Chapter Text
Gou watches all his giddy Vermilion City High School classmates— a sea of students all dressed in their matching, crisp white, sailor uniforms, practically buzzing with anticipation as they all pile into the charter bus headed for Viridian City. They can't wait to kick off their field-trip weekend.
This trip has something for every student to look forward to— whether that's camping in Viridian Forest, sightseeing in the city, or meeting students from other Kanto region school districts– it’s bound to be an exciting weekend for everyone.
Gou doesn’t know it yet, but this weekend’s going to be especially ‘exciting’ for him, in particular.
—
There’s still an empty seat next to Gou when the last tardy kid hops onto the bus, strolling down the aisle with an easygoing smile.
Gou’s crush: Satoshi.
It’s like the whole world slows down as he approaches. Satoshi waves back at several of their classmates as he passes them, and some girls up ahead actually squeal when he runs a casual hand through his fluffy, windswept bangs. He only transferred here a month ago, and he’s already become the most popular boy in their class without even trying.
Gou and Satoshi are as different as night and day.
Unlike Gou, Satoshi has lots of friends— people and Pokémon alike. Satoshi’s sunny charisma makes him especially lovable among Pokémon. He’s been affectionately dubbed “The Pokémon Whisperer” by his class thanks to his innate ability to understand the mysterious creatures.
Unlike Gou, Satoshi isn’t afraid to live wild and free without a plan. Gou’s heard all sorts of stories about Satoshi and his journeys around the world. That boy bravely leaps headlong into danger without a second thought, no matter the risk. Gou could listen to Satoshi talk about his fascinating history of adventures all day.
And, unlike Gou, with his crisp uniform, starched collar, and perfect tie, Satoshi couldn't care less about his appearance. Still, he’s handsome, even when he looks a bit of a mess— his top is unbuttoned over a simple white tee, while his disheveled, sailor-style collar and tie hang loose around his shoulders. (There’s no use trying to enforce a dress code on Satoshi. Their teacher gave up trying.)
Honestly, it’s cliché: The nerdiest, most unpopular boy in class, falling for the outgoing popular guy everyone loves… They’re truly nothing alike. Gou might even find him mildly irritating under any other circumstances, with his unserious attitude, lack of proper manners, and boisterous nature. Yet, in spite of all their differences, the young researcher couldn’t be more smitten with him.
Gou looks away as his cheeks turn red, pretending to be fascinated with Vermilion City’s skyline. Then, for a heart-stopping moment, Satoshi pauses by Gou's row, and Gou thinks he’s about to take the seat next to him. But right as Gou musters the courage to glance at him, someone at the back of the bus hollers, “SAAAATOSHIIIIIIII~! We saved you a seat!”
“Thanks, Todd!” Satoshi calls back. Then he smiles over at Gou and points at his head. ”I like your hair thingie.”
“Huh?” Gou’s hand brushes over his bangs. He forgot he was wearing a new, red barrette with a Mew face on it. Hair accessories are one of the only things they can wear with their school uniform. “Oh! Right. Thanks,” he stammers as his blush spreads to his ears. “I really like Mew," he confesses, as if it wasn’t obvious enough.
“I like Mew too,” Satoshi smiles with his eyes.
Maybe they have something in common, after all.
Satoshi’s Pikachu pokes its nose out of his backpack, trilling loudly when it locks eyes with Gou. “Piiika-Chu~!”
They’re not supposed to have their Pokémon out on the bus, but for some reason, Satoshi refuses to put his Pikachu in a pokeball. Or maybe it’s the other way around.
“Shh, Pikachu!!” Satoshi hastily zips his bag again, leaving a small opening so Pikachu can breathe. He glances nervously over his shoulder just as their teacher steps onto the bus.
All the classmates in a radius around Satoshi giggle at his insubordination. Gou bites his lip as he smiles, too, stifling a laugh of his own. Satoshi notices and breaks out into a big grin. “See ya!”
And with that, Satoshi heads toward the back of the bus with a skip in his step.
He’s always so full of energy. It’s one of the things Gou likes so much about him… along with his contagious laugh, his wild ambitions, and those big, brown eyes that catch the sun like amber.
