Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Red Day. A holiday celebrating love in all its forms. Most people associate it with couples and romance, but it’s also a day to celebrate friends or your bonds with your Pokemon.

If there’s a special person in your life — whether they’re a friend, crush, or significant other— you’re encouraged to give them a red token of your appreciation. Common tokens include red boxes of chocolates or red flowers. You can buy a token or make one yourself. It can even be a pokeball. As long as it features something red or pink, it can be anything.

Red Day’s sister holiday, White Day, takes place a month later. If you received a token on Red Day, you’re encouraged to respond with a white token if the feelings are reciprocated, or as a friendly gesture of gratitude. White tokens follow the same format as red tokens, though some people might opt for a simple, white “thank you” card.

Goh’s never really been one to care about Red Day. Once, when they were much littler, Chloe felt obligated to give Goh a red box of chocolates, and she cried a month later when Goh forgot to return the favor on White Day.

…Other than that, Red Day has been largely uneventful for Goh. He‘s never had a romantic partner, much less even friends to celebrate it with.

But this year would be different. This year, he made a token for Ash.

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The dominos of events leading up to Ash’s token began with a simple research journal.

Goh decided to catalog his experience as a research fellow during his time with the Cerise Institute. Each entry summarized the mission from that day, collecting photos, reports, and any other relevant notes.

The junior researcher discovered he really enjoyed writing in the journal. It was fun. The process almost made him feel like he was a real Pokemon professor. 

He proudly showed his first few pages to Professor Cerise, who genuinely enjoyed them and encouraged his protégé to keep up the great work.

From there, it started to morph into a personal journal, as well— Somewhere along the way, Goh noticed he was starting to write more about his feelings that day than the actual research and data itself.

He also wrote a lot about Ash.

Ash was his fellow research fellow, roommate, and good friend, after all— they spent every assignment, day and night, together. It made sense that Goh would end up mentioning him in his journal, time after time. 

At some point — (Goh isn’t sure when this urge began, or why) — he needed privacy to work on the journal. He started feeling a little secretive of it, hiding it away whenever anyone approached him— even the Professor. He kept it hidden deep in his bag, where Ash couldn’t accidentally find it. He only worked on it in their room while Ash was sleeping, showering, or off doing special training with his Pokémon.

The only friend Goh trusted enough to see the journal was his Cinderace. His companion had been watching him write since it was just a little Scorbunny.

Every once in a while, he’d take Cinderace and his journal to Cerise Park for a serene setting to write. One time, while Cinderace was busy napping in the sun, Goh was so engrossed in an entry about Ash that he didn’t notice Ash himself sneak up on him and peer playfully over his shoulder. “What’cha writing ’bout?”

Goh’s heart nearly leaps out of his throat as he clutches the journal to his chest, posessively. “Just research notes,” he lies, his pitch high and nervous.

Cinderace wakes up with one eye open as Ash says, “Ooh. I wanna see!”

After regaining his composure, Goh blows him off with a laugh as he snaps the notebook shut. “You were just there with me!”

“Ohh yeah!” Ash smiles, but he‘s still looking curiously at the journal. He can see lots of little sticky notes and paper clips poking out of the top. Goh starts to sweat a little as his friend asks, “How long have you been taking notes—?

“Cin, cin!” Both boys look up to see Cinderace suddenly breakdancing just ahead of them, its feet giving off licks of flames as they kick nimbly in the air. As it continues to dance, it creates a wild cyclone of fire as it spins around on its head.

“Whoa, check out Cinderace! It’s dancing!! So cool…!!!” Ash is in awe, fully distracted by the fire dance happening in front of them. Cinderace strikes a fun pose as it throws a cheeky wink at its trainer. Goh smiles gratefully back at his Pokémon as he carefully tucks the journal back into his bag, and fortunately, Ash doesn’t press him about it.

Something about this journal just feels too intimate to share, even with his closest friend. 

From that day on, he continued to journal, carefully, all the way leading up to his final day as a research fellow with Ash. In the end, he collected over 150 entries of research, photos, ticket stubs, regional postcards, doodles, pressed flowers, newspaper clippings, and precious memories.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

In the year since he parted ways with Ash, Goh experienced tons of awesome encounters as he grew into a stronger, more confident trainer for his Pokémon. He met a lot of new trainers on the roads between cities, and he even traveled briefly with Gary and Dawn. As Goh developed all these new friendships, he began to realize just how different they felt compared to his bond with Ash.

Goh started noticing his true feelings for Ash not long after they separated. Since Ash was the first real friend he ever made, aside from Chloe, who was like a sister to him— he had nothing to compare his feelings to. Goh thought the way he felt about Ash was the way all close friends felt about each other.

He may be a boy genius when it comes to Pokemon, but in matters of romance — or friendship, for that matter— he was painfully inexperienced.

After traveling on and off with others, making new friends and developing truly platonic bonds, things started shifting into focus for Goh as he began to realize just how special Ash was to him. But most of all, he missed Ash terribly. No other friend made him feel quite the way Ash did.

During one of his visits home to Vermilion, Goh revisits the journal of his memories with Ash, reading each page in a new light. It makes sense now why Goh felt so protective of this notebook, fit to bursting with his adoration for Ash and their adventures together. The things he wrote in it were so unabashedly earnest. His second entry had an entire paragraph about how amazing this boy Ash and his Pikachu were— How watching him protect those Pokémon left Goh breathless in awe… In hindsight, it was incredibly obvious how he really felt, especially in writing, and, subconsciously, he knew he needed to keep it a secret from others: especially Ash.

He starts to feel melancholy and bittersweet looking back through all the memories. Did Ash know Goh liked him? Was there even a Snom’s chance in hell that Ash felt the same way? In all their time together, they’d never once spoken about personal crushes, kisses, attraction, orientation, or anything of the sort— Goh got the sense Ash had 0 interest in any matters of romance.

Still, there was an unfamiliar spark of hope burning somewhere deep in his chest.

Ash and Goh had a very close, precious bond— that much was undeniable. But was it just platonic, or something more?

After some embarrassing net searches — (such as: ‘how to tell if your crush likes you back’ and: “does my best friend like me??”) — Goh reflects on his time with Ash, trying to gather the evidence in his head. 

1. Does your crush often touch you?

• Physically— Ash is a tactile friend. Whether he was leaning on Goh, slinging an arm around his neck, grasping his shoulders, play wrestling, nudging, or giving him a hearty slap on the back— Ash touched Goh a lot.
• When Goh got that Gulpin stuck on his head, Ash could have easily led him home by his sleeve, or his arm, but his friend happily held his hand, instead.

2. Observe your crush around their other friends. Do they treat you differently?

• At first, Goh thought Ash was just touchy with all his friends until he noticed Ash was only hugging him— not Chloe, not Dawn, not Hodge, or any of his old friends like Clemont or Iris or Serena or Brock or anyone from the Alola gang.
• He and Ash had their competitive moments, sure, but Ash never treated him like an actual rival— not like Kiawe, Paul, or Gary.

3. Does your crush like to share their favorite things with you?

• Goh remembers how excited Ash was to introduce him to his favorite thing— Pokemon battling— going so far as packing Goh’s bag for him and dragging the new trainer all the way to Hoenn. He was always really happy when Goh showed up to watch his battles.
• Ash often shared his second favorite thing in the world— food— with Goh, even going so far as hand-feeding him sweet treats.
• When Goh wasted all his pokeballs trying to catch Dewgong, Ash offered him the only pokeball he had on him.
• He couldn’t wait to introduce Goh to Alola and his family there. And he was really excited for Goh to meet all his Pokémon in Pallet.

4. Is your crush attentive to your needs?

• His friend often noticed the little things, like when Goh is too anxious to eat or fall asleep.
• Ash always knew when Goh needed a friendly hand, a genuine congrats, or comforting words of encouragement. He was always there for Goh, through all his insecurities, growing pains and rookie mistakes… Always there to cheer Goh on, or pick him up when he fell down.
• Goh lost count of the number of times Ash’s quick reflexes saved his hide.
• And Ash really went out of his way to support Goh through the trials of Project Mew, braving one deadly venture after another through no gain of his own.

5. Does your crush like to talk about the future with you?

• Ash changed Goh’s catchphrase to include him as a part of Goh’s future, and Goh a part of his. Before they said goodbye, they both promised to meet again.

But even aside from all of that… Something about the way Ash’s amber gaze lingered on him sometimes, just smiling— it made Goh feel like, maybe… maybe… he had a chance.

That spark of hope catches, kicking up a flame inside of him.

Looking back down at the red cover on his journal, it inspires an idea, and Goh finds himself fixated on a new creative venture.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

After a long visit home, and countless hours spent holed up in his room, Goh glues the last photo into his scrapbook token for Ash.

Cinderace is smiling on the bed behind him, cradling Grookey as it watches Goh work.

“All finished!“ Goh breathes, leaning back in his chair and holding the finished album out in front of him.

It’s a little bigger than his journal, and neater, with a soft, red fabric cover. There’s a window for a photo in the center of Ash, Goh, and their Pokémon. He reprinted his favorite photos and captioned them using excerpts from his journal. (There’s no way he could ever show the original journal in its entirety to Ash—this is embarrassing enough).

While his journal had lots of research notes, this scrapbook was purely focused on his fun times with Ash and all their friends. He decorated each page with red, blue, and yellow scrapbook paper. Sometimes he added Pikachu or Scorbunny stickers, personal doodles, or funny scribbles in marker over the photos.

Cinderace could tell— its trainer had a lot of fun putting this book together, reliving his memories and embellishing them. It hops off the bed and goes to hug him. “Ace!”

Goh giggles as he returns the hug, nuzzling Cinderace's soft cheek fur. Then he glances at his calendar. “See? I finished it just in time, too!”

There’s a big red heart circling the last day of the month— Red Day.

The excited boy kicks away from his desk and spins around in his chair. 

Ash is coming home to Kanto this weekend, and he plans to swing by Vermilion first to visit Goh. Dawn’s coming to town, too, eager for girl time with Chloe.

Goh has the whole apartment to himself, since his parents are staying at the vacation home in Johto, and his grandma is meeting her friends for a beach weekend at the Seafoam Islands. So Goh’s really glad his friends are coming to visit.

Maybe Red Day will actually be fun this year. And maybe he’ll even work up the courage to confess his feelings for—

“You have a call from Ash! You have a call from Ash!”

Goh quickly fusses with his hair before he rushes forward to answer his Rotom phone. “Ash, Pikachu!”

Ash’s video beams brightly back at him. “Gohhh! How’ve you been?”

“Chuu!”

“I’m doing well!” Goh rests his head in his hands, his elbows on his desk. “I miss you two… I’m excited to see you soon!

“Us too!” Ash grins. “We can’t wait to see Vermilion again, right buddy?”

“Pikachu!”

Goh smiles warmly. “There’s gonna be lots happening in the city while you’re here, since Red Day is coming up…” Goh says carefully, gauging Ash’s reaction. “They always go all-out downtown, Y’know? Red Day in the Red City and all.”

His friend just blinks for a moment and says, “Ohhhh! I didn’t even realize that was coming up.”

Goh smiles kinda awkwardly back at him. So much for his ‘maybe-Ash-was-planning-something-special-for-me-too’ fantasy.

“What all's happening downtown?”

“There’s a vendor market, an ice skating rink, a Red Pokémon contest— lots of stuff...” 

“Wow, Sounds awesome!! Hey, so, speaking of all that, I wanna ask you something.”

Goh’s heart skips a little. “Yeah?” he answers, a little dreamily.

“Do you mind if Nemona tags along?”

Nemona herself pops into frame with a peace sign and a toothy smile. “Holá, Goh!”

Goh is slightly startled to discover his call with Ash had another listener this whole time, and he sits up and clears his throat. “Oh, not at all! Hi, Nemona!”

“Yay! Ash has been telling me all about Vermilion. I’m dying to meet Visquez and battle with her!!” There’s practically stars shining in her eyes.

Ash laughs and drums his hands on his legs. “Ohhh, man! I can’t wait to see that!”

Goh’s heartstrings twinge a little with jealousy.

Through occasional updates, Goh was aware Ash and Nemona have been traveling together in Paldea for a few months now. They hit it off right away when Nemona challenged him to a battle in the middle of town square and almost won. Then she offered to be his escort through Paldea in exchange for daily battles and training with the world champion.

She’s probably the only person in this world that can match Ash’s neverending enthusiasm for battling. They both have huge hearts— and bigger appetites. Even their companion Pokemon go together— Pikachu crackles happily, cheek to cheek with its fellow electric mouse friend, Pawmi.

Goh bitterly wonders if they’re kind of perfect for each other.

“Sounds great! I’ll see you both soon!” Goh says, waving, eager to end the call.

“Oh,” Ash says, “Yeah, see ya, Goh!!” Nemona waves too, and the line drops.

Goh puffs out a weary sigh as he holds his head in his hands. Then, not even a minute later, Goh’s phone is ringing again.

You have a call from Nemona! You have a call from Nemona! You have a call from Nemona!

Goh is confused as he answers the phone. “Um, Hi, Nemona?” 

Nemona smiles and whispers, “¡Holá de nueGoh~!”

The Vermilion City boy smiles awkwardly and tilts his head a little— He doesn’t know any Paldean.

“It’s just me.“ It appears Nemona ran a short distance from their camp, without Ash. “I had a quick question for you.”

“Oh, uh, Sure— what is it?”

“What sort of chocolates does Ash like?”

Goh’s stomach flips a little. He knows exactly why she’s asking, but for some reason, he plays the fool. “Huh? Why do you ask?”

“For Red Day, silly! Dark? Milk? White? Gimme something to work with.”

Goh tries to mask his jealousy with a smile. “Ahh, Ash isn’t picky. He’ll eat anything.”

