Line #13 Recap/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocusTheFireflyFunhouseCar


1	The prequel to ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocus''.
2
3	The Red Lotus Trio -- Chloe Cerise, Atticus, and Lexi -- are currently staying in the Canals of Fondue Car, where Chloe is struggling to type a message about how she feels about Goh and her worrying anxieties about how people back in Vermillion City think of her. Lexi suggests that she should focus on herself and that she needs a confidence boost by performing in ''The Uncle Howee Show''. Unfortunately, the road to that car isn't easy, as she'll have to brave the horrors of the Friendship Asylum and of Uncle Howdy before she can become the legendary Chloe of the Vermillion.
4
5	!!Tropes found in the prequel
6	* AdaptationExpansion: Since Chloe doesn't appear until halfway till ''Crocus'' Act 1, the prequel gives her and Goh more focus about their lives with and without one another, particularly adding more emphasis to their school life.
7	** The first chapter shows off Chloe's attempts to text Goh, and both times Goh doesn't realize how he came off to her. It also adds a scene of Chloe talking to him about the Lugia incident and how crazy he was for jumping on its back.
8	** Chapter 3 reveals a scene of Professor Cerise talking to Ash and Goh about his concerns for his daughter and that they need to try a different approach, which would lead to them making curries on the same day Chloe was dared to battle Ash. There's also a scene of Goh absorbing the reveal that he had misjudged Tokio this entire time, whereas the anime just has him and Tokio meeting up in Ilex Forest.
9	** The story reveals a scene where Goh refused to tell Chloe about Ilex Forest and made her promise to not only never mention it but to stay friends with him, which goes a long way to explain why Chloe takes promises so seriously.
10	** Chapter 4 show more of Goh's thoughts about going to school, something never elaborated on in the anime or ''Blossoming Trail''.
11	** This story gives some insight to Chloe claiming that Goh was popular in school despite clear evidence stating otherwise; their classmates would deliberately prevent Chloe from trying to talk to him.
12	** Goh's absences from school is given a handwave of him stating that he only goes to school for tests as a "personal promise". Chapter 5 explains that he has a signed form that specifically ''requests'' for a lighter school schedule so he can do his job as a research fellow.
13	** The Harvest Moon Car briefly mentions that Goh hated his 8th birthday on the basis that Tokio didn't arrive. Chapter 6 gives him a paragraph to explain how much that was a sore spot for him. It also shows Chloe asking Goh to get her the book she wanted for her birthday.
14	* AdaptationalExplanation: The first chapter explains why Goh never told Chloe about Tokio; he snapped at her and demanded that she promise to never mention Ilex Forest again.
15	* AdaptationalJobChange: The five mice who run ''Mouse and Cheese'' -- named after the Thea Sisters from ''Geronimo Stilton'' -- originally ran a boutique in ''Knight of the Orange Lily''.
16	* AllJustADream: At the end of the first chapter, Chloe has a memory of Goh yelling at her to never bring up the incident with Tokio, making her promise to never abandon him, and then accusing her of betraying him when she hesitates. The next two chapters reveals that it was only a nightmare she had.
17	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: When Chloe asks him to get her a book she wants for her birthday, Goh asks her why she can’t just ask her parents to get it for her instead, which notably catches Chloe off-guard for a moment.
18	* AsYouKnow: The Red Lotus Trio's walk through the fog is essentially exposition for Chloe to explain the background of ''Silent Hill'' and the Cage of Flauros being used to trap the Apex.
19	* CallForward:
20	** When the Trio first see a painting of Alec Cerise, Chloe mistakes him for her father. Of course, what are the chances of her father being on the Train?
21	** Chloe questions the chances of her summoning a demon. She'll be doing that in the Harvest Moon Car.
22	** When being told the Cerise Cheesy Surprise is suited for four, Chloe hopes to add a fourth member to the Red Lotus Trio. Said member is Amelia with Hewie also joining as well.
23	** The Horrorland Car makes a reference, which is the car White Gestalt finds themselves in during Act 2.
