Hello everyone, it's been a while!
I have decided there are too many good ideas for this ship, and thus, I've done what many other authors are doing and made a single fic just for those. I tried to post this on Satogou day (March 15), but as it turns out, starting a new fic and trying to finish it in the same day you want to post it on is… not a very practical idea.
The title is a reference to "Just So Stories", and it sort of makes sense with the plot of this chapter.
Chapter 1 - Storytelling Time
Ash nodded awake. "Yaaawn… Goh? You awake yet?"
He rubbed his eyes and accidentally rolled off his bed. "Yikes!"
"Ow!" He heard Goh say from under him. It seemed he had been sitting beside the beds reading something, and Ash happened to fall on top of him.
"Sorry, Goh! I'm such a klutz!"
"It's fine", Goh replied with an awkward smile, while rubbing his back where Ash had fallen on it.
Ash peered through Goh's shoulder and noticed he was holding a book.
"Whatcha reading?" He asked.
"'Just So Stories For Lasses and Youngsters'. It's by some Galarian author named Ruddy-something. Ruddy Klingklang, I think."
"What's a Just So Story?"
"Seems like it means a story about why the world and the things in it are the way they are."
"So it's like a history book?"
"Maybe? Some of the stories seem farfetched, though."
"Farfetch'd?" The Wild Duck Pokemon said, peering through the bedroom door. Goh sighed. "Not you, Farfetch'd."
Farfetch'd grunted and closed the door again.
"Tell me one of the stories, tell me one of the stories!" Ash shouted excitedly.
"Alright, alright", Goh replied. "Here's one – How the Wailord Got His Throat."
"Of all the pokémon of the sea, the Wailord was the biggest – and the hungriest. It spend its days swallowing other sea creatures whole.
The Shellders and the Clamperls, it bit through with its large teeth. 'Mm, tasty!' it would say.
The Buizel, quick though it was, could not escape once the Wailord sucked it into its mouth.
Not even the Seaking, despite its name, was able to evade Wailord's hunger.
Yes, life was good for the greedy Wailord, and not so much for anyone else… until the tiny Wishiwashi came along.
This Wishiwashi was a wily one, and it swam close to the Wailord's ear. Knowing it was too small for the giant to ever consider eating, it instead offered it advice.
'You have eaten many things, both alive and dead', it said, 'but have you ever tried eating a Mystery Box?'
'Mystery Box? What is that? Where do I find it? Is it tasty?' The foolish Wailord asked.
'Very! You can find it in such-and-such place. Hurry, before someone else gets it!'
And the Wailord swam – not very quickly, mind you, for it was still a Wailord – until it found the so-called Mystery Box, hidden in a sunken ship.
'Down the hatch!' It exclaimed, and started sucking with its mouth until the Mystery Box found its way into its belly.
But what the Wailord didn't expect was this: When its stomach acid melted open the box, a bunch of Meltan popped out!
'You greedy oaf! You deserve a lesson in moderation!' the Meltan said from within the Wailord. The Meltan joined forces and built a large metal grate which they fixed inside the Wailord's throat. So small were its openings that Wailord would never again be able to eat anything other than the smallest of meals!
And the Meltan messing around inside Wailord upset its stomach so much, it was forced to let them out.
Thus, ever since that day, Wailord could never eat the extravagantly-large meals it was used to, only able to suck the tiniest of creatures into its belly because of the grate the Meltan created.
And the wily Wishiwashi, who had tricked mighty Wailord and saved the pokemon of the sea from its gluttony, decided to always travel in groups of friends… just in case."
"What a beautiful story!" Ash declared, his eyes sparkling.
"R-really?" Goh muttered. "I kind of thought it was meandering and dumb. I mean, it doesn't explain why ALL Wailord are like that, only the one!"
"Hush, child" Ash replied in a soft voice that nonetheless sounded authoritarian. "It's only a story… A Just So Story!" He continued, winking at an imaginary camera. This was not the first time Goh noticed him doing this.
"Pika, pikachu!" Ash's pikachu commented, though Goh didn't understand what it said.
'Meltans? Inside Wailords? What are the odds of THAT happening', the mouse pokemon muttered to itself.
"Actually it reminds me of a story my mom told me once when I was a young boy!"
"Can't relate", Goh replied with a little bitterness. He hid it well, though. "I bet your mom told you lots of nice bedtime stories."
"She called it 'Why the Diglett Lives Underground'."
"In the long ago days, Diglett walked the earth with its feet, alongside all the other pokemon.
In those times, its fur was a vivid orange color, and it was known for its powerful arms which could easily lift anything it wanted. Diglett was quite proud of those two things, and all the other pokémon enjoyed watching it show off its strength. It lived above ground then, helping construct houses and dams for the other pokemon. It was good friends with Bibarel and Diggersby because of this.