“Yeah, I’ve gathered that much,” Nemona laughs, “But does he have a favorite~?“

Goh thinks for a second. In a fleeting moment of bitter, ugly, jealousy, he considers lying to her. He thinks better of it and decides to give her the truth. “…Milk chocolate. The richer and creamier the better. He likes it with lots of different fillings too, y’know, Caramel, Hazelnut, Fruit, all that stuff.”

Nemona seems delighted with this answer and skips on her feet. “Perfect, thanks, Goh! And hey, thanks again for letting me come along! See you!” She waves sweetly at him as Goh says goodbye and ends the call.

And just like that, all of Goh's anticipation for Red Day suddenly goes up in smoke. 

💔🤍❤️🤍❤️

Goh is waiting for his friends to arrive when he hears voices murmuring outside the door to his apartment. When the voices persist for a bit, he peeks through the small fish eye lens in the door to see who it is. 

It’s Ash and Nemona, facing one another and holding both of each other’s hands. Ash has Pikachu on his shoulder, and he’s murmuring something pretty close to Nemona’s ear. She smiles in a way Goh can only describe as lovingly back at him as a small Pawmi peeks out of her backpack. Part of Goh knows it’s wrong, but he finds himself watching for a moment, and he freezes up as Nemona leans down and kisses Ash’s left cheek. Ash is blushing, but he doesn’t look surprised at all— he's just watching her.

Goh realizes he shouldn’t be watching this and swings open the door, startling both of them, and they drop their hands. 

“Goh!!” They both shout in unison and smile at him, looking a little flustered. Nemona smiles awkwardly and nudges Ash with her elbow, and Ash shoves back at her conspicuously.

“Hi guys! Come in!” Goh smiles, pretending he didn’t see anything. Inside, Ash looks like he hesitates on how to greet Goh, settling for a hearty half hug that almost knocks Goh off balance. Goh laughs and savors the hug anyway. He really missed his best friend.

Nemona holds out a rigid hand to shake Goh’s, and even her awkwardness is endearing. “Nice to finally meet you, Goh! Ash has told me so much about you.”

Goh isn’t sure if he should be happy Ash talked about him, or jealous Ash has been so open with her. He rarely ever mentioned his previous journeys and companions to Goh unless something else brought it up.

“Good things, I hope!” his voice cracks as he shakes her hand back.

“Oh yes, only good things, very good things,” Nemona says sagely, and there's something odd about the way she says it; Goh gets the sense that she’s just teasing him. ”Thanks for taking good care of him! He’s a lot to handle, isn’t he?” She smiles as Ash shares another look with her, and Goh picks up on a distinctly flirty tone in her voice. Ash looks flustered and clears his throat. Goh doesn’t know how to respond, so he just laughs nervously.

Dawn and Chloe arrive at the perfect time, and Goh stifles a sigh of relief. 

“Hi guys!” Chloe calls out sweetly.

“Chloe!” Goh hugs his old friend as Dawn comes skipping past him, whooping. “Hey, Dawn!”

“Hellooo party people!” Dawn shouts, skipping over to Ash and high fiving him.

He laughs back at her. “Good to see you!”

She turns around and makes Goh give her a high five too, but it lands kind of weakly. “No, no, no, that was terrible. Try again.” He high fives her again, and Dawn seems satisfied with their re-do. Then she turns to Nemona, whom she has never spoken to before, with both hands raised above her head. “Up top!”

Nemona just grins and meets her enthusiasm with two high fives so crisp, Goh’s hands sting just hearing it. “That’s what I’m talking about!! Goh, take notes,” Dawn jokes, and Goh forces a laugh.

They all head further into the apartment and get comfortable and catch up. Chloe, Dawn, and Nemona pile in on the couch while Goh and Ash sit on the floor.

The girls are really hitting it off with Nemona, because of course everyone loves Nemona. She’s sweet and kind with Chloe, loud and energetic with Dawn. Goh watches her interacting with them, matching their energies and making them laugh like it’s second nature to her. He wonders bitterly, again, how someone can fall in tune with all his friends so easily.

The anxious boy’s mind begins to cloud with self deprecating thoughts; He's not like Nemona. He’s not a strong battler like she is. He’s not charismatic. Or tall. When he’s awkward— it’s just awkward. He doesn't make friends easily. He rarely makes a good first impression, and although he's come a long way, he still struggles to understand other people sometimes, especially strangers.

Goh is nothing like Nemona.

And if Ash likes her, and Goh’s nothing like her, that means—

He’s jolted from his negative spiral when Ash nudges his arm, looking at him expectantly. Beside them, the girls all burst out laughing at something Nemona just said.

“Ah, sorry, Ash—! Did you say something?” Goh murmurs, fidgeting with a finger on his cheek nervously. “I was zoning out.”

Ash smiles and shrugs. “It’s OK, it wasn’t important.”

Chapter Text

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It's long after midnight, and Goh is having trouble sleeping. He let Dawn and Chloe use his bed— it’s big enough to comfortably fit both of them. Nemona's snoring away next to the girls in her sleeping bag with Pawmi, while his Cinderace and Grookey are sleeping peacefully on his grandma's bed. Ash is mumbling nonsense in his sleep as he spoons Pikachu on the living room couch.

Feeling too anxious to sleep, Goh rolls out of his sleeping bag as quietly as he can so he doesn't disturb Ash. He carefully opens the door to his bedroom, just to grab a red pen and notebook from his desk, when he notices Chloe and Dawn fell asleep cuddling each other.

Chloe's tucked perfectly under her friend's chin, holding Eevee, and Dawn's arms are hugged around her head, with Piplup asleep on their pillow.

Their friend has to stifle a noise of surprise as he tiptoes back out of his room and closes the door slowly.

Goh slides open the door to the balcony and shivers a little. It’s cold enough to see his breath. He slides it closed behind him, watching to make sure he doesn’t wake Ash.

The lonely Vermilion boy sits and watches the stars for a few minutes before he pulls out his journal and starts scribbling.

After all his journaling about Ash and their travels, Goh learned it was a stress relieving exercise for him. Whenever he was feeling especially anxious, writing out all his confusing / scary / ugly thoughts helped clear them out of his head. Sometimes just seeing his problems written down helped him realize how silly they were to worry about.

Sometimes, when he’s trying to work through something especially challenging, he disposes of the notes after he writes them— trashing them, tearing them, even burning them in a fire. Something about the ritual offers him clarity and catharsis.

That’s why he finds himself out on his balcony at 3AM, writing out his feelings line by line and shredding each of them.

I’m nervous about Red Day.

He tears it in half.

I keep having bitter thoughts and I don’t like it

He shreds it.

Ash has something going on with Nemona and he didn’t tell me.

He shreds it.

I can’t tell if I don’t like Nemona or I’m just jealous of her.

“...” He scratches that line out and rewrites: I can’t tell if I don’t like Nemona or I’m just jealous of her I’m definitely just jealous of Nemona because Ash likes her

He pauses on this one and shreds it.

I’m jealous of Nemona because I’m nothing like her and everyone loves her. Ash clearly prefers her over me.

He starts to get a little emotional as he shreds it.

I hate feeling jealous. It makes me feel gross and pathetic. I’m not being a good friend. Nemona is a really nice girl. Ash likes her and I should be happy for them.

He takes a few deep breaths before he shreds this one to pieces. He’s amassing a small pile of shreds in front of him.

Unexpected tears spring up in his eyes as he writes the next line:

I wanted to give Ash the scrapbook for Red Day, but now I can’t. I don’t know if I can ever give it to him. I worked so hard on it. All that work feels so pointless, now.

He’s in the middle of shredding this one when the door behind him slides open, scaring Goh. Thankfully, at the same time, a brisk wind blows the tiny shreds of paper every which way and most of them flutter off the balcony. Ash just blinks down at him sleepily. “Brrr. Goh? What are you doing…?“

Goh turns away from Ash again, trying to swallow back the tension in his throat. He doesn’t trust his voice not to come out sounding emotional, so he just hums noncommittally and nods his head toward the stars.

Ash sits down next to him, watching Goh’s face as it trembles with the effort to stay neutral. “Goh, are you OK?”

“Just cold,” Goh manages, his breath visibly billowing out around him. He’s surprised when Ash wraps an arm around his shoulders and slings it around his neck. Compared to Goh’s skin, he feels like a furnace, and the anxious boy starts burning up at the touch. Ash visibly shivers.

“Aaah! Come on, you’re freezing!” his friend says, standing and offering him a hand. Goh realizes how cold he really is in Ash’s absence and lets Ash pull him to his feet. Once they’re both standing, Ash notices something. “Hold on, you’ve got something stuck in your hair—“

Goh looks down as Ash's fingers comb through his hair. The shivering boy realizes his friend is probably picking out pieces of paper shreds. Thankfully, he’s sure he tore everything so much, there’s no chance Ash could put anything together. After a few more seconds, the grooming gesture is starting to make Goh blush. When Goh looks up, Ash is finally done. “Thanks.”

“It’s cool!” Ash smiles, his eyes glancing down at the notebook in Goh’s hands.

Before Ash can ask any questions, Goh quickly heads inside and tucks back into his sleeping bag, and Ash heads back to the couch. After a few moments of quiet, Ash whispers into the dark. “Are you excited for Red Day?”

Just a few days ago, the answer to that question was yes. “…Should I be?” Goh says, a little despondently.

“I dunno. Maybe you’ll get a token.”

Goh wants to say: What’s the point if it isn’t from you? But he settles for, “Mmm, sure. Maybe.”

There’s another long stretch of silence before Ash whispers again. “Did you make a token for anyone? I did.”

Goh doesn’t want to answer that, so he pretends he fell asleep.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

It’s the day before Red Day, and Goh wakes up to the pleasant smell of eggs cooking in the kitchen. He rises and stretches into the sunshine spilling in through the balcony doors.

He’s feeling much better than he did in those twilight hours. Writing out all his thoughts helped sort some of them in his head, and he managed to get a few more hours of sleep.

He wants to have a nice weekend with his friends. He wants to get along with Nemona.

But most of all, he just wants Ash to be happy.

He’s still pretty sad about the scrapbook, but it’s hidden away in his closet, so at least it’s out of sight, out of mind.

Nemona’s flitting around Goh’s kitchen, dancing and humming to herself. Chloe and Dawn emerge sleepily from Goh’s room. Both of them are rocking a messy head of tangles and curls. Ash rises from his sleep like the smell of breakfast just brought him back from the dead. They all meander into the kitchen to see what’s cooking, except Ash, who comes skipping into the kitchen and hopping all around, excited for food.

Nemona grins at everyone before she turns to the host. “Goh, I hope you don’t mind, I wanted to thank you for having me. This is a Paldean special.”

“Yuuuum!” Dawn squeals, excited to dig in.

Nemona used the largest skillet Goh’s family has to cook several fried eggs around mushrooms and sweet potato fries. Everything is seasoned with garlic, truffle oil, and paprika. It smells delicious.

Of course she’s an amazing cook, too.

Ash giggles happily with anticipation as he grabs his plate, and Goh can’t help but think he’s really lucky to have a girl so perfect for him.

“This smells amazing. Thanks, Nemona!” Goh smiles up at her, and Nemona beams back.

Chloe grabs a plate as she says, “Dawn and I are gonna go shopping downtown today.” She glances at the boys, then the cook. “Do you wanna come with us, Nemona?”

“Aw, thanks for the invite! But I actually have plans. I’m going to the Vermilion Gym to battle Visquez!!!” There’s an eager, competitive flame in her eyes.

“Oh, cool!!” Dawn says, excited for her, and Chloe’s expression changes suddenly, though Goh isn’t sure how to read it. Then it changes into a small smile.

“Dawn, you can go watch Nemona’s battle, if you want. I can handle the shopping.”

“Huh? No need to worry! I promised I’d help you today,” Dawn smiles warmly back at Chloe, then, with vigor, she turns back to Nemona. “Show that Visquez what you're made of, Nemona!!“

The battle-lover grins back and flashes her a wink. “You know I will!!”

Only Goh seems to notice Chloe deflate a little in her seat as she pokes her eggs. What’s up with Chloe—?

“Goh, are you gonna come watch?” Ash asks through mouthfuls of eggs and fries. “Nemona vs. Visquez is gonna be legendary.” Nemona squeals a little and bounces on the pads of her feet, grabbing Ash’s shoulders and shaking them fervently.

Truthfully, Goh is infinitely more interested in watching Ash battle than anyone else, and he’s not sure how he’s gonna feel watching Ash cheer for his girlfriend. But he wants to be a good friend to Nemona, so he says, “Of course!”

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

Nemona salutes and shakes Visquez’s hand after just barely scraping through a tight match. Ash was on the edge of his seat until the referee called it, and he leapt out of the spectator box with Pikachu to go celebrate with her. Goh stayed where he was, just clapping.

“You did it, Nemona!! Way to go!!” Ash hollers, beaming with pride.

Nemona squeals as she jumps up and down and all around with Ash, until both of them are laughing and holding each other’s arms. Then Visquez presents Nemona with her first Kanto region gym badge, brandishing a small thunderbolt insignia and pinning it to Nemona’s collar for her. Pawmi jumps on its trainer’s shoulders to congratulate her, snuggling Nemona’s cheeks.

Nemona phones Dawn to share the news with her and Chloe, showing off her new badge.

“I knew you’d win, Nemona!!!” Dawn says, and Chloe chimes in behind her with a soft, “Congratulations!”

So, she’s kind-hearted, pretty, funny, ambitious, charismatic, a good friend, a great cook, and an even greater battler… Goh thinks to himself. Yep, Ash really is a lucky guy. Seeing the way they light each other up makes it clear to Goh— they were made for together.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

Later that evening, during sundown, Nemona, Ash and Goh are walking back to the apartment when they spot Dawn and Chloe across the street, holding lots of shopping bags. As Nemona runs over to them, Goh tugs on Ash’s coat sleeve to get his attention.

