Her hair was perfect. Of course, after reading through magazine after magazine for tips to tame her wild and curly mop, she had become a one young woman hair straightening machine, even if she still needed her Mom's help on occasion to get it braided perfectly.
And today, even if she didn't need anything to be perfect, she had seen how a little extra time spent in front of the mirror had knocked Goh for a loop before, and so she was taking extra care to perfect her appearance.
She used only a little mascara on her eyelashes and only a touch of blush on her cheeks. They were going to a theme park today, so if it ended up being overly warm, she might sweat it all off. Better to be a bit conservative today.
Chloe did, however, giggle as she applied the fruit flavored lip gloss to her lips. Her mind wandered back to that morning in Azalea Town where they had shared their first kiss after she and Goh confessed their growing romantic feelings for each other. It was, so far, the only kiss the two of them had managed to share. Not for lack of trying on Chloe's part, she was sure, but between everything else that had been going on, Goh and Ash were simply out more often, and when they had alone time, they weren't ever truly alone.
Chloe still hadn't told either of her parents that she and Goh were a couple. It still felt premature, not to mention awkward. She and Goh had known each other for years - he was practically her best friend. Admitting that they were in love and fully accepting of each other's feelings was almost an embarrassment too far. Not to mention how Goh's employment by Professor Cerise might be affected by the fact that he was in love with his boss's daughter.
All the secrecy gave Chloe a bit of a thrill as she thought about it. It was as though her meetings with Goh were clandestine and forbidden, and there was something alluring about flaunting the rules to spend time with your boyfriend.
She broke into giggles at the word. Part of her couldn't believe it.
She turned her attention to the rest of her outfit today. She had decided on a black blouse with a white collar that went well with her pink Bewear overalls. Unlike her yellow overalls, these ended just above the knee, leaving her knees bare until her floral print socks started, leading down to her ruby red flats.
It was the kind of outfit that a teenage girl could be seen wearing either to a get together with some friends, or on a date with that special someone.
A date. Chloe giggled again. Her first date with Goh.
As she began wondering about what handsome outfit Goh would show up in, there was a knock at the door to the bathroom, and the door cracked slightly.
"Chloe?" her mother asked. "Are you finished getting ready?"
Chloe looked up at the mirror and saw that her hair was still down and wild. "Not quite yet," she said. "Can you help me with my hair?"
Giggling herself, Chloe's mother slipped in and closed the door behind her. She swiftly took the hairbrush from her daughter and began brushing Chloe's hair straight.
"So…!" her mother asked. "Where are you two headed today?"
Chloe bristled. "We're headed to Cosmic World. And it's not two. It's a few of us. Some friends from school."
It was a bold lie for a girl to tell her mother, but given how her mother could be, she felt it was a necessary precaution. Besides, her mother had a way of using Chloe for her illustration work, and if the girls at school - especially Mika - caught sight of her mother's "fictional character" gaining a blue-eyed, black-and-red haired boyfriend, she would just die from embarrassment.
"Oh!" Chloe's mother said. "Right! Of course. Just some 'friends'. I suppose this would be Mika and Deliah, right? Not Ash and Goh?"
The way Goh's name was emphasized made Chloe raise an eyebrow, even as her mother was straightening her hair. She was careful to hide her true feelings behind the mask of teenage indifference, but she wondered just how much attention her mother was paying to her boyfriend. There was no way she suspected them of being together, right?
"Just a few friends from school," Chloe restated, as though to enforce her point.
"Right…" she said, continuing to brush Chloe's hair. "Well, I know it's a Saturday, but don't stay out too late. You know how your father worries about you."
Chloe frowned. "You know, I might stay out a bit later in that case, " she said, the bitter expression on her face perfectly reflected in the mirror.
"He's just trying to be a good father," her mother replied. "Even if he can be a bit of a worrywart. I guess you get your cool head from me."
"And my good looks," she said, smiling as her mother began braiding her hair into her signature style before putting the cherry blossom barrette on to hold it together.
The two women of the Cerise household giggled together, sharing a moment between mother and daughter.
"Don't worry, Mom. Sometimes a growing girl just needs some time away from her parents and nosy little brother! I promise I'll be back before it's dark, so don't let dad flip out, okay?"
Her mother nodded. "I suppose I was the same when I was your age," she said. "I'll try to keep him from worrying too much," she said. "Have fun, dear."
"Thanks, Mom." Chloe tested the strength of her braid by tossing her head left and right, causing it to bounce as it always did. She grabbed the small pink purse to complete her outfit - the one themed after Bewear's pre-evolved form, Stufful, as she stepped down the stairs. In the dining room, Eevee and Yamper were playing some invisible game known only to them. "C'mon, Eevee!" she called out to her Pokemon, and Eevee leapt up from the ground and chased after Chloe as she stepped out the door.
Cosmic World was a theme park that stood part-way on the ocean near Vermilion City. Famous for its Cosmic Clock 21 ferris wheel, it was a moderately sized theme park with a variety of rides and attractions that could entertain a couple of teens for the greater part of a day. The ferris wheel and the nearby roller coaster were both painted bright pink, and the sign of the park was hung on the arch that acted as the entrance to the park.
As they had decided, Chloe and Eevee waited near the entrance for Goh to arrive. She was a bit early for their appointed rendezvous, but she didn't want to step inside the park and miss Goh's arrival, and so she held Eevee in her arms, looking at the rides and seeing the people already riding on them.
"Doesn't this park look fun, Eevee?" she asked. "It's got all sorts of rides and things to do! There's a roller coaster that dives into the water, one that spins all around, and even a smaller one. We might not be able to ride with you on the fastest ones, but if there's anything I'm looking forward to, it's that!"
She pointed at the ferris wheel. It had alternating cars, ordinary ones that one would expect on a ferris wheel and alternates that had a transparent bottom so that you could also look down at what was under your feet. On the center of the wheel was as huge digital clock - thus the name of the ferris wheel being the Cosmic Clock 21 in reference to both its size and the clock it displayed.
Chloe, however, was lost in her imagination.
"Just picture it…! After a day of fun and excitement, we'll ride up to the top of the ferris wheel and then… when the moment's right…!"
"Eievui?" she asked, not understanding exactly what Chloe was talking about.
"He can be kinda dorky sometimes, but there's also times he just manages to be so cool and incredible that my heart kinda flutters out of my chest, you know?" she said, giggling. She held Eevee in front of her face as she did, feeling embarrassed. "It's hard to keep things as they were, but I hope it doesn't change that much."
"Eievui…" The Normal-type wagged her tail idly, not quite sure why Chloe was acting this way.
"Ahem…"
Chloe felt her face redden. She recognized that sort of throat clearing, and she moved Eevee lower to see Goh now that he was here.
Immediately her expectations were shattered.
Goh was wearing a white suit with a pink tie and a black dress-shirt underneath. His hair, which was normally sticking up in several places, was all slicked down and back, and he was wearing a fedora in the same color as his suit. The only reason Chloe recognized him as her childhood friend was because of the familiar Pokemon on his shoulder.
"Grooki!" he said, waving to Chloe and Eevee with his orange paw.
"Eievui!" she replied, wagging her tail, happy to see her friend again.
Goh stood with a confident expression on his face while he held one of his hands behind his back. "Good morning, my precious," he said. He pulled a bouquet of pink posies from behind his back and held it up to her. "A token of my affection, though their beauty pales in comparison to yours."
