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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.

1. The loud crack of a strong fist breaking Damien’s nose startles everyone.
2. Something fast as lightning tackles Shamus to the ground.
3. Finally free, the Litten snarls, leaps, and rakes its claws across the girl’s nose.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Chapter Text

Gou wakes up blearily in a soft, white bed, feeling rested and refreshed.

Phew… it was all just a dream… he thinks peacefully, closing his eyes again.

What a bizarre dream…

…The part where Satoshi held him was kind of nice, though.

Gou smiles sleepily with a big stretch, and it sends a body-buzzing shiver from his neck all the way down to the tip of his……

…………tail…………

His Litten eyes snap open again, and this time, a Goliath-sized Nurse Joy and her Chansey appear in his line of sight.

“Hellooo~~” The Chansey sings.

Gou scrambles backward in fright until he’s cowering in the corner with his paws over his head. He’s startled to realize he’s not just in a room— he’s in a glass cage.

The nightmare continues.

“Don’t worry, you're safe now, little one! All better~” The Chansey coos.

“Hi, Litten! Are you hungry?” Nurse Joy stands patiently as she offers Gou a treat through a slot in the wall— it’s one of those long, squeezey tubes of puréed food that Trainers use for feline Pokémon like Skitty and Purrloin.

Very hesitantly, Gou takes one sniff before he scrunches his nose and turns away, gagging. What is in that stuff??

The Nurse hums sadly, taking the treat away when it’s clear Gou won’t eat it. She offers him a bowl of Pokefood instead with a pecha berry on top.

Gou struggles to stand and toddle over to the bowl. He gladly accepts the pecha, delicately plucking it off the top. But he’s far too wary to try the rest of the kibble-shaped food, so he just sits and struggles to nibble the pecha with his little teeth as he juggles it between his front paws.

“How strange…” Nurse Joy comments under her breath as she pulls up something on her tablet.

Looking at the Chansey, Gou decides to test something. “Chansey, Can…can you hear me?” It comes out sounding like choked up little mewls. “Is Satoshi still here? I, um, I really need his help—”

He stops when Chansey tilts its head, its usually serene expression turning into a frown with a slight crease in its brow, like it’s confused. When Joy looks down at her assistant for a translation, it just shrugs and shakes its head.

Of course it doesn’t understand him. That would make this too easy.

Thankfully, before Gou can despair, Satoshi comes trotting into the recovery room. “Hey, Nurse Joy? Is Litten okay?”

”Satoshi!! Satoshi, get me out of here!!” Gou yowls and paws desperately at the glass. He figures out how to use his claws if he flexes his digits a certain way.

“Physically— yes, it’s back to full health,” the Nurse starts, cradling her tablet and stroking her temple, like she’s thinking hard. “But it’s acting rather strange…”

Satoshi comes closer, frowning. “Strange how?” He places one hand on the glass, and Gou places an urgent paw on the opposite side, breathing hard with distress. Gou can only hope his eyes are communicating the panic he feels.

“Well, let’s see… it doesn’t want to eat Pokémon food, it’s struggling to walk, and Chansey can’t seem to understand it! I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Do you understand what Litten’s saying, Pikachu?” Satoshi asks the buddy on his shoulder. Pikachu just shakes its head. “Huh…”

Gou’s starting to feel claustrophobic in his little cage, butting his head into the glass with increasingly desperate cries. “Let me out!! Let me out!!!”

Satoshi watches him carefully for a second before he asks, “Can I take it out? I think it’s freaking out in there.”

Nurse Joy hums again. If it were anyone else but Satoshi the Pokémon Whisperer asking, she’d probably say no. “Sure… just be careful. It’s still an untrained Pokémon. Litten in particular can be really—” She trails off as Satoshi pulls Gou-the-Litten out of its cage and cradles it close again.

Gou practically sobs in relief, hugging his hero back and nestling into the crook of his neck. “Satoshi!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Thank you so much!!!” He trills.

Joy and Chansey both watch the spectacle with their mouths hanging slightly open.

“Sorry, What were you saying?” Satoshi asks, laughing as Litten-Gou’s whiskers tickle his cheeks.

“…Nevermind!” The nurse smiles warmly. “It must really like you.”

“Thanks, Nurse Joy. I’ll take it from here!” Satoshi waves goodbye and runs through the automatic sliding doors into the streets of Viridian City.

—

“Oh, Arceus Almighty— Thank you, Satoshi,” Gou babbles, even though he knows Satoshi can’t understand him. “I seriously have no idea what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come back for me— I mean, I’d be dead right now if it weren’t for you—! You— You saved my life! You’re so amazing. I’ve always looked up to you, but now, you’re actually my hero, y’know—? Do you even know—??”

“Ha-ha, You’re pretty chatty, aren’t you?” Satoshi grins.

“Er…” Gou grumbles, suddenly feeling flustered. “Only around you…” Even though Gou’s pretty sure Litten can’t blush, he hides his face behind his paws.

“Aww, don’t be shy. I’m listening!” Satoshi beams, and it’s so blinding up close that Gou has to look away.

Okay, so… Gou’s a Litten now.

This is… This is happening.

He got totally swept up in the whirlwind chaos of his near death experience and everything that followed. Now that those winds have settled down, Gou’s analytical brain is being forced to process the truly ludicrous situation he’s in, and he’s struggling.

First, there’s the mind-boggling impossibility of it all. How did this happen? Why did this happen? More importantly, though: How will he turn back? He’s already lost track of his real body… What should he do? He’s lucky Satoshi even came back for him. Litten doesn’t even belong to him—

His intimate proximity to his crush is making it especially difficult to focus right now. Gou scrunches his eyes shut and tries to block everything out, but when Satoshi’s fingers periodically reach over to scritch the top of his head, everything he was thinking about just evaporates.

—

Before they leave the city, Satoshi makes a quick stop at an ice cream truck for two scoops of blue razzberry and pink strawberry on a waffle cone. When he catches Gou staring at him mid-lick, he smiles and says, “You wanna taste?”

It’s embarrassing how much this feels like a real ice cream date. Gou hesitates, but it looks really tasty, and it’s hard to say no to that expectant smile Satoshi is wearing. So he gingerly leans forward and takes a lick from the other side of the cone.

His spatial awareness really needs some work, though, because he accidentally gets ice cream all over his little nose and lips. Satoshi and Pikachu both burst out laughing, and Gou feels his ears react, swiveling flat against his head. Still not used to the moving ears, either.

“Awwwhaww~ You’re so cute~~!” Satoshi croons, grabbing a napkin and dabbing his face.

Gou feels frozen as he stares up into Satoshi’s eyes. Something in his quivering gaze must catch Satoshi’s attention, because he stares back intently.

“Huh... I just realized your pupils are blue! I thought all Litten had red pupils.”

“Yeah, me too!” Pikachu chimes.

Gou glances over at his reflection in the ice cream truck window, and sure enough, his slitted pupils are a familiar shade of blue. He’s transfixed by his unfamiliar Litten body in Satoshi’s arms for a moment before Satoshi randomly says, “They remind me of Gou’s eyes.”

Now, this might’ve been a good opportunity for Gou to attempt to communicate something with Satoshi. He could’ve flailed around for Satoshi’s attention, attempted to stand on two legs or point at himself and his eyes until Satoshi or Pikachu understood his charades.

But poor, lovesick Gou was so stunned his crush knows the color of his eyes that his little brain just turns to static.

He’s even further stunned when Satoshi says, “I hope Gou and his Grookey made it back okay…” with a faraway look in his eyes.

Satoshi is worrying about him... (and Grookey. Don't get your hopes up, Gou).

Before Gou can react, Satoshi is downing the rest of his ice cream and licking his fingers. “Mmph mm! Lez hurry back.” He takes off running with Pikachu on his shoulder and Gou still cradled in his arms.

—

Gou must have fallen asleep at some point, because he startles awake with the sound of lively chatter and shouting as they arrive back at the student hub. Several hours have passed, because the sun is descending through an orange sky.

Gou’s gaze sweeps across the clearing, half-expecting to see Grookey and the Litten in his body making a total fool of himself somewhere. He’s both relieved and distressed when he doesn't see them.

There's no spectacle happening, but there is an unusual charge in the air, like everyone's anxiously waiting for something. They're all supposed to be setting up their camping tents by now, but they're just standing around in groups instead, murmuring and casting worried looks among each other.

One of the Vermilion students spots them approaching and gasps, “It’s Satoshi!!”

"Satoshiiii!" "We thought you got lost!" "We've been looking for you all day!" "Thank goodness you're okay~!" 

Their teacher immediately intercepts them. A small crowd of their classmates starts to form behind her as she chides, “Satoshi! Where have you been? We’ve been searching everywhere for you!”

“Ohh, sorry,” Satoshi rubs his neck bashfully. “See, this Litten really needed help, so I took it to the Pokémon Center in Viridian.”

“Please don’t be mad at him…” Gou pleads with a mewl, his paws held out like praying hands, and a couple nearby girls audibly swoon.

Their teacher splutters, like she doesn’t know whether to be proud of Satoshi or totally exasperated with him.

“Satoshi--!!”

Gou’s ear flicks as Chloe comes sprinting across the clearing wearing her hiking backpack, shouldering through the crowd of her classmates. She looks terrified and out of breath, her long braided hair all frizzy and messy with exertion. “Satoshi, have you seen Gou?!”

Ohh no…

Eevee comes running to her trainer’s side, looking equally frizzy and flustered as it shakes several leaves out of its long fur. “We can’t find Chlo-vee’s friend anywhere—!” it cries.

The crowd around them is growing larger, starting to include students from the other schools. Gou feels Satoshi’s grip tense around him. “He… he never came back?”

“No!” Chloe cries, her voice breaking, and Gou’s heart breaks with it.

Gou struggles to stand in Satoshi’s arms and calls out, “Chloe! Chloe, it’s me, I’m right here! Please don’t cry…!!”

Satoshi is about to reach for Chloe and say something when an unpleasant voice from the crowd shouts, “Hey! That Litten doesn’t belong to you.”

Shamus saddles up to them with an expression of utterly smug entitlement, holding out his hand. “I’ll be taking back my Pokémon now, thanks.”

Gou’s heart skips as Satoshi defensively adjusts the grip on his body and backs away. “Yeah, I don’t think so."

"Back off..." Pikachu growls and crackles with energy from his shoulder, and Shamus’s confidence falters.

Then Damien comes storming out from a crowd of Indigo Academy kids. “Thaz hib! Thazza guy ’oo bro’g by dose!” He stops nursing the swollen, crooked bridge of his nose to point a furious finger at Satoshi.

“Teachers~~!” The cruel girl from Pokémon Tech hops forward with Krookadile tears, clearly relishing everyone’s attention. She’s holding a hand just in front of her face to hide the fat bandage she stuck over Litten’s scratch. ”I saw the whole thing~! That boy attacked Damien and stole Shamus’s Pokémon~~!”

Satoshi grits his teeth as their teacher turns to him and slowly asks, “Satoshi…is this true?”

“…Yeah, I hit him,” Satoshi mutters. “And I’d gladly do it again!” He takes one sudden aggressive step toward Damien, and the coward scrambles backward into the arms of his fellow classmates. “And you—” Shamus flinches as Satoshi turns to him with the same, righteous fire in in his eyes. “You don’t deserve Litten!”

The crowd erupts with excited cries and dramatic gasps of intrigue.

“Satoshiii—! Not helping!!” Gou keens, trying to paw at his chest.

His teacher flounders again as the instructors from the other schools start to come forward. “What’s going on here?” “Please control your class.” “Is he threatening one of my students?”

Gou can feel the situation escalating out of control, but he feels so small and powerless.

Chloe blinks back at Satoshi in shock, but her demeanor shifts as she realizes all of this must have something to do with Gou‘s disappearance. She urgently steps forward and says, “Satoshi, what happened??“

“Those three jerks were all hurting Litten on purpose! Gou tried to stop them by himself, and that Indigo kid tried to choke him-- He stopped breathing!” Satoshi shouts, his voice quaking with a rage Gou’s never heard from him before. Several of their classmates gasp, including Chloe. Leveling a severe glare directly at Damien, Satoshi says, “I had to revive him. If his Grookey hadn’t found me in time, he could be dead. So yeah, I’d deck you again in a heartbeat!”

Chloe’s hands cover her mouth in horror. She looks like she’s either about to cry or pass out. Gou feels a little lightheaded himself, totally stunned by how far Satoshi's going to stand up for him... (and Litten. Again-- Don't get those hopes up, Gou).

An uncomfortable hush falls over the nosy crowd as they process the gravity of Satoshi’s words. 

Then the wretched girl from before bursts into a wailing sob. “He’s lying! I told you, he attacked us!”

“Yeah, I would never hurt my Litten!” Shamus lies with innocent eyes and a hand across his heart. “Why would I ever do that?”

Damien just glares back at Satoshi, practically gnashing his teeth.

The crowd stirs again with angry shouts and demands for justice— Vermilion City High School vs. handfuls of kids from all the other schools combined. The teachers are all at their wits end, trying to quell the disruption, but everyone’s too worked up.

“Satoshi, why isn’t Gou with you? Where did he go?!!” Chloe has to shout over the noise.

“H-He…Gou was…” Satoshi stammers nervously as Gou desperately tries to get Chloe’s attention again, crawling up Satoshi’s shoulders onto his head, and swiping at the air with his paws. “He— ow— He was really freaked out when I woke him up, and— OW! Litten! Cut it out!— He…He ran away from me. I thought he was coming back here…”

Chloe’s face falls and her brows twitch with a mixture of frustration, anxiety, and confusion. “But why would he—”

“—Seems awfully convenient that your only alibi is missing,” The bratty Pokémon Tech girl sneers. “I bet that kid ran away because you attacked him, too!”

There’s a loud roar of dissent as everyone in their class objects, knowing Satoshi would never do that to Gou.

“Satoshi, come with me, please—” his teacher calls sternly, but everyone in their class jumps to his defense.

His friend Todd shouts, “Satoshi didn’t do anything wrong!”

“He was just protecting that Pokémon!” “Don’t punish him!” “That indigo kid got what was comin’ to ‘im!”

“Settle down!!” Their teacher shouts, but it’s no use. Gou’s heart warms to see his classmates defending Satoshi so fiercely. He looks up at Satoshi to see his reaction, but he doesn’t seem to be watching the mob. The boy’s eyes are busy scanning the trees, like he’s considering making a break for it.

Then, amidst all the clamor, Shamus suddenly steps forward with his arm outstretched high over his head, holding a black Luxury Ball. “Litten— Return!”

Oh, Muk—

Gou barely has time to react before a flashing arc of pokeball energy surges toward him. He attempts to jump off Satoshi’s head, but the beam just curves and catches him mid-leap. His Litten fur tingles as the shimmering, pink light suddenly envelops him.

“No!!” Satoshi tries to grab him, but his hands only swipe at empty air.

Chapter Text

After an abrupt, surreal zip across the clearing, Gou's consciousness materializes inside of Shamus’s Luxury ball.

Okay. This has been a very strange day for Gou. But this might be the strangest thing he’s experienced so far.

He feels like he's being suspended in a bubble. He’s not hungry or tense anymore. The phantom sensation of his Litten body-- from head to toes to tail-- lingers around him like a trippy, out-of-body experience. He’s just floating in a black ether with a seemingly infinite golden horizon. Every once in a while, a steady thrum of glowing pink energy rolls over the sky in a dome formation.

Gou can still hear the chaos brewing outside, but the noise is pretty muted. It’s actually kind of serene in here. Safe. Weirdly comfortable. Guess that's why they call it a Luxury Ball. He feels weightless, like gravity doesn’t exist in here. If he closes his eyes, he could even take a nap… Then, maybe, he’ll finally wake up from this ridiculous nightmare…

Hearing Satoshi’s upset voice outside jars Gou out of his sleepy thoughts.

Hold on—

Gou’s trapped in a pokeball!

He has to get out of here!!!

Gou roars and wriggles around, doing somersaults in the air a couple times, but it’s no use. Even if he could actually move, there’s no clear escape. Trying not to panic, the junior researcher takes a few deep breaths, wracking his mind for an answer.

Everything Gou’s read about pokeballs says Pokémon can break free from them at any time if they don’t consent to being in them. But… how can Gou do that? He’s not a Pokémon. Not really. Is he…?

He closes his eyes, trying to imagine himself breaking out. Maybe he can will his escape into existence.

He’s surprised when it actually works.

A loud POP! with an accompanying rumble is the only warning Gou has before his consciousness suddenly zips back out into the real world. His fur tingles again as he glows, feeling effervescent, like he’s actively being pieced together again. Then gravity hits Gou harder than he expects, and his little legs give out from under him.

Maybe he should have stayed in the ball, because everything around him has devolved into utter chaos. The Vermilion City kids are in a screaming match with the Unova students. Some kids from Indigo Academy are trying to hold back Damien, and he’s so incensed, he accidentally clocks one of his own classmates in the jaw, and several of them tumble over like dominos. Some kids have even released their Pokémon into the fray, threatening to battle one another to settle things.

Gou only barely reacts in time when someone from Pokémon Tech almost steps back on his tail. He scrambles forward, colliding headfirst with one of his classmate’s shins. There’s so many giant kids and Pokémon surrounding him that he’s very much in danger of being trampled. He weaves in between several pairs of legs as he cries out in fear. “Satoshi!”

“Litten!” Satoshi comes swooping in to save him like a superhero. Gou’s stomach flips a little as he’s swiftly hoisted into Satoshi’s arms and tucked into a snug pocket of space between Satoshi’s white tee shirt and his unbuttoned dress shirt.

There’s hardly any time to process being swaddled by Satoshi before one of their classmates slaps the Luxury ball out of Shamus’s hands. “HEY! That’s MINE—!!” There’s a mad scramble of kids in black and white and blue and brown uniforms, all trying to find it and grab it first, but several feet keep kicking it around.

Eventually, a Vermilion kid triumphs, holding it high over her head. Shamus lunges toward her.

“Satoshi, catch!” She shouts, tossing it over the crowd to him.

