Chapter Text
—
@gou-fficial
I’m so psyched for the next season of Pokémon!!!! 🙌🏽
❤️9 👎0 🔁1 💬3
@todd_snap_art
( I hope they bring back Todd Snap!!
❤️5
@gou-fficial
(( lmao in your dreams, todd
💔1
—
Month 1 - November
—
The day Gou landed his role on the Pokémon Journeys TV series didn’t feel real.
Gou hangs up his call with the Line Producer. His parents, who heard the whole exchange, are ecstatic, jumping all around and crooning over their precious baby boy, their little star— After years of community theatre, background roles, and minor ad gigs, he’s finally getting his big break: their son is about to become the newest star of the biggest show on children’s television! His mother pulls him into a bone-crushing hug before releasing him and peppering his shell-shocked face with I’m-so-proud-to-be-your-mother kisses.
The joy of the news still hasn’t settled in for Gou— he’s just confused. Gou can’t believe it.
Him, the next star of Pokemon? His favorite show since he was ten years old?
He remembers auditioning for the role, sure— he wasn’t planning to, but his best friend and fellow actor, Todd, sent him the casting call and convinced him to give it a try. Since Todd already had a minor role in the Pokémon series’ first season, way back when he was just ten, he couldn’t audition for the part himself.
—
~ CASTING CALL ~
for lead role in a major network television series
The Pokémon Studio is auditioning young performers for the upcoming season of Pokemon: Journeys. We look forward to watching talent from all across the globe.
Ethnicity: Any
Gender: Any
Age: 14
To be considered for an audition, please send your headshot & demo reel to …
—
Todd convinced him it would be a great learning opportunity, if nothing else. So, Gou gave it his best shot, but he truly wasn’t expecting anything to come of it— there were hundreds, if not thousands, of teen actors competing for the role— Better, prettier, and much, much more experienced actors than him.
The biggest role Gou’s ever had was a supporting lead in a blackbox theatre production on Little Broadway. Who would take a chance on someone as green as he was?
Apparently, the new Director of Pokémon Journeys would.
The soon-to-be star stares blankly back at the reflection in his idle smartphone screen. This can’t be real. Is this a prank? Some sort of deep-fake?
While his parents are busying themselves with planning their celebration dinner, Gou‘s phone lights up in his hands with another call, this time from another unfamiliar number. Part of him genuinely wonders if it’s the studio calling to say, Whoops, Our mistake, We meant to give the role to someone else!
Figuring he should answer it, Gou clears his throat and accepts the call. “…Hello…?”
“Hi, Gou? This is Ash Ketcher.”
Gou gasps and drops his phone.
Ashton Ketcher, THE Ashton Ketcher, poster child star of Pokémon, is calling him.
He scrambles for his phone again as Ashton says, “…I heard you officially got the part! I wanted to call to say congrats.“
Ashton is waiting for a response, so the junior actor wills himself to say something, anything. Most people would say “thank you!” but for some reason, Gou just stammers, “Are you— actually— Ashton—???”
Behind him in the kitchen, Gou’s mom gasps, and his dad whirls around.
After a pause, Ashton laughs. “You just got the news, huh? Don’t worry, the shock will wear off soon.”
Gou is struggling to formulate a response between his flustered state and his parents being distracting, eavesdropping and whispering urgently behind him. “I- uh- yeah— Sorry. This doesn’t— feel real…” Gou murmurs, taking off his glasses and holding his head.
“I get it. Hey, make sure to celebrate tonight. You’ve earned it.” Gou very much doubts he’s earned anything. Seemingly reading Gou’s mind, Ashton says, “And don’t tell me you haven’t. I saw your audition. You were awesome.”
Now Ashton Ketcher is praising him? Gou feels like he’s gonna faint as he says, “Uh? Ohh. Um. Thank you, uh, Ashton—“
“Just Ash.”
“Ash! I’m Sorry—“ Gou drags his hand down his face, horrified with himself.
“It’s cool—“ There’s some commotion on the other end of the line, and Gou hears other voices and someone calling for Ash. “Ah, I gotta go. I’ll meet you on the set soon, okay?”
“S-sure! Have a good one, Ash,” Gou manages.
“You too. See you, Gou!”