24	** Chloe's notebook where she makes a log of her Train adventures has a swarm of Vivillon on the cover, foreshadowing her butterfly motif and how Vivillon play an important role in her and Goh drifting apart.
25	** Chloe's Halloween costume when she was age 9 was of Daemona Prune from ''WesternAnimation/PhantomInvestigators''. In the series, Daemona (a short-haired red head who loves the supernatural) ends up teaming with a mind-reader (Kira), a telepath (Jericho), and a shapeshifter (Casey). Chloe already has a shapeshifter, will later learn of Paul London's telepathy, and then use the ability to enter someone's soul along with cutting her hair short.
26	** Chloe refuses to go through with her performance at ''The Uncle Howee Show'' as she says she'll die of embarrassment if she screws up. Come "The Harvest Moon Car" and that's what she tells Goh that she was being sincere. If the train didn't pick her up, she'd rather end her life then and there before facing her classmates mocking her.
27	** Chloe wishes that Goh would actually take her request seriously for once. In Harvest Moon Car, Goh finally takes Chloe's actions and words seriously when he learns that she was ready to kill herself and how he's learned how far behind he is in class without her reminders to get his homework.
28	** At the vampire-inspired café, Goh notes that Chloe's eyes lingered on a Pumpkaboo longer than usual.
29	* CentralTheme: How long can a strained friendship last before it's impossible to salvage? As Chloe struggles to gain the confidence to become her own person and take baby steps to talk to Goh again, Goh's side of the story shows his lack of attention and empathy towards Chloe as he's too obsessed with Tokio to notice what he's done wrong. And for all Goh hated Tokio, he still wanted to be friends with Tokio and yet at no point did he ever try to contact him and spitefully thinks he wished they never met.
30	* CharacterTics: Chloe is shown to nervously rub her left shoulder .
31	* {{Chiaroscuro}}: Referenced by Chloe as the portrait of Alec Cerise uses this to emphasize the shadows and the tiny flame in his hand.
32	* ContinuityNod:
33	** Atticus told the story of the Friendship Asylum to the denizens of the Harvest Moon Car. Also, he mentions that one of the cars he visited was the Backrooms Car.
34	** In the Cyan Desert Car, Chloe mentioned how her classmates don't like working with her on assignments. One of the texts Lexi reads confirms this by having Chloe mentioned no one wanted to team up with either her or Goh.
35	** In Harvest Moon Car, Chloe admitted to Goh that she never invited him to her birthday because she assumed he wouldn’t be interested in it. Chapter 6 implies him being an alleged BirthdayHater might have contributed to the decision.
36	* ContrivedCoincidence:
37	** What are the chances that the restaurant the Red Lotus Trio entered conveniently displayed a portrait of a man who looked like Chloe's father who ''also'' has a thing for demons and nightmarish things? And how Olmec just had an artifact labeled after a Goetia whom Chloe liked?
38	--->'''Chloe:''' Either Olmec has a secret stash of treasures he's never told anyone like a secret menu of food items at a fast-food place, or he's been keeping this for me because of how I'm somehow connected to a Demon Researcher,
39	** Goh notes how the day he and Ash wanted to cheer Chloe up with curry was the same day she was pressured to battle Ash and how everything went downhill.
40	** In Chapter 6, Goh questions the small chance of finding a letter in Celebi's shrine from Tokio from two years prior that eloquently explains what happened that day in the rain.
41	* CosplayCafe: Chapter 6 has Goh in one that's based off of outer space and the flashback in the same chapter had Chloe invite him to a vampire-themed one.
42	* ADayInTheLimelight: The B-plot is all about Goh dealing with the ramifications of misjudging Tokio's actions and how this action was one of the factors that caused his and Chloe's friendship to erode, along with a big focus on his life with Chloe prior to Ash's arrival her and her running away.
