed me just how open my world can really be."

Goh and Ash both found themselves nodding. "And the world's huge!" Ash said. "With Pokémon by your side, you can go anywhere you want!"

"Pika, pikachu!"

Goh nodded. "With Pokémon, you can connect with anyone in the world, no matter where you meet them." His thoughts drifted to Horace, Quillon and Danika, and even Moyse and Miriam.

His life as well had become connected with so many others. Not just the people in his life, but the Pokémon as well. Every encounter that led to the next, from his chance meeting with Mew so long ago, to Scorbunny, Sobble, and even the Grookey who laid in his lap.

He wondered what forces worked to bring so many things he loved all together?

"Sometimes it feels like it's just luck," he mused. "Like it's only a random chance that all of this happened. But…"

Chloe turned to him. "But?"

"Well, when you think about everything that happened with Clear Feather, and how everything ended up being connected, maybe it wasn't a coincidence. Maybe it's something bigger than that."

"You mean, like it was destiny?" she asked.

Ash laughed out loud. "Nah, I dunno if it's anything like that. But I am glad I met PIkachu and all of my other Pokémon, no matter what the reason for it was."

Goh and Chloe both nodded.

"Thank you for everything, Cinderace."

"Thank you so much, Eevee."

The Pokémon both quietly laughed to themselves, embarrassed, and the teens looked back up into the sky.

Whether it was the whims of fate or just random chance, Goh wasn't sure, but he was grateful for the life that he found himself with, surrounded by loved ones.

A small, twinkling light shot across the night's sky above them and he heard Chloe gasp. "A shooting star!"

"Let's make a wish!" Ash chimed in.

All three of them bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Goh thought about the wish he held most closely in his heart: his most cherished dream of befriending Mew. And he wished as hard as he could that one day he would be a trainer worthy of Mew, able to catch and befriend them and show them just how he saw the world, just like he was able to help Chloe see the world as he did.

He opened his eyes and sat up straight. If this was the wish his heart had settled on, then it was time to take the first step in making it come true. He let himself relax and turned his attention to his best friend, the World Monarch.

There would be no more stalling or distractions. He would tell Ash his decision right now.