It was a familiar place to him. He'd visited on more than one occasion himself. The Cerise household was a wooden structure with two stories and a storage shed in the back from before the Professor had the dedicated storage space in the new Research Lab to store all his materials. Goh himself remembered going through all those containers for books containing all sorts of interesting Pokémon facts with Chloe at his side, but the home was no slouch, either. Compared to the Lab it was quite small, but compared to Goh's family's apartment, it was a lavish mansion.
He still remembered his early trips here, excited to see the Pokémon that lived in Chloe's house. Yamper took some time to warm up to him, but eventually the pup would play just as well with Goh as he would Chloe herself.
It was with memories like this that Goh tried to distract himself from the pain he was now in. The adrenaline of the fight with Felix now drained out of him, he felt battered and bruised with a consistent throbbing in the back of his head where it had met the sidewalk. But despite looking like he had been trampled by every Pokémon that lived in Cerise Park, he knew that he had to tell Chloe what had just transpired.
And given that she wasn't answering texts nor phone calls, Goh was forced to head to the Cerise home on foot, since he also wasn't familiar with the bus routes from Felix's home. He was given his share of strange looks, but teens getting into fights like that wasn't the most uncommon thing in the world, so he was given a wide berth as he walked.
If there was something that felt off, it was that he was doing all this walking alone, with neither Ash for conversation nor Grookey for companionship. Hopefully the chimp was still following Goh's request and keeping Chloe company.
He walked up the steps and knocked on the door, waiting for it to be answered, hoping it was his friend who turned the knob.
Staring back at him as she opened the door was Chloe's mother. Her jade-colored eyes widened in surprise from behind her glasses as she took in Goh's appearance. "G-Goh…? What are you doing here?"
"Hey," he said, giving as polite a welcome as he could, given the circumstances. "Chloe's here, right? May I speak with her?"
Chloe's mother looked at Goh, grimacing. She turned to shout up the stairs before thinking better of it and turning back. "Goh, are you sure you should be here and not getting all of…" She gestured to his entire body. "All of that looked at?"
He still had the lingering taste of his own blood in his mouth, but from what he could tell, most of the cuts had since crusted over, so he wasn't actively bleeding onto the ground in front of her. So he shook his head no, saying "I just wanted to tell her that she can call off the favor she's been doing for me, that's all."
"That's all…?" she asked. "You came all this way, looking like that, just to say this? Why didn't you just call or text her?"
Goh chuckled darkly, though if there was anyone he was irritated with, it was himself. "I tried," he said, taking out his phone from his pocket. "But since she never responded, I just had to be sure that the message got to her somehow."
"When she got home, she seemed pretty upset," her mother continued. "I tried to ask, but she just slammed the door in my face… That's probably why she wasn't answering you, but I guess I wasn't that different when I was a teenager..."
"That's… probably my fault, too," Goh admitted. "But as long as she knows, then that's all I need. Thank you, Mrs. Cerise, and have a good evening."
He gave her a half-hearted wave and turned on his feet to leave.
"Wait a moment!" she called. "Let me go try and talk to Chloe one more time, okay? If you came all this way… it's the least we can do, right?"
He gave her as gentle a smile as he could manage while looking as beaten up as he did. "Thank you."
She closed the door and Goh waited. Since the buildings in this area weren't as tall, there was still a good deal of evening sunlight pouring down over the front of the Cerise home, and Goh was left alone with his thoughts.
He had come here to tell Chloe that she didn't have to go see Felix again, and that he had abandoned trying to get his hands on the map in the end. He had texted her as such, and left the message in her voice mail. It felt pathetic to do so, but Goh had discarded his pride hours ago at this point, so making sure he could tell her this was what he set his mind to.
He was sure Chloe wouldn't want to see him, anyway. Their previous discussion had ended in a complete breakdown, where she had turned her back on him, and he couldn't give voice to his thoughts. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure Chloe would ever want to see him again after this. This entire endeavor had been one foolish decision after another on his part, and if it culminated in his longest-held friendship splintering and him getting beaten up in a street fight, then it would just be the arc of the universe curving towards justice.
It was a lonely existence, one Chloe had helped alleviate, but he could go back to it. At least he still had Ash and his Pokémon, his rational mind chimed in.
But there was still something in him that felt like it would be broken for good if Chloe completely abandoned him, no matter how much he felt like he deserved it. And it was that part that pushed him to make one last plea to see her, if only to communicate that short message.
The door opened again, and Goh's heart thudded in his chest for a moment until he saw Mrs. Cerise and her downcast expression.
"...she still said no, huh?" Goh guessed, filling in the blanks on his own.
"Sorry, Goh," she said. "She wouldn't even let me get a word in. As soon as I started talking, she just shut me out."
Goh felt that small part of him that held onto hope get itself snuffed out in that moment, but he put a brave face on. "That's okay. Maybe she'll change her mind later. Thank you anyway."
He gave her a wave and turned to leave. Mrs. Cerise closed the door behind him.
He sighed, slumped his shoulders, and began the long walk to his next destination.
As he stepped down the stairs and into the yard, before turning to leave the property entirely, the front door to the home was flung open. Goh turned back and saw Grookey leaping from the door to the wooden railing and then to his shoulder. The chimp Pokémon threw his small arms around Goh, sobbing fitfully at his return.
Goh smiled softly and scratched Grookey's back. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm okay. Don't cry, Grookey."
"Grooki… G-Grooki…!"
Goh's gentle voice soothed Grookey quickly, but he was still teary eyed as he rubbed his face against Goh's. Even if Chloe was done with him, Goh felt like he'd be alright as long as Grookey and the rest of his Pokémon were with him.
"...Goh."