43	* DisproportionateRetribution:
44	** Chloe outright fantasizes about murdering her own best friend until she's talked out of it. What is the reason for this violent impulse? Not thanking her for bringing him homework assignments he technically doesn't have to do, and having a person in his life (Ash) who actually likes doing the things he likes that Chloe herself doesn't like.
45	** Goh wishes he never met Tokio and forced Chloe to shut her mouth when she asked him about Ilex Forest all because Tokio couldn't play with him.
46	* DoomedByCanon: Goh will be unable to convince Chloe to come back home, not that she ''can'' at this point, and he won't know more about her problems until after meeting Gloria and Victor during the events of the Model Diorama Car.
47	* DoubleMeaning: In the flashback of Chapter 6, Chloe says that she's thinking of ending things. This can either mean that she's thinking of ending her friendship with Goh or thinking of ending her life.
48	* DramaPreservingHandicap: The reason the Trio can't simply fly over the cars to see Uncle Howdy is because they already had to deal with Ghoms the last time they tried that.
49	* DramaticIrony:
50	** Goh's side of the story is how he is oblivious to everything that had happened at his school while he was gone in Ilex Forest. Particularly that of his classmates being expelled for the bullying Chloe endured and how his teacher has been fired for the (mis)handling of the situation.
51	--->''"Speaking of which, it is kinda odd that he hasn't been getting his homework lately...ah well, Goh can just go during the next testing day. [[TemptingFate Not like Miss April is going anywhere.]]"''
52	** Atticus tells Chloe that no one is going to hurt her if she does mess up. In her world, Sara has already laughed at how ''stupid'' Chloe was to tackle a Ghost.
53	* TheDreaded: Uncle Howdy is this to many denizens in the Canals of Fondue Car, who look horrified when Lexi notes that the Firefly Funhouse Car is on the way to Uncle Howee.
54	* EntitledToHaveYou: Chloe displays shades of this when talking to Atticus and Lexi about her dislike of Goh being friends with Ash instead of her. The latter two even ask Chloe if she really wants to be Goh's ''only'' friend while having to spell it out to her that he has the right to have other friends.
55	* {{Flanderization}}: Chloe's issues with Goh are dialed up to eleven in this story, with her being borderline obsessed with him and casually admits to wanting to '''murder''' him for [[{{Yandere}} not giving her his full attention]]. Thankfully, Atticus and Lexi help her to calm down and reframe her mind before it becomes worse.
56	* FoodPorn: Chapter 3 takes place in an Italian restaurant, so there's a lot of descriptions of food.
57	* ForegoneConclusion:
58	** The Red Lotus Trio will make it out alive, but Chloe will still send a farewell message to Goh and block all communication with him until the Ninjala Car weeks later. Horrorland Car reveals that Chloe will befriend Uncle Howdy and she will become famous for stopping a threat in the Friendship Asylum that it becomes a picture book. Moreover, Chloe also brings up Tokio in her talk with Goh in the Ninjala Car, so it's now a given that this story will have her finally learn about his existence.
59	** Goh won’t get the hint about Chloe being suicidal until Gloria's arrival and Chloe fully confessing this to Goh in "The Harvest Moon Car".
60	** Despite how bad their friendship is at the moment, Goh and Chloe will eventually reconcile for good in the Harvest Moon Car.
61	* TheGhost:
62	** Tokio gets mentioned in the third chapter, but never seen. Justified since Tokio is back in the Johto region at this point and won't be seen in ''Crocus'' until The Chocolate Car.
63	** Henry and Walter are mentioned in Chapter 5 as discussion over the plot to trap the Apex.
64	* HatesReading: Downplayed. Goh is fine reading books on Pokemon for research, yet he's not into reading for book reports since the book is only going to be read once and that's it. When Chloe handed him a book for one report, he only skimmed through ten pages before deciding to search for an internet summary.
65	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Alec Cerise entered the Train about 50 years prior to Chloe and went on numerous adventures, gained the name "Demon Researcher", and is responsible for the construction of the Horrorland Car.
66	* HighClassGlass: Mr. Feather wears a monocle in the shape of a lion's head.
