Childrearing 101
"I'm telling you, don't do it", Goh warned, glaring at the tiny monke approaching the cookie jar.
Grookey looked at him with wide, yet expressionless eyes, and continued to move toward its goal.
"Hey! What did I just say?" Goh chided, picking up the toddler-like chimp by the tail and dragging him away.
"Grrrrrrookey…" Grookey snarled, angry at being denied.
"I told you you're getting too fat! You can't eat cookies all the time!" Goh explained as he set the little green child down. "Here, why don't you eat these nana berries instead?
Grookey stared at the offered food and started drooling from his mouth. "Ruki, ruki!" It cheered, jumping up and down.
Goh handed some nana berries to him, and Grookey ate them happily. "Phew… I hope he doesn't try stealing cookies again…"
At night, Goh's hope proved in vain. He was woken up by cries of "RUKIII, RUKIII" echoing from the kitchen. "Oh no." He mumbled to himself.
Soon he found Grookey trying desperately to shake himself out of the cookie jar. He had gotten his head stuck inside. "Ruki…?" He said while staring pleadingly at Goh.
Goh sighed. "I'll get you out of there, don't worry."
It took some doing, but eventually Grookey was safe and sound once more. His head still hurt, though. Goh brought him back to their room. "I told you not to eat cookies without permission, Grookey. Why don't you listen?"
"Ruki…" Grookey uttered apologetically.
"You need to learn moderation! I lost that baking contest because of you, too!"
"Ruki! Rukiiii!" Grookey cried out, running to hug Goh.
Goh gave him a few headpats, sure he would do it all over again soon enough, but happy that at least he seemed regretful at the moment.
Meanwhile…
"Oh, hey, looks like someone left this cookie jar open for some reason", Ash observed. A mischievous grin came upon his face. "Well, I'm sure no one will miss them if I just eat a few of the cookies…"
"Pikapi?" Pikachu seemed concerned as its trainer took several of the cookies and started eating them, but any objections it had evaporated when he shared some of them with it as well.
Fearless
"GENGAR!"
"Ack!" Goh yelped. Then he sighed. "It scared me again…"
"Is it just me, or is Gengar trying to scare you more than usual?" Ash questioned while Gengar chuckled to itself.
"Yeah…" Goh nodded. "I decided to ask it to help me become more resistant to scary things!"
Ash scratched his head. "But why, though?"
"So I can be fearless and cool!" Goh declared dramatically.
"Awwww", Ash cooed. "But I liked how you always held onto me when you got scared, though!"
"Well, it's embarrassing to me", Goh said with a pout. "With all the crazy things that happen in our world, I can't afford to be so easily scared!"
"You're brave enough, I think", Ash told him. "Like the time you jumped on Lugia's back even though you could've slipped off and fallen into the sea!"
Goh rubbed the back of his head. "I think that was less 'brave' and more reckless'…"
"GENGAAAR!"
"AAH!" Goh yelped. "Dangit!"
"Somehow, I don't think this'll help you become braver…" Ash opined, a little concerned.
"It'll work", Goh huffed. "Maybe I should get some of my own Ghost-type Pokémon to try and scare me, too?"
"Hmm", Ash thought about it. "It might get predictable if you have too many of them doing that, though."
"Ah, good point." Goh considered. "You know, one time me and Chloe were dared by our classmates to go into a forest full of Phantumps. She was stone-cold the entire time, but I didn't last even 5 minutes…"
"Are you afraid of ghost-types, maybe?"
"Me? Nah", Goh denied. "Just… afraid of spooky things, I guess. Of… uncertainty. The unknown…"
"You're so philosophical today!" Ash commented, half-seriously.
Goh blushed. "I mean, it's true!"
"Anyway, don't feel too bad if you never stop being scared of 'spooky things'. I think it's part of your charm!" Ash said, winking at him.
"Part of my charm? What makes you say that-"
"GENGAR!"
"Gyaah!" Goh shrieked, jumping onto Ash's arms. Then he pushed him away in embarrassment.
"Hehehehe", Ash chuckled knowingly.
Goh pouted. "You know what, you're right, this was a bad idea to begin with."
"Oh, I don't know, I think we should give it a few more tries!" Ash teased.
Goh looked at him. "You just want me to hold onto you, don't you?"
"Is that really so bad?"
Goh thought about it. "Well… no, I guess it doesn't feel bad at all." He replied with a sheepish smile.
Fashionable
"What do you think?"
Ash and Chloe stared at him, uncertain.
"I think you look good in anything, like you always say!" Ash was the first to reply.
Goh looked happy, but unsatisfied. "Yes, of course, but does this look in particular look good?"
"Well, uh, I dunno…" Ash admitted.
"Those glasses look dorky", Chloe commented.
"D-Dorky?" Goh stammered in shock.
"They look… how do I put this? Stereotypical?" She tried to explain. "Like you're auditioning for the nerd role in a high school movie."
"Well, glasses can be cute!" Ash said reassuringly. "Just not these glasses, though…"
"But they were a gift from my grandma…" Goh said as he took the glasses off and looked down at them, forlornly.
"It's nice that you're trying to make her happy by wearing them, but in my experience, relatives aren't the smartest people when it comes to style", Chloe told him.
"You can always find some better glasses if you want! I'm sure there's some that'd work for you!"
"But I thought I could look good in everything! Maybe I just have to find the right clothes to match…"
"A-Are you sure?" Ash asked, suddenly filled with a sense of dread.
"We should go shopping for new clothes again!" Goh suggested.
"No! I mean… you look pretty good already! There's no need to buy more", Ash insisted.
"But I thought you said these didn't look good?"
"Yeah, but I don't want to spend half a day shopping for clothes again…" Ash groused. "We always just end up wearing the same one or two sets of clothing anyway!"
