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The Ditto is in Gary’s office again.
It’s not unusual, exactly. Goh’s visits have been increasingly frequent as of late, so much so that Professor Sycamore has joked they might as well find a place to set him up, too. But Gary knows better than to think Goh will stay here any longer than it takes him to get the data he’s searching for. That’s probably for the best anyway, because Gary’s not sure how much more he can put up with his coffee mug turning into slimy pink Pokémon when he makes to take a drink from it.
Ditto is good fun when it’s pranking Goh, but lately Gary has been its favourite target. Part of him is convinced Goh is just trying to mess with him; another part of him can’t help believing it when Goh acts surprised to hear that Ditto pulled yet another trick on him.
Swiping his real mug from his desk, he cradles it in both hands and leans back in his chair, glaring at the giggling pink blob in front of him.
“You must have something better to be doing than this,” he gripes. “Y’know, I used to think you were kinda cute, but you’re not fooling me anymore.”
To show how much it clearly doesn’t care, Ditto just climbs off the desk—and begins toward the door.
“Oh, no. You’re not going anywhere.” With perhaps a little too much force, Gary slams his mug back down on the desk and clambers up to his feet. As he scoops Ditto into his arms, it lets out an indignant squeak, which he scoffs at. “The last thing any of us needs is you getting into something you shouldn’t. Lucky for you, it’s nearly time for dinner, so if you really want a change of scenery that bad, you’re gonna get it with me.”
Ditto deflates in his arms, with an expression on its face that reminds Gary of the way Goh looks at him when he knows Gary is right about something but doesn’t want to admit it. It’s as endearing as it is pathetic, and Gary doesn’t waste any time in telling Ditto, “Pouting’s not gonna get you anywhere, y’know.”
A huff is his only response.
He turns around to grab his uneaten lunch from beneath his desk. Though he’s already worked through lunch, he would have liked to get the rest of his work for the day done before taking a break, but there was no chance of that happening with Ditto around. It simply has too much energy—another thing it has in common with its Trainer, Gary supposes.
He carries the petulant Pokémon and his lunch to the terrarium, which is currently home to a variety of Vivillon at the behest of the student researchers from Lumiose University, who are doing a joint thesis on mating patterns amongst Vivillon. It’s not particularly interesting to Gary, but does present Ditto with an excellent opportunity.
As he finds them a place to settle near the edge of the enclosure, beneath the cover of one of the larger oaks, he explains, “There are as many patterns of Vivillon as there are different climates for it to live in. No one really knows for sure if we’ve found all of them. Sycamore’s adorable interns want to know what kinds of patterns offspring of two differently patterned Vivillon will have.” With that, he sets Ditto down in front of him and gestures to one of the Vivillon fluttering by them. “Let’s see what you come up with.”
Never one to back down from a challenge, particularly when it begets mischief, Ditto puffs itself up and determinedly stares down a nearby Vivillon. As Gary watches, it transforms, taking on the shining aquamarine of the Ocean Pattern Vivillon above them, and then the softer blue of the Tundra Pattern Vivillon. Content to sit back as it runs through the various patterns, shifting them ever so slightly with each new iteration, Gary at last attends to his lunch in peace.
It is short-lived, as the arrival of another body in the enclosure has him looking toward the door. He’s halfway to shouting for them to come and see the Fancy Poké Ball Pattern Vivillon Ditto is currently masquerading as when he registers, with some disappointment, that it is not one of the student researchers after all.
“There you are,” says Goh, impatiently, as he jogs toward him. He comes to a halt in front of him, with that same put-upon frown Ditto leveraged at him earlier. “What are you even doing here? I left my Pokémon in the yard with yours. I thought if you weren’t at your desk you’d be with them, not hiding out here.”
“What, you don’t like watching the Vivillon?”
“Well, sure, I guess, but— Wait, what’s wrong with that one?”
He’s pointing at Ditto, who seems unable to decide on a pattern and is transforming rapidly through them all. It’s rather impressive, and, Gary hopes, extremely exhausting.
“These student researchers are really advanced,” Gary says dryly. “They’ve created a new Vivillon pattern here in this lab. We’ve been calling it the Techno Rave Pattern.”
Goh stares at him for a moment, and then lets out a snort of laughter. As it leaves him, he settles down beside Gary, and reaches over him to take the other half of his sandwich. The protest doesn’t get a chance to pass Gary’s lips before his eyes have locked on to Goh’s, which are glittering with amusement; he swallows it back, his throat closing up uncomfortably.
“Looks like you and Ditto have been getting along today,” Goh remarks. He bites into Gary’s sandwich, turning away again to watch his Pokémon flying amongst the Vivillon, as if it really does belong there, in spite of the ever-shifting colours rippling over its wings. His gaze is bright and happy, and has Gary’s heart stuttering in his chest.
When the sandwich is all gone, Goh offers Gary a quick smile. “We’ll be out of your hair soon. I think I’ve gotten all I’m going to from my expedition to Mega Island, and I’ve been itching to go back to Hoenn. There’s this hoard of Salamence at Meteor Falls that have been making the news lately…”
“You’re leaving again already?” All too aware of the emotion trying to creep into his voice, Gary forces his lips into a teasing smirk. “You really are too restless for your own good.”
“I guess so.”
