#palletshipping fanfic

[shigerussato]

the rewrite i’ve been promising for a long while haha. enjoy 🤗

[deamsgirl]

Title: Entropy (8/?)

Fandom: Pokemon

Pairings: Ash/Gary/Goh, Blue/Red

Summary: “I’m—I’m Goh,” he says. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on. Usually we’ve met by now. Where’s Ash?”

If anything, Gary just looks more confused. “Yeah, okay, time to go, crazycakes.” He points to the door. “Show yourself out and I won’t even get the cops involved, capisce?”

“Wait, Gary, please—”

“I don’t know who this Gary person is, but I’m not him. Go home, take your meds, and… fuck, I don’t know, just—”

“You mean you’re… not Gary Oak?” Goh asks. That doesn’t make any sense. The man in front of him looks just like him.

Something like recognition sparks in the other man’s eye. “No. I’m Blue Oak. Now, I really think you should leave.”

[milla14r]

Guys, you know how in the english dub you have the Ashy-boy nickname?

We don't have that in spanish, we just have the boring 'loser' 😔

Isn't bad tbh, but when you write fanfic is like the cherry on top when Gary is like "Ashy-boy"

And it feels wrong writing 'Ashy-boy' in an all spanish fic. Anyways I just wanted to say how lucky you all are and how beautiful I think that nickname is in ShigeSato or Pokémon in general fanfic 😹

[savebatsfromscratch]

Hockey Watching - Palletshipping Week 1 (Roommates)

Summary:

Gary and Ash watch a hockey game together. (Au notes in final note in ao3 version, I put them at the top in this one.)

Notes:

Prompt: Roommates Note: The first thing I went to was watching a Hockey game together. …for some reason. I kinda made up my own Pokemon world teams, but feel free to imagine your favorite team I guess. (Though if it’s not the Sabers I don’t want you here. /light hearted) Also, for the record, they’re kind of American coded in this one. Whoops. I apologize for this look into my mind. Cws: Surprise kiss, sort of nonsensical writing Words: 1,791

End Notes:

…dude this is such a mess. (<- did not even try to edit it.)   Here’s a fun secret, I headcannon Blake (from Pokemon Adventures) as a Hockey player, and I made his number his dexholder number! :D I also headcannon Jun (from Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Adventure) as a Hockey player, and I made his number “3” because he has three total pokemon lol. I also put Hareta (from the same series) on his team and made him number “1” because that’s the number of my favorite Sabers goalie. :3 I also Headcannon Barry and Jun as triplets (the third being Pearl from Pokemon Adventures.) I also had to make up a last name for both Jun and Blake. For Jun I gave him “Aemilius,” because I went the roman route and it “was originally derived from the Latin word aemulus, which referred to equal or rival.” (iGENEA) And I gave Blake Rasmussen because it starts with an “r” sound and so does his Japanese name AND Rasmussen would look SICK on a Hockey jersey.

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54803911

Prompts from here: @/shigerussato

Fic under the cut!

Gary plopped down on the couch in front of the already flickering TV, one hand clutched around a large can of some gross thing that Delia had bought them, and the other clinging desperately to an overfilled bowl of chicken wings. Already on the couch, Ash laughed and turned up the volume on the TV with the remote that he had apparently located. (Last time Gary had checked in, the two of them had been pretty sure that that thing was gone for good.)

“Is the game on yet?” He asked, setting the huge cup down on the coffee table (and releasing a short prayer that it wouldn’t spill) as he looked up at the current rush of ads across the television screen, “Who’s winning?”

Ash giggled and got halfway through a, “Not yet Oak,” before stopping and realizing that something was still missing from their Hockey watching spree. “Um, you did get us napkins, right?”

Gary looked around himself, and though he saw Ash’s fingerless glove clad hand already covered in Buffalo sauce, hovering unsurely about the rest of the chicken wings, he saw no napkins. “Oh dang it,” He let out an exasperated cry and smacked a hand to his forehead, “I forgot them in the other room, here, I’ll get them-,”

He went to stand, but all of a sudden the announcer sprang to life before them.

