Hello again! It has come to my attention that the fanfiction I have here has similarities to other fanfictions (thanks Briarfrost :) ). I would like to let you know that this fanfic will be leading into a different direction than the other fanfics that included the Cottonee (all of which were great to say the least). Originality, for me, is key. The Cottonee will simply be a kick-off point and an area that I will have Ash bring up in his mind every now and then.

Also, after my first chapter of my first fanfic on my first account here on , I've grown a bit more comfortable and will be lengthening my chapters from now on. The story won't necessarily follow the anime, but it won't introduce an extreme oddity (such as the extensive use of aura; the fanfic I'm referring to is one of my favorites). What I will do, though, is break off from the anime's PG rating. After all, what I'm striving for is a better connection to the reader through the characters. Life isn't PG. That will show in the coming chapters much more prominently. By the way, I took out the ages to the characters from the summary, so I'll put them here:

Ash: 14

Iris: 14

Cilan: 16

I have to flag the idea that Ash is 10. He started the entire series at 10, and mind you, there are close to 1000 episodes. He just has to be older!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon...yet.

Well, now that I got that off my chest, without further ado, here's chapter 2! (heh, I rhymed...)

Chapter 2: Maturity

"Well? What is it?" Ash inquired, a frown gradually growing on his tan face. Sitting down at the breakfast table Cilan had set up at camp that morning, Ash was constantly tapping his foot in curiosity.

"W-w-well...*cough*...puberty, y-y-you see...it's t-this thing w-where..." Cilan began, the green haired connoisseur nervously messing with his black vest. He was rather uncomfortable with the topic. "I-I-Iris, why d-don't you explain?"

"Uh...u-uh, Cilan? I-I'm not sure that that's a-a-a good idea..." Iris stuttered. A light blush crept into her mocha cheeks. She averted her field of view away from Ash.

"Uh...r-right...t-t-this would be m-my job, I g-guess..." Cilan rested his flustered face in his palms. Pikachu was sitting on the grass, head cocked at an angle.

"Are you going to tell me?" pressed Ash. His foot was tapping at a higher pace.

Cilan and Iris sweat dropped.

"Are. You. Going. To. Tell. Me?" Ash had started rising up from his chair. The sun's heat was putting him in a bad mood, though it was still a few hours from noon. His left amber eye twitched.

"A-A-Ash, calm do..." Iris started, but Ash interrupted her.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALM DOWN? ALL I'M TRYING TO DO IS GET A DAMN ANSWER!" Ash yelled. Standing, he slammed his glove-covered fist into the table. Glaring at his companions, he bared his teeth. Pikachu flinched.

"T-that's one of the side effects..." Iris mumbled, just loud enough for Ash to catch. The redness drained from Ash's face.

"What?" he asked.

"It's one of the side effects, a bitter spice, of growing up," (roll credits) Cilan added. "When you go through puberty, you experience hormone fluctuations, much like how a dominant flavor in a recipe may change. All of that anger you just had was proof."

Ash sat down and swiped away a sweat bead form his forehead before answering. "That sucks..." he muttered. "Sorry about that, you guys."

Iris's mouth twitched as a smile worked its way to the surface. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You're just moody from your hormones, and there's nothing you can do about that."

Smirking, Ash quipped, "So that's why you're always in such a bad mood all the time." This time, Ash got a little more than what he wanted.

"WHAT THE HELL ASH! I'M TRYING TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER AND THIS IS HOW YOU THANK ME!" Iris screamed. Ash fell out of his chair, slamming into the ground. Iris loomed over him while Cilan dashed around the table and kneeled down next to Ash, leaning over to whisper something. Pikachu stood by Ash, wondering how thick his trainer could be.

"Take it easy on her, Ash. She might have P.M.S. right now." Ash looked questioningly up at Cilan. Darting his gaze between his companions, he asked probably the dumbest thing to ask at the moment to the silently fuming Iris.

"What's P.M.S.?"

Iris opened eyes and shot him a death eye. "You little kid!" she shouted. A crimson shade rested on her face, which Ash immediately picked up on. Giving a huff, Iris turned around and scurried up a tree, leaping from branch to branch for a little ways.

Ash blinked (he does that a lot). "What did I say?"

Cilan sighed. "You still have a lot to learn." Shaking his head, he got up and smoothed his shirt.

Before he knew what he was doing, Ash got up and sprinted in the direction he saw Iris head towards. "I'll be back in a little, Cilan! I have to go fix this!"

Iris was sitting down on a branch in a tree, her head resting in her knees. Axew popped out of her hair.

(Axew ew?) the tusked Pokémon yipped.

A tear ran her right cheek. "I-I'm fine Axew, thanks for asking..." She lightly sobbed. Ash thinks that I'm always such a brat now...He even told me that he thought I was always in a bad mood... After a minute, she stopped crying to think. Why do I care about what he says...

"Iris!" A familiar voice echoed through the forest. Iris looked down from her vantage point to see Ash running around, scanning the trees for her.

"Go away, Ash!" she demanded loudly. Axew hid back in her large hair when she yelled.

"Iris! I need...I need to talk to you..." Ash said, careful to choose his words wisely. He sure didn't want this P.M.S. thing blowing up in his face.

She was about to snap at him when she noticed he was already climbing the tree she was in. "Ash...just, go away..."