Chloe blinked in confusion. Goh looked more like he was getting ready to take her to a fancy restaurant, not spend a day at a theme park. She set Eevee down and took the flowers from him. They were bright and vibrant - beautiful, freshly picked flowers that definitely embodied the spring season that was in full swing. It was… flattering, and Chloe wanted to just let it go and enjoy it, but there were two things that she couldn't let go.
She put on her most polite face. "Goh, they're lovely… only… where am I going to keep these while we're in the park?"
Immediately, the confident expression he had shattered as he glanced around.
This obvious lack of planning was Chloe's cue to pick on him, and begin their back and forth of picking on each other.
"You did think about what you were doing with those while we were at the park, right? I don't exactly have a vase to put them in."
Goh's face was already reddened. "I-I know that. I… just figured we'd carry them around."
"All day?" she tilted her head at him.
"I never said it was a great plan," he said, quipping back before going quiet.
"It's more like no plan," she said. "Honestly, this is just thoughtless."
Goh frowned, like he had something to say, but he stayed quiet as Grookey poked him in the cheek with his little fingers.
"Goh?" she asked.
He frowned, but he looked her in the eyes. "Please forgive my thoughtlessness, my dear!" he said as Chloe noticed his immediate going back into character. "I'm sure we can find something to do with these while we enjoy the theme park!"
She wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him until his suit fell apart, but she held back. She wasn't sure why he was acting like this, but she did love him, even as he acted like this, so she just frowned looking back at the flowers.
"Thank you, Goh," she said. "I love them."
"Grooki! Grooki!"
The chimp hopped up and down on Goh's shoulder, waving his stick around before jumping from Goh's shoulder towards Chloe. But instead of jumping into her arms or to her shoulder, the chimp leapt towards the bouquet, swinging his stick at it. The force of Grookey's swing smashed the flowers into petals and stems, filling the air around them with the scent of the poseys.
Goh looked mortified as the petals landed on himself and Chloe, but she, Eevee, and Grookey were all laughing. Chloe blew a few of the petals away before looking at her boyfriend. Goh was looking irritated, though if it was from being upstaged by Grookey or having his bouquet literally blow up in his face, she wasn't sure.
Still, she could twist the knife.
"Thank you very much for solving our problem, Grookey!" she said, crouching down to the chimp's level. She glanced up at Goh, and despite the cheerful expression on his Pokemon's face, he looked completely unamused. She crossed her arms. "Oh, did you have something you wanted to add, Goh?"
He frowned, looking away from her. "Today's supposed to be special, isn't it?" he said under his breath, as though he didn't want her to hear.
Chloe, though, picked up every word. "What was that?"
Goh's eyes went wide, but he shook it off before dusting a few of the remaining flower petals off of his fedora and shoulders. "We should get inside," he said, offering her an arm. "Sh-Shall we?"
Chloe giggled before taking his arm. "We shall!"
The two of them walked arm-in-arm through the gate into Cosmic World. From previous visits to the park, she knew that it had free entry, but the attractions all had their own ticketing price. The tickets could be acquired from kiosks in the park and then redeemed at the various rides and attractions, so rather than paying for an entire park that a patron might not enjoy all of, visitors could only pay for the rides they partook of. It meant Chloe didn't have to pay for the rides she wasn't interested in and could focus on getting tickets for what she really wanted, like the Cosmic Clock.
But in order for their first date to go how she wanted, the ferris wheel had to be saved for last. She knew that for a fact.
She reached into her bag to pull out some money for the tickets, but Goh stepped in front of her, "No, don't worry about spending your money. I've got this."
"Goh, that's not necessary-"
"Nonsense! If I'm going to be a proper gentleman, I have to do this. Allow me."
'He's being a proper pain,' she thought to herself, but she said nothing else, allowing him to purchase the tickets. Instead, she decided to change the subject. "So how did you give Ash the slip?" she asked.
"Are you kidding?" he laughed, almost seeming like his normal self. "He's been so focused on his battle against Raihan that the entire lab could collapse around him and he wouldn't notice it unless it got in the way of his training."
Chloe laughed. "Yeah, that seems like him. I guess he's really fired up for it, huh?"
"He really wants to battle Leon…" Goh said, trailing off. "He's getting crazy close to being able to actually face him."
Chloe opened her mouth to comment on Goh's own goal, but she promptly shut it - Goh's exploits hadn't been going well so far. Not only haven't they had a chance to head out to this Rota place that Kurt mentioned, but his only other Project Mew mission in the meantime ended in failure - something that definitely wouldn't make good talk on their first date.
"Well, then that means we just have that much more time we can spend together here, you know?" she replied. "I was thinking we'd save the ferris wheel for last, but we can still definitely hit a few other rides. How about the log flume first?"
Goh was nodding and collecting the tickets he purchased up until she mentioned her first choice. "Wait, the log flume?! What about my clothes?!"
She shrugged. "Well, maybe you should have thought about wearing clothes appropriate for a theme park."
Again, Goh just went quiet, not taking the bait that she had prepared for him, so rather than letting herself come across as a bully, she decided to soften the blow a bit. "...besides, it's not like you'll get THAT wet. The water mostly splashes outward, doesn't it?"
"...I guess…"
He still seemed very restrained and deflated, which was still a cause of concern for her, but she couldn't sit here and fight with him all day if they were going to have any amount of enjoyment on this date.
"C'mon, Goh, Time's wasting."
Goh's eyes darted around, looking at the log flume's listing on the list of rides. It was labeled the "S-Pika-kling River Log Flume". Chloe thought that the ride would be fun and a little cute, as a group of Pikachu that belonged to the theme park would judge the splash down by powering up a series of lights.
This wasn't the only piece of information in the listing, though, and Chloe knew what Goh was looking for as an escape hatch.
Next to the listing, there was a symbol of what looked to Chloe to be some sort of generic stand in for all Pokemon. The Pokemon-substitute was found in a box that could either be green, yellow, or red. Green indicated that the attraction was appropriate for any Pokemon so long as they could fit in the ride's cars. This was mostly kiddie rides like the Nanab Berry Coaster and the ferris wheel, or walking attractions like the haunted house. Yellow indicated rides that were open to most Pokemon, but ones where riding Pokemon would need to be careful or hold tightly onto their trainers. The log flume itself fell into this category, as did a few of the more intense single fairway rides like one that would spin its arms called the Enterprise (Chloe vaguely recalled her father talking about a television show featuring a space ship by that name… maybe it was named after that?). The final category, red, was restricted to only Pokemon that could be restrained just like their human partners were. These were the biggest roller coasters in the park, and it meant that, say, Cinderace and Inteleon would be okay riding, but Grookey and Eevee would have to be left behind.
"Ah! See! It could be dangerous if we ride the log flume with Grookey and Eevee," Goh said. "Why don't we try something a bit tamer?"
Chloe felt the grin growing on her lips. Like a stray Rattata wandering into her front yard, he was about to be in for a rude awakening. Though, instead of sending Yamper to deal with it, Chloe simply leaned over and pointed out one of the green attractions.
"...it looks like there's a place called the Pal Park where we can drop off our Pokemon that'll keep them entertained. Why don't we drop Eevee and Grookey off there, hit up all the extreme rides we want, and then pick them up and enjoy the rest of the park?"
