Chapter Text
After initially struggling to get his footing with it finding and catching every bug type Pokemon native to Kanto wasn't as complicated as Goh would have expected.
Yes, he still had to fight some of them, and a few had been a pain, he had needed Scorbunnys help a lot, and there was that trip to the Pokemon Center in between. But it was completely doable, and Goh had very much enjoyed it.
Frankly, now that he had started, he still wanted to go out there and continue catching more Pokemon, even if he knew it was getting late. He wanted to meet more of them, learn more about them. Why had he been so focused on getting Mew as his starter if he could have spent the last five years making more friends?
Really, the bigger struggle of that day was the fact of how much more aware Goh was of Ashs constant touches now. And he had already been hyper aware of them before.
The biggest difference was probably that Goh wasn't the only one out of them who was paying attention to it now. He wasn't even sure if Ash had realized how touchy he was before today.
As Ash put his arm around his shoulder to congratulate Goh on catching all the bug types he quickly shot his soulmate a questioning look, as a reply Goh only leaned into the touch more.
Neither of them had brought up their talk from yesterday again, nor the sleep deprived cheek kiss that Goh had secretly dubbed "The Incident" in his mind, and he felt kind of relieved about it.
Them being soulmates hadn't suddenly changed their friendship, they were still the same people, just... more. If Ash wasn't going to make it awkward, then neither was he.
And if he was honest with himself, he liked the touches. He wasn't a fan of other people touching him, but it was different with Ash.
After looking around for a little longer and not finding new Pokemon anymore they made their way back to the Cerise Institute.
They were right at each others side, and Goh could feel Ashs hand brush against his a few times. He didn't have the courage to take it, so he tried his best to ignore it.
At some point Scorbunny must have caught onto what was going on between the two humans, because she was snickering from her spot on his shoulder. Goh tried his best to ignore that, too.
They said goodnight to Professor Cerise, Ren and Chrysa, who were already packing up for the day. Then went onto their usual bedtime routine, taking turns showering and brushing their teeth.
Goh liked the thought that they already had a usual bedtime routine too, it was nice. Today though, he had to break their established ritual, for the sake of his new partners.
"Do you mind if I let out my Pokemon for the night?", Goh asked as Ash came out of the bathroom.
Ash started a nod, then stopped halfway through, contemplating. "Sure, just one moment."
He stepped closer to Goh, leaned in, and before Goh could process what was going on the light touch on his skin was already gone.
Unlike yesterday Pikachu and Scorbunny were watching the whole thing play out this time, neither of them looked surprised. Had they seriously been that obvious? Or did these Pokemon have a special ability to read their trainers emotions?
Ash made himself comfortable on his bed. "You can let them out now.", he said nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just kissed his soulmate on the cheek.
"Was this revenge for yesterday?", Goh asked dumbfoundedly, not sure what else to do.
The other shrugged. "Maybe it was revenge, maybe I just wanted to know what it's like."
Without another word Goh released his Pokemon, then climbed up the bunk bed and buried his burning face in his pillow.
He didn't remember when he'd fallen asleep or how it had happened, but he did know that the next thing he realized was the Venonat sitting on his face.
To his credit, Goh didn't scream, quickly remembering that this was his own Pokemon.
"Hey, uh, could you get off me?", he asked into her fur, his voice muffled by it, but Venonat made no effort of moving.
Goh sighed, gently pushed her off, then sat up and stretched his arms. He didn't know what time it was, but he was awake so he might as well just get ready for the day.
He was about to climb down the stairs, only to be caught off guard by what he saw and break out in startled laughter.
"This isn't funny!", Ash, who together with Pikachu hung on the side of their bed wrapped up in a String Shot, complained.
Goh only laughed harder, wiping a tear away from his eye. "What do you mean not funny, this is hilarious!"
He didn't stop laughing when Pinsir pushed him off the bed and he somehow ended up on the bottom bunk, and he didn't stop laughing when Venonat came back to him, or when Paras, Parasect and Metapod jumped onto him as well.
They stayed like this for a bit, but eventually Goh did say: "Okay, that's enough. Get off me." Not because he didn't like them being there, it was quite the opposite, he was overjoyed the Pokemon were already this comfortable with their new trainer, but because he needed oxygen to survive.
The Pokemon didn't move, not after he added in a "Stop it!" too, and not even when Chloe opened the door, asking "What are you doing?", only to see what WAS going on and freeze up.
