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“You got this” Ash whispered into his boyfriend’s ear
“I’m not… really sure” Gou replied, looking down “What if I fail?”
“You can always try again…”
“That’s the point” the other boy quickly responded “I don’t want to try again; I don’t want to come back here, not anymore”
“Then do your best, I’m sure that’ll be more than enough”
Gou nodded and kissed the other boy’s cheek, entering the classroom and sitting in his desk.
Spending the last nine months in Sakuragi Institute had its advantages: He befriended and captured lots of Pokemon, he learned all sorts of things, and traveled all around the planet, discovering a new secret every time he turned around a corner.
Of course, the biggest benefit of all was the presence of that black-haired, always smiling, extremely athletic and cute human known as Ash Ketchum. The Champion of Alola and future Winner of the World Tournament turned his whole world 180° degrees one morning while riding above a Lugia, and after that, Gou’s world centered solely on him.
Luckily for him, Ash was very interested in him too, and although he believed at first the boy was as dense as a brick wall, it turned out he had some pretty well hidden feelings in his heart.
Feelings for Gou, nonetheless!
“Welcome back, Gou” his teacher said, shattering his fantasy “Here’s your test”
The test. Right. That was the disadvantage of spending so much time travelling around the world, cuddling and kissing with his boyfriend in the meantime.
“I want to finish my school year” Gou said to Professor Sakuragi a few weeks ago
“Any particular reason?” the older man asked
“I don’t like to be known as the guy who dropped out of school” the boy mentioned
He heard the comments of his former classmates that one time Ash, Koharu and he went to the school to give a talk about Kantonian and Galarian Pokemon. His best friend insisted he shouldn’t pay attention to those kids, and Ash stated he didn’t mind if he didn’t complete his school year.
However, Gou discovered finishing truly mattered to him and decided to take his chances coming back to classes.
“So, I guess I won’t be seeing you for a while” his boyfriend commented that day, talking at his back
Gou turned around and frowned
“I’m too used to having you around” the raven haired confessed
“You’re too spoiled, that’s what you mean” Gou playfully replied, shaking his head
“You know Gou” Kikuna interrupted “There’s a way you can finish the year without having to return to classes every day”
Gou raised an eyebrow questioningly
And then the woman explained to him, in all detail, how he could simply ask for the documents containing all the contents of the year, and try to pass a final exam to prove he had that knowledge.
“Why are you telling me this?” Gou inquired, surprised by the help
“I like seeing you and Ash together” the woman commented with a smile “Besides, Renji and I took the exam years ago, when we started working for the Professor”
The blonde researcher nodded at the mention of his name and added
“You do need a signed document with a valid reason for why you’ve been absent from school”
“Which you’ll have, if you wait me for a minute” Sakuragi commented, already scribbling something in a piece of paper
Gou simply stood there, amazed by how many people trusted and believed in him. He promised he would not disappoint them. In response, each one of them gave him a thumbs-up
Ten questions, one hour. Four topics: Maths, biology, history and general knowledge. Gou took a deep breath and read the first question:
“There is a patch of lily pads on a lake. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?"
That was an easy one; Gou figured that if the patch doubled in size every day, then it must have been half the size the previous day. But as soon as he started to write the answer, his mind decided to focus on a memory.
Ash and Gou looked at the large group of Lotad resting on the small lake. Since the water was pretty contaminated, the Pokemon could barely move. Gou took a sample of the water and started to think, trying to figure out a way to purify the water.
“How long can it take to do that?” Ash questioned
“Judging by the size of the lake” Gou hypothesized “I would say a week, or maybe ten days”
“We don’t have that much time!” Ash complained
“What do you propose, then?”
For all response, the trainer picked up a Lotad and started to carry it away
“We need to get them to another lake!” he said
“Ash, the next lake is five miles away from here!”
“So?” the trainer replied, piling five creatures on top of each other and picking them up surprisingly easy “We need to help them”
Gou nodded, trying to imitate his crush’s movements. However, five Lotad on top of each other were too much for him. Ash approached him and put a hand on his back.