The sound of defeat that came from Goh's throat was simultaneously enthralling and heartbreaking.
The Pal Park was located near the bridge that led to the area of the park that contained more of the extreme rides, presumably out of convenience for trainers to drop their small partners off so they, too, could enjoy a day at the amusement park. It consisted of swings and slides, a jungle gym, blocks that could be lifted and pushed, and even a shallow pool - the kinds of things Chloe would expect from a playground for human children, only they were all sized for small Pokémon. As they approached it, they were greeted at the gate by a woman with pink hair and purple eyes. She wore the pink uniform of the workers of Cosmic World, complete with the purple hat with the logo around a red star.
She greatly reminded Chloe of Espeon, one of Eevee's evolved forms.
"Welcome to our Pal Park!" the attendant said, smiling widely. "I'm Lucina and I'll be the one attending to your Pokemon today! Are these two the little ones?"
Chloe lifted Eevee up and held her. "That's right. These little fuzzballs can get into some mischief, especially if they're left together!"
"Eievui!" she said, happily wagging her tail.
"Thank you, miss," Goh said, handing Grookey over to her. "We'll be back for them later."
Rather than look even the slightest bit depressed, Grookey happily waved his arms and leapt into the play area, where he was quickly caught by a much larger Pokemon. She had a rough, brown hide and gentle, matronly eyes. In her pouch was her young, looking brightly excited at the new arrivals.
Goh's polite, well-mannered facade vanished immediately. "It's a Kangaskhan!" he said, beaming with excitement. Chloe took out her phone and pointed it at the Pokemon.
Her phone's Pokedex app opened and loaded a picture of the Pokémon on screen. "Kangaskhan," the phone recited, "the Parent Pokémon. A Normal-type. Although it's carrying its baby in a pouch on its belly, Kangaskhan is swift on its feet. It intimidates its opponents with quick jabs. Kangaskhan only lets its baby out of the pouch to play if it feels safe to do so."
"Man, do you remember when we saw a Kangaskhan?" Goh asked, a whimsically happy look on his face. "We ended up so far off course because of…"
He quieted down before forming the word with his lips only. It was a word Chloe had heard many times come from those lips.
Mew.
She nodded. "Yeah, and then we saw that baby almost fall off a cliff and get saved…"
Goh smiled to himself and nodded. "Yeah… that was so cool…"
Chloe tried hard not to giggle out loud. This was the sort of way she expected Goh to act, talking grandly about Pokémon and getting excited in that way she could play off of. It was the kind-hearted part of him, the soft part of him that she got to know in their childhood, that their friendship had been built upon. While she wouldn't say that her romantic feelings were an extension of their friendship, it definitely was fertile soil for such feelings to grow in, knowing that Goh was already a kind and motivated person.
Grookey and Eevee both began to bound around Kangaskhan excitedly, waiting for their chance to play, and so Chloe decided to try to reinitiate their game of playful bickering.
"I hope Grookey doesn't get Eevee in trouble again," she teased, leaning in.
Goh immediately put a completely serious look on his face. "Grookey! Be on your best behavior!"
Grookey stopped what he was doing and turned to Goh and gave an uncharacteristic serious look and salute to him before returning to chasing Eevee around the play area.
Chloe frowned, irritated.
But Goh immediately offered her his arm again. "Shall we go?"
Chloe grumbled, but took his arm anyway since he would force the issue otherwise.
This wasn't how she imagined her first date would go at all.
The two teens again crossed the park, heading in the direction of the log flume, though Chloe pulled her arm free. She glanced around the park at the rest of the visitors, with families enjoying themselves with their children or Pokémon and even other couples seemingly sharing their time together.
She looked at Goh, who seemed more nervous than happy to be with her here, and she felt her mood sour further. If he was sure this was going to be a special day, then why was he acting like this…?
It was enough to make her want to grab him by the collar and shake the answer out of him, but she held back. She didn't want to force the issue and have a fight with him, but at the same time… she hated this. This wasn't her friend, the guy she had fallen for.
But maybe he would get over himself, she thought.
They approached the log flume, with Goh's resignation to his watery fate showing on his face.
"A-Are you sure you want to ride this…?" he asked.
Chloe could feel her irritation rising at his lack of confidence. "Yes," she insisted, despite not truly wanting to ride it anymore.
"...mayhaps we should reconsider?" Goh asked, trying to maintain his cool visage.
Chloe didn't buy it. "Why? Is there some reason you think we shouldn't?"
"I-uh… I just wanted to protect my delicate flower," he said, not meeting her eyes. "Y-Your amazing makeup and uh… cute clothes! They might get messed up by the water!"
She glanced up at the Cosmic Clock 21 and saw that only about a half hour had passed since they had arrived. She quietly wished that much more time had passed since she got here.
Turning back to Goh, she grabbed him by the wrist with all the might in her arm and pulled him away. As she pulled him away from the crowds, she couldn't see the smiling faces of the happy people, at least not anymore. Now she could only focus on Goh's completely baffling behavior and how sick to her stomach it made her feel.
She pulled Goh behind a set of vending machines before releasing him. Goh's other hand went to his wrist to try and ease the pain she had inflicted, but any fears about twisting his arm went away when she put her own thoughts in line.
In a whispered voice she leaned into his face. "What the heck is wrong with you?!" she demanded, glaring as angrily as she could.
"What's wrong with me?" Goh asked, blinking as he leaned back, ceding more personal space. "What do you mean, swee-"
"Cut that out! You're acting like an idiot!" Chloe said, letting her irritation and anger flow through her.
At that, Goh finally seemed to respond. She saw the indignation flash through his eyes, but there was a part of him that still held him back, so it was quickly doused with the fakest smile she had ever seen on his face. "I-I don't know what you mean?"
She reached a hand towards his forehead and gave him the strongest flick she could manage, right above and between his eyes. He hissed in pain as he covered his forehead, turning away from her.
"What I mean is all this… stuff you're doing!" she said, gesturing to Goh's entire body. "The flowers, the clothes, the act!"
It was the act that hurt the worst.
Goh's false confidence wavered like she knew it would, and he put his hand on his ridiculous fedora.
"C-Chloe, I-" He stammered, his tone already apologetic.
Chloe continued. "I just don't get why you're acting like this. What happened to my best friend? Why is the guy that I love acting like this? You won't treat me like a friend, you're treating me like you think a boy should treat his girlfriend. You never even… y'know, bickered or teased me."
He groaned, sighing. "I… this wasn't how it was supposed to go at all!" he said, his voice filled with more frustration than anger.
Setting aside her irritation, she tilted her head. "How was it supposed to go?"
He shrugged, gesturing towards her. "I… I mean…" She saw him ball his hands into fists as his eyes darted around, looking for the word he was trying to say.
Even as irritated as she was with him, Chloe couldn't let him flounder like that, so she took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm not - well, okay I'm a little mad, but that's why we're talking about it, right?"
Goh nodded. "Sorry…" he said. "I just- I wanted it to be special you know? This is our first date, and you just had your birthday a few days ago. I… I wanted it to be something you'd remember forever. I was trying to do everything right but it feels like everything just went wrong."
