Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Subject: A Study of Deerling Migration

Log #01

Location: The train number NR6 direction Vermillion Range

Date: 25th October 

Time: 8:20 AM

Weather: Cold, low breezy, but sunny, 15 °C

The play has been over for two weeks, but the aftermath of it still sticks inside my head. Everyone else seems to have moved on, or at least, they’re trying. There’s talk about the Halloween party in the hallway, and someone even already jumped ahead to Christmas by putting up a paper snowflake on the homeroom bulletin board.

But me? My mind is still with the play.

Not the lines or the costumes or the applause. No, it’s the part no one else saw. The part behind the curtains. The collapsed set. The accident. The moments where everything could’ve gone wrong, and almost did. It actually did. And the note.

Lila came back to school with a soft cast on her right leg and a halo of attention. She hasn’t said a word about what happened behind the scenes besides a few sentences that made people said “aw, you poor thing.” But the truth behind it and the possibility that the set collapse isn’t just an accident, she hasn’t opened her mouth about it, and neither have I.

It was only Chloe and I who knew the truth. The rest, the cast, the teachers, even Lila, still believe the set collapse was just a fluke. A freak accident or something to sigh about in group chats and then forget.

Even Chloe doesn’t know everything.

She knows it wasn’t an accident. She was with me when we went back to the dressing room. We didn’t say anything about this, but she saw the screws and the pocket screwdriver falling down from Holly’s makeup kit, and that was enough for us. But she never saw the note. I never showed it to her. I never told her about it, about how it was tucked into my locker, how the handwriting was rushed but sharp, how it wasn’t signed, but might as well have been.

I don’t have proof that it was also Holly. Not physical proof. Just instinct. Just the same sick feeling I had back at summer camp. And yet… I’ve never been more sure of anything.

But I didn’t tell her. Not to Chloe. Not even to Ash.

And I’m guilty about it.

I know I should. I should say something. I should be angry. I should be loud. But every time I think about it, I freeze. My stomach knots. My throat locks. I see Holly’s eyes over and over again. In the end, I just simply carry it like a weight in my backpack, like the note itself which is still folded between the pages of this very notebook.

I know Ash and Chloe said it thousands of times that we were in every little thing together. But I’m still me, still this Goh who can’t say my problems out loud.

The thing is Chloe doesn’t talk about the play anymore. It was like she already archived her dream from the beginning of the semester and now she doesn’t want to go back to do it again. She’s moved on. Or maybe she’s just found something better to focus on.

Like… Eevee.

She just got her first real Pokémon, her own, I mean. Not Yamper, who’s been around the house since we were kids, but an Eevee. Skittish little thing, but it follows Chloe like she’s the sun. She acts like it’s no big deal, but I’ve seen the way she gently cups it when it sleeps, how she tucks her scarf around it without saying a word. It’s subtle. Very her.

Ash said he’s glad she’s finally stepping into the Trainer world. That he always thought she had it in her. And I am, too. I’m glad she’s distracted. I’m glad she’s smiling so brightly as if she finally found something that meant for her, only her.

But… The note is still in my notebook.

It’s like a splinter. Small. Hidden. But deep. And I don’t know if I’m ready to pull it out.

I swear I’ve tried to move on too. But every time that Holly or, at this point, even one of her friends is near, I fold. She hasn’t looked at me once since the play. But she walks like she owns the hallways again. Like nothing happened. Like she’s waiting.

And I… I just keep walking faster.

Ash thinks I’m overcommitting again. He keeps asking if I’m okay, and I keep nodding. He doesn’t believe me. But he doesn’t push. Not yet.

Chloe hasn’t said much, either. Only a few nights before that she sent me the link to the new research expedition schedule: Deerling Migration Field Study, one day in the forest outside Vermilion Range. No theater. No people. No Holly. Just data and Pokémon.

Funny.

She doesn’t know that I haven’t slept properly since the play ended, that I still double-check every door, that my hands shake when I open notes from people I don’t know. She just made a schedule for me, for us, and as always assumed that it would be good for me, that I would definitely go.

I still remember her text. “If you don’t come, I’m telling Dad you hate science.”

I laughed. Out loud, even. That’s the most I’ve laughed in weeks.

I want to believe this trip will help. That getting away will clear things up in my head. That a forest and a bunch of Deerling will be enough to feel okay again.

I’m good with Pokémon. They don’t lie. They don’t stab behind your back. They don’t smile while they hurt you.

Just a one-day trip, right?

Just a study.

Just trees, and fresh air, and migration patterns.

Just me, Ash, and Chloe.

I hope that’s enough.

— Goh

🍂🍂🍂

The train hummed softly beneath them, cutting through the golden edges of Vermilion City as it sped toward the outer forest trails. The morning sun was surprisingly bright for late October, glinting off the windowpanes and painting everything with that sharp, coppery warmth only fall could pull off.

Ash furrowed his brow at the map on his phone, dragging a finger across the screen while Pikachu leaned in helpfully though upside down.

“Wait… is that the old ranger station or a weirdly drawn Rapidash?” Ash mumbled.

Pikachu tilted its head. “Pika?”

Across from them, Chloe was already double-checking their gear. She had both her and Goh’s backpacks spread across the bench beside her, half-zipped open like surgery prep. Eevee sat quietly at her side, its big brown eyes watching her with the same focused intensity.

“Snacks, check,” Chloe muttered. “Power banks… first aid kit… extra batteries. Poké Puffs, two pens, water bottles, scarf—”

“You know it’s a one-day trip, right?” Goh finally said, looking up from his phone. “You don’t need to be this worried.”

Chloe didn’t even blink. “You say that now, but if we run out of batteries and something amazing happens, don’t come crying to me.”

Eevee sneezed, as if to second her.

Goh sighed with a small smile, pushing his bangs aside. He was skimming through research notes on regional Pokémon migration, though he had read them twice already. The tension in his shoulders hadn’t faded since he boarded the train. He told himself it was excitement. Curiosity. But there was a twitch in his fingers that said otherwise.

Ash put his phone down and grinned across the seats. “Well, even if we get lost, at least we’ll have enough trail mix to last us two winters.”

“Joke all you want,” Chloe said, zipping one of the bags shut, “but I’m not going to be the reason we have to call a rescue team.”

Goh chuckled under his breath. “That would be Ash’s job.”

“Hey!” Ash protested. “I’m great with directions. You guys just never trust me.”

Chloe gave him a look. “You once told us north was ‘where the breeze felt more dramatic.’”

“And I was right, wasn’t I?”

Eevee let out a tiny bark of approval. Or protest. Hard to say.

The banter circled the train car with the same ease the breeze rolled through the half-cracked window. Outside, trees blurred by in shades of yellow and orange, the signs of fall migration already in motion.

Goh’s eyes weren’t scanning the notes on his phone anymore. He glanced out of the window, lost in thought. The note in his notebook still lingered in the corner of his thoughts, quiet but sharp. But he said nothing. Not now. Not with this sun, this calm, this sense of normal.

Chloe was adjusting the straps on one of the backpacks when Ash leaned forward and pointed at the neatly packed front pocket.

“Wait, is that… an actual compass?”

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Why?”

Ash laughed. “I mean, I know this is your first-ever real Pokémon research field trip, Chloe, but seriously? A compass? The last time I saw someone use one of those was, like, ten years ago.”

“I like things that don’t run out of battery,” she said dryly.

Goh, still watching the forest blur by outside the window, added without looking up, “…She’s not wrong. GPS fails all the time in dense forests. You’d be surprised how often old-school tools save lives.”

Ash made a face. “Yeah, but we’re not climbing Mt. Coronet or something. It’s just a forest outside Vermilion.”

Chloe clipped the backpack shut with more force than necessary. “Famous last words. ‘It’s just a forest.’ That’s what people say right before they show up on a rescue bulletin.”

Ash held up his hands. “Alright, alright, I get it. Compass good, batteries bad.”

Goh finally turned away from the window, giving Ash a pointed look. “Let’s just hope your sense of direction isn’t relying on Pikachu.”

Pikachu tilted its head innocently. “Pika?”

Ash scoffed. “Hey! I’ve only gotten lost… like, once.”

“Three times,” Chloe corrected. “That I know of.”

Ash huffed, crossing his arms, while Goh smirked and went back to watching the trees whip past.

Chloe smirked and patted the front pocket softly. “Look, I’m just being practical. Not all of us have wilderness instincts fueled by pure overconfidence.”

Ash looked mock-offended. “That’s a strategy. A very reliable strategy, thank you.”

Goh chuckled and leaned back against the seat. It was easy, too easy, maybe, to fall into this rhythm again. The teasing, the banter, the weird warmth of being together like this. But he felt like he was faking a little too well.

No one had brought up the play in days. Chloe didn’t ask about the screws. Ash didn’t mention the collapse. Maybe they really had moved on. Maybe he was the only one still stuck back there in the dressing room, staring at a note that hadn’t faded.

But he looked up and caught the light bouncing off the window and Chloe’s hair and Ash’s lopsided grin and, just for a second, he let himself forget.

“I still think a compass is smart,” he said softly.

Ash leaned his chin on his hand. “Yeah, yeah. You two and your super preparedness. I’ll be laughing when I find the Deerling with pure gut instinct.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Your gut instinct led us to an abandoned hotdog stand last time.”

“Best hotdog I ever had.”

Eevee sneezed again, then jumped into Chloe’s lap, curling up without a sound.

For Chloe, this was her real adventure, her first proper research trip, her first journey as more than just “Professor Cerise’s daughter.” It was just her, the woods, her friends, and Eevee, who now nestled deeper into her scarf with every bump of the train. The little Pokémon’s ears twitched excitedly every time someone mentioned “fieldwork.” Chloe smiled to herself. This was going to be good.

For Ash, it was another weekend break, a fun one. Pokémon, hiking, maybe some wild battles if they were lucky. No battles were officially planned, of course, but he never minded a detour. Besides, he liked seeing Chloe fired up, and Goh always lit up when science was involved. Ash leaned back, arms behind his head, already imagining what kinds of Pokémon they might run into along the trail.

But for Goh, it was an escape.

He hadn’t said that out loud, of course. He called it a field study. He told Professor Cerise it was important to gather seasonal samples. He cited variables like herd direction and leaf coverage. And maybe all that was true. But behind it was something heavier. Something he still couldn’t face and so he threw science at it, hoping it’d stick.

Now he looked at the list again, scrolling through his notes on his phone. Hypotheses from Professor Cerise. Field checklist. Sample targets. Keywords underlined. All carefully structured, all perfectly objective.

Deerling.

A Pokémon that looked almost delicate, with its slender legs, wide ears, and a flower-shaped tuft on its head. Its appearance changed with the seasons: soft pink fur in the summer, earthy green in the spring, bright orange in the fall, and a quiet brown in the winter. It wasn’t just cosmetic. Its seasonal forms helped it blend with its environment, avoid predators, and follow the rhythms of the world around it.

Right now, it was late fall. This time of year, the Deerling would be shifting into their autumn form, bright orange coats like fallen leaves, moving in small herds through the Vermilion woodlands. They migrated not far, just enough to find thicker cover and warmer ground before the colder months crept in. It was the kind of pattern so subtle that most people overlooked it.

Nothing special. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, really. Just a predictably normal migration in one of a boring textbook.

But this would be the first time they would witness it with their own eyes, not as data in a textbook or clips in a documentary, but alive and in motion. Pokémon doing what they were meant to do, without the interference of stages, scripts, or school bells.

The train gave a gentle lurch. A voice over the speaker announced their stop with a soft chime and a static laced voice overhead. “Terminal Station: Vermilion Range. Please gather your belongings. This is the final stop.”

The wheels ground gently against the tracks as the train slowed, the trees outside no longer a blur but standing still in golden clusters, swaying slightly in the breeze. The metal doors slid open with a hiss. A crisp breeze rushed in, tinged with the scent of pine and dry leaves. The air outside was noticeably cooler, but the sun still hung bright in the sky, casting long shadows across the platform.

Ash hopped down first with a spring in his step, stretching his arms above his head like he’d just been released from hibernation. Pikachu leapt from the doorway to his shoulder, tail flicking in excitement.

“Smells like adventure,” Ash grinned.

Chloe followed behind, her boots crunching softly against the gravel. She adjusted one of the straps on her backpack and took a deep breath, eyes scanning the thick treeline beyond the station fence. Eevee trotted just beside her, its ears perked, nose twitching at the unfamiliar scents.

Goh was last. He stepped onto the platform slower, quieter. The weight of his bag felt heavier here, not because of supplies, but because this was real now. The forest was right there, waiting. No mysterious notes, no safety of lab walls. Just fieldwork. Just nature.

Just enough distance to breathe.

The station was small. It was no more than a roofed bench and a faded map tacked to the side of the building. Beyond it, a worn wooden sign pointed to a dirt path, marked Vermilion Range. The trees swayed gently beyond the fence, all orange and rust and gold.

“It’s only an hour to the first ridge, right?” Ash asked, pulling the straps of his bag snug.

“About that,” Goh replied, glancing at his phone. “If we don’t get distracted.”

Ash grinned. “So like three hours, then.”

“Four,” Chloe added with a sigh.

They laughed, and then they started walking. The station faded behind them. The forest opened ahead. And the Deerling waited, somewhere beneath those shifting leaves.

Chapter Text

Subject: A Study of Deerling Migration

Log #02

Location: Vermilion Range, Midpoint Clearing

Date: 25th October

Time: 1:47 PM

Weather: Mildly cold, dry, sunlight filtered through trees, approx. 14°C

Chloe wasn’t kidding when she said it’d take four hours.

Actually, she underestimated it. Badly.

It’s been about five hours now, and we’ve seen nothing unless you count two Caterpie, a startled Oddish that ran off the moment it saw us, and a suspiciously shaped rock Ash swore was a buried Sandshrew (it wasn’t).

Even Cinderace got so bored it let itself out of its Poké Ball. It hasn’t done that in months. Now it’s just sitting under a tree, kicking pebbles.

The truth is, I can barely make sense of the map anymore. The trail markers are mostly gone or buried under dry leaves. GPS isn’t much help either. The tree cover messes with signal out here. What should’ve been a clear route from the station to the first ridge has turned into a network of half-covered side paths, and Chloe’s starting to furrow her brows in that way she does when she doesn’t want to admit she’s annoyed.

Ash, of course, still thinks this is fun. He found a stick earlier and has been using it to dramatically part tree branches like he’s on some grand expedition. Pikachu’s riding on his head now. I think they’re both pretending it’s a pirate ship.

Eevee looks tired. Chloe too. We decided to take a late lunch break near a flat patch of sun. No Deerling sightings yet. Nothing even close. I’m trying not to sound disappointed out loud, but I am. A little. Okay, a lot.

This was supposed to be simple. A regular migration, nothing rare. Just… normal.

But nothing about this feels normal today.

Still, I’m logging it. Even the absence of Pokémon is a kind of data.

Even getting lost is a kind of pattern, right?

— Goh

🍂🍂🍂

Goh closed his notebook and let out a long, quiet sigh. They had already passed the second observation point Professor Cerise had marked. It was a clearing near the bend of an old trail where the herd was expected to rest during migration. It should have been ideal: soft soil, scattered berries, traces of water nearby. But there was nothing. No Deerling. No prints. No signs of passage at all.

Only two marked locations remained.

The third one was going to be harder to find. It was tucked deeper into the forest, near a mossy slope that wasn’t clearly labeled on any public map. The trail leading there had likely faded over the years, and according to Professor Cerise’s notes, it could be tricky to navigate, especially if the sunlight started to fade.

Then there was the last location. The fourth marker.

Goh had told the others that they wouldn’t be going that far, and Professor Cerise had agreed. That spot had been marked with a faint caution symbol in the notes. It was a subtle warning, but a warning all the same. The point was too deep into the forest, too close to the reserve’s boundary line, and not worth the risk unless they were certain the herd had moved there.

Of course, none of this would matter if they found the Deerling before then.

Goh stared down at the notebook in his hands. The pages felt heavier than they had that morning. He told himself it was just the weight of the empty checkboxes and silent GPS points, but deep down, he knew it was more than that.

The note was still inside. It tucked quietly between two pages. He hadn’t touched it since the night before.

Across from him, Chloe sat cross-legged on the forest floor, brushing away a few crumbs from her sandwich. Eevee nestled quietly against her side, watching the trees with wide, alert eyes. She hadn’t said much since they left the second site. She was probably thinking the same thing he was: either the data was wrong, or the herd had already passed through and they had missed it.

Ash sat nearby on a fallen log, tossing a pinecone into the air and catching it with both hands. His voice broke the silence.

“So,” he said, “what’s the plan now? Are we going to wait around here, or keep going?”

Goh looked up and scanned the forest. The shadows were starting to stretch across the trail, and the light was shifting into a more golden tone. Still no movement. Still no sound of hooves or rustling branches. Just the breeze and the creaking of trees.

He opened the notebook again and ran his thumb along the edge of the map Professor Cerise had sketched. The third location wasn’t far, maybe an hour if they moved quickly, but they would have to leave the main trail to reach it. It would take some guessing. Some trusting his instincts.

“We’ll try the third point,” Goh said at last, his voice steady. “It might take time to find. The map isn’t exact, and the trail’s probably overgrown. But if there’s any sign of the herd, that’s where we’ll see it.”

Chloe looked up at him, folding the wrapper in her hands. “And if we don’t?”

Goh hesitated. His fingers tightened around the notebook’s spine.

“Then we turn back,” he replied. “We won’t go past the fourth marker. That area’s too far in, and Professor Cerise made it clear that it’s not safe.”

Ash nodded slowly, though his expression showed he wasn’t entirely convinced. “Alright,” he said. “Then let’s keep moving. We’ll find them.”

As the group began to pack up their things, Pikachu hopped onto Ash’s shoulder with a soft chirp. Eevee stretched and nestled into Chloe’s arms, already drowsy from the quiet break. Cinderace waited patiently by Goh’s side, flicking its ears toward the shifting sounds in the distance.

They stepped back onto the leaf-covered trail, backpacks secured and eyes forward. The sun had dipped lower in the sky now, casting long shadows between the trees. Their footsteps crunched softly through the dried leaves as they moved deeper into the forest.

