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After such a devastating defeat at the hands of Bea, Goh expected his crush would react in a different manner. He was sure that day he was going to see a new side of Ash. He was going to be sad, of course, inconsolable even.
He expected him to even cry for his loss and as the supportive friend he was sure he was, Goh was ready to stay at his side for as long as he needed it.
But honestly, so far, he had to admit he was disappointed.
He should have known by now, the thing about Ash Ketchum is that he’s completely unpredictable.
Ash simply considered the match as another one in his long list; he even smiled all the way to the Pokemon Center, happy with Goh’s performance in his battle against the Karate Master.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Goh asked as soon as he stepped into the Pokemon Center
Ash Ketchum simply chuckled
“Is the fifth time you ask me” he commented
“I’m worried about you” Goh quickly countered, looking away to hide his incipient blush
His whole body froze when the Pallet Town trainer grabbed his shoulder
“I’m fine, Goh” he promised
And then the other boy noticed it.
His smile was the same as always, his voice didn’t even falter, his whole body was ecstatic as normal, ready to run out towards their next destiny as soon as his Pokemon were cured.
But, something was clearly missing.
His eyes…
Goh stared at those brown-filled eyes for so long it felt like an eternity. That spark of joy, of excitement, of uncontainable emotion was gone from them.
Ash was lying to him, and even though he wanted to say he knew he was lying, he remained silent, watching how Ash sat alongside him, clearly expecting for Riolu and Farfetch’d to recover.
When they finally returned to the Institute, Goh took a quick glance towards his crush’s eyes.
“Still gone…” he barely whispered
“Did you say anything?” Ash questioned, grabbing a piece of beef and eating it as fast as he could
Goh denied with his head, preferring to examine Ash’s Pokemon instead. Pikachu and Riolu were eating from the same bowl, but surprisingly they remained eerily silent, not paying attention to the other Pokemon around them.
Rabbot decided to share his food with Farfetch’d, but the competitive nature of the Wild Duck Pokemon was absent tonight, he was eating in a calm manner, with mechanical movements and so slowly that even Raboot finished his portion before him.
Goh noticed that both of Ash’s Pokemon were clearly affected by the outcome of their last battle, so the question was obvious: Why Ash seemed so… normal?
As if noticing he was thinking of him, Ash got up from his chair and stretched his arms.
“Want to do some nightly training?” Goh offered
“Thanks Goh, but I’m pretty tired” he said, yawning
The researcher knew very well he was pretending, but expected him to say something else
“I think it’s time for us to go to sleep”
“It’s barely 10 o’clock” Goh countered
“Like I said, I’m pretty tired” Ash repeated, excusing himself and walking towards Riolu
He kneeled down to pick up the Emanation Pokemon from behind and wrapped his arms around his tiny body.
“Rio!” Riolu shouted, he froze for a moment and, without turning around, kicked Ash in the chest, the trainer fell to the floor loudly and complained
“Hey! What was that for?”
Riolu didn’t answer, still frozen. Ash approached carefully and put a hand on his head
“Rio!” the baby shouted and Ash knew that was a mistake, he took a step backwards, examining his friend
“What’s wrong, Riolu?” he pleaded
The Pokemon didn’t answer but still, Ash was able to feel his emotions, he looked at Goh and muttered
“He’s scared…”
“Of what?” the other boy questioned
“Of me” Ash quickly replied
If the situation wouldn’t have been so serious, Goh would have laughed at that comment, one of Ash’s Pokemon fearing his trainer? In what world could something like that occur?
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Riolu” Ash calmly explained, opening his arms “I just want to give you a hug, like every night before going to sleep”
Riolu denied with his head
“You don’t want a hug?”
Riolu stayed silent and Ash had no other option to turn around and go to his bedroom, not even Pikachu following him
A soft sound started to affect Goh’s sleep, however, he made an effort to not wake up, but the sound made its way to his subconscious, invading his sleep.
Before the boy knew it, Raboot was shaking him, trying to wake him up. The researcher opened his eyes and stared at his Pokemon
“What is it?”
“Bleh” Raboot simply said, touching his trainer’s cheek
Goh felt a soft sensation and realized he had been crying
“Why?”
“Bi bi” Raboot said, pointing down
Goh didn’t even move, from his position, he could hear Ash’s sobbing, and he realized that was the sound that affected his dreams; he carefully climbed down to his bunk and whispered:
“Ash…”
“What?”