“Welcome to today’s game of Hockey,” he was saying, voice strong and accented like an old radio star, and speaking just as fast, “We’ve got a very interesting match up today,”

The second announcer interrupted, sounding just as excited as the first, “Thankfully for the Snowpoint Legends, it seems that number 3, Jun Aemilius, is back on the ice, after his injury on Wednesday we were getting worried that he might not be able to make it to the next game, but it seems the medics came through!”

“And based on today’s lineup for the Icirrus Truths, the Legends may have really needed the return. I mean, ever since number 16, Blake Rasmussen, was traded into the team from the Castelia Ideals, the Truths have been rising in power across the league,”

“However, the new goalie for the Legends, number 1, Hareta Rowan, might be able to match Rasmussen’s intensity,”

“Do you know who they’re talking about?” Gary whispered to Ash, who seemed to have given up on napkins and was instead licking his fingers clean. (Seeing this, he quickly flushed red and looked back to the screen, pretending to be looking for clues there, though he hoped Ash would not guess the true reason for his newfound focus. …though it wouldn’t have been a problem if he had known.)

“Number three for the Legends is triplets with one of my rivals from when I was in Sinnoh,” Ash commented, watching as the camera tracked after a very attractive blond offensive player as if it was a totally normal comment to make to his current rival.

Gary suddenly reached for a can on the table, suddenly realizing that his throat felt dry. 

“None of that,” Ash waved his hands back and forth, flinging a speck or two of leftover sauce into Gary’s face, “I still love you the most,” he looked down at the cans, “Plus, those are non-alcoholic,”

Gary put his head in his hands, laughing. Had Ash assumed he had been trying to get drunk? “I’m just thirsty Ash,” he said, “and you reminded me of what your mom bought us,”

Ash made a face, studying the cans critically, “I wouldn’t suggest trying those, they’re probably flavored, like, pumpkin pie or crayons or something,”

Gary studied the can in the brightness of the ice from the screen. “The first one,” he told Ash, making a face, “Pumpkin pie seltzer, are you kidding me? Where does she even get them?”

“The Viridian Pokemart I think,” Ash said, snuggling a bit closer to Gary under the guise of checking out the ingredients of the strange drink.

“Why would she go all the way to Viridian to get-,” Gary cut himself off as the game suddenly kicked into action on the screen in front of them. Ash too sat up, suddenly on the edge of his seat as the puck rushed from player to player, currently held by the Truths. Gary glanced over at Ash’s face, noticing that he didn’t look super happy about that fact. 

“Soo…” Gary tried, now his turn to scoot closer, “Are we rooting for the Legends?”

“Would you want to root for a team from Unova?”

“Fair point,”

The two sat together, watching as the action moved from player to player, occasional crashes and shrieks coming up from the players as they crashed together and into various metal walls. Gary found himself leaning forward and hissing in anticipation as the puck shot towards the goal on their side, but joined Ash in whooping when the (apparently not-so-rookie) goalie expertly blocked the shot, catching it under his glove and sending up cheers among the crowd on his side of the stadium.

Ash grabbed Gary’s arm and shook him, as if Gary had watched more than a couple of games before to understand quite what that meant for his team. “Did you see that?!” He asked, sounding almost as excited as he always had before their battles, “That was so cool!”

The fact that Gary didn’t quite understand the game did not stop him from sharing Ash’s excitement. (Though he suspected that was more due to the fact that his rival was all but climbing into his lap in nervous joy about the game.)

“Yeah,” Gary said, watching somewhat in awe as the players sped from side to side in the advertisement lined rink.

They continued to watch like that, whooping as number three on their team managed a goal and hissing as 16, Blake, on the other side finally managed one of his own. At one point, their hands met in the chicken wing bowl, and of course Ash couldn’t help but joke that it was the most affectionate they’d been since getting back to Pallet together. (Gary shoved him off his shoulder and laughed it off, but the entire next period passed before he was done blushing about it.)

