Cherche

"Might I join, sire? This may not be my country, but it is my cause."

- Cherche

Cherche (セルジュ, Seruju, Serge in the Japanese version and Zelcher in the Non-English European versions) is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Awakening.

She is voiced by Kana Akutsu in the Japanese version and by Amanda C. Miller in the English version.

Profile
Cherche is a former vassal of House Virion from Rosanne, and the mother of Gerome. Her wyvern mount is named Minerva. Despite her domestic nature, she is surprisingly strong as she gained her vicious dragon mount by defeating her and surviving her fire breath, only getting a burn scar on her shoulder (a bald spot in the Japanese version) from the encounter--all when she was only nine years old. Her support with Gaius reveals that she detests fighting, but the only reason she does is so she can live to see her family again. In her support with Gregor, it is revealed that Gregor betrayed his friends in Wyvern Valley to save Minerva from being killed. In the A support conversation with Vaike, Cherche tells him that she found Minerva in Wyvern Valley as a child, and that she trained as a Cleric using a heavy staff and disciplined Minerva with the staff when she misbehaved.

Two years after the defeat of Gangrel, Walhart has all but completed his conquest of Valm and is preparing to invade Ferox. Chrom is summoned by Flavia to meet Virion, who delivers the news of the impending invasion. However due to his personality and lack of urgency, Cherche intervenes and quickly explains the situation to speed things up. At Port Ferox, Cherche joins the fray and decides to fight alongside Chrom's army.

In the epilogue, should Cherche remain unmarried, Cherche returns to Rosanne to reclaim the country that Virion lost. Cherche and Minerva were never seen apart.

Personality
Cherche is a domestic woman raised on simple values who is good at cooking and sewing, in contrast to her vicious wyvern. She has a bizarre sense of aesthetics, referring to monsters and bugs as cute. Cherche shares an extremely close bond with her wyvern and has developed an ability to tell what Minerva is feeling or saying by her shrieks. She is the scariest person in the army to anger as she tends to threaten people by implying that she will make Minerva eat them all with a smile on her face. Her birthday is October 17th.

Base Stats

 * -|Normal=


 * -|Hard=


 * -|Lunatic=

Growth Rates

 * 100%
 * 70%
 * 20%
 * 55%
 * 50%
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 15%
 * }

Max Stat Modifers

 * +3
 * 0
 * -1
 * -1
 * 0
 * +2
 * -2
 * }

Supports
Romantic Supports
 * The Avatar (Male)
 * Frederick
 * Virion
 * Stahl
 * Vaike
 * Kellam
 * Donnel
 * Lon'qu
 * Ricken
 * Gaius
 * Gregor
 * Libra
 * Henry

Other Supports
 * The Avatar (Female)
 * Miriel
 * Nowi
 * Gerome
 * Morgan (Only if Cherche is her mother)

Class Sets

 * }

Base Class
When she arrives, Cherche is essentially a flying, physical tank: her HP grows with each level due to her 100% growth rate in HP, she has a good 55% growth rate in defense, and she has a high strength and decent skill and speed. Upon recruitment, she will likely be a bit behind your other units, though with her Hammer in her recruitment inventory and the abundance of Knights in the early chapters of the Valm arc, she can quickly catch up and land a promotion. However, she must be wary of the Bow Knights and Wind mages found throughout the Valm campaign.

While the Griffon Rider class yields a useful support skill for her in Deliverer, Cherche fares better as a Wyvern Lord due to the class's more dedicated tanking ability, as opposed to the lukewarm balanced stats of the Griffon Rider. She also acquires access to lances, rounding out her weapon triangle coverage nicely, and can pick up the extremely useful Swordbreaker skill as protection against Wyrmslayers. Despite the class's weaknesses to bows and magic, as well as a Speed stat that can sometimes get her doubled by speedy promoted enemy units, Wyvern Lord Cherche is a very solid unit through the remainder of the game's story chapters as long as her tankiness and mobility are properly utilized.

Reclassing
While Cherche's growths and initial stats suit her Wyvern Rider and Wyvern Lord class very well, both her reclassing options, the Cleric and Troubadour lines, are very magically oriented, and unfortunately yield few potent offensive skills for her to take back to her Wyvern Lord class. And unfortunately, due to her low magic growths, getting her through the magical classes will be a bit of a struggle. However, her class pools do yield her a very solid support movepool, making her an excellent escort for her husband and an effective rear line member of a pair-up. From the Troubadour class she can grab Demoiselle, a situational ability that is nonetheless useful if many of your frontline unites are males; but perhaps more useful for her is the Valkyrie's Dual Support+ ability, which starts her with a Level 9 Dual Support bonus when paired with her husband. Dual Support+ is also her best skill to pass along to her son, as it's otherwise female-exclusive in addition to being a solid ability in general. One useful skill for Cherche if she returns to wish to the Wyvern line eventually is the Troubadour's Resistance +2, which helps patch that weakness as best as she can.