Goh looked down at his map, the corners soft from repeated folding, the ink slightly smudged from the sweat on his fingertips. He didn’t say anything. Didn’t ask for opinions. He just started walking, eyes tracing the slope ahead, feet finding the half-buried trail with practiced instinct. Cinderace trotted a few steps ahead, ears alert, scanning the surroundings as if it understood exactly what they were searching for.

Ash watched them go, then slowed his pace slightly until he was walking beside Chloe. His voice dropped into a whisper, barely loud enough to carry over the crunch of leaves beneath their boots.

“Do you think he’ll go back… if we don’t find anything there?”

Chloe glanced at him, then she looked ahead, toward Goh’s back, the stiff line of his shoulders, the way he clutched the map tighter than necessary, like it was keeping him upright.

“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I think he wants to believe he will.”

Ash nodded, then adjusted the strap on his bag. “Yeah. That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Chloe exhaled slowly, her breath visible in the cooling afternoon air. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and watched Goh disappear a little farther ahead, Cinderace still pacing just in front of him like a silent scout.

“But he’s Goh,” she said quietly. “He knows what he’s doing.”

Ash smirked, the corner of his mouth twitching with a familiar teasing glint. “Does he?”

Chloe rolled her eyes without hesitation. “Says the guy who once followed a Taillow for two hours because he thought it was leading him to treasure.”

Ash gasped, clearly offended. “That Taillow was suspicious!”

“Sure,” Chloe said dryly. “It was suspicious of you.”

Ahead of them, Goh didn’t seem to hear. Or maybe he did and just chose not to react. Either way, he didn’t slow down. The map stayed gripped in his hand, and the determination in his stride didn’t falter. If anything, it grew stronger the farther they walked, like the silence of the forest dared him to give up, and he refused to let it win.

Chloe’s smile faded slightly as she watched him. He was leading them, confidently, even, but there was something brittle beneath it. Something tight in his shoulders. Something unspoken.

Ash noticed it too. He watched Goh for a few more seconds, his eyes narrowing just slightly, like he was trying to read something in the way Goh moved, too fast, too focused, like if he stopped walking, the weight of his own thoughts might catch up and crush him.

“He seems like he has something on his mind,” Ash said, his voice low.

Chloe didn’t answer right away. She adjusted Eevee’s position in her arms, hugging it a little closer to her chest. Then she said, quietly, “Yeah. That’s why I brought him out here.”

Ash looked at her, brows knitting. “After the play… it’s like he was the one who got crushed by the set. Not Lila.”

Chloe winced just barely but it was enough. A small hitch in her breath, a flicker of something in her expression she didn’t catch in time.

Ash narrowed his eyes. “What?”

Chloe hesitated. Her gaze dropped to the trail for a beat before lifting again. She didn’t stop walking, but her steps slowed. “Nothing,” she said quickly. “I didn’t say anything.”

Ash didn’t let up. “You flinched.”

Chloe let out a tight breath, her voice quieter now. “Because you’re right. And I hate that you’re right. I just—” she stopped herself. “It’s not my story to tell.”

Ash looked at her for a moment longer, the teasing long gone from his face.

Up ahead, Goh stepped over a twisted root, Cinderace pausing briefly to glance back at them. It trainer hadn’t looked back once in nearly twenty minutes.

Ash lowered his voice again. “Did something else happen?”

Chloe pressed her lips together, holding the words behind her teeth. Then, finally, she whispered, “I think so.”

Ash stepped a little closer, lowering his voice but sharpening it just enough to cut through the rustle of the leaves around them.

“You know something,” he said quietly, not accusing, but not backing down either.

Chloe’s eyes widened just slightly, her grip on Eevee tightening. “I know nothing,” she said quickly, almost too quickly.

Ash arched a brow. “That didn’t sound convincing.”

Chloe looked away, focusing on a crooked tree up ahead as if it suddenly became fascinating. “I’m just saying… he hasn’t exactly been open with either of us.”

“Yeah,” Ash muttered. “But he talks to you more than me.”

“That doesn’t mean he tells me everything.”

Ash studied her face, the tension in her jaw, the way her words came out a little too carefully measured. He knew her well enough to know when she was holding something back.

“You’re protecting him,” he said.

Chloe didn’t respond.

They walked in silence for a few more steps, the sound of crunching leaves and distant bird calls filling the air between them. Then Chloe sighed, a little defeated.

“I’m not trying to lie,” she said softly. “But whatever he’s dealing with… I think he’s still figuring it out himself.”

He frowned, glancing again toward Goh, who had stopped ahead, consulting the map with a furrowed brow and not once looking behind him. Ash sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“I just…” he started, then paused, his voice quieter now. “We both came this far, y’know? Through everything. And I get it; he keeps stuff to himself, that’s just how he is. But I just wish…” He exhaled, eyes narrowing slightly. “I wish he trusted me enough to tell me what’s wrong.”

Chloe’s gaze softened.

“He does trust you,” she said gently. “More than you think.”

“Then why won’t he talk to me?”

Chloe didn’t have an answer to that. She looked ahead again, watching as Goh crouched near a cluster of low grass and poked at something with the tip of a stick, completely absorbed.

“Maybe he’s trying to carry it alone,” she said after a moment. “Maybe he thinks that’s the only way he can deal with it.”

Ash’s shoulders slumped a bit. “Then he’s an idiot,” he muttered.

Chloe chuckled under her breath, the sound light and brief. Eevee, nestled in her arms, looked up at her with wide eyes and twitching ears.

Chloe glanced down and smiled. “Is that new to you?”

Eevee blinked, then gave a tiny, amused “Vee.”

Ash glanced over with a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Okay, fair.”

Chloe shifted Eevee gently to her shoulder and looked ahead again. “He’s stubborn, he overthinks everything, and he pushes people away when he’s scared.”

Ash sighed. “Yup. Sounds like him.”

“But,” she added, “he’s also the reason we’re out here. The reason we’re seeing something real. So maybe… idiot or not, he’s still trying.”

Ash nodded, his voice quiet. “Yeah. And we’ll be here when he’s ready to stop trying alone.”

Chloe didn’t respond this time. She just kept walking.

And ahead of them, Goh stood up again, brushing dirt from his knees, pretending to be unaware of the conversation trailing behind him.

The truth was, Goh heard them.

Not clearly, not every word, but enough to know they were talking about him. The tone in Ash’s voice, the way Chloe laughed a little too gently, the way they both lowered their voices whenever he got too far ahead. It wasn’t hard to figure out. He didn’t need the full conversation to know the subject was him.

For a moment, he wanted to stop. Turn around. Ask them what they were saying, tell them to just say it to his face. But he didn’t. Not because he was angry, but because his mind was already drowning in something else.

The map was still in his hand, soft with wear. The trail ahead wasn’t marked anymore, not clearly. The underbrush grew thicker with every step. Leaves layered like sheets of fading memory, hiding the ground, hiding the signs. And the third marker, the one he was so sure would bring results… still hadn’t shown up.

The fear crept in slowly.

It started as doubt, a small whisper in the back of his mind. But now it was louder. Heavy. Cold in his chest.

What if they didn’t find the Deerling at all? What if the herd had already passed through days ago? What if they’d taken a different path this year, or had split apart due to weather, or had sensed something wrong in the forest and rerouted entirely?

He told himself it was just probability. Just bad timing. But the truth was… if they didn’t find them, if he didn’t find them, it would feel like failure. Like all this planning, all this focus, all this escape had been for nothing.

And worse, it would mean bringing Chloe and Ash out here for something empty. Just another thing he tried to lead… and ended up lost in.

He tightened his grip on the map and kept walking, eyes locked on the path ahead. He couldn’t afford to stop now.

The trekking went on and on, winding deeper into the forest. The trail had long stopped looking like a trail, swallowed by dry leaves and crooked roots. Overhead, the canopy shifted with the breeze, casting golden light in fleeting patches across the ground.

Eevee, full of energy despite the long walk, had become a restless little blur. It hopped from Chloe’s shoulder to her arms, then wriggled free to trot alongside Pikachu. Occasionally, it scampered forward to try and keep pace with Goh, its tiny paws making soft patter sounds against the forest floor.

At one point, Eevee blinked up at him with its bright brown eyes and gave a small smile, simple, sweet, unfiltered. Goh blinked back, momentarily stunned by the expression. He stopped without thinking, crouching down to gently pet its head.

Eevee let out a pleased “Vee!” and leaned into the touch.

Then Goh glanced up and caught Chloe smirking at him from a few steps behind.

He immediately rolled his eyes and stood. “What?” he muttered, picking up his pace again.

“What?” Chloe echoed innocently, clearly holding back a laugh.

Goh didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his head just enough to stick his tongue out at her before facing forward again.

Cinderace, who had been walking a short distance to the side, trotted closer and nudged his arm with its head. When Goh looked down, it gave a soft, playful grunt and lowered its head, clearly asking for attention too.

Goh smiled and reached out to scratch behind its ears.

“You too, huh?”

Cinderace let out a pleased huff, cotton tail flicking happily. Even though it had grown into a fully-evolved tall, fast, and powerful Pokémon, there were moments like this when Goh could still see the little Scorbunny it used to be. The one that bounced at his heels and mimicked his movements, always eager, always close.

“You’re still just a big baby,” Goh murmured affectionately.

Cinderace gave a quiet sound of agreement and gently bumped its forehead against Goh’s shoulder.

Despite the unease curled deep in his chest, Goh couldn’t help the quiet chuckle that escaped him, still ruffling the fur between Cinderace’s ears. The tension in his shoulders loosened just a little, not gone, but softened.

As he stood and took another step forward, he felt a small bump at the back of his legs. He looked down to see Pikachu right behind him, blinking up with wide, curious eyes, having nearly walked straight into him.

Goh raised an eyebrow, amused. “Do you want a pet too?”

Pikachu tilted its head, clearly confused, just not quite following the joke. Its ears twitched in an almost questioning shrug that made Goh laugh again, a little louder this time. There was something so genuinely Pikachu about that look, halfway between “Huh?” and “Maybe?”

“Nah,” he said, smiling, “you’re good.”

He kept walking, Cinderace falling back into step beside him, and Pikachu scampering behind Goh as if still wondering whether it had wanted a pet after all.

Chloe glanced at Ash, catching the soft smile spreading across his face as he watched the scene ahead; Goh walking with Cinderace at his side, Pikachu trailing close behind, and Eevee occasionally darting forward before circling between his legs.

Goh was smiling.

It wasn’t a big, showy grin. Just something small and real, the kind that surfaced when he wasn’t overthinking. Surrounded by their Pokémon, in the dappled sunlight of the forest, for a moment he looked… peaceful.

Chloe snorted quietly.

Ash turned to her, still smiling. “What?”

She blinked at him, face a picture of innocent curiosity. “What?”

Ash narrowed his eyes, grinning. “Don’t ‘what’ me.”

Chloe shrugged, shifting her backpack straps like she hadn’t just been caught watching him watch Goh. “I didn’t say anything.”

Ash swuinted. “You snorted.”

Chloe shrugged, barely hiding her grin. “I’m allowed to breathe.”

Ash narrowed his eyes playfully. “You’re worse than Goh.”

Chloe mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for him to catch it, “No one’s better than your Goh.”

Ash blinked, then turned his head sharply toward her. “What was that?”

Chloe looked far too interested in the leaves on the ground. “Hmm? I didn’t say anything.”

Ash stared at her, his ears tinged just slightly pink. “You so said something.”

She gave him a slow, innocent smile. “Did I?”

“Yeah. You did.”

“Must’ve been the wind.”

Ash huffed, clearly flustered but unable to come up with a comeback. “You’re the worst.”

Chloe chuckled. “I know.”

Ash muttered something about regretting life choices and stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets, but the faint, crooked smile on his face didn’t go away. And somehow, the quiet teasing between them made the air feel warmer, even with the autumn chill.

Finally, they reached the third mark. The trees thinned just enough to let them see the change. The landscape dipped slightly, forming a shallow basin lined with ferns and thick undergrowth. The soil was damp beneath their feet, soft with layers of fallen leaves that hadn’t yet dried from the last rainfall.

The temperature had dropped noticeably. The air was cooler here, sharper, and the sunlight that filtered through the branches had dimmed. It was still afternoon, but the sky felt heavier as if evening was hurrying its way in.

Goh stepped forward slowly, his eyes scanning the area. He glanced at the map, then back at the terrain. Then back again.

And again.

Nothing.

No tracks. No broken branches. No marks in the soil. No rustling movement in the brush. No flicker of orange among the trees.

The third site was supposed to be promising, a natural resting area along the projected migration route. Professor Cerise had noted it as “likely.” But the forest here was still. Empty. And silent in a way that didn’t feel peaceful anymore.

Goh’s shoulders tensed.

He took another few steps forward, crouched beside a cluster of flattened grass, and gently moved it aside. Nothing but dirt.

Chloe and Ash caught up behind him, both quieter now, as if the silence in the trees was contagious. Even Pikachu and Eevee paused near a fallen log, their ears alert.

Cinderace stood next to Goh, glancing around warily, as if it too could sense something missing. Goh slowly stood back up in the middle of the clearing, arms hanging limply at his sides, his map now folded and useless in his hand. The others were quiet behind him, waiting, giving him space he hadn’t asked for but suddenly needed more than anything.

How could this happen?

It was just a normal migration. A simple, predictable, annual phenomenon. Deerling moved with the seasons. They always had. It wasn’t rare. It wasn’t complicated. It was supposed to be here.

But now that he wanted it the most, needed it, he couldn’t see it.

The frustration caught in his throat like a lump.

He had come here to prove something. To gather real data. To focus. To forget. But now he just felt foolish. True that Chloe was the one who had brought this trip up, but now that they were out here, Goh felt like he was the one who had dragged Ash and Chloe into the woods on a study that had turned up nothing.

And worse, it was starting to feel like the emptiness out here reflected something in him. Something hollow. Something chasing after patterns that didn’t want to be found.

He lowered his head and clenched his fist around the map, the paper creasing loudly in the quiet air. The sky above was beginning to pale, not yet sunset, but close. Too close.

He had nothing. Not even a single Deerling.

Goh turned in a slow circle, scanning the edge of the clearing again, as if maybe, just maybe, he had missed something the first ten times.

He swallowed hard and stared down at the ground. The lump in his throat burned hotter now, pressing against the base of his skull. His fingers trembled around the crumpled map.

Behind him, the soft sound of footsteps crunched closer.

“Goh?” Chloe’s voice was gentle.

He didn’t turn.

“It should’ve been here,” he said quietly. “They should’ve been here.”

Ash joined her side. Pikachu stopped beside a tree, looking up at Goh with quiet concern. Eevee stayed close to Chloe’s leg, ears low, sensing the shift in the air.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Ash said.

“It is not okay,” Goh snapped back, more sharply than he meant to. He closed his eyes, guilt flashing over his face before he could hide it. “Sorry. I just…”

He trailed off. Words tangled in his chest.

Chloe stepped forward. “We knew this was a possibility.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t supposed to happen,” Goh muttered, his voice cracking. “This was supposed to be simple. I planned everything. I double-checked the notes. I ran simulations. It’s a seasonal migration, not a legendary sighting.”

He kicked at the leaves underfoot, sending them scattering.

“I thought… if I could just do this right—if I could focus, and work, and not think about everything else—then maybe…” He stopped again. Swallowed hard.

Chloe’s eyes softened. Ash stepped closer but said nothing.

“Maybe what?” Chloe asked gently.

Goh shook his head.

“That I wouldn’t feel like this anymore,” he whispered.

The wind moved through the trees above them, gentle but cold.

Cinderace nudged him again, standing silently by his side. Goh didn’t react at first, but then he slowly reached down and placed a hand on its head, gripping a little tighter than usual.

The sun dipped another inch behind the canopy.

Ash looked at Chloe, then back at Goh. “If they’re not here, they’re somewhere close. Deerling don’t vanish. They move.”

Goh looked at them both, eyes tired.

“I said we wouldn’t go to the last marker,” he murmured.

Chloe nodded. “You did.”

“But…” He looked toward the trees, toward the fading light. “What if that’s the only place they are?”

Chloe pulled out her phone, checking the screen with a small frown. The signal bar spun uselessly in the corner, searching, blinking, failing. No reception. Not even a single bar.

That was the sign that they were deep enough. Too deep, maybe.

She slowly put the phone away and reached into her pack, pulling out the folded paper map they’d brought as backup. It was slightly crinkled from being folded, a red pen marking the four sites. Her eyes landed on the last one, tucked far into the corner, practically brushing the edge of the page. The fourth mark. The one they said they wouldn’t reach.

“Goh,” she said softly, unfolding the map more carefully now. “I think we should go back.”

He didn’t respond. His eyes were still locked on the trail ahead, not really seeing it, just staring through it.

Chloe stepped closer. “We’ve already passed the time my dad expected them to be here. Maybe we missed them. Maybe… it’s just not this year. And it’s okay.” She paused, voice gentler now. “We can try again next time.”

Goh didn’t look at her.

For a long moment, the wind moved through the trees around them. It tugged gently at Chloe’s hair. Pikachu shifted closer to Ash’s feet. Cinderace exhaled softly, its ears flicking.

Then Goh finally spoke. Quiet. Strained. “But what if there isn’t a next time?”

His voice wasn’t angry. It wasn’t even frustrated. It just sounded… tired.

“What if I don’t get another chance to do this right?”

Chloe’s breath caught for a moment. She looked down at the map, then back at him.

“You will,” she said. “Goh, you will. This isn’t the end of your research. It’s not your only shot.”

“But it feels like it is,” he whispered.

Ash took a step forward. “Hey, you know things like these are never certain. We just… need to make the most of it today.” His voice was steady.

Goh looked between them, eyes full of something raw, something heavy.

Then, slowly, he nodded, but he didn’t turn around. He stared into the darkening woods ahead. Toward the unmarked path that led deeper. Toward the fourth site.

And the decision hung silently in the air.

Chloe looked out toward the woods, eyes following the direction Goh was still facing. The trees ahead grew denser, their shadows long and heavy, as if the forest itself was leaning inward. The air was colder now, not just cooler, colder, with a bite in the breeze that hadn’t been there earlier. The light had shifted too. The sun hung low, brushing the tops of the trees with pale gold that would soon fade into grey.