“Hey, Ash, um, just a second. I have something for you.“ Goh reaches into his bag.

“Huh? A present??“ Ash asks eagerly, turning to face him.

Next to them, the foot traffic signal turns red. The girls are standing and waiting for them on the other side while Nemona tells them all about her battle, miming wildly with her hands.

“Yeah, see, I… I got it to celebrate your homecoming, and for Red Day tomorrow—“ Goh suddenly realizes how that sounds and panics. “I-I mean, it’s for Red Day, from me, but don’t worry, it’s not a Red Day token, from me—“ Ash’s brow furrows a little and he tilts his head. “Hah, um, Sorry. I’m not explaining this very well. Here.“ Goh stammers as he shoves a simple white envelope at Ash’s chest. The nervous boy quickly takes his hand back as his friend blinks down at the gift. “Go ahead, open it.”

Inside are two tickets to an all-you-can-eat premium buffet bar. Ash’s eyes start sparkling.

“This classy buffet place just opened in Vermilion. You’ll have to wear a nice shirt and long pants, but I think it’ll be worth it when you see the menu.” Goh smiles when he sees Ash’s cheeks light up with that blush he gets when he’s excited about good food.

“Whoa, Goh—!!!” Ash’s voice sounds as happy as Goh’s ever heard it. “Thank you!! This is… WOW!!!” Goh stifles a laugh as he watches Ash leaping and twirling around. Then he startles a little when Ash grabs his shoulders, asking, “What am I gonna wear—??” as he shakes Goh around. “What are you gonna wear?!” Ash doesn't notice Goh's expression fall as he goes back to jumping around. “Man, I’m so stoked for this…!” he starts jogging in place, like he does when he gets really excited.

“Oh, no, Ash,” Goh smiles a little painfully. “The other ticket isn't for me. They’re for you and Nemona!”

Ash goes still and his smile falters for some reason. “Huh…?”

Goh is starting to blush a little under Ash’s gaze. What wasn’t he understanding?  “It’s my treat, to both of you.” He tries to wear his most convincing smile as he rubs his arm nervously.

The foot traffic signal turns green again.

Ash looks like he’s about to say something when Dawn calls out to them from the other side of the street. “What’s the hold up, guys?” Behind her, Chloe appears to be trying to pull her away. “Whaaat?” Dawn gripes, “I’m carrying a lot of bags, here!”

“We’re coming!” Goh calls back, moving past Ash, who just watches him go with a stunned expression on his face.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

Chapter Text

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

Back at the apartment, the girls decided they wanted to stay up and watch movies, so Goh heads into his room to change into some comfier clothes. As he’s hanging up his winter coat, he notices the corner of his scrapbook album peeking out from its hiding spot in his closet and sighs. Cinderace comes in to visit its trainer with Grookey right as Goh’s mood drops. 

“Ace!”

“Hi, Cinderace,” Goh answers lifelessly, and his companion Pokémon tilts its head in concern. Grookey hops onto Goh’s shoulder and frowns.

“Race?“ it peers around Goh at the hiding spot in his closet. It doesn’t understand why Goh seems so sad.

“I can’t give it to him, Cinderace,” Goh admits, biting his lip.

Cinderace’s eyes widen and it balls up its fists, leaning toward its trainer, trying to change his mind. “Cin! Cin-Cinder!”

The heartbroken boy just takes a deep breath and decidedly shuts the door to his closet. “Sorry, Cinderace, it’s not happening. Not this year. Probably not ever…”

“Cinder…!”

Goh walks away from his troubled Pokémon and heads back to the others.

Dawn and Chloe are setting up a movie in the living room while Eevee, Pikachu, Piplup, Grookey, and Pawmi all chase each other around the apartment, playing tag. Goh is quietly emerging from his bedroom when he notices Ash and Nemona standing in the kitchen, huddled close again, whispering to each other. Ash is showing her the tickets.

They seem… unhappy.

Goh’s stomach drops. Does Nemona hate the gift? Is she mad that it’s technically from Goh and not Ash? Are they upset because Goh figured out their secret? Goh watches them anxiously, suddenly feeling like his attempt at a friendly gesture was a huge mistake.

Nemona notices Goh staring at them and elbows Ash in the ribs, hard. By the time Ash turns around, Goh is already heading into the living room to help Dawn and Chloe move the coffee table. They make the floor comfy with lots of cushions and blankets.

Chloe, Eevee, Dawn, Piplup, and Cinderace all get cozy on the floor, and Goh is about to join them from the side when Nemona suddenly dives in between them all instead, sprawling over the cushions with her long arms and legs. Chloe looks a little annoyed as Dawn giggles and flops on top of her.

There’s no room for Goh, so he nervously curls into himself as much as he can on the far corner of the couch as Ash hops up next to him. He pointedly avoids some charged eye contact from Ash by pretending to be really invested in the previews.

Chloe picked a really funny romcom about a nerdy Pokémon professor and a quirky celebrity coordinator that have to work together to fix a time travel paradox. Soon enough, the girls are in fits of laughter on the floor. Goh is having a hard time paying attention, but he’s trying to laugh at all the right beats, or else someone might notice his mind is elsewhere.

Ash hasn’t laughed for a while, so Goh chances a glance at him. His heart skips when Ash happens to glance back. Goh ignores him and tries to watch the movie again.

The comedy beats have slowed down as the Rom-half of the movie starts to ramp up. The Professor and the Coordinator are starting to realize they have feelings for each other.

Goh is startled out of a serious scene in the movie when Ash suddenly adjusts on the couch, his head dropping onto the soft spot of Goh’s thigh.

Now Goh is very distracted. Ash’s fluffed up hair is right there, and it would be so easy to just reach out and pet it. He doesn’t know what to do with his hand— Ash’s body is blocking any natural place to set it, and it seems a little intimate to rest it across his body for the rest of the movie. He settles for crossing his arms and leaning back. Ash falls asleep soon after. He didn’t seem very interested in the movie, anyway.

Chloe looks back at them and smiles.

As the romantic climax of the movie comes around, the music swells, the protagonists kiss, and the girls all whoop and cheer. Goh finds himself wishing he could have a magical moment like that with… No, c’mon, this is the real world. He needs to be realistic. The guy he likes likes someone else, and he’s gonna have to get over it.

Ash stirs a little in his sleep, as if he could sense Goh thinking about him, but it was probably just because the girls were all being noisy. He rolls so his head is facing the ceiling. Goh watches the way the TV lights up the edges of his soft hair and peaceful face. He's still looking down, at those surprisingly soft looking lips, when Goh realizes with a start that Ash's eyes have opened, looking up at him. The blushing boy quickly looks back at the screen. 

Goh jumps when a piece of popcorn bounces off his face, and he casts an incredulous look back down at Ash, who's just smiling up at him innocently. As soon as Goh looks away again, Ash throws another couple pieces that land in his hair.

Getting worked up now, Goh whispers, “Gimme that,” and tries to wrest the popcorn bowl out of Ash’s arms. The champion grins and stubbornly clings to it, his strength still far superior to Goh’s. After calculating a new strategy, Goh uses one of his hands to jab at Ash’s prone tummy while still fighting for the bowl. Ash yelps and suddenly drops his grip right as Goh yanks, sending a shower of popcorn over everyone. Pieces bounce off of Ash and Goh as the girls all squeal, their startled Pokémon jumping around.

Ash just throws his head back laughing, still covered in popcorn on Goh’s lap, but he suddenly bolts upright when Nemona whirls on him, saying. “Qué descaro tienes—!”

She launches into a string of colorful Paldean insults as she chases Ash off the couch, threatening to trounce him with one of her slippers. When Nemona inevitably corners Ash in the small apartment, she just wrestles him into a headlock and noogies him, both of them laughing all the while. Goh can’t help but laugh, too, though it’s a little bittersweet.

Meanwhile, Dawn spends the credits picking popcorn kernels out of Chloe’s curly hair. Goh thought Chloe would be more furious with them, but she seems perfectly content as Dawn playfully fluffs out her hair and gushes about how long and pretty and soft it is.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

They all attempt to watch another movie, but the girls and all the Pokémon end up snoring on the floor ten minutes in. When Goh tries to wake them so they can move to the bed, they all hiss at him and refuse to budge.

Goh whispers, “You can take my bed. I’ll take the couch.” Ash doesn’t seem content with that plan, so Goh says, “I mean, if you prefer to stay on the couch—?“

“No, It’s ok.” He smiles. As Ash is heading into Goh's room, he suddenly stops in his tracks.

The researcher watches him from the couch, wondering why Ash is just hovering there in the doorway, looking antsy, like he’s waiting for something. When Ash looks back over, Goh is giving him a loaded look, as if to say, What are you waiting for, weirdo?

A clock nearby chimes at midnight, and Ash smiles and whispers, “Happy Red Day, Goh!”

Before Goh can react, the champion slips into his bedroom.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

When Goh wakes up, he‘s ready to have a nice Red Day in spite of everything.

Red Day doesn’t have to be about romance, after all. It’s a day to celebrate love and bonds of every kind. Goh has his Pokémon, his best friends, and a new friend to celebrate it with. 

Chloe’s making tea in the kitchen, and the other two girls are still asleep. Goh needs to grab a change of clothes in his bedroom, but he wants to let Ash sleep in, so he enjoys some tea and breakfast chatter with Chloe first. They both awwwww at Cinderace— holding Eevee, Pawmi, Piplup and Grookey proudly in its arms— like it’s their babysitter. Chloe snaps a picture on her phone and Goh snickers, “Please send that to me.”

Goh hears Ash laugh in his room. Figuring Ash is awake and talking to Pikachu, Goh finishes his tea, knocks softly on his door, and walks in. 

Chloe takes a long, peaceful sip of her tea.

Then, she flinches a little when she clearly hears Goh shout something, sounding upset. Cinderace's ears flick toward the noise, listening with concern. The commotion wakes Nemona and she stirs. Ash says something back, but Chloe can’t make out the words. 

Not even 30 seconds later, Goh comes rushing back out of the bedroom looking ill, pacing past Chloe, Cinderace and the others. He’s throwing on his winter coat and flip flops as Chloe sets her mug down and tries to head toward him. “Goh, what’s—?”

“I’ll be back later,” is all Goh says, already halfway out the door, and he slams it shut behind him.

💔🤍💔🤍💔

In case it wasn't painfully obvious enough yet: Ash has feelings for Goh.

He realized a few months after they separated when he couldn't stop thinking about the boy who touched his life, who hugged him and cheered for him and stood up for him and inspired him more than any friend who came before him.

Ash was having a difficult time navigating these feelings. He’s never had a big crush before, so he didn't really have a baseline to compare these feelings to. All he knew was: Goh was special to him.

Nemona’s role in helping Ash realize the depths of his crush was instrumental. After hearing the way he spoke about Goh, Nemona asked him if they were boyfriends, which flustered Ash.

After a brutal line of questioning from his new friend, Ash had to admit his feelings for Goh weren’t entirely platonic.

Throughout their journey together, he and Nemona grew close, like a brother and sister. As often as she teased him about his crush, she also offered to draw up battle plans and strategies for wooing Goh. She was Ash’s number one wingman and confidante.

When Goh invited Ash to come visit him in Vermilion, the champion started feeling nervous.

Ash doesn't get nervous.

Ash is brave and bold and leaps headlong into danger. Being nervous, hesitant, and shy just isn’t like him. Feeling unlike himself just made him even more uncomfortable, and all his feelings were starting to snowball somewhere deep in his guts, like a RRRRMMMBBBRRRMMBB or a AaaAaaaAaaAAAAaAAAA! or a ggrrraaauuuaUUGGGHHH!!!

When he voiced these feelings to Nemona, she tried to assure him those were all pretty-normal-crush things. Even Ash-Ketchum— Chosen One, World Champion, and Future Pokemon Master— is allowed to feel awkward and shy! Plus, this wasn't exactly something his Pokémon could help him with. It made perfect sense that he felt nervous.

She was right. Besides, Goh's heart wasn't just some badge or trophy he could win. This was a much bigger deal than that.

If he muks this up, he doesn't get a re-do. 

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

Ash and Nemona were standing outside the door to Goh's apartment, about to knock, when the nervous boy suddenly clams up.

On the way over, Nemona suggested Ash could surprise Goh by greeting him the traditional Paldean way- a kiss on both cheeks - and gauge his reaction. Ash liked the idea; he wanted to try it, and he thought he was ready, but lost his nerve at the door.

“Nemona, wait… I don't know if I can do it.”

Nemona turns to face him, grasping his hands comfortingly and whispering, “You can! I believe in you! Don’t overthink it!”

Ash leans closer to murmur in her ear, ”Can you show me how to do it one more time? I don't want to mess it up.”

Nemona smiles kindly and obliges, leaning forward, lightly pressing Ash's cheek with hers and making a tiny smooch sound. She was just about to kiss his other cheek when the door to Goh’s apartment swings open, and they hastily break apart.

Goh just smiles at them.

“Goh!!”

Nemona tries to give Ash an encouraging nudge, but Ash is too flustered seeing Goh standing in front of him, so suddenly, after so long. So, the nervous boy just shoves her off.

“Hi guys! Come in!” Goh’s smile doesn’t waver. Ash feels a pang in his chest as he realizes how much he missed hearing Goh’s voice in person.

Inside, Ash hesitates again with how to greet Goh. He could try the cheek thing now… but Goh was already moving toward him, so Ash panics and comes in hot for a half hug that almost knocks Goh over. Goh just laughs. He really missed that laugh!

Nemona holds out a hand for Goh. “Nice to finally meet you, Goh! Ash has told me so much about you.”

Ash notices Goh’s face looks a little anxious meeting Nemona. “Good things, I hope!” he says, shaking her hand.