67	* HoldingHands: Chloe attempted to do this with Goh in Chapter 6, but Goh pulled his hand away and muttered how he can walk by himself.
68	* HourglassPlot: Normally, Goh always travels with Ash and his Pokemon and gets advice while Chloe is alone, frustrated and never speaks about her problems in Vermillion City. In the story, Chloe is on the Train having adventures while taking advice from Lexi and Atticus, while ''Goh'' is alone, frustrated and refuses to speak up about ''his'' problems while trapped in Vermillion City.
69	* {{Hypocrite}}:
70	** This story retroactively establishes Chloe as one for breaking her promise to never abandon Goh in spite of all her talk of keeping promises, [[HypocrisyNod something she acknowledges in the fourth chapter.]]
71	** Goh is furious about Chloe never explaining why she doesn't talk about her problems, but a flashback reveals that he snapped at her when she tried asking about ''his'' problems.
72	** In Chapter 6, Goh goes on a tangent in how birthdays are stupid and blowing out candles for a wish is pointless. Chloe and the narration quickly brings up how Goh did this on his 8th birthday and whined how he never got what he wanted (which was to see Tokio again). He also says that he's more into action than just wishing, and yet he never tried to search up Tokio's address to ''ask'' Tokio to come to his party and instead wished on it through the birthday candles.
73	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each chapter goes "X of Y" with X being a word that starts with "A" and Y being the focus of whatever the chapter is about.
74	* IgnoranceIsBliss: Goh is always smiling at how ''oblivious'' he is to what happened in Vermillion City while he was in Ilex Forest, the narration lampshading that the events of Vermillion City are of low priority for him.
75	* InstantlyProvenWrong: When discussing the artifacts Olmec keeps in the Hidden Temple Car, Atticus notes that they are either named after a famous person (Mary Shelley, Dr. Livingstone) or a location (Alhambra) instead of a deity...only for Lexi to reveal that Olmec has something called a "Broken Trident of Poseidon".
76	* InnocentlyInsensitive:
77	** Goh only wanted to give Chloe some peace of mind when he told her he had made a new friend (Ash) and that she didn't have to worry about him anymore. However, Chloe misinterpreted it as him replacing her.
78	** Chapter 5 has him make a remark that his classmates have more time to themselves after he easily helped them with their classwork...completely unaware that his classmates don't have it easy like ''he'' does and perceive this as him insulting their intelligence and lack of opportunities to be Trainers.
79	* JerkassHasAPoint: Goh correctly notes that it’s Chloe's own fault for not taking initiatives and getting along better with him and Ash. This is a point that's quite apparent in Crocus, and the rest of the Blossomverse as a whole. He is also correct in that wishing for something is pointless compared to actively working towards achieving it.
80	* MeaningfulRename: The Horrorland Car was originally just The Horrors Car before Alec Cerise helped the denizens transform it into a frightful amusement park.
81	* MissExposition:
82	** The Thea Sisters spend Chapter 3 discussing Alec Cerise and his adventures.
83	** Chloe's half of Chapter 5 is about her talking to Lexi and Atticus about the town of Silent Hill and why it will be a perfect place to trap the Apex.
84	* MythologyGag:
85	** The Disco Reapers Car with their giant Choc-Nut bars was visited in ''Court of Cyclamen''.
86	** "Infinite possibilities" is a phrase uttered by Lexi and Chloe in Chapter 3. The phrase is the title of a ''Journeys'' episode; specifically Chloe's final focus episode in the anime.
87	** In Chapter 6, Chloe brings up the rumor of a Shiny Mew fanatic who murdered a few hunters, referencing Miss Turner from ''Blossoming Trail''.
88	* NightmareFetishist:
89	** Alec Cerise apparently is the reason why the Horrorland Car exists and he teamed up with someone who was supposedly a Goetia.
90	** Chloe found the Backrooms Car to be relaxing, albeit the trio also ended up in the MagicalLibrary level of the Backrooms.