Satoshi leaps up to snatch it with a grin, jostling Gou around a little. Pikachu whoops, “Nice throw~!”

While Satoshi’s faithful friends and classmates form a messy blockade to protect him, he whirls around until he spots Chloe holding Eevee at the edge of the fray. He makes a Combeeline for her, grabbing her wrist. "Chloe, come with me!"

“WhAhh?! Satoshi! Don’t drag me into this mess!!” Chloe protests, standing her ground.

“We have to find Gou!” Satoshi shouts, and Chloe’s eyes go wide. “Are you coming with me?”

Her breath hitches before she answers with a determined nod.

So Satoshi takes off sprinting with Chloe into the forest, and the noise of the student riot starts to fade, taken over by Satoshi and Chloe’s footfall. They run and run until Chloe can’t anymore, slowing down to a stealthy hike off the beaten path and hiding behind a long, fallen tree. In the distance, several angry Unova kids storm up the path in search of them.

Satoshi isn’t quite as out of breath as Chloe is, but Gou can still feel every rise and fall of his chest and the pounding of his stressed heartbeat inside of it.

Finally safe again, Gou sighs in relief and rests his paw against Satoshi’s chest in a show of gratitude. 

—

The sky is getting dark now, and it must be difficult for Satoshi and Chloe to see where they’re going, but Satoshi manages to lead the way. They have to keep moving. The teachers are bound to come looking for them.

Gou’s Litten eyes can see in the dark, and he has to admit: it’s pretty cool. His vision’s in grayscale, with low-contrast, but everything is bright enough for him to see.

There’s a gaping Diglett hole in the ground directly ahead, and Satoshi doesn’t seem to notice it coming. It’s only one more step away when Gou squirms and cries out, “Satoshi, Watch out!”

Satoshi stops, and Chloe almost bumps into him with Eevee. “What’s wrong, Litten?”

Gou reluctantly wriggles out of Satoshi’s makeshift swaddle and hops to the ground, pointing at the hole. Ash briefly uses his Rotom phone to illuminate their path.

“Oh, I see now— Thanks, Litten!” Satoshi smiles, leading Chloe around the tripping hazard. “Do you wanna lead the way?”

After everything Satoshi has done for him today, of course Gou agrees. He turns, ready to march, but he stumbles a little, tripping over his paws and hitting his chin on the ground.

“Oh, sorry, Litten... I forgot you’re still having trouble walking.” Satoshi strides over to pick him up again, but Gou holds out a paw to stop him. He can do this... He just needs to get used to these legs.

“What’s wrong with it?” Chloe whispers.

If Satoshi shrugs in reply, Gou doesn’t notice. He’s completely focused on every step he takes.

Eevee hops out of its trainer’s arms and over to Gou, watching him curiously. “Hi, I’m Eevee~!” It announces, swishing its big puffy tail from side to side.

“Hi, Eevee,” Gou mumbles, knowing it’s futile to try. Eevee tilts its head, but its smile doesn't waver.

“Try walking like this!” Eevee trots in a little circle around him.

Gou sighs. Eevee is really distracting him. “I’m trying… whoa!” He startles when Eevee suddenly dives under him, wriggling around and standing up again so Gou’s sprawled across its back.

“Feel my legs!” Eevee sings, running around in a circle again. Gou has to hold on anyway or he’ll fall off, so he humors it and hugs a paw to each of its legs.

“Eevee, this isn’t playtime…” Chloe sighs, “Leave it alone.”

“Hold on, I think it’s trying to show Litten how to run…” Satoshi smiles, crouching down to their level to watch them.

“How could you possibly know that?” Chloe murmurs under her breath.

Oddly enough, feeling Eevee’s gait underneath him actually helps. He hops off and paces in a circle for a moment before picking up into a trot. He takes it slow, one paw at a time, until he starts to understand the pattern. Eventually he’s cantering alongside Eevee as everyone claps for him.

“Yay~! That’s it!” Pikachu cheers.

“Yeah! You’re doing great, Litten! Keep it up!” Satoshi croons sweetly, and Gou melts a little inside.

Eevee’s tail wags side to side as it smiles with its eyes and proudly yips, “You did it! I helped! Yayeeeee!!” It hops around, dancing in happy little circles.

Off in the distance, everyone hears their poor teacher hollering Satoshi and Chloe’s names. Chloe grabs Eevee and gently shushes it.

“Let’s keep moving,” Satoshi murmurs, and Gou nods, trotting ahead.

—

“Satoshi,” Chloe pants between sips of water as they stop to take a break. “This is crazy. You’re crazy. You know that, right?” She adjusts her hiking pack and doubles over her knees.

“Yeah,” Gou chimes in agreement.

“I couldn’t let that jerk have Litten.” Satoshi mutters. “He’ll just hurt it again. I won’t let that happen.”

Satoshi reaches into his pocket for Shamus’s luxury ball. After little to no consideration, Satoshi’s expression flares with anger as he opens it, pelts it at the ground and stomps on its hinges. The ball snaps in two, officially liberating Litten.

Gou’s little heart swells with emotion. Satoshi might be crazy, but he’s valiant, too.

Chloe’s expression softens as she watches Satoshi pace around the clearing. “What are you looking for?”

“This is where it happened,” Satoshi answers, gesturing at their surroundings.

“You mean…where Gou almost—“ Chloe sounds pained, like she can’t finish her sentence.

“Yeah.”

Chloe shakes her head. “I don’t understand. Why would he run away from you? He… he knows you,” she seems to be choosing her words carefully. She’s probably thinking, He’s head over heels for you.

“I don’t know,” he answers sadly, kneeling in the dirt, like he’s trying to retrace his steps.

“Tell me everything that happened.”

Satoshi nods. “Okay, like I said, he was pretty freaked out when he came to. I had him, right here, in my arms, like this…”

He re-enacts the moment, and Gou doesn’t miss the subtle way Chloe’s hand reaches up to clutch her heart, like she’s imagining how romantic this must’ve been.

“…Then, all of a sudden, he hissed in pain, rolled off of me, and, uh, well… He slapped me…”

Gou watches Chloe’s jaw nearly come unhinged. “He WHAT?!”

“I think I accidentally tickled him when I tried to help him sit up.”

Chloe’s jaw clamps shut. Gou knows exactly what she’s thinking: Gou is not that ticklish.

“What happened after that…? Oh yeah, I moved over to talk to Litten, ‘cause it was hurt… Then by the time we all looked up again, Gou was just gone. His Grookey took off after him… this way.” Satoshi peeks into the thicket, inspecting the greenery. Sure enough, there’s evidence of snapped branches a few meters ahead, like Gou’s body just went crashing right through them.

“Wait, he ran away without Grookey?” Chloe’s becoming increasingly incredulous with every new reveal. “Gou would never do that... Satoshi, if you’re lying to me, I swear—”

“I’m not lying!” Satoshi turns to face her, his expression serious.

Eevee starts chanting, “Liar, liar, liar~!” Like a kid playing a game. "Satovee's a liar~!"

Satoshi’s Pikachu hops to his defense. “Pikapi is not a liar!”

“He’s telling the truth, Chlo…” Gou murmurs.

Chloe presses her palms into her eyes like she’s getting a headache. Her messy, frizzy hair is clinging to the nape of her sweaty neck, and Gou feels guilty for putting his best friend through such duress. He makes a mental note to treat her to something nice and relaxing after this is all over. “Ughuhh... fine! Lead the way.”

Gou nods and trots into the thicket, following the trail of broken twigs and disturbed clods of dirt. Satoshi and Chloe have to get down on their hands and knees to follow him.

“Gou, did you seriously crawl away?” Chloe gripes under her breath, swiping angrily at a branch as it tangles itself in her hair.

—

Eventually, the path leads to a big, open clearing where Satoshi and Chloe can finally walk again. Gou’s not sure where to head next. Chloe looks like she’s about to collapse from exhaustion as she checks her phone. “Satoshi…it’s almost midnight…I wanna keep looking for Gou, but I, I can’t…”

“It’s okay, Chloe. Let’s set up a camp this way,” Gou can tell Satoshi wants to keep looking, but rest is important too. “We’ll get a head start in the morning.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Chloe murmurs, and neither of them say anything else.

Satoshi and Chloe set their bed rolls a few meters from one another and tuck in for the night. Pikachu and Eevee are cuddling their respective trainers, so Gou just sits between them, gazing up at the stars. He feels pretty awake thanks to all the naps he had today. That’s fine by him— he’s always preferred nighttime anyway.

He jumps out of his thoughts when Satoshi suddenly whispers into the dark. “Litten?”

“…What’s up?” Gou whispers back. Satoshi just beckons him closer, so Gou ambles over. He’s totally unprepared when Satoshi literally sweeps him off his feet and gently flips him onto his back for a snuggle.

It’s one thing for Gou to let his crush carry him around all day— he didn’t have much of a choice. But it’s another thing entirely to be optionally embraced while Satoshi nuzzles his ears.

“Thanks for helping us, Litten,” the sleepy boy murmurs, petting Gou’s head.

“…s-sure,” Gou squeaks back. Half of him loves this, while the other half of him is just internally screaming.

He feels Satoshi’s throat hum a little laugh. “You’re so cute~!” Every hair on Gou’s Litten body puffs up like goosebumps as Satoshi’s fingers knead at the tension in his neck and glide down his back.

Feeling keenly aware of how intimate this is— too intimate— Gou’s about to wriggle out of Satoshi’s hold when those fingers flutter over his jaw and under his chin. It’s such a heavenly sensation that Gou’s little Litten brain completely short-circuits.

Satoshi snickers as Gou leans into the touch. “Pikachu likes this spot, too.”

Gou hums blissfully in reply, tilting his head back, and Satoshi smiles against him. It takes several seconds for Gou to realize he’s actually purring.

That realization is enough to snap him back to his human sensibilities, and he throws all four paws out to kick off Satoshi and scramble out of their cuddle.

Nope! Too much, too much!

“Aww,” his crush whines, releasing him. “Okay, okay.”

Gou scrambles away, almost tripping in his haste to distance himself from Satoshi after that mortifying lapse in judgement.

He probably should've realized this sooner, but it suddenly dawns on Gou that there’s a distinct possibility Satoshi is going to find out that Gou and Litten switched bodies. And if that happens, Gou's gonna have a lot of awkward explaining to do. He needs to be more careful...

Satoshi rolls back to face the stars, and with a wistful, sleepy murmur, he says, “We‘re coming, Gou…”

Gou goes still where he’s standing just out of arm’s reach. He quickly turns to face Satoshi again, wondering if he heard that right, but the boy’s out cold, snoring already. For a few moments, Gou watches Satoshi’s peaceful face and the gentle swell and ebb of his chest as he breathes. Then he vigorously swipes at his own face with his paws and paces away, shaking out his fur.

Pull yourself together, Gou! Don’t watch him sleep!

At some point during his anxious little spiral, his ear flicks when he hears a tiny, muffled sob coming from Chloe’s bedroll. “Chloe…?” Gou murmurs, slowly walking around to face her. She’s on her side, facing away from Satoshi, trembling with the effort it takes to stay quiet as a tear rolls down her cheek.

Eevee looks up where it’s nestled in Chloe’s arms as Gou approaches them.

Chloe opens her eyes and starts a little when she sees a Litten staring back at her.

“Chlo, what’s wrong?” Gou murmurs, though he has a pretty good guess.

She blinks for a moment, biting her lip. Then another wave of tears come spilling out as she whispers, “I shouldn’t’ve let him go alone…! I should’ve… I should’ve asked the teacher if I could switch assignments… If we were partners, Gou would still be—!!” She trails off as she muffles a sob with her pillow, clutching Eevee tighter.

“Chlo-vee…” it croons sadly, nuzzling her chin.

Gou reaches out to pet his friend’s head. “Chloe, don’t cry for me…” Another tear rolls out, and Gou carefully reaches out to wipe it away.

The crying girl sniffles, watching him carefully.

“Sure, you’re sad now… but you are gonna be so mad at me when this is all over!” Gou smiles and shakes his head. “It’s my fault I left alone, not yours… So, please— Please don’t cry!”

Chloe stares back at him for so long, he wonders if she actually understood him somehow. But then she just hiccups a small laugh and says, “Sorry, Litten. I’m not a Pokémon Whisperer like Satoshi. But…” she reaches out to pat the top of his head. “Thanks for checking on me.”

Eevee chimes, “Yeah, Thanks Litten!” smiling as its trainer closes her eyes with a big, exhausted sigh. Chloe’s breathing steadies again, and soon enough, she’s fast asleep.

Gou curls up a little ways away as he goes back to staring at the stars. At some point, he closes his eyes, and sleep eventually takes him, too.

Chapter Text

—

At the first light of dawn, Satoshi wakes Gou from his sleep with a pet on the head. An activated “Pprr?” sound escapes him as he blinks back into consciousness.

Satoshi and Chloe both giggle at him, and a small, embarrassed growl rumbles out of his throat as he turns his head away from them, tail twitching.

“Uh oh, someone’s cranky~” Satoshi taunts, ruffling the fur on his head again.

“You’re playing with fire, Satoshi…” Chloe grimaces, taking a big step back as she double checks she packed everything. Pikachu’s erring on the side of caution too, hopping off Satoshi and out of potential fireball-range.

“Ha-ha-ha, naww, you like getting pets, don’t you, Litten~?” Satoshi slips into a baby-talking cadence as his hands brush over Gou’s face, playing with the fur on his cheeks.

“Stooop, Satoshiii!” Gou whines, feeling equal parts patronized and flustered. He rolls back and swipes his crush’s hands away, careful not to use his claws. Satoshi’s lucky it’s Gou in this body right now, because Litten wouldn’t have hesitated to scratch him… (Or throw flames in his face).

Satoshi must think he’s just playing, because he keeps trying to tickle Gou’s tummy. Chloe gives her classmate a look of disdain as Gou’s Litten voice yowls, begging for surrender.

“Chloe, save me!” He cries, wriggling in vain.

Miraculously, Chloe understands. “Satoshi, leave it alone.”

“Wait, watch this—“ Satoshi’s tickle fingers travel to that perfect spot under Gou’s chin, and he instantly melts and purrs in relief. “See? It loves thi—Ow!” Gou, fed up, nips and kicks at Satoshi’s fingers with his back legs— not hard, but enough to startle him.

Chloe rolls her eyes. “Are we going to look for Gou, or are you planning to play with Litten all day?”

“Sorry,” Satoshi smiles sheepishly and stands. Gou shakes his head, feeling warm inside and out. “Hmm… Where d’you think we should start…?”

Chloe frowns at the surrounding forest. Then, noticing Eevee sniffing curiously at the air, Gou sees a lightbulb come on over her head. “Satoshi, did Gou drop anything when you got separated?“

“Hm? Oh, Yeah!“ He pulls Gou’s hair barrette, notebook, and the crumpled worksheet out of his bag. “Just these.”

“Eevee, can you help us out?”

“Of course, Chlo-vee~!” Eevee leans forward to sniff the items. Then it hops out of her arms, its brow set with determination as it snuffles in circles along the forest floor. After a minute, it stops, pointing with one paw and looking proudly over its shoulder back at its trainer. “This wayeee~!”

“Way to go, Eevee~” Chloe praises, clapping her hands. Eevee giggles and hops around.

“Great idea, Chloe!” Satoshi grins. Gou’s proud of her too. “Okay, Eevee, show us the way.”

“O~kay!”

They hike as the summer sun steadily climbs higher in the sky, searing down on them through occasional breaks in the treetops. Chloe wipes the sweat off her brow as she dutifully marches on to keep pace with Satoshi. Gou starts to wonder if Eevee is taking them the right way after an hour of ducking under branches and scrambling up small cliffs.

Then Eevee comes to a full stop, sniffing vigorously, tail swishing side to side. It cries, “Aha!” and dives head first into a nearby bush.

There’s a startled squeak followed by the noise of a small scuffle inside, the bush leaves rattling chaotically with every movement. Seconds later, Chloe’s proud tracker comes prancing back out with a skip in its step, carrying the wrapper of a half-eaten snack bar in its mouth. A disgruntled Caterpie comes crawling out, defeated, away up the trunk of a nearby tree.

Eevee sets the bar down in front of Chloe, wagging its tail and shaking several bush leaves out of its long fur.

Eevee found one of Gou’s snacks!

“Gou packed these! They’re his favorite!” Chloe kneels down, inspecting the snack with concern. “Why…why would he only eat half of it?”

Satoshi scratches his head. “Maybe he dropped it…?”

Seeing an opportunity, Gou trots forward, and, with a little finagling, he pulls the snack out of the rest of the wrapper and flips it around, taking nibbles out of the uneaten side. Chloe blinks in confusion while Gou makes pointed eye contact with her as he chews.

Ash chuckles. “Ha-ha, Litten only eats people-food.”

For an exciting moment, Gou thinks he sees a flicker of recognition in Chloe’s eyes before she just shakes her head, as if dispelling an especially silly thought. She stands back up again and looks down at her partner. “Great job, Eevee! Can you pick up the trail from here?”

“I sure can~~!“ it answers chipperly, taking off to the east.

Gou reluctantly lets go of his snack as Satoshi picks it up and tosses it over by the trees. The Caterpie from before comes crawling back down, chittering happily as it goes back to its breakfast. Satoshi tosses the wrapper litter somewhere in his backpack as he says, “C’mon, Litten!”

With a sigh, Gou trots after him.

—

Around noon, Satoshi and Chloe are startled into hiding when they hear a group of girls up ahead. As the voices get closer, Chloe recognizes them. “They’re from our class!” She starts to stand, but Satoshi grabs her arm.

“Wait, what if they tell the teachers where we are? For all we know, there could be a bounty on our heads!”

Chloe gives him a deadpan stare. “They won’t tell anyone. I know them. Besides, you saw how everyone stood up for you!”

Satoshi puffs out a sigh. “Yeah, you’re right...”

“Stay here. I’ll go talk to them.” Chloe slips out and over to the girls, shushing them before they can squeal. Satoshi, Pikachu, Eevee, and Gou hang back and listen in, though Gou isn’t sure how much Satoshi can actually hear from this distance.