“Oh yes, only good things, very good things,” Nemona says with a giggle in her voice, and Goh’s head tilts a little in response. ”Thanks for taking good care of him! He’s a lot to handle, isn’t he?”

Nemona is embarrassing him, so Ash pointedly clears his throat and shoots her a look, which she returns in kind.

After Chloe and Dawn arrived, they were all having a nice time catching up in Goh’s living room. Ash was really happy Nemona was getting along so well with his friends, but he noticed Goh was being pretty quiet. He was just watching the girls talk to each other without reacting much. 

While Chloe and Dawn are totally engrossed with one of Nemona’s stories, Ash leans over to talk to his crush. “Hey, Goh? I’ve been thinking, uh, about Red Day…” He trails off when Goh has no reaction to him. 

Ash frowns and nudges his arm. Beside them, the girls all burst out laughing at something Nemona just said, and Goh flinches a little, startled.

“Ah, sorry, Ash—! Did you say something? I was zoning out.”

The champion smiles to mask his disappointment. “It’s OK, it wasn’t important,” he lies.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

Ash woke up sometime in the middle of the night and sensed Goh wasn't in the room. He looked out the window to the balcony and saw his friend out there, writing something in a notebook and repeatedly tearing it out. Ash rubbed his eyes and watched Goh curiously for a moment before padding over to the door and sliding it open.

The boy outside whirls around with wide eyes. Ash shivers as a cold wind swirls around them. 

“Brrr. Goh? What are you doing…?“

Goh just turns away from Ash and hums, looking up at the twinkling stars. Ash studies him for a moment before coming out to join him. Goh slowly turns his head away from Ash, still watching the stars, and Ash feels concerned. Why is he out here instead of sleeping? Why isn’t he speaking?

”Goh, are you OK?”

“Just cold,” Goh answers, shaking a little, and this time, Ash doesn’t hesitate. Goh jumps a little as Ash throws an arm around him. Compared to Ash’s skin, he feels like ice.

“Aaah! Come on, you’re freezing!” Ash stands and offers him a hand. That's when he notices pieces of debris on Goh’s head. “Hold on, you’ve got something stuck in your hair—“ 

He plucks out a few shreds before he finds a slightly larger strip of paper, stuck in Goh’s cowlick, and he pauses to inspect it. It clearly reads “Red Day” in Goh’s handwriting. When Goh looks up at him to see if he’s done, Ash crumples it in his hands. “Thanks.”

“It’s cool!” Ash looks at the notebook in Goh’s hands, and his gears start turning. Was Goh out here trying to write… a Red Day confession…?

Before he could ask any questions, Goh heads inside and tucks back into his sleeping bag, so Ash reluctantly returns to the couch. The curious boy works up the nerve to ask, “Are you excited for Red Day?”

He frowns when Goh just says, “…Should I be?” He sounds really tired.

Ash curls his toes in his sleeping bag nervously. “I dunno. Maybe you’ll get a token.” 

“Mmm, sure. Maybe.”

There’s another long stretch of silence. Ash knows he should let Goh sleep, but he can’t help but ask: “Did you make a token for anyone?” he pauses, feeling brave. “I did.”

Goh doesn’t answer, and when Ash looks over, his friend's eyes are closed and he’s breathing softly.

Ash struggled to go back to sleep after that.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

While Goh is in his bedroom, and Dawn and Chloe are distracted in the living room, Ash reports his conversation with Goh to Nemona, showing her the tickets.

“He what?” Nemona scream-whispers

“He said it was his treat, for us.” Ash frowns down at the tickets.

“Oh…That’s very nice of him, but…”

“I know.“ Looking pained, he adds, “No offense, but I want to go with him.”

“Then tell him that!” Nemona urges him.

“But what if Goh doesn’t— Oof!” Nemona suddenly knocks the wind out of her friend while looking over his shoulder. Ash turns around to see Goh walking over to the girls, and he zones out a little.

Nemona snaps her fingers in front of Ash’s love-sick face to get his attention again. ”Ash, listen to me. If you can’t tell him how you feel yet, at least show him.”

Ash gives her a blank stare. “What d’you mean?”

Nemona rolls her eyes like this is paining her to explain. “Madre mía…Flirt a little…” 

“What? I don’t know how to—“

“Figure it out!” And with that, Nemona rushes over to the girls and sprawls between them, just in time to block Goh from joining them on the floor.

Goh seems a little reluctant to sit on the couch, and Ash notices. Does he not want to sit next to Ash?

Ash tries to get Goh’s attention as the movie boots up, but his friend is pointedly ignoring his eyes. At one point, Nemona glances back at Ash, communicating wildly with her eyes to do something! When Ash looks at Goh again, he catches him looking, too, and Ash smiles when he notices Goh is blushing.

It’s been so long, Ash almost forgot: Goh used to act like this sometimes, back when they still lived together— Whenever Goh got too flustered or embarrassed— he’d start acting cold or defensive to hide it.

Feeling a bolt of confidence, Ash decides to get comfy and rest his head on Goh’s leg. His friend stiffens under him and shifts back a little, but doesn’t try to move him.

Ash really likes being close to Goh like this. He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.

When he comes to, he rolls slightly so his neck is resting over the curve of Goh’s thigh. He’s still savoring how comfy he is when he tries to sneak a glance up at Goh through his barely open eyes. His heart almost stops when he realizes Goh is looking down at his face instead of the movie. Ash’s eyes open fully, and as soon as Goh notices, he reacts coldly again, frowning and looking away.

Ash wants Goh to look at him again, so he throws a piece of popcorn at his face. He gets what he wants, and even though Goh is glaring at him, he relishes the attention.

He stifles a giggle as he flicks a couple more pieces at Goh. Ash wonders: Does this count as flirting?

This easily riles up Goh, and in the midst of their battle for the popcorn bowl, it ends up spilling all over them and their friends instead. Ash bursts out laughing at the look on Goh’s face until Nemona chases him off the couch, and he runs for cover.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

After the girls eventually pass out on the floor, Ash wants to invite Goh to share his bed— the girls did, so why can’t they? But he loses his nerve. As he’s heading into Goh’s bedroom, the red second hand of a nearby clock catches his eye as it ticks toward the 12. It’s almost midnight.

As the clock chimes, he smiles, because he gets to be the first person to say: ”Happy Red Day!” to Goh.

Then he runs into the room, dives into the bed with Pikachu, kicks his legs in the air and throws the comforter around his blushing head. Pikachu makes a little noise of amusement as it curls up next to its lovestruck best friend.

Chapter Text

Ash wakes a little groggily to the noise of urban hustle and bustle coming in through Goh’s window.

Pikachu yawns a cute “Pi-Kyaaa~” as it rolls over to stretch its arms and legs.

“Big stretch, buddy!” Ash laughs, petting its tummy before joining it with a satisfying, body-buzzing stretch of his own.

He stands and sleepily meanders over to the window to see what all the noise outside is about. There’s a lot of people and their Pokémon in the streets, heading downtown for the festivities. Vendors are lining up along the sidewalk, and drivers are beeping their horns kindly to pick up their friends. Almost everyone is wearing shades of red or pink. Goh wasn’t kidding! Vermilion City really does go all out for Red Day.

The champion smiles big. He’s been really looking forward to today. He’s still nervous, but after (successfully?) flirting with Goh last night, he’s feeling amped up again.

He turns around and stops in his tracks when he notices a large red album sitting at the foot of Goh's bed. Pikachu gasps a small, excited “Kaa–!” from Ash's shoulder. After a moment of hesitation, the champion walks over and picks it up carefully.

When he sees the photo on the cover, he takes a sharp breath in. It’s Goh and him, smiling and surrounded by all their Pokémon. He turns it over in his hands and curiously flips open the cover. Something strums hard on his heartstrings when he sees “To: Ash” written inside.

Ash exhales, eyes sparkling. “Wow…!” 

Goh made him a token!!!

He must have come in and left it here while Ash was sleeping. Was he too shy to give the token to Ash in person…?

Ash doesn’t think too long or hard about it— he’s too eager to see what’s inside. He leaps onto Goh’s bed and turns to the first page. It’s decorated with cute tape, stickers, and colorful paper.

There’s a collage of photos:

🌈

• Lugia, soaring over the Vermilion City harbor
• Ash, watching the flock of Fearow from Lugia’s back
• Ash, hugging Lugia’s fin.
• Goh, taking a selfie in the sky, with Ash and Pikachu unawares in the background. ‼️

There’s also a screenshot of Goh’s text to Chloe that day. “sorry i can’t make it, i’m about to have a fateful encounter!✌🏽“

A handwritten caption reads: (⭐️The real fateful encounter was you!🌈)

Ash smiles ear to ear. He can already feel his cheeks turning red. 

He turns to the next page of photos. The corners are decorated with pressed flowers.

🌸

• Ivysaur evolving and Venusaur blooming
• Ash and Pikachu sunbathing next to an Ivysaur
• The view of Vermilion from the tower.🩵

🌼 Our first research mission!

This was all you. I never would have made it up that tower without your help. The way you and Pikachu saved everyone was so amazing.🌸

There’s also a small photo of Team Rocket’s Meowth, with ugly scribbles on its face.

‼️(You didn’t warn me it could TALK!)‼️O_O

Ash laughs under his breath and turns the page. There's more photos from his early adventures with Goh.

⭐️

• Ash, eating his favorite scones
• A soot-covered Scorbunny and Nikit
• Goh hugging his Scorbunny ❤️‍🔥

🔥

Visiting Galar with you was my first trip abroad!

If you and Pikachu hadn't chased Scorbunny down, Cinderace probably wouldn't be my partner today. You helped me realize Scorbunny wanted to be my first Pokemon.🌟

Ash thinks about that for a second before turning the page.

This page has lots of Goh’s Pokemon research photos— A lot of them feature Ash pointing excitedly, or waving in the background.

⚡️

• Ash holding onto a Flygon‘s feet as it soars just above the ground
• Ash hugging a Wooloo
• Goh next to the snoozing Snorlax💤

Researching Pokemon in Galar with you was so much fun ^‿^

Ash looks forward to the next page.

🍄

• Ash on the ground rubbing his head after Metapod fell on him.
• A selfie of Goh surrounded by his first bugtype Pokemon, playing in their shared bedroom.
• Ash and Pikachu tied up in Caterpie’s sticky cocoons. 
• Ash, Goh, and their Pokémon playing in Cerise Park ❤️

🦋

When I realized how much fun catching Pokemon was, you spent all day helping me track down Bug-types, remember?

There's a doodle of Goh saying: (I wanna catch one of every Pokémon!) Ash saying: (I wanna be a pokemon master!) and Chloe, saying: (you two are weirdos)

Ash chuckles and pets Pikachu as he turns to the next page.

⚡️

• A photo of Ash’s battle in the Flute Cup, taken from far up in the spectator aisle. 
• Ash, Pikachu, and Mimey holding up their flute trophies.
• A newspaper clipping of Ash high fiving Pikachu’s tail.
• A selfie of Goh, Ash, and Hodge with their pokemon.⭐️

💫

After my defeat at the Flute Cup, I thought I’d never want to battle again. I’m glad I came back to watch your match. Your battle with Hodge left me speechless. You showed me how fun battling can be!

Ash is starting to get a little overwhelmed with how much Goh is praising him. 

He smiles at the next page.

🌈

• Goh and Ash, surrounded by Dragonite on Dragonite Island.
• Ash holding up the shedded Dratini skin
• Ash and Dragonaire, ”Dragon Dance“ training together.
• Dragonite, hugging Ash so tight he looks like he’s gonna pop.❤️

Dragonite Island! 🏝️

I’m glad Professor Cerise wanted to keep Dragonite Island a mystery. I like how you and I are the only other people who know about this place.

Ash blushes.

The next pages are a collage of tons of different photos.

⚡️

Pikachu and Mantyke from the iceberg race.

Ho-oh’s feather under a rainbow. 🌈 

🎵Ash singing Karaoke with Halta.

Gengar next to Ash, buried in a pile of apples.

A beaming selfie of them in front of Wyndon Stadium.

Ash gaping at Dynamax Pikachu.⚡️

Goh's giant Magikarp, leaping into the stratosphere.

Dragonite hugging Ash, Goh, and Sobble.

💤Ash napping with Slowpokes.

Pikachu and Raichu sharing berries.

Riolu and Raboot sparring.💥

Ash, electrocuted by Yamper (and Chloe, looking unamused in the background)

⚡️

Every photo, every memory, sends a pang of nostalgia through Ash. 

The next page is decorated with postcard art from Alola.

🌺

• Ash, holding his new baby brother, Lei.
• Ash’s Pokémon snuggling with him and Goh.
• A selfie of Ash and Goh with the shimmering ocean behind them.
• A celebratory photo of Goh, Ash, his new Exeggutor, and the Alola gang taken by Rotom. Ash and Goh are hanging off Exeggutor’s neck like they’re climbing a tree.🌴

✈️

Thanks for showing me the Exeggutor in Alola. 

Before Ash turns the page, he smiles at a doodle in the corner of Goh with a speech bubble saying, (Don’t forget: We’re friends— NOT rivals!! ꐦ •̀o•́ )

The next page has a lot of photos from Cero Island, where they battled Mewtwo. Goh doodled a lot of angry Pokemon in the margins.

‼️

• Heracross, after it just caught Ash with its horn (And angry Mankey doodles)
• A selfie of Goh and Ash with the island scenery (And a scribbly Kingler lurking behind them)
• Ash, about to cross a river (and a scary, detailed drawing of Gyarados bursting out of the water)
• A photo of the island itself (and a cartoon drawing of Mewtwo floating over it)🧬

We almost died so many times that day ⊙_⊙

Ash laughs hard out loud, and then his heart flutters when he sees the opposite page.

It’s a sneaky selfie Goh took— the back of Ash and Pikachu’s heads as they’re looking up at the stars.

