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Ash whistled as he strolled along the seasides of Paldea. It was a little chilly that day, so he made sure to cover up by choosing a long-sleeved shirt under his jacket. Pikachu was hiked up on his shoulder, relaxed without a worry.
In Paldea, he wasn't the Monarch, he was just himself. Sure, people recognized him every now and then, but it wasn't the same as Kanto and Alola. He loved it, but Paldea was like a breath of fresh air.
“Pika?” Pikachu took his attention, noticing that they'd gone to the outskirts of the forest. Ash took it as a challenge. “Wanna go in there, buddy?”
“Pika-pi!”
He smiled at his partner’s enthusiasm. “Then go and brace yourself!” Ash ran into the woods, taking in the sight of the pokemon that lived in the deep trees. Pikachu held tight, feeling the breeze run through its body.
“Isn't this great, Pikachu?!” He said, words blooming in excitement. It didn't matter how many regions he's been to, it's always a new experience. With the world being so big, it was never boring.
They wandered for what felt like forever, in awe at the beauty of nature and pokemon. Times like this, Ash was glad to have his Rotom Phone in hand.
As they came closer to the end of the forest, they saw a river near the edge. “Look, there's a river! Let's take a swim, buddy!”
“Pikachu!”
Ash ran towards the river, smiling and laughing brightly with his partner on his back. He jumped in without a care, free in the fresh air and the cold water. Pikachu had jumped off too, landing in the river with an impressive spin in the air.
Before either of them could come up, however, Ash was hit by what seemed like a small but harsh stream of water. He choked a bit before rising up to the surface and coughing, wondering if he'd been hit by a pokemon. As he looked around, Pikachu was by his side in no time, ready to attack.
“What was that? I don't see anything here that could’ve done that.” There were only a few pokemon in the river. It couldn't have been a hydro pump, since it lasted too short but definitely had more impact.
“Pika-pi!” Pikachu’s cries took Ash by surprise after he'd gone to sit on shore. Their gaze turned to a pokemon in the water that was previously invisible, now revealing itself.
“Woah, it's a wild Inteleon!” Ash's eyes lit up in surprise. He's never seen a wild Inteleon before! The Inteleon aimed its finger directly at him, ready to shoot at the intruder.
“Wait, wait! I'm not gonna hurt you!”
The Inteleon's eyes widened upon falling on Pikachu and its hand faltered. “In…teleon?”
“Pika!” Before Ash knew it, Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and to Inteleon, landing in its arms as Inteleon held it close. “Uh… what's going on?”
They started talking happily and Ash tried to go through his brain to see when Pikachu had ever befriended a wild Inteleon. His train of thoughts, however, were interrupted by a loud voice.
“Inteleon! Inteleon, come back! I mean the river next to the camp, not all the way out here!”
Ash's breath hitched, head turning so fast that he must've gotten whiplash. His eyes meet with the stranger's. Well, not quite a stranger.
“Goh..!”
“Ash..?”
——
“Ash… what are you doing here?” Goh asked curiously, walking over to help Ash up from the water as Inteleon got out, still holding Pikachu. “Just taking a stroll!” He said enthusiastically, happy to see the face of an old friend.
It's been at least 3 years since they've met up in person. When they parted, they'd planned to meet up and see each other at least three times a month, then it became two times a month, then one, then three times a year, then twice a year, then once a year, and then…
That didn't mean that they ceased communication entirely, talking and catching up on call whenever they had time, which wasn't very often. Then eventually began only texting, but Ash's phone was almost always on silent because he had too many notifications.
“No, I mean, what are you doing in Paldea?” Goh asked, expression still unsure. It was like he didn't know if it was real, if the Ash in front of him might just be a figment of his imagination.
“I came to battle the Gym Leaders here! Pikachu and I have been defeating them left, right, and center like baam! Isn't that right, buddy?!”
“Pika!”
Goh’s gaze softened, heart melting at the realization that this was him. It was really Ash. His Ash.
“Hey, what about you? How's your journey going? Meet anyone cool yet? And what's with the coat?” His eyes glowed in determination and curiosity, holding the stars that came from the darkening sky.
“My journey’s going great, I caught tons of pokemon and met a bunch of new people! None of them are like you, though…” The last part came in a whisper, Ash unable to catch it before Goh was already changing the subject. “Ah, my coat. I became a professor who does research on the emotions and feelings of pokemon.”