She glanced down at her phone again. Still no signal. Just that spinning icon. Searching. Failing.

Chloe wasn’t a coward.

She had grown up with Pokémon, saw Ash and Goh traveling during those summer breaks more times than she could count. She trusted them with her safety, with her life, with the way they always pulled through.

But this was supposed to be just a weekend trip. A light, one-day field study. Something simple. Her first fun trip as a real researcher with Eevee. Not a detour into the unknown. Not a choice between logic and whatever it was that Goh was chasing now.

She stared at the forest one more time, her grip tightening on the map.

Then, softly, she looked up and said, “Come on, Goh…”

Goh didn’t move at first. But her voice reached him, broke through whatever loop his thoughts had trapped him in. He exhaled long, deep, almost shaking, and nodded, just once, slowly.

Ash stepped forward, brushing a leaf off his shoulder. “Hey,” he said, tone light but steady, “you said it yourself. This is a normal phenomenon. Nothing rare. Deerling do this every year.” He smiled a little. “We’ll come back again next time. Together.”

Goh looked at both of them. The wind tugged at his jacket. Cinderace was silent beside him, waiting.

He finally sighed, standing still for a moment longer, eyes heavy with the weight of disappointment, before he slowly turned back. The notebook was still clutched in his hand, the map creased and silent within it.

As he turned, his eyes caught Ash giving Chloe a knowing look. It wasn’t mocking or smug. It was quiet understanding. Agreement. Maybe relief. Goh saw it, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t have the strength to read into it.

So they started walking. Back through the same trail they had come from, their footsteps softer now, their voices absent. Even Ash, usually so full of chatter, had gone quiet. The sky was dimmer now, streaked with the earliest hints of dusk. Shadows stretched longer with each step, reaching like fingers across the forest floor.

Then Cinderace, who had been walking just behind Goh with ears relaxed, suddenly stopped. Its tall ears flicked upward in one sharp motion, stiffening like antennae. It turned its head slowly toward the trees, not the way they were headed, but the opposite direction. Deeper. Further into the forest.

Goh didn’t notice it at first. He was too lost in his thoughts, his disappointment still ringing hollow in his chest. But Pikachu paused next, followed by Eevee, both Pokémon turning their heads with eerie synchronicity.

Ash blinked and glanced back. “Pikachu?”

“Pika…” Pikachu murmured softly, eyes narrowing.

Eevee had crept halfway out of Chloe’s arms, front paws now pressing gently against her shoulder, ears stiff and alert.

Goh turned, confusion beginning to rise. “What is it?”

He didn’t hear anything. Nothing more than the creaking trees and the occasional whisper of leaves in the wind. But all three Pokémon were focused, completely still, listening. Maybe it was too far for human ears. A rustle beyond the next ridge. A distant thud of hooves on softened ground. A shift in the air too subtle to describe, but real enough for them to notice.

Cinderace blinked. Just once. Then bolted.

“Cinderace—!” Goh’s voice cracked as his partner took off, darting into the thicket ahead with a speed that left the leaves behind it spinning in the air.

But he didn’t hesitate. Clutching his map tightly, Goh ran.

“Goh—!” Chloe called after him, startled.

Ash was already moving. “Come on!”

The quiet trail exploded into chaos, startled Pokémon, pounding footsteps, Chloe clutching Eevee tighter as she chased behind, Ash right next to her, and Goh vanishing fast into the deepening woods, chasing after the one flash of hope that still flickered beyond the trees.

Somewhere ahead, something had moved. And they were not letting it slip away.

Ash sprinted through the underbrush, his breath quick and visible in the cold air. Leaves whipped past his face as low branches clawed at his jacket.

“Goh—wait up!” he yelled, voice echoing off the trees.

But Goh didn’t stop. He didn’t even look back. His legs burned as he ran, lungs tight, feet barely hitting the forest floor. His eyes locked on the blur of red and white that was Cinderace, darting through the trees like a streak of fire. Goh’s chest pounded, not just from running, but from the hope surging with every step. A desperate, wild kind of hope.

Behind them, Chloe stumbled slightly before catching her pace. “Ash!” she called, but her voice was swept away by the wind and leaves.

Before Ash could answer, Eevee leapt from Chloe’s arms, landing with a soft thud and immediately taking off. Its tiny paws kicked up dirt and leaves as it raced ahead, passing Ash and heading straight for Goh, then even farther, chasing whatever unseen signal the Pokémon had sensed.

Goh barely noticed. He couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. All he knew was that something was out there. Cinderace hadn’t run for no reason. Pikachu and Eevee felt it too. It had to be something. And if there was even a chance, even one single chance, that it was what they had come here for…

Please, Goh thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. Please let it be Deerling.

He didn’t need a whole herd. He didn’t need a perfect field or the ideal notebook entry.

Just one.

Even just one Deerling… would be enough.

Cinderace darted ahead, weaving through the thickening brush with practiced ease. Its tall ears twitched, eyes sharp, dodging left around a low-hanging branch heavy with dry leaves.

Goh didn’t see it.

The branch whipped straight into his face, scattering brittle leaves across his cheeks and hair. They crunched against his skin, caught in his collar, but he didn’t stop. Not for a second. His breath hitched, heart still racing as he pushed through the sting.

Behind him, the same branch snapped back and whipped through the air.

“Wha—gah!” Ash sputtered, batting leaves from his mouth as he stumbled forward.

“Ugh—seriously?!” Chloe yelped, coughing through a flurry of twigs, one hand shielding her face as they plowed after Goh.

None of them slowed. The forest blurred around them, the trail long gone, the world narrowing to motion and instinct.

Then up ahead, something moved.

Goh’s breath caught. He saw something small, quick, just beyond the next thicket. His heart leapt.

Pokémon.

He was sure of it.

It has to be them.

But then Cinderace slowed without warning, the Pokémon skidded to a halt, feet digging into the dirt, body lowering into a tense, protective crouch. Not the way it would stop for Deerling. This was different.

“Cinderace?” Goh blinked, confused, too fast, too close that he barely had time to react.

The Pokémon just ahead weren’t small or graceful as he had seen from afar. Not now that the shadows parted just slightly. One turned, its eyes catching the light. Red. Slitted. Sharp.

Definitely not Deerling.

Goh opened his mouth, panic rising in his throat. “Cinder—!”

A hand slapped over his mouth. Ash yanked him back hard, dragging him down behind the undergrowth just as the creatures ahead twitched toward the sound. Goh’s eyes went wide with shock. Ash’s hand stayed firm against his mouth, his other arm locking around Goh’s chest to keep him from stumbling forward again.

“Don’t,” Ash whispered fiercely in his ear. “They’re not what you think.”

Goh’s heart pounded. And in the clearing beyond, the not-Deerling Pokémon prowled into view, low to the ground, shoulders rising with every step, eyes gleaming in the fading light. Watching. Listening.

Chloe crouched beside them, breath shallow, picking Eevee up and clutching it tightly to her chest. Her eyes strained to make out the figures just ahead, half-concealed by the thicket and shadows. The growl that rumbled through the air wasn’t loud, but it vibrated through the ground beneath them like distant thunder.

She leaned close, her voice barely a whisper. “What’s that?”

Goh, still pressed low in Ash’s arms, slowly reached into his jacket. He fumbled for a moment before pulling out his Rotom Phone, hands trembling slightly. He tapped the screen with careful, deliberate movements, praying it wouldn’t make a sound.

The scanner blinked.

“Lycanroc. Midnight Form. A Rock-type Pokémon. Known for its aggressive temperament under the moonlight. It becomes more vicious the darker the environment, often challenging perceived threats without hesitation.”

Goh swallowed.

“Lycanroc,” he whispered. “Midnight Form.”

Ash’s grip on his shoulder tightened slightly. “Are they alone?”

Goh shook his head slowly. “I think… there’s more than one.”

The clearing ahead rippled with movement. Now that his eyes had adjusted, Goh could see them better, at least two. Maybe three. Their jagged manes and hunched backs shifted with each step, eyes glowing faintly red in the dying light. One of them snarled low, ears twitching, sniffing the air.

“They’re agitated,” Goh muttered, eyes wide. “They must’ve heard us running. They think we’re a threat.”

Cinderace stood just ahead, perfectly still, muscles taut, waiting for a command.

Ash whispered, “We need to back off. Slow. No sudden moves.”

Chloe nodded, her fingers curled gently around Eevee, who stared ahead in silence, tail tucked close to its body.

Ash slowly let his hands slip from Goh, crouching low as he began to shift backward through the underbrush. He moved carefully, deliberately, just as they’d trained to do when approaching nervous wild Pokémon. Slow breath, low posture, no eye contact.

But the forest wasn’t forgiving.

A patch of brittle leaves beneath his shoes cracked sharply. The sound echoed in the hush. Goh’s breath hitched. Chloe’s hand froze mid-motion. And just ahead, both Lycanroc snapped their heads toward the noise, eyes gleaming with sudden, razor-sharp focus.

One of them let out a deep, guttural growl. Its fangs gleamed. Shoulders tensed. The fur along its spine rose like a bristling ridge of warning.

Then Goh’s eyes widened.

Not two.

Not three.

A flicker of movement to the left. Then another to the right. More shapes shifted through the trees, long legs and low-slung bodies prowling silently into view. Shadows detached from shadows. They circled with practiced formation, drawing closer.

A whole pack.

At least five. Maybe more. Midnight Form Lycanroc, they were territorial, aggressive, especially in low light. And they weren’t posturing anymore.

They were hunting.

Goh was frozen, eyes locked on the lead Lycanroc as it stepped forward, head low, lips curled back in a snarl.

They were surrounded.

Goh felt Chloe’s hand gripping his arm tightly, her fingers trembling against his sleeve. He turned his head just enough to see her wide eyes, the pale strain in her face. She didn’t speak, but the fear was written clearly in every line of her expression. And in that moment, guilt hit him like a wave crashing over cold stone.

He had brought her here. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a field study. A one-day trip. Fun. Easy. Not… this.

Up ahead, the Lycanroc pack had begun to spread out, forming a wide crescent, their growls low and unified like a slow-building storm.

Ash shifted next to him, lowering his hand carefully to Pikachu’s back. “Pikachu,” he whispered, “get ready.”

Chloe snapped her head toward him, her voice rising in panic. “What?! No—we don’t get ready, we run!”

Ash flinched slightly but didn’t back down. “If they charge us, we can’t outrun them!”

“We don’t know that!” Chloe hissed. “There’s too many. We’ll get surrounded—”

“We already are surrounded!”

Their voices were still hushed, but desperation had crept in, threading through every word.

Ash turned to Goh, his eyes serious, searching.

“Goh,” he said, voice low but urgent, “What do we do?”

All the weight of the moment shifted toward him. Goh looked at Chloe’s grip on his arm, at Ash’s determined eyes, and then, beyond the branches, the lead Lycanroc took a slow step forward, its claws digging into the dirt.

His mind raced, thoughts tumbling over each other as he struggled to make the right call. Every possibility unfolded in his head like a battle simulation, each ending just slightly worse than the last.

Logically, they should run.

He didn’t need to say it out loud, but they all knew it. Chloe and Eevee weren’t strong enough to fight in a situation like this. Eevee was still new, untrained for battle, and Chloe wasn’t equipped to handle a wild ambush. That meant their only line of defense would be Pikachu and Cinderace.

Just two Pokémon against an entire pack of Lycanroc. Even at their strongest, that wasn’t a fair fight.

Still, running wasn’t a guaranteed solution either. Goh knew Lycanroc. Midnight Form were hunters by nature, relentless and fast. If they turned and ran, they could easily be chased, outpaced, and taken down before they reached safety.

He swallowed hard, his hand curling into a fist. Cinderace stood beside him, muscles tense, eyes focused, waiting for a command.

Ash leaned close. “Goh?” he whispered, his voice tight with urgency.

Then he remembered that Professor Cerise had insisted he always carry emergency field gear, especially for remote studies. Goh had rolled his eyes at the time, but now…

His hand shot to the side pouch of his bag. He fumbled for the device, heart hammering in his chest. His fingers closed around a smooth cylinder; the Bear Scare Cartridge. A non-lethal deterrent meant to startle large wild Pokémon with a sudden blast of sound and light. He tore it free and pulled out the launcher with trembling hands.

“Chloe,” he gasped, voice shaking, “you run first. I’ll fire it.”

She turned toward him, her eyes wide. “What? Goh—no—”

“I’ll be right behind you, just go!”

He tried to load the cartridge into the launcher, but his fingers were slick with sweat. The casing slipped from his grasp and tumbled to the forest floor with a soft thud.

“No—no no—”

He dropped to his knees, scrambling in the leaves. His hands shook too much. The growling was louder now. The Lycanroc pack was closing in, their eyes glowing like bloody moon in the growing dark.

Cinderace stood between Goh and the oncoming threat, teeth bared, flames licking at its feet.

Ash turned back, Pikachu tense on his shoulder. “Goh!”

But Goh didn’t hear him. He had only one thought left: Get the cartridge. Fire it. Just give them a chance to escape.

His fingers finally found the cold, metal cartridge again and he jammed it into the launcher, his hands still trembling as the pack began to move.

Ash didn’t hesitate. The moment he saw Goh fumble the cartridge, heard the panic in his voice, and saw the shadows closing in, he turned sharply and pushed Chloe by the shoulders, guiding her around with a firm shove. “Go, Chloe!” he shouted, his voice cutting through the rising noise of the forest. “Go! Take Eevee and run! Now!”

Chloe stumbled at first, caught off guard by the sudden force, but she clutched Eevee tighter and found her footing.

“Ash—!”

“Don’t argue—GO!” he barked, eyes still on the snarling Lycanroc edging closer through the brush.

Eevee whimpered softly in her arms, ears flattened as Chloe turned and bolted toward the ridge without looking back.

Ash dropped low beside Goh, one hand already steadying the launcher as Goh finally clicked the cartridge into place.

“I’ve got you,” Ash said, breath ragged. “Just aim. I’ll cover you.”

Goh’s hands were still shaking, but when he looked up and saw Ash next to him, shoulder to shoulder, eyes steady, something in him snapped into focus.

The cartridge locked in with a sharp click. Cinderace growled, low and ready. And the Lycanroc pack began to charge.

Then Goh fired.

The launcher jerked in his hands with a burst of deafening crack that echoed through the trees like thunder, followed by a sharp hiss and a strobe of white that lit up the forest floor.

The Lycanroc pack staggered.

The lead one skidded to a halt, ears flattening against its skull as the sudden blast disoriented them. Several others yelped and recoiled, stumbling back, eyes blinking rapidly against the flash. The whole forest seemed to pause, just for a moment.

“Run!” Goh shouted, his voice raw and shaking.

He didn’t need to say it twice. Ash grabbed his arm and pulled, and together they turned and sprinted after Chloe, who was already halfway up the ridge.

Cinderace bolted beside them, flames igniting along its feet as it bounded ahead, covering their path.

Branches whipped past, dry leaves tore beneath their feet, and the cold air burned in their lungs. It didn’t take long for Ash and Pikachu to catch up with Chloe, who was struggling to keep pace on the steep, uneven terrain. Her boots slipped more than once on the scattered leaves, and Eevee clung tightly to her chest, eyes wide and frightened.

Ash didn’t hesitate. He reached out, grabbed Chloe’s wrist, and pulled her forward with him. “Come on!” he shouted, his breath ragged. “Just a little more—keep going!”

Behind them, Goh pushed himself harder. He could hear the wolves behind them. The Lycanroc pack had recovered. Their heavy paws crashed through the underbrush, closer and closer with every second. They were fast, furious, and relentless.

Cinderace was still by his side or rather, just behind. Goh knew it could run faster than this. It was built for speed, for jumping, for outrunning anything the forest could throw at them.

But it stayed back deliberately.

Every time Goh faltered, Cinderace slowed. It was guarding him. Placing itself between Goh and the wolves, shielding him like a living wall of fire and motion.

Goh’s chest tightened, not just from exhaustion, but something else. Pride. Gratitude. Fear. He didn’t know which one was heavier.

“Cinderace…” he gasped, his voice nearly swallowed by the wind and noise.

The Pokémon didn’t look back. It just growled low in its throat, ears flicking at every sound from behind, eyes never leaving the darkness of the woods below.

The plan had seemed smart. Logical. And it might have worked, should have worked, if only they’d been faster or if only they weren’t being hunted by a pack of wolves through steep forest terrain.

Goh’s breath came in sharp gasps as he ran, each step feeling heavier than the last. His lungs burned, and the cold air sliced down his throat like knives. He coughed hard, nearly stumbling, biting down on his lip to steady himself. He should have trained more, he thought. Should have worked out. Should have been ready for this.

But there was no time for regret now.

The thunder of paws behind them grew louder and closer. The Lycanroc were gaining.

Then up ahead of him, Chloe’s foot caught on a tangle of roots hidden beneath the thick layer of leaves. She cried out, pitching forward. Ash, still holding her hand, was yanked off balance with her. The two of them went down hard, a flurry of limbs and leaves crashing into the dirt. Eevee slipped from Chloe’s arms, tumbling forward with a startled squeak before bouncing into the underbrush.

Goh’s eyes widened in horror. They were directly in his path, and there was no time to stop. He was running too fast.

“Cinderace!” he choked out, eyes darting between his friends and the approaching threat.

Cinderace understood instantly. The Fire-type planted one foot and launched itself upward, twisting midair. Goh followed its lead without thinking, legs coiling, pushing off the ground with everything he had. They soared over the fallen pair, barely clearing them. Goh’s shoes brushed the tips of Ash’s hair. He landed hard on the other side, stumbling into a roll but managing to stay upright.

Cinderace landed beside him with perfect form, already turning back, ready to defend.

One of the Lycanroc broke from the pack and lunged forward, its claws skidding across the forest floor as it cut through the underbrush like a knife. It stopped just only a few steps away from Chloe, its red eyes locked on her, its lips curled back in a snarl.

Chloe froze, flinching so hard. Her breath caught in her throat, and for a split second, she couldn’t move.

Ash didn’t hesitate to throw himself forward and wrap his arms around her, shielding her with his body. His grip was firm, protective, his own breath coming fast and shallow. Pikachu leapt from his shoulder, landing between them and the advancing Lycanroc, cheeks sparking with a high-pitched crackle. Cinderace skidded in beside it, crouching low, flames flickering across its feet as it growled in warning.