She felt a little bad about that. He was only trying to make her 15th birthday and first date into things to remember, and in a way, Chloe could admire that spirit. But this wasn't what she wanted, so with a frown, she reached over and plucked the fedora off the top of his head. "Goh, the only thing I need for this day to be special is to have you and Eevee and everyone else in it, and for us to have a good time. I didn't want some sort of perfect gentleman to carry me through the park. I wanted to spend time with my favorite person in the whole world. I know you're not perfect, but that's okay. I'm not perfect either. I love it when we bicker and tease each other, and I value the times we're able to be genuine with each other more than anything else."
She smiled at him, gently tapping him on the forehead with her index finger to draw his blue eyes to her. "You're trying way too hard today, Goh. Just… be yourself, okay? I love that guy."
Goh's eyes widened and he gave a faint nod. "...you're right, as always," he said, a small, almost frightened smile on his lips. "Sorry, Chloe. I wasn't thinking clearly."
Chloe reached over to his straightened and flat hair and forced it back into its familiar shape. "Or at all," she teased. "But I am the only one of us who goes to school regularly."
Finding his footing, he grinned back. "Only because you don't have a job," he said. "I'm a gainfully employed young man with my own dreams of advancement."
"You're also still fourteen," she said, grinning. "At least for a few weeks."
"Just 'cause you're a little older doesn't make you the boss of me."
"No, that's what being your girlfriend means."
And at that, both of them burst into that cleansing laughter that came from their strong bond and steady friendship.
Goh slipped his suit jacket off and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. "There! I won't be needing that!"
Chloe giggled, tossing the fedora in after that. "I always did like your hair more this way."
"It highlights my handsome features, right?"
"More like it just makes it easy to pick you out of a crowd."
"I could say the same for this," he said, tapping the bit of her hair that curled near the front.
"H-Hey!" she said, the giggling bubbling up from within her. She took him by the hand, already feeling like things were returning to normal.
Now, their true date could begin.
Rather than go through with the log flume, the two of them jointly agreed to skip to the highest ticket attraction in the park. It was the large, pink roller coaster that stood over the log flume and was partially under and around the ferris wheel. It was called "Vanishing Coaster - Dive", and just by watching the riders ahead of them go around the track, it seemed to hold true to its name: early in the coaster's run, it would "dive" into a pool of water, which was really just a well concealed tunnel before coming out the other side. Up until recently, they weren't tall enough to ride it, but now was the perfect opportunity for Chloe and Goh to see what this ride was like.
After a long wait in line, Goh and Chloe found their way to the front and were able to hand in their tickets and get on the roller coaster, having the fortunate luck to take the front two seats right next to each other.
"I won't scream too loudly," Chloe joked as the restraints were lowered. "But you'll be here if I get scared, right?"
Goh swallowed, and gave a shallow nod. "R-Right. Of course."
She giggled - it was just a roller coaster, after all - and the car jostled into motion.
The car rolled just a bit forward before they reached the incline that would pull them up to the highest point on the ride, and this was the part that Chloe felt would give her the most anxiety. She reached over and took Goh's hand and gave it a squeeze, and he gave it a short squeeze back. He looked over at her and grinned. "C'mon, aren't you the fearless one?"
Her cheeks flushed. "I-I guess… but it's not easy having to wait for it to get started, you know…?"
He grinned. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."
It was a silly thing to say about a roller coaster ride, acting like it was life or death, but Chloe appreciated the levity as the car reached the top and began rolling around.
She squeezed Goh's hand tighter. "Okay… here we go…!"
The car descended the first incline before quickly twisting to the left and then to the right and then, going into a quick dive straight down. There was a fear that coursed through her that felt like she was falling, much like when she had fallen off of Zapdos' back in Kalos, but she felt Goh's hand in her own, and in the controlled environment of the roller coaster, she felt nothing to fear. She raised her free arm and the hand she held with Goh up and screamed as the coaster dived towards the pool, vanishing into the secret tunnel.
All around her were multicolored lights that gave the tunnel a strange ambiance, like passing through a portal to another world, but the coaster quickly returned to reality as the blue sky opened in front of her. The rails moved the cars up and down in a wave-like fashion before the car evened out and Chloe caught her breath just as the corkscrew came into view. The rail before them went down into a spiral, just before the end, and Chloe raised her arms in the air again as her braided ponytail whipped in the wind. She knew she was screaming as the coaster spun around the rails, but between the sound of the tracks and the sound of the other patrons screaming, she couldn't hear her own voice.
Goh, for his part, was being oddly silent.
After the corkscrew ended, the car evened out and stopped before beginning the slow roll into the station. Chloe quickly checked her hair with her hands, finally letting go of Goh's arm, which fell like a limp noodle.
She finally turned to her boyfriend and saw him shaking, his eyes focused on some distant object beyond mortal seeing.
"G-Goh?! Are you alright?!"
"It was…"
Growing concerned, she stared intently at him.
"It was?"
"...it was just like Sonia's driving…"
"..."
She didn't know what she was expecting to hear, but it certainly wasn't that.
After Goh found his bearings and not wanting to induce another post-traumatic stress episode, Chloe decided for the two of them that they had had enough roller coasters for the day and that it was time for lunch. Of course, since they weren't going to be riding anything intense for the rest of the day, the first order of business was returning to the Pal Park to pick up Eevee and Grookey.
Standing with a smile was the attendant, Lucina, whose smile seemed to be twitching. "O-Oh. You two are back!"
Chloe nodded. "I hope they weren't too much troub…le…"
Her eyes went wide and she felt like she was about to faint.
The swings were either wrapped around the poles they were attached to or they had one side hanging down. The slides were knocked over, and there were a few Pokémon hiding in the jungle gym or in the pool.
Sprawled out in the middle, lying with dazed eyes like she had just been knocked out in a battle was the motherly Kangaskhan. Hopping on her chest were Grookey and Eevee, both mischievously grinning.
Goh swallowed. "Y-Yeah, that's us! We're back!"
"Thank you for using the Pal Park," Lucina said, and Chloe could see that she was barely keeping her composure. "Please take your Pokémon with you and enjoy the rest of your time in Cosmic World!"
If the woman's hands weren't behind her back, Chloe was almost sure she'd be using sign language to spell out "leave here and never come back again", but at least the enforced politeness of a worker could be relied on to keep the peace.
"Eevee, come here!"
"You, too, Grookey!"
Upon their trainers calling out to them, Eevee and Grookey leapt off the poor, defeated Pokémon and rushed back to Chloe and Goh's arms, which they quickly reached. Chloe looked down at her Pokémon. "Did that naughty Grookey get you involved with his monkey business?"
"Eievuivui!"
"I don't think that's what happened," Goh said, holding Grookey on his arm. "I bet Eevee egged him on until things went out of control."
"Grooki!"
"Eevee is too well behaved to do anything like that on her own. She's cute and friendly and smart!"
"Grookey is cute and friendly and smart, too. Eevee just gets spoiled by you because you love her without disciplining her."
"I discipline Eevee plenty," Chloe responded. "She is very well behaved. It's Grookey who's always playing and hitting things with that stick of his!"
"Weren't you the one praising Grookey earlier today for finding creative ways out of a tricky situation? I bet he was only trying to help after Eevee started things."
"Clearly you two deserve each other," Lucina said, completely deadpan. "Thank you for using the Pal Park. Have a great day." With that, she pulled down the blind that covered the window, which showed a sleeping Kangaskhan and had the message indicating that they were only taking a short break and would be back soon.