His breath caught in his chest, and he turned to see Chloe standing there, still dressed in her school uniform. Her face was filled with indignation, but as soon as Goh's current physical state was apparent, he saw her hard, emerald eyes soften with concern.
Without a word, she darted back into the house, leaving the door open. Behind her, Goh saw Eevee and Yamper chasing her down the halls.
He sat down in the soft grass in front of her home, and he waited.
A few moments later, Chloe was walking back out the door, closing it behind her this time as she approached Goh in the grass. In her hands, she was carrying her family's first aid kit. Eevee and Yamper followed her out into the yard as well, both smiling vacantly, ignorant of Chloe's current mood.
She kneeled down next to him and threw the kit open. "Of all the stupid, irresponsible, bone-headed, dim-witted things you could have possibly done…" she muttered under her breath as she began looking for the topical antiseptic.
From this close distance, he could see that her eyes were tinged red. He felt his heart break again.
She had been crying.
"I know," he said, reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out a blue handkerchief and held it up to Chloe, who stared at it for only a moment as her cheeks reddened in the evening light before she snatched it out of his hands. As he did, Grookey hopped off his shoulder and joined Yamper and Eevee in playing in the yard.
"I'd ask what you were thinking, but knowing you I doubt a single thought entered that head of yours," Chloe said as she applied the antiseptic to her own handkerchief. She began rubbing the dirt, dust, and blood off of Goh's head, rubbing his face with one hand while pressing her hand against the back of his head with another to apply the most pressure she could.
When she stopped to look at his cleaned-yet-still-swollen face, she looked at her other hand as well and saw a red stain on her palm. "Goh, what in the world happened to you?!" she exclaimed, applying more antiseptic to a part of the handkerchief that was still clean before taking it to the back of his head.
He hissed at the contact, but he did his best to explain. "I went to see Felix after I left," he said. "I had to do something, so I confronted him about Argent."
Chloe sighed, rifling through the kit for the cold compress, squeezing it in the point to activate the chemicals that made it turn ice cold in just an instant before pressing it to the back of Goh's head, which elicited a different hiss from him. "And I guess he beat you up for it?"
Goh chuckled as Chloe pressed a different cold compress to his face, to try to ease the swelling there as well. "Well, I may have punched him first," he chuckled. "But the guy was asking for it. He talked about Argent - about all Pokémon - like they were just ways to make money. I couldn't let that stand, and he didn't have Pokémon to battle, so I just clobbered him."
There was a certain braggadocio to Goh's words, but Chloe just sighed. "Always with the recklessly big gestures when walking away would have been just fine," she sighed. Using medical tape, she attached the compress to the side of Goh's face and handed him another one. "Unless you want tape in your hair, you have to hold this one to keep the swelling down," she said.
"Got it," he replied, taking it and holding it to his head without complaint. "Sorry for making you go through all this trouble."
"...I got a weird feeling about him, too," Chloe said. "He didn't want me to bring Eevee with me, and whenever the topic turned to Pokémon, he would quickly change it. I guess he knows on some level that not caring about Pokémon isn't a good look, so he tries to downplay it whenever he can. He probably just felt like he had no reason to hide his true nature from you anymore."
"I guess he felt untouchable," Goh said. "One might even call it arrogance." That he was trying to crack jokes even in this state, was a clear sign to himself that he was feeling better. He continued explaining the situation. "He wouldn't reconsider his actions by me talking to him, and it's not like I can have a Pokémon battle with a guy with no Pokémon."
"Please say you didn't bring out Cinderace and Inteleon to beat him up…"
"Do I really seem like that kind of guy?" he joked.
Chloe sighed. "Well, at least you're not seriously beat up. Just a bit scuffed up. But I guess having two dorks get into a slap fight with each other doesn't result in much actual damage."
Her sarcasm cut through the machismo he was attempting to enjoy, but Chloe always had a way of disarming him when he was feeling overconfident in himself. In a way, he thought that if she had been with him when he had first set his eyes on the map and got overwhelmed by his own greed, she'd have been able to dissuade him and he would have never ended up in this situation to begin with.
So he had no choice but to agree. "Yeah… I guess I'm lucky, huh?"
At the very least, he was thankful they were on speaking terms again.
"More than a little," she said, finally closing up the first aid kit. "Well.. you're patched up, and I guess the message you wanted to deliver is here. You're definitely not getting that map after this, so there's no reason for me to play nice with Felix anymore. What now?"
Goh nodded to himself. "Actually, there was one other thing I got out of fighting him. I finally realized what my answer was."
She blinked, curiously at him. "You realized your answer…? You mean…?"
He nodded. "You asked me what you meant to me. What you are to me. And in that moment of frustration with Felix, I realized there's only one answer I can say that makes sense."
Chloe's breath caught in her chest, and she looked at Goh with wide eyes. "Y-yes…?"
He got up onto his knees and turned to her, putting his arms around her, holding her closely. "The reason I stood there stunned on the steps," he whispered, "was that when I had to consider everything you are to me, I couldn't decide what was the most important. But now I know. There are certain things that you just can't put into words. And that's what you are to me. Something that I can't describe with words alone."
He felt Chloe tense up at his words, but when he finished, she relaxed and put her arms around him, holding him closely as well.
"I think an answer like that gets passing marks," she said, her voice calm and gentle.
"I'm sorry, Chloe."
"Apology accepted. Welcome back, Goh."
Goh released her and sat back down, and the two of them sat bashfully next to each other for a moment.
"So what now?" Chloe finally asked.
"Well…" Goh said, "Now I'm going to go check on Argent again. Which, if I had any sense, I would be there right now anyway to make sure he's alright."
Chloe smiled at that answer, her eyes seeming to sparkle in the dim evening light.
"Would you mind if I came with you?" she asked. "I'd like to see Argent for myself."
