Note: This is a direct sequel to my other story "With Every Good Wish" so please check it out first if you haven't already. Thanks!

Pokemon - With This Wish

Chapter 1 (Iris' POV)

"A perfectly crisp and clear day… Ah…" I watched as Cilan inhaled a deep breath before smiling gently.

"A truly tasteful backdrop for an activity as meaningful and rewarding as fishing. Wouldn't you agree, Iris?"

"Whatever you say, Cilan..." I mumbled as I aimlessly spun the knob on my reel. The truth was I was bored out of my mind, but I wasn't exactly going to burst his balloon by saying that. Because for all the ways that Cilan was super mature, his obsessive love of fishing wasn't one of them. So here I was again, trying not to hurt his feelings in spite of how different we were.

"The scent of the breeze, the gentle sound of water lapping against the shoreline… The beautiful pattern of ripples extending out from a near flawless cast…"

I wasn't sure why everything had to be poetry hour with him, but then again I wasn't sure why I was even surprised in the first place…?

"Though the greatest flavor of all is that I get to share it with you, Iris…" He said with a suddenly shy smile, that made me feel like a heel. He was so happy and I was about to go crazy…

But like usual, I couldn't be mad at him for long when he smiled at me like that, so before I could stop myself I just grinned back at him. Sure he was a pain, but he was still my pain after all.

Or at least I was willing to claim him until his line finally got a nibble, then he jumped up and into a whole new level of annoying.

"The dance begins!" He shouted as a determined look appeared on his face. It was that face that probably seemed at least a little condescending to whatever water type pokemon was on the other end of the line.

"Both precision as well as patience now come into play. One wrong move and the pokemon will know you lack the courage to follow through…"

I just narrowed my eyes at him, wondering what the heck he was talking about as usual.

"But," he chimed in again as he slowly turned his reel. "Like any good recipe one must ascertain when to lead and when to follow…"

"Recipe…?" I mumbled out, not able to stop myself this time.

"But of course," he answered without taking his eyes off the bobbing lure. "There are times when a chef may choose to lead in terms of applying his own personal spin to a dish. But there are other times when closely following the recipe is what is truly needed. Fishing is just the same. The pokemon may tug against you, and it is up to your discernment to know when to assert your leadership, and when to follow along with their movements…"

"Uh…" I mumbled, trying to give him some credit. "I guess that makes sense…"

"Indeed!" He said excitedly as he suddenly jerked on the line. "And now would be the time to lead!" He shouted as he pulled the rod back and braced his heels into the grassy shore.

I had to admit, at least things were finally getting a little more exciting. A Tympole suddenly broke the surface and didn't look all that happy to be a part of Cilan's "dance." Yeah and the bubble beam he suddenly aimed at Cilan seemed to confirm it. Cilan ducked as he shouted for Pansage to intervene.

A couple bullet seeds, and one pokeball toss later, he was the proud father of a Tympole. Or...at least it seemed that way from that way he was cradling the pokeball and grinning like a little kid if I'd ever seen one.

"We just caught a Tympole, Pansage!" He excitedly announced as he spun in a circle with dramatic flair.

I sighed as I leaned into my hand. Okay, so I guess I couldn't help but smile at least a little. He was just so...well Cilan.

"Congrats," I said as I stood and stretched. One thing was for sure, his catch did put me in the mood to try my best too. But like always, Cilan's concept of best and mine were pretty different. But then, he'd mostly learned not to question my methods by now. So rolling up my sleeves and kicking off my shoes I got a determined look on my face.

"Alright, let's see if that Tympole has any friends down there!"

Cilan just got a confused look on his face as I limbered myself up and got ready to get a running start. Then I just took off and jumped as soon as I got near the edge of the water.

"Look out below!"

I shouted as I curled into what I considered a perfect cannonball. Then sinking to the bottom of the lake I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. Sure the splash scared all the pokemon away at first, but all the adventurous ones would be too curious to stay away for long. And since those were the best ones to catch and train anyway, it was the perfect strategy.

Sure enough too, one Tympole did come over, so I knew this was my chance. Lunging forward, I grabbed it and quickly swam toward the surface. Sure it was wringling, but I just held on tighter until we both broke the surface and I gulped in a big breath.