Chloe hugged Eevee tightly and smiled. "I think it's time for lunch, don't you agree?"
Goh sat Grookey on his head. "Yeah, I do." He turned towards the food court area on his heels and began marching. "Let's go~!"
"Let's go~!" Chloe replied.
"Eievui!"
"Grooki!"
The four of them headed to the food court, where Goh ended up choosing a place that had cup ramen, while Chloe got a sandwich and a side of fries. For Grookey and Eevee, they got some popcorn sprinkled with salt as a treat for being at least well behaved with the two of them, if not at the Pal Park itself.
Goh, being apparently as hungry as he was, quickly polished off his meal and sat his paper cup against the table they were eating at in the shadow of the ferris wheel.
"That hit the spot," he said, grinning widely while Chloe quietly ate and Grookey tried throwing a few pieces of popcorn into Eevee's open mouth on the opposite side of the table.
"You must have been hungry," Chloe noted, keeping her eyes down in an attempt to be demure while still poking at him.
"Yeah, well, I missed breakfast because of all that stuff I was doing to get ready for today!" he said. "But really, thanks for snapping me out of it earlier. I've been having a much better time since you talked some sense into me."
"Someone's got to talk some sense into you," she said quietly. "Otherwise you have a tendency to run your mouth and make a scene."
"That may be true," Goh said, smirking, "but if I didn't make these big, dramatic gestures, you wouldn't have the fun of poking holes in them, would you?"
She could barely constrain the giggle that rose up in her throat. "So you're saying you like it when I smash your confidence?"
He smiled at her, oozing said confidence from his bright blue eyes. "I'm saying I like it when I can make you happy."
Chloe felt like her face was sunburned. "Y-You can't just say things like that!" she protested, looking away from those eyes that kept drawing her in. "It's embarrassing!"
He raised an eyebrow. "It's embarrassing? Why?"
She would have to spell it out for him, she supposed.
"B-Because…! You're this cool, handsome looking guy saying these smooth things in public where other people can hear you! If you talk like that all the time, people will stare at us."
"So? I say let 'em," he said with a shrug.
"Yeah, but you don't see Mika at school every weekday! After all the time that we told people we weren't together, if they see that we suddenly are, there's not going to be any end to the teasing!"
"What are you worried about?" Goh asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you really that afraid of what others think that you don't want to be seen in public together?"
"Of course not," she said, shaking her head. "We're in public right now! I just…"
She sat her sandwich down and picked up a fry to nibble on.
"I just don't know what I'll say about it."
Goh chuckled.
"I don't believe that one bit."
He reached over to her plate and took a fry off of it before tossing it into his own mouth.
"You? The one who can keep up with me no matter how I tease you? The one who's always been totally fearless no matter what? There's no way you don't immediately come up with something to say."
He took another one off her plate.
"You are just totally amazing like that."
"Says you," she said, pouting. "It hasn't even been a year yet and you've already gone from someone who didn't need friends to someone who has tons of them. I think you're the amazing one."
"Of course you think I'm amazing. You already love me!"
Goh's flippant announcement of her feelings caught her off-guard, but she wouldn't concede their game. Not when she was having so much fun, with her heart racing as it was.
"Yeah, I do," she said, taking a fry off her plate. "But you love me."
She popped the fry in his open mouth, and he laughed while chewing it.
Grookey threw another piece of popcorn, which Eevee caught in her mouth this time, unlike the kernels that were littering the ground nearby.
Goh shrugged. "Yeah. I do."
The two of them giggled together again as Goh took another fry off of Chloe's plate. "Alright, now it's my turn. Open up~!"
Feeling almost faint and only barely able to contain her giggles, Chloe opened her mouth and Goh stuck the fry inside, and she chewed it.
"Oh. My. Gosh."
A familiar-yet-unexpected voice sounded in Chloe and Goh's ears. Both of them turn to see the short, blonde haired friend from school standing there, her eyes glued to the two of them. She was dressed in a thin hoodie and a white skirt, the blue ribbons in her hair matching her eyes. Chloe realized it had been some time since she had seen her friend out of her school uniform.
"Oh no."
Chloe's thoughts were succinct.
Faster than even the swiftest Quick Attack from Pikachu, Mika shot like an arrow until she was at the table, blocking Grookey from throwing more popcorn.
"YOU!" she shouted, pointing at Chloe. The look on her face was, at first, total shock, but it slowly faded into the smuggest, most high-and-mighty grin that Chloe had ever seen grace her friend's face. "Well well well…what do we have here, Dii?"
Deliah, Chloe and Mika's mutual friend from school, stood stunned from behind where Mika was previously standing. Deliah was wearing a hoodie that covered her arms and long pants, looking more dressed for mid autumn than mid spring. She approached the table with a wide, uncomplicated smile. "Congrats, Chloe! You two are cute together!"
"And you are together?" Mika said, twisting the knife. "Right? Such a cute couple of besties out here? I didn't know "friends" fed each other like that."
"But we shared the cotton candy earlier-" Deliah tried to interject.
"Dii, shh! I've got her cornered!"
Chloe felt much like a Pokémon that was about to be caught.
From the pocket on her hoodie, Deliah's Pichu, Jolt, poked his small head and spiked ear out, looking at Grookey and Eevee. This, in turn, caused Grookey to begin throwing popcorn at him, which he caught easily in his mouth.
Goh leaned back, his face turning red. "W-Well…!"
Chloe glanced at him and then glanced back into Mika's sneering face before standing up and walking over to Goh.
Like flipping a switch, Chloe decided that if she was going to be embarrassed, it wouldn't be for something as small as a french fry.
She threw her arms around Goh's chest, standing behind him and placing her head on his shoulder next to his.
"Yes, we are. Goh and I are super in love and we are here on a date. I'm sorry you're jealous, Mika. I do hope you get better."
Goh's face was almost burning red, but Mika was completely disarmed. Embarrassment was all she seemed to have at the ready and so she just fell quiet, at a loss for words.
"Grooki!"
"Eievui!"
"Pichuuu!"
The Pokémon seemed completely disconnected from the humans' intertwining relationships and continued to share the popcorn amongst themselves.
Goh turned his head to Deliah. "So uh… wh-what are you guys doing here?"
Deliah looked away, not meeting their gaze. "I…"
"Dii's mom sent her over, since she's busy today," Mika answered, recovering quickly from her defeat. "And since it's such a nice day, we decided to come to the amusement park on a whim!"
"Mika decided it," Deliah said, frowning slightly.
Mika's cheeks flashed hot pink. "Yes, I did decide it, but you went along with it. Besides, we didn't expect to find you two out here, practically smooching each other in broad daylight!" As Mika spoke, Deliah reflexively touched her fingers to her lips, as though wondering what it was like.
Chloe released Goh and put her hands on her hips. "Look, we are on a date here, so… do with that whatever you want. It's not like it'll change the teasing, it'll just make it true anyway. But can we please just enjoy the rest of our day? That can be your birthday present for me this year."
Mika rolled her eyes. "Fiiine. But when you come to school on Monday, I am getting details." She grabbed Deliah by the hand. "Come on, Dii. We're going to check out the Ferris Wheel next."
"Oooh!" Deliah said, her eyes lighting up. "The Cosmic Clock! I've always wanted to ride it!" She turned to Chloe, Goh, and their Pokémon. "You guys should try out the Nanab Coaster! Mika and I had a lot of fun! C'mon, Jolt!"