"Goh! Do something!" Ash complained again. Really, the whole situation was comical.
Goh only managed to catch himself and finally stopped laughing as Professor Cerise walked into the room, vaguely hinting that he had a solution, telling them to get dressed and meet him downstairs.
The Pokemon finally let Goh free after that, and he managed to convince Scyther and Pinsir to free the String Shot victims.
Ash looked at him annoyed, Pikachu stuck his tongue out towards Goh when he was finally free again. Goh simply shrugged, it wasn't like he could blame them. In a way it was his fault, even if it had been amusing to watch from his perspective.
The two teenagers changed clothes in record time and met up with the Professor, who showed them outside and led them to the Cerise Park, where their Pokemon could live.
This was perfect, better than them living in their bedroom, better for everyone involved. Goh wished he had thought to ask yesterday, but then again that would have meant missing out on the comedy act.
"Wasn't Mew supposed to be your first catch?" a voice next to him asked.
Still distracted with his thoughts and watching the Pokemon run around the park he absentmindedly sighed, and with a small content smile on his face he whispered "No, I suppose it never was."
Belatedly his brain caught up to his actions, and he noticed his mistake, realizing what he'd just revealed to Chloe.
Ash wasn't sure whether he wanted to give Goh another kiss on the cheek for the soft expression on his face while stating Mew was never supposed to be his first Pokemon, or if he wanted to slap him for saying so out loud around other people. Maybe he could manage to fit in both, in that order.
Because the way Chloe was looking from Goh, to Pikachu, to Ash, back to Goh, there was no way she had missed the implications, nor had she misinterpreted them.
Her only reaction besides that was slowly blinking at Goh. Ash really didn't know what to make of it, he didn't know her well enough to read her expression.
After a few moments that felt like eons, Chloe finally spoke up again. "Oh, is that why you're wearing short sleeves?" Goh inhaled sharply, then awkwardly nodded.
Ash hadn't even thought that far ahead, he hadn't paid it any mind. If Goh wore long sleeves to hide his soulmark then that would make sense. And of course Chloe would be aware of that, she's obviously known him for a long time.
He knew he had been the one to suggest telling the Professor during their conversation two days ago, but he had figured that they had quietly agreed to keep it to themselves and get used to it for a while, and he'd assumed he would have time to plan what to say.
Alas, Professor Cerise was standing right there as well, listening into their conversation and finally catching on as well.
Being more straightforward and direct than his daughter he asked: "Are you soulmates?"
Ash managed not to groan, and nodded in confirmation. There wasn't really any reason to hide it from the man now.
"Yep, we are. Or well, at least we think we are.", he elaborated. Ash lifted his shirt to stress his statement, but he quickly let it fall down again so they wouldn't be able to stare for long. He'd never liked it when people did that, it felt invasive, the only person who should be allowed to stare was Goh.
The Professor nodded though, having been able to recognise the mark anyways. "How long have you known?" The mans tone didn't necessarily sound scolding, but he sure did put a lot of authority into that question.
"The day before yesterday", replied Goh meekly, seemingly having come to the same conclusion as Ash about how to handle this situation.
At that, Professor Cerises expression softened. "Only when Goh caught Scorbunny", he realized. Both Goh and Ash hummed in confirmation, their heads turned away.
"You two can stop looking like a couple of kicked Lillipup, I'm not mad at you." Goh frowned at that. "You're not?", he asked, the confusion in his tone evident.
Professor Cerise chuckled and shook his head. "No, I'm really not. I get it, meeting your other half is exciting, and keeping it to yourself for a while to get used to having them around is a completely normal reaction. When I met Talia we-"
"Please, do not elaborate.", Chloe interrupted embarrassed. Huh, well then, it wasn't hard to guess who her mother was.
The Professor didn't let the interruption bring him down, the fond smile on his face never fell. It only managed to make Chloe seem more annoyed.
"Anyways", he continued. "I understand, but don't wait too long to tell your parents. There are legal documents you have to fill out once you meet your soulmate, and since you are still minors, your guardians have to fill them out for you."
"My mom runs a restaurant, but they're closed on Sundays.", Ash threw in. "My parents don't have work this Sunday either if I remember correctly.", Goh added.
Professor Cerise seemed pleased with their agreeing response. "Alright, Sunday works fine, but I mean it. I know having secrets is fun, but the longer you wait the worse it will get later."