91	* NoodleIncident:
92	** Chapter 3 has the Red Lotus Trio discussing previous adventures like a Cabinet of Wonders Car, the Youkai Bathhouse Car, a Monster Mash Car, the Backrooms Car, and Chloe becoming a Junior Postknight. Chapter 4 reveals that the last time they tried flying on Lexi, they collided with Ghoms and ended up in a supermarket game show.
93	** Alec Cerise once spent so long in the Sudoku Car that his partner had to camp out in the Disco Reapers Car.
94	* NotSoDifferentRemark: When Lexi talks about how the Apex hurt innocents, Chloe states that his words apply to her too, given her jerkass behavior towards those who did want to help her.
95	* NoSympathy: Goh once again has no idea how much his actions affected Chloe. She can't go home to eat dinner with her mom until he comes back to finish his homework which he dismisses as Ash's Coronation battle being more important, and brushes off her concerns after the Lugia incident by stating his new friend will watch over him from now on.
96	* NotQuiteTheRightThing: Chloe asks Goh to drop by her house and deliver her birthday present, but fails to mention that she wants him to stay at the party with her. Goh, due to him technically never being invited, simply leaves the gift on the porch and then leaves.
97	* ObliviousToHints: Goh never got the hint that his classmates were deliberately getting in the way of Chloe trying to approach him. Or the fact that Chloe wanted him to spend more time with her, AND was thinking of ending her life...
98	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Chloe has a memory/nightmare of Goh never wanting to talk about Ilex Forest ever again. The second chapter has him texting her that he ''wants'' to tell her all about it. Better yet, the fact that Goh is actively texting her instead of giving half-hearted apologies is a sign that he is showing concern for her.
99	* OminousFog: The Friendship Asylum Car is covered in fog, and there are reference to the infamous Fog Car as well.
100	* OutOfCharacter: The story mentions Goh being unable to read a 200 page book without whining about how boring it is by the 10th page. In the canon anime, Goh is overjoyed to be gifted a book.
101	* PerformanceAnxiety: Chloe panics at the mere thought of appearing on live TV as she's afraid of people laughing at her. Given her previous incidents with performing, Goh taping her EpicFail of a Pokemon battle against Ash and the paint can incident, her fears are justified.
102	* PlotParallel:
103	** The book Chloe suggested for Goh to read for his book report was ''Literature/FromTheMixedUpFilesOfMrsBasilEFrankweiler'', which stars a girl who runs away from home and decides to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art because she doesn't feel appreciated by anyone, accurately depicting Chloe's situation of feeling unappreciated by the world around her and entering the Infinity Train.
104	** Chloe notes that the Train and the eponymous town of Silent Hill are the same -- you get trapped there and can't leave until you finally confront your problems.
105	** The song that plays in Chapter 6 when Goh is at a cafe is [[Music/TheKillers "Jenny was a Friend of Mine"]]. The song is in the POV of an (assumed) killer who tries to deny that he killed a girl named Jenny, which can be seen as a parallel to Goh denying that he was a jerk towards Chloe/Tokio because he was "friends" with them. Other parallels include the second line of the song mentioning the singer and Jenny having a fight, like Chloe and Goh's argument before Chloe ran away. Bonus points, Tokio's voice actor in the dub is named Creator/JennyYokobori.
106	* {{Prequel}}: The story takes place a few weeks prior to Augustine entering the Infinity Train.
107	* RashomonStyle: The scene of Goh telling Chloe to never ask about Ilex Forest is played out differently; Chloe's version has him accusing her of betraying him before running away. Goh's version has Chloe hug him and promising to keep quiet about Ilex Forest.
108	* RealLifeWritesThePlot:
109	** Chloe's comment of Goh claiming reading 10 pages of a 200-page book is boring comes from a similar experience the author had in Myanmar.