“Don’t push yourself too hard” he said, and Gou wondered how did he manage to rub his back and carry the Lotad at the same time
After a few minutes, Gou realized he could only pick one Lotad at a time. He accompanied Ash to the next lake and they repeated the route over and over again, Raboot and Pikachu helped them, carrying as many creatures as they could.
When night fell, all the Lotad were enjoying their new environment. Ash and Gou sat at the edge of the lake, exhausted.
“I’m sorry” Gou whispered “If I were stronger, I could have…”
Ash put his head on the boy’s shoulder, cutting him off and making him blush.
“You wanted to help them, and you did. You’re a good guy Gou, that’s all that matters”
Still blushing, Gou took the other’s boy hand and Ash wrapped his fingers around it.
None of them said another word, and they stayed there for a few minutes, holding hands and contemplating the moon reflected on the crystal clear lake.
Gou blinked, coming back to reality and reading the next question.
"A bat and ball cost one Pokedollar and ten cents. The bat costs one Pokedollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?"
“Oh please” Gou said to himself, quickly writing ‘five cents’ on the paper sheet. And once again, his mind started to drift away.
“And Ash knocks it out of the park!” Rotom announced cheerfully, watching how the trainer started to run around the Poke Base field, showing his impeccable physical condition
Gou watched him from the bench with a smile, participating in this game was definitely a good idea…
He fixed his eyes on the white and blue shirt, the shorts, and the hat covering the boy’s messy hair.
Arceus damn, he looked so cute right now.
“Would you stop eyeing Ash for just five seconds?” Lana asked
Mallow, sitting right beside her, let out a little laugh
“I’m just… impressed by Ash’s strength, that’s all” the boy replied, blushing
“Sure you are” the green-haired girl commented “You are surprised by everything about Ash”
“He is an impressive boy” Gou admitted, watching him running with a grin plastered on his face
Lana put a hand in front of the boy’s face and said
“Earth to Gou!”
“According to my analysis, Gou’s eyes have been fixated on Ash for about 97% of the match” Rotom commented
“It’s not a 100% because you had to drink water at some point” Mallow added “You’re so in love with him…”
“I won’t deny it” Gou simply said, and his friends let out a squeal of delight
Ash finally finished his run, and approached the Vermillion City boy, panting.
“Did you see me?” he asked with a grin
“I watched the whole thing” Gou replied, caressing his boyfriend’s cheek and stealing a kiss from him
Ash froze for a moment, biting his lip and acquiring a deep shade of red on his face.
“You… never kissed me in front of so many people” he commented, looking around the stadium
“The world should know you’re taken” Gou countered, kissing him again
"The Kingdom of Rota, ruled by Queen Ilene and her descendants, is located in the Kanto Region, at the North of Mt. Silver. What is the name of the Palace where the Royal Family of Rota lives?”
Again, Gou knew the answer: Cameran Palace
And again, the answer connected with a moment he and Ash shared…
“I never seen your room before” Gou said, slowly walking in, like the place was some kind of ancient, forbidden temple
Ash simply walked towards his bed and plopped down, quickly followed by Pikachu
“Feel free to look around” he said “You’re a researcher, after all”
Gou chuckled at the comment and spent a few minutes investigating everything. Ash’s trophies, pictures with his Pokemon and his Mom, plush toys…
He finally walked towards the wardrobe and stopped. He was invading his boyfriend’s privacy far too much.
“Go on” Ash said, looking at him “I know you want to…”
Gou obeyed and stared at the impeccable clothes, perfectly organized and hanging in an exact position. He didn’t say it aloud, but it was clear this was Delia’s work. Since he met him, Ash never kept his clothes so organized in the Institute.
“Lots of shirts” the boy from Vermillion City said
“Lots of Regions” his boyfriend replied
“And a surprising amount of dresses” the boy continued, raising an eyebrow
“You really don’t want to know how many times I dressed as a girl”
“Why?”
“A multitude of reasons” was the other boy’s answer
“You have lots of suits too, a white one…”
“Battle Chateau”
“A brown one”
“Wallace Cup”
“A green and yellow one”
“That’s a Snorlax costume, Gou”
“And there’s also a Lucario one, too!”