Gou’s blushing head hits the window with a wistful thunk as his best and only friend Chloe hops into the seat next to him wearing an omniscient smirk.
“Shut up.” Gou mutters.
Chloe huffs, “I didn’t even say anything!”
“You were going to.” Still feeling warm from his encounter with Satoshi, Gou pulls out his water bottle and takes a long sip.
“You know, at first, I was skeptical of your whole, ‘Pine for Satoshi from a distance and hope he notices you’ plan—”
Gou makes a strangled noise on his water bottle and whirls on her. “Keep your voice down!” he snaps with a whisper. Chloe is the only other person in the world who knows about Gou’s crush, and he’d like to keep it that way.
“—but I think it’s actually working,” Chloe smiles, glancing at the back of the bus with a cheeky little wave.
“Hm?” he follows her gaze mid-swig and almost does a spit-take when Satoshi beams and waves back at both of them. Gou chokes instead, immediately ducking and hiding behind his seat in a fit of coughs. Chloe just giggles.
Thankfully, she stops teasing him after that, and the rest of the ride to Viridian is uneventful. But every time Gou hears Satoshi’s laugh carry down the aisle, it kicks up all the flustered Butterfrees in his chest.
—
Vermilion City High School is the last school to arrive at the landing point at the edge of Viridian Forest. The clearing is swarming with teenagers, all wearing their school uniforms— Gou recognizes the uniforms for Pokémon Tech and Indigo Academy. There’s even some exchange students here from Unova University.
Once everyone’s off the bus, their teachers all go over the rules and delegate their students to their first field trip assignments. Gou steps aside to pull out his Pokeball. “Come on out, Grookey!”
His trusty little companion materializes on his shoulder with a happy, chittering purr. Then it perks up and waves at someone behind Gou. “Grookey-key-key-key!”
Gou looks back at the same time Satoshi glances his way. Pikachu is poking out of his backpack again, waving animatedly at Grookey. “Pika-Pikachu!”
It must be Gou’s lucky day, because Satoshi gives him another one of those radiant grins. Gou bravely smiles back.
Satoshi looks like he’s about to say something before his friend Todd intercepts his attention and drags him away. “Satoshi, let’s be partners!”
The pining boy steals one last look at his crush before they head their separate ways.
As Chloe falls in step next to him, she says, “I got the scavenger hunt first. How about you?”
Chloe’s partner Pokemon, Eevee, yips a cheery greeting from its cozy perch in her arms. “Eeeveee!”
Gou reads his worksheet aloud. “Discover 8 different species of wild Pokémon and record your observations.”
“Ooh, fun,” Chloe replies a little sarcastically, but Gou actually agrees. He’s looking forward to seeing lots of Pokémon.
A couple of Chloe’s friends call for her across the clearing, and she gives them a wave. At the same time, Gou finds his trail marker and starts to head up the path.
“Wait a minute.” Chloe calls after him, her tone serious. “Where’s your partner?” Grookey drums on Gou’s shoulder, hopping up and down. Chloe just narrows her eyes. “Not you, Grookey... You’re supposed to pick a hiking partner, remember?”
“Vee-vee!” Her partner chides, its tail swinging side to side when Gou glances at it.
“I don’t need one,” Gou answers coolly, stopping and half-turning to face her. “A partner will just slow me down.”
Chloe frowns, and her Eevee mirrors her. “But… all the teachers said—”
Gou chuckles at her concern. She’s always been like this, even when they were little. “Chloe, I think I can survive a couple hours in the woods on my own.”
She ought to know that more than anyone. His parents leave him alone all the time, ever since he was little. He goes on solo research expeditions every weekend, just for fun. Gou spends most of his time in his own company, and he’s just fine with that.
…Well, mostly. He can think of a certain someone he’d gladly make an exception for.
“I’ve got Grookey, 10 liters of water, a topographic map, a flare, and a whole can of Repel. Even if I do get lost, which I won’t, I brought enough snacks to last all weekend.” When his best friend just pouts and crosses her arms in reply, he rolls his eyes. “Chloe, I’ll be fine.”
