Adventure's Past

Chapter 19 - Sonder

"You two were WHAT NOW?" He asked loudly, bringing himself up with a shocked face alongside Pikachu. "Chloe, is it fine if we explain everything to him?" Clemont asked Chloe, who waved her hand dismissively. "A while ago, they began starting dating. I think it started at one of your Performances," Clemont explained to Ash, whose mouth was agape in shock.

"Wait, how long did you two like each other?" Ash asked curiously. Over the years, his realization about Goh liking Chloe and vice versa had slowly become more and more apparent, but he was still shocked that they had ended up confessing. "Honestly, I think it was since the Cell War that we both realized it," Chloe answered.

Ash shook his head and just laughed. "That's awesome... but you guys got into a big fight? Over me?" He asked. Chloe nodded and shrugged her shoulders. "His loss for not paying attention to me," she commented in annoyance.

"So, why don't we go find somewhere to talk about our plan," Clemont suggested. "Because as much as we'd like to admit it, we have no idea or thought of where Goh could be, so we need to brainstorm possible locations." Ash crossed his arms, lost in thought. "I'm sure we could narrow it down. Besides, it's not like Goh would just go to random locations without having a reason."

"True, and knowing him, he'll persist after something until he gets it," Chloe said. Bonnie snickered at the underlying meaning of her comment, earning a small whack on the head, courtesy of Clemont's hand. "But Clemont's right. It's way too crowded and loud in here for us to make any progress. Is there a place nearby that we could go to?"

"Already ahead of you," Clemont piped up, typing on his phone in search of anything that fits that category. "Ah, there's a small cafe a few blocks from here that usually is pretty empty," Clemont noted, pulling up information on it. "It's called 'Master Moomoo Cafe'." Ash scoffed and rolled his eyes. The last time he had been in Olivine City, there were not as many people, but he assumed that the Moomoo Milk had drawn people here over the years.

"Clemont, we're in Olivine City! There's so much to do before we have to worry about figuring out where Goh went!" Bonnie exclaimed suddenly. "There's so many jewelry stores and clothing shops that I want to go to!" Clemont frowned at Bonnie and said, "I know but the sooner we think of where to go, the sooner we'll find Goh."

"Bonnie's right, though," Chloe said. Clemont looked over in shock as she continued. "If we try to force our way through this mission, we're only gonna find dead ends." She adjusted her purse on her shoulder and walked over next to Bonnie. "I say we enjoy this reunion while we can and look around the city for a bit."

Bonnie was ecstatic and turned to Clemont for approval. "I suppose if both of you want to go, then we can..." he muttered disapprovingly. "Yay!" Bonnie and Chloe exclaimed, hugging each other. Ash softly smiled at the sight. Even if I am worried about what's to come, he thought to himself. This is still pretty damn awesome.

"Ash, what about you?" Clemont suddenly asked him. The two girls broke apart and faced Ash. "You gotta come with us to shop!" They said excitedly. Ash held up his hands in defense and shook his head. "Woah! I'll pass. Besides, I wanna go to the cafe and try out all the flavors before you guys get there so I can get the best one," he said.

It wasn't the true reason he wanted to get away, but it was something that the group would accept, as Ash was always open to getting food, even in his newly mature and darker state. "Fine, but that means Pikachu will be coming with us!" Bonnie exclaimed, grabbing the small yellow rodent and grinning. "Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed to Ash, who just laughed and nodded at Bonnie that it was fine to take him.

Ash snickered as Pikachu and Clemont both reluctantly were dragged away into the streets in search of a jewelry store. Well, it's just me, Ash thought to himself. It's been a while since I've been able to say this confidently. There was an odd serenity to being alone, something that Ash wouldn't have agreed with years ago.