Jolt shoved two more pieces of popcorn into his pink cheeks before leaping back to Deliah's shoulder and giving Grookey and Eevee a friendly wave. "Pichu pichu!"
"Eievui!"
"Grookiki!"
"Bye, ladies," Goh said, waving a free hand.
Chloe sighed. "What a bother…"
Goh stood and draped an arm over her shoulders. "Hey, what did I say? You were totally amazing back there."
That, at least, made her reflexively smile. "Thanks, Goh."
"Litwick's Haunted Mansion, huh?"
Chloe said, reading the sign on the attraction out loud.
"I wonder if they use real Litwick?" Goh asked. "They're not exactly common in Kanto."
"I've never even heard of a Pokémon called Litwick," Chloe said.
Goh nodded. "Right. They're way more common in the Unova Region, where they were first discovered. They're a Ghost-type Pokémon that looks like a candle."
"Interesting…"
"Eievui?"
Eevee, who was held in her arms, tilted her head curiously.
Chloe continued analyzing the sign. "It says here… that every time you're scared, the candle weakens, and if you end up in the dark, you're thrown out of the house. But if you can get to the end, you'll earn a great prize!"
The haunted mansion they were standing in front of sort of reminded Chloe of the laboratory where her father had set up shop, only smaller. It was also overgrown with fake vines and cracked glass-behind-real glass so that people couldn't cut their fingers on it.
It was the quintessential haunted house attraction. Chloe and Goh would… simply walk through it, she thought. If things were a bit scary for her, then all she would need to do is hold onto Goh, who she could be sure would at least try to be brave for her, to save face. And anything that let her cling onto him sounded like a lot of fun to her.
"Are you ready, Goh?"
He nodded, trying to look cool, but even at a glance she could tell he was already nervous.
She sliddled up to him. "Goh, don't worry. When I'm scared, I'll hold tightly onto you, okay? You'll keep me and Eevee safe."
"Eievui!"
Grookey tugged on Goh's hair with his little paw. "Ki?"
"I-I know. It's going to be alright! Let's go on in."
The two of them stepped into the building which seemingly had no attendant and found a rack of candles with small smiles on them. The candles were fake, each being made of plastic with small purple light bulbs on top of them that were brightly lit. Ahead of them was a hallway shrouded in darkness.
"Do you want to carry the candle?" Goh asked.
"I think we both get one," she said. "Just make sure you don't drop yours."
"Got it."
He took two candles and handed one to Chloe and took one for himself.
"Alright, let's get that prize!" he cheered.
"Let's go!"
"Grooki!"
"Eievui!"
Chloe and the Pokémon added their own voices to the chorus as they began marching through the haunted house in line.
The four turned a corner and came face to face with a split in two different directions. It looked like this section of the haunted house was a maze patterned after a library, with bookcases stacked high with written books surrounding each path.
Goh chuckled, feeling confident. "Hey, this is just like that temple, right? It probably won't even be that bad."
As soon as he took a step to the right, one of the bookcases flipped open, and from what Chloe could tell, a man in a costume that looked like an alien hopped out shouted.
Goh very bravely shouted back and jumped behind Chloe, who stood still completely unfazed. As the bookshelf flipped closed again, Goh caught his breath and looked at the candle he held, and it was now much dimmer than the one Chloe held.
"Okay, so they can just jump out at any time, then?" Chloe said, turning back.
"H-Hey! I was just caught off guard. That's all!"
"Grooki," said the chimp, clinging tightly to Goh's head.
Chloe gave them a smile and a shrug. "Well… anyway, if there's a guy over there to jump out, that's probably not the right direction, so let's head the other way."
"Got it," Goh replied. "Let's take it a bit slower. The other way."
Turning to the left instead of the right this time, he and Chloe headed around the first corner and towards a bubbling cauldron sitting in the middle of the next room.
Chloe put a hand on Goh's shoulder. "Wait… what if the cauldron is a trap?" she asked. "Someone might jump out of it if you get too close…"
Goh frowned with a look of intense concentration on his face. "Well… why would they make it so obvious, then? Wouldn't a better trap be one that's unexpected?"
"Goh this is an amusement park haunted house," Chloe said, completely deadpan. "This isn't like the temple at all."
"Eievui," she chattered, held under the arm that wasn't holding Chloe's candle.
"You're right, you're right…" Goh said, shrugging. "It's probably just for the atmosphere…"
The two of them took a few more steps around the cauldron when a pair of hands reached up from the ground and grabbed Goh by the ankles.
His scream was ear-piercing, but other than enduring that, Chloe didn't flinch, mostly on account of not actually being touched.
Goh, on the other hand, kicked at the hands on his feet and they quickly retracted. However, the damage was done, and his candle only showed a little light left.
"This isn't good…" he said, frowning at it.
Chloe held up her candle and looked at it. "I wonder how they tell that they scared us. Do you think there's some sort of sensor in it?"
Goh scratched his chin with the bottom of the fake candle. "Maybe it's like a motion sensor, and if it senses a jarring enough motion, it ticks down the candle?"
"Maybe…" Chloe said.
"Anyway, we should keep going," he said, grinning ruefully. "Keeping a cool head means we haven't lost any of your candle yet."
Chloe smiled, puffing out her chest with pride. "Well, I have been cultivating a clear mindset lately! I took some of the tips I got from the Kimono Sisters to heart!"
"Eievui!" Eevee said, smiling, as though remembering that time she fired water at a target.
"Oh, that's cool," Goh said. "You'll have to show me more about it some time!"
She giggled. "Okay, but we should keep going. They wouldn't ambush us again in this room, so we have to be careful!"
"Grooki!" Grookey noted.
"Hang tight, Grookey."
Goh took another step forward, taking Chloe's hand as he did. They resumed their walk through the haunted house as a crack of fake thunder rolled out over the sound system. Chloe felt Goh flinch through his hand, but he didn't falter as he stepped forward. They left the room with the cauldron behind them and walked through a room with a piano that was playing itself, which neither of them nor their Pokémon attempted to leap towards.
They stepped into the next room to find it lined on the walls with coffins.
"Great…" Chloe said, "I bet only one of these will have someone jump out and scare us."
"Well… then we've just gotta be careful and keep our eyes open." Goh turned to the chimp who was now on his shoulder. "Grookey, can you tell where any of them might be?"
Grookey sniffed the air, feeling it flow around him as a Grass-type. "Groo?" His eyes went wide and he pointed to the far one, right near the apparent exit of the room.
"So it's only at the end?" Goh asked.
"Then as long as we brace ourselves for it, we should be fine, right?"
"Right."
"Eievui."
"Grooki."
The two humans walked carefully and slowly towards the door, not looking at any of the other coffins but the one Grookey indicated. True to the Pokémon's words, nothing jumped out at them as they approached, though the final coffin did shake a bit in anticipation.
Goh stood still waiting for only a moment before stepping closer.
Suddenly the coffin's doors snapped open and a Pokémon was inside - Chloe recognized it as a Golduck. The Golduck opened his mouth and sprayed Goh with a blast of water before the coffin closed again, concealing the Water-Type.
The blast of water knocked Goh over, and as he landed roughly, his light went out, leaving them with Chloe's light only. "Aww, man..! My clothes…!"