Chloe looks like she wants to argue, but she can tell there’s no use. Her friend is a creature of solitude. “Fine! Just be careful… I don’t wanna have to tell your parents you got swallowed by a Victreebell or something.”
“Vee, veev veev!”
This pulls a laugh out of Gou as he’s turning away. Neither of them say ‘bye’ or even ‘see ya’ — they’re both sure they’ll meet up again in a couple hours.
—
Gou’s almost finished with his worksheet when a nearby Pokémon cry startles him out of his thoughts. He pauses for a second, listening closer as another distressed cry meets his ears, followed by an audience of kids’ snickering.
From its perch on Gou’s shoulder, Grookey tugs urgently on Gou’s sailor uniform collar with an anxious frown, pointing toward the source of the noise with its stick. Gou nods and hurries that way.
As they come closer to the noise, Gou slows down to assess the situation from afar. His brow furrows deep as he processes the disturbing scene unfolding in front of him:
Three students, all from different schools, are gathered around a small Pokémon. One of the exchange students from Unova University is pinning it down, while a girl from Pokémon Tech and an older boy from Indigo Academy hover over it, laughing as it tries to squirm away.
Gou’s blood runs cold as the Pokémon cries again, yowling in fear. He reaches for his phone to call for help, but there’s no service this far out from the city.
”Grookey,” Gou whispers, pulling his partner close and looking deep into its eyes. “I need you to go find help. Do you understand?”
His little Grookey stubbornly growls, pounding a fist against its paw. It wants to stay and fight.
“No, Grookey, there’s too many of them… I’ll stay and distract them. You have to go find help.”
Grookey’s lip trembles as it nods in understanding. Then it takes off swinging into the trees and out of sight.
Truly alone now, Gou’s heart beats hard as he realizes what he’s about to do. He’s scared. Satoshi wouldn’t be scared. What would Satoshi do? Gou takes a deep breath and steps into the clearing right as one of the kids pulls on the Pokémon’s long, black tail.
“Hey, stop!!” Gou shouts from a distance, trying to sound braver than he feels. He was hoping his entrance might break them up, but after a moment of sizing him up, none of them seem to care.
The boy holding Litten whispers, “Damien… what should we—”
“—Shut up, Shamus,” Damien snaps back, and his lackey obeys. Then he casually stands and turns to Gou, droning, “What d’you want?” Gou can’t see his expression behind an expensive-looking pair of white sunglasses.
“Let it go.” Gou tries again, striding closer. “You’re hurting it.”
Damien’s brows shrug up with a nonchalant smile that roils Gou’s blood. “Why should we care? It’s just a Pokémon.”
“Yeah, Besides, it’s my Pokémon.“ Shamus brags, as if that makes any of this okay. “We’re just toughening it up. I can train it however I want.”
The preppy girl from Pokémon Tech flips her long, dark hair over her shoulder and crosses her arms. “Yeah, Mind your own business.”
Gou comes just close enough to see a little Litten periodically scrabbling under the weight of its trainer’s hands, and his heart sinks. It’s so small— it must be young. Goh doesn’t have to be a ‘Pokémon Whisperer’ to see it’s clearly stressed, breathing hard as it continues to struggle.
”…Y’know, Most kids develop basic empathy by the time they’re preschoolers. And by the time they’re ten, they're usually developed enough to understand how their actions affect other living beings.” Gou rambles as he stalls, his eyes nervously flitting to the captive Litten.
“I don’t speak Nerd,” The bully taunts. The girl titters a laugh.
“Oh, sorry. Should I translate to Jerkish for you? My Mudsdale-ese is a little rusty,” Gou quips back.
Shamus makes a low “oooooooo” sound of anticipation as Damien finally strides closer, rolling up one of his white dress-shirt sleeves. He smirks when he clearly sees he’s taller than Gou.
“What did you just say to me?”
Gou knows he’s no physical match for the bigger boy and his cronies, but maybe he can distract them long enough for Grookey to find help, or for the Litten to get away. He slowly clears his throat as he glares up.