He was about to leave them be, but then stopped at the door to turn around again. "I'm not going to regret letting you stay in the same room, am I?", he asked with one eyebrow raised.
"What, you think we'd do anything in the bunk beds?", retorted Ash, also raising an eyebrow. "That doesn't seem comfortable. Someone could fall down the upper bed and on the lower one we'd hit our heads. And even if you split us up it's not like you'd know, you don't stay here over night.", he accompanied the latter statement with a shrug.
Goh groaned, looking utterly mortified. "You're only making it worse!", he hissed towards Ash. Ash wasn't sure what the other meant, he wasn't wrong, and it wasn't as though they had actually done anything.
Chloe gaped. Professor Cerise only laughed. "Touché, but I'd still appreciate it if you don't."
"No! I mean- yes! I mean- of course not! We haven't done anything and do not plan to.", Goh managed to squeak out.
The Professor simply laughed again, and with that he left the kids alone in the Park.
As soon as he was out the door, Chloe playfully shoved her elbow into Ashs side. "Wow I didn't know you had it in you!", she said excitedly with a wide grin. "You look so innocent."
"Looks can indeed be deceiving." Ash agreed. It wasn't the first time he'd heard this, and it had never made much sense to him.
Then the girl turned towards Goh. "He's going to be the end of you." "He will.", Goh agreed with another groan.
Chloe took one more look at the two. More softly she said: "I am happy for you though", and somehow Ash knew she meant it.
Before he could reply with the thanks that was on the tip of his tongue, Chloe had disappeared and followed her father.
Apparently that meant it was now Gohs turn to speak up, because he sighed and let out a quiet "I'm sorry."
Ash frowned at him. "Huh? For what?"
"Y'know..." Goh vaguely gestured towards the door.
Oh. If he was being honest with himself, Ash had almost forgotten how this whole conversation had started in the first place.
"You don't have to apologize, I'm not mad."
"Oh, alright..." Goh didn't seem all that convinced.
"I mean it, it's fine. We would have had to tell him sooner or later, and it didn't go bad or anything."
Ash contemplated, unsure if he wanted to add the last part of his thoughts, but fuck it.
"Also, what you said... it was pretty cute."
Both of them went slightly red after that.
They still stayed outside for a while, looking around the Cerise Park. Ash wondered how they'd never ended up wandering in here in the almost two weeks that they've been at the Institute.
It had been a walk in comfortable silence, but something suddenly occurred to Ash, and he stopped in his tracks.
"Aren't you from around here? Why are you staying at the Cerise Institute if you live in Vermilion?", Ash asked.
Goh stopped as well and turned towards Ash, genuine confusion on his features. "It's over half an hour with the bus from my home to here, I don't want to do that every day if the Professor offers me to stay."
"Oh. Oh yeah. I guess I didn't consider that." Ash awkwardly scratched his cheek and chuckled. "In that time you can walk from one end of Pallet to the other and take your sweet time with it."
"You and I did not grow up the same, my dear country lad.", Goh said in a mocking tone. Ash probably should have felt offended by this, but there was no real heat behind the words. He only snorted.
"I sure hope for you that you didn't. Everyone in the neighbourhood had seen me naked by the time I was, like, three years old."
Gohs expression was absolutely worth admitting this. He was looking up and down over Ashs entire body, as if he was seeing him in a whole new light, completely scandalized by the thought.
"I don't even know the first name of the lady who lives in the apartment above ours!"
"As you said, we're not the same, city boy."
Both laughed about their silly banter, but all too quickly Goh turned quiet. He did that a lot when he was lost in thought.
"It also gets lonely. At home, I mean", he admitted softly, avoiding eye contact. "My parents are busy people, they work at a tech company. They're not around all too much, it... really wasn't that difficult of a decision to make."
Ash tried his hardest to not get pissed at them for Gohs behalf. He was sure they were trying their best to juggle their lives, but hearing this still bothered him. His mom had a time consuming job as well, but she still made time for him, he couldn't imagine barely seeing her, especially growing up. His soulmate deserved better than that.
Instead of saying any of that out loud to Goh Ash settled on "Well, you have me around now."
Goh looked up again, a soft smile on his lips. "Yeah, I do."
After having explored the more noteworthy areas they went to collect Pikachu and Scorbunny and set out food for Gohs other Pokemon.
