Champion's Confidant

Bonus Chapter: On Cake

The forest held the gentle, familiar glow of the mushrooms. The air was as moist and humid as Chloe remembered it, but it wasn't an unpleasant familiarity. Over these gnarled roots and past the mysteriously glowing mushrooms, Chloe had once traveled and enjoyed her own adventure without her childhood friend Goh, or her now-boyfriend Ash. She fondly remembered the Ponyta and Rapidash native to the Galar Region that she assisted, all those months ago.

"I hope they're still doing alright..." she said, stepping over yet another overgrown root.

"Ponyta and Rapidash, right?"

She looked over her shoulder to see Ash there, smiling confidently at her.

"I'm sure they are," he said. "Maybe we can see 'em before we'll head back home!"

"Wait for me!" Goh shouted, having fallen behind.

Chloe sighed and shrugged. "Some things never change," she said, shaking her head. Eevee chattered in her arms, smiling and wagging her tail as she watched.

Goh ran to catch up, tripping over the overgrown root she and Ash carefully stepped over. Before he could fall, Ash caught him by one arm, and Chloe by the other.

The look of relief on his face was palpable. "Thanks, guys..."

"We're never gonna let you down, Goh!" Ash said as he and Chloe helped him stand up.

She frowned at him. "But you should REALLY be more careful, you know?"

"Maybe you two should slow down..." Goh said, still trying to catch his breath.

"Grooki..." the chimp on Goh's shoulder said in agreement.

"I swear, ever since we got back from Alola, you guys have been rushing ahead more and more. It's hard to keep up with you guys sometimes!"

Ash laughed. "Hey, what can I say? Bein' with Chloe fills me with a lot of energy!"

"That's right," Chloe added, giggling. "And his excitement is infectious, so I get a lot of energy, too!"

"I'm glad I'm vaccinated..." Goh joked, groaning.

"Pikapi...Kakachu..."

Both Ash and Chloe sighed, hearing Pikachu's chastisement loud and clear.

"Right, we'll slow down from here..."

"Sorry, Goh."

They both bowed their heads, which only made him roll his eyes.

"It's alright. C'mon! Let's get going! Ballonlea is just ahead!"

Goh was now the one foraging ahead, with Chloe and Ash chasing from behind.

From her memory, Chloe recalled that Ballonlea was a town nestled in the heart of the Glimwood Tangle, lit up by the large, glowing mushrooms that made the forest their home. It always looked like something out of a fairytale to her, and as she gazed out upon it from the distance she was at with the others, her mind went back to that book she discovered it in.

"There are so many cool things you can find written in books..." she said to herself.

Ash paused and turned to her. "You think so?"

"Yeah," she said, holding onto Eevee with one hand and gesturing to the forest with the other. "Do you think anyone in Kanto would believe a place like this existed if you couldn't show them pictures? Most of them don't even believe in a Meowth that can talk."

"Mika does," Ash offered with a shrug.

She sighed. "I mean, right... but still! There's lots of amazing things you can read about, and that's not even including the things that the writer just made up. It's like being able to make your own world, you know?"