Advertisements passed as Gary left to refill the snacks, and he found himself grinning with the draw to watch the game as he saw it starting up again.

“You have to admit that this is just as interesting as watching a Pokemon battle,” Ash said, between bites of chicken wing, looking expectantly up at Gary.

“And nowhere near as irritating,” Gary added, breaking off in the middle of his sentence to take a large sip of pumpkin pie seltzer. (Which was honestly even more interesting than Delia had advertised it as being.) “I’m not there picking through every mistake they make,”

They both cringed as, number three, the forward on the team they had decided to root for just barely missed an easy shot.

“For the most part anyway,” Gary corrected

“For the most part anyway,” Ash laughed, agreeing with him.

They looked forward, and the game went back into that comfortable blur as the announcers led the cheers (or boos) as players entered and left the ice. (Though Gary found himself realizing that the two rivals were getting oddly close again as the final period began to wrap up. Even if the “close together” in question was more like, “just about falling off the couch with how focused they were on the flashing screen,”)

They cheered as their goalie blocked yet another would-have-been goal, and then cheered even louder as their team managed to actually complete a goal of their own. They were back in the lead by one, and with only a couple of seconds remaining on the clock, and a major player of the Truths out for misconduct earlier in the match, it was looking good.

“Comeon comeon,” Ash muttered, his fingers digging into Gary’s shoulders as he leaned even further forward, “Just hold the goal for one more-,”

“No!” They both shrieked, watching as their goalie, the one named like his region’s professor, was knocked to the ground by an opposing player, allowing the puck to sail cleanly into the net behind him.

Making the game tied, and sending it into overtime as Ash jolted to his feet, taking two large steps forward and echoing the announcer as he yelped. “How was that not an illegal move!”

Gary stood and walked to meet him, but found his eyes similarly glued to the screen as the teams reset for the tie breaking move. In his still lacking understanding of the game, he couldn’t quite tell what was happening, but the energy in the crowd (and in Ash), was enough to tell him that, whatever it was, it was seriously interesting.

He squinted at the glowing ice, and then found himself jumping up and down as he spotted number three dragging the puck forward and towards the opposing goal. He was moving like lightning, skirting around nearly every other player as he raced for the win.

Ash and Gary watched in slow motion as 16, Blake, from the other team fought to catch up with Jun, and cheered as he crashed into a defenseman from his own team, clearly still at least a little shaken up from his apparent injury on Wednesday as the two skidded across the ice together, their balance lost.

It happened so fast that Gary almost missed it, but the puck banged against the net and the stadium exploded. Even with the TV on low volume, Gary truly felt like he was among the screaming fans as Ash jumped up and down beside him. Clapping his hands together and shivering in excitement. To Gary, the sight was almost funny, but as he opened his mouth to say something about it, he found himself the one taken aback as Ash jumped up and kissed him.

They hung that way for a moment, Gary feeling like he was floating in sudden joy as Ash’s arms wrapped briefly around his shoulders, only to be dragged back away again as his friend suddenly pulled back, face bright red.

“Oh I-,” he tried to explain himself, “I didn’t mean to-,”

Gary’s face was definitely bright red, but he didn’t care. “Well,” he said, grabbing Ash’s hands and leaning forward, “Do it again and I might think about coming back for the next game,” 

He smirked as Ash stuttered out a sudden, “I love you,” right before Gary pulled them back into a kiss as the cheers of the crowd echoed through the dark room. 

(Even if their mouths tasted like buffalo chicken wings and pumpkin pie seltzer.)

[fandomstars]

Pokemon Anime XY/XYZ- Greninja sickfic? No specific ideas lol, just Greninja sickfic because literally none exist

Hm wonder why…but okay sure!

Greninja’s Sick Day

“Greninja will be okay right?”

“Of course he will Ash, he’s strong like you.”

“Yeah Ash, he’ll be fine no worries!”

He could hear Ash laugh as Bonnie spoke, “No worries…reminds me of a good friend.”

Greninja could imagine Bonnie’s eyes light up, “Can you tell me?”

“Sure! Let’s go sit down and I’ll tell you all about my friend Dawn.”

Greninja could faintly hear a huff of annoyance by Serena, before feet shuffled away from his room.

‘Honestly that girl should just quit crushing on Ash. He clearly has more chemistry and love for his rivals than her anyway. I won’t be surprised if he has a boyfriend in that Gary guy.’ Greninja thought, mentally rolling his eyes, before regretting it as it just made his head hurt more.

He could hear bits and parts of the story, and was definitely interested in battling said mons Ash had back then.

He wondered if they fully evolved like him, as it’s unlikely Pikachu would for some unknown reason.

‘I doubt it’s cause of a stone, I’ve seen past trainers get such for prizes at tournaments. And judging by Ash’s skills now and in the story, he could of done so by now.’

Of course, he eventually began to pass back out into dreamland, and thankfully the pain was managed thanks to Nurse Joy coming in mere seconds before he fell asleep.

“Come on Froakie, do it again!”

“Honestly, you can’t learn this one move?”

“Another loss why?!”

“You. Are. Weak.”

Greninja could only shiver as more and more from past trainer’s kept spatting at him louder and louder.

“Greninja.”

He turns around, the noise suddenly becoming nothing but air as he looks to see Ash, sitting on the ground just a few feet from him, his knees up to his head.

But then his insides turn cold, and before he knows it, his legs move away from the boy.

What was he doing? What was going on?

He couldn’t stop, he couldn’t turn around, all he could do was hear the screams of pain and sadness echo around him of the one person who believed in him.

That never thought of him as weak.

The water frog woke up with a start.

He tried to calm down, breath in and out.

He could hear the beeping of the heart monitor, smell the chlorine in the air, and feel the soft blanket under his hands.

He sighed, looking around with a nod before laying back on the bed.

He looked out a nearby window, and huh….must of gotten dark before he knew it, and with a snow storm to boot.

“He’s still out there?!”

Greninja gets up and looks towards the door.

“I tried to reason with him, but he just pushed me away, and now with this storm…”

He got up off his bed before he knew it, walking out the center, ignoring the calls of others, including Pikachu.

Of course it was his trainer that would be out in a snow storm of all things.

He couldn’t help but slightly chuckle as the cold air brushed through him.

He wasn’t going to lose to the ice again, he was going to find his idiotic trainer, and get the two of them back at it.

They had a gym battle to win, and no storm was going to stop that if the frog had anything to say about it.

[mypalletshippinglove]

Chapter summary: After a school assignment he put his heart on, Ash knows it's finally the right time to be truthful to himself and the world.

Happy Palletshipping Day! I wanted to do a little something for today, and here is a new chapter of my story. I know it’s not much, but I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for everything :)

[starthornisscratching]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ookido Shigeru | Gary Oak/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Past AmourShipping, Palletshipping - Relationship Characters: Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Ookido Shigeru | Gary Oak Additional Tags: Palletshipping Week 2024, Sharing favorite food, Bad Cooking, Fluff, Insecurity, Ficlet, Aged-Up Character(s), I keep forgetting to tag that, Attempt at Humor Series: Part 5 of PalletShipping Week 2024 Summary:

Gary can't get something Ash said about Serena out of his head, so he tries his own hand at cooking.

---

Ash's love language is food+ L+ ratio

ToT I'm not good at this type of fic. This one really is a ficlet.

---

words: 1033

[incorrect-tokigou]

Is there any Shigetoki fanfics? If there is then please send them to me, I really wanna read them.

Also let me know about any Shigegou, Tokigou or Satotoki fics.

Not to mention Shigesato fic recs please 🙏

I'm begging here, I really need some good fanfics to read.

[garyandash-trash]

Chapter 6 of MBF is up!!! WOOOO!!!

[box-of-teenage-souls]

As a faithful Palletshipper who regularly uses AO3, I am so unbelievably heartbroken and disappointed that there are twice as less fanfictions of Ash x Gary than there are of Journeyshipping. Idk why, maybe because Journeyshipping was new and so interesting at the time that there was probably a boom of Ash x Goh fanfics. It also makes me kinda sad knowing that some former Palletshippers no doubt fell out of it in favor of Journeyshipping (I say this cuz I've encountered one), but I guess it's just me being petty. Idk, I guess it really bummed me out considering Gary was Ash's very first best friend (before Pikachu) and rival, therefore I thought there'd at least be more fanfics of them on AO3. No hate or disrespect against Journeyshipping or any other relationships Ash gets paired up with, but when I read a recent Palletshipping fanfic and checked the tag, it shocked me wayyy more than it should have.

Anyway, thanks for hearing me vent like a pathetic little brat who didn't get their way. I just wanted to let it out before I combusted.

[shigerussato]

(FINAL) PALLETSHIPPING WEEK INFO!!! PLEASE READ + (Reblogs Appreciated!!!) 

hi everyone ! we’re legitimately a month away from palletshipping week my goodness does time fly haha. 

here’s some info you may know, as well as additional information i’ve added since i’ve gotten dm’s and inbox questions for my event so just so it answers questions that ppl may share. i’m highly encouraging you all read if you’re entering i added a certain aspect that i think is most important for this event. thank you so much for the ones who will be celebrating this pair with me and can’t wait to read all your pieces ! 🤍 

DATES! :

Palletshipping Start Date : March 29th 

Palletshipping Week End Date : April 4th (Palletshipping Day) 

you can start posting your first writing piece whenever it is March 29th for your timezone. that writing piece must be for Day One of palletshipping week. so please post these as the chronological order i have organized them. 

YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO DO ALL SEVEN DAYS ! : 

tbh i’ve seen ppl entering my event saying stuff like “ugh it’s too much to handle” “oh i hope i finish all seven on time” “ugh i have up to three days only” and in the most sincerities way, it hurts me that ppl are pushing themselves and making a literal chore to finish all seven days. 

this is for you to have fun writing, and to share your passion for shigesato, not homework. and maybe i should’ve done a better job as the organizer and mentioned it from the start that you’re not at all in your obligation to do all seven days. 

so please only write what you can and topics you are more comfortable and find more inspiration to write for. 

if you write for certain days just post your fic for that certain day and it’s appropriate date for posting on that topic on. thank you. 

(that also goes for the potential artists that will be entering as well) 

POSTINGS/TAGS : 

When posting your pieces PLEASE try to specify that it’s for palletshipping week ! weather mentioning it on a note or tag under “Palletshipping Week” 

When posting your writing pieces you have two options : 

You may make this as a chapter book, example “Day One - Chapter 1 etc etc.” 

Second Option you may make it as a ‘Series’ Ao3 users you may be familiar with associating a fic to another as a part of a series so that’s a second option! 

as i mentioned other platforms are welcome, but since i only use Ao3 i don’t have familiarity with how others work so as you’d like to organize on other platforms is up to your preferences and knowledge. 

Also when posting your pieces please specify “Day One - Childhood Memories/Rivalry/Bickering/Teasing” you may just title it with the topic you chose to do with the piece. 

NOTE : your fics do not have to be named after the specific day topic you may make your own title but just specify (as mentioned) that it’s an entry for palletshipping week and the day the fic is associated for. 

OTHER INFO :

to promote your fics on here or other social media platforms you may use the tag “palletshipping week” to do so. 

ARTISTS ARE ALLOWED ! 

these topics aren’t only potential for fics but art as well ! so feel free to post and tag under “palletshipping week” and specify the days the art is for. 🤍 

i will be reblogging and sharing fics, art, edits that are made for palletshipping week so if you’d like to get it shared just tag it under “palletshipping week” as i specified !

