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ayma-nidiot · 3 years ago

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Dawn of the Dark Chapter 25

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Chapter 25 – Hitting the Road

“Mew! Mew mew!” Goh didn’t even wait for the car to come to a full stop before darting for the Cerise household.

“Hey, hold on, Goh!” Chloe got out of her car as quickly as she could to open the door for Goh.

Goh felt so ecstatic that he would have to look no further than the living room. As soon as he saw his beloved Ash sitting there calmly on the couch, he threw himself at him in human form. “Ash! Oh, my love, it’s you!”

“Goh, welcome back!” Ash gave his fiancé a big kiss. “But where were you all this time?”

“Looking for you, only to find out you have been freed the whole time. But we did find certain ex-enemies of ours.” Goh gestured towards Jessie and James.

Damian peered out from the bedroom corridor and ran to his parents crying when he saw them. “Mommy! Daddy! You’re okay!”

“Peko peko!” Morpeko jumped onto her Trainer’s shoulder.

“Damian, honey…” Jessie spoke while she stroked her son’s slicked-back fuchsia hair. “Shh… Mommy and Daddy are here.”

“Uh…” Meowth acted coy. “Hey, there.”

“We missed you too, ol’ chum!” James gave Meowth a big hug.

“What a touching reunion…” Chloe remarked.

“I know, right?” Ash’s smile faded when he looked down and Goh was not awake. “Goh? Goh!”

“He’s out cold! We need to take him to Vermilion City’s Pokemon Center right away.” Chloe started up her car.

“One step ahead of you!” Ash scooped Goh up princess-style and rushed him into a seat, after which point Chloe wasted no time in hitting the road.

“Ugh…” Goh woke up with a groggy headache and very little eyesight. “Am I… Am I in the Pokemon Center?”

Nurse Joy waited for Goh to be able to look at her before speaking. “As a matter of fact, you are. You’re in your delivery room.”

“Huh?” Goh rubbed his eyes and, sure enough, he was in his delivery room’s bed, with a green-curtain-covered window to his left and his hospital bag to his right. The room had been set, complete with scales, the epidural machine, and all kinds of contraptions that Goh didn’t recognize. “Whatever for?”

“Well, what do you think, Sherlock?” Ash put his fists to his hips. “We’re preparing for the big shebang.”

“Hello, Goh?” A knock sounded from the door; a Pokemon Doctor entered with a Nurse Joy behind him. “My name is Dr. Dig Bick, and I will be the physician overseeing your delivery. How do you do?”

Goh shook Dr. Bick’s hand. “To be honest, now that I’m back in human form again, I feel like shit. Are you going to induce labour today?”

“I highly recommend that you do, but the ultimate decision lies with you.”

Goh looked nervously up at Ash. He couldn’t believe that right here, right now, he could see his twins if he wanted to. “Ash?”

“It’s like I said.” Ash stood at his fiancé’s side, holding his hand. “I am with you all the way.”

Goh had made up his mind. “Then in that case, I’ll-”

Just then, the widescreen T.V. came on. “Hello, dearest Goh and dearest Ash,” spoke a sinister voice on the other side of the screen.

“Hey, did someone touch the remote?” Chloe asked.

“It wasn’t me,” insisted Goh, who had the remote by his side the whole time.

“But I do know who it is.” Ash snarled at the T.V., which had a halfshifted Rose on it. “And I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that he can hear us!”

“And I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that you can hear me too! Since you can, I hereby challenge you to a shapeshifter battle. The two of you will meet me at the Hammerlocke Tower Summit exactly one week from today, and be sure you bring Zacian and Zamazenta with you.”

“What if I refuse?” Goh hugged his baby bump protectively.

“Then I’m just going to transform into Eternatus and start another Darkest Day! Of course, I used Shadow Lugia to try and coax Raihan and his daughter out here… Naturally, they both said yes.”

“That’s low, even for him…” Ash gritted his teeth.

“Ash, he can fully shift into Eternatus now!” Chloe trembled in fear, holding onto Sylveon for dear life. “As if that wasn’t bad enough, he still has the original Eternatus too…”

Goh paused, and with resolution, he spoke up, “I accept your challenge, Chairman Rose.”

“Not that you had a choice. See you in a week.” And with that, the T.V. turned off by itself.

“Goh, have you gone mad?” Chloe was very cross with Goh. “Even if you induce now, your body is going to be too weak from the birth to fight, especially against a legendary Pokemon!”