As the line drops, so does Gou’s blood pressure. He falls back on the couch as his parents cry out in alarm and fan his face.
—
Month 2 - December
—
Despite Ash’s promise, the shock never really wears off. Gou eventually accepts his new reality, but two weeks later, his new role still feels as surreal as it did the day Ash called him.
It’s equally surreal meeting Ash, in the flesh, inside the studio gates. As they shake hands, Gou has to keep reminding himself, like a mantra: Ash may be a huge celebrity, but he’s still just a person, like him or anyone else. Gou of all people should know that, as a fellow actor. They’re going to be work partners from here on out.
Still, Gou keeps catching himself getting starry eyed around his new co-star, and he mentally rebukes himself.
Ashton catches him, too. With a knowing smile, he asks, "Is there something on my face…?”
The superfan blushes red, his eyes darting away. “Sorry!! I didn’t mean to stare, I was just– I always wondered what was on your cheeks…” he answers truthfully.
“Huh…? Oh! These?” Ash bursts out laughing, wiping one of the lightning bolts off his cheeks. “They’re just temp tats. I was doing a magazine shoot earlier.”
Gou's shade of red deepens as he fully turns away from Ash, pretending to admire the set design around him and feeling like a total dweeb. “Oh!! Yeah! Of course...!”
In many ways, Ash is exactly what Gou expected him to be: Cool, Experienced, Impossibly Handsome— yet in other ways, the young star surprises him. He’s much more mature, eloquent, and soft spoken than the character he plays. Gou anticipated the boy might be a bit vain after five years of super-stardom, but from what Gou can tell so far, he’s genuinely a kind-hearted person, and he treats everyone he comes across with the same respect.
Ash seems keen on taking Gou under his wing, even going so far as giving the newcomer a tour of the studio himself.
He introduces the up-and-coming star to the studio's newest Director, Ms. Dee. She also happens to be the actress who plays Ash’s mom, Delia. Though she has no actual relation to Ashton, they’ve known one another since season one, and Ash appears to be very comfortable around her.
Gou, by contrast, is terribly nervous to make a good impression on her. He makes sure to thank her profusely for having him on the show, promising to give her all his best. To which she happily responds, “I’m looking forward to it!”
—
Gou is trying his best not to totally geek out in front of his new co-star, but it’s hard to contain his giddy excitement as he flits around the Pokémon studio guest museum, admiring books of concept art, reels of the show’s best scenes, Team Rocket props, and a magnificent Pokemon mural. Ash offers to take a selfie with him in front of it, and Gou shyly accepts.
As Gou pulls out his phone, his notifications light up like popcorn. His phone’s been on silent all morning for his tour with Ash, so he’s startled to see he’s been tagged in almost a thousand new comments, and his page is pinging with multiple new followers with every passing second.
“Whoa,” Gou breathes, feeling that surreal disconnect from reality again.
Ash peers over at his phone before meeting his eyes sympathetically. “Guess they made the announcement! I wish they’d give us a heads up about this stuff.”
Gou looks back at his phone, and the numbers he‘s seeing are dizzying. He skims through some of the notifications.
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS!!!❤️💕💖
ew who is this. i miss serena!
he kinda cute ngl
Huh, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with two protagonists.
uhhh boy or girl…?
omg wait nooo Are they trying to phase out Ash with this guy?😭
Without really thinking, Gou taps on a notification that catches his eye.
Who tf is this? Are they just handing out these roles to anyone now?
Ash plucks the phone from his hands, and Gou blinks at him. “Wh—“
His seasoned costar quickly navigates to Gou’s notification settings, turning all comments off and muting the big announcement thread for him. “Don’t read the comments.”
“But—”
“Just trust me,” Ash drones with the weariness of a war-torn veteran. “C’mon.” He tugs Gou closer by his shoulders, holds his phone up and smiles for a selfie. Gou smiles softly and flashes a peace sign. When Ash is done, Gou reaches for his phone, but Ash flourishes it away. “Nuh-uh. I’m confiscating this. We still have a tour to finish.”
Gou wants to argue, but it’s Ashton, so he doesn’t.