Goh chuckled, and stood, offering her a hand to pull herself to her feet. He had no reason to deny her request, after all. After a quick chat with Chloe's mother, she and Goh departed the Cerise house and headed for the Pokémon Center.
When Goh and Chloe entered the Pokémon Center, they found someone waiting for them. His eyes went wide at the sight of Goh's bandaged up face, as did his partner's.
"Goh, what happened?" Ash asked, approached quickly from where he had been seated in the lobby.
"It's a long story," he said, chuckling to himself. Grookey sighed, still looking worried on Goh's shoulder. No amount of plant-revitalizing drumming was going to make Goh's bruises fade faster.
"Yeah," Chloe snarked, "he accidentally fell down on somebody's fists." Meanwhile, her Eevee bore a somewhat blank expression that Goh always found mysterious, though in truth it was likely that she was simply smiling because she didn't understand what was going on.
Ash raised an eyebrow. "How do you do that?"
Goh sighed at how literally he was taking it. "She means I got in a fight and we beat each other up."
It was, at least, somewhat funny how Chloe had successfully gone from fussing over his injuries to now making light of the fact he had gotten beat up, but if Goh had said he was surprised by how quickly she was turning this around on him, he'd be lying. This was simply how the two of them would deal with situations like this. If Chloe had failed a test at school, he'd be poking fun at her failure by making references to it himself.
After he did make sure she was feeling alright, of course.
Ash gasped at the admission. "Wait, who was it? You're alright now, right?"
Goh nodded. "Yeah, Chloe patched me up pretty good," he said, giving his best confident smile. "I might be bruised up, but it's nothing to really worry about."
"That's good," Ash said. "But we definitely gotta pay that guy back."
Goh chuckled. "Well… we might not have to worry about that, either. I'm pretty sure I gave worse than I got."
Ash slapped Goh on the back. "Awesome! I knew you wouldn't take that lying down!" he said.
Of course, Ash would be the one to encourage Goh to get into fistfights. Even Pikachu seemed exasperated by this, sighing and hanging his head.
But there was a reason Goh and Chloe had come this late. The sky was already mostly dark, and street lights were on outside. "How's Argent doing?" Goh asked.
Ash's exaggerated expression faded and a more serious, experienced look took it's place. "Nurse Joy's been takin' care of him, but she left a while ago and I haven't heard anything since. He woke up and ate, but that's basically all I heard while she was leavin'. But they say 'no news is good news', right?"
Goh exhaled, letting another worry slip off his back. "Yeah, they do. We should go see how he's doing, though, before we head back to the lab."
Standing at the front counter of the Pokémon Center was Chansey, Nurse Joy's assistant. She seemed to be using her arms to type things into the computer as they approached. She caught sight of the three approaching trainers in her periphery and pushed the keyboard aside. "Chansey?"
"Hey, Chansey, is it okay if we go back and check on Argent?" Goh asked.
Chansey blinked at him and seemed to consider it for a moment or two before nodding. "Chansey," she replied, stepping out from behind the counter. "Chansey chansey!" She waved an arm at them to indicate that they should follow her.
Once they arrived back in the room where Argent had been taken earlier, Goh took a moment to take a closer look at the silver-furred Pokémon. The soft boiled egg that Chansey had brought in earlier in the day was entirely gone, and he was now gently lapping up the milk. The room itself was dark, other than the gentle light over Argent himself, probably to help him relax after a stressful day.
Even if it had only been a few hours ago, Goh could already see a massive improvement in the Eevee's condition. True rehabilitation would take several weeks, most likely, but as long as Nurse Joy was on the case, Goh knew that Argent would be okay.
He stepped up to the glass intensive care container around the bed Argent was on and placed a hand on it. "I'm so glad you're going to be okay," he said quietly.
At his words, Argent's ears twitched and his grey eyes looked up at Goh.
There was a moment of quiet as Goh and Argent stared at each other. Neither of them so much as blinked. It was an air wholly unlike when they had stared down in the alleyway. There was a calm gentleness in Argent's gaze, and a sense of understanding.
Argent stood up and placed his paw on the glass, where Goh's hand was. He closed his eyes and his fur glowed with a gentle light. In the darkness above his bed, it seemed as though there were sparkling stars forming in the air.
Chloe gasped at the sight. "Is that…?" she asked, eyes widened in familiarity.
"I think that's Wish," Ash explained. "It's a move Pokémon can use to heal themselves or their buddies!"
Goh felt the surprise show on his face. "Argent…"
"Grooki…"
"Pika…"
"Eievui…"
The tired Pokémon returned to lapping the milk, but there was a satisfied smile on his face as he did.
In the sparkling stars that the Eevee had created in the room above, a single glowing point started to outshine the others. It formed over Goh's head, like water running down an icicle before a drop of light fell from the air and landed on Goh's head, and filled him with a soothing feeling. In an instant, the injuries from his fight with Felix vanished as the energy from Argent's wish washed over his body, healing all of his wounds.
Goh felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes for the second time today, but instead of tears of anguish and despair, they were tears of gratitude and joy.
"Thank you, Argent," he whispered.
The Pokémon's ears twitched in reply as he continued to lap milk from the bowl. There was a smile on his lips, but he otherwise said nothing.
Chloe and Ash stepped closer to the bed, each standing at Goh's side. "I think Argent realizes that when you came to find him, you only wanted to help him, and this is his way of thanking you," she said.
"Chloe's right," Ash said. "Argent understands you only wanted to protect him from the bad things and he's sorry he tried to fight you earlier."
Goh smiled gently, looking at Argent through the glass. "Get some more rest," Goh continued. "We'll make sure nothing else bad happens to you from now on. I promise." With that, he backed away from the bed. "C'mon. We should let Argent rest. He's had a harder time than any of us have had."