From the Cleric family, not much is of use to her, though Miracle is a solid skill for her when tanking, especially in conjunction with the War Cleric's Renewal skill. The War Cleric is also perhaps her best option for combining her offensive capabilities with her support potential, as she can also make use of the Cleric's Healtouch skill in this class. The Sage class offers nothing to Cherche unless she wants to try being magically-offensive, a role played far better by many other units, or unless she wants to be a Rally unit by combining her collective class's Rally Magic, Rally Resistance, and Rally Luck skills-- though this role is also played better by other units like Lissa, who has access to the Pegasus line's rally skills.

When deciding on the best role for Cherche in a postgame setting, frontline tanking as a Wyvern Lord is an option given her access to Renewal, though it's also done better by other units like Frederick, who has access to Luna for offense and Aegis for defense. Limited as her skill pool is, Cherche's greatest use may be in providing a support role from the back of a pair-up as a Wyvern Lord, using Deliverer to escort her partner and skills like Strength+2 (the only means of boosting her offense that she has), Demoiselle, and Dual Support+ to further assist her partner. Though it means losing her beloved Minerva's mobility, she can also function well as a War Cleric (or better yet, a Bride if you have access to it, as the Bride's Bond skill is yet another passive support ability that works well from the back of a pair-up) in the same role by using Healtouch to heal allies when she's not attacking. While Cherche's main use is as a flying tank in the story missions, she can still be effective as a support unit so long as she's in a class that makes use of her high strength.

Event Tiles

 * "Did you find something Minerva? Here, let me see it." (item)
 * "I have mended everyone's tattered clothes. They should feel as good as new." (exp)
 * "I snuck in a bit of training, but I still have much to learn..." (weapon exp)

Asking - Normal

 * "We need dreams to sustain us. What are yours?" (dreams)
 * "Why so cheerful? Did you stumble upon a cute little caterpillar?" (happy)
 * "Oh! Where have you been? I haven't seen you for a while." (free time)
 * "How are you holding up? I was wondering if we could fight together for a change." (team up)

Replying - Normal

 * "Well, I would love to see Minerva's child one day. Wouldn't that be magical?" (dreams)
 * "No, I just got to watch my dear Minerva shed her skin. It was incredible!" (happy)
 * "I try to wash and mend our clothes. Fashion like this is hard to come by!" (free time)
 * "If it pleases you. Together, we can face any opponent without fear." (team up)

Asking - Married

 * "Please be careful, (name). I am so scared I might lose you." (promise)
 * "Is it just me, or do you get more handsome with each passing day?" (compliment)
 * "I adore you, (name). Never forget that." (love)
 * "What do you have there, my love? Hardly something you would need in battle, no?" (gift)

Replying - Married

 * "I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere. You need someone to look after you." (promise)
 * "You know the right things to say to a lady. But you’re the nicer one to look at." (compliment)
 * "I love you, too. ...Now say that again." (love)
 * "It’s a cookbook. I take pride in broiling more than my foes, I’ll have you know." (gift)

Asking - Child

 * "Come practice with me, Gerome/Morgan. It will be good for you." (train)
 * "Do you need anything, Gerome/Morgan? Your journey here must have been difficult." (gift)
 * "How are you feeling, Gerome/Morgan? You look a bit pale today." (concern)
 * "Tell me, Gerome/Morgan, What was your day-to-day life in the future like?" (story)

Replying - Child

 * "Very well. For my darling child, anything!" (train)
 * "Thank you, but just the thought is more than enough, my dear." (gift)
 * "Don’t worry. I can deal with any problems that arise." (concern)
 * "You are the first to ask me that in a while. Well, why don’t we talk over tea? And soon—before you go off on your own again. Promise? Otherwise I will have to send Minerva to hunt you down." (story)

Level Up

 * "I feel invigorated! How about you, Minerva?" (6+ stats up)
 * "I’d say I’ve made quite a bit of progress." (4-5 stats up)
 * "All in a day’s work." (2-3 stats up)
 * "Oh! Shame on me." (0-1 stat up)
 * "Oh my...these muscles! None of my dresses fit." (0-1 stat up, most stats capped)

Class Change

 * "I have always been fairly adaptable."