I’m glad you changed my catchphrase.🤜🏻🤛🏽

Ash remembers that moment clearly.

~~

“After all, the future’s in the palm of my hand!”

“Of our hands, you mean?”

~~

He can feel his heart in his throat as he keeps going.

He stops to admire a colorful page with lots of selfies of them eating ice cream, corn dogs, and cake. There’s also a cute picture of Lucario wiping crumbs off Cinderace’s face. He scribbled little speech bubbles next to Ash’s head that say 🍦“YUM! ❤️” and 🍰“MORE!⭐️”

I won that eating contest for you. You’re welcome.  ദ്ദി๑>◡<)✧°｡⋆

Ash is blushing like mad and turning to the next page when something suddenly SNAPS the album shut and snatches it out of his hands. A flustered Ash blinks back to reality, looking up at Goh— who he didn’t even notice come into the room— clutching the token close to his chest.

He looks absolutely mortified.

💔🤍💔🤍💔

Ash is speechless after reading all the nice things Goh wrote about him, and Goh’s reaction is confusing him, so he just stares back at his friend with wide eyes.

“How did you— Why did you—“ Goh looks like he’s short circuiting as he clutches a fistful of his own hair. “Where did you find this?” His voice is getting worked up, like he’s angry.

Ash starts to worry he did something wrong. “It was just… here! On the bed—“

“No it wasn’t!!” Goh shouts, startling Ash. Goh seems even more startled by his own outburst, and he takes a shaky step back. “It wasn't…” he says again, trying to get ahold of himself.

“Goh…? Why are you—” Ash stands up to move toward Goh, but the anxious boy takes another big step back. 

”I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to see this.” Goh paces over to his closet and shoves the album somewhere way in the back. He throws the doors shut, and Ash’s heart stops. 

“Why…why not? It says “for Ash” in it,” Ash stammers, not understanding why any of this is happening, or why Goh seems so upset. 

“Please, just,” Goh’s eyes are wide and scared as he faces Ash again. “Forget you saw that—”

Ash isn’t sure why he says, “I couldn’t forget it if I tried!”

Goh seems to take this the wrong way, because he clutches onto his chest nervously and almost trips as he’s hurrying toward the door. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to— to ruin your— I’m just gonna go,” he says, shutting the door quickly behind him.

Ash just stands there, stunned, trying to process what just went wrong. Ruin his what? Then he hears the front door to the apartment opening and slamming shut.

Distraught, Ash runs out of Goh’s room to see the girls, all in different stages of alertness— Dawn looks like she just rolled out of her own grave, Nemona’s upright, but she seems sleepy and confused, and Chloe is fully awake and deeply concerned, looking right at Ash.

“Ash, what just happened?”

“I don’t know—!!!” Ash answers honestly, skirting around her and running to grab his shoes. “Did he say where he was going??”

“No— he just said he’d be back later.”

”What’s with all the racket?” Dawn moans, rising to her hands and knees and rubbing her eyes.

Nemona senses Ash’s panic and starts to feel more awake. She goes to slip on her sandals. “I’m coming with you.”

Chloe drags Dawn to her feet. “We’ll be right behind you.”

Cinderace hops past all of them, off to go find its companion.

💔🤍💔🤍💔

Goh‘s still wearing his pajamas. He didn’t bring his phone or any of his Pokémon. He hurries to the elevator and out of the apartment. He hustles through a crowd of people outside, following the foot traffic and hoping he gets lost in it, checking over his shoulder to make sure no one’s following him.

As his panic wears off, he realizes this sea of people is heading downtown for the Red Day festivities.

Now he’s emotional and alone, surrounded by happy, lovey dovey couples and heart-shaped everything. Red, sparkly ticker tape starts to rain down all around him.

Well, Muk. This isn’t how he wanted Red Day to play out at all.

He runs until he can’t anymore, ducking into a quiet side alley behind the vendors and sliding down the wall until he hits the ground, curling around his knees.

Logically, Goh knows his friends are eventually going to worry and come looking for him, if they haven’t left already. Ash is probably out looking for him right now. But he’s so embarrassed. His best friend, who’s in a relationship, found his extremely personal, super cringey, over-the-top Red Day token— for him. And of course Goh totally overreacted and ran away, because that’s what he always does when he gets upset. He presses his palms into his eyes and groans. He’s not sure how long he’s sitting there before someone finds him.

“Goh.“

His head whips toward the voice.

Nemona found him.

She’s also still in her pajamas, a pink thunderbolt baseball tee and orange fleece pants, wearing Ash’s puffy blue winter coat on top. Goh visibly tenses and stays where he is. She starts to pull out her phone. “Wait,” Goh begs, holding out his hand. “Please don’t.”

Nemona hesitates, her finger hovering over the screen, then puts her phone away. Goh relaxes a little, but then she comes over to sit next to him, and his skin starts crawling with anxiety.

Her amber eyes are wide with concern as she scans his body language. “What's wrong, Goh?”

Goh sighs through his nose. He can’t avoid everything forever, as much as he wants to. Besides, if he confesses everything to her, maybe she can talk to Ash for him. “Nemona, I… I made Ash a token for Red Day, before I knew you were coming to visit. I wasn’t going to give it to him, but he found it somehow. I’m really embarrassed, and— I’m sorry.“

When Goh chances a glance at her, Nemona's eyebrows are all the way up and her jaw is slack. Then her expression grows super confused as she says, “Wait, why are you apologizing? To me??”

”Because, I—! When I found out about you two, I should have hid it better, or gotten rid of it, but… I couldn’t, yet…” Nemona just squints at him in utter confusion, still not following. “I promise I wasn’t trying to ruin anything for you.“

She blinks at him. “Ruin what?”

Goh puffs out another sigh and looks at her, a little exasperated. She’s as dense as Ash is. “Your Red Day? With Ash.”

The girl’s eyes go wide and Goh looks away guiltily. Then she suddenly snorts and bursts out laughing.

Goh just watches her. Does she find it that funny that Goh was apologizing, as if his feelings had any chance of threatening her relationship? As if his feelings even mattered to either of them? Goh scowls and hugs his arms nervously as Nemona keeps laughing like he just told her the funniest joke in the world.

Nemona’s still laughing as she says, “Me? and Ash—?? Ahhh,” she wipes a tear out of her eyes. “What made you think that??”

This rattles Goh a little. Is she trying to gaslight him? “You asked me what kind of chocolates to get him.”

“Yeah, I asked him what flavor to get for you too, Fueloco,” Now Nemona is looking at Goh like he’s the dense one. “I got chocolates for everyone.”

Goh holds out his hands as his fingers tense and curl like claws, barely containing his frustration. “I saw you holding hands and kissing him right outside my door!”

At this, she stops laughing. Goh thinks he’s finally convinced her that he knows. “It’s okay. I get it. You two are, like, perfect for each other. I don’t know why you were trying to hide it.” He looks away, trying not to sound bitter. Then, more to himself than Nemona, he murmurs, “Does he already know I like him? Is that why he doesn't want to tell me? To spare my feelings…?“

Nemona is quiet for a moment. Then she stands abruptly and, without warning, she slaps Goh upside the head with one of her sandals.

“Ow!!! What—??” He rubs his head where she hit him. She didn’t hit him that hard, but it startled him. “I said I was sorry!”

“No, I'm sorry, because I don’t know how else to get this through your thick skull—” she says calmly, still holding her chancla. ”I’m not dating Ash. I’m not dating anyone. And even if I was—“ she emphasizes, locking eyes with Goh and looking more serious than he's ever seen her. “—She’d be a hot babe— not some goofy boy. …No offense.“

Goh feels himself turning pale under her towering gaze. “But…then— Then why…” She pretends like she’s going to wind up and whack him again, and he crosses his arms over his head. “I believe you! I’m just confused!”

“Hmph. Ask him to clarify, not me,” Nemona smirks, putting her sandal back on and walking back the way she came.

Goh turns around just in time to see Ash locking eyes with him from the other side of the alley.

💔🤍💔🤍💔

Chapter Text

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

“Goh!” Ash calls, jogging over from the other side of the alley with Cinderace hot on his heels.

The runaway just screams internally and hides his face, feeling utterly humiliated. Ash drops to his knees as Cinderace consoles its trainer with a gentle pat on the head.

When Goh doesn’t say anything, Ash softly lays a hand on his shoulder and repeats: “Goh.”

Goh keens into his hands, “I’m sorry…“ His anxious voice comes out muffled, and Ash has to lean a little closer to hear him. “I was totally--" as much as it pains him to admit it: "--wrong...”

Ash carefully puts a hand on Goh‘s arm and tries to squeeze it reassuringly. “Wrong about what...?”

“Everything,” Goh sighs, dragging his hands down his face. When Ash just watches him with big, concerned eyes, he grimaces as he clarifies. “I thought…I thought you and Nemona were… dating.”

Ash’s lips start to make a “wh-“ shape right before he bursts out laughing. ”Me and Nemona?? Ahhh,” he wipes a tear out of his eyes. “What made you think that??”

“She asked me what chocolates to get you, and…I saw her holding your hands and kissing you when I went to answer the door,” Goh mumbles.

“Ohhh…” Ash blushes a little. “Uhh, listen… I’ll explain everything, but can we head back to your place first…?” He smiles down at Goh’s Scorbunny-themed fleece pajamas, and Goh blushes as he realizes Ash ran all the way here in his red and yellow Charizard flame shorts.

Goh rises guiltily to his feet as Ash calls the girls to regroup.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

Back at the apartment, everyone dons their red attire.

Chloe’s wearing red overalls with a heart sewn to the top over a knit pink sweater with a neat white collar and white mary janes. Her cherry blossom scrunchy is still on theme.

Dawn’s prepped for the red Pokémon Contest, wearing a sparkly red dress with pink ruffles and accessories. White gloves run to the tops of her arms, and long, white heeled boots past her knees. She has a long, fluffy white coat to keep her warm.

Nemona traded her usual orange tie for a feminine, red ribbon, with a matching red blazer and skort over a nice white blouse and black leggings

Even their Pokémon are joining the fun-- Cinderace is rocking a red snapback hat that folds its ears down, and the little ones are all wearing an adorable assortment of red bows, mittens, tiny sweaters, and winter shawls.

Ash cleaned up nice with a maroon, patterned button down over a nice pair of dark slacks. He even swapped the laces on his sneakers with red ones.

Goh tugs at the collar of his red, fitted tortleneck over a pair of black, street fashion joggers with his old red and grey sneakers.

Both boys try not to stare at each other.

Once they’re all dressed and ready to hit the town again, Goh properly apologizes to everyone for disappearing and worrying them.

Chloe hugs him and says, “Just don’t do it again.”

Dawn has no idea what even happened, so she just ruffles Goh’s hair and pretends like nothing's wrong. "No need to worry~!" She's awake and in a good mood now. “Happy Red Day, everybody!”

“Oh yeah, I got everyone something,” Nemona looks pointedly at Goh as she pulls out four boxes of chocolates wrapped in red bows. Dawn squeals happily and Chloe looks really touched.

Ash takes a look inside his box and says, “Awwhaw-some! How did you know these were my favorite?”

“I asked Goh” she says, winking at him, and Ash grins and throws a grateful arm around Goh's shoulders.

Goh blinks down at his occa berry infused dark chocolates. His voice cracks as he says, “Thank you so much, Nemona…” feeling brainless as a Magikarp.

“De nada,” Nemona sings, “Are we ready to go to the festival?”

Ash nods them toward the door. “You guys go ahead, there’s something I need to talk to Goh about, first.” turning to Pikachu, he says, "Hey buddy, can you look after the others with Cinderace? We'll meet back up with you soon."

"Pikapika!" it chimes affirmatively, hopping after Cinderace, who gives Ash a big thumbs up as it's heading out the door.

Nemona and Chloe look back at him with a sparkle in their eye, and Dawn looks like she’s just starting to get the picture as they drag her away. “Ohh, O~kaaay~! See ya~~!” Goh’s heart skips against his chest as the girls all giggle with each other and shut the door behind them.

❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️

Alone now, with Ash, Goh can already feel himself blushing. He turns around and slaps his own cheeks, reminding himself: Ash just said he wanted to explain everything. That’s all.

Does that mean Goh has to explain his reaction, too? He really doesn't want to. Ash is dense, but he can put two and two together. Goh thought Ash and Nemona were in a relationship, so he didn't want to give Ash the token he made. He really doesn't have any room to save face; he can't say he made the token with platonic intentions after he totally flipped out about it. The fingers on Goh's cheeks splay out across his face as he hangs his head in shame, bracing himself for a really awkward conversation.

Ash’s energy is unusual, too. He’s smiling, but he looks antsy and a bit flustered, like he's not sure where to start. Goh doesn’t blame him— this must be terribly awkward for him, too. Goh looks away again, feeling guilty, as Ash takes a deep, steadying breath and says, “… Can I get a redo? From the top.“

Assuming Ash means he wants to start the day over and pretend this morning never happened, Goh shrugs and nods, trying to pretend like he doesn’t care either way, despite the butterflies in his stomach trying to argue otherwise. It’s probably best to forget all this and try to move on.

So, he’s really confused when Ash jogs out the front door with no explanation, closes it behind him, and knocks. Goh slowly opens the door again and says, “…Hello?”

“Goh!!! Long time no see!!” Ash beams, stepping inside, and Goh is totally unprepared when Ash grasps both of his hands and presses a cheek to his, kissing the air next to it.

“Huh?” Goh squeaks and paralyzes as Ash casually moves around him to kiss the air on the other side. The blushing boy’s face instantly turns a hue that compliments his fit.

“That’s how people say hi, in Paldea!” Ash smiles sheepishly, rubbing his nose. “I was asking Nemona to show me how it goes again. She wasn't actually kissing me."