“Like Trainer, like Pokémon, huh?” Gary turns his gaze back up to Ditto, who has perched atop a tree branch to rest. Even now, though, the pattern on it flickers with uncertainty.
To his surprise, Goh laughs at that, a bit awkward-sounding. When Gary glances over, he won’t meet his eyes.
“Thanks for bringing it out here. I guess, sometimes, I forget that there are things in the world other than work and research. I know you’re the same, but…you still brought it here to do something fun.”
“Yeah, well… It was either that or be too distracted by all the practical jokes it would’ve been playing on me.”
Goh chuckles. “It really likes you, doesn’t it?”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“No, really.” He turns to face Gary, eyes wide and earnest. “It wanted to stay here with you. It could’ve come along with me, but when it sets its mind on something…” He shrugs. “I didn’t see any reason to force it, when we were just excavating stones the whole time anyway.”
Like Trainer, like Pokémon, indeed.
But just as Gary is opening his mouth to suggest Goh stay a few days longer, the door to the enclosure opens again. It’s the two student researchers, come to take their daily reports on the Vivillon.
So, instead, Gary tells Goh, “Here’s your chance to do something that’s not work, then.”
With a raised eyebrow, Goh looks between him and the student researchers, until finally his gaze lands on Ditto again. His shoulders slump, but Gary doesn’t miss the upward twitch of his lips, either.
By the time the students have come around to them, he must have made up his mind, because when they come to a halt, surprised, and one of them stammers out, “P-Professor Oak!” Goh redirects their attention by telling them, “We’ve been watching your Vivillon for a while and we noticed something really strange…”
He keeps a surprisingly straight face as the students lean forward in wide-eyed interest.
“We decided to call it the Techno Rave Pattern, but maybe you should have the honours of naming it yourselves. It’s your project, after all.”
The student on the left flushes in pride, while the one on the right echoes, “Techno Rave…?”
Goh points at his Ditto, which must have been paying some attention to what’s been going on, for it has pushed away from the tree again to begin dancing tantalizingly around the other Vivillon. The first student, Rosemary, drops her clipboard, gaping. The other one reaches down to pick it up, but never once do his eyes waver from the strange sight above him.
“Th-that’s impossible,” Rosemary squeaks. “None of the Spewpa should have evolved by now!”
“I…don’t think that’s the impossible part,” her partner says, with an awkward, disbelieving laugh.
Ditto comes closer, until it is fluttering right in their faces. The slack-jawed students follow it as it lands on the ground before them, and then, in a wash of glowing white, it transforms back into its regular self.
“W-what?!”
Finally, Goh cracks a smile, even as he tells them, “Sorry. We shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up.” He reaches out for Ditto, coaxing it up on to his shoulder, where it promptly seems to melt into a pile of exhausted pink goo. Mission success, then.
Rosemary deflates, and then straightens up with a small, genuine-sounding laugh. “I figured my eyes were deceiving me,” she admits. “But, you know, it’s okay! It just makes me that much more excited for what really will happen when the Spewpa evolve. Right, Sage?”
Her partner shoots her a fond smile. “Right,” he says. “Maybe it’ll be something even cooler than Techno Rave Pattern Vivillon.”
“That’s the spirit,” Gary agrees. “See, Goh? You’re inspiring the next generation of budding researchers.”
“I think that’s his way of trying to tell you that it wasn’t his idea to trick you,” Goh tells the students, amused. “Which it was, for the record. I could never come up with a name as terrible as Techno Rave Pattern.”
“You’re just jealous,” Gary shoots back.
Rosemary giggles. “It’s okay, Professor Oak. I think it’s charming!”
“Flattery will only get you so far,” Goh warns her. “And anyway, didn’t you two have a report to work on?”
They both straighten up, cheeks flaming.
“Y-yes, sir!” Rosemary scrambles to take the clipboard from Sage, and then turns him around and pushes him forward. Over her shoulder she calls back, “Thanks, Professors!”
As they go, Goh asks Gary, “Do they realize you’re not actually in charge around here?”
Gary just cocks an eyebrow at that. “Oh, yeah? Says who?”
Rolling his eyes, Goh gives him a light-hearted shove. The movement disrupts Ditto, who opens its eyes with a murmur of confusion. As Goh watches it, his countenance softens.
“I guess we have been working harder than usual lately,” he allows. “The hoard will probably still be there even if we stay here a few more days, right?”
“Not to go back to Mega Island and keep digging for rocks, right?”
“Well…”
“This one will start getting bored hanging around here all day,” Gary points out. “There are a lot more interesting things for it to transform into in Lumiose than out there, anyway.”
“Oh, really? Like what?”
The glint of challenge in his eyes never fails to bring a grin to Gary’s face. He stands, and reaches a hand down to Goh, who grabs it without question and allows him to pull him up to his feet.
“I guess I’ll just have to show you, huh? Come on, let’s feed our Pokémon, and then we can go.”
“Don’t you have work to do?”
Dismissively, Gary waves the hand that is not still holding Goh’s in front of him. “Maybe I need a break from all that, too.”
Goh watches him a moment, but when he finds no betrayal of Gary’s words in his expression, he at last nods. Gently, as though he does not truly want to, he disentangles their hands and falls into step beside him. Ditto sways in its sleep on his shoulder, so he slows his pace. Gary slows down to match it.
They walk on, together.