"Throw the pokeball, Cilan!" I shouted at him.

He hesitated, seeming completely shocked stiff, before he finally snapped to it and did as I said.

The little Tympole disappeared inside before the floating pokeball bobbed a few times. I narrowed my eyes at it wondering if it would hold. It shook one more time and I almost flinched, but then with a satisfying popping sound I knew I'd done it. Grabbing the pokeball I held it over my head excitedly.

"I got one too!"

Cilan's face still looked completely shocked, but then he sighed a little and broke into a grin.

"I'd say so, Iris…"

I admit I felt pretty good about myself right then, so pulling myself back onto the bank I called out the Tympole before I even took the time to wring out my hair.

The little pokemon appeared and blinked up at me, almost seeming as confused as Cilan.

"Sorry to be so rough," I said as I patted the pokemon on it's head. "But I hope you don't mind if I train you from now on?"

The little guy just tilted its head to the side before smiling up at me, so I knew right then that we'd manage to be best friends in no time at all.

"Okay Tympole, return." I said as called him back before tossing the pokeball in the air just a little and catching it with a smile.

"I'd say that was...quite the impressive technique, Iris…" He said rubbing at the back of his neck and sweat-dropping.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh come on Cilan, don't lie about it, I know you think I'm crazy for doing that." I shrugged. "But what can I say, that's just how I am."

He smiled. "Well I'd never chose to use such unflattering language as that, but I do admit your approach surely differs from mine."

I just grinned at him. "Us different? Imagine that."

He didn't say anything at first, probably for the same reason I didn't say anything either. It was because we were both too busy thinking about everything that had happened over the last few months. If we'd learned anything it was just how different we both were. But at the same time, we'd learned that it didn't matter one bit that we were either.

Heading back into town I may have been getting a few looks for being dripping wet. But if I'd learned anything else, it was that it didn't matter what people in general thought of you, nope not a bit. Because your friends will understand you even if you are strange. Or...at least they'll put up with you anyway.

It was Sunday afternoon, so Cilan had been taking a day off from the restaurant to spend time with me. Though I kinda got the feeling he just wanted an excuse to play fishing connoisseur, but either way it had been at least a little fun to hang out with him outside of his kitchen.

It wasn't like I hadn't already, but since I was staying in town I'd really learned each quirk of the Striaton trio as I'd heard them called. Cilan and his brothers were pretty much classic examples of how people could be little kids in completely different ways. So while Sunday to Cilan meant being able to whisper poetry to a lake, Cress prefered it as a perfect time to lose himself in the massive library he kept in his room. (I'd seen it once when Chili dared me to push a pancake under Cress' door, but that's another story…)

And speaking of Chili... well to him Sunday afternoon was just another opportunity to either sleep or cater to his fangirls. The fangirls were a big problem, or at least they were until I took care of them. And yes, that's really another story, but let's just say I made it very clear that Cilan had officially been taken off the menu of the Striaton cafe. Chili was all for this, since it meant the ex-Cilan fangirls had no choice but to convert to either his or Cress' side. It honestly didn't seem like the girls minded much who they fawned over, but there were at least a few that still gave me dirty looks.

But what can I say? That's life, sister, get used to it.

"I could fix you dinner later if you'd like?" Cilan said sweetly as we stopped outside the pokemon center.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it, Cilan, I know you love cooking, but after all week, even you deserve a break. I just want to get some dry clothes and relax for the rest of the day."

He smiled slowly. "I understand, so until tomorrow…" He leaned to kiss my forehead, before he pulled away and took a few steps back.

"Yeah, see ya, Cilan." I said with a wave, that he returned as he took a few more steps backward, almost like he didn't want to have to turn around and leave.

I guess I was standing there just watching until he disappeared down the sidewalk too, because I felt Fraxure tug on my sleeve.

"Ure…?"

I looked down at him, but was surprised when suddenly I didn't feel like smiling.

"Yeah, I guess it is a little weird…" I mumbled, since I felt like I knew just what he was thinking.

But I didn't say anything else, I just walked inside and went to my room. After taking a shower and changing into some dry clothes I flopped onto my bed, stomach first.