Ash got up and said:
“That’s not exactly a costume… It’s something far more special”
It wasn’t the first time Ash told his boyfriend his adventure at the Tree of Beginning, but still, Gou listen to it attentively. When he was finished, Ash asked for something:
“Turn around… and don’t look”
Gou obeyed and closed his eyes, after a few minutes, Ash put a hand on his shoulder and Gou looked at him, amazed by the sight. Ash was wearing his Aura Guardian outfit
“How do I look?” he asked, adjusting his hat
“Like a hero” Gou replied, kissing his cheek
"Two Ancient Civilizations that were settled in the Kanto Region were ultimately destroyed by mysterious circumstances. One of them was Pokemopolis, what was the name of the other one?”
Gou wrote ‘Pokelantis’ and bit his lip. That was a memory he really didn’t want to relive.
After catching Gengar and being buried in a mountain of apples by his new Pokemon, Ash decided to rest for a few more hours. He climbed back to his bed and rested until the morning sun woke him up.
When he turned around and opened his eyes, he noticed a shadow lingering over him.
“Gou?” he questioned “What are you doing?”
“Just… watching you” the other boy replied, still sitting on his chair
“Why?”
“I keep thinking this is all my fault, I’m sure if I hadn’t start talking about Gengar possessing you then you would’ve discovered you were having a fever much quicker”
“Just relax; it wasn’t your fault, get over it”
“I can’t…”
“I never felt I was truly possessed either way, trust me, I’m kind of an expert on those things”
“You… know what it feels like?”
Ash nodded and looking down, commented:
“I was possessed once, by the spirit of the King of Pokelantis”
Gou was about to ask who was that, but his eyes focused on Pikachu, shuddering at the simple mention of the name.
“That was creepy, and wrong, and… weird. That guy didn’t want to leave my body; he forced me to do terrible things, like using my Pokemon as weapons, he even made me threaten the life of a human!”
Gou remained silent, unable to believe Ash would do such a thing.
“How did you get rid of him?” he finally asked
“I couldn’t do it alone. Pikachu helped me, and Brandon, the Pyramid King of the Battle Frontier did the rest…”
The boys fell into another silent, and Ash continued:
“I dream about that guy every once in a while, I feel like, even if he’s gone, he could return at any minute”
“Why would he?”
“He possessed me because I was being naïve and reckless, and you know me, I act like that every day of my life”
Without saying a word, Gou threw himself into Ash’s arms and hugged him tightly.
“But every day of your life you act with kindness and compassion, too. You’re a good guy Ash, and you’re surrounded by people who won’t let you fall into that darkness again”
“You too, Gou?” Ash hopefully said “You too will be there for me?”
“Of course Ash” the other boy quickly responded “Every step of the road”
It was a good thing Gou was hugging him right now, or Ash would have a tough time explaining why he was blushing so much…
"The invention of the first Pokeball took place in the Johto Region, to this day; the basic Pokeball is made with the same key ingredient, which one?”
Well, Gou had to thank Ash and Raboot for knowing that the answer was “Apricorn”
“Rab!” the fire type Pokemon shouted
Ash, Gou and Pikachu turned around, concerned, and the boy from Vermillion City ran to his friend’s side. Raboot was covering his mouth, with a few tears escaping his eyes.
“What happened?” Gou questioned
Raboot simply pointed to an object in the ground and Ash came closer to inspect it.
“Rab, Rab, Raboot!” the Pokemon explained, opening and closing his mouth
“You were trying to eat this?” Ash asked
Raboot nodded and Ash let out a little chuckle
“This is an Apricorn, you just can’t eat it, it’s too hard. People used to make Pokeballs out of this, as a matter of fact, I think they still do”
Gou stared at his crush with a surprised face
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ash questioned
“It’s so weird to hear you talking about something that’s not Pokemon…” Gou doubted for a second, then added “You always show a little wisdom at the most unexpected times”
“Oh… thank you, Gou” Ash said, blushing
However, Gou failed to see him, as he was busy checking his Pokemon’s teeth.