110	* TheReveal: Alec Cerise is the ancestor of Chloe Cerise...just not the Chloe Cerise currently on the Train.[[note]]He's the great-great-grandfather of Colette Cadieux[[/note]]
111	* RuleOfSymbolism: Chloe being a Junior Postknight, essentially a KnightInShiningArmor who delivers people's mail without troubles. What was one of the things she takes so seriously in her own world? Giving Goh his homework.
112	* RunningAwayToCry: Patricia runs off from Goh after he talks about how it was so ''easy'' to catch a Pokemon -- unaware that Patricia bullied Chloe so ''she'' can give her and the other classmates Pokemon -- and also because she is berating herself for being expelled over nothing.
113	* SavedByCanon: Since Chloe needs to meet with Augustine, it's obvious the trio will survive.
114	* SeriesContinuityError: A flashback shows Professor Cerise bringing up to Ash and Goh that something might be up with Chloe and they need to take a different approach. This awareness contradicts the main story, where the Professor being oblivious to Chloe's pain until it was too late to do anything about it formed one of the core plot points in Act 1.
115	* ShoutOut:
116	** The goal of the Red Lotus Trio is to get Chloe to star in ''[[Series/TheHauntingHour The Uncle Howee Show]]''.
117	** Chloe once liked a Pokemon version of ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer''.
118	** On Lexi's papers is a cemetery known as ''Manga/{{Bizenghast}}''
119	** The five mice who run the restaurant in Chapter 3 are named after [[Literature/GeronimoStilton the Thea Sisters]].
120	** Chloe spent a week learning how to be a [[VideoGame/{{Postknight}} Junior Postknight]].
121	** Chloe remarks that a grocery store car was hosting a game, with one suggestion being ''Series/SupermarketSweep''.
122	** Atticus calls the Friendship Asylum Car [[ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth "a serious house on serious Earth"]], the line also a reference to the Creator/PhilipLarkin poem "Church Going".
123	** The book Chloe asked Goh to buy for her is called ''[[Literature/ScaryStoriesForYoungFoxes Terrifying Tales for Fledgling Fennekins]]''.
124	* ShownTheirWork: All of the artifacts Lexi reads out loud from the Hidden Temple Car are actually from the show itself.
125	* SkewedPriorities: Goh is more interested in catching a Sandshrew and watching Ash's Coronation match than going home to do his homework, disregarding Chloe not being able to have dinner with her family because of it.
126	* StateTheSimpleSolution: Goh unknowingly does this to Patricia. If she and the other classmates wanted to be Trainers, they could've asked their parents to sign a form that permits them to leave school to travel. And if not that, he also brings up how he can easily catch Pokémon like it was nothing, meaning that bullying Chloe was completely pointless.
127	* TemptingFate:
128	** A flashback has Goh dismissing Professor Cerise's concerns that something might be wrong with Chloe. Goh in the present regrets making that assumption.
129	** In Chapter 5, Goh states that he'll get his homework next time he goes for testing. After all, it's not like his teacher is going anywhere...unaware that she has probably been fired at this point.
130	* TheyJustDontGetIt: Like in the main story, Goh is constantly missing the big picture as to why Chloe is upset when he doesn't take promises or his classwork seriously [[{{Hypocrite}} yet expects Chloe to promise to never abandon him and not bring up Ilex Forest again.]]
131	* ThisIsReality: Goh's internal thoughts in Chapter 6 has him note that his life isn't "a shonen anime" when it came to the coincidence of finding a letter in Celebi's shrine that conveniently gave exposition as to why Tokio didn't arrive like he promised.
132	* ThisIsUnforgivable: Discussed. Atticus and Lexi are unable to forgive Amelia and the Apex leaders because what they did was completely unforgivable. They also tell Chloe to forgive Goh because what he did was just the actions of an immature boy who truly doesn't know better.
133	* ThrowTheDogABone: Goh is given messages from Chloe that she's doing fine, which is far more than what he got in ''Blossoming Trail''.
134	* YoureInsane: Chloe texts this to Goh when she learns that he jumped onto Lugia even after he promised not to do anything reckless.

Context Recap / InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocusTheFireflyFunhouseCar