Ash stood still, breathing hard. The glade crackled with the leftover energy of the encounter. Frost rimed the grass beneath his shoes while black scorch marks seared the edges of nearby trees. The forest air was thick with ozone and silence—only the occasional falling leaf disturbed the stillness.
Goh hadn't moved. His eyes were locked skyward, fixed on the canopy where a moment ago, Mew had vanished like a dream at sunrise.
"W-what... what the hell was that?!" Goh finally stammered.
Ash said nothing at first. He glanced at the unconscious Nidoking. It lay slumped by the pond, twitching slightly but otherwise out cold. It would recover eventually—but it was a stark reminder of how powerful Mew truly was.
"That," Ash started, eyes narrowing slightly, "was something beyond us."
Goh tore his eyes from the sky and looked at Ash, incredulous. "Beyond us? Are you even listening to yourself? That wasn't just any Pokémon! It—it copied moves perfectly! It played with that Nidoking like it was a training dummy!"
Ash nodded slowly. "Exactly. It was playing."
"That's what makes it terrifying," he added, almost to himself.
Goh blinked, still overwhelmed. "Terrifying…? That was amazing! That was the most powerful Pokémon I've ever seen! It was small, fast, glowing—and did you see its eyes? Its movements?"
He threw up his arms, spinning to take in the forest as if the answer might be hiding in the leaves. "It looked like a—like a myth!"
Ash's expression hardened, though he quickly masked it with his usual mild tone. "It was a myth. At least… until now."
Goh narrowed his eyes. "Wait. You know something. You weren't surprised at all."
Ash froze for half a second. He tried to mask it with a shrug, but it was too late.
"You knew," Goh said. "You didn't scream, you didn't panic, you didn't even flinch. You've seen it before. Haven't you?"
Ash turned away and walked to Nidoking. "Whether I knew or not isn't the point. Right now, we need to make sure this guy's going to be okay."
Goh hesitated, torn between suspicion and awe, before following. He kept glancing around the edges of the glade, as if hoping Mew would appear again.
Ash knelt, pressing two fingers gently to Nidoking's thick neck. "Still breathing. Mew pulled its punches."
"Mew," Goh echoed. The word came out in a whisper. "Is that its name?"
Ash paused. Then, carefully: "That's what the old stories call it. It's a Mythical Pokémon that hasn't been seen for centuries, supposedly the ancestor of all existing Pokémon. "
A stillness settled between them, disturbed only by the breeze through the leaves and the distant cry of a Pidgeotto.
"I need to find it again," Goh said.
Ash didn't respond.
"No, I have to," Goh said. "Do you understand what this means? A Pokémon like that—it's not just strong. It's something else. Something ancient. Like—like the origin of all Pokémon or something."
Ash's eyes flicked toward him, unreadable.
"It came to me," Goh whispered. "It showed itself to me. Doesn't that mean something?"
Ash knew this moment. He remembered watching it unfold in another life, on another screen. But living through it, seeing the hunger flare in Goh's eyes—it hit different. Harder.
… And Goh was worse than he remembered.
A rustling in the underbrush snapped their attention around. Chloe stumbled into the clearing, face flushed with worry.
"There you two are!" she snapped. "What the heck were you thinking, running off like that?!"
Ash stood, brushing himself off. "We're okay. But a Nidoking went berserk."
"Wha—" Chloe gasped when she spotted the unconscious Pokémon. "What happened?!"
"It wa—!"
Ash nudged Goh sharply and spoke before he could.
"The Nidoking started to destroy everything, but another Nidoking came and they fought. Eventually, he defeated the berserker Nidoking and knocked him unconscious, and then he left," Ash told her. "If I had to guess, this conflict was probably due to a turf war."
"What?! N—!" Goh tried to talk.
"And for the fact that he was in a berserk state," Ash added quickly. "Maybe something disturbed its den. Could be noise, or the smell of too many people passing through. Nidoking are fiercely protective."