“You’re crying”
“I’m not” the trainer replied, his voice cracking with every word
Goh stood at the side of his crush’s bed and insisted:
“There’s nothing wrong with crying…”
Suddenly, Ash grabbed Goh’s hand and yanked him towards his body, the researcher lost balance and fell on the bed, before he could react, Ash put his head on his shoulder and let out a sob
“I’m crying, okay?” he complained “I’m sad and angry, and I’m useless, I lost the battle because I was over-confident and…”
“Stop, just stop” Goh pleaded “You’re always over-confident, that’s what makes you a great trainer”
“Then why did I lose?”
“Because Bea’s a Gym Leader Ash, she has more experience in…”
“But I’m a Champion!” Ash rebutted, still crying
Goh froze at the unexpected declaration
“You’re what now?” he questioned
“A Champion” Ash confirmed “I’m Alola’s first Champion”
Goh didn’t respond, so Ash continued
“I thought you knew… I thought everyone did…”
“Maybe the Professor did… And maybe his assistants too, but I… didn’t”
Ash forgot about his predicament for a moment and teased his friend
“Aren’t you supposed to know everything related to the Pokemon World?”
“That’s not fair, Ash. You know very well I’m not as interested in battles as you are, I don’t watch battles, and I certainly don’t watch any competition of any kind…”
Ash let go of his friend and looked down
“Then why did I lose? I’m the Champion; I thought that meant I was better…”
“Than everyone?” Goh completed
Ash nodded, clearly embarrassed
“You are, Ash”
“Not better than the other nine hundred fifty trainers in front of me in the Challenge”
“Not yet” Goh confirmed “Which doesn’t mean you won’t be one day”
“But what if I have to fight Bea again?”
“Then you fight her” Goh said, looking at his crush directly in the eyes “And you beat her”
“How?”
“You’ll find a way, you always do, just… don’t over think it, or you’ll end up losing focus”
“I want to beat her… Right now”
“Not now, like I said, focus on your next battle, against whoever stands in your way and climb all the way back up until you meet her again”
“You think I can do it?”
“I’m sure you can” Goh said “And I’ll be there for you if you need me”
“That’s very sweet of you”
Goh gulped, looking away, he tried to change the topic, and realized something
“But before having your next battle, there’s something you have to do”
Ash nodded
“I have to find Riolu and Farfetch’d” Ash said, getting out of his bed
Goh moved out of the way to make him space and after putting his sneakers on, Ash extended a hand towards him
“Maybe you’ll feel better if you do this on your own” Goh suggested
Ash denied with his head
“You told me you were going to be by my side, didn’t you?” the trainer questioned
Goh chuckled and gladly took his partner’s hand, he stood in front of him, his whole body trembling with anxiety. He wasn’t wearing his shoes, which meant Ash was taller than normal.
He seemed unreachable, completely out of his sight, in a whole other league than him.
But Ash noticed the researcher was staring at him for too long, he scratched his nose, like he always did when he was nervous, and questioned:
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
“There is…” Goh carefully said
“Say it, then”
Goh felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest, but reminded himself what they were doing in that moment. His confession could wait.
“We have to check on your Pokemon” he bluntly commented
“Right!” Ash agreed, leaning into the door’s frame, waiting for his friend to put on his shoes
All of Ash’s Pokemon decided to spend the night at Sakuragi Park, lying on the grass, watching the full moon, remaining completely silent. Each of them knew what happened that day, but no one was ready to comment on the event, especially not after seeing how silent Riolu and Farfetch’d had been.
That silence broke as soon as they heard the sound of footsteps approaching into their direction
Mr. Mime tried to play it cool but remained alert
Pikachu’s cheeks started to light up, ready to thundershock whoever dared to disturb the peace
Gengar stood in front of his friends, putting a hand above Riolu to protect him.
Dragonite flew into the skies, ready to attack the intruders
Farfetch’d hesitated for a moment, unsure to take his leek, he finally decided to do it, just in time to see Ash’s frame, Goh, Raboot and Sobble following him closely.
Riolu didn’t move an inch.