“That's so awesome, Goh! I'm so proud of you!”
A faint blush spread over his cheeks, and it was suddenly like he was 10 years old again. Ash smiled widely. Ash smiled at him. After 3 years, he finally got to see Ash's smile in person once more. Goh returned the expression. “Yeah, I'm proud of you, too.”
——
They made it over to Goh's camp, Inteleon and Pikachu trailing just behind them. There were two tents, one with two sleeping bags and the other full of lab equipment.
Just in the middle, Cinderace was lighting up a fire with its feet as Rillaboom collected logs to fuel it. Raichu was there, too, collecting berries and throwing them into a stew that it seemed to be cooking.
“This is your campsite? That's amazing! How do you manage to fit all of this?” Ash asked in awe as he entered the second tent. There was a bunch of machinery that were definitely too big to be portable.
“I engineered a device to size it down without affecting the contents. Since I travel around the world so much, I don't really have a fixed lab like Professor Cerise or Gary.”
“Gary became a professor?”
“Yup! After Professor Oak retired, Gary became his successor. He’s the one who helped me get qualified to become a professor, actually. Chloe, too.”
Ash smiled, happy that Goh was still friends with Chloe and Gary. But he couldn't push down the sour feeling of knowing that Gary had known about it before him, his very first friend. Still, he chose to be happy.
Coming out of the tent, Ash's eyes widened, coming face to face with Rillaboom who was just at the entrance and seemed to have been calling Goh. “Grookey evolved into Rillaboom?!”
Goh sighed with a fond shake of his head. “So many questions. If you had read my text messages, you would've known that at least 8 months ago.”
“About that… my first Rotom Phone kinda overheated from the amount of notifications I was getting last year…”
Goh laughed behind his hand, walking over to pat Ash's shoulder and then passing him to the table that was set up. “That's just so you. Come on and eat before it gets cold, it's the Raichu special tonight!”
Ash ran over to the table without hesitation, catching Rillaboom off guard with his speed. He sat down across from Goh, Pikachu already on the table as he ate just across from Inteleon, engaged in a calm conversation. Raichu kindly served them food before serving itself and the others.
“Hm, what's with the extra bowl?” He wondered, noticing that, right next to Goh and Cinderace, was an extra bowl with food. Before he knew it, Lucario was coming out of its pokeball and rushing over to wrap its arms around Cinderace.
“Ah, those two, how could I forget? Lucario misses Cinderace everyday.”
“Really? That's sweet! Cinderace is the same, too.”
They shared a whold-hearted laugh together, watching their pokemon catch up over food. From what it looks like, Lucario was telling Cinderace all about its battles with Ash as the other watches intently in awe, occasionally feeding it and itself.
“You know, I'm happy I got to see you again, Ash. I was wondering if I was just gonna be another one of your companions.” Goh broke the silence between them, smiling slightly as he played with his food.
“Hm? What do you mean?” Ash asked, shoving a spoonful into his mouth.
“Well… I was worried that you'd forgotten me while I remembered everything about you. I know I'm not special to you, but you're special to me.”
Ash's shoulder dropped, Goh's voice shaking as he spoke despite his calm expression. “Goh, of course you're special to me! You're not just my friend, you're… you're more than that. More than my friend.”
Goh was caught off guard, looking up at him with shocked eyes. Just what was he saying? The pokemon seemed to have quieted down, listening to their conversation.
“I was hoping to see you again, but I knew you were doing great on your own. You've probably made a lot of friends already…”
“Ash…”
“That's exactly what I wanted for you! To go out there and meet tons of new people and pokemon! And now that you're doing exactly that, you don't have to meet me–”
He was interrupted by a slam, Goh standing up with his fists on the table. Cinderace immediately placed a hand on his forearm to try and calm him down. “...Cinder?”
“Can't I want to meet you because you're my friend?! Does there have to be a reason?! Can't I see you not because you're convenient to me but because– because I missed you?!”
“Goh, I–”
Goh squeaked, calming down as fast as he exploded. “I'm sorry, Ash, I told myself I'd stop being hot headed… can we talk by the river?”
“Of course.”
——
At the river, Goh sat a bit away from Ash, just close enough to still feel each other's presence. The sun has since gone down, the moon shining down on them. It was beautiful, the same moon Goh would look out to and wonder if Ash was looking at the same moon as him.