Gou doesn’t know them very well, but he recognizes three of Chloe’s friends— The class rep, Jeanette, a bold girl with short blue hair, Nicole, a sporty brunette with tan skin, and Regina, a timid transfer student with a pale complexion and unique, silvery hair.

Regina looks terribly relieved to see Chloe. “You’re okay!”

Nicole and Jeanette hound her with questions. “Where have you been??“ “Why did you run away?!“ Is Satoshi with you??” “Everyone’s out looking for you guys!”

“Shh, I know, I know— You can’t tell anyone you saw me, okay?” The girls all nod in understanding. “We’re looking for Gou. Has anyone seen him?”

Her friends exchange uneasy glances. “He never came back to the campground last night…”

“…there’s been a few sightings by kids from the other schools, but—“

“Sightings?? Where??” Chloe lights up, probably relieved that Gou isn’t dead yet.

“Umm….” Regina anxiously twiddles with her long, silvery hair.

“Um what?” Chloe urges.

“We’re not sure they were telling the truth.” Nicole frowns. “It sounded like they were just making stuff up.”

“Yeah, after everything that happened yesterday, we don’t know who we can trust,” Jeanette sighs.

Chloe says, “Tell me anyway.”

The girls all cringe and look at one another, like none of them want to be the one to say it. Nicole finally says, “Okay, well… some Unova U girls said they saw him heading this way… on all fours.”

“On all fours.” Chloe repeats to clarify.

Jeanette shrugs. “See? We know Gou’s weird, but not that weird…”

Gou’s ears swivel back against his head, annoyed. While the others are all distracted, he rummages through Chloe’s pack to retrieve his Mew barrette.

“Litten? Where are you going?” Satoshi whispers, but Gou’s already bounding over to the girls.

“—Then an Indigo kid said they thought they saw his Grookey. But no one found it.”

“I heard a couple guys from Pokémon Tech say they saw Gou, too…” Regina’s anxious voice cuts in, and the other two look at her in surprise.

“What? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought they were joking…! They said, he, um…… they said he… hissed at them…”

“What the—”

As the girls are talking, Gou comes between them, placing his hairpin in front of Chloe and staring directly up at her. He rolls his eyes with the most Gou-like expression he can muster. Chloe eyes him carefully, her brow furrowing. Since he has her attention, Gou hops up on two legs while pawing at Chloe’s. He feels like a little clown, dancing around and falling over on his flank as he loses balance.

Chloe’s friends all notice and giggle, but not her.

“Aww, it’s the Litten Satoshi saved!”

“Sooo cute…” Regina coos.

Nicole kneels down to pet his head, and Gou grumbles as he lets her. “It’s so soft~!”

Before the fawning girl can pick him up, Regina anxiously tugs back on her arm. “Careful! I’ve read about these! Litten hate it when you touch them... They don’t even let their own trainers get too affectionate with them—”

To prove his point, Gou picks up his pin and leaps directly into Chloe’s arms. The girls all gasp and aww as he hugs close to his best friend’s neck. Then, using his mouth, he clumsily affixes the pin to her hair and leans back enough to peer deep into her eyes, both paws on her face.

“C’mon, Chloe, it’s me!” Gou mewls.

This time, he’s pretty sure Chloe gets the message, because she starts to go pale.

“…Any other stories I should know about?” Chloe asks, her voice cracking.

“Oh, actually—” Nicole answers, “This isn’t really related, but… Todd said he saw Mew last night.”

“Mew??” Both Chloe and Gou snap their gazes away from each other.

Gou suddenly remembers the vision he had of Mew flying circles over him in the sky before he passed out and woke up in Litten’s body. Was Mew really there?

“Wait, maybe it is related —!” Jeanette’s eyes light up like she just cracked the case. “Gou’s really into Mew, right? Maybe he saw Mew and took off running after it!! I bet he’s actually trying to catch it!”

“That does sound like something Gou would do…” Nicole chuckles. The other two giggle a little, too.

Gou can’t even be mad this time, because, yeah, he would totally do that.

Chloe swallows nervously. “O-O-kay. Well, Umm. I’m gonna go— look for Gou—“ her eyes nervously flicker down at Gou as he holds her eye contact, raising his paw like he’s answering role call.

“Okay… stay safe, Chloe…!” Regina murmurs, giving her hand a soft squeeze before they head their separate ways.

“We’ll try to keep the teachers off your trail!” Nicole grins with a thumbs up as they’re jogging away.

“Thanks, guys,” Chloe’s voice shakes as she slowly turns around, still holding Gou. Once her friends are out of earshot, Chloe immediately whispers, “Gou…?!”

His best friend’s already wincing at her guess like she’s embarrassing herself. Gou nods bashfully in her hands.

Chloe’s expression twists in horror as she screams and drops him. Thankfully, something instinctual inside of him twists, and he lands safely on all four feet.

“Hey!! What was that for??” Gou snaps, his fur puffing up.

“No, no, no— Th-That’s impossible— am I hallucinating—?! How—“ She suddenly slaps her own face so hard it leaves pink handprints on her cheeks. “Aaah!!”

“Chloe, what’s wrong?!” Satoshi comes running over to check on her. Chloe does a double, triple, quadruple take between him and Gou-the-Litten. “Chloe?” He asks again, shaking her shoulder a little. Gou gives Chloe a hard stare asking her to keep Satoshi out of this.

“S-sorry, Satoshi,” Chloe croaks, fishing for a lie. “I-I, um… I thought I saw a… Joltik.”

“Whoa, Really?!” Satoshi smiles, looking around. Then he shakes his head, muttering, “Ah, focus, focus—” to himself. “Any news about Gou? I thought I heard them say something about him.”

Chloe’s gaze burns into Gou’s Litten eyes as she answers, “…Nothing helpful.”

Satoshi frowns. “Aw. Okay… Well, let’s keep moving.”

—

Eevee gladly takes the lead again. Meanwhile, Chloe hangs back, carrying Gou as she whispers a string of incredulous curses under her breath.

“See? I knew you’d be mad…” Gou sighs, but deep down, he’s relieved that she finally knows where he is.

“If you had just listened to me in the first place—!“ Chloe grits her teeth as she punches a tree branch out of her way.

“Hey, It’s not my fault this happened!” Gou gripes back.

She sighs. “…We have to tell Satoshi.”

At this, Gou scrambles to face her, urgently shaking his head. “No! You can’t!!”

“Well how else are you expecting me to—”

“—You say something?” Satoshi turns around to face her as they’re walking.

Chloe sweats. “Aha…” Gou begs her with his big, cute eyes not to say anything. “Just… talking to Litten…!” She warbles nervously, flashing him an unconvincing smile.

“Oh, gotcha.” Satoshi casually looks around with his arms behind his head. “Hey, wait… I know these woods!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we’re almost to Pallet Town!” Satoshi flashes her a smile. “That’s where I’m from.”

“I know. You say that every time you introduce yourself,” Chloe mumbles with amusement as she takes a swig of her water bottle.

“Pikapi! Up ahead!” Pikachu points to a large, dark Pokémon blocking the trail, and everyone freezes.

A Skunktank glares back at them, assuming a defensive stance.

Uh oh.

“Hello~~!” Eevee shouts, unbothered.

“Eevee…” Chloe murmurs carefully, backing up slowly. “Come back.”

Eevee’s tail wags as it yips chipperly, oblivious to the danger it’s in. “‘Scuse us~! You’re in our way. Move, please~~!”

Skunktank growls, “I’m not going anywhere. Back off!”

Gou notices a couple baby Stunkies huddled behind it. “Ohh no…” he and Satoshi say in unison.

Pikachu notices, too. It hops off of Satoshi as it says. “Eevee!! Don’t antagonize them!”

“Huh? I’m not nn-tag-i-ni-zeen anyone,” Eevee toddles around, confused.

“I said back off!” The mama Skunktank flicks its tail like a warning.

“Eevee, come back!” Chloe orders sternly, and her Pokémon pouts.

“Fine…” it grumbles. It trots a few steps away before turning to look back over its shoulder, sticking out a sour tongue and pulling on its eyelid to taunt the huge Pokémon. “MLEEEHV—!”

“You wanna fight, brat?” Skunktank takes an imposing step forward, its tail bristling as it poises to attack.

A lot happens in the next five seconds:

1. Satoshi shouts, “Pikachu, use Iron Tail!”
2. Skunktank expels a noxiously vile spray directly at Eevee
3. Chloe shrieks, “Eevee, dodge it!” But the little Pokémon scrambles in fright and trips. Something instinctual inside of Gou kicks in as he leaps out of Chloe’s arms, spitting a fireball.
4. The fire catches the flammable fumes of Skunktank’s noxious spray right as Pikachu’s tail collides with its head. Pikachu somersaults off right as Skunktank gets engulfed in the burst of flames.
5. And Skunktank’s spray hits Gou square between the eyes.

The baby Stunky all squeak in alarm as they leap into their mama’s tail, and the defeated Skunktank retreats.

Meanwhile, Gou wails in agony as he falls over in the grass, swiping at the putrid substance stinging in his eyes.

“Gou!!” Chloe cries. She runs a step forward before she staggers back, gagging and clamping her nose.

“Litten!” Satoshi rushes forward anyway, falling to his knees beside Gou and wrenching the cap off his water bottle. Gou squirms as Satoshi holds his head and douses his eyes to flush them. An instant relief washes over him when the stinging subsides, but the lingering scent is still just as nauseating as it was. He coughs, and another involuntary spark escapes, sending up a billowing plume of flammable fumes that nearly singe Satoshi’s eyebrows clean off.

“SORRY!!” Gou squeaks, covering his mouth with his paws.

Satoshi just laughs as he extinguishes the tips of his bangs, even as a fit of coughs racks him, too. “Sorry, Litten— I think you’re— gonna have to— return to your ball for a bit…” he fishes around in his pocket, but he can’t find it.

“You snapped it in half, remember?” Chloe groans.

Satoshi sheepishly rubs the tip of his nose and immediately regrets it, because now the reeking Skunktank stench is clinging to him, too. His eyes start watering as he cringes with a disgusted: “Bleughh!!”

Gou curls in on himself, his ears laying flat, trying to make himself as small as possible. He feels horribly embarrassed. The Pokémon Whisperer must notice, because he gently reaches down to pet his head in spite of everything. “Aw, Litten, don’t feel bad! If it hadn’t hit you, it would’ve hit Eevee.”

“Yeah, but I have a pokeeball—“ Eevee brags before Pikachu waps it in the face with its tail.

“This is all your fault, y’know,” Pikachu drones, an irritated vein throbbing over its brow.

Eevee smiles sheepishly as its ears droop back. “Eeheeh… Yeah… Sorry, Litten!”

Gou just grumbles, not looking at any of them.

“You were really brave back there! So stand tall and proud, okay?” Satoshi grins, and Gou can’t help but stare back up at him in appreciation. After a moment of hesitation, he butts his head against Satoshi’s hand with a small smile. The boy smiles in turn. Then Satoshi turns to face the girl standing several meters away from him, his expression puzzled. “Hey, Chloe… Why did you shout Gou’s name earlier?”

Both Gou and Chloe freeze as her mouth drops open. When she finds her voice again, it comes out funny with her nose closed off. “Huh? What? I didn’t…… Ohhohh, you mean just now? I was just saying, uhhmm, ‘Way to Gooo~ Litten!’ Y’know? He— I-I mean— It totally saved us! Right? wasn’t that fireball so cool?”

Satoshi blinks a little and smiles. “Yeahah, it was!”

Nice save, Chlo.

“So…” Chloe carefully clears her throat as she and their Pokémon watch them from a relatively safe distance, all holding their noses. “What’s the plan…?”

Satoshi thinks hard for a moment. “I know where we are. I’ll take Litten back to my house and get us cleaned up.”

Chloe’s eyes light up with an idea. “Sounds good— Me and Eevee will keep searching for Gou.”

“Are you sure…?” Satoshi looks conflicted. Gou doesn’t want to leave her behind either.

“What, you don’t think I’m capable on my own?” Chloe snips with her hands on her hips.

“No, no! I’m glad you wanna look for Gou— I just don’t want to lose track of you, too.” Satoshi frowns.

”Don’t worry, Satovee! I’ll protect her~!” Eevee yips with pride.

“We’ll find you. Eevee can track your scent once you’re… de-musked. And, if worse comes to worst, my dad made me pack an emergency whistle, so someone’s bound to find me if you don’t... ‘Kay?” Chloe brandishes the whistle and winks at Gou.

He knows exactly what that is. It’s a Pokémon whistle she uses to find Eevee if it ever wanders too far from her. Humans can’t hear the frequency. Which means Gou can still find Chloe if he separates from Satoshi.

“Chloe, you’re a genius!“ Gou sings.

This is the best plan they have to find Gou’s body, hopefully without making a scene in front of Satoshi.

Chloe swats at her friends like she’s trying to brush them away. “Now go. Get outta here. You’re making me queasy.”

Satoshi nods with renewed fervor. “Okay— Thanks, Chloe! We’ll be back soon, everyone!”

“Byee-byeeee~~!” Eevee sings.

Gou waves goodbye to his best friend as they’re parting ways. “Stay safe, Chlo!”

Chapter Text

“SATO— Oh. Oh, Ho-ohhh in Heaven—”

Satoshi gives his mom a big, guilty smile as she braces herself against the door, eyes watering, holding her apron over her nose. “Heeey, mom… You got any tamatos?”

She glares at him for a moment before heading back into their kitchen and furiously turning on a blender. Satoshi starts to take a step inside before she snaps, “Ohhh no you don’t, young man!! Not in my living room! Go around the back!”

“Yes, Mom,” Satoshi groans, shuffling around the side of the house. Pikachu follows them from a safe distance. Along the way, Satoshi leans over to snag a bite of fresh Razz berry from his mom's raised side-garden without using his hands, holding Gou up to do the same. As he chews his perfectly ripe and delectable berry, Gou smiles.

It's nice, getting a little peek at Satoshi's home life and the countryside he's always so fondly going on about. Gou's only ever known life in the city, with all its crowded hustle and bustle. Out here in Pallet town, there's just picturesque rolling hills and fluffy clouds as far as the eye can see, its scenery freckled with quaint homes and wild Pokémon.

Satoshi's mom is waiting for him at the back entrance, wearing a cleaning mask, pink rubber gloves, a hairnet, and a yellow slicker resembling a hazmat suit. She ushers him through the laundry room and into the combination shower and bath.

Gou’s not sure what he thought was going to happen here— he foolishly thought: maybe Satoshi was just gonna hose him down outside. He starts to realize what’s happening as he hears Satoshi’s mother drawing a bath. Gou backs up, but before he can escape, Satoshi shuts the door behind them.

“Mooom, I can handle the rest myself,” Satoshi whines.

“Satoshi!” Gou scrabbles at the door, “Satoshi, I changed my mind!“

His mom scrunches her nose at him. “If you say so… But if I catch even a whiff of Stunky on either of you, I’m scrubbing you down myself, you hear me?” Satoshi rolls his eyes. “Say goodbye to those clothes, because I’m burning them.”

“SATOSHI!! LET ME OUT!!” Gou’s caterwauling pleas are futile. Satoshi and his mother are just tuning him out.

Satoshi groans like the teenager he is as he shrugs off his sailor uniform top. “But Mom! This is my school uniform…”

“I’m sure they’ll give you a new one.“ his mom beckons for the rest, clearly nearing her threshold of patience. Satoshi sighs in resignation and peels off his tee shirt.

“AAAH!” Gou tears his eyes away and leaps for the door handle, but it’s too slippery. He flops over, trying to scramble under the gap between the door and the floor, but his head’s too big to fit.

The sound of Satoshi’s bare footfall on tile comes closer as Gou screws his eyes shut. “NOOOOOOOO!!!” he flails, literally kicking and screaming as Satoshi picks him up under his arms. Satoshi's mom leaves with his unsalvageable clothes and slams the door shut behind her.

At this point, Gou is completely panicking. See, Gou's always been one to avoid places like changing rooms and communal showers. He's never even been to a bathouse before. It's not that he’s particularly self conscious of his body (or this body)-- he just prefers privacy. Always has. Sharing a bath isn't something he feels comfortable doing with anyone, much less the boy he's hopelessly infatuated with.

"Satoshi, please!" He flails fruitlessly in Satoshi's arms, all four feet scrabbling at the air.

“I know, Litten, I know… A fire type like you probably hates baths…” Satoshi sounds genuinely sympathetic as he turns on the shower.

Gou makes one more attempt to escape, slipping free from Satoshi’s hold and leaping for the open window above the bath. But Satoshi’s reflexes are too fast for him, and the boy drops the shower handle to snatch him mid-air. “Whoa!” There’s a loud clatter as the hose hits the tile, followed by Satoshi slipping and crashing to the floor. "AAH!!" Jets of water go flying everywhere.

Gou hears a muffled "Pikapi?" from the other side of the door.

“What is going on in there?” his mom calls from the laundry room, sounding irritated.

“Everything’s fine!” Satoshi shouts back, groaning as he sits up again.

“Saaatoooshiiiiiiiiiii!!!” Gou keens as he’s wrangled back under the shower jet.

His crush gently lathers his face with a homemade solution of blended tamato, soap, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide. Gou just wails. “I’m sorry, Litten! I know-- I'm sorry... You’re gonna feel so much better after this! Almoooost… done…. ! Annnnnnnnd….! There!”

Satoshi frees him and aims the jet elsewhere, probably washing himself now, but Gou doesnt dare to look. In the meantime, Gou shuffles over to the farthest corner of the shower with his head down, trembling in his sopping wet coat, feeling utterly traumatized. He doesn’t protest when Satoshi plucks him up again and carries him to the bath, but he’s covering his eyes with both paws.

The Pokémon Whisperer peers curiously at him for a moment before he bursts out laughing at his prudishness. “Litten, are you embarrassed?"

Gou’s ears betray him as they swivel back against his head.

"Ha-ha-ha! I’m wearing swim trunks!”