But one day, a large centipede-like pokemon appeared before them. "My name is Scolipede, and speed's my game! Watch me roll, everyone!"
Scolipede tried to show off by rolling very quickly everywhere it went, but it ended up not watching where it was going and breaking all their carefully-constructed houses!
Diggersby, who saw all of this, ran to warn its friend Diglett that there was an intruder ruining all their hard work. 'And he's heading toward Bibarel's family's dam next! You have to do something, Diglett!', it pleaded.
"Leave it to me!" Diglett said as it ran in the direction where Bibarel lived as fast as it could – for it was just as fast on its feet then as it is when traveling underground now.
"Hey, you big bully!" It shouted at Scolipede. "Don't you watch where you're going? No one likes the way you're rolling!"
"What a sublime rhyme!" Scolipede remarked as it stopped short of hitting Bibarel's dam to look at Diglett. "You must be impressed with my speedy skills!"
"No, the opposite! I need you to stop doing this, you're disturbing my friends!"
"How rude! I was only trying to show you all some cool tricks, but you had to make some drama out of it!"
"Come over here and I'll show you drama, you overgrown worm!"
"Oh, it's ON now!" The Scolipede launched itself in the Diglett's direction with Rollout, but Diglett used Protect to defend itself. Many pokemon came to watch the battle unfold. Scolipede was relentless in its attacks, but Diglett didn't let up, either.
Finally, the battle came to a close as Diglett managed to take the full brunt of Scolipede's Solar Beam and counterattack with a powerful Slash!
"Hooray for Diglett, everyone's hero!" The pokemon clapped and cheered while they approached Diglett.
As they did so, they notice he looked somewhat different now - its fur had been burned a dark brown by the Solar Beam it had been hit with.
"Don't look at me!", Diglett shouted, as it burrowed underground, embarrassed by its new appearance, which it thought made it look ugly.
"Diglett, wait! Let us thank you!" Bibarel yelled back. Diglett poked its head out through the dirt and said "From now on, I will show only my head to the world. May no one remember what I used to look like."
And so, Diglett began to live underground, an unsung hero who seldom shows his face.
Ash concluded his story and rubbed his eyes to wipe away tears. "Such a tragic story! Poor Diglett!"
"H-hey, there's no need to cry!" Goh stammered. 'I don't like seeing Ash cry. Seeing tears on his face makes it feel like there's something very wrong with the world', Goh thought to himself, though he didn't say it out loud. "M-maybe it went to live with the Diggersby afterwards?"
"Just imagine saving all your friends and then being too ashamed to receive their hugs afterward", Ash pondered sadly. "And the poor Scolipede, too! It wanted to make friends, but it just didn't know how!"
"Wow, you're even sad for the Scolipede in that story", Goh commented while running his hand through his hair sheepishly.
'He's so kind and considerate… I-' Goh paused his inner monologue to turn his face away from Ash's because he noticed he was blushing now. 'You stupid, lovelorn idiot! Do you have to fawn over everything Ash does or says?'
If Ash noticed Goh's embarrassment, he didn't comment on it. "Mommy used to tell me a lot of stories like that, because I was always asking why everything was the way it was. I was a curious child!"
"You mean you're not anymore?" Goh asked with a teasing grin.
Ash rubbed his finger on his nose while replying. "I mean, if I ever get curious about anything, I think I'd rather ask you! Because you're a smart guy and I like hearing your voice!"
Well, this time it couldn't be helped. Goh's cheeks flushed red and Ash grinned victoriously at him.
"Stupid cutesy flirty… rizzum frizzum…" Goh mumbled while turning his face away from Ash once more and pouting. Ash decided to take the opportunity to check out the book himself.
"I wonder if this book has any more interesting stories." Ash began leafing through the pages and reading the titles. "How the Minior fell to the earth. How the Torterra got its shell. Why the Delibird carries a bag. Isn't that one because it's carrying gifts for Santa?"
"Santa? Ash, you don't still believe in Santa, do you?" Goh asked, though he certainly didn't expect the answer Ash would give him.
Ash sat up excitedly and with a shine in his eyes, he replied.
"I met Santa once! Me and Pikachu helped save Christmas from Team Rocket!"
"Pika, pikachu!" Pikachu concurred.
Goh made that face where his eyes just became white circles from sheer shock. "…I'm not sure which is crazier, the fact that you genuinely believe that or that I'm starting to think you might be telling the truth at this point."
"I wonder how Santa is doing these days", Ash wondered with his head craned upward in thought. "Must be tough, delivering gifts to all the kids and Pokémon in the world, all in a single night." Goh was silent as he asked himself yet again whether Ash was having one on him or not.
"Oh, here's one that might be interesting!", Ash said to Goh, "'Why Zangoose and Seviper are rivals'. Read it, read it!" He handed the book to Goh once again.