"Ure ure." Fraxure mumbled as he crawled up onto the bed, and scooted in next to me.

I sighed as I leaned my chin against my arms. "I know Fraxure, but I don't know what else to do. I mean, Elder said this was my new path, so I'm just trying to follow it."

"Frax…" he said patting me on the back, understandingly.

I smiled a little. "I know you're not trying to push me, it's just… I guess I'm wondering how things are going turn out too, is all."

"Ure."

The truth was, even as great as it had been over the last three months or so, I couldn't help but feel sort of stuck. Everyday I went to the restaurant to spend time with him, or at least except for the days that I took off for training with Fraxure and my other pokemon. And that was great, I mean I wanted to spend time with him, but… But I couldn't really put my finger on what I meant. After being away from each other for months I knew I should have just been grateful to have him so close again, and I was, but...

It was just something didn't seem to add up quite right. I almost felt like I was running and not getting anywhere, like something was missing, or I was just waiting for something to happen, but I didn't even know what I was waiting for...

I rolled over on my side and wondered if it was just me overthinking everything. I knew I couldn't tell Cilan what I was thinking, because then he'd think I was bored with his city, or even worse, with him. But that wasn't it, I just…

Pulling myself up I slid my feet back over the side and paced over to the table in the corner. The paper from this morning was still rolled up, and I hadn't even bothered opening it yet. But now I finally did as I skimmed over the contents. The front page was something about an antique clock shop being reopened across town, and the side articles were discussing the new flowers they planned to plant in the park. All in all, it was more boring than watching a lure bob up and down.

But I could still remember how it was three months ago. Yeah after the "star reporter" Viola turned my "official statement" into front page news. For at least a week after that Cilan and me couldn't go anywhere without getting caught by paparazzi and hearing people whisper and point. It was really annoying, actually. But...now I almost missed it?

That didn't make sense, it wasn't like I wanted to be treated special, but it did make me feel like Cilan and me were making progress I guess. If our dating was front page worthy than it must have meant it was enough to be the start of a new path too. I guess it made me feel like I had some kind of direction. But now we were barely a footnote in a side column. Nobody cared if we were spotted together, because they were already expecting it anyway. Yeah we were dating, so what?

Maybe if I was really honest I almost felt like that too…? Like it was just a big so what? Not that it wasn't really important or special, not like I didn't care about him, but just… Well I was living in a pokemon center, stuck in between everything. I couldn't go back to the village of dragons because I wasn't happy unless I was with him. But I wasn't really with him here either, was I? I still felt like I was in limbo, like our relationship hadn't gone anywhere in awhile.

So I guess you could say I felt restless for some kind of change. It was exactly the sort of thing that I would have freaked out about if I'd known I feel this way back before I even confessed. Because I would have labeled it as the both of us not really being cut out for a permanent relationship with each other. But now that I was here feeling it, I knew better. If anything our relationship didn't seem permanent enough.

And maybe the fact of how quiet things had been lately didn't help either, as much as I hated danger, maybe I'd gotten used to having some new mystery to wonder about. Something we could both work toward together. Maybe that just made me feel like we were going somewhere. But right now, well I wasn't quite sure where we were headed. And without even meaning to, I thought about Shannon again, about how she always seemed so sure. Or at least now she did…

So once again I was stuck wishing I could be like her.

But if it was any comfort, things could have been even more stuck I guess. Case in point, Ash and Dawn. After everything with the scales blew over they both headed their separate ways like always. Both still twice as stubborn to silence as I ever was before. Cilan of course had a different idea, and always said calmly that relationships mature at different rates, before comparing our two best friends essentially to mold on a cheese rind.

I sighed. Sure I knew he meant well by that, but I guess my own impatience and frustrations were just bleeding over to them. The truth was I just wanted a path to be more straightforward and easy to follow. When it wasn't it made me wonder if I was doing something wrong. Or maybe not doing something that I should be.

Maybe I was still trying to find just where I fit in, where I belonged…?

I closed my eyes and tried to think of what Elder would say. Or worse yet, what Drayden might say. And it was always the same, because I'd heard him tell me a thousand times already.

"Don't lose focus, Iris. Concentrate and wait for the right moment. Don't hesitate or rush ahead!"