Gou’s eyes snap open to verify this is true, and sure enough, Satoshi’s wearing a cute pair of blue swimming shorts. Satoshi snickers again and steps over the tub to settle into the hot water.

Okay... that makes this ordeal marginally less awkward, but Gou still feels deeply overwhelmed by the sheer intimacy of this atmosphere.

“Isn’t this relaxing...?” Satoshi hums, gently cupping a handful of water and letting it fall down Gou's back.

No. No it is not.

Satoshi submerges his head and resurfaces, shaking his hair out like a wet Lillipup. The projectile droplets make Gou flinch, and Satoshi just snickers. In a moment of frustration, Gou slaps across the surface of the water at his crush to splash him. Satoshi's yelp of surprise easily transitions into a playful roar as he splashes back with twice the force.

For a brief but terrifying moment, Gou completely dips under, and he realizes he doesn’t know how to tread water. Before he can panic, though, Satoshi pulls him back up.

“Don’t worry, I got’cha~” The boy he likes so much hums, scooping Gou close and stroking some sudsy water over his head.

Gou goes still against his chest and closes his eyes.

He jumps when Satoshi’s mother comes striding back into the bathroom with her hands on her hips. Pikachu comes bounding in behind her. “So, I got a call from your teacher last night.”

“Yeah?” Satoshi responds casually, squirting Gou on the nose with a rubber Ducklett. Gou splutters and swats it out of the boy’s hands.

The woman towering over them crosses her arms. Gou feels himself shrinking under her intimidating, motherly gaze. “Care to explain why you‘re on the lam after you attacked those kids and stole a Pokémon? And you—“ Pikachu squeaks as she turns to scold it next, “—I heard you volt-tackled an innocent boy!”

Satoshi groans a long, drawn out, angsty sigh. “He wasn’t innocent— Those kids were torturing this Litten."

Gou’s heart skips as Satoshi peers deep into his eyes with tender sympathy. His mother’s expression instantly shifts to one of concern.

Still gazing into Litten's blue eyes, Satoshi murmurs, "And… they really hurt my classmate, Gou…” Gou‘s ears flick up at the mention of his name. “We got separated in Viridian Forest, and now no one knows where he is… Me, Pikachu, Litten, and our classmates have been out searching for him all day.” Satoshi finally looks up at his mom with pleading eyes. “Pleeease don’t tell the teacher we came here,” he begs, threading his hands together. “I’ll take detention or suspension or whatever, but we have to find Gou first.”

“Pleeease!” Pikachu joins in, beseeching her with its cute little boba pearl eyes.

His mom’s cheeks puff out like she’s holding her breath as she deliberates. Then she just heaves a weary sigh. “Oh, alright…”

Satoshi sighs, too. “Thanks, Mom.”

She moves to sit at the edge of the tub, petting Pikachu. “Poor dear…” his mom frets. “His parents must be worried sick!”

For once, Gou hopes his parents are too busy with work this weekend to pick up their phones.

“You haven’t seen Gou around here, have you?” Satoshi asks sadly.

“What does he look like?”

Satoshi hums, a small smile returning to his lips. “He’s ‘bout the same height as me… tan skin, dark hair, red highlights… Ha-ha, he’s always got this funny cowlick…“ Satoshi beams as he mimes a pair of Bunnelby ears with his fingers. “And he’s got these really pretty blue eyes— You'd know if you saw them.”

Gou chokes on a sharp inhale of air, sending several sizzling sparks into the water that puff with steam upon impact. Pikachu gives him a funny look as he clears his throat.

“I’m sorry, honey,” His mother replies sadly. “I haven’t noticed anyone like that passing through… Are you two close?”

Closer than you might think…

Instead of answering, Satoshi’s brow furrows as he sinks further into the bath, blowing bubbles of frustration. For a startling moment, Gou thinks he sees his crush blushing, but it’s probably just the hot water bringing a naturally warm, pink flush to his skin.

Satoshi’s mom watches her son for a moment before she pets a wet lock of bangs out of his eyes. “I hope you find him… I’ll go pack some meals for you and your friends, alright? There's towels on the counter.”

Gou’s not sure if Satoshi heard her, because the water’s up to his ears now. He fully dunks under, like he’s trying to escape the world. Since her son doesn’t say anything else, Gou squeaks a small “…thank you…” to Satoshi’s mom as she’s leaving.

The somber boy snaps out of whatever thought he was lost in as he comes back up for a gasp of air. “Let’s go, Litten…” He mumbles, deciding he’s done with the bath.

Gou’s still lost in thought himself, even as Satoshi dries him off, vigorously rubbing a large towel up and down his back. What was with that reaction? Does Satoshi want to be closer to him? No way… why him? Because Gou is the only kid in their class who hasn’t been overtly friendly to him?

Maybe Satoshi’s just confused. After all, Gou smiled at him the same morning “Gou” slapped his face and ran away...

Gou shivers as the cold air seeps into his damp fur. There's no reason to get his hopes up. Satoshi is just a naturally caring person. Of course he's worried about Gou. He'd be just as worried if this happened to any of their classmates. 

The Pokémon Whisperer takes his time drying that sweet spot under his chin, and it pulls that absentminded purr out of Gou again. He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it — almost like it’s as natural as breathing. Gou looks up, still purring as Satoshi holds him up and smiles, his towel hanging across the top of his wet mop of hair.

Then his mind goes completely blank as Satoshi’s face suddenly comes closer— so close, their noses are touching. It takes Gou a second to realize Satoshi is just sniffing him.

“Good as new.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Gou stares back sadly, wishing there was something he could do to cheer him up.

It’s weird— he hates seeing Satoshi worry so much about him…but it also makes his heart feel warm. He’s not used to anyone but Chloe caring about him.

—

While his mom and her Mr. Mime are busy preparing several Kanto-box dinners for them, Satoshi waits impatiently at the dining table, his knees bouncing. Pikachu’s enjoying a snack next to him. Gou watches his classmate curiously as he pulls out Gou’s notebook with the worksheet still tucked inside.

Thank Arceus Almighty, Gou’s not like all those girls who doodle hearts around their crush’s initials in their notebooks… (though he’d be lying if he said several of the torn out pages weren’t wasted on confession attempts)

Satoshi notices him staring and turns the worksheet around for him to see. “This was Gou’s. Y’know, the person we’ve been looking for? He’s the one who saved you.” He smiles as he’s talking, reaching out to rub the top of Gou’s head.

The one who saved you? Gou doesn’t know why his immediate reaction is to argue. He shakes his head as he points at Satoshi and says, “No, the one who really saved Litten was you.” It’s true, after all. Gou had no control of the situation. Satoshi had to come save him, too.

He regrets talking back when Satoshi’s expression falls, looking upset with him for the first time ever. The hand he had on Gou’s head sharply pulls away, and Gou immediately misses the warmth of it. Satoshi's voice is stern as he replies, “If Gou hadn’t sent his Grookey for help, I never would have found you. Gou stood up to your trainer and those other jerks, all by himself. Gou saved you.”

His words resonate somewhere deep inside of Gou, but for some reason, it’s too uncomfortable for Gou to accept his hero’s praise. The way Satoshi’s challenging stare makes his stomach flip isn’t helping, either. So, like a coward, Gou just turns his back on Satoshi and pads away. Behind him, his crush crosses his arms and sighs under his breath.

“Litten…Come back!” Pikachu murmurs after him, looking sad as its ears droop down. Gou just hops to the floor and hides under the table.

Way to go, Gou. You couldn’t even make it 48 hours without pushing Satoshi away.

That's just what he does. His habitual social ineptitude is the reason why Chloe's the only friend he has. He's not a particularly shy person, but he's always been anxious when it comes to making friends, so he gave up trying a long time ago. Everyone in his class just thinks he’s a loner who hardly bothers to show up for class, anyway. He bets no one would've even noticed he was gone if it weren't for Chloe. Everyone was worried about Satoshi yesterday-- not him. Chloe's probably the only person who went looking for him, too. Gou can't even blame them-- its hardly as if he's made any real efforts to get to know his classmates.

Even so, Gou thought... Gou thought Satoshi might be an exception. Of all their other classmates, Satoshi made him feel seen. It might sound silly, but Satoshi gave him a reason to show up for class again. He started regularly attending class just for opportunities to see him.

But even with an avatar of a cute Pokémon and a layer of anonymity, Gou managed to tick off the one person he never wanted to upset, and he doesn’t know how to fix it.

Gou feels his tail flicking side to side with agitation as he curls into himself.

Satoshi's mom, who just witnessed that whole awkward exchange, clears her throat with a humming little tune to change the subject. “I packed you some of those Pinap Turnovers you like!”

“Thanks, mom,” Satoshi mumbles, turning a page in Gou’s notebook.

“I wish I could’ve sent you off with some of my fresh Razzberry Pie, too…” She sighs. “It was the strangest thing… I had it out to cool on the windowsill, and some Pokémon stole it right out from under my nose! Can you believe it? Thieves! Here, in Pallet Town!” She tosses her apron off with a huff.

“…What kind of Pokémon?” Satoshi asks, intrigued.

“Hm, I couldn’t recognize any of the culprits... The sun was still coming up, so I only really saw their silhouettes.” She ponders the memory with one finger tapping her lip. “Let’s see— I saw three figures making off with the pie. The first one was small, but awfully noisy— that’s why I glanced out the window in the first place.“

Her Mr. Mime starts hopping around the kitchen, pretending to drum in the air.

“The second one…” Her brow crinkles slightly, like she’s disturbed by the memory. “It was pretty large— almost humanoid. But the way it moved was so… unnatural.”

Mr. Mime ducks its head down as it sprawls out on all fours, standing on its toes and fingers. It staggers from one end of the kitchen to the other, limping and lurching to one side like something out of a zombie flick. Satoshi and Gou both blink in suspense.

“And the last one… might’ve been the strangest one of all! I could’ve sworn it was a Lickitung—“ Mr. Mime waggles its tongue. “—but then I blinked, and it was a Gengar!” The charading Pokémon spins as it puts on a sinister grin, its arms raised like a ghost. ”It kept glowing and changing into random other Pokémon…”

Gou urgently leaps to his feet as he puts all the pieces together.

Satoshi rubs his head. “Sounds like a Ditto. Or maybe a Zorua?”

“Hm, maybe,” His mom hums as she finishes packing the last meal. “Oh, but right before they all slipped into the trees, it turned into a flying Pokémon with a long, thin tail. I’ve never seen a Pokémon like it before.”

At that very moment, Gou’s ears perk up at the sound of Chloe’s whistle sounding off in the distance. Mr. Mime must hear it too, because it peeks curiously out the open window over the sink before shrugging and returning to cleaning the dishes. Pikachu's ear flicks, too, but it's more concerned with its trainer's mood.

Satoshi and Pikachu still aren’t looking at him, and Ms. Ketchum is busy reaching for something in the fridge. Gou sees a clear line of escape. Moving as stealthily as he can, he hops onto the counter and gears up to leap out the window.

Meanwhile, Satoshi turns another page in Gou’s notebook. Seeing Gou’s doodles of his favorite Pokémon, he gasps, standing so abruptly, his chair skids back on the kitchen tile. “It was Mew!”

The noise startles Gou so much, he falters his jump, and he only lands halfway on the windowsill, knocking the breath out of himself. In turn, Gou startles Mr. Mime as it gasps and drops a plate into the sink with a noisy clatter. Everyone looks up as Gou scrambles at the window ledge with all the little Litten strength he has.

"Litten?" Pikachu calls, confused. "Where are you going?"

“Litten--!" Satoshi moves around the table to run toward him, “Wait!!”

Gou looks back for a split second to see Satoshi reaching for him. Before Satoshi can stop him, Gou finds his footing and takes a huge leap out the window. He hits the ground running, bounding toward the forest as fast as his little Litten legs will carry him. Following the direction of the periodic whistles, Gou runs and runs until he feels like his little legs are about to give out from under him.

He feels awful for leaving Satoshi like that after their little spat, but finding his body really ought to be his priority right now.

—

“Chloe?” Gou calls, knowing he’s close. A short note meets his ears as he crests an incline and bounds down into a ravine. “I’m coming, Chloe!”

He finds her familiar figure at the other end of the slope. Chloe’s kneeling at the mouth of a small cave, glancing over her shoulder at him. She looks rather disturbed. “Gou! You came— Oh, Gou… I don’t— I don’t know what to do…”

Gou swallows nervously as he comes closer. He figured this reunion wasn’t going to be pretty, but nothing could have prepared him for what he finds.

What's left of his white uniform is completely ruined with grass stains and dirt. He’s covered in scratches and abrasions from his cheeks to his forearms to his knees. There’s sticky, purple, razzberry juice staining his entire lower face and all his fingers. Oh, his nail beds—! They’re caked with dirt, chipped and torn. Litten must have kicked off his socks and shoes somewhere, because his feet are in even worse shape than his hands. Everything from his hair to his toes looks like a feral disaster.

And on top of all that, Gou's stomach drops at the sight of his own body looking ill— its breathing labored. There’s an unnatural, blue-ish tint between his eyes that suggests he’s been poisoned by something.

His body’s expression might be the most unnerving sight of all. It’s huddled in the back of the cave on all fours with its side facing Chloe, spine arched as a low, keening growl rumbles out of it. When Chloe nervously shifts her footing, the Litten trapped inside of him hisses, its pupils glinting red in the dark.

“Heyee, Litten!” Eevee chimes cheerfully, in stark contrast with the rest of the scene.

“Arceus Almighty,” Gou whispers, dragging his paws down his face. “Litten-- What’ve you done to me?!”

Litten’s eyes (Gou’s eyes) snap to him, and its expression shifts from feral to shocked.

“Go-oou-roooo!” A familiar voice sings in the distance. Gou looks up as his trusty Grookey comes swinging into the clearing carrying a small pouch over its shoulders.

“Grookey! Thank goodness you’re okay—!” Gou cries in relief, but Grookey just hurries right past all of them into the cave.

“Grookey brought Gou-roo berries! Eat this! Feel better!” It tosses a bunch of Pecha berries onto the cave floor in front of Litten. It hesitates for a moment, still eyeing Chloe and Gou. “Please eat, Gou-roo!” Grookey whines, smooshing one of the berries against its trainer’s lips. Litten finally obliges, still growling as it bites down on the berry with Gou’s back teeth, chewing loudly with its mouth open.

Chloe and Gou look on in morbid fascination before Grookey turns around again, waddling side to side on its feet, frowning with its arms hanging down. “Chlokey! Gou-roo’s friend! Thank goodness you’re here… Something’s wrong with Gou-roo!!”

Eevee steps out around her trainer and waves. “Hiii, Groovee~!”

“Eekee!” Grookey hops over, jumping in joyous circles with its friend. Then it stops, eyes locked with Gou’s as it tilts its head. “And you’re that Littey Gou-roo saved!“

Gou shakes his head. “Grookey, it’s me! Gou! Your trainer!“ he tries to explain, but Grookey just stares at him blankly, scratching its head.

“Grookey…Um…” Chloe starts, looking haggard, like she can hardly even believe what she’s saying. “This is Gou. Your trainer. That’s Litten. They… uhhmmm…… swapped brains…” she grimaces, miming with her hands between Litten and Gou.

Eevee just tilts its head, tongue out. Grookey blinks at Chloe for a moment, then Gou’s body, then Gou. It slowly moves to stand next to Gou, wrapping its little arms around one of Gou’s Litten legs, like a question. “Gou…roo?”

“Yes!!” Gou nods, “Yes, Grookey, it’s me!” Gou butts his face against Grookey’s forehead for a snug like he always did when things were normal. “Oh, Grookey, I’m so glad we found you…“

There’s a beat of silence as Grookey blinks before it suddenly screeches, “Whaaaaaaaat?!!?” leaping around with its paws on its head, like its whole world has been flipped upside down.

Eevee joins the fun, prancing and spinning with its friend. (Gou isn’t sure it actually knows what’s going on).

“Grookey… what happened?” Chloe casts another disturbed look at the Litten in Gou’s body as it crawls a little further into the cave, pacing in circles over Gou’s bedroll. It’s still eyeing both of them carefully as it settles down in a rather unnatural pose for a human being; its elbows and forearms are tucked under its torso while its heels lay flat, knees pointing up. Gou wasn’t even aware he could bend that way.

“Yeah, what’ve you been up to?” Eevee asks, tail wagging.

Grookey whines, “Oh, boooy,” falling on its back like it’s exhausted. “It’s a long story…”

Chapter Text

—

“First, Grookey had to follow Gou-roo…”

“Gou-roo! Wait for Grookey!” But Gou-roo wouldn’t listen. He kept moving forward, tripping over his knees and bounding on his hands. Gou-roo winced and hissed as he brute-forced his way through a particularly prickly bush. “Gou-roo! Where you going??”

Grookey’s trainer took a tumble as he slid on his knees down a shaded, muddy slope. He finally came to a stop at the bottom, rolling onto his stomach with a cry of pain.

“Gou-roo!” Grookey called again, landing next to him. When Gou-roo bared his teeth at it in reply, Grookey frowned. Is Gou-roo playing? “What’s gotten into you, Gou-roo??”

For a moment, he stopped growling, just glaring back at Grookey with equal confusion. Then, instead of replying, Gou-roo pushed himself up off the ground with a grimace and took off again, ducking under branches as he continued his clumsy trudge through the forest.

“Then Grookey had to protect Gou-roo!”

Gou-roo was panting by the time he stumbled into a clearing full of Nanab Berry bushes. He rushed forward, furiously swiping at the branches, like he forgot how to use his thumbs.

“Gou-roooo…” Grookey teased, showing off its little opposable thumbs. “Grab it like this!”

The boy’s eyes narrowed as it took in Grookey’s advice, staring down at his hands with an otherwise blank expression. He started playing with his thumbs, bending and rotating them around in circles. Finally, he grabbed a few Nanabs, dropping them on the ground and bending over to eat.

“Yeah!” Grookey giggled, flashing Gou-roo two thumbs up. Thinking Gou was sharing with it like always, Grookey waddled forward to grab one for itself when Gou-roo hissed again. With a frown, Grookey took its hand back. “Gou-roo?”

