Hey guys. Long time no see. Been loving Journeys so far and I wanted to do something other than just an Amour reunion. Please enjoy. Just so you know, I've only been following the English dub, so if you see any inconsistences, please forgive me.
Barking. That was the first thing she heard early in the morning. Yamper was just as excited as usual to greet the new day. Chloe yawned as she got out of bed. It was a bit later than usual. She finally had a week off from school. She walked down to smell breakfast. Her mother, father, and little brother were already finishing up theirs. "About time you woke up, honey." Her mom said. Chloe sighed. "Sorry Mom, I just woke up this morning but the blankets and the assurance I didn't need to leave just dragged my back to sleep." Just then, Professor Cerisse got a phone call. "Excuse me, everyone." He walked out of the kitchen for a bit of privacy.
Chloe's mom asked, "So, what do you two plan on doing for the week?" Parker exclaimed, "I'm going to a camp at Professor Oak's. He's hosting a big event for future trainers." She nodded, "That sounds like it will be fun. And you, Chloe?" "Not sure. Maybe just relax for a bit." The professor came back into the room. "Oh, no, no, no." "What is it, Dad?" Parker asked. "I completely forgot that I need to make a delivery to Professor Birch! He needs that packaged by the end of the day." Talia suggested, "Maybe Ash and Goh could deliver it?" "I already sent them to do research in Kalos. That's nowhere near close enough for them to get back here and deliver it today." He then looked at Chloe. "Chloe, I know this is sudden and in the middle of your break, but could you do a little delivery for me?" Chloe sighed, "Well, I guess I'll have the whole week to relax. Okay." "Thank you, sweetie."
After a short airplane trip, she landed in Rustborro City. Although not the home of the Professor, he agreed to meet Chloe there to pick up the package. She got off the plane and searched around to find the man she would deliver the package to. She noticed the man in the lab coat and walked over to him. "Professor Birch?" "That's me." "My name is Chloe, I have a package for you from Professor Cerisse." "Perfect." She handed him the box. "So, what's inside?" "Just a few things from a joint project we're doing. Thank you again. So, what do you think of the Hoenn region?" "It's rather beautiful." "I'm glad you enjoy it. Feel free to stop by my place in Littleroot Town whenever you're by." "Thank you for the invitation."
She started to walk around, when she noticed a street cart selling one of her favorite foods. Her plane wouldn't be leaving back to Kanto for a while, so she got in line. After a small wait, she was finally at the head only to find. "Sorry, but I just sold my last one." Chloe was wide-eyed. First having to do a cross-country chore for her dad and now none of her favorite treat. "Excuse me." She turned around to find a girl around her age. She had honey colored hair and was wearing a pink dress with a red vest, a pinkish fedora, and a blue ribbon. She was holding one of the treats Chloe missed. "I'm sorry, did I take the last one? I had no idea." Chloe sighed, "No, don't worry about it." The girl broke her treat in half. "Here." Chloe shook her head. "No thank you. I couldn't accept this." "I insist. Please take it." She relented. She took it and took a bite. It was delicious.
"Thank you…" "Serena." "Serena. It's nice to meet you. My name is Chloe." The two walked for a bit. "So what brings you here to Rustborro?" "I was delivering a package from my father. He's a professor in Kanto." Serena sighed, "Kanto…" she whispered to herself. She got back on track. "I've been to Kanto before. It's quite nice. So do you study some of the research your father does?" "Sometimes, but in all honesty I'm not really that interested." There was something familiar in Chloe's voice. "Do you look up to your father." "Yes. He's a great role model." She looked down. "But…" Serena could feel even more similarity in Chloe's tone.
"Enough about me. So do you live here?" "Actually, I came from the Kalos region." "Kalos, huh?" Small world. Quite the coincidence considering where the boys were right now. "So what brought you to Hoenn." "I'm trying to gain experience from Pokémon contests. I'm hoping they can help me with my dream." "And that dream is?" "To one day become Kalos Queen and bring a smile to everyone in Kalos." Chloe looked down, "That's ambitious."
The two arrived near a bench. Serena asked, "Is something wrong?" Chloe shook her head. "It's nothing." Serena thought she had an idea of what was going on. But she needed to make sure. She gestured to sit down on the bench. Serena asked, "So, since your father is a professor, I'm guessing you plan on being a professor as well?" Chloe got a bit of a glare in her eye. A glare Serena knew all too well. "Just asking. In all honesty, I know how you feel." "What do you mean how I feel?" "You feel like you're expected to follow in your parent's footsteps. Right?" Chloe's eyes widened. That was exactly how she felt.
"Yeah. I love my dad, and I am proud of everything he does. But everyone at my school thinks of me as a professor's daughter. She must know everything there is to know about Pokémon. She's going to be a great battler one day. She'll be a professor just like her father." The two remained silent for a bit. "How did you know?" "Because I was the same way. My mother was a professional Rhyhorn racer. And believe me, I loved Ryhorn. But it never felt like I belonged. It felt like there was something out there for me. So one day, after a bit of a push from…something…I went out into the world to try to see what would come to me." Chloe sighed. "At least you got that far. I don't even know what I want to do." "Trust me, I didn't know what I wanted to do either. I tried so many things. I tried making Pokévision videos, and that was fine but took a lot of work and a crew. I tried baking Poképuffs in contests but it felt like something I'd rather do for fun than competition. I tried battling and fishing at summer camp and they were fine, but not my cup of tea.