Armory

 * "What a charming little establishment they run here." (buying)
 * "Oh, am I holding surplus? I had no idea." (selling)
 * "I'll let Minerva decide if you did a good job." (forging)

Alone

 * "Is there something in the air today? I feel so invigorated!" (surge)
 * "Oh, look—a cute wittle caterpillar! Here, witty-bitty caterpillar..." (misc)

Greetings - Normal

 * "Good morning, Avatar. Come take a load off." (morning)
 * "Hello, Avatar. Here for a break, I see." (midday)
 * "Evening, Avatar. Oh! Don’t move! A cute little bug is on you!" (evening)
 * "Don’t stay up too late, Avatar. You’ll be sorry tomorrow." (night)
 * "Happy birthday, Avatar."  (birthday)

Greetings - Married

 * "Hello, Avatar. I do love the morning." (morning)
 * "Hello, Avatar. Another day full of surprises!" (midday)
 * "Hello, Avatar. Is it nighttime already?" (evening)
 * "Hello, Avatar. Time to go to sleep." (night)
 * "Happy birthday, Avatar."  (birthday)

Roster
''A wyvern rider in the service of House Virion. She was raised with simple values and likes to cook and sew, but loves her "sweet, adorable" wyvern Minerva even more. The most terrifying when angry. Born on October 17th.''

Help Description
A polite, cultured woman from Rosanne who can cook and sew.

Confession
"Hm, it's funny, being close like this just feels...right. It's as if it was always meant to be."

- Cherche's confession quote

Final Chapter
"Minerva wants you back, and so do I!"

- Cherche's final chapter quote.

"Whew! Quite a battle... Perhaps time to settle down for a spell."

- Cherche's quote after Grima was defeated by Chrom

"Minerva would be heartbroken to lose you... All right... I... Would be heartbroken to lose you..."

- Cherche reassuring the Avatar for their choice if she is his wife.

"Minerva says she still feels Avatar is of this world... Also that he/she smells delicious, but that's neither here nor there..."

- Cherche's quote after the Avatar's sacrifice of killing Grima

The Golden Gaffe Pre-Battle
"Shame on you. I needed that gold to buy feed for Minerva. I could give her you instead, but the rotten flesh might not agree with her. I suppose I'll just have to take my money back the hard way. So long!"

- Cherche's pre-battle quote.

EXPonential Growth Pre-Battle
"My, aren't you a darling. What a shame we stand here as enemies. Minerva would have loved to have such an adorable playmate. As it stands, I cannot let you pass. Even the cute must pay their dues."

- Cherche's pre-battle quote.

Infinite Regalia Pre-Battle
"Look at you! Aren't you a darling? Shall we be friends, you and I? ...Hmm, I suppose you've nothing but cold looks for would-be plunderers. Such a waste. You're the first Risen I've met with any real personality."

- Cherche's pre-battle quote.

Death's Embrace Pre-Battle
"You darling things! Who marred your sweet visages with such ugly wounds? I've seen many Risen, but few who fill me with such sadness... I promise to finish you before you're forced to take a life against your will."

- Cherche's pre-battle quote.

Five-Anna Firefight Pre-Battle
"Looking at the lava is like watching the clouds. I see all kinds of shapes! See? That patch there looks like a face. Could it be one of your friends...melting? ...Oh, listen to me saying such gruesome things! Don't take it to heart, my sweet."

- Cherche's pre-battle quote.

Roster Rescue Pre-Battle
"My, my... You Risen might be the most adorable I've yet seen. But it's not very lovable to run off with other people's secrets, now is it? I'm afraid Minerva and I may just have to get stern with you..."

- Cherche's pre-battle quote.

Summer Scramble Pre-Battle
"You poor, darling brigand. Would the other beachgoers not play with you? Minerva will join you for a swim. Won't you, my sweet? Yes, you will! ...That is, assuming she CAN swim. I'm not sure we've ever tried!"

- Cherche's pre-battle quote.

Hot-Spring Scramble Pre-Battle
"What a marvelously large bath! House Virion never had anything like this. But it seems rather lacking in terms of privacy... Won't people spy on us? ...I know! I'll just put Minerva on watch. That should frighten any Peeping Toms."

- Cherche's pre-battle quote.

Dual Support

 * "Time to tidy up!"
 * "Stay with me!"
 * "Where to begin?"
 * "This one's ours!"
 * "Best of luck!"
 * "Don't worry!"
 * "Shall we?"
 * "How charming..."
 * "Get ready."
 * "I'm right here."

Dual Strike

 * "Forgetting someone?"
 * "I have you!"
 * "And one from me!"
 * "Pardon me!"
 * "Allow me!"

Dual Guard

 * "Look out, you!"
 * "Still standing?"
 * "Guard up now."

Critical

 * “Rest in pieces!”
 * “If you don’t mind!”
 * "I bid you farewell!"
 * "It has been a pleasure!"