The Pokémon faced off with the predator, growling low and tense, their bodies shielding their trainers without hesitation. The Lycanroc didn’t back down. Its muscles twitched, shoulders rising with each breath. Its growl deepened, throat rumbling like a drumbeat of threat.

Goh stumbled to a halt, eyes wide, already raising a hand to give a command, but before he could speak, something changed.

The Lycanroc’s ears twitched sharply. They stood upright, alert. It froze.

The tension cracked, like a string pulled too tight. The Pokémon’s red eyes flicked to the side, toward the deeper forest. Then again, more urgent this time. Its growl faltered.

It wasn’t just the lead Lycanroc that reacted. One by one, the rest of the pack perked up, their snarling interrupted by a sudden, silent alert. Ears twitched. Heads turned. The growls faded into tense quiet.

Cinderace stilled, its flame dimming slightly. Pikachu, standing firm in front of Ash and Chloe, lowered its body. Every Pokémon in the clearing had suddenly turned toward the same direction. Not with aggression, but awareness.

Goh turned his head to follow their gaze.

And then that was when he saw it. Through the veil of trees, in the soft, dying light, a shape moved. Then another. Then many.

A sea of soft hooves and warm brown coats emerged between the trees, slipping through the shadows like ghosts. Orange backs glowed beneath the last rays of sun, blending in with the fallen leaves around them. Large, dark eyes blinked curiously from between the branches. Delicate ears flicked at every sound.

A herd.

A whole herd of Deerling.

Dozens of them.

Goh’s heart leapt. It was real. They were here. After everything, after the long hours, the fear, the running, there it was. Exactly what he had been searching for. Exactly what he had needed to see.

The Deerling paused at the edge of the trees, their wide, dark eyes fixed on the scene before them. They had spotted the danger, the snarling pack of wolves, the humans crouched low, the tension strung tight between both sides. Their delicate bodies stilled, ears twitching, legs beginning to shift uneasily.

The lead Lycanroc took a step back from Ash, Chloe, and Goh, eyes still locked on them but its posture changed. The prey was changed.

Then, the Deerling stared at the Lycanroc.

Unblinking. Unmoving. Unexpected.

Goh’s breath caught. The forest was silent, too silent, as if everything had frozen in place. Even the wind seemed to hold still.

A low, guttural growl echoed from the leader Lycanroc’s throat. Goh barely had time to process the sound before the Pokémon threw its head back and howled. The sharp, chilling cry split the air, rising high and long, shaking the branches above them.

The rest of the pack followed in perfect unison. Their voices layered into a fierce chorus that filled the forest like thunder, reverberating through bark and bone. The sound was wild and raw, something ancient that stirred fear in anything that heard it.

Goh flinched and instinctively stepped back. The howl rolled through his chest like a physical force. Even Cinderace tensed beside him, bracing against the echo.

When the howling faded, silence returned. But the Deerling had already made their decision. Their eyes, once wide and still, now quivered with panic. Their hooves shifted. Then stamped. Then turned.

And in a single, fluid movement, the herd ran.

Leaves scattered. Branches swayed. Dozens of Deerling vanished into the woods, swift and graceful, a wave of orange and brown disappearing into the safety of the trees.

Goh inhaled sharply, his chest tightening as he watched the last flickers of orange and brown vanish between the trees.

What he had been chasing all say was running away now. The herd was gone. The moment was slipping through his fingers like sand.

Behind him, the Lycanroc pack snarled, restless and stirred by their own instinct. But Goh didn’t care. Not in that instant. His breath hitched. His heart pounded. All he could think was no, not yet.

“No… wait!” he shouted, his voice cracking as he pushed forward, stumbling through the brush in the direction the herd had fled. Leaves scraped against his legs and branches snapped underfoot as he chased after them blindly, desperate.

But just as he burst through a wall of ferns, he stopped.

There, tucked behind a thick patch of undergrowth, a single Deerling stood motionless, half-hidden behind a veil of leaves.

Its coat was soft green, summer green, not the orange of fall. A late bloomer, perhaps. Smaller than the others. Its large, uncertain eyes locked with Goh’s, wide and blinking.

Goh froze, breath caught in his chest. His heart pounded, but everything else stilled. The Deerling didn’t move. It only watched him, barely trembling, as if trying to decide whether he was friend or foe.

He blinked, stunned, hand slowly reaching for it.

Then suddenly Ash’s voice ripped through the stillness, sharp and panicked, waking him up from the spell.

“Goh, behind you!”

Goh turned his head just in time to see the lead Lycanroc had lunged.

All he saw was a blur of red and black fur, claws outstretched, teeth bared, hurtling through the air toward him with terrifying speed. He didn’t even have time to scream.

Chapter Text

Goh felt something wet brush against his cheek. Not cold, just wet. Soft and rhythmic, almost like… licking.

At first, he thought it was just another strange part of the dream. Everything around him felt far away, muffled like he was underwater. The ground beneath him was freezing, damp and unforgiving against his back. His body was heavy. He could barely feel his fingers.

A voice mumbled nearby. Then a short familiar giggle. He tried to move, but his limbs didn’t respond at first. Everything hurt in a dull, distant way, like he was waking up from hours of sleep on cold stone. His eyelids fluttered but wouldn’t lift. They felt glued shut, leaden with exhaustion.

But then he forced them open. Light blurred his vision. Something close. Too close. Round, wide eyes stared down at him, reflecting the soft, golden hues of a fading sky. A small nose twitched. Ears flicked forward.

A Deerling.

Goh blinked slowly, trying to understand what he was seeing. It had the green coat. It was the same one, the same one he’d seen before everything went black. It was nuzzling against his face, gently, curiously, as if checking to make sure he was still breathing.

He tried to speak, but all that came out was a low croak. Then another voice came into focus. Clearer this time. Warm and teasing, with a tint of relief.

“Oh, he’s awake,” Chloe said, and Goh could hear the smile in her voice, even without seeing her face.

Goh blinked slowly, trying to make sense of the scene around him. Chloe was sitting on the ground a few feet away, one knee popped up as she carefully dabbed at a scrape with antiseptic. Her long pants were pulled up to just below her knee, a smear of dried blood visible beneath the gauze. She didn’t look too bothered, more focused than anything.

Ash was farther off, leaning back on his elbows as he chewed on a snack bar, legs stretched out in front of him. He looked tired but calm, like someone who’d just survived a storm and was finally letting himself breathe.

Goh blinked again. The sky had grown softer now, painted in lavender and gold. The forest seemed quieter, the tension bled out. Near the remains of a makeshift pile of berries, Pikachu, Eevee, and Cinderace were contentedly chewing, their tiny mouths full and tails flicking lazily. They looked almost peaceful.

And then there was the Deerling.

It was still there, standing beside him. Its round eyes blinked once, then it tilted its head to the side and stared at him, like it was still trying to figure out what kind of creature he was.

“Hey,” Ash called out from his spot, voice casual but carrying concern beneath it. “How are you feeling? Hurt anywhere?”

Goh groaned softly and started to push himself up. The second he moved, a thousand aches woke up in his body like angry spirits. His ribs, his shoulders, his neck, everything hurt. He winced. “Ow. Yes. Definitely yes.”

Ash raised a brow, amused. “That bad, huh?”

Chloe rolled her eyes as she stuck another clean strip of gauze onto her knee. “What hurts?” she asked dryly. “You fainted before the Lycanroc even touched you.”

Goh blinked. “I… what?”

She gave him a look. “You passed out. Full collapse. The whole pack stopped mid-pounce and looked at you like you broke their brain.”

Ash snorted, nearly choking on his snack bar. “Yeah, one of them even tilted its head.”

Chloe smirked. “Pretty sure they thought you were already dead.”

Goh stared at them, then groaned again and flopped back onto the ground. “Great. Love that for me.”

The Deerling beside him gave a soft sniff, then gently nuzzled his shoulder. And for a second, Goh almost didn’t mind the humiliation.

Chloe adjusted the last strip of gauze on her knee and smoothed it down with a small hiss. Then she leaned back on her hands, glancing toward Goh with a glint in her eye. “Do you want to know what’s funny?” she said, the corner of her mouth twitching.

Goh narrowed his eyes instantly, suspicion rising like a reflex. “No,” he muttered.

Ash, halfway through a bite of his snack bar, stiffened and tried to swallow his laugh.

Goh groaned before she even said it. “Don’t.”

But Chloe was already grinning. “They didn’t even aim at you.”

Goh blinked. “What?”

Chloe sat up straighter, clearly enjoying herself now. “The Lycanroc. They weren’t trying to attack you. They were chasing the Deerling. You just happened to be standing in the way like an obstacle.”

Ash let out a wheeze of laughter and immediately tried to cover it up with a cough.

Goh stared at her, mortified. “You’re joking.”

“Nope,” Chloe said cheerfully. “You fainted from fear before they even looked at you. And the one that jumped? It literally swerved mid-air so it wouldn’t crash into you.”

Ash was full-on laughing now, his head tilted back, snack bar forgotten in his hand.

Goh buried his face in his hands. “I want to disappear.”

Cinderace gave a sympathetic pat to his shoulder, while the Deerling beside him blinked innocently and nuzzled closer. But deep down, somewhere beneath the bruised ego and sore back, he could almost laugh too. Almost.

Ash tossed him a half-full bottle of water with an easy underhand throw. “Oh, come on,” he said, still grinning. “I would’ve fainted too if a Lycanroc jumped at me like that.”

The bottle hit Goh’s chest with a light thump. He caught it awkwardly and blinked up at Ash, but the comment didn’t exactly help. If anything, it just deepened the redness spreading across his face.

He twisted the cap open with a mumbled, “Thanks,” and took a sip, trying to use the bottle as a distraction from how hot his cheeks felt. His pride had already taken a hit and now it was being stomped on by his so-called friends.

Chloe rolled her eyes and tugged her pant leg back down, patting the bandaged knee once before sitting up straighter. “Stop coddling him,” she said flatly. “We both know you wouldn’t have fainted.”

Ash blinked, mouth opening in protest. “Hey—!”

“You’d have screamed,” she added. “Loudly. Then Pikachu would’ve zapped everything in sight.”

Ash paused. “Okay, maybe.”

Goh groaned and sank further into the grass, draping one arm over his face. “Please let the ground open up and swallow me.”

The Deerling beside him sniffed curiously at his jacket sleeve, completely unfazed by the chaos. It nuzzled against his side like a confused, leafy pillow.

Ash chuckled and sat cross-legged beside him. “Well, for what it’s worth… you’re survived and unharmed, aren’t you?”

Goh peeked out from under his arm, expression half-defeated, half-relieved.

Chloe smirked. “Somehow. Against all odds. And gravity.”

Goh groaned again. “I’m never going to live this down.”

Ash grinned. “Definitely not.”

The Deerling gave a soft bleat in agreement.

Goh sighed and slowly lowered the water bottle to the ground, his eyes drifting toward the Deerling still nestled beside him. It was the same one. The small one with the out-of-season coat. He watched as it blinked at him, unbothered by the others, still close, still calm. Its soft green fur stood out in the fading gold of the late afternoon light. The tips of its ears twitched gently, as if in response to his gaze.

The others had all been orange—autumn-coated, perfectly aligned with the season. He remembered that clearly now. The way they had run, a wave of rust-colored fur vanishing into the woods.

But this one…

This Deerling was different.

Still green. Summer green.

Goh narrowed his eyes slightly, curiosity tugging at the edges of his lingering embarrassment. “You’re… late,” he murmured.

The Deerling tilted its head again, almost like it understood.

Chloe noticed his voice and glanced over. “What is it?”

He didn’t look away. “It didn’t change with the others. It’s still in its summer coat.”

Chloe leaned in slightly, interest sparking. “That’s weird. Isn’t the transformation triggered by seasonal cues?”

“Yeah,” Goh said slowly, his voice thoughtful now. “Temperature, light cycles, surrounding behavior patterns. It should’ve shifted weeks ago…”

Ash raised a brow. “So… it’s behind?”

Goh nodded, still watching the Deerling. “Or resisting.”

The Pokémon blinked at him again, then gently rested its head near his side. Goh’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Why did you stay behind?”

The Deerling tilted its head, ears flicking forward as it let out a soft, high-pitched “Deer!” A sound that trembled just slightly at the edges.

Ash stood and brushed the dirt off his pants. “So… what do we do now?”

Goh’s eyes wandered toward the deeper part of the forest, where the rest of the herd had vanished into the trees. The light was dimmer now, shadows longer, colors cooler. The warmth of the day was quickly giving way to the edge of dusk. After a breath, he said, “We find the herd.”

Chloe stared at him. “What?”

Goh looked down at the small green Deerling still pressed gently against his side. “It didn’t stay behind on purpose,” he said softly. “It got separated. It missed the herd.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes. “And your solution is to find the herd? Again?”

Goh nodded, sitting up a little straighter. “We’ll bring it back. It’s just a baby. It shouldn’t be left alone.”

Ash gave a small frown, glancing between the Deerling and the darkening trees. “You think we can catch up to them?”

“I have to try,” Goh said. “We know the direction they went. If we move fast, we might—”

Chloe cut him off with an exasperated groan. “Goh, look at the sky. It’s almost dark. We barely made it out the first time. Did you already forget we were this close to being Lycanroc dinner?”

“I didn’t forget,” Goh said. “But the herd couldn’t have gone too far. Not with a little one lagging behind.”

Ash looked at him for a long moment, then shrugged and offered a crooked smile. “I mean… we’ve come this far.”

Chloe threw her hands up. “Unbelievable.” The Deerling looked up at her with wide, uncertain eyes, blinking once. She stared back, then sighed loudly. “Fine. But I swear, if anything howls again, I am leaving you both.”

Ash chuckled. “You always say that.”

Chloe glared. “And one day, I will mean it.”

But as she helped Goh to his feet and dusted him off, the Deerling stepped closer, as if it understood they were trying to help. It gave a soft nudge against Goh’s side, its tiny hooves pressing into the fallen leaves.

They weren’t heading back just yet. Not until this little one found its way home.

As they began walking. This time was slower, careful to avoid twisted roots and low branches. The forest grew quieter around them. The sky above was streaked in purple and rose gold, the last sliver of daylight slipping behind the trees. The Deerling stayed close to Goh, trotting beside him with surprising ease, its small hooves barely making a sound on the leaf-strewn path.

Ash, who had been walking a few steps ahead, suddenly cleared his throat dramatically. Then, in a tone far too serious to be anything but mocking, he said, “Log Three,” and turned slightly over his shoulder.

Goh blinked, already regretting the decision to keep moving with both Ash and Chloe in tow.

Ash continued, deepening his voice to match Goh’s quiet, focused tone: “Subject: One tragically abandoned Deerling. Mission: Return it to its noble herd before nightfall or perish trying. Also, I fainted earlier but let’s not talk about that—”

“Ash!” Goh groaned, cheeks already flushing. “Stop that!”

Chloe snorted behind them, arms crossed. “That was actually a decent impression.”

Ash looked pleased with himself. “Thank you. I’ve been working on my ‘pained-but-determined monologue’ voice.”

“Could use less drama,” Goh muttered, shooting him a look.

Ash gave a mock gasp. “Says the guy writing research logs in the middle of a wolf attack.”

Goh tried to retort but stopped when he glanced at the Deerling again. It was still walking beside him, its ears flicking gently as it looked up at him with quiet trust. Despite the teasing, despite everything that had gone wrong, something about this still felt right.

He sighed, then muttered, “Log Four: Teammates are incredibly annoying. Still no sign of the herd. But I’m not giving up yet.”

Ash grinned. “Now that’s the Goh I know.”

Goh rolled his eyes. His pace had become a little slower than the others, the weight of the Deerling’s soft hoofsteps beside him matching his pace almost perfectly. He glanced at it again. He rubbed the back of his neck and mumbled, mostly to himself, “I just don’t understand… The others were already in fall form, weren’t they? Or am I blind?”

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he studied the little Deerling once more. The soft summer green of its fur stood out in contrast to the rest of the forest’s palette, burnt oranges, deep reds, the crisp yellows of dying leaves.

Eevee, perched in Chloe’s arms ahead, suddenly wriggled free and leapt down. With an excited chirp, it mimicked the Deerling’s gentle hop, one bounce, two, and trotted forward proudly, tail high. Goh blinked, surprised by the motion. The Deerling looked over and blinked back, curious, then softly mirrored the movement with a quiet little bounce of its own. Goh couldn’t help it. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Eevee let out a delighted squeak and bounced again, tail wagging as it danced around the Deerling’s hooves. The Deerling gave a gentle flick of its ear, clearly amused, and mimicked the motion a second time. For a moment, the forest didn’t feel so cold or tense. There was soft, small, but real laughter in the sound of their Pokémon playing.

Goh watched the interaction quietly, his thoughts still circling. “Maybe it’s genetic?” he murmured. “Or maybe something in the environmental shift and it missed the cues…”

“You talking to yourself again?” Ash called from a few steps ahead, only half teasing.

“It helps me think,” Goh replied automatically, brushing a leaf off his sleeve.

Ash turned around, walking backward now. “So what’s your theory, Professor?”

“I don’t have one yet,” Goh admitted, his voice more serious than he meant. “That’s what’s bothering me. It doesn’t make sense.”

Chloe glanced at him over her shoulder. “Maybe it doesn’t need to. Not everything in the wild follows the rules.”

“I know,” Goh said. “But it usually tries to.”

“You sure want to bring it back?” Ash asked, adjusting his cap slightly as the wind blew through them.

Goh nodded slowly. “Yeah. I don’t think it meant to be left behind. I think it’s just… late.”

The Deerling looked up at him then, as if it understood, and let out a soft “Deer.”

Chloe picked up her pace a bit. “Then we better hurry before it gets dark-dark. Like, actual dangerous-dark.”

Ash looked up at the sky, which was rapidly shifting from lavender to deep indigo. “You mean it’s not already?”

Eevee continued to hop around the Deerling, its fluffy tail swishing with each light bounce. The Deerling responded with small, graceful steps of its own, occasionally pausing to blink curiously at the smaller Pokémon’s enthusiasm. The sight of them together brought a faint smile to Chloe’s face. She walked a little closer, eyes on Eevee. “You’re going to wear yourself out before we even find the herd,” she said softly, her voice full of affection. Eevee turned its head with a proud little chirp, clearly unfazed.