His personal tour guide goes on to show him the other floors, including the warehouse where they keep all their iconic props and set pieces. Gou finally starts to unwind a bit more as Ash invites him to play with the Team Rocket disguise wardrobe, handing him stuff to try on. He laughs as Ash wraps him in a fluffy, white feather boa. Between the two of them, they end up wearing masquerade masks, a top hat, a sailor’s cap, a long, blonde wig, a chef’s coat, and a tear away skirt.
Gou is happy to learn Ash still has this playful, boyish side— he doesn’t have to worry about being too serious around him.
A special array of hats on mannequin heads catches Gou’s eye, and he realizes it’s all of Ash’s different cap designs throughout the series. Ash notices Gou looking and tosses the original hat at Gou, who just turns it over in his hands, admiring it.
“Go ahead, try it on.” Ash insists.
Gou obliges, turning to face one of the floor length mirrors.
Seeing Ash’s hat on his head unlocks some sort of reaction in Gou that he wasn’t expecting.
It looks… wrong on him.
He doesn’t look like the protagonist of anything.
Gou stares back at his reflection, suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that he doesn’t belong here, in this studio, in this room, in this hat, next to him.
Are they just handing out these roles to anyone now?
Ash holds up Gou’s phone, offering to take another picture for him. Gou politely declines, forcing a smile as he gently takes the TV relic off his head and hands it back to its rightful owner.
His new co-star must notice the minute change in Gou’s demeanor, because he asks, “What’s up?”
Having Ash see right through him sends another jolt of fraudulence through his core. If he can’t even fake a smile, how is he going to perform for one of the biggest shows on television? Gou just laughs nervously and shakes his head. As he readjusts his glasses, he says, “It’s nothing.”
Ash, still holding his hat, crosses his arms. “No, something’s wrong. Spill it.”
Gou, a little startled by Ash’s assertiveness, looks back at him with wide eyes, his smile faltering. “Aha… Ahh, uhh, it’s— I just…” Eye contact with Ash is starting to burn like staring into the sun, so Gou looks down at his shoes and murmurs, “I just don’t understand, that’s all.”
“Understand what?” Ash presses.
“…How I even got here?” Gou laughs again, trying to sound light hearted, but the feeling is so heavy that it hurts to hold. He turns back around to the prop table, distracting himself with the extravagant feather on a regency-era bonnet.
Ash is quiet for a moment and Gou regrets saying anything. He should have just insisted nothing was wrong, but he went and said that instead. Ash is gonna figure out he doesn’t belong here. Why would Ash want to act alongside anyone who isn’t confident in themselves? Is it too late to can him and find someone else? Maybe they should. He doesn’t feel ready for this. Anxious thoughts start to cloud his mind like static.
Then Ash’s voice cuts through the noise. “Well, first, you qualified for the auditions thanks to your résumé and demo reel, which impressed our recruiters. Then you were invited to audition; You memorized your lines and performed incredibly well, impressing our casting director and his team.”
Gou stands still as Ash is speaking. “Our head director saw your tapes, and she and I chose you out of 20 finalists.” At this, Gou’s eyes snap up at him in shock. Ash just smiles.
“Our scouts took note of how you treated others during auditions, from your competition to the PAs. And, unlike a lot of guys in this industry: you’re kind, humble, and you show respect to those around you, even if you’re a bit shy.”
The shy boy’s mouth opens and closes a little, trying to protest, but he can’t find the words.
“And, besides all that, you’re a huge fan of the show, and I can tell we’re gonna get along just fine.” Ash flashes him a quick, cheeky wink. “Does that answer your question?”
Gou is speechless, staring back at Ash like he can’t believe he’s real. “But…I…” Ash just reaches up and flicks his forehead, making him jump. “Ow!”
“You belong here with me,” Ash says with a smile, “Get used to it.”
An instant blush spreads through Gou’s cheeks.
—
@gou-fficial
uh. hi
❤️200K 👎12.1K 🔁13K 💬834
@todd_snap_art
( RIP, your notifs
❤️12K
@pichuwu
( hi
❤️2K
@throwaway1846592027
( this comment was removed for violating community guidelines
❤️303
@satoshistheman
(( he’s 14 man leave him alone
❤️89K
@cvntyregirock
( follow me for fresh Pokemon memes
❤️3K
@ashton.marry.me
( I have a favor to ask pls message me
❤️10K
@cvntyregirock
(( lmao girl you delulululuwhoOOP
❤️98K