NOTE : 

everyone and anyone who loves palletshipping is allowed to participate. you don’t need to be following me, be moots with me or any way associated with me. you’re allowed to have fun and do this if you’d like, me being the organizer has nothing to do with you not being able to do so. 

again, feel free to ask questions under this post, inbox or dm’s ! thank you and have fun with this, i’m very excited !! 🤍🤍

Topics Listed Below : 

[deamsgirl]

Title: Ribbons and Arrows (2/?)

Fandom: Pokemon

Pairing: Ash/Gary/Goh

Summary:

Sylveon looks between Ash and Gary, ears perking up. Then it sends out one of its ribbons, wrapping it firmly around first Ash’s wrist, then Gary’s.

“Come on, Syl, this again?” Ash sighs, giving the pokemon an exasperated look. “Knock it off.”

“What’s it doing?” Misty wonders.

“I dunno but it’s been doing it all afternoon!” Ash says, trying to disentangle himself.

“You know,” May says, coy. “Sylveon is eevee’s love evolution. They say it can sense when someone is in lo—“

“This is just its way of saying it likes us,” Gary interjects, sending May a withering look. “It does it to Chloe and Dawn too. It clearly remembers us from when it was an eevee. Isn’t that right, Sylveon?”

The white and pink pokemon rolls its eyes, turning its head away from the researcher in a clear dismissal.

“Yes, I can’t imagine what else Dawn and Chloe could possibly have in common with you two.” Misty smirks.

[sollucets]

hi rowan! sorry to hear you had a rough day. for the writing ask game: how about 19, 28, and/or 39?

hello mel 💜💜💜 thank you for indulging me (game) i wrote. way too much. and it was a lovely distraction x

19. tell me a story about your writing journey. when did you start? why did you start? were there bumps along the way? where are you now and where are you going?

i will stick with only one of these i think, or this will be far Far too long, so: fic writer rowan, several starts

the first time i remember like specifically intentionally setting out to write something that counts as a story, on purpose & not for school, i am eight & i am handwriting in a composition notebook and i am writing oc/transparent self-insert fanfiction about the protector of the small quartet by tamora pierce. i am using the family computer to look up oc names on angelfire fansites. these are 100% The Days haha.

i do more stuff like that, later; i handwrite pages on pages of pokemon fanfic (make-ur-own region type thing complete with bad drawings of fake pokemon). i do a lot of this kind of thing on my own and for me, and then i am maybe 10 or 11 & i move that to forums (bulbagarden palletshipping thread…..,,,) this is baby fanfic writer rowan genesis, and posting on the internet before i was in middle school entirely killed my desire to do it for over a decade; i write often and a lot even outside of my work (ive completed nanowrimo three times!) but nobody ever sees it.

i get an ao3 in 2013 and post one doctor who fic but i am too scared and i orphan it right away. during a really intense media fixation i try again at the beginning of 2022 despite immense anxiety and find its not so bad. and then again for a different fandom a couple months later, and the response is such an immediate pickmeup & the writer friends ive made are so lovely that ive been trying my best ever since

28. who is the most delightful character youve ever written? why?

this is so hard. sobs. i like writing characters that have unique speech patterns, who like. make the narrative Sound different by being the pov character, which is something thats sometimes kind of hard about english-translated works (am i changing their cadence too much would they actually talk like that how much is my interpretation of the subs messing it up) so,,, i think for me i think the Most delightful characters that i always have the most fun writing are always characters like. avvy rasmr, who talks like a little fantasy spock, or anyone i can give talking quirks (like aye’s petnames). this is a copout u cant ever ask me my favorite anything i cant choose

39. what keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

you see most of the time i am aware that i love writing its something thats good for me as a person and i feel better when i do it even if its hard and the process occasionally sucks and in that way it is similar to like. taking a stupid mental health walk. you know. so,,,, if i can (sometimes you really just cannot. it happens. its okay) i just…. like….. honestly the ‘i’m being so brave about it’ mindset is good for this. be annoyed & bitch & complain but u still gotta do it and look!!! you did!!!!!

also selective giving up is good for you. have several things to choose from so if something stalls you Can give up, just a little, and go elsewhere for a bit

[savebatsfromscratch]

Huh. You ARE warm. - Palletshipping Week 2 (Kisses, Hugs, I Love Yous)

Summary:

Ash and Gary sit at the edge of a lake.