The only thing was, that was a lot easier to apply to the timing of a dragon rage, than a path in life, or the course of a relationship. Inside I knew I should just tell Cilan what I was feeling, but I didn't want to pressure him into thinking he had to change our relationship somehow just to please me. Because that wasn't it, I just…

I opened my eyes when I heard a knock on my door. I raised an eyebrow, it wasn't like I was expecting visitors. But standing up with a shrug I walked over and pulled open the door. What I saw was Nurse Joy peering around from a huge bunch of purple flowers.

She smiled. "Special Delivery for you, Iris."

I grinned back a little, even though my face felt more surprised than anything else. "Really? Thanks a lot for bringing them up."

"No problem at all." She said before she handed them over and politely excused herself, leaving me alone with the flowers. Well, Fraxure was there too of course. And he waddled over and gave them a sniff, and I wasn't sure if he was suspicious, or if he just wanted to enjoy the smell.

But I just smiled and felt guilty all at the same time. What was it about today that made me keep feeling like such a heel in front of Cilan. Here I was almost angry at him for some stupid reason I couldn't even put a finger on, and he was sending me flowers… He was always sweet enough, considerate enough, to somehow know just when I needed to be cheered up.

Except when I flipped over the card I didn't see his neat handwriting, or his signature phrase "Dearest Iris" written anywhere. Instead I saw something I couldn't figure out at all. On the card was the simple but weird phrase "time waits for no one" signed "your dearest secret admirer."

But then I felt my shoulders relax, he'd given it away with the same word, "dearest." Cilan seemed to love that word, so I knew it must have been him after all. Or at least that was what I was thinking until I remembered that handwriting was totally different. I guessed he could have gotten the flower shop to take a message and write it for him, but he'd never done that before.

Still I knew it must have been from him, and if he had the subject of time on his mind too, than I knew we needed to talk. Maybe, just maybe he felt the same way I did. So stepping back into my shoes I headed out toward his restaurant again. When I got there though, it was all I could do to stop my eyes from rolling out of my head. Because Chili was sitting at a table surrounded by his usual group of mindless fangirls.

"So then I decided Pansear and me would just go for our 100th victory battle in a row. I mean why not!" He said somehow bragging and flexing his biceps at the sametime.

Suddenly I almost felt sick…

But I guess not everyone was #teamChili because sure enough I got another scowl from one of his "followers." I tried to ignore her, but this time she was a little more outspoken than usual.

"Funny, I haven't seen much in the papers lately, I hope you and Cilan are doing alright?"

I felt my blood pressure rise, but I knew I didn't have time to even get into this conversation with her, so instead I just glared at Chili.

"Control your harem." I demanded flatly before I pushed my way into the kitchen, where I found Cilan slowly thumbing through recipe notes.

He looked up and seemed a little surprised to see me. "Oh Iris?"

It took a minute to get the scowl from before off my face, but I did my best to let go of it with a sigh.

But before I could fully manage it he closed the notebook and walked over to me. "Are you alright, you seem upset?"

I smirked a little. "Uh it's nothing serious, just a little run in with one of your 'ex-fanclub members.'" I said being sure to add in air quotes.

He smiled sweetly, before reaching to gently brush a stray lock of my frazzled hair out of my eyes. "Well you certainly have no reason to be jealous of any of them…"

I didn't say anything at first, I just enjoyed letting my heart skip a beat for a second like usual. Then grinning a little softer I nodded. "Yeah I know… And speaking of that," I said rubbing at my sleeve.

"I take it you're my dearest secret admirer, right Cilan?"

He tilted his head with a smile. "Dearest admirer, why certainly. But I hardly think it's a secret to anyone at this point."

I frowned a little. "Well yeah I know, but that's how you signed the flowers so…"

"Pardon?" he asked with a confused blink, that made me think I was barking up the wrong tree altogether. "What flowers are you referring to?"

"The ones that were delivered to my room this afternoon. Aren't they from you?" I asked still somehow hoping they were.

But all he did was frown as it looked like his brain was slowly putting together all the pieces. "No, Iris, I can't say I sent any flowers today, and certainly none that I would sign in such a secretive way…"

"But if it wasn't you, then who did send them?" I said asking the obvious.