“Everything seems to be normal, you’re fine Raboot”
The Pokemon complained about the pain once again and pointed at his own nose, frowning
“It smelled good? That’s why you tried to eat it?” Gou asked and Ash smiled, surprised to see how the boy had become an expert at understanding his Pokemon
Raboot nodded again and closed his eyes, trying to stop the tears. His trainer smiled at him and offered:
“Do you want a hug?”
Raboot looked away; he didn’t want to make his trainer think he was a weak Pokemon. However, his mouth did hurt a lot, and Gou’s arms always felt nice.
The researcher stopped Raboot’s thinking, simply wrapping his arms around his body and lifting him up. The Pokemon didn’t complain, and the group started to walk again. Ash was playing with the Apricorn, tossing it from one hand to the other, and finally said:
“As soon as we get to the City, I’ll find an Apriblender and you’ll get to enjoy a nice drink, would you like that, Raboot?”
“Rab!” the Pokemon happily said, cuddling against his trainer’s chest
“Pika, Pikapi?” Ash’s Pokemon asked
“Of course Pikachu, I’m sure we can get more apricorns around here so you too can enjoy a drink”
A few seconds later, Gou noticed Ash was staring at him, he was about to ask why when Ash inquired:
“What about you, Gou? You want to take a drink with me?”
Gou’s heart skipped a beat, he wondered for a moment if Ash knew what he was doing, but quickly dismissed the thought. At least, until Ash added:
“You know, like a date”
“I’d like that, Ash” the boy replied, blushing furiously
"Name all Pokemon capable of evolving thanks to the effects of a Dusk Stone”
Misdreavus evolves to Mismagius
Murkrow evolves to Honchkrow
Lampent evolves to Chandelure
Doublade evolves to Aegislash
Gou waited for a whole three hours until Ash showed up at the airport, ready to return to Kanto.
“Is everything okay?” the boy from Vermillion City asked
Ash nodded
“Is Clemont all right?” Gou pressed “Was his recovery successful?”
“Yep” was all Ash said
They boarded the plane and after a few minutes, Gou commented
“You should tell me what you were really doing the for the last three hours, Ash”
“I told you” the raven haired quickly replied “Visiting Clemont, after one of his inven…”
“Drop the act” the other boy replied showing him his phone “Clemont posted a picture with Korrina on Alola just an hour ago”
“Oh…”
“I get it if you need some time alone” Gou exclaimed with a sad expression “But you should tell me, don’t lie to me”
“I…” Ash started to explain, but his boyfriend interrupted him
“I won’t get mad at you, there’ll be times when you’ll need to spend time alone, or with your Pokemon, or with your friends, or…”
“Stop, Gou” Ash demanded “I wasn’t trying to be away from you, I just told you a lie because I wanted to give you a surprise”
The raven haired boy pulled a little bag out of his pocket and dropped the contents on Gou’s hands. The boy stayed there, contemplating the four shimmering, perfectly shaped Dusk Stones.
“I know it’s not too much, but I want to help you complete the Pokedex… You’re gonna need them to evolve some of your Pokemon”
Gou went silent, so his boyfriend continued:
“It took us three hours, but we finally found them”
“Found? As in…?” Gou asked
“I don’t have the money to buy them, so Lucario, Pikachu and I went to explore some caves and…”
Gou cut Ash off, hugging him and rubbing his back
“And here I thought you wanted to spend time apart from me” the Vermillion City native muttered
“Why would I want that?” Ash countered, kissing his neck
Gou let out a giggle and rested his head on Ash’s shoulder
“You didn’t have to…” he whispered
“Anything for my boy” Ash replied, kissing him again
“How many tentacles does a Tentacruel have just after evolving?”
Gou chuckled as soon as he started to write “eighty”
Ash tried to swim away, but Tentacruel’s grip was too strong, not even he could escape from the Jellyfish Pokemon
“Resistance is futile” the person in front of him said
“Pikachu, use thunderbolt!” Ash desperately commanded
“There’s no point, young man” his foe said, and Ash discovered Pikachu was in the hands of that person, seemingly asleep “Your Pikachu belongs to me now”
“Let him go!” Ash pleaded “You can do anything you want with me, just let my Pokemon go!”