Gou-roo grumbled, and after a moment of deliberation, he swatted one of the berries over to Grookey. Grookey smiled again.

“HEY!! Those don’t belong to you!”

They both looked up to see a mean looking flock of Spearow gathered in the trees, leering down on them. Both trainer and Pokemon leapt into a defensive stance. Grookey called out, “I don’t see your name on them!”

“Thief!” “Thief!” “Ours!” “Not yours!” “Thief!”

Grookey half-turned to look at its trainer. “What should I do, Gou-roo?”

But Gou-roo didn’t give Grookey a command. Gou-roo wasn’t even watching Grookey. He just lunged at the nearest Spearow with a ferocious tackle.

“GOU-ROO—?!!” Grookey cried in alarm. Humans aren’t supposed to attack Pokémon!! “What are you doing?!?“

Before Gou-roo could sink his teeth into Spearow, Grookey hopped on his head and whacked him with its trusty stick. He dropped the startled Spearow and reared back, shaking Grookey off his head.

Meanwhile, the other Spearow beat their wings, ready for war. “THIEF!” “GET HIM!” “THIEF!” “ATTACK!” Several of them swooped down on Gou-roo and Grookey, pecking at their heads and scratching them with their talons.

”Owoo owoo owoo!! Stop!!” Grookey retaliated with a desperate wave of razor leaf, and it worked long enough for Gou-roo to slink away. “Gouuu-roooooo—!!!” his loyal Pokémon whined in exasperation, running after him.

“But Gou-roo just wouldn’t listen! Like he couldn’t hear Grookey! He couldn’t hear anyone!”

Not only was Gou ignoring Grookey, but other people, too.

At one point, he galloped right past a group of girls and into the brush, startling a collective scream out of all of them.

A few hours later, Grookey saw a stranger from one of the other schools across a small river and tried to get his attention. Gou-roo clearly needed help. But Gou-roo didn’t want it. Gou-roo kept slipping away. By the time the boy noticed it, Grookey had to chase Gou-roo into the thicket or else it’d lose sight of him.

Gou-roo tolerated Grookey’s presence for the remainder of the day— and it’s a good thing he did. By the time the sun began to set, Grookey saved him from a hungry Ekans, an angry Beedrill, and a couple of mean, wild Pikachu. This left Grookey totally worn out. Grookey was hungry, thirsty, battered and confused. Why was Gou-roo acting so strange? Is this some new method of training??

It felt like they were lost. Gou-roo ran and crawled and wriggled and rolled until he found the mouth of a small cave. Exhaustion must have finally caught up to him, because he rolled onto his side with a grimace, curled up with labored breathing.

Grookey watched him sadly for a moment before reaching into his backpack and pulling everything out. Now that Gou-roo finally stopped running, Grookey had a peaceful moment to root through the bag’s contents. Balancing Gou-roo’s small flashlight in its mouth, it unceremoniously emptied the rest of Gou-roo’s bag onto the cave floor. Grookey’s trainer looked up curiously at the noise.

“Gou-roo, sit up!” Grookey directed, and with significant difficulty, pushed its thin trainer up enough so he was leaning against the cave wall. “Grookey found your water! Drink!”

The trainer’s brow furrowed in confusion as he looked down at his water bottle. He shook it, hearing the slosh of the water inside, but he seemed to forget how to pop off the lid. Grookey reached over to press the button like it’s seen its partner do so many times before. Gou-roo just looked at Grookey like he still didn’t know what to do. He maintained eyecontact as he started fruitlessly teething at it.

Did Gou-roo hit his head?? Must have. That would explain why he’s been acting so weird all day.

Grookey mimed for him to lean his head back, then slowly tilted the water bottle up for him. The boy flinched slightly when the water reached his lips, but soon enough, he understood how to drink again. He was being messy, though— water streamed out the sides of his mouth and dribbled all over his shirt. Gou-roo usually hated making messes! Well, he must’ve been really thirsty…

Speaking of thirsty, Grookey sighed as it watched him, waiting patiently for a drink itself. Gou-roo finally looked up at him, and with a grateful nod, he handed the bottle back to Grookey. “Thanks, Gou-roo~!” Grookey trilled, suckling the rest of the bottle. ”Ahh, much better!“ it sighed happily.

Turning its attention back to the contents of Gou’s bag, Grookey opened one of Gou’s favorite snacks for him, since he seemed to be struggling with basic tasks at the moment. “Gou-roo’s favorite! Eat, eat!”

Gou-roo sighed through his nose and took a bite, but the look on his face was less than satisfied. Still, he must have been starving, because he ate the whole thing with minimal grumbling. While Gou-roo was busy chewing, Grookey toyed with the rest of Gou-roo’s things: a bizarre, thin, red cylinder, a can of… something, and his precious Mew plush.

Grookey grinned, holding the cute, soft, plush in its hands. Gou-roo loves this thing— Sometimes Gou-roo hugs it to sleep. “Here, Gou-roo!”

The boy blinked a little as he took it in his hands. Then he sank his teeth into the neck with an angry growl.

“AH! No, Gou-roo!!” Grookey grabbed Mew’s plush tail, trying to pull it out of its trainer’s teeth. Gou-roo reacted possessively, trying to wrench it away from Grookey. Unfortunately, the fragile stitching unraveled, and with a mutual yank, they both fell back with half of the toy.

Grookey stood up in shock before a fit of frustration made it jump around in circles. Modelling the behavior of its trainer when it misbehaves, Grookey shouted, “Bad, Gou-roo! No!!”

Grookey doesn’t like this. Grookey isn’t having fun!! Grookey’s supposed to be the messy, silly one! Not Gou-roo! Grookey’s just a baby! Gou-roo’s supposed to be the one scolding Grookey, not the other way around! Tears of frustration pricked its eyes as it rolled onto its back for a mini tantrum.

Its squeaks of protest fell on deaf ears while Gou-roo methodically tugged stuffing out of the Mew toy with his teeth, occasionally spatting out a piece that stuck to his tongue.

“Aaarrghhh! Stop that!” Grookey made another grab for the rest of it, but Gou-roo leapt to his feet to make off with the rest of his mutilated toy. Grookey chased him out of the cave, leapt onto his head and tried to wrest the toy from his grip. They were both slapping at each other’s faces when a distinct, high-pitch call met their ears.

“Mew?”

Both of their heads snapped up to see a strange floating Pokémon cocking its head at them. It was pink, with pointy ears and a long, thin, twitching tail. It looked just like Gou-roo’s plush!

“And that’s how we met Me-yoo!”

“Er… hello-oo,” Grookey called back with an awkward wave.

Its volatile trainer dropped the toy in shock to hiss at Me-yoo. He must have only been playing earlier, because he seemed like he was actually angry as he widened its stance, screaming unintelligibly at it.

Me-yoo just giggled and twirled through the air past them into the cave. Gou-roo yelped and hid under his arms, but Grookey wasn’t scared. Meeyoo seemed nice. Grookey sprung to its feet and hopped over to the newcomer with a friendly greeting. “What’s your name?”

“Mew~” it mewls, floating over the pile of Gou-roo’s things still spilled all over the floor. It twiddled with his notebooks, tentatively sniffed the mysterious can, and nibbled one of Gou-roo’s snacks. It seemed especially interested in Gou-roo’s keychain (which also looked a lot like Me-yoo, now that Grookey’s thought about it).

Gou-roo must have worked up the courage to confront it again, because it slowly approached them with a warning growl. “Gou-roo…please…” Grookey scolded him, hanging its head with exasperation.

Before Grookey could stop him, Gou-roo leapt to grab Me-yoo. But Me-yoo was crazy fast! Without even looking, it blinked out of thin air and appeared several feet away. Gou-roo’s hands grabbed nothing, and he landed hard on his side with a sharp cry of frustration. Even though it was futile to try, Gou-roo chased it with feral desperation as it teleported just out of reach, over and over again.

With an enraged hiss, Gou-roo threw some of his things at it, including the strange, red cylinder.

Me-yoo must be a psychic type, because it catches the tube without touching it. Without a second glance at either of them, it casually drifted past an exhausted Gou-roo and out the cave to inspect the item in the moonlight.

“Sorry about Grookey’s trainer. Gou-roo isn’t acting like Gou-roo today…” Grookey apologized, glancing back at him. Then, looking up at Me-yoo, it said, “Say, Me-yoo, d’you know what that is?“

Me-yoo shook its head curiously. Its eyes glow a cool purpley color as it inspected the thing, popping off a twisty lid on the bottom. A small chain fell out, dangling in the cool night air. Me-yoo gave the chain a sharp tug.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then there came a flaming hiss, immediately followed by a glowing red flare launching high into the dark sky like a rocket.

Me-yoo giggled uproariously as it dropped the smoking toy, and Grookey dove forward to catch it, juggling the exciting thing in its hands and giggling, too. Then Me-yoo took off into the sky, carrying Grookey along with it using telekinesis. Together, they danced and twirled around the trailing stream of red smoke, chasing after the light. And the whole time, Grookey screeched and giggled with delight.

“Me-yoo was a lot of fun!! But Grookey had to go back to Gou-roo!”

Once the smoke dissipated and they were finished with their fun, Mew dropped Grookey back off at the cave, where Gou-roo finally appeared to be asleep. “Byeee, Me-yoo!” Grookey sang as it floated up and away, over the treetops and into the sky.

Once it lost sight of Mew, Grookey toddled back into the cave. Upon spotting Gou-roo curled up and shivering in the corner, it hurried over to him. "...Gou-roo?"

Gou-roo wiped his face with the backs of his hands as several huge tears streamed down his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Grookey’s seen Gou cry before, but never like this— Gou-roo was sobbing, whimpering and practically wailing, his unusually high-pitched cry echoing eerily off the cave walls.

Poor Gou-roo! He’s been through a lot today, too. First those big, mean kids tried to hurt him, and then they got lost all day.

Gou-roo gasped when he saw Grookey again, and, looking so relieved to see his partner, more tears formed and fell. For a moment, Grookey thought he was growling again, but he just whispered, “Grrrrr…oo…kk” He seemed to get choked up on the last syllable as he crawled a little closer and pawed at its hands, like he was pleading for Grookey to stay.

“Oh, Gou-roo! Did you think Grookey left you? Grookey would never abandon you!” Grookey cooed, messily rubbing its hands over Gou-roo’s cheeks to clean up the tears. Gou-roo hic’d a little and closed its eyes as Grookey pet his face. He was humming a little strangely, but he seemed to stop sobbing, so Grookey didn’t question it. “Stay right here, Gou-roo— Grookey’ll be right back.”

Grookey left shortly and came back with armfuls of moss and leaves, throwing them on the floor. Then, using its super special ability, Grookey drummed on the cave floor with its stick, the acoustics sending magical, echoing waves all around the space. The moss shimmered as it grew larger and softer, creating a small layer of comfort for Gou-roo. The dry leaves provided another layer that rustled slightly as Grookey unrolled the sleeping bag.

Grookey is a genius, just like Gou-roo!

Gou-roo smiles as he paces in circles on top of the bed roll and leaves and moss. He didn’t reach out to pet Grookey like he usually does before bed, but they shared a long, sincere gaze as Gou-roo slowly blinked back at his partner. Somehow, Grookey knew Gou-roo is saying thank you.

The slow blinks eventually fluttered closed, like Gou-roo’s open eyes were too heavy to hold anymore. Once it was certain Gou-roo was fast asleep, Grookey smiled with satisfaction as it tucked Gou-roo under his map like a blanket.

“Goodnight, Gou-roo!” Grookey purred as it crawled into his arms.

“Then, the next day…”

Grookey woke suddenly to the distinct roar of a Nidoking looming over them. “EEEEK!”

The clamor woke Gou-roo, too. In an instant, he leapt to his hands and knees, hissing up at their giant visitor. Grookey was surprised to see Gou-roo protectively placed himself between them.

“Mee-hee-hee!” The Nidoking giggled, and in a pretty swirl of mesmerizing, glowing colors, it transformed back into Me-yoo.

“Me-yoo came back to play!“

Gou-roo remained alert, hackles up, but Grookey hopped onto his shoulder with a giggle. “Hi, Meeyoo~!”

“Meee-ew,” It cooed, twirling cartwheels around them in the air. In the middle of a spin, it turned into a Chimchar. The Chimchar landed on the ground and leapt over them, transforming into Spoink. With a spring loaded jump, it launched back over their heads, and before it hit the ground again, it became a Froakie. It kept dancing around them like this until Gou-roo snapped and thrashed his arms around, trying to swat it away.

“Gouuu-rooooo, Me-yoo just wants to play!” Grookey explains, trying to soothe its trainer, but the boy still didn’t trust it.

“Mee-heeheeheeheeheehee~!” Meeyoo giggled as it morphed into a Grookey, landing next to its friend and spinning them around until Gou-roo couldn’t tell which one was which. Gou-roo’s head snapped back and forth between them, his expression annoyed. Grookey and Grookey both giggled mischievously as they ran out of the cave together.

It was early morning, and the sun hadn’t come up yet, but the sky was starting to turn blue toward the east. Gou-roo reluctantly followed them out of the makeshift camp, glaring at them as they played and danced and rolled around. Then his stomach growled like an Arcanine, and both Grookeys stopped to laugh at him.

“Gou-roo’s hungry!” Grookey smiled, taking his hand. “So’s Grookey. Let’s go find some breakfast!”

Me-yoo-key chimed happily in agreement before pointing toward the forest edge.

“You know which way to go, Me-yoo?” It nodded in reply. “Okey-dokey!” Grookey tugs its trainer along whether he wants to come or not. “C’mon, Gou-roo!”

Gou-roo grumbled as they approached Me-yoo. His growl was cut short when Meeyoo morphed into a giant Kangaskhan towering high above them. It smiled, plucking him up by the scruff of his uniform. Gou-roo screamed something Grookey couldn’t understand as he flailed in protest, but Me-yoo just snickered as it dropped him into its tummy pouch, his arms and legs dangling awkwardly out the top.

“Keyheekeykey! Me-yoo, you’re so funny!” Grookey leapt into the pouch with Gou-roo, excited for the free ride. “Let’s gooo!”

“Me-yoo took us to a little house over the hill. There were tons of Razzberries in the garden and a FREE PIE sitting in the window!”

The scent of a scrumptious, freshly baked pie drifted over all of them as they approached the house. Me-yoo shape-shifted into a Nickit, dropping Gou-roo to the ground with a startled yelp.

“Ooh, YUMMY!!! Grookey loves Razzberry!!” Grookey drummed all around in animated excitement. Its special power made the nearby garden bloom with new berries, and Gou-roo crawled over to grab a few.

“Nic-kit!” Me-yoo snatched the unattended pie with its dextrous Nickit tail and made a break for the trees.

“Wah! Wait up, Me-yoo!! Save some for us!!!” Grookey screeched after it, ushering Gou-roo away. He stumbled as he staggered on his legs, struggling to catch up.

Nickit tossed the pie into the air as it turned into a Lickitung, waggling its tongue at them. ”Mmliiihhmm!” It caught the pie with its mitten-like hands, dancing side to side. Then it changed into a Gengar, easily floating away. “Gehehehengh…”

In the distance behind them, a woman shouted, “Ohhhh!! My pie!!” and Me-yoo giggled. With a little twirl, it tossed the pie to Grookey as it turned back into its normal little self, bidding the woman farewell with a cheeky flick of its long, wavy tail.

Once they were a safe distance away, Me-yoo used its psychic powers to split the pie into thirds for each of them.

“That pie was delicious!! Heehee, Gou-roo really made a mess. But we weren’t the only ones who were hungry…”

The scent of the pie must have been very inviting, because a couple of small, wild Pichu appeared nearby, sniffing curiously. Gou-roo growled and rushed to finish his slice, slathering pie-filling all over his hands and face. He almost choked in his haste, coughing raggedly.

“Gou-roo, slow down! No one’s gonna take your food!” Grookey, feeling generous, handed the Pichu a couple pieces of its portion.

“Thankyuu!” they sang in smiley unison, trotting away. Grookey finished its share, licking its fingers.

“Smells good,” a loud, intimidating voice called from the thicket. Gou-roo tensed as a giant Victreebel came into view, glaring with its vine swishing side to side. “I wanna bite, too.”

Me-yoo said nothing as it turned into a Gulpin, swallowing the rest of its pie-chunk whole. The Victreebel’s glare turned to Gou-roo, the only one who still had some pie left. But Gou-roo wasn’t feeling generous. He just hissed, huddling possessively over the rest of his breakfast.

“Er… soooorry!” Grookey chittered nervously. “All gone.”

“Liar!” Victreebel assumed an offensive stance, poised to pounce. “Gimme!”

Before Grookey can react, the monster leapt forward, swallowing Gou-roo from his head to his knees. Gou-roo’s legs flailed in a panic as Victreebel’s body muffled his screams.

“Gou-roo!!!” Grookey sprung to action, attacking Victreebel with the strongest Wood Hammer it could muster. It bonked the giant predator between the eyes, and it roared in pain.

“Ooowwuuu!” It mumbled, spatting Gou-roo out in the grass. With a whimper, it groaned, “Geez! Fine! I’m outta here…” and retreated into the thicket.

Gou-roo winced where he lay, clearly in pain. “Gou-roo! Are you okay?”

The trainer slowly opened his eyes, breathing heavily. A sudden, blue-ish flush to his skin made Grookey anxious. It’s seen this before… One time, Grookey and Eekey wandered too far from Gou-roo and Chlokey, and they ended up in a scrap with a rude, wild Arbok. The Arbok’s bite left a stinging feeling in its blood that really hurt.

Oh no— Gou-roo’s been poisoned!

“So Me-yoo helped Grookey bring Gou-roo back here, and…”

Grookey tore through Gou-roo’s pack in a hurry, trying to find something— anything— to help its trainer. It paused on the suspicious canister from before. Was this some kind of first aid? Poison healer??