"Then one day, I discovered performances. My Pokémon and I had so much fun. It felt like something I could do one day. So I jumped in." Chloe shook her head. "But I don't even know where to start with what I want to do in life. What if I just spend so long doing one thing that I miss what I want to do?" "Someone I care for once told me that nothing we ever do is a waste of time. Everything we do brings us a couple steps closer to our goals." Chloe felt her heart warm from that. She had to ask, "Why are you helping me?" Serena paused, "It's because some people in my life helped me find my goal." She thought back to all the time she had spent with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie. "It it wasn't for them, I'd probably still be picking myself up in the Rhyhorn track. Those people were there for me. I want someone to be there for you." Chloe blushed. Someone who was getting to know Chloe before Professor Cerisse's daughter. She realized this was what she needed.
Serena asked, "How long do you have until you leave back to Kanto?" "About five hours. Why?" "We're going to try some stuff." The two went out.
The two were in the fields with cameras in hand. "Snapping pictures of the wildlife. Both the Pokémon and the plants make this route beautiful, don't they?" "I guess…I have to warn you, I don't have any Pokémon on hand." Serena reassured her. "Don't worry. I have Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon with me. We'll be safe." A group of Tailow led by a Swellow flew by. The two took pictures. They then did the same with a Jigglypuff wandering about.
The two were later at a river fishing. "Fishing's really boring when you don't catch anything." Chloe grumbled. "Are you sure nothing is ever a waste of time?" "I'm sure. Someone even told me this could help in his goal to be a Pokémon M-" Suddenly Chloe's rod was being pulled. She pulled as hard as she could and a Tentacool sprung out. The two took pictures as it jumped back into the water.
The two were now back in Rustborro. Chloe came out in a beautiful dress. "That looks so beautiful on you!" "I guess it's nice, but I don't know. Fashion?" "You never know until you try. So, what kind of accessory goes nice with the blue in your dress?" "I guess the sapphire color could be complimented by something more ruby like." She picked out a red necklace. She admitted that it was fun to experiment with different combinations.
At the Pokémon Center, Serena explained, "Now, you add the almond flour and you sift until all of it is a nice and no lumps. So what kind of flavorings do you like?" "I suppose lemon, but green tea is pretty good." The two added in a bit of matcha to the mixture. While the shells were baking, Serena got out a jar of something. "Macarons are more of a Kalosian dessert, but ever since Hoenn I've been experimenting with some of the local ingredients. I find red bean paste is surprisingly good as a filling. Chloe got the little pastries and the two gently put the paste in between them. The two sampled them, "Mmm, delicious."
The two were now walking back to the airport. "So, by any chance did you find a dream today?" Chloe sighed, "Sad to say no." Serena frowned. "I'm sorry." "Don't be. I've done more in this one day than I was planning to do in an entire week. Maybe nothing I did today is my goal in life, but I've been able to try new things. And who know? Maybe some it I'll use one day when I do find my path." Serena smiled. "I'm glad I could help." Serena wrote something on a piece of paper. "This is my contact information. If you ever need any more help, or just want to talk, I'll be happy to." Chloe bowed, "Thank you." They heard something on the intercom.
Now boarding Pidgeot flight #08. I repeat, now boarding Pidgeot flight #08.
"Well, that's my flight. I'm glad we were able to meet." "I'm happy to have been here. You'll find your goal one day. Just keep persevering. You can't give up until it's over." The two greeted each other goodbye. Chloe was about to leave when she turned behind. "You know, as long as you keep that helpful personality, I can assure you'll bring smiles to people around you. Farewell, Serena." "Goodbye, Chloe." The two parted ways as she got closer to her plane.
That evening, she arrived back at the laboratory. Goh and Ash had finally returned from Kalos. She waved as the two boys, the yellow mouse waved to her (Raboot was there too, but he didn't really wave). The five went inside. Professor Cerisse asked how each party did away from Kanto. Chloe said, "I was hesitant to leave this morning. But I'm glad I made the trip. I don't know what I will do with my life, but I think I'm closer than ever to finding out." She suddenly remembered, "Oh yeah." She pulled a box out from her backpack. "I brought these for everyone. Someone taught me how to make them." They were little green macarons with a red paste between them. Goh bit into one. "Mmmmm, it's so sweet. I could just eat these all day." Pikachu bit into one and squeaked in joy. Ash bit one. They tasted just like the ones Serena used to make. Just one bite reminded him of his days in Kalos. He couldn't believe he went to Kalos and didn't get any macarons there.
That evening, Chloe and the professor arrived home. Talia greeted the two. Talia asked Chloe, "So, are you finally ready for your week of relaxing?" Chloe shook her head. "Actually, I think I've changed my mind. Maybe I'll try some new things. Broaden my horizons." She remembered the Kalosian girl. The wise advice she gave her. I'll find what I'll do with my life. Serena, Goh, Ash, please cheer for me.
Thank you for reading this. Not sure why you did. Anyways, I can't wait to see what next season of Journeys has in store. Although I hope Serena returns one day, I hope it's not just a big Amourshipping special. Please have a blessed day everyone.