Ash and Chloe agreed, and followed him out. They thanked Chansey for her help and stepped through the doors and into the cool night air. "I guess we better get back to the lab, huh?" Ash said, adjusting his hat.
"And I have to get home," Chloe noted. "We do have school in the morning."
Goh blinked. "We…?" And the realization hit him like a sack of bricks. "Oh no, the test! I forgot!"
Chloe sighed, putting her hands on her waist. "You can't back out now," she said. "You know you have to go."
"B-But I haven't had a chance to study! I've been trying to help find Argent, and all that Felix stuff acted as a distraction, too!"
Chloe shrugged coldly. "That sounds like a 'you' problem."
"C-C'mon, Chloe! You can't leave me out to dry like that! C'mon, why don't you come back to the lab tonight and we can have a late night study session, like the old days! What do you say?"
She shrugged. "Well… I guess other than the food Felix treated me to after school, I haven't eaten, so a light dinner would be good. But didn't this whole thing spiral out of control because you asked me for a favor before?"
Goh recoiled like he had been punched in the gut.
She giggled at the distressed look on his face. "Well, I'm sure we can come up with some way for you to make this all up to me. You are accruing quite the debt, though!"
Ash just laughed, throwing an arm around both of them. "Hey, the more the merrier, right? I might not be able t' help you guys study, but I'm definitely down for dinner!"
"Pikapi..." Pikachu sighed, and that exasperation was just what was needed to cause everyone to laugh, letting go of the stresses the day had brought upon them.
Even after spending the night studying, come morning Goh had forgotten every bit of information he had crammed into his head, so he was sipping his orange juice while going over the notes he had taken another picture of from Chloe's notebook. He did his best to set aside his appreciation for her flowing penmanship and focused only on what he needed to know to pass the test. Next to him, Chloe was carefully cutting up her pancakes before pouring syrup over them, while Ash just tore into his breakfast like a wild Pokémon. Goh and Chloe were both dressed for school, which meant he constantly found himself pulling at the tie that came with the uniform.
Despite Chloe spending the night, time was already running short this morning; Professor Cerise, Chrysa, and Ren were already at work for another long day of researching the mysterious feather.
As he continued to scan his notes, however, there was a knock at the door. Goh, Chloe, and Ash all looked at each other. "Who could that be?" Ash asked after swallowing his mouthful of pancakes.
"Pikachu…?"
"Grooki?"
"Everyone's already here, right?" Chloe asked.
Goh felt like he was having deja vu for a moment. "Let's go take a look."
It seemed that even the researchers were confused as to who would be visiting them this morning, since they were watching Goh, Chloe, and Ash walk to the front door. Pikachu and Grookey rode on Ash and Goh's shoulders respectively, while Chloe was followed by Eevee and Yamper. Goh pulled the heavy door open and looked at the four people standing in the doorway.
His eyes first jumped to the back of the group and he saw the still bruised Felix standing there, hanging his head in shame. At his side was the red-eyed maid, looking as calm as ever. But the two people at the door were the ones that demanded Goh's attention.
It was an older man and woman standing before him. The woman had green hair and wore a faded brown dress that was the same color as fallen leaves. Next to her was a man wearing a pale blue suit with dark blue hair, including his large, curly moustache. The man wore a blue bowler hat to complete his refined appearance.
He took off the hat and looked at Goh. "Is this the Cerise Research Lab, young man?"
Goh looked at Felix, who kept his eyes down towards the ground. "Yes, sir. How can we help you?"
The man and woman looked at each other and then back at Felix, who said nothing at all.
"May we come inside?" the woman asked. "I promise we won't be a burden."
While Goh was considering turning them away, Professor Cerise came up behind him and removed that option. "Of course. I suppose you two would be Felix's parents, wouldn't you?"
They nodded and entered, following Cerise into the lab. Goh, Chloe, and Ash followed behind Felix and his maid, but Felix continued avoiding eye contact with any of them.
The way his spirit looked crushed reminded Goh of how he felt when Chloe chastised him the day before, so he could only guess that these two adults had already had words with him, and whatever he was told was enough to cow him into complete complacency.
The four guests sat on the couch in the corner of the laboratory while Chrysa, Ren, the professor, Goh, Chloe, and Ash all stood back from them. The man, still holding his hat in his hands, spoke first. "My name is Rodrigue, and I am Felix's father. This is my wife, Cornelia."
The green-haired woman gave them a deep nod, almost a bow from their position.
"My wife and I came here to thank your research fellows for their help in finding our lost Pokémon."
Goh's eyes went wide. Of course, they were Felix's parents, the owners of the breeding company. That would make them Argent's owners by default. He stepped forward, trying to restrain his emotions. "So you know, then…?" he asked. "You know everything that happened?"
Rodrigue nodded, gesturing to the maid. "Shade here handled explaining everything to us. We do know everything that happened." His eyes focused on Goh. "Including what happened yesterday."
Goh clinched his hands into fists, getting ready to get punished for the beating he gave Felix the day before. Looking at him now, sitting downtrodden, the marks of the fight were still very visible on his face. Apparently the maid, Shade, didn't have access to the same sort of healing that Argent could grant. Though he wondered momentarily if she had tended to Felix like Chloe had attended to him.
"I'm sorry," Goh said, lowering his head. "I know it was wrong to just fight like that but I couldn't let the way he was talking about Argent slide."
Felix's parents looked at each other, their faces bearing tired smiles before turning back to Goh. "When I was your age, I got in fights all the time," Rodrigue said. "Neither of you were seriously harmed by the looks of things, and you both understand what you did was wrong, so we can let it go for now."
"Even if I was the one who threw the first punch?" Goh asked, still not looking up.