Me-yoo tilted its head curiously where it was floating over Gou-roo. Grookey gazed sadly back at its dear friend, slowly writhing in pain over his sleeping roll as beads of feverish sweat gathered on his brow.

“Eheehe... It was worth a shot, right?”

Popping the cap off, Grookey sprayed a generous amount of the solution over Gou-roo and immediately regretted it.

The repulsive stench it gave off almost knocked Grookey off its feet. Me-yoo scrunched its nose in disgust. “Mm-Eeewwww!”

“Uh ohhh,” Grookey coughed, dropping the Repel and staggering a couple steps away.

Gou-roo looked up curiously, wondering what was wrong. Apparently it couldn’t sense the awful smell. Grookey, however, was fighting the overwhelming urge to get as far away from here as possible.

Me-yoo floated out of the cave, up and way away into the sky. Grookey called after it: “Wait, Me-yoo! Don’t go!!” But it was already gone.

“Urrooogghh… Think, Grookey, Think!” Grookey wracked its little brain for a solution. What would Gou-roo do?? That time Grookey and Eekey got poisoned, what did he do?

Oh— That’s right—! Gou-roo gave Grookey and Eekey pecha berries, and everything felt better!

“Gou-roo!” Grookey called into the gave, still coughing. “Grookey’ll be right back, okay? Grookey has to find you a berry! Stay here, okey?”

Gou-roo was in too much pain to move, but he nodded slowly.

—

“So then, Grookey took off in search of berries to help. Grookey did it! Thankfully that stinky stuff wore off by the time Grookey found berries. And that’s the story!”

Chloe, who just watched Grookey chittering unintelligibly for the last 5 minutes, says, “Uh…huh… right…”

Grookey smiles at its trainer trapped in Litten’s body. “Are you proud of Grookey? Did Grookey do a good job?”

Gou glances at his contorted, hungry, injured, mucked up body for a moment before he smiles awkwardly back at his precious friend. “Yeah. You did fantastic— Thank you, Grookey–!” He bunts his head against Grookey’s again. He really is proud— without Grookey, Litten might have never even made it through the night. Delighted to hear its trainer's praise, Grookey hops up and down with unbridled joy, jostling Gou around.

Chloe smiles warmly at them for a moment before something behind them catches her eye. She audibly gasps, hand shaking as she points at the sky. “G-Gou! Look!”

Grookey, Eevee, and Gou all look up to see Mew swimming in circles over their heads.

Chapter Text

“Mew…” Gou’s breath stills in awe. He can hardly believe his eyes. Mew. The Mew. The mythical Pokémon he’s spent his entire adolescent life studying, always hoping one day he’d meet it and catch it— and there it is, so close, looking right at him. The sight of it renders him speechless.

“Meeew!” It echoes with a pirouette.

“Hi, Mee-yoo! These are Grookey’s friends!” Grookey gushes, excited to make introductions. “And this is Grookey’s best friend, Gou-roo! The real Gou-roo! Gou-roo switched brains with the Littey!! Can you believe it, Mee-yoo?!”

Mew doesn’t seem surprised; it’s just giggling with its little paws over its nose.

Gou slowly steps forward and says, “Mew… are you the reason Litten and I swapped bodies…?” His brow furrows as Mew carries on giggling. “Why?”

Mew stops as it drifts upside down, staring back at Gou with its bright blue eyes before slowly closing them.

A strange, extrasensory vision seeps into Gou's mind, just behind his eyes. Mew's psychic power is sending him a message. He winces slightly at the sudden pulse of energy and closes his eyes, too, allowing for Mew’s message to reach him.

It's a memory, from Mew's perspective: flying high above the treetops of Viridian as it twirls and spins and flips through the sky [Its acrobatics are making Gou feel dizzy, despite his Litten body standing still]. Then Mew abruptly comes to a stop, staring down at an open clearing in the distance. Standing at the center: 4 school kids, all wearing different uniform colors.

Mew floats down for a closer look. [Gou's stomach drops when he realizes it's him], surrounded by the kids who were hurting Litten. Mew's eyes zero in on the Litten, where it's struggling under Shamus's hands. Then it flicks over each of the kids as they stand off with Gou, and Damien strides closer.

At that moment, it curiously catches sight of the Mew keychain dangling from Gou’s backpack, a near-perfect visage of its likeness.

Gou's distant voice reaches Mew's ears as he raises his voice, saying, “How do you think you'd feel if that was you getting pinned down?”

Mew just continues to watch as the stronger boy kicks Gou to the ground. The Mew keychain rattles and drops onto the dirt as Damian grinds his foot into Gou’s back.

After a moment of consideration, it decides to intervene.

How do you think you'd feel if that was you getting pinned down?— Gou’s words echo in Mew’s head, and it giggles.

Aiming for the Litten and the bully terrorizing Gou, it closes its eyes, throws out its hands with a sharp mewl, and conjures its unique Heart Swap power embedded deep inside the Pokémon DNA of Manaphy, a fellow mythical. A glowing, red flicker kicks up in its hands as it gradually gathers power, and two slow-acting spirals of jittering, psychic energy snake their way down into the fray.

When Mew opens its eyes again, the boy it was originally aiming for is suddenly stumbling away, holding his nose and falling to the ground a few meters away. [Gou holds his breath as he watches Satoshi and Pikachu storm the scene from above:] Pikachu volt-tackles Shamus like a bullet train to his stomach, while Satoshi drags Damian away by his shirt, landing another blow across his face. Litten leaps up and scratches the girl, who screams and flees. Even Grookey gets a piece of the action, drumming on Shamus’s face after Pikachu knocked the breath out of him. 

[It’s surreal for Gou to watch his own body staring up at him, experiencing the same memory through a new pair of eyes]. The red light finally makes contact with his forehead, and Gou’s eyes flutter closed. At the same time, the second light reaches Litten, and the young Pokémon looks up at Mew in shock.

“Wh-What is THISSS?!!” It bristles as the lights on their heads suddenly switch directions, and the spark in Litten’s eyes goes dim as it closes its eyes and faints.

Mew makes a little chirp [which Gou roughly translates into “Oops,”] as Shamus and Damian flee into the woods. Pikachu zaps at their ankles. They both shriek in panic as they trip and shove at each other, and then they’re gone.

Satoshi runs back over to Gou, falling to his knees and shaking his classmate’s shoulders. “Gou? Gou!! Gou, can you hear me?! Gou!!! Gou, wake up!!!”

Mew shakes its head a little, annoyed by Satoshi’s noisy screaming. Then it simply floats away, and the memory ends.

“Ho-oh-ly…” Chloe whispers next to him, and Gou realizes Mew showed the memory to her, too. Then, shouting up at Mew, she scolds, “Don’t you have any idea what a mess you’ve made?!”

Mew shrugs, apparently more amused by the situation than it is sorry.

“Do you have any idea how much you mean to Gou? He loves you! He practically worships you—!”

Gou feels his fur puff up in embarrassment as Mew tilts its head and flicks an ear at the word ‘loves’. “Chloe—!”

“—You’re totally messing with his life, and you’re not even sorry!”

“Chloe, Mew was trying to save me!” Gou argues, pawing at her ankles “At least, I think it was…” he mutters under his breath.

Chloe isn’t listening to him as she points up at Mew with an accusatory finger. “I don’t care if you’re a Mythical Pokémon, or an all powerful god— You should know better!”

Gou just gapes at his best friend’s brazen display of loyalty as Mew narrows its eyes. Then it just smiles mischievously, twirling around with a distracting array of sparkles. “Mee-hee-hee-hee—!”

Gou, Grookey, Chloe, and Eevee are all so transfixed by Mew’s glimmering dance that none of them notice the Litten in Gou’s body sneaking up behind them. In one measured pounce, it snatches up its own Litten body, crushing Gou in a binding embrace. Mew snickers like it wanted this to happen.

“Wah!!!” Gou yelps and squirms, unable to break free. “Litten, wait—!”

Chloe shouts, “Gou!” trying to grab him back from Litten. “Put! Him! Down!”

Sensing Chloe’s urgency, Eevee joins in, leaping onto Litten-Gou's head and scrabbling the boy’s hair with its paws. “Put’im down put’im down!!”

Ignoring them, Litten lets out a series of loud cries and angry, trembling chitters. It appears to be trying to communicate with Mew, probably demanding that it switch their bodies back to normal. Mew just smiles.

Grookey hops over to save its trainer, but it doesn’t know what to do. It wants to help Gou, but it doesn't want to hurt its new Littey friend or Gou's body, either. It holds its head as it frets, jumping from one foot to the other. “Chlokey, stop! Let go of– Gou-roo? Er—no… Gou-roo, let go of Gou-roo! uh— Ahh! So confused!!”

Chloe wrestles Litten to the ground, trying to pin its face down as she makes a grab for her friend. Being pinned down triggers a feral response in Litten, and it thrashes violently under her hands. She yelps as Litten uses Gou’s teeth to take a loud, sudden snap at her. It only barely misses her hand as Eevee throws its weight back, yanking on Litten-Gou's hair. “Did you just try to bite me?!” Chloe scoffs incredulously, her voice shooting up several octaves.

“Chloe, hold on— Litten’s just trying to get— OOF!“ Gou squeaks as Litten rolls over, still holding him. It kicks Chloe away with a hiss.

“You little—“ Chloe hisses right back, making another scrappy lunge at her friend’s body.

“Eeek! Chlo-key! Chlo-key, wait!” Grookey tugs back on Chloe’s skirt, trying to de-escalate the situation, but it’s no use.

They’re causing such a noisy disturbance of wrestling screams and roars that it’s starting to give Gou a headache. “Everyone, please!! Stop!!”

Mew giggles again overhead as it watches the spectacle with a mischievous glint in its eyes. “Meeheehee!”

The Mythical creature throws its little hands up, and everyone goes still as it conjures a bright red glow around them. It’s the same effect Gou saw just moments before he first passed out— Tendrils of strange, powerful lights emanating from everyone’s heads. Gou’s eyes dart from one light to another, watching the dancing braid of lights as they all switch places around him.

Ohhh no.

“Er…Guys?” Gou murmurs anxiously where he’s still trapped in Litten’s body, studying everyone’s fainted bodies. Litten’s grip on him goes limp before its eyes—Gou’s eyes— suddenly snap open again.

“Eeeeuhgh!” Gou’s body suddenly winces in severe pain, dropping the real Gou. “Eeeehhv! Veehhvvehh!!” His voice cries, pawing at his ears.

Chloe’s body bolts upright, staring at her hands and feeling all over her face and hair. “KEYAHHHHH!???”

Eevee leaps to its feet, and for a moment, it looks victorious. “NYAHAHA! FINALLY!!! I’m free!!! I’m—” it stops as it takes a proper look down at its paws and throws a disgusted look back over its shoulder at its big, puffy tail. “—NAAOOOOOOOO!!!” it sobs, flopping on its back and writhing in a fit of despair. “GIMMEOUT OF THIS!!!!”

Grookey slowly comes too last, faintly blinking up at Gou in Litten’s body, Litten in Eevee's body, Eevee in Gou’s body, and— “AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Grookey’s voice shrieks, scrambling back in terror. “NO! NO, NO, NONO NO!! WHAT IS HAPPENING!!?”

”Chloe?!” Gou rushes forward, face to face with her, and she screams again. “Chloe, is that you? Can you hear me??”

“Gou!!” She springs to her feet, throttling Gou's Litten body with her little paws, “Get me OUT OF THIS!!!” Chloe cries, stomping her little Grookey feet. Meanwhile, Grookey plays with Chloe’s hair, running its fingers through her messy curls with a goofy smile.

“Eeheeheee!” It giggles, jumping to Chloe’s feet and playfully hopping all around, fanning out her skirt and getting louder as Chloe’s bouncing hair tickles its face. “Mee-yoo! Oo-Oo-Ee-kee-Ookoo!”

Gou has to stifle a laugh as he watches his childhood friend dance around them like a simian clown, and Chloe glares daggers at him through Grookey's eyes.

Litten decides it’s done playing Mew’s games. “HEY, YOU!!! Gimme back my body, nyaow!!!” It screams, attempting to tackle and bite it, but Mew teleports a couple feet away, just out of range. Litten hands on all four of its Eevee paws, whirling around, tail bristling. “CHEATERRRR!!! FIGHT ME!!!”

Chloe looks like she’s moments away from losing consciousness again. Gou rushes forward to steady her.

“Mew, please!” Gou calls up to the mythical trickster. “This isn’t right— give us back our bodies!”

For a moment, it appears his words reached Mew as it tilts its head curiously back at him. Those tendrils of light appear again, and Gou sighs in relief as a strange feeling washes over him, slowly losing consciousness like he’s slipping into a peaceful sleep.

***

When he blinks back to consciousness again, his fingers twitch, and he groans a sigh of relief as he flexes them and pushes himself up off the ground. Thank Ho-Oh in Heaven, he’s human again. This nightmare is finally over…

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!” His Grookey screams, scratching furiously at its head and kicking the air in a fit of rage.

“Nyeehbeh…?“ Litten wakes up with its tail flicking its face and tries to grab it. Then it chases the tail in dizzying circles, getting increasingly worked up. “NYEHNYEEV!”

Eevee shakes its head, puffing out its chest and ruffling its long, fluffy fur. “Ee-ee-ee-ee-eey! Ee-ee!” It snickers, falling back on its flank and hugging its own tail.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me—” Gou startles at the sound of his own voice next to him, and he blinks at his mirror image in surreal confusion before both of them scream in horror.

Gou's eyes snap down at his pale, foreign body and skirt while Chloe suddenly curses, clutching fast to her torso— Gou’s torso.

“Chloe?” Gou speaks with Chloe's high pitch, gulping at the sight of his own face twisting in pained agony. Her fingers are gripping his clothes like a life line. “Chloe, what’s wrong…?”

His friend shoots him a piercing blue glare, like that question was the most brainless thing he could’ve asked. Then she winces as she gingerly pulls up Gou’s shirt, revealing a massive, deep purple bruise seeping across the top of his midriff.

Gou doesn't need to be a doctor to see he has at least one broken rib. It must have cracked while Satoshi was struggling to resuscitate him—! And all this time, poor Litten had been scrambling around the woods in his broken body, no doubt exacerbating the injury.

“Oh, Muk…” They both mumble, and this time, Chloe actually pales and faints.

Gou barely catches Chloe/himself around the shoulders before her lolling head can hit the ground.

“Mew!!” he pleads, clutching Chloe protectively. He prays Mew can understand him now that he finally has a real voice again. “Mew, you’ve had your fun— now turn us back! Please!”

Mew deliberates his pleas as the red lights kick up again, but from the smile in its eyes, Gou can tell it’s not done playing. “Mew— don’t—“ Gou tries, but as everyone’s consciousnesses thread around one another, his strength leaves him and everything fades to black.

***

Gou wakes up feeling strange again. He’s just aware enough to know Mew’s definitely messing with them again, because he’s clearly not back in his own body. It’s not Litten’s body either. He feels really strange, like there’s a surging energy coursing through him. He flexes his little fingers as his strength returns, rolling groggily upright. His arms and legs feel short— stubby. A tail flicks behind him. Is this Grookey’s body…?

When his eyes finally flutter open, he's not where they all were moments ago--he's standing just at the edge of the ravine, where he has a perfect view of everyone's bodies passed out on the ground several meters ahead of him.

Gou looks down at himself, and he's totally stunned to see two cute paws holding his fuzzy, yellow tummy.

Grookey’s body suddenly rolls upright, shaking its head. “Choo?” It peers curiously down at its hands before gasping in shock. “EEEKYACHOO??!!!!”

Gou's blood jolts with a cold rush of panic as he hears Satoshi's voice shouting somewhere far too close behind him. “Pikachuuu—! Pikachu—? Where’d you go?” His voice carries over the ravine, and Gou’s rapidly beating heart almost explodes right there.

He hardly has any time to process the rest of the chaotic scene unfolding in front of him.

Litten must have finally woken up in its original body, because it leaps to its feet in joyous celebration, purring like a motor as it immediately sets to work grooming its fur and swiping its paws over its ears.

For a moment, Gou assumes Chloe and Eevee are back to their normal selves, too, until Chloe babbles, “Eev-veeveh!” scooping Eevee into her arms and nuzzling its face. Eevee’s deep brown eyes are set with Chloe’s signature deadpan stare, a look that says, I am so over this.

And it must be Grookey who wakes up in Gou’s body, immediately grimacing at his broken ribs. It whimpers, clearly not having much fun any more. Grookey falls back on the ground with a despondent flop. “Groohoo…! Mee-yoo!”

Mew just carries on giggling at everyone’s colorful reactions as Satoshi crests the hill, running so fast he almost stumbles. “Pikachu! There you are, buddy—“ Gou jumps as Satoshi kneels down to pat his head. Then Satoshi’s eyes sweep over the clearing where everyone’s gathered. He looks startled to see Mew, grateful to see Litten and Chloe, and— “Gou—!!!”

In an instant, Satoshi’s sprinting over, sliding to his knees in front of Gou’s body.

“W-wait!! Satoshi…!!!” Gou struggles to find his legs, awkwardly hopping after him. It’s almost like the pads of his feet are spring loaded, and a mistimed jump almost sends him head over heels. “Wah!”

“Gou!! Gou, are you okay?!” Satoshi grabs his classmate’s hands, his brow knitting up with deep concern at the state of Gou’s body.

Grookey moodily pouts up at him with Gou’s lips trembling, blinking at Satoshi through the tears welling up in its big, blue eyes. Satoshi looks deeply distressed as he pulls ‘Gou’ upright, carefully wrapping an arm around the boy’s shaking shoulders. “Gou…?”

Gou watches in horror as his Grookey suddenly clutches tight to Satoshi’s shirt, burying its face in Satoshi’s shoulder and bursting into wailing sobs like a toddler.

“W-what’s wrong?” Satoshi flounders, his grip on Gou’s body tightening.

Gou’s voice pathetically sobs, “Grroo-hoo-oo-keeey!!”

“Grookey’s right there!!” Satoshi nods urgently to Pikachu, still frozen where it’s trapped in Grookey’s body.