She sighed. "Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later…" she said. "Let's just focus on getting out of here."
Goh stood up, still wiping water from himself. "Yeah… I guess since you still have the light, you'll take the lead here."
"Good idea." She let Eevee down, and the Pokémon took a few more steps ahead before stopping.
"Okay, so we have to be on the lookout." Chloe said, taking a few steps forward. "They've done traps from under our feet. They've opened up walls and bookcases and coffins and even had a trapped piano. All we have to do is keep our wits about us and we'll be fine!"
Then her leg came into contact with Eevee, who was still sitting obediently, and she tumbled down to the ground, dropping the candle.
Chloe felt her heart stop as it hit the ground once, then grew dimmer as it bounced up.
It then hit the ground a second time, and grew even dimmer, but it wasn't done.
It was when it hit the ground the final time, and the light went out entirely.
There was a moment of complete quiet as the four of them realized what happened.
There was a loud buzzing sound, and then a man with a flashlight shined it on the four of them. "Good try, but you four are out of here!"
Within moments, they were escorted out of the haunted house, and they were forced to stand in silence and contemplate their failure.
Chloe turned her eyes towards Goh, glaring, and he did the same towards her. She had, for a brief moment, contemplated calling Goh out for his cowardice and how easily startled he was, but she knew that would only open up herself to being called clumsy, and that would be just playing the game as they've always played it.
So she grinned and laughed, and Goh, Eevee, and Grookey laughed along with her.
"Can you imagine how cheap those effects looked?" Chloe said. "That first guy was just wearing an ugly costume!"
Goh nodded. "And that cauldron was just some dry ice and a speaker to make a bubbling sound! I bet you that Ash and I could make a real haunted house a thousand times scarier than that!"
"And automated pianos are so cliche!"
"About the only thing they did was spray me with a Water Gun," Goh said, continuing to take the sting out with their verbal take-downs of the experience. "I could have had that done at the lab by like, so many of my Pokémon!"
"So many!" Chloe agreed.
"Eievui!"
"Grooki!"
The four of them, at least, were all on the same page about the haunted house as they began to wander around the park again.
"Enjoy your trip!"
The attendant closed the door to their car and waved at the four of them inside. Both Goh and Chloe sat on opposite sides as the ferris wheel began to turn, raising them slowly in the air.
Next to each of them were, of course, Eevee and Grookey, who sat quietly as though they were waiting for something to happen with the ferris wheel.
But next to Eevee was a stuffed toy version of the Evolution Pokémon. After their unceremonious ejection from the haunted house, they went to spend some time in the arcade to give Goh's clothes a chance to dry, and while they were there, he had managed to pull that Eevee plushie out of a crane game for her after Eevee began pressing her face against the glass. Right now, Eevee was doing her best to mimic the facsimile of her, so it seemed like there were two stuffed Eevee sitting next to her.
Goh and Grookey also played a football shooting game that launched balls out, and Goh was surprisingly pretty good at it. He attributed it to practicing with Cinderace, but Grookey also did his part, smashing a few of the ones back in his trainer's stead. There wasn't a prize for this one, but watching Goh do something as simple as play a sport was fun enough for her. As far as him watching her went, there was a dancing game she was very familiar with also in the arcade. She tried to get him to join her for a round, but he declined, saying that he'd just get in her way.
Still, he chose the song she'd be dancing to and showed her a few of the pictures he took on his phone on their way to the Cosmic Clock 21, where they now where.
Goh smiled at her, the orange light from the evening sun shining over the two of them. "Did you have a good time today?"
She giggled, leaning into the corner of her seat. "I did have a good time. It didn't start the best, and definitely running into Mika and Deli wasn't a welcome surprise, but I had a lot of fun with you today. This was a really good date, I think. So thank you."
As they moved higher into the air, they could begin to see the buildings of Vermilion City spreading out around them. "Hey, I can see my apartment from here!"
Chloe nodded, recognizing the building even from this distance and angle. "Yeah! I remember seeing the Cosmic Clock from your room a few times!" She went over her mental map of the city and looked in that direction before pointing. "Oh! And there's my house!"
Goh's eyes followed her fingertip. "Hey, you're right! I bet Yamper's still waiting for you guys to come home."
"I don't even want to imagine what sorts of trouble he'd have gotten into with Eevee and Grookey today… they might have burned down that poor stand…"
The two of them giggled together before looking up again. "Hey, there's the Cerise Lab!"
"I bet Ash is still training," Chloe added.
"Yeah… he's serious about making it into the Masters Eight and facing Leon…"
There's a wistfulness in Goh's voice as he mentioned Ash's goal.
Chloe could read him like a book, having known him for almost a decade at this point. She slipped from her side of the car to sit next to Goh on his. Grookey noticed this and quickly jumped to the side Eevee sat on and began to play with her some game unknown to the two humans.
She put her arms around him and held him, sitting behind him on her knees in the seat. "Goh…"
His kind-hearted confidence faltered. "...Sorry. I guess it's just hard to put it out of my mind sometimes."
"You mean…" She wanted to be gentle, but she couldn't think of a gentle way to put it. "You mean how the last one went?"
He nodded, looking over Vermilion City. "The Trial Mission against Articuno… I blew it for everyone. We could have really won. I might have had a chance to catch it. But I couldn't work with Gary Oak and I got all of our Pokémon hurt… And we haven't had a chance to go to this Rota place, either… it feels like every time we're about to have a chance, something comes up. I have six tokens so far, which isn't nothing! But I… I guess I don't know if I'll actually make it, you know?"
She put her forehead against the back of his head. She could still smell some of the hair gel he had used to flatten his hair earlier in the day, but she tried not to focus on it.
"I know what it's like not to be certain about something," she said, quietly. "I still don't know what I'm going to do with myself, much less how I'm going to keep helping Eevee decide on her own path. And I've been trying things, as well. Remember when I ended up running into Serena again in Hoenn? I tried that Contest Spectacular, even though I wasn't sure… But I know I'll make it as long as I keep Eevee at my side. Just like I know you'll make it with all the Pokémon you have with you, too. You will become a Chaser and join Project Mew. I'm sure of it."
Goh didn't turn to look at her, only moving a hand up to her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I saw you through the live stream. I was so happy and proud to see you doing that. Even just a year ago, there's no way you'd have done something like that."
"Like performed on stage?"
He shook his head.
"Like done anything like that with Pokémon."
Chloe felt her breath catch as she turned to him.
"It's like… I'm really happy that you've expanded the way you see the world. Opened yourself up to having fun with Pokémon and seeing just how great they can be. It just… y'know, it takes me back to how we were before I pushed you away and everyone got on your case about being like your dad. I guess I miss those times, y'know?"
She nodded. "Yeah, but we aren't six years old anymore, Goh. We're growing up, slowly but surely. And so we have to keep moving. It won't ever be like it was back then, but that doesn't mean it can't be just as good, or better."
"Eievui!"
"Grooki!"
The Pokémon seemed to agree from their seat, and that just made Goh laugh.
They could practically see Saffron City now, with how high up they were.
"What did you think on the stage in Lilycove City?" he asked. "When you and Eevee were performing together?"
She closed her eyes and went back to that moment in her mind.