“I said… Aren't you guys a little old to be pulling on Pokémon tails? How do you think you'd feel if that was you getting pinned down?”
Damien’s grin slowly falls, “I…I-I dunno…” he mumbles, looking back at the little Pokémon still trapped under his friends. Gou’s glare on him softens just slightly, and for a brief moment, he thinks he miraculously struck a chord of humanity in the guy. Then Damien’s head swivels back with a wicked grin. “…You tell me!“
Taken off guard, Gou yelps as the bully kicks the side of his knee and shoves him. All too suddenly, his body’s on the ground, and the sky isn’t where it should be. He tries to roll over and scramble to his feet, but the boy above him pins him down by his shoulders with one arm and shoves the side of his face into the ground, stirring up a cloud of dirt that makes him cough for air.
Gou hears the other two kids laughing at him. Shamus is still holding the Litten down, and when Gou looks up, he meets its big, yellow eyes.
He should probably attempt to fight back, or scream for help, or beg for mercy, but as Gou’s brain quickly runs through a simulation of each scenario, he decides he’d rather just wait until all of this is over. He’ll probably stumble away with some bruised ribs or a broken nose, but at least he’ll have his dignity. He’ll tell a teacher, report them all for Pokémon abuse, and he’ll be the one laughing when they all get expelled.
It’s as good a plan as any, Gou thinks. The boy above him seems disappointed with his lack of reaction, and his buddies all stop laughing.
Gou soon realizes he made the wrong choice when his attacker leans over him on one knee, kneeling hard into his backpack. Panic seizes him as he realizes he can’t breathe between the added pressure and his coughs of dirt.
“Not so smart now, are you?” Damien jeers, lunging harder into him. “This is what you get for talking down to me!”
Gou’s only vaguely aware of Shamus nervously saying, “Dude, you’re gonna kill him—” and the girl just laughs.
“He's fine.” Damien answers for him.
The girl agrees. “Yeah, he’s just being dramatic.”
As Gou feels his consciousness painfully slipping away, a lot of things happen in the next five seconds.
- The loud crack of a strong fist breaking Damien’s nose startles everyone.
- Something fast as lightning tackles Shamus to the ground.
- Finally free, the Litten snarls, leaps, and rakes its claws across the girl’s nose.
- Realizing the pressure on his back is gone, Gou tries to roll over to face the sky, but he still can’t breathe. He must be having a near-death hallucination, because in between the dark spots clouding his vision, he sees Mew swimming in circles through a vast blue sky, while a creeping red tendril of light dances around his head.
- And just before everything goes black, Gou hears Satoshi’s voice scream his name.
When Gou wakes up several seconds later, he’s still on the ground. All the bullies have fled.
“Gou!!! Gou, wake up!!!”
When Gou looks over, he’s somewhat disturbed to see his own lifeless body hanging limp in Satoshi’s arms.
Grookey hops onto its trainer’s eerily still chest, eyes wide as it paps at the boy’s cheeks. “Gou-roo…?” It murmurs, crawling onto Gou's arm and hugging tight.
Meanwhile, Satoshi breathes uneasily as he places Gou’s body back on the ground, listening to his chest. After a couple seconds, Satoshi bolts upright and whispers, “no, no, no—”
Gou just watches in shock and awe as Satoshi kneels over his body, performing a series of rhythmic chest compressions followed by kisses of life. “Come on. Come ON!!” Satoshi shouts, starting to lose his composure.
It’s surreal, to say the least— watching his crush try to resuscitate his dead body like it’s a TV drama he can’t tear his eyes away from.
Gou is dead. He’s a ghost now. How else could he be having this out-of-body experience?
His ghost coughs, and a burning sensation flares up in his lungs.
Gou never gave much thought to what death might feel like, but he was kind of expecting something more… peaceful? Intangible? Numb, maybe? But definitely not… whatever this is.
No— Gou’s ghost is still very much in pain. He feels small and bruised. His ears are pounding. And his tail really hurts.
…wait—
—what?
Gou coughs again in shock, and a small fireball tumbles out of him, landing in the dirt with a burning sizzle.