“Eekuh?!!” His best friend squeaks as it slaps its Grookey cheeks, struggling to process the situation Mew dragged it into.

Meanwhile, Gou figures out Pikachu’s awkward, tiny feet enough to come bounding up to them. “Shhh, Grookey! D-Don’t cry! It’s okay! I-I’m gonna get us out of this, I promise!” He tries to peel Grookey off of Satoshi, tugging back on his sleeves, but it’s no use.

“Are you in pain??” Satoshi asks urgently, and Grookey nods against him, pointing to its torso. “Where? Let me see—”

“Ahh, no, no, no, don’t!” Gou tries to jump in and stop what’s happening, but Satoshi just says, “Hold on, Pikachu—” and tugs Gou’s shirt up to his chest, revealing his graphic injury. Satoshi lets out a breath like the air’s been knocked out of him as Grookey hangs Gou’s head in his arms and closes its eyes, exhausted.

“Gou…! I’m gonna call for help, okay? Hang in there—” Satoshi says, pulling out his phone to dial the emergency line.

Gou panics, leaps up and twists, slapping the phone out of Satoshi’s hands with Pikachu's tail. Apparently he doesn’t know his own strength, because his tail instantly crunches Satoshi’s phone screen like an iron hammer before it clatters to the ground and blinks out.

Satoshi’s jaw drops incredulously before his voice shoots up an octave. “Pikachu!! What the heck was that for?!!”

Mortified he broke Satoshi’s phone, Gou hides his face behind his tall ears. “I-I’m sorry…! I was just— Ah!!” Gou get the breath knocked out of him as the real Pikachu surges forward, tackling him into the dirt.

“Imposter!” Pikachu shouts, pulling on his ears. “Get away from Pikapi!!”

Gou squeaks, “Chloe! Help!!” While Pikachu smacks at his face.

“Er—!” Chloe awkwardly runs closer on Eevee’s legs, “C’mon, let’s talk this out— Eek!” she trips, unintentionally headbutting the other two and knocking Pikachu off balance. The three of them suddenly tumble a little ways away, all flailing limbs and awkward tails.

“What the—!! What’s gotten into all of you?” Satoshi watches their Pokémon all scrambling over one another as Mew dances in circles above them. He sighs in frustration, then turns to his classmate and asks, “Chloe, did you call for help? We have to get Gou to a hospital!” He looks up at the girl wearing an uncharacteristically goofy smile. “…Hellooo? Chloe? Did you hear me?”

Eevee smiles wider, clapping Chloe’s hands and sticking out Chloe’s tongue. “Veehee~”

As if this scene couldn’t get any worse, Gou’s blood runs cold when Eevee points between Satoshi and the boy in his arms, puckering Chloe’s lips and fluttering her eyelashes.

Chloe, to her credit, rushes to her feet to try and shut up Eevee, jumping up and slapping a pair of paws across her own human lips, but Eevee’s having too much fun. “Mm mm mmm! Mm-mm~~mwah!” It giggles.

In the midst of Pikachu wrestling him into the ground, Gou realizes Eevee thinks Gou’s injuries are something Satoshi can just kiss better, like all the boo-boos Chloe always kisses on its paws.

Satoshi’s face quickly turns pink as he realizes what Eevee is insinuating. “Chloe?! What—?!! Y-You can’t be serious?!”

Meanwhile, Litten finishes licking its shoulder, and with a proud swell of its clean chest, it turns to face Mew with a determined glare in its eyes. “Myew!!!” The little one declares, snarling as loud as its juvenile voice can. “I challenge you to a battle!”

Satoshi, Grookey, Chloe, Eevee, and Pikachu all look up at the declaration. Gou rolls over to face Litten, squishing Pikachu under his chubby tummy. “What?!! Litten, don’t— Ow!!!” He’s cut off by Pikachu kicking him off.

Mew humors Litten, floating a little closer to face it.

“Now that I have my real body back, I’m gonna take you down!!” It cries, assuming a wider stance. “And then you’ll turn Grookey and Gou-roo and all their friends back to normal!!”

“Litten…?” Satoshi murmurs, watching the exchange with concern. His eyes flicker between Gou’s battered body and Mew. “Are you saying… Mew did this to Gou?”

Mew just giggles, and it sends Litten into a blind rage.

“Take this!!!” Litten roars, hurling an impressive barrage of fireballs at Mew. The immortal mythical dances, dodging just enough around each blast like it enjoys the thrill of almost getting hit. Then it follows up with an attack, sending several powerful fireball blasts raining down on Litten.

Satoshi hugs Gou’s body closer and ducks as a fireball soars just over their heads. Eevee scampers out of the fray holding Chloe. Pikachu rolls away from Gou, both of them narrowly avoiding one of Mew’s stray blasts. All the while, Litten is deftly dodging each fireball being launched at it, immune to all the shimmering heat surrounding it.

“Litten, stop! You can’t win this!!” Gou pleads.

In contrast, Satoshi shouts, “That was incredible, Litten!” his eyes sparkling with pride as the little Pokémon takes another swipe at Mew, just narrowly missing its tail as it shapeshifts into a Cutiefly, zipping around Litten’s head.

Litten growls in frustration but it doesn’t give up. Running close, it springs up, snarling with flaming fangs, and Mew teleports away. But Litten’s learned to predict its tricks by now, and, mid fall, it conjures another fireball. Mew teleports right into its trajectory, squeaking in shock as the blast hits it square in the chest, and a cloud of sizzling smoke erupts around it.

Gou and Satoshi both gasp as Litten lands proudly on all four feet with a self satisfied purr. But when the smoke clears, Mew isn’t there. Litten anxiously backs up, looking left, right, up, and around. As soon as its back is turned, Mew materializes right behind it and whips it hard across the shoulder with an iron tail. Litten cries in pain as it skids into the ground, leaving a scorched trail in its wake.

“Rrrr!” Litten growls in pain, trembling as it rises to its feet. “I’m not done yet!”

Gou has to put a stop to this before Litten gets seriously hurt.

He screws his eyes shut, focusing hard, and he can almost feel the electricity coursing through his neurons as he desperately searches for a solution. An idea flies through his mind like lightning, and it’s so crazy, it might just work.

“Hey, Mew!!” He shouts up at it, crackling with nervous energy. The cherubic monster pauses its battle, looking right at him. Ahead of it, Litten pants in frustration as it staggers to the ground.

Satoshi blinks up in surprise. “Pikachu…?”

“This whole time… you’ve been missing out on the real fun, y’know!” Gou continues, and Mew tilts its head.

“Gou, what are you doing—??“ Chloe whispers, afraid to incur any more of Mew’s vengeful whims.

Gou steps forward. “You already know how it feels to be every Pokémon, right?” Mew just holds his gaze, watching him carefully. “Yeah… I bet that got old a while ago…” Gou taunts, his squeaky Pikachu voice shaking with nerves. “Don’t you wanna try something new?”

Mew comes closer, looking genuinely intrigued.

“Don’t you wanna know how it feels to be a human?”

Gou looks urgently over at Chloe, and thankfully, she catches on quick. “Er—y-yeah— Being a human feels amazing!” she brags. “I miss my body so much…!”

“You can play with our minds all you want, but at the end of the day, you’ll never know how it feels to be a real person.” Gou sighs, bowing his head. “And I’ll never know what it feels like to be something as amazing as you...”

“Pikachu…? I don’t understand— Mew! What’s going on?” Satoshi interrupts with a troubled expression. “What did you do to Gou?! And why is everyone fighting each other?!”

The real Pikachu leaps onto Satoshi’s shoulder, pinching his cheek. “Eekuh-eekuh!”

Satoshi yelps. “Ow! Grookey…? Why—”

Grookey looks up at its name. “Grrrookeykeykey!” It echos, reaching up to cup Satoshi’s cheeks, and the boy’s jaw goes slack with incomprehension.

Eevee crawls over on all fours, and Satoshi nearly jumps out of his skin when it throws its arms around him and Grookey, nuzzling them both between their cheeks. “Veehveeh!”

“Eevee!! Stop!!!” Chloe jumps between all of them, standing on Grookey’s shoulder with one paw and splaying out the other three to kick Eevee, Satoshi, and Grookey’s faces away from each other.

Satoshi’s brain looks like it’s melting as he stares up at Mew, utterly stupefied. “What did you do to them?!”

Gou tries his best to ignore the scene behind him, his focus entirely on Mew. “What do you want, Mew?”

Mew just watches Gou with an intense look in its eye as it considers its next move. Gou swallows nervously as it slowly drifts to the ground, landing gently on its feet. Satoshi watches in awe as Mew starts to glow red, and with a series of eight intertwining lights, everything fades to black.

***

Chapter Text

Gou didn’t think very far beyond this point.

He wakes up feeling stranger than ever, almost weightless. A very long tail flicks behind him, and it takes him a moment to realize he’s floating as his eyes flutter open. A supernatural wave washes over him as he senses the roiling Aura of all seven people and Pokémon knocked out in front of him.

Litten’s body wakes up first, groaning in pain. “Ugggghhhhhh…… This is such a nightmare…” Chloe grumbles with her chin on the ground, not even bothering to try and stand up.

Eevee, Grookey, and Pikachu all bolt upright at the same time, blinking at their new bodies.

Pikachu’s voice screams, “AAAHHHHHHH!!! WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT’S HAPPENING?!!!?” as bolts of electricity crackle and lick off its cheeks like fire.

Eevee leaps to its feet, shouting, “Pikapi?! Is that you??!” And Satoshi’s little Pikachu jaw drops open wide, his eyes practically bugging.

“P…Pikachu…!!!?” Satoshi can’t believe his ears, in every sense. “You— I— I can hear you!!! Is this real?!! Am I dreaming??! This is—” He stops stammering when his best friend bunts their heads together, and despite his shock, Satoshi laughs and hugs Pikachu back with all his heart. “Pikachu!!!”

Grookey’s body stands on all fours, shaking from its head to its tail like a wet Lilipup. “Wheee! Groo-vee, look! I’m you!! Eeheehee!” Eevee playfully jumps around the other two as Satoshi openly gawks at it. Then Satoshi clings to Pikachu and screams again as his human body suddenly sits up behind him, knocking off his hat and scratching his head.

“Groo…” Grookey tentatively pokes its own ribs and smiles. “Keekeekeekee!!!” Happy with its new, unbroken body, Grookey hops to Satoshi’s feet and knuckles, dancing and rolling around with Eevee. “Grookey-Eekee! Groo-Keekookey!”

Chloe and Gou’s bodies come too last, blinking blearily at one another.

Chloe’s voice suddenly cries in despair, flexing its fingers while messing its hair around, and Gou instantly knows it’s Litten. It’s especially frustrated now that it’s lost its real body for a second time.

At the same moment, Gou’s body rolls upright, keening in agony. Gou’s own sharp, blue eyes glare up at him as his body pants angrily, and Gou knows Mew realizes it’s been tricked.

Before Gou can say anything to deescalate the situation, all hell breaks loose.

Mew rushes to its feet to make a leap for Gou, making a snatch for him with surprising speed. Gou yipes and tries to fly away, but he doesn’t know how to control his powers, and he just spins in place, making himself dizzy. At the same time, Litten tackles Mew around Gou’s waist, and they both hit the ground hard, scrabbling, wrestling, hissing, and caterwauling like wild, back alley scratch-cats.

Although Chloe’s nails aren’t sharp, they are slightly longer than Gou’s, giving Litten a small advantage. That is, until Mew makes a grab at Chloe’s long hair, yanking Litten off. Litten retaliates, flashing Chloe’s pearly canines as it sinks its teeth into Mew’s forearm.

“HEY!!! Knock it off!!!” Satoshi shouts, distressed at the sight of his classmates taking swipes and snaps at one another.

Grookey’s upset, too, hurrying over to stop them. “Mee-yoo! Littey Keytee, Groo!!” It tries to throw itself between Chloe and Gou’s bodies, but Mew is shockingly capable in spite of Gou’s condition and stature. All three human bodies are obscured by clouds of dirt as everyone’s random limbs writhe and kick at the air.

Meanwhile, Gou holds his head in distress— everyone’s auras are so bright and loud and overwhelming, he can’t think straight.

“Pikapi!” Pikachu says urgently, “Use Thunderbolt!”

“What??!” Satoshi squeaks, “I can do that??!”

“Just reach for that power deep inside of you, like Piiiiiiiiiiiiiikapikapikaprrrr… and then let it all fly out, like KAKRAKAKAKACHUUUUU!!!” Pikachu mimes animatedly, eyes shining.

Gou has to commend Satoshi’s ability to roll with the punches, because he just nods in determination and takes a big, deep breath. “Okay!!”

Discharge sparks fly off his cheeks as a static energy surges over his fur, and the next thing he knows, everyone in the clearing is being fried alive by a nerve-jolting, hair-burning, bone-rattling bolt of pure lightning. They all scream and convulse for several seconds before the power runs its course, leaving as suddenly as it came.

“Y-y-yeah, just like that—” Pikachu croaks before falling over on its face.

The distraction works— A stunned shush falls over the group as Mew and Litten fall over twitching, followed by Eevee, Grookey, Chloe, and Gou, all dropping like dominos. “Ah!! Sorry, guys!!” Satoshi rubs his little Pikachu nose, laughing awkwardly.

Gou shakes off the sting as he rises again, trying to focus on his powers-- maybe he can swap everyone back where they belong. Satoshi is Pikachu, Pikachu is Eevee, Eevee is Grookey, and Grookey is Satoshi-- and--

Mew slowly rises to its hands and knees as Gou is distracted, fighting the aftershocks still seizing its muscles and readying itself to leap at Satoshi, next. But Litten gets the jump on it first, pulling Mew down and taking a pointed seat on Gou’s broken rib, smirking with a victorious purr.

Mew wails, thrashing underneath Chloe’s body weight.

“Litten—! That's you, right? You won! Please, Let Mew go! You’re hurting it.” Satoshi gestures pleadingly at Mew so it gets the message. With a guilty, reluctant huff, Litten releases its foe and crawls away with its haughty nose turned up. It sits with Chloe’s back to everyone, checking her nails.

Mew just stays where it is, stunned by its uncharacteristic defeat, breathing heavily. Grookey gently pulls Mew up so Gou’s head can rest comfortably on Satoshi’s lap. “Mee-yoo...”

Having successfully neutralized the situation, Satoshi tentatively turns and looks up at Gou, his expression uncertain. “Gou— is that you…?”

Everyone looks up, waiting for Gou to say something. But he’s totally at a loss for words. He can barely float— how is he supposed to conjure an unique, mythical ability? “I… I—!” He can’t even bring himself to give Satoshi an answer, his eyes darting away with shame.

To his total surprise, Satoshi just lights up. “Gou!!!” Satoshi springs up to hug Gou, startling him so much, it breaks his floating concentration completely, and they both tumble to the ground, still embracing as they roll to a stop.

“Sa-Satoshi!” Gou stammers, utterly flustered by his crush’s soul hugging his.

“It’s really you! I was so worried about you, I—” Satoshi catches himself gushing and laughs, hugging him again. “I’m just… I’m so glad you’re okay!!!” Gou’s too stunned to reply, and after a tense moment of silence, Satoshi pulls away, his smile fading, eyes turning scared. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Gou— I—I thought I knew what I was doing— but you weren’t breathing, and I—”

“No—! Satoshi— You saved my life!” Gou interjects, resting his hands across one of Satoshi’s gratefully.

Satoshi‘s smile returns at that, his cute dark eyes quivering in the light. “Where have you been? Chloe and I've been looking everywhere for… you………” Satoshi trails off as Gou’s Mew face starts turning three shades pinker with fear.

Gou can see Satoshi’s gears turning as his brow furrows, glancing back at everyone’s scrambled minds and bodies, his gaze lingering on Litten. When he looks back at Gou, the mortified boy is trying to hide behind his hands, but they’re so tiny, it’s useless.

“Gou— Have you been— Litten… this whole time…?” Satoshi asks, his Pikachu cheeks glowing.

When Gou chokes up and doesn’t reply right away, Chloe hesitantly chimes in, saying, “Satoshi— he was trapped… No one could understand what he was saying...”

Satoshi turns to face her, almost incredulous. “Wait-- You knew?!” Chloe winces, followed by a guilty nod. “Since when?!"

"Only... a few hours ago..." she grimaces.

"A few hours?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“It’s not her fault,” Gou finally speaks up, and Satoshi whirls to face him again, eyes wide. “I asked her not to…”

“But— why?!” Satoshi looks deeply confused now— maybe hurt. He has to be wondering why Gou chose to keep this a secret from him. 

Gou opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. He looks away, too mortified to meet Satoshi's eyes.

In the awkward, stalling silence that follows, everyone jumps when, out of nowhere, the sky above them splits open into a shimmering, green portal swirling over everyone's heads.

A newcomer’s voice from the other side squeaks, “Mew! You’ve really done it this time—!”

Both boy’s jaws drop as the mythical Pokémon Celebi comes twirling out of the portal, flying right past Gou and Satoshi, skirting the others and zipping to a sudden halt in front of Mew, throwing a small splash of green sparkles in its face. Mew just spats in irritation, avoiding Celebi’s eyes.

“Do you know how bad you gotta mess up for Arceus to send me to clean it up??” Celebi's practically nose to nose with Gou's human face, forcing Mew to cross its eyes.

Mew grumbles irritably in reply, crossing its arms like a petulant child and turning away.

“It’s bad enough you swapped bodies with a human, but you just had to go meddle with Satoshi! Y’know, the boy that saved Arceus’s life?“ Mew casts a slow, deadpan glance at Satoshi before sighing and throwing its head back into the dirt. Celebi just goes, “Yeah. You’re in biiig trouble.”

Chloe whispers, “You. saved. Arceus?” and Satoshi rubs his neck sheepishly.

Celebi’s scolding attitude warms slightly as it snickers a cute little trill. “Alright— You get the idea. Come on.” With an ethereal glow in its little fingertip, it turns and taps at the air in front of it, opening a new portal to the past. It glimmers for a moment before revealing Mew, flying high above the treetops.