“I know I let you down guys" Ash said, without taking another step towards his friends “Especially you two, Farfetch’d and Riolu”
The two mentioned Pokemon didn’t reply
“I shouldn’t have chosen you to face an opponent as strong as Hawlucha, considering that was your first battle, Farf…”
The Wild Duck Pokemon didn’t let him finish, throwing his leek at him, Ash received the impact on his head and fell back, Goh kneeled at his side and put a hand on his forehead
“I’m fine…” Ash commented, blushing
The Pokemon observing the scene snickered for a moment, and when Ash looked at them, they returned to their stoic expressions
“Farf! Farfetch’d!” The Pokemon shouted, and Ash understood clearly
“You wanted to fight, I know, but…”
“Farf! Farf!” the fighting type insisted
Ash nodded solemnly
“I understand, I’ll never doubt of your capabilities again, Farfetch’d”
The Pokemon walked towards his trainer, picked up his leek and patted his back, perhaps a little too strong, like indicating they were in good terms, but the score wasn’t totally settled yet.
Now directing his attention to the baby Pokemon, Ash commented
“I know you’re scared for what happened to you in the battle, Riolu, but that doesn’t mean you should be scared of me”
“Rio! Rio, Riolu!”
“You didn’t let me down! You gave it all, and I’m proud of you for that!”
“Ri, Rio, Rio Riolu!” Riolu shouted, at the verge of crying
“And now I know you are scared if someone hugs you all too sudden”
Ash walked towards his Pokemon and kneeled down, putting his arms on his back, Riolu hesitated.
“You can hug me if you need it” the boy offered “And I’m going to stay like this, so you don’t have to remember anything bad”
Little by little, Riolu approached his trainer, only to fall on his legs and put a palm on his chest
“Rio…” he muttered
“Don’t be sorry, like I said, I’m proud of you…”
Riolu took a step back and bowed in appreciation, only to hug Ash again, the trainer laughed and looked up, right to his human friend’s face.
“Hey, Goh”
“Yes?”
“Thank you, if it wasn’t for you, it would have taken me forever to find the words to apologize to my friends”
Goh smiled, but that simply wasn’t enough for the trainer, who took him by his arm and yanked towards him once again, Riolu jumped out of the way in the last second and all Goh could do was stare at his crush’s smiling face and feel his arms wrapped around his waist.
“Thank you” the Pallet Town trainer repeated
“You-you al-already said th-that” Goh stuttered
“Nothing wrong with saying it again, just to be clear, and now that I fixed things between the guys and me, it’s time for you”
“For me?”
“To say what you wanted to say!” Ash replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world
“I… is nothing important, really”
“It seemed like something really important”
“It’s not” Goh insisted
“Can I say something to you then?”
“I swear if you tell me thank you again…”
Ash laughed wholeheartedly, but didn’t respond, instead, he looked at the friendly creatures surrounding him and commented
“Guys… There’s something important I want to tell Goh”
Every Pokemon nodded, like knowing exactly what he was talking about
“I need some privacy, please” Ash clarified
No one moved and the trainer frowned
“This is payback for me not apologizing sooner, right?”
The faces Riolu and Farfetch’d made pretty much confirmed the boy’s theory
“Fine, suit yourselves” Ash said, immediately kissing Goh on the cheek
“What was that?” Goh shouted
Raboot and Sobble made an effort to not laugh at their trainer’s reaction
“Just another way of saying ‘thank you’” Ash confirmed “Since you don’t want to hear it from me again”
“I…”
“Are you going to tell me that important thing you wanted to say?”
Goh bit his own tongue, refusing to speak, so Ash kissed his temple
“What about now?”
Silence. Goh was enjoying the moment too much to ruin it with a confession. Ash frowned at his reaction and let him go, getting up.
“Maybe some other time, then…” he said, ruffling Goh’s hair one last time before walking away
“Wait, Ash!”
“Yeah?” he said, turning to face him, hope glistening in his eyes
“I… I’m gonna help you tomorrow if you need it”
The trainer smiled
“Th…”
Goh got up quickly and raised a finger in front of the trainer
“Don’t even mention it, now we should go to sleep…”
The Pallet Town native nodded, and followed by Riolu, Pikachu and Farfetch’d, made his way back to the Institute.
“I can’t wait…” Ash muttered once they made their way back to their shared room
“For the day of your rematch with Bea?” Goh hypothesized from above
“Of course!” the trainer confirmed from below
Goh wished his crush good night and got ready to finally sleep. However, his whole body tensed as soon as Ash added:
“I also can’t wait for the day when you say that important thing you have to tell me”
“Soon” the boy from Vermillion City promised into the night “Soon, I swear…”