“Oh, but your Pokemon are happy to have me as their new partner, aren’t you?” the villain said, moving away and revealing that Dragonite, Gengar and Lucario were nodding with their eyes closed, clearly under the villain’s control
“What… What do you want?” Ash questioned
“I want you to see how your entire world burns, how everything disappears under the brute force of my army. Give up, because this is…”
The villain approached Ash and they both stared at each other’s faces for a few seconds.
“This is the end of the road” the villain completed
A second later, Ash moved towards him, placing a soft kiss on his lips. The villain moved away, chuckling.
“Cut!” Koharu shouted, irritated “Guys, can you try to be more professional for just one minute?”
The villain (Gou, of course) started to laugh uncontrollably
“Sorry” he said, looking down
“You promised you’d help me with my school project” Koharu reminded them, pointing at her camera “The only ones who are playing their part correctly so far are Pikachu and Tentacruel!”
Both Pokemon shouted a salute to the girl and Koharu huffed as soon as she saw Ash and Gou were staring at each other again…
“Everyone… Take Five!” she commanded
“Which one is the smartest Pokemon discovered so far and how high is its IQ estimated?”
Alakazam, IQ: 5000
Another one of those embarrassing memories quickly invaded Gou’s mind
“Gengar, use Shadow Ball!” Ash shouted
The Ghost type quickly obeyed and in a couple of seconds, the battle was over, Alakazam fell to the floor, knocked out cold. Sabrina returned him to his Pokeball and whispered:
“You did a good job”
The woman jumped from her position and floated directly towards Ash, shaking his hand. Gou stared dumbfounded at her, Ash warned him about Sabrina’s mysterious powers and he didn’t believe him until he saw her with his own eyes.
“Ranks have been updated!” The Rotom Drone announced, flying away.
Gou ran towards his boyfriend and hugged him; Ash showed him he was now at the 38th position, one step closer to finally face Leon in an official match.
“I must say, that was a great battle, Ash” Sabrina said, shaking the boy’s hand
“Thanks Sabrina! I had a lot of fun!” the raven haired replied, grinning
“I did too, just like old times, although…”
She went silent for a second, eyeing Ash’s companion up and down
“… you seemed distracted at some point, like you were focused on something else”
“Really?” Ash said, trying to think about something else, fully aware that Sabrina could read his mind at any point “I have no idea what you’re talking about”
“Is that so? Pikachu, Gengar, what do you guys think?”
The Pokemon, surprised to be involved in the conversation, focused their minds on a single thought and the woman smiled
“Are you sure?” Sabrina questioned, looking at both of them
Knowing what she meant, the two Pokemon nodded
“Ash always seemed like a ladies’ man, no offense”
“What are they telling you?” Ash questioned, sweating
“Shush” the woman ordered “Now guys, about that ‘connection’ Ash has…”
Pikachu and Gengar told her a few other details and Sabrina raised an eyebrow
“You shouldn’t be afraid of showing your feelings in public, Ash”
Before the trainer could reply something, Sabrina added
“Same goes for you, Gou”
The boy from Vermillion City blushed and denied with his head
“I don’t know what you’re…”
“Oh please…” the woman interrupted, shaking his hand and using her kinetic powers on the boys in front of her
“Just kiss” she said, making Ash and Gou come closer to each other
Realizing they were still gonna do it with or without Sabrina’s pressure, Ash and Gou leaned towards each other, sharing a deep, passionate kiss…
“That is just too cute!” the woman shouted
“You got this”
Ash’s words echoed in Gou’s mind when he read the 9th Question:
“What is the biggest city in the Galar Region?”