Then, after that, they finally joined the others for breakfast. Well, 'joined' was relative. Professor Cerise was just finishing up eating as they walked in, and stayed with them out of politeness. Chloe had been done for a while and was only still at the table to do homework, because apparently her classes today started later than usual.
It was the thought that counted.
They were almost done as well when Mimey entered the room. Ash had become very well versed in reading the Pokemons gestures, so he knew he was asking if anyone wanted to join his Kung-fu exercises.
Remembering how strict the Mr. Mime could get with them and how his, well, EVERYTHING had hurt the last time he had joined him, Ash quickly blurted out the first excuse that came to his mind.
"Oh, I'd love to Mimey, but unfortunately I have to, uh, brush Pikachus fur, yeah!"
In one quick motion Ash swallowed down the last couple of bites of his toast in one go. Pikachu, just as eager to get away as his trainer, also inhaled the last bits of his Pokemon food.
The two disappeared before anyone could say anything and call out the terrible lie.
Ash did, in fact, actually end up brushing Pikachus fur. It's something the Pokemon has always enjoyed, it relaxed him. Or at least that's what Ash assumed the pleased "Chuu" his partner let out meant, as they sat on their bed and Ash untangled the yellow hairs.
When he stopped, Pikachu shot Ash a disappointed look. "Pikapi!" "Your fur is as soft as a baby Pichus, buddy. If I continue brushing it all it's gonna do is rip some of it out." Pikachu grumbled some more and jumped off his trainers lap, Ash skilfully ignored it.
He took out his Rotom Phone and absent mindedly checked the news feed, until he came across an article that caught his attention.
'FLUTE CUP AT THE HOENN BATTLE FRONTIER, SIGN UP ENDS TODAY! WHO WILL BE THE GREAT CHAMPION?!', it read.
Ignoring the overly flashy and exaggerated title, that DID sound very intriguing. He glanced over the rest of the article, an excited grin spreading over his features.
"Hey Pikachu, wanna go to a Tournament at the Hoenn Battle Frontier?" As if he even needed to ask.
Pikachu perked up and agreed with just as much excitement as Ash felt, his earlier annoyance seemingly forgotten.
The official Battle Frontier website offered online sign ups, so Ash quickly typed in his name. On a whim he decided to enter Goh as well, because he doubted the other wouldn't want to come along.
He grabbed both their backpacks, threw Mimeys Pokeball into his own, and hurried outside. The group wasn't doing exercises anymore so something must have happened, but Ash didn't pay that much attention.
"Goh!", he yelled, then threw the boys backpack into his direction, and he managed to catch it just in time. Ash threw him a grin. "Let's go to the Hoenn region!" Pikachu on his shoulder chirped in as well.
Goh just quietly stared at him, for a moment. Then he replied with a dry and confused "What." Which, okay, was kind of understandable.
"I'll explain on the way, we have to hurry up if we still want to make it in time. But, oh, take two Pokemon to battle with you!", was the explanation Ash offered.
"Uh, yeah, alright sure." Goh still looked confused, but at least he had agreed to it.
Ash turned towards Chloe, who was warily eyeing the two of them from the sidelines. "Do you wanna come with us too?"
Chloe immediately backed off. "No way, I already told you I have school. And I really should get going soon."
Ash only shrugged at that response. He'd expected that, but it had been worth a try, you never know.
"Also", the girl continued, "shouldn't you, you know, ask for permission first before you leave the region?" She pointedly looked over to her dad.
Professor Cerise waved it off. "Ah, it's fine. I didn't have anything to do for you two today anyways, enjoy yourself!"
At that Chloe left, mumbling something under her breath that Ash couldn't quite manage to catch.
Quickly after, the two research fellows had left as well, off to Hoenn.
Goh wasn't sure why he felt disappointed. What had he expected would happen? He didn't have any experience being a trainer, and he wasn't sure how much experience Scorbunny and Scyther had battling. On top of that, this had been their first time fighting together, against another person, in an official setting.
He hadn't even planned to be here, Ash had dragged him along and signed him up without asking first. This was the Hoenn Battle Frontier, a facility for experienced battlers. Yes, he hadn't gotten any hits in, but it was an achievement in its own right that he had been allowed to enter.
But, he supposed, loss always stung, no matter what the situation surrounding it was.
They were at the Pokemon Center now, Goh had just gotten his Pokemon back. The two looked better than he felt.
Ash must have noticed something was up, because he put his hand on Gohs shoulder and told him to cheer up. The words felt hollow.