"At first… I was scared. I didn't know what I could do in front of all those people. But with Eevee there, cheering me on, I knew… I knew I could do it. After everything Eevee and I had been through together, from the times we met with her evolved forms, to the times we went on trips to help you or the Galarian Ponyta, or others… I felt so energized, I felt I could do practically anything. And Eevee and I were able to do our best and pour everything we'd experienced up to that point into it!"
She took a deep breath.
"It was… it was like I had found something that no one had ever seen before, and it was exciting."
Goh chuckled to himself, but Chloe couldn't see his face, so she didn't know what his expression was.
"Do you think you'll ever do them again? Become a full-time Pokémon Coordinator?"
Chloe shook her head. "It was a lot of fun, to see how Serena did things, but I don't think it's what I want to do, myself. And I don't think Eevee wants to do it very much either."
"Eievui…" She plopped down in the seat next to the stuffed Eevee, looking out the window at the horizon.
"I'm not sure what I want to do…" Chloe said.
"Well…" Goh started before pausing. He shook his head. "Nevermind. Forget I said anything."
She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"I was going to give you a suggestion of my own," he said, "for something you might try out. But I don't want to say it."
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
He shrugged. "Well… you love me. You might feel pressured to try something that you're not interested in at all just because I asked you to try it. And I know how stressful it can be to deal with everyone's expectations on you all the time. I just want you to find something you love, no matter what it is, and how long it takes you to find it doesn't matter, because the most important thing right now is that you're happy. And I don't care what anyone else thinks other than that."
Chloe sat down in the seat and Goh finally turned to face her. She couldn't hold back the smile on her face.
"Thank you, Goh. For understanding me so well."
He smiled back at her, and with the evening sun pouring in behind him, he looked even more handsome and cool than he did when he plucked her falling body from the air in Kalos.
"Of course I understand you. We've been together so long, I can just look at you and understand what you're thinking most of the time."
She giggled, pressing her forehead against his.
"Well, right now, all I need to be happy is you and all our Pokémon. Everything else can wait for now."
Feeling her heart thundering in her chest, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. She felt him hesitate after being taken off guard, but he put his hands on her shoulders and gently kissed her back.
The only sound in the ferris wheel car was the gentle cooing of Eevee and Grookey, quietly watching.
Chloe took in a deep breath of the evening air. She was back where she started, looking at her home in the darkness.
Goh's hand felt really warm, and despite the risks of discovery, she didn't want to let it go.
"Thank you for today," she said. "It was basically the best birthday present a girl could ask for."
Goh laughed. "Well… you're welcome. And thank you, too."
Still holding hands, they stepped into the yard with Grookey and Eevee following behind them, the two mischievous troublemakers being quiet and calm for once, likely due to their insistence that Eevee be allowed to carry the plush on her back. Chloe stepped up the stairs to her front door with Goh and turned to him.
"I-"
They both spoke at once and then stopped, looking away shyly from the other.
Goh spoke first.
"I had a lot of fun. I hope we can do this again sometime soon."
She nodded. "Me, too."
He looked away from the Cerise household and then back to her and smiled shyly again.
"I.. I don't really wanna leave."
"Do you want to come inside?" she asked.
He shook his head. "N-No… I'm not sure what your dad's response would be to that."
She nodded. "He is weirdly over-protective about that…" Chloe reached over and squeezed his hand again. "It's okay. I'll see you later, won't I?"
He nodded. "Yeah, you're right." He squeezed her hand back. "Thank you again."
She found herself leaning towards him again. Being this close to him and getting lost in his sparkling blue eyes was becoming very easy for her, and she felt like she wanted that contact with his lips once more, and from the way he didn't seem to be moving away, it seemed like he wanted the same thing.
Only fate had other plans.
The door of the Cerise household opened, and Yamper leapt out, pawing at Chloe's leg. Eevee responded by leaping forward, tackling into Yamper and rolling with him on the ground, beginning another round of the game they were playing this morning.
Looking into the door, they saw Chloe's younger brother Parker, staring at them wide eyed like he had just seen a monster in his front yard.
And even though she knew it was too late, she did what she could to put distance between herself and Goh, releasing his hand. The two of them looked away from each other, only for Grookey to leap to Goh's shoulder and wave happily at Parker with a grin.
Parker took in a deep breath and shouted for all the world - and more importantly, for the family - to hear.
"MOM! DAD! CHLOE'S BACK AND SHE'S OUT HERE KISSING GOH!"
Chloe raised a hand to correct him but she knew it would fall on deaf ears as soon as she heard a tumbling inside the house. Looking past her little brother, she saw her father, fainted in the middle of the hallway, with her mother lifting up his unconscious body into a sitting position.
Chloe's mother smiled at them. "Thank you for walking Chloe home, Goh. You're free to go now."
"R-Right!" he said, nervously stammering in the face of Chloe's parents. "I-I'll see you at the lab on Monday, Chloe! Bye, Professor! Mrs. Cerise! Parker!"
And with that, Goh turned on his heels and ran out of the yard and up the road in the direction of the Cerise Laboratory, with Grookey waving to Eevee and Yamper the whole time.
Chloe giggled to herself and picked up Eevee, the plushie, and Yamper into her arms. She stepped inside to the disgusted staring of her annoying little brother and her fainted father. She would have to explain everything now, but she would simply handle this like she did with Mika and Deliah back in the park.
With those thoughts in her head, she reached back and closed the door behind her.
Hola! This is Purim, the author. I hope everyone who picked up Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet yesterday are enjoying their time in the Paldea Region! At time of writing, my game hasn't arrived in the mail yet, but hopefully I'll be joining in soon! I'm excited to see what the next generation of Pokémon has to offer!
But as far as this story goes, we're still in the Eighth Generation, which means we're chiefly looking at Pokémon from Sword, Shield and Legends Arceus, so I hope this is acceptable for the time being.
Admittedly, this story doesn't advance any plots as much as others, and it's got several sections that are meant to build up to cheap gags that I, at least, thought were funny. But still, it is currently the single longest chapter I've written... ever, I'm pretty sure. At the very least, since Pokémon Journeys began in 2019.
But can you blame me? I really wanted to enjoy Goh and Chloe on their first date together. After months of indecision and hesitation, we get a story fully dedicated to their relationship, and I'm glad it turned out the way it did because I had a lot of fun writing it.
The amusement park they visit in this story is based on Yokohama Cosmo World, located in real world Yokohama, Japan! In case you were unaware, Yokohama is the real-world city that Vermilion City is based on, and throughout Pokémon Journeys there are references to life in real-world Yokohama, as well! It will also be the location of the 2023 Pokémon World Championships, so if I get a chance, I would definitely like to attend the event and see the city in person!
But back to Cosmo World, I did a lot of research on the theme park and how it was set up and I think I did a good job of translating it to the world of Pokémon Journeys. I really wanted to include the Diving Coaster: Vanish (here renamed Vanishing Coaster: Dive to be inline with the Pokémon move) and the famous Cosmo Clock Ferris Wheel. I've had it suggested that the park should be called Cosmog World, but given that Cosmog is a rare, relatively unknown Pokémon, the name didn't feel like it fit.
Chloe's outfit was borrowed from a friend of mine, Yuu (Cheruyuu on Twitter) who drew an amazing fan art back in may of this year. Goh's outfit was sort of mandated by the plot, but hopefully he'll get a chance to wear the cute one Yuu drew him with in that art soon, too.
Next time, come back for something very different!