”Wyndon” Gou quickly wrote down
“How much?” Ash asked with his eyes open
“ 4,700 the night, sir” the receptionist repeated
“Thank you…” Ash simply replied, covering his face with his cap and walking out of the Hotel
Gou was waiting outside, sharing some scones with Raboot
“Turns out… I don’t have enough money to pay for one night on the Rose of the Rondelands Hotel”
“And I guess they don’t give discounts for being Alola’s Champion, huh?” Gou questioned jokingly
“I thought you may like…”
“What?” Gou interrupted him “That I may like spending the night on a luxury hotel until we finish our research on Galarian Mr. Mime and its evolution?”
Ash nodded
“You’ve been travelling a lot, and your Final Test is just one week away!” the raven haired commented “I want you to feel ready for it, I know how important is to you”
“We could wait to everyone goes to sleep, and ask Gengar to turn us into ghosts, and then fly us all the way to the Penthouse” Gou offered
“The always obedient Gou wants to break the rules?” Ash teased
“Or…” the boy continued, putting a hand under his boyfriend’s chin “We could camp in a meadow a few miles from here… Between silk sheets or your arms wrapped around me, I prefer the second option”
“You could have both…” Ash said
“I don’t need both” Gou quickly replied, putting his head on Ash’s shoulder “I never wanted both”
“Then… what do you want?”
Gou licked his lips and placed a soft kiss on Ash’s own lips, the other boy closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, focusing on the sensation running through his body. Once they broke apart, Gou asked
“Does that give you a clue of what I want?”
“Camping?”
“Camping” Gou confirmed, putting an arm around Ash’s waist and walking away with him
“With over forty-seven films, who’s considered the most successful film director of all time?”
“What kind of question is that?” Gou asked to himself
While he was trying to remember the answer, his memories drifted away to something that happened a few days ago.
Somewhere inside his head, Gou had the answer to that question.
He just needed to find where…
The UFO went away, flying above the protagonist’s head, disappearing on the horizon. A few seconds later, the words “The End?” appeared on the screen.
“Really?” Ash shouted to the TV’s screen “That’s how it ends?”
“That’s just the second movie, you dummy” Gou explained “There are four in The Invaders saga”
“Oh…” Ash said, getting up and looking at the clock
11:23 PM
“We have time for another movie…” Gou suggested
“I’d like that, although…”
“Huh?”
Without saying another word, Ash threw himself into his boyfriend’s arms, Gou received him happily and started to smile as soon as the trainer decided to smooch his neck.
“What… about… the movie?” Gou questioned, between kisses
“I’ve got all the action I need right here” Ash replied
“So cheesy…” Gou commented, kissing his boyfriend again
“With over forty-seven films, who’s considered the most successful film director of all time?”
Gou shook his head. He was too busy kissing Ash to see the end credits of the movie, but that wasn’t the only movie he watched with his boyfriend.
He rubbed a finger in his temple focusing on another memory…
They were just finishing watching the Everlasting Memories series, the story about a scientist who creates a robot with a heart; the two main characters were saying goodbye to each other, when Ash decided to ask:
“Hey, Gou?”
The boy was too focused on the movie, but still nodded, showing he was listening
“Do you think we can have a happy ending?”
Gou stared at his boyfriend
“What makes you say that?”
“Every movie we watched so far ends up with a sad scene…”
“Because they’re movies, Ash” Gou explained with a smile “They’re not suppose to be realistic”
Gou saw the shadow of a doubt on his boyfriend’s face, so he added:
“You could make a thousand movies with our adventures you know?”
“You’re right… But about the ending…”
“Don’t worry about that, focus on what we have”
Gou guided Ash’s head to that place between his feet and the trainer let out a content sigh. Looking from above, the Vermillion City boy asked:
“Isn’t this enough?”
“More than enough” Ash replied, hugging his legs
Gou looked to the TV screen again and frowned, the movie already ended.
“Sorry, you missed the best part because of me…” Ash commented
“You’re the best part, you dummy” Gou quickly replied, pinching his cheek
“That’s it” Ash claimed, moving towards his boyfriend and smiling “You can’t say all those cute things and not expect me to have some kind of reaction”
“Really?” Gou teased, coming closer “What are you going to do?”
Ash squeezed his boyfriend’s face and planted a deep, long kiss on his lips.