There was a bit of silence before Goh spoke up. “I missed you a lot, Ash. Wherever I went, I always wondered how it would be if you were with me. I'm happy that we managed to grow separately, but… I need you, Ash. And I don't think I'll ever stop needing you.”
Ash turned his head to watch him, silent as ever.
“You can't say that I didn't need to see you again just because I'm doing fine on my own. I-I wanted to see you because you meant everything to me. You still do. I watch every single one of your matches, I even watch you in the bleachers if I'm in the region. Anything to see you again.”
“Goh, you really did that?”
Goh nodded, a small smile once again adorning his face as he watched the flow of the water. “Whenever you took your opponents down, I always made sure to cheer the loudest, even if you couldn't hear me.”
“Thank you for supporting me even after all these years, Goh. I'll always support you, too.” Ash giggled, making him look up. He saw his happiness, his genuine expression. Goh looked at him like he held the stars in his eyes.
“To be honest, I've missed you a lot, too. Way too much. Not like how I miss Misty, Brock, and the others, but… differently. You've helped shape my new journey, my new life. Therefore, you can't say that you don't mean anything to me.”
He nudged his shoulder with his elbow, Goh swatting him away light-heartedly before both of them laughed. Ash looked back at his adventures with Goh back when they were kids, the fond memories flooding back to him. Their memories together.
“Meeting you again… felt like destiny. Hearing all this news from you, I'm so happy to see that you've come this far. The next time we meet, let's become the very best, alright?!”
Goh is still for a bit, admiring him even though the thoughts of parting once again still lingered. Still he, nods in determination. To become good, and then better, and then the best. For Ash.
“So, where are you headed to after exploring Paldea?” Ash asked, looking back up at the sky.
“Sinnoh. I'm gonna research Hisui and its pokemon.”
“Sinnoh, huh? What a coincidence, that's the place I'm going to next! I wanted to learn about Hisui too. I heard about it from Cynthia.” Ash said excitedly, heart beating in his chest as he was already anticipating what was coming next. Just one look at each other, and they already knew.
Goh stood up, grunting slightly as his legs stretched from being sat down for so long. He extended a hand out for the other to grab.
“Then let's explore Sinnoh together, Ash.”
Ash takes his hand gratefully.
“I'd be more than happy to, Goh.”
He pulled him up, slightly stumbling at his newfound weight. They giggled, Goh turning red— since when was Ash taller than him?
Just a bit away from them, a dark circle of clouds emerged from the sky, making them gasp. It was too far away for them to do anything, but the winds were strong enough to breeze by.
“Is that–”
“Lugia.”
Before they knew it, Lugia was flying towards them, almost… happy? It flapped its wings, creating large gusts of wind, though not strong enough to send them flying. Lugia roared, loud enough to scare the birds and butterflies from their trees, before leaving as fast as it came.
As they watched Lugia fly into the deep clouds of the sky, Goh and Ash couldn't help but smile.
“You heard it too, didn't you?” Ash asked, turning to Goh whose sparkling eyes were still trained on the clouds. “Yeah, I did. Lugia said “welcome home.””
“Lugia's right. I am home.”
Goh gasped, turning to Ash who just gave him the same dumb smile as always. The same smile Goh fell for. “It’s getting late, we should head back before they get worried.”
Ash stood in place, Goh walking ahead of him. It was like his feet were stuck to the ground, his body unable to move. Everything was overwhelming. It's been 8 years, and suddenly, everything just felt… right. He was where he was supposed to be.
“Hm? You're not coming, Ash? Well then, race you there!” Before he knew it, Goh was already fast on his feet, getting Ash to get moving to catch up.
“Hey, wait for me!”
——
Later that night, Cinderace offered Ash its sleeping bag with a suggestive eye raise, and went over to sleep with Lucario and Inteleon in the other tent. Rillaboom had gone back into its pokeball, while Raichu and Pikachu were fast asleep next to Ash and Goh.
Only Ash was awake, unable to sleep as he stared at Goh's calm face from the other sleeping bag next to him. He huffed out a small smile as he saw him twitch in his sleep, Raichu snuggling even closer to his chest.
He almost went flying when Goh spoke, eyes still closed. “Go to sleep, Ash, we've got a long day ahead of us.”
“Ah, you're right.”
And this time, their journey was here to last. 8 years later, their journey together continues.