“Which is why I’m just going to take it easy until then. I’ll let the babies come out when they’re good and ready.”

“It’s true, you’re going to be much stronger before the birth than after,” Dr. Bick noted. “But the challenge is around your due date. You’re cutting it very close.”

“It’s a good thing I’m a shapeshifter then, huh?”

“Pfft… Haha!” Ash suddenly burst out in laughter. “I thought I was the crazy one here, but it seems that you’ve won that competition, Goh!”

“After spending 11 years by your side, your craziness has rubbed off on me,” Goh winked. “Still, we should at least let everyone know about what’s going on; knowing Rose and Giovanni, they’re probably going to unleash more Shadow Pokemon. It’s not like he’s going to spend the week getting pedicures and massages.”

“Oooh, you mean everyone?” Ash grabbed the giant video phone next to Goh and began dialing. “In that case, I have an idea!”

“Wait, Ash, don’t tell me… Are you going to call all your friends?” Goh knew better than anyone about Ash’s enormous friend circle, as opposed to his miniscule one.

“Hey, Kiawe?” Ash beamed when he saw his friends from the Pokemon School in Alola. “You on, bro?”

“Ash?” Kiawe returned the smile. “Yo! It’s been a long time!”

“Hooo boy, here we go.” Goh knew that this was going to be a long day.

“Is that Ash?” Mallow pressed her face to the screen. “Eeeee, it is you! Say, guess what? Professor Burnet and Professor Kukui are here too!”

“So am I!” Lei pushed Mallow out of the way to show off in front of Ash.

“Dang, you’ve gotten so tall!” Ash gave a hearty laugh. “How are your Mom and Dad?”

“They’re as studious as ever.” Lei beckoned for Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet to come into the screen. “They wanted to talk to you, actually!”

“Hey, Ash.” Professor Burnet waved. “And Goh. How are you getting on?”

“I’m getting on, at least.”

“Well, if you need anything, you let me know. In fact, since Ash hasn’t visited in a while, my husband and I were thinking of visiting you guys.”

“I had actually planned to visit in two days!” Mallow held up a big bow full of Pinap Berries. “I’m going to make my special Pinap Berry Juice fresh for you!”

“You’re far too kind.” Goh smiled.

“And I can’t wait to see my grandchildren!” Professor Kukui sounded excited at first, until he changed the subject. “So why haven’t you visited Alola recently? Is it your job as Galar’s Champion?”

“In part, but there’s actually a bigger reason… In Galar, Team Rocket is breeding an army of Shadow Pokemon. A week from now, we’re going to tackle them head-on.”

Kiawe looked into the screen sincerely. “I don’t have any doubt that you, my true rival, can squash them. Godspeed to you, my man.”

“We haven’t seen any Shadow Pokemon in Alola recently, but thanks for the heads-up. We will be sure to be on the look-out! You take care now!” And with that, Professor Kukui hung up.

“You know, at first I thought this was going to be an exhausting day for my introverted ass,” Goh remarked. “But it’s really comforting to know that so many people wish us well. I can’t wait to have Mallow’s homemade Pinap Berry Juice.”

“Mallow is good people, all right.” Ash pondered a while before dialing the phone again. “Ooh, how about we call Iris next?”

“I don’t think I ever formally apologized for that one time I thought she was a Pokemon and tried to catch her.” Goh prepared his apology. The person to answer the phone was Drayden, so he was certainly astonished to see Iris jump right in front of her portable video phone. “Gaaaah!”

Iris swiftly got up from her landing. “Oops, sorry about that.”

“I’m the one who should be sorry for throwing a Poke Ball at your head.”

“Oh, that? You still remember after all these years?” Iris waved the memory off. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You seem full of energy, as usual,” Ash remarked.

“I gotta be, since I have a challenger today.” Iris sounded more cheerful when she noticed a frown on Ash’s face. “But I can always spare time for one of my best rivals! So, how are things?”

“They’re great, for the most part!” Ash stroked Goh’s baby bump. “In a week or less, I’m going to be a father!”

“Ooooh, so cute!” Iris squealed. “I highly recommend you come to the Village of Dragons so they can have a Dragon-type starter Pokemon!”

“Just like Ash, I see.” Drayden chuckled. “Always thinking about Dragon-types.”