"Th-that's not fair." Felix looked up and spoke for the first time since he had appeared before them that morning and spoke. "I mean… it took Shade and my parents to explain it to me, but… I was really acting like a huge jerk, and so it's not fair to put the blame on you because you were the one who finally said something…"
It reminded Goh of the meekness he had the day Felix had come to the lab the first time. He was worried about his parents finding out then, and apparently those worries had been well founded. He had no idea what sort of punishment was coming Felix's way, but it was apparently enough to completely rob him of all of his bravado he had yesterday.
"We didn't come to talk about that incident, but we would prefer if everyone could keep this to themselves," Cornelia said, her voice soft and gentle. "On top of fixing everything that Felix let get so bad while we were away, word of such an incident would not be good for us."
Goh shrugged, but internally he was thankful. Felix's parents could have called Officer Jenny and had him charged with assault, but they seemed to be willing to overlook it, both to save face and to demonstrate to Felix the proper way of the world.
"So what did you come here for?" Goh asked, relaxing his posture.
Rodrigue stood and approached him. "On our way here, we stopped by the Pokémon Center to check in on Argent, and while he is doing well, Nurse Joy informed us of his current condition. He'll still need to stay there for a while longer, but it seems like he's going to make a full recovery."
The residents of the Cerise Laboratory all had smiles on their faces at the news. "That's great!" Ash cheered. "Goh, you really saved Argent!" As if to emphasize this point, Ash slapped Goh on the back, grinning.
Goh stumbled forward and took the good news more modestly, but it was indeed good news. "I'm just glad Argent is okay," he said. "Knowing he'll recover is all the reward I need."
Rodrigue chuckled. "But to reward Argent's savior is the very reason we're here." He turned to Shade. "If you please."
The maid nodded and stood, approaching Goh. From behind her back, she produced an item that made Goh's eyes go wide.
"This is…"
In the red-eyed maid's hands was a tattered scroll, held sealed by a silver ring.
Chloe, who had never laid eyes on it before, smiled. "It looks like you're going to get it after all, huh?"
"Felix had mentioned that you had your eyes on this map when you visited our home," Cornelia said. "And I can think of no greater reward for saving Argent than giving you this map."
Goh's hand shook as he reached for the map. He gently lifted it out of Shade's hands and looked at the ring in the middle, which seemed to have a faded engraving. "A-Are you sure it's okay…?" he asked.
Rodrigue gave him a sympathetic smile. "We are," he said, "though perhaps you should look at the map before you thank us."
Goh raised an eyebrow, but then slid the ring off the tattered map and unfurled it, holding it so that he, Chloe, Ash, and Professor Cerise could all see it.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, looking at it.
The 'map', if it could even be called that, was a tattered page filled with complex, geometric shapes. There was nothing on the map that could indicate scale, or even anything that remotely looked like landmasses or landmarks.
Ash scowled at it. "It looks like TV static," he said.
Goh chuckled at that, and he had to agree.
"The map was allegedly passed down from a family that lived along the coasts of southern Kanto, and while there's no evidence that it truly points to Mew, every antique expert we've brought it to has been able to confirm its age. It's genuine, though it's likely little more than a curiosity."
Rodrigue's explanation did answer just about every question Goh had, even if it answered it in the worst way.
Professor Cerise smiled, though, with an excited look in his eyes. "Curiosity is just the business we're in," he said. "If there is any real truth to the map, then I'm sure my research fellows and myself will be able to get to the bottom of things."
Goh nodded, rolling the map back up and putting the ring back around it before handing it to Chloe's father. "Just another mystery to solve, right?" Goh said. "It looks like we're going to have our hands full for a little while now, aren't we?"
Professor Cerise took the map and nodded. "I'm always excited to learn something new, and these ancient items may be just the thing we need to learn even more about our world!"
"That isn't the only thing we came to talk to you about, though," Rodrigue said, drawing everyone's attention back to himself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Poké Ball, offering it to Goh.
He furrowed his brow. "What's this…?"
"When we saw Nurse Joy this morning, she told us about how you rescued Argent, and her Chansey seemed to indicate that Argent was waiting for you to come back to him. And so… we would like to ask if you would like to make Argent your own Pokémon."
"My own…? You mean, you'd like me to keep him?!"
Goh's eyes went wide. This felt like a dream. His own Eevee, and a silver-coated one, at that! "I… If it's okay with you, and if it's okay with Argent, then I'll happily accept!"
"It certainly is okay with us," Cornelia said. "I can't imagine poor Argent will want to return to our home, even after everything is made well again. I do think he will be much happier here with you."
"But you are going to fix it," Chloe said, interrupting their talk. "Not just for Argent's sake but for the sake of all of the Pokémon that were left in Felix's care." Her tone was stern, barely hiding her displeasure. She was clearly thinking about the condition Argent was left in when she spoke.
Felix's head looked like it was about to crash into the table in despair. If getting beat up by Goh was painful and the punishment his parents doled out was severe, then Goh could only imagine the pain Felix was feeling inside to have the girl he loved standing against him.
"We were under orders from Master Rodrigue not to interfere with Master Felix's management of the Pokémon," Shade spoke in a quiet voice. "This was to be his test to see if he could move onto the next stage of his training to eventually take over the family's breeding operations." She turned to the boy whose spirit was being grinded under heel. "This is a test he summarily failed. Almost spectacularly so. His parents decided to send him to Kalos for a thorough re-education on how to treat Pokémon. I'm sure he'll enjoy his time as an apprentice in the largest breeding center in operation, learning the business from the ground up."
Her red eyes almost seemed to flash, and a shiver went down Goh's spine. The maliciousness in her tone was only matched by the viciousness in her smile.