“………oh,” is all Goh can say, blushing and staring down at his feet. He rubs his face where Ash's cheek tickled it. That really startled him. The researcher shakes his head, trying to pull himself together. So— that was only a friendly gesture— a cultural custom from a region he's never been to. This was all just a huge misunderstanding...

Ash walks with him over to the couch in the living room, and they sit facing each other.

Out of the blue, Ash nudges Goh’s arm with his fist and says, ”If you thought I was dating Nemona, why didn’t you just ask me?”

Goh looks away as he answers. “Well… when you two got here, it felt like you were both trying to keep a secret, so I didn’t say anything. I thought maybe you didn’t want me to know, or you were waiting to tell everyone on Red Day or something...” Goh forces a little smile, trying to make light of his ridiculous assumptions. “And I was… so convinced you two were… perfect for each other, y’know?”

His friend looks a little sad for a moment as he processes that. “…Guess that explains this—” Ash reaches into his coat and pulls out the envelope of tickets Goh gave him. “So, Uh...I don’t want to go with Nemona.”

Goh smiles awkwardly and rubs the back of his head. “I understand. You don’t have to.”

Ash fidgets with the tickets for a second before he takes Goh’s hand and wraps it around the envelope. For a moment, Goh thinks he’s just giving both tickets back to him, until he holds his hand there and says, “I wanna go with you.”

Charming as ever, Goh says, “...Oh. ‘kay.” and tries not to faint. He can’t let himself get his hopes up again. For all he knows, all of this can still be viewed through a platonic lens. Clearly, his instincts can’t be trusted here. He was so wrong about Ash and Nemona.

As Goh’s still ruminating, Ash leans back, reaching for something in his coat pocket again, and Goh’s heart screams a little as he pulls out a small, red box wrapped in a satiny red ribbon.

“I made you a token,“ Ash says, beaming like the sun. Goh’s eyes just quiver down at the box, and Ash eventually laughs and says, “Open it!”

He does, pulling out two hand-braided friendship bracelets. One red, the other blue.

“I’ll take that one~” Ash grins, stealing the blue one back and putting it on. “I know you like red.”

Goh stares down at the bracelet, running his thumb over the knots and braids.

“...Sorry, I know it's not much. These were kind of a last minute idea,” he admits, “I totally forgot it was gonna be Red Day until you said something, haha! Nemona showed me how to make them on the looong flight back to Kanto. You would’ve laughed so hard at my first attempts, they were so messed up. Mine looked like someone tried to unravel a Tangela, ha-ha-ha. Um…” he’s rambling a little because Goh isn’t saying anything. “……Goh…?”

Goh’s lip trembles as big, hot teardrops spill out of his eyes. He hides his face in his hand, still clutching onto the red bracelet. He whispers, “Muk. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m…” a small hic interrupts him. He can’t tell if these are happy tears or not. He’s feeling a lot of emotions at once. He loves the bracelet. He’s so genuinely grateful to call Ash his friend. But Goh gets the sense Ash is doing all of this to show he wants to be friends, and only friends. At the same time, he should be thankful Ash even wants to be his friend at all after Goh made such a spectacle of his true feelings. It’s like there’s a cruel game of tug-o-war happening inside his chest, yanking back and forth on his heartstrings.

The emotional boy takes a deep breath to keep his voice level. “I’ve never had a… friend… give me something like this. Thanks, Ash.”

Ash smiles gently back at Goh as he takes a big sniffle and tries to compose himself. He hastily wipes his face, but he misses a few spots that glint as he turns his head away. His friend playfully reaches over and swipes at his cheeks to help dry the leftover tears. A small, cold scoff comes out of Goh as he swats Ash’s hands away, trying to salvage whatever dignity he still has. Ash grins, and soon they’re both laughing and wrestling each other’s arms— Ash, trying to reach Goh’s face, and Goh, scrambling to defend himself. 

Then Ash suddenly grabs onto his arms, pulling Goh into a big, warm hug, and all his coldness melts away. He’s not sure how long he should stay like that in Ash’s arms, but he finds himself wishing he could stay forever. Ash doesn’t seem to mind— he’s not in any rush to let go, either. But eventually, Goh shifts, and they naturally pull apart and share a smile.

“Hold still.” Ash murmurs, and this time, Goh freezes. All their playful energy from before is gone now as the back of Ash's hand reaches toward Goh’s face again. Goh’s long, pretty eyelashes still have tears stuck in them, so Ash slows down and gently brushes them away, fanning through them with one of his knuckles. Goh’s face trembles; it feels insanely intimate and ticklish.

“Y’know…” the champion speaks up, a smile tugging at his lips, “No friend’s ever given me something, like… an album of memories…”

Goh clams up as Ash’s sweet brown eyes gaze expectantly back at him. “…You really want it…?”

“I really do!” Ash beams, and Goh can’t say no to that face, so he sheepishly shuffles into his bedroom with his friend following close behind.

The anxious boy retrieves the token from his closet and goes to hand it to Ash. Then he hesitates, pulling back a little and saying, "Y’know, this is really heavy-- You probably don't even have any room for it-- a-and I don't expect you to carry it all the way to Pallet--"

"Gohhh!" Ash whines, practically bouncing with anticipation, and Goh sighs in defeat.

They both sit on his bed with the book out in front of them.

“This is seriously amazing,” Ash says, flipping through the first pages again, admiring all the details. Goh is still recovering from getting emotional earlier, and he doesn’t know what to say, so he just lets Ash read and watches his reactions. Sometimes he gets excited and comments on the photos, or compliments Goh’s doodles, or giggles to himself, or looks up at Goh— just smiling at him— then back at the book.

The giddy champion laughs at a series of photos where Gulpins are swarming Ash and Goh as they’re holding hands. Ash’s pinky inches closer to Goh’s until they’re just barely brushing against each other. Did he do that on purpose? Goh swallows nervously and doesn’t dare to move.

Ash stops to take in another collage of photos:

⚡️

Goh and Chloe playing with Eevee.

The snow day with Psyduck

Their embarrassing pink outfits with Pikachu and Cinderace 🔥

Grookey drumming on Ash’s face

💖An underwater shot of Ash and a school of Luvdisc

Their beach day with Chloe and Dawn

Ash with all his Pokemon

Gibble chewing on Goh ❤️

The photo Ash’s mom took of them laughing on her couch

A selfie of Chloe and Dawn with Leon and the new Champion 👑 (Next to a doodle of Goh, crying, “I wish I could’ve been there!”)

⚡️

Ash goes quiet on the last few pages.

🔥

A selfie of Ash, Chloe, and Goh at their campsite

A photo of Ash and Goh waving from Lugia’s back, taken by Chloe.

A quick snapshot Goh took of Ho-oh, flying over the rainbow.🌈

🎉The group photo of their families in Cerise Park from their sending off party.

And the last page: a simple spread with a single photo of Ash, Pikachu, Goh, and Grookey, taken on the road the same morning their journey ended. ☀️

There's a small red envelope taped to the back inside cover, and Ash pulls out a red card. Meanwhile, Goh looks away with his head on his knees.

--

It was really hard to say goodbye to you. How do I thank someone for lighting up my entire world? You showed me how to really love and understand Pokémon. You pulled me out of my shell and inspired me to trust other people again. You were always there to catch me when something knocked me off my feet. You helped make all my dream-come-trues possible. And you gave me the confidence I needed to start a journey on my own. But I’d love to travel with you again, someday. We had so much fun.

I made this token to thank you, but it’s still not enough. I don’t think anything I do or say will ever be enough. I still want to say it, anyway.

Thanks for being my best friend.

❤️ Goh

--

Goh is actually cringing inwardly as Ash reads the note in total silence. Writing all that was vulnerable enough, watching his crush read it in real time was torture. Why did he have to sign it with a red heart? His face is burning up as he scrunches his eyes shut behind his legs.

Ash just tucks the note back into the envelope, closes the album with a crisp thunk, tosses it across the bed, cups Goh’s face, and kisses him.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Goh can't believe it. Ash is kissing him. Ash is kissing him on Red Day. Ash likes his token. Ash likes him.

Ash couldn’t be happier. Goh is kissing him back.

Not that either of them really know how to kiss — it’s experimental, and a little clumsy — but they’re both smiling and giggling as they learn. Goh tries to remember how the couple kissed in that movie... He presses closer into Ash’s lips and they finally fall into a rhythm together.

After a few seconds of those blissful, cinematic kisses, they reluctantly pull away, Ash's hands still cupping Goh’s face. “Goh. Thank you–“ he beams, looking like he's the happiest boy in the world. Placing a hand on the scrapbook next to him, he says, “This is the second best red token I’ve ever been given.”

Goh’s smile falls, his eyebrows knitting up with confusion. “Second…?”

Ash grins, big and goofy, his eyes smiling like Goh just walked right into a trap. “Obviously, you’re the best!” he says, gliding his thumb across Goh’s red, bottom lip, and Goh’s eyes widen, completely taken aback.

Looking at Ash is starting to burn like staring into the sun, so Goh turns his head up and tries to put up a cold front to hide how flustered he is. “Hah! Who knew Ash Ketchum was such a romantic?” he gibes, trying to make it sound like a jab, but Ash just takes it as a compliment and smiles with pride. When Goh looks back, the romantic is clearly eager to kiss him again, leaning forward and tugging Goh closer.

Goh’s eyes flutter closed as Ash's lips find his again. He hums in falsetto as the rest of the world around them blurs away.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chapter Text

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Ash buys Goh a red-velvet latte from one of the vendors on their way through downtown. When the boys finally reunite with the girls and all their Pokémon, they're holding hands with their fingers threaded together.

Nemona whistles so loud it makes Goh want to self destruct. Chloe starts squealing and hopping up and down, fanning her eyes like she's gonna cry. Dawn whoops and high fives Ash’s free hand so hard, he yelps and has to shake out the sting. Cinderace, Pikachu, and all the little ones are cheering and gibbering excitedly.

Goh hides his face and scolds everyone for making such a scene, but he’s smiling a little. He’s happy their friends are all excited for them.

“Geez, It’s about time you two figured everything out. We’ve been waiting for like, almost two hours,” Dawn says, checking her phone. Goh smiles apologetically.

Chloe clasps her hands together joyously. “I’m just so glad you guys finally talked everything out.”

“We actually didn't talk that much,” Ash says earnestly, and Goh chokes on his drink and doubles over, coughing.

Chloe’s face falls. Dawn just shrieks. Nemona cups her hands around the sides of her mouth and bellows, “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH~~~!!!!“ The commotion is starting to cause lots of heads to turn and look at them.

“OK, I’m happy for you guys, but spare us the details,” Chloe drones while unclasping her hands, all her elatedness gone. Goh tries to mime a ’don’t get the wrong idea’ signal with his arms, but he’s still coughing.

“Speak for yourself!“ Dawn says, shaking Ash’s shoulders, “I want details!!!” Ash just laughs and rubs the underside of his nose. Nemona grins and heartily slaps Goh on the back to help him stop choking.

The humiliated boy straightens up, still blushing madly. “I hate all of you so much right now,” he croaks.

“How could you say that to your boyfriend and your best friends?? on Red Day!!“ Dawn cries melodramatically.

Goh bristles at the word boyfriend. “We-- We're not—“ he stammers, “We didn't talk about that yet! So can you guys just—!!“

Ash urgently interrupts, like he's just realizing he forgot something crucial. “Goh—!!!” He shouts seriously, cupping Goh’s face again, and Goh stares back at him, stunned. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

The girls, to their credit, have gone silent, but Dawn’s vibrating like she’s about to explode.

“…Of…Of course,” Goh breathes, and he melts when Ash pulls him into a huge, happy kiss.

The girls all scream and cheer even louder than they screamed at the movie, and Goh realizes this was everything he wished for coming true.

Another wave of ticker tape flutters down on them. Several strangers in the crowd have stopped to clap, snap, and whistle for the happy new couple. Goh pulls away and almost faints from the attention, ducking down and crouching close to the ground, trying to hide his tamato-red face from everyone. The crowd quickly moves on.

The girls all laugh, and Goh’s still sulking when his boyfriend crouches down to join him. “Where do you want to go first?”

“Um…I don’t care… ice skating might be fun,” Goh mumbles, trying to sound cold, but he’s burning up.

“Then leeet’s GOOO!” Ash takes his hand again, holding it out in front of them, laughing and running like he’s leading a charge with a sword. Goh yelps and stumbles away with him.

Nemona and Dawn start to head after them, but Chloe stays and grabs her best friend’s arm with both hands. “Um, wait, Dawn?”

Dawn turns around with wide eyes as Nemona glances over her shoulder. “What’s up?”

Ever the wingman, Nemona grins with two thumbs up at Chloe as she slips away into the crowd.

“I—“ Chloe bauks. She realizes if she finishes this sentence, she’ll be past the point of no return. Dawn is blinking back at her expectantly. Chloe takes a deep breath in through her nose. If Goh was brave enough to share his feelings with Ash, she can be brave too. Just… maybe not in the middle of this crowd. “Come with me?”

“Ok?” Dawn lets Chloe drag her away. She’s confused when she glances over her shoulder and Nemona is gone.

Chloe walks with her a little ways away from the crowd and commotion. It’s quieter towards the park. Dawn is uncharacteristically quiet as Chloe pulls a small red gingham picnic blanket out of her backpack and sets it on the grass for them to sit.

Chloe is working up the nerve to say what she needs to say, and she can feel a blush rising to her cheeks. Dawn is drumming on her legs, impatient and antsy. Chloe takes a deep breath in through her nose. It’s now or never.

She calmly speaks at the same time Dawn suddenly blurts out, “I got you a token.”

The girls blink at each other in unison and burst into giggles.

Dawn eagerly pulls out a small pink box as Chloe produces a red box shaped like a heart. Dawn says, “You first!”