Behind them, Ash slowed his steps until he was walking just beside Goh. His sneakers crunched softly on the blanket of fallen leaves, and for a moment, he said nothing. Goh, who was deep in thought and still watching the Deerling, didn’t notice the shift in pace until Ash cleared his throat.

“Umm…”

Goh blinked and turned slightly. “What?”

Ash rubbed the back of his neck. “So… earlier.”

“Which part?” Goh asked dryly, already anticipating something embarrassing.

Ash gave a sheepish smile. “The part where you fainted.”

Goh groaned. “Seriously?”

“No—wait,” Ash said quickly, holding up a hand. “I’m not making fun of you.”

Goh gave him a skeptical look.

“I mean it,” Ash said, this time more earnest. “That was… a lot. With the Lycanroc, and the herd, and, well, everything. You were trying to protect everyone. You fired the cartridge thing and tried to distract them. That was brave.”

Goh stared at him for a second, not quite sure what to say.

Ash shrugged, looking at the path ahead. “I just didn’t say it earlier, ‘cause I didn’t want to embarrass you more. But… I saw.”

There was a long beat of silence between them. Then Goh muttered, “…I still fainted before they even touched me.”

Ash chuckled softly. “Yeah. You did. Like a log. Just—boom. Flat on your back.”

Goh covered his face with his hand.

Ash nudged him lightly with his elbow. “But it was a good faint. Dramatic. Memorable.”

“Shut up,” Goh mumbled, but there was a small smile tugging at his lips.

They kept walking. The air was colder, but not uncomfortable. And between the rustling leaves, the sound of Cinderace and pikachu’s steps, Eevee’s bouncing, and Deerling’s soft hopping, there was something peaceful about the path they followed, no longer just through the forest, but through something unspoken between them, too.

Ash’s footsteps slowed just slightly, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket now as the wind started to bite a little harder. He glanced sideways at Goh, who was quiet again, eyes on the trail ahead, though his expression had softened. Ash cleared his throat one more time, then spoke, his voice quieter than before. “What I’m trying to say is…” He paused, as if trying to make sure he got the words right. “Thanks. For trying to look out for us.”

Goh didn’t reply immediately, but his fingers curled slightly at his side, as if gripping invisible weight.

Ash went on, more certain now. “And if you ever have anything—like, anything going on. Or if you need something. Or just want someone to talk to, or yell at, or walk beside while chasing a bunch of Deerling, whatever it is…” He looked at him again. “You know we’ll be there for you too, don’t you?”

Goh blinked, and for a second he didn’t answer. His throat felt tighter than it should’ve.

The trees rustled above them. Somewhere ahead, Chloe’s voice called gently to Eevee, and Deerling let out a small, curious bleat. The world kept moving. But Goh turned his head just enough to glance at Ash, and said softly and truthfully, “Yeah. I know.”

Goh couldn’t help it. He felt the weight of the note again, like it had suddenly doubled in mass inside his backpack. It was just paper. Just ink on paper. But it felt heavier than anything he was carrying.

Ash’s words lingered in the air beside him, warm and well-meaning, but they only made the knot in his chest tighten. Because he knew. He knew Ash wouldn’t judge him. Chloe wouldn’t laugh or say he was being paranoid. They’d both believe him in a heartbeat. They’d probably assume the same thing he did that it was Holly. That she was behind the sabotage. The note. The threat that still echoed inside his head more than he cared to admit.

And that was the problem.

Chloe would be furious. Goh could already picture the fire in her eyes, the sharpness in her voice, the way she’d immediately start planning something in return, an expose, a trap, a counterattack. Something dangerous, something smart, something Chloe.

Ash, on the other hand, wouldn’t plan. He’d confront. No hesitation. No waiting. He’d march right up to her and demand answers, defend Goh like it was the easiest thing in the world. And while a part of Goh felt a painful swell of gratitude just thinking about that… it also scared him.

Because what if it didn’t go well? What if it spiraled? What if Holly wanted a confrontation? What if she hurt someone else? What if it didn’t stop? What if the note was just the beginning?

He swallowed hard, forcing his eyes to focus on the trail ahead. The Deerling was still walking beside the other Pokémon, and Eevee had slowed down a bit, now content to trot behind Chloe. The sunlight was getting less and less to see now.

Ash’s voice broke the quiet again, soft but close. “It just… it seems like you have something in your mind.”

He exhaled through his nose. “Do I?”

Ash shrugged lightly. “You’ve been quiet. I mean, quieter than usual. And tense. Not just today.”

Goh felt his fingers tighten slightly around the strap of his bag, instinctively where the note was tucked inside.

Ash continued, gentler this time. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I just—y’know… I notice.”

Goh turned his head, just enough to glance at him from the corner of his eye. He swallowed and forced a small, tired smile.

“I know,” he murmured.

Ash nodded slowly, pressing his lips together.

That wasn’t a good sign. Goh knew that look, the way Ash’s mouth went tight, the crease between his brows, the quiet tension under his breath. It meant Ash still wanted to know. That he cared enough to worry, but didn’t want to push too hard and risk Goh shutting down.

And then, after a long pause, Ash whispered, just loud enough for Goh to hear over the leaves underfoot. “Is it… about us?”

Goh stopped walking. His breath hitched a little, caught off guard by the question, by the weight of it. He turned his head slightly, but he couldn’t meet Ash’s eyes. His gaze drifted to the forest floor instead.

It wasn’t fair. This had nothing to do with Ash. Not directly, anyway. Not anymore.

But the guilt hit him hard, all the same.

Because not saying anything, keeping it inside, letting Ash guess, meant Ash could blame himself. Think maybe he did something wrong. That the distance between them, this silence, was his fault. And that made Goh’s heart ache in a different way.

“No,” he said finally, his voice low. “It’s not about us.”

Ash didn’t say anything, but Goh could feel his eyes on him.

“It’s… something else,” Goh added, quieter now. “Something I probably should’ve told you. But I didn’t. And now it’s just…”

He trailed off. Ash waited. And though Goh didn’t finish the sentence, Ash just nodded again slowly, trying to understand and keep walking, giving Goh the space to choose if and when to share the rest. But the air between them… was heavier now.

Ash glanced over at Goh. His voice was calm and steady, but his eyes held something deeper, concern, maybe even hope. “You know you can trust me, right?”

Goh stared ahead, his gaze fixed on the back of Cinderace, though he wasn’t really looking at it. The air around them had grown colder, and the rustling leaves above only made the silence feel heavier. After a moment, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. Then he gave a single, deliberate nod.

Ash watched him carefully. He didn’t smile or joke like he usually might. Instead, he gave a small nod in return, acknowledging the gesture without asking for more. He reached out and gently took Goh’s hand. His fingers closed around Goh’s with quiet certainty, not forceful, not dramatic, just there.

“I’m saying this so you don’t forget,” Ash said, his voice lower now. “You’re not alone. No matter what’s going on.”

Goh looked down at their hands. He didn’t pull away.

The words settled in his chest like a quiet anchor. The guilt was still there. So was the fear. But in that moment, they didn’t feel so unbearable.

He finally spoke, voice quiet but clear. “Thanks, Ash.”

Ash gave his hand a small squeeze. They kept walking, side by side, into the forest ahead. And even though the shadows were growing deeper, Goh felt just a little less lost. Only a little.

Chapter Text

Subject: A Study of Deerling Migration

Log #03 #04 #05

Location: Vermilion Forest, unmarked path north of Point Three

Date: 25th October

Time: 5:52 PM

Weather: Temperature dropping rapidly. Sky darkening. Approx. 10°C. Wind picking up.

We were never supposed to get this far. By now, we should have been packing up, laughing at Chloe’s over-prepared backpack and Ash teasing me for taking too many notes. Instead, we’re trekking deeper into the forest, chasing a herd we may not find in time. All because of one Deerling, the only one we could help.

It’s still walking beside me. Green coated. Out of sync. Out of season.

I ran calculations in my head to distract myself. Temperature patterns, herd behavior, migratory delays due to weather anomalies, but none of it explains why this one didn’t change.

Chloe and Eevee are ahead of us. Ash is walking beside me now. He’s been quiet for a while, but he spoke just a moment ago. Told me I could trust him. And I know that. I always have.

Then he held my hand.

It sounds like a small thing. But it wasn’t. Not today. Not with everything I’ve been holding in. I didn’t tell him about the note. I’m still carrying it in my pack like it’s a ticking clock, and every minute I stay silent, the hands move faster.

I continued observing the Deerling as we walked. It stayed close for the most part, but at one point, I think it became slightly annoyed with my attention. It picked up its pace and trotted ahead to catch up with Cinderace, almost as if it was trying to escape my constant glances. Still, I have to keep looking. I have to understand. This isn’t just about curiosity anymore, it’s about finding the why behind this anomaly.

Chloe suggested that maybe it’s just not the right time yet or perhaps it simply doesn’t want to change. She compared it to Pikachu or Eevee not evolving, which, I have to admit, made me stop and think. Could it really be that simple? Can a Pokémon choose to delay or resist seasonal transformation, not evolution, but something that’s usually automatic, triggered by environmental signals?

I keep telling myself it must be something measurable. An environmental disruption, a delay in exposure, perhaps even a rare condition. But part of me wonders: is this choice? Can a Deerling, just like Eevee, decide it isn’t ready to change?

If so… why?

—Goh

🍂🍂🍂

Goh might’ve thought it was normal or maybe he wasn’t thinking at all, just following instinct, caught in the current of his own thoughts. But to everyone else, it was starting to look… questionable.

Chloe slowed her pace, eyeing her best friend from behind. Ash glanced at him too, raising a brow. Even Pikachu tilted its head slightly, confused. Up ahead, Goh was walking fast with his notebook balanced awkwardly in one hand. His pencil scratched furiously against the page as he scribbled something down without stopping. Every few seconds, he mumbled under his breath, nodding to himself, then wrote faster.

“…Maybe incomplete environmental shift… no, no, inconsistent coat transition…” He passed the Deerling, who blinked at him, unbothered. It kept walking, ears flicking.

Ash leaned toward Chloe and whispered, “Is he okay?”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “Define okay.”

Ash tilted his head. “Like… mentally.”

Chloe didn’t answer at first. She kept watching as Goh muttered something else and gestured wildly with his pencil in the air, only to stop mid-motion and scribble again like the universe had just handed him a breakthrough.

Finally, Chloe whispered, half-joking but also… not, “Do you think he hit his head too hard when he fainted?”

Pikachu gave a small “Pika?” as if agreeing.

Ash winced. “I mean… maybe just a little?”

They watched as Goh slowed down only long enough to speak directly to the Deerling like it could answer him.

“…and that would explain why the coat didn’t change, right? I mean, if you were exposed to early fall temperatures too late, then maybe—wait, did you get caught in a microclimate cell? Were you isolated?”

The Deerling stared at him.

Goh gasped softly. “Don’t blink if I’m right.”

The Deerling blinked.

Goh sighed. “Okay. So not that.”

Ash whispered, “Should we stop him?”

Chloe smirked. “No. This is stopping him. If he doesn’t get this out of his system now, he’ll explode at 3 a.m. and call my dad in tears.”

Ash nodded solemnly. “Science is dangerous.”

“Pika.” Pikachu nodded along with its trainer.

Goh didn’t notice the conversation behind him. He just kept writing, completely absorbed, completely baffled, and completely determined to understand the little green Deerling that refused to follow the rules.

Ash leaned a little closer to Chloe, lowering his voice but not bothering to hide the amusement creeping into it. “Has he ever actually called your dad at three in the morning?”

Before Chloe could answer, there was a soft hffft noise from ahead.

Ash blinked. “Did—did Cinderace just snort?”

Cinderace didn’t turn around, but its ear twitched like it was trying not to laugh. Goh, still walking a few paces ahead, didn’t react. He was too busy flipping to a new page in his notebook and muttering something about photoperiodism and coat growth.

Chloe covered her mouth, stifling a grin. “Oh, he’s definitely called at three a.m.”

Ash widened his eyes in mock horror. “Seriously?”

“More than once,” Chloe replied, then added with a dry look, “though you’ll need to be more specific. Are we talking about calls for scientific purposes… or his personal breakdowns?”

Ash raised both brows. “There’s a difference?”

Chloe tilted her head. “Well… when it’s scientific, there’s more graphs. When it’s emotional, he cries quieter.”

Ash let out a small laugh before whispering back, “Poor Professor Cerise.”

Chloe smirked. “He says he’s proud of him,” she remarked casually. “But once, he told me maybe I should start making more girl friends.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Chloe nodded with exaggerated seriousness. “Direct quote. ‘It might balance you out.’”

Ash laughed, then narrowed his eyes playfully. “And yet, here you are. Still stuck with us.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I didn’t believe him at the time. Thought he was just being dramatic.”She glanced at Ash, then at Goh still talking to a Deerling and nearly walking into a bush, then she muttered, half under her breath, “Until I met you and got stuck with two idiotic boys.”

Ash placed a hand over his heart. “Wow. That hurts.”

“Shouldn’t,” Chloe said flatly. “You earned it.”

She glanced at Goh still mumbling something about seasonal variance and nearly tripping over a tree root. Neither of them moved to stop him.

She sighed. “This week, I should’ve just done yoga with my mom.”

Ash grinned. “Too late now. You’re in deep.”

Chloe didn’t argue because despite wet leaves, near death wolf chases, and a very dramatic Deerling mystery, she didn’t actually want to be anywhere else.

They walked further into the woods, the light fading into a dusky gold beneath the trees. The quiet crunch of their footsteps mingled with the rustle of wind stirred branches overhead. Chloe hugged her arms tighter as the chill set in, while Eevee hopped along at her side.

Ash reached into his bag and pulled out a small pack of snacks. He handed it to Chloe, then raised his voice just enough to catch the attention of the one person entirely lost in his own world.

“Hey,” Ash called out, a teasing note in his voice. “Take a breath, Professor.”

Goh blinked, genuinely startled. He turned his head like someone waking from a trance, his eyes slightly unfocused behind his bangs. It took him a second to process the words, then he slowed his steps and faced them.

“What?”

Chloe pointed at his notebook, which was still clutched in one hand like it had fused to his skin. “You’re scribbling so fast the ink can’t keep up.”

Goh glanced down at the page. Sure enough, the last few lines were an incoherent blur of thoughts, half-formed words mashed together in a line of scientific panic. He blinked again.

“I was just—” he started, then paused. “I had a thought.”

Ash grinned. “Pretty sure you had fifteen.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Any of them about food? Water? Breathing?”

Goh hesitated, glancing at his notes again as if reluctant to stop. But Cinderace nudged his side gently, and even Deerling gave a soft huff, its large eyes blinking up at him with something resembling disapproval.

“Okay,” Goh muttered, finally snapping the notebook shut. “Fine. Five minute break.”

“Progress,” Chloe said under her breath, tearing the snack bag Ash gave her.

“Barely,” Ash whispered back, smirking.

Ash glanced down at the bag of chips in Chloe’s hands, which she had just opened with practiced ease. The salty scent wafted up, and she reached in to grab a few for herself only for Ash to suddenly snatch the bag right back from her.

“Hey!” she barked, looking scandalized.

Ash ignored her and turned toward Goh instead, holding out the open bag like a peace offering. “Here,” he said, casual but with a small smile. “Take some. They’re my favorite.”

Chloe stared at him, her glare sharp. “You did not just hand it to me just so I could open it for you.”

Ash smirked but didn’t look at her. “Teamwork.”

“More like snack theft,” she muttered.

Goh looked at the bag, blinking in surprise. “Uh… thanks?”

He hesitated for a moment, still holding onto the notebook like it was part of his arm. Then, reluctantly, he slipped it into his backpack and reached out to take a few chips from the bag. Cinderace, beside him, peeked curiously over his shoulder.

Chloe, now sitting on a nearby rock, crossed her arms. “Next time I’m bringing my own snack stash and locking it with a passcode.”

Eevee jumped into her lap, and Pikachu hopped up next to Ash, peering expectantly into the chip bag.

Ash chuckled as he plopped down beside a tree, still grinning from his small act of snack betrayal. “Eat your nuts, Chloe,” he said with a teasing lilt, tossing another chip into his mouth.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at him and mouthed the words “Eat your nuts, Chloe” in a dramatic, mocking slow-motion, complete with exaggerated eyebrow raises and fake enthusiasm. Then, with a sigh worthy of an award, she reached into her backpack and pulled out a small bag of mixed nuts.

Goh chuckled and, without hesitation, offered a chip to Cinderace, who beamed like an overjoyed child. It took the snack delicately between its paws and bounced once in place, tail swishing with excitement. Pikachu, Eevee, and even Deerling watched the exchange with wide, hopeful eyes. One by one, they turned their gazes to Goh, expressions lined with expectation.

He sighed with a tired smile, reaching into the bag again. “Okay, okay, one a—”

SWOOSH!

A sharp, rushing sound cut through the air. It was fast and close, like something had dashed past them in a blur. Every head snapped to the left, eyes narrowing toward the thicket of dense trees. Then came another sound. This time it was from their right as if twigs were snapped.

Goh’s fingers froze around the chip. Ash stood up immediately, his eyes scanning both directions. “What was that?”

Chloe rose to her feet too, her bag clutched tightly in one hand, the other hovering near Eevee. The Pokémon moved closer instinctively. Pikachu perked up instantly, its ears stiff and alert. Cinderace stepped forward with one foot, shielding Goh without needing a command. Even Deerling inched nervously toward Chloe. Goh didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. Every instinct in him told him the same thing: they weren’t alone.

The group unconsciously stepped in closer together, forming a tight circle in the middle of the fading light. Goh narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of what was rushing through the woods. Whatever it was, it moved too fast to see clearly.

Then came another sound. It was closer this time. The air changed. The temperature dropped suddenly, biting through their jackets and brushing cold fingertips against their necks. Fog curled in low at the ground, slowly thickening, snaking between their ankles like a warning. Even Cinderace’s fur bristled as it turned, ears twitching with unease. Then the fourth sound hit. A whoosh of rushing wind swept through the trees above them, shaking the branches violently as if something massive had just passed by without ever touching the ground.