Notes:

Prompt: Kisses, Hugs, I Love Yous Note: This is set basically whenever, but it’s supposed to be in Johto. Words: 1,322

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54834484

Ash's hands gripped the grass at his sides as he sat on the edge of the lake. The full moon glowed above, much brighter than the distant glow of the buildings of the nearest town, yet despite being colder, it was also more welcoming. He tore out a patch of the grass accidentally, feeling the slick plants tear at the mercy of his clinging fingers as he stared at the waters before him.

Clearly, just fiddling with the grass wasn't enough to mask this particular feeling of worry. And was he surprised about that? Not really, he had a lot on his mind.

Besides, the person next to him was Gary.

After a totally disastrous run through the caves nearby, his group had found Gary, and given the fact that they were all low on health (and almost entirely out of potions), they had decided to camp together for the night. Choosing between your rival or a random hiker you'd never met, Ash would choose his rival any day.

Even though his current panic may suggest otherwise, Ash felt truly grateful to be able to see Gary again, even on such short notice. Truthfully, he was pretty certain that simple fact was a pretty major factor in his worry, but he had to put it away when Gary cleared his throat.

“So,” he started, somewhat unsure, as if he was worried that Misty and Brock may still be awake, “I'm happy to see you, Ashy boy,”

“Yeah,” Ash said, tossing the clump of grass down into the lake, and watching as it floated on the surface, “Thanks for the berries,”

“Ahw don't mention it,” Gary said, waving his hand, though both of them could clearly feel the sting of awkwardness in the air, “Thanks for letting me camp with you guys for the night,” he sneered at Ash, but there was no bite to it, “Don't try anything funny will you?”

Ash frowned at him. As if. Besides, Brock was the one with the most control of who got to stay with them, Ash wasn't really the one to thank in that regard.

Gary quieted, clearly seeing that Ash hadn't found him very funny. ”Sorry,“ he mumbled, looking back out at the lake, making his eyes glow as the light of the moon hit them once more, ”I know that's not funny,“

There was a pause. The wind carried the scent of pine clear over the rotting scent of lake water.

”You're acting a lot nicer than usual,“ Ash observed, still staring at Gary (somehow he couldn't force himself to look away), ”What's gotten into you?“

Gary turned to him, and for some reason it was only then that Ash could force himself to tear his gaze away, as if he wasn't aware that Gary knew he had been staring. ”You're a lot calmer than usual, can I ask what's got into you?“

Ash grumbled something even he wasn't entirely sure of the contents of as he leaned forward to hug his knees. (He was going to tear every blade of grass off the hill if he didn't find somewhere else for his hands to go.) ”I'm tired,“ he told him.

It was true, but he was pretty sure that neither of them believed that was everything that was going on.

”Yeah?“ Gary asked, snarky once more, though Ash could have sworn there was something else there, something more... tender? ”Tired of losing to all those wild Pokemon back there?“

Ash harrumphed and dug his fingers into the hems of his jeans. “As if you didn't lose to them too! At least I don't have a water ace and loose in a cave...” He trailed off.

Gary raised his eyebrows, a movment so pronounced that Ash could almost hear it. (Or maybe he just heard the soft inhale that he had come to expect from such a move from his rival. Even after months of not seeing each other, it still felt like he knew his every habit like the back of his own hand, or like Pikachu's moveset.)

“What,” Gary was grinning, Ash could tell, “Don't want to finish making fun of me? Did you really get that beat up back there?”

“No!” Ash said, pulling his arms away from his legs and whirling around to face Gary, “No! I just-,” he felt his fingers shake as his arms fell to the ground, “I just, um,”

His face felt warm. Why was that? Wasn’t it supposed to be cold next to lakes at night?