Goh looked at the book with a sheepish expression while Ash stared at him expectantly. "Umm, sure", Goh replied before clearing his throat and narrating once again.
"One day, a Seviper moved into the territory of an aged Zangoose.
'Greetings, new neighbor! I have brought you many gifts to ensure my stay in your region is peaceful. Please enjoy these tasty treats I have brought from afar, and these beautiful jewels.' The Seviper opened the bag it was carrying on its tail, showing cakes and candies as well as several rubies, sapphires and diamonds.
The Zangoose was quite pleased at this unexpected gift. 'Of course you can stay within our territory, it's no problem at all! I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.'
'Indeed! Now I must bid you adieu, friends. I have to wake up early to start hunting.' Then the Seviper waved them goodbye with its tail and left to return to its abode.
But the Seviper had make a mistake – it made friends with Zangoose because it had the respect of the other pokemon who lived in that region, but it did not think to befriend the friends of Zangoose. And so when Zangoose showed its new treasures to its other friend, Primeape…
'See these?' Zangoose said, pointing to a large diamond. 'My new friend Seviper gave me this, along with many other gifts! I ate like a king yesterday because of him.'
Hearing this, Primeape got an idea into its head. 'Seviper has good food? And shiny things? I must find out where they live!'
Primeape, together with a horde of Mankey, invaded the cave where Seviper was hiding.
Seviper was startled by the crashing noises coming from inside its cave. It entered only to find it almost entirely emptied, with only a few Mankeys remaining to put the last of the stolen goods into bags. 'What are you doing? These aren't yours! Zangoose will hear of this!'
'Zangoose?' One of the Mankeys laughed as it grabbed Seviper by the tail and smashed it into the wall. 'It's because of Zangoose we found out how rich you were!'
'It… can't be…' Seviper groaned as it passed out.
The following day, Zangoose came to visit its friend. 'Hello again, Seviper! I brought you food to repay you for-'
'Don't talk to me with such warmth in your voice, you hypocrite', Seviper spat, with as much venom in its voice as there were in its fangs. 'You were careless. You talked about my generosity to someone you shouldn't have… and now look what has happened! I have nothing left!'
'You blame me when you could be chasing after the ones who did this", Zangoose pointed out.
'These is nothing to be done. At this point they've probably eaten all the food and wasted my money bartering for bananas or something", Seviper replied dejectedly. 'I'm ruined.'
'I can help you get back at them if you want. They will listen to me', Zangoose told Seviper.
'I don't need your help! Leave me alone!" Seviper shouted back, and slashed at Zangoose with its tail. The attack left a large open wound on Zangoose's chest.
'How dare you! I came into your home to help out a friend – turns out it was no friend at all!'
'While the wound remains open, neither of us can be anything but each other's enemies', Seviper declared.
And it was just so. Zangoose's scar never healed – and neither did his friendship with Seviper.
"What a downer!" Ash pouted after Goh concluded the story. "I'm sure they could mend their friendship if they were both just a little bit more considerate of one another!"
"Seviper was just frustrated and it lashed out at Zangoose… no reason to hold a grudge for generations." Goh mused. "Sometimes people make mistakes, but we forgive them for it! Like back when we had that fight because I told you you shouldn't help the Ivysaur... but then you showed me I was wrong, and we made up!
"Yeah! I'm glad we're not like those two. You and me – we'll always be friends! Never anything else!"
Goh looked uncomfortable. "Not anything else…?"
'Alright, it's now or never.' "But Ash, don't you think we are… more than friends?"
"More than friends? How could anyone be more than friends?" Ash asked, puzzled. "I do kinda get what you mean, though…"
"Y-You do?" Goh looked at Ash with a hopeful and excited expression.
"Yeah, you know, I've been thinking about this for a while now… I think you and I have something that goes deeper than just friends."
"Y-Yeah? And what is that, Ash?" 'Come on, say it, please!'
"We're… it's tough to find the right word…" Ash said while putting his hand to his chin, appearing to be in intense thought.
"Yes?"
"We'reeee…"
"Yeeees?"
"We're… best buddies! We're each other's bestest buddies like no one ever was!" Ash declared cheerfully.
Goh's face blanched with horror.
"NOOOOOOOO!"
A.N.: Ah, poor Goh! He'll get there some day.
The first story is based on 'How the Whale got his throat' from the book 'Just So Stories' by Rudyard Kipling, so that explains some things.
The second story is very loosely based on a native American (though I couldn't find the specific tribe) story about a mole having to throw the sun back into space. Yes.
The last one is based on 'The snake and the farmer', which is somehow distinct from 'The farmer and the viper', which is probably the one most people are familiar with, though both are attributed to Aesop.
Happy Satogou day…'s one week anniversary! I'm not sure when I'll have a new story to add to this collection, but I have plenty of ideas!