The Deerling stiffened. Its ears shot upright, eyes wide with instinctive terror. Then it made a high pitched, almost panicked cry. The sound sliced through the air like glass, and without waiting, it bolted.

“Deerling!” Goh shouted, but its tiny green form vanished into the fog and trees ahead. He didn’t even look back. Without a word, he grabbed Ash’s wrist and ran. “Come on!”

Ash barely had time to react. His eyes widened, and the bag of chips slipped from his hand, fluttering to the ground. “My chips!” he yelped.

Chloe blinked, watching the two take off. “Wait—again?!” She groaned and clutched Eevee tightly in her arms as she sprinted after them, her boots thudding hard against the forest floor. “Do we need to run every time something spooky happens?!”

Ash shot a grin over his shoulder, breathless but teasing. “You can stay here if you want!”

Chloe didn’t slow down. “I am not going to be the only one eaten by wolves!”

Behind them, the wind howled again, louder this time. Branches cracked somewhere too close for comfort. Goh led them deeper into the woods, trying to remember which direction Deerling had gone, trying not to think about what could be behind them. Then he called out over his shoulder, “Who said it was wolves?”

Ash and Chloe both glanced at each other in perfect, horrified sync.

Chloe groaned. “That’s not better, Goh!”

Goh’s eyes locked on the bright green blur darting ahead of them. It weaved between trees with the ease of something born in the woods, nimble and silent despite its speed. The color of its coat stood out vividly against the duller tones of fallen leaves and mist. He didn’t know Deerling could run this fast. Or maybe… maybe it wasn’t that fast at all. Maybe he was just too tired to keep up.

His legs burned with every step. His backpack thudded uncomfortably against his back. This was the second time today he’d sprinted like this, and his body wasn’t built for marathons, especially not with a research notebook and half a bag of adrenaline rattling inside him.

“Deerling!” he yelled, voice sharp and desperate. “Stop! Wait!”

But the little green figure didn’t slow down. It kept running, vanishing deeper into the thickening fog, as if it didn’t hear him.

In less than a second, Ash caught up to him. Goh hadn’t even realized they’d let go of each other’s hands. His legs were still pumping forward on instinct, but Ash was right beside him now, keeping pace easily despite the terrain.

“Goh,” Ash called out, his voice tight but steady, “we should slow down. I don’t even know what we’re running from.”

Goh wanted to agree. He really did. His legs ached, his chest burned, and his mind was spinning in circles, but he kept going. His eyes were still locked on the blurry shape of the green Deerling ahead. He just couldn’t let it run alone like this.

“I don’t know either,” Goh finally admitted, his voice rough. Now that he thought about it, the sounds they heard could’ve been anything from a strong gust of wind to a pair of startled Pokémon crashing through the underbrush or maybe even another pack of Lycanroc, though he wasn’t sure how likely that was. The dusk distorted everything . Shadows moved where nothing walked, every snap of a twig became a predator’s step, and the fog whispered threats it didn’t have.

But none of that was chasing them now. The forest had gone quiet again. The oppressive cold had settled, but the sounds had faded. Still, Goh couldn’t stop because the Deerling was panicking.

Its ears were pinned, its hooves moved with frightened urgency, and its little body trembled even as it sprinted. It wasn’t just running because of a threat. It was running because it had lost something; its herd, its safety, maybe even its sense of direction. And somehow… Goh understood that feeling a little too well.

“Deerling!” Goh shouted, his voice cutting through the heavy fog. “Please stop!”

But the Deerling didn’t stop.

Ash slowed slightly beside him, concern etched across his face. “Goh—”

“I have to get it,” Goh said between gasps, eyes still fixed on the blur ahead. “It’s scared. It’s lost. If it gets too far—if we lose sight of it—”

The fog thickened again, swallowing the trees into a curtain of grey. For a second, Goh thought the Deerling would vanish completely, just like the herd had earlier.

“Please!” he called again, more desperate this time. “I’m not trying to hurt you! I just want to help!”

And for a split second, the Deerling’s ears twitched.

Goh saw the hesitation in its steps, but only a second it vanished because the fog became thicker. He could barely see what was in front of him anymore, just the faintest blur of a green spot of, a flash of brown, and maybe a trace of orange. It was hard to tell if it was still Deerling or just his tired eyes playing tricks on him.

From behind him, Chloe’s voice called out, tense and uncertain. “Guys? I… I can’t see anything.”

He could hear Ash’s voice, closer, calling out to her. “Chloe! Stay close!”

Then Goh heard something else. A wet, rhythmic crashing sound. He slowed slightly. It wasn’t rain; the air was dry and cold. But there it was again, splash, splash, thud. Something heavy hitting water, over and over. It was distant, unclear, but loud enough to echo faintly through the trees.

He scanned ahead, trying to see through the fog. Then another cold wind swept through the trees, lifting the mist just enough for him to catch sight of a sudden break in the land only a few feet away.

His eyes widened.

Just beyond that drop was a river. Not a gentle stream or a shallow crossing, but a wide, wild current, rushing and loud, swollen from recent rains, churning with whitecaps that slammed against rocks and driftwood.

Ash also saw it before he could process it. Deerling bolting toward the slope, its small hooves kicking up soil, oblivious to the danger ahead.

“No, no, no—stop!” Ash yelled, his voice cracking from panic. “STOP!”

But Goh was already moving. Faster than Ash thought he could, faster than Goh probably should’ve been able to move after everything they’d been through. He surged forward, his eyes locked on the tiny green Deerling as it reached the edge.

Without hesitation, he threw himself forward with everything he had, stretching his arms as far as they would go, fingers brushing against damp fur midair. And then he caught it just as its hooves hovered over the churning river. The momentum carried them both forward, down.

Water exploded around them as they hit the stream. The cold crashed on Goh like a wall, stealing the breath from his lungs instantly. He barely had time to tighten his grip around the panicked Pokémon before the river yanked him sideways, spinning him beneath the surface.

Ash didn’t have time to think. He lunged after them and managed to grab hold of Goh’s ankle just as he disappeared under the surface. The current dragged all of them downstream. Ash clung to Goh’s leg with both arms, but it was like trying to stop a train with bare hands.

“Hang on!” he shouted, though he wasn’t sure who he was yelling at; Goh, Deerling, or himself.

Then Chloe moved. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t shout. She didn’t ask what was happening. One hand shot out and latched onto the back of Ash’s soaked jacket, nails digging in. With her other arm, she clutched Eevee tightly to her chest. The little Pokémon thrashed in her grip, squeaking in fear as water splashed up around them. The weight and force from the river’s angry tide, she was yanked into the water too.

Goh knew tgat Ash had tried to save him. But now they were all in the river, and the pull around his ankle was keeping him from surfacing. He forced his legs to move, kicking hard and twisting in the current, desperate to break free just enough to catch air. He clung tighter to Deerling, who was writhing in panic, trying to paddle with its slender legs. Goh knew it couldn’t last much longer, and neither could he.

Then, through the roar of water, Ash’s hand grabbed his free arm and yanked him upward. His head broke the surface for one precious second. He gasped. The air felt like glass in his lungs, sharp and shattering. He blinked furiously against the water in his eyes and immediately raised Deerling above his head, holding its trembling body just over the churning surface. It coughed, legs flailing, but it was breathing.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Ash fighting against the current, one arm flailing as he tried to keep upright. Chloe wasn’t far behind, Eevee clenched tightly in her arms, its fur soaked and eyes wide with panic. She was trying to stay afloat, trying not to lose her grip on her small partner.

The river kept dragging them forward, but the blind panic had begun to fade. They were floating chained together by instinct and desperation. Ash had one hand hooked around Goh’s arm, and Chloe clung to Ash’s jacket with a death grip, her other arm wrapped tight around Eevee’s small, shivering body.

The water surged and tossed them like toys, but at least now they were all above the surface. But the problem was obvious, they were stuck in the center of the river, and the banks on either side were way too far.

“Chloe!” Ash yelled, trying to keep his mouth above water. “You’re pulling me down!”

She coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of river. “Everything’s pulling me down!”

Ash twisted his neck toward her, eyes wide. “Take off your backpack!”

Chloe gasped, blinking through wet lashes. “What?!”

“Your bag! It’s dragging you under! Just drop it!”

“But—my notes! My phone! My snacks!”

Goh groaned from ahead, choking on a laugh. “We’re literally about to die and you’re worried about your almonds?!”

Ash clenched his jaw. “Let it go, Chloe!”

“I can’t!” she shouted back, her voice raw from coughing, from fear. Goh felt bad as he heard how desperate her voice was. He thought she didn’t actually care about those stuff anymore, but just too scared to let go of Ash. Her fingers dug into his jacket like her life depended on it, because it did. The weight of her soaked backpack was pulling her lower, dragging both of them down with each surge of the current.

Goh felt Ash’s grip tighten on his arm. His knuckles ached from holding Deerling above water, but he could tell Ash was using him for leverage, anchoring himself just enough to keep them all afloat. He dared not move.

Ash shifted his other arm behind him, grabbing Chloe more securely beneath her shoulders. “I’m holding you,” he growled, loud over the river’s roar. “Now take it off.”

Chloe trembled, her hand still fisted in the fabric of his jacket. “B-but—”

“I won’t let you drown, Chloe.” His voice softened, just a little. “I promise.”

For a second, Chloe didn’t move. Then Eevee let out a tiny whimper. Its small paws splashed helplessly at the water, eyes wide with panic as it tried to keep its nose above the surface from the crook of her arm. That was enough for her. With a cry of frustration, Chloe twisted her shoulders and shrugged off the straps. The bag slipped free with a violent tug, sank immediately, and disappeared into the river’s dark current.

The second it was gone, she rose higher, her head fully above water, her weight no longer dragging them all down.

Ash exhaled a sharp breath. “Good.”

“Thanks,” Chloe coughed, spitting out river water.

Eevee clung to her tightly, shivering, but still safe.

Ash’s voice was still strained and breathless, but more composed. “Can you see anything?”

Goh turned his head, scanning the misty edges of the river, searching for anything solid, anything that resembled a way out. Then he saw it. Behind them, just past the bend where the fog had thinned a little, faint shapes were beginning to take form. There were white fur and a flicker of bright yellow.

“Cinderace,” Goh breathed.

“Pikachu,” Ash muttered, spotting the familiar electric-yellow dot waving frantically from the riverbank.

“Pika!” The Pokémon were calling to them, voices cutting through the air.

“Cinder!!” Cinderace bounced anxiously at the edge of the bank, pacing in tight circles, clearly preparing to jump into the water after them. Its eyes were locked on Goh, desperate.

“No!” Goh yelled, nearly choking on a mouthful of water. He raised his free arm, struggling to keep himself and Deerling above the surface. “Cinderace, don’t! Stay back!”

He knew Cinderace wanted to help, but it was too risky. The river was too fast. If it jumped in now, it might not be able to fight the current. Goh couldn’t lose it too.

He turned his body and tried to swim against the current, aiming for the shore. Every stroke burned. The weight of Deerling in his arm, the drag of the river, and the ache in his chest were too much to fight all at once. His body screamed for rest.

Then he felt Ash shift behind him.

“You okay if I let go?” Ash asked, his voice right by his ear, low but calm.

Goh’s heart pounded. He understood what Ash meant, he needed both arms to help push Chloe or swim faster himself. And Ash trusted Goh to keep himself afloat now. Goh swallowed hard because the real question was: did he really trust himself to manage that?

Goh gave a sharp, wet breath and nodded. “Y-yeah. I’ve got me.”

Ash nodded back. “Good. I’ve got her.”

The moment Ash let go, Goh shifted all his strength into his strokes. He clenched his jaw, kicked harder, and fought against the pull of the current. But it was getting harder, much harder.

His limbs were heavy, his backpack felt like it was made of stone, and his breath came in ragged gasps. His arms trembled each time they surfaced and cut through the water. He could barely keep himself up. He began, embarrassingly, to rely on Deerling’s tiny hooves, which were still paddling frantically against his chest. The little Pokémon was just as scared as he was. Its wide, frightened eyes locked onto his, ears flattened, nose twitching. He couldn’t let it go, but no matter how hard he swam, the bank never seemed to get closer. In fact, it looked farther away.

Ash and Chloe had managed to gain distance ahead, just enough that they were starting to drift out of Goh’s reach. Chloe still held Eevee tightly, and Ash was guiding them both with sharp, determined strokes. Cinderace and Pikachu were up on the bank now, smaller and smaller as the river pulled Goh the wrong way. And that was when Goh realized that something wasn’t right.

The current was faster and stronger here. He heard a sound of water hitting something. It wasn’t the splashing from their bodies or the churn of the current. This was bigger. He twisted his head back, seeing the river didn’t just curve. It ended, no banks, no trees, just water and dark sky. Goh swallowed and cluthed Deerling harder as he realized that they were floating toward a waterfall.

His voice came out strangled, panicked. “A-Ash… Ash!”

The sound barely carried over the pounding current, but it was enough. He heard Cinderace cry out from the other far side. Its voice was sharp and desperate, but Goh couldn’t look at it. His head was locked forward, eyes wide in terror, glued to the rushing edge of the waterfall where the water disappeared into empty sky. Ash twisted mid-stroke, looked back and froze. He saw how far behind Goh’d drifted. He saw the edge, just meters from where Goh was barely keeping himself and the Deerling afloat.

“No—” Ash cursed under his breath, adrenaline shooting through him like fire. “Goh!!”

Without hesitation, he turned sharply in the water and started swimming back. His arms cut through the river with furious speed, each stroke powerful and wild, fighting to close the gap.

“Hold on!” he shouted, though his own voice was hoarse. “I’m coming! Just hold on!”

But the river didn’t wait for him, and the edge was getting closer.

Chloe was still clinging to Ash, both of them caught in the same brutal current. She gasped, holding Eevee tightly against her chest, her legs kicking weakly beneath the surface.

Ash knew he had seconds. He couldn’t let go of Chloe, but also he needed to save Goh.

“Goh!” he shouted, eyes locked on his friend.

Goh was barely upright, struggling to keep Deerling above the surface, his own body slipping lower and lower. His hand was stretched toward them, fingers trembling, eyes wide with panic.

Ash reached out. Their hands were less than half a meter apart.

“Come on… come on!” Ash growled through clenched teeth, pushing himself forward, straining his arm out as far as it could go. The weight of Chloe behind him made it harder, her hand still clutching the back of his jacket, Eevee whimpering in her hold. She was going under too, being dragged with him, but Ash didn’t stop.

Then finally their fingertips brushed. Goh’s hand reached back, desperate and shaking. For a split second, Ash caught Goh’s fingers.

But the current surged. And in one awful, weightless moment, Ash, Goh, Chloe, Deerling, and Eevee plunged over the waterfall. The roar of the fall swallowed their screams into nothing but the sound of crashing water. The second they slipped past the edge, there was no resistance, just the sickening drop into open air. Goh’s hand tore free from Ash’s, his other lost grip on Deerling. For a breathless instant, he was weightless, suspended in the fall like a ragdoll. The wind howled past his ears. His stomach twisted violently as if it had been yanked into his throat.

Then faster than he could have imagined, the water hit him again. His body slammed into it, and in an instant, the river swallowed him whole. Cold wrapped around him dragging him deeper and deeper. He was sinking.

Goh tried to open his eyes, but all he saw was chaos. Everything was bubbles and motion and murky darkness. He didn’t know which way was up. He didn’t know where Ash was anymore. And worst of all, he couldn’t breathe. As he gasped on instinct, the water surged into his mouth, his nose, into his chest. His arms reached blindly, trying to find something to hold onto, but there was nothing but the water.

For a moment that his lungs screamed for help everything stopped.

Goh was no longer sinking, no longer flailing or choking or panicking. He was just… floating. Suspended in the cold silence, the water wrapping around him like a cocoon. Time felt frozen, as though the world above and below had paused to take a breath. And in that breath, memories rose like bubbles through the dark.

He saw Ash walking into the school cafeteria with that usual restless energy, tray in hand. Goh had been sitting alone, as always, head down, pretending not to care. But Ash didn’t ask anyone else. He walked straight to Goh’s table, smiled, and asked, “Can I sit here?”

Then came laughter during the endless adventures that they had shared. Early mornings and late nights, trekking through grasslands, documenting Pokémon, scribbling field notes with Scorbunny hopping after him while Ash wrestled with wild Pidgey or made friends with a Butterfree. He saw the summer camp. Chloe yelled something at Ash or maybe him, Goh couldn’t tell, the bright blue poster in her hands. And then… A warm night under a sky full of stars. Ash lying beside him, grinning up at constellations. Goh, nervous, talking too fast. Then silence. A breath held between them. And Ash leaning in, and giving him a little clumsy, but honest kiss.

But then, like cracks across glass, Holly’s face appeared in the place of those sweet memories. Goh could feel her too sweet but icy cold at the same time voice even though right now he couldn’t hear anything. The way she looked at him like he was something she needed to control. Her eyes… those awful eyes were always there everywhere he went. Then Lila’s scream struck into his brain like a lightning. Goh flinched as his mind tricked him to see the picture of the whole setting was collapsing. But turn out it fell into a piece of paper, floating like a feather. That note with no name, no proof, but he knew who it was from.

And now… the Deerling. The little creature’s wide, terrified eyes stared back at him like it understood something, like it knew he was broken but trusted him anyway.

Goh blinked, sluggish and slow. The world was thick, dark, and pressing in around him. He wanted to open his eyes fully, but it was too heavy. His body didn’t want to listen. His lungs screamed. His chest burned like fire. And in front of him, the image of Deerling began to fade into blackness.

Suddenly, something yanked him fast and violently upward. The sudden motion ripped him from the quiet stillness of the depths. The pressure shifted. His ears popped. Light flared behind his eyelids. His arms flailed by instinct. He broke the surface.

Cold air rushed into his chest as he gasped, choking and coughing, water spilling from his mouth and nose. His lungs convulsed, his whole body shuddered, but he was alive.

The world returned in sharp splashing sounds of the waterfall. Goh blinked rapidly, lashes soaked, vision blurry, but he saw motion and shapes in the haze.

“Breathe, Goh! Come on, breathe!” Ash’s voice was sharp, frantic.

Goh coughed hard, water pouring from his mouth and nose as his body heaved. His lungs burned with every breath, but at least they were working again. He gasped, choking on air, eyes fluttering open and shut.