He frowned wider as he rubbed at his chin with a grimace that would have matched mine from when I walked in. "Indeed, that is the question... And what are his intentions…"

I smirked a little bit at how quickly Cilan had changed his tune. "Hey, calm down, we have nothing to be jealous about, remember?"

He tried to smile but it was still a stretch for his worried face. "I know that but… It...could be dangerous!" He added in quickly like he'd just thought of it as an excuse.

I just rolled my eyes before grinning at him. "Look, it's okay if you're jealous that I have a secret admirer, I think it's sweet to be reminded how much I mean to you, but I hardly think it's dangerous. In fact, I don't even know why I was surprised, being champion just means I probably have lots of fans is all. That's not really new."

Cilan folded his arms. "My personal feelings aside, you should still be on guard. Some fans can take their admiration to an unhealthy level."

Right on cue we heard the girls out in the dining room squeal in response to something lame Chili probably had said.

I just raised my eyebrows at Cilan. "You're telling me that?"

He sighed with a little bit of a smile. "Well, Chili doesn't seem to mind if he has a group of overly attached female admirers. But that's not quite the same as the danger that could be posed by the reverse, as in your case."

I sighed. "Look, I don't think sending flowers really counts as being a stalker, Cilan."

"O-Of course," he agreed hesitantly. "But I would still be negligent if I didn't worry…"

I just smiled at him knowingly. "Sure, whatever you say, Cilan."

The truth was he was as green with envy as his hair, and I was actually enjoying the tables being turned for once.

"Might I ask what sort of flowers this," he hesitated. "This admirer...gave you?"

I hesitated too, because I knew he wasn't going to like it. "Well...they were irises."

He gasped before frowning. "The very signature flower I always give you!?" Now he looked like he was stewing for sure.

So I sighed and tried to calm him down a little by reaching for both his hand. "Hey, that's just because of my name, you know that, it wasn't some personal thing against you, Cilan."

"Perhaps, but you can never be sure when a criminal elament might be at work…"

I rolled my eyes, almost not believing it. "First a stalker, and now a criminal? Come on Cilan, just admit you're jealous, I'll admit I am of all your fangirls."

I saw him swallow sharply as he seemed to be trying to regain his composure. "I do admit that I don't appreciate the very untasteful thought of another man showing you such personalized attention, but my reasons for suspicion go deeper than merely that…"

"How do you mean?" I asked, still not buying he was anything other than jealous.

"Well…" he mumbled as he hesitated again. "At the moment I don't have much more evidence than an intuitive feeling, but-"

I cut him off with a laugh. "That 'intuitive feeling' is jealousy! Pure and simple!"

He sighed as he frowned in defeat. "That might be the case… But I'd still feel better if you were to let me know if this special attention continues."

I rolled my eyes. He just couldn't stop trying to look at everything like it was an investigation. And to think I'd never really pegged Cilan as the overly jealous type.

So standing on my tiptoes I leaned to kiss him, taking him completely by surprise. Then I pulled back and grinned.

"Is the 'intuitive feeling' any better now? Stop worrying," then I winked at him. "I might dump you if you go grey early."

He finally sighed and seemed to deflate all the on guard tension he was holding on to. "I'm sorry, Iris… I suppose I'm just not used to this competitive flavor in regard to our relationship."

I shook my head, and tried to convince myself at the same time. "There isn't any competitive flavor, just two old worry worts."

Then putting my hands on my sides I smiled up at him. "Besides, if you really want to fight back, you can just send twice as many flowers as he does."

I'd meant that as a joke, but by the next morning I learned just how jealous Cilan really was. Yeah, because I was sitting in a room that was starting to look more like a greenhouse than anything else. Wall to wall all I could see were purple irises. And honestly, I was wondering again if it was a guy thing, or just a Cilan thing?

Fraxure blinked in confusion at the jungle like mass of flowers invading our room.

"Ure…?"

I sighed and shrugged, not even bothering to try and explain it to him, because I sure didn't get it either.

But if my "secret admirer" was right about anything, it was true time really didn't wait for anybody.

So maybe more than anything, I was wishing I knew just what it had in store for me...

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to drop me a review and let me know what you think. More coming soon!