At the very least, he would be very far away from Chloe for the foreseeable future, and Goh couldn't help but be satisfied with that.
Shade continued, turning back to Goh and the others. "The rest of the Pokémon were checked by Nurse Joy last night to assess their conditions and we have full medical reports for each of them. Thankfully, none of them were as bad-off as Argent. He may have been bullied by the other Pokémon due to his unusual color and relative weakness, which may have been even more impetuous to leave."
Goh's heart sank to hear that, but it made him feel a bit more relieved to hear that the rest of the Pokémon would be doing better as well. It also explained where Nurse Joy had gone last night, leaving Chansey in charge of the Pokémon Center.
Chloe, however, was the one who gasped in surprise. "Wait… test?! Oh no!" She turned to Goh, fear and anxiety growing on her face. "Today's the test at school! And we're gonna be late!"
Goh's mouth fell open. He whipped out his phone and checked the time. "I-If we hurry, we won't be that late! C'mon!"
Shade stepped out in front of them. "Allow me. I shall drive."
"Drive?! You all brought a car?"
Shade smiled, her red eyes sparkling behind her yellow glasses. "Of course. Right this way."
Goh and Chloe thanked her profusely before rushing out the door.
If Chloe disappearing with a strange guy in a limousine after school got the entire school talking, then seeing her return and exiting that limousine with Goh was enough to blow the minds of their friends and classmates. Mika and Deliah both watched with shock as the two of them arrived just as the class bells were ringing. The two girls quickly flocked to Chloe's side. "I thought you were gonna be late…" Deliah said, not shaking her surprise.
"I thought you were with that other guy," Mika said, jamming an elbow into Chloe's side.
Chloe huffed, raising her nose in the air. "I'm not dating anyone right now," she said, pointedly acting above all of her friend's baiting.
"I know, I know," Mika said, grinning like Chloe took the bait anyway. "But you two are cutting it close."
"Well, we had a bit of a situation last night, but it seems solved now," Chloe explained. "And we all need to get to class."
"Right, right…" Mika said, sighing. "See you guys later."
Deliah waved to them. "Later 'Chlo 'n' Goh."
"Later, Deli," Chloe waved back. "Make sure Mika gets to class on time!"
Mika scoffed as Deliah was already pulling her away. "What is she, my keeper?!" she said, though her voice was quickly drowned out by the crowd around them.
Goh didn't even get a chance to say anything in his defense, but he didn't want to turn Chloe's ire back on him after he resolved things the night before. He simply took Eevee and Grookey with him to the garden while Chloe went to explain that Goh would be in momentarily.
The school day passed in relative quiet and security, and while he wouldn't get the grade back on his test for at least another few days, he felt secure enough in the lessons he'd learned that week - both studying with Chloe and in his experiences - that he felt like high marks were all but assured. That the rest of the day was filled with book lessons and no worksheets he'd have to send back with Chloe to turn in was a blessing for him. About the only other thing he did was text Ash during a quiet moment in the day, asking that he meet them at the Pokémon Center after school, confirming their plans since he ended up leaving abruptly.
Eventually the ending bell rang and they were all dismissed for the day. Goh took a breath and slowly began loading all of his books and supplies into his bag, making sure to order and store them neatly. By the time he had finished, Chloe had already finished putting her own belongings away and approached him.
"Wow, and here I thought you'd be even more impatient than usual," she said teasingly.
Goh smirked, sensing the admiration behind her words. "I've learned my lesson about taking shortcuts," he said. "All they do is cause you to lose sight of what's important. Felix thought he could skimp on caring for Pokémon, and he got in a lot of trouble for it. I thought I could skip the hard work of earning tokens and get a map, and I got in trouble for it."
"But you still got the map," Chloe pointed out in her deadpan, 'isn't that obvious' tone.
"I did but only because of the actual hard work I put in to help Argent," he said. "Honestly, after I punched Felix, I gave up on ever getting it."
"Which would have wasted all my effort," Chloe said. "But that's okay, I guess, since you still owe me."
Goh stood and put his backpack on. "Yeah, well, since when has that been any different?" he said, chuckling at himself. "I usually owe you for something, so if I owe you just a little more than usual, it's not a big deal."
She smirked coyly. "If you're not careful, I'll start charging interest and then you'll never fully pay me back."
"I'm sure there's worse things that could happen."
The two of them began to leave, only to see Mika standing in the doorway, with Deliah peering into the classroom from behind her. "So… you two seem peachy keen, given everything that's been happening," said the blonde with no small amount of smug self satisfaction.
"There's nothing really to discuss," Chloe said, shrugging cooly.
Deliah stood on her tiptoes and held a hand up to Mika's ear, whispering something into Mika's ear. Mika snorted in response, saying "Oh, I'd say things are way past patched up, Dii!"
Goh rolled his eyes and pushed past the three girls. "C'mon, we have to get to the Pokémon Center before it gets too much later."
No matter how things seemed to go, there would always be jokes at his expense.
"What's at the Pokémon Center?" Mika asked, blinking in Goh's direction.
Chloe spoke up. "There's a Pokémon there that Goh saved yesterday," she explained. "We're going to go check on him and see if he wants to join Goh permanently."
Deliah blinked. "Wait, Goh's gonna catch a Pokémon? Could… I go see?"
"I wanna see, too!" Mika cheered. "C'mon, let's all go together! The four of us!"
Goh sighed. He seemed doomed to be pushed around by the women who lived in his world. "Fine," he acquiesced. "But no more jokes, okay?"
Mika pouted. "Oh, you're no fun. Fine, no more jokes." She shot a glance at Deliah, as if to say "no more jokes but only where they could hear," but for Goh that was good enough.
Everyone made jokes about his and Chloe's relationship. The least that they could do is not say things about it in earshot.