Chloe pulls out a cute rose-gold necklace. Dangling from the chain, a cherry blossom surrounded by tiny stems of baby’s breath pressed in resin, shaped like a heart. “Is it too much?” Dawn grimaces when Chloe stares at it speechlessly.

“It’s too perfect!” Chloe sings, cradling it preciously, and Dawn beams. “I love it so, so much. Thank you, Dawn! I’m gonna wear it right now.”

“Here, let me,” Dawn offers, so Chloe turns around. Dawn takes her time lifting Chloe’s curly hair, clasping the necklace under it so it doesn’t get snagged or tangled. Chloe starts getting goosebumps when Dawn’s fingertips touch the sides of her neck and gently tuck stray hairs behind her ears, which are quickly turning pink. Dawn’s still playing with her bestie's hair when she turns back around.

“Your turn,” Chloe squeaks, barely audible, so Dawn drops her curls and eagerly tears the wrapping off her gift. She gasps at the shimmering, silky ribbons inside. Red, of course, with an ornate pink trim and deep blue, heart shaped gems in the center of the bows. “The small one is for Piplup.” Chloe explains, and the coordinator is already pulling the larger bow out and tying her hair back with it.

“Oh, Chlo!! They’re gorgeous!!” Dawn cries happily, surging forward to hug her. She comes in a little too enthusiastically, knocking Chloe off balance, and they both fall over.

On any other day, they’d laugh it off and sit right back up, but their eyes meet, and something in the air keeps them where they are. Chloe’s looking up at Dawn, the new ribbon’s gem shining bright blue as it’s backlit by strong rays of sunshine. Gravity cascades her long, blue ponytail down the side of her face.

Dawn’s eyes quiver down at Chloe, her long, incredible hair fallen all around her over the red blanket. Her face is blushing bright pink, and her matching lips look so kissable.

Dawn playfully walks her fingers across Chloe’s collarbone and up the side of her neck, and she smiles when Chloe’s breath hitches.

“Chloe?”

“Mm. Mhm?” Chloe responds, suddenly too shy for words.

Dawn looks away and back a few times, anxiously, saying, “If I were to, I dunno, kiss you right now, would it make everything weird and ruin our friendship and Muk up everything we have together, orrr—?“

Chloe surprises both of them by wrapping her hands around the back of Dawn’s head, lifting off the ground and cutting off her friend’s sentence with a deep, sweet kiss. Dawn squeaks and kisses her back, loving every second of it. When they both pull away, Chloe falls back onto the picnic blanket, gazing warmly up at her friend, a little flustered, but very happy.

“I think…there’s no need to worry!” she smiles, stealing Dawn’s catchphrase, and the Coordinator leans down to steal her breath.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chloe and Dawn join Nemona, Ash and Goh later for ice skating. Ash barely manages to keep his new boyfriend from faceplanting the ice as he catches Goh around the waist, but they both end up toppling over anyway. Chloe holds Dawn's hand to keep her balance.

They all meander through the market together, and Ash buys Goh a cute Mew trinket for his backpack. Goh buys each of the girls a friendly token: For Chloe, a cute red bandana to put on Eevee, for Dawn, a pretty red corsage to wear during her contest, and for Nemona, a Fast Ball with a lightning bolt on it.

Nemona dares Ash to try the “Free Smoochum” booth, and it leaves a huge welt on his cheek for the rest of the hour.

And the highlight of the day: Dawn participates in the red Pokemon Contest with her new Pansear, and she wins first place! All her friends make a ruckus, shouting and cheering, so proud of her.

Nemona really hits it off with Dawn’s contest friend and rival, Zoey. She ends up joining them for the rest of the day, and Goh suspects Nemona is really into her.

Chloe gets a congratulatory red bouquet of roses for Dawn and kisses her on the cheek. Then they tell everyone the good news. Nemona, Zoey, and Ash all cheer and clap for them at a normal, not embarrassing volume, and Goh snaps at all them. What’s with the double standard? Everyone just laughs.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Goh and the others regroup with everyone’s pokemonsitter, Cinderace. It looks like their Pokémon have all been having a great time playing and cavorting with other Pokemon on the playground. Goh goes to stand and watch them with his dear companion.

“Thanks again for watching over everyone, Cinderace.”

“Ace!” Cinderace gives him an easygoing salute. Then it gestures at Ash in the distance, playing with Pikachu, Pawmi, and Grookey. Its paws draw a heart shape in the air. “Cinder~~~?”

“Yeah, we like each other...“ Cinderace beams, cinching its fists with pride. Goh smiles, side-hugging Cinderace and resting their heads together. Then his smile slowly fades as he says, “But…Y’know, there’s something I still haven’t figured out…”

“Cin?”

it tilts its head innocently.

Goh side eyes his partner with an accusatory tilt of his brow. “How did the token end up on my bed? Only you knew where I was hiding it.”

Cinderace starts sweating, pretending to ponder that. “Nnn…cinnnnderrrr…?”

Goh lets it sweat for a few seconds before smiling again and ruffling the fur on its ears. “Hah, I’m not mad. Everything worked out in the end… Thanks, Cinderace.”

The meddling Pokemon sighs in relief and grins while rubbing its nose, just like it did when it was a little Scorbunny. It only ever wanted what was best for its trainer.

“Gohhh!” Ash calls, waving the buffet tickets over his head excitedly, “Let’s go! I’m starving!!”

Goh gives Cinderace one more smile before recalling it into its Pokeball. “Coming!”

They wave goodbye to all the girls, and Goh grabs Ash’s outstretched hand. They take off running for their first dinner date together.

It ends up being the best Red Day Goh could ever ask for.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chapter Text

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

One month later…

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

“Sorry, kid, we're all sold out.”

“How can you be all out of Pokeballs?!” Goh cries out desperately, looking a little crazy with dark circles under his eyes.

The old shopkeeper barks a hearty laugh. “You’re the one who cleared me out last week!”

Goh pouts as his boyfriend Ash comes trotting in through the patterned curtains over the doorway. “Sorry, Goh! I checked every shop in the village,” He’s wearing an apologetic expression, but there’s a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. Goh somehow managed to buy and throw every pokeball in Kitakami.

“I can’t believe that Mienshao whipped all my pokeballs away,” Goh laments as flashbacks of the elusive Pokémon haunt him.

“Tell ya what,” the shopkeeper claps his hands, “I’m getting another shipment tomorrow!”

Goh shakes his head. “Thanks, but we’re heading back to Kanto tonight…”

“What! Nooo. Stay, stay!” The jolly countryman insists, “Whole town’s having a big White Day festival tonight. All kinds of fun. Lots to do for lovers like you.”

The Vermilion boy splutters a little as Ash laughs out loud and says, “A festival, huh? Sounds fun!”

Goh pulls Ash into a huddle, looking exasperated. ”Ash, what about our plans—?“ They're supposed to fly back to Kanto and exchange gifts for White Day.

Ash flashes him a loving grin as he grasps Goh’s hand and squeezes it. “Aw, C’mon, Goh! You’ve been working nonstop all month. Let’s have a little fun. Pleeease?“ Ash’s begging brown eyes sparkle at him expectantly. From his shoulder, Pikachu wears a very effective, matching expression.

Goh holds their gaze with a glare before he eventually sighs and concedes. Goh can never resist the double-Lilipuppy eyes. “Fine…”

“Wonderful~~!” The businessman wastes no time as he flourishes several boxes of handwoven robes and a display of hand painted masks onto the counter. “You’ll want to wear something appropriate for the festival, of course— Good thing I have everything you need right here!” 

Goh glances curiously at the patterned fabrics, their silk thread designs shimmering slightly in the light. Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu ooh-and-ahh at the colorful spread of masks as the boy turns one of them over in his hands. 

After purchasing everything they need for the festival, Ash and Goh head back to their room at the inn.

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

“How do I look?” Goh steps out of their room wearing a beautiful red Kimono decorated in an elegant, white Flabébé pattern with a white obi sash. He throws a fluffy faux fur wrap around his neck to keep warm. As he shuffles over to Ash in his white socks, he adjusts a matching, stylized Florges mask resting askew on the side of his head.

At first, Goh only notices the striking white, shiny Grimmsnarl mask on Ash’s fluffy, dark mop of hair. Then the trainer turns around, revealing his handsome, dark blue kimono with a matching haori jacket. A large, white puffy haori himo rests at his abdomen over a pair of pure white, pleated hakama pants.

Upon seeing Goh, a light pink blush dusts his cheeks. “Wow…You look incredible.”

Goh giggles and averts his gaze as he straightens out Ash’s haori for him. “So do you!”

They both smile and naturally reach for one another’s hands, threading their fingers together. When Ash just stares at his boyfriend with stars in his eyes, the boy in red mutters, “Quit staring at me…” 

“But you’re so pretty,” Ash supplies honestly, smiling at the deep red it brings to Goh’s cheeks. For a brief moment, Ash wonders how long it’ll take before his compliments stop making his boyfriend blush. Hopefully it won't be any time soon. 

—

As evening falls, so does a light flurry of snow. Rumbling drums and breathy woodwinds lead them to Kitakami’s White Day festivities. The lively music swells over the buzz of the crowd as they get closer.

Almost everyone is wearing white kimonos— some are white with small pops of colorful patterns, while others are pure white as the snowflakes fluttering down all around them. There’s several playful children weaving in and out of the crowd, dancing and spinning in the fluffy snow, catching snowflakes on their tongues. 

By all means, it’s a wholesome, lovely sight— the merry villagers of Kitakami, all dressed up and celebrating in the snow. But Goh feels a little uneasy as he takes in his surroundings.

Throughout regions like Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh, white ceremonial robes represent purity, worn in preparation for significant journeys— such as the journey one takes into marriage, or into the afterlife. In other words: traditional white formalwear is usually reserved for weddings… or caskets.

So, to Goh, the sight of everyone in white is kind of unsettling— as if he’s surrounded by corpses and ghosts. It’s especially creepy catching glimpses of white in the shadows: couples laughing on the outskirts, or children chasing one another through the alleyways.

Beside him, Ash just laughs and says, “Everyone looks like they’re getting married!”

“Chaa~!” His partner giggles.

This pulls a sudden laugh out of Goh. Of course Ash sees the lighter side of things. Today is just another day to celebrate love, after all. Goh decides to keep his dark thoughts to himself.

But then Goh notices a small child in pure white, standing far apart from the other playful kids. They’re just watching the other children play with a pale, impassive face. He’s not sure what it is about the child that catches his attention. They have unique, silvery white hair with a red ombré, and golden, melancholy eyes.

When the child suddenly looks up at him, a sudden chill rattles Goh from the top of his spine to his toes.

Ash feels his partner’s hand tense around his and squeezes back. “What’s wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost,” He jokes. It’s a pretty silly joke, because among the white Pokemon in the crowd, there’s a Litwick, a shiny Phantump, and a Greavard.

Goh glances back at Ash, feeling momentarily soothed by his grounding smile. “Nothing’s wrong. I was just—“ He stops short when he looks back and the kid is gone, like it just vanished without a trace.

Goh's brow furrows as he scans the crowd, but the mysterious child is nowhere to be seen. There aren’t even any human footprints in the snow where they were standing.

Grookey grumbles warily from Goh’s shoulder. Did Grookey see that too?

…Nope. Nuh uh. Goh must be seeing things. He’s just paranoid. Subconsciously, he stands up straighter and steps closer to Ash with a gulp.

Oblivious to Goh's ghostly encounter, Ash thinks his boyfriend is just cuddling up to him. He wraps a comforting arm around Goh’s shoulders and sings, “Let’s go this way~~!” following his nose to the fried noodles and candied berries.

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

With snacks in tow, the boys meander from one stall to the next, occasionally stopping to peruse or play games. Bright white paper lanterns light their way to the live music and dancers.

After an hour in Ash's company, Goh has fully recovered from the weird feeling he got earlier; right now, he’s just having a fun date with his boyfriend.

He lets himself get lost in the moment, staring at Ash’s face and deep brown eyes that reflect the fairy lights and lanterns all around them. When Ash catches Goh staring, he gazes back at him in understanding as a smile spreads across his face.

While Cinderace is holding Grookey and Pikachu on its head to watch the performance, Goh silently tugs Ash away from the crowd with a kiss. The beat of the drums fades away as Goh’s heart pumps even louder in his chest. Ash hums happily against his lips, cradling Goh’s face as they playfully exchange giggly kisses. Goh’s not usually one to indulge in public displays of affection, but the moment just felt too right to pass up.

As they pull away, smiling, Goh decides it’s also the perfect moment for them to exchange gifts. “I brought your token for White Day,” he says, producing a large, white gift bag.

“Me too!” Ash blurts excitedly, pulling a white pouch out of his backpack. They both grin at one another in anticipation, excited to see what the other got for them.

But just as the tokens are about to trade hands, a sudden, mysterious flash of white knocks both boys back a step. They blink and exchange a stunned look with one another as Goh realizes his gift bag for Ash is gone. “What–??”

Ash's eyes snap to a child slipping away from the crowd right as they’re rounding the corner into a dark side alley. He takes off in pursuit, shouting, “Goh, this way!”

“Cinderace!” Goh has to shout loudly so his voice doesn’t get drowned out by music. Thankfully, Cinderace’s ear flicks and it turns around with Grookey and Pikachu. Goh beckons them to the alley. “C’mon!!”

“Ace!” “Pika!!” “Keykey??”

It doesn't take long for Goh to catch up to Ash’s voice. They round another corner of the alley to find Ash confronting the urchin at a dead end. With a shiver, Goh recognizes the child from before with those sad, yellow eyes, clutching the white token to their chest like their life depends on it.

“That doesn't belong to you!” Ash scolds, “Give it back!”

“You’re the kid from before,” Goh breathes uneasily. He shouldn’t be so frightened of a child, but something about the way they’re staring down Ash feels almost animalistic. Grookey chitters in trepidation as it clutches tighter onto Goh’s arm. All five of them feel the air grow colder in the standoff.