Defeated Enemy

 * "Moving on."
 * "Poor you!"
 * "Hee! Victory!"
 * *Giggles*

Partner Defeated Enemy

 * "Oh, how sloppy of me."
 * "Shame on me."
 * "Thank you."

Defeated By Enemy

 * "*Breathes* Tragic..."

Death/Retreat Quote
"Damn... This is not my time... Sorry, but I'm pulling out. Today is not my day to die..."

- Cherche's retreat quote (classic mode)

"Ungh... Can't fight...with this wound... Must retreat... Live to fight...another day..."

- Cherche's retreat quote (casual mode)

Possible Endings

 * Cherche - Wyvern Friend
 * Cherche and her beloved Minerva returned to Rosanne and struggled to reclaim the country Virion had managed to lose. Rider and wyvern were never seen apart.


 * Cherche and the Avatar
 * Many wrote of Avatar's legendary exploits, but accounts of his origins and character varied. Scholars, poets, and bards agreed on one thing alone—he loved his wife, Cherche, above all else.


 * Cherche and Frederick
 * As Ylisse's new knight captain, Frederick took charge of keeping the peace and training new recruits with his wife, Cherche. Students quickly learned to fear the couple's famously disarming smiles.


 * Cherche and Virion
 * Virion returned home to Rosanne, where he was labeled a traitor and coward, or else ignored entirely. But Cherche's smarts and kindness eventually brought her husband back into good standing.


 * Cherche and Stahl
 * Stahl continued his service as an Ylissean knight and led crucial missions across the realm. He eventually grew fat on his wife Cherche's tremendous cooking, and the two had a long and happy life.


 * Cherche and Vaike
 * Vaike returned to the streets that raised him and was welcomed as a hero and brother to all. Still, the children were fonder of Cherche, who spent her time feeding and clothing orphans everywhere.


 * Cherche and Kellam
 * Cherche and her beloved Minerva returned to Rosanne and struggled to reclaim the country Virion had managed to lose. Her husband's name has been lost to history.


 * Cherche and Lon'qu
 * Lon'qu returned to Regna Ferox and served as Basilio's right-hand man. Cherche knit many wool caps to shield her husband from the bitter Feroxi winters and, of course, a cap for her dear wyvern, Minerva.


 * Cherche and Ricken
 * While continuing to study magic, Ricken realized how childish some of his actions had been. But Cherche's caring and patience saw him through to the end.


 * Cherche and Gaius
 * Gaius never lost his sweet tooth, though he ultimately returned to less savory enterprises. When her work in Rosanne was done, Cherche would return home and cook for her husband, much to his delight.


 * Cherche and Gregor
 * After the war, Gregor briefly sank into a life of excess, but at his wife Cherche's request, he found work in Valm. After a successful stint there, offers flooded in from around the world.


 * Cherche and Libra
 * Many an unfortunate child found joy in the small orphanage Libra and his wife built after the war. Cherche was a natural mother to the children, who were also quite fond of her wyvern, Minerva.


 * Cherche and Henry
 * Henry settled down with Cherche and turned out to be a surprisingly good father. Their newborn son was said to be quiet but also fond of wyverns, like his mother.


 * Cherche and Donnel
 * Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Cherche. The latter's easy laugh and many skills quickly earned the love and respect of her new family.

Smash Bros. Series
Cherche does not directly appear in the Super Smash Bros. Series. However, one of Lucina's Palette Swaps is based around Cherche's color scheme.

Etymology
Serge is a masculine name of French origin. It is also a Latin word meaning "servant". The latter probably represents her status as one of Virion's former vassals.

Cherche is a variation of the French verb "chercher", which means "to look". In this case, Cherche translates into "looking" or into "look", as an imperative. "Cherchez la femme," or "look for the woman" is a phrase in classic French novels that points to a woman being the source of trouble in any man's life, a clever joke on her relationship with her master.

Trivia

 * Cherche's dragon mount was named after Minerva, as revealed if Cherche fights Minerva in Lost Bloodlines 2.
 * Cherche shares her English voice actress, Amanda C. Miller, with Sully.
 * Cherche also shares her Japanese voice actress, Akutsu Kana, with Tharja and Shara.
 * Cherche's official artwork depicts her wielding the Helswath.
 * Cherche's birthday is the same day that Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance was first released in North America.
 * Due to the fact that she was originally trained to be a cleric, both of her reclass options are healers. Ironically, among the first generation, she has the highest strength and defense modifiers of any female and one of the highest overall.
 * According to Awakening's project manager Masahiro Higuchi, Cherche was the first character that Yusuke Kozaki designed for the game.