They left the school building and headed to the Pokémon garden to pick up Chloe's Eevee, Goh's Grookey, and Deliah's Pichu before heading out from Sunset Junior High to the Pokémon Center. It was a walk in relative quiet. There was occasional giggling from Mika and Deliah as they walked behind, but Chloe stayed quiet as she walked behind Goh and ahead of the other girls. Goh's thoughts were focused on Argent, wondering how the small Pokémon was doing. Soon, the Vermilion City Pokémon Center appeared on the horizon ahead of them, and they entered the automatic door.
Sitting asleep in the corner of the lobby, looking to all the world like an exhausted, transient trainer was Ash, holding Pikachu tightly as he dozed. Pikachu looked up and poked his tail into the boy's cheek, rousing him sleepily. He waved to Goh and Chloe before blinking, not quite recognizing the other girls with him.
"Hey, guys," Ash said, blinking.
"Hey," Goh said, waving. "I guess we have a bit of a group today, huh?"
Mika was already moving to get in Ash's face. "Is this your Pikachu?!" she asked, leaning far into Ash's personal space. "He looks like such a sweetie pie!"
Ash leaned back. "Uh, yes he is and yes he is," he said, holding Pikachu somewhat away.
"Chaa…." the mouse cooed, reaching for Mika to get her attention.
She quickly pulled PIkachu from Ash's arms and gave Pikachu a squeezing tight hug. "Aww, and you're so soft and silky smooth! Just the cutest little Pokémon I've ever seen!"
Pikachu coughed, air leaving his lungs as Mika squeezed. In reflex, his cheeks began to spark and discharge electricity. Ash reached for his Pokémon before Mika could get shocked but he was one move too late as the girl lit up with a bright, sparkling light as the Thunderbolt coursed through her. She released Pikachu and fell to the ground.
Ash kneeled down and picked up the still panting Pikachu. "Sorry… he doesn't like it if you squeeze him too tightly…" he said.
"You shoulda known better from how you treat Jolt," Deliah said, frowning.
"Pichu," Jolt added, flicking his ears in irritation.
"I'm okay…"
Goh stepped away from the nonsense and approached Nurse Joy's counter. She was typing on the keyboard that Chansey was using the night before as she looked up at Goh. "Oh, hello Goh. I suppose you're here to check up on Argent?"
Her sunny tone took the weight of worry off of Goh's mind. Even Grookey seemed like he was relieved to hear it. "I sure am, Nurse Joy. Is he awake?"
"He was still resting just a little while ago," the nurse said, "but he should be awake now. In fact, he's recovering very nicely. Once Mr. Rodrigue and Ms. Carmilla have restored order to their home, he can probably return there at any time."
Goh nodded. "That's great! Only…"
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Only…?"
"Only they asked if I wanted to keep Argent," he said. "I'm going to ask Argent what he would like to do. If it's okay with him, they already gave me his Poké Ball."
She smiled warmly at him. "It's alway such a joy to see someone who loves Pokémon so much come into my center," she said. "Let's go see how he's doing right now."
As Joy stepped out from behind her counter, Chloe and the others finally picked Mika off the floor and joined Goh at the counter. The small crowd followed behind Nurse Joy to the back room with the intensive care machine in it. Lying in the bed, playing with a small, mirrored ball with his paws was Argent, looking at least a little amused. The intensive care shielding was removed, letting the Eevee enjoy the open air of the room, though he didn't seem like he was particularly interested in leaving the comfort of the bed. Where the egg and milk were yesterday were now replaced by more standard Pokémon food mixed with berries and water. Though he looked a lot less tired and more rested today, his arms and legs were still weak looking, and his fur still scruffy at points. He would need a good haircut once he was back to full strength, Goh thought.
As he entered the room, Argent looked over at him and the small Pokémon's grey eyes lit up. He sat up, his tail swishing comfortably.
Goh gave him a soft smile and leaned down. "Hey, Argent," he said. "I met Felix's parents this morning, and they wanted to ask if I wanted to be your partner from now on."
Argent blinked his eyes in surprise, and his tail stopped wagging, but he otherwise just watched Goh closely.
"I said it would be great if I could, but I only want it if it's what you want, Argent. And so, they gave me this."
He reached into this pocket and pulled out the Poké Ball he had kept there since this morning. He held it up for Argent to sniff, and as he did, the Eevee seemed to recognize it.
"This is your ball," Goh said. "And if you'd like to be my Pokémon, all you need to do is go inside. If not, I'm sure Mr. Rodrigue and his wife will take good care of you from now on. It's up to you."
Argent looked at the ball in Goh's fingers intensely for a moment, and then he looked up at Goh himself. He saw his face reflected in the silver Pokémon's grey eyes, and found himself wondering what sorts of things Argent had seen and endured that brought him to this point. He had heard that the Eevee was bullied by other Pokémon, and he thought about the bullying he had endured from Yeardley and others like him.
Like many of the Pokémon who had entered his care, Goh found himself a kindred soul with Argent. There was a part of both of them that only wanted to be understood and accepted by the world around them. To find that one other being who could believe in them wholeheartedly.
He held up the ball and awaited Argent's answer.
"Grooki! Ook ook!" Grookey said to Argent cheerfully, though what exactly the chimp was communicating was lost on Goh.
Argent continued to look Goh in the eyes for a moment longer before raising his paw up to the button on the Poké Ball. With a smile on his face, he was converted into a red flash of light and pulled inside.
The ball shook once in Goh's hand. Then again. Then a third time.
Then, there was a click, and the Poké Ball went still.
He pulled out his phone and looked at it. The Pokédex application on it was already loading up, and the Rotom inside spoke with a cheerful voice.