"I can't do that when one of my friends are depressed..." he muttered as he strained to reach the next branch.

A questioning look dawned upon Iris's features. "I...I-I thought that you thought I was a brat..." she mumbled.

"Why would I think...*puff*...that?" Ash asked, springing up to the branch Iris was sitting on. Axew receded even further into Iris's hair, not wanting to disturb the already fragile situation.

"You said...said that I was always in such a good-for-nothing bad mood..." Ash sat next to Iris, frowning as she uncurled herself.

"I was only joking...I thought it I was all clever, but...I just ended up hurting you..."

A twinkle flashed through Iris's eyes. "Clever, huh?" With her tears dried up and the realization of what Ash was saying, a playing hint entered her voice. "Yes, it was very clever of Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum to attempt to be Mr. Smart Guy." A light giggle escaped her voice. Ash was completely baffled.

"W-w-weren't you just...you know, angry...at me?" Ash cautiously asked.

"Hmmm..." Iris pretended to think about it. "Well, the thing is, you see, I was angry. Was is past tense. You apologized..." She gave him a longing look that he failed to recognize. "...so I forgive you."

"T-that easily?"

"What? Do you want me to stay angry?" She faked a glare, causing Ash to flinch and nearly fall off before Iris reflexively grabbed a hold of him by his blue and white jacket.

"Ash!" Sadly, gravity took over and yanked them both towards the ground.

"Iris!" Ash quickly wrapped his body around hers to protect her from the fall.

Hitting the ground with a thud, Ash and Iris groaned simultaneously. Ash knew fully well that he had taken the brunt of the drop, plus he had Iris on top of him, only adding to the pain.

"You okay Iris?" Ash moaned. It felt like he had somebody take a baseball bat to his solar plexus.

Placing her hands on Ash's shoulders, she pushed herself up. "Y-yeah, I'm fi..." She just realized the position she was in. She was straddling him, which was a very awkward place to be for the two teenagers. Realizing it, too, Ash felt a blush creep into his facial features.

"That's...that's good to hear..." Ash said. He looked up at Iris, checking to see if she sustained any injuries, only to lock eyes with her. Those eyes again...

The two stayed there speechless until Ash started shifting around. He noticed a certain...tightness in his pants. Naturally panicking, he blinked (there he goes again with his blinks) and quickly said, "I-I think we should get back to camp..."

"That sounds good to me," Iris commented, still frozen to the spot.

Ash tried to sit up, holding Iris's wrists so she was stabilized, but the tightness only got worse, so he fell back down, attempting to think about something to use as a cover up (every guy reading this has had a situation where they had to find a cover up of some sort, whether physically or verbally X( damn surprises...) when he noticed he had let go of Iris's wrists, causing her to fall back onto him. That didn't help.

"S-sorry! It's just...just...I-I have a slight headache right now..." Ash quickly stated. A cliché excuse, but a useful one.

Iris was pressed against him, her face only a couple inches from his. What nice amber eyes he has... She blinked (*sigh*). "I-it's okay..."

Ash, already extremely uncomfortable with the current situation, simply replied, "Let's head back to the camp." He squished his knees together, hopefully minimizing certain imprints. I'm guessing this has to do with hormones, too...

Lifting herself off of him, Iris swiped off the dirt that stained her white tights. Ash had just realized just how tight her pants were...which only made his tighter. Damn it, stop it body! Getting tired of all this hormone bullsh... Ash internally froze. Since when did he think about cursing? Pressing the thought into a corner of his mind (if you were wondering, Ash barely has any room left up there; with all of those "boxes" of Pokémon battles, Pokémon training, and the like, it was rather surprising that he actually had a new kind of thought...other than the other few that got him into this "tight" situation...should probably rename this fanfic: the troubles of puberty).

Rolling onto his stomach, Ash pushed himself up into a standing position that was angled just right...for reasons. And because the plot demands it.

"Okay, let's go," Iris said, walking slightly in front of Ash. Ash just so happened to glance down.

Damn this puberty! he scolded himself.

Cilan was still sitting there, apparently content with polishing his silverware. He was completely finished with his pancakes.

Switching his gaze to the two that were approaching him, he noted, "It appears that you two have worked it out. Just what I expected! You two always had an interesting bouquet." A smile spread on the connoisseur's face.

Iris nodded. "It was just a little bit of a mood swing, I guess..." She looked at Ash. "By the way, when Cilan says bouquet, he's talking about the aroma, not the flowers." Ash stared at her.

"Didn't already tell me that when we were at the Striaton gym?" Ash questioned with an irked expression.

Sensing another childish argument ready to break out, Cilan quickly said, "You guys should hurry and eat your pancakes! They're already cold, and we have a few miles to travel. There's a cave attraction located not far from the next Pokémon Center."

"Right!" Ash and Iris said in unison. Why? Because the plot demands it.

Sitting down, they caught each others' eye. They both exhibited a twinkle, almost betraying what lay inside...

There we go! One chapter in one night! Not bad. Not bad at all. I am a badass, am I not? (please don't answer that)

The cave will be of my own creation. What happens in there is for me not to know yet because I haven't thought of it and you to find out about whatever I will think of in the future.

Anyways, drop a favorite if you liked this fanfic and leave a review! Follow along, if you wish, or, if you want to leave a suggestion, put it in that review section!

Until next time...

FanFicLash flying out.