"He has a point", Chloe admitted. "At least I have several clothes I like to wear, but you two just wear the same thing day after day."
"Well, it's not the same thing, they're just identical clothes!" Goh protested. "Anyway, that's why I wanted to wear something new to begin with! I have to put my money where my mouth is and show how versatile I am!"
Ash sighed. "Oh, fine, I guess I can try to help you find new clothes… again."
"Thank you, Ash!" Goh exclaimed cheerfully. "I promise it'll go a lot faster this time."
Several hours later, Ash fell asleep while waiting for Goh to try out his 17th new shirt. Dating a stylish city boy can sometimes have its drawbacks…
All-nighter
"Oh god, oh god, oh god", Goh repeated. "I can't make heads or tails of this…"
He was reading through the homework Chloe brought from school for him. He thought he'd ace it no problem, but… it seemed like all that time spent research fellow-ing had some unforeseen consequences.
"Why did it have to be history? I hate history!" He grumbled. "'Why did the Great Galarian Empire colonize Unova?' How should I know? That was centuries ago!"
All this grousing caught the attention of some of his Pokémon. "…Cin?" Cinderace yawned, exiting its pokéball out of curiosity.
"Oh, hey, Cinderace", Goh exclaimed. "I'm just frustrated because of all the homework I have to do…"
Cinderace patted Goh on the head in a reassuring manner. Goh thought it was kind of patronizing, but he appreciated it nonetheless.
"I guess I'll have to open the textbook and check", Goh groaned. He didn't like reading textbooks, they were heavy and flipping through the pages took a lot more time than just reading an internet article.
And after this, he still had to write an entire page with his own words about why Kanto and Johto share the same Elite Four and Champion, which he's pretty sure even the teacher doesn't understand! Stupid prestigious private schools…
"Ruki!" Grookey leapt onto his head and started whacking him with his magic stick, certain that it would reinvigorate Goh's spirit.
Goh smiled slightly. "Thanks, Grookey. I should probably start working on all of this now…"
Finishing all the questions was easy enough, but now was the hard part. So Goh picked up a pen, and looked at his essay. Then he looked at it some more.
He didn't know where to start. He always did prefer multiple choice questions.
A feeling of fear came upon him. He'd been slacking off on his studies too much! Back then he always had time to study at home, but now…
"They're all gonna laugh at me", Goh muttered. "I'll go there to deliver my essay and the teacher will give me a nine or god forbid – an eight!"
No, Goh thought. That cannot happen. He has a reputation to uphold!
And that's why Goh was still awake at 5 AM the next month, having drunk a great many cups of coffee to stay awake.
"There", Goh whispered, staring at the paper with baggy eyes. "It's all done…"
"This is why I hate schoooool…" He started to say, before falling from his chair and into the floor.
"RUKI?!" Grookey cried out.
"Cinderace!" Cinderace leapt toward where Goh was and dragged him to his bed.
Grookey covered him with his favorite blanket and snuggled up against him. He hoped Goh wouldn't push himself like this anymore. He has to take care of him, after all!
Dream
"I wonder when I'll finally catch Mew…?" Goh wondered out loud, staring at his hand. Him and Ash were resting in a clearing during one of their many adventures.
"Don't rush it", Ash advised. "It'll happen someday, you know?"
"Yeah, but… what if it doesn't?"
"What do you mean?"
"What if… I don't know… time is running out?"
Ash pondered the question. "Like… if the apocalypse happens?"
"I don't know, maybe I'll only have so many chances to catch Mew", Goh thought. "I already let it go the last time. What if I never see it again?"
"You're so cute when you doubt yourself", Ash said teasingly.
"I am NOT cute!" Goh shouted.
"Anyway, it's not like you've caught the rest of the pokémon species in the world like you wanted to, right? You still have a lot to do!"
"Right… but is that even possible?" Goh reflected. "There are over a thousand Pokémon! I'll probably be an old geezer by the time I get to Mew."
"Nothing wrong with that!" Ash remarked. "You'll get to retire after years of hard work, and maybe teach young trainers how to catch Pokémon or something."
"Yeah…"
"Is there a reason you're worrying about this now, though?"
"Well…" Goh paused before continuing. "I feel as if I have to hurry, or I won't be able to reach my dream. As though I only have a short amount of time left, or maybe like my chance has already passed me by and I didn't notice…"
"You shouldn't think like that! You'll always have plenty of time!" Ash insisted. "You shouldn't think about 'what if it takes too long', or 'what if I'm not fast enough'… the journey is what's important, not the destination!"
Goh smiled at him. What a very Ash-like thing to say. "It would be pretty cool if I caught it soon, though."
"It would be", Ash admitted. "But hey, while you wait to get a Mew, you can still spend time with me! And I'm a pretty legendary guy, myself!"
They both laughed at the joke for a few moments. Then Goh said: "Mythical."
"Wha?"
"Mew is a Mythical Pokémon, not a legendary."
"Ah, phooey!" Ash exclaimed in frustration. "Who can remember all those names, anyway?"
"It was a cool line, though! You should share it with that one friend of yours, what was his name – Brook?"
"Brock!"
"Yeah, he seems like he needs some help with his pickup lines…"
"True!" Ash agreed. "Are you feeling better now, my scone?"
Goh considered it. "How could I not feel better, with you by my side?"
"You're so sweet, Goh!" Ash exclaimed happily. "Then, I hope to be by your side always, so you'll always feel great!"
"Same here!" Goh grinned at him. "And when I do catch Mew, you'll be the first to know about it."
"I wouldn't miss it for anything."
The two boys remained silent on the clearing for a while, resting up for their next mission.
Nearby, hidden behind a couple of trees, a pink pokémon chuckled to itself at the sight, and then floated away…