"Eevee's data will be registered to your Pokédex!"
An image of a silver-coated Eevee appeared on Goh's phone, and he smiled softly.
"Thank you, Argent."
Goh's quiet moment was interrupted as Ash threw his arm around Goh's shoulders, knocking Grookey off of them. "Hey! You did it! You really connected with Argent, didn't you?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I did."
Mika was next to invade Goh's personal space. "Goh, that was so cool how you reached out to that cute little Eevee like that!"
He leaned back from her. "T-Thanks, Mika."
"Can I pet him?"
"Absolutely not."
Mika deflated and turned away. "Aww…"
Goh felt two familiar hands on his shoulders. "Alright, that's enough. Argent may be sleeping inside that Ball right now, but both he and Goh need their rest," came Chloe's voice from behind him. "We still need to know if it's alright for Argent to come back to the Laboratory and Goh probably needs to rest after that test today, so we should all get going."
As she pushed him away from the crowd, he sighed in relief. "Thanks, Chloe. Guess I owe you again."
"Don't forget what I said about charging interest," she said, a certain icy slice in her voice. The tone was just playful enough to send a chill down his spine, but he would soon be in front of Nurse Joy and his thoughts would be diverted elsewhere.
Standing in the middle of Cerise Park, surrounded by all of his Pokémon as they all gathered to see the new arrival, Goh cleared his throat. "Now everyone, Argent still isn't back to full strength, so he'll be resting a lot around here, alright? He'll need plenty of food, Greedent, so no 'borrowing' from his food bowl, okay?"
Goh's Greedent bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Greedent…" he said, agreeing with Goh's orders.
"And no picking on him just because he's not like Chloe's Eevee or because he's weak. That means you, Darmanitan!"
Darmanitan pretended to be surprised, looking over at Goh and pointing to himself with his large paw. "Darmanitan?" he asked, as if to say 'Who, me?'
"I hope you all become good friends with him. So now… come out, Argent!"
Goh tossed the ball into the air, and in a flash of light the silver-coated Eevee appeared, shaking his body. It was something he saw Cinderace do upon occasion after being let out, so Goh assumed it was a response to being let out of the Poké Ball.
As soon as he appeared, two of Goh's other Pokémon stepped out from the crowd, both smiling in their own ways. First was Goh's Raichu, who immediately dropped a small pile of berries in front of Argent before stepping back away.
"Raichu!" she said in her sunny, bright style, greeting the new arrival in her usual fashion.
The other Pokémon who drew close was Goh's blue Voltorb, smiling happily at the silver Eevee. "Torb! Voltorb!"
"Bui! Eiebui!" Argent responded, the first speech Goh had heard the otherwise quiet Pokémon perform since their encounter in that alley.
With Raichu and Voltorb greeting Argent, the rest of Goh's Pokémon from the small Nidoran all the way up to his gigantic Golurk all began to regard the Eevee with a sense of familiarity and camaraderie.
As Goh smiled at the sight, he felt a cool wind blowing over him as though from the north. He turned to see, but saw nothing standing there on the cliff.
"Goh! C'mon!" Ash called out to him from the entrance to the park. "Dinner's ready and everyone's already waitin' to eat!"
He nodded in the direction of the wind and turned towards Ash. "Coming!"
If the north wind could blow in the park and bring with it a new day for both Goh and Argent, then maybe things were only going to get better from here. There would be no shortcuts on the path ahead of him, though, but after these experiences, he preferred it that way. There was only one future he wanted to hold in the palm of his hand, and it was the one he forged for himself.
Hello again! This is the author, Purim.
I would like to thank you all for reading this far, whether this is your first time and have come here only by reading this book, or if you've been following along so far. We are still very early in all the plans I have for 'One Who Chases', but even so, reading everything up until now must have taken some time. To those especially that wait each weekend for the latest chapter, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.
If the aim of Book 1 was to establish a baseline and to show Goh succeeding, this book was written for the purpose of showing Goh's flaws and weaknesses on full. From his inability to get a read on Felix's true character, to his inability to answer Chloe's question, all culminating his frustration reaching a boiling point where he attacked someone directly, this was not a story where Goh was being set up to succeed.
Even so, once he started doing the right thing, things seemed to right themselves, and it seems that even Chloe has forgiven him for his boorishness. I'm sure that their further adventures will continue drawing them together at a reasonable pace.
This was actually the first story I conceived for 'One Who Chases' but given its subject matter, it made sense that it couldn't be the first story in the series. After all, we needed the baseline before we could dip below or, as we will see in further books, rise above. So this story, about Goh making a bad deal and getting crippled with jealousy as he sought to save a Pokémon, was held back for this time.
As well, in original treatments for the story, Goh did not end up catching Argent! But as the story fell into place, Goh's treatment and connection with him made it an obvious move, one that even the series would pull, I feel. Argent has since been worked into the fabric of the plans for 'One Who Chases' and I hope you look forward to his future appearances.
This book was also written during November 2021, as part of a self imposed challenge. I was sweating as the days drew closer and closer to the end of the month, but I managed to finish it with only one day remaining. It's always good to challenge yourselves when you set out to start a project, so I hope you, too, don't settle for starting small and just throw yourselves into your next big thing!
The story will continue in "Chaser and the Rising Mountain", in three weeks on April 23, 2022. Until then, the next two weeks will feature shorter side stories focused on Goh and Chloe. I hope you enjoy the story once we get there.
I would like to thank my beta readers Viroro, Mezamun, and Penachu for reading the story for me and sharing their thoughts so that I could improve the story that you see here.
On a final note, my birthday is this coming Wednesday if you're reading this while it's new, so I would appreciate a comment/review, if it's not too much to ask.
Thank you for coming this far, so Let's GO! On to the next story.