“I-I mean…” Iris stammered, “Congratulations on your bundles of joy! …Ash?”

“Things aren’t all okay, honestly… Chairman Rose of Wyndon has issued me a life-or-death challenge… Be careful, because Shadow and Dynamax Pokemon might be appearing in Unova within the week.”

“Actually, they already have,” replied Drayden. “The residents of Opelucid City are getting increasingly worried about it… So we’re thankful to have the Champion of Galar on our side.”

“But Cilan and I have been helping lots!” Iris exclaimed. “Those mean Pokemon don’t stand a chance against us!”

“Is that another one of your friends?” Goh had never heard Cilan’s name before.

“Yeah, he’s a Pokemon Connoisseur, and one hell of a cook,” Ash answered.

“We’re gonna visit so Goh can try some of his cooking!” Iris noticed an alarm from Opelucid Gym. “Oh, shoot! My challenger is here! Sorry, Ash, gotta run! It was nice talking to you!”

“Good luck, Iris!” Ash was going to call May and Max next when all of a sudden, he heard a knock on the door. “Come back with a warrant!”

“Aww, did we come to the wrong room?” whined a familiar woman’s voice from the other side of the door.

Ash recognized that voice as Professor Sonia. “Sonia! Sorry, I was just joking! Come on in!”

“Actually, I was joking too.” Professor Sonia entered the room with two other women behind her. “That was classic Ash Ketchum humour right there.”

“Haha! At any rate, thanks for coming all the way here from Galar, everyone.”

“Are these friends of yours too?” Goh didn’t recognize the two women that stood on either side of Professor Sonia.

“Pardon my manners.” The elderly woman bowed. “I’m Melony, one of Circhester’s Gym Leaders, along with my son Gordie.”

“And I’m Nessa, Gym Leader of Hulbury,” spoke a tall, lithe-looking woman. She looked behind her as if someone had gone missing. “Hey, did anyone see where Marnie went?”

“Um…” A scrawny young woman came out from behind the wall. “Hello. My name is Marnie, and… I’m the Gym Leader of Spikemuth.”

“So, you’re Piers’ little sister!” Ash held out a hand for Marnie to shake. “Darn please to meet ya!”

“You must be Champion Ash.” Marnie smiled when she shook Ash’s hand. “I’m sorry for chickening out during the Champion Cup… I’m not really one for the limelight, unlike my brother. But I’m not going to shy away like that again, not when there are Shadow Pokemon and Dynamax Pokemon all over Galar!”

“So it’s really that bad in Galar right now? The Darkest Day is going to come true for real this time, isn’t it?” Ash clenched his fists. “If I had been a better Champion, the situation wouldn’t have gotten as bad as it is now.”

“Dummy!” Professor Sonia slapped Ash’s cheek lightly.

“Ow!” Ash rubbed the spot that Professor Sonia slapped. “What the hell, Sonia?”

“Rose is a right foul git, and a very strong one at that. Of course he’s gonna be trouble! But you know what? You’re doing a great job as Champion! In fact, there are a handful of people in Wyndon trying to make your birthday a regional holiday!”

“Really?” Ash felt a glimmer of happiness.

“You betcha,” replied Melony. “By the way, there was a giant mob of people on our way here. Just thought I’d mention it.”

“Huh?” Ash peered through the window that faced the city, and sure enough, he could see a sizeable crowd all the way from the seventh floor.

“I think he’s looking at us!” squealed a fan. “Hi, Champion Ash!”

“Mommy, I can see his crown all the way from here!” a little boy tittered.

“Daddy, why is Champion Ash in the Pokemon Center?” a little girl wanted to know. “Is he really, really sick?”

“I don’t know, sweetie. All we can do is hope for his safety and well-being.”

The girl hopped on top of her father’s Arcanine and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Get better soon, Champion Ash! We love you!”

“Yeah!” The rest of the crowd members joined with cheers of their own.

“I… I…” Before Ash knew it, tears were streaming down his face. “I don’t deserve all these people. I’m just a green Champion that swept the rug from underneath their beloved Leon.”

“Then that makes you a double dummy,” spoke Goh. “Are you implying that their love isn’t worthy? Are you doubting your fans?”

Ash cried even harder at his fiancé’s words. “I’m so thankful for my fans… Truly, I am.”