Past-Mew squeaks in surprise, its eyes flitting around everyone on the other side. Present Mew instantly rises to its feet, scrambling closer to get a look at itself.

Curious and in awe, Gou floats over too, peeking his head through the portal a little and peering down at the scene below— it appears to be just moments before this whole mind swap mess began: Mew’s still in the sky, Past-Gou is hiding in the thicket, watching the students bully Litten, and, thanks to his new, supernatural aura sensing powers, Gou notices Grookey swinging through the trees toward Satoshi and his friends.

“Listen up, Mew! I’m only gonna say this once—” Celebi twirls, coming to a sudden stop with an attention-grabbing flourish. Past-Mew tilts its head. “You’re gonna swap everyone you see here back to their normal bodies— and then you’re going to leave those kids alone. Understand?”

Past-Mew just narrows its eyes, as if to say, Who said you could order me around?

Celebi sighs and rests its hands on its hips. “Sorry, Mew,” It says, pointedly turning to Gou’s body. “Guess you’re stuck being a human forever! Or, well, until you die, that is…”

Present-Mew’s eyes widen in panic, waving frantically for the other Mew's attention, and it blinks back, looking a little disturbed. Resigned to helping, Past-Mew closes its eyes in concentration as its hands start to glow red.

“Oh, Finally,” Chloe groans, rolling over.

“No— Wait!!!” Gou shouts, surprising everyone. All nine heads turn toward him as Mew’s eyes open curiously.

It feels like Satoshi’s eyes are burning into Gou as he turns away from everyone’s stares, and in a panic, he tries to send Chloe, Mew and Celebi a message without speaking. Both psychic Pokémon and his friend blink in surprise when it works.

Please, switch my heart with my past self!!

Without tact, Celebi furrows its brow and squeaks, “Why?” out loud.

“What?!” Chloe snaps out loud as well.

“What? What’s happening?” Satoshi, who didn’t hear what Gou said, glances between everyone with concern.

I’m begging you, Please! Switch me with me! Then, to Chloe, he says, Please, Chlo, you have to cover for me.

“Are you crazy?!” Chloe hisses again, “You can’t just—“

Shh! Satoshi can hear you! You have to let me go!

Chloe growls in frustration, shutting her eyes and thinking hard. You’d really do that to yourself?! she shouts in her head, heatedly gesturing at his battered and broken body. You can't be serious—!

Trust me— I would understand. Gou groans, holding his head.

“Hellooo-ohhh!!” Satoshi gripes, getting increasingly more confused and agitated as the telepathic conversation continues without him. “Anyone gonna tell me what’s going on here?!”

And what am I supposed to tell you when you wake up?? Chloe counters.

It’s only been like, 28 hours, just tell me I got attacked by a Pokémon and hit my head or something—

Yeah?  And what about Satoshi’s alibi? Chloe presses, If you don't back up his story, the teachers might punish all of us!

Just tell me what to say, and I'll back you up! I technically wouldn’t be lying.

Chloe holds fast, not letting up. “No! This is wrong!” She shouts out loud again, shaking her head.

“What’s wrong?!!” Satoshi stands between Gou and Chloe’s line of sight, forcing them to acknowledge him. Gou grits a noise of frustration. Trying to convince Chloe is taking too long. Every second he’s here with Satoshi is fraying at his nerves.

Chloe!! I can't stay here!! I’m so embarrassed!!! Gou cradles his head, losing all composure. I mean, LOOK at my body! All those kids saw me acting like a wild Pokémon!! And Satoshi—! SATOSHI KNOWS!! He KNOWS I let him hold me, and pet me, and snuggle me— Agh!! We even shared his ice cream—!!! Not because I had to— Because I wanted to—!!!

“Gou!”

Gou’s misty eyes snap open as Satoshi hops up and grabs both of his hands, pulling him back down to earth. He didn’t even realize he was starting to float away— Gou’s distress must have cast an unstable net of psychic energy around him, because several pebbles and rocks in a radius surrounding them all clatter to the ground.

“Gou—” Satoshi smiles comfortingly, wiping one of Gou’s tears away. “It’s okay!”

Gou freezes, burning up from head to toe as he realizes Satoshi just heard that whole meltdown, too.

“How— How is any of that okay?!” Gou argues, scrunching his eyes shut tight again. He just wants to run away from all of this— Satoshi’s forgiving smile, his feelings, this whole nightmare.

”I’d… I’d do it all again, y’know. Even if I knew.” Satoshi murmurs, and Gou’s heart fully stops beating. Satoshi’s cheeks light up pink again as Gou’s eyes open wide, just staring back at him in shock.

Satoshi looks embarrassed as he turns away, rubbing his hands all over his face, sparks flying. “Aaagh, can we just go back to normal already?! I can't take myself seriously like this!” He whines up at both Mews and Celebi.

Pikachu dashes over to his side, giving him one last Teddi-bear hug before they lose this unique connection. “I love you, Pikapi! You’re my best friend in the whole world, you know!”

Satoshi laughs and squeezes back. “I love you, too, buddy! I’m so proud of you!”

Eevee hops over to Chloe, squeezing her tight and nuzzling her nose. “Chloveeeee~~! You’re my favorite person~~! I looooo’veeyou~~!“

“Ow, ow, easy, Eevee!!” Chloe winces, but she’s smiling. “I love you too!

Grookey crawls over to its stunned trainer, scooping him into a big, snuggly hug. “Groo-keekee-roo, Gou-roo!" 

The Mew in Gou’s body just watches everyone curiously as Litten acts aloof, pretending to ignore everyone.

“Alright, I don’t have all day,” Celebi quips in good humor, nodding at Mew to make the switch.

With a nod back, Mew orchestrates its final Heart-Swap power, summoning all eight consciousnesses to send them back where they belong.

Just before they all black out, under the red glow of everyone’s hearts, Satoshi shares one more perfect smile with Gou, and he bravely smiles back as both their eyes flutter closed.

—

When Gou finally comes to in his real body, he’s being carried by Satoshi once again. “Satoshi…?” He murmurs blearily.

Gou’s body aches all over, from his sides to his hands and knees. His head is throbbing too-- probably thanks to his brain being swapped five times. His body sustained the most stress out of everyone; that must be why it took him a little while longer to wake up.

Satoshi puffs out a small breath of exertion as he adjusts his grip, carefully stepping down the hill to Pallet Town. “You’re a little heavier now,” he jokes, his voice shaking as he almost trips on a rock. Thankfully the ground levels out soon afterward as he saves his footing and continues to stride forward with purpose.

“Pikapi, Pika-chu!” His partner chimes, and although Gou can’t understand it anymore, he’s pretty sure it was telling Satoshi: be careful!

As his awareness slowly dawns on him, Gou's face burns red and he stutters, “S-Sa-Satoshi! Put me down—!” He huddles into his crush’s shoulder, trying to hide his face. As soon as he does, he regrets it, because a sharp pain in his rib makes him gasp a hiss of shock, clawing at fistfuls of Satoshi’s shirt.

“Sorry, Gou—! We’re almost to my house! Chloe called for help, a nurse is gonna meet us there.”

Gou just groans in angsty agony as he lets Satoshi carry him out of the woods. As the house comes into view, Gou realizes there’s a small crowd gathered out front, and before he can prepare himself, someone shouts, “Everyone, look!! It’s them!!!” and all of their classmates come sprinting over, hollering and squealing.

“Satoshi!!” “Gou!!” “You actually found him!!!” “He’s alive!!!” “What happened?!?” “Is Gou okay??” “We were so worried about you guys!!”

Satoshi smiles awkwardly as his friends crowd around him, desperate to hear the full story immediately. Gou’s so horribly embarrassed that everyone’s seeing him in Satoshi’s arms, he stops breathing.

"Is Gou okay??" “He's so red!” “Omigod, is he alright?!“ “What happened to him?!”

“Alright, Back up, Back up! Quit crowding them!” Viridian’s Nurse Joy comes running over with Chansey and one of her assistants, carrying a stretcher. Gou winces as Joy and Satoshi lay him down, and he covers his red face with his arms as their classmates all stare and gawk and hover with concern.

As he’s being hauled away, just before they load him into the back of the ambulance car, he manages to catch a glimpse of Satoshi’s mom speaking to their teacher, and Chloe, smiling and waving with Eevee, Grookey, Litten and Pikachu. Satoshi hops into the car, too, closing the doors behind him.

While Joy starts the vehicle and Chansey preps an IV, Gou feebly says, “You don’t have to come with me… You’ve done enough.”

Satoshi grins warmly, shaking his head. “No way! I’m not going anywhere.”

Gou’s blush refuses to recede, especially when his crush reaches over to hold one of his hands, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Satoshi just smiles and keeps Gou company, distracting him from his pain as the exhaustion of everything that happened this weekend sets in. He closes his eyes, and...

...the next thing he knows, he’s waking up in a hospital bed.

No one’s in the cold, sterile room with him. The first thing he notices are some small bandages all across his arms and fingertips. He gingerly attempts to sit up, turning over his hands and rubbing his palms.

He sighs as he fumbles around for a call Nurse button. That’s when a white Get-Well-Soon card on his side table catches his attention, and he reaches over to open it. All of his classmates signed it with sweet words of encouragement or funny doodles of Mew. There’s lots of hearts, too, but the only one that stands out to him is the one scrawled next to Satoshi’s signature. I meant what I said… Hope you feel better soon!

As if being summoned by Gou’s heart-throbbing thoughts, Satoshi comes strolling into the room holding two ice cream cones, beaming at the sight of Gou looking alive again. “You’re awake!”

Gou startles, dropping the card back onto the table. “Y-Yeah… How long wass’I out…?” His voice slurs a little drowsily as he’s holding his head.

“Not that long. Nurse Joy said you’d come around soon, so I ran out and got some icecream!” Satoshi smiles like an angel as he hands a strawberry cone to Gou. “Here!”

The injured boy accepts it with shaky hands. Why is Satoshi still here? Maybe he feels guilty about Gou’s rib. Or he’s back to demand answers to Gou’s actions.

Instead, he just cheerily says, “Been a wild weekend, huh?” while taking licks of his ice cream.

“...How’re you being so cool ’bout this…” Gou mumbles. He feels a little funny, but at least the pain in his ribs is gone.

”I’ve seen weirder things, trust me.” Satoshi laughs. Then he grins at Gou and says, “Do you think I’m cool?”

“…I think you’re incredible…” Probably isn’t the reaction Satoshi was expecting.

Gou blinks as he realizes he just said his thoughts out loud, and he scrambles to salvage his dignity. “I-I mean… incredibly cool! Yeah! You saved me. You r-really are the Pokémon Whisperer...”

He thinks he sees Satoshi’s cheeks turning pink as the boy just laughs and rubs the back of his head.

Feeling like his face is overheating suddenly, Gou tries to bring the ice cream scoop to his lips, but he misses, accidentally dotting his upper lip and nose. “Agh...!”

Satoshi snickers, ”Here—” already moving forward with a napkin to help. Gou looks up, his heart racing as Satoshi gently dabs it over Gou’s face. Up close, Satoshi notices Gou’s cheeks start to burn, and he grins. Before Gou can properly react, Satoshi leans closer and offers Gou a bite of his icecream.

There’s a slight lag as Gou stares at his cone for a second before squinting in confusion at Satoshi.

“What? You said you wanted to share,” Satoshi teases, his grin widening as Gou’s expression slowly sobers, looking horrified.

“That’s not— I-I didn’t— No!“ Gou refuses, pushing Satoshi’s ice cream away, but the blush in his cheeks betrays him.

“Ha-ha-ha, You sure?” Adding insult to injury, Satoshi suddenly reaches up with his other hand, stroking the underside of Gou’s chin like a Litten.

Gou makes some kind of a strangled squeak of shock as Satoshi leans back and pretends not to notice, looking away and smiling as he takes a bite of his blueberry cone.

”Leave him alone, Satoshi.” Chloe chides as she strolls into the room with Grookey, Pikachu, Eevee, and Litten close behind. “He’s probably still loopy on pain meds.” She’s carrying Gou’s Mew plush, sewn back together as best she could— It looks a little wonky, but it’s still his favorite.

Gou’s never been so grateful to see his friend. “Chloeeee,” he cries in relief, reaching out for her.

”I’m right here.” Chloe smiles as she takes his hand and seats herself on his other side.

The Pokémon all jump up onto Gou’s bed, inspecting him. Pikachu hops onto its best friend’s shoulder, Grookey cuddles Gou’s arm, and Chloe manages to snatch Eevee back before it can hop onto Gou’s injured torso.

Litten steps forward, sitting on Gou’s lap and staring up at him.

”Litten wants to thank you,” Satoshi observes.

”Really…?” Gou peers into its large, yellow eyes, blinking slowly. Litten starts purring in reply as if slow-blinks back, kneading biscuits on Gou’s tummy. ”Thanks, Litten...” He hesitantly offers the little Pokémon his bruised knuckles, and it gently laps at them.

”Aww!” Everyone coos.

”Here,” Chloe reaches over and places something small into Gou’s hand. He looks down as she bleeps the button of a pokeball; Gou’s fingers curl around the familiar shape as it expands in his palm. “It wants to stay with you.”

“Me?” Gou’s brow furrows as he looks back at Litten. “Why me…? Satoshi’s the one who saved you…”

Litten’s stare doesn’t waver as Satoshi hangs his head and groans, ”Ughhh, this again?” A second later, he’s sitting up and smiling patiently at Gou. “Gou, you’re the first person who stood up for Litten. Besides—” he reaches over to pet Litten and flinches back as it hisses, taking a warning swipe at him. “See?? It doesn’t want me.” The Pokémon Whisperer frowns like he’s been wounded while Pikachu consoles him, and Chloe snickers.

Litten watches Gou expectantly as he just stares down at the Pokeball in his hand. He takes a long, drawn out bite of icecream. “Is thissactually happ’ning?” Gou finally mumbles, still feeling totally out-of-it.

”Oh for Ho-oh’s sake,” Chloe rolls her eyes impatiently, reaching over to help and lifting his wrist for him. Satoshi reaches over too, holding the back of Gou’s hand and grinning as his proximity clearly brings another blush to the boy’s cheeks.

Together, they all hold Gou’s hand steady as Litten bunts the Pokeball, and with a flickering, pink flash, it zips inside. The ball only tremors once in Gou’s hands before it clicks with a small shower of tiny stars and sparkles. Gou holds Litten’s pokeball preciously close as he murmurs, “I’ll take good care of you…” and Satoshi’s warm eyes smile at him.

Grookey cheers uproariously, hopping up and down and all around Gou’s bed. Pikachu and Eevee both cheer too, happy for their new friend. His new happy Litten pops out of its ball, paces in circles on his lap, and settles down for a nap.

“Thanks, you guys…” Gou’s voice shakes a little, suddenly feeling emotional. “Thank you for… everything.”

Chloe sees his lip tremble and leans in for a hug, careful not to hurt him. Satoshi follows suit, and Gou melts as Satoshi’s hand glides comfortingly over his hair.

If Satoshi and Pikachu hadn’t saved him… If Chloe and Eevee hadn’t searched for him…

Gou pets Grookey’s head, and it chitters happily in reply. Even Grookey stepped up to protect him…

And Mew… Even if it was just playing around, Mew tried to help him. Mew stayed close to Grookey and Litten. Goh believes it really cared, in its own way…

As they’re all pulling away from their group hug, Satoshi looks up at something outside and breaks out into a huge smile. Gou and Chloe both look just in time to catch a long, pink tail flicking across the window, and then it’s gone.

—

A lot happens over the next five hours:

1. Shortly after the side effects of his pain meds wear off, some of Gou’s other classmates come to see him, including Todd, Regina, Nicole, and Jeanette. Seeing his classmates care enough to visit him opens a part of Gou’s heart he didn’t realize he’d locked off a long time ago.

2. Satoshi informs their teacher of everything that happened with Shamus, Damian, and their lackey from Pokémon Tech. Gou’s story backs him up, and their teacher promises to make those students face the consequences of their lies and abuse.

(Gou later learns the girl’s name, but forgets it just as quickly— any hopes she had of being a big-name actress were dashed when word of her actions spread across all four schools and beyond. All of Shamus’s training awards and badges were rescinded, while his prestige team of Pokémon was all surrendered to a Pokémon rehabilitation center. Damian loses the full ride scholarship he had planned for his dream university, and, given the choice between expulsion or an intensive, interactive course on human empathy, he begrudgingly chooses the latter. The bridge of his precious model nose, however, is forever broken; his designer sunglasses keep slipping down his face.)

3. Gou is discharged from Viridian’s hospital, and Ms. Hanako invites him to come over while he waits for his parents to come pick him up. On the short roadtrip back to Pallet Town, she delights in getting to know her son’s new friend, asking lots of questions and unintentionally saying all sorts of things that embarrass Satoshi and make him go, “Mooom!”

His mom giggles as she gives them both a break and turns up the radio. The boys steal a quick glance at one another as both their pinkies brush together in the back seat, and neither of them move away.

4. Gou takes a (much needed) much more relaxing bubble bath, washing away any remaining traces of Viridian forest. Hanako bakes another delicious Razzberry pie, and Gou takes turns feeding bites to Litten and Grookey over dinner as Satoshi watches them fondly.

And 5: Satoshi asks Gou to come for a walk with him. Their Pokémon all run ahead, laughing and playing and rolling down hills together. It’s both terrifying and exhilarating, being alone together. Gou’s nerves are on high alert as they both come to a stop, side by side, taking in a beautiful view of the sun dipping below the wildflower hilltops.

Gou watches with bated breath as Satoshi kneels down to pluck a particularly pretty, red wildflower, turning to face him with a determined look in his eyes. He tucks the flower behind Gou’s ear, and before he can even say anything, Gou’s grabbing the sides of his face and kissing him.

After a few seconds of expressing their bold affection for one another, Gou pulls away, his face as red as the flower next to it. “I really like you,” he confesses, as if it wasn’t obvious enough.

Satoshi beams, his eyes practically sparkling. “I like you, too!”