Goh looked like he might explode.
Chloe glanced warily at the signs of battle—the shattered earth, the freezing mist still clinging to grass blades. "That's dangerous! You should have called someone instead of just running off!"
"We didn't have time," Ash replied calmly. "It was already attacking. I had to make sure no one got hurt."
Chloe narrowed her eyes but didn't argue further. Her gaze lingered on the fallen Nidoking.
"I'll let Professor Oak know where we are," she finally said. "Stay right here."
They watched Chloe disappear into the trees before turning back to Goh. The boy was glaring at him, fists clenched, eyes burning with outrage.
"Why the hell did you lie like that?!" Goh hissed. "You just made up that whole story!"
Ash didn't flinch. His voice remained quiet, steady. "I didn't lie. I gave her a version that won't get us locked in a lab or questioned for the next ten years."
"You said it yourself! That was Mew!" Goh insisted, his voice rising in a furious whisper. "Don't you get it? We saw the real thing. It's out there—right now! What if it leaves and never comes back?!"
Ash didn't respond at first. He knelt again beside the Nidoking, brushing bits of singed grass off its hide. His fingers lingered on the deep grooves scorched into the ground.
"We're not ready," he finally said.
Goh blinked. "What?"
"Goh," Ash began. "Assume that we tell everyone about Mew, about we found him. If we do, they'll question us forever. Once they have the information, they'll swarm this forest, turn it upside down just to find him. The lives of several Pokémon will be at stake."
"But—!"
"And even if people believe us," Ash continued, "what proof do we have? Two kids claiming to see a Mythical Pokémon that hasn't appeared in hundreds of years? With no witnesses, no evidence? People from over the world have been like crazy searching Mew, trying to collect all the data possible from him, if we just... found him, would they believe us?"
Goh stood stiffly, fists clenched.
"But still!" he didn't give up. "I want to understand it! Don't you see? This could be the discovery of the century! A living legend! It chose to appear in front of us. Doesn't that mean something?"
"I'm going to find it again." he continued. "And next time, I'll be ready. I'll document it. Record everything. No one will be able to deny it..."
Ash sighed and glanced at the canopy where Mew had vanished moments ago. A faint shimmer still lingered in the air, like stardust. "You don't get it yet," he said under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." Ash shook his head. "Just… don't chase it recklessly, Goh. You can't catch Mew like it's just another Pokémon."
Goh squared his shoulders. "Then I'll be the first one who does."
Ash didn't answer. There was nothing more to say.
A few moments later, the underbrush parted again as Professor Oak emerged, panting slightly from the jog. Chloe was right behind him, looking more anxious than before.
"My goodness," the professor breathed, adjusting his glasses as he took in the scene. "Is that a Nidoking? What happened here?"
"Territorial dispute," Ash said without hesitation, stepping aside to let the professor examine the fallen Pokémon. "One of them went into a frenzy. But it's stable, breathing. Luckily, the other Nidoking didn't kill it."
Oak gave him a long look but said nothing. He crouched to check Nidoking's vitals himself, his hands surprisingly steady despite his age.
Chloe hung back, biting her lip. Goh stood awkwardly beside Ash, still brimming with barely contained frustration.
"We need to call in the local rangers," Oak finally said. "They can relocate it safely. If it's reacting this aggressively to people in the area, it's not safe to leave it here."
Ash nodded. "Good idea."
Goh stayed quiet.
Oak rose and turned toward the boys. "And you two," he said, frowning now. "What were you thinking, running off like that?"
"We didn't run off," Ash said. "We heard something, investigated. If we hadn't, this Nidoking might have rampaged all the way to the camp."
Oak didn't look entirely convinced, but he nodded. "Well… you're lucky. Both of you. Nidoking are no joke."
Ash let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Oak then smiled faintly. "Still, I'm glad you're safe. Come. Let's return to camp before anyone else gets worried."