“You’re blushing,” Gary observed, pointing out what would have been obvious to Ash if he hadn’t been denying it so hard, “What happened back there…?”

“Nothing,” Ash said truthfully, if slightly desperately, “I’m just…” ‘Happy to see you, I guess,’ He ignored the thought, though it had been the only thing he had planned to say. “Warm. It’s warm out,”

Gary raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t pry any further.

Ash felt himself flush harder, but still could not tear his eyes away from Gary. 

He felt frozen, fingers once again digging into the slimy grass as he locked eyes with his stupid, stupid rival. (There was no other descriptor for the guy if he was making Ash blush by just being in his general vicinity.) Deep down, Ash knew that there was no denying what he felt. He’d felt it for a while, honestly, ever since the encounter with Gary all the way back at Professor Oak’s lab, Ash’s childish crush had seemingly rekindled itself.

All those days of pretending they hated each other were for nothing, and Ash was pretty sure they both knew it.

 Slowly, as if moving too fast would make the quiet lapping of the lake roar into a tsunami, Gary reached a hand forward, curling his fingers around Ash’s cheek. 

For some reason, Ash did not pull away.

“Huh,” Gary murmured, “You are warm,”

He leaned closer.

Again, Ash did not pull away.

Gary hesitated, glancing over to where the sleeping lumps of Brock and Misty curled around the campfire as if afraid they were looking. But what was there to be afraid of them seeing? He looked back at Ash, who could only blink back, so suddenly lightheaded with emotions as Gary pulled him into a kiss.

For a moment, Ash almost pulled away. The rush of emotions was too powerful, like a wave that threatened to swallow both of them if he wasn’t careful. The feeling of Gary’s second hand in his hair, the almost unconscious way Ash felt his own arm moving to hug Gary, the pure weirdness of the act itself. There was so much to feel conflicted about, but Ash forced himself not to think.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to feel.

Like the night wind on the wing of a Noctowl, he felt utterly lifted from the ground. He wasn’t even sure why. There wasn’t anything special about this act all on its own, he was sure they both sucked at whatever they were trying to do, but even something done badly was still something done, and Ash felt himself pulled into a hug as they continued.

It could have been that a second, a minute, or even an hour had passed by the time they broke apart, and Ash would have been none the wiser, so caught up in his whirlwind of emotions he found himself. It was strange, how clearly feeling reflected thinking in a situation like this, but equally strange how different the two were.

Gary’s hands did not untangle from Ash’s hair, but he didn’t mind, besides, he hadn’t yet unhooked his own arm from Gary’s back either.

A rush of emotions consumed him, and Ash suddenly blurted out, “I love you,”

For once in his life, Gary didn’t seem to have some sort of snarky rebuttal to that… for the most part.

“I love you too, Ashy boy,”

[feranelia]

Hey! Is there going to be a Palletshipping secret santa this year? I saw on your secret-santa-blog that there won't be one. 😭 That's sad, but I can understand. Still just asking for confirmation. (And shamelessly hoping you would change your mind😅). (Also I really love your fanarts they are super cute!) (And the fanfic of Pacific Rim AU is awesome!) I hope I don't come across as a fangirl. 😅

I'm terribly sorry, but I'm so busy that I can't run the secret santa this year ;A; I got covid and then got left behind in studies because of it lol Even though it'd be ideal with the fandom getting new life from the recent season. But I'm gonna try to come back to the art and fandom, so next year it'd be possible again!<3 Of course if someone wants to run their own secret santa this year they are free to do so! :)

(And thank you!<3)

[mypalletshippinglove]

Chapter summary: After an unpleasant dinner experience with Gary a few nights before, Ash spends some time on himself and visits his new friend's home without knowing what to expect. Soon, Ash will discover a few things about himself as his friendship with Connie starts to blossom.

Hello everyone! Palletshipping Day is in less than a month already! In preparation for it, I’m back with writing more about this story :) Hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the one I’m posting next in just a bit :D Thank you for your support as always.