“…Something’s up,” Ash warns, putting a protective hand out to stop Goh from getting closer. “Their aura’s all kinds of weird.”

“Piiiika…” his friend stands at attention, crackling with energy. Beside them, Cinderace takes a readying stance. They seem to know something Ash and Goh don’t.

Then the thief closes their eyes, and for a moment, neither boy can understand what they’re seeing. The child starts to shimmer, almost like a mirage. Then, in a burst of pure white light, its true form appears with a somersault— a small, white, fox-like monster with wispy red-tipped fur, just like the child’s hair.

“Whoa, it’s a Pokemon!” Ash gapes. Goh quickly pulls out his Rotom phone to assess it.

"ZORUA. The tricky fox Pokemon. Hisuian form. A normal and ghost type. A once-departed soul, returned to life in Hisui. It derives power from resentment, which rises as energy atop its head. In this way, Zorua vents lingering malice. Zorua can transform its appearance into foes or humans. It often goes into cities to search for food. When Zorua does this, it usually takes on the form of a child.”

“Resentment…? Lingering malice…?” Goh murmurs to himself, still studying the entry.

“Goh, watch out!!” Ash claps his hand around Goh's wrist and pulls hard. They both just narrowly avoid a huge blast of Bitter Malice as Ash's back hits the alley wall. Goh’s spine feels just a lick of the cold, frightful energy before Ash maneuvers him into a hug with one protective hand around his head, the other still holding Goh's wrist between their chests. Meanwhile, Cinderace manages to kickflip off the opposite wall just over the attack, shivering as it lands with its fur on end. 

As Cinderace eagerly steps forward for battle, it’s safe for Ash to pull away, the hand on Goh's head still resting around the nape of his neck as he lovingly asks, “You okay?”

Ahead of them, the cornered Zorua narrows its eyes, the swirls of energy over its head flickering like a weakening flame. Goh wouldn’t be surprised if that move took a lot of energy out of it. 

The researcher watches the Zorua carefully as he says, “Yeah, thanks, Ash.” The fist he had resting on Ash's chest relaxes, gently placing his palm over Ash's heart as a gesture of gratitude.

“This is a really powerful Pokemon,” Ash observes, sounding excited now.

Goh nods. “Yeah. Me and Cinderace can handle this.”

Ash surprises him with a quick smooch on the cheek (their faces are so close, after all) and with a proud smile, he says, “Yeah, you’ve got this!”

Ever the cheerleader, Pikachu jumps up with a peppy, “Piii-ka-chuuu!”

Upon seeing Goh’s loving smile back at them, the volatile Pokemon snarls in frustration as it rears back to unleash another attack: Shadow Ball. Goh quickly reacts, stepping away from Ash as he points and shouts, “Cinderace, counter with Pyro Ball!” 

The two massive orbs of energy meet head on, dissipating, but not without an explosive force that knocks both Pokemon off their feet. The boys hold onto their masks as the blowback whips their long sleeves and robes around. Cinderace does a flawless three point landing while the little Zorua hits the dead end wall hard, taking damage.

“Nice one, Cinderace!”

“Cin!”

The Zorua shakily rises to its feet, glaring in a way Goh can only describe as deathly jealous. 

Then it just bursts into tears with a heart-wrenching, ghostly wail. Everyone is startled, including Cinderace, who suddenly feels flustered and sorry for it. Against its better judgment, Cinderace runs forward to check on it. At the same moment, Goh catches a glint in his opponent's glassy yellow eyes. Fake Tears.

“Cinderace, wait–!” Goh starts, but it's too late. As Cinderace glances back at its trainer, the Zorua surges forward with a reckless Take Down, hurting them both. Cinderace hops back, wincing at the damage it took square in the chest. Before it can recover, the scrappy Zorua follows up with Fury Swipes, raking it's claws kind of frantically over the arms Cinderace has braced over its face. As both Pokemon jump apart again, Cinderace screams a battle cry of frustration, angry with being deceived.

Goh grits his teeth, his mind reeling– That was a cheap shot. Is he really going to lose this? He told Ash he could handle this. Can he handle this? He can't let this Pokémon get away with Ash's token! As his negative emotions brew, he clenches his fists and scowls at the dangerous trickster Pokemon.

The panting Zorua just smirks as the energy on its head swells with power.

It derives power from resentment, Goh remembers. 

As Zorua awaits Cinderace's next move, the researcher takes a deep breath to relax. Then, he smiles and says, “Cinderace! You're doing such a great job. Keep it up!!”

Cinderace casts a quick glance back at Goh and smiles. “Ace!”

“Gooo, Cinderace!” Ash shouts, and Pikachu squeaks, “Pikapikachu!!”

“And you, Zorua!” Goh steps forward with a warm smile. “You’re incredible! It’s been a while since me and Cinderace fought a Pokemon as tough as you!”

Zorua’s stance falters, its eyes flickering between Goh and Cinderace warily, the energy swirling around it clearly dampening.

“But you stole something really important to me—” Goh levels with it, speaking softly and just loud enough for his voice to carry across the alley.  “Could we have it back? Please?”

In response, the stubborn spirit uses the last of its remaining strength to conjure another dangerous blast of Bitter Malice.

“Cinderace, use Ember!”

“Cin-der-ACE!” It kicks up alley debris, launching a comet of fire through Zorua’s Bitter Malice and landing a direct hit. As the smoke clears, Zorua trembles on its paws and collapses. 

Goh rushes forward with Ash and Cinderace close behind. “Careful, Goh! It could be pretending again!”

Isn't that novel? Ash asking Goh to be careful. Goh grins. It's cute when Ash worries about him. “It’s okay. Let me talk to it.”

The little Zorua glares up at Goh as he gently kneels down to inspect it. Cinderace skirts around them, grabbing the bag with a triumphant, “Cin!” Zorua sighs in defeat, looking away with sad eyes as Cinderace hands the gift back to its trainer. There’s a slight singe in its fur where Cinderace’s Ember landed.

“You must be hungry after all that battling, huh? Here.” Goh reaches into his bag and pulls out some Berries, including a Rawst berry. “This one cures burns.” The Zorua eyes and sniffs him suspiciously before snatching the berry out of his hands.

”Aww, it’s so cute~~!” Ash coos behind them. “But what’s a wild Hisuian Zorua doing all the way out here in Kitakami?”

”I don’t know,” Goh murmurs sadly, watching Zorua munch away at the berries with a growl. “It must’ve been starving… Hey, Zorua?” Its ear reluctantly flicks toward Goh to show it’s listening before going back to scarfing down berries. ”I don’t know what it is, but something about you reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger, y’know? See, I never fit in much with the other kids, either…” At this, the Zorua’s sad eyes widen a little. “You also remind me a lot of Cinderace, back when it was just a little thieving Scorbunny…”

Cinderace smiles and rubs its nose, nodding in agreement. “Cin, cin, cinder-ace!” It appears to be communicating something to the Zorua, who listens intently.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, I think we both understand how you feel. At least a little. I don’t know how you ended up here, but it seems like you could use a friend… Would you like to come home with us…?”

Zorua huffs coldly and turns its head away, but something about the way it yips softly in reply makes it clear to Goh that it’s actually really touched, it’s just trying not to show it.

“I know that look,” Ash grins pointedly at Goh, who pouts and averts his eyes with a blush. Another trait he and Zorua have in common, huh? Goh smiles and rolls his eyes as he reaches into his belt for a—

“Oh, no!! I forgot!!!” Goh whines, holding his head in his hands. “I’m all out of Pokeballs!”

“Grooo-keeey,” his companion whimpers, sensing his distress.

The Zorua’s ears dip back, clearly disappointed.

“Wait!! Hold on!!” Ash rummages in his messy backpack, pulling out the bag from their interrupted gift exchange. With an ecstatic grin, he grabs Goh’s hand and places the pouch in his palm. “Goh—Happy White Day!!!”

Goh almost cries happy tears as he opens the bag to see at least 30 miniature, white Premiere balls. “Ash—!” He immediately turns and pulls his boyfriend into a huge, grateful hug. “You’re the best, you know that?”

Ash giggles that “he-he-he” laugh he does when he’s especially chuffed with himself. “Don’t spend ’em all in one place!”

The collector laughs as he kneels back down in front of the wild Pokémon. “Okay, Zorua!” Goh bleeps the button on one of the balls and it expands in his hand. ”Let’s GO~!” he sings, gently tossing the ball onto the crown of its head. It accepts in a flash of red light and starry sparks.

”Hisuian Zorua has been registered to your Pokédex!”

”ALRIGHT~!” Goh shouts, jumping to his feet and twirling around in joyous circles as he holds Zorua’s special pokeball to his chest.

”Way to go, Goh! That was incredible!!” Ash sweeps him and Grookey into a lifted hug, spinning them around. Cinderace joins from the other side, nuzzling its trainer’s shoulder. From its perch on Ash’s shoulder, Pikachu chimes happily.

Before they get too dizzy, Goh releases his new Zorua, and they all stop to smile at it. For a moment, it just eyes them warily before Goh asks with open arms, “Wanna get in on this?”

It only hesitates for a moment before it leaps into Goh’s arms for the group hug. It’s very soft, but colder than Goh was expecting. Soon enough, though, it warms up among the five of them. Feeling full of food and love now, Zorua purrs loudly against Goh’s chest as it curls up and closes its eyes.

“Happy White Day, Zorua!” Goh whispers with a smile, delighted with his adorable new friend. He can’t wait to give it all the love it’s been missing.

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

They all make their way to a nearby hill as they wait for the fireworks show to begin. Ash and Goh sit side by side, fingers intertwined, while Cinderace, Pikachu, Zorua, and Grookey all roll around playing in the grass ahead of them. Once the first burst of sparks light up the sky, Goh pulls out the gift bag he worked so hard to win back for Ash.

“Happy White Day.”

Ash beams as he pulls out a box of delicious, white mochi. “Ohhhoho!! Yes!!” Of course he reacts immediately, grabbing a piece of the sweet rice dough and stuffing his face. “MMM!! I luhb mochh zOooo mudge!” He pops a big piece into Pikachu’s mouth, and it giggles happily as it chews.

”Ash, slow down!! You’re gonna choke!!” his boyfriend scolds.

Ash and Pikachu both take big (dangerous) synchronized swallows of mochi and sigh contentedly. “Ahh~~~” then, seeing Zorua’s big, jealous eyes, he says, “Hey, Zorua, this is what you were after all along, wasn’t it? I’ll share some with you!”

Zorua’s eyes practically sparkle as Ash tosses it a piece. It yips a delighted thanks as it savors the dough, swooning back and forth like it’s the happiest Pokemon in the world.

“Here— share some with Cinderace and Grookey, too, okay?” Ash hands Zorua another piece, and it dutifully trots over to Goh’s other Pokemon. They cheer a thanks to Zorua and hum with delicious satisfaction as they all partake in the mochi together. Pikachu hops after its friends, chasing Grookey and Zorua in playful circles while Cinderace lays back on the hill, looking happy and content.

Goh looks back at Ash, his heart swelling with affection. He’s so lucky to have a partner that treats his Pokemon so well.

More white fireworks light up the sky in between showers of red and pink.

“There’s more,” Goh says, nodding at the bag, his voice barely audible over the loud cracks and sparkles above them. A flash of red lights up both their faces as Ash reaches back into the bag,

”What’s this?” Ash says curiously, pulling out the second half of Goh's token. Then he smiles as a blush overtakes his cheeks. It’s a pure white photo album with lots of blank pages, save for the first, which features a lovely photo spread of Ash, Goh, Nemona, Chloe, Dawn, and all their Pokemon from Red Day. Ash goes quiet while he runs his fingers over the fabric cover. The light show in the sky casts the cover photo in overlays of pink, then white, then blue.

”It’s a new scrapbook, for our new journey...” Goh explains. “Um, that’s why most of it’s blank… I figured we could fill this one up, together,” He blushes, feeling vulnerable all the sudden, like it’s Red Day and he’s confessing to his crush all over again. 

Ash scoots closer to Goh, wrapping an arm around his waist and resting their heads together. “I love this. Thank you so much, Goh.” Then, after watching the fireworks together for a moment, he murmurs, “Y’know, we should keep doing this...”

Goh cocks his head to look at Ash. ”Doing what…?”

”Next month, I’m thinking…“ Ash pauses and smiles as blue lights explode across the sky. “Blue Day. In Cerulean City.”

His best friend bursts out laughing before sarcastically responding, “Sure, and maybe the month after that, we’ll do Orange Day in the Orange Islands.”

Ash’s face lights up even brighter than the fireworks above them. “And the month after that, we’ll do Green Day in Veridian!!”

That’s when Goh realizes Ash isn’t joking. “Wait—“

“Gold, Silver, Purple, Pink, Yellow, Indigo, Rainbow—“

“You can’t be serious,” Goh deadpans, but there’s a smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

“I wanna celebrate every color with you,” Ash says earnestly, smiling as his words clearly affect Goh’s hue. 

“You’re ridiculous…” Goh mutters as his sappy boyfriend tilts his chin up. As the grand finale of white explosives shimmer and sparkle across the starry night sky, Ash captures his lips with passionate appreciation.

For a moment, Goh is so lost in their perfect kiss, he almost doesn’t register the flash of Ash’s phone camera apart from the fireworks. When they pull apart, Ash is smiling down at the photo of them kissing on his phone. He's never tried to capture something like that before, so Goh is thoroughly flustered as he stammers, “Aah-Ash?! Why–” 

“For our new album,” he grins cheekily, snapping another photo of Goh’s incredulous reaction. “We’ve got a lot of pages to fill up.” 

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷

Chapter Text

❤️ Happy Red Day! ❤️

I made this to celebrate. Thanks for reading!