At the same time, Gou’s corporeal body gasps to life, its breath being sucked in like a hiss. After a fit of painful-sounding coughs, Gou watches his own quivering eyes as they slowly open halfway and lock onto Satoshi’s.
WHAT IS HAPPENING.
Gou’s hero laughs joyously, pulling “Gou” into a hug and cradling his body close. “Arceus Almighty,” He whispers in relief. “I really thought you were gone for a second there!” he murmurs, his voice trembling with nerves. He sniffs and furiously swipes his misty eyes. Grookey perks up again and purrs. “Keekeekeekee!”
“YAY!” Satoshi’s gigantic Pikachu chimes happily next to him, and for some reason, that’s the thing that finally makes Gou scream.
The scream isn’t his, though— not really. It’s a caterwaul, pitching erratically as he stumbles back onto his fingers and tip-toes. The way his spine bends with him feels wrong— especially the part where it keeps going, curling into a bristled tail. Where are his heels?!! He loses balance on two legs and falls over backwards, his bizarre little limbs flailing helplessly as he wriggles around in the dirt.
“What’s wrong?” Pikachu appears in his line of sight with a cute little tilt to its ears.
Grookey appears next to Pikachu, smiling down at him. “Grookey rescued you! Keekeekee—” His Pokémon giggles, and Gou’s so frozen in shock, his jaw actually drops. “Gou-roo told Grookey to go get help, and Grookey did! Grookey found the best help!” It wiggles its hands at Pikachu with pride.
Satoshi looks up from across the clearing where he’s still holding Gou’s body. “Don’t worry, Litten! We won’t hurt you!”
Litten.
Satoshi called him Litten.
Gou takes a proper look down at his red and black paws, his fuzzy little tummy, and his long, twitching tail.
Nooohohoho no. No No No No No No No No.
This can’t be happening. This isn’t possible—
“You’re safe, now.” Satoshi’s attention returns to the boy in his arms.
Gou watches with a mix of pure horror and heart-gripping jealousy as Satoshi gently strokes a stray lock of HIS hair– Gou's hair– out of HIS eyes, tucking it behind one ear. Satoshi laughs a little again as his breathing stabilizes, and his face breaks out into that radiant smile Gou likes so much. He appears to be waiting for the “Gou” in his arms to say something.
An actual, teeth-baring hiss is probably not the reaction Satoshi is expecting.
Ohhhohohoohhhhhhh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Gou swapped bodies with the Litten.
“Whoa, what’s wrong? Am I hurting you?” Satoshi leans back slightly, his big, brown Deerling eyes wide with shock.
The Litten trapped inside of Gou squirms out of Satoshi’s hold, shoving hard off his chest like it’s trying to use him as a springboard. Of course, its back legs kick off of nothing, so it just rolls hard onto the ground instead. Unable to properly brace itself, Gou watches it knock the air out of its own lungs. Then it suddenly goes very still, its arms propped up with limp wrists, as if falling on its back completely stunned it.
Pikachu looks understandably confused, but Grookey just bursts out laughing, hugging its stomach as it rolls onto its back, mimicking its trainer. “Keeeekekey! Gou-roo, you’re so funny! Kekee~~!”
“Gou, it’s okay! It’s me, Satoshi! We’re—We’re classmates. Uhh, I know we haven’t talked much, but—”
Satoshi reaches down to help it sit up, looping his hands under his classmate’s underarms, and the Litten suddenly snaps back to awareness.
“NNYA!!!” It shrieks, flailing and violently slapping Satoshi across the face.
[Gou’s pretty sure Death would have been better than watching this.]
“Pikapi!” Pikachu cries in alarm, hopping into a defensive stance.
Grookey startles, too, jumping to its feet. “Gou-roo??”
Litten crawls a little ways away and stares down at Gou’s human nail beds, flexing and unflexing the fingers, like it’s frantically trying to solve a puzzle.
After a beat of shock, Satoshi blinks… and laughs. It's that laugh that always gives Gou Butterfrees, except now the Butterfrees feel like they’re on fire.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha, Sorry!! I didn’t know you were so ticklish. That’s my bad!”