He knew it was supposed to be reassuring, and he knew it wasn't what Ash meant, but he couldn't help feeling like a child getting reprimanded.
He looked away, his fist clenching around the Pokeball still in his hand.
"Catching is better after all." He had said it more for himself, but it was fairly obvious from the surprised noise that Ash had heard him.
Goh moved his shoulder to shrug off the hand still lingering on it, then sprinted off towards the exit. "I'm gonna go looking for Wurmple!", he yelled as a bad explanation.
He had almost reached the door when Ash called out to him one last time. "Goh!"
The boy stopped at the sound of his name, but didn't turn around.
"Watch our battles, okay?"
Goh hesitated.
It would be so, so easy to ignore Ashs desperate request.
In fact, Goh would have done so if this was anyone else.
But Ash wasn't anyone else now, was he?
Ash clearly wanted Goh to be here, as unorthodox as his method of inviting him had been.
Ash had been there when Goh went out to catch bug Pokemon, he had been there to support his goal.
Shouldn't Goh be doing the same thing?
He wanted to, at least.
He wanted to be there for Ash the same way Ash was there for Goh.
That was part of the soulmate deal, wasn't it?
He couldn't bring himself to leave.
Goh forced his tense shoulders to relax, and he let out an unsteady breath, but he didn't face Ash again just yet.
"Okay.", was all he said.
"Okay?", Ash asked back, the surprise in his shaky voice evident.
God, Goh felt like an asshole now.
He turned around to smile at Ash.
"Yeah, okay."
Ash grinned back.
Pikachu, Scorbunny, Scyther and even Nurse Joy seemed relieved as well.
Goh had forgotten they were there.
The battles were amazing. Or rather, Ash and Pikachu in specific were amazing.
Pokemon battles were so much more than Goh had always thought. He had no idea they could be filled with this much emotion, and have so many unique strategies, that to Goh seemed like they should be out of the realm of possibility. He didn't know they could be this exciting, this much... fun.
Or maybe that was just another thing that made Ash, well, Ash.
Goh had been baffled when Ash had brought along Mr. Mime, but surprisingly the Pokemon was very much capable of battling. Was this part of those Kung-fu exercises? He's sure going to remember this before the next time he forgets to do the dishes.
Ash had eventually managed to win the Flute Cup, but after watching the entire thing play out it didn't surprise Goh much anymore. Nobody had been able to hold a candle to him.
What did surprise Goh was that Hodge, the trainer that had beaten Goh in round one and had been defeated by Ash in the finale, seemed fine with losing against Ash.
The kid really had a talent for befriending everyone and everything, didn't he?
As Ash and Pikachu celebrated their win, Goh couldn't tear his eyes away.
After Ash was finally able to squeeze himself through all of the people congratulating him, the research fellows exited the building side by side.
Goh felt like he should apologize for earlier, but he couldn't find the right words. He was pretty sure Ash was already over it anyways, just like he had been this morning, so there was no real reason for him to be stuck up about it either.
So, instead, he congratulated Ash, Pikachu and Mr. Mime on their well deserved win. It felt insignificant considering the way they had been swarmed earlier, but Ashs simple thank you sounded more genuine than all the ones earlier, as if this one meant more to him. Maybe it did.
Goh stopped in his tracks. "Oh, and... um...", he hesitantly started.
The others halted as well, turning towards him.
"Pokemon battles... sure are fun, huh?"
He looked up towards Ash, hoping his expression showed that he meant it.
Two eerily similar grins met him, Ash and Pikachu very much mirroring each other.
"I know right!"
They stayed like this for a little while longer, longer than they probably should have considering they were basically just staring at each other.
Finally Goh tore himself away and pulled out his Rotom phone to check the time. "We still have an hour until our boat leaves, that's perfect!"
Ash groaned at the news. "What do you mean perfect? That's gonna take forever."
Goh tucked his phone away again, swinging a reprimanding finger in front of Ashs face.
"I watched your battles, so you're going to come with me to catch Pokemon. I still want to find a couple of Wurmple."
Ash didn't complain, he only nodded as if this was the most logical conclusion one could come to. He seemed to want to ask something, but must have quickly found the answer himself.
"Wurmple, plural, because that way it's more likely they will evolve into both Beautifly and Dustox?"
"Bingo", Goh replied grinning.
This time, Goh didn't hesitate as he grabbed Ashs hand, and dragged his soulmate with him.