“Is he okay?” Chloe’s voice came next.

Ash didn’t take his eyes off Goh. “Yeah… yeah, but he’s got way too much water in his head.”

Goh blinked, and this time the shapes sharpened. Ash was there, his face dripping, his chest heaving, but his eyes were focused, terrified, and relieved. He was holding Goh’s shoulders tightly, as if afraid he’d disappear again if he let go.

“Goh—” Ash said, voice shaking, “I thought you—”

But Goh interrupted, his voice barely a whisper. “…D-Deerling…”

Ash froze. “What?”

Goh coughed again, reaching weakly, his fingers brushing Ash’s soaked sleeve. “Deerling,” he said again, stronger this time. “Is it… okay?”

Ash froze, his grip still locked tight on Goh’s shoulders. “Are you kidding me?” he said, his voice breaking on the edge of a breath. It came out too tight, too sharp, laced with something Goh wasn’t sure he’d ever heard from Ash before.

Goh blinked up at him, dazed. “What…?”

Ash scoffed, half in disbelief, half like he was holding himself together by sheer will. “Are you serious right now?”

The sound of the river still echoed around them, but everything else had gone quiet.

“We were about to die, Goh!” Ash shouted, his voice raw. “I thought—I thought you were about to die! You went over a freakin’ waterfall! And the first thing out of your mouth is what? That Deerling? The Pokémon you’ve known for two minutes?!”

Goh flinched, his breath catching, not because Ash was yelling, but because of the way Ash looked at him. His eyes werr wide, red-rimmed and his whole body was still trembling like he hadn’t stopped swimming

It wasn’t just anger. It was fear. It was him scared out of his mind. Ash’s voice cracked as he continued, his words rushing out like a flood he’d held back for too long.

“I asked you if you were okay if I let you go and you said yes, Goh! You nodded!” He shook his head, water flicking from his soaked hair, eyes locked on Goh’s as if trying to find something that made this make sense. “And when I turned back,” his voice broke again. He clenched his jaw, hard, swallowing it down. “You were already being pulled toward the edge. I—I couldn’t reach you!”

Goh opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“I tried!” Ash shouted, fists clenching at his sides now. “I tried to swim back, I tried to grab you, I saw you fall and I couldn’t do anything!”

There was silence then, thick and ringing, except for the rush of the river and the heavy sound of their breathing. Ash’s chest rose and fell. His eyes shimmered, not with tears exactly, but with the kind of intensity that made Goh’s stomach twist.

And softer, quieter now, he said, “Don’t you get it, Goh? I thought I lost you. And all you cared about was a Deerling.”

Ash took a shaky breath, his mouth half open like he still had more to say, more to yell.

“I—I…” he started, voice barely audible.

Like a slap of cold realization hit him, his eyes flicked to behind Goh. Its endless waterfall still roared and then up, far up, to the distant cliff from where they’d fallen.

His face went pale. They were down here and the others weren’t.

“No…” Without another word, he stumbled to his feet, water sloshing around his legs as he staggered forward, past Goh, and Chloe, who was still holding Eevee tight, watching him with wide eyes.

Ash moved like he was in a trance like his body couldn’t keep up with the panic rising inside him. He waded through the shallows, stumbling once, then again, until he reached the edge of the pool where the waterfall sprayed cold mist into the air.

“Pikachu!” he yelled. His voice cracked louder and more desperate. “Pikachu!!”

But there was nothing. No reply. No echo of a cheerful cry. No little yellow figure peeking over the ledge or a white and red form.

And something in Ash broke. His shoulders slumped. His fists trembled at his sides, his head bowed as though he was trying to scream but couldn’t find the air. He looked utterly, painfully lost, and it hurt Goh’s heart more than anything.

Ash turned around slowly, his wet shoes squelching against the stones. His expression was tight, drawn somewhere between fury and disbelief, and maybe even exhaustion that ran bone deep. 

“If we survive this,” he said, lifting a finger and pointing it at Chloe, “you—you’re learning how to swim.”

Chloe blinked, about to protest, but wisely stayed silent.

“Properly. Not ‘float on your back and pray that you’d survive’ I mean swim.”

Then his eyes shifted to Goh.

“You,” Ash said, jabbing a finger toward him. “You are going to stop burying your face in those stupid notebooks for once and actually work out. Push ups, gym, something. Anything, I don’t even care what. You almost drowned, Goh, and I’m not going to drag your half conscious body out of water again!”

Goh looked more guilty than anything.

Then, Ash turned with the slow, dramatic weight of someone very done with everyone, and glared down at the small green Deerling.

“And you—” he growled, pointing at the Pokémon. “Stop panicking just because a single twig cracks! You almost killed us all!!”

The Deerling blinked once. Then tilted its head, ears twitching, and let out a soft “Deer?” as if confused it was even being addressed.

Ash groaned and wiped a hand down his face, mumbling, “I’m so done with today…” and turned away, dragging his hands through his wet hair.

Chloe hugged Eevee tighter against her chest, burying her face in her partner’s soaked fur. Eevee trembled slightly, but it didn’t resist. It just pressed back into her, quiet and warm in the fading cold.

Goh stayed still in the shallow water, his clothes clinging to his skin, heavy with weight that wasn’t just from the river. He watched as Ash waded to the edge of the stream where the current had thrown his backpack. Ash bent down, picked it up, wrung it out with a grunt, and slung it over one shoulder.

He didn’t even glance back at Goh.

Not once.

Goh’s fingers curled at his sides. He pressed his lips into a tight line, willing himself to hold it in, to keep it together, but the pressure behind his eyes was rising fast.

This time, it wasn’t the water stinging his vision. It was tears.

Chapter Text

Subject: A Study of Deerling Migration

Log #06

Location: Unknown riverbank

Date: 25th October

Time: 9:48 PM

Weather: Damp ground, no signal, windy, cold… too cold, approx 7°C

I think this might be the worst idea I’ve ever had. Maybe not the first time I’ve thought that, but it feels the most real right now.

Everything went wrong. The research is barely even on my mind anymore. I can’t focus on migration patterns or seasonal coat changes when our Pokémon are still out there. Cinderace and Pikachu… they’re somewhere up the river, probably pacing and scared. I keep thinking what if they’re looking down the cliff for us? What if they tried to jump? What if they don’t know we’re okay?

And me, what did I do? I ran without thinking. I dragged everyone with me into a mess we weren’t prepared for. I’m supposed to be smart, calculated. I had maps, backup plans, but none of that mattered when I wasn’t thinking straight. When I let instinct and fear take over.

I feel like the worst trainer in the world.

And worse, I think I might be the worst friend too.

Ash hasn’t said much since the waterfall. Not really. He talked earlier, shouted actually, but now it’s quiet. The kind of quiet that weighs on your shoulders.

He’s mad. I know he is.

Maybe not just at me. Maybe at the whole situation, at being separated from Pikachu… I know what that means to him. And I know what it would mean if he lost it because of this. Because of me. And I can’t help but think he’s regretting ever saying yes to this trip.

At first, Ash looked like he was ready to keep going, wanting to climb back up that cliff right then and there, like if he didn’t move, he’d explode. I could see it in him: he didn’t want to leave Pikachu alone for even a second. And I get it. I really do. Because I feel the same way about Cinderace. They’re not just Pokémon. They’re family.

But then I saw the moment he hesitated. He looked at us. Not in a big dramatic way, just… quietly. One by one. At Chloe, shivering, soaked, clutching Eevee who was curled up like a trembling fluffball in her arms. Then at me, mud still drying on my cheek, limping slightly from the fall. He didn’t even look at Deerling. (Actually, I don’t think he’s acknowledged the Deerling at all since he yelled at it.)

And I realized that he was weighing the options. Either go alone, trying to find a way back up and risking leaving us here in the cold, injured, barely making it through the night. Or stay here with us and hope that Pikachu and Cinderace would be okay without him for just a little longer.

And I think… I think he decided that Pikachu and Cinderace had a better chance surviving alone than me and Chloe did without him.

That’s a terrifying thing to realize. He chose to stay, to build the fire, to hand Chloe a pack of tissues, to sit down beside us with clenched fists and a quiet, angry expression that hasn’t left his face.

I don’t know if that’s kindness or guilt. But I do know one thing: if I wasn’t already feeling like the worst trainer and the worst friend, I do now.

—Goh

🍂🍂🍂

Goh lifted his eyes slowly from the pages of his notebook. The fire crackled weakly in front of them, casting shaky orange light against the trees and the soaked remnants of their clothes. The night was settling in deep and cold, and everything felt heavy with silence.

Chloe sat just a few feet away, knees pulled close to her chest, cradling Eevee protectively. She whispered softly to her Pokémon, trying to dry its fur with the corner of her sleeve. Her nose was pink from the cold, and she sniffled once from exhaustion and cold, and maybe a bit of everything else. Goh frowned slightly as he looked at her. Her coat was still soaked through, and her hair stuck in messy strands against her cheek. That much water sitting against her like that couldn’t be good. He made a mental note to ask Ash if they had anything dry left in the bag… if Ash still talked to him.

His eyes shifted. Ash was beside her, not saying a word. He poked halfheartedly at the fire with a long stick, eyes fixed on the flames like they might offer an answer he didn’t know how to ask.

Deerling had curled up near Goh’s feet, close to the warmth of the fire but not too close, its little body shaking every few minutes with the chill. It hadn’t wandered since the fall. Goh didn’t know if it was trust, fear, or shock keeping it still.

For now, surely they were safe, but the air was thick with things unsaid. And Goh felt like everything inside him was still underwater.

He unzipped his backpack slowly, the zipper catching a little from the damp fabric. He already knew there wasn’t much left in it, but something about checking made him feel a little less helpless, a little more in control. Inside, there were a few water warped papers from his research, a nearly empty water bottle, his soaked and probably useless for anything other than a tragic reminder of civilization wallet, his phone, which long since shut down from water damage, a few keys, a half full bottle of anti inflammatory medication from that summer camp incident that he didn’t want to talk about anymore, and one small bag of Pokémon snacks. That was it. He sighed, shoulders sinking slightly. He wasn’t sure what Ash had managed to keep dry in his bag, but the majority of their supplies, the spare clothes, the power bank, snacks, the emergency kits… all of that had been in Chloe’s bag. The same overstuffed backpack they had all teased her about earlier that morning. The same bag that now lay at the bottom of the river, likely miles away.

Goh took the Pokémon snacks and crawled slightly closer to Chloe, keeping his knees tucked beneath him.

“Eevee might be hungry,” he said, voice low.

Chloe looked up, blinking. She offered a tired smile, and reached out to take the bag, but before she could, Ash’s hand reached in and gently took it from Goh instead.

“I got it,” he muttered. He started to open the bag for Eevee, but then paused.

Deerling had perked its head up and was staring. Its eyes fixed on the snack bag like it wasn’t sure if it was allowed to be interested.

Ash hesitated. Then, without a word, he reached in and tossed a few pieces toward the Deerling. The little Pokémon sniffed the air, then cautiously stepped forward and nibbled the snacks with delicate bites. Ash passed the rest of the bag to Chloe.

Goh watched the Deerling as it nibbled cautiously at the snack pieces on the ground, ears flicking at every gust of wind. Its coat was still green, even though this low temperature. But right now, Goh didn’t have a heart to care about that. He hugged his knees closer and murmured, more to himself than to anyone else, “You know… it’s not its fault, right?”

Ash gave a subtle glance in his direction.

“It was just… scared,” Goh continued. His voice was quiet, tinged with exhaustion but gentle. “Like we were.”

The Deerling’s ears twitched again, but it didn’t look up. It kept eating, slower now, chewing thoughtfully.

Goh sighed. “It didn’t mean to run. It didn’t mean to drag us into this.” He gave a small, humorless smile. “It just… heard something and panicked. And I ran after it… like an idiot.”

Chloe looked over. “Actually, none of us knew what we were running from,” she said softly. “And… we all followed you blindly.”

Goh didn’t reply right away. He just stared at the Deerling, which had finished eating and was now curling back up, eyes half lidded in sleepiness.

He whispered, “Still… I should’ve known better.”

Ash scoffed softly, picking at a twig from the firewood. “Yeah,” he muttered, dryly. “We know it’s your fault.”

Goh’s head snapped up, startled.

But then Ash glanced over with the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. “Obviously.”

Chloe sighed. “Ash.”

“What? He admitted it himsef,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “He did drag us into the deeper woods, get us chased by wolves, thrown off a cliff, and nearly drowned us all. I feel like I’m being pretty generous here.”

Goh stared, caught somewhere between guilt and disbelief. “Thanks,” he said flatly.

Ash shrugged. “Anytime.” Then, he quietly added, “But… you also tried to protect us, including that skittish little thing.” He jerked his chin at sleeping Deerling.

Chloe mumbled, “Still. Next time, maybe don’t run into a river.”

Ash pointed at Goh with the stick. “Yeah. That part? Definitely your fault.”

But this time, Goh saw it clearly that Ash was smiling a little. He leaned back on his hands, the firelight flickering across his damp clothes and stubbornly messy hair. He looked over at Goh, eyebrows raised.

“I said stop, not jump, then boom! Almost died,” he said, voice laced with that classic Ketchum blend of sarcasm and exasperated affection.

Goh groaned, dropping his head into his arms. “I didn’t see the river, okay? It was foggy!”

Ash huffed. “Right. Foggy. So you just chased after a deer like some kind of cartoon woodland princess and launched yourself off a cliff.”

“I didn’t launch—” Goh began, but Ash cut him off with a wave of his hand.

“Nope. You jumped.” He pointed at him, unwavering. “You definitely jumped. I’m getting you glasses.”

“I don’t need glasses,” Goh grumbled into his sleeve.

“You need something. A tether. A leash. Binoculars. Chloe, what do you think?”

Chloe, who had finally coaxed Eevee to curl up and nap against her side, didn’t even look up. “I think you two need sleep. And therapy.”

Ash shrugged. “I’ll book both. Right after I drag him to an optometrist.”

“I heard that,” Goh muttered.

“Good,” Ash said. “Means your hearing still works.” He leaned forward again, reaching out to toss another twig into the fire. “Sight’s questionable though.”

Goh let out a long, dramatic groan and slumped back against his backpack, which wasn’t exactly soft but at least kept his head off the cold ground. “You’re making my head hurt.”

Ash rolled his eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t fall out of his skull. Slowly, deliberately, he turned just enough to glare at Goh out of the corner of his eye. The kind of look that said, Really? “You fell off a cliff,” Ash deadpanned. “I think your head already hurt before I got involved.”

Goh peeked over the edge of his sleeve. “Still hurts more when you talk.”

Ash grabbed a small pebble from beside his foot and flicked it, not hard, but just enough that it pinged off Goh’s shoe.

“OW—!” Goh sat up, only mildly offended. “What was that for?”

Ash didn’t even look at him. “Scientific research. Testing if whining makes people more durable.”

Chloe mumbled from her side of the fire, “Spoiler, it doesn’t.”

Ash nodded. “Noted.”

Goh exhaled through his nose, but a reluctant smile tugged at his lips. He didn’t say thank you. He didn’t need to. Ash already knew.

Suddenly, a sharp wind cut through the trees like a blade. The fire sputtered. Chloe instinctively wrapped her arms tighter around Eevee, pulling it close to her chest as her hair whipped across her face.

“Oh Arceus, why,” she muttered through clenched teeth, her voice muffled against Eevee’s fur.

Goh’s notebook, which had been lying just beside him, snapped open. The wind caught the pages, flipping them violently. His eyes widened. “No, no! Wait—!”

He scrambled up, trying to hold the cover shut, but it was too late. A few loose sheets; notes, data charts, even a badly sketched Deerling diagram, lifted into the air and fluttered off like startled Pidgey.

“Hey!” Goh shouted, diving after one as it tumbled toward the fire and narrowly swatting it away. A few more other pages drifted straight toward Ash and Chloe. Ash snatched them mid air, one of them landing neatly on Chloe’s lap.

Ash squinted down at the first one he caught, raising an eyebrow. “Hypothesis: Deerling may be exhibiting seasonal dissonance due to environmental trauma or delayed migratory cues…” He blinked. “…Did you seriously write an essay about a Deerling’s feelings?”

Chloe glanced at hers and snorted. “He drew a bar graph. With different shades of green for grass coverage.”

Goh lunged for the papers. “Give those back!”

Ash held his just out of reach with a teasing grin. “Do I get extra credit if I correct your spelling?”

“I was freezing when I wrote that!”

Chloe waved hers in the air like a fan. “Honestly, you need a hobby.”

Goh huffed, cheeks red. “It is my hobby!”

Ash smirked. “Nice, Professor. But next time? Binder clips.”

“Binder clips don’t float,” Goh muttered, trying to snatch the papers back.

Ash leaned closer with a grin. “Neither do you, apparently.” He tilted the papers in his hand, flipping through them with the same casual confidence he always had when poking fun at Goh. “Okay, what about this one?” he asked, teasing.

But then he stopped. His breath caught. A small, unmistakable gasp slipped out. Goh immediately stiffened. “What? What?! What did you see? Give me that!”

Ash’s ears were already flushing a faint pink, and he angled the page away just as Goh lunged forward. “Nope, too late,” Ash grinned, but his voice cracked a little.

Chloe leaned in. “Let me see… oh my gosh. You wrote ‘Ash’ and drew a little heart next to it?!”

Goh practically combusted. “Give it back!!! That’s from like, months ago! It was a test sheet. I-I mean—it’s—it’s—!”

Ash was already laughing, holding the page high above his head like it was a trophy. “Wow, I didn’t know I was part of your field data, Goh.”

“I will push you into the river again.”

“Bold of you to assume I’d fall for it twice,” Ash shot back, grinning from ear to ear.

He flipped to the next sheet with a chuckle. Only for a second, the expression on his face drained completely. This one wasn’t a graph or a cute doodle or even embarrassing romantic notes. It was that note.Ash’s eyes froze on the hastily scribbled words, written in ink that cut across the paper like a threat:

You won’t be lucky next time! Pathetic!

Chloe leaned in again to peek, her smile fading instantly. “Wait… what is that?”

Ash didn’t answer right away. He just stared at it. His hand lowered slightly.