“With over forty-seven films, who’s considered the most successful film director of all time?”
“Oh, please…” Gou said to himself, looking at the clock and starting to sweat
“Please remember…” Gou repeated, focusing on one last memory
The couple were strolling down the streets of Nimbasa City, when they walked by a theatre, Gou stopped as soon as he saw the promotional poster for a movie.
“Nimbasa City presents: Unova Classics: The Legend of the Pokemon Knight!” Gou read aloud
Ash stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. Gou pointed at a figure in the poster and commented:
“That’s you, Ash”
The trainer looked away, blushing, but didn’t say a word
“That’s totally you” his boyfriend insisted “You never told me you appeared in a movie”
“It’s no big deal”
“The Main Character is literally called Sir Ash” Gou countered
“Fine, maybe it is a big deal, but…”
“But?”
“I don’t want you to watch it”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I look ridiculous!”
Without saying another word, Gou bought two tickets and forced his boyfriend to enter the theatre.
The Vermillion City native spent a few minutes laughing at the screen once the movie ended, after wiping away his tears; he looked at Ash’s frowning face.
“I told you I looked ridiculous”
“Ridiculously cute, you mean”
“I…” Ash said
Gou interrupted him, kissing his cheek and asking
“Think you can teach me your acting method, Sir Ash? Maybe I can be the co-star of your next movie”
“Shut up…”
Gou made a dramatic pose and continued:
“I could be Prince Gou, and you’re the knight in shining armor that’s destined to save me…”
“Why can’t you be the knight in shining armor?” Ash complained “You’d be a great knight”
It was Gou’s turn to blush, and Ash knew he had the upper hand
“As a matter of fact, we could go to Pokestar Studios right now, it’s not far from here…”
“I don’t want to be in a movie!” Gou shouted
“Why not?” Ash asked, smirking “You don’t want everyone to see how cute you and I look together?”
Gou didn’t reply, so Ash took out his phone
“I know the president of the Studios” he said, dialing a number “I’m sure he can help us to…”
Gou launched himself towards his boyfriend, kissing his lips and whispering
“We better stay like this for now…”
“What, you have stage fright?”
“More like…. ‘I don’t want everyone finding out I have a boyfriend’ fright”
He gave him another kiss and completed
“Not yet, at least”
Gou quickly scribbled the name “Mr. Gold” in the paper, just before time ran out…
A few seconds passed while Gou’s teacher checked his answers, and the boy closed his eyes, focusing on his boyfriend one last time.
“Meloetta has two forms: Aria and Pirouette Forme” Gou answered
Ash checked the book in front of him and clapped happily
“Correct! You’ve got this in the bag, Gou!”
The boy from Vermillion City smiled, the date of his Final Exam was just the very next day, looking down, he whispered:
“You didn’t have to do all of this… Look at how much time you wasted, Ash”
“Wasted?” the trainer asked
“You should be having battles to reach the World Championship’s Top 8, not helping me with a stupid test”
“I want to help you, Gou. If this is important to you, then it’s important to me too” the raven haired replied, getting up and approaching his boyfriend
He tenderly took his hand and smiled widely at him
“I want to be here for you, every step of the road” he whispered
Gou let out a yawn and started to climb to his bed, before reaching the top, he said:
“I could use a good luck charm tonight…”
“Coming right behind you” Ash said
That night, Gou drifted off to sleep wrapped around his boyfriend’s strong, protective arms…
When Gou came out of the school, Ash, Raboot and Pikachu were waiting for him outside.
“So… How it went, Gou?” Ash asked
“Don’t call me Gou anymore…” the boy countered
The trio stared at him, not realizing what he meant. Gou showed them his exam with a wide smile
“Call me Perfect-Score Gou!” he shouted
Ash tackled his boyfriend to the ground, smooching his face over and over again. Pikachu nuzzled the boy’s cheek, paralyzing him a little, and Raboot hugged his trainer, placing himself right on top of his chest.
“See…” Ash whispered into his ear “Told you you could do it…”
“But not alone… Not on my own” Gou replied
“Never alone” Ash agreed, kissing him again