Ash followed behind him without a word. Goh lingered for a second longer, turning to stare at the spot where Mew had hovered, glowing like a star, eyes ancient and curious.
Then he followed, but in his mind, he wasn't leaving. Not really.
--------------------
Back at the camp, the atmosphere was buzzing.
The students had been rounded up and kept under close watch after the loud roars and distant flashes had startled several chaperones. Rumors flew like Beedrill—wild Nidoking, forest fires, rare Pokémon sightings. Some even joked that a legendary had shown up.
Ash and Goh returned under a storm of questions, but gave no real answers. Chloe kept her arms crossed, watching them with suspicion.
Professor Oak spoke with the rangers when they arrived, handing over Nidoking's coordinates and warning them about the potential territorial agitation. He was calm and efficient, but Ash noticed the way his eyes occasionally drifted to Goh.
And Goh—Goh was quiet. Not sullen, not defeated—focused.
"You guys really aren't telling me everything," she finally said.
Ash shrugged. "You know everything you need to know."
Chloe crossed her arms. "I'm serious, Ash. And you—" she turned to Goh "—stop running off! One of these days, you're going to get hurt, and no one will be around to help."
"I can take care of myself," Goh said, defiant but a little less sure than before.
Professor Oak called them back together for closing remarks. Students began gathering, still buzzing from the day's events. Many had no idea about the Mew encounter or even the Nidoking fight—they'd only heard secondhand stories and rumors, and Oak wasn't confirming anything publicly yet.
Ash stayed at the back of the group, arms folded, staring off into the forest. Green and Yellow came over.
"You okay?" Yellow asked.
"Yeah," Ash replied. "Just… thinking."
"What happened with Goh?" Green asked. "You two looked like you'd seen a ghost when you came back."
Ash hesitated, then smiled faintly. "In a way… we did."
Yellow tilted her head. "That sounds ominous."
He didn't elaborate.
Meanwhile, Goh stood a little apart, notebook in hand, furiously sketching. Not the Nidoking, not the forest. Just… Mew. Page after page of pink blurs, gleaming tails, glowing eyes. All from memory.
From his memory.
Ash knew that obsession had taken root. And just like in the anime, it wouldn't stop. Not now.
"Hey," Chloe said, coming up behind him. "You're really going to chase it, aren't you?"
Goh looked up. "Wouldn't you?"
She frowned. "I'm not sure."
"I am."
Ash watched him go.
A part of him wondered if he'd done the right thing. If maybe, just maybe, letting the scene play out exactly as it had in the original timeline was a mistake. Because now that he'd seen Goh's hunger—his desire for Mew firsthand—it felt darker. More personal.
'He won't stop until he catches it,' Ash thought. 'But you can't catch a Mythical like that… not without changing.'
As night fell over the jungle, Ash sat alone at the edge of the camp, looking up at the stars. The warm chatter of students faded behind him. He could hear the distant hum of insect wings, the occasional cry of a Noctowl in the dark.
He didn't turn when Goh approached.
"He was looking at me," Goh said quietly.
Ash blinked.
"Mew," Goh went on. "Before he vanished. He looked at me. Right in the eyes."
Ash didn't say anything.
"It wasn't random," Goh said firmly. "You said something earlier. That it was playing. That's what makes it terrifying. But I think it wasn't just playing. I think it was… measuring us. Me."
Ash tilted his head toward him now. "What do you mean?"
Goh's fists clenched at his sides. "It could've vanished the second it saw us. But it didn't. It waited. It let me watch it. That means something. Maybe I didn't pass the test, but I got the test."
He looked up at the stars.
"I'm going to pass next time."
Ash watched him quietly. He thought about how this moment would one day define the beginning of Goh's journey—how Mew, elusive and unknowable, would become the core of the boy's lifelong quest.
And high above them, unseen and silent, a shimmer of pink light curled around a tree branch before vanishing once more into the night.