Goh went pale. “Give me that. Now.”

“What is that?” he asked, his voice low.

Goh didn’t look at either of them. “It’s nothing. Just old… stuff.”

“Did you…” he began slowly, his eyes flicking up to Goh’s face. “Did you write that?”

There was no accusation in his voice, just confusion. Hurt, even, as if the idea had crossed his mind, but he was hoping it wasn’t true.

Before Goh could even open his mouth, Chloe cut in. “Doesn’t look like his handwriting,” she said firmly, her gaze flicking between the two of them.

Goh shook his head, but it wasn’t really a response. It was more like a reflex. He didn’t know what to do or what to say. The only thing his brain screamed at him was to get it back. And he did. Without thinking, he lurched forward, practically throwing himself onto Ash. Ash barely had time to lean back as Goh snatched the crumpled note and the rest of the sheets from his hands with fingers that shook more than he wanted them to. He almost sat on Ash in the scramble, but neither of them moved or joked about it this time. Ash blinked in surprise, letting him take the secret back.

Goh clutched the note to his chest like it might disappear, like if he could just hide it fast enough, none of this would’ve happened. But it had. It was out. And they both saw it.

Ash stared at him, voice softer now. “Goh… who gave that to you?”

Goh’s hands due moved frantically as he stuffed all the papers back into his notebook. He didn’t check which page went where. Graphs, sketches, and unfinished thoughts, all jammed between the covers like he could hide the truth if he just closed it fast enough. He hugged the notebook to his chest and kept his eyes fixed on the ground. “It’s nothing,” he muttered.

Ash’s brows pulled together, confused and concerned. “But—” he started, voice cracking a little, “but where did you get it?”

Goh’s heart was pounding. He couldn’t think. His brain felt like static, too many thoughts crashing all at once. He needed an answer, something fast, something to make them stop looking at him like that.

So he said the worst thing he could’ve said. “I… I found it.”

Chloe blinked. “You what?”

Ash’s mouth opened slightly, as if waiting for an explanation that didn’t come. Goh stayed silent. His fingers dug into the notebook’s cover.

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “What does that even mean, Goh? Found it where? Who was it for?”

“I don’t know!” he snapped suddenly, louder than he meant to. His voice trembled. “I just… it’s not important!”

But even as he said it, the note burned in his hands. He knew it was a lie. They knew it too.

Chloe’s voice was quiet, but firm. “It doesn’t look like it’s not important, you know?”

Goh didn’t answer. He kept his eyes locked on the fire, its flickering light reflecting in his tense expression. His jaw was clenched, too tight, like he was holding back more than just words. But he still felt their eyes. Ash’s worried gaze, Chloe’s sharp one, even Eevee, curled against Chloe, was staring. And Deerling, gentle and still, was watching too. It was unbearable like the weight of all of them was pressing into his back.

“I said it’s nothing,” Goh muttered. “Just… just forget about it.”

Ash’s voice came next, softer but laced with concern. “Goh… is someone trying to hurt you?”

Goh didn’t flinch, but he stiffened.

Chloe’s voice followed right after, quicker. “It’s from school, isn’t it?”

Each question felt like a stone hurled straight into his spine.

“Or…” Chloe hesitated then said it anyway. “Did Riley bully you again?”

“I said it’s nothing!” Goh shouted. His voice cracked through the night like a whip, cutting through the fire’s steady crackle and making even the Pokémon flinch. Chloe stopped talking immediately, blinking in shock. Ash’s eyes widened.

Goh’s chest heaved as the echoes of his outburst faded. His hands were shaking again. His whole body trembled like he did something very wrong, and somehow maybe he did.

He didn’t look at them. He couldn’t. Because if he did, he was afraid something inside him might finally break.

“I-it’s really nothing, okay?” Goh stammered, voice lower now, but still raw from the outburst. “Just a stupid message from… I don’t know. Someone. T-they might’ve meant to slip it into someone else’s locker.”

He tried to sound convincing, tried to keep his face neutral, like it was just an awkward misunderstanding, nothing serious. But his voice told otherwise.

Ash was quiet for a second. Then, gently he asked, “Then why are you keeping it?”

That stopped Goh cold. His throat tightened. The words caught somewhere between his heart and mouth, refusing to come out. His fingers curled tighter around the notebook, like it could shield him from the obvious. Because he didn’t have an answer that would make them stop worrying. Because the truth was already there, sitting heavy in the air. He kept it because he knew. He knew it was meant for him. Because the writing may have been anonymous, but the message was all too familiar. That bitterness. That venom. That targeted cruelty. The kind he’d read between the lines of whispers in the hallway, the kind that showed up in glares and cold shoulders. He wasn’t imagining it. And deep down, he didn’t need proof.

Ash shifted, the gravel beneath him crunching softly as he moved closer. The firelight caught the side of his face, flickering shadows dancing across his jaw.

“Goh,” he said, quiet but steady. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Goh bit down hard on his bottom lip, so hard it stung. His eyes stayed fixed on the flame, but even the fire was beginning to blur. He blinked fast. No way he’d let himself cry now.

Even as Ash waited, even as Chloe sat stiff and silent beside Eevee, clearly trying not to push further, the weight of the unspoken stretched between them like string drawn too tight. Ash waited longer than anyone else would have, and, finally, he let out a long, slow, tired sigh. “Can you just… tell us what’s wrong?”

That was what did it. Not the words themselves, but the sigh tucked inside them that hit Goh like a soft punch to the chest. The resigned, quiet sound and a breath that carried everything Ash wasn’t saying out loud, was the feeling that maybe, maybe, Ash was starting to give up on him, tired of the guessing, the half truths, the walls, tired of waiting for Goh to open up when he never did, when he couldn’t.

Ash sighed… at him.

And for some reason, that broke his heart a little. And somehow, that sigh made it all harder to speak.

Goh’s heart beat so fast it felt like it was trying to crawl up his throat, but the words still wouldn’t come. He didn’t know where to begin, how to explain, or what to say that wouldn’t sound stupid once it left his mouth. How could he explain the way the note felt like a shadow hanging over him, the way it echoed thoughts he already had late at night, the way it proved that someone out there wanted him to break?

So he said nothing and that silence stretched too long.

Ash’s voice came again, a little sharper this time. “I don’t get it. Why can’t you just tell us?”

Goh startled by the shift in Ash’s tone. There was frustration now.  “What?” His head jerking slightly toward Ash.

Ash looked at him, eyes still warm, but dimmer now. He wasn’t trying to hurt Goh. That was clear, but it was honest.

Chloe’s voice broke the tension, soft and careful. “Do you even know who sent you this?”

Goh turned his head toward her, blinking like he’d forgotten she was still there. He didn’t answer. But Ash had already moved. He shifted closer, eyes serious now, not playful, not gentle. “Let me see it again.”

Goh’s whole body stiffened. “What? No!” His voice cracked, high and panicked. He clutched the notebook tighter.

Ash didn’t back down. “This isn’t nothing, Goh. And you know it. If it really was, you wouldn’t be hiding it like this.”

He reached for the notebook again.

“No, don’t!” Goh jerked back, his breath catching. His heart was racing. “Ash, stop!”

But Ash didn’t. “Goh—”

“Stop!” Goh shouted, loud and sudden, his voice ringing across the small clearing. The word echoed and hung in the cold night air. “It’s none of your business, okay?!” Goh snapped, his chest heaving, the notebook shaking in his hands. His eyes were wide as he looked from Ash to Chloe. “Just… just leave it alone.”

Ash pulled his hand back slowly. His lips pressed together, tight with the weight of everything he wanted to say, but didn’t. Chloe didn’t say a word either.

Ash sat back a little, his eyes lingering on Goh for a moment longer before he whispered, “Yeah. Right.”

The words weren’t loud. They weren’t cruel, but they hit harder than if he’d yelled. They landed soft, tired, and disappointed… and somehow that was worse.

Goh looked down. He felt the creeping sting behind his ribs, guilt, but not the kind that broke dam walls or opened locked doors. It was just enough to make him feel small. He knew they cared. He knew he was pushing them away. And he hated it. But even with all that, something inside him stayed frozen. Chloe glancing between him and Ash, her gaze bouncing like a silent ping pong match, trying to decide if she should step in.

Ash hadn’t said another word since. He just sat there, picking at the fire with a stick. Then, suddenly, he threw the stick to the ground. The dry wood clattered against a rock, making everyone flinch.

“Of course it’s my business!” Ash barked, his voice cracking not with anger, but with something deeper, too close to hurt “Everything about you is my business!”

Goh’s head snapped up. He stared at Ash, eyes wide.

“When you’re happy, when you’re upset, when you keep things locked up so tight you feel like you’re gonna explode, that is my business,” Ash said, his voice shaking now. “You don’t get to shut me out and pretend it doesn’t matter. Because it does. To me.”

The fire snapped again. Chloe lowered her head, hugging Eevee a little closer. Goh opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Because what could he say to that? Ash wasn’t yelling just to yell. He wasn’t mad just because of a note. He was mad because he cared and Goh… hadn’t let him in. And somehow, that hurt more than any insult could.

Ash scoffed and looked away, shoulders tense as he raked a hand through his still damp hair. The fire cast a soft orange hue across his face, but it couldn’t hide the way his expression twisted in disappointment and hurt. “I…” His voice faltered before he found it again. “I thought we passed this, Goh.”

Goh blinked, heart thudding. He hadn’t expected that.

Ash shook his head, letting out a breath that trembled more than it should have. “It’s just… how many times do we need to tell you that you can talk to us? That you can tell us anything. That we’re here to help.” He looked down at his hands then, finally, back at Goh. “I mean… not me, fine, I get it,” he muttered, quieter now. “But not even Chloe?”

Chloe shifted slightly, her hand stroking Eevee’s fur, but her eyes stayed softly but seriously on Goh. He felt something in his chest pull taut, like a thread about to snap. He knew they were right, knew how much they had tried, knew this wasn’t just about the note anymore. It was about trust, and right now, he’d made them feel like they didn’t have his.And that hurt him, too. More than he could say.

Ash’s fingers curled at the nape of his neck like he needed to hold himself together. “I…” He paused, exhaling through his nose. “I thought you’d changed.”

Goh looked up, startled. But Ash wasn’t finished.

“Since the camp,” he said, the words tumbling out now, “the clubs, and everything we went through. I thought,” he shook his head. “I thought you trusted me… us now.” Ash continued,“And just like minutes ago, Goh,” he said, “You were about to die, and you didn’t even think of telling me that you couldn’t swim anymore.”

Goh opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Ash blinked, voice cracking ever so slightly. “Why?”

The question wasn’t said with anger. It wasn’t a demand. It was a plea. And Goh suddenly realized how much it hurt Ash to be kept out, to be shut out again, like at camp. After everything, after all the times they’d said, they were here. And still… he hadn’t let them in.

His fingers brushed over the edge of his notebook, trembling slightly as he opened it. He flipped past damp, wrinkled pages until he found the one where the note had been wedged in, still crinkled and stained at the corner. A single teardrop hit the paper before he even realized he was crying.

“I… I f-found it in my locker,” he whispered. “Before we went home that day, after the play. I didn’t know who it was from but…”

He swallowed hard. His voice cracked.

“After we went to the dressing room, Chloe and I—we…”

Chloe’s eyes widened, and Goh saw it. That exact second she connected the dots.

“No…” she breathed, almost to herself. “No…”

Goh bit down on his lower lip and gave the smallest, most exhausted nod.

Ash glanced between them, confused, frustration starting to bubble again. “What?” he asked. “What is it? What are you talking about?”

Chloe waited a second, giving Goh space to finish it, but when he didn’t, she took a quiet breath and spoke.

“You remember when I forgot my phone?” she said softly. “When Goh and I went back to the dressing room to get it?”

Ash frowned, slowly nodding, “I guess.”

Chloe glanced at Goh once, then back at Ash. “We… accidentally found some screws and a little tool in Holly’s makeup kit. The kind of stuff that could sabotage the set.”

Ash’s lips parted. “No,” he said under his breath, like he was trying to deny it before it settled in.

Chloe nodded. “So…” she said, her voice flat now, serious. “He thinks maybe the note is… also from her.”

Ash didn’t say anything. He just sat there, looking between Chloe’s grim expression and Goh’s tear eyes. And then the fire crackled again, the only sound for a moment. Ash shot to his feet. He couldn’t sit still anymore. His fists clenched at his sides, his voice rising despite the cold air and the hush of the forest around them. “You guys are unbelievable!”

Chloe flinched, and Goh’s eyes widened.

Ash turned to Chloe first, his expression hard. “How could you not tell me about the set? You should’ve told Ms. Hawthorn! That’s not a little thing, Chloe, someone got seriously hurt from that!”

Chloe didn’t respond. Her gaze lowered, jaw tightened, but didn’t look away.

Then Ash turned on Goh. His eyes were burning now, not with anger, but something closer to desperation.

“And you!” he said, his voice cracking. “You shouldn’t keep something like this to yourself, Goh! She—Holly—she tried—” he stammered, “no—has tried or is trying, I don’t even know anymore! She tries to hurt you!”

Goh’s throat worked silently. He couldn’t breathe.

Ash’s voice dropped lower, but it was more intense than ever. “And you know what? She’s right.” He pointed toward the notebook still clutched in Goh’s lap. “She said you were lucky,” Ash said, jaw tight. “And you were. Because if that set had fallen a second earlier, if it was aimed just a little differently, then Lila wouldn’t be the one with the broken leg. You would!”

Goh felt the blood drain from his face. Chloe inhaled sharply beside him.

Ash’s voice broke on the last word. He turned away abruptly, running both hands through his hair, pacing two steps before stopping back to them now. “Do you even get how close that was?” he asked, not turning around. “Because I do. And I thought you knew we had your back. I thought we didn’t have to go through this alone again.”

Goh’s heart pounded in his ears. The words hit like a blow, but what hurt more wasn’t the anger, it was the truth behind it. Ash was right, about all of it. And Goh hated that he was.

He shot up to his feet, fists trembling at his sides. “I know, okay?!” he shouted, voice cracking as he stared at Ash’s back. “I know!” His breath hitched. “You don’t have to remind me every second that it could’ve been me! I know that! I know every time I see Lila walk with a limp, every time Holly looks at me like I don’t belong in any club or—or anywhere!”

He could barely see, eyes burning.

“I just—! I just—!” The sentence caught. The pressure in his chest clenched too tight. “I didn’t want to say anything because every time I try to ask for help I end up feeling like it was my fault for needing it in the first place!”

He bit his lip hard, eyes stinging.

“I thought if I just ignored it, if I just focused on the research, or my own life, or anything that maybe it would go away. Maybe I’d stop being the one she targets. Maybe I could just be… normal.”

The wind howled quietly in the background, and Goh’s voice came softer now.

“But no matter what I do… it keeps coming back.”

He looked at Ash then, tears streaking his face.

“And I was scared. I still am.”

Goh scrubbed desperately at his face with his sleeve, like he could wipe away more than just the tears. His cheeks were red, not just from the cold, but from the humiliation of it all, of breaking down in front of them, of letting everything spill out like that.

He turned his face away, ashamed. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you,” he whispered. His voice frayed around the edges. “I just… I thought if I pretended it didn’t happen, she would finally leave me alone.”

Ash let out a short, humorless snort. “For someone as smart as you… sometimes you don’t make any sense.”

Goh didn’t look up.

Ash’s voice softened sounded more vulnerable. “You know I was scared too, right?”

That made Goh glance over, eyes still wet, lips parted in surprise.

“I was scared when you fell.” Ash’s gaze was steady now. “When you got hurt. When you buried yourself in all that research that you didn’t even care about. When I thought I’d lost you.”

Goh’s throat closed again.

“But I was more scared of this,” Ash went on. “Of you not trusting me enough to let me in.” His voice broke slightly on the word in, and he took a step closer. “I almost lost you today. Again.” Ash looked directly at him now, the fire reflecting in his eyes, making them burn gold. “And the worst part is… I didn’t even know what I was fighting for. Because I feel like you don’t trust me enough to let me be the one to help you.”

Goh was speechless because there were no words that could undo the way he’d shut them out, how long he’d convinced himself it was better that way.

Ash’s shoulders rose and fell with a heavy breath. He looked at Goh for a long, quiet moment. His eyes were still shining, jaw clenched as if holding back more words he couldn’t bear to say, then he broke the gaze and turned.

“I need a walk,” he muttered. He didn’t wait for a reply. Just stepped over a fallen branch and walked into the trees, the firelight casting long shadows behind him before swallowing him up entirely.

Goh stood frozen, watching Ash disappear into the dark. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it would shake him apart.

Chloe watched the shadows where Ash had disappeared, her brows drawn tight. “He’s…” she started, then sighed. “He’s probably just stressed. Everything’s a mess. We’re wet, freezing, lost in the middle of nowhere, and Pikachu and Cunderace are still not with us. It’s not just about you, you know. It’s…”

She turned back to Goh and her voice cut off. His notebook had slipped from his hands and lay forgotten on the ground. Goh stood completely still, shoulders hunched, his eyes wide but unfocused like he wasn’t really seeing her at all. His lips were parted, but he wasn’t breathing through them. He was just standing there… just lost.

Chloe’s face softened. She took a breath, got up, crossed the space between them, and gently reached for his arm.

“Come here.” Her voice was firm but warm. And when Goh didn’t move, she pulled him into a hug herself. She gave him the kind of hug you give someone not just to comfort them, but to remind them: you were still here and he was not alone. The moment her arms wrapped around him, Goh’s body gave out. His knees buckled slightly, and Chloe held him tighter, adjusting her footing so they wouldn’t both collapse. He didn’t sob at first. He just let out this broken, shaky breath that sounded more like a gasp, then as came the trembling, and the first whimper, and finally everything crashed.

He buried his face in her shoulder and shook, silent tears soaking into the fabric of her coat. His hands fisted at her back, clinging like a child afraid of being left behind.

Chloe didn’t shush him. She just held him through it, one hand cradling the back of his head, the other pressed firmly against his spine. Near the fire, the deerling shifted, ears flicking, and snuggled deeper into Goh’s bag, sensing the gravity in the air. And in the quiet of the forest, with only the wind moving the trees and the flames crackling low, Goh finally let himself be held vulnerably, the way he hadn’t since the note was found.