“We just wanted to make sure you were okay, so we’ll be taking our leave for the time being.” Nessa placed two sparkling amulets on the nightstand next to Goh’s hospital bag, along with blue incense. “That is a Shell Bell, a Soothe Bell, and Sea Incense that I made myself. They will bring you good fortune when you give birth.”

“And here are a few nursing shirts that I knit.” Melony placed three neatly folded shirts on the nightstand.

“You’re getting a nice mix of goodies from me.” Out of her rolling bag, Professor Sonia took a gift basket that contained a manual breast pump, a few onesies, four baby bottles, and chocolate chip granola bars. “And like the two lovely ladies before me, I made this gift myself.”

“This is an odd place to have a mini-baby shower, but I’ll take it. Thanks! Have a good night!” Goh waved his new friends goodbye.

When the three Galarian women left the room, Ash resumed his round of calls, starting with May and Max. He was pleasantly surprised to hear that May had become Top Coordinator in all of Hoenn, beating Drew in the latest Contest by a hair. After May, Ash decided to call Misty, to whom Goh bore no ill will this time around. On the contrary, their conversation went well, and Goh felt calm knowing that it ended on a good note.

When Goh had assumed that Ash was done calling for the night, Ash dialed one last time. He was noticeably more anxious about this one. “There’s one more call I have to make. It’s the last one, I promise.”

“I wonder who.”

The video phone flickered on to reveal a bizarre man with a blue jumpsuit and circular glasses. The surroundings suggested a high-tech, well-kept Gym. “Well, well, if it isn’t Ash Ketchum.”

“Clemont! Long time no talk. And-”

“Hehe!” A young woman with blonde pigtails held up a Dedenne to the screen. “Hey, Ash! Dedenne and I missed you lots!”

“You up for a challenge sometime?” Clemont petted his Luxray’s head. “Luxray would love it!”

“I wish I could, but…”

“It’s about the Shadow and Dynamax Pokemon, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, but you owe me a battle after all of that mess is taken care of.”

“You got it, dawg!” Ash held a thumbs up.

An unfamiliar young woman’s voice piped up from off-screen, “Hey, Clemont, who are you talking to?”

“I think you’ll recognize him when you see him. Take a look!”

“Hmm?” A woman with a red hair bow and long pink dress showed up on the screen, along with a Delphox. “Could… Could it be?”

Ash seemed reluctant to talk to this person. “Serena… It’s nice to see you again. You’re looking lovely.”

“Mm-hmm!” Serena sounded much more ecstatic than Ash and blushed the entire time she talked to him. “I just got crowned Kalos Queen! Can you believe it?”

“I totally can! You must have worked really hard, especially considering that your Braixen evolved.”

“Yup!” Serena continued to giggle.

This must be that lady that Pikachu referred to as the ‘Kalos kiss.’ Goh could feel his eyebrow twitching.

She still loves me, even after 11 years. Ash didn’t want to discuss what he had to say next, but it was necessary. “Serena, listen… About that kiss from the last time we met. I’m flattered, but… The truth is, I am engaged to be married.” Ash hugged Goh with one arm and circled the other around his shoulders. “Not only that, but Goh is about to give birth to our babies.”

“Oh… I see.” Serena sounded like she wanted to cry.

“I’m really sorry.”

Serena shook off her tears. “I’ll be okay! I’ve got my new fans and my lovely Delphox and Pancham!” She looked to Goh. “Goh, was it? You’re a really lucky guy and I’m happy for you both. I hope you and your families enjoy many years with lots of love.”

“Thank you.” Goh smiled, feeling embarrassed that he had any disdain for Serena at all. “I hope the same for you. Ash has told me about your Showcases; I’d love to watch one some time!”

“And I’d be glad to oblige and inundate you with my homemade Poke Puffs!”

“So no hard feelings?” Ash sounded worried.

“Not at all! I’ll leave you to rest then. Take care!”

Ash hung up the video phone, having no intention to make any calls for the night. After turning off the lights, he decided to sleep on the couch in the delivery room. “I’m going to stay here. I’m not going to leave your side, babe. You, me, the babies, our friends… We’re going to tackle that challenge and put an end to that damned Rose and Giovanni once and for all.”

“They’re going to pay for all that they’ve done…” Goh pulled the covers over him and felt himself drifting off. “In a week… Rose will finally meet his match.”

#pokemon #satogou #firstfriendshipping #journeyshipping #mpreg #fanfic #fanfiction

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