Whenever Gou’s stressed (or flustered, or embarrassed, or delighted— any big emotion, really)— he blushes. So, it makes sense that Litten-Gou’s face is lighting up like a tomato, because it’s probably freaking out as much as he is.
Satoshi just smiles back at it, even as a pink, hand-shaped welt starts to bloom across his cheek.
Seeing its trainer forgive ““Gou””, Pikachu relaxes slightly and sits back, though it still seems perturbed by the other human’s behavior.
Meanwhile, the real Gou feels sick to his stomach. He thinks he’s about to hurl, but instead of throwing up, a pitiful burst of sparks spring unbidden from somewhere deep inside of him. Every cough feels like something struggling to light a match against his throat.
Pikachu looks over at him in concern, its ears drooping slightly. “You don‘t look so good…”
“Yeah, not good, NOT good!” Grookey echoes, pointing directly at him. It’s trying to get Satoshi and “Gou-roo”s’ attention.
Gou's eyes snap to their Pokémon again. They can talk now. Or, he supposes it’s more accurate to say: Gou can understand PokéLanguage, now.
He’s further startled when Satoshi turns his full attention their way, looking worried. “Litten… you’re hurt.” He shuffles over, staying about a meter away while offering to carry him. “C’mon, let’s get you to a Pokémon Center.”
Satoshi is watching him expectantly, and Gou suddenly feels like an actor under the beaming spotlight of his crush’s attention.
Logically— (or… as logical as Gou can be in this completely unbelievable scenario) — Gou needs help. He’s in pain. He can barely walk. He’s pretty sure he can’t speak, either; even if he can, he’s too scared to try.
Besides, if anyone can help him, it’s Satoshi— he has more experience with Pokémon than everyone in their school combined. So, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t accept Satoshi’s help, right? It’s just the smart thing to do in this… situation.
Gou doesn't just accept this conclusion because he has a painfully huge, hopeless crush on Satoshi. And he’s definitely not thinking about how it’s his turn to be held.
Gou-the-Litten stands on four trembling, shaky paws, his movements awkward and stunted as he tries to stride toward Satoshi. He trips a little on the last step, but Satoshi just scoops him up before he can fall.
“I got’cha!” He says, hoisting the little Litten into his arms and hugging it to his chest.
Satoshi’s heartbeat thrums against one of Gou’s sensitive ears. His little body still hurts (and he might pass out any minute now), But between the soothing beat of Satoshi’s heart and Satoshi’s warm arms enveloping him, he feels strangely comforted……given the circumstances.
Maybe— Maybe everything’s going to be okay. Satoshi will take him to a Pokémon center, and then… after that—
Everyone looks up to the noise of Litten-in-Gou’s-body stumbling and crashing somewhere deep in the thicket. It absconded while Satoshi and Pikachu were both distracted.
Grookey squeaks a little and takes off swinging through the trees after its trainer. “Eeek! Wait up, Gou-roo!”
Gou’s entire Litten body actually bristles.
HIS BODY JUST RAN AWAY.
WITH GROOKEY!!!
“Gou?? Gou! Wait—!!” Satoshi starts toward his fleeing classmate before he halts in his tracks, kneeling down to pick something up: Gou’s Mew barrette. It must’ve fallen out in the scuffle.
After another cursory glance around the clearing, Satoshi spots Gou’s notebook and his worksheet. Gazing down at the shellshocked Litten in his arms, he wonders aloud: “Should I go after him…? Or give him space…?”
Pikachu makes a sad, deliberating sound as it turns to face him. “I think Litten needs our help, first.”
“Yeah, you’re right…” Satoshi answers with a frown.
Gou tries to squirm and shout, “NO!!! Go after me!!! GROOKEY!!! COME BACK!!!” but it just comes out sounding like a keening wail. Pikachu tilts its head curiously, eyes wide.
Satoshi, misinterpreting his distress, looks back up at the forest and murmurs, “Catch you later, Gou…” before running the opposite way. “C’mon, Pikachu!”
“Right!” It answers swiftly, racing after them.
Too powerless to argue, exhaustion and overwhelm finally